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MAY 5,  2018

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

McCAIN ON PALIN – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:  Arizona GOP Senator John McCain said Saturday he’s sorry he chose then-Alaska governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate in the presidential race he lost to Barack Obama.  He told the New York Times that if he could do it over he would have picked former Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut.  Lieberman told The Times that he hadn’t known McCain felt that way. “It touched me greatly,” he said.  I've always had a high regard for Sarah's spunk and determination, but she clearly wasn't ready for a national campaign in 2008, and failed to grow much after that.  She needed better guidance than she got.  It's sad.  Lost potential.

AT LEAST WE KNOW WHERE HE STANDS – FROM FOX:  Controversial filmmaker and vocal Trump critic Michael Moore, took to Twitter Saturday to extend enthusiastic  birthday wishes to Karl Marx, the German philosopher, economist, historian, journalist and revolutionary who published “The Communist Manifesto” in 1848.  Moore, famous for films that have advocated universal health care and put capitalism in the crosshairs, tweeted an endearing message seeming to praise Marx and, in a series of tweets to follow, defended his name against those who attempted to “distort” it.  There's no distortion, except on the left.  Marx's ideas have resulted in murder and dictatorship.  His solution to the defects in capitalism would simply result in a new form of slavery.  Too bad Moore and those like him have never contemplated that.

REBUILDING OUR DEFENSE – FROM WAPO:   The U.S. Navy has reactivated a fleet responsible for overseeing the East Coast and North Atlantic - an escalation of the Pentagon's focus on a resurgent Russia and its expanding military presence.  2nd Fleet, deactivated in 2011 to preserve funds for new ships, will resume operations in Norfolk, Virginia, on July 1, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson told reporters Friday.  "This is a dynamic response to the dynamic security environment," Richardson said onboard the carrier George H.W. Bush. "So as we've seen this great power competition emerge, the Atlantic Ocean is as dynamic a theater as any and particular the North Atlantic, so as we consider high-end naval warfare, fighting in the Atlantic, that will be the 2nd Fleet's responsibility."  Rebuilding our depleted defense was one of Trump's major campaign promises, and he's doing it.

May 5,  2018     Permalink

THE DISGRACE – AT 5:38 P.M. ET:  It has been revealed that former Secretary of State John Kerry has been secretly meeting with Iranian officials and other international types in an effort to salvage the Iran nuclear deal.  From Fox:   

Former Secretary of State John Kerry is under fire over a report claiming that he has been engaged in “shadow diplomacy” with officials from Iran and Europe as part of a final attempt to save the seemingly doomed 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

The Boston Globe reported Friday that Kerry sat down twice with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif in recent months to strategize in a bid to save the deal, as part of what the Globe described as “an aggressive yet stealthy” mission to put pressure on the Trump administration to keep the deal in some form.

Trump faces a May 12 deadline to review the deal, and Kerry has been ramping up his meetings ahead of that deadline. He reportedly met with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier -- who was foreign minister of Germany when the deal was negotiated. He has also met with French President Emmanuel Macron twice and spoken by phone with European Union foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini. 

The Globe reported that Kerry was quiet in his campaign as he believes that a high-profile defense of the deal by prominent Democrats would only make Trump more likely to pull the U.S. out of the deal.

Kerry’s reported actions immediately sparked criticism and raised claims that such dealings with Iranian and European officials could violate the Logan Act -- which prohibits private citizens from negotiating on behalf of the U.S. government without authorization

While no one has ever been successfully prosecuted under the law, the Logan Act was raised last year over former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s negotiations at the United Nations over a resolution with Israel during the Trump transition.

“John Kerry helped craft a flaccid deal that granted the terror regime in Tehran vast monetary and geopolitical concessions, even as it put them on the glide path to nuclear weapons by its own terms,” Sohrab Ahmari, senior writer at  Commentary magazine, told Fox News. “The biggest public service he can render now is to go away.”

COMMENT:  Utterly outrageous behavior by John Kerry, a man with only a casual connection to American democracy.

It is now also reported, but not yet confirmed, that Kerry has been in contact with the Palestinian Authority, urging its leaders not to give in to President Trump and offering to help the Palestinians write a peace proposal.  If the story is true, Kerry may well be in violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act.  But verification is required.

This can turn out to be a major story.   The Obama crowd is at it again, and America will be the loser.

May 5, 2018       Permalink

A GREAT START – AT 1:13 P.M. ET:  Richard Grenell, whose confirmation as ambassador to Germany was held up by the Democrats for months, has now made his initial statement after taking his post in Berlin.   He has impeccable foreign-policy credentials, and Germany is one of the most critical nations in international diplomacy.

