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SECOND SUBSCRIPTION DRIVE – 2016 – DAY FOUR

(Pretty good day yesterday, but more help needed!)

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JUNE 16,  2016

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET:

NOT SURPRISING – FROM FOX DENVER:   DENVER -- Gun sales are surging in the wake of Sunday’s deadly mass shooting in Orlando, Fla. The tragedy is generating new debate over gun control reform and the right to bear arms.  Gun shops typically see a spike in customers after mass shootings. But this time, many are seeing shoppers they’ve never really seen before: More gays and lesbians.  George Horne, the owner of The Gun Room, Denver’s oldest firearms dealer, said Tuesday business is booming at  his store.  "For this time of year I’d say its three to four times what we normally have," he said.  Background checks that once took minutes can now take hours. It's a sales surge similar to what happened after Sandy Hook and the Aurora theater shootings...The Pink Pistols is a national gun club for gays and lesbians. It saw its membership soar from about 1,500 members on Saturday to 3,500 on Monday.  Common sense tells people that they want to protect themselves.  Why can't our current administration understand that?

OPRAH SPEAKS, AND WHO CARES? – FROM ET:  Oprah Winfrey is throwing her support behind Hillary Clinton.  Winfrey spoke with ET's Nancy O'Dell at the premiere of her new OWN drama, Greenleaf, and the media mogul opened up about the possibility of America electing its first female president.  "I really believe that is going to happen," said Winfrey, 62. "It's about time that we make that decision."  "Regardless of your politics, it’s a seminal moment for women," she continued. "What this says is, there is no ceiling, that ceiling just went boom! It says anything is possible when you can be leader of the free world."  Who cares about Hillary's crooked history of failure, and her accepting millions from some of the worst dictatorships on Earth?  This is about race, gender, and ethnicity.  We watch as the United States declines further.

FASCINATING – FROM HOLLYWOOD REPORTER:   Lady Gaga is ready for her big-screen close-up.  The singer is in talks to star opposite Bradley Cooper in A Star Is Born, the remake that Cooper also will direct.  The movie, based on the 1937 film starring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March, centers on a movie star who helps an aspiring young actress find fame, even as age and alcoholism send his own career into a downward spiral. It was subsequently remade in 1954 by director George Cukor, with Judy Garland and James Mason starring, and again in 1976, with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson headlining.  Fascinating.  Great movie, with a long history.  Don't underestimate Lady Gaga.  Beneath all the tacky publicity, she's really very talented.  I look forward to her rendition of "The Man That Got Away," by Harold Arlen and Ira Gershwin, originally sung by Judy Garland in the 1954 version.

June 16,  2016     Permalink

SOMEONE TELL BARACK – AT 10:17 A.M. ET:  The CIA director and the president can't seem to get their lines together.  From Fox: 

CIA Director John Brennan, in a chilling warning on the Islamic State’s growing influence, told lawmakers Thursday that U.S.-led efforts to strike at the terror group have not hampered its “terrorism capability and global reach” – a message that stands in stark contrast to President Obama’s more upbeat assessment earlier this week.

Brennan, testifying in a rare open hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee, said ISIS likely will “intensify” terror attacks around the world even as its core fighters come under pressure in Iraq and Syria, including by deploying operatives for further attacks on the West.

“The group is probably exploring a variety of means for infiltrating operatives into the West, including in refugee flows, smuggling routes, and legitimate methods of travel,” Brennan said.

The testimony offered unnerving context to Obama's comments on Tuesday. The president said the anti-ISIS campaign “is firing on all cylinders” and the group “is under more pressure than ever before,” while conceding they’re gaining traction elsewhere.

COMMENT:  I'd go with Brennan on this one.  Field Marshal Obama has rarely been right on anything in foreign policy.  He botched our withdrawal from Iraq, misjudged Russia, drew red lines in Syria and then let them melt away, abused our allies, including Israel, and allowed China to grow in power in Asia and the Pacific.  Oh, he also cozied up to the dancing Castro Brothers in Cuba.  Other than that, he's a diplomatic genius.

June 16, 2016       Permalink

OUR RIDICULOUS COLLEGES – AT 9:14 A.M. ET:   The statistics don't lie.  Our colleges and universities have become the fever swamps of the left.  From Campus Reform:

Panelists for the American Enterprise Institute agree that American universities are driving away much-needed conservative intellectuals because of their liberal policies.

An AEI panel discussion last Wednesday, titled “The Close-Minded Campus? The Stifling of Ideas in American Universities,” focused on the scarcity of conservative professors and students in the social sciences, with the panelists noting that conservatives are outnumbered in the field even by self-proclaimed Marxists.

“[S]ome university should declare itself a safe space for open debate . . . and dispense with trigger warnings." Tweet This

The event featured professors Joshua Dunn of the University of Colorado, Jon A. Shields of Clermont McKenna College, and Steven Teles of Johns Hopkins University; and AEI scholars Frederick M. Hess and Christina Hoff Sommers.

Dunn and Shields, authors of the book Passing on the Right: Conservative Professors in the Progressive University, revealed that their study, conducted in preparation for the book, showed that the close-mindedness of university toward conservative ideas depended on the field of study.

