SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 8:10 P.M. ET:

I DON'T THINK SO – An Iranian military commander has declared the "Occupy Wall Street" protests as the start of an "American spring" that will topple the capitalistic system.  The esteemed general might contemplate the difference between the way we handle demonstrators and the way his own regime handles them.  So far we haven't seen the U.S., Army in the streets shooting people for protesting, nor will we see it.  Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, meanwhile, has denounced the "horrible" suppression of the demonstrators in New York, something we hadn't frankly noticed.

MORE GRIEF FOR EGYPTIAN CHRISTIANS – We reported earlier today on the growing fear of Egypt's Christians that anti-Christian Islamists are gaining power.  Tonight comes word that 19 people have been killed in clashes between Christian demonstrators and a combination of Muslims and military forces.  The Christians had been protesting recent attacks on churches when they were apparently attacked themselves.  The potential for major sectarian violence is growing in Egypt, and in several other Arab countries where minority Christian populations live.  Any interest, Mr. Obama?

"FAST AND FURIOUS" GROWING SLOWLY AND SURELY – The "Fast and Furious" scandal, involving a screwball attempt to release guns to be sold to Mexican drug cartels in the hope that tracking them would lead to cartel leaders, is growing, with a House committee planning to subpoena Attorney General Eric Holder, who claims he knew nothing about the operation before news of it went public.  The scandal involves the fact that so many high-powered guns got loose and have apparently been used in murders.   We learned today that some 40 assault weapons from the program have been found in the home of a feared cartel leader in Juarez.

DISGRACEFUIL, IF TRUE – A conservative journalist named Patrick Howley, associated with the American Spectator, claims he "infiltrated" a group of radical leftist protesters outside the Air and Space Museum in Washington, claiming to be an ally, and instigated the clashes that led to the museum's closing yesterday.  If true, Howley should be dismissed immediately.  We have to practice what we preach on our side, and journalistic misconduct is absolutely unacceptable.  Let's see how this develops.  No excuses, please.  Conservatives historically have been far stricter about misbehavior in their ranks than have liberals, and we want that record to continue.

October 9, 2011