Obama Junk Is Recession-Proof

Afro-sporting pottery planter 'didn't fit our corporate image'

(NEWSER) - Walgreens has pulled Chia Obama from its shelves, saying the Afro-growing pottery novelty “didn’t fit our corporate image,” the Chicago Tribune reports. “We didn’t want to be subject to any misinterpretation over the product,” said a spokesman, who said he was misquoted yesterday as saying that customers had complained that the bust was racist. “The word I used was ‘offensive.’” More»

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama inspired a lot of art during his meteoric rise to the highest office of the land. Paintings, videos, and songs are still trickling in, and some of it is good. But much of it isn’t. Much of it is, to put it gently, utter bird poop. But some of that bird poop is really funny, and, the Stimulist points out, that’s where BadPaintingsofBarackObama.com comes in. More»

Experts struggle to pick future keepers from sea of merchandise

(NEWSER) - Collectors are sifting through a sea of Barack Obama memorabilia searching for items that will be the gems of the future instead of tomorrow's junk, the Washington Post reports. Vast quantities of knick-knacks, ranging from dancing presidential dolls to Obama mints, have left even experts stumped about what to buy. More»

'New York Times' dives into president's counterterrorism approach

(NEWSER) - The New York Times is running what is undoubtedly today's biggest talker—in terms of both length and heft. The paper interviewed three dozen current and past Obama advisers in an attempt to define the president's counterterrorism approach—a topic it describes using words such as baffling, confounding, paradoxical, and inscrutable. Among the most notable talking points:

• Some 100 national security officials meet via video teleconference near weekly as part of a Pentagon-led "secret nominations process" (described as "an invention of the Obama administration") in which they review potential additions to the "kill list" of suspected terrorists.
• Nominations are communicated to Obama, who himself approves every single name added to the "kill list," after reviewing potential targets' bios. He OKs "lethal action without hand-wringing."

Lays wreath at Tomb of the Unknowns

(AP) - President Barack Obama paid tribute today to the men and women who have died defending America, saying the country must strive "to be a nation worthy of your sacrifice." He said the war in Iraq has ended after nine years and is "winding down" in Afghanistan. But he conceded that the pain of war lingers for the families of those lost in battle, noting mourners can be seen at Arlington National Cemetery daily, not just on Memorial Day. More»