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FEBRUARY 7,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

OLD SOLDIERS NEVER DIE – FROM CBS SPORTS:  The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are Super Bowl LV champions after completing a victory that exceeded expectations and made all kinds of history on Sunday night at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. In dominating the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9, the Bucs won their second Super Bowl and became the first team to win a Super Bowl in their home stadium. Quarterback Tom Brady secured his seventh Lombardi Trophy, two more than any player in NFL history and one more than any entire NFL franchise has achieved.  Brady's performance at age 43 was nearly flawless, and the suffocating pressure of Todd Bowles's defense was a perfect compliment to the offense's effort. The future Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback completed 21 of 29 passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns, including a pair to his long-time favorite target, tight end Rob Gronkowski and another to wide receiver Antonio Brown.  At 43 he's the old man of football.  He proves that no one should give up just because of age.  We're an overly youth-oriented society, but it was the ancient warrior, with years of experience, who won. 

THE SWEETNESS OF INNOCENCE...NOT – FROM FOX:    Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., has publically denied encouraging supporters to confront and harass members of the Trump administration.  The California Democrat was asked whether she ever "glorified or encouraged" violence against Republicans in a Sunday interview with MSNBC's Ali Velshi.  "As a matter of fact, if you look at the words that I used, the strongest thing I said was tell them they're not welcome," Waters claimed. "[I said] Talk to them. Tell them they're not welcome. I didn't say go and fight. I didn't say anybody was going to have any violence. And so they can't make that stick."  Waters came under fire in 2018 for telling the same network that she had "no sympathy" for administration officials who defended Trump's "zero-tolerance" immigration policy, and urged her supporters to "absolutely harass them" when appearing in public.  "They’re not going to be able to go to a restaurant, they’re not going to be able to stop at a gas station, they’re not going to be able to shop at a department store," Waters said at the time. "The people are going to turn on them, they’re going to protest, they’re going to absolutely harass them."  Her comments came after then-Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and former press secretary Sarah Sanders were confronted with their families in public over Trump's controversial family separation policy.  One of the worst and most useless members of Congress, Waters lives in a multi-million-dollar home outside her district.  Her vile statements about President Trump and Republicans generally, if they don't specifically advocate violence, come awfully close. 

February 7, 2021       Permalink

PROGRESS IN CHICAGO? – I never thought I'd write the words "progress" and "Chicago" in the same sentence.  Chicago, whose heroes include Louis Farrakhan and Barack Obama, is not a place where you expect much progress in anything.  Overly racialized, and controlled by the Democratic machine, it is a shooting gallery every weekend. 

But there may be some progress in getting Chicago's schools, who are in the lock grip of teachers unions, open.  From Fox: 

Chicago schoolchildren are expected to return to classrooms later this week, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Sunday after Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago Public Schools reached a "tentative agreement."

"We are here to announce the very good news that our children will be returning to in-person learning this week," Lightfoot said at a press conference. "These past 11 months have been a whirlwind for our entire city, pushing us to limits countless times. We’ve lost jobs, we’ve lost loved ones… We have all been on a nonstop emotional rollercoaster that we have individually and collectively tried to navigate."

Under the tentative agreement, the start of in-person classes, phased in by grade, has been pushed back from the district's initial plans. Classes for some students would start later week.

But the deal still relies on broader union approval, and it remains unclear when or if a vote will be held for its some 25,000 members, the Chicago Tribune reported.

"We do not yet have an agreement with Chicago Public Schools," Chicago Teachers Union tweeted Sunday, while the press conference was still happening. "The mayor and her team made an offer to our members late last night, which merits further review. We will continue with our democratic process of rank-and-file review throughout the day before any agreement is reached."

The union and district have been fighting for months over a plan to gradually reopen the roughly 340,000-student district, with talks breaking down in recent days. The major issues included widespread vaccinations for teachers, metrics to gauge school infections and accommodations for teachers who have a person in their household who's more susceptible to coronavirus.

"This agreement was about making sure everyone in our school communities just aren’t safe, but also that they feel safe," Lightfoot said.

CPS officials have said opening schools is safe and that remote learning isn’t working for all students, including many Black and Latino students who make up the majority of the district. Union officials had argued that the district’s plan, which included air filters in classrooms and voluntary COVID-19 tests for teachers, didn’t go far enough.

