Here are some news briefs with my personal comments.
(Courtesy pachd.com)
PERHAPS YOU’VE SEEN the latest anti-Trump video produced by a group of mostly unknown film “celebrities” demanding that Congress vigorously oppose the president elect. They’re probably the same people who criticized Republicans for opposing President Obama’s agenda. What makes them think we should listen to people who make a living pretending they are someone else? Didn’t they learn anything from the failure of celebrities to help Hillary Clinton win the presidency?
THOSE WEALTHY CABINET NOMINEES – President Elect Donald Trump has received some criticism over the billionaires he has selected to fill his cabinet positions, primarily by those who have built their own wealth in public service on the backs of taxpayers. Earned wealth should not be a disqualifier when facing confirmation hearings. These are individuals who have years of decision-making, people and budget managing, and the characteristics of success. It will be refreshing that these people are not beholden to donors looking for access and are there to serve. My concern is that operating in a bureaucracy is considerably different than running a profitable business, making it difficult for them to help the president follow through on his campaign promises. I’m optimistic.
DRAINING THE SWAMP – Much has been made of the nation’s intelligence community in recent weeks. President Elect Donald Trump’s skepticism of the report on hacking, and the rumor that he was going to shake-up the agencies has fueled the news coverage. I, too, have asked, do we really need 17 separate intelligence agencies? Most of the finger-pointing has been at the office of the director of national intelligence (DNI), which it said has become bloated. Former Senator Dan Coats has been tapped to replace James Clapper as DNI. I believe Trump knows he needs a strong. loyal intelligence team that will tell him what he needs to know. His appointments of Gen. Mike Flynn at the NSA and Mike Pompeo at CIA can help him build that team.
REPEALING OBAMACARE – Look for the new administration to fulfill the campaign promise of repealing the failed ObamaCare despite all of the hand-wringing magnified in the media. This past week, Democrats met with President Obama, who told them to stand strong against repeal, and later emerged with the not-so-creative slogan, Make America Sick Again, to defeat the effort. Among them were Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who most likely still haven’t read the original 2,700-page Affordable Health Care legislation that has given birth to some 11,000 pages of regulations. Unlike the Dems, who pushed through the original legislation with no GOP input or votes, Republicans are planning to work with Dems from Trump-won red states, who are up for reelection in 2018.
OBAMA’S LAST JOBS REPORT – Except for a slight upturn in wages, the president’s last jobs report revealed more of the same weakness reported in the slow economic growth period since his election. The labor participation rate – 62.7 per cent – didn’t budge from the previous year. The unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 4.6 per cent, but most of us recognize it is closer to 10 per cent, when all of the vital statistics are included.
ANOTHER FBI FAILURE – Forget about the FBI botching of the investigation of Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation. Think about the young man who killed five and wounded eight in the baggage area shooting at Fort Lauderdale’s airport. He was earlier turned over to law enforcement in Anchorage by the FBI after determining he demonstrated an erratic behavior. Think about Omar Marteen, who killed 50 and wounded another 50 people in Orlando after two separate FBI interviews. And think about the Tsarnaev brothers, who placed bombs along the Boston Marathon route. The FBI had earlier questioned Tamerlan Tsarnaev and lost track of the brother’s overseas travels due to a misspelling. FBI Director James Comey said Hillary Clinton was “extremely careless.” I wonder how he would describe his agency after these multiple failures.
(If you would like a free subscription to kramerontheright, simply scroll to the bottom of the column at right.)
