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MAY 13,  2016

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

NEWSWEEK GUSHES – From Newsbusters:   Journalistic love for Barack Obama certainly hasn’t gone away. Newsweek’s Twitter page on Tuesday hyped, “Has there been any president cooler than Obama?” The magazine, which barely publishes these days, features contributions from a website called Quora. That article wondered, “OBAMA, THE FIRST POP CULTURE PRESIDENT?”  The piece is written by Stephanie Vardavas, a 2008 Democratic National Convention delegate. She rhapsodized, “Along comes a youthful, vigorous, brilliant black man, with a lively interest in popular culture (especially sports and music) as well as the serious issues of the day. He gets elected president—twice—which still seems like a miracle to me when I think about it.”  A dead magazine proves there is liberalism after death.  And Obama worship.  And adolescent minds.

A NEW CRISIS – Can America survive?  From Daily Beast:    Hollywood’s perceived gender bias has become a cause célèbre in recent years thanks to Patricia Arquette, Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence, and other powerful women in the industry who have spoken out about the issue.  Now, in a move that brings a new level of seriousness to the issue, the feds are investigating gender discrimination in the industry.  The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced the news on Wednesday, a year after they first urged the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to investigate discrimination against women film and TV directors.  Seven months after the EEOC began interviewing female directors, they’re now conducting the same process with studio executives, showrunners, male directors, agents, and other industry players.
“We are encouraged by the scope of the government’s process and are hopeful that the government will be moving to a more targeted phase,” said Melissa Goodman, director of the LGBT, Gender and Reproductive Justice Project at the ACLU of Southern California, in a statement released Wednesday.  I'm against all discrimination in the industry, but this is frightening.  How do you prove discrimination in an artistic medium?  If you want a film with a black point of view, would you hire a white director?  If you wanted a youthful, hip point of view, would you hire a 70-year-old director?  If you were making a huge action film, wouldn't you hire the best action director, regardless of gender?  It's chilling that the government can intervene in artistic decisions to fill out quotas.  But that is what will happen. 

YOU CANNOT MAKE THIS UP – From Fox:   Particle physics and string theory pose plenty of interesting questions, but educators at Massachusetts Institute of Technology this week wrestled with yet another vexing dilemma: "Is Islamophobia Accelerating Global Warming?"  That was the topic at a Monday panel at the venerable Boston school whose alums include Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, Michael Bloomberg and Charles and David Koch. The presentation, sponsored by the school's Global Studies and Languages Department, looked at “an entanglement of two crises, metaphorically related with one being a source of imagery for the other and both originating in colonial forms of capitalist accumulation,” according to an online advertisement for the event.  Now the world is clearer to me.  Muslims would feel more free if I stopped driving my Honda.

May 13, 2016       Permalink

THE SCANDAL MACHINE LIGHTS UP AGAIN – AT 11:56 A.M. ET:  The Clintons are a gift for which writers and journalists should be eternally grateful.  From the New York Post: 

Bill Clinton’s foundation doled out $2 million to a power company partly owned by a wealthy blond divorcée — who some say is the frequent visitor to his home nicknamed “Energizer.”

The “commitment” to Julie Tauber McMahon’s firm from the Clinton Global Initiative was placed on its 2010 conference agenda at Clinton’s urging, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

The initiative “commits $2 million to support the work of Energy Pioneer Solutions, a company founded to deliver energy savings to communities in rural America,” said a 2010 statement from the charity.

Clinton even went to bat for the company when it came to lobbying for federal funds. He helped steer an $812,000 federal grant to it by endorsing the funds via then-Energy Secretary Steven Chu, the Journal said.

McMahon owns 29 percent of Energy Pioneer Solutions, which was given the money to make people’s homes more energy-efficient.

COMMENT:  I'm sure Energizer is completely serious about delivering energy savings to communities in rural America.  Why, this is public service at its best.  Don't you think?

May 13, 2016       Permalink

IS THIS AMERICA? – AT 9:31 A.M. ET:   In the last year, once his obligations to the Democratic Party were coming to an end, the true Obama has come out.  We have seen the fierce leftist, the racialist, the divider, the man who abuses our allies and comforts our enemies.  The un-American president.

But this takes the prize.  From Fox: 

The Obama administration has sent a letter to every public school district in the country telling them to allow transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms that match their chosen gender identity, as opposed to their birth certificate.

The letter, which is signed by officials at the Justice Department and the Department of Education, was sent out Friday. A copy was posted on the Department of Justice’s website.

While the letter does not have the force of law, it does warn that schools that do not abide by the administration’s interpretation of civil rights law may face lawsuits or loss of federal aid.

