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DECEMBER 1,  2017

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 10:18 P.M. ET:

AND NO ONE SEEMS TO CARE – FROM THE BALTIMORE SUN:  Aleasha Bowie was recuperating at home from a surgical procedure Thursday morning when she heard a bang, and then a bang, bang, bang.
She screamed for her brother, who was just about to leave for work, then rushed to the front of the house to peer out the window, she said. On the corner outside, she saw a young man — a guy she’d watched grow up in the neighborhood — slumped on the street.  The 21-year-old man, who was not identified by police, was the 319th homicide victim in the city in 2017, tipping the annual count beyond the 318 killings that occurred in Baltimore in all of 2016.  That means this year is now Baltimore’s second-deadliest on record on a per-capita basis, with a month left to go. The record was set in 2015, when there were 344 homicides.  Since there's no anti-cop story here, the mainstream media doesn't seem to care.

ANOTHER GREAT MOMENT IN EDUCATION – FROM COLLEGE FIX:   The student newspaper at Evergreen State College has a section in its opinion pages described as “for people of color by people of color.”  “This should be a place where we can be us without it being overshadowed by the dark cloud that is living under white supremacy and having to see things from a white perspective. This is why when we do cover these issues it will be in the context and from the perspective of POC and POC only,” according to the section’s editors as they reintroduced it to readers in September.  The anonymous column, known as “POC Talk,” debuted in the bi-weekly Cooper Point Journal last year and returned this fall to the newspaper’s pages following racial unrest that erupted at the public university this past spring.  “Dear White people, please take a step back, this isn’t brown-people-answer-white-people’s-questions-hour, we’re asking specifically for submissions from POC,” the section’s editors added in their September intro. “As being told no seems to be a difficult concept for some of y’all I await your emails about the Irish, how the term white fragility is mean (great example of white fragility) and how we need to view people through a color-blind lens (just lol). You will 100% not get a response!!!”  How brilliant.  How intellectual.  And I'm sure many "white" professors will go along with it.  I have four words for these child revolutionaries:  physics, chemistry, math, engineering.  Study those and you'll be amazed how quickly your problems will be eased.  There is nothing better than to be needed.

TERRIFIC PROFESSORS – AND THEY DO EXIST – FROM COLLEGE FIX:  Located in the South Bronx, Hostos Community College is in the middle of the poorest urban congressional district in the United States.  Hostos aims to improve the quality of life for its 6,500 students who seek to escape poverty through education.  In that spirit, Hostos professors Gregory Marks and Andrea Fabrizio are spearheading a unique initiative to broaden the horizons of students at Hostos. The two English instructors, along with other faculty members in the school’s English department, say they understand the importance of teaching these students about the greatest thinkers Western Civilization has to offer.  With that, these professors are at the helm of a project to bring elements of Columbia University’s 100-year-old core curriculum to Hostos.  “We feel as though the Core builds on the Hostos Mission,” Marks told The College Fix via email, “which is geared toward the South Bronx community. It is a diverse community in an underserved area of NYC. We felt that these students, who struggle with fundamental academic skills of reading and writing, deserve to be exposed to the same material and human questioning as students attending selective private colleges such as Columbia University.”  Among the most important goals of the program, according to Fabrizio, is “encouraging thoughtful, self-knowing reflection on these foundational texts among our students.”  That's what an education is.  I hope these professors aren't shut down by the usual red groups.

December 1, 2017       Permalink

THE OUTRAGEOUS VERDICT – AT 3:41 P.M.    The verdict in the Kate Steinle case has roused national outrage.  The illegal immigrant on trial, with a string of priors, was only convicted of a technical weapons charge.  The life of Kate Steinle meant nothing.  But now the Justice Department may intervene.  From Fox:

The Justice Department is considering bringing federal charges against Jose Ines Garcia Zarate after his not guilty verdict in the Kate Steinle murder trial, department officials told Fox News on Friday.

