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OCTOBER 24,  2018

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

A VULGAR DAY – Which is the way I prefer to put it.  The planting of bombs was bad enough.  What followed was an orgy of irresponsible comment, especially from CNN, which fans the flames of Trump hatred more vigorously than does any other network.  CNN claimed to be a "victim" of today's discovery of potentially explosive devices addressed to prominent political figures and CNN.  But, wait a minute.  CNN wasn't actually the target of the "CNN Bomb."  It was former CIA Director John Brennan, to whom the device was addressed.  He sometimes comments on CNN, and thus the bomber, or kook, or conspirator, simply sent the device to Brennan, using CNN as his address.  But, no matter, CNN whined all day about its victimhood, and allowed once-important historian Douglas Brinkley to charge on the air that President Trump is a neo-fascist.  Please note that all this is taking place before we even know who the guilty party is.  CNN's childish performance has to win some kind of bad journalism award.  Maybe it can award itself the CNN Prize for Mediocrity. 

SPECULATION – That's all we have right now – speculation.  We know that none of the devices went off, suggesting that the person or persons behind the grand plot are no geniuses, and have no training in explosives.  We know that all the targets are on the political left, which tells us nothing about the motive of the plotter.  We know that at least one device, the one addressed to Brennan at CNN, was delivered either by the bomber himself or by a courier.  Curious, that point.  Why would someone intentionally walk into an area covered by video surveillance?  I find that to be the most intriguing aspect of this episode so far.  Of course, the authorities may know things they're not releasing, and it may be that the plotters are in secret contact with some agency.  It is also possible that the drama will pass, and that the perpetrators will never be found.

WONDERFUL – We end on an inspiring note.  Despite all our concerns about the young generation, we have many terrific young people in this country.  From CBS:  Eighteen-year-old Dalton Shaffer was working his shift at Steve's Pizza in Battle Creek, Michigan, Tuesday night when he got a call about an old customer.  The man on the phone said his son-in-law, Rick Morgan, who had moved to Indianapolis, was a big fan of Steve's Pizza and was battling cancer. They had planned a trip back to Michigan and a visit to Steve's, but Morgan's health took a turn for the worse and he was now in hospice care. The man wondered if the shop might be willing to send Morgan a text or a card.  "He was kind of telling me just a little bit about how they used to live in Battle Creek and they were just really big fans of Steve's Pizza," Shaffer told CBS affiliate WWMT.  After hearing that a fan of Steve's Pizza was unable to fulfill his dream of eating a slice again, Shaffer wanted to do more than send a card. He asked the father-in-law what kind of pizza Morgan wanted. Then, after he closed up shop for the night, Shaffer jumped in his car with two pizzas.  He drove three and a half hours from Michigan to the home in Indiana.  "The family came up, gave me a hug... The expressions on their faces and everything, like, that was cool," Shaffer told the station.  What a great kid.  I hope some good college offers him a scholarship just based on character.

October 24, 2018       Permalink

DISGRACEFUL, UTTERLY DISGRACEFUL – AT 2:56 P.M. ET:  It's already starting.  CNN, whose headquarters in New York were evacuated this morning when a suspicious package was found, is already on the air bashing President Trump for creating the atmosphere that made this morning's events possible.

Yup, it's TRUMP!!!  And years ago it was BUSH!!! and CHENEY!!!!!!!

The left always has it figured out in ten minutes, and knows who to blame.  CNN whiners were outraged that the president, in condemning the sender of the suspicious packages, didn't mention CNN itself.  Why, CNN's on-air personalities seemed personally hurt, and seemed to suggest that Trump's criticisms of CNN prompted the arrival of the package in question.

I will point out that David Gregory was an exception, and didn't join the whining parade, except for a brief period.  I will also point out that it took Kate Bolduan to calm things down by pointing out that we know almost nothing about these suspicious devices.   The acts may have absolutely nothing to do with the political atmosphere in the country.  The authorities have no idea about names or motives. 