"There is no room in our schools for discrimination of any kind, including discrimination against transgender students on the basis of their sex," Attorney General Loretta Lynch said in a statement.

Officials say the letter is meant to clarify expectations of school districts that receive funding from the federal government. Educators have been seeking guidance on how to comply with Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in educational programs and activities that receive federal funding, Education Secretary John B. King said in a statement.

COMMENT:  No matter what side you're on, you have to be concerned about this abuse of power.  The idea that the authors of Title IX, which originally focused on providing equality to women in college athletics, even dreamed of this application of the law is ludicrous. 

There is, of course, no public input permitted.  This is dictatorial government, seeking to impose an ideological solution consistent with the agenda of the hard left.  The public be damned.  Women who innocently walk into restrooms be damned.  This is the way you will live your lives, peasants!

It is frightening.  It is things like this that partially explain the rise of Donald Trump.

May 13, 2016       Permalink

OH, THE INTRIGUE – I LOVE IT! – AT 8:48 A.M. ET:  The former speaker of the House goes public with a notion that usually has only been whispered.  From The Hill: 

Former Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Thursday took shots at Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and said he wouldn't be surprised if Hillary Clinton ends up withdrawing from the presidential race.

Addressing the SALT Conference in Las Vegas, the former Speaker suggested that Democrats might have to turn to Vice President Biden to be their 2016 nominee.

Boehner says he "would not be surprised at all" if Clinton "has to withdraw" and Biden "parachutes in."

Republicans have long speculated that the FBI investigation into Clinton's use of a private email server could result in criminal charges, wounding her candidacy.

COMMENT:  Even if it doesn't result in criminal charges, it could result in findings that Clinton was grossly negligent in her handling of the nation's secrets.  That will help her on the Marxist left, but nowhere else.

It appears the FBI probe is reaching a critical stage, with Clinton's top assistants called to testify.  So far there's no indication she has been called to give answers under oath, but wait.  She might be the last witness.

May 13,  2016     Permalink

MAY 12,  2016

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:53 P.M. ET:

CHICAGO FOLLIES – From Daily Caller:   Under a new set of guidelines rolled out last week by Chicago public schools, children will now be required to address transgender students and employees by their preferred name and pronouns — or face the consequences.  Transgender students and employees can choose their preferred bathroom, locker room, name and pronouns, and everyone else is required to affirm the individual’s new identity, according to the guidelines.  Trangender students and adults in the CPS system can require their peers to adopt gender neutral terminology, such as using the pronoun “ze” instead of the usual “he” or “she"...Students or employees who consciously use the “wrong” pronouns will be in violation of school policies on comprehensive non-discrimination, Title IX and sexual harassment, and student code of conduct.  The stench of fascism is in the air. 

JUST A BIT OF CORRUPTION – From Daily Caller:   A Daily Caller News Foundation investigation reveals that Bill and Hillary Clinton received at least $100 million from autocratic Persian Gulf states and their leaders, potentially undermining Democratic presidential candidate Hillary’s claim she can carry out independent Middle East policies.  As a presidential candidate, the amount of foreign cash the Clintons have amassed from the Persian Gulf states is “simply unprecedented,” says national security analyst Patrick Poole.  “These regimes are buying access. You’ve got the Saudis. You’ve got the Kuwaitis, Oman, Qatar and the UAE. There are massive conflicts of interest. It’s beyond comprehension,” Poole told The DCNF in an interview.  The Clintons are a corrupt political corporation.  Is this the best we can do?

WHO NEEDS ROMANCE?  From London's Mirror:    First dates could become much less stressful and awkward - thanks to a Blade Runner-style emotion detector that can tell if a person has the hots for you.  The pioneering device is inspired by the Voight-Kampff machine featured in Ridley Scott's 1982 sci-fi thriller starring Harrison Ford and Seann Young.  In the film, the polygraph-like interrogation tool is used by police to determine if someone is an android by provoking emotional responses.  The fictional gadget measures blush response, respiration, heart rate and eye movement in response to questions dealing with empathy.  And the new machine bears notable similarities to the emotion detector.  Designed by researchers at Lancaster University, it includes an ear-piece which measures skin and heart rate responses, as well as pupil-dilation measure.  They're taking the fun out of everything.

May 12, 2016       Permalink

THEY ARE TEACHING OUR CHILDREN – AT 8:28 A.M. ET:   This is Harvard, the most influential university in America.  From the Washington Times:

A Harvard law professor has called for liberals to begin treating like Nazis those who subscribe to Christian or conservative beliefs.

In a Friday blog post at Balkinization, Mark Tushnet said conservatives and Christians have lost the culture wars, and now the question is “how to deal with the losers.”

