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JUNE 27,  2016

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:52 P.M. ET:  

TROUBLE IN BALTIMORE – FROM THE BALTIMORE SUN:   The lead Baltimore police detective in the Freddie Gray investigation said she reluctantly read to grand jurors a summary of evidence provided by prosecutors that she believed was misleading, according to police records reviewed by The Baltimore Sun.  Hours later, the grand jurors issued criminal indictments against six police officers in the arrest and death of Gray.   Detective Dawnyell Taylor said in a daily log of case notes on the investigation that a prosecutor handed her a four-page, typed narrative at the courthouse just before she appeared before the grand jury.  "As I read over the narrative it had several things that I found to be inconsistent with our investigation," Taylor wrote, adding: "I thought the statements in the narrative were misquoted."  A very seedy situation.  This is what happens when mob rule dictates "justice."

AH, MORALITY – FROM THE WASHINGTON TIMES:   The Nevada director of the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign reportedly suggested cheating by using double-sided coins to settle ties in the state’s caucuses — and was promoted to a national post.  According to a lengthy post-mortem report by CBS News on the Sanders campaign, Nevada State Director Joan Kato floated the idea of the loaded coins in preparation for the state’s Feb. 20 caucus. The network cited staffers who said they had been told to buy them.  There had been numerous reports that Hillary Clinton eked out an advantage in the Iowa caucuses by winning a statistically anomalous number of coin flips in caucus locations that had finished tied. Some progressives at the time suggested some form of skulduggery.  Mrs. Clinton wound up winning a slight, but clear, victory in the Nevada caucuses, defeating Mr. Sanders by 5 percentage points.  After the Nevada caucuses were over, according to CBS News, Ms. Kato was not let go by the Sanders team, but instead was appointed the Sanders campaign’s national delegate director.  In a Sanders administration he'd presumably be secretary of the Treasury.

SAY WHAT? – FROM THE WASHINGTON TIMES:  Leading climate doomsayer Michael Mann recently downplayed the importance of climate change science, telling Democrats that data and models “increasingly are unnecessary” because the impact is obvious.  “Fundamentally, I’m a climate scientist and have spent much of my career with my head buried in climate-model output and observational climate data trying to tease out the signal of human-caused climate change,” Mr. Mann told the Democratic Platform Drafting Committee at a hearing.  “What is disconcerting to me and so many of my colleagues is that these tools that we’ve spent years developing increasingly are unnecessary because we can see climate change, the impacts of climate change, now, playing out in real time, on our television screens, in the 24-hour news cycle,” he said.  We do?  Where is this proof?  Or is "climate science" failing in its predictions, and so will be declared "obsolete"?  Do you sense a fast hustle?

June 27, 2016       Permalink

VINDICATION – AT 10:52 A.M. ET:   The former Republican governor of Virginia got good news today from the U.S. Supreme Court.  From CNN:

Washington (CNN) The Supreme Court on Monday unanimously threw out the conviction of former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell.

The 8-0 decision leaves open the possibility McDonnell can be retried but his current conviction is vacated.

"Because the jury was not correctly instructed on the meaning of 'official act,' it may have convicted Governor McDonnell for conduct that is not unlawful," Chief Justice John Roberts wrote. "For that reason, we cannot conclude that the errors in the jury instructions were 'harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.' We accordingly vacate Governor McDonnell's convictions."

At issue is what constitutes the scope of "official action" under federal corruption law.

In 2014, McDonnell was convicted of 11 counts by a federal jury that found that he violated the law when he and his wife received money and loans (around $175,000 and a Rolex watch) from Jonnie R. Williams, the CEO of a Virginia based company called Star Scientific. Williams at the time was seeking state support in a bid to get FDA approval for a dietary supplement his company was developing called Antabloc.

The government argued that McDonnell received loans, deluxe shopping trips and golf outings and in return used the power of his office to help Williams's company.

McDonnell -- who attended oral arguments with his wife Maureen -- asked the Supreme Court to reverse his conviction. In 2015, he had been on the verge of reporting to prison for his two-year sentence when the court allowed him to stay out of jail pending his appeal.

