SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:51 P.M. ET:

ONCE A GREAT PAPER – From The Politico:  "The New York Times editorial board has called upon President Barack Obama to prosecute former Vice President Dick Cheney for the torture of terrorism suspects.  The sharply worded editorial, published Monday, comes amid an effort by the American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights Watch to launch an investigation into U.S. torture practices. The two groups will submit a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday calling for the appointment of a special prosecutor.  'The question everyone will want answered, of course, is: Who should be held accountable? That will depend on what an investigation finds, and as hard as it is to imagine Mr. Obama having the political courage to order a new investigation, it is harder to imagine a criminal probe of the actions of a former president,' the Times editorial board wrote."  The crazed editorial was spurred by the recent Senate report on the CIA, Which was written only by Democrats.  The leftists would love to see Cheney in the dock, just as they'd love to bring down American defense.  These are not liberals we're talking about.

THE NERVE OF THIS GUY – From the Washington Examiner:  "New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, on the defensive following the killing of two police officers in Brooklyn, accused the media Monday of stoking racial tensions rather than objectively covering 'peaceful protests.'  'What are you guys going to do? Are you going to keep dividing us?' de Blasio said when asked whether aggressive demonstrations contributed to shootings of officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos.  'The few who want conflict attempt that,' he told reporters in a press conference Monday afternoon. 'You guys enable that.'"  What nerve.  This guy ran against the police during his campaign.  He has made inflammatory statements.  He has embraced Al Sharpton.  He has a history of pro-Communist affiliations.  And he blames the press.  Apparently, it's not left-wing enough for him.

FUN FOR DRIVERS – From the Washington Examiner:  "National gasoline prices have fallen for 88 consecutive days, breaking a U.S. record, according to the AAA motor club.  A gallon of gas averaged $2.39 on Monday, the lowest level since May 2009. Gas prices have declined every day since Sept. 25, and motorists in only Alaska and Hawaii currently pay more than $3 per gallon.  Analysts have said the falling prices are acting as a stimulus for U.S. drivers, with the U.S. Energy Information Administration saying the average household will pocket an additional $550 next year.  Low pump prices are a reflection of global oversupply of oil — chiefly from surging U.S. production and a decision by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries not to cut supply — along with sagging demand. While U.S. drivers have benefited, the tumbling oil prices have created worry for financial markets and could slow the growth of U.S. oil production."  I suspect prices will start to inch up soon, as OPEC squeezes production.  Enjoy the prices while you can.  And remember that Obama opposed every measure that made these lower prices possible.  Al Gore is selling gas at a higher price, but he autographs every gallon.

INTERNET NEWS – From CNN:  "(CNN) -- North Korea's Internet was back up Tuesday after a more than nine-hour outage, according to Dyn Research, a company that monitors Internet performance.  The disruption came amid an escalating war of words between the United States and North Korea over a massive cyberattack on Sony Pictures.  'Usually there are isolated blips, not continuous connectivity problems. I wouldn't be surprised if they are absorbing some sort of attack presently,' Doug Madory, director of Internet analysis at Dyn Research, said when the Internet was down."  I hope we did it. 

December 22,  2014