SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:51 P.M. ET: 

PRETTY DISGRACEFUL – FROM NTK:   Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) informed NBC’s Chuck Todd on Tuesday that $15 million in taxpayer money had been paid out over the years to settle sexual harassment suits filed against members of Congress.  Earlier in the day, Speier testified in front of the House Administration Committee that two members of Congress, a Republican and a Democrat, have engaged in sexual harassment in the past.  Todd asked Speier about her allegations of sexual harassment and what she believes her responsibility is in going public with that information.  “Well, it is my responsibility to address the seriousness of this issue. These survivors are subject to a non-disclosure agreement. I’m not going to violate their non-disclosure agreement,” Speier responded.  I'm really not surprised.  Womanizing is a Washington tradition, and most people get away with it.

GREAT USE OF RESOURCES – NOT – FROM FOX:  The cyclist who famously flipped off President Donald Trump's motorcade has been showered with cash after her action got her fired from her job.  Juli Briskman was riding her bike on the same Virginia road as the president's motorcade last month when she decided to show the commander-in-chief what she thinks about him.  Briskman said she made eye contact with Secret Service as she raised her middle finger.  Briskman's government contractor employer, Akima LLC, said a viral photo of her gesture violated their social media policy, and they terminated her.  In the days since, a GoFundMe page has raised more than $80,000 of its $100,000 goal for the unemployed 50-year-old marketing executive.  Maybe she should use the money to go to growing-up school.

MADNESS – FROM FOX:   At least five foreign nationals with suspected ties to terror resettled in the U.S. through the same visa lottery program that allowed NYC terror suspect Sayfullo Saipov into the country, the Trump administration said Tuesday.  Saipov, the ISIS sympathizer who allegedly committed the Halloween terror attack in Lower Manhattan that left eight dead and 11 more injured, entered the U.S. from Uzbekistan in 2010 through the visa lottery program.  The visa "lottery," also known as the Diversity Visa Waiver Program, grants up to 50,000 immigrant visas annually, “drawn from random selection among all entries to individuals who are from countries with low rates of immigration” to the U.S., according to U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services.  Hey, put Americans at risk.  You gotta do something for diversity.

November 14, 2017