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SEPTEMBER 24,  2016

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

CAPTURED – A suspect has been captured in last night's mall shooting in Washington state, in which five died.  We'd been told, right after the event, that the wanted suspect was believed to be Hispanic.  It turns out he is not.   He is 20-year-old Arcan Cetin, whose family came from Turkey.  (We shouldn't make assumptions, but it's starting to sound familiar.)  We know that he went to high school in the state of Washington, was known as a loner, and had a run-in with police last year.  We expect to hear more in the coming days, as the investigation proceeds.  Nothing has been ruled out.

DEAD HEAT – FROM ABC:   The race between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump has narrowed to essentially a dead heat nationally in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll, raising the stakes dramatically for the first presidential debate Monday night.  A vast 74 percent of Americans plan to watch the debate. And while eight in 10 say it won’t change their minds, that leaves more than enough to shift the balance in an increasingly closely fought contest, with unprecedented levels of qualms about both major-party candidates...In all, 44 percent of likely voters say they’d vote for Trump if the election were today, numerically his best since spring. Forty-six percent prefer Clinton, unchanged from an ABC/Post poll early this month and virtually unchanged since June. The 2-point gap between them is not significant, given the survey’s margin of sampling error. The race has closed from an 8-point Clinton lead in early August.  We should note that, until this up-to-the-minute poll came out, there seemed to be a trend back to Clinton.  The polling later this week, after the debate, should tell us a great deal, but it may not tell us what will happen six weeks from Tuesday, election day.

HIM, TOO? – FROM BRITAIN'S GUARDIAN:    Ghanaian professors are calling for a statue of Mahatma Gandhi to be removed from their campus because they claim he was racist and considered Indians to be “infinitely superior” to black Africans.  A statue of the Indian independence leader was unveiled at the University of Ghana in June by the Indian president, Pranab Mukherjee, who had delivered a speech calling on students to “emulate and concretise” Gandhi’s ideals.  More than 1,000 people have since signed a petition calling for it to be torn down, saying that not only was Gandhi racist towards black South Africans when he lived there from 1893-1914, but that he campaigned for the maintenance of the caste system in his own country.  “We can do the honourable thing by pulling down the statue,” read the petition, which was delivered to the university council on Thursday. “It is better to stand up for our dignity than to kowtow to the wishes of a burgeoning Eurasian super-power. Some harm has already been done by erecting the statue. We have failed the generation that look up to us, namely our students.”  I mean, really. Wasn't Gandhi supposed to be perfect?  Ain't that what the movie said?  In fact, he was a major-league whackjob, whose ideas probably held India back.  He fought Britain, a modern, civilized nation.  Had he had to fight Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia, he would have been gone in a day.

September 24, 2016       Permalink

I'M JUST SO SHOCKED; MY PILLS PLEASE – AT 12:29 P.M. ET:  There are reports of voter fraud.  I cannot believe this is happening.  From the Washington Times:   

A CBS affiliate’s evidence of voter fraud in Colorado has sparked an immediate investigation by Secretary of State Wayne Williams.

Election sleuthing by Brian Maass of KCNC-TV in Denver exposed multiple instances in recent years where dead Coloradans were still voting. A dead World War II veteran named John Grosso voted in a 2006 primary election, and a woman named Sara Sosa who died in 2009 cast ballots in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. Mrs. Sosa’s husband Miguel died in 2008, but a vote was cast in his name one year later.

“This is the kind of thing you hear rumored, joked about in Chicago, that kind of thing,” Mr. Maass said during a Thursday evening broadcast. “Tonight, that changes. We did find voter fraud in Colorado that essentially waters down your vote.”

At one point Mr. Maass's investigation led him to the Colorado Springs home of Sarilu Sosa-Sanchez, the daughter of Mrs. Sosa. The reporter received the cold shoulder when he asked the homeowner about her mother’s “voting” record.

“Go talk to someone else,” the woman said. “I don’t have to clear anything up. I don’t know what that has to do with me.”

The son of Mr. Grosso, John, was much more willing to talk.

