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DECEMBER 11,  2016

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

THE HORROR CONTINUES – FROM FOX:   Deflategate: Part 2, anyone? The infamous saga may have a sequel coming in the near future.  FOX Sports NFL Insider Jay Glazer reported on Sunday that the New York Giants alerted the league office that the Pittsburgh Steelers were using deflated footballs in Week 13. After the Giants forced two turnovers of the Steelers, they tested two footballs on the sideline. Both of them came back under league standards for PSI, so the Giants sent those footballs to the league office.  This may be the end of civilization as we know it.  What do we tell our children?

VENEZUELA HAS THE ANSWER – FROM AFP:  Caracas (AFP) - Ever since Venezuelan government agents put up a giant "Sale" sign in his storefront, crowds have been lining up outside Juan Vieira's shoe shop.  But he's having a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit.  "What good is it to sell shoes if I'm giving away my product?"  Stuck in a nasty economic crisis, Venezuela is facing a Scrooge-worthy Christmas this year.  The world's highest inflation rate has gutted Venezuelans' incomes and chronic shortages have left them struggling to buy food, let alone presents.  Seeking to spread some cheer, President Nicolas Maduro's socialist government has set aside its distaste for consumerism and sent a small army of bureaucrats and soldiers to force more than 200 retail stores in Caracas to hold Christmas sales  Ah, the glories of socialism. I want to see Hollywood stars rush down there to boost the holiday spirit.  I think smashing windows and stealing things from the oppressor stores would work, don't you?

A SETBACK – FROM AP:   BEIRUT (AP) — Islamic State militants recaptured the ancient city of Palmyra from Syrian troops Sunday, according to both sides in the battle, scoring a major advance after a year of setbacks in Syria and neighboring Iraq.  In winning back Palmyra, the extremist group appeared to be taking advantage of the Syrian and Russian preoccupation with Aleppo, timing its attack to coincide with a major government offensive to capture the last remaining opposition-held neighborhoods in the northern city.  Palmyra, with its towering 2,000-year-old ruins, holds mostly symbolic meaning in the wider civil war, although its location in central Syria also gives it some strategic significance.  ISIS has a history of reinventing itself and then becoming stronger.  It will not go away...unless Trump makes it go away.

December 11,   2016     Permalink

A FINE CHOICE – AT 1:38 P.M. ET:  Former Texas Governor Rick Perry is said to be Trump's first choice for secretary of energy.  From Bloomberg:   

Donald Trump has narrowed his search for energy secretary to four people, with former Texas Governor Rick Perry the leading candidate.

People familiar with the president-elect’s selection process said two Democratic senators from energy-producing states -- Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Joe Manchin of West Virginia -- are also in the mix, along with Ray Washburne, a Dallas investor and former chairman of the Republican National Committee.

If Trump picks any of the four he will break with recent tradition of putting scientists at the top of the Energy Department. Among other things, the agency is responsible for policies on the safe handling of nuclear material.

Trump met with Perry and Washburne while attending the Army-Navy football game in Baltimore on Saturday. It was at least the second time he’d spoken to the two men for potential roles in the new administration. Trump met with Heitkamp at Trump Tower in New York on Dec. 2, and is scheduled to meet with Manchin in New York.

Jay Martin Cohen, a retired Rear Admiral of the U.S. Navy, is said to be Trump’s choice for Under Secretary for Nuclear Security, the people said.

COMMENT:  Perry would be a good choice.  He tried to run for president, but could not overcome the mistakes he made in his presidential campaign four years ago.  However, he had an excellent record as governor of Texas, and knows the energy industry.  He's always been underestimated, and his record minimized by a mainstream media that is always suspicious of Texas accents.

December 11,  2016     Permalink

LET THE WHINING BEGIN – AT 12:16 P.M. ET:  Well, it already has.  The political left, and its journalistic component, is now concerned about the number of generals in the new Trump administration.  You know, a military coup, militaristic this, militaristic that.  Not enough empathy with our enemies, provoked as they are by American imperialism, warmongerism, capitalism, expansionism, colonialism and rheumatism. 

There is an answer to their concerns.  From The Wall Street Journal: 

To hear the media these days, you’d think Donald Trump is about to turn the U.S. into a banana republic, where all life is controlled by the “generals.” As Time’s headline quavered this week: “The Creeping Militarization of Donald Trump’s Cabinet.”

The junta watch began with the appointment of retired three-star Michael Flynn to be national security adviser—though Gen. Flynn was an early Trump supporter and mooted as a possible running mate. The grumblings really got going with the selection of retired four-star Marine Gen. James Mattis to run the Defense Department: A general to run the military, whatever happened to civilian control?

The press’s nerves finally snapped when Mr. Trump proposed another retired Marine four-star, John Kelly, to run the Homeland Security Department. The President-elect couldn’t slip this cabal past the Washington Post: “Trump hires a third general, raising concerns about heavy military influence.”

