2017 Begins With Terror at an Istanbul Night Club; 39 Shot Dead

The year 2017 began right where 2016 left off.

A man dressed in a Santa suit opened fire at a nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey killing 39 people and wounding 70. Many of the slaughtered are foreign nationals. No doubt the gunman targeted this club for that reason. All of which makes me think this is an ISIS operation rather than the Kurds. The attack is reminiscent of the ones at the Bataclan in Paris in November 2015 and in Orlando in June 2016. ISIS operatives were involved in both attacks. In 2016, there were 20 terrorist attacks in Turkey most of which involved ISIS.

The gunman is still at large as of this writing.

2016: A Little Good But a Lot of Bad & Ugly

In about 7 hours, 2017 will make itself known on the East Coast of the United States and not a minute too soon although perhaps a second too late.

There was a little bit of good. In my own life, I obtained my paralegal certificate and my first paralegal job within this calendar year.

And the Cubs won the World Series for the first time since 1908.

But 2016 was mostly bad and ugly. Islamic terrorism struck in Orlando, Nice, Berlin and throughout the Middle East. As the Obama Administration ceded control of the Middle East to Russia, Americans were faced two of the worst possible choices for President and made one. In less than three weeks, Donald Trump becomes the 45th President of the United States. A man without an ounce of character or virtue but a surplus of ego and buffoonery.

I did what I could to warn people of the folly of Trump at The American Spectator until I was told by the powers that be that Trump was above criticism of any kind. Unwilling to worship at the altar of Trump, I walked away. Of course, my words don't reach as many people as they once did but they are my words - right or wrong.

Death is a constant in life. But it seemed this year death was largely confined to the good (Fidel Castro a rare exception despite Justin Trudeau's praise). David Bowie, Gene Wilder, Prince, Robert Vaughn, Leonard Cohen, George Michael, Garry Shandling, Ron Glass, Abe Vigoda, Carrie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds, Muhammad Ali, Arnold Palmer, Gordie Howe, Jose Fernandez and John Glenn all left this world this year. I've scarcely scratched the surface, but the scar of 2016 runs deep.

One can and must hope for a better 2017, but I suspect the scar will only get deeper.

Allan Williams, R.I.P.

Allan Williams, the original manager of The Beatles, has passed away at the age of 86.

Williams met John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Stu Sutcliffe at the Jacaranda, his Liverpool music club in 1958. In 1960, Williams gave The Beatles (with the addition of Pete Best on drums) at the Jacaranda and other clubs in Liverpool including The Cavern Club. Williams also arranged for The Beatles to be booked in Hamburg, West Germany. It was there The Beatles tightened their sound and began to attract attention. However, The Beatles fell out with Williams over money (what else?).In 1962, Williams practically gave away The Beatles to Brian Epstein and the rest. Add Ringo Starr and the rest, as they say, was history.

In later years, Williams was a fixture at Beatles conventions around the world. However, in Liverpool, he was viewed with a certain amount of derision as this 1992 Globe & Mail profile of Williams attests. Even his obit in The Guardian tends to downplay his role casting him merely as the man who drove The Beatles to Hamburg. Perhaps he wasn't the one who brought them stardom, but he was considerably more than a van driver.

We all get our start somewhere and for The Beatles that start began with Allan Williams.

UK PM May Blasts Kerry Over Anti-Israel Speech; So Why Did Her Gov't Support UN Security Council Resolution?

I am puzzled at British Prime Minister Theresa May's condemnation of John Kerry's anti-Israel speech:

We do not believe that the way to negotiate peace is by focusing on only one issue, in this case the construction of settlements, when clearly the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians is so deeply complex. 

But we are also clear that the settlements are far from the only problem in this conflict. In particular, the people of Israel deserve to live free from the threat of terrorism, with which they have had to cope for too long.

We do not believe that it is appropriate to attack the composition of the democratically-elected government of an ally.

I agree with the substance of May's statement, but her criticism of Kerry is undermined by her government's support for UN Security Council Resolution 2334 in the first place. The resolution focuses on only one issue namely settlements. Their support for the resolution and failure to veto it precludes any negotiation between the Israelis and Palestinians on the question of settlements. 

Don't get me wrong. I enjoy seeing Kerry get blasted. I'm sure much of her critique is motivated by trying to get into Trump's good graces. But I would take May's criticisms of Secretary Kerry more seriously if her government opposed the substance of a UN Security Council Resolution which renders Jews in the Old City of Jerusalem to be trespassers subject to prosecution.

The 12 Most Annoying Things About John Kerry's Israel Bashing Speech

It is most curious that the Obama Administration chooses to spend its final weeks in office denouncing a steadfast ally like Israel. In short order there was last week's decision to abstain from the UN Security Council Resolution 2334 denouncing Israeli settlements both their expansion and their existence up to and including The Western Wall. Secretary of State John Kerry's defense of this resolution simply poured gasoline on the raging fire that is the delegitimization of Israel.


Here are 12 things from Kerry's speech which annoyed me the most.


 1. Kerry claimed that the abstention "makes clear that both sides must now to preserve the possibility of peace." The only thing that is clear to the Palestinians is that they got everything they wanted out of the resolution. What incentive do the Palestinians have to negotiate directly with Israel when they can have a favorable solution imposed by the UN?


 2. Now, I want to stress that there is an important point here. My job above all is else to defend the United States of America, to stand up for and defend our values and our interests in the world. And if we were to stand idly by know that in doing so we are allowing a dangerous dynamic to take hold, which promises greater conflict and instability to a region to which we have vital interests, we would be derelict in our responsibilities.


The Obama Administration did a bang up job in standing idly by in Syria as Bashar Assad dropped chemical weapons on their own people without consequence and allowed the Russians to take over and target innocent civilians instead of ISIS (an entity President Obama once described as the "jayvee squad"). Exactly what values is Kerry defending here?


 3. On this point, I want to be very clear; no American administration has done more for Israel's security than Barack Obama's.


(Please feel free to insert laughter here).


It is worth noting that not once in his 72-minute address did Kerry mention the Iran nuclear deal. This silence speaks volumes.


 4. Despite our best efforts, over the years, the two state solution are now in serious jeopardy.


The two state solution was in jeopardy the moment the Arabs rejected the UN Partition Plan in 1947. Ditto for Yasser Arafat in 2000-2001 & Mahmoud Abbas in 2008. Do you see a pattern here? I do & it is not of Israel's making.


 5. But here is the fundamental reality, if the choice is one state, Israel can either be Jewish or Democratic, it cannot be both.


Has the Obama Administration ever said that Iraq, Syria, Libya or Afghanistan can either be Islamic or Democratic, but not both? Not on your life? Therefore Kerry is erecting a straw man argument.


On a side note, if President-Elect Trump moves the American Embassy to Jerusalem, tears up the Iran nuclear deal and somehow manages to quash this UN Resolution there will be a lot of Jewish voters in this country who won't vote Democratic anymore.


 6. After decades of conflict, many no longer see the other side as people, only as threats and enemies.


Could Secretary Kerry tell me at exactly what point Palestinians have seen Jews as people?Palestinian children are given candy by their parents and grandparents after Jews are murdered. Could Secretary Kerry please identify an equivalent custom in Israel?


 7. On Hamas: Most troubling of all, Hamas continues to pursue an extremist agenda. They refuse to accept Israel's very right to exist. They have a one state vision of their own. All of the land is Palestine.


On Israeli settlers: The Israeli Prime Minister supports a two-state solution. But his current coalition is the most right-wing in Israel history with an agenda driven by the most extreme elements.


So Secretary Kerry calls Hamas "extremist" and Israeli settlers "extreme". Is he trying to tell us there is no difference between the two?


 8. Let me read you the lead paragraph from a New York Times story dated December 23rd. I quote, "With the United States abstaining, the Security Council adopted a resolution today strongly deploring Israel's handling of the disturbances in the occupied territories, which the resolution defines as including Jerusalem. All of the 14 other Security Council members voted in favor."


My friends, that story was not written last week. It was written December 23rd, 1987, 26 years to the day we voted last week when Ronald Reagan was President.


