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JUNE 29,  2018

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 9:20 P.M. ET: 

MADNESS – FROM FOX:  Philadelphia has announced it will end a major information-sharing contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), bowing to intense pressure from activist groups and drawing immediate condemnation from federal officials.  The move means that the city will not renew a decade-long arrangement to share real-time arrest information with ICE when it expires at the end of August.
The information, contained in Philadelphia’s Preliminary Arraignment Reporting System (PARS), alerts authorities when new arrests are made, and includes arrestee's full names, countries of origin, and Social Security numbers. While PARS does not indicate immigration status, Democrats charged that ICE nevertheless abused the database to investigate potential immigration violations.  This is crazy.  It will lead to crime by illegals, all to satisfy activist extremists.  No way to run a city.

TROUBLE IN IRAN – FROM AFP:  Iran's currency hit a record low on Sunday of 100,000 rials to the dollar amid a deepening economic crisis and the imminent return of full US sanctions.  The unofficial rate stood at 102,000 rials by midday, according to Bonbast, one of the most reliable sites for tracking the Iranian currency.  The rate was confirmed by a trader who spoke on condition of anonymity to AFP.  The rial has lost half its value against the dollar in just four months, having broken through the 50,000-mark for the first time in March.  The government attempted to fix the rate at 42,000 in April, and threatened to crackdown on black market traders.  But the trade continued with Iranians worried about a prolonged economic downturn turning to dollars as a safe way to store their savings, or as an investment in the hope the rial will continue to drop.   Pressure by the United States is having its effect.  Maybe, at some point, the mullahs will conclude that they must make concessions to us on the highly flawed nuclear deal, and must curtail their missile program, to get the pressure eased.  Obama conceded far too much.

AT IT AGAIN – FROM THE STATESMAN:  Known as both the “father of Texas” and the namesake of the state’s capital, Stephen F. Austin carved out the early outlines of Texas among his many accomplishments.  He also opposed an attempt by Mexico to ban slavery in the province of Tejas and said if slaves were freed, they would turn into “vagabonds, a nuisance and a menace.”  For that reason, the city of Austin’s Equity Office suggested renaming the city in a report about existing Confederate monuments that was published this week.  Also on the list of locales to possibly be renamed: Pease Park, the Bouldin Creek neighborhood, Barton Springs and 10 streets named for William Barton, the “Daniel Boone of Texas,” who was a slave owner.  I can understand how African-Americans feel about things, places and schools named for slave owners.  The problem is, where does this end?  Slavery was abolished more than a century and a half ago.  Some founders of this country, and of cities and states, owned slaves.  Attitudes have since changed drastically.  Do we rename the Jefferson Memorial?  The city of Washington?  We can commemorate and explain at the same time.  And what happens to buildings named for flawed African-Americans?  There is Paul Robeson High School in New York, named for a brilliant black artist who also betrayed his country.  There is the King Memorial in Washington, named for a great black leader who also was disloyal to his wife.  Do we tear everything down?  Find me the perfect man.

July 29, 2018       Permalink   

THE NEW MENTALITY – AT 4:20 P.M. ET:  Whatever happened to the idea of sheer merit, of getting the job, or the academic opportunity, because you're the best.  I guess that's history.  From Liberty Headlines: 

(Joshua Paladino, Liberty Headlines) The City of Charlotte placed diversity and inclusion as top priorities for the 2020 Republican National Convention.

The Republican National Committee officially chose Charlotte to host the 2020 convention last Friday.

The agreement between Charlotte and the RNC requires the host committee to make “reasonable best efforts, to ensure that, of the aggregate dollar value of all contracts for goods, equipment, services and supplies entered into … a significant portion of such contracts will be awarded to minority-owned, women-owned, and persons with disabilities owned business enterprises.”

The city created Charlotte 2020, the non-profit committee tasked with raising $70 million to host the convention and spur economic development, the Charlotte Business Journal reported.

Former school board member and city council member John Lassiter will head Charlotte 2020 as CEO and president. Lassiter along with three co-chairs, Walter Price, Ned Curran, and Doug Lebda, committed to using minority- and women-owned businesses whenever possible.

COMMENT:   Please note that there is no provision made for veteran-owned businesses.  That pretty much tells the story. 

I'm all for giving everyone an equal chance at contracts, and condemning those who discriminate.  But reverse discrimination is not the way to go.

