SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:56 P.M. ET:

GOOD FOR HER! – From mlive.com:  "LAPEER COUNTY, MI -- An 11-year-old girl used the shotgun she normally keeps to go hunting with her father to scare off a robber in her home, police said.  The girl was alone at her North Branch Township home on Five Lakes Road about 3:45 p.m. on Jan. 30 when police said she surprised burglars who had broken into the house.  The girl hid in a bathroom closet, where she grabbed her shotgun that police said she stores in a gun safe.  When one of the burglars opened the closet door, police said the girl -- whose parents were due home from work a short time later -- pointed the shotgun at him and he ran off.  'The 12-gauge shotgun is her weapon,' said Lapeer County Sheriff Detective Sgt. Jason Parks."  I don't normally recommend giving guns to 12-year-olds, but in this case the kid clearly was responsible and could handle it.  Salutes to her!

OH, THIS IDENTITY POLITICS STUFF – From Fox:  "The Democratic Party is facing mounting pressure from Latino activists and political insiders to back a Hispanic candidate for the first vacant U.S. senate seat in California in nearly 25 years.  If they don't, experts say, they risk alienating Latino voters nationwide.  Latino activists in the Golden State have grown concerned because they feel that Washington, D.C., Democratic leaders have appeared to anoint California Attorney General Kamala Harris to succeed retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer in 2016, and as a result Harris's candidacy has gotten early support and momentum.  Some insiders are concerned that Democrats may miss out on an important opportunity. More than one out of four U.S. Hispanics live in California, and they make up nearly 40 percent of the state’s population – nevertheless there has never been a Latino U.S. Senator from the state."  I really dislike this group politics approach.  How about choosing the best senator?  Hispanic voters are intelligent and influential, and can make sure that the best candidate, whether a member of their group or not, reflects their concerns.  Regarding Kamala Harris, she strikes me as standard liberal equipment.

THE NEW YORK WAY – In a fit of unusual self-righteousness, the New York State Assembly has been cleansed of one Sheldon Silver, the speaker, after allegations surfaced of huge corruption and upsetting practices on Silvers's part.  Silver was one of the most powerful men of New York, and the political world was shocked, shocked, that he would sully himself for mere dollars.  Now is the age of reform in New York, as the state moves forward with...this guy.  From The New York Times:  "ALBANY — History within reach, Assemblyman Carl E. Heastie of the Bronx had seemingly secured the speakership of the New York State Assembly on Monday, as a final challenger bowed out and reports that his campaign spending was once under scrutiny did little to buffet his ascent.  Mr. Heastie, 47, who would be the chamber’s first African-American speaker, has mounted a blistering campaign to succeed Sheldon Silver, the longtime speaker who agreed to step aside last week in the wake of federal charges of accepting millions of dollars in payoffs...
Mr. Heastie’s rise to the speaker’s post suffered an unforeseen bump in the last several days when a number of news stories called attention to his campaign spending and the amount of money he has taken from the government to cover work-related travel and expenses. But initial indications were that the reports had had little impact on his popularity among the Assembly’s rank and file."  I mean, what's a little corruption compared with Silver's greater corruption.  After all, you can't get totally clean overnight, can you?  It's New York.

February 2, 2015