The Revamped Wonder Woman: I Don't Like It

I'm sure they wanted to make some changes but this is going too far.

You can almost hear the fanboys screaming. But, according to a popular blog from CNN, there is a reason for the switch. Writer J. Michael Straczynski, who is taking over writing the comic, commented on a DC Comics blog post, "I wanted to toughen her up, and give her a modern sensibility." She's been saving the world for 69 years. If you ask us, it's only fair that she finally treat herself to some new threads.

Here is a look at the "revamped" Wonder Woman. I don't like the jacket at all it looks like it is strait out of the 80s. I have to say that the gauntlets and the belt are kind of cool. I really hate the stirrup pants and goofy looking gold things on her feet. What was wrong with just giving her a Greek style skirt and maybe sandals? She is an Amazon Warrior after all.

At least they kept her powers since I can see she still has her magic lasso. In any case I give the new look 6 months until they switch it back. That is about as long as people could stomach Superman's blue/red lighting costume changes before they freaked out.

Germans Want to Ditch the Euro

I guess they are tired of funding the right for some Greek guy to retire at 50 at full wages and then riot and murder people when the government runs out of money.

A majority of Germans wants to scrap the euro and bring back the old currency, the deutschemark, according to a new poll published on Tuesday.

The Ipsos survey showed 51 per cent of people in Europe's top economy wanted their beloved deutschemark back, with 30 per cent wanting to keep the euro. The remainder was undecided.

I guess it is better then the Germans calling for the return of the Reichsmark (which was the currency during WW2)

Cramer Says "Short Obama!"

Well at least Cramer has finally come to the realization that Obama does not understand the stock market, probably doesn't like it much, or care about people's 401Ks. The talk of suspending BPs dividend should have taught Cramer as much.

His administration is proving to be the champion for those who don't own stocks and perhaps never will. Or, worse, he thinks that the average working person saves in CDs -- is he unaware of the 25-year campaign by all to have retirement savings and college tuitions paid for by now-tattered stock portfolios?

I point all of this out because when I say this market is going nowhere, I think it is going nowhere because of Washington, not corporate America, not the public sector, not the private sector. The companies we have heard from this week are brimming with cash, with the Jabils setting the tone of terrific earnings and the Apples setting the tone of worldwide dominance.

The problem is that Apple might overreach and thus fall under the justice department, anti-trust regulators, or just White House people who think that "Apple is too big and should be forced to share the wealth." The

White House is reflexively anti-business because they look at them as fat cat capitalists and not people that employ 1000s of people and need to employ 1000s more for there to be a recovery. So of course he pushes Card Check and tries to kill jobs through drilling moratoriums because he thinks fat cat capitalists are the only people hurt.

The only good thing is that November will make him even more powerless since he can no longer push any of his agenda. Also when the legislative and executive branches are held by different parties there is like a 12% move upward in the stock market.

Rolling Stone Backstabbed McChrystal?: The White House Conspiracy Edition

It was interesting to read that the Generals aides actually said much of this stuff on the record. It turns out that it might not have been.

McChrystal still hasn't spoken publicly, but the Washington Post now reports that his Afghan war command conducted its own review and believes the general was "betrayed" by freelance journalist Michael Hastings.

A senior military official told the Post's Karen DeYoung that "sessions were off-the-record and intended to give" Hastings perspective on how the team operated. The official, who isn't willing to speak on the record, said there was no evidence that the "salacious political quotes" in Hastings' profile were made during on-the-record interviews.

Could it have been a hit piece to get McChrystal removed? The conspiracy theory zone in my brain immediately targeted the Obama White House as the people behind it. Here is the quick overview:

1. The White House sees that Afghanistan is falling apart and has heard rumors about McChrystal "going it alone" and talking trash behind their back. The notoriously thin-skinned White House goes into "Chicago Way" mode. Being that they are too weak in leadership department (and lacking proper cause) to just boot McChrystal they think of a "cunning plan"

2. They contact Rolling Stone who is probably deep in their pocket due to their shared ideologies and won't flip on them if there is blowback. Rolling Stone sends out a rabid anti-war reporter who's job is to dig up some dirt.

3. McChrystal foolishly lets this guy in on their "off the record" sessions. Sure enough the rumors are true. The military men have been bad-mouthing the civilians. (This seems to be the case in just about every war in recorded history where generals have to work side-by-side with civilians on a rebuilding task.) These aides figure that their boozy opinions won't make it on the record but that is not the "Chicago Way."

4. A hit piece is written and suddenly Obama is so angry he can spit. (I would love to see that same anger when they are gunning down Iranian protesters, but oh well)

5. He then calls McChrystal in for a little Kabuki song and dance and the General is shown the door. Suddenly Obama looks like the fearless leader removing his war-time General after "insubordination." This is in stunning contrast to his bumbling, stumbling, and lack of any sort of leadership during the BP Oil Spill. Nice timing that.

