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SEPTEMBER 21,  2017

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:56 P.M. ET: 

IMPRESSIVE AND HONEST – FROM CNN:  Washington (CNN) Education Secretary Betsy DeVos uses her own private plane for work trips and pays for it herself, her office said Thursday.  Her office told CNN she has never requested the use of any government aircraft. The Associated Press first reported the arrangement.  DeVos is extremely wealthy; Forbes has estimated her worth at upwards of $1 billion.  Rich lady contributes financially to government, and does a great job.  The establishment hates her.

EMBARRASSMENT – FROM CNSNEWS.COM:  (CNSNews.com) - Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), who previously has called for the impeachment of Donald Trump, on Thursday told a Congressional Black Caucus Town Hall on Civil Rights that she expects other members of the black community to back her up:  “Don't come here and tell me, ‘Maxine, you keep on doing what you do.’ But when you gonna give me some support?” she asked. “How many of you in your organizations have said, 'Impeach 45' ?”  The fact that this nutcase is taken seriously shows how low the Democratic Party has sunk. 

PRESS FREEDOM AT PRINCETON – FROM COLLEGE FIX:  Leaders of the student newspaper at Princeton University have disbanded the publication’s independent editorial board, a move that comes after the group put forth a string of right-leaning opinions, including denouncing the women’s center for its radical feminist agenda and arguing in favor of due process.  “The top editors of the Prince have no involvement in what we write,” said Jack Whelan, a member of the dissolved editorial board, in an interview with The College Fix. “The reason why were we were destroyed is the opinions we published on a regular basis were more conservative than the opinions published on a daily basis in the Princetonian as a whole.”  Only certain opinions are allowed.  Once a great university.

September 21,  2017     Permalink

AFGHAN PRESIDENT ENDORSES TRUMP STRATEGY – AT 11:34 A.M. ET:   Trump is a serious president.  Even some journalists are starting to get that.  And he is changing our foreign and defense policies for the better.  The president of Afghanistan, where we have troops in combat, likes what he sees.  From the Washington Times: 

President Trump received glowing praise Thursday from Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani for the new war strategy, which was credited for turning around the 16-year war against Taliban militants and other radical Islamic terrorists.

“It is a difference of day and night,” Mr. Ghani said at a meeting with Mr. Trump. “The cloud of uncertainty has been lifted, but equally important is your commitment to a political solution at the end of this process.”

Mr. Trump announced the new strategy a month ago. It included setting long-term goals for the war effort, sending more U.S. troops to train and assist the Afghan military and revisions rules of engagement.

Before Mr. Trump took office, President Obama had begun a drawdown of U.S. troops and then halted the pullout as conditions deteriorated.

“You made this decision on the basis of courage and determination. We salute you,” Mr. Ghani said of the renewed commitment to the war.

COMMENT:  I get the feeling that many foreign leaders, outside the decadent orbit of Western Europe, are far more impressed with Trump than they ever were with Obama.  They may not be able to say it publicly just yet, but they will.

September 21, 2017       Permalink

THE LAST-CHANCE EFFORT AT OBAMACARE REPLACEMENT – AT 10:38 A.M. ET:  The Republicans in the Senate are trying to pass legislation that will replace Obamacare with block grants to states.  Not the greatest idea, but better than what we have now.  But even this might not get through some determined opposition from within their own party.  From AP:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump said Wednesday the Republicans' last-resort "Obamacare" repeal effort remains two or three votes short, forecasting days of furious lobbying ahead with a crucial deadline looming next week.

The legislation by Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina would repeal major pillars of former President Barack Obama's health law, replacing them with block grants to states to design their own health care programs. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is trying to round up 50 votes to pass the legislation before Sept. 30, when special rules preventing a Democratic filibuster will expire.

"We think this has a very good chance, Obamacare is only getting worse," Trump told reporters covering the U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York, as he prepared to meet Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. "At some point the Senate is going to be forced to make a deal."

By his reckoning, "we're at 47 or 48 already, senators, and a lot of others are looking at it very positively."

Trump's comments came several hours after McConnell's office announced that the majority leader's "intention" is to bring the legislation to the Senate floor next week, a question McConnell was noncommittal on a day earlier. After the embarrassing defeat of an earlier repeal bill in July, some Republicans believe McConnell would bring a bill to the floor only with the votes in hand.

COMMENT:  This will be a tight, tension-ridden situation, which might require Vice President Pence to break a tie.

