WINKEN, BLINKEN AND NOD: Mike Pompeo, predecessor to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, established a swift reaction evacuation capability known as the Crisis and Contingency Response (CCR) Bureau. Can you guess who “paused” — that is spelled k-i-l-l-e-d — the program only weeks before going forward with the Afghanistan debacle now playing out?

As for the poetic reference, Blinken is Secretary of State, Nod is in the Oval Office. Nominees for Winken? I’m thinking Hunter, but am open to other possibilities.