With Friends Like This...

With friends like this Michelle and Barack don't need enemies.  One might have expected a White House book by Jodi Kantor of the NY Times to be a great big Valentine to Michelle and Barack.  Instead we hear of an aide (Robert Gibbs) cursing her, an unhapy Michelle, ahh, vigorously exhorting her husband, and bitter dissension amongst Barack's Chicago Mafia.

Let's start with this laugher from the Chicago Magazine interview with author Jodi Kantor:

When the Obamas left for D.C., they said they would come home [to Chicago] about every six weeks. Yet they’ve hardly been back at all.

 They did not have a clear idea of what the presidency was going to be like. Look at the contrast between George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Bush’s father was the president and before that was the vice president, so the Bushes spent holidays in the White House; they knew the staff, the routines, the traditions. The Obamas didn’t have any of that. Four years before the Obamas went to the White House, they were living in this condo apartment in Hyde Park, which I’ve been in; fairly small, has a very small closet, so it’s hard to figure out how Michelle Obama’s clothes, even her more modest wardrobe back then, fit in there.

In other words, they had no clue what the Presidency would be like.  Imagine my surprise.

For a darker mood we can turn to Jodi Kantor's story in the Times. She opens with Angry Michelle:

Michelle Obama was privately fuming, not only at the president’s team, but also at her husband.

In the days after the Democrats lost Edward Kennedy’s Senate seat in January 2010, Barack Obama was even-keeled as usual in meetings, refusing to dwell on the failure or lash out at his staff. The first lady, however, could not fathom how the White House had allowed the crucial seat, needed to help pass the president’s health care legislation and the rest of his agenda, to slip away, several current and former aides said.

To her, the loss was more evidence of what she had been saying for a long time: Mr. Obama’s advisers were too insular and not strategic enough. She cherished the idea of her husband as a transformational figure, but thanks in part to the health care deals the administration had cut, many voters were beginning to view him as an ordinary politician.

Wow. Michelle was a True Believer in the Obama hype?  Poignant.  

But how long had she been complaining about insular Chicago advisors?  Let's cut to the Huffington Post, which highlights the clashes between Rahm Emanuel and Michelle Obama:

Kantor writes, "To her, the Scott Brown victory provided grim evidence for what she had been saying for months, in some cases years: [her husband] had been leaning on the same tight group of insular, disorganized advisers for too long; they were not careful planners who looked out for worst-case scenarios."

That tight group would include Robert Gibbs, David Axelrod and Valerie Jarrett.  Let's go back to Ms.Kantor:

Mrs. Obama’s difficulties illuminate some of the president’s central challenges in the White House, including how the Obamas’ freshness to political life, a selling point in 2008, became a liability in office. Her worries about his staff point to a chief executive with little management experience who clung to an inner circle less united than it appeared. (Mr. Emanuel’s relationship with the president grew so strained that the chief of staff secretly offered to resign in early 2010; Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, had a tense relationship with Mrs. Obama and with Valerie Jarrett, another adviser). She shared the president’s ambivalence about political chores and the back-patting and schmoozing that can help get things done in Washington.

And let's have that Gibbs swearing-in ceremony:

In September 2010, after a summer of infighting throughout the West Wing, things finally exploded.

Early on Sept. 16, Robert Gibbs was scanning the news when a story stopped him short: according to a new French book, Michelle Obama had told Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, the French first lady, that living in the White House was “hell.” It was a potential disaster — the equivalent of the $400 haircut, Mr. Gibbs feared, coming just weeks before election day and on the heels of a vacation in Spain that had drawn accusations of lavish spending.

Mr. Gibbs asked her aides to find out if she had said anything even close (no, the answer came back), and then fought the story back for hours, having the book translated and convincing the Élysée Palace to issue a denial. By noon the potential crisis had been averted.

But at Mr. Emanuel’s 7:30 a.m. staff meeting the next day, Ms. Jarrett announced that the first lady had concerns about the White House’s response to the book, according to several people present. All eyes turned to Mr. Gibbs, who started to steam.

“Don’t go there, Robert, don’t do it,” Mr. Emanuel warned.

“That’s not right, I’ve been killing myself on this, where’s this coming from?” Mr. Gibbs yelled, adding expletives. He interrogated Ms. Jarrett, whose calm only seemed to frustrate him more. The two went back and forth, Ms. Jarrett unruffled, Mr. Gibbs shaking with rage. Finally, several staff members said, Mr. Gibbs cursed the first lady — colleagues stared down at the table, shocked — and stormed out.

