SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

ALWAYS A SIGN OF DANGER – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:   Authorities are investigating after 10 pounds of high-powered explosives disappeared from a Marine Corps training installation in California.  The composition C-4 plastic explosives — powerful enough to blow up 10 vehicles –vanished from Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms during an exercise last month, according to San Diego’s ABC10 News.  The manufactured plastic explosives are believed to be stolen and a reward is now being offered for their discovery, according to the report.  The unit’s commanding officer is reportedly considering extending training exercises until the missing haul is recovered.  “The ongoing investigation into this incident is being handled by NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) and the affected units,” said Capt. Zachary Colvin, with the Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Command, according to the ABC affiliate.  I hope this doesn't show up on the streets of an American city.  But it can.

THIS IS DISTASTEFUL – FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER:  A tearful Rep. Rashida Tlaib could not hold back her emotions during a speech on the House floor on Thursday night during a Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez-organized session of lawmakers sharing their thoughts about the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, some of whom told of their own experiences of that day.  "I asked to go last," Tlaib said, already choking up and unsuccessfully attempting to hold back tears, "because this is so personal."  The Michigan Democratic congresswoman said that she is the frequent subject of death threats. Tlaib said she was notified of a death threat on her first day in Congress, in January 2019, before she had even been sworn in.  "More came later, uglier, more violent. One celebrating in writing the New Zealand massacre and hoping that more would come. Another mentioning my dear son Adam," she paused, tears coming through, "mentioning him by name. Each one paralyzed me each time."  Ocasio-Cortez went up to comfort and support Tlaib and placed her hand on Tlaib's back as she continued her speech.  The firebrand New York congresswoman organized time on the House floor for members to share their thoughts and experiences about the Jan. 6 attack following her own long recollection of her experience in an Instagram livestream earlier this week. In that social media session, Ocasio-Cortez said that she thought she was going to die and revealed that she is a "survivor of sexual assault." Ocasio-Cortez later got heavy criticism and accusations that she exaggerated her experience.
Tlaib said that she was not in the Capitol on Jan 6. during the breach. "All I could do is thank Allah that I wasn't here."  Look, no decent person favors death threats against members of Congress.  But a group therapy session like this reeks of staged agitprop.  Members of Congress should show strength, not go out weepin' and 'wailin.  This isn't high school.

February 6,  2020