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 12,  2018

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:53 P.M. ET: 

HOW SAD – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:  The Boy Scouts of America is mulling declaring bankruptcy amid flagging membership and an avalanche of costly sex-abuse allegations, according to the Wall Street Journal.  Leaders have hired Chicago law firm Sidley Austin for help in a potential chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, sources told the outlet.  The organization has been fending off lawsuits over alleged abuse, including one filed by four former scouts who called the club a “pedophile magnet” and alleged that they were molested by scoutmaster Waldron Ackerman between 1974 and 1976.  The organization has reportedly lost two-thirds of its members — some 4 million boys — since the 1970s.  The Mormon Church, where scout membership was long considered a rite of passage, has yanked 610,000 scouts over the last two years.  I'm sure the politically correct crowd is celebrating.  If there are problems, fix them.  But don't destroy a once-great organization.  Identity politics is destroying the Boy Scouts.

PATHETIC – FROM BREITBART:  American University students and administrators are pushing for “spaces” on campus designated for “students of color,” claiming that it will promote diversity and inclusion at the university.  Students and staff at American University (AU) are calling for “the creation of more spaces for students of color,” so that minority students can have an area on campus where they can go to be separated from the rest of the campus body, in the name of “diversity and inclusion,” according to the university’s student newspaper.  AU students are criticizing the university’s Hub for Organizing Multiculturalism and Equity (HOME) for being “marketed to students of all backgrounds rather than to students of color.”  “HOME doesn’t provide people with a sense of security, with a sense of belonging, when everyone from all types of affinity groups can be there,” said Othniel Malcolm Andrew Harris to AU’s student newspaper.  How much more absurd can this get before the nation starts pulling federal aid from these glorified sandboxes?

GOP SENATE BREAKS WITH TRUMP ON SAUDI – FROM THE HILL:  The GOP-controlled Senate on Wednesday dealt a significant blow to President Trump by voting to advance a resolution ending U.S. support for the Saudi war in Yemen in the aftermath of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi’s slaying.   Senators agreed to begin debate on the measure despite only 11 of the chamber’s 51 Republicans joining with all Democrats to support it. The legislation would require Trump to withdraw any troops in or “affecting” Yemen within 30 days; the president has threatened to veto the bill if it reaches his desk. 
Senators were still haggling over amendments on Wednesday evening, but a final vote is expected this week. Both supporters and opponents say the resolution has the support needed to pass.   The vote will mark the likely climax for the measure until 2019 since the House voted to block supporters from being able to force a vote this year by slipping the provision into a rule governing debate of the unrelated farm bill.  But the Senate’s actions underscore the depth of frustration with Saudi Arabia on Capitol Hill, as well as the escalating gap between the White House and Congress on the U.S.-Saudi relationship.  Saudi Arabia is no great ornament to civilization.  It has been the training ground for many Islamic terrorists and the intellectual center of the most extreme forms of Islam.  The murder of Jamal Khashoggi has been attributed by our CIA, to the crown prince of the country.  On the other hand, Saudi Arabia is a major American ally, and will be critical to the region's future.  We must come up with a way to punish the Saudis and keep them on our side at the same time.  No one said this was easy.

December 12, 2018       Permalink

BULLETIN:  MAY DAY – SHE SURVIVES – AT 4:05 P.M. ET:   BRITISH PRIME MINISTER THERESA MAY HAS SURVIVED A NO-CONFIDENCE VOTE, AND WILL REMAIN – FROM FOX: 

U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May survived a vote of confidence in her leadership of her party Wednesday, but not until after she reportedly promised she would step down before the next general election.

A leadership vote had been triggered after 48 Conservative Party MPs had written letters expressing no confidence in her leadership -- 15 percent of the party’s members in the Commons. But the vote of confidence of the broader bloc of Tory MPs went in her favor -- with 200 MPs backing her leadership and 117 voting against her.

The victory means not only that May holds onto power, but also that now she cannot be formally challenged by her own party for a year.

May had faced furious criticism from members of her own party for her handling of Britain’s departure from the European Union -- from which the U.K. is set to depart in March 2019. A number of Cabinet members, including Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and two Brexit secretaries, have resigned this year over her handling of the negotiations.

