Quick linkaround along with some thoughts.

Just a few links today, because there were a couple of topics I wanted to comment on briefly.

Did Erdogan stage his own coup d'etat in Turkey?  He's clamped down like a Saddam Hussein might do.  That doesn't mean he's not just using a coup as an excuse, but he's not really all that pro-West so in the end it doesn't matter.  

The Nice, France truck terrorist was indirectly ISIS enabled. Again, it doesn't matter how he was radicalized (by himself, or via clerics or via trips to ISIS strongholds).  What matters is that he was radicalized and it hasn't stopped.  Obama and Clinton have done a terrible job since Obama's apology tour in embracing their enemies, apologizing and even denying there's a problem.  Things have only gotten worse since 2009.  I'm no big fan of Bush but remember how relatively safe things were between 2001 and 2008 compared to now?

Along those lines of security doves chickens, remember the Russian reset that Hillary flubbed during the meeting?  Well she flubbed the details too. Since the Russian invasion of Crimea, they continue to be aggressive in the Ukrainian nation.  It's gotten so bad even Obama had to defer to NATO condemnation of Russian action. Thanks Hillary for that reset.  Great insights, smooth move. 

In a similar vein, Hillary's slump in the polls is real. It's not just the one poll.  There's a trend.  And if you look at the battleground states, it's happening in some of the key races. Going into the convention weeks, Trump needs to maintain his non-momentum by ensuring that he does not interfere at all with Hillary's downward momentum and trajectory.  Stand aside and let her continue to crumble.  I'm not sure Trump is capable of staying out of the headlines for a couple of reasons (1. the media 2. Trump).  But if he can, this might be the best time to do it.  Then again, it's convention week.  That's not a time to not toot your own horn.  Maybe he can concentrate on a positive message.  It would provide a great contrast with 'dishonest Hillary'. 

If this doesn't sink Obama, it'll sink the country

Via Wall Street Journal,

The economy's precarious position was underscored Thursday by a pair of government reports. Orders for durable goods—long-lasting manufactured products such as cars and televisions—tumbled 13% in August from July, the biggest monthly drop in more than three years. Much of the decrease came in orders for commercial aircraft, which often show big monthly fluctuations, but the report nonetheless provided new evidence that the once-robust factory sector is losing steam.

The manufacturing slowdown would be less worrisome if other segments of the economy were firing on all cylinders. But another report Thursday provided a separate reminder of how weak the recovery has been.

Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of all goods and services produced, grew at a 1.3% seasonally adjusted annual pace in the second quarter, the Commerce Department said, down from its previous estimate of 1.7% and slower than the first quarter's 2% pace. The revision reflected softer consumer spending and exports along with depleted farm stockpiles due to the Midwest drought.

Watch the mainstream media jump all over this...

any second now...

If Obama gets re-elected the country deserves its fate.  Conservatives too, for allowing it to come to this.

Tough love.