Please note that you can leave a comment on any of our posts at our Facebook page.  Subscribers can also comment at length at our Angel's Corner Forum.

Our Angel's Corner archive is here.

I appeared on Silvio Canto Jr's talk show from Dallas yesterday.  It's here.

MARCH 27,  2017

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 5:35 P.M. ET: 

DISGRACEFUL – FROM NBC NEWS:   Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee forced the delay of a vote on Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch on Monday. The one-week delay in sending the nomination to the full Senate comes as the partisan battle lines over his final confirmation votes begin to harden.  At least 19 Democrats have come out in opposition to Gorsuch and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has said that he will filibuster the nominee, which means he'll force a 60-vote threshold once it clears the committee.  With Republicans holding 52 seats, they will need at least eight Democrats to vote with them under the current rules to send the nominee forward for a final confirmation vote that would then require a simple majority.  But Republicans do have the extreme option of employing the "nuclear" option -- a change of Senate rules to eliminate the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees.  The nuclear option should be employed.  Delaying the vote shows the small-time mentality of the Democrats.  Gorsuch is a superbly qualified candidate.  He deserves better.

PERSONNEL NEWS – FROM DAILY CALLER:   Barack Obama’s former press secretary is now a political analyst for NBC News and MSNBC, the network announced Monday.  “Josh recently completed a ten-year run with President Obama, most recently serving as White House Press Secretary from 2014-2017,” NBC New President Noah Oppenheim and MSNBC President Phil Griffin said in a joint statement.  “A native of Kansas City, Josh graduated from Rice University with a degree in political science and policy studies. With his wealth of experience and insight, Josh will be a great addition to our roster of contributors and will be an asset for our two networks as we continue to cover the White House, Congress and politics beyond the Beltway.”  I'm sure we'll get thoroughly fair and balanced commentary from Josh.  And if you believe that, there's a wonderful bridge in Brooklyn I'd like to sell yuh.

GREAT MOMENTS IN AUTO INSURANCE – FROM FOX:   MOSCOW, Idaho – A northern Idaho woman told police she crashed into a deer because she was distracted by a sasquatch in her rearview mirror.  The Moscow-Pullman Daily News reports that the 50-year-old Tensed woman was driving south on U.S. Highway 95 on Wednesday when she struck a deer near Potlatch.  The woman told Benewah County Sheriff’s officials that she saw a sasquatch chasing a deer on the side of the road while driving. She says she checked one of her mirrors to get a second look at the beast and when she looked up, the deer ran in front of her.  Sheriff’s officials marked the incident as a vehicle versus deer collision but did not report any evidence of Bigfoot.  Like a good neighbor, State Farm will undoubtedly search the area again.  I wonder if Bigfoot is insured.

March 27, 2017       Permalink

SEND IN THE CLOWNS – AT 11:42 A.M. ET:  The mouth has opened.  Bernie Sanders has spoken on health care, and his prescription.  It's frightening to think, but his prescription may soon be the prescription presented by the entire Democratic Party:  Socialism.  From Daily Caller: 

“The bill that was defeated should have been defeated,” Sanders said. “It was a disastrous piece of legislation primarily designed to provide $300 billion in tax breaks to the top 2 percent, throwing 24 million people off of health insurance, raising premiums for older workers in a very, very significant way.”

Sanders admits, however, that the current system is not without its flaws. “Of course, Obamacare has serious problems,” Sanders said. “Deductibles are too high. Premiums are too high. The cost of health care is going up at a much faster rate than it should.”

To fix the problems of Obamacare, Sanders thinks lawmakers need to look at other industrialized nations that have socialist models of health care. “Ideally, what — where we should be going is to join the rest of the industrialized the world and guarantee health care to all people as a right,” Sanders said.

Trump is now reportedly focusing on tax reform and pursuing his pro-growth “America First” economic agenda. The president is saying he will let Obamacare continue to implode, in hopes of bringing wayward Republicans and hard-line Democrats to the negotiating table when things get too bad.

