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.

MAY 8,  2016

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:56 P.M. ET: 

GREAT ADVANCES IN EDUCATION – From The Wall Street Journal:  One day in January, Eric Wilson dashed off a message to the teaching assistants for an online course at the Georgia Institute of Technology.  “I really feel like I missed the mark in giving the correct amount of feedback,” he wrote, pleading to revise an assignment.  Thirteen minutes later, the TA responded. “Unfortunately, there is not a way to edit submitted feedback,” wrote Jill Watson, one of nine assistants for the 300-plus students.  Last week, Mr. Wilson found out he had been seeking guidance from a computer.  Since January, “Jill,” as she was known to the artificial-intelligence class, had been helping graduate students design programs that allow computers to solve certain problems, like choosing an image to complete a logical sequence. “She was the person—well, the teaching assistant—who would remind us of due dates and post questions in the middle of the week to spark conversations,” said student Jennifer Gavin.  I'm sure the Ivy League will soon discover a way to build a left-wing computer.  After that will come a computer that chants, "Computer lives matter."

HILARIOUS – From the New York Post:   The Castro brothers — Julián and Joaquín (not Fidel and Raúl) — are said to be studying Spanish very hard in the event that either one is picked as Hillary Clinton’s running mate.  Julián, the US Housing and Urban Development Secretary and former mayor of San Antonio, Texas, is on the short list of vice presidential potentials, along with Elizabeth Warren. His twin Joaquín — a congressman — is lower down on the list.  “Surprisingly, they don’t speak Spanish,” one insider told me. “They are cramming with Rosetta Stone.”  That is hilarious.  Guys who might be picked to bring a Hispanic flavor to the Dem ticket may need a translator to talk to Telemundo.  I mean, how absurd does it get?

STUCK – The tomtom GPS people put out an annual traffic index showing the most traffic-congested cities around the world, or within major countries.  In the U.S. the worst ten cities for traffic turned out to be, starting with the very worst:  1)  Los Angeles; 2) San Francisco; 3) New York; 4) Seattle; 5) San José; 6) Honolulu; 7) Miami; 8) Washington; 9) Portland; and 10) Chicago.  If I'm not mistaken, all are run by liberals.  And the same people who direct traffic run the schools.

May 8, 2016       Permalink

WARNINGS TO THE SANDERS CROWD – AT 12:27 P.M. ET:   This got my attention.  Curious.  From the Washington Examiner: 

Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Ed Rendell said the key to a successful 2016 democratic convention is whether or not Bernie Sanders' supporters "behave" when their candidate inevitably loses the nomination.

"It's going to be a great convention, but of course the key to it is the Sanders people," Rendell, the former Philadelphia mayor and Pennsylvania governor, said in a radio interview with supermarket mogul John Catsimatidis in New York on Sunday morning. "We're going to have a roll call. There's going to be a demonstration in support of Bernie. He's going to lose the roll call. His supporters have to behave and not cause trouble. And I think they will, and I think Sen. Sanders will send them a strong message."

Although Hillary Clinton is set to officially become the Democratic nominee in July, Sanders has refused to drop out of the race. He claims the DNC has "rigged" the system against him.

On Friday the Vermont senator warned current DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz that if the DNC doesn't change their "overly partisan" rules favoring Clinton, his supporters would not hesitate to fight on the convention floor.

COMMENT:   It's clear the Dems expect trouble, and why not?  Bernie is the leader of the far lefties and the kids, a toxic combination.  Democrats have in mind their 1968 convention in Chicago, which was plagued by violence outside the hall, instigated by the far left.  That image helped elect Richard Nixon, a political has-been, president in November. 

Bernie's warning is typical of fringe operators who get a little power.  We'll see if it materializes.  More important, we'll see what the Dem platform looks like.

May 8, 2016        Permalink 

BAD MOVES – AT 11:31 A.M. ET:  There is some real ugliness in the wake of Speaker Paul Ryan's announcement that he cannot yet endorse Donald Trump for the presidential nomination of the Republican Party.   We should note, in Mr. Ryan's defense, that Trump is only the presumptive nominee.  He has not yet been nominated.

And yet the response to Ryan has been mean-spirited and inappropriate.  Sarah Palin, ever determined to destroy what's left of her career, has announced she will work to defeat Ryan in his Congressional district.  From CNN:

Washington (CNN) Sarah Palin will work to defeat House Speaker Paul Ryan by backing his primary opponent in Wisconsin, the former Alaska governor told CNN's Jake Tapper.

Palin said in an interview that airs Sunday on "State of the Union" that her decision was sparked by Ryan's bombshell announcement to Tapper last week that he wasn't yet ready to support Donald Trump, the Republican presumptive nominee. Palin endorsed Trump back in January.

"I think Paul Ryan is soon to be 'Cantored,' as in Eric Cantor," Palin said, referring to the former Republican House majority leader who was ousted in a shocking upset in 2014 when challenger Dave Brat ran to his right in a Virginia primary.

