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I appeared on Silvio Canto Jr's talk show from Dallas last night.  It's here.

JULY 30,  2018

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

AN INVOICE FOR BERNIE SANDERS – FROM FOX:  WASHINGTON -- Sen. Bernie Sanders's   "Medicare for all" plan would increase government health care spending by $32.6 trillion over 10 years, according to a study by a university-based libertarian policy center.  That's trillion with a "T."  The latest plan from the Vermont independent would require historic tax increases as government replaces what employers and consumers now pay for health care, according to the analysis being released Monday by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University in Virginia. It would deliver significant savings on administration and drug costs, but increased demand for care would drive up spending, the analysis found.  Sanders's plan builds on Medicare, the popular insurance program for seniors. All U.S. residents would be covered with no copays and deductibles for medical services. The insurance industry would be relegated to a minor role.  The basic problem here, aside from the vast cost, is that we'd have one medical system.  No competition.  No incentive to improve quality or reduce costs.  Pure socialism.  No good.

DON'T PULL THE TRIGGER – FROM THE WASHINGTON TIMES:  So-called “trigger warnings” may be harming the people they purport to help, according to a new study published by psychologists at Harvard University.  In the study, published Friday in the Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, researchers assigned 270 participants to read 10 passages from classical literature, five of which contained no distressing material and five of which contained distressing material, such as depictions of murder.  The participants were divided into two groups. One group was given a trigger warning before each passage, which read: “TRIGGER WARNING: The passage you are about to read contains disturbing content and may trigger an anxiety response, especially in those who have a history of trauma.”  The second group received no trigger warnings.  The study found that participants who received trigger warnings ended up with a more fragile view of what they and others would be capable of after experiencing trauma.  Why am I not shocked?  Common sense tells us that people are made stronger by confronting a problem, not running away from it.  We see this in real life every day. 

HOW GOES TWITTER – FROM THE TELEGRAPH:  Twitter has hired academics from institutions including Oxford University to help it combat “intolerant discourse” and monitor the “health” of the social network.   The firm is working with social psychology Professor Miles Hewstone and John Gallacher, along with Dr Marc Heerdink from the University of Amsterdam, to study the spread of hate speech.   The move is part of Twitter’s aim to create algorithms that better distinguish between hate speech and conversations that break the “norms of politeness”.  Why do I think the combination of Twitter and the academic world may not be good for our side?  I'm sure I'm just overly concerned.  Right?

July 30,  2018     Permalink

SAD REPORT – AT 1:51 P.M. ET:  A major report has been issued about the mysterious disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 in 2014 – one of commercial aviation's greatest mysteries.   From Fox: 

Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 was likely steered off course deliberately by someone and flew over the Southern Indian Ocean for over seven hours after communications were severed, according to a safety report into the disaster released Monday.

The report by a 19-member international team provided no firm conclusions about what happened, and the head of the MH370 safety investigation team said that more definitive answers could come if the plane's wreckage and black boxes are found.

The Boeing 777 carrying 239 people from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing vanished March 8, 2014, and is presumed to have crashed in the far southern Indian Ocean. The report noted that it was difficult for the aircraft's course change to be attributed to mechanical or system failures.

"It is more likely that such maneuvers are due to the systems being manipulated," the report said.

The report released Monday added that there was insufficient information to determine if the aircraft broke up in the air, or during impact with the ocean.

Chief investigator Kok Soo Chon said during a media briefing there was no evidence of abnormal behavior or stress among the two pilots – Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah and co-pilot, Fariq Abdul Hamid – that could lead them to hijack the plane. All the passengers were also cleared by police and had no pilot training, the investigator said.

“We are not of the opinion it could have been an event committed by the pilots,” Kok said, adding that investigators were not ruling out any possibility since the aircraft's change in course was manually done and the systems in the plane were also manually turned off, according to Reuters.

COMMENT:  Well, I dunno.  I'm not an expert.  But when they say the plane was likely steered off course deliberately, and they then clear the crew, what are you left with?  The report speculates that some third party might have been involved – suggesting remote control – but I wonder if that is simply a face-saving statement.  Politics enters into these reports when they're done by certain countries.  Nations are extremely reluctant to blame crew members of their own airlines for the intentional downing of an airliner. 

In 1999 an Egyptian plane went down in the Atlantic (EgyptAir Flight 990), and our National Transportation Safety Board put the blame squarely on a suicidal co-pilot, and provided documentation from a black box.  But Egypt refused to accept the verdict.

So what is now believed about the Malaysian jet is that it was downed intentionally.  Maybe someday the black boxes will be found.

July 30, 2018       Permalink

BULLETIN:  RAND PAUL AN "AYE" ON JUDGE KAVANAUGH – AT 12:31 P.M. ET:   The Republican senator from Kentucky had been an "undecided" until today.  From The Hill:

GOP Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) on Monday said that he will support President Trump's Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

“After meeting Judge Kavanaugh and reviewing his record, I have decided to support his nomination,” Paul said in a statement.

He added that while no one will “ever completely agree with a nominee,” they “must be judged on the totality of their views, character, and opinions.”

Paul, who previously described himself as “honestly undecided,” has remained tight-lipped since his meeting with Kavanaugh last week, which lasted for more than an hour.

But a person familiar with the discussions previously told The Hill that Paul raised concerns about Kavanaugh as Trump was weighing who to select to succeed Justice Anthony Kennedy. 

And Paul was widely considered a potential swing vote because of his positions on the Fourth Amendment, which established the constitutional right to privacy.

“I have expressed my concern over Judge Kavanaugh’s record on warrantless bulk collection of data and how that might apply to very important privacy cases before the Supreme Court,” Paul said on Monday.

COMMENT:  Paul's decision does not guarantee confirmation for Judge Kavanaugh, but it represents a major hurdle that is overcome.  We now await decisions by Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, both pro-choice Republicans.  If they both decide to support Kavanaugh, it will probably be all over.  That's what we're hoping for.

July 30, 2018       Permalink

WHERE THE PRESIDENT STANDS – AT 11:37 A.M. ET:  We have marveled recently at President Trump's resilience in the polls, despite the ongoing, and growing, onslaught against him by the press.  That resilience continues, as the president opens in a good position this week.  From Rasmussen: 

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows that 47% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Trump’s job performance. Fifty-one percent (51%) disapprove. 

The latest figures include 34% who Strongly Approve of the way Trump is performing and 43% who Strongly Disapprove.

COMMENT:  These are the first numbers to be published after the spectacular economic report released Friday.  The president is at least holding his own.

We'll check the chart the rest of the week.  Clearly, the White House would like to see Mr. Trump at over 50 percent. 

July 30,  2018     Permalink

JULY 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