Sarah Palin gave the chattering class something to talk about on a holiday weekend by announcing that, not only would she not seek reelection as governor of Alaska, but that she would resign her current term before the end of July. The news sent shock waves through the United States leading some to say this was the end for the enigmatic figure, while others called the move politically “brilliant.” Governor Palin did not specifically address her future aspirations, but cited frivolous ethics claims, abusive press coverage of her young children and the cost of the media circus being borne by the state of Alaska as her primary reasons for resigning.

New York Times “columnist” Maureen Dowd, whose most obvious accomplishment in life has been to become the living embodiment of the etymology of her surname, used the occasion to prove the governor’s point, writing a typically rambling screed of venomous invective vaguely in the governor’s direction. Stay classy Maureen.

Good Work If You Can Get It.

The Obama administration used the holiday weekend to release its list of White House employee salaries. Don’t be fooled into thinking this is voluntary transparency by the Obama administration; the report is required by law. The highest paid staffer is a man you’ve probably never heard of, David Marcozzi, who is paid $192,934 per year. Marcozzi is Obama’s personal teleprompter repairman. Just kidding, he’s the Director of Public Health Policy, and apparently the best negotiator at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, as he makes over $20,000 per year more than his colleagues. The full list is available here.

Speaking of Open Positions: For the Right Price…

Obama repaid some outstanding campaign debts on Thursday as he nominated Douglas W. Kmiec as Ambassador to Malta and Fay Hartog-Levin was nominated as Ambassador to the Netherlands. The Republican Kmiec was instrumental in Obama’s presidential campaign, crossing party lines to endorse Obama early on in the campaign and giving pro-life Republicans (false) comfort to vote for Obama. Hartog-Levin came to her position the old fashioned way, campaign contributions: $28,500 from her own pocket.  That’s no small Change™, but I can believe it.

Obama Stays Limp, Even Flaccid, on Iran, North Korea and Iraq.

Following a week in which his former (and future) rival for the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton leaked that Obama is being too weak with Iran, North Korea, Iran, Iraq and Russia were all in the news testing the young president.  (Biden warned us to gird our loins).

On the Fourth of July, North Korea test fired seven short-range missiles, in response, the United States promised to monitor the situation. Perhaps we can give them free telemetry data, while we’re at it. The actual response from the State Department was “This type of North Korean behavior is not helpful.” As of press time, there was no official statement from the White House.

As Iranian election unrest continues into its third week, news surfaced that the Obama administration is actively blocking economic sanctions against the rogue regime. The United States, which is the only member of the G8 without formal diplomatic relations with Iran, is apparently also the only G8 nation opposing sanctions for the bloody and unforgivable tyranny going on in that country.

Meanwhile, even Saudi Arabia has seen the risk the mullahs pose and has apparently given Israel overflight rights in order to strike Iranian nuclear targets. If Obama won’t even agree to economic sanctions, what are the chances he would agree to decisive military action? That was a rhetorical question, but Biden answered it. On Sunday, Biden said that the United States “would not stand in the way” of an Israeli attack on Iran.  So, after 60 years of standing shoulder to shoulder against the evils in the World, the Obama administration signaled that Israel is on it’s own against a holocaust denying, raving anti-Semitic, potentially nuclear armed Iran. That taste in the back of your throat is vomit.

Next door, in Iraq, Vice President Joe Biden was kind enough to throw the enemy a life line.  In public remarks with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki, Biden warned that, if Iraq were to enter another period of sectarian violence, as it did last year, the United States would have to pull its troops out of Iraq completely. Undoubtedly, future al Qaeda attacks will be designed to mimic or foment sectarian violence in Iraq. Hell, al Qaeda could split itself in two, one group pretending to be sunni, and kill each other.  By Biden’s rule, the US would then leave.  By Well done, Joe. Now come back home and get back to work screwing up the stimulus and the economy.

