Age of Incompetence

Cascading crises, serial gaffs followed by serial apologies from Palooka Joe Biden...

Everybody is talking about Ebola.  It's so serious that it has almost pushed the outbreak of nude celebrity selfies out of the news.

Meanwhile, ISIL rolls on, and the news isn't good...

President Barack Obama has called on the United Nations to endorse a US mandate that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, better known as ISIL, drop the word "Islamic" from its name.

"Muslims everywhere," insisted the president, "explicitly, forcefully and consistently reject the state's characterization as Islamic.  I have directed my UN ambassador, Samantha Power, to put forward in plenary UN assembly a binding resolution demanding the organization drop the word Islamic from its name."

Secretary of State John Kerry added that Muslims need to "reclaim Islam," and White House Spokesman Josh Earnest "strongly encourage(d)" the White House press corps to refer to the terrorist organization as simply SIL, insisting that using the old name was reinforcing anti-Muslim stereotypes.

But not all Muslims are applauding the Obama Administration's efforts. Many have written blog posts and created social media campaigns to criticize what they see as the US government's knee-jerk instinct to unfairly connect faraway atrocities to local Muslim communities.

"Why have they not stripped the word "Democratic" from North Korea's official title?" Abdul-Malik al Shababbi said as he stood in front of the White House with a group of peaceful protesters that included women in hijab and men in traditional Islamic attire.

Vice President Joe Biden met the protesters on the sidewalk and tried to diffuse the tension by suggesting they all go out for kebabs and falafel.

Tempers flared when the Vice President suggested the imam leading the peaceful protest go "relax, pop open a Penthouse magazine and have a relaxing shave" at the Vice President's favorite barber shop in Bethesda, where, according to Mr. Biden, "the staff is all babes, and man are they hot!"

An unnamed White House staffer told gathered reporters that an official apology would be forthcoming.