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.

Editor's note:   Trust, but verify.  I made a technical mistake this morning, Tuesday, and the December 5th edition did not switch on. As the networks used to say at a time of technical failure, it wasn't your TV.

You have my apologies. I rushed off to an Anglosphere Society meeting on the persecution of Christians in the Mideast, and forgot to verify that the edition had posted properly. As self-punishment, I will now watch two hours of Barack Obama speeches.

The error was caught just before midnight, and corrected.  So I can now truly say that we have posted every day since we went live on January 8, 2008.  We plan to celebrate our tenth anniversary next month.

DECEMBER 5,  2017

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE: 

TAKING IT SERIOUSLY – FROM BRITAIN'S TELEGRAPH: Millions of residents of Tokyo are to take part in evacuation drills simulating a North Korean nuclear attack on the Japanese capital.  The national and city governments are to carry out a series of exercises between January and March to prepare for a potential attack on Tokyo, the Sankei Shimbun newspaper reported, the first time that a major Japanese city will have carried out responses to a simulated attack.  Towns facing the Korean Peninsula have in recent months conducted similar drills, with residents instructed to seek shelter in response to sirens warning of an imminent missile strike.  But the Japanese government has until now resisted calls for major cities to carry out similar exercises on the grounds that they would alarm the public.  Shinzo Abe, the prime minister, has also called in local governments throughout the country to identify underground facilities or buildings that are sufficiently sturdy to withstand a missile attack and to designate those facilities as shelters.   Wise planning.  They also know who the enemy is, unlike our Obama administration, which had some difficulty figuring it out.

RUSSIA KICKED – FROM SKY NEWS:  Russia has been banned from taking part in the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea due to concerns over doping.  However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said that individual "Russian clean athletes" will still be able to take part as neutral competitors at the event in Pyeongchang from 9-25 February next year.  The president of the Russian skating union has described the decision as "offensive and insulting".  Banning an entire country from the Games is an unprecedented move for the IOC.  It comes following a 17-month doping investigation which concluded that there was a "systemic manipulation of the anti-doping rules and system in Russia".   The International Olympic Committee is rarely deserving of praise, but it looks like it got this one right.   

ANOTHER GREAT MOMENT IN BROADCASTING – FROM DEADLINE:   CNN’s Christiane Amanpour is stepping in to fill some of Charlie Rose’s late-night time slot on PBS and WNET.  Amanpour will be offered to PBS stations on an interim basis, from 11-11:30 PM. PBS and the flagship NY station are working on plans to fill the 11:30 PM half hour left open when PBS severed tied with Rose. Amanpour on PBS will launch on New York’s PBS station, starting today, Monday, December 4, and will roll out on PBS stations beginning December 11 at 11 PM.  Amanpour will continue to air on CNN International weekdays at 2 PM and 5 PM ET.  Finally, a TV program that will cure my insomnia.  I actually didn't know she was still around.

December 5, 2017       Permalink

DUKE DOES IT AGAIN – AT 7:20 A.M. ET:  Duke University, in recent years, was best known for the "Duke lacrosse case," in which three innocent lacrosse players had their lives almost ruined by a rape charge lodged by an individual of extremely dubious background, and by a corrupt district attorney, working with Duke, and trying to increase his popularity in a local minority community.

You'd think Duke would be careful.  But political correctness requires total obedience.  From The Hill: 

Duke University's DeWitt Wallace Center is rescinding an award given to journalist Charlie Rose after multiple allegations of sexual misconduct against him.

Rose received the Futrell Award 17 years ago. The award — endowed by the family of Ashley B. Futrell Sr., the editor and publisher of the Washington Daily News — is given to "recognize an outstanding Duke graduate working in journalism."

"Today, we are taking the unprecedented step of rescinding our award to Charlie Rose," Bill Adair, the director of the DeWitt Wallace Center for Media & Democracy, said in a statement.

"I have consulted with students, faculty and staff and found an overwhelming consensus that we should take this action and emphasize that the DeWitt Wallace Center does not tolerate sexual harassment in any form."

Adair said Rose, who attended Duke, was known for his "thoughtful questions" and "gentlemanly approach."

