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OCTOBER 7,  2018

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:18 P.M. ET: 

ARE WE SERIOUS HERE? – FROM THE HILL:  Former National Security Adviser Susan Rice says she has been "moved by the enthusiasm" expressed by Democrats about her possible Senate run against Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).   Rice this week appeared to partially walk back her suggestion that she would run against Collins in 2020, but she said on Sunday that she will give it "due consideration."   "I have been moved by the enthusiasm," Rice told The New Yorker. "I’m going to give it due consideration after the midterms."  Rice evoked a strong reaction last week when she tweeted "me" in response to a post from former White House Communications Director Jen Psaki asking, "Who wants to run for Senate in Maine? There will be an army of supporters with you."  Yes, all around us I can sense the wanting of Susan Rice.  You hear it everywhere.  She was the official liar of the Obama administration, sent out whenever they needed someone who did it well.  Who could ask for anything more?

SCHOLARLY DISCOURSE IN TEXAS – FROM CAMPUS REFORM:  Communism sympathizers at the University of Texas-Austin posted on Wednesday the phone numbers, emails, jobs, and other information linked to members of the Young Conservatives of Texas at the University of Texas-Austin, who demonstrated in support of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.  The Autonomous Student Network in Austin, Texas (ASN), whose website encourages "anarchy" and "communism," posted the information in a Twitter thread that linked to a blog entitled "THE YCT: NOT JUST RACISTS, BUT RAPE APOLOGISTS TOO!"  We're told that the administration will look into possible punishment, but nothing has been announced. 

NOTHING TO SEE, NOTHING TO SEE – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:  An alarming number of New York City students have scored three or more “zeroes” for their writing answers on the statewide English exams, a new study reveals.  On the English Language Arts exams between 2013 and 2016, in addition to multiple-choice questions, students had to read nine or 10 short stories or texts, then write responses aimed at showing their ability to think critically and cite evidence to support their answers.  A score of zero (out of 2 to 4 possible points per question) means a student wrote something “totally inaccurate,” “unintelligible,” or “indecipherable.”  “Kids were stupified by these questions,” Fred Smith, a former test analyst for the city Department of Education, told The Post.  Smith and Robin Jacobowitz, the director of educational projects at the Benjamin Center, a research unit of SUNY New Paltz, were forced to use the Freedom of Information Law to obtain the data for their report titled, “Tests are Turning our Children into Zeroes: A Focus on Failing.”  At the same time, under Marxist Mayor Bill de Blasio, the city is destroying some of its most successful schools because they're not "diverse" enough.  In some schools, entrance requirements will be almost completely demolished.  Parents are outraged, but, if they complain, they're immediately called racists.  So they shut up.

October 7, 2018        Permalink

AT LEAST THERE'S SOME JUSTICE – AT 1:56 P.M. ET:  We don't normally look to colleges and universities to discipline left-wing crazies, but there exceptions.  We're glad to point one out.  From College Fix:   

The Georgetown University professor who tweeted for the deaths and castrations of Senate Republicans during the height of the Brett Kavanaugh controversy has been placed on a “research leave.”

Professor C. Christine Fair reached the “mutual” agreement with the dean of Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service to “go on research leave effective immediately,” according to a tweet from The Georgetown Voice.

NEWS: Professor C. Christine Fair and SFS Dean Joel Hellman “mutually agreed to Professor Fair to go on research leave effective immediately,” according to a statement from Hellman.
— The Georgetown Voice (@GtownVoice)

The decision was announced in an email to School of Foreign Service students Friday. It was made in order to “prevent further disruptions to her students and out of an abundance of caution for the security of our community,” according to The Voice.

Hellman also said in the email that “while we teach diplomacy as a subject, we expect diplomacy as a community.”

