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I appeared on Silvio Canto Jr's talk show from Dallas last night.  It's here.

DECEMBER 17,  2018

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:51 P.M. ET: 

GOOD! – FROM NEWSWEEK:  A Kentucky radio station blasted “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” on its airwaves repeatedly for two hours straight on Sunday, amid controversy over the Christmas song’s lyrics.  Elizabethtown WAKY radio station mixed it up during the two hours by playing five different versions of the 1940s classic. “BABY, IT'S COLD OUTSIDE! We like it and we're not afraid to play it on WAKY for the next couple of hours!” WAKY wrote on Facebook.  Joe Fredele, WAKY’s director of programming, told local CBS News outlet WLKY that he’s “not sure why it’s controversial.” “We’ve played this song for years, you know, this song is older than WAKY is. It’s almost 70 years old.”  The song’s lyrics have come into question in recent months after the #MeToo movement highlighted the issue of consent. The 1944 duet—written by Frank Loesser—is about a woman who sings about leaving a man’s house while he attempts to convince her to stay by pointing out the bad weather outside.  Common sense prevails.  It's a flirtation song.  In some versions the woman is the one who wants the man to stay.  It's a great number, which won the Academy Award for best song in 1949.  Let's play it.  Take that, thought police!

ANOTHER GENIUS HEARD FROM – FROM FOX:   Alec Baldwin's severe disdain for President Donald Trump hasn't waned one bit.  The actor, who frequently spoofs Trump on "Saturday Night Live," claimed in an incendiary tweet this weekend that the POTUS is "punishment" for a variety of American sins.  "Trump is a curse, brought down on us as punishment 4 our sins. The slaughter of Native Americans, slavery, Japanese internment, Vietnam. Every hateful, misogynistic, racist notion, intertwined with our better nature, Trump embodies those. He is us. Now we can face it + exorcise it," he wrote.  So the American people punished themselves by electing Trump?  Why did I never think of it that way?

A SENATE LOSS – FROM THE TENNESSEAN:  After roughly a quarter century in elected office, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander will retire.   The former Republican governor, who has served in the Senate since first being elected in 2002, said Monday that he will not seek a fourth term in the upper chamber.  “I will not be a candidate for re-election to the United State Senate in 2020,” Alexander said in a statement.  He thanked the people of Tennessee, calling them generous.   "I am deeply grateful, but now it is time for someone else to have that privilege," Alexander said.  His decision means for the second time in two years, Tennessee will have an open U.S. Senate race.  Like U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, who last year declined to run for a third term, Alexander’s announcement will send shockwaves throughout Tennessee’s political landscape.   The state just elected Republican Marsha Blackburn to the Senate, replacing Corker.  Alexander's retirement means another Republican seat to be defended in 2020.

December 17,  2018     Permalink 

THE COMING HEALTH-CARE DEBATE, MAYBE – AT 11:10 A.M. ET:   A district court decision has the potential to start a major domestic battle over health care.  Republicans welcome it, Dems not so much.  From Fox: 

The Affordable Care Act – and the multitude of regulations, taxes and benefits that come with it – once again could be on the road to the Supreme Court after a Texas judge ruled the law unconstitutional.

The surprise decision Friday already has both sides of the debate posturing, with Democrats claiming the ruling is but a hiccup and Republicans suggesting this could be their chance, at last, to abolish the law – which remains largely in place despite President Trump’s past claims to the contrary.

A Supreme Court ruling in their favor would be Republicans’ only shot at overturning the law in the foreseeable future, with Democrats taking control of the House in January.

Speaking Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” White House senior adviser Stephen Miller boldly predicted the law would be “struck down” this way.

“I believe that's the likeliest outcome, because ObamaCare has always been unconstitutional,” he asserted.

“A confirming Supreme Court Decision will lead to GREAT HealthCare results for Americans,” Trump tweeted Monday.

If the court were to overturn the law, it would leave the Trump administration and a divided Congress in a remarkably difficult situation – scrambling to come up with an alternative that has eluded the law’s critics in Washington ever since its passage in 2010.

