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.

DECEMBER 28,  2018

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

WOMAN OF THE PEOPLE – FROM DAILY MAIL:  Nancy Pelosi is spotted vacationing at an $899-a-night Hawaii hotel that has a 'Spa Without Walls' as White House blasts her for refusing to enter talks to end week-long government shutdown.  Watch, the Dems will shout "sexist!" at this report.  The hypocrisy of liberals is neverending.  

GREAT MOMENTS IN LEGAL HISTORY – FROM DAILY CALLER:   The United States Air Force said Thursday that there is nothing wrong with troops getting “Make America Great Again” hats signed by the president, countering a media narrative about potential misconduct.  During an unannounced visit to U.S. military bases in Iraq and Germany the day after Christmas, President Donald Trump snapped photos with and signed memorabilia for U.S. service-members.  CNN, The Washington Post and The New York Times seized on photos of U.S. Army and Air Force members holding “Make America Great Again” hats and suggested that the military members were breaching protocol by getting the president to sign them....U.S. Air Forces Europe made clear in a statement Thursday that troops at Ramstein Air Base did not break any rules by bringing their own hats for the president to sign.  “There is no rule against Airmen bringing personal items to be signed by the president,” USAFE said, noting that while troops held the hats to be signed, they never wore them while in uniform.  I'm glad this didn't have to go to the Supreme Court.

PLEASE NOTE THIS – FROM THE BOSTON HERALD:   A staggering 144 police officers were killed in the line of duty this year, a national report shows, and for the first time in decades the leading cause was shootings...Nationwide, 52 of the 144 police fatalities this year were firearm-related deaths. The total number of deaths represented a 12 percent jump over 2017, according to a preliminary Law Enforcement Fatalities Report released Thursday by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.  The data show that firearms-related fatalities are up 13 percent year over year, replacing traffic-related deaths, which had been the leading cause of death for the last 20 years.  Haven't seen much concern about this in the mainstream media.  Wonder why.

December 28, 2018       Permalink

TRUMP MAKES IT CLEAR – AT 11:30 A.M. ET:   The president doubles down on the wall and the border, and I think he has a good chance of carrying public opinion with him.  From Daily Mail:

President Donald Trump returned Friday to a threat to close the nation's southern border if he doesn't get his wall money from Congress.

The federal government is partially shut down in Washington and remain that way until next week at least. Lawmakers have avoided the capital since Christmas in recognition of the reality that they are nowhere ending the fight with Trump with a spending deal. 

Trump warned as the weekend began that he'll close every port of entry if he doesn't see progress not only on his wall but on a total immigration overhaul as he claimed once more that the dispute is totally political in nature and has nothing to do with their claims that his desired border barrier would be impractical.

'We will be forced to close the Southern Border entirely if the Obstructionist Democrats do not give us the money to finish the Wall & also change the ridiculous immigration laws that our Country is saddled with,' he said in a long tweet. 'Hard to believe there was a Congress & President who would approve!' 

Trump made a similar declaration about the politics of the argument on Thursday afternoon, claiming that 'everybody knows' that walls 'work perfectly' while offering a prediction that his point of view would be vindicated in 2020. 

'This isn’t about the Wall, everybody knows that a Wall will work perfectly (In Israel the Wall works 99.9%). This is only about the Dems not letting Donald Trump & the Republicans have a win,' he proclaimed. 'They may have the 10 Senate votes, but we have the issue, Border Security. 2020!'

The president spent the afternoon haranguing Democrats for the 'stupidity' that he said was driving them to oppose his strategy for keeping out illegal immigrants via a wall that he says he needs at least $5 billion to finish.

'They don’t have much to campaign on, do they? An Open Southern Border and the large scale crime that comes with such stupidity!' he wrote in one of several tweets that he sent over a three-hour period.

COMMENT:  We've said it before:  Like him or dislike him, never underestimate Trump's political instincts.  And his arguments resonate with people concerned about security.  I think that's most of us.

December 28, 2018       Permalink

THE HISPANIC VOTE – A MAJOR STORY – AT 10:18 A.M. ET:  You won't hear much about it from the mainstream media, but something is happening with the Hispanic vote that may change a number of political calculations.  From,  believe it or not,  AP:

LITTLETON, Colo. (AP) — Pedro Gonzalez has faith in Donald Trump and his party.
The 55-year-old Colombian immigrant is a pastor at an evangelical church in suburban Denver.

