Weekly Finale: Baby Grand

I am clocking out for this week, but first there is the musical finale.

This week's finale features a love song to a piano. Baby Grand was written by Billy Joel and heavily influenced by Ray Charles. The recording features both of them on vocals and, of course, pianos:



This song might not have happened except for a series of events leading to Joel writing it. First, Joel named his daughter Alexa Ray after Ray Charles. When Charles heard about it, he asked to meet with Joel. During the meeting, Charles suggested they do a song together. The rest is history.

That is all from me this week, but I will return with more on Monday. May you all have your own "baby grands" at home. Enjoy your weekend.

Joss Whedon to Make a "Batgirl" Movie

Variety reported yesterday:

Batgirl is flying solo. The superheroine is getting her own standalone movie from filmmaker Joss Whedon.

Whedon is nearing a deal to write, direct, and produce an untitled Batgirl pic for Warner Bros. as part of its DC Extended Universe.

No other producers are currently attached. Toby Emmerich, president and chief content officer of Warner Bros. Pictures Group, is overseeing with Jon Berg and Geoff Johns. The new project originated in the past month following a meeting between Whedon, Berg and Johns.

First, any movie that Joss Whedon makes instantly has my attention. He is arguably one of the greatest living directors:

Whedon would be making a big move from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to its DC counterpart, having written and directed “The Avengers” and “Avengers: Age of Ultron” for Disney-Marvel. He also created the television series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Angel,” “Firefly,” “Dollhouse,” and “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” 

But let's be honest: The feminist controversy surrounding Whedon's treatment of Black Widow in "Avengers: Age of Ultron" has clearly stuck in his craw. Whedon is no misogynist, as his long history of strong female characters has shown. In "Ultron", giving a more human side to arguably his strongest female character was unacceptable to the feminazis out there, and the PC police hit him hard. There is no such thing as "goodwill" with the social justice warriors.

This makes this Whedon's penance movie. While I feel bad that he is doing this out of some form of obligation, I am still looking forward to this movie. Batgirl has always been an intriguing character to me, aside from the whole "cute girl in tight costume" aspect.

My personal favorite of the three Batgirls in the comics was Stephanie Brown. She overcame many personal issues, including a criminal father and a teenage pregnancy, to eventually become Batgirl. And while she suffered from "Peter Parker's bad luck" syndrome, she also kept a very positive attitude, which I find endearing in my superheroes.

My least favorite of the three Batgirls was Cassandra Cain, who was too personally negative for my tastes.

But the Batgirl for Whedon's movie will be Barbara Gordon. She isn't quite as impressive as Stephanie Brown, but she was the first, and she will do.

But who to play her?

The Twitter favorite seemed to be Emma Stone. While I cannot argue with the quality of that choice, as she is certainly one of the finest actresses around, Stone might be a touch old for the role at 28. For a first Batgirl movie, this should have a young actress, around 20, give or take 5 years.

I don't have a recommendation, although I would personally go for a new or unknown actress for this role.

That said, I would get a strong veteran actor to play her father, Commissioner James Gordon. My choice would be Kiefer Sutherland. He is 50, so he is the perfect age to have a daughter around 20ish. But he also comes with plenty of "action hero street cred" as Jack Bauer from "24".

There is no release date on this project yet, but having Joss Whedon attached to it makes it a must-see film out of the gate.  

Flynn's gambit: Today's news for March 31st

CNN:

Flynn seeks immunity for testimony

Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn is willing to testify before federal and congressional investigators in their ongoing probe into Russian meddling in the US elections, but only if he is granted immunity, his lawyer said Thursday.

"Gen. Flynn certainly has a story to tell, and he very much wants to tell it, should the circumstances permit. ... No reasonable person, who has the benefit of advice from counsel, would submit to questioning in such a highly politicized, witch-hunt environment without assurances against unfair prosecution," Robert Kelner, Flynn's lawyer, said in a statement late Thursday.

Could Flynn be playing the John Dean role in Russiagate? Perhaps, but it should be noted that in spite of Dean's many requests for immunity, he never got them, and ended up serving a short sentence of 4 months for one felony count of obstruction of justice.

However, there is another problem in this whole story: What is the crime here? Watergate had a burglary. Russiagate has, at most, hacking. And for hacking computers, you won't get much help from real estate mogul Donald Trump. So what kind of assistance could Flynn have given the Russians?

Flynn knew the ins and outs of the National Security Agency. He might have been selling secrets to the Russians. If that is the case, it doesn't necessarily involve Trump, but would still be a good reason for him to ask for immunity.

But if Flynn was a lone wolf spy, then what was the deal with the other "unusual" Russian communications? If most of Trump's organization was spying for Russia, somebody would have come forward sooner. This is where the old cliche about scandals applies strongly in Trump's world: Follow the money.

If there is a crime here, it will involve money. Considering Trump's wealth mostly comes in real estate, my speculation is Trump may have been involved in potentially illegal real estate sales/purchases by and for Russian oligarchs.

On the other hand, if there was anything intentional on Trump's part, it may have been getting the Russian oligarchs to encourage Putin to use hackers to get into the Democratic National Committee's email servers and the Clinton campaign's email servers. But then you have to connect the dots to Wikileaks, and that won't be nearly as easy. If Flynn knows how to connect those dots, then you have a scandal. If Flynn can only link it as far as Russia, all you have is a conspiracy to commit hacking, and not the big election fraud that the Leftist MSM has been selling.

The problem with the conspiracy to commit hacking charge is the political aspect of it. Trump openly encouraged the Russians, on Twitter no less, prior to the election. Even if the charge stands up in court, Trump can say the American people elected him knowing about it. That gives him a huge political martyr card to play. It's a political no-win for the Democrats, who will end up looking like the Republicans who tried to impeach Bill Clinton.

If Flynn cannot prove the conspiracy from beginning to end, this scandal-mongering doesn't get out of the gate.

In other news...

CNN:

Brexit: EU says it doesn't want to 'punish' Britain for leaving

The European Union has set out its draft negotiating position on Brexit -- and declared that it does not want to punish Britain for leaving.

"Brexit is punitive enough," said Donald Tusk, President of the European Council.

The EU nevertheless set out a tough set of principles for Brexit negotiations. They offer the possibility that trade talks could begin before the UK leaves -- but only after "sufficient progress" is made on the complex task of untangling Britain from the EU.

In her letter triggering the UK's formal exit from the EU, British Prime Minister Theresa May had asked for a parallel approach from the start.

In other words, the EU just wimped out.

The EU knows they are in no position to lose trade with Britain (or anyone else for that matter). Expect the EU and Britain to resolve their trade issues fairly soon, in spite of the Brexit.

In catastrophic news...

NBC News:

Bridge Collapses in Atlanta Freeway Fire During Rush Hour

A massive fire caused a bridge to collapse Thursday night on Interstate 85 in Atlanta, one of the busiest stretches of roadway in America, backing up rush hour traffic for several miles and creating what the mayor called a long-term "transportation crisis."

The huge fire was reported at 6:21 p.m. ET underneath the bridge on the northbound side — near where the interstate merges with another major artery, State Highway 400 — forcing authorities to close the interstate and turn drivers around during the evening rush.

As someone who has lived in the Atlanta area before and visits it frequently, I can honestly imagine the mess this created, for many miles away from the actual fire itself. This is why the following makes sense:

Authorities managed to turn back traffic before the bridge collapsed, and Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal said no injuries were reported. But thousands of motorists were locked in place on the interstate as state troopers worked on a way to get vehicles off the roadway. 

