SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:26 P.M. ET:

THE NIGERIAN GIRLS – From London's Daily Mail:  "President Barack Obama is punting his administration's outrage over Nigerian terror group Boko Haram's violence to his wife Michelle, giving her the duty of delivering the White House's weekly radio address on Saturday."  Real hero, that Barack.  Of course, he's just following the standard leftist line on the missing girls – express outrage and do nothing.  I just checked the website of the National Organization for Women, which claims to have an interest in women's issues.  Not a word about the girls.  I guess they just don't count unless the masters of leftist politics give the big okay.  I'd love to see how many times Michelle uses the term "Islamic terrorism" in her radio address.  I'm not holding my breath.

OBAMA UP? – Gallup reports that President Obama's approval has just jumped to 47%.  I wonder if this is just polling noise, as almost everyone else has it about 41%.  We'll follow the polls to see if there's a trend toward the president, but I can't find any reason for one. 

NOW THAT'S A REALITY SHOW – From the New York Post:  "Honesty will take you a long way to making an impression on your first date.  But there are some things you probably should keep to yourself.
If only someone had mentioned that to Sefer Calinak, a 62-year-old man looking for a wife on a TV dating show in Turkey.  Calinak stunned the host and studio audience after revealing that he had murdered his first wife and later killed a lover with an ax during an argument, the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet Daily News reports.  He made the shocking revelation while appearing this week on Flash TV’s 'The Luck of The Draw,' adding he is now an 'honest person looking for a new wife.'"  And he wasn't thrown off the show.  But who are we to judge another culture?

HEALTH OR HARASSMENT? – From Bloomberg:  "The Obama administration began a process that may result in the first federal regulation of chemicals used in fracking, a drilling technique that has transformed energy production while eluding oversight sought by environmentalists.  After three years of delay, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said today it’s considering rules requiring oilfield service companies such as Halliburton (HAL) Co. to send it details on the health and safety of the chemicals used. The agency said it may decide to stop short of rules, and use incentives or voluntary steps."  We have to watch this closely.  If there are legitimate health and safety issues, they should be dealt with.  But EPA has a history of overreach and rough politics.  Fracking is an exciting, emerging technology that can massively help the campaign to make this country energy independent.  It must not be stopped by a political agenda.

May 9, 2014