The Times of London reported that May told Tories that she would not fight the next election, currently scheduled to be held in 2022. This appears to be a concession to her critics, and indicates that she may step down after the U.K. begins its departure from the E.U. in March.

COMMENT:  Seems reasonable.  And it keeps the nightmarish Labour leader, Comrade Jeremy Corbyn, out of 10 Downing Street, at least for now.

December 12, 2018        Permalink

BRITISH GOVERNMENT IN TURMOIL – AT 11:31 A.M. ET:   THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT IS IN CHAOS TODAY, WITH THERESA MAY'S POLITICAL SURVIVAL IN DOUBT.  FROM DAILY MAIL: 

Theresa May's woes deepened dramatically today as a Tory no-confidence vote was triggered. 

Eurosceptics have secured the 48 letters from MPs needed to force a ballot that could end the PM's time as leader.

Sir Graham Brady, the chair of the powerful 1922 committee, said the threshold had been 'exceeded'.

'In accordance with the rules, a ballot will be held between 1800 and 2000 on Wednesday December 12.

'The votes will be counted immediately afterwards and an announcement will be made as soon as possible in the evening.'  

Rebels were jubilant that they had finally secured the numbers last night after Cabinet minister Owen Paterson joined efforts to oust Mrs May in the wake of her humiliating decision to drop a Commons vote on her Brexit deal.  

Mrs May's allies have repeatedly insisted she will fight any effort to oust her - but her position has weakened significantly over recent weeks and may now be under serious threat. 

After the premier returned to Downing Street from a frantic tour of European capitals trying to save her Brexit deal last night, chief whip Julian Smith was seen going into No10.  

One senior Brexiteer told MailOnline Mr Paterson lining up with the rebels was a 'big moment' after the mutiny embarrassingly failed to gain traction before. 

'We have had some false starts, but this looks like the green light,' they said.

Previously veteran Eurosceptics have appeared unwilling to sign up to an all-out revolt, despite deep unhappiness with Mrs May's Brexit plans.   

The development risks throwing the government into turmoil just as Mrs May is scrambling to wring more concessions out of the EU.

She spent yesterday jetting between capitals, holding talks with Dutch PM Mark Rutte in The Hague, German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, and Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels.

COMMENT:  No matter how one might evaluate Theresa May's skill, it is important that her Conservative Party remain in power.  The alternative, the Labour Party of Jeremy Corbin, is too horrible to contemplate.  Corbin would be the most extreme leftist ever to become prime minister.  An America hater, essentially an old red, and a man seriously regarded as anti-Semitic, Corbin would present an enormous foreign-policy challenge to the United States and NATO.  We could not trust him or his crowd with our military secrets.

We await the action in Commons.  Winston, where are you when we need you?

December 12, 2018       Permalink 

TERROR IN FRANCE – AT 10:51 A.M. ET:  There has been an Islamic-linked terror attack in Strasbourg, France.  Two are dead, many are injured.  The alleged shooter is at large.

This is critically important.  ISIS has already boasted it will attack targets, including targets in the United States, during the Christmas shopping season.  We don't know if the Strasbourg attack was run by ISIS, but eternal vigilance is called for.  From BBC: 

The Strasbourg gunman yelled "Allahu Akbar" ("God is greatest" in Arabic) as he opened fire on people enjoying an evening out at a Christmas market, the Paris public prosecutor told reporters.

Rémy Heitz said two people had been killed and one left brain-dead after the attack in the eastern French city on Tuesday.

Twelve were wounded, six seriously.

The man, named by local media as Chérif Chekatt, was known to authorities as having been radicalised in prison.

The 29-year-old was armed with a gun and a knife and escaped the area in a taxi, Mr Heitz said.
The attacker boasted to the driver - who has spoken to police - that he had killed 10 people, and said he had been injured in a firefight with soldiers.

Four people connected to the suspect had been detained overnight in Strasbourg, Mr Heitz added. Sources close to the investigation quoted by Reuters news agency said they were the suspect's mother, father and two brothers.

Hundreds of officers are currently involved in the search for the gunman. France's Deputy Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez earlier acknowledged he may no longer be in France.

Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said the country had moved to a high level of alert, expanding police powers and increasing vigilance.

He added that border controls had been strengthened and security at all Christmas markets would be stepped up.

