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OCTOBER 31,  2017

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET:  We'll devote "Short Takes" tonight to today's terror attack in New York:

NAILING IT - FROM THE NEW YORK POST:  The driver who plowed into a group of people on Tuesday, killing 8, left behind handwritten notes pledging loyalty to ISIS along with an image of an ISIS flag inside his vehicle.  Sayfullo Saipov, 29, had the notes written in Arabic inside his Home Depot rental truck along with a picture of the ISIS flag, according to law enforcement sources.  The handwritten notes indicated that he had pledged allegiance to the terror group, the sources said.  The excuse makers are already out in force on MSNBC, although I must say that CNN was very forthcoming about the ISIS connection.

SOMETHING MISSING? – FROM DAILY CALLER:   Former President Barack Obama tweeted about Tuesday’s New York City terror attack, and noticeably left out a major point concerning the nature of the incident.  Obama made no mention of the word “terror” or “terrorist” and simply referred to Tuesday’s events as “today’s attack":  "Michelle and I are thinking of the victims of today's attack in NYC and everyone who keeps us safe. New Yorkers are as tough as they come."  No thanks, guy.  And no thanks also for your administration, which tried to replace the word "terror" with "manmade disaster," and referred to the Ford Hood terror attack as "workplace violence."  He who controls the vocabulary controls the country. 

THE VICTIMS – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:   Information about the victims in the deadly truck rampage in downtown Manhattan has started to emerge, with officials identifying the nationalities of some who died.  Argentina’s Foreign Ministry has confirmed that five friends from the country — who were in town celebrating the 30th anniversary of their high school graduation — were among the dead.  Didier Reynders, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister for Belgium, wrote on Twitter that at least one the victims was Belgian.  “I am deeply saddened to announce a Belgian victim in Manhattan,” he tweeted. “I express my condolences to the family and friends.”  These were the only fatalities due to terrorism to occur in New York since the 9-11 attacks of 2001.  A remarkable record of success in preventing terror attacks, despite today's tragedy.

October 31, 2017       Permalink

UNBELIEVABLY DUMB – AT 11:53 A.M. ET:   The Democratic National Committee puts out a want ad that is probably illegal.  From Townhall.com: 

The Democratic National Committee is hiring for some new positions in their Technology Team, including Chief Security Officer, IT Systems Administrator, and Product Manager. In the email soliciting job applications, it says that the DNC is looking for a "staff of diverse voices and life experiences." 

Unfortunately, according to the DNC's Data Service Manager Madeleine Leader, this desire for "diverse voices and life experiences" apparently doesn't extend to "cisgender straight white males." In the closing paragraph of the email, Leader said "I personally would prefer that you not forward to cisgender straight white males, as they are already in the majority." 

Yup. 

Elliott Hamilton from the Daily Wire posted a screenshot of the email on Twitter, saying that this is another symptom of the "patently absurd oppression Olympics." 

("Cisgender" is a term meaning someone who identifies as the gender assigned to them at birth, i.e. someone who is not transgender.) 

First off, kudos to the DNC for recognizing that their technology department probably needed an upgrade, so that's at least a positive step. But second--was it really necessary to straight-up single out a group of people who shouldn't apply? If the best candidate for the job is a straight white male, they should hire the straight white male. His hypothetical "life experiences" aren't any less valuable due to his sexuality or skin tone and could certainly contribute to a diverse workplace. 

Anyhow, for what it's worth, saying this is potentially a violation of the DNC's own policies.

COMMENT:  Let the lawsuits begin.  Who will be first?  Will CNN rush to cover this story?  Will Democrats in Congress express their outrage.

Will there be a million-straight man march on Washington?

Are you kidding?

October 31, 2017       Permalink

ACCIDENT IN NORTH KOREA? – AT 10:49 A.M. ET:   There are reports from usually credible sources that North Korea has sustained a serious accident at a nuclear test site.  From Fox: 

About 200 people are feared dead in North Korea after underground tunnels at a nuclear test site that was feared to be unstable reportedly collapsed, crushing 100 people in the initial cave-in and 100 others when the tunnels again gave way on top of rescuers.

