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JANUARY 15,  2017

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

SOBER WARNING – FROM BRITAIN'S ITV:    A "large number" of hospitals are cancelling cancer operations, the president of the Royal College of Surgeons has said, revealing the depth of the NHS (National Health Service) funding crisis.  Clare Marx said cancer surgery was no longer protected in the health service, and that hospitals had been cancelling operations since the start of the year.  She told The Observer: "Historically, they have been protected due to their urgent nature.  "However, feedback from our members suggests that since the start of January, a large number of hospitals across the UK are now cancelling cancer surgery.  "It is increasingly clear that no part of the system and no patient is immune from the pressure the NHS is experiencing."  A chilling reminder of what socialized medicine can lead to. 

THEY ARE SO RIGHT – FROM BREITBART:   Bill Clinton’s famous sex assault accusers Paula Jones, Juanita Broaddrick and Kathleen Willey are strongly criticizing the upcoming Women’s March on Washington, a celebrity-endorsed event planned for the day after Donald Trump’s inauguration.
The march has been described by the news media as a female protest against Trump, with reports that hundreds of thousands might attend.  The mission statement for the march claims that the gathering is meant to send a message “that women’s rights are human rights” and pledges to fight against those who have demonized “survivors of sexual assault.”  Speaking to Breitbart News, Broaddrick had strong words for the march organizers:   "I am a survivor of sexual assault. I am one of the people you are supposedly marching for. I was raped by Bill Clinton. Did you hear me? I am one of many that Bill Clinton assaulted. Where were you ladies when I was hurting and scared? This past year, I once again told about my horrific encounter with Bill Clinton.  Where were you? You were silent because of your support for Hillary Clinton. Shame on you; all of you. I can finally move forward because your candidate, Hillary Clinton, and Bill Clinton, my abuser, no longer matter."  These women have a powerful story to tell, but the mainstream media isn't interested. 

SO STAY HOME – FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL:   WASHINGTON—The number of Democratic lawmakers planning to skip Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony Friday is growing, with more joining in the boycott after the president-elect took to Twitter over the weekend to rebuke civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis (D., Ga.) for saying Mr. Trump wasn’t a “legitimate president.”  At least 20 lawmakers, all Democratic members of the House, have said they wouldn’t attend. Some are citing the president-elect’s past lewd comments about women and remarks about illegal immigrants; others, such as Mr. Lewis, cite accusations of Russian-backed hacking of political committees during the 2016 election.  “I don’t see this president-elect as a legitimate president,” Mr. Lewis told NBC in comments released Friday. “I think the Russians participated in helping this man get elected. And they helped destroy the candidacy of Hillary Clinton.”  I'm sure they'll be sorely missed at the inauguration.  That is a joke.

January 15,  2017     Permalink

BLINDNESS OF THE ELITES – AT 1:29 P.M. ET:  The biggest of the big shots admit they have no idea what's going on.  From Reuters: 

DAVOS, Switzerland - The global economy is in better shape than it's been in years. Stock markets are booming, oil prices are on the rise again and the risks of a rapid economic slowdown in China, a major source of concern a year ago, have eased.

And yet, as political leaders, CEOs and top bankers make their annual trek up the Swiss Alps to the World Economic Forum in Davos, the mood is anything but celebratory.

Beneath the veneer of optimism over the economic outlook lurks acute anxiety about an increasingly toxic political climate and a deep sense of uncertainty surrounding the U.S. presidency of Donald Trump, who will be inaugurated on the final day of the forum.

Last year, the consensus here was that Trump had no chance of being elected. His victory, less than half a year after Britain voted to leave the European Union, was a slap at the principles that elites in Davos have long held dear, from globalization and free trade to multilateralism.

Trump is the poster child for a new strain of populism that is spreading across the developed world and threatening the post-war liberal democratic order. With elections looming in the Netherlands, France, Germany, and possibly Italy, this year, the nervousness among Davos attendees is palpable.

"Regardless of how you view Trump and his positions, his election has led to a deep, deep sense of uncertainty and that will cast a long shadow over Davos," said Jean-Marie Guehenno, CEO of International Crisis Group, a conflict resolution think-tank.

Moises Naim of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace was even more blunt: "There is a consensus that something huge is going on, global and in many respects unprecedented. But we don't know what the causes are, nor how to deal with it."

COMMENT:  Read that last sentence.  These are supposed to be economic geniuses, and they can't understand that when people feel they're not benefiting from the world economy, people get angry, and they vote for the other guy.  Is this difficult?

