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JULY 18,  2016

REPUBLICAN CONVENTION – DAY ONE

I have just finished watching the endless analysis of the day's events inflicted on us by Fox and CNN.  Such overintellectualization of trivia I have rarely heard. 

There was only one event at the convention tonight that Americans truly cared about, and that was the appearance by Melania Trump, the candidate's wife.

And she delivered. 

She was introduced by the candidate in the shortest speech he ever made, and then showed real star quality.  No one will remember what she said, but she was captivating, gorgeous and stylish.  I think she'll be an asset to Trump by her very presence.  Americans know that their choice for "first spouse" is between Melania and Slick Willy.  She wins in a landslide.

I did watch some of the other speeches.  Some were fine, some a bit strident.  I just don't think viewers pay much attention to them.  It was Melania they wanted to see, and I'd love to see the ratings. 

UPDATE:  I see that some critics are pointing out a few similarities between Melania's speech and the one delivered by Michelle Obama at the 2008 Democratic convention.  Yes, there are a few similarities, but nothing particularly scandalous.  From Fox:

The remarks came toward the beginning of her speech, which was otherwise distinct from the address that Michelle Obama gave when her husband, then-Sen. Barack Obama, was being nominated for president.

"From a young age, my parents impressed on me the values that you work hard for what you want in life, that your word is your bond and you do what you say and keep your promise, that you treat people with respect. They taught and showed me values and morals in their daily life,” Melania Trump said in her speech in Cleveland.

In Michelle Obama's 2008 speech in Denver, she said: "And Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values: like, you work hard for what you want in life, that your word is your bond, that you do what you say you're going to do, that you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don't know them and even if you don't agree with them."

Another passage with some similarities that follows two sentences later in Melania Trump’s speech addresses her attempts to instill those values in her son.

"We need to pass those lessons on to the many generations to follow," she said. "Because we want our children in this nation to know that the only limit to your achievements is the strength of your dreams and your willingness to work for them."

In the first lady's 2008 speech, she said, "Barack and I set out to build lives guided by these values and to pass them onto the next generation, because we want our children — and all children in this nation — to know that the only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work hard for them."

No doubt the Obama speech was studied by Melania or a speechwriter, and there were those similarities.  It would be better had they not been there, but I don't see this as real plagiarism.  Many words were changed, the ideas were pretty standard.  Won't help Melania, though, as the Dems and their friends will make this into World War III.

July 18, 2016       Permalink

ON THE BUTTON – QUOTE OF THE DAY – AT 11:26 A.M. ET:   Victor Davis Hanson has some suggestions for President Obama to ease the racial tensions in the country, tensions that Obama has made worse with his hectoring comments.  From NRO: 

In future presidential editorialization about the shooting deaths of police officers, perhaps the president himself might first offer a few “words matter” gestures that would reassure law enforcement, to use another Obama phrase, that he “has their back.” Here are just three low-bar proposals for how to discourage those who glorify or advocate lethal violence against criminal-justice officers:

No longer invite into the White House any leaders whose affiliated members have marched chanting their desire to kill police officers (e.g., “What do we want? Dead cops” / “Pigs in a blanket; fry ’em like bacon”).

Do not consult with any self-appointed leader in the White House whose past has included overt and implicit calls to shoot police officers (e.g., Al Sharpton: “I believe in offing the pigs. Well, they got pigs out here. You ain’t offed one of them. What I believe in, I do. Do what you believe in. Or shut up and admit you’ve lost your courage and your guts to stand up”).

Do not invite into the White House any artists whose work has glorified the killing of officers of the criminal-justice system (e.g., Lamar Kendrick’s To Pimp a Butterfly album, one of whose songs was dubbed by Obama as his favorite of 2015), whose cover depicts a group of African-American youth celebrating with champagne and cash on the White House lawn over the corpse of a white judge with his eyes X-ed out).

