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FEBRUARY 9,  2017

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

POLICE BLOTTER NEWS – FROM ABC LOCAL:  According to police in Alexandria, Louisiana, officers responded to the report of a man stuck in the chimney of a business early Friday morning.  Employees told officers that when they arrived at the business, they could hear a man yelling. They found he was stuck.  While officers were in route, police say the man was able to free himself from the chimney. He then reportedly threw a brick at an employee before running from the store.  Officers were soon able to locate the suspect. Police identify him as 41-year-old Matthew Mobley of Alexandria.  Police say this is the 77th time Mobley has been booked into the Rapides Parish Detention Center.  Authorities might have noticed there was a problem after the 75th time.

PATHETIC – FROM THE DAILY MAIL:   The Royal Navy’s fleet of attack submarines are all currently out of action – and Ministry of Defence chiefs are said to have kept it a secret from the Prime Minister.
Britain’s seven ‘hunter-killer’ vessels are understood to be ‘non-operational’, with five understood to be undergoing maintenance.  It is believed the HMS Astute, commissioned in 2010, is the only one currently at sea although she is still ‘weeks away’ from active service following a tune-up.  According to The Sun, it is the first time in decades Britain does not have an attack submarine on stand-by to respond to threats.
Sources said the Navy’s three Astute-class vessels – built by BAE Systems - are ‘beset by problems’ despite costing around £1.2billion each.   The others currently in service are the HMS Ambush - which is being repaired after crashing into a tanker off Gibraltar in 2016, and HMS Artful.   What a sad comedown from the once-glorious Royal Navy.  And it's happening here, too, with a frightening number of Navy and Air Force planes out of service because funds aren't available for needed maintenance.   We hope Trump will correct this.

THE REALITY – FROM THE DAILY MAIL:  France is going to put the Eiffel Tower behind an 8ft-high glass wall to protect it from terrorists following an attack at the Louvre.  The security measure is part of a multi-million euro plan to prevent jihadist attacks in the French capital, which have claimed 238 lives around France in the past two years.  It will cost around €19million and comes after a machete-wielding man stormed the Louvre last week in the latest attack on French soil.  'The terror threat remains high in Paris and the most vulnerable sites, led by the Eiffel Tower, must be the object of special security measures,' said deputy mayor Jean-Francois Martins.  'We have three aims: improve the look, make access easier and strengthen the protection of visitors and staff.'  'The wall will prevent individuals or vehicles storming the site visited by six million people each year.'  So it appears we're not the only ones thinking of walls.  I wonder how many leftist groups will condemn the wall in Paris.  Don't hold your breath waiting.

February 9, 2017        Permalink

DEMS IN ANGUISH – AT 11:48 A.M. ET:  And why shouldn't they be?  They scream a great deal but have no real power.  They're in their worst political position since 1920.  And now they're arguing over the legacy of their most recent demigod, Barack (come to save us) Obama.  From The Politico:   

A painful Democratic rift over Barack Obama’s political legacy is finally bursting into the open.

For years, the former president’s popularity among Democrats stifled any public critiques of his stewardship of the party — a period in which the party suffered tremendous losses at the state and local levels.

But now that Obama and the political operation that succeeded his campaign, Organizing For Action, have expressed interest in playing a role in the task of rebuilding, it’s sparking pitched debates over how much blame he deserves for the gradual hollowing out of a party that now has less control of state-elected positions than at any other time in nearly a century.

That degree of mistrust — rooted in the idea that OFA was always primarily interested in advancing the president’s political interests, often at the expense of the party — is already showing signs of hampering Obama’s former Labor Secretary Tom Perez as he pursues the chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee. And the wariness — expressed by nearly three dozen Democrats in interviews — also threatens to create a divide between Obama’s loyalists and the rest of the party.

“[With] all due respect to President Obama, OFA was created as a shadow party because Obama operatives had no faith in state parties. So I hope the OFA role is none. I hope OFA closes their doors and allows the country and state parties to get to the hard work of rebuilding the party at the local and grass-roots level,” said Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb, echoing a sentiment that has dominated private chatter among state party chairs for months. “OFA had no faith or confidence in the state parties so they created a whole separate organization, they took money away and centralized it in D.C. They gave us a great president for eight years, but we lost everywhere else."

