SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:56 P.M. ET:

HILLARY BASHED IN IOWA – From the Washington Times:  "Hillary Rodham Clinton’s ties to agribusiness giant Monsanto, and her advocacy for the industry’s genetically modified crops, have environmentalists in Iowa calling her 'Bride of Frankenfood' — putting yet another wrinkle in her presidential campaign’s courtship of liberal activists who are crucial to winning the state’s Democratic caucuses.  The backlash against Mrs. Clinton for her support of genetically modified organisms (GMO), which dominate the corn and soybean crops at the heart of Iowa’s economy, manifested itself at a recent meeting of the Tri-County Democrats, where members gauged support for the former secretary of state.   A large faction of women voiced strong support for Mrs. Clinton’s candidacy until the GMO issue came up, prompting them to switch allegiances to Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont, a liberal stalwart challenging her for the Democratic nomination."  I didn't know there were so many nuts in Iowa.

HUH? – From The New York Times:  "Dozens of black ministers, justice reform advocates and civil rights activists and four black members of Congress gathered last Monday at Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem to discuss a delicate matter: What to do about Mayor Bill de Blasio.  Over the course of the morning meeting, attendees voiced a series of concerns: Mr. de Blasio, some complained, seems to have lost his appetite for criminal justice reform. The mayor, they said, has been too slow to take action against the police officer whose use of a chokehold on Eric Garner, an unarmed black man on Staten Island, led to Mr. Garner’s death. Other participants grumbled that Mr. de Blasio and his staff have simply not done enough to communicate with black community leaders on issues like affordable housing."  De Blasio is the most left-wing mayor ever elected to lead a large city.  His wife is African American.  And the black leaders are having trouble with him?  It shows just how far left the black leadership has shifted.  Not good, not good.

BASIC WARFARE – From the Washington Times:  "U.S. Special Operations Forces had to fight 'hand to hand' in Friday night’s raid that killed the Islamic State terrorist group senior commander Abu Sayyaf, several defense officials told The Daily Beast Saturday.  Troops from the U.S. Army Delta Force landed near a multi-story building with Ospreys and Blackhawks and were met with resistance when they entered, including 'hand to hand' combat, one official told The Daily Beast.  There was some resistance from armed guards and from the terrorist commander himself, but the troops were well prepared to handle that, another official said."  Remember when Obama ridiculed Mitt Romney during the 2012 campaign because Romney complained that our defenses were growing weaker.  Obama sneered that we have all this high-tech stuff.  High-tech is fine, but the basic skills of the ground soldier are still critical to defending the nation.  High-tech never took a city.

May 17, 2015