Sorry to break the mood, but a military coup is the last thing that worries us about the Trump era.

The case for the Trump generals has much to do with the reasons he was elected. Toward the top of those voter concerns is that Washington “doesn’t work.” One big reason Washington no longer works is because the bureaucracies inside its various departments have grown too big to succeed.

After the Vietnam War, the U.S. military undertook an historic reorganization of how it recruited, trained and deployed the vast numbers of individuals serving in the armed forces. That reorganization is a famous success story. Generals Mattis, Kelly, Flynn and Gen. David Petraeus (mooted for Secretary of State) are products of this military structure.

The U.S. needs more of these management skills, especially as executives from private business find it harder to maneuver around conflict-of-interest rules. Generals Mattis, Kelly and Flynn have spent careers navigating large public bureaucracies, and succeeding in spite of them.

COMMENT:  Good points.  And these generals, now in civilian capacities, will be judged as any other public servants.

I don't think we'll be having a military coup anytime soon.

The left might devote a bit more time to regretting the militaristic Cuban dictatorship that it's pushed on us for years. 

December 11, 2016       Permalink

SERIOUS IN BRITAIN – AT 11:45 A.M. ET:  We are focused on a presidential transition, but ISIS is focused on doing as much harm as possible.  In Britain, the ISIS threat is being taken very seriously.  From London's Express: 

MORE than 200 undercover SAS soldiers will be deployed in shopping centres and high streets across Britain following fresh MI5 intelligence of a terror attack planned for Christmas.

SAS commanders have cancelled all leave, sources said last night, as the regiment’s soldiers join police in the largest counter-terror surveillance operation in recent years.

It comes as Home Office officials respond to the latest intelligence warning from the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, part of MI5, of a major attack by Islamic State extremists on mainland Britain.

While the UK is already on a state of alert sources say they are responding to “new and urgent” threats which have emerged from captured IS militants in Iraq.

The Special Forces soldiers will operate under police direction but will be armed and ready to provide advice on hostage situations and any chemical incidents.

The revelation comes just days after a warning from MI6 chief Alex Younger about the “unprecedented” scale of the terrorist threat to mainland UK.

COMMENT:  Yes, we see increasing reports of possible terror attacks tied to Christmas or to the American inauguration.  The Brits are taking the reports seriously.  I'm afraid our minds are elsewhere.

We hope, of course, that any plans are broken up.  But remember the truth that, in dealing with terror, we have to be lucky every time.  The terror forces have to be lucky only once.

December 11,  2016     Permalink

DECEMBER 10,  2016

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

ONE MORE FOR THE GOP – FROM FOX:   BATON ROUGE, La. – Louisiana voters chose Saturday to send Republican state Treasurer John Kennedy to the U.S. Senate, filling the nation's last Senate seat and giving the GOP a 52-48 edge in the chamber when the new term begins in January.  Kennedy had always been the runoff election's front-runner in a state that overwhelmingly supported Donald Trump. He defeated Democrat Foster Campbell, a state utility regulator whose chances were seen as such a long-shot that national Democratic organizations offered little assistance to Campbell's campaign.  Good news, but the GOP lead in the Senate is still slim.  If Dems stay united, a defection by only three GOP senators on, say, a Supreme Court nominee or confirmation of a Cabinet choice, can set back the GOP's momentum.  Trump must carefully nurture his relationships in the Senate to get his program through.

A TOUGH FIGHT MAY LOOM – FROM THE HILL:    Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Saturday he has concerns about the possibility of Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson being nominated for secretary of State, given his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.  “I don’t know what Mr. Tillerson’s relationship with Vladimir Putin was, but I’ll tell you it is a matter of concern to me,” McCain said in an interview with Fox News.  NBC News reported earlier on Saturday that President-elect Donald Trump had settled on Tillerson to head the State Department, though the transition team has not confirmed the report.  McCain is the first Republican to raise questions about the potential nomination, and Tillerson could fail to make it through the confirmation process if just three GOP senators join a united Democratic opposition.  “I’d have to examine it,” McCain said of the potential nomination. “You want to give the president of the United States the benefit of the doubt because the people have spoken. But Vladimir Putin is a thug, bully and a murderer, and anybody else who describes him as anything else is lying.”  Former top McCain aide Mark Salter predicted that Tillerson would have a hard time getting through the confirmation process.  Tillerson is such a marginal choice.  Will Trump risk the start of his presidency by nominating a man who clearly makes many uneasy because of his ties to Putin?  Isn't there someone else?