I recall the day of the assassination of President Kennedy.  I was being discharged from the US Army the very hour of the event.  After my release I joined another soldier for a car ride from Fort Dix, New Jersey, to Manhattan.  We heard the first bulletins.  "Three shots were fired at President Kennedy..."

Then we heard, even before President Kennedy arrived at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, that a man and a woman had been seen running up a grassy knoll after the shots had been fired.  Thus began the "grassy knoll" theory.  And then we heard that the political atmosphere in Dallas was poisonous, filled with right-wing hatred for the president.  We were told that a particularly vitriolic anti-Kennedy ad had run that very morning in a Dallas paper.  It became the approved narrative – right-wing hatred caused the horrible act. 

It turned out, of course, that neither the "grassy knoll" incident nor the political atmosphere had anything to do with the murder of the president.  Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin, was on the political left.  The people running up the grassy knoll had been trying to escape the gunfire.

We still await facts.

October 24, 2018       Permalink

GET THE FACTS RIGHT! – AT 12:46 P.M. ET:  Suspicious packages have been sent to the homes of Bill and Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, George Soros, and to CNN in New York.  It is exceptionally important not to assume who sent them.  But assumptions will be made, for political purposes, right before an election.  From Fox: 

The Secret Service said Wednesday that officers "intercepted" two suspicious packages identified as "potential explosive devices" sent to former President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, as reports of other potential threats against political and media targets led to evacuations in a rapidly evolving security scare.

Local reports said the Florida building housing the office of Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, former Democratic Party chairwoman, was evacuated amid reports of a possible suspicious package. Police in the area seemed to confirm the incident in a Twitter alert:

CNN employees said Wednesday that they were evacuated as well from their New York office, after reports of a suspicious package at the Time Warner Center. CNN said the package with a suspicious device was addressed to ex-CIA director John Brennan (who is an analyst for NBC).

This comes after an explosive device was found days earlier in the mailbox of liberal billionaire George Soros, though it's unclear if the incidents are related.

As teams across the country investigate, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, in a written statement, condemned what she described as the "attempted violent attacks" against the Clintons and Obama.

“We condemn the attempted violent attacks recently made against President Obama, President Clinton, Secretary Clinton, and other public figures. These terrorizing acts are despicable, and anyone responsible will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. The United States Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies are investigating and will take all appropriate actions to protect anyone threatened by these cowards,” she said, joined by President Trump and Vice President Pence, who at a separate event said those responsible will be "brought to justice."

COMMENT:  We wait for facts, not for speculation.  We don't know if these packages were sent by right wingers against the opposition, or by left wingers trying to embarrass the right, or by some foreign entity.  Beware of big mouths talking on TV.  Also beware of phone calls that might come in to news organizations, in which the caller "takes credit." 

October 24,  2018     Permalink

OCTOBER 23,  2018

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

FLORIDA – I am trying each day to find news stories worth reporting.  The press is fixated on the midterms, clearly hoping they will be the first stage of the dumping of Trump.  And yet, there is very real hard evidence they can come up with to prove that this is true, or will be true.  Indeed, today seemed to be "Florida Day" in the pre-election news cycle.   News that the African-American mayor of Tallahassee, Andrew Gillum, is taking a solid lead in the gubernatorial race, at least in two polls, produced fits of Obamamania in some journalists.  Physicians had to be called.  Sedatives were given.  Gillum is an incompetent mayor of a crime-ridden city, and he is under investigation for corruption, but he is that darling of darlings, a black progressive.  Not a halfway guy like Barack, but the full package.   Financed heavily by George Soros.  Anti-cop.   Wants to impeach Trump.  If he takes Florida, the sky's the limit.  Will it be Vice President Gillum in two years.  It's clear many are hoping so, if he can stay out of jail.  But watch the reaction to him on election night if he wins.  It's so rare to see journalists in love.

