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MARCH 14,  2017

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:56 P.M. ET: 

THANKS, GUYS – FROM AP:   WASHINGTON (AP) -- Before the first snow fell, U.S. meteorologists realized there was a good chance the late-winter storm wasn't going to produce giant snow totals in big Northeast cities as predicted.  But they didn't change their forecasts because they said they didn't want to confuse the public.  National Weather Service meteorologists in Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington held a conference call Monday afternoon about computer models that dramatically cut predicted snow amounts. They decided to keep the super snowy warnings.  "Out of extreme caution we decided to stick with higher amounts," Greg Carbin, chief of forecast operations at the Weather Prediction Center in suburban Maryland, told The Associated Press.  Don't do us any favors.  Tell us the truth, or buy back all the Duracells and candles that were bought in anticipation of a disaster.

ANOTHER MODERN CONVENIENCE – FROM CNS:  If you’re an illegal alien who has just been busted by immigration authorities, now there’s an app for that.  Huge, a digital agency, developed and launched the mobile app, Notifica, pro bono to enable illegal aliens to easily and quickly call for help if they’ve been caught. The Notifica app sends pre-loaded, pre-written messages tailored to specific illegal alien-defined recipients, like immigration lawyers and relatives simultaneously – with one click of a button.  A PIN number is required for security purposes and to prevent others from viewing the messages.  The Notifica app debuted in Austin, Texas over the past weekend at the South by Southwest Interactive tech festival. Now, Huge is partnering with the illegal alien advocacy group, United We Dream, to promote the app and encourage its use.  Coming soon, a help line for bank robbers who get stuck inside the vault. 

A CRISIS IN PHYSICS – FROM TODDSTARNES.COM:    Physics teachers across the fruited plain are having a difficult time differentiating between boys and girls.  So the American Association of Physics Teachers has decided to provide pronoun stickers at its winter meeting, Campus Reform reports.  The teachers say the pronoun stickers will "improve inclusiveness" and reduce what they call instances of misgendering.  Yes, friends -- "misgendering" is now a thing. He might be a she or she might be a ze or a zir or a they depending on subjective, objective and possessive cases.  "Gender can be fluid, and many of the people you will encounter...fall at various places across the spectrum," read a sign posted online.  Add this to nuclear proliferation as one of the crises of our times.

March 14, 2017       Permalink

REMARKABLE – QUOTE OF THE DAY – AT 12:20 P.M. ET:   The Afghan ambassador to the United States, Dr. Hamdullah Mohib, recently invited to dinner a number of American Gold Star widows who'd lost husbands in Afghanistan.  It was a superb gesture. 

What was also superb was the ambassador's comments on the differences between Presidents Obama and Trump.  This is how he put it, from Independent Journal Review: 

"I've personally met with President Trump at Mar-a-Lago and the president has had two phone conversations with President Ghani [The president of Afghanistan]. One call was after he won the election and one after [Trump] became president. Before the calls, we were advised to keep conversations short because, we were told, Trump will not be interested in the details of the call and does not have a long attention span, so it would be pointless to have a long call.

However, we were pleasantly surprised at how much time President Trump spent asking very informed questions. The first time the presidents spoke, the questions Trump asked impressed us. “How can you win in this fight [against terrorism]?” he asked. “What do you need to become financially independent?” and “How can American business invest in Afghanistan? How can we develop businesses and mining in your country?”

Trump would listen intently after each question, often asking follow-ups. Trump's second call with our president was even longer than the first. Asking these types of questions for our country is something the Obama administration never did. The Obama administration was the most academic administration we have ever had to deal with but the Trump administration has been the most thoughtful and intelligent.

Trump continually asked “How can you win? What does Afghanistan need to win?” in reference to our fight with terrorism. Trump wants to win. Sincerely. All the Obama administration wanted to do was not lose.

COMMENT:  Read the rest.  You'll be taken by the openness of the ambassador and the sharpness of his comments.

But Obama was protected by a leftist press.  Trump is not. 

March 14, 2017       Permalink

ANOTHER FORECASTING FAILURE – AT 10:45 A.M. ET:   It seems to be this way every time.  A huge snowstorm is forecast, and a much smaller one occurs.  We expected a mammoth blizzard here in the New York area and, yes, we're getting a lot of snow.  But the blizzard warning has been cancelled.  From CBS and AP:

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — The National Weather Service has cancelled its blizzard warning for New York City as snow and sleet continues to fall across the Tri-State area.