Democrats will not provide a single vote.  Republicans aren't even trying to get Democratic senators on board, so bad is the partisanship.  But should the Republican proposal pass the Senate, the momentum could build in the House, and repeal-and-replacement of Obamacare could become a reality.

September 21, 2017       Permalink

THOSE NORTH KOREAN MISSILES – AT 10:14 A.M. ET:   This article articulates, with excellent reporting, something that is being whispered about regularly:  Do the United States, Japan, and Korea actually have the ability to shoot down North Korean missiles, or are our abilities far less than Americans think?  From the Australian source, news.com.au: 

The Patriot and Standard interceptor missiles currently stationed in and around Japan are advanced. But they’re not the latest technology.

New SM-3 Block IIA Standard missiles are being deployed by the United States. These are supposed to fly higher, faster - and with greater accuracy.

But they’ve also failed several tests.

This is not uncommon for missile interceptors.

Generally tests are conducted under optimal conditions. Launch times, directions and trajectories are often known in advance.

Yet, disturbingly frequently, the tests still fail.

Real-world operational conditions will likely reduce their success rate even further.

There are a few apparent aces up the West’s sleeve.

A new version of the Standard Missile, the SM-6, was test fired from a destroyer on August 30 - successfully downing a medium range ballistic missile in its final seconds of flight in its first attempt.

Then there’s highly-publicised successor to the Patriot air defence system - the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence system (THAAD). This has been hyped as having a “perfect record on launches” with a claimed track record of 14 kills out of 14 targets so far.

It has also been deployed to Guam and South Korea.

But even this has not been extensively tested against ballistic missiles.

One timely test, however, did prove promising. In July a THAAD system in Alaska successfully downed a mid-range projectile.

But it is only able to intercept intermediate (such as the HS-12) and short range missiles.

The bad news is, in August, North Korea successfully tested its first intercontinental ballistic missile. This appears to be outside THAAD’s scope.

COMMENT:  Read the whole piece.  It is speculative, of course, as the writer might not know all he needs to know about our latest advances.  But it is very cautionary.

Just what are our capabilities?  Are we up to date, or behind the times?  If a missile is fired at Guam, and we launch a number of interceptor missiles, and they fail, what happens to American deterrence and American prestige? 

This is important.

September 21,  2017     Permalink

SEPTEMBER 20,  2017

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

A CONSTANT SERVING OF NUTTINESS – FROM DAILY CALLER:   Hillary Clinton compared herself to Revolutionary War hero Paul Revere on Tuesday, saying that she is “Paula Revere” sounding the alarm on Russian active measures during the 2016 presidential campaign.  “I don’t think anybody can with a straight face say that the Russians did not set out to influence our election, and they did so,” Clinton said during an interview on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”  I can just imagine her in a Mercedes, speeding through Martha's Vineyard shouting, "The Russians are coming!  The Russians are coming!" 

FRANCE COMES AROUND – FROM AFP:  France’s President Emmanuel Macron declared Wednesday that the Iran nuclear deal is no longer a sufficient safeguard against the growing power that Tehran wields in its region.  “We need the 2015 accord,” he said of the agreement. “Is this accord enough? It is not, given the growing pressure that Iran is applying in the region.”  Macron was speaking in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, while ministers from Iran the six world powers that signed the accord met to discuss it.  France has been a firm backer of the nuclear deal with Iran, but Trump has developed a very good relationship with Macron, and now Macron is calling for improvement in the deal.  Bringing France on board is a significant Trump achievement.

SPENDTHRIFT PETS! – FROM NEWS.COM.AU:  Buddy the parrot showed he’s a pretty clever boy by mimicking his owner to go shopping via Amazon’s Alexa voice-controlled system.  Shocked owner Corienne Pretorius could not work out how she had requested a $16 set of gift boxes until she realised her African grey had bought them.  The five-year-old pet had impersonated one of her conversations and placed the order while she was out.  Buddy activated her $250 Amazon Echo smart speaker, which connects to the internet shopping giant’s artificial intelligence hub.  That's nothing.  My Australian terrier got free shipping.

September 20,  2017     Permalink

SOUTH KOREA BACKS TRUMP – AT 12:41 P.M. ET:  America's most critical partner in the confrontation with North Korea is, of course, South Korea.  Without the South's backing, any policy we pursue would be wobbly at best.  South Korea is stepping up.  From Daily Mail:   

SEOUL/TOKYO, Sept 20 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's speech to the United Nations, where he warned he would "totally destroy" North Korea if threatened, reinforced the need for Pyongyang to realise it must give up its nuclear weapons, South Korea said on Wednesday.

