Please note that you can leave a comment on any of our posts at our Facebook page.  Subscribers can also comment at length at our Angel's Corner Forum.

Our Angel's Corner archive is here.

SEPTEMBER 1,  2017

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

THE NERVE – FROM THE WASHINGTON TIMES:   Activists are discouraging Hurricane Harvey donors from giving to the American Red Cross and urging them instead to contribute to left-wing causes, some of which are advocacy groups engaged in little if any emergency relief work.  Linda Sarsour, a prominent Muslim and feminist activist, sent out a tweet encouraging donors to give to the Texas Organizing Project Education Fund, which conducts “direct action organizing, grass-roots lobbying and electoral organizing led by working families in Texas.”  “TOP is one of many organizations on this list you can choose to support,” Ms. Sarsour said in a Wednesday tweet that included the #NoRedCross hashtag. “Grassroots orgs on ground. Long term needed.”  The Texas Organizing Project, which has fought Texas voter ID laws and supported sanctuary-state status, is part of the Hurricane Harvey Community Relief Fund, a coalition that includes labor groups such as the Service Employees International Union as well as Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid.  This is awful.  Sarsour is a front operator for radical Palestinian causes, and is a darling of the hard left.  She knows nothing about relief operations.  This is subversion at its worst, exploiting the misery of people on behalf of hidden political causes.

ANOTHER DISGRACE – FROM COLLEGE FIX:  Two weeks ago, the leader of a high-ranked international affairs school suggested that students who want to intern in the Trump administration shouldn’t ask for his help.  George Washington University has refused to clarify his comments or make him available for an interview since then.  Reuben Brigety, dean of GWU’s Elliott School, labeled President Donald Trump a “Nazi sympathizer” in a stinging Foreign Policy essay that called for members of Trump’s cabinet to denounce him or resign in protest.  A professor at nearby universities before serving in various State Department roles in the Obama administration, Brigety denounced Trump for having “spontaneously reiterated his support for white supremacist protesters” following the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville that left one counterprotester dead.  The president did nothing of the kind.  This is another example of the corruption of the academic left.  This man should be sent packing.

JOURNALISTIC COURAGE – GIVE CREDIT WHERE IT'S DUE – FROM FOX:  Washington Post writer Fredrick Kunkle on Friday ripped the newspaper’s owner Jeff Bezos in a scathing op-ed, accusing the Amazon founder of mistreating workers within his business empire.  Kunkle, who writes for the Washington Post’s Metro desk and serves as co-chair of the Washington-Baltimore News Guild, challenged Bezos for expressing a desire to increase his philanthropic efforts despite a record of "treating [his employees] poorly." In the op-ed, he writes that Bezos “should remember that his vast wealth came in part from labor.”  “As the owner of an institution that’s critical to democracy, he should go out of his way to set a tone of progressive stewardship toward employees in all his businesses,” Kunkle wrote in an op-ed published by the Huffington Post.  “Instead, Bezos has shown that he views his employees as parts in a high-tech machine, that income inequality is someone else’s problem, and that modern corporations owe little more to their employees than a paycheck.”  Even though Kunkle is somewhat shielded by his union position, he shows courage in writing what he did.  There are many forms of retaliation open to Bezos. 

September 1, 2017       Permalink

WHEN EVEN THE FRENCH ARE WORRIED, THAT IS NEWS – North Korea is our main foreign-policy worry right now.  President Trump isn't the only one warning that time is running out.  From AFP:   

PARIS — France’s foreign minister warned Friday that North Korea could have the capacity to deliver a nuclear strike on the United States and even Europe “within months.”

Jean-Yves Le Drian called the situation following a string of missile tests by Pyongyang “extremely serious” and urged the reclusive state to turn to dialogue to ease spiraling tensions.

“We see a North Korea whose objective is to have missiles capable of transporting a nuclear weapon tomorrow,” Le Drian told RTL radio.

