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MAY 31,  2017

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

HARSH JUDGMENTS ON LEAKERS – FROM RASMUSSEN:  When politics is the name of the game, one man’s treason is another man’s service to the nation.  The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that just over half (53%) of all Likely U.S. Voters still consider the leaking of classified information to the media to be an act of treason. Thirty percent (30%) disagree, while 18% are undecided.  This is largely the same way voters felt in November 2010 following WikiLeaks’ publication of top secret U.S. government data related to the war in Afghanistan and other defense and foreign policy issues.  But while 73% of Republicans consider the leaking of classified information which plagues the Trump administration as treasonous, only half as many Democrats (36%) feel that way now. Voters not affiliated with either major party agree by a 50% to 27% margin that the leaks are an act of treason.  The Dems are the outliers here – unless of course someone leaks something about St. Barack.

MOVIN' UP – FROM CNN:  Washington (CNN) It's only been little more than four months, but it appears Barack and Michelle Obama are so enamored with their posh Washington, DC rental home, they've plunked down a whopping $8.1 million to purchase it.  The sale was first reported by the Washington Post. Obama's spokesman, Kevin Lewis, confirmed the sale to CNN: "Given that President and Mrs. Obama will be in Washington for at least another two and a half years, it made sense for them to buy a home rather than continuing to rent the property."  The Obamas have said they were committed to remaining in Washington while their youngest daughter, Sasha, completes high school at Sidwell Friends School, where she is scheduled to begin her junior year in September.  However, the former first couple may have overpaid. The real estate website, Zillow.com, lists the estimate for the nine-bedroom, 8.5-bathroom stone mansion at $6.187 million, about two million less than the Obamas paid for it.   Obama still doesn't know how to negotiate.  President Trump could have gotten him a much better deal.

DOUGHNUTS BY AIR – FROM AP:  DENVER -- Doughnuts were delivered Wednesday by drone to Denver's mayor and the city's police and fire departments in an event that provided a glimpse into what companies hope will be a quick, inexpensive way to get merchandise to customers.  Denver's LaMar's Donuts hired Austin, Texas-based company Drone Dispatch to deliver four boxes of doughnuts using piloted drones flown from parking lots within a block of the delivery targets.  Denver Mayor Michael Hancock was outside city hall when a drone delivered doughnuts.  "This is exciting stuff and I think as we get ready for not only drones in the air, and get ready for autonomous vehicles, this is our future this is how we're going to become a more efficient 21st century nation, society quite frankly," Hancock said.  Has anyone inquired as to how the sound of a thousand drones above a neighborhood might appeal to residents?  Just askin'.

May 31, 2017       Permalink

THE DEM DREAM – AT 11:24 A.M. ET:   Democrats increasingly believe that they might be able to flip the House of Representatives next year.  It's a tall order, and the party isn't highly loved by most of the public.  But the Republicans aren't exactly writing the book on governing right now, and that might give the Dems a shot.  From Fox: 

Democrats are banking on Trump fatigue and discontent with the GOP-led Congress as they vow to compete in 79 House races next year, but the ambitious plan to retake the chamber will also require a big dose of cash. 

Capitol Hill Republicans’ struggles with ObamaCare reform and the flood of negative news about the White House may give the Democrats an opening to win back the House. Needing to capture at least 24 net seats in 2018 to take the House, party leaders identified 59 potentially competitive races in January and 20 more last week.

“No district is off the table,” New Mexico Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, co-chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said at a press conference last week.

Lujan said the group has raised more money online so far this year than in all of 2015, but added, “I know (Republicans) will outraise us.”

Jesse Hunt, national spokesman for the Republican National Congressional Committee, on Tuesday told Fox News: “It appears House Democrats haven’t given up on the old shotgun approach. Throwing out races to see which ones stick is the same strategy that’s kept them in the minority since 2010.”

Republicans have controlled the Senate since 2014 and won control of the House seven years ago in the same kind of midterm wave election Democrats are hoping to ride next year.