"But the thoroughly reported Post story, which Rose himself has substantially confirmed with his apology, makes clear that he used his status to prey on women who worked for him," Adair said in the statement.

"The Post story is a reminder about the important role that journalists play in holding people in power accountable — including people in their own industry."

COMMENT:  Don't you just love that virtue signaling?  Why, we're just wonderful educators and we want to take a principled stand.  Excuse me for choking.

I'd like to see some of these "principled" educators take a stand against ideological bias in mainstream journalism and the suppression of free speech by the left on college campuses.

I don't defend Charlie Rose.  The things to which he's admitted are vulgar.  But he has not been tried before a jury, and he, apparently, has not been charged with, certainly not convicted of, sexual assault.  He is said to be an unpleasant man, hard to work for, nothing like his public image.   He is boorish.

But he earned the award based on his work.  Duke doesn't have to destroy the man entirely to make a point. 

Do women deserve security and respect in the workplace?  You bet.  But the whole sequence of events in the last few months is so filled with stagecraft, that it risks a serious backlash. 

December 5, 2017       Permalink

A FAILURE IN CHARLOTTESVILLE – AT 7:14 A.M. ET:  Ever since the Charlottesville clashes several months ago, when neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and their left-wing counterparts romped through the normally peaceful and civilized town, we've wondered exactly what went wrong.  Now, a fine report has been issued raising serious questions about the strategy of the Charlottesville police department.  From USA Today: 

Last summer in Charlottesville, in a clash between neo-Nazis and confederate monument supporters on one side, and “antifa,” or anti-facist, and Black Lives Matter supporters on the other, numerous people were hurt, and one person, Heather Heyer, was killed when a white nationalist supporter drove his car into a crowd. Now an independent report has come out, suggesting that much of the blame for the clashes, injuries and death lies with poor police work by the Charlottesville Police Department, the Virginia State Police and the University of Virginia Police.

The report, authored by former U.S. attorney Timothy Heaphy for the Charlottesville City Council, found, as reported by USA Today:

Charlottesville police didn’t ensure separation between counter-protesters and so called alt-right protesters upset with the city council’s decision to remove the Robert E. Lee statue from Emancipation Park.

Officers weren’t stationed along routes to the park, but instead remained behind barricades in relatively empty zones.

City police didn’t adequately coordinate with Virginia State Police, and authorities were unable to communicate via radio.

State police didn’t share a formal planning document with city police, “a crucial failure.”

Officers were inadequately equipped to respond to the clashes between the two groups, and tactical gear was not accessible to officers.

COMMENT:  Read the whole thing.  This is an excellent after-action report, the kind that can bring positive change to police departments everywhere.  The only people responsible for violence are the people who commit it, but police departments play a crucial role in preventing violence in the first place.

Charlottesville, where our older daughter lived for decades, is a wonderful town, and should not be judged by the events of one day, which were initiated by outsiders.

December 5, 2017       Permalink

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FBI AND HILLARY CLINTON – AT 7:08 A.M. ET:  The "no prosecution for Hillary" issue returns, and it could grow.  From the New York Post: 

The former top FBI expert who is in the middle of a political uproar for apparently mocking President Trump in email messages changed a key phrase in the former bureau director’s description of how Hillary Clinton handled classified information, CNN reported Monday.

Records show Peter Strzok, who led the investigation of Clinton’s private email server as the second ranking official in the counterintelligence division, changed ex-director James Comey’s draft language describing Clinton’s behavior as “grossly negligent” to the less serious “extremely careless,” a source told the network.

The shift from “grossly negligent” to “extremely careless” was key because the federal law that covers how classified material should be handled calls for criminal penalties for “gross negligence.”

Writing the memo was a team effort with numerous officials weighing in and suggesting changes, sources said.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) questioned the change last month, but the name of the agent who made the change was not known until now.

The agent was taken off the Russia probe after the emails referencing Trump came to the attention of special counsel Robert Mueller, who is heading the probe.

COMMENT:   This issue could grow substantially.  Plenty of people have gone to prison for what Hillary Clinton did with classified material, but she instead became a presidential candidate. 

