Immediate Analysis After Speaker Paul Ryan Revealed No Re-Election Plans

Donald Trump on Attorney Client Privilege

On Illegal Immigration and the Schumer Shutdown

Newt Gingrich on Main Justice

Hitting Home on Net Neutrality?

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced last week that the Commission was rolling back Obama era regulations on Net Neutrality, which sought to expand the reach of the 1934 Federal Communications Act to the Internet towards an end of making the it a regulated media.  Net Neutrality critics, like Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), liken it as Obamacare for the Internet which promise to lower price and improve delivery but do the opposite and make Uncle Sam the undisputed middle man.

Proponents of Net Neutrality, which were protesting a repeal in May at FCC Headquarters moved their protests to Chairman Pai's suburban Virginia home and used signs which proclaimed "Dad murdered democracy in cold blood."

Such an in-your-face political protest calls to mind the 2012 stunt in which the SEIU used 14 buses to move 500 protesters on a bank executive's front lawn in suburban Maryland to denounce bank foreclosures.  This tactic seems straight out of Saul Alinky's Rules for Radicals (1971) playbook.

The Net Neutrality home invasion comes at the same time that Keith Olbermann is stepping down from giving the GQ daily podcasts for "The Resistance".

It is worth contemplating if this mark a divergence in tactics amongst Leftists, or if more entrenched progressives are getting out of activism while the getting is good.

Nonetheless, it is reprehensible to harass public officials living in private residences about policy disputes. Mob mentality following people home discourages civic minded civilians from serving a stint in office and needlessly involves innocent family members.

Net Neutrality may have legitimate public policy merits, but the fascistic manner which these progressive activists pursued their policy wins neither hearts nor minds. 

The GOP's Milo test

Last week, CPAC seemed to have scored a coup in landing provocateur extraordinaire Milo Yiannopoulos as the "Conservative" Political Action Committee's keynote speaker. Yiannopoulos was slated to speak about free speech on campus, as he was at the center of the UC Berkeley riots at the start of February.   

However, less than three days later on Washington's Birthday Observed (a.k.a. Presidents' Day), this honor was unceremoniously yanked from Milo, after Yiannopoulos made some statements which seemed to condone pederasty.  Yiannapoulos' book deal also was cancelled.

Many new to the political scene in support of President Donald Trump seemed ideologically enamored to Milo's in-your-face publicity stunts and alt-right rhetoric.  Whether this episode establishes the high mark for Alt-Right infiltration of Republicans or it underlines the tension between the establishment GOP and the so-called "basket of deplorables" nationalist populist wing remains to be seen. 

Explaining Away the Trump Intervention

With the dramatic drop of Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump (R-NY) in the post convention polls, there has been murmuring in establishment GOP circles that there ought to be an "intervention" to prevent an election day disaster.  There have even been reports that the RNC has been studying Rule 9, which establishes the procedure of replacing a national Republican candidate.

While the drop in the polls may fuel such speculation, it is typical talk during an election cycles "Silly Season" when the electorate is not focused on the campaign (with vacations, the Olympics) nor are there big events (such as the conventions or debates) looming.

A strong Trump surrogate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, fanned the flames of this Trump intervention talk with his honest analysis of how Trump 2.0 (if it ever comes to fruition) must evolve for the general election. To do damage control, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R-NYC) tried to explain away the characterization of a Trump "intervention".

Newt Gingrich on Donald Trump and Election 2016

Ralph Peters Unafraid to Opinion About Obama's Oval Office Address

Fox Business host Stuart Varney asked Lt. Col. (ret.) Ralph Peters what he thought after hearing President Obama take the specially installed podium in the Oval Office to address the aftermath of the San Bernadino terrorist atrocity.  Peters did not disappoint in offering an unvarnished opinion.

Peters was certainly more blunt than Mika Brzezinski's daughter, but it again demonstrates that the speech was poorly received and this reaction was widespread.

Update: 12/08/2015: Fox Business Network and Fox News Channel placed military analyst Ralph Peters on a two week suspension for his salty language regarding President Obama.  Fox programming executive Bill Shine stated: “FOX Business Network and FOX News Channel do not condone the use of such language, and have suspended both Peters and Dash for two weeks.”

Sean Penn Projects Climate Cult Shame

Sean Penn is a progressive activist actor who of late has been championing the cause of Climate Change.   Penn's pontifications about cult-like thinking that he associates with those who oppose the campaign to combat anthropogenic climate change calls for some consideration.

Firstly, Penn referred to Fox Network Thinking.  Oh, really? (Not O'Reilly).  This may be news to Sean but the sensibilities and dispositions vary between various channels, even those owned by News Corp.  The Fox broadcast network, which Penn cited, will be launching a series next year called "Lucifer".  That is not a show to which most viewers of the Fox News Channel (FNC) would cotton.   It would be fair to characterize the Fox Business Channel as being more libertarian leaning, whereas Fox News Channel has shifted from a right center news organization in 2012 to more of an establishment Republican (ala Karl Rove) oriented network with some patches of Populism (namely O'Reilly and to some extent Sean Hannity). Factor that (sic).

Penn seems to think that anyone who disputes Climate Change consensus does not care about quality of life in any sense.  Obviously, Penn is oblivious to the Skeptical Environmentalist, Bjorn Lomborg who buys into man-made climate change, but believes that it is more effective to solve other world health issues, like clean water and malaria.

It is hard to claim that the Société de Calcul Mathématique has been brainwashed by "Fox network thinking." But Penn seems to know better. 

So many Climate Change activists rely on the myth that man-made CO2 Driven Climate Change is settled science.  When they are challenged, such eco-activists flail and invoke 97% scientific consensus, as was infamously implied by Sierra Club President Aaron Mair's embarrassing episode before the Senate Environment Committee.  At the Paris Climate Change Summit, President Barack Obama claimed that consensus was 99.5% of scientists.  These figures seem as fungible as the East Anglia hockey stick model which drove Climate Change science in 2010. 

Considering the Alinsky-like tarnishing of targets by painting them as Fox network cultists, fascistically condemning anyone who does not tow the party line and zealously refusing to engage in scientific exchanges makes inquiring minds wonder if Penn is projecting his cult charges. Wonder what really is in Penn's cocktail cup.  Hey Kool-Aid!

Perhaps Penn should not have wasted time in Mr. Hands class during Fast Times at Ridgemont  High (1982).

[C] Sean Penn as Spicoli and [R] Ray Walston as Mr. Hand in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)