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FEBRUARY 16,  2017

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

ISN'T THAT PRECIOUS – FROM THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE:   Bay Area restaurant owners are joining the national debate about immigration policy.  President Donald Trump’s hard-line stance on the issue has sparked the Sanctuary Restaurants Movement, which launched in early January and now counts more than 240 restaurants across the country. The Bay Area is home to about two dozen participating restaurants, including Alfred’s Steakhouse in San Francisco, Cancun Sabor Mexicano in Berkeley and Flea Street in Menlo Park.  Largely symbolic in nature, the collaboration is led by the Restaurant Opportunities Center United and promotes safe, tolerant spaces to restaurant workers, employers and consumers. While the sanctuary restaurant label doesn’t protect immigrants from law enforcement, the classification does spur business owners to educate themselves and their staff about how to handle federal officials during possible raids.  Another national protest — dubbed “A Day Without Immigrants” — took place Thursday, where foreign-born workers and students stayed home to demonstrate their importance to the country’s workforce and way of life; several dozen Bay Area restaurants closed for the day in solidarity.  I'm waiting for San Francisco restaurants to launch an "observe the law" day.  I guess it's too much to ask.

SWEET REVENGE – FROM TOWNHALL:   After Ivanka Trump's brand was placed on the "Grab Your Wallet" boycott list, several stores have dropped the line, citing poor sales. While Amazon is on the list as well, they certainly aren't seeing any effects of the boycott. In fact, an Ivanka Trump-branded fragrance is the top seller on the entire site in the women's eau de parfum category.   A majority of the fragrances' negative reviews made reference to President Trump.  As Katie Pavlich wrote, considering that Ivanka is by far the most liberal member of the Trump family, this boycott is completely moronic.  The left is completely moronic.  Its conduct is disgraceful and damaging to our country, and its inability to accept an election loss is adolescent, like most of its ideas.

DANGER – FROM CNS:   Sixty percent of the refugees admitted into the United States since a federal judge halted President Trump’s executive order designed to prevent “foreign terrorist entry into the United States” originate from five of the seven countries identified by the administration and its predecessor as most risky.  Of the total 2,576 refugees resettled in the U.S. from around the world since U.S. District Judge James Robart’s February 3 restraining order, 1,549 (60.1 percent) are from Syria (532), Iraq (472), Somalia (363), Iran (117), and Sudan (65). No refugees have arrived from the other two applicable countries, Yemen and Libya.  Are we supposed to be okay with this?  We can be compassionate and cautious at the same time. 

February 16, 2017       Permalink

TERROR IN THE MIDEAST – AT 11:41 A.M. ET:  While we're covering every little bump in the administration's road, the Mideast is still in a state of continued eruption.   As we've seen with the refugee stream, this affects us, and the violence can be duplicated here.  From ABC News: 

A car bomb in Baghdad killed at least 45 people and wounded nearly 50 others on Thursday, Iraq's Interior Ministry said.

Ministry spokesman Brig. Gen. Saad Maan confirmed the toll from the attack, which took place in the southwestern al-Bayaa neighborhood.

The Islamic State group claimed the bombing in an online statement circulated by its Aamaq news agency. The Sunni extremist group said it was targeting Shiite Muslims.

Iraqi officials said the bomb targeted car dealerships in the mostly Shiite neighborhood.

The extremist group has carried out near-daily attacks in Baghdad despite suffering military setbacks elsewhere in the country, including in the northern city of Mosul, where U.S.-backed Iraqi forces have been waging a major operation since October.

Another four attacks in and around Baghdad on Thursday killed eight people and wounded around 30, police and medical officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters.

COMMENT:  When ISIS suffers defeats on the battlefield, it turns to terror.  There are even reports that it may merge with al Qaeda.  Whatever the mechanism, terror launched by Islamic extremists will be with us.  It is based on an ideology, not "legitimate grievances," and ideologies are very hard to break.

