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DECEMBER 23,  2017

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:56 P.M. ET: 

THUMBS DOWN – FROM THE L.A. TIMES:  Hollywood is celebrating the end of 2017 with astronomical sales from “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” which is on track to soon exceed $1 billion in global ticket sales and eventually become the biggest movie of the year. But that won’t be enough to write a happy storyline for the industry.  Although movie ticket sales in the U.S. and Canada are expected to dip just below last year's record of $11.38 billion, the number of tickets sold is projected to drop 4% to 1.26 billion — the lowest level since 1995, according to preliminary estimates from studio executives.  The falloff in ticket sales can mostly be explained by a handful of movies that flopped, especially during the dreary summer season that posted the worst results in more than two decades.  The excuses will start to flow, but maybe better movies, including some that appeal to those over twelve, might help the situation.

WHAT?  HOW CAN THIS BE? – FROM DAILYSTAR:  The coldest winter in five years has been forecast for Britain, with “widespread snow” and brutal lows of -17C across Christmas expected to be a “shock to the system”.  During the first two weeks of winter, the UK was crippled by an onslaught of cold snaps that brought heavy snow, hazardous ice and sub-zero temperatures virtually everywhere.  Speaking to Daily Star Online, climate and weather experts predict one cold spell a week until the end of winter in the UK, warning “you have been cool and it will get colder”.  In the coming years, David Dilley, CEO of Global Weather Oscillations, believes winters will only become “more intense” in the UK due to a combination of “dangerous” climate factors.  His research shows that by 2019, Earth will enter a natural 120-year cooling cycle that happens roughly every 230 years, bucking the warming trend.  Do not allow Al Gore to read this.  Let him live quietly.

DEMOCRATS FOR TRUMP? – FROM FOX:   The chairman of Democrats for Trump reacted to repeated calls for the president's impeachment and obstructionist behavior by members of his party.
"I think it's Trump derangement," former New York City Council President Andrew Stein said on "Fox & Friends."  Ed Henry played video of Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) introducing articles of impeachment and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) telling a crowd that President Trump's motives and actions "are contemptible."
"Impeach 45 every day," she later said.  Stein said he doesn't know why his fellow Democrats think Trump is a "bad guy."  "The deep state - Clinton [and] Obama holdovers - they're trying to delegitimize this president and they want to impeach him," Stein said, calling the rhetoric "a big mistake."  "It's nonsense," Stein said, praising Trump's tax cut law and stating his hope that his fellow Democratic New Yorker, Sen. Charles Schumer, will help Trump with infrastructure legislation.  I think it's a vain hope.  The Democratic Party today is a far-left party, not the responsibly liberal party of Andy Stein. 

December 23,  2017      Permalink

UVA GETS A USEFUL SHOVE – The University of Virginia has gotten smart after some alumni gave it a push.  Occasionally, alumni are useful.  From College Fix: 

Former Gov. George Allen, Fox News personality Brit Hume and other influential alumni let loose on the University of Virginia after it refused to officially recognize a conservative student group on the grounds that it required members to affirm its conservative values.

Warned by lawyers for the Young Americans for Freedom chapter that it had until Wednesday to change the nondiscrimination policy under which it was rejected, UVA met the deadline, according to Young America’s Foundation, the umbrella organization for student chapters.

The foundation said the university’s counsel told it the chapter “would be recognized” and the university “would be reevaluating its policy to ensure compliance with state law and the First Amendment.”

The chapter had been recognized for “several years” but the administration objected to a new requirement this semester that members agree with the Sharon Statement, the founding document for Young Americans for Freedom, according to the foundation.

UVA claimed this requirement discriminated against students for their “political affiliation,” which is prohibited for so-called contracted independent organizations.

The foundation said the chapter was far from the only recognized campus group to impose such litmus tests.

COMMENTS:  There are some signs that college administrations are starting to realize the cost of their left-wing indulgences.  More on that next week.

December 23, 2017       Permalink

WARNING FROM THE MARINES – AT 12:38 P.M. ET:  The commandant of the Marine Corps has issued a serious warning about possible military action.  From The Hill: 

The commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Robert Neller, told troops Thursday that "there's a war coming" and urged them to be prepared.

"I hope I'm wrong, but there's a war coming," Neller told Marines stationed in Norway, during a visit there, according to Military.com. "You're in a fight here, an informational fight, a political fight, by your presence," he added. 

The commandant pointed to Russia and the Pacific theater as the next major areas of conflict, predicting a "big-ass fight" in the future. 

