Jeb! Bush, 4.2% in the polls, challenges Donald Trump, 36.5% in the polls, to one-on-one debate

Our problem in the West is that we have too many moderate Christians

Just now, half kidding, but he's right.

Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson says it's a shame US and Russia don't get along

Quoted here:

“We’re two super powers – Russia is not as strong as it used to be – but it’s a shame that we’re not getting along, when in the past we had an understanding with each other,” he added. Richardson said the Syrian rebel forces opposing Assad are not ideal alternatives to Assad, but added that "if Russia, the United States, instead of just fighting over Assad, we fight ISIS together with Europe, we may have a chance to bring some kind of stability to the region.”

Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge backs a pause on refugees from Syria/Iraq region

Also the former head of DHS, Tom Ridge is quoted here calling for a pause, as originally called for by Donald Trump and later by Rupert Murdoch:

“So, a pause for refugees from that part of the world is very appropriate at this time.”

Freudian slip at TheHill.com: Columnists think Hillary is already the president in story about Clinton fundraising

The boo-boo, "Here are the five biggest challenges facing the president in 2016", was edited out of the full story.

Descended from Piltdown man, news media hoaxsters call Muslim terrorists "Maryland man" and "Pennsylvania man"

Reconstructed skull of the hoax "Piltdown Man"

From WaPo here:

'A second was Mohamed Elshinawy, a Maryland man accused of receiving at least $8,700 from the Islamic State overseas and planning to use the money to carry out attacks in the United States. He told prosecutors that a childhood friend had connected him through social media with an Islamic State operative. ... The third was Jalil Aziz, a Pennsylvania man who was arrested for allegedly providing material support to the Islamic State, by spreading its propaganda on social media and for seeking to help the group’s supporters travel to Syria to fight. Aziz also encouraged other Islamic State supporters he communicated with to use U.S.-based encrypted messaging applications, prosecutors said.'

Mohamed Elshinawy was born in Egypt

Jalil Aziz' country of origin is unknown. No US school has a record of the 19-year old.

Obama ties military's hands with stricter rules of engagement than the law of war requires or even France follows, leaflets the enemy before attacking

From the story here on Christmas Eve:

"We will do everything we can to prevent civilian casualties," said Operation Inherent Resolve spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren on Wednesday. ... Donatella Rovera, senior crisis response adviser at Amnesty International, said the leaflet drops actually started last week, but it has been difficult for people to leave.  ... The Obama administration has come under fire from critics for adhering to restrictive rules of engagement and trying to avoid any civilian casualties in the fight against ISIS. Some say the rules are allowing ISIS fighters to escape.  ... A U.S. defense official said the current U.S. rules of engagement for airstrikes, which are more restrictive than what the law of war requires, would remain the same as Iraqi forces push into Ramadi. Other coalition members — such as France — adhere to looser rules of engagement, however, and it's not clear who will be doing the striking in Ramadi.

The 2015 El Nino to date in perspective

Using the Oceanic Nino Index here the strong to very strong El Ninos of the past can be summarized like this, showing the 2015 El Nino to be so far most like 1972-73:

1957-58, 16 consecutive months, 1.0 average severity

1965-66, 11 consecutive months, 1.2 average severity

1972-73, 12 consecutive months, 1.2 average severity (One 3-month mean reading at 2.0)

1982-83, 15 consecutive months, 1.3 average severity (Three consecutive 3-month mean readings averaging 2.1)

1997-98, 13 consecutive months, 1.6 average severity (Five consecutive 3-month mean readings averaging 2.2)

2015 to date, 8 consecutive months, 1.2 average severity (One 3-month mean reading at 2.0).

At this hour in Grand Rapids we have 38 degrees F and no snow whatsoever.

From one imbecile to another: John McLaughlin in an oversized jacket awards "Person of the Year" to FBI Director James Comey

The jacket John has worn for years for this annual occasion now hangs like a bag on his shrinking frame.

Here.

James Comey testified recently before the US Senate to Lindsey Grahamnesty that he has no idea how weapons purchased over the internet reach their buyers.

And neither does Lindsey.

In 7 years Obama more than doubled a debt it took all other presidents combinded 233 years to pile up

The debt when Obama took office

The debt after 7 years of Obama in office

The debt held by the public is up 116% in just 7 years of Obama, going from $6.3 trillion to $13.6 trillion.

