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MARCH 8,  2018

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

DEMS ON THE BRINK? – The dramatic announcement that President Trump will meet North Korean chieftain Kim Jong-un (AKA Rocket Man) to talk peace has hit Washington, Manhattan, and Beverly Hills hard.  It is reported that a long waiting list has been established for Democrats at leading psychiatrists, and not-so-leading ones.  The Dems want to know when Trump stopped being a warmongering, fanatical, racist superpatriot pig.  They want to know if this is another sinister expression of Trumpism.  Is he really planning to join Kim in an all-out attack on trans people and vegetarians?  Will Kim be brought in as the next White House chief of staff?  The Dems are confused and hurt.  They said that Ronald Reagan was a warmongering destroyer of all living things, and that didn't work out either.  Some Dems are even hinting at developing ideas for governing, despite their aversion to thought.  They want answers from shrinks.  Either that, or they want safe spaces. 

OH, SAVE US – FROM THE HILL:   Former President Barack Obama is reportedly in talks with Netflix about producing a series of shows, including some highlighting inspirational stories.  Obama and former first lady Michele Obama are in talks to receive compensation for producing exclusive content for the streaming service, The New York Times reports.  “President and Mrs. Obama have always believed in the power of storytelling to inspire,” Eric Schultz, a senior adviser to the former president, told the Times.  “Throughout their lives, they have lifted up stories of people whose efforts to make a difference are quietly changing the world for the better. As they consider their future personal plans, they continue to explore new ways to help others tell and share their stories.”  So, Trump is now president and Obama will be a reality star.  Ain't life funny? 

NOW WE'RE TALKIN' AMERICA – FROM DAILY CALLER:  President Donald Trump announced during a Thursday cabinet meeting that NASA is “bringing back that whole space flight” program and would be sending “something very beautiful to Mars in the very near future.”  Before pivoting to Mars, POTUS praised the recent work of Elon Musk and SpaceX on the Falcon rocket program. “Before me are some rocket ships. You haven’t seen that from this country in a long time,” Trump stated. “Many the jobs we’re doing, Mike Pence is the chairman, many of these jobs we are doing are privately financed. We’re letting them use the Kennedy Space Center for a fee. Rich guys, they love rocket ships. And that’s good. That’s better than us paying for it. And I notice the prices of the last one, they said it cost $80 million. If the government did it, the same thing would’ve cost probably 40, 50 times that amount of money.”  Obama told his NASA head that a major objective of the agency was Muslim outreach.  No it ain't.  The objective of NASA is making dreams come true. 

March 8, 2018       Permalink

YOU CANNOT MAKE IT UP – AT 4:39 P.M. ET:  Some educators and journalists say they're starting to see a slow return to reason and maturity on college campuses.  But the problems of spoiled bratism, identity politics, childlike minds, and professors to match are still the dominant features in too many places.  From reason.com: 

One year after Middlebury College students shut down a planned debate between the American Enterprise Institute's Charles Murray and Professor Allison Stanger—injuring Stanger in the process—the student newspaper decided to print a retrospective photo of Murray taken at the aborted event.

This decision was apparently controversial: an apologetic note from The Middlebury Campus's editor-in-chief revealed that "most of the section editors, and the managing editor" thought it would be inappropriate to print a photo of Murray. A photo.

According to Ethan Brady, the editor-in-chief:

I wish to explain the photograph on page A1 to the readers. I recognize that it may be especially jarring, particularly for students of color who feel that Charles Murray's rhetoric poses a threat to their very humanity. I also recognize that Murray's visit to campus last March is an open wound for a campus trying desperately to move forward from it.

During a heated debate in the newsroom on Tuesday night, most of the section editors, and the managing editor, said that running this photograph would be inappropriate. Though I deeply respect the input of my editors, I decided to run the photograph anyway. I take full responsibility for this decision. It was mine alone, and any criticism should be directed at me alone.

This photograph is not meant to troll, or to cause pain, but to ask how that protest still lives with us today, one year later. For many, this image is burned in our collective memory. As much as we try to distance ourselves from that moment, we are made from it.

Even if one accepts the claim that Murray's rhetoric somehow constitutes a literal attack on marginalized students—a ridiculous claim, to be sure—a mere picture of him is not an expression of violence. Wouldn't it be useful to show a photo of Murray, even if the only point was to criticize him? This is verging into He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named territory.

COMMENT:  We commend the editor for taking responsibility.  That is the adult thing to do.  As for his reasoning and his explanation...well, he's young and part of the snowflake generation.

Maybe we shouldn't have published pictures of Hitler during World War II.  Too upsetting.  Maybe we shouldn't have printed photos, or shown video, of the towers falling on 9-11.  How stressful.

We hope that grown-ups will reassert themselves.

March 8,  2018     Permalink

THE SENATE – WILL REPUBLICANS GAIN? – AT 11:43 A.M. ET:  We always stress that polls are snapshots in time.  However, they can be useful snapshots in following trends.

Axios has just published a report on Senate polling in generally conservative states with Democratic senators who are up for re-election in November.  The polling as of now points to danger for many of these senators.  From Axios:   

A series of 10 state polls for Axios by SurveyMonkey finds that President Trump isn't a drag on the Republican brand in key Senate races, despite his historically high national disapproval ratings.

