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

MARCH 26,  2018

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

GREAT MOMENTS IN JUSTICE – FROM THE GUARDIAN:  A French waiter fired for being “aggressive, rude and disrespectful” says his behaviour wasn’t out of line – he’s just French.  Guillaume Rey, who worked at a Vancouver restaurant on Canada’s Pacific coast, filed a complaint with British Columbia’s Human Rights Tribunal against his former employer, claiming “discrimination against my culture”.  The restaurant, operated by Cara Operations, accused Rey of violating its code of conduct and said he persisted in his behavior despite verbal and written performance reviews.  In alleging discrimination Rey said French culture just “tends to be more direct and expressive”.  He owes his sacking to his “direct, honest and professional personality”, which he acquired while training in France’s hospitality industry.  Another argument against the farce of multiculturalism.

THE GIANT STRATEGIST SPEAKS – FROM BREITBART:  Former President Jimmy Carter called President Donald Trump’s decision to appoint Ambassador John Bolton as his new National Security Advisor “a disaster for our country.”  Speaking to USA Today, Carter called Bolton “a warlike figure,” and elaborated: “Maybe one of the worst mistakes that President Trump has made since he’s been in office is his employment of John Bolton, who has been advocating a war with North Korea for a long time and even an attack on Iran, and who has been one of the leading figures on orchestrating the decision to invade Iraq.”  Carter’s mishandling of American foreign policy, particularly during the Iran hostage crisis of 1979-80, was one of the keys to his political demise in the 1980 election.   Carter is an embarrassment, a product of the post-Watergate Democratic Party, where ego and moral certainty were far more important than ability.

ANOTHER WARNING – FROM NBC:  The military is investigating suspicious packages with apparent explosive components at several U.S. military installations in the Washington, D.C., area Monday, a law enforcement official said.  The National Defense University at Ft. McNair in D.C. received a suspicious package about 8:30 a.m., and the building was evacuated.  The package tested positive for black powder, according to Ft. McNair. An X-ray showed what appeared to be GPS and a fuse. It was rendered safe and the building was cleared about 1:15 p.m. The components are being investigated.  A suspicious package sent to Ft. Belvoir in Virginia Monday afternoon contained liquid in a vial and a circuit board, the law enforcement official said. It also was rendered safe. Ft. Belvoir did not provide any more information.  And a suspicious package is under investigation at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in D.C.  There are also reports of suspicious packages at the CIA, a Secret Service mail processing facility and a Navy base in Richmond, NBC News Justice Correspondent Pete Williams reported.  Is this a post-Austin copycat?  We have no way of knowing, but we periodically have serial bombers, and they're dangerous,

March 26, 2018       Permalink

DOES ANYONE CARE? – AT 2:22 P.M. ET:  Not too many hoorays for Hollywood these days.  TV is king in Tinseltown as the audience sends a message.  From Hollywood Reporter:

With less than a week to go, Hollywood's major March releases have failed to bloom at the North American box office, triggering the worst year-over-year decline for the month in recent memory.

March revenue through Sunday was an estimated $722.5 million, a 28 percent decline from the same time period last year ($997.3 million), according to comScore.

The last hope for redemption is Steven Spielberg's pricey Ready Player One, which Warner Bros. and Amblin Entertainment open in theaters on Thursday, the eve of Easter weekend.

Last year, films released in March ultimately generated north of $1.2 billion in domestic ticket sales, led by Beauty and the Beast ($504 million), Logan ($226 million), The Boss Baby ($175 million) and Kong: Skull Island ($168 million) And in 2016, that same stat was $939 billion, fueled by Zootopia ($341 million) and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice ($330.4 million).

While this year's crop of March titles are still in the heart of their runs, they won't match those numbers, considering not one title has come close to hitting $100 million. And without carryover revenue from February's Black Panther — as in $200 million-plus — the situation would be even worse.

COMMENT:  Hollywood might consider making movies that most Americans want to see, but Hollywood lost interest in most Americans long ago.  Deplorables, my dears.

March 26, 2018       Permalink

THIS IS NOT PROGRESS – AT 11:45 A.M. ET:   We don't disparage those with gender-identity issues, but please don't afflict all of society with this problem.  From Breitbart: 

Following State regulations to counteract traditional gender roles, a number of Swedish preschools have begun experimenting in innovative ways to blur the differences between boys and girls.

The Swedish government has been committed to the deconstruction of gender for decades, and in 1998, added a requirement to its national curriculum that all preschools “counteract traditional gender roles and gender patterns” and encourage children to explore “outside the limitations of stereotyped gender roles.”

