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MAY 1,  2018

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

A GOOD STAND – FROM THE HILL:  The Hill said Tuesday it is pulling out of future White House Correspondents' dinners without “major reforms” to the event following the controversy that erupted over comedian Michelle Wolf’s performance at this year’s dinner on Saturday.  “The Hill, which has participated in the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) dinner for many years, does not plan at this time to participate in the event moving forward,” James Finkelstein, The Hill’s chairman, wrote in a letter dated Tuesday to Steven Thomma, executive director of the White House Correspondents’ Association.   “In short, there's simply no reason for us to participate in something that casts our profession in a poor light. Major changes are needed to the annual event,” the letter states.  That is a good statement, but let's see if the adolescents in the association can be brought under some kind of control.  This is a parenting issue.

CONDI ON BOARD – FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER:  Leaving the Iran nuclear agreement isn't that big of a deal, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday.  "The allies love this deal, and I certainly hope that in their meeting with President Trump that [French President Emmanuel] Macron and [German Chancellor Angela] Merkel talk about ways to improve the deal if we're going to stay in it," Rice said on Fox News.  "But if we get out of this deal, it's going to be just fine," she said. "The Iranians, I think, will try and stay in because they do want that investment eventually to start flowing."  Rice added that she would not have signed the Iran deal, and that while there is an argument to be made for staying in it to maintain U.S. alliances, there's no real argument to stay.  "I would probably have stayed in for alliance management purposes, but I have no argument," she said. "If the president decides to pull out of the deal, I have no argument with that."  Her reply surprised journalists, who thought she would take the standard diplomatic line.  She should be commended for her common sense and independence.

THE CAMPUS CLIMATE – FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER:  Washington University in St. Louis is allegedly selling stuffed dolls of the controversial Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara at its on-campus bookstore.  Red Alert Politics obtained a picture of the doll, apparently resting on a bookshelf in the campus store, according to a student who wished to remain anonymous.  “Selling a Che Guevara doll in our bookstore truly isn't that shocking considering the lack of intellectual and political philosophies that are ‘tolerable’ for our campus, sad as it is to say,” the student told Red Alert Politics, adding that the incident is indicative of the campus culture as a whole.  “Professors are not only quick to make personal statements regarding their individual political orientation but they also openly express disdain for anyone who voted for Trump,” the student commented. “I have, for this very reason, remained a ‘closet conservative’ for over six years at my university so as to fly under the radar and ‘escape’ with my second diploma.”  A story repeated on campus after campus.  The so-called guardians of the First Amendment in the press corps are remarkably silent and indifferent.

May 1, 2018       Permalink

HAPPY MAY DAY? – AT 4:04 P.M. ET:  Yeah, workers of the world unite, and all that stuff.  Today is the day when leftists, with the intellectual maturity of 12-year-olds, go around breaking things in the name of good.  From Daily Mail:

Protest marches have been held around the world to mark International Workers' Day, and while some remained peaceful parades, others escalated into violent clashes and destruction. 

Riot police in Paris arrested more than 200 anti-capitalist demonstrators today as they went on the rampage to mark May Day. 

Water cannon and tear gas were used against the protestors, many of whom were anarchists belonging to the Black Bloc movement.

‘They have mainly targeted places of business, including branches of McDonalds and banks,’ said a Paris police spokesman.

Everyone knows that McDonalds is a threat to civilization.

‘More than 200 people were arrested by late afternoon, and isolated incidents of violence are on going.’

Worst hit was a McDonalds and Renault garage close to the Austerlitz railway station in the east of the city.

Cars and wheelie bins were also torched, while officers had rocks and other projectiles thrown at them. 

Social media posts had announced a ‘Revolutionary Day’ to coincide with similar demonstrations across Europe, and other parts of the word.

The police spokesman said some 1,500 hooded and masked anarchists had turned up on the sidelines of trade union marches.

Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said ‘the violence was completely unacceptable’, adding that ‘everything was being done to arrest’ those responsible.

Government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said there was particular anger at the protesters covering up their faces.

He said: ‘When you have sincere convictions, you demonstrate with your face unmasked. Those who wear hoods are the enemies of democracy.’

COMMENT:  Very well said.  Hoods are symbols of hate and oppression.  But I'm sure a good time was had by most.

