SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:31 P.M. ET: 

QUESTIONS ASKED – Presidents often appoint political cronies to ambassadorships, but this president has selected a particularly mediocre bunch.  From WaPo:  "A century-old debate over whether presidents should reward political donors and allies by making them ambassadors has flared again after a string of embarrassing gaffes by President Obama’s picks.  The nominee for ambassador to Norway, for example, prompted outrage in Oslo by characterizing one of the nation’s ruling parties as extremist. A soap-opera producer slated for Hungary appeared to have little knowledge of the country she would be living in. A prominent Obama bundler nominated to be ambassador to Argentina acknowledged that he had never set foot in the country and isn’t fluent in Spanish."  And yet, they'll all probably be confirmed.  It's disgraceful.  Norwegians have reacted with particular anger to Obama's nothing appointment.  And they should.

PANDORA'S BOX – Man, it's like you can't even listen to a beat anymore without being psyched, man.  From The Wall Street Journal:  "Next time you listen to a Bob Marley channel on Pandora Media Inc., the internet radio service may peg you as likely to vote for a Democrat. The Oakland, Calif., company plans to roll out a new advertising service next week that would enable candidates and political organizations to target the majority of its 73 million active monthly Pandora listeners based on its sense of their political leanings.  How can it do this? The company matches election results with subscribers' musical preferences by ZIP Code. Then, it labels individual users based on their musical tastes and whether those artists are more frequently listened to in Democratic or Republican areas. Users don't divulge their political affiliations when they sign up for Pandora."  Whatever happened to the secret ballot?

MODEL ELECTION – It's a pleasure to report an election that actually was conducted with class and quality.  The workers at Kentucky's Volkswagen plant voted on whether they wished to unionize and join the United Auto Workers.  From the Detroit Free Press:  "CHATTANOOGA, TENN. — The UAW suffered a devastating defeat at Volkswagen’s plant here as workers rejected union representation by a 712-626 margin.  The defeat, which came despite Volkswagen’s neutrality, tarnishes UAW President Bob King’s legacy and could make it next to impossible for the union to extend its reach beyond domestic automakers.  'While we certainly would have liked a victory for workers here, we deeply respect the Volkswagen Global Group Works Council, Volkswagen management and (German union) IG Metall for doing their best to create a free and open atmosphere for workers to exercise their basic human right to form a union,' King said in a statement.  Frank Fischer, CEO of Volkswagen Chattanooga, thanked the workers for participating.  'They have spoken, and Volkswagen will respect the decision of the majority,' said Fischer in a statement.  Of about 1,500 Volkswagen workers eligible to vote, 89% cast ballots between Wednesday and Friday night."  An apparently fair and clean election.  As readers know, I'm pro-union, and, of course, Ronald Reagan was a union president.  I believe unions, when honestly run, can be of enormous value to both workers and the smooth operation of a company.  But workers should have their choice about unionization, and workers at Volkswagen made theirs.  Others will decide the other way. 

February 14, 2014