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

HOT IN IRAN – From Fox:   The Middle East is trapped under a brutal “heat dome” that has brought apocalyptic weather and a heat index that makes it feel like 164 degrees in one Iranian city.  For more than a week, Iran and Iraq have endured scorching temperatures, prompting Baghdad to declare a four-day “heat holiday” and leaving the Iranian city of Bandar Mahshahr dangerously close to breaking the all-time record with a heat index of 164 degrees on Friday.  They should consult Al Gore.  He'll recommend plug-in camels and rubber-band engines for airliners.

SICKENING – From Judicial Watch:  The U.S. government paid a controversial civil rights activist/comedian to deliver an anti-white racist tirade at a major federal agency during Black History month and Judicial Watch has obtained the disturbing transcript of the offensive political rant.  It took place at the United States Census Bureau earlier this year and the paid speaker was Dick Gregory, a self-professed humanitarian and drum major for justice who claims that his social satire changed the way white Americans perceive African American comedians. But Gregory’s angry outburst at the Census Bureau was not funny to some employees and the agency was forced to explain that it will thoroughly review its procedures for selecting future speakers to “ensure their views are appropriate for the federal workplace.”  Based on Gregory’s well-known reputation as a fiery race-baiter, it’s unlikely that the government officials who booked him didn’t know about his discriminating, shock-based performances.  Gregory was actually a pretty decent comedian about 50 years ago, then he descended into race-baiting and conspiracy theories.  Talent gone to waste.

GREECE AT HOME – From AP:   SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- The government of Puerto Rico confirmed Monday that it failed to make a $58 million debt payment in a significant escalation of the debt crisis facing the U.S. island territory.  Puerto Rico made a partial payment of $628,000 in interest but could not afford to make the remainder, which was due Saturday, because the legislature did not appropriate the funds, said Melba Acosta Febo, president of the Government Development Bank.  The White House assures us that no federal bailout is planned.  Nonsense.  As we get closer to election time, watch for that bailout to suddenly appear.

THE DOCTOR IS NOT IN – From The Washington Times:   Obamacare has offered insurance to millions of people, but they’re unhappy with the coverage they’re getting and are particularly upset about the costs, according to a survey released Monday that suggests the health care law continues to struggle to win over Americans.  Just 30 percent of customers on Obamacare’s exchanges were satisfied with their coverage, the health care research arm of the Deloitte consulting firm said.  Only a quarter of Obamacare customers in the survey were confident that they could get care when they needed it, and just 16 percent felt “financially prepared” to handle future health care costs, Deloitte said.  “Those are not high numbers,” said Paul Lambdin, a director for Deloitte’s work on insurance exchanges and retail practices.  It was done so badly, but Obama may well be out of office before most Americans realize they've been duped.  Then the Dems will blame Bush, Cheney, and climate change.

August 3, 2015