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OCTOBER 15,  2017

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

ACTION AT LaGUARDIA – FROM AP:   NEW YORK (AP) — A 70-year-old passenger was arrested Saturday at LaGuardia Airport after authorities say he became irate over a $50 fee to check his bag and told an airline worker there was a bomb in the bag.  John Park of Farmington, Michigan, was arrested on a charge of making a terrorist threat after Saturday morning’s incident at the Spirit Airlines ticket counter.  The perceived threat prompted a partial evacuation of the terminal and the summoning of explosives experts.  It was the proper response, and not an overreaction, as some are claiming.  Some boasts turn out to be accurate.

OH PLEASE GO AWAY – FROM BLEACHERREPORT:   After remaining unsigned through six weeks of the 2017 NFL season, Colin Kaepernick claims the league is participating in collusion.  As first reported by Bleacher Report's Mike Freeman, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback has filed a grievance against the owners for collusion under the latest collective bargaining agreement.  I think this man should be sent to a good finishing school.

CLINTON FINANCE – FROM FOX:  The Clinton Foundation will not return as much as $250,000 in donations from disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein following the accusations of sexual harassment and rape.  The foundation said Sunday that donations, ranging from $100,000 to $250,000, have already been spent on projects, The Daily Mail reported.  The move to keep the money was expected following tweets from the foundation’s spokesman Craig Minassian. “Suggesting @ClintonFdn return funds from our 330,000+ donors ignores the fact that donations have been used to help people across the world,” Minassian wrote on Twitter.  Hillary could make that up in a couple of speeches.  The foundation should return the amounts donated, but the Clintons have their own moral rules.

October 15, 2017        Permalink

THOSE CRAZY GREAT MEN – AT 2:11 P.M. ET:    The current narrative on the left has President Trump described as "crazy" or "mad."  Often "dumb" or "uninformed."  It is almost amusing to look back and realize how many other statesmen, some who have achieved immortality, were described in the same way.

Consider this, on Abraham Lincoln, from the Civil War Trust:

"The illustrious Honest Old Abe has continued during the last week to make a fool of himself and to mortify and shame the intelligent people of this great nation. His speeches have demonstrated the fact that although originally a Herculean rail splitter and more lately a whimsical story teller and side splitter, he is no more capable of becoming a statesman, nay, even a moderate one, than the braying ass can become a noble lion. People now marvel how it came to pass that Mr. Lincoln should have been selected as the representative man of any party. His weak, wishy-washy, namby-pamby efforts, imbecile in matter, disgusting in manner, have made us the laughing stock of the whole world. The European powers will despise us because we have no better material out of which to make a President. The truth is, Lincoln is only a moderate lawyer and in the larger cities of the Union could pass for no more than a facetious pettifogger. Take him from his vocation and he loses even these small characteristics and indulges in simple twaddle which would disgrace a well bred school boy."
 
Written as Abraham Lincoln approached Washington by train for his 1861 presidential inauguration, this tirade was not the rant of a fire-eating secessionist editor in Richmond or New Orleans. It was the declaration of the Salem Advocate, a newspaper printed in Lincoln's home ground of central Illinois. The Advocate had plenty of company among Northern opinion makers. The editor of Massachusetts's influential Springfield Republican, Samuel Bowles, despaired in a letter to a friend the same week, "Lincoln is a 'simple Susan.'"

And this, on Winston Churchill, from the International Bipolar Foundation: 

Widely regarded as one of the greatest leaders of the 20th century, Winston Churchill is believed to have suffered from bipolar disorder. After observing numerous symptoms such as depression, suicidal intention, mania, and a decreased need for sleep, Churchill's doctor, Lord Moran, recounted in his memoir Winston Churchill: The Struggle for Survival, that he had diagnosed a middle-aged Churchill with bipolar disorder. Churchill often referred to his periods of intense and prolonged depression as his "black dog." During these fits of lengthened, manic-depression, Churchill exhibited little energy, few interests, losses of appetite, and trouble concentrating, according to his wife Clementine. On the other side of the spectrum, when his "black dog" had become docile, Churchill exhibited abnormally high levels of energy and restlessness, often beginning to work at 8 am and ending work at around 2 am. Unfortunately, these times of abnormal productivity receded as his "black dog" returned after just a few months of absence. Churchill, despite the difficulties brought by his crippling depression, disregarded his affliction and fulfilled a life of purpose and achievement. 

COMMENT:  Remember that Eisenhower was described as a simpleton, Theodore Roosevelt an immature child, Ronald Reagan as an "amiable dunce."  Some called FDR "Featherduster" because he was considered an intellectual lightweight. 

Trump may be getting off easy.

October 15, 2017       Permalink 

AUSTRIA TRENDS RIGHT – AT 12:50 P.M. ET:   It is a trend throughout Europe, and America, and even Japan.  The establishment is being put on notice.  From Bloomberg: 

Austrian voters gave 31-year-old conservative Sebastian Kurz a mandate to form a new government in an election on Sunday, setting up a potential coalition with the nationalist Freedom Party as junior partner, according to projections based on partial returns.

Kurz’s People’s Party took 31.5 percent of the vote, with Chancellor Christian Kern’s Social Democrats in second place with about 27 percent and the Freedom Party third place at about 26 percent, according to Sora projections for ORF public television.

The outcome may mark a triumph for European populists after they were kept out of power this year in elections in the Netherlands, France and Germany, though the Freedom Party was already part of Austria’s government as recently as 2005. Norbert Hofer, its narrowly defeated candidate in the nation’s presidential election last year, immediately staked a claim to a strong role for his party.

“People demanded change,” Hofer said in an ORF television interview. Any coalition with the People’s Party should be “a partnership of equals,” he said.

Kurz, the Austrian foreign minister who took up the Freedom Party’s hardline stance on immigration during the campaign, now has a chance to become the world’s youngest government leader. After a campaign dominated by migration and fair access to social security, his likely vice chancellor would be the Freedom Party’s Heinz-Christian Strache, 48.

COMMENT:  We approach this result with caution.  On the one hand, it's about time the comfortable, self-important European establishment was jolted.  On the other hand, when we see "nationalist" together with Austria, Germany, and even most of Europe, we have reason to watch closely.  There is a history, and it's not a good one.  Many American military cemeteries attest to that.

So we'll wait and see, but, clearly, the European Union pseudo-aristocrats have some heavy worrying to do.

October 15, 2017       Permalink

A GREAT STORY – AT 11:46 A.M. ET:  We sometimes forget that we have some great allies in the war on terror.  Britain's Special Air Service (SAS) is a gem, as this spectacular story from Iraq, which just came to light, demonstrates.  From the Express: 

The crack snipers struck as crazed executioners held knives to the throats of a father and son near Mosul.

Both men, from a family of eight, had refused to convert to Islam and were about to be executed when the ISIS killers were blasted in their heads.

The operation was carried out following the fall of Mosul last July and but has only just been made public, the Star on Sunday reported.

British troops were informed a black-clad death squad of Islamic extremists were targeting Christian civilians near the war-torn city and set out to investigate.

Using L115 rifles and loaded with .338 Lapua Magnum bullets, the snipers shot dead two fighters from 1,000m away.

They then turned their weapons on another pair of fighters.

As more jihadis tried to flee in a truck, they were taken out in a firefight that lasted around half an hour.

The family were led to safety before another 80 fighters drove up to collect the bodies of the fallen terrorists.

A source told the paper it was “a great day for the SAS”.

COMMENT:  Next time some college-aged whiner demands a "safe space" on campus, think of that story.

October 15,  2017     Permalink 

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