Obama's Georgetown Snafu. - When President Obama delivered a policy speech the other day at Georgetown University, he did so on a stage above which religious symbols are usually displayed. One problem: The White House called Georgetown in advance and asked that the cross and the monogram "IHS", which comes from the Greek for Jesus, be covered up for the televised event. I'm not really following the logic here. This was a speech about economic policy, not international relations. Furthermore, the cross and monogram were a good 20 feet above the stage, so it's unlikely any of this would have registered on TV beyond the standard blue curtain/American flags backdrop. Thus, all this effort to cover it up seems pointless, and only lends further credence to those who think Obama has some odd vendetta against Christianity. Why did they even bother holding the event at a Jesuit school, anyway? Next time, just go to Howard. Sheesh.
Dow Climbs Back Over 8,100!!! - Feel free to check your 401k statement again! Ballin'!!! Perhaps this Obama guy knows what he's doing with the economy after all.
Right-Wing Extremists Are The New Al Quaeda. - Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security released a report to law enforcement agencies nationwide warning of the possibility of right wing extremists and Iraq war vets possibly being recruited by terrorists. Predictably, the GOP seized on this as evidence that the Obama Administration is out to shut down voices of dissent. This became a key rallying cry during Wednesday's Tea Parties, and further evidence that Obama hates America, hates the military, and hates puppies and walks in the park. One minor problem: The report was commissioned and compiled by The Bush Administration. Doh.
Kevin Garnett Done For The Playoffs?!? - And Danny Ainge suffers a heart attack on same day. Not looking good for Celtics fans.
Texico or Mexas?!? - Texas Governor Rick Perry wants The Lone Star State to seceed from the Union, all because of "excessive spending and taxation by the federal government". Funny how he only came to this conclusion in the past 3 months, not over the past 8 years when his predecessor ran DC into the ground. Lovely. Kiss goodbye to your Presidential prospects, Rick! And get fitted for a tin-foil hat while you're at it.
Ashton Kutcher Becomes The First Twitter Millionaire - No, I don't care that "Kutch" just topped the 1 Million followers mark either, but apparently CNN thought this was newsworthy enough to send out a "Breaking News!" bulletin. I don't personally follow either. I don't care what sorta eggs Demi Moore made for breakfast this morning, nor do I care that Erica Hill is going to be absent from tonight's AC 360. As much as I love my Twitter-friends ("follow" me if you haven't already, it's fun) I wonder if its explosion in popularity means it's going to flame out soon, like every other web phenom before it. AOL anyone?
AverageNation™ Week Is Returning! - It was so good, we gotta do it again. If you've got a personal piece you wanna share, hit me you-know-where and we'll talk.
Double Standards on CNN? - Speaking of CNN and Twitter (yeah, that was a plug for AverageTwitter!), last night on No Bias, No Bull, CNN's Jessica Yellin introduced a segment on Sarah Palin's woes by referring to Levi Johnston as Bristol Palin's "BabyDaddy". Cutesy as Yellin was trying to be, something about that statement rubbed me the wrong way. Why is it okay for a semi-reputable news organization to jokingly marginalize teen parenthood in such a way? We got all up in arms when Fox News slandered Michelle Obama similarly. Why is this any better? Personally, I think it's worse, given the fact that Johnston is being kept from his kid, and is just 19 years old. Let's not forget, Bristol and Levi aren't Miley Cyrus. They didn't ask for any of this, they were just used (unsuccessfully) to make a pointless point. CNN should prolly apologize for this. As for me, I am personally making a pledge to stop using the term here at AB.com. Hold me to it.
Questions: Was Obama out-of-pocket in asking for that cross to be covered up? Were the TeaBaggers idiots for criticizing the DHS memo? Does CNN's Jessica Yellin need to apologize for calling Levi a "babydaddy"? Why aren't you following AverageTwitter yet?
Obama Nixes 'Jesus' at Georgetown [Catholic.org]
George Bush's FBI and DOD documented "thousands" of US military members joining far-right extremist groups [AmericaBlog]
