SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 10:08 P.M. ET:

IT'S NOT HELL THAT'S FREEZING OVER – From CNS:  "Lake Superior hasn’t completely frozen over in two decades.  But an expert on Great Lakes ice says there’s a “very high likelihood” that the three-quadrillion-gallon lake will soon be totally covered with ice thanks to this winter’s record-breaking cold.  The ice cover on the largest freshwater lake in the world hit a 20-year record of 91 percent on Feb. 5, 1994.  Jay Austin, associate professor at the Large Lakes Observatory in Duluth, Minn., told CNSNews.com that he expects that record will be broken this winter when the most northern of the Great Lakes becomes totally shrouded in ice."  Al Gore has been placed on a suicide watch.

LATEST SENATE POLL – From The Hill:  "Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) is neck-and-neck with her main Republican challenger, Rep. Bill Cassidy (La.), in a new Democratic poll of the Louisiana Senate race.  The automated survey, from Democratic firm Public Policy Polling, gives Landrieu 45 percent support to Cassidy’s 44 percent support among voters in a head-to-head matchup. That’s a significant drop for Landrieu since October, when she held a 7-point lead in the same poll."  That's going in the right direction, but the Republican is still not ahead.  When I start seeing conservative numbers above 50%, I'll start sharing in some of the pre-election applause.

WEIRD IN AMERICA – From Mediatrackers.org:  "Documents from an Ohio National Guard (ONG) training drill conducted last January reveal the details of a mock disaster where Second Amendment supporters with 'anti-government' opinions were portrayed as domestic terrorists.  The ONG 52nd Civil Support Team training scenario involved a plot from local school district employees to use biological weapons in order to advance their beliefs about 'protecting Gun Rights and Second Amendment rights.'"  I wonder if they give them any training in countering Al Qaeda.  Whoops.  I didn't mean that.  We all know that Al Qaeda is on the run.  Our glorious leader has said that.

GOOD IDEA – Boston is getting some new surveillance equipment.  From CBS:  "BOSTON (CBS) — Homeland Security in Washington DC has awarded the MBTA about $7 million to outfit buses with the latest in live video technology.  Sophisticated new 360-degree lenses embedded in the ceilings and walls of the buses will now capture everything. And on some buses, there will even be flat screens for passengers to see what is going on.  'I think it’s great, anything that makes the public feel safer,' one woman told WBZ-TV.
Another said 'the images are pretty clear. I did not think they were going to be that clear.'  There is no audio but there are also cameras on the exterior of the buses.  The system cost $6.9 million, all paid for by Homeland Security. Right now, about 10 buses are outfitted but by the summer, more than 225 will have these sophisticated cameras."  Sounds fine to me.  It could deter criminals who prey on bus passengers, but fear getting photographed in the act.  It would not deter suicide bombers, but could help identify them, allowing authorities to link them to specific groups.

February 11,  2014