SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 8:49 P.M. ET: 

DEFIANCE – It is an honorable American tradition, civil disobedience.  From Fox:  "'We will not obey.'  That’s the blunt warning a group of prominent religious leaders is sending to the Supreme Court of the United States as it considers same-sex marriage.  'We respectfully warn the Supreme Court not to cross that line,' read a document titled, Pledge in Solidarity to Defend Marriage. 'We stand united together in defense of marriage. Make no mistake about our resolve.'  'While there are many things we can endure, redefining marriage is so fundamental to the natural order and the common good that this is the line we must draw and one we cannot and will not cross,' the pledge states.  The signees are a who’s who of religious leaders including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum, National Religious Broadcasters president Jerry Johnson, Pastor John Hagee, and Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse."  Whether one agrees or disagrees with the position of these religious leaders, their willingness peacefully to defy, and presumably to accept the legal consequences, is inspiring, and very much in the American tradition of peaceful protest.

OH PLEASE – Hillary Clinton did deliver her anticipated speech at Columbia University today.  She said it was important to restore trust in American life.  While no one fainted at that suggestion, the notion of Bill and Hillary Clinton being concerned about trust has the same ring of truth as Bonnie & Clyde being concerned about bank robbery.   You wonder whether Hillary ever means anything that she says.  She also said we have to rebalance the criminal-justice system.  Yeah, right.  Crime went down 80% under Mayor Rudy Giuliani in New York, and I never once heard him praised by Hillary Clinton.  When Hillary talks about "rebalancing," you know that's a codeword for "soft on crime."

SPORTS NEWS – From Fox:  "As tempers smoldered and the cleanup of riot-ravaged Baltimore continued outside, the city's beloved Orioles beat the White Sox in an eerily empty ballpark Wednesday afternoon.  The game at Orioles Park at Camden Yards was played out before 47,000 empty seats amid safety concerns for spectators. Games on Monday and Tuesday had been postponed, but Wednesday's game had to be played to keep to the rigid Major League Baseball schedule. Inside the stadium, an unfamiliar quiet descended on the field."  Now you know what we unrepentant Brooklyn Dodger fans feel like.  We've had silence for 58 years.  But we're very patient. 

PASSING – From AP:  "PARKLAND, Fla. (AP) — Jean Nidetch, a New York housewife who tackled her own obesity, then shared her guiding principles with others in meetings that became known as Weight Watchers, the most widely known company of its kind, died Wednesday. She was 91.  She died at her home at a senior complex in Parkland, Florida, near Fort Lauderdale, her son David Nidetch said.  Plagued by her weight since childhood and carrying 214 pounds on her 5-foot-7 frame, Nidetch went to an obesity clinic sponsored by the New York City Board of Health in 1961 and began picking up tips that slowly seemed to work.  No skipping meals. Fish five times a week. Two pieces of bread and two glasses of skim milk a day. More fruits and vegetables."  The woman was a successful entrepreneur, and one must admire the way she built a company.  Out of respect, I will have my next BLT without mayonnaise.

April 29, 2015