Deal declared a state of emergency for Atlanta and Fulton County late Thursday night.

From a go-forward perspective, this is Atlanta's 9/11. The event itself does not compare, but the impact from it will be felt all over Atlanta for at least a year, probably longer.

I'm Hated and Loving It!

I was going through my Twitter feed this morning, and I noticed a comment on one of the people I follow had been blanked out with a tweet is unavailable message, but when I clicked on the link for it, it took me to Franchesca Ramsey's Twitter page, which had the following message:

You are blocked from following @chescaleigh and viewing @chescaleigh's Tweets.

This means I "triggered" her to such an extent that she blocked me. Normally, I would take this as a minor feather in my cap, since inspiring hatred from small-minded people is one of my goals in life. But it seems Franchesca is not the average small-minded Leftist.

Aside from the blue-checked (verified) name she has on Twitter, indicating a celebrity status, it seems she actually is a minor celebrity. She even has her own Wikipedia page:

Franchesca Ramsey (born November 29, 1983), also known as Chescaleigh, is an American comedian, activist, television and YouTube personality, and actress, who has appeared on MTV and MSNBC.

I decided to expand my horizons, since clearly this woman doesn't like me for some reason. Perhaps I was wrong about something I said? So I decided to visit her Youtube page, and watched a few of them, including the following one:



I especially loved the part in there where she accuses Donald Trump of being anti-semitic, completely overlooking the fact his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner is Jewish, and his daughter Ivanka converted to Orthodox Judaism. But using evidence from Trump supporters is clearly sufficient, since we all know that Trump has complete mind control over all his supporters.

End sarcasm.

Based on some of her other videos, this is typical of Franchesca's SJW world view, wherein she cherry picks her sources to support her opinions, and blocks people like me who don't think like she does. For Franchesca, it is "political correctness uber alles". Comply, or be banished from her Twitter feed. Even her "5 Tips for Being An Ally" feels like an old Nazi propaganda film:


I have no doubt that should people like Franchesca ever get full control in the U.S., she would have no problem sending me to a "re-education camp", which would look like something right out of George Orwell's 1984.

But if I can inspire hatred from small-minded people like Franchesca, then I know I am doing something right.

Now if I can just get Nancy Pelosi to block me. We all have our dreams.

The real Russia story: Today's news for March 30th

Newsweek:

FBI DIRECTOR JAMES COMEY TRIED TO REVEAL RUSSIAN TAMPERING 

MONTHS BEFORE ELECTION

FBI Director James Comey attempted to go public as early as the summer of 2016 with information on Russia’s campaign to influence the U.S. presidential election, but Obama administration officials blocked him from doing so, two sources with knowledge of the matter tell Newsweek.

Well before the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence accused the Russian government of tampering with the U.S. election in an October 7 statement, Comey pitched the idea of writing an op-ed about the Russian campaign during a meeting in the White House’s situation room in June or July.

“He had a draft of it or an outline. He held up a piece of paper in a meeting and said, ‘I want to go forward, what do people think of this?’” says a source with knowledge of the meeting, which included Secretary of State John Kerry, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Department of Homeland Security secretary Jeh Johnson and the national security adviser Susan Rice.

The other national security officials didn’t like the idea, and White House officials thought the announcement should be a coordinated message backed by multiple agencies, the source says. “An op-ed doesn’t have the same stature, it comes from one person.”

The op-ed would not have mentioned whether the FBI was investigating Donald Trump’s campaign workers or others close to him for links to the Russians’ interference in the election, a second source with knowledge of the request tells Newsweek. 

In other words, contrary to many Leftist wet dreams, this is STRICTLY about the Russians' intentions and possible attempts to influence the election. Certainly, they might have initiated contacts with the Trump campaign members, but did any of those contacts bear fruit for them? If so, what could they possibly have offered? More importantly, WHY would a campaign member offer them anything?

It certainly makes sense that the Russians would want to influence our election. So their motives are not in doubt. But I am sure the Chinese would like to do it also, and have actually done it in the past. Why the concentration on the Russians?

This should absolutely be investigated, but expectations should be tempered. Trump is a very wealthy man, and it is unlikely the Russians have the means to influence him. More likely, there could be a low-level Trump operative who might be influenced.  

But even after you dig through all of this, the only thing that really matters was the Democratic National Committee emails and the Clinton campaign emails which were released. And they revealed a whole lot of illicit behavior as well as the Democratic Party's disregard for the American people. If the Democrats had behaved with integrity, there would have been nothing for the Russians to reveal.

In other news about news...

USA Today:

Fox News sued over alleged racial discrimination

Fox News Network has been sued with new allegations the media giant failed to address racial discrimination against two black women who work for the company.

Tichaona Brown and Tabrese Wright sued the news organization Tuesday in a Bronx Supreme Court lawsuit in New York City that charged they and “other dark-skinned employees suffered years-long racial animus” from Judith Slater, a former senior vice president and company controller.

The lawsuit alleged that Slater “ridiculed black employees by mocking stereotyped speech” and forcing them to pronounce the words ‘mother,’ ‘father,’ ‘month’ and ‘ask’ correctly “in front of white employees.”

Don't we all hate pedants? Admittedly, if Slater had an issue with their speech, she shouldn't have hired them. If she wasn't the one responsible for the hiring, she should have made sure those who did the hiring recognized her grammatical fetishes.

Continuing:

The former executive also claimed the Black Lives Matter movement is racist, “and wondered what would happen if there was a parallel ‘White Lives Matter’ movement, the lawsuit alleged.

Bad news, social justice warriors: This is true. Heck, Leftists get upset because there is a "Blue Lives Matter" movement to support the police.

Citing this in a lawsuit as an example of racism is actually racist itself.

Continuing:

Aware that Wright had three children, Slater asked her if the children “were fathered by the same man,” the lawsuit charged. 

Sorry Slater, but you may have to eat this one.

Overall, minus the BLM comment, assuming the allegations are true, Slater sounds like she is on the losing end here. However, she isn't the one being sued. Fox News is.

Slater was fired on Feb. 28, Fox said, challenging the lawsuit’s allegation that the dismissal occurred as the case was going to court. Slater could not immediately be reached for comment. 

Brown remains a company employee, Fox said. Wright was not demoted, but instead was transferred to a lateral position with the same work title, salary, and benefits, the company said.

The big question is, did these women complain to higher-ups at Fox, or did they go straight to lawsuit mode? The article doesn't state that. To go after the "deep pockets", Fox News in this case, you have to actually give the deep pockets a reasonable chance to respond to your allegations.

There is no doubt this story will be followed closely by the MSM.

In other news not about news...

Associated Press:

HOUSE APPROVES BILL TO FORCE PUBLIC RELEASE OF EPA SCIENCE

House Republicans are taking aim at the Environmental Protection Agency, targeting the way officials use science to develop new regulations.

A bill approved Wednesday by the GOP-controlled House would require that data used to support new regulations to protect human health and the environment be released to the public.

Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, said "the days of 'trust me' science are over," adding that the House bill would restore confidence in the EPA's decision-making process.

Connecticut Rep. Elizabeth Esty and other Democrats said the bill would cripple EPA's ability to conduct scientific research based on confidential medical information and risks privacy violations by exposing sensitive patient data.

In other words, assuming the bill passes the Senate, the EPA will no longer be able to use fake science to support their regulatory authority.