On the other side of the coin, Obama continued his idiotic stance in support of a fledgling dictator in Honduras as that country was removed from the Organization of American States. It was unclear whether Honduras quit or if they were pushed. Around the region, dictators and other leftist leaders, including Obama, lined up to show support for the man who only wants to be dictator for life.

Yo-yobama Administration Reverses Course (Again) on Secrecy

This is the story that never ends. It goes on and on my friends. On June 3, a court ordered the Obama administration to release a CIA memo detailing interrogation and detention tactics by August 31. Since then, the Obama administration has alternatively announced that it would, then it would not release the memo, always on Thursday or Friday. On Thursday, the game continued as the Obama administration again delayed release of the memo.

In an unrelated flip flop, Obama announced that he would adopt a Bush policy he criticized, and allow the NSA to screen government data on private internet servers. The plan would allow NSA to review data on private, domestic servers in order to guard against cyber attack targeting U.S. government assets. The primary difference between Obama’s and Bush’s plan is that now Obama is in charge, and that’s why it’s okay now. So much for a nation of laws.

Barney Rubble, Still Gambling With Your Money

There’s something even more despicable about a degenerate gambler who likes to gamble with other people’s hard earned money. Barney “Rubble” Frank (D-Masshole) is that kind of a guy. You may recall that when the $700 billion bank bill was passed last fall, taxpayers were promised that, much like the savings and loan bailout, this was a loan; taxpayers would be paid back, likely with a profit. As banks repay the loans, the interest payments would be used to offset losses as other banks default or (God forbid) if the program makes a net profit, to reduce the national deficit.

But now, Massachusetts Slim wants to siphon off the money and use it to create a new housing bubble. Not happy with causing only one disastrous housing bubble in his career, Frank wants to use the repayment proceeds to make sub prime high risk bad loans to drive up property values, causing another housing bubble (with predictable consequences for anyone with an IQ above 40).  Ironically, Frank, who is an avid gambler, even with his own money, is a featured guest at the World Series of Poker this weekend. If only what goes to Vegas would stay in Vegas.

Global Warming™ Consensus is Easier When You Stifle Dissent

The Wall Street Journal reported that the Obama EPA silenced a report by one of its scientists critical of the impact of global warming. The criticism directly undermined the administration’s rationale for enacting a massive, expensive and unduly burdensome carbon tax that will crush the U.S. economy. The Obama EPA’s response to Alan Carlin, the skeptical scientist, was to literally censor him, banning him from communicating with the press or anyone outside of the EPA regarding his findings.

Carlin’s supervisor, in a draconian email,  told him, “The [EPA] administrator and the [Obama] administration have decided to move forward on [a finding that Global Warming poses] endangerment, and your comments do not help the legal or policy case for this decision. . . . I can only see one impact of your comments given where we are in the process, and that would be a very negative impact on our office.” Or, as Obama will say to North Korea when it nuke Seoul, “that was very unhelpful.”  To put in plain English, “we’re railroading this through, and if you want to keep your job, you will shut up.”

The irony, of course, is that for five years, we have had to listen to James Hansen preen around, telling anyone with a camera how the Bush administration has been censoring him regarding Global Warming™. (The irony isn’t lost on me, but it is lost on him).  James Hansen wouldn’t know censorship if it stripped him naked, sprayed him with delousing agent, threw him in a gulag, locked the door, and lost the key.

Completely unrelatedly, the National Weather Service reported that June 2009 was the coolest June in over 50 years, tied for the eighth coolest in the over 130 years of records. The last time is was this cool, Eisenhower made Alaska a state. Endangerment my lily white ass.

We’ve Only Got 60 Votes!

Obama is on his way to Russia to renegotiate the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, under which the United States and the former Soviet republics are reducing their nuclear stockpiles. The negotiations will be contentious and challenging, as Russia will be asking the U.S. to limit anti-ballistic missile systems that it sees as a strategic threat. The former community organizer faces a politically difficult challenge as liberals, who once mocked missile defense, know that it nonetheless helped win the Cold War and is now essential as a defense against rogue states.