COMMENT:  The 2018  election is a year and five months away, so predictions are absurd.  But Republicans might try waking up and getting things done, and the White House might try for a better sense of organization.  Republicans have historically worked hard and creatively to lose elections.  I hope they redirect their efforts this time.

May 31, 2017       Permalink

PELLEY OUT AS CBS ANCHOR – AT 10:33 A.M. ET:   We started hearing the reports last night that Scott Pelley was being shelved as CBS Evening News anchor, and would work full time at "Sixty Minutes."

It's not surprising.  Pelley has lagged in the ratings, and is known to have a difficult relationship with some of the suits at CBS.   He has also perhaps been President Trump's harshest critic among the TV anchors.  One can only speculate that some of his ratings problems might have originated with that harshness. 

There have been no formal announcements yet.  Nor has there been any definitive word on a replacement.  The most intense speculation centers on Anthony Mason, an old CBS hand, seen frequently on the network.

The power of the news divisions of the "big three" TV networks has diminished over the years, in direct proportion to the rise of cable outlets like CNN and Fox.  One of television's greatest advantages is its immediacy, and there's nothing more immediate than a 24-hour news service that can go directly to the scene of breaking news.  But, even with the rise of cable, the audience for the major networks' news programs remains much larger than that of the cable offerings. 

There is other speculation in TV news.  Megyn Kelly debuts on NBC this weekend with "Sunday Night."  She will have Vladimir Putin on her first show.  How will she do on NBC?  I have no idea.  I'm not sure she's as loved as NBC might think, and she won't be surrounded by an all-news network.  The numbers will tell.

There is also speculation that a new conservative network might rise, especially if Fox drifts to the left under the management of the younger members of the Rupert Murdoch family.  Fox has been struggling recently, and has been losing some ground, especially to MSNBC.  I have no specific information on a new network, but money should be no problem.  Conservative broadcasting is profitable.

May 31, 2017       Permalink 

THE PAIN, THE ANGUISH – AT 9:50 A.M. ET:  President Trump is expected to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate accords.  The news, or maybe-news, or expected-news, is already causing anguish and pain.  The pain may be too much to bear.  From CNN:

Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump is expected to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, two senior US officials familiar with his plans told CNN Wednesday.

The decision would be a significant foreign policy break with nearly every other nation on earth and a major reversal of the Obama administration's efforts on climate change.

Trump met Tuesday with a key voice advocating for withdrawal, Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt. He is set to meet Wednesday with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who supports remaining in the deal.

The precise mechanism for withdrawal hasn't yet been determined, but Trump has made clear he plans to fulfill his campaign promises to withdraw.

COMMENT:  I find it amusing that Tillerson, who ran Exxon-Mobil, is in favor of staying.  The climate nuts will be frustrated by that one.

My own sense is that it might be wiser to stay and try to change the deal from the inside, but Trump promised withdrawal during his campaign, and apparently wants to keep his pledge.

At minimum, America's withdrawal should force a rethink of the whole climate issue.  There is widespread suspicion, especially among conservatives, that the deal is more about a transfer of wealth from rich nations to poor than it is about climate change.

I have always favored a Challenger-type commission on climate change that would answer three questions:  1) What do we know?  2)  What don't we know?  3) What must we know? 

The climate-change "community" (I love that absurd term) is demanding trillions of dollars to "fight" climate change when there is much not known about the issue.  Those trillions could be used for other noble purposes.  Wouldn't it be better to spend a few years on a true national study, with well-chosen supervisors, than to just start writing checks?  I think so, but those receiving the checks, especially in third-word nations, won't think so.

