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NOVEMBER 21,  2017

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:51 P.M. ET: 

ONCE THE TIFFANY NETWORK – FROM PAGE SIX:  “CBS This Morning” wants Oprah Winfrey to save the day and fill in for Charlie Rose after he was axed due to a shocking sexual-harassment scandal, sources exclusively tell Page Six.  “They are begging Oprah to fill in,” said a TV insider. “Not full time . . . But they are hoping she’ll do one day, two days, one hour, fill in till Christmas. Anything.”  I have no doubt that TV networks and Hollywood companies will consider the current scandals as an opportunity to get rid of some people and add others.  Bloodletting is common in the industry.  I saw it firsthand.  One actress once said that she could tell how well her film was doing by the attitude toward her of the guard at the gate. 

ADVICE FROM THE GIRL SCOUTS – FROM THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER:  The Girl Scouts of America, which has 16,000 members in the Charlotte area, is advising parents not to force their daughters to hug relatives during the holidays, prompting a fierce debate on social media.  In a lengthy essay on GirlScouts.org, the nonprofit points out that family get-togethers can be a time “when your daughter gets the wrong idea about consent and physical affection.” The warning comes at a time when the nation has seen a number of high profile revelations of men sexually harassing and assaulting women in the work place, with some cases dating back decades.  “Have you ever insisted, ‘Uncle just got here – go give him a big hug!’ or ‘Auntie gave you that nice toy, go give her a kiss,’ when you were worried your child might not offer affection on her own? If yes, you might want to reconsider the urge to do that in the future,” the post states.  “Think of it this way: Telling your child that she owes someone a hug either just because she hasn’t seen this person in a while, or because they gave her a gift, can set the stage for her questioning whether she ‘owes’ another person any type of physical affection when they’ve bought her dinner or done something else seemingly nice for her later in life.  In my view, that is completely absurd.  All it does is infantilize women, and keep them as children who can be controlled by the "movement."  Of course, that is the objective of many leftist groups – keep the flock under control, never let them become individuals and thinking adults.  It is ridiculous to assume that a young woman of 25 doesn't know the difference between giving an uncle a kiss because she's missed him and giving a man sex because he's bought her a hamburger.  Shame.

FUTURE PRESIDENTS? – FROM THE WASHINGTON FREE BEACON:  Former Democratic National Committee interim chair Donna Brazile predicted a massive field of 2020 presidential candidates on Tuesday, telling MSNBC's Chris Matthews she foresees 25 potential Democratic contenders.  Matthews asked Brazile about possible candidates like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and Joe Biden, who are 76 and 75, respectively, and wondered if there should be an "outer age where you're just too old to run" for presidents.  "Chris, I predict tonight that there will be literally over 25 people who will consider running for president," she said. "Perhaps Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders."  Other rumored contenders include Sens. Cory Booker (D., N.J.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D., N.Y.), Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.), Kamala Harris (D., Calif.), Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.  "Should the older guys run?" Matthews asked.  "The last thing I'm going to do at the age of 57 is to kick somebody who's 65 or 70 and tell them that their days are over," Brazile said.   Look at that list.  Not a real president among them. 

November 21,  2017     Permalink

A SIGN OF OUR TIMES – AT 11:47 A.M. ET:   It is the kind of thing that should never be acceptable at any level.  From CBS Local: 

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Teachers in Pennsylvania’s capital city are asking for support after a series of violent altercations with students has led to multiple resignations.

The Harrisburg Education Association says at least 45 teachers have resigned since July and October. Association President Jody Barksdale says more have resigned since then.

Speaking at a school board meeting Monday evening, first-grade teacher Amanda Sheaffer says she has been hit and kicked by her students.

Barksdale says the association wants a task force comprised of teachers, administrators and parents to help students who display violent behaviors.

The district claims not all of the teacher resignations were due to student violence. Still, Superintendent Sybil Knight-Burney says the district understands that there is a “different type of support that is needed.”

COMMENT:  I'm willing to guess that there probably hasn't been any real punishment of offenders, the better to respect their "cultural grievances."

I can't say it's a completely new problem.  We had "JD," juvenile delinquency, in the 1950s, and teachers were occasionally assaulted.  What we have today is an epidemic, part of which can be traced to the collapse of good parenting, and part of which can be traced by the need to "understand" why someone would beat up a teacher.

November 21, 2017       Permalink

JOE FOR PRESIDENT? – AT 10:58 A.M. ET:  The fastest rising stock in the Democratic Party right now is named Joe Biden.  It seems incredible that this is the best the party can do.  From Rasmussen: 

As Joe Biden travels the country to promote his new book, voters—especially Democrats—have renewed enthusiasm about the possibility of a 2020 presidential run for the former vice president, even though he has not yet committed to entering the race.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 41% of Likely Democratic Voters think Biden would make the best candidate against President Trump if he runs for reelection in 2020, up from only 15% who felt that way in February. Biden, if elected in 2020, would be inaugurated at the age of 78, the same age that Ronald Reagan was when he left office.

