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JUNE 9,  2017

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

TRUMP APPROVAL HOLDS – FROM RASMUSSEN:  The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Friday shows that 46% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Trump’s job performance. Fifty-four percent (54%) disapprove.  The latest figures for Trump include 29% who Strongly Approve of the way Trump is performing and 45% who Strongly Disapprove. This gives him a Presidential Approval Index rating of -16.  Other polls have him lower, but the fact is that, despite an unprecedented bashing by the press, the president isn't collapsing, and other surveys show his policies to be popular.

MAY MAYBE – We reported this morning that British Prime Minister Theresa May, who lost her parliamentary majority in yesterday's election, had already started to rebuild, forming a coalition with an Irish party that will restore majority support.  But later in the day we learned that there's a backlash against May building against May in her own Conservative Party.  Many Conservative leaders hold her personally responsible for the election losses and want her out as prime minister.  This battle could come to a head fairly soon.  It's possible the Conservatives will rule in a coalition government, but without May at the helm.  Stand by for action.

MAJOR CULINARY NEWS – FROM DAILY CALLER:  Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and other members of the U.S. House of Representatives are taking a stand on an important issue: They say members of Congress’s private dining room isn’t fancy enough even though a special “surveillance team” has been created to protect them from being served mystery meat.  Five criminal suspects in a massive congressional information technology systems data breach uncovered in February are still free, but House administrators have created a five-person “surveillance team” to rectify the issue of sub-par food. The Florida Democrat’s insistence on fancier food came at a hearing with House Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Philip Kiko in which he said the top priority should be stopping cyberattacks on politicians, an issue with which Wasserman Schultz has repeatedly struggled.  The Florida lawmaker said she has “spent a lot of time over the years” trying to improve the quality of food served to members.  Debbie, like Hillary, needs to reflect on the joys of retirement. 

June 9, 2017       Permalink

STORY OF A LEAKER – AT 12:51 P.M. ET:   Why, she's just a misunderstood idealist.  How can anyone dislike her?  From Fox: 

The woman accused of leaking classified information once wrote she wanted "to burn the White House Down...find somewhere in Kurdistan to live," prompting prosecutors on Thursday to argue she would flee the country if she was released on bond. 

Reality Winner appeared before a judge in Augusta, Ga., on Thursday who ordered her to remain jailed until her trial. Prosecutors argued that the 25-year-old might try to flee the U.S. if she was released on bond. They added that Winner wrote in her notebook alleged plans to set the White House on fire, travel to Afghanistan and pledge her allegiance to the Taliban, WSB-TV reported. 

Winner also called her mother while in jail and coached her on what to tell the media, urging her to say that her daughter was "scared."

"Mom, those documents. I screwed up," Winner also reportedly confessed to her mom in the recorded jailhouse phone call. 

Winner also allegedly told her sister she was "pretty, white and cute" and that Winner believed her bond hearing would play out in her favor, according to the news station. 

COMMENT:  How in the world did someone like this get a security clearance?  This is not the first case of its kind, where a certified nutjob had access to high-level national secrets.  Will Congress start investigating please?  American lives are involved.

June 9, 2017       Permalink

EMBARRASSING – AT 10:56 A.M. ET:  That's the word I'd use to describe the entire spectacle yesterday surrounding former FBI Director James Comey's testimony to Congress. 

Billed as "must see" TV, maybe on the level of "Dallas" or "The Apprentice," starring Donald Trump, the hearings were far from Earth-shaking.  No case of obstruction of justice was made against the president, although one could argue that he'd acted boorishly at times.  Are you shocked?  Nor was any evidence presented that he or anyone around him engaged in some conspiracy with the Russkies to influence our election.  From IBD:

If there's one thing Congress's Russia hearings have shown, it's that President Trump has driven the Democratic Party and far-left media to near insanity. How else can you explain their unhealthy fixation on all things Trump and nonstop efforts to end his presidency?

No, we're not joking. Listening to the hearings on Wednesday and Thursday, when National Intelligence Director Dan Coats, National Security Director Adm. Michael Rogers, Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, and former FBI Director James Comey testified, was a revelation.

In their questioning, Democrats were plainly not interested in the truth. They merely hoped for something, anything, that would be damning or damaging to Trump. In particular, they hoped for evidence of "obstruction of justice" to impeach Trump.

But they didn't get it. Under persistent questioning Wednesday, Coats, Rogers and McCabe all emphatically denied that Trump had brought improper pressure to bear on the Russia investigation.

None.

Again, on Thursday, Comey drove that point home, saying that he did not perceive anything that Trump said to him as an attempt to obstruct "the broader investigation into Russia or possible links to his campaign."

So in the end, as the current saying goes, it was a big nothing-burger, with cheese. And instead of a grand inquisition, it turned into rather pathetic political theater.

COMMENT:  But, of course, at CNN, the first name in hysteria, it was the most important event in human history, greater than the invention of the hot fudge sundae.  CNN commentators are being treated for shock this very moment.

