News of Today

[dgs49]

Afghanistan past 2014: It appears “we” are going to be in this God-awful quagmire for a lot longer than anyone expected or wanted. But this bit of “news” illustrates one thing very clearly: The Presidency is much, much bigger than the person who holds it. There can be no doubt that Barry wants to get us out of there as quickly as possible – embarrassment be damned – but fortunately there are some adults on the payroll who have explained to him how important it is to stay the course. Ironically, this is one issue where the President is obliged to act responsibly (and remain in Afghanistan) despite the majority of Americans wanting us outta there post haste.

Royal Wedding: How can you take seriously a country that makes such a big deal of one colossally ordinary fellow getting married? This is even less important than Lindsey Lohan’s (is that her name?) DUI bust. Honestly, WGAS? And the guy didn’t even think enough of the occasion to buy his fiance an engagement ring, instead passing on a used one from his dead mother. And this earthshaking social event is expected to greatly improve public morale in Great Britain for the next year or so. Does anyone over there have a life?

Russian Arms Treaty goes (temporarily) pffft: After reading several news accounts on this subject, I have not read anything that explains either (1) Why Barry thinks it is imperative to ratify it now, or (2) What’s wrong with it that Sen Kyl (and presumably others) don’t like it, or don’t want to address it now. The Senate has certainly had it sitting around long enough to digest what’s in it. I note that there are some fairly prominent R’s who are willing to ratify it, so it is not purely partisan posturing.

Britain Makes Payments to Gitmo Detainees: See “Royal Wedding” above. How we can we take these people seriously? They are willing to pay out (probably) millions of pounds to a couple of complaining WOGS to avoid having to defend what the Brits did (or failed to do) in the aftermath of 9-11? They are petrified that the British Press might portray them as insensitive and/or cruel. What a bunch of candy-ass pansies. Does the expression, “Man up,” translate into British? Tony Blair would not have agreed to pay them off. The government is saying implictly that its actions were indefensible.

Irish Banks/Govt/Economy in the Shitter: The Irish government and its banking system are literally bankrupt, but they don’t want a loan from the EU. Interestingly, they have not told the World what their Plan B is. Too bad this couldn’t be resolved as it might be in the corporate world with Germany simply buying Ireland, shutting down a couple hundred government offices, laying off a bunch of deadwood bureaucrats and then running it profitably from Berlin. For that matter, I wonder if they’d be willing to buy the U.S.? I’m sure China would give them a good price.

Rangel Guilty: I don’t see that this con artist greatly enriched himself by the bad behavior for which he was convicted (this time), but one cannot help noting that he is only one of hundreds of politicians who come to D.C. relatively penniless, and are able to become multi-millionaires on their relatively modest government salaries. The meat of this story is Rangel’s essentially telling the United States Congress and the American people to take their charges and shove them where the sun don’t shine. Another great argument for term limits.

Question for AJD: Is Rangel a “felon”?

GM’s 12 Billion IPO: What a disgraceful devolution of our economic principles. Here’s a company that literally ran itself into the ground and eminently deserved to be allowed to die. The Democrat Party, temporarily d/b/a the United States Government, thereupon cancelled all of its debts, gave it a huge infusion of cash, essentially and unconstitutionally took ownership of it, and now YOU CAN INVEST IN IT as though it were a real, bona fide company. What a country!

Pittsburgh Bans Drilling for Natural Gas within City Limits: This is a local story with no interest outside Western Pennsylvania but it is illustrative of the profound tone-deafness of Democrat politicians throughout “the Fruited Plain” (as El Rushbo likes to say), even in the face of the worst electoral thrashing in more than a generation. Here we have the Pittsburgh City Council and Mayor who have elected to “protect” the City and its citizens from the imminent danger of economic opportunity. It is not sufficient that the Environmental Protection Agency has, and is as we speak composing volumes of protective regulations governing natural gas drilling; nor is it sufficient that the state Department of Environmental Resources are doing the same thing at the state level; nor is it sufficient that Pennsylvania’s liberal tort law system makes it laughably easy for anyone with a real or imaginary gripe against the gas or drilling companies to sue their asses off…No, the City Council has to act independently to do their bit to keep the City safe from the possibility of economic prosperity. Did I mention the City is basically in state receivership? You gotta love ‘em.

Pirates Pursue Mediocre Pitcher: Our hapless baseball franchise has set it sights on one Jorge de la Rosa, most recently of the Colorado Rockies. This walking mediocrity has never had an ERA under 4.20, nor pitched more than 185 innings in a season. Yet his expected asking price of AT LEAST $44 MILLION OVER FOUR YEARS would consume at least half of the team’s budget for signing free agents this Winter. When is a Major League franchise not really a major league franchise? Amazingly, the management of this worst-in-baseball franchise declared at the end of 2010 that it was basically standing pat for 2011. Why fxck up a good thing, eh?

I think that about covers it.

[loCAtek]

Not to mention, Haiti is in a death spiral towards total anarchy and devastation.

[loCAtek]

Finally tonight, an historic moment today at the White House, as President Obama conferred the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest medal of valor, on 25-year-old Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta. Giunta became the first living soldier to receive the medal since 1976.

[dgs49]

God bless Sgt. Giunta!

[Gob]

How can you take a person seriously who believes the news reports of a royal wedding or a court decision, represents "a county".

[@meric@nwom@n]

It's being over reported here too.

[Sean]

As far as the royal wedding goes dgs, it's a cultural thing. You're not expected to understand it.

[Andrew D]

Question for AJD: Is Rangel a “felon”?

I don't know. I have paid very little attention to the whole matter. I don't know exactly what he is accused of, what he has admitted to, or what he has actually done. Nor do I know what statute(s) he has or may have violated which make(s) his (alleged) conduct felonious.

(By the way, it's AGD. My eponymous great-grandmother thanks you in advance.)

[Lord Jim]

Not to mention, Haiti is in a death spiral towards total anarchy and devastation.

Unfortunately, Haiti has been in a death spiral towards total anarchy and devastation for over 200 years....

"death spiral towards total anarchy and devastation" is pretty much situation normal in Haiti.

[dgs49]

And isn't it fortuitous that we have another country on the same island as Haiti, to show the world the difference between merely bad government and horrible government.