• Trump’s approval is higher than Democratic senators up for reelection in six of the states (Indiana, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio and West Virginia).

• Trump's approval is higher than his national approval rating in all 10 states.
Axios' Alexi McCammond dives in ...

Five Senate Democrats would lose to a Republican candidate if the election were held today and three have approval ratings under 50%, according to new Axios/SurveyMonkey polls. 

• Why it matters: Democrats are defending 10 Senate seats in states Trump won in 2016. In six of those states Trump's approval is higher than 50% (compared to 43% nationally). These numbers underscore how hard it will be for Democrats to pick up the two seats needed to win the majority despite Trump’s troubles. 

The three most vulnerable senators in the 10 states are Democrats Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Jon Tester of Montana and Claire McCaskill of Missouri. Each of their approval ratings is under or around 50%, while Trump's is well above that in all three states.

COMMENT:  Well, as they say, the election isn't being held today.  It's being held in November.  And do not underestimate the ability of Republicans to lose elections.  They work hard to destroy safe seats, as they did recently in Alabama.  Already there are reports that some of the GOP challengers this fall have personalities that even a mother couldn't love.

Still, Republicans have a great chance to retain control of the Senate, even to add a few seats.  That has profound implications for Supreme Court confirmations, confirmations of other judicial nominations...and foolish impeachment attempts.  Only the House can impeach a president, but the Senate must try him, and a Republican Senate would make conviction all but impossible.  They'd have to literally catch Trump strangling a CNN reporter.

March 8, 2018        Permalink

IS THIS TROUBLE? – AT 10:56 A.M. ET:  The president has slipped five points in the Rasmussen poll in the last ten days.  This is not good.  It's not a panic situation, but it's not good.  He had hit 50%, a headline in Drudge...and then came his call for tariffs.

I can't be sure that tariffs are the entire answer.  There's been a lot of turmoil in the White House in the last week, and the positive impact of tax cuts on paychecks was last month's news.  It's the old question in politics:  What have you done for me lately?  It's possible that a percentage of the electorate want to see something new.  From Rasmussen: 

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Thursday shows that 45% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Trump’s job performance. Fifty-four percent (54%) disapprove.
The latest figures include 30% who Strongly Approve of the way Trump is performing and 45% who Strongly Disapprove. This gives him a Presidential Approval Index rating of -15.

COMMENT:  This president has some terrific moments, but the pattern that's emerged shows that he then steps all over himself.  Also, if he has a terrific moment, the vast anti-Trump press gets going, and does everything it can to ruin it.

It is eight months to midterms.  Mr. Trump has to be at his best to help his party retain control of Congress.

March 8,  2018     Permalink

MARCH 7,  2018

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

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS? – FROM THE MIAMI HERALD:   After hours of divisive debate over guns, schools and freedom, the Florida Senate spent less than a minute Tuesday and voted on something they all could agree on: daylight.  The Senate voted 33-2 to send a bill to Gov. Rick Scott to ask the U.S. Congress to decide whether Florida should be a state that enjoys Daylight Savings Time year-round. It was passed by the House on Feb. 14, 103-11.  Under the plan, HB 1013, called the “Sunshine Protection Act,” the state would ask Congress to pass a law to let the Sunshine State move from Standard Time to Daylight Savings Time (when you set your clocks ahead one hour) year-round. Daylight Savings Time runs from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November and is set to start this Sunday, March 11, and end Nov. 4.  I may be wrong, but it's hard to see how one state could be an exception, especially as thousands are crossing those borders every day. 

ANOTHER BOOMLET FOR OPRAH – FROM NEWSBUSTERS:   CBS This Morning co-host Gayle King on Tuesday urged her best friend Oprah Winfrey to run against Donald Trump in 2020. King even absurdly insisted she could stay on at CBS and cover the race “impartially.” The co-host, it turns out, has been lobbying her friend to run for months. On the show, King pleaded, “But I also think you have a unique ability in terms of healing and connecting all people.”  King even cited the late poet Maya Angelou, pleading to Winfrey: “What do you think Maya would say? It's one of these times I wish Maya was here. What do you think that she would say?”  After all this, King disputed the idea that a potential Winfrey run might compromise her as co-host of CBS This Morning.  There's a level of immaturity here that's almost frightening.  At least Donald Trump ran a huge organization and built an empire.  Maybe Oprah should give some speeches about nuclear weapons or international strategy.  I'll bet she'd say that the answer is love.

A DEMOCRATIC ROLE MODEL – FROM FOX:  A Democrat seeking a U.S. House seat in Illinois – who attracted attention for a campaign ad showing him smoking pot – now faces accusations that he has abused women and misleadingly described himself as an “Iraq veteran.”  Benjamin Thomas Wolf, who is running in the Democratic primary against incumbent U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley, came under fire after an ex-girlfriend alleged he acted abusively and intentionally revealed her name and home address on social media, a practice called “doxing.”  “He actually hit me, threw me to the ground, put his foot on my chest. He was really angry. He grabbed my face,” Katarina Coates, who interned for Wolf’s campaign, told Politico.  We await the explanation from the party of Bill Clinton.  I guess it depends on what "face" means.

