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NOVEMBER 4,  2017

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

IRAN MOVES AHEAD – FROM THE JERUSALEM POST:   Intelligence services from the Netherlands are raising a red flag over Iran's use of Dutch technology to accelerate its lethal weapons program.  Iran, along with Syria and Pakistan, may have obtained technology that can be applied to military programs that can cause widespread destruction, intelligence services in the Netherlands said late last mont  Dutch technology was used in programs of weapons of mass destruction and means of delivery in Iran, Pakistan or Syria,” wrote the Dutch ministers of defense, foreign affairs and foreign trade in a letter sent to the lower house of parliament in the last week of October.  Don't worry about it.  John Kerry is on the case.  He'll not only ask the Iranians to stop using Western technology to build weapons of mass destruction, he'll actually say, "Pretty please."  Admire the man's toughness.

I'M SO SAD OVER ALLL THIS STRIFE – FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER:  Dozens of members of Hillary Clinton's campaign reacted Saturday to former DNC head Donna Brazile's bombshell allegations and insights concerning the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic primary during the 2016 campaign.  The latest reveal from Brazile, courtesy of a preview of her upcoming memoir published by the Washington Post, accused the Clinton camp of treating her like a "slave," expressed concerns about Russian interference, also detailed her consideration of replacing Clinton with then-Vice President Joe Biden as the party's presidential nominee after a health scare. The news Saturday followed another big claim revealed in Brazile's memoir, as reported by Politico this week, that Clinton struck a deal with the DNC that looked like an "unethical" takeover.  "We were shocked to learn the news that Donna Brazile actively considered overturning the will of the Democratic voters by attempting to replace Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine as the Democratic Presidential and Vice Presidential nominees," the open letter began. "It is particularly troubling and puzzling that she would seemingly buy into false Russian-fueled propaganda, spread by both the Russians and our opponent, about our candidate’s health."  The party of Obama is an unhappy place, but he's making out like a bandit.

PROVOCATION – FROM CNN:   Yemeni rebels on Saturday targeted an airport in Saudi Arabia's capital with a ballistic missile, according to Yemen's Houthi-controlled Defense Ministry.  But the missile was intercepted over northeast Riyadh, the Saudi Ministry of Defense said in a statement carried on government-backed Al-Arabiya television.  Yemen's Defense Ministry said the missile attack "shook the Saudi capital" and the operation was successful. The attack was conducted using a Yemeni-made, long-range missile called the Burqan 2H, it said.  We very rarely hear of Saudi Arabia in combat.  The country is modernizing, and moving closer (slowly) to the West, even to Israel.  Considered a major oil supplier, combat in Saudi Arabia is a serious thing.  We could get sucked in easily.

November 4, 2017       Permalink

AMERICANS COOL TO TAX BILL – AT 2:29 P.M. ET:   This is bad, and it must be reversed by a major national Republican campaign.  Polling shows that most Americans are currently opposed to the Republican tax bill emerging from the House.

Bad poll numbers will give power to the opposition.  They may persuade some Republican fence sitters, in both House and Senate, to oppose their party's bill.  It's not uncommon for a money bill to arouse early opposition because so many inaccurate stories about what's in the bill are out there.  Nevertheless, turning public opinion around must be a major GOP priority.  From Daily Mail: 

Most Americans have given a thumbs down to President Donald Trump's tax plan saying it would mostly benefit the wealthy. 

According to a new ABC News/Washington poll, 60 percent say the plan favors the rich – including six in 10 of the wealthy themselves.

The sampling of 1,005 adults showed that Americans oppose the tax plan by a 17-point margin.

Overall, 55 percent of American adults don't support the plan and 33 percent do support it. The remaining 17 percent are undecided.

One of the overarching criticisms of the new plan is that it would benefit the rich, with 60 percent of those polled agreeing. Just 13 percent think it favors the middle class, two percent say it favors the poor, and 17 percent say all groups are treated equally. 

Even among those with incomes of $100,000 or more, 61 percent think the plan chiefly will benefit the wealthy.

Support for the Trump plan peaks at 75 percent among Republicans and those who approve of his job performance overall in the poll, produced for ABC by Langer Reseacher Associates. 

COMMENT:  The bill will go through revisions, of course, and that in itself may increase its popularity.   But the president himself must lead the charge to explain the bill, even if it takes a national tour, reminiscent of Harry Truman's 1948 whistlestop campaign, to do it successfully.  This is the top legislative priority.  If the GOP cannot get tax relief passed and signed, it has nothing to offer the American people and should be defeated in next year's midterms.

