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JANUARY 10,  2017

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

FIRST FAREWELL TOUR – President Obama made his farewell speech to the nation tonight.  Most presidents give their final speech from the Oval Office, speaking directly to the American people, and without a live audience.  But most presidents aren't demigods.  Obama gave his speech to a large, weepy audience in his home city of Chicago.  The city's mass of murder victims did not show up.  Obama testified to his greatness and did everything but sing "My Way."  The speech won't be remembered.  The showbiz production will be.  Not too classy.

AND YES THEY CRIED – FROM DAILY CALLER:  BuzzFeed editors tweeted that they were crying as President Barack Obama delivered his farewell address. This came just a few hours after the site published an unverified report by an alleged former British spy claiming President-elect Donald Trump performed lewd acts with Russian prostitutes.   The site’s official Twitter account even posted a picture of Obama wiping away a tear and commented “same.”   “Will I ever stop crying,” BuzzFeed senior editor Lara Parker tweeted.  Tanya Chen, an editor at the outlet, tweeted, “I’m crine[sic].” Chen later added, “This is the saddest series finale ever shown on television.”   Another editor, Elamin Abdelmahmoud, wrote, “Aaaaand tears” during the address.  Jessica Lima, a BuzzFeed Spanish editor, tweeted, “Yup, I’m crying and I can’t stop.”  The site’s executive editor Saeed Jones said that he hadn’t cried as much as he did during the tour since Beyonce’s recent tour.  American journalism at work.  Call the pediatric nurse.

OH DEAR, ANOTHER INCONVENIENT TRUTH – FROM JUDICIAL WATCH:   The Ft. Lauderdale Airport shooter is a Muslim convert who years before joining the U.S. Army took on an Islamic name (Aashiq Hammad), downloaded terrorist propaganda and recorded Islamic religious music online, according to public records dug up by the investigative news site of an award-winning California journalist. This is pertinent information that the Obama administration apparently wants to keep quiet, bringing up memories of the Benghazi cover up, in which the president and his cohorts knowingly lied to conceal that Islamic terrorists attacked the U.S. Special Mission in Libya.  Information is slowly trickling out that links the Ft. Lauderdale Airport shooter to radical Islam while the official story from authorities is that the gunman is a mentally ill, Hispanic Army veteran named Esteban Santiago that became unhinged after a tour in Iraq. Only one mainstream media outlet mentions the possibility of Santiago’s “jihadist identity,” burying it in a piece about New York possibly being his initial target. A paragraph deep in the story mentions that investigators recovered Santiago’s computer from a pawn shop and the FBI is examining it to determine whether he created a “jihadist identity for himself using the name Aashiq Hammad…” The reset of the traditional mainstream media coverage promotes the government rhetoric that omits any ties to terrorism even though early on a photo surfaced of Santiago making an ISIS salute while wearing a keffiyeh, a Palestinian Arab scarf.   The level of deception by this administration is breathtaking.  What is so sad is that otherwise patriotic officeholders have gone along with it.  Careerism.  Plain careerism.

January 10, 2017       Permalink

A BIT OF HISTORY – AT 1:12 P.M. ET:   Retired Marine Corps General James Mattis is President-elect Trump's choice to be secretary of defense.  And it turns out there's some history of Mattis and his dealings with the current president.  From Daily Caller: 

Iranian-supplied rockets killed as many as 15 U.S. troops per month in Iraq in the summer of 2011, and Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis had a plan to retaliate. The Obama administration denied his request.

Six U.S. soldiers were killed in a single such attack in early June of 2011, with another three killed just weeks later. Mattis, then the commander of U.S. Central Command, had had enough and decided the U.S. must strike back before the Iranian rockets caused further bloodshed. In conjunction with then Ambassador to Iraq James Jeffrey, Mattis proposed a strike inside Iranian territory, according to former senior U.S. officials speaking to the Washington Post.

The plan was to make it clear to the the Iranian government that providing rockets to its Shiite proxy insurgents inside Iraq was no longer going to be tolerated. Mattis suggested a nighttime strike against a power plant or oil refinery within Iranian territory.

