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MAY 16,  2018

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

PROGRESS – FROM DAILY CALLER:   Legislation to protect free speech is spreading across the country, as Georgia becomes the 10th state to pass regulations safeguarding freedom of speech and press.
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal signed Senate Bill 339 on May 8, which bans what countless public universities have dubbed as “free speech zones” — given freedom of speech inherently applies to all public places rather than a select few.  The bill also gives Georgia public universities the tools to punish students who disrupt or attempt to disrupt speakers who come to the university to deliver a speech or the like, according to Campus Reform. Universities must also provide the governor and state’s general assembly with a report regarding the state of free speech on Georgia’s public university campuses.  Good work.  The reform only applies to public colleges, but pressure brought by this action might persuade private schools to join in.

WHO NEEDS THOSE DEPLORABLES? – FROM DAILY CALLER:   Democrats should stop trying to win over white Republican voters, according to several prominent liberal writers.  That was the point of a column Washington Post writer Paul Waldman wrote on Tuesday, which liberal journalists approvingly circulated on social media, adding their agreement.  Waldman, who previously worked for left-wing group Media Matters, blamed Fox News and conservative media for the fact blue-collar Trump voters don’t vote Democrat.  “In the endless search for the magic key that Democrats can use to unlock the hearts of white people who vote Republican, the hot new candidate is ‘respect,'” Waldman snarked. “If only they cast off their snooty liberal elitism and show respect to people who voted for [President] Donald Trump, Democrats can win them over and take back Congress and the White House.”  The problem isn’t Democrats, according to Waldman — it’s that Trump voters are too uninformed to vote for Democrats.  Incredible.  That is the very arrogance that drove those voters away in the first place.   Do these pseudo-intellectuals understand anything?

MADNESS – FROM POWERLINE:   Democrats in Iowa, like Democrats everywhere, have gone around the bend. Last Thursday, Tom Steyer, a leftist hypocrite of epic proportions, headlined a town hall in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. A woman in the audience said that she couldn’t see any difference between President Trump and Adolf Hitler. Steyer suggested that a fine distinction might be drawn, but added that the urgency to impeach Trump–a nationwide campaign that Steyer is spearheading–derives from the risk that if permitted to remain in office, Trump may murder millions.  It's rumored that Trump is about to invade Russia and bomb London.  If you hear anything, let me know.  I'll alert Edward R. Murrow.

May 16, 2018       Permalink

THE DISGRACE – AT 3:36 P.M. ET:  Hamas, the terror group that controls Gaza, has now conceded that most of those killed in the border clash that occurred several days ago were in fact their operatives, not sweet innocents out for a day of "peaceful" protesting.  This gives the lie, finally, to the notion that Israeli forces, backed by American approval, went out to massacre the peace-loving "demonstrators."

Still, there are loud voices from Europe asking for an international investigation of Israel's defensive actions.  I hope Israel turns them down.  Those demanding a probe are acting in bad faith.  They care not a whit about the people of Gaza.  They just want to embarrass President Trump for putting the American embassy in Jerusalem. 

The West Europeans are next to hopeless.  Their leaders run nations that are fading away, and nations that will soon be controlled by Islamic political interests.  They have sold their souls for some business with Iran, and turned their backs on their own heritage and religion.  So much for their deep international concerns.

There have been insulting comments in recent days toward President Trump coming from European officials.  They echo the same kind of remarks made toward President Reagan.  We must finally realize that the Europeans are our allies only when they need us to save them.  While we may love their cultures, their languages, their art, we should be very skeptical of their politics.

Remember that every boy buried in an American military cemetery in Europe is there because of European diplomacy. 

May 16, 2018       Permalink

A BIT OF PROGRESS, WE HOPE – AT 1:51 P.M. ET:  We look for hints that part of Hollywood is showing some maturity.  Occasionally, we find that hint.  We savor the moment.  From Fox:   

NBC has canceled “Rise” after critics accused the show of being anti-Christian and going out of its way to squeeze in liberal talking points.