November 4, 2017       Permalink

VIRGINIA LATEST – AT 1:18 P.M. ET:   Tuesday's Virginia gubernatorial election is turning out to be this year's hot ticket.  Democrats, already in control of the governor's mansion, would love to hold it.  They are looking for a victory...somewhere.  Republicans smell blood.  If they can flip the governor's chair, it will be seen as a major triumph in the age of Trump.  And Democrats will be making appointments with their shrinks.

The latest polls show a down-to-the-wire race between Republican Ed Gillespie and Democrat Ralph Northam:

Roanoke College poll:  Northam 47, Gillespie 47.

The Polling Company:  Northam 43, Gillespie 46.

Rasmussen:  Northam 45, Gillespie 45. 

COMMENT:  Two ties, one slight Republican lead.  That is close.  This race will depend on turnout.  From what's being reported, Dems are not terribly enthusiastic, but Republicans are.  That's good.  That's what we want to hear.

The election is three days away.

November 4,  2017     Permalink

WHAT IS NEWS? – AT 12:24 P.M. ET:  The president and first lady visited the USS Arizona memorial at Pearl Harbor yesterday.  It was a moving visit, carried live on Fox.  CNN didn't carry it at all.  It was busy doing a pseudo-sociological analysis of the president's family history.  How exciting. 

I wish all American school children could have seen the president's and first lady's visit to the Arizona.  They would have learned something about this nation's history, and the sacrifices that are part of their history.  I am always impressed by the way Melanie Trump carries herself.  She has become an outstanding and gracious first lady, but gets no respect at all from the anti-Trump press.

In Japan, Ivanka Trump, who could have spent her entire life going to cocktail parties, gave a superb speech on the treatment of women in the workplace.  If she had been a Democrat, it would have been on every page one.  But the speech was largely ignored.  The press just can't handle a presidential daughter with a brain...if her father is a Republican.

In one of the most important political stories of the year, major Dem operative Donna Brazile revealed a few days ago that last year's Democratic presidential nomination race was rigged by the Clinton campaign to make sure no one else came close to Hillary.  Clearly, a first-class scandal.  But the story wasn't covered by any of the big-three TV networks.  One wonders what their definition of news is.  It certainly isn't the definition I learned in journalism. 

And, by the way, have you noticed the way the words "liberal" and "progressive" are being used interchangeably?  They are actually not the same thing, and have very different histories.  But there's no guidance from the journalists who give us our political news.

It's very wrong.  The country is not being served.

November 4,  2017     Permalink

NOVEMBER 3,  2017

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

THIS WOMAN IS DISGRACEFUL – FROM PJ MEDIA:  WASHINGTON – Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) predicted that President Donald Trump will eventually resign from office to avoid impeachment by making up an excuse such as “somebody is trying to kill Barron” Trump, his 11-year-old son.  “We just have to, like the slogan says, stay woke; just stay woke, be careful, because I can see the wheels turning now…we’re marching toward impeachment, there’s no question about it. If that happens, are we prepared? Because it’s going to happen,” Wilson said Thursday at the annual Legislative & Policy Conference organized by Al Sharpton’s National Action Network (NAN) on Capitol Hill.   This is the same "congresswoman" who exploited that military widow recently and tried to make President Trump seem unsympathetic.  A disgrace to the Congress.

THE POOR TASTE EXPRESS – FROM NEWSWEEK:   A Los Angeles Times columnist came under fire on Friday after calling White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders a "slightly chunky soccer mom."  In the op-ed published on Wednesday, David Horsey says Sanders's appearance made her an unlikely candidate for the top White House position, being that President Donald Trump seems to prefer "sleek beauties with long legs and stiletto heels"—an aesthetic his daughter and wife embody to a T.  "By comparison, Sanders looks more like a slightly chunky soccer mom who organizes snacks for the kids' games," Horsey wrote. "Rather than the fake eyelashes and formal dresses she puts on for news briefings, Sanders seems as if she’d be more comfortable in sweats and running shoes."   Real class from the mainstream media.  If a Republican had written that, Washington would explode in righteous anger.  I'm sure this hack will keep his job.

SIGN OF THE TIMES – FROM THE MIAMI HERALD:   In the arsenal of school-sponsored security measures, metal detectors, ID checks and security cameras are practically second nature. A bullet resistant backpack insert? Not so much.  At Florida Christian School, a private, nondenominational Miami-Dade school serving students from preschool to high school, that could be changing. The school has started offering parents the opportunity to buy a $120 piece of ballistic armor to turn students’ backpacks into potential lifesavers.  “It’s just a tool,” said George Gulla, the school’s head of security. “I’d rather be prepared for the worst than be stuck after saying ‘Wow, I wish we would’ve done that.’”  The school is acting to protect its students, which is fine.  But what a comment on what school-age kids face in some areas.

