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.

MARCH 6,  2018

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

REMARKABLE – FROM CNN:   Washington (CNN) Wreckage from the USS Lexington -- a US aircraft carrier sunk by the Japanese during World War II -- has been discovered 500 miles off the Australian coast by a team of explorers led by billionaire Paul Allen, the Microsoft co-founder announced on Monday.  One of the first US aircraft carriers ever built, the vessel dubbed "Lady Lex" was located at the bottom of the Coral Sea -- nearly two miles below the surface -- by the expedition crew of Research Vessel Petrel on Sunday, Allen said.  The Lexington was lost in May 1942 along with 216 of its crew and 35 aircraft during what is considered the first carrier battle in history -- the Battle of the Coral Sea.  We are reminded that the generation that fought World War II is fading away very quickly.  Paul Allen is doing great work in keeping their legacy alive.

SICKENING – FROM FOX:  A former criminal justice adjunct professor whose social media posts proclaimed his “privilege to teach future dead cops” has doubled down, this time referring to “pig death stats” in reaction to a recent spate of police officers killed on duty.  “My favorite thing about pig death stats is how they just lump all deaths on duty together whether they're killed or just have a heart attack from all the donuts,” read a tweet from @ve_unblockedt, one of two known accounts for Michael Isaacson. The tweet was posted the same day a police commander was shot and killed in downtown Chicago, making him the 11th officer to be killed by gunfire across the country this year.  Isaacson, who has used the hashtag #abolishpolice, most recently taught at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, one of the nation’s highest-profile schools for students planning careers in law enforcement.  You wonder how a jerk like this ever got a teaching job at John Jay.  We should demand answers.  Standards keep getting lower in the academic world.

ANOTHER BUSH WINS – FROM THE TAMPA BAY TIMES:   Writers of the Bush family political obituary can stand down after George P. Bush, son of Jeb Bush, outright won the GOP primary for Texas Land Commissioner on Tuesday night, effectively assuring another term and keeping future ambitions in good standing.  The younger Bush had to swallow Donald Trump's taunts of his father and offer the backing of Trump. It was a gesture the president did not overlook.  "This is important work, and sometimes when you make bold decisions and you're a leader, you get criticized. Speaking of criticism, I want to thank my opponents," Bush said with a smile. "Some ran more spirited campaigns than others."  And while thanking supporters for their work on the campaign, he also took a jab at the news media.  "Many of the critics, including those in the media, had doubts that we would even be celebrating tonight, but you didn't doubt me," he said.  We'll have more on Texas tomorrow.  In the early voting, Democrats came to the polls in heavy numbers.  Apparently, the Dem onslaught faded later in the day.  But we'll be able to be precise tomorrow.

March 6, 2018       Permalink

TEXAS VOTES TODAY – AT 11:39 A.M. ET:  We are well into primary season.  One of the most critical states is Texas, where Democrats are making a serious, well-financed effort to cut into a traditional Republican stronghold.  The Dems are enthusiastic, almost fanatical.  In Japan in 1945 they would have been kamikazes.  Just kidding.  (Not really.)  From Fox: 

The midterm election season officially kicks off on Tuesday, when Texas voters head to the polls for the nation’s first primary of 2018.

With early voting already suggesting a record turnout for Democrats, and widespread speculation about what effect an endorsement by President Trump will have on Republican candidates, the Texas primaries are being looked at as both a bellwether for the rest of the nation - and a sign the red state could be turning purple more quickly than expected.

“What these primaries really boil down to is one issue: Trump versus anti-Trump,” Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University, told Fox News. “There is relatively little talk about the issues for either party. It’s a race to the margins. Democrats are all against the president, while with Republicans it’s about staying close to Trump, and whether that hurts or helps them.”

While initially skipping some major Republican candidates in the Lone Star state, Trump went all in early last week when, in a series of tweets, supported a number of top-tier Texas Republicans.

"I want to encourage all of my many Texas friends to vote in the primary for Governor Greg Abbott, Senator Ted Cruz, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and Attorney General Ken Paxton. They are helping me to Make America Great Again! Vote early or on March 6th," Trump tweeted.

Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush also got Trump’s endorsement, with the president saying the nephew and grandson of two former presidents “backed me when it wasn't the politically correct thing to do, and I back him now.”

Unlike Cruz, Abbott, Patrick and Paxton – incumbents who are expected to easily win the GOP nomination in their campaigns – Bush is facing a tough battle against his predecessor in the land office, Jerry Patterson. A recent University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll found that when voters were allowed to be undecided, Bush mustered only 36 percent of the vote in his race.

COMMENT:  We can't make any judgments until the votes are counted.  Republicans should be running scared.  Ted Cruz in particular should be concerned about his probable opponent in November, Beto O'Rourke, a left-wing congressman from El Paso who has all the charms of a true con artist.  O'Rourke has a chance of winning.

Texas is critical to the Republican Party.  But changing demographics give the Democrats a real shot at flipping the state in the near future.

