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JULY 15,  2018

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:16 P.M. ET: 

THE WAY IT'S DONE – FROM DAILY MAIL:   Judge Brett Kavanaugh is going into the Supreme Court confirmation process with a hail of rhetorical arrows zinging by him, including a phony letter-writing campaign aimed at unsuspecting American newspaper editors   At least 21 papers were duped last week, including big-market brands like the Dallas Morning News and The Washington Times. They ran identical letters over a four-day period, each signed by a different person.  The effort is an example of public-relations 'astroturfing,' a technique meant to simulate genuine grassroots support for an idea or cause.  The form letter is one small piece of the message minefield erupting around Kavanaugh as he prepares for a brutal confirmation process that will end with scant support from Democrats.  It begins by declaring that 'Brett Kavanaugh is the wrong choice to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court. If he is confirmed to the Supreme Court, everything that we hold dear as a nation will be at stake.'  It's an old stunt, done fairly often.  What I find ugly is the idea that Judge Kavanaugh somehow represents a rejection of American values.  Quite the contrary, I think.

THIS MUST BE ANALYZED – FROM COLLEGE FIX:   Judge Brett Kavanaugh, Donald Trump’s recent selection to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court left by Anthony Kennedy, was a “bland eater” in college, his then-roommate has revealed, with the potential justice preferring to dress his pasta with simple sauces that were not spicy at all.  The revelations come in an article at The Yale Daily News that reveals other details about Kavanaugh’s life at the elite Ivy League university, including that he was “a big Redskins fan” and that he used to participate in scratch basketball games with friends.  The details about Kavanaugh’s food habits came from a former roommate, who said that the judge, during his time at Yale, was a “bland eater” who “never ate his pasta with anything more exotic than tomato sauce or ketchup on top,” according to The Daily News.  “At visits to Yorkside Pizza following late nights at Toad’s Place…the judge’s pizza had to be plain cheese, or sometimes just pepperoni,” The Daily News reported.  The left will find this behavior suspicious.  Pizza is elitist, as compared with selections from third-world countries or oppressed populations.  As far as the judge's affinity for the Redskins, that speaks for itself.  Racist!  Sexist!  Anti-gay!  Pizza lover!

THIS GUY IS NUTS – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:  The man who co-wrote “The Art of the Deal” said Sunday he believes President Trump’s faculties are diminishing — and that he feels obligated to sound the alarm.  “We are in a true emergency,” Tony Schwartz said on CNN Sunday. “And the accelerated rate at which his breakdown or decompensation is occurring is cause for us, and certainly for me, to come on to TV more often, to tweet more often.”  Schwartz told CNN’s Brian Stelter that he felt comfortable making that assessment because he had “spent an enormous time with [Trump] over a period of 18 months.”  He also said he was a 25-year student of psychology and had spent “an enormous amount of time” with shrinks who were trying to get to the bottom of Trump.  Hey, guy, cut the amateur psychology.  Shrinks who want to get to the bottom of Trump know they'd have to personally examine him, the way real doctors do.  Analysis from a distance is severely frowned upon within the profession.  Grow up.

July 15, 2018       Permalink

A VERY GOOD MOVE, AND CONSISTENT WITH AMERICAN VALUES – AT 1:30 P.M. ET:   Americans are getting tired of violent leftist groups showing up at political demonstrations and wrecking things.   The Democratic Party is too intimidated to speak out against the thugs.  The Republicans are taking action.  From Breitbart:

The left-wing terrorist organization that calls itself AntiFa is “freaking out” over a proposed law that would enhance penalties for anyone who “injures, oppresses, threatens, or intimidates any person” while wearing a disguise or mask.

Throughout our country, and for a number of years now — and primarily because the establishment media fantasizes about,  promotes, inflames and  approves of the violence committed against the right (naturally, HuffPo opposes the unmasking law) — AntiFa has been allowed to run rampant, committing countless acts of violence against everyday, peaceful supporters of President Donald Trump.

AntiFa has also been responsible for untold amounts of vandalism and property damage, and targets the alt-right.

The  Unmasking Antifa Act of 2018 can mean additional fines and prison terms of up to 15 years.

