Hillary – the worst imaginable successor to Obama

That there has been more controversy around Donald Trump than around Hillary Clinton is further evidence, if more were needed, of the deeply corrupt nature of the media, and the American media in particular. Hillary should go to jail. She illegally used a personal server for her correspondence as Secretary of State because in this way nothing she wrote could be subpoenaed by the American Congress. Instead, every email she sent could be read by governments around the world. Just think of this:

The ex-CIA official said there is “zero ambiguity — none” about the impropriety of SAP-level intelligence being housed on an unsecure private email server. Faddis added that the very existence of that information on her server means that highly classified information must have been moved off of a “completely separate channel” under a process that is “specifically forbidden.” If you had done this while working at the CIA, Hemmer asked, what would’ve happened to you? Faddis’ response: “My career’s over, I lose my clearance, I lose my job, and then I go to prison, probably for a very long time.” Faddis explained that the “consequences are enormous” when information at this level of secrecy is made vulnerable to foreign penetration. “The reason this stuff is in this channel is because it’s going to do incredible damage to US national security if it gets out in the open. That’s why we protect it this way.” When Hemmer inquired whether Hillary’s conduct could have cost lives, Faddis didn’t hesitate. “Absolutely. Without question,” he asserted.

That she protected her husband from harassment charges and highly plausible accusations of rape in order to protect Bill’s presidency and her own political prospects is known to everyone without it becoming the impediment to ought to be. But to go even beyond the personal disgust everyone ought to have in seeing her in public, here is a story from The Oz yesterday reprinted from The Times that ought to disqualify her if we have even an ounce of self-preservation left in our collective veins: Sex scandal dogs Hillary’s ‘surrogate daughter’ Huma Abedin. A big Hillary problem, it seems, in the movie that is being released on Huma’s marriage to former Congressman, Anthony Weiner, who became notorious for exposing himself on the internet. Weiner is a Jew, so the following ought to be more than of passing interest, which comes as a throw-away in paragraph 22:

Abedin’s mother is Pakistani; her late father was Indian. She was born in Michigan but when Abedin was two her family moved to Saudi Arabia, where her father establish­ed a think tank, the Instit­ute of Muslim Minority Affairs. Some alleged the family had connections to figures inside­ the Muslim Brotherhood, which has fuelled conspiracy theor­ies.

They certainly have “alleged” these connections and with good reason. Here’s just one example: Huma Abedin’s Muslim Brotherhood Ties which are a good deal more significant, you would think, than her marriage ties. It is the absence of controversy about her background that needs to be accounted for. From the story, which appeared in National Review:

Huma Abedin’s mother, Saleha, who is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood’s female division (the “Muslim Sisterhood”), is a major figure in not one but two Union for Good components. The first is the International Islamic Council for Dawa and Relief (IICDR). It is banned in Israel for supporting Hamas under the auspices of the Union for Good. Then there’s the International Islamic Committee for Woman and Child (IICWC) — an organization that Dr. Saleha Abedin has long headed. Dr. Abedin’s IICWC describes itself as part of the IICDR. And wouldn’t you know it, the IICWC charter was written by none other than . . . Sheikh Qaradawi [“the Muslim Brotherhood’s chief sharia jurist”], in conjunction with several self-proclaimed members of the Muslim Brotherhood.

It’s not that Abedin is a close friend and confidant, but that she is Hillary’s closest political advisor that should make you think about what is going on in the US. Possibly the most interesting thing about the times in which we live is that everything is known but nothing seems to matter. The media is the fourth estate, more powerful than whatever might be classified as numbers two and three. What makes Donald Trump so important is that he is able to say things the media would murder anyone else for saying and remain viable. Anyone who thinks of Hillary as anything other than near enough the worst imaginable successor to Obama really has nothing to add to a conversation about the politics of the United States.

AND IN NEWS JUST TO HAND: Former House Oversight chairman: ‘FBI director would like to indict Clinton and Abedin’.

California Congressman Darrell Issa, who previously led an investigation into Benghazi as former chairman of the House Oversight Committee, says the FBI “would like to indict both Huma [Abedin] and Hillary Clinton” for conducting sensitive government business on an unsecure, private email server.

“I think the FBI director would like to indict both Huma and Hillary as we speak,” the Republican heavyweight told the Washington Examiner Thursday, during a debate watch-party at Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s New Hampshire campaign headquarters.

