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

WOW – FROM DAILY STAR:   Just a day after claims Google Earth has snapped the USAF’s 4,600mph hypersonic warplane, NASA has gone one better.  The Parker Solar Probe’s extraordinary speed is almost too big to comprehend.  London to New York City in 28 seconds or London to Sydney in just one minute 18 seconds.  Looking further afield, it would take only 30 minutes to reach the moon (considerably quicker than the 61 hours and 56 minutes Neil Armstrong’s Apollo 11 took).  And it would get to the Sun – some 90million miles away – in a little over nine days.  That is the purpose of the remarkable machine.  Yeah, and two hours to get your luggage.

HOLLYWOOD HYPOCRISY – FROM FRONTPAGEMAG.COM:   The theme of this year's Golden Globes awards show was "Time's Up," the movement to salute the women who have come forward to tell their stories of sexual abuse, assault or harassment in the workplace.  Actress Reese Witherspoon said, "I want to thank everyone who broke their silence this year and spoke up about abuse and harassment. You are so brave. ... So people out there who are feeling silenced by harassment, discrimination, abuse: Time is up. We see you, we hear you, and we will tell your stories."  But for years women have publicly told their stories of sexual abuse and rape by Bill Clinton. One alleged rape survivor, Juanita Broaddrick, claims that Hillary Clinton attempted to verbally threaten her into silence about two weeks after Broaddrick's alleged rape by Bill Clinton. The Hollywood community raised millions of dollars for the Clintons, despite Broaddrick's accusation and the accusations of sexual harassment and battery by Paula Jones and Kathleen Willey. It's hard to get much more public than telling your story on "60 Minutes" and "Dateline NBC," as did Willey and Broaddrick, respectively.  Yet this did not disturb the Hollywood community.   Hollywood rides on money and hypocrisy.  If someone in Hollywood tells you, "I say this very sincerely..," run in the opposite direction.

NANCY MESSES IT UP – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:   House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi joked on Thursday that “five white guys” were leading talks on immigration reform – in a quip that went over like a lead balloon with her own top deputy.  “The five white guys I called them you know,” Pelosi (D-Calif.) said her in weekly press briefing, drawing uncomfortable, forced laughs from the gallery.  Pelosi then tried to tie the zing to popular East Coast burger chain Five Guys: “Are they going to open a hamburger stand next or what?”  One of those white guys in the immigration talks is Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), who didn’t find any humor in Pelosi’s cracks. Hoyer said he’s dedicated to protecting “Dreamers,” young people brought to America by their undocumented-immigrant parents.  “The comment is offensive. I am committed to ensuring DREAMers are protected and I will welcome anyone to the table who wants to get this done,” Hoyer said in a statement to Politico.   It may be too much to ask, but I'm hoping this is the first blow from a Democratic leader against political correctness and identity politics. 

January 11,  2018