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DECEMBER 7,  2018

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

THIS IS DECEMBER 7TH, PEARL HARBOR DAY – FROM HAWAIINEWSNOW:    “For so long as there is a United States of America, a flag will fly over the USS Arizona Memorial and the National Park Service will continue to tell your story,” she said. “Your unconquerable spirits will live forever.”  Every year, survivors of the attack also urge younger generations to “never forget.”  That was Pearl Harbor survivor John Mathrusse’s message this year.  “We hope they never forget,” he said. “All the kids should come out here to see for themselves what happened.”  And that refrain is all the more poignant this year given not only who was at the Pearl Harbor ceremony, but by who wasn’t there: No one who survived the bombing of the USS Arizona battleship was in the audience.  That’s a first — all five of the survivors weren’t healthy enough to travel — and a stark reminder that World War II veterans aren’t getting any younger.  With each passing year, their numbers dwindle.  Soon there will be none.  And it is up to us to teach the next generation.  Sadly, the schools aren't doing it.

THE REMARKABLE WIRED WORLD – FROM AP:   Some 3.9 billion people are now using the Internet, meaning that for the first time more than half of the global population is online, the United Nations said Friday.  The UN agency for information and communication technologies, ITU, said that by the end of 2018 a full 51.2 percent of people around the world will be using the Internet.  "By the end of 2018, we will surpass the 50/50 milestone for Internet use," ITU chief Houlin Zhou said in a statement.  "This represents an important step towards a more inclusive global information society," he said, adding though that "far too many people around the world are still waiting to reap the benefits of the digital economy."   It can be a force for good, or for ill, or probably for both.  It doesn't replace the challenging education provided by a good, politically free school.

YOU CAN'T MAKE IT UP – FROM DAILYWIRE.COM:   Thanks to the excesses of the #MeToo movement, sexual encounters have morphed into an episode of South Park. In the midst of an otherwise romantic night, gals, you might be asked to create a so-called "consent video" so your understandably petrified partner can cover his behind against any future false accusation leveled against him.  A consent video is exactly what it sounds like: a woman telling a camera lens that she is fully onboard with having sex with so-and-so once the record button is turned off.  And they say romance is dead.  And you may be sure that a new industry will grow up to teach people how to direct consent videos, light them, write them, and make them legally valid.  I see an entirely new set of awards for best actress in a consent video, best performance by a frightened teenager, best consent video based on a real-life story.  I love art, don't you?

December 7,  2018     Permalink

HE MAY BE ON A MILK CARTON – AT 4:38 P.M. ET:  The president of France, a severe critic of our president, is apparently AWOL.  We will help, if asked.  From AP:

PARIS (AP) — As anti-government protests rage through France and Paris locks down, fearing new riots, the man whose presidency has unleashed the anger is nowhere to be seen.

French President Emmanuel Macron has stayed out of the public eye all week, leaving his unpopular government to try to calm the nation. In response, “Macron, resign!” has become the main slogan of the “yellow vest” demonstrators.

The protesters’ anger has been directed at the French leader, who they feel has been the “president of the rich” and is out-of-touch with ordinary people.

Macron’s pro-business reforms have aimed to make the French economy more competitive globally, but French workers see the changes as brutal and weakening their rights.

Macron, whose popularity plummeted in recent months, is also widely seen as arrogant, which comes out when he tells an unemployed man he can find a job if he “crosses the street,” or advising a retiree not to complain.

The 40-year-old leader mostly spent the week holding closed-door meetings in the Elysee presidential palace, which many protesters see as an ivory tower where he is hiding away from the people.
The president’s office said he would not speak before Saturday’s anti-government protests.

Normally Macron is a president who likes the limelight, one who has sought a prominent place on the world stage since his surprise election last year.

Just a week ago, he was basking in the international limelight at the Group of 20 summit in Argentina, challenging U.S. President Donald Trump on climate change and protectionist trade measures.

As he met with other world leaders last weekend, images of burning barricades in Paris and the Arc de Triomphe monument in a cloud of tear gas were all over the television screens.

COMMENT:   This is the chap who was lecturing President Trump a few weeks ago.  I think we should offer him political asylum.  But make him pay rent, and don't include the parking space.

December 7, 2018       Permalink

THE PRESIDENT HOLDS – AT 3:40 P.M. ET:  The president's standing in the Rasmussen tracker is steady.  From Rasmussen:   

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Friday shows that 50% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Trump’s job performance. Forty-nine percent (49%) disapprove.

The latest figures include 36% who Strongly Approve of the way Trump is performing and 41% who Strongly Disapprove. This gives him a Presidential Approval Index rating of -5.