In light of these concerns, the Obama administration floated another one of it’s “hey it’s just an idea” trial balloons by suggesting that despite clear language in the U.S. Constitution, the President does not need the Senate to ratify a new arms treaty with the Russian. Such a move would be historically unprecedented, even for a constitutional law professor in the White House. The fact that, even before Obama sits down at the table, he is worried about ratifying a treaty with 60 members of his own party in the Senate (he only needs 50 votes) makes you wonder how bad of a deal is he gonna get? Of course, this is the same man who thinks he can talk the mullahs out of their nuclear weapons ambitions.  Based on no formal negotiation training, no business experience and a scant two years in the U.S. Senate, most of which were spent running for President.

Dishonorable Mention

• More questions were raised regarding how much John Conyer’s knew about his wife accepting $3000 in cash to direct a $1 billion contract in Detroit. If my wife came home with $3000 in cash, I’d be asking a lot of tough questions.  Maybe the “powers that be” decided not to ask her any.
• The FBI released notes on its post-capture interviews with  Saddam Hussein, who said he (convincingly) bluffed the world about his WMD capacity, in part to dissuade Iran from attacking Iraq.
• Chicago politicians are considering taking Gitmo inmates in local prisons. Apparently hardened terrorists are less cutthroat than your average Chicagoland gangbanger, and more trustworthy than Illinois politicians.
• Amsterdam is considering a stimulus package for local prostitutes. Business is hard all over.
• Democrats in the Senate, in an apparent effort to destroy any credibility they have left, are considering a bill that would fine people for refusing health coverage. Apparently healthcare isn’t just a right, it’s now an obligation, punishable by a $1,000 fine.

Hope-ocrisy Continues Unabated as Obama Drafts Order for Permanent Detention.

The Washington Post reported on Friday that the Obama administration is considering issuing an executive order authorizing indefinite detention for suspected terrorists, a policy in force under the Bush administration since 9/11 and one that Obama called criminal, unconstitutional and all sorts of words he has yet to use for Iranian leaders.  The order, if ever signed by Obama, would allow the United Sates to permanently hold suspected terrorist until the end of hostilities, just as Bush did in Gitmo.  The blatant flip flop on one of the primary justifications for Obama’s candidacy was yet one more in a continuing series of policy reversals in which President Obama has followed nearly in lockstep President Bush’s policies on the global war on terror.

House Democrats Enact Largest Tax Increase in History; Drag a Kennedy out of Rehab

All day Friday, the über-liberal House Democrats begged, borrowed and stole votes in order to push through the most  fantastically idiotic piece of dog excrement ever to be vomited out of Henry Waxman’s mouth. The Democrats were so disorganized, and the bill was so haphazardly written,that a 300 page amendment had to be added literally in the dead of night, and the Democrats violated House rules by attempting to vote on the bill before it was officially presented.

The entire bill, totaling over 1300 pages, is longer than War and Peace and Atlas Shrugged, and no member of Congress who voted for it has actually read it. In fact, when Minority Leader Boehner attempted to read the 300 page amendment on the House floor, it was called a filibuster. (A filibuster, ironically, is when a member delays the business of Congress by reading a work that has no connection with the business of Congress). The bill, which Boehner later called a “pile of shit” ultimately passed, but the Democrats had to pull a Kennedy out of rehab to ensure passage.

Much like the failed stimulus bill, the massive tax legislation (it’s Double Speak name is “Cap & Trade”) passed by the House on Friday is complicated, self-contradictory and will ultimately be the source of massive, steaming piles of unintended consequences.  For example, the bill taxes utility companies for their use of fossil fuels, but prohibits those utilities from passing the taxes or added costs on to the consumer.  As the stated purpose of the bill is to reduce the use of fossil fuels, this is, at first nonsensical: passing along the cost would encourage “appropriate” consumer behavior by forcing customers to reduce their usage or face steeper utility bills.  Secondly, if utilities are unable to pass along ever-increasing costs, the government has effectively fixed prices.  Anyone who has lived through the 1970′s knows what that means: rationing of electricity and gasoline.  Welcome to the Obamanation.  The legislation is expected to die in the more rational Senate.

