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NOVEMBER 24,  2018

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:52 P.M. ET:

IT'S COME TO THIS – FROM FOX:   You’re a racist man, Charlie Brown!  Critics are slamming ABC’s “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” for seating its only black character, Franklin, alone on one side of the holiday table — in a rickety old lawn chair.  Meanwhile, white friends — including Peppermint Patty, Charlie Brown, Sally and even Snoopy — were all seated across from him in real chairs as they feasted, Twitter users pointed out.  The special, which debuted Nov. 20, 1973, aired again on Wednesday — prompting social media outrage over the gang’s highly unwoke picnic table arrangement.  “Why is Franklin in Charlie Brown Thanksgiving sitting all by himself at the table. Man. Things that I did not notice as a child,” @Asharp52 blasted on Twitter.  Others said good grief over a seating chart that would have thrilled George Wallace.  “Not watching Charlie Brown Thanksgiving anymore, until they sit some people on the same side of the table as Franklin,” another critic tweeted, along with two black power-style fist emojis.
The scene in question centers on an impromptu holiday feast — of toast, jelly beans and ice cream — in Charlie Brown’s backyard.  I would suggest that critics concentrate on more significant social issues than chair placement in a cartoon.

WORD OF THE YEAR – FROM DAILYWIRE.COM:   Merriam's-Webster's dictionary says the word means:  1. containing or being poisonous material especially when capable of causing death or serious debilitation  2: exhibiting symptoms of infection...  3: extremely harsh, malicious, or harmful  4: relating to or being an asset that has lost so much value that it cannot be sold on the market...So, with the way liberals and the mainstream media hate President Trump, it's not surprising that The Oxford Dictionaries has picked the Word of the Year: "Toxic."  "The Oxford Word of the Year is a word or expression that is judged to reflect the ethos, mood, or preoccupations of the passing year, and have lasting potential as a term of cultural significance," Oxford Dictionaries said.  Good choice.  Do our readers have other suggestions?  I'll publish them.

PROGRESS – FROM DAILY MAIL:    A medical scanner can take 3D images of the entire body at once for the first time ever.   A combination of two commonly-used scanners - positron emission tomography (PET) and X-ray computed tomography (CT) - the EXPLORER scanner offers a fascinating insight to the inner workings of the human body.    The machine produces a 3D video that could help diagnose disease, track the spread of cancer or infections, and develop new medicines by creating a whole-body diagnostic scan in 20-30 seconds.  Professors Simon Cherry and Ramsey Badawi, from the University of California, Davis, have spent millions of dollars and more than a decade building the machine.  'While I had imagined what the images would look like for years, nothing prepared me for the incredible detail we could see on that first scan,' Professor Cherry said.  The EXPLORER works using radiation, and is a combination of a PET scan and CT scan, both of which are used every day in healthcare around the world.  If only it could produce a 3D image of the inner workings of the Clinton Foundation.  We await that.

November 24, 2018       Permalink

WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THESE DEMOCRATS? – AT 2:22 P.M. ET:  I don't get it.  We are seeing vague signs of maturity, of realism, of...sanity.  Is this the Democratic Party we know? 

Look who's changing this time?  Why, it's...it's...John Kerry.  Mr. Diplomacy.  From American Thinker:

It’s starting to look like some members of the Democrat establishment understand that open borders is a losing issue. It would be too dangerous to take on the issue domestically, so acknowledging that Europe is being harmed by mass immigration/asylum and turning to politicians who will control the borders is a first step. When Hillary Clinton warned of the danger of Europe turning to populists in order to stop the influx, it was startling. But now, it is a trend.

John Kerry has joined fellow failed presidential nominee Clinton in warning Europe that its refugee policies have been a disaster. Ryan Saavedra reports in the Daily Wire:

Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry admitted last week during a trip to Europe that the continent has been "crushed" by a transformation that has taken place due to immigration.

Kerry made the remarks while speaking at a Guardian Live event at Central Hall in London where he weighed in on a number of issues and also used the opportunity to bash President Donald Trump.