The Media Research Center, which has tracked the “extremely liberal high school drama” for bias against Christians, posted an article celebrating its demise. "Rise," which starred Rosie Perez and Josh Radnor, was about a drama teacher who polarizes the town with his passion for musicals – specifically the provocative “Spring Awakening.”  

“We should cry because it happened, and smile now that it is finally over,” MRC’s Dawn Slusher wrote. “Unlike the show’s title Rise, every episode in this debut season continued to sink to new low, so we can also smile over the news that the curtain has been lowered for good on the series."

Slusher once wrote, “If you could take every liberal, Hollywood writer’s agenda and cram it all into one show, that show would be ‘Rise.’”

Slusher’s outrage has been picked up by other publications, such as Christian Today, and the show was panned by The New York Times.

NBC did not immediately respond when asked if the backlash to storylines perceived by critics as anti-Christian played a role in why “Rise” will not return for a second season.

The now-canceled show featured episodes about a teacher encouraging a male student to act in a kissing scene with another male despite expressing that his Catholic parents wouldn’t approve, a priest featuring what Slusher called “stereotypical gay mannerisms,” a pregnant minor contemplating abortion, a transgender teen and an assortment of other topics that critics feel paint Catholics as homophobes.

COMMENT:   Networks must understand that they're entering people's homes.  Some care is required, and respect for the audience is clearly required.  At one time Hollywood was sensitive to the feelings of people watching TV, or attending movies.  When I worked for The Tonight Show we had strict adherence to the standards and practices of NBC.

At one time, in the days of radio, CBS Chairman William S. Paley actually required that station-identification announcers wear tuxedos, even though they were never seen.  The announcers would step into a booth, and say, "The is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System," and step out of the booth, wearing their tuxedos. 

Paley explained his order.  The tuxedos reminded the announcers that it was a formal occasion, they were entering people's homes, and respect had to be shown.  It would be reflected, Paley believed, in their voices.

I wish we had that sensitivity today.  Maybe it's coming back.

May 16, 2018       Permalink

NORTH KOREA – AT 12:45 P.M. ET:  Watching some of the press reaction to North Korea's latest, bizarre behavior, has been thoroughly disheartening.

Some commentators, both print and TV, have reacted to North Korea's threat to pull out of the scheduled summit with President Trump almost with glee, as if a putdown of the president is more important than national security or international peace.  You could almost sense the possibility of relief that the new opening to North Korea will fail.  How dare Trump try to solve the Korean problem?  Didn't he know his place was to continue what the demigod Obama was doing?

At this hour we really don't know what the sudden coldness of the Norks means.  The president, when confronted by some reporters informally this morning, refused to speculate, but reasserted that America was still aiming for denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.  The president's position is correct.  We have our principles, but we're not going to panic over a sudden, tough, North Korean threat.

The president is also correct not to grovel, which would have been Obama's response.  He's making it clear that the world will not end if the summit is canceled.  In any negotiation, or anticipated negotiation, you have to be prepared to walk away, to have your chair halfway out.  Otherwise, your opponent will devour you.

Reagan set the standard by rejecting a Soviet offer on arms control, shocking a world used to seeing pieces of paper signed. 

The Korean story is just beginning.  It will not be an easy path.  Be thankful that Field Marshal Obama and Grand Admiral Kerry are not in power.

May 16,  2018     Permalink

MAY 15,  2018

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

GREAT MOMENTS IN LAW ENFORCEMENT – FROM AP:   BERLIN (AP) — Police were called to investigate a domestic disturbance in a southern German town — and found a man arguing with a parrot.  A resident in Loerrach, near the Swiss border, called the emergency number Monday to report his concerns about loud shouting from a next-door apartment that had been going on for some time.  Police said Tuesday that officers sent to the scene found there was a loud argument going on — but it was between a 22-year-old man and a parrot. The man told them he had been annoyed with the bird, which belonged to his girlfriend.  The parrot responded to being shouted at with loud noises of its own. Police said it couldn't speak but could bark like a dog.  Since no one was hurt, the officers left.  On American college campuses, people are arrested for intimidation of the parrot community.  Why is Europe so far behind?

