Y’all, please… “Golf” is not a verb

There is a recent article from the New York Times describing how President Barack Obama plays Golf. In essence, it seems that the semi-retired President has a game that is not all that good, despite his well-publicized and multiple attempts to practice it. Well, mine isn’t all that hot either; primarily because I don’t have time to hit the links as much as I used to. But the point I’m trying to make here is that “Golf” is no more a verb than football, basketball, hockey or soccer.

It’s kind of a pet peeve of mine. Another one is that I don’t think “text” is a verb, either. That battle I’ve already lost, apparently. I won’t dwell on the fact that I’m an analog boy in a digital world.

But anyway…

Ever hear of someone going footballing? Nope. Me, either. How about someone going basketballing? Uh uh. Me either. Football is a sport. Basketball is a sport. And Golf is a sport. So when even the Grey Lady uses the word “Golf” as a verb, I haz a face palm.

I’m gonna keep this post short and simple by saying that if you enjoy the sport, you don’t “Golf.” You are not a “Golfer.” You don’t go “Golfing.” what you do is tee the ball up and play Golf. Just like you tee the ball up and play football, or tip the ball off and play basketball.

Okay? Okay.

Happy New Year, and may your New Year’s resolution to improve your Golf game take your handicap to a happier and more productive level.

SCOTUS just handed the White House to Mitt Romney

Watch former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney’s response to the US Supreme Court’s opinion upholding the key part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, aka, Obamacare.

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Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion, which held that Congress could not use the commerce clause of the US Constitution to compel individuals to participate in a market for any good or service, but that it could impose a tax on those who didn’t. Despite the government’s position in court and in selling PPACA on the grounds that the mandate wasn’t a tax, the Court found that it was.

Which means the passage of Obamacare was a fraud. Here’s Barack Obama, vehemently denying that a penalty to be collected via the Internal Revenue Service is a tax:

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Barack Obama has just become a one-term President.

Why? Four reasons:

1. Obama now has to defend the largest tax increase on the middle class in the history of middle class tax increases. Poor people won’t have to pay the penalty tax and the wealthy can easily afford health insurance.

2. Obama can’t run against the Supreme Court now. John Roberts joined the liberal wing of the Court and authored the majority opinion. So much for the “five Republicans in black robes taking away your healthcare” campaign meme.

3. A clear majority of the American people deeply oppose Obamacare without realizing that it was a tax increase.

4. Public revolt. The Supreme Court decision puts Obamacare right back on the public’s radar screen. It was the TARP, auto company bailouts and stimulus spending that gave rise to the Tea Party movement. In late 2009 and early 2010, the Taxed Enough Already Party was a loosely organized grassroots movement. By Election Day 2012, it had morphed into a political force that not only swept Democrats out of the House of Representatives, it ended Democrat rule in many states as well.

In 2012, Tea Party activists are now well organized. The takeover of so many state and local offices now gives Republicans a ground game they’ve never had before, and Obamacare is back on the menu.

Obama’s not only going to lose his reelection bid, it could be the biggest ass kicking since 1984.

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White House Honey Ale: Maybe there’s hope for Obama, after all

AllahPundit at HotAir.com notes that El Presidente has taken up a new hobby and, unlike Golf, at least this one keeps him in the house.  As I mentioned to my significant other when I embarked on the hobby of homebrewing: “Honey, at least it keeps me off the streets!”

AllahPundit notes that the FoodArama blog post detailing the Brewer in Chief’s first batch doesn’t include the recipe.  That’s too bad, because I’d like to compare it against my Honey Wheat Ale, which I’ve gotten down to a near science over the last ten years:

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Specifics

Recipe type: Partial Mash
Batch Size: 5 gallons
Starting Gravity: 1.056
Finishing Gravity: 1.008
Time in Boil: 60 min.
Primary Fermentation: 7 days
Secondary Fermentation: 7 days
Additional Fermentation: 3 weeks bottle carbonation

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs. dry wheat malt extract (55/45)
• 3 lbs. fireweed honey
• 1 lb. 2 row pale malt
• 1 1/2 lbs. wheat malt
• 1/2 lb. honey malt
• 1 1/2 oz hallertau hops (60 min)
• 1/2 os hallertau hops (last 5 min)
• 1056 American Ale yeast

Procedure:

Single step mash of the grains in 3 quarts of water at 152 for one hour. Sparge with 6 more quarts at 170. Add this to 3 gallons of water along with the extract and honey and boil for one hour using the listed hop schedule. (Irish moss, aerate, and yeast pitch per your own style.)

