SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 9:14 P.M. ET: 

IN CASE GOD DOESN'T SAVE THE QUEEN – FROM BBC:  The Commonwealth has secretly begun considering who might succeed the Queen as its head, the BBC has learned.  The issue is hugely sensitive because the role is not hereditary and will not pass automatically to the Prince of Wales on the Queen's death.
The Commonwealth has set up a "high level group" to look at the way the international organisation is governed.  This group is meeting later, officially to review how the Commonwealth is run by its secretariat and governors.  It said the issue of the succession of the head of the Commonwealth was not part of the group's mandate, but described the day-long discussions as "open".  However, senior sources added that the gathering in London would also consider what happens when the Queen, who turns 92 in April, dies.  Send your nominations in.   Look, bottom line, this would be a great way to get Hillary out of our hair.  And she'd finally have the gold carriage she's always wanted.  Maxine Waters is reportedly interested.

CRAZY, MAN – FROM BREITBART:  California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is threatening to sue if the Trump administration includes a question regarding citizenship on the 2020 census.  The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Becerra worries citizenship questions will dissuade some California residents from taking the census, thereby under-representing themselves and running the risk of a loss of federal funding for certain parts of the state.  Becerra is part of a coalition of 19 attorneys general who fighting against inclusion of a citizenship. They sent a letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Monday, in which Becerra described counting everyone, citizen or not, as a “sacred responsibility.”  What an absurd position.  Doesn't a country have the right to know how many actual citizens it has within its borders?  I guess we're just a little old-fashioned at Urgent Agenda. 

WORRISOME – FROM THE HILL:   Democrats on Tuesday won yet another special election for a state legislative seat once held by a Republican, this time in a battleground seat south of Tampa, Fla.  With all precincts reporting, attorney Margaret Good (D) took 52 percent of the vote, ousting Sarasota real estate agent James Buchanan (R).  President Trump carried the state legislative district by a 5-point margin in 2016. It opened when the incumbent Republican quit to spend more time with her family and building her business.
 Good won despite Buchanan's well-known name: His father, Rep. Vern Buchanan (R), owned some of the largest car dealerships in the area. He now represents a district in Congress that includes the legislative seat in which his son ran.  There have been too many of these cases recently.  The GOP had better get its act together, especially in vulnerable districts around the country. 

February 13, 2018