News Burst: March 27, 2017 (Patreon)

Will Congressman Nunes Be Removed From Committee?: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/nunes-white-house-source-surveillance_us_58d92967e4b02a2eaab61087?

My Take: This is one of those stories where I’m not sure what’s political and what’s real… something that’s an increasing trend in contemporary Washington D.C. I feel like this story is still in flux, and I don’t want to make any calls or assertions quite yet, so let’s just revisit it when we have more to say. In the meantime, this is a good story to read up on and keep on your radar.

Democrats Delay Neil Gorsuch Vote: http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/democrats-delay-vote-supreme-court-nominee-neil-gorsuch-n738901

My Take: I said this last week, and I don’t mean to be redundant, but Neil Gorsuch is more-than-qualified to be a Supreme Court Justice. Highly educated, extremely fair, moderate in his politics, Gorsuch is a slam dunk, and if I were the Democrats, I’d choose a hill to die on far, far away from this man, because it’s going to blow up in their face.

I’m of the mind that what happened to Merrick Garland was profoundly unfair, even if the delay was a tactic originally devised by none other than Joe Biden. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander, in a way. But I wouldn’t have played it like that. Garland should be on the bench. I totally get it.

But Garland isn’t on the bench, and we continue to have a SCOTUS vacancy. Are we just never going to put someone in ever again? Say what you will about Trump -- there’s obviously a ton to say -- but picking Garland was incredibly shrewd. There’s simply no real reason to oppose him other than politics. Everyone knows that, which is why I think he gets through, ultimately.

Democrats More Burned by Polling Than Initially Thought: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/democrats-trump-polling-236560

My Take: This is an interesting story, because it basically suggests that Democrats didn’t only misuse polling, or get bad numbers, but that their numbers were catastrophically off because they missed the entire white rural vote. Like, the whole damn thing. How embarrassing.

The story brings up something I forgot happened: the Kentucky gubernatorial race between Jack Conway (D) and Matt Bevin (R). Final polling aggregation had Conway winning by 3; Bevin won by 9. A 12 point miss, three or four times the margin of error. I totally forgot that happened, because I was so focused on the 2015 British polls that were wrong, as well as the disastrously wrong Brexit polling. Many canaries in the coalmine, as it were.

Anyway, give this one a read. It’s interesting. I’ll leave you with this, on this story: I have a strange feeling we’re going to be having this conversation again with Marine Le Pen. The Shy Voter is as real as the day is long. The evidence is everywhere. The people are starting to speak very loudly, indeed.

Jared Kushner Gets a Tsar Job: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-taps-kushner-to-lead-a-swat-team-to-fix-government-with-business-ideas/2017/03/26/9714a8b6-1254-11e7-ada0-1489b735b3a3_story.html?utm_term=.18bada44f246

My Take: I don’t know much about Jared Kushner, and obviously, his cozy position in relation to the president stinks of nepotism. But the man was a successful executive and real estate mogul in his own right, and I actually like the idea he’s now heading, bringing innovative, non-political solutions to Washington, solutions that politicians are all too eager to ignore.

This is going to be a wait-and-see sort of thing, but what I like about Kushner in this role isn’t only that he’s experienced, but that he’s young. He seems like he’ll be able to seduce the requisite personnel necessary to jump on the challenges laid before him.

Either way, this is the kind of nimble, innovative government I like to see, run by establishment outsiders with no real notion of how things “were” done or “should be” done. People say government shouldn’t be run like a business. My continued response to that is, “why not?” Of course there’s not 100% crossover, but there’s more than 0%. Far more. A little business acumen will go a long way in our swampy capital city.

Justice Department Grants Withheld From Sanctuary Cities: http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/325943-sessions-says-grants-to-be-withheld-from-sanctuary-cities

My Take: It’s worth noting that on issues of illegal immigration, I’m very much a Republican. I think the very existence of Sanctuary Cities is an insult to the rule of law and to the ideals of justice, and I think the federal government should use every tool in its arsenal to twist the arms of these cities until they see the light of day.

I’m not the world’s biggest Jeff Sessions fan, but I like this initiative at first blush, and I think it should be ramped-up across the administration, and across government. How anyone can think that it’s okay for cities to shield those who don’t belong here (with a small fraction of those people committing felonies on American citizens and legal immigrants) is beyond me.

I’m moderate in many ways. I even think that granting legal status to many of the illegal immigrants currently here is probably the right way forward (with no guaranteed citizenship, no right to vote, and all the pressures of paying taxes and otherwise paying into the system). But when it comes to the rule of law, we must be united across the country. The idea of sanctuary cities reeks of nullification, and I don’t like it one bit.

Huma Abedin Going Back to Anthony Weiner?: http://nypost.com/2017/03/25/huma-abedin-is-giving-marriage-with-anthony-weiner-another-try/

My Take: Why, Huma, why?!

I’ve said this about her in the past, and I’ll say it again. Huma Abedin is a smart, educated, experienced, strikingly beautiful woman who has amazing connections, obvious work ethic, and a tendency towards finding success. She is arguably the closest confidant of arguably the most powerful woman in the world, a woman who has an outside chance of running for president again, and an inside chance of being the Mayor of New York City, a position some call the second most powerful elected post in America.

She was embarrassed, time and time and time again, by her piece of shit, selfish, scummy, disgusting husband. I know they have a child. I’m sure they look back fondly on their history. But the man is a disgrace, and she owes it to herself to get out. There are men that would fall all over themselves to treat her right. It’s just so sad to see, and it strikes me as so antithetical to the strong, intelligent, independent vibe she puts out.

I don’t know either of these people from a hole in the wall, but I do know this: I feel bad for Huma Abedin, and I loathe Anthony Weiner.

The New York Times’ New List of Offensive Terms: http://dailycaller.com/2017/03/26/nyt-reporters-create-a-list-of-racial-terms-they-find-offensive/

My Take: Read this at your own risk. I personally feel dumber after having consumed it.

Elon Musk and the AI Apocalypse: http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/03/elon-musk-billion-dollar-crusade-to-stop-ai-space-x

Fantastic (and fascinating) read.