SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 9:02 P.M. ET: 

BULLETIN – In a special congressional election in Florida's 13th CD, unknown Republican David Jolly has defeated much-better-known Democrat Alex Sink.  This was considered by virtually all professional politicians as a trend-indicating election.  The district was represented in Congress for 40 years by Bill Young, who recently passed away, thus the need for a special contest.  However, it went for Obama in both 2008 and 2012.  It was considered a "must-win" for the Democrats, if they were to have any chance of making gains in the House this November.  The election was fought largely over Obamacare.  If Dems go into full panic mode, there are reasons.

NOW THIS IS A CRUISE – From Fox:  "A group of passengers suing Carnival Corp. for damages after sailing on the ill-fated Carnival Triumph cruise ship that drifted at sea for days are asking the company to pay $5,000 a month for the rest of their lives for ongoing medical and mental problems.  The case stems from the February 2013 incident when a fire broke out in the ship's engine room during a four-day cruise, leaving the ship without engine power and most of its electricity, forcing passengers to endure human waste running down hallways, limited water supplies, noxious odors and extreme heat."  Well, they do deserve compensation for the nightmare, but $5,000 a month may be a bit much even for our courts.  Now, if they claimed they'd been forced to listen to Obama speeches during the ordeal...

THE WAY THINGS ARE – From Breitbart:  "Last week, CBS's popular law enforcement procedural show NCIS chose what is becoming an increasingly common way to establish that a character is the episode's bad guy by showing him in photos with Republicans.  During the March 4 episode titled, Dressed to Kill, we find that the bad guy du jour is a notorious private investigator named Nick Bodeen (Anthony Palermo). He was killed in the first few minutes of the episode but as viewers learn of his back-story the character is described as a scumbag. In fact, one recurring character called him a 'reprobate.'  So, how did NCIS writers drive home to viewers that this PI was a 'reprobate'? By showing him acting buddy-buddy in a photograph with President George W. Bush, of course. The obvious message is that if the bad guy is in a photo with a Republican, a tea partier, or conservative, why it's a cinch he's no good."  And that's really the way many of them think out there.  I've heard it with my own ears.

THE NEW ROMANCE – From CBS:  " A federal judge’s ruling last week that the Federal Aviation Administration has no jurisdiction over small drone aircraft means a Commerce Township florist will resume testing flower delivery by drone.  FlowerDeliveryExpress.com, the online unit of Wesley Berry Flowers, was testing drone delivery the weekend before Valentine’s Day, but was ordered to stop by the FAA.  But last week, federal administrative law judge Patrick Geraghty ruled that if he accepted the FAA’s argument for regulating drones, 'a flight in the air of a paper airplane or a toy balsa wood glider could subject the operator' to FAA penalties. The ruling applies to flights below 400 feet."  Soon all those liberal newspapers may want to deliver their product by drone.  It's the best argument for surface-to-air anti-aircraft missiles that I can think of.

March 11,  2014