SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:16 P.M. ET: 

OUR ULTIMATE WEAPON – From AP:   TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s top leader said Wednesday the United States is using “money and sexual attractions” to try to infiltrate the Islamic Republic and warned Iranians not to fall into the “enemy’s trap.”  Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Revolutionary Guard commanders that authorities should take concerns about “infiltration” seriously and political factions should not use the issue against each other.  “The enemy sets up a network within a nation and inside a country mainly through the two means of money and sexual attractions to change ideals, beliefs and consequently the lifestyle,” he said in comments posted on his website and broadcast on state TV.  Our national defense has been reduced to money and sex.  That Barack, what a genius.

GREAT MOMENTS IN SCHOLARSHIP – From the College Fix:   If you want tenure at Duke University, stay current on the latest microaggressions and zip your lips.  Valerie Ashby, the dean of the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, told a campus forum on “bias and hate” earlier this month that it will be closely scrutinizing faculty in their annual reviews, The Chronicle reported:  "In addition, she noted that all faculty serving on search committees are required to undergo implicit bias training through the Office of Institutional Equity.  'We will evaluate the entirety of the person—you can’t be a great scholar and intolerant. You have to go,' she said."  Pretty chilling.  I'd love to know her definition of "intolerant."  I have a feeling it means any idea with which she disagrees.  Behavior like this requires a re-evaluation of federal aid, but that will only happen under a Republican administration.

FIELD MARSHAL OBAMA MAKES STRATEGY – From Daily Caller:    Former Deputy Director of the CIA Michael Morell suggested that Barack Obama didn’t order the bombing of ISIS’s oil transportation infrastructure until recently in part because he was concerned about environmental damage.  Morell also said the White House was concerned about destroying infrastructure that could be used by the Syrian people.  Appearing on PBS’s “Charlie Rose” on Tuesday, Rose pointed out that before the terrorist attacks in Paris, the U.S. had not bombed ISIS-controlled oil tankers.  Morell explained, “Prior to Paris, there seemed to be a judgment that … look, we don’t want to destroy these oil tankers because that’s infrastructure that’s going to be necessary to support the people when ISIS isn’t there anymore, and it’s going to create environmental damage. And we didn’t go after oil wells — actually hitting oil wells that ISIS controls because we didn’t want to do environmental damage and we didn’t want to destroy that infrastructure, right.”  “So now we’re hitting oil in trucks,” Morell then suggested. “And maybe you get to the point where you say we also have to hit oil wells. So those are the kind of tough decisions you have to make.”  Sherman said, "War is hell."  Obama says, "War is frustrating."  I prefer the former description.  Soon we'll be holding back because the noise might bother the goats.

November 25,  2015