March 7, 2017       Permalink

YOU MEAN JOE FOUND OUT? – AT 2:46 P.M. ET:  Joe Biden is on the campaign trail, with reports saying he may run for president in 2020.  Biden is, by all accounts, a very decent man, but I always thought he was a little weak in the policy department.  He may get this part right, however.  From Breitbart: 

Former Vice President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that he is “angry” that some leading Democrats just “don’t get it” when it comes to understanding the dignity of work and concerns of working-class Americans.

Biden was in Pennsylvania campaigning for Democrat Conor Lamb, a candidate for Congress in next week’s special election in Pennsylvania’s 18th District. The former vice president told the crowd that he grew up “watching aunts, uncles, friends,” and neighbors losing jobs, and that his dad told him that a job was about “dignity,” “respect,” and “and your place in your community.”

“They don’t get it. Some people in my party don’t even get it anymore. It’s about our pride. It’s about our dignity.It’s about who the hell we are and what we’ve done,” he said. “It makes me angry. It makes me angry.”

Biden also slammed Republicans who are threatening to cut Social Security and Medicare, telling the crowd, “You paid for it. You paid for it.”

COMMENT:  A remarkable statement by Biden, but in fact he's one of the few Democratic leaders who actually feels connected to working people.  Most of the party is obsessed with race, gender, and ethnicity, and little else. 

I doubt if Biden will run in 2020.  He'd be up against advancing age and, more important, the probability that party activists will insist on a minority, so they can feel good about themselves.   It's a big comedown from the party of Roosevelt, Truman, and Kennedy, but none of them could come close to a presidential nomination in today's Democratic Party.

March 7, 2017       Permalink

BOOM – AT 11:48 A.M. ET:   With all the talk of scandal and trauma in Washington, the fact remains that the economy continues to boom, and Main Street is feeling the glow.  From CNBC: 

Job creation saw another powerful month in February, with companies adding 235,000 positions, ADP and Moody's Analytics reported Wednesday.

The total again defied Wall Street expectations, as economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting payrolls to grow by 195,000. Growth actually decelerated slightly, as January posted an upwardly revised 244,000 from the initially reported 234,000.

February marked the fourth month in a row that private payrolls hit 200,000 or better.

"The job market is red hot and threatens to overheat," Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's, said in a statement. "With government spending increases and tax cuts, growth is set to accelerate."

February saw broad-based gains that stretched across both the services and goods-producing sectors.
Leisure and hospitality led industry groups with 50,000 jobs, while professional and business services contributed 46,000 and trade, transportation and utilities added 44,000.

However, construction rose 21,000 and manufacturing notched 14,000 new positions. In all, goods-producing industries increased by 37,000 while all services-related businesses added 198,000.

COMMENTS:  These marks of progress are barely noted in much (but not all) of the mainstream media.  But Americans will actually see the progress in their local towns.  And Trump will be hot on the campaign trail, saying he needs a Republican Congress to keep the pace going.

March 7, 2017        Permalink

DEEP IN THE HEART OF WHAT? – AT 10:56 A.M. ET:   Texas voted in primaries yesterday.  There were Dem dreams aplenty.  A blue wave would come ashore and wipe out the evil Republicans.  The people would rise up, rise up I tell you, to drive Trumpism away and show the real heartbeat of Texas.  And all would be peaceful in the land, as Maxine Waters and Nancy Pelosi smiled above the fray.

Um, uh, look, there were some weather conditions.  The blue wave is out there, but just didn't make it to shore.  These things happen.  Don't be discouraged, Democrats.  There are reports that a Mr. Obama is rushing to Texas personally to escort the blue wave in.

My friend, Silvio Canto Jr, called this morning from Dallas to go over some of the results.  As usual, Silvio knew more about Texas than all the members of the "national" media put together.   Yes, he reported, the Democrats were animated and motivated.  They hate Trump and they had contested primaries.  So they voted in larger-than-average numbers.  The Republicans had few contested primaries, especially at the top of the ticket, the races for governor and U.S. senator.  There was really very little motivation to go to the polls, if you had some grocery shopping to do.

But Republicans voted anyway, in large numbers, much larger than the Dems.  They wanted to make a statement, and they did.  And while they must run scared in November, we seem to be okay in Texas.

Besides, some of the Dems who are zooming to the top of the Texas Democratic Party are really sixties-style radicals posing with cowboy hats and boots from the Neiman-Marcus catalogue.  Many are financed by the ogre of American politics, George Soros, billionaire leftist from New York.  I can't wait for Ted Cruz, running for re-election to the Senate, to open up on his opponent, Beto O'Rourke, who likes to dress and cut his hair like Robert Kennedy.  Beto, it's Texas, not Massachusetts.  Beto is slightly to the left of Karl Marx.

There'll be more news from Texas, a critical state.  The key to victory this year is turnout.   The Dems will get their voters out, whether dead or alive.  We just need our living ones.

March 7,  2017     Permalink