Mr. Gibbs later acknowledged the outburst but said he had misdirected his rage and accused Ms. Jarrett of making up the complaint. After the book incident, he “stopped taking her at all seriously as an adviser to the president,” Mr. Gibbs said, adding, “Her viewpoint in advising the president is that she has to be up and the rest of the White House has to be down.”

As to whether Ms. Obama may have actually said that life in the Whte House is hell, let's skim the Kantor piece:

Michelle Obama was privately fuming, not only at the president’s team, but also at her husband....her story has been one first of struggle, then turnaround and greater fulfillment...Initially, she had considered postponing her move to the White House for months; after arriving, she bristled at its confinements and obligations...she was also deeply frustrated and insecure about her place in the White House...she tried to wriggle out of some ceremonial events that she saw as not having much purpose...The confinement of the White House was also a shock; suddenly she was cut off from her old life and rituals, and she hesitated even to take her daughters to school or some soccer games for fear of causing a fuss...The family had intended to return to Chicago frequently, but their first attempt was so complicated — their brick-front home was shrouded in black curtains to foil snipers, and because they couldn’t just buy groceries anymore, Navy stewards fed them in their own home — they seldom returned...

And let's include a bit of loneliness and paranoia:

“I don’t think any of us contemplated how isolating this whole experience would be,” Dr. Eric Whitaker, a close friend from Chicago, said in an interview. “I don’t think this is a fun part about being the first family for any of them.”

Mrs. Obama often found herself caught in an internal debate about how the Obamas should look and live, travel and entertain. As the first African-American first lady, she wanted everything to be flawless and sophisticated; she felt “everyone was waiting for a black woman to make a mistake,” a former aide said.

This sounds exactly like the Sister Grim that hit the trail in 2008.  However, I had picked up on the "White House is hell" story back in September 2010, and had imagined Gibbs' spin:

I am sure White House spinmeisters will restore the missing context, in which we will learn that Michelle's life is hell because she is so worried about disabled soldiers and unemployed workers, as well as Gitmo remaining open, and a lack of a public option in the health bill.

 

Comments

[Captain Hate]

People like El JEFe don't have friends; they have acquaintances and associates.

[bgates]

Barack Obama was even-keeled as usual in meetings....The first lady, however....

Was Her Excellency in these meetings?

I am delighted to see the knives coming out already.

[rse]

I seem to be unable to post. Will try again with no link.

[centralcal]

I loved this comment from one of your links in the way back machine about Her Excellency Michelle:

MikeS: For the first time in my life, I'm really ashamed of my country's First Lady.

[rse]

Every link to it goes missing so if you want to read a great story on how much both parties are conceding that is unconstitutional I suggest today's Andy McCarthy piece at NRO.

[glasater]

Val Jar sure sounds like a psychopath to me.

[Rick Ballard]

"she wanted everything to be flawless and sophisticated"

Shoulda ordered up more styrofoam columns plus a truckload of gauze and Vaseline for the camera lenses. I'm surprised that the Obama's haven't appointed a Hollywood special effects team as Appearance Czars.

I'm going to miss the sycophantic applause from the MFM at every episode of the Hog on Icecapades. The mindless groveling has been a treat.

[centralcal]

Over at FishbowlDC, the snarky/b*tchy Betsy Rothstein spits out this lede to her blog:

Disastrously obnoxious. Disgusting. Shameless.

These are the reactions being tossed about today amongst Washington’s Press Corps. with the release of NYT‘s Jodi Kantor‘s new book, The Obamas, that comes out next week.

Kinda get the feeling that the "Washington Press Corps" will not be including Jodi Kantor on the invite list to cocktail parties. ha ha ha ha!

[narciso]

Here it is, rse, McCarthy is one of the last
throwbacks to what Buckley's vision of NR was,
sometimes a little too much like Burnham

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/287424/obama-skirts-democratic-process-andrew-c-mccarthy

[narciso]

To cite another line, 'they can't handle the truth' cc, or anything close to it,

[rse]

Let's see if I can do an LUN to a great cartoon on the "recess" appointments.

[Melinda Romanoff]

In light of the actions of the White House over the last week, I am now fully convinced the "Insider" is a full blown scam.

