SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT: 

WHY DID WE NOT THINK OF THIS SOCIAL ADVANCE BEFORE?  I WANT ANSWERS – FROM FOX BUSINESS:    California lawmakers are considering a bill that would penalize department stores for separating children’s toys, clothing and other items by gender.  Under CA AB2826 (19R), introduced by Assemblyman Evan Low, D-Campbell, department stores with 500 or more employees would be subject to a $1,000 fine if they do not “correct a violation of these provisions within 30 days of receiving written notice of the violation.”  Stores would not have to change their products, but the products could not be displayed based on how they have “traditionally been marketed for either girls or for boys.”  Low, who originally introduced the bill last year, said he conceived of the idea from one of his staffers, who claimed her daughter had asked her why an item she supposedly wanted was in the boys’ section.  “This is an issue of children being able to express themselves without bias,” Low told Politico last week.  Yes, I'm sure there'll be a rush among five-year-old girls for toy machine guns, and the boys will certainly go for Senior Prom Barbie.  Am I in the right world?

BULLETIN – FROM REUTERS:   US President Joe Biden on Thursday night and Friday morning directed US military airstrikes in eastern Syria against facilities belonging to what the Pentagon said were Iran-backed militia, in a calibrated response to rocket attacks against US targets in Iraq.  At dawn on Friday, US attacks targeted several areas in Eastern Syria on the Syrian-Iraqi border, Syrian state television reported citing its reporter in Deir al-Zor.  The strikes, which were first reported by Reuters, appeared to be limited in scope, potentially lowering the risk of escalation.  Biden's decision to strike only in Syria and not in Iraq, at least for now, also gives the Iraqi government some breathing room as it carries out its own investigation of a February 15 attack that wounded Americans.  "At President (Joe) Biden’s direction, US military forces earlier this evening conducted airstrikes against infrastructure utilized by Iranian-backed militant groups in eastern Syria," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.  "President Biden will act to protect American and Coalition personnel. At the same time, we have acted in a deliberate manner that aims to de-escalate the overall situation in both eastern Syria and Iraq," Kirby said.  We'll watch this carefully, and will hope the president has a spine that is more Trump and less Obama.  The Iranians must understand that we will vigorously defend our interests and our forces.  If they don't understand it, diplomacy will fail.

February 25, 2021