“I think that’s a disgrace,” he told the station. “The man is dead. He can’t vote. Somebody is cheating.”

Administrators with the Secretary of State’s Office said the veteran’s vote may have been the result of an election judge’s error, but the station said that still didn’t explain why “dozens of others were still listed as active voters months and sometimes years after their deaths.”

COMMENT:  Nothing to see, nothing to see.  But when we start hearing that more people voted in an election district than live there, maybe people will start to wake up.  In Chicago they used to say that you met your dear, departed relatives at the polls.  It's not just Chicago.  Go vote and meet Uncle Endicott.

September 24, 2016       Permalink 

BIAS – AT 11:56 A.M. ET:  One of the great stories of this election cycle, but not one you'll see on CNN, is the overwhelming bias of the press, a bias now more and more open.  The candidacy of the highly controversial Donald Trump is giving leftists in the press an opportunity to be more open about their own bigotries.  From Fox: 

It may not be a shock to her viewers, but NBC journalist Andrea Mitchell is not a fan of Donald Trump -- and leaked emails from June apparently show her describing the prospect of Trump getting the Republican nomination as “awful.”

Emails between former Secretary of State Colin Powell and Mitchell from June, and leaked this month by DC Leaks, begin with a fairly standard journalist’s request for comment after former Bush deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage announced he was backing Hillary Clinton for president.

“Armitage now supporting her? Are you going to endorse? Wondering,” Mitchell asks Powell.

Powell brushes off the question and notes that Armitage has been saying this in public for a while. But then in an email chain dated June 17, Mitchell tells Powell that she thinks Republicans need to find a way to avoid nominating Trump.

“I know trump controls the convention rules committee but I keep thinking they have to find a way not to nominate him,” she tells Powell.

Powell responds by telling her he thinks Trump will get the nomination, and notes that Ryan has declared he is sticking with Trump.

“I don't see how. Even Paul Ryan in today's papers says he has problems, but is sticking with him. Trump is his own best critic right now. Be careful not to give him critics he can attack and divert attention. I assume he will get the nomination. Then the game is on,” Powell responded.

Powell’s outlook is not an optimistic one for Mitchell, who then responds: “It is awful,” apparently referring to Trump’s nomination.

COMMENT:  These so-called journalists are destroying what is left of their "profession."  Two problems are that they are 1) proud of what they do and 2) that they know that showing liberal bias will not hold them back in their careers.

September 24, 2016       Permalink

WASHINGTON STATE SHOOTING – AT 11:21 A.M. ET:  There has been another multiple murder, this time in a mall in Washington state.  From CNN:

(CNN) A man carrying a rifle entered a Macy's store at a mall in Washington state, shot dead four women and a man, and vanished into the night, police said.

Authorities believe only one person fired the shots Friday night at Cascade Mall in Burlington, about an hour north of Seattle.

A search is underway for an armed man who headed toward Interstate 5 after the attack, said Sgt. Mark Francis, a spokesman for the Washington State Patrol.

Francis released a blurry surveillance photo of a man described as the suspect. His motive or relationship to the victims, if any, are unclear, he said.

The names of the victims were not immediately released.

Witnesses described chaotic scenes and confusion when the shooting started about 7 p.m. local time
Brandi Montreuil told CNN she was watching a movie at the mall when attendants suddenly told them to leave.

"I didn't know anything," she said. "The theater attendant came in and apologized for stopping the movie and said they were asked to have everyone leave immediately."

COMMENT:  We still don't know much.  The shooter was described as Hispanic, but we don't know the basis of the description.  Did he say something in Spanish?  Did someone recognize him?

The mall is, laughably, a no-gun zone, which may explain how the shooter got away so easily.  He was the only one with a gun.

The fact that four of the five fatalities were female may or may not be significant.  The shooter apparently wound up in the cosmetics department of Macy's.  Was he there intentionally, or was the department near the store's entrance?  Don't know.

We await more facts.  Clearly, we'll be on guard against any cover-up.

