"Miss Negativity" was educated
at Princeton and Harvard Law, held a very high paying, figurehead job,
was married
to a U. S. Senator who was a leading candidate
for the presidency and still, she hates America.
The items on this page are in chronological
order or in order of discovery, starting in January, 2009.
Michelle Misleads
Michelle Obama set out Monday on a listening tour through the federal
bureaucracy, stopping first at the US Department of Education (DOE) to
thank employees for their service and rally them for the tough work
ahead.
"There's a lot of work to do and we're going to need you,"
Mrs. Obama said. "The children of this country are counting on all of
us."
In thanking the workers, she
told the DOE staff members, "I am a product of your work."
Michelle conveniently overlooked the
fact that the DOE was created by the Department of Education
Organization Act (Public Law 96-88), and was signed into law by
President Jimmy Carter on October 17, 1979. The DOE began
operating on May 4, 1980, when Michelle was entering her senior year of
high school.
Her hypocritical speech, espousing the importance of
the public schools system, also brought focus to the fact that her own
children have NEVER attended a public school. They recently
started attending the exclusive Sidwell Friends private school in the
capital that costs almost $30,000 each a year, and before that the girls
both attended the private University of Chicago Laboratory Schools,
where their mother was on the board.
Glamour?
CBS Early Show, co-host Russ Mitchell introduced a fawning
news brief on Michelle Obama’s first 50 days as First Lady: "In the
seven weeks since the new President was inaugurated, the new glamorous
First Lady has found her place in a glamorous world. Thalia
Assuras has a look at Michelle Obama's successful new life."
Assuras began her report: "Everyone wants an invitation to her parties.
She's graced several magazine covers. Even Oprah is giving up a
slice for the first time. She's the focus of fashionistas, those
buff arms igniting commentary, and websites produce constant chatter."
Assuras went on to describe how Michellle Obama had surpassed other
First Ladies: "Michelle Obama has created a stir like no other First
Lady...Style watchers caution that all new First Ladies cause
excitement, but Mrs. Obama is a celebrity who embodies a new
generation...That thing, that polls show, produces more positives than
recent First Ladies at the outset of past administrations."
Assuras spoke with Washington Post gossip columnist Amy Argetsinger, who
exclaimed: "People are sort of reacting to her the way they would to a
movie star...She's the youngest First Lady we've had in a while, but
she's also got a charisma about her. She's got the height of a
fashion model, she looks great in clothes. And, you know, there's
kind of that Jackie O thing going on."
The White House Garden
Michelle Obama is
scheduled to
break ground today on a new garden near the fountain on the South Lawn
that will supply the White House kitchen.
Princeton!
Harvard Law! And Barack has me growing collard greens.
She will be joined by
students from Bancroft Elementary School in the District of Columbia. The children will stay involved with the project, including planting the
fruits, vegetables and herbs in the coming weeks and harvesting the
crops later in the year.
Mrs. Obama spent time earlier this week
at an exhibit on rooftop gardening.
"We're going to get a big one
in our back yard, the South Lawn," she promised the volunteers.
Such a White House garden has been a dream of noted California chef
Alice Waters, considered a leader in the movement to encourage
consumption of locally grown, organic food. She has been appealing for
change through the taste buds since the 1960s.
She organized a
series of fundraising dinners in Washington before President Barack
Obama's inauguration in January that served foods purchased from local
producers at an area farmer's market to show how it can be done.
Reached Thursday at her Berkeley, Calif., restaurant, Chez Panisse,
Waters said she was thrilled by the news.
"It just tells you that
this country cares about people's good health and about the care of the
land," she said. "To have this sort of 'victory' garden, this message
goes out that everyone can grow a garden and have free food."
Victory gardens were vegetable gardens planted during the world wars
with encouragement from the government to make sure there was enough
food for civilians and the troops. Waters says her family had such a
garden.
Turns out the White
House "Dream" Garden was sown on top of lead-polluted soil, and was
abandoned.
Michelle's Fashion Sense
If you Google -- G-20 "Michelle Obama" fashion
-- Google returns hundreds of fawning articles praising the latest
American fashion icon, Michelle Obama.
The BBC
leads its
coverage thusly: "Michelle Obama fever hits the UK -- In the US she is
already a cover girl, gracing the front of glossy magazines like Vogue
and Hello."
You would think that one of the 500 retainers
accompanying the Obamas to the G-20 would have helped the "cover girl"
dress. It's obvious from this formal photograph, with Sarah Brown,
the wife of the UK's Prime Minister, that she has trouble
dressing herself -- look at how she has her sweater buttoned.
Michelle Steps Out In $540 Sneakers
Michelle
Obama has taken casual to a haute new level.
While
volunteering
Wednesday at a D.C. food bank, the First Lady sported her usual J.Crew
cardigan, a pair of utilitarian capri pants and, on her feet, a sneaky
splurge: trainers that go for $540.
That's right: These sneakers
-- suede, with grosgrain ribbon laces and metallic pink toe caps
-- are
made by French design house Lanvin, one of fashion's hottest labels. They come in denim and satin versions, and have been a brisk seller all
spring.
"They're shoes," the First Lady's reps sniffed when
curious reporters inquired about the fancy footwear.
Michelle Announces New Fund To Aid Nonprofits
Michelle Obama, ventured publicly into the policy realm on Tuesday,
announcing that the Obama administration planned to create a $50 million
"social innovation fund" to help finance and expand promising nonprofit
agencies.
The fund would offer financial support to nonprofit and
community groups that focus on education, health care and economic
mobility, among other issues, officials say. The administration plans to
encourage foundations, philanthropists and corporations to help raise
additional money for the program.
"The idea of the fund is
simple: find the most effective programs out there and then provide the
capital needed to replicate their success in communities around the
country."
Sounds good, doesn't it? What Michelle Obama is really
doing is sending your tax dollars to support her own Alinsky-style
community organizing group, Public Allies.
Not With My Wife
I was
told today that 0bama has not
traveled with his wife to any Muslim country, and that no official
Muslim leader ever travels with his wife.
Interesting. I didn't
notice it at the time, but indeed, you are correct: Mrs. Obama did skip
Turkey last month when the Obamas were on their European tour.
The headlines cried, "Disappointment," as Michelle Obama
skips trip to Turkey:
Suna Erdem, writing from Istanbul,
reported that Michelle Obama may have been the star
of the US President’s European show, but Turks were deprived of the
chance to see her when she chose to return to her children instead of
accompanying her husband to Ankara and Istanbul.
The US
president began his visit yesterday by laying a wreath at the tomb of
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkish state, before
travelling to the presidential palace for talks with President Abdullah
Gul.
Michelle Obama, however, returned to the US on Sunday.
Don't know if this is a fact. It will be interesting to see if
Michelle accompanies Obama to Egypt for his big speech to the Muslim
world.
The Queen Of Arts
Michelle Obama, has added a new string to her
bow as "minister of culture" in her husband’s administration.
The heads of New York’s most prestigious cultural institutions are in no
doubt that she intends to play an active policy-making role in the arts
world after they were summoned to meet her last week.
"She was
speaking in a way the minister of culture would speak, even though such
a position doesn’t exist in America," said Peter Gelb, the manager of
the Metropolitan Opera in New York. "It was as if she was almost
an arts policy-maker on behalf of the White House and the president.
It was highly unusual."
Obama dazzled arts leaders when she attended
the opening of the renovated American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of
Art in New York last Monday in a purple V-neck dress designed by Isaac
Mizrahi.
Flopping Aces
thought we
had a serious financial crisis that required everyone to sacrifice?
Yes friends, Obama and Michelle had another of their famous "date
nights" Saturday. Instead of clogging traffic in Washington, D.C. to
visit a restaurant, they hopped on the Marine One helicopter to Andrews
Air Force Base, jumped on Air Force One (a Gulfstream 500, not the 747)
then flew up to New York City followed by TWO OTHER PLANES for staff and
press (the 747 would have been cheaper).
Upon landing in New York
several more helicopters, limos, vans, police, military and other staff
were waiting to escort them to Blue Hill restaurant on Washington Place
and later a Broadway play: "Joe Turner’s Come and Gone" at the Belasco
Theater.
Imagine for a moment the "news" media reaction if
President Bush had taken Laura out for a night in New York with half the
Secret Service, the U.S. Military, New York’s finest and the news media
tagging along at taxpayer expense?
As it is, the only criticism
one could find predictably comes from the Republican National Committee
whose spokesperson, Gail Gitcho commented on the hard times facing
Americans and the prospect of General Motors entering bankruptcy while
the Obama’s party it up. She added: "If President Obama wants to go to
the theater, isn’t the Presidential box at the Kennedy Center good
enough?"
