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Tone it down? No way! Donald Trump needs to crank up the volume

Donald Trump was taken to the GOP woodshed yesterday.
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Preibus reportedly spent an hour on the phone -- telling Mr. Trump to tone down his comments about the illegal aliens. The GOP establishment types are hyperventilating over his blunt assessment about the criminal element crossing the border.
I’m not quite sure why the Republicans are telling Mr. Trump to tone it down – especially in the aftermath of the Kate Steinle murder. Ms. Steinle was gunned down by an illegal immigrant on July 1 in San Francisco.
The gunman is a convicted felon who had been deported five times. And yet – he was released from law enforcement custody in compliance with San Francisco’s designation as a sanctuary city for illegals.

It’s easy to understand why Mr. Trump’s message about illegals pillaging and plundering our nation is resonating with average Americans. But what I can’t seem to understand is why Country Club Republicans find his honest and straightforward appraisal is impolite and ill-mannered.

So it’s easy to understand why Mr. Trump’s  message about illegals pillaging and plundering our nation is resonating with average Americans. But what I can’t seem to understand is why Country Club Republicans find his honest and straightforward appraisal is impolite and ill-mannered.
You know who else is toning it down? President Obama.
The White House has a long and sordid history of sticking its nose in local criminal matters -- usually involving altercations between police and black men.
There was Professor Henry (Cops Acting Stupidly) Gates and Trayvon ("If I had a son...") Martin. And most recently -- Baltimore and Ferguson (Hands Up, Don’t Shoot) Missouri.
But for whatever reason the White House has decided to take a pass on San Francisco -- a crime that involves an illegal alien accused of murdered a white woman.
And yet the Republicans want Mr. Trump to tone it down. Tone it down? I say he needs to crank up the volume.

Kerry warns Iran nuclear talks ‘not open-ended’ amid more delays

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry threatened Thursday to walk away from nuclear talks as he signaled that diplomats won't conclude an agreement over the coming hours -- another delay that this time could complicate American efforts to quickly implement any deal.
"This is not open-ended," Kerry told reporters outside the 19th-century Viennese palace hosting the negotiations. "We can't wait forever for the decision to be made. If the tough decisions don't get made, we are absolutely prepared to call an end to this process."
It was the strongest indication yet of U.S. frustration with Iran. It comes two days after President Barack Obama promised Senate Democrats the same response to Iranian intransigence, suggesting patience for continuing the current round of discussions was running out as it headed into its 14th day.
Thursday's latest delay for a comprehensive deal is significant. Iran is demanding prompt easing of economic penalties for nuclear concessions, and the longer it takes world powers to make good on their promises, the longer they'll have to wait for the Iranians to scale back their nuclear program.
Under U.S. law, the seven nations negotiating in Vienna have to complete the accord before the end of Thursday in Washington to avoid invoking a 60-day congressional review period during which President Barack Obama cannot waive sanctions on Iran. If they meet the target, the review would only be 30 days.
The specter of prolonged public relations campaigns for and against the pact also may not work in Obama's favor. The delay could imply that the U.S., Iran and other negotiating powers may end up having to push off the talks until September when any deal would again only amount to a 30-day review period.
"We will not rush and we will not be rushed," Kerry said.
"We would not be here continuing to negotiate just for the sake of negotiating. We're here because we believe we are making real progress toward a comprehensive deal," he said. But, he added: "We are not going to sit at the negotiating table forever."
Kerry spoke after discussing the state-of-play with other world powers for almost an hour Thursday evening. That conversation followed a flurry of other closed-door meetings, including a 45-minute session between Kerry and his Iranian counterpart.
"We're working hard, but not rushed, to get the job done," Zarif tweeted.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said he would remain in Austria's capital for negotiations into Friday morning, citing "good things, but there is still work to do."
The current round of talks has already been extended twice since it started on June 27, as has an interim nuclear accord with Iran that these negotiations are meant to finalize. The preliminary deal was due to expire on June 30, then July 7 and then Friday. It would have to be renewed a third time if the talks go beyond Friday.
At an economic summit in Russia, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said his nation was preparing for a "post-sanctions" era, suggesting a deal may be in sight to curb Iran's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.
Kerry spoke by phone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who was also in Russia and voiced optimism, saying he was prepared to return to Vienna.
And in what was widely seen as a hint that the talks might soon wrap up, the White House late Wednesday issued a brief statement saying President Barack Obama had conferred with the U.S. negotiating team through a secure video call.
The last time Obama held a secure conference call with his negotiators on the road was shortly before the framework for a final accord was reached on April 2 in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Kerry, nursing a broken leg, has been in Vienna since June 26, while Zarif has made one short trip to Tehran for consultations. Other foreign ministers have come and gone. All but the top diplomats from Russia and China were present at Thursday's meetings.
When the talks missed their second deadline it raised new questions about the ability of world powers to cut off all Iranian pathways to nuclear weapons through diplomacy.
Long-standing differences persist over inspections of Iranian facilities and the Islamic republic's research and development of advanced nuclear technology.
New difficulties also have surfaced over the past few days. Iran is pushing for an end to a U.N. arms embargo on the country but Washington opposes that demand.

