Much to the shock of the entire country, Obama has replaced SECDEF Robert Gates with former CEO of Microsoft Bill Gates. Thanks to JammieWearingFool for breaking the video of the speech of this shocking news.
In case you didn't know, William Gates III is the lovable nerd who survived numerous pantsings in high school to drop out of Harvard and start Microsoft. He became one of the most charitable people on the planet as well as one of the richest. Now he will be supervising all the US Armed Forces, the conduct of two counter-insurgency operations, and a controversial budget battle. Of course, Bill Gates would probably do a better job than Robert Gates' predecessor.
This may be the low-hanging blog-fruit of the day, but with the exception of putting a bunch of barrels on the subway marked "Swine Flu", can you think of anything that would spook New Yorkers more than low flying planes? The White House is suffering some serious embarrassment today after a botched "Highway to the Danger Zone" photo-op involving one of the Air Force Ones in lower Manhattan. From WSJ:
On Monday morning, one of the 747s used to ferry around the president of the U.S. was dispatched to the Statue of Liberty, escorted by fighter jets. Assignment: Get some fresh glamour shots of the plane.
The Air Force said the flight needed to remain confidential. So while New York police knew about it, as did at least one person in the mayor's office, regular New Yorkers remained in the dark.
As a result, to onlookers Monday all across downtown Manhattan -- where the World Trade Center once stood -- the photo shoot looked like a terrorist attack. People watched in horror as a massive aircraft, trailed closely by F-16 fighters, banked and roared low over the city, in a frightening echo of the events of Sept. 11, 2001.
Fearing the worst, thousands of people streamed out of the skyscrapers and into the streets. Some buildings ordered evacuations.
The notification process seemed to have been completely lost in the black hole of bureaucracy, and the Mayor didn't even know about it (let alone your average New Yorker). Hot Air has some video footage of the chaos that ensued.
The President was forced to issue a hasty apology, and because of this numbskullery, the planned Obama as Jesus artwork set to go up in Union Square would probably be best delayed.
Remember that crappy box O' DVDs that Obama gave to the UK Prime Minister as some form of a "special partnership"...well it turns out the DVDs don't even work across the pond. From The Telegraph (h/t Greyhawk):
Alas, when the PM settled down to begin watching them the other night, he found there was a problem.
The films only worked in DVD players made in North America and the words "wrong region" came up on his screen. Although he mournfully had to put the popcorn away, he is unlikely to jeopardise the special relationship – or "special partnership", as we are now supposed to call it – by registering a complaint.
Also, some punk staffer gave The Telegraph attitude when contacted:
A White House spokesman sniggered when I put the story to him and he was still looking into the matter when my deadline came last night.
It was reported that the Prime Minister was attempting to watch Psycho, but knowing the reliable competence of the new White House, I'm certain it was the ill-fated and atrocious 1998 remake with Vince Vaughn and not the original Hitchcok.
After the messiah's coronation, you may have noticed that many lefty blogs got thoroughly boring in a hurry. Also, the big name anti-Bush commentators at MSNBC who provide blog fodder have seen their ratings slide faster than Season 5 of Coach in the past month. This has to do with the fact that no one wants to read some crummy repackaged press release from the White House, and the anti-Rush/"conservatives are mean dickheads" argument got stale in about 1997. That's why critical thought and snarky analysis is going completely by the wayside for the liberal community, and just annoying the shit out of your neighbors with Obama slogans is the "new" new media.
Obama's propaganda wing, Organizing For America, has a new video on how to spread the gospel in your community (h/t Politico). You basically go around calling your neighbors and knocking on their doors to get on Team Obama. Because who needs to get their information objectively when you can just get some talking points for every wacky new policy the President is proposing.
Shudddeerrr. How would you like this creep coming by your house during dinner time to explain why the latest omnibus bill chocked full of earmarks was really the result of "Bush's Failed Policies"? Also, that map in the background looks like he's pinpointed where he chopped up hookers and dumped them on the side of the freeway in garbage bags. Of course having to listen to this knucklehead in person, I'd probably asked to be mercy killed too.
Apparently, qualifying for the Nobel Prize in Physics just ain't what it used to be. If DoE Secretary Steven Chu's recent conversation with the Wall Street Journal is any inkling of his intelligence, he probably rides the short bus around D.C. Here's what he had to say on deals with OPEC (h/t Flopping Aces):
Mr. Chu said Thursday he feels "like I've been dumped into the deep end of the pool" in confronting questions about oil policy, such as whether the administration would consider delaying scheduled deliveries of oil this spring to the nation's strategic petroleum reserves.
The top guy in charge of energy policy in this country is naive about petroleum. That's inspiring a lot of confidence in his leadership! Jokes on us of course because we elected these people. His excuse for being a bonehead to the press was the following:
"I'm not the administration," Mr. Chu said during a meeting with reporters Thursday. OPEC members are scheduled to meet March 15 to discuss the possibility of production cuts to respond to slumping prices. "I will be speaking and learning more about this in order to figure out what the U.S. position should be and what the president's position is," Mr. Chu said.
If the executive branch isn't "The Administration", I'm not sure who is. Maybe we're waiting on the reincarnation of John Adams in puffy pants to explain OPEC policy to the press pool. Who the hell else would "The Administration" be! That's probably why the WSJ was asking you, Mr. Chu, and not the guy coming over to the house I rent tomorrow to steam clean the carpet. Although, he surely could have come up with a better answer.
Those Dems are really the party of the average Joe, lemme tell ya! All of my friends at the country club have the same trouble reporting their limo and driver on the IRS 1040 form. From ABC:
ABC News has learned that the nomination of former Senator Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., to be President Obama's secretary of health and human services has hit a traffic snarl on its way through the Senate Finance Committee.
The controversy deals with a car and driver lent to Daschle by a wealthy Democratic friend -- a chauffeur service the former senator used for years without declaring it on his taxes.
It remains an open question as to whether this is a "speed bump," as a Democratic Senate ally of Daschle put it, or something more damaging.
Why can't Democrats (so inclined to tax the piss out of the rest of us) figure out how to pay their own damn taxes? This follows closely on the heels of Geithner (Obama's Treausry Sec) who couldn't figure out how to pony up his share either. But, Daschle will most likely get confirmed to head the HHS and the media will lose interest in this story faster than the Mystery of Chris Dodd's Mortgage Papers (where are those things anyways?).Tax problems are only for regular Americans, not self-righteous Americans that claim they can renew America.
Mission: We once had a pretty decent civilization, but we're not going to last very long. This blog will show the future survivors of the Obacalypse, where we went wrong.
Much to the shock of the entire country, Obama has replaced SECDEF Robert Gates with former CEO of Microsoft Bill Gates. Thanks to JammieWearingFool for breaking the video of the speech of this shocking news.
