SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:53 P.M. ET:

CHICAGO FOLLIES – From Daily Caller:   Under a new set of guidelines rolled out last week by Chicago public schools, children will now be required to address transgender students and employees by their preferred name and pronouns — or face the consequences.  Transgender students and employees can choose their preferred bathroom, locker room, name and pronouns, and everyone else is required to affirm the individual’s new identity, according to the guidelines.  Trangender students and adults in the CPS system can require their peers to adopt gender neutral terminology, such as using the pronoun “ze” instead of the usual “he” or “she"...Students or employees who consciously use the “wrong” pronouns will be in violation of school policies on comprehensive non-discrimination, Title IX and sexual harassment, and student code of conduct.  The stench of fascism is in the air. 

JUST A BIT OF CORRUPTION – From Daily Caller:   A Daily Caller News Foundation investigation reveals that Bill and Hillary Clinton received at least $100 million from autocratic Persian Gulf states and their leaders, potentially undermining Democratic presidential candidate Hillary’s claim she can carry out independent Middle East policies.  As a presidential candidate, the amount of foreign cash the Clintons have amassed from the Persian Gulf states is “simply unprecedented,” says national security analyst Patrick Poole.  “These regimes are buying access. You’ve got the Saudis. You’ve got the Kuwaitis, Oman, Qatar and the UAE. There are massive conflicts of interest. It’s beyond comprehension,” Poole told The DCNF in an interview.  The Clintons are a corrupt political corporation.  Is this the best we can do?

WHO NEEDS ROMANCE?  From London's Mirror:    First dates could become much less stressful and awkward - thanks to a Blade Runner-style emotion detector that can tell if a person has the hots for you.  The pioneering device is inspired by the Voight-Kampff machine featured in Ridley Scott's 1982 sci-fi thriller starring Harrison Ford and Seann Young.  In the film, the polygraph-like interrogation tool is used by police to determine if someone is an android by provoking emotional responses.  The fictional gadget measures blush response, respiration, heart rate and eye movement in response to questions dealing with empathy.  And the new machine bears notable similarities to the emotion detector.  Designed by researchers at Lancaster University, it includes an ear-piece which measures skin and heart rate responses, as well as pupil-dilation measure.  They're taking the fun out of everything.

May 12, 2016