Please note that you can leave a comment on any of our posts at our Facebook page.  Subscribers can also comment at length at our Angel's Corner Forum.

Our Angel's Corner archive is here.

ALERT:  SUBSCRIPTION DRIVE SUSPENDED

We are suspending our subscription drive after five days, the first time we've ever done that at Urgent Agenda.  No, it isn't that we're doing badly.  In fact, the drive came alive yesterday.   But as I watch the natural disasters that have hit our country unfold, I just feel this isn't the time to ask people for subscriptions. 

These subscription drives are pre-planned.  We could not have anticipated the events the nation is experiencing.  I feel uncomfortable continuing our campaign at this time.

We'll revisit subscriptions later.  Providence willing, we'll celebrate our 10th anniversary in January. We'll probably have a drive to commemorate the event. 

For those who subscribed or donated this past week, I thank you.  You're troopers, and you keep us going. 

SEPTEMBER 10,  2017

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

MAJOR PSYCHIATRIC NEWS – FROM TOWNHALL.COM:   The University of California Berkeley is making counseling and other services available to students who may be upset or "threatened" by conservative writer Ben Shapiro's upcoming appearance on campus. In a memo published on Friday ahead of the event, the University reminded students that support services would be available if they were to need them.   I'm glad to know that.  I'll pass it on to liberal friends who may be on the brink at Berkeley.  We must understand their fear of an unfriendly idea.

PEACEFUL PROTEST – FROM FOX:   Antifa demonstrators hurled smoke and projectiles at police officers during rallies in downtown Portland on Sunday, injuring at least two, according to police.  The Rally and March Against White Nationalism, which was organized by the Portland Stands United Against Hate group, started off at a park on the waterfront with speakers leading demonstrators in song and prayers, Fox 12 reported.   After police changed the planned route of the march to avoid violence, tensions built up between the demonstrators and an opposing group, Patriot Prayer, also scheduled to hold a rally.  Police said demonstrators threw projectiles and smoke bomb — and knocked down a fence that police had put up. They also said seven suspects were in custody.  There are some Democrats and liberals who still refuse to condemn Antifa.  Just misunderstood moralists, I guess.

DO YOU BELIEVE THIS? – FROM THE HILL:   Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said in an interview broadcast Sunday that while she is "done" being a candidate, she is not leaving politics.   "Is your political career over?" Jane Pauley asked Clinton on "CBS Sunday Morning."  "Yes," Clinton responded. "As an active politician, it's over.  "I am done with being a candidate," she added. "But I am not done with politics, because I literally believe that our country's future is at stake."  Dearie, the country's future is always at stake.  That's what elections are about.  I suspect she could be persuaded to run, if anyone of influence wants her to. 

September 10,  2017     Permalink

THE FIGHT GOES ON – AT 2:06 P.M. ET:  We're focusing on our weather, but, elsewhere, the fight against terror is ongoing.  From the Los Angeles Times:   

U.S. intelligence analysts have gained valuable insights into Islamic State’s planning and personnel from a vast cache of digital data and other material recovered from bombed-out offices, abandoned laptops and the cellphones of dead fighters in recently liberated areas of Iraq and Syria.

In the most dramatic gain, U.S. officials over the last two months have added thousands of names of known or suspected Islamic State operatives to an international watch list used at airports and other border crossings. The Interpol database now contains about 19,000 names.

The intelligence haul — the largest since U.S. forces entered the war in mid-2014 — threatens to overwhelm already stretched counter-terrorism and law enforcement agencies in Europe, where Islamic State has claimed responsibility for attacks in Paris, London and Stockholm this year.

With the extremist group’s army and self-declared caliphate fast shrinking, U.S. officials are concerned that foreign-born militants who once flocked to Iraq and Syria will try to escape before the U.S.-led coalition or other military forces can kill them.

In recent weeks, U.S.-backed ground forces have sent an estimated 30 terabytes of data — equal to nearly two years of nonstop video footage — to the National Media Exploitation Center in Bethesda, Md., a little-known arm of the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the intelligence.