The Hill reports the “bill was introduced by Republican Rep. Dan Donovan (N.Y.) and is co-sponsored by GOP Reps. Pete King (R-NY), Paul Gosar (R-AZ) and Ted Budd (R-NC).”

Ironically, this proposed law is similar to laws passed decades ago in states like Georgia and Alabama to stop another terrorist group formed by far-left Democrats, the Ku Klux Klan. According to the far-left New York Times, Ohio and West Virginia already have similar laws on the books.

Unless it is Halloween, Mardi Gras, or some other kind of celebration, there is no legitimate reason to disguise who you are in public, unless you intend to do something illegal and do not wish to be identified.

COMMENT:  Doesn't look as if there are any Dem co-sponsors.  What a disgrace for a once-great political party.  I wonder how this party would treat John F. Kennedy's inaugural address today.

July 15, 2018       Permalink

HERE COME THE KAMIKAZES – AT 12:06 P.M. ET:  It is remarkable to see the Democratic Party self-destruct right in front of our eyes.  From The Hill: 

The California Democratic Party endorsed progressive candidate Kevin de León for Senate late Saturday in a stunning rebuke of 25-year incumbent and establishment favorite Dianne Feinstein.

De León, the state Senate president pro tempore, secured 65 percent of the party’s vote, while just 7 percent voted to endorse Feinstein.

A candidate needed 60 percent of the vote to win the endorsement. Twenty-eight percent of the body voted not to endorse any candidate.

“Today’s vote is a clear-eyed rejection of politics as usual in Washington, D.C.,” de León said in a statement. “Through years of hard-won progress, we have proven to the world that California can forge a path for the rest of the nation.”

“We have presented Californians with the first real alternative to the worn-out Washington playbook in a quarter-century,” he added.

COMMENT:  No matter how we might differ with Senator Feinstein on a number of issues, she is considered one of the grown-ups in the Senate, a sane liberal respected across the aisle.  To see her treated like this is to see the extreme left at work.  No loyalty  No class.  No dignity.  But plenty of identity politics.  Senator Feinstein is not a member of a favored group.  Neither is Chuck Schumer of New York, the Senate Democratic leader.  The Marxist left is going after him as well.

Feinstein will probably still win the election.  California has what is commonly known as a "jungle primary" system.  The top two winners go on to the general election, even if they're members of the same party.  Feinstein and De Leon were the top two, but Feinstein is way ahead in the polls. 

I hope she wins.  California is our largest state, and I'd hate to see it influence other states in advancing "progressivism," which is a more polite term than the more accurate "leftism" or the even more precise "Marxism."

July 15,  2018     Permalink   

JULY 14,  2018

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

ANTI-TRUMP CRAZINESS – FROM BIZPACREVIEW.COM:  Instead of celebrating President Donald Trump’s historic meeting Friday with Queen Elizabeth II, leftists took to social media to complain about his alleged lack of manners. According to them, Trump spoke incorrectly, walked incorrectly and probably even breathed incorrectly.  Consider the following clip from the The Daily Telegraph that complained about the president and his wife, first lady Melania Trump, not bowing to the queen when they first met her:  The Telegraph shared the video to Twitter Friday afternoon and captioned it with the question, “Did Donald Trump forget to bow to the Queen?”  In response, leftist airheads rushed to lambaste Trump for being a “just plain disrespectful” and “ignorant” “man-child,” among other things.  Conservatives then swooped in to drop some truth bombs on them, including this one from David Boaz of the Cato Institute: “We’re not her subjects.”  Bingo.   Of course not.  By tradition, Americans don't bow to foreign royalty.  That tradition is well understood and accepted around the world, except, apparently, by ignorant leftists. 

AND HE SAYS IT – FROM AP:    US President Donald Trump confirmed this weekend that he plans to stand for election in 2020, but says he doesn’t expect a tough challenge given that, in his opinion, there is no one who could beat him.  Asked during an interview with the UK’s Mail on Sunday whether he planned to seek reelection, Trump said; “Well I fully intend to. It seems like everybody wants me to.”  “Do you see a Democrat who can possibly beat you?’ interviewer Piers Morgan, a friend of the president, asked.  “No. I don’t see anybody. I know them all and I don’t see anybody,’ Trump responded. “They do not have the right candidate.”  He's right, they don't.  But overconfidence must be avoided.  They can come up with a media-invented performer like Obama. 

