Mobile Link | MP3

Food for Thought
If you thought selling Freedom Fires instead of French Fries was silly - you'll love this. Always on the cutting edge, a German food vendor is now selling Obama Fingers. That's right - tender, juicy, fried chicken. They claim they're trying to capitalize on the care-free American spirit - at least when it comes to fried food - and the international fascination with the new American President.

It seems they did not realize that there could be some racial connection to the product - and with an unblemished record of human rights and racial equality, why wouldn't you believe them. After all, it's not just fried chicken fingers, there's a curry sauce too.

Caterpillar Update
As covered before, the CEO of Caterpillar said if a good stimulus package was passed, and the economy recovered, they could do some re-hiring. But the President quoted him as saying, "...if Congress passes our plan, this company will be able to rehire some of the folks who were just laid off." Was the stimulus good? Guess not, Caterpillar announced more layoffs. Not so stimulating now.

Power Under Control
Carol Browner is an Obama appointee that you may not have heard about, since she seems able to pay her taxes. While she may be Goreish on climate change, she's not just a bunch of globally warmed air. The former EPA director is now the President's Energy Advisor.

What do we have to look forward to? A 'smart' grid. And by smart, she thinks that we're just stupid enough to let the power company decide how much power we need. I guess that's one solution to the rolling blackouts in California - rolling brownouts everywhere.

Tax Cuts for the...Famous?
Speaking of hot air, Alec Baldwin - known for his great insight - has seen the light when it comes to taxes. Well, when it comes to his taxes. Facing hard economic times, some New York state politicians thought the solution was to tax, well, everything. The response was not surprising.

So perhaps instead of new taxes, they should just remove some tax breaks. Not so fast says Alec Baldwin. When it comes to the 35% tax break the entertainment industry gets, well, that just shouldn't be touched.

But I thought it was okay to tax business. Looks like taxing the wealthy is good in theory to some, but not in practice. Baldwin is not alone - even Whoopi's feeling the crunch. There's a video, but you may want to look away. The View is never pretty.

Gitmo Update
Ready for your new neighbors? Wander on over with some cookies, but don't invite them to the pool party - they may have issues with Americans and water. As Gitmo closes, the 'residents' need to go somewhere, and not everyone wants them in their country - so they may end up in ours

Job Creation
In this economy it can be tough for tax evaders and former criminals to find a job. That's where the Obama administration has a plan. And it's working great. While on leave - due to the FBI corruption investigation of his former office -  it was found that new Chief Federal Information Officer, Vivek Kundra plead guilty to theft 13 years ago.

I don't believe there was prison time involved, or he probably would have been a grateful recipient of the spending bill's tattoo removal earmark. But others like him still need jobs. That's why Senator Bill Nelson says we need a National Cyber-Security Czar. That and the fact that his office's computer network has been breached by the Chinese three times in the last two months. 

Not to worry, it's not like he's involved in anything important. Just the Intelligence Committee. And the Armed Services Committee. And the Finance Committee. That's all.

Short Temper
Americas Next Top Model has finally allowed short models into the competition. I know, you were waiting for that too - right? That may have been a bad move. Police had to shut it all down after the thousands of contestants stampeded. Who knows what caused it, but it's a low blow to short models everywhere.

Bonus Points
Blarny Frank wants the list of AIG employees that received bonuses. And he wants them now - with no guarantees to privacy. That's right Blarny, just throw them out there. Maybe then we won't remember that the stimulus bill was modified to allow those same bonuses, that your party pushed that bill through before anyone could read it, and that members of congress and the administration can't consistently identify just how long they knew about the bonuses before they decided to become 'outraged'.

What's next? Writing a special tax so the government gets the money back. But wait, what about all the money AIG gave to members of congress? I guess they don't need it back - they already have it.

Brit Gift Update
While some may have joked that the rather simple gift of DVDs might be unplayable in England - they were. Next time , just shop Amazon UK.

A Bit Too Late
This is what happens when you leave the trusty teleprompter at home. Things get messy. You're taking about how bad your bowling game is and next thing you know, you're mocking the handicap. I'm sure we've all been there. But then again, we're all not the President.

At least the appearance boosted Leno's ratings - and what's more important that that? March Madness picks? He fit that in, too. Now here's something we can learn from England. Maybe what we need is a figurehead who appears on all the late night shows, does ESPN, visits schools, holds rallies, and is loved by everyone. And then someone else effectively manages the government. That might work.

If Leno's serious about getting some ratings before his exit, I'd suggest Sarah Palin. After all, she actually knows what the special Olympics are about. Too bad she doesn't have enough experience to navigate the minefields of Washington politics - she can't handle interviews, wouldn't be able to pick out gifts for visiting dignitaries, and probably wouldn't be able to weed out the corruption in her own staff . Too bad really, because I'm pretty sure she'd know how to gut a pig.

Now There's a Plan
I guess there was a reason behind the lack of specific details during the campaign. People wouldn't have liked them. Health Care reform so far has included removing restrictions on international abortion funding, considering the taxation of health care benefits, and making private insurance pay the bill when a soldier is injured.

They all sound great, right? Veterans - and the average citizen I'd assume - weren't too happy with that last one, so didn't take long to get it pulled.

It does make you wonder - these are the great ideas we were promised? What's next - letting the DMV run emergency rooms? Because that's what government health care would be. And they've done so well with the economy.