SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:25 P.M. ET: 

MAJOR HISTORICAL NEWS – From AFP:  "Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday that the Americas were discovered by Muslims in the 12th century, nearly three centuries before Christopher Columbus set foot there.  'Contacts between Latin America and Islam date back to the 12th century. Muslims discovered America in 1178, not Christopher Columbus,' the conservative president said in a televised speech during an Istanbul summit of Muslim leaders from Latin America.  'Muslim sailors arrived in America from 1178...'...A tiny minority of Muslim scholars have recently suggested a prior Muslim presence in the Americas, although no pre-Columbian ruin of an Islamic structure has ever been found."  Watch.  This will be something else to be used in the crusade to get rid of Columbus Day. 

CARING ABOUT CAIR –From BuzzFeed:  "WASHINGTON — The United Arab Emirates has listed two American Muslim organizations on its list of designated terrorist groups, according to an announcement released on state media on Saturday.The UAE has classified the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Muslim American Society as terrorist groups, according to a story on the website of WAM, the official news agency.  Also reportedly designated as terror groups were the Muslim Brotherhood, the Muslim Association of Britain, and the charity Islamic Relief.  The list also covers groups widely thought of as terrorist groups, like ISIS, al-Qaeda, and the Taliban.  The new American additions to the list are not categorized as terrorist organizations by the U.S. government."  In fact, CAIR is widely regarded as a "mainstream" Muslim-American group, and often works with the Democratic Party.  The Emirates are basically telling American security agencies that they really don't understand who's living under our roof.  And the Emirates may well be right.  CAIR has a long history of denouncing anyone who raises questions about radical Islam.

NEW DEFENSE PROJECT – From Fox:  "SIMI VALLEY, Calif. – Wary of a more muscular Russia and China, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Saturday the Pentagon will make a new push for fresh thinking and creative ideas about how the U.S. can keep and extend its military superiority despite tighter budgets and the wear and tear of 13 years of war.  Hagel announced a 'defense innovation initiative' that he likened to historic and successful campaigns during the Cold War to offset military advantages of U.S. adversaries. He described a 'game-changing' strategy to sharpen American's military edge in the face of budget impasses on Capitol Hill.  'We must change the way we innovate, operate and do business,' he said in remarks prepared for a defense forum at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library."  It would help to have a president who is pro-defense, and a Democratic Party that actually cares about defense. 

November 15, 2014