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I appeared on Silvio Canto Jr's talk show from Dallas yesterday.  It's here.

JUNE 20,  2016

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

TRUMP IN CRISIS – FROM FOX:  Donald Trump said Monday night he's ready to run "a different kind of campaign" while explaining his decision to fire campaign manager Corey Lewandowski earlier in the day.  The presumptive Republican presidential nominee told Fox News' Bill O'Reilly in an interview on "The O'Reilly Factor" that Lewandowski was "a good man" who helped him run a "small, beautiful, well-unified campaign" during the primary season.  "We're going to go a different route," Trump said.  He added that he plans to ramp up campaign operations heading into the general election phase of the campaign, and that he may even have some cabinet picks in place before the Republican National Convention in July.  I'm cautiously encouraged that Trump now realizes he's sinking – that the games have to end, that his campaign cannot continue to be a mom and pop store.  The Republican convention starts July 18th, less than a month from now.  There's a revolt building within the party to deny Trump the nomination.  That revolt will grow if the polls continue to drop.  But if Trump can show real seriousness in the next four weeks, he might head off the backlash against him.

BLUNDER – Attorney-General Loretta Lynch was on a number of talk shows yesterday explaining that the FBI would publish transcripts of the Orlando killer's telephone calls to 911 the night of the massacre, but would redact any references to Islam.  There was an immediate uproar from press and public, and Lynch eventually backed down, publishing full transcripts of some phone calls, with nothing held back.  Lynch wound up looking foolish and embarrassed, and properly so.  The full transcripts confirm the killer's stated devotion to ISIS and the Islamist cause.  The American people deserved to read them.  Maybe there's the start of a recognition that this political correctness that is cursing us cannot go on. 

AND NOW THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE – FROM THE WASHINGTON FREE BEACON:   Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said in a speech Monday that the Orlando terrorist attack demonstrated the urgency of defeating the Islamic State terrorist organization, drawing a clearer connection between radical Islamic terror and the massacre than others in the Obama administration.  The killer of 49 people at a gay nightclub pledged allegiance to ISIS in calls with negotiators and described himself as a soldier of the caliphate.  Second time in a week that a high Obama official seemed to distance himself from the official line, that ISIS (Or ISIL, which Obama prefers) is on the run.  The first dissenter was CIA Director John Brennan.
Now comes Ash Carter.  We've just had a major terrorist attack in the United States.  If there is another, linked to ISIS, it could have a profound impact on the presidential campaign.  There is just so much deceit the American people can take.

June 20, 2016       Permalink

STUNNER – AT 10:29 A.M. ET:  Responding to a decline in his polling numbers and a rising belief that he's a stumblebum of a candidate, Donald Trump is parting ways with his campaign manager.  From Fox: 

Donald Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski is leaving the campaign, just weeks before the Republican convention where Trump is set to claim the GOP presidential nomination.

A Trump senior campaign aide confirmed to Fox News Monday morning that Lewandowski is no longer with the campaign.

It's unclear what specifically led to the shake-up. The high-profile departure of one of Trump's most senior and loyal advisers follows what was widely seen as a rough patch for the campaign.

Trump's polling numbers against presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton have slipped in recent weeks, and Trump has found himself caught up in several controversies over his own comments.

COMMENT:  The key here is whether Trump understands that he's his own worst enemy, or simply blames Corey and continues to do the same thing.

While the Trump campaign is in turmoil, the Hillary campaign is getting better organized each day.  It's about to unleash a major media assault on Trump, seeking to define him during the summer months. 

It's not a good time for Trump.  He's failing.  A revolt against him is building in his own party.  Now...let's find out what kind of leader he really is.

June 20, 2016       Permalink

ABOUT TIME – AT 9:38 A.M. ET:  I was wondering when Hillary Clinton would wake up and act like a presidential nominee, and stop kowtowing to the Sanderistas in her party, who will never be satisfied, no matter what she does.  Apparently, the awakening has begun.  From the Washington Times: 

Progressive leaders are still hoping to force likely Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton to the left, but a party insider said Thursday she’s rapidly losing interest in accommodating any more demands from Sen. Bernard Sanders and his followers.

The insider, who requested anonymity, said the struggles of presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump give Mrs. Clinton far more room to maneuver, leaving her less beholden to the liberal voters who backed Mr. Sanders.

That could leave her on a collision course with progressives, who are still pressing for Mrs. Clinton to drift further toward Mr. Sanders‘ positions on everything from a national $15 minimum wage to stiffer action on climate change.

And...

