SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:44 P.M. ET: 

THE REAL PROBLEM – There are so many problems in black America, but too many "activists" and their media allies insist on focusing on the alleged sins of whites.  From My9NJ:  "In Paterson, New Jersey only 19 kids who took the SAT's are considered college ready. This means that they scored at least a 1500 out of 2400 on the standardized test, and this number is truly shocking considering how large the school district is.  Paterson resident Jason Williams is one of the lucky ones. He just graduated high school last year and has been enrolled in college since September, after taking the SAT's three times determined to score over 1500. He says that the key to his success was not falling victim to the streets.  'Just last summer, my friend and teammate, he was shot and killed that summer and that really affected me,' he said.  Derrick Fritts was shot during National Night Out on the streets of Paterson and wasn't found until the next day. Williams said most of the football players stopped paying attention to school after that, but that's when he buckled down."  Blame the cops.

WEIRDNESS – From Breitbart:  "Social media lit up Wednesday evening with complaints about former Hootie & the Blowfish lead singer Darius Rucker performing 'White Christmas' at the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony at New York City's Rockefeller Square. Some activists had threatened to attack the ceremony after a grand jury declined to indict a New York police officer in the death of unarmed Eric Garner during a confrontation over cigarette sales in July.  The ceremony went ahead under police protection, and Rucker performed 'White Christmas,' a classic written by a Jewish immigrant, Irving Berlin. The song refers to snow, not to race, in recalling a traditional Christmas scene."  Watch.  Irving Berlin will soon be called a racist.

MARY'S PAIN – First indications from early voting in Saturday's Louisiana Senate runoff confirm predictions we ran this morning that Mary Landrieu is toasty.  From National Journal:  "Louisiana's Senate runoff is Saturday, but voters have already been casting ballots, and the early returns look ugly for Mary Landrieu. Early-voting rates are down across the board, in almost every demographic group and almost every parish, compared with the early-voting period before the November all-party primary. But that decline has been most acute among groups the Democrat incumbent needs if she is to pull off a victory against challenger Bill Cassidy. With Landrieu's Senate career on the line, women, registered Democrats, and especially African-Americans were more likely than others to drop out of the runoff's early electorate, according to voting statistics released by the Louisiana secretary of state."  Republicans ran a great race this year.  Hats off.

MITT? – From Business Insider:  "Mitt Romney held meetings with donors in New York this week that left one attendee convinced he is running for president again in 2016.  A member of Romney's inner circle who spoke to Business Insider said the former governor of Massachusetts traveled to New York City on Monday where he met with key financial backers of his past campaigns to lay the groundwork for a 2016 White House bid."  This same story seems to pop up periodically, and never gets confirmation.  But the fact is that Mitt has been awfully active recently.  He's also doing well in the polls. A few more good polls might convince him and his family, although it's widely reported that he won't run if Jeb Bush does.

December 4, 2014