SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:53 P.M. ET:

DEFENSE TEST IN NEW YORK – From the New York Daily News:   Don't hold your breath, it’s only a test.  The Department of Homeland Security will release “harmless particle materials” in the city’s subway system next week.  The “non-toxic, safe gas material” will be released at subway stations in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens in order to understand where hazardous material would travel in the event of a biological terrorist attack.  “This is important information to help local authorities to enhance their emergency preparedness,” DHS Program Manager Dr. Donald Bansleben said Friday.  Officials said there is currently no credible threat against either New York City or the subway system.  At least they're awake.  I think there is serious concern about an attack here soon, following Paris and Brussels. 

VOCABULARY ALERT – From Daily Caller:   An official with the Department of Justice said the agency will no longer call people “felons” or “convicts” after they are released from prison because it is too hard on them emotionally.  Assistant Attorney General Karol Mason wrote a piece in The Washington Post Wednesday saying “many of the formerly incarcerated men, women, and young people I talk with say that no punishment is harsher than being permanently branded a ‘felon’ or ‘offender.'”  Mason said the decision is not to condone their behavior, but to use words to help them reenter society....This new policy statement replaces unnecessarily disparaging labels with terms like “person who committed a crime” and “individual who was incarcerated,” decoupling past actions from the person being described and anticipating the contributions we expect them to make when they return.  There is some logic to this, trying to move people back into society after they've done their time.  However, society – especially schools and sensitive employers – also have a right to know if they're about to employ someone who's committed a violent crime.  My concern is that changes in vocabulary will be joined with other moves that minimize what the person has done, placing others at risk.

YIKES – From The Hill:   A senior Donald Trump adviser is hinting that the presumptive GOP nominee could speak every day at the Republican National Convention in July.  “I don’t know why the candidate only speaks on acceptance night, why shouldn’t he speak every night from a different city?” Barry Bennett said Friday in an interview with Bloomberg’s "Masters in Politics" podcast.  “But I think when it comes to the program a lot of us feel that we could juice up the format just a little,” he said. “More entertaining, more interesting.”  Bennett also said the convention could rely on broadcasts on Facebook or Google to reach a wider audience, instead of focusing just on prime-time coverage by TV networks.  “Why are we just relying on 45 minutes of network television time?”  Well, they're thinking creatively, but I'm not sure we need Donald Trump every day.  People will start calling him Fidel.

May 7, 2016