"Europe is already crushed under this transformation that is taking place due to migration," Kerry said. "In Germany, Angela Merkel is weakened. Italian politics is significantly impacted."

Illegal immigration is currently the top concern of Americans. While the radical wing of the Democrats is explicitly in favor of open borders, the issue drives support to Republicans in key states. It is possible that the old guard of the Democrats is citing Europe and urging border control there as a means of opening the issue for debate in choosing the 2020 nominee.

COMMENT:  Man, that is weird.  John Kerry warning about open borders.  What's next – a call for a strong national defense?  No, never.  Not that crowd.

November 24, 2018       Permalink

THEY'RE RIOTING IN PARIS, AND IT'S SERIOUS – AT 1:34 P.M. ET:   We've had hints in recent months that the French government is becoming increasingly unstable.   President Macron makes Donald Trump look loved. 

Now, discontent is pouring into the streets.  As is usual with these things, it took one issue to trigger the chaos.  From Fox:

Thousands of French protesters flooded the nation’s capital Saturday to demonstrate against President Emmanuel Macron’s controversial fuel tax increase -- clashing with policies as they called for Macron’s resignation.

The angry clashes, both in Paris and other towns and cities across the country, marks the eighth day of “yellow jacket” protests against the tax, but have also come to encompass a growing anger against Macron and the French ruling class -- seen by many as out of touch.

The yellow jackets have become a uniform of sorts for the protesters, originating from the neon yellow jackets French drivers are required to keep in their vehicles.

Authorities said that at least 8,000 protesters flooded the Champs-Elysees in Paris alone, with 81,000 protesters in total nationwide compared to 244,000 last Saturday. Police deployed some 3,000 security forces after an attempt to march on the Elysee Palace last week.

Police used smoke, tear gas and even a water cannon to try and disperse the protesters. , Le Monde reported.

Officials said that a no-go zone, set up around key areas including the presidential palace and the National Assembly on the Left Bank of the Seine River, has not been breached.

At least eight people, including two police officers, were injured, while dozens of protesters were detained, including for throwing projectiles.

In La Madeleine, an area filled with luxury brand shops popular with tourists, businesses shut down due to the protests.

Demonstrators created a fire barricade and began chanting “Macron resign!” when tear gas was launched at them, sparking a brief dash. Thick black smoke was billowing into the sky and the area was completely shut down.

COMMENT:  President Macron was recently noticed giving a lecture to President Trump on the subject of nationalism.  He might have attended to business.

This story is likely to grow. 

November 24,  2018      Permalink

NOVEMBER 23,  2018

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

GOOD –FROM ABC NEWS:   Abortions are down to the lowest rate since the landmark case Roe v. Wade legalized a woman’s right to abortion in 1973, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  From 2006 until 2015, the total number of reported abortions decreased by 24 percent — from more than 840,000 in 2006 to about 638,000 in 2015, the report found.  The CDC also focused on two other measures that reached their lowest level over the same time period: the total number of abortions in the population, or the abortion rate, which decreased 26 percent, and the proportion of all pregnancies that end in abortion rather than birth, or the abortion ratio, which decreased 19 percent.  The trend is good.  No matter how one feels about Roe, abortion is not a positive thing in itself.  It challenges the Biblical command to choose life.

DECENCY – FROM THE WASHINGTON FREE BEACON:   Exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui announced this week he is creating a $100 million fund to aid the victims of Chinese communist repression under current leader Xi Jinping.  Guo announced the creation of the fund, which will also be used to finance investigations into Chinese government financial activities and those of its supporters in the West, at press conference in New York City on Tuesday.  The former Chinese insider also revealed in a presentation for reporters details on the disappearance, imprisonment, or death of 56 prominent Chinese nationals, including the mysterious death in July of Wang Jian, one of China's wealthiest business leaders.  "A lot of people lost their freedom, a lot of people disappeared," Guo said through an interpreter. "What we see here is the tip of the iceberg."   If handled correctly, and with respect for civil liberties, this could be a step forward.  China is not our friend, and it must be resisted, even if that means a cold war.

