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OCTOBER 13,  2018

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

AND NOW FOR THE INEVITABLE BOOK CONTRACTS – FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER:    Washington Post’s deputy editorial page editor Ruth Marcus is writing a book on the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, whom she believed shouldn’t have made it to the bench.  Marcus, who announced the book deal with Simon & Schuster on Saturday, has been a skeptic of Kavanaugh throughout his confirmation, even before decades-old allegations of sexual assault.  After Clarence Thomas was subjected to his ordeal, there was also the inevitable book contract.  The result was a book called "Strange Justice," by Jill Abramson and Jane Mayer.  Jill Abramson went on to become executive editor of The New York Times, a post from which she was later dismissed.  Jane Mayer, a reliable liberal mouthpiece, writes for The New Yorker.  Clarence Thomas outlived the book to become a distinguished and respected (in sane circles) member of the Supreme Court.  I suspect Justice Kavanaugh will weather this new literary storm and also serve with distinction.

A CHILD WITH CHILDISH IDEAS – FROM PJ MEDIA:  On Saturday, Democratic Socialist starlet Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called for the abolition of the Electoral College. On Thursday, she revealed her plan to undermine the U.S. Supreme Court. It's not very original...  At a screening for Michael Moore's new film "Fahrenheit 11/9," a member of the audience asked Ocasio-Cortez what she would do if the Supreme Court confirmed all of Democrats' fears.  "If, in a few months from now, the Supreme Court looks like ... a court that would overturn Roe [v. Wade] and make the president above the rule of law, what is to be done?" the audience member asked. This question echoed one real concern — overturning Roe, which would allow states to outlaw abortion — and one false concern — taken from twisting Judge Brett Kavanaugh's record on presidential immunity.  Ocasio-Cortez, never one to defend American institutions at the risk of her activist ambitions, took a page from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's book.  "I think we take back the House, we take back the Senate, we take back the presidency, and we pack the Supreme Court of the United States of America," she quipped. Then, as if this answer were clear and straightforward, she flippantly added, "Next!"  What a genius.  She is regularly called the future of the Democratic Party.  She has the intellectual maturity of a 12-year-old.  That's only one year better than many journalists.

MORONS WITH AIR TICKETS – FROM DAILY MAIL:   A Somalian whose deportation from Britain was dramatically halted after airline passengers staged a mutiny demanding his release can be exposed today as a convicted gang rapist who was being kicked out of the country because of his sickening crime.
Officials escorting Yaqub Ahmed on a flight from Heathrow to Turkey were forced to abandon his deportation when around a dozen holidaymakers who felt sorry for him angrily intervened shortly before take-off.   At one stage during the astonishing episode, filmed on mobile phones, one traveller complained: "They’re separating him from his family," while others chanted, "Take him off the plane."  When harassed security guards caved in and walked 29-year-old Ahmed off the Turkish Airlines flight, he was seen thanking those on board for their support as they cheered and applauded.   One person was heard declaring: "You’re free, man!"  But the passengers who thought they were doing a good deed were unaware that the man they were defending had been sentenced to nine years in jail for his part in a vicious gang rape of a teenage girl – and that another member of his gang later fought for Islamic State in Syria.  I hope those passengers have a miserable vacation, and I also hope they don't come here.  I have no doubt that they think of themselves as morally superior. 

October 13,  2018     Permalink 

MAYBE THE TRUTH WILL COME OUT – AT 3:34 P.M. ET:  Keith Ellison is the radical vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee.  He is a former member of the hate group called the Nation of Islam.  He is running to become attorney general of Minnesota.  And he has credible, documented charges of domestic violence against him.  Otherwise, he's a great guy.

The Minnesota race is getting closer and closer, and now a legal action may spell doom for Ellison.  We certainly hope so.  From the Washington Times: 

A county court has ordered Rep. Keith Ellison’s divorce records to be unsealed, allowing more scrutiny into the Democrat’s private life as he fights off the abuse allegations upending his campaign for Minnesota attorney general.