“In a few months, that will be a reality. At that moment, when it has the capability to hit the US, even Europe and at the very least Japan and China, with a nuclear weapon, the situation will be explosive.”

Early on Tuesday, North Korea fired an intermediate-range Hwasong-12 over Japan, prompting US President Donald Trump to say that “all options” were on the table in an implied threat of preemptive military action.

COMMENT:  Some are arguing for more talks with North Korea.  Talks about what?  They've broken every agreement.  And yet the military option involves ghastly choices.

This is the place where Mr. Trump must lead.  He must pursue a policy, of his own making, that actually produces results, something Barack Obama never understood.

The ball is in our court, and I wonder about the advice Trump is getting.

September 1, 2017       Permalink

THE UGLINESS – AT 11:18 A.M. ET:  The hatred of the president within the Democratic Party is so great that it may consume some of the party's more responsible leaders.  All four of them.  From the Los Angeles Times:   

At a time when the Democratic base is more restive than it has been in decades, Sen. Dianne Feinstein ignited a firestorm earlier this week when she refused to back the impeachment of President Trump and instead called for “patience” over his presidency.

The statements — provocative in Democratic circles and near-heretical in her hometown of San Francisco, where she made them — reflected a moderation and pragmatism that have been hallmarks of Feinstein’s career. But these qualities, after proving politically advantageous for decades, could become an albatross because of the state’s shifting demographics and political leanings as the 84-year-old decides whether to seek a sixth term.

Potential rivals are already circling.

Senate President Pro Tem Kevin De León lashed out at Feinstein’s remarks hours after she made them Tuesday at the Commonwealth Club, saying that women, children, people of color, immigrants and members of the LGBTQ community had little time for patience in the face of the president’s policies.

COMMENT:  Yeah, there it goes.  Let's all just be part of little groups.  And let's list them all in every speech.  Feinstein is known as one of the grown-ups in the Senate.  She has her origins in the party of Roosevelt, Truman and Kennedy.  But the new party doesn't have any use for that history.  It is only interested in grievance and identity politics.  Every citizen has a hyphen. 

In California, trashing a wise elder is easy.  The state is now so heavily Democratic that the party could elect a turkey sandwich as U.S. senator.  The recently elected Kamala Harris is 1) a woman, 2) part black, and 3) part Asian.  Isn't that wonderful?  A three-fer.  Does anything else count?  Harris has largely made a fool of herself in her opening months in Congress, acting rudely toward other senators, and obsessing over gender issues.  She often comes to committee hearings unprepared for anything else.  And yet she's already traveling the country as a possible 2020 presidential candidate.  Dianne Feinstein commented, "She just got here."  Sorry, Dianne, it's a new age. 

I still recall Eleanor Roosevelt rising in 1960 to question publicly whether John F. Kennedy was qualified to be president.  Kennedy had been in Congress 14 years, was on the Foreign Relations Committee, had been wounded in World War II, and had been author or co-author of several serious books, not books about himself.  And yet there were still questions.  Compare please to standards today, particularly in the Democratic Party.  Anyone can be president, as long as you've got the right set of grievances.

September 1, 2017       Permalink

THE PRESIDENT HOLDS – AT 9:51 A.M. ET:  The last Rasmussen report before the Labor Day weekend indicates that the president's support is holding.  However, there was no upward bump reflecting his good work in responding to Hurricane Harvey.  From Rasmussen: 

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Friday shows that 42% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Trump’s job performance. Fifty-six percent (56%) disapprove.

The latest figures include 27% who Strongly Approve of the way Trump is performing and 44% who Strongly Disapprove. This gives him an improving Presidential Approval Index rating of -17.

COMMENT: Mr. Trump's overall approval rating runs from high thirties to low forties, depending on the poll, with a few outliers.  But that's pretty much where he was last election day, and he was elected.  Or, to put it another way, Hillary lost. 

We can make a cautious assumption that Trump underpolls, and has broader support than the polling indicates.  But that is only an assumption.  He needs a period with some legislative victories, and a lack of self-inflicted wounds, to move upward.