6. They then stick in the guy that won the Iraq war (who they probably should have gone with in the first place) to solve Afghanistan so they can get out of there and not look like wimps or quitters in the toss-up states come 2012.

Here is some advice for General Petraeus:

You need to seriously watch your back when, let's say, a Newsweek, NPR, CNN or New York Times reporter starts to nose around and asks for " some strictly off-the-record candor." Simply say "everyone attached to the White House Afghanistan team in any way is like a lion in the desert out here. We can't have enough of their valuable service. They are doing Lords own work" while posting an MP with a sidearm to protect the valuable reporter at all times. Then instruct your aides to answer all questions in slightly accented Pashtun. If it is a reporter from Rolling Stone assign 2 MPs.

Kellogg's Cereals Might Make you Sick

I wonder what is in the packaging that would make people ill?

Kellogg Co. is voluntarily recalling about 28 million boxes of Apple Jacks, Corn Pops, Froot Loops and Honey Smacks cereals because an unusual smell and flavor from the packages' liners could make people ill, the company said Friday.

Kellogg said about 20 people complained about the cereals, including five who reported nausea and vomiting. The company said the potential for serious health problems is low.

Consumers reported the cereal smelled or tasted waxy or like metal or soap. Company spokeswoman J. Adaire Putnam said some described it as tasting stale.

Nothing like a bowl of waxy crap that tasted like metal or soap when you first wake up. Good thing I eat Rice Crispies but I did enjoy Corn Pops when I was a kid.

Harry Potter Says "You Are Too Fat to Ride this Ride!"

It seems that the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando has some pretty strict entry requirements especially to Americans in this day and age.

The ride, "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey," employs individual restraints to keep each guest tucked in to his or her seat, but the restraints aren't large enough to accommodate heavier riders.

Universal seems to have anticipated this issue, stationing staff "wizards" and test-seats along the line and at the entrance to Forbidden Journey. Riders test their ability to fit in the seats, as well as the restraint (which must click three times to be deemed safe and for the potential rider to be allowed into the attraction).

One good thing is that it is motivating people to lose some weight.

One Harry Potter fan who was unable to ride "Forbidden Journey" when his seat test yielded only two clicks of the restraint, is turning the incident into a personal motivational challenge. Banks Lee, who says he's 6'2? and approximately 310 lbs, has decided to diet and exercise until he can get on the ride (and hopes to continue his quest even after meeting that goal.) He's even started a blog: Banks Lee and the Three Clicks: My Journey to Fit on an Enchanted Bench, where the Orlando resident is documenting the long walks and sensible diet that he hopes will lead to a ride on "The Forbidden Journey."

Well, I hope he is doing more then walks and a diet since it would be pretty hard to get down from 310 to the normal weight for a 6'2" guy which is 175. I wonder what he needs to weigh to get on the ride though?

Relations "Reset" with the Ruskis

Not like we didn't give them even more of the house since suddenly we are backing their WTO bid:

Obama gave Russia perhaps the biggest gift it could have wanted from the meetings: an unqualified, hearty plug for Moscow's ascension to the World Trade Organization. Russia has long wanted membership but U.S. support in the past has come with conditions.

"Russia belongs in the WTO," Obama said as the two leaders stood side-by-side in the East Room after several hours of meetings — including an impromptu trip to a nearby burger joint for lunch.

I'm not sure what we got in return for this but it doesn't sound like much. I guess we can start looking forward to more Russian exports hitting our market in the near future.

Drilling Ban Will Not Continue While the Government Appeals

It seems that the White Houses bid to kill a bunch of Gulf Coast jobs is failing every way it could.

After striking down the moratorium on Tuesday, a federal judge in New Orleans rejected an administration request to allow the six-month ban to stand while the government appeals his decision.

Judge Martin Feldman issued a brief order denying the stay request, pointing to his previous ruling that criticized the ban as arbitrary, too far-reaching and not justified given the impact on thousands of oil industry workers and communities.

I love how they are trying to tar Judge Feldman by saying he owns oil stocks. That charge can be leveled on just about everyone in the US who owns any sort of Growth or Income mutual fund. That means in to the White House the judgment of nearly every American investor is suspect when it comes to oil. Too bad they don't care about the 50K+ oil field workers that won't be drawing a paycheck due to government interference.

McChrystal Canned by Obama

I guess this all goes to show you that you keep your mouth shut around Rolling Stone.

Obama said bluntly that Gen. Stanley McChrystal's scornful remarks about administration officials represent conduct that "undermines the civilian control of the military that is at the core of our democratic system." He ousted the commander after a face to face meeting in the Oval Office and named Petraeus, the Central Command chief who was McChrystal's direct boss, to step in.

