SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:52 P.M. ET: 

A CHANCE?  – From the Chicago Sun-Times:  "The race to defeat one of the most powerful Democrats in the nation is narrowing — with incumbent U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin just seven percentage points ahead of Republican challenger Jim Oberweis, according to a new Early & Often Poll.  In a year that’s expected to tilt toward Republicans across the nation, Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the U.S. Senate, is leading Oberweis, who is making his third run for the Senate, 47.8 percent to 40.5 percent, the survey commissioned by the Sun-Times’ political portal shows.  And in the first major survey since an Illinois State Board of Elections ruling allowed the Libertarian Party onto the ballot, candidate Sharon Hansen had a showing of about 4 percent.  Another 7.6 percent of those queried said they were undecided..."  I'd want to see more polling before believing that our side has a shot in heavily Democratic Illinois, especially since the Chicago machine knows where to find votes, when needed.  But if the poll is accurate it may be a sign of good things to come.

LIKE PRESIDENT, LIKE SECRETARY OF STATE – From the Daily Caller:  "Secretary of State John Kerry was spotted kiteboarding Monday morning in Nantucket in a photograph obtained exclusively by The Daily Caller.   Kerry spent Labor Day enjoying himself while the Obama administration still admittedly has no strategy for dealing with the threat of ISIS in Iraq. Kerry was last seen kiteboarding in mid-August in Nantucket.  Kerry’s last documented work-related activity was seen in the pages of Saturday’s New York Times, in the form of an op-ed entitled 'To Defeat Terror, We Need the World’s Help: The Threat of ISIS Demands A Global Coalition.'"  What's wrong with these Obamans?  Have they never heard the term, "bad image"?  Or don't they care?

MAJOR HOME-ECONOMICS NEWS – From BBC:  "From 1 September, companies in the EU will be banned from making or importing vacuum cleaners above 1600 watts and it has led to a sharp rise in sales.  In one recent study, five of the top seven cleaners had motors of more than 1600 watts."  Maybe the public is sending a message:  clean beats green.  We've read that the European Union will be waging a war on hair dryers, cell phones and other appliances on the ground that they're evil and an assault on Mother Earth.  If anyone comes for my powerful vacuum cleaner, they'll have to yank the upholstery nozzle out of my cold, dead hands.

September 1, 2014