A California jury acquitted Zarate of the more serious charges in the case, including murder, involuntary manslaughter and assault with a deadly weapon -- only convicting him of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

U.S. immigration officials had said they would deport Garcia Zarate – also known as Juan Francisco Lopez Sanchez -- who already had been deported five times and was wanted for a sixth deportation when Steinle was fatally shot in the back while walking with her father.

The undocumented felon could spend three years in prison for the firearm charge but has already been behind bars for over two years as the case has made its way through court. 

Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores acknowledged Friday that the DOJ is looking at federal charges. She suggested a possible charge could be felony re-entry or a charge pertaining to a violation of supervised release.

“We’re looking at every option and we will prosecute this to the fullest extent of the law because these cases are tragic and entirely preventable,” Flores said on “Fox & Friends” Friday.

She also urged local governments to “reconsider” sanctuary policies.

COMMENT:   The local governments will not consider these policies because they are run by liberals who want to be invited to the right cocktail parties. 

I haven't seen any interviews with the Steinle jurors.  I'm sure they regard themselves as noble, compassionate creatures.

December 1, 2017        Permalink

GOP HOPES ON TAX BILL RISE – AT 11:40 A.M. ET:  After a night of maneuvering, there are smiles again on the faces of GOP senators.  From The Wall Street Journal: 

WASHINGTON—Senate Republicans on Friday were confident that they had locked in enough votes to pass a sweeping tax bill later in the day. Wavering GOP senators offered their support and a holdout, worried it would add to the deficit, all but conceded defeat.

Sen. John Cornyn (R., Texas), the No. 2 Senate Republican, said the party had 50 votes to pass the legislation. Republicans control 52 seats compared with 48 for Democrats. With no Democrats expected to support the bill and Vice President Mike Pence able to break a tie if needed, Senate Republicans have the majority needed to clear the measure through the Senate and open negotiations with the House to iron out differences.

The emerging deal marks a sharp reversal from earlier this week, when a trio of Republican deficit hawks were working on a plan to automatically reverse tax cuts if the Republican tax plan failed to pay for itself through stronger economic growth. With one member of that group, Sen. James Lankford (R., Okla.), firmly in support of the tax package, the two remaining deficit hawks appeared to be gaining no ground in their bid to build in safeguards against widening deficits. The U.S. debt currently stands at more than $20 trillion, and the bill could add $1 trillion to the U.S. budget deficit over the next decade compared with current policy.

“I realize that there’s probably enough votes right now to pass it,” said Bob Corker (R., Tenn.), who had tried to find a compromise that would reverse tax cuts if the tax legislation, which currently costs $1.4 trillion in tax revenue, failed to pay for itself through economic growth as Republicans hope. Mr. Corker, who has emerged as one of his party’s most steadfast deficit hawks, said he expected the tax cut would probably pass without his support.

COMMENT:  The key point here is that a Senate "aye" vote simply passes the Senate version of the tax bill.  That is far from final passage.  The Senate version will then have to be reconciled with the House version by a committee established for that purpose.  Then the agreed-upon package would have to be passed by both houses and signed by the president to become law.

December 1, 2017       Permalink

FLYNN TO PLEAD – AT 10:17 A.M. ET:  Michael Flynn, Trump's initial choice for national security adviser, is about to plead guilty to lying to the FBI.  From Fox: 

Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn has been charged in the special counsel's Russia investigation with making false statements to the FBI and is expected to plead guilty at a hearing Friday morning. 

Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office released a one-count charging document ahead of the hearing.

The false statements charge pertains to Flynn's interactions with the Russian ambassador in late December -- specifically discussions about sanctions and other matters he apparently claimed never happened. 

According to the document, those false statements were that: 

• "On or about Dec 29, 2016, FLYNN did not ask the Government of Russia’s Ambassador to the United States ... to refrain from escalating the situation in response to sanctions that the United States had imposed against Russia that same day; and FLYNN did not recall the Russian Ambassador subsequently telling him that Russia had chosen to moderate its response to those sanctions as a result of his request."