"Just remember why you're here," he said. "They're watching. Just like you watch them, they watch you. We've got 300 Marines up here; we could go from 300 to 3,000 overnight. We could raise the bar."

Neller's visit comes amid tensions between Russia and NATO allies. Russia warned neighboring Norway that the presence of American troops could hurt relations, after Norway decision to host a new unit of U.S. soldiers through the end of 2018. 

The administration says the Marines are there to enhance ties with European NATO allies and train in cold-weather combat.

In a question-and-answer session with the troops, Neller said the U.S. could shift its focus after years of fighting in the Middle East to Eastern Europe, citing Russia's conflicts with Ukraine and Georgia. 

On Monday, President Trump unveiled a new national security strategy that focused on the threats posed by Russia and China to U.S. interests.

COMMENT:  This is a serious administration, and it is determined to increase American military strength, which is the best guarantee of a peaceful outcome.  Field Marshal Obama flopped, or really wasn't interested.  Ditto for Grand Admiral Kerry and Hot Air Commander Susan Rice.  The new team is different.

December 23, 2017       Permalink

ANOTHER STEP FORWARD – AT 11:46 A.M. ET:  We're seeing signs of economic progress everywhere.  It's not a perfect picture, but it's a lot more perfect than when Chief Economist Barack Obama left office.  From Breitbart: 

President Donald Trump announced that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft told him of plans to build a factory in North Carolina as a result of his tax cut bill.

“He just wanted to let me know he’s going to buy a big plant in the great state of North Carolina,” Trump told reporters.

Kraft, who is Trump’s friend, has visited and called the president since he took office. The Patriots even gave Trump a Super Bowl ring during their visit to the White House to celebrate their NFL championship.

The Kraft Group owns International Forest Products as well as RandWhitney, a packaging company.
Trump said that he had many calls from prominent business leaders who said that the tax bill would encourage them to invest more in the United States.

“They’re going out and they’re going to buy, frankly, factories that are closed, abandoned and now not going to be abandoned any longer,” Trump said. “This is having a bigger impact — faster than I thought.”

COMMENT:   An economy is partly run on psychology.  The psychology of America is turning positive, which will mean a better economy.  The president is ending the year well.

December 23,  2017     Permalink

DECEMBER 22,  2017

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

GOOD! FROM FOX:  Attorney General Jeff Sessions is launching a review of a law enforcement initiative called Project Cassandra after an investigative report was published this week claiming the Obama administration gave a free pass to Hezbollah’s drug-trafficking and money-laundering operations to help ensure the Iran nuclear deal would stay on track.  The Justice Department said in a statement to Fox News that Sessions on Friday directed a review of prior Drug Enforcement Administration investigations “to evaluate allegations that certain matters were not properly prosecuted and to ensure all matters are appropriately handled.”  “While I am hopeful that there were no barriers constructed by the last administration to allowing DEA agents to fully bring all appropriate cases under Project Cassandra, this is a significant issue for the protection of Americans,” Sessions said in a written statement. “We will review these matters and give full support to investigations of violent drug trafficking organizations.”  A full investigation is called for, possibly leading to prosecutions. 

DISGRACEFUL – FROM FOX:  As President Trump pushes forward with his promised U.S.-Mexico border wall, companies competing for the chance to work on the multi-billion-dollar project are facing mounting boycotts from local Democratic lawmakers moving to blacklist the border builders.  Coordinated efforts have been launched in California, Arizona, Illinois, New York and Rhode Island that would prohibit cities and towns from doing any official business with the companies as part of a larger resistance strategy to delay construction of the controversial wall.  Most recently, Berkeley’s City Council in California approved an ordinance that would ban it from contracting with companies involved in the construction.  This is utter contempt for the people of the United States.  It moves the once-great Democratic Party further and further to the left.

NBA BOOMS – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:   While the NFL gets socked with ratings declines, the NBA is off to its second-most-watched season ever.  ESPN, which has telecast 30 games since the season’s Oct. 17 opener, said Thursday that average viewership has soared 18 percent, to 1.8 million a game, from this point last year.  TNT, with 16 NBA telecasts to date, said its average is up 25 percent, to 2.1 million viewers. Even NBA TV, with 41 telecasts, is up 25 percent, to 365,000.  The averages, taken collectively, make for the hottest start since the 2010-11 season — the year LeBron James abandoned the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat.  The NFL is fading, cursed by political displays by some players during the national anthem, and tone-deafness by league management.  This may not be fixable.