“I think she will need to find ways to find common cause on policy with Sen. Sanders and his supporters. She is going to need them in November. But she can’t allow them to push her so far to the left that it becomes a liability in November,” said Clinton backer Jim Manley, director of the communications practice at QGA Public Affairs and former spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid.

Indeed, the Democratic Party insider told the Washington Times Mrs. Clinton now is “going home” to her “neoconservative ways” and no longer is interested in chasing the affection of Sanders-supporting liberals.

COMMENT:  I hope that's true.  Clinton has a reputation for being much tougher on national defense than Obama ever was, and national defense is always my first issue. 

I suspect Bill Clinton will play a major political role, and his political advice is worth hearing.  He was elected president in large measure because he moved the Democrats back toward the center from the island of McGovern where they'd gone to live.  It worked.

June 20, 2016       Permalink

SEVEN MONTHS – AT 9:10 A.M. ET:  Barack Obama leaves office seven months from today.  We have every reason to believe that he will leave under a gusher of undisciplined praise from a press corps that worked mightily to put him in office.

Odds are that, unless something very unusual happens, Obama will be succeeded by either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump.  The mainstream media is currently developing the narrative that Trump is unelectable and that Hillary will be made queen.

Obama has been an awful president, and a cynical one.  He reserved virtually all of his truly controversial measures for his last 18 months in office, after he was freed of his obligations to the Democratic Party.  His administration has become increasingly dictatorial, doing by executive order what Obama could not get done by proper Congressional action.

He has violated the most basic understanding of our form of government by presenting the Iran nuclear accord as an executive agreement rather than a treaty, which it clearly is.  As usual, the mainstreamers gave him a pass, not understanding or caring about the profound implications of refusing to allow the United States Senate to vote on an agreement affecting the very lives of tens of millions.

He has weakened national defense and national resolve.  He continues to ridicule those warning of the threat of Islamic radicalism, refusing even to use the term.

Obama's approval ratings are rising.  No one can quite understand why, given the condition of the country, but it may have something to do with the low opinion America has of his potential successors.  Never before have the presumed presidential candidates of both parties had such high disapproval numbers.

So we can look forward to that day, seven months from today, when America is freed from Barack Obama.  But what can we look forward to?  That is the question that is demoralizing the country, and for good reason.

June 20,  2016     Permalink

JUNE 19,  2016

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

SAY IT AIN'T SO, JUSTICE THOMAS – FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER:  Justice Clarence Thomas, a reliable conservative vote on the Supreme Court, is mulling retirement after the presidential election, according to court watchers.  Thomas, appointed by former President George H.W. Bush and approved by the Senate after a bitter confirmation battle, has been considering retirement for a while and never planned to stay until he died, they said. He likes to spend summers in his RV with his wife.  His retirement would have a substantial impact on control of the court.  It would be a disaster, if Hillary is in the White House.  Thomas's replacement would probably be wearing a Che Guevara T-shirt.

HOW PRECIOUS – FROM THE COLLEGE FIX:    The elite Sidwell Friends School, the institution from which Malia Obama just graduated and where the younger Obama, Sasha, is still enrolled, will ban any clothing with “Redskins” on it this coming school year.  Head of School Bryan Garman says the ban came about partly due to “some prodding” by the school student government, but the administration “fully supports” the idea.  “Our student government passed a resolution stating that the mascot of the District’s National Football League team is offensive and antithetical to the values of the community,” Garman writes.  Many surveys show that the great majority of Native Americans do not consider "Redskins" offensive.  But what do they know compared with Washington liberals?

THIS IS RIDICULOUS – FROM REALCLEARPOLITICS:  In an interview with NBC's Chuck Todd, Attorney General Loretta Lynch says that on Monday, the FBI will release edited transcripts of the 911 calls made by the Orlando nightclub shooter to the police during his rampage.  "What we're not going to do is further proclaim this man's pledges of allegiance to terrorist groups, and further his propaganda," Lynch said. "We are not going to hear him make his assertions of allegiance [to the Islamic State]."  That is crazy, but typical of this administration.  Play down the fact that the shooter was an Islamic terrorist.  That's the part that Americans must hear, but it will be suppressed to protect our little ears.

June 19,  2016     Permalink

FACTS ARE SO ANNOYING – AT 12:52 P.M. ET:   Donald Trump recently revoked the campaign press credentials of the Washington Post.  The reactions from the press went from medical shock to fears of Nazism.

