Photo, above: Golan Heights.
JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW
Co-hosts: Mary Kissel, Wall Street Journal Editorial Board & host of Opinion Journal on WSJ Video.  Malcolm Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents.
Hour One
Monday  27 August 2015 / Hour 1, Block A: Mary Kissel, Wall Street Journal Editorial Board & host of Opinion Journal on WSJ Video; in re: College Boards assembles the AP test for college students; in June, it was seen to have turned American history upside-down in a narrative history absent names of founding fathers and instead calling them [in effect?] Masters of the Universe, "neo-Marxist agitprop."  College Board did a volta face – was threatened by several states that refused to follow and suggested establishing their own guidelines. Mary Kissel, Dan Henninger and John Batchelor all spoke against the agitprop; this also seems to have improved things.  Changes, e.g.: period of growth, the Gilded Age.  . . . A citizenry without depth is a vulnerable citizenry!  Dan Henninger, and Quinnipiac poll: What's the first word you think of in connection with Hillary Clinton: Liar, untrustworthy; Trump: Blowhard.  With Gene Countryman, consummate Kansan, on Mr Trump's campaign:  He's doing well in Kansas. Voters are tired of being tired of politicians, of being lied to; GOP candidates made promises, esp anent Obamacare and illegal immigration, but the pols simply lied. 
Monday  27 August 2015 / Hour 1, Block B:  Edward Hayes, Esq, criminal defense attorney par excellence, in re:   In Times Square, grown men and women unclothed and body-painted, wander 'round in front of children. . . . It's the middle class that shops and spends money, pays taxes to maintain the city, and the mayor is neglecting to do that. Next: naked adults bring in paying customers plus homeless people, scare the daylights out of residents and tourists, bring in drugs.  We're chronicling this as we live it.
Monday  27 August 2015 / Hour 1, Block C: Patrick Chovanec, chief strategist at Silvercrest Asset Management; in re:  China's command and control market. China's official figure in growth of 7 per cent, became 3-plus per cent.  It's commonplace to say that the downturn in the Chinese economy is a lot deeper than the govt will admit. Distinguish between the mkt collapse (became detached from reality) and the long-term economic downturn.  What china is going though is a much-needed and long-overdue economic correction. Long past sell-by dates.  Not as much effect on the US, but heavy hit on Australia, which has been riding China's overinvestment boom.  US top export to China is soybeans; up 10% this year. One day intervention; next day, not.  A lot of head-scratching. Beijing's leadership is absent. The CP Mandarins have had an ironclad face; that's now shaken.  Cf. Japan: in the Seventies the leaders were all-knowing; now, they sure are not.  . .  If the top dogs really wanted reforms, they could do that, but each one has something to hide so they use the past as a weapon. Complete lack of sunlight.  Polluted air, polluted water, corruption to the nth degree; easier to predict economy than politics.
Monday  27 August 2015 / Hour 1, Block D: Mona Charen, NRO (National Review Online), in re: The heroism of the young Americans in France.  My mother, in Arlington cemetery, is listening; she raised five sons. You, Mona, have raised three sons.  On that Holland-to-France train six men sprang to action; I regard this as part of traditional masculinity – that is, to risk personal sacrifice and be courageous. Today, this president disparages that conduct and seems to think that there's only one sex and that men need to be weak and defenseless. I bet there are a lot of people on that train who're very glad indeed that traditional masculinity prevailed. Ranged from 22 to 62; not all Americans – they lept into action, the young one was cut up by the terrorist with a large knife; "I was ready to fight to the end."  SO much disparagement of men these days , some of it entirely unjustified. Aurora shooting in Colorado: there were three young men who covered their girlfriends with their own bodies; all three dies and all three young women died.  How do we [create] men like that? We should take time to appreciate the qualities of soul of such men. Some liberals give trucks to girls and dolls to boys; the boys use the dolls as battering rams while the girls wrap the trucks gently in blankets. Mona's young brother to mother, long ago,: "He hit me back first!"  The overwhelming feminist message is that the problem with the world is that there's too much male aggression.