May 1, 2018       Permalink

SOMETHING ELSE TO BRIGHTEN THE DAY –AT 1:06 P.M. ET:  When you get beyond the headlines of this week, there are the continuing stories that present a more vivid picture of where we're going.  Our educational system is a disgrace.  From CNS: 

(CNSNews.com) - Sixty-five percent of the eighth graders in American public schools in 2017 were not proficient in reading and 67 percent were not proficient in mathematics, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress test results released by the U.S. Department of Education.

The results are far worse for students enrolled in some urban districts.

Among the 27 large urban districts for which the Department of Education published 2017 NAEP test scores, the Detroit public schools had the lowest percentage of students who scored proficient or better in math and the lowest percentage who scored proficient or better in reading.

Only 5 percent of Detroit public-school eighth graders were proficient or better in math. Only 7 percent were proficient or better in reading.

In the Cleveland public schools, only 11 percent of eight graders were proficient or better in math and only 10 percent were proficient or better in reading.

In the Baltimore public schools, only 11 percent were proficient or better in math and only 13 percent were proficient or better in reading.

In the Fresno public schools, only 11 percent were proficient or better in math and only 14 percent were proficient or better in reading.

COMMENT:  This is a disaster.  And what is the answer?  Well, you know.  Just spend more money.  Put it into the hands of the very people who've created this massive failure.  Why, they know the "community."  They know what it needs.

If you believe that stuff, there's a bridge in Brooklyn that I will not only sell you, I'll deliver it to your house in the form of an IKEA kit.

We spend vast amounts on education.  We get so little for it.  And that's before we begin to examine the scandals in our universities.

Oh, the Democratic Party now wants to push reparations for slavery.  I'm sure the money will be very well spent. 

May 1, 2018       Permalink

WHERE THE PRESIDENT STANDS – AT 11:38 A.M. ET:  President Trump retains his position in the Rasmussen daily tracker, despite the continuing onslaught from the press and the abuse from the White House Correspondents Association dinner.  From Rasmussen:

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Tuesday shows that 48% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Trump’s job performance. Fifty percent (50%) disapprove. 

The latest figures include 34% who Strongly Approve of the way Trump is performing and 40% who Strongly Disapprove. This gives him a Presidential Approval Index rating of -6. (see trends).

COMMENT:  Other polls place the president lower, but Rasmussen tracks likely voters, rather than registered voters or people who just answer the phone.  It was one of the most accurate polls in predicting the 2016 presidential election result.

It's clear that, at least for now, the president's approval is stabilizing.  He has been as high as 51% in Rasmussen in recent weeks, and as low as 47%.  That isn't bad.  By some measures, he's equal to or ahead of where Obama was at this point in his presidency.

A major breakthrough with North Korea will be helpful to the president, but by how much remains to be seen.  There is an old assumption in presidential politics that the economy, rather than foreign policy, is the main factor in how people vote. 

And then there is the Mueller investigation.  I wouldn't be shocked if Mueller comes out with something right before the election.  Special counsels have done that in the past. 

The president's party usually loses in the first midterm Congressional contest following the presidential election.  Republicans, who work hard and creatively to lose elections, are expecting losses.   They're not terribly aggressive.  Here in New York Republicans only campaign on weekends if the weather isn't good enough for golf.  If Trump can inject the party with a true fighting spirit, losses might be cut dramatically, and there might even be pleasant surprises.  Trump knows that if the nutty Dems take the House, they will almost certainly try to impeach him. 

May 1,  2018     Permalink

APRIL 30,  2018

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

THIS IS CANADA? – FROM REUTERS:   TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada wants to change a bilateral agreement to allow it to turn back thousands of asylum seekers walking across the border but the United States is not cooperating, according to a Canadian official with knowledge of the discussions.  Under the Safe Third Country Agreement, or STCA, asylum seekers who arrive at a formal Canada-U.S. border crossing going in either direction are turned back and told to apply for asylum in the first country they arrived in.
Canada wants the agreement rewritten to apply to the entire border.  More than 26,000 people have illegally crossed the Canada-U.S. border to file refugee claims in the past 15 months, walking over ditches and on empty roads along the world’s longest undefended border. Many have told Reuters they might have stayed in the United States were it not for President Donald Trump’s immigration rhetoric and policies.  Canadian officials first discussed changing the pact with U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials last September, shortly after more than 5,700 asylum seekers walked into Canada in August.  So, there are people leaving America for Canada because they don't like Trump, and Canada wants to turn them back, but the U.S. won't cooperate.  I say, give Canada a stipend for each one of these losers, and encourage the Canadians to keep them.  I'm sure the terminally compassionate Justin Trudeau will agree.

