Weekend Download – Memorial Day Weekend
Memorial Day Weekend
The Weekend Download is a weekly update of everything you missed if you shut off on Friday morning. It was a beautiful weekend (on the East Coast, anyway), so I certainly wouldn’t blame you if you did. If you haven’t heard about our first story, though, you were completely out of it, or you work for the UN (or both).
Nuclear North Korea
North Korea performed a(n apparently) successful nuclear test early Monday morning, as well as a test of three short-range missles. The immediate response from Obama and the rest of the world, was to call the test “reckless” or “illegal” and to call for a committee to discuss the formation of a subcommittee to review the status of the ad hoc committee’s report on the possibility of forming a sternly worded letter. The President also responded with a harshly worded round of golf.
Iran Still Crazy
Iran announced that it would be sending six warships into international waters, the first time in modern history Iran has done so. The ostensible purpose for the warships is to protect Iranian interests against pirates, though the Daily Danet seems to remember Iran holding British sailors captive, and more recently, someone blowing an Iranian arms shipment bound for Gaza to smithereens. Perhaps we’re just paranoid. The Obama response appears to be an offer to play soccer.
Pelosi Stops Lying
Well, in the sense that she is not lying any longer, but sticking by her prior, mutually inconsistent lies. The video is another impromptu episode of “Lie to Me.” Steny Hoyer even tries to forcibly remove her from the podium. She also says “distraction” about five times; must be a freudian slip. Pelosi then ran off to China without discussing whether she was briefed on Chinese torture techniques.
US Continues Economic Nosedive
The United States is in danger of losing its AAA credit rating, having borrowed and promised too much. If the United States loses its premium rating, the cost of U.S. debt will increase, which will likely result in heavy inflation. In response, Geithner the Indispensable, meekly noted that Congress and the President have to “put in place policies that will bring those deficits down to a sustainable level over the medium term.” Translation: We’re boned.
Even President Obama noted on C-SPAN that “We’re out of money.” Perhaps like any addict, the US needs to hit rock bottom before we go into rehab. Certainly, Obama’s policies will help us get there. On Friday, British banks complained that enforcing US tax law will cost too much and bring too much risk. Many banks are therefore considering dumping their US clients and any US investments. This, from our closest trading partner, will likely further drive down your 401(k) and may cut off access to European investments for US clients. A certain effect would be a net decrease in US tax revenue, the exact opposite result of what Obama intended.
Obamamateurs Galore
- While speaking at the US Naval Academy’s commencement ceremony, President Obama apparently implied that the war in Iraq was unnecessary.
- Also on Friday, President Obama’s DHS allowed another unannounced, low-altitude flyover, this time over Memphis. The flyover was apparently a test of anti-missile technology.
- Obama also had to walk back from his “empathy” comment about selecting a Supreme Court Justice, saying instead that he wanted “not just ivory tower learning. . .but also a little bit of a common touch and. . . a practical sense of how the world works.“ I suppose the good news is that means Obama himself is not in the running.
Hastings on Gitmo
Alcee Hastings, a senior Congressional Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, came out in favor of keeping the terrorist prison in Guantanamo Bay open. Hastings is drafting legislation with other Democrats to keep Gitmo open.
Obama Picks NASA Administrator
Obama selected six time shuttle veteran (and Vietnam and Gulf War veteran) Maj. Gen. Charles F. Bolden Jr. as the first African-American Chief Administrator of NASA. Bolden is seen as a far better pick than an Obama campaign contributor who was also in the running. So he picked a Black, war hero, shuttle veteran instead of a campaign contributor? Why release that when no one is listening? This seems to be the first double-reverse Friday Data Dump of the Obama administration.
Also noteworthy:
Helene Cooper of the New York Times had a wonderful column on Obama’s use of Strawmen. It even touched off a flame war between Jake Tapper and Karl Rove (among others) on twitter .
[...] Danet’s Broken News . . . . . . Daily Danet’s Broken News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Weekend Data Dump Now Available. . . . . . . Prez creating positions with power, but no accountability. No, not Bush, the new guy. [...]