SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 6:37 P.M. ET: 

LITERARY NOTE – From the New York Post:  "Family connections can only get one so far.
Pippa Middleton is learning that firsthand after her bi-weekly column for England’s The Daily Telegraph was canceled after just six months, reports Us Weekly.  The Duchess of Cambridge‘s younger sister, 30, began writing her 'Sport and Social' column for the paper last September, and covered a diverse array of topics like boxing, pancake flipping and oyster shucking.  'The readers just weren’t into it,' a source told the magazine. 'There was a lot of negative mail coming in after each column and there were too many off-limit subjects for her. They ran out of ideas.'"  As Johnny Carson used to say, "How quickly they forget."

AWKWARD MOMENT FOR AN IDOL – From USA Today:  "Singer Clay Aiken's chief rival for the Democratic nomination for Congress died unexpectedly Monday.  Keith Crisco, 71, a former North Carolina secretary of Commerce, died from a fall at his home, reported The Courier-Tribune in Asheboro, N.C. A woman who answered the telephone at Asheboro Elastics, which Crisco founded, confirmed the news to USA TODAY? and said the company's workers were in shock.  Aiken, a former American Idol runner-up, led Crisco by 369 votes for the Democratic nomination in North Carolina's 2nd Congressional District, but the race was too close to call. The Democratic nominee will go on to face GOP Rep. Renee Ellmers in the fall."  I hate to see a race decided by someone's sudden death, but this will be a test of how Aiken handles himself in a moment of crisis.  Obviously, he will be the nominee.

SHOW OF FORCE? – From the Washington Free Beacon:  "The U.S. Strategic Command, which is in charge of waging nuclear war, will hold large-scale bomber exercises this week—days after Russia held what Moscow called 'massive' war games simulating a U.S. and NATO nuclear attack.  Ten U.S. B-52 bombers and up to six B-2 strategic bombers will take part in the war games called 'Global Lightning 14' from Monday through May 16, the command said in a statement late Sunday.  The purpose is to 'demonstrate flexibility and responsiveness in training scenarios throughout the continental U.S.,' the command said in a statement from its Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska headquarters."  I'm sure the exercise will be impressive, but it is meaningless when the national leadership of the United States is so weak, and so contemptuous of America's contributions to international security.

OBAMACARE LATEST – From Newsmax:  "Just 12 percent of Americans say that the Affordable Care Act has been a success, according to a new CNN poll. At the same time, the percentage of newly enrolled Americans who had previously been uninsured did not increase, according to a McKinsey & Co. report.  'Enrollment rates remained much lower among those previously uninsured than among those previously insured (13 percent vs. 90 percent in our April survey, for example),' the report said.  President Barack Obama has urged Democratic candidates to campaign on his signature healthcare law, which, while on the books for four years, continues to be unpopular, Breitbart reported."  But please note that the leftist media is now hyping Obamacare as a great success.  Blue is red.  Green is yellow.  Night is day.   What difference does the truth make?

May 12,  2014