I guess nothing rhymes with Treasury.White House spokesman Jay Carney • Responding to questions about a newly released Jay-Z track which seems to suggest that Hov and Beyonce got permission from the White House to travel to Cuba last week. When pressed on the matter, Carney once again denied that President Obama ever spoke with Mr. and Mrs. Knowles-Carter about their trip, saying that Open Letter “is only a song.” source
North Korea’s statement advising foreigners to make plans to evacuate Seoul is more unhelpful rhetoric that serves only to escalate tensions. This kind of rhetoric will only further isolate North Korea from the international community, and we continue to urge the North Korean leadership to heed President Obama’s call to choose the path of peace and to come into compliance with its international obligations.White House spokesman Jay Carney • Responding to North Korea’s rather surprising anti-tourism warning on Tuesday, mere hours after North Korea’s state-run KCNA news agency warned foreigners in South Korea that the country’s military couldn’t be blamed if they were hurt should war break out on the Korean peninsula. The latest threats from North Korea come on the eve of previously announced ballistic missile testing which has already put a number of countries in the region on edge. source
We conduct those strikes because they are necessary to mitigate ongoing actual threats, to stop plots, prevent future attacks and, again, save American lives. These strikes are legal, they are ethical and they are wise.White House Press Secretary Jay Carney • Speaking on a recent Justice Department memo made public, asserting the government’s right to target citizens for drone strikes if it’s deemed they’ve been involved in attacks against the United States, circumventing the due process of law that Americans are traditionally Constitutionally entitled to. The memo itself seems to strive for a standard under which the U.S. drone killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, for example, a U.S. citizen suspected of terrorist activity when he was slain in Yemen, would be considered legal. This is an interesting policy area for the odd political bedfellows it draws together, as both left and right wing criticisms of the targeted killing program are prevalent, and President Obama’s nominee to head the CIA, his 1st term counterterrorism chief John Brennan, has a Senate confirmation ahead of him. Brennan in his old job was a central figure in the U.S. drone program, and as such we’d anticipate even some bipartisan congressional grilling on this topic during his hearing. source
Most Americans agree that a president’s children should not be used as pawns in a political fight. But to go so far as to make the safety of the president’s children the subject of an attack ad is repugnant and cowardly.White House Spokesperson Jay Carney - Commenting on a new political ad, released by the National Rifle Association, which calls President Obama an “elitist hypocrite” for opposing the stationing of armed guards in every school. We’re inclined to agree with Carney on this one. Say what you will about the man’s legislative agenda, but reasonable human beings should be able to agree that children aren’t acceptable targets for political attacks. source
We worked to get you information as quickly as possible following the raid, and as more debriefings happened — debriefings of the special operators involved in the mission as well as others – some of the initial information turned out to be incomplete. We acknowledged that at the time….Again, as far as this individual’s account, it’s one individual’s account, and I just can’t comment on it.White House Press Secretary Jay Carney • Responding to questions about the account of the raid that led to Osama bin Laden’s death, which appears in the upcoming book “No Easy Day.” Carney also told reporters that he’d not yet read the book, and therefore could not speak personally on why author Mark Owen’s story doesn’t line up with the official one released by the White House. For those in search of answers, he recommended that questions on the matter be directed to the Pentagon and/or Department of Justice. source (via • follow)
I have exhausted my knowledge about this subject. Usually, when someone hands me a beer I don’t ask how it was made, I just drink it.White House Press Secretary Jay Carney • Responding to a reporter’s questions about the process and recipe used by the Obamas for the White House homebrew. Having become the Beltway’s most recent obsession, following confirmation of the homebrew’s existence earlier this month, Carney was apparently tasked with spilling the beans on the name (White House Honey Ale), taste (like honey), and varieties available (light and dark) for consumption by those in the White House. Clearly, he thought there were more important matters worth discussing. To be fair, while we did get an amusing quote, he was probably right. source (via • follow)
There are things we can do short of legislation and short of gun laws that can reduce violence in our society.White House press secretary Jay Carney • Explaining that while President Obama supports a ban on the sale of assault weapons, he isn’t pushing for any new laws to be proposed on the matter. Gun control proponents had been momentarily cheered by a few remarks the President made to the National Urban League recently, saying “a lot of gun owners would agree that AK-47s belong in the hands of soldiers, not in the hands of criminals,” a statement that while quite believable, runs up against rigid opposition from the NRA, one of Washington’s most intransigent lobbies. As Carney made clear, though, the President won’t be taking up this legislative fight — at least not in the near term. We’d venture a guess that Mike Bloomberg isn’t happy about this. source (via • follow)
This is a remarkably harmonious place.White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, rebutting the new book “The Obamas” • Writer Jodi Kantor’s latest book, “The Obamas,” is all about life inside the White House, with a focus on Michelle Obama’s experiences. There have been quite a number of critics coming out, claiming that she got a lot wrong. Thanks to BuzzFeed, we learned that (excepting some smaller errors on her part) many of those criticisms haven’t held weight. source (via • follow)
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I’m not going to give you a time or a day.White House Press Secretary Jay Carney • Reminding us why we miss Robert Gibbs so much. Carney, offering a pretty weak answer on when Obama would directly address Libya, made the administration look the fool with an answer like this. While Carney said Obama would have an address on this issue in the “very near future,” details were lacking. It’s starting to look like Obama is not top-of-mind on this issue. This is bad. Gibbs would’ve been more direct than this. Obama looks like he’s got terrible PR. source (via • follow)
No options have been removed from the table.White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, when asked if sending troops was one of the options for military intervention in Libya. Carney added that ground troops was ‘not at the top of the list.’ The press briefing is airing now on CSPAN. (via pantslessprogressive)
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