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JUNE 22,  2018

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

SUCH A HERO – FROM THE PORTLAND PRESS HERALD:   Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Zak Ringelstein was arrested Friday for refusing to leave a child detention center in Texas after being told he would not be allowed inside.  “Zak is now a political prisoner of the Trump regime,” read a tweet from Ringelstein’s campaign account.  It’s not clear what Ringelstein was arrested for, but he had announced on Wednesday that he was traveling to McAllen, Texas, to bring supplies to children separated from their parents under President Trump’s policy of zero-tolerance for migrants who cross the border illegally...He was arrested after persistently asking authorities to be let into a detention facility. The confrontation was broadcast on his campaign’s Facebook page.  Some elected members of Congress have had difficulty gaining access, too, so Ringelstein’s attempt was likely never going to be successful.   I wasn't aware that shortage of supplies was a problem.  This looks like major-league grandstanding.  Watch for a "free Zak" campaign.

THUMBS DOWN ON MEDIA – FROM HOT AIR:   Now, come the Knight Foundation and Gallup Polls dissecting Americans’ thoughts about media. In general, Americans overall estimate that of the news they’re exposed to via radio, TV and print, nearly two-thirds of it is biased (62 percent).  They believe that nearly half the news they see is inaccurate (44 percent). And they’re sure that more than a third of the news moving through those media conduits is misinformation, that is, wrong or fake but distributed as if true.  They also believe that 64 percent of news carried by social media is inaccurate. And — maybe you’ve felt this way too — more than 80 percent of adult Americans report feeling angry or bothered by detecting such false reports. They believe that 65 percent of such news is misinformation and a whopping 80 percent is biased.  Not exactly a ringing endorsement of media integrity.   And it's getting worse, not better.  A number of journalists don't even seem to care whether their stories are accurate, as long as the right social cause is served.  A "free press" is a guarantee of nothing.

EXPOSED!  CAUGHT! – FROM BREITBART:   White House senior adviser Stephen Miller’s third- grade classmate penned an op-ed for Politico, writing how President Trump’s loyal staffer “was obsessed with tape and glue.”  In the Politico op-ed, John Muller, who sat next to Miller in the third grade, described in detail how the senior adviser once played with glue and preferred other classmates not touch his belongings.  Muller writes in Politico:  "He especially was obsessed with tape and glue. Along the midpoint of our desk, Stephen laid down a piece of white masking tape, explaining that it marked the boundary of our sides and that I was not to cross it. The formality of this struck me as odd. I was a fairly neat kid, at least at school, and I had never spread my things to his side of the desk. Stephen, meanwhile, could not have been much messier: His side of the desk was sticky and peeling, littered with scraps of paper, misshapen erasers and pencil nubs."  Now we know the whole gut-wrenching truth.  Misshapen erasers.  That's all I have to know.  This country is in danger.

June 22,  2018     Permalink

A SAD STATE OF AFFAIRS – AT 1:36 P.M. ET:  We return to Middlebury College, which had one of the worst outbreaks of left-wing violence last year.  It's still in a sad state.  Middlebury used to be known for its foreign-language programs.  Now it's known for the intolerance of some of its students.  From College Fix:

It will be some time before Middlebury College stops being associated with violent left-wing intolerance – even among its own students.

A writing and linguistics professor is conducting an ongoing survey of students at the Vermont liberal arts school where American Enterprise Institute scholar Charles Murray and his faculty interviewer were physically attacked, sending the latter to the hospital.

Early results suggest that true ideological diversity is being inhibited because students are afraid of being seen as insufficiently woke.

Writing & Rhetoric Program Director Shawna Shapiro writes about student attitudes for Inside Higher Ed, saying they had “complex reactions that didn’t fit the simplistic ‘free speech vs. inclusion/diversity’ dichotomy” that typically prevails.

Seven in 10 students in the sample identify as “left-leaning,” yet even these students say by a 4-1 margin that it’s “very important” or “important” to talk about controversial issues with people whose viewpoints are different than theirs.

Most of the entire sample are already having such conversations, more so over meals or in residence halls than in class or public lectures.

COMMENT:  Read the whole piece.  It's very well done.  It also provides room for hope.  There are both students and faculty members who understand the problem of ideological rigidity – and threat – and are trying to do something about it.

June 22, 2018       Permalink

FIGHTING BACK – AT 12:30 P.M. ET:  We are seeing signs of serious resistance to the new McCarthyism, where conservatives and people of faith are routinely smeared as racists, homophobes, Islamophobes and everything phobes.  Reputations are ruined, people driven out of jobs and professions, even their children are stigmatized.  Many have had enough.  From PJ Media: 

On Wednesday, no fewer than 47 nonprofit leaders maligned by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) — many if not most of whom are considering a lawsuit against the organization — warned a vast array of executives and leaders that if they parrot the SPLC's damaging "hate group" labels, they would be "complicit" in "defamation."

