Rise of the Russian Robots, Just Say No to Stimulus,

E J Dionne
Arlen Spector
Paul Krugman
Clarence Page

Shoes and books were thrown at the Israeli ambassador to Sweden, making this the third international event after the other shoe throwing in China. The perps were not arrested nor are they still in jail awaiting trial like the original shoe thrower in Iraq. This time, the shoes were Nikes; just do it...

Although there has been a formal break-up between Russia and its former satellite states, it seems Mr Putin is finding a way around old animosities and welcoming many back into Mother Russia's bosom of influence. From CNN: "A Russian-led bloc of post-Soviet nations has agreed to establish a rapid-reaction military force to combat terrorists and respond to regional emergencies, Russian media reported Wednesday.

The decision came a day after reports that Kyrgyzstan is planning to close a strategically important U.S. military base that Washington uses to transport troops and supplies into Afghanistan. On Wednesday, the Collective Security Treaty Organization -- made up of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan -- decided on the rapid-reaction force at a Kremlin summit, the Russian news agency RIA-Novosti reported." 

The Middle East remains a potential powder keg, but it looks like Russia is quickly regaining her stature and it may soon come back to an US versus THEM mentality on the world stage. I will be looking forward to the Obama/Putin debates...

Over the weekend some top Republicans went on a secret junket to Iraq, except one let his peeps know what was up on Twitter, using his Blackberry. He was on the Intelligence Committee, but couldn't ignore the call of twittering...

Now that George Bush and his brand of Republicanism has been retired, many younger Republicans are feeling freer to express their opinions. Much ado about nothing has been made over whether Rush Limbaugh is a talking head for the GOP. A self-appointed head maybe more focused on promoting Rush and getting more listeners than actually having something substantial to say. Anyway, like two-year olds first learning the power of words, many have become enamored with the word " NO." Soon, they might learn to walk and not wet their beds... There are two ways of looking at this uprising, as a way of rebuilding the Rpublican Party, or that they are merely reacting to anything the Democrats put together.

From the Washington Post: "Republicans are holding congressional Democrats responsible for the wasteful spending they say is in the stimulus package, even though most of the big-ticket items -- for renewable energy, health care and schools -- are ones that Obama wanted in the package to advance his long-term goals.

For a while, the president did not exactly resist this tack, leaving the impression that the bill is mainly a congressional creation, but he started to defend it more vigorously last week. It is a triangulation of sorts, with Republicans hoping to drive a wedge between congressional Democrats and Obama.

"The president has done a good job reaching out to Republicans, and he has said he wants to approach this crisis . . . on a bipartisan basis. That's good, and we're willing to work with him on that. But this bill is not the president's bipartisan plan," Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) said yesterday on "Fox News Sunday."

And the Democratic response, from the same article: "Democrats scoff at the Republicans' claim to regrouping, saying the declarations against big spending are undermined by the deficits that were run up under Bush and GOP congressional leadership. The stand against the stimulus appeared to be more rejectionist than the discovery of a new approach for moving forward, they said.

"That 'no' vote was a very tentative first move, and it remains to be seen what level of engagement and cooperation they're going to give the president," said Joel Johnson, who served as a policy adviser to President Bill Clinton. "It is much easier, when you're not sure what your strategy is, to revert to a 'no' strategy, and that's what they did."

Finally, hearty congragulations to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who won the Superbowl while playing with broken ribs!

From the CBS archives in January, a David Letterman top 10 list:

Top Ten Barack Obama Plans To Fix The Economy 

10 Encourage tourists to throw spare change in the Grand Canyon

9 End our dependence on foreign owls

8 Sell New Mexico to Mexico

7 Put a little of that bailout money on the Ravens plus 3 at Tennessee. 

Come on! It's a mortal lock!

6 Rent out the moon for weddings and Bar Mitzvahs

5 Lotto our way out of this son-of-a-bitch

4 Appear on "Deal or No Deal" and hope to choose the right briefcase

3 Bail out the adult film industry -- not sure how it helps, but it can't 

hurt

2 Release O.J. from prison, have him steal America's money from China

1 Stop talkin' and start Obama-natin'!