COMMENT:  The fact that he knew Abe Lincoln is something of a plus.  This poll, of course, is a snapshot in time.  Maybe Democrats now believe that a "safe" candidate would be best for 2020, and one relatively free of controversy.

However, I'd imagine this will change.  Biden, while a sentimental favorite, gets only lukewarm support from the party's feverish left-wing base.  The base would prefer a firebrand, an ideologist.  Elizabeth Warren is an obvious name.  Another is the very ancient but politically correct Bernie Sanders.  There may be a newcomer representing some trendy group.  This is not the Democratic Party of Roosevelt, Truman and Kennedy.  This is a more adolescent version.

The 2020 election is three years away.  The nomination races begin in about two years.  Plenty of time.

November 21, 2017       Permalink

AUNTIE MAXINE SPEAKS AGAIN – AT 10:19 A.M. ET:  She is suddenly very large on the Dem rubber-chicken circuit.  Congresswoman Maxine Waters of California has set herself up as kind of the conscience of the Democratic Party.  Not everyone would agree.  From the Washington Examiner: 

Rep. John Conyers, newly facing sexual misconduct charges from former aides, was praised by fellow Representative Maxine Waters just last month as a champion of women.

During an address to organizers of the national Women’s March in which she lashed out at “rape culture” and President Trump, she singled out the Michigan lawmaker for special attention.

“You know, there is a member of Congress who has been supportive of women for many, many, many years,” said said in a keynote address to the Women's Convention Sojourner Truth Luncheon in Detroit.

“He is quiet, he is confident, he is powerful, but he has impeccable integrity on all of our issues.

Give John Conyers a big round of applause.” C-SPAN captured her comments and those of others who spoke at the event.

From today's New York Post: 

Democratic congressman John Conyers reportedly sexually harassed a female staffer — leading to a wrongful termination settlement in 2015 that essentially silenced his accuser.

Conyers, the longest-serving member of the House of Representatives, is accused of repeatedly making sexual advances to female staffers, according to BuzzFeed.

One woman filed a complaint in 2014 claiming she was fired because she would not “succumb to [his] sexual advances.”

The woman signed a confidentiality agreement in exchange for a $27,111.75 settlement, the website said.

Conyers did not admit fault as part of the settlement.

COMMENT:  I wonder if he got a letter of commendation from Auntie Maxine.  Auntie has some 'splainin to do.

November 21,  2017     Permalink

NOVEMBER 20,  2017

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

IS THERESA MAY RALLYING? – FROM LONDON'S EXPRESS:   THERESA May has experienced a boost in support despite cabinet resignations and Brexit stagnation, a new poll has revealed.  A total of 34 per cent of respondents to the YouGov poll claimed Mrs May was their preferred choice for PM – a one point rise on a month ago.  Meanwhile, Jeremy Corbyn’s support experienced a two point drop at 31 per cent and 35 per cent said they are not sure.  Mrs May also commands an impressive majority of support from voters who backed leave in the EU referendum – with 53 per cent supporting her Premiership compared to a dismal 17 per cent for Mr Corbyn.  However, the emboldened Labour leader’s party gained a slight edge on Mrs May’s Conservatives – pulling ahead with 43 per cent while the Tories garnered support from 40 per cent of the poll's respondents.  This is absolutely critical to the United States.  Theresa May is an intensely pro-American prime minister.  Jeremy Corbyn is a Marxist anti-American, the most left-wing Labour leader in the party's history.  He must not become prime minister.  If he does, it could mean the end of the transatlantic alliance as we know it.  Corbyn is also uncomfortably friendly with pro-terror groups in the Mideast.

ROSE ACCUSED – Charlie Rose, a staple of TV journalism for decades, both at CBS and PBS, has been suspended by both outfits after being accused of sexual abuses by a number of past employees.  Rose is probably the most "respected" figure to be so accused in the current wave of sex allegations.  It is hard to see how his career, built on a kind of purity of image, can survive.  Some independent sources have told me that Rose, within the industry, has a poor reputation for his treatment of employees, both male and female.  Please recall that the first major accusations within journalism in the current time were directed at Bill O'Reilly and Roger Ailes at Fox.  Ailes has passed away, but O'Reilly has yet to find new employment.  We're seeing the end of a lot of careers.  I'm afraid we may see more in coming weeks.  If there's any good side to this, it's the puncturing of false images and larger egos. 