Hennepin County Family Court referee Jason Hutchison released an order Friday saying the records of Mr. Ellison’s 2012 split with ex-wife Kim Ellison will be unsealed Oct. 17, ruling that “open access is the presumption in Minnesota.”

Kim Ellison, who is also an elected official as a member of the Minneapolis school board, has said there was no abuse during their 20-year marriage. Mr. Ellison plans to appeal the decision, according to his attorney.

“Keith and Kim Ellison remain jointly opposed to this effort to exploit the details of their personal life, and the lives of their children, for political gain,” Ellison attorney Carla Kjellberg said in a statement to media outlets.

The Minnesota Star Tribune and AlphaNews sued to have the records unsealed in the aftermath of abuse allegations made in August by Karen Monahan, Mr. Ellison’s ex-girlfriend, who said that he dragged her from a bed by her foot screaming obscenities.

Mr. Ellison has staunchly denied the Monahan allegations, as well as a previous claim by another woman, Amy Alexander, who said he pushed her and broke her screen door in 2005.

The Democrat has accused Ms. Alexander of harassing him and noted that he obtained a restraining order against her in 2006, but a recently unearthed police report shows that officers responded to a 9/11 call in 2005 from a woman who claimed she was assaulted by Mr. Ellison. 

COMMENT:  He is entitled to the presumption of innocence.  We believe that on our side.  But his history is awful and the charges against him include hospital reports of injuries to specific women.

We await facts.  All we want is facts.

October 13, 2018       Permalink

DEMS LAGGING WITH LATINO VOTERS – FROM 1:22 P.M. ET:  The so-called "Hispanic vote" was supposed to be one of the main saving graces for the Democrats in the coming midterm elections, only three and a half weeks away.  It ain't turnin' out that way.  From Politico: 

SAN ANTONIO — Voters are more invested in the 2018 elections than in any recent midterm. But a key piece of the Democratic coalition — Latino voters — is lagging behind other groups in its interest in the 2018 campaign, an enthusiasm gap that could tip the scales in key battleground House districts.

Latinos make up at least 20 percent of the population in more than a dozen districts that top Democrats' House target list in 2018 — more than half of the 23 seats Democrats must flip to take over the House. But a POLITICO analysis of over 20,000 interviews conducted with battleground-district voters by Siena College and the New York Times shows that Latinos rated themselves less likely to vote than both white and black voters.

Two-thirds of white voters surveyed said they were “almost certain” to vote — the highest rating on a 5-point scale — as did 61 percent of African-Americans. But only 55 percent of the Latinos polled said the same about their plans for next month’s midterm elections, according to POLITICO’s analysis.

The findings — echoed by other public and private polling from groups like Latino Decisions, a Latino-focused polling and research firm whose latest survey showed that more than half of Latino voters have yet to be contacted by a campaign or party group ahead of the midterms — could have an outsized effect in a crescent of battleground House districts running from Texas to the West Coast, where the Hispanic vote is especially important.

Democratic operatives are concerned that Latino engagement is “better than it was in 2014, but not as strong as 2016, and we need closer to 2016 enthusiasm level to flip many of these seats in Texas, California, Florida and Nevada,” said Josh Ulibarri, a Democratic pollster who works on races throughout the country.

COMMENT:  It might occur to the Dem operatives that Latinos may not be too inspired by the Democratic message.  Latinos have benefited, as have blacks, from the Trump economy.  Some of those who do vote may not automatically pull the Democratic lever.

October 13,  2018     Permalink

OCTOBER 12,  2018

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

MAJOR SOCIAL NEWS – FROM FOX:  A coven of New York witches is holding a public ceremony next week to cast a hex on Justice Brett Kavanaugh, in what Tucker Carlson described as the latest left-wing effort to stop his rise to the high court.  "Liberal Sherpa" Cathy Areu said the hexing will take place in Brooklyn, and that it will include an optional $10 donation to take part.  Carlson said part of the proceeds will go to Planned Parenthood, to "fund their own human sacrifice rituals."  He said that it is appropriate that the Democratic Party, which "conducts witch hunts" also "conducts witchcraft."  Areu said the coven previously cast three hexes on President Trump and considered their efforts successful in partially stymieing his administration's goals.  When it comes to witches, the Democratic Party is fully staffed.