When Labor Day weekend is over, the nation will move to the start of the 2018 midterm campaigns.  My own sense is that this will be one of the most brutal political seasons in memory.  Everyone is angry.  Hating Trump is a pastime for the Democratic Party.  The Republican Party is divided, with some of its leaders apparently praying for the president to go away.  Meanwhile, our media reminds us of a national tabloid that can't make it into supermarkets.

I do not expect too much elevated discussion.

I do expect talk about whether both parties need to be replaced.

And I do expect that the 2018 campaigns will be partially overshadowed by rising activity by potential 2020 presidential contenders, not one of whom looks particularly strong at this stage.  By contenders, I have to include Clinton, Biden and Sanders, who cling to the limelight. 

And yes, I do expect serious chatter about whether Trump will give up on the Republican Party and form his own third force, threatening to run as an "independent Republican" in 2020.  I think the chances of that are actually pretty strong.  It would feed Trump's ego and throw American politics into tornado conditions, which he likes.

Fun.

September 1,  2017     Permalink

AUGUST 31,  2017

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

WELL, I GUESS THIS IS IT – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:  A group of 50 Nobel Prize winners has spoken out to reveal the 10 greatest threats to mankind.  In a survey, the brainiacs revealed fears that nuclear war, environmental disaster and even Facebook pose a risk to the future of our species.  Times Higher Education asked the eggheads about the “biggest threat to mankind.”  The experts who responded are known as laureates and represent one-quarter of the living Nobel Prize winners in chemistry, physics, physiology, medicine and economics — making them arguably some of the smartest people in the world.  Just over a third (34 percent) said population rise or environmental degradation represented the gravest apocalyptic risk.  Nobel laureates are people who did one great thing, or did it in partnership with others.  I wasn't aware that they had any special insights into the end of the world, and apparently they don't. 

INTERESTING SOLUTION – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:  SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea on Thursday vowed to execute reporters from two South Korean newspapers, saying they insulted the country’s dignity while reviewing and interviewing the British authors of a book about life in the isolated country.  Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency carried a state court statement expressing anger over the descriptions of North Korean lives as increasingly capitalist. It also objected to the translated title of the South Korean edition as “Capitalist People’s Republic of Korea” and the book’s cover that replaced the red star in North Korea’s official seal with the US dollar sign.  The court also “sentenced to death” the presidents of the newspapers and said the North will “track down to the end and cut off the dirty windpipes” of those responsible for such provocations.  Yes, those dirty windpipes.  We know them well.  I sympathize with those who have encountered bad reviews, but I think execution is an unwise punishment, aside from the paperwork involved. 

OH PLEASE – FROM DAILY CALLER:  The Southern Poverty Law Center has declared three of America’s largest Army bases Confederate monuments “with the potential to unleash more turmoil and bloodshed” if activists don’t “take down” the Army bases.  The SPLC included Fort Hood in Texas, Fort Bragg in North Carolina and Fort Benning in Georgia on a list of 1,500 “Confederate monuments” that the SPLC claims could inspire more violence like what happened in Charlottesville, Virginia last month. All three bases are named after Confederate military leaders.  Welcome to Fort Oprah, Fort Barack, and Fort Abdul.

August 31,  2017     Permalink

WAIT!  CAN YOU SAY THIS ON CNN? – AT 11:28 A.M. ET:  This is the stuff of heretics.  The death sentence may apply.  Saying something nice about Donald Trump at CNN?  Don't some people play by the rules?  From Independent Journalism Review:   

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) on Wednesday offered strong words of praise for President Donald Trump over his response to Hurricane Harvey.

CNN's Chris Cuomo asked Edwards what his state needed, but the liberal governor wanted to talk about the president.

“First of all, let me tell you that the federal government has been excellent,” he said. “The president has called twice, he signed the declaration we requested within a few hours of our making the request on Sunday evening.”

Additionally, Edwards said Trump’s top administration officials have been “great as well,” including acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke and FEMA Administrator Brock Long.