A winter weather advisory is now in effect for the city, Hudson and northern Nassau counties until 8 p.m. Tuesday.

The new forecast calls for between 4 to 8 inches in New York City. The storm was expected to dump a foot or more of snow on the New York City area with wind gusts of up to 55 mph.

“Mother Nature is an unpredictable lady sometimes,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said a news conference Tuesday. “She was unpredictable today.”

COMMENT:  Yeah, right, Gov.  Unpredictable.  But you and others are telling us that global warming can be predicted 50 years from now, when the Weather Service is consistently wrong on predicting storms that are only a day away.

There have been many ideas floated over the years as to why these major-storm predictions are so often exaggerated.  One is that the Weather Service is covering itself.  It's better to err on the side of exaggeration, goes the reasoning, then be blamed if we get a storm larger than predicted.

Another idea is that exaggerated predictions are driven by TV stations hungry for the higher ratings, and advertising revenues, that go with spectacular reports.  I doubt that.  They like the ratings, but they usually report predictions from official agencies.

Whatever the reason, there is a real record here, and both consumers and governments have spent millions preparing for YUGE storms that didn't materialize.

My own belief is that the actual culprit is the Energizer Bunny.  I've always been suspicious of rabbits.  Very cagey, very sneaky.  And look at all the batteries that get sold when the weather people announce impending doom. 

That bunny must be living very well in San Diego.

March 14, 2017        Permalink

WARNING FOR TRUMP – AT 10:31 A.M. ET:  President Trump's approval number is dropping rapidly in the Rasmussen poll, one of the few polls that, until recently, had him up in the fifties.  From Rasmussen: 

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Tuesday shows that 46% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Trump’s job performance. Fifty-three percent (53%) disapprove.

The latest figures include 30% who Strongly Approve of the way Trump is performing and 43% who Strongly Disapprove. This gives him a Presidential Approval Index rating of -13. (see trends).

Regular updates are posted Monday through Friday at 9:30 a.m. Eastern (sign up for free daily e-mail update).

It looks like winter had one last surprise for residents of the Northeast. More Americans than ever say they hit the road this year to escape the cold.

The Republicans’ proposed replacement for Obamacare is only a week old, but voters are dubious about its impact on the cost and quality of health care. Still, the new proposal already earns better marks than the law it’s intended to replace.

As Congress begins debating ways to change the failing Obamacare system, voters feel more strongly than ever that reducing health care costs is more important than mandating health insurance coverage for everyone.

COMMENT:  I'm guessing that some of this has to do with news reports about the new health plan.  Whatever it is, it's bad news for a president struggling with public approval.  The relentless hatred of the president by much of the press may be taking its toll.  And unforced errors, like accusing former President Obama of wiretapping Trump Tower, without presenting any actual proof, are also taking their toll.

The sadness here is that Trump is doing so many things right – such as building confidence in a growing economy, and changing the psychology of the nation.  It would be tragic if he could not get the job done because of the hatred directed at him.

March 14,  2017     Permalink

MARCH 13,  2017

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:56 P.M. ET: 

ARRIVAL – We are awaiting a huge blizzard here in New York.  I have done all the things I learned to do as a Boy Scout.  I've charged every battery.  I have a full tank of gas.  I've brought in an over-supply of nutritious, life-sustaining foods like popcorn and ice cream.  I have my Midland emergency radio turned on.  I'm at a window watching birds massing in the trees, which is what they apparently do during weather like this.  And I'm waiting for Al Gore to declare the blizzard a product of global warming.  Is there anything else I should be doing?  The Clintons live about 20 minutes from here, and it's rumored that Hillary will blame this storm for low voter turnout.

KIDS JUST WANT TO BE KIDS – FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER:   Faced with students who won't buy lunches low in salt and sugar and jacked up with bland-tasting grains, the nation's 54,000 school cafeteria workers are urging Washington to junk health-focused rules pushed by former first lady Michelle Obama.  Feeling that they have an ally on their side in the Trump administration, their lobby group, the School Nutrition Association, plans to press for less-strict restrictions on ingredients that taste good.  The reason is simple: Studies show that public school students aren't eating what cafeterias are serving, turning many operations into money-losers. While the school districts can opt out, doing so results in federal subsidy cuts for those programs.  I once had to debate a parent who wanted to ban hot dogs for a school class that was going to a Yankees game because they weren't nutritious enough.  Parents like that can destroy Americanism.

