Obama nation: The devil you don’t know, Part II

This has been a bad week so far for Barack Obama.

Not only did he become the object of Internet derision for this picture, showing him in Kenyan dress, but he got an endorsement he probably wished he hadn’t from none other than the Nation of Islam’s Louis Farrakhan.

It’s not Obama’s only connection to Farrakhan. Obama’s mentor and pastor has long been friends with Farrakhan, so it’s a reasonable question whether Obama has ever met the renowned black racist leader.

On Monday, Farrakhan said of Obama: “This young man is the hope of the entire world that America will change and be made better.”

Farrakhan also compared Obama with Fard Muhammad, the founder of the Nation of Islam: “A black man with a white mother became a savior to us. …  A black man with a white mother could turn out to be one who can lift America from her fall.”

Obama’s reaction to the endorsement was essentially a shrug of the shoulders. We should want more from a man who would be our leader.

Marijuana U: Oakland Bogarts higher education

As if the San Francisco Bay Area doesn’t have a bad enough reputation already, along comes Oaksterdam University, a new trade school in Oakland that trains its students for jobs in California’s “medical marijuana industry.”

Tuition is $200 plus the price of two textbooks (no word on whether they’re smokable), and students learn things like cultivating pot, which strains of pot (such as the “Dude, That’s Righteous Weed” or the ever popular “I Didn’t Inhale” variety) are best for different ailments (such as real work).

Students also get instruction in the law and how to break it in such a way that neighbors will truly sympathize when the feds haul you away. And, of course, there’s also a lesson on cooking with cannabis, in case anyone gets the munchies.

Said school founder Richard Lee, 45, owner of his own “dispensary”: “My basic idea is to try to professionalize the industry and have it taken seriously as a real industry, just like beer and distilling hard alcohol.” Or midget wrestling.

So far, 60 students have completed the two-day weekend course, which is sold out through May, when the current crop runs out.

To complete the class, students are given a take-home test (unclear if it comes in a plastic baggy or pre-rolled), with the high scorer becoming class valedictorian — or, in the professional jargon, “dude, you’re like totally valedictorian!”

Students taking the course learn lots of helpful information on their way to becoming full-fledged doobie-laureates. For example, they learn the proper use of garbage cans full of plant food, how to upgrade electrical outlets to serve a fan and high-tech (dude, he said “high”) air filter, hydroponic gardening, and important tips like, don’t set booby traps to keep neighborhood kids out of your stash.

Students give various reasons for attending the course, though several mention the horrendous markup they get from their local dealer. One student was quoted by the Associated Press as saying, “I see it as a good thing. You are giving back to the community” — plus, dude, have you ever really looked at your hand?