Small-minded president…

The White House  has banned  a Boston Herald reporter,  claiming that the paper has not reported  “fairly.”    The apparent cause of Obama-pique was that the Herald  didn’t give sufficient coverage of the visit of His Oneness while granting front page space for a Mitt Romney op-ed.

This follows on the heels of the White House last month threatening to bar Hearst reporters from pool duty after a Chronicle reporter shot video of protesters mocking Obama at a fund-raiser.

The Herald is now having a fine time reporting to the fullest on the dust-up and dipping its barbs in  quality satire  before flinging them back at the White House.   Yeah,  I’m enjoying the hell out of this.

What’s the old warning about not picking a fight with anybody who buys ink by the barrel?

Smallpox hysteria…

The Virginia Historical Society put together an exhibit of  “bizarre bits”  from its collection,  which included  a smallpox scab.   That sent the Centers for Disease Control off in a dash to retrieve it.   It was a false alarm,  as are nearly all such discoveries,  because smallpox doesn’t remain viable without the right conditions.

What is incredible is that people are clamoring for Russia and the USA to destroy their stocks of smallpox,  when terrorists are always searching for bio-weapons.   And anyone who believes the Russians would actually destroy their stock if the UN and the World Health Organization suddenly decided it should,  raise your hand and go to the back of the line.