Beneath the Tree of Enlightenment

Danger Bird
Mr. Weiner, appearing solemn and a bit worn as he faced more than 100 journalists at a hastily arranged news conference, acknowledged that his habit of sending sexual images and text messages to female fans had continued for more than a year after he left Congress vowing to seek treatment and change his behavior. (NYT, 7/23/2013)

Never doubt RedStateVT. Ever. Many scoffed when we welcomed Weiner into the NYC mayoral race. Now you know why. We predicted that he would provide an unending series of yucks. A new prediction. Weiner will be the next mayor. Bad behavior and poor performance are no longer deterrents to a long political career. As we wrote after the re-election of Obama, accountability is dead. 


War Games
Working out of war rooms in the West Wing basement, the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and the Department of Health and Human Services, the team is first trying to find in the next year 2.7 million uninsured people between 18 and 35, most of whom are healthy. Just as Mr. Obama’s electoral success hinged on the turnout machine he created in Chicago, the fate of the health care law rests on whether his administration can turn out and enroll the uninsured. (NYT, 7/23/2013)

Government to healthy uninsured person: We're from the government and we are here to help you.

Healthy Uninsured Person (HUP): Help me with what?

Government: Your health insurance.

HUP: I don't have health insurance.

Government: You do now!

HUP: No I don't!

Government: You do, otherwise you will pay a fine.

HUP: How much is health insurance?

Government: For you, probably about a hundred dollars a month.

HUP: I thought you were here to help me.

Government: The truth is that we need your money to pay for the unhealthy....


Viva
In a speech to the National Assembly, Mr. Castro said that Cubans’ behavior — from urinating in the street and raising pigs in cities to taking bribes — had led him to conclude that, despite five decades of universal education, the island had “regressed in culture and civility.” (NYT, 7/23/2013)

What will Sean Penn say?