CNN Debate Moderator Was Once Member Of Clinton Global Initiative…
Reminder. Tonight's debate being moderated by someone who was a member of Clinton Foundation Global Initiative
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Clinton character and competence up for discussion now
"When Clinton was secretary of state, she had the option of using a secure government email account. Instead, she opted for a personal account handled by a private server — one, the AP says, that was vulnerable to "low-skilled intruders."
"This much-discussed email setup, the AP reported Tuesday, "appeared to allow users to connect openly over the Internet to control it remotely."
Email Scandal: A Cancer On Clinton Candidacy…
Obama's playbook on how to beat Hillary Clinton . . . " How did the Obama team turn it around? The conventional wisdom is that he inspired voters with an uplifting message and out-organized Clinton in Iowa and elsewhere. And while it’s true that Obama had a superior organization and an optimistic message, the real beginning of the end for Hillary Clinton was when Obama attacked her greatest vulnerability: her character." . . .
"Hillary learned a lot of lessons from the 2007-2008 battle with Obama. In fact, one of the first decisions she made this time around was to hire Joel Benenson, the pollster who helped write the memo on how to beat her."
Hillary and the other guys debate tonight
Will Sanders Go Negative on Clinton?
How Will Clinton Respond?
Will There Be Fireworks from Martin O’Malley and the Other Second-Tier Candidates?
E-mails? What E-mails?
He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named
. . . "And looming over all is the specter of a possible Joe Biden campaign, which would fundamentally transform the race in ways no one can accurately predict."
All the above discussed in this NRO article
Why Hillary Can’t Lose the Debate . . . "But the precipitous decline in her fortunes and the rise of Sanders puts her in a position where any slip-up on her part is going to be magnified into a major disaster. Similarly, the expectations for her competitors are so low that if any one of them stand out and give a particularly strong performance when compared to Clinton, it will be viewed as a fatal sign of weakness just at the moment when that is the last thing she needs."
Why Hillary Can’t Lose the Debate . . . "But the precipitous decline in her fortunes and the rise of Sanders puts her in a position where any slip-up on her part is going to be magnified into a major disaster. Similarly, the expectations for her competitors are so low that if any one of them stand out and give a particularly strong performance when compared to Clinton, it will be viewed as a fatal sign of weakness just at the moment when that is the last thing she needs."
CNN to Help Democrats Avoid Actual Debate . . . "In other words, CNN will make the Republicans wrestle in the mud with the narcissist Donald Trump while helping Democrats look like “serious people.” After all, that motley crew will need all the help they can get."
Helping CNN for Tuesday’s Democratic Candidate Debate
. . . "I think we should help out CNN and come up with a few questions of our own for the candidates, since they’re probably not going to attack each other in any meaningful way. (I’ll take Chris Cillizza’s word for it.) With Donald Trump not in attendance, this could be a monumental snore. (No wonder they cut an hour.) Someone has to come to the aid of the network with some interesting questions.
"Here are some possibilities. Feel free to add others." Below are brief excerpts:
"Here are some possibilities. Feel free to add others." Below are brief excerpts:
“Governor O’Malley, you apologized for saying ‘All lives matter.’ Are you an abject coward or just an idiot?”
“For the group, the Republicans have two Latino candidates, one black and one woman. Other than one woman, the Democrats have four older white males with one yet more elderly white male waiting in the wings. Please explain the lack of diversity in your party or is ’white skin privilege’ just a bunch of baloney?”
“Mr. Chafee, do I know you? You look vaguely familiar. You’re not my old insurance broker, are you?”
This dithering president, hoping to leave his mess to his successor
Putin Bombs Syria, As Obama Saddles My Little Pony "Rivalry: When told Russia's Vladimir Putin was challenging his leadership, President Obama's first response was to say that his "definition of leadership would be leading on climate change." We're not making this up.
. . .
But it's no accident that he mentioned climate change first. He has said before that there is no "greater threat to future generations than climate change.""The nation should be quaking that it has a president who would say — and maybe even believe — something so shallow and trend-driven. While the Islamic State continues to steal, kill and destroy, and Putin is seizing land and bombing his way to becoming the world's strong man, our president wants to saddle My Little Pony.
"In the midst of this presidential flailing, a couple of big hitters in the science world are hoping to straighten out the crooked thinking on global warming.
. . .
"Our country should be concerned that its president would rather chase an enemy that doesn't exist than confront the hard realities of the Middle East and Islamic terrorism. But he is exactly what a lot of voters asked for. Maybe they are where the madness lies." Emphasis added, TD
Redskins, Redskins, Redskins, Redskins
Don’t Ban ‘Redskins’—Sports Should Stay Politically Incorrect
"Sports is a realm where political correctness doesn't apply, but lawmakers don't get it and have banned the term 'Redskins' from California public schools."