COMMENT:  A great president for eight years?  That mindset is part of the Democratic problem.  Obama was personally popular, but his policies were not.  And a great president does not let his party collapse.  Obama was, and is, about Obama, and nothing more.  He has the capacity to do more damage if he tries to make a political comeback and renew his influence in the Democratic Party.  Democrats should hint that he deserves a long rest.

February 9, 2017        Permalink

CHANGE AT THE BORDER – AT 11:21 A.M. ET:  Apprehensions are down along our southern border.   Is it the Trump effect, or something else.?  From CNN:

Washington (CNN) Apprehensions at the southern border decreased sharply in January, according to statistics obtained by CNN -- a drop in line with yearly seasonal trends but that could give President Donald Trump an early talking point in his efforts to ramp up border security.

According to preliminary Customs and Border Protection numbers for January obtained by CNN but not yet released to the public, family unit apprehensions decreased by 42%, unaccompanied minors were down 39% and total apprehensions decreased by 27%.

Month-to-month numbers in apprehensions can be misleading. According to data for the past four years, apprehensions typically drop in January and did so sharply in 2016.

Next month's data could be critical in interpreting whether the drop was due to seasonal trends or something bigger. The amount of migration north through Mexico is also tied to the conditions in Central America, where many migrants are fleeing violence and drug cartels.

The numbers also do not take into account what are called inadmissables -- migrants who present themselves at the border and are deemed unable to enter the country, often due to lack of authorization. Apprehensions refer to those removable aliens who are arrested.

Still, Trump supporters are likely to see the numbers as vindication of his hardline approach to immigration, an indication that his tough talk and policy proposals are already deterring migrants from coming in.

COMMENT:   What President Trump is doing has been needed for years.  He is toughening border enforcement and planning to build new defenses against illegal immigration, while welcoming migrants who are legal and fully vetted.  Polls show his policies in this regard are popular.

February 9, 2017       Permalink

HORRORS!!!!! – AT 10:18 A.M. ET:   I will take time out from the important work of watching the big snowstorm outside to report on a NEW THREAT to America, a threat so vast that it may bring down the Republic.  I refer of course to President Trump's tweet defending his daughter, Ivanka, after Nordstrom stopped carrying her clothing line.

Can you imagine?  A father defending his daughter?  If this be treason...

Why, CNN rushed to defend our democracy with its grim panels of grim faces announcing the severe conflict of interest.   Why...why...Trump mentioned Nordstrom by name.  He attacked A STORE!  How dare he, and, of course, as we're now being told every day by CNN, in reporting on Trump, this was unprecedented.

The hell it was.  FDR went after "economic royalists."  He may not have called them by name, but everyone, including the news media at the time, knew who they were.  President Truman tried to seize the steel mills.  There's a long list.

Why, Trump is using the White House Twitter account to help his daughter's business.  Conflict, conflict!  Send in the cops.

Yeah, and Hillary Clinton made $95-million in recent years selling access to government.  They called them "speeches," but no one pays half a mil to hear a speech.  These big shots knew what they were paying for.

So, we are in a crisis.  The president defends his daughter.  He has brought down the house of Lincoln.  The statue of Abe at the Lincoln Memorial was seen weeping.  Jefferson left the Jefferson Memorial, to seek a safe space on a college campus. 

Let us fear for the Constitution. 

February 9,  2017     Permalink

FEBRUARY 8,  2017

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

A PROBLEM OF OUR TIME – FROM CBC:   Funeral directors in Quebec are discussing how to educate people that taking selfies over a corpse and posting it to social media may be considered disrespectful in some families.  The president of the corporation of funeral directors of Quebec, Denis Desrochers, said the act of taking photos at a funeral isn't new, but sharing those photos on social media is.  "There won't be a 'selfie police,'" he told Radio-Canada's Gravel le Matin, but said that among Quebec funeral directors there is a debate over how to educate people about what is respectful behaviour at a funeral parlour.  "In many funeral parlours we have very clear rules around limiting selfies. Or we tell the public that the families don't want selfies," he said.   And, if the practice grows, CNN will blame Trump.

