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JULY 15,  2017

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

IT'S OFFICIAL! – FROM THE HILL:   Former talk-show host Phil Donahue on Saturday reflected on President Trump's administration, calling it "the darkest political moment in American history."  “This is the darkest political moment in American history,” Donahue said on MSNBC Saturday. “Who’s going to argue that?”  Well, now that Phil Donahue has said it, I'm certainly not going to disagree.  I always put the Civil War at number one, but I'll change it.

ALWAYS GOING FOR THE BEST – THAT IS A JOKE – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:  The Democrats’ “Great Freshman Hope,” Sen. Kamala Harris, is heading to the Hamptons to meet with Hillary Clinton’s biggest backers.  The California senator is being fêted in Bridgehampton on Saturday at the home of MWWPR guru Michael Kempner, a staunch Clinton supporter who was one of her national-finance co-chairs and a led fund-raiser for her 2008 bid for the presidency. He was also listed as one of the top “bundlers” for Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign, having raised $3 million.  Guests there to greet Harris are expected to include Margo Alexander, a member of Clinton’s inner circle; Dennis Mehiel, a Democratic donor who is the chairman of the Battery Park City Authority, even though he lives between a sprawling Westchester estate and an Upper East Side pad; designer Steven Gambrel and Democratic National Committee member Robert Zimmerman.  The party of the people gathers again.  I'm sure this group has its collective finger on the pulse of working families.  And what do those peasants out there want?  Why, they must certainly wish for tofu and solar panels.  That's right, isn't it? 

HAULIN' IT IN – FROM FOX:   The Trump campaign and fundraising committees raised $13.9 million between the start of April and the end of June.  The numbers are close to three quarters of a million more than in the first three months of 2017.  Donations have continued to grow in spite of the administration's struggles with nearly constant accusations that the campaign colluded with Russia during campaign season.  The campaign and two joint fundraising committees (Trump Victory and the Trump Make America Great Again Committee) fundraised for both Trump and the Republican National Committee.  Three donations stood out in the most recent numbers from the Federal Election Commission.  Individual donors who had not previously donated more than $50,000 to Trump gave $300,000, $600,000, and $100,000.  President Trump's campaign meanwhile spent only $4.37 million in the second quarter.  Despite a press onslaught, Trump is holding his own.  He has historically underpolled, and I get the feeling he's much more popular than the pundits think. 

July 15, 2017       Permalink

THE DECLINE OF A CIVILIZATION – AT 3:35 P.M. ET:  What is happening to our once-great colleges is heartbreaking.  At a time when America must grow and be competitive, we're allowing academic thugs to turn our colleges into propaganda factories for Marxism.  From Daily Signal: 

Top public universities pay administrators with jobs related to diversity initiatives an average of  $175,088 per year, substantially more than other professors and faculty members, according to a Campus Reform investigation.

A sheet compiling the salaries of the top diversity administrators at 43 of America’s top public universities shows that virtually all are paid at least $100,000, with some going well beyond $300,000.

The average of $175,088 per year is more than three times the average American’s salary of $44,980. The lowest salary identified by Campus Reform is $83,237, still almost twice as much as the average American salary.

A 2016 report by the American Association of University Professors found that the average professor salary across ranks was $79,424.

In one example, an administrator at Rutgers University named Jorge Schement, vice chancellor of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, made $253,262 in 2016, while most faculty at Rutgers in 2015 made less than $50,000 a year.

COMMENT:   Why do I feel that much of this is the academic equivalent of organized crime's protection racket.  Universities, in my view, buy protection by bringing in highly paid "diversity" experts who know how to keep the lid on.  Don't go along with the game?  Be prepared for trouble.

I stress that is my feeling, but I suspect that many readers agree with it.

Real professors, especially in the sciences, work so hard to learn their specialty.  And yet they're paid far less than political organizers posing as academics. 

For this students pay $60,000 a year. 

July 15, 2017       Permalink

IT'S ABOUT TIME – AT 2:15 P.M. ET:  The leak problem in Washington is critical.  Leaks are illegal in most cases, but occur all the time.  They endanger the proper functioning of government, and can put lives at risk.  They often are politically, not patriotically, motivated.  At least some action is being taken, but not enough.  From the Washington Examiner: 

Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., wouldn't say Saturday whether the House Oversight Committee is going to call former Obama deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes to testify about potentially playing a role in the leaks from the Trump administration of classified information to reporters.

During an interview with MSNBC's Hugh Hewitt, DeSantis admitted he's spoken to his committee's chairman, Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, about it, and while he would defer to Gowdy to identify people of interest, he did say the panel has brought in some "big names." 

"They're doing a lot more than what the press knows in terms of some of the people they have brought in," DeSantis said. "They've brought in some big names that I'm not authorized to say."

Hewitt had asked DeSantis about Rhodes in particular because of an interview he did recently with the Washington Free Beacon in which he accused Rhodes of being a primary source of the leaks causing harm to the Trump administration and called on Trump to remove all Obama official holdovers from his administration.

