SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:56 P.M. ET: 

MAJOR HEALTH NEWS – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:  New York City is offering its municipal workforce counseling services and other support for dealing with election-year stress brought on by Donald Trump’s election.  In a Dec. 1 email, the de Blasio administration pointed to mental health resources that are available to workers who are “feeling distressed or vulnerable following the election results.”  “We have seen the concerns expressed on social media and we are monitoring them closely,” the emails reads.  If you see a New York City employee, be sure to hug her.  You'll either get a warm thank-you or a lawsuit for sexual harassment.

WELCOME TO THE IVY LEAGUE – FROM COLLEGE FIX:   The president of the Cornell University College Republicans was shoved to the ground and called a “racist bitch” the night after the election, and campus officials are currently investigating the incident.  “I was actually assaulted on campus for being a Republican,” Olivia Corn told The Tab. “I had someone throw me to the ground and say: ‘Fuck you, racist bitch, you support a racist party.”  Corn gave the same account to The Ithaca Voice.  “Out of nowhere I was on my phone and looking at my email and out of nowhere I felt two hands grab my shoulders and just sort of threw me to the ground, and they were yelling ‘F... you racist bitch, you support a racist party,'” Corn said.  She has reported the incident to Cornell police and the university’s Title IX office.  We'll follow this.  I suspect the university will express "concern," maybe take a few minor steps, then let the matter drop. 

WHY AM I NOT SURPRISED? – FROM CNS:   The four richest counties in the United States, when measured by median household income, are all suburbs of Washington, D.C., according to newly released data from the Census Bureau.  They are Loudoun County, Va., where the median household income was $125,900 in 2015; Falls Church City, Va., where it was $122,092; Fairfax County, Va., where it was $112,844; and Howard County, Md., where it was $110,224.  The Census Bureau treats independent cities such as Falls Church, Va., as the equivalent of a county when calculating its median household income statistics.  These counties are filled with government people and people who depend on government-related work – lobbyists, lawyers, endless consultants.  Government is big business.  It needs to be smaller business.

December 15, 2016