The New Leviathan

Creepy Clown

Obama Che

T-Shirt Design

Obama on Business

It's a Tax!

Associated article: Wall Street Journal

A Woodcut for the Modern Era

James Madison Monsters of Liberty Tour T-Shirt Design (front and back)

Founders T-Shirt Design

Obama Announces Plan to Guarantee All Americans "A Place to Put Your Head in the Sand"

Washington, D.C.--After proposing a $3.73 trillion budget that increases spending amid a record $1.65 trillion federal deficit, President Obama announced his plan to address the nation's unprecedented fiscal crisis by funding an "historic" $1.2 trillion federal public works project that will guarantee that "all citizens have a place to put their head in the sand."

"I play a lot of golf," said Obama, "but it's not just guys like me who should be able to bury their heads from reality in the bunker on the 18th hole. It's time head burying became an entitlement for all Americans."

Associated articles: Wall Street Journal; Washington Post; Keith Hennessey; Wall Street Journal 1; The Hill; Brief History of Obama's Fiscal Record; Mercatus; Hot Air; Wall Street Journal 2; Daily Caller; Mercatus 1 (Debt Ceiling Chart); AP Fact Check; Robert Kimball Table; AP Fact Check 1; Big Government; Wall Street Journal 3; AEI chart; The Hill (CBO projections); AEI chart 2; RSC Jobs Chart; CBO

Obama Orders Air Strike on His Old War Powers Statements

Washington, D.C.--Following his ordering a U.S. military attack on Libya without Congressional approval, President Obama ordered an air strike on the National Archives to destroy large numbers of his 2007 campaign statements in which he said "The president does not have the power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation" and "The Constitution is clear: Except in response to an attack or the imminent threat of attack, only Congress may authorize war and the use of force."

Obama ordered the air strike within minutes of hearing from his intelligence team that Vice President Biden said in 2007 that if a President "takes this nation to war ... without Congressional approval, I will make it my business to impeach him."

Associated articles: Washington Post; Hot Air; Associated Press; National Review; Washington Post 1

Obama Declines to Reveal Plot of His Presidency at News Conference

Washington, D.C.--President Obama declined to answer most of the questions reporters asked him at his most recent press conference, saying "I owe it to my adoring fans not to reveal future plot details" about his presidency.

When asked how he might explain the dismal state of the economy following the biggest government spending spree in history, Obama said "I can't answer that because, you know, I can't reveal any spoilers."

When pressed, Obama said "This production is the result of many talented writers, and if you don't like the current plot twists, just wait until next year."

Administration officials said Obama has a "very loyal following" and that "it would be a disservice to the viewers to ruin any surprises."

Headlines

Associated article: Daily Caller

Groupon to Sue On (click image to enlarge)

Obama to Deliver Major Speech on White Guilt

Columbus, Ohio--President Obama, now facing significant congressional opposition for the first time following Republican gains in the House of Representatives, is planning what aides are calling a "major speech" on white guilt.

"The President is going to remind many of his critics that they are white, and that lots of them voted for the President because he's black," said a White House spokesperson. "It's too easy to forget that in the midst of substantive discussions regarding fundamental policy decisions."

National Endowment for the Arts Funds Artists Whose Art is Convincing Other People That What They Do Is Art

Washington, D.C.--The National Endowment for the Arts is highlighting its grants of federal taxpayer funds to artists whose only "art" is their ability to convince other people to think what they do is art.

"The work itself is crap, as most people who look at it will immediately realize," said one NEA commissioner. "But the true art in what these people do lies in the strategic schmoozing, the pretentious conversation, and the egomaniacal confidence it takes to convince fellow middle-aged-and-older hipsters on obscure government boards that the weird stuff you do to amuse yourself in an otherwise superficial life is such sheer genius that its magnificence would not be appropriately valued in a voluntary free market filled with common rubes like you."

Associated video: ReasonTV

Obama Paper Tiger Doll

Associated articles: AEI; Wall Street Journal; Associated Press; Wall Street Journal 1; National Review

Obama's Latest Shared Facebook Photo

Associated articles: Washington Post; Krauthammer

Authorities Nab Notorious Youth Soccer Gang After 3-0 Victory Leaves Seven with Hurt Feelings

Associated article: Pajamas Media

Obama Inspires Nation to Find "Bold New Ways to Do the Math"

Washington, D.C.--President Obama used his State of the Union Address to urge Congress to find "bold new ways to do the math" of balancing the federal budget, advocating spending even more taxpayer dollars on things like roads, cars, and high-speed rail lines while ignoring major spending cuts.

