Please note that you can leave a comment on any of our posts at our Facebook page.  Subscribers can also comment at length at our Angel's Corner Forum.

Our Angel's Corner archive is here.

MARCH 24,  2017

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

HEALTH CARE – Chin up, conservatives.  The GOP didn't quite make it in trying to replace Obamacare with something that works, and the mainstream media is gloating as never before.  Their overall theme:  Trump, the so-called great negotiator, couldn't make the deal.  The Dems, who've lost a thousand legislative seats in the last eight years, were positively ecstatic.  One Dem columnist even cited a poll showing the growing popularity of Bernie Sanders.  Of course, Sanders isn't governing, so popularity is easy to come by.  Let them all gloat, just as they gloated when Donald Trump won the Republican nomination.  The Dems then marched, in high Dewey, right into an unexpected defeat.  The doom and gloom we feel right now will dissipate, and we will move on to tax reform in Congress, although it's possible that new ideas for health-care reform will also surface.  And don't let the polls get you glum.  Obama ranked low in the polls during most of his presidency.  It's common.

GOOD SPIRIT – FROM FOX:   They’re mad as hell and they’re not going to take it anymore.  So they’re marching.  On Saturday, backers of President Trump are planning marches across the country in a show of unity and support for his agenda. In several places, anti-Trump groups are vowing to try to undermine the rallies.  Pro-Trump groups say they are tired of all the attacks on a president who has been in office barely three months.  "Why are we here is because we have a president that has been in office, by the time of the march, what ... 65 days?” asked former Rep. Doreen Costa, a Rhode Island Republican, in a rhetorical question to the Providence Journal.  “All this resistance: 'He's not my president,'" she continued. "News flash: He is. He is everybody's president. I did not vote for Barack Obama, but he was still my president. And you can only resist so much and it's not going to change the outcome of the election.”  The marches, dubbed “Make America Great Again,” or "MAGA,” have met with opposition in some areas, with anti-Trump groups planning to counter-demonstrate.  I'm glad to see the pro-Trump people taking action.  I was not a Trump supporter, but the attacks on this president have been unprecedented, and grossly unfair. 

THE OTHER SIDE – FROM CNN:  A federal judge in Virginia ruled in favor of the Trump administration Friday, declining to join other federal courts that halted the President's revised travel ban last week.  Two federal judges -- one in Maryland and one in Hawaii -- have blocked implementation of the core provisions of the travel ban, and it remains on hold nationwide. Drawing on a litany of then-candidate Donald Trump's statements about Muslims during the presidential campaign, both of the judges concluded that the new executive order likely violates the establishment clause of the Constitution by disfavoring Muslims.  But Virginia-based US District Judge Anthony Trenga was not persuaded that Trump's past statements automatically mean the revised executive order is unlawful, especially given the changes it made from the first version.  How much publicity do you think this decision will get?  Check page 94 of your daily liberal paper.

March 24, 2017       Permalink

A WARNING – AT 11:51 P.M. ET:  North Korea, used to years of appeasement by the United States, does not act as if it's afraid of the Trump administration.  From Fox: 

North Korea is in the final stages of preparing for another nuclear test, which could come in the next few days, U.S. officials with knowledge of the most recent intelligence from the region told Fox News.

“The test could come as early as the end of the month,” said one official.

U.S. defense officials have seen evidence that North Korea has completed digging new tunnels around the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, but it still has to move more equipment into the area for a possible test, the official added. The Pentagon is keeping a close eye on these looming developments.

North Korea’s nuclear preparations prompted the U.S. military in recent days to move a surveillance aircraft used to test the air following nuclear explosions to the region. The Air Force WC-135 Constant Phoenix arrived in Japan and will be used to patrol the area off the Korean peninsula in the coming days, according to a separate official.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was in Beijing last weekend to press the case about what to do about North Korea’s erratic leader and his drive to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the United States.

North Korea first conducted a nuclear test in 2006. Last year, it carried out two additional tests.

Secretary Tillerson declared the Obama-era policy of “strategic patience” was over when dealing with North Korea and called the past 20 years of negotiating with the communist regime by past administrations a failure.

COMMENT:  North Korea is emerging as the first major foreign-policy crisis of the Trump administration.  The North Koreans are not changing any of their aggressive, threatening policies.

The possibility of pre-emptive military action here cannot be discounted, especially as North Korea is developing missiles that can strike the United States.

March 24, 2017       Permalink

THE HEALTH-CARE VOTE – AT 9:58 A.M. ET:   The House will, unless there's a change, vote on the GOP health-care bill later today.  The outcome is in doubt, with a number of Republicans expressing opposition.

The opposition is understandable.  Republicans have had eight years to come up with a coherent replacement for the failing Obamacare program, and didn't do so.  What is proposed today is a patchwork job, improved through President Trump's skillful intervention, but still not the stellar plan that we had a right to expect. 

