More late comments on the NFL

Thomas Lifson: NFL Anthem protests: the market speaks "No NFL teams are corporations with stocks traded on an exchange, so those of us convinced that the pusillanimity of the owners has damaged the value of their businesses have no market gauge to rely on. Except for one price signal on a publicly traded market: the value of aftermarket tickets to NFL games resold on sites like StubHub. Emily Zanotti writes on the Daily Wire:

It turns out, if you can still stomach a professional football game, you can now get tickets for about the same price as a couple of Starbucks lattes.

Check out the admission ticket prices at Chicago's Soldier Field.

. . . "Season tickets obviously are sold before the season begins, which means that next year’s season tickets should experience serous downward price pressure, unless the League takes action to change the blowback. But I expect that the most noticeable effect the owners will encounter will be reduced demand for luxury boxes. Companies pend vast sums on them because they create a pleasant, exciting atmosphere for their clients or associates. Inject political controversy into that experience and the advantages of the skybox evaporate."


NFL HELL: Ticket Prices Fall To $10 As Teams Struggle To Fill Stadiums

"Obviously, seats for the Bills (who are 6-6) and the Colts (who are even worse), aren't among the most in-demand tickets in the NFL. But even big-name teams aren't faring much better. Tickets to see the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field are going for around $20. Tickets to see the Green Bay Packers start at around $10.

"Not all teams are in the bargain basement, but tickets are available for nearly every NFL franchise at deeply discounted prices. The Pittsburgh Steelers have some of the nation's most rabid fans. But snagging a seat at Heinz field will run you only around $65. In previous seasons, Steelers tickets could cost as much as $250 per game — when you could get them.

"Things are getting so desperate, reportedly, that some NFL broadcasts are hiring extras to pose as fans. The listing is unconfirmed, but one Philadelphia newspaper claims that FOX advertised for "actors, models, and talent" to work Sunday's game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Los Angeles Chargers."

FOX seeks actors to be Los Angeles Rams fans for Eagles game

. . . "So, what does Los Angeles produce better than sports fans? Aspiring actors! And FOX is seeking them to be Rams fans for Sunday's pregame festivities, according to a casting call online: "Casting directors are now casting actors, models, and talent to work on Sunday, December 10th in Los Angeles, California.Producers are seeking the following types:We’re looking for LA’s biggest NFL fans to be a part of #NFLSunday’s Los Angeles Rams vs. Philadelphia Eagles Pre Game Show!Calling all LA Rams fans!To audition for a role in the upcoming NFL Sunday pre-game show, check out the casting call breakdown below." . . ,

But even at these near give-away prices, photos of empty stadiums are still chocking social media as the league’s Week 14 begins.

Meet the MQ-25A Stingray — the US's response to threats like China's 'carrier killers'

Business Insider  "The US Navy's aircraft carriers have long given tactical advantage for the US military with its ability to deploy and project power on any shore around the globe. But recently, several of US adversaries have built long-range ballistic missiles known as "carrier killers". The MQ-25A Stingray is the Navy's response to threats like China's "carrier killer".

"EDITOR'S NOTE: This is footage of a prototype, the actual MQ-25A could look different."

Video at the link.

Remember when Democrats re-elected and celebrated a member of Congress who sexually preyed on teens? Then there's Big Bill...

Thomas Lifson  "Valerie Richardson of the Washington Times takes us down memory lane to an incident that Alabama voters need to seriously consider. You see, Democrats had no problem at all with one of their own Congressmen who solicited sex from teenagers who worked as congressional pages. Homosexual sex, in point of fact, and if anything, it seems to have shielded him. 

Massachusetts voters stood by Democratic Rep. Gerry Studds even after he was censured by the House in 1983 for his sexual relationship at age 36 with a 17-year-old male congressional page, as well as making sexual advances toward two other teenage pages.Far from dooming the Democratic Party, the episode barely registered at the ballot box. Democrats kept their House majority and gained Senate seats in 1984, while Studds was re-elected in his liberal Cape Cod district with 56 percent of the vote.He won re-election five more times and . . . . . . 

. . . "Spare me your self-righteousness, Dems. You honored a murderous predator as the “Lion of the Senate” (Don’t miss Jack Cashill’s searing account today on these pages)." . . .

Where in the World Is the 'Big He'[?]

Big Media have kept the former president from being a bigger part of the national conversation about powerful men using women, even though his actions make Franken and Conyers look like kids pulling girls' pigtails at recess.  Why?
Because he's still viewed as an icon, beloved by most Democrats and their media familiars; if he publicly acknowledges his sins, he stigmatizes the party and the press organs that covered for him for decades.
Hillary wouldn’t allow him to express remorse in any case, as her actions as "Bimbo enforcer," the enabler-wife of a sexual predator, would come under renewed scrutiny.  She has her pride, and she hasn’t given up on another run at the presidency.