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The beauty of this recipe is that even rank amateurs can be successful with it. The key is making sure your honey is pasteurized. Natural honey is loaded with all sorts of microbes that turn a promising beer into a wheaty malt vinegar (don’t ask me how I know that).

Allahpundit is right, though. This is a frothy ale, and Hallertau hops do add some extra bitterness to the brew. If you want to reduce the bitterness and get more sweetness out of the honey, cut the first hopping to 3/4 oz and don’t add them until 30 minutes into the boil.

If you don’t have the equipment to do a partial mash, you can replace the grain with another 3 lb can of light malt extract and you’re good to go.

Extra Point: Homebrewing snobs afficianados say that you can’t do screw top bottles and achieve bottle carbonation without a bottle bomb disaster. Oh yes, you can. Simply let your primary fermentation go for four days and your secondary fermentation go for five. Your beer will clarify as well as a wheat beer can after nine to ten days and it’s time to go into bottles. Just make sure your caps and bottles are properly sanitized and use a well sanitized bottling bucket. Let your brew sit for seven to ten days and refrigerate. You’ll get about two cases of the finest wheat ale you’ve ever tasted and, if you’re like me, you’ll be willing to put your beer against any in the country, including the one made by a dude named Barack Hussein Obama.

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Michael Berry: Obama’s Actions Say, “I don’t feel your pain, but I’m having plenty of my own”

Obama’s Actions Say, “I don’t feel your pain, but I’m having plenty of my own”

by Michael Berry

Bill Clinton famously felt your pain. Not literally, of course, but figuratively. In politics, that’s enough. Empathizing with people who are struggling financially was perhaps Bubba’s greatest gift. Barack Obama has no such empathy. His wife reprised Eva Peron’s tour of Spain, this time more as a queen than a political wife, feasting and frolicking like royalty. She took a break from lecturing us on fatty foods to eat quite a few herself.

Now Obama’s ongoing vacation continues, this time to tony Martha’s Vineyard. He hopes to hide from media coverage, after courting it for years. He appears haggard, drawn, and gunshy. The ongoing, unavoidable release of data on the economy, unemployment, the deficit, and debt calls for an answer from the administration. They have no stand-in, certainly not the veep, and rumors are swirling that press secretary Robert Gibbs wants out.

The president’s policy positions have caused his approval ratings to plummet, so much so that he almost claims that validates his agenda. Apparently, doing the “right thing” causes Americans to disapprove of him. Which is odd logic, considering that a mere two years ago who appealed to the wisdom and nobler ideals of the American public. His lurch to the left after his election has caused many of the voters to disapprove. His personal behavior, and lavish lifestyle, are out of touch with middle America.

Then there is the question of party leaders. Nancy Pelosi wants the opposition to the Ground Zero mosque investigated. Harry Reid is in danger of losing his own seat. Maxine Waters is under investigation, and Charlie Rangel is embarrassingly defiant. Barney Frank is . . . well, Barney Frank. All the while, Hillary is suspiciously quiet, seemingly riding out this storm and keeping her distance from this White House. Bill Clinton appears keen to show distinctions with this administration on their vision and their version of current events, most notably the Sestak scandal.

The Democrat brand has fallen faster than British Petroleum’s stock after the Gulf spill. Obama was the savior, and spokesman, of the party; indeed, he was the rock star. Now, many insiders feel he seems ready to step down and move on.

Tony Hayward was no longer enjoying his reign as chairman of BP after the heat following the Gulf oil spill. He was surprised that his attempts to connect to the “small people” were considered in poor taste, and he wished for an end to the mess, so he could “get [his] life back.” He stepped down, preferring to move on and leave the hard work to someone else, presumably to go back to his passion of yachting.