It’s bad enough that the taxpayers were left with a bill
for hundreds of thousands of dollars for staff, security, military and
police time. It’s also the fact that all these people had to give up
their Saturday night with their families to spend it so the Obamas could
cause massive traffic jams all over New York inconveniencing thousands
more.
But as we have all come to expect from Obama, what happens
to the little people is of no consequence to him. After all, it’s all
about him isn’t it?
Michelle's Conspicuous Absence
The White House
confirmed yesterday that Michelle, the two daughters, and his
mother-in-law will fly today to the City of Lights to join Obama, who
has scheduled meetings with French officials and will appear at a
ceremony today in Normandy marking the 65th anniversary of D-Day.
So, Michelle didn't accompany Obama to Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Why?
Back
in April, Michelle
didn't accompany Obama to Turkey either. Why? She went
with him to London on the same trip.
Why doesn't Obama take the
wife to Muslim countries?
The excuse in April was that Michelle
Obama had always planned to go home to see her children. "She wanted to
be back home on Sunday night ahead of the kids' school," said a White
House spokesman.
Did
Michelle decide not to accompany Obama because she didn’t want to be
involved with the head scarf crowd? If she wore a head scarf she
would offend Americans, if she didn't she would offend Muslims.
Or did Michelle decide not to accompany Obama because she didn’t want to
go to a country where she would have been treated as a third-class
person?
Obama should tell us why Michelle never accompanies him
to a Muslim country. After all, he seems to really enjoy visiting
his brothers in Islam.
Obama Marriage On Brink Of Collapse
It was
not always wedded bliss for the First Couple. A new book, "Renegade,"
about Mr. Obama's unlikely run for the presidency, recounts a tense
period in 2000 when the Obamas' marriage was on the brink of collapse
because of his restless political hunger and the family's shattered
finances.
"There was little conversation and even less romance,"
wrote the Birmingham-born Mr. Wolffe, who covered Obama's campaign for
Newsweek magazine. "She was angry at his selfishness and careerism; he
thought she was cold and ungrateful."
At the time, Mr. Obama was
stuck on the lowest step of the political ladder. As a mere state
senator in Illinois, he had challenged a popular incumbent in a
Democratic primary by running against Bobby Rush, a former Black Panther
from Chicago. Mr. Obama was trounced by a dismal 2-1 margin.
His
wife was new to motherhood, at home with their first daughter Malia,
just two years old at the time. "She hated the failed race for Congress
in 2000, and their marriage was strained by the time their younger
daughter, Sasha, was born. Politics seemed like a waste of time to
Michelle," the book says.
Mr. Obama's troubles were compounded
when he discovered that he was not on the guest list for the 2000
Democratic National Convention that year, because he had annoyed party
officials. With maxed out credit cards he took the cheapest flight to
Los Angeles where he found himself excluded from the convention floor. That was a mere eight years ago.
Flopping Aces
reports that it took a Boeing 757 and a fleet of
armored cars for Michelle’s taxpayer-paid sight seeing tour!
Michelle One
On Sunday, Obama flew back to the
United States on Air Force One. His wife, two daughters and her mother
did a bit of shopping in Paris before taking their own Boeing 757 (C-32)
over to London to do some sight seeing.
We all remember Obama’s
admonishment to corporate CEO’s in February:
"You can’t get
corporate jets, you can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas or go down to the
Super Bowl on the taxpayers dime."
Apparently that doesn’t apply
to his wife.
The London Times opened it’s description of
Michelle’s visit this way:
Motorcycle outriders, armored
Chevrolets and bullet-headed men in raincoats criss-crossed London
yesterday as Michelle Obama and her daughters spent a second day on an
unofficial visit to the capital.
Michelle’s motorcade shut down
London streets as the First Lady of the World and her children
go for Fish and Chips at a pub in Mayfair. The entourage inside the
restaurant was 15 people while dozens more wait outside. Include the
dozens of Air Force personnel to fly and service the plane, embassy
personnel and other staff and we are talking about a serious expenditure
of tax payer dollars.
Meanwhile, millions of Americans have lost
their jobs and won’t be able to take their family on a summer holiday.
Despite their circumstances they’ll still be expected to fork over the
tax dollars to pay for Michelle’s trip.
Michelle Obama’s European Vacation
America
may be in the midst of a deep recession, and the nation may be facing
unprecedented deficit spending and debt, but the White House will not
reveal the cost to taxpayers of the European vacation that first lady
Michelle Obama and her two daughters, Malia and Sasha, took last month.
Travel by an American first lady typically includes the military
passenger jet that carries her and the children, Secret Service
personnel to provide security, and a separate cargo plane to haul
official vehicles.
Michelle Obama’s tour of Paris with her
children included a convoy of 20 vehicles, according to news reports.
She also moved by "motorcade" through London. The full cost of
such a trip would also include the expense of meals and lodging for
Secret Service agents and possibly other staff.
In response to
inquiries from CNSNews.com last week about the cost to taxpayers of the
first lady’s European vacation, the White House did not provide a
figure.
"Like previous administrations, the first lady will
follow all the rules and regulations that are related to reimbursement
for personal travel," Michelle Obama’s press secretary Katie McCormick
Lelyveld told CNSNews.com in a written response.
CNSNews.com
inquiries to the White House on the cost of the trip were made by both
phone and e-mail on June 30, July 1, July 2 and July 3.
Though
White House rules for vacations, or unofficial travel, requires
reimbursing the government the equivalent to the cost of what a
commercial flight would have been, such a reimbursement would amount to
only a fraction of the total cost of the first lady’s European trip.
Barack Obama joined the Chicago law
firm, Sidley Austin, as a summer intern in 1989. That's where
he
met his future wife, Michelle Robinson, who
was his adviser.
Michelle obtained her Juris Doctor
degree from Harvard Law School in 1988. Obama began Harvard
Law School in in the fall of the same year. They were never at
law school at the same time. This is just another senseless
Obama lie to add to the ever-growing list.
A separate issue is, why does
Obama tell so many needless lies? Further down the page is an
item about Obama's birthplace. Obama has personally claimed to
be born in two separate hospitals.
What is wrong with him?
First Lady Requires 26 Servants
Michelle Obama is served by twenty-six attendants, including a hair
dresser and make-up artist.
The annual cost to taxpayers for
such unprecedented attention is approximately $1,750,000, without
taking into account the expense of the lavish benefit packages
afforded to every attendant.
Little did American voters
realize the call for "change" would result in the establishment of
an Obama oligarchy.
The discovery of the additional
attendants was made by D’Angelo Gore of factcheck.org and by calls
to Katie McCormick Lelyyeld, Michelle Obama’s press secretary.
Mr. Gore launched his investigation of the First Lady’s staff in
the wake of an article that appeared on thelastcrusade.org and
Canada Free Press on July 7.
The article, which became a
chain letter viewed by millions of Americans, reported that Michelle
Obama requires more than twenty attendants -- more than any First
Lady in U.S. History. It provided the following list of White
House staff members assigned to the First Lady:
In a modern day version straight out of Marie Antoinette, Michelle
Obama went
shopping for organic salad ingredients -- with several hundred
people who came to watch -- shouting to the came-out-of-nowhere throngs,
"Let’s shop"!
Let’s shop, Michelle Obama style -- was conducted
among wailing sirens and ringing cowbells!
"The Secret Service
and the D.C. police brought in three dozen vehicles and shut down H.
Street, Vermont Avenue, two lanes of I Street and an entrance to the
McPherson Square Metro station. (The Washington Post, Sept. 18,
2009). "They swept the area, in front of the Department of
Veterans Affairs, with bomb-sniffing dogs and installed magnetometers in
the middle of the street, put up barricades to keep pedestrians out, and
took positions with binoculars atop trucks. Though the produce
stand was only a block or so from the White House, the first lady hopped
into her armored limousine and pulled into the market amid the wail of
sirens."
"I’ve learned that when my family eats fresh food,
healthy food, that it really affects how we feel, how we get through the
day…whether there’s a Cabinet meeting or whether we’re just walking the
dog," said Mrs. Obama.
No Sacrifice Too Great For Michelle Obama
Thomas Lifson
says that Michelle Obama has once again uttered words that reveal
her self-absorbed interior life. Speaking in Copenhagen, she
referred to her trip as a "sacrifice." Byron York
caught it yesterday:
"As much of a sacrifice as people say this is
for me or Oprah or the president to come for these few days," the
first lady told a crowd of people involved in the Chicago project,
"so many of you in this room have been working for years to bring
this bid home."
