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DECEMBER 27,  2018

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:21 P.M. ET: 

THIS IS NUTS – FROM COLLEGE FIX:   The University of Missouri believes that asking someone on a date can violate Title IX in certain situations. Its officials can’t agree on which situations, however.  In a motion for summary judgment filed on Christmas Eve, Jeremy Rowles shared excerpts of depositions with Mizzou officials from his federal lawsuit against the public university.  They suggest that male students should avoid asking out female students at all, particularly when the male is physically larger than the female.  A bit of background: Judge Brian Wimes greenlit the doctoral student’s lawsuit this summer, saying there was no evidence that Rowles had done anything more than make his dance fitness instructor, student Annalise Breaux, “uncomfortable” by asking her out in spring 2016.  The University of Missouri was almost destroyed by racially charged disruptions in 2015.  It appears they haven't learned much.

I'M REASSURED, BUT CHECKING WITH AL GORE – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:   An explosion at a Con Edison facility in Astoria, Queens, shot a streak of blue light into the night sky on Thursday, causing power outages and some locals to fear an extraterrestrial invasion.  Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office quickly made an announcement on Twitter that the situation was being addressed and there was no threat from outer space.  “*Not* aliens,” Mayor de Blasio spokesman Eric Phillips wrote. “Blown transformer at Queens Con-Ed facility. Scattered power outages, including LGA. Con-Ed, FDNY, PD, OEM all working on it.”  LaGuardia Airport suffered power outages and all outgoing flights were temporarily suspended, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson said.  This is New York.  Had it been an extraterrestrial invasion, the mayor would have instantly declared New York a Universe Sanctuary City, and offered all extraterrestrials a driver's license and college education.

YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK – FROM THE WASHINGTON TIMES:  The IRS overpaid nearly $4 billion to Obamacare customers through tax credits last year, and because of the way the law is written it can’t even try to collect on a quarter of that, the Treasury Department’s inspector general reported this week.  All told, the Treasury Department paid out roughly $27 billion in Obamacare subsidies in the 2018 tax-filing season, with overages accounting for $3.7 billion of that. Only $2.7 billion was recaptured.  The $1 billion left over is small compared to the overall federal budget, but it is 20 percent of the president’s border wall funding request that’s spurred the current government shutdown.  Overpayments were built into Obamacare, with most people who buy insurance on the Affordable Care Act’s exchanges collecting subsidies through the IRS to help them afford their plan premiums.  The amount they get during the year is based on their expected earnings.  At the end of the year they’re supposed to square what they expected to earn with what they actually got, and since some of them saw higher incomes — through raises, promotions or better jobs — they have to repay the IRS.  Yet the authors of the 2010 law were afraid if people faced the threat of a big tax bill they would shirk Obamacare coverage altogether, so the law set limits on how much the government could claw back.  Another bit of brilliant government planning.  And the "progressives" want to control the entire medical system.

December 27, 2018       Permalink

Editor's note:  You have seen the name William Stroock in these pages, or, more likely, at our Forum.  Will has written fine books of military history, and some compelling novels as well.  His new book, "Pershing in Command," is well worth noting.  It's the story of the star-crossed commander of American forces in Europe during World War I, and the only man to wear the title "General of the Armies."  A key man at a critical time.  Highly recommended.  At Amazon.

DEATH OF A NETWORK – AT 2:25 P.M. ET:  It is truly sad to watch the decline of CNN into the joke it has become – the anti-Trump network that still claims to be the first name in news.  Even the president's trip to visit the troops was considered fair game at the network that was.  From Fox: 

CNN was slammed for what many called overwhelmingly negative coverage of President Donald Trump’s visit to the troops was on Wednesday night.

Both the president and first lady Melania Trump surprised troops stationed in Iraq the day after Christmas, which was followed by another visit with the troops in Germany.

However, there was barely a kind word expressed towards the president regarding his trip overseas -- at least on CNN. The network published a report Wednesday evening drawing attention to the troops who brought MAGA hats for the president to sign being against military guidelines, which forbids active members of the military from participating in “political activities.”

The story by CNN politics reporter Eli Watkins, headlined “Troops bringing Trump hats to sign may violate military rule,” was mocked on social media.

CNN Politics’ verified Twitter account was ratioed when Watkins’ story was sent out, which is typically a sign that the majority of readers don’t agree. As of Thursday morning, the tweet received over 3,300 comments and only 826 likes.

Meanwhile, several watchdogs pointed out that President Obama also signed autographs when visiting troops.

CNN’s criticism of Trump visiting the troops wasn’t limited to Watkins report and the network took a negative tone throughout their evening coverage.

CNN anchor Jim Sciutto blasted Trump for his “routine lying,” while CNN military analyst Mark Hertling criticized Trump for getting “political” during his visit. Former Obama State Department spokesman John Kirby even dinged the president for not visiting with Iraqi security forces, who are also part of the fight against ISIS.