ARE WE SURPRISED? – FROM COLLEGE FIX:   When the Associated Press portrayed this spring's commencement season as a victory for female speakers, the Young America’s Foundation cleared its throat and added a caveat: except for conservative women.  In a review of commencement speakers at the top 101 universities as judged by U.S. News, the conservative youth organization found just three that it classified as conservative – and only one woman – at schools that only featured one commencement speaker.  In fact, Deloitte CEO Cathy Engelbert is the only conservative speaking at a school in the top 50, at her alma mater Lehigh University (No. 46). The other conservatives are former Southwestern Energy CEO Harold Korell at his alma mater, the Colorado School of Mines (No. 75), and Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon at Yeshiva University (No. 94).  Commencements symbolize the college experience for too many students – only one point of view allowed. 

NO WAY TO RUN A COUNTRY – FROM BLOOMBERG:  Sweden’s got a major supply and demand problem.  By 2025, its entire workforce is expected to grow by 207,000 people—yet it needs more than that number just to staff its fabled welfare state. The worker shortfall could crimp services and raise labor costs, especially in a political environment less hospitable to immigration.  The mismatch is one of the biggest headaches facing Sweden’s next government. Past precedents don’t bode well. The workforce rose by 488,000 between 2007 and 2017, with less than a third of that increase absorbed by the public sector.  Local authorities recruiting 208,000 workers is “not a credible scenario,” said Annika Wallenskog, chief economist at the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions. The real risk is that the public and private sectors end up competing for the same workers, she said.  The government is going to have to come up with some seriously big ideas on how to make up for future labor shortages.  Not exactly a paradise.  I guess Sweden will have to pay a bonus to people willing to come into the country to run the welfare system.  But it will be vastly expensive.  At some point, as Margaret Thatcher said, you run out of other people's money.

May 15, 2018       Permalink

A SETBACK? – AT 10:47 P.M. ET:  There has been a sudden change in events leading to the planned June summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Un.  From the New York Post:   

North Korea said on Tuesday that they will back out of a scheduled summit with President Trump if the US insists on denuclearization in exchange for lifting economic sanctions.

That is the heart of our position.

The top diplomat for the nuclear-armed North said they will reconsider the summit and that Trump will “remain a failed leader” if he follows the path of past presidents.

The announcement came after the North nixed a high-level summit with South Korea, citing joint US-South Korean military drills off the peninsula.

The scheduled June 12 summit in Singapore would be the first meeting between a serving US president and a North Korean leader.

The meeting was expected to be a major diplomatic achievement for President Trump.

COMMENT:  Obviously, an unexpected jolt.  Things seemed to  be going smoothly.  It is too early to tell whether the North Korean position is fatal to the summit, or simply the start of a negotiating position.

It is also too early to tell whether North Korea is under pressure from China to be tougher on the Americans, or, indeed, under pressure from Iran, with which it has a close relationship. 

It's possible the summit will be cancelled, or delayed.  The left media will immediately declare that a defeat for President Trump, and declare it jubilantly, but the president will know how to turn that around and show that he will not be rolled by the Norks, or any of its friends in the peanut gallery.

I'm sure Secretary Pompeo, who recently met with Kim Jong Un, is on the case.

May 15, 2018        Permalink

THE LIBERAL CRACKUP – AT 12:53 P.M. ET:  We're reading more and more stories, some of them from liberals, acknowledging that there's a kind of intellectual crackup on the left.  Liberals, these pieces say, are destroying themselves.  I say, don't stop them.  From Legal Insurrection:  

Gerald Alexander, an associate professor of politics at the University of Virginia, recently wrote an article for the New York Times suggesting that when it comes to Trump, liberals are their own worst enemies. It has become a common joke for conservatives on Twitter to respond to liberal lunacy by saying “Do you want more Trump? Because this is how you get more Trump.”