May 31,  2017     Permalink

MAY 30,  2017

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

USAA BACK ON HANNITY – FROM THE WASHINGTON FREE BEACON:   The USAA financial services firm will reinstate ads on conservative Fox News host Sean Hannity's primetime show after receiving backlash from military members and veterans, the Associated Press reports.  Hannity came under criticism for pushing an unsubstantiated conspiracy theory on his show that stated Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich was murdered because he leaked information to WikiLeaks. Fox News retracted the story from its website last week, and Hannity announced he would not discuss the Rich story on his show, but would continue seeking the truth. Hannity is set to return to his show on Tuesday after taking a brief vacation.  USAA had originally pulled its commercials after liberal watchdog Media Matters for America launched a campaign to pressure Hannity's advertisers.  The Seth Rich story was simply a pretext for the crazy left to launch a campaign to get Hannity off the air, as it had with Bill O'Reilly.  This campaign has failed, and USAA has done the right thing.

TALK ABOUT SPIN – FROM USA TODAY:   CHICAGO — The grim tally of 49 shot over Memorial Day weekend, historically one of the most violent times of the year here, is oddly the latest sign the city may be turning a corner in the fight against gun violence.  Five people were killed and 44 wounded in shootings between Friday evening and Monday night, an improvement over last year's total of 7 killed and 61 injured.  The decrease highlights the slow progress police say they’ve made in the first five months of the year to reduce Chicago’s stubbornly high murder rate through technology that helps commanders better deploy street cops.  As of Tuesday morning, Chicago has recorded 235 murders so far this year, compared to 244 for the same time period in 2016. Shooting incidents have dropped more significantly to 1,047 compared to 1,222 last year, according to police department data.  What an improvement!  Why, Chicago is practically
crime free!  And remember, you can keep your doctor under Obamacare.

SIGN OF OUR TIMES – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:  Crime may be down, but cops aren’t taking any chances — they’ve actually put ATMs in station houses in some of the city’s worst neighborhoods to combat robberies, The Post has learned.  Instead of boosting foot patrols around existing dough dispensers, the NYPD has put machines in five station houses: three in Brooklyn — the 73rd in East New York, 67th in East Flatbush and PSA 2 in Brownsville — one in the 33rd in Washington Heights, Manhattan, and another in the 100th in Arverne, Queens.  The plan is to eventually install them in all 98 station houses so that officers can offer residents “additional safe locations to utilize ATMs,’’ according to the department.  Watch – the ATM's in the station houses will be robbed, and the socialist mayor will blame historic oppression.

May 30,  2017     Permalink

MATTIS MAKES IT CLEAR – AT 12:33 P.M. ET:   President Trump said he would destroy ISIS.  His secretary of defense is making it clear that destruction is indeed the mission.  From Fox: 

Defense Secretary James Mattis said Sunday the U.S. has switched to “annihilation tactics” against the Islamic State and is focused on completely surrounding the militants instead of moving them from place to place.

“Our strategy right now is to accelerate the campaign against ISIS. It is a threat to all civilized nations. And the bottom line is we are going to move in an accelerated and reinforced manner, throw them on their back foot,” Mattis said in a televised interview on CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”

He said the goal was to take out the militants before they could flee to neighboring countries.

“Our intention is that the foreign fighters do not survive the fight to return home to North Africa, to Europe, to America, to Asia, to Africa. We’re not going to allow them to do so. We’re going to stop them there and take apart the caliphate,” Mattis said.

COMMENT:  A grim subject, but a breath of fresh air.  We haven't had that kind of resolve in this country in years.  Destroying ISIS, not simply moving it around, clearly should be the goal. 

And it will send the right kind of message to other would-be builders of the caliphate.

May 30, 2017       Permalink

A HUNDRED YEARS – AT 10:54 A.M. ET:   John F. Kennedy was born a hundred years ago yesterday, on May 29, 1917.  We didn't note it yesterday because it was Memorial Day and I didn't want to mix the two commemorations.

President Kennedy was assassinated 54 years ago.  If we assume that a child becomes aware of a president at, say, ten years of age, only those over 64 have any direct memory of him.  And yet he remains a firm part of the American consciousness.  I suspect that's because of his youthfulness, the attractiveness of his family, and the tragedy of his assassination.  It's also because he was the first "television" president, and we have so much film and tape with which to keep the memory alive.