Speaking of. . .

. . .tax increases, Obama’s chief advisor said that Obama has not ruled out tax increases in order to pay for universal healthcare/socialized medicine/handouts to non-taxpayers/whatever it is we’re calling it now.  This may not seem newsworthy, except that Obama has been running around saying, incredulously, that the entire cost of any new government healthcare program will be paid for by cost reductions.  Stop laughing, he’s still president for at least three and a half more years.

. . . piles of dog excrement, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Friday that the Judiciary Committee will need more time to review the 300 boxes of new material regarding Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s time with the Puerto Rican Legal Defense Fund that was “inadvertently” not disclosed earlier by the Obama administration.  We are assured that Chairman Leahey will respond reasonably.

Chicago v. Detroit in Backscratching Olympiad

Let me play Rod Serling for a moment and tell you a story with one crucial piece missing: Picture a man . . . a politician, fiercely partisan.  He’s from the sort of city where “Community Organizer” is a growth industry. And yet, in March of 2009, shortly after the first ever Community-Organizer-American is elected President, this man, John Conyers (D-Detroit, Michigan) threatens to investigate the mother of all Community Organizers: ACORN. Conyers, who is now chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, says he is troubled by the allegations of voter fraud, protests for hire, shakedowns and other potentially criminal conduct by the organization that is tied like a millstone-albatross mixed-metaphor around the new President’s neck.

The announcement that such a high-ranking House Democrat would challenge such a well-connected (and obviously corrupt) enterprise was shocking to many. But nonetheless, there it was, lingering for three months. The promise that ACORN would face an investigation at the hands of Sheriff John Conyers. Then came, the POWERS THAT BE. This past Friday, John Conyers announced that “the powers that be decided against” an investigation of ACORN. When it was pointed out that the chairman of the Judiciary Committee had the authority investigate anyone without getting a note from anyone, not even the principal’s office, Conyers’s spokesman, reflecting his years of training and countless hours spent honing his spokesperson skills in front of a mirror said that Conyers was referring to himself as “the powers that be.” (That must make for odd conversation: “Honey! The powers that be are home!” “Please pass the powers that be the salt and pepper.”)

So, there’s the mystery. A spark of outrage, followed by an “eh, I donwanna,” three months later. Did any thing of note happen in the intervening time? Anything that could explain a change of heart? Hmm, well, there was the small matter of Monica Conyers, the Congressman’s wife, pleading guilty in federal court to bribery charges and facing three to five years in federal prison.

To sum up, Conyers threatened to investigate ACORN, presumably knowing that his wife was or would be under investigation by the FBI for bribery and he could use an ACORN investigation as leverage with the Obama administration.  Once his wife was indicted, she presumably struck a deal with federal prosecutors, and Conyers either spent his leverage for a better deal or (even more comically) Obama threatened a more harsh prosecution if Conyers didn’t relent.  (We will see exactly how dirty Obama’s and ACORN’s laundry are when we see what happens to Mrs. Conyers at sentencing).  He puts one of yours in committee hearings, you put one of his in Lompoc.  THAT’s the Chicago way!

UPDATE [Hat tip HotAir] Speaking of Backscratching…

Just before Hillary Clinton conceded the Democratic nomination for President, influential Democrat James Clyburn surprised many people and endorsed Obama. On Friday, the bill was paid off as Clyburn’s daughter was nominated for a five year position as commisioner of the FCC.  I’d tell you what I really think, but the FCC has standards.  The full list of nominations is here.

