SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:54 P.M. ET: 

HARVARD RETREATS –FROM THE NEW YORK POST:   The dean at the Harvard Kennedy School has decided to withdraw an invitation to have Chelsea Manning serve as a visiting fellow — but still invited the convicted leaker to give a talk at the school.  Douglas Elmendorf released a statement late Thursday claiming that it was a “mistake” to give Manning the designation.  “We are withdrawing the invitation to her to serve as a Visiting Fellow—and the perceived honor that it implies to some people—while maintaining the invitation for her to spend a day at the Kennedy School and speak in the Forum,” he wrote.  Manning was convicted of releasing classified information, which possibly put American lives at risk.  She served time in prison.  You don't honor someone like that.  The backlash against the appointment was large and proper, and I'm glad to see that Harvard listened.

AH, THE JOYS OF MARXISM – FROM THE MIAMI HERALD:   Surrounded by the remains of her home in Isabela de Sagua, a town on the north coast of central Cuba, a little girl tells a state television reporter what she lost during Hurricane Irma, which lashed across most of the island. “The bathroom, the bicycle, the fan, a sweater of mine,” says the girl. Nearby, a woman with her hands on her head stares in disbelief at the remains of her house, which now has no roof, walls or windows. Little by little, details of damages caused by Hurricane Irma during its passage through Cuba are emerging. It’s a tragedy…In a country where the state controls almost all resources (and people), many are beginning to ask themselves, where is the government? In Florida, where Irma made landfall over the weekend, Gov. Rick Scott was quick to issue a state of emergency, even before the storm reached Florida shores. But in Cuba, the Cuban Civil Defense, a military operation in cases of disasters, waited until the storm was already making its presence felt on the island to declare an “alarm phase,” prompting a last-minute scramble to secure homes and move those in harm’s way.  We might look at things like this before Bernie Sanders introduces his "Medicare for all" program, meaning socialized medicine.  Socialism is not known for either speed or excellence.  But there's a lot of equality...of misery.

BEN SHAPIRO SPEAKS AT BERKELEY, CAMPUS NOT BURNED DOWN – FROM CNN: (CNN)  As conservative radio host Ben Shapiro spoke at the University of California Berkeley, protesters swarmed outside chanting various slogans.  Police stood in full riot gear, standing guard as the school took extensive security measures, shutting down surrounding buildings and setting up a large perimeter around the hall where Shapiro gave a speech and answered questions Thursday night.  The school was facing a critical test on whether it can prevent violence from breaking out. As the speech took place, the protests appeared peaceful.  Officials were hoping to avoid the kind of violence that erupted on campus when right-wing commentator Milo Yiannopoulos came to speak in February. Protesters caused $100,000 worth of damage to the public university when they threw fireworks, rocks and Molotov cocktails on campus, forcing the event to be canceled.  Things were better tonight.  But the fact that Berkeley needed a massive police presence to protect a conservative speaker demonstrates that we have a serious free-speech problem.

September 14, 2017