"Accountants tell us there are only two sides to a balance sheet," said Obama. "But we as a nation can do better. Much better."

The President took the opportunity to recognize several students in the audience who he said were examples of young pioneers "willing to think outside the pizza box" and find new ways to scatter numbers randomly around ledger sheets.

Associated article: Associated Press Fact Check

Jerry Brown Checks State of California Into Rehab

Los Angeles, California--After being busted for racking up tens of billions of dollars in debt above the already-existing $500 billion in unfunded public pension liabilties held by the government, Governor Jerry Brown has checked the entire State of California into rehab.

Brown was caught in the state Capitol with a bevy of environmentalists, lawyers, and public sector unions.

"He thought the prospects were poor that a Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives would be willing to bail him and his state out," said a Brown spokesperson. "Voluntarily submitting to rehab was the only alternative."

Associated articles: San Francisco Chronicle; Wall Street Journal

Obama Resorts to Air Guitar

Washington, D.C.--Having run out of options to reenergize his presidency, President Obama used a televised address last night to play air guitar.

White House advisers told the president he needed to simplify his message to a few wild windmill maneuvers and a rockin' heavy metal stance, which they hoped could better further his agenda than alternative communications strategies.

"We decided it was best to let Obama be Obama," said a White House spokesperson. "And that's just what happened last night: the president struck a phony pose, engaged in some theatrics, and pumped his arms in celebration."

TV Guide

Associated article: ABC News

Headlines

EPA Regulates Vegetarians as Their Methane Emissions Rival Those of Cows

Washington, D.C.--The Environmental Protection Agency is predicting an increase in human vegetarian diets consisting of the same harder-to-digest vegetable matter that causes cows to emit large quantities of carbon dioxide and methane gas. Consequently, the EPA will begin regulating vegetarian emissions beginning next year as part of its efforts to combat global warming.

"Let me be clear," said President Obama, announcing the plan, "Vegetarians eat vegetable matter just like cows do, and the body's inability to fully digest the many complex carbohydrates in the vegetarian diet results in the excessive production of carbon dioxide and methane. Vegetarians also don't eat cows, whose similar diets produce the same gases. The result is a vicious circle in which vegetarians and cows contribute to ever greater global warming gas emissions."

Associated article: The Straight Dope

Latest Communications Rage "Twit" Limits Conversations to Four Characters or Less

Democrats Demand Stronger Microphone Control Laws and Shorter Audio Feeds Following Shooting Tragedy

Washington, D.C.--Following a tragic shooting committed by a lone deranged man whose motivation had no discernible political connection, Democrats in Congress moved to prevent "ideas from getting into the wrong hands" through stronger microphone control laws and limits on the size of television audio feeds.

"The constitutional right to bear speech has limits," said one proponent of the legislation. "Do you really need a microphone this large or an audio feed that holds more than a few minutes of sound data to shoot down a bad idea?"

Associated article: Charles Krauthammer

White House Spokesman Spins Out of Control, Lands in Press Pool, Injuring Seven

Washington, D.C.--Obama Administration press secretary Robert Gibbs "spun totally out of control" earlier today, lofting into the air and flipping over several times before finally coming to a stop in the middle of the White House press pool.

Police described the scene as "like something out of an action-comedy film," as they surveyed the damage caused by Gibbs' absurd attempt to spin yet another failed Obama Administration policy.

"Journalists understand the need for press secretaries to spin events in favor of the administration they work for," said one reporter who was injured while standing next to the pool. "But there have to be some sort of standards that keep things from getting out of hand and hurting innocent people."

Congressman Introduces Bill Based on Posts in Comments Sections of Huffington Post Site

Man in Obama T-Shirt Robs Bank Unnoticed

New Rochelle, New York--Over a dozen bank customers watched nonchalantly as a teller handed over hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash to a man wearing an Obama t-shirt.

When asked why by local police, the teller said "It's gotten to the point where I didn't think anything of it. Of course someone associated with the Obama campaign is going to demand hundreds of thousands of dollars in other people's money."

The responses of other witnesses were much the same.