WELCOME THE CONVERT – FROM FOX:  A former Never-Trumper says supporting the president is the "responsible choice" following Democrats' "abominable" behavior throughout the Supreme Court confirmation process.  In an op-ed titled "I Was A Never Trumper Until Democrats Went Gonzo On Kavanaugh. Now, Hand Me That Red Hat," Nathanael Blake, senior contributor for The Federalist, wrote that the Democratic Party and its media allies are controlled by people who view conservatives not as political opponents to be voted down, but as enemies to be "personally destroyed."  "This is about self-defense. And that is why I’ve gone from 'Meh' to 'MAGA! '" Blake wrote.  He's not the only one.  Support for the president is firming up on the right.  We need unity going into the 2020 presidential election.

THE DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM – FROM DAILY CALLER:    The Metropolitan Republican Club on Manhattan’s Upper East Side was vandalized Thursday night with broken windows, spray-painted anarchy signs, and a threatening message that the “attack is merely a beginning.”  The building is the headquarters of the Manhattan Republican Party and the New York City regional office for the New York Republican Party.  "Tonight, we put the Republican Party on notice, in defiance to the policy of mass misery they have championed.  The U.S. government has established concentration camps around the country for Latino people, shamelessly murdering black people, and continues its war machine that has slaughtered Muslim people with impunity for decades. The so-called 'Land of the Free' leads the world in incarceration rates per capita, all the while profiteering in the new plantation within the prison walls.  While these atrocities persist unabated the Metropolitan Republican Club chose to invite a hipster fascist clown to dance for them, content to revel in their treachery against humanity. The Republican Party joined by their spineless partners in crime, the Democrats, institute a policy of domestic and foreign terror felt the world over.  Our attack is merely a beginning. We are not passive, we are not civil, and we will not apologize. Those of good conscience and clear mind know this state of oppression cannot remain. The US fascist political system is one of the most savage institutions in history and we will combat it relentlessly until all are free of American barbarism."  Another brilliant addition to the national dialogue. 

October 12, 2018       Permalink

GOP COMES OUT FIGHTING – AT 4:18 P.M. ET:  The campaign leaders are on the ball.  Their new ad is terrific.  I hope they're this good at voter turnout.  From Fox:

Liberal protesters – egged on by Democratic politicians – are openly embracing a more confrontational and aggressive approach, banging on the doors of the Supreme Court, confronting lawmakers outside their offices and chasing GOP officials out of restaurants.

And Republicans are quickly seizing on that spectacle to hammer a new midterm message, decrying the “mob” behavior and warning that Democrats would bring that mentality into the majority should they prevail in November's election.

"The radical Democrats have turned into an angry mob," President Trump said at one of many recent campaign-style rallies, a message he's repeated over and over.

The Republican National Committee released a video Thursday calling the left “an unhinged mob,” showing recent comments from Democrats encouraging protests.

The video includes footage of former Attorney General Eric Holder saying, “When they go low, we kick them." It shows California Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters saying, “If you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd and you push back on them and you tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere.”

It shows House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi saying, "I just don't even know why there aren't uprisings all over the country.” It shows New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker telling protesters to “get up in the face of some congresspeople.” And it shows Hillary Clinton, in a television interview this week, saying, “You cannot be civil with a political party that wants to destroy what you stand for, what you care about.”

Over those comments is footage of Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and his wife Heidi being recently hounded out of a restaurant by protesters peppering the senator with questions about Kavanaugh and chanting “we believe survivors.” It also showed footage of protesters banging on the doors of the Supreme Court.

But Democrats -- as well as some sympathetic figures in the media -- are defending the protests and arguing the “mob” label is unfair, even though the term was regularly used by critics to refer to the Tea Party protests during the Obama administration.

COMMENT:  The story contains the video.  Take a look.

October 12, 2018       Permalink

COULD THIS BE TRUE? – AT 2:08 P.M. ET:   Korea has been off the front page, but it's still, and will continue to be, one of the most critical international stories.  A story is now running that seems to inspire optimism.  We'll report it, with a warning that we cannot verify how solid it is, and that similar stories in the past have fallen short.  From Daily Mail: 

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un will to get rid of all the rogue state's nuclear weapons, according to an agreement at a summit today.

