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JANUARY 17,  2018

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

THE APPLE BITES – FROM ABC NEWS:   Apple announced today that it will be investing $350 billion in the U.S. economy over the next five years, creating more than 20,000 jobs.  In a news release, the company also said it would make a $38 billion tax payment to the U.S. as required by recent changes to the tax law. Apple said this would be the largest tax payment of its kind.  "We believe deeply in the power of American ingenuity, and we are focusing our investments in areas where we can have a direct impact on job creation and job preparedness. We have a deep sense of responsibility to give back to our country and the people who help make our success possible," CEO Tim Cook said in the release.  Apple said it would focus on three areas: direct employment by Apple; spending and investment with its domestic suppliers and manufacturers; and fueling the fast-growing app economy that it's created with the iPhone and its App Store.
Amid today's news, the company also broke ground on a new site in Reno, Nevada.  Ah, another Trump failure.  What are we going to do with all that industry?  All those revenues?  Poverty is so much easier.

THE CNN CLOWN CLUB DOES IT AGAIN – FROM FOX:   CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Sanjay Gupta was ridiculed across social media on Wednesday for declaring that President Trump has heart disease.  White House physician Ronny Jackson said on Tuesday that Trump was in "excellent health" after conducting the president’s physical exam at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center last week. Jackson answered a variety of questions from skeptical reporters during a press briefing and repeatedly stated that Trump was perfectly fine, with the exception of needing cholesterol medicine and being slightly overweight.  But on Wednesday morning Gupta, who did not examine Trump, took Jackson’s data and declared that Trump has heart disease, prompting instant ridicule from people on both sides of the political aisle.  “This is math. This is based on the numbers that Dr. Jackson provided,” Gupta said. “The president has heart disease.”  White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders reminded everyone during Wednesday’s press briefing that Jackson is the only doctor who has actually examined the president, calling him the “only credible source” when it comes to Trump’s health.  Gupta should be censured by the appropriate medical society.  What he did was grossly unethical.  He simply was following the CNN anti-Trump line.  The hatred is deep.  The journalism is thin.

NO CLASS, NO TASTE, NO STANDARDS – FROM HOLLYWOOD REPORTER:   Michael Wolff's controversial "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House" is coming to television.   Endeavor Content — the financing and sales arm formed in October between sister companies William Morris Endeavor and IMG — has purchased film and television rights to the No. 1 best-selling book. The massive deal is said to be in the seven-figure range. Endeavor Content plans to adapt the book as a TV series. A network is not yet attached, as Endeavor will now begin shopping the project.  Wolff will executive produce the series, with veteran Channel 4 and BBC executive Michael Jackson — now CEO of indie producer Two Cities Television — also on board to produce.  This is a terrible idea – a series based on a poorly reported book, which will lose half the audience before even going on the air.  It's typical of Hollywood.  They think this is great stuff.  Remember that CBS tried the same thing with a Reagan movie, portraying Mr. Reagan as a goofball.  It was so bad that CBS pulled it before it went on the air. 

January 17,  2018     Permalink

NOPERAH – AT 12:51 P.M. ET:  The wanting of Oprah is wanting some wanting.   Polls show her potential presidential candidacy lacks the voters to go with the hype.  From The Politico: 

Americans love Oprah Winfrey. But they aren’t exactly clamoring for the media mogul and former talk-show host to challenge President Donald Trump in 2020.

A majority of voters across several polls don’t think Winfrey should run for the White House, according to polls conducted since Winfrey’s much-heralded speech at a Hollywood awards show launched a round of presidential speculation. Even among Democratic voters, more say she shouldn’t run for president than should.

Still, there’s enough evidence to continue fueling speculation about her political prospects. Winfrey performs well on polling ballot tests, tying or leading Trump in a number of surveys. The POLITICO/Morning Consult poll shows Democratic voters prefer her to a host of other potential candidates — except former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)

And despite the persistent disapproval of Trump’s job performance thus far, voters are still open to political neophytes as presidential candidates — though Democratic voters are more likely to say they want candidates with experience in elected office.

The topline result from the POLITICO/Morning Consult poll: Winfrey would lead Trump by 2 percentage points in a head-to-head matchup, 40 percent to 38 percent. More than one-in-five voters, 22 percent, are undecided.