The ball is in Senator Grassley's court.  I hope he runs with it.

December 5,  2017     Permalink

DECEMBER 4,  2017

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 6:05 P.M. ET:

FILM HISTORY – FROM FOX:  It’s not quite ancient history, but it’s still a blast from the past.
A plaster sphinx has been dug up by archaeologists in the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes in California, KETY reports. It was part of an Egyptian movie set built for Hollywood director Cecil B. DeMille’s 1923 film, “The Ten Commandments.”  “The piece is unlike anything found on previous digs,” Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center executive director Doug Jenzen told the station. “The majority of it is preserved by sand with the original paint still intact. This is significant, and shows that we’re still learning unexpected facets to film historical movie production, such as the fact that objects in black and white films were actually painted extremely intense colors.”  I think that's great.  They should allow student volunteers to help.  Of course, today that movie would be called "The 46 Commandments," and include commandments on diversity, gender identification, and cultural appropriation.

A SEX CHARGE, HANDLED WELL – FROM FOX:  New York’s Metropolitan Opera suspended its longtime conductor, James Levine, 74, after three men came forward with accusations he sexually abused them decades ago when they were teenagers.  Peter Gelb, the general manager of the Met, said the opera company was halting its four-decade relationship with Levine, and stopping the former music director’s upcoming conducting engagements, The New York Times reported.  The Met also said it’s hiring a former U.S. attorney to lead a “full and complete investigation.”  The accusations of sexual misconduct go back to 1968, according to The Times.  That is good procedure.  They didn't fire him.  They suspended him and launched a full investigation to get at the facts.  Looks like fairness to all parties, and much better than the stage-managed firings we've seen recently.

SUPREMES RULE – FROM AP:  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Trump administration to fully enforce a ban on travel to the United States by residents of six mostly Muslim countries.  This is not a final ruling on the travel ban: Challenges to the policy are winding through the federal courts, and the justices themselves ultimately are expected to rule on its legality.  But the action indicates that the high court might eventually approve the latest version of the ban, announced by President Donald Trump in September. Lower courts have continued to find problems with the policy.  White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said the White House is “not surprised by today’s Supreme Court decision permitting immediate enforcement of the President’s proclamation limiting travel from countries presenting heightened risks of terrorism.”   Once you get outside the lower courts of the West Coast's 9th Circuit, you generally get wiser decisions.

December 4, 2017       Permalink

NIKKI – AT 11:52 A.M. ET:   If there is one clear star in the Trump administration, it is UN Ambassador Nikki Haley.   Tough, resolute, articulate, she is the voice of the president in an organization known for both ineffectiveness and corruption.  From The State:   

What does Nikki Haley have in common with Ashley Judd, Jordan Peele, Rachel Maddow and Robert Mueller among others?

The former South Carolina governor, currently serving as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, joins the other prominent public figures as members of the first Bloomberg 50.

It’s a group of difference makers – finance and politics to tech and entertainment – singled out by the media conglomerate for their impact on global business in 2017.

And...

Haley was named to the Bloomberg 50, for her role as the voice of President Donald Trump. Haley, a Republican from Lexington, served as South Carolina’s governor for six years before resigning to join the Trump Administration.

Haley has been one of the Trump administration’s most vocal members, taking a tough line on Russia and Syria and telling North Korea not to give the U.S. “a reason” to fight.

Haley’s stance on North Korea was singled out by Bloomberg writer Kambiz Foroohar.

“On Sept. 11, Haley pushed through a Security Council agreement to impose the toughest-ever sanctions on North Korea, limiting the country’s oil imports and banning its textile exports, which will deprive Pyongyang of what Haley estimated is 90 percent of its export revenue.”

Beyond her tough talk on North Korea, Bloomberg was impacted by Haley throwing down the gauntlet ot the international community.

“On her first day at the U.N. in January, Haley warned other diplomats: ‘For those who don’t have our back, we’re taking names.’ Bold pronouncements have informed the rest of her tenure, too. At times, Haley has gone further than President Trump – she condemned Russia’s ‘aggressive actions’ in Ukraine and Syria, using harsher language than he did – but the ambassador nevertheless has become the White House’s trusted voice in opposing the Iran nuclear deal.