THE "MIGRANT" CARAVAN – Clearly, this is building as the major "other" story as we approach the election.  As usual, very few media outlets want to ask any serious questions about who's organizing and financing this sudden mass march northward from Central America.  No one seems to be starving, or dressed in rags, or wanting for any necessities.  Very well organized, I have to admit.  I didn't know leftists could be this capable.  Still, I wait for some new Moses to arrive at the head of the line, and bring with him ten more commandments, this batch emailed, and containing at least two commandments dealing with pre-existing conditions and legalization of immigrants.  I want to see Moses testify before Congress.  I'm sure our own ambitious senator from New York, Kirsten Gillibrand, will claim she knew him in high school.

ANOTHER OUTSTANDING DEMOCRAT – FROM PJ MEDIA:   Minnesota state Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-60B) currently leads the race to fill the federal House seat being vacated by Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN). Immediately after being elected to her current seat in 2016, Omar faced allegations -- soon backed by a remarkable amount of evidence -- that she had married her own brother in 2009, and was still legally his wife. They officially divorced in December 2017.  The motivation for the marriage remains unclear. However, the totality of the evidence points to possible immigration fraud and student loan fraud.  I'm sure this is just a cultural misunderstanding, and no doubt our fault.  Why can't we learn to appreciate other traditions?

October 23,  2018    Permalink

MORE ON THE "BLUE WAVE" – AT 2:33 P.M. ET:  The Dems are hoping for a vast blue wave two weeks from today, sweeping away the evil Trump and the deplorables who support him.  But, wait a gosh-darned minute, as George Gobel used to say.  We have a second polling organization that has been analyzing early voting, at least in blue California and the wave seems to be a drip.  From the Sacramento Bee:   

California Democrats will need to turn the current early-voting tides if they want to see a blue wave in the upcoming Nov. 6 elections.

Paul Mitchell, a political consultant and vice president of the bipartisan voter data firm Political Data, said initial ballot returns could spell trouble for Democrats hoping for a wave that goes their direction. His company’s absentee vote tracker shows the turnout thus far is typical of the turnout of the past, with older, whiter, and more Republican voters submitting their ballots.

“If there is a Democratic wave, we’re going to have to see a departure from that pattern here in the tracker,” Mitchell said.

With two weeks left until Election Day, Mitchell noted it is still too early in the game to draw conclusions.

“We should read it at the beginning with a little bit of trepidation,” he added.

One of the key races to watch will be in Congressional District 39, where Democrat Gil Cisneros and Republican Young Kim are competing. So far, turnout among Latino and Asian voters — two groups that could sway the outcome of the election — is underwhelming.

Mitchell said he is also keeping his eye on young voters and people listed with no party preference. While ballots are just beginning to be returned, the share of voters aged 18 to 34 is similar to that of those who had voted at this point in the past.. “If Democrats are going to have a wave, it’s dependent on young people getting into the 30-40 percent range,” he said.

COMMENT:  Again, we report these things as part of the great game of politics.  By the time the election is over, all the models might break down.  But, thus far, there does not seem to be the wave Nancy Pelosi wishes for every night. 

October 23, 2018       Permalink

TWO WEEKS TO GO – AT 1:15 P.M. ET:  And I'm impressed by how close so many races are, and by how high the initial turnout of early voters is.  I don't think anything is in the bag for anyone, but the basic scenario of the GOP holding the Senate and the Dems taking the House seems reasonable, if nothing more. 

In Rasmussen today, the president rises to 48%, from the 47% he's been stuck at the last three days.  Statistically, that means nothing.

In the Senate, RealClearPolitics is predicting 50 safe GOP seats, 44 safe Dem seats, 6 toss-ups.

In the House, RCP is predicting 205 safe Dem seats, 200 safe GOP seats, 30 toss-ups.

The House is particularly intriguing.  Even if the Dems take it, their majority might be so small as to be almost moot.  Yes, they'd have committee chairmanships, with the power to investigate, but there are still enough moderate Dems to make passing a radical agenda very iffy.  And it's unlikely that all Dems would line up behind impeachment of the president or Justice Kavanaugh.

But, in the end, no one knows anything.  Turnout, turnout, turnout.

October 23,  2018     Permalink