COMMENT:  Do not underestimate the surface appeal of Bernie Sanders and his simplistic "everybody is equal" health plan.  It sounds so good, and so simple – until you look at the details.  Socialism always fails in the details, for it allows no competition, no choice, no progress.  Physicians will get their guidance from Washington.  Their relationship with patients will become vague, if there is a relationship at all.  Surgical procedures now available in the United States within days or even hours, might be deferred for months.  There will be a coldness in the system.  Socialism is very cold. 

We hope the GOP will be smart enough to see the onslaught coming from the left.  I'm not sure.

March 27, 2017       Permalink

DISASTERS – AT 10:25 A.M. ET:  If you listened to CNN, you may have gotten the impression that the defeat of the GOP's health-care plan was the worst catastrophe in the history of the world, and certainly the worst setback any new president has ever suffered.  It was, borrowing the words of the great philosopher Jimmy Durante, a catastroscope!  Even David Gergen, the once-rational CNN panelist, announced that Trump was experiencing the worst first hundred days of any president. 

Just a sec, pundits.  The Bay of Pigs disaster occurred in the first hundred days of John F. Kennedy's administration.  His blunder was mammoth.  An invasion force of Cuban dissidents was sent to invade Cuba, with the goal of overthrowing the Castro government.  Kennedy panicked and refused to provide promised air cover.  The invasion quickly failed, leaving the young president thoroughly humiliated.  To his credit, he took full responsibility, but that didn't change the outcome.

Only two months later Kennedy met Soviet leader Nikita ("We will bury you") Khrushchev at a summit conference in Vienna.  Afterward, Kennedy conceded openly to his aides that Khrushchev had rolled him.  The president of the United States came away looking like an amateur.  He told James Reston of The New York Times that the conference had been the "worst thing in my life. He savaged me."

Khrushchev sized up Kennedy as weak and unprepared.  It was then that the Soviet leader built the Berlin Wall, which came to symbolize the Cold War.

Talk about a failing opening season for a president.  The year 1961 was choice.

And yet, Kennedy,very much a learning man, bounced back and defeated Khrushchev at the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.    Presidents learn. 

Just a little reminder from history.  Some of the judgments you're hearing from the chattering classes are childish and shallow.  Don't pay too much attention.

March 27, 2017      Permalink

I HOPE HE KNOCKS 'EM DEAD – AT 9:55 A.M. ET:  The son-in-law also testifies.  Jared Kushner will testify before a Senate committee about a meeting with Russians.  From the New York Post: 

A Senate panel will question Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and a top adviser, about a meeting he arranged with a Russian ambassador, according to a report on Monday.

The Senate Intelligence Committee, which has been looking into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, wants to talk to Kushner about meetings with Kremlin envoy Sergey Kislyak, the New York Times reported, citing administration and congressional officials.

The White House has confirmed that Kushner met Kislyak in early December at Trump Tower, but the report said Kislyak requested another meeting that month.

Kushner asked a deputy to attend that meeting.

But later Kushner met with Sergey Gorkov, head of Vnesheconombank, which the Obama administration hit with sanctions after Russian President Vladimir Putin annexed Crimea, the report said.

A White House spokeswoman acknowledged the Kushner meetings, but said they were routine discussions.

Hope Hicks said Kushner met with foreign government officials as part of his duties with the Trump transition.

COMMENT:  By all means, let them investigate.  The Democrats will probably make fools of themselves, and ask dumb questions.  The fishing expedition will be fun to watch.   I hope Al Franken is one of the questioners.

March 27,  2017     Permalink

MARCH 26,  2017

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

MAJOR TRAVEL NEWS – FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER:   Former President Barack Obama's journey to French Polynesia was undertaken so he could write his memoir.  Obama arrived at a luxury resort frequented by Hollywood stars in mid-March, though it was unknown at the time what he was doing there.  The Washington Post reported Sunday that Obama is writing his White House memoir during his extended stay at the eco-friendly resort in French Polynesia's atoll of Tetiaroa.  Bidding for the former president and first lady Michelle Obama's book rights surpassed $60 million.  What a total racket.  He's lying on the beach while the grown-ups try to clean up the mess he caused.