Now the White House should sack the civilian Afghanistan team too and have Petraeus start fresh. I think he can get the job done since he pretty much won the Iraqi war. Now if he can win in Afghanistan too we might be thinking about calling him President Petraeus in a few years. I think Petraeus' first general order should be to bar all Rolling Stone reporters from Afghanistan on pain of imprisonment.

Should McChrystal Resign? I'm Not So Sure

I read the Rolling Stone piece on this whole McChrystal talks shit to the President mess and I just don't see it. Itis mostly his unnamed aides that are ripping the White House Afghanistan people. The only true anti-Obama thing was this part:

Even though he had voted for Obama, McChrystal and his new commander in chief failed from the outset to connect. The general first encountered Obama a week after he took office, when the president met with a dozen senior military officials in a room at the Pentagon known as the Tank. According to sources familiar with the meeting, McChrystal thought Obama looked "uncomfortable and intimidated" by the roomful of military brass. Their first one-on-one meeting took place in the Oval Office four months later, after McChrystal got the Afghanistan job, and it didn't go much better. "It was a 10-minute photo op," says an adviser to McChrystal. "Obama clearly didn't know anything about him, who he was. Here's the guy who's going to run his fucking war, but he didn't seem very engaged. The Boss was pretty disappointed."

Hell, I would be uncomfortable and intimidated by the first meeting with a room full of career military men some of whom are 10 years or more his senior as well. I guess McChrystal like most Americans was expecting more out of the man he voted for and was disappointed. He then levels criticism at some of the civilians "helping" him.

McChrystal reserves special skepticism for Holbrooke, the official in charge of reintegrating the Taliban. "The Boss says he's like a wounded animal," says a member of the general's team. "Holbrooke keeps hearing rumors that he's going to get fired, so that makes him dangerous. He's a brilliant guy, but he just comes in, pulls on a lever, whatever he can grasp onto. But this is COIN, and you can't just have someone yanking on shit."

COIN is supposed to be the counter-insurgency program that pretty much won the war in Iraq. He then rips Eikenberry, the U.S. ambassador:

McChrystal and his team were blindsided by the cable. "I like Karl, I've known him for years, but they'd never said anything like that to us before," says McChrystal, who adds that he felt "betrayed" by the leak. "Here's one that covers his flank for the history books. Now if we fail, they can say, 'I told you so.' "

In other words he is just being truthful about a guy that leaked deep concerns without telling them. In other words a person that cannot be trusted that is only trying to cover his ass.

So basically he is "telling truth to power" and should be commended for being honest about the people he is working with. I think he maybe should have saved this stuff for a memoir or something but I just don't like changing horses in the middle of the stream like this.

Knowing Obama though he is going to shit-can McChrystal and have some idiot run the show. In other words we might see us lose the Afghan war on Obama's watch. Well I guess it will be yet another mess that President Sarah Palin, Hillary Clinton, or (hopefully) David Petraeus will have to take care of after Obama has finally left office.

Does Obama Want to Be President?

Now this is one interesting question that Roger Simon poses.

I am not being metaphorical here — I am quite serious. The more I have thought about this, the more I am convinced Barack Obama no longer wishes to be president. The degree that he admits this to himself, I am not sure. But I rather suspect that in the small hours of the morning he fantasizes he were anywhere but 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. And who could blame him? By almost any measure, he is doing a terrible job.

The more I think of the line "indecision masquerading as coolness" I think of the Obama White House. They are said to be weighing the issues and looking for the best plan but end up running after the story trying to get ahead of it. I have to agree with this statement as well:

The media claque that put him in office is getting disaffected and now his party allies in Congress are beginning to disregard him, sometimes for the better. One of the early symbols of Obama’s disconnection was his remarkably unemotional reaction to the democracy demonstrators in Iran. His Iran policy continued to be a phony concoction of non-existent dialogue and toothless sanctions, right up to the latest round at the UN.

I have to point to this as the first chink in the armor. You would have lost nothing if you sided with the democracy demonstrators from the very beginning. Instead he hemmed and hawed and lost his opportunity to take care of the Iranian nuclear question forever.

If the Iranian government fell you would have been negotiating with a fellow democratically elected leader and if they brutally repressed the demonstrators you could have had proof that they are an illegitimate regime. They cannot trust a government that slaughters their college kids in the street.

Almost any other President would have quite easily sided with the protesters and helped them to differing degrees. Truman would have recognized them while JFK would have had CIA assets assisting a government overthrow. Instead Obama just sat there and mouthed some mealy mouthed crap. It was almost like he was annoyed that these demonstrators were getting in the way of his "talks with Iran without preconditions" pledge.

The more I think about it the more I agree that he will not run for a 2nd term and might even resign after the Dems get trounced in November.

Federal Judge Steps in and Strikes Down Drilling Ban

Too bad the White House is going to appeal it.

Several companies that ferry people and supplies and provide other services to offshore drilling rigs asked U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman in New Orleans to overturn the moratorium.