“Among undergraduates, for example,” said Shields, “the politics of undergraduates is among the best predictors of their major. So, conservatives tend to gravitate into the natural sciences or into economics, and liberals tend to gravitate toward the humanities and social sciences.”

About 18 percent of social scientists in the United States self-identify as Marxists, compared to only about 5 percent who identify as conservatives, Dunn and Shields reported.

The panel believes that this is a great loss for conservative students and professors.

“That’s work conservatives need to do more of,” Teles said of the field of sociology. “I think this is another case where the absence of conservatives in sociology is very deeply problematic for conservatives because a lot of those kinds of methods and insights definitely improve the quality of conservative thought and analysis.”

The problem, they said, is that liberal policies are driving away both conservative professors and students from American universities.

Moreover, as conservative students face opposition like violence and censorship on college campuses, the university atmosphere has made it difficult for such students to concentrate on their academic studies.

Sommers elaborated on that point, referencing the “culture of paranoia” that has been growing on liberal campuses because administrators have “empowered some very neurotic people on campus, and risk-averse lawyers and deans are going along with it.”

COMMENTS:  Many colleges and universities now charge up to $60,000 a year.  That's an academic year.  As one truly distinguished educator told me, the kids are home more than they're in school.

Daniel Patrick Moynihan used the phrase, "defining deviancy down," a situation wherein people get used to low standards and bad behavior.  I'm afraid that's what we see in our schools today.  It may well get worse.  Unless action is taken, it may never get better.

June 16, 2016         Permalink

RUMBLE IN DALLAS TODAY? – AT 8:53 A.M. ET:  Donald Trump goes to Dallas today, and the police feel the need for special training.  From NBC: 

Dallas police staged demonstration and riot drills Wednesday at Fair Park, the day before a large demonstration is planned against presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

About 600 Dallas officers participated in the training with riot helmets and shields. There was smoke to simulate tear gas and scores of police recruits playing the role of unruly demonstrators, all of it in hot weather conditions similar to what the officers could face.

"In our country everyone has a privilege to assemble and give voice, and the Dallas Police Department's role in that is to protect everyone," Deputy Police Chief Jeff Cotner said.

Cotner refused to speak directly about anyone involved in possible demonstrations during Trump's visit, but he acknowledged recent events elsewhere.

"There have been incidents recently across the nation in which these situations have gone violent, so the department is taking steps to prepare our officers," Cotner said.

COMMENT:  I suspect there'll be trouble.  Let's see if our news outlets will tell us the straight story about who causes it.

June 16,  2016     Permalink

JUNE 15,  2016

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET:

NOTE THE LANGUAGE – FROM THE L.A. TIMES:   Travelers, sports fans and concertgoers may see more police and tighter security screening at airports and events this summer in the wake of Sunday night’s mass shooting in Orlando, Fla., according to a Department of Homeland Security bulletin issued Wednesday.  While no intelligence indicates a “specific and credible” threat of an impending terrorist plot, the bulletin cites the shooting at an Orlando nightclub, as well as recent attacks at a county building in San Bernardino, at an airport and subway in Brussels, and at restaurants and a concert all in Paris as examples of terrorists targeting of crowded public spaces.  “In this environment, we are particularly concerned about homegrown violent extremists who could strike with little or no notice. The tragic events of Orlando several days ago reinforce this,” the bulletin states.  "Homegrown violent extremists."  No reference to jihadists.  And we see a continuation of the "homegrown" myth.  Jihadists are not "homegrown."  Even if they're born here, their radicalization comes from foreign sources and websites.  But the Obama administration won't admit it.  Violates political correctness.

GOOD IDEA – FROM THE HILL:  Senators are planning to use a wide-ranging appropriations bill to push for more funding for the FBI in the wake of the Orlando, Fla., shooting. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) has filed an amendment to the Senate's Commerce, Justice and Science appropriations bill that would provide the agency an additional $190 million.  Most of that money, $175 million, would be used for "personnel, training and equipment needed to counter both foreign and domestic terrorism, including the lone wolf actors."   Another $15 million would be used to bolster active shooting training.  "Words are one thing, deeds are another," she told reporters after a classified briefing Monday evening. "While America grieves and America bleeds, we want to take action to prevent it from happening again, and that goes to a resourced FBI."   The proposal comes days after a gunman killed 49 people during a shooting in a packed gay nightclub. Dozens more were injured.   Looks like a mature proposal, assuming the funds are actually put to good use.  But follow the money carefully.  I'll bet the Obamans try to divert some of it to fight "Islamophobia."

GREAT MOMENTS IN EDUCATION:   FROM LONDON'S DAILY MAIL:   Yale University has found itself embroiled in controversy once again this year after English students complained that courses in the department were 'hostile' to students of color.  Under the most fire is the Major English Poets course, a prerequisite for undergraduates in the major to study the works of at least seven major poets, all of whom are white men.  An anonymous petition has demanded the department not only change the English 125/126 course, which has existed since 1920, but abolish it entirely. It also asks that the major's pre-1800/1900 requirements be changed to include literature relating to 'gender, race and sexuality'.  I hope Yale will resist this trendy nonsense, but I'm afraid they'll give in.  The administration is weak, and afraid of its students. 

