Tuesday, January 02, 2018

Tuesday's show: Iran protests, Pakistan, the budget issues in January plus other stories...


We will look at the ongoing protests in Iran............we like President Trump's reaction but where are many of the feminists or European leaders?........Pakistan and President Trump.....there is a big budget debate coming up in the next few weeks........Georgia approved the US Constitution on this day in 1788................We remember Roger Miller (1934-92) and say happy # 54 to David Cone & Edgar Martinez..............and other stories.........
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Tuesday's video: Let’s support the marchers in Iran

As we can see on TV, there’s a huge rebellion going on in Iran....where are the international feminists and human rights groups? Where is former President Obama? Cheers for President Trump for supporting the people of Iran...

 Click to watch:



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Can the “Raulistas” afford to see Raul go?



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A day or so ago, I found this great memo written in Cuba about Raúl Castro’s decision to extend his term just a little bit longer.  It was originally written in Spanish, but my amigos in Babalu translated it for us.
The Cuban writer raises the idea that there is something going on in Cuba and that Raúl is under pressure to stay.  This is the translation:
On the morning of 21 December 2017, it became known in the international media that “the Cuban Parliament” – whose most outstanding feature is not having decided anything at all in its more than 40 years of existence – has “just decided” to extend the presidential mandate of General Raúl Castro until 19 April 2018.
The real reasons for making a decision that implies another unfulfilled promise on the part of the elderly [g]eneral – who had promised to leave the country’s [p]residency on 24 February 2018 – is a mystery, given that the supposed difficulties introduced in the electoral process [by] Hurricane Irma, which hit the island in early September, [are] too precarious a pretext to be taken seriously[.] …
Perhaps the Raulistas are waging a strategic battle in order to guarantee their own continuity at the head of the country, and especially the safeguarding of their economic interests, so everything must be tied and re-tied before the presidency’s transfer to the hands of a loyalist who does not belong to the Historical Generation, avoiding unforeseen and unwanted events. 
The truly surprising thing is the impression of urgency and instability that is being transmitted, trying to consolidate, in a matter of three months, something that should have been achieved in a decade[.] …
But the current constraints of Raulism, in a December that has had more haste than pauses, are not confined to the political plane, but began instead to affect the economic plane.  Just a few days ago, on 13 December, untimely “new legal norms” appeared and went into effect over the Cuban business system[.
But beyond all speculation we must recognize that the Cuban political landscape is at least confusing.  In any other country where the predominant characteristics of the government are hesitation[;] setbacks[;] failure to comply with all its promises[;] and, finally, the postponement of the presidential elections, the situation would be described as a “political crisis.”  Not so in Cuba.  At least not explicitly.  Four generations of Cubans on the island have survived for six decades under conditions of dictatorship, suffering crises of all kinds without even internalizing them as such.  How would they perceive the crises that are resolved within the bosom of the olive-green Olympus?
Time will tell, but this writer is correct, in my opinion.
Fidel and Raúl Castro built a dictatorship based on eliminating threats to their power and giving military leaders huge homes and lavish lifestyles.  They also built a huge enterprise, known as Castro Inc., where they had their hands on any foreign exchange that comes into the island.
Raúl’s son, Alejandro, is now running that family business, and he must be wondering how long he can hold on if real reforms follow.  Castro Inc. works because it is your only option if you want to build a hotel in Cuba!
What happens to all of this preferential treatment the day Raúl Castro fades away?  Or dies, because he is not a young man?
I think that the Raulistas are worried that their benefits and lifestyle will fade, too.
Who would have believed this?  Fidel is dead, and Raúl is left to watch and preserve the imploding structure.
PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.
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Venezuela salaries up but also inflation........




