Last Call For The Future Of Tokyo

For in the year 2020, Tokyo is about to explode...with Olympic pride.

Tokyo has been chosen by the International Olympic Committee to host the 2020 Summer Games.

In voting Saturday in Buenos Aires, the committee picked Tokyo over the two other contenders, Madrid and Istanbul.

The announcement came at 5:20 a.m. Tokyo time, but a large crowd watching on an outdoor video screen burst into cheers.

Tokyo previously hosted the Summer Games in 1964.

Japan's bid for 2020 billed the city as the safe choice -- despite radiation leaking from the Fukushima nuclear plant. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe personally made a presentation to the committee and promised an effective cleanup.

There is that whole Fukushima thing, yeah...but hey, Tokyo did come in with the lowest bid.

Tokyo's bid came in at $5 billion to $6 billion, compared to $19 billion pledged by Istanbul, said Ed Hula, editor and founder of aroundtherings.com, which covers the business and politics of the Olympic movement.

But Tokyo's government has already amassed a $4.9 billion Olympic fund to pay to prepare for the Games, Hula said. And a $1 billion national stadium that will be used for the athletic events and the Opening Ceremonies will already have been built for the rugby World Cup in 2017 and is not considered an Olympic expense.

But Istanbul and Madrid just weren't ready, and would have needed tens of billions of dollars in infrastructure to get there.  Still, guys, FUKUSHIMA.

On the other hand, can you imagine how fast President Obama would have been impeached if America had put $5 billion away for an Olympic bid?

Sorry Mr. President, I Have A Pryor Engagement On Syria

Facing a rough re-election road in 2014, Democrat Sen. Mark Pryor is turning his back on the White House over Syria.

The decision to use military force is one of the gravest responsibilities Members of Congress face, and it is one that I take very seriously. I have heard presentations and testimonies from the Administration on their case for military action, have read and studied the text of the authorization for the use of military force that will come before the Senate next week, and have listened to the concerns of thousands of Arkansans as I have traveled the state.

I have said, before any military action in Syria is taken, the Administration must prove a compelling national security interest, clearly define a mission that has a definitive end-state, and then build a true coalition of allies that would actively participate in any action we take. Based on the information presented to me and the evidence I have gathered, I do not believe these criteria have been met, and I cannot support military action against Syria at this time.

I actually don't blame Pryor for doing this, not after 3 days ago his Republican opponent, Rep. Tom Cotton, came out in full favor of attacking Syria in a WaPo op-ed piece.  In fact, Pryor may very well have just won the election.

That should tell you something.

Impeachable Me 2

Another GOP Congressman's town hall, another assurance that Republicans would impeach President Obama if given the chance to vote.

Texas Republican Rep. Bill Flores said at a town hall forum Thursday that if the House of Representatives had an impeachment vote, President Obama would be impeached. Flores said such a vote would be futile because it would fail in the Senate.

“I look at the president, I think he’s violated the Constitution,” Flores said. “I think he’s violated the law. I think he’s abused his power but at the end of the day you have to say if the House decides to impeach him, if the House had an impeachment vote it would probably impeach the president.”

The video was provided to BuzzFeed by former Obama campaign staffer Eric Aguirre, who shot the video last night.

“What’s gonna happen next,” Flores added. “It goes to the Senate and that’s step one. Step two is, the Senate’s got to have 67 votes. You’ve got 46 Republicans and 54 Democrats and independents. I’m not sure all the Republicans would vote for it and I know it’s gonna be hard to get another 21 Democrats to vote for it.”

“If you try and fail, are you willing to put Nancy Pelosi back in the speakership? I’m not,” Flores concluded.

Also note Flores doesn't actually have any specific charges to impeach the President over, but it's okay, he's a socialist tyrant or something, and surely there's a law against black Democrats being president somewhere.

The problem is those damn senators, he says.  He's not sure they would vote to convict, not even all the Republicans.  You know, because Flores is all but admitting that impeachment is really just a partisan hate vote to attack a Democrat who dares to get re-elected.  Making up the actual charges comes later in the process.

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said Thursday that President Barack Obama would run the risk of impeachment if he were to put "boots on the ground" in Syria.

McCain spoke to Phoenix KFYI radio host Mike Broomhead after getting grilled by constituents for supporting missile strikes on Syria at a pair of town halls. McCain specified that he did not favor sending American troops into Syria, however.

Laws that Congress passed giving power to the Executive Branch don't apply to Democrats, you know.

StupidiNews, Weekend Edition!

• Australian PM Kevin Rudd has conceded defeat for the ruling Labor party as Conservative challenger Tony Abbott has rolled to a landslide win.
• Washington State has officially published rules and regulations for the growing, distribution, and sale of marijuana in the state.
• Citing concerns with a possible US attack on Syria, the State Department is pulling non-essential personnel from embassy staffs in neighboring Lebanon, Iraq, and Turkey.
• Regulators have signed off on Chinese firm Shuanghui International's planned $4.7 billion buyout of US pork giant Smithfield, pending shareholder approval.
• With Gov. Jerry Brown's signature, California will become the first state to pilot test electronic, digital license plates.