DeSantis further explained to Hewitt that Rhodes may be in contact with Obama holdovers in the National Security Council, who are behind the "selective leaking" hurting Trump's ability to conduct foreign policy.

COMMENT:  Ben Rhodes is the guy who bragged that he set up a kind of false narrative in selling the Iran nuclear deal.  Not exactly Mr. Integrity.

DeSantis is a terrific guy, and he's right.  Trump must purge his administration of all Obama holdovers.  They are loyal to Obama.

And the leakers must be named and prosecuted.  This isn't funny anymore.  You get this drip drip, day after day, and it's making government impossible.

July 15, 2017       Permalink

TRUMP OVER TRUDEAU – IN CANADA? – AT 11:32 A.M. ET:   The great Salena Zito, a breath of fresh air in journalism, reports on Canadians who are...pro-Trump.  There are miracles.  Can you believe a Canadian would speak this way?  From the New York Post:   

Although they love their country deeply, they are worried about its movement to the left. Interestingly, they admire the direction of the United States under President Trump.

“You cannot deny he is a force of nature. He may be unorthodox, he may get himself in a pinch with his words, but he certainly reminds you that he is always coming from a position of strength,” said Ann as she took a moment from packing up the cottage to head back home to Peterborough, Ontario.

I hope this woman doesn't get thrown out of Canada.

“The man has his weaknesses, that is for sure, but voters knew that going in, and he has as much admitted he is not a groomed politician. Any problem he has faced has mostly come from his use of social media, but his policies are spot-on,” said Dave.

Will the Mounties be sent to arrest Dave?

Trump is a breath of fresh air, said Dave, and he hopes Canada gets a little shake-up, too. “I was watching election night, and I can tell you I have never been so excited for another country’s outcome as I was that night.

“Perhaps if some local elections stirred things up, the bigger politicians might pay attention,” he added.

Canadians. Turns out a lot of them are divided and dissatisfied — just like us.

COMMENT:  Read the whole thing.  You'll like it.  It's good for the morale.  I think only Salena Zito would do a piece like this.  You won't see pro-Trump Canadians on CNN. 

July 15,  2017     Permalink

JULY 14,  2017

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

THIS IS WHAT THEY'RE INTERESTED IN? – FROM REUTERS:  The top Democrat on the U.S. House of Representatives' antitrust subcommittee has voiced concerns about Amazon.com Inc's (AMZN.O) $13.7 billion plan to buy Whole Foods Market Inc (WFM.O) and is pushing for a hearing to look into the deal's impact on consumers.  The deal announced in June marks the biggest acquisition for the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has not said what it would do with Whole Foods' stores and other assets, but analysts and investors worry the deal could upend the landscape for grocers, food delivery services and meal-kit companies.  U.S. Representative David Cicilline requested the hearing on Thursday in a letter to the chair of the House Judiciary Committee and the subcommittee chairman.  Typical elitist Democrat.  It's Whole Foods he's concerned about.  If a basic supermarket chain were sold, he wouldn't care. 

JOB DESCRIPTION – FROM COLLEGE FIX:   The wit and wisdom found within the works of William Shakespeare may soon be taught through the lenses of social justice and identity politics at one public university in Northern California.  California State University East Bay seeks to hire an assistant professor of English who has an eye toward “diversity” while teaching renaissance and medieval literature, with a special emphasis on Shakespeare, according to a recent job posting.  “Candidates must demonstrate awareness of innovative pedagogy and issues of diversity and social justice, as well as evidence of teaching effectiveness,” states the listing, posted earlier this month. “Candidates who bring global approaches to their teaching and scholarship are preferred. Candidates who engage with issues of race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality in their teaching and scholarship are preferred.”  Taxpayers pay for this.  If you raise objection, you're called a bigot or a racist.

OH, AGAIN? – FROM THE WRAP:  For the first time since 2013, the public will see O.J. Simpson live next week when he appears at a televised parole hearing.  The hearing will take place at 10 a.m. PT on Thursday, July 20, from Nevada and will be broadcast in a video pool, with networks including ESPN airing it live.  The televised Trial of the Century back in 1995, in which Simpson was acquitted in the double murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, captivated the nation. All eyes will no doubt be on the former USC and Buffalo Bills football star once again, though Simpson, who just turned 70, will look very different.  That plus Donald Trump Jr's amateurish meetings.   Journalism is certainly emphasizing the important stories, isn't it?

July 14, 2017        Permalink

A CHILLING WARNING ABOUT NORTH KOREA – AT 10:53 A.M. ET:   Let us not forget that the most serious national-security threat is currently coming from North Korea.  From Fox: 

Forty years ago this week, lightning struck an electrical power station, blacking out the city of New York and surrounding suburbs. Believe it or not, such a scenario is even more likely now, thanks to North Korea.

That’s because America’s electrical grid has become increasingly reliant on digital control systems since 1977, making it more vulnerable to an outage. And now, the possibility of a terrorist attack, most likely to be launched by North Korea, means the entire country could be plunged into darkness.