January 15, 2017       Permalink

WHY AM I NOT SHOCKED? – AT 12:50 P.M. ET:    My, how the mighty have fallen.  I'm always amused by these "ethics experts," and how they often turn out to be mere mortals.  From the Washington Free Beacon: 

Director of the Office of Government Ethics Walter M. Shaub donated to President Obama before his appointment and defended Hillary Clinton’s decision to not disclose paid speeches to the Clinton Foundation while she was secretary of state.

Shaub, the head of the little-known ethics office, has been on the attack against President-elect Donald J. Trump for months.

Shaub has called Trump’s plan to sign over control of his business to his sons “meaningless,” and engaged in tweet storms from the official ethics Twitter account encouraging Trump to divest.

A timeline compiled by the PAC America Rising of Shaub’s service at the ethics office revealed Shaub donated to Obama before his appointment in January 2013, and has a record of defending Hillary Clinton when she was a presidential candidate from ethics concerns.

Shaub donated $500 to Obama’s reelection campaign in 2012. When Clinton came under fire for not disclosing paid speeches to the Clinton Foundation while she was secretary of state, his office said disclosure was not required.

Shaub has now become a “key player” in the presidential transition process, as his office is responsible for reviewing financial disclosures of executive nominees. He sent a letter to Senate Democrats urging the slowing of the confirmation process of Trump’s nominees because some of their financial disclosure reviews had not been completed.

This week Shaub trained his sights on Trump, criticizing the president-elect’s plan to avoid conflicts of interest by signing over control to his sons Donald Jr. and Eric, and terminating all pending deals with the Trump organization.

COMMENT:  But you buy a used ethics plan from this guy?  Seems he's just a partisan pol pretending to be the voice of God.

I have no problem with the press quoting Shaub, as long as reporters include the man's partisan past.  Then consumers of news can make their own ethics judgments.

January 15, 2017       Permalink

PENCE DEFENDS TRUMP IN JOHN LEWIS HASSLE – AT 11:48 A.M. ET:  The latest manufactured crisis began when "civil rights icon" (required title) John Lewis, a Georgia congressman, declared President-elect Trump to be an illegitimate president. 

Trump shot back that Lewis might concern himself with America's crime-filled cities.  And so the fight was on, 

Now Mike Pence, one of the great assets of the Trump administration, defends Trump.  Pence, unlike Trump, has a smooth, professional style.  He shows us how it's done.  From CBS News: 

Vice President-elect Mike Pence said he found Rep. John Lewis’s criticism of President-elect Donald Trump “deeply disappointing” -- and that Mr. Trump, who lambasted Lewis on Twitter this weekend, “has every right to defend himself.”

“Donald Trump won this election fair and square, 30 out of 50 states, including Georgia,” he told CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “...To hear John Lewis -- a man that I served with, that I respect -- to question the legitimacy of the election and to say that Donald Trump will not be a legitimate president was deeply disappointing to me.”

“To hear that he was not going to attend the inauguration this Friday -- I hope he reconsiders both statements,” Pence said.

And...

Why, moderator John Dickerson, did Mr. Trump feel the need to take a swing at Lewis rather than just letting the comments go?

Mr. Trump “has every right to defend himself,” Pence said, suggesting that Lewis’s comments about election legitimacy seemingly conflict with his status as a leader for voting rights.

“We honor the sacrifice that he made but part of the result of what happened on Bloody Sunday [in 1965] and the courage that he showed was the Voting Rights Act,” he said. “So for someone of his stature not just in the civil rights movement but in voting rights to make a comment that he did not consider Donald Trump to be a legitimate president, I think, is deeply disappointing.”

COMMENT:  Very well said, Mr. Pence.  It's a pleasure listening to you.

January 15,  2017     Permalink

JANUARY 14,  2017

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

SAD DAY FOR KIDS – FROM AP:   ELLENTON, Fla. (AP) -- After 146 years, the curtain is coming down on "The Greatest Show on Earth." The owner of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus told The Associated Press that the show will close forever in May.  The iconic American spectacle was felled by a variety of factors, company executives say. Declining attendance combined with high operating costs, along with changing public tastes and prolonged battles with animal rights groups all contributed to its demise.  "There isn't any one thing," said Kenneth Feld, chairman and CEO of Feld Entertainment. "This has been a very difficult decision for me and for the entire family."  The company broke the news to circus employees Saturday night after shows in Orlando and Miami.  Ringling Bros. has two touring circuses this season and will perform 30 shows between now and May. Major stops include Atlanta, Washington, Philadelphia, Boston and Brooklyn. The final shows will be in Providence, Rhode Island, on May 7 and in Uniondale, New York, at the Nassau County Coliseum on May 21.  A great institution comes to an end.  I recall going to "the circus" when I was a kid, and "the circus" always meant Ringling Bros.  We took our own kids.  Maybe it is a little old fashioned, and concern for animals is legitimate.  But what a show. 

