SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:23 P.M. ET:  

MOST THUMBS DOWN – From Fox:  "According to a just-released Fox News national poll, most voters don’t think the country’s system of government was designed for the president to act unilaterally, and a majority disapproves of Obama bypassing Congress.  The new poll finds that 74 percent think the president using executive orders to get around Congress is not how things are supposed to work in our country. That includes 54 percent of Democrats.  Large majorities of independents (80 percent) and Republicans (93 percent) believe it goes against our system for the president to act independently to advance his policies.  Even when asked to set aside their views on how the government is supposed to work, by a wide 60-37 percent margin voters still disapprove of Obama going around Congress.  Almost all Republicans disapprove of Obama acting without lawmakers (90 percent), as do two-thirds of independents (66 percent).  Democrats approve by a 66-31 percent margin."  The people have spoken.

KATRINA MAYOR CONVICTED – From the New Orleans Times-Pecayune:  "Ray Nagin, the former two-term mayor of New Orleans indicted after he left office, was convicted Wednesday of 20 federal corruption charges for illegal dealings with city vendors, dating back to 2004. A jury delivered its verdict just before 1 p.m., after six hours of deliberations that followed a nine-day trial.  Nagin, 57, joins a list of Louisiana elected officials convicted of misdeeds while in office, but he is New Orleans' first mayor to be convicted of public corruption. Under federal sentencing guidelines, he could face a 20-year prison term, possibly more, lawyers have said."  Nagin is best known for being the mayor of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.  He was found, during the storm, on the high floor of a luxury hotel.  His performance was dismal, but generally ignored by a press determined to pin the blame for disaster response on President Bush.

OBAMACARE REALITY – From Newsmax:  "The White House has been dealt a stunning new blow on Obamacare sign-up numbers with reports showing that only about half of the people 'enrolled' at healthcare exchanges in various states have actually paid their premiums.  With the March 31 deadline for enrollment just seven weeks away, the number of sign-ups in federal and state marketplaces has slowed down to an alarming figure since the sudden surge in the latter part of December and early January.  But the bigger problem for the Obama administration is that roughly 50 percent of consumers who had supposedly enrolled for President Barack Obama's healthcare reform have missed their payment deadline for Jan. 1, according to Investor's Business Daily's website Investors.com."  We've gotten a lot of hype from the Obama press in the last day, boasting of an increase in signups.  The small print, though, tells a different story – premiums not paid, and therefore no insurance issued.

TEENAGE STRESS – From Fox:  "Teenagers in the United States are experiencing higher levels of stress than many adults, USA Today reported.   As a part of the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Stress in America survey, more than 1,000 teenagers and 2,000 adults answered questions about their overall stress levels and coping habits. Though the APA has conducted similar surveys in the past, this was the first to focus specifically on stress among teenagers.  Overall, the survey revealed that 27 percent of teenagers reported feeling “extreme stress” during the school year, compared to 20 percent of adults."  Gee, do you think young people will suddenly realize that electing Barack Obama hasn't led to paradise on Earth?  Even young people can wise up, despite the best efforts of educators and college professors.

February 12,  2014