SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 9:56 P.M. ET: 

IT'S HOLLYWOOD'S FAULT – You mean, Hollywood is pro-American?  From Breitbart:  "Wednesday CNN’s 'Newsroom,' senior editor from the The Islamic Monthly and former National Legal Director of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), Arsalan Iftikhar, who recently accused Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA) of 'trying to scrub some of the brown off his skin,' said hate crimes and 'Islamophobia is real and growing in America today' because of Hollywood.  Iftikhar said, 'Not just "American Sniper" with Bradley Cooper, but if you look at Hollywood’s overall depiction of Muslims and Arabs after 9/11. Whether it’s the show "Homeland" on Showtime with Claire Danes, or the Fox show "24" with Kiefer Sutherland, we have seen this ongoing narrative as the proverbial boogie man, the bad brown people next door. And we are starting to see that resonate in terms of hate crimes, and with America Muslims being one of the most hated demographic groups in the United States today. Islamophobia is real and growing in America today.'"  Yeah.  Without Hollywood Americans wouldn't know we're fighting Islamic extremists.

ABOUT TIME – From the Daily Caller:  "Are government climate agencies tampering with climate data to show warming? Some Republicans think so. California Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher says to expect congressional hearings on climate data tampering.  Rohrabacher serves as the vice chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, which has jurisdiction over NASA and other agencies that monitor the Earth’s climate.  Rohrabacher has long been critical of the theory of man-made global warming. Lately, the California Republican has criticizing NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for allegedly tampering with temperature data to create an artificial warming trend. Such data is then used to justify regulations aimed at curbing fossil fuel use and other industrial activities."  Probes have been long overdue.

VENEZUELA – From The New York Times:  "CARACAS, Venezuela — The abrupt arrest of the mayor of Caracas on accusations that he had plotted an American-backed overthrow of the government threatened to plunge Venezuela into new political convulsions on Friday, as his supporters rallied in the capital and pockets of protest erupted elsewhere.  The arrest of the mayor, Antonio Ledezma, on Thursday evening by intelligence agents who fired weapons in the air, was viewed by the opposition as the kidnapping of a political rival to President Nicolás Maduro."   The place is coming apart.  Even Sean Penn doesn't visit anymore.

WHAT ARE THEY TEACHING OUR CHILDREN? – From the Washington Times:  "Nearly half of Democrats have a strong and clear message for President Obama, especially as it pertains to a recent judicial rein-in on his immigration aspirations: Go ahead and ignore the federal courts.  Rasmussen found 43 percent in the party think the president should have the authority to dismiss court rulings that he perceives as unfair blocks to issues of personal importance. Thirty-five percent of Democrats disagree.  But Republicans say hold the phone — that’s not constitutional.  Of those who claim affiliation with the GOP, 81 percent say the president doesn’t have that right and shouldn’t. Another 67 percent claiming no particular party affiliation agree with Republicans — that the president should not be allowed to ignore the courts, Rasmussen found."

February 20, 2015