LATEST FASHION NEWS – FROM AP:   PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The Navy says it will now allow servicewomen to sport ponytails and other hairstyles, reversing a policy that long forbade females from letting their hair down.  Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson said it makes the Navy more inclusive.  Many black women had asked for changes to the female grooming standards. A female sailor, Yeoman First Class LaToya Jones, announced the new policy during a Facebook Live event Tuesday with Richardson. The new standards went into effect Wednesday.  Lock hairstyles, or ropelike strands, are also now allowed. Wider hair buns too. And women can wear ponytails while in uniform.  Capt. Thurraya Kent is the senior member of the working group that recommended the changes. The group told the Navy that adding grooming options would eliminate a distraction, be more inclusive of different hair textures and enable people to keep their hair natural instead of processing it chemically.  Okay, cool.  Now let's spend at least five minutes on warfighting training.

July 14, 2018        Permalink

THE END FOR DEPARTMENT STORES? – AT 3:06 P.M. ET:  Department stores, long the symbol of civilized shopping, endless variety and often ornate decorations and holiday displays, are fading, replaced by online buying, discount stores, and stores featuring items from one brand.

Here in New York, probably the American capital of department stores, going to one of these institutions was often considered a special treat, especially for kids at Christmastime.   Ah yes, I remember it well.  But how long will it continue?  From the New York Post: 

I’m going to miss Lord & Taylor like mad when the Fifth Avenue flagship closes next year. It isn’t only because of the unlikely bargains I scored on its often-deserted men’s floors — a red vinyl Perry Ellis-label jacket, marked down from $79.95 to $39.95 that strangers hilariously mistake for Armani, and a wool winter coat as good as any for $49.99.

I won’t miss the once-charming but more recently cheap-looking holiday windows that weren’t worth waiting on line for. But Lord & Taylor, like every big department store, offered a welcoming civility that softened the city’s rough edges. New York will be slightly less human without it, however obsolete its business model. Never again will the public enjoy the store’s grand main floor with its noble vaulted ceiling, arched mirrors and stately columns.

The shutdown is one of up to 10 Lord & Taylor closures of a total 50 stores planned by chain owner, Hudson’s Bay Company. It comes amidst a nationwide department store apocalypse. Hudson’s Bay, which owns 488 stores including Saks Fifth Avenue, is battling high debt, declining sales and falling stock prices.

Another industry giant, Macy’s Inc., which also owns Bloomingdale’s, has closed 14 percent of its stores since 2014, while its same-store sales in 2017 fell 4.3 percent compared with 2016. J.C. Penney closed 138 locations, or 14 percent of its stores, last year.

Jeffrey Roseman, vice chairman of Newmark Knight Frank’s retail-brokerage division, told The Post, “The need for an eight-story, multi-hundred-thousand square-foot department store in major cities is limited at best.”

Noting that most main floors are turned over to cosmetics, Roseman said, “What woman wants to buy fragrance there? They can go into Sephora, Ulta or Blue Mercury and get the same stuff cheaper and be out in 10 minutes.”

COMMENT:  It's sad.  I wonder if the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will survive.  Here in White Plains we have Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Macy's, and Bloomingdale's.  There used to be a Saks Fifth Avenue, but it closed down.  I rarely go into any of those stores, and they don't seem to have much impact any longer.  The "sexiest" shop in town is the Apple Store.   

Today you can order something online, and get it, often with free shipping, in a couple of days.  Sometimes even overnight.  And you don't fight the crowds.  The in-stock inventories are enormous.

But we'll miss the old places.  Quiet and civilized.  Browse as you wish.  Easy returns. 

And Santa Claus.

July 14, 2018       Permalink 

HIS HONOR? – AT 2:20 P.M. ET:   The Muslim mayor of London has been active denouncing President Trump, and allowing an anti-Trump balloon to fly over his city.  But now His Honor is getting serious questions on the way he spends his time.  Long overdue for this fool.  From Fox: 

London Mayor Sadiq Khan slammed President Trump’s criticism of him as “preposterous” after allowing a giant Trump balloon at anti-Trump protests in London, but critics question whether the mayor should be devoting his energy to tackling crime rather than “embarrassing” the city in front of the whole world.

