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FEBRUARY 3,  2017

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:54 P.M. ET: 

THE ART OF THE DEAL – FROM FOX:   The Trump administration announced Friday that the Pentagon has reached a tentative deal with Lockheed Martin for the purchase of 90 F-35 jets at the lowest price in the program’s history – saving the government millions, officials said.  Trump, as president-elect, made headlines in December when he tweeted that the costs for the F-35 program were “out of control.”  This led to meetings and negotiations with the defense mega-contractor, apparently culminating in Friday's nearly $9 billion agreement.  Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, F-35 program executive officer, called the contract a "good and fair" deal for taxpayers.  "We continue to work with Industry to drive costs out of the program," he said in a statement.  The Trump effect, well played.

AND MORE GOOD NEWS – FROM FOX:   Japan, which has a consistent trade surplus with the U.S., is putting the finishing touches on a package that it claims will create 700,000 jobs in the U.S. and help create a $450-billion market, Reuters reported, citing government sources familiar with the plans.  Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Trump are expected to meet on Feb. 10. Major Japanese newspapers cited a draft of the proposal that calls for cooperation on building high-speed trains in the U.S. northeast, Texas and California. The two sides would also jointly develop artificial intelligence, robotics, space and Internet technology.  The Japanese may use money from its foreign exchange reserves to fund the package, Reuters reported.  Never happened under Obama.  Never even thought of.

DON'T TAKE IT SO SERIOUSLY – FROM RASMUSSEN REPORTS:   A lot of Americans have hard feelings after last November's presidential election.  A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 40% of Likely U.S. Voters think the election has negatively affected their personal relationship with a friend or family member. That's a jump from the 26% who said just days before the election that the presidential race itself had already hurt their relationship with a friend or family member.  Contrary to the media and most pollsters who felt Democrat Hillary Clinton was a shoo-in for the presidency, Republican Donald Trump was the surprise winner. Fifty-four percent (54%) of voters who Strongly Disapprove of the job President Trump is doing say the election has hurt a personal relationship. Just 35% of those who Strongly Approve of Trump's job performance agree.  We conservatives simply have a sunnier disposition.  The Democratic Party used to say that "Democrats have more fun."  Today the Democrats want fun abolished, or at least investigated.

February 3, 2017       Permalink

AND THE SANCTIONS HAVE COME – AT 11:05 A.M. ET:  The administration has just announced those sanctions on Iran that we mentioned in the post just below.  From Fox: 

The Trump administration followed up Friday on its vow to put Iran “on notice” over its recent missile tests and support for Shiite rebels in Yemen, imposing sanctions on 13 individuals and a dozen companies – while the U.S. Navy moved a destroyer into position off the coast of Yemen.

The president’s national security team had previewed possible action earlier in the week, and Trump warned Friday morning on Twitter that Iran was “playing with fire” with its recent actions.

The Treasury Department announced the additional sanction targets late Friday morning.

The sanctions, coming in the first weeks of Trump's term, reflect his administration's desire to take a strong stance toward Iran from the start. Throughout his campaign, Trump accused the Obama administration of being insufficiently tough on Iran and vowed to crack down if elected.

The move won praise from Republican allies in Congress.

“This announcement makes clear that it is a new day in U.S.-Iran relations and that we will no longer tolerate Iran’s destabilizing behavior,” Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said in a statement. “A coordinated, multi-faceted effort to pushback against a range of illicit Iranian behavior is long overdue.”

Trump’s team stepped up approach toward Iran in the wake of ballistic missile tests and a recent attack on a Saudi naval vessel by Tehran-backed militants in Yemen.

Military officials told Fox News that Iran actually has conducted two recent missile tests, one on Dec. 6 and another this past Sunday. U.N. resolution 2231 calls on the Islamic Republic not to conduct such tests.

Meanwhile, a defense official told Fox News that the USS Cole, the same warship attacked in Yemen in 2000, is now patrolling off the coast of that country in the Gulf of Aden.

