SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:57 P.M. ET: 

HE'S OFF TO SEE THE REAL WIZARD – FROM FOX:   Jerry Maren, born Gerard Marenghi, the last living munchkin from the “Wizard of Oz” has died, his niece told Fox News.  Stacy Michelle Barrington confirmed his death to Fox News, saying he died more than a month ago but the family decided to hold off on sharing the news with the media. She heard of her uncle's passing through an aunt and cousin.  “I wish I had grown up with him and had spent more time and being around him growing up," she told us. "I’m grateful to have had such important people in my family. Uncle Jerry would want the legacy of the 'Wizard of Oz' to continue.”  The 98-year-old actor died at a nursing care facility in San Diego, Calif.  First full-length movie we showed to our kids.  "The Wizard of Oz" reached far more kids on television than it ever did in its original release. 

THIS IS BRITAIN? – FROM THE DAILY MAIL:   Britain is in the grip of a violent crime wave as thugs run riot on mopeds and motorbikes.  Shocking figures released yesterday show the armed thieves are striking more than 60 times every day.  In a chilling illustration of the crisis, a young woman was fighting for her life last night after her mobile was snatched by moped-riding thieves. And a motorcycle gang targeted yet another luxury store in London yesterday.  Campaigners and politicians warned the attacks were matched by disturbing rises in stabbings, drug crime and gang violence.  London now has a higher murder rate than New York, with more than 70 killings so far this year. Knife crime has also led to the deaths of a 17-year-old boy in Ipswich and of 15-year-olds in Sheffield and Wolverhampton.   You know the script.  The next phase will call for a deep study of the "root cause," and it will quickly be decided that the root cause is British racism, not the actions of the perpetrators.  And then there will be social programs.  And only when the British Rudy Giuliani arises will there be any progress.

THE NEWS IS KILLING US – FROM PEW RESEARCH:  If you feel like there is too much news and you can’t keep up, you are not alone. A sizable portion of Americans are feeling overwhelmed by the amount of news there is, though the sentiment is more common on the right side of the political spectrum, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted from Feb. 22 to March 4, 2018.  Almost seven-in-ten Americans (68%) feel worn out by the amount of news there is these days, compared with only three-in-ten who say they like the amount of news they get. The portion expressing feelings of information overload is in line with how Americans felt during the 2016 presidential election, when a majority expressed feelings of exhaustion from election coverage.  In the immortal words of Bill Clinton, I feel their pain.  And sometimes I share it.  There is too much programming labeled as news, and not enough actual news or thoughtful analysis of the news.  And we take every story too seriously.   One of my mentors, Lester Markel, once described journalism as the "froth estate," and I'd have to echo those sentiments.

June 6, 2018