"Editors, CEOs, shareholders and consumers alike are on notice: anyone relying upon and repeating its misrepresentations is complicit in the SPLC's harmful defamation of large numbers of American citizens who, like the undersigned, have been vilified simply for working to protect our country and freedoms," the signatories wrote.

The letter followed news — broken at PJ Media — that no fewer than 60 organizations are considering suing the SPLC following a groundbreaking settlement in which the organization formally apologized to a Muslim reformer, Maajid Nawaz, for branding him an "anti-Muslim extremist."

In 2016, the SPLC published its "Field Guide to Anti-Muslim Extremists," listing Muslim reformer Maajid Nawaz, a practicing Muslim, as one such extremist. The left-wing group listed various and changing reasons for including him, even at one point mentioning that he had gone to a strip club for his bachelor party. On Monday, the SPLC apologized and paid $3.375 million to settle a lawsuit Nawaz had filed.

"We haven't filed anything against the SPLC, but I think a number of organizations have been considering filing lawsuits against the SPLC because they have been doing to a lot of organizations exactly what they did to Maajid Nawaz," Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, told PJ Media on Tuesday.

COMMENT:  Good going.  The SPLC has been around since 1971.  Contrary to its name, it is an extremely wealthy organization paying very high salaries to its staff.  There is no poverty at the Southern Poverty Law Center.

And many of its "reports" have the familiar ring of the blacklisting groups of the 1950s.  A bad mark from the SPLC can be devastating, even if it comes without evidence.

It is time to resist, and I'm glad to see that the victims of the new McCarthyism are organizing.

June 22, 2018       Permalink

CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER – In every era there is a commentator who, in the minds of many, defines the best of his profession. 

In the early part of the 20th century that person was probably Walter Lippmann.  I didn't happen to like him, but one could not seriously doubt the power of his intellect.  In mid-century, as radio and television became the dominant suppliers of news, the defining commentator was Edward R. Murrow.  His voice was so familiar to Americans that he, and the entertainer Arthur Godfrey, were chosen as the two voices that would speak to America in the event of a nuclear attack.  Agree with him or not, Murrow's observations were followed and sought after.

In our time, the man many of us automatically looked to was Charles Krauthammer, who died yesterday.  His life was filled with penetrating commentary, always delivered without hatred or condescension.  He was a man who overcame a devastating injury suffered while a student at the Harvard medical school that left him paralyzed from the neck down.  He not only finished medical school with distinction, he went on to become a board-certified psychiatrist who did important original research.  And then, seeking his life's true work,  he made the transition to journalism, where he won the Pulitzer Prize.

He loved baseball.  He loved America.  He loved humor.  At times one had the feeling that he'd rather have been funny than serious.  As a writer, I get that, for making someone laugh is the hardest task a writer has.  And the most satisfying.

What did he teach us?  Of all things, I believe Charles Krauthammer taught us the difference between education and wisdom.   Yes, he had a superb formal education, but he never felt that it automatically made him a better person, or a more righteous one.   Education does not guarantee wisdom.  Nor does it guarantee goodness.  In an age that has developed the cult of the college graduate, Krauthammer's wisdom came from his own observations, his own thoughts, his own ethics.  True education, he knew, is what happens after formal education ends.  And the wisest, like Lincon, may have little formal education at all.

Charles Krauthammer will be missed, but he will be replaced.  We have quoted before the old French proverb that the graveyards of the world are filled with indispensable men.  There will be some other defining commentator.  He or she may be writing today.  Charles Krauthammer, whose ego always was under strict control, would welcome that person to the stage.

Until that writer comes along, there will be a great void in our world.

June 22,  2018     Permalink 

JUNE 21,  2018

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

REMARKABLE – FROM CNBC:   The Democratic National Committee can officially rule out hosting its convention in Denver.  The Denver Post reported Wednesday that the city withdrew its bid to host the Democratic National Convention in 2020 because the date's don't work with the city's schedule.  Amber Miller, a Denver city spokeswoman, told the Post that the July 13-16 dates for the event coincide with prior plans.  "There are major commitments that cannot be moved without significant impact," Miller said.
Politico also reported Wednesday that Denver was one of four cities to make the cut — along with Houston, Miami Beach, Florida, and Milwaukee.  Oh, come on.  The schedule?  Seriously?  I suspect the real reason is a fear of violence, and the impact that could have on the city.  Schedules can be adjusted and cities have traditionally sought political conventions.  But these days a convention can expect the nut element to show up.

AMERICANS BLAME PARENTS FOR IMMIGRATION CRISIS – FROM DAILY CALLER:  According to a new Rasmussen poll, a majority of Americans blame illegal immigrant parents for the child crisis on the border over the U.S. government.  The media has put a hyper focus on the separation of families at the border over the last several weeks, leading President Donald Trump to sign an executive order ending the separation. Current U.S. law does not allow families to be detained together if the parents are referred for prosecution for illegal border crossing.  However, the Rasmussen poll shows that Americans don’t blame the Trump administration for the approximately 2,000 children who have been separated from their parents.
54 percent of likely voters polled by Rasmussen said that they think the parents are more to blame for breaking the law.  And that is the correct answer.

