I Hate to Repeat Myself, But ...

... obviously, I'm willing to do so.

So, the Supremes didn't save us from the Socialist Scourge of Obamacare.  And the news tells us that we have one Supreme in particular to thank or blame for that:

The opinion by the chief justice is likely to surprise his liberal critics and his conservative admirers. He played the decisive role in rejecting the Republican-led legal challenge to the Democrats’ most ambitious social legislation in decades.

 I wonder if this will make Mittens pause, even for a moment, before telling the GOP base that they'd best get out and vote for him this fall, so that eee-vill judges don't get named to join the Supremes.  Really, he doesn't need to worry.  The reason the Republican "base" is the base is that they're superbly adapted to being on the bottom, underneath those who make their livings exploiting the base's room-temperature IQ.

And meanwhile, once again: be sure to vote, now.  Voting changes things!  Just ask the GOP faithful who elected the guy who appointed "Swing Vote" Roberts.  What was his name, now?  Rhymed with "bush," didn't it?

Nothing to Say, But Something to Read

A couple of things, really. Check out Chris Sullivan on a shocking failure of our supervisors to protect us by adequate regulation & oversight:

The governing board of The American Mechanics Association proposed at its annual meeting to push for legislation to require prescriptions for certain automotive supplies. The AMA has long recognized that the average consumer lacks the competence to decide what services and remedies should be applied to his motorized vehicle.

In the present situation, anybody can buy oil, filters, anti-freeze, transmission fluid, drive belts, windshield washer cleaner and myriad other items with no authorization required. Most items such as tires, wiper blades, water, compressed air, car wax, fuses, trim items and, of course, gasoline would remain over-the-counter items under the proposal.

It has long been a concern of many mechanics that consumers use the wrong oil or improperly dispose of anti-freeze or dump used filters in the garbage, causing untold environmental damage. The AMA stressed that this is a very real and immediate crisis and that its proposal has nothing to do with money, as some of its detractors are already alleging.

There's more; it's all good. And IOZ is properly grateful to our government for protecting us against evil goings-on amongst the gladiatorial class:

Yesterday, one of the greatest athletes of our time was convicted of 51 counts ranging from rape to the corruption of minors. Roger Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young award winner with one of the longest and most storied careers of any pitcher in the hundred-year history of major league baseball, was accused of using his position and influence to groom young boys for eventual sexual predation. His crimes outraged the nation, and public sentiment ran hotly in favor of a swift trial and a harsh punishment. There is no more pressing issue for our nation than the safety of our children, and I, for one, want to thank God that the Department of Justice, the Obama administration, first responders everywhere, and our fallen heroes were able to rise to the occasion and, through hard work and perseverance, bring this monster to justice.

The Criminals Investigate Themselves

Let's see. With El Presidente clearly convinced that Death From Robots Above is an effective political Viagra -- a magnificent aid to electoral potency -- I wonder why there'd be a little ambiguity about our supervisors' pursuit of that most terrible of modern criminals: the Leaker. Officially, this is all so triple-dog-dare secret classified that we just can't even confirm-or-deny, ahem, cough-cough, but every subject of the Empire can read all about the Maximum Leader's death-list meetings. Let's investigate:

Recent revelations about clandestine U.S. drone campaigns against al Qaeda and other militants are not part of two major leak investigations being conducted by federal prosecutors, sources familiar with the inquiries said. Most detailed information on the drone wars, which were initiated by the George W. Bush administration but expanded by President Barack Obama, is highly classified, officials said. But Obama and top administration officials, including White House counter-terrorism chief John Brennan, recently have been alluding more openly to drone operations in public remarks, and detailed news coverage has been widespread. The CIA has not filed a "crime report" with the Justice Department over reports about Obama's drone policy and a U.S. "kill list" of targeted militants, an action which often would trigger an official leak investigation, two sources familiar with the matter said. They requested anonymity to discuss sensitive information. By contrast, the CIA did file a "crime report" following publication by the Associated Press last month of a report disclosing the foiling of a plot by Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to attack an airliner using a newly designed underwear bomb, sources said.

We're reading a news story about investigations into leaking, and the news story itself is the product of leaking about the leaking investigation. Can't this be made a little more meta-? Maybe someone should investigate the leaks about the investigation, and someone else should leak some "sensitive information" about that investigation. And so on and so on. Life surely is complex in organizations that keep hit lists for murder, like the Gambino family, or Murder Inc., or the US government.

Weapons of Mass Derision

Yes, those much-feared WMDs. It looks as if al-Qaeda in Somalia (this group name copyrighted 2012 by The Chestnut Tree Cafe, all rights reserved) may be about to deploy the one weapon against which even the Empire cannot stand. I refer to the horselaugh:

A top US envoy has dismissed as "absurd" a reward of 10 camels for information about President Barack Obama's hideout by Somali militants.

 Al-Shabab made the mock offer after the US announced rewards of $3-7m (£2-4.5m) for various militant commanders.