Ah, yes!!! When in doubt invoke President Reagan. Yes, the Reagan Administration did allow occasionally let the UN condemn Israel (unfairly, I might add). But if one looks at the text of UN Security Council Resolution 605 it does include this language which was in last week's SC resolution:


Condemning all measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, including, inter alia, the construction and expansion of settlements, transfer of Israeli settlers, confiscation of land, demolition of homes and displacement of Palestinian civilians, in violation of international humanitarian law and relevant resolutions.


In other words, any Jew who moved into what the UN deems "Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem" is there illegally. Never mind the land captured by Israel in 1967 was under Egyptian and Jordanian jurisdiction. The Reagan Administration nor any of its successors would characterize Israel's presence in that way. That is until now.


 9. We also strongly reject the notion that somehow the United States was the driving force behind this resolution. The Egyptians and Palestinians had long made clear to all of us, to all of the international community, their intention to bring a resolution to a vote before the end of the year. And we communicated that to the Israelis and they knew it anyway. The United States did not draft or originate this resolution nor did we put it forward. It was drafted by Egypt -- it was drafted and I think introduced by Egypt, which is one of Israel's closest friends in the region, in coordination with the Palestinians and others.


Balderdash!!!


Isn't it convenient that Egypt didn't bring forth this resolution until this month? Does anyone honestly believe the Obama Administration would have permitted such a resolution as long as Hillary Clinton needed Jewish votes?


Of course, Kerry does not mention that Egypt withdrew the resolution (evidently at the behest of President-Elect Trump). Somehow I cannot picture Venezuela, Senegal and New Zealand spontaneously reviving the resolution without some arm twisting from the White House. Can you?


 10. Ultimately, it will be up to the Israeli people to decide whether the unusually heated attacks that Israeli officials have directed towards this administration best serve Israel's national interests and its relationship with an ally that has been steadfast in its support, as I described. Those attacks, alongside allegations of a U.S.-led conspiracy and other manufactured claims, distract attention from what the substance of this vote was really all about.


For the past 8 years, the Israeli people have had to put with unusually heated attacks from the Obama Administration which most surely do not serve Israel's interests. There was nothing manufactured about President Obama hot mike complaint to then French President Nicolas Sarkozy about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Obama moved Heaven and Earth to get Netanyahu ousted from office, got beaten at his own game & has been bitter about it ever since. This vote is the parting shot from a President who has nothing but contempt for the Jewish state despite his protestations to the contrary.


11. Secretary Kerry calls for a "fair and realistic solution to the Palestinian refugee issue." Did you know that a man born and raised in this country and owns a home, but has a grandfather who resided in the disputed territories in 1948 can claim to be a Palestinian refugee? Read the UN Relief Works Agency mission statement if you don't believe me. When the last Syrian refugee is settled there will be millions more Palestinian refugees. Absolutely absurd.


12. When Israel celebrates its 70th anniversary in 2018, the Palestinians will mark a very different anniversary - 70 years since what they call "the Nakba", or catastrophe.


This is what it all really comes down to in the grand scheme of things. The Palestinians view the very existence of Israel as a catastrophe. It ultimately has nothing to do with settlements. Does anyone honestly think if Israel dismantled every remaining settlement that this would mollify the Palestinian resolve to drive Israel into the sea?


Mahmoud Abbas (who is the second decade of his four year term as Palestinian Authority President) is currently calling upon Britain to apologize for the Balfour Declaration which commemorates its 100th anniversary in 2017. In 1917, British Foreign Minister Arthur Balfour wrote a white paper calling for the creation of a Jewish homeland in British Mandated Palestine. If Abbas opposes the very idea of a Jewish homeland then how can President Obama and Secretary Kerry expected Abbas to support the reality of Israel?


When it is all said and done, President Obama's abstention at the UN Security Council was completely unnecessary and so was John Kerry's speech in defense of it. But what's done is done and the damage has only begun. Even if he is so inclined, President-Elect Trump cannot fix this easily. All Israel can do is to carry on as it has since 1948.

Debbie Reynolds, R.I.P.

When I wrote my obit for Carrie Fisher last night, I made this comment:

One must particularly feel for her actress mother Debbie Reynolds. Whatever their differences, the loss of a child, regardless of their age, is an impossible burden to bear. 

Just over 24 hours after her daughter's death, Debbie Reynolds was rushed to the hospital following a massive stroke and died a few hours later. I've heard of husbands and wives dying a day apart. But never a mother and daughter. Reynolds was 84.

Reynold's near seven decade career saw triumphs on film, TV, music and Broadway. She was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for The Unsinkable Molly Brown (which she later reprised on Broadway) and earlier this year received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. Some of her movies included Singin' In The Rain, How The West Was Won. The Singing Nun, Love, American Style and Mother for which she received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress. She also had a recurring role on the hit TV series Will & Grace.

Like many people, I remember her best from Singin' In The Rain. In a year that has been so filled with anger and sadness, it is best to remember the joy people bring. Debbie Reynolds brought her share along with Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor. They said good morning like no one else.

Carrie Fisher, R.I.P.

Actress/writer Carrie Fisher passed away this morning of complications from a heart attack she suffered on a flight from London to Los Angeles on Friday. Fisher had been reported in stable condition on Christmas Day, but this Christmas miracle would not last. She was 60.


Fisher is, of course, best known for playing Princess Leia in the Star Wars franchise - role she returned to last year in Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens where she was elevated to General Leia. She had completed filming for Star Wars Episode VIII which is to be released in December 2017 almost exactly a year removed from her death. Its release at this time next year will be undoubtedly bittersweet.


When acting success outside of Star Wars alluded her and marriage to singer-songwriter Paul Simon ended in divorce, she found a new career as a writer in 1987 (a full decade after the release of Star Wars) with the semi-autobiographical Postcards From The Edge which was adapted into a movie starring Meryl Streep several years later. One of her books Wishful Drinking was adapted from her one woman Broadway show of the same name. Last month, Fisher released her latest book The Princess Diarist, an account of her time making the original Star Wars film in which she revealed a romantic liaison with co-star Harrison Ford.


Over the years, Fisher struggled with alcohol and drug abuse and bipolar disorder. While these sparked her creativity those flames ultimately caught up with her.


One must particularly feel for her actress mother Debbie Reynolds. Whatever their differences, the loss of a child, regardless of their age, is an impossible burden to bear.


Whether in her portrayal of Leia or in her writing, Carrie Fisher came across with beauty balanced in equal measure by grit and wit. These qualities resonated with the public and will continue as she shines brighter among the stars.

A Thought for Thomas Sowell

A fixture in conservative and libertarian circles over the past half century, Thomas Sowell has penned his final syndicated column.


The 86-year old economist (who would have likely won a Nobel had he been of a more Keynesian persuasion) has decided to move on and pursue his passion of photography. Although he did not say so there can be little doubt that the ascendance of Donald Trump contributed to his decision. To say that Sowell was not enthusiastic about Donald Trump would be an understatement. As he wrote this past April:


If ever there was a time when we needed a serious, mature President of the United States, with a depth of knowledge and a foundation of personal character, a grownup in the White House, this is that time.


But seldom a week goes by without Donald Trump demonstrating, yet again, that he is painfully lacking in all these prerequisites.Instead of offering coherent plans for dealing with the nation’s problems, Trump skips that and boasts of the great things he will achieve. Those who dare to question are answered with cheap putdowns, often at a gutter level.


A man in his 60s, who is still acting like a spoiled adolescent, is not going to grow up in the next four years. And, as President, he would have the lives of us all, and our loved ones, in his hands, as well as the fate of this great nation at a fateful time.


Now eventually Sowell told Ben Shapiro he would vote against Hillary Clinton. But voting against Hillary isn't the same thing as voting for Trump.


Of course, Sowell is grateful for what he has in America:


In material things, there has been almost unbelievable progress. Most Americans did not have refrigerators back in 1930, when I was born. Television was little more than an experiment, and such things as air-conditioning or air travel were only for the very rich.


My own family did not have electricity or hot running water, in my early childhood, which was not unusual for blacks in the South in those days.