I don’t think that is too much to ask of the president of the United States — and perhaps such simple gestures might do a lot more for police reconciliation than the usual Obama summits and community “dialogues.”

COMMENT:  Great suggestions, unlikely to be followed.  Obama has six months and two days left in office.  He'll probably double down on everything he's doing, and will do much damage in the process.

July 18, 2016       Permalink 

BULLETIN – ANOTHER ACQUITTAL IN BALTIMORE –  AT 10:50 A.M. ET:  Amidst all the talk about police-community relations, another officer has been acquitted in Baltimore in connection with the death of Freddie Gray.   From Fox: 

DEVELOPING: A judge in Baltimore Monday acquitted the highest-ranking officer charged in the death of Freddie Gray, marking the fourth trial that prosecutors failed to win.

Lt. Brian Rice faced charges of involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office.

Gray died a week after suffering a spinal injury in a police van last year, touching off protests and rioting.

From the Baltimore Sun:

Prosecutors in Baltimore have failed for the fourth time to secure a conviction in the Freddie Gray case, with Circuit Judge Barry Williams acquitting Lt. Brian Rice of all charges related to Gray's arrest and death.

Williams cleared Rice, 42, of involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office in a downtown Baltimore courtroom on Monday morning. The judge had dismissed a second-degree assault charge at the trial's midpoint, and prosecutors dropped a second misconduct charge at the start.

Rice selected a bench trial rather than a jury trial, putting his legal fate in Williams' hands. He was was fourth of six officers charged in the case to go to trial.

Williams previously acquitted two other officers — Edward Nero and Caesar Goodson Jr. — of all charges in May and June, respectively. A fourth officer, William Porter, had a mistrial in December after a 12-member jury could not reach a consensus on any of the charges against him.

Rice's acquittal is likely to renew calls for Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby to drop the remaining charges in the case, including from the union that represents the city's rank-and-file officers.

COMMENT:  Please note that Barry Williams is an African-American judge.  His decisions reflect a reading of the facts, whereas the actions against the officers by Marilyn J. Mosby seemed to be a tribute to the mob. 

Once again we have the results of a rush to judgment.  After Gray's death, many fingers were pointed at the police, and President Obama weighed in with his finger as well.  Now we see the facts.

Don't expect any apology from the White House or Marilyn Mosby.  These are political cases, not real cases.

July 18, 2016       Permalink

CONVENTION STARTS – AT 9:18 A.M. ET:  The Republican National Convention starts today in Cleveland.  Tensions are high both inside and outside the hall.  Outside, there is concern about violence.  Understandable.  Inside there is concern about the quality of the presidential nominee.  Understandable.

Bill Kristol, one of the leaders of the anti-Trump movement within the Republican Party, calls Trump the worst nominee in its history.  ("If Trump is nominated on Thursday, it will not be a grand day for a grand old party. For it will have nominated the worst nominee in its history.")  Well, hard to say, but the concerns about Trump are real, and are grave.

In my view, the convention is Trump's last chance to president a positive, presidential message.  True, the matchup polls between Trump and Clinton have tightened recently, but only because Clinton's numbers have shrunk.  Trump's have not increased.

This should be an easy presidential year for Republicans, running against a Democratic candidate who is intensely disliked, and has suffered withering criticism from the FBI director, no less.  And yet, it's a struggle, for Donald Trump has spectacularly high negatives, and has the remarkable capacity to be truly obnoxious. 

Trump has some good ideas, has clearly hit a nerve with a part of the electorate, but this is a man who could mess up a wedding kiss – and he's had plenty of practice.  He has run as a protest candidate, but has never made much of a case for a Trump presidency.  He has needlessly insulted everyone from Megyn Kelly to the Hispanic, female, Republican governor of New Mexico.  Many party leaders will not show up at his convention.

His acceptance speech this week is his last chance.  He has turned off many, many people, and now he must turn them on with an acceptance speech that presents his positive side, a vision for America, and a speech that is short on personal attacks against Clinton.  He must say to the American people, in effect, "I build."  Not, "I tear down."