Analysts there are scrutinizing handwritten ledgers, computer spreadsheets, thumb drives, mobile phone memory cards and other materials for clues to terrorist cells or plots in Europe or elsewhere.

"The reason electronic exploitation is so critical is that enemy forces doesn't fake those records," an intelligence official said. "When you interrogate someone they can hide facts, but logs of phone calls and video clips don't lie. That stuff isn't made-up."

COMMENT:  Obviously a major intelligence victory for our side.  Now it has to be exploited.  Trump and Defense Secretary Mattis have shown greater vigor and expertise in pursuing ISIS than did their predecessors, although the bar wasn't set too high by the Obama administration. 

The great fear now is that ISIS, driven from parts of the Mideast, will attempt to strike inside the United States.  It would not surprise me.

September 10, 2017       Permalink

THE PRESIDENT ON TAX REFORM – AT 12:47 P.M. ET:  Once the hurricane passes and recovery efforts are underway, attention will focus on the intense political agenda in Washington, made more intense by Mr. Trump's demands that Congress act quickly on high-priority items.  From Reuters: 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he will ask the Republican-controlled Congress to further speed up its efforts to overhaul the U.S. tax code, citing the potential impact of Hurricane Irma as a reason to hasten reforms.

"I think now with what's happened with the hurricane, I'm going to ask for a speedup. I wanted a speedup anyway, but now we need it even more so," the president said at the outset of a Cabinet meeting at Camp David. The White House released a video of his remarks.

Trump urged Congress in a Friday tweet not to wait until the end of September for tax legislation.

COMMENT:  That is now the cornerstone of the Trump domestic agenda, and the Republican Congress had better act.  If it doesn't, or says it needs more time, we can easily see Trump becoming an "independent Republican," working with moderate Democrats, and decapitating the GOP congressional leadership.  We have theorized here that Trump really wants to be the head of either a new party or a redesigned Republican Party.  It may happen.  Do not underestimate him. 

September 10, 2017       Permalink

IRMA ASSAULTS US – AT 11:53 A.M. ET:  And we are probably better prepared than we've ever been for a hurricane.  Mass evacuations have occurred.  Shelters are in place.  The federal government has acted swiftly and decisively.  From Breitbart: 

President Donald Trump stationed approximately 1,000 marines on two U.S. Navy warships in preparation for Hurricane Irma relief operations in Florida. The Marines and Sailors will provide logistical and medical support in the wake of the predicted devastation caused by the storm’s high winds, tidal surges, and floods.

Department of Defense officials stated the Marines and Sailors are assigned to the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. Assigned to the USS Kearsarge and the USS Iwo Jima, the units are prepared to deliver water purification systems; storage and distribution capabilities; airborne and surface transportation; heavy lift capabilities; damage assessment aerial reconnaissance; and the distribution of medical technicians.

“We train for this kind of mission. It’s in the DNA of the Marine Expeditionary Unit to rapidly respond to crisis when called upon,” 26th MEU Executive Officer Lt. Colonel Christopher Timothy said in a statement obtained by Breitbart Texas. “Alongside our Navy partners, we stand strong and ready to help those affected by this storm in whatever way we can.”

From the deck of the two warships, Marine pilots are prepared to place five Osprey. six Super Stallions, and three Huey helicopters wherever they are needed to provide assistance and support to local rescue and recovery operations.

COMMENT:  Now watch:  The Trump haters will accuse the president of militarizing America, attempting to seize Florida, and using the Marines to protect his home at Mar-a-Lago.  Everyone knows he's taking over.  We've already heard Melania singing, "Don't Cry for Me Palm Beach County."

