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JANUARY 7,  2018

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 9:28 P.M. ET:

YOU CANNOT MAKE IT UP – FROM COLLEGE FIX:  In a remarkable interview, a Yale professor of psychiatry says President Trump should be “contained” against his will for an “emergency” evaluation of his mental state.  According to Vox.com reporter Eliza Barclay, Professor Bandy Lee is “leading the call” by a group of psychiatrists for just that assessment. Lee has “devoted her 20-year career to studying, predicting, and preventing violence,” Barclay writes.  The professor allegedly briefed a dozen members of Congress on the president’s mental state, and along with professors from Harvard and Columbia released a statement noting Mr. Trump is “further unraveling.”  We noted earlier today that a traditional tactic of the left is to declare opponents mentally unfit.  This story fits right in.

MORE MADNESS – FROM TWITCHY.COM:  It’s been quite a week for those in the mental health profession and those in government and the media who like to pretend they are. Yes, the narrative of the week, kicking off with President Trump’s North Korea tweet on Tuesday and continuing through the weekend (and surely into next week), is that Trump is mentally unfit for office and must be removed.  With that in mind, consider this unrelated entry from psychologist Barbara Greenberg, who writes in US News that “the word ‘best’ encourages judgment and promotes exclusion,” and so children should be banned from having best friends in school.  Better talk to your kids.  Make sure they have no favorites.  Tell the best friend she's no longer welcome.  Everyone is equal, remember that.  And remember to recite your Marx.

BERNIE, WE HARDLY KNEW YE – FROM VTDIGGER.ORG:  The federal probe into a 2010 land deal orchestrated by former Burlington College president Jane Sanders, wife of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has deepened. VTDigger has confirmed that a grand jury has been empaneled and has taken sworn testimony in the case.  Former Burlington College board member Robin Lloyd says she testified for about an hour on Oct. 26 before a grand jury at the federal courthouse in Burlington...Jane and Bernie Sanders have vehemently denied any impropriety surrounding the land deal.  Lloyd’s appearance is the first public confirmation that the federal government has empaneled a grand jury, whose principal function is to decide whether to issue a criminal indictment.  There is a presumption of innocence, of course, but this looks like trouble.

January 7, 2018       Permalink

OH DEAR, HERE COME THE REGRETS – AT 2:22 P.M. ET:   Steve Bannon apparently realizes he's now officially damaged goods.  From Mediaite: 

Last week, Breitbart chief and former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon became THE focus of political media when excerpts from Michael Wolff’s Trump tell-all were published. Among the many explosive remarks attributed to Bannon was his declaration that Donald Trump Jr’s 2016 Trump Tower meeting with a Russian lawyer was “treasonous.”

Needless to say, the president has not taken kindly to the book or Bannon’s comments, labeling Bannon “Sloppy Steve,” claiming his ex-advisor has “lost his mind” and stating that he is totally done with him. Meanwhile, Bannon has largely stayed quiet about the whole thing. Today ended that silence.

Bannon told Axios on Sunday that he was sorry for his comments about the president’s son.

“I regret that my delay in responding to the inaccurate reporting regarding Don Jr has diverted attention from the president’s historical accomplishments in the first year of his presidency,” the statement to Axios said.

He also heaped praise upon Trump Jr., calling him “both a patriot and a good man,” adding that the Trump scion “has been relentless in his advocacy for his father and the agenda that has helped turn our country around.”

Bannon further noted his comments “were aimed at Paul Manafort,” stating that Manafort “should have known [the Russians] are duplicitous, cunning and not our friends.”

COMMENT:   Well, I don't know how much good this will do Bannon.  I think, unless political conditions change, he will now become an asterisk in history. 

There is an old line in politics, which you've all heard:  "If you strike at the king, you must kill him."  Bannon struck, and the king is still there.  Bannon's phone has probably stopped ringing.

