SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:52 P.M. ET: 

OBAMA RISES – Obama continues to show improvement in his approval ratings.  His Gallup rating stands at 48% approval, 48% disapproval, a tie.  First time approval has come up to disapproval since the middle of 2013.  I can't really account for this.  Last year at this time only 42% approved of the president, and 52% disapproved.  Maybe is getting a sympathy vote following the drubbing his party took in last month's midterms.

SHOCKING, A RETURN TO SLAVERY – From London's Daily Mail:  "Target is under fire from angry consumers over its use of predominantly white models to promote a new clothing line inspired by the recent remake of hit musical Annie, which is led by an African American actress.   A Change.org petition issued by motivational speaker L'Sean Rinique Shelton, based in Bear, Delaware, calls for the retail giant to remove the 'disrespectful' in-store displays and apologize to the movie's 11-year-old star, Quvenzhané Wallis.  'In the current stench of racism and division amongst Americans, why would Target singlehandedly disrespect Quvenzhané Wallis and add more pain to injury as it relates to race relations?' poses Ms Shelton, a mother-of-three."  One of the great issues of our time, I'm sure. 

GRIM TRUTHS – From Fox:  "WASHINGTON – The number of law enforcement officers killed by firearms in the U.S. jumped by 56 percent this year and included 15 ambush assaults, according to a report released Tuesday.  The annual report by the nonprofit National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund found that 50 officers were killed by guns this year, compared to 32 in 2013.  In all, the report found that 126 federal, local, tribal and territorial officers were killed in the line of duty in 2014. That's a 24 percent jump from last year's 102 on-duty deaths. Shootings were the leading cause of officer deaths in 2014 followed by traffic-related fatalities, at 49."  Al Sharpton could not be reached for comment.

WHOOPS – From Real Science:  "The area of Arctic sea ice is nearly identical to 30 years ago.  Arctic sea ice is cyclically returning to the NSIDC cherry-picked date of 1979.  The area of sea ice on Earth has moved into unprecedented territory. When it was declining, they blamed it on global warming. Now that it is increasing, they blame it on global warming.  The amount of solar energy in Antarctica is at its peak for the year, so the record amount of ice is having maximum cooling effect on the planet.  All of these things are the exact opposite of what experts forecast. Hansen predicted peak sea ice loss in the Weddell Sea, right where the peak gain has occurred."  Don't tell Al Gore.  He has so many troubles, what with paying the electric bills for his mansions.  Be kind.

December 30, 2014