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MAY 25,  2016

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:58 P.M. ET:

THE MEDIOCRITY FLOWS – FROM THE WEEK:   Students at Oberlin College are asking the school to put academics on the back burner so they can better turn their attention to activism. More than 1,300 students at the Midwestern liberal arts college have now signed a petition asking that the college get rid of any grade below a C for the semester, and some students are requesting alternatives to the standard written midterm examination, such as a conversation with a professor in lieu of an essay.  The students say that between their activism work and their heavy course load, finding success within the usual grading parameters is increasingly difficult. "A lot of us worked alongside community members in Cleveland who were protesting," Megan Bautista, a co-liaison in Oberlin's student government, said, referring to the protests surrounding the shooting death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice by a police officer in 2014. "But we needed to organize on campus as well — it wasn't sustainable to keep driving 40 minutes away. A lot of us started suffering academically."  To keep driving 40 minutes away?  You mean they drive cars?  Run on fossil fuels?  The disgraceful hypocrites.  The climate monsters.  And who's buying those cars?  Probably those obsolete, pre-progressive creatures called moms and dads.  I think this is a bad dream.

TIME TO RETIRE, NANCE – FROM CNS:   House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said at her press briefing on Wednesday that she is “proud” of President Barack Obama who “will again show the power of his moral courage when he visits Hiroshima” on Friday.  The United States military dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug. 6, 1945 and another on Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, 1945.  I have no idea what she means, since Obama has never shown much courage, moral or otherwise.  If she means that Obama will apologize for the use of an awful weapon that ended the most ghastly war in history, then she'd better be prepared for a backlash.  The bomb allowed hundreds of thousands of American boys to survive the war, and millions of Japanese to survive as well. 

A GOOD STEP FORWARD – FROM GIZMODO:   If you live in British Columbia, don’t try to sneak out a quick text while driving just because you don’t see any cops on the road. The RCMP, Canada’s version of the FBI, have started using DLSR cameras attached to massive scopes to spot distracted drivers from as far as three-quarters-of-a-mile away.  We all instinctively know to hide our phones while driving when we see a police car, but that doesn’t make using them any less illegal. (And it’s incredibly dangerous too, by the way.) To catch drivers in the act, traffic services in British Columbia have been using spotting scopes—which feature a distinctive bend to make them more comfortable to use—for years now. Now the police are adding a 24.2-megapixel DSLR to the rig to capture photos of the illegal act.  Good.  Texting while driving is incredibly dangerous, reckless, and irresponsible.  Penalties should be severe, including the permanent loss of license. 

May 25, 2016       Permalink

QUOTE OF THE DAY – AT 11:37 A.M. ET:  As I've noted, I've never seen a presidential year in which there was such dislike of the leading candidates.  David French, of NRO, makes the argument that we need a third choice.  His choice is Mitt Romney, but the same quote can be made about a number of others.  From NRO:

I understand why Mitt wouldn’t want to run. He’s lost twice, running for president is grueling at best, and the vitriol of 2016 makes 2012 look like a gentlemen’s debating club. He would be savaged and vilified by the progressive left and by Trump’s ragged coalition of working-class white voters and Vichy Republicans. He’d be blamed for hurting Trump if Clinton won. For Mitt Romney, there is little upside.

For the nation, however, there is little downside. If either Trump or Clinton win, America loses. A third-party Romney bid would introduce the chance of a different outcome, giving millions of Americans the important option to choose a man of integrity as their president. It’s not just politically important that voters have at least one honest choice, and that parents can tell their children that they stood against the debasement of American politics and the bankruptcy of our national character; it’s culturally critical.

And...

For millions of Americans, the race for the White House is a choice between the two most-disliked, least-honest politicians in the United States. But there’s still time for a better option. No one else is stepping up to risk his political future, Mitt. The country you love needs you now more than ever.

COMMENT:  Well said.  We may not all agree with French's particular choice, but his argument for a third choice is powerful and correct.  I have always believed in the two-party system and, until this year, have never favored third candidates.  As I said, until this year.

May 25, 2016       Permalink

ZAP! – AT 10:48 A.M. ET:  Just in, a new report on Hillary Clinton that could cause her major headaches, treatable only by drugs from the hated pharmaceutical companies.   From AP:

Hillary Clinton disregarded various State Department guidelines for avoiding cybersecurity risks, an internal audit found Wednesday, faulting her and past secretaries of state for weak information management.

The inspector general's 78-page analysis, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, cites "longstanding, systemic weaknesses" related to the agency's communications. These started before Clinton's appointment as secretary of state, but her failures were singled out as more serious.

Despite guidelines to the contrary and never seeking approval, Clinton used mobile devices to conduct official business on her personal email account and private server. She never sought approval from senior information officers, who would have refused the request because of security risks, the audit said.

"By Secretary Clinton's tenure, the department's guidance was considerably more detailed and more sophisticated," it concluded. "Secretary Clinton's cybersecurity practices accordingly must be evaluated in light of these more comprehensive directives."

