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SUBSCRIPTION DRIVE – HELP NEEDED!

VERY SLUGGISH IN OUR SECOND WEEK; WE ARE FAILING TO MEET OUR GOALS;  PLEASE SUBSCRIBE OR DONATE.  OUR CAUSE IS JUST. 

This week we launch the final subscription drive of the year.  We depend on subscriptions and donations to keep going.  We lean heavily on them to cover the rising costs of research, modernizing of technology, and renting the bandwith to stay on the internet. 

We have a superb, self-selected readership that is both mature and sane.  In our almost 11 years of posting we have expelled only one subscriber, and we got an apology from his wife. 

As a subscriber or donator you will receive our twice-a-week emailed page called The Angel's Corner, which contains our Forum.  You may submit posts to the Forum of any reasonable length and on any subject you choose.  It is our most popular feature.   But the most important reason to subscribe or donate is to keep Urgent Agenda coming to you. 

To participate, simply go to the right-hand column, opposite this appeal. You'll see SUBSCRIPTIONS.  You may subscribe or donate using PayPal or any of the other methods listed.  We especially recommend SENDINC, as it has proved so popular with our members.  Instructions are given.  If you wish to use regular mail, send me an email at comments@urgentagenda.com, and I'll give you the address of our armed bunker.

I hope you join us.

NOVEMBER 23,  2018

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

GOOD –FROM ABC NEWS:   Abortions are down to the lowest rate since the landmark case Roe v. Wade legalized a woman’s right to abortion in 1973, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  From 2006 until 2015, the total number of reported abortions decreased by 24 percent — from more than 840,000 in 2006 to about 638,000 in 2015, the report found.  The CDC also focused on two other measures that reached their lowest level over the same time period: the total number of abortions in the population, or the abortion rate, which decreased 26 percent, and the proportion of all pregnancies that end in abortion rather than birth, or the abortion ratio, which decreased 19 percent.  The trend is good.  No matter how one feels about Roe, abortion is not a positive thing in itself.  It challenges the Biblical command to choose life.

DECENCY – FROM THE WASHINGTON FREE BEACON:   Exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui announced this week he is creating a $100 million fund to aid the victims of Chinese communist repression under current leader Xi Jinping.  Guo announced the creation of the fund, which will also be used to finance investigations into Chinese government financial activities and those of its supporters in the West, at press conference in New York City on Tuesday.  The former Chinese insider also revealed in a presentation for reporters details on the disappearance, imprisonment, or death of 56 prominent Chinese nationals, including the mysterious death in July of Wang Jian, one of China's wealthiest business leaders.  "A lot of people lost their freedom, a lot of people disappeared," Guo said through an interpreter. "What we see here is the tip of the iceberg."   If handled correctly, and with respect for civil liberties, this could be a step forward.  China is not our friend, and it must be resisted, even if that means a cold war.

THE MARCH OF SOCIALISM – FROM BLOOMBERG:   Venezuela’s fuel shortages are worsening as mass resignations at the state oil company’s tanker fleet have delayed gasoline shipments.  Petroleos de Venezuela SA’s refineries are running at less than a quarter of their capacity, forcing the country to rely on imported gasoline. Once the cargoes are unloaded at import docks, smaller ships distribute fuel to terminals along the coast, where its loaded on trucks to refuel inland stations. But as Venezuelan tankers lose engineers and helmsmen, delivery delays are becoming increasingly frequent, according to people with knowledge of the situation.  Gasoline lines are one of the challenges of daily life in Venezuela, along with the scarcity of basic goods, regular power outages and a lack of public transport. Gas prices are still the among the cheapest in the world, with the black market rate earlier this month less than one cent per gallon. Maduro has yet to increase prices after vowing to do so at the end of September.  Maybe we should send down some of those Hollywood actors who supported the Venezuelan socialist revolution.  They could pump oil and write checks.

November 23, 2018       Permalink

WELCOME TO WASHINGTON POLITICS – AT 11:20 A.M. ET:   The Dems win one election and make it clear that Deep State is back in power.  Get out your cynicism detectors.  From the Washington Free Beacon: 

Rep. Marcia Fudge (D., Ohio) announced Tuesday she would be supporting House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's (D., Calif.) bid for speaker of the House just hours after Pelosi announced that she was planning to revive the House Administration subcommittee on elections and make Fudge the chair.

