SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET:

TRUMP TRUMPED? – From Fox:  Iowa's largest newspaper has called on Donald Trump to drop out of the 2016 presidential race amid the furor of the real estate magnate's weekend comments about Sen. John McCain's service during the Vietnam War.  At a conservative summit in Iowa Saturday, Trump, whom several polls had shown to be leading the Republican field, dismissed McCain's reputation as a war hero, saying of the Arizona Republican who was held for five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, "I like people who weren't captured."  In an opinion piece published late Monday, the Register said Trump's comments were "not merely offensive, they were disgraceful. So much so, in fact, that they threaten to derail not just his campaign, but the manner in which we choose our nominees for president."  Trump right now is actually gaining in support.  I hope this is temporary, and simply a factor of name recognition.  Trump's behavior is embarrassing, and it is distracting from serious discussion of the issues.

PROTECTING RECRUITERS – From Fox:  WASHINGTON – While safety concerns at military recruitment centers have been a long-standing issue, last week’s fatal shootings at two Tennessee installations underscore the deep risk recruiters face daily and the scramble at state and national levels to prevent a similar tragedy from taking place again.  The U.S. military on Monday confirmed to Fox News it directed recruiting centers across the country to step up security measures in the wake of the deadly rampage that claimed the lives of four U.S. Marines and a Navy sailor.  At the same time, a handful of governors have taken steps to beef up security measures at National Guard recruitment centers.  Governors in six states – Florida, Indiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Texas – ordered their Guardsmen to be armed.  It is utterly unacceptable that American soldiers, acting in their capacity as recruiters, are often sitting ducks, with little or no protection.  It would be nice if their commander-in-chief showed some interest in the matter.

US AND CUBA RE-ESTABLISH RELATIONS – From CNN:  Havana, Cuba (CNN) One bitter holdover of the Cold War slipped into the history books at 12:01 a.m. Monday, when the United States and Cuba re-established diplomatic relations. For the first time since severing ties in 1961, they reopened embassies in each other's capitals.  Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla traveled to the Cuban Embassy in Washington to raise his country's flag, an event that Cuban government officials said would be broadcast live on the island's state-run TV.  A Cuban delegation of diplomats, artists and veterans of the revolution commemorated the breakthrough with about 500 guests and more than likely down a few celebratory mojitos and shots of Havana Club rum.  It's a farce.  It will not improve the life of one Cuban citizen.  Cuba is a dictatorship, its people enjoying no human rights to speak of.  Yet, we asked for nothing for them in return for diplomatic relations with the United States.  Human rights are no longer part of the American agenda, the result of our having a presidential administration that is leftist, and thus uninterested in the basics of human freedom.

July 20,  2015