Archive for 2018

NON-SHOCKING HEADLINE OF THE DAY: Balanced Budget Amendment Mirroring 1995 Effort Fails to Get Two-Thirds in House.

Plus: “Our extraordinary fiscal crisis demands an extraordinary solution,” says sponsor Goodlatte as CBO projects deficit spending will increase $11.7 trillion over the next decade.

And that’s without a recession or a major shooting war or some other crisis — which is an awfully long time to go without at least one or two of the three.

I’D DO IT JUST FOR KICKS: Do Democrats have to toss Nancy Pelosi overboard in order to take the majority?

Pelosi is already used as a liberal bogeyman by Republicans, hoping to hurt Democratic candidates between the coasts by tying them to the minority leader. After Lamb’s victory, Politico reported that “a half-dozen Democratic House members and candidates” told the outlet “they had been closely monitoring how Lamb handled the Pelosi attack.”

“A campaign manager for a Democratic candidate in a Republican-held district, granted anonymity to candidly discuss party strategy, said there’s a ‘100 percent chance that we’ll see more rejection of Pelosi from [Democratic] candidates going forward,'” Politico reported, quoting an additional Democratic strategist as saying, “Two things will happen: More Democrats are going to say they don’t support Pelosi, and Republicans will keep airing these Pelosi TV ads.”

Pelosi is a convenient — and real! — boogeyman, and her health appears to be slipping. But she does still control access to Bay Area/Silicon Valley Dem donors, which keeps her formidable no matter what.

SAFE SPACES FOR REASONED DISCUSSION: UCLA law professor Richard Sander visited Middlebury College last week at the invitation of College Republicans. Good for him.  And kudos to the College Republicans for having the intestinal fortitude to insist bringing in a distinguished, conservative speaker with something to say. Conscientious students must not let the campus brown shirts win. If they shout down one speaker who they find offensive, invite three more in their place. The more people outside of colleges and universities hear about it, the better.

Sander is the leading academic researcher on the topic of “mismatch” (though Thomas Sowell coined the term long ago). For a primer on mismatch, try A Dubious Expediency: How Race-Preferential Admissions Policies on Campus Hurt Minority Students.

WELL, THAT’S CREEPY: This went unnoticed, but if you want something about which to develop a new conspiracy theory, this is a doozie.

Sources have reported that infamous billionaire and registered sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s private island located in the Caribbean has recently caught on fire […] Notable public figures, such as former President Bill Clinton, have been reported to travel with Epstein on his ‘Lolita Express’ to various places, including this private island.

That’s one hell of a way to destroy evidence!

WINNING: U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Hold Below 300,000 for Longest Streak on Record.

The current streak eclipsed the previous longest stretch that ended in April 1970. Taking into account the size of the labor force, claims today compared to the late 1960s and early 1970s are much lower. In March, about 14 initial jobless claims were filed for every 10,000 people in the labor force, Labor Department data show. This compares with 23 claims filed per 10,000 in spring of 1969.

This year, about twice as many people are in the labor force as in 1969.

That’s big. Although I wouldn’t mind seeing the official U-2 unemployment rate actually go up, if it meant that more people were finally re-entering the workforce after years of despair.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Black conservative shouted down for speaking ‘against own people.’ “Students protesters heckled and repeatedly shouted over former NFL star and conservative commentator Burgess Owens when he gave a speech at at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. One student derided Owens as an Uncle Tom, while other protesters asked him accusatory questions and then shouted over him as he attempted to answer.”

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: My latest Creators Syndicate column.The Indo-Pacific Quad Confronts China.

In 2007, The Quad (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue), at the behest of Japan, held its first informal meeting. The Quad’s membership roll sends a diplomatic message: Japan, Australia, America and India. Japan pointed out all four nations regarded China as disruptive actor in the Indo-Pacific; they had common interests. Delhi downplayed the meeting, attempting to avoid the appearance of actively “countering China.”

No more. The Quad nations now conduct naval exercises and sometimes include a quint, Singapore.

I doubt this column is on The Confucius Institute reading list. (Spelling error corrected — shouldn’t post before coffee.)

NAVY F-35C FLIGHT TEST: An F-35C Lightning II (the aircraft carrier version) makes a test flight with external weapons. Photo snapped April 4.