The collapse at the Punggye-ri test site on Oct. 10 occurred while people were doing construction on the underground tunnel, Japan’s Asahi TV reported, citing a source in North Korea. The television station also said North Korea’s sixth nuclear test on Sept. 3 most likely caused the tunnel to crumble and created serious damage in the region.

No officials have confirmed the Japanese TV station’s claims, but experts have feared for more than a month that the test site was on the verge of crumbling since the nuclear blast. North Korea said it detonated a hydrogen bomb, calling it a “perfect success.” It was the country’s most powerful bomb tested to date and the blast was reportedly 10 times more powerful than the nuclear bomb that was dropped over Hiroshima at the end of World War II.

COMMENT:  This news comes as the president prepares to leave for Asia later in the week.  I assume the report that this was an "accident" is accurate.  How it afffects the North Korean nuclear program is an unknown.

There is some informed speculation that North Korea will try a new nuclear test or rocket launch while the president is in Asia, just to embarrass him.

October 31, 2017       Permalink

ECONOMY OUTSTRIPS EXPECTATIONS – AT 10:18 A.M. ET:  And, of course, President Trump will get no credit from the troopers of the mainstream media.  They're too busy extolling the virtues of Maxine Waters.  From The Wall Street Journal: 

The U.S. economy is outpacing expectations for the first time since April. What that means for the stock rally is a matter of debate.

Citigroup U.S. Economic Surprise Index, a widely-used tool used to gauge how economic data matches up to expectations, has risen to its highest level since April in recent weeks. As The Wall Street Journal’s Morning MoneyBeat newsletter noted Tuesday, a number of better-than-expected readings on the economy–from third-quarter gross-domestic product to manufacturing activity–helped pull the index out of negative territory in October for the first time since spring.

Analysts at PNC Asset Management Groups said the index’s recovery– which indicates economic data is coming in above forecasts–is due in part to “analysts’ predictions becoming too dour in the middle of the year.” The recovery in global growth is also helping the index, PNC said.

More positive economic surprises have helped bolster the U.S. stock market since 2016, said James Paulsen, chief investment strategist at Leuthold Group, in a research note last week. Though the index doesn’t measure economic growth, positive readings can be an encouraging sign for investors who often respond to how data stacks up to expectations rather than the data itself.

COMMENT:  Good, good, and good.  We'll be watching the jobs figures closely as well.  If economic growth can be sustained, and a good tax cut passed, the Trump administration and Congressional Republicans should be well prepared for the 2018 midterms.

Getting some major manufacturing back will be topping on the cake.

October 31,  2017     Permalink

OCTOBER 30,  2017

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

LATEST SOCIAL NEWS:  FROM DAILY CALLER:   Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was spotted Sunday hobnobbing with a person who is currently at the focus of the FBI’s investigation into Russia’s interference into the U.S. presidential election.  Clinton hung out with Sidney Blumenthal and political consultant Tony Podesta this weekend at the former Democratic presidential candidate birthday bash. Podesta’s appearance at the party is awkward, considering he has become a key figure in special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian influence in the election.  Not awkward for Hillary.  Nothing is awkward for Hillary.  She would have gone to Al Capone's birthday party if there was a contribution involved.

ONLY IN HOLLYWOOD – FROM PAGE SIX:  Talk about a messiah complex.  Disgraced Harvey Weinstein’s been telling what friends he has left that there’s a bigger reason he’s embroiled in his ever-widening sexual-harassment scandal: to “change the world,” sources tell Page Six.  “Harvey believes he is a savior,” a Hollywood insider says.  The source adds that the pervy former Weinstein Co. and Miramax big wheel has been telling confidantes “that he was born to take the fall for his behavior in order to ‘change the world.’ He is resigned to his punishment — as a martyr for social change.”   Soon to be a minor motion picture.

HALLOWEEN IN AMERICA, 2017 – FROM THE MERCURY NEWS:   SANTA CLARA — Thieves reportedly armed with Tasers assaulted and robbed patrons at California’s Great America, turning the amusement park’s 10th annual Halloween fest into a real-life fright for thousands of visitors and employees, park security and visitors said.  Santa Clara police estimated that about 100 youth were perpetrating the mayhem, which broke out about 10:30 p.m. Saturday at the Great America Haunt. About 20,000 visitors were in the park, police said.  Police arrested one juvenile on suspicion of theft, Santa Clara Police Lieutenant Dan Moreno said. Visitors reported seeing other perpetrators escape into waiting cars.  We must understand their frustration and sense of marginalization.  And we must admire their technical expertise in the use of tasers.

