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I appeared on Silvio Canto Jr's talk show from Dallas last night.  It's here.

OCTOBER 29,  2018

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

I LOVE IT! – FROM CONSERVATIVE TREEHOUSE:  Failed presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton and women’s rights advocate Kara Swisher sat down for a live podcast and taping in New York City. The media has focused on Mrs. Clinton remarks: “I want to be president”, which can be seen in the interview at 00:33:40.  However, there’s also an alarming joke told by Clinton that reflects her tone-deaf racial perspective. At the 01:04:30 moment of the interview Ms. Swisher mistakes Corey Booker for Eric Holder and Mrs. Clinton replies: “I know they all look alike."   I don't believe it.  I just don't believe it.  Not one word of condemnation from the usual suspects. 

YOU CAN'T MAKE IT UP – FROM GATEWAY PUNDIT:   Back in July 2013 Rep. Bobby “Beto” O’Rourke tried to join the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in the House of Representatives.  But the Hispanic Caucus refused to let him join saying he lacked Hispanic heritage.   I'm sure Beto thought it was so unfair to be turned down for such a trivial reason.  Maybe he and Elizabeth Warren can form a new ethnic group and become charter members.  They can call themselves the Fraudulents.

GM FADES AWAY – FROM IBD:   General Motors has given up on the free market. It now wants the federal government to force electric cars on the market and taxpayers to heavily subsidize them. GM  should focus more on improving reliability than pleasing environmentalists.  In an op-ed published by USA Today, CEO Mary Barra says the federal government should impose a "National Zero Emissions Vehicle" program that will "move our country faster to an all-electric zero emissions future."  The program, as envisioned by GM, would basically take California's electric car mandate nationwide. It would require 7% of new cars sold to be electric in 2021 — less than three years from now. GM wants the mandate to increase each year, until it hits 25% by 2030.  As in California, carmakers would get credits for each EV car sold, and could buy and sell them with other automakers.  Barra also wants Congress to renew and expand the $7,500 refundable tax credit given to electric car buyers. Taxpayers have already forked over nearly $5 billion to subsidize the (mostly wealthy) electric car buyers. The credit is supposed to phase out once a carmaker sells 200,000 plug ins.  Barra says stopping the taxpayer subsidies "will stifle growth."  In other words, Barra is flat out admitting that without federal mandates and massive tax subsidies, electric cars don't have much of a future. Environmentalists might love them, but consumers clearly don't.  What a comedown.  Chevy used to symbolize the American car industry.  For tens of millions of Americans, it was their first car.  Now the company is a mouthpiece for creeping socialism.  I'm ready to destroy all photos of my Chevy Nova, circa 1962.

October 29, 2018       Permalink

A SERIOUS PRESIDENT – AT 11:31 P.M. ET:  It's almost amusing watching the mainstream press try to diminish President Trump.  Despite his failings, and his unerring ability to say the right thing at the wrong time, this is a very serious president, who actually sets out to keep his promises and to mean what he says.  Now, he must deal with a crisis at the southern border.  From USA Today:

The Pentagon will deploy up 5,000 active-duty troops to the U.S.-Mexico border in an effort to prevent members of a migrant caravan from illegally entering the country, a U.S. official said Monday.

About 2,100 National Guard troops are already fanned out across the border under an order from President Donald Trump earlier this year. In recent weeks, the president has been warning repeatedly about the dangers posed by a caravan of mostly Central American migrants, which has swelled to an estimated 7,000 people and is continuing its slow trek north through Mexico.

Administration officials said last week that they were considering a plan to send up to 1,000 active duty troops to the border, but that deployment has increased to 5,000, according to the Department of Homeland Security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss the plans before a formal announcement Monday afternoon.

The troops are not expected to conduct law enforcement activities, but instead provide backup support to Border Patrol agents manning the border and be prepared to react if groups of migrants try to storm the border.

