TheDC Morning: The labor movement occupies Occupy

Jamie Weinstein Senior Writer
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1.) The labor movement occupies Occupy — It seems like the finger-twirling freaks of the Occupy movement are being co-opted by the finger-breaking thugs of the labor movement. Richard Pollock reports for TheDC:

“The politically aggressive Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is quietly creating a national network of community-organizing groups that function alongside the Occupy Wall Street movement, a Daily Caller investigation shows. Incorporated by the SEIU as local nonprofits, the groups are waging concerted local political campaigns to publicly attack conservative political figures, banks, energy companies and other corporations. Each local group has portrayed itself as an independent community organization not tied to any special interest. But they were founded, incorporated, and led by SEIU personnel.”

Just splendid.

2.) A Michael Moore fat museum — That’s what a couple of filmmakers want to create, in so many words. TheDC’s Alex Pappas reports:

“Could Congress be persuaded to spend taxpayer money on a Museum of Government Waste? That’s what filmmakers Ellen and Jim Hubbard of Nevada have been trying to figure out for the last five years. The couple is releasing a film — set to come out this year — about their quest to obtain an earmark from Congress for a museum dedicated to wasteful government spending. The point of the film and project, Ellen Hubbard said, is to show the absurdity of what special pet projects Congress chooses to spend money on and the process one has to go through in order to obtain an earmark.”

Congress acting absurdly? That’s as likely as President Obama acting indecisively. Oh wait.

3.) In Iran, the zone of immunity cometh? — So says an Iranian expert. Reza Kahlili reports for TheDC:

“Iran believes that once its formerly secret nuclear facility at Fordow becomes fully operational, threats of military attacks by the West will become harmless and other nations will have to lift their economic sanctions against the Islamic regime. In an interview Tuesday on Iran’s state-owned television network IRIB, Mehdi Mohammadi, an international affairs and nuclear program expert, said the full operation of Iran’s Fordow Nuclear Enrichment Plant ‘will change the strategic equation of Iran’s nuclear issue’ … Since Fordow is immune to a military attack, he said, its full operation will make any military threat irrelevant and therefore will cause the West to lose motive for continuing sanctions.”

Remember that 3:00 a.m. call Hillary Clinton talked about in 2008? Well, President Obama might want to keep a phone next to his bed. Things aren’t looking particularly good in the Middle East. Then again, when have they ever?

4.) Comcast to inmates: This porn’s on us, fellas — Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to steal a fish, you can feed him for a lifetime. Now if you replace “a fish” with “cable TV pornography,” you are already 90 percent of the way to understanding what happened in Houston jail. TheDC’s Gregg Re reports:

“Cable problems are nothing new to many Comcast subscribers, but administrators at the Liberty County Jail in Houston say they spent weeks calling the cable giant over an unusual problem: Inmates had manipulated their cable boxes to bypass content restrictions, and were watching softcore pornography for hours on end. According to the Liberty County sheriff’s office, guards and administrators first noticed the problem last December, when inmates were seen watching pornography on Cinemax. Jail security logs obtained by ABC News reveal that guards observed inmates were at it ‘again’ in February.”

5.) Poll of the day: Americans heart Israel — Gallup asks, “In the Middle East are your sympathies more with the Israelis or more with the Palestinians?”: 61% say Israelis, 19% say Palestinians, 19% say both, neither or no opinion.

6.) BIRTHDAYS! — King Henry II of England turns 823 (hat tips: long-time paramours Annabel de Balliol and Rosamund Clifford) …  Former Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai turns 114 (h/t: Murderer Mao) … Magician Penn Jillette turns 57  … Comedian Aasif Mandvi turns 46 … Completely authentic televangelist Joel Osteen turns 49.

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Jamie Weinstein