Sadly, there is plenty of fake science out there:

Breitbart:

J Scott Armstrong: Fewer Than 1 Percent Of Papers in Scientific Journals 

Follow Scientific Method 

Fewer than 1 percent of papers published in scientific journals follow the scientific method, according to research by Wharton School professor and forecasting expert J. Scott Armstrong.

Professor Armstrong, who co-founded the peer-reviewed Journal of Forecasting in 1982 and the International Journal of Forecasting in 1985, made the claim in a presentation about what he considers to be “alarmism” from forecasters over man-made climate change.

“We also go through journals and rate how well they conform to the scientific method. I used to think that maybe 10 percent of papers in my field … were maybe useful. Now it looks like maybe, one tenth of one percent follow the scientific method” said Armstrong in his presentation, which can be watched in full below. “People just don’t do it.”

Armstrong defined eight criteria for compliance with the scientific method, including full disclosure of methods, data, and other reliable information, conclusions that are consistent with the evidence, valid and simple methods, and valid and reliable data.

...“Why is this all happening? Nobody asks them!” said Armstrong, who says that people who submit papers to journals are not required to follow the scientific method. “You send something to a journal and they don’t tell you what you have to do. They don’t say ‘here’s what science is, here’s how to do it.'”

Digging deeper into their motivations, Armstrong pointed to the wealth of incentives for publishing papers with politically convenient rather than scientific conclusions.

“They’re rewarded for doing non-scientific research. One of my favourite examples is testing statistical significance – that’s invalid. It’s been over 100 years we’ve been fighting the fight against that. Even its inventor thought it wasn’t going to amount to anything. You can be rewarded then, for following an invalid [method].”

If you want to know why, follow the money. Who pays for scientific research? In many fields,it is paid for by governments and Left-leaning educational institutions. So we end up with the science police being politicians and those people with a Leftist political ideology.

Armstrong concluded his talk by arguing that scientific evidence should be required for all climate regulations.

Maybe that EPA bill in the last news story was a good idea?

Wednesday Wisdom: Dashiell Hammett

(Humphrey Bogart's Sam Spade)

"The cheaper the crook, the gaudier the patter."--Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon (1930)

Explain American politics in 8 words? There is your answer.

Comic Book Fixes

Just a few of my random ideas for fixing comic books and comic book-related tv shows and movies:

FANTASTIC FOUR
Remember the really bad Fantastic 4 movie (above)? It was a train wreck all around, so othe5r than casting Spongebob as Ben Grimm (which could make it better actually), there was nothing to learn from it.

The first series (above) was ok, albeit light on character development. Therein lies the solution to the Fantastic 4's problem: With 4 characters to develop, it needs a tv show. Hello Netflix/Fox TV!

THE MARVEL COMIC UNIVERSE

Ever since the "Secret Wars/Battleworld" fiasco...er, event, the Marvel comic universe, aka 616 to the comic book initiated, is a disaster area. Victor von doom is now Iron Man? Captain America is a sleeper Hydra agent. Even with an explanation, these are silly. And this is just scratching the surface.

Time to reboot everything and start from scratch. There is no saving this cluster-F.

DC MOVIE UNIVERSE

Speaking of reboots...

Somewhere along the way, DC got the clever idea they need to make all their characters dark, like Batman. News flash: Dark ONLY works for Batman and Daredevil. Thank you Frank Miller.

The DCMU (DC Movie Universe) needs a desperate reboot, with special attention paid to replacing Superman. Bring back Brandon Routh and dump Henry "Can't act his way out of a paper bag" Cavill. Superman needs to return to his Christopher Reeves role. It's worked quite well on the Supergirl tv show. Take the hint.

Speaking of which...

FLASH

Why is there a tv Flash and a movie Flash? What exactly can you hope to tell in the movie that you haven't already covered in the tv show, which is half-decent?

Simple solution: Allow the tv show actors to appear in the Justice League movie. Whoever thought of having a Flash movie and tv show should be fired.

Sally's sour grapes: Today's news for March 29th

(hat tip to Wikipedia for the picture of Sally Yates)

Vox:

The controversy over Sally Yates’s planned testimony before Congress, explained

The House Intelligence Committee’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election is embroiled in yet another controversy.

A new report from the Washington Post’s Devlin Barrett and Adam Entous says that Trump administration officials wouldn’t approve former acting Attorney General Sally Yates’s planned testimony before the committee on certain topics, claiming they were “likely covered by the presidential communications privilege.”

According to documents obtained by the Post, Yates was planning to testify “about the [Justice] Department’s notification to the White House of concerns about the conduct of a senior official” — Michael Flynn, Trump’s fired national security adviser — at a House Intelligence Committee hearing.

If Yates has some incredible evidence of wrongdoing by the White House, why can't she go to the press with it? I have no doubt the New York Times would happily give her the front page to enlighten the American people. CNN might give her several months of coverage.

The TRUTH is there really isn't much here that Yates could have:

In these documents, the Trump administration never explicitly tells Yates she can’t testify. However, a Justice Department official writes that Yates’s communications with the White House were “likely covered by the presidential communications privilege.” Therefore, the official continued, if Yates wanted explicit permission to testify about this, she should ask the White House.

IF it was covered by the presidential communications privilege.

Continuing with her story:

Sally Yates was the holdover Obama Justice Department official who served as acting attorney general when Trump’s administration began (because Jeff Sessions hadn’t yet been confirmed by the Senate).

On January 26, Yates informed Trump’s White House counsel, Don McGahn, that US spies had evidence that then-National Security Adviser Michael Flynn had misrepresented his communications with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the transition. (Flynn told Vice President Mike Pence and others that he and Kislyak didn’t discuss US sanctions on Russia, but surveillance of Kislyak made clear that the two men had talked about the issue.)

A few days later, on January 30, Yates refused to defend Trump’s travel ban aimed at people from seven predominantly Muslim nations in court, and Trump fired her.

Two weeks later, on February 13, the Washington Post published a report on Yates’s conversations with McGahn about Flynn. Later that night, Trump fired Flynn.

All I see here is potentially some sour grapes. She went against her boss and got fired. Even if you think she is right in what she did, that is a risk anyone takes when they openly defy their boss.

Speaking of firing the holdovers...

New York Daily News:

DNC chair Tom Perez requests resignation letters from all staffers working for party

Newly elected Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez has asked all staffers working for the party to resign, according to a report Tuesday.

Perez...formally requested the resignation letter of all current staffers to be submitted by April 15, NBC News reported.

Political parties typically see top-to-bottom turnover when a new boss comes in, so the move wasn’t entirely unexpected, sources told the network.

It sounds harsh, but it makes perfect sense. You've just lost an election you were supposed to win. A housecleaning is in order.

Speaking of failures...

CNN:

After health care failure, Plan B suddenly more appealing for Republicans

Republicans insisted they had no "Plan B" for their plan to repeal and replace Obamacare. But a few days later, after crashing into what might be the new third rail of American politics, Republicans are talking publicly and privately about ... Plan B.

President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence spoke with several House members over the weekend to discuss a path forward, a senior administration official and Republican official with knowledge of the discussions told CNN. And House Speaker Paul Ryan -- despite saying Friday that "Obamacare is the law of the land" -- appears ready to keep going as well.