Two points?  That's nothing.  If she can't lead him by 15 right now, she's probably toast.

Among Democrats, Winfrey would lead Trump, 73 percent to 9 percent. Trump has a similar advantage among Republicans, 76 percent to 11 percent. Independents tilt slightly toward Winfrey, 35 percent to 30 percent, with another 35 percent undecided.

COMMENT:  Not a great showing for one of the most famous celebrities in the country.  Maybe she should stick to talk shows and awards ceremonies.

The fact is that 2020 is many political lifetimes away.  Nothing said now is of much meaning.  The immediate issue is the 2018 midterms, and the Republicans have reason for concern.  There's a good chance they will lose control of at least the House, and possibly the Senate as well.  Then we will almost certainly see an attempt to impeach the president, and political blood will flow.

January 17, 2018       Permalink

THE DISGRACE – AT 9:53 A.M. ET:  Rarely have I seen any press behavior worse than that displayed at yesterday's White House news conference, after a distinguished Navy doctor announced the excellent results of President Trump's physical examination.  From Newsbusters, via Fox: 

For almost an hour on Tuesday, the White House press corps stooped to a new low of embarrassment and clownishly liberal behavior, lobbing over a dozen questions at Navy Rear Admiral Dr. Ronny Jackson to insinuate that President Trump must be mentally ill to the point of Alzheimer’s Disease.

This was all despite Jackson’s insistence that he’s in great health.

Whether it was Bloomberg, CBS News Radio, CNN, or The Washington Post, the long knives were out as the liberal media engaged in their own Pickett’s Charge to save their narrative that Trump’s mentally ill and thus must be removed via Congress or the 25th Amendment.

NBC’s Hallie Jackson started the crazy train with the second question, asking Dr. Jackson to repeat the results about “the president’s mental fitness” and alluded to Trump’s tweet about him being “a stable genius.”

Bloomberg’s Shannon Pettypiece brought up the media-obsession over Trump supposedly slurring his words, but ABC’s Cecilia Vega spoke moments later with this bewildering question:

"Could you just elaborate in layman's terms, if possible, and you’ve done a great job at that, what you ruled out in these cognitive tests? You know, there have been reports the president has forgotten names, that he’s repeating himself. Are you ruling out things like early onset Alzheimer's? Are you looking at dementia-like symptoms?"

Dr. Jackson hit back, noting that Trump’s cognitive test was the same one that’s often used at Walter Reed (the Montreal Cognitive Assessment) and since “the president got 30 out of 30 on that exam, I think that, you know, there's no indication that he has any kind of cognitive issues.”

COMMENT:  Dr, Jackson has been presidential physician since 2012.  Today, even former Obama staff members have rushed to his defense, apparently embarrassed by the press treatment of him.

The profession of journalism is crashing, and the nation will pay the price.

January 17, 2018       Permalink

BREAKTHROUGH, OR FRAUD? – AT 9:21 A.M. ET:  North and South Korea will march under a single flag at next month's Olympics in South Korea.  Is it a true diplomatic breakthrough, or a fake?  Do you have any doubts?  From CNN:

Seoul (CNN) North and South Korean athletes will march together at the Winter Olympics opening ceremony under a unified flag, the South said Wednesday, in a diplomatic breakthrough following days of talks between the two countries.

They will also field a joint North and South Korean women's ice hockey team for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, which begin early next month, South Korea's Unification Ministry said.
North and South Korean skiers will train together at a resort in North Korea before the Olympics start, and performers from the two countries will also hold a joint cultural event there.
North Korea will also send around 230 supporters to cheer on its athletes. A smaller delegation of North Korean athletes and supporters will attend the Paralympics, the unification ministry said.

The developments were announced following North-South talks on Wednesday at the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between the two countries.

And...

While the two sides have earned praise for ratcheting down military tensions in recent weeks, some of Seoul's allies voiced concern Wednesday that Pyongyang may be using the talks to buy time to pursue its weapons program.

The US military has moved more firepower to the region and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned of complacency at a Tuesday summit in Vancouver where the top diplomats from the United States, Japan, Canada and the United Kingdom were in town to discuss North Korea.

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono called on the international community to be clear-eyed about North Korea's motivations for participating in the talks, which have been hailed by some as the most significant thaw in ties in years.