Georgetown professor Christine Fair will go on research leave, effective immediately, per the Dean of the School of Foreign Service, Joel Hellman, who said in an email “while we teach diplomacy as a subject, we expect diplomacy as a community.”
— Amelia Irvine (@ameliairvine3) October 5, 2018

Fair’s original tweet stated: “All of them deserve miserable deaths while feminists laugh as they take their last gasps,” referring to Republican senators. “Bonus: we castrate their corpses and feed them to swine? Yes.”

COMMENT:   The real question is how someone this unstable got a job at a major university in the first place. 

October 7, 2018       Permalink

THE KEY TO VICTORY – AT 1:24 P.M. ET:  Libertarian writer Wayne Allyn Root, who did some of the best original research on the background of Barack Obama, has a fine column analyzing why Trump won again in the battle over Brett Kavanaugh.  Our quote of the day, but read the whole thing.  From Fox: 

Winning is all about being a relentless fighter. Being a bulldog. Being a bull in a china shop. It’s about fighting spirit. It’s about believing in yourself and your goals. It’s about fighting so hard, so passionately, you never let go until victory is achieved.

It’s about who wants it more. Trump always wants it more.

That’s what Trump is all about -- the fight. Sure, you get bruised and battered and slandered. Sure, it hurts. But anything worth having is worth fighting for.

Trump proved it in the 2016 election. He was attacked, denigrated, slandered, and humiliated more than any politician in world history. But he never backed down. Instead, he doubled down. He came right back at his critics. Winston Churchill said, “When you find yourself in hell, just keep going.” Trump just kept going…and fighting.

And after being called all those bad names, and all that slander, for the rest of all-time, he’s called “President Donald J. Trump.” Was it worth it? You bet it was.

Churchill also said, “Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never...” That rule is more important than anything else.

It’s the reason Trump keeps getting his brains beat in and yet always comes out ahead. He’s bloody, dizzy, staggering, but his arms are raised in victory. You can’t beat Trump, because you can’t outlast Trump.

COMMENT:  Even people who are not particularly fond of the president are starting to admire his fighting spirit.  America loves a fighter.  And his ability to connect with voters and their concerns will be a major factor in next month's midterms.

October 7,  2018     Permalink

OCTOBER 6,  2018

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

AFTERMATH – The Democrats are acting no better after Justice Kavanaugh's swearing-in than they did earlier.  No graciousness.  No spirit of patriotism.  Just sheer hate and resentment.  Nancy Pelosi is already pledging to destroy Kavanaugh one way or the other.  She also asserts that this is a sad day for women and girls.  I wonder how many women and girls she actually knows.  Former Attorney-General Eric Holder displayed his obsessive poor taste by declaring that the legitimacy of the Supreme Court must be restored.  I guess he decides when the Court is legitimate.  The Democratic Party of Roosevelt, Truman, and Kennedy is truly gone, and largely forgotten.  Now we have the Democratic Party of race, gender, and ethnicity, and little else.

MORE CLASS – FROM MEDIAITE:  A pair of activist comedians followed around Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade, lobbing hostile questions at him on Friday. If you are a public figure, after all, you may get questions with or without a camera when you are walking down a public street (In fact, Mediaite has used a roving paparazzi in the past as well).  But they didn’t stop there.  Jason Selvig and Davram Stiefler, who are known as “The Good Liars,” then trailed Kilmeade into a NYC subway and encouraged fellow passengers to jeer at him in what increasingly felt like a potentially perilous situation for the Fox host.  It started with Selvig posing for a selfie with a smiling Kilmeade. But it was clearly a set-up, with Selvig then asking Kilmeade if he was “accused of sexually harassing Gretchen Carlson.” It turned ugly from there.  Selvig follows Kilmeade through Midtown, repeatedly calling after him, and noting that his “backpack is on crooked.”  He eventually follows Kilmeade onto the subway, when Stiefler makes an appearance, announcing the Fox News host to the crowded car.  “Hey everyone, this is Brian Kilmeade, he says lots of weird, kinda racisty stuff on the news a lot,” Stiefler says.  Activist comedians?  I can't wait to see them perform.  Lotsa laughs I'm sure.

