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DECEMBER 20,  2017

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

HER OWN MEDICINE – FROM THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS:    A street artist is calling Meryl Streep on her bluff.  Posters showing the "The Post" actress standing with disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein have been popping up across Los Angeles, Twitter posts indicate. The artist, who has yet to be identified, placed a red banner with the words, "She knew," over Streep's eyes.  The images began appearing around the City of Angels following a Monday statement from the 68-year-old actress in which she claimed Weinstein "made sure" she didn't know about his perverted antics.  How could she not have known?  It was all over the industry.

A REMINDER – FROM AFP:    BERLIN — German police said they arrested Wednesday a man planning to carry out a ramming attack in the name of the Islamic State group on the crowds outside a skating rink.
The 29-year-old suspect, a German national, was believed to have scouted the target in the southern German city of Karlsruhe in August and allegedly tried to get a delivery driver job in preparation.  “The accused, Dasbar W., is strongly suspected of having supported IS and being a member of IS,” German anti-terror prosecutors said in a statement. He is “strongly suspected of plotting a violent action.”  Not really much of a surprise.

UNBELIEVABLE – FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER:   College Democrats at the University of California San Diego last week branded flyers recently posted around their campus as "racist propaganda." The flyers in question were simple, bearing only a picture of murder victim Kate Steinle's face and the phrase, "She had dreams too."  The illegal immigrant who shot and killed Steinle in 2015 was acquitted of both murder and manslaughter on Nov. 30. His argument in court was that it was an accident.  This is what the Democratic Party, under Barack Obama, has  become.

December 20, 2017       Permalink

PASSED – AT 1:18 P.M. ET:  Congress has completed action on the tax-reform bill and sent it to the president.  From Fox: 

The House gave the final stamp of approval Wednesday to a sweeping tax reform package, handing President Trump his first major legislative victory and most Americans a tax cut starting next year.
With a 224-201 House vote, Congress sent the $1.5 trillion package to Trump’s desk. The biggest rewrite of the federal tax code since the Reagan administration will usher in steep rate cuts for American companies, double the deduction millions of families claim on their annual returns and make a host of other changes taking effect in a matter of weeks.

"This bill means more take-home pay. It will be an incredible Christmas gift for hard-working Americans," Trump said during a Cabinet meeting moments before the vote. 

While the bill already earned House approval earlier Tuesday, the Senate had to ship it back for a final vote after stripping out three provisions that violated chamber rules, in a last-minute glitch. Twelve Republicans once again defected Wednesday to vote with Democrats in opposition. 

COMMENT:  A great legislative achievement.  The momentum is with the president right now.  Remember that he won the presidential election by talking over the heads of the opposition and the media.  He should keep doing it.

We need an infrastructure bill to start repairing our bridges and highways.

And we need a major success in foreign policy.  Under Obama the definition of success was something that benefited an enemy nation.  I think Trump sees things otherwise.

December 20, 2017       Permalink

AND IN THE REAL WORLD – AT 10:43 A.M. ET:  Let us not forget, as we focus on the tax-reform bill, that we are facing major national-security challenges.  Some of our allies are preparing, as we are, to meet those challenges, and to confront rogue nations like North Korea, and mighty nations like China.  From The Wall Street Journal: 

ISHIGAKI, Japan—Japan’s military is laying the groundwork for batteries of antiship and antiaircraft missiles in a quiet, sugar-cane-filled valley here, as it girds to confront what Tokyo views as its greatest long-term threat: China.

Ishigaki is one of a string of subtropical islands in the far southwest of the Japanese archipelago—the closest is about 200 miles from China’s coast—that defense officials are fortifying with troop garrisons, new weapons and a radar installation.

As China becomes more powerful and assertive and North Korea builds up its nuclear arsenal, Japan is rethinking its approach to defense and moving away from the policies of strict pacifism it has followed since its defeat in World War II.

On Friday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet is set to approve an increase of around 2.5% in annual military spending, including funds for the new bases on the southern islands, as well as the country’s first cruise missiles and a new ballistic-missile defense shield.

Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said the cruise missiles are intended to protect the islands from invasion.

Defense budgets have been growing since 2013, with Japan, one of the U.S.’s most important allies, buying advanced fighter jets, boosting surveillance capabilities and training a new amphibious troop unit.

