SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 10:08 P.M. ET:

A CHILL AT WEST POINT – From Mediaite:  "Obama’s 'philosophical' speech to the 2014 graduates of West Point about a new direction for America’s foreign policy was 'not a great' speech for that audience, said CNN anchor Jim Clancy on Wednesday. He said that the president did not sound like a 'commander-in-chief speaking to his troops' and got an 'icy reception' as a result.  Clancy did not criticize the substance of President Obama’s speech outlining a shift in tactics, specifically as it relates to America’s approach to fighting terrorist groups. However, he did think that the defining of a new foreign policy doctrine was not something the attendees wanted to hear."  I would imagine not, especially from a president who radiates weakness and indecision.

SETBACK – From CNN:  "(CNN) -- The four acoustic pings at the center of the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 for the past seven weeks are no longer believed to have come from the plane's black boxes, a U.S. Navy official told CNN.  The acknowledgment came Wednesday as searchers wrapped up the first phase of their effort, having scanned 329 square miles of southern Indian Ocean floor without finding any wreckage from the Boeing 777-200.  Authorities now almost universally believe the pings did not come from the onboard data or cockpit voice recorders, but instead came from some other man-made source unrelated to the jetliner that disappeared on March 8, according to Michael Dean, the Navy's deputy director of ocean engineering."  They are back to square one.  Apparently, modern technology isn't that precise at all.  Keep that in mind the next time Al Gore tells you that the science around "climate change" is "settled."

BETTER COOKIE JAR IS NEEDED – "The State Department misplaced and lost some $6 billion due to the improper filing of contracts during the past six years, mainly during the tenure of former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, according to a newly released Inspector General report.  The $6 billion in unaccounted funds poses a 'significant financial risk and demonstrates a lack of internal control over the Department’s contract actions,' according to the report.  The alert, originally sent on March 20 and just released this week, warns that the missing contracting funds 'could expose the department to substantial financial losses.'"  Do you think Obama will now make Hillary head of the Veterans Administration?

FASCINATING – From AP:  "SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Residents of California's largely rural, agrarian and politically conservative far northern counties long ago got used to feeling ignored in the state Capitol and out of sync with major urban areas.  The idea of forming their own state has been a topic among local secession dreamers for more than a century. Residents in two counties will have a chance to voice that sentiment next week.  Voters in Del Norte and Tehama, with a combined population of about 91,000, will decide June 3 on an advisory measure that asks each county's board of supervisors to join a wider effort to form a 51st state named Jefferson."  We'll be following this.  Obama once said we had 57 states, and maybe someday he'll be right. 

May 28, 2014