ARE WE SERIOUS HERE? –FROM THE DES MOINES REGISTER:  New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio will headline a political fundraiser in Iowa next month, a visit sure to stoke 2020 speculation for one of the country’s most prominent liberal officeholders.  De Blasio, who was elected to a second term as mayor earlier this year, will be the featured guest for Progress Iowa’s “holiday party” fundraiser Dec. 19 at the Temple for the Performing Arts in Des Moines.  “Iowans are speaking out and showing up to fight back against what conservatives are doing to their state and our country,” de Blasio said in a statement released by Progress Iowa. “Standing up for quality public education, access to health care, and to make sure working families get a fair shot matters in Iowa and New York, and I can't wait to discuss those ideas as well as how we can work together when I visit in December.”  Visits to Iowa, which hosts the first-in-the-nation caucuses, by nationally prominent politicians are frequently read as moves to test the waters of a presidential run. De Blasio has said he will not run for president in 2020, pledging during a mayoral campaign forum last August to serve his full term if re-elected – a term that runs through 2021.   Oh, he'll run if he's tempted.  Pledges not to run are as valid as claims that "I did not have sex with that woman."  But de Blasio is way out in left field, and would have to depend on the Che Guevara vote to win any presidential election.

November 20, 2017       Permalink

GOOD MOVE ON NORTH KOREA – AT 11:54 A.M. ET:  President Trump has placed North Korea back on the state-sponsor-of-terror list.  It's long overdue.  From the Los Angeles Times: 

President Trump says he is putting North Korea back on the small list of official “state sponsors of terrorism,” a move that could lead to additional sanctions against the nuclear-armed government.

Trump said the designation is part of a sanctions regime that would include “a very large” new sanction on Tuesday and increase in intensity over the next two weeks. By then, he said, sanctions would be at their highest level ever.

“It should have happened years ago,” Trump said at the start of a Cabinet meeting, calling North Korea "a murderous regime."

Trump said that “in addition to threatening the world with nuclear devastation,” the North Korean government had sponsored terror on foreign soil.

“It must end its unlawful ballistic nuclear development,” he said.

U.S. officials cited the killing of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's estranged half brother in a Malaysian airport this year as an act of terrorism. 

Most of the punishments that Washington could mete out under the state sponsor of terrorism legislation are already in place against North Korea, or are irrelevant since they would involve suspending aid programs that don’t exist.

North Korea joins only three other countries on the state-sponsor list: Iran, Sudan and Syria. 

President George W. Bush removed North Korea from the list in 2008 in an unsuccessful bit to halt its nuclear weapons program, and President Obama removed Cuba in 2015 when diplomatic relations were renewed. 

COMMENT:  Bad move by Bush, nudged by the marginally capable Condi Rice, and bad move by Obama, nudged by the left-wing of the ridiculous Democratic Party.   Neither move did a thing for the United States. 

Trump is increasing the heat.  If he can force North Korea to move back, it will be a major accomplishment, but the mainstream media will decide whether to report it at all.

November 20, 2017       Permalink

A MAJOR EUROPEAN CRISIS – AT 11:16 A.M. ET:  Angela Merkel's German government has come to grief, and the instability in Europe that this can cause can affect NATO, Western defense, and the world economy.  From CNN: 

(CNN) Germany was plunged into political uncertainty Monday after talks to form the country's next government collapsed overnight, dealing a blow to Angela Merkel and raising questions about the future of the longtime Chancellor.

Merkel's party had spent weeks trying to cobble together a ruling coalition with three other parties, but the plan fell apart when the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) walked out of talks shortly before midnight on Sunday over disagreements on issues ranging from energy policy to migration.

Merkel said she regretted the FDP's withdrawal, but pledged to steer the country through the crisis.
"As Chancellor... I will do everything to ensure that this country comes out well through this difficult time," Merkel said Sunday.

Merkel canceled her planned meeting with the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Monday and instead met with Germany's President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to discuss the next steps.

COMMENT:  Many commentators blame the government's instability on Merkel's overly – some say crazy – immigration policy, blind to the reality of who is actually in the immigrant stream.

It's a warning to us.

November 20, 2017       Permalink

ANOTHER GOOD MAN DOWN – AT 10:52 A.M. ET:  I'm sure the left will find an excuse for this.  From Fox:

Illegal immigrants reportedly assaulted two U.S. Border Patrol agents with rocks, killing one and seriously injuring another Sunday near the southern border with Mexico.

Details around the attack remained murky Monday, however, an FBI spokesperson said Rogelio Martinez and his partner were not shot and a National Border Patrol Council official told KTSM the assailants were "undocumented immigrants" who used likely used rocks to bash the agents.

"We strongly believe rocks were what was used," NBPC Vice President Art Del Cueto told KTSM.

The FBI had taken over the investigation into the death of Martinez, 36, and the injuring of his partner, who was not identified. The two were patrolling the Big Bend Sector of Texas when the attack occurred.

"They were not fired upon," said Jeanette Harper of the FBI's El Paso office. "There are so many different agencies working together that we need to come together and develop a timeline."

Martinez, who was from El Paso and had worked as a border agent since August 2013, died of injuries sustained while responding to “activity” near Interstate 10 in the Van Horn Station area, according to a news release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

He was on Interstate 10 near Mile Marker 151 when the incident occurred, KFOX14 reported. At some point, Martinez's partner called for help, saying he and Martinez had both been injured, investigators told KFOX14.

COMMENT:   These are the risks border agents face every day.  I wonder how this will be twisted by the propagandists to blame Trump.

November 20,  2017     Permalink