[narciso]

Someone give these people the red pill;

http://www.thepiratescove.us/2012/01/07/climate-change-castaways-have-long-years-to-wait/

[Very effective.]

Yesterday I saw a wonderful bumper sticker:

NOPE
2012

with Obama's red, white and blue logo forming both the 'O' and the 'zero'.
============

[centralcal]

Where did my post about Chicago magazine go????

[Jack is Back!]

First Gretchen Morgenstern blows the manhole up on the Dodd-Frank designed housing sewer and now Jodi Kantor plays pin the the tail on the chief donkey's mare.

What the world is happening at the Times? Is there a lack of job security that is driving these exposes?

[centralcal]

Damn typhuspad. This is my 3rd attempt, will not include a link:

Kantor was interviewed yesterday by Chicago magazine. She was asked, "What if there is no second term?" and responded:

Eric Whitaker told me that the president has a very unrealistic fantasy. [He] thinks that once he’s out of the White House he’s going to be able to walk around like a normal person again. But their South Side house is very exposed, not really a great place for an ex-president to live. It’s hard to imagine them going anywhere but Chicago. Everyone I’ve talked to thinks they’ll come back and yet lead a very different life from the one they’ve led here so far.

Unrealistic fantasy. Barry has quite a few of those, I think.

[Ignatz]

Don't you feel better knowing the White House is being used as a great big therapist's couch by these two neurotic bumpkins playing out their childhood disorders on the rest of us?

And why is it the sophisticated denizens of big cities so often haven't a clue about style, class or grace?

[JM Hanes]

narciso:

If they decide to move to Guam, we're sunk.

[narciso]

Didn't the Clinton's act the same way, why is it the Reagan's the Bushs, have no problem readjusting, rhetorical question, btw, cc,
that was the link that TM opened with,

[Comanche Voter]

Why do I hear the theme music from The Jeffersons playing in the background, as in "Moving on Up to the East Wing, that big Penthouse in the Sky"?

I know, I know, I'll be accused of racism for saying it. But as Ms. Kantor points out, in 2004 The Bamster and Moochelle were living in a small condo in Chicago, with very small closets. It's a long jump from there to the Big House on the Potomac and all that entails. To say that these two were grievously unready and ill prepared to make the jump is to understate the case.

And as for the Washington press corp(se) (I can mispronounce along with The Bamster) being angry at Ms. Kantor? I read much of her essay as a great big wet kiss for Michelle Obama and her husband. I guess if you don't genuflect when addressing the subject of the Obamas, you're just not in the politically correct club.

[centralcal]

oops, thanks Narciso, I missed that opening link target!

[narciso]

It's tricky, they have to put up the progressive gloss, as with Susskind, in order to reveal that they don't know what they are doing, but Kantor interviewed 33 staffers, from Betsy's piece, and she does spot some interesting avenues like that piece on his law school classes that really is the Rosetta
to understanding him.

[Captain Hate]

Don't you feel better knowing the White House is being used as a great big therapist's couch by these two neurotic bumpkins playing out their childhood disorders on the rest of us?

I said before the 2008 vote that the jugeared fellow belonged in extensive therapy much more than in the White House.

[narciso]

Here is the link, that I refer to;

http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowldc/the-dept-of-bragiculture_b61172#disqus_thread

Obama never really dealt with coalitions like
Emmanuel has had to, and W and Sarah had ample
experience with, hence they don't understand
what is required.

[narciso]

And this is 'Rosebud' IMHO;

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/30/us/politics/30law.html

[Rick Ballard]

"Didn't the Clinton's act the same way"

Narciso,

The Clinton's called in a Hollywood team early on and took their advice concerning the creation of an illusion through appearance very seriously. They both enjoyed dressing up as frumpy socialists right up to the inauguration. Hillary's appearance over the past year is just reversion to norm - Bubba still enjoys the play acting.

[matt]

This resonates of sycophants surrounding a tyrant.

One of them releases an image with a few warts and the rest immediately rush to denounce the apostate. Does the book discuss the First Lady's tone deaf actions the first year in office? Her many faux pas? Her Marie Antoinette-like extravagance?

With all that we have heard of the dissent of Summers, Geithner, and so many other players within the administration, it is amazing that Obama has been so successful in pushing forward his political agenda.