It is hard to convey to today's generation the fear that the paralyzing disease of polio inspired, until vaccines put an abrupt end to its long reign of terror in the 1950s.


Most people living in officially defined poverty in the 21st century have things like cable television, microwave ovens and air-conditioning. Most Americans did not have such things, as late as the 1980s. People whom the intelligentsia continue to call the "have-nots" today have things that the "haves" did not have, just a generation ago.


I am about half Sowell's age. Yet I am old enough to remember life without microwaves, VCRs, cell phones and personal computers. If people my age can't fathom my life experiences then how can they fathom Sowell's?


Yet Sowell did his part to write about economics and other matters in a way most people could understand. Thomas Sowell has earned the right to let others hand down those lessons and enjoy a joyful retirement even if he must do in less than joyful circumstances.

If Obama Had Run For a Third Term Would Bernie Sanders Have Challenged Him?

When I learned that President Obama had told his former senior adviser David Axelrod in a CNN podcast interview he could have won the 2016 election, my first reaction was characteristic immodesty on the President's part.

It's not that I necessarily disagree with Obama's statement. After all, in the months leading up to the 1988 election, many a commentator said that President Reagan could have been re-elected to a third term, but The Gipper never boasted such a thing. He did tell David Frost in a November 1987 interview that he favored the repeal of the 22nd Amendment which restricted the President to two terms. But Reagan did not make this position a priority during his last year in office.

To be fair to Obama, Bill Clinton also claimed he would have been re-elected to a third term in a December 2000 interview with Rolling Stone. No doubt Trump would say he could be elected to a third, fourth and fifth term (assuming, of course, he doesn't proclaim himself President-for-Life).

However immodest Obama's statement, it is a cut above blaming either James Comey or the Russians for Hillary's defeat. Obama and Democrats are now in the anger stage of grief and turning their attention to Hillary's shortcomings as a presidential candidate as Joe Biden did just before Christmas.

Obama told Axelrod, "(I)f I had run again and articulated it, I could've mobilized a majority of the American people to rally behind it."

Well, I think all of that would depend on Bernie Sanders. Or, more precisely, his supporters. Would they have expressed the same alienation with Obama that they did with Hillary? They certainly thought Obama didn't act quickly enough on LGBT rights and were at odds with him over TPP. But I think it wouldn't have been enough for them to feel the Bern. In which case, I think Obama would have turned back Trump's challenge. The African-American turnout would not have diminished as it did for Hillary and he would have likely held onto Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Of course, all of this is moot. Barack Obama cannot run for a third term and Donald Trump will succeed him in 25 days whether he likes it or not.

George Michael, R.I.P.

The cruelty of 2016 did not take a pause on Christmas as it has claimed George Michael. The cause of death is being called heart failure. One half of the British pop duo Wham! before becoming a successful solo artist, Michael was only 53.

Wham! became an international sensation in 1984 with hits like "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go", "Careless Whisper", "Freedom" & "Last Christmas" - the latter of which became a holiday standard. In light of his death coming on Christmas Day gives the song a much sadder and darker connotation.

Michael would part company with Andrew Ridgeley and would release Faith in 1987. It spawned hits like "I Want Your Sex" followed by four number one hits - "Faith", "Father Figure", "One More Try" and "Monkey". In 1990, Michael would release Listen Without Prejudice, Volume 1 which spawned the number one hit "Praying for Time". His last number one hit in the U.S. came in 1993 duetting with Elton John on a remake of "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me".

While Michael's chart success diminished in North America, he continued to be a chart topper in his native UK well into 1990's and early 2000's.

In recent years, Michael had serious health problems surviving a bout with pneumonia in 2011 and a head injury following a car accident in 2013. He also had a number of run ins with the law regarding drug use over the past decade and there was some controversy over his sexual orientation.

Evidently plans were in the works for a new album to be released in 2017. Michael released his last album Symphonica in 2014 which was largely a live album but featured a handful of new songs. He had not performed in concert for more than four years.

I'll leave you with George Michael at the height of his power with perhaps his most poignant song "Father Figure".

Netanyahu Reevaluating UN Ties Following Security Council Vote; Will Trump Follow Suit?

After the Obama Administration betrayed Israel at the UN, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reevaluating Israel's ties to an institution which has maligned it for so long. Bibi has given Israel's Foreign Ministry a month to report back to him about its future with the UN.

I have long thought that Israel should withdraw from the UN. About a decade ago, I spoke with Dore Gold, the former Israeli Ambassador to the UN and asked him that very question. He told me that Israel was better of staying in the UN because it could work around it. While I am inclined to think Israel's Foreign Ministry will retain that position a case could be made that drastic measures are warranted given that the UN has effectively deemed all of Israel to be occupied territory.

Of course if Israel does leave the UN, not much will change. The UN will still condemn it.

But what if the incoming Trump Administration were to announce it was re-evaluating its ties to the UN? After all, Trump did tweet following the vote, "As to the U.N., things will be different after Jan 20th." Threatening to leave the UN would certainly be something different. In which case, it will be interesting to see how Trump's UN Ambassador Nikki Haley fits into the grand scheme of things.

I don't think the U.S. will leave the UN anymore than Israel will. But it's a negotiating position and this would force the UN to the bargaining table. Once there, Trump would be in a position to tell the UN to ease off on Israel or bye-bye UN.

The last thing UN diplomats want is to leave the creature comforts of New York City. Who wants the UN headquartered in Moscow or Beijing?

Obama Admin Gives Israel Middle Finger One Last Time

Despite the fact President-Elect Trump got Egypt to withdraw its UN Security Council resolution condemning settlement expansion, President Obama was able to get several other countries including Venezuela (yes that basket case is on the Security Council) to reintroduce the resolution. This gave the Obama Administration the opportunity to abstain allowing the resolution to pass unaminously. It was President Obama's final middle finger to Israel.

Of course, Obama will argue the settlements are an obstacle to peace. Well, there hasn't been a Jew living in Gaza in over a decade. Did this bring Israel peace & quiet? Not for a moment.

If every settlement were dismantled tomorrow does anyone honestly think the UN Resolutions against Israel would stop? Absolutely not. Obama and the Palestinians consider all of Israel to be "occupied territory" up to and including the Western Wall. How often have the Palestinians said the Jews have no ties to Jerusalem. Thanks to Obama this anti-Semitic dogma has been enshrined in international law.

Notwithstanding Obama's efforts to extricate America from Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya & Syria, he never missed an opportunity to poke his finger at Israel, especially after he was unsuccessful in ousting Benjamin Netanyahu from office. No doubt Bibi is counting the days (28 to be exact) until Obama's reign of error ends.

But Obama's legacy might not be so easily reversed. Even if Trump supports settlement expansion & moves the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem there is still the Iran Nuclear Deal. Despite his rhetoric against the deal, look for it to stay in place. Aside from Iran, the country that has gained the most from it is Russia & Vladimir Putin won't be so eager to see the agreement consigned to the ash heap of history. When Vladimir Putin says jump, Donald Trump says how high.

Accosting Ivanka & Her Kids on an Airplane Is The Wrong Way to Protest a Trump Presidency

What the hell is wrong with people?


While I am dreading a Trump presidency, it's hard to think of anything more foolish than walking up to Ivanka Trump on a commercial airliner and berating her in front of her kids.


I am not related to Daniel Goldstein, but today he has given Goldsteins everywhere a bad name.


This now deleted tweet from his husband Matthew Lasner doesn't help matters either. "Ivanka and Jared at JFK T5, flying commercial. My husband chasing them down to harass them. #banalityofevil."


Aside from being boorish what does that gain the anti-Trump movement? A big fat zero. Ivanka Trump generally comes across as a reasonable and sympathetic figure. She will now be perceived as an even more reasonable and sympathetic figure protecting her kids from a deranged buffoon.


Now it's true that Ivanka will play a major role in her father's administration. There will be occasions when she will speak on her father's behalf. If she were to make an appearance at a university, convention center or any other public forum then there is nothing wrong with peacefully gathering to protest her appearance and express displeasure with Trump Administration policies. But this is even dumber than blocking highways. When one protests the President or anyone who serves him one of the aims of the protest should be to bring about public sympathy for those who are airing their grievances. That did not happen today.