"With government takeovers of health care, home loans, banks, and energy," said one customer, "I just assumed along with everyone else that a guy with an Obama t-shirt wanted lots of taxpayer money, and they were going to do whatever it took to get it."

The man in the t-shirt was quickly apprehended, after which he told police "I didn't say anything to the teller. She just handed me the money and I took it."

"I'm used to the Obama shirt giving me a kind of moral authority like that," he said.

Associated articles: Washington Examiner; Wall Street Journal; Washington Post

Very Short Story: The Three "I's"

The Three sat motionless, their black robes hanging straight down as if weighted at the seams, as rigid as the tunics on the marble statues that lined the dais.

They were sometimes compared to the Sun, around which everything moved in precisely predictable orbits.  But after clerking for them, the Three seemed more than ever like a trio of black holes, toward which everything inevitably fell.

Nothing escaped the reach of their opinions.  And so it was a citizen’s prime duty to understand them.

Long before the Three, judges had based their conclusions on general rules, couching them in the language of universal principles applied to the particular circumstances at hand.

The country was a bustling place then, where people interacted under a regime of mutual freedom.  But that freedom led to many different kinds of legal proceedings.

And as the number of judicial decisions grew, the larger became the palate from which the Three could choose the colors with which to draw their decisions that would bind us all on their canvas.  And so their decisions came to resemble portraits of themselves more closely than ever.  The Three became the Law.

This was to the benefit of all, we were taught.  No longer would citizens have to stake their liberty on predictions based on the application of abstract principle.  Now they could focus their attention on adhering to the decisions of the Three alone.

The bailiff called the court to order.

Today’s trial began as usual.  The claims were brought against the defendants under the Article of the three I’s, each “I” representing one of the Three and symbolizing their collective expression of societal will.

There were two defendants, both wearing the traditional white jumpsuits that symbolize their appearance as two blank slates on which the Three would write their will.

The Three recognized the Citers of Precedent, a corps of professionals dedicated to reminding each of the Three of their previous opinions.  The Citers studied in grand universities, and were tasked with memorizing the Three’s written decisions and contributing toward the Great Academic Project: the synthesis of each of the Three’s opinions into a unified theory capable of predicting their future will, and thereby charting a path within which the citizenry could safely walk.

One of the Citers stated the facts of the case: the defendants considered themselves to be married, and bound by their own vows.

A collective gasp rippled like a gas leak through the spectator galleries.

The two people before the court, said the Citer, were found holding themselves out to their fellow citizens as being bound by their own commitments to each other, when the Precedents had long been understood to negate the practice.  In the estimation of the Three, marriage was an archaic commitment to maintain rules that their own personal experience had revealed to be unwise over time.

“We shall consider the precedents,” said the three in unison, and they retired to their chambers.

We clerks gathered in the library to collect the precedents on which the Three’s decisions would be rendered.

The rows of precedent books wound their way through the library.  The newer volumes, bound in moist shiny leather, gradually gave way to the much older tomes, whose dried covers had wilted whole pages of parched paper, littering the floor in forgotten corners of the building.

I walked over to return some of the fallen pages, and happened to glance at what they contained.  I had apparently found some very early precedent that appeared to cite an Article that preceded the Article of the Three “I’s.”

It was the Article of the One “I.”

I brought the page back to my fellow clerks and asked them if we should include these older precedents in our recommendation to the Three, as it might nudge them into upholding the marriage of the committed couple whose fate the Three held in their hands.

Indeed, the old precedents I had found seemed to resonate with the married couples’ notion that they had built their own household on a foundation that only they could alter -- not the Three or anyone else.  These precedents described how this Article of the One “I” was once part of a larger plan agreed to many years ago.  Under this long-forgotten “Article I,” the laws would be made by those in a “House” composed of “Representatives” chosen by “the People.”  The people in the House would agree on the laws, and those laws would bind everyone until the people in the House agreed to change them.  Not the Three.  The People.

My fellow clerks laughed.  I chuckled, too, and returned the page to its long-forgotten tome.

Bad Nanny-State Ideas Traced to Ban on Incandescent Lightbulbs

Associated articles: Wall Street Journal; Bloomberg

Early American Custody Agreement Puts Paternity of Founding Fathers in Doubt

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania--A legal petition dated just after the ratification of the Constitution -- and signed by the nation's Founding Fathers who drafted the Supreme Law of the Land -- has placed into doubt the paternity of America's foundational law.

