SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET: 

SEE HOW IT FEELS – There is an active attempt to turn the firing of Jill Abramson as executive editor of The New York Times into a decisive moment in feminism.  Now maybe the publisher of The Times, Pinch Sulzberger, understands what it's like to face the kind of accusations that his editorial-page editors throw at others regularly.  He is fighting back.  From capitalnewyork.com:  "New York Times Co. president and publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. issued a statement on Saturday afternoon pushing back against stories that the paper fired former executive editor Jill Abramson in part because she inquired into salary inequities between herself and her male colleagues.  'Perhaps the saddest outcome of my decision to replace Jill Abramson as executive editor of The New York Times is that it has been cast by many as an example of the unequal treatment of women in the workplace,' Sulzberger said in the statement. 'Rather than accepting that this was a situation involving a specific individual who, as we all do, has strengths and weaknesses, a shallow and factually incorrect storyline has emerged.'  Following Abramson's firing this week, The New Yorker's Ken Auletta reported that Abramson had hired a lawyer after learning that her salary was less than that of predecessor Bill Keller."  I have no idea where the truth lies here, but, despite my criticisms of Sulberger's management of the paper, I think it's almost impossible that he would risk a lawsuit over a pay equity issue involving the paper's first female executive editor.  I suspect this really was an issue of management style.

A NEW WARNING THAT WILL PROBABLY BE IGNORED – From The Hill:  "The chances that a terrorist will try to target the United States are growing increasingly high, according to the former head of the National Security Agency.  'The probability is growing,' Gen. Keith Alexander told The New Yorker in an interview.  'What I saw at NSA is that there is a lot more coming our way, just as someone is revealing all the tools and the capabilities we have,' he added, referring to leaks from former contractor Edward Snowden.  'What that tells me is we’re at greater risk,' warned Alexander."  Americans do not seem to be in a "security" mood these days, and Obama has done his best to divert attention from the threat of terror.  We'll have to be woken up the hard way.   As for Snowden, he is a turncoat and probably a traitor.  I continue to wonder how an unstable character like that had access to so much classified information.

FIGHTING SHAPE? – From CNBC:  "Want to improve national security without spending billions on a new weapons system? Slim down America's kids and teach them to read, some retired generals say.  The Army says more than three-fourths of 17- to 24-year-olds today are not eligible to join the military because they aren't fit enough or don't meet other basic requirements, such as having a high school diploma or being able to read or write properly.  That's got some of the nation's highest-ranking retired military officials advocating a radical way to improve national security—improve the lives of children. 'It's not just a school problem. It's not just a Department (of Education) problem. It's a national security issue and it needs to be prioritized that way,' said retired Maj. Gen. D. Allen Youngman."  Imagine, this is the country that sent a man to the Moon 45 years ago.

May 17,  2014