SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 9:30 P.M. ET:

THE LEFT-WING MADNESS CONTINUES – FROM REASON:   In recent weeks, prominent Democrats have cheered the banning of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones from social platforms and have floated proposals for regulating the dissemination of foreign ads and "fake news." At the same time, they have gleefully spread conspiracy theories and falsehoods about Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. The latest lunacy comes courtesy of none other than Hillary Clinton, who today tweeted out talking points popularized last week by Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.)—talking points that mainstream and nonpartisan factcheckers have labeled false.  Harris had shared a video clip in which Kavanaugh appears to refer to birth control pills as "abortion-inducing drugs." The video was edited to elide the part that makes it clear that Kavanaugh was not expressing his own views but was describing the position taken by the plaintiffs in a case he had ruled on. Harris—and now Clinton—used this as supposed evidence that Kavanaugh is a zealot who wants to ban birth control.  Kamala Harris should be censured by the Senate for her behavior, but it will never happen.  As for Hillary, her motto should be, "Have lie, will travel."

MISS AMERICA NOT MISSED – FROM FOX:   The Miss America ceremony subtracted the swimsuit competition for the first time in its 98-year history, and subtracted one million television viewers, too.  The Nielsen company said 4.34 million people watched the annual ceremony on ABC Sunday, down 19 percent from the 5.35 million viewers last year. Declining viewership has been a consistent trend for the pageant over the past few years.  With Miss America now under the leadership of former Fox News personality Gretchen Carlson, the swimsuits were left behind. Instead, they were replaced by onstage interviews where contestants talked about President Trump, the NFL player protests and other topics.  Yet the decision has been the subject of criticism. Minutes before the nationally televised broadcast began, a comedian warming up the crowd mentioned there would be no swimsuit competition, drawing loud boos from the audience.  I don't particularly care, but if the audience wants a beauty contest, which is what Miss America traditionally was (despite denials), let them have a beauty contest.  I personally have little interest in Miss Nevada's view of the Iran nuclear deal.

ENERGY INDEPENDENCE – FROM CLIMATE DEPOT:   The United States likely surpassed Russia and Saudi Arabia to become the world’s largest crude oil producer earlier this year, based on preliminary estimates in EIA’s Short-Term Energy Outlook.  In February, U.S. crude oil production exceeded that of Saudi Arabia for the first time in more than two decades. In June and August, the United States surpassed Russia in crude oil production for the first time since February 1999.  Although EIA does not publish crude oil production forecasts for Russia and Saudi Arabia in STEO, EIA expects that U.S. crude oil production will continue to exceed Russian and Saudi Arabian crude oil production for the remaining months of 2018 and through 2019.   Despite the push for other energy sources, the world still runs on petroleum, and our dominance of that realm is very much a good thing.  We can no longer be blackmailed with threats to cut off oil supplies.

September 12,  2018