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FEBRUARY 20,  2018

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:50 P.M. ET: 

CURIOUS – FROM FOX:   Vice President Mike Pence was set to secretly meet with North Korean officials at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, earlier this month, but North Korea canceled at the last minute, the Trump administration said Tuesday.  “North Korea dangled a meeting in hopes of the Vice President softening his message, which would have ceded the world stage for their propaganda during the Olympics,” Nick Ayers, Pence’s Chief of Staff, said.  Pence “was ready to take this opportunity,” according to State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert, and would have used the meeting to emphasize U.S. concerns about North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.  Better no meeting than exploitation of the vice president by the Norks. 

DAVID, WHAT'S HAPPENED TO YOU? – FROM THE HILL:  CNN political analyst David Gergen issued a stark warning about the Trump administration on Sunday, saying the threat of authoritarian rule under President Trump is growing.   "It is the beginnings, in many other countries it's been the beginnings of an authoritarian rule, and that's the larger threat hanging over us now," Gergen said on CNN's "Reliable Sources."  Gergen was referring to Trump's comments slamming the news media, which has often been critical of the president, as well as institutions like the FBI.  "We have an election that's just around the corner later this year. What if the Democrats take the House back? Is all of that going to be blamed on fake news? What if they fall short? Are Democrats going to think, you know, it was all that meddling, and they have won a few seats that they wouldn't have otherwise won," he said earlier.   Gergen used to be the adult in the room at CNN.  Now he's thrown in his lot with the nut cases.  I see nothing authoritarian in Trump's denunciations of the press or his criticism of government agencies.  Under sane definitions of authoritarianism, Obama was far more of a danger.

BEST OF THE BEST – FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER:   Conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer said in a statement read on Fox News on Tuesday that he is still recovering from surgery and that his progress is moving "steadily slower" than he would like.  Still, he expressed optimism about an eventual return to TV.   "Special Report" anchor Bret Baier shared the brief update on Krauthammer on his evening show, where Krauthammer has long been a panelist. Baier, who said he constantly keeps in contact with Krauthammer, said that of all the questions he gets from viewers on social media, Krauthammer's status tops the list.  And for good reason.  Krauthammer is the dean of political commentators, a brilliant conservative and thoroughly civilized.  In addition, he's a board-certified psychiatrist, so he understands Washington.

February 20, 2018       Permalink

UNBELIEVABLE – AT 1:48 P.M. ET:    Is there any limit to the mean-spiritedness of some people?  Will Justice Clarence Thomas, one of the finest men to sit on the Supreme Court, ever see any peace?  From PJ Media: 

Former New York Times Executive Editor Jill Abramson served only three years in that role; she was reportedly fired in 2014 for an ill-founded complaint about her compensation and for her "brusque" workplace manner. Her editorial competence was not questioned, however. In the era of #MeToo equalizing the perpetrators of rape with those of inadvertent microaggressions, perhaps no one remains in elite New York media qualified to make such a judgment, anyway.

This week, Abramson's reputation seemingly landed her a 4,000-word New York magazine cover story, which resurrects the sexual harassment complaints against Justice Clarence Thomas:

Feel free to question Abramson's timing and her subjectivity. Indeed, Abramson admits she is targeting Thomas again solely because the timing is proper, and the target high-value. She writes:

Thomas, as a crucial vote on the Supreme Court, holds incredible power over women’s rights, workplace, reproductive, and otherwise. His worldview, with its consistent objectification of women, is the one that’s shaping the contours of what’s possible for women in America today, more than that of just about any man alive, save for his fellow justices.

His worldview, of course, is that life and rights begin at conception, and that equal protection necessarily frowns upon laws based on gender. Abramson equates these views with dehumanization of women, and thus sees him as a worthwhile target based on his current import during this elite-media-driven "cultural" moment. Folks, if you think there's a time and a place to destroy a person, you are not in it for the alleged victims.