COMMENT:  We tend to forget the threat of terror until an attack occurs, but some authorities are saying that the actual threat of terror is greater now than ever before.

The attack in France comes at the same time as the riots in Paris.  The country is in poor shape, with a very unpopular government.  It is vulnerable.

I was in Manhattan a few days ago to hear an economics address, and I must say that I got a creepy feeling when passing the great Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.  I would not be surprised if an attack were attempted in the United States. 

December  12,  2018     Permalink

DECEMBER 11,  2018

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

THE CHILDREN'S HOUR – FROM NBC:   An early straw poll of members of the progressive group MoveOn.org shows a wide open competition for liberal voters in the forthcoming 2020 Democratic presidential contest, with Beto O'Rourke narrowly beating out Joe Biden.  The poll, obtained by NBC News, shows a plurality of respondents — 29 percent — either said they did not yet know whom they would support or wanted someone else not listed among the group's more than 30 potential candidate choices.  The most popular potential candidate was O’Rourke, D-Texas, who was selected by 15.6 percent of respondents, followed by Biden at 14.9 percent, and then Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, with 13.1 percent.  It's another sign of O’Rourke's surprising popularity among national Democrats and a potentially troubling indication for Sanders, whom MoveOn endorsed in the 2016 Democratic primary. That year, 78 percent of MoveOn members voted to back Sanders over Hillary Clinton.  Of course, this a poll of progressives, not actually real people. 

CHRISTMAS GETS A THUMBS UP – FROM THE WASHINGTON TIMES:  Three-fourths of Americans agree that Christmas should be celebrated in public schools, says a Rasmussen Reports poll conducted the same week that a Nebraska elementary school principal banned Christmas in her school, right down to candy canes, Christmas trees, Santa Claus, the colors red and green and “Elf on the Shelf” items.  “Most Americans continue to believe Christmas should be celebrated in public schools, and that there’s a place for religious symbols on public land,” said the poll analysis, which found that 74 percent of the respondents agreed that Christmas should be celebrated in public schools.  Fourteen percent disagreed, 12 percent were unsure in the survey, conducted Dec. 6-9.  As long as religions are treated equally, I see nothing wrong with it.  Indeed, while public schools cannot advocate a religion, under the First Amendment, they can certainly teach about religion, and students should be permitted to show how it is practiced.  Who is hurt by this?

LOSING HOLLYWOOD – FROM PJ MEDIA:  On Monday I received an email from the Motion Picture Academy informing me that if I didn't pay my dues, I wouldn't be able to vote in the Oscar nominations in a couple of weeks. I debated for a few minutes. Dues have inflated since I joined in the eighties and are now a hefty $450 per annum. Nevertheless, spendthrift that I am, I bit the proverbial bullet and went for it. Call it the inability to break a bad habit. Or an addiction to the non-stop influx of screeners that arrive at my door every December, not that I watch many of them. (I suspect I'm not alone in that.)  But it wasn't just the money that had made me hesitate. On one level, I wouldn't have re-upped up for $4.50, let alone $450. I mean -- what was the point of this? Does anybody care who wins the Oscar anymore? I certainly don't -- and I'm a voter.  Hollywood began to die in the 1960s.  What you have today is just a series of conglomerates, without the glamour, class or audience appeal of the Golden Age.  The American audience has given way to the "international audience," and the left-wingers in Hollywood couldn't care less.

December 11, 2018       Permalink 

CULTURE CLASH – AT 7:16 P.M. ET:  THE GREATEST CULURAL CLASH IN THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES IS SHOWING SIGNS OF BEING RESOLVED.  FROM FOX 8:   

SAN FRANCISCO — A radio station in California has returned the song “Baby It’s Cold Outside” to the airwaves.

The station 96.5 KOIT pulled the song from rotation shortly after WDOK Christmas 102.1 in Cleveland did after complaints it is inappropriate in 2018.

The call-and-response song written in the 1940’s includes a woman singing that she has to leave a man’s house as he tries to lure her to stay. In the song, the female sings “I really can’t stay,” to which the man responds, “but baby, it’s cold outside.” Other lyrics include the woman singing “say, what’s in this drink?” and “I simply must go… the answer is no.”

