Saturday Email Bag - Chattanooga, Hillary, the Steelers and Iran

It's Saturday email bag time again and I received several interesting questions this week. But before we look at them, I want to give you some good news. Reuters has reported that British Home Secretary Theresa May has intervened to reverse the decision by her officials and grant dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei a full six-month visa to enter Britain. On Thursday, the artist, whose passport was returned to him by Chinese authorities last week four years after it was confiscated, said Britain had granted him only a short-stay visa because immigration officials said he had not declared a "criminal conviction." Ai was detained for 81 days in 2011 but he has never been charged or convicted of a crime. "The Home Secretary was not consulted over the decision to grant Mr Ai a one-month visa. She has reviewed the case and has now instructed Home Office officials to issue a full six-month visa," a Home Ministry spokeswoman said. The Home Ministry has also written to Ai Weiwei to apologize. ~~~~~ Now, the email bag questions : **Why is there no uproar over Obama not ordering all flags to half staff over the mass killing in Chattanooga until the public demanded it. And why only 3 days vs the normal month. **How long before Bill Clinton turns on Hillary to protect himself  and the Billions in the Foundation bank account. **The best defense being a good offense - when will Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, et al, make a definitive, crippling first strike against Iran, an attack to wipe out every nuclear facility and eradicate their nuclear brain trust? **NFL training camps start this coming week - any early picks on who gets to the big dance at the Super Bowl. ~~~~~ I have no factual information about the White House delay in lowering the flag over the presidential residence after the Chattanooga killing of five US military personnel. But, based on six years of observing President Obama, I could guess that he was trying to avoid admitting that a homeland terrorist attack by a radicalized American Moslem had occurred -- he refuses to use words linking Moslems with terrorist actions and he refuses to call homeland terrorist attacks by their proper name. As for the lack of uproar, there was sufficient outrage to force the White House to lower its flag, albeit for a short period, since keeping it at half-mast for a month might suggest that the US is at war -- another no-no for Obama, who thinks of himself as a "war terminator." ~~~~~ Will Bill Clinton jump ship if Hillary gets into real trouble as she runs for President? My guess is that they would pull the plug on her campaign together, with a flurry of explanations that try to protect their Foundation empire. And in any case, that won't happen until after Hillary's October testimony before the House Special Committee on Benghazi, which could see things begin to unravel for Hillary. ~~~~~ A public coalition of Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt would be almost as newsworthy as any strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. While such a pre-emptive strike is not out of the question, it would most likely not happen until after the US Congress votes on rejecting or accepting the Iran deal, and the veto scenario plays out between President Obama and Congress in case of a rejection vote. Then, if the deal is ratified, the strike would probably come before US sanctions are officially removed and billions of dollats flow to Iran's treasury. But, the bottom line for me is that I don't tbink an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities will occur. The risks for the region, and especially for Israel, are too great. ~~~~~ As for who will be in the Super Bowl next January -- only a fool would try to predict now. But, sports is often a matter of long-term, and even childhood, loyalties. Mine are firmly with the Pittsburgh Steelers. So, if Ben Rothlisberger stays healthy, and the Steeler line regains its traditional tough stance after a year of injuries and rebuilding, whoever the Steelrs face in the next Super Bowl won't really matter.