Indeed, this is one of the reasons I haven't seen fit to attend any Trump protests. While I share their disdain for Trump, I don't agree with most of their political positions but I also object to the manner in which they disagree with Trump. If this is how anti-Trump people plan to behave going forward then count me out.


But more importantly, the more The Left behaves in this manner the more likely Donald Trump is re-elected in 2020.

How Was The Bombing at The Australian Christian Lobby "Not Politically, Religiously or Ideologically Motivated"?

Yesterday, a car bomb went off at the headquarters of the Australian Christian Lobby in Canberra. Fortunately, no one was in the building at the time of the explosion. The Australian Christian Lobby is a socially conservative group that, among other things, opposes same-sex marriage.


What boggles my mind is how the Australian authorities have already concluded that the actions of the driver "were not politically, religiously or ideologically motivated". Yet in the very next breath they also indicated, “We are not in a position as to speculate as to the motivations.”


If Australian authorities aren't in a position to speculate the driver's motives then how can they conclude the incident wasn't motivated by politics, religion or ideology?


I suppose its possible that the driver didn't have a political, religious or ideological motive in detonating the explosives. But it's hard to believe that someone who was operating a vehicle with explosives inside was out for a leisurely drive, lost control of the vehicle and just happened to ram it into the headquarters of the Australian Christian Lobby.


In the grand scheme of things, I cannot help but think that if the incident had occurred at the headquarters of an Australian LGBT group the police would not be so quick to dismiss political, religious or ideological motivations.

Bill Clinton Plays The Angry White Male Card to Rationalize Hillary's Defeat

It was former President Bill Clinton's turn to rationalize his wife's defeat in last month's presidential election.


In an interview with The Bedford and Pound Ridge Record-Review near the Clinton's home in Chappaqua, New York, the 42nd President groused about FBI Director James Comey and the e-mail scandal. But he also said that President-Elect Trump "doesn't know much" but "one thing he does know is how to get angry, white men to vote for him."


Ah yes, the angry white male card. Of course when Clinton ran for President nearly a quarter century ago these angry white males were called "the Bubba vote" and they were just fine when they voted for him or, for that matter, President Obama. But when they vote Republican, they're just angry white males which is, of course, code for racist.


But all of this ignores the fact that most people, be they Bubbas or not, vote because of their pocketbook not because of the candidate's skin color or gender. It also ignores the fact that Trump gained ground with women, African-Americans and Latinos. I'm not saying Trump is their champion. Far from it. But the votes don't lie.


If Democrats want to get these votes back then they should stop casting aspersions on the voters when they leave the plantation.

A Bastille Day Style Terrorist Attack at The Berlin Christmas Market Claims 9 Lives, Injures At Least 50 UPDATE

In an attack reminiscent of what took place in Nice, France on Bastille Day, a truck has rammed through a Christmas market in Berlin killing nine people and injuring more than fifty.


German authorities have the driver in custody whose identity is unknown at this point. The only information known is that the truck had Polish license plates.


While there's always a possibility of another Breivik there's a very reasonable chance the perpetrator is an Islamic radical. With the assassination of the Russian Ambassador in Ankara and the shooting outside a Muslim center in Zurich the world will not sleep easy tonight.

UPDATE: Hardly anyone is mentioning this, but the attacker was a Pakistani refugee who came to Germany back in February. This is Mrs. Merkel's legacy. It also strengthens Trump's hand when it comes to his proposed Muslim immigration and travel policy.
UPDATE II: The death toll has risen to 12 & now German authorities aren't sure they have the right man in custody. If they can't find one person then how can they vet in excess of 2 million people in a single year?
UPDATE III: While the perpetrator remains at large, ISIS is claiming him as one of their own and that a member carried out the attack.
UPDATE IV: The perpetrator has now been identified as a Tunisian national named Anis Amri who evidently left his papers in the truck. He remains at large.

Is The Assassinated Russian Ambassador to Turkey Another Archduke Ferdinand?

No analogy is perfect, but when I learned of the assassination of Andrei Karlov, Russia's Ambassador to Turkey and the public and dramatic manner in which it was done I could not help but think of the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand & his wife more than a century ago which began World War One.


Naturally, it remains to be seen if this will come to pass, but I'm not expecting the Russians to take kindly to one of their diplomats being murdered and the killer essentially dancing over body with his proclamation, "Allahu Akbar!!! We die in Aleppo, you die here!!!" The Russians certainly won't be blaming an Internet video.


Even if no World War results nothing good is bound to come of it. The Russians (with their Iranian and Syrian allies) are every bit as brutal as ISIS and al-Qaeda. When you combine Obama's abdication of The Middle East and Trump's embrace of the Russians there is bound to be more blood shed in 2017 and beyond.

Can Trump Tell The Difference Between The Syrian Civil Defense Force & ISIS?

A week ago I was incredibly annoyed with the 60 Minutes segment with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that was suffused with Lesley Stahl's contempt.

This week, however, I was deeply moved by the 60 Minutes segment about the Syrian Civil Defense Force (a.k.a. The White Helmets), the organization where volunteers go into buildings that have been bombed and rescue civilians covered in the rubble. Many of these volunteers have lost their own lives in the course of saving others. If that doesn't take courage then what does?

While I believe the Obama Administration has been foolish in failing to recognize the religious ideology adopted by Islamic radicals against the United States and the West, I believe it is equally foolish to conclude this ideology prevails among all Muslims. The White Helmets show the folly of President-Elect Trump's proposed Muslim immigration and travel policy. Those who cannot or will not acknowledge the difference between the White Helmets and ISIS display their lack of compassion, humanity and moral character. It remains to be seen if Trump can tell the difference. Even if he can it also remains to be seen if Trump has the wherewithal not to follow the Russian line as the White Helmets are considered to be a hostile entity by the Assad regime.

Yes, there is a critical mass within Islam that seeks to destroy America and the West through martyrdom. But there is also critical mass within Islam that values life over death. The sooner we recognize both facts the sooner radical Islam and the tyranny associated with it can be defeated.

Zsa Zsa Gabor, R.I.P.

Actress Zsa Zsa Gabor has died of a massive heart attack. Gabor had been in poor health over the past decade. Despite this, Gabor passed on less than two months shy of her 100th birthday.

Although the Hungarian born Gabor's career spanned nearly half a century, her career was overshadowed by her 9 marriages and her skirmishes with the law which saw her headlining the tabloids.

But her TV credits run long and deep: Mister Ed, Burke's Law, Gilligan's Island, F Troop, Batman, Night Gallery, The Love Boat, The Facts of Life, Knots Landing, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Empty Nest and Cybill to name a long cross-section.

Zsa Zsa did not suffer fools gladly, but she did have a sense of humor. She and David Letterman had a lot of fun going around London sampling food & everyone else who got in the way.

Dr. Henry Heimlich, R.I.P.

Dr. Henry Heimlich, world famous for the anti-choking Heimlich Maneuver, died on Saturday after suffering a heart attack last Monday. Well, at least he didn't choke to death. He was 96.

The Heimlich Maneuver came into the vogue in the mid-1970's. He even demonstrated it on Johnny Carson during an appearance on The Tonight Show in April 1979. That very same year, my Dad saved a woman's life while attending a conference in Seattle. Earlier this year, Heimlich used his own maneuver at the retirement home in Cincinnati where he spent his final years.

Heimlich also invented the flutter valve which began to be used during The Vietnam War and the Micro Trach portable oxygen system which is used in ambulances.

It is staggering to think about the number of lives Dr. Heimlich's inventions saved.

Trump Says He Could Shoot People; Duterte Says He's Killed People

Remember when President-Elect Donald Trump said he could shoot people on Fifth Avenue and not have it affect his poll numbers.

Well, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte actually has killed people by his own admission. Duterte admitted to killing three people when he was Mayor of Davao City from 2013 before becoming President earlier this year. All of whom were reportedly suspects, not convicted criminals mind you. Duterte is the very personification of judge, jury and executioner. Duterte makes Ferdinand Marcos (a man he strongly admires) like a pussycat. This is, after all, a man who admires and compares himself to Hitler.

