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

THE BEST AND BRIGHTEST (LAUGH) – An organized group at Princeton University is demanding that the Ivy League school stop asking about the possible criminal background of applicants.  Look, I'm not making this up.  From Inside Higher Ed:  "Not only is asking the question unfair, the group argues, but it may limit an important kind of diversity on Princeton's campus.  'Individuals with past involvement with the justice system would bring distinct perspectives to Princeton,' the group says. 'Approximately one-quarter of U.S. adults have a criminal record. A lack of interaction with this stigmatized population fosters deep misunderstandings about the nature of the criminal justice system and those affected by it. We believe that by eliminating questions related to past involvement with the justice system, Princeton can open the door to increased diversity of experience and perspective among the student body without compromising its academic quality or moral character.'"  So they're charging $60,000 a year, and these kids want to dorm with convicted murderers to celebrate diversity.  Maybe we should raise the voting age to 30.

IMAGES – What has become clear in the disappearance of the Malaysian airliner is that a lot of bad information has been given out.  Malaysia should have called in first-class technical assistance from other countries in the first hours.  Now we learn that a Chinese satellite has picked up images of debris that may have come from the airliner.  We'll wait on more information.  But please also note how the possibility of terrorism is being played down even before we know a single fact about the disappearance.  Remember that Malaysia is a Muslim country, and terrorism is a sensitive issue.  Wouldn't want to get the brothers upset.

THE WISDOM OF WASHINGTON – Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas is not known as the sharpest knife in the drawer.  In fact, she doesn't even make it into the drawer.  And she must have been absent the day that the Constitution was covered in high school.  From the Washington Free Beacon:  "Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D., Texas) declared the U.S. Constitution to be 400 years old Wednesday on the House floor, which would mean it was signed in 1614.  'Maybe I should offer a good thanks to the distinguished members of the majority, the Republicans, my chairman and others, for giving us an opportunity to have a deliberative constitutional discussion that reinforces the sanctity of this nation and how well it is that we have lasted some 400 years, operating under a constitution that clearly defines what is constitutional and what is not,' she said."
Hey, that's not so bad.  The guy in the White House got a job as a constitutional law instructor in a prestigious law school, having never argued a case in constitutional law.

I'M SHOCKED, SHOCKED – And I had to read it in London's Daily Mail:   "Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told House Ways and Means Committee members on Wednesday that she expects health insurance rates to increase as the Affordable Care Act takes full effect.  'I think premiums are likely to go up,' she conceded under questioning, 'but go up at a slower pace' than they have already under Obamacare.  President Obama famously promised in 2008 and 2009 that his health insurance overhaul plan would lower the cost of health care for an average family by $2,500 per year."  And you can keep your bankruptcy plan if you like it.

March 12, 2014