ANOTHER ONE – FROM MSN:   Intel Corp Chief Executive Brian Krzanich resigned on Thursday after a probe found his consensual relationship with an employee violated company policy.  The head of the largest U.S. chipmaker is the latest in a line of powerful men in business and politics to lose their jobs or resign over relationships viewed as inappropriate, a phenomenon highlighted by the #MeToo movement.  "An ongoing investigation by internal and external counsel has confirmed a violation of Intel's non-fraternization policy, which applies to all managers," Intel said in a statement.  Isn't it time to develop some common sense on this issue?  Must people, men and women, be destroyed?  We should develop creative ways to set right those who have strayed, without extinguishing them and denying society their talents.

June 21,  2018     Permalink

A GREAT GUY – AT 11:04 P.M. ET:  We're talking about the new U.S. ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell.  Not all Germans love him.  They're shocked, shocked, that he seeks to represent the United States, and actually thinks that's his job.  We like him.  From the Jerusalem Post:   

The new US ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, requested the German government to block Iran's Mahan Air from flying within German airspace ad use of landing rights in the country because of the airline's material support for terrorism. The top envoy has also spearheaded efforts to stop the spread of antisemitism.

In a meeting last week with a senior delegation from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee to Berlin, Grenell said that "Here in Germany, I have asked the German government to support our efforts to stop an airline called Mahan Air from utilizing German airspace and airports. We know that Mahan Air has been used by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps [IRGC] as a mode of transport for weapons, resources, and fighters, so we’re asking our allies to help us put a stop to it."

The Trump administration designated the IRGC a terrorist organization in October. Canada's House of Commons called last week for the IRGC to be classified a terrorist entity. German Chancellor Angela Merkel's administration and the Bundestag have declined to take action against the IRGC.

COMMENT:  Grenell has been particularly vigorous in confronting the German government on its relationship with Iran.  German firms are very active in Iran.  Grenell has not hesitated to speak publicly, and negatively, about those economic links. 

Some German officials have demanded that Grenell be recalled to the United States.  There is no chance of that.  He is doing what he's supposed to do.

June 21,  2018     Permalink

MELANIA TRAVELS – AT 1:10 P.M. ET:  Melania Trump has gone to the border to visit immigrant children.  Watch to see the reaction she gets from the hate-Trump press.  From The Hill: 

First lady Melania Trump on Thursday made a surprise trip to Texas to visit detention facilities housing children separated from their families due to the Trump administration’s “zero-tolerance” immigration policy. 

The visit comes one day after President Trump signed an executive order intended to end the practice of separating families who illegally cross the U.S. southern border, which was widely condemned in the U.S. and abroad.

White House officials said the first lady urged the president to keep families together, which may have played a role in Trump’s decision to change his mind.

“I’m looking forward to seeing the immigrant children ... We all know they're here without their families and I want to thank you for your hard work, your kindness and your compassion you're giving them in these hard times,” Melania Trump told workers at the Upbring New Hope Children’s Shelter in the border city of McAllen.

The shelter currently houses about 60 kids, ages 5 to 17, from Central America. Six of the children were separated from parents, and the rest arrived as unaccompanied minors, according to a senior administration official.

Melania Trump asked shelter staff how she “can help these children to reunite with their families as quickly as possible.”

COMMENT:  The Trump White House mishandled the issue, and underestimated the sheer dishonesty of many journalists in covering it.  It is a warning of what is to come if Trump runs for re-election, which he is expected to do.

As noted, we should watch to see whether Melania is shown any respect.  She's been a fine first lady, but some cannot accept her because of the man she married.

June 21, 2018     Permalink

SOME SLIPPAGE – AT 11:50 A.M. ET:  We've been following the Rasmussen tracker this week to see if the president is suffering any damage because of the onslaught against him on the immigration issue.  He has, in fact, lost two points today, a troubling drop.  From Rasmussen: 

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Thursday shows that 46% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Trump’s job performance. Fifty-two percent (52%) disapprove. 

COMMENT:  Obviously, not good.  We hope it's temporary.  The attacks on the president are the worst since he took office.  He's being portrayed as a cruel monster.  It is typical left-wing stuff.

Sadly, some of the Trump haters in the Republican Party are using this as an opportunity to get back at the president for real or imagined grievances.  He is disliked, as Nixon was disliked.  Indeed, I have always believed that Nixon wasn't driven from office by Watergate.  That was just the excuse.  He was driven from office because he was Richard Nixon.

We also see that Michael Cohen, the president's former personal lawyer, has resigned as deputy finance chair of the Republican National Committee, citing, as one reason, a difference over immigration policies.

Are you laughing already.

Mr. Cohen has his own problems.  He will probably face jury trials.  And on those juries, given their locations, will be minorities.  Why not butter them up now? 

The "immigration thing" will provide cover for many people for a long time.

June 21, 2018       Permalink