They argued it was arbitrarily imposed after the April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that killed 11 workers and blew out the well 5,000 feet underwater. It has spewed anywhere from 67 million to 127 million gallons of oil into the Gulf.

It is like grounding every airplane in the US because one of them crashed. If there is an imminent danger then the Department of the Interior needs to point it out. Or just write new temporary regulations that force any new deep water driller to not cut corners like BP seems to have done. In any case a retroactive punishment on companies that have stellar safety records is asinine.

German World Cup Team Finally Allowed to Leave their Quarters

Who is their minister of sport, Hans von Tschammer und Osten, Reichssportführer under the Third Reich? I mean it seems pretty bad to keep them confined for so long.

Manager Oliver Bierhoff told reporters Sunday they had let the players out of their World Cup base the previous day for the first time for a social occasion.

"Some of us went for a meal in a restaurant," he said. "It's nice to dress in your civvies and go to another place."

It turns out iguanas might be the reason:

Even a walk close to the swamp-like Hennops river, which runs through the camp, is out of the question.

"Normally nothing should happen walking there but if you go too close to the river then the iguanas, and they are quite big, can swing their tails and have been known to break several bones. Luckily nothing of that sort has happened yet."

I guess the headline : "Miroslav Klose's Leg Broken by Run-away Iguana" must be avoided at all costs.

New Orleans Ad Should Not Have been Scrapped

I think they should have kept the ad. I think it is topical and funny as well.

The print ad, a play on the city's history, was part of an effort to dispel perceptions the spill in the nearby Gulf has closed the "Big Easy" and its famed restaurants and music to tourism.

"This isn't the first time New Orleans has survived the British," it read alongside a photo of Jackson Square in the French Quarter.

The square is named for former President Andrew Jackson, who as a general led forces that defeated a British invasion during the War of 1812.

Or they could have had a picture of the oil spewing well being plugged up by the Andrew Jackson Statue that read "BP hasn't tried this yet. I mean it worked the last time"

North Korea Airs World Cup Live: Portugal Hammers Them 7 - 0

I blame fearless leader Kim for failing to properly motivate the North Korean team. If Kim did his job they would have only lost by 1 goal like the Brazil game. Instead they have had too much of the decadent Western luxuries like food and shelter and it has made them soft.

North Korean state television aired full live coverage of the team's 7-0 World Cup loss to Portugal on Monday in what is believed to be a first for a North Korean football game taking place abroad.

I'm willing to bet that the next game North Korea plays in is taped delayed and then PhotoShopped to show the Koreans actually winning the game.

Democrat Candidate for Congress Wants Obama Impeached

You read that right:

Unlike South Carolina's Greene, Rogers ran a high profile campaign, staking out a corner on a major intersection in the district to appear almost daily with a large sign: "Save NASA. Impeach Obama." She garnered 7,467 votes, 53% of the vote, in a three way race that included a local information systems analyst Doug Blatt, who gained endorsements from local Democratic clubs and labor groups, and Freddie John Weider Jr., a preacher and onetime Libertarian candidate; Blatt came in second with 28% of the vote and Weider won 20%. "The people of the 22nd district voted for me," she said. "They recognized the party is not acting in the interests of the people."

Wow, she won in a landslide. Too bad the Dems are distancing themselves from her similar to Alvin Greene the guy that won the nomination in South Carolina. They will both probably get trounced by the GOP nominee in that area but it shows how ineffectual the National Democratic Campaign Committee is in America.

All the Ways the Feds have Screwed up the Oil Spill Clean-up

Yup that red tape is a bad deal when it comes to preventing a slow-motion disaster.

Federal regulatory red tape has gotten in the way of the cleanup, including: 1) missed opportunities to burn off more of the oil because of overblown air pollution concerns; 2) holdups in the use of dispersants; 3) permit delays in allowing the state of Louisiana to create artificial barriers against the encroaching oil slick; 4) failure to waive reg­ulatory prohibitions against foreign assistance; and 5) failure to approve barges and booms in time to block oil from reaching Alabama’s Magnolia River.

Here is all the crap the White House has engaged in that did nothing to clean up spilled oil or cap the leak:

Instead of providing leadership and properly coordinating the response, the Obama administration has chosen to shift blame and politicize the disaster, including: 1) “not-at-all veiled shot[s] at the Bush Administration” for the state of the Minerals and Management Service; 2) vague threats of criminal prosecution from Attorney General Eric Holder; 3) a moratorium on offshore oil drilling which could kill 120,000 jobs in the Gulf alone; and 4) pushing caps on carbon dioxide emissions which have no hope of cleaning up a single drop of oil spilled.

I guess you can chalk all this up to the fact that government can't solve certain problems and if a blame-shifting neophyte is at the helm things can only get worse. I have to agree that the "Get BP" mentality is getting old and doesn't do anything to stop the leak or clean a pelican.