COMMENT:  I am reminded of the famous statement made by the Boston lawyer, Joseph Welch, to Senator Joseph R. McCarthy, during the famous Army-McCarthy hearings of 1954.  McCarthy had publicly outed a colleague of Welch's, Fred Fisher, as a former member of a leftist organization, even though he had become a Republican, and McCarthy could have brought up the man's past privately.  By outing him publicly, he inevitably damaged Fisher's reputation.  Welch replied:  "You've done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?

At long last, has the press left no sense of decency?  Must the sleazebags of the media go after Justice Thomas again, after more than a quarter century of distinguished service on the Court?  Must these "journalists" endlessly labor to prove their liberal bona fides? 

We all know that the real reason the liberal underworld is going after Clarence Thomas is because he's a black conservative.  He dared stray from the party line.  He must be punished.

Some days I want to deny that I ever worked in the news business.

February 20, 2018         Permalink

THE GOP IS PUNCHING – AT 11:58 A.M. ET:  Republican tiger Devin Nunes is relentless in his pursuit of the truth in the "Russia collusion" scene.  I think we may be getting closer to what the real truth is.  From Fox: 

House Intelligence Committee Republicans have launched “Phase 2” of their probe into the origins of the unverified anti-Trump dossier, firing off an inquiry to a host of current and former officials -- including former FBI Director James Comey.

In a letter obtained by Fox News, committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., posed a string of dossier-related questions to current and former intelligence, law enforcement and State Department officials. He specifically wants to know when they learned the document was funded by Democratic sources, and how it was used to obtain one or more surveillance warrants at the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

In the Feb. 20-dated letter, Nunes even threatened to issue subpoenas.

"If you do not provide timely answers on a voluntary basis, the Committee will initiate compulsory process,” he wrote. 

Nunes, with cooperation from the White House, earlier this month released a controversial memo alleging the anti-Trump dossier – compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele and funded by the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton campaign – was crucial in the application for a surveillance warrant against Trump associate Carter Page.

COMMENT:  We're seeing signs that the Democrats are getting very nervous.  If there was collusion with the Russians, the colluders-in-chief were probably Democratic operatives.  This is logical, as the modern Democratic Party has been very casual in its attitude toward Russia.  It was Hillary herself who advertised a "reset" with Moscow when Barack Obama, the most left-wing president in our history, took office.  And it was the Democratic administration that looked the other way while Putin grabbed off Crimea and put his fingerprints all over the Mideast. 

Root for Nunes.  He's got to get his work done this year because the Democrats could conceivably win control of the House, which would mean Nunes would lose his chairmanship.

February 20, 2018       Permalink

DISTURBING – AT 11:31 A.M. ET:  There are some disturbing reports that the Trump administration, under pressure from the left-leaning State Department, is softening its Iran policy.  Say it ain't so, Donald.  From the excellent Michael Wilner at the Jerusalem Post: 

WASHINGTON – State Department officials are seeking a commitment from their European counterparts that they will work to “improve” the Iran nuclear deal over an undetermined period of time – a request short of the concrete and swift policy changes demanded of them by US President Donald Trump last month.

According to a diplomatic cable seen by Reuters, US officials are asking the governments of Britain, France and Germany to commit to “work together to seek a supplemental or follow-on agreement” to the 2015 international deal governing Iran’s nuclear program “that addresses Iran’s development or testing long-range missiles, ensures strong [International Atomic Energy Agency] inspections, and fixes the flaws of the ‘sunset clause.’”

It is a departure from the president’s initial request of the “E3” powers. In January, Trump announced that he was waiving nuclear-related sanctions on Iran for the “last time,” and that he would allow them to enter back into effect in 120 days if Europe fails to adopt a dramatically new posture on the nuclear agreement.

“This is a last chance,” Trump warned.

COMMENT:  Once again we see the heavy hand of the State Department Europhiles.  We vastly exaggerate the importance of Western Europe in the modern world.  Western Europe is committing cultural suicide, and some of the European countries, like the Netherlands, might not even exist in 50 years because of demographics.

