SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET: 

LIZZIE STILL AIN'T RUNNIN' – From The Hill: "Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has a message for people skeptical of her decision not to run for the White House in 2016: It won’t stop her from pursuing her message of economic populism.  'You think I’m not forcing a debate?” she responded to The New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza, when he challenged her decision not to seek the Democratic nomination for president.  'Call me back in a year and ask me what type of debate we’re having,' she added.   'I’m doing the work I should be doing,' she told him later."  So warm and kind.  Warren is generally considered a poor, shrill campaigner, and maybe she realizes her act may not play so well outside Massachusetts.

AND HILLARY SPEAKS – From The Hill:  "Hillary Clinton called the protests and riots in Baltimore 'heartbreaking' during a speech at a campaign fundraiser in New York City.  'Baltimore is burning,' she said to donors to her presidential campaign.   'The tragic death of another young African-American man, the injuries to police officers, the burning of peoples’ homes and small businesses. We have to restore order and security. But then we have to take a hard look as to what we need to do to reform our system.'"  She's so profound, isn't she?  It's always the system at fault, or society at fault.  Individual criminals and their instigators are never at fault.  How convenient.

BERNIE IN – Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who caucuses with the Dems, will announce his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for president later in the week.  Sanders identifies himself as a democratic socialist.  While I certainly don't share his politics, Sanders has always struck me as a man of personal integrity and commitment.  He will add some class to the Democratic nomination process, where it is much needed.

BALTIMORE DISGRACE – From AP:  "After a pair of postponements caused by rioting in Baltimore, the Orioles and Chicago White Sox will play Wednesday at Camden Yards in what is believed to be the first game without fans in major league baseball's 145-season history.  Because of the unsettled environment in Baltimore, where rioters burned a drug store and set police cars ablaze on Monday night, officials moved the game up five hours from its original 7:05 p.m. starting time and closed it to the public."  Maybe the rioters and looters who get caught should have their earnings subjected to a special tax for years to help pay for the economic damage they're doing.  

April 28, 2015