McDonnell's lawyers argued that his actions were limited to routine political courtesies and he never put his thumb on a scale by exercising government power on Williams' behalf.

The case centered around the question of what constitutes the scope of an "official action" under federal corruption law -- and at oral arguments several justices searched for the proper line to draw between the regular activities of a politician, and actions that could violate corruption laws.
Public officials, as well as those who appear before them have been carefully watching the case to see the boundaries they face when interacting with constituents, donors and business leaders.

McDonnell's lawyers said that the governor's actions were limited to routine political courtesies such as arranging meetings, asking questions and attending events and that he never exercised any government power on behalf of Williams.

Noel Francisco, a lawyer for McDonnell, argued that the lower courts stretched "corruption laws beyond recognition."

COMMENT:   The case had the earmarks of a political hit on McDonnell.  I do not have independent knowledge of the facts.  We, of course, want to be on guard against corruption.  However, overzealous prosecution of officeholders can destroy the innocent and discourage good men and women from entering public service.

June 27,  2016     Permalink 

THE VULGAR LEFT – AT 9:18 A.M. ET:  I've never seen anything like it.  The left-wing mainstream media has gone nuts over Brexit.  You'd think the Brits had voted to reinstate flogging or build a memorial to Hitler.  CNN this morning, guided by that unbiased journalist, Chris Cuomo (brother of the Dem governor of New York), was clearly off its collective meds.  The sky isn't falling, it has fallen, and we are doomed.  Break out the Zoloft.  From the New York Sun:   

The big danger in respect of Brexit is the backlash the left is trying to foment against Britain’s unambiguous decision for independence from the European Union. It is in the very nature of the European project to disdain democratic decisions. That is precisely one of the factors that animated the voters in the United Kingdom in the first place. If their decision is to prevail, though, it looks like it will be every man and woman to the metaphorical barricades — and constant vigilance...

...What is important to bear in mind is that the decision the British people have just made is not some impulsive whimsy. It is a deep declaration of principle after years of betrayal. We would go so far as to say the decision was inevitable after the failure of the European Constitution to receive ratification. It demands and deserves respect abroad, nowhere more than in an America which long ago made its own exit from Europe. The sooner America’s leadership, in both parties, rallies to welcome the British decision, the better the transition to British independence.

COMMENT:  Absolutely on the button.  Watching CNN this morning was a revolting experience.  The "experts" came close to calling those who voted for Brexit ignoramuses, bigots, and fascists.  Who are these people who vote their conscience? 

And Boris Johnson, who may soon be prime minister, was called the British Donald Trump.  No mention that he was a successful mayor of London.  Why dote on trivia?

What passes for our free press may destroy us.

June 27, 2016       Permalink

WARNING!  TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY – AT 8:52 A.M. ET:  This is presented as a public service.  We don't want you to be needlessly embarrassed by insensitive, bigoted behavior.  Take notes please.  From the Daily Caller: 

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill issued a guide this week which instructs students that Christmas vacations and telling a woman “I love your shoes!” are “microagressions.”

The taxpayer-funded guide — entitled “Career corner: Understanding microaggressions” — also identifies golf outings and the words “boyfriend” and “girlfriend” as microagressions.

The UNC Chapel Hill guide, published on Thursday, covers a wide range of menacing microaggressions — which are everyday words that radical leftists have decided to be angry or frustrated about.

Christmas vacations are a microagression, the public university pontificates, because “academic calendars and encouraged vacations” which “are organized around major religious observances” centralize “the Christian faith” and diminish “non-Christian spiritual rituals and observances.”...

...The microagression of liking shoes occurs when someone says “I love your shoes!” “to a woman in leadership during a Q & A after a speech.” So it’s a very specific microagression. The problem, the University of North Carolina document declares, is that the shoe admirer values appearances “more than” “intellectual contributions.”

Similarly, the public school pronounces, interrupting any woman who is speaking is a microagression.

COMMENT:  I don't want to see any reports of Urgent Agenda readers engaged in those crimes.  We have ways of dealing with readers who embarrass us. 