COMMENT:  So much potential wasted.  I recall a time when news directors fought for every minute of air time.  When the large TV networks went from fifteen-minute nightly newscasts to half an hour, it was considered a major event, a great breakthrough for broadcast journalism.

Now cable news networks have 24 hours a day, and look what CNN does with its own 24 hours.  It's an all-day Trump-bashing session, with a minimum of serious news.

Ain't anyone got any shame?

And what will CNN do when Trump leaves office?  It's so hard to get good villains these days.

December 27, 2018       Permalink

HOW ABOUT INVESTIGATING THIS? – AT 12:30 P.M. ET:  You mean wealthy liberals engage in slea`zy tactics?  I can't believe anyone could think that.  But here it is.  There must be some mistake.  Say it ain't so.  From Fox: 

Liberal Silicon Valley billionaire Reid Hoffman issued an apology on Wednesday for funding a group that falsely tried to give an impression the Russian government was supporting Alabama Republican Roy Moore in last year’s Senate election against now-Sen. Doug Jones.

Them Russkies?  Again?

Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn, is one of Silicon Valley’s top donors to the Democratic campaigns and PACs. In the last election cycle he donated $7 million to Democratic groups, though his money also pours into non-traditional groups that aren’t mandated to report their funding and often operate in the shadows.

One such groups is American Engagement Technologies (AET), a firm run by former Obama appointee Mikey Dickerson, which received $750,000 from Hoffman and was part of the effort to falsely portray the Republican’s senate bid as being supported by the Kremlin.   

COMMENT:  How long will this story last?  Uh, let's see.  Dem donor.  Got a victory in red Alabama.  I'd say, give it a day, two at the most.  No anguish for the liberals.

December 27,  2018     Permalink

DECEMBER 26,  2018

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

THE ULTIMATE DISGRACE – FROM THE HILL:   Democrats are worried that they have a problem: The three people leading polls in the very early stages of their presidential race are all white men.  The party traditionally battles over identity politics and wants to be seen as promoting diversity.  Its last three nominees have been Barack Obama, who became the nation’s first African-American president, and Hillary Clinton, the first woman to win the popular vote.  Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) are this year’s top-tier candidates, according to a recent and very early Des Moines Register/CNN/Mediacom poll.  It showed that 32 percent of those polled in Iowa favored Biden, while 19 percent preferred Sanders and 11 percent liked O'Rourke.  While some Democrats believe the early polls are merely a metric on name recognition, they say it defies the party’s mission to be more diverse and more inclusive that the top three candidates are all white men.   How pathetic.  All that counts is diversity.  Quality, judgment, wisdom, patriotism – all out the window.  Lincoln never would have made it.

PRESIDENTIAL VISIT – FROM FOX:   President Trump made his second unannounced visit to U.S. troops abroad on Wednesday, according to reports.  On his way back from meeting troops in Iraq, Trump stopped at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany for refueling and met with service members there. Trump slowly made his way down a rope line at the German base, shaking hands, signing autographs, chatting and posing for selfies. Some service members held up “Make America Great Again” caps for Trump to sign.  The president’s earlier visit to a base in western Iraq, about 100 miles west of Baghdad, was his first to U.S. forces in harm’s way overseas.  He said it’s because of U.S. military gains against the Islamic State terror group that he can withdraw 2,000 forces from Syria. Trump said the U.S. mission in Syria was to strip ISIS of its military strongholds — not to be a nation builder. He said that’s a job that should be shouldered by other rich nations — reiterating his America First policies and an ideology that challenges America’s role as global cop.  Trump met with U.S. diplomats and senior military leaders and wished troops a happy holiday.  Some of our "news" organizations had already reported that Trump was the first president in recent memory not to visit troops during the holidays.  They might have waited for the holidays to be over before coming to that conclusion.  Much egg on many faces.

FOX ONLY TROTS – FROM THE HILL:   MSNBC beat out Fox News last week in key ratings for first time in 17 years, topping its competitors in total average viewers for the first time since 2000, according to a news release from MSNBC.  MSNBC averaged 1,558,000 total viewers during the "sales day" (6 a.m. to 2 a.m.) between Dec. 17-21, while Fox News averaged 1,541,000 total viewers. CNN, meanwhile, averaged 975,000.  Among people between the ages of 25 and 54, a key demographic for cable news networks, MSNBC also finished the week as the No. 1.   In prime time (8 p.m. to 11 p.m.), MSNBC continued to lead Fox News and CNN in total viewers and among that key age group for the fourth week in a row. 
MSNBC prime time last week averaged 2,578,000 total viewers, compared to Fox's 2,240,000 and CNN’s 1,398,000. Of those viewers, 471,000 thousand were between the ages of 25 and 54 for MSNBC, while 355,000 were in that demographic for Fox and 415,000 for CNN.   This number among the 25-54 age group was a significant drop for Fox, which typically leads the pack.  The fierce resistance to President Trump probably explains the rise in MSNBC ratings.  It's the go-to network for never-Trumpers.  And Fox has seen turmoil in the last few years.  But I still think Fox is solid. 