With the Solyndra, Fisker, and other green scandals the dollar amount is much greater than Teapot Dome, and yet no one has thought to hold the administration accountable.

So who holds the media accountable?

[Ignatz]

Good article contrasting Tim Tebow and Ben Rothlisberger. Don't follow the wretched Steelers, an animus that began with the so called Immaculate Reception which was anything but IMO :), so it has a lot of stuff I didn't know about Rothlisberger. I hope he can make it stick.

[Captain Hate]

the so called Immaculate Reception

One of the most disgusting moments in sports I've ever witnessed. It still bothers me. Go Tebow.

[Captain Hate]

Bubba still enjoys the play acting.

Jethro Bodine as a double-aught spy was more convincing.

[Boatbuilder]

Are those DC press corps comments about the author or the subject?

[narciso]

It's carefully couched but it's an attack on Tebow and by proxy, Santorum and/or Palin, the only time they care for evangelicals is when they are silent or lipsynching Wallis's hyms;

David Kuo, a Steelers fan, was deputy director of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives in the George W. Bush White House and is the author of “Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction.”

[MarkO]

narc, anyone with any experience in law school, in business or even in life could read that and not walk away knowing that Obama was a fraud. He's just not that smart and he's a liar.

So there.

[Porchlight]

I despise the Steelers.

Dear heaven, please let me get to watch some football tomorrow. I have gone all season without it thanks to small kids interrupting me 1000 x daily.

[MarkO]

Did I actually see this in print? "the deepening evangelical faith of Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger" Is this one of those things where you say, "Dear God, if I'm not sent to prison for raping that girl, I'll try to be better?"

[narciso]

Just like Ryan Lizza's backgrounder on his time in Chicago, they flagged it with that Spiegelman cover, so people wouldn't actually
examine his past. But there was a reason why
Obama kicked him off the press plane.

[Captain Hate]

"Dear God, if I'm not sent to prison for raping that girl, I'll try to be better?"

RapeThisFurburger must've gotten spiritual counseling from Clenis.

[narciso]

You can just see the setup with this intro;

One of these stories is familiar by now — that of Tim Tebow, the evangelizing signal-caller for the Broncos. Tebow is a missionary’s kid, and he has a missionary’s zeal. The Heisman Trophy winner from the University of Florida has been preaching since his dad put him on a stage in the Philippines when he was 15 years old. That’s why he can’t stop thanking Jesus in every post-game interview, win or lose, and why he’s happy to pray even when the cameras are trained on him. His name has become a verb, fans wear Broncos jerseys with Tebow’s number and the name “Jesus” on the back, and his string of fourth-quarter comebacks this season seemed, well, miraculous.

[Boatbuilder]

Sounds like he is actually trying. I am skeptical and as a Pats fan I really despise all things Steelers, but I sincerely hope that he turns things around and, like Tebow, is happy and healthy and gets his QB rating down into the 40's.

[MarkO]

Progressives hate sincerity. That's why they loved Kennedy and why they worship Obama.

[Ignatz]

--Jethro Bodine as a double-aught spy was more convincing.--

Thanks for that hilarious reference, CH.
One of the funniest shows of all time.
I still crack up, recalling the episode where he kept braining himself (if that's possible)when he made himself a steel brimmed hat out of an old kettle like the sumo dude in Goldfinger.
I think it was 'double naught' spy however.

[Captain Hate]

I think you might be right Iggy.

[OldTimer]

test

[Ignatz]

Didn't see anything in the article that was unfair or even disparaging toward Tebow, narc. I was amazed by how positive both sides of evangelicals were discussed.

--Is this one of those things where you say, "Dear God, if I'm not sent to prison for raping that girl, I'll try to be better?"--

Perhaps it's one of those things like the thief on the cross.

[Jane]

TM,

You made my day. The smallest chink in the Obama media protected armor puts a big huge smile on my face.

Val Jar sure sounds like a psychopath to me.

The perfect puppeteer for the narcissist in chief.

[Frau Kasperltheater]

And who is Val Jar's puppeteer? It's like the turtles all the way down.

[Clarice]

"Shoulda ordered up more styrofoam columns plus a truckload of gauze and Vaseline for the camera lenses. I'm surprised that the Obama's haven't appointed a Hollywood special effects team as Appearance Czars."

rick, time has not dulled your sharp wit.

