Month: November 2018

The short answer is no!

“…After last year’s debacle, Vicky Konstantinidis wasn’t about to leave the centerpiece of her Thanksgiving dinner to chance.

In 2017, the Long Island resident had been a little late to place her turkey order to Feisty Acres, a North Fork farm known for its organic, heritage-breed gobblers.

At $9.99 per pound, they’re about 10 times what your average supermarket bird goes for — and they’re so sought-after that customers are asked to put down a $55 deposit to hold their reservation.

“It’s the only turkey I’d eat,” Konstantinidis tells The Post.

While she did ultimately wind up getting her two birds — at 6 to 12 pounds, Feisty’s turkeys run smaller than the average supermarket kind — the stress was real, Konstantinidis says. So this year, “I ordered mine in August.” The 50-year-old expects to spend more than $200 on her order, and says it’s totally worth the money and hassle…”

https://nypost.com/2018/11/14/would-you-pay-200-for-a-designer-thanksgiving-turkey/

“…In spite of substantial public controversy, very little reliable data exists concerning the frequency with which non-citizen immigrants participate in United States elections. Although such participation is a violation of election laws in most parts of the United States, enforcement depends principally on disclosure of citizenship status at the time of voter registration. This study examines participation rates by non-citizens using a nationally representative sample that includes non-citizen immigrants. We find that some non-citizens participate in U.S. elections, and that this participation has been large enough to change meaningful election outcomes including Electoral College votes, and Congressional elections. Non-citizen votes likely gave Senate Democrats the pivotal 60th vote needed to overcome filibusters in order to pass health care reform and other Obama administration priorities in the 111th Congress…”

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2018/11/how-many-non-citizens-vote-in-u-s-elections.php

James Freeman:

“…This is not an accurate rendering of what happened. A video recording of the event shows that after four reporters took their turns asking questions, the President called on Mr. Acosta, who made it clear that he would not simply be asking questions and seeking information as reporters do but intended to provide a rebuttal to recent comments made by the President. “I wanted to challenge you on one of the statements that you made in the tail end of the campaign—in the midterms,” said the CNN commentator.

Mr. Acosta mentioned Mr. Trump’s characterization of the immigrant caravan making its way through Mexico as an “invasion.” At this point Mr. Acosta did not ask a question but simply issued a declaration. “As you know Mr. President, the caravan was not an invasion. It’s a group of migrants moving up from Central America towards the border with the U.S.,” said the CNN correspondent.

So instead of simply serving as a reporter Mr. Acosta chose to offer commentary—and according to standard dictionaries he was wrong. The large group of immigrants had crossed illegally into Mexico and plainly intended to illegally enter the U.S.

Mr. Acosta may think that an invasion must include a military force but Mr. Trump’s use of the word is common. Merriam-Webster defines invade as “to enter for conquest or plunder,” but also “to encroach upon” or “infringe.” Other dictionaries have similar definitions, such as “to intrude” or “violate.”

Having wrongly asserted that the caravan could not be called an invasion and wrongly asserted that Mr. Trump knew he was saying something untrue, Mr. Acosta then asked why Mr. Trump had done so and if he had “demonized” immigrants. Yes, Mr. Acosta was now asking a question, but doing so while demanding that the President accept a false premise.

Mr. Acosta then interrupted the President as he tried to answer. Then Mr. Acosta editorialized again:

“Your campaign had an ad showing migrants climbing over walls and so on. But they’re not going to be doing that.”

Is Mr. Acosta now a spokesman for the caravan? After another interruption, Mr. Acosta insisted on continuing to talk after the President called on a reporter. Then Mr. Acosta fended off a White House intern as she attempted to retrieve the microphone to allow others to ask questions.

The First Amendment prevents the President or anyone else in the federal government from restricting the ability of citizens to report and publish. Does it also require the President to listen to ill-informed lectures for as long as the lecturers choose to speak? Obviously if everyone had the right to refuse to surrender the microphone at press conferences the result would be fewer members of the press corps having an opportunity to ask questions, not more.

