White House: Iran Can’t Come to Our Barbecue

On the heels of reports that the White House was considering rescinding invitations to Iranian diplomats to attend July 4th celebrations around the world, the White House now confirms that the invites are kaput.

This might not sound like such a big deal, especially in light of what’s happening in Iran, but the White House is really serious about its grilling.  They’ve got a fleet of Weber Sputnik grills for use by the family and staff, and they even got Chef Bobby Flay to do their Father’s Day cookout.  This is no joke, the Iranians will hurt from this.

If the violence in Iran continues, look for even stricter sanctions.  If I was an Ayatollah, I wouldn’t even bother researching my fantasy football draft.

This is, obviously, not a big deal, but whoever talked to reporters anonymously about this really blew it.  I mean, really:

The Obama administration is seriously considering not extending invitations to Iranian diplomats for July 4 celebrations overseas, senior administration officials tell CNN.

The officials said intense discussions on the issue were taking place, but the final decision had not been made.

You’re having intense discussions about whom to invite to your barbecue?  God, I hope that’s not true.

If any question should have been laughed at, it was this one.

Right Wing Creaming Over Obama and Iran – Ice Cream, Cream Puffs

While President Obama has rolled out a still-stronger statement on the unrest in Iran, there are some on the right who are more obsessed with cream than with productive diplomacy.

First, there was GOP Congressman Dana Rohrbacher’s assertion that President Obama is a “cream puff.”  It’s a nice sound byte, unless you spend a second or two thinking.  Along with the rest of the chorus saying “Do something, do anything!”, Rohrbacher seems to forget what happened when the last Decider-in-Chief felt a little impotent and went off half-cocked.  Isn’t that really what the “cream puff” dig was about, another veiled shot at the President’s masculinity?

Now, the loons on the right are up in arms about the President taking his daughters for ice cream while Iran suffers violent turmoil.  The uproar was so instantaneous and fierce that fellow White House reporter Mark Knoller had this to say only moments after tweeting about the dessert run:  (via Twitter)

Sarah Palin Tells Hannity Less Money is Good For Alaska

This is the latest Sarah Palin attack (no, not the toenails) being forwarded around the internet.  She’s talking to Sean Hannity, and the awkward subject of oil prices comes up.  It’s awkward because high oil prices=good for Alaska, bad for lower 48, whereas low oil prices=bad for Alaska, good for everyone else.

Sean notes that the price is rising, but could be much higher.  Now, I guess Sarah could have said that lower oil prices are good for everybody, but I guess that would have sounded too spread-the-wealth-y?  Instead, she says this:

Hannity: …The price of oil is going up again. It’s not quite at $140 a barrel, but it’s on its way up to $70 and $80…

Palin: Yeah, well and I thank God it’s not at $140. You know people say, “Hey, Alaska! 85% of your state budget is based on the price of a barrel of oil. Aren’t you glad the price is going up?” I say, “No!” The fewer dollars that the state of Alaska government has, the fewer dollars we spend. And that’s good for our families and for the private sector.

There is a measure of redemption to be had here, though.  The blog reporting the gaffe, The Mudflats, committed a gafflet of its own.  When you write a headline, whatever you write first becomes the URL, even if you change the headline later.  The headline embedded in Mudflats’ URL?   “governor-palin-we-can-still-here-you-up-here”

Damn, nothing undermines snark like a typo.

President Obama and French First Lady Carla Bruni Kiss and ‘Make Up’

Here’s a cross-post from AOL, and all I can say is “Damn!”  If that was me, there would be a very good reason I wouldn’t be able to step too close to her, get my drift?

Update:  I knew France had a hot First Lady, but I never really checked into it.  Did you know that there are nekkid pictures of her?  I am shocked!

President Obama and French First Lady Carla Bruni Kiss and ‘Make Up’

The silly season never ends.

Matt Drudge is pushing this headline: Bruni backs off from kiss… linking to a UK Sun article that makes it seem like French First Lady Carla Bruni had to slap away a slobbering advance from President Obama:

Bruni backs off from Obama kiss…

The former model gave customary pecks on both cheeks to Michelle Obama and other dignitaries when the couple arrived in France.

But when it came to the dashing US President the beauty kept a noticeable distance.

Well, they say pictures don’t lie, even if tabloid newspapers do. As you can see, the President and Ms. Bruni did share that continental smooch (nicely done, Mr. President), and the Sun is just trying to make some hay.

Amusingly, the New York Daily News is running the same photo as the Sun, but their headline says the President blew Bruni off. What a country!

Here’s a picture taken seconds before the one the Sun was referring to. I’ll call it “the approach”:

What is Up With Brazilians? Grocery Store Spider Kills, Makes you Hard

Yesterday, it was New Jersey trying to ban the painful, but pleasing, Brazilian waxing treatment.  Today, it’s a deadly Brazilian spider at a grocery store.  You can yawn your way through the whole story, in which bug -expert-nerds argue over what kind of spider it was, inwardly lamenting their early decision to eschew anything that would ever get them laid, or you can knit together these tidbits from the story:

Childs said a bite will kill a person in about 25 minutes…

Oddly, the Brazilian spider delivers more than a painful bite that sends most victims to the hospital. Researchers have found its venom also stimulates an hours-long erection in men.

Ah, what a way to go.  Hey, I think I did a story about this spider once.  Here’s a picture: (NSFW)

NSFW – Can You Spot the Obama in This Picture?

I hear there’s a picture of Barack Obama in this photo, but I haven’t seen it yet.  I’ll keep looking. (From Huffpo)