COMMENT:  A proper and moderate first step, with a signal that there will be more to come if Iran continues its behavior.  Now we have to watch to see what Iran does.  We hope the Iranians back down, if only quietly, and realize there's a new policy in place in Washington.

I'd like to see more military power deployed to the region, so the president has an even stronger deterrent force available.  The idea is to prevent military conflict, not encourage it through weakness.

February 3, 2017       Permalink

TRUMP CONFRONTS IRAN – AT 9:14 A.M. ET:   President Trump is doing exactly what he said he'd when he ran for president.  He is making it clear to Iran what the limits are.  From Reuters:

Donald Trump tweeted early on Friday that "Iran is playing with fire" and "they don't appreciate how kind President Obama was to them. Not me!"

Trump plans to impose sanctions on several Iranian entities, seeking to ratchet up pressure on Tehran while crafting a broader strategy to counter what he sees as its destabilizing behavior, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

Iran's decision to test-fire a ballistic missile on Sunday helped trigger Trump's decision, which could be announced as early as Friday, they said.

In response Foreign Minister of Iran Javad Zarif tweeted that "Iran is unmoved by threats."

Adding that Iran will "never initiate war" and would only rely on its "own means of defense."

COMMENT:  I love that line about Obama.  I love it.  Now President Trump has laid down a marker.  He must enforce his declaration by imposing harsh sanctions.  He must persuade other nations to go along with him, at the risk of damaging their relations with the United States.  He has repairing the massive damage that Barack Obama did.

February 3, 2017       Permalink

MONA LISA HAS A CLOSE ONE – AT 9:05 A.M. ET:  There has been a terror attack at the Louvre, in France.  From the Daily Mail:

A terror probe has been launched in Paris after a machete-wielding man was shot after trying to attack four soldiers outside the Louvre.

The suspect was shot five times in the stomach and is in a critical condition.

He was shouting 'Allahu Akbar' - Arabic for 'God is the greatest' - according to the Paris prefect.
After being refused entry, he pulled out the weapon and was shot by a soldier, officials have confirmed. A soldier is believed to have suffered a head injury.

US President Donald Trump tweeted following the attack in the French capital: 'A new radical Islamic terrorist has just attacked in Louvre Museum in Paris. Tourists were locked down. France on edge again.

A second man was arrested after 'acting suspiciously' close to the scene, but it is not known if he is linked to the attack.

French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve has described the attack as 'terrorist in nature'.

Interior ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said the the identity and nationality of the suspect are not yet known. Interior minister Bruno Le Roux has cut short a trip to the Dordogne and is set to visit the injured soldier this afternoon.

An estimated 1,250 people were inside the famous art gallery, home to the Mona Lisa, when the shooting happened. Pictures from inside the museum shows schoolchildren cowering during the emergency lockdown.

French President Francoise Hollande has praised security forces for their quick response.

COMMENT:  The political left will now demand that we ask what the Mona Lisa has done to Islamic civilization to provoke this understandable and passionate reaction.  Who are we to judge?  That woman in the painting has that smirky smile that some cultures could interpret as an insult. 

February 3,  2017     Permalink

FEBRUARY 2,  2017

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

AND NOW THE EAST COAST'S TURN – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:  The NYPD was out in full-force at NYU on Thursday night as protesters gathered to voice their disgust with conservative actor and Vice Media co-founder Gavin McInnes, who was inside holding a seminar for the school’s College Republicans.  “Just saw 4 vans of cops unload outside of the NYU Anti-Fa protest of Gavin McInnes’ talk,” Jason Miller tweeted at around 7 p.m. Thursday.  “They are threatening to arrest everyone in the herd now, each cop with roughly 8-10 zip ties in tow,” he said.  NYU Local, the university’s independent news source, also took to Twitter to alert the public of the situation taking place outside the Kimmel, Rosenthal Pavilion on Thursday night.  “Arrests happening outside of Kimmel,” they tweeted.  As of 9 p.m., it was still unclear how many people were taken into custody.  Looks like a repeat of the 1960s on our college campuses.  I don't see too many on the left denouncing the violence. 