Conflict over Confederate flag spreads to Capitol Hill

Nazism at work?

WASHINGTON –  With South Carolina poised to take down its Confederate flag on Friday, the debate is quickly expanding to all symbols of the Confederacy -- and causing consternation among lawmakers.
The conflict over the Confederate flag spread to Capitol Hill Thursday in a politically-charged and emotionally-draining display from both House Democrats and Republicans, who accused each other of using the controversial and thorny topic as political leverage to advance their own agendas.
House Republicans abruptly abandoned plans to vote on a spending bill that included a provision to allow flying the Confederate flag in cemeteries operated by the National Park Service.
The vote would have reversed action the House had taken only hours earlier to ban the flags and underscores how toxic the fight over the flag – as well as other symbols linked to the Confederacy – has become.
“I actually think it is time for some adults here in the Congress to actually sit down and have a conversation about how to address this issue,” House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said. “I do not want this to become some political football. It should not. So I would expect you will see some conversations in the coming days.”
About an hour later, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., offered legislation to remove all state flags containing any portion of the Confederate battle flag emblem from the House side of the Capitol.
Republican lawmakers prevented the vote by referring it to a committee, while Boehner’s spokesman, Kevin Smith, accused Pelosi of pulling a “cheap political stunt.”
White House spokesman Josh Earnest questioned Republican priorities during his daily press briefing and said there was a sizeable group of GOP lawmakers who were “eager to protect the flag.”
Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz also jumped into the drama, calling it an “example of the GOP’s abhorrent tone-deafness to what is happening across the nation in the wake of the Charleston tragedy.”
When the dust settled, any real action to continue or prohibit flying the Confederate flag on park service land appeared far off. First, the House amendment would have to be adopted. If it were to become law, it would take several more steps and need to pass the Senate, as well.
The Washington fallout came the same day South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley signed a measure into law to remove the Confederate flag from statehouse grounds where it has flown for more than five decades.
Before signing the legislation, Haley said the act of love and faith by the nine black victims who were gunned down by a white man during Bible study at Emanuel African Methodist Church, had set in motion a chain of events that led to the flag’s removal. The man who has admitted to murdering the members of the Charleston church had been photographed multiple times standing in front of the Confederate flag.
Since then, states and towns across the country have been debating how to respond to the national momentum to remove Confederate symbols not only from government buildings but also from schools, streets and other public places. Questions linger over Confederate memorabilia, its place in society and the message it sends.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, said Thursday he supports the removal of some Confederate symbols, but called extreme measures to take down all symbols “political correctness run amok.”
In the past, Hogan has supported a move to remove the Confederate flag from specialty license plates, but pushed back Thursday against efforts to alter or remove official state symbols that have Confederate links, including the state song and state flag.
“Some of this other stuff to me... is really going too far. And it's political correctness run amok. Where do we draw the line?” he said.
In Nashville, a painting featuring an image of the Confederate flag was removed from the restaurant Acme Feed & Seed after complaints from patrons and criticism of both the establishment and one of the city’s mayoral candidates –an investor in the company – surfaced.
And even Walt Disney World turned political on Thursday, The amusement park announced it has taken down a banner bearing the Confederate flag was from a display of flags in Epcot’s American Adventure.

