During his sequester presser Friday morning, the president dropped a half-Star Trek, half-Star Wars reference, telling reporters that he is unable to use a 'Jedi mind meld' to force House Republicans into a deal to avoid budget sequestration.
In response, Nimoy tweeted that his Spock character's 'Vulcan mind meld' would likely do the trick:
'LLAP,' he concluded. For those not in the know, that means 'Live long and prosper.'
[h/t TPM]
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Bob Woodward spent several days playing the victim over the White House's audacity to push back on Woodward's self-evidently false claim that the President 'moved the goal posts' on deficit reduction, and his specious claim that the White House 'initiated' the sequester provisions of the Budget Control Act that now threaten to end civilization as we know it. He jumped onto the shark Wednesday night, however, when he suggested that a senior White House official had tried to intimidate him in an email exchange, pulling one line out of context: 'You're going to regret this!'
Woodward later tried to walk back the idea that he was 'threatened,' but when CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer told Woodward he wasn't the type to be 'threatened or intimidated,' Woodward's reply was 'Indeed.'
The email, as it turned out, was the nicest note any reporter has ever gotten from any White House, and was so gentle that Woodward, in his reply, basically had to tell Sperling to nut up and stop apologizing.
On Sunday morning's This Week, host George Stephanopoulos gave Sperling a chance to fire back at Woodward. 'I read all the emails; they seem pretty civil on all sides,' Stephanopoulos said. 'Do you have any idea what made Woodward so uncomfortable? And have you all spoken about it since and cleared this all up?'
Please, Gene, don't hurt him! 'You know, George, I've known Bob Woodward for 20 years,' Sperling said. 'We've had a very friendly and respectful relationship. I think virtually everybody who has looked at my email to him and his reply to me thought those emails reflected that degree of respect and politeness.'
Oh, to-the-DAMN! But Sperling wasn't done there. 'And the emails were fundamentally substantive,' he continued. 'I was ' I was arguing a case as to why I believed the president asking for balance is consistent with where things have been for the last several years.'
(in Mortal Kombat voice) FINISH HIM! 'So all I can say, George, is that Bob Woodward is a legend,' Sperling concluded. 'I hope that him and I can put this behind us.'
Sperling went on to refeal that he hasn't talked to Woodward, and after that diatribe, I doubt he ever will. Woodward is probably on the phone to WitSec right now, asking if you really have to 'turn state's' to get witness protection.
Here's the clip, from ABC News' This Week:
Follow Tommy Christopher (@TommyXtopher) on Twitter.
Georgia resident Larry Wayne Thornton was sentenced to four years probation for 'possession of an unregistered firearm' and 'possession of a firearm without a serial number.' He is the only person with a gun-related charge on the president's list of pardoned individuals.
The Washington Examiner notes that the pardon may seem peculiar given how 'Obama is emphasizing, as part of his gun control push, the need to know who is buying weapons.' Back in January, the president made clear his intention to make it tougher to purchase firearms without licensed proof of not being a felon or legally prohibited from owning such a weapon.
Other pardoned individuals include one woman convicted of 'aiding and abetting wire fraud,' a man convicted of 'conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of a controlled substance (cocaine),' and another man brought up on charges of 'conspiracy to traffic counterfeit goods.'
[h/t The Washington Examiner]
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During last week's hearings Scalia said that the 1965 legislation created a 'racial entitlement' that is very difficult to get out through 'the normal political process.'
Clyburn compared these remarks to what he experienced growing up in South Carolina, saying that he developed an immunity to racist remarks but notes their impact is still felt in efforts he thinks are attempts to curtail the voting rights of minorities. Clyburn told HuffPo that the Scalia's rhetoric can be found in the recent changes to state voting laws around the country before the 2012 election.
The third highest ranking Democratic in Congress flipped Scalia's comments around by praising the Voting Rights Act and calling the US Constitution 'an entitlement for everybody.'
Earlier this week MSNBC host Toure blasted Scalia on Martin Bashir's program, calling his remarks and the greater argument 'completely racist.'
(H/T Huffington Post)
Yes, Jimmy Fallon, much like Conan O'Brien so infamously did before him, would move from the Late Night desk to the Tonight Show desk upon Leno's departure from NBC. Don't worry, it's totally understandable that you're feeling a wave of emotions about this. Why should we care this time? Well, because maybe NBC learned their lesson that last time they did this and botched things up so badly.
As you may recall the original Conan move was announced five years before it took place to head off any attempts by other networks to steal Conan away for a late night show. According to Masters this move appears to be an effort to stave off any moves by networks to jack Fallon to their airwaves while avoiding an awkward post-Tonight Show move by Leno. What Leno does after leaving the Tonight Show for the second time is anyone's guess.
The other big reason for NBC to push Leno out the door and move Fallon up to the Tonight Show slot is money. Leno is paid an estimated $15 million a year to produce his show. Leno took a very public pay cut in 2012 to save 20-25 jobs on his show.
Fallon is reportedly paid $5 million a year by NBC for his Late Night duties.
(H/T: Hollywood Reporter)
As you can see in the video below Beck is a pretty good shot with a revolver that he notes 'feels like a tank in your hand.'
Yes, Glenn, a .50 cal revolver has quite the kick to it.
(H/T The Blaze)
Americans are 'resilient' and will make it through this patch, Obama said, but Washington isn't making matters easy. We should be making 'a series of dumb, arbitrary cuts' to things like education, research, and defense. The cuts' pain 'will be real,' even though not everyone will feel it right away.
Further elaborating on the effects, Obama stressed the 'ripple effect' on the economy, which will entail slow growth and cost 750,000. It's 'a slow grind that will intensify with each passing day,' he said.
But 'none of this is necessary,' Obama added. 'It's happening because of a choice Republicans in Congress have made.'
He urged 'Republicans in Congress to catch up to their own party and their country' in order to make progress on the issue. 'There is a caucus of common sense on Capitol Hill,' the president noted. But it's a 'silent group' right now.
Hammering home the notion that Republicans are largely at fault, Obama, prior to taking questions from the press, asserted that 'the greatest nation on earth doesn't conduct its business month to month or careening from crisis to crisis.'
Watch the remarks below, via CNN:
