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I appeared on Silvio Canto Jr's talk show from Dallas yesterday.  It's here.

JULY 3,  2018

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:47 P.M. ET: 

IDIOTS – FROM THE HILL:   Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Tom Perez said Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez represents the “future of our party” on Tuesday."I have three kids. Two of them are daughters — one just graduated college, one who is in college. And they were both texting me about their excitement over Alexandria because she really — she represents the future of our party," Perez said on "The Bill Press Show."  Ocasio-Cortez, a 28-year-old self-proclaimed democratic socialist and organizer with Sen. Bernie Sanders's (I-Vt.) presidential campaign, rose to fame after defeating incumbent Rep. Joseph Crowley (D) in a stunning primary upset last week.  Ocasio-Cortez ran as a socialist, a polite term these days for a Marxist.  She won the Democratic Party nomination for Congress with the support of fewer than 10% of her district's Democrats, not exactly a national revolution.  She's a professional Israel hater.  Scratch her down deep, I think you'll find plenty of hatred for America as well. 

MR. PERFECT HAS A PROBLEM – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:    Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been accused of groping a reporter eighteen years ago — but claims he doesn’t recall any ‘negative interactions’ from that day, reports said.  At a fundraiser to support avalanche safety in 2000, Trudeau, then 28, was accused of “groping” and “inappropriately handling” a young female reporter who was covering the event for the Creston Valley Advance, CBC News reported.  The woman, who was not named in the article, is believed to have written an editorial about the alleged incident after the event, which is the only record of it, the outlet reported. The editorial suggested the woman felt “blatantly disrespected” but did not provide specific details about what occurred.  Valeria Bourne, who was the publisher of the paper at the time, remembered the event and said the reporter was “distressed” by her contact with Trudeau but would not consider it sexual assault.  Trudeau is always lecturing us from his perch as a superior human.  Let's see how he gets out of this. 

FOR THOSE WHO LOVE SOCIALISM – FROM BREITBART:   Local residents in Venezuela staged further protests on Monday as the failed socialist country now appears to be running out of clean water. Multiple groups of demonstrators blocked highways around the capital of Caracas to protest the lack of clean water supplies.  On the Avenida Baralt in central Caracas, protesters complained that they had not received water for two days and, as a result  Elsewhere in Caracas, locals blocked a highway outside the Concresa shopping mall in the Baruta neighborhood to protest the lack of water, as well as the recently elevated price of public transport. A recent report by the Venezuelan National Federation of Communal Councils and Communes found that 90 percent of ground transportation in the country is broken or out of service.  Welcome to socialism.  Trendy Hollywood stars can send their contributions to any Venezuelan charity.

July 3, 2018       Permalink

A GREAT CHOICE – AT 1:56 P.M. ET:   Several readers have sent me this piece, and I've heard excellent things about this judge elsewhere.  He seems like the perfect choice for Supreme Court.  From RealClearPolitics: 

President Trump — already a conservative hero for appointing Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court and for his swift remaking of the federal appellate courts — can again make history by choosing Judge Amul Thapar of Kentucky to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Thapar, the son of Indian immigrants who came to America legally, is the product of public schools in Toledo, Ohio. He was the first ever judge of South Asian descent appointed to the federal bench and would be the first person of any Asian heritage appointed to the Supreme Court.

Thapar is a history-making choice for a president who loves to make history. Trump often zigs when other presidents would have zagged, as the Washington Post noted this weekend, and he can again defy “the swamp” by appointing someone like Thapar who is squarely from outside of it.

For conservatives, Thapar is a dream choice. He’s an originalist, a term associated with Justices Clarence Thomas, Gorsuch and the late Antonin Scalia. Imagine a Supreme Court where the two leading conservative originalists are an African-American and an Indian-American. Trump can absolutely shatter the stereotypes liberals throw at Republicans by having Thapar join Thomas to defend and indeed crusade for the U.S. Constitution.

Thapar would become the youngest member of the Supreme Court at 49, but don’t let his youth fool you. He has an extensive record of distinguished public service — a prosecutor in Ohio, U.S. attorney in Kentucky, trial-court judge, and current judge on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. He’s thoroughly vetted (confirmed three times by the Senate already) and was even a short-lister for Scalia’s seat last time around.

Thapar is a real dude. He and his wife are raising three kids in parochial schools, and the only thing he likes talking about more than the Constitution are the sports and academic exploits of his children.