[JM Hanes]

"Mrs. Obama often found herself caught in an internal debate about how the Obamas should look and live, travel and entertain."

None of which included a Chief of Protocol, to all appearances.

Jimmy Carter set up West Wing housekeeping in similar fashion, with a crew of rubes imported wholesale from Georgia (a reflection of Carter, not the venerable Peach Tree State!), who were as notorious for their diplomatic ignorance as their arrogance. I remember Jody Powell expecting a senior officer in the late, lamented US Information Agency to carry his bags. At least the Obamas don't drag Shasha and Malia to official White House dinners and seat them next to distinguished foreign dignitaries.

[Frau Kasperltheater]

"She cherished the idea of her husband as a transformational figure..."

Black studies and twenty years listening to Wright and Pfleger, the twin devils of deception, helped form the picture of the Alinsky community organizer as savior.

[Captain Hate]

a crew of rubes imported wholesale from Georgia (a reflection of Carter, not the venerable Peach Tree State!), who were as notorious for their diplomatic ignorance as their arrogance.

Which hick was it (Hamilton Jordan?) that made a comment comparing some Egyptian woman with large cans to the pyramids? I'm not kidding about that.

[Old Lurker]

From Hamilton Jordan's obit in the NYT: "Mr. Jordan denied an accusation that he had insulted the wife of the Egyptian ambassador at a state dinner by referring to her breasts. "

[JM Hanes]

Matt:

Had to leave out the links, but will attempt to update when Typepad is in a more cooperative mood.

"With all that we have heard of the dissent of Summers, Geithner, and so many other players within the administration, it is amazing that Obama has been so successful in pushing forward his political agenda."

He'd have nary a draft of Obamacare in hand without the Pelosi/Reid Congress to thank for it. He owes his most important purloined "achievements" to the dragon lady from San Francisco:

“As I mentioned when I was at La Raza a few weeks back, I wish I had a magic wand and could make this all happen on my own,” Obama told a meeting of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. “There are times where — until Nancy Pelosi is speaker again — I’d like to work my way around Congress.”

He was just dissembling about the magic wand! How about a little backdoor amnesty?

As he continued, Obama conceded that “we’ve got laws on the books that have to be upheld.”  But he quickly added there are different ways to uphold the laws on the books. “You know as well as anyone that…how we enforce those laws is also important,” Obama said.  Last month, the administration made a major, unilateral change in immigration law enforcement when it announced that the government will not initiate deportation proceedings against illegal immigrants unless they have committed serious crimes. 

Want a Jobs Bill?

“We’re not going to wait for Congress. So my instruction to… all the advisers who are sitting around the table is, scour this report, identify all those areas in which we can act administratively without additional congressional authorization, and just get it done,” the president said at a meeting of his Jobs and Competitiveness Council in Pittsburgh.

Rewrite the Rule Book?

This week, President Obama announced that his administration would forge ahead with new mortgage refinancing rules, despite congressional inaction. “We can’t wait,” he repeatedly insisted, and lo, federal housing policies were changed!

How about a Consumer Financial Protection Board....

[Jack is Back!]

I still go back to that live TV image of President-elect Barack Hussein Obama in the dark alcove leading out of the Capitol building to the stage set up on the west side for his inauguration. There was fear in those eyes and his demeanor - he looked like this is not where he wanted to be. That told me more than anything that this guy was way over his head (Thank you Laurence J. Peter) and had eclipsed his level of incompetency by a country mile.

He squared that by bringing his wife to the same level with him.

[Captain Hate]

Of course he'll deny it. The question is how does a story like that start in the first place? Unless it was some snarky quisling in the State Dept in which case a curse on all their houses.

[Captain Hate]

El JEFe was never happier than when he occupied "Teh Office of President Elect" complete with made up seals. Rupert Pupkin had all the glory and none of the responsibility.

[JM Hanes]

I have no idea why standalone links work and internal ones don't.

The dragon lady:
http://real-agenda.com/2011/10/24/obama-explicit-id-like-to-work-my-way-around-congress/

The Jobs Bill:
http://www.datehookup.com/Thread-786727.htm

The Rule Book:
http://real-agenda.com/2011/10/24/obama-explicit-id-like-to-work-my-way-around-congress/

[Captain Hate]

I have no idea why standalone links work and internal ones don't.