"People say"? Who on earth has been telling
Michelle that she is sacrificing something for the American people?
Since when is one sacrificing herself by carrying out the duties of
First Lady?
There is a victim mentality at work here. Life
is unfair. This is a woman who sees herself put-upon by life, the
victim of forces beyond her control. And she lives in the White
House!
Aside from the obvious fact that this is a glamorous,
luxurious trip on a private jet, a staying in the fanciest
accommodations type of excursion, anyone who looks at her job as a
sacrifice has what most employers call a "bad attitude." She
fought hard for this job, and has used its perks to the max, including a
fabulous family shopping trip to Paris. Face it: Michelle loves
living large.
Copenhagen is a wonderful place to visit, and the
shopping is fabulous, particularly if money is not an issue.
Danish design and quality are legendary in a wide range of home
furnishings.
What kind of person pities herself over jetting off
with her home town pal Oprah, with Hubby flying in later to join the
girls?
I'd answer that
question but hubby would have the Secret Service at my doorstep in a
heartbeat.
Be The First On Your Block...
...to own the Michelle
Obama action figure -- only $12.99
The company that created the Barack Obama action figure
announced it's releasing a miniature plastic version of the
usurper-in-chief's better half, according to the New York Daily
News.
Jailbreak Toys designed the Michelle Obama action
figure to show off her toned arms -- and features the first lady in
three different sleeveless dresses. The Michelle figurines retail
for $12.99 apiece and are due to hit stores on Nov. 20.
"Batman has nothing on Michelle Obama," Manhattan mom Eileen Ramos
told the paper. "I bought the Barack figure last year but I think
Michelle is the one with the real superpowers in the family."
Interesting -- Jailbreak
Toys -- could be an omen of things to come, Barry?
Fashion's Star?
Audacity of Hypocrisy blog reports that Glamour magazine says U.S.
first lady Michelle Obama is fashion’s star, but that’s not why
she’s one of Glamour’s December cover models.
Mrs. Obama’s
work in mentoring earned her the spot, which will be rotated with
four other covers. She’ll receive a special recognition in the
annual Women of the Year issue that goes on newsstands Nov. 10.
In an interview with new Glamour columnist and CBS anchor Katie
Couric, Mrs. Obama said being a role model is one of the most
potentially powerful things she can do at the White House.
"I
see how little bits of exposure and big bits of exposure really
change my girls significantly, and I want that for more girls around
the country and the world," she said.
What are the chances that
Michelle Obama would be on the cover of Glamour magazine if she were
still steering
patients with non-urgent complaints away from the University of
Chicago Medical Center's emergency room to local clinics.
The
artist that did the airbrush work on that cover deserves an
invitation to the white house.
Guiliani Ousted For Michelle
Usually it's considered common courtesy to give up your seat to a
woman -- but Rudy Giualiani was reportedly none too pleased when he had
to
vacate his prized spot at Yankee Stadium ... to the First Lady.
The former mayor of New York City always sits near the Yankee
dugout, but according to Page Six he was relegated to behind the
photographers' box for Game 1 of the World Series because Michelle Obama
was given the seats instead.
The paper says it was the White
House that didn't want Giuliani near Michelle, but get this: she didn't
even sit in the seats because of the weather and they remained
unoccupied for the whole game.
Giuliani got his seat back for
Game 2, which the Yankees won.
Just symptomatic of the Obama's general sense of entitlement.
Gag!
Who writes this crap?
Michelle Obama has become the
mistress to American fashion. "The first lady the world's been
waiting for," blazes the March cover of Vogue (slide
show), where Mrs. Obama appears
in a fuchsia dress by Jason Wu, the young talent she helped turn into an
overnight star. No first lady since Jacqueline Kennedy has had a
more instantaneous impact on fashion. Whatever Mrs. Obama wears,
people notice and very often buy.
Despite the close study that
people have made of Mrs. Obama's style, it is not known that her
wardrobe is being managed largely by a boutique owner in Chicago. Ikram
Goldman, whose store is called Ikram, has played an unprecedented role
since the election, serving as gatekeeper between the fashion industry
and the first lady.
You've
all been wondering who dresses Michelle -- well, here she/he/it is:
Explains a lot . . .
Obama’s Bitter Half
Herb Denenberg says, I never thought I’d find as big a fraud, phony,
faker, fibber and hypocrite in high places as Barack Hussein Obama.
But I found one. Obama is married to her.
Of course, I know
that if you criticize the First Lady, the Obamas immediately go into
their standard mode, claiming victimhood and racism. Recall when
Mrs. Obama made her infamous remark about being proud of America but did
so only after her husband was running for president. After getting
hit with criticism, the Obamas went on ABC’s "Good Morning America" to
denounce "low class" and "detestable" criticism. Obama declared
his wife to be a "civilian" and exempt from such criticism, as she
"didn’t sign up for this." Of course, those that closely follow
the Obamas, get the feeling that they think they are above criticism,
and any criticism is illegitimate and quickly branded as part of the
"old politics" or "playing games."
Here’s the way Michelle Malkin
put it in her masterpiece on team Obama, entitled Culture of Corruption:
Obama and His Team of Tax Cheats, Crooks, and Cronies: "Mrs. Obama most
certainly signed up for heightened public scrutiny of her public words
and deeds. She signed for it the minute she voluntarily stepped on
the campaign trail to sell her husband as America’s soul-fixer.
She signed up for it when she made herself a public spokesman for
working mothers and chief public surrogate for her husband’s legislative
agenda. She signed up for it when she consciously and continuously
milked liberal bitterness on the campaign trail to drum up votes for her
husband. If she couldn’t stand what little heat she was exposed to
during the presidential election season, she should have refrained from
grabbing the closest microphone to complain repeatedly about America’s
health care, lack of compassion and the evil lure of corporate America."
And, I might add, she also signed up for criticism when she speaks
to her husband about personnel decisions and White House management and
when she is her "husband’s chief interpreter of public sentiment" -- as
reported in the Obama campaign organ and lapdog also known as the New
York Times, now noted for its biased, dishonest and fraudulent
journalism.
Another standard Obama maneuver is to claim racism.
There is an example of this as far back as Mrs. Obama’s days as a
student at Princeton. As brilliantly documented by Ms. Malkin,
Mrs. Obama’s senior thesis at Princeton, titled Princeton-Educated
Blacks and the Black Community, showed her bemoaning "her racial
otherness." The aggrieved Ivy Leaguer accused her university of
pushing her down the dreaded path toward "further integration and/or
assimilation into a white cultural and social structure that will only
allow me to remain on the periphery of society, never becoming a full
participant."
She was offered every advantage America can offer,
but she still endlessly complained about her victimhood. Of
course, she was wrong about the white culture and social structure,
which almost immediately after her graduation from Princeton and then
Harvard Law School, gave her every insider advantage possible, and a
veritable flood of high-level opportunity. Even after she and her
husband had become millionaires, she was still complaining about her old
student loans and budgetary limitations.
A distraught Oprah Winfreyis
telling pals her "thank you" for
helping Barack Obama win the presidency has been a knife in the back.
A jealous first lady has frozen
the talk queen out of the White
House inner circle, say insiders.
"Oprah is devastated," revealed a friend.
"She had no idea that Michelle
was so jealous about the influence she had on Barack. She hated
the way her husband would huddle with Oprah over strategy and jump when
she called.
"The jealousy and anger was eating up Michelle.
During the campaign, she vowed Oprah would not be a part of the new
administration.
"Oprah had visions of being a close adviser to the
president and a regular visitor to the White House. She was
actually planning to redecorate the famous Lincoln bedroom, which is
reserved for special guests of the first family.
"But in the
first 10 months of the Obama administration, Oprah has visited the White
House only twice, and one visit was for a business meeting to do an
interview with Michelle for O
magazine.
"And that was a disaster.
Oprah arrived with her friend Gayle King, but was shocked to find
Michelle cold and distant. Worse, she all but ignored Oprah and
directed her attention to Gayle. It was as though Oprah wasn't
even there."
The meeting got off to a bad start when Oprah, 55,
greeted Michelle. The TV
host
leaned to kiss her cheek, but the first lady stepped back and extended
her hand instead.
Then Michelle, 45, seemed to ignore a question
Oprah asked about the Obama children, instead taking a question from an
aide and then returning only to chat with Gayle again - ignoring or
forgetting Oprah's question.
By the end of the day, Oprah
felt roundly snubbed.
"Since then, Oprah has tried again and again to
mend the rift," said the friend. "But she's had no luck.