COMMENT:  The action is correct.  An assessment should be made as to how many troops are needed, and that number should then be doubled.  (Eisenhower said that if you need a battalion send a division.) 

The world's media will be there, seeking to embarrass the United States, and Trump should not take the bait.  The troops should be given strict orders as to what to do and not to do, and, recalling Eisenhower's sending of troops to Little Rock in 1957 to enforce a desegregation order, the operation should be conducted as quickly and undramatically as possible, with the troops then withdrawn.

The laws of the United States will be enforced.  That is why we have the president take an oath of office.

October 29, 2018       Permalink

THEY LEFT THEIR HEADS IN SAN FRANCISCO – AT 10:28 A.M. ET:   San Francisco is truly vying for the title of America's worst-run major city.  Look at this fiasco.  From Fox: 

San Francisco reportedly spent $310,000 on a new registration system aimed at getting non-citizens to cast votes in school board elections.

The program resulted in 49 new voters, which turned out to cost the city $6,326 each, The San Francisco Chronicle reported. The paper called the effort “pretty much a bust the first time out.”

Local officials suggest residents who might otherwise consider registering are worried the Trump administration would learn their identities.

The voters are only able to vote in a school board race. John Arntz, the city elections chief,  In San Francisco, noncitizens who opt to vote will be listed on a separate roster from citizens and will get a ballot with just the school board contest, city elections chief John Arntz said.

Robin Hvidston, the executive director of We the People Rising, group that calls for tougher immigration enforcement, told The Los Angeles Times that the program could ultimately backfire with those who take a moderate stance on immigration.

San Francisco is not the first place with such a measure. In Maryland, where an estimated 15 percent of residents are foreign-born, at least six cities allow noncitizens to vote in local elections.

In Massachusetts, the cities of Amherst, Cambridge, Newton and Brookline have advanced laws to allow noncitizen voting, but they cannot implement them because they need the approval of state lawmakers, who have not acted, said Ron Hayduk, an associate professor of political science at San Francisco State University who studies noncitizen voting laws.

COMMENT:  I still believe that voting should be a privilege requiring citizenship.  It should be the goal of legal immigrants to become citizens in order to vote.  As for illegal residents, I would allow them to vote in local, non-federal elections if they are in a legitimate program leading to legal citizenship, but I don't know if those even exist.

October 29, 2018       Permalink

PRESIDENT BOUNCES BACK – AT 9:52 A.M. ET:  After an erratic week in the Rasmussen tracker, the president is back at 50% today.  We note that other polls have him lower, but that some of those other polls have him at 47% or 48%.  We hope this is an open for next week's election.  From Rasmussen: 

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows that 50% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Trump’s job performance. Forty-nine percent (49%) disapprove.

The latest figures include 35% who Strongly Approve of the way Trump is performing and 43% who Strongly Disapprove. This gives him a Presidential Approval Index rating of -8.

And Rasmussen has another poll result that's quite interesting: 

When to comes to the midterm elections, Democrats have a slight edge when it comes to what voters think is best for the next session of Congress.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 55% of Likely U.S. Voters say it’s important that Democrats win at least one of the chambers of Congress in the upcoming elections, with 48% who say it's Very Important to their vote. Only slighter fewer voters (51%) think it's important for Republicans to remain in control of the entire Congress, including 40% who feel it's Very Important.

Forty-two percent (42%) say a Democratic takeover of at least one congressional chamber is not important to their vote in the upcoming election, including 31% who say it’s Not At All Important. Forty-six percent (46%) say the GOP retaining control of Congress is not important to their vote, with 39% who rate it Not At All Important.

COMMENT:  I think those numbers track pretty well with the state-by-state and district-by-district polls that we see.  There will be many close elections next week.  It's probable that the Dems will win the House, but it may only be by five or six seats, far from a true working majority.  There are still a number of moderate Democrats who will not commit political suicide to satisfy Maxine Waters. 