One wonders if Barack Obama isn’t envious of him. A loss in 2012 will free him of the hassles, and responsibilities, of being president. He’ll give speeches for big money, he’ll ink a big book deal, he’ll play golf, and he’ll only associate with sycophants. From community activist to bon vivant fat cat. Too bad for America he had to be president to get there.

BP needed Hayward out of the way to rebuild their “brand.” Obama’s vacation isn’t solely because he’s tired from all his fundraising and politicking. It’s an attempt to get him out of the news, to keep him from empathizing with mosque-building near Ground Zero, because his every word is a rallying cry for the Tea Party and a growing number of working Americans. After a big loss in November, watch for Democrats to start looking to remove Obama from his perch atop the party, so they, too, can rebuild their brand.

Usually Obama’s lapdog, Harry Reid showed a rare public break with Obama over the Ground Zero mosque. His Tea Party challenger’s strong standings in the poll may have forced his hand. Former DNC chairman Howard Dean emerged from obscurity to do so as well, and far more emphatically.

Don’t be surprised if, after the November shipwreck for Democrats, they realize they can no longer blame Bush. And they start blaming Obama. We can only hope that a national media intent on enacting a liberal agenda may realize Obama is hurting their cause and begin objectively covering this administration. It may be their only hope to plug the leak of ratings for the alphabet soup of networks and to earn back a few subscribers for newspapers whose circulations are dropping while losses mount. This should get interesting.

Maybe the president who loves vacations and golf so much will soon have plenty of time for both. I almost wonder if he wouldn’t prefer that. I’ll bet many Democrats will be glad to see him go.

Posted with the author’s permission.

Michael Berry is the host of the Michael Berry Show, a daily radio talk show, in Houston.  You can read his blog here or his Facebook Fan Page here.

Ten things Obama WILL do in seven weeks

The near meltdown of panic gripping the state-controlled media has CNN developing a list of ten things Obama needs to do in order to stave off unmitigated disaster in the November midterm elections.  All ten sound like good ideas, but what’s the real likelihood that this bunch of amateurs running the White House will take the advice, get back on message, and right the mighty ship Obama?

Hah.  I thought so, too.

Knowing Teh One like we do, here are ten things Obama WILL do, virtually assuring a repeat of the 1994 Glorious Revolution:

1. Plan another ritzy vacation in a place that ordinary Americans probably couldn’t afford to visit.
2. Play at least seven rounds of 18-holes (once a week).
3. Visit the district or state of an embattled incumbent, wrecking the incumbent’s chances of holding the seat for the Democrats.
4. Blame Bush for a lousy economy he’s been responsible for over the last 20 months.
5. Demonize the job-creating engine of corporate America.
6. Demagogue Republican efforts to extend the Bush tax  cuts as benefitting “the wealthiest 2% of Americans,” even though sunsetting the tax cuts means the middle class gets hammered.
7. Make Congressional Democrats try to ram divisive legislation through Capitol Hill.  Cap and Trade, Amnesty, Net Neutrality, etc. Pick one, and watch.
8. Bow to a previously un-met foreign leader of a Muslim nation.
9. Sue another state for having passed legislation that runs counter to his leftist ideology (Missouri, for example).
10. Find one more issue with a clear majority of Americans expressing a particular viewpoint, and come out against that majority in a speech from the White House.

Gimme some feedback in the comments.

