Hillary Clinton is under fire over a book about the Clinton Foundation donors and the Clintons speaking fees that hasn’t even come out yet.  The author appears to be right of center and we see unfavorable things about the Clintons all the time.  What’s different in this case is the play the book’s allegations are getting in the liberal press.  The New York Times and the Washington Post among others have run highly damaging pieces on the money trail covered by the book and posing difficult questions for her campaign.  These outlets would normally ignore or underplay a “conservative” authored book damaging to Democratic Party icons.  What gives?  Just good and fair journalism?  Maybe, but what if this is part of a well thought out plan.  We can almost see eyes rolling, another conspiracy theory.  We normally would be right with you, but bear with us.  Something else may be going on here.

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Like most people, we took the News of the Justice Dept. on Ferguson Mo. to have two findings: I. The officer involved in the shooting that originally brought the Justice Dept.(DOJ) to town was totally exonerated and 2. The Town was a cesspool of racism.  We took solace in some justice for the officer even as we realize his life is probably ruined and people in power were shown to be the owrst kind of  raciists.  After all even people on the right expressed their disapproval of the City Government and police Dept.  We probably wouldn’t have ever questioned the second finding if we hadn’t finally read a Washington Post article we had saved,  “The 12 Key Highlights from the DOJ’s Scathing Ferguson Report ” by Mark Berman and Wesley Lowery March 4.  As we read, it became apparent that the key point of the Report,was that even though the Blacks made up only 67% of the town’s population they accounted for 93% of arrests makes an open and shut case of racism.  It’s been a long time since any of us took statistics but the idea that you should always compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges and and you have to account for variables has stuck with us.  The 67.4% figure came from the 2010 census but the crime figures are from 2012-14.  You might think wouldn’t make a big difference but you would be wrong.

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Many stories of great sailing ship battles contain some reference to somebody telling the losing Admiral that the wind has changed but that leader just stuck to his original plan right into disaster.  We don’t know if any of these are true or maybe we read these in C.S. Forester’s Hornblower Series or was it Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin series but one can easily see how a wind change might offer opportunity and ignoring it bring disaster.  A great wind change has occurred with the collapse of oil prices, but we may be led by an Admiral who refuses to acknowledge it.  Iran and Cuba suddenly want to sit down and talk.  That’s understandable.  Cuba lost it’s Venezuelan oil sugar daddy while Iran mired in wars in Syria, Yemen and Iraq has lost half of it’s financial resources.  They’re scurrying to get their good deals before everyone realizes the change.  A Nelson would instantly recognize the wind change and tact to cut the enemy’s line and annihilate him. Apparently, we aren’t being lead by a Nelson.  At a time when the sanctions on both that had once pinched now threaten to become disabling injuries, our leader acts if nothing has changed and we are negotiating from weakness.  This is nonsense. Continue reading →

The Arab World is in ferment.  Wide swaths given over to war and slaughter.  Terror and bloodshed not only spilling over to other Muslim lands, but to the world at large.  People gunned down in Paris.  What caused these horrors?  When asked about this by Jon Stewart on the “Daily Show”, former President Jimmy Carter came forward with a cause:

“Well, one of the origins for it is the Palestinian problem,” Carter replied. “And this aggravates people who are affiliated in any way with the Arab people who live in the West Bank and Gaza, what they are doing now — what’s being done to them. So I think that’s part of it.”

So the first  reason for the Arab World’s troubles Pres. Carter can think 0f is Israel.  He is joined in blaming  Israel by groups on University Campuses clamoring for those schools endowment funds to divest any Israeli Companies.  Online petitions demand that Bed, Bath & Beyond stop selling Israeli made Soda Stream.  Across Europe, demands that Israel be brought before the World Court.  All these courageous people agree Israel’s power must be diminished and if necessary destroyed or the area’s woes will continue to grow.   This bullying Colossus of 7,896,000 people, covering 8,019 sq. miles, oppresses the Arab People, measured by the Arab League at only 365,674,964, shoe horned into 5,148,048 sq.miles. Continue reading →

New York Sen. Chuck Schmer seems to have donned the mantle of opponent in chief of the Keystone Pipeline.  As such, we think a closer look at his thoughts on the matter is in order.  According to his comments on Face the Nation, Schmer appears to see all projects in terms of the jobs created.  “By most estimates it would create several thousand temporary construction jobs and only 35 permanent jobs,” Schumer said.  It seems the only people valuing this employment are the union members who would fill these jobs.  He didn’t stop there, he added,  “Why create very few jobs with the dirtiest of energy from tar sands when you can create tens of thousands more clean jobs using wind and solar?”  According to Chuck when you do something, you judge it only in terms of a jobs program.  How many people does it employ, rather than it’s actual utility.  This brought to mind an anecdote we read awhile back.  An account from the economics writer Stephen Moore that was printed in the Wall Street Journal in 2009.  Moore stated that he used to visit Milton Friedman and his wife, and together they would dine at a favorite Chinese restaurant: Continue reading →