As expected, Massachusetts' universal health care program (a.k.a. ObamaCare Lite) is running into problems. And the Boston Globe, desperate to find the magic formula to make it all work to justify their demands for it, is auditioning a new villain for the piece. And make no mistake -- they need a bad guy who they can blame for the current system's failures. They need to rally people's passions for "reform" and "change," and the easiest way is to pick a fiend for everyone to hate.

Just a quick discussion-starter:

What are the BEST and WORST Supreme Court decisions made during your lifetime?

Why?

The Obama administration is having a very bad week. Today, federal judge Martin Feldman issued an order barring the administration from implementing its six-month moratorium on deep-water oil exploration in the Gulf. Judge Feldman reviewed the order under the Administrative Procedure Act. Applying the APA's standard, Judge Feldman found that the administration's action was arbitrary and capricious.

Judge Feldman was influenced by the fact that the Obama administration's order relied heavily on a lie:

Over the weekend, I read that the Senate Armed Services Committee decided to cut $1 billion from the aid the Obama administration requested for Iraq during that country's period of transition to a new government. The cuts extend to funding for security forces. They seem absurd under the present circumstances. With the number of U.S. troops in Iraq to be halved this summer, just as Iraq is trying to form a government, how does it make sense to cut funding for Iraqi troops who are trying to fill the gap left by American units?

Actually, it struck a while ago. But now it is affecting law schools in ways that have become embarrassingly transparent:

One day next month every student at Loyola Law School Los Angeles will awake to a higher grade point average.

But it's not because they are all working harder.

The school is retroactively inflating its grades, tacking on 0.333 to every grade recorded in the last few years. The goal is to make its students look more attractive in a competitive job market.

What’s going on with the Sestak quietude? Ed muses: “Now the same party leaders whine to Politico that Sestak hasn’t called to get them on his side. Well, perhaps he’s waiting for some apologies, from both the party leaders and from the White House, which are pretty clearly in order.” What if Sestak just doesn’t want to answer questions? What if the answers get everyone in trouble? What if he’s been threatened?

The US State Department labeled North Korea a “criminal state.” Sounds good.  The problem is that the label has no legal or diplomatic import.  It’s just words.

You must be kidding me.  But this is Reuters reporting it, not The Onion:

The definition of a tough crowd? When Obama sycophants like Keith Olbermann, Chris Matthews and Ezra Klein all give the President’s speech the worst reviews since the latest Ben Affleck movie, there’s not a whole heckuva lot for the MWU to add. Perhaps Olbermann said it best (didn’t think you’d ever see that line, did you?

If there is anything worse for a leader than rhetorical impotence, I don’t know what it is. Even a sex scandal implies some sort of virility. But empty words? [Text here.]

57 days after oil spill began, President Obama, along with his most trusted advisor, Ted Teleprompter,  will address the nation tonight about the horrible situation in the Gulf. We’ve read that much of the speech will have absolutely nothing to do with fixing the leak. Right now, people across the country are unanimous in their desire for the leak to be plugged and the mess to be cleaned up, period. Diverting attention and resources to other ideological or reactionary pursuits is not the answer right now.