The Morning Blog

Obama's War, Day 6. House Speaker John Boehner asks some pointed questions:

The House speaker, John A. Boehner, sent the White House a letter on Wednesday, demanding answers about the cost of the war, an exit strategy and when the United States would hand off the lead role to the allies. He also asked a question central in Washington: “Is it an acceptable outcome for Qaddafi to remain in power after the military effort concludes in Libya?”

I would add "Whom precisely are we handing control of the war over to?". That very basic question remains to be answered. I'd frankly be a bit surprised if any country is particularly keen on taking over.

Just to make things more interesting and ill-conceived, might I suggest that North Korea take a leadership role? They are in fact eligible.

Sudan has announced that it has an online brigade of cyber-jihadists. Personally, I think it's just a fancy way of saying "nerds with beards".

Mexico has released a manual to discourage sexist language in the workplace. Amongst other phrases, "You are prettier when you keep quiet" will no longer be considered an acceptable compliment. In a related piece of Kacee Bait: Here's a British guy getting stomped by luchadoras.

I'm assuming that things must be absolutely wonderful and care-free in Maine considering their top legislative priorities appear to be whoopie pies and interior decorating.

The New York Times looks to gadgets you can do without. On books:

Yes, e-readers are amazing, and yes, they will probably become a more dominant reading platform over time, but consider this about a book: It has a terrific, high-resolution display. It is pretty durable; you could get it a little wet and all would not be lost. It has tremendous battery life. It is often inexpensive enough that, if you misplaced it, you would not be too upset. You can even borrow them free at sites called libraries.

I remain dumbfounded by the appeal that some people find for e-readers. Not to be vulgar, but they strike me as expensive (and electric!), tits on a bull.

Some weather we had yesterday... Tornadoes really are not the sort of thing people around Pittsburgh are prepared for.

Worshiping with the Cult of the Porcelain Throne.

More Kacee Bait: Sounds fine and dandy if you don't mind me spending the ceremony on my ass.

Not surprisingly, the Westboro Baptist Church has decided that the death of Elizabeth Taylor is yet another weird act of God to punish us for our sins. There's really not much more to say about it other than that it makes me wonder if God might not be one of those star whackers Randy Quaid is so fired up about.

Inexplicably, polls show that the Tea Party favors Mitt Romney. Given their (loud, screeching), opposition to Obama Care, I'm not entirely sure how they can give Romney a pass for enacting basically the same program in Massachusetts. I'm more than a little baffled to say the least.

Leave it to the Republicans to baffle me even further. Wow...Huh...Really? An appointee to the panel that nominates state judges for Alaska testified that he would like to see Alaskans prosecuted for sex outside of marriage. No, really. I'm serious. He really did say that. I'm not kidding.

In other Republican news, Michele Bachman has announced that she'll be forming an exploratory committee for a run at the presidency. I have to agree with the commentator who says:

There might be some hideous fascination in watching her debate Sarah Palin in one of the primaries.

Wow. It would be a pretty unbelievable thing to see. Sort of like a carnival freak show only with more winking.

The sun is really hot so be sure to blow on it first.

In probably the most exciting news to hit the nerd-verse since the invention of internet porn, a "lost" Dr. Who story has been uncovered and is due to be published! And who wrote it you ask? Who? Douglas Adams, no less!

While we're on the subject of aliens, here's a list of some of the best. Glad to see ALF made it in as an honorable mention.

Oh my... A serial killer is loose in Germany.

What could possibly go wrong with planning ahead?

There's no longer an app for that.