The country still spends around half of that spent by China and one-third of the U.S. on defense relative to the size of each country’s economy. But, with the support—and prodding—of Washington, it is building one of the world’s most capable armed forces.

COMMENT:  After World War II, it was understandable that Japan wanted nothing more to do with things military.  The war left the country largely destroyed. 

But it's a new era, and Japan is taking its rightful place in the defense of the free nations.  North Korea has actually fired missiles over Japan.  Japan has taken note, and taken action.  A serious confrontation with North Korea may be in the offing.  We have a strong ally with us.

December 20, 2017       Permalink 

THE PRESIDENT'S POLLS – AT 10:15 A.M. ET:  Are we starting to see movement in the president's poll numbers?  If you watch CNN, you'd think Donald Trump is the most hated man in America, with only three people ready to vote for him again.  CNN, and others always pick his worst poll numbers to emphasize.

But Trump traditionally underpolls – his actual numbers are higher than his poll numbers.  So we use polls that are perhaps (we think) more realistic than the anti-Trumpers use.  Rasmussen is reporting this today:

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Wednesday shows that 44% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Trump’s job performance. Fifty-four percent (54%) disapprove.

The latest figures include 29% who Strongly Approve of the way the president is performing and 45% who Strongly Disapprove. This gives him a Presidential Approval Index rating of -16.

COMMENT:  Those are not bad numbers.  Don't forget that the saintly Obama spent a good part of his presidency in the low- to mid-forties. 

Trump's numbers in the Rasmussen survey are showing a slow but steady rise.  If he can get into the high forties, we may see a different mood in some media outlets...if they're smart, which is always a question.

We will be watching to see if the tax-reform bill produces a jump in the president's numbers.  CNN is doing its best to discredit the legislation.  We hope they're ignored.

December 20,  2017     Permalink

DECEMBER 19,  2017

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:56 P.M. ET:

FINALLY – The Senate passed the tax reform package tonight, the House having passed it earlier.  The bill must now be returned to the House for technical reasons.  It will pass the House in the morning, and will then be sent on to the president for his signature.  We don't yet know when the signing will occur.  The White House is thinking about holding off the signing to early January, and making a big occasion of it.  I like that idea.  The Republicans now have a major legislative victory.  If it works for the individual citizen and family, the victory could go a long way toward securing GOP control of Congress in the 2018 midterms.

FOOLS – FROM THE DAILY MAIL:    Parents of students at a Connecticut high school say they were upset when First Daughter Ivanka Trump made an unannounced visit.  Some parents pulled their children from class on Monday, saying they were troubled they were not told in advance that President Donald Trump's daughter and senior White House adviser was paying a visit to Norwalk Early College Academy at Norwalk High School.  Karey Fitzgerald, of Norwalk, told News 12 Connecticut she thinks parents should have had the choice of whether to send their child to school.  'This should have been brought to our attention, although I do understand security reasons,' she added. 'I think we should have had the choice to send our child to school or keep them home.'  The level of immaturity is breathtaking.  I wonder what these kids are taught at home, if anything.

I CAN'T WAIT TO GO – FROM THE HILL:   The Colorado Democratic Party is renaming its annual dinner the “Obama Dinner."  The dinner is being named after both former President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, with the party’s executive director Pilar Chapa saying the move was to recognize the couple’s “historic contributions.”  Chapa listed the passage of ObamaCare, economic growth and work on climate change as efforts that “cemented President Obama’s legacy as a transformational leader of our country.”  Chapa also cited Michelle Obama’s work on children’s health programs and for military families.
“The Obama legacy embodies the values we hold as Democrats, and we are beyond proud to rename our annual dinner after our former first family,” Chapa said in the statement.  The party of Jefferson, Jackson, Roosevelt, Truman and Kennedy is now dead. 

December 19,  2017     Permalink

WHAT?  OUR HILLARY? – AT 12:36 P.M. ET:  These attacks on Hillary Clinton, sometimes called, affectionately, the Queen of Ethics, must stop!  Give us back our Hillary.  From Fox:   

A new legal complaint filed with the Federal Election Commission alleges that the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee used state chapters as strawmen to circumvent campaign donation limits and laundered the money back to her campaign.