Great Article on Turkey's Overreach on Iranian Nuke Issue

I have to agree that whenever the Ottomans tried to do anything in the east and south of their countries they always ran into trouble. Now they are trying to meddle in the Middle East and it might come to their own grief.

Their joint intervention on the Iranian nuclear program gives an impression of naive over-eagerness. If the two countries had wanted to play a serious and constructive role (and there was room for them to do so) they would have needed to inform themselves more fully about the state of play, build confidence among the current group of six countries who have been handling the issue (the five permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany), and take a proposal to Iran that had a realistic chance of being accepted by both sides. The proposal they submitted to the Iranians was sloppy and ill-advised, clearly doomed from the start. Even very casual conversations with Russia and China would have told the Turks and Brazilians that this was a non-starter.

If I were playing the Great Game as Turkey I would partner with the other anti-Iran Gulf states in order to make their government fall. The idea of a nuclear armed power to your southeast should make you rethink your equation. I mean the Iranians could care less about Turkey in any other capacity then simply a "useful idiot" on the Security Council.

A Democratic Iran would be a far greater partner for Turkish business interests and trade then what you have now. Also close trade ties with a vibrant, growing, oil rich power (that is no longer encumbered by sanctions) would actually bring money into the dirt-poor east and south of your country. Just having more oil pipelines that pass through your country and into Europe would mean billions more a year.

These pipelines also strengthens your hand when it comes to joining the EU. You no longer enter as a country with a terribly poor east and south but an established oil player. You will also be the gateway to the emerging powers that a Democratic Iran and Iraq would be in 20 years time.

Also with prosperity comes complacency when it comes to the Kurds living in your country. A prosperous Kurdish population that you have built up with your ties to Democratic Iran will be less likely to rebel or form their own nation. You also counter Iraqi Kurdish money and influence in your southern regions as well.

BP Agree's to $20 Billion Shakedown

I have never seen the hubris of an administration that can impel a foreign company to put aside $20 billion dollars without any sort of court order.

President Barack Obama and BP reached agreement Wednesday on a $20 billion fund to compensate victims of the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and the giant British company's chairman apologized to America for the worst spill in U.S. history.

BP is suspending its dividends to shareholders to help pay for the costs, said chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg.

Obama announced the agreement after a four-hour meeting with BP officials. He also said the company had agreed to set up a separate $100 million fund to compensate oil rig workers laid off as a result of his six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling.

That first line has Obama talking like a dictator and he is lucky that BP is playing ball. I think they might have a legal recourse to get out of this coercion. Also the idea of making BP pay for the salaries of their competitors who have been put out of work by the White House is ludicrous. Also no talk of suspending the Jones Act so we can get some state-of the art Swedish and Danish oil skimmers out there.

Al Gore May have been Getting a Little Side Action with Larry David's Ex-Wife

I guess you can't trust this guy around your friends ex-wife any more then you can trust him around your carbon.

In the June 28 issue of Star, on sale Wednesday, we report that Al and Tipper's breakup didn't come as much of a surprise to one Hollywood player — Laurie David. Star has learned that Al has been having an affair with Laurie, who divorced Seinfeld creator and Curb Your Enthusiasm star Larry David in 2007 amidst reports she was cheating with the caretaker of their Martha's Vineyard summer home.

“Al and Laurie went from friends to lovers," an insider tells Star. "It couldn’t be avoided

."

Mars Covered in Water?

It sure seems like it was the case a few billion years ago.

The ocean -- which likely covered about 36 percent of the planet and contained 30 million cubic miles of water, about ten times less than Earth's oceans -- was fed by at least 52 river deltas which were in turn fed by countless river valleys and tributaries. Half of those deltas were at similar elevations, most likely marking the ocean's boundaries.

The next questions to answer are where did the water go and if that ocean had any life living in it.

Colorado Man Goes After Bin Laden

Too bad he didn't succeed.

An American man has been detained in the mountains of Pakistan after local authorities found him carrying a sword, pistol and night-vision goggles on a Rambo-style solo mission to hunt down and kill Osama bin Laden.

Friends and family say construction worker Gary Brooks Faulkner is a devout, good-humored Christian who often talked about building a porch or framing a house — not taking down the world's most-wanted terrorist. They had few clues to explain his 7,300-mile journey.

I guess it is a pretty good deal that he was caught by the police. If the Taliban found him they would have tortured the crap out of him before cutting off his head. Instead he could be a minor celebrity if he plays his cards right.

Democrat Congressman Roughs Up Some Students

I guess this is what Congress really wants to do to the voters.

The video was posted on websites owned by Andrew Breitbart, the conservative Web entrepreneur who also released video of workers for the community organizing group ACORN counseling actors posing as a pimp and prostitute.

