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1.) Petition playtime! — Apparently, America is filled with lots of people with time on their hands (possibly thanks to President Obama’s economic policies). TheDC’s executive editor David Martosko reports:
“How would Old Glory look with 30 stars instead of 50? As far-fetched as it may sound, the White House might soon be forced by its own rules to examine the question. On Nov.7, the day after President Barack Obama was re-elected, the White House’s website received a petition asking the administration to allow Louisiana to secede. If 25,000 people sign the petition by Dec. 7, it will ‘require a response’ from the Obama administration, according to published rules of the White House’s online ‘We the People’ program. The Louisiana petition has collected more than 12,000 signatures in four days. A separate effort from Texas has 14,000 supporters. Similar petitions from 18 other states began arriving Nov. 9, bringing the total — for the moment — to 20.”
Let TheDC Morning end the suspense: petitions denied. Time to go back to playing “Trivial Pursuit: Ron Paul Edition,” fellas. This is the conservative equivalent of left-wing Hollywood celebrities threatening to leave the country if George Bush were re-elected. Yawn.
2.) And the new secretary of state is … — Jon Huntsman!? That’s what some unnamed “officials” are suggesting as a possibility, reports the Associated Press:
“Officials, however, are pointing to Jon Huntsman, the former Utah governor, Obama’s ambassador to China and Republican presidential candidate, and the State Department’s current No. 2, William Burns. Huntsman is still widely respected by the administration even if he’d hoped to unseat Obama. Choosing Huntsman would allow the president to claim bipartisanship while putting an Asia expert in the job at a time when the U.S. is focusing more attention on the world’s most populous continent.”
It’s unclear if the unnamed officials are in the Obama administration or in the Huntsman Corporation.
3.) Sex in the CIA — It’s a tale as salacious as it is tragic: America’s greatest living military man forced to resign from head of the Central Intelligence Agency because of a sex scandal. What are we becoming, Britain? TheDC’s Caroline May has the latest details:
“In the scandal that continues to read more and more like a Lifetime made-for-TV movie, the woman who sounded the alarm that led to the resignation of former CIA Director David Petraeus over an extramarital affair has been identified as a volunteer State Department military liaison. Jill Kelley, reportedly a close friend of Petraeus, alerted the FBI when she received harassing emails from Petraeus’ mistress, his biographer Paula Broadwell, the Associated Press revealed Sunday. The Tampa, Florida native is an unpaid social liaison to the military’s Joint Special Operations Command with no official government employment, according to the AP. … A close friend of Petraeus told ABC that Kelley, 37, and her husband befriended the retired four-star general when he was stationed in Florida. The source speculated that there was never a romantic relationship between Kelley and Petraeus.”
4.) Happy Birthday, Marines — On Saturday the U.S. Marine Corps celebrated its birthday. TheDC’s Guns & Gear editor Mike Piccione, a Marine himself, pays tribute:
“As individuals we are mortal. One day a stone will be above our final resting place. It will not say, we were carpenters, or stock brokers, salesman or lawyers. It won’t list our hobbies or interests. It will say: our name, the day we were born, the day we died and United States Marine Corps. That is what makes the title Marine so valuable. Congratulations to those of you that have earned something that has no price, but for so many before us, it came at great cost. Happy 237th birthday Marines. Semper Fi.”
5.) Today in North Korean News — BREAKING: Former Bangladeshi PM Praises Kim Jong Un
6.) Tweet of Yesterday — Jose Canseco: I once had a bobcat as a pet. Sure miss her. She was my friend. Game control took her from me
VIDEO: Report says Jesse Jackson Jr. nearing plea deal, jail time
REMEMBER THE LIZARD: If you haven’t yet purchased and read “The Lizard King: The Shocking Inside Account of Obama’s True Intergalactic Ambitions By An Anonymous White House Staffer,” edited and introduced by Daily Caller writers Jamie Weinstein and Will Rahn, BUY … IT … NOW.