WHACKJOBS AHOY – FROM PJ MEDIA:   At a college in Illinois, students seemingly believe that the best way to effect social change is to go to sleep. No, seriously.  "The nap-ins are part of the internal journey to diversity," student coordinator Marissa Amposta, a senior studying art at Southern Illinois University (SIU), told the Daily Egyptian, the student newspaper. "All dreams start while sleeping."  Amposta is facilitating four two-hour sleep sessions in March for Women's History Month, setting up a safe space in the rotunda of Morris Library. She said the sessions are meant to "internally generate student dreams of diversity."   When I sleep tonight, I'm sure diversity will be the first thing that appears.  I can't wait.

March 13, 2017       Permalink

THE PHONY ISSUE – AT 12:44 P.M. ET:  So Trump fired a bunch of US attorneys.  So what?  It's done every time there's a change of administrations.  But this is Trump, so it has to be a scandal.  From Fox: 

Media outrage over the Trump administration’s decision to sack 46 federal prosecutors landed with a thud when they were quickly reminded that former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama had done the same thing, but some in the press have pivoted with a new spin.

It’s outrageous, NBC’s Chuck Todd said, because Attorney General Jeff Sessions (who was summarily fired by President Clinton as a U.S. Attorney in 1993) fired Preet Bharara. After all, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York was on the cover of Time magazine in 2012 and has been touted as a fearless anti-corruption crusader.

“I think it's only getting more attention because of Preet Bharara, to be honest,” Todd said when his “Sunday Today” colleague, Willie Geist, asked him why the Trump administration’s move was any different from Clinton’s attorney general, Janet Reno, firing 93 U.S. Attorneys.

ABC’s David Wright noted that such prosecutor purges have happened before but, according to the Media Research Center, treated that fact as just a convenient excuse for the White House.

“One big difference is that the Trump Justice Department is already embroiled in controversy,” Wright said. “Investigating Russian meddling in the election. Including allegations, Trump campaign officials may have colluded. The attorney general himself is under scrutiny.”

CNN, in a Friday story headlined "Anger mounts over handling of US attorney firings," said the problem with Trump's move is that he didn't give the prosecutors adequate warning.

COMMENT:  There's no great issue here.  True, Preet Bharara is something of a star, and both the president and Jeff Sessions, during the campaign, indicated that they wanted him to stay on.  However, that wasn't a commitment, and Bharara may still be asked to return.  Bharara was the only US attorney who refused to resign, and had to be fired.  Bad form on his part.  A US attorney serves at the pleasure of the president, and resigns when requested.  Bharara's refusal was possibly seen by the White House as an act of rudeness, something Trump doesn't appreciate.

March 13, 2017       Permalink

GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER – AT 10:31 A.M. ET:   German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be meeting the president tomorrow.  Trump has had a number of very successful meetings with foreign leaders since taking office.   He is reportedly very good in one-on-one situations.  Merkel might be a problem, though, as Germany has, in recent years, developed an inflated view of itself.  From Bloomberg: 

President Donald Trump’s first meeting with Germany’s Angela Merkel at the White House on Tuesday will test the power dynamic between the West’s two pre-eminent leaders, one struggling for credibility on the world stage while the other fights for political survival at home.

Some raised eyebrows here.  I really don't think Merkel qualifies as one of West's "two pre-eminent" leaders.  First, no one comes close to the president of the United States in pre-eminence.  Second, I'd put Britain's Theresa May ahead of Merkel, as Britain is far more symbolic of the West than is Germany.  Third, I'd also put Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of Merkel, as he is vastly more creative. 

For months, Trump has accused Merkel of “ruining” Germany by accepting refugees and predicted voters would overthrow her, even while describing her as a great world leader. Merkel has reluctantly emerged as the main defender of the liberal global order that Trump has vowed to upend, as he unsettles European allies with protectionist threats, calls for higher defense spending and praise for the U.K.’s vote to leave the European Union.

