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FEBRUARY 22,  2017

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:53 P.M. ET:

LOOKING FORWARD – FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER:   Professional hidden camera stinger James O'Keefe revealed Tuesday that he is on the cusp of releasing "hundreds of hours" of footage from "one corporation, multiple newsrooms."  O'Keefe let slip a telling hint about which corporation is the target of his sting operation despite declining to mention it by name.  It is the one President Trump has been discussing recently, O'Keefe told Sean Hannity in a radio interview.  "It's the one he's always targeting."  That can only mean CNN, the first name in views. 

GORSUCH MOMENTUM – FROM DAILY CALLER:  Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand conceded that Judge Neil Gorsuch, President Donald Trump’s nominee to succeed the late Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court, will likely be confirmed by the Senate.  Gillibrand told NY1 that Senate Republicans can easily overcome any procedural roadblocks Democrats deploy. For example, a Democratic filibuster could be broken in short order by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, should he choose to abolish the 60-vote threshold currently required to end debate on Supreme Court nominees. As Republicans hold a majority in the chamber, Gorsuch would almost certainly be confirmed in the ensuing floor vote.  Yeah, kind of obvious.  The Dems still haven't accepted that they lost their Senate majority, and they can't figure out a way to kidnap enough GOP senators to make a difference.  So it looks like Gorsuch is in.   He is, also, an absolutely outstanding nominee.

ANOTHER ADVANCE IN EDUCATION – FROM COLLEGE FIX:   Students at Michigan State University soon will not be permitted to hang whiteboards on the outside of their dorm room doors.  The new policy, effective Fall 2017, was created in an attempt to eliminate opportunities for students to write mean words and racial slurs, according to a campus official.  “Their utility as a communication tool no longer outweighed the attractive nuisance that they are,” Kat Cooper, director of university residential services communications, told The College Fix via email.  In a statement to The Detroit News, Cooper added: “In any given month, there are several incidents like this [hurtful words]. There was no one incident that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Sometimes these things are racial, sometimes they’re sexual in nature. There are all sorts of things that happen.”  They're not going far enough.  They should ban literacy.  That will take care of all these problems.  Illiterate people are happy people.  They cannot be offended by words they cannot read.  Isn't that obvious?

February 22, 2017       Permalink

CRAZY – AT 11:46 A.M. ET:  The Democrats have lost about a thousand legislative seats in the last eight years, and have lost control of the White House, the Senate, and the House.  But they still aren't getting the message.   Ignorance is indeed bliss.  From McClatchy: 

Liberal leaders have a warning for their lawmakers in Washington: Get in line, or else.

Frustrated by the party’s performance on Capitol Hill and emboldened by the mass protests against President Donald Trump, a coalition of progressive groups say they are open to supporting primary challengers next year against Democratic members of the House and Senate – even if many inside the party believe that intra-party races might ultimately only help the Republican Party gain more power.

The organizations, many run by former members of Bernie Sanders’ insurgent presidential campaign, say they haven’t drafted a list of targets just yet. But they vow to recruit, fund and support intra-party challengers if Democratic lawmakers don’t start doing more to oppose the new president and his congressional Republican allies.

“Every single Democratic incumbent considering aiding and abetting the Trump administration needs to consider their jobs at high risk,” said Charles Chamberlain, executive director of Democracy for America, a grassroots progressive advocacy group based in Vermont.

COMMENT:  If these people were in Japan in the early 1940s they'd be lining up to become kamikaze pilots. 

These amateurs don't realize that the Democratic Party can't afford to lose another election.  If it does, there will be an impetus for more thoughtful people to start a third party, a center-left party with broad appeal.  Or, the Republicans will just keep winning elections.   That's why some on our side our hoping for the Dems to go further and further left.  They seem to be obliging.

February 22, 2017       Permalink

THEN THERE'S THE REAL AMERICA – AT 11:21 A.M. ET:   If you watch CNN, you'd think America was on its last leg, or heading down the road to fascism.  Strange, out in the real America they really don't think so.  From IBD: 

Hope And Change: You'd never guess this from the end-of-the-world treatment President Trump gets in the mainstream press, but his election has unleashed a wave of optimism about the economy we haven't seen in more than a decade. This is huge news that has big implications about economic growth.

The latest business leaders' survey from JPMorgan Chase finds a dramatic increase in optimism among the 1,400 middle-market executives polled. It found that 80% of these executives are optimistic about the economy, which is nearly double the share expressing optimism just one year ago. And it's the highest level since this survey began seven years ago.

These executives, the survey found, "expect improved performance in the global, national and local economies, as well as their own businesses."

The survey also found that more than three quarters of these midsize business owners say that Trump's election will have a positive impact on their companies because of his promise of pro-business policies, tax reform and cutbacks in federal regulations.

A National Federation of Independent Business survey found the same surge in optimism among small businesses since Trump won the election in November. At 105.9, this index is the highest it's been in more than 12 years.

"Small-business owners like what they see so far from Washington," said NFIB head Juanita Duggan.