Substandard software

[JM Hanes]

Captain Hate:

Call it the memory hole phenom: With apologies to Jody Powell, it may actually have been Ham Jordon who treated everyone like bellboys.

[JM Hanes]

Shoulda ordered up more styrofoam columns....

El JEFe was never happier than when he occupied "Teh Office of President Elect"

All the world's a stage,
And the Obamas merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays parts.

[JM Hanes]

Aw shoot, make that *many* parts.

[daddy]

With news out that Corzine was shopping for Chateau's in France 2 weeks before the Billion bucks disappeared I reiterate that Rush needs to get his song guy to do a parody of Corzine singing Robert Palmer's
famous She's so fine, there's no telling where the money went----Simply Unbelievable!"

Anybody know how to pass that suggestion along?

Bonus: A shocking development confronts a well known deadbeat illegal alien.

[MarkO]

Poor Corzine, I'd question Lisbeth Salander. Of course, I would anyway, just for the experience.

[MarkO]

Sorry, I couldn't resist, if you know what I mean.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrGw_cOgwa8

[Jane]

The real question is: Did Corzine buy a French Chateau and if so, when can we move in?

[Captain Hate]

With apologies to Jody Powell, it may actually have been Ham Jordon who treated everyone like bellboys.

They were the Frick and Frack of diplomatic dumbassery so don't expend too many mea culpas on either of those two.

On a sad note one of the best bosses I ever had died yesterday of cancer complications. I reported to him when I was at my first consulting gig in the mid 90s and one thing I'll always remember about him was when I got called in for production support problems in the middle of the night (before you could dial in) when I fixed things he would always have me call him at home at which point he would thank me for what I'd done. I ultimately could figure out what was going on with all of the problems so it became a breeze (including one partially insane operator whose ramblings I could ultimately decipher into what was a real problem that needed an immediate fix versus one that could wait versus one that really wasn't a problem) but when you're flying blind in the middle of the night, even though you get paid it still feels miserable and it was always comforting to know that somebody cared about what I was doing. He set my priorities for me and never torpedoed me; and was calm at all time. He was also one of the most exemplary Catholics I ever knew; his faith served him well in dealing with his trials because I never heard him complain. I saw him back in the Fall when he was hospitalized and I was hoping he was getting better. No such luck. Incidentally after I moved on to another consulting gig (I loved working there more than any place I ever had; I just got bored with the system I supported) he ended up at Peter Lewis's Progressive Insurance, a regular way-stop in the IT diaspora in this area where I never landed. From all reports he was treated very well there.

[Jane]

Has anyone seen Maybee lately?

[daddy]

An update on the Russian Fuel Tanker:

The fuel tanker had become stuck in ice and the Healy was forced to stop and slice into the ice around the larger vessel. Tracking data shows the Healy was in a near dead stop for about four hours Friday afternoon.

"The ice conditions are giving us a number of challenging issues," Mosley said. "We can break it open but it is quickly closing."

"Nightfall will make the challenges even greater. The closer the ships travel together, the more alert they must be to prevent knocking into each other. If they can't keep good watch, if the Renda gets stuck again they may have to stay put until daylight..."They are moving on at a crawl."

Hope you guys don't mind these updates. Its an interesting mission and I hope it turns out well, but I still find it worth noting that never once have they mentioned if this Sea Pack Ice is more extensive than normal, or how it compares to normal. For some reason that part keeps being left out of the narrative. My guess is that if it was a heck of a lot less than normal, we'd be hearing about it non-stop.

However, you will be glad to know, that the icebreaking ships are being re-routed via USGS satellites in order to ensure that they do not get near the ice bergs where "the Endangered Spectacled Eider, a clam-eating, football-sized duck," hangs out.

[Jack is Back!]

daddy,

I find them very interesting and newsworthy considering I woke to the second day of sea fog due to the return of sunny warm weather. No sea ice but very calm and there must be 15 Mayport shrimpers out there less than a mile off shore dragging their nets as thousands of gulls, pelicans and osprey wait for some spillage.

Now, that said, I am fascinated that we need to protect a bird that spends a few months each year on the Bering Sea cutting through sheet ice to dive in artic waters for clams. It seems to me that if they want to get gasoline to Nome they would be better off hooking up a bunch of these birds to a barge and have them cut through the ice:)

[Jack is Back!]

500 emails of CG2 with excellent headline summaries.