According to a press release, after KOIT began its 100 percent Christmas music programming on Nov. 16, the station received complaints from listeners regarding the lyrics. On Dec 3, KOIT Program Director Brian Figula opted to place the song on hold while seeking further listener feedback.

A poll was then conducted on the station’s website.

“KOIT’s listeners have spoken, and the overwhelming message is they do want to hear Baby, It’s Cold Outside on our station, as they have throughout the years,” Figula said in the release. “More than seven out of every ten listeners who responded said although some lyrics of the song may reflect a different era and a different sensibility than today, still they love the tradition and history of the song, and want to hear it as part of their holiday season. At KOIT, we always listen carefully when our listeners take time to comment.  In this case, it was very obvious what they wanted us to do.”

COMMENT:  The hypocrisy flows.  The same people who object to this traditional song about flirting seem to have no problem with rap lyrics that are absolutely degenerate.  Why is that?

Of course, the same people who went after Judge Kavanaugh had only a bit of a problem with Bill Clinton.  Why is that?

"Baby It's Cold Outside" won the Oscar for best song in 1949, having been sung by Esther Williams and Ricardo Montalban in "Neptune's Daughter."  It was written by Frank Loesser, one of our greatest songwriters, who later wrote the score for "Guys and Dolls."  Its appearance in "Neptune's Daughter" cleared the Production Code, Hollywood's strict morals office at the time.  And yet, the politically correct crowd today tries to ban it.

December 11, 2018       Permalink

THE RUSSKIES ON THE MOVE – AT 2:15 P.M. ET:  Russia, over the decades, has made periodic attempts to move militarily into the Western Hemisphere.  The most spectacular of these attempts, of course, led to the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, after Nikita Khrushchev tried to plant nuclear-tipped offensive missiles in Castro's Cuba.   Are we seeing the start of a repeat?  From Fox: 

The Russian government has been mum on how long two nuclear-capable strategic bombers will stay in Venezuela as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo decried the collaboration between "two corrupt governments."

Russia's Defense Ministry on Monday announced that a pair of Tu-160 bombers landed at an airport outside Caracas. The ministry didn’t reveal whether the bombers-- which flew over 6,000 miles to reach the socialist country-- carried any weapons. An An-124 heavy military transport plane and an Il-62 long-haul plane also arrived in Venezuela.

The Tu-160 bombers were deployed in Russia's campaign in Syria where they employed conventionally-armed Kh-101 cruise missiles. But the bombers are also capable of carrying nuclear-tipped cruise missiles with a range of 3,410 miles.

Pompeo criticized the move by Russia, issuing a short and a scathing statement on social media.
“#Russia's government has sent bombers halfway around the world to #Venezuela. The Russian and Venezuelan people should see this for what it is: two corrupt governments squandering public funds, and squelching liberty and freedom while their people suffer,” he wrote in a tweet.

Venezuela’s defense minister, Vladimir Padrino López, insisted that the bombers were not intended to be a provocation. “We are makers of peace, not war,” he told a state broadcaster, according to the Guardian. 

COMMENT:   Truly provocative on Moscow's part.  One wonders how smart it is.  Why would Russia appear to be trying to prop up a horribly failing government?

Oh, have you noticed any concern on the part of the Democratic Party?  Weren't they deeply worried about President Trump's "collusion" with Russia?  Guess that's yesterday's news.

December 11, 2018       Permalink

THE PRESIDENT HOLDS – AT 11:52 A.M. ET:  I find it remarkable how solid the president has been in polls despite all that is thrown at him.  I have no proof of what the cause might be, but perhaps he is benefiting from a kind of sympathy vote.  Americans seem to be filtering out much of the criticism.  From Rasmussen: 

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Tuesday shows that 49% 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 39% who Strongly Disapprove. This gives him a Presidential Approval Index rating of -3. (see trends).

COMMENT:  We've had unsourced stories in the last few days suggesting that some Republicans fear the collapse of the Trump administration, and even wonder whether Trump will be the candidate in 2020.  I would doubt these stories.  This man fights, and there's really no important evidence against him at this point.

We stress always that polls are snapshots in time, and that Rasmussen tends to lean a bit right.  However, as the last surviving daily tracker, it is useful in following trends.

December 11,  2018     Permalink