November 3, 2017     Permalink

FINALLY WAKING UP – AT 1:33 P.M. ET:  Republicans are finally waking up to the reality that the Trump administration may be destroyed, or seriously damaged, by out-of-control investigations.  It's happened before.  From Reuters:   

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Three Republican U.S. lawmakers called on Friday for Robert Mueller to resign as special counsel investigating Russia and the 2016 U.S. election, the latest in a series of conservatives’ criticisms of the FBI and Justice Department during the probe of how Moscow may have influenced the campaign.

Representatives Matt Gaetz, Andy Biggs and Louis Gohmert accused Mueller of a conflict of interest because he was director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation when former President Barack Obama’s administration approved an agreement allowing a Russian company to buy a Canadian company that owned 20 percent of U.S. uranium supplies.

President Donald Trump’s fellow Republicans have been calling for an investigation into the Uranium One deal, amid news of Mueller’s first indictments of Trump associates as the special counsel investigates allegations that the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow.

COMMENT:  Seems to me this is an easy call.  Mueller should clearly resign.  He has too many links to the questions under investigation.  He has also hired lawyers with direct links to the Hillary Clinton campaign, raising many eyebrows.  For the good of the country, he should go.

November 3, 2017       Permalink

WHAT? – AT 11:51 A.M. ET:   The Bowe Bergdahl case has apparently come to a stunning end.  Instead of paying a severe penalty for desertion, Bergdahl will simply receive a dishonorable discharge.  From Fox:

More than eight years after Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl walked off his base in Afghanistan -- and unwittingly into the clutches of the Taliban -- Bergdahl walked out of a North Carolina courtroom a free man on Friday.

Bergdahl, who pleaded guilty to endangering his comrades, was fined, reduced in rank to E1 and dishonorably discharged -- but he received no prison time.

As part of the sentence, Bergdahl will forfeit his pay of $1000 per month for ten months.
Bergdahl was shaking and appeared emotional as the verdict was quickly read.

Prosecutors had requested a 14-year prison term following a week of emotional testimony from the survivors who were wounded during missions to find Bergdahl after he left the base in June 2009. Bergdahl's defense team has asked for no prison time.

Bergdahl faced up to life in prison for desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. Wearing a blue dress uniform, Bergdahl appeared tense during the short morning session. He clenched his jaw as if grinding his teeth, then grimaced and looked at the floor when he walked out of the courtroom.

In closing arguments, defense attorneys argued that Bergdahl already had suffered enough confinement during five years of brutal captivity by Taliban allies. They asked the judge for a dishonorable discharge and no prison time. Their argument for leniency also cited harsh campaign-trail criticism by Donald Trump and Bergdahl's mental disorders.

Capt. Nina Banks, a defense attorney, said it wouldn't be justice to rescue Bergdahl from the Taliban "only to place him in a cell" now.

COMMENT:  It seems to me that fairness toward other soldiers, and those wounded or even killed in the search for Bergdahl after his desertion, required him to serve at least some prison time.  Berdahl's crimes were profound, among the worst a soldier can commit.

As for Bergdahl's mental disorders, I can offer no informed opinion.  But the end of the case leaves me with an empty feeling. 

November 3,  2017     Permalink

WEEKEND TROUBLE – AT 11:20 A.M. ET:  Our dear friends on the far left are planning some stuff for this weekend.  You may want to plan for indoor "rainy day" activities, like Monopoly or poker.  From Fox: 

Will the so-called "Antifa apocalypse" come with a bang or a whimper?

A series of anti-government, leftist rallies set to descend on major cities nationwide Saturday is drawing the attention of local officials, who, like the organizers themselves, fear the events could be hijacked by violent masked anarchists.

The left-wing "Refuse Fascism" group is using Nov. 4 as its kickoff for demonstrations in nearly two dozen U.S. cities, protests it says will continue "day after day and night after night ? not stopping ? until our DEMAND is met."

The "DEMAND" is the removal of President Trump and Vice President Pence.

The gatherings are being described as a kind of "Antifa apocalypse" on right-wing media, according to The Washington Post. Several sites are expressing particular alarm about the loosely-defined left-leaning group, which preaches a version of ferocious anti-government chaos that often uses "domestic terrorist violence," according to a recent FBI report.

Among the 20 cities where rallies are set to occur are Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle.

The anarchist group, whose name comes from term "anti-fascist," made news earlier this week for allegedly harassing a female reporter at Columbia University and for seven arrests at California State University, Fullerton, amid reports of head-punching and pepper-spraying.

COMMENT:  Let us hope the whole thing is a flop.  Antifa operates best around college campuses, where its antics are appreciated by the adolescents within.  If they get out onto the real mean streets, they may encounter construction workers, veterans, and real cops.

November 3,  2017     Permalink