Obama Faces a Terrible Choice on Iraq: Yeah it is a Shit Sandwich and He Has to Take a Bite

I would not envy this new foreign policy conundrum the White House is facing. Every choice sucks as far as I can tell.

1. Team up with Iran to fight the insurgents with air power. Its the Great Satan and and Axis of Evil member in a tag-team match for the soul of Iraq. This is pretty much the US flying drone strikes for the Badr Brigade and the Iranian Republican Guard. That cannot look good if you are against Iranian nuclear ambitions and pro-sanctions. Also these are the same guys that were trying to kill our troops just a few years ago.

2. Do nothing. We get a ring side seat for genocide and a civil war that impacts a nation that is a huge oil producer that we recently fought a war to "liberate." In fact it is an honest-to-goodness regional conflict because ISIS is taking the looted tanks and weapons from the Iraqi army to go fight in Syria. The Syrian war just escalated. That seems to happen when you don't do anything except write red lines and pass out MREs in a conflict. If you don't lead you end up having to have conditions dictated to you.

3. Boots on the Ground. We get sucked into a regional civil war between the Sunni and the Shiites that have been going on since Mohammed died. We shouldn't have left in the first place but this is the kind of thing that happens when we do. We have to come back into the picture but the battlefield is already tilted against us. In fact not signing a status-of-forces agreement might get the Iraqi government killed if ISIS invades Baghdad.

All of these things are terrible choices. Maybe some Great Game playing with us aligning with and arming the Kurds might be in order. It will piss off Turkey but you have to pick the side that would be the most beneficial to your nation in the long run. You might have to partition the country though in order for this to succeed and I'm sure the UN would not want that to happen.

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Obama's Foreign Policy Flubs Taking Their Toll

It seems that Obama nearly endless screw-ups on the foreign stage is hurting his poll numbers.

According to the poll, just 37% of respondents said they approved of Obama's handling of foreign-policy issues, an all-time low. Meanwhile, 57% said they disapproved, an all-time high.

And the foreign-policy approval rating for Obama might be artificially high. The poll was conducted before the crisis in Iraq � a situation for which Obama has been roundly criticized � bubbled up and grabbed international attention.

The Iraq crisis will get even worse for Obama (and the Iraqis) as we go along. Also it seems that the public is not behind trading 5 Taliban generals for 1 possible defector by a large margin.

According to the poll, 44% of respondents said the administration should not have made the exchange, compared with 30% who supported it.

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Wait, Kanye West Worked for 4 Days on This Wedding Photo? The Flowers Look Like Foam Sealant

I have no idea why they worked on this photo for 4 days during his Honeymoon. The flowers look like that foam sealant you use on a car or a boat.

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More Obama Incompentence: They Put the CIA chief in Kabul's name on a Handout to Reporters?

I think the entire White House is asleep at the switch. This is inexcusable.

The White House said on Wednesday it has put corrective measures in place in response to the accidental public outing of the CIA station chief's name during President Barack Obama's trip to Afghanistan late last month.

During the trip, personnel at Bagram Air Base gave to White House communications personnel at list of people who were meeting Obama. The White House gave the list to reporters covering the trip and among the names was that of the CIA official.

"Here is a top secret list of people that Obama will be meeting at Bagram" says an Air Force official with a TS clearance. "Thanks" says incompetent White House communications peon while he hands it to a bunch of reporters in attendance. 

I'm sure one of the reporters then says "I didn't know that Bob is the Station Chief in Kabul I thought he was a independent contractor for Boeing." Bob the Station Chief in Kabul's gets to spend the rest of his career in Washington thinking of ways to kill off that incompetent White House peon.

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Obama in the Bubble: Why the Bergdahl Swap Went Sour so Quickly

This makes sense why the White House fumbled the Bergdahl prisoner swap so badly.

And this is precisely the problem. President Obama felt �very strongly� that he had made the right decision � and nobody who worked for him was about to tell him otherwise. �There was not a dissent on moving forward with this plan,� Ben Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser, told Time magazine. 