• "On or about December 22, 2016, FLYNN did not ask the Russian Ambassador to delay the vote on or defeat a pending United Nations Security Council resolution; and  that the Russian Ambassador subsequently never described to FLYNN Russia’s response to his request.”

Flynn is accused of "willfully and knowingly" making the false statements to the FBI while serving in the Trump administration.

COMMENT:  The press is going hysterical on this, clearly delighted that Mueller is moving closer and closer to Trump. 

The details here are far less important than the overall political situation.  Mueller will probably come up with enough to at least raise questions about Trump.  If the Democrats take over the House next November, Trump is almost certain to be impeached, even if there are no sound grounds.  He could then resign or, as Clinton did, accept a trial before the US Senate.  Two thirds are required in the Senate for removal from office of a president, something that has never happened.

December 1,  2017     Permalink

NOVEMBER 30,  2017

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 10:47 P.M. ET: 

LATEST TREND IN EDUCATION – FROM COLLEGE FIX:  Brown University is implementing a change to its graduate school application that will allow applicants to “self-identify” as persons of color. Multiple efforts by The College Fix to clarify the details of this change were ignored by campus officials.  The policy comes as a result of complaints made by graduate students on the Graduate School advisory board that international and Asian American students are not treated as members of historically underrepresented groups by the university, according to The Brown Daily Herald.  One graduate student, Lydia Kelow-Bennett, told The Herald that this decision has led to “institutional invisibility” for these students. Brown defines historically underrepresented groups as “American Indian, Alaskan Native, African American, Hispanic or Latinx and Native Hawaiian and/or Pacific Islander.” The school’s diversity initiatives are intended to benefit members of these groups.  Brown’s criteria for historical underrepresentation “caused some students to not receive invitations to certain events, such as a multicultural student dinner,” The Herald reported.  I personally will choose to identify as turquoise.  I've always liked it.  Bright, cheery, optimistic, yet diverse.  Please send me my dinner invitation.

TAX BILL HITS A BUMP –  The GOP Senate tax bill was sailing along toward passage until late afternoon, when a report indicated that would would add $1.0-trillion to $1.7-trillion to (check one) the national debt or budget deficit, depending on which news source you use.  It is incredible to see how these numbers and terms are just thrown around.  So now the lawmakers are meeting to find a way to avoid that warning, which is a dealbreaker to some members.  The vote, which was to be held tonight, has now been put off until Friday morning.  Republicans have had years to come up with a new tax plan, yet are still arguing down to the wire over provisions that should have been settled a long time ago.

NO JUSTICE FOR KATE – FROM ABC:   In a surprising verdict, the jury of six men and six women deliberated and came back with a not guilty verdict for Jose Ines Garcia Zarate. The defendant was facing second degree murder charges for killing 32-year-old Pleasanton resident Kate Steinle on July 1, 2015 at Pier 14 in San Francisco. While Garcia Zarate can technically walk out of the courtroom, it's expected that he will be taken into custody by Immigration officials and eventually deported back to his native Mexico.  The case gained notoriety because Garcia Zarate is an undocumented immigrant who had been deported several times and had a number of felony convictions. Steinle's death became part of the immigration debate in this country. During his campaign, President Trump criticized San Francisco for its sanctuary city status.   The verdict was a farce.  The jury could have chosen manslaughter instead of murder, but acquitted this creature of all counts except a technical weapons possession charge.  Of course, the San Francisco mentality holds that the murderer is really the victim.  I would have loved to hear the jury deliberations.  I wonder how many times the phrase "understanding other cultures" was used.

November 30, 2017       Permalink

HOW SAD – AT 10:22 A.M. ET:  It doesn't get much lower than this.  From the Washington Times:

The assistant leader of the House Democrats reportedly said Wednesday that the sexual-misconduct charges against Rep. John Conyers Jr. might be false because all the complaining women are white.

