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OCTOBER 21,  2017

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

THE NEED – FROM USA TODAY:   WASHINGTON — President Trump signed an executive order Friday allowing the Air Force to recall as many as 1,000 retired pilots to active duty to address a shortage in combat fliers, the White House and Pentagon announced.  By law, only 25 retired officers can be brought back to serve in any one branch. Trump's order removes those caps by expanding a state of national emergency declared by President George W. Bush after 9/11, signaling what could be a significant escalation in the 16-year-old global war on terror.  "We anticipate that the Secretary of Defense will delegate the authority to the Secretary of the Air Force to recall up to 1,000 retired pilots for up to three years," Navy Cdr. Gary Ross, a Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement.   But the executive order itself is not specific to the Air Force, and could conceivably be used in the future to call up more officers and in other branches.  Our military is understrength, thanks to the policies of Field Marshal Obama, and the budgetary mistakes of Congress, including Republicans.  Trump has pledged to strengthen the armed forces.  We'll hold him to it.

THE CITY BY THE BAY, OR THE JAIL, SOMETHIN' – FROM SFGATE.COM:  In San Francisco, where no automobile parked on the street is immune from glass-smashing thieves, some people have taken to posting signs on car windows announcing that there are no valuables inside.  The hope, of course, is that a thief will read the notice and decide: "Huh. No valuables in this one.  I guess I'll break into some other car."  On Tuesday, a Reddit user posted a photo of such a sign and posed the question "Do you think it works?" to the Reddit community. A lively debate ensued.  "Sounds a lot like something that someone with valuables in their car would say," wrote a skeptical Maddox83a.  The real question is how there could be concern about crime in the nation's paradise, the city of Nancy Pelosi, a place where housing prices are so high that they don't have to worry about the "deplorables."  Could it be that
TRUMP (!!!!!) is sending criminals into the city?  Of course, that's it.  Tell Hillary.

ASTROS TO WORLD SERIES – FROM THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE:  As he tracked the ball through the air, Jose Altuve clung to his bat with his right hand. He ran most of the way down the first-base line this way until he was sure he had hit a home run, at which point he flipped his bat by the nearby coaches' box.  The heroes were many in the 4-0 victory over the New York Yankees that punched the Astros' ticket to only their second World Series in 56 seasons Saturday night at a raucous Minute Maid Park. Charlie Morton recorded the first 15 outs, Lance McCullers Jr. the last 12. Brian McCann came through in the clutch. Alex Bregman cut down a run with his arm.  Minute Maid Park?  Minute Maid Park?  They play a championship game in MINUTE MAID Park?  What have we come to?  What's next? Pampers Diaper Stadium?  We are heading toward the end of our civilization.  It's over.

October 21,  2017       Permalink

TRUMP TO RELEASE KENNEDY ASSASSINATION FILES – AT 2:17 P.M. ET:   It's time, but I wonder if we'll find anything new.  From the Washington Post:  

President Trump announced Saturday morning that he planned to release the tens of thousands of never-before-seen documents left in the files related to President John F. Kennedy’s assassination held by the National Archives and Records Administration.

“Subject to the receipt of further information, I will be allowing, as President, the long blocked and classified JFK FILES to be opened,” Trump tweeted early Saturday.

Kennedy assassination experts have been speculating for weeks about whether Trump would disclose the documents. The 1992 Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act required that the millions of pages — many of them contained in CIA and FBI documents — be published in 25 years, by Oct. 26. Over the years, the National Archives has released most of the documents, either in full or partially redacted.

But one final batch remains, and only the president has the authority to extend the papers’ secrecy past the October deadline.

In his tweet, Trump seemed to strongly imply he was going to release all the remaining documents, but the White House later said that if other government agencies made a strong case not to release the documents, he wouldn’t.

COMMENT:  There could be material that might best be kept secret, like embarrassing speculation about foreign countries, or names of individuals investigated and then cleared.  But I doubt that we'll see anything significant relating to the guilt of Lee Harvey Oswald.

October 21, 2017       Permalink 

MORE ON THE YOUNG – WILL WE HAVE A COUNTRY? – AT 1:38 P.M. ET:   Okay, let's be fair.  Every young generation has its own levels of weirdness.  I'm just afraid it's getting worse, and that the weirdness will increasingly be seen as normal.  From Marketwatch:

When Coco Layne, a Brooklyn-based producer, meets someone new these days, the first question that comes up in conversation isn’t “Where do you live?” or “What do you do?” but “What’s your sign?”

“So many millennials read their horoscopes every day and believe them,” Layne, who is involved in a number of nonreligious spiritual practices, said. “It is a good reference point to identify and place people in the world.”

