BEN ALI, R.I.P.: Sad news for locals, as well as Kwame Kilpatrick: “WASHINGTON – Ben Ali, the founder of Ben’s Chili Bowl diner, a landmark in Washington’s black business and entertainment district and a frequent stop for politicians and celebrities, has died. He was 82.” [AP]

Yeah so former Nixon speechwriter and the *original* New York Times “lightning rod conservative” columnist William “Bill” Safire died yesterday. Whaddaya want us to do about it, jesus… Anyway, Gawker found the most interesting/brief way to Honor this, the most recent political death: with this TERRIFYING bit of alternate history Safire drafted for Nixon in the event that Armstrong and Aldrin got STUCK on the moon and had to just sit there and DIE. [Gawker]

BARACK OBAMA, JOINT CHIEFS, ROBERT GATES ARE ALL QUEERS: Barack Obama and Bob Gates hastily announced this morning that they were going to scrap George W. Bush’s massive plan for a long-range missile defense system in Eastern Europe in favor of a short- to medium-term new system that would be installed more quickly because THOSE ARE THE MISSILES IRAN IS BUILDING. Conservatives are reacting… let’s see here… oh look, by going fucking insane. [NYT, National Review]

As Afghanistan’s war-loving General McChrystal prepares to ask for more troops at the end of the month, will he get them, or will Obama be a massive vagina and say no fuck you? Bill Kristol, for one, thinks there ought be more troops! The Foreign Policy Initiative, Kristol’s new iteration of the famous Project for the New American Century, has gone back to its 90s-style out-of-power activist method of advocating for more newer wars: writing letters to the president about bombing people, and having lots of signatures. Just read the list of co-signatories on this thing: Max Boot, John Podhoretz, a million Kagans, Randy Scheunemann, and finally, the fire of Randy Scheunemann’s loins: Sarah Palin. We’ve never felt better about the “Afghanistan War,” have you? [FPI]