In other words the Obama White House and the "Sun King" Louis XIV court are starting to resemble one another. A team of yes-men that can't tell the monarch any bad news at all. This article goes on to suppose that congress wasn't called about the prisoner deal because they might tell Obama some bad news. I can see someone like Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), the intelligence committee chairman saying "Bergdahl might be a defector so it would be stupid to trade 5 Taliban Generals for him."

The White House then does a Rose Garden victory lap and then has to make a tortured explanation why the Bergdahls where there in the first place. I'm sure someone could have said "wait on the victory lap" until we can at least call Dianne Feinstein or can talk to Bergdahl to see if he is a defector or merely a deserter.

Finally, having Susan Rice go on the morning shows (which was such a good idea during the Bengazi debacle) and say Bergdahl served with honor and distinction was a total unforced error. This seemed to bring out the soldiers who Bergdahl abandoned to tell the real story on what happened. If the White House kept their mouth shut maybe the story of why Bergdahl fell into the Taliban's hands would have remained a mystery. In any case "Sun King" Obama might want to leave the Court every now and then and hear some unvarnished truth if he can take it.

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Tea Party Darling, Dave Brat, who Beat Cantor Did it Through Attacking Big Business

Well it seems that immigration reform wasn't Cantors only Achilles heel. He was also attacked because he was pro-business.

"The central theme of Brat�s campaign is that Cantor is beholden to business � specifically the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable," wrote Politico in April.

�If you�re in big business, Eric�s been very good to you, and he gets a lot of donations because of that, right?� Brat said at a local meeting of Republicans in Virginia, according to Politico. �Very powerful. Very good at fundraising because he favors big business. But when you�re favoring artificially big business, someone�s paying the tab for that. Someone�s paying the price for that, and guess who that is? You.�

Said like a guy who is a professor at Randolph Macon College that doesn't have to worry about the bottom line like people in the private sector. He seems like a Tea Party version of the pointy-headed liberal college professor who has a lot of ideas passed down from the Ivory Tower.  He actually sounds like the conservative version of Obama who hasn't worked at an actual business anytime in his life.

Also what in the hell is an "artificially big business?" Is that a successful business? Is it merely a successful business that doesn't have to rely on $35,360 a year in tuition (and the pile of debt that is created) to survive? Is that a company that employs 10,000s of Americans and makes it so they can support their families and maybe get into the upper middle class without begging for tenure from some high-priced university?

Anti-business Tea Partiers make me sick because they treat large corporations how liberals do. They think these companies are monolithic entities and not hundreds of thousands of people all striving to make capitalism work (and are hopefully being paid a nice sum doing it.) An "artificially big business" will create more growth and more jobs than a 100 pointy-headed college professors combined. In any case Dave Brat will probably get smashed by whatever Dem they put up against him anyway so it is all a moot point.

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Mark My Words: Eric Cantor's Loss Means the Dems Hold the Senate and Hands Hillary the White House

Well it seems that the Tea Party know-nothings have sniped a big target.

�My understanding from talking to people down in Richmond was that the real issues seem to be that he wasn�t strongly enough anti-immigration reform, that he voted to end the government shutdown and he voted to raise the debt ceiling,� Bobbie Kilberg, who heads the Northern Virginia Technology Council and held a May fundraiser for Cantor, told TIME. �And you know, at some point in time, these people need to understand you just simply have to govern. These people need to understand that we need immigration reform. And these people need to understand that Eric Cantor was a conservative on all those issues. He was a mainstream conservative.�

Yup, and save the world economy as well when he voted to raise the debt ceiling. In any case immigration reform is probably dead for maybe a decade since no Republican is going to back it and have an opportunity to lose their primary. By then the Hispanic vote will be firmly in the Democratic pocket so there may never be another Republican President in decades for sure. The Tea Party fighting "amnesty" has probably won it for Hillary Clinton and maybe even Chelsea Clinton if she wants to run in 2024.

