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JANUARY 18,  2017

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 9:05 P.M. ET: 

DEFENDING CNN – FROM THE HILL:  CNN President Jeff Zucker says President-elect Donald Trump's attacks on his network are an attempt to "delegitimize journalism,” adding that CNN's "credibility is higher than ever.”  "It’s just unfortunate that the most powerful person in the world is trying to delegitimize journalism and an organization that plays such a vital role in our democracy," Zucker told New York Magazine in an interview Wednesday.  "I think he’s entitled to his opinion, but it’s — to use one of his favorite words — sad."  No, what's sad is that CNN has become a predictable megaphone for the liberal left.  At times it's unwatchable...unless your flight is six hours late and you're sitting in an airport at 2 a.m.

CHELSEA SPEAKS – FROM THE HILL:  Chelsea Clinton urged supporters of her mother's presidential bid to keep fighting for their beliefs in a new interview with Refinery 29.  "Everything we believed before the election, we still believe," the former first daughter said. "Everything we worked so hard for, we have to continue to work hard for. It requires engagement in our own communities."  Clinton’s comments come just before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. Her mother, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, lost to Trump in a surprising defeat in November.  In the interview, Chelsea Clinton implored Democrats to use their frustrations for good by continuing to push for change.  "Use those emotions to engage and organize and advocate to protect and advance what you think matters most," Clinton said. "Whether that's combating climate change, or protecting women's rights, fighting against gun violence, or advocating for LGBTQ equality."   A classic display of why the Dems lost the election.  Note how she mentioned only the trendiest issues around – direct from the faculty lounges of the East and the studio offices of Hollywood.  How about things like employment, a strong national defense, peace, public safety?  Oh wait, those issues are taken – by the Republican Party.

TWO CAN PLAY AT THIS GAME – FROM THE DAILY MAIL:   The Wynn Las Vegas has removed all Tom Ford beauty products and eyewear from the resort after comments the designer made about Melania Trump.  Ford, 55, said during an appearance on The View in November that he would not be dressing Melania Trump while she was in the White House because his clothes are 'too expensive' for a first lady to wear, noting that in that position she would have to 'relate to everybody.'  Donald Trump responded to this by telling Ainsley Earhardt on Fox & Friends that Melania never asked Tom Ford to dress her.  'Never asked Tom Ford, doesn't like Tom Ford, doesn't like his designs,' said Trump.  He then went on to say: 'Tom Ford is an example. "I will not dress the First Lady." He was never asked to dress - and Steve Wynn just called me and he said he thought it was so terrible what Tom Ford said, that he threw his clothing out of his Las Vegas hotel.  Tom Ford has a perfect right to his opinion, and Steve Wynn has a perfect right to toss Ford's goods out of his hotel.  Wynn's action may prompt some self-celebrating celebrities to th7ink twice before they open their well-fed mouths.

January 18, 2017       Permalink

THE TRUMP EFFECT – AT 11:40 A.M. ET:   No doubt about it, there's a new psychology at work.  From Breitbart: 

The number of companies announcing investment — and in many cases a return to investment — in the U.S.A. with a corresponding rush to create jobs for Americans has continued to grow even before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

In the weeks after his election on November 8, a series of large corporations announced major initiatives to expand in the U.S. but, since then, the number has only grown.

By the middle of December, several companies had announced new jobs and expansion plans for the U.S., including Carrier Air Conditioner Manufacturing (1,000 Jobs), SoftBank Telecommunications (50,000 Jobs), U.S. Steel (10,000 Jobs), and IBM (25,000 Jobs). In addition, representatives of America’s small businesses noted that Trump’s election filled them with hope for a resurgence in startups and a new expansion phase for their constituents.

But since December, the number of companies announcing expansion plans for the U.S. have only grown. Other companies announcing large expansion projects include the following:

Ford: 700 Jobs to Start

As January began, Ford Motor Company went public to tell Donald Trump that they are ready to deal with the new administration and also noted that at least 700 new jobs were on the table with more to come as the year rolls onward.