. . . "Despite the competitive nature of sports being completely at odds with political correctness, lawmakers love to try to impose such PC principles on teams. This week, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law a measure that will ban public schools from naming their teams “Redskins.” The new law will require four public schools in the Golden State to begin phasing out athletic apparel and mascots bearing the name, which many have decried as a racial slur that is offensive to Native Americans.
"While it’s nice that Brown is trying to placate the concerns of the word police, he seems to be pretty out of touch from the harsh reality of athletics. There are winners and there are losers. If there are hurt feelings, that’s just too bad, because there is no crying in baseball, or any other sport for that matter." . . .
"Sports is a realm where political correctness doesn't apply, but lawmakers don't get it and have banned the term 'Redskins' from California public schools."
"While it’s nice that Brown is trying to placate the concerns of the word police, he seems to be pretty out of touch from the harsh reality of athletics. There are winners and there are losers. If there are hurt feelings, that’s just too bad, because there is no crying in baseball, or any other sport for that matter." . . .
The foreign policy of the ever-confidant sounding Inspector Clouseau*
‘That Giant Sucking Sound…’ ... isn't jobs being whisked away to Mexico. It's Putin eating Obama's lunch.
. . . "The answer is: he has taken the measure of his principal potential adversaries — the U.S. and Britain — and has found them wanting. Putin, a former KGB officer (and there is no such thing as a “former” KGB officer), was raised in the era and ethos of great-power politics and loves playing the old Great Game, even against pathetic opponents like Obama and David Cameron. It’s like stealing candy from a baby, but the opportunity to humiliate men without chests and gain some measure of revenge for the past is just too good to pass up. Plus, you get to keep the candy." . . .
. . . "The answer is: he has taken the measure of his principal potential adversaries — the U.S. and Britain — and has found them wanting. Putin, a former KGB officer (and there is no such thing as a “former” KGB officer), was raised in the era and ethos of great-power politics and loves playing the old Great Game, even against pathetic opponents like Obama and David Cameron. It’s like stealing candy from a baby, but the opportunity to humiliate men without chests and gain some measure of revenge for the past is just too good to pass up. Plus, you get to keep the candy." . . .
"Russia’s decisive intervention has left Barack Obama and David Cameron looking weak and confused."Obama Has Given Up . . . "More concerning, however, was his contention that the United States is somehow safer, even as the rest of the globe descends into chaos. What else could he say? Events have escaped his control. The president is at a loss."
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| legalinsurrection *Clouseau, ever confident of his ability no matter what |
Monday, October 12, 2015
The Four Horsemen of a Looming Apocalypse
"They could all be confronted. But by the Obama administration?"
Victor Davis Hanson . . ."Our ability to meet these four threats depends on three factors. First, checking the four horsemen will require all U.S. military capabilities — nuclear deterrence, anti-ballistic missiles, traditional sea power, heavy traditional infantry and armor, special and counter-insurgency forces, and tactical and strategic air power. Cutting any of them at this juncture is madness.
"Second, all the threats are distinct but also opportunistic and interrelated. A phony red line, an empty step-over line, a serially repeated deadline against any one threat only encourages the other three to become bolder. In contrast, firmness against one aggression lessens the likelihood that there will be further aggrandizement elsewhere. Right now we are caught in a perfect storm of defense cuts, huge new borrowing, phony red lines, appeasement in the P5+1 negotiations in Vienna, the Libyan mess, the stupid Iraq pullout, the quagmire in Afghanistan, and comical resets and pivots. ISIS watches how we deal with Putin, who studies our past red line with Syria, which is watching the nonproliferation talks with Iran.
"Finally, all four have mortal enemies that are as worried about them as we are. Most Central and Eastern Europeans fear Putin more than we do. Our Pacific allies, terrified by China’s crude aggression, aren’t worried about an overbearing United States; rather, they desperately want U.S. leadership. A once-unthinkable alliance has emerged between Israel and moderate Sunni states in their complex opposition to both Iran and ISIS. Forming coalitions in any of these regions would be far easier than it was in the past to find friends who would go into Afghanistan or Iraq.
"If this administration is not careful, by next year it may find ISIS at the gates of Baghdad, Russian forces massing on the border of Estonia, Japan and China shooting at each other over disputed air and sea space, and Iran stockpiling its growing enriched-uranium supplies for a not too distant multi-bomb nuclear rollout.
"We think the world is growing tense; in fact, it is only the calm before the storm."