Investors like what they're seeing, too. In fact, since Trump's inauguration in January, the Dow Jones industrial average has climbed more than 4%, the biggest post-inaugural jump in that index since FDR.s

COMMENT:  Now it is up to the Republican Congress to pass programs that will set the country right.  I know that many readers have serious doubts that the Republican Party is up to the task, and they may be correct.  But constant public pressure, and appropriate arm-twisting by the White House, may produce the result we want.  No party has ever been better positioned than the Republican Party is today. If it fails, it has no one else to blame.

February 22, 2017       Permalink

THERE'S NO BUSINESS LIKE... – AT 10:14 A.M. ET:  Ah, the Oscars are coming up.  Can you sense the excitement? 

Most Americans will watch the show.  But the movies themselves?  From Hollywood Reporter:

Yes, you read that headline correctly — come hell or high water, six out of 10 Americans could not name a single best picture nominee, according to a new poll commissioned by The Hollywood Reporter that canvassed moviegoers on both sides of the political fence. But, hidden in the figures, there is some good news for the Academy: Seven in 10 respondents say they’ll be watching the Oscars anyway.

THR’s poll — conducted by the National Research Group, which in early February surveyed 800 people (half Hillary Clinton supporters, half Donald Trump voters) for their opinions about movies, awards shows and politics — reveals some deep fissures in the moviegoing public, as well as some deep ignorance that crosses party lines. When prompted with the titles of nominated films, only 39 percent of Clinton voters, for instance, knew that La La Land was up for an Oscar, and even fewer Trump voters (26 percent) did. Only 16 percent of Dems knew that Moonlight was a best picture contender, compared to 6 percent of Republicans. But both sides were equally oblivious of Hell or High Water; 95 percent of each group didn’t know it’d been nominated.

On average, Clinton fans were slightly more cinema-aware and were more likely to have seen the nominated films: 31 percent of Clintonites said they had seen Arrival, compared to 28 percent of Trumpsters while 22 percent of Democrats had seen Manchester by the Sea compared to 19 percent of Republicans. The big exception was Hacksaw Ridge — 27 percent of Trump-voting moviegoers had seen the Mel Gibson World War II drama, while only 18 percent of Clintonistas had.

COMMENT:  Hollywood ain't what it was, say, 60 years ago, when things really started to fade.  It's mostly television now.  "Going to the movies," once an American obsession, is today an occasional pastime. 

I think there's a realization in Hollywood that it's mostly over.  Sure, the feature-film industry will continue on some level, probably as an extension of the industry's left-wing culture.  You'll see that on your TV screens Sunday night when the anti-Trump speeches dominate the evening.  A lot of TV sets will be clicked off.  The star has dimmed.

February 22,  2017     Permalink

FEBRUARY 21,  2017

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

AMERICANS REJECT SANCTUARY CITIES – FROM THE HILL:  An overwhelming majority of Americans believe that cities that arrest illegal immigrants for crimes should be required to turn them over to federal authorities.  The poll shows that President Trump has broad public support in his effort to crack down on sanctuary cities.  A survey from Harvard–Harris Poll provided exclusively to The Hill found that 80 percent of voters say local authorities should have to comply with the law by reporting to federal agents the illegal immigrants they come into contact with.  As it stands, hundreds of cities across the nation — many with Democratic mayors or city councils — are refusing to do so.  Trump has signed an executive order directing Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly to find ways to starve these sanctuary cities of federal funding. A Reuters analysis found the top 10 sanctuary cities in the U.S. receive $2.27 billion in federal funding for programs ranging from public health services to early childhood education.  Trump's policies will prove far more popular than Saint Barack's.  We are talking here about criminals, not legal, law-abiding immigrants.  The left tries to blur the distinction, but the American people have caught on.

IVANKA TRIUMPHS DESPITE BOYCOTTS – FROM HEATSTREET:  Ivanka Trump’s signature perfume is a best seller on retail giant Amazon.  Ivanka Trump Eau de Parfum Spray For Women ($34 for a 3.4-ounce bottle) was No. 1 on Amazon’s list of bestselling fragrances and perfume for at least the sixth consecutive day. One reviewer wrote: “I normally buy this at Nordstrom. But now that I heard they will not carry it anymore, I was happy to find it on Amazon.” (Radha Beauty Aromatherapy was at No. 2 on Amazon’s list.) The recent success of Ivanka Trump’s perfume on Amazon, particularly after her products were dropped from other stores, suggests the “resistance economy” to boycott products associated with the family of President Trump can help a brand as well as hurt it.  Good for Ivanka.  It's awfully mean-spirited of people to boycott her products because they don't like her father.  I'm glad to see that people are fighting the boycott with their own wallets.