The White House received the strike proposal and subsequently denied it. President Barack Obama was under the impression such a strike would infuriate the Iranians, possibly escalating the Iraqi occupation he was trying so desperately to end. Many White House staffers feared the plan risked starting a war with Iran, a country Obama wanted to seek a detente with.

COMMENT:  If the story is accurate, Obama betrayed American troops to pursue a fantasy with Iran.  Another reason to be thankful that he'll be gone in ten days.

January 10, 2017       Permalink

IT BEGINS – AT 10:46 A.M.  ET:   Inauguration is 10 days away.  Confirmation hearings for the president-elect's nominees began this morning.  First up is Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the pick for attorney-general, and one of the most controversial of Trump's choices.  The Democrats are trying to paint Sessions as a racist, which he most certainly is not. 

It is perfectly obvious, though, that the radical leftists who ran the Democratic Party into the ground are making Sessions a test case.  Anyone who expects to rise in the party, or become its nominee for president in 2020, will have to oppose Jeff Sessions.  This includes senators who've worked cordially with him over the years.  Indeed, Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio announced his opposition even before hearings began.  He is reported to have his eye on the White House.

Most disgraceful is ultra-ambitious Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, who wants to be the second African-American president.  Booker will break precedent by being the first senator in American history to testify against another senator in a confirmation hearing.  He will get party points for the effort.  A good part of the Senate, though, will probably, if privately, regard him with the contempt he's earned. 

Then there's Congressman John Lewis of Georgia, whose name is always preceded by the phrase, "civil rights icon..."  Yeah, he was a true civil rights icon half a century ago.  In the years since he's become a pedestrian party-line congressman of no distinction.  He will proudly testify against Jeff Sessions.

Fortunately, Sessions will have testifying for him a number of prominent African-American leaders from his state who know his true record. 

I watched a bit of the Sessions hearing this morning.  He was doing fine.  If Republicans stick together, he will be confirmed.

January 10, 2017       Permalink

A WELCOME FOR THE NEW PRESIDENT – AT 10:29 A.M. ET:  The state of small business is a critical indicator for the economy.   And the confidence of small business is soaring in light of Donald Trump's election.  From Bloomberg: 

Optimism among America’s small businesses soared in December by the most since 1980 as expectations about the economy’s prospects improved dramatically in the aftermath of the presidential election.

The National Federation of Independent Business’s index jumped 7.4 points last month to 105.8, the highest since the end of 2004, from 98.4. While seven of the 10 components increased in December, 73 percent of the monthly advance was due to more upbeat views about the outlook for sales and the economy, the Washington-based group said.

The share of business owners who say now is a good time to expand is three times the average of the current expansion, according to the NFIB’s data. More companies also said they plan to increase investment and keep hiring, which reflects optimism surrounding President-elect Donald Trump’s plans of spurring the economy through deregulation, tax reform and infrastructure spending.

“We haven’t seen numbers like this in a long time,” Juanita Duggan, president and chief executive of the NFIB, said in a statement. “Small business is ready for a breakout, and that can only mean very good things for the U.S. economy. Business owners are feeling better about taking risks and making investments.”

COMMENT:  Terrific.  Just terrific.  It's the Trump effect.  Like him or not, he is changing the psychology of this country.  America is getting ready to be great again.  Now watch the mainstream media try to get in the way.

January 10,  2017     Permalink

JANUARY 9,  2017

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

NO MILITARY SALUTE FOR OBAMA – FROM THE DAILY MAIL:   Obama's farewell salute from the military, as poll shows most are unhappy with his years as commander-in-chief - and less than a third voted for Hillary  More than half the troops have an unfavorable opinion of President Obama's military leadership, according to a new poll.  The survey says 49 per cent of service members voted for Donald Trump.  Just 36 registered support for Obama's conduct as commander in chief.  A majority said the U.S. troop drawdown in Afghanistan has made the nation less safe.   Just 29 per cent backed Hillary Clinton.  That pretty much tells the story.  The military gets it.  Obama has been an inadequate, indifferent commander-in-chief.  He deserves his numbers.