Gerald Seib, of The Wall Street Journal, presents a thoughtful analysis of the dilemma:  

Former President Barack Obama tried the big fix in health care and he came away with the scars to show for it. Now, House Speaker Paul Ryan and President Donald Trump are trying for the big health-care fix, and they are coming away with the scars to show for it.

Maybe there is a lesson in there.

It is this: Health care is such a giant national issue that it isn’t easily or effectively resolved with broad plans that have only narrow partisan support. When that is attempted, even small factions within a single party have the power to disrupt things. That is precisely what has happened to Messrs. Ryan and Trump as their plan hit a roadblock built by members of their own party.

The president and the speaker may well bring their bill back from the brink of disaster in the House in the coming hours or days, by making fixes designed to please just enough conservative Republicans without offending too many moderate Republicans.

But that will only ensure that the legislation is headed for a similar minefield in the Senate, and then, if it passes the Senate, an even more perilous one when lawmakers try to reconcile whatever the House passes with whatever different plan finds its way through the Senate.

Then, even if a big health plan can be muscled through Congress on a strictly party-line vote, the lack of any bipartisan buy-in means it lacks the broad support to be sustainable. Mr. Obama and the Democrats are learning that as their plan is being thrown overboard by the GOP at the first opportunity.

Obviously, this isn’t optimal for either party, or for the nation’s giant health-care economy.

Perhaps the only way to do a comprehensive rewiring of the nation’s health system that has sustainable support is to do it with a broad bipartisan coalition. Yet clearly such a bipartisan coalition doesn’t exist right now. Perhaps one can emerge only if the health system truly appears to be approaching a disaster, much as the two parties could only come together to fix Social Security in the 1980s when the system appeared to be headed toward disaster.

COMMENT:  When Obamacare was passed, it was noted that it was the only major social legislation in American history to be adopted without some bipartisan support.  Not a single Republican voted for it, and Democrats made it plain they didn't care.

Seib has a point.  Maybe legislation of this kind simply requires a broad coalition, even though neither side will get all that it wants.  For if the GOP bill passes the House today, it will surely be completely rewritten in the Senate, setting up a clash between House and Senate Republicans.  Not good.

News stories today suggest that President Trump now believes it would have been wiser to take up tax reform as his first legislative issue, and I think that's correct. 

March 24,  2017     Permalink

KEYSTONE APPROVED...FINALLY – AT 9:32 A.M. ET:  It is long overdue.  A project that was derailed by vastly overstated environmental "concerns" has now been approved by the Trump administration.  From CNN:

Washington (CNN) The State Department issued a permit Friday allowing the Keystone XL project to proceed, reversing the Obama administration's decision to block the controversial oil pipeline.

Tom Shannon, the State Department's undersecretary for political affairs, issued TransCanada's permit, making good on one of President Donald Trump's campaign promises. The move greenlights the Canadian company to complete construction on the pipeline that will funnel crude oil from Canada to refineries on the Gulf Coast.

Friday morning, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Trump would make an announcement on the pipeline later in the morning.

The announcement comes in the midst of Republicans' heated and protracted debate about their Obamacare replacement legislation. A vote is set for later Friday on the bill, though it's unclear if it will pass and its failure would be a significant political embarrassment for Trump.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the former CEO of ExxonMobil, recused himself from the decision earlier this month. Trump in January signed an executive order to advance the pipeline's approval.

COMMENT:  It is a practical move, and one that shows respect for Canada, our nearest ally.  By contrast, Obama's attitude toward Canada was decidedly aloof, although Canada's foreign-affairs officials handled Obama with keen diplomatic style.

March 24,  2017     Permalink

MARCH 23,  2017

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

TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT – FROM FOX:   White House officials said late Thursday President Trump wants the House to vote Friday on the legislation to begin dismantling ObamaCare, and if it fails, he is “done with health care,” and ready to move on to tax reform, a source told Fox News.  "My understanding is he’s going to get it," White House Press Secretary Sean Spicier said on "The O'Neill Factor."  "We’re hoping to make this the last anniversary that any American has to suffer under ObamaCare by instilling a patient-centric health care system in place, and the president has made that case to members throughout the spectrum of the Republican conference, and tomorrow, it’s time to vote," he added.  If the GOP plan goes down to defeat, Obamacare will remain, and continue in its death spiral.  Then what do you take home to the voters?

IMAGINE IF THEY HAD TO FIGHT THE DEPRESSION, AND THEN WORLD WAR II – FROM THE WRAP:   Turns out, you might be a millennial and not even know it. Even if you’re approaching 40.  According to new research by CBS’ TV ratings guru David Pollack and Nielsen Catalina Solutions, the youngest millennial should be graduating college this year — but that does’t mean they all consider themselves adults.  The median age of millennial is 30, Pollack says — meaning that half are older and half are younger. And 30 happens to be the age at which millennial tend to self-identify as adults, Pollack said. For these purposes, an “adult” is defined as “someone who has moved out of their parents’ home, has a job, and pays their own bills.”  This encourages me to pursue my idea of raising the voting age to 25.  Frankly, I'd prefer 50, but I won't push my luck.