September 24,  2016     Permalink

SEPTEMBER 23,  2016

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

OUTRAGEOUS – FROM THE HILL:   Hillary Clinton's Democratic presidential campaign implored debate moderator Lester Holt to hold Donald Trump accountable for untrue statements during Monday's debate, sending reporters 18 pages of debunked claims by the Republican nominee to tar him as a liar.  "Donald Trump has shown a clear pattern of repeating provably false lies hoping nobody will correct him," said Jennifer Palmieri, Clinton's communications director, during a call with reporters on Friday.  "This warrants a particular focus because his level of lying is unprecedented in American politics. He repeatedly and unabashedly fails to tell the truth to voters."  She then called on Holt to pay close attention to Trump's claims during Monday night's debate in New York and not be afraid to push back, arguing that Clinton can't be the only one doing so.  Are they actually suggesting that the moderators take on an active anti-Trump role?  Really?  They'll probably do it anyway, considering who they are, but the suggestion itself is more than nervy.  Besides, people speaking for Hillary Clinton might be better off staying away from the subject of truth. 

PROTECTION – FROM FOX:   Hillary Clinton’s former chief of staff Cheryl Mills and two other staffers were granted immunity as part of the now-closed FBI probe into the former secretary of state’s email practices, according to a top House Republican who questioned whether the numerous deals hindered the bureau’s ability to build a case.  "This is beyond explanation,” House oversight committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said in a statement Friday. “The FBI was handing out immunity agreements like candy. I've lost confidence in this investigation and I question the genuine effort in which it was carried out.”  The arrangements detailed by Chaffetz bring the total number of publicly known immunity deals in the Clinton case to five.  Incredible.  The Clintons corrupt everything they touch.  The FBI is being badly hurt by the impression given that special privileges were granted to the Clinton crowd.  Some members of Congress are openly saying that they've lost some respect for the Bureau.

OUTRAGEOUS – FROM FOX:   Instead of parsing participles, a public high school English teacher has been using her classroom to wage an ugly propaganda campaign against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his supporters.  “Basically, the only people who seem to be safe from this guy are white Christian males,” the teacher said in a classroom discussion recorded by a student. “Am I missing anything? Oh, American – white, Christian, male Americans.”  The unidentified teacher at North Carolina’s Cedar Ridge High School even made students watch speeches delivered by Hitler and had them compare them to speeches that Trump had delivered, outraged parents tell me.  I've seen reports of things like this happening in other schools as well.  The left is in control, and apparently parents have little influence in their "public" schools.

September 23,  2016     Permalink

IS THIS GOOD FOR AMERICA? – AT 11:20 A.M. ET:  China is buying into American movies.  From AFP:   

Beijing (AFP) - Chinese conglomerate Wanda announced plans Friday to invest in movies produced by Sony Pictures under an agreement that moves the company closer to its goal of becoming a major Hollywood player.

Owned by one of the country's richest men, billionaire Wang Jianlin, Wanda is seeking to shift its focus from property to services and entertainment as profits wane in China's real estate sector.

The movie deal, Wanda's first with one of Hollywood's so-called "Big Six" studios, is a major milestone for the conglomerate as it attempts to transform itself into a heavy-hitter in the global entertainment industry.

"The alliance will help strengthen Wanda's power to influence the global film industry, and set a good precedent for Chinese film producers in their international investment," the company said in a statement.

The company added that it would "strive to highlight the China element in the films in which it invests," but did not provide further details.

That's a chilling thought.

Wanda has expanded aggressively overseas, snapping up a string of assets in Europe and the United States in recent years.

In January, the company acquired US production company Legendary Entertainment for $3.5 billion. Wanda's founder Wang also financed the movie "Spotlight" which won the Oscar for best picture this year.

The company has also pursued numerous deals in the international sports arena, including the acquisition of the Iron Man triathlon, but Wang has made it clear he has his sights set on Hollywood.

"He has the whole Hollywood in his mind. Maybe his next step is to work hand-in-hand with all the Big Six," Friday's statement said.

In July, Wanda was reportedly in talks to buy a stake in another "Big Six" US film studio Paramount Pictures.

