The Congress and the President

President Barack Obama is ready, willing—even eager—to work with the 114th Congress, instead of routinely bypassing it, The Wall Street Journal quoted “senior administration officials” as saying at the start of this new year.

Both Houses of this new Congress have introduced bipartisanly supported bills that would authorize construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. And Obama has said he’ll veto that legislation, never minding that 70% of Americans—Obama’s employers, as well as the employers of the new Congress—want the pipeline built.

I’m driven to the conclusion that Obama’s claimed willingness to work with Republicans is just more Obamatalk, and that “cooperate with” still means “be reasonable: do it my way.”

Global Warming

It’s precipitating global warmth in the Middle East.

Snow fell Wednesday across the Middle East as a powerful winter storm swept through the region, forcing Syrians who have fled their country’s civil war to huddle for warmth in refugee camps.

And

Near the town of Anjar, [Lebanon,] men used brooms and sticks to try to clear the heavy snow from the tops of refugee tents, fearing the weight might cause the shelters to collapse.

And

Palestinian authorities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip declared a state of emergency over the storm.

And

Snow accumulated in the Golan Heights and northern Israel. Schools across Jerusalem closed ahead of a forecast warning of 10 inches (25 centimeters) of snowfall.

Hmm….