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MAY 17,  2018

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

GOOD FOR GINA – FROM FOX:  President Trump’s pick for CIA director Gina Haspel was confirmed Thursday by the Senate, with help from several Democrats who backed the nomination despite concerns over her role in post-9/11-era interrogation and detention practices.  The Senate voted 54-45 to confirm Haspel, with a handful of Democrats voting in support. The vote came a day after Haspel was recommended in a 10-5 vote by the Senate Intelligence Committee. Haspel will be the first woman to lead the agency.  Haspel, who will replace now-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, served as the base chief at a black-site prison in Thailand in 2002, where techniques such as waterboarding were used on terror suspects. But Republican supporters accused Democrats of politicizing her nomination, and initially trying to derail an otherwise highly qualified nominee.  The Dems who voted for Haspel are at political risk because they come from generally moderate or conservative states.  Voting against such a qualified nominee might have meant certain death in the November midterms.

NUT – FROM AMERICAN ACTION NEWS:  Even though the tactic doesn't seem to be working for Democrats, Senator Debbie Wasserman Schultz today doubled down on earlier rhetoric calling the National Rifle Association "just shy" of a terrorist organization.  According to her recent interview with the Huffington Post, Wasserman Schultz is no fan of the gun rights organization, and she's not afraid to show it.  “The NRA is kind of just shy of a terrorist organization,” Schultz told the magazine. “They have done everything they can to perpetuate the culture of violence that we have in our country with the spread of assault weapons across the nation."  Please tell Debbie that there's honorable work available in various rehabilitation centers for people like her, and that the staffs are kind. 

GOOD IDEA – FROM DEADLINE.COM:  EXCLUSIVE: Steven Spielberg and Leonardo DiCaprio are in early discussions to re-team on an epic biopic of Ulysses S. Grant that DiCaprio and Appian Way partner Jeniffer Davisson are producing at Lionsgate. I’m told that Spielberg wants to direct DiCaprio in that role in their first collaboration since the 2002 drama Catch Me If You Can.  Lionstate and Appian Way last November acquired movie rights to Grant , the bestselling Ron Chernow biography that is being adapted by David James Kelly. The writer just worked for Appian Way and Lionsgate on Robin Hood, the Otto Bathurst-directed that stars Taron Egerton in the starring role.  An excellent idea, if well executed and free of political correctness.  Grant was one of the most fascinating figures in American history – a failure in civilian life who achieved victory in war, and the author of a distinguished autobiography.  Even his presidency, once viewed as mediocre, is now getting a second look from historians.  I look forward to this. 

May 17, 2018       Permalink

AND NOW HILLARY? – AT 1:15 P.M. ET:   Wouldn't it be ironic if the focus of investigations in Washington switched from Donald Trump to Hillary Clinton.  From Fox:   

The completion of a long-awaited watchdog report on the FBI and DOJ’s Hillary Clinton investigation during the 2016 presidential campaign has put Washington on edge, as the clock counts down to its potentially explosive release. 

“We’re all anxiously awaiting this report,” Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told Fox News’ “Hannity.” 
Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz announced the draft report was done in a letter to members of Congress on Wednesday. He did not say when the results of the review will be officially released to the FBI, DOJ and congressional committees.

But the inspector general said he has provided a draft report to the Department and the FBI, and requested that they review it to identify any information that should be protected from disclosure.

“Additionally, consistent with our usual process, we have asked the Department and FBI to provide us with any comments they wish us to consider regarding the report’s accuracy and completeness,” Horowitz wrote in his letter to lawmakers.

For more than a year, Horowitz has been reviewing the FBI and DOJ’s actions related to its investigation into Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.

Horowitz’s investigation has looked at a variety of allegations, including whether it was improper for former FBI Director James Comey to make a public announcement about not recommending prosecution over the Clinton email arrangement.

COMMENT:  It's impossible to say whether the "review" by the FBI and Department of Justice will render the report toothless, or whether the IG will be able to tell the full story.  But this could be extremely volatile.  However, Hillary will make a profit on it by going on a book tour and declaring herself a victim of the old boys' network.

May 17, 2018       Permalink

WE'RE FOLLOWING EUROPE – AT 12:32 P.M. ET:  America's birth rate is becoming dangerously low.  This is critical if we expect to reproduce our civilization.  We must not follow the example of Western Europe, where some countries will simply disappear because of low birth rates.  From livescience.com: 

The number of babies being born in the United States continues to fall, with the birth rate reaching a new record low in 2017, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Last year, about 3.8 million babies were born in the U.S., which is 2 percent lower than the number born in 2016, and the lowest recorded number of births in 30 years, according to the report.
What's more, there were about 60 births per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44, which is 3 percent lower than the rate in 2016, and the lowest recorded rate since the government started tracking birth rates in 1909.

The decline in the U.S. birth rate from 2016 to 2017 was the largest single-year drop since 2010, the researchers wrote in the report, which was published today (May 17).

The teen birth rate fell 7 percent from 2016 to 2017, to a rate of 19 births per 1,000 teens ages 15 to 19. In addition, birth rates generally declined for women under 40, reaching record lows among women in their 20s, the report authors found.

Part of the reason for the decline in U.S. birth rates may be that people are in a general state of economic uncertainty, said Karen Benjamin Guzzo, associate director of the Center for Family & Demographic Research at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Even though the Great Recession technically ended in 2009, people may still feel uneasy about their economic situation; they may be employed but working part time, or going to school and working, or trying to pay off student loans, Guzzo said.

"People feel just really uncertain about the future," Guzzo told Live Science. "And that generally does not bode well for having kids."

COMMENT:  Another reason is that having kids may not be that "in" amongst the millennials.  Whatever the reason, we must not go European. 

I don't know how we can, responsibly, create a higher birth rate.  Clearly, the tax system can be adjusted further to make it easier to have children, but I hate to think that households would have kids just because more money is available.

May 17,  2018     Permalink

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