SAP SE: 400 Jobs

German business-software maker SAP SE is adding nearly 400 jobs to its Pittsburgh and suburban Philadelphia facilities, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Amazon.com: 100,000 Jobs

Amazon is eyeing a huge expansion starting this year and recently announced it intended to add up to 100,000 workers to its retail staff in new facilities across the nation.

COMMENT:  The Dems will say, of course, that it's all a coincidence.  In fact, it's their favorite word.  It was all a coincidence that we won the Cold War on Reagan's watch.  It was a coincidence that Rudy Giuliani was able to lower the murder rate in New York City by 80 percent.  My, my, my, all those coincidences. 

In fact, corporations want to get right with the new president, and with the public that elected him.  This is the Trump effect. 

January 18, 2017       Permalink

GOOD ADVICE FROM A FAMOUS NAME – AT 10:47 A.M. ET:  And surprising advice for the Democrats, considering the source.  From the Boston Herald:

U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III, breaking ranks with other Democrats who are trashing President-elect Donald Trump and boycotting his inaugural, is imploring his party’s rank and file to figure out why middle American voters went Republican in November.

“Somewhere along the way, we lost their trust. We have to get it back,” Kennedy said, departing from many in his party who have sought to cast blame for the loss elsewhere.

Kennedy rallied roughly 160 Democrats in a high school cafeteria in deep-blue Newton, giving a brief outline of what he sees as the future of his party.

An important step, he said, is to find out why people voted for Trump, rather than reacting to everything he posts on Twitter.

“The danger with going down that road is that it risks distracting us from what the core message was on Nov. 7 and Nov. 8,” Kennedy said. “For some reason this time, they decided to trust Donald Trump with their vote.”

He said liberal voters need to find common ground with Trump supporters, and said berating them for their decision is the wrong way to win them back. “Folks, we lost their trust and being mortified and mystified about their vote doesn’t bring it back,” he said.

COMMENT:  Good words, but the Democrats show no intention of listening. It's always someone else's fault.  The dog ate the homework.  It was the Russians.  It was the FBI. 

The Democrats lost at every level, not just at the presidential level.  I've always believed the vote for Trump was primarily a vote against Democratic policies, a protest vote.  It was also a vote against political correctness and identity politics. But there are too many top Democrats who are invested in the very things that failed.  They will not change, and they never leave.  You sometimes get the feeling that the Democratic leadership remembers the Civil War. 

If Democrats do not change, they'll have only one route to renewed power – hoping that the Republicans fail badly.  And, of course, that could happen.

January 18, 2017       Permalink

THE OUTRAGE – AT 9:56 A.M. ET:  There's been much attention paid to President Obama's commutation of the prison sentence of Chelsea Manning, the man-turned-woman former soldier who gave away national-security secrets by the bucket load.

But here in New York, another act of "clemency" by our last-minute president is generating even more outrage, except on the hard left, which is welcoming it.  From the New York Daily News: 

The last imprisoned member of the Puerto Rican independence group that terrorized New York in the 1970s will be a free man in May — 20 years ahead of schedule.

President Obama granted a commutation Tuesday to FALN mastermind Oscar López Rivera, who’s served 35 years of his 55-year sentence.

During the 1970s and 80s, López Rivera was part of FALN, or Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional, a group seeking to liberate Puerto Rico from U.S. control.

FALN placed more than 130 bombs in American cities — including one in New York on Jan. 24, 1975. The explosive went off in busy Fraunces Tavern during lunch hour. Four people died, including Frank Connor, a 33-year-old father.

“I faced Lopez six years ago at his parole hearing ... If he had expressed any atonement, any sympathy or empathy ... we’d have recommended he be released. But he didn’t,” said Joe Connor, who was a 9-year-old when his father was killed.

And...

“Freeing a hard core terrorist is inexplicable,” said Michael Palladino, president of the Detectives’ Endowment Association. “The President is insensitive to the life-long injuries sustained by the Detectives who lost eyes, legs and fingers attempting to dismantle the bombs. He is ending his Presidency the way he started, disrespecting law enforcement and embracing criminals.”

COMMENT:  That is exactly right.  Obama's action is more salt in the wounds already suffered by police officers under his reign. 

Oh, by the way, the hard-left mayor of New York, an admirer of Fidel Castro, hailed the release.  No surprise there.  So did the speaker of the New York City Council, who comes from Puerto Rico.  Both the mayor's office and the speaker's office are five blocks from Ground Zero.