But there’s something special about Mr. Acosta and about CNN, at least according to the lawsuit…”

https://www.wsj.com/articles/cnns-acosta-privilege

Less than five percent

“…First, financial journalists have stronger incentives to produce original information and analysis than to disseminate information already in the public domain, and they rely heavily on private communication with company management for information. Second, sell-side analysts play an important role in informing financial journalists, many of whom lack financial sophistication. Third, the incentives for sensationalism in the business press assumed in prior research are dominated by incentives for accurate, timely, in-depth, and informative reporting, while the quid pro quo incentives assumed in prior literature (e.g., putting a positive spin on company news to maintain access to inside sources) are substantial.”

Get that? Journalists covering the financial industry don’t know the industry and give favorable coverage to keep access. Sounds like pretty much every other type of journalist…”

https://www.dailywire.com/news/38302/462-financial-journalists-were-asked-their-ashe-schow

6 Pairs of Freshmen House Democrats Whose Combined Age Is Younger Than Nancy Pelosi’s.

“…In its new report, The Nuclear Power Dilemma, the UCS now recognizes that nuclear power plays an important role in addressing the problem of man-made global warming by helping to keep U.S. carbon dioxide emissions considerably lower than they would otherwise be. The UCS notes that there has been a 28 percent reduction in U.S. power-sector emissions of carbon dioxide below 2005 levels. This is largely due to the switch from coal to cheap fracked natural gas, to increased energy efficiency, and to the deployment of some solar and wind generation capacity.

The UCS fears that this trend toward lower carbon dioxide emissions will be derailed because many of the currently operating nuclear power plants will close because they are being outcompeted by generation facilities fueled by cheap natural gas and subsidized renewable power generation. “More than one-third of existing plants, representing 22 percent of total U.S. nuclear capacity, are unprofitable or scheduled to close,” notes the report. “The possibility that the nation will replace existing nuclear plants with natural gas and coal rather than low-carbon sources raises serious concerns about our ability to achieve the deep cuts in carbon emissions needed to limit the worst impacts of climate change.” The UCS has evidently come to realize that closing down nuclear power plants will perversely “lock-in” fossil fuels and thus make it harder and more expensive to “save the climate.”…”

https://reason.com/blog/2018/11/13/union-of-concerned-scientists-for-nukes

“…The tip of the spear when it comes to President Trump’s diplomacy is not the tongue of the diplomat, but the power of the pipeline.

The United States is now the world’s No. 1 producer of oil and natural gas, eating away at Washington’s past dependence on foreign producers and oil cartels. And that means the influence of petrostates like Iran and Russia and autocracies around the world.

Trump calls it “energy dominance,” and the freedom it provides has undergirded many of the president’s decisions, from moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem to re-imposing sanctions on Iran, according to administration sources.

“It allows us to impose these sanctions and not upset the world oil market very much,” said Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette. “It’s a fundamentally different posture to be in, in regard to our foreign policy. … It just gives us leverage.”

In negotiations with European, Chinese, and other world leaders, the president has made energy a central theme. Earlier this year, Trump even taunted NATO members at a summit in Brussels, calling them “captives” to Russian energy.

Above all, the comment was aimed at Germany, which is working with the Russian state-run energy firm Gazprom to build the Nord Stream 2 pipeline…”

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy/trump-wields-his-energy-weapon

“…The Chinese economy expanded rapidly in the years after the global financial crisis thanks to repeated debt binges.

“China’s growth has been highly credit intensive,” said Gerard Burg, Sydney-based senior economist at National Australia Bank. The total amount of debt in the Chinese financial system is now several times the size of the entire economy.

Some of this money has gone into building bridges, road and other infrastructure. But a lot has ended up in less productive parts of the economy, such as big, inefficient state-run companies. The more dynamic private sector hasn’t benefited as much.

