TheDC Morning

TheDC Morning: Cruzin’ from Canada

Jamie Weinstein Senior Writer
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1.) Oh Canada — Ted Cruz will be a secret Canadian no more. TheDC’s Patrick Howley reports:

“Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said Monday that he plans to renounce his Canadian citizenship, which he only learned about earlier in the day from a newspaper report. ‘Now the Dallas Morning News says that I may technically have dual citizenship. Assuming that is true, then sure, I will renounce any Canadian citizenship,’ Cruz said in a statement late Monday. ‘Nothing against Canada, but I’m an American by birth and as a U.S. senator, I believe I should be only an American,’ Cruz said. Cruz was born in Calgary on Dec. 22, 1970, according to a copy of his birth certificate he provided to the Dallas Morning News this past weekend.”

The American people have the right to know whether Ted Cruz is now or has ever been a hockey fan. If so, does he plan to renounce the sport? But for most Americans, the first question that understandably springs to mind is who or what is Canada? And the second question is certainly this: Could Cruz be a Canadian spy planted in the U.S. to win the presidency with the goal of turning over the country to Canada? The answer to that question is, of course, maybe nope.

2.) Hit the road, Jack Bob — Bob McDonnell’s legal problems are losing him friends. TheDC’s Paul Conner reports:

“Conservative Virginia radio host John Fredericks urged Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell to resign as federal prosecutors look into whether McDonnell aided a company whose CEO gave his wife hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts and money. Fredericks has been a consistent supporter of McDonnell during the growing scandal, but said that a Sunday story by The Washington Post changed his mind. ‘The latest revelations of Star Scientific stock purchases and sales and repurchase shenanigans by Maureen McDonnell to avoid Virginia’s only safeguard — financial disclosures — is a trampling and mocking of the public trust,’ Fredericks said in an interview with Ben Tribbett on WHKT AM 1650 Monday morning. ‘The legality of these financial moves is moot. It’s about trust — and I believe the McDonnells have now given that away.'”

It seems these days that every elected Republican is considering a run for president in 2016. But TheDC Morning suspects it knows of one Republican governor who probably won’t be running.

3.) Iranian education — Iran’s stellar education system continues to innovate. The AP reports:

“Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards paramilitary units plan to teach drone-hunting to school students, an Iranian newspaper reported Monday. The report by pro-reform Etemad daily quoted Gen. Ali Fazli, acting commander of the Guard’s Basij militia, as saying the new program will be taught as part of a ‘Defensive Readiness’ lesson in high schools from late September. He did not elaborate but the plan suggests students would be taught how to track and bring down drone aircraft by hacking their computer systems.”

If Iran keeps up this leading approach to educating its young people in the industries of the future, it will undoubtedly catch up with economic juggernauts like Grenada, Kazakhstan and Bulgaria in GDP per capita in the near future.

4.) Eddie’s back — America, prepare to get dumber on a week-nightly basis. TheDC’s Jeff Poor reports:

“On Monday, MSNBC announced that on weekdays, the 5 p.m. ET broadcast of ‘Hardball’ hosted by Chris Matthews will be replaced with ‘The ED Show,’ hosted by Ed Schultz. ‘Chris Matthews and the ‘Hardball’ team have been pulling double duty for years,’ MSNBC President Phil Griffin said in a statement. ‘This move will concentrate the ‘Hardball’ audience to one key time period and enhance the flow of our evening programming. Ed Schultz is a force of nature and an important voice to the MSNBC audience. I can’t wait to have him back on weeknights.’ ‘The ED Show’ has held numerous time slots in its four-year history at MSNBC. It debuted at 6 p.m. in April 2009. In January 2011, with the departure of Keith Olbermann from the network, ‘The ED Show’ was moved to 10 p.m. In October 2011, ‘The ED Show’ swapped time slots with Lawrence O’Donnell’s program, ‘The Last Word’ and aired at 8 p.m. ET.”

Schultz is the magic man. His mere appearance during the week will magically make Martin Bashir look smart, Lawrence O’Donnell look level headed and Chris Matthews look physically fit.

5.) Tweet of Yesterday — Jim Antle: Then take the Acela to New York. MT @OpenTable Looking for a great place for diner in DC?

6.) Today in North Korean News — BREAKING: “Congratulations to Malian President”

VIDEO: Too crazy to be true? Aussie bowls 7-10 split with baseballs 

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Jamie Weinstein