As readers know, I was able to experience Kennedy up close.  In 1960, when he was elected president, I was a campaign aide to U.S. Senator Paul H. Douglas of Illinois, a great and distinguished senator and honored Marine Corps combat veteran.  We were with Kennedy often as the future president campaigned in Illinois. 

Many people today are surprised to learn how controversial Kennedy was.  When he was nominated in Los Angeles during the summer of 1960, there was a collective letdown in a large part of the Democratic Party.  It had little to do with his Catholic religion, although that was a factor in the campaign.  It had more to do with the setting in which this 43-year-old senator appeared.  A campaign is a play, and you have to set the stage.

In 1960 we had millions of Americans still in their thirties who had served in World War II, and tens of millions who had been involved in war work.  The incumbent president was Dwight D. Eisenhower, who had risen to five-star-general in that war.  By contrast, Kennedy had been a lieutenant.  Eisenhower was the wise, aging father, while Kennedy was the new generation, seen as perhaps too young, too inexperienced, too undeserving.  Eleanor Roosevelt, the widow of the wartime president, openly questioned whether he was ready for the White House.  Getting Kennedy simply to look mature was a struggle, and it was almost lost.  His victory in November was razor-thin.

And yet Kennedy had served 14 years in Congress, a number of those on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.  He had written or co-written two serious books, one on British foreign policy, the other, "Profiles in Courage," written with Ted Sorensen, on American history.  He was a legitimate war hero, wounded when a Japanese destroyer cut his PT boat in half in the Pacific.  But for a generation used to gray-haired leaders, he was an exception.  Many Americans did not buy the exception.  His opponent, Richard M. Nixon, was, after all, vice president of the United States.

Senator Douglas knew Kennedy well.  In a conversation we had in a Polish neighborhood in Chicago, he described him as "brilliant but cold."  I think it applied.

Jack Kennedy served less than three years.  Whether one agreed or disagreed with him, he brought vigor and vitality to the White House, and inspired a new generation to enter politics.  For many, his administration was the last optimistic time, before the chaos and ugliness of the late sixties.  It took 17 years from the time of Kennedy's death before Ronald Reagan was elected and restored the national morale.

Kennedy, with his centrist policies and powerful devotion to national defense, could not come anywhere near a presidential nomination in today's Democratic Party.  He might not even be a member of that party.  It's hard to see where he'd fit in.  How sad.

May 30, 2017       Permalink

A SLIGHT SHIFT? – AT 10:17 A.M. ET:  I may be imagining things, but I did see a slight shift this morning in CNN's coverage of the Jared Kushner saga.  I sensed that the network is becoming slightly more guarded, perhaps sensing that it may be getting way ahead of the story, if there's any story to get ahead of.

Or, maybe CNN got burned by a Fox report debunking the widely reported leak that Kushner suggested, in a talk with a Russian diplomat, using Russian equipment to open a back channel between the White House and the Kremlin.  Fox reports from its sources that the suggestion actually came from the Russian diplomat, a big difference.

This morning CNN did appear to go out of its way to give the White House version of events and to caution that no actual evidence of Trump team collusion with Russia has actually appeared.  This restraint and sudden maturity may only last a day, of course.

What does remain is the steady drip, drip, drip of leaks.  CNN seems to get a leaked story every day.  The timing is not coincidental.  There are people out to destroy this president through a series of well-timed, regular leaks.

Which leads me to a suggestion:  Journalism must establish new standards for dealing with leaks.  We must professionally insist that news organizations, when employing leaks, caution the reader or viewer that the act of leaking is a violation of law, and that the motive of the leaker may not be known.  It may be public service, but it may also be a personal grudge.  Such a notice would also remind journalists of the serious nature of leaks, and the damage they can do. 

I doubt if such a standard will soon be established, but it should be.  Classified information is the property of the American people.  We entrust it to elected officials and their appointees.  We do not entrust it to the press.  Leaks can serve a valuable purpose if there is wrongdoing and the leaker is a true whistleblower.  But do not underestimate the potential for harm.

May 30,  2017     Permalink