COMMENT:  Lightfoot is no bargain as mayor, but the record will show that there was no progress until she stood up, in a manner of speaking, to the teachers unions.  She suddenly realized there are more parents than union officials.  I personally tend to be pro-union, when the union works for its members and is responsible, but the teachers unions have developed far too much power and are far too politicized.  Not good in school systems.

February 7,  2021     Permalink

FEBRUARY 6,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

ALWAYS A SIGN OF DANGER – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:   Authorities are investigating after 10 pounds of high-powered explosives disappeared from a Marine Corps training installation in California.  The composition C-4 plastic explosives — powerful enough to blow up 10 vehicles –vanished from Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms during an exercise last month, according to San Diego’s ABC10 News.  The manufactured plastic explosives are believed to be stolen and a reward is now being offered for their discovery, according to the report.  The unit’s commanding officer is reportedly considering extending training exercises until the missing haul is recovered.  “The ongoing investigation into this incident is being handled by NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) and the affected units,” said Capt. Zachary Colvin, with the Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Command, according to the ABC affiliate.  I hope this doesn't show up on the streets of an American city.  But it can.

THIS IS DISTASTEFUL – FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER:  A tearful Rep. Rashida Tlaib could not hold back her emotions during a speech on the House floor on Thursday night during a Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez-organized session of lawmakers sharing their thoughts about the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, some of whom told of their own experiences of that day.  "I asked to go last," Tlaib said, already choking up and unsuccessfully attempting to hold back tears, "because this is so personal."  The Michigan Democratic congresswoman said that she is the frequent subject of death threats. Tlaib said she was notified of a death threat on her first day in Congress, in January 2019, before she had even been sworn in.  "More came later, uglier, more violent. One celebrating in writing the New Zealand massacre and hoping that more would come. Another mentioning my dear son Adam," she paused, tears coming through, "mentioning him by name. Each one paralyzed me each time."  Ocasio-Cortez went up to comfort and support Tlaib and placed her hand on Tlaib's back as she continued her speech.  The firebrand New York congresswoman organized time on the House floor for members to share their thoughts and experiences about the Jan. 6 attack following her own long recollection of her experience in an Instagram livestream earlier this week. In that social media session, Ocasio-Cortez said that she thought she was going to die and revealed that she is a "survivor of sexual assault." Ocasio-Cortez later got heavy criticism and accusations that she exaggerated her experience.
Tlaib said that she was not in the Capitol on Jan 6. during the breach. "All I could do is thank Allah that I wasn't here."  Look, no decent person favors death threats against members of Congress.  But a group therapy session like this reeks of staged agitprop.  Members of Congress should show strength, not go out weepin' and 'wailin.  This isn't high school.

February 6,  2021     Permalink

ONE MORE FOR THE GOP – AT 11:37 P.M. ET:  Republicans have picked up one more seat in the House, narrowing an already thin Democratic majority.  From AP:

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A New York judge ruled Friday that Republican Claudia Tenney defeated U.S. Rep. Anthony Brindisi by 109 votes in the nation’s last undecided congressional race.
The ruling by Judge Scott DelConte could clear the way for Tenney to be sworn in as the representative for central New York’s 22nd Congressional District, barring emergency intervention by a state appeals court.

She previously was the district’s representative for one term, until she was defeated by Brindisi, a Democrat, in 2018.

DelConte’s ruling came after he spent three months reviewing ballot challenges and trying to fix a myriad of problems with vote tabulation. He rejected an argument by Brindisi’s lawyers that certification of the election results should be delayed until an appeals court had a chance to review the case.

DelConte’s order directed New York to certify results immediately.

The judge said even if the results end up changing after any litigation, New York could simply amend its certification. He issued his ruling hours after a last public hearing, in which he told Brindisi’s lawyers that he was disinclined to delay the results any further.

“I’ve been asked to stop this election ... and that’s a very very high burden,” he said.

Tenney has maintained a small lead even as months of litigation revealed problems with ballots that either weren’t counted properly or were improperly rejected.

“I’m honored to have won this race,” Tenney said. “It was a hard-fought campaign and I thank Anthony Brindisi for his service. Now that every legal vote has been counted, it’s time for the results to be certified. The voters need a voice in Congress, and I look forward to getting to work on behalf of New York’s 22nd Congressional District.”

COMMENT:  That makes the makeup of the House 221 Democrats and 212 Republicans, a gap of nine votes.  If Republicans play it right, and have a little bit of luck, they should be able to flip the House in 2022.

February 6, 2021       Permalink