Also we might have a bunch of Tea Party asswipes beating establishment candidates and then losing to Democrats in their general elections. So the establishment guys can either do nothing (which is usually a good bet) or tack right to try to win the Tea Party vote. Tacking right will make them unpalatable to independents and they will lose in the general. So the Senate will probably stay in Democratic hands in November.

In any case more idiot Tea Partiers will be shutting down the government or defaulting on our debt and making it hard for this economy to grow. Hopefully, Cantor lost because he was more interested in Washington power and less interested in Virginia's 7th district. However if this is a sign that the Tea Party is turning the tide against mainstream Republicans then the Dems can be in power for a very long time.

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Smart Phone Innovation from MSFT: Yes I said Microsoft

A company known for saying "Me Too" only 2 years after any innovation from the Android and iPhone camps actually made something that sounds cool.

While Kinect has not yet proven to be an essential must-have for gamers who own Microsoft�s Xbox consoles, it could be extremely useful if ported to the smartphone realm. Among other things, Warren says that Kinect in Windows Phone will let you answer your phone just by holding up to your ear and to turn on speaker phone just by placing your phone down on the table when you�re on a call with someone. You�ll also be able to end your call by putting your phone into your pocket, as Kinect will be able to automatically tell what you�d like to do based on lighting and positioning.

That actually sounds like something iPhone and Android would want to copy and not the other way around. If they can improve the voice activation as well then the Windows Phone actually sounds like something that a consumer might rush out and buy. You add this to the Kinect-less Xbone and you have MSFT actually listening to consumers instead of telling them what they want.

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Iowa GOP Hopeful Joni Ernst Smacks Down the "War on Women" Charge

Hmm, I think this woman can become the first woman Senator in Iowa history with bold words like these.

�Soon we�ll be hearing about the phony war on women,� Ernst said Tuesday night. �Well, I have a message for them: I�ve been to war. 

I�ve seen the sacrifices our men and women in uniform make every day to defend our freedoms. If Democrats want to start throwing around words like �war,� they better be doing it to honor those men and women.

As for their cheap political attacks, well�I look forward to hearing Bruce Braley� lecture me� about what�s best for women.�

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Intel Provides us With a Glimpse of the Wireless Future: You can Charge Your Phone By Setting it On Your Table?

I think things are getting all Warhammer 40K when Intels new plans come about.

During its presentation at Computex, Intel gave a demonstration of wireless charging technology based on A4WP standard Rezence that you can install under a table surface and can charge your laptop through up to two inches of wood. Even more impressively, the technology can charge multiple devices at once, which could make it particularly useful for crowded cafes where lots of people now crowd into small spaces competing for power outlets.

So this means Starbucks can install one of these devices on their tables and you can just put your phone or laptop down and it will start charging. That is first of all weird because intuitively you would think the charging table would put an electric charge into you but I guess it doesn't. Hopefully this can be scaled up to something you can put on your car dash or storage compartment so you can kiss plugging in your car charger goodbye.

In addition to wireless charging, Intel also showed off a new wireless docking system that will let you beam what�s on your computer screen to other screens wirelessly without the need for a clunky docking system.

I guess this is something that can be used to beam what is playing on your tablet to your TV without needed a Chromecast. I would love to see how seamlessly this will work but it does seem like we are entering a future where you can charge your phone by setting it down on your table which is pretty cool.

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Movie Review: Maleficent: Go See It

Well I recently saw the new Disney film Maleficent and I have to say I enjoyed myself quite a bit. It is basically a retelling of Sleeping Beauty from the point of view of the Evil Queen. However, she really isn't evil and you understand why she did what she did.

The acting was spot on with Angelina Jolie pretty much carrying the movie. You can feel her pain and see her joy at various turns of the plot. She doesn't devour scenery like some actors but she does subtle and angry as well as any Oscar winner. She does a great job of going from loving pixie to evil queen to "fairy godmother" and everywhere in between. You can sympathize with her plight as the guy she loved disfigures her so that he can become King. She pulls off the pain and loss in the scene where you see her wings cut off and you almost wince with her. This is yet another example (after Gravity) that a female lead can not only carry a movie but also bring in big box office numbers as well.