That idea forms the essence of Professor Alexander’s column:

Liberals, You’re Not as Smart as You Think

I know many liberals, and two of them really are my best friends. Liberals make good movies and television shows. Their idealism has been an inspiration for me and many others. Many liberals are very smart. But they are not as smart, or as persuasive, as they think.

And a backlash against liberals — a backlash that most liberals don’t seem to realize they’re causing — is going to get President Trump re-elected.

People often vote against things instead of voting for them: against ideas, candidates and parties. Democrats, like Republicans, appreciate this whenever they portray their opponents as negatively as possible. But members of political tribes seem to have trouble recognizing that they, too, can push people away and energize them to vote for the other side. Nowhere is this more on display today than in liberal control of the commanding heights of American culture…

Alexander offers many examples of how liberals are causing people to resent them, including the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, recent criticism of Kanye West, false accusations of racism, and the enforcement of concepts like microaggressions in academia.

COMMENT:  Read the whole thing.  It's worth it.  Liberals have become a liability to liberalism.  They've almost become French.  And, increasingly, the American people are ignoring them, if not turning against them altogether. 

The worst offenders are the liberal journalists.  They are losing influence more quickly than airlines lose baggage.   I just hope they continue their antics through the midterms in November. 

May 15, 2018       Permalink

HORROR STORY – AT 12:15 P.M. ET:  The internet is alive today with reactions to one of the most despicable headlines I've seen in a newspaper recently.  The New York Daily News, which once described itself as New York's hometown newspaper, showed that it is now the hometown paper of the Washington hate-Trump establishment.  It is hard to believe that any newspaper went this far.  From Fox: 

The New York Daily News slammed Ivanka Trump as “Daddy’s Little Ghoul” in a Tuesday cover story mocking the first daughter as “seemingly oblivious” for attending the U.S. Embassy opening in Jerusalem.

The cover ridiculed Ivanka for being “all smiles” at the embassy opening while deadly clashes occurred in Gaza and even referred to her as a “deplorable” in a tweet promoting the derogatory cover.

Attacking the spouses and children of politicians has long been considered off limits, but Ivanka’s role in the administration creates gray area for the first daughter.

The actual story being promoted with the offensive cover doesn’t even back up the “ghoul” remark; the article is a straight-news story that doesn’t mention Ivanka until the fourth paragraph when it simply names members of the Trump administration who attended the opening.

But that didn’t stop the paper from using an image of Ivanka next to a bloody child, who was apparently hurt during the protests. The Daily News cover headline isn’t backed up by any journalism whatsoever, and she isn’t mentioned on the editorial page, either. The only thing inside the paper that coincides with the sleazy cover is a single photo caption noting that Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, celebrated the embassy opening while protests occurred in Gaza.

The online version of the story that accompanied the “deplorable” tweet hardly mentioned the first daughter and didn’t include the over-the-top, anti-Trump images that appear in the hard copy. This essentially proves that the paper sensationalized Ivanka’s role in the protest in order to sell newspapers to its fan base of Trump critics.

Political commentator Britt McHenry told Fox News that the cover is “reprehensible” and calling Ivanka a ghoul lacks “any sort of decency.”

“It’s the same principle at work we saw with Michelle Wolf after the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. The message is clear: It’s never OK to denigrate or make fun of women unless they are conservative or vote Republican. Then it’s ‘comedy’ or ‘journalism,’ McHenry said. “Not only is the headline bad, but its unethical journalism to super impose her next to the Gaza protests and mislead readers into thinking she was responsible for it.”

Conservative commentator Carmine Sabia told Fox News that the Daily News “has no shame” and doesn’t even “make an attempt” to appear unbiased or impartial.

“This cover was disgusting on another level,” Sabia said. “It is a journalistic abortion.”

COMMENT:  The Daily News should at least apologize for this disgrace, and those responsible should have the decency to resign.  Of course, those things won't happen.  The cocktail-party circuit in Manhattan will no doubt welcome these "journalists" with open arms. 

May 15,  2018     Permalink