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FINAL SUBSCRIPTION DRIVE OF 2018

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NOVEMBER 13,  2018

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:54 P.M. ET:

BACK TO BUSINESS – FROM THE WASHINGTON TIMES:   Senators returned to Washington Tuesday and immediately picked up where they left off — processing President Trump’s judicial nominees, over the objections of Democrats.  The Judiciary Committee held a hearing for Paul B. Matey, nominated to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and for four district court picks.  Mr. Matey’s nomination is particularly controversial because it marks another round in the fight over Senate traditions and courtesies and their abuse in the era of Mr. Trump.  Mr. Matey is slated to fill a seat on the appeals court that’s traditionally ascribed to New Jersey. But that state’s senators, both Democrats, object to the president’s pick, and have withheld their “blue slips” to signify their opposition.  “To say that my objections to this judge is just because he's conservative is just not fair,” Sen. Cory Booker said, arguing he wasn’t properly consulted on Mr. Matey’s nomination. “Nobody has asked me what my objections might be.”  And, given that he's Cory Booker, who really cares?  The only question he ever seems to ask is, "What's good for Cory Booker?"

IT'S SO RUDE TO ASK A LIBERAL TOUGH QUESTIONS – FROM THE WASHINGTON TIMES:   Seema Nanda, CEO of the Democratic National Committee, couldn’t give an answer Tuesday about how Democrats planned to pay for a single-payer health care system many of them campaigned on known as “Medicare for All.”  “I don’t think we’re there yet,” Ms. Nanda told Yahoo Finance at its “All Markets Summit: America’s Financial Future” in Washington.  During the discussion, Ms. Nanda was asked how Democrats planned to pay for the multitrillion-dollar plan that many of them supported ahead of the midterm elections. Dodging a question on whether Democrats planned to raise taxes in order to pay for it, Ms. Nanda pivoted the discussion to “skyrocketing deficits” caused by President Trump.  The Dems had better come up with an answer to that question.  Otherwise, they'll be even more of a laughingstock than they are now.  Wait, that's impossible.

THE ROAD TO MEDIOCRITY – FROM COLLEGE FIX:  Looking for the best and the brightest is no way to hire. It harms minority groups.  This message is promoted by the Office of Inclusive Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Texas-Austin, which was launched last month to tackle “the income inequality gap for overlooked communities.”  It’s intended to facilitate entrepreneurship among “underrepresented founders” so that “new for-profit sustainable ventures can be launched that will uplift communities.”  In order to do this, companies must move away from a “meritocratic way of hiring,” which is a “problem."  Yeah, getting the best is a real problem.  This stuff is taught to students.

November 13,  2018     Permalink 

LOWERING THE STANDARD – AT 1:45 P.M. ET:  Former presidents and first ladies are well advised to stay out of the affairs of their successors.   Why an exception is made for the Obamas, I do not know.  From Bizpacreview: 

Former first lady Michelle Obama, who plays the role of victim well and is quick to take offense over the actions of others, has a real knack for grating on our nerves.

Mrs. Obama harrumphed in an interview with ABC anchor Robin Roberts that her successor, first lady Melania Trump, never sought her great and wise counsel. When asked by CNN for a comment, Mrs. Trump’s press secretary Stephanie Grisham said her boss is “a strong and independent woman.”

And that’s where CNN’s inherent bias against the Trump White House took over.

Obama is peddling her new memoir and Roberts asked about a passage where she wrote that her predecessor, Laura Bush, told her she was “a phone call away” should she need help, before explaining that she extended the same offer of help to Trump.

Asked by Roberts if Trump has taken her up on the offer, Obama was succinct in her reply: “No.”

When asked for comment, Grisham told CNN that “Mrs. Trump is a strong and independent woman who has been navigating her role as First Lady in her own way. When she needs advice on any issue, she seeks it from her professional team within the White House.”

COMMENT:  What strikes us is the smallness of the issue.  There are serious problems to be solved, but CNN, which seems determined to destroy itself, wastes time on this, the personal hurts of Michelle Obama.

What CNN might highlight occasionally is the remarkable performance of Melania Trump in representing this country, despite the hatred for her husband that is regularly displayed by the press.  She is a class act, routinely slighted and demeaned, and yet she has not taken the bait.

November 13, 2018       Permalink

THE CHILD GOES TO WASHINGTON – AT 12:50 P.M. ET:   She's little Evita of the Bronx, and she won a Democratic primary that brought a turnout of 15%.  But now she's a national celebrity,  This is getting very weird.  Will someone tell her that there's a difference between a student government and a real one?  From ntknetwork: 

Democratic socialist and Congresswoman-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-CA) spent her first day in Washington, D.C. as an incoming freshman by joining climate protestors in House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) office.

Dozens of protestors with the groups Sunrise Movement and Justice Democrats were staging a sit-in and greeted Ocasio-Cortez with raucous applause when she entered the office.