 Steve Grammatico is the author of You Hear Me, Barack?  PC-Free Conservative Satire.
He blogs at youhearmebarack.blogspot.com.

Dave Barry’s 2017 Holiday Gift Guide

Miami Herald  "The holiday season is all about traditions, but these traditions differ from country to country around the world. For example:

▪ In Denmark, it’s traditional, on Christmas Eve, to fill a bathtub with oatmeal.

▪ In Russia, rural families observe the holidays by dressing a live sturgeon as a dental hygienist.

▪ In Bolivia, children place their shoes next to the fireplace at bedtime; when they fall asleep, the parents sneak out of the house and check into a resort hotel for several weeks.

These are just a few of the colorful international traditions that serve to remind us, as Americans, how weird foreign people are. Of course we have holiday traditions, too, but ours are normal:

▪ Our retail stores let us know that the holidays are here by putting up festive holiday decorations shortly after Labor Day.

▪ Our radio stations remind us of the true meaning of the season by playing sacred holiday songs, such as “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.”

▪ Starbucks gets us into the holiday spirit by introducing a specialty seasonal coffee beverage containing a mutant holiday ingredient, such as giblets (the “Turkey-spresso”).

▪ And in an endless parade of TV commercials, sellers of automobiles, jewelry, liquor, power tools, etc., urge us, in the true spirit of the season, to give money to the poor.

"Ha ha! That last one was of course a joke. In fact these companies urge us to purchase their products. Because in the end, the most important holiday tradition of all is the tradition of buying things whether anybody needs them or not." . . .

Terror attack in New York:

. . . "Footage shows the moment pipe bomb malfunctions and explodes prematurely, injuring ISIS-inspired Bangladeshi, 27, wearing a suicide vest"

UK Daily Mail  

 "A Bangladeshi national in his 20s has been taken into custody with serious injuries after a suspected pipe bomb he was carrying malfunctioned and exploded prematurely inside a Midtown Manhattan subway station Monday morning.  

"The explosion happened around 7:20am, in an underground tunnel linking the Port Authority Bus Terminal to Times Square. The underground tunnel is a major thoroughfare for workers during the morning rush hour.

"The suspect, identified as 27-year-old Akayed Ullah, was found injured at the scene and rushed to Bellevue Hospital. He was wearing what appears to be a homemade pipe bomb attacked to his body with velcro and zip ties.  Authorities say Ullah is talking to investigators at the hospital. 

"Three other people also reported to local hospitals for minor injuries like ringing in the ears and headaches.  

"There have been reports that Ullah was inspired by ISIS. " . . .  

Video at the link.

Major Feminist Group Elects Trans Man As Leader

File this under "General Silliness"

Gabby Unicorn via Weasel Zippers

Daily Wire "Trans men are not only stripping women of awards and sports championships, they are now also leading feminist organizations, which completely smacks in the face their idea of "patriarchy."

"According to LifeSiteNews, the largest feminist organization in Quebec elected a transgender man, Gabrielle Bouchard, as their new president. The 49-year-old Bouchard hails from Concordia University’s Center for Gender Advocacy. His Twitter handle is “Gabbi_unicorn.”

"The Federation des Femmes du Quebec is basically the Canadian version of America's NOW, and "represents some 300 feminist groups and about 700 individual members."

"Bouchard's appointment has not gone over well in some of Quebec's media circles, saying that placing a man ahead of a feminist organization only serves to reinforce the patriarchy. Bouchard rejects such claims.

“ 'They are saying we'll tolerate trans women as long as they are not in a position of power,” Bouchard told Canadian Press. “We’ll tolerate lesbians in the movement as long as they stand 10 feet away.”

"He accuses the critics of falling into a patriarchal construct that “presumes all women live the same experience — which is not true." . . .

Jerry Brown blames everyone but himself for California wildfires

Monica Showalter   "Jerry Brown is at it again." . . .

All cartoons added by TD

"Blaming Californians for the devastating series of California wildfires month, he went Full Moonbeam and declared the problem a function of global warming, calling it a new normal about which nothing is to be done.

"As if wildfires that sweep away homes in California's unique Mediteranean microclimates have never happened before this past week.

"Compare and contrast to President Trump's gracious tweet on the matter, which was the classy thing to say:

Donald J. Trump

✔@realDonaldTrump

Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone in the path of California’s wildfires. I encourage everyone to heed the advice and orders of local and state officials. THANK YOU to all First Responders for your incredible work! 

