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

AN UNAPPROVED PROCEDURE – FROM SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST:   China Southern Airlines Flight 380 was held up at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport after an elderly woman passenger caused a disruption, according to the airlines official WeChat account. An investigation into the incident is under way.  Passengers boarding the flight reportedly saw an elderly woman throwing coins at the engine for “blessings” from the middle of the boarding staircase and alerted the crew.  Coins in engines are frowned upon by engine manufacturers, unless of course they represent a cultural tradition that trendies are required to respect.

GO SARAH – FROM FOX:   Former Alaska Governor and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin filed a lawsuit against the New York Times Tuesday over an editorial that tied her to the January 2011 shooting of an Arizona congresswoman.  Palin's attorneys claim that the paper defamed her in the June 14 editorial, published hours after House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., was shot and wounded while practicing with the GOP's baseball team in Alexandria, Va.  The editorial, attributed to the Times's editorial board and titled "America's Lethal Politics," initially linked Palin's rhetoric to the shooting that killed six people and wounded 13 others, including then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.  The paper posted a correction the next day admitting that "no such link was established."  It will be a tough case for Sarah to win, as the law tilts against public figures who sue newspapers.  But I'm glad she's trying.  One benefit of the suit might be to expose the poor quality and reliability of leftist journalism.

GLAD SOMEONE NOTICED – FROM FOX:   The Democratic base is growing increasingly frustrated with former President Barack Obama’s actions after leaving office, including a seemingly endless tour of millionaire and billionaire luxury retreats, according to Democrats and activists contacted by Fox News.  Ex-presidents, understandably and un-controversially, go on vacations immediately after leaving office. But the level of luxury the Obamas enjoy on their vacations is unprecedented for a modern-day president, say travel experts.  Since leaving office in late January, Obama has visited late actor Marlon Brando’s private island; the Four Seasons in Bali -- where rooms cost upward of $2,000 per night; a Palm Springs estate; Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island; the exclusive Mid Pacific Country Club in Oahu; the 13th-century Borgo Finocchieto in Tuscany; and the Rising Sun, Hollywood studio mogul David Geffen’s private yacht.  But I don't recall him visiting Bill or Hillary's place, about 20 minutes from where this is being written.  I guess we just haven't made it.

June 27, 2017