Interest in spirituality has been booming in recent years while interest in religion plummets, especially among millennials. The majority of Americans now believe it is not necessary to believe in God to have good morals, a study from Pew Research Center released Wednesday found. The percentage of people between the ages of 18 and 29 who “never doubt existence of God” fell from 81% in 2007 to 67% in 2012.

Meanwhile, more than half of young adults in the U.S. believe astrology is a science. compared to less than 8% of the Chinese public. The psychic services industry — which includes astrology, aura reading, mediumship, tarot-card reading and palmistry, among other metaphysical services — grew 2% between 2011 and 2016. It is now worth $2 billion annually, according to industry analysis firm IBIS World.

COMMENT:  When the choice is between tarot-card reading and The New York Times, I can see why the cards are so popular.

October 21, 2017       Permalink

TODAY'S YOUNG SCHOLARS – I LOVE IT – AT 12:58 P.M. ET:  What a bunch.  What an embarrassment.  From Daily Caller: 

President Donald Trump’s tax plan seems to really resonate with millennials, but only when presented as if it were a proposal from Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

Campus Reform asked a number of students at George Washington University if they supported some of the features of Trump’s tax plan, but sold the provisions as key parts of Sanders’s vision for tax reform.

The students interviewed were incredibly supportive of a tax credit to make it easier for Americans to have and raise children, lowering the tax rate on small businesses and eliminating the estate tax, which is also called “the death tax.”

Once they realized that the features were all actually part of the Trump platform, however, students said they were pleasantly surprised but still wary of the proposal because it is associated with the current administration.

COMMENT:  I have always felt that they never should have lowered the voting age to 18.  They should have raised it to 25.  Or 50.

Or 75 for liberals.

October 21,  2017     Permalink

OCTOBER 20,  2017

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

THIS JUST IN – FROM THE HARVARD CRIMSON:   Harvard will rescind the 2014 W.E.B Du Bois medal awarded to Harvey Weinstein, a movie executive whom more than 40 women have recently accused of sexual harassment and abuse.  The Executive Committee of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research, a group of five professors that unanimously voted to award Weinstein the medal three years ago, voted Tuesday night to rescind the honor in the wake of the reporting detailing Weinstein’s behavior, according to Hutchins Center Executive Director Abby Wolf.  “We have voted unanimously to rescind the Du Bois Medal awarded to Mr. Weinstein in 2014. We stand with the women who have courageously come forward to fight for themselves and indeed for all of those who have experienced similar abuse,” the group wrote in a statement.   Well, now we certainly know that Harvard means business.  Just for reassurance, I want to see how Bill Clinton is received on his next visit.

SO, SPEAKING OF RIDICULOUS AWARDS – FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER:   Hillary Clinton didn't win the presidency, but she's in line for something almost as interesting -- the crown of "Wonder Woman."  The Women's Media Center, co-founded by feminist Gloria Steinem, told us that it is giving the latest Democratic presidential candidate its first "Wonder Woman Award" for her "extraordinary accomplishments" and public service.  "Like Wonder Woman, she seems to have superhuman strength, resilience, and courage," said the group in a reference to the famous comic and TV character.  "Hillary Clinton's actions have inspired and protected women and men on every continent," said Steinem. "She has battled negative forces and helped to maintain a fragile peace with her negotiating skill on behalf of this country and peace-seekers everywhere. She has handled all this with grace, grit, determination, integrity, humor and fortitude while remaining a steadfast feminist, advocate, activist, sister and tireless leader in the revolution. With this award, the Women's Media Center declares Hillary Clinton our Wonder Woman."   Oh yes, the grace, the humor, the integrity.  I hope they're praying that she doesn't get indicted.

THE EFFICIENT FIRST LADY – FROM FOX:  Melania Trump is embracing a more active and public schedule as first lady – but she still runs one of the leanest East Wing operations in recent history.  According to a Fox News analysis of White House personnel reports, Melania Trump has significantly reduced the number of aides on the first lady's office payroll in comparison to her predecessor, Michelle Obama.  During then-President Barack Obama’s first year in office, 16 people were listed working for Michelle Obama, earning a combined $1.24 million a year.  This year, just four people were listed working for Melania Trump as of June. Their salaries totaled $486,700.  Strange.  No one ever criticized the bloated first lady's office when Obama was in the White House.  And the media will give the current first lady no credit for her efficiency.

October 20, 2017       Permalink

ANOTHER WIDOW SPEAKS – AT 12:33 P.M. ET:   A gold star widow has released a recording of the phone call she received from President Trump.  I'm glad she did.  From Daily Caller: 

Gold star widow Natasha De Alencar released the audio of a phone conversation she had with President Donald Trump in April about the death of her husband who was killed in Afghanistan.

“I am so sorry to hear about the whole situation. What a horrible thing, except that he’s an unbelievable hero,” Trump told her in the call about her husband Army Staff Sgt. Mark R. De Alencar, which The Washington Post released.