“It’s fair to say that, more so than any other Trump appointee, when she speaks, Haley is speaking for him.”

COMMENT:  We've had other great UN ambassadors – Daniel Patrick Moynihan comes to mind – but they've often been destroyed by a State Department bureaucracy that fears any blatant pro-Americanism.  Moynihan was shown the door rather quickly.

Haley remains.  Her job is secure.  Her future is bright. 

December 4, 2017       Permalink

COMMON SENSE –  QUOTE OF THE DAY – AT 10:32 A.M. ET:  Many in the nation were stunned by the verdict in the Kate Steinle case.  I'm not sure why anyone would be stunned by a San Francisco verdict.  The tone of that city is to serve the illegal immigrant, not the victim.  One administration official is speaking out, with common sense.  From Fox: 

Tom Homan, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), says he was "stunned" and "sickened" by the not guilty verdict in the Kate Steinle murder trial.

Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, an illegal immigrant who had been deported multiple times, shot and killed Steinle while she was walking on a San Francisco pier in July 2015.

The shooting sparked a national debate over sanctuary cities, which refuse cooperate with federal authorities in enforcing U.S. immigration law.

Homan noted that Zarate, a multiple-time felon, was released from a San Francisco jail about three months before the shooting, despite a federal request that he be held for deportation.

"This isn't the America I grew up in," Homan said. "For a city to knowingly release a public safety threat back into the public is just ridiculous.

He noted that sanctuary cities are fighting a legal battle with the Justice Department, which is trying to withhold federal funding from cities that don't cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

"They want to fund sanctuary cities to keep illegal aliens in, but they don't want to fund the border wall to keep them out. To me, that's backwards," Homan said.

COMMENT:  The sanctuary-city crowd regularly does some serious judge shopping to find judges, usually in the 9th Circuit on the West Coast, who will affirm the legality of their schemes.  It is part of the Obama legacy.

Congress is considering legislation that will require enforcement of federal law in so-called sanctuary cities.  If the legislation is passed and signed, there will surely be a Constitutional challenge from the left, and the Supreme Court will ultimately decide.

December 4, 2017       Permalink 

OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE? – AT 9:53 A.M. ET:  The Dems are getting all hot and bothered over the belief that Mueller is building a case for obstruction of justice against President Trump.  That would be an impeachable offense.  Not so fast, says a prominent law professor, himself a Democrat.  From Fox: 

Harvard Law School professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz disagreed with claims that there is an obstruction of justice case building against President Donald Trump, calling it "hope over reality" from some Democrats.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said on "Meet the Press" that a Senate investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 presidential election has revealed possible obstruction.

"I see it in the hyper-frenetic attitude of the White House, the comments every day, the continual tweets. And I see it most importantly in what happened with the firing of Director Comey, and it is my belief that that is directly because he did not agree to ‘lift the cloud’ of the Russia investigation. That’s obstruction of justice,” Feinstein said.

On "Fox & Friends," Dershowitz countered that Trump had the constitutional power to fire FBI Director James Comey and to tell the Justice Department who to investigate and who not to investigate.

"If Congress were ever to charge him with obstruction of justice for exercising his constitutional authority under Article II, we'd have a constitutional crisis," Dershowitz said.

He explained that Congress would have to demonstrate "clearly illegal acts" on Trump's part, such as former President Richard Nixon paying "hush money," telling people to lie and destroying evidence in the Watergate scandal.

"There's never been a case in history where a president has been charged with obstruction of justice for merely exercising his constitutional authority. That would cause a constitutional crisis in the United States," Dershowitz said, adding that he hopes Special Counsel Robert Mueller understands that before he considers bringing an indictment or recommending that the matter be referred to Congress.

"And Sen. Feinstein simply doesn't know what she's talking about when she says it's obstruction of justice to do what a president is completely authorized to do under the Constitution."

COMMENT:  I have no doubt that Dershowitz is right, but I wonder if the Democrats care.  If they win the House in November, I believe they'll impeach the president and force a trial in the Senate, simply because they want Trump out of office.  Impeachment according to the rules of CNN.

December 4,  2017     Permalink