Obama Fires Inspector General; Violates Several Laws

On Friday, President Obama illegally fired Gerald Walpin, the inspector general for AmeriCorps. Walpin was  investigating Sacramento Mayor (and former NBA player) and Obama campaign donor and friend, Kevin Johnson for misuse of federal education grants. The project Walpin was investigating was a pet project of the First Lady, and many have speculated that Michelle Obama was involved in the illegal decision to fire Walpin.

Walpin received an email just before 5:00 on Wednesday demanding that he resign within an hour or be fired.  The email evoked a harsh rebuke from Senator Chuck Grassley, who felt compelled to remind the alleged professor of Constitutional law, President Obama, of the need for independence of inspectors general, and the laws prohibiting the firing of inspectors general for political reasons.  Nonetheless, Walpin was fired by the White House on Friday.

The firing of Walpin is illegal for several reasons.   First, a 2008 law, co-sponsored by then Senator Obama, prohibits the President from firing any inspector general without cause, and even then requires 30 days’ notice to Congress.  In addition, the firing is in contravention of the Recovery Accountability and Transparency or “RAT” Board, which has exclusive jurisdiction over inspectors general investigating abuse of stimulus and other federal funds abuse.  The RAT board was created by the stimulus bill for which Obama pressed so urgently and which he, himself, signed into law.

You may recall that President Bush was lambasted by the media for firing a several US Attorneys.  All Presidents, including Clinton and Obama clean house in the same way, as US Attorneys are political appointees and serve at the pleasure of the President.  Then candidate Obama claimed (falsely) that President Bush violated the Constitution by dismissing Clinton-appointed prosecutors. Unlike US Attorneys, however, inspectors general have inherently conflicting interests: their primary responsibility is to investigate the government that employs them.  Therefore, unlike US Attorneys, inspectors general cannot be removed for political reasons, but only with cause.  That is the law that Obama violated, and for which he should be made to answer.

This is the sort of blatant abuse of power that should cause a scandal in Washington.  Other than Fox News and the reliably independent Jake Tapper, it remains to be seen whether any mainstream media outlets with be prompted by this story to stop doodling “Mrs. Barack Obama” in their notebooks and actually do some investigating.

North Korea Responds to Hope & Change™ with Whoosh and Boom™

The United Nations Security Council released a weakened response to North Korea’s continued belligerence. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Susan Rice proved she was fully on board Obama’s Unicorn Pony Express by praising the statement as “unprecedented” and stating that it had “teeth that would bite.” The only “teeth” contained in the statement is the ability to interdict suspected shipments of weapons materials to North Korea. Far from unprecedented, the United States already has such a right under the Proliferation Security Initiative, which was used to interdict similar shipments to Libya in 2003. Indeed, even these minor concessions have proven useless as China has warned the United States against actually enforcing the provision in any meaningful way.

In a predictable response to the Security Council resolution, North Korea has said it will refine all of its spent nuclear reactor rods in order to make additional nuclear weapons.  Pyongyang also threatened nuclear war, and promised to use its arsenal if any of its ships were inspected. The State Department’s response has been to ask North Korea to stop it’s provocative actions. Maybe if we ask really nicely, they won’t hurt us or our allies.

Obama Praises Sham Elections in Iran

Proving that his naivete does not stop at the water’s edge, President Obama praised the Iranian election, saying he was “excited by Iran’s robust election debate.” The announcement was reminiscent of Jimmy Carter’s validation of the rigged Venezuelan recall vote in 2004 that kept Hugo Chavez in power.  A subsequent terse White House statement, following reports of protests in Tehran, noted that the administration would “monitor the entire situation closely, including reports of irregularities.” Privately, however, senior U.S. officials acknowledged that the elections were, in fact, rigged.

