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

BOOKER ROASTED – FROM TOWNHALL:  Sen. Cory Booker’s (D-NJ) temper tantrum during last week’s Judiciary Committee hearing, in which he tore into Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen over President Trump’s “sh*thole countries” comment, was nothing more than an “unfortunate waste” of time, she said.  Nielsen told Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria” that his outburst was a “distraction” from a hearing that should’ve been focused on “real threats” facing the nation and what DHS is doing to fight them.  "It became 11 minutes of a lecture about a meeting he was not in, about one word, and about whether or not I heard it," Nielsen said. "I said under testimony, was it possible? Sure. I just didn’t hear the word. That was it."  "He has no interest in what the secretary of Homeland Security thinks," she continued. "He just wanted to lecture me for 11 minutes and it was an unfortunate waste of all of our time when we could have been focused on the needs and threats we have."  I don't think Booker has ever taken the same position twice.  He'd like to be president, but his opportunism is just too overwhelming.  He was once a rising rocket, now he's stuck on the launching pad.

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE GLOBAL WARMING FESTIVAL – FROM THE L.A. TIMES:   New data from California state geologists show that an earthquake fault runs below Rodeo Drive and Beverly Hills’ shopping district, heightening the known seismic risk in an area famous for Cartier, Gucci, Prada and other luxury brands.  The California Geological Survey’s final map has the Santa Monica fault zone cutting through the so-called Golden Triangle, running between Santa Monica and Wilshire boulevards.  The new map is a change from a draft version released last year that showed the fault zone ending on the western edge of Beverly Hills, near the corner of Wilshire and Santa Monica boulevards. Based on more information, the state now says the fault zone extends a mile farther northeast, through Beverly Hills’ central district and into the city’s civic center area.  Terrible, terrible.  An earthquake there would tear the "Love the Earth" stickers off all those BMW's.

THE END OF MEN? – FROM THE DAILY MAIL:   Since the dawn of humanity, men have played a vital role in determining the sex of their offspring.  The Y chromosome, carried by roughly half of a man's sperm, dictates whether a child will be male or female.  If the Y chromosome is present, a child will develop into a boy, whereas a lack of this strand of DNA will result in a girl.  Now scientists think the Y chromosome may disappear in less that five million years, leaving the future of men on planet Earth uncertain.  In an article for The Conversation, Dr Peter Ellis and professor Darren Griffin from the University of Kent discuss the implications of this genetic shift.   So we've only got five million years of sexual harassment suits.  What will lawyers do?

January 24, 2018