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DECEMBER 17,  2017

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 6:31 P.M. ET: 

END OF RUMOR – FROM FOX:   President Trump said Sunday night that he has no plans to fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller, dispelling a "rumor" that he intends to get rid of Mueller in an apparent attempt to end the Justice Department’s Russia collusion probe.  “No, I don’t,” Trump told reporters who asked upon his return from presidential retreat Camp David whether he intends to fire Mueller.  The latest speculation started after Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., said in a local TV interview Friday that “the rumor on the Hill” was Trump was going to fire Mueller at the end of this week, after members leave Washington for Christmas break.  Mueller was appointed earlier this year as a Justice Department special counsel to determine whether Trump associates colluded with Moscow to influence the outcome of the 2016 White House race.  Smart move on Trump's part.  Firing Mueller, however justified, would simply make him a martyr.  Examining his work, and biases, is far more effective.

DISGRACE – FROM FOX:   A complete power outage at the nation’s busiest airport, the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, grounded flights Sunday afternoon, threatening to cause a holiday travel nightmare for fliers across the country just over a week before Christmas.  Airport officials said in a news release the power outage has forced the Federal Aviation Administration to suspend outgoing flights and implement a "ground stop" for incoming flights, which "means that flights headed to Atlanta are held on the ground at their departure airport."  You would think that the nation's busiest airport would have back-up power.  This sounds like third-world stuff.

OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:    The NYPD has to scrap the 36,000 smartphones it gave cops over the past two years because they’re already obsolete and can’t be upgraded, The Post has learned.  The city bought Microsoft-based Nokia smartphones as part of a $160 million NYPD Mobility Initiative that Mayor Bill de Blasio touted as “a huge step into the 21st century.”  But just months after the last phone was handed out, officials plan to begin replacing them all with brand-new iPhones by the end of the year, sources said.  The move follows Microsoft’s recent decision to stop supporting the operating system that runs the NYPD’s devices and nearly a dozen custom-engineered apps.  Law enforcement sources blamed the boondoggle on NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Information Technology Jessica Tisch, with one saying, “She drove the whole process.”  “Nobody purchases 36,000 phones based on the judgment of one person,” a source said.  New York considers itself a high-tech center, except, apparently, in city government.

December 17, 2017       Permalink

WARNING FROM THE BEST – AT 2:18 P.M. ET:  Former Police Commissioner Bill Bratton was one of the architects of New York City's successful crime-reduction campaign, which reduced the murder rate by 80 percent.  Now he is issuing a grim warning about the future of terror attacks in New York and other American cities.  From the New York Post: 

Suicide bombings like last week’s Port Authority attack will explode in frequency and become “a fact of life in America” — especially New York City, former NYPD commissioner Bill Bratton warned on the Cats Roundtable radio show Sunday.

“The issue of terrorism is not going away — it’s probably gonna be amplified in the sense there will be be more attacks,” he said. “It is going to be a fact of life in America that you’re going to see more of that than we have in the past.”

Bratton cited three attacks in the last 15 months, including last week’s attempted suicide bombing, which he noted was the “first documented attempted suicide bombing in the city since the 9/11 event.”

On Halloween, Uzbek national Sayfullo Saipov plowed a rented truck down a west side bike path, killing eight people.

And last year, Ahmad Khan Rahimi detonated a homemade pressure-cooker bomb in Chelsea, injuring dozens of people.

“All three could be deemed successful,” Bratton said of the incidents, because they created casualties and stoked concern among New Yorkers.

Bratton, who has led police forces in New York and Los Angeles, said the Big Apple has the biggest bull’s eye on its back, thanks in part to its status as media capital.

“The idea is if you can attempt or succeed with a terrorist attack here, it has phenomenal ramifications around the world because the headquarters of all the major news companies are right here in New York,” he explained.

COMMENT:  We have been warned.  But we've gotten used to small attacks.  We forget about them in a few days.  We even forget about major ones.  Will it take another 9/11 to wake us up?

December 17, 2017       Permalink 

WHAT IS THIS? – AT 1:53 A.M. ET:  Reality strikes the new senator from Alabama.  Quick, call a doctor.  Or a liberal journalist.  From the New York Post: 

WASHINGTON – Senator-elect Doug Jones is already breaking with some prominent Democrats by refusing to call for President Trump to step down over ongoing sexual harassment allegations.

“I don’t think that the president ought to resign at this point,” Jones (D-Ala.) told CNN’s “State of the Union.”

In his first round of Sunday show interviews since securing a stunning victory in red state Alabama over accused sexual predator Roy Moore, Jones said he doesn’t want to get bogged down in Trump’s sexual harassment allegations and would rather work on “real issues.”