I WONDER WHY – FROM CNS:   (CNSNews.com) - The counties containing Chicago, Detroit and the independent city of Baltimore were the biggest population losers in the United States from 2015 to 2016, according to data released today by the Census Bureau.  Cook County, Ill., where Chicago is the county seat, had the largest population loss of any county in the country from 2015 and 2016.  Between July 1, 2015 and July 1, 2016, Cook County lost a net of 21,324 people to hit 5,203,499, according to the Census Bureau.  Even while it was experiencing the largest net population loss of any county in the country, Cook Count was seeing an influx of migrants from foreign countries and more births than deaths.  Who wants to live in a shooting gallery?

March 23, 2017        Permalink

ISIS STAKES ITS CLAIM – AT 9:14 A.M. ET:   Britain, unlike the Obama administration here, is not holding back on declaring who the culprits are here.  From the Daily Mail:

ISIS has today claimed responsibility for the Westminster attack which left four dead and dozens injured.

The terror group said a 'soldier of the Islamic State' carried out the atrocity in which a British-born 'lone-wolf' ploughed a car through crowds near Parliament yesterday afternoon.

A statement by the ISIS news agency Amaq said: 'The perpetrator of the attacks yesterday in front of the British parliament in London is an Islamic State soldier and he carried out the operation in response to calls to target citizens of the coalition.'

But it gave no name or other details and it was not clear whether the attacker was directly connected to the group.

The carnage was unleashed on the same day Brussels was marking the anniversary of a wave of ISIS suicide bombings that killed 32 people.

Yesterday's attacker, described by witnesses as 'Asian and in his forties', has not been named by police while investigations continue into any possible associates.

COMMENT:  The prime minister, Theresa May, has now said that the perpetrator had been investigated years earlier for possible terrorist connections.  Clearly, he fell between the cracks.  This is a recurring story.  A number of terrorist acts have been committed by individuals who'd been on someone's radar screen. 

March 23, 2017       Permalink

ARE WE SERIOUS HERE? – AT 8:12 A.M. ET:  Who did what?  Susan Rice is talking about integrity in government?  Isn't this the same Suzie who flat-out lied to the American people after Benghazi, claiming the terrorist attack there was the result of a YouTube video?  Why, I think she is.  From The Hill: 

Former national security adviser Susan Rice says President Trump must improve his administration’s commitment to the truth or risk harming the nation's credibility.

“First impressions matter, and an unsettling pattern has already emerged,” she wrote in a Washington Post op-ed.

“Still, it is possible to mitigate the long-term effects of this vacation from veracity – if the White House and the president quickly and convincingly return to the tradition of endeavoring to tell the truth from the Oval Office and the White House briefing room,” added Rice, who also served as former President Obama’s ambassador to the United Nations.

“If they do not, one is left to wonder whether the damage inflicted on U.S. global leadership is the deliberate derivative of the ‘deconstruction of the administrative state’ or simply the lasting consequence of compulsive mendacity. Either way, the United States' national security will suffer.”
Trump tweeted earlier this month — without evidence — that Obama wiretapped Trump Tower in New York City during the 2016 presidential campaign.

COMMENT:  The nerve of that individual lecturing us on veracity.  She should have her mouth washed out with soap.  And why would the Washington Post take her seriously?  Because the Post is now part of the Obama legacy team.  Protecting Barack has become a religious requirement.

March 23, 2017       Permalink

OBAMANS IN TROUBLE? – AT 8:04 A.M. ET:  Some new information suggests that Obama administration officials could face legal trouble over their handling of intelligence.  From the Washington Examiner: 

The Washington Post's Bob Woodward warned on Wednesday that there are people from the Obama administration who could be facing criminal charges for unmasking the names of Trump transition team members from surveillance of foreign officials.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., said earlier that he had briefed Trump on new information, unrelated to an investigation into Russian activities, that suggested that several members of Trump's transition team and perhaps Trump himself had their identities "unmasked" after their communications were intercepted by U.S. intelligence officials.

The revelation is notable because identities of Americans are generally supposed to remain "masked" if American communications are swept up during surveillance of foreign individuals.

During an interview on Fox News, Woodward said that if that information about the unmasking is true, "it is a gross violation."

COMMENT:  We'll have to wait out the investigation, but wouldn't it be something if the tables were turned on the Dems, and all this stuff about Trump campaign collusion with the Russkies backfired on Trump's accusers?

March 23,  2017     Permalink