Obama's Foreign Policy: giving away what took decades to build
Krauthammer’s Take: Robert Gates Delivered ‘Absolutely Devastating’ Takedown of Obama’s Foreign Policy (Video at the link) . . . KRAUTHAMMER: “—And in a way that’s utterly mocking. The sentence you read about Putin’s move is old-fashioned, great power politics — is followed by a parenthetical that says, “which still exists in the 21st century.” That is to mock a president who believes that when the calendar turned on January 2000, that was the abolition of 5,000 years of power politics. And as he said at the U.N., the control of territory no longer is a measure of power in this century. This is a man truly living in a make-believe world and they wanted to emphasize that. And the fact that one of those who wrote this, as you say, had served Obama himself as defense secretary for more than one term, is absolutely devastating. When they talk about the vacuum created, Obama doesn’t recognize the entire idea of a vacuum, that bad guys or geopolitical adversaries like the Russians and the Iranians will come in, and have come in as a result of the evacuation by Obama of Iraq, and essentially as you said, giving up on Syria entirely. There’s been no Syria policy. At most when Obama began the bombing campaign, the objective, even though he pretended it was to destroy ISIS, was to hold the line in Iraq so Baghdad wouldn’t fall. And it’s Iran that’s going to ensure that, not the United States. And to do nothing in Syria. Which is what is going on now. Here’s the tragedy. I think that Condi and Bob Gates are correct that we should and could be doing a no fly zone and protect a zone as we did the Kurds in Iraq for a decade when Saddam was in power. The problem is, because Obama has delayed on everything, it could be too late. The Russians now control Syrian air space. American pilots are instructed to retire if they encounter the Russians, the Russians don’t have the same orders. So we cannot establish that kind of zone, because we will have to engage the Russians and Obama will never do that.” . . .
"Once upon a time, or more precisely September 10, 2014, President Barack Obama spoke of the core principle of his presidency, to “degrade and ultimately destroy” the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS). Today, the core has become somewhat miniscule as the U.S., conscious of its failures in Syria as in other Middle East countries, intends to reduce its role and to carry out a more modest policy." . . .
(Video) As Putin Gains Power in Middle East, Obama Touts "Leadership" on Climate Change "Over the weekend President Obama sat down for an interview with 60 Minutes, where he addressed a variety of issues about his foreign and domestic policies. When asked about the increasing chaos in the Middle East, with Russian President [Vladimir] Putin invading Syria and bombing rebel forces the U.S. has been supporting, Obama downplayed the need for leadership in the region and instead pivoted to his "leadership" on climate change. Obama also argued Putin's decision to send troops into Syria wasn't based on strength or a power grab, but instead is a result of a broader failed strategy."
“My definition of leadership would be leading on #climatechange an int’l accord that potentially we'll get in Paris.” -@POTUS #60minutes
""And not only to America: Russia’s attempts to reclaim its empire spread conflict and misery, prolong war, destabilize the postwar alliance system that has brought security and prosperity to the world, and erode Western values such as freedom, equality, and individualism. Though Russia may no longer espouse global Communist revolution, the consequences of its militarism and aggression are not limited to a small geographic area. The Comintern is gone. But the goals of dominating the Eurasian heartland, Finlandizing Europe, and isolating and challenging the United States have returned. The stronger Putin becomes, the more despotic, poorer, and more corrupt is the world." . . .
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Democrats moving left faster than Republicans moving right
Legal Insurrection
"American Interest provides a helpful summary of the authors’ argument:
"As the more liberal Democrat party loses its moderate-held state seats to Republicans, the political polarization that the authors claim both causes and is the cause of income equality results in more Republican state legislatures that will not pursue the redistribution that the authors seem to assume is the only way to address income inequality." . . .
"American Interest provides a helpful summary of the authors’ argument:
The study’s overall argument is that income inequality has increased political polarization at the state level since the 1990s. But the authors find that that this happens more by moving state Democratic parties to the left than by moving state Republican parties to the right. As the Democratic Party lost power at the state level over the past 15 years, it also effectively shed its moderate wing. Centrist Democrats have increasingly lost seats to Republicans, “resulting in a more liberal Democratic party” overall. The authors find that the ideological median of Republican legislators has shifted much less.
"As the more liberal Democrat party loses its moderate-held state seats to Republicans, the political polarization that the authors claim both causes and is the cause of income equality results in more Republican state legislatures that will not pursue the redistribution that the authors seem to assume is the only way to address income inequality." . . .
Hillary 5.0...so far.
Hillary Re-Re-Re-Re-Rebooted
‘This is a new, contrite Hillary Clinton,” said Cecilia Vega of ABC News. She was reporting on Clinton’s decision, in early September, finally to apologize for using a private email server while secretary of state. The disclosure of the unusual arrangement, uncovered during a congressional inquiry into the Benghazi terrorist attack, has dogged Clinton for months, as she has dismissed allegations of wrongdoing, played down the FBI investigation into whether the server compromised national security, and struggled against the perception that she is dishonest, secretive, and untrustworthy.