Late last year, Beijing stepped up its efforts to rein in the high levels of debt, which is one of the main reasons the economy is now losing momentum.

Some analysts are skeptical about the Chinese government’s commitment to cleaning up its financial system, especially as the slowdown deepens and the trade war intensifies…”

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/11/09/economy/china-economy-risks/index.html

It’s always an emergency when Democrats aren’t getting enough votes.

“…PHOENIX, Ariz.—Maricopa County Recorder Adrian Fontes’s (D.) answers to questions about controversial emergency voting centers opened on the Saturday and Monday before Election Day only inspired more criticism from Republicans, who consider the centers workarounds for voting election deadlines set by law.

The debate over Maricopa County’s logistical decisions comes as ballots continue to slowly be counted in Arizona’s Senate contest.

On the Wednesday following Election Day, Republican congresswoman Martha McSally ledDemocratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema by over 17,000 votes. However, there were also about 650,000 votes still to be counted, with the majority of those in Maricopa County.

As of Monday, Sinema has a lead of about 32,900 votes, and the Arizona Republic estimates 215,000 votes remain to be counted across the state.

By law, early voting is supposed to end on the Friday before Election Day, but the law also provides for the emergency voting centers that may be created after. Ambiguities over the “emergency voting” statute—including questions as to what constitutes an emergency and whether or not a voter should have to prove their emergency—are the points of conflict…”

https://freebeacon.com/politics/emergency-voting-centers-opened-dem-recorder-raise-questions

Happy Veteran’s Day to my nephew Alex, who I love very much.

“…During review of provisional ballots to determine whether a recount is justified in the tight Florida governor, senate, and agriculture commission races, Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher identified a voter as a non-citizen and declared that the ballot would not be counted.

Attorneys representing the Democratic candidate for senate Bill Nelson and the Democratic candidate for governor Andrew Gillum objected. A copy of the uncertified transcript shows the interaction.

Chairman of the Palm Beach County Republican Party Michael Barnett attests to the validity of the transcript. He told The Federalist that several Republican lawyers and party officials heard the back and forth between the canvassing board and attorney’s from the Gillum and Nelson campaigns.

“I would think this is something we could all agree on—that non-citizens shouldn’t vote, but evidently that’s not the case with Democrats,” Barnett said…”

http://thefederalist.com/2018/11/10/palm-beach-county-democrats-argue-count-votes-cast-non-citizens/

Samantha Power, Allegedly Super-Smart Obama Foreign Policy Thinker, Fooled by Parody DPRK Site As She Tries To Dunk On Trump

Rick Moran:

“…Are Florida Democratic election officials the dumbest Democrats in the country? They apparently can’t even steal an election properly.

Governor Rick Scott, the GOP candidate challenging Senator Bill Nelson, has won two separate lawsuits against Democratic officials who violated the Florida constitution and election law. At issue are ballot counting procedures that are clearly spelled out in the law that two Democratic party functionaries blatantly violated.

One suit targeted Broward County Election Supervisor Brenda Snipes who, incredibly, was refusing to turn over voting records on the counting and collection of ballots to Scott and the NRSC, despite the law saying she must.  The judge ordered her to immediately do so.

The other suit by Scott was against Palm Beach Election Supervisor Susan Bucher. According to AP, Bucher was sued for “refusing to allow official party and campaign representatives into the ballot counting area, and having staff members determine a voter’s intent without review by the county canvassing board.”

I guess she didn’t want anyone to know what she was up to…”

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2018/11/scott_wins_two_lawsuits_as_he_fights_a_blatant_attempt_by_dems_to_violate_the_law.html

From Glenn Reynolds:

Weird. The Palm Beach elections supervisor threatened to arrest reporters and it’s not a bigger story.

No big deal, just Palm Beach County refusing to comply with the recount court order.

It’s like all this defense of “norms” and “rule of law” in response to Trump is really just the same kind of hackish self-serving bullshit that got him elected in the first place.