Please note that you can leave a comment on any of our posts at our Facebook page.  Subscribers can also comment at length at our Angel's Corner Forum.

OCTOBER 5,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

MORE BAD NEWS FOR THE DEMS – I'M SO DISTRESSED – FROM FOX:   A pollster that typically leans toward Democrats shows the Republican Party with a lead in its latest generic congressional ballot poll, a potentially concerning sign for Democrats as next year's midterms loom.  "Though the numbers are not overwhelming, they signal a potentially ominous trend for Democrats as a plurality of voters recommend tossing out the party that controls the House," said Tim Malloy, an analyst at Quinnipiac University Polling, the pollster behind the latest numbers.  The poll asked Americans which party they would prefer controlled the House of Representatives if the election were held today. Among registered voters, 47% said they would prefer Republicans, while 44% said they would rather see Democrats in control.  The numbers could be more troublesome for Democrats than they appear on the surface, due to Quinnipiac's tendency to slightly bias toward their party. According to opinion poll analysis done by data journalism publication FiveThirtyEight, Quinnipiac receives an "A-" grade for accuracy but has a typical bias of about 0.5 points in favor of Democrats.  We must take nothing for granted, and that includes the integrity of the elections coming up.  Polls like this are entertaining, but the Democratic Party is becoming fanatical, and the campaign will be vicious.  Gentlemanly Republicans might reconsider their style.

October 5, 2021       Permalink

AN ISSUE THAT IS GROWING FAST – OVERNIGHT:   Parents are being shoved out of their children's education by radical school boards, teachers unions, and left-wing Democrats determined to get control of children's minds.  Sound familiar?  Look up the history of any dictatorship.  And it can happen here.  This issue is growing faster than any I've seen in recent years.  It may well play a decisive role in next year's Congressional elections.  And it leads directly into school choice.  From the New York Post: 

Politicians and parents are joining together to slam the Department of Justice’s recent decision to bring in the FBI to investigate what it called a spike in “harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence” against school teachers, administrations, board members and other staff.

In recent months, dozens of parents have taken a stand in school board meetings against the teaching of Critical Race Theory in classrooms and to protest mask mandates, causing some to wonder what the FBI and DOJ are actually investigating.

The DOJ move was spurred by the National School Boards Association asking the Biden administration for assistance, suggesting that there have been threats and acts of violence and equating those to domestic terrorism.

“Dear @TheJusticeDept Merrick Garland and @FBI Director Christopher Wray, This is what a domestic terrorist looks like? You are criminalizing parenting, and you owe the people of America a swift apology,” Asra Nomani, vice president of investigations and strategy at Parents Defending Education, posted on Twitter.

She sarcastically signed the missive, “‘Domestic Terrorist,’ Asra Nomani.”

Namani’s group has been researching how school boards across the US implement “woke” ideas into curricula, such as critical race theory.

In a separate tweet, Nomani claimed Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a “declaration of war” on parents when he announced the initiative on Monday.

Another parent, Nicole Solas from Rhode Island, accused the FBI of being “the politics police,” while claiming any “legitimate” violence is already “sufficiently addressed by your local police.”

“Arrest me,” she said in another tweet.

Garland’s decision was made after the National School Boards Association asked the Biden administration for assistance.

In a memo released Monday, Garland announced that while “spirited debate about policy matters is protected under our Constitution, that protection does not extend to threats or violence or efforts to intimate individuals based on their views.”

The investigation will be looking at the recent spike in acts of violence against school staff members, however, Garland’s memo did not specify what those acts were.

In a Sept. 29 letter, the National School Boards Association said much of this opposition led to dozens of incidents at school board meetings this year, claiming, “America’s public schools and its education leaders are under an immediate threat.”

The NSBA suggested that “[a]s these acts of malice, violence, and threats against public school officials have increased, the classification of these heinous actions could be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes” and asked that the administration review the question.

While Garland’s memo follows the NSBA’s request for help, he did not specify whether incidents related to the implementation of mask mandates or critical race theory would be investigated.

Additionally, the memo does not classify the incidents as domestic terrorism.

“Threats against public servants are not only illegal, they run counter to our nation’s core values,” Garland wrote.

“Those who dedicate their time and energy to ensuring that our children receive a proper education in a safe environment deserve to be able to do their work without fear for their safety.”

Many parents, however, still see the order as targeted towards them.

“This is a coordinated attempt to intimidate dissenting voices in the debates surrounding America’s underperforming K-12 education – and it will not succeed. We will not be silenced,” Parents Defending Education said in a Monday statement.

Elicia Brand, a parent from Loudoun County, told Fox News that parents “owe this to our children” and generations after to “stand strong in their fight for freedom.”