Initially repelled by Trump in 2016, he’s been heartened by the president’s steps to protect religious groups and appoint judges who oppose abortion rights. More important, Gonzalez sees Trump’s presidency as part of a divine plan.

“It doesn’t matter what I think,” Gonzalez said of the president. “He was put there.”

Though Latino voters are a key part of the Democratic coalition, there is a larger bloc of reliable Republican Latinos than many think. And the GOP’s position among Latinos has not weakened during the Trump administration, despite the president’s rhetoric against immigrants and the party’s shift to the right on immigration.

In November’s elections, 32 percent of Latinos voted for Republicans, according to AP VoteCast data. The survey of more than 115,000 midterm voters — including 7,738 Latino voters — was conducted for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago.

Other surveys also found roughly one-third of Latinos supporting the GOP. Data from the Pew Research Center and from exit polls suggests that a comparable share of about 3 in 10 Latino voters supported Trump in 2016. That tracks the share of Latinos supporting Republicans for the last decade.

The stability of Republicans’ share of the Latino vote frustrates Democrats, who say actions like Trump’s family separation policy and his demonization of an immigrant caravan should drive Latinos out of the GOP.

“The question is not are Democrats winning the Hispanic vote — it’s why aren’t Democrats winning the Hispanic vote 80-20 or 90-10 the way black voters are?” said Fernand Amandi, a Miami-based Democratic pollster. He argues Democrats must invest more in winning Latino voters.

COMMENT:  As usual, the press gets it wrong.  Notice the patronizing attitude toward conservative Hispanics in that story.  Why aren't they smart enough to know how evil Trump is?  Why don't they care about illegal immigrants?   Why don't they think like us? 

My friends in the Hispanic community tell me that it is a very complex mechanism.  Not all Hispanics think alike.  They come from a variety of Spanish-speaking cultures.  There is a new generation of Hispanics that is very entrepreneurial.  Many Hispanics appreciate the Trump economy.  And a large number of Hispanics reject illegal immigration.

I wouldn't be shocked to see Trump's part of the Hispanic vote increase in 2020.

Nor would I be surprised if Trump makes gains in the black community, especially if he launches initiatives for economic improvement in large cities.  I'd love to see it.

December 28,  2018     Permalink 

DECEMBER 27,  2018

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:21 P.M. ET: 

THIS IS NUTS – FROM COLLEGE FIX:   The University of Missouri believes that asking someone on a date can violate Title IX in certain situations. Its officials can’t agree on which situations, however.  In a motion for summary judgment filed on Christmas Eve, Jeremy Rowles shared excerpts of depositions with Mizzou officials from his federal lawsuit against the public university.  They suggest that male students should avoid asking out female students at all, particularly when the male is physically larger than the female.  A bit of background: Judge Brian Wimes greenlit the doctoral student’s lawsuit this summer, saying there was no evidence that Rowles had done anything more than make his dance fitness instructor, student Annalise Breaux, “uncomfortable” by asking her out in spring 2016.  The University of Missouri was almost destroyed by racially charged disruptions in 2015.  It appears they haven't learned much.

I'M REASSURED, BUT CHECKING WITH AL GORE – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:   An explosion at a Con Edison facility in Astoria, Queens, shot a streak of blue light into the night sky on Thursday, causing power outages and some locals to fear an extraterrestrial invasion.  Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office quickly made an announcement on Twitter that the situation was being addressed and there was no threat from outer space.  “*Not* aliens,” Mayor de Blasio spokesman Eric Phillips wrote. “Blown transformer at Queens Con-Ed facility. Scattered power outages, including LGA. Con-Ed, FDNY, PD, OEM all working on it.”  LaGuardia Airport suffered power outages and all outgoing flights were temporarily suspended, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson said.  This is New York.  Had it been an extraterrestrial invasion, the mayor would have instantly declared New York a Universe Sanctuary City, and offered all extraterrestrials a driver's license and college education.

YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK – FROM THE WASHINGTON TIMES:  The IRS overpaid nearly $4 billion to Obamacare customers through tax credits last year, and because of the way the law is written it can’t even try to collect on a quarter of that, the Treasury Department’s inspector general reported this week.  All told, the Treasury Department paid out roughly $27 billion in Obamacare subsidies in the 2018 tax-filing season, with overages accounting for $3.7 billion of that. Only $2.7 billion was recaptured.  The $1 billion left over is small compared to the overall federal budget, but it is 20 percent of the president’s border wall funding request that’s spurred the current government shutdown.  Overpayments were built into Obamacare, with most people who buy insurance on the Affordable Care Act’s exchanges collecting subsidies through the IRS to help them afford their plan premiums.  The amount they get during the year is based on their expected earnings.  At the end of the year they’re supposed to square what they expected to earn with what they actually got, and since some of them saw higher incomes — through raises, promotions or better jobs — they have to repay the IRS.  Yet the authors of the 2010 law were afraid if people faced the threat of a big tax bill they would shirk Obamacare coverage altogether, so the law set limits on how much the government could claw back.  Another bit of brilliant government planning.  And the "progressives" want to control the entire medical system.

December 27, 2018       Permalink

Editor's note:  You have seen the name William Stroock in these pages, or, more likely, at our Forum.  Will has written fine books of military history, and some compelling novels as well.  His new book, "Pershing in Command," is well worth noting.  It's the story of the star-crossed commander of American forces in Europe during World War I, and the only man to wear the title "General of the Armies."  A key man at a critical time.  Highly recommended.  At Amazon.

DEATH OF A NETWORK – AT 2:25 P.M. ET:  It is truly sad to watch the decline of CNN into the joke it has become – the anti-Trump network that still claims to be the first name in news.  Even the president's trip to visit the troops was considered fair game at the network that was.  From Fox: 

CNN was slammed for what many called overwhelmingly negative coverage of President Donald Trump’s visit to the troops was on Wednesday night.

Both the president and first lady Melania Trump surprised troops stationed in Iraq the day after Christmas, which was followed by another visit with the troops in Germany.

However, there was barely a kind word expressed towards the president regarding his trip overseas -- at least on CNN. The network published a report Wednesday evening drawing attention to the troops who brought MAGA hats for the president to sign being against military guidelines, which forbids active members of the military from participating in “political activities.”

The story by CNN politics reporter Eli Watkins, headlined “Troops bringing Trump hats to sign may violate military rule,” was mocked on social media.

CNN Politics’ verified Twitter account was ratioed when Watkins’ story was sent out, which is typically a sign that the majority of readers don’t agree. As of Thursday morning, the tweet received over 3,300 comments and only 826 likes.

Meanwhile, several watchdogs pointed out that President Obama also signed autographs when visiting troops.

CNN’s criticism of Trump visiting the troops wasn’t limited to Watkins report and the network took a negative tone throughout their evening coverage.

CNN anchor Jim Sciutto blasted Trump for his “routine lying,” while CNN military analyst Mark Hertling criticized Trump for getting “political” during his visit. Former Obama State Department spokesman John Kirby even dinged the president for not visiting with Iraqi security forces, who are also part of the fight against ISIS.

COMMENT:  So much potential wasted.  I recall a time when news directors fought for every minute of air time.  When the large TV networks went from fifteen-minute nightly newscasts to half an hour, it was considered a major event, a great breakthrough for broadcast journalism.

Now cable news networks have 24 hours a day, and look what CNN does with its own 24 hours.  It's an all-day Trump-bashing session, with a minimum of serious news.

Ain't anyone got any shame?

And what will CNN do when Trump leaves office?  It's so hard to get good villains these days.

December 27, 2018       Permalink

HOW ABOUT INVESTIGATING THIS? – AT 12:30 P.M. ET:  You mean wealthy liberals engage in slea`zy tactics?  I can't believe anyone could think that.  But here it is.  There must be some mistake.  Say it ain't so.  From Fox: 

Liberal Silicon Valley billionaire Reid Hoffman issued an apology on Wednesday for funding a group that falsely tried to give an impression the Russian government was supporting Alabama Republican Roy Moore in last year’s Senate election against now-Sen. Doug Jones.

Them Russkies?  Again?

Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn, is one of Silicon Valley’s top donors to the Democratic campaigns and PACs. In the last election cycle he donated $7 million to Democratic groups, though his money also pours into non-traditional groups that aren’t mandated to report their funding and often operate in the shadows.

One such groups is American Engagement Technologies (AET), a firm run by former Obama appointee Mikey Dickerson, which received $750,000 from Hoffman and was part of the effort to falsely portray the Republican’s senate bid as being supported by the Kremlin.   

COMMENT:  How long will this story last?  Uh, let's see.  Dem donor.  Got a victory in red Alabama.  I'd say, give it a day, two at the most.  No anguish for the liberals.

December 27,  2018     Permalink