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LAST WEEK!

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JUNE 20,  2018

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:50 P.M. ET:

STARBUCKS NOT STARRING – FROM THE WASHINGTON TIMES:  Starbucks may have appeased progressives with its social-justice workshops and open-bathroom policy, but such moves have failed to caffeinate the company’s bottom line.  The coffee giant’s stock took a tumble Wednesday after CEO Kevin Johnson announced that Starbucks would close 150 company-owned stores next year instead of the expected 50, with an emphasis on underperforming shops in densely populated urban areas, and lowered growth projections.  Mr. Johnson acknowledged that the decision to shut down 8,000 U.S. stores on May 29 for anti-bias training, driven by the high-profile arrests of two black men in Philadelphia, played a role in the company’s sluggish second-quarter performance.  “In this current quarter, certainly we had an unplanned initiative driven out of the Philadelphia incident, we closed all our stores for training, we had to delay some marketing, but none of that is an excuse,” Mr. Johnson told CNBC. “The fact is the way I think about a growth company at scale is we’ve got to deliver consistent growth, month after month, quarter after quarter, and year after year. And we have not done that.”  Concentrate on coffee and on lowering prices, and forget about saving the world.  Others do that better.

A NEWS ORGANIZATION? – FROM FOX:   The House Judiciary and Oversight committees questioned Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz over his bombshell report into FBI and DOJ misconduct during the Hillary Clinton email probe this week – but viewers who rely on NBC’s embattled “Nightly News” would have no idea.  NBC’s Lester Holt skipped the Horowitz hearing during Monday's broadcast, the only anchor to ignore the news.  Things were no different on Tuesday, when Holt began his newscast with a lengthy feature on President Trump’s zero-tolerance immigration policy unfolding on the Southern border that included reporter Gabe Gutierrez speaking with migrant families.  After several other immigration segments, Holt shifted to weather before a story on proposed tariffs with China.  That is not a news organization.  It is an editorial page with reporters attached.  Not exactly Huntley and Brinkley.

MARTHA ROMPS – FROM THE HILL:   Rep. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) surged into first place with a commanding 14-point lead in Arizona’s closely watched GOP Senate primary, according to a new poll.
A poll conducted by Phoenix-based OH Predictive Insights (OHPI) has McSally ahead with a little over 39 percent of the vote, followed by former state Sen. Kelli Ward at 24.5 percent and former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio trailing far behind at nearly 14 percent. About 22 percent of voters remain undecided.  This is a big shift, since OHPI’s last poll, from April, had Ward in first place and leading McSally by 9 points in the race to replace retiring GOP Sen. Jeff Flake. Arizona will hold its primary on Aug. 28.
Mike Noble, OHPI’s chief pollster, said McSally’s rise can be attributed to her improved name recognition and willingness to cast herself as President Trump's ally.   She is probably the most electable of the GOP candidates.  She is a graduate of the Air Force Academy, and rose to the rank of colonel in the Air Force.  The Republicans must hold this seat in the U.S. Senate.  The probable Dem candidate, Kyrsten Sinema, is from her party's left flank, although poses as a moderate.  She must be defeated.

June 20, 2018       Permalink

WHERE THE PRESIDENT STANDS – AT 11:15 A.M. ET:  It has been a rough week for President Trump.  He is being subjected to an overwhelming hate campaign based on immigration policies he did not begin.  One perfectly reasonable question to ask is whether this will dent his rising approval ratings, which themselves could have an effect on our upcoming midterms.  So far, we're seeing no effect.  From Rasmussen: 

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Wednesday shows that 48% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Trump’s job performance. Fifty percent (50%) disapprove. 

The latest figures include 34% who Strongly Approve of the way Trump is performing and 41% who Strongly Disapprove. This gives him a Presidential Approval Index rating of -7.

COMMENT:  That's pretty much what we've been seeing from Rasmussen, and it runs the only daily tracking poll left.  Rasmussen also has a good record of accuracy.

The piling on against the president on the immigration issue, especially the crocodile tears of phony reporters and a few congressmen, may actually backfire.  I saw one black congressman who seemed ready to cry over parents being separated from children at our southern border.  But black children in America are murdered by the carload each week, and I've never seen that member of Congress weep for them.  I wonder why.

June 20, 2018       Permalink 

THE ECONOMIC ENGINE – AT 11:02 A.M. ET:  A good economy affects so many things, including, of course, the financing of the United States Government.  There's good news on that front.  Via The New York Times:   

The number of Americans seeking Social Security disability benefits is plunging, a startling reversal of a decades-old trend that threatened the program’s solvency. It is the latest evidence of a stronger economy pulling people back into the job market or preventing workers from being sidelined in the first place.