Michelle has made it clear she is no longer interested in being friends
with Oprah and is going to block her from access to the President."
Pahhhhh-Tee!
While many Americans are facing a bleak holiday season, Chicago's
Lynn Sweet
gushes over the fact that the Obamas have 28 White House parties
planned over the few weeks with more than 50,000 people expected to
attend.
When asked for details about the upcoming party season,
Camille Johnston, communications chief for Michelle Obama, said, "This
holiday season, more than 50,000 people will visit the White House's 17
holiday parties and 11 open houses."
Michelle is thrilled,
she'll get 28 new designer dresses, accessorized by a variety of gaudy
belts.
The Obamas love a
good party -- and why not? It's not their money they're spending.
It's ours. And every one of the 50,000 guests will owe Obama a favor.
Poor
Barack, he'll be so worn out from his hectic, one-a-day get-downs, that
he'll have to take January off to recover -- although he'd do less
damage to the country if he did.
Woman Arrested After Michelle Threat
Breitbart is
reporting that authorities say a woman accused of telling the Secret
Service she would "blow away" Michelle Obama was in
federal custody Tuesday as the Obama family planned to travel to
Hawaii.
The Secret Service says Kristy Lee Roshia called its
Boston office last month and told a receptionist, "I will kill Michelle
Obama" and "I will kill Marines." Roshia also is suspected of
mailing photographs of herself, poems and love letters to the Secret
Service.
Agents arrested Roshia on Saturday after she told them
she knew where Barack Obama and his wife will be staying during a visit
to the islands later this week.
Kristy Lee Roshia, 35, was charged with threatening a family member
of the president and assaulting a federal agent after being arrested
Saturday less than two miles from the Kailua home where the Obama
family planned to stay during a holiday visit later this week.
Roshia called the Secret Service's Boston office last month and told
a receptionist, "I will kill Michelle Obama" and "I will kill
Marines," according to a Secret Service affidavit. During the
same call, she said she would "blow away" Michelle Obama, the
document states.
Roshia has a history of leaving rambling messages and sending poems,
love letters and photographs of herself to the Secret Service,
according to the affidavit. As early as 2004, she told the
agency that "although her mission is to assassinate the president,
she has no desire to hurt him," the document states.
The affidavit said Roshia acknowledged to Secret Service agents
before her arrest that she had threatened Michelle Obama. It
also says Roshia said she knew where Obama would be staying in
Hawaii, and the reason she had traveled to Hawaii in September was
"to protect Obama."
Roshia was also charged with lunging at a Secret Service agent,
striking him in the arms and face during her arrest.
She was being held without bail pending a Wednesday detention
hearing.
Let Them Eat Cake
It may have been a surprise to her, but Saturday night's birthday
dinner celebration for Michelle Obama at the high-end Restaurant Nora in
Washington was in the works for two weeks.
Chief Benjamin Lambert
tells The Washington Post he had plenty of time to prepare for the
first couple's first visit to the posh organic eatery in Dupont Circle.
And he claims he wasn't nervous, not for a minute, even as two Secret
Service agents stood guard in the kitchen while he prepared their meal:
a special lamb dish for her, and pan-seared Maine lobster and saffron
risotto for him.
They drank Spottswood sauvignon blanc. And
after nearly four hours of partying in an upstairs private room at Nora,
Obama took photos with the wait staff and waded through the kitchen,
shaking hands with the cooks and waiters and thanking them for their
efforts to fete his wife, who turns 46 on Sunday.
The party
guests included the first lady's mother, Marian Robinson, Attorney
General Eric Holder and his wife, Sharon Malone, White House adviser
Valerie Jarrett, Susan Sher, the first lady's chief of staff, and the
Obamas' good friends from Chicago, Eric and Cheryl Whitaker.
Also
on the scene, as always, was Obama's all-purpose body man, the towering
Reggie Love.
It wasn't hard for unsuspecting patrons -- including
this reporter -- to figure out who, too, was dining at Nora on Saturday.
All at the restaurant were mildly interrogated, wanded and frisked upon
entering by Secret Service agents. A bevy of black SUVs, a police
car and agents with ear pieces hovered outside. And by the time
the Obamas left, just after 10 pm, a crowd of bystanders gathered on the
corner and sang "Happy Birthday" to Mrs. Obama.
Just about the
only person around who didn't seem fazed was Chef Lambert, who
previously worked at New York's famed Le Cirque. "I've cooked for
every president since Gerald Ford," he said. All of them, save for
Bill Clinton and now Obama, were former presidents by the time they
feasted on Lambert's delicacies.
It's good to be the Obamas --
another day, another party. The U. S. economy in shambles.
Up to 50,000 dead in Haiti. And these two just party on -- at the
expense of the American taxpayer.
Related:
YouPolls.com is asking, "Is Obama out of touch?" -- at 7 AM, Sunday
morning, the results were: "Yes" = 92% and "No" = 7.8%.
Michelle Obama Stocked White House Library With Books On
Socialism
Gateway Pundit
says Rob Port visited the White House today and took this picture in the
library -- "The American Socialist Movement," "The Socialist Party of
America," and ""The Social Basis Of American Communism" -- it figures. Michelle Obama stocked the White House Library with
books on socialism and communism.
The Obama's Aren't Profligate, You Say?
Cornell McClellan can
boast that he's got about the biggest-assed celebrities you can as clients
-- the first couple.
McClellan, a personal trainer who owns a
gym called Naturally Fit in Barack and Michelle Obama's hometown of
Chicago, is still helping them keep in shape -- he flies to Washington
about once a week, mostly to work with the first lady, but sometimes
Obama, as well.
Michelle Obama was referred to McClellan by one
of his clients 13 years ago. He began working with Mr. Obama about
nine years ago. McClellan laughingly admits he's the one
responsible for Mrs. Obama's famous arms.
He says Obama is an
all-around athlete. "He likes to mix it up," McClellan told CBS
News. "He loves to run, work out with weights, basketball, golf."
McClellan says he's shown both Obamas boxing moves he
demonstrated on The Early Show Saturday Edition." Such moves, he
says, help keep the whole body in shape, from triceps to abs and
obliques to upper thighs.
Triceps, abs and obliques, maybe? But I noticed that McClellan
isn't taking credit for the glutes. Maybe the pizza guy that flies
in the Obama's pizza from Missouri, 850 miles away, is responsible for
those.
You know McClellan isn't flying coach on his weekly
visits, and the round-trip business class on Delta is $1,985.80.
Once you factor in the guy's fee and travel expenses, the Obama's are
spending $5,000 per week, or $250,000 per year, on a personal trainer.
That's your money.
Is This The White House, Or Big Mamma's House?
Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson
believes
Michelle Obama's "Let's Move"
campaign to control childhood obesity is an attempt by the White
House and the federal government to shackle the food industry and limit
the choices of Americans.
This ambitious campaign which includes
$1 billion in federal money to improve school breakfast and lunches is
another example of the Obama nanny state. First, we had Obama
trying to force his socialist government-run health care plan on the
American public -- now we have the first lady trying to control the
nation's diet -- is this the White House, or big mamma's house?
Yes, parents should feed their kids healthy diets and the public schools
should raise their standards and offer healthy alternatives -- but we
don't need to dump more tax-payer dollars into failing government
programs. Furthermore, the federal government has no business
attempting to control what American parents feed their kids. They
also don't have the right to dictate to private companies what types of
foods and beverages they can sell to consumers and vendors.
The
First Lady wants to pave her legacy on the backs of American children,
but this attempt to control the American diet and an entire industry is
destined to fail like ObamaCare. The road to hell is paved with
good intentions and that's exactly where the "Let's Move" campaign and
the Obama's socialist agenda would take this nation. Mrs. Obama,
keep your hands off our children!
Never heard of a first lady that
had a billion dollar budget before. That billion is going to come
from you and your kids, so the Obama's can feed someone else's kids.
This is simply more black nationalist reparations and socialist
redistribution -- remember what Michelle
said during
the campaign, ""The truth is, in
order to get things ..., someone is going to have to give up a piece of
their pie so that someone else can have more."
The Obama's
proved they couldn't handle their own personal finances during the
nineties, so Barack gives the bride a billion to keep her busy.
These profligates are destroying the nation's finances.
Michelle Continues To Live Large
The Daily News is
reporting that Michelle Obama and her daughters flew to New York to
catch a Broadway show while her husband stayed in Washington dismantling
the health care system.
Michelle, Sasha, 8, and Malia, 11,
and about a dozen other people in tow, took in the matinee performance
of "Memphis" Sunday.
