SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:52 P.M. ET:

KERRY STAYS – John Kerry will stay in Switzerland, at the Iran nuclear talks, for another day, although other foreign ministers have left town.  It is rumored that Kerry is getting bonus points at his hotel, and will soon be eligible for a free upgrade to a room with hot water.  As for the talks, it's pretty clear there won't be a major breakthrough.  Some of the diplomats are talking about a memorandum of understanding, or even a note from mother.

DISGRACE – From London's Daily Mail:  "In one of the biggest cheating scandals of its kind in the U.S., 11 former Atlanta public school educators were convicted Wednesday of racketeering for their role in a scheme to inflate students' scores on standardized exams.  The defendants - including teachers, a principal and other administrators - were accused of falsifying test results to collect bonuses or keep their jobs in the 50,000-student Atlanta school system.   The educators fed answers to students or erased and changed the answers on tests after they were turned in to secure promotions or up to $5,000 each in bonuses, the court was told."  The level of corruption, incompetence and dishonesty in American education never ceases to amaze me.  A backlash is coming. 

ODD TIMING – From WaPo:  "Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) was indicted on federal corruption charges Wednesday, accused of using the influence of his office to advance the business interests of a longtime friend and political supporter in exchange for luxury gifts, lavish vacations and more than $750,000 in campaign donations.?  Federal prosecutors laid out the charges in a 14-count indictment charging Menendez with using his office to help Salomon Melgen, a Florida-based eye doctor with whom Menendez had maintained a long personal and political friendship. Menendez intervened on Melgen’s behalf in at least two disputes, one with federal regulators over Medicare charges and the other involving a bid by Melgen to secure a port-security contract in the Dominican Republic, according to the indictment."  I make no judgment about guilt or innocence.   Menendez will get his day in court.  But the timing is very odd.  Menendez is Obama's most severe critic on Iran and the Mideast.  Suddenly, he's indicted.  Coincidence?  Hard for me to believe that considering the thug nature of this regime.

FARCE – Just as we're suspicious about the Menendez indictment, we're suspicious about this.  From The Politico:  "The Justice Department will not seek criminal contempt charges against former IRS official Lois Lerner, the central figure in a scandal that erupted over whether the tax agency improperly targeted conservative political groups.  Ronald Machen, the former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, told House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) in a seven-page letter this week that he would not bring a criminal case to a grand jury over Lerner’s refusal to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in March 2014. The House approved a criminal contempt resolution against Lerner in May 2014, and Machen’s office has been reviewing the issue since then.  Lerner and other IRS officials, however, are still under investigation by the FBI for the tea party targeting matter — which is a separate probe entirely."  I dunno.  Mendendez, an Obama critic, is indicted.  Lerner, an Obama stooge, is cleared.  You think there's a message here?

April 1, 2015