The Committee to Defend the President, a political action committee, filed its complaint with the FEC on Monday with the allegations that the Hillary Victory Fund (HVF) solicited cash from big-name donors, including Calvin Klein and “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane -- money that was allegedly sent through state chapters and back to the DNC before ending up with the Clinton campaign.

Officials with the committee said their filing was spurred by their own analysis of FEC reports, where they said they discovered the HVF either never transferred the money to state chapters and back to the DNC, or did so without the state chapters having actual control. 

“What we have found, people need to see,” Ted Harvey, chairman of the CDP which emerged from the now-defunct Stop Hillary PAC, told Fox News. “I think it’s important that the American public has an understanding of how corrupt this campaign system was and that they were doing anything they could to secure the nomination in her favor.”

In its complaint, the CDP alleges that about $84 million was funneled illegally from the DNC through state party chapters and back into the war chest of the Clinton campaign.

COMMENT:  Oh, probably some broken calculator did this.  You know, if you don't replace the batteries regularly, this confusion can happen.  The numbers on the screen change.  It's very bad.  And don't buy off-brand batteries.  They make the results worse.

I'm sure Hillary will explain these misunderstandings in her next book, "I'm Poor."

December 19, 2017        Permalink

MAJOR EDUCATIONAL ADVANCE – AT 10:54 A.M. ET:  I wanted to rush this to you so that you can enroll immediately.  Please.  Space is limited.  From College Fix: 

A two-day professional development conference held recently at the University of Michigan included a training session that aimed to help white employees deal with their “whiteness” so they could become better equipped to fight for social justice causes, according to organizers.

Participants who took part in the “Conversations on Whiteness” session, held December 5 during the university’s Student Life Professional Development Conference, were taught to “recognize the difficulties they face when talking about social justice issues related to their White identity, explore this discomfort, and devise ways to work through it,” the university’s website states.

The goal was to help participants in “unpacking Whiteness” to support students and staff with issues and efforts “related to identity and social justice,” the website added.

The “Conversations on Whiteness” session was one of more than a dozen workshops offered at the conference, held Dec. 4 and 5. The whiteness session utilized the “Privileged Identity Exploration Model” to help white participants explore the “discomfort” of their “white identity,” according to organizers.

COMMENT:  I think this is pretty much the answer to everything, don't you?  Forget that physics, chemistry, math and engineering stuff.  Take the Conversations on Whiteness course. 

Then try to get a job.

December 19, 2017       Permalink

WONDERFUL CHOICE – AT 10:38 A.M. ET:  The Heritage Foundation, one of the most important conservative think tanks in the nation, has named a new president.  She happens to be an African-American woman.  Most important, she's terrific.  From Daily Signal: 

Kay Coles James, a conservative leader with experience in government, academia and public policy, will be the next president of The Heritage Foundation, the think tank announced Tuesday.

James will officially take the reins from Heritage founder Edwin J. Feulner on Jan. 1. Feulner, who led the organization from 1977 to 2013, has served as president during the organization’s nationwide search for a new leader. Former Sen. Jim DeMint resigned as president in May.

Heritage’s board of trustees unanimously elected James after an extensive search, said Thomas A. Saunders III, the board’s chairman.

“All of us at Heritage are looking forward to continuing working with Kay Coles James developing and advancing conservative policy solutions and principles that are in the best interest of the American people,” Saunders said in a statement.

Over the course of her 30-year career, James has served in government, academia, and the private sector. Her roles include director of the Office of Personnel Management under President George W. Bush, a senior member of President Donald Trump’s transition team, Virginia’s health secretary under Gov. George Allen, and dean of the School of Government at Regent University. She currently leads The Gloucester Institute in Virginia.

“For more than four decades, The Heritage Foundation has been a vital force in American conservatism, producing the research, analysis, and solutions that inform and influence policymaking,” James said. “I’m honored that the board would ask me to lead this important work. What we believe, what we develop, what we fight for—these are the policies that help people. I look forward to expanding the conservative movement in a positive, inclusive way as we build an America where freedom, opportunity, prosperity, and civil society flourish.”

COMMENT:   Oh, I'd like to see how the mainstreamers handle this story.  If they report it at all.

December 19,  2017     Permalink