Uh, just a sec.  We are reminded that one Barack Hussein Obama Jr. did the same thing, and the sky remained firmly in place.  From American Thinker: 

Joe Concha of Mediaite remembers what happened 8 years ago, and contrasts the media response in the two instances:

The year was 2008. The candidate had a big lead in the polls going into election day. And in a preview of how petulant he would be act as Commander-in-Chief as it pertains to his treatment of the press, Barack Obama decided he didn’t like what three newspapers were writing about him, so he kicked its reporters off his campaign plane.

As Concha points out, the Obama campaign claimed that there simply wasn't enough space, instead of being honest, as Trump has been, about the unfavorable coverage being the root of the matter. Somehow, on the Obama plane there was room for Glamour, Ebony, and Jet, but no room for the Dallas Morning News, New York Post or Washington Times.

COMMENT:  I get so much serious international stuff from Glamour, so I do understand.  All those inside stories of haircuts. 

But the fact is, as Concha points out, that there was virtually no press reaction to Obama's 2008 tantrum.  Only when the Republican slapped the wrist of a journalist was there warning of impending fascism.

There is no bias in the press.  And the Sun did not come out this morning.

June 19, 2016       Permalink 

PRINCELY THOUGHTS – AT 11:55 A.M. ET:  Prince Charles of Britain speaks about the responsibility of immigrants.  Can we allow this?  Should he ever be invited here?   From London's Express: 

The heir to the throne railed against the radicalisation of young British men by Islamist extremists as he launched an impassioned defence of Britain's "Christian" heritage.

Telling British muslims that they should show more respect for "the values we hold dear," the Prince revealed that he was terrified by the influence of radical preachers who spread their teachings on the internet.

In an unprecedented outburst, he said: "The radicalisation of people in Britain is a great worry, and the extent to which this is happening is alarming, particularly in a country like ours where we hold values dear.

"You would think the people who have come here, or are born here, and go to school here, would abide by those values and outlooks."

He added that it was "frightening" that young British Muslims were being radicalised by "crazy stuff on the internet".

The outspoken comments are a further sign that the Prince is not prepared to keep quiet on political causes close to his heart, despite assuming more and more responsibility from the Queen.

They came as he started a six-day tour of the Middle East in his mother's place, during which he has been urged to speak out against the barbaric practises of some Gulf states.

It is understood that the Prince will challenge new Saudi king Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud over the terrible punishment handed down to blogger Raif Badawi when the pair meet face to face this week.

The free-speech champion was sentenced to a thousand lashes and ten years in jail after being convicted of insulting Islam over comments he made on his website which were critical of the autocratic Saudi regime.

COMMENT:  Good for Charlie.  He has more guts than our president.  We in America have a long tradition of immigrants coming here to become Americans.  That, apparently, is out of style in some "sophisticated" circles, and it's time the style changed back.  We have a right to expect that immigrants, including Muslims, live by American social standards.  Prince Charles has stated a good case.  Someone should anonymously send a clipping of his comments to the White House.

June 19, 2016       Permalink

A RARE BIRD SPEAKS – AT 11:21 A.M. ET:  The rare bird is a moderate, rational Democrat.  In this case it is Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, who is giving some sane advice.  From The Hill: 

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) called for the next president to instill a renewed sense of bipartisanship in government so Congress can be more productive and less contentious.

Warner, a supporter of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, laid out his vision for the next administration in a radio interview with John Catsimatidis on "The Cats Roundtable" on New York's AM 970.

“Those first few months of the next president’s administration is gonna be really important to set a new tone,” Warner said. “It’s gotta be bipartisan. It’s gotta recognize that the best policy is made not by the people with the loudest voices on either end of the political spectrum.

“We’ve gotta put some points on the board for our country,” he continued. “And that’s gonna require somebody who’s gonna be willing to compromise.”

Warner added that the next president shouldn’t try to rehash old arguments on which the two parties can’t find middle ground. He also lamented the unpopularity in both parties of reaching across the aisle.

COMMENT:  He speaks wisely.  Clearly, there is a place for partisanship – that's why we have two parties – but there is also an honorable place for compromise and mutual respect.  The art of government, it is often said, is the art of compromise.  President Reagan used to say that if he got 80% of what he wanted in a negotiation, he'd have a very good deal.

Things are more contentious today, and the worst offenders, by far, are the left-wing Berniephiles in the Democratic Party. 

Warner would be a solid, and responsible, choice for vice president on Clinton's ticket.  So would Tim Kaine, his fellow senator from Virginia.  But the nutjobs in the party, having gained power through the Sanders movement, are screaming for Elizabeth Warren, a hater.  They may get her.

June 19,  2016     Permalink