Trump reignited the feud with Khan in an interview with The Sun newspaper, saying the Mayor of London “has done a terrible job” when it comes to terrorism and crime. “I think he has done a bad job on crime, if you look, all of the horrible things going on there, with all of the crime that is being brought in,” he said.

Khan called the comments “preposterous” on the BBC’s Today program on Friday, claiming that violent crime has risen across the country and London has been forced to tackle the issue with a smaller police budget.

But crime in London persists on epidemic proportions as murder rate soared by 44 percent, with 157 homicides committed compared to 109 the previous year, according to official statistics from the Metropolitan Police.

A former ambassador to the U.S., Sir Christopher Meyer, was the victim of a violent attack against him at a central London underground station this week. “I’m absolutely shocked by the level of the brutality,” his wife, Baroness Meyer, told the Times of London. “They really beat him. It’s appalling — like something you would see in a war zone."

Earlier this year, for the first time in modern history, London overtook New York in the number of murders. In February, London’s police investigated 15 murders while New York saw 11 homicides. In March, the Metropolitan Police murder numbers increased further to 22, while NYPD’s jumped to 21. The City of New York has since taken back the lead however.

London is also facing the rise of shocking acid attacks, skyrocketing by more than 78 per cent over the past two years, with 465 such offenses in 2017, up from 260 in 2015, according to police figures obtained by the Evening Standard.

This led to frustrated Londoners airing their concerns about the spiraling crime in the city, all while Khan remains preoccupied with feuding with Trump.

“This guy spends his week getting a balloon of Donald Trump in a nappy put in the air in central London instead of helping us with severe issues. I just think he’s so worried about himself, his reputation and PR rather than portraying the country, the city in the best way can be and making it safe for the citizens,” London business leader Mark Wright, who won the UK's version of The Apprentice, told Fox News.

COMMENT:   One of the things many public figures never understand is that, when they seek publicity, they get attention...and the attention isn't always what they'd anticipated.   The mayor of London is an embarrassment, but he's multicultural, and thus supported by the elites.  In the meantime, London is deteriorating.

July 14, 2018       Permalink

THE SUMMIT – AT 12:31 P.M. ET:  The president is about to meet Vladimir Putin.  The Democrats, who stood by and watched Putin eat Barack Obama alive, are all aflutter.  We must not trust Trump alone with the monster, they say.

No problem with Obama, a kid from Chicago with a pro-Communist upbringing.  No problem at all.

I think that Trump has been too flippant in his complimentary comments about Putin.  It's the president's style to exaggerate, and it's not a good thing.  At the same time, I wish some journalists would put our relations with Putin into some perspective.  But when you think all history started two weeks ago, that's hard.

In 1960 an American U2 spy plane went down over the Soviet Union.  It was a major international incident, leading to vast amounts of Soviet anger directed at the United States for sending a spy plane over its territory in the first place.  (In fact, we'd been doing it for several years.)  But despite the anger, Moscow's statements were framed in such a way as to let President Eisenhower save some face.  The Russians blamed Allen Dulles, the director of Central Intelligence.  Eisenhower's relations with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev became bumpy for a time, but the bumps were overcome.

That's pretty much the way the international system operates.  Countries spy on each other, cheat on each other, plant false stories, but the system has to function.  Putin is not our friend.  He's a thug, trained by the KGB, but we have to deal with him.  If he deals with him stupidly, the president must be blamed, even though Field Marshal Obama never was.  The press covered for him.  I have reasonable confidence, though, that Trump, not exactly an angel himself, will know how to handle Putin, or at least keep him at a distance, while still trying to gain concessions.

Consider, please, Trump's recent summit with North Korean big dealer Kim Jong Un.  Trump's Democratic critics, who never gave a hoot about Korea when Obama was in office, accused Trump of being rolled by Kim, being used by him, and getting nothing in return.  In fact, when the first serious negotiating session was held following that summit, Secretary Pompeo laid down the law to the Norks, making it clear there would be no concessions or lifting of sanctions unless North Korea met our demands.  Trump had given up nothing.

We await the summit.  And we await the press hysteria that will accompany it.

July 14,  2018     Permalink