June 9, 2017       Permalink

WHIZ! – AT 10:14 A.M. ET:  In the immortal words of Staples, "That was easy."  We reported here last night that Theresa May's conservatives lost their Commons majority in the British national election, and that May's hold on the prime ministership was in doubt.

Well, leave it to Theresa.  It took her only hours to get her act together, make some calls, then haul off to see the Queen – I mean the real Queen, the one who lives in the palace.  And, poof, Britain appears to have a new government headed by...Theresa May.  From CNN:

London (CNN) British Prime Minister Theresa May has pledged to form a government that will provide "certainty" and guide the country through Brexit, just hours after voters delivered her party a huge blow at the polls.

May, who visited Buckingham Palace to meet with Queen Elizabeth II Friday, said she would work in particular with Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party, which she described as her "friends and allies"

Promising to move towards a Brexit deal, enabling Britain to exit the European Union, May said the new government would "be able to work together in the interests of the whole United Kingdom."
Brexit talks -- due to start in 10 day's time -- may be delayed and the Prime Minister's personal authority undermined by the shock result, which left the Conservatives short of a working majority by just eight seats.

That's the point the left-leaning press misses.   She only missed a majority by a tiny number.  Labour made gains, but the name of the game in politics is to win.  Unlike figure skating, there's no silver medal.  When May negotiates Brexit, she'll have the full authority of the prime minister's office.

It's an embarrassing turn for May who called the snap election three years earlier than required by law, convinced by opinion polls that seemed to place her in a strong position.

In a night of high drama across the UK, her party shed seats to Jeremy Corbyn's Labour, which surpassed expectations.

It would be nice if the press would ask the question, "Why is it that so many voters went with a party, Labour, headed by a man who blames his own country for terror attacks, sympathizes with terror groups in the Mideast, and has little use for national defense?"  But those questions only occur to mature, conservative journalists.

And yet, it is true that May ran an awful, overconfident campaign, and deserved a bit of a slap.  She is vastly superior to the disgraceful Corbyn in every way, but she will now have to prove herself once again. 

Britain should also reflect on itself.  Once again, as at the start of World War II, it came close to giving power to the surrender crowd.  Corbyn was passionately supported by many college students, raising questions as to what they're being taught.

We wish the prime minister well with her new government, and hope it lasts.   She is an ally of the United States, which is what counts to us.

June 9,  2017     Permalink

JUNE 8,  2017

NO "SHORT TAKES" TONIGHT:

It's very rare that we cancel "Short Takes."  It usually happens on election nights, when we are counting votes and reporting results directly to you.

Tonight we've been absorbing the testimony of James Comey and the stunning (and depressing) results of the British election.  We'll be back in mid-morning, Eastern Time, with observations and news about both.  But we don't have the time to search for our short takes items.

A few quick observations before saying good night.  (It's 3:20 a.m. here.)  The Comey testimony, while not flattering to the president, could lead no honest person to believe that he tried to obstruct justice.  At the same time, Comey's admission that he organized a leak of internal material to The New York Times, through a Columbia University law professor, may well lead to some very intriguing stories about the leak machine in Washington and who's using it.  That professor, by the way, has essentially gone into hiding.  May the jokes flow.

On Britain:  This is trauma.  As we've reported, the Labour Party, which made important gains, is run by a major-league nutbag who has all the important Marxist and soft-on-terror credentials.  Will the political powers let him become prime minister?  That is the question.  Teresa May, based on actual counted votes, has lost her majority in Commons and is severely wounded.  True, her party still was the largest vote getter, and she can form a coalition with another party, but she's left with the prestige of an Edsel and the political stature of Hillary Clinton.  She's a great lady, and it's unfair, but the knives are out for her. 

More on both stories tomorrow.  I will attempt to sleep, although I consider it a waste of time.

June 8, 2017       Permalink

BULLETIN – FIRST RESULTS FROM BRITAIN – AT 7:05 P.M. ET:  Exit polls published almost two hours ago were stunning, and depressing, showing that Theresa May's conservatives not only would fail to increase their majority in Commons, but would actually lose that majority, resulting in a "hung Parliament," where parties would have to form a coalition to form a government.  The exit polls also showed a sharp gain for the Labour Party, currently led by a true-believing left-wing extremist named Jeremy Corbyn.  Corbyn is so far out that British security services apparently kept him under surveillance because they thought him a subversive.  Compared to Jeremy Corbyn, Bernie Sanders is Ronald Reagan.

However, the actual ballots are starting to come in, and the result might be better for conservatives than the exit polls predicted.  It's too early to make definitive predictions.  But if May cannot even hold on to a bare majority, she's heavily damaged.   Whether she could then stay as prime minister would be problematical.

June 8, 2017       Permalink

BRITAIN VOTES – AT 11:46 A.M. ET:  Britain is voting.  It's already late afternoon over there.  From The Telegraph: 

Theresa May is on course to increase her majority in the House of Commons with a final General Election 2017 poll giving the Tories a lead of eight points over Labour as the nation heads to the ballot box.