HARVARD FARCE – FROM COLLEGE FIX:  “Free speech” is such a touchy subject at Harvard University that a student club took the phrase out of an event name so it would be approved by administrators.  The Harvard Libertarian Club has been “walking around eggshells” to avoid having its events shut down, board member Natalie Bao Tran told The College Fix in a phone interview.  The club co-hosted an April 19 event with Ideas Beyond Borders, which “promotes the free exchange of ideas and defends human rights … to counter extremist narratives and authoritarian institutions.”  It featured speakers including Ideas Beyond Borders founder Faisal Saeed Al Mutar and Flemming Rose, who published controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed as editor of a Danish newspaper in 2005. A film crew recorded the event for a coming documentary about Al Mutar and Rose.  What a comment on "higher" education in America these days.  Get a degree, lose your freedoms.  Who could ask for anything more?

I'VE SOMETIMES FELT THE SAME TEMPTATION – FROM THE GUARDIAN:  Donald Trump may routinely rail against the “fake news media”, but Egypt is going one better by cracking down on “fake” weather reports.  The head of the Egyptian Meteorological Authority has said it is the only government body authorised to make predictions about the country’s weather, and is preparing a draft law to ban unauthorised forecasts.  Ahmed Abdel-Al, the EMA chairman, said during a television interview that the bill seeks to punish anyone “talking about meteorology, or anyone using a weather forecasting device without our consent, or anyone who raises confusion about the weather”. The EMA is Egypt’s primary, if not sole, source of domestic information on the country’s weather patterns.  Egypt’s media is under increasing pressure, with frequent accusations of fake news levelled at reporters and outlets, even those reporting in favour of the state. But false reports about the weather are rare, except perhaps for the annual repetition of doctored photos showing snow covering the pyramids and sphinx of Giza.  Weather reports have occasionally become political, however, such as when Egypt’s interior ministry claimed in 2015 that flooding in the coastal city of Alexandria was caused not by infrastructural failings, but by members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood blocking drains with cement.  Maybe the Egyptians have found the real solution to global warming.

April 30, 2018       Permalink

BIBI REVEALS – AT 2:08 P.M. ET:  The Israeli prime minister revealed a treasure trove of documents he asserted came from secret Iranian archives, and obtained in the last few weeks.  Clearly, his main audience was President Trump.  But, assuming the documents are authentic, they paint a devastating picture of an Iran that lied repeatedly to get the nuclear deal with the West.  From Fox: 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed new "dramatic" intelligence Monday which he claimed shows Iran is "brazenly lying" about its nuclear weapons program and shows the country is not complying with the vaunted nuclear deal it signed in 2015.

The information was obtained within the past 10 days, Israeli officials told Fox News. Netanyahu said the 'half a ton" of files were moved to a "highly secret" location in Tehran after the deal was signed, and contained materials spread over 55,000 pages and 55,000 files on 183 CD's.

"These files conclusively prove that Iran is brazenly lying when it says it never had a nuclear weapons program," he said. 

Netanyahu displayed what he said was "an exact copy" of the original materials, which are now in "very safe place" and include incriminating documents, charts, presentations, blueprints, and photos. 

Speaking in a nationally televised address, Israel's prime minister said the material is filled with incriminating evidence showing the Iranian program, called "Project Amad," was to develop a weapon.

Netanyahu briefed President Trump about the intelligence on Saturday and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday. European counterparts were made aware Monday prior to the speech, officials said.

Trump has repeatedly expressed a desire to exit the Iran nuke deal, which was signed during the Obama administration. And though he has yet to end it, a crucial deadline for re-certifying the deal is on the horizon.

"In a few days’ time, President Trump… will make a decision on what to do with the nuclear deal," he said. "I’m sure he’ll do the right thing, the right thing for the United States, the right thing for Israel, the right thing for the peace of the world.”