He is a serious family man -- values instilled in him by his parents. His dad was a heating and air conditioning guy in Toledo, and Thapar spent a summer driving a truck for his company. His mom sold her successful restaurant after 9/11 to become a social worker with the U.S. Army to help Special Forces and other heroes transition home from the battlefield.

Thapar loves America because his parents taught him to love America. His family history exemplifies the promise of the United States and the magic of what the Founders intended – a dynamic, free country where hard work and playing by the rules give you every chance to achieve your dreams.

COMMENT:  Read the rest.  I'm a fan of this guy.

July 3,  2018     Permalink

THEY'RE DEVOURING EACH OTHER!  TERRIFIC! – AT 12:24 P.M. ET:  The Democrats are staring at each other with the suspicion of true French revolutionaries.  Is there a politically correct guillotine?  Maybe something made in Venezuela?  From Daily Wire: 

The last victim of the French Revolution was the man who started it, and the American "progressive revolution" may also, in the wake of a debate over separating illegal immigrant families at the border, be declaring open war on the man who launched a thousand protest marches.

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders won't join the left's clarion call to "abolish" Immigrant and Customs Enforcement, and now leftists want him drummed out of the movement.

The Washington Post's Dave Weigel hinted at the coming chasm last week, after observing a growing call within progressive ranks to include "Abolish ICE" as part of the Democratic Party's official platform. Probable 2020 presidential contender and Hillary Clinton protege, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) moved the topic into mainstream discussion after announcing, over the weekend, that she'd support a bill abolishing ICE as part of leftist's efforts to end enforcement of America's immigration laws.

COMMENT:  The madness is growing, and the smiles on the faces of the old reds are getting wider.  Anyone who's ever had contact with the old red groups knows they eat their own.  They're professional revolutionaries, often horribly mean-spirited, with the intellect of 12-year-olds and the cruelty of the worst totalitarians.  Other than that, they're great.

July 3,  2018     Permalink

JULY 2,  2018

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

SLIPPING – FROM BLOOMBERG: It’s the first drop below 50 percent since Gallup started asking the question 17 years ago.  An estimated 47 percent of U.S. adults are “extremely proud” to be Americans this year, according to a Gallup survey issued in advance of the Fourth of July holiday.  “Left-leaning groups’ antipathy toward Donald Trump and their belief that other countries look unfavorably on the president are likely factors in their decline in patriotism, particularly the sharp drops in the past year,” Gallup said. “The declines began before Trump was elected” and “accelerated in the past year,” the polling organization added. It’s the first drop below 50 percent since Gallup started asking the question 17 years ago.  The far left is doing its job, sadly.

MARCHING TOWARD MEDIOCRITY – FROM COLLEGE FIX:    The chancellor of the California community college system has stated that institutions’ algebra requirements are “the biggest barrier” for “underemployed or unemployed Americans,” and as such is … a civil rights issue.  According to NPR, Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley is “among a growing number of educators who view intermediate algebra as an obstacle to students obtaining their credentials — particularly in fields that require no higher level math skills.”  In an interview with the chancellor, NPR’s Robert Siegel pointed out the low graduation rate in the community college system (48% for an associate’s degree), and then asked Oakley if ditching algebra wasn’t just the “easy way out.”  Oakley retorted “I hear that a lot and unfortunately nothing could be farther from the truth. Somewhere along the lines, since the 1950s, we decided that the only measure of a student’s ability to reason or to do some sort of quantitative measure is algebra.  You know where this is going.  Lower those standards instead of teaching those students.  We study algebra not simply because it can be useful, but because it trains the mind in logic and precision.  But who needs those things when you're "woke"?

ANOTHER GENIUS HEARD FROM – FROM CNBC:   One solution to income inequality is giving out free cash, according to the British billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson.  “A basic income should be introduced in Europe and in America,” Branson told David Gelles of The New York Times.  Branson was responding to the question, “What do you think those in positions of power should do to address social problems like income inequality?”  In a report published in January, the global charity Oxfam found that 82 percent of the growth in global wealth in the previous year went to the top 1 percent of individuals ranked by riches. Meanwhile, the bottom 50 percent had no increase in their wealth, the report says.  “It’s a disgrace to see people sleeping on the streets with this material wealth all around them,” Branson said.   The road to ruin.  People getting free cash have no incentive to improve themselves. 