February 16, 2017       Permalink

AN OPTIMISTIC VIEW – AT 10:25 A.M. ET:   The mainstreamers can't wait, each morning, to put labels on the new Trump administration – "chaotic," "out of control," "amateurish," "dangerous."  Almost anything bad will do.  But there are some signs, says the Canadian publisher, Conrad Black, in the New York Sun, that point to some light ahead:

The preliminaries of the Trump presidency are ending, and difficult though it is to appreciate, the atmosphere is lightening somewhat. It is a little early to opine on the Trump foreign policy, but his first three visits from other government leaders have gone well. He did brilliantly saying publicly to the British leader, Theresa May, that “a strong and independent Britain is a blessing to the world” — a stirring contrast to Obama’s threat, delivered in London, to put Britain “at the back of the queue” if it left the European Union.

President Trump’s conversations with the Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, seemed to go well also, as have conversations with the Chinese president. Comparisons between the Trump references to “America First” and the pre-war isolationist movement led by Colonel Charles Lindbergh have died away, as has most of the alarmist nonsense about Donald Trump. It is no longer possible to frighten the children of America with suggestions that Trump is a reckless warmonger.

The exchange with Canada’s Justin Trudeau was virtually a love-in, as was the remarkably cheerful joint press conference of Mr. Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu. It remains to be seen what will come of the “notice” that departed national security adviser General Michael Flynn gave the Iranians, but the president will pick his time and send a starkly different message to the groveling to Tehran of his predecessor.

And...

The reality that Mr. Trump is president, is not going to be impeachable, and is substantially unstoppable, is seeping into the Democratic mind.

Finally...

The confected hysteria is subsiding, and Democrats must now face the fact that many of their cherished mistaken policies are about to be torched and the ashes dispersed over the country. Mr. Schumer, Minority Leader Pelosi, and the rest will soon have to decide whether to make a course correction, and show some tactical maturity, or hurl themselves like grieving widows in colonial India on the funeral pyre of the fools’ socialist paradise they have been promoting for 15 years.

COMMENT:  Very good and, I think, accurate.  Too many news outlets are becoming tabloid services, screaming disasters and grimness.   Meanwhile, the new administration is formulating policies to carry out its campaign pledges.  I think, barring some serious blunders, that we'll see a very different situation as fall begins.

Read Black's entire piece.  It'll make your day.

February 16, 2017       Permalink

OBAMA'S LEGACY – AT 9:40 A.M. ET:  We heard the term "death spiral" when Obamacare was first being considered.  It referred to a projected situation in which the program would just start collapsing from within, in an unstoppable series of failures.  We may be at that point right now.  From Fox:   

The leader of one of the U.S.’s largest health insurance agencies—who has been saying for months that ObamaCare is on the ropes-- said Wednesday that statistics indicate that the law has now entered a “death spiral.”

Aetna’s CEO Mark Bertolini told The Wall Street Journal that the health law’s market is nearing failure because healthier people have dropped out while premiums continue to climb.

Health insurer Humana announced it is leaving the law’s public insurance exchanges for next year as it regroups after ending its proposed combination with rival insurer Aetna. Humana Inc. covers about 150,000 people on exchanges in 11 states.

The Trump administration took steps Wednesday intended to help calm jittery insurance companies and make tax compliance with former President Obama’s health law less burdensome for some. The administration's actions signal a change in direction.

COMMENT:  Much of this was anticipated by people smarter and more experienced than those who wrote the Obamacare law, or the man for whom it was named.

Obamacare must be repealed and replaced, or, at the very least, substantially improved.

What enrages me is that Obamacare is based on a false premise – the premise of tens of millions of Americans being "uncovered" before the law was passed.  In truth, all Americans were covered in some way.  If you needed medical care, you could get it through some program.  The problem was that the system was cumbersome, and millions did not have formal plans that they could consult.  The system needed improvement, not the radical overhaul that has been attempted, and is now failing.