"His political career is over but for a miracle because he has so disrespected the will of the people, and as the leader of the GOP, the convention, certainly he is to remain neutral, and for him to already come out and say who he will not support is not a wise decision of his," Palin continued.

COMMENT:  I used to be such a Sarah fan, but that romance is over.  Ryan never said he wouldn't support Trump, only that he is not ready to give an endorsement.  He clearly wants to bargain over the platform, which is entirely appropriate.  He is also the highest-ranking Republican in the country, and some respect is due him. 

And Trump is now saying he may try to engineer Ryan's removal as chairman of the convention.  Another bad move.  Someone should tell Donald that he doesn't own the Republican Party.  It's not a piece of real estate.  It's a time to heal within the GOP, and it's a time to assert party principles.  Trump has work to do to convince leading members of the party, who have, after all, won elections, that he is worthy.  If he does not show some respect, he may lose the support of Republicans he desperately needs to win election, and to govern. 

Trump is now saying he doesn't need party unity – that he will attract Bernie Sanders Democrats to his candidacy.  Hmm.  What Republican principles will he use to attract them?

Trump, by his continued cruis risking that a third party will be formed, one that could make it impossible for him to be elected.   He's also risking a "Republicans for Hillary" movement.  There are already rumblings. 

We're constantly told that Trump will be more "presidential."  I'm waiting.   Trump ran a successful, if brutal, campaign to win the nomination.  But the nomination is not the presidency, as President McGovern or President Dukakis could have told him. 

May 8, 2016        Permalink

V-E DAY – AT 11:15 A.M. ET:  When I was a child, everyone knew what V-E Day meant.  It was the day we celebrated victory in Europe (V-E) in World War II.  It was the day the war against Nazism was won.  The war against Japan would go on for another three months. 

Now V-E Day is largely forgotten.  The youngest veterans of World War II would be in their late 80s now.  Soon they will all be gone.  We used to depend on newspapers to remind us every year, but I'd be surprised if most young "journalists" today have ever heard of V-E Day.  After all, learning about Western civilization is not considered chic in the colleges they attended.  And the only things many high-school students know about World War II is that we used the atomic bomb and interned Japanese-Americans. 

But some patriots will always remember the sacrifices, not only of Americans, but those of Allied nations, in defeating Nazi Germany and imperial Japan.  And we recall those who, before World War II, warned of what was coming, and were called warmongers in return.

Today Germany and Japan are allies.  That shows that horrible ideologies can be defeated, and replaced by societies that are much better.  But the defeat must come first.  I fear we're forgetting that important lesson now.

May 8,  2016     Permalink 

MAY 7,  2016

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

DEFENSE TEST IN NEW YORK – From the New York Daily News:   Don't hold your breath, it’s only a test.  The Department of Homeland Security will release “harmless particle materials” in the city’s subway system next week.  The “non-toxic, safe gas material” will be released at subway stations in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens in order to understand where hazardous material would travel in the event of a biological terrorist attack.  “This is important information to help local authorities to enhance their emergency preparedness,” DHS Program Manager Dr. Donald Bansleben said Friday.  Officials said there is currently no credible threat against either New York City or the subway system.  At least they're awake.  I think there is serious concern about an attack here soon, following Paris and Brussels. 

VOCABULARY ALERT – From Daily Caller:   An official with the Department of Justice said the agency will no longer call people “felons” or “convicts” after they are released from prison because it is too hard on them emotionally.  Assistant Attorney General Karol Mason wrote a piece in The Washington Post Wednesday saying “many of the formerly incarcerated men, women, and young people I talk with say that no punishment is harsher than being permanently branded a ‘felon’ or ‘offender.'”  Mason said the decision is not to condone their behavior, but to use words to help them reenter society....This new policy statement replaces unnecessarily disparaging labels with terms like “person who committed a crime” and “individual who was incarcerated,” decoupling past actions from the person being described and anticipating the contributions we expect them to make when they return.  There is some logic to this, trying to move people back into society after they've done their time.  However, society – especially schools and sensitive employers – also have a right to know if they're about to employ someone who's committed a violent crime.  My concern is that changes in vocabulary will be joined with other moves that minimize what the person has done, placing others at risk.

YIKES – From The Hill:   A senior Donald Trump adviser is hinting that the presumptive GOP nominee could speak every day at the Republican National Convention in July.  “I don’t know why the candidate only speaks on acceptance night, why shouldn’t he speak every night from a different city?” Barry Bennett said Friday in an interview with Bloomberg’s "Masters in Politics" podcast.  “But I think when it comes to the program a lot of us feel that we could juice up the format just a little,” he said. “More entertaining, more interesting.”  Bennett also said the convention could rely on broadcasts on Facebook or Google to reach a wider audience, instead of focusing just on prime-time coverage by TV networks.  “Why are we just relying on 45 minutes of network television time?”  Well, they're thinking creatively, but I'm not sure we need Donald Trump every day.  People will start calling him Fidel.