“I think we need to move on and not get distracted by those issues,” Jones added. “Let’s get on with the real issues that are facing the people of this country right now.”

That’s at odds with some high-profile Democrats like Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (NY) and Cory Booker (NJ) who believe the president should step down because at least 19 women have accused Trump of sexual misconduct.

Unlike other politicians who have stepped down, like Sen. Al Franken and Rep. John Conyers, Jones said the difference is the voters knew about these allegations and still elected Trump to the highest office.

COMMENT:  In their ecstasy over Jones's election, liberals forgot that he represents Alabama, one of the most conservative states in the Union.  He's got to be careful, as he wants to be elected to a full term.  He was just elected to fill the unexpired term of Jeff Sessions, who resigned from the Senate to become attorney general.  Jones will have to run again in 2020.

December 17, 2017       Permalink

STATE OF THE NATION – AT 12:56 P.M. ET:  We're now beginning to see more surveys on the state of patriotism in the United States.  The results aren't always wonderful.  From Daily Caller: 

Despite the real possibilities of alienating paying customers, the NFL, Starbucks, Target, Chick Fil-A and a host of entertainers continue choosing sides in an escalating culture war centering on America’s past and future. As a new poll documents, citizens increasingly fear expressing their love of country or expressing their political views, for instance by wearing a Make America Great Again cap.

George Barna, executive director of the American Culture and Faith Institute, recently released a patriotism poll documenting a surprising degree of polarization and politicization of Americans after the first year of President Donald Trump’s governance. Different world views, values and even meanings of words fragment the citizenry.

For conservatives, according to the poll, the most patriotic organizations and individuals include the National Rifle Association, Chick-Fil-A, the Republican Party, Fox News and Hobby Lobby. The least patriotic to conservatives are: CNN, The New York Times, NFL, Planned Parenthood, Target, Starbucks, Colin Kaepernick, Michael Moore, Rachel Maddow and Al Sharpton.

Liberals think the most patriotic institutions and people are the Democratic Party, Colin Kaepernick, the U.S. Supreme Court, Planned Parenthood, Michael Moore, The New York Times, and the NFL. The least patriotic to liberals are Chick-Fil-A, Fox News and Hobby Lobby.

To Barna, the NFL “take a knee” controversy was a cultural flashpoint demanding citizens and leaders to take a stand. His survey showed that conservatives were offended by the NFL while liberals were excited about the courage of those making a stand. Trump, Barna says, did the right thing to weigh in, as elected leaders have the responsibility to make sense of the reality unfolding around them.

COMMENT:  Read the whole thing.  It's worth it.  There are other surveys coming out that give more detail about the views of Americans.  And remember that those views often change with age, and with the quality of candidates.

December 17,  2017     Permalink

DECEMBER 16,  2017

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:48 P.M. ET: 

AND ANOTHER – FROM FOX:    NBC paid thousands of dollars to an assistant producer on MSNBC's "Hardball with Chris Matthews" nearly two decades ago after she brought a sexual harassment complaint against the longtime host, The Daily Caller reported Saturday.  The website, citing two sources, reported that NBC paid the woman $40,000 to settle her claim against Matthews in 1999. An NBC spokesperson told The Daily Caller the network paid a smaller, unspecified amount as part of a severance package.  The woman complained to executives that Matthews, now 71, had made inappropriate comments to her and made inappropriate jokes about her to others.  An MSNBC spokesman told The Daily Caller that Matthews had been slapped with a formal reprimand at the time the woman made her complaint. The website reported that the network decided that the complaints were "inappropriate and juvenile," but were not intended as propositions.  We recall how Matthews said a tingle went down his leg every time he heard Barack Obama speak.  Apparently, he had other tingles, and they cost him.

LET THE NUTTINESS BEGIN – FROM THE DAILY STAR:  A recent survey reveals a third of all workers believe automatons will be doing their job within the next 15 years.  The poll of 1,000 people also showed 57% of workers think these robots should be taxed in some form.  Ed Molyneux, the CEO of cloud accounting firm FreeAgent, which carried out the survey, said the research shows the majority of people think the future of the workplace involves robots.  But he said statistics showing 69% of people in the UK would be “happy” to work for a “robot boss” indicate employees are warming to the idea of automatons in the office.  I wonder if you could sue a robot for sexual harassment.  The lawyers are at work.

BORING – FROM DEADLINE:   The specter of Watergate has loomed large over Washington, D.C. recently — great timing for a television series looking at the scandal. Bridge of Spies writer Matt Charman has partnered with George Clooney and Clooney’s Smokehouse Pictures partner Grant Heslov for Watergate, an eight-part limited series. We hear that the project has landed at Netflix for development in a competitive situation.   This all involves the dream that President Trump will be impeached.  The left is in its glory.  I want to see that glory tarnished.