. . .

There's also Brown's failure to stockpile water after all the rains from last winter's huge storms, something that could have prevented the areas around population centers from becoming bone dry and easy to burn. Brown did nothing to retrieve that gift from nature, he just let the vegetation that came from it to dry up and catch fire in the low humidity and high winds.

 

There is also the state's failure to permit the building of new housing, driving housing settlements further and further into the wilderness where they are more vulnerable to fires and have fewer big-city resources to immediately fight them. Bonsall and Santa Clarita are perfect examples of this.

And finally there is Brown's tone-deaf arrogance in his appalling statements full of naysaying fatalism as first responders fight the hellfires with all they've got to save people's homes. Brown's idiotic statements would suggest there is no point in trying since the fires are some sort of new normal.'

https://

Navy insults 'communist cadet' at Army-Navy game (UPDATED)

He is part of what Obama would call "my military". Don't worry, cadet; if Bernie gets elected you may be commander of all those troops.

Meanwhile, Rapone is still on active duty, serving in the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division. 

Rick Moran

"The Army-Navy football game is one of the great spectacles in sport. The two sides met for the 118th time on Saturday, and the good natured ribbing between the two institutions took on a more serious note when the midshipmen displayed several signs reminding the cadets that one of their own was recently exposed as a self-described communist infiltrator.

"2nd Lt. Spenser Rapone bragged about being a communist on social media when he posted a picture from his graduation that displayed writing under his hat that said "Communism will win." On Saturday, the midshipmen had a response:" . . .

The Navy sends a brutal message to the Army Infantry Officer who advocated for communism in uniform #ArmyNavyGame

"Meanwhile, Rapone is still on active duty, serving in the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division."  

Commie West Point Grad’s Dad: This Is Bad

White House Christmas​

Penna Dexter at Point of View  "On the last day of November, the president and first lady switched on the 50-foot tall National Christmas tree to kick off another Christmas season in Washington D.C.

"The president took the opportunity to highlight a campaign promise — his promise that we'd be saying Merry Christmas again. And on that Thursday night, he said it. He told the crowd: "We're saying Merry Christmas again." He said, "Today is a day I've been looking very much forward to all year long. It's one that we have heard and we speak about and we dream about. And now, as the president of the United States, it's my tremendous honor to finally wish America and the world, a very Merry Christmas."

"It's not that the Obamas didn't do Christmas. I mean they had 54 Christmas trees around the White House and grounds one year. (The Trumps only have 53.) Plus, President Obama often said Merry Christmas in his seasonal address.

"But, early on, the previous administration, in order to make Christmas more inclusive, considered not displaying the traditional crèche in the East Room. The idea was shot down, but the point was made. The White House sent out official holiday cards each year with no mention of Christmas.

"As Family Research Council points out, "the Obamas famously wanted a 'non-religious Christmas.'"

"But President Trump says we're in "a holy season, the celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." He's still inclusive. "Whatever our beliefs," he told the crowd at the Ellipse, "we know that the birth of Jesus Christ changed the course of human history."

"The words Merry Christmas are fighting words because we're in a war. It's a war on the religious nature of America, prosecuted by the secular Left. Radio host Dennis Prager, who is a Jew, wrote a couple of years ago that the words “Merry Christmas bother the left because they are a reminder of just how religious America is."

"So let's keep saying it: Merry Christmas!"

Pictured at the President's right by the First Lady are Television personality Kathie Lee Gifford and actor Dean Cain.

Why Juanita Broaddrick Didn’t Make Time’s Silence Breakers Cover

Moonbattery  "Juanita Broaddrick — who started making her credible rape allegation against the King of Sexual Misconduct Bill Clinton years ago — offers a theory as to why she was nowhere to be seen on the cover of Time when it proclaimed the “Silence Breakers” to be the Person of the Year:

Juanita Broaddrick@atensnut

Time magazine asked to interview me re: #metoo movement. The comments I gave were deemed of no value. I'd like to know why. Could it be I didn't fit in their liberal victim mold. @TIME

9:46 PM - Dec 6, 2017 · Arkansas, USA

Twitter Ads info and privacy

"The liberal establishment long ignored Broaddrick, Kathleen Willey, Paula Jones, et al. No doubt it would prefer them to pipe down while it exploits the sexual misconduct allegation craze to pursue the political objectives to which the expendable John Conyers and Al Franken have been sacrificed."

