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OCTOBER 14,  2017

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

WEINSTEIN DROPPED BY THE ACADEMY – FROM ABC NEWS:  The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has voted to expel Harvey Weinstein, following numerous allegations of sexual harassment or assault against the former movie mogul and producer, the film academy announced today in a statement.  "The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Board of Governors met today to discuss the allegations against Harvey Weinstein, and has voted well in excess of the required two-thirds majority to immediately expel him from the Academy," the statement read.   Is there an appropriate speech for this?  Does Harvey get up now and say, “I don’t want to thank the Academy. In fact, I know that three quarters of the men who voted me out have done exactly what I’ve done. The nominees are…"

YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS UP – FROM THE HILL:   A group of psychologists and mental health professionals on Saturday marched through New York calling for President Trump to be removed from office.  The group — which included more than 100 psychologists and mental health professionals — are pushing for Trump to be ousted from his post, according to The New York Post.  “We can sense the power of Trump’s underlying fear that he is worthless and weak by how intensely he resists and retaliated against any criticism,” said Harry Segal, a Cornell University psychologist.   Would you really want to be a patient of any of these nuts?  Grossly unprofessional conduct.  Please note that these warnings about psychological instability are always directed at Republicans. 

SPORTS NEWS – FROM AFP:   Eatontown (United States) (AFP) - What better, safer way to have fun than drink beer and throw a hatchet?  This is now a thing in America, a new pastime, and it's spreading.  On a busy Friday night at Stumpy's Hatchet House in New Jersey, it sounds like this: the thud of the blade sticking into a wooden target, people cheering a good toss, and a bell ringing out when somebody scores a bull's eye.  Its four founders say this place, which opened 18 months ago, is the first of its kind in the US, although Canada is generally considered the cradle of competitive hatchet-hurling.  Such spots are now found in Chicago, Washington, Nashville and Denver, among other US cities.  Stumpy's owners are talking about opening another elsewhere in New Jersey and have even started offering franchise arrangements. They hope to have a network of 15 within a year.   I demand that this be shut down.  It is an insult to Native Americans, who are expert at the use of hatchets.  We are stealing their culture once again!  Shame!  Shame!

October 14,  2017     Permalink

QUOTE OF THE DAY – AT 1:47 P.M. ET:  From General John Kelly, the president's chief of staff.  It may not be the most eloquent thing ever said, but it summarizes very nicely the challenges faced by the Trump administration.  From RealClearPolitics:

REPORTER: General Kelly, heard you say, you're not so frustrated that you're thinking of leaving. But are you frustrated?

CHIEF OF STAFF JOHN KELLY: No, I'm not frustrated.

This is really, really hard work running the United States of America. I don't run it, but I'm working for someone who is dedicated to serving the country in the way that he's talked about for a number of years. There are incredible challenges: you know, economic challenges, health care challenges, all of that. Obviously, international challenges that have to be dealt with.

I -- I don't mean any criticism to Mr. Trump's predecessors, but there was an awful lot of things that were, in my view, kicked down the road, that came -- that have come home to roost pretty much right now, that have to be dealt with.

This is hard, hard work, and my only frustration, with all due respect to everyone in the room, is when I come to work in the morning and read about things I allegedly said, or things that Mr. Trump allegedly said, or people who were going to be fired or whatever other thing, and it's just not true. That's my frustration. And I mean no disrespect to you all.

COMMENT:   Kelly is emerging as one of the great figures of this administration.  He strikes me as very calm, very analytical, and capable of cutting through the Washington haze.  His Marine Corps background gives him substantial credibility.  He lost a son, a Marine officer, in Afghanistan.  He understands what is at stake here.

October 14, 2017       Permalink 

THE NORK THREAT – AT 12:56 P.M. ET:   As our Iran policy changes, announced by the president yesterday, the North Koreans remain as the single greatest current threat to us.  From AFP:

North Korea is believed to be preparing to launch a ballistic missile ahead of an
upcoming joint naval drill by the US and South Korea, a news report said Saturday, citing a government source.

The US Navy said Friday that a US aircraft carrier will lead the drill in the coming week, a fresh show of force against North Korea as tensions soar over the hermit state's weapons programme.

The move will likely rile Pyongyang which has previously responded angrily to joint exercises.

The Donga Ilbo daily, quoting a government source, said satellite pictures show ballistic missiles mounted on launchers being transported out of hangars near Pyongyang and in the North Phyongan Province.

US and South Korean military officials suspect the North might be preparing to launch missiles capable of reaching US territory, the newspaper said.

This could be the Hwasong-14 inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM), whose range could extend to Alaska, or Hwasong-12 intermediate-range missiles which Pyongyang threatened to fire towards the US Pacific territory of Guam in August, the report said.

