Broken In Brief: Obama Administration happy to take time out of facing complex problems to take easy shots at Dick Cheney

WASHINGTON DC—To hear some staffers talk, the crippling realities of the country the Obama Administration was handed in January has led to not only some serious work, but also serious stresses and mental hardships. That’s why in recent days the White House has been abuzz with excitement over former Vice-President Dick Cheney’s decision to start giving interviews criticizing the new foreign policy direction of the country. It is these brief respites from the crushing, toiling, thankless work of correcting problems caused by the previous administration that has senior staff glad to have small opportunities to pick the lowest hanging fruit possible.

After the former Vice President claimed last week that the reversal of several Bush-era foreign policy strategies had made the country less safe, a nearly euphoric David Axelrod was seen to stagger out of his office yelling “Cheney said that? ‘Torture Dick’? He criticized our foreign policy vis-a-vis terrorism? Marge, cancel my two o’clock and tell a staffer to go fill a barrel full of fish and to bring me my shotgun and shooting hat. It’s time to go clear my head.”

After a round of television interviews where he gleefully mocked the former VP, Axelrod was said to have told Rahm Emanuel that he had quote “never felt so rested and relaxed” and suggested that someone send a flower bouquet to Dick as a show of gratitude for the first easy afternoon he had in months.

Privately some are hoping that Cheney decides to tour the full circuit of right wing radio and television shows and that this wasn’t a onetime event. Ideally other staffers and high level advisers will get a chance to take a much needed mental break that responding to anything Dick Cheney says provides.

A filthy habit

Praise be unto Himz0rz

Figured I would give you all a break from watching Matthew's brain liquify at the sight of the DNC's Barrypalooza conduct.

Turns out an Italian priest is organizing a beauty pageant. For nuns.

An Italian priest says he is organising the world's first beauty pageant for nuns to erase a stereotype of them as being old and dour.

Antonio Rungi says The Miss Sister Italy online contest will start on his blog in September.

"Nuns are above all women and beauty is a gift from God," he told Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper.

So here's how it works: Nuns from across Italy, perhaps the world, will submit their photos to the Padre and then we'll all get to vote on who's the hottest. Given the potential size of the field -- as of 2007, there are almost 1 million nuns in The Shit -- and the fact that we'll be judging based solely on facial features, oddsmakers are reluctant to lay down a line just yet.

But we know where our money is going.