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.

DECEMBER 7,  2017

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

HOORAY FOR... – FROM AP:  The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science announced Wednesday that it has adopted its first code of conduct for its 8,427 members.  Film academy chief executive Dawn Hudson introduced the new rules to members in an email. In October, the academy broke with tradition and made Harvey Weinstein just the second person ever expelled from the Oscars’ governing body.  The new code of conduct stipulates that the academy is no place for “people who abuse their status, power or influence in a manner that violates standards of decency.”  The academy’s board may now suspend or expel those who violate the code of conduct or who “compromise the integrity” of the academy.  The standards of conduct were drafted by a task force launched by the academy in October. It was formed after Weinstein was accused by dozens of women of sexual harassment and abuse.  I'll believe it when they give out an Oscar for best behavior by a known predator. 

I CAN'T WAIT TO GET ONE – FROM FOX:   Those looking to celebrate "Resist-mas" now have the perfect accessory: a Hillary Clinton tree topper.  The newly-released 3D-sculpted ornament features the former first lady "in her iconic power suit with angelic wings." The tree topper sells for $107 for a standard-size tree and more than $900 for a tree taller than 10 feet.  U.K.-based Women to Look Up To is selling the item, along with similar ones to honor Beyonce and Serena Williams.  Will anyone actually buy this?  Why?

SO SAD – FROM POLITICO:   Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) announced Thursday that he would resign from office as of Jan. 31, 2018, after discussing surrogacy issues with female staffers.  “I have recently learned that the Ethics Committee is reviewing an inquiry regarding my discussion of surrogacy with two previous female subordinates, making each feel uncomfortable,” he said in a statement. “I deeply regret that my discussion of this option and process in the workplace caused distress."  Franks’s announcement shocked Capitol Hill. He has been a vocal social conservative since being elected to Congress in 2002, and has authored numerous anti-abortion bills. He is married, with twin children.  I don't know the details.  I wish there'd been a full inquiry.  That's the right and fair way to do it, as I've said here many times.

December 7, 2017       Permalink

SHOCKED?  WHY? – AT 1:29 P.M. ET:  Bob Hope used to tell jokes about Bing Crosby going to Washington to visit his money.  So true, so true.  More so today.  From CNS: 

(CNSNews.com) - The five richest counties in the United States when measured by median household income are all suburbs of Washington, D.C., according to the American Community Survey data released today by the Census Bureau.

According to the American Community Survey's new five-year estimates (2012-2016), the five richest counties in the country are: Loudoun County, Va., where the median household income was $125,672; Falls Church City, Va., where it was $115,244; Fairfax County, Va., where it was $114,329; Howard County, Md., where it was $113,800; and Arlington County, Va., where it was $108,706.

An additional four Washington-area counties made it into the Top 20: No. 9 Fairfax City, Va. ($104,065); No. 14 Montgomery County, Md. ($100,352); No. 17 Prince William County, Va. ($98,546); and No, 20 Stafford County, Va. ($97,606).

That gave the Washington, D.C. area a total of 9 out of the 20 richest counties in the United States.

Five of the Top 20 richest counties were in northern New Jersey or New York: No. 6 Hunterdon County, N.J. ($108,177); No. 10 Morris County, N.J. ($102,798); No. 11 Somerset County, N.J. ($102,405); No. 12 Nassau County, N.Y. ($102,044); and No. 19 Putnam County, N.Y. ($97,606).
Another three of the Top 20 richest counties were in California in the San Francisco Bay Area: No. 13 Santa Clara County ($101,173); No. 15 Marin County ($100,310); and No. 17 San Mateo County ($98,546).

COMMENT:  Lots of money where government is.  The federal government actually pays quite well.  Many of the jobs pay more than their civilian counterparts.  And, of course, the Washington area is filled with lobbyists, contractors and consultants. 

Government is big business.  Much too big.  And you're paying the bills.

December 7, 2017       Permalink

FRANKEN TO RESIGN – AT 11:46 A.M. ET:   Democratic Senator Al Franken of Minnesota has just announced that he will resign from the Senate, following a number of accusations against him for sexual misconduct.  From Fox: 

Calling it “the worst day of his political life,” Sen. Al Franken said Thursday he will resign from the U.S. Senate following a wave of sexual misconduct allegations against him. 

Minnesota Public Radio reported late Wednesday he would resign, though Franken’s office pushed back saying it wasn’t a done deal yet. 

It will be up to Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton to appoint a successor.  

Multiple sources reported that the likely candidate could be Democratic Lt. Gov. Tina Smith, a close ally of Franken. Any successor, if he steps down, would serve until a special election is held in 2018 to determine who would fill the final two years of Franken’s term.

On Wednesday, Franken faced a tidal wave of resignation calls by members of his own party. 
By mid-afternoon, 23 of them wanted him gone. 

Enough is enough,” New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said. 