TELL IT, LINDSEY – FROM THE HILL:   Senate Republicans' action to bar Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) from continuing to speak against Sen. Jeff Sessions Tuesday night was “long overdue,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said.  “Because you’re reading a letter from somebody that defames the senator is not a reason to ignore it,” Graham told conservative radio host Mike Gallagher on Wednesday.  “The bottom line is, it was long overdue with her. I mean, she is clearly running for the nomination in 2020.”  The South Carolina senator said Warren’s fiery comments about Sessions, President Trump's nominee to be attorney general, are a sign of the uncertainty within the Democratic Party and the efforts being made by its most "extreme" members to seize control.  “The Democratic Party is being pushed really hard by the most extreme voices in their community, and they just don’t know how to handle it,” Graham said.  What also needs to be said is that the terminally obnoxious Warren is in political trouble in her own state of Massachusetts, where Democrats usually are usually assured a lifetime job in office.  She may not be re-elected in 2018, if the Republicans take the trouble to find a solid candidate. 

INSUFFERABLE – FROM HOLLYWOOD REPORTER:  United Talent Agency is scrapping its annual Oscar party in favor of making a donation to a group that has been on the front lines of fighting President Donald Trump's executive order targeting travel from Muslim-majority countries.  "This is a moment that demands our generosity, awareness and restlessness," wrote UTA CEO Jeremy Zimmer to staff. “Our world is a better place for the free exchange of artists, ideas and creative expression. If our nation ceases to be the place where artists the world over can come to express themselves freely, then we cease, in my opinion, to be America.”  The agency said it would be donating $250,000 to the American Civil Liberties Union, the group that has seen a temporary victory in legally challenging Trump's travel ban, as well as the International Rescue Committee, a humanitarian organization.  It also will be hosting a pro-immigration rally at its Los Angeles office on Feb. 24, two days before the Oscars ceremony is broadcast on ABC. Already this awards season, nominees and winners have stepped up their political rhetoric over Trump's actions and have used their acceptance speeches to make pointed notes about inclusiveness.  I wonder if these worthies have the slightest interest in the condition of artists in the countries designated in President Trump's executive order.  Don't hold your breath.  Also, these rallies and alleged meetings are command performances.  People come because powerful agents want them to.  What they're thinking privately may well be another matter.

February 8,  2017     Permalink

THEY'RE STILL AROUND – AT 11:55 A.M. ET:   We don't do political dynasties in America.  Anyone from the Adams clan left in politics?  What about the Jeffersons?  And the Roosevelts?  Gone.

There is an important exception.  Very quietly, without any fanfare, a new generation of Kennedys is coming into electoral politics.   And now one is making a major move.  From Fox:   

CHICAGO – Democratic businessman Chris Kennedy said Wednesday he will run for Illinois governor in 2018, bringing the instant name recognition of his family's political legacy to what will likely be a sharply contested race to unseat Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.

In an email and video sent to supporters, Kennedy, 53, said he's running because Illinois is heading "in the wrong direction."

"I moved to Illinois thirty years ago with an enthusiasm for business and a commitment to serve. Today, I am announcing my run for Governor because I love Illinois, but we have never been in worse shape," he said. "We don't need incremental improvement — we need fundamental change in state government."

Kennedy is the son of the late Sen. Robert Kennedy, who also served as attorney general, and Ethel Kennedy. He is the nephew of the late President John F. Kennedy.

The former chairman of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees, Kennedy founded and now leads Top Box Foods, a nonprofit organization that provides affordable, healthy food to Chicago neighborhoods.

He also serves as chairman of Joseph P. Kennedy Enterprises Inc., the Kennedy family's investment firm. He previously managed a real estate company whose holdings included Chicago's Merchandise Mart.

Kennedy, who lives in Kenilworth with his wife and four children, has flirted with running for public office before — including a bid for U.S. Senate — but didn't follow through.

COMMENT:  It's Illinois politics.  The lowest.  The state is in terrible shape, but now has a Republican governor who, at least, is trying.  Around Illinois are Republican-led states like Wisconsin and Indiana, which are thriving.  Gee, I wonder why.

I'm not so sure the name Kennedy means much these days.  Ted Kennedy tried for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1980, some 37 years ago, and failed.  There was talk of Caroline Kennedy, President Kennedy's daughter, becoming a senator from New York, but it never happened.  She became Obama's ambassador to Japan, which is not a headline-creating position.

John F. Kennedy, the star of the family, was assassinated 54 years ago.  Only Americans over, say, 60, would have any memory of him.

