Chavez's Body To Be Put On Display

After it lies in state, the body of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez will be preserved and permanently displayed in a "glass tomb" not far from his presidential palace.  In doing so, it will join those of communist dictators Vladimir Lenin, Mao Tse Tung, Kim Il Sung and Ho Chi Minh, on display in the respective countries over which they ruled.

Read the story at Yahoo News.  Read about the tombs of the embalmed communists at Comtourist.

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Rand Paul Launches Filibuster

Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has spent much of today, when most of the federal government was closed in response to a winter storm, conducting a filibuster against the nomination of John Brennan, appointed by President Obama to lead the CIA.  This filibuster has been of the traditional variety, where one or more Senators continue speaking until 60 of them vote to end debate and move to a final vote.  Paul has been joined by Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Mike Lee (R-UT) and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

Read more (or watch live) at ABC News, the Washington Post, USA Today, The Hill and Fox News.

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Hugo Chavez Assumes Room Temperature

Hugo Chavez, the controversial socialist president of Venezuela, died earlier today at the age of 58, losing his long battle with cancer.  He had been in office for over 14 years.

Read more at NBC News, ABC News, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, CNN, BBC News and Fox News.

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Locusts Swarm Egypt

In what looks like a reenactment of one of the ten plagues in the Biblical Book of Exodus, an estimated 30 million locusts have descended upon Egypt, and have caused Israel to issue an alert.  Locust swarms are common in that region during this time of year, but this swarm is unusually large.

Read more at CBS News, Time, the Atlantic Wire, the Mail Online, ABC News and Haaretz, which reports that "several thousand" locusts have gone into the Negev, the southern desert region of Israel.  From the Atlantic Wire comes this video.  At around the 1:00 mark, you can hear the noise from the locusts.

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Riddle Me This

Under the recently-started sequestration, why didn't we have the money to allow the DHS to continue detaining several thousand illegal aliens at their detention centers (setting aside the question of why they couldn't find other places to save money) forcing their release, yet we still can pledge $450M to Egypt?  And do we still intend to grant $307B for research, development and education to expand Internet use in Africa, including a private-public partnership headquartered in Kenya?

The respective sources for these stories are CNS News, BBC News and The Big Bad Bank.

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Gun Makers Threaten To Leave

Gun manufacturers in Maryland and Colorado, in response to efforts in each state to pass strict gun control measures, have announced plans to relocate if those bills become law.  Both Virginia and West Virginia would welcome Beretta's possible relocation from their facility in Accokeek, MD.  Based in Italy, Beretta already has a place in Fredericksburg, VA.  Meanwhile in Erie, CO, locally-based Magpul has already told the state government that if the bill is passed, they will leave.  The company's founder and president, Richard Fitzpatrick, has stated, "It's not really a threat.  It's a promise."

Both stories come from Fox News.  Read about Maryland here and about Colorado here.

Note to lawmakers in both states:  The law of unintended consequences is a bitch.

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"Jedi Mind Meld"?

It appears that President Obama will never be a genuine sci-fi geek.  At a press conference today, he said that he couldn't do a "Jedi mind meld" with the Republicans to make them understand his positions on taxes and spending, thus getting mixed up between the Star Wars Jedi mind trick and the Star Trek Vulcan mind meld.  Even so, it's probably a good thing.  Could you imagine how much damage politicians could do if they could link their minds together?  Oh well, live long and prosper and may the Force be with you.

Read more at ABC News, CBS News, Reuters and the Washington Post.

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