Security blocked off 44th Street outside the
Shubert Theatre when their motorcade arrived after disrupting Sunday
traffic in from the airport. Obama, the girls and their friends
were hustled in through a side door to seats reserved in the first four
rows of the theater.
"They didn't make an announcement but when
they came in, everybody noticed and started taking pictures. Then
people started clapping too and there was a standing ovation for them,"
said Terri Mertz, one surprised audience member. "I knew she was
tall but I didn't realize she was that tall!," said Mertz, referring to
the hulking First Lady, who was wearing a
black dress.
Secret Service members, alarmed by the rash of
audience members who reached for cellphones and digital cameras to
photograph the First Gals, warned at intermission that they would
confiscate anyone who tried to take anymore pictures.
Shortly
before the end of the song that signaled the intermission, the Obamas
and their entourage were escorted out, interrupting the performance and
returned after the other audience members were seated. Once again
disrupting the show.
After the show, the audience remained seated
as the royals again walked up the aisle, and the girls smiled and waved
to the hoi poloi.
The musical tells the story of a white DJ, Huey
Calhoun, in 1950s segregated Tennesse; his love for a black singer,
Felicia Powell, and the then underground sound that gave birth to rock
and roll.
I am all little
puzzled at the reporter's account of the Secret Service warning.
Did the Secret Service really threaten to confiscate people who took
pictures of Michelle? Is being confiscated a new kind of political
arrest? Can you only be confiscated for offending members of the
Obama family, or can you be confiscated for other reasons? There
should be no confiscation without representation.
Now, Here's A Surprise
Breitbart
is reporting that Michelle Obama said she favored diversity on the
nation's top court, wading into risky political waters as her husband
weighs his second pick to the bench.
Asked in an interview with
MSNBC television her preference for the upcoming nomination to the
Supreme Court, Michelle Obama said of her husband: "I think he knows
what he's doing in this instance."
"Diversity in this country is
a good thing whether it's gender or race or socio-economic background or
religion. You know, that's the world I come from," she said.
"The more views and experiences at the table make for better
outcomes."
Obamas' Do As I Say, Not As I Do File
Thomas Lifson says
here's another one for the Obamas' "Do as I say, not as I do" file.
America's First Couple loves to hector us about our failings.
We are racist, our police act stupidly, and (most annoyingly), we eat
the wrong stuff and we're too fat.
But when the rubber hits the
road in the Obamas' own life, well then the rules don't apply. The
latest example: The Commander in Chief helped himself to a plateful of
10 deep fried Buffalo wings at Duff's Famous Wings in Buffalo.
Buffalo wings are indeed tasty, and if I were to return to Buffalo, I
would surely have a plateful of them myself, along with the traditional
blue cheese dressing.
But I would also gain some weight, and I do
not have the East African tall and slender build enjoyed by Obama (but
not his wife, who has rather more of a struggle to attain a fashionably
svelte bodily habitus). But notably, I am not in the business of
telling other people what they should eat and how fat they are.
When Michelle Obama eagerly took on the role of National Food Scold, I
thought there was trouble ahead. It's bad enough that a first
couple enamored of gassing up Air Force One for a "date night" on
Broadway tells us to curb our energy use and learn to get along with
less. But telling overweight people to stop stuffing their faces
while simultaneously indulging in fatty foods is an even more personal
level of chutzpah.
Hypocrisy is a hard sell.
Nouveau Riche Obamas Pour It On
Hot Air blog
says, don’t look to the current residents of the White House for
dignity, or a sense of the gravitas of the presidency. In their
world, classy = expensive, and more is more. And don’t look for
any acknowledgment from the Obamas' behavior (words don’t count) that
many Americans are hurting financially. Byron York
reports:
At a time when the unemployment rate stands
at 9.9 percent, when jobs are still being lost, when worries about
the global economy are causing breathtaking volatility on Wall
Street, when millions of Americans who still have jobs are worrying
more than ever about the safety of their retirement savings -- at a
time when all that is going on, the Obama White House has turned
itself into a showcase of glitzy extravagance.
Instead of the
elaborate pavilion
constructed at unknown expense for the first state dinner, we have an
enormous "marquee" tricked
out at unknown expense into the Obamas' idea of a
real classy nightclub, for
the after-dinner partay:
R&B diva Beyonce topped the entertainment
bill for the dinner, taking place in the East Room of the White
House, with the action later moving to a luxury marquee on the South
Lawn of the presidential mansion. The marquee, the size of
two-thirds of a football field, decked out in elaborate black decor
and nightclub-style lighting, featured a stage and baskets of
flowers and models of Monarch butterflies dangling from the ceiling.
Commoners can get a
glimpse of the
glitz from the White House flicker feed. Here’s one of Barack
and Michelle gettin' down:
All that’s missing is the fiddle.
Queen Michelle Still Has Problems With
America
Michelle Obama to NAACP: "America Is Still Unequal" for blacks
(01:03) YouTube
link
Inside The FLOTUS Office
The Oval Office is nearly as
familiar an image as the president himself. But the first lady’s
work space is the opposite: rarely photographed or mentioned by the
press. Yet it’s a busy, highly trafficked part of the White House,
where Michelle Obama makes phone calls, holds meetings, hosts visitors
and conducts interviews. As she garners ever more attention for
her initiatives, world travels and social engagements, we find ourselves
wondering: What does her East Wing office look like?
With the
help of White House aides, who shared details about the space and
provided photos, POLITICO has
assembled a peek at where FLOTUS gets her work done. One
thing’s for sure: The space is a far cry from the Oval Office.
Obama, who redecorated the space last summer, has gone for something
more casual than the gold tones of the Oval Office: an off-white,
overstuffed, living-room-type couch -- with floral and other printed
pillows -- along with two brown-and-cream-patterned chairs. The
space is painted a warm, cozy peach color, and the windows feature
plantation-style shutters rather than curtains or blinds.
In lieu of a personal desk, Obama asked that a
round, 10-person table be brought in so that her staff can gather around
it for meetings.
Over the past year, artwork has gone up on the
walls, too. There’s a vibrant Mark Rothko on loan from the
National Gallery of Art, as well as "On the Way," a colorful piece by
Jacob Lawrence, from The Phillips Collection, which shows
African-American men and women moving through the streets.
FLOTUS’s office also displays about 10 photographs of the family,
scattered along a wall of bookshelves. (The public got a rare,
tiny glimpse of those shelves when Obama taped her first live online
chat about her childhood obesity initiative for AOL. "Welcome to
my White House office," she said, sitting in front of books including
Sylvia Porter’s "Money Book" and Jacques Cousteau’s "The Ocean World,"
as well as family portraits in silver frames and a bowl of apples.)
The office is also decorated with a photo of a military family -- a
gift she received while at Fort Bragg -- and a poster from the kids
inaugural concert that took place in the days before her husband was
sworn in.
Much like her predecessor, Laura Bush, Obama splits
her time between the office and her work space in the residence, which
overlooks the Rose Garden and the Oval Office. According to the
National First Ladies Library, Rosalynn Carter also made use of her East
Wing office, though first ladies including Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush,
Betty Ford and Jackie Kennedy preferred to work in the residence.
30 Rooms!
Earth Times is
reporting that Michelle Obama has reserved about 30 rooms for
herself and her daughter, their friends and bodyguards at a five-star
hotel in Benahavis near Marbella, hotel sources said.
The US
first lady did not make any special requests, hotel owner Ricardo Arranz
said, explaining that the hotel would function normally during her stay.
Mother and daughter would come to the southern holiday resort of
Marbella on a "private visit in the company of old friends," the source
told the German Press Agency.
US President Barack Obama will not
accompany his wife, the source said.
Spanish media reports said
Michelle Obama and her younger daughter Sasha, 9, would be on Spain's
Costa del Sol between August 4 and 8.
The profligate Obamas
continue their imperial ways.
And it
will take a 747 for the entourage of 50 to 60 friends, bodyguards and
handmaidens, and a C-17 for the vehicles.
Ahhhhh! The power of the pen . . .
Related:The Obamas are taking 4
vacations in one month, and in an unbelievable display of hypocrisy,
Obama had the pure gall to say, "Our finances have suffered, too," and we’re "not that far
removed from what most Americans are going through."
Spanish Resort City Prepares For Queen
Michelle
The Spanish resort of Marbella, often
associated with Arab princes and crime lords,
geared up Tuesday to welcome US First Lady Michelle Obama, with
authorities eyeing a boost in tourist revenues.