The review was prompted by the revelations of Clinton's email use, which has affected her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. Nevertheless, the review also encompassed the email and information practices of the last five secretaries.

The report said the department and its secretaries were "slow to recognize and to manage effectively the legal requirements and cybersecurity risks associated with electronic data communications, particularly as those risks pertain to its most senior leadership."

COMMENT:  This is trouble, and, ironically, it will be exploited by Bernie Sanders and his crowd, people not notable for their national-security concerns. 

It will also be exploited by the Trump forces. 

There'll be more to come on this.  It's serious, and it's the first shoe to drop.

May 25, 2016       Permalink

GUIDE TO NEW YORK LIVING – AT 10:18 A.M. ET:  For those of you contemplating a move to our fair city, please understand your rights.  From Daily Caller: 

Individuals living in New York City can choose from a minimum of 31 different gender identities, many of which allow them to fluctuate between some version or combination of male or female identities.

Businesses that don’t respect and accommodate an individual’s chosen gender identity risk incurring six-figure fines under rules implemented by the city’s Commission on Human Rights.

The list of protected gender identities is available online and includes options such as “gender bender,” “two spirit,” “third sex,” “androgynous,” “gender gifted,” and “pangender.” A city official speaking on background confirmed to The Daily Caller that all of the listed identities are protected by the city’s anti-discrimination laws, but said that the list was not exhaustive.

The city does not provide definitions of the various gender identities, but TheDC was able to define several of them from glossaries provided online by the University of Wisconsin and the University of California Berkeley.

Someone who identifies as “genderqueer,” for example, is a “person whose gender identity is neither man nor woman, is between or beyond genders, or is some combination of genders.”

A “gender bender” is someone “who bends, changes, mixes, or combines society’s gender conventions by expressing elements of masculinity and femininity together.”

COMMENT:  You can show respect for people who are "different" without descending into legal chaos and madness.  That's what New York is doing.  That's what many cities under "liberal" management are doing.  And, as usual, those in charge are vindictive, mean-spirited, and favor a larger, totalitarian agenda that they know they dare not reveal...for now. 

The age of Obama.  And we have seven more months of it.

May 25, 2016      Permalink

MAY 24,  2016

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

TRUMP RALLY DISRUPTED – FROM THE L.A. TIMES:   Despite the outbursts of hundreds of protesters who overran barricades outside his rally, Republican Donald Trump told thousands of supporters that he was glad he stopped in New Mexico and he vowed to be back before the general election in November.  Trump's remarks were interrupted repeatedly by protesters, who shouted, held up banners and resisted removal by security officers. Among the messages were banners that read, "Trump is Fascist" and "We've heard enough."  Trump responded with his usual bluster, instructing security to remove the protesters and mocking their actions.  "Go home to mommy," he said.  "How old is this kid?" Trump asked in response to another demonstrator. "Still wearing diapers," he said.  His supporters responded with chants of "Build that wall!"  Outside, a group of protesters rushed the convention center where the rally was being held. Police outfitted in riot gear blocked them as they tried to advance.  Smoke filled the air as others burned T-shirts and items labeled with Trump's catchphrase "Make America Great Again."  We will always recall the elegance of this campaign, on both sides.  They'll never call this the golden age of politics.

NO MORE DEBATES FOR HILLARY –  FROM THE HILL:  Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton is declining to debate rival Bernie Sanders in California ahead of the state’s June 7 primary.  “We have declined Fox News’s invitation to participate in a debate in California,” Clinton’s communications director, Jennifer Palmieri, said in a statement. “As we have said previously, we plan to compete hard in the remaining primary states, particularly California, while turning our attention to the threat a Donald Trump presidency poses.”  “We believe that Hillary Clinton’s time is best spent campaigning and meeting directly with voters across California and preparing for a general election campaign that will ensure the White House remains in Democratic hands,” she continued.  The Vermont senator had been pushing Clinton to debate before the June 7 primary. California offers 475 pledged Democratic delegates, the largest prize of any state. Sanders will attack Clinton for her decision, but it's probably correct.  She can't gain anything from a debate.  She's too well known.  She can only lose, especially if she makes an error.  June 7th is two weeks from today. 

SHEER CORRUPTION – FROM MEDIAITE:   NPR backtracked its claims last week that it never cancelled interviews on the Iran Deal with Republican Congressman Mike Pompeo after staffers for the Kansas congressman produced emails proving that it had happened.  An Associated Press story Friday reported that NPR accepted $100,000 from a a White House-allied pro-Iran deal organization called the Ploughshares Fund in order to fund “national security reporting that emphasizes the themes of U.S. nuclear weapons policy and budgets [and] Iran’s nuclear program…” Ostensibly, NPR policy did not allow that grant to slant coverage, but the arrangement received renewed scrutiny after Obama national security advisor Ben Rhodes named the organization as one of the tools the administration used to echo their talking points.  Absolute shame.  The fact that there's no uproar in journalism over this collusion indicates just how low the news business has sunk.  There is really no shame left. 