January 7, 2018       Permalink

NICE TO KNOW – AT 1:38 P.M. ET:  At least Teresa May, the prime minister of Great Britain, has come to President Trump's defense.  From Associated Press: 

LONDON — British Prime Minister Theresa May has dismissed concerns about Donald Trump’s mental fitness, saying the U.S. president acts in what he sees as the best interests of his country.

A new book by journalist Michael Wolff quotes prominent Trump advisers as questioning the president’s competence.

Asked in an interview whether she thought concerns about Trump’s mental state were serious, May said: “No.”

She said that “when I deal with President Trump what I see is somebody who is committed to ensuring that he is taking decisions in the best interests of the United States.”

In the BBC interview broadcast Sunday, May reaffirmed that Trump would visit Britain. She did not give a date, or say whether it would be a full state visit or a lower-key working trip.

COMMENT:  The charge that a president, or presidential candidate, is mentally unstable, has only been made against Republicans.  It is a standard charge of the left, inspired by the old Soviet device of sending dissidents to the Gulag for "mental treatment."  Old Soviet practices have always inspired elements of the left.  Ah, for the good old days.

The president is not unstable.  He is sometimes obnoxious and unwise, and some of his tweets are over the top.  But he's a very smart and discerning man, if he'd give himself a break now and then.

January 7, 2018       Permalink

IRAN – HOW SAD – AT 12:46 P.M. ET:  It does appear that the Iranian protests are essentially over.   For a few days we could dream that democracy would win.  From Reuters: 

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Sunday the country’s people and security forces had put an end to unrest fomented by foreign enemies, as parliament and security officials met to discuss the boldest challenge to the clerical establishment since 2009.

There has been more than a week of unrest in Iran in which 22 people have died and more than 1,000 arrested, according to Iranian officials. The protests spread to more than 80 cities and rural towns as thousands of young and working-class Iranians expressed their anger at graft, unemployment and a deepening gap between rich and poor.

Residents contacted by Reuters in various cities have said the protests had subsided after the government intensified a crackdown by dispatching Revolutionary Guards forces to several provinces.

“Iran’s revolutionary people along with tens of thousands of Basij forces, police and the Intelligence Ministry have broken down the chain (of unrest),” the Guards said in a statement on their Sepahnews website. The Guards said the unrest had been “created ... by the United States, Britain, the Zionist regime (Israel), Saudi Arabia, the hypocrites (Mujahideen) and monarchists.”

COMMENT:  What did we learn in the days of the revolt?  We learned plenty.  We learned, with revulsion, that the Democratic Party of the United States turned its back on the Iranian people in order to support the ugly foreign policy of Barack Obama.  We learned that, by contrast, President Trump openly supported the protests, putting this country on the right side of history.  Mr. Trump should be praised for his stand.  The mainstream media ignored it.

We learned, once again, that our "allies" in Western Europe cannot be trusted.  They are allies only when we're doing something for them.  After President Trump resoundingly declared what side we were on, our "allies" refused to go along.  Even Great Britain's reaction was muted, and the French president suggested our pro-democracy stand could lead to war.  Of course, European policy was based on the large amount of commercial business done with Iran.  Democratic ideals were left behind. Liberal intellectuals have lost all interest in human rights.

We must always remember, as we symbolically walk through the American military cemeteries in Europe, that every soldier buried there died as a result of European diplomacy.  Yet, the West Europeans continue to lecture us.  Please observe that no democracy movement anywhere in the world was ever inspired by a statement made by the European Union.  It is the United States that people around the world look to.  To his enormous credit, Ronald Reagan never let them down.  Neither is Donald Trump letting them down.  It is the Obamas of this country that shame us.