“My own judgment is that taking a hard line (‘You lost, live with it’) is better than trying to accommodate the losers,” he wrote.

“Trying to be nice to the losers didn’t work well after the Civil War, nor after Brown,” Mr. Tushnet wrote, citing the Supreme Court case on segregation. “And taking a hard line seemed to work reasonably well in Germany and Japan after 1945.”

Mr. Tushnet said liberals should stop being so hesitant to advance their agenda through the judiciary, saying a majority of federal judges have been appointed by Democratic presidents, and they need not worry “reversal by the Supreme Court” now that former Associate Justice Antonin Scalia is dead.

COMMENT:  Can you believe that?  I checked that professor's history, and it is a radical one, as you might expect.  But he is teaching students, probably telling them that today's conservatives are the equivalent of the Nazis.  That is madness, and some will believe it.  And some of those will become judges.

May 12, 2016       Permalink 

SUCH RUDENESS, I'M SO UPSET – AT 8: 14 A.M. ET:  Bernie Sanders is really getting rough.  Why, isn't Bernie just your sweet old uncle, worrying about your future?  Uh, not really.  Bernie is a hardened leftist, and he really believes he can defeat Hillary Clinton and turn America into a socialist state.  The latest from his campaign is as rough as anything we've seen on the GOP side, outside of Donald Trump's worst moments.  From the Washington Times:   

Fresh off a big win in the West Virginia primary, Sen. Bernard Sanders‘ campaign said Wednesday the Democratic Party would be courting “disaster” if it nominates Hillary Clinton as its presidential nominee.

In a fundraising email to supporters, Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver cited recent polls showing the Vermont senator performing better against Republican Donald Trump in general election match-ups. Recent surveys have shown Mrs. Clinton virtually tied with Mr. Trump in the key battleground states of Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida.

Citing those troubling figures, Mr. Weaver said the Democratic Party — and its superdelegates who are free to support either candidate — must reject Mrs. Clinton and embrace Mr. Sanders, or face a crushing defeat in November.

“For months, Bernie Sanders has out-polled Hillary Clinton against Donald Trump, and often by extraordinarily large margins. Because we must do everything we can to defeat Trump in November, our mission is to win as many pledged delegates as we can between now and June 14,” when the primary season ends, Mr. Weaver said. “Then we’re going to have a contested convention where the Democratic Party must decide if they want the candidate with the momentum who is best positioned to beat Trump, or if they are willing to roll the dice and court disaster simply to protect the status quo for the political and financial establishment of this country.”

Mr. Weaver also dismissed the notion that his candidate fares better against Mr. Trump only because he hasn’t been under the same white-hot spotlight Mrs. Clinton has faced for years.

COMMENT:  I think the Sanders people mean it, and I think Hillary has taken this challenge much too casually.  She apparently intends to limp across the convention finish line, rather than roar across.  Note that she was defeated by an unknown young senator when she ran for the nomination in 2008. 

It's also apparent that Clinton doesn't realize that the Democratic Party is experiencing the same kind of rebellion that the Republicans are experiencing. 

Sanders isn't a nice guy.  He's a committed ideologist.  Can you imagine who he would appoint to the Supreme Court?  I don't think he'll make it, but, if I were Hillary, still facing an FBI probe, I wouldn't take the chance.  Hillary's fate may well lie in the hands of Barack Obama, who will treat that FBI investigation according to what he thinks is good for him.  And he may decide that Hillary is not good for him.

May 12,  2016     Permalink 

REMARKABLE – AT 8:03 A.M. ET:  We're constantly told how damaging Donald Trump could be to the Republican Party in November.  But, wait a minute.  Is it possible Trump could attract an unusual number of Democratic votes?  From The Hill:

According to exit polls reported by ABC News, about one-third of Democratic primary voters would choose Trump in a general election match-up between him and Clinton. In that survey, 44 percent would choose Clinton, and 21 percent would choose neither candidate.

According to ABC News, about 80 percent of West Virginia Republican voters say they're excited or optimistic about what Trump would do if he were elected president, and 9 in 10 think Trump is likely to beat Clinton in a general election.

In a match-up between Trump and Clinton, about 90 percent of Republican primary voters in West Virginia say they would vote for Trump.

COMMENT:  Trump, who seemed to have a very keen ear to what people across the spectrum are thinking, has predicted that he'll gain Democratic votes among the disaffected workers who believe they've been left behind and ignored.

He could be right.  We had, in 1980, the Reagan Democrats, who thought their party had sold them out and trashed their values.  It seems they're still there in 2016, with the same justifiable anger and the same desire to stick it to the Democratic leadership.

May 12,  2016     Permalink