COMMENT:  Very serious stuff.  At some point, Trump will have to retaliate strongly for a missile launch, especially if that launch directly threatens Guam.

It is not helpful when the Democrats refuse any support to Trump on his national-defense initiatives.  The message sent to our enemies is that we are a divided nation.

October 14, 2017       Permalink

GOOD NUMBERS – AT 11:44 A.M. ET:  The mainstream media won't concede it, but the economy is improving dramatically under Trump.  From the Washington Examiner: 

The total number of laid-off workers receiving unemployment benefits fell to 1.89 million at the end of September, the Department of Labor reported Thursday, the lowest such mark in nearly 44 years.

And new claims for unemployment benefits dropped 15,000 to 243,000 in the first full week of October, according to the agency, as the job market bounces back from hurricane damage even faster than forecasters expected.

Low new jobless claims are a good sign. They indicate that layoffs are rare, and accordingly that job creation is strong.

Unemployment benefits are available for up to 26 weeks in most states. Fewer people are now receiving benefits of all duration than at any time since December of 1973, when the total workforce was much smaller. That is a reflection of the strength of the jobs market, and the availability of new positions for laid-off workers.

Prior to the landfall of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, claims had been running at ultra-low rates. With Texas and Florida now recovering, new claims again appear to be sinking to levels that indicate robust job creation. First-time claims in the states most affected by the storms are still high, but have fallen in recent weeks.

COMMENT:  Trump is controversial, and sometimes maddening, but there is great confidence that he's getting the economy moving again, and not just on a month-to-month basis.  Many accomplishments aren't properly publicized by the White House, a problem the president has to solve.

The economy must be front and center in the plans of any presidency.  The president has much to be proud of.  Let's hear about it.

October 14,  2017     Permalink 

OCTOBER 13,  2017

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

COVERING UP THE OBVIOUS – FROM THE WASHINGTON FREE BEACON:  The New York Times on Friday released new social media guidelines for its reporters, requiring them to avoid any actions that would lead to perceptions of bias or otherwise damage the paper's reputation.  The new guidelines apply to all social media platforms, public and private, and include stipulations about political objectivity, sharing stories in a one-sided manner, joining partisan groups, and more. The memo states that it only adds further detail to the policy that reporters do not damage the paper's credibility.  "If our journalists are perceived as biased or if they engage in editorializing on social media, that can undercut the credibility of the entire newsroom," the memo reads.  "We've always made clear that newsroom employees should avoid posting anything on social media that damages our reputation for neutrality and fairness," it adds. "This memo offers more detailed guidelines."  You may laugh now.

HOW MUCH HARM COULD SHE DO THERE? – FROM NY DAILY NEWS:  Hillary Clinton is testing the waters on a return to academia.  The former U.S. Secretary of State and presidential nominee is in talks with Columbia University to take on a formal role at the Ivy League — and potentially house her archives there, multiple sources told the Daily News.  One option under discussion is an esteemed “University Professor” role that would allow Clinton to lecture across a range of schools and departments without the requirement of a strict course load, one source said.  A former law professor, Clinton could maintain the vaunted but vague role indefinitely or decide at a later date she wants to settle at Columbia's celebrated law school or maybe the School of International and Public Affairs, the source said.  Schoolmarm sounds just about right.  I wonder if she'll make Republicans stand in the corner.

JUICY, I CAN'T WAIT – FROM FOX:   Conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch said Friday that the FBI has uncovered 30 pages of documents related to the controversial 2016 tarmac meeting between former President Bill Clinton and former Attorney General Loretta Lynch.  The newly uncovered documents will be sent to Judicial Watch by the end of November in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit, a spokesman for the group told Fox News.  Judicial Watch originally filed a FOIA request in July 2016 -- which the Justice Department did not comply with -- seeking “all records of communications between any agent, employee, or representative” of the FBI for the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server use, and all records related to the June 27, 2016 meeting between Lynch and Bill Clinton.   This is juicy.  That was not a social engagement. 

October 13,  2017     Permalink

NFL CAVES – AT 12:52 P.M. ET:   Contrary to what was anticipated, the NFL will not mandate that players show respect during the playing of the national anthem.  The league has caved.  From Reuters:

Commissioner Roger Goodell, along with the head of the NFL Players Association, will meet with the owners from Oct. 17-18 in New York where the issue of player protests during the U.S. national anthem is expected to command much attention.

“(Goodell) has a plan that he is going to present to owners about how to use our platform to both raise awareness and make progress on issues of social justice and equality in this country,” NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart said on a conference call.