Trump clearly believes Merkel is behind the times.  And I think he's right, especially on the refugee issue.  Germany's culture is being changed by the refugee stream, and a nation doesn't have to die culturally to show kindness.  As we say in America, the Constitution is not a suicide pact. 

“This is one of the most important moments early in the Trump presidency,” carrying major ramifications for Trump’s relations with Europe and Russia’s ambitions, said Nicholas Burns, a Harvard professor and former U.S. undersecretary of state.

The two are stylistic opposites, the U.S. president a flamboyant former reality-television star who is guided by instinct and thrives on unpredictability, the German chancellor a physicist by training who’s known as methodical and persistent.

Oh please.  Trump, whether one likes him or not, as a vastly accomplished executive and negotiator.  Calling him a reality-television star is like calling Ronald Reagan a warmed-over movie actor.

Merkel, an 11-year veteran of global summitry sitting at the table with her third U.S. president, has prepared by poring over old comments and videos of the real estate magnate. She can quote interviews Trump has given from memory, according to a German official.

When Merkel hosted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for a private dinner last month in Berlin, she quizzed him for details about his Trump visit days earlier, according to a Canadian government official. In her hunt for insights, Merkel was struck by a Playboy magazine interview Trump gave in 1990 where he said he’d only run for president if he saw the U.S. “continue to go down the tubes.”

“She’s the kind of person who can turn on the persuasion in a one-on-one talk,” said Juergen Hardt, the German government’s coordinator for trans-Atlantic relations. “Her tone with Trump will be friendly.”

COMMENT:  The key point for Merkel is to be sure not to turn Trump into an enemy.  She should treat him with the respect due a man who convinced the American people to give him the presidency.  She will find him a sound and informed negotiator, and it will be clear who the leader of the Free World is.

March 13, 2017        Permalink

A THUMBS UP FOR DONALD – AT 9:24 A.M. ET:  We are getting close to the two-month mark in the Trump presidency.  It's been a rough, but vigorous, beginning, and respected observer Andrew Malcolm gives Trump a thumbs up.  From McClatchy:

Elements of Donald Trump’s presidential style are already emerging and they must be discouraging to his critics.

It’s easy to miss things that do not happen. But perhaps you too have noticed a decline of trivial Trump tweets, starting spats and news cycles many mornings.

Last week — are you sitting down? — Trump canceled a couple of media availabilities. He turned down ESPN’s invitation to provide his own NCAA tournament brackets, a free PR ride on basketball fever annually seized by President Barack Obama.

When reporters yell questions at Trump now, he usually goes deaf, turning away to converse with others. Avoiding opportunities to use or fight with media has not been a Trump trademark since he launched his hopeless presidential campaign 21 months ago, or his public persona decades ago, for that matter.

During the campaigns, Trump was quite successful creating media distractions to change the topic or detract from opponents’ successes and self-destructively some of his own. Not anymore.

Yes, such recent behavior negates the need to respond to WikiLeaks’ newest document dump, the latest Michael Flynn lie or a goofy new Nancy Pelosi plaint.

But it also allows, or perhaps forces, media to focus on the crucial launch of the House Obamacare replacement policies, which Trump has endorsed. And on Trump’s ongoing stream of executive orders starting the fulfillment of numerous campaign promises. And on his impressive debut address to Congress. How did the boastful Trump respond to all that overnight praise? He simply tweeted, “THANK YOU.”

Trump remains underwater in terms of job approval, but Gallup just found a clear majority believe he will restore prosperity.

COMMENT:  Excellent piece, with fine insight from Andrew.  Read the whole thing.  Trump is a president-in-the-making,  He has great potential, and he's developing it, with some visible mistakes along the way.  Obama never developed his potential because he was incapable of believing he could ever make a mistake.

There is a wonderful story about Dwight D. Eisenhower that is instructive here.  In retirement at his Gettysburg farm, Eisenhower was visited by General Harold Johnson, the chief of staff of the Army.  Both Ike and Johnson loved history, and they discussed Plutarch, in the presence of Eisenhower's young military aide.  Afterward, Eisenhower mentioned to the aide that Johnson had made some mistakes.  "President Eisenhower," the aide asked, "why didn't you correct General Johnson?"  Eisenhower replied, and this is an approximate quote, "Young man, I got to where I got by hiding my ego."  Good thought.

March 13,  2017     Permalink