COMMENT:  Remember when it used to be an American industry?  A pro-American industry?  This kind of power by an industrialist in a hostile nation worries me.  Hollywood is hardly known for courage, and I'm concerned about the possibility of a glorious film biography of Mao.  Young people are watching.

September 23, 2016       Permalink

HILLARY'S SILENCE – AT 10:14 A.M. ET:  If I recall correctly, there's been rioting in Charlotte.  Most Americans have noticed.  One American has not.  From Daily Caller: 

Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton condemned the police shooting of Charlotte resident Keith Lamont Scott, but has yet to comment on the rioting which spread violence throughout the North Carolina city on Tuesday and Wednesday.

A state of emergency has been declared in Charlotte and the National Guard has been deployed after a second night of rioting. Multiple businesses were looted and people were assaulted on Wednesday as rioters upset about Scott’s death poured into downtown Charlotte.

In response to the riot, Trump said at an event, “There is no compassion in tolerating lawless conduct. Crime and violence is an attack on the poor and will never be accepted in a Trump administration, never, ever.”

“The first duty of government is to protect [citizens’] well-being and safety. We have to do that,” Trump added. Besides Trump, Attorney General Loretta Lynch also condemned the rioting during a press conference Wednesday.

On Wednesday, before the night’s violence, Hillary said on Twitter, “Keith Lamont Scott. Terence Crutcher. Too many others. This has got to end.”

She continued on to say, “We have two names to add to a long list of African Americans killed by police officers. It’s unbearable, and it needs to become intolerable.”

Nothing like pre-judging a case.  Did she actually graduate from law school?

But since the Wednesday riot, there’s been radio silence from the Clinton campaign. There have been no comments from her or any of her spokesmen on the violence that ravaged Charlotte.

On Tuesday, Hillary appeared on the Steve Harvey show and urged white Americans to combat “systemic racism.”

“And so maybe I can, by speaking directly to white people, say, look, this is not who we are,” Clinton added.

COMMENT:  Hillary is under the clear influence of the Black Lives Matter movement, and that should worry us sick.  It's a radical, hard-left gang. 

Clinton's refusal to condemn lawlessness and violence is reason enough to deny her the presidency.  The president's first responsibility is to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution, which means the rule of law. 

September 23, 2016         Permalink

HILLARY'S BRAIN – AT 9:51 A.M. ET:  There's renewed concern about Hillary's health, based on some disturbing new video.  From London's Express:

HILLARY Clinton faced growing calls to take a brain test after footage revealed her eyes swiveling in different directions during a campaign speech.

The Democratic nominee has faced demands from both doctors and reporters to take a neurological test to prove she is fit enough for the presidency.

The disturbing new footage has sparked fresh allegations about Mrs Clinton's health.

During a speech in Philadephia earlier this week, the Democrat nominee's eyes suddenly appeared to be working out of sync.

Critics believe the bizarre cross-eyed moment is strong evidence of a hidden neurological issue.

In Monday's speech, footage caught her eyes darting quickly from side to side.

She then later cancelled a fundraising event the following evening, prompting more concern about the presidential candidate's brain health.

Hillary Clinton’s health has quickly become the unwelcome focus of her presidential campaign.

Many have questioned whether the candidate is healthy enough to serve as president.

Mrs Clinton suffered a serious concussion in 2012, after which blood clots were found in her brain.

Her doctor said that following the concussion, she suffered from double vision and headaches.

Since then, speculation had continued to get worse as the candidate began suffering from a series of coughing fits.

She was then forced to leave a 9/11 memorial service this month, before nearly collapsing as she attempted to enter her vehicle.

COMMENT:  I have no medical training and thus make no judgment about Clinton's condition.  However, it does seem to me that Trump can challenge her to take a complete physical examination, including neurological tests, and of course he would do the same.

There should be no questions about a presidential candidate's current readiness to serve.  There are plenty of questions about Hillary Clinton, and each week seems to provide a new episode to give those questions increased urgency,

September 23,  2016     Permalink