Paying Attention

An unfortunate fact lately is I have time to pay attention to things going on in the world. I think I'd rather be busy working and oblivious, but at least it gives my mind something to do during quiet times.

Some things I noticed:

Obama wanted to name Caroline Kennedy Ambassador to the Vatican. Naturally, the Vatican politely declined. I wonder what the true explanation might be for why The Great and Powerful OB made such a stupid choice?

The first explanation is that he's simply ignorant. With his faux Roman Catholic friends, like the Kennedys, Nancy Pelosi, Kathleen Sebelius, John Kerry, et al, perhaps he thought she was a typical Catholic?.

Maybe he did it on purpose to tweak Pope Benedict. He thought everybody would be outraged that he would reject Princess Caroline. Perhaps it might be true for the atheists and faux Catholics in Obama's inner circle, but actual Catholics are pretty happy the Vatican held firmly to their faith and principles.

Thinking a bit further on the subject, it seems that Obama will have a very difficult time with this appointment. Because I'm not sure he even knows anybody that would be acceptable to the Vatican. He certainly doesn't seem to understand or respect anybody who actually practices their faith.

Another thing I noticed was related to the successful rescue of the captain from the Somali pirates. Not the rescue itself, which is actually a rare example of Obama doing the right thing.

What I noticed are three stories. The first was the unseemly media blitz from the White House that commenced immediately after the captain was rescued by Navy Seals. Apparently, White House staffers called all their media buddies to crow that it was all Obama. He ordered it, coordinated it, perhaps even micro-managed the operation from the White House, according to his in-house spin machine.

They have no class.

The second story I noticed was that Obama only gave approval for force to be used in the rescue shortly before it took place. The story seemed to suggest that he was hesitant and indecisive, and only gave the Navy a green light to act if the captain's life was in imminent danger. That is a concern for future and probably much more serious terrorist crises that will certainly present themselves.

The third story is about the recent photo op for Obama when he visited the troops in Iraq. I saw that picture, which showed a crowd of adoring soldiers fawning over The Great and Powerful OB, shooting pictures and getting autographs. I was a bit surprised when I saw that photo, because I had always held the general impression that the military wasn't particularly enamored of the Great & Powerful Wizard.

So today I heard the explanation. An advance team carefully screened the soldiers to make sure only strong Obama supporters got in when he made his visit. Then they gave them cameras to shoot their pictures, and photos to get autographed.

The visit was staged for purely propaganda purposes. I seem to recall that the Soviets used to do that sort of thing. Other totalitarian regimes do the same around the globe. Now the Great and Powerful OB is getting in on the game.

By the way, the elimination of the conscience rule for healthcare professionals is done. I'm waiting to see what happens when the first doctor or pharmacist refuses to participate in an abortion.

Is anybody else paying attention?