SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:07 P.M. ET: 

PROTECTION – FROM BRITAIN'S EXPRESS:  MASSIVE lorries weighing 35 tonnes will surround Manhattan’s Times Square on New Year’s Eve in security measures designed to prevent a deadly Berlin-style truck attack.   New York Police Department will station 65 of the hulking vehicles – weighing 20 tonnes on their own and loaded with an extra 15 tonnes of sand – at intersections surrounding the iconic celebration in New York due to take place on Saturday evening.  The celebration is already a heavily policed event, with 7,000 officers deployed every year, including armed anti-terror units and bomb-sniffing dogs.  At least the NYPD takes these things seriously.  New York is still considered a major terrorist target.

CHARITY...OR SOME GIMMICK? – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:   The Clintons are redoubling their commitment to their family foundation — pledging to donate $200,000 to their family charity after Donald Trump pulled off a stunning victory over Hillary Clinton in the November presidential election.  Clinton Foundation chairman Bruce Lindsey, a longtime Clinton crony, announced the family’s latest move in an email Wednesday to supporters.  “As we prepare for a new year, President Clinton and Chelsea remain dedicated to our work providing everyone a chance to succeed,” Lindsey wrote.  The email message asked for donations, claiming Bill Clinton would personally triple “every gift” up to $200,000.  Look, if they do some good, I'm all for it.  But why do I suspect there's some political motive here?  We'll find out.  Remember, 2020 is only four years away.

CHANGING TIMES – FROM MARKETWATCH:  In recent years, somewhere between endless Tinder swipes and countless OkCupid matches, the dinner date has fallen by the wayside.  As online dating surges in popularity, few millennials have the time, money, or desire to sit with a stranger over a long meal. Only 7 in 10,000 messages in a recent OkCupid IAC survey suggested “grabbing some dinner” and a somewhat less scientific survey this reporter conducted of several dozen actively dating 20-somethings found that dinner has become a highly taboo first date. Last month, Moody’s Investors Service slashed its operating-profit growth forecast for the restaurant sector. (This appears to complement another trend noted by market researcher NPD Group that suggests 57% of meals In the U.S. are eaten alone.)  There’s good reason why people don’t want to sit through a meal with a stranger for an hour or, often times, longer. One singleton this reporter spoke to called it her “worst nightmare” and another said the idea of sitting through an unspecified number of hours of food, drinks or dessert makes her anxious. A recent article in Cosmopolitan detailed, “Why First-Date Dinners Suck,” listing similar reasons: the date category is antiquated, the time frame of the event is too long if there is no chemistry, and eating is too “intimate.”   Okay, okay I get it.  There may be good reasons.  But I sense the influence of anti-romantic left-wing intellectuals.  Resist!  Resist!

December 29, 2016