SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:54 P.M. ET: 

MSNBC DYING – I don't know how long NBC can keep MSNBC on the air.  The ratings are fading into dime-store territory.  From Mediaite:  "Not only did The Ed Show hit a new low of 30K viewers in the 25-54 demo on Wednesday, but MSNBC had its lowest total day ratings in close to 10 years with 49K average viewers in the demo over the course of the day. The last time MSNBC saw demo ratings this low was on July 20, 2005 when it had 45K in total day.  In primetime, MSNBC also came in third place with just 76K in the demo compared to 337K for Fox News and 196K for CNN."  There are local stations that do much better.  I think it's their relentless left-wingism that's killing them.  Grim and not entertaining.

DO WE NEED THIS?  – From Times of Israel:  "Natalie Portman will portray Jackie Kennedy in a new film depicting the first four days of her life following the assassination of her husband, 35th US president John F. Kennedy.  'Jackie' is expected to go into production at the end of the year, and will reunite the Israeli-American actress with Darren Aronovsky, who directed her in the 2010 ballet thriller 'Black Swan,' for which she received an Academy Award, Variety reported Thursday.  Aronovsky is slated to produce the upcoming film."  I'm so excited.  Portman is also scheduled to play Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in a film.  Has she become the designated portrayer?   Look, she's talented, beautiful and smart – a Harvard graduate – but her recent, militant left-wing statements are a turnoff.  If she can keep her mouth shut, all the better.  Just do the job.  As far as the choice of material, there was much to admire about Jacqueline Kennedy and the way she carried herself during a time of grief, but I think the actual newsfilms will always say more than a movie.  I can't imagine a movie about the militant Ruth being all that interesting. 

FRIGHTENING – From the Washington Examiner:  "The Associated Press and three of the nation's biggest newspapers are under pressure to stop referring to climate change 'skeptics' in stories, and instead bluntly label those who question the science of global warming as 'deniers.'  In a report and petition, two groups on Wednesday charged that the media is giving 'deniers' cover for what they call wrongheadedness.  The liberal media watchdog Media Matters and Forecast the Facts reviewed stories in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Washington Post and said that the term 'skeptics' was used 19 times to describe what they call deniers."  The left's war on free expression continues.  I would hope that scientists would be the first to denounce this attempt to force intellectual conformity.  But I'm afraid too many scientists are themselves fearful that their careers would suffer if they don't go along.  This is the path to totalitarianism.

MAJOR EDUCATIONAL NEWS BULLETIN – From the Washington Times:  "A report by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on microaggressions includes 'walking into or sitting in' a room full of white people as a problematic environment for minorities.  'Students of color reported feeling uncomfortable and unwelcomed just walking into or sitting in the classroom, especially if they were the only person of color, or one of a few,' said the report, titled 'Racial Microaggressions @ University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign,' National Review reported Wednesday."  It is simply remarkable to see the damage done to minority kids by turning them into whining children.  Instead of preparing them for life, we're preparing them for a sandbox.

May 14, 2015