The comments echo those of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), who said Trump has been in contact with him throughout Hurricane Harvey and the unprecedented flooding that followed.

“The coordination at the federal, state, and the local level has been as good as in any tragedy that we've ever seen in the United States,” Abbott said.

He also revealed that his talks with the president “began before the hurricane even hit Texas.”

COMMENT:  The CNN personnel are reported to be recovering from those comments, although months of psychiatric care lie ahead.  There will be little John Bel Edwards and Greg Abbott dolls available by tomorrow, into which liberals can stick pins. 

The disgrace.

August 31, 2017       Permalink

AS TRUTH EMERGES – AT 10:47 A.M. ET:   The Southern Poverty Law Center has been much in the news since events in Charlottesville.  We see corporate executives lavishing important funds on the group, which presumably exists to fight "hate."

But now a more complex truth is coming out.  The original mission of the SPLC may have been noble, but the organization today seems more of, well, a business.  Not uncommon for some "charitable" groups.  From the Washington Free Beacon: 

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a liberal, Alabama-based 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization that has gained prominence on the left for its "hate group" designations, pushes millions of dollars to offshore entities as part of its business dealings, records show.

Additionally, the nonprofit pays lucrative six-figure salaries to its top directors and key employees while spending little on legal services despite its stated intent of "fighting hate and bigotry" using litigation, education, and other forms of advocacy.

The Southern Poverty Law Center is perhaps best known for its "hate map," a collection of organizations the nonprofit deems "domestic hate groups" that lists mainstream conservative organizations alongside racist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and is often referenced in the media. A gunman opened fire at the Washington, D.C., offices of the conservative Family Research Council in 2012 after seeing it listed as an "anti-gay" group on SPLC's website.

The SPLC has turned into a fundraising powerhouse, recording more than $50 million in contributions and $328 million in net assets on its 2015 Form 990, the most recently available tax form from the nonprofit. SPLC's Form 990-T, its business income tax return, from the same year shows that they have "financial interests" in the Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, and Bermuda. No information is available beyond the acknowledgment of the interests at the bottom of the form.

COMMENT:  Read the rest.  This is an organization that needs considerably more public scrutiny, but I doubt if much of the mainstream media is interested in performing that function. 

One thing is clear:  What you won't find at the Southern Poverty Law Center is poverty.  It is a very rich entity, with enormous power.  If SPLC designates an organization as a hate group, the damage to that group is immediate and immense, whether the designation is accurate or not. 

There is a bit of a reminder here of McCarthyism. 

Maybe the corporate donors will do some investigating before writing more checks.

August 31, 2017       Permalink

THERE MAY EVEN BE HOPE FOR BERKELEY – AT 9:53 A.M. ET:  It's hard to believe this is happening.  But there is evidence.  The mayor of Berkeley is becoming an...an...adult.  See for yourself.  From the Federalist:

After a bloody weekend of violent clashes between free speech rally-goers and violent leftists, Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin said Antifa, a violent leftist group comprised largely of anarchists and communists, should be considered a gang by law enforcement.

“We should classify them as a gang,” Arreguin told local CBS affiliate KPIX in a televised interview. “They come dressed in uniforms. They have weapons. They’re almost a militia. I think we should think about that when it comes to our law enforcement approach.”

Media and cell phone videos show Antifa members viciously attacked Donald Trump supporters attending the free speech rally last weekend. Dressed in black, Antifa members chased after and beat up people they suspected may have sympathies towards the so-called alt-right.

“We’re going to have think big picture about what’s the strategy on how we’re going to deal with these violent elements on the Left as well,” the mayor said. “We also need to hold accountable and encourage people not to associate with these extremists because it empowers them and gives them cover.”

COMMENT:  Praise be!  Praise be!  We have a mini-Trump in little Moscow.  If this continues, the mayor will be labeled a budding fascist. 

I wonder if anyone is still talking to him.

August 31,  2017     Permalink