SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 10:46 P.M. ET: 

GREAT MOMENTS IN LAW – From sfgate.com:  "An extremely drunk Los Angeles County deputy public defender created a scene at San Francisco International Airport, screaming at officers and assaulting them, singing the 'Happy Days' theme song and asking for cocaine, authorities said Thursday.  Monica Marie Jenkins, 37, pleaded not guilty Wednesday in San Mateo County Superior Court to misdemeanor charges of assault and battery on a police officer, obstructing officers and being drunk in public. She was released on her own recognizance. "  The "Happy Days" theme?  Fonzi?  This is cause for disbarment.

INCREDIBLE – From the New York Post:  "The Freedom Tower, America’s top terror target, doesn’t have a single working surveillance camera inside — a stunning security lapse that let a New Jersey teen roam the top floors undetected for two hours, The Post has learned.  The video system for 1 World Trade Center 'won’t be operational until the building opens later this year,' said a source familiar with the security plan.  That means there is no footage of Justin Casquejo, 16, as he slipped by a sleeping guard to the antenna of the 1,776-foot-tall building Sunday morning.  'This place has a big bull’s-eye on it, and I don’t even want to think what could have happened if it was somebody with bad intentions' said a hardhat at the site Thursday."  Another effective day in the war on terror, which, according to the commander-in-chief, is over.

THE WISDOM OF BARACK OBAMA – How often have you seen that phrase here?  But we found a case where it applies.  From Mediaite:  "Jimmy Carter has been very active in the decades since his presidency, and his successors have occasionally called for his advice. Except, it turns out, the current occupant of the office. A clip from Carter’s upcoming Meet the Press interview reveals that President Obama is the first president since Carter left office not to solicit the Southern Democrat’s advice."  Maybe it's because Obama already has mastered Carter's approach.  Carter is, after all, the president to whom Obama is most often compared.  But staying away from Carter himself is a good Obama move.

March 21, 2014