Can he do it?  If he doesn't, he may get a slight boost from the convention, but it may well be downhill after that, and Queen Hillary will get a four-year lease on the White House. 

July 18,  2016     Permalink

JULY 17,  2016

No "Short Takes" tonight.  We've had too much news fitting too few hours.

WRAPUP – AT 11:40 P.M. ET:  There is nothing more to report right now on Baton Rouge.  There will be a news conference tomorrow, which coincides with the opening of the Republican National Convention, where security is the highest concern.

The key news point is learning more about the Baton Rouge assassin, whether he had confederates, and who influenced him.  After incidents like this there's usually a gap of a day or two as authorities and journalists gather information.  It took a few days to learn that the man who killed 84 innocent people in Paris last week had recently been radicalized by ISIS.  I would not be shocked if the Baton Rouge killer had some kind of radical affiliation that left its mark.

There is a sense of dread in much of the news reporting, a sense that the dogs of hate have been unleashed, and that Baton Rouge will happen again, and again.  I fear that this is correct.  We are in the midst of a wave of terrorism, foreign and domestic. 

BULLETIN – AT 5:02 P.M. ET:  The Baton Rouge shooter, who, according to police, murdered three officers this morning has been identified by CBS News as Gavin Eugene Long, an African-American male from Kansas City, Missouri.  He is 29.  Today is his birthday.  He is apparently a former Marine.  We don't know much more at this time.

We stress that this information comes from CBS and has now been confirmed by other news sources.  Incredibly the authorities in Baton Rouge held a 4 p.m. ET news conference and did not name the shooter, nor take any questions.  Some news conference.  Why bother?  President Obama just made a public statement, again not giving us the name of the shooter, but saying we don't know his motivation.  Maybe, but I doubt if he traveled from Kansas City to Baton Rouge with a rifle because he thought Baton Rouge was a great vacationland. 

We don't know if the shooter acted alone, or whether his birthday is of significance.  That information may come out tomorrow at another scheduled press conference. 

Tomorrow is also the first day of the Republican National Convention.  Trump must be exceedingly careful in how he handles Baton Rouge.  He must note it, but with respect, and must avoid anything overtly political.  Whatever he says should be written in advance, word-for-word, with his daughter supervising. 

1:31 P.M. ET:  Rather curious, but no description of the dead suspect in the Baton Rouge killings of three police officers has been released.  Nothing about him.   Police are still looking for two possible suspects, based on original witness reports.  However, a caution:  We don't actually know if there are additional shooters.  There could have been two innocent people running from the gunfire.

At this point there is more speculation than news.  Some have speculated that this could be a terrorist operation, as terror groups have urged followers to attack police officers.  Nothing so far backs up this scenario.

We are following.

12:25 P.M. ET:  CBS, NBC, and ABC are ignoring the Baton Rouge situation.  CNN and Fox are providing continuous coverage.  Latest available information, subject to change:  Three officers dead, three wounded.  One suspect dead, two at large.  We stress that these numbers are subject to change. 

It is believed that officers were lured to a location on a highway, where they were ambushed.  Again, descriptions at this time are vague.

Heard the mayor of Baton Rouge, known as the mayor-president, being interviewed.  He sounded like a borderline idiot, talking about how he was in contact with Valerie Jarrett at the White House.  Who cares?  Did he ask for an autographed picture?

Stand by.

BULLETIN – AT 11:32 A.M. ET:  There has been a shooting of police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  Reports differ, but as many as three officers have been killed and approximately seven wounded.  Many or all of the wounded are said to be in critical condition.  The shooter or shooters are apparently still at large.

Baton Rouge was the scene several weeks ago of a black man killed by police in a violent confrontation. 

We are following this closely, and may be away from blogging for a time as we gather facts. 

Stand by.

July 17,  2016     Permalink