The rest of the characters were decent enough and even the fairies that look after Princess Aurora did not become annoying like what happens in some Disney movies. This could have been a place where you would sigh and have to endure scene after scene of them hamming it up. Instead they did a solid job and did not waste too much screen time. Elle Fanning did a good job playing Princess Aurora and did not become treacly and stupid at any time. She reminded me of Rapunzel in Tangled for some reason as a plucky girl with heart. The King was sufficiently evil but was not over the top or just pure evil like some Disney villains. There was a good amount of motivation and pathos and the actor did a good job of portraying it.

I have also got to hand it to the cinematographer Dean Semler as well. I was so taken aback by how everything looked so I had to look up the this guy in order to see who it was that did such a great job. The sets looked sufficiently fairy tale but done in a realistic way as to look like an actual place. The costumes were excellent and I was just amazed on how well everything held together. I thought Game of Thrones was good at making a fantasy world come to life but the world of Maleficent has raised the bar. This really feels like we are in the Golden Age of fantasy movies.

In fact I would love to see the Maleficent treatment given to more Disney properties as well. I can very easily see a retelling of Aladdin or Alice in Wonderland if they keep to the high-standards that Maleficent has brought about. Hopefully, the big box office on this film will at least give Disney the idea of refreshing some of their older properties in a live action format. It can easily crap out but I would love to see them make an attempt at it. I was really thinking how an Alice in Wonderland without Johnny Depp using a Maleficent formula would be a great time in the theater.

Finally, the movie is a little dark for kids but I think they will enjoy it right along with the parents for the most part. It wasn't too long and it kept to the Disney blood-less death format that you would expect from this kind of movie. But people die and get hurt and there are evil deeds and such so a kid needs to understand that going it. I know if I saw it as a kid I would seriously love every minute of it. The sets and costumes alone would have fascinated me. In any case I will be watching this again when it comes to the small screen and I am glad I had a chance to watch it in all its glory on the big screen.

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Obama Just Can't Win: It Looks Like the Guy We Traded 5 Taliban Senior Figures For might Be a Deserter

I'm sure Obama felt it was a good deal and may have broken the law to make the prisoner exchange but it seems that Bowe Bergdahl might not have been a POW after all.

Nathan Bethea, a former soldier who says he served in Bergdahl�s unit, recently wrote that he and his colleagues had been forced to stay quiet about the truth of Bergdahl�s case.

"And that the truth is: Bergdahl was a deserter, and soldiers from his own unit died trying to track him down," Bethea wrote in The Daily Beast Monday. �Bergdahl was relieved from guard duty, and instead of going to sleep, he fled the outpost on foot. He deserted. I�ve talked to members of Bergdahl�s platoon�including the last Americans to see him before his capture. I�ve reviewed the relevant documents. That�s what happened.� 

I think they pulled the trigger on the prisoner exchange to take some heat off the VA scandal and this bit the White House in the ass. If Bergdahl was a deserter they need to charge him and send him to jail. However, it probably won't happen because the White House will do everything they can to sweep it under the rug. You have to be at a very high level of incompetence to have a scandal develop from the thing that you are using to distract from a different scandal.

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The GOP Might be able to Elect a New Female Senator in Iowa

It seems that the GOP might be getting one step closer to taking control of the Senate.

In a party eager to develop female talent, state Senator Ernst is a dream come true. Her campaign began to take off in March with a grabby ad touting her skill castrating hogs � and a desire to cut spending in Washington. The ad went viral on YouTube, and she never looked back.

�I grew up castrating hogs on an Iowa farm. So when I get to Washington, I�ll know how to cut pork,� Ernst says in the ad, which cost $9,000 to produce.