Featured in the news: Bloggers react to Obama’s backing of Ground Zero Mosque

• Atlas Shrugs – “If you had any doubt who Obama stood with on 911, there can be no doubt in our minds now. .. Once again, Obama puts himself directly at odds with the majority of the American people, as is his way and the hallmark of his presidency.”
• Ace of Spaces HQ – “You know who else my enemy is? My enemy is someone who think it's a good idea to advertise the virtues of Islam next door to Islam's Greatest Hit.”
• Doug Ross @Journal – “President Obama doesn't care what you or I think. Facts, logic, reason and history play no part in his "decision-making". Only ideology matters with this particular breed of hard-left Democrats.”
• Weasel Zippers – “Obama spits in America’s eye…”
• Gateway Pundit – “Well, this is real stunner.  Since most voters in America are against building a mosque at Ground Zero, it only figures then that our radical far left president would join the 20% who believe it’s a good idea.”
• Hot Air – “Besides, the left has invested so much energy over the past month patting itself on the back for its moral superiority that they’d have wigged out if he had sided against them here. He can deny them a public option, but god help him if he denies them a Teachable Moment at the wingnuts’ expense.”
• Riehl World View – “I don't think anyone is questioning their right to worship. This is about where. You don't have a right to say a Christian prayer in a public school.”
• Ed Driscoll – The White House was much better off declaring the Cordoba House a local issue. By wading into this, if conservatives weren’t already fired up, ready to go (to coin a phrase) this November, they will be now after reading this.
• Protein Wisdom — “The people of New York who don’t want it? They’re just going to have to learn how to be good Americans.”
• Jennifer Rubin – “He is entirely – and to many Americans, horridly — a creature of the left, with little ability to make moral distinctions. His sympathies for the Muslim World take precedence over those, such as they are, for his fellow citizens. This is nothing short of an abomination.”

Riddle:  What do you get when you cross a radical Muslim with a radical Communist?
Answer: Barack Hussein Obama!  mmm hmm hmm

Obama ignores oil spill for seven straight radio addresses

For seven straight weeks, beginning with the June 26 address and running through the August 07 address given today, Obama has not even mentioned the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that has put 170+ million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, ruining tourism and fishing industries from Lake Charles, Louisiana all the way to Apalachicola, Florida. 

But El Presidente hasn't spoken of it in his weekly "fireside chats" since an off-hand mention in the June 19 address.

The question is, why not?  Doesn't he care?

Here are the links to the last seven transcripts of his radio addresses.  I admit that I only briefly scanned them for some mention of the disaster, but I don't see anything.

Am I missing something?

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• June 26 - Weekly Address: President Obama Urges Congress to Complete Work on Wall Street Reform Bill
• July 3 - Weekly Address: President Obama Touts Nearly $2 Billion in New Investments to Help Build a Clean Energy Economy
• July 10 - Weekly Address: Another vacation!
• July 17 -  Weekly Address: President Obama Says GOP Senate Leadership Choosing to "Filibuster Our Recovery and Obstruct Our Progress"
• July 24 - Weekly Address: President Obama Praises New Wall Street Reform Law; Says GOP Plan Will Take Us Backward
• July 31 - Weekly Address: Good News on Autos, Obstruction on Small Business
• August 07 - Weekly Address: Medicare Officially Safer After Healthcare Reform

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There's really no other commentary necessary from me. If he gave a flying you-know-what about the people of the Gulf Coast and the devastation caused by this event, he'd at least demonstrate its importance by mentioning it in his only direct, weekly address to the people of the United States.

He hasn't said a word since June. A lot's happened since then, including  the capping, the static kill and the cementing job that has essentially ended the crisis.  What has he said?  Nothing. 

Aloof.  Detached.  Doesn't give a flying you-know-what.

Gimme some feedback in the comments. Extra Point: Gimme some feedback in the comments.

CALL THEM RACISTS

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The Daily Caller beat Andrew Breitbart to the now-infamous Journolist archive, and Tucker Carlson's first broadside is a blockbuster expose.  Click the image for the story.

Gimme some feedback in the comments.

The Street: Nobel prize winner is calling the shots on the well test

But the Nobel Laureate who's calling the shots ain't Chu.

The "shot caller" on the Deepwater Horizon response was fingered here a week ago, but this is the first mention I've seen in the mainstream media.

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Early on Wednesday, BP said a decision to move ahead with the test might be made by midday Wednesday, but a green light from the White House didn't come until after the close of the markets on Wednesday. Pressure tests on the well were expected to begin on Wednesday evening.

The White House commented that it was simply taking every precaution possible, but in the end, the government's oil spill response point man, U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, said that BP could move ahead with the test. It's expected to take up to 48 hours for results of the test to come in.

