Long-rumored, now at hand

“A bravado performance.” –Eliot Spitzer talking about the State of the Union, accidentally speaking truth on Countdown

Robert Fisk, London Independent:

In the most profound financial change in recent Middle East history, Gulf Arabs are planning – along with China, Russia, Japan and France – to end dollar dealings for oil, moving instead to a basket of currencies including the Japanese yen and Chinese yuan, the euro, gold and a new, unified currency planned for nations in the Gulf Co-operation Council, including Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Qatar.

I think this is less important a development than Fisk does. But it’s a sign that Obama’s statement that America is not in decline is pure bravado.

Amy Koch: My Dimmesdale’s No Longer A Senate Staffer

Former Minnesota State Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch, who resigned that post after admitting to an “inappropriate relationship” with a male Senate staffer widely suspected to be Michael Brodkorb, dropped a small hint earlier this week as to her Dimmesdale’s identity:

She [Amy Koch] said that for legal reasons she won’t name the staffer, who has since left his job at the Capitol.

Anyone care to divine how many male Senate staffers became ex-Senate staffers during the period starting December 16th, 2011 and ending January 23, the date of the interview that forms the basis for the KARE story on Senator Koch?