Of course, the first midterm after a presidential victory is usually very tough on the president's party.  This year it can be particularly tough because the mainstream media, heading toward its own disaster, will be siding with the president's opposition.

March 6, 2018       Permalink

BREAKTHROUGH OR STALL? – NORTH KOREA SPEAKS – AT 10:38 A.M. ET:  A reported statement by North Korea has given hope that maybe the crisis with that country can be resolved peacefully.  Well, we've been here before, but not with a tough president and superb negotiator like Trump, who understands the use of power.  From Fox:

President Trump said on Tuesday the U.S. is "ready to go hard in either direction" after North Korea promised to not use nuclear or conventional weapons against Seoul and expressed a willingness to hold talks with the United States on denuclearization.

President Trump tweeted hours after South Korea’s presidential national security director Chung Eui-yong released a statement detailing his rare two-day visit to North Korea. He praised the "possible progress" but remained cautious.

“Possible progress being made in talks with North Korea. For the first time in many years, a serious effort is being made by all parties concerned. The World is watching and waiting! May be false hope, but the U.S. is ready to go hard in either direction!” Trump tweeted.

The Hermit Kingdom added that it’s willing to give up its nuclear weapons if military threats against North Korea subside, Chung said hours after leaving Pyongyang.

"The North side clearly affirmed its commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and said it would have no reason to possess nuclear weapons should the safety of its regime be guaranteed and military threats against North Korea removed," Chung said in a statement, according to Yonhap News Agency.

COMMENT:  The first thing we need to do is to verify what the North actually is saying.  The South Korean government is not necessarily the best source on these things, as it's run by a leftish leader who often has stars in his eyes.

If the North is serious, we'll soon know. 

The president's tone, reflecting Ronald Reagan's use of the Russian proverb, "Trust but verify," is exactly right.

March 6,  2018     Permalink

MARCH 5,  2018

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:53 P.M. ET:

PROGRESS – FROM FOX BUSINESS:  America is on its way to becoming the largest oil producer in the world.  The nation will surpass Russia, the current No. 1, by 2023, the International Energy Agency estimated on Monday. U.S. crude production is projected to hit a record of 12.1 million barrels a day in 2023, which would reflect an increase of roughly 2 million barrels compared with this year. Russia pumps about 11 million barrels of oil each day.  IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol, speaking at the CERAWeek by IHS Markit conference in Houston, said the U.S., Brazil, Canada and Norway will contribute to supply growth by non-OPEC nations, according to The Wall Street Journal.  The U.S. has experienced strong production growth in recent years as such energy giants as Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) have boosted their output from shale regions including the Permian Basin in Texas and the Bakken Formation in North Dakota. The IEA said U.S. oil will account for 60% of the 6.4 million new barrels produced daily between now and 2023.  Not many years ago, we worried about the supply of petroleum from the Mideast.  No more.  We are becoming energy independent, which is important to our economy and the strength of our foreign policy.

PEOPLE GET PAID FOR THIS STUFF – FROM FOX:   If you’ve ever wished someone a “Merry Christmas” or said “God bless you” when someone sneezes, you’ve committed an act of “Islamomisic microaggressions,” according to college librarians at a Massachusetts college.  The Anti-Oppression Library Guide at Simmons College in Boston is a collaborative effort among the school’s librarians, reported CampusReform.org.  “Islamomisic Microaggressions are commonplace verbal or behavioral indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, which communicates hostile, derogatory, or negative slights in relation to the beliefs and religious practices of Muslims,” the librarians argue. “They are structurally based and invoke oppressive systems of religious/Christian hierarchy.”  A spokesperson told Fox News the guide is not a policy of Simmons College.  The question is why Simmons would have librarians on such a low and corrupt intellectual level.

WHINING – FROM THE HILL:   CNN's Jim Acosta objected to his network not being called upon during Monday's White House press briefing, noting it was the third straight time White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders didn't take a question from the cable network.  “Sarah, this is the third briefing you have not taken a question from CNN. Do you expect the Justice Department to enforce all subpoenas, Sarah?” Acosta asked as Sanders left the podium.  Sanders continued walking out of the James S. Brady Briefing Room without looking back or acknowledging the question.   Acosta's attempt to ask a question was shown on CNN as the network went back to anchor Brooke Baldwin in New York.  “All right. Jim Acosta there at the end trying to get a question in," Baldwin said before reviewing the press briefing.  Acosta took to Twitter afterward to repeat the complaint and included the hashtag "courage," implying that Sanders was afraid to take any questions from CNN reporters in the room.  CNN has voluntarily made itself the almost official anti-Trump network, and yet still expects love and acceptance from the Trump White House.  CNN needs parenting.

March 5, 2018       Permalink

OH HOW BRAVE – AT 1:44 P.M ET:  We get the feeling that the sanctuary city movement may soon be confronted with federal power.  Americans have never been behind this business.  From Breitbart: 

Interim San Francisco Mayor Mark Farrell is reportedly willing to go to jail to ensure his city always remains a “sanctuary city.”