IT RETURNS – FROM BRITAIN'S SUN:   TWO bombs at a football stadium in central Istanbul have killed at least 29 and wounded 166 more in what has been described as an “inhuman terror attack”.  The blasts – a car bombing and a suicide bombing – targeted riot police just hours after the end of a match between two top teams at the Vodafone Arena on Saturday night.  At least 10 people have been arrested over the twin bombing and it is thought the outlawed Kurdistan Workers party (PKK) may be behind the attack.  Turkey’s deputy prime minister, Numan Kurtulmu?, said the attack was “clearly planned”, adding: “The arrows point at the PKK.”  I have no idea if that placing of blame is accurate.  What is clear, though, is that the terror in Europe continues and grows, with dire predictions for attacks throughout the continent in the coming year. 

December 10, 2016       Permalink

STRANGE THINGS IN THE SPY BUSINESS – AT 1:40 P.M. ET:  There's a report out that the CIA believes Russia tried to influence our election to get Donald Trump elected.  Some detail is needed.  From ace reporter Rowan Scarborough, at the Washington Times: 

As recently as Nov. 17, James Clapper, the nation’s top intelligence officer, told Congress his agencies “don’t have good insight” into a direct link between Wikileaks and the emails supposedly hacked by a Russian operation from Democrats and the Hillary Clinton campaign.

During the campaign, Wikileaks released reams of embarrassing internal emails between campaign chairman John Podesta, other campaign officials and the Democratic National Committee. One emailed showed candidate Clinton was provided the questions ahead of a CNN town hall appearance.
Democrats are now on a campaign implying that the hacking won the election for Donald Trump and have pressed the Obama administration for a far reaching investigation.

The Washington Post reported Friday that the CIA has secretly concluded that the Vladimir Putin regime directed hackers to penetrate the Democrats’ emails expressly to help Republican Trump win the election. The Post said the CIA has identified people with connections to the Russia government who supplied the stolen emails to Wikileaks.

That is not what Mr. Clapper, the director of national intelligence, told the House Intelligence Committee at an open hearing on Nov. 17. 

Asked about Russia and Wikileaks, Mr. Clapper said, “As far as the WikiLeaks connection, the evidence there is not as strong and we don’t have good insight into the sequencing of the releases or when the data may have been provided. We don’t have as good insight into that.”

COMMENT:  Maybe we ought to wait for the facts.  I smell a rat here – an attempt by some in the Obama administration to delegitimize Trump's election.  You don't think they'd do that, do you?

December 10, 2016       Permalink

GOOD FOR DONALD – AT 12:31 P.M. ET:   Even before becoming president, Donald Trump is following an old presidential ritual.  From AP: 

NEW YORK (AP) -- President-elect Donald Trump is partaking in one of the nation's most storied football rivalries, saluting U.S. troops at the annual Army-Navy game on Saturday as he prepares to enter the White House.

The future commander-in-chief planned to attend the 117th game between the military academies at West Point and Annapolis, which is being held on relatively neutral ground, at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland.

Trump tweeted on Saturday morning that he was going to the game "as a show of support for our Armed Forces."

The appearance caps a week of rolling out Cabinet picks, holding "thank you" rallies in North Carolina, Iowa and Michigan, and trying to cement his incoming Senate majority with Saturday's runoff election in Louisiana.

The incoming president appeared jovial and relaxed as he plunged back into electoral politics on Friday, a full month after he won the presidency. He held large-scale events in Louisiana and in Michigan, where he regaled supporters in Grand Rapids by reciting his victories in battleground states.

Trump is the first Republican to win Michigan since George H.W. Bush in 1988. He attributed his feat to failures by Democrats.

COMMENT:  I believe that Field Marshal Obama went to one Army-Navy game.  I guess he thought it was beneath him.  Trump's attendance as president-elect sends a powerful message that, under his administration, the armed forces will be respected again.

December 10,  2016     Permalink

MANAGEMENT SKILLS – AT 11:37 A.M. ET:  It's true – Donald Trump won the election and spent dramatically less on his campaign than did Hillary Clinton.  Remember her?  From the New York Post:

Hillary Clinton and her supporters spent a record $1.2 billion for her losing presidential campaign — twice as much as the winner, Donald Trump, according to the latest records.

The president-elect, who confounded critics during the campaign by saying there was no need to raise or spend $1 billion or more, ended up making do with $600 million.

Clinton’s expensive machine tore through $131.8 million in just the final weeks, finishing with about $839,000 on hand as of Nov. 28.

Team Trump spent $94.5 million in the home stretch — from Oct. 20 to Nov. 28 — and had $7.6 million left.

The figures include all spending by the campaigns, PACs and party committees.

Trump contributed $66 million from his own pocket, $34 million less than he estimated he would shell out.

Brad Parscale, Trump’s digital director, credited strategic last-minute investments with helping propel the political newcomer to victory.

The campaign and the Republican Party spent about $5 million in get-out-the-vote digital advertising targeted in the final few days at Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Florida.

COMMENT:  So Hillary spent twice what Trump spent, and lost.  It shows us that it's not what you spend, but how you spend it.

Trump just ran a smarter campaign.  Bodes well for his administration.

December 10,  2016     Permalink