On Tuesday, Ernst crushed the competition with 56 percent of the vote. Her nearest opponent, radio host Sam Clovis, won 18 percent. Ernst and Congressman Braley will compete in November to succeed retiring Sen. Tom Harkin (D).

I saw her ad on the Daily Show and it was pretty funny and of course snarky-assed Jon Stewart made fun of it but it got people talking. You cannot ask for a better return on your $9000 investment. She is also a lieutenant colonel in the Iowa Army National Guard who served in Iraq and Kuwait. I can take those bonafides over brainless Sarah Palin any day. If the GOP can get more women like Ernst into power then this whole war-on-women nonsense can finally fade away.

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Is "Athleisure" Wear AKA Yoga Pants Killing Jeans?

It seems that Yoga pants are starting to cut into the bottom line of Levi's

The Daily Ticker has reported that teens are favoring yoga pants over jeans by a big margin, but Levi's President & CEO Chip Bergh says the trend is also popular among women, in general, and that's hurting his company.

"We're actually losing consumption to yoga pants," says Bergh. "What used to be a premium jeans occasion for women is now socially acceptable to be a yoga pants occasion, and shame on us as category leaders for letting that happen."

Well yoga pants look comfortable from the get-go instead of having to be broken in like jeans normally do. In fact I would wear sweat pants (the male equivalent to yoga pants) to work if it were socially acceptable because they are just that much more comfortable than jeans.

In fact this article might be a good idea to do some looking into Lulumon as a stock. I mean the stock is near a 52-week low so you are buying it at a discount. They have great margin and a brand that many women enjoy. They have screwed up with product recalls and PR mistakes so that is part of the reason why they are at this point.

The only problem I see is that their moat if pretty small. What keeps the Gap or Forever 21 from rolling out some knock-off yoga pants? I know cash conscious women would rather have a bunch of different colors instead of just one expensive pair of black yoga pants. So that premium margin will shrink as more competitors get into the market.

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Cities Flee Winter Games 2022: Only Borat and the Red Chinese Want it

Well its seems that the honor of wasting $51 billion so people can watch a bunch of sports that are either relevant to one country or only relevant every 4 years is wearing off.

Residents of Krakow, Poland overwhelmingly rejected the idea of hosting the 2022 Games, leading city officials to withdraw Krakow's bid on Monday. This follows Stockholm, Sweden's leaders' decision to withdraw; Munich, Germany's voters' rejection of an Olympic chase; and Davos/St. Moritz, Switzerland's defeat of a referendum on hosting the Games. For those keeping count, that's four of an original eight host cities which had considered hosting the Games.Two more cities' bids, while not technically dead, may as well be: Lviv, Ukraine is having real military issues and can't afford to waste time thinking about the Olympics, while Oslo, Norway's bid is floundering politically.

So who is left in the running for this coveted prize?

It's no surprise, then, that the only two cities seriously still in the running for the 2022 Winter Games are Almaty, Kazakhstan and Beijing, China: two locales where the people don't get a choice in whether the Games come or not.

So only Borat or the Red Chinese want it? I guess the "honor" of wasting a pile of money for a bunch of sports that are not relevant to most of the world is taking a hit. Maybe they should get rid of the bobsled course where you have to build a track that will probably never get used again. That would mean that all of the sledding type stuff get axed (skeleton, luge, whatever.)

They could also ditch the ski-jumping as well so you don't have to build something that gets used once and sits idle. You might also want to dump all the X-games stuff as well. I mean the US dominates that stuff and the IOC hates the US so that would crimp our medal count.

So what would be left are the skiing events and things that are indoors like speed and figure skating and hockey. So the host nation would need a mountain for skiing and an indoor skating track or two that can be converted into a basketball stadium when the games are done. In fact what would be awesome is to have the hockey be outdoors. Maybe an alpine lake or an existing soccer stadium that could double as the place for the opening ceremonies. That will bring the price way down and maybe make for a budget Winter Olympics that Krakow or someone doesn't have to go into debt for 30 years to pay off.

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