SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:51 P.M. ET: 

U.S. COMBAT IN SYRIA BEGINS – From The Washington Times:  "President Obama on Monday night authorized a major escalation of the war against the Islamic State, sending missiles and warplanes on bombing missions for the first time into Syria to strike the terrorist group’s strongholds in that country.  The Pentagon announced that both U.S. and allied pilots, along with missile-firing U.S. ships, launched their first airstrikes inside Syria after a sweeping diplomatic push by the Obama administration had secured dozens of verbal commitments from leaders around the world and in the Middle East to join the fight against the Islamic State."  We can't comment on this until we know more facts.  How far will this go?  Will it be effective?  Or will it suddenly end after the elections, which are in six weeks?  And what effect will this have on those elections?

PUT BATTERIES IN THE CALCULATOR – From Fox:  "President Obama’s claim last spring that 8 million people had enrolled in ObamaCare recently got a significant downgrade from the head of the agency overseeing the plan.  Marilyn Tavenner, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, told a congressional committee that 'as of August 15, this year, we have 7.3 million Americans enrolled in Health Insurance Marketplace coverage and these are individuals who paid their premiums.'  A key part of her statement was Tavenner's reference to those who paid, because just signing up isn't enough to be counted as enrolled.  As Doug Holtz-Eakin, former director of the Congressional Budget Office, explained, 'it’s not enough to sign up. You have to sign up and pay on a regular basis to really be enrolled.'"  Just a minor technicality.  A few million enrollees here, a few million there.  Pretty soon you're talking about real people.

GORED BY HYPOCRISY – From Breitbart:  "Former Vice President Al Gore made his exit from Sunday's climate change march in New York City in a Chevrolet Suburban SUV after speaking to reporters about renewable energy.  Gore asked a security officer, 'You want me here?' before stepping into the SUV, which appears to be a Suburban LT model, as seen in a logo behind the passenger door Gore entered. It is unknown if the large Chevy SUV was a flex fuel vehicle.  Breitbart News asked the environmental activist about the financial costs of renewable energy, as well as his own house—a mansion in Nashville which has previously been criticized for the amount of energy it reportedly uses. Gore simply replied, 'Hundred percent'"  Lots of money is flowing in the climate-change game.  No press coverage of that.

SAD – It's observed often that many children of prominent leaders turn out to be disappointments.  From CNS:  "Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., says he wants a law to punish politicians who dissent from man-made climate change theory - and calls them 'contemptible human beings.' Kennedy made the remarks in an interview with Climate Depot at a climate march in New York on Sunday:  Kennedy Jr. accused skeptical politicians of 'selling out the public trust.' 'Those guys are doing the Koch Brothers bidding and are against all the evidence of the rational mind, saying global warming does not exit. They are contemptible human beings. I wish there were a law you could punish them with. I don't think there is a law that you can punish those politicians under.'"  Great argument for fascism.  What a disgrace.

September 22, 2014