“We have a chance, working with the Democrats, to deliver great HealthCare!” Trump claimed.

COMMENT:  It would be a mess, but the Dems would be in a worse position than the GOP.  The Dem base would forbid, under pain of sin, the Democrats in Congress from compromising with the hated Republicans.  That could make the Democratic Party look very bad, but the base doesn't care.  It believes it represents the one true health-care faith, and that's that.

December 16, 2018       Permalink

LET'S SEE IF THE POMPOUS ONES SHOW ANY INTEREST IN THIS – AT 8:16 A.M. ET:  A human-rights activist has died in Iranian custody.  The world should be outraged.  Will it be, or will European commercial interests prevail?  From Reuters: 

Iranian authorities have confirmed the death of a social media activist jailed on security charges, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported on Sunday, after Western rights groups said he had died following a 60-day hunger strike in prison.

“The political prisoner Vahid Sayyadi Nasiri, on hunger strike since October 13, 2018 to protest the denial of his right to counsel and inhumane prison conditions…, has died at the Shahid Beheshti Hospital in Qom,” the US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran said on its website.

ISNA quoted an unidentified source as saying Nasiri had been jailed twice for belonging to a royalist group and planning acts of sabotage including an explosion. He had been taken from prison to a hospital where he died due to a liver disease on Dec. 12, the source said, without referring to a hunger strike.

Mehdi Kaheh, the prosecutor in the city of Qom, earlier said Nasiri had been serving a sentence for “insulting Islamic sanctities” on social media when he fell ill and was taken to hospital where he died, the state broadcaster IRIB reported on its website. Kaheh did not refer to a hunger strike.
Iran, whose officials often warn of efforts by foreign enemies to infiltrate state institutions, has detained scores of journalists and social media activists in recent years, and many others have gone into exile.

In November, Reporters Without Borders said Iran had launched a new crackdown on journalists in which several had been questioned and three arrested in connection with social network posts.
Iran rejects criticism of its human rights record by international human rights bodies as politically motivated and based on a lack of understanding of Islamic laws.

COMMENT:  Okay, President Trump, let's hear from you first.  Then let's keep a list of those who follow, and those who duck out.

December 17, 2018       Permalink

DECEMBER 16,  2018

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:54 P.M. ET:

ANY PRESS COVERAGE? – FROM DAILY CALLER:  President Donald Trump made an unannounced visit to Arlington National Cemetery on Saturday to honor America’s fallen as thousands across the country laid wreaths on veterans’ graves.  Trump paid his respects as volunteers for Wreaths Across America waited in long lines to place a Christmas wreath on the tombs of America’s greatest heroes. The event, which is held every December, aims to “remember, honor, and teach” about those who served, and perished, fighting for America’s freedom. In addition to Arlington National Cemetery, Wreaths Across America Day is observed at more than 1,400 cemeteries in all 50 states, as well as at sea and abroad.  Haven't seen any press coverage of this. 

OUTRAGEOUS – FROM DAILYWIRE:  In a comment that's caused a stir online and inspired coverage by numerous outlets — including Mediaite, who predicted it's going to just be more fodder for "aggrieved White Men" prone to "yelling about the horrors of 'identity politics"' — CNN analyst Harry Enten of FiveThirtyEight suggested during his "2020 Power Rankings for Potential Dem Contenders" on CNN Thursday that it was probably not the best time for Democrats to nominate a white male candidate.  What have we come to?  Identity politics is all the rage.  Judge candidates by their group, not their character.  Great way to choose the leader of the Free World.

EXPLOITATION OF THE PARROT COMMUNITY – FROM FOX:   A parrot has fallen in love with his owner’s Amazon Alexa — but keeps using it to order shopping.  So far Rocco the African Grey, from Didcot, Oxfordshire, U.K., has demanded treats such as strawberries, watermelon, raisins, broccoli and ice cream.  He has also ordered a kite, light bulbs and even a kettle.  Rocco likes to dance too and tells the voice-activated device to play favorite tunes. Sometimes they are slow numbers, but he generally prefers rock.  Clearly, this parrot is being used as a staff assistant by some cruel owner.  The exploitation of parrots is linked closely with white supremacy.

