SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET: 

TRUMP DECIDES ON IRAN – FROM THE JERUSALEM POST:  President Donald Trump waived nuclear-related sanctions on Iran on Friday, keeping the US in an international deal governing its nuclear program for the time being.  But in doing so, a senior administration official said that Trump would not sign any more such waivers going forward— starting a 120-day clock for negotiations over what the White House describes as a supplemental accord with Europe that will impose new terms on Iran over its future nuclear work.  The move creates a deadline on talks over a nuclear deal the European Union says is working, and that it will not touch. Should Trump fail to issue future waivers, European entities and businesses will bear the brunt of secondary sanctions, creating a potential crisis in US-EU relations, in addition to whatever actions Tehran might take in response.  The president decided wisely.  The EU is demonstrating once again that it is not our friend, only our ally when convenient for them.  Their main interest in Iran is money.  The president may have to confront the West Europeans at some point, and note that we have interests, we have a nation, we have a civilization, and we have a religious ethic.  That may have to be translated into Europeanese.

SHRINKS WARNED – FROM THE WASHINGTON FREE BEACON:   The American Psychiatric Association is pleading with its members and all psychiatrists to stop analyzing President Donald Trump, saying it is "unacceptable and unethical" to engage in "armchair psychiatry."  The APA, which is the largest psychiatric association in the world, released a statement this week decrying members of the profession who are violating the "Goldwater Rule"—commenting on a public figure's mental state from afar.  "We at the APA call for an end to psychiatrists providing professional opinions in the media about public figures whom they have not examined, whether it be on cable news appearances, books, or in social media," the organization said. "Armchair psychiatry or the use of psychiatry as a political tool is the misuse of psychiatry and is unacceptable and unethical."  The organization said it is impossible to diagnose someone from their tweets, adding that it "undermines the credibility and integrity of the profession."  "A proper psychiatric evaluation requires more than a review of television appearances, tweets, and public comments," the APA said. "Psychiatrists are medical doctors; evaluating mental illness is no less thorough than diagnosing diabetes or heart disease."  They are correct, and the media should do its part by discouraging the quack medicine of psychiatrists who violate the Goldwater rule. 

WELCOME TO THE HOOD – FROM THE WASHINGTON FREE BEACON:  A Democratic candidate running for Illinois attorney general was robbed at gunpoint on Thursday afternoon while taking promotional photos for his campaign, according to his campaign manager and authorities.  Aaron Goldstein, 42, and several members of his campaign team were taking publicity shots in the middle of the afternoon when three men in their early 20s approached them, according to the Chicago Tribune:  "One of the men flashed a handgun and demanded the camera equipment and other personal belongings from the team, according to police.  The gunman and two other men robbed Goldstein and four others of camera equipment and their cellphones before they ran away, the law enforcement source said. As of Thursday evening, no one was in custody, police said."  Since he's a Democrat, I hope the candidate remembered to blame the gun manufacturers.

January 12, 2018