It shows two men approaching Etheridge with a camera on a Washington street. He swats at the camera and repeatedly asks the men who they are. When they say they are students, he grabs one by the wrist and quickly by the back of the neck before pulling him against his side.

A simple no-comment would have sufficed. Instead we have Congress-scum lashing out (literally) against the people who dares to take their picture. I think they should consider pressing charges against this guy.

Iranian Cleric Admits: Yeah we Want the Bomb

It seems like they are finally going to drop the pretext of "peaceful enrichment."

The hardline spiritual mentor of Iran's president has made a rare public call for producing the "special weapons" that are a monopoly of a few nations — a veiled reference to nuclear arms.

The Associated Press on Monday obtained a copy of a book written by Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Mesbah Yazdi in which he wrote Iran should not deprive itself of the right to produce these "special weapons."

"The most advanced weapons must be produced inside our country even if our enemies don't like it. There is no reason that they have the right to produce a special type of weapons, while other countries are deprived of it," Yazdi said.

I'm sure Obama still would like to negotiate with these people "without preconditions." The Green Revolution just can't come fast enough.

Obama's Hypocracy Trap

I have detected quite a few of the things that were pointed out in this article.

Even if Republicans were responsible for every evil attributed to them by Democrats, why bang on about it after 17 months in office? The only answer is self-preservation, which is an unattractive trait in someone who's supposed to be leader.

But because he is stuck in a defensive crouch on the BP spill, the economy, Afghanistan, Israel, the bungling political maneuvers of his operatives, and more, Obama has no alternative but to play the blame game.

Yeah, but he is constantly talking about how he hates the Washington blame game but then blames everyone other then himself. This part had me laughing out loud.

The interview is already famous for Obama's line about relying on experts to tell him whose "ass to kick." The line is funny because what was supposed to be proof of his red-blooded American anger came off as clueless. What kind of leader needs advice on ass kicking?

The funniest part is that Obama has to "rely on experts" to kick ass in the first place. That has to be the wimpiest thing an American President has said in a long time. This isn't tough talk about bombing but tough talk about stopping an ecological disaster. I know he really can't do anything other than saying "faster, faster BP" but the finger-pointing is really getting to be a joke now.

This part is the best description I have read of the Obama White House by far as well.

Pragmatists have turned their backs on the president after finding that the last, best argument that Democrats made in 2008 -- Obama's competency under pressure -- was actually decision-making paralysis masquerading as coolness.

This paralysis as coolness is rampant in the Obama White House. It happened with the protesters in Iran and on the backlash against Obamacare. You could chalk those up to inexperience now there are no more excuses.

Louisiana Politicians Call for End on Drilling Ban

It seems to be by bipartisan margins as well.

Louisiana lawmakers have railed against the moratorium, saying it could put more than 100,000 people out of work, shutter businesses and destroy livelihoods. A bill asking the administration to shorten the moratorium passed the Legislature unanimously.

But persuading the administration to take such action could prove to be extraordinarily difficult at a time when globs of oil are fouling marshes and beaches, images of oil-soaked birds are a fixture in the news and no apparent end to the spill is in sight.

I have to agree with one lawmaker that calls it grounding all airplanes in the US because one of them crashed. If they have to do a safety audit of all the blow-out preventers then we better get a progress report soon. If they aren't doing that and just stopped deep water drilling to limit political damage then Obama needs to get out of the way and let these people get back to work.

Only 3 Months After the BP Oil Rig Exploded; Obama Meets With the Families

And people wonder why the dispassionate act is hurting him.

The president's private meeting with the families in the State Dining Room is part of his effort to show the public, unhappy with the handling of the catastrophe by the government and the well owner, BP PLC, that he is on top of the situation.

I'm sure Bill Clinton would have met with the families first and not waited until he had to "get on top of the situation" to do it. I mean it isn't just a bunch of pelicans that died in this spill but 11 people did too. Finally, Obama is getting around to acknowledging that fact.

It is also good to see that the British government coming to the aid of their company at least noting how economically important the company is to people in Britain.

BP PLC got its first public sign of support from the British government Thursday as the U.K.'s Treasury chief cited the "economic value" of BP in the U.K. and the U.S. In addition, the U.K.'s new prime minister said he expected to discuss the company in a weekend call with U.S. President Barack Obama.

Ashton Kutcher Dings the GOP about the Oil Spill while Driving a Giant Freakish Pickup

I think this may be the worst case of hypocrisy outside of the United Nations courtesy of a brain dead celebrity.

“If you could go back to the Republican National Convention and look the guys in the eyes that were saying, ‘DRILL, DRILL, DRILL,’ at the Republican National Convention, those guys, there you go… that’s what we got, like, we did it, we drilled drilled drilled,” said Kutcher.