July 29, 2018       Permalink

BLUE STATES GONE WILD – AT 1:18 P.M. ET:   Large bills are coming due for the mismanagement of some prominent blue states, and guess who may be paying them.  Get your wallet out.  From BizPacRevue: 

A number of blue states are drowning in “irretrievable” debt, and taxpayers are likely to be on the hook for a looming bailout.

That’s the opinion of Mitch Daniels, the former governor of Indiana, who appeared on Fox Business Network to discuss his recent op-ed published in the Washington Post that highlighted the debt crisis facing Connecticut.

“They’re just one of a number of states, including some of the biggest states, that are in deep water,” Daniels told host Stuart Varney. “I think it is irretrievable. Pensions is the core of it. It’s not the only fiscal recklessness that they have practiced, but in some of those cases, the bill are genuinely unpayable.”

Public pensions “of sometimes grotesque levels,” the Republican wrote in the editorial — which explains the co-dependent relationship that exists between the Democratic Party and public sector unions responsible for these unsustainable pensions.

How grotesque?

“In California, some retired lifeguards are receiving more than $90,000 per year. A retired university president in Oregon received $76,000 per month — and no, that’s not a typo,” Daniels wrote.

Connecticut isn’t alone in state struggling with this burden, with California, Illinois, New Jersey and New York unable to make pension payments to retired government workers, according to Fox Business Network.

In Illinois, for instance, vendors wait months to be paid by a government that’s $30 billion in debt, and one whose bonds are just one notch above junk bond status, according to Daniels. New York’s more than $356 billion in debt; New Jersey more than $104 billion; and California more than $428 billion.

COMMENT:  Benjamin Franklin, among others, argued that democracies last only until people learn that they can raid the public treasury.  I'm afraid it's true.

If the Democrats take control of the federal government, we'll no doubt be asked to pay for the irresponsible states.  And I'm afraid we will, because we'll be warned by scare stories of what will happen to "the children" if we don't.  It's always the same racket.

July 29, 2018       Permalink 

SHREWD – AT 11:48 A.M. ET:  Never underestimate President Trump's political shrewdness.  No matter what the establishment throws at him, he punches back.  Consider this, from the New York Post: 

President Trump said he’d be willing to “shut down” the government unless Democrats in Congress help pass immigration reform, including funding for his long-touted border wall, saying “we need great people coming into our Country!”

“I would be willing to ‘shut down’ government if the Democrats do not give us the votes for Border Security, which includes the Wall! Must get rid of Lottery, Catch & Release etc. and finally go to system of Immigration based on MERIT!,” he posted on Twitter Sunday. “We need great people coming into our Country!”

Trump spent much of the weekend at his golf resort in New Jersey railing about Democrats not supporting his immigration policies, saying all they do is “Resist” and “Obstruct,” while claiming they want “Open Borders.”

Earlier Sunday, he said “there are consequences when people cross our Border illegally,” referring to the separation of children from their parents, and called on Congress to repair “the DUMBEST & WORST” immigration laws in the world.

COMMENT:  No, he's not the most elegant writer to take to a keyboard, but he's putting the Democrats on the defensive, which is exactly right.  We'll see a lot of Trump on the campaign trail this fall.  Remember how the press underestimated him in 2016.  I hope it happens again.

July 29,  2018     Permalink

JUNE 28,  2018

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

THAT'S WHY THEY CALL IT THE PARTY OF NEW FACES – FROM THE HILL:  Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) are the most popular potential 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, according to a new American Barometer poll.   The poll, which is a joint project of Hill.TV and the HarrisX polling company, showed Biden with a 50 percent favorable rating, while Sanders trailed with a 48 percent favorable rating.   Only 31 percent of those polled said they viewed the former vice president unfavorably. A third of respondents said they viewed Sanders unfavorably.  How exciting.  Wake me when it's over.

SLOW DEATH OF AN INSTITUTION – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:  Newsweek has a new problem as the IRS hit the parent company with two tax liens this week totaling $343,777.16 for allegedly unpaid federal corporate income taxes in 2017.  The lien comes six months after the Manhattan DA’s office seized 18 computer servers from the downtown offices of the Newsweek Media Group, formerly known at IBT Media, on Jan. 18 as part of a financial probe.  The latest liens also follow personal tax liens placed against company co-founders Jonathan Davis and Etienne Uzac in late 2017. Davis, the lein claims, is said to owe $3.1 million to the IRS, and Uzac owes $1.2 million, according to reports in Newsweek.  Maybe it's just time to say goodbye.  News magazines had a superb run over the decades, but seem to have little appeal today, with so much information available from so many other, quicker sources.