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The oil spill was caused by a tragic failure to follow basic safety protocols and an arrogant failure to follow engineering discipline. Those failures led to a well blowout, explosion, fire, the death of 11 men and an ongoing economic and environmental disaster.

But the response to this disaster is being run by the Imperial Presidency, and the White House appears to be calling all the shots. There's no getting around this, now.  It's his tarball, baby.


Gimme some feedback in the comments.

Guess who's calling the shots on the Deepwater Horizon response...

Exactly who in the federal government is calling the shots on the Deepwater Horizon Incident response?   Admiral Thad Allen might have let it slip yesterday during his daily media briefing, but it's useful to examine a little background, first.

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As described by this official, the process is circuitous and irrational. At the Incident Command level, BP and Coast Guard appear to each have veto authority over equipment requests. Under this power-sharing arrangement – in which BP holds the purse strings – if one disagrees, then the request is denied. Parishes must then petition the Governor’s office for the equipment. If the Governor endorses the request, then BP and Coast Guard must provide the assets. This process causes massive delay resulting in a dearth of available equipment. It also calls into question the President’s assertion that “BP is operating at our direction.”

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The preceding quote is from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform report (PDF) released on July 1, 2010 and is describing the process local officials have to go through to obtain equipment.  The report basically exposes the federal government's response as a PR sham.

What the report also exposes is the fact that the "Unified Command" and Incident Commander don't have any real authority.  As the Incident Commander under the NIMS protocol, Admiral Allen should be vested with final decision-making authority.  But the governmnent is not following the NIMS protocol.  They have instead formed a "Unified Command," in which command representatives from more than one agency function as a command unit.  One of the group serves as a spokesman, but is not designated as the Incident Commander.

So what is Admiral Thad Allen?  Is he the spokesman for the Joint Command, or is he the Incident Commander?  How about none of the above?  During yesterday's media briefing, Admiral Allen was involved in the following Q&A exchange with reporters:

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Q: [Jaquetta White, New Orleans Times-Picayune] I think yesterday you said you were in Houston to meet with BP officials, and I was wondering if there were any results—any outcome from that meeting you'd care to discuss (inaudible).

ADMIRAL ALLEN: We went over three things. We went over the current effort to hook up the Helix Producer to get us to the third production platform that would bring our capacity to between 50,000 and 53,000 barrels a day to the current containment cap. And then we looked at more detailed procedures on how they would replace the current containment cap with a cap that would actually be bolted on to the flange below the current riser pipe.

The time that it would take to do that, the steps that it would take, and the weather that would be required to do that, we are talking about that inside the administration right now, and those talks are continuing. I will have to get back to Washington and continue the conversations (inaudible).

OPERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, this is the operator. We're—we'll be at a slight delay at today's conference, if everyone holds just one moment.

ADMIRALL ALLEN: This is Admiral Allen. We got cut off. I am back. Do we have the questioner still on?

Q: Yes. Can you place any kind of percentage on what the decision would be to replace the cap at this point? Would you think you're 50/50 or are you still leaning 80 percent, 90 percent toward actually coming up with the tighter cap?

ADMIRAL ALLEN: We are still reviewing the technical specifications that were provided to us by BP on not only that cap, but several other options. The procedures on how it would be done, the amount of time at which the well would be open for discharge of some amount of oil, and the weather window that it would take to do that, and that is all under review right now inside the administration, and I wouldn't want to attach a percentage right now.

NOTE: Allen was aboard the Discoverer Enterprise during the telephone conference and there were wind squalls and 6-9' seas throughout the day. So there's probably nothing to be drawn from the fact that the line went dead right after he mentioned 'the administration.' hmmm.

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Admiral Allen is not in charge.  He's not even the Incident Commander.  If that were the case, and BP convinced him that the technical specifications for the new cap were solid, he could give the order to make it happen.

But decisions like this aren't being made by Incident Command, joint, unified, or otherwise.  They're being made in Washington, DC, by Barack Hussein Obama, the real Incident Commander.


Gimme some feedback in the comments.

Obama--Doomed one termer?