Here is why they are talking about a plan B so soon:

...Republicans can't go back to their voters and say they've given up. Moving on from repealing Obamacare would mean Republicans may have to admit defeat and face a sobering new reality, in which, they were not able to deliver on the policy goal that united them and catapulted them to victory in the House in 2010, the Senate in 2014 and the White House in 2016.

To paraphrase the old saying, elections have consequences, especially when you win.

By the way, Rand Paul's Obamacare replacement is still available. The fact it is being ignored by both the Right and Left tells you it might be a decent plan.

In other news...

ABC 7 Chicago:

MAN SHOT BY ICE AGENT IN BELMONT CRAGIN

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A man was shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood Monday morning, the agency said.

Chicago police said a 53-year-old Felix Torres was shot in his left arm the 6100-block of West Grand Avenue at about 6:20 a.m.

A spokesman for ICE said that ICE Homeland Security Investigations agents were attempting to arrest a person when a second person pointed a weapon toward the agents and as a result, an agent fired his gun and wounded the man.

"Really sad and you know, I'm worried about my dad mostly. He's the one in the hospital. And my baby, we come out, like, with no shoes, nothing, we didn't know what was going on, we was sleeping," said Carmen Torres, daughter of the man who was shot.

Torres said ICE agents told her they were after one of her brothers, who is a U.S. citizen. She denied that her father had a weapon.

"My dad doesn't got no guns. My dad just went to see what's going on and that's why they shot him. He just opened the door and they shot him," Torres said.

When you hear such opposing accounts of the same incident, you know either somebody is wrong, lying, or the truth lies somewhere in-between.

This story continues with plenty of outrage from people, but not much in the way of facts. Reserve judgement until more facts are revealed. It is far too early to be outraged here.

In other news: Today's news for March 28th (part 2)

Wall Street Journal:

Elon Musk Launches Neuralink to Connect Brains With Computers

Building a mass-market electric vehicle and colonizing Mars aren’t ambitious enough for Elon Musk. The billionaire entrepreneur now wants to merge computers with human brains to help people keep up with machines.

The founder and chief executive of Tesla Inc. and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. has launched another company called Neuralink Corp., according to people familiar with the matter. Neuralink is pursuing what Mr. Musk calls “neural lace” technology, implanting tiny brain electrodes that may one day upload and download thoughts.

...“If you assume any rate of advancement in [artificial intelligence], we will be left behind by a lot,” he said at a conference last June.

The solution he proposed was a “direct cortical interface”—essentially a layer of artificial intelligence inside the brain—that could enable humans to reach higher levels of function. 

This is the natural next step in evolution. You will be assimilated.

If you need a good reason why this is good, just consider...

ABC 7:

NOHO SCHOOL BUDGET CUTS DUE TO HIGH WHITE STUDENT PERCENTAGE SPARKS OUTRAGE

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Outrage has grown at Walter Reed Middle School in North Hollywood, as the school faces layoffs and increased class sizes due to a law limiting funds for schools with a higher white student body.

The Los Angeles Unified School District provides more funding for schools where the white population is below 30 percent.

In a letter to parents, the district noted the highly regarded middle school had been above the percentage for the past couple years.

The racial formula was a condition imposed by court decisions dealing with desegregation in the 1970s.

Court sanctioned racism is still racism. Dred Scott anyone?

In other news...

Las Vegas Review Journal:

Oakland Raiders get NFL’s approval to move to Las Vegas

By a landslide 31-1 vote, NFL owners Monday approved the [Oakland Raiders'] second departure from the Bay Area, this time to the growing Las Vegas metropolitan area.

I only bring this up because I happen to be a Raiders fan. However, if the Raiders have to move anywhere, I am pleased it is to Las Vegas. There was never a chance of me ever seeing a Raiders home game in Oakland, but I would happily visit Las Vegas for one. Also, the Las Vegas Raiders has a nice ring to it.

Trump of the day: Today's news for March 28th (part 1)

CNN:

Russian banker who met with Jared Kushner has ties to Putin

The Russian banker who met with Jared Kushner in December has ties to the Russian government and was appointed to his job by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The meeting between Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and one of his closest advisers, and the chairman of a state-run Russian bank will likely be scrutinized by congressional investigators probing links between Trump associates and the Russian government.

Kushner met with Sergey Gorkov, the chairman VneshEconomBank, or VEB, in December 2016. The meeting raises additional questions because VEB has been under US sanctions for three years, and because Kushner has been trying to attract financing for a building project of his in Manhattan.

The White House said Kushner was acting as a Trump adviser -- not as a private developer -- when he met with Gorkov.

It needs to be remembered that meeting with Russians is not proof of anything illicit or illegal. in fact, the article goes on to say exactly that:

The meeting between Kushner and Gorkov does not violate the US sanctions, and it is not unusual for businesses under sanctions to meet with US officials, experts said.

"I don't see any problem in having a meeting," said Paul Saunders, executive director of the Center for the National Interest, a Washington, D.C., think-tank. "The prohibitions relate to doing business with the banks, not to talking to them." 

But it is a nice little addition to the mainstream media's current birtherism, otherwise known as "link Trump to Russia in every way possible".

In other Trump news...

CNN:

In executive order, Trump to dramatically change US approach to climate change

President Donald Trump will sign a sweeping executive order Tuesday at the Environmental Protection Agency, which looks to curb the federal government's enforcement of climate regulations by putting American jobs above addressing climate change.

The order represents a clear difference between how Trump and former President Barack Obama view the role the United States plays in combating climate change, and dramatically alters the government's approach to rising sea levels and temperatures -- two impacts of climate change.

There is a lot here which CNN has taken on faith. here is a short list:

1. Sea levels are actually rising and present a threat.
2. Temperatures are actually rising and present a threat.
3. Humans are responsible for number 1 and 2.
4. Government is capable of taking actions to prevent or reverse number 1 and 2.

Mind you, it is possible that climate change is happening. It has happened before and will happen naturally. But it will take more evidence than has been presented to confirm number 3, especially when the climatologists are actively fudging the temperature data (number 2).

As for number 4, proving that will take an act of God. Consider this: If large groups of humans are responsible for creating climate change, what makes you think a smaller group of humans known as government is capable of doing anything about it?

In other media insanity...

NPR:

FACT CHECK: Trump Says Obamacare Is 'Exploding.' It's Not

President Trump is doing his best to put a good face on defeat in his party's attempt to replace the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

His strategy is simple: declare that the law is failing. And he is selling that message in his own distinctly Trumpian way: concocting it out of simple, bold words and then hammering that message home, over and over: Obamacare, in his words, will "explode."

...The law has its problems — but it is far from "exploding," using any reasonable definition of the word. Here is a quick rundown of where the Affordable Care Act stands right now, what's going well and what's not so great.

Using just the facts as presented, here is what is working with Obamacare:

1) The exchanges are stable ...
2) ... In part because many people are shielded from premium hikes.
3) The uninsured rate has fallen — a lot.
4) Premiums are holding steady (but don't praise Obamacare for that)

And here is what is not working:

1) Few insurance options for many Americans.
2) Big premium hikes for some Americans.
3) Higher deductibles making health care more expensive for many.
4) (Very) (very) expensive health care

#2 under "not working" puts the lie to #4 under working. How can premiums be rising a lot for some Americans and yet holding steady? Overall, you call that "going up". On top of that, even the article doesn't give Obamacare credit for the "working" #4.

If the uninsured rate has fallen, but deductibles are higher and health care is more expensive, doesn't that mean Obamacare is forcing people to pay for coverage that isn't helping?

