SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:52 P.M. ET: 

TRUMP RALLY DISRUPTED – FROM THE L.A. TIMES:   Despite the outbursts of hundreds of protesters who overran barricades outside his rally, Republican Donald Trump told thousands of supporters that he was glad he stopped in New Mexico and he vowed to be back before the general election in November.  Trump's remarks were interrupted repeatedly by protesters, who shouted, held up banners and resisted removal by security officers. Among the messages were banners that read, "Trump is Fascist" and "We've heard enough."  Trump responded with his usual bluster, instructing security to remove the protesters and mocking their actions.  "Go home to mommy," he said.  "How old is this kid?" Trump asked in response to another demonstrator. "Still wearing diapers," he said.  His supporters responded with chants of "Build that wall!"  Outside, a group of protesters rushed the convention center where the rally was being held. Police outfitted in riot gear blocked them as they tried to advance.  Smoke filled the air as others burned T-shirts and items labeled with Trump's catchphrase "Make America Great Again."  We will always recall the elegance of this campaign, on both sides.  They'll never call this the golden age of politics.

NO MORE DEBATES FOR HILLARY –  FROM THE HILL:  Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton is declining to debate rival Bernie Sanders in California ahead of the state’s June 7 primary.  “We have declined Fox News’s invitation to participate in a debate in California,” Clinton’s communications director, Jennifer Palmieri, said in a statement. “As we have said previously, we plan to compete hard in the remaining primary states, particularly California, while turning our attention to the threat a Donald Trump presidency poses.”  “We believe that Hillary Clinton’s time is best spent campaigning and meeting directly with voters across California and preparing for a general election campaign that will ensure the White House remains in Democratic hands,” she continued.  The Vermont senator had been pushing Clinton to debate before the June 7 primary. California offers 475 pledged Democratic delegates, the largest prize of any state. Sanders will attack Clinton for her decision, but it's probably correct.  She can't gain anything from a debate.  She's too well known.  She can only lose, especially if she makes an error.  June 7th is two weeks from today. 

SHEER CORRUPTION – FROM MEDIAITE:   NPR backtracked its claims last week that it never cancelled interviews on the Iran Deal with Republican Congressman Mike Pompeo after staffers for the Kansas congressman produced emails proving that it had happened.  An Associated Press story Friday reported that NPR accepted $100,000 from a a White House-allied pro-Iran deal organization called the Ploughshares Fund in order to fund “national security reporting that emphasizes the themes of U.S. nuclear weapons policy and budgets [and] Iran’s nuclear program…” Ostensibly, NPR policy did not allow that grant to slant coverage, but the arrangement received renewed scrutiny after Obama national security advisor Ben Rhodes named the organization as one of the tools the administration used to echo their talking points.  Absolute shame.  The fact that there's no uproar in journalism over this collusion indicates just how low the news business has sunk.  There is really no shame left. 

May 24, 2016