"It’s a losing battle. By the end of summer vacation, Clinton’s poll numbers had become so worrisome, and the threat of Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden so real, that her top aides ran to the New York Times to reassure donors and Democratic elites that a change in strategy was coming. “Clinton Aides Set New Focus for Campaign,” read the September 8 headline. The subhead promised “A More Personal Tone of Humor and Heart.” Clinton delivered her apology to ABC News the same day—24 hours after refusing to apologize to the Associated Press.
"For Hillary to suggest that only now, in the midst of her second campaign for the White House, will she reveal her “humor” and “heart” is worse than absurd. It’s offensive. What else is she hiding? Feelings of modesty? An unpublished novel? A proficiency with the bassoon?". . .
. . . Hence the new, new, contrite Hillary Clinton that stalks the land as I write these words—though knowing Hillary, she may well have re-launched her political identity yet again by the time you finish this column.
Here Hillary gets close to her people
Sane People Would Build More Reservoirs
The term "sane people" is racist and sexist. TD
RedState
"Planet Earth is usually self-correcting and adjusting. Often cities, as heat islands, get really warm and then cause thunderstorms that cool them down. California has been in a drought situation and the Northeast got slammed with a blizzard last year — a blizzard with so much snow that in June one collected snow pile still existed.
"Now it appears California is in for a massive, continual rain storm and the Northeast is going to be pretty dry.
"Digging into that Los Angeles Times story, there is this bit:
RedState
"Planet Earth is usually self-correcting and adjusting. Often cities, as heat islands, get really warm and then cause thunderstorms that cool them down. California has been in a drought situation and the Northeast got slammed with a blizzard last year — a blizzard with so much snow that in June one collected snow pile still existed.
"Now it appears California is in for a massive, continual rain storm and the Northeast is going to be pretty dry.
The last record El Niño that ended in 1998 was quickly followed by the arrival of El Niño’s dry sister, La Niña."Now, reading that and knowing just how dry California has been, I would think sane people would start building some new reservoirs to collect all the rain they are going to get. For perspective, from the article about the last El Niño:" . . .
“Thinking ahead one year, could we be whiplashed from deluge back to drought again?” Patzert said. “Because remember, La Niña is the diva of drought.”
Patzert said that in the last 140 years in California, seven out of every 10 years are dry, so it would be foolish to declare an end to water conservation during this winter’s rains.
Goodbye Columbus; Hello Leftist Indigenous People's Day
Independent Sentinel
"Happy Indigenous Peoples’ Day all you comrades out there! CBS NEWS announced that more cities are “recognizing Native Americans on Columbus Day” to celebrate the contributions of indigenous cultures.
"This is part of the leftist populist movement to recognize Native Americans, fake indigenous peoples’ and to change our culture. The movement is to take us out of traditional America and into the hand-wringing world of the dreary left.
"The Italians are forgotten in all this.
"Nine cities – nine leftist cities – recognize Indigenous Peoples Day and hope to “nudge” us into the moaning, groaning world of the dreary left.
"Albuquerque, Portland, Oregon, St. Paul, Minnesota, and Olympia, Washington, Minneapolis, Seattle and others now recognize the day.
"CBS tried to say it was driven by Native Americans but it’s driven by leftists, some of whom are Native Americans.
"The celebrants say it is the start of something “greater” and that it is.
"If it were only to honor Native Americans, who could object? We do honor them and the sacrifices they’ve made and the tribulations they were made to suffer.
"Columbus Day honors the Europeans who came here and struggled quietly to build a new and great country. Indigenous Peoples’ Day rejects what is good about our past and our history." . . .
"Happy Indigenous Peoples’ Day all you comrades out there! CBS NEWS announced that more cities are “recognizing Native Americans on Columbus Day” to celebrate the contributions of indigenous cultures.
"This is part of the leftist populist movement to recognize Native Americans, fake indigenous peoples’ and to change our culture. The movement is to take us out of traditional America and into the hand-wringing world of the dreary left.
"The Italians are forgotten in all this.
"Nine cities – nine leftist cities – recognize Indigenous Peoples Day and hope to “nudge” us into the moaning, groaning world of the dreary left."Albuquerque, Portland, Oregon, St. Paul, Minnesota, and Olympia, Washington, Minneapolis, Seattle and others now recognize the day.
"CBS tried to say it was driven by Native Americans but it’s driven by leftists, some of whom are Native Americans.
"The celebrants say it is the start of something “greater” and that it is.
"If it were only to honor Native Americans, who could object? We do honor them and the sacrifices they’ve made and the tribulations they were made to suffer.
"Columbus Day honors the Europeans who came here and struggled quietly to build a new and great country. Indigenous Peoples’ Day rejects what is good about our past and our history." . . .
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