Farrell assured hundreds of amnesty activists last week who were blocking and protesting in front of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building that San Francisco will forever be a “sanctuary city.” He also, according to ABC7, “said he is willing to get arrested if that’s what it takes to defend sanctuary city policies,” echoing comments that Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf recently made.

The activists gathered to protest after ICE detained more than 200 illegal immigrants, nearly half of whom had criminal records, last week in various Bay Area raids. After Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf tipped off illegal immigrants that ICE would be conducting sweeps, Thomas Homan, the agency’s acting director, said on last week that more than 800 illegal immigrants remained at large in the community because of Schaaf’s “irresponsible decision.”

According to KTVU, the “Power, not Panic Emergency Response Committee” organized the emergency rally. The group is composed of entities like: the “ACLU, the Alameda County Immigration Legal and Education Partnership, Full Rights Equality & Empowerment SF, Contra Costa East Bay Interfaith Immigration Coalition, the Services, Immigrant Rights, and Education Network, Centro Legal de la Raza, the California Immigrant Policy Center.”

COMMENT:  I think of people all over the world trying to get into this country legally, following the law, understanding what America is about.  What do we say to them?  What do San Francisco and Oakland say to them?  "You suckers, we have a faster way for you?"

March 5, 2018       Permalink

HYPOCRITES !!! – AQT 11:43 A.M. ET:  Oh. another thing about the Oscars.  One of the big causes this year was gun control.  Next year it'll be another one – the heartbreak of failed facelifts.  And it's reported (I didn't watch) that people walked around with their gun-control pins, and feeling mighty good about themselves.  The frauds.  From Breitbart:   

The Los Angeles Police Department will deploy 500 officers to wrap the Dolby Theatre in multiple barriers of armed security for the 90th Academy Awards on Sunday night, an event at which several of Hollywood’s most celebrated stars will actively push for more gun control in America.

“We have these concentric rings of security that start in the middle and radiate outward,” said LAPD Cmdr. Blake Chow, the man tasked with overseeing the massive operation. “We have a lot of officers in fixed posts and foot beats keeping an eye on the event.”

Several celebrities plan to wear orange lapel pins on the red carpet and during tonight’s ceremony in support of gun control and the Michael Bloomberg-founded gun control advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety.

Indeed, there will be road closures to prevent people breaching a security perimeter made up of a wall of ten-foot gates and barricades, FBI agents, and firefighters. Police helicopters will be buzzing above and private security guards from Security Industry Specialists will be inside the Dolby Theater.

“There’s definitely going to be an extensive police presence,” LAPD Officer Luis Garcia told Breitbart news.

COMMENT:  I love the hypocrisy.  Okay, you suckers, you get rid of your guns, but me, the movie star, will keep my 500-man force, armed with Glocks.  After all, I'm special and you're not. 

And you may be sure that behind the Glocks were shotguns and rifles, including the kinds of rifles the orange-pin wearers want to ban. 

Reminds me of some members of Congress, protected by a battalion of gun-wielding guards, but opposed to schoolchildren getting the same protection.  I mean, who's important here?

March 5, 2018       Permalink 

OSCARS FLOP – AT 10:50 A.M. ET:  Like the NFL, like the Olympics, last night's Oscars saw a dramatic decline in viewership.  The people are sending a message.  From Fox: 

Jimmy Kimmel claimed he was keeping this year's Oscars positive, but the ratings were anything but.

The politically charged 2018 Academy Awards were down 15.6 percent compared to the 2017 viewership with an 18.9 rating in Nielsen’s overnight numbers from 8-11 p.m. ET, according to TheWrap.

The sharp decline marks what could become the lowest-rated Oscars of all time on a night when host Jimmy Kimmel and the crowd of Hollywood elite focused on diversity, feminism and political issues as much as it focused on the films being honored.

The lack of high-wattage stars in the major categories, as well as a ho-hum slate of films when it came to box office receipts, may have also been a factor.

Media Research Center Vice President Dan Gainor told Fox News viewers shouldn’t be surprised that the show turned political and featured “divisive, left-wing politics” throughout the four-hour event.

“The Tinseltown elite genuinely hate the people they expect will pay to see their movies and watch their TV shows,” Gainor said. “Why do we support them?”

The final numbers are subject to adjustment and the show ran 50 minutes after the primetime cutoff, with the most prestigious awards coming after 11 p.m. The 2017 Oscars picked up a 22.4 rating and 32.9 million total viewers. The decline in overnight numbers puts a spotlight on the total viewership data that will be announced eventually on Monday.

Sunday night’s awards were politically charged and loaded with mentions of the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements. Kimmel took jabs at President Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and even Fox News viewers.

COMMENT:  I sense that we are seeing a cultural change in America.  When the NFL turned political, viewers turned off.  When the Oscars became more political, viewers turned off.  The Olympics are more complicated, but uninspired coverage and a suspicion that politics would be injected, played their roles.

If you're going to run an audience event, you'd better know your audience and show some respect.   The audience is a lot smarter than you think.

March 5,  2018      Permalink