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JANUARY 5,  2017

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

THE CORRECT CHARGES – FROM FOX:    Hate crime and aggravated battery charges were filed Thursday against four African American suspects who police say tortured a mentally challenged white man for as long as 48 hours, while shouting racial and anti-Donald Trump slurs -- and part of the attack was streamed on Facebook Live.  "Let me be very clear: The actions in that video are reprehensible," Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson told reporters during a news conference.  The suspects -- Jordan Hill, 18, Tesfaye Cooper, 18, Brittany Covington, 18, and Tanishia Covington, 24 -- were set to appear in Central Bond Court on Friday afternoon.  Of course, the usual suspects are out demanding that we look at the "root causes" of the savagery.  We should not take that bait.  Each citizen is responsible for his or her actions, and we're tired of the excuses.  This happened in Chicago, the murder capital of America, where Barack Obama will give his farewell address to the country.  I wonder if he'll notice the barbarity going on around him.

GREAT – FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES:   TALLADEGA, Ala. — For a band at a tiny, little-known, historically black college, it seems in some ways to be the gig of a lifetime: a chance to march and perform at the Jan. 20 presidential inaugural parade in Washington. Some of the musicians at Talladega College have been excited to see the capital for the first time.  But because the president-elect is Donald J. Trump, the school has become the subject of an impassioned national outcry, with online petitions, threats to end donations and a flurry of how-could-yous from alumni who feel that performing in the parade would betray the values of an institution founded by newly freed slaves 150 years ago.  On Thursday, after days of speculation that the college administration might bow to the pressure and remove the band from the parade roster, the president of Talladega College, Billy Hawkins, issued a statement confirming the participation of the band, the Marching Tornadoes, and argued, in essence, that the 58th presidential inauguration is about something bigger than Mr. Trump.  “We respect and appreciate how our students and alumni feel about our participation in this parade,” Dr. Hawkins said. “As many of those who chose to participate in the parade have said, we feel the inauguration of a new president is not a political event but a civil ceremony celebrating the transfer of power.”  Superb response.  It's good to see a black college fighting back against the archaic and ineffective black establishment, and its white, radical allies.  We'll cheer the band.

BRITAIN SOARS AFTER BREXIT – FROM THE TIMES OF LONDON:   Britain ended last year as the strongest of the world’s advanced economies with growth accelerating in the six months after the Brexit vote, it was revealed yesterday.  Business activity hit a 17-month high last month, meaning that the economy grew by 2.2 per cent last year — more than the six other leading nations, including the US, Germany and Japan.  Far from slowing after the referendum in June, as predicted by the Treasury and Bank of England, growth appeared to have improved. GDP grew at 0.3 per cent and 0.6 per cent in the first two quarters of last year, compared with 0.6 per cent and an estimated 0.5 per cent in the final period.  Once again the elites were proved wrong.  I hope this influences other European nations to show some independence.

January 5,  2016     Permalink

CONTROVERSIAL – AT 1:39 P.M. ET:  The president-elect is planning some big changes in American intelligence operations.   From The Wall Street Journal: 

WASHINGTON—President-elect Donald Trump, a harsh critic of U.S. intelligence agencies, is working with top advisers on a plan that would restructure and pare back the nation’s top spy agency, people familiar with the planning said.

The move is prompted by his belief that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has become bloated and politicized, these people said.

The planning comes as Mr. Trump has leveled a series of social-media attacks in recent months and the past few days against U.S. intelligence agencies, dismissing and mocking their assessment that Russia stole emails from Democratic groups and individuals and then provided them to WikiLeaks for publication in an effort to help Mr. Trump win the White House.

One of the people familiar with Mr. Trump’s planning said advisers also are working on a plan to restructure the Central Intelligence Agency, cutting back on staffing at its Virginia headquarters and pushing more people out into field posts around the world. The CIA declined to comment.

“The view from the Trump team is the intelligence world has become completely politicized,” said the individual, who is close to the Trump transition. “They all need to be slimmed down. The focus will be on restructuring the agencies and how they interact.”

COMMENT:  This is a hot potato, even within Trump's own party.  There have always been problems with intelligence operations, especially when the intelligence turns out to be wrong. 

The Central Intelligence Agency was founded in 1947 to provide a central clearinghouse for intelligence information, free of the political slants sometimes given by intelligence units that were pushing particular policies.  It was something of a fantasy because the CIA itself is prone to developing its own view of intelligence.

If Trump can improve the intelligence sector, fine.  But even Republicans are apprehensive about his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and how this might affect his view of intelligence.

Maybe the wise thing would be to appoint a bipartisan commission of eminent citizens to examine our entire intelligence apparatus and make recommendations for change.

January 5, 2017       Permalink

HE EARNED IT – AT 11:25 A.M. ET:  Reports now say that Tucker Carlson will replace Megyn Kelly in the coveted 9 p.m. slot at Fox. 

