SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:21 P.M. ET: 

A LITTLE MESSAGE FROM FRANCE – From London's Daily Mail:  "French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has a message about Iraq for Barack Obama: Get back to the White House and do something.  'I know it is the holiday period in our Western countries,' Fabius told a radio interviewer Tuesday in France, 'but when people are dying, you must come back from vacation.'"  The notion of a French foreign minister speaking that way to the president of the United States tells us just how low Obama's standing has slipped.

THE UPSTAGER – Hillary did a book signing on Martha's Vineyard, where a certain B. Omama is also frolicking.  From the Martha's Vineyard Times:  "'We love you,' 'Please run, we need you,' 'I’m such a fan of yours,' and variations of the same were heard again and again from people who had waited in line, some for four hours, to purchase a book and spend precious seconds with the former first lady and rumored presidential candidate.  Ms. Clinton’s appearance on the Island stole some of the media attention from her former boss, President Obama, who was staying dry in his Chilmark vacation home. About 30 members of the press attended the event. The Obamas, Ms. Clinton and her husband, former president Bill Clinton, were scheduled to attend a birthday party for Ann Jordan, wife of Washington insider Vernon Jordan, Wednesday night."  I would have loved to be at that party just to see Obama greet Hillary and tell her to start serving.

RARE GOOD NEWS – It appears that the rescue operation for those minority-group Iraqis stuck on a mountain is going well, and that it will be unnecessary for us to mount a larger rescue effort.  That's the good news.  The bad news, noted by a number of commentators, is that this is a tiny victory compared to the challenge of ISIS in Iraq and Syria.  The barbarians are truly at the gate, and the administration appears not to have a plan to deal with their growing power.  Maybe when the vacation is over...

MR. POPULARITY – From pix11.com:  "A New Jersey man has raised a flag that is causing concern among his neighbors.  The man recently hung what some neighbors called an ISIS flag outside his home in Garwood. When a picture was posted onto Twitter, neighbors on Winslow Place called the police.  The flag, which is used by an Islamic extremist group responsible for violence in Iraq, has since been removed from display. Even so, neighbors still wonder why the flag was there to begin with.  PIX11 has confirmed the flag was on display at the home for at least three weeks.  The man told NJ.com that he has flown the flag outside his home during Ramadan and on Fridays for about 10 years. It has never been a problem, he said, until a photo of it was posted on Twitter on Tuesday."  Watch.  Multiculturalists from local universities will visit this guy to express intellectual solidarity. 

August 13, 2014