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

NOT A HIT SHOW – FROM COLLEGE FIX:   Some 42,000 students attend UCLA, and whether many of them think “toxic masculinity” is a pressing concern is unclear, if the attendance at a recent campus forum on the subject is any indication.  When the UCLA Intergroup Relations Program recently hosted an event to allow the campus community to discuss “toxic masculinity,” 10 students showed up.  The discussion, held Tuesday, was billed as a way to allow students a chance to discuss “the silence surrounding toxic masculinity, emotional repression, locker room talk, and broader social norms,” according to organizers.  I guess most students don't think masculinity is toxic.  The tiny attendance is indicative of subtle changes we're starting to see on college campuses – mature, sane students fighting back against, or ignoring, the flip-out radical left.

MORE FIGHTING BACK – FROM DEADLINE.COM:  Hours after being pink-slipped from Amazon’s "Transparent," Jeffrey Tambor today took aim at series creator Jill Soloway and the Jeff Bezos-run streaming service for its handling of investigating sexual harassment claims against him last last year.  “I am profoundly disappointed in Amazon’s handling of these false accusations against me,” the Emmy-winning actor said Thursday. “I am even more disappointed in Jill Soloway’s unfair characterization of me as someone who would ever cause harm to any of my fellow cast mates.”  He added: “In our four-year history of working together on this incredible show, these accusations have NEVER been revealed or discussed directly with me or anyone at Amazon."  He may well be guilty and deserving of punishment, but, like any American, he is entitled to defend himself, face his accuser, and have his day in court.  He got none of these things, and it is appropriate that he fight back.  What we're seeing today is a left-wing version of McCarthyism.

PRESSING THE "POWER OFF" BUTTON – FROM DEADLINE.COM:  Team USA has a total of eight medals so far at the XXIII Winter Games but another gold in slalom for Mikaela Shiffrin was not destined to be one of them last night in NBC’s primetime coverage as the network hit a new 2018 low in the ratings.  Like Sochi 2014 winner Shiffrin and to some extent snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis’s efforts, Day 6 of official competition at the PyeongChang games had all the elements of victory but not the execution, despite the marquee names.  With a 13.0/22 in metered markets on combined coverage on NBC and NBC Sports Network, the Comcast-owned outlet was far off the podium on the first Thursday of the 2018 Winter Olympics. Not only is this a low for these games, which have slipped and slid repeatedly, but last night’s numbers took a face plant from both Sochi 2014 and Vancouver 2010.  If you take the NBC/NBCSN not-so-happy meal of last night and compare it to the comparable, the 2018 Olympics are down 10% in the early ratings.  I think there's a general revulsion toward the way sports have been covered recently, with political remarks by commentators and all-around indifference to the audience.  I see very little excitement about the Olympics.  No one seems to care.

February 16, 2018