OPM chief shrugs off calls for her resignation

The government’s personnel office chief is rejecting bipartisan calls for her to step down following revelations that hackers stole the personal information of more than 21 million people on her watch.
Katherine Archuleta, director of the federal Office of Personnel Management, said she has no plans to step down and is committed to continuing her work for the agency. The White House, which had previously stated that President Barack Obama was confident in her leadership, said there were no plans to change its position despite the calls for her resignation.
The increased calls for Archuleta to be replaced came as the Obama administration disclosed Thursday that the number of people affected by the massive data breach was far higher than previously reported.
Hackers downloaded Social Security numbers, health histories or other highly sensitive data from OPM’s databases, affecting more than five times the 4.2 million people the government first disclosed this year. Since then, the administration acknowledged a second, related breach of systems housing private data individuals submit during background checks to obtain security clearances.
Officials said the same party was responsible for both hacks, but failed to identify what person or group perpetrated the hack. Numerous lawmakers have pointed the finger at China.
Word that the breach was far more severe than previously disclosed drew indignation from members of Congress who have said the administration has not done enough to protect personal data in their systems, as well as calls for Archuleta and her top deputies to resign.
House Republican leaders – Speaker John Boehner, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Whip Steve Scalise – called for Archuleta’s resignation, and Boehner said the president must “take a strong stand against incompetence.”
Even Democrats joined the call for Archuleta to go. Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia decried Archuleta for a “slow and uneven response” that he said had undermined confidence in her abilities.
"It is time for her to step down, and I strongly urge the administration to choose new management with proven abilities to address a crisis of this magnitude with an appropriate sense of urgency and accountability," Warner said.
Among the data the hackers stole: criminal, financial, health, employment and residency histories, as well as information about their families and acquaintances. The second, larger attack affected more than 19 million people who applied for clearances, as well as nearly 2 million of their spouses, housemates and others.
"Such incompetence is inexcusable," said House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, a Utah Republican, in repeating his calls for Archuleta's resignation. Chaffetz said Archuleta and her aides had "consciously ignored the warnings and failed to correct these weaknesses."
Yet Archuleta insisted Thursday she would not step down, telling reporters during a conference call, "I am committed to the work that I am doing."
"I truly understand the impact this has on our current and former employees, our military personnel and our contractors," she added.
Archuleta said the hackers obtained user names and passwords and that prospective employees used to fill out their background investigation forms, as well as the contents of interviews conducted as part of those investigations. But the government insisted there were no indications the hackers have used any of the data they obtained.
Members of Congress, including Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, said China was the main player behind the attack. Investigators have previously told The Associated Press that the U.S. was increasingly confident that China’s government – not criminal hackers – was responsible for the data breach.
Michael Daniel, Obama’s cybersecurity coordinator said Thursday that the government wasn’t ready to point an official finger at the hackers.
Still, he added cryptically, "Just because we're not doing public attribution does not mean that we're not taking steps to deal with the matter."
China has publicly denied involvement in the break-in.
The administration said it has stepped up its cybersecurity efforts by proposing new legislation, urging private industry to share more information about attacks and examining how the government conducts sensitive background investigations.
"Each and every one of us at OPM is committed to protecting the safety and the security of the info that is placed in our trust," Archuleta said. In early June, government employees received notice that OPM would offer credit-monitoring services and identity-theft insurance to those affected.
Meanwhile, the White House waited about a month before telling the public that hackers had stolen the personal information of millions of people associated with the government, people directly involved with the investigation told the AP last month.
"It's a treasure trove of information about everybody who has worked for, tried to work for, or works for the United States government," FBI Director James Comey said Thursday, describing the scope of the breach as "huge" and "a very big deal."