At preschools across the country, toddlers are addressed by gender-neutral pronouns, encouraged to play at games commonly associated with the other sex, and forced to overcome natural tendencies toward aggression or passivity, according to a March 24 article in the New York Times.

The State curriculum “urges teachers and principals to embrace their role as social engineers,” the Times article declares, despite the fact that the effect of this teaching method on children “is still unclear.”

At the Seafarer’s Preschool outside Stockholm, for instance, teachers remove gender-specific toys like cars and dolls and have the boys play kitchen while the girls are made to shout “No!”

COMMENT:  I always thought that the purpose of the women's movement was to enhance the equality, safety, and dignity of women.  Apparently I was misinformed.  Now the political left, without, apparently, any dissent from feminists, is diminishing women, making them part of some vague blur.

Maybe some like it.  Some don't.  I don't think this is the proper role for a state-supported school.

March 26, 2018       Permalink

TRUMP ACTS ON RUSSIA – AT 11:06 A.M. ET:  The president has kept his pledge to bear down on Russia, exploding the myth that he's soft on Putin.  From AP:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The United States and more than a dozen European nations kicked out Russian diplomats on Monday and the Trump administration ordered Russia's consulate in Seattle to close, as the West sought joint punishment for Moscow's alleged role in poisoning an ex-spy in Britain.

Warning of an "unacceptably high" number of Russian spies in the U.S., the Trump administration said 60 diplomats would be expelled — all Russian intelligence agents working under diplomatic cover, the U.S. said. The group includes a dozen posted to Russia's mission to the United Nations who the officials said were engaged in "aggressive collection" of intelligence on American soil.

The move was one of the most significant actions President Donald Trump's administration has taken to date to push back on Moscow and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Less than a week ago, Trump congratulated Putin by phone for his re-election but didn't raise the spy case, renewing questions about whether the U.S. president is too soft on the Kremlin.

The American penalties were echoed by announcements in European capitals across the continent, including those in Russia's backyard.

Fourteen European Union nations were expelling Russian diplomats, EU chief Donald Tusk said, with more likely to follow. An EU official put the total from those countries at more than 30 Russians. Germany, Poland and France each planned to boot four, the Czech Republic three and Italy two.

COMMENT:  The Europeans didn't exactly step up, as Washington did, but at least they participated.  They're kind of like the committee for the senior prom that arranges for free parking.

I'm glad Trump led.  No fool he.

March 26,  2018     Permalink

MARCH 25,  2018

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

MARCH CROWD DISAPPOINTS – FROM DAILY CALLER:  Around 200,000 people attended the March For Our Lives gun control event in Washington, D.C. Saturday afternoon, CBS News reported. The number is well below the 500,000 number organizers of the event expected and 600,000 less than initially reported by many news outlets immediately following the celebrity-fueled march and rally. The march took place between noon and 3 p.m. on Pennsylvania Avenue between 3rd Street NW and 12th Street NW.  The crowd-size estimates were bizarre, with some reporters trying to compare the size of the crowd to the turnout for President Trump's inauguration.

MAJOR ADVANCE IN EDUCATION – FROM COLLEGE FIX:  Meet the Stanford Student Alliance for Justice in Education, the student organization that wants its peers to be aware of how they’re taught “by empowering groups that are marginalized in educational settings.”  According to The Stanford Daily, the group’s focus is “decolonality,” just the latest in postmodern edu-jargon which is defined as — ready? — “the process of analyzing the ways through which education and accepted ideas reflect remnants of Western colonial thought and challenge the power structures and institutions of the modern world which have been shaped by colonialism.”  Or, in other words, “disrupting the dominance of Western schools of knowledge.”  I'm sure there's a big market out there for graduates of this program, especially for honor graduates.

AN OUT-OF-CONTROL EGO – FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER:  Former President Barack Obama talked about his future plans for his post-presidency life at a conference Sunday in Japan, addressing how he might shape "a million" new, young leaders in his mold.  The wide-ranging discussion repeatedly touched on the Obama Foundation's efforts to engage the digital space to help young people in the U.S. and across the world get connected.  "If I could do that effectively, then -- you know -- I would create a hundred or a thousand or a million young Barack Obamas or Michelle Obamas," Obama said.  One was enough.

March 25, 2018       Permalink

OUTRAGEOUS – AT 2:51 P.M. ET:  You all saw the coverage of yesterday's "anti-gun" march in Washington, starring a bunch of teenagers who, I'm sure, consumed much pizza and very little knowledge.