I guess he forgot there are about 4000 other rigs in the Gulf of Mexico that were there long before 2008. Actually much of the reason all of these rigs are out there is so Americans can drive giant pick-up trucks like this one:



Wait who is that behind the wheel? The aforementioned Ashton Kutcher. They want to "drill, drill, drill" so you can drive around this monstrosity that gets 7 miles a gallon. What is even more rich is he is not hauling iron ore but is driving it to get some Starbucks or something. Now this has to be the biggest case of "do as I say not as I do" of all time.

Obama Looks for "Ass to Kick" on Oil Spill

I guess someone finally told him that the detached Spock act is not going to get the job done here. I wonder if he will kick his own ass since he only seems to be reacting emotionally 2 months after the damage has been done.

He told NBC he was looking for some "ass to kick" as recriminations mount and oil reaps a dreadful toll on seabirds, Louisiana wetlands, teeming fishing grounds and idyllic beaches.

He rejected claims he had been too cool, or slow in his response.

"I'm going to push back hard on this because I think that this is an idea that got into folks' heads and the media is running with it.

"I was down there a month ago, before most of these talking heads were even paying attention to the Gulf," he said.

Um, people were certainly paying attention on May 2nd when he first went down to the Gulf and flew around in his helicopter. I like how he blames the media as well for pointing out how he didn't seem to care about things happening in the Gulf until just recently. I mean he had time to meet with Marv Albert and talk about the NBA he should have had more time for the spill.

Helen Thomas Resigns after Advocating the Destruction of the State of Israel

Well at least she lost her job for what many on the far left think but dare not say.

Known for her confrontational questioning, Thomas apologized for comments that were captured on video and have spread widely on the Internet. On the May 27 video, Thomas says Israelis should "get the hell out of Palestine" and suggests they go to Germany, Poland or the U.S.

In other words Thomas would like to see the Jews kicked right out of their nation and forced to relocate in Europe or the US. In other words she wouldn't mind seeing the destruction of the State of Israel just like Iran and Hamas. Now that is keeping with some interesting company for the gargoyle of the Press Corps. Her apology is a strait-up joke as well:

She added: "They do not reflect my heart-felt belief that peace will come to the Middle East only when all parties recognize the need for mutual respect and tolerance. May that day come soon."

Yeah, in her mind peace in the Middle East can only be achieved after all the Jews leave their country. The sad part is that she echos much of the thinking on the far left. With them the Israelis are the bad guys and even when they are protecting themselves. Israel will always be held to a double standard. I mean Obama is condemning them building in eastern part of their own capital.

This Newsweek Line Had me Thinking of Nazi Germany at the End of WW2

I just thought this was kind of funny coming from the slowly dying liberal magazine like Newsweek:

This year, careful planning, internal GOP conflict, an improving economic climate, and yet-to-be-introduced technologies have the potential to limit Democratic losses to less-than-catastrophic proportions.

That last bit got me to think of the so-called Wunderwaffe that Goebbels was talking about just before the Allies closed in on Germany. These wonderful unnamed technologies and the godlike prescience of the guy that got Obama elected, David Plouffe will save to day for the rapidly dying Democratic brand.

I think it will take more than a few Me-262s and the Democrat Rommel (or maybe Zukov would be more apropos if you subscribe to the "Obama as Lenin" school of thought) to keep the Dems from losing a whole lot of seats in November.

The Nuclear Option is Off the Table in the BP Oil Leak

Well, there is nothing like a controlled nuclear explosion a mile below the Gulf of Mexico to make people a little nervous. I guess they would use a neutron bomb instead of a regular nuclear warhead that could aid radiation to the list of things that they would have to clean up.

But William J. Broad of the New York Times reported Thursday that the Obama administration had ruled out going nuclear on the well. Indeed, he reported, "The nuclear option was not — and never had been — on the table, federal officials said.

"'It's crazy,' one senior official said."

If this spill actually lasts until August or the relief wells fail to stop the leak then the nuclear option will probably be the last bullet in the gun. In that case you can pretty much forget deep water drilling from here on in.

The Gaza Crisis Solved: Give Gaza to Turkey

It seems as long as there is an Islamist government in Turkey that is pro-Hamas it sure makes sense to do this:

So I have a modest proposal: if Turkey is so concerned with the welfare of Gazans, why not let Turkey run the place. Israel doesn’t want it, and never has; it tried to give it back to Egypt several times, but Egypt doesn’t want it, either. Meanwhile, Gaza is controlled by a terrorist government that is both cruel and incompetent; and Israel is not going to lift its siege to long as Hamas is in charge.

If this was still the Grand Game period it would be the perfect move to just outright sell Gaza or gift it to the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and wash their hands of it. I mean the Turks did once rule that entire area in the 1800s. Then all Israel would have to do is strengthen their border from everywhere except by sea.

I'm sure the Turkish military would love to patrol a desolate wasteland full of refugee camps and try to rebuild a country shattered by Hamas. However, you can count down the number of days until Hamas uses a suicide bomber against the "Turkish occupier." But that is besides the point.