I LOVE IT! – FROM DAILY CALLER:  Liberals seeking refuge from reality now have a fake news website where they can pretend to live in a world where Hillary Clinton is president.  “Approval ratings for President Clinton hit 89 percent,” “Confused by fake news, Redditers think Trump is president” and “DOJ considers charging Trump with treason” are just a few headlines featured on HillaryBeatTrump.org, a satirical news site devoted to covering stories from an alternate universe where Hillary won last November’s election.  “In the midst of a Constitutional crisis, this is our response,” the site’s description reads. “Long live the true president, Hillary Rodham Clinton.”   The site’s proprietors do not identify themselves online, and did not return TheDC’s request for comment, but their articles suggest they have liberal leanings.  Yeah, I'll bet.  Actually, I like the idea.  Let the liberals live their fantasies.  It's better than having them back in the real world, which apparently frightens them anyway.

February 21, 2017       Permalink

PEACEFUL SWEDEN – AT 1:24 P.M. ET:   President Trump was ridiculed over the weekend for comments he made about problems with immigrants in Sweden.  Uh, maybe he was right, yuh know?  From AP:

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) -- Swedish police on Tuesday were investigating a riot that broke out overnight in a predominantly immigrant suburb in Stockholm after officers arrested a suspect on drug charges.

The clashes started late Monday when a police car arrested a suspect and people started throwing stones at them in Rinkeby, north of Stockholm. Unidentified people, including some wearing masks, also set cars on fire and looted shops.

One officer was slightly injured when a rock hit his arm and one person was arrested for throwing rocks, police spokesman Lars Bystrom said Tuesday. Some civilians who tried to stop the looters were also assaulted, he added.

Another officer fired his gun, not as a warning shot but because he was "in a situation that demanded he used his firearm," Bystrom said, adding "no one was hit."

He declined to give further details, saying the episode would be investigated.

Police were investigating three cases of violent rioting, assaulting a police officer, two assaults, vandalism and aggravated thefts, he said.

COMMENT:  In fact, Sweden has been troubled for years by immigrant crime.  In its third largest city, Malmo, firemen often need police escorts when they go into immigrant areas because the residents attack the firemen.  There have been a number of reports stating that women who are sexually assaulted are pressured into not reporting the crimes because the reports would hurt "multiculturalism."

The president wasn't wrong.  As usual, his comments were gruff and poorly stated.  But he wasn't wrong.  Sweden, like many countries in Europe, is in trouble because of a loose, starry-eyed immigration policy.

February 21, 2017       Permalink

THE GENERAL – AT 10:28 A.M. ET:   In choosing Lieutenant General Herbert McMaster as his national security adviser, President Trump has made an inspired choice. 

McMaster, a rebel with a cause, is in the great tradition of Hyman Rickover and Billy Mitchell.  He is a dissident within an institution, the military, which often sticks to tradition and has a certain suspicion of rebels.  McMaster holds a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina.  His book, "Dereliction of Duty" pointed a vigorous accusing finger at top brass and civilians who, in McMaster's view, didn't present a full or accurate view of the situation in Vietnam to President Lyndon B. Johnson. 

As a combat commander in Iraq, McMaster performed brilliantly.  Despite his intellect and his combat record, he was at first passed over for promotion from colonel to brigadier general, perhaps in retaliation for his bluntness, and was then passed over again.  The outrage did not go unnoticed.  General David Petraeus was brought in as head of the next promotion board, in large measure to make sure that McMaster was selected.  He indeed was, earning his first star.  Now he's a three-star general, and his reputation for direct talk goes with him.  He is one of the most admired men in the military.

The fact that Trump could select such a man as his national security adviser may well tell us that the president has no fear of strong men who are likely to disagree with him and give him the bad news.  That is all to the good.  With another strong guy, retired Marine Corps General James Mattis, as secretary of defense, Trump has a superb national security team.  As long as they're permitted to do their job, we should be okay. 

February 21, 2017       Permalink

GOP HAULIN' IT IN – AT 10:14 A.M. ET:  Despite of, or because of, Donald Trump, the Republican Party is bringing in the cash.  The war chest for 2018 is being built.  From Daily Caller: 

The Republican National Committee filed a record setting $19.8 million January FEC report on Monday, The Daily Caller has learned. The $19.8 million makes January the best post-election fundraising month in RNC history.

“I am encouraged by the historic support shown by Americans across this country as our Party unites under President Trump,” said RNC chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel. “It is clear our message of bringing change to all people is resonating, and I am committed to harnessing this momentum as we continue to build on the successes we earned in 2016. The RNC has never been better equipped to champion the Republican agenda and use these resources to grow our majorities in 2018.”

McDaniel, the niece of former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, was elected RNC chair last month.

COMMENT:  It's a remarkable accomplishment.  We don't know, of course, where most of this money is coming from, but I suspect that the press assault against Trump is causing a backlash, and part of that backlash is the willingness of Trump supporters to open their wallets.

Also, while Trump may not be elected Mr. Congeniality – a sunny Ronald Reagan he is not – his ideas are actually quite popular, and much more popular, in polling, than the policies of Barack Obama.

The midterms will be here before we know it.  Raise the money now.

February 21,  2017     Permalink