I'M SHOCKED, SHOCKED – FROM FOX:  A lawyer who “was unable to substantiate” the domestic violence allegations against Rep. Keith Ellison is a partner of a law firm that donated more than half a million dollars to Democrats since 1998, with nearly $50,000 to the embattled Congressman running for the state’s Attorney General position.  Susan Ellingstad is a partner at Lockridge Grindal Nauen P.L.L.P law firm and was picked by Minnesota's Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party to investigate Karen Monahan’s allegations of domestic abuse after she came forward in August.  At the time, the party’s chairman Ken Martin said Ellingstad was hired to make sure the probe “wouldn’t be colored by people with associations with the party.”  Do you hear the silence of the "women's" groups?  Of the liberal press? Hypocrisy marches on.

October 6, 2018       Permalink

THE STORY – AT 4:44 P.M. ET:  The judge has been confirmed.  The aftermath will play out at the polls next month.  From Fox: 

The Senate voted Saturday to confirm Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, marking the end to one of the most rancorous confirmation fights in modern times and securing a rightward shift on the nation’s highest court.

The chamber voted 50-48 to confirm Kavanaugh, mostly along party lines, after a weeklong FBI probe helped settle concerns among most wavering senators about the sexual assault allegations that nearly derailed his nomination and led to a dramatic second hearing. Saturday’s roll call marked the tightest successful Supreme Court confirmation vote in over 100 years, closer than even that of Clarence Thomas who similarly faced sexual misconduct allegations.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. was the sole Democrat to vote “yes.” Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, was a “no,” but voted “present” as a courtesy to Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., who was attending his daughter’s wedding in Montana.

Democrats reacted to the vote by urging supporters to turn out to the polls in November for the midterms.

“The American people are raising their voices to a deafening roar today. We will not stop marching, we will not stop fighting, and we will vote on Election Day for leaders who share our values.” Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez said in a statement.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnnell, R-Ky., brushed off criticism from Democrats and said it was "a good day for America and an important day for the Senate."

"We stood up for the presumption of innocence, we refused to be intimidated by the mob of people coming after Republican members at their homes and hallways," he said.

COMMENT:  The president is on a plane heading for a rally in Kansas tonight.  He will undoubtedly talk about the Senate vote. 

Reuters reports:  "Chief Justice John Roberts will administer the constitutional oath and retired Justice Anthony Kennedy, who Kavanaugh is replacing, will administer the judicial oath in a private ceremony."

I'm surprised by that.  I thought there'd be something public.  Maybe a private ceremony is better, considering all the tempers out there.  I've seen no confirmation of the Reuters report.

October 6, 2018       Permalink

BULLETIN – AT 4:30 P.M. ET:  SENATE CONFIRMS KAVANAUGH IN 50-48 VOTE.  NATION SURVIVES.  NUCLEAR WEAPONS NOT USED.  PSYCHIATRIC CENTERS IN LARGE URBAN CENTERS JAMMED.

COUNTDOWN – AT 1:25 P.M. ET:  The confirmation vote on Judge Kavanaugh will take place between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. ET today.

The demonstrators are already massing in Washington, determined to save the Republic from a qualified judge.  There are no hints as to when Kavanaugh will be sworn in, assuming the confirmation vote goes as planned. 

While it's still possible for someone to defect and wreck the vote, it's unlikely.  Such a betrayal would be a career ender. 

The jerks, of course, are coming out of the woodwork.  Leading ultra-progressive Democrats are pledging to try to impeach Kavanaugh if they win a House majority next month.  Republicans should welcome that.  As they say in politics, if your opponent is committing suicide, don't get in his way.

I do worry about the safety of Susan Collins.  She is getting plenty of security today, but the ultras are out to get her.  She's up for re-election in Maine next year, and you may be sure that George Soros and his little helpers will pour zillions into an attempt to defeat her.  I think she'll win easily.

So we await the vote.  Then I want to see a special swearing-in.

October 6,  2018     Permalink