SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE:

SARAH GETTING READY TO ROLL?  Newsweek devotes its cover to a gorgeous picture of Sarah Palin, who argues that she can win a presidential election.  She's also issued some posts saying the GOP field should be expanded, and writes that a candidate must be more than someone who makes great speeches.  The candidate must be a good executive.  This was seen by some as a slap at Michele Bachmann.  Others saw it as a hint that she will endorse Governor Rick Perry of Texas if she doesn't run herself.  Sarah is throwing the spotlight back on herself.

SHOCKED, SHOCKED, OH SO SHOCKED – The Department of So-So Education is expressing shock at the number of probes of cheating that are being conducted in major school systems.  This follows a devastating finding of widespread cheating in Atlanta.  There is now a probe underway in the nation's capital, where cheating and dishonesty never have occurred.  What's remarkable is that it's taken so long for the feds to discover that cheating is a problem.  Many schools have been reporting too-good-to-be-true test scores that were too good to be true.

ITALY NEXT? Top European financial officials will meeting Monday over signs that Italy may be the next Eurozone nation to be plunged into a financial crisis.  It is chilling to see how many Western nations, including our own, are in desperate financial shape, often due to overindulgence.  Greece is not out of the woods, and Britain has seen better days.  One side effect:  Even deeper cuts in defense budgets, which already are pathetic.  The European theme has been, "Let America do it."  The Euro-socialists may be in for the shock of their lives on that one.

July 10, 2011