“I think he’s in a position where he’s being forced to triple-time make a case of what would otherwise be, what they call, a slam dunk,” Issa said, referring to FBI Director James Comey, who previously told the Senate Judiciary Committee he would conduct a “competent,” “honest” and “independent” probe into Clinton’s handling of classified information during her tenure as secretary of state.

Why isn’t this the Huma Abedin scandal?

Here is the story in The Oz reprinted from The Times: Sex scandal dogs Hillary’s ‘surrogate daughter’ Huma Abedin. A big Hillary problem, it seems, in the movie that is being released on Huma’s marriage to former Congressman, Anthony Weiner, who became notorious for exposing himself on the internet. Weiner is a Jew, so the following ought to be more than of passing interest, which comes as a throw-away in paragraph 22:

Abedin’s mother is Pakistani; her late father was Indian. She was born in Michigan but when Abedin was two her family moved to Saudi Arabia, where her father establish­ed a think tank, the Instit­ute of Muslim Minority Affairs. Some alleged the family had connections to figures inside­ the Muslim Brotherhood, which has fuelled conspiracy theor­ies.

They certainly have “alleged” these connections. Here’s just one example: Huma Abedin’s Muslim Brotherhood Ties which are a good deal more significant, you would think, than her marriage ties. It is the absence of controversy about her background that needs to be accounted for. From the story, which appeared in National Review:

Huma Abedin’s mother, Saleha, who is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood’s female division (the “Muslim Sisterhood”), is a major figure in not one but two Union for Good components. The first is the International Islamic Council for Dawa and Relief (IICDR). It is banned in Israel for supporting Hamas under the auspices of the Union for Good. Then there’s the International Islamic Committee for Woman and Child (IICWC) — an organization that Dr. Saleha Abedin has long headed. Dr. Abedin’s IICWC describes itself as part of the IICDR. And wouldn’t you know it, the IICWC charter was written by none other than . . . Sheikh Qaradawi [“the Muslim Brotherhood’s chief sharia jurist”], in conjunction with several self-proclaimed members of the Muslim Brotherhood.

What may be the most interesting thing about the times in which we live is that everything is known but nothing seems to matter.

Obama thanks Iran for spitting in his eye

Iran-humilates-US

This is pretty well where things have washed up: Iran Releases Sailors After U.S. Promises ‘Not to Repeat Such Mistakes’. There is also this, Iran’s Humiliation of Barack Obama is Now Complete. Meanwhile, perhaps out of embarrassment, this is so far down the page on Drudge that for all practical purposes they might as well have left it out.

Iran says seizure of boats lesson to ‘troublemakers’ in Congress…
Warns Missiles Locked on US Aircraft Carrier…
Releases Humiliating Images of Sailors in Captivity…
VIDEO NAVAL COMMANDER: ‘Our Mistake’…
Sanctions Seen Lifted by Monday as Nuke Deal Implemented…
TRUMP: Why isn’t Iran releasing other Americans?

It’s that first one that is the truly interesting link. This is the entire story:

Iran’s army chief said on Wednesday the seizure of two U.S. navy boats and their 10 sailors should be a lesson to members the U.S. Congress trying to impose new sanctions on Tehran.

“This incident in the Persian Gulf, which probably will not be the American forces’ last mistake in the region, should be a lesson to troublemakers in the U.S. Congress,” Major General Hassan Firouzabadi, head of Iran’s armed forces, was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency.

They have zero fear of any kind over what the United States might do. You also do not get any kind of flavour of what Trump said from the quote of the last story referenced at Drudge. No one could be less capable than Obama, but there are degrees. See what you think.

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Wednesday praised the ten American sailors who spent the previous night in Iranian military detention.

“These [are] ten wonderful soldiers who went through hell, by the way,” he said on “MSNBC Live with Thomas Roberts.”

“When I see pictures of them with arms up in the air and guns pointed at them, I wouldn’t exactly say that’s friendly,” Trump added.

Tehran announced early Wednesday that it was releasing the group of U.S. sailors who had crossed into its “territorial waters” Tuesday evening.

Trump said Iran resolved the standoff so quickly because Tehran wants to stay on good terms with the United States until its nuclear agreement takes effect in the coming days.

“They get $100 billion during the next short period of time, they don’t want to jeopardize that,” he said.

“Obviously they’re going to release them,” Trump said of the detained sailors. “They’re not going to keep them. If it happened two weeks from now, they would have kept them, and they would’ve kept them for a long period of time.”

Trump also ripped the Obama administration for not negotiating the release of other Americans detained by Iran.