This is a pretty lame fact check. They actually make Trump's case for him.

Book Review: "In This Reality: Chasing Death"

My wife wrote a book!

Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, her nom de plume is D.A. Woods, and the book is titled In This Reality: Chasing Death. The book's Amazon blurb reads:

Lythe does not know who she is, but she knows her purpose. It is to help down and out preternatural beings take The Next Step towards being productive members of this new world. A world were only 20 years ago, non-humans announced they were more than just the product of over-active imaginations. But when a group of those she is trying to help come to shut her down, she must decide if the fight is one she can win, or if she's just Chasing Death.

All in all, it is a good read wherein my wife has created her own supernatural universe, which revolves around Lythe and a motley cast of characters. I was partial to the were-leopard named Chance. While the tale involves romance (not really my thing), it is also fun for those of you into vampires and lycanthropes and necromancers (oh my!).

Even if you aren't into such things, but you want to support my blog, feel free to "donate" $5.99 via Amazon and get a free Kindle book in the deal.

End gratuitous self-promotion. And yes, promoting my wife's book is self-promotion, as any husband worth a plugged nickle will tell you.

Killing Muslims: Today's news for March 27th

New York Times:

U.S.-Led Coalition Confirms Strikes Hit Mosul Site Where Civilians Died

The American-led military coalition in Iraq said Saturday that an initial review of recent airstrikes in Mosul, the Islamic State’s last stronghold in Iraq, had confirmed that the strikes hit a site where scores of civilians were killed.

The inquiry, military officials said, found that a building had collapsed a few days after strikes by American forces. United States officials are seeking to determine whether the airstrikes brought down the building, leaving many Iraqis dead, or the Islamic State used the strikes as an opportunity to detonate an explosive in the building.

Because bombs dropped from military aircraft cannot possibly bring down buildings?

The March 17 airstrikes — which Iraqis said had led to the deaths of possibly 200 people — could have produced among the highest civilian death tolls in an American air mission since the United States invaded Iraq in 2003.

The reports of heavy civilian casualties have come at a critical point in the military campaign to defeat the Islamic State. Iraqi officials said that the Trump administration had appeared to loosen restrictions on the rules of engagement, making it easier for the Iraqis to call in airstrikes. The Iraqis had been frustrated by the Obama administration’s deliberate approach. 

With as many as 200 people dead, most or all civilians, we need to stop and ask how many civilian casualties are too many? If there is no number, then why don't we just launch the nukes and turn the Middle East into a parking lot?

At what point is saying "sorry" not enough?

Clearly, the Trump administration hasn't reached it yet:

Orlando Sentinel:

White House weighs deeper U.S. military involvement in Yemen war

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has asked the White House to lift Obama-era restrictions on U.S. military support for Persian Gulf states engaged in a protracted civil war against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, according to senior Trump administration officials.

In a memo this month to national security adviser H.R. McMaster, Mattis said that "limited support" for Yemen operations being conducted by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - including a planned Emirati offensive to retake a key Red Sea port - would help combat a "common threat."

Approval of the request would mark a significant policy shift. U.S. military activity in Yemen until now has been confined mainly to counterterrorism operations against al-Qaida's affiliate there, with limited indirect backing for Gulf state efforts in a two-year-old war that has yielded significant civilian casualties.

It would also be a clear signal of the administration's intention to move more aggressively against Iran. The Trump White House, in far stronger terms than its predecessor, has echoed Saudi and Emirati charges that Iran is training, arming and directing the Shiite Houthis in a proxy war to increase its regional clout against the Gulf's Sunni monarchies.

This means the U.S. is basically involved as a proxy in an internal Islamic religious war. Maybe this is why it is ok to kill "some" Muslim civilians?

In other news...

The Japan Times:

Science Council of Japan officially rejects research for military purposes

The Science Council of Japan has officially adopted a policy against conducting research for military purposes.

A statement adopted by the council’s executive board on Friday said there are many problems with a Defense Ministry program that funds research into defense equipment and pointed to significant intervention by the government.

The statement, adopted after nearly a year of discussion by a 15-member committee set up by the council, upholds two statements adopted in 1950 and 1967 that state the group will “never engage in military research.”

It must be nice to never have to worry about paying for your own defense.

Weekly Finale: Chuck Berry

For this week's musical finale, I am honoring the great Chuck Berry, who died on March 18th at the age of 90.

To understand Berry's influence on our music and culture, I offer this scene from 1985's Back to the Future:


Ironically, Johnny B. Goode only reached number 2 on the R&B charts. It was also one of the three Chuck Berry songs which the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame named as one of the "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll".

The other two were Rock and Roll Music and Maybellene (which was both his first hit and first to chart at number one on the R&B charts):






His only number 1 hit on the main U.S. charts came in 1972, with his double entendre-laced My Ding-a-Ling:



Without Chuck Berry, the whole rock and roll branch of the musical tree would not have grown into what it is today. He has left a legacy that will last as long as people listen to music.


That is all for me this week. I will be back Monday for more blogging. Have a "Goode" weekend.

Smart Jokes

This post is dedicated to my dad. He will know why.

Business Insider posted a list of "nerdy jokes". Below are the funny ones, but if you need them explained, go here.

A PHOTON IS GOING THROUGH AIRPORT SECURITY. THE TSA AGENT ASKS IF HE HAS ANY LUGGAGE. THE PHOTON SAYS, "NO, I'M TRAVELING LIGHT."

A LOGICIAN'S WIFE IS HAVING A BABY. THE DOCTOR IMMEDIATELY HANDS THE NEWBORN TO THE DAD. THE WIFE SAYS, "IS IT A BOY OR A GIRL?" THE LOGICIAN SAYS, "YES."

HOW CAN YOU TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A CHEMIST AND A PLUMBER? ASK THEM TO PRONOUNCE "UNIONIZED."

HEARD ABOUT THAT NEW BAND CALLED 1023 MB? THEY HAVEN'T HAD ANY GIGS YET.

HEISENBERG WAS SPEEDING DOWN THE HIGHWAY. A COP PULLS HIM OVER AND SAYS, "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW FAST YOU WERE GOING BACK THERE?" HEISENBERG SAYS, "NO, BUT I KNEW WHERE I WAS."

FIRST LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS: YOU CAN'T WIN. SECOND LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS: YOU CAN'T BREAK EVEN. THIRD LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS: YOU CAN'T STOP PLAYING.

IF YOU'RE NOT PART OF THE SOLUTION, YOU'RE PART OF THE PRECIPITATE.

A LINGUISTICS PROFESSOR SAYS DURING A LECTURE THAT, "IN ENGLISH, A DOUBLE NEGATIVE FORMS A POSITIVE. BUT IN SOME LANGUAGES, SUCH AS RUSSIAN, A DOUBLE NEGATIVE IS STILL A NEGATIVE. HOWEVER, IN NO LANGUAGE IN THE WORLD CAN A DOUBLE POSITIVE FORM A NEGATIVE." BUT THEN A VOICE FROM THE BACK OF THE ROOM PIPED UP, "YEAH, RIGHT."

"THIS IS THE SORT OF ENGLISH UP WITH WHICH I WILL NOT PUT."

HOW MANY SURREALISTS DOES IT TAKE TO SCREW IN A LIGHT BULB? A FISH.

IS IT SOLIPSISTIC IN HERE, OR IS IT JUST ME?