December 22, 2017       Permalink

NOTHING TO SEE, NOTHING TO SEE – AT 12:58 P.M. ET:   There has been a terror incident in Australia.  From the New York Post: 

The man who plowed an SUV into a crowd of Christmas shoppers in Australia told cops he carried out the attack as retaliation for the “mistreatment of Muslims,” officials said Friday.

Saeed Noori, 32, injured 19 people — three critically — when he sped his vehicle into a busy intersection in downtown Melbourne outside the city’s main train station just before 5 p.m. Thursday.

Noori, an Afghan who was granted entry into Australia in 2004 as a refugee and became a citizen two years later, made the comments to police after he was arrested.

“He has said that he attributes his actions to the perceived mistreatment of Muslims,” Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said.

Despite the comments, officials say Noori — who has a history of mental illness — has no known links to any extremist groups and he was not on intelligence agencies’ list of potential terror suspects.

“At this stage . . . apart from that statement there are no known links to any political issues or any links to extremist groups,” Turnbull said.

Noori, according to officials, also made references to God and Australia’s domestic security service following his arrest.

COMMENT:  Ah yes, no known "links."  A lone wolf.  Just a guy out for a ride.  That is total garbage.  As we have said here before, there's no such thing as a lone wolf.  The people who plow cars into crowds for the sake of Allah didn't get that idea while daydreaming.  They were radicalized by some source.  And they all spout the same line.

This is a new kind of asymmetrical warfare.  The soldier, seemingly alone but influenced carefully by others, carrying out a deadly attack.  Let's stop with the "no links" argument.  You don't have to have a membership card and a lapel pin to be a murderer.

December 22, 2017       Permalink

SIGNED – AT 11:18 A.M. ET:   The president signed the tax-reform bill in the Oval Office this morning, making it into law.  It caps a year that began unsteadily, and ends in triumph.  From the Daily Mail: 

President Donald Trump signed his tax cut bill on Friday morning in the Oval Office with little fanfare in his final order of business before the start of his Christmas holiday away from the White House.

Calling it 'the biggest tax cut, the biggest reform of all time' he said 'the numbers will speak' for themselves when taxpayers start to see results.

'I think it's selling itself,' Trump said of the landmark legislation. 'It's becoming very popular. You'll see something on February 1 when they open up the paycheck.'

Rather than holding an elaborate signing ceremony in early January, he said he rushed to turn the bill into law before December 25 to honor a pledge to make tax cuts his Christmas present to the American people.

'I didn't want you folks to say that I wasn't keeping my promise,' he told the press. 'I'm keeping my promise. I'm signing the bill before Christmas.'

And in a holiday truce with the journalists he loves to hate, he distributed official signing pens to some of them. 

'Many of you have worked very fairly, and we appreciate that,' Trump said. 

COMMENT:  The Dems don't appear to have learned anything.  They're already describing the tax bill as the greatest calamity in the history of the Universe, and any other Universes they may find. 

The bill has to produce, and I think it will.  Already some companies are starting to give unexpected bonuses to employees.  That's the right spirit.

December 22, 2017       Permalink

I LOVE IT – AT 10:45 A.M. ET:  Nikki Haley is terrific, the best ambassador to the UN we've had since Daniel Patrick Moynihan.  Nikki believes in representing this country to the max.  She hasn't drunk the State Department poison that turns ambassadors into mush masters, constantly genuflecting before the "international community."

Following yesterday's vote against the United States by the sheep in the General Assembly, Nikki immediately sent an invitation to those who voted for us, abstained, or refused to vote, to come to a reception to thank them for their friendship.  Reward your friends, punish your enemies.  From Fox: 

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley sent an invitation Thursday to the 65 countries who didn’t vote against the United States in the U.N. General Assembly vote to denounce President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

The invitation to the Jan. 3 reception marked a symbolic step of the U.S. taking note of who supports the country and who doesn’t.

Haley’s email invitation, which has been obtained by Fox News, asks the nations who voted no, abstained from voting or didn’t cast a vote “to a reception to thank you for your friendship to the United States.”

The General Assembly voted 128-9, with 35 abstentions, in favor of declaring Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital "null and void." 21 countries were absent during the vote.

Earlier Thursday, Haley, who has adopted an aggressive stance at the world body on U.S. priorities, took to Twitter to voice her appreciation to the countries who didn’t vote against the U.S. “for not falling to the irresponsible ways of the @UN.”

COMMENT:  Great style.  A former, outstanding governor of South Carolina, she's already being talked about as a future president.   I'm in.

December 22,  2017     Permalink