In a hard-edged speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, Trump mocked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as a "rocket man" for his repeated ballistic missile tests.

"We view the speech as portraying a firm and specific stance on the key issues regarding keeping peace and safety that the international community and the United Nations are faced with," the office of South Korean President Moon Jae-in said in a statement on Wednesday.

"It clearly showed how seriously the United States government views North Korea's nuclear programme as the president spent an unusual amount of time discussing the issue," the presidential Blue House's statement said.

Trump's speech "reaffirmed that North Korea should be made to realize denuclearisation is the only way to the future through utmost sanctions and pressure", it said.

Moon came to power in May on a platform of more engagement with North Korea. Since Pyongyang's sixth and largest nuclear test earlier on Sept. 3, however, Moon has said the time is not right for dialogue.

He and Trump plan to meet in New York early on Wednesday U.S. time, Moon's office said.

COMMENT:  Trump has a number of high-level meetings today.  He has brought South Korea around to his point of view.  He is emerging as an effective president, despite the noise from the left.

September 20, 2017       Permalink

GRAND ADMIRAL KERRY SPEAKS – AT 11:41 A.M. ET:  We've waited patiently for the reaction of former Secretary of State John Kerry to President Trump's UN speech.  It has come.  From US News:   

Former Secretary of State John Kerry says President Donald Trump's United Nations speech may have put America in isolation and danger.

Appearing on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" show Wednesday, Kerry criticized Trump's harsh rhetoric against North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Kerry said, "You have to ask yourself: Is America safer because of 'rocket man?" He was referring to Trump's characterization of Kim.

Kerry said that kind of harsh language will make it harder for the United States to engage in diplomacy on North Korea and other international issues.

Kerry also charged that Trump emphasized his "America First" mantra mostly to please his supporters at home rather than the world community. "You give a speech at the United Nations to bring people to the table," he added.

COMMENT:  You know, I could understand Kerry's logic if he had a single success as secretary of state.  But he didn't.  The Iran nuclear deal, his crowning achievement, was, as President Trump correctly said, an embarrassment to the United States. 

As far as engaging in diplomacy with North Korea, hasn't that been tried for, like, 23 years or so?  Could Grand Admiral Kerry inform us of the outcome?

Kerry is the ultimate establishment guy.  Style counts.  Results don't.  Maybe the American people caught on to that fraud when they elected Trump last November.

Mr Kerry should join another former secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, in some retirement enterprise.  A little flower shop would be nice.

September 20, 2017       Permalink

THE GROWING CONCERN – AT 10:29 A.M. ET:  Even some Trump haters are dismayed at the reports that Trump Tower may well have been wiretapped by federal officials.  The information leaked out just as the president was making what many of us believe was a triumphant speech at the UN.  From the great Michael Goodwin at the New York Post:

Yet even as Trump spoke, a threat to his presidency gained new steam. Reports that special counsel Robert Mueller had wiretapped former Trump campaign boss Paul Manafort and plans to indict him sent Washington into a new tizzy of speculation.

According to CNN, which first carried the wiretapping report, Manafort was surveilled under a FISA warrant, meaning the FBI suspected he was operating as a foreign agent. The network said it is possible G-men listened to the president talking to Manafort because the wiretap continued into this year and Trump and Manafort often talked in 2017.

If so, that would mark an infamous history — an American president being overheard by secret agents of his own government.

It would also be additional support for Trump’s charge that former President Barack Obama “had my ‘wires tapped’ in Trump Tower just before the victory.”

It was in March when Trump made that explosive claim, and the Democratic media rushed to denounce him even before Obama did. Subsequent denials from then-FBI boss James Comey and other Obama aides all were rock-solid in declaring that no such thing had happened. There was no wiggle room in their denials, some of which were made under oath before Congress.

But something certainly happened. And what if it was the worst imaginable something? What if the Republican candidate for president was put under surveillance by a Democratic administration that was trying to elect another Democrat?

COMMENT:  This is a grave matter, and one calling for the immediate attention of Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

The real story may not be any collusion between Trump people and Russia, a charge utterly unproved at this point, but Obama administration spying on a presidential campaign.  Mr. Sessions, what do you say?

September 20, 2017       Permalink