Every American boy buried in Europe is buried there because of failed European diplomacy.  Yet, there is still an element in Washington – the kind who spent their junior college year abroad – who believe we should still genuflect before Europe's age and laughable wisdom. 

Meanwhile, European businessmen, especially the Germans, are making fortunes in Iran, and supplying Iran with funds and possibly technology.  Not a good scene, but something that's happened before.

February 20,  2018     Permalink

FEBRUARY 19,  2018

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:56 P.M. ET:

THE INEVITABLE LEFTIST RESPONSE – FROM FOX:   Calling the Trump administration’s tax reform plan a “middle-class tax increase,” two California lawmakers introduced a bill that would force large companies to fork over half of their expected saving to the state.  Assemblymen Kevin McCarthy and Phil Ting, both Democrats, introduced Assembly Constitutional Amendment 22, which calls for a 10 percent surcharge on companies with a net earnings over $1 million. The plan could potentially raise billions for the state's social services programs.  “It is unconscionable to force working families to pay the price for tax breaks and loopholes benefiting corporations and wealthy individuals,” Ting said in a statement, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. “This bill will help blunt the impact of the federal tax plan on everyday Californians by protecting funding for education, affordable health care and other core priorities.”  Driving more business out of California.  Brilliant.

THE MARKET RESPONDS – FROM COLLEGE FIX:   The president of the embattled Evergreen State College — where racial unrest last spring thrust the small Washington campus into the national spotlight — is predicting that the public institution will see a nearly 20 percent drop in student enrollment come fall.  President George Bridges has told the campus community that the school’s 3,800 student population is predicted to hover at about 3,100 when the 2018-19 school year begins. This 700-student loss represents an 18.5 percent decrease.  This estimate sent shock waves among faculty, and some speculate it spurred an anonymous call for Bridges’ resignation by way of flyers recently inserted into faculty mailboxes declaring “Please Resign,” among other disparaging comments.   Of course, none of the fashionable leftists on the faculty blame the "demonstrators," who disrupted the school and made learning nearly impossible.  We saw the same effect after racial unrest at the University of Missouri, when enrollment plunged.  Parents won't write checks to campuses that cannot or will not retain order. 

I'M SURE IT WAS FROM THE HEART (CHOKE) – FROM REUTERS:    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Monday endorsed former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s run for a U.S. Senate seat in Utah, despite Romney often being critical of Trump.  During the 2016 presidential campaign, Romney excoriated Trump as a “fraud” who was “playing the American public for suckers.” Trump responded that Romney had “choked like a dog” in his 2012 campaign against President Barack Obama.  Trump said on Twitter that Romney “will make a great Senator and worthy successor to @OrrinHatch, and has my full support and endorsement!” Romney announced Friday he would run to replace retiring Senator Orrin Hatch.  Romney thanked Trump for the endorsement in a Tweet posted soon after the president’s statement. “I hope that over the course of the campaign I also earn the support and endorsement of the people of Utah,” Romney said.  I can just feel all the sincerity.  Can't you?

February 19, 2018       Permalink

OVERREACTION? – AT 1:40 P.M. ET:  Some state election officials are returning to paper ballots, reacting to fears that the Russkies, or some other bad actors, can hack computerized election systems.  From the Boston Globe: 

WASHINGTON — Hoping to counter waves of Russian Twitter bots, fake social media accounts, and hacking attacks aimed at undermining American democracy, state election officials around the country are seizing on an old-school strategy: paper ballots.

In Virginia, election officials have gone back to a paper ballot system, as a way to prevent any foreign interference. Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolfe this month ordered county officials to ensure new election equipment produces a paper record. Georgia lawmakers are considering legislation to replace a touch-screen voting system with paper.

Top election officials around the country are growing increasingly alarmed about this fall’s midterm elections, with a drumbeat of dire warning signs that Russia is determined to influence them. And many are concerned that President Trump has not focused on the potential for more attacks on America’s election system like the one Russia launched in 2016.

