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

SOME PROGRESS – FROM CNN:  Some Green Bay Packers fans followed quarterback Aaron Rodgers' request and locked arms Thursday night during the National Anthem before a game against the Chicago Bears.  The teams' fans put aside the bitter rivalry and linked arms, too, as the Packers and Bears players stood and locked arms during the National Anthem.  At least knees weren't involved.  I still prefer the traditional hand over the heart, but we're making progress in getting back to civility.  Maybe the NFL and its teams are starting to understand the cost of insulting the American people.

DENMARK GETS SERIOUS – FROM THE LOCAL:  Starting Friday, armed soldiers from the Danish Armed Forces (Forsvaret) will replace police officers at both Denmark’s southern border to Germany and at potential terror targets in Copenhagen.  According to the Danish National Police (Rigspolitiet) and Copenhagen Police, 160 soldiers will patrol the border and take over guard duties at Jewish institutions including the Great Synagogue in central Copenhagen.   The synagogue has been under constant police protection since a Danish-born terrorist of Palestinian descent shot and killed 37-year-old Dan Uzan, a volunteer security guard, outside the building in February 2015. The gunman, Omar El-Hussein, had earlier in the night opened fire with an automatic rifle outside a cultural centre hosting a free speech event, killing 55-year-old Finn Nørgaard and injuring police officers.  There are signs that both Denmark and Norway, traditionally very liberal and open, are getting much more serious about terrorism, and that would be good.

SOME PEOPLE ARE JUST NUTS – FROM THE WASHINGTON POST:   One of Melania Trump's favorite books is Dr. Seuss's "Oh, the Places You'll Go!," which she read with her son, Barron, "over and over" when he was younger.  The first lady, who is increasingly carving out a public profile for herself, chose the classic children's book and nine other Dr. Seuss titles to send to an elementary school in Cambridge, Mass., in celebration of "National Read a Book Day."  But a librarian at Cambridgeport School refused to accept the gift, criticizing Trump administration education policies and images in the books.  Seuss's illustrations are "steeped in racist propaganda, caricatures, and harmful stereotypes," librarian Liz Phipps Soeiro wrote in a letter to Trump on Tuesday.  Look, it's Cambridge, Massachusetts.  You can't expect adults.

September 28, 2017