NOT AGAIN,  PLEASE – FROM DEADLINE:  Norman Lear continues to defy convention about career longevity and age. The TV icon, who today celebrates his 96th birthday, and his Act III production company have signed a two-year first look deal with Sony Pictures TV. The pact includes the option to re-imagine titles from Lear’s extensive library including All In The Family, The Jeffersons, Good Times, Maude and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, among others.  A first-look deal is just that.  Sony gets a first look at properties.  Nothing guarantees that they will be produced.  A better idea would be to develop new ideas to stop Hollywood's tailspin into oblivion.

July 28, 2018       Permalink

THIS IS ACTUALLY A SERIOUS NEWS STORY – AT 1:20 P.M. ET:  In midsummer it's sometimes difficult to find substantive news.  At one time tabloids would push the idea of a "crime wave" to sell papers during the warm months.  Now some news organizations are a little more elegant about it.  From The Hill: 

Therapists in the U.S. say they have seen a rise in politically-related anxiety under the Trump presidency.

Though a condition has not been officially named, therapists and patients have referred to it as “Trump Anxiety Disorder,” according to a report from Canada’s CBC News.

Elisabeth LaMotte, the founder of the D.C. Counseling and Psychotherapy Center in Washington, D.C., told CBC that there is a “collective anxiety” among her patients related to President Trump’s rhetoric and policies.

"There is a fear of the world ending," she said. "It's very disorienting and constantly unsettling."

She said that Trump critics who she treats exhibit similar behavior to patients who have a parent with a personality disorder.

"Whether it's conscious or not, I think we look to the president of the United States as a psychological parent," LaMotte said.

LaMotte told CBC that the “condition” is also common among Trump supporters, who often say they feel “isolated” by friends and family for aligning with the president or pulled into angry conversations.

COMMENT:  They used to call that politics.  The rough-and-tumble of politics can get very rough indeed.  In the past, though, we didn't have an army of shrinks trying to diagnose the entire population.

People who suffer from Trump Anxiety Disorder should certainly seek help, and should also avoid voting.

July 28, 2018       Permalink

IRAN AGAIN – AT 12:47 P.M. ET:  The attention has been on our economy and the endless investigations going on in Washington.  One of the most important stories is being overlooked, and that is Iran's growing belligerency.  Tehran is now threatening to disrupt the sea lanes in its region, which could cripple the transport of oil.  Washington is not amused.  From CNN:

Washington (CNN) As tensions between the US and Iran ratchet up, the Trump administration is looking at what military options may be needed to keep vital waterways in the Middle East open in the wake of attacks on Saudi oil tankers by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels on July 25, according to two administration officials.

Both officials emphasize that if any military action is taken it would be carried out by US allies in the region, such as the Saudis, and not by US forces. The US military already provides support in the form of intelligence sharing to the Saudis in their fight against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. And while the US sends ships and aircraft into the region on a regular basis, any long-term military effort would require the involvement of other nations, officials say.

Gen. Joseph Votel -- head of US Central Command, overseas US military operations in the Middle East -- has been traveling in the region this week meeting with counterparts and held a conference of regional commanders to discuss security concerns. A spokesman said the meeting was long scheduled and it's not known how detailed the discussions were on commercial shipping. It is also not known if any action to keep the waterways open is imminent .

Concerns have been growing for days as Iranian officials have increased verbal threats against shipping in the Persian Gulf and through the choke point at the Strait of Hormuz.

Earlier this week, a US Navy warship passed through the Strait of Hormuz without incident but concerns about potential problems in the future have escalated as the Iranians have stepped up their rhetoric to threaten that waterway.

COMMENT:  Our firm verbal response to Iranian threats is significant, and a contrast with the anemic behavior of Field Marshal Barack Obama and Grand Admiral John Kerry.  They pretty much let Iran, and every other enemy, run free.  The Iranians, who are not dumb, and are among the world's most sophisticated negotiators, understand that they're now dealing with a new sheriff, and that they could get hurt if they go too far.

We should be prepared for the possibility that Iran will harass, but not attack, American warships. 

July 28,  2018     Permalink