Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) has blocked passage of a crucial package of expiring provisions, including extended unemployment insurance benefits that are scheduled to run out on April 5. Coburn has balked at Democrats’ request for unanimous consent to pass the extensions, threatening a standoff similar to one that pitted Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) against the Democratic leadership last month. [The Hill]

Beware Obama’s Emergency Health Army! “According to Section 5210 of HR 3590, titled ‘Establishing a Ready Reserve Corps,’ the force must be ready for ‘involuntary calls to active duty during national emergencies and public health crises.'” [WND]

This has been around a couple weeks, but what the heck — it’s Friday, and we’ve lost track of who’s threatening whom. If you’re at work, we recommend you crank up your audio so everyone around you can hear it clearly. You’re welcome.

Remember that bullet that was fired at one of Eric Cantor’s offices in a despicable attempt to intimidate the Virginia Representative?

Well, it looks like Cantor’s office may not have been the intended target… indeed, based upon the trajectory of the bullet, it looks probable that there was no intended target to begin with… just some redneck in gun-happy Virginia squeezing off a few rounds into the sky to celebrate… well, whatever the fuck rednecks celebrate in Virginia this time of year:

Police said a first floor window was struck by a bullet at around 1 a.m. on Tuesday. The building was not occupied, police said. A preliminary investigation determined that a bullet was fired into the air and struck the window at a downward direction, landing about a foot from the window. The bullet had enough force to break the windowpane but not penetrate the window blinds, according to a news release.

There are no suspects, Gene Lepley, a spokesman for the department, said.

So sorry, GOP me-too victims, you’ll need to try a little harder next time if you want to show that Democrats are just as awful as you.

Obama to Indonesian media: “We have to acknowledge that those past human-rights abuses existed. We can’t go forward without looking backwards.” Their abuses, silly, not ours. [Greenwald]

Miss Expatria sends word that David Frum has been purged for his heresy:

As of Thursday, Mr. Frum had become a former fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

Mr. Frum said he was taken out to lunch by the president of the organization, Arthur C. Brooks. He said Mr. Brooks told him the institute valued a diversity of opinion, and welcomed that one of its scholars had become such a high-profile critic of Republican legislative leaders. Mr. Frum, who has been with the institute since 2003, said that he was asked if he would considering being associated with the institute on a nonsalaried basis.

Mr. Frum declined.

You have to admire their discipline ….

Frum Forced Out at Conservative Institute [NYT]

Chris Christie:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qANEMK8uAo

Maybe, one day, people will learn that electing a Republican only benefits the wealthy. Maybe.