Fudge, who had been mulling a potential bid to challenge Pelosi in January's Democratic leadership elections, released a statement saying that she was joining her colleagues to support the leadership team of Pelosi, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D., Md.), and House Assistant Minority Leader James Clyburn (D., S.C.)

"My consideration [for speaker] was due in large part to the lack of sustained efforts that ensure diversity, equity and inclusion at all levels of the House. Further, despite the great success we experienced on November 6, voter protection and voter integrity are still at risk," Fudge said. "The erosion of voting rights and civil rights was on full display in Georgia, Florida, North Dakota, Ohio, and Texas."

Translated:  1) I got the job I wanted; 2) It's all about me; 3) Any Republican elected in the states I name is not legitimate.

Seems like old times.

November 23, 2018       Permalink 

A THANKSGIVING PRESIDENTIAL REPORT – AT 10:08 A.M. ET:  Guess who came to dinner at the presidential resort?  From Breitbart: 

President Donald Trump extended an invitation to the media on Thursday, welcoming them for Thanksgiving dinner at his club at Mar-a-Lago.

The dinner at Mar-a-Lago was off the record, but all of the media outlets paid for the journalists’ dinner, according to a New York Times reporter present for the Thanksgiving evening.

Both President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump stopped by and wished the press a happy Thanksgiving.

Later in the evening, reporters were brought into the ballroom where the Trump family was celebrating Thanksgiving.

The Trump’s menu included:

Full salad bar including Caesar, wedge, tomato/mozzarella, and Greek salads, deviled eggs, and duck prosciutto & melon.

Chilled seafood display w Florida stone crab, oysters, jumbo shrimp, and clams.

A carving station with turkey and all the trimmings, beef tenderloin, lamb and salmon.
Entrees of Chilean Sea bass, Red Snapper, Braised short ribs. Sides include whipped potatoes, sweet potatoes, vegetables and traditional stuffing.

There was a performance of “Music of the Night” from Phantom of the Opera as the press pool entered, a song that the president chose for the occasion.

(The press confirmed later that romaine lettuce was not used in any of the Thanksgiving dishes.)

COMMENT:  I love the comment that their media outlets paid for the journalists' dinner.  All that virtue signaling.  "We will not be bought!"

Just get the stories right, okay?  You can accept some chow.

November 23, 2018       Permalink

NOVEMBER 22,  2018

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:06 P.M. ET: 

IS THIS HILLARY? – FROM THE HILL:  Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is calling on European leaders to enact stricter immigration policies in order to counter the growing threat of right-wing populism on the continent.   “I think Europe needs to get a handle on migration because that is what lit the flame,” Clinton told The Guardian in an interview published Thursday, referring to the rise of anti-immigrant politicians across Europe.  “I admire the very generous and compassionate approaches that were taken particularly by leaders like [German Chancellor] Angela Merkel," she said, "but I think it is fair to say Europe has done its part, and must send a very clear message — ‘we are not going to be able to continue provide refuge and support’ — because if we don’t deal with the migration issue it will continue to roil the body politic.”  What say she? Is this a sign she's running for president on a moderate – electable – platform?

TRANSITION – FROM FOX BUSINESS:  Los Angeles biotech billionaire Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong is betting big on newspapers. After buying the Los Angeles Times for $500 million earlier this year, he’s invested $100 million to build a state-of-the-art newsroom and is hoping to turn a profit soon.  “The Catholic nuns say ’no money, no mission,’ and it’s very true,” Soon-Shiong said at The Grill, TheWrap’s annual media conference. “In order for the paper to survive, it has to thrive. In order to thrive, it has to be self-sustaining as a business.”  In a deal that closed in June, Soon-Shiong also agreed to buy the San Diego Union Tribune, Spanish-language Hoy and several small community newspapers. His investment firm, Nant Capital, agreed to pay $500 million for the papers and will assume $90 million in pension liabilities.  It's great to see someone who believes in newspapers put his money where his mouth is.  I hope he can make the Times a better newspaper, not simply another liberal mouthpiece. 