January 7,  2018     Permalink

JANUARY 6,  2018

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

FLOP TIME – FROM AFP:  Los Angeles (AFP) - As Hollywood prepares to celebrate its achievements at the Golden Globes on Sunday, new figures show all might not be well in the film industry, with attendances at a quarter-century low.  The last 12 months have seen huge successes, with "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" and "Beauty and the Beast" raking in more than half a billion dollars each at home.  "Wonder Woman" and several Marvel superhero movies including "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" and Thor: Ragnarok" also have more than pulled their weight.  But the handful of hits has masked a decline of almost six percent on the year to 1.2 billion tickets sold, the lowest total since 1992, according to Box Office Mojo.  The feature-film industry has worked hard to drive audiences away, and succeeded.  Television is the hottest medium right now, and is likely to remain so.

UFO'S OVER MANHATTAN – READ ALL ABOUT IT! – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:  Manhattan has gone from Studio 54 to Area 51, leading the five boroughs in sightings of unidentified flying objects over the last two years, data from the National UFO Reporting Center reveals.  Otherworldly tourists have included travelers in a “round orange orb,” a crew in a “cigar-shaped” craft and even “an unknown creature” that rudely “teleported” into one New Yorker’s back yard, according to reports made to the Washington-based group.  One Manhattan true believer claimed a close encounter — just by looking outside the gym window.  “It was rotating like a drill as it was also moving off axis and in a line towards the east,” the person explained. “As it rotated, you would be able to see four lights that would only be on one side and seen after it fully rotated. It has to be hundreds of feet long. Then after it appeared, four other smaller craft appeared that were to me saucer or spherical that blipped in and out.”   The UFO's apparently all left when they learned about New York State taxes.

AH, THE MODERN WORLD – FROM BLOOMBERG:  Saudi authorities made a fresh round of arrests of royal-family members as a group of princes staged a palace protest in the capital over the non-payment of their electricity and water bills.  Security services on Thursday arrested the 11 princes after they refused to leave Qasr Al-Hokm in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s Attorney General, Sheikh Saud Al Mojeb, said in an emailed statement. The princes, who objected to a decree that ordered the state to stop paying their utility bills, will be held at al-Ha’er prison pending their trial, Al Mojeb said.  “No one is above the law in Saudi Arabia, everyone is equal and is treated the same as others,” Al Mojeb said. “Any person, regardless of their status or position, will be held accountable should they decide not to follow the rules and regulations of the state.”  Yes, we've noticed all the equality in Saudi Arabia.  No women need apply.

January 6, 2018       Permalink

GOOD! – AT 3:28 P.M. ET:  Occasionally there are good court decisions on the West Coast.  Savor the moment.  From Breitbart: 

A court in California has ordered Antifa organizer Yvette Felarca to pay $11,000 after she filed a frivolous restraining order against former Berkeley College Republicans President Troy Worden.
In 2017, Antifa organizer Yvette Felarca filed a restraining order against former UC Berkeley College Republican president Troy Worden, citing two alleged incidents of harassment. Worden’s attorney alleges that Felarca made up two false accusations of harassment against him. He claims that Felarca used two incidents in which Worden made eye contact with her on campus as a basis for the restraining order.

Now, a California court has ordered Felarca to pay a $11,000 fine for filing a frivolous lawsuit. The funds will go directly to covering Worden’s attorney fees. In a press release, attorney Harmeet Dhillon suggested that the fine signals that Antifa can’t use the courts to silence their political opponents. “Felarca and her fellow travelers in BAMN [By Any Means Necessary]/Antifa need to learn that the California courts are not their personal plaything to use and abuse at will by filing baseless and vexatious lawsuits,” she said in the release.

“By ruling that she did not demonstrate good faith in filing the restraining order, the court recognized the frivolous nature of Felarca’s actions,” Worden’s attorney, Mark Meuser, added. “The award of attorney fees should send a strong signal that she cannot abuse the court system to silence speech.”

COMMENT:  Occasionally there is justice.   But I wouldn't count on too much of it from most courts around San Francisco and Berkeley.  This was an exception.

January 6, 2018       Permalink

FASCINATING – AT 1:53 P.M. ET:  In the Mideast, in particular, public statements do not necessarily reflect real attitudes.  All Arab nations denounced President Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, but the statements often seemed muted.  From the Times of Israel:

Though Egypt has publicly condemned US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and even sponsored a UN resolution rejecting the move, Cairo has quietly sought to convince the Egyptian public to accept it, the New York Times reported Saturday.