January 18,  2017     Permalink

JANUARY 17,  2017

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

ADVICE FOR TOURISTS – FROM LONDON'S MIRROR:  French people have been told not to fear wolves roaming Paris streets - as "they only eat four-legged animals".  Parisians are frightened that the endangered beasts - which have fought back from near extinction in the 1930s - are now within howling distance of the capital.  Indeed the discovery of paw prints, messy droppings and late-night howls from wolves - a distant relative of the domestic pet dog - are reported to be a now frequent occurrence in the city's suburbs.  While they are known to normally hunt in packs - when they are notoriously most dangerous - only lone wolves have been spotted so far wandering its streets.  Experts and eyewitnesses claim they are freely roaming French 'departments' (an administrative district) of Yvelines and Essone in Île-de-France - which overlaps with the Paris metropolitan area in the south and west - at night.  The French left will soon demand that the wolves be given the vote, the better to integrate them into French society.

HOW HELPFUL – FROM POLICE ONE:    WASHINGTON — Officers patrolling during the inauguration and days after will not be allowed to turn on their body cameras until they make an arrest.  A law bans officers in D.C. from recording demonstrators unless the officer has to take action and make an arrest, according to WJLA.  The ACLU said the camera shouldn’t be on because police shouldn’t be able to surveil first amendment activities.  “Our concern is around the availability of body cameras, what is done with that data, who looks at that data and what that data’s used for,” ACLU Spokeswoman Monica Hopkins-Maxwell told the news station.  While police won’t be allowed to film demonstrators, the ACLU is encouraging citizens to film police.  Along with citizens watching the police, federal law enforcement will be monitoring DC cops as well, the news station reported.   Must be fun to be a D.C. cop.  Much more fun to be a criminal.

OUTRAGE – FROM FOX:   Top Congressional Republicans condemned Tuesday the decision by President Barack Obama to commute former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning’s 35-year prison sentence for leaking classified documents.  House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., blasted the decision, calling it “outrageous.”  “Chelsea Manning’s treachery put American lives at risk and exposed some of our nation’s most sensitive secrets. President Obama now leaves in place a dangerous precedent that those who compromise our national security won’t be held accountable for their crimes,” Ryan said in a statement.  Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said the decision was a “grave mistake.”  "It is a sad, yet perhaps fitting commentary on President Obama’s failed national security policies that he would commute the sentence of an individual that endangered the lives of American troops, diplomats, and intelligence sources by leaking hundreds of thousands of sensitive government documents to Wikileaks, a virulently anti-American organization that was a tool of Russia’s recent interference in our elections."  As if Obama cares.

January 17,  2017     Permalink

NOT A TRIBUTE TO MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. – AT 11:31 A.M. ET:  From CBS, Chicago: 

CHICAGO (CBS) — At least 39 people have been shot across Chicago over the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday weekend, leaving 10 dead.

The latest killing happened at 11:36 a.m. Monday in the West Side Austin neighborhood, where a vehicle pulled up to 24-year-old Allante Elmore on a porch near his home in the 4800 block of West Hubbard, and shot him repeatedly, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he died.

About 1:10 a.m., 36-year-old Marlon Pollard was standing outside in the 2200 block of West Chicago in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood when someone in a black SUV opened fire, striking him in the abdomen, face and left leg. The Evanston resident died in less than an hour at Stroger, authorities said.

Early Sunday on the Near West Side, officers responded to a call of a person down about 5:30 a.m. in the 2600 block of West Van Buren and found a man in his 30s or 40s dead at the scene with a gunshot wound to the head, according to authorities, who were still working to identify him.

About 1:15 a.m., a 34-year-old man was gunned down in the Lawndale neighborhood on the West Side.He got into an argument with someone who shot him in the chest in the 4700 block of West Polk, police said. He died at Mount Sinai Hospital, authorities said. His name has not been released.

COMMENT:  This is what Donald Trump was referring to when he admonished Congressman John Lewis, the "civil rights icon," to pay more attention to the horror of the inner cities than to Mr. Trump's "legitimacy."  Trump was right.