THE MARCH OF SOCIALISM – FROM BLOOMBERG:   Venezuela’s fuel shortages are worsening as mass resignations at the state oil company’s tanker fleet have delayed gasoline shipments.  Petroleos de Venezuela SA’s refineries are running at less than a quarter of their capacity, forcing the country to rely on imported gasoline. Once the cargoes are unloaded at import docks, smaller ships distribute fuel to terminals along the coast, where its loaded on trucks to refuel inland stations. But as Venezuelan tankers lose engineers and helmsmen, delivery delays are becoming increasingly frequent, according to people with knowledge of the situation.  Gasoline lines are one of the challenges of daily life in Venezuela, along with the scarcity of basic goods, regular power outages and a lack of public transport. Gas prices are still the among the cheapest in the world, with the black market rate earlier this month less than one cent per gallon. Maduro has yet to increase prices after vowing to do so at the end of September.  Maybe we should send down some of those Hollywood actors who supported the Venezuelan socialist revolution.  They could pump oil and write checks.

November 23, 2018       Permalink

WELCOME TO WASHINGTON POLITICS – AT 11:20 A.M. ET:   The Dems win one election and make it clear that Deep State is back in power.  Get out your cynicism detectors.  From the Washington Free Beacon: 

Rep. Marcia Fudge (D., Ohio) announced Tuesday she would be supporting House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's (D., Calif.) bid for speaker of the House just hours after Pelosi announced that she was planning to revive the House Administration subcommittee on elections and make Fudge the chair.

Fudge, who had been mulling a potential bid to challenge Pelosi in January's Democratic leadership elections, released a statement saying that she was joining her colleagues to support the leadership team of Pelosi, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D., Md.), and House Assistant Minority Leader James Clyburn (D., S.C.)

"My consideration [for speaker] was due in large part to the lack of sustained efforts that ensure diversity, equity and inclusion at all levels of the House. Further, despite the great success we experienced on November 6, voter protection and voter integrity are still at risk," Fudge said. "The erosion of voting rights and civil rights was on full display in Georgia, Florida, North Dakota, Ohio, and Texas."

Translated:  1) I got the job I wanted; 2) It's all about me; 3) Any Republican elected in the states I name is not legitimate.

Seems like old times.

November 23, 2018       Permalink 

A THANKSGIVING PRESIDENTIAL REPORT – AT 10:08 A.M. ET:  Guess who came to dinner at the presidential resort?  From Breitbart: 

President Donald Trump extended an invitation to the media on Thursday, welcoming them for Thanksgiving dinner at his club at Mar-a-Lago.

The dinner at Mar-a-Lago was off the record, but all of the media outlets paid for the journalists’ dinner, according to a New York Times reporter present for the Thanksgiving evening.

Both President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump stopped by and wished the press a happy Thanksgiving.

Later in the evening, reporters were brought into the ballroom where the Trump family was celebrating Thanksgiving.

The Trump’s menu included:

Full salad bar including Caesar, wedge, tomato/mozzarella, and Greek salads, deviled eggs, and duck prosciutto & melon.

Chilled seafood display w Florida stone crab, oysters, jumbo shrimp, and clams.

A carving station with turkey and all the trimmings, beef tenderloin, lamb and salmon.
Entrees of Chilean Sea bass, Red Snapper, Braised short ribs. Sides include whipped potatoes, sweet potatoes, vegetables and traditional stuffing.

There was a performance of “Music of the Night” from Phantom of the Opera as the press pool entered, a song that the president chose for the occasion.

(The press confirmed later that romaine lettuce was not used in any of the Thanksgiving dishes.)

COMMENT:  I love the comment that their media outlets paid for the journalists' dinner.  All that virtue signaling.  "We will not be bought!"

Just get the stories right, okay?  You can accept some chow.

November 23, 2018       Permalink