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NOVEMBER 14,  2017

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:51 P.M. ET: 

PRETTY DISGRACEFUL – FROM NTK:   Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) informed NBC’s Chuck Todd on Tuesday that $15 million in taxpayer money had been paid out over the years to settle sexual harassment suits filed against members of Congress.  Earlier in the day, Speier testified in front of the House Administration Committee that two members of Congress, a Republican and a Democrat, have engaged in sexual harassment in the past.  Todd asked Speier about her allegations of sexual harassment and what she believes her responsibility is in going public with that information.  “Well, it is my responsibility to address the seriousness of this issue. These survivors are subject to a non-disclosure agreement. I’m not going to violate their non-disclosure agreement,” Speier responded.  I'm really not surprised.  Womanizing is a Washington tradition, and most people get away with it.

GREAT USE OF RESOURCES – NOT – FROM FOX:  The cyclist who famously flipped off President Donald Trump's motorcade has been showered with cash after her action got her fired from her job.  Juli Briskman was riding her bike on the same Virginia road as the president's motorcade last month when she decided to show the commander-in-chief what she thinks about him.  Briskman said she made eye contact with Secret Service as she raised her middle finger.  Briskman's government contractor employer, Akima LLC, said a viral photo of her gesture violated their social media policy, and they terminated her.  In the days since, a GoFundMe page has raised more than $80,000 of its $100,000 goal for the unemployed 50-year-old marketing executive.  Maybe she should use the money to go to growing-up school.

MADNESS – FROM FOX:   At least five foreign nationals with suspected ties to terror resettled in the U.S. through the same visa lottery program that allowed NYC terror suspect Sayfullo Saipov into the country, the Trump administration said Tuesday.  Saipov, the ISIS sympathizer who allegedly committed the Halloween terror attack in Lower Manhattan that left eight dead and 11 more injured, entered the U.S. from Uzbekistan in 2010 through the visa lottery program.  The visa "lottery," also known as the Diversity Visa Waiver Program, grants up to 50,000 immigrant visas annually, “drawn from random selection among all entries to individuals who are from countries with low rates of immigration” to the U.S., according to U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services.  Hey, put Americans at risk.  You gotta do something for diversity.

November 14, 2017       Permalink

ALL HILLARY ALL THE TIME – AT 3:08 P.M. ET:   Her name keeps coming up.  It's so unfair.  Why can't we just give her the White House for 30 days, just so she feels good about herself?  From PJ Media: 

European Islamist scion Tariq Ramadan was banned from the U.S. by the Bush administration in February 2004 for his financial support of a charity that funded terrorist groups. In January 2010, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton overturned that ban. Clinton personally approved a visa for the controversial grandson of the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Now, Tariq Ramadan is facing multiple accusations of rape and sexual assault of minors.

Hillary Clinton's visa for Tariq Ramadan was seen as part of the new Obama administration policy of embracing more hardcore Islamists.

COMMENT:  Lots of explaining to do here.  The Obama administration turned a blind eye to the sins of many, especially those in the Islamic world.

So Hillary overturned the ban on this chap herself, and now he's facing serious sex charges.  Didn't anyone from our security services check him out?  He's a very prominent figure. 

Please note that there is no comment from Hillary Clinton, noted fighter for women's rights.  Choke.

November 14, 2017       Permalink

QUOTE OF THE DAY – AT 11:18 A.M. ET:  The president is coming home from Asia.  The anti-Trump knives are out.  More sober voices know what has happened.  From DC Whispers:

And despite the media’s fake obsession with Russia these days, it is China that poses the single greatest challenge to U.S. superiority throughout the world. It has been China that has expanded the scope of its economy and influence by leaps and bounds nearly unchecked by any rival, America or other, for some fifty years. Then came Donald Trump, a political outsider but a worldly man familiar with the workings of Chinese government and business. Mr. Trump strode up to China’s President Xi, firmly grasped his hand, looked him in the eyes, and delivered an unapologetic “America First” message that sent ripples of stunned admiration through the entire delegation.

It was glorious. The Establishment Media will never report that fact. It will never participate in the truth of how strong and proud is Mr. Trump’s representation of this nation as he stands literally and figuratively towering over other world leaders.

COMMENT:  Very well said.  With less than a year in office, President Trump, despite his failings, has transformed American foreign policy from an excuse to an assertion.