Gillibrand’s sentiment was echoed by Sens. Kamila Harris of California, Marie Hirono of Hawaii, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Maria Cantwell of Washington, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota. 

“Sexual harassment and misconduct should not be allowed by anyone and should not occur anywhere. I believe the best thing for Senator Franken to do is step down,” Harris, D-Calif., said. 

Hassan, D-N.H., tweeted, “It is clear that Al Franken has engaged in a pattern of egregious and unacceptable behavior toward women. He should resign."

COMMENT:  Franken is no one's favorite senator, and I have no doubt that he's done some tasteless, vulgar things.  But I'm becoming increasingly uneasy with the mob mentality that is being developed here.  Where evidence and testimony should be required, only the charge seems satisfactory to some zealots.  (And I believe the charges.)  The Senate has procedures to deal with serious charges against members, but the mob won its battle before those procedures were employed.

When Franken was first elected, there were plenty of public comments about his vulgarity.  Strange, but the people who are after him today had no problem with those charges.  They just wanted a Democrat in the Senate.

Make no doubt.  Franken is just a scalp that was needed.  The real target here is President Trump.  Now that Democratic Congressman John Conyers of Michigan has been forced out, and Franken is already on the going-home train, Democratic eyes will turn toward the White House.  There have been women who have charged the president with sexual harassment in the past.  They will be brought forward, and the Trump-hating press will start beating the drums for resignation or impeachment.

But Trump will fight back, effectively.

December 7, 2017       Permalink

THIS DAY – AT 11:19 A.M. ET:  I wonder how many young people in America know what the term "Pearl Harbor Day means.  I'm not optimistic about the answer.  When I was younger, everyone knew that December 7th was Pearl Harbor Day, the day that changed everything, the day that plunged America into World War II, the day that would lead to our being the greatest superpower in history.

There are not too many left who remember.  And too many young people are being taught by a corrupt educational system that the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was simply retaliation for our mistreatment of Japan.  After all, those people had "grievances."

The generation that emerged from Pearl Harbor won the largest war in history, forged a generous peace, helped rebuild our enemies and turn them into allies, and, at home, passed all the major civil rights laws that righted historic wrongs. 

And yet, in the late 1960s, young people were taught by the political left, "Don't trust anyone over 30."  Don't trust the generation that saved the world and then rebuilt it.  Trust college students, whose great contributions to civilization were tie-dyed jeans and "happenings" in Central Park. 

That same mentality has come back to haunt us today. 

The Pearl Harbor generation will soon be gone.  Too many Americans won't know to miss them because they've never been taught to revere them. 

There is still some time to correct our loss of memory.  If it is not corrected, we are done.

December 7, 2017     Permalink

DECEMBER 6,  2017

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

MENTAL HEALTH ALERT – FROM DAILY MAIL:   Labelling millennials 'snowflakes' is damaging their mental health, research claims.   The controversial term is now fashionable to use when describing young adults who are seen as taking offence easily and emotionally vulnerable.  Almost three quarters of 16-24 year olds surveyed believe the moniker is unfair and are adamant it could negatively affect their mental health.  The findings, made by insurance firm Aviva, were derived from a survey of 2,022 British participants between those ages.  The thoughts were echoed by adults of all ages, with 58 per cent claiming the label is unfairly applied, the survey showed.  A further 57 per cent felt that the term 'generation snowflake' could also harm the mental health of young people.   I will be very careful not to do damage to these gentle souls.  I will always caress them with the same compliments my mother gave me when I was three years old. 

WILL WE BE IN THE 2018 OLYMPICS? – FROM THE HILL:   United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley said Wednesday there’s still an “open question” as to whether the U.S. will send its athletes to South Korea in February for the Winter Olympics, citing escalating tensions with North Korea.  “I think those are conversations we’re going to have to have. But what have we always said?  We don’t ever fear anything. We live our lives,” Haley said on Fox News.   The 2018 Winter Olympics start Feb. 9, 2018, and are being held in PyeongChang, South Korea, which is roughly 50 miles from the demilitarized zone.  Haley said U.S. officials will monitor activity in the region closely, and determine a way to ensure athletes are protected.
“What we will do is we’ll make sure that we’re taking every precaution possible to make sure that they’re safe, and to know everything that’s going on around them,” she said.  I think there's a bit of appropriate posturing here.  She's stressing to the American audience how dangerous the Korean peninsula has become.

FARCE – FROM FOX:  The House of Representatives overwhelmingly rejected an attempt to impeach President Trump after a liberal Texas congressman forced a vote on his effort.  Democratic Rep. Al Green, who has repeatedly called for the president's removal, introduced two articles of impeachment against Trump on Wednesday.  But lawmakers immediately voted to effectively kill his resolution, with 364 voting to table it and 58 Democrats voting to move ahead.  In a dramatic speech on the floor ahead of the vote, Green called Trump “unfit” for office and accused him of "high misdemeanors."  The thought that a nutcase idea like this could collect 58 Democratic votes tells us much about the state of the Democratic Party.  They want to remove a president on general principles. 