Even worse, due to the high degree of digital reliance, restarting a power plant that has gone offline is more difficult than in times past.

“The grid has become highly automated and, if remote digital communication goes down, you need someone at the substation to flip the switch to turn it back on after an outage,” says Tom Popik, chairman of the Foundation for Resilient Societies, which has been warning for years about the threat to America’s electric supply system.

That point was underscored last weekend, when a heatwave knocked out a power station in the San Fernando valley of Los Angeles. Though terrorism was quickly ruled out, the effect was the same: more than 100,000 residents were left without power.

And that’s the best kind of blackout. The nightmare scenario is an attack on the grid from an electro-magnetic pulse weapon, or EMP. North Korea is believed to have purchased the necessary technology to create an EMP from a Russian supplier more than ten years ago. If that technology has been sufficiently developed, a North Korean EMP could be launched via rocket into space, and detonated. The resulting pulse waves could knock out multiple power stations in the U.S., and cause a domino effect.

COMMENT:   Do you think this is more important than the fact that Don Trump Jr took a dumb, pointless meeting with a Russian wannabe?  Not according to CNN, where the meeting is all there is.

July 14, 2017       Permalink

OH DEAR, SHE'S GETTING POPULAR; CALL THE THOUGHT POLICE! – AT 9:51 A.M. ET:   Melania Trump is, for good reason, getting more and more popular.  This is a crisis of unprecedented proportions on the left.  Melania's numbers are beating Hillary's.  It's rigged!  And there is suspicion of Russian involvement.  She speaks foreign languages, you know.  From Independent Journalism Review: 

President Trump may not be the most popular president Gallup has ever seen, but his wife is rocking it.

According to a recent Fox News poll, Melania Trump's approval ratings have increased by 14 points since the last poll was taken in December and by 16 points since the first poll was taken in August. While Melania's 51 percent approval rating does not measure up to former First Lady Michelle Obama's (73 percent), she is doing dramatically better than her husband in the polls and is even more popular than former First Lady Hillary Clinton.

While in the White House, Clinton had an approval rating of about 49 percent, which her husband Bill trumped her with his approval rating of 51 percent during the first year of his presidency.
Despite this, Gallup noted it is “not uncommon” for first ladies to be more popular than their husbands, most likely because “their role is far less controversial than that of the president, which often results in less partisan ratings of the first lady.”

Back in July 2016, Gallup had Melania's approval rating at 28 percent, the lowest a potential first lady has been rated since 2000. She was least popular among Democrats and minorities. After Melania, the next least favorable potential first lady was John Kerry's wife (31 percent approval), who never made it to the White House.

Melania's favorability has surged across all demographics, most notably among voters under age 45, the most skeptical age group during her husband's campaign. She might not be as popular as former first ladies Michelle Obama or Laura Bush during their first years in the White House, but she sure seems to be getting there.

COMMENT:  I try to be a decent fellow, and I hope they don't show this to Hillary.  I mean, she's really suffered enough.

Melania is becoming a star.  Will CNN ever admit it?  They're probably looking for evidence that she once met with a Russian violinist.  There are apparently photos.

July 14,  2017     Permalink

THIS IS RIDICULOUS – AT 7:58 A.M. ET:  Democratic Party "progressives" continue to live their illusions.  They aren't progressives, of course.  They're regressives, wanting to go back to the grand days of the sixties.   "Hey, hey, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?"  Ah, wasn't it fun.  From The Hill: 

Democrats risk losing election after election if they focus too much on winning back white blue-collar voters from Donald Trump, according to progressives worried that young minorities are abandoning the party.

“We are not going to get back to national majorities again without these voters,” said Cornell Belcher, the top pollster who worked on both for former President Barack Obama’s campaigns. 

Belcher recently conducted focus groups in Florida and Wisconsin for the Civic Engagement Fund that point to the problems Democrats have with young millennials of color. The group, founded by progressive leader Andrea Hailey, analyzes data from past elections to increase voter engagement. 

COMMENT:  What weirdness.  Hey, don't concentrate on working people, once of the rock of the Democratic Party.  Concentrate on "millennials of color," who are also leaving the Democratic Party.  Why, we're just not left-wing enough!

Such genius.

The Democrats haven't figured out just how unpopular they are.  Sure, Obama was a "liked" president, but he wasn't particularly trusted, and his policies were rejected.  Simply trying to appeal to "millennials of color" will not bring back voters disenchanted with Democratic policies.

And new polling shows that the young people just behind the millennials are less leftist, not more leftist, than the millennials themselves.  They are more like moderate Republicans.  Take note, Democrats.  Marxism ain't exactly in.

The first rule of politics is to learn to count.  If Democrats were smart, they'd try to rebuild their party as a national party, with appeal to a broad group of voters.   Right now it's a coastal party, with some happy spots around the country where the anthropologists and multicultural-affairs professors live.

The Democrats will not win with their current, narrow strategy.  However, Republicans can lose if they do not quickly become a governing party and get the job done.  That has been the Republican failure in the past.

July 14,  2017     Permalink