June 15,  2016     Permalink

IN THE REAL WORLD – AT 11:27 A.M. ET:  Medical care still remains one of the major issues facing Americans.  And Obamacare, this genius administration's answer to the issue, is increasingly wobbly.  From AP:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Premiums for popular low-cost medical plans under the federal health care law are expected to go up an average of 11 percent next year, said a study that reinforced reports of sharp increases around the country in election season.

For consumers, the impact will depend on whether they get government subsidies for their premiums, as well as on their own willingness to switch plans to keep the increases more manageable, said the analysis released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation.

The full picture on 2017 premiums will emerge later this summer as the presidential election heads into the home stretch. The health law's next sign-up season starts a week before Election Day. Democrat Hillary Clinton wants to build on President Barack Obama's health overhaul, which has reduced the uninsured rate to a historically low 9 percent. Republican Donald Trump wants to repeal it.

The Kaiser study looked at 14 metro areas for which complete data on insurer premium requests is already available. It found that premiums for a level of insurance called the "lowest-cost silver plan" will go up in 12 of the areas, while decreasing in two. The changes range from a decrease of 14 percent in Providence, Rhode Island, to an increase of 26 percent in Portland, Oregon.

Half of the cities will see increases of 10 percent or more. Last year, only two of the cities had double-digit increases.

COMMENT:  As costs go up and up, so will the number of uninsured or underinsured.  I also want to see the details on that claim that the uninsured rate is at a "historically low 9 percent."  What kind of insurance are some of these folks getting?  Coverage of cuts and bruises?

The fact is, no one in recent years was truly uninsured.  There are state programs like Medicaid, and hospitals would normally be required to treat patients, either as part of those programs or under charitable arrangements.  We didn't have dead bodies in the streets.

Obamacare itself needs an overhaul. 

June 15, 2016       Permalink

THE OBAMA WE SAW YESTERDAY – QUOTE OF THE DAY – AT 9:41 A.M. ET:   President Obama, in full "me" mode, went on the offensive against Donald Trump yesterday.  What we saw wasn't pretty.  It was a failed president.  From the excellent Michael Goodwin at the New York Post:

Obama’s demeanor and tone were far from presidential — tantrums rarely are. Nor was he effective in rallying the nation to his cause. No surprise there. His cause is himself, always and only, and his greatly diminished historic presidency looks especially insignificant next to the bloodshed in Orlando. The iconic redeemer who promised hope and change never seemed so small and hopeless.

America saw Barack Obama at low tide yesterday, revealed as brimming with fury and bankrupt of ideas and even sympathy for the dead. The man who had an answer for everything and a solution to nothing is now also out of excuses.

And...

Forty-nine innocent people were gunned down in a gay nightclub by an Islamic terrorist, another 53 lie wounded, yet Obama feels only his own pain. Public confidence in his effort to combat terrorism on his own peculiar terms while soft-pedaling the links to Islam were among the casualties in the Pulse nightclub. The world knows he’s a failure and he can’t stand the embarrassment.

COMMENT:  Absolutely accurate.  But I do fear that Americans, especially young voters, will be taken in by Obama's empty but vigorous rhetoric.  And he will have the liberal press on his side.

We need new leadership.  I don't see it coming, do you?

June 15, 2016       Permalink 

WHAT A MESS – AT 8:46 A.M. ET:  Just look at these poll numbers.  Just look at them.  From The Hill:

Donald Trump is viewed unfavorably by seven in 10 Americans in a new national poll.

Fully 70 percent of U.S. adults have an unfavorable view of the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, according to the ABC News/Washington Post poll released Wednesday, a 10-point increase since last month.

That nears Trump's record unfavorability in the poll, 71 percent, which was logged in May 2015. Since then it's hovered closer to 60 percent and had fallen toward the end of the GOP primary.

Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential candidate, is also viewed unfavorably by a majority of Americans, 55 percent, a new high in the poll for her. Forty-three percent view her favorably.

Those unfavorable numbers come as Clinton secured the final number of delegates to clinch the title of being the presumptive Democratic nominee. Still, national polls asking whom voters will support in November have shown Clinton pulling ahead.

Clinton enjoys higher favorability among members of her party than Trump does his in the ABC poll: 75 percent of Democrats view Clinton favorably, while just 65 percent of Republicans view Trump favorably.

Independents, which both candidates will need to secure, are also tepid on both: 68 percent hold unfavorable views of Trump and 63 percent hold unfavorable views of Clinton.

COMMENT:  I have never seen a situation where both major presidential candidates were so intensively disliked.  It is serious, not funny.  We are talking about the future of our country, and neither candidate could get through a vote of confidence if this were a parliamentary democracy, like Britain.

I've always favored the two-party system, and discouraged the notion of a third party.  This year is an exception.  We need a third choice, a wise man or woman who doesn't enter the general-election campaign with more baggage than American Airlines.  But I'm afraid, this late in the race, that a third choice will probably be a fantasy.

We are in political trouble.

June 15,  2016     Permalink