January 17, 2017       Permalink

BETSY UP NEXT – AT 10:25 A.M. ET:  President-elect Trump's nomination of the brilliant and devoted Betsy DeVos to be secretary of education, will get the usual Democratic meat grinder approach as Ms. DeVos now comes up for confirmation.  From Fox:   

Three of the groups challenging the reform agenda of President-elect Donald Trump and his education secretary nominee Betsy DeVos received more than $2.6 million from teachers unions and their allies, according to federal labor filings.

DeVos, a pioneer in the school choice and charter school movements over the last two decades, has received vocal opposition from Democrats and some of the country’s most powerful unions. The National Education Association, American Federation of Teachers, and AFL-CIO, which serves as an umbrella group for dozens of unions including the AFT, have all called on the Senate to reject the nomination.

They have also pumped millions of dollars into think tanks and activist groups that have supplied Democrats with intellectual ammunition to oppose her.

DeVos, the head of the American Federation for Children, has come under scrutiny from a number of liberal groups and media outlets, along with unions. The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) and Center for American Progress (CAP) have each released reports critical of charter schools since President-elect Donald Trump announced the nomination in November.

COMMENT:  Once again we see how backward these "progressive" groups are.  They oppose any real school reform, especially if the reform threatens teachers' unions.

I am not anti-union.  I'm a union member.  But teachers' unions often don't act in the interest of children, but in their own interest alone.  Charter schools are a breath of fresh air in education, but they're a threat to union control of schools, and thus the Democrats oppose them.  Children?  Who needs children? 

It goes beyond this.  Like any thoughtful educator, Ms. DeVos wants to clean up the swamp known as the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Education – the so-called "Title IX" office.  This office promulgates regulations right out of the Kremlin playbook.  Students accused of offenses like sexual violence, the campus term for rape, are often denied even the basics of due process as they try to defend themselves.  The standard of evidence decried by this federal office is so low that a ham sandwich could be convicted. 

Ms. DeVos has been accused by the modern McCarthyites of making financial contributions to FIRE, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.  This is one of the finest, fairest organizations I've seen developed in my lifetime.  It is a model civil rights group, fighting against lynch-mob justice on college campuses, and for basic Constitutional rights for college students and faculty.  But it is a threat to the Title IX industry, and thus is being smeared as some kind of dark force. 

I think Betsy will win out, and the real forces of darkness defeated.

January 17, 2017      Permalink

THREE MORE DAYS! – AT 9:51 A.M. ET:  And the tension builds in Washington, which is bracing for what could be a frightening inauguration day.  From Scott Johnson at Powerline: 

The leftover left that materialized during the Bush administration is returning in force as of January 20. Whatever they do to disrupt events related to the inauguration of Donald Trump as president, it is a preview of coming attractions.

Alex Pfeiffer’s Daily Caller report links to undercover audio posted by FOX News. Jim Hoft seems to be in their sights. Rick Moran notes at American Thinker “Inauguration protests could get very ugly.”

The leftist groups seeking to disrupt the inauguration have formed a front under the name DisruptJ20 (January 20), of which the DC Antifascist Coalition seems to be a constituent. James O’Keefe’s Project Veritas has released the first of a series of undercover videos (below) that features planning to disrupt one event. Stink bombs figure prominently, but that “DC Antifascist Coalition” moniker is a stink bomb all by itself. It harks back to the Communist Party’s Popular Front in the days before World War II. The Popular Front survived as a supposed antiwar movement until the day the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union.

Project Veritas has posted the video along with its own account here. Joseph Klein has a useful overview at FrontPage.

COMMENT:  This is truly chilling stuff.  Scott's report, above, has a number of useful links.  I suggest you read the whole report and use the links.  What Scott presents is a picture of old-style hard-left violence or near-violence.  I saw it many times during the Vietnam War. 

This isn't funny.  Some of these hard-left groups are getting, if not outright approval, then an approving glance, from the left-wing fringe of the Democratic Party.  C.N. (Certified Nutbag) Maxine Waters, congresswoman of California, is already talking impeachment of the president. 

Joe McCarthy must be pleased.  Today he has so many disciples on the political left.

January 17,  2017     Permalink