The obviously rigged elections (Ahmadinejad won his rival’s home town) lead to widespread violence and reports of deaths throughout Iran. The uprising has even forced Ahmadinejad to defend the election as ‘real and free’ and to acknowledge and denounce the protests, something not usually done in totalitarian states with full control over the media.  Andrew Sullivan (who has been wrong before–a lot) is reporting that one Iranian Mullah is refusing to recognize the results and is calling for Ahmadinejad to step down.  This is the sort of grassroots uprising that an experienced leader would encourage, rather than give legitimacy to a rigged election, as Obama rushed to do.

Detainee Musical Chairs

On Thursday, Obama moved four Guantanamo detainees (Chinese Uighurs) to Bermuda, a British protectorate.  On Friday it was learned that, not only did the Obama administration not consult with the British government, it deliberately prevented the British from learning of the transfer until it was too late for Britain to respond.  Another daggar in the heart of the special relationship.

Separately, in its continuing effort to destroy whatever credibility the United States has left, the Obama administration on Friday simultaneously signaled that (i) it had “all but given up” on the idea of releasing or even transferring detainees to the United States and (ii) that it had not “ruled it out.” Some have said that the mark of a first rate intelligence is the ability to entertain two conflicting ideas at the same time and still be able to function. The Obama administration’s apparent goal then is to make the world’s sole super power look as “intelligent” (not to mention stable and predictable) as a schizophrenic amphetamine addict with epilepsy. As with any Obama policy, if you don’t like it, wait five minutes.

Obama Reneges on Another Naive Campaign Promise

Jim Geraghty likes to say that every statement Obama makes comes with an expiration date. Environmentalists are finding out that their agenda is no exception. On Friday, the Obama administration approved a plan that would continue the controversial practice of mountaintop mining, a practice Obama had promised to outlaw if he was elected. Rather than banning the practice, the new plan will regulate it.

Transparency is as Transparency Does

Obama’s promise of becoming the most transparent administration ever took several more hits this weekend as Obama moved to keep secret the location of 44 high-risk coal ash sites that some claim pose an environmental risk. The administration also asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to prevent the release of information regarding rendition of detainees as state secrets. The New York Times even warned that the Obama administration’s new cyber terrorism policy will endanger privacy and other civil rights.

Homosexual Rights Advocates See Neither Hope nor Change

Obama came under criticism from gay rights groups as his administration sought to uphold the Defense of Marriage Act. In court papers, the administration even claimed same sex marriages were analogous to incest and pedophilia. The administration received a strong rebuke from six major gay rights advocacy groups. In an unrelated story, the bloated idiocracy that is the New York City bureaucracy accidentally allowed two men to marry, in violation of New York law.  Not only did the city issue a valid license, the City Clerk performed the ceremony (one of the grooms was a pre-op transsexual and wore women’s clothing).

Culture of Corruption Continues un-Change™-d

• President Obama selected four more campaign donors for cushy ambassadorships on Friday.
  
• Dick Durbin, Obama’s former fellow Senator from the ethics paradise Illinois allegedly used insider information to avoid massive losses prior to the financial collapse in September. Durbin transferred over $100,000 from his mutual fund accounts into shares of Berkshire Hathaway after a closed-door meeting (in his official capacity) with then Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, the day before the collapse.
• Soon to be former Connecticut Senator and Friend of Angelo Mozilo, Chris Dodd sought an extension under the Senates rules for financial disclosures on Friday.   Dodd, who was involved in the same banking crisis/circus as Durbin and is now involved in the health care circus, has financial connections to both industries, which this extension allows him to delay discussing publicly.

Global Warming™ Update

So far, temperature’s in Obama’s adopted hometown of Chicago are a full 12 degrees cooler than last year and far below average. The average June temperature at Chicago’s O’Hare airport through June 12 was only 59.5 degrees, the coldest since records were kept there and nearly 7 degrees below average.  Food prices are also expected to rise this year as farmers deal with crop failures and below average harvests, both due to lower than normal temperatures.  While it is true that the plural of anecdote is not data, it would be very difficult to explain continued cooling trends in a manner consistent with Al Gore’s theory of Global Warming™.  He would say that the Earth is a complicated system (it is.)  and we don’t full understand the mechanism (we don’t), etc.  But then, isn’t that the same as saying there is no concensus on the Global Warming theory?