Who says the sceptics are not of good humor:)

[Ignatz]

--Has anyone seen Maybee lately?--

I've never set eyes on her, but I'm certainly looking forward to it.

[daddy]

Road Trip!

MayBee, bgates, and I think MarkO stole the car keys and are raising cain over at Althouse.

MarkO, is that you over there on a horse, or some other Mark O?

[Chubby]

if she wanted to postpone going to the WH why did she ask the Bush's to vacate the premises earlier than their entitled time to stay? That was a low and exceedingly tacky thing to do, imo.

And I just can't join the pity party about all the isolation, etc. etc.

On Friday Rush did a great riff about getting to that wonderful place where you don't give a fig about what others think or say about you. He was talking about conservatives, not MO, but she would do well to follow his advice. She really shouldn't think/worry so much about what she thinks other people think about her and her skin color and focus more on what she thinks about others, especially the American people. She needs to correct such thoughts as being ashamed of America and thinking that people are watching her to make mistakes just because she is black. It must be terrible to live with such a deluded inner strawman. If she would honestly self examine her own thoughts about others instead of charting her course based on her inner strawman, she would realize that ostentatious spending during hard economic times will not buy the public's affection and that is not a racial issue.

[MarkO]

daddy, my horse and I during the late Jurassic. At my grandparents where I was known as "The Kid."

[MarkO]

I hotwired the '58 Chevy convertible. Zoom.

[MarkO]

I loved this car. Not mine.

http://retardzone.com/uploads/2008/02/1958-chevy-impala.jpg

[daddy]

Hi Jack,

Way behind on reading the thread, but hope the Shrimping went well yesterday.

Surprising ain't it that the Sierra Club etc, didn't step up with a LawSuit to squash the Fuel Tanker's run until they spent millions doing a study to verify that the IceBreaker's couldn't possibly harm the ducks with their noise or vibrations, and especially from their diesel exhaust. If Diesel exhaust from Shell Oil ships can harm Native villages 75 miles away as a previous Lawsuit alledged, one would think Russian Tanker's destroying Eider habitat Ice Fields would easily murder generations of the Endangered clam eating ducks.

In other Bering Sea News, Anyone for a swim?

[daddy]

Hi MarkO,

Tough fought victory for Duke today. They held together well at the end under a strong GT assault.

Off with the dogs, but will view you on Horseback later.

The weather here finally broke thank goodness. It's + 7 F. Bye.

[centralcal]

Oh, yeah! MarkO and his horse. The first time I ever saw that avatar at Althouse (quite some time ago, in fact), I new instantly that was "our" MarkO. So cute, that avatar. Wish we could have personalized ones here. - uh oh, nevermind, can't see 'em with the narcisolator functioning!

[centralcal]

BTW - don't follow sports at all, so have no idea what is on schedule for this evening, but is anybody here going to watch tonight's debate?

I am rather ambivalent - another Diane Sawyer performance gives me a queasy tummy just thinking about it.

[Old Lurker]

test

[Old Lurker]

Cap'n, sorry about your old boss. The good ones are tough to lose.

[narciso]

What Mrs. 'Thousands of Countries' what could go wrong, sarc. sorry about your boss, Capt.

[Jack is Back!]

CC,

Only you and the other non-sports, political wonks will be watching the debates tonight. Its da'Saints hosting the Lions of Detroit on NBC. We're talking playoffs not goof-offs like Boozy Blondie and Hair Boy.

In 2 minutes its Bengals v. Texans which should be a very interesting game considering its the first time a playoff has been played in Houston since Warren Moon's last game (BTW, most under-rated QB in the history of the NFL).

Talking football, Frederick is entered in our annual college bowl game pool. $20 per entry, with a $250 1st place payout. He won last year ($300) as a 7 year old against 35 men and ladies including the ex-head coach of the Packers and Colts as well as his son who was an assistant. Just to give you a perspective.

He picks his own teams without any help from me. Last year he used this formula: all the service academies, all the catholic schools, all the Florida schools, my alma mater, and then schools with cool mascots:)

This year he is currently in 2nd place but even if he wins all the remaining games (he won't win the SMU-Pitt game) he will still not achieve 1st place since there is a guy who is ahead of him with the same teams. BTW, he has to take the spread not win or lose. I guess it gets tougher to win the older you get:)

[Porchlight]

El JEFe was never happier than when he occupied "Teh Office of President Elect" complete with made up seals.

