Here are some of the top news items of the day along with my commentary.
THE NUMBER OF GENERALS selected by President Elect Donald Trump to fill cabinet and agency positions is drawing unnecessary concern by old-Washington establishment types, including former Defense Secretary Bob Gates. Trump has named Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn (Ret.) to be his National Security Advisor; Gen. James Mattis (Ret.) to be his defense secretary; and Gen. John Kelly (Ret.) to head Homeland Security. Unfortunately, Gen. David Petraeus (Ret.) will probably be passed over to avoid further controversy. If this concern surfaces in nomination hearings, I suggest Mattis and Kelly (Flynn does not need Senate approval) ask their inquisitors why there is no concern that there are 128 lawyers in the House and 48 lawyers in the Senate. They might also remind Senators that their public approval ranking is at 11 per cent, while approval of the military is at 76 per cent.
IN MY BLOG OF Sept. 7, 2016, I asked, “Where are the truly patriotic Americans in the Obama administration?” repeating an earlier plea for high-ranking military officers to take a stand against the administration’s lack of a strategy to defeat ISIS, the use of the military to conduct social experimentation, tying the hands of warriors, and its failure to resolve problems in the VA. It has become known that the aforementioned generals retired after disagreements with President Obama. Now it’s up to Trump to listen closely to his military appointees.
Tucker Carlson (salon.com)
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you watch the recently added Tucker Carlson Tonight to Fox’s nighttime news line-up. Carlson boasts that his show is the sworn enemy of lying, pomposity, smugness and groupthink. His guest interviews are longer than on most shows and you’ll find that he doesn’t let them spout talking points as he forces the subjects to answer his questions.
NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD RECOMMEND that you read a column written by the left-leaning New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, but this one is priceless. Click here to read her column, “Election Therapy From My Basket of Deplorables.” It’s terrific!
PLANNED PARENTHOOD CONTRIBUTIONS are facing the chopping block in more corporations. AT&T, Coca Cola, Ford, Macy’s and Xerox are the latest to pull the plug on this abortion mill.
James E. Mitchell (business insider.com)
WATERBOARDING – You may recall that Trump softened his view on waterboarding when General Mattis stated that “he never found it useful.” He said, “Give me a pack of cigarettes and a couple of beers and I do better with that.” Meanwhile, James E. Mitchell, who actually conducted waterboarding at CIA black sites with three detainees, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, respectfully disagrees. “It is understandable that General Mattis would say he never found waterboarding useful, because no one in the military has been authorized to waterboard a detainee. I suggest waterboarding be used in secret when necessary to protect us.
OTHER TRUMP APPOINTEES expected to face tough questioning are Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, nominated to head the EPA; CKE CEO Andy Puzder to become Labor Secretary; and Kathy McMorris Rodgers to become Interior Secretary. All of them will be expected to cut agency regulations that are costing small business heavily. Greenpeace and the Sierra Club are going bananas.
Rex Tillerman (forbes.com)
EXXONMOBIL CEO REX TILLERSON could be Trump’s pick for secretary of state, but the left is bound to question his business relationship with Russia’s Vladimir Putin. He will certainly be able to point to Hillary Clinton’s Russian reset failure and John Kerry’s inability to deal with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. For some reason, Trump’s pick for Ambassador to China, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, who has a close working relationship with China’s leader Xi Jinping, seemingly does not disturb critics.
ISN’T IT “HILLARYARIOUS” how Hillary Clinton has surfaced to tell us about the dangers in fake news? Her story about being under attack when she deplaned in Bosnia, and her insistence that “it was the video” that caused the attack on our complex in Benghazi are memorable fake news pieces.
(If you would like a free subscription to kramerontheright.com, simply scroll to the bottom of the column at right.)