May 24, 2016       Permalink

A PUBLIC SERVANT? – AT 9:56 A.M. ET:   You cannot possibly make this up.  Is this man a public servant?  From Fox:

Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald on Monday compared the length of time veterans wait to receive health care at the VA to the length of time people wait for rides at Disneyland, and said his agency shouldn't use wait times as a measure of success because Disney doesn't either.

"When you got to Disney, do they measure the number of hours you wait in line? Or what's important? What's important is, what's your satisfaction with the experience?" McDonald said Monday during a Christian Science Monitor breakfast with reporters. "And what I would like to move to, eventually, is that kind of measure."

McDonald's comments angered House Speaker Paul Ryan, who tweeted out Monday afternoon, "This is not make-believe, Mr. Secretary. Veterans have died waiting in those lines."

COMMENT:  It is simply incredible that the VA secretary, who inherited a crisis in VA hospitals, doesn't understand that it's a real crisis.  But his lack of urgency reflects the attitude of the administration, which has never been very high on our armed forces or its veterans.

This man should be discharged immediately, but won't be.  If he insisted on a restroom for women only, he'd be gone in a second.

May 24, 2016       Permalink

ANOTHER POLL CONFIRMS THE TREND – AT 9:28 A.M. ET:  What we're seeing now is one confirming poll after another.  What the polls are telling us is that 1) this presidential race is very close and 2) the American people don't like the choices they're given.  From The Hill: 

Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are disliked by a majority of Americans, according to an NBC News/Survey Monkey poll released Tuesday.

Nearly six in 10 respondents said they either “dislike” or “hate” Clinton, while 63 percent said the same about Trump.

In a hypothetical general election match-up, Clinton leads Trump 47 to 43 percent, a result unchanged from last week.

The former secretary of State also continues to dominate among women, leading Trump by 18 points (54 to 36 percent). She’s also favored by African Americans by an 82-point margin (88 to 6 percent), and leads among Hispanics by 35 points (64 percent to 29 percent).

Still, Trump is winning over a majority of white voters, leading Clinton, 52 to 38 percent.

The online poll of 16,710 people, from May 16 to May 22, has a margin of error of 1 percentage point.

COMMENT:  Those negatives are so staggering that you'd think there'd be many contenders for a third way, a new party or an independent candidate.  It's a steep hill to climb, and raising money would be difficult, but a good third candidacy can shake things up quite a bit this year.  As we've noted before, if a third candidate wins just a handful of states, he or she could make it impossible for anyone to have a majority in the Electoral College, throwing the election into the House of Representatives, which can elect any one of the top three candidates that the Electoral College considered.

Sometimes the people's voice speaks in strange ways, but this year I think the message is clear.  In my lifetime I have never seen such discontent with the presumed nominees.  And I don't think Bernie Sanders would improve things for the Dems should Hillary fall completely apart.  When people find out what he really stands for, and when his mean-spiritedness becomes evident, his negatives would soar.

I was at a meeting yesterday of politically active and knowledgeable people.  I've never seen such despair, and even shock, at what is happening.

May 24, 2016       Permalink

CLINTON ALLY FEELS HEAT – AT 9:08 A.M. ET:  If she is to win the presidency, Hillary Clinton probably needs Virginia.  And her key to Virginia is its governor, Terry McAuliffe, a longtime Clinton ally and fixer.  He could organize the state politically for the Clinton campaign.

Uh, but wait a minute.  McAuliffe suddenly has a problem that seems similar to problems that the Clinton crowd has regularly.  From Fox: 

Federal officials are investigating whether Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe's 2013 campaign accepted illegal campaign contributions, sources familiar with the investigation confirmed Monday to Fox News.

The Democratic governor and Clinton ally is the target of a Justice Department investigation into whether he violated campaign finance laws.

Would that be Barack Obama's Justice Department?  Just askin'.

The probe, first reported by CNN, involves a $120,000 donation from Chinese businessman Wang Wenliang through his U.S. businesses. U.S. election law prohibits foreign nationals to donate to political races.

McAuliffe's attorney, Marc Elias, said in a statement his office was not aware of the investigation, but would cooperate if contacted by federal officials.

"We cannot confirm the CNN report. Neither the Governor nor his former campaign has knowledge of this matter, but as reported, contributions to the campaign from Mr. Wang were completely lawful," Elias said. "The Governor will certainly cooperate with the government if he is contacted about it."

A spokesman for Wang told CNN the businessman holds permanent resident status in the U.S.

Wang also has been a donor to the Clinton foundation, pledging $2 million, CNN reported.

COMMENT:  In the immortal words of the late Gilda Radner, "It's always something."  Where the Clintons go, questions about corruption follow.

If McAuliffe is sidelined or damaged by this probe, it could have a profound effect on Hillary's campaign.  If the race is very close, as expected, it could even cost her the election. 

And, of course, there is also the FBI probe into Hillary herself.  We should be getting some news about that fairly soon.

For Hillary, this was supposed to be a smooth ride.  It's not.

May 24,  2016     Permalink