December 26, 2018        Permalink

OUR AGING AIR FORCE – AT 2:38 P.M. ET:  If you think we can cut the defense budget, please consider this.  The numbers are stunning.  From Daily Beast: 

The U.S. Air Force's planes are old and getting older. The average Air Force plane is 28 years old, according to the Congressional Budget Office. That means hundreds, if not thousands, of Air Force pilots are flying planes built before they were born.

Replacing huge numbers of aging aircraft with newer models could be very, very expensive. The cost could swell to $26 billion annually by the mid-2030s.

And that's before taking into account the flying branch's ambitious plan to stand up 74 new squadrons.

Barring some radical shift in the cost of new technology, future administrations could face a difficult choice. Either boost Air Force budgets to Cold War levels or higher, or shrink the flying branch to an affordable size.

“Growing the force is going to compete directly with modernizing the force,” Todd Harrison, an analyst with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., told Breaking Defense, a trade publication.

Today the Air Force possesses around 5,600 aircraft in 312 squadrons, making it by far the biggest air force in the world.

The planes on average are old, however. Thanks to the government's military spending spree in the 1980s and a subsequent decline in spending in the mid-'90s, no fewer than 1,900 of the Air Force's most important warplanes—including most of its A-10, F-16 and F-15 fighters— are between 26 and 40 years old, according to a December Congressional Budget Office report.

Most people replace their cars every six years, according to Autotrader. But the Air Force might hold on to a fighter jet for nearly half a century. And the youngest B-52 bomber in the American arsenal was built when John F Kennedy was still in the White House.

COMMENT:  Pretty frightening, considering the pace at which both Russia and China are expanding their military capability, with the emphasis on China.

We have the future of Western civilization in our hands, and that means the future of freedom.  Ronald Reagan famously said, "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same."

The Democrats might think about that, but they won't. 

December 26, 2018       Permalink

THEY'RE BAACK!  THE DEMS, THAT IS – AT 1:30 P.M. ET:  We are now getting a taste of what to expect when the new Congress is sworn in.  Hold onto your wallets.  From Fox: 

Expect to hear the words “free,” “guaranteed” and “for all” a whole lot more in the new year as Democrats prepare an arsenal of big-government bills that could actually see a floor vote once they take control of the House.

Come January, proposals like “Medicare for all” and a host of other generous-but-costly welfare programs that were little more than talking points in recent years could have a shot at passing a chamber of Congress.

“There are dozens of measures like this that have been languishing with Republicans at the helm for years, and I expect to see many of them finally come to the floor under Democratic leadership,” Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J., told Fox News

With the GOP’s expanded majority in the Senate, it’s unlikely these measures would make it to President Trump’s desk. But their consideration on the House side would mark a first step in formally considering major government expansions – concerning everything from education to health care – that Democrats increasingly favor. And with “Medicare for all” and similar proposals amounting to litmus tests for modern progressives, roll-call votes on any of these issues would reveal just how broad their support is.

At the same time, floor votes putting Democrats on record for multi-trillion-dollar policies could embolden Republicans working to recover from their midterm losses.

House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy, shortly before the November elections, told Breitbart News Daily that Democrats are moving “toward clear socialism,” and suggested Republicans need to make the case for “unleashing the great powers of liberty and freedom.”

COMMENT:  Yeah, free, guaranteed for all.  We've been here before.  Nothing is free, of course, but socialists have perfected the technique of giving the benefits up front and sending the bill later.  Once the benefits are in place, they can never be taken away.  That's one of the basic rules of politics.

Republicans will have to explain themselves vigorously and quickly.  Americans must be made to understand that "Medicare for all" isn't Medicare.  Medicare is a targeted insurance program that has worked reasonably well for seniors.  It's very popular.  You get many choices, and your Medicare premiums aren't that large.  The people who designed it in the early 1960s had experience with the Social Security system and actually knew what they were doing.   

Medicare for all would be vastly larger, and the Dems of today, dabbling in socialism, would insist on controlling every last detail.  The premiums would have to skyrocket, at least eventually, and the ideologists would take control.  There would, as in Europe and Britain, be grim determinations of "rights," and people would die if the "system" refused to provide life-saving benefits.  Leftists believe people over a certain age have an obligation to die.  They really believe that.  But most Americans choose life.

Those over 65 are now about 15% of the American population.  That means Medicare for all would add 85% immediately.  It's a fiscal impossibility unless we raise taxes dramatically, add huge amounts to the already catastrophic national debt, or do what the leftist really dream of – destroy the national defense. 

Some Bernie Sanders people talk of cutting the defense budget by 50%.  The country would not be defended, and our international standing would be eroded, and the Marxists in the universities would cheer.

December 26,  2018     Permalink