But if the Germans thought they were getting a marshmallow in striped pants, someone who'd toe the international line and kind of wink at President Trump, they were wrong.  Grenell is all-in on Trump's confrontation with Iran.  German industrialists, who do a land-office business with Tehran, will not love him.  From the Jerusalem Post:   

Richard Grenell, the newly confirmed US ambassador to Germany, said in an exclusive interview with Fox News on Thursday that German companies should stop trade with the Islamic Republic of Iran because Tehran sponsors terrorism.

When asked by Fox News' Martha MacCallum on her show "The Story with Martha MacCallum" about the Iran nuclear deal, Grenell, a seasoned foreign policy expert, said Iran is a "state-sponsor of terrorism, they spend billions of dollars to spread terrorism around the world. Why would a country want to do business with them? So I think it is going to be incumbent on me to explain to German businesses that they do not want to do business inside of Iran. It is just not right."

Grenell said that "there is room for German companies to stop doing business inside of Iran. We can't have that. You look at what Iran does. Their human rights records."

The European Union extended its human rights sanctions on Iran last month but declined to impose new penalties on the regime for widespread repression of civil liberties, according to human rights groups.

Grenell slammed Iran for destabilizing Syria. Iran is the main financial sponsor of Bashar al-Assad's regime.

COMMENT:  That is very tough stuff, a direct slam at Germany's trade policies.  This is not a guy who'll be rolled.

He also is unlikely to get what we want.  Germany's trade with Iran is the main reason the German government supports the nuclear deal with Tehran.  But Grenell can start the process of making it clear that Germany's greatest protector, the United States, is very displeased, and it may have some effect.  It certainly is sending the message to the entire world that there's a new mood in Washington.

May 5, 2018       Permalink

WE'RE BACK – AT 12:31 P.M. ET:  Remember when Space Cadet Barack Obama declared that the mission of NASA was "Muslim Outreach"?  Ah yes, I remember it well.

The Trump administration does not see things the same way.  From CNN: 

(CNN) Mars is about to get its first thorough checkup ever after NASA on Saturday morning launched Insight from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

It is the first NASA mission launched to another planet from the West Coast. NASA's previous interplanetary missions were launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

If it all goes as planned, after a six-month journey, the 790-pound (358-kilogram) probe will land on November 26, joining five other NASA spacecraft operating on and above Mars.

The mission's principal investigator, Bruce Banerdt, told CNN he thinks InSight will fill the last gaping hole in NASA's exploration of Mars.

"We have mapped the surface of the entire planet in terms of visible features, topography, gravity and magnetic fields," he said.

"We have studied the atmosphere, both globally and at the surface. We have roved around the surface at four different places, studying the geology and piecing together the history of the surface. But until now, the vast regions of the planet deeper than a few miles, or so, (have) been almost completely unknown to us."

He added, "InSight will change that with a single stroke."

InSight will help scientists draw the first detailed map of the interior of Mars, and Banerdt said it's hard to overstate how much science that map will create.

COMMENT:  Another step closer to a manned Mars mission.  Part of making America great again is making America dream again.   And it seems that NASA is dreamin'. 

The shot was fired from California.  I'm surprised the local leftists didn't try to stop it on grounds that it represents white supremacist plans to colonize Martian peoples.

May 5,  2018     Permalink

MAY 4,  2018

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

THE MARCH OF JUSTICE – FROM COLLEGE FIX:   A former New Jersey high school student is suing his school’s baseball coach for ordering him to slide during an attempted triple.  During that slide, then-Bound Brook High School player Jake Maser’s cleat dug into the dirt, causing his ankle to turn over. The resultant injury required surgery.  According to My Central Jersey, 2016 Bound Brook graduate Maser ended up suing coach John Suck and the Bound Brook Board of Education for “negligently” and “carelessly” supervising the game.  Watch.  Someone will sue an umpire for not distributing balls and strikes evenly among marginalized groups.

YIKES! – FROM BBC:   A US university faces a fine of $8,500 (£6,280) for apparently losing a small amount of weapons-grade plutonium.  The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) said Idaho State University is unable to account for 1 gram (0.03oz) of the material.  The plutonium is used in reactors and to make nuclear bombs but the NRC says the amount missing is too small to make a nuclear weapon.  The university says documents show the material was on campus from 2003-04.  However, an NRC report says that in October 2017 three teams at the university conducted a physical search for the material and failed to find it.  Is this serious?  A university loses weapons-grade nuclear material and gets fined only $8,500?  Says plenty about our sense of priorities. 

UP AGAIN – FROM RASMUSSEN:  The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Friday shows that 51% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Trump’s job performance. Forty-nine percent (49%) disapprove.   The president's rise has been consistent over the past ten days.  In Rasmussen, at least, his approval now tops his disapproval.  That is not true in other polls.  The president's strength comes despite almost unprecedented attacks by the mainstream media.  Many people appear to be discounting these attacks.  As usual, the citizenry is ahead of the press.