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Senator Hatch will retire in 2018



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Raul Castro’s “se te cayo el tabaco” moment

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A day or so ago, I found this great post on Babalu  about Raúl Castro’s decision to extend his term just a little bit longer.  It was originally written in Spanish, but my “amigos” in Babalu translated it for us.
Read the whole post and this is a bit of the translation:
On the morning of 21 December 2017, it became known in the international media that “the Cuban Parliament” – whose most outstanding feature is not having decided anything at all in its more than 40 years of existence – has “just decided” to extend the presidential mandate of General Raúl Castro until 19 April 2018………….
Time will tell, but this writer is correct, in my opinion.
Fidel and Raúl Castro built a dictatorship based on eliminating threats to their power and giving military leaders huge homes and lavish lifestyles.  They also built a huge enterprise, known as Castro Inc., where they had their hands on any foreign exchange that comes into the island.
Raúl’s son, Alejandro, is now running that family business, and he must be wondering how long he can hold on if real reforms follow.  Castro Inc. works because it is your only option if you want to build a hotel in Cuba!
What happens to all of this preferential treatment the day Raúl Castro fades away?  Or dies, because he is not a young man?
I think that the Raulistas are worried that their benefits and lifestyle will fade, too.
Who would have believed this?  Fidel is dead, and Raúl is left to watch and preserve the imploding structure.
As Beny More would say:   “Se te cayo el tabaco mi hermano se te cayo………….”
PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.


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Guess what The NY Times just wrote about Trump and the US economy?

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 This is a remarkable assessment of the US economy.    And it came from The New York Times via Hot Air:    
A wave of optimism has swept over American business leaders, and it is beginning to translate into the sort of investment in new plants, equipment and factory upgrades that bolsters economic growth, spurs job creation — and may finally raise wages significantly.
While business leaders are eager for the tax cuts that take effect this year, the newfound confidence was initially inspired by the Trump administration’s regulatory pullback, not so much because deregulation is saving companies money but because the administration has instilled a faith in business executives that new regulations are not coming.
“It’s an overall sense that you’re not going to face any new regulatory fights,” said Granger MacDonald, a home builder in Kerrville, Tex. “We’re not spending more, which is the main thing. We’re not seeing any savings, but we’re not seeing any increases.”
I agree with this.

 The Trump impact is not so much about tax cuts or new policies.   It is more and more a sense of having confidence in President Trump's economic direction.

 Well, that's a good to start the new year with!


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DACA should be on the front pages very soon.........



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Taking down the Merry Christmas signs

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We will soon start taking down the Christmas tree and lights.  

For me, and the overwhelming majority, it is and will always be Merry Christmas.

We are a Christian society. In the latest poll, most of us are “Christian”. They didn't have to answer that way but they did.

We have a Judeo-Christian heritage in our society. We see its influence on our laws.

Most of us celebrate Christmas and Easter, the two key Christian festivals.

Take Christ out of Christmas is silly.  It is like pretending that you can celebrate Christmas without any acknowledgment of the profound religious origin and power of the festival.

So Merry Christmas.

What we celebrate is the birth of Christ not some winter holiday.
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Democrats will not win majorities in the House or Senate in 2018

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 It's very early but I don't think that the Democrats will "wave" to majorities in the House or Senate.

 I have two reasons for feeling this way:

 1) The Democrats can not pick up 25 seats unless they win in rural or suburban districts.   I don't see that; and,

 2) The Democrats have a bad Senate map in 2018.   They will be defending seats in West Virginia, Missouri, Indiana, North Dakota and Montana.

 Can they do it?   Everything is possible but my money is not on a "blue wave" at this moment.
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How bad was 2017 for Pres. Trump?

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How did President Trump do in 2017?   It depends on who you ask.    My sense is that he accomplished 3 major things:    

 1) New Supreme Court Justice Gorsuch, an excellent choice;

 2) Appoint lots of conservative judges to appellate courts; and,

 3) Passed the biggest tax reform act since 1986.

 It sounds like a good year to me.    Don't listen to the noise.   Look at the accomplishments!
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Why not? They were all invested in the fantasy that Clinton would win....



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RIP Ramon Regalado.



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Women marching in Iran.



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Prediction: Senator Franken will resign and go home......and former Governor Pawlenty will win this seat for GOP in November..



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