Honorable Mention

• Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu announced Israeli settlements on the West Bank would continue, in spite of Obama’s moral equivalence argument that they cease.
• Contrary to Obama’s promise to guard every penny, an accounting firm warned that the stimulus fund could be defrauded by as much as $50 billion.
• Obama suggested that some US cities may have to be bulldozed in order to survive the recession.
  
• Congress announced that Obamacare will require $600 billion in new taxes.
  
• Even the New York Times thinks blaming Bush is getting a little old.
  

"So sorry about the whole invasion thing. Won't happen again."

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Obama Fails to Apologize for U.S. Aggression towards Vichy France

In his remarks at the 65th anniversary of the Normandy landings, President Obama failed to apologize for imposing our system of government upon the peaceful people of Vichy France.  Indeed, Mr. Obama noted that Nazism was “a competing vision of humanity. Nazi ideology sought to subjugate, humiliate, and exterminate. It perpetrated murder on a massive scale, fueled by a hatred of those who were deemed different and therefore inferior. It was evil.”

It was left to the listener to consider how Nazism (or Bushido) was any different than the brutal regime of Saddam Hussein, or the inhumane and sadistic regime of the Taliban.  After all, just two days earlier, Obama had said “I know there has been controversy about the promotion of democracy in recent years, and much of this controversy is connected to the war in Iraq. So let me be clear: no system of government can or should be imposed upon one nation by any other.”

Obama was also on the defensive over rumors of a split with our European allies, despite his rainbow unicorn pony campaign promises of better relations with Europe.  As if on cue, election results in the European Parliamentary elections and in local elections in the United Kingdom showed a growing tilt to the right in Europe.  Not to worry, Obama still has Gordon Brown.  In his D-Day speech he called it “Obama Beach“ instead of “Omaha Beach”:

We Can’t Impose Democracy, but Healthcare. . .

We cannot force democracy on a brutal rapist regime,  but we can force your boss to fire half of his staff so the rest will get health care.  Ted Kennedy (D-rink up) introduced a bill that would force employers to provide health care coverage or face public executions.  Just kidding, no one has read the bill, nor is it completed yet, but just like the stimulus bill, we’re sure it will all work out fine.  What we do know is not pleasant, and mostly involves government intrusion into your medical file. On the plus side, the Obama administration announced it plans to take a more active role in the health care mandate debate. No doubt czars will be appointed.

Quickly, More Kumbayah Songbooks in Farsi!

An IAEA reported was leaked on Friday warning that Iran has 5,000 operational centrifuges, and now has a stockpile of 1,339 kg of low-enriched Uranium. Such an amount would be enough, when further enriched, for at least one nuclear weapon.  The same day, the Obama administration announced that an Iranian delegation would attend a G8 summit alongside Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the end of the month.  As if also on cue, former President Carter praised Obama’s Mideast policy.  Mr. Carter’s policy, you will recall, lead to our current state of affairs with Iran, not to mention seizure of a U.S. embassy, the kidnapping and holding of U.S. personnell and ultimately, the downfall of his failed presidency.

Afghanistan

It was also reported on Friday that the Pentagon would be sending 1,000 Special Forces operators to Afghanistan. The commandos will engage in counter-insurgency and will be assisting in the broader, 24,000 strong surge ordered by President Obama. No that was not a typo. I suppose we can impose democracy on some people, after all.

Looters Ball

The Obama administration and its Democratic colleagues continued to assert undue influence on business this weekend. Although the administration swore it didn’t intend and would not allow the government to interfere in the day-to-day operations of its new toy, General Motors, Barney Frank (D-ispicable) bragged on Friday that he had strongarmed GM into keeping open (at least until next election day) a plant in Frank’s district which GM had previously announced would close.   Also on Friday, the FDIC announced it is trying to squeeze out management at Citigroup, the nation’s largest bank.