December 16, 2018        Permalink

GOING...GOING.... – AT 1:20 P.M. ET:  France is still on the edge, with new, although smaller, riots this weekend.  And through it all stands, or stoops, President Macron, whose approval has now sunk to HALF of that enjoyed by President Trump.  From Bloomberg:   

Emmanuel Macron’s popularity continued to slide in December despite concessions announced by the French president in response to weeks of protests by the so-called Yellow Vest movement.

Macron’s approval rating dropped two points from a month earlier, to 23 percent, according to a poll by Ifop for the Journal du Dimanche weekly. Macron’s popularity has fallen by 27 points during the course of 2018, the newspaper reported.

On Saturday, the same day that the polling ended, demonstrations held across France by the Yellow Vest movement drew around half the number of last week’s protesters, suggesting that his offers have dented the campaign’s momentum. Macron on Dec. 10 announced that he’ll raise the minimum wage, abolish taxes on overtime and get rid of a controversial tax on pensions.

"Dialogue must now bring together all those who want to change France," Interior Minister Christophe Castaner wrote late Saturday in a tweet, adding that the day "ended well."

The protests have battered the French economy at a time when Macron is in need of a boost to help deliver his agenda. Sales sacrificed to the protests have already exceed 1 billion euros ($1.13 billion), according to the FCD national retail federation. And the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index showed the country’s private sector contracting in December for the first time during Macron’s presidency.

COMMENT:  Western Europe has become so depressing, really a museum with some modern industry attached.  Asia is building and growing, and becoming increasingly high-tech.  There are economic stirrings in some of the countries of Africa.  Western Europe is almost certain to diminish in importance, except for junior-year-abroad programs.

December 16, 2018       Permalink   

TURLEY ON COHEN – AT 12:29 P.M. ET:  I am not defending the moral character of the president.  We pretty much know what we have in him, good and bad.  But the sudden moral elevation of his sometime lawyer, Michael Cohen, by the anti-Trump press, borders on the hilarious.  Jonathan Turley, of George Washington University Law School, provides some enlightenment.  From Fox: 

In his federal court sentencing hearing Wednesday, President Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen cut a tragic figure of his own making as he tried to convince a judge to spare him from prison for a host of crimes ranging from tax fraud to bank fraud to lying to Congress. He claimed he was a trusting soul undone by the ambition and the machinations of an evil man – Donald Trump.

It played out like a modern take on the Tennessee Williams play “A Streetcar Named Desire.” All that was missing was that signature line of the character Blanche DuBois: “Whoever you are … I have always depended on the kindness of strangers."

Blanche was describing her life of woe to a doctor escorting her to a mental hospital. But her line could have been easily added to Cohen’s plea to U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III in New York City.

The former Trump “fixer” and lawyer – who made millions of dollars off his connection to Trump and illegal business dealings – is now a disgraced confessed criminal facing three years in prison (set to begin March 6) and $2 million in fines, forfeitures and restitution. His legal career is over and he easily fits the role of the type of train-wrecked characters that Tennessee Williams loved.

In “A Streetcar Named Desire” Blanche DuBois is a riveting character – imperfect, degraded and ultimately destitute. According to his narrative before Judge Pauley, Cohen has lived much of his professional life like a modern Blanche DuBois.

Cohen’s tragedy was presented as a tale of affairs gone bad and women scorned, with a cast of opportunists and sycophants. Cohen latched onto Trump as a powerful man who was his ticket to fortune and the good life.

COMMENT:  Wonderfully done.  Read the whole thing.  All the sudden redemption.  Testify against Trump, get a blessing from the special counsel.

What a concept.

December 16,  2018    Permalink