The Conservatives had as much as a 24 point lead when the snap election was called by the Prime Minister.

But Ipsos MORI’s final 2017 election survey for the Evening Standard, which was undertaken on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, puts the Conservatives on 44 per cent and Labour on 36.

COMMENT:  The polls clearly narrowed since the start of the campaign, but latest reports suggest that conservatives gained in the last three days or so.

May has not run a very good campaign.  But we hope that won't be held strongly against her when voters decide whether she, or her hard-left opponent, is best suited for national leadership. 

British polls have a very mixed history, so I wouldn't take late numbers as gospel. 

BULLETIN:  Some possibly troubling news from Britain.  The British press reports a surge in last-minute voter registration, with most of it coming from young voters.  That is negative news because the youth vote is heavily pro-Labour.   However, analysts caution that the actual number of votes that the new registrations will yield may not be that important in the overall.

Polls close at 10 p.m. in Britain, 5 p.m. ET in the United States.  Vote counting starts immediately.  We should know the winners tonight.

June 8, 2017       Permalink

IDIOT – AT 10:21 A.M. ET:  We're kind and gentle here, the very picture of patience and tolerance.  But even we get furious at times at the personal behavior of some "public servants."

The case in question today is one Kamala Harris, the new Dem senator from California, elected to replace the intellectually challenged Barbara Boxer.  Thus far, though, Harris – seen as a potential presidential candidate by some – has demonstrated only that she is Babs Boxer on steroids.  This potential president makes Donald Trump look like an old smoothie.  From Daily Caller:

Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) brutally suspended Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) from speaking during the Senate Intel hearing when she refused to let assistant attorney general Rod Rosenstein answer any questions.

Rosenstein was trying to explain why special counsel Robert Mueller cannot be fired by the president when Harris cut him off.

“Sir, if I may, the greater assurance is not that you and I believe in Mueller’s integrity…it is that you would put in writing an indication based on your authority as the acting attorney general that he was full independence,” she said.

Rosenstein looked annoyed during her entire question, and started to respond, “He has the full independence as authorized by those regulations,” before Harris stopped him again.

Burr wasn’t interested in allowing Harris to continue to interrupt the witnesses and cut off her speaking time so Rosenstein could finish his response.

“The senator will suspend. The chair is going to exercise his right to allow the witness to answer the question,” Burr said to eye rolls from Harris. “The committee is on notice to provide the witnesses the courtesy, which has not been extended all the way across, extend the courtesy for questions to get answered.”

“Mr. Chairman, respectfully, I would like to point out that this witness…” Harris started yet again.

“Mr. Rosenstein, will you … the senator will suspend. Mr. Rosenstein, would you like to fully answer the question?” Burr offered.

Rosenstein looked relieved to finally have speaking time, and responded, “the truth is, I have a lot of experience with these issues and I could speak for a very long time about it.”

COMMENT:  Harris has done this before.  She is thoroughly obnoxious, and her presidential dreams might well end with a severe Senate reprimand if she continues her rudeness.  The recordings made of these hearings will be used against her.

She apparently attended the Joe McCarthy Charm School and graduated with high honors.  If she doesn't make it in politics, she could teach others. 

She's a three-fer – part African-American, part Asian-American, and a woman.  A perfect Democrat.  A multicultural dream.  The Dems must be discouraged by what they see.  Or maybe they just don't care.

June 8, 2017        Permalink 

TODAY – AT 8:53 A.M. ET:  What a major day in news.  Why, we understand that James Comey is combing his hair at this very instant, ready to go testify before a congressional committee.  Yes, it's that James Comey.  Former FBI director.  Mr. Big.  The Democratic Party's great white hope.  There's nothing else that comes near this in import.  This is the greatest day of testimony in human history!  I know, CNN told me.

Oh wait.  I found something else that's happening.  Great Britain, America's most important transatlantic ally, is having a major national election.  Almost as important as James Comey putting on his tie!  If Theresa May's conservatives win, we dodge a bullet.  But if Jeremy Corbyn, an ultra-leftist terrorist sympathizer and certified wingnut, can guide his party to victory, the Western alliance will be in deep trouble.  Okay, it's not as important as James Comey knotting his tie, but it's something to look up on the internet, as you'll probably never find the British election on CNN, unless you hit the right 30-second spot. 

Oh, yeah, I almost forgot.  The Iranian parliament was attacked by terrorists, apparently from ISIS.  Happened yesterday.  Anyone remember?  Some say it's a big deal, that now Iran might strike out wildly in retaliation.  Look, I don't want to take your time away from the news bulletin that James Comey is looking for his car keys, but maybe give Iran a thought.

James Comey is on the road.  CNN is in ecstasy.  This is bigger than the Civil War!

Forget everything else.   There's no business like testimony business.

June 8,  2017     Permalink