Hour Two
Monday  27 August 2015 / Hour 2, Block A: Yuli Edelstein, Speaker of the Knesset (Israel); in re: The normally much-divided Israeli electorate is unusually agreed on the unwisdom of the proposed Iran deal. The survival of a democratic society. The situation at northern Israel and Iran's obvious hand therein. After several decades, there are again missiles being show from Syria into the Israeli Golan, launched by Islamic Jihad, and behind them. Hezbollah (Iran's proxy) – using its own proxy to attack Israel.  Hard for Israel to deal with a synchronized attack from multiple groups and venues. Speaker of the Knesset is number three after the prime minister and the president.  This person – Speaker Edelstein – has a heroic personal history.   The vast majority of Israelis haold a consensus that the Iran deal will inevitably lead to an Iran with nuclear weapons and functional delivery systems.  Meanwhile Mahmoud Abba builds a multi-million-dollar home while travelling (soon) to Moscow. He's a weak leader, holds on by frequently threatening to resign and generate (temporary chaos).
http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/half-of-jerusale... ; http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/what-abbass-plo-...
Monday  27 August 2015 / Hour 2, Block B: Ambassador Dennis Ross, Fellow, Washington Institute; in re: . . . the key is to understand that words have meaning.  Were the Iranians to (abjure) their agreement, and the US had to make a move that would trigger the use of force, we would mean it.  No one questions that the Israelis would make a move – a MOP, 30,000 lb ordnance that (in two segments) can penetrate the deep underground nuclear  facilities.  Are the Iranian Twelvers rational? They've been careful not to challenge the US too hard; and when the US moved its ship back into the Persian Gulf, Teheran said naught.  When you're credible with the use of force, Teheran seems to respect that . Given the small gap between threshold status and weapons status, any . . . You can't wait till the last minute to establish [baselines].  Why is this not part of the Vienna Accords?  . .  After 15 years, Iran is legitimized as a threshold state –if you adopt sanctions on a contingent basis, it becomes a form of deterrence. Same thing applies if you adopt sanctions to be imposed only if Iran cheats; cd also apply if we see a surge in spending, there'll be sanctions for their regionally-destabilizing deeds.  Make clear that he hardline Iranian factions will induce heavy cost.
http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/how-to-put-some-...  ; http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/will-the-obama-a...
Monday  27 August 2015 / Hour 2, Block C: Mark Mellman, CEO, The Mellman Group, in re: Dems support the Iran deal; GOPs oppose it; independents overwhelmingly oppose the agreement. The more people learn, the more they oppose – except in the largely-Democratic Congress.  Members of Congress don't necessarily reflect the views of their constituents – labeling GMOs, a whole range of issues.  This is sufficiently complicated issue that Congressmen just put their trust in the president.  "Is there way to put in a firewall to keep Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon after 15 years?," etc.  Huge loopholes in the agreement – Khamenei still spouting viciously anti-American tirades, et al.  The more any voter knows, the more he goes against this agreement.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/obama-must-engage-the-iran-deals-critics-144... ;          http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/20/politics/iran-deal-poll-majority-americans... ;        http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/08/26/how-iran-fuels-negative-percept...
Monday  27 August 2015 / Hour 2, Block D: Ilan Berman, VP, American Foreign Policy Council; in re: . . .  mechanisms in pace to enshrine this deal past seventeen months, that wil bind the next administration to this agreement.  Under IAEA bylaws, only nations with normalized dip relations  with Iran may be part of inspection team – so the Obama Adm can say, "See? We need to open an embassy in Iran."  Note wide rumors that this Adm will also try to "normalize" relations with North Korea – but not work. DPRK will head the opposite direction, This Iran deal makes it harder to bld a bomb but is allowed to buy a bomb – no doubt from DPRK, so for financial reasons DPRK wouldn't want relations with the US.  The action isn’t in the Majlis, it's in the IRGC – handsome economic benefit headed its way.  The energy mkts are so volatile they can crimp Iran's fortunes, but  this deal is an enormous insurance policy for Iran – has already huge amts of oil, a cushion.  IS spending $6 bill a year to prop up the Assad regime; a lot of projected income will go to client states.
Hour Three
Monday  27 August 2015 / Hour 3, Block A: John Hannah, senior counselor, Foundation for Defense of Democracies; in re: I'm cynical about the recent lost elections; I think Erdogan's total focus is on the new election on 1 November via which he can bld the imperial presidency he wants. He thinks that the 10% Kurdish vote caused him to lose the last election. If multiple wars and Turkish nationalism whipped up are needed, he will. So far, only the Kurds have successful y fought ISIS, so the US deal with Erdogan, who uses US air cover to bomb Kurds, may be a Faustian bargain.  ISIS has benefitted from Turkey's generous allowance of oil and antiquities being sold though Turkey, and arrival of foreign fighters into Syria.   Very bad situation on the Turkish border – they have a legitimate gripe against the intl community, as none has stepped up to help under the unbelievable burden of refugees flowing out of Syria. A catastrophe. The people fleeing have no refuge.  A gaping wound with no solution visible, a generation lost in a region that's critical to Western interests.   What will happen to the Turkish economy?  To the region? Renewed threat of civil war between Turks and Kurds.  In 1945, were called displaced persons; today, they're helpless.
http://www.defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/jo.hn-hannah-dont-call-obamas-i... ; http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/08/17/iran-and-russia-use-nuclear-deal...