February 16,  2017     Permalink

FEBRUARY 15,  2017

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

DIETARY BULLETINS – FROM DAILY CALLER:    Oakland schools partnered with the environmental group Friends of the Earth (FOE) to fight global warming by making student lunches climate-friendly.  FOE gave kids a lunch menu designed to eliminate foods it says are “unsustainable for our planet.” The new menu features far less meat and more plant-based food. Any meat or cheese the school did use came from “pastured, organic dairy cows.” The student’s lunch menu went from beef hot dogs and pepperoni pizza to vegan stir fry tofu and vegan tostadas. The new FOE-approved menu served meat and cheese-less frequently and reduced the portion sizes.  “This is a landmark moment for school food,” Jennifer LeBarre, head of nutrition services for Oakland Unified School District, said in a FOE press statement. “We were so excited to see how the data showed that we could reduce our carbon and water footprint by serving healthy, delicious food –– like the vegetarian tostadas with fresh made in-house salsa, that kids absolutely love –– all while saving money.”  I wonder if anyone consulted the parents, or asked the kids.  I haven't heard any word about vegan stir fry tofu becoming the national dish, and maybe there's a reason.

STUNNING – FROM BREITBART:   William Binney, a former highly placed NSA official turned whistleblower, contended in an exclusive interview today that the National Security Agency (NSA) is “absolutely” monitoring the phone calls of President Donald Trump.  Binney was an architect of the NSA’s surveillance program. He became a famed whistleblower when he resigned on October 31, 2001 after spending more than 30 years with the agency.  Asked whether he believes the NSA is tapping Trump, Binney replied: “Absolutely. How did they get the phone call between the president and the president of Australia? Or the one that he made with Mexico? Those are not targeted foreigners.”  That is a creepy idea.  If true, who authorized the tapping of the president's phone?  There are clearly attempts in Washington to bring down Trump, and they may succeed. 

TRUMP RETURNS TO THE PEOPLE – FROM FLORIDA TODAY:   President Donald Trump's visit to Melbourne has been confirmed.  He will appear at a rally that begins at 5 p.m. Saturday in the AeroMod International hangar at Orlando Melbourne International Airport. Doors will open at 3 p.m.  People seeking the free tickets are asked to provide their name, cellphone number, email address, state of residence and ZIP code. There is a limit of two tickets per cellphone number.  Don Tosti, a retiree who is a seasonal resident of Melbourne, was among the first to register for tickets on Wednesday.  "I'm a big supporter of him," Tosti said. "His phrase 'drain the swamp' was all I needed to hear. I'm really excited. I'm anxious to see him."  Volusia County Republican Party Chairman Tony Ledbetter, who is a volunteer coordinator for the Melbourne event, advised people who want to see the president to get there early.   I'm glad to see he's getting out among the people again.  It'll be good for the morale.  I wasn't a Trump supporter in the primaries, but I've never seen a new president treated so badly.  The country deserves better than the media/permanent government complex that runs Washington.

February 15, 2017        Permalink

WE ARE SO UPSET – AT 11:25 A.M. ET:   We are anxious people according to the latest head studiers.  From Bloomberg: 

If misery loves company, it should be thrilled: Americans left and right are under so much stress it's now registering on the American Psychological Association's anxiety meter.

For 10 years, the APA has been running its "Stress in America" survey, usually finding that stress is caused by three primary factors—money, work, and the economy. Those factors clearly play a role in the current national mood. Younger Americans are worried about college debt, older ones about retirement, and everyone, it seems, about the economic prospects of the next generation. In the study, respondents with incomes below $50,000 reported higher stress levels than those with higher incomes.

Still, over the course of the decade, the psychologists found that stress in American life, on the whole, has been gradually decreasing.

Then came the election. The APA's members were picking up the campaign as a new stressor in their patients. The group added some election-related questions to its annual poll, conducted in August, and released the results in October. The findings: At 52 percent, more than half of Americans, both Democrats and Republicans, were anxious about the vote.

So last month, just before President Donald Trump's inauguration, the APA conducted an additional poll to check on the nation's mental health. The picture isn't pretty.

"The results of the January 2017 poll show a statistically significant increase in stress for the first time since the survey was first conducted in 2007," the APA said on Wednesday in a report on the survey of 1,019 adults living in the U.S., conducted from Jan. 5 to Jan. 19 by the Harris Poll.