With little leadership from the White House or Congress, they are acting locally, trying to outwit potential hackers by upgrading equipment and enhancing the cybersecurity of systems that contain sensitive voter registration rolls. Secretaries of state and other elections officials around the country in recent months also began applying for security clearances so that federal officials can start briefing them on classified information — and potential threats to election integrity.

COMMENT:  Should we be concerned?  Yes.  Should we panic?  No.  We used non-computerized voting throughout most of American history.  But paper ballots are hardly invulnerable to tampering.  You've heard the phrase "stuffing the ballot box," haven't you?  What do you think it refers to?

I find this sudden concern for election security a bit amusing.  Some of these states have within them cities where people meet their long departed relatives at the polls, and where certain precincts traditionally record more votes than there are residents in the precinct.   I guess some forms of corruption are more charming than other forms of corruption.

February 19, 2018       Permalink

NOT AT ALL FUNNY – AT 11:48 A.M. ET:  The FBI is our first line of defense in many areas, including terrorism and espionage.  But the FBI is in trouble.  Something is wrong.  It has missed a number of cues involving people who later are involved in mass killings.  Emails show some senior officials of the Bureau casually involved in partisan politics.

I have no doubt whatever that the overwhelming majority of FBI personnel do their jobs superbly, and often heroically.  But there are problems that may involve training, political correctness, and improper political influence.

It's not the first time,  When I was at The New York Times, some decades ago, knowledgeable journalists told me that the New York Police Department considered the FBI behind the times.  The Bureau, while brilliant in fighting Nazi espionage and sabotage, faltered when it came to attacking organized crime.  J. Edgar Hoover, the patriot who founded the modern FBI and led it to prestige and success, stayed too long and let the Bureau lose ground.

Okay, those things happen at even the best organizations.  It seems it's now time for a thorough Congressional review of the FBI, with attendant recommendations for improvement.  From Fox: 

From the storied hallways of the J. Edgar Hoover building to field offices around the country, the Federal Bureau of Investigation faces a crisis of confidence as rank-and-file agents are blamed for not preventing recent attacks and top brass finds itself in the middle of an unfolding political fight.

The blitz of bad news is taking a toll on the intensely proud bureau's members, both past and present.
“In my experience, I can’t say I know of any parallel to what is going on now,” former FBI Assistant Director Ron Hosko told Fox News.

The two-pronged attack on the bureau's credibility reached a crescendo last week, when the bureau admitted it had not acted on a tip that might have stopped Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz.

President Trump, in turn, seized on the grave error to effectively accuse the bureau of making mistakes because agents have been consumed with the Russia probe.

While the DOJ triumphantly announced Friday that Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation had indicted 13 Russian nationals, Trump stressed that the case did not show collusion with his campaign.

The ignored warning about Cruz was especially painful, because it was the second such admission in the case. Cruz gunned down 17 students at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., on Feb. 14. It quickly emerged that a YouTuber had warned the FBI someone sharing the same name had said he wanted to be a "professional school shooter" back in September.

Then came word on Friday that another tipster had given the bureau an even more specific warning Jan. 5, and that had also been ignored.

“This kid was flashing red and the system failed,” Hosko said. “The FBI has had its piece in that and it’s a significant piece.”

Trump was quick to tie the two issues together, tweeting that the bureau missed signals because it was "spending too much time trying to prove Russian collusion with the Trump campaign," then urging it to "Get back to the basics and make us all proud!'

COMMENT:  Let the probes begin, but let some elements of the American press cover them in a fair and mature way.  Some elements of the media were overjoyed when the Obama administration went after cops, almost to the point of fanaticism.  Witness the smearing of the Baltimore Police Department, which now has difficulty finding enough qualified candidates for police work.

Now that the FBI is under scrutiny, those same media elements are shocked, just shocked.  They see the FBI, rightly or wrongly, as being a check on Donald Trump.  Oh, ain't law enforcement grand?

February 19,  2018     Permalink