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DECEMBER 3,  2017

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET: 

NFL CONTINUES TO FUMBLE – FROM BREITBART:  Week 13 doesn’t appear to be the National Football League’s lucky number as photos of stadiums across the league still show an awful lot of empty seats. Meanwhile, the sad in-person attendance mirrors the continually plummeting TV ratings.  With last week’s Thursday Night Football and Monday Night Football broadcasts closing out Week 12 with new lows in metered markets, and despite the nearly $90 million in social justice spending for players to end their constant, anti-American protests during the national anthem, Week 13 began with tens of thousands of empty seats in stadiums everywhere.   The damage may be permanent.  The image of professional football has been badly damaged.  All they need now is a sexual harassment scandal, which is almost inevitable. 

NO CLASS – FROM BREITBART:  Birmingham, ALABAMA — An organization partnered with a George Soros-financed group and led by a radical leftist who is the half-brother of the infamous controversial Rev. Al Sharpton has been diligently working over the past few weeks to register convicted felons across Alabama.  The aim of the effort has been to get as many felons as possible on the roster before last Monday, the deadline to register in order to vote in Alabama’s Dec. 12 senate special election that pits Republican Roy Moore against Democratic challenger Doug Jones.  The man spearheading the campaign has stated outright that his effort is meant to ensure a Democratic victory in Alabama.  What a sad way to win an election...although the modern Democratic Party has not exactly embraced law and order.

KOREA WARNING – FROM BRITAIN'S EXPRESS:  Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has warned that the rising tensions between the the US and Kim Jong-un’s corrupt regime means preparations for war need to be taken.  The member of the Senate Armed Services Committee warned the US was “running out of time” to prepare itself for war when speaking on CBS yesterday.  He said: “I want the Pentagon to stop sending dependents and I think it’s now time to start moving American dependents out of South Korea.
“We're getting close to a military conflict because North Korea is marching toward marrying up the technology of an ICBM with a nuclear weapon on top that can not only get to America, but deliver the weapon.  “We’re running out of time.”  Lt. Gen. Herbert McMaster, the president's national security adviser, issued a similar warning over the weekend.  This is getting very critical, but many in the media are only interested in how they can bring down Trump.

December 3, 2017       Permalink

TRUTH TELLIN' – AT 12:45 P.M. ET:  The brilliant independent journalist Claudia Rossett, one of the best investigative reporters around, sets the record straight about the 2016 presidential campaign.  From Daily Caller: 

Claudia Rosett, an award-winning journalist who worked for the Wall Street Journal for 17 years and known for her groundbreaking reporting on UN corruption, picks through the nuances of despots and dictators around the world.

Rosett sat down with The Daily Caller News Foundation and said the message from the 2016 election had nothing to do with Russia, but everything to do with shrinking paychecks, vanishing jobs and over-regulation.

The Democrats’ rhetoric about Trump’s supposed Russian collusion does not match the degree of enthusiasm and flexibility that former President Barack Obama actually displayed to Russia for his entire two terms, Rosett says in this video interview.

She cites: when Obama was caught on a hot mic promising flexibility to Vladimir Putin, shelving missile defense for Europe in a phony “reset” with our dangerous adversary, inadequate pursuit of Edward Snowden who is still hiding in Russia, the imaginary “red line” with Syria that opened the door to Russia being emboldened in the Middle East, the Iran deal that advantaged Russia and their allies on the world scene and the weak response of the U.S. when Russia annexed Crimea, which belonged to Ukraine.

COMMENT:  Take that, CNN.  Read the whole piece.  Rosett is crystal clear, and actually knows something.  A rarity.

December 3, 2017       Permalink

PROPER PREPARATIONS – AT 11:53 A.M. ET:  The Trump administration is looking to harden defenses on America's West Coast.  This is the right thing to do.  It demonstrates resolve, capability, and signals that this administration takes the protection of the American people seriously.  From Reuters: 

SIMI VALLEY, Calif  (Reuters) - The U.S. agency tasked with protecting the country from missile attacks is scouting the West Coast for places to deploy new anti-missile defenses, two congressmen said on Saturday, as North Korea’s missile tests raise concerns about how the United States would defend itself from an attack.

West Coast defenses would likely include Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-ballistic missiles, similar to those deployed in South Korea to protect against a potential North Korean attack.

The accelerated pace of North Korea’s ballistic missile testing program in 2017 and the likelihood the North Korean military could hit the U.S. mainland with a nuclear payload in the next few years has raised the pressure on the United States government to build-up missile defenses.

On Wednesday, North Korea tested a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that can fly over 13,000 km (8,080 miles), placing Washington within target range, South Korea said on Friday.

