SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET:

MAJOR POLITICAL ENDORSEMENT – From Showbiz411:  Dick van Dyke Endorses Bernie Sanders: “He may be the last voice we ever hear”  So, the waiting is over.  Now we know who won the coveted Dick Van Dyke endorsement.  I don't know why anyone else but Bernie should even campaign right now.  It's reported that Hillary made a direct appeal to Van Dyke by getting on the phone and singing the theme from the "Mary Tyler Moore Show." 

THE PRESIDENT'S HOME TOWN – From the Chicago Tribune:   Four homicides over the weekend and two more Monday morning pushed Chicago's homicide count so far this year to double the same period last year.  The city has recorded at least 95 homicides since the first of the year, compared to 47 last year, according to data kept by the Tribune. The city has also more than doubled the amount of people shot - about 420 this year compared to 193 last year.  Thirty-two people were shot in Chicago over the weekend, the youngest among them a 3-year-old boy shot in the leg in the Englewood neighborhood.  I wonder if the "black lives matter" movement has any interest in this, or do black lives matter only when they have political value?

SMARTPHONES NOT SMART? – From Financial Times:   In January, British actor Eddie Redmayne made headlines around the world as he became the latest in a growing band of smartphone refuseniks.
“It was a reaction against being glued permanently to my iPhone during waking hours,” he explained, turning instead to an old-fashioned “dumb phone” handset that could only make and take calls.  He is not alone. There is a small but busy market for phones that are simple and cheap at a time when smartphones are becoming ever more complex and expensive.  This was bound to happen.  There is a limit to the appeal of technology, especially to the young, who quickly go on to something new, or discover an older technology that appeals to them.  Also, common sense issues, like the smallness of the screen and the keyboard, start taking their toll.  I prefer tablets.  I don't make many calls, and I can actually do research on a tablet screen.

RUSSIA WANTS BETTER SPYING –  From AP:   WASHINGTON (AP) -- Russia will ask permission on Monday to start flying surveillance planes equipped with high-powered digital cameras amid warnings from U.S. intelligence and military officials that such overflights help Moscow collect intelligence on the United States.  Russia and the United States are signatories to the Open Skies Treaty, which allows unarmed observation flights over the entire territory of all 34 member nations to foster transparency about military activity and help monitor arms control and other agreements. Senior intelligence and military officials, however, worry that Russia is taking advantage of technological advances to violate the spirit of the treaty.  I'm shocked, shocked, that anyone would suggest that our Russian friends would violate the spirit of the treaty.   Why, they simply want clearer pictures because they're easier on the eyes.  Russian eyes matter.

February 22, 2016