October 30, 2017       Permalink

FOCUS – AT 12:31 P.M. ET:  Republicans in Congress are sending a very powerful message that they are determined to get a tax bill finished soon, despite major obstacles.  Clearly burned by their failure to repeal and replace Obamacare, GOP leaders know that they must produce a major tax cut in order to go into the 2018 election year on a winning note.  From The Hill: 

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said Monday that the indictments in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation wouldn't hinder congressional Republicans' goal of overhauling the tax code.

“Nothing’s going to derail what we’re doing in Congress,” Ryan said on WTAQ’s "The Jerry Bader Show."

Prosecutors on Monday announced indictments against Paul Manafort, former chairman of Trump's presidential campaign, and Manafort's former business partner Rick Gates. Separately, they also announced that former Trump campaign aide George Papadopolous had pleaded guilty last month to lying to investigators.

The new developments in Mueller's investigation come just days before Wednesday's release of a tax bill by the House Ways and Means Committee.

Ryan said that lawmakers are focused on working on solving Americans' problems, which includes providing a remedy to the slow economic growth that has occurred in recent years. 

“Nothing derails us from focusing on that,” he said.

The speaker added that tax reform is "all about getting bigger paychecks, it’s all about fairness and simplicity.” 

COMMENT:  The indictments thus far, as we noted in our first post today, were less than bombshells.  Late reports from the tax-bill writers is that they've restored at least some of the deductions for state and local taxes that were originally in the bill, after protests from Republicans from high-tax states.  There seems a willingness to compromise and improve.

The key point in the tax legislation is that Congress must deliver the size tax cut that is promised.  People must see it in their paychecks, not just in the newspaper.  The GOP is promising an average $4,000 per year for middle-class families.  Republicans have to deliver that, or something close to it.  Remember that the party-line press will immediately emphasize what benefits are given to the top two percent, and compare them to the benefits given to middle-class Americans. 

It is very hard to predict how a tax bill passed by the House will fare in the Senate, where the GOP only has a two-vote majority.  That will be the key test, although both Senators Corker and Flake, devout Trump opponents, have said that their votes on tax legislation will not be influenced by their feud with the president.  I hope that's correct.

October 30, 2017       Permalink

NOTHINGBURGER? – AT 10:18 A.M.  ET:  Federal charges were filed this morning against former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and his longtime business associate Rick Gates.  From Fox: 

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his associate Rick Gates have been indicted by a federal grand jury Monday on 12 counts, according to the special counsel’s office.

The special counsel’s office told Fox News that the counts include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading Foreign Agent Registration (FARA) statements, false statements and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign banks and financial accounts.

In addition, a guilty plea by former Trump campaign policy adviser George Papadopolous was announced by Mueller. He admitted to making false statements to FBI agents as part of the investigation. 

The cases were unsealed Monday, after Manafort and Gates were permitted to surrender themselves to the custody of the FBI, the special counsel’s office told Fox News.

Manafort and Gates face the first charges in the special counsel’s investigation. This is also the first time the special counsel's office has confirmed that a grand jury has been impaneled.

According to the indictment, reviewed by Fox News, between at least 2006 and 2015, Manafort and Gates acted as unregistered agents of the Government of Ukraine, the Party of Regions, a Ukrainian political party whose leader Victor Yanukovych was president from 2010 to 2014, and the Opposition Bloc. Manafort and Gates generated tens of millions of dollars in income as a result of their work in Ukraine.

The indictment says that Manafort and Gates laundered the money through scores of the United States and foreign corporations, partnerships and bank accounts in order to hide Ukraine payments from U.S. authorities.

COMMENT:  Stories about this alleged behavior surfaced during the Trump campaign, resulting in Manafort being fired.  In effect, these are old concerns.  They do not appear to involve the 2016 campaign in any way, and do not seem to relate to any concerns about collusion with Russia.  Thus, they may well be a relief to the Trump White House.

We await further details.  So far, no one has touched Trump on the "Russian collusion" front.

October 30,  2017     Permalink