Congressman Mike Rogers, who sits on the House Armed Services Committee and chairs the Strategic Forces Subcommittee which oversees missile defense, said the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), was aiming to install extra defenses at West Coast sites. The funding for the system does not appear in the 2018 defense budget plan indicating potential deployment is further off.

COMMENT:  I'm sure some of the political fashion plates on the West Coast will oppose this deployment, based on their need to be accepted on the cocktail-party circuit.  But I suspect the real humans in West Coast states will be pleased with the extra protection.

December 3, 2017       Permalink 

THIS COULD BE MAJOR – AT 11:31 A.M. ET:   It seems that our unease over the government's handling of the Hillary Clinton e-mail scandal may have been well placed.  From Fox: 

EXCLUSIVE –  Two senior Justice Department officials have confirmed to Fox News that the department's Office of Inspector General is reviewing the role played in the Hillary Clinton email investigation by Peter Strzok, a former deputy director for counterintelligence at the FBI who was removed from the staff of Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III earlier this year, after Mueller learned that Strzok had exchanged anti-Trump texts with a colleague.

A source close to the matter said the OIG probe, which will examine Strzok's roles in a number of other politically sensitive cases, should be completed by "very early next year." 

The task will be exceedingly complex, given Strzok's consequential portfolio. He participated in the FBI's fateful interview with Hillary Clinton on July 2, 2016 – just days before then-FBI Director James Comey announced he was declining to recommend prosecution of Mrs. Clinton in connection with her use, as secretary of state, of a private email server. 

As deputy FBI director for counterintelligence, Strzok also enjoyed liaison with various agencies in the intelligence community, including the CIA, then led by Director John Brennan.

COMMENT:  Let's see if Jeff Sessions can oversee this and make sure it's done right.  The role of the FBI in the failure to prosecute Hillary Clinton is critical.  If it was compromised by Strzok, the public must know, Congress must know, and the issue must be pursued further...and vigorously.

December 3,  2017     Permalink

DECEMBER 2,  2017

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET:

TODAY –  Today, December 2nd, is the 75th anniversary of humankind's first sustained nuclear reaction, achieved under the stands at Stagg Field, a football stadium, at the University of Chicago.  As a student at that university, I passed the site of the experiment every day, and saw the plaque commemorating the experiment, which was under the direction of Enrico Fermi.  The sustained nuclear reaction made possible the development of the atomic bomb.  When the experiment succeeded,  Nobel laureate physicist Arthur Holly Compton telephoned James Conant, chairman of the National Defense Research Committee, and reported, "The Italian navigator has landed in the new world."  "How were the natives?" Conant asked.  "Very friendly," Compton replied. 

TOO EXTREME? – FROM CNN:    ABC News announced Saturday that it has suspended investigative reporter Brian Ross for four weeks without pay after Ross was forced to correct a bombshell on-air report about Michael Flynn.  "We deeply regret and apologize for the serious error we made yesterday. The reporting conveyed by Brian Ross during the special report had not been fully vetted through our editorial standards process," ABC said in a statement. "As a result of our continued reporting over the next several hours ultimately we determined the information was wrong and we corrected the mistake on air and online."  "It is vital we get the story right and retain the trust we have built with our audience -- these are our core principles," the statement added. "We fell far short of that yesterday."  Citing a single anonymous source, Ross told viewers during an ABC special report on Friday morning that Flynn was prepared to testify that Donald Trump, as a candidate for president, told him to contact Russians.  During Friday's edition of "World News Tonight," Ross walked back his report, telling viewers that the source who had provided the initial information for his story later told him that it was as president-elect, not as a candidate, that Trump asked Flynn to contact Russians.  Okay, big mistake.  Poor editorial checking.  But ABC made a sincere and full effort to correct the error.   In my view, the correction was sufficient.  No need to go overboard in reprimanding the reporter.  Looks very pompous to me.

OH DEAR, CAN WE GET THIS RIGHT? – FROM DAILY CALLER:  Global warming has not accelerated temperature rise in the bulk atmosphere in more than two decades, according to a new study funded by the Department of Energy.  University of Alabama-Huntsville climate scientists John Christy and Richard McNider found that by removing the climate effects of volcanic eruptions early on in the satellite temperature record showed virtually no change in the rate of warming since the early 1990s.  “We indicated 23 years ago — in our 1994 Nature article — that climate models had the atmosphere’s sensitivity to CO2 much too high,” Christy said in a statement. “This recent paper bolsters that conclusion.”  I do wish that "science" would get this right.  Are we in danger, or are we not?  It seems to me we get more political science than real science.