DEMS' SLOGAN FLOPS – FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER:   The Democrats' new healthcare slogan, "Make America Sick Again," is a clunker with a majority of voters, according to fresh data from a Republican pollster.  The national survey, conducted for a GOP political group, asked 1,000 likely voters if they agree that, "If Republicans repeal the Affordable Care Act, it will make America sick again." Overall, only 32.1 percent of voters agreed, including, at 57.1 percent, a majority of Democrats; 64.8 percent of Independents disagreed, as did 85.9 percent of Republicans.   "Nearly 70 percent of respondents support repeal of ACA with a realistic modest transition period and letting people keep their coverage while they wait for the new law to be in place," read the polling memo prepared for American Action Network, a political nonprofit organization aligned with House Republican leaders. Even Democrats support this by a [48 percent to 43 percent] margin. Additionally, respondents disagree with the Democratic claim that if Republicans repeal ACA that it will make America sick again."  The people have spoken, but Democrats in Congress listen only to other Democrats.  That may explain why they lose elections.

HOW CLASSY – FROM PJ MEDIA:   WASHINGTON -- A Missouri congressman and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus plan to rehang this week a student painting depicting a police officer with a boar-type head after an angry GOP congressman took it down.  The annual Congressional Institute art competition solicits entries from high school students each spring. Students submit works of art to their congressional offices, and teams of artists representing the district pick the winners, which are displayed in the Capitol for a year.  The controversial winner is from Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay's (D-Mo.) district, which includes the city of St. Louis and northern areas of St. Louis County.  The painting, "Untitled #1" by Cardinal Ritter High School grad David Pulphus, had been hanging in a House walkway among other contest winners since June. On Friday, after learning about the painting's depiction from Twitter, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) took it down.  But Joe Kasper, chief of staff for Hunter, told the San Diego Union-Tribune that despite the "very strong statement" and "outpouring of support" surrounding the painting's removal, the congressman wouldn't take down the painting again if his colleague decided to put it back up.  What's so sad is that a congressman thought the painting appropriate in the first place.  Precisely how does it advance the lives of people of color?

January 9, 2017       Permalink

POLICE WORK – AT 11:48 A.M. ET:  It has happened again.  From the Orlando Sentinel: 

Two Orlando-area law enforcement officers were killed this morning, one shot by a murder suspect who managed to get away and a second killed in a crash while officers and deputies scrambled to find him.

The first victim was an Orlando police officer, Master Sgt. Debra Clayton, who was shot and killed on Princeton Street as she tried to detain the suspect.

Orlando Police Chief John Mina called Clayton, a mother of two, "a hero. She gave her life for the community she loves."

It resulted in a huge manhunt for the suspect, Markeith Loyd, 43, who was wanted, accused of murdering his pregnant girlfriend.

Shortly before noon, about four hours after the shooting, a SWAT team was at an apartment complex off Cinderlane Parkway with rifles out while a law enforcement helicopter circled overhead.

An officer on a bullhorn called the suspect by name and told him to come out.

The second law enforcement death today was an Orange County motorcycle deputy who was part of the effort to capture the suspect, said Sheriff Jerry Demings.

“We’re sad on this day for many reasons," Demings said at a morning news conference at Orlando Regional Medical Center.

Both officers were taken and pronounced dead there.

Demings did not release the name of the deputy, saying the agency was still trying to notify relatives.

Both agencies identified the shooter as Markeith Loyd, 43, a man who officers and deputies with the Orange County Sheriff's Office tried to corner and arrest earlier today.

COMMENT:  Master Sgt. Clayton was an African-American female officer.  I wonder if her black life will matter to Black Lives Matter.  I'm not holding my breath.

There has been a dramatic increase in the murder of police officers in the last year.  That doesn't seem to move the man who has less than two weeks left in his presidency.  I think it will move the incoming president.

January 9, 2017       Permalink

PIERS NAILS IT – AT 10:33 A.M. ET:  I must admit that I was never much of a fan of Piers Morgan when he had a talk show on CNN.  But, having been dispatched for low ratings, he's gone back to traditional journalism in Britain and has really turned out some gems.

