SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:56 P.M. ET: 

THE SHOW-ME STATE:  The margin was razor-thin, but Hillary Clinton has won the Missouri primary, held Tuesday.  From The Hill:   The AP called the race for Clinton at 6:06 p.m., two days after the Tuesday primary.  Sanders conceded on Thursday and said he will not seek a recount in the Show Me State, according to the AP.  So far, according to the AP’s delegate tracker, Clinton has been awarded 44 of the 84 total delegates, while Sanders has received 32.  The race was too close to call on Tuesday night, with Clinton leading Sanders by 0.2 percent. The two were separated by about 1,500 votes.  The Missouri Republican primary has yet to be called.  Unless the FBI investigation destroys her, it's hard to see how Clinton can be denied the nomination.  Her backers aren't very enthusiastic, while Bernie's are passionate, but what counts in the end are numbers, and Bernie's just aren't there.  On the other hand, some pundits are saying that Bernie, and his socialism, are the future of the Democratic Party because young people are so heavily in favor of the Bern.  I wouldn't count on it.  Young people occasionally grow up, and when they do they usually move right.

THERE SHE IS, NOT EXACTLY MISS AMERICA – From the New York Post:   She’s got her dedushka’s eyes — but this gun-toting, punk-rocking gal is as American as apple pie, although she does loves to cook borscht.  Tattooed Chrese Evans, 44, of Portland, Ore. — a Buddhist who runs an antique shop — is far removed from her notorious grandfather, Joseph Stalin, the former Soviet Union’s ruthless “man of steel.”  Svetlana Alliluyeva, Stalin’s only daughter, defected from the Soviet Union in 1966 and married Evans's future father, architect William Wesley Peters.  “Stalin for me was one of the three people who won the Second World War — Churchill, Roosevelt and him,” she told the Express of the UK. “Then my mother asked me to listen to her. This is when I found out about his crimes.”  I wish she'd go on a speaking tour and explain Communism to the dummies in our universities, but they probably wouldn't invite her.  You know, privileged white girl.

SIGN OF THE TIMES – From Reuters:   WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Law enforcement officers in the United States are increasingly buying professional liability insurance policies amid worries they may be sued for their on-duty actions, the Fraternal Order of Police, the biggest U.S. police union, told Reuters.  Between July 2014 and July 2015, the number of members who bought the union's liability insurance jumped 15 percent, according to data from the FOP released this week and shared exclusively with Reuters.  In previous years, liability insurance purchases grew only between one to three percent, said Jim Pasco, executive director of the FOP, which represents more than 330,000 officers.  The insurance would help cover legal fees, but would not protect against criminal prosecution.  Can't blame the officers.  I think the premiums should be paid for by city and state governments. 

PASSING – This will have meaning for those of a certain age.  Gogi Grant, who became famous in the 1950s for singing one song, "The Wayward Wind," has died at 91.  From The New York Times:   Gogi Grant, whose rendition of “The Wayward Wind” replaced Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel” on top of the Billboard singles chart in 1956, died on Thursday at her home in Los Angeles. She was 91.  Her death was announced by her family....Ms. Grant recorded “The Wayward Wind,” a ballad about a woman yearning for her wandering beloved, as an afterthought in the final minutes of a long recording session devoted to the single “Who Are We.” Herb Newman, the owner of the Era label, gave Ms. Grant the song, which he had written with a college classmate, Stan Lebowsky.  There are a number of great stories of neglected songs, seen almost as throwaways, that became enduring hits.  "The Tennessee Waltz" is the most famous, recorded by Patti Page as the B-side of a single.  The A-side was a Christmas novelty song that went nowhere.  The B-side, "The Tennessee Waltz," became immortal.  Gogi Grant was famous essentially for one song, but it, too, with her artistry, has endured.   

March 17,  2016