COMMENT:  Read the rest.  It's chilling.  As one parent said in the above story, any actual threats of violence are easily covered by laws already on the books and by normal responses of local police.  We do not need the involvement of the Justice Department or other federal agencies.

I have no doubt that the real purpose of these latest government moves is intimidation of parents who dare to speak out.   Just wait until a dissenting parent gets a visit from a federal officer "just asking for information."  You'll feel the chill.

This is an issue upon which Republicans must take a principled stand.  Thoughtful Democrats should as well, but I don't see any of them sticking their heads up.

October 5,  2021     Permalink

OCTOBER 4,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

THIS IS NOT GOOD – FROM FOX BUSINESS:   Global crude prices surged to multiyear highs on Monday after OPEC stood firm in keeping production at current levels.   NYMEX crude closed up 2.29% to $77.62 per barrel, the highest level since November 2014.   Brent crude, the global benchmark, jumped 2.50% to $81.26 — the highest since October 2018.  Gas prices continue to climb with the latest average hitting $3.20 per gallon, as tracked by AAA.   In a statement, OPEC and non-OPEC participating countries "reconfirmed the production adjustment plan and the monthly production adjustment mechanism approved at the 19th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting and the decision to adjust upward the monthly overall production by 0.4 mb/d for the month of November 2021, as per the attached schedule."  Edward Moya, senior market analyst for the Americas, warned prices could go even higher.   "OPEC+ is slowly turning into the villain for the global economic recovery.  Higher oil prices are coming and the energy traders could easily see $90 oil on any surprise disruption to output, a colder autumn, or the unleashing of pent-up travel demand if COVID cases continue to fall," he said in a research note.   So Team Biden will go into the 2022 elections with higher gas prices.  Why do I think the American people will send them a message? 

October 4, 2021       Permalink

FAILURE OF THE DEMS – OVERNIGHT:  Watching the Democratic train wreck in Washington, we have a right to wonder how so many things have gone wrong with a once-great political party.  Michael Barone, one of our best political commentators, has some thoughts worth reading.  From the New York Post: 

“First you win the argument, then you win the vote.” That advice from Margaret Thatcher has been ignored by President Joe Biden and Democratic Party leaders to their detriment.

Democrats, aided by former President Donald Trump’s denigration of Georgia’s electoral system, which gifted them the state’s two Senate seats, were gifted by voters with the narrowest of legislative majorities: 51 to 50 in the Senate and 220 to 212 (with three current vacancies) in the House. Biden himself won the crucial three swing states by just 42,918 popular votes.

Incautiously, Democrats plunged into policymaking without making anything like cognizable policy arguments. Trump had reduced illegal immigration by extending walls on the Mexican border and persuading Mexico’s president to hold asylum-seekers in Mexico until their (usually baseless) claims could be ruled on. Both policies were ditched on Day 1 of the Biden administration. The policy argument: “Orange man bad.”

Now, we see the easily predictable results. Border apprehensions are headed toward 2 million this year — the highest since the 1998-2000 boom years. So-called asylum-seekers from Central America have been joined by Middle Easterners, Africans and, most recently, by some 20,000 Haitians, previously settled in Chile and Brazil, huddled under a bridge heading to Del Rio, Texas.

Vice President Kamala Harris’ pathetic plea, “Don’t come,” has been overwhelmed by the evidence that most of those who do come illegally are ushered into the United States and told to meet court dates that everyone knows most won’t.

The likely result is something like 1 million new illegal immigrants in the United States this year. This represents a reversal of the trend. The Pew Research Center says the illegal immigrant population peaked at 12.2 million in 2007, declined as post-recession net immigration from Mexico plunged to zero and leveled off at 10.5 million in 2017.

During that time, immigration has been shifting from Latin America to Asia and from low-skill to relatively high-skill newcomers. What’s the policy argument for that?

The best that Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas could summon up on Fox News was, “We do not agree with the building of the wall,” i.e., “Orange man bad” and “the law provides that individuals can make a claim for humanitarian relief,” i.e., asylum.

But as my Washington Examiner colleague Byron York points out, the same law allows the government to require illegal border-crossers to remain in another country pending resolution of their asylum claims. What’s the policy argument for dispersing them, without being tested for COVID, through all corners of the United States?

COMMENT:  Be sure to study the rest.  It's one of the best examinations of Democratic shallowness and unseriousness that I've read. The Dems have simply failed to make their case.  They treat voters like Christmas ornaments, to be taken out only when needed.  They don't seem much concerned with results.  Getting a program going, whether intelligently or not, seems the priority.  And then they "move on."

In the 1990s, under Newt Gingrich's leadership, Republicans developed their "contract with America."  It was a carefully assembled program of ideas, promises, and goals, written so average voters could understand it.  Americans liked what they saw and read.  Republican fortunes rose.  Now, do it again.

October 4, 2021       Permalink