The newspaper obtained audio recordings in which an Egyptian intelligence officer, speaking with influential talk show hosts, asked them to downplay the significance of US President Donald Trump’s decision.

The officer, Cpt. Ashraf al-Kholi, is reported to have told hosts that widespread unrest over Washington’s move would “not serve Egypt’s national security interests,” as it would “revive the Islamists and Hamas. Hamas would be reborn once more.

“How is Jerusalem different from Ramallah, really?” al-Kholi asked on the recordings, as he sought to lessen the Holy City’s significance as the future capital of a Palestinian state.

Though he said Cairo would denounce Trump’s declaration, he added that, “After that, this thing will become a reality. Palestinians can’t resist and we don’t want to go to war. We have enough on our plate as you know.”

COMMENT:  I get the feeling that the political left in the West is more upset about the Jerusalem decision than are the Arab nations.  Most of them accept the reality of Israel, and the Saudis, in particular, have privately moved closer to Israel, according to reports.  The Palestinians threw a tantrum, but they always do.  The Jerusalem decision will melt away in time, especially when Trump presents his peace plan for the region, which should be soon.  Then the real bargaining begins.  If the Pals refuse to come to the peace table, the necessary heat will be applied, and it is likely to be financial. 

There are no guarantees.  It's the Mideast, integrity is not highly prized, and the sands can shift.  The Russian presence, which did not exist when Field Marshal Obama came to office, can disrupt everything.  So can the power of Iran, which was also much smaller when Obama took the oath. 

Great president, that Obama. 

January 6, 2018       Permalink

THE BOOK – AT 12:53 P.M. ET: "The book," the one everyone is talking about, is already destroying itself.  A number of people are coming forward to point out mistakes.  Some are saying they weren't where the author, Michael Wolff, says they were.  Others are rebelling about Wolff's claim that his book will wreck Trump's presidency.  I sense that a number of decent journalists don't want to be associated with the book.

Among the more asinine assertions by Wolff is that Mr. Trump is stupid, has trouble reading, and may even have a reading deficiency.  We point out that the president is a graduate of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.  He also makes speeches during which he uses...a teleprompter.  You have to read from a teleprompter, the last time I looked.

It is reported that the president has a short attention span.  No, he probably processes information quickly and dismisses the padding in a briefing or paper, and there is plenty of padding in Washington.  When I was in the CIA, an analyst told me that, when a new country was formed in Africa, President Eisenhower asked that he be provided with a map, with a red arrow pointing at that country.  The analyst giggled, as if this showed that Mr. Eisenhower was stupid.  My own private reaction was that, if I were president, that's exactly what I'd want done.  Presidents are busy. 

President Reagan admitted that he fell asleep at Cabinet meetings.  He explained that he knew he wasn't missing anything.

Other critics of the book are asking why, if Mr. Trump is so mentally challenged, it never seems to show in public.  I guess he has a secret brain working for him, just as Dick Cheney was said to be George W. Bush's brain by people, the same kind who ridicule Trump, who charged that Bush wasn't bright enough to be president.

Trump responded to the personal criticisms in the book with a Twitter storm this morning, and I wish he hadn't.  He hurts himself when he takes the bait and descends to the level of a gossip factory.  Let others do the defending.  The president should be above it.

There's an old line in politics:  When your opponent is committing suicide, don't get in the way.  The author of this new book is appearing on television making grandiose claims and appearing the ambitious fool.  Don't get in his way.

One thing that could be useful is to counter Wolff's claim that everyone around Trump – 100 percent, he emphasizes – believes he is unfit for office.  I suggest circulating among those closest to Mr. Trump a letter firmly rejecting the charge, and having them sign it.  A very simple step, but one that would place the author in the position of a liar.

January 6,  2018     Permalink