The document, found buried in the archives of a Philadelphia historical center, announce the intentions of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention that their status of "Founding Fathers" of the United States be severed in the event that "the plain meaning of the terms used in the Constitution become so perverted by the political manipulations of others, in ways not authorized by the Constitution, that our progeny is no longer recognizable as such."

Lawyers are currently debating whether recent court decisions regarding marriage, national security, and property rights violate the terms of the Founding Fathers' custody agreement, but the legal consensus is that "We may now need to name some Founding Stepfathers."

Contemporary Urban Graffiti

Six Flags Opens New Obama-Themed Roller Coaster

Baltimore, Maryland--With the economy tanking and a record one in six Americans taking part in various government anti-poverty programs, the Six Flags amusement park announced the opening of it's latest roller coaster.

"It's called the Obamarator," said a park spokeswoman, who said it consists of a winding but ever low-spiraling ride in cars fitted with video screens showing the latest economic indicators.

"With the latest data showing Medicaid enrollment at record highs even before 16 million people are added by the ObamaCare law in 2014, a 50% rise in food stamp participants, a 400% increase in those receiving unemployment insurance, and an 18% increase in the welfare rolls," said the spokeswoman, "we didn't have to do much more to make this one of the most frightening Six Flags coasters ever."

One man who rode on the coaster's maiden run said "After the very first turn -- where you see that Medicaid costs have jumped 36% in two years to $273 billion, jobless benefits soared from $43 billion to $160 billion, and food stamp and welfare costs have risen 80% and 24% -- I almost lost my lunch."

Associated articles: USA Today; New York Daily News

First Prize at Local Science Fair Goes to Student with Global Warming Display Behind Black Curtain

Derbyville, New York--Junior high school student Cody Burroughs won first place in the local science fair for his alleged display of the science proving human-caused global warming, which remained hidden behind a thick black curtain.

"The conclusions Cody came to so confirmed the prevailing consensus that we found it unnecessary to look behind the curtain," said one of the judges.

Other judges said they were impressed by Cody's assiduous deletion of any emails in his possession that would have cast doubt on the validity of the claims he made, and his encouragement of classmates to ignore any student who offered evidence to rebut his theories.

The judges said that in evaluating the science fair projects, they used the same criteria applied by the "Independent Climate Change Email Review," which papered over the recent Climategate scandal.

Associated articles: Wall Street Journal; Washington Times; London Telegraph; Times of Higher Education; Watts Up With That; Wall Street Journal 1

Santa Asks Kids to Give Back This Year

Washington, D.C.--Children around the country were surprised last night to see Santa Claus deliver an unprecedented prime time television address in which he asked the nation's youth to "give back this year" by contributing what they could to their $40,000 share of the massive national debt.

"I know these are tough economic times," said Santa, "but this year, there are over 6,000 earmarks in the Democratic Congress' spending bill, and the John Murtha Foundation and the Edward M. Kennedy Institute alone need $18 million from your collective allowances."

Santa closed his remarks by explaining to the nation's children that he "had to give out over $800 billion in gifts to the public sector at the beginning of the year," so he was looking to children everywhere to finally "pay up."

Associated article: Wall Street Journal

Headlines

Associated articles: Associated Press; Wall Street Journal

No Labels Groups Unveils New Clothing Label

Washington, D.C.--The group "No Labels" -- led by a group of former politicians who lost reelection and a host of largely uninfluential political commentators -- unveiled a new clothing line to garner attention for its mission of removing intellectual consistency from political discourse.

"By hyping the often trivial common ground between those who believe government must enforce its vision of justice and those who believe personal fulfillment is best achieved through individual responsibility and the voluntary interaction of free people," said a No Labels spokesperson, "we hope to foster a self-righteous sense of civility designed to suppress exposure of the contradictions that inevitably underlie attempts to compromise on fundamental issues."

Founded on the principle that "defending principle is indefensible," the No Labels clothing line aims at making "totally vapid totally cool."

Associated article: Slate

Obama Defends His Divinity Against Church and State Challenge

Washington, D.C.--President Obama defended his divinity before the Supreme Court yesterday, arguing personally that his holy status did not violate any constitutionally required separation between church and state.

"The First Amendment prohibits the government from establishing a religion," Obama told the Justices. "But I didn't establish my divinity as President. Rather, my divinity was created by free citizens who decided on their own to join my cult following."