NOW HERE'S AN IDEA – FROM THE COLLEGE FIX:  The study of Western civilization is in such decline in higher education that it may take an act of Congress to ensure students learn about it, according to an academic group that promotes “intellectual freedom” and “virtuous citizenship.”  This may not be politically feasible under Democratic control of one chamber of Congress, though – a point conceded at last week’s conference call by the National Association of Scholars.  It was organized in part to bring attention to the association’s re-released 2011 study The Vanishing West: 1964-2010. The study documents “the disappearance of Western civilization courses from the college curriculum” and replacement with “world history” courses.  Western civilization courses were generally required in colleges and universities before they were overtaken by progressive political movements, according to President Peter Wood.  “We face a kind of civilizational crisis. The elites are so profoundly dissatisfied at who we are and what we are,” Wood said.  This could be the start of something big, but the intellectual establishments will try to crush it.

November 22, 2018         Permalink

A DATE IN HISTORY – AT 1:30 P.M. ET:  It was 55 years ago today that John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas.   The nation hardly notices, but the "Kennedy legacy," we are told by shallow journalists, is alive and well in Texas through the person of Beto O'Rourke, who recently came close to defeating Ted Cruz in a Senate election.

Indeed, Beto, whose name isn't Beto but Robert Francis, as in Robert Francis Kennedy (Bobby Kennedy) clearly models himself after the Kennedys, cuts his hair accordingly, and seems, at times, to mimic the style of Bobby Kennedy's speeches, if not Jack's.

Yet, the irony is that Jack Kennedy couldn't come close to a presidential nomination in today's leftist Democratic Party, and Robert Kennedy probably would be seen as a backbencher.  Jack Kennedy's inaugural address would today be delivered by a Republican.   His anti-Communism, and Bobby's, would be scandalous.  Jack Kennedy was a flawed man in many respects, but a leftist or "progressive" he was not.

I was being discharged from the Army the hour President Kennedy was murdered.  I heard the first radio reports while riding back to New York City from Fort Dix, New Jersey, in a Ford convertible.  We were told that three shots were fired, that a couple was seen running up a "grassy knoll" after the shooting.  When we arrived at Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan, the station was almost silent.  Journalists were actually reporting the story, not giving us their instant opinions or their deep feelings and emotions.   I still have the newspapers I bought that day, with the New York Post headlining PRESIDENT SHOT DEAD.

It was a mature era in America.  We still had millions of World War II and Korea veterans in their thirties.  The presidency was serious business.   The last presidential assassination had been that of William McKinley in 1901, although there had been attempts on other presidents.

The nation, and its press, behaved appropriately.  The dignity surrounding the event was remarkable.

I have no idea how America would respond to a similar trauma today.  I don't want to find out. 

November 22, 2018       Permalink 

THANKSGIVING – AT 11:40 A.M. ET:  First, happy Thanksgiving to you all.  We hope for a serene Thanksgiving, but we know we'll be assaulted by the voices of the left, denouncing the day as the origin of all evil.  Ignore them.  It is better to thank God than to thank Marx.

It is exactly 400 years this month that, according to the oral tradition, the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts.  (I think the left believes they landed in Berkeley.)  They started the building of a great nation.  True, along the way there were injustices done to native Americans and to other immigrant groups.  That is part of our story, and, indeed, the story of most nations.  But our story also includes the creation of a free nation with a superb and lasting Constitution, and the forging of one people, from many, that has, over the centuries, exhibited character, bravery and breathtaking ingenuity.

There is a reason why millions of people from around the world want to come to America.  They are not misinformed, nor are they mislead by Hollywood movies or the singing of "God Bless America."  They come to a place that is very real, and offers opportunities available nowhere else.  American exceptionalism, now disparaged by the chattering classes and Barack Obama, is displayed every day.  Look for it around you. 

Benjamin Franklin cautioned to the newly independent United States of America, "A republic, if you can keep it."  He was right.  And our challenge today is to keep it, to insure that future generations give thanks for ours.

November 22,  2018     Permalink