COMMENT:  Oh, we're just so sensitive.  Compare please to our parents and grandparents, who had such minor issues as the Depression and World War II on their plates.  But they didn't have TRUMP (!!) or CHENEY (!!!!).  What are we to do?

February 15, 2017       Permalink

THE COMMERCIAL VALUE OF THE PRESIDENCY – AT 10:14 A.M. ET:  Of course, we're talking about Saint Barack and Mother Michelle, so I'm sure every red cent involved will go to good causes, like putting Barack on Mount Rushmore.  From Fox:   

The White House doors may have closed on former President Barack Obama’s presidency, but for him and his wife Michelle, the path to lucrative new book deals and paid speeches is wide open.

The Obamas recently hired top-dollar attorneys Robert Barnett and Deneen Howell to handle their book contracts, and a high-profile public relations agency – known for repping the Clintons and Mia Farrow – to coordinate speaking appearances. The Obamas haven't yet set book-release dates or announced any scheduled speeches.

The Harry Walker Agency, which exclusively represents former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan, former Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and former vice presidents Dick Cheney and Al Gore, will handle the Obamas’ post-White House speeches, according to Obama spokesman Kevin Lewis.

In the private sector, the former president stands to earn more than half of his $400K annual presidential salary – per speech, Peter Shankman, founder and CEO of social media, marketing and PR strategy firm The Geek Factory, told FOX Business.

“No doubt [former President Obama’s] first speech could easily [command] $250k at minimum,” Shankman, whose firm’s clients have included American Express, Walt Disney World and The U.S. Department of Defense, said.

It’s not only the former president who will be fetching the big bucks. The former first lady will likely rake in an equal share, Shankman said.

“Michelle will also see numbers around [$250K per speech] for the first year as well,” he said. “Those fees probably won't drop anytime soon, when you stop and think about it, especially if Obama continues to be vocal, as he [has] said he would.”

COMMENT:  I wonder how much of this road to riches will be covered by the mainstream media.  I'm guessing it will be a non-story. 

But let Kellyanne Conway, in a throwaway humor line, ask people to buy "Ivanka's stuff," and the high hand of the ethical "experts" slaps her face. 

Presidents today are for sale, although I don't know of any great riches earned by the Bushes.  George W. Bush left the presidency and never marketed the office.  It's the Dems who seem to clean up, all the while bashing capitalism.

February 15, 2017       Permalink

THE FLYNN CAPER – AT 9:41 A.M. ET:  We stress that this story depends on anonymous sources, and proposes one notion of what happened to General Flynn.  But it seems to me to have a great deal of substance and logic, and is worth examining.  From the Washington Free Beacon: 

The abrupt resignation Monday evening of White House national security adviser Michael Flynn is the culmination of a secret, months-long campaign by former Obama administration confidantes to handicap President Donald Trump's national security apparatus and preserve the nuclear deal with Iran, according to multiple sources in and out of the White House who described to the Washington Free Beacon a behind-the-scenes effort by these officials to plant a series of damaging stories about Flynn in the national media.

The effort, said to include former Obama administration adviser Ben Rhodes—the architect of a separate White House effort to create what he described as a pro-Iran echo chamber—included a small task force of Obama loyalists who deluged media outlets with stories aimed at eroding Flynn's credibility, multiple sources revealed.

The operation primarily focused on discrediting Flynn, an opponent of the Iran nuclear deal, in order to handicap the Trump administration's efforts to disclose secret details of the nuclear deal with Iran that had been long hidden by the Obama administration.

Insiders familiar with the anti-Flynn campaign told the Free Beacon that these Obama loyalists plotted in the months before Trump's inauguration to establish a set of roadblocks before Trump's national security team, which includes several prominent opponents of diplomacy with Iran. The Free Beacon first reported on this effort in January.

COMMENT:  Please read the entire story carefully.  If true, it is a major scandal that will be suppressed by the mainstream media to protect the Obama legacy.  If true, it must be exposed by the Trump White House or by a congressional investigation. 

And the question must be asked:  What did Obama know and when did he know it?

February 15,  2017     Permalink