UGLY – FROM FOX:   Tony-award winning singer Jennifer Holliday has decided not to sing at President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration – caving in to significant pressure from gay and lesbian fans who were outraged by her decision to put patriotism over politics.  “I sincerely apologize for my lapse of judgment, for being uneducated on the issues that affect every American at this crucial time in history and for causing such dismay and heartbreak for my fans,” Holliday wrote in a letter provided to The Wrap.  The apology came one day after she defended her participation in an interview with The New York Times.  “We’ve become such a polarized country – we’re not listening to what the Obamas have said,” she told the newspaper. “They told us to move forward with hope – they didn’t tell us to stop participating.”  This kind of ruthless pressure is starting to resemble the kind of thing we expect from organized crime.  Political and social movements, which often have understandable objectives, do themselves enormous harm when they start ordering people around and using muscle.  There is a great deal of cowardice in the entertainment industry, and we're seeing it on display.

I CAN'T WAIT – FROM THE HILL:   Filmmaker Michael Moore announced Saturday evening that he would be holding a "massive rally" Thursday outside Trump’s New York City International Hotel with a pair of actors.  “Mark Ruffalo, Alec Baldwin & myself will be holding a massive rally in NYC in front of Trump International Hotel this Thursday, 6pm! Come!” Moore tweeted.   Moore, Ruffalo and Baldwin have been outspoken Trump critics during the election and after Trump's surprise win. Moore, who accurately predicted Trump’s win, has been calling for massive organization surrounding Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration.  "If your rep is a Democrat, tell him/her you expect them to AGGRESSIVELY fight the Trump agenda — and if they don’t, you will work with others to support a true progressive in the Democratic primary in 2018," Moore urged following Trump's win.  Moore also suggested voters to form their “own rapid response team” to quickly react to Trump and the GOP-led Congress.   I think the Democratic primary Moore is referring to will be in 2020.  But who cares about the calendar when you're deeply involved in thought.  As for the rally, I'd rather get a haircut.

January 14, 2017       Permalink

ELSEWHERE IN THE DYING WESTERN WORLD – AT 1:46 P.M. ET:  As we prepare to change administrations, there are other changes going on in the decadent Western world.  You remember the Western world, don't you?  Don't expect your kids to be taught about it in school.  From London's Express:   

MIGRANT youth gangs have turned Sweden’s largest shopping centre into a “no-go zone” as they intimidate police, harass girls and deal drugs openly.

Gothenburg police have been forced to implement extraordinary measures to cope with the increased number of incidents, which have left shoppers and business owners terrified of their workplace.

Nordstan is Sweden’s largest shopping centre in terms of sales and number of visitors, however once the shops close at 8pm, criminal youth gangs take over despite officers turning out in force.

Jonas Bergqvist, one of the team managers of the city police, told Expressen: “We have seen an increase since last autumn, with mostly unaccompanied minors who are staying here in North Town.

“In the evening they deal drugs and violence between fractions sometimes occur. If there are conflicts from their home countries, they bring them here.”

While his colleague Rikard Sorensen added the thugs was experiencing increasing levels of increasingly more aggressive toward police.

He said: “There is a lot of drugs circulating. I wouldn’t even let my son go down to North Town.

“There is a risk of robbery, but also harassment of girls.”

COMMENT:  But, I ask you, who are we to question their culture?  So they're ruining a shopping center.  So what?  They have grievances.  Think of the colonial era.   And how were they treated in Biblical times, or even before!  We must listen to their complaints, especially how they've been hurt by TRUMP, and BUSH, and CHENEY!! 

Maybe they're just upset that Barack is leaving, after all the good he's done for them.  Uh...I'll get back to you with a list.

January 14, 2017       Permalink

MORE MADNESS – AT 12:58 P.M. ET:  There is probably no more magnificent role model for African-American youngsters than Dr. Ben Carson, who rose from poverty to become one of the world's great surgeons.