Ace has an interesting post today on Dick Morris' column, in which the former Clinton adviser turned conservative political strategist urges Republicans to all but hang the impending double dip around Obama's neck.

This portion of his post sticks out:

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Clinton: I should say I think Clinton greatly improved liberalism's image, or at least a centrist type of liberalism.

His successor should have won easily in 2000, except that the nation got a little sick of his drama and dishonesty, and his successor seemed to be just as corrupt but without the roguish charm.

But what Clinton built up, Obama is diligently tearing down.

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Ironically, it was Dick Morris who, after the crushing defeat of the Glorious Revolution of 1994, convinced Bill Clinton of the benefits of "triangulation," which was Morris' fancy word for a shift to the center.  The Clinton administration had suffered another humiliating defeat when HilaryCare was unceremoniously yanked from the House floor in defeat earlier in the year.  The administration was also beset by allegations of corruption over TravelGate and other little scandals indicating its overall scumminess.

Clinton is still a man admired even in conservative circles for his political instincts.  I haven't seen anyone praising Obama for his political instincts, especially since he's never developed a reputation as a "comeback kid."  Clinton used his political instincts and a broad range of political advisers to find ways of giving the Republicans in Congress a few political bones to gnaw.  Clinton didn't really improve liberalism until he left some of its tenets behind in his triangulation move.  As a result, he became the first two-term Democrat President since the Kennedy-Johnson years.

Obama shows none of the skills Clinton displayed.  Which means that if Republicans are able to pull off 1994 The Sequel, it's far more likely that Obama is doomed to be a one-termer.  A GOP majority in either House of Congress means his radical agenda is finished for this term. As Ace points out, he's shown no ability at all to produce accomplishments that a broad majority of the electorate credit him with enough to warrant voting for him again.  He's strictly partisan and he seems as stubborn as he is radical.


Gimme some feedback in the comments.

Feds demand "advance notice" of any BP cash transfers or asset sales

Is there a lawyer in the house?  Under what authority can the Obama regime demand advance notice of "any significant cash transfers or asset sales?"  Is the United States now a creditor or major shareholder in BP North America?

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[BP] confirmed a report in the Financial Times on Wednesday that U.S. assistant attorney general Tony West wrote to the company on June 23. Normally the U.S. Justice Department does not require advance notice of such deals.

BP spokeswoman Sheila Williams said the oil company had not responded to the letter but would do so "in due course." She declined to say whether the Justice Department had set a deadline.

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If BP needs to transfer cash from one of its subsidiaries to another, for whatever reason, it is none of the government's business.  If BP decides to sell an asset--such as the rights to drill off the Vietnamese or Venezuelan coasts--then it is free to do so, for whatever reason and that too is none of the government's business.

The BP spokeswoman said that the "demand" was made on June 23, but that as of July 7, it had not responded.  If I'm Bob Dudley, I know what my response is, and I wouldn't need two weeks to deliver it:

SCREW YOU.

Gimme some feedback in the comments.

Obama awards himself Medal of Courageous Restraint for handling of BP oil spill

Knifework has the story on this, the latest accolade heaped upon Teh One.  With his laser like focus on jobs, townhalls, golf, fundraising and ant swatters, Obama has managed to score some major bling:

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In what appears to be a much needed pick-me-up in light of continuously sinking poll numbers, President Obama today awarded himself the first official Medal of Courageous Restraint for his valiant inaction in the face of the catastrophic BP oil spill off the coast of Louisiana.

In an intimate ceremony, hastily organized immediately following the President’s first press conference in ten months, Vice President Joe Biden, who just happened to be passing by the oval office at that moment, presented the medal to Mr. Obama. Biden was visibly confused when the medal was first handed to him, as he himself has no military experience to speak of. However, after Mr. Obama explained the situation to Biden through an interpreter, the ceremony continued without a hitch. Biden recited his lines nearly perfectly, earning a little silver star for his efforts.

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No word yet on the chances of a repeat, based on courageous inaction in securing the border, preventing Iran from building Teh Big One or keeping North Korea from invading Seoul.

Gimme some feedback in the comments.