What makes Duterte dangerous to America is his threat to cease the Philippines alliance with this country. and align with China. Given China's aggressive posture in the South China Sea, the Philippines can cause this country tremendous harm.

Like Trump, when Duterte says he's killed people his poll numbers are bound to go up. Unfortunately, that is the way the world is going right now.

Obama's "Serious Consequences" Mean Nothing to Putin

As much as I shudder at the prospect of a Trump presidency, my shuddering would not have been possible without President Obama's fecklessness.

Case in point. Obama was whining about Russian interference in the presidential election at his final press conference. Of course, had Hillary won Obama wouldn't be saying boo right now. In any case, what cracked me up was when Obama said that he took Putin aside in September while in China and told him to "cut it out" or there would be "serious consequences". Obama actually believes this stopped any further interference.

But let's be honest. I'm sure Putin laughed in Obama's face. Why would Putin take anything Obama says seriously? Obama didn't enforce his red lines in Syria. And if Russian generals can walk into the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and tell U.S. war planes to get the hell out of the sky then you know the President's word doesn't carry much weight in Middle East much less the Middle West.

Of course with a Russophile like Trump coming into office, Putin is bound not to face any serious consequences for the next four to eight years.

Craig Sager, R.I.P.

Sportscaster Craig Sager, best known for his quarter century as a sideline reporter for the NBA, passed away today following a two year battle with acute myeloid leukemia. He was 65.

Sager was best remembered for his colorful, outlandish suits which augmented his affable disposition. He was equally popular with his fellow broadcasters, professional athletes and the public. The admiration only grew as he fought tenaciously against cancer.

While Sager is synonymous with the NBA, he also covered other sports including MLB for both NBC and TBS/TNT.

I haven't big a fan of ESPN lately, but their decision to borrow him from TBS/TNT to cover Game 6 of the NBA Finals was a class move. 

Here is Sager getting the Jimmy V Award at the 2016 ESPYS from Vice-President Biden and the inspirational speech that followed. Craig Sager might have lost the fight, but he fought the fight.

If You Hate Trump Then Why Eat In His Restaurant?

President-Elect Donald Trump has seen fit to give Vanity Fair the loser treatment after the magazine published a scathing review of the Trump Grill (a.k.a. Trump Grille).


Trump tweeted, "Has anyone looked at the really poor numbers of @VanityFair Magazine. Way down, big trouble, dead! Graydon Carter, no talent, will be out!"


Tina Nguyen pulled no punches calling the food "slop" and upon returning home "brushed my teeth twice and curled up in bed until the nausea passed."


Naturally, Trump is overreacting as he usually does responding to slap in the face with a machine gun. Sooner or later, Trump will slip. There will be a school shooting or a police shooting and Trump will be preoccupied with what some journalist or celebrity said or tweeted about him. All of which would demonstrate that he cares far more about what people say about him than the well being of the people over whom he will soon preside.


But let's be honest. Nguyen is neither of fan of Trump nor is she a food critic (unless you want to count her recent assessment of Mitt Romney's ill-fated dinner with Trump at Jean-Georges late last month). If Nguyen had eaten at a steakhouse that did not have Trump's name on it would she have been as harsh? After all she did write, "Perhaps it’s a sign that Trump is in over his head, and a shallow, mediocre man who runs a shallow, mediocre business empire (and restaurant) would sink and implode, crushing the expectations of millions of his hopeful supporters." Let me put it another way. Would Nguyen have written a far more glowing review had she eaten at, say, Bill & Hillary's Country Kitchen?


Now maybe the food at Trump Grille is as bad as Nguyen describes. But as someone who cannot stand Trump I have no interest in finding out. The last place I would want to dine is at the Trump Grille. During my frequent visits to my Dad in New York City, I've not once entertained the idea and certainly have no intention of doing so in the future.


It seems to me that Nguyen is trashing Trump for the sake of trashing Trump. Sure it's good copy and has received a lot of attention with Trump giving the story even more. But Trump is going to say and do plenty of stupid things over the next four to eight years for writers to chew on and spit out without having to go to the Trump Grille.

Bernard Fox, R.I.P.

Veteran character actor Bernard Fox passed away yesterday of heart failure. He was 89.


The Welsh born actor and his distinctive handlebar mustache became familiar to American TV audiences in the 1960's with his portrayal of Dr. Bombay on Bewitched and Colonel Crittenden on Hogan's Heroes. Fox also appeared in numerous other TV series such as McHale's Navy, The Andy Griffith Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., M*A*S*H, Knight Rider and Murder, She Wrote.


Personally, I remember him from two guest spots he did on Columbo. He portrayed a Scotland Yard detective in the Season 2 episode "Dagger of the Mind" which featured Richard Basehart and Honor Blackman as the villains. This episode was partially shot in London. Fox would appear as a ship's purser in the Season 4 episode "Troubled Waters" which featured Robert Vaughn as the murderer. Vaughn, of course, passed away last month.


Younger audiences may remember Fox for his portrayal of Titanic survivor Archibald Gracie in Titanic and for co-starring with Brendan Fraser in The Mummy. Fox retired from acting after an appearance on an episode of Dharma & Greg in 2001.


Here is a tribute Fox received at a convention of Bewitched fans in 2010. R.I.P.

Trump & Kanye Are Two Sides Of The Same Coin

Much has been made of yesterday's meeting between President-Elect Donald Trump and hip-hop star Kanye West and I want to make just a little bit more.


To some, the two might seem polar opposites but I view them as two sides of the same coin. Both of them are great and they'll tell you about it. Trump says he knows more about ISIS than the Generals (not that it has stopped him from appointing Generals to his Cabinet) while Kanye says, "I'm a creative genius and there is no other way to word it." Can we surprised that those with such delusions of grandeur who admire each other so much?


I suppose I should qualify delusions of grandeur. After all, Trump becomes the 45th President of the United States in just over five weeks while Kanye can hire Paul McCartney as a side man. There's no denying both men have come far in life. But I wouldn't trust them as far as I could throw them.


Those who are actually great never have to tell us that they are. The world simply knows.

Thoughts on Jim Brown's Embrace of Trump

Yesterday, NFL legend Jim Brown sang the praises of President-Elect Trump after he and Ray Lewis met with Trump yesterday to discuss the African-American community. Brown proclaimed that he fell "in love with Trump". Here is what he told CNN's Brooke Baldwin when she asked him about it:


Well, it isn't really just about Donald Trump. It's about him in the position he occupies. That position is considered the most important person in the world. The most powerful person in the world is supposed to be the president. When he goes through what he went through to become the president he got my admiration because no one gave him a chance. You know, they called him names. People that called him names when he won, he reached back and brought them along with him. He held no grudges. So who am I to say I played quarterback when I played running back? I don't know everything and I don't try to address everything, but the reception that I got today from him I will always remember that because he listened to us and he knows that we can bring something to him to help the people of this country.


I don't think Trump reached back and brought along #NeverTrumpers with him. Oh sure, he dangled a very big carrot in front of Mitt Romney and instead hit him with a big stick. But I suppose everything is about appearances and people will remember that Trump invited Romney to have dinner with him even if he didn't become Secretary of State.

My take from all is that Trump is probably very charming on a one to one basis when there are no crowds around. As Trump himself said at Q&A following a rally last January in Iowa,  "When I'm president I'm a different person. I can do anything. I can be the most politically-correct person that you've ever seen."


The point here is that Trump is very good at telling people what they want to hear and appearing to care about what they say. I bear no animosity towards Brown saying he had a positive experience with Trump. But if I were in his shoes I might have said, "We had a positive meeting with President-Elect Trump. He said he would bring greater opportunity to the African-American community. We hope he is true to his word and will do everything we can to make sure he keeps his word."


In other words, Trump has talked a good game. Let's see him back it up. Nothing wrong with Jim Brown keeping it positive. I just wish he said that Trump still had to earn his support. In fact, I wish that of a lot of people.