Ocasio-Cortez took time to high-five some of the protestors in the room before briefly addressing the crowd.

“I just want to let you all know how proud I am of each and every single one of you. For putting yourselves and your bodies and everything on the line to make sure we save our planet,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

Ocasio-Cortez then talked about her own experience protesting climate change.

“We don’t have a choice. We have to get to one hundred percent renewable energy in 10 years. There is no other option,” Ocasio-Cortez added.

COMMENT:  Last week she told us that she doesn't have enough money to pay her rent.  So, after she saves the planet, she might try to address that.

I'm sure she means well, but she is a child who never researches anything but knows everything.  She is one of the new faces of the Democratic Party.  We are in trouble.

November 13, 2018       Permalink

ARE WE SERIOUS HERE? – AT 11:31 A.M. ET:  CNN is suing the White House because the president wasn't nice to Jim Acosta.  From USA TODAY: 

WASHINGTON – CNN filed Tuesday a lawsuit against the Trump administration in federal court, demanding that the White House return correspondent Jim Acosta's press credentials, the cable news network announced Tuesday. 

"The wrongful revocation of these credentials violates CNN and Acosta’s First Amendment rights of freedom of the press, and their Fifth Amendment rights to due process," the network said in a statement posted to its website.

The network said it was seeking "an immediate restraining order" forcing the White House to return Acosta's White House press credentials and that it "will seek permanent relief as part of this process." 

"While the suit is specific to CNN and Acosta, this could have happened to anyone," the statement reads. "If left unchallenged, the actions of the White House would create a dangerous chilling effect for any journalist who covers our elected officials." 

The administration pulled Acosta's credentials last week after a heated exchange with President Donald Trump during a White House news conference, in which the president called the CNN reporter a "rude, terrible person." Trump went after Acosta because he persisted in asking a question about the investigation into Russian election meddling after Trump called on another reporter. 

COMMENT:  Oh please.  We have freedom of the press, but we also have freedom from the press.  No American, including the president, has any obligation to talk to a reporter or answer questions.  There is no law requiring a president to hold news conferences. 

There was a time when reporters were not permitted to quote the president directly.  The White House had to grant permission.

President Eisenhower had a wonderful technique of garbling his syntax so as to avoid giving a coherent answer.  Did the press run to the courts?

President Kennedy banned the old New York Herald-Tribune from the White House.  Did he go to prison for it?  Was the Supreme Court asked to intervene? 

When a president calls a reporter and gives an exclusive interview, do other reporters run to the nearest judge for relief?

And yet, you may be sure that CNN will do a little judge shopping and possibly find a judge who thinks he or she can "make a difference" by siding with CNN.  That would be a dark day. 

Turning reporters into dictators is not a good thing.

November 13,  2018     Permalink

NOVEMBER 12,  2018

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:58 P.M. ET:

STACEY STILL GOING – FROM FOX:   A federal judge on Monday ruled in favor of Stacey Abrams’s campaign, stating that Georgia must count provisional ballots and delay the state's certification until the votes are tallied, her campaign said on Twitter.  Lauren Groh-Wargo, Abrams campaign manager, announced Judge Amy Totenberg's decision late Monday. WSBTV.com reported that the judge’s 56-page ruling could affect thousands of provisional ballots.  Brian Kemp, her Republican challenger, issued a statement a day earlier calling for Abrams to concede. Kemp has declared victory and said it is "mathematically impossible" for her campaign to force a runoff.  Abrams's campaign did not immediately respond to a phone call from Fox News late Monday night.  Abrams, 44, a Democrat, has maintained that she will not concede until every vote has been counted, and pointed to the 5,000 votes tallied over the weekend that favored her.  The judge is an Obama appointee and sister of ultra-liberal Washington reporter and feminist, Nina Totenberg.  The establishment comes through again.

ARIZONA LOST – FROM THE WASHINGTON TIMES:   Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema has won Arizona’s open U.S. Senate seat, beating Republican Rep. Martha McSally.  The race between Sinema and McSally was one of the most closely watched in the nation. Sinema was declared the winner Monday as her lead grew insurmountable during Arizona’s lengthy vote-count.  Sinema is a former liberal activist who became a centrist member of Congress. Her win follows years of Democratic shutouts at the statewide level in Arizona and shows that the longtime Republican bastion is becoming a swing state.  McSally hammered Sinema over her former liberal stances and claimed she was pretending to be a centrist.  Sinema criticized McSally’s vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act and kept her distance from national Democrats.  Sinema succeeds Republican Sen. Jeff Flake, who opted not to run.   McSally was the better candidate by far, with her years of national military service.  But I must concede that Sinema ran a better campaign.  Whether it was an honest campaign, or a cover for her past extreme views, will be determined by what she does and says in the Senate.