Someone, it might have been Peter Wehner at the Weekly Standard, gave him some sage advice around that time, which was to enjoy the transition period because it is usually the best part of a presidency.

[Captain Hate]

Thanks guys; I wrote that as both a tribute and a catharsis

[Porchlight]

CH, I'm sorry to hear that. Great bosses are hard to come by, and those special relationships are ones we carry with us forever. Similar, I think, to great teachers.

[PaulL]

Daddy,

There is a link to contact Paul Shanklin at PaulShanklin.com

I exchanged emails with him many years ago. A very nice man.

[OldTimer]

Perry blasts Obama's job numbers fiction:

http://townhall.com/columnists/rickperry/2012/01/06/hard_truths_behind_todays_job_numbers/page/full/

Maybe Perry will go Bold & Brazen on the recess appointments too, and then he should start on all the other unconstitutional antics. Somebody's got to say it.

[Captain Hate]

I think they are similar, Porch; plus when you have some really bad ones it makes the good ones stand out.

Btw daddy et al: There's a good back and forth on crabcakes here and other stuff: http://minx.cc/?post=325419

[Jack is Back!]

CH,

Even in the rough and tumble world of international engineering construction you would come across a good soul of a boss. How they got to where they were with that kind of bedside manner is still a mystery to me since the others were no nonsense, task masters who gave a rat's ass what anyone thought of them. Even Marines on an amphibious landing have better comportment.

So, I envy you and your relationship with a good guy. I had one like that and often wonder what happened to him. Probably teaching or a minister somewhere.

[maryrose]

CaptH.:
My first boss also succombed to cancer{lung} he was a heavy smoker. and the sadness I felt was overwhelming. He took a green guidance counselor{me} and showed me the ropes. He was a truementor. At his funeral Mass, the art teacher,an Ursuline nun and our former football coach were present because his appeal was universal.Yes, OL the good ones are hard to lose. Mine was present at my wedding 30 years ago and was amazed to be given one of the best seats in the church. God puts people in your life to guide you along the way. My oldest brother, also a mentor to me, passed at the age of 14 in a drowning accident. I swear he's had my back ever since. Go Tebow! Show them what faith is all about. They obviously don't know and need your example and guidanceOt and a fun fact of being never too old to do something crazy.
I took the Polar Bear Plunge into Lake Erie on January Ist at Noon because I've always wanted to do it. Thw water was 36 degrees and it was a really cold thrill. I hope to see CaptH next year At Huntington Beach in Bay Village. The woman I ran in with was from Cleveland Hts. My daughter also joined in the fun.
Regarding the statement above about my brother, I must feel comfortable here to talk about it. I faced the hardest thing in my life at 12 and it has been uphill ever since. I uess that's why I am an optimistic person.

[Frau Lehrerin a.D.]

CH- I hope everyone has had at least one supervisor, boss or colleague who made work and life better. One of mine is in 92 and living with love and assistance in Cincinnati.

[Extraneus]

The Kid

[Extraneus]

With 827 profile views, no less.

[Frau Lehrerin a.D.]

rse, the beat goes on. Atlantic Monthly has an article about Finland's high school scores where the goal is equality and not excellence. OWS was mentioned favorably by the author.
LUN

[Frau Lehrerin a.D.]

One of those is mine, Ext. The Kid, indeed!

[Danube of Thought]

"she does spot some interesting avenues like that piece on his law school classes"

Could someone expand on this? Is the reference to his classes at Harvard, or to the ones he taught at Chicago? Is the piece published somewhere?

[Jack is Back!]

CH,

Saw your comment on Friendly Farm over at AoSHQ.

Did you ever go down to Charles County and Pope Creek? Have a funny story about that and crabs.

We were building the Morgantown Power Plant over by the 301 bridge - this is back in the late 60's early 70's. As unit 2 was completing we started transferring people. So, every Friday, with 2 or 3 or 4 or more people leaving, we would call over to Captain John's at Pope Creek and reserve a big table for crabs or whatever people wanted. Leaving parties they are called.

This went on for a couple of months - every Friday there were always a few people leaving and Captain John's was the place to celebrate. Of course, the table size was getting smaller and smaller. Finally, one Friday, there was only me left. At about 12:30 I get a phone call and its the waitress at Captain John's wondering if we need a table this friday:)