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DECEMBER 5,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

TROUBLING – FROM BREITBART:   Americans with a “great deal of confidence” in the U.S. military dropped a staggering 11 percent from February under Commander in Chief Joe Biden, according to a survey released Friday by the Ronald Reagan Institute.  The Reagan National Defense Survey showed that the percentage of Americans having a great deal of trust and confidence in the U.S. military was only 45 percent — the first time that number has dropped below 50 percent since the survey was first conducted in 2018. It is also a steep drop from 56 percent in February 2021.  The institute said in its summary, “Almost a year into the Biden Administration and a few months removed from the Afghanistan withdrawal, the American people are equivocal and unsure about U.S. global leadership and military capabilities.”  The drop continues a trend — though not as precipitous — of declining American confidence in the U.S. military, which stood at 70 percent in 2018.  Our enemies are cheering. 

December 5, 2021       Permalink

THEY'VE HIT AN ICEBERG; LOWER THE BOATS – OVERNIGHT:  The stories keep pouring in about Kamala Harris, and they're not the kind of thing she'll want in her obit.  From The Daily Mail: 

Kamala Harris could lose even more staffers, a Saturday report revealed, after four of her aides departed in the matter for just two weeks amid rumors of turmoil in the West Wing.

People familiar with the conversations told Politico that even more ‘key members of Harris’s orbit’ are ‘eyeing the exits’ and have expressed interest in leaving less than a year into her vice presidency.

Among the four staffers departing Harris’ office are Symone Sanders, who as senior adviser and chief spokesperson is one of the vice president’s closest aides. Ashley Etienne, the office’s communications director, is also leaving.

Officials maintain Sanders and Etienne’s departures were long-planned and not evidence of the reported turmoil.

Peter Velz, director of press operations, and Vince Evans, deputy director of the Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs, have both told others in the vice president's office that they are also leaving, administration officials told the Washington Post.

Both are expected to remain in the administration or take jobs in close coordination with the White House.

Some Democratic allies have urged Harris to embrace the concept of a reset after a rocky first year as vice president, which has been riddled with project failures – like addressing the southern border crisis – and reports of tensions between her team and the president’s.

Harris’ staff are leaving because they're burned out, there are better opportunities elsewhere and they don't want to be permanently branded a 'Harris person,' according to Axios.

After the already announced departure of Harris' communications director Ashley Etienne, Politico reported Wednesday that chief spokesperson Symone Sanders is expected to leave by the end of the year.

COMMENT:  And Harris does not have the cushion of good poll numbers to fall back on.  She's polling at about 28% approval in most polls.  There's nothing on the horizon that would seem to offer her the chance of improving her standing with the public.

Already Washington is talking about ways to force her out of the vice presidency, or at least bar her from the Democratic Party's 2024 ticket. 

December 5, 2021       Permalink

DECEMBER 4,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT: 

MORE COPS, LESS CRIME IN BLACK AREAS – OVERNIGHT.  It's unlikely that you'll see this on CNN or MSNBC.  But you can be a sinner here.  From College Fix:   A team of criminologists has found that every 10 to 17 new cops added by a city police department can be expected to save one black person from being murdered.  The researchers looked at 242 cities over a 38-year period and concluded “that each additional police officer hired abates between 0.06 and 0.1 homicides.”  “Although the total reduction in homicide is roughly equal across Black and white victims, the decline in homicide is twice as large for Black victims in per capita terms,” the team said. Researchers on the project include Professor Benjamin Hansen of the University of Oregon, Emily Weisburst of UCLA and Aaron Chalfin at the University of Pennsylvania.  A draft of the criminology research paper is available here and the paper has been accepted by American Economic Review: Insights for publication soon. It first came out as a working paper in December 2020 and has since been accepted for publication.   Watch the trendy left ignore this and try to bury it.  It insults the party line and sounds like TRUMP!!!  But I'll bet most African Americans accept it.

December 4, 2021       Permalink

EVEN BIDEN'S GUY IS SOUNDING THE ALARM ON CHINA – OVERNIGHT:  Is there awokeness in the president's house?  Do the big shots finally understand that China is a threat?  The triggering word is "Taiwan."  From Fox: 

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Saturday that China's increased military activity near Taiwan seemingly indicates a "rehearsal" of the country's future intentions.

Austin made his comment during a keynote discussion with Fox News anchor Bret Baier at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California.

Pointing out how China has been launching multiple air operations near Taiwan in recent months, Baier asked Austin, "Do you think that these are training flights for future operations?"

Austin noted that he didn't want to speculate, but said, "Certainly, it looks like them exploring what their true capabilities [are], and sure, it looks like rehearsal."

Austin also affirmed U.S. dominance in the Pacific, telling Baier, "China is not 10 feet tall."

"America is a Pacific power," Austin said. "The Indo-Pacific is a region of great opportunity and real challenges. One of those challenges is the emergence of an increasingly assertive and autocratic China."

The Reagan Forum, which comes as China and Russia continue to build up aggressive defenses not seen since World War II, included remarks by foreign policy experts and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle who argue that the Biden administration's foreign policy has diminished U.S. standing on the world stage.

"We’re facing a formidable challenge," the defense chief said. "In war and in peace we are always stronger when we work together with our friends."

COMMENT:  China covets Taiwan.  The United States is, oh, kinda sorta committed to defend Taiwan.  But China sees a weak, divided America, and that is a prescription for war, not peace.  Our policies won't improve until The Democrats are driven from power, and that day may be a long way off.

But we can improve things to some degree by electing a Republican Congress is 2022.

December 4, 2021       Permalink