Trump polls less than 30% in only one of the last six major polls, now averages 36.5% in Real Clear Politics average

Uh-oh, genes identified which explain why 75% of intelligence is inherited

Reported in the UK Telegraph, here:

"Genes which make people intelligent have been discovered and scientists believe they could be manipulated to boost brain power. Researchers have believed for some time that intellect is inherited with studies suggesting that up to 75 per cent of IQ is genetic, and the rest down to environmental factors such as schooling and friendship groups. ... Now Imperial College London has found that two networks of genes determine whether people are intelligent or not-so-bright. They liken the gene network to a football team. When all the players are in the right positions, the brain appears to function optimally, leading to clarity of thought and what we think of as quickness or cleverness. However when the genes are mutated or in the wrong order, it can lead to dullness of thinking, or even serious cognitive impairments."

Does this mean John Derbyshire gets his job back at National Review?

Name something an airline pilot might be holding during a long flight

Family Feud episode, here.

We had ham on Christmas Eve . . . it was delicious

George W. Bush is silently helping Democrat campaigns in their run against Trump

From AP Obama, here, in "Democrats find an unlikely ally on Muslims: George W Bush":

'As Hillary Clinton put it, "George W. Bush was right." Laying out her plan to fight domestic terrorism, Clinton reminded voters in Minneapolis earlier this month of Bush's visit to a Muslim center six days after the Sept. 11 attacks. She even quoted his words from that day about those who intimidate Muslim-Americans: "They represent the worst of humankind, and they should be ashamed of that kind of behavior." ...

'Sen. Bernie Sanders, Clinton's top challenger for the Democratic nomination, visited a mosque this month in a show of solidarity that evoked Bush's after 9/11. And the Democratic National Committee released an ad contrasting comments by the 2016 GOP contenders with footage of Bush declaring that "Islam is peace." ...

'The former president has stayed mostly silent throughout the recent debate. His spokesman, Freddy Ford, recently said Bush wouldn't comment on "Trump's bluster" but repeated Bush's insistence that "true Islam is peaceful." Ford declined to discuss what Bush thinks about Democrats quoting him now.'

Hispandering? Or Bitchspanic?

Hispandering

Bitchspanic

To Tim Carney, the soul of the Republican Party in 2015 and beyond boils down to (mere) materialism

Here, without the mere:

"More broadly, the rising tide against Ex-Im exemplified a nascent Republican move away from corporate welfare. Marco Rubio led the fight to block an insurer bailout through Obamacare. Ted Cruz is leading in Iowa polls while unambiguously pledging to kill the ethanol mandate. Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina and most of the rest of the field also feel compelled to inveigh against corporate welfare, even if they don't oppose it in every specific instance. There's a long way for the party to go, but they're at least marching in the right direction, because they're no longer always marching to K Street's tune. ... Dole, Lott, subsidized exporters and ethanol executives will have all the material blessings they need at Christmas. But conservatives will have a much stronger hold on the soul of the Republican Party than they did just 10 years ago, and that's something they can be happy about."

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"Whereas Socialism, and even capitalism in a more grudging way, have said to people 'I offer you a good time,' Hitler has said to them 'I offer you struggle, danger and death,' and as a result a whole nation flings itself at his feet." -- George Orwell, 1940

Rand Paul: Carly Fiorina has ZERO trouble making it back from commercial breaks

Here.

Like TSA security "theatre", ICE plans deportation theatre: "Hundreds of families" or maybe just "hundreds" to be deported

WaPo reports here:

"The Department of Homeland Security has begun preparing for a series of raids that would target for deportation hundreds of families who have flocked to the United States since the start of last year, according to people familiar with the operation. ... The ICE operation would target only adults and children who have already been ordered removed from the United States by an immigration judge, according to officials familiar with the undertaking, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because planning is ongoing and the operation has not been given final approval by DHS. The adults and children would be detained wherever they can be found and immediately deported. The number targeted is expected to be in the hundreds and possibly greater."

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As with the TSA, which routinely shakes down your granny before she gets on the plane while missing guns and knives on others, ICE will focus on the many harmless easy marks and miss the criminals who are already safely embedded in gangland.

The incompetent serving the fools.

Newest CNN poll shows Trump ahead of Cruz by 21 points