Now, don't get me wrong.  I'm delighted to see young people engaged, but in this case it was clear they were thoroughly manipulated.  It was strictly a left-wing march.  No conservatives wanted.  And, certainly, no conservative solutions wanted.  Some people with direct connection to the tragedy in Florida, were conspicuously kept out.  From Breitbart: 

Hunter Pollack, the brother of Meadow Pollack, who was shot and killed in the high school shooting in Parkland, Florida, says he was denied an opportunity to speak at the March for Our Lives in Washington, DC.

Pollack’s father Andrew said they tried for two days to work with organizers for a chance to speak at the march but that organizers denied the request.

“At first they told him, yes, then it turned to no,” Pollack told Breitbart News. “They claimed no time.”

“I was going to give a speech about Meadow and how devastated I am and how we need to make change, but they won’t allow me to put my voice out,” Hunter said in an interview. “I feel that they don’t really care about the victims’ families. If they did, they would have let me speak, and they didn’t. I don’t know what this is about.”

What it's about, Hunter, is left-wing politics.  This is the way they play the game.

Hunter read part of his prepared speech on camera, which was shared on Facebook:

Hunter’s father, Andrew Pollack, shared his frustrations in a Facebook video on Saturday.

“My son, he got denied to speak at the march, so I’m not going to the march,” Pollack said. “He was pretty disappointed that he didn’t get to speak at this march. I guess he’s got a different agenda than their agenda.”

COMMENT:  I doubt if the grovelers at CNN will cover this story.  There were also Second Amendment supporters demonstrating in some cities yesterday.  Haven't seen any coverage.  If you have, please alert me.

March 25, 2018       Permalink

AGAIN, A REMINDER OF THE REAL WORLD – AT 1:02 P.M. ET:  The terrorist threat, dramatically demonstrated in France yesterday, is presenting itself once more.  Eternal vigilance, my friends.  From Britain's Express: 

Counter-terror officials are hunting for Mathlouthi Atef, 42, after he was flagged up as a "possible bomber", according to local media.

A mugshot of the Tunisian suspect has been circulated over fears he could strike bars, train stations and shopping centres in Rome.

The alert came after the Italian embassy in Tunisia's capital, Tunis, received an anonymous letter claiming a man was "ready to attack the centre of Rome".

The chilling threat was "considered reliable", according to Rome-based newspaper Il Corriere della Citta.

Another newspaper, Il Giornale, reported that Atef is already known to police for drug dealing and "other minor crimes".

Italy's military police force, known as the carabinieri, declined to comment on the possible terror threat.

The Foreign Office website warns that "terrorists are likely to try to carry out attacks in Italy" and warns British tourists to be vigilant. 

COMMENT:  Some will dismiss these chaps as "lone wolves."  There's no such thing.  A so-called "lone wolf" was radicalized by someone.  Expect more attacks.  Much of Europe is unstable and vulnerable.  The United States will always be the ultimate target.

March 25, 2018       Permalink

GOP GAINS – AT 12:15 P.M. ET:  We routinely get dire reports of an upcoming catastrophe for the Republicans in the midterm elections.  But the polls have actually been tightening, and the news for the GOP really isn't that bad at all.  From Fox: 

The latest Fox News poll finds a tightening race when voters are asked their candidate preference in this fall’s congressional election.

That’s good news for Republicans because Democrats were up by 15 points in October (50-35 percent) in the so-called generic ballot test.  Now, it’s a 5-point edge, as 46 percent of voters would back the Democratic candidate in their district and 41 percent the Republican.

"Just winning the popular national vote is not enough to flip the House," says Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who conducts the poll with Democrat Chris Anderson.  "Given the GOP's districting advantages, data from 2012 and 2014 show the Democrats need an edge of at least five points to bring the majority into play."

“I like this question as a gauge of perceptions month to month,” says Anderson. “But its predictive power seven months from the election is dubious.” 

Anderson points out that in March of 2014, Democrats had a 2-point edge on the vote question and Republicans ultimately picked up 13 House seats that November.  And in March 2010, Republicans had a 4-point advantage and went on to win 63 seats.

COMMENT:  This is good.  But Republicans must run as if they're 20 points behind.  And they must get out the vote on election day.  Republicans historically have accepted defeat too easily, and, historically, have looked around for the worst possible candidates to run. We've seen some of those candidates go down to defeat in recent special elections.

But if the GOP gets its act together, and the Democrats keep their snobbish distance from the average voter, things may just turn out acceptably well in November.

March 25,  2018     Permalink