As always with midterms, the key next week will be turnout.  Many, many races are showing candidates only five points or so apart.  Turnout will determine the winners.

October 29, 2018       Permalink

OCTOBER 28,  2018

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 10:55 P.M. ET:

DO US NO FAVORS – FROM THE HILL:   Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, during an event over the weekend, left the door open to a possible 2020 run, saying that even though she doesn't want to run, "I'd like to be president."   Clinton's comments come as speculation has increased over whether she will launch another bid after the midterm elections.   "Do you want to run again?" Recode’s Kara Swisher asked during a Friday night Q&A with Clinton.  "No," Clinton replied quickly, sparking laughter from the audience. But when Swisher pressed her further, she added: "I’d like to be president."  Clinton went on to say that "there’s going to be so much work to be done" after a Democrat "hopefully" wins the next presidential election.  "The work would be work that I feel very well prepared for having been in the Senate for eight years, having been a diplomat in the State Department," she said, listing off the qualifications that she often touted during her previous run.  She added that she's not going to think about a possible run until after the upcoming midterm elections.   Stop thinking.

INCLUDE ME OUT – FROM FOX:   The Titanic is back – and it’s ready to complete the voyage its predecessor attempted over 100 years ago.  The Titanic II, a replica of the original “ship of dreams,” will be setting sail in 2022, following the same Southampton, England, to New York route the famed Titanic tried in 1912.  “The ship will follow the original journey, carrying passengers from Southampton to New York, but she will also circumnavigate the globe, inspiring and enchanting people while attracting unrivalled attention, intrigue and mystery in every port she visits,” Clive Palmer, chairman of Blue Star Line wrote in a statement.  The new luxury liner was announced in 2012 to honor the ship’s 100-year anniversary, but the inaugural voyage was ultimately postponed due to a reported financial dispute between Blue Star Line’s parent company, Mineralogy, and the Chinese government.  Now Blue Star Line has released a statement, saying the detailed building on the ship has recommenced.  Talk about creepy.  Who would want to go on the maiden voyage?  Is this a new, strange kind of nostalgia?

BRAZIL RESULT – FROM REUTERS:  BRASILIA, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Far-right lawmaker Jair Bolsonaro won Brazil's presidential election on Sunday, riding a wave of frustration over corruption and crime that brought a dramatic swing to the right in the world's fourth-largest democracy.  With 94 percent of ballots counted, Bolsonaro had 56 percent of the votes in the run-off election against left-wing hopeful Fernando Haddad of the Workers Party (PT), who had 44 percent, according to the electoral authority TSE.
"We cannot continue flirting with communism ... We are going to change the destiny of Brazil," Bolsonaro said in an acceptance address in which he vowed to carry out his campaign promises to stamp out corruption after years of leftist rule.  The former army captain's rise has been propelled by rejection of the leftist PT that ran Brazil for 13 of the last 15 years and was ousted two years ago in the midst of a deep recession and political graft scandal.  We hope it works out, and that our relations with Brazil are strengthened.

October 28, 2018       Permalink

MIDTERMS – AT 5:15 P.M. ET:   On Tuesday we'll be at the one-week mark.  The campaigning will be intense.  We must always remember that something unexpected can happen just a few days before an election that can have an effect on the vote.

New polling suggests that what we've seen for week continues – tight races all over the country, little sign of a blue wave.  However, virtually all important analysts believe the Democrats will take the House.  The only issue seems to be the number of seats they'll hold.  Again, a surprise can occur.

In the Senate races there is some potential good news in Indiana and Missouri, where our candidates appear to be edging out the incumbent Democrats.

In Florida we have a shot, as the great Rick Scott is battling incumbent Dem Bill Nelson in a tied race. 

While Ted Cruz is six or seven points ahead in Texas, we cannot put that race away.  Beto O'Rourke has won some last-minute endorsements from major newspapers, and has vast amounts to spend.  Ted must get his voters out.