Israel's next move would be to make a separate peace with Fatah in the West Bank and normalize relations with this Palestinian State. Israel gets rid of the missiles pointed at their cities and hands the problem off to another nation to solve. If missiles are fired at them from Gaza then it would like an attack from Turkish territory and carry the consequences of that action. If Turkey can't provide security in Gaza then who can?

It Seems the White House did Offer Some Pay for Play

Well at least for now we can believe that Obama wasn't contacted about the details of the thing. That may let him beat the impeachment rap yet again.

President Barack Obama was unaware a top aide encouraged a Colorado Democrat to apply for an international development job instead of challenging the candidate whom the president favored in a Senate race, the White House said Thursday.

Press Secretary Robert Gibbs faced fresh questions about another backroom political deal — the first involving a Pennsylvania candidate, now a Colorado hopeful — that put the Obama administration on the defensive. The White House acknowledged that it had contacted former Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff about possible jobs in hopes of persuading him to skip the Senate primary.

I bet the new media would not have given Bush this kind of wide leeway if he was cooking up these kind of offers so that Republicans didn't have to run. If any media member does break away we might actually get a Watergate 2 on our hands so I bet they will keep a lid on it.

I n any case I think the "Chicago Way" might not be such a good idea going forward unless the White House is itching to hear the dreaded words: President Joe Biden.

The President Loses Jon Stewart Again This Time on the Oil Spill

I thought I was watching an anti-Bush tirade after Katrina but this one is all-Obama.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
The Spilling Fields
www.thedailyshow.com
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Turkish Paper Declares "Aid Mission" a Trojan Horse

It seems that Israels enemies are getting even more crafty then usual. This is a plan right of of Sun-Tzu.

Media reports in Ankara on Wednesday revealed that three out of the four Turkish citizens that were killed during the raid declared their wishes to become shahids (martyrs). Another Dutch report claimed a Dutch activist who was arrested by the IDF is suspected of being a senior Hamas operative.

Wow, senior Hamasniks and martyrs-to-be lurking on the "aid mission." In fact it looks like the activists were actually armed to the teeth and were just waiting for the IDF to board the ships:

These men were organized and well-trained, with a clear chain of command — there were leaders, deputies, and footsoldiers, divided up into specific groups, located in pre-designated locations on the top deck of the boat waiting for the soldiers to board.

They were fully equipped for battle. A search of the ship found weaponry — knives, axes, metal poles — as well as protective gear, bulletproof vests, masks, and night vision goggles. When they were apprehended, none of them carried any form of identification, and most of them had thousands of dollars in their pockets.

I bet Obama is thanking his lucky stars that he did not go knee-jerk and "condemn Israel in the strongest possible terms" for a so-called "massacre of the innocents." He would have lost the 40% of Jews that were still left in his corner.

It is interesting how the world declares Israel guilty until proven guilty whenever it comes to defending themselves. Israel is the Charlie Brown of the world. They just can't win.

The White House Allegedly Offers More "Drop Out from the Race" Jobs

I thought this was the most ethical administration of all time. First Sestak and now Andrew Romanoff?

Romanoff said in a statement Wednesday that Obama's deputy chief of staff, Jim Messina, called him shortly after his plans to run for Senate became public in September. Romanoff says Messina never made any guarantees, and no job offer was ever made.

Romanoff says the three jobs that were mentioned were deputy assistant administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean, director of Democracy and Governance, and director of U.S. Trade and Development Agency.

Um, that sound you hear is the White House throwing Messina under the bus. My money is on his resignation within a few weeks if this story actually goes wall-to-wall. However, with the media in the pocket of the White House we might have to rely on the National Inquirer or someone to actually run with the story.

Hatoyama resignation tanks Yen

I guess political turmoil in the worlds 2nd biggest economy is starting to weigh on the safe-haven status of their currency.

(CUR_USDYEN 92.1300, +1.1600, +1.2750%) bought ¥92.13, up from ¥91.02 late in North American trading Tuesday, while one euro bought ¥112.54, up from ¥111.40.

That was a 1.27% weakening in just one day. I wonder if more money will flow out of the Yen until Japan can get some kind of handle on their political situation?

Hatoyama Steps Down

Wow first his ugly shirt now he is looking for a job. Japanese politics is cruel.

The prime minister faced growing pressure from within his own party to resign ahead of July's upper house elections. His approval ratings had plummeted over his bungled handling of the relocation of the Marine Air Station Futenma, which reinforced his public image as an indecisive leader.

Hatoyama is the fourth Japanese prime minister to resign in four years.

If our government changed hangs 4 times in 4 years then there would be widespread fear of collapse. I guess the Japanese are more willing to see constant change at the top spot. The problem is the North Koreans are looking on with a greedy eye. I would be willing to bet they will fire a few missiles over Japan as a test of their resolve.