 The al-Qaeda linked group offered chickens for information about US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
  
Johnnie Carson became the first top US official in two decades to visit Mogadishu over the weekend. When asked about al-Shabab's offer at a news conference, the assistant secretary of state for African affairs said: "The question is so absurd it does not deserve a response." He said his trip to Mogadishu, which lasted a matter of hours, was to note the "significant progress" made against al-Shabab. However, the al-Qaeda group still controls much of the country. After the US put bounties on the heads of al-Shabab commanders, senior militant official Fuad Muhammad Khalaf announced: "Whoever reveals the hideout of the idiot Obama will be rewarded with 10 camels, and whoever reveals the hideout of the old woman Hillary Clinton will be rewarded 10 chickens and 10 roosters," he said after Friday prayers.

 Mr Carson also announced that the US would impose sanctions on anyone standing in the way of the political process now under way. "The kind of action we must take against spoilers range from visa sanctions to travel sanctions to asset freezes," he said.

This item just makes me wonder so many things:

• Assistant Secretary of State "Johnnie Carson?" Really? I wonder if he was accompanied by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Eddie McMahon? If not, we can only shake our heads regretfully over the missed opportunity.
• Was "senior militant official" Fuad Muhammad Khalaf awarded his rank for his way with words (which is impressive): "the idiot Obama," "the old woman Hillary Clinton?" If so, I have to wonder what lower standard a junior militant official must meet? Maybe his speeches start out with "a priest, a rabbi, and a horse walk into a bar" or some such. Anyway, thanks, Fuad -- I really enjoyed a chuckle today. 
• If anyone's acquainted with Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson (aka "The Great Carnac"), maybe you could ask him where "the way of the political process now under way" lies, exactly, just so I can be sure I'm not standing there. He didn't exactly mention extrajudicial death-by-drone in his list of "the kind of action we must take," but we all know that for our wonderfully murderous current prexy, all options are perpetually on the table. And if the dark suits have decided that they're no longer amused by their semi-minority puppet and shift the strings over to the Mittster, nothing will change ... except to get even worse. Is it not ever so?

Meanwhile, I suppose I could find a use for ten camels ...

Pay to Play

What's that you say, Bunkie? Gas prices got you down? Is it pinching you a little to fill up the SUV and the bass boat at $4 a gallon?

Well, cheer up! $4 gas isn't here to stay ... $5 or $6 may be coming soon! That's all right, though, it's all in a wonderful cause:

President Obama ratcheted up the pressure on Iran Friday, deciding to implement previously announced sanctions that will be the toughest to date.

The decision declares that world oil markets can be adequately supplied even if a significant portion of Iran's 2.2 million barrels a day in oil exports is taken off the table.

"There is a sufficient supply of petroleum and petroleum products from countries other than Iran to permit a significant reduction in the volume of petroleum and petroleum products purchased from Iran by or through foreign financial institutions," Obama said in a statement.

The sanctions, announced late last year, are aimed at getting Iran to give up its nuclear program -- a program Iran says is for peaceful purposes but many suspect is intended to produce a bomb.

The decision was widely expected.

"It's hard to imagine the White House would have invited the political ramifications of stalling on Iran," said Kevin Book, managing director at ClearView Energy Partners. That could have been "devastating for key voter blocs in battleground states."

Yes, folks, President O'Bomber is not about to devastate any key voter blocs in any battleground states, as he gets the Likud Party solidified behind him. It's almost surprising that he doesn't replace Joe Biden in the Veep slot with Bibi Netanyahu ... except that it isn't surprising at all -- for Bibi, that would be a big step downward. Besides, it would be like replacing a puppet with its operator. It just isn't done.

So, the "expectation" was more sanctions against Iran. Worked great with Iraq, didn't it -- always assuming that's what you want: another glorious ten years' sand war, ending in a destroyed country and another half-million or so dead wogs, many of them women and children. Another giant murder spree, with American "progressives" excusing their semi-beige figurehead at every turn ... amazingly, it's enough to make me nostalgic for Idiot Bush, under whom the lefties were sort-of kind-of antiwar. And the "expectation" got us to $4 on gas prices. Now, the expectation has to be changing to frank, out-and-out, Straits-of-Hormuz-closing war ... gee, I wonder where prices might be going?

Sorry about that, peace-loving Americans ... but when you're determined to murder a million Persians because you've got the biblical King David confused with yarmulke-wearing pols on both sides of the ocean, you've got to pay the price. Hope the Chinese don't decline your VISA card this time. Good luck!

Murder Squirrel

So there's Senator McCain, popping up like a tree-dwelling rodent with cheek pouches chock-full of acorns, or maybe cluster sub-munitions. And, as surprising as this will no doubt be, he wants another war! This time, dispensing the dubious blessings of duh-mocracy from 15,000 feet onto the Syrians.

You have to wonder, when foreigners see the bright-eyed face of this particular senile clown, knowing that he was the presidential nominee of one of the two major branches of the War/Corporate Party as recently as '08, what they must think of you and I? No, World, I did not, in fact chew lead paint chips by the pound as a child. But I can surely understand why you might feel like asking. I do kind of wish that some of you were powerful enough to bring us a little bit of Regime Change here in the States. (And if any of you Asian bankers are reading ... maybe you can.) "Operation American Freedom." It's an idea whose time has come!