The State Of Our Union

…as seen though a fractured bizarro lens:

Obama called for the federal government to “redesign high schools.” Does he not know that schools are creatures of local and state, not the federal, governments? Does he care? Does he see no limits at all on the things that should occupy a president’s time?

And again, on what basis does the president who cannot even submit a budget make the claim that he is qualified to redesign high schools?

It’s all absurd. Barack Obama is the absurd president. He makes no attempt to make any sense, yet the media will pretend that he is a visionary.

The reality is, Barack Obama is just a very powerful crank.

Far too powerful. Far more powerful than the Founders ever intended.

[Update a while later]

Turning MLK on his head:

Ordinarily a politician whose rhetoric diverges so far from the reality of his record would be run out of town, but with this president it is different. After four years of mediocre leadership, the majority of Americans continue to judge Barack Obama not on what he has done but on who he is. In an ironic reversal of the criteria of judgment set forth by Martin Luther King, they judge him not on the content of his character (or more precisely his actions and achievements) but on the color of his skin. The president is therefore exempt from the penalties other democratically elected leaders pay when they offend too egregiously against the truth; unlike them, he can stray into the realm of fantasy with impunity.

Not just with impunity, but he’s actually applauded for it.

Anywhere But California

Business is rushing for the exits:

The motivating factor in these cases isn’t so much that cities like Fort Worth and Phoenix have suddenly found the perfect formula for luring away coastal business elites. Rather, it’s that California’s business climate is so toxic that regions hitherto considered commercial backwaters now seem perfectly acceptable, if not preferable. (As far as we know there’s no rush for Vermont CEOs to relocate to Arizona, after all.)

As he notes, Prop 30 may have been the last straw.

Only The Police Can Be Trusted With Guns

And here’s the proof:

…when the smoky haze — caused by rapid fire of nearly 140 bullets in less than 30 seconds — dissipated, it soon became clear that more than a dozen officers had been firing at one another across a middle school parking lot in East Cleveland.

Soon after the shooting stopped, one officer rushed to check the two occupants of the 1979 Chevrolet Malibu that the cadre of Cleveland cruisers had followed into the lot.

Officer Wilfredo Diaz, a former city EMS worker, had fired the first shots at the Malibu after bailing out of his car.

He felt for passenger Malissa Williams’ pulse.

There wasn’t one.

Diaz moved Williams’ leg slightly to look for a gun.

Again, there wasn’t one.

Dead next to Williams in the driver’s seat was Timothy Russell, 43.

No officers were injured.

Speaking of which, should we be more disturbed that the LAPD is shooting at so many innocent people in their search for Dorner, or that they’re such lousy shots?