A huge billboard
in the Mediterranean city proclaimed "Welcome Obama Family" in the red
white and blue colors of the US flag, with Obama and her youngest
daughter Sasha, nine, due to arrive on Wednesday for their multi-million
dollar holiday.
"Thank you for choosing Marbella!", the billboard
beamed.
The trip is a private mother-daughter holiday with
long-time family friends, the White House announced last week, denying
Spanish news reports that Barack Obama, who celebrates his 49th birthday
on Wednesday, would join them.
The couple's oldest daughter,
12-year-old Malia, is attending a summer camp in the United States.
Michelle ought to feel right at
home in a town often associated with Arab princes and crime lords.
Dontcha just wonder what Barry
the Bachelor is up to? Maybe a steam at
Man's Country?
Material Girl Michelle
Andrea Tantaros says material girl Michelle
Obama is a modern-day Marie Antoinette on a glitzy Spanish vacation.
Sacrifice is something that many Americans are becoming all too
familiar with during this economic downturn. It was a key theme in
Obama's inaugural address to the nation, and he's referenced it numerous
times when lecturing the country on how to get back on its feet.
But while most of the country is pinching pennies and downsizing summer
sojourns -- or forgoing them altogether -- the Obamas don't seem to be
heeding their own advice. While many of us are struggling, the
First Lady is spending the next few days in a five-star hotel on the
chic Costa del Sol in southern Spain with 40 of her "closest friends."
According to CNN, the group is expected to occupy 60 to 70 rooms, more
than a third of the lodgings at the 160-room resort. Not exactly
what one would call cutting back in troubled times.
Reports are
calling the lodgings of Obama's Spanish fiesta, the Hotel Villa Padierna
in Marbella, "luxurious," "posh" and "a millionaires' playground."
Estimated room rate per night? Up to a staggering $2,500.
Method of transportation? Air Force Two, support aircraft,
vehicles, and a coterie of armed bodyguards and handmaidens.
To
be clear, what the Obamas do with their money is one thing; what they do
with ours is another. Transporting and housing the estimated 70
Secret Service agents who will flank the material girl will cost the
taxpayers a pretty penny.
Perhaps it could be that the Obamas,
who seem to fancy themselves more along the lines of international
celebrities than actual leaders, espouse a different view of sacrifice.
When Michelle Obama accompanied her husband to Copenhagen along with
best buddy Oprah Winfrey, she billed the trip -- an ultimately
unsuccessful bid to bring the Olympics to Chicago -- as follows: "As
much of a sacrifice as people say this is for me or Oprah or the
President to come for these few days, so many of you in this room have
been working for years to bring this bid home."
A quick jaunt to
Denmark is a sacrifice? What portraits in courage!
The
Obama modus operandi is becoming clear. From lavish trips to Spain
to reportedly flying Bo, the Obama's Portuguese water dog, on a separate
aircraft to vacation with them in Maine, to a date night in New York
City that perhaps cost nearly $1,000,000, their idea of austerity is
really just the lap of luxury, at least for ordinary folks.
Incredibly, the Obamas have long portrayed themselves as precisely such
commoners. Just this month, Obama told ABC the First Couple is
"not that far removed from what most Americans are going through."
And that "it was just a few years ago that we had high credit card
balances, we had two kids, thinking about college. We had our own
retirement accounts, wondering if we were going to be able to get enough
assets in there."
Related:Michelle Obama goes walkabout
in Marbella after "racist" Spaniards gaff.
You Won't Believe This
OK! Everyone knows Material Girl Michelle
is off to Spain with her entourage.
But, White House press
secretary Robert Gibbs was asked at a Wednesday briefing if there was
any concern about "the appearance" of Mrs. Obama's extravegant
overseas jaunt.
"The first lady is on a private trip. She
is a private citizen and is the mother of a daughter on a private trip.
And I think I'd leave it at that," Gibbs said.
This is Michelle
Obama's eighth scheduled vacation in the first nine months of 2010.
Last year, Michelle Obama vacationed in Paris and London, Martha's
Vineyard, Hawaii, and Chicago, with a working vacation in Copenhagen
lobbying for Chicago's failed bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics.
There was also the infamous "date night" in New York City.
With
America mired in the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression
and Obama's policies exacerbating the crisis rather than fixing it,
Barack and Michelle Obama live their lives like billionaires, even
though Obama's salary is $400,000 per year and the Obamas are only worth
a few million dollars thanks to book sales.
Barack Obama has
played over 40 rounds of golf in the 19 months since the inauguration --
in addition to his numerous luxury vacations.
Michelle Obama
routinely wears outfits that, from her $800 shoes to her $5000 earrings
and $300 tote bags, are impossible for the average working or unemployed
woman to afford.
"She's a
private citizen," says Obama's chief propagandist. A "private
citizen" on a "private trip." Except this trip is being paid
out of the "national treasury" -- in the worst economy in a
century.
Michelle will expend more dollars on this flight of
fancy that Obama will be paid for the entire year (you'll notice I
didn't use the verb "earn").
Michelle -- Enjoying Spain
Saturday
PM -- Reuters
What's it take to please this
woman? She's spending $10,000 per hour and she's miserable --
and that's deep, deep stuff.
Media Matters Defense Of Michelle Obama
Backfires
Kristinn
says
Democratic Party front group Media Matters for America has been loyally
defending Michelle Obama's ultra-luxurious Spanish vacation this week even as
other liberals concede the Obama administration made a politically
insensitive call in signing off on the trip.
Today, Media Matters
attacked Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit/Pajamas Media for his critique of
Michelle Obama's trip. The headline of the attack piece: Michelle
Obama derangement syndrome: Instapundit posts
picture of First Lady as Marie Antoinette
Not only does the
headline reinforce the growing meme that Michelle Obama is acting like a
rich pig, but upon opening the article one is confronted with a huge
graphic posted by Media Matters of Michelle Obama as Marie Antoinette
with her muscular hand set on a globe captioned Choosing the next
Vacation that is four times the size of the brief two paragraph attack
article.
The illustration is from the Glenn Reynolds piece which
itself is a short excerpt of a Roger L. Simon article asserting that
Michelle's extravagant trip is one more indication that Barack Obama has
a psychological disorder and doesn't really want to be president
anymore.
The illustration is grounded in truth, which gives it a
credibility that Media Matters, which is suffering from its own version
of Obama Derangement Syndrome, can't see because of its blind loyalty to
the First Couple.
Since becoming First Lady nineteen months ago,
Michelle Obama has vacationed overseas in Paris, London, Copenhagen and
Marbella. She still has a family vacation booked to Indonesia and
Australia that has been twice postponed this year because of her
husband's incompetence and rudeness. She also vacationed in Los
Angeles this year, sans her husband, sitting in a luxury box for an NBA
championship game and visiting a private beach owned by a billionaire.
Barack and Michelle Obama have also vacationed across America from
Hawaii to Maine, with stays at a $4,000 rental home in Hawaii, Martha's
Vineyard (with a second trip there later this month) taken over 300
rooms at a Montana resort, traveled through Western National Parks, two
Chicago vacation weekends, one weekend vacation each in North Carolina
and Maine (with a Florida weekend planned next week) and the infamous
date night in New York City.
When the Obamas don't feel like
traveling the world, they bring the world to them at taxpayer expense,
including a pizza chef from St. Louis and all kinds of performers for
their White House parties.
The Marie Antoinette meme is sticking
to Michelle Obama, and by extension her husband, because more and more
people are seeing the First Couple for what they are. Now more
liberal reporters will see them that way, too, thanks to the blind
loyalty of Media Matters.
What's Behind the Attack On Michelle Obama
The Huffington Post has its panties in a twist
because the Queen of Mean has been subject to vicious attack by
Republicans over her travel costs and her use of governmental aircraft,
despite the fact that she has paid for a portion of it herself.
Michelle Obama in 2010? No, Hillary Clinton in 2000. In
March of that year, a House appropriations subcommittee held a hearing
focusing on the First Lady's trips to New York. In May, two House
committee chairs followed up by demanding that the White House turn over
records documenting Mrs. Clinton's travels in extraordinary detail.
The Republican National Committee and the campaign of Rudy Giuliani
piled on, trying to stir a pot of scandal around long-standing and
bipartisan practices involving the way first families travel.
As
a White House spokesman at the time, I criticized the way Republicans
were "looking to play politics with the safety of the First Lady," and
distributed memos from Republican chiefs of staff James Baker and John
Sununu supporting the use of military planes for the First Lady's trips.
Eventually the diaphanous controversy dissipated like a morning fog.