This is a clear case of someone earning the position.  Carlson has been around a long time, and took over Greta Van Susteren's slot when she left Fox.  He became an instant ratings hit because his show is damned good.  It's filled with news and solid interviews.  He confronts his guests without bullying.  He's a pleasure to watch.  It's good to see a fine journalist make it.  From Drudge: 

2017 starts off with a BANG! as FOX NEWS executives will announce Tucker Carlson replaces the vacating Megyn Kelly at 9 PM ET, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.

The dramatic move caps Carlson's rapid rise at the nation's top-rated cable channel.

"Tucker has already proven to be an audience powerhouse at 7 PM, now sky is the limit!" an insider explains.  "FOX NEWS will not be tamed."

In recent weeks, the Carlson show hit #1 audience and demo with a mix of explosive interviews and hard-hitting topics.

Timing isn't everything in the business, it's the only thing, and Carlson arrives just as the Trump presidency begins.

The broadcast wunderkind previously anchored shows on CNN, MSNBC and PBS.

COMMENT:  Fox is doing it right, promoting someone for the long term.  A lesser operation would have looked for a movie star who knew where the White House is, more or less.  We wish Tucker well.

January 5, 2017       Permalink

OH SAVE US, PLEASE SAVE US – AT 10:33 A.M. ET:  When does the curse end?  I ask you, when does it end?  From Daily Caller:

Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is “talking about” running for New York City mayor, Newsmax reports.

It has only been 57 days since President-elect Donald Trump defeated Clinton. During the election slog, Clinton, 69, collapsed getting into a Secret Service van, had multiple coughing fits during speeches and seemed to have trouble walking up steps at a rally in Lake Worth, Fla.

“If she ran, she’d win,” a Newsmax source said.

She was a New York senator from 2001 to 2009. During that time, her popularity peaked at 60 percent in 2001 and ping-ponged from as low as 47 percent in December 2002 to 57 percent in 2005 and then back down to 48 percent in May 2008 when she conceded the Democratic nomination to then-Sen. Barack Obama.

Clinton easily beat Trump in New York during the 2016 election, grabbing 59 percent to his 36.5 percent. She trounced Trump in New York City, winning 78.59 percent with 1,969,920 votes...

...“She’s talking about it,” a former elected city official told Newsmax.

COMMENT:  You know why she's talking about it?  I'll tell you why she's talking about it.  Because if she runs and wins, she'd be mayor of Trump Tower, that's why.  I can just see her arranging for Trump Tower to fail its elevator inspections.  Nobody gets above the first floor.  I can see her running to the White House to personally hand President Trump the citations.  I can see her demanding that he call her "your honor."  I can see him having her arrested for trespassing. 

January 5,  2017     Permalink

JANUARY 4,  2017

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

READY TO GO – AT LAST – FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER:    A moving truck was seen on Wednesday parked outside the White House, where President Obama will live and work for just two more weeks.  The truck was parked on West Executive Avenue, a street inside the White House gates and situated in-between the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and the West Wing.   I hope it isn't hijacked by Hillary.

DEAL WITH IT – FROM AP:   MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Ford Motor Co.'s cancellation of plans to build a $1.6 billion auto manufacturing plant in San Luis Potosi has sounded alarms across Mexico.  Even as the country is being rocked by rowdy nationwide protests against a Jan. 1 gasoline price hike, the Ford news led the front pages of Mexico's most influential newspapers Wednesday, and they tied the development directly to President-elect Donald Trump.  "Trump leaves Mexico without 3,600 jobs," read the headline on El Universal. "Ford's braking jolts the peso," said Reforma, referring to the Mexican currency's nearly 1 percent slump following the news.  No one wants to hurt Mexico or its workers, but our American workers need help, and Trump is providing it. 

I'VE HAD IT – I solemnly announce that I have given up watching CNN, except for the monitoring that I must do as part of my work.  The outlet has essentially collapsed as a news-delivery operation.  It's anti-Trump all the time.  Bad Trump.  Evil Trump.  Racist Trump.  CNN's sendoff to Barack Obama was a documentary lovingly presented by pundit Fareed Zakaria, who was also an adviser to Obama.  No conflict-of-interest there.  None at all.  And CNN's bias champ, Carol Costello, has a morning show that could easily have been produced by the Democratic National Committee.   CNN's ratings have deteriorated, and the reason is pretty obvious:  your ratings go down when you lose half your audience before you even go on the air.  CNN had shown some improvement in recent years, and they still have some quality reporters.  But the slant is too obvious, and they've traded in their credibility for a seat at the leftist table.  Unless there are major changes, I think they're cooked.

January 4, 2017       Permalink

SIGN OF THE CULTURE – AT 12:22 P.M. ET:   Starbucks rising.  From the Financial Times: 

Starbucks has already established itself as the undisputed king of retail coffee chains. Now one Wall Street analyst thinks it can overtake McDonald’s as the world’s most valuable restaurant chain.

The Seattle-based coffee chain’s shares fell 7.5 per cent last year, as investors warily eyed a deceleration in same-store sales from the first half to the second. The announcement last month that long-serving chief executive Howard Schultz would step down — although stay as executive chairman — didn’t help.

