[Guest post by Aaron Worthing; send your tips here.]

No, he doesn’t quite say that, but it’s really hard to draw any other conclusion when he suggests that we create a Chief Operating Officer for the administrative branch:

The COO’s duties would lie in execution of government policy, including ensuring that the government is well managed and that it addresses key national priorities as one entity and not as hundreds of separate agencies operating in silos.

In other words, Obama didn’t learn on the job like everyone had hoped, nor had running for president prepared him to be president.  Who knew?  So the Democrats are trying to figure out how to help the president limp toward 2012 without embarrassing himself too much.

But in the process they would in essence turn the President into an elected monarch, as the position operates today in modern England: as mainly a figurehead.  The solution isn’t to make the administrative branch even less accountable, but twofold 1) shrink the size of the Federal Government so that it is more manageable and 2) pick a president with administrative experience, next time.

[Posted and authored by Aaron Worthing.]

I love this story. He’s a guy with a proven track record of standing up for what’s right, regardless of personal cost. (“If it’s about the lives of my soldiers at stake, I’d go through hell with a gasoline can.”) And now he is determined to infiltrate one of the silliest groups in government, and wreak havoc — simply by being a voice for a different approach.

And why not? I believe he qualifies, does he not? Fast forward to 4:27 for the relevant exchange:

I took the liberty of transcribing this section, because I think it’s important:

INTERVIEWER: Now, J.C. Watts, who was of course the Republican from Oklahoma, African American, did not join the Congressional Black Caucus, because of its, you know, overtly Democratic leanings . . .

WEST: Mm-hmm.

INTERVIEWER: Are you — first of all, do you have to be asked? Or by virtue of your race, can you just join it? Secondly, do you plan on joining?

WEST: Well, I plan on joining. So I’m not going to ask for permission, or whatever. I’m going to find out when they meet and, uh, I will be a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, as I think I meet all the criteria. And it’s so important, Steve, that we break down this quote unquote monolithic voice that continues to talk about victimization as the tendency in the black community. Uh, you look at some of the districts that the members of the Congressional Black Caucus represent, these are economically depressed districts, they have high unemployment rates, they have high incarceration rates, they have failing rates as far as dropouts — so we’ve got to turn this thing around, and I think it’s time for some different voices to be in that body politic.

Awesome.

I can’t wait to see how this turns out.

On one of our last nights at the Zulu Nyala reserve in South Africa, a call came over the radio. We weren’t quite sure what had been seen, but judging from our guide’s reaction, it was something big. I would never say that our guide was driving in anything but a safe and appropriate manner. But, let’s just say it was clear he wanted to get to the animal as quickly as we did.

A fellow named Tage was closer to the front of the vehicle and we believed he had heard what the animal was we were going to see.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I think he said it was an Ingwe.”

“What’s an Ingwe?” we asked.

“I don’t know,” said Tage as our open-air vehicle hurtled (responsibly! not at all in a breakneck manner!) down the dirt path. “But I’m pretty sure it’s not a giraffe.”

As it turns out, Ingwe is the Zulu word for leopard.

When we got there, we pulled up to where the other group was looking. The guide shined his spotlight. Everyone held their breath and looked around.

Then a young lady in our vehicle named Christine spotted it. “Up in the tree!” she said, and pointed.

We all looked.

And here is what we saw. Forgive the first few blurry seconds, but I wanted you to get the sense of what it was like when we first saw it.

I have many more pictures and videos to come. But I figured I’d start with an attention-getter.