Amazing Politico piece about gun control groups agreeing to fall in line, like good little soldiers, and mindlessly support whatever Obama does:

The White House knew its post-Newtown effort would require bringing key gun-control groups into the fold. So the White House offered a simple arrangement: the groups could have access and involvement, but they’d have to offer silence and support in exchange.

The implied rules, according to conversations with many of those involved: No infighting. No second guessing in the press. Support whatever the president and Vice President Joe Biden propose. And most of all, don’t make waves or get ahead of the White House.

In exchange: a voice in the discussions, a role in whatever final agreement is made and weekly meetings at the White House with Biden’s chief of staff, Bruce Reed — provided they don’t discuss what happens there.

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The Huffington Post, also known as the Hugo Chávez fan club, is running a lead story, "U.S. Drone Policy," that features a photo of American-born Islamic terrorist Anwar Al-Awlaki amidst several photographs of dead children. The image, which would be right at home on the Arabic version of Al-Jazeera or worse propaganda outlets, could imply that the U.S. military kills children and civilians with drones as a matter of policy.

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In response to WH Concedes: President Does Not Have the Authority to Kill an American on U.S. Soil (Video):

Darn it, and here you had John McCain and Lindsey Graham trying so very hard to tackle Rand Paul in their own end zone and hand Obama a safety!  It's getting so that a couple of aging RINOs can't even protect the most left-wing Administration in history from those young conservative rascals.

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The plot is ridiculously and intentionally screwball, but the delivery is sublime.

The impossibly beautiful Doris (Loretta Young) is a society gal married to Leonard (Warner Baxter), a humble contractor facing hard times and a wife suddenly demanding a shot at becoming a professional singer. Because she's not very good, Leonard is reluctant to go along, but he's also devoted to her so he arranges it. Before we fade to black, she's a flop and he's the singing star. 

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The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

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Senators Cruz and Paul introduced legislation today to prohibit drone killings of U.S. Citizens on American soil. 

“Our Constitution restrains government power,” Cruz said. “The federal government may not use drones to kill U.S. citizens on U.S. soil if they do not represent an imminent threat. The Commander in Chief does, of course, have the power to protect Americans from imminent attack, and nothing in this legislation interferes with that power.”

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My criticism of the First Lady has little to do with her fashion sense (which is hit or miss, I think), but this exchange between the New York Times and famous designer Vivienne Westwood is revealing:

Q. You must love our first lady, who is famous for recycling her clothes.

A. Don’t talk about her. It’s dreadful what she wears.

Q. What?

A. I don’t want to talk about it. Really, I can’t. She’s a very nice looking lady, but it’s a nonstarter regarding clothes that suit her. Jackie Kennedy was a different matter altogether. It just has to suit her and be something that makes a human being more glamorous. That’s what fashion is there for. It’s there to help, not just to make you look more conservative.

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Near the start of Rand Paul's filibuster on Wednesday, I noted his call for President Barack Obama to revisit his understanding of the Lochner case. A few other libertarian-minded legal geeks noticed: Josh Blackman did, as did Randy Barnett, for example. At HotAir, Allahpundit quoted my piece and predicted that Paul might face pushback from Democrats if he ever chose to make a run at the presidency (as he has indicated that he might):

If he were to win the GOP nomination, a scenario that seems more plausible every day, the Democrats will attack him on his Lochner support relentlessly to try to prove that he wants to get rid of child-labor laws, minimum-wage laws, and basically everything else in the galaxy of labor regulations that they tout as proof that they’re better for the middle- and working-class. (Emphasis added)

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In response to Maybe We Just Need to Tease Large Predators More:

We're supposed to be rooting for the tigers, right? 

From The Washington Times:

There is already a bumper sticker out there that says “Barack 2012, Michelle 2016,” spotted in the nation’s capital in the last month. In that mindset, consider new numbers just released: a Harris Poll gauging first lady Michelle Obama’s popular appeal among Americans, including a rating of her “job” performance and yes, a comparison with her hubby.

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