FREEDOM CAUCUS LOSES ONE – FROM NEWSMAX:   Rep. Ted Poe announced on Sunday he is resigning from the Freedom Caucus, which helped scuttle GOP attempts to pass a bill repealing and replacing Obamacare, The Texas Tribune reported.  "Saying no is easy, leading is hard, but that is what we were elected to do," Poe said in a statement. "Leaving this caucus will allow me to be a more effective member of Congress and advocate for the people of Texas."  In further explaining his decision, Poe said that "in order to deliver on the conservative agenda we have promised the American people for eight years, we must come together to find solutions to move this country forward."  Probably a smart move.  He probably senses that Trump will try to isolate the Freedom Caucus members, who were instrumental in defeating the GOP health plan.

THE RISE OF A STAR – FROM THE HILL:   Ivanka Trump will attend a summit on the economic empowerment of women in Germany, according to a report.  German Chancellor Angela Merkel invited Ivanka to the W20 summit during her visit to Washington, D.C., a senior White House official told the Associated Press.  Merkel reportedly met with Ivanka Trump during the German leader's White House visit. Trump helped to set up a gathering between German and American business leaders.  The summit is a women-focused program that includes 20 countries and will be held in Berlin in April.  The first daughter is planning to study successful apprenticeship programs at the summit, according to the report.  The White House recently confirmed that the first daughter will have an office in the West Wing, though she will not have an official title or receive any kind of salary.  In her new office, she will provide President Trump on a sweeping array of topics, her attorney told Politico earlier this month.  Watch Ivanka closely.  I sense that she has political ambitions, apart from her father.  People I trust tell me she's the real deal, as smart as she appears. 

March 26, 2017       Permalink

GOOD CHANGE – AT 1:16 P.M. ET:  President Trump is permitting the Pentagon more freedom to do what it does best, a contrast with Obama's attempts to control every action, lest we offend someone.  From AFP:   

Washington (AFP) - The Pentagon under President Donald Trump is enjoying greater freedom to run its wars the way it wants -- and not constantly seek White House approval on important decisions.

Many in the military appreciate this increased autonomy, but critics charge it is raising civilian death rates, puts the lives of US troops at greater risk and leads to a lack of oversight of America's conflicts.

Nowhere has the shift been more visible than in the fight against the Islamic State group in northern Syria, where under Barack Obama even minor tweaks to US plans underwent exhaustive White House scrutiny.

Since Trump's inauguration, the Marine Corps has brought an artillery battery into Syria, and the Army has moved in hundreds of Rangers, bringing the total number of US forces there to almost 1,000.

Commanders are weighing the possibility of deploying hundreds more, and the Pentagon this week announced it had provided artillery support and choppered local forces behind enemy lines in a bid to seize a strategic dam.

The greater leeway marks a departure for the National Security Council (NSC), which coordinates foreign and military policy and implements the president's national security agenda.

Under Obama, the NSC oversaw just about every aspect of America's wars in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, with then Pentagon chief Ash Carter was kept on a short leash.

Trump, conversely, has repeatedly deferred to his defense secretary, Jim Mattis, on military moves.

Mattis, a retired general, has delegated expanded authorities to his battlefield commanders.

"Jim Mattis has been given the latitude to conduct military operations in the way he sees best," Pentagon spokesman Chris Sherwood said.

CONNECT:  Lyndon Johnson's White House tried to control everything in Vietnam, with very bad consequences.

The idea is to hire the best military people you can find, give them an objective, and let them meet it.