In a question and answer period at the White House Rose Garden with Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari on Monday, Trump said he'll make a decision "on or before" May 12.

"That doesn't mean I won't negotiate a new agreement," the president said, adding that "we'll see what happens."

COMMENT:  Please note that the speech was carried live on both CNN and Fox, but...at this hour, there is no mention of it at the websites of The New York Times, the Washington Post, NBC News or ABC News.  I guess the "journalists" do not regard nuclear annihilation as a serious enough subject.  Or maybe they don't want to hurt the feelings of dear, brotherly Iran.

The information, if verified, is indeed devastating.  And it shows the gross irresponsibility of those who negotiated the nuclear deal.

April 30, 2018       Permalink

THIS IS GETTING REAL – AT 1:16 P.M. ET:  At first it sounded like a joke – Donald Trump getting the Nobel Peace Prize?  Are we serious here?  But now the suggestion has been made by the president of South Korea.  From Fox:

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Monday that President Trump deserves to win a Nobel Peace Prize for his role in talks to denuclearize the Korean peninsula and end the decades-long war between the North and South.

Moon’s comment, as reported by Reuters, came following a congratulatory message from Lee Hee-ho, the widow of late South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, where she said Moon deserved to win the prize for his work with North Korea. Moon’s response was that Trump, instead, should win the prize.

“President Trump should win the Nobel Peace Prize,” Moon reportedly told a meeting of senior secretaries, according to a Korean official who briefed the media. “What we need is only peace.”
The comments came just days after Moon met with North Korean Dictator Kim Jong Un for a summit at the Peace House in Panmunjom.

Trump continued to play an active role on Monday, floating the possibility of holding his expected summit with Kim at the same location.

COMMENT:  I can just see how the American press would cover a Trump Nobel Prize.  They'd probably suggest that the Nobel committee got special rates at Trump hotels, or that Trump secretly sent Barack Obama to conduct the negotiations.

I don't think the award will happen, but just seeing the press reaction would justify the prize itself. 

April 30, 2018       Permalink

SOMETHING IS UP – AT 12:30 P.M. ET:  We're trying to track this down, but information is scarce.  There is definitely something up in the Mideast, and it undoubtedly involves the U.S.  The prime minister of Israel has suddenly scheduled a major address to his nation for tonight, on the subject of intelligence about Iran.  From Newsmax: 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will make a televised announcement on Monday evening (1700 GMT) in what his office said would be a "significant development" regarding the 2015 nuclear agreement between global powers and Iran.

No more details were given of the announcement, which will be made from Israel's military headquarters in Tel Aviv, according to a brief statement from Netanyahu's office.

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will make a statement on a significant development regarding the nuclear agreement with Iran," the statement said.

Prior to the announcement Netanyahu had convened his security cabinet for a surprise meeting and then canceled a speech in parliament.

Israeli news commentators speculated that Netanyahu planned to make public intelligence on supposed Iranian non-compliance in the nuclear deal, rather than announcing any imminent military action.

"The public can relax. The prime minister is not going to declare war," said one senior official in Netanyahu's coalition, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Netanyahu spoke by phone with U.S. President Donald Trump over the weekend about Iran, according to the White House.

A statement on Sunday said: "The two leaders discussed the continuing threats and challenges facing the Middle East region, especially the problems posed by the Iranian regime's destabilizing activities."

Netanyahu met in Tel Aviv with new U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday and both spoke in strong terms about Iran.

"We remain deeply concerned about Iran’s dangerous escalation of threats towards Israel and the region," said Pompeo.

COMMENT:  So, 1) the prime minister is to make a significant statement on Iran, something rare; 2) he met yesterday with Secretary of State Pompeo; 3) he spoke with President Trump over the weekend; 4) the defense minister of Israel just returned from Washington, where he had high-level talks with Secretary of Defense Mattis.

And...there was a huge explosion hours ago at a Syrian military base, where Iranian personnel are stationed. There is informed speculation that it was either an Israeli attack or a joint US/Israeli operation.

This is major stuff.  It comes just days before President Trump will announce whether this country will pull out of the nuclear agreement with Iran, which was made in 2015.

Stand by.

April 30,  2018     Permalink