May 7, 2016       Permalink

GETTING CLOSER? – AT 12:52 P.M. ET:   There seems to be a great deal of activity in the FBI probe into Hillary's e-mail style.  How much it means, I have no idea.  From Fox: 

EXCLUSIVE: The Romanian hacker who says he easily breached Hillary Clinton’s personal email server also claimed, in a series of interviews with Fox News, that he spoke with the FBI at length on the plane when extradited from Romania to Virginia last month.

"They came after me, a guy from the FBI, from the State Department," 44-year-old Marcel Lehel Lazar, who goes by the moniker "Guccifer," told Fox News during a jailhouse phone interview. He said the conversation was "80 minutes ... recorded," and he took his own notes.

A government source confirmed that the hacker had a lot to say on the plane but provided no other details. Lazar was flown to the U.S. to face separate cyber-crime charges.

In addition to the apparent conversation with the FBI on the plane, Fox News has learned a meeting was expected as early as this week at the Alexandria, Va., detention center where he’s being held involving Guccifer, the FBI, the U.S. attorney and the defendant’s court-appointed lawyer.

These officials have not commented on his clams or detention.

COMMENT:  Absolutely no way to assess this story.  My own sense is that some manner will be found to finesse Clinton's e-mail behavior.  An indictment would be devastating, and probably end her presidential hopes.  But the case might be negotiated to something much less.  Clinton might have to pay a huge fine and admit some kind of vague wrongdoing, while accepting charges of favoritism.  But morality in America is pretty flexible right now, and she might come away with relatively little damage.

May 7, 2016       Permalink 

THAT THIRD-PARTY IDEA – AT 12:20 P.M. ET:   We've been reporting rumblings of a third-party movement.  The Hill has a good summary of what's been happening:

Conservative activists who want a third-party alternative to Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton face one big obstacle: finding the right candidate.

Former Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) would be a unifying figure for conservatives, but his health is in question after a battle with cancer.

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), who helped kick off the push for a third-party pro-Constitution candidate in February, has taken himself out of the running, citing obligations to his family.

“The answer is no. Senator Sasse has been clear when asked this before: he has three little kids and the only callings he wants — raising them and serving Nebraskans,” said his spokesman James Wegmann.

The names of Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R-Texas) and former Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-La.) had both been mentioned, but they removed themselves from consideration by announcing they will support Trump.

Two other potential candidates — Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican nominee, and former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, who is expected to win the Libertarian Party’s nomination for president later this year — are non-starters with the conservatives who are involved in discussions about a third-party candidate.

Erick Erickson, the conservative writer and radio host who has organized conference calls about a Trump alternative, said the movement wants a new face, which is not Romney.

“His name has been floated by three separate groups and all of them came to the conclusion that a new face was needed,” he said.

But Erickson added, “I do think it’s possible” for conservatives to rally behind someone.

“Given the antipathy for Trump and Hillary [Clinton], you could put together a compelling ticket that would unite conservatives and the more establishment Republicans and probably pick up some independents along the way,” he said.

COMMENT:  Sounds pretty amateurish.  You have to have that candidate first.  Then you can stir up some excitement.

If only David Petraeus hadn't gotten himself in trouble, he would have been ideal.

May 7,  2016     Permalink

GREAT MOMENTS IN EDUCATION – AT 11:16 A.M. ET:  Harvard is the most influential university in the United States.  So this is especially discouraging, and frightening.   From The Fire, an excellent group that fights for the rights of students: 

BOSTON, May 6, 2016—In a stunning attack on freedom of association, Harvard University announced today that members of independent, single-sex, off-campus organizations will be blacklisted from Rhodes and Marshall scholarships and banned from leadership of on-campus organizations or athletic teams.

Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust stated that next year, members of fraternities, sororities, and “final clubs” will begin to be denied these opportunities in an effort to foster “inclusion” and “address deeply rooted gender attitudes.” According to Dean Rakesh Khurana, who recommended the changes, such organizations have been independent from Harvard since 1984. They operate as off-campus entities and do not receive any recognition or benefit from the university.

“Outrageously, Harvard has decided that 2016 is the right time to revive the blacklist,” said Robert Shibley, executive director of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), which defends freedom of association on campus. “This year’s undesirables are members of off-campus clubs that don’t match Harvard’s political preferences. In the 1950s, perhaps Communists would have been excluded. I had hoped that universities were past the point of asking people, ‘Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of a group we don’t like?’ Sadly, they are not.”

COMMENT:  Modern McCarthyism mostly comes from the left, so this doesn't really surprise me.  What does surprise me is that Drew Faust, the president of Harvard, is involved.  She's usually more thoughtful than this.  I'd imagine that, in some way, she was threatened.

This is very serious stuff, and I wonder how the groups involved will react.  We can assume that they're in touch with their lawyers.  I would hope that they would jointly sue Harvard. 

I wonder how schemes like this will affect women's colleges and historically black schools.  This is a can of worms.  Of course, we're speaking only of inclusive worms.

May 7, 2016       Permalink