SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:57 P.M. ET:

DRAMA – The queen of journalism, the executive editor of The New York Times, has been fired.  She wasn't only fired from her job.  She was fired from the paper.  She is, as they say in Hollywood, off the lot.  No more cafeteria privileges.  Jill Abramson was let go, and the announcement from the paper made it clear that this trip was involuntary.  No actual reason was given, and the speculation will use up many barrels of ink in the days to come.  But don't get too optimistic.  Abramson's replacement, Dean Baquet, is a veteran of both the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times, and a card-carrying liberal.  Abramson was the first female executive editor of the paper.  Baquet will be the first African-American to hold the job.

A DIGITAL FRENCH FOREIGN LEGION – From The New York Times:  "Europe’s highest court said on Tuesday that people had the right to influence what the world could learn about them through online searches, a ruling that rejected long-established notions about the free flow of information on the Internet.  A search engine like Google should allow online users to be 'forgotten' after a certain time by erasing links to web pages unless there are 'particular reasons' not to, the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg said."  Hillary said it better:  "At this point, what difference does it make?"

ONE VOICE, ONE PEOPLE, ONE LEADER – Yeah, sounds like old times in the Fatherland.  From the Washington Examiner:  "National Security Advisor Susan Rice disputed Republican critiques of President Obama's foreign policy by arguing that 'political polarization' accounts for the 'one weakness' of American strength in international affairs.  'The one weakness that our friends and partners point to and the one thing that undermines our strength around the world is our political polarization,' Rice said during an event hosted by the Women's Foreign Policy Group.  Rice didn't mention Republicans specifically, but cited policy fights that they have provoked, such as over budget issues." 

IT'S COOL MAN, COOL – From CBS:  "There are three flags over the Auraria Campus for the University of Colorado Denver, Metro State University and the Community College of Denver. But there’s another institution there as well called Clover Leaf University. It’s curriculum is marijuana.  'As long as they’re conducting lawful activities we don’t have any desire to ban them from the campus, because that’s part of our content neutrality approach,' Blaine Nickeson with the Auraria Higher Education Center said.  Clover Leaf University offers courses in cannabis cultivation, infusion and marijuana business."  Hey, why not?  This is good.  Stoned students won't remember a thing their left-wing professors say.

May 14,  2014