He is proudly pro-American, and he is truly working to Make America Great Again.  Foreign leaders may not like him, but they must respect his firmness and his dedication to his country.

Read the whole piece.

November 14, 2017       Permalink

ANOTHER GREAT VICTORY FOR SOCIALISM – AT 9:14 A.M. ET:  Venezuela is nosediving.  Hollywood leftists are rushing into therapy to deal with it.  From Bloomberg:

Venezuela’s grand gathering with creditors Monday lasted all of 30 minutes and didn’t produce anything of substance. To make matters worse, S&P Global Ratings declared the country in default while Fitch Ratings cited missed payments by the state oil company.

The actions from the ratings companies came after an odd spectacle in Caracas, where bond investors who made the trek found a red-carpet welcome, an honor guard salute and gift bags stuffed with state-produced chocolate and coffee. Fewer than 100 creditors showed up at the downtown Caracas office building, and at least one hightailed it out after realizing that two government officials sanctioned by the U.S. were in attendance, fearful of violating rules governing interactions with them.

He didn’t miss much. Very little was announced and nothing was resolved, according to attendees who said they left just as confused about the government’s intentions as they were going in. Vice President Tareck El Aissami was the only official to speak, and devoted most of his prepared remarks to railing against Donald Trump and global financiers who he said have conspired to keep the country from making debt payments on time. He pledged the nation would continue to honor its obligations and work with bondholders to find new ways to get them their money, but offered no concrete proposals for restructuring.

COMMENT:   Ah yes, it's Trump's fault.  We await confirmation of that from financial authority Maxine (Auntie Maxine) Waters.

Venezuela is down the drain. 

November 14,  2017     Permalink

NOVEMBER 13,  2017

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

NOT A TRUMP HOTEL – FROM BLOOMBERG:   The first thing you’ll see when you walk into Eaton Workshop, a hotel opening in late spring 2018 in Washington, is a custom-commissioned video art installation by AJ Schnack, shown on a series of vintage-style television screens. All day long, it’ll broadcast a montage of footage from the presidential elections of 2012 and 2016 that’s built around one pointed question: How did our country get where it is today?  It’s not a subtle statement, and it’s not meant to be.  In Trump’s Washington, Eaton is planting a clear flag as a haven for Democrats. It’s the world’s first politically motivated hotel, the flagship for a global brand that’s built around social activism and community engagement. And it comes with a pedigree: As the daughter of Ka Shui Lo, the creator and executive chairman of Hong Kong-based Langham Hospitality Group Ltd., founder Katherine Lo knows a thing or two about luxury hotels and world-class service.  Avoid when in Washington.

BIDEN IN THE CLOUDS – FROM THE WASHINGTON TIMES:   Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden told an NBC audience Monday that he wouldn’t worry much about a potential 2020 matchup against President Trump because he’s “Middle-class Joe.”  A hypothetical election showdown between Mr. Biden, who would be 77, and Mr. Trump was laid before a “Megyn Kelly Today” audience to start the week when the former vice president said blue-collar voters “love” him more than the president. He said that while he is still unsure about future plans, his connection with middle-class voters is not in doubt.  “You’ve already run twice and lost,” Ms. Kelly said. “You’d have to promise that it would be one term only. And the blue-collar Rust Belters who you’d need to get elected already love [President] Donald Trump.”  “They love me more, but you’re right — all the first part is correct,” Mr. Biden replied, The Washington Free Beacon reported. “I understand the Rust Belt. Donald Trump has no notion what those people are going through.  “They call me ‘Middle-class Joe,’” Mr. Biden continued.  Strange, I've never heard anyone call him "Middle-class Joe."  Not when he was vice president under "Grab Every Million Obama." 

IMMIGRATION TO LONDON – FROM THE DAILY MAIL:   More than six in ten babies born in London hospitals have foreign mothers who are either immigrants or visiting from abroad, official figures show.  The evidence of the impact of immigration on the NHS was revealed in a breakdown of hospital records for last year published by the Office for National Statistics.  It comes amid concerns about the effects of fast-rising population levels and the cost to the public of health tourism. It also comes as the Health Service faces a shortfall of 3,500 midwives.  In one London hospital nearly four out of five births were to mothers born abroad, and in two others the figure was over 70 per cent.  Legal immigration is fine, but let's be clear about its effects.  It eventually changes a nation, for better or worse.  If the immigrants wish to be part of the nation, and absorb its culture and ideals, the nation is helped.  If they want to tear down the nation and replace it, the result can be catastrophic.