“We still have four hostages over there,” he said. “Why aren’t they giving those hostages back? They get everything. We get nothing.”

Spitting in Obama’s eye

Not even the major story, such is the way of the world.

PENTAGON: 2 NAVY BOATS IN IRANIAN CUSTODY…
10 Sailors Detained, Hours Before State of the Union Speech…
Accused of ‘Snooping’…
EQUIPMENT CONFISCATED…
US OFFICIALS SCRAMBLE…
Iran sanctions relief set for THIS WEEK…

So let’s ask the next question, what would Donald Trump do if he were president? And to tell you the truth, I wouldn’t have a clue.

UPDATE: Tom Cotton for President 2020.

Ted Cruz and the Republican establishment

To the Republican establishment, Donald Trump may be the second worst outcome. The worst outcome may be Ted Cruz. It is why suddenly the Republicans, including John McCain, Rand Paul and plenty of others, have suddenly raised his citizenship as an issue. Roger Kimball brings this forward, Why the Sudden Love Among Establishment Republicans for Trump?

What you hear people say is that “Donald Trump may have the best chance of beating Hillary Clinton.” But what does that means? “Maybe Trump can beat Hillary, assuming she is the Democratic candidate, but anyway, despite his bluster, he really is deep down a pay-to-play kind of guy, just like us. Ted Cruz, on the contrary, really means all that stuff about ending the ‘Washington Cartel’ and restoring Constitutional restraints on government. It’s OK to say that in election years, but we don’t want to elect someone who will actually try to do it.”

The problem for them is that Cruz would do it. With Trump, you have no idea at all what he would do about anything.

And you do indeed see the drift towards Trump. This is Kurt Schlichter at National Review summing up an article in which he assesses the future probabilities on President Trump: Taking The Donald Seriously.

Trump can win the nomination. I don’t like that, because I don’t think he’s a conservative. He can also win the general, and I do like that because this country can survive a Donald Trump administration intact, assuming he learns what the nuclear triad is. But a Hillary Clinton presidency? A presidency for a woman who has not mere contempt but active hatred for the half of the population that she labels as her greatest enemy, and who aspires to restrict every amendment in the Bill of Rights that doesn’t keep her from having to testify to her own crimes? A slave to her unique homebrew of hatred, undue self-regard, and foolishness, her lawless reign will rip this country apart. If it’s Donald Trump versus Hillary Clinton, Trump all the way – and, thankfully, he absolutely could win.

And then there is this, What Bernie and The Donald portend. A year ago Bernie Sanders v Donald Trump was on no radars anywhere at all. Now it is as likely as anything. And as for “The Donald”, this is how the article concludes:

Nominating Trump is by no means a guarantee of GOP defeat. But beyond politics, what do the successes of Sanders, Trump and Cruz portend?

Well, Sanders and Trump both opposed the war in Iraq that the Bush Republicans and Clinton Democrats supported.

Both Sanders and Trump oppose NAFTA and MFN for China and the free-trade deals that Clinton Democrats and Bush Republicans backed, which have cost us thousands of lost factories, millions of lost jobs and four decades of lost wage increases for Middle America.

Trump has taken the toughest line on the invasion across the U.S.-Mexican border and against Muslim refugees entering unvetted.

Immigration, securing the border, fair trade – Trump’s issues are the issues of 2016.

If a Trump-Clinton race came down to the Keystone State of Pennsylvania, and Trump was for backing our men in blue, gun rights, securing America’s borders, no more NAFTAs and a foreign policy that defends America first, who would you bet on?

You could say the same about Cruz, but the point is that they don’t.

In politics as well, you go to war with the army you have

Not ideal, but lots of things are not ideal. This is Kurt Schlichter at National Review summing up an article in which he assesses the future probabilities on President Trump: Taking The Donald Seriously.

Trump can win the nomination. I don’t like that, because I don’t think he’s a conservative. He can also win the general, and I do like that because this country can survive a Donald Trump administration intact, assuming he learns what the nuclear triad is. But a Hillary Clinton presidency? A presidency for a woman who has not mere contempt but active hatred for the half of the population that she labels as her greatest enemy, and who aspires to restrict every amendment in the Bill of Rights that doesn’t keep her from having to testify to her own crimes? A slave to her unique homebrew of hatred, undue self-regard, and foolishness, her lawless reign will rip this country apart. If it’s Donald Trump versus Hillary Clinton, Trump all the way – and, thankfully, he absolutely could win.

