Last Call For Iran Across The Finish Line

We've got proof that the Obama/Kerry Iran deal is a serious diplomatic breakthrough of historic proportions, mainly because Charles Krauthammer loathes it.

Taken together, the catalog of capitulations is breathtaking: spot inspections, disclosure of previous nuclear activity, gradual sanctions relief, retention of nonnuclear sanctions.

What’s left? A surrender document of the kind offered by defeated nations suing for peace. Consider: The strongest military and economic power on earth, backed by the five other major powers, armed with what had been a crushing sanctions regime, is about to sign the worst international agreement in U.S. diplomatic history.

How did it come to this? With every concession, Obama and Kerry made clear they were desperate for a deal.

And they will get it. Obama will get his “legacy.” Kerry will get his Nobel. And Iran will get the bomb.

Sure.  Just like we had to go to war to prevent Saddam Hussein from getting the bomb, remember that?

It would be funny except for the fact that he's remained gainfully employed by the Washington Post despite a 13 year track record of idiocy about foreign policy.  None of Krauthammer's dire predictions came true about Iraq, and none of the benefits of invasion were ever found.  Hell, more than a dozen years later we're still dealing with the aftermath.

Invading Iraq was the greatest diplomatic mistake of our time, and Krauthammer used his position to push for it.

Why would anyone listen to this fool now?

Escape From New York

New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo is calling for additional security measures for the long holiday weekend as the federal government is suggesting possible activity by Islamic State is increased.

“We are keenly aware that New York State remains a top target for terrorists,” Cuomo said in a statement.

The Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have issued an alert calling for local authorities and the public to remain vigilant for possible threats following recent calls for violence by Islamic State militants.

In New York City, the nation’s largest municipal police force assigned about 7,000 officers and nearly all its counterterrorism personnel to handle security around Independence Day events.

Cuomo expanded the stepped-up security measures to include the entire state in a directive to the New York Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services.

“In response to the warning by the federal government, New York State is taking steps to increase monitoring and communication with our local, state, and federal emergency management and law enforcement partners through the holiday weekend,” Cuomo said.

The state’s homeland security department also will increase the staff on Saturday at its 24-hour Emergency Operations Center and the New York State Watch Center, which monitors events across the state.

New York is taking this seriously after attacks last month in France, Tunisia and Kuwait.  Can't really blame them for some additional vigilance.

Hopefully this weekend will be quiet.

Paxton, Some Heat

It looks like Texas GOP Attorney General Ken Paxton, who's been spending the last six weeks having one long temper tantrum over same-sex marriage, suddenly has far bigger problems to deal with in the form of a securities fraud investigation that could land him in prison for the rest of his life.

The criminal investigation against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has taken a more serious turn, with special prosecutors now planning to present a first-degree felony securities fraud case against him to a Collin County grand jury, News 8 has learned.

Special prosecutor Kent Schaffer told News 8 Wednesday afternoon that the Texas Rangers uncovered new evidence during the investigation that led to the securities fraud allegations against the sitting attorney general.

"The Rangers went out to investigate one thing, and they came back with information on something else," Schaffer told News 8. "It's turned into something different than when they started."

Schaffer, a Houston criminal defense attorney, said the securities fraud allegations involve amounts well in excess of $100,000. He declined to comment specifics of the fraud allegations.

A first-degree felony conviction is punishable by up to life in prison.

Now, securities fraud isn't sexy or anything, but an attorney general facing a felony fraud indictment is a pretty big deal.  I'm interested to see how this plays out.  Paxton is such a raging asshole that he can't have made too many friends among prosecutors and cops in Texas.  If there's a special prosecutor that was looking for one crime and managed to find a much bigger one hiding nearby, it's a pretty safe bet ol' Ken here has some pretty dirty laundry.

How he made it this far, well that might be a question for, say, Rick Perry.

Who is facing his own investigation.

StupidiNews!

• Former Democratic Senator Jim Webb of Virginia has announced his bid for the White House in 2016, becoming the fifth Democrat to join the race.
• The first US measles death since 2003 has been reported in Washington State, according to health officials, who say the woman's cause of death was only discovered during autopsy.
• The International Monetary Fund is warning that Greece will need another 50 billion euros over the next three years in order to pay its bills.
• Energy giant BP has settled claims with several Gulf Coast states to the tune of $18.7 billion stemming for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the largest settlement in US history.
• North America is officially out of IPv4 addresses for internet assignment, but the newer IPv6 standard is now gaining momentum.