May 4, 2018       Permalink 

THE SINCLAIR FACTOR – AT 8:48 P.M. ET:  Sinclair Broadcast Group is a conservative group of broadcast holdings.  Some have referred to it as "the junior Fox."  Now, Junior seems to be gearing up to become Senior.  From the Politico: 

Sinclair Broadcast Group, which for months has denied any interest in challenging Fox News while awaiting approval of a merger with Tribune Co., is gearing up to do just that.

Sinclair executive chairman David Smith has been holding meetings with potential future employees, including former Fox News staff members, and laying out a vision for an evening block of opinion and news programming that would compete with Fox’s top-rated lineup, according to a person familiar with the meetings.

Sinclair currently owns the Tennis Channel, and, as part of the $3.9 billion Tribune deal pending before the Federal Communications Commission, would acquire WGN America, a cable network that currently reaches 80 million homes.

Smith, who has been personally involved in at least some of the meetings, still appears to be working through several aspects of the plan, including which of those networks would house his news and opinion programming. He has been discussing a block of at least three hours, but also potentially up to six. Smith is settled, though, on basing his new operation in Washington, D.C., just down the road from Sinclair headquarters in Baltimore, said the person familiar with the discussions. The company already owns local Washington station WJLA, where it produces some of its national content.

The meetings conflict with past statements by Sinclair, denying interest in a national news platform. CEO Chris Ripley told Variety last summer, “After we acquired Allbritton [Communications] in 2014, we looked hard at launching a national cable news channel, but we decided the world didn’t need another cable news platform. ... Our strength is local news. The market for national cable news is very well served.”

Sinclair did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

COMMENT:  I think it's a smart move.  I'm a Fox fan, but Fox is aging, it has gone through some scandals, Roger Ailes has passed away, and Rupert Murdoch, who is kingpin of News Corporation, which owns Fox, is old.  The younger Murdochs, especially James, are apparently far more liberal than Rupert, with possible implications for Fox programming.  Sinclair would be a welcome addition.  I don't know, however, how many areas of the country would actually be served.

May 4, 2018       Permalink

UNEMPLOYMENT PICTURE STAYS GOOD – AT 10:18 A.M. ET:   New-job creation could have been better, but the overall employment situation is solid.  From CNN Money:

The job market hasn't been this good in a very long time.

The unemployment rate dropped below 4% in April for the first time since 2000. The Labor Department reported Friday that it fell to 3.9% — inching closer to territory not seen in half a century.

Employers added 164,000 jobs, slightly below what economists were expecting but better than a comparatively sluggish March.

The report indicates another month of solid job growth for an economy that has been expanding for almost nine years — the second-longest streak on record.

An attempt to give Obama some credit, but the change in national economic psychology began with Trump's election.

Business would be adding even more jobs if they could find the workers they want. There are more than 6 million unfilled job openings in the United States, near a record. The number of people quitting jobs is also historically high, as people leave for better jobs.

"The employment situation continues to surprise everyone," said Robert Frick, chief economist with Navy Federal Credit Union. "Getting down to 3.9 is quite a marker."

Wages grew 2.6% from a year earlier. That was also slightly below expectations.

Hiring gains in April were broad. Professional and business services added 54,000 jobs, health care added 24,000, and manufacturing posted an increase of 24,000 jobs.

The mining sector added 8,000 jobs, extending its gains. Employment in mining has risen by 86,000 since October 2016.

COMMENT:  Republicans, if awake, must make the point that this streak can end if the Democrats/Socialists take the Congress in November.  They believe that your earnings belong to them, not to you.  They will block any economic initiative the president proposes. 

May 4, 2018        Permalink

IS NOTHING SACRED? – AT 9:44 A.M. ET:  "Me too" has become "them too."  Even the Nobel Prize is sullied.  From Sky News:

Carl-Henrik Heldin, chairman of the board of the Nobel Foundation, said in a statement posted on Twitter: "The Swedish Academy [which decides the award] has decided to postpone the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature, with the intention of awarding it in 2019."

The Nobel Foundation said that the "crisis in the Swedish Academy has adversely affected the Nobel Prize".

It will be the first time since wartime 1943 that the prestigious award is not handed out.

Jean-Claude Arnault, a photographer married to one of the members, is at the centre of sexual misconduct allegations.

The prestigious Academy commissioned a law firm to investigate the matter. It found "unacceptable behaviour in the form of unwanted intimacy" from the man had occurred, but that this had not been "generally known" within the Academy, it said.

The Academy has said the investigation would be turned over to law enforcement agencies.

COMMENT:  What can one say?  And here I thought the Nobel prizes were so pure, so protected against sin and influence.

What do we say to those socialists who have held up Sweden as a role model? 

I can't wait for the Nobel Peace Prize.  Can you?  This year, just to be sure, it is being given by a panel of eunuchs. 

I can't go on.

May 4,  2018     Permalink