December 6,  2017     Permalink

FRANKEN SUNKEN – AT 1:26 P.M. ET:   Suddenly we have a bunch of Democratic senators calling on fellow Dem Al Franken, of Minnesota to resign.  Franken has faced a battery of sexual harassment charges.  From CNBC:

Fourteen Democratic senators and the DNC chief urged Sen. Al Franken to resign Wednesday following the latest sexual misconduct allegation against him.

After the resignation calls, Franken's office said the senator would make an "announcement" on Thursday. It didn't elaborate.

Earlier Wednesday, Politico reported that a former Democratic congressional aide is accusing the Minnesota Democrat of forcibly trying to kiss her 11 years ago,adding to a string of allegations against him.

In a statement before the calls for his resignation started, Franken denied the latest accusation against him.

In a succession of statements Wednesday, 14 of Franken's Senate Democratic colleagues pushed for him to step down. Among them was Patty Murray of Washington, the third-ranking Senate Democrat and the highest-ranking woman.

COMMENT:  I don't defend what he's accused of doing, but there's a mob mentality here that can be very dangerous.

Why now?  Why has Franken, all of a sudden, been asked to resign by fellow Dems?  The answer seems pretty obvious.  Congressman John Conyers of Michigan, the longest serving member of the House, a Democrat, and an African American, was forced to resign yesterday over sex accusations.  Some African Americans are charging, with some justice, a double standard for blacks.  A scalp was needed to prove it ain't so, and Franken's was the best available.  Now, that's my take, and I could be wrong.  But I don't think I am. 

I'd much prefer to see a serious investigation into the charges against Franken.  That's the right way to do it.  But the needs of careers and politics are involved. 

We wait for Thursday's announcement by the senator. 

December 6, 2017      Permalink

THIS WAS ALMOST MISSED IN THE US MEDIA – AT 11:51 A.M. ET:  FROM LONDON'S DAILY MAIL: 

The security services believe they have stopped an Islamist suicide bomb plot to assassinate the Prime Minister.

Two Muslim men are suspected of conspiring to attack Downing Street armed with an improvised bomb, suicide vest and knives.

Investigators suspect the pair wanted to detonate a bomb disguised as a bag. They would then attempt to kill Theresa May armed with a suicide vest, pepper spray and knife in the aftermath.

Naa'imur Zakariyah Rahman, 20, and Mohammed Aqib Imran, 21, will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday charged with planning terror attacks.

Rahman, 20, from north London, is accused of planning to bomb Downing Street's security gates and then attack the Prime Minister in the ensuing chaos.

The alleged conspiracy was foiled after a joint operation by Scotland Yard, West Midlands Police and MI5. Security chiefs stepped in amid fears the men were preparing to launch an attack, arresting them at gunpoint.

COMMENT:  Hmm.  An alleged attempt to murder the prime minister of Great Britain, and so little attention is paid to it in America.  Do you think that maybe we have our priorities a bit out of whack?  Yeah, I think so.

December 6, 2017       Permalink

TRUMP HOLDING – AT 10:53 A.M. ET:  The party-line press is now pushing the idea that Trump's support in the country is collapsing.  In fact, I see little change over the last few months.  We like to use the Rasmussen poll because it has a good history, and was quite accurate in the last election: 

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Wednesday shows that 42% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Trump’s job performance. Fifty-six percent (56%) disapprove.

The latest figures include 29% who Strongly Approve of the way the president is performing and 47% who Strongly Disapprove. This gives him a Presidential Approval Index rating of -18.

Rasmussen has had Trump in the low forties for months.  It's had him as high as 46%.  And a new poll, just in, ratifies the notion that Trump is doing better than many mainstream journalists are claiming.  From Washington Examiner: 

President Trump's approval rating increased to 45 percent in the first week of December, the highest mark he's received since September, according to a Morning Consult/Politico poll released Wednesday.

The majority of voters, 51 percent, did not approve of Trump's job in office. But his approval rating in the Dec. 1-3 survey is the highest since a Sept. 29-Oct. 1 poll in which he was also at 45 percent.

He has not been higher than 45 percent since early July. He then dipped in August in the wake of his reaction to violence in Charlottesville, Va.

Three-in-five voters saw Trump as reckless and 54 percent said he is sexist. Another 47 percent of respondents said he is racist, but 39 percent said he is not.

Forty-six percent viewed the billionaire businessman as knowledgeable, and 44 percent disagreed.

COMMENT:  The numbers are hardly all great, but they're far from terrible.  Barack Obama spent a good part of his presidency in the low forties.  I don't recall much talk about his political demise.

And remember that Trump, at the ballot box, always outperforms his polling numbers.   Some people are apparently reluctant to tell pollsters that they're Trump voters.

December 6, 2017       Permalink