SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 9:36 P.M. ET: 

OH SHUT UP! – Ron Paul is at it again, doing as much harm as he can to his son Rand's presidential prospects.  From National Journal:  "In the days after the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, the former House member has been quick to attack the West and President Obama for pointing any fingers in the direction of Russian President Vladimir Putin.  'Just days after the tragic crash of a Malaysian Airlines flight over eastern Ukraine, Western politicians and media joined together to gain the maximum propaganda value from the disaster. It had to be Russia; it had to be Putin, they said,' Ron Paul wrote in an editorial Sunday. 'President Obama held a press conference to claim—even before an investigation—that it was pro-Russian rebels in the region who were responsible. His ambassador to the U.N., Samantha Power, did the same at the U.N. Security Council—just one day after the crash!'  Paul's argument, which he first made in a Friday television appearance, was quickly picked up by the Kremlin-funded English language outlet Russia Today." Paul has always had a certain sympathy for America's enemies, as head of the Taliban wing of the Republican Party.  Of course, Joseph P. Kennedy, President Kennedy's father, had Nazi sympathies before World War II, but Jack knew how to keep dad under the couch pillows when Jack ran for president.  Rand, get pillows.  Thick ones.

CLINTON GETS THUMBS DOWN – The deterioration of Hillary Clinton's poll numbers continues, leading to a flood of speculation that someone else will be the Dem nominee in 2016.  From The Politico:  "A majority of voters are unimpressed with Hillary Clinton’s performance as secretary of state, according to a new POLITICO poll.  Just 14 percent described her time at State — she served four years ending in February 2013 — as 'excellent,' while another 28 percent defined it as 'good.' Another 21 percent called it 'fair' and 32 percent rated her performance 'poor.' Six percent weren’t sure or declined to answer. The survey of likely voters in states and districts with the most competitive House and Senate races was conducted this month as Clinton traveled around the country to promote her new memoir, 'Hard Choices,' and discuss her time at the nation’s top diplomat."  And Bill Clinton just said that Hillary needs more time to decide whether to run for president.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS NOT WANTED – With the economy and many communities under strain, Americans are rejecting the idea of putting illegal immigrants right next door.  From Rasmussen:  "Most voters don’t want any of the young illegal immigrants who’ve recently arrived here housed in their state and say any legislation passed by Congress to deal with the problem should focus on sending them home as soon as possible.  The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 59% of Likely U.S. Voters believe the primary focus of any new immigration legislation passed by Congress should be to send the young illegal immigrants back home as quickly as possible. Just 27% say it should focus instead on making it easier for these illegal immigrants to remain in the United States. Fourteen percent (14%) are undecided."  Democrats seem to think immigration is a winning issue for them.  The numbers say otherwise.  The Dems will probably push it too far by claiming that those opposed to the illegals are bigots and racists.  In fact, the great majority are opposed to illegal immigration and immigration chaos. 

TERROR WATCH – From Fox:  "A Norwegian citizen who trained with a master bomb maker in Yemen and recently was added to the State Department’s list of international terrorists has been linked to the increased security screening of flights coming to the U.S., according to congressional sources familiar with the intelligence.  Anders Dale was believed to be trained by the master bomb maker Ibrahim al Asiri, who was responsible for the underwear device that nearly brought down a jet over Detroit on Christmas Day 2009, the sources said.  Since he's a top target of the U.S. drone campaign, al Asiri has trained other operatives to build the non-metallic bombs as a kind of backup insurance policy for Al Qaeda.  The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Michael McCaul, R-Texas, told Fox News that Al Qaeda's desire to bring down a U.S. commercial jet is greater now than it was before 9/11, and the terrorist group has the capability and potential to do so, especially with the growing number of Western recruits fighting alongside the Al Qaeda affiliate in Syria known as the al Nusra front."  And the nuts will be further inspired by the takedown of the Malaysian airliner in the Ukraine just days ago.

July 21, 2014