November 13, 2017        Permalink

MITCH KNIFES ROY – AT 12:41 P.M. ET:   Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has lowered the boom on Roy Moore.  From The Hill: 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Monday called for GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore to "step aside."

"I think he should step aside," McConnell said during a tax reform press conference in Louisville, Ky., when asked about the calls from his Senate colleagues for Moore to leave the race.

Moore has been under growing pressure from Republicans to drop out of the Senate race after The Washington Post published a story containing allegations that Moore pursued an inappropriate sexual relationship with a teenage girl.

When pressed about the allegations, McConnell said, "I believe the women."

The Post's story last week detailed an account from Leigh Corfman, now 53, who said she had a sexual encounter with Moore in 1979, when she was 14 years old and he was 32.

The report also included accounts from three other women who said Moore attempted to court them around that time, when they were between 16 and 18 years old.

Even if Moore withdraws from the Senate race — something he has said he will not do — Republicans are stuck with his name remaining on the ballot.

The deadline for the party to remove Moore's name from the ballot passed in October, though Republicans could mount a write-in challenge. Republicans have also floated trying to move back the December election date.

COMMENT:   Look, as we've noted here before, the GOP establishment dislikes Moore intensely, and did so even before these new allegations.  They consider him a renegade and a pain in the neck.  The allegations provide a convenient reason for kicking him out, if they can.

November 13, 2017       Permalink

THE TAX BILL – AT 10:31 A.M. ET:  Reports from Washington tell us that the GOP tax bill is making progress, although it's actually two bills - one in the House, the other in the Senate.  But both bills have some important items in common.  From Lawrence Kudlow at Investor's Business Daily:   

As the House and Senate work their way through the tax cut and reform effort, let me make one thing clear: Both plans are pro-growth, with the economic power coming from the business side.

And where it comes from the personal side, there will be very little growth. That has always been the bet.

During the spring and summer of 2016, economist Steve Moore and I, working with Trump campaign officials Steven Mnuchin and Stephen Miller, saw major tax reductions for large and small businesses as the centerpiece of the candidate's tax policy. Whatever Congress came up with on the personal side, so be it.

So, one way or another -- even with the glitches and differences between the House and Senate tax plans -- Congress will come up with a significant pro-growth bill because business tax cuts are still the centerpiece. And they should do it this year.

I spoke at a Senate Republican breakfast in Washington, D.C., last Tuesday. The whole leadership was there. And I observed a total commitment among the GOP senators to get a tax bill through by year-end. This will not be another health care breakdown.

Particularly after recent GOP electoral setbacks, the party knows it needs a strong tax-cut and economic-growth narrative for the 2018 midterms. If Republicans don't get it, they'll lose control of Congress. And if they do get it, they may pick up seats.

The political stakes are high.

As mentioned, there are glitches in both the Senate and House tax plans. But most of them can be corrected. And the differences between the two plans should narrow in conference.

COMMENT:  Well, okay, but I think Kudlow, whom I admire, underestimates the importance, both financial and political, of the personal side.   The GOP must satisfy the Trump base, or there won't be a base.

November 13, 2017       Permalink

PRESIDENT RISES – AT 9:51 A.M. ET:  We should note that the Rasmussen poll tilts a bit more toward Trump than some of the others, but has a solid record of accuracy.  It shows a jump in presidential approval.  From Rasmussen, this morning: 

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows that 46% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Trump’s job performance. Fifty-three percent (53%) disapprove.

The latest figures include 30% who Strongly Approve of the way the president is performing and 44% who Strongly Disapprove. This gives him a Presidential Approval Index rating of -14. (see trends)

Regular updates are posted Monday through Friday at 9:30 a.m. Eastern.

The government jobs report for October showed the hurricane-hit U.S. economy rebounding strongly, with the unemployment rate down now to 4.1%, the lowest level since 2000.

Economic confidence remains high. The latest Rasmussen Reports Consumer Spending Update shows that Americans are ready to spend for the holidays.

COMMENT:  The president isn't out of the woods, and this new polling number of 46% probably reflects reaction to his successful Asian tour.  But that is not a bad number at all.  Obama spent a good chunk of his presidency in the low 40s, although the media doesn't normally mention it.

November 13,  2017     Permalink