December 2, 2017      Permalink

PASSED – AT 9:26 A.M. ET:   The United States Senate passed its version of the tax bill last night.  From CNN: 

(CNN) The Senate passed its tax reform bill in the early hour of Saturday morning, following a day full of Republican leaders making changes to bring enough members on board and a long night full of heated rhetoric on both sides of the aisle.

The vote was 51-49, mostly along party lines. Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee was the only Republican to vote against the bill, citing concerns about growing the deficit.

Congressional negotiators continued to make changes to the bill -- including handwriting alterations on to the document -- up until just hours before the final vote, with Democrats sharply criticizing Republicans for not giving members enough time to read the sweeping legislation that would overhaul the US tax system.

The House of Representatives approved its own tax reform plan last month, and the two chambers are expected to go to conference to reconcile the two bills, but passing the legislation Saturday was a huge victory for Senate Republicans and President Donald Trump, both looking for significant legislative achievements.

Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, a key holdout, announced just after noon that he would back the plan.

Republicans could pass the legislation with 50 members and a tie-breaking vote from Vice President Mike Pence, but after Sen. Susan Collins of Maine announced her support Friday afternoon, Pence's would-be vote was unnecessary, as Collins' vote brought the tally to 51.

COMMENT:  Now the reconciliation process begins.  That will probably result in an even better bill.  President Trump may well have legislation on his desk by the end of the year.  But if it takes a bit longer, that's fine, as long as it's a good plan.

Watch for the Trump-hating press to mount a major campaign against the legislation.  Republicans must stay strong, and at least reasonably united.  And that begins with the president explaining the benefits of the plan directly to the American people, Reagan style, going over the heads of the journalists.

December 2, 2017       Permalink

CHALLENGING FUTURE FOR LABOR – AT 9:09 A.M. ET:   Robotics are here.  The robots refuse to go home.  For working Americans, they pose an enormous and painful challenge.  From the Washington Post: 

Over the next 13 years, the rising tide of automation will force as many as 70 million workers in the United States to find another way to make money, a new study from the global consultancy McKinsey predicts.

That means nearly a third of the American workforce could face the need to pick up new skills or enter different fields in the near future, said the report's co-author, Michael Chui, a partner at the McKinsey Global Institute who studies business and economics.

“We believe that everyone will need to do retraining over time,” he said.

The shift could displace people at every stage of their career, Chui said.

By 2030, the researchers estimated, the demand for office support workers in the U.S. will drop by 20 percent. That includes secretaries, paralegals and anyone in charge of administrative tasks.

During the same period, the need for people doing “predictable physical work” — construction equipment installation and repair, card dealing, security guarding, dishwashing and food preparation, for example — will fall by 30 percent.

And...

The jobs most at risk involve repetitive tasks. About half the duties workers handle globally could be automated, according to the report, though less than 5 percent of occupations could be entirely taken over by computers.

Caretakers, psychologists, artists, writers — anyone who relies on empathy or creativity at work — can expect to have the most job security as automation continues to spread, said Jason Hong, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

“Artificial intelligence is now taking over even white collar jobs,” he said, “but those that require lots of human touch and communication won’t be easily automated.”

COMMENT:  So the future will belong to shrinks and writers.  I'm leaving.

December 2, 2017       Permalink

ABC MAKES A CORRECTION – AT 8:47 A.M. ET:  It's good to see a major news organization correct itself when a serious error is made.  Consider this, from ABC News: 

JUST IN: @Brian Ross on @ABC News Special Report: Michael Flynn promised "full cooperation to the Mueller team" and is prepared to testify that as a candidate, Donald Trump "directed him to make contact with the Russians." https://t.co/aiagnvr8eS pic.twitter.com/r8u2LWAd0O
— ABC News (@ABC) December 1, 2017

(ABC News has deleted Ross's original and erroneous report)

UPDATE: ABC News has deleted the above video of Ross' report from Friday morning after investigative reporter Brian Ross retracted the explosive claim that Flynn would be willing to testify against Trump.

Ross said on ABC World News Tonight that incoming President Trump, not candidate Trump, instructed Flynn to speak to the Russians, a chasm between the original report that the Republican nominee made the request.

Ross also clarified the reason why Flynn -- the incoming National Security Advisor -- was told to speak to the Russian Federation whereas before he left it open-ended that Trump wanted the retired general to "make contact" with the Russians.

COMMENT: The lesson:  Be careful of all "first reports."  Indeed, be careful of journalism generally.  It is, as an editor once said, history's rough first draft.  The trouble is, we often don't get a second draft. 

The Mueller investigation drags on, disrupting the White House and holding the president under a cloud, while thus far producing very little.  These special counsels, while occasionally necessary, can easily turn into a burden on our democracy.  I hope Mueller wraps up his probe quickly.  We elected a government, and we are entitled to have one.

December 2,  2017     Permalink