“What we don’t have is a proposal that changes our policy, we don’t have something that mandates anything. That’s clear. If that was the case I doubt the head of the NFLPA would have put a joint statement out with us.”

The statement released on Wednesday said Goodell invited NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith to the meetings and that the agenda will be a continuation of how to make progress on the important social issues that players have vocalized.

COMMENT:  I'll bet that not one proposal that comes out of this shakedown affects the life of one black child.   I'll also bet that NFL ratings continue to decline.

October 13, 2017       Permalink

REPUBLICAN OPTIMISM – IS IT JUSTIFIED? – AT 11:26 A.M. ET:   The death of the Republican Party, or at least its electoral demise, are widely and routinely predicted.  We do it here, I readily admit.

But the party's chair is feelin' good, and it's up to us to decide whether the feeling has any merit.  From The Hill: 

Republican National Committee (RNC) chair Ronna Romney McDaniel says the GOP is "in the best place" it's ever been.

During a visit to Denver, McDaniel said the party’s high fundraising shows a strong base, the Denver Post reported.

“The RNC has had, actually, record fundraising in a post-presidential year,” Romney McDaniel said. “That shows that our base is rallying around what our president put forward in terms of his agenda. … I think we’re in the best place we’ve ever been as a party.”

McDaniel’s comments come on the heels of several ongoing feuds between President Trump and GOP members of Congress, as well as with members of his own cabinet.

“There’s always going to be differences of opinion within your own party,” she said. “We have that in our own families — that happens — it makes us stronger when we have a dialogue and a discussion.”

Recent polls have shown the GOP’s popularity plummeting after the party failed to repeal and replace ObamaCare, and that Democrats lead Republicans by 14 points in a generic 2018 House ballot.

Even more recently, conservative leaders have called on Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to resign.

COMMENT:  I think the actual picture is very mixed.  Republicans must produce actual results to retain control of Congress in next year's midterms. 

I wouldn't worry about polls right now.  The election is more than a year away.  But if Americans aren't given a tax cut, with all the promises and hoopla, the GOP will have nothing to take into the campaign.  I could even see circumstances where President Trump refused to endorse many Republican candidates for re-election.  He's that stubborn.  As noted here before, I think his ultimate goal is to start his own party. 

Of course, the Republicans can win by default if the Democrats continue their march to the left.   Or some unexpected international event can unify the country behind the president and his party. 

But right now I'm not nearly as optimistic as the party chair.  The party is getting a reputation for do-nothingism, and the president is being viciously hammered by the press just for existing.  This will not be easy.

October 13, 2017       Permalink 

THE NUCLEAR REALITY – AND MAYBE IT'S TIME WE FACED IT – AT 10:33 A.M. ET:  President Trump will today unveil his new strategy for Iran.  Whether you will agree with it or not, at least he's addressing the failures of the nuclear deal, failures papered over by the Democratic Party and the Obama press. 

We are also facing a nuclear crisis with North Korea.  And here is a stark fact that should keep Washington up at night.  From the Washington Examiner: 

Congress was warned Thursday that North Korea is capable of attacking the U.S. today with a nuclear EMP bomb that could indefinitely shut down the electric power grid and kill 90 percent of "all Americans" within a year.

At a House hearing, experts said that North Korea could easily employ the "doomsday scenario" to turn parts of the U.S. to ashes.

In calling on the Pentagon and President Trump to move quickly to protect the grid, the experts testified that the effect of an explosion of a high-altitude nuclear bomb delivered by a missile or satellite "could be to shut down the U.S. electric power grid for an indefinite period, leading to the death within a year of up to 90 percent of all Americans."

Two members of the former congressional EMP commission said the threat to the U.S. has never been higher, in part because of the current high level of saber rattling by both sides and North Korea's surprising display over the past six months of its ability to deliver on its threats.

"With the development of small nuclear arsenals and long-range missiles by new, radical U.S. adversaries, beginning with North Korea, the threat of a nuclear EMP attack against the U.S. becomes one of the few ways that such a country could inflict devastating damage to the United States. It is critical, therefore, that the U.S. national leadership address the EMP threat as a critical and existential issue, and give a high priority to assuring the leadership is engaged and the necessary steps are taken to protect the country from EMP," the experts told a House Homeland Security subcommittee.

COMMENT:  This discussion has been going on for at least a quarter of a century, yet it never seems to emerge from the background.  But it is possibly the greatest threat we face.

Some say that no enemy would dare to launch an EMP attack because the U.S. would destroy that country.  And I reply that nations don't always act rationally.  The attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese was irrational, but it was done.

I'd harden every major electrical and computer site in America, no matter what the cost.  But I'm afraid it will never be done.

October 13,  2017     Permalink