a quick rundown

I'm traveling and barely online, but I did have a little time to read the following:

1. She who-shan't-be-named ate Smores on her TV show saying,

   Where are the s'mores ingredients? This is in honor of Michelle Obama, who said the other day we should not have dessert.

   In related news, Slate developed a chart showing the spread of Type II diabetes over the last 5 years. The chart is disturbing and aptly demonstrates why we need to tackle childhood health issues, now, particularly lethargy and poor eating habits developed in youth. Of course, this would require acknowledging a problem, as well as the fact it might take combined effort to combat it. But hey, why bother when you can just be snide and ignore reality?
2. In their continuing effort to stop things from happening, good or bad, in order to make the President look bad, Republicans are threatening to block the passage of the START Treaty because they don't like the fact Don't Ask/Don't Tell is history. Apparently, they hate the gays SO much, they hate nuclear annihilation worse. Of course not ALL republicans hate the gays or aren't afraid of nuclear annihilation worse--just enough to stop this treaty from passing. Democratic Senators working on this have successfully fought off two attempts to kill it, and believe they have the votes to pass it. Here's to hoping there's one more victory of sanity over politics before this Congress ends!
   
3. Another seeming failure of the first two years of the Obama years were rectified, albeit quietly, the same day DA/DT was repealed and Republican filibustering of some 19 Federal Judges (all of whom had substantial Republican support) were finally passed.
   
4. Haley Barbour, Governor of Mississippi and possible 2012 Presidential candidate, went on record with the Weekly Standard (William Crystal's right-wing magazine) to try and re-write history a little claiming that Citizens Counsels were pro-integration groups organized immediately after Brown v. Board of Education. Luckily, enough people around today aren't stupid enough to not notice that the exact opposite is true. Oh man, I am looking forward to the Republican debates. It'll be interesting to see how much ridiculousness they can spout between him, Palin and Romney who, while not stupid, is trying so, so hard to show he's NOT the moderate that he was.
   
5. Lastly, Commandant of the Marine Coprs, General Amos, displayed the professionalism we've all come to expect of the military. While openly giving his professional opinion it was a bad time to implement repeal, now that it has been repealed, as a leader, he released the following statement:

   “I, and the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps [Carlton Kent], will personally lead this effort, thus ensuring the respect and dignity due all Marines. On this matter, we look forward to further demonstrating to the American people the discipline and loyalty that have been the hallmark of the United States Marine Corps for over 235 years."