A ROMAN WALKS INTO A BAR AND ASKS FOR A MARTINUS. "YOU MEAN MARTINI?" THE BARTENDER ASKS. THE ROMAN REPLIES, "SLOW DOWN THERE! I'LL LET YOU KNOW WHEN I WANT MORE."

WHAT DOES A DYSLEXIC, AGNOSTIC, INSOMNIAC DO AT NIGHT? HE STAYS UP WONDERING IF THERE REALLY IS A DOG.

Obama caught spying on Trump? Today's news for March 24th

Fox News:

Potential 'smoking gun' showing Obama administration spied on Trump team, source says

Republican congressional investigators expect a potential “smoking gun” establishing that the Obama administration spied on the Trump transition team, and possibly the president-elect himself, will be produced to the House Intelligence Committee this week, a source told Fox News.

Classified intelligence showing incidental collection of Trump team communications, purportedly seen by committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., and described by him in vague terms at a bombshell Wednesday afternoon news conference, came from multiple sources, Capitol Hill sources told Fox News. The intelligence corroborated information about surveillance of the Trump team that was known to Nunes, sources said, even before President Trump accused his predecessor of having wiretapped him in a series of now-infamous tweets posted on March 4.

The intelligence is said to leave no doubt the Obama administration, in its closing days, was using the cover of legitimate surveillance on foreign targets to spy on President-elect Trump, according to sources.

Further:

The Washington Free Beacon: 

Intelligence Reports Reveal Improper Political Surveillance of Trump, Transition Team

Nunes said he was alarmed by what he saw in several dozen intelligence reports that include transcripts of communications, including communications directly from Trump. The reports were based on a foreign electronic spying operation between November and January. They were revealed by an intelligence community insider who alerted Nunes.

Nunes said on CNN that after reading the reports he was confident the Obama White House and numerous agencies "had a pretty good idea of what President-elect Trump was up to and what his transition team was up to and who they were meeting with."

If true, and it needs to be remembered this is only rumor at this point, then what this was is nothing short of the abuse of data collection for political purposes by the U.S. government, with potential legal ramifications for former President Obama.

Let us take this mental exercise a step further: What happens if the first black president not only gets charged with a crime committed while in office, but also convicted of it?

In other news...

CNN:

Trump card: White House plays its hand in health care battle

To make a deal, you have to know when it's time to walk.

President Donald Trump ripped that classic move from his boardroom playbook Thursday night, seeking to splinter the resistance of House Republicans refusing to pass the health care bill that has left his new administration in limbo.

After days of trying to charm members of Congress, Trump gave them an ultimatum: If they don't vote yes Friday, he will move on and saddle them with the shame of failing to repeal Obamacare, a cherished GOP goal.

The problem for Trump is what happens if this bill fails, but they pass another one in a few months? Is he going to veto that one, and then accept the albatross of failing to repeal Obamacare himself? The problem for him is he doesn't hold the cards in this poker game. Congress does. Trump is all bluff here.

Friends in Safe Spaces

In all satire there is an element of TRUTH...This song says it all:

AHCA DOA: Today's news for March 23rd

Before I continue, allow me to state for the record I am not going to comment on the terrorist attack in London. However, if you feel the need to find out more about it, here is the latest.

Back to the real news...

Fox News:

ObamaCare replacement bill in jeopardy after conservatives, moderates fail to reach deal

House Republicans' ObamaCare replacement plan was in peril early Thursday after lengthy leadership and committee meetings failed to produce an agreement that would shore up support among conservative members.

"We have not cut the deal yet," said House Rules Committee Chairman Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas. The committee spent 13 hours in session Wednesday without setting up a formal rule governing debate on the health care bill, which had been expected to be voted on by the full House Thursday.

Fortunately for Republicans, help is on the way:

Politico:

Koch network pledges to defend Republicans who vote against GOP health bill

The Koch brothers' network of well-funded outside groups says it will spend millions to protect Republicans who oppose the party's health care bill from political fallout.

Americans for Prosperity and Freedom Partners, the Koch network's big budget grass-roots activism and advertising groups, are teaming up to create a "seven-figure" reserve fund to support lawmakers who buck President Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan on the health care vote, as the threat of primaries looms over some opponents of the bill. The Koch groups will spend the money on paid media, direct mail and grass-roots canvassing.

Freedom Partners called the GOP bill "Obamacare 2.0" and said it falls short of truly repealing the 2010 law.

“Republicans have been promising to fully repeal Obamacare since it became law. This bill doesn’t do that," said James Davis, executive vice president of Freedom Partners. "We will stand with lawmakers who keep their promise and oppose this legislation — and work toward a solution that reduces costs and provides Americans with the relief they need and deserve.” 

Call it a hunch, but I think that wasn't the kind of help that President Trump and House speaker Ryan wanted.

In other Trump news...

Politico:

Nunes claims some Trump transition messages were intercepted

House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes declared Wednesday that members of Donald Trump’s transition team, possibly including Trump himself, were under inadvertent surveillance following November’s presidential election.

The White House and Trump’s allies immediately seized on the statement as vindication of the president’s much-maligned claim that former President Barack Obama wiretapped Trump Tower phones — even though Nunes himself said that’s not what his new information shows.

But then the whole Russian connection storyline takes a turn for the absurd:

Politico:

GOP Takes Up Russia-Aligned Attack On Soros

A group of congressional Republicans is teaming up with Russia-backed politicians in Eastern Europe with the shared goal of stopping a common enemy: billionaire financier George Soros.

Led by Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey and Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, the conservative lawmakers have signed on to a volley of letters accusing Soros of using his philanthropic spending to project his liberal sensibilities onto European politics. As Lee and other senators put it in a March 14 letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Soros’ Open Society Foundations are trying “to push a progressive agenda and invigorate the political left.”

So the Republicans feel the same way about Soros as the Russians do? That doesn't mean they are complicit with the Russians. Politico really needs to lighten up on the Russian meme. This is reaching epic levels of silliness.

That said, if Soros wants to pour money into promoting Leftist causes in Eastern Europe, God bless him. The GOP needs to shut up about it.

Speaking of free speech...

USA Today:

AT&T, other U.S. advertisers quit Google, YouTube over extremist videos

AT&T, Verizon, Johnson & Johnson and other major U.S. advertisers are pulling hundreds of millions of dollars in business from Google and its video service YouTube despite the Internet giant's pledge this week to keep offensive and extremist content away from ads.

AT&T said that it is halting all ad spending on Google except for search ads. That means AT&T ads will not run on YouTube or two million websites that take part in Google's ad network.

"We are deeply concerned that our ads may have appeared alongside YouTube content promoting terrorism and hate," the company said in an emailed statement. "Until Google can ensure this won’t happen again, we are removing our ads from Google’s non-search platforms."

While these companies have the right to pull their advertising dollars, sadly it is in the cause of denying free speech to people. "Offensive and extremist" have different meanings to different people. Once you start down that road, it isn't a long trip to Oceania.

What If You Could Change History?

Over on her blog, writer Shonda Brock poses a fascinating question: "What If You could Change History"?

Admittedly, this is a "playing God" exercise, and there are a lot of places to go with that.

To me, the most obvious idea is to make the Treaty of Versailles less punitive on Germany. Without the economic hardships Germany had to face when the Great Depression hit the world, we might not have seen the rise of Hitler, which might have prevented the Holocaust and World War II. On the other hand, World War II might have still happened. But instead of fighting the Axis powers, it might have been a war between the West and the Soviet Union. Also, would this have left Japan in control of China?