The hermit kingdom will abolish all nuclear materials and facilities to achieve 'complete' denuclearisation, South Korean President Moon Jae-in has claimed after a meeting earlier today.  

Kim and US President Donald Trump pledged to work towards denuclearisation at their landmark June summit in Singapore, but the agreement was short on specific details. 

Negotiations have made little headway since, with the North refusing to declare its nuclear weapons and facilities or agree to a concrete timeline.

Moon emphasised Kim's resolve to abandon nuclear and missile programmes, that the North pursued in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions, and focus on the economy if regime security is guaranteed.

After his third summit in Pyongyang, Moon said the North was ready to invite international experts to watch the dismantling of a key missile site and would close the main Yongbyon nuclear complex if Washington took reciprocal actions.

North Korea could have as many as 60 nuclear weapons, the South said after a summit earlier this month.

According to South Korean government reports, North is believed to have produced 110 lbs of weaponised plutonium - enough for at least eight bombs. 

COMMENT:  The key phrase is, "...if Washington took reciprocal actions."  What are those actions?  They're not defined, at least not in this story. 

Mike Pompeo was in North Korea just days ago, and reported that negotiations were making progress.  There are general plans for another summit between President Trump and Kim Jong-un.

We can have confidence that President Trump, unlike some of his predecessors, won't make a deal just to have a deal.  We can't know whether he'll succeed, but I'm glad the effort is being made with Mike Pompeo as secretary of state, and not a marshmallow.

October 12, 2018        Permalink

THIS IS WHAT IT'S ABOUT – AT 12:42 P.M. ET:  President Trump, working through a Republican Senate, is remaking the federal judiciary, in our direction.  From The Politico: 

Senate Democrats accepted an offer Thursday from Senate Republicans to confirm 15 lifetime federal judges in exchange for the ability to go into recess through the midterms, allowing endangered Democrats to campaign.

The calculation by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and his caucus was simple: That Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) would be able to confirm roughly 15 judges if he kept the Senate in session for the next few weeks anyway. So Democrats OK’d an offer to confirm three Circuit Court judges and 12 District Court judges as the price to pay to go home for election season.

Under Senate rules, even if Democrats fought the nominees tooth and nail and forced the Senate to burn 30 hours of debate between each one, McConnell would have gotten them all confirmed by Nov. 1. Democrats could have conceivably left a skeleton crew of senators in Washington to force the GOP to take roll call votes on the judges over the next few weeks, although that tactic is not typically employed by the minority.

Some liberal activists are urging Democrats to show more fight after Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court; Markos Moulitsas of Daily Kos even said that Democrats “need a new Senate leader” after the agreement was struck. But senators had to weigh that dynamic along with the approaching midterms and the brutal Senate map. And with a half-dozen Democrats facing serious challenges in Senate races, it made more sense to make what Democrats said was a reasonable deal with McConnell so that they could make a serious run at saving endangered senators.

Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) deadpanned that he was “tickled” pink that he could go home and campaign in Montana, where his race against Matt Rosendale is tightening.

“If we stayed here for two or three weeks, we’d probably have done the same thing,” Tester said. “I think it’s good.”

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren told the caucus that she opposed the deal, the lone Democrat to voice displeasure, according to a person briefed on the meeting.

COMMENT:   Control of the Senate is absolutely vital to the conservative program, to reverse the liberal tilt of the judiciary.

Oh, by the way, please note the profoundly shallow Daily Kos call for a new Senate minority leader.  Frankly, this was expected, and the call will get louder.  Chuck Schumer, with all his faults, is a grown-up, not the kind of person the radicals want.  He is also ethnically and genderly out of touch with the party trend.  Expect a challenge to his leadership.  He still, though, commands much loyalty from the traditional Dems, and an attempt to dump him will mean a big, ugly fight.  If he loses, it might be to Elizabeth Warren or Kamala Harris, both of whom have presidential ambitions.

October 12,  2018     Permalink