July 2, 2018       Permalink

AND ANOTHER CLOSE CALL – AT 11:18 P.M. ET:  If you looked hard enough in American media, you might have found something about anti-Iranian-government rallies in Europe.  Apparently, the Iranians are not amused.  From Reuters: 

BRUSSELS/PARIS - An Iranian diplomat has been arrested along with two people suspected of plotting a bomb attack on a meeting of an exiled Iranian opposition group in France attended by Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani, Belgian authorities said on Monday.

Three other arrests were made in France but two of them were later released.

Several former European and Arab ministers also attended the meeting of the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) - an umbrella bloc of opposition groups in exile that seek an end to Shi'ite Muslim clerical rule in Iran.

Iran's foreign minister called the news a sinister "false flag ploy" and said Tehran was ready to work with all concerned parties to get to the bottom of it.

Two suspects in Belgium were intercepted by Belgian police on Saturday, with 500 grams of TATP, a home-made explosive produced from easily available chemicals, as well as a detonation device found in their car, a joint statement by the Belgian prosecutor and the intelligence services said.

The 38-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman, identified only as Amir S. and Nasimeh N., were charged with attempted terrorist murder and preparation of a terrorist act, it said.

The diplomat at the Iranian embassy in the Austrian capital Vienna was arrested in Germany, the Belgian statement said. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is due to visit Austria on Wednesday.

COMMENT:  Glad to see Rudy Giuliani attending the protests.  He wouldn't be doing this without the president's approval.  I can't imagine Field Marshal Obama having anyone close to him at a pro-democracy rally.

July 2, 2018       Permalink 

STUNNING – AT  1:52 P.M. ET:  We just had a close call on terror.  Fortunately, the plot seems to have been stopped.  From Fox: 

A man who pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda sought to kill members of the military and conducted reconnaissance in downtown Cleveland for a planned attack on July 4 -- but the Independence Day plot was foiled after a months-long investigation, federal officials said Monday.

FBI Special Agent in Charge Stephen Anthony said Demetrius Pitts, also known as Abdur Raheem Rahfeeq, was arrested at 10 a.m. Sunday by the joint terrorism task force. Authorities were initially notified about Pitts in 2017, when he lived in Cincinnati and allegedly made statements supporting Al Qaeda and advocating violence against U.S. military members.

"This case illustrated that law enforcement can not sit back and wait for Mr. Pitts to commit a violent act," Anthony said.

Authorities said Pitts made Facebook posts with "disturbing" messages, saying "We as Muslims need to start training like this every day. We need to know how to shoot guns, throw grenades, hand to hand combat," Anthony said during a news conference.

After moving to Cleveland, authorities said Pitts continued to express his "radical ideology." During a meeting last week with an undercover FBI agent, Anthony said Pitts noted "their holiday is coming up."

"What would hit them at their core? Blow up in the, have a bomb blow up in the 4th of July parade,"  he said.

In the last week, Pitts then went downtown to conduct reconnaissance at Voinovich Bicentennial Park and the Coast Guard station, among other locations, according to officials. He also continued to voice hatred for the military, saying he wanted to "chop off heads and hands."

COMMENT:  If this were the Obama administration they'd probably describe him as a misunderstood patriot who secretly wants to be George Washington, or at least Elvis.

No, he's a dangerous guy, and we are warned once again that terrorism is an ongoing threat requiring eternal vigilance.  We got this one.  What about the next one?

July 2, 2018       Permalink

BOUNCING BACK – AT 12:15 P.M. ET:  After a sudden drop in approval, brought on by early mishandling of the immigration issue, President Trump is bouncing back.  From Rasmussen:

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows that 48% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of President Trump’s job performance. Fifty-one percent (51%) disapprove.

The latest figures include 35% who Strongly Approve of the way Trump is performing and 40% who Strongly Disapprove. This gives him a Presidential Approval Index rating of -5.

COMMENT:  That's pretty much where Trump was before the "separation of families " issue surfaced.  He seems back in stride, and on track to nominate a new Supreme Court justice next Monday.  We're hoping he'll start to top 50 percent.

The Democratic opposition isn't helping its case against the president by calling for the abolition of ICE.  No major group thus far polled favors that idea.  The Dems have dug a hole, and are jumping in it.

July 2,  2018     Permalink