"I believe that North Korea wants to buy some time to continue their nuclear and missile programs," Kono said at the meeting. "It's not the time to ease pressure towards North Korea."

China denounced the Vancouver talks, and the United Nations Command, under whose framework they are being held, as demonstrating "Cold War mentality."

"(Such thinking) will only lead to split in the international community and harm the joint efforts that could properly solve the nuclear issue on Korea peninsula," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said Wednesday.

COMMENT:  Of course this is a tactic, one often pursued by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.  It's called a "charm offensive."  The North will speak of peace, and hold talks, while all the while pursuing its nuclear and missile programs.  They will have plenty of help from left-wing and anti-Trump groups in the West.

This is a time when the media will be tested.  Honest reporting or anti-Trump reporting?  When outlets like CNN give up their credibility in order to bring down President Trump, it's a very serious question.

January 17,  2018     Permalink

JANUARY 16,  2018

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

SAD – FROM US NAVAL INSTITUTE:  The commanders of the two guided-missile destroyers that were involved in fatal collisions with merchant ships in 2017 will face military criminal charges that include charges related to dereliction of duty, hazarding a vessel and negligent homicide, after the two incidents that resulted in the death of 17 sailors total, USNI News has learned.  Cmdr. Bryce Benson, former commander of USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62), along with three Fitzgerald junior officers, face a mix charges that include dereliction of duty, hazarding a vessel and negligent homicide related to the June 18 collision between the ship and ACX Crystal that resulted in the death of seven sailors, defense officials confirmed to USNI News.
Cmdr. Jessie L. Sanchez, former commander of USS John S. McCain (DDG-56), faces similar dereliction of duty, hazarding a vessel and negligent homicide charges for the Aug. 21 collision between the guided-missile destroyer and a chemical tanker off the coast of Singapore that resulted in the death of 10 sailors.  The individuals will have the charges preferred via Article 32 preliminary hearings soon, defense officials confirmed to USNI News.  How sad, but the charges indicate how seriously the Navy takes these incidents. 

PRESIDENT'S BRAIN FUNCTIONING, DEMOCRATS SHOCKED! – FROM THE SUN:   CAN you count backwards in sevens, draw a clock that reads 10 past 11 or memorise a list of five words?  These tasks may seem pretty basic but they make up questions in the world's standard cognitive assessment test, which Donald Trump passed with flying colours.  The President scored a perfect 100 per cent on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) - a 30 question task created by medical professionals to test for dementia.
It's designed to assess attention, memory, concentration, orientation, visual skills, calculations and executive functions.  To the able-minded, the test may seem overly simple but they are some of the basic mental processes people with the disorder sadly lose.  Trump's doctor earlier revealed how the president scored a perfect 30 on the test, where anything above 26 is considered "normal" and anything below is a cause for concern.  The test, first used in Montreal, Canada, is now one of the most widely respected methods for assessing cognitive health across the globe and is available in 55 languages.  The Democrats and their friends in the press will still suggest that the president has mental problems.  They're down to that.

MORE BRILLIANCE – FROM METRO:    Oddly, the founder of the church of Satan, Anton Lavey, predicted sex robots more than two decades ago – and today’s Satanists still believe they could save us all. In Lavey’s ‘Five Point Plan’, drawn up in the Eighties, he recommended the use of ‘humanoids’ as an outlet for people’s darker impulses. The Church of Satan’s Magistra Blanche Barton wrote, ‘Scientists and techno-geeks are doing a bang-up job in these departments, developing exceedingly realistic artificial human companions, both of the Real Doll and virtual Facebook-friend variety.’  Yeah, that sounds like Satan.  Please reject any offers.  Real men and real women will prevail!

January 16, 2018       Permalink

NO MORE! – QUOTE OF THE DAY – AT 2:12 P.M. ET:  The brilliant Myron Magnet, in City Journal, cuts through the haze and all the yapping on CNN, and defines how Donald Trump, with all his faults, is changing this country for the better.  This is a must-read.  Send it to others:   

Peggy Noonan’s Journal column observes that after Trump there will never again be a “normal” president. Never again, that is, will we elect some apparatchik from the haughty, out-of-touch, overpaid political class that has given us generations of arbitrary rule by the Administrative State’s unelected “experts” too inept to see a financial hurricane brewing; that has allowed the Supreme Court to cram the ethical beliefs of the coastal elites down the throats of a gagging nation—so that nuns have to sue not to hand out birth control, as if freedom of conscience were not the first of our freedoms; that admits immigrants by the carload without a thought of whether they will help or harm America and Americans; that goes to war foolishly believing that toppling dictators will magically turn their tribal subjects into democratic republicans; and that lets the IRS tax as tyrannically as George III. No more!