COMMENT:  As we always caution, this is only one poll.  But remember that pollsters will now be tracking attitudes toward the new, Democratic House of Representatives.  It may well be that, while critical of the president, the voters will turn out to be more critical of the Democrats.  Dislike of Hillary Clinton, after all, was a major factor in giving Trump the White House.

I'd like to see Mr. Trump move above 50% in Rasmussen, especially as he ranks lower in other polls.

December 7,  2018     Permalink

A DECLINE – AT 1:52 P.M. ET:  There are some signs of economic slowdown.  This isn't good, especially as the parties will soon be starting their presidential election preparations.   From CNBC:

Job growth slowed in November amid fears that economic growth is losing steam.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 155,000 for the month while the unemployment rate again held at 3.7 percent, its lowest since 1969, the Labor Department reported Friday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting payroll growth of 198,000 and the jobless rate to hold steady.

Average hourly earnings, a closely watched sign of whether inflation pressures are building, again rose at a 3.1 percent pace from a year ago. The monthly earnings gain of 0.2 percent fell short of estimates for a 0.3 percent increase. The average work week edged lower by 0.1 hours to 34.4 hours.

Stock futures turned positive following the weak report as traders bet it may mean the Federal Reserve is less aggressive next year on rate hikes.

A separate gauge that includes discouraged workers and those holding part-time jobs for economic reasons, sometimes called the real unemployment rate, rose from 7.4 percent to 7.6 percent.

COMMENT:  It will take several more months of measurements to determine if we're in a real slowdown.  If so. Trump will probably be blamed.  He will certainly be blamed by the press. 

If the president also is having problems with Robert Mueller and his merry band of investigators, we could see a perfect storm develop. 

But never count Trump out.  Others have made that mistake, and are collecting unemployment insurance.

December 7,  2018    Permalink

DECEMBER 6,  2018

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

HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD? – FROM VANITY FAIR:  Kevin Hart announced on Twitter that he’s stepping down from hosting the Oscars next February. In two tweets issued late Thursday evening, Hart finally apologized for his comments from 2011 that included homophobic slurs, and announced that he would not be hosting the Oscars on February 24, 2019.  The tweets read, “I have made the choice to step down from hosting this year’s Oscars....this is because I do not want to be a distraction on a night that should be celebrated by so many amazing talented artists. I sincerely apologize to the LGBTQ community for my insensitive words from my past."  Hosting the Oscars used to be a plum assignment in Tinseltown.  Now they have to go down to second- and third-tier talent to find someone willing.  It's a thankless job, subjecting the host to endless criticism and the possibility of a career-ending slip of the tongue.  No one cares much about the Oscar show anyway.  They read off the names of ten nominated movies most Americans have never heard of, and feature a parade of semi-stars denouncing Republicans.  I don't watch.

THE PHONY – FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER:  Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’s 2018 re-election campaign spent nearly $300,000 on private jet services in October, a report from the Federal Election Commission shows.  Sanders, a climate change hawk, went on a campaign blitz involving nine states to stump for Democratic candidates ahead of the November midterm elections, according to VTDigger. His aggressive campaigning likely served as a preamble for the independent senator’s potential bid for the 2020 Democratic nomination for president.  Sanders, who flew on private Apollo jets, has already positioned himself highlighting climate change as a major economic, infrastructure, and national security challenge in 2020. His busy travel schedule came the same month he issued a stark warning ahead of the November elections on the planet’s impending doom if humanity remains largely asleep at the wheel combating environmental threats.  “Climate change is the single greatest threat facing our planet,” Sanders said in an Oct. 17 tweet.  What a fraud.  Private jets and all.  Why don't these leftists finally admit that the real objective of "climate change" policy is the end of capitalism?

YIKES – FROM THE TELEGRAPH:  DeepMind’s artificial intelligence programme AlphaZero is now showing signs of human-like intuition and creativity, in what developers have hailed as ‘turning point’ in history. The computer system amazed the world last year when it mastered the game of chess from scratch within just four hours, despite not being programmed how to win. But now, after a year of testing and analysis by chess grandmasters, the machine has developed a new style of play unlike anything ever seen before, suggesting the programme is now improvising like a human.  Kind of reminds me of Hillary Clinton.  A new gimmick every minute.

December 6, 2018       Permalink

THE SENATOR FROM NEW YORK – AT 11:41 P.M. ET:   The title "senator from New York" used to be a title of distinction.  Not all have been stellar, but New York has had a tradition of sending eminent figures, whether one agrees with them or not, to the Senate:  Aaron Burr, Dewitt Clinton, Martin Van Buren, Hamilton Fish, William H. Seward, Elihu Root, Robert F. Wagner, John Foster Dulles, Herbert H. Lehman, Robert Kennedy, Jacob Javits, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and, yes, Hillary Clinton.