Monday  27 August 2015 / Hour 3, Block B:  Malcolm Hoenlein, Conference of Presidents, in re: Today is Lyndon Johnson's 107th birthday. Played a key role in forging papers for hundreds of Jews fleeing Germany; never boasted, it became known only after his death.  SS-N30-A: a new intermediate-range missile – covers all of Europe, nuke or conventional warhead; and looking at a Cruise version (forbidden under treaty); 600- to 900-mi range, deployed in Black Sea and around Kaliningrad.  Mr Putin was scheduled to come to the UN GA in September, but may not or may visit only briefly.  Sisi, Abdullah of Jordan, and many orhe heads of state; many looking to make mil purchases.  The S300 was entirely agreed to sell from Russia to Iran except: the bazaari Iranians are balking at the price.  Full stop to the sale. (for the instant.)  Mahmoud Abbas – elected head of PA for four years, seven years ago.  His retirement benefits: he's bldg a $13 mill mansion near Ramlah, by the PA min of Finance (funds from EU and everybody else); 
Monday  27 August 2015 / Hour 3, Block C: Richard A. Epstein, Hoover via Defining Ideas, in fre:  When Bureaucrats Do Good   The FTC’s recent policy statement on unfair business methods has generated an intelligent debate about government regulation. (2 of 2)
Monday  27 August 2015 / Hour 3, Block D: Richard A. Epstein, Hoover via Defining Ideas, in fre:  When Bureaucrats Do Good   The FTC’s recent policy statement on unfair business methods has generated an intelligent debate about government regulation. (2 of 2)
Hour Four
Monday  27 August 2015 / Hour 4, Block A: LouAnn Hammond, DrivingtheNation.com, in re: BMW! Ian Robertson, VP.  2016 BMW 7_series 6th generation.   September 14 starts press days for the Frankfurt auto show and BMW is bringing out their big guns and new-generation flagship ultra-luxe sedan, the BMW 7-Series. BMW and MINI will take up an entire hall at the Frankfurt auto show.  Changes have been made to the 7-Series. It comes only in long wheelbase and in three different models:  740i $81,300  V-6 twin turbo; 750i $94,400 V-8 ; 750i xdrive $97,400 V-8 (tops out at less than $130,000).  Carbon Core Passenger Cell - makes the car 290 pounds lighter than previous version. Active Kidney Grill. Air Curtains. LED fog lamps, full LED lights. Air Breather. Two non-metallic and nine metallic colors. Largest Head-Up Display in the industry. 7" Touch Command Tablet with two 10" screens in the rear. iDrive 5.0. . . .  [much more] . . .  Intelligent safety button brings up all the safety features you can configure to your liking - if you want to turn off lane assist, distracted driving - any feature -  you can in one group (think of clicking on a button that says radio and you can pick any station - that is the ease of the safety grouping)   http://www.bmw.com/com/en/newvehicles/7series/overview.html
Monday  27 August 2015 / Hour 4, Block B:  Francis Rose, Federal News Radio, in re:  VFW Against Candidate’s Call to Eliminate the VA  The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States is 100 percent against suggestions made by Dr. Ben Carson to eliminate the Department of Veterans Affairs by moving it under the Department of Defense. The presidential candidate’s remark was made while appearing on the nationally syndicated Dave Ramsey radio program yesterday. While discussing how to reduce the size of government, Carson questioned why there is a VA, that what it does “should be folded in under the Department of Defense,” that veterans should be given health savings accounts and sent out into the economy, and that VA facilities should be used just for specialized care for traumatic brain injury, limb replacements and research.  http://www.blogs.va.gov/VAntage/22436/va-claims-backlog-now-under-100000-lowest-in-department-history/  ;  http://www.tbo.com/list/military-news/suicide-at-bay-pines-shows-pain-among-older-veterans-20150826/
Monday  27 August 2015 / Hour 4, Block C: Bruce Thornton via Front Page Magazine Online; in re: Lies Progressives Tell Us: Climate Change  The quiet war Obama is waging on the economy and American families.
Monday  27 August 2015 / Hour 4, Block D:   John Bolton, AEI, in re:  https://www.nationalreview.com/nrd/articles/422800/facing-reality-iran