In his autobiography Fire & Ashes, former Liberal Party of Canada leader Michael Ignatieff's wrote about his father George, who was a top civil servant who worked for Mackenzie King, Canada's longest serving Prime Minister. The elder Ignatieff took notes for a meeting between King and about a dozen members of The Daughter of The Empire who were concerned about the harmful effects of pornography on Canadian soldiers serving in WWII. King told the women he had been rarely privileged to have such an important meeting. When they left his office, Ignatieff asked King what he wanted him to do. King told him tersely, "Get back to work."


Without knowing exactly what Trump said, I think he paid Brown and Lewis a lot of lip service. If Trump were to fall short and Brown were to sour on him, Trump would invariably say "I never said that" and then send out a nasty Tweet.


Honestly, I don't think Trump has any intention of improving the lives of African-Americans any more than President Obama did.

Bob Tyrrell's Chutzpah

While it has been nearly four months since I discontinued my association with The American Spectator, I do check in on it usually to read columns written by pals like David Catron, Larry Thornberry or Ross Kaminsky.


However, today I was drawn by Bob Tyrrell's piece titled "The Mad Search for Pro-Trump Columnists". In it, he complains about a piece written in The Washington Post by Paul Fahri about the lack of editorial support for Trump in the mainstream press. Tyrrell does not bother to include a link to Fahri's piece so I will do so here as a matter of courtesy.


I think Tyrrell misses the point of Fahri's column which largely centers on the efforts of the mainstream press to include more pro-Trump pieces on their editorial pages. Tyrrell does have a point when he points that Fahri has overlooked some pro-Trump writers who have been actively writing in mainstream media including himself.


But I had to laugh when I got to this passage in Tyrrell's piece:


In these columns I wrote about flying with Donald on his campaign plane and covering the campaign à la Teddy White. I weighed the numbers in the forthcoming race. I compared Donald’s robust response to Hillary’s feeble thrusts. In The American Spectator I also published writers who boldly spoke up for Trump including Esther Goldberg, Jeffrey Lord, George Neumayr and, of course, Buckley. I even published anti-Trump pieces by such columnists as David Catron, Ross Kaminsky, and William Murchison. Our readers can make up their own minds. If Farhi’s editors wanted pro-Trump writers, they could have called me. I have a telephone, and I am available via the internet.


What chutzpah!!! Of course, what Tyrrell doesn't mention is that he eventually demanded that all anti-Trump pieces cease - at least he did with me. Anyone who orders a writer to "please lay off Donald" is in no position to lecture anyone on how to structure their op-ed pages.


The point of Fahri's piece is that mainstream news outlets are trying to balance pro & anti-Trump point of views. The same cannot be said of Bob Tyrrell.

Alan Thicke, R.I.P.

2016's cruel ways continue. Actor, singer, songwriter and producer Alan Thicke died suddenly today after suffering a heart attack while playing hockey with his son. Thicke was 69.

Born in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Thicke cut his teeth hosting game shows and daytime talk shows in Montreal. He got his break in Hollywood from Norman Lear who hired him to produce the short-lived satirical talk show Fernwood 2 Night. He also co-wrote the TV theme songs of The Facts of Life and Diff'rent Strokes with his first wife singer Gloria Loring. Many decades later their son Robin Thicke would enjoy chart success with the song "Blurred Lines".

Thicke became a nationally known public figure as the host of the daytime talk show The Alan Thicke Show which aired on CTV from 1980-1983. On the strength of The Alan Thicke Show, Hollywood came beckoning again as he was invited to host the syndicated Thicke of The Night in the fall of 1983. Unable to compete against Johnny Carson, Thicke was out of a job in June 1984.

A year later, Thicke rebounded as the star of the ABC-TV series Growing Pains in which Dr. Jason Seaver joined the pantheon of TV Dads. The show made a star of Kirk Cameron and also launched the career of a young child actor named Leonardo DiCaprio.

Over the past quarter century, Thicke made appearance in numerous TV shows. Among his last appearances were in the pilot episode of the NBC TV series This is Us and the NetFlix series Fuller House. 

Just over a week ago, Thicke offered words of wisdom to anti-Trump protesters urging them not to clog freeways. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter Thicke said, "But just to march in the streets and clog up traffic on a freeway in L.A. so people can't get hom, to me that not only sends the wrong message of disorganization and anarchy, but it's annoying and you lose people, you lose your base." Thicke went on to suggest that people organize through social media as Trump did.

The best way to end this is on a happy, cheesy note. Here is Thicke singing "Sweaty & Hot" at the 1988 Crystal Light Aerobic National Championship. R.I.P.

Remember When Rick Perry Called Donald Trump "A Cancer on Conservatism"?

President-Elect Donald Trump has picked former Texas Governor Rick Perry to be his Secretary of Energy.


When Perry sought the GOP nomination in 2012, it was one of three departments he sought to abolish, but infamously couldn't remember its name at the worst possible time - a GOP presidential debate.

No doubt this has to be very satisfying for Perry. Perceived, probably unfairly, as a laughingstock he now has a second act while his former rival Mitt Romney is left out in the cold.


But what bothers me about Perry being in Trump's cabinet is he went from calling the President-Elect "a cancer on conservatism" to being willing to be his running mate. All of this happened in the space of 10 months. Of course, politicians will say and do about anything. Rick Perry isn't the first and he won't be the last. But I think it is fair to say that Trump was indeed a cancer on conservatism and that it quickly spread to Rick Perry and millions of other conservatives who fell for snake oil.

Lesley Stahl's Patronizing & Condescending 60 Minutes Interview of Benjamin Netanyahu

I watched Lesley Stahl's 60 Minutes with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and it was predictably patronizing and condescending.

Stahl chided Netanyahu's 2015 speech to Congress as "provocative". No, provocative is when Iran parades our soldiers on state television.

She also claimed that Netanyahu's dealings with Russia and China constituted an "anti-American alliance". No doubt Russia and China are guilty of dubious behavior, but name me a single Western country that doesn't do business with them. To say that Israel is part of an "anti-American" alliance is absolute nonsense.

Stahl went on and on about Israeli settlements touting the line they are an impediment to peace. Netanyahu countered they dismantled settlements in Gaza and were rewarded with 20,000 rockets.

Bibi handed Stahl just fine. He's accustomed to dealing with fools. It would just be nice if the Stahl and those in the mainstream media didn't treat Israel like a pariah state.

Romney Should Be Glad He Wasn't Named Secretary of State

It isn't official, but it appears that President-Elect Donald Trump has chosen ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to be his Secretary of State.

While it is embarrassing for Mitt Romney to have to twice thrown himself upon Trump's mercy and told by advisers to publicly apologize and still not get the job.

But this is for the best. Nothing good would have come with associating with Trump. He would have had little influence in Trump's cabinet and likely would have been Trump's designated fall guy when things went wrong.

Romney's 2012 proclamation that Russia is the greatest threat to the United States does not square with Trump's embrace of Vladimir Putin. Indeed, Tillerson has done a large amount of business in Russia and is personally friendly with him. Trump wanted a yes man at State and it would appear he has him.

If and when things blow up in Trump's face, Romney shall not be stained with the filth from the fallout. He can hold his head high.

Foreign Investment Is a One Way Street with Donald Trump

On December 6th, President-Elect Donald Trump tweeted, "Masa (SoftBank) of Japan has agreed to invest $50 billion in the U.S. toward businesses and 50,000 new jobs...."


Naturally, Trump's supporters are claiming Masa's decision is a result of Trump's election. Of course, this is utter nonsense of course. Decisions of this large a scale don't happen overnight. They are the result of months, if not years of planning and negotiations and Trump knows it. But there's always a sucker born.


Here is the delicious irony of it all. Trump has repeatedly told companies like Carrier that there will be consequences if they move jobs out of the United States. By that logic, one could also argue that Masa is shipping jobs out of Japan. Shouldn't there be consequences for them? Not from where Trump sits. If those jobs are coming to this country then Trump couldn't be happier.