Very nervous about Arizona.  We assumed our Martha McSally was ahead by a few points, but Dem certified nutbag Kyrsten Sinema is three points ahead in a new CBS poll.  Arizona may be our heartbreak.  The state of John McCain has been moving steadily left, under the weight of massive immigration.

Possible upsets, though long shots:  New Jersey, where corrupt Dem Senator Bob Menendez is being effectively challenged by GOP candidate Bob Hugin.  Caution:  We often see potential revolts against Democrats in New Jersey, but they rarely happen.  The most delightful long shot is Michigan, where GOP African-American candidate John James is within six points of "safe" incumbent Debbie Stabenow.  Again, a tough one, but I'd love to see a miracle happen in Michigan.

October 28, 2018       Permalink

BRAZIL VOTES – AT 2:18 P.M. ET:  Brazil has one of the fastest-rising economies in the world.  It is the largest country in South America, and votes today.  Americans seem unaware of the election.  From Reuters: 

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilians began voting on Sunday in the most polarized election in decades as anger over corruption and crime were expected to carry Jair Bolsonaro to the presidency, marking a dramatic swing to the right in the world's fourth-largest democracy.

Bolsonaro's sudden rise was propelled by rejection of the leftist Workers Party (PT) that ran Brazil for 13 of the last 15 years and was ousted two years ago in the midst of the country's worst recession and biggest-ever political graft scandal.

His leftist rival Fernando Haddad, standing in for the jailed PT founder and former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has been trailing Bolsonaro since the first-round vote three weeks ago.

"I want to take the PT out," said Celina Ceccon, who previously supported Lula and his successor Dilma Rousseff but voted for Bolsonaro in this election

"There was a lot of corruption, bad things, so much stealing. There's got to be a change," said the 74-year-old resident of the capital Brasilia.

The last round of opinion surveys on Saturday showed Haddad narrowing a wide polling gap.

Endorsements from leading legal figures in Brazil's unprecedented fight against political corruption also raised hopes among Haddad's supporters that he can pull off what would be a stunning upset win.

Haddad has reduced Bolsonaro's lead from 12 to 8 percentage points in five days, according to the Ibope polling firm that gave him 46 percent of voter support compared with Bolsonaro's 54 percent.

A Datafolha poll also released late Saturday showed Bolsonaro had 55 percent and Haddad 45 percent. 

COMMENT:  A shift to the right would be dramatic, and could have an influence on South American politics generally.  It would also probably be good for U.S.-Brazilian relations.

October 28, 2018       Permalink

DOIN' WHAT COMES NATURALLY – AT 1:26 P.M. ET:  Maybe it was too much to ask that the Sunday news shows would show the same level of restraint that the news reporters showed yesterday in covering the horror in Pittsburgh.

Yes, it was too much to ask.  Fareed Zakaria was on with his usual phoniness and his crocodile tears about PIttsburgh.  You'd think from his variety show today that all hatred comes from the right.  The left is pure.  The phrase "colleges and universities" was not mentioned, despite the fact that many of these institutions of lower learning have become cesspools of hatred and division.  Many Jewish students have reported that they feel fearful and isolated on these campuses, which are dominated by Israel haters.  Hey, why notice?

And, true to form, the talking heads bring everything back to Trump.  He has set the tone, we're told.  No, the tone of hatred and division was set in the late 1960s, whose graduates now control American journalism.  Name a single violent attack against speakers on college campuses that has been launched by conservatives.  The hate comes from the left.

And Donald Trump is probably the most pro-Jewish president in American history.  His daughter is an orthodox Jew, and he honors that.  He moved the American embassy to Jerusalem.  He has always had high-ranking Jewish advisers.  But the talkers suggest that he sends out anti-Semitic messages.  He does not.

The left we will always have with us.  It has taken over the Democratic Party, and its narrow view of America is dangerous. 

October 28,  2018     Permalink