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

CHRISTMAS EVE GIFT – From Fox:   The Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Thursday released 16 pages of sensitive documents related to the 2012 Benghazi terror attack.  The documents, released ahead of the Christmas holiday, include mostly blacked-out emails and some press clippings about events in Libya after the attack on the U.S. embassy, which left four Americans dead. The event has become a central part of Republican criticism of Hillary Clinton's time as Secretary of State as she runs for president.  A few of the heavily redacted emails discuss the drafting of an assessment of the threat level before the attack occurred. Congress had requested the assessment in the months after the attack.  A Christmas Eve "document dump," as it's called, guarantees little press interest.  During most of the year, document dumps are reserved for Friday nights.

THIS RESTORES FAITH IN OUR COLLEGE KIDS – From Fox:   A group of students at Georgia Institute of Technology showed their appreciation for a security guard in a special way.  According to a Facebook post by the school, students from the Scheller College of Business wanted to thank the security guard who always brightens their days.  “We just want to show you how much we appreciate you and all that you do for us each day, bringing energy, making our days better,” a student says in a video.  The 150 students hoped to raise $100 as a token of appreciation, but they surpassed their goal and gave the security guard $1,600.  The security guard was so moved by the act of kindness, he was speechless.  He opened the card from the students and teared up.  “It’s not about the money. It’s about how many people donated and how much we appreciate you every day,” the student said.  Now those are good kids, and I think there are far more of them than news stories allow us to believe.

RECORD WARMTH – From accuweather.com:  Christmas Eve felt more like Memorial Day across much of the eastern United States as temperatures rose between 20 and 35 degrees above average and 5-15 degrees above previous record highs.  Records were broken from the Southeast to New England with some areas breaking their previous record high by more than 10 degrees F.  Some records were broken from the 1800s.
The highs that occurred on Thursday are more typical of late spring and early summer.  This, of course, will be attributed to global warming.  And when temperatures plunge and a blizzard comes, that too will be attributed to global warming.  In 2009, New York got snow in June.  Freak weather occurs fairly often.

December 25, 2015