In response to negative jobs numbers, Vice President Biden noted that “less bad” employment numbers were not the administration’s goal.  This seems in conflict with President Obama’s repeated assertion that his plan would “create or save” 3.5 million jobs and that the stimulus bill has already “saved” 150,000 jobs.  Politico also noticed on Friday that a political pattern seems to be emerging in the Obama administration’s stimulus pork tour: all of the trips have been to states Obama won in 2008.

D’Oh, Canada!

In the Unintended Consequences department, Canadians are becoming increasingly angry over the stimulus bill’s “Buy American” rule.  An organization representing Canadian mayors have enacted their own “Buy Canadian” law.

Nobody Expects the Global Warming™ Inquisition

The principle difference between a science and a religion is how it treats its own skeptics.  This is why astrology can more fairly be called a science than can the Global Warming™ movement.  After all, no one was ever called a holocaust denier or accused of treason because they said an Aries can be even tempered.

Add to the growing list of heretics, Mirabile Investment Corporation (MIC).  MIC  owns more than 40 Burger King franchises across Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi and is currently in a dispute with Burger King (the franchiser) over roadside signs that say “Global warning is baloney.”

Relatedly, Saturday held the third annual International Conference on Climate Change, a sort of heretical ball.  Meanwhile, western North Dakota saw its first June snowfall in nearly 60 years and the Saturday high temperature in Green Bay set a low record for June 6.

More Criminal Ties and other Embarrassments in Washington

An elderly couple were arrested on Friday and charged with spying for Cuba for over 30 years. Walter Kendall Myers and his wife, Gwendolyn Myers, both in their 70′s, had worked for the State Department and had allegedly been spying for Cuba since the last Carter administration.

Last week, we reported on Congressman Murtha’s ties to an allegedly corrupt defense contractor, Kuchera Defense Systems, from whom Murtha received over $60,000 in campaign and PAC contributions and to whom Murtha directly steered millions in taxpayer money.  On Friday, it was reported that two of the principal members of that firm were convicted drug dealers.

Heavy rain and a broken sewer pipe caused the obesely over budget monument to government waste known as the Capitol Visitor Center to flood on Friday. The irony, of course, is that the Capitol Visitor Center was designed solely to protect tourists from the weather. As the Agitator points out, it has “a TV studio (with make-up room) for members to record messages to their constituents, a 450-seat dining area, two orientation theaters, an auditorium, and an exhibition hall.” Just like any government program, the bells and whistles may look pretty, but the primary purpose is long forgotten.  Still want government healthcare?

Speaking of embarrassment in D.C., a new blog chronicles the self-important stylings of tomorrow’s corrupt government leaders. Check out Spotted: DC Summer Interns for the awkward, deluded truth about Congressional interns.

Obama Administration Moves

Philip Mudd, Obama’s pick to head the intelligence arm of the Department of Homeland Security, withdrew his nomination on Friday. Mr. Mudd previously held the position of deputy director of the Office of Terrorism Analysis at the CIA, where he was involved in the enhanced interrogation techniques Mr. Obama now says he deplores and Mrs. Pelocchio says she was not uninformed about being briefed regarding having been told that the briefings occurred.  No word on why Mr. Obama is so squeamish about defending his pick for the post, but Tom Daschel, Bill Richardson, and Nancy Killifer, were unavailable for comment. As were Jeremiah Wright, William Ayers and Obama’s grandmother. But the wheels on the bus keep turning: thump, thump, thump.

Speaking of profiles in courage, the Obama administration will not be attending the National Mayor’s Association conference in order to avoid having to cross a union picket line. In the “win” column, the Obama administration appointed renowned hacker Jeff Moss to DHS’s Advisory Council. This is like hiring a professional burglar to secure your home.