And then there is this, What Bernie and The Donald portend. A year ago Bernie Sanders v Donald Trump was on no radars anywhere at all. Now it is as likely as anything. And as for “The Donald”, this is how the article concludes:

Nominating Trump is by no means a guarantee of GOP defeat. But beyond politics, what do the successes of Sanders, Trump and Cruz portend?

Well, Sanders and Trump both opposed the war in Iraq that the Bush Republicans and Clinton Democrats supported.

Both Sanders and Trump oppose NAFTA and MFN for China and the free-trade deals that Clinton Democrats and Bush Republicans backed, which have cost us thousands of lost factories, millions of lost jobs and four decades of lost wage increases for Middle America.

Trump has taken the toughest line on the invasion across the U.S.-Mexican border and against Muslim refugees entering unvetted.

Immigration, securing the border, fair trade – Trump’s issues are the issues of 2016.

If a Trump-Clinton race came down to the Keystone State of Pennsylvania, and Trump was for backing our men in blue, gun rights, securing America’s borders, no more NAFTAs and a foreign policy that defends America first, who would you bet on?

For myself, how Hillary even remains in the equation can only be understood as a product of media corruption in the US, and indeed, across the West. Trump has that one massive advantage, he no longer needs the media, and the more they criticise, the more others find in Trump just exactly what they like. The question at the article’s end answers itself.

The weak horse

Mark Steyn on The Ghosts of Charlie Hebdo – One Year On.

What happened on January 7th 2015 was terrible. But our response to it made it more terrible, and emboldened civilization’s enemies. With respect to the late Charb, the choice is not between dying standing up or living on our knees – for those who choose to live on their knees will die there, too, cringing and craven. As I said a year ago:

The weepy passive candlelight vigils – the maudlin faux tears and the Smug Moral Preening overdose – aren’t enough. If you don’t want to put out the fire, it will burn your world to the ground.

We are very brave when it comes to junior ministers and international cricketers. About everything else, not so much.

You want crazy, I’ll give you crazy

Trump’s protectionist beliefs are old news but this has shown up on Instapundit today: Trump wants a 45 percent tax on Chinese imports.

“I would tax China on products coming in,” the Republican presidential front-runner told the New York Times. “And the tax, let me tell you what the tax should be … the tax should be 45 percent.”

The savvy [!!!] New York businessman released a policy paper on U.S.-China trade reform in early November that detailed his plans, as president, to take action against China’s currency manipulation and intellectual property theft, and to strengthen America’s negotiating position with the potential U.S. adversary.

Until now, however, none of Trump’s rhetoric on U.S.-Chinese relations has included any mention of a 45 percent tariff on Chinese exports to the U.S.

I know history is bunk and all that, but do we really want to bring back Herbert Hoover and the Great Depression? The story inserts the mildest, virtually non-existent criticism of such an idea, that makes you worry that this may well be an idea whose time has come, even if it will be a idea whose time will have gone a year after it would be put in:

According to David Dollar, a senior fellow in the Brookings Institution’s China Center, Trump’s suggested tariff could open the door to negative implications for both countries, if instituted.

“Negative implications” – that’s really nailing it. On top of everything going on already, to stop international trade in its tracks would be a policy as devastating as it is possible to have. Even the comment at Instapundit – “As Tom Nichols tweets, ‘I bet this sounds awesome to people who have no idea how much stuff they buy from China.’” – gives the impression that they have little idea what the effect would be. In so many ways, this is the 1930s all over again.

Ted Cruz on border control

This is a Ted Cruz ad which his polling must show will be effective in the constituency he wishes to reach. You can make your own judgement.

But let me add this. Trump has started down the path of doubting Cruz’s eligibility for the presidency since he was born in Canada of an American mother and a Cuban refugee dad, similar to Obama having been born of an American mother and a Kenyan dad, even though within America. Whatever else may have made Obama unfit to be president, it was not where he was born or who his parents were that mattered. John McCain, so far as that goes, was born in the Canal Zone of an American mother and father which also would not have disqualified him. Trump is already a loose cannon without obvious impulse control and not everyone’s first choice for President, even in a post-Obama era. If he wins on policy, that’s one thing, but if he tries this kind of shoddy nonsense, then he will have difficulty holding his constituency together since he will have alienated a substantial proportion of those whose support he will need.

I am now interested to see that Obama has joined in: Team Obama Joins Donald Trump’s Attack On Ted Cruz’s Citizenship. Is there now an Obama-Trump axis trying to defeat Ted Cruz? It’s getting as hard to follow as the battle lines in Syria.