REAL CLASS – FROM DAILY CALLER:    WASHINGTON — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democratic Senate leaders refused to meet with Judge Neil Gorsuch Thursday.  The act appears to be revenge against Republicans for holding the seat of the late Justice Antonin Scalia open and not holding a hearing for Obama Supreme Court appointee Merrick Garland.  The White House requested that Gorsuch meet with Schumer, but aides said he declined in order to learn more about the nominee’s record, The Washington Post reported.  “By refusing to meet with Judge Gorsuch, Senate Democratic leadership is taking Washington gridlock and obstruction to a new low and placing Senators McCaskill, Donnelly, Heitkamp, Tester, and other Democrats up for reelection in 2018 on the endangered politicians list,” Carrie Severino, chief counsel of the Judicial Crisis Network, said in a statement.  Absolute lack of class.  The Democrats are doubling down on the kind of tactics and smallness that have placed them in the worst position their party has been in since 1920.

THE DYING PARTY – FROM DAILY CALLER:   After the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court drew some Democratic opposition this week, President Trump’s senior adviser predicted that it’s going to cost them in the end.  “The Democratic party — we’re seeing it unravel in front of our eyes, and we’re seeing it be revealed in front of our eyes,” Conway said during an appearance on “Fox and Friends” Thursday.  “[They are] a bunch of crybabies who say that they’re going to oppose Supreme Court nominees before they even know the person’s name and his academic credentials and his impeccable judicial record. They are holding up our nominees to the Cabinet. This obstinance and obstruction is the modern Democratic party.”  “I think it’s going to cost them because they’re hysterical about everything now,” she predicted. “Everything makes them cry and scream.”  She is right.  They should be sent back to running student governments at marginal high schools.  Obama put them where they are but they will never acknowledge it.

February 2, 2017       Permalink 

MORALE UP – AT 12:15 P.M. ET:  Occasionally there's good news from the US Government.  From the Washington Examiner: 

When the House Subcommittee on Government Operations held a hearing in April 2015 titled "The Worst Places to Work in the Federal Government," an agency manager at the Department of Homeland Security was called in to testify.

"[DHS] rests as the worst place to work among cabinet agencies," Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., said at the time.

The third largest federal department had just received an abysmal 44 percent score in the annual Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey. Fewer than half of its staff felt that morale, leadership and compensation deserved positive ratings.

But those days are gone, according to DHS employees and one senior administration official who spoke to the Washington Examiner on the condition of anonymity.

After President Trump issued his executive order temporarily barring immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries, multiple reports suggested that DHS officials, along with staffers at other federal agencies, were not consulted prior to the roll-out and were not pleased with what transpired afterwards.

"The policy team at the White House developed the executive order on refugees and visas, and largely avoided the traditional interagency process that would have allowed the Justice Department and homeland security agencies to provide operational guidance," CNN had reported earlier this week.

Then came Tuesday's press conference with DHS Secretary John Kelly, a no-nonsense retired Marine Corps general who said the order "wasn't a surprise" and vowed to execute new and existing immigration laws "humanely and with professionalism."

Kelly's remarks to reporters, and his willingness to enforce laws that the administration believes will protect Americans, "re-energized a lot of us because for so long we've been vilified for doing our jobs, and here was someone finally standing up for us," said one Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent who was not authorized to speak on the record.

COMMENT:  Yup.  New sheriff in town, and he's appointed a terrific secretary of DHS in John Kelly.  Agents will now be praised for doing their jobs, not vilified and endlessly second-guessed.

February 2,  2017     Permalink

A NOBLE CAUSE FOR TRUMP – AT 10:53 A.M. ET:   President Trump has been ridiculed and called a bigot for giving special attention to Christian refugees from the Mideast.  He is nothing of the kind.  The bigotry is in the nations receiving special vigilance, nations that routinely abuse their Christian populations.  From Fox: 

In the past year, the persecution of Christians has not only increased, but it has also spread to more corners of the globe – with incidents occurring on every continent, according to a new report.