“Thank you. I really, really appreciated it,” she said. “I really do, sir.”

Trump also told the widow if she is ever in Washington D.C. that she is welcome in the Oval Office.

“If you’re around Washington, you come over and see me in the Oval Office,” he said. “You just come over and see me because you are just the kind of family … this is what we want.”

“Say hello to your children, and tell them your father he was a great hero that I respected,” Trump said. “Just tell them I said your father was a great hero.”

The phone call was released after White House Chief of Staff Gen. John Kelly pushed back against Florida Democratic Rep. Frederica Wilson’s criticism that Trump told a Gold Star widow “he knew what he signed up for.”

COMMENT:  Says it all.

October 20, 2017       Permalink

UNBELIEVABLE – AT 11:21 A.M. ET:  Remember how the press viciously attacked President George W. Bush?  It was almost as bad as the attacks on Trump.  Bush was declared stupid, illegitimate, a warmonger, poorly informed, and privileged.  As opposed to Obama, the brilliant sage of Chicago, who came to save us.

However, this week, in what I thought was an awkward and inappropriate speech, former President Bush attacked President Trump.   Suddenly, the same media that savaged Bush has come to see his wisdom and greatness.  The hypocrisy flows.  From Newsbusters: 

Christmas came early for the liberal Big Three Networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) on Thursday when former President George W. Bush spoke out against the Donald Trump administration. In a disgusting display of sudden respect for a long time political foe, the networks championed Bush’s hammering of the current president. And the icing on their anti-Trump cake was former President Obama doing the exact same thing too.

“Today, the 43rd President made no mention of the 45th, but his focus was clear,” touted White House Correspondent Margaret Brennan during CBS Evening News. “He suggested that an America first mindset is distorting our democracy.” She highlighted Bush’s call for “journalists to uphold their integrity for the sake of the republic.”

With an air of righteousness, Brennan reported how Obama “appearing at a Democratic rally in New Jersey, he urged young voters to fight back.” “President Bush said he believes the American spirit will ultimately prevail,” she added before quipping about how the former presidents went against political norms, but ‘oh, well.’ “It is a standard rule for presidents not to criticize their successors. But, perhaps, this is another example where the standard rules no longer apply.”

On ABC’s World News Tonight, Chief White House Correspondent Jon Karl began his report by fawning over Bush’s comments. “George W. Bush has avoided politics since leaving office, but today, the former President seemed to throw down the gauntlet, warning of the rise of, quote, “bullying and prejudice” in America,” he hyped.

COMMENT:  The left is so good at political resurrections.  Suddenly Mr. Bush is the wise statesman.  In fact, the Bush family probably despises Trump for Trump's attacks on Jeb Bush during the last campaign.  And yes, those attacks were often over-the-top and typical of the current president's crudeness.

But Bush still should have been more careful.  He should have included the violent, pathetic left in his denunciations, but he did not.  He should have denounced the deceptions of the Obama years, but he did not.   He failed, and he'd best be silent unless he has more to add.

October 20, 2017       Permalink

IT IS SICKENING – AT 10:12 A.M. ET:  Now the degenerate left is going after General John Kelly, the president's chief of staff, a combat veteran whose own son was killed in the war on terror.  Apparently, nothing is sacred on the left.  From Fox: 

For a stunning and emotional 18 minutes on Thursday, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly cut through a nasty debate over condolence calls to Gold Star families, appealing to the political class to allow at least this one thing to remain “sacred.”

Instead, Democratic lawmakers and operatives and allies in the media immediately turned on Kelly – himself a Gold Star father – branding him a liar and an “enabler” of President Trump, even suggesting his criticism of a black Democrat who publicized one of those calls was racist.

“Kelly isn't just an enabler of Trump. He's a believer in him. That makes him as odious as the rest. Don't be distracted by the uniform,” Hillary Clinton’s former spokesman and CNN contributor Brian Fallon tweeted.

“I am stunned by John Kelley's lies about a black woman who he called an 'empty barrel,'” MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell tweeted.

During his appearance in the White House briefing room on Thursday, Kelly tried to reset – and resolve – the unseemly weeklong political war over presidential calls to families of dead American soldiers.

President Trump effectively started that debate after questioning earlier this week whether former President Barack Obama made those phone calls. But Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., escalated the fight when she criticized Trump’s call to the widow of a soldier killed earlier this month in Niger.

COMMENT:  On the Democratic Party left, it is always "race, gender and ethnicity."  General Kelly has conducted himself with a grace and dignity seen rarely in the Washington swamp.  For his trouble he is called a liar and a racist. 

The Democratic Party used to be the party of Roosevelt, Truman and Kennedy.  It used to be the national defense party at a time when the Republicans were still wedded to head-in-the-sand isolationism.

Look at the Democratic Party today.

October 20,  2017     Permalink