ECONOMIC PROGRESS – FROM BREITBART:  Participation in the nation’s food stamp program has sunk to an all-time low, reaching its lowest level in nearly a decade, according to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).  The most recent USDA data reveals that 38,845,997 Americans took part in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the federal government program responsible for administering food stamps, in August 2018.  The last time American participation in the food stamp program dipped this low was nine years ago, when 38,184,306 Americans received food stamps, according to the data.  The most up-to-date numbers also show enrollment in food stamps has declined for ten straight months.  Sane people believe that this shows economic progress.  More people are employed.  Liberals believe it shows that Donald Trump is personally withholding food from starving children and eating it himself.

November 12,  2018      Permalink

JEB IS BACK – AT 11:21 P.M. ET:  Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush has gotten into the recount fray.  He was an excellent governor whose career was sidetracked by the emergency of Donald Trump.  I hope he gets back into public life.  From Fox:

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush added his voice to the growing number of Republicans calling for Brenda Snipes, the Broward supervisor of elections, to be removed from her post amid the controversy over the vote recount in Florida's pivotal races for governor and Senate.

“There is no question that Broward County Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes failed to comply with Florida law on multiple counts, undermining Floridians’ confidence in our electoral process,” Bush tweeted on Monday. “Supervisor Snipes should be removed from her office following the recounts.”

Along with Bush, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., has also suggested Snipes should be removed from office once the dust settles in the Florida races.

In Snipes’ Broward County, the recount was delayed for hours Sunday because of a problem with one of the tabulation machines. That prompted the Republican Party to accuse Snipes of "incompetence and gross mismanagement."

Broward officials faced further headaches after acknowledging the county mistakenly counted 22 absentee ballots that had been rejected. The problem seemed impossible to fix because dismissed ballots were mixed in with 205 legal ballots and Snipes said it would be unfair to throw out all the votes.

Gov. Rick Scott, the Republican candidate for Senate, filed suit against Snipes. He's seeking a court order for law enforcement agents to impound all voting machines, tallying devices and ballots "when not in use until such time as any recounts." The suit accused Snipes of repeatedly failing to account for the number of ballots left to be counted and failing to report results regularly as required by law.

COMMENT:  Florida is one of the most important states politically in our country.  It ranks fourth in population, and will eventually overtake New York to be third.  Republicans have little chance of turning the first state, California, red, and are finding increasing opposition in the second state, Texas.  The Republican Party must make Florida a firewall, and incompetent handling of elections will not make the job easier. Jeb is right.

November 12,  2018     Permalink

PREPARING? – AT 10:57 A.M. ET:  I like Rick Scott, the governor of Florida, and, pending the recount, the new Republican senator from Florida.  He's been a fine governor, and he fights.  Assuming he survives the recount, it's clear he intends to be a major figure.  And we wonder if the Senate will be his last stop.  One gets the feeling that this man has dreams.  From Fox:   

Florida Republican Senate candidate Rick Scott insisted Monday he “won the election” while accusing incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson of trying to “steal” the race from him, amid chaotic recounts in the sunshine state’s Senate and gubernatorial races.

Over the weekend, Florida’s secretary of state Ken Detzner announced there would be recounts in both the Senate race and the governor’s race, noting that unofficial results in both races fell within the margin that by law triggers a recount. But Scott said he's confident his victory won't be overturned.

“I won the election,” Scott told “Fox & Friends” Monday. “I’m going to focus on getting to Washington and getting my agenda implemented.”

On Tuesday, Scott was projected the winner of the Senate race, but Nelson has refused to concede amid the recounts.

Scott, who is Florida’s outgoing Republican governor, filed two bombshell lawsuits against election officials in two Democratic strongholds in Florida—Broward County and Palm Beach County—flagging them for engaging in potentially “rampant fraud.”

“We won. We’re going to win the recount because it’s never been overturned before,” Scott said Monday. “I’m going to Washington as the next Florida senator.”

Scott added: “Bill Nelson is clearly a sore loser. He can’t stand the fact that he’s not going to be elected for, what, the first time in decades. He’s just here to steal the election.”

Meanwhile, Nelson's election lawyer, Marc Elias, said Monday that they would bring a new lawsuit this week to protect ballots that are denied due to "mail/post office delays."

COMMENT:  I think he has the potential to be a star.  And you can't have enough stars in a political party. He's only 65, young by today's standards.  Scott/Haley in 2024?

November 12, 2018       Permalink

A BIT OF SLIPPAGE – AT 10:40 A.M. ET:  The president has slipped some in the Rasmussen poll since the election:

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows that 46% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Trump’s job performance. Fifty-two percent (52%) disapprove.

The latest figures include 35% who Strongly Approve of the job Trump is doing and 44% who Strongly Disapprove. This gives him a Presidential Approval Index rating of -9.

COMMENT:  Mr. Trump was at 50% in the week before the election, and has now dropped four points.  There is no logical explanation, but some of the coarseness he has shown in statements about the election may be playing a role.

On the other hand, he is still up in Obama territory, and Obama was re-elected in 2012. 

November 12,  2018     Permalink