The advocacy group Open Doors USA recently released the latest edition of its annual World Watch List, which ranks countries based on the treatment of their Christian populations. The group said the increase in incidents considered persecution was alarming and only getting worse.

"It is appalling that Open Doors has to report that persecution has increased again in 2016 and we are still at the worst levels of persecution in modern times," David Curry, president and CEO of Open Doors USA, said to Fox News. "The spread of persecution has gotten worse, now hitting nearly every continent in the world. There were 23 Christians killed in Mexico specifically because of their faith.”

The report comes on the heels of another study by the Center for Studies on New Religions that showed nearly 90,000 Christians were killed for their faith in 2016 and that as many as 600 million were prevented from practicing their faith through intimidation, forced conversions, bodily harm or even death.

“These numbers underscore what we already know," Robert Nicholson of the Philos Project, an advocacy group for Christianity in the Middle East, told Fox News at the time of the report’s release. "There are many places on Earth where being a Christian is the most dangerous thing you can be. Those who think of Christianity as a religion of the powerful need to see that in many places it’s a religion of the powerless. And the powerless deserve to be protected.”

COMMENT:  Absolutely.  And it's good to see some Christian organizations finally getting into action on this.  President Trump, in his immigration order, gave special emphasis to rescuing Christians from Mideast countries.  That isn't religious preference or discrimination.  It's citing a crisis, and responding to it.  We've done it before, as when we made Soviet Jewry a special cause in our dealings with Moscow, resulting in the freeing of Jews who wanted to leave the Soviet Union.  That wasn't religious preference, it was addressing a humanitarian crisis.

February 2,  2017     Permalink

GOOD FOR THE BRITS! – AT 10:32 A.M. ET:  This is one of the most fascinating, and encouraging, stories I've read recently.  Have you wondered about some of these "human rights" organizations and "human rights" lawyers who hang around making wild charges against soldiers and police officers that never seem to be substantiated?  Have you wondered about their real motives?

Now, to be sure, there are lawless soldiers.  That's why we have a military justice system.  And there are bad cops.  That's why police departments have internal affairs divisions.  But there are also false charges made by political activists and frauds, and they have destroyed the lives of decent soldiers and police officers.  In Britain, one of the phonies has been exposed...and punished.  From the Telegraph: 

A disgraced human rights lawyer accused of leading a witch-hunt against British troops in Iraq has been struck off after he was convicted of a string of professional misconduct charges.

Phil Shiner was found to have been repeatedly dishonest as he brought cases that British troops had killed, mutilated and tortured Iraqi civilians.

The former solicitor of the year had already admitted nine counts of acting without integrity and one of acting recklessly.

However, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal on Thursday found another five counts of dishonesty.

He was then struck off the roll of solicitors and potentially opens the door to criminal charges over his conduct.

The two-day hearing was told he believed he was above the law and felt his work was so important he was not bound by the rules of his profession.

But the tribunal also heard his cases, which led to the £25m Al Sweady public inquiry, were found to be baseless and had a devastating effect on the soldiers falsely accused.

Mr Shiner did not attend the hearing, having written to the tribunal to say he was unwell and could not afford to pay for a defence lawyer.

And...

Sir Michael Fallon, the Defence Secretary, said: “Justice has finally been served after we took the unprecedented step of submitting evidence on his abuse of our legal system.

"Phil Shiner made soldiers’ lives a misery by pursuing false claims of torture and murder – now he should apologise. We will study any implications for outstanding legal claims closely.”

COMMENT:  We are reminded of one of the Ten Commandments:  "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour."  It should be taken much more seriously here.  It should be taken much more seriously here.  We have seen far too many lives of police officers, students, and others, destroyed by false charges.  At least Britain has now nailed one culprit.

February 2, 2017       Permalink