SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:16 P.M. ET: 

CHARLOTTE – FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES:   North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory declared a state of emergency in Charlotte on Wednesday night after violent new protests over the police shooting of a black man erupted in the heart of downtown, leaving one man shot and critically wounded.  The shooting Wednesday night occurred as protesters waded into the streets and began streaming toward downtown hotels as police in riot gear fired tear gas and attempted to block their progress.  The governor announced he has initiated efforts to deploy the National Guard and state troopers to help quell the violence, which has raged for the last two nights in Charlotte in response to the death of 43-year-old Keith Lamont Scott.  It's about time the governor acted.  By the way, we've now learned that Scott had an extensive criminal record, whereas the black officer who him had an exemplary record.  Guess that doesn't matter much in today's climate.

CHEMICAL WEAPONS USED ON US TROOPS – FROM AFP:   Washington (AFP) - A rocket fired by Islamic State jihadists at US forces in Iraq may have carried a chemical agent, a US defense official said Wednesday.  No one was injured in Tuesday's blast near an airfield by the northern town of Qayyarah and no one showed any immediate signs of exposure to the suspected mustard agent, the official said.  Several hundred US troops are working with Iraqi partners to strengthen the airfield ahead of a push on the IS stronghold of Mosul.  The defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said an incoming round had exploded within the base perimeter during an "indirect fire" attack.  A small team of US troops later inspected the fragmented ordinance and found one bit with a suspicious, tar-like black oily substance that they tested in the field.  If true it's a military game changer.  If true, we'd also like to know how Islamic State forces got chemical weapons.  Gee, you don't think there were any left over in Iraq, do you?  Nah.

FRIENDLY FACES – FROM VANITY FAIR:   His presidency is winding down. A contentious election—fought largely over his record and legacy—is about to be decided. With that in mind, Barack Obama recently invited the presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin to the White House for a long, personal, open-ended conversation. The meeting, arranged by Vanity Fair, took place in the president’s private dining room, just off the Oval Office.  I like some of Goodwin's work, but she is basically the Democratic Party's court historian, so the "open-ended" conversation isn't surprising.  I'm sure there'll be a book or a long article.  I might read a summary of it.  Keep it to a paragraph.

September 21, 2016