However, the drop in the stock could make it that much more attractive to investors as it aims to maintain its steady growth in the coming year, according to Nomura analyst Mark Kalinowski, who picked Starbucks as his top large-cap US-based restaurant stock pick for this year.

Starbucks will expand its worldwide store count by more than 8 per cent for the fiscal year ending in September, according to Mr Kalinowski, and grow worldwide same-store sales by about 5 per cent. As its presence grows, Starbucks could see revenue expand in double-digits, and earnings per share increase 12 per cent, he added.

The chain’s headwinds include “consistent same-store sales, unit growth potential and ongoing innovation”, Mr Kalinowski noted. It also benefits from a lack of direct head-on competition, as a beverage-first chain that also sells food, as opposed to more food-focused chains.

COMMENT:  Whoever wins, it's a story of American ingenuity.  Whoever heard of Starbucks when we were growing up?

January 4, 2017       Permalink

THE ALMOST FORMER PRESIDENT – AT 11:29 A.M. ET:  I'm not usually a fan of Piers Morgan, the British journalist who used to have a talk show on CNN.  But he's written a superb article on the character of Barack Obama.  The Brits, especially the ones who publish in the Daily Mail, do some of the best reporting on American politics: 

Obama’s spent the past few weeks charging around like a guy who’s watching the clock tick down and is desperate to snatch some semblance of victory from the jaws of a crushing, humiliating defeat.

Since the election, as the New York Times reported, he’s banned oil drilling off the Atlantic coast, named over 100 people to a range of senior government jobs, created new environmental monuments, commuted the sentences of 232 inmates and pardoned 78 others, protected funding for Planned Parenthood clinics, ordered the transfer of detainees from Guantanamo Bay and blocked new Israeli settlements.

As some critics sneer, it’s more governing than he’s done in eight years.

In his most dramatic action, Obama claimed Russia swung the election Trump’s way by hacking Hillary Clinton’s emails and leaking them to Wikileaks to destroy her campaign.

He retaliated by throwing out a load of Russian diplomats.

The fact Obama produced no hard evidence to substantiate this very serious claim didn’t seem to matter to the former constitutional law expert.

Nor did it seem to cross his mind that the really damaging part was the content of Hillary and her team’s explosive emails, not the fact we could all read them.

Oh, and of course there was the small matter of Hillary secretly setting up her own private email server to avoid any of that annoying judicial scrutiny that normally comes with being a high-ranking member of the US Government.

The President’s purpose by blaming Russia is crystal clear: as Wikileaks founder Julian Assange told Fox News host Sean Hannity in an interview that airs tonight, it was to ‘delegitimize the Trump administration as it goes into the White House.’

And...

Donald Trump didn’t win the presidency because of Russia, emails, FBI Director James Comey or the weather in Michigan.

He won because, according to reputable polls before the November 8 vote, 70% of Americans felt their country was going in the wrong direction.

There can be few more damning denunciations of an 8-year White House tenure than two-thirds of the country saying they believe the USA is going backwards, not forwards.

COMMENT:  Our princely president is on Capitol Hill today, organizing Democratic resistance to the Republican plan to overturn Obamacare.  I dunno.  Will someone send a note to Obama – an unsigned e-mail would do – telling him he'll be out of a job in two weeks.  He'll have no official position.  He doesn't own the party, what's left of it.

Read Morgan's whole piece.  An excellent portrait of Barack Obama.

January 4, 2017       Permalink

DO THE DEMS EVER LEARN ANYTHING? – AT 10:18 A.M. ET:  Tough guy Chuck Schumer is now threatening to block Trump's first Supreme Court nominee...sight unseen.   From the New York Post:   

The top Democrat in the Senate, Chuck Schumer of New York, is promising to block one of President-elect Donald Trump’s first big initiatives — naming a ninth member to the Supreme Court.

“It’s hard for me to imagine a nominee that Donald Trump would choose that would get Republican support that we could support,” Schumer said in an interview Tuesday night on MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show.”

Asked whether he’ll do his “best to hold the seat open” on the Supreme Court, Schumer responded, “Absolutely.”

For Schumer, it’s about retribution. The Republican-controlled Senate failed even to vote on President Obama’s last nomination to the highest court, Merrick Garland, who was put up for the job after the sudden death of Justice Antonin Scalia.

Republicans instead made the Supreme Court a campaign issue, saying whoever was elected president would get to nominate Scalia’s replacement.

The Democratic Senate leader told host Maddow that Republicans got away with not voting on Obama’s nominee, but that “the consequences will be down the road.”

But in June, Schumer sang a different tune, blasting Republicans for not doing their duty and for creating “chaos.”

COMMENT:  Republicans held up the nomination of Merrick Garland on the grounds that it came too close to a presidential election, and that the new president should have the chance to fill the opening.  One can debate that either way.

However, Schumer has no excuse whatever.  And I think Trump will pick a sterling nominee, and that Democratic delay will backfire.

January 4,  2017     Permalink