What if we eliminate Mohammed from history? Without the religion of Islam, would there be no Crusades, and no Islamic terrorism today? Maybe, but the Crusades might have been against the Jews instead of the Arabs. It is also possible that another religious philosophy might have taken hold in the Arab world. If I am playing God, I would probably make such a philosophy more peaceful. Unfortunately, that would also leave the Arab world vulnerable to later conquest from nations like the Holy Roman Empire or the Mongols.

Maybe we try something simpler, like preventing President Lincoln's assassination? That would have allowed for a more merciful Southern Reconstruction era after the Civil War. Then again, Lincoln might have faced the same problems which dogged his successor Andrew Johnson, and maybe even gotten himself impeached. It was Lincoln's Secretary of War Edwin Stanton who led to Johnson's troubles, and eventual impeachment.

That is the problem with history: Fix one problem, and create another.

I am reminded of an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, titled Tapestry. As Wikipedia describes the plot:

During a diplomatic mission, Captain Picard is shot by terrorists and dies. He awakes to find himself in an otherwordly realm, where he is greeted by the god-like alien Q. He explains that the peculiar weapon that shot Picard destroyed his artificial heart, and that a natural heart would have survived. Picard lost his original heart as a young officer, when he was stabbed during a bar brawl, an event that he regrets and led to him becoming the disciplined and restrained man he is today. When Picard remarks that he would do things differently if he could relive that moment, Q sends Picard back in time to two days before the brawl, where he meets with fellow cadets and friends Corey Zweller and Marta Batanides. They are surprised by Picard's change of personality; no more devil-may-care attitude. 

Zweller is cheated by a group of Nausicaans at a bar game, and he plans his revenge by rigging the next match. When the Nausicaans lose, they are enraged and goad Zweller. But instead of joining the fight as he did before, Picard holds Zweller back, averting tragedy but humiliating his friend. Both Corey and Marta leave him in disgust. 

In a parallel event, Picard has intimate relations with Marta, something he never did and had regrets about. The next day, she regrets that decision and he realizes that their friendship will never be the same. 

Q returns Picard to the Enterprise in the present. Instead of being captain, Picard is just a junior science officer. In this alternate timeline, he has led an unremarkable career doing routine work. Picard consults Commander Riker and Counselor Troi, who explain that his aversion to risk meant he never distinguished himself. 

Picard confronts Q, who tells him that although the bout with the Nausicaan nearly cost him his life, it also gave him a sense of his mortality. It taught him that life was too precious to squander by playing it safe. Picard realizes that his attempts to suppress and ignore the consequences of his indiscretions have resulted in him losing a part of himself. Picard then declares that he would rather die as captain of the Enterprise than live as a nobody. Q sends him back to the bar fight and events unfold as they did originally, with Picard being stabbed through the heart and laughing as he collapses to the floor. In the present, Picard awakens in sickbay, a Captain again. As Picard recovers from his injury, he wonders if his journey into the past was one of Q's tricks or merely a dream. Nevertheless, he is grateful for the insight the experience gave him.

The lesson here for individuals is the same as the lesson for humanity: We cannot change our history, for it makes us what we are.

A Silly World: Today's news for March 22nd

Chuck Barris is dead today. He was 87.

Barris was the creator of popular games shows The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game, although he was best known as the host of The Gong Show:



Barris was also a songwriter, best known for Freddy Cannon's Palisades Park:


I would say the world is a little less silly without Barris, but the news doesn't allow for that assessment.

On a more serious note...

Fox News:

Rape focuses critical attention on 'sanctuary' states

The rape of a 14-year-old girl last week in a boys’ bathroom of a Maryland high school, for which two immigrants have been charged, has fueled opposition to officials making the state a sanctuary for illegal immigrants.

One suspect in last Thursday’s attack is 17; the other is 18. Both were enrolled as freshman because of their weak English language skills. The two suspects, who were enrolled in Rockville’s Montgomery High School, are from Central America.

Four days after the rape, Maryland’s House of Delegates passed legislation to join states like California in becoming a “sanctuary state,” affording illegal criminal aliens additional protections and making it more difficult to deport them or ask about immigration status.

...The legislation that passed Monday will make Maryland a sanctuary for illegal alien criminals, further endanger its citizens and interfere with state and local law enforcement’s ability to cooperate with federal law enforcement, the governor said.

...One suspect, Henry E. Sanchez, 18, of Guatemala had been stopped by a Border Patrol agent in August 2016 in Rio Valley Grande, Texas, when he entered the country illegally from Mexico. Sanchez was ordered to appear before an immigration judge, but the hearing had not yet been scheduled.

It was not immediately clear if the other suspect, Jose O. Montano, 17, from El Salvador, was in the county illegally but county executive Ike Leggett told local press both had outstanding ICE orders.

Somehow, this news story got missed by CNN, even though the White House commented on it:

"The reason the president has made it such a priority to crack down on illegal immigration is because of cases like this," White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Tuesday.

Speaking of the White House...

Newsweek:

AMERICA FIRST? TRUMP BUSINESSES KEEP HIRING FOREIGN WORKERS

In speeches and tweets, President Donald Trump insists it's time to put "America first," but when it comes to his family's vast empire of successful businesses, foreign workers apparently make attractive hires.

Trump Vineyard Estates, owned by Eric Trump, is seeking permission to hire 29 foreign workers through the federal H-2A visa program to cultivate grapes at its Virginia winery, the Associated Press reported Tuesday. The immigration program lets agricultural employees temporarily hire foreign workers to do the jobs Americans don't want or can't do.

Eric Trump applied for six foreign workers in December, just before his father moved into the White House and described his "America first" vision in his Inauguration Day speech. Now, Trump Vineyard Estates is seeking permission to hire 23 more foreign workers at $10.72 an hour.

Maybe we misunderstood Trump's campaign slogan?

Perhaps it was supposed to be "Make America Grape Again"?



But seriously folks...

Breitbart:

Exclusive — Rand Paul: ‘Easily 35 No Votes’ Against Paul Ryan’s Obamacare 2.0, 

‘I Would Predict They Pull Bill, Start Over’

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) told Breitbart News exclusively on Tuesday afternoon that he expects House Speaker Paul Ryan will be forced to pull the American Health Care Act (AHCA) before a scheduled Thursday vote because Ryan will not get the votes to pass the legislation.

...Paul said in the in-person interview at his U.S. Senate office in the Russell Senate Office Building:

"I think there’s easily 35 no votes right now so unless something happens in the next 24 hours, I would predict they pull the bill and start over. I think if conservatives stick together, they will have earned a seat at the table where real negotiation to make this bill an acceptable bill will happen. But it’s interesting what conservatives are doing to change the debate. We went from keeping the Obamacare taxes for a year—hundreds of billions of dollars—but they’re coming towards us because we’re standing firm. So we have to stick together, and if we do stick together there will be a real negotiation on this. The main goal I have is not to pass something that does not fix the situation. If a year from now, insurance rates and premiums are still going through the roof and it’s now a Republican plan it will be a disservice to the president and all of us if we pass something that doesn’t work."

Stay tuned. Or as Chuck Barris would have said, "We'll be right back, with more stuff!"

The view from the Left (Part 2): Today's news for March 21st

Continued from part 1...