March 26, 2017       Permalink

PRIEBUS SPEAKS – AT 12:41 P.M. ET:  Sometimes a defeat is the best thing that can happen to an individual, or a political party.  Out of the ashes of defeat often comes victory.   From Fox: 

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus on Sunday acknowledged that Democrats are not the culprits in Republicans’ failed ObamaCare overhaul bill, saying it’s time for the GOP to “start governing.”

“You’re right,” Priebus said to questions on “Fox News Sunday” about President Trump calling out Democrats after the bill died Friday in the GOP-controlled House amid insufficient GOP support.

“At the end of the day, it’s time for the party to start governing,” Priebus continued. “I also think though, that Democrats can come to the table as well.”

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., canceled the vote on the bill upon realizing he was about 20 votes shy of the minimum 216, amid strong opposition from the roughly 35-member, conservative House Freedom Caucus.

Trump said afterward, “We have no Democratic support. We have no votes from them. They weren’t going to give us a single vote.”

On Saturday, Trump hinted that overhauling ObamaCare is still alive, perhaps through bringing Democrats into the process, with widespread bipartisan concern about the 2010 health care law’s increasing costs and fewer insurance policy options for Americans.

“ObamaCare will explode and we will all get together and piece together a great health care plan for THE PEOPLE,” Trump tweeted. “Do not worry!”

Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, later Saturday seemed open to such discussions, acknowledging that ObamaCare indeed has problems, including too few tax credits for poor Americans to help them pay for the insurance.

“ObamaCare is not perfect. We need to fix things” he said on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.” “This is all fixable if we sit down as reasonable people.”

COMMENT:  Tim Ryan is one of the better Democrats in Congress, but I'll bet his reasonableness will be shut down pretty quickly by his party's hard left.

Priebus, who is largely responsible for building the GOP's congressional victories in recent years, is right.  Start governing.  Produce results.  Don't try for perfection.  Try for something very good.  Reagan used to say that if he got 80% in a negotiation, he considered it a success.  That's common political sense.

March 26, 2017       Permalink

PENCE FIGHTS BACK – AT 11:31 A.M. ET:  Vice President Pence, one of the few grown-ups left in Washington,  is vowing to continue the fight for a better health-care system.  From Fox: 

Vice President Pence tried Saturday to deliver a pep-talk to Americans after fellow Republicans’ failed effort to overhaul ObamaCare -- admitting that members are “back to the drawing board” but vowing that President Trump will “keep fighting.”

Pence spoke in the aftermath of House Speaker Paul Ryan on Friday cancelling the final vote for the ObamaCare replacement bill, upon concluding he didn’t have enough votes despite the chamber’s GOP majority.

Republicans Ryan and Trump after announcing the cancellation, sounded as if efforts to fulfill campaign promises to repeal and replace the 2010 health care law were essentially finished.

Ryan publicly said Americans would be living with ObamaCare for the “foreseeable future,” while Trump simply told The New York Times, “It’s enough already.”

However, Trump and Pence on Saturday seemed to come back fighting.

“ObamaCare will explode, and we will all get together and piece together a great healthcare plan for THE PEOPLE,” Trump tweeted. “Do not worry!”

COMMENT:  That seems a better approach than simply walking away.  What Pence understands is that, as Obamacare fails, it's the Republicans who will be blamed by the media.  Even though Obamacare is a completely Democratic program, word for word, the media will never blame the Democrats for it.  That would be blaming Barack, who came to save us.  A demigod is never blamed.

Also, Republicans must come up with a better health plan before the Democrats come out with a proposal.  What the new Democratic Party dreams of is "single payer," the European system that does away with all competition, all insurance companies, and drops first-class medicine to guarantee "equality."  Patients will have no choices, parents will have no choices for their children.  You will wait months for an operation, but everyone will wait the same amount of time.  Isn't that fun?  The press will think so, even as its lords find a way to get better care for their own families.

Trump must now lead.  He must be better informed than he has been – it was clear during the health-care debacle that he knew little about actual health-care programs – for his presidency will depend on the results he can show. 

March 26,  2017     Permalink