Like trade, foreign investment is a two way street. Yet Trump seems to determined to erect One Way Street signs on our soil. This is precious when you consider the fact that Trump has numerous holdings abroad. One could make an argument that by investing abroad he too shipped jobs out of the country. In other words, foreign investment for me but not for thee.

5 Reasons Why I Won't Miss Harry Reid

Yesterday, Harry Reid spent his last day in the Senate ending a 30-year career.




Well, goodbye and good riddance.




Here are five reasons I won't miss him:




1. "This War is Lost"


During a floor debate about continuing funding for the War in Iraq in April 2007, the then Senate Majority Leader said, "I believe myself that the secretary of state, secretary of defense and — you have to make your own decisions as to what the president knows — (know) this war is lost and the surge is not accomplishing anything as indicated by the extreme violence in Iraq yesterday."


Thankfully President Bush and General David Petraeus saw things differently. The surge was successful and brought stability to Iraq. Harry Reid's remarks were designed to demoralize our troops on the ground. An absolute disgrace, but it doesn't end there.




2. Comparing Opponents of Obamacare to Those Who Supported Slavery


There's something about the floor of the Senate that brings out the worse in Harry Reid. During the Obamacare debate in December 2009, Reid uttered this doozy:




Instead of joining us on the right side of history, all the Republicans can come up with is, 'slow down, stop everything, let's start over.' If you think you've heard these same excuses before, you're right. When this country belatedly recognized the wrongs of slavery, there were those who dug in their heels and said 'slow down, it's too early, things aren't bad enough.'


So because Republicans want Americans to have more choices with regard to their health care, Harry Reid saw fit to compare them to champions of slavery. It's the kind of demagoguery that made President Obama proud.




3. Barack Obama is 'Light-Skinned' & Has 'No Negro Dialect'




In January 2010, Reid was forced to apologize for remarks he made to Mark Halperin and John Heilemann which were published in Game Change their book about the 2008 election. Halperin and Heilemann write:




He [Reid] was wowed by Obama's oratorical gifts and believed that the country was ready to embrace a black presidential candidate, especially one such as Obama -- a 'light-skinned' African American 'with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one,'


Although Reid did apologize for the remark, he got away with it because he has a D in front of his name. Had any Republican (even Donald Trump) described Obama as a Negro they would have been tarred and feathered.




4. He Lied About Mitt Romney Not Paying Any Taxes for 10 Years & Is Damn Proud Of It


Harry Reid and Mitt Romney are both Mormons, but politics trumps religion. In a July 2012 interview with The Huffington Post, Reid claimed that an anonymous Bain Capital investor had told him that Romney hadn't paid federal taxes in 10 years. “He didn’t pay taxes for 10 years! Now, do I know that that’s true? Well, I’m not certain,” said Reid, “But obviously he can’t release those tax returns. How would it look?"




Well, this Bain investor was about as phony as a $3 bill. By April 2015, Reid admitted he told a big fat lie and had no regret whatsoever telling CNN's Dana Bash, "Romney didn't win, did he?"


It was Lincoln who said that if you want to test a man's character, give him power. Harry Reid fails the character test with flying colors.


5. Attempting to Repeal the First Amendment


In June 2014, Reid spearheaded an effort to restrict the political activity of Americans by empowering Congress to regulate federal election spending. This was in response to the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision. Of course, the First Amendment says in part, "Congress shall make no law....prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech." If Reid had his way Congress would have enthusiastically prohibited the free exercise thereof and abridged the freedom of speech of those who dared disagree with him. Thankfully, Senate Republicans would block the measure three months later. Nevertheless, this effort and the others mention represent Harry Reid's ugly legacy.

Appointing Bobby Valentine Ambassador to Japan Isn't As Crazy As It Sounds

According to WEEI sports radio here in Boston, former Boston Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine could be our next Ambassador to Japan.


The idea isn't as crazy as it sounds. Valentine, who also managed the Texas Rangers and the New York Mets, also managed the Chiba Lott Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan in 1995 and again from 2004 through 2009 guiding the team to a Japan Series and an Asian Series championship in 2005. Since 2013, Valentine has been the athletic director at Sacred Heart College.


When President Obama appointed Caroline Kennedy to be Ambassador to Japan in July 2013, I argued that Randy Bass was the better choice. Bass was the most successful American born player in Japan falling a home run short of Saduharu Oh's single season record of 56 in 1985 and winning four consecutive batting titles. His .389 average in 1986 was the highest in Japanese history. Not even Ichiro could surpass that. Affectionately known as Basu in Japan, Bass is also a Democrat State Senator in his native Oklahoma. But Bass is no Kennedy.


So if President-Elect Trump taps Valentine it will be one of his better decisions. Valentine will certainly do better as Ambassador to Japan than he did as manager of the Red Sox.

Trump Used To Sing The Praises of Unions

With President-Elect Donald Trump's recent Twitter rant against United Steelworkers of America Local 1999 President Chuck Jones and his appointment of fast food magnate Andrew Puzder as Secretary of Labor, it appears the Trump Administration is targeting organized labor.


But Trump hasn't always been so sour on unions. Consider what Trump had to say about them during this April 2011 interview with Bill O'Reilly:


I've had a great relationship over the years with unions. We've had collective bargaining. I've become very wealthy. I've dealt with unions course, as you know, New York is largely unions. You're dealing with them. I have great friends that are in unions and heads of unions. So I haven't had the same difficulty and problem.

As you can see Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is in the video screenshot and at the time he was battling the public sector unions. In 2011, Trump was singing Walker's praises calling him "tough" and "unyielding".


Of course, by August 2015, Trump sang a very different tune about Governor Walker. He told George Stephanopoulos that Walker was "really in trouble" and "has not performed well". Never mind that Walker had been elected to two terms, had survived a recall effort and had got his reforms passed through. None of that mattered to Trump because Walker was the enemy. Walker correctly stated that Trump was using Democrat talking points, but no one listened.


Donald Trump is a master politician. He says whatever it is convenient for him to say. He can praise unions or damn them and no one bats an eyelash. He can praise Scott Walker or damn Scott Walker and no one bats an eyelash. As long as that is true, Donald Trump can pretty much get away with anything including shooting people on Fifth Avenue.

A Thought for Kirk Douglas on His 100th Birthday

In a year that has cruelly claimed so many it is all the more delightful that Kirk Douglas has lived to see his 100th birthday.


Born Issur Danielovitch on December 9, 2016 to a family of Russian Jewish immigrants in Amsterdam, New York, he overcame poverty and anti-Semitism to become a world renowned actor and a global Ambassador for the United States. The intensity of Douglas' performances captured the public imagination in films such as Champion, Lust for Life and Spartacus and would be carried forward by his sons especially Michael who became equally successful in his own right. In 1996, Douglas sustained a stroke which impaired his ability to speak but has not impaired his spirit.


Although a lifelong liberal Democrat, Kirk Douglas is above all else an American and has proudly promoted our country's ideals around the world at the behest of both Democrat and Republican administrations.


So you know it's extraordinary when Douglas saw fit to warn us of what could come. In an op-ed for The Huffington Post back in September, Douglas did just that. Although he did not mention Donald Trump by name, his message was clear:


Until now, I believed I had finally seen everything under the sun.  But this was the kind of fear-mongering I have never before witnessed from a major U.S. presidential candidate in my lifetime. 


I have lived a long, good life. I will not be here to see the consequences if this evil takes root in our country.  But your children and mine will be.  And their children.  And their children’s children.


All of us still yearn to remain free. It is what we stand for as a country.  I have always been deeply proud to be an American. In the time I have left, I pray that will never change.  In our democracy, the decision to remain free is ours to make.


My 100th birthday is exactly one month and one day after the next presidential election. I’d like to celebrate it by blowing out the candles on my cake, then whistling “Happy Days Are Here Again.”


Unfortunately, Kirk Douglas will not be able to make that wish today. But he can take comfort in the long successful life he's had with a marriage that has lasted 62 years and counting. He can also take comfort in the fact that there are many people who will heed his words and do everything in our power to ensure America remains free and strong enough to overcome the evil that comes our way whatever form it might take.