September 10,  2017     Permalink

SEPTEMBER 9,  2017

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

THE NEW NEWS INDUSTRY – FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER:   Over just the last year, Americans have radically changed their media consuming habits, abandoning TV news in favor of online sources, a trend that could have the internet as the nation's No. 1 news provider in a year.  The latest Pew Research Center review of news consumption that showed a 19-point gap between TV news and online shrunk to just 7 points in the last year. Those "often" getting news from TV dropped from 57 percent last year to 50 percent this year, while online grew from 38 percent to 43 percent."  The decline in television news use occurs across all three types of TV news asked about in the survey – local, network and cable – but is greatest for local television news," said Pew.  TV is already losing to online for everybody younger than 50.  Gee, I wonder if it has anything to do with the perception that TV news is heavily slanted in one direction.  Nah, that couldn't be.

THE NEW FAD – FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER:   Each morning in Paris, Michael (who requested a pseudonym because of privacy concerns), his wife and their 10-year-old son would stroll out of the Hotel George V, where suites can go for $5,000 a night, to meet their personal security detail: two strapping ex-military men who cost $2,000 a day.  “I’m not a worrywart,” said the 38-year-old, who runs a lending fund. “But once you start having kids, [you want] peace of mind against terrorism.”  Wealthy New Yorkers are increasingly turning to hard bodies to protect them during European vacations, particularly in cities such as London, Paris and Berlin that have been hit with high-profile terrorism, say security experts.  “I can’t fill them fast enough,” said CASS Global Security founder Shawn Engbrecht of requests for vacation bodyguards.  Rich people are hiring bodyguards to go to Disney World.  I'm sure this will become a social requirement in certain circles.  What, he has no bodyguard?  How important could he possibly be?

HEY, SOME MORE GOOD NEWS – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:   For a city that seems to move at the speed of light, being late is never a good thing. That’s true for budget agreements, that’s true for commuter trains, and as it turns out, it’s probably true for earthquakes as well.  We tend to think of seismic activity as a west coast problem. Friday demonstrated all too well what a magnitude 8.2 earthquake can do to Mexico and Central America; many of us remember the World Series quake that rocked the San Francisco area in 1989. But New York, which is actually riddled with faults, has a long history of earthquakes: On average, the region has witnessed a moderate quake (about a 5.0 on the Richter scale) every hundred years. The last one was in 1884. Seismologists say we can expect the next one any day now.  Schedule it right after the next hurricane.

September 9,  2017     Permalink

THE CONFIDENT NATION – AT 2:58 P.M. ET:  America's economic confidence is growing.  This is all to the good, as an economy is built partly on psychology.  From Gallup: 

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A new surge of optimism among U.S. investors has pushed the Wells Fargo/Gallup Investor and Retirement Optimism Index to its highest level since September 2000. The index, after rising in every quarter since the start of 2016, leveled off in the second quarter at +124 before rising to its current +138 in the third quarter.

The latest boost in optimism pushes the index almost 100 points higher than the +40 score measured in February 2016. The 98-point hike over the past 18 months is the largest increase in the 20-year history of the index that is not a rebound immediately after a major drop in optimism.

COMMENT:  Consumer Confidence, as measured by the Conference Board, is also up, creating a solid foundation for economic expansion and initiatives, like tax reform.

I think it's pretty clear that President Trump, despite his erratic behavior at times, has had a very positive effect on confidence, as he focused on growing the economy and bringing jobs back to America.  There's an old line, popularized by the 1992 Clinton campaign, "It's the economy, stupid."  It should be modified to read, "It's what people think about the economy."   The people are in a good place. 

Tax cut please.

September 9, 2017       Permalink

MOVING ON NORTH KOREA – AT 1:43 P.M. ET:  We're focused on the weather, but the North Korean threat is severe and present.

There is a legitimate concern that the Norks may try another missile launch this weekend, to coincide with the celebration of their country's founding.  We haven't been given any public information on whether we have a specific policy should the launch occur.  However, we will be at UN Monday with a tough proposal.  From, of all places, the left-wing Guardian:   

The US will embark on an aggressive effort to tighten North Korea’s isolation on Monday with a call for an oil embargo and a partial naval blockade.