And then there's Kirsten Gillibrand.  Talk about a public embarrassment.  She's one of our two current senators, the other being Chuck Schumer.  She's an endless source of shame to New York, having changed her views on virtually every issue of public interest.  I've never seen her take the same position twice. In addition, she could walk into almost any venue in New York, and no one would know who she is. 

Now she has outdone herself.  From Fox: 

The future may be female, but critics say Kirsten Gillibrand's role may be limited.

The Democratic U.S. senator from New York was widely mocked Wednesday after saying the future is “female” and “intersectional,” in a wink to the progressive wing of her party.

“Our future is: Female, Intersectional, Powered by our belief in one another. And we’re just getting started,” Gillibrand wrote in a tweet.

Critics claimed Gillibrand was trying to pander to progressives ahead of a likely run for president in 2020, looking to portray herself as a feminist firebrand.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., for one, fired back at Gillibrand, saying “our future is: AMERICAN.”  “An identity based not on gender, race, ethnicity or religion. But on the powerful truth that all people are created equal with a God given right to life, liberty & the pursuit of happiness,” he added.

Others also criticized the Democrat for embracing “toxic” identity politics rather than viewing everyone as equal.

“Everyone should be viewed as equals, regardless of immutable characteristics. Now we keep hearing how one group should replace another- women vs. men, etc. It's completely backwards,” said one Twitter user.

Others have also pointed out Gillibrand’s political transformation from a centrist Democrat liked by the establishment to a progressive.

COMMENT:  She wants to be president.  Maybe she can be president of a student government.  Of an elementary school.  In Beverly Hills.

December 6, 2018       Permalink

YES, HAVE YOU  NOTICED? – AT 12:30 P.M. ET:  The great Michael Goodwin remarks on how Democrats truly love Republicans, as long as they're 1) dead and 2) were anti-Trump.  From the New York Post: 

He was a patriot, a hero, a ­genial gentleman and a great American. You can’t pick up a newspaper or go near a television without hearing leftists gush with praise for the late President George H.W. Bush. Who knew they felt this way?

And you are not mistaken if the outpouring of previously unknown affection for the first President Bush sounds familiar. That’s because it is almost identical to the loving send-off the same suspects gave Sen. John McCain after he died in August.

It all just goes to prove that Democrats and their media handmaidens really do love Republicans — when they’re dead. All the more so if, when they were alive, they ­opposed President Trump.

There were reports that both Bush and McCain voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016. See, good Republicans.

McCain’s feud went beyond the grave, when it became known that he did not want Trump at his funeral. McCain got extra love for that ­final bit of pettiness.

Paradoxically, Bush gets extra credit because he wanted Trump at his funeral, even though both gestures are seen as a rebuke to the current president. In this case, Bush is hailed for rising above pettiness.

There is another phony dimension in the media’s praise for Bush and McCain in that both were said to epitomize a less toxic time in politics. While it’s true that politics wasn’t always as vicious as it is now and that Democrats and Republicans actually socialized frequently, the mainstream media didn’t share in that bipartisan bonhomie when it came to coverage.

Even then, their bias tilted left, although their double standard has reached new depths in recent years. I believe the press corps’ lapdog approach to Barack Obama and attack-dog approach to Trump are part of why Americans have become so polarized.

Indeed, many Trump voters ­explain their support for him as a reaction to left-wing press bias and the failure of other Republicans to fight back the way Trump does.

The heydays of press hatred for Bush and McCain came during their presidential campaigns. Long before they were saluted for their late-in-life stances against Trump, Bush 41 and McCain were declared unfit to be president.

And...

There is, of course, nothing wrong in saying something nice about the recently departed. Eulogies are not the time or place to seek balance.

The problem emerges when the partisan lens becomes the decisive factor in switching from damnation to praise. Then it is hypocrisy masquerading as principle and grace.

COMMENT:  Not only is the media hypocritical, you get the feeling that many of its employees, or colleagues, or comrades, or whatever they like to be called, really have very little knowledge of any president before Emperor Barack, and less interest.  Actually knowing something seems increasingly unimportant in an age when "Google it" is seen as the gateway to wisdom.

But the sheer press phoniness surrounding the passing of both John McCain and Bush 41 must break some kind of record. 

I wonder what will happen when Trump eventually passes on.  "Empire builder."  "Spoke truth to power."  "Built a great economy."  I can't wait to see the old, gray heads at CNN discover their inner Donald.  And when the aging Melania makes her way down the church aisle, the wailing about her "graceful presence" will make it even worse, or better.

There is always room for comedy.

December 6,  2018     Permalink