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JANUARY 11,  2017

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

WINSTON TO RETURN – FROM BRITAIN'S SUN:   DONALD Trump has asked Britain to send Winston Churchill’s bust back to the White House so he can return it to the Oval Office, The Sun can reveal.  The request was put to Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson by the President Elect’s senior advisers during talks in New York three days ago.   Last night, Downing Street confirmed that Theresa May has agreed to a loan of the famous sculpture again.  The gesture marks a diplomatic coup for the PM in her bid to win influence over the unpredictable new US leader.  A bitter row over the bust’s location has raged for seven years since outgoing President Barack Obama replaced the wartime leader’s image with one of Martin Luther King in 2009.  Since then, it has been kept at the British Embassy in Washington DC.  Trump’s closest advisers Jared Kushner and Steven Bannon relayed the request for the bust’s return after revealing their boss was a big fan of the legendary Tory, and had even read Boris’s biography of him.  A No10 spokesman told The Sun last night: “The Prime Minister is happy to loan the Churchill bust to the White House and will be delighted to view it on display when she visits this Spring”.  There had been hints of this earlier.  I hope the placement of the piece in the Oval Office is accompanied by an appropriate ceremony.  The sculpture of King should also remain as a symbol of racial harmony. 

SORDID – FROM AP:  Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said he has spoken with Donald Trump about the unsubstantiated report Wednesday claiming Russia had compromising personal and financial information about the president-elect.  Clapper said in a statement released Wednesday night that he told Trump the intelligence community “has not made any judgment that the information in this document is reliable.”  The dossier contains unproven information about close coordination between Trump’s inner circle and Russians over hacking into Democratic accounts as well as unproven claims of unusual sexual activities by Trump, among other suggestions attributed to anonymous sources. The Associated Press has not authenticated any of the claims.  Clapper also said he told Trump he does not believe any leaks from Friday’s meeting between intelligence officials and Trump came from the intelligence community.  This is a very seedy situation.  It is also suspicious, coming only a week before inauguration.  There is a real attempt to delegitimize Trump's election, and I suspect there will be other developments in the next week.   I don't have any specific evidence, but I have a gut feeling that we won't have a normal Inauguration Day.

CHICAGO HORROR – FROM AMI NEWSWIRE:   The record-setting violence in Chicago is even worse than announced as new evidence shows the city suffered 50 more homicides last year than the numbers publicly reported in the past week.  The city posted a decades-high homicide count of 812 in 2016, per the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office. That’s 15% greater than the 762 murders reported by the city's police department.  The discrepancy is largely due to the fact that the county tallies “homicides” while the police number counts “murders.” Murders are defined as violent acts subject to criminal prosecution. Homicides, according to the medical examiner, include instances “when the death of a person comes at the hand of another person. This does not imply that all homicides are murders that would be subject to criminal prosecution.”  The city police count is also lower because it excludes violent, intentional deaths if the act is deemed justified, including police killings of residents.  Per the county’s count, homicides rose 54% in 2016 over 2015 when Chicago had 528 deaths determined to be homicides.  Gun violence is the leading cause of death for victims of homicide in Chicago with 725 decedents being felled by at least one gunshot wound.  African Americans also bore the brunt of the violence in Cook County, which includes Chicago. They accounted for 710 of the county-wide total of 915 (88% of which occurred in the city). Men comprised 90% of the homicide victims in the county.  The president gave his farewell address in Chicago earlier this week.  I don't recall his mentioning this.  

January 11, 2017       Permalink

REMEMBER THIS KID? – AT 11:50 A.M. ET:  He was another one of Obama's heroes – "clock boy."  It's a bird, it's a plane, it's...CLOCK BOY!  From PJ Media: 

A district court judge in Texas has dismissed a defamation lawsuit filed by Ahmed Mohamed on his own behalf and on behalf of his 15-year-old son, Ahmed Mohamed. They had sued Fox News, Glenn Beck, and the mayor of Irving -- among others -- for defamation in September of 2016.

A year earlier, Ahmed, then a 14-year-old freshman at an Irving, Texas, high school, was arrested, briefly detained by police, and suspended for three days after bringing to school a "cool clock" that looked like a briefcase bomb. Ahmed claimed to have "invented" the easily assembled clock, and that he had brought it to school to show it to his shop teacher.

The incident led many to question the Mohamed family's motives. Newly appointed District Court Judge Maricela Moore dismissed the lawsuit following a nearly three-hour hearing on Monday, according to the American Freedom Law Center.

Please recall that President Obama, as usual, got involved in this, as did several gullible corporations.  Obama invited Adhmed to Washington, portraying him as some kind of victim of Islamophobia. 

