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1.) Al Gore’s convenient hypocrisy — America’s loudest environmentalist, Al Gore, is about to become much richer thanks to oil money. The AP reports:
“Al-Jazeera, the Pan-Arab news channel that struggled to win space on American cable television, has acquired Current TV, boosting its reach in the U.S. nearly ninefold to about 40 million homes. With a focus on U.S. news, it plans to rebrand the left-leaning news network that cofounder Al Gore couldn’t make relevant. The former vice president confirmed the sale Wednesday, saying in a statement that Al-Jazeera shares Current TV’s mission ‘to give voice to those who are not typically heard; to speak truth to power; to provide independent and diverse points of view; and to tell the stories that no one else is telling.’ … Al-Jazeera, owned by the government of Qatar, plans to gradually transform Current into a network called Al-Jazeera America by adding five to 10 new U.S. bureaus beyond the five it has now and hiring more journalists.”
The “stars” of Current will probably remain, though their shows may change. For instance, “Joy Behar: Say Anything” may become “Joy Behar: Don’t Say Anything.” Or “Viewpoint with Eliot Spitzer” could become “Sharia Viewpoint with Eliot Spitzer.” And of course “The War Room with Jennifer Granholm” will almost certainly become “The Jihad Room with Jennifer Granholm.” But then again, no one will be able to say for sure since no one actually watches the network.
2.) America declineth — By helping to avert the fiscal cliff, the Republicans have gravely erred, opines TheDC’s Tucker Carlson and Neil Patel:
“Many contended Republicans had no choice. The effects of the fiscal cliff were so severe, they said, that a deal — any deal — was imperative. Republicans would be blamed if negotiations fell through. Recognize this argument? It’s common on Wall Street, where nothing matters but the next fiscal quarter. It pretty much sums up why America is in such steep decline. … According to CBO projections, going over the cliff would have hurt in the short term, but within a year would have left the economy stronger, bringing unemployment down to 5.5 percent by 2018. Five years may seem like eternity to the day traders in Congress and their enablers on Wall Street. But it will be here before you know it. Just ask the Greeks.”
3.) So you want a new House speaker? — Today John Boehner will likely be re-elected House speaker, though some activists claim that their are enough House members upset with him to oust him. But no clear challenger has emerged. So TheDC’s Jamie Weinstein has drawn up a potential list of four candidates — all from outside the House since there is no rule the House speaker has to be from the House — to potentially challenge Boehner. Among the four suggestions is Joseph Kony:
“Now this may seem like a strange choice, but stay with me here. In 2012, a big national campaign was launched to raise awareness of the Ugandan war criminal with the hopes that he would be tracked down and captured in the year. Unfortunately, he remains at large. So, you’re still wondering, why make him Speaker of the House? Well, maybe if he’s appointed speaker he will actually come to Washington to assume the post. When he’s here, we can finally get him. And Republicans can declare a real policy success. After that, back to the drawing board to find a new speaker.”
Read the other incredibly serious suggestions.
4.) When in doubt, don’t write a campaign book — Of all the advice columnists that write for The Daily Caller, Matt Labash is far and away the most beloved. He is also our only semi-regular advice columnist. And boy does he have advice for Washington journalists writing books about the 2012 campaign trial: Don’t. He writes:
“But all the shop talk aside, I’d still suggest you go fishing. Your friend is a Democrat? Who cares? Fish are apolitical. Which is one of the many reasons they’re more desirable company than 95 percent of the people you meet in Washington. (Two more reasons fish trump people: fish can neither talk, nor check their iPhones during lunch.) And not to rain on your deadline parade, but ask yourself what you’d be passing up fishing in order to do. To write a book about the 2012 presidential campaign? We lived through the 2012 presidential campaign, and we could barely stand to read about it as it was happening. How much crueler to expect us to sit through it all again when we already know how the movie ends.”
5.) Tweet of Yesterday — Ann Coulter: The real ‘War on Women’ liberals choose to ignore: Saudi Cleric Issues Fatwa Allowing Gang Rape of Syrian Women
6.) Today in North Korean News –BREAKING: “DPRK’S Satellite Launch Hailed in Democratic Congo”
VIDEO: Krauthammer says House of Representatives has been “neutered” by Obama