Last night, at some Hollywood event called the Golden Globes, Meryl Streep accepted an award and used her time to bash the president-elect of the United States.  Piers replies to Meryl.  From the Daily Mail: 

In fact, there’s no better role model for any budding actor, or finer example of true feminist power at its very best.

So when she speaks, the world listens.

Last night, Streep received a Lifetime Achievement award at the Golden Globes, and chose the moment to launch a very personal attack on Donald Trump.

She began by saying that Hollywood, foreigners and the press are ‘the most vilified segments of American society right now’.

At which point the cameras panned out to hundreds of the richest, most privileged people in American society sitting in the audience in their $10,000 tuxedos and $20,000 dresses, loudly cheering this acknowledgement of their dreadful victimhood.

She then said that if all the ‘outsiders and foreigners’ were kicked out of Hollywood, ‘you’ll have nothing to watch but football and mixed martial arts, which are not the arts.’

Wow.

I haven’t heard such elitist snobbery since Hillary Clinton branded Trump supporters ‘a basket of deplorables’.

And...

At the end of her speech, Streep launched a passionate defense of the press. ‘They’ll need us to safeguard the truth,’ she said.

Now, I’ve been a journalist for over 30 years. I love my industry, warts and all, and I welcome any support.

But when it comes to the truth, many parts of America’s media were found severely wanting in this election campaign.

Frankly, a lot of the coverage was a fact-starved partisan disgrace as they fought to see who could sink deeper into the tank for Hillary Clinton.

The mainstream US media, having gleefully fuelled Trump’s candidacy for months to suit their own self-serving commercial interests, then turned on him like spitting cobras when he looked like he might actually win.

It’s also a fact that no president in modern times has been so anti-press, or so intent on attacking press freedom, as Barack Obama, one of Streep’s heroes.

Under his administration, the US government has set a new record for withholding Freedom of Information Act requests. Obama’s also used the Espionage Act to prosecute whistleblowers who leak to journalists more times than all previous administrations COMBINED.

Finally...

Meryl, I still love you dearly, but you had a chance to bring your country together last night and you blew it.

COMMENT:  Wonderfully done.  Read the whole thing.  It'll make your day, or at least an hour.

January 9, 2017       Permalink

REMEMBER BALTIMORE? – AT 9:57 A.M. ET:  That's the city where six police officers were falsely accused of contributing to the death of an African-American man they'd just apprehended.  The story might have ended with the officers' acquittal, but it didn't.  Now, five of the officers are demanding real justice.  From Hot Air: 

The long, drawn out battles surround the Freddie Gray trials in Baltimore may seem like a distant memory at this point. Much of daily life in the city has returned to normal, even though the murder rate stayed stubbornly high at 318 for last year. (Shockingly, that’s still down from the 344 they rang up the year before, but far higher than 2014’s level of 211, which was far more typical of the past decade.) With all the trials against the police officers involved in Gray’s arrest and subsequent death having failed or been dismissed, the dust has largely settled. The mayor is on her way to a civilian gig with the DNC.

But there’s one last piece of business to be attended to. There is a pending defamation lawsuit against State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, brought by five of the officers she attempted to prosecute. Mosby’s latest attempt to get the case tossed out ran into a brick wall in court this week when a judge ruled that it can still move forward. ABC News reported:

A federal judge has ruled that a defamation and malicious prosecution lawsuit filed against Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby can go forward.

The lawsuit was filed by five of the six Baltimore Police officers charged in 2015 with the death of Freddie Gray.

The judge ruled that the suit against Mosby and Baltimore City Assistant Sheriff Samuel Cogen can proceed, said Michael Glass, an attorney for Sgt Alicia White and Officer William Porter.

Van driver Officer Caesar Goodson was the only officer who didn’t file a lawsuit.

COMMENT:  We'll follow the lawsuit.  One of the most legitimate fears anyone can have, even in our democratic society, is an out-of-control prosecutor.  From the very beginning it appeared that the prosecution of those officers was pursued, not to seek justice, but to satisfy the mob.  Let us see where the evidence takes us.

January 9,  2017     Permalink