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

RIDICULOUS – There is now a drive to boycott the Oscars because there were no African-Americans among the actor nominees.  This is absurd.  I wonder how many pro-life Catholic women are among the nominees.  How about military veterans?  Observant Jews?  Republicans?  I can understand how people want to be "represented," but no one can demand nominations based on race.  They say the voting group in the academy is tilted toward "older white men," and that this affects nominations, but the fact is that these older white men are now drawn from the sixties generation, and they are decidedly liberal.  Suggestion for the protesters:  There's a lot of black money in show business.  How about investing some in starting film companies and studios?  Then you choose your own casting, and have a stronger presence.  That leads to more nominations.  Entrepreneurship is the key to group progress.

OH PLEASE – Grand Admiral Kerry expresses his outrage.  From The Hill:  Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday that he was outraged by the footage of U.S. sailors being apprehended at gunpoint by the Iranian military last week.  "I was very angry. I was very frustrated and angry that that was released. I raised it immediately with the Iranians," he said during an interview on CNN.  "It was not put out by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the government directly, it was put out I think by the military over there, the [Iranian Revolutionary Guard], who is opposed to what we are doing."  Gee, you think they're opposed, Admiral Kerry?  And they have the power, don't they?  In that case, why are you so damned sure this ramshackle nuclear deal is going to work?

GIGANTIC SANDERS ENDORSEMENT – Bernie pushes on!  From The Hill:   Rapper Killer Mike told reporters Sunday that he ended up supporting Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders “after smoking a joint and reading his tweets.”  The hip-hop star appeared in the spin room for the Vermont senator after Sunday night’s debate.  The rapper endorsed Sanders for president in June after the candidate cited his support for restoring the Voting Rights Act.  Killer Mike has appeared with Sanders at several stops on the campaign trail since his endorsement.   Well, I guess it's over.  Killer Mike's endorsement is good enough for me.  Time for everyone else to drop out.

January 18,  2016