Washington Times reports: Juanita Broaddrick rips Time’s ‘silence breakers’ snub: ‘I didn’t fit in their liberal victim mold’

 01/17/2013: Drudge says Newsweek sitting on Lewinsky story, Jan. 17, 1998

Liberals finally hold Bill Clinton accountable for sexual misconduct

. . . " 'It’s only taken 20 years, but the tide seems to finally be turning against Clinton,” the conservative news website Resurgent said Wednesday.

No sooner had the Moore scandal erupted last week than multiple liberal media figures declared it was time to hold Mr. Clinton accountable, a dramatic about-face that prompted kudos from the right as well as skepticism over the political calculus.

“ '[T]hat belatedness has become the subject of ridicule and scorn among some conservatives, who note that Bill Clinton was only finally sent under the bus after he became politically expendable,” said Townhall.com editor Guy Benson.". . . 

CNN Reporter: Before The Dam Broke On Franken, The Silence From Democrats Was 'Remarkable'  . . . "Yeah, what’s also remarkable is that the party of women took almost a month to decided what to do, only getting more aggressive as it looks apparent that Moore is going to win the Alabama special election on Tuesday. What better opportunity to turn the page and redirect the attacks against the GOP." . . .

Yet more ammo for the ‘fake news’ critics

NY Post

"Here they go again — the news media, that is, racing to run stories meant to discredit President Trump’s 2016 election victory, only to wind up with egg on their faces.

"Friday, it was CNN’s turn to be caught spreading a false yarn — this one trying to link Team Trump with WikiLeaks and its supposed efforts, along with the Russians, to throw last year’s election to Trump.

"On Sept. 4, 2016, CNN said, Donald Trump Jr. got an e-mail tipping him off to WikiLeaks material that wasn’t yet public. That sure sounds like an effort to collude.

"Trouble is, the e-mail was actually dated Sept. 14 — a full 10 days later and after WikiLeaks had made the documents public. So the message might have been harmlessly intended to flag already-public info for Team Trump. CNN was forced to post a correction.

"This wasn’t the first such mistake by a press obsessed with trying to prove Trump’s election was tainted. Just last week, ABC’s Brian Ross reported that former Trump National Security Adviser Michael Flynn revealed that he’d been ordered to contact Russian officials during the campaign." . . .

Let's celebrate!

Oops! Um, hold that thought.

Watch CNN Trot Out Reporter Who Published Fake News To Correct His Own Fake News

Ancient Jerusalem in the 21st Century

Al-Qaida declares holy war against the U.S. over Trump’s Jerusalem decision  "Street protests were expected Friday across the Arab world Hundreds of Muslims in Indonesia and Malaysia protested outside U.S. Embassies"

So what's different from before? When the World Trade Center was destroyed, Jerusalem was not officially called Israel's capital. 
Watch for an alliance between militant Islam and North Korea. TD

File this under "Don't speak too soon": Palestinian agitators embarrass selves with puny turnout for ‘day of rage’ over Jerusalem embassy move  
 . . . "President Trump knows hardball negotiations, and feels no guilt at all at pressing for the interests of the United States and its allies. Now that the world is seeing the brand-new American postyre, we can expect the behavior of our foes to change. I am not yet “tired of winning” and I expect more gains to be made in the Middle East over the next three years than have been made in the last three decades. No less than Osama bin Laden noted that when people see a “strong horse” they naturally are attracted."

America spent the past eight -plus years being the weak horse, enduring taunts and mockery from Russian planes and Iranian combat boats buzzing US warships in defiance of Obama and "his" military. But I digress...

'Jerusalem, Israel' has a nice embassy-sounding ring to it   "The recent announced decision by President Trump formally designating Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel has generated a storm of protest, mainly from left-leaning American groups and newspapers, as well as predominantly Muslim countries.  Setting aside for a moment whatever one might think of the president in general, his action in this particular case deserves some thoughtful consideration." . . .

"Israel has shown itself to be a positive contributor to world sustenance and health.  Jerusalem is the capital of the Jewish State, has been since 1948, and will remain so for the foreseeable future.  It deserves recognition as such by the world's community of nations."

Haley: Israel will never be bullied into an agreement . . . "Haley added the UN has done "much more to damage the prospects for Middle East peace than to advance them."
" 'We will not be a party to that. The United States no longer stands by when Israel is unfairly attacked in the United Nations. And the United States will not be lectured to by countries that lack any credibility when it comes to treating both Israelis and Palestinians fairly,” she stressed.

"Haley further noted that Trump and his administration remain committed to the two-state solution, as long as that’s what the sides agree on. The Jerusalem decision doesn't change this, she stressed." . . .