BULLETIN - AT 7:23 P.M. ET:  Although it took an electron microscope to find it, some spine involving a foreign matter was detected today at the White House.  From Fox News:

The White House is taking offense at U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's comment that the United States is a "deadbeat" donor to the world body.

Press secretary Robert Gibbs said Thursday that Ban's word choice was "unfortunate," given that the U.S. is the largest contributor to the United Nations. The U.S. pays 22 percent of the organization's nearly $5 billion operating budget but is perennially late paying its dues.

Ban made the "'deadbeat" comment Wednesday during a private meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol.

COMMENT:  Good for Gibbs, at least in this case.  The secretaries-general of the UN always get captured by the organization's secretariat and become mouthpieces for the America-doesn't-do-enough crowd.  The UN ought to be happy we're still members of the club, and haven't asked its "diplomats" to leave New York by slow freighter.

March 12, 2009