The drop is so significant that the agency has revised its estimates of how long the program will continue to be financially secure. This month, the government announced that the program would not run out of money until 2032, four years later than its previous estimate last year. Two years ago, the government had warned that the funds might be depleted by 2023.

In addition to stronger economic growth, the drop reflects newly tightened standards for eligibility and the increasing number of baby boomers who are leaving the program because they have become eligible for Social Security retirement benefits and Medicare.

Fewer than 1.5 million Americans applied to the Social Security Administration for disability coverage last year, the lowest since 2002. Applications are running at an even lower rate this year, government officials say.

All told, 8.63 million workers received disability benefits in May, down from a peak of 8.96 million in September 2014. A drop of several hundred thousand may not sound like much. But it is a sharp turnaround from what seemed to be an inexorable rise, in which the disability rolls more than doubled over the past 25 years. That increase led some conservative lawmakers to criticize the program as wasteful and riddled with fraud. 

COMMENT:  It's a good time to take a hard look at the way the program is run.  True, the booming economy is having its positive effect, but the economy can't boom forever, and the Social Security System must be ready for the next downturn, with its inevitable increase in those seeking benefits.

June 20,  2018     Permalink

JUNE 19,  2018

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:54 P.M. ET: 

ETERNAL VIGILANCE, MY FRIEND – FROM AFP:   LONDON, United Kingdom – An extremist who plotted a suicide attack on British Prime Minister Theresa May wanted to decapitate her in a bomb and knife assault, a court heard Tuesday.  Naa’imur Zakariyah Rahman, 20, allegedly wanted to make “big news” by storming Downing Street as May spoke outside her office.  Rahman was fully prepared to die in the attack, England’s Old Bailey central criminal court in London heard.  I wonder how many similar attacks are being planned right now.

WHY NOT TEN? – FROM THE DETROIT FREE PRESS:   LANSING — The unprecedented outpouring of activism from students after the shooting at Marjorie Douglas Stoneman High School in Parkland, Fla., in February is the genesis for a bill introduced in the Legislature last week that would change the voting age in Michigan to 16.  "We allow 16-year-olds to go off and get jobs and pay taxes, but we fail to allow them to exercise their voice come election time," said Sen. David Knezek, D-Dearborn Heights. "Young people are setting aside their differences and identifying issues they think need to change. And they can do everything to get that change except vote."  The real reason for the absurd idea is that young people tend to be liberal, and the Democratic Party wants their vote.  My own feeling has always been that we should raise the voting age to 25, to compensate for the mass immaturity that seems to be gripping the nation.

SAD FOR GENERAL ELECTRIC – FROM CNN MONEY:  S&P Dow Jones Indices announced on Tuesday that the iconic maker of light bulbs and jet engines will be replaced in the 30-stock index by Walgreens Boots Alliance.  GE (GE) was an original member of the Dow in 1896 and has been in it continuously since 1907.  Being ousted from the Dow is the latest indignity for GE, which is dealing with a serious cash crisis caused by years of bad deals. GE has replaced its CEO, slashed thousands of jobs and cut its coveted stock dividend in half.  Last year, GE was the worst-performing stock in the Dow, losing almost half of its value.  Used to be a household name.  And its spokesman used to be Ronald Reagan.  And its slogan was, "Progress is our most important product."

June 19, 2018       Permalink 

CALIFORNIA DREAMIN' – AT 11:21 P.M. ET:  There are many wonderful things about California.  Indeed, I have family there, and have spent much happy time in the golden state.  But there are some things, namely the left-wing fringe of the Democratic Party, that are less-than-wonderful.  Their newest proposal is an example.  From the Sacramento Bee: 

Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday advanced a proposal that would restrict the circumstances under which California police officers could use deadly force.

Assembly Bill 931, which would raise the standard for lethal use of force from “reasonable” to “necessary,” passed the Senate Public Safety Committee on an initial vote of 5-1.

It was the first hearing for the controversial measure, which has raised sharp objections from law enforcement groups that contend it would put officers’ lives in danger. Under the bill, deadly force could only be justified if there were no reasonable alternatives.

“We ask officers to run toward danger and sacrifice their safety,” Cory Salzillo of the California State Sheriffs’ Association said. It would be “unfair” to ask them to do so when an after-the-fact analysis might undermine their actions in the field, he added.

Supporters filled the committee room, many of them carrying pictures of friends and family members who had been killed by police. Several lawmakers expressed that the bill was necessary to address a deeper problem of racism in policing.

 “It always blows me away that law enforcement only fear for their life when they are facing black and brown people,” Sen. Steve Bradford, D-Gardena, said.