June 27, 2016     Permalink

JUNE 26,  2016

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

ANTI-CONSERVATIVE BIGOTRY REIGNS AT COLLEGES – FROM THE COLLEGE FIX:   A court-certified expert on extremism who once worked as an attorney for the Southern Poverty Law Center before becoming a criminology professor has a powerful message for academia: If it really supports diversity, let conservative students and speakers have their say on campus.  “We can’t just give lip service to diversity of ideas,” Professor Brian Levin said in a recent telephone interview with The College Fix. “The academia has to realize that there are people of goodwill on both sides, and they have an obligation to respect the entire spectrum of viewpoints.”  Perfectly sensible, but sensibility isn't high on the college agenda these days.

INCREDIBLE – FROM BREITBART:  Under the Obama administration’s expansive interpretation of executive authority, legal immigrants seeking citizenship through the nation’s Naturalization process are now exempt from a key part of the Oath of Allegiance.  Immigrants seeking to become citizens no longer have to pledge to “bear arms on behalf of the United States.” They can opt out of that part of the Oath. Nor do they have to cite any specific religious belief that forbids them to perform military service.  According to the Naturalization Fact Sheet on the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) website, In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2015, the nation welcomed 729,995 Legal Permanent Residents into full citizenship.  What a farce.  Obama pledged to fundamentally change America, and he's trying his best to make us a left-wing, essentially socialist country.  I think he will fail.  But it will take a mighty effort on our side to guarantee that failure.

DONALD, STOP IT! – FROM CBS:    Donald Trump is firing back at "overrated" conservative columnist George Will, days after the Washington Post writer said he left the Republican Party because of its presumptive GOP nominee.  Trump tweeted out his attack of Will early Sunday, saying the Pulitzer Prize-winning commentator had "lost his way long ago."  Will, also a Fox News contributor, told right-leaning PJ Media on Friday that he had become an "unaffiliated voter" in Maryland because of Trump's influence on the GOP. He urged Republicans to "make sure he loses" and that the better option would be to "grit their teeth for four years" of Hillary Clinton before being able to take back the White House.  Bad response by Trump.  Once again he took the bait and took the low road, viciously attacking Will.  He should have been magnanimous, saying he respected Will, was disappointed in Will's action, and hoped that Will would carefully examine the Trump campaign's program in coming weeks.  Trump must restrain his darker instincts and work to become a class act, which is what people expect in a president. 

June 26, 2016       Permalink

OH DEAR, A BIT OF BOTHER – AT 12:33 P.M. ET:  You've seen all the yapping about a Big Petition in Britain to have the Brexit referendum rerun.  Uh, it turns out there's a little detail that's being missed.  From Conservative Treehouse:   

There is a considerable amount of media banter about a petition being submitted to the U.K. Parliament requesting a second EU Referendum.

The petition is being pushed by disgruntled left-wing activists who voted to “REMAIN” in the European Union and lost the original referendum by over 1.3 million votes to the larger majority who wanted to LEAVE.

However, enterprising internet researchers have discovered most of the actual signatures for the second referendum are from people who do not live in the United Kingdom.

When the petition reached 1,194,001 signatures, 840,013 (70%) of those signatures were from outside the United Kingdom.  And only 353,988 (30%) were actually valid signatures within the UK.

Tens of thousands of the signatures are from France, Spain, USA, Australia and Germany as well as 207 other countries. 

COMMENT:  Those asking for a second referendum may be looking for trouble.  I would guess that a second vote might well produce even higher numbers for LEAVE.  People get angry when their elections are tampered with.  And the Brits, when they want to, can get very tough.  Recall 1940.

June 26, 2016       Permalink

BREXIT – THE TRAUMA CONTINUES – QUOTE OF THE DAY – AT 12:18 P.M. ET:  You'd think the Earth was breaking apart.  The various establishments, and the bratty youth, are going crazy.  How dare voters not take the advice of people in custom-made suits?  Michael Goodwin, at the New York Post, calls this a true revolution, in our quote of the day:

As the Brexit results poured in, I caught myself humming a tune from Broadway’s “Hamilton.” The song follows the decisive Battle of Yorktown in 1781, after which the Redcoats surrender and America is free. It’s called a drinking song, and there’s not much to it except these words: “The world turned upside down.”