A defense lawyer, David Yerushalmi, said:

"This lawsuit filed by Clock Boy’s father is yet another example of Islamist lawfare, which is a component of the Muslim Brotherhood’s civilization jihad.”

Yerushalmi further explained that the purpose of such lawsuits, formally labelled Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (“SLAPP”), is to intimidate into silence those who might comment publicly on the connection between jihad, terrorism, sharia, and Islam.

COMMENT:  Read the whole story.  It's fascinating.  The fact that our president got involved, without learning a single fact, tells us who's been governing this nation for the last eight years.  That nightmare ends a week from Friday.

January 11, 2017       Permalink

DONALD FIGHTS BACK – AT 11:21 A.M. ET:  You've seen the stories in the last day on the internet – absolutely unverified, with no evidence presented whatever.  The stories hold that Russia has damaging information on Donald Trump, including sex-soaked videos, and can blackmail the new president.  Even some journalists are wincing at the stories, or rumors.  Where are the facts?  Where is the proof?  Trump himself is fighting back.  From AFP: 

In an angry Twitter rant on Wednesday, US President-elect Donald Trump vehemently rejected reports that Russia had compromising information on him, including sex tapes, likening the unsubstantiated claims against him and the US intelligence response to “Nazi Germany.”

Trump, an avid user of the social media platform, termed the allegations “fake news,” and said he has no dealings with Russia. He also argued US intelligence agencies should have prevented the information from reaching the public.

Russia has also denied the reports, calling them a fabrication and claiming their purpose was to damage Moscow’s relations with Washington.

“The Kremlin does not have compromising information on Trump,” President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists, calling the claims a “total fake” and “obvious attempt to harm our bilateral relations.”

In a series of posts to his Twitter account, Trump wrote: “Russia just said the unverified report paid for by political opponents is “A COMPLETE AND TOTAL FABRICATION, UTTER NONSENSE.” Very unfair!”

“Russia has never tried to use leverage over me. I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH RUSSIA – NO DEALS, NO LOANS, NO NOTHING!” he continued. “I win an election easily, a great “movement” is verified, and crooked opponents try to belittle our victory with FAKE NEWS. A sorry state!”

“Intelligence agencies should never have allowed this fake news to “leak” into the public. One last shot at me. Are we living in Nazi Germany?”

COMMENT:  Well, that's pretty angry stuff.  Maybe not the right tone for a president.  But I can understand Trump's fury.  There is an active attempt to delegitimize his election.  It is ugly.  It is based on little more than rumor.

The press has an obligation here to get at the facts and report the news.  But the press itself is under suspicion by large chunks of the American public.  Who do we go to for the truth?  It is a dilemma for us, created by the press itself, much of which has given up its credibility in exchange for "making a difference."

January 11, 2017       Permalink

TILLERSON AT THE PLATE – AT 10:19 A.M. ET:  Confirmation hearings for the President-elect's choice for secretary of state are underway today.  From Fox:

Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson, at the start of his confirmation hearing Wednesday, named radical Islam, China and Russia as the primary challenges confronting an American government that's “stumbled” under the Obama administration.

“If we do not lead, we risk plunging the world deeper into confusion and danger,” he told senators.

Tillerson, the ExxonMobil CEO vying to be confirmed as the nation's top diplomat, testified in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee amid swirling questions about alleged meddling in U.S. politics by the Kremlin and Tillerson’s own business ties to Russia. But the energy executive took on the Russian issue head-on during his opening statement.

“We must also be clear-eyed about our relationship with Russia,” Tillerson said. “Russia today poses a danger, but it is not unpredictable in advancing its own interests … our NATO allies are right to be alarmed at a resurgent Russia.”

Tillerson also took aim at China’s “illegal” building of man-made islands in the South China Sea and radical Islam, which he said posed “a grave risk to the stability of nations and the well-being of their citizens.”

Tillerson testified a day after a contentious Senate session involving Attorney General nominee Sen. Jeff Sessions. The audience at Tillerson’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing again appeared to be filled with protesters including Code Pink activists were dressed in Statue of Liberty garb, a man outfitted in a suit made of money and some protesters suited up in T-Rex costumes – a play on Tillerson’s name.

COMMENT:  Thus far Tillerson has been saying the right things.  However, his past ties with Russia, and suspicions about the President-elect's own ties with Russia, are dominating concerns about the new administration's foreign policy.   They are legitimate areas of inquiry.

I'm periodically monitoring the hearings.  Tillerson is impressive.  He speaks slowly, thinks very clearly, and answers questions by breaking down his points into logical components.  I can understand why he was nominated. 

Unless something really horrible comes out, I can't see him being rejected.  But things are strange in Washington.

January 11,  2017     Permalink 

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