A draft United Nations resolution seen by the Observer would also block textile exports and the hiring of North Korean labour by foreign countries. The American delegation has called for the UN security council to debate the draft, in an attempt to force decisive action following last Sunday’s massive nuclear test of a bomb, Pyongyang’s sixth.

The most striking language in the resolution authorises naval vessels of any UN member state to inspect North Korean ships suspected of carrying banned cargo and to use “all necessary measures to carry out such inspections”. The implications of such a resolution would be far-reaching. Any attempt to board or divert a North Korean vessel could trigger an exchange of fire.

As well as banning any exports of “crude oil, condensates, refined petroleum products, and natural gas liquids” to North Korea, the draft resolution calls for a prohibition on the import of textiles and an end to the hiring of North Korean nationals, on the grounds that the regime uses the foreign currency earned “to support its prohibited nuclear and ballistic missile programmes”.
Both Russia and China employ cheap North Korean labour. In Russia they work in logging camps and construction sites, helping build a new football stadium in St Petersburg that will be used in the World Cup next year.

The US draft measure would also freeze the assets of Kim Jong-un and the top leadership in Pyongyang.

It is highly doubtful that Russia or China would agree to all that, or even most of it.  The general feeling in diplomatic circles is that the U.S. would have to compromise severely to get any resolution through.  That may mean a nothingburger, having no effect in the real world.  However, there may be alternatives:

The Trump administration claims to have a “plan B” if the UN resolution fails. The president has threatened to cut off trade with any country that continues to do business with North Korea. And on Wednesday, the US treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, said documentation had been prepared to make that threat real if UN diplomacy failed.

COMMENT:  It reminds me of William Goldman's comment about Hollywood:  "Nobody knows anything."  We actually don't know what's in the minds of the North Korean leaders.  We speculate.  We calculate.  Some believe that the Norks just want to remain in power, and will do nothing that will jeopardize their political position.   Others argue that the regime, starting with Kim Jong-un at the top, is irrational and potentially genocidal, and must be attacked militarily and stripped of its nuclear weapons.

This is very dangerous, and an accident can happen.

September 9, 2017       Permalink

HURRICANE – AT 11:51 A.M. ET:  As we've said here, we're not weather reporters.  You'll do much better at the Weather Channel.

What I want to do regarding Hurricane Irma is examine the political and economic ramifications.

Thus far the political class in Florida, as in Texas with Hurricane Harvey, has been a remarkable success. As each day passes, the quality of the preparation and the organization remains impressive.  And President Trump is getting almost universally high grades for the way he's organized the federal government to respond to disaster.  Of course, there are some who blame him for the hurricanes, or who say that the weather is a Divine curse on Texas and Florida for voting Republican.  That's the Hollywood response.  They've just had one of their worst summers ever, and might consider trying to make a good movie now and then.

FEMA is an agency reborn.  It is providing solid service.  During Katrina, in Louisiana, it was ridiculed, although much of the ridicule was unfair. 

In the aftermath of the hurricanes we can expect to see an economic dip and a sharp rise in unemployment claims, almost all of the rise occurring in the states affected.  That will pass.  The president's approval rating, now at 46% in the Rasmussen Poll, will be sustained if Mr. Trump doesn't step all over himself.  The hurricane recovery can easily be a legitimate launching pad for his infrastructure program, which is critical and should gain widespread bipartisan support.  We may well see a national building program of unprecedented proportions, reminding us of President Eisenhower's national highway program in the 1950s.

Will the disasters, and the response to them, reset the Trump presidency?  I doubt if the overall aura will last long.  We are going into an intense political year, with Democrats knowing that they must make some progress in the 2018 midterms to be seen as a sustainable political party.   Republicans know that their "Republican" president, who has never actually been a party member, may turn against them if they don't produce. 

And North Korea looms.  There may well need to be military action.

September 9,  2017     Permalink