Several of the conservative justices seemed to agree with Obama, with one pointing out that "The intercession of free choice by individuals would seem to negate any claim of government-imposed religion."

Obama divided his time for oral argument with the Solicitor General, who began his presentation in defense of Obama's constitutionality by saying "May it please the Court, and His Divine Holiness Obama, Whose Infinite Wisdom and Mercy Is the Beginning and the End of All That Is Just and Good."

Associated articles: Victor Davis Hanson; Wall Street Journal; Weekly Standard

Obama Assures Nation: "I Come in Peace"

Washington, D.C.--In a prime time television address that rivited the nation, President Barack Obama sought to assure tremulous Americans who generally consider him distant and detached that "I come in peace."

Obama delivered the address inside what White House officials called "The Oval Saucer," pausing frequently to extend his hand toward the camera in a reassuring manner. "You have nothing to fear," said Obama, his voice echoing with every syllable.

Many Americans expressed relief following the address, especially from Obama's assurances that "We will depart as soon as our egos are fed." But others remained concerned by Obama's remarks that "your civilization will be protected by layers of bureaucracy that will preserve your species for generations to come."

Still others were unnerved by Obama's use of the royal "we," but an administration spokesperson made clear that such a linguistic formulation "referred only to the collective consciousness of the larger White House," and that "in any case our data indicate your kind can safely withstand at least six more years of preparatory incubation."

Associated articles: London Telegraph; Investors Business Daily

Santa Gives Nation the Gift of Coal After Defeat of Democrats' Cap and Tax Plans

Everywhere, USA--After the Democrats suffered historic defeats at the polls last November, Santa Claus announced all Americans would be getting "the gift of precious coal" as it became clear plans for draconian energy taxes would be scrapped.

Back in 2008, then-candidate for Presient Barack Obama said of his energy policies: "If somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can; it's just that it will bankrupt them because they're going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that's being emitted."

"But coal provides usable energy at much less than a quarter of the cost of either oil or natural gas," said Santa, "and 50 percent of the energy produced in the United States comes from coal. I'm pleased to say that the American voters were very good this year because they rejected candidates who wanted to dramatically increase their energy costs in return for relatively few demonstrable benefits."

Judge Orders Christmas Depictions of Jesus Replaced with Doc Holliday

Lubberville, Oregon--A federal judge in Oregon has ordered a local town to replace its Christmas depictions of Jesus Christ with the "less offensive" image of legendary bar owner, gambler, and gunslinger Doc Holliday.

Although title 5, Section 6103 of the United States Code specifically declares "Christmas" a "legal public" day of celebration, Judge Lewis Tunnick held that celebrating a "Holliday" rather than Christmas' namesake was "more appropriate" in that it singled out for recognition "a popular secular lawman" instead of a "religious figure."

In Compromise Offer to Republicans, Obama Agrees to Support Only 1,500-Page Bills That Control an Additional 7% of Economy

Washington, D.C.--In what White House officials called "an unprecedented gesture of good will and in a spirit of compromise," President Obama said at a bipartisan meeting on Capitol Hill today that he would limit his support to bills that are 1,500 pages long and control only an additional 7% of the U.S. economy.

"Some are complaining because legislation I signed into law ran into the many thousands of pages and controlled an additional tenth of the national's privately-held resources," said Obama. "I'm willing to look beyond the past, and push forward with policies that grow the government by one-seventh at a time."

Associated article: Fox News

What Do YOU Think?

Costs of Lack of Interest Projected to Swamp Costs of Interest on National Debt in Coming Years

Associated article: Mercatus Center

Obama to Embark on National Listening Tour; President Plans to Plug Ears and Hum National Anthem in All 50 States

Washington, D.C.--Following the last election's massive turnout of voters intent on electing representatives who will help restore traditional Americans values and oppose central parts of President Obama's agenda, the White House announced today that Obama plans a national listening tour in which he will visit all 50 states while plugging his ears and humming the national anthem.

"The president will demonstrate his deep patriotism by traveling cross-sections of the country, standing in large audiences, and then filling his head with the sonorous sounds of the Star-Spangled Banner," said a White House spokesperson. "And in the event people in the crowds prove at all distracting, the president stands ready to order the firing of cannons during the anthem's crescendo."

Turkey Pardons Obama