So let's see what Chris Kennedy can do, or even if he gets the nomination. 

But who wants to be governor of such a mess?

February 8, 2017       Permalink

AND THE DEM MELTDOWN – AT 9:58 A.M. ET:  Related to the post just below is the continuing meltdown of the Democratic Party.  The Republicans have problems, to be sure, and the president has problems with some of his undisciplined and inaccurate statements.

But the problems in the Democratic Party may finish it as a national institution.  Right now the Dems are a coastal party, with some "bright" spots in between, mostly in college towns.  But they are controlled by a militant fringe whose ideas are grossly unpopular in majority America.  From the terrific Michael Goodwin in the New York Post: 

History was made Tuesday when Vice President Mike Pence cast the tie-breaking vote in the Senate to confirm Betsy DeVos as secretary of education.

But the necessity of Pence’s vote reflected another kind of history, too: The decision by all Senate Democrats to reject DeVos marked a new low for the flailing party.

Democrats claim to stand for the poor, immigrants and nonwhites. Yet given a chance to actually support someone who is dedicated to improving education for all America’s children, especially those trapped in failing urban schools, the Dems said no, hell no.

Joined by two Republicans, they stood in the schoolhouse door to block vital change, casting their lot with teachers unions that fear reform the way a vampire fears garlic.

And...

No president has ever had so few cabinet members confirmed at this late date, just as no president has been confronted with such open talk of assassination and impeachment.

Speaking of which, have you heard a single Democrat decry the talk of assassination? Have you heard a single Democrat denounce the violence carried out by so-called protesters?

The answers are no and no because Dems see the riots and threats of violence as legitimate expressions of disapproval — and convenient for their purposes. Their contribution to the “resistance” started when 70 Democrats boycotted Trump’s inauguration and many senators boycotted confirmation hearings and votes. Maybe they’ll soon throw rocks through windows.

The madness was on full display Monday night when Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer boasted in a tweet from outside the Capitol that “While the GOP is pushing a vote on Betsy DeVos, the people are rallying outside. We’re with them.”

Think of that: The Democrats’ leader walks out on his job to play the role of a man of the people in a staged demonstration. This is a party that has lost its mind, as well as its soul.

COMMENT:  Absolutely accurate.  And the Dems are about to choose a new national chairman.  One of the two top candidates, Keith Ellison, is an African-American Muslim congressman from Minnesota with a radical history, including quality time with the Nation of Islam, a hate group.  The other gem is Tom Perez, one of the most left-wing officials in the Obama administration.

The Dems have certainly learned from the election, haven't they?

February 8, 2017        Permalink

THE DEMOCRATIC BUBBLE – AT 9:40 A.M. ET:  Increasingly, the once-great Democratic Party seems to be living in its own bubble.  Despite the loss of about 1,000 legislative seats under Barack Obama, it still imagines itself to be the party of the people, of the masses, of the majority.

Measuring Democratic attitudes confirms the illusion.  Get this poll, from Rasmussen: 

Most voters agree that Christians living in Muslim-majority countries are mistreated for their religion. But Democrats are more likely to think Muslims are mistreated in America than to think Christians are persecuted in the Islamic world.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 62% of Likely U.S. Voters believe most Christians living in the Islamic world are treated unfairly because of their religion. Just 17% disagree, while 21% more are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

These findings have changed little in surveys since early 2015.

By comparison, 39% feel most Muslims living in the United States are treated unfairly because of their religion. That’s up from 31% last year and is the highest finding in surveys to date. A plurality (46%) still believes Muslims are not treated unfairly because of their faith, while 15% more are not sure.

Fifty-six percent (56%) of Democrats, however, believe most Muslims in this country are mistreated, a view shared by only 22% of Republicans and 39% of voters not affiliated with either major party. Fewer Democrats (47%) think most Christians are mistreated in the Islamic world, compared to 76% of GOP voters and 64% of unaffiliateds.

COMMENT:  Some of those figures undoubtedly stem from the fact that the Democratic Party has within it minority groups who've been taught to believe in the cult of the victim.  And it attracts "youth" who are taught in left-wing colleges to believe that Muslims are perpetual victims of Western oppression.

Not exactly the party of Roosevelt, Truman, and Kennedy.

February 8,  2017     Permalink