In the same paper, Shelby Steele points out that the lesson we should draw from the National Football League protestors—whose kneeling at the National Anthem drew much-publicized jeers from Trump and drove fans away from the stadiums—is that the days of black protest are over, because past years of heroic protest succeeded in making black Americans truly free (as Gene Dattel’s Reckoning With Race argued recently). The campus snowflakes’ worries about microaggressions, the Black Lives Matter protests, the armies of deans of diversity are all obsolete. For all their vociferousness, they are lost in a vanished past, and we no longer have to listen to them. The problem now, Steele notes, is that too many blacks feel naked without their victimhood, feel ashamed that most of Chicago’s or Baltimore’s myriad murderers are black, and don’t know what to do with their freedom. Time to man up, make a worthwhile life, and stop whining. No more!

On this site, Andrew Klavan dazzlingly argues that “rude and crude” President Trump, who “speaks like a Queens real estate guy on a construction site,” nevertheless speaks truths that well-mannered people are too cowed by political correctness to admit...

COMMENT:  Read the whole thing and pass it on.  A teacher I know told me that an African-American young man approached her last week and asked, "Why do I have to be a minority?"  Remember that question.  It may turn out to be the question of the decade.

January 16, 2018       Permalink

OUR ENERGY BOOM – AT 11:18 A.M. ET:  Amidst all the other good economic news, America is becoming energy independent.   Our energy industry is booming, although that may well be stopped if the Dems take power.  From Reuters:

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Surging shale production is poised to push U.S. oil output to more than 10 million barrels per day - toppling a record set in 1970 and crossing a threshold few could have imagined even a decade ago.

And this new record, expected within days, likely won’t last long. The U.S. government forecasts that the nation’s production will climb to 11 million barrels a day by late 2019, a level that would rival Russia, the world’s top producer.

The economic and political impacts of soaring U.S. output are breathtaking, cutting the nation’s oil imports by a fifth over a decade, providing high-paying jobs in rural communities and lowering consumer prices for domestic gasoline by 37 percent from a 2008 peak.

Fears of dire energy shortages that gripped the country in the 1970s have been replaced by a presidential policy of global “energy dominance.”

“It has had incredibly positive impacts for the U.S. economy, for the workforce and even our reduced carbon footprint” as shale natural gas has displaced coal at power plants, said John England, head of consultancy Deloitte’s U.S. energy and resources practice.

U.S. energy exports now compete with Middle East oil for buyers in Asia. Daily trading volumes of U.S. oil futures contracts have more doubled in the past decade, averaging more than 1.2 billion barrels per day in 2017, according to exchange operator CME Group.

COMMENT:  Good, good, and good.  And I don't see us choking in polluted air.  Of course, there are those working to kill off the oil industry, and, indeed, we must invest in new forms of energy.  But for now the world runs on oil, and having plenty of it makes us a more powerful, stable nation in every category. 

January 16, 2018       Permalink

STILL HOLDING – AT 10:29 A.M. ET:  We're watching polling trends to see if the president was hurt by last week's alleged comments about foreign nations.  Thus far we're not seeing any real damage, although CNN thinks it's the end of the world.  From Rasmussen: 

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Tuesday shows that 45% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Trump’s job performance. Fifty-four percent (54%) disapprove.

The latest figures include 29% who Strongly Approve of the way the president is performing and 45% who Strongly Disapprove. This gives him a Presidential Approval Index rating of -16.

COMMENT:  The president is only one point off his 46% high for the week.  Now, it's possible that other polls will pick up different results.  But my sense is that this is a ginned-up story, milked by the anti-Trump press, but of lesser interest in the real world.

The tax cut will become effective for most families in early February.  Polling in the month after that will tell a much bigger story than polling after a presidential remark. 

January 16,  2018     Permalink