December 16, 2017       Permalink

MELANIA TRIUMPHS – AT 2:41 P.M. ET:   She doesn't get anywhere near the credit she deserves, but Melania Trump is rising in public esteem.  She deserves the applause.  She's an intelligent, spirited woman who has a feel for people, and it's clear she works hard at her work.  From The Hill: 

A majority of Americans have favorable views of first lady Melania Trump 11 months after President Trump took office, according to a new Gallup poll.

Fifty-four percent of Americans polled said they viewed the first lady favorably, up 17 points from January when only 37 percent of Americans viewed her favorably. 

By comparison, President Trump is viewed unfavorably by a majority of Americans in the poll. Fifty-six percent view the president unfavorably, while 41 percent view him favorably. 

While the first lady's popularity has climbed by double digits in the poll, the president's has stayed relatively the same from his 40 percent to 55 percent favorable-unfavorable rating from January.

The first lady got a later start in Washington than her husband. While the president took office in January, the first lady didn't move into the White House until June, after her son finished the school year.

Since settling into her role, the first lady has maintained a more public presence, attending events such as a Toys for Tots campaign on Wednesday and showing off the official White House Christmas decorations earlier this month. 

COMMENT:  It will still be a struggle for Melania because of the sheer hatred directed at her husband by the media.   She has conducted herself with class and dignity, unlike many of her media critics.

December 16, 2017       Permalink

FIGHTING THE FAKE NEWS – AT 12:48 P.M. ET:  Secretary of Defense Mattis hits back at a demeaning portrayal of President Trump.  From Fox: 

Pentagon Secretary James Mattis didn’t borrow his boss’s favorite phrase to refute a Washington Post report that President Trump doesn’t want to hear about Russia from his intel chiefs, but he might as well have called it fake news.

The former Marine Corps general told reporters Friday that, contrary to the newspaper’s lengthy report, no one advising the president seems to have reason to steer clear of the subject of Moscow and national security.

“I have no reservation, nor has the President ever evidenced any pushback, when I bring up Russia in a national security context, and obviously this has come up whether it be in Syria or with NATO and all the other places where you have heard me speaking about this,” Mattis said. “I have not seen this shyness over at the White House and in the Situation Room."

The Post reported that Trump is so eager to improve relations with Russia that he has not held the Kremlin to account for allegedly meddling in the U.S. election. Although U.S. intelligence agencies agree that the interference occurred, President Trump has not been expressed such certainty. Mattis, for his part, agrees with the intel community.

“Yes, I believe they did,” Mattis said.

COMMENT:  Okay, but the point is that no one is holding back with opinions on Russia that the president may not agree with.

As for the criticism that Trump doesn't "listen to the professionals," always beware of observations like that.  Real presidents, effective presidents, will hear out the "professionals," but challenge them.  Some of the greatest decisions presidents have made involved defying the "professionals." 

When President Reagan proposed to say, at the Berlin wall, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall," the "professionals" strongly objected.  Reagan said it anyway because that's where his instincts took him.  It became his most famous line, and the wall came down.

December 16, 2017       Permalink

HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD? – AT 12:31 P.M. ET:  Leave it to Hollywood to drag in a famous man to front its pseudo soul-searching.  From Variety:

Spurred by the multitude of sexual abuse scandals, top Hollywood executives have tapped Anita Hill to chair the newly formed Commission on Sexual Harassment and Advancing Equality in the Workplace.

The commission made the announcement Friday following a meeting convened by Kathleen Kennedy, Bob Iger, Ari Emanuel, Maria Eitel, Nina Shaw, and Freada Kapor Klein.

“The Commission will not seek just one solution, but a comprehensive strategy to address the complex and inter-related causes of the problems of parity and power,” said Kennedy. “The fact that so many industry leaders—across film, television, music, digital, unions, agencies, ATA, AMPAS, television academy and guilds—came together, in one room, to explore solutions speaks to a new era.”

Hill went public in 1991 with allegations of sexual harassment during the Senate confirmation process for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Since then, in addition to teaching law and policy at Brandeis University, Hill has been active in discussions on the legal and cultural developments around harassment as well as gender and racial equality.

She has chaired the Human Rights Committee of the International Bar Association and is a member of the Boards of Directors of the National Women’s Law Center and the Boston Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights.

COMMENT:  Yeah, yeah, yeah.  We'll wait for the result.  I hope they do a good job.  But what really will work is creating an atmosphere of responsibility, an understanding that, laws or no laws, your behavior will be a factor in your career. 

When I was at NBC, at the Tonight Show, many years ago, the Standards and Practices Department did create a kind of atmosphere that discouraged bad behavior.  I think it was effective, if not totally so.  But that's where you begin.

December 16,  2017     Permalink