By John Shaffer The first “great debate” is over, and Hillary Clinton won, according to the TV polls. Mrs. Clinton surely did not appear to be affected by her recent health issues, and she had a few sharp retorts and employed them at the right times. Give her credit for experience and for exceeding expectations; but let’s give Mr. Trump at least a bit of credit too, for he stood face-to-face with the most famous woman in the world and held his own. Mr. Trump was on the defensive more often than not, and Mrs. Clinton was more aggressive. Mr. Trump missed some opportunities, and had some inconsistencies. On one hand he complained about the national debt, but on the other, that we do not spend enough government money in the cities. Mrs. Clinton accused us all of racism, although we suppose she excludes her supporters from that charge. The moderator didn’t think things such as Benghazi, the Clinton Foundation, 30,000 deleted emails, Obamacare, or the IRS or VA scandals were important enough to discuss; but perhaps the next moderator will raise questions about them, and that may tend to put Mrs. C. on the defensive, which could change the audience’s view of the whole proceeding. A couple of weeks before the debate, Mrs. Clinton called Mr. Trump’s supporters (well, “half of them”) a “basket of deplorables,” summarily guilty of racism, sexism, homophobia, Islamaphobia, and who knows what else. Sad to say, but this is the standard view that the progressive left (in fact, the mainstream left as well) has expressed for fifty years or more. Their basic principle is this: the left does not believe that anyone has a legitimate reason for espousing a conservative viewpoint.
By John Shaffer By now many of you readers are aware that your editor was on the sick list from early Wednesday morning (about 2:30 am) through 2:00 pm on Saturday. We had pneumonia and some very low blood counts. The good news is that there is no indication that the lymphoma has relapsed. We are gaining strength and are recovering each day. We thank everyone for prayers and kind thoughts. All the medical personnel we dealt with were top-notch, whether in Troy, on the ambulance, or at Geisinger, and we thank them all very much. Special thanks to my wife, and the staff of the newspaper, for doing their usual great job, and for keeping things going in our absence; and to our daughters who came from New York state and Alabama, or sent prayers from Nashville, and to my brother who drove down from Maine.
By John Shaffer Let’s begin by saying that everyone can get sick, and it is not unusual for a presidential candidate to take ill, and to recover. Hillary Clinton’s September 11th episode raises many questions, and those about the state of her health are the least important. What is more important is the reaction of the candidate and her campaign. And specifically we refer to the statement from Mrs. C.’s physician in which she discloses that on Friday, September 9, Mrs. Clinton was diagnosed with pneumonia (a mild, non-contagious type). Sounds routine, and a “we wish you a speedy recovery” type of thing – except that statement was not issued until hours after Mrs. C’s September 11th collapse.
By John Shaffer Back in January, four Americans illegally held by Iran were released. At the same time, the United States made a “secret” payment to Iran of $400,000,000. Not a ransom, the State Department assured us – rather, “a coincidence.” Yes, it was so coincidental that the planeload of cash was delivered at precisely the moment that the hostages were returned; which happened to be on the day that most sanctions on the Iranian regime were eased or removed. Well, while $400 million might not buy as much as it used to, in the hands of a regime that chants “Death to America” and “Death to Israel,” it’s sufficient to cause a lot of mischief – or destruction.
But coincidental or not, that payment barely scratched the surface, for the Obama administration also paid to Iran $1.3 billion dollars, based on a claim that Iran had dating from the days of the 1979 revolution that deposed America’s ally, the Shah of Iran (who for all his many faults, was a friend of the United States) and replaced him with the rule of the Ayatollahs, (whose faults are at least equal to the Shah’s, and who hate America and Israel and aren’t afraid to prove it). |
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