COMMENT:  That is simply not true.  Most people killed in police shootings are in fact white.  However, that is really not the issue.

The "reasonable man" test is time honored.  Yes, it has been abused on occasion.  No standard is perfect.  And yes, there are bad cops.  That's why we have internal affairs divisions in police departments.  And yes, there are prejudiced juries that exonerate officers who should be convicted.  All these things are true.

But Mr. Salzillo is right.  We ask officers, many of them married, with children, to run toward danger and risk their lives.  If an officer fires his weapon, and that is actually rare, he does so because he reasonably believes he will be killed if he doesn't.  The decision is almost always made in the heat of action.  If you drop "reasonable" and put in "necessary" you are asking for a value judgment that would confound even Solomon. 

Who would you get to patrol the streets?  Who would want that job if a cop could be second-guessed by someone who never travels in anything but a taxi and determines that, while reasonable, the officer's action was not "necessary"?

The answers to the rare but heartbreaking examples of mistaken shootings are much better training, the development of non-lethal tactics, and vastly improved community-police relations.  I might also add that teaching young people, especially in minority communities, to approach police officers with respect, rather than hostility, might help.

June 19, 2018       Permalink

OPTIMISM – AT 12:08 P.M. ET:   The psychology of America at the moment is decidedly positive and optimistic, and that is a very good thing.  From the Washington Times: 

More Americans are satisfied with the country’s direction than at any point during the Obama presidency, according to a Gallup poll released Monday.

The survey found that 38 percent of the population is content with the way things are going — the highest rate since 39 percent of the country reported they were satisfied in September of 2005.

The satisfaction rate, which Gallup began tracking in 1979, is also back in line with the historical average of 37 percent.

And it’s the first time since 2005 that Gallup has recorded consecutive months with satisfaction above 35 percent. Last month, 37 percent of the country said they were content with the way things are going.

One’s satisfaction with the country largely depends on one’s political party, the poll found.
Among Republicans, 68 percent said they were satisfied with the country’s direction, compared to just 13 percent of Democrats. Independents said they were satisfied at a 36 percent clip.

Men were more likely than women to have a positive view of the way things are going, 45 to 31 percent.

Among different age groups, people older than 55 had the highest opinion of the country’s direction at 41 percent. The 18-34 demographic reported a 33 percent satisfaction rate, while those in the 35-54 age bracket said they were satisfied at a 37 percent clip.

An advanced degree also increases the chance that one will be dissatisfied with the country’s direction. Among postgraduates, 30 percent were satisfied with the way things are going, compared to 37 percent of college graduates, 39 percent of those with some college and 40 percent of those with no college.

COMMENT:  We have to give Trump credit for this.  With all his faults, he fights for America, and is not ashamed of it, and it is reflected in public support.  Other polls show similar optimism.  The left is on its way to a huge group-therapy session.  Covered by Obamacare.

June 19, 2018       Permalink

REAL COMBAT – AT 11:51 A.M. ET:  A less gentlemanly day in Congress.  I love it.  From Fox:

House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy scorched James Comey in a blistering opening statement at a high-profile congressional hearing on Tuesday, declaring “we can’t survive with a justice system we don’t trust.”

Gowdy kicked off the hearing featuring testimony from Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz on his review of the Hillary Clinton email case. The top DOJ watchdog is on Capitol Hill for the second day in a row to discuss the explosive report.

But Gowdy launched into Tuesday's hearing with a fiery condemnation of the former FBI director and certain agents in the bureau he led.

Referring to IG findings that Comey defied his superiors in his handling of the Clinton email case, Gowdy accused the ex-director of essentially operating by his own rules.

"We see Jim Comey and Jim Comey alone deciding which DOJ policies to follow and which to ignore," he said.

Gowdy accused Comey of watering down his initial statement on the investigation's findings and making other decisions on his own. While Comey has suggested he acted unilaterally out of concern for the Justice Department's handling of the case, Gowdy questioned why he didn't seek a special counsel -- as he indirectly did regarding concerns about the Trump administration.

“Instead, he appointed himself FBI director, attorney general, special counsel, lead investigator and the general arbiter of what is good and right in the world according to him,” Gowdy said.

Gowdy said that Horowitz’s report, which was released last Thursday, should “conjure anger, disappointment and sadness in anyone who reads it.”

COMMENT:  I'm glad to see the tension and the cutting comments.  These "investigations" have gone on too long, and it's time to get to the bottom of important matters – especially the strange exoneration of Hillary Clinton and the virtual takeover of the FBI by anti-Trump forces.

Gowdy is the man to do it.

June 19,  2018     Permalink