Besides providing a reminder of what shenanigans might be in store
should Democrats lose control of the House of Representatives this fall,
the parallelism of the attacks on two Democratic First Ladies -- when
coupled with the way Republicans went after Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her
own use of government planes not long ago -- offers lessons on the
politics of personal destruction, as practiced by the right wing.
Simply put, there are some in this country who cannot stand the idea
of women and people of color in positions of power, and there are
cynical power mongers who don't mind pushing their buttons to keep the
political pot boiling. And they are not above exaggeration and
outright lies to prove their nonexistent point.
You can read
more
here, if you can stand this brand of bull . . .
Related:Obama caps birthday week with
golf, plans for BBQ.
There you have it. Jim
Kennedy knows what's behind the criticism of Michelle -- racism and
sexism -- what else?
Extravagant And Out Of Touch With The
American People
Nile Gardiner
says what the great French historian Alexis de Tocqueville would
make of today's Obama administration were he alive today is anyone's
guess. But I would wager that the author of L'Ancien Régime and
Democracy in America would be less than impressed with the extravagance
and arrogance on display among the White House elites that rule America
as though they had been handed some divine right to govern with
impunity.
It is the kind of impunity that has been highlighted on
the world stage this week by Michelle Obama's hugely costly trip to
Spain, which has prompted a New York Post columnist Andrea Tantaros to
dub the First Lady a contemporary Marie Antoinette. As The
Telegraph reports, while the Obamas are covering their own vacation
expenses such as accommodation, the trip may cost US taxpayers as much
as $375,000 in terms of secret service security and flight costs on Air
Force Two.
The timing of this lavish European vacation could not
have come at a worse moment, when unemployment in America stands at 10
percent, and large numbers of Americans are fighting to survive
financially in the wake of the global economic downturn. It sends
a message of indifference, even contempt, for the millions of Americans
who are struggling just to feed their families on a daily basis and pay
the mortgage, while the size of the national debt balloons to
Greek-style proportions.
While the liberal-dominated US
mainstream media have largely ignored the story, it is all over the
blogosphere and talk radio, and will undoubtedly add to Obama's free
falling poll ratings. As much as the media establishment turn a
blind eye to stories like this, which are major news in the
international media, the American public is increasingly turning to
alternative news sources, including the British press, which has a far
less deferential approach towards the White House.
The First
Lady's ill-conceived trip to Marbella and the complete disregard for
public opinion and concerns over excessive government spending is
symbolic of a far wider problem with the Obama regime -- the overarching
disdain for the principles of limited government, individual liberty and
free enterprise that have built the United States over the course of
nearly two and a half centuries into the most powerful and free nation
on earth.
It is epitomized above all by Obama's relentless drive
towards big government against the will of the American people, and the
dramatic increases in government spending and borrowing, which threaten
to leave the US hugely in debt for generations. It is also
showcased by Barack Obama's drive towards a socialized health care
system, which, as I've noted before, is "a thinly disguised vanity
project for Obama, who is committed to
transforming the United States from the world's most successful
large-scale free enterprise economy, to a highly interventionist society
with a massive role for centralized government."
There is however
a political revolution fast approaching Washington that is driven not by
mob rule, but by the power of ideas and principles, based upon the
ideals of the Founding Fathers and the US Constitution. It is a
distinctly conservative revolution that is sweeping America and is
reflected in almost every poll ahead of this November's mid-terms.
It is based on a belief in individual liberty, limited government, and
above all, political accountability from the ruling elites. The
Obama administration's mantra may well be "let them eat cake," as it
continues to gorge itself on taxpayers' money, but it will be looking
nervously over its shoulder as public unease mounts.
Michelle Obama Should Stay Out Of
Restaurants
Julie Ryan Evans
says that earlier this week, Michelle Obama addressed the National
Restaurant Association with stern advice about the fare they should
serve up -- less butter and cream, fewer fries.
"I’m not asking any of you to make drastic
changes to every single one of your recipes or to totally change the
way you do business," she said. "But what I am asking is that
you consider reformulating your menu in pragmatic and incremental
ways to create healthier versions of the foods that we all love."
She also gave them advice on advertising.
"It’s not enough just to limit ads for foods
that aren’t healthy," she said. "It’s also going to be critical to
increase marketing for foods that are healthy."
A little bossy don't you think?
It's part of
her ongoing mission to improve the nutrition of children in this
country, which is admirable. She's brought a lot of awareness to
the problem of school lunches and childhood obesity, and I am right
there with her in the outrage about our nation's unhealthy eating
habits.
But she should stay out of restaurants.
Restaurants are where we go to take a break, to celebrate special
occasions and occasionally get some relief from cooking. They
should be places to enjoy, those in which we do indulge sometimes.
While I may never fry cheese in my own home, I might go wild and get my
kids some while dining out some night. Big deal.
We don't rely on
restaurants for our basic nutritional needs, rather they fill in here
and their in our otherwise healthy diet.
If you do rely on
restaurants to provide most of your meals then perhaps their menus could
be problematic -- but that's an individual problem of eating out too
often that individuals need to address, not one for restaurants to
solve. Their job is to attract customers, after all.
But, It's All Too Much For Her
Peter Allen and Michael Seamark say Michelle
Obama thinks being America's First Lady is "hell," Carla Bruni reveals
today in a wildly indiscreet new book.
Miss Bruni reveals that
Mrs. Obama replied when asked about her position as Obama's wife: "Don't
ask! It's hell. I can't stand it!"
Details of the private conversation, which took
place at the White House during an official visit by Nicolas Sarkozy
last March, emerged in Carla And The Ambitious, a book written in
collaboration with Miss Bruni.
Parties,
vacations, Air Force One, designer clothes, 27 hand-maidens, adulation
-- and Miss Nasty still can't stand it. This is one spoiled . . .
Michelle Dines At Zaytinya -- Sans Barack
The Washington Examiner has a
small item saying that Michelle Obama was spotted eating at Jose
Andres' Zaytinya in Chinatown on Friday night. A Yeas and Nays spy
tells us she enjoyed a late dinner with a small group of people at the
restaurant. No word on what she ate.
There was no comment
about Barack's location or activity.
Michelle has taken two
vacations this year without her husband, even leaving him alone on his
birthday as she jetted off to Spain.
The First Couple does like
to spend a lot of time apart. Barack gets away from Michelle
nearly every weekend with his golf and basketball sessions.
She's
been reportedly unhappy with her situation and Barack still has no ring
on.
I still want to know who
tucked Obama in on the evening of August 4, 2010.
Michelle Obama Campaigns Inside Polling
Place
The Drudge Report
says Michelle Obama
appears to have violated Illinois law -- when she engaged in political
discussion at a polling place!
The drama began after Mrs. Obama
stopped off at the Martin Luther King Center on the south side of
Chicago to cast an early vote.
After finishing at the machine,
Obama went back to the desk and handed in her voting key. She let
voters including electrician Dennis Campbell, 56, take some photos.
"She was telling me how important it was to vote to keep her
husband's agenda going," Campbell said.
According to a pool
reporter from the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES at the scene, the conversation took
place INSIDE the voting center, not far from the booths.
Illinois state law -- Sec. 17-29 (a) -- states: "No judge of election,
pollwatcher, or other person shall, at any primary or election, do any
electioneering or soliciting of votes or engage in any political
discussion within any polling place [or] within 100 feet of any polling
place."
A top Illinois State Board of Elections official tells
the DRUDGE REPORT that Mrs. Obama -- a Harvard-educated lawyer -- may
have simply been ignorant of the law and thus violated it
unintentionally.
"You kind of have to drop the standard for the
first lady, right?" the official explained late Thursday. "I mean,
she's pretty well liked and probably doesn't know what she's doing."
When questioned about the brazen nature of Mrs. Obama's campaigning,
press secretary Robert Gibbs defended the action.
"I don't think
it would be much to imagine, the First Lady might support her husband's
agenda," Gibbs smiled.
Related:The Chicago Board of Elections
said no complaints have been made that Michelle Obama violated Illinois
election law.
Michelle Will Do What?
The Times of India
is reporting that Barack and Michelle Obama will be extremely busy
in Mumbai, arriving on November 6th for a two day India visit.
The world’s most powerful man and his wife will zip around the city,
visiting the 26/11 memorial on Marine Drive, the National Centre for
Performing Arts (NCPA), Mani Bhawan and other locations in south Mumbai
-- the security obviously will be water-tight .
Obama’s
entourage has booked the entire the Taj Mahal Hotel, including 570
rooms, all banquets and restaurants. Since his security contingent
and staff will comprise a huge number, 125 rooms at Taj President have
also been booked, apart from 80 to 90 rooms each in Grand Hyatt and The
Oberoi hotels.