But Ben is a black Republican, and that doesn't sit well with the black establishment.  Many of their leading hacks are actually opposing Dr. Carson's nomination as secretary of Housing and Urban Development.  Maxine Waters, the nutbag congresswoman from California, is actually circulating a letter to her fellow African-American members of Congress urging them to reject Carson.  It's hard to make this up.  From AP: 

WASHINGTON (AP) — While Ben Carson's celebrated career as a neurosurgeon leaves no doubt about his medical credentials, his lack of experience in government and public policy are raising questions about his qualification to serve as housing secretary.

President-elect Donald Trump wants Carson, a former rival for the Republican presidential nomination, to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development, a sprawling agency with 8,300 employees and a budget of about $48 billion.

Carson, in remarks prepared for Thursday's hearing before the Senate Banking, House and Urban Affairs Committee, talked about growing up in inner-city Detroit with a single mother who had a third-grade education. She worked numerous jobs to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table.

"I understand housing insecurity," he said in the prepared testimony, and credited his mother with showing him the importance of perseverance and hard work.

Dr. Carson, please.  Understanding the problem is not sufficient.  You must demonstrate an ability to serve for four years without solving it.  That's the liberal way. 

Carson said he wants to help heal America's divisiveness, and that the department could play a role. "I see HUD as part of the solution, helping ensure housing security and strong communities," he said.

Democrats in the GOP-run Senate are questioning his experience and priorities. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., told Carson in a letter that the agency needs a strong, capable leader who believes in its mission.

"There is relatively little in the public record that reveals how you would further HUD's mission to 'create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all,'" Warren said.

Perhaps the senator can explain how this has been done in eight years of Barack Obama.

Among the dozens of questions in the letter: What does Carson think about the condition of public housing? Should ending homelessness among veterans be a priority? How would he ensure equal access to HUD programs to same-sex couples and others.

Ben, have someone write her a letter.

Several former HUD secretaries, Democrats and Republicans, wrote the committee in support of Carson, saying they believe Carson will listen to staff to help fulfill HUD's mission of affordable homes and inclusive communities. The letter was signed by Henry Cisneros, secretary under President Bill Clinton, and Mel Martinez, Alphonso Jackson and Steven Preston, who worked for President George W. Bush.

The soft-spoken Carson, the only black major-party candidate in 2016 presidential race, grew up poor. He attended Yale University and the University of Michigan Medical School, and was the first African-American named as head of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Children's Center in Baltimore.

COMMENT:  I have a feeling that Dr. Carson will do fine, as long as he doesn't rock too many bureaucratic boats in the "community."

January 14, 2017         Permalink

SIX DAYS – AT 11:52 A.M. ET:  In six days we will have a new president.  You'd never know it.  Every attempt is being made to delegitimize Donald Trump's victory.  As you may recall, the same tactics were used against George W. Bush in 2000.  Only Republican presidents are illegitimate. 

To be a liberal these days is to believe that democracy only exists when your side wins.  If someone else wins, there must be a conspiracy.  It goes hand in hand with the vast corruption that liberalism has become.  Liberals have lost touch with the people of the United States, and, following Barack Obama's example, don't feel those people are worthy of their attention anyway. 

The latest dustup started with "civil rights icon" John Lewis, a mediocre black congressman from Georgia, declaring Trump "illegitimate."  After all, the Russians tried to influence our election, something they've been doing since 1917.

Trump, unwisely, took the bait, accurately denouncing Lewis in a tweet, and pointing out that Lewis's congressional district is crime ridden.  He advised Lewis to pay attention to that.

Now we have an uproar.  How dare anyone attack John Lewis.  One doesn't do that in polite society.  And so the tweets are coming, and by Friday Donald Trump will be labeled a racist...again.  It's the only thing liberals have left.  They've lost at every electoral level.

Oh, by the way, Human Rights Watch, a hard-left international organization that reserves most of its venom for Israel, has now declared Trump a threat to human freedom. (The people of Syria could not be reached for comment.) 

And, as we've reported, a well-fed conference of international nothings will meet in Paris to tomorrow to make a statement on settling the Arab-Israel dispute.  John Kerry will attend and have dessert.  It's being made very clear that the real purpose of the meeting is to put pressure on our incoming administration.  Not exactly friendly.  I hope Trump is making a list and checking it twice. 

It's going to be a tough road ahead.  The antidote to this poison is results.  Good results.  If Trump can deliver, the madness may just start to melt away.

January 14,  2017     Permalink