A new collusion charge … more from ‘Chuckles’ the clown … Cummings sounds off … anti-Trump material in unusual places … Ivanka spurned … good economic news … and those misleading opinion polls

Here are my observations on items in the news.

THE LATEST COLLUSION CHARGE – As a number of major companies began making news as a result of the passing of the tax reform/cut bill by revealing expansions and providing bonuses and increasing wages for employees, anti-capitalism individuals on the left unleashed an attack accusing them of having colluded with President Trump to make him look good.  Ridiculous.

THE CLOWN OF THE MINORITY, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), says Republicans will “rue the day” they passed the tax reform/cut bill. Wrong, “Chuckles.” If they had failed to pass the bill they would rue that day when the 2018 mid-terms roll around.

When the 2018 mid-terms roll around, it’s the Democrat senators up for re-election, who will rue the day they succumbed to Schumer’s threats not to vote with the GOP.

REP ELIJAH COMMINGS (D-MD) accused President Trump of destroying the pillars of democracy. No, Mr. Cummings, he is in the process of restoring the democracy we knew before Barack Obama took office.

(Courtesy sharkspage.com)

I’M SURE YOU’VE NOTICED those magazine sales displays in your corner drug store or supermarket, but I wonder if you know how anti-Trump statements are appearing in some unusual magazines. John Daniel Davidson surfaces the story in “What’s With Lifestyle Magazines Randomly Bashing Trump?,” in The Federalist.

Teen Vogue has somewhat implausibly transformed over the past year into a hyper-politicized left-wing blog for the anti-Trump ‘resistance’,” he writes.

 Men’s Health published “Here Are Donald Trump’s Favorite Foods, Ranked from Unhealthy to Coronary-Inducing;” Golf Digest carried the story, “Why President Trump’s Immigration Policy Could Affect Golf’s Workforce More Than You Think;’ and “How Trump’s Tax Plan Could Hurt Historic Architecture,” was featured in Architectural Digest.

His piece told of how Outside magazine, which is ostensibly dedicated to the outdoors – sports and adventure, hunting and fishing, health and fitness, gear and apparel – slipped anti-Trump statements in a 4,700-word article about – wait for it – ice fishing in Minnesota.

IVANKA SPURNED – Sporadic examples of hatred for President Trump shamelessly continue to extend to members of his family. Parents of students at a Connecticut high school were upset when the president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump made an unannounced visit. They wanted the opportunity to pull their sons and daughters from school that day. She accompanied IBM CEO Ginni Rometty to review an IBM-developed program that allows students to simultaneously earn a high school diploma and associate degree, while gaining technical skills.

(Courtesy Petty Officer Justin Wolpert)

I’M A SOFTY when I see members of our armed services return home from lengthy deployments to surprise their spouses or children at events, school programs and ball games. I couldn’t resist sharing the accompanying photo of a sailor, returning to homeport, and seeing his child for the first time.

U.S HOME SALES hit an 11-year high, increasing more than expected in November. Reuters reports that the numbers are an indication “that housing was regaining momentum after almost stalling this year.”

UNEMPLOYMENT IMPROVEMENTS – While the unemployment rate hit a 47-year low at 4.1 percent, Latino and Black unemployment also hit record lows. The manufacturing unemployment rate is just 2.6 percent as 171,000 jobs were added in this sector in 2017.

 POLITICAL WONK Karl Rove, writing “Keep Trump off the Trail in 2018,” in The Wall Street Journal, would prefer that President Trump not go into rally mode in 2018, claiming his unpopularity will rub off on Republican candidates. It appears that Rove, too, is being bamboozled by the importance of the president’s low approval rating.

As I have written on previous occasions in my posts to this blog, negative low approval ratings are the result of the media’s unrelenting negative coverage of the president.

In the much-publicized Quinnipiac Poll, individuals are asked – Do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as President? Unless they are working in the White House or in Congress, how is the respondent supposed to have the facts to respond?

Whether the president goes on the road or stays in Washington, the media will find a way to criticize him.

OPPOSITION TO THE TAX BILL also turned up in various polls. It isn’t that most people are opposed to tax reform and tax cuts, it’s the demagoguery by Democrats and, again, the negative media coverage spouting “tax cuts for the wealthy” that sways their opinion. By gosh, if The New York Times or MSNBC tells me that the bill doesn’t help the middle-class, it must be true, many believe.

“We’d dislike the bill too if all we knew was what the media reported,” The Wall Street Journal editorial board stated on December 20,2017.