It certainly has. The world is also coming full circle because now it’s the Brits who are free. It took them a while, but they finally had their own Tea Party and their own revolution.

I salute them for their courage. And I raise a glass to freedom (that’s “Hamilton,” too).

Revolutions are a leap into the unknown and require the right mix of outrage, determination and leadership. They are testament to the ethos of an entire country and culture when they succeed without a shot being fired.

That’s the beauty of Brexit, and of grand old England. The people spoke, they were heard, and the wheel of history is turning. Let’s get on with it.

It took a revolution because the leaders of both of Britain’s major political parties united in opposition to change, with the pooh-bahs and grandees trying to scare voters into sticking with the status quo. Naturally, the establishment media lectured the rubes on what was good for them.

Sound familiar, America?

COMMENT:  Yup, it sounds familiar.  Both are parties are stuck in the mud.  And, ironically, the one candidate to challenge Hillary seriously is more stuck in the mud than she is.  He's an old socialist, who thinks every year is 1917. 

Democracies turn slowly, but, when they turn, they turn decisively.  Our question in America is whether we are ready to turn, after eight years of a cynical, contemptuous administration that has done everything to trash our values and our history.

June 26, 2016       Permalink

THE POLLS ARE CRAZY – AT 11:16 A.M. ET:  New polls are out.  Someone is doing something right, or wrong, or somethin'.  Consider, from NBC:

Democrat Hillary Clinton holds a five-point advantage over Republican Donald Trump after becoming her party's presumptive presidential nominee, according to the latest national NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

Forty-six percent of registered voters back Clinton, versus 41 percent who support Trump - slightly up from Clinton's three-point lead in May, 46 percent to 43 percent.

When the horserace is expanded to four candidates - including Libertarian Gary Johnson and the Green Party's Jill Stein - Clinton gets support from 39 percent of voters, Trump gets 38 percent, Johnson 10 percent and Stein 6 percent.

We're starting to see the impact of small parties in a close election.  Remember that it was Ross Perot who cost President George H.W. Bush re-election in 1992, when Bill Clinton was elected.  And an argument can be made that Ralph Nader may well have cost Al Gore the election in 2000.

From ABC: 

Hillary Clinton surged to a broad advantage against Donald Trump in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll, capitalizing on Trump’s recent campaign missteps. Two-thirds of Americans see him as biased against groups such as women, minorities or Muslims, and a new high, 64 percent, call Trump unqualified to serve as president.

These and other doubts about Trump have produced a sharp 14-point swing in preferences among registered voters, from +2 points for Trump in mid-May, after he clinched the GOP nomination, to +12 points for Clinton now, 51-39 percent. That snaps the race essentially back to where it was in March.

Trump has dramatically improved his campaign in the past week, but we must ask whether it's too late, and whether his newfound self-discipline will last.  I'm not all that optimistic on the latter point.  Trump often seems like one big self-inflicted wound.

From CBS:

Battleground states are called battlegrounds for a reason: They're often close, and 2016 looks like no exception.

Hillary Clinton holds narrow leads over Donald Trump across a number of key states of Florida (up three points, 44 to 41 percent); Colorado (Clinton 40 percent, Trump 39 percent); Wisconsin (Clinton up 41 percent to 36 percent) and North Carolina, which has flipped back and forth between the parties in the last two elections, where it's Clinton 44 percent and Trump 42 percent.

Ah, what could have been.  This could have been an easy Republican year had the party had a sane primary season and nominated any one of a number of fine governors or senators.  I think Marco Rubio would have rolled over Hillary by now, even placing her nomination in jeopardy.  But we have Trump, and he'd better shape up fast.  He can win.  It's up to him.  He's not that far behind.  He has to run a positive, inspiring campaign.  No more personal insults.  No more self-destruction. 

June 26,  2016     Permalink