If you have the chance, I strongly recommend that you read Douglas' 1988 autobiography The Ragman's Son. I read it at the time of its release, but found it a couple of months ago in a second hand bookstore here in Boston. Knowing Douglas would soon turn 100, I thought it opportune to read it again. In re-reading it, Kirk Douglas affirms that through good times and bad that the key to a long life is having a lust for life.

John Glenn, R.I.P.

Astronaut turned U.S. Senator John Glenn has passed away after being hospitalized yesterday for an undisclosed illness. He was 95.


Glenn served this country as a fighter pilot in both WWII and in Korea earning the Distinguished Flying Cross six times. But Glenn was only getting started. At the end of the 1950's Glenn was selected to be part of NASA's Mercury Seven program and would gain worldwide fame as the first American to orbit Earth on February 20, 1962.


Glenn would have entered political life much sooner, but a head injury following a fall in a bathtub preempted a Senate campaign in 1964. He would try again in 1970, but was narrowly defeated in the Ohio Democrat Primary by Howard Metzenbaum. However, Metzenbaum did not win the general election. Glenn would win a rematch with Metzenbaum in 1974 Democrat Primary and would be elected to the Senate that November and was re-elected thrice more.


Jimmy Carter considered Glenn to be his running mate in 1976, but opted for Walter Mondale. In 1984, Glenn sought the Democratic nomination for President but again was no match for Mondale. Glenn was also considered for the number two job by Mondale, Michael Dukakis and Bill Clinton but would remain in the Senate.


While Glenn would never ascend further in Washington, he would ascend to the stars once again. In October 1998, set to retire from the Senate, Glenn became the oldest person to launch into space as a Payload Specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. It was 36 years between missions.


But perhaps most remarkable of all was that John Glenn was married to his wife Anna for 73 years.


A life well lived. R.I.P.

Chapman Returns to The Yankees; Can Davis Fill His Void in Wrigley & Is Jansen Bronx Bound Too?

To the surprise of no one, Aroldis Chapman has returned to the New York Yankees signing a five year contract worth $86 million.


Of course, Chapman was traded to the Yankees from the Cincinnati Reds last off-season only to be dealt to the Chicago Cubs where he helped the team win its first World Series in 108 years.


The addition of Chapman is welcome news for Dellin Betances who struggled in the closer's role after the Yankees dealt both Chapman and Andrew Miller to the Cleveland Indians. The question is will the Yankees also pursue Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen so he can become the new Andrew Miller. The Yankees are certainly interested in Jansen, but is Jansen more interested in remaining a closer. The Miami Marlins are vigorously pursuing Jansen for that role. If Jansen opts for Miami it would reunite him with both Don Mattingly and A.J. Ellis.


As for the Cubs, they have a new closer in Wade Davis who they acquired from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for outfielder Jorge Soler. After mixed success as a starting pitcher with the Tampa Bay Rays, Davis excelled as both a setup man and a closer with the Royals as a part of back to back AL pennant winners in 2014 and 2015 and a World Series ring last year. However, Davis was placed on the DL twice in 2016 with a forearm strain. Is this a temporary setback or a harbinger of things to come? Davis' reunion with Joe Maddon might not be such a happy one.


I have a feeling that the Yankees will be getting more relief than the Cubs in 2017.

Thoughts on Trump's Twitter Rants on Boeing & United Steelworkers of America

In a space of 24 hours, President-Elect Donald Trump set his sights on both big business and big labor on Twitter.


First, he targeted Boeing on December 6th:


Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order!


Is Trump planning to issue Executive Orders on Twitter?


More importantly, has Boeing done anything illegal? Nope. The only reason Trump gives a damn about Boeing is because their CEO Dennis Muilenburg dared to criticize the President-Elect over his rhetoric on trade policy.


What fascinates me is how conservatives who defended Boeing when Obama's National Labor Relations Board targeted the aerospace company have abandoned it now that Trump has thrown of his tantrums. When Trump says jump, conservatives (with few exceptions) ask, "How high?"


Then after being bored with Boeing, Trump set his sights on the United Steelworkers of America specifically Local 1999 President Chuck Jones in two tweets:


Chuck Jones, who is President of United Steelworkers 1999, has done a terrible job representing workers. No wonder companies flee country!


If United Steelworkers 1999 was any good, they would have kept those jobs in Indiana. Spend more time working-less time talking. Reduce dues.


So what is Trump actually saying here? Is Jones doing a terrible job because Carrier workers wages were too high or too low? Then he appears to be complaining about productivity. Is he saying Carrier workers are lazy? Then he talks about union dues. I hate to break it to Trump but those come out of the checks of Carrier employees, not the company.


Is Trump trying to break the union? No. Again, the only reason Trump gives a damn about Chuck Jones is because he accused Trump of lying about the Carrier deal. Nothing more, nothing less.


Now I realize that Boeing and the USWA are easy targets and lot of people like Trump for taking it to these big guys be it big business or big labor.


But if Trump's economic policy is centered on his own mood instead of the mood of the marketplace then we are headed for a whole lot of trouble.

Greg Lake, R.I.P.

Progressive rock legend Greg Lake of King Crimson and later Emerson, Lake & Palmer, passed away yesterday following a battle with cancer. He was 69.


2016 continues its cruelty as it has claimed two-thirds of Emerson, Lake & Palmer. In March, Keith Emerson took his own life. Emerson was unable to cope with the nerve damage in his hand that had compromised his ability to play keyboards. No doubt Emerson's suicide took a toll on Lake's health.


When I think of Greg Lake, there are three songs which immediately spring to mind.


The first two songs are from ELP's eponymous debut album - "Take a Pebble" and "Lucky Man".
"Take a Pebble" is a showcase for Emerson's piano playing. Lake's vocals are only heard at the beginning and end of the song. But the lyrics are memorable especially the quatrain that opens the song:


Just take a pebble and cast it to the sea,
Then watch the ripples that unfold into me,
My face spill so gently into your eyes,
Disturbing the waters of our lives

"Lucky Man" was written by Lake when he was only 12. A last minute addition to ELP's debut album, "Lucky Man" remains their most accessible and enduring song.

Lake's passing is all the more sadder as we are just over two weeks removed from Christmas. His only solo hit was "I Believe in Father Christmas". It might very well be the most cynical song ever written about Christmas:


They said there'll be snow at Christmas
They said there'll be peace on earth
But instead it just kept on raining
A veil of tears for the virgin birth


Yet when one listens to the song one is left with hope even if only a tinge. R.I.P.

December 7, 1941: In 90 Minutes America Was Forever Changed

I would be remiss if I didn't take a moment to comment on the 75th anniversary of the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor which brought America into WWII.


The attack only took only 90 minutes. But in those 90 minutes, 2,403 Americans were killed. Nearly half (1,177) were aboard the U.S.S. Arizona which remains at the bottom of Pearl Harbor to this very day.


Whatever reservations Americans might have had about Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany, this country was firmly isolationist in its outlook on the world. Those 90 minutes changed Americans attitudes in an instant. America had been attacked on its own soil. If that doesn't change you nothing would.


The desire for retribution did go too far as was the case with this country's treatment of Japanese Americans who bore no responsibility for what happened at Pearl Harbor. But Imperial Japan had to be brought to its knees regardless of the cost and there was a tremendous cost. More than 100,000 U.S. soldiers died in the Pacific Theater with more than 250,000 wounded. I have no desire to diminish the losses this country suffered in Afghanistan and Iraq, but from a numerical standpoint they pale in comparison to the losses incurred during the Second World War. Japanese civilians bore a tremendous cost especially when President Truman dropped atom bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Yet if Truman hadn't done so millions more people likely would have been killed before hostilities ceased.


Of course, America would be changed again in 90 minutes on September 11, 2001. Although our fighting forces have as much spirit as those who defended this country after Pearl Harbor, public support for those efforts and our resolve for victory have diminished in our government and among a critical mass of our population.


Given the challenges we face against Islamic radicalism today the best way we can pay tribute to those who died at Pearl Harbor and those who avenged their deaths is to commit to victory. Anything less is unacceptable. It is all the more important as those who survived Pearl Harbor and who survived WWII are fewer and fewer in number every day.