SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE

Excuses, excuses:  Just returned from a wonderful trip to central Virginia, where my older daughter lives.  When we drove down Thursday I published SHORT TAKES rather late, and explained that we had just completed a long road trip.  Same excuse tonight, with an asterisk.  We were returning from Virginia, and I encountered a non-life-threatening but extremely uncomfortable medical "issue," requiring a visit to an emergency room.  I'm all repaired now, thanks to the fine folks at Union Hospital in Elkton, Maryland.   But obviously we were substantially delayed.

I also wish to thank my wife, who finally convinced me to go to a hospital rather than to my computer.

It's 1:36 a.m. here.  I'll try to get a few posts up in a little bit, but excuse me if I have to be brief.

GOVERNMENT MOTORS...AGAIN – You see all those cars on the road, and you wonder how many of them have serious flaws.  In fact, it's quite a few.  From Fox:  "General Motors (GM) on Monday announced six new recalls covering 7.55 million vehicles in the U.S., as the automaker continues to address safety issues.  After calling back 2.6 million compact cars for a defective ignition switch, GM has unveiled a slew of additional recalls in recent months. The company now expects to take a second-quarter charge of $1.2 billion, up from a previous estimate of $700 million.  GM’s latest batch of recalls ranges from model-years 1997 to 2014. The company said it is aware of seven crashes, eight injuries and three fatalities. The fatal crashes are connected to the largest recall, which covers 6.8 million older model full-size sedans for inadvertent ignition key rotation."   We wonder how defects can exist year after year without manufacturers taking action.  If we believe in free enterprise, we must hold the captains of free enterprise responsible for poor oversight of their corporations.

ACCURATE?  – We get the sense that Hillary is stumbling.  One poll now shows her below 50%.  From the Washington Examiner:  "Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's fumbles and bumbles in the rollout of her latest memoir, Hard Choices, has knocked the wind out if her easy sail to the White House and put her support in key 2016 presidential election matchups below 50 percent for the first time.  At a time when she should be padding her lead over the top Republican contenders, her underwhelming effort has cut her numbers, said pollster John Zogby.  In his latest Zogby Analytics survey taken June 27-29, for example, her commanding leads over former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie have shrunk greatly, and she doesn't even receive 50 percent of the vote. Worse, her support among married and wealthy voters has plummeted."  The question is whether Zogby's poll is accurate.  It doesn't have the greatest reputation.  But let's see what other polls say in the coming weeks.  If Hillary starts slipping across the board, we'll know she's in trouble.  We'll also know that if her new book starts selling for a dollar, less at Stop-and-Shop.

NEW MIDEAST TENSIONS – Three Israeli teenagers kidnapped several weeks ago have been found dead, and buried in shallow graves.  The kidnappings attracted international attention.  Now there are calls in Israel for military retaliation against those found responsible for the despicable act.  Tensions have rarely been higher.  From WaPo:  "JERUSALEM — The Israeli army confirmed Monday evening that search teams found the bodies of three kidnapped Israeli teenagers, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that the Islamist militant group Hamas, which it accuses of the abductions, will pay a heavy price.  Speaking at the start of a meeting of his security cabinet following the grisly discovery, Netanyahu said, 'Hamas is responsible, and Hamas will pay.' He said the three 'were kidnapped and murdered in cold blood by wild beasts.' The teenagers were abducted June 12 as they made their way home from their religious school in the ­Israeli-occupied West Bank."  There is war and upheaval all around Israel.  All it will take is a spark like these murders to start another Arab-Israeli war. 

June 30, 2014