SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 9:45 P.M. ET: 

THE AGONY, THE PAIN – From the New York Post:  "Hillary Clinton is 'furious' at husband Bill Clinton, according to Washington insiders, after his name came up in the latest sex scandal involving his disgraced former pal, Jeffrey Epstein.  Sources at the funeral of Mario Cuomo also said they saw a peevish-looking Hillary angrily 'storm' past the former president after he dutifully waited for her by the door of St. Ignatius Loyola Church.  'Talk in Washington is that Hillary is furious with Bill about all this new information on Jeffrey Epstein,' said a DC insider familiar with both Epstein and the Clintons.  Bill’s name has popped up in 2011 court documents relating to Epstein after a woman said to be Virginia Roberts filed a bombshell suit alleging she was Epstein’s teen 'sex slave' and paid $15,000 to bed Epstein’s pal, Britain’s Prince Andrew."  Well, Hillary, to advance your career you decided to stay with the jerk after Monica and all the other stuff.  This is the thanks you get.  Surprised?

HOW CAN WE SURVIVE? – From the Washington Post:  "Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) announced on Thursday that she will not seek reelection in 2016, the first retirement announcement from a Democratic senator ahead of the 2016 political cycle, which will spark a major political contest in California.  Boxer made the announcement in a video co-starring her grandson, who played the role of reporter."  It's an acting family.  She played the role of a serious person for years.  No Oscar.  No Tony.  Lots of laughs.  I started thinking of her accomplishments, to list here.  Still thinking.  Check me tomorrow.

MAJOR ART NEWS – From Entertainment Weekly:  "Under Discovery Channel’s new regime, fake shark movies and man-eating anaconda stunts are out.  In an apparent response to viewer dismay over ratings-grabbing stunts that went against Discovery’s science-and-nature brand, the cable channel’s new president, Rich Ross, said he will avoid such content under his leadership.  Appearing at the Television Critics Association’s semi-annual press tour in Pasadena on Thursday, Ross was first asked about bogus nature documentaries, like last year’s Shark Week movie 'Megalodon: The Monster Shark Live's – a fictional film about a 'serial killer of the seas' disguised as a legitimate documentary. The project was slammed by fans of the annual programming stunt and is part of a line of programs that includes Discovery sister channel Animal Planet’s notorious mermaid films."  I feel uplifted by this change. 

WE'RE THIS VULNERABLE? – From USA Today:  "The year 2015 will have an extra second — which could wreak havoc on the infrastructure powering the Internet.  At 11:59 p.m. on June 30, clocks will count up all the way to 60 seconds. That will allow the Earth's spin to catch up with atomic time.  The Earth's spin is gradually slowing down, by about two thousandths of a second per day, but atomic clocks are constant. That means that occasionally years have to be lengthened slightly, to allow the slowing Earth to catch up with the constant clock.  But last time it happened, in 2012, it took down much of the Internet."  The spin doctors in Washington could fix this in...a second.

January 8, 2015