Reuters:

Exclusive: Tillerson plans to skip NATO meeting, visit Russia in April - sources

If you just read the headline, it sounds like Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is skipping the NATO meeting to meet with the Russians instead, right? Wrong:

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson plans to skip a meeting with NATO foreign ministers next month in order to stay home for a visit by China's president and will go to Russia later in April, U.S. officials said on Monday, disclosing an itinerary that allies may see as giving Moscow priority over them.

Tillerson intends to miss what would have been his first meeting of the 28 NATO allies on April 5-6 in Brussels so that he can attend President Donald Trump's expected April 6-7 talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, four current and former U.S. officials said.

So Tillerson is completely ignoring NATO? Not exactly:

A State Department spokeswoman said Tillerson would meet on Wednesday with foreign ministers from 26 of the 27 other NATO countries -- all but Croatia -- at a gathering of the coalition working to defeat the Islamic State militant group. 

In summary, the Trump administration is completely anti-Croatia.

In other views from the Left...

The Guardian:

Stephen Hawking: I fear I may not be welcome in Donald Trump's US

Stephen Hawking, the leading British physicist and cosmologist, has said he no longer feels welcome in the US under Donald Trump.

Prof Hawking is a recipient of the prestigious US Franklin medal for science and received the presidential medal of freedom from Barack Obama in 2009. Now he has spoken out about his fears for the country’s “definite swing to a rightwing, more authoritarian approach”.

“I would like to visit again and to talk to other scientists, but I fear that I may not be welcome,” he said in an interview with Good Morning Britain on Monday.

The 75-year-old Cambridge scientist said he was particularly concerned about Trump’s environment policy.

“He should replace Scott Pruitt at the Environment Protection Agency,” he said. “Climate change is one of the great dangers we face, and it’s one we can prevent. It affects America badly, so tackling it should win votes for his second term. God forbid.” 

With all due respect to Dr. Hawking, he needs to get out in the sun more. He seems to have forgotten the impact of the big glowing ball in the center of our solar system, and how it impacts the global temperature. Then again, I hear England isn't as sunny as most places on Earth, so maybe that is his problem? He might have forgotten the sun exists.

But it is ok Dr. Hawking. You will still be welcome in America. However, as a rule of thumb, you should probably restrict your conversations to topics where you have actual knowledge.

The view from the Left (Part 1): Today's news for March 21st

Today's news is all about the Leftist mainstream media and their overreaction to all things Trump. Admittedly, their Chicken Little routine is far more interesting to watch than the placid view from the Right. 

CNN:

Comey's hearing passes but the political storm rages on

James Comey is at it again.

The FBI director, in his deadpan way, characteristically unleashed a new chain of political consequences Monday, in hours of steely testimony before a House hearing examining Russian meddling in the presidential election.

Just five months ago, Democrats were left fulminating at Comey's handling of the probe into Hillary Clinton's email server.

Now, as Comey wades back into the political swamp, it's Republicans who are left to fret after the FBI chief sensationally dispensed with protocol to confirm his agents were probing alleged collusion between then-candidate Donald Trump's campaign aides and Moscow.

By publicly confirming the probe, Comey sentenced the White House to months of uncertainty, potential leaks and distractions that already threaten to sap the President's political capital at a crucial moment.

Can't you feel that drama? It is like a 5 year old, dragging his parents into his bedroom, telling them, "Look under the bed? See? See? There IS a monster there!"

Meanwhile, we are ignoring the LACK of an 800 pound gorilla in the room. Namely, what was the crime? The only crime was the illegal theft of emails from secured systems. Unfortunately, then-candidate Trump openly encouraged the Russians to do it.

But that isn't what is being investigated. The FBI is investigating connections between Trump and his campaign and Russia. To what end though? Even CNN doubts this investigation will bear fruit:

It is quite possible that no charges will ever be leveled against Trump aides and that the FBI counter-intelligence operation will find that there was no wrongdoing or collusion by Trump aides. 

But the suspicion will hover for months over former Trump associates like former campaign chairman Paul Manafort — who denied any wrongdoing in a statement on Monday — and foreign policy expert Carter Page — and by extension over the President himself.

The problem with this investigation is twofold:

First, there has to be an actual crime. For now, they cannot even prove it was the Russians behind the Wikileaks email theft. Other than that, the only possible allegation they can make towards Trump and his people is "talking with Russians". In itself, not illegal. Considering Trump's business dealings are international in scope, he has every reason to have had dealings with Russians.

Second, the FBI will have to prove there was intent to do something illegal. Until you can show that Trump, or one of his people, was actively and privately trying to get the Russians to steal emails for the purpose of embarrassing Democrats before the election, then there isn't a case. Add in the fact that the Russians surely had their own motives to impact the election results, then they didn't need any encouragement from Trump or his people.

But it all makes great copy, and helps the Democrats. Go team CNN!

CNN:

Takeaways from day one of the Gorsuch hearings

Yesterday was the first day of Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch's confirmation hearings. The only real takeaway form it is that Democrats are still sore about the Merrick Garland nomination being ignored last year:

...two of the three men who introduced Gorsuch at the hearing were Democrats. Despite the bipartisan showmanship, both used some of their time to go negative, ripping into Republicans for blocking Merrick Garland -- President Barack Obama's pick for the same seat last year...

One of them was Obama's acting solicitor general, Neal Katyal, who successfully challenged the Trump administration's new travel ban in federal court in Hawaii.

"It is a tragedy of national proportions that Merrick Garland does not sit on the court, and it would take a lot to get over that," he said. "Indeed, there are less than a handful of people that the president could have nominated to even start to rebuild that loss of trust, but in my opinion Neil Gorsuch is one."

Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado was respectful of Gorsuch, but he made it clear that his introduction didn't necessarily mean he would vote for the judge and that he was doing the introduction out of tradition.

"It is customary for senators to introduce nominees from their home states," he said. "I'm not here today to take a position or persuade any of our colleagues how to vote. I am keeping an open mind about this nomination and expect this week's hearing will shed light on Judge Gorsuch's judicial approach and views of the law."

Bennet called Senate Republicans' treatment of Garland an "an embarrassment to this body," and said "it is tempting to deny Judge Gorsuch a fair hearing" as well.

"But two wrongs never make a right," he added.

It didn't end there, with more Democrats whining about Garland. Unfortunately, they are forgetting they gave up control of the Senate thanks to their partisan vote on Obamacare. This in turn gave the Republicans the ability to ignore the Garland nomination. As usual, Democrats love to point fingers even when they are directly responsible for their own problems. Give them a Pogo award:

Finally, the last of the three CNN "lede stories" today:

CNN:

Ivanka Trump to get a West Wing office, WH official says

Ivanka Trump will work out of an office in the West Wing, a White House official told CNN on Monday.

The official also confirmed Trump will seek a security clearance and government-provided communication devices, although she will not be a government employee.

The move places President Donald Trump's eldest daughter -- long one of his closest advisers -- at the center of his administration, following weeks during which she held no formal role but appeared alongside the President and senior staffers in major meetings with world leaders and business figures.

Why is this a lede story?

Admittedly, presidents don't typically give their daughters such high profile advisory positions. Then again, most presidential daughters tend to be either children or very young adults during their fathers' administrations. However, Ivanka is an accomplished 35 year old businesswoman who has learned her father's lessons quite well. As the father of a daughter myself, I can fully appreciate why Donald Trump would want to get advice from his daughter. I won't call it a shrewd move for Donald, but it is an understandable move.

As for the Left, the Ivanka story is just another in a long line of petty complaints from them. There is plenty to dislike about Trump, but they keep missing it.