Rep. James E. Clyburn, South Carolina Democrat, made the purported remarks Wednesday at a meeting of the House Democratic Caucus, according to Robert Draper, a reporter for New York Times Magazine and National Geographic.

“At this morning’s House Democratic caucus: James Clyburn compared Conyers‘ accusers to the child murderer Susan Smith, who initially claimed a black man had abducted her kids. Clyburn said, these are all white women who’ve made these charges against Conyers,” Mr. Draper tweeted.

COMMENT:  It will be fascinating to see how the Democratic Party, which specializes in race-baiting identity politics, handles this hot potato.  They've made their own bed.

November 30, 2017       Permalink

BIG CHANGES? – AT 9:56 A.M. ET:  As readers know, we are very reluctant to highlight speculative stories.  However, this one is too juicy to ignore, and has the ring of truth.   From The New York Times: 

The White House has developed a plan to force out Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson, whose relationship with President Trump has been strained, and replace him with Mike Pompeo, the C.I.A. director, within the next several weeks, senior administration officials said on Thursday.

Mr. Pompeo would be replaced at the C.I.A. by Senator Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas who has been a key ally of the president on national security matters, according to the White House plan. Mr. Cotton has signaled that he would accept the job if offered, said the officials, who insisted on anonymity to discuss sensitive deliberations before decisions are announced.

COMMENT:  Sounds good to me.  Mike Pompeo, who graduated first in his class at West Point, is a sound strategic planner.  Tom Cotton is one of the best voices on national security, a man who gave up a brilliant legal career to serve in Iraq. 

It's hard to read Secretary Tillerson.  He was a surprise choice for his current post, having been CEO of Exxon/Mobil.  He may just be a poor fit.

Let's see if the White House tries to knock down the story.

November 30, 2017       Permalink

SELLOUT – AT 9:40 A.M. ET:  The NFL is trying to appease the forces that are causing its decline.  From Breitbart: 

The NFL’s sellout to their anthem-protesting players is starting to look a lot more like a buyout. According to ESPN, the league will offer nearly $100 million to causes designed to promote “social justice change.”

In a move unlike anything seen from a major American sports league, the league will offer the money in hopes that it will end the ratings-killing protest movement begun by Colin Kaepernick in the preseason of 2016.

According to ESPN:

The NFL’s multifaceted offer earmarks at least $89 million over a seven-year period for both national and local projects, according to documents reviewed by ESPN. On the national level, owners this year will allocate $5 million, with their commitment growing annually and maxing out at $12 million per year from 2021 through 2023. At the local level, owners will put up $250,000 annually and expect players to match that amount, totaling $500,000 for each team. Players and owners can exceed that amount if they choose, with no matching requirement. In addition, there would be other fundraising opportunities, including telethons and auctions of jerseys worn in games.
If the players approve their end of the deal, a vote on the appropriation of the money could come as early as March. Commissioner Roger Goodell is believed to have the support of the owners to proceed with the deal.

As far as how the money would be distributed, ESPN reports:

National funding would be allocated accordingly: 25 percent to the United Negro College Fund, 25 percent to Dream Corps and 50 percent to the Players Coalition, which has filed 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) paperwork for nonprofit status as a fiscally sponsored project. This week, the coalition hired the Hopewell Fund to oversee and advise the group, which hopes to work with grassroots and nonprofit organizations in its areas of focus.

Under the proposal, money at both the national and local level would provide grants for nonprofit organizations focused on law enforcement and community relations, criminal justice reform and education reform.

COMMENT:  The idea isn't bad, and the United Negro College Fund has done some fine work.  But we've seen "programs" like this in the past, where the funds strangely disappear into the pockets of activists and leaders.  If the funds can be carefully monitored and well spent, fine.  But that is always the issue.

November 30,  2017    Permalink