There are two jumbo jets coming along with Air
Force One, which will be flanked by security jets. There will be
30 to 40 secret service agents, who will arrive before him.
Obama’s convoy has 45 cars, including the armored Lincoln Continental.
Since Obama will stay in a hotel that is on sea front, elaborate
coastal security arrangements have been made by the US Navy in
consonance with the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard. "There will
be US naval ships, along with Indian vessels, patrolling the sea till
about 330-km from the shore. This is to negate the possibility of
a missile being fired from a distance," the officer said.
Obama
will be accompanied by his chefs, not because he would not like to savor
Indian cuisine, but to ensure his food is not spiked.
But,
clearly, the most interesting tidbit is this:
"Adding to the Obamas’ busy schedule is
Michelle’s likely visit to Kamathipura, where she will meet
commercial sex workers on the invitation of an NGO."
No doubt,
Michelle will be asking the hookers for advice on how to get her guy out
of the locker room.
The Untalented Mrs. Obama
Fifi Haroon
says America’s First Lady was recently caught picking pumpkins in
the White House garden for a Halloween photo-op as her husband charged
off on a campaign to save a Democrat downslide in the US Senate. But
that, apparently, is what powerful women do.
At least according to the International finance magazine Forbes,
which
recently published its 2010 list of the
"Most Powerful Women in the
world." Topping this year’s power 100, resplendent in a nostalgic
Jackie Kennedy inspired black dress complete with white pearls and her
very own famous sculpted arms was an unexpected winner: Mrs. Michelle
Obama.
Of all the successful, influential female achievers it could have
picked to name as the most powerful woman in the world, why did Forbes
see it fit to honor someone whose primary job is, well let’s face it --
playing wifey?
This is not to disparage women who choose to stay at home to look
after their children, or indeed belittle Mrs. Obama’s ceremonial role as
a presidential partner. Agreed, Michelle Obama is no airhead even
if she is in the habit of self-effacingly describing herself primarily
as "Malia and Sasha’s mom." She is an Ivy League trained lawyer [Michelle
is not an attoirney -- she had her license pulled] and -- as
women in her position often are — a vociferous champion of First
Lady-like causes. In her case, green initiatives and the fight
against childhood obesity.
All very well for a First Lady but hardly a glowing CV when pitching
for First Woman. That Obama’s wife pips heads of state like German
Chancellor Angela Merkel and global entrepreneurs such as Kraft Foods
boss Irene Rosenfield at the post is downright insulting to all women.
Forbes claims that Mrs. Obama has "given a new generation of girls
and women around the world a role model." If girls around the
world did indeed follow Mrs. Obama’s example, they might study at
Harvard only to abandon their careers, hope to marry a president and
look picture perfect in designer dresses. How does that elevate
her over someone like, say Hillary Clinton, who emerged from her
husband’s shadow to make a spirited bid for the Democrat Presidential
nomination and finally took on the challenging job of the US Secretary
of State?
Michelle Obama’s first appearance on the list was in 2009 at a more
convincing number 40. The entry is telling: "Michelle has avoided
any major policy speeches… (and) has garnered the most publicity for her
fashion sense… a book on the subject has already been written,
Michelle Style: Celebrating the First Lady of Fashion." That
pretty much says it all.
What exactly has Mrs. Obama done in the 12 months since that was
published to warrant such an acrobatic vault from clothes-horse to the
world’s most influential woman? Obviously nothing that would
qualify her inclusion in Forbes’ generic 100 Most Powerful People list,
which only features two women: Angela Merkel and US Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton. Yet she supersedes both of them in the
gender-specific list.
The answer is actually simpler than one may think. Forbes is an
old-fashioned US-centric men’s publication that still believes it is
perfectly valid to selectively confuse fame with power and populate a
Powerful Women’s list with pop stars, television presenters and a wife,
while keeping its male-dominated Powerful People’s List exclusively
political.
Even if one overlooks the magazine’s blatantly gendered criteria, can
one forgive it for regurgitating the outdated power-behind-the-throne
myth? (Not that there a smidgeon of evidence that Michelle Obama
is particularly involved in her husband’s policy decisions). There
is nothing intrinsic in Michelle Obama’s claim to fame. Much as I
detest Sarah Palin’s roguish opportunism, her incessant tea-partying and
successful power-brokering in the Republican primaries establish her as
a woman of real power in a way Michelle Obama simply cannot rival.
That her knowledge of foreign policy is pea-sized is incidental.
Michelle Obama's Favorite Things
What
happened to the populist, Michelle? Wasn't she the "Gap Girl,"
wearing
and promoting clothing from the Gap and J. Crew? Those days are
gone forever.
Michelle's hypocrisy and elitism are obvious.
She chooses to tell America what we can and can't eat -- that we all
should cut back on everything. Then she jets off to Spain, Paris
and New York on her taxpayer-paid 5-star vacations and subsidized
shopping sprees.
Remember when Michelle was on The VIEW.
She came out in a little "housedressy thingy," to which Joy and Whoopie
just had to ask the price. Micelle, responded, "Oh, this was only
$35.00. I don't believe in spending big for clothes."
The
two of them are the biggest hypocrites in the country
Time
remaining to the End of an Error: 2 years, 39 days
"We Can't Just Leave It Up To The Parents"
Penny Starr
says Michelle Obama [the Food
NAZI] said of deciding what American children should eat:
"We can't just leave it up to the parents,"
Speaking at Monday's
signing ceremony for the "Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act" -- a law that
will subsidize and regulate what children eat before school, at lunch,
after school, and during summer vacations in federally funded
school-based feeding programs. The law will be administered by the
Department of Agriculture, which will craft new school nutrition
standards under the law.
"Everywhere I go, fortunately, I meet
parents who are working very hard to make sure that their kids are
healthy," said the Food NAZI. "They're doing things like cutting
down on desserts and trying to increase fruits and vegetables.
They're trying to teach their kids the kind of healthy habits that will
stay with them for a lifetime.
"But when our kids spend so much
of their time each day in school, and when many children get up to half
their daily calories from school meals, it's clear that we as a nation
have a responsibility to meet as well," the Food NAZI said. "We
can't just leave it up to the parents. I think that parents have a
right to expect that their efforts at home won't be undone each day in
the school cafeteria or in the vending machine in the hallway. I
think that our parents have a right to expect that their kids will be
served fresh, healthy food that meets high nutritional standards."
The law increases spending on school nutrition programs by $4.5
billion over ten years and encompasses a range of provisions, including
offering qualified children breakfast, lunch and dinner at school, as
well as meals during the summer. It also includes a pilot program
for "organic foods."
Barack Obama said at the signing ceremony --
held at the Harriet Tubman Elementary School in Washington. D.C. -- that
he was following in the tradition of President Harry S. Truman, who
signed the first federal school lunch program into law, and President
Lyndon B. Johnson, who signed the Childhood Nutrition Act of 1966.
Obama said that if the bill had not reached his desk for his
signature, "I would be sleeping on the couch."
The law has been
championed by the first lady as part of her campaign to end childhood
obesity. Michelle Obama said that while it may seem ironic to be
addressing childhood hunger and obesity at the same time, "it's really
just two sides of the same coin."
The Food NAZI and her spouse don't
give a rat's ass about good nutrition, see here.
This law is about more federal control, and the redistribution of
another $4.5
billion in taxpayer money.
What is next? Blood tests to
verify proper nutrients are consumed? Forced feeding in cases of
noncompliance?
Everything these idiots do to provide "food" to
the "undernourished masses" living in the most abundant bread basket in
the world, diminishes the production of food, increases the cost of
food, and ultimately creates the opposite end result of the health
justice utopia they seek to attain.
Mrs. Obama's Pregnancy?
OneIndiaNews.com
is reporting that Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary
suddenly resigned from his post which forced many to come out with their
own speculations.
But rumors said, Gibbs became the victim of
the first lady, Michelle Obama's scorn as report revealed that Mrs.
Obama got angry with Gibbs after he disclosed about her "pregnancy."
Barack Obama, stating about Gibbs, said, "sad...Gibbs would
temporarily...lose his mind...and reveal Michelle's pregnancy to the
public."
A few days back, Gibbs, in conversation with media,
disclosed about Mrs. Obama's pregnancy, though he did not confirm or
deny the rumor directly.
However, WWN (Weekly World News?) has
confirmed that Michelle Obama is about two months into her pregnancy and
Obama and Michelle expect to have the baby sometime in late Jul 2011.
