Queen Michelle

The Obamas are on vacation again.  That’s what, 7? 8?  this summer. This time, however, they’ve gone on separate trips. Both at public expense.

Michelle’s trip is getting all the press.  It’s not because she only took Sasha, or that she was gone on Barack’s birthday.    It’s that she’s treating it as an official visit.  And I’m paying.  So are you.

When I take a vacation, I travel coach, or I drive.  I take overnight flights to avoid hotel bills.  I stay at Choice hotels because they have comfortable beds and a simple (free) breakfast without charging me for nice lobbies.  When I travel on business, I do the same, saving my employer at every turn.

Not so with Michelle.  She’s taking Air Force 2 to Spain, at a cost of almost $150k.  While she’s there, she, her friends and the secret service will occupy some 60 or 70 rooms, at $2500 each a night (around $70k total). Add food, incidentials and souveniers, that’s a lot of stimulus that didn’t stay in the country.

And Barack?  He took Bo the dog back to Chicago.  Birthday fundraiser dinner with “friends”.  Of course Oprah was there.

Makes me wonder.  It’s not proper.  Even when they’re together, they’re separate.  We saw that in the campaign, especially the convention.  If I didn’t know better, she’s punishing him, spending “his” money, and since she’s right, he doesn’t say anything, but simply slips off for a weekend with the buds (or the girlfriend?).

It’s not enough our country is going down the toilet and our emperor seems powerless to stop it, but his personal life is starting to look shaky, and we’re paying for that as well.

Our Absent President

No president in recent memory has been on vacation as much as Mr Obama.  Mr Reagan spent quite a bit of time in California, working the ranch, but kept in touch.  GWBush did the same, only better.  He made many trips to his ranch in Texas, but tended to “vacation” by working the ranch half days, saving time for staff meetings and press conferences. Even Mr Clinton, who vacationed in expensive locations that made the rest of the working classes jealous, only took a couple of them a year.

This president seems to have trouble finding his way back to the White House.  7 vacations so far this year, not counting the “date night” to New York City, the command performances at the White House, and the extended summits and visits to visit the troops.

Today we hear that his wife, freshly back from a family trip to Maine, is jetting off to Spain.  Not a simple trip to visit an old friend.  She’s not flying coach.  She’s taking an official government plane, staying in 30 rooms at a 5-star resort.  (It takes that many for all the friends and bodyguards that are going with them.  She’s taking 9-year-old Sacha, but not her husband.  He will join them in the Florida panhandle for next week’s vacation.

Rather than buckling down to do the work of governing the country, President Obama is getting a reputation of King Barry, spending our money to help the already big and powerful, spending our money to give a pittance to out of work citizens, and spending our money for personal luxury.  It’s a good gig if you can get it.

Oprah Moving Close

The NY Post is reporting that Oprah Winfrey is looking to buy a house in DC.  They say she wants to be as close to Barack Obama as possible.

This is just too odd.

I don’t want this column to turn into a gossip rag, but back in Sept I did wonder publicly about their relationship.  I quoted Oprah’s former boyfriend Steadman as saying: “Michelle hated Oprah being do involved, was jealous of [Oprah’s] power and resented [Oprah’s] blatant flirting with Barack. Michelle even warned her husband if he didn’t start backing away from Oprah, it would put a serious crack in their marriage.”

Barack needs to be careful.  The press would have a field day if this were anything more than a good friendship.

Elitist Obama

The Obamas want you to think they are just like you, not like the fat cat rich.  It’s a lie.

Take Barack’s suits. Custom tailored by Hartmarx.  Off the rack, untailored would cost $1500 each.  They won’t reveal the true cost, but likely more than that. (My good suit costs $250 … 8 years ago.) 

Folks complained when the handlers put Sarah Palin into an emergency $15,000 wardrobe when she was whisked out of Alaska and onto the campaign trail.  But what about Michelle Obama’s convention gowns?  Ill-fitting for her body type, especially considering they were custom made!  Maria Pinto’s dresses cost between $900 and $5,000 each.  And she has several.

Where is the outrage at this cost on clothing?  Michelle  claims she buys off the rack and on the internet from J Crew.  Maybe for the around-the-house stuff.  But when the cameras are rolling, she makes Palin look “department store”

 

source  gawker.com

Michelle Obama for VP?

As rumors continue about Joe Biden’s health (he’s had 2 brain anuerisms)m speculation is already beginning about who’s going to replace him.  Everyone assumes it won’t be someone safe – that was Biden’s job for the election.  No, he’ll get someone we would have never voted for.

Like Michelle

http://community.mccainspace.com/kickapps/_Michelle-Obama-as-First-Lady/blog/106669/41158.html?b=

There’s a tape of her speaking in 2004 in Chicago, IL at the Rainbow Push Coalition Conference at Trinty United Church.

At least there used to be.  It’s so vile, it’s not available.

For about 30 minutes, Michelle Obama launched into a rant about the evils of America, and how America is to blame for the problems in Africa.  Michelle personally blamed Bill Clinton for the deaths of millions of Africans.

She said America is responsible for the genocide of the Tutsis and other ethnic groups.  She then launched into an attack on “WHITEY”, and talked about solutions to black on black crime in the realm of diverting those actions onto White America.

Her rant was fueled by the crowd; they reacted strongly to what she said, so she got more passionate and enraged, and that’s when she completely loses it and says things that have made the mouths drop of everyone who’s seen this.

The tape is a DVD that Trinity United sold on it’s website, and possibly offered free for download up until March 2008 when Trinity’s site was scrubbed and the DVDs were no longer offered for sale.  The YouTube version is also gone.  http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1-5tfUmHl4&feature=related

What are they hiding?  Is She the smoking gun?

Michelle Obama the Radical?

I was following a thread about Chicago Community Organizers and radicals, and found a post that picked up on Michelle’s quoting Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals. Two of the best comments came from mbabbit:

It looks like Michelle Obama actually inverted the Alinsky statement. Alinsky states that the real radical deals with the world as it is and uses techniques that are rooted in this reality, not using techniques that come from a fantasy of how you wish the world should be. He was arguing that you have to use the means necessary to achieve your ends and that non-action is just helping the Haves and definitely not helping the Have-Nots.

Proud of the USA?

 

 

On Feb 19, CNN posted an article that pits Cindy McCain against Michelle Obama. Ms Obama had on the previous day (President’s Day) said says that not until this election did she feel pride in the USA.

She really did! Here’s the actual video.

CNN’s political blog picked up the story of Cindy McCain responding that she’s been proud of her country for a long time.

On one level, it’s two wives supporting their husbands in a future tough political race. But I have to agree with Ms McCain. It’s hard to believe that Ms Obama doesn’t have faith in the American people.

Our government liberated the nation of Panama. Our government has been the first on the scene to show up to countless disasters, from mudslides to hurricanes to wildfires to tsunamis.

It was not the US government that failed in New Orleans during Katrina. FEMA and the various sanctioned relief agencies were prepositioned at the storm’s edge and on-site within a day. Mississippi, Alabama, Texas and other parts of Louisiana are well on their way to recovery. But the inept management of local New Orleans politicians made sure the losses (both property and human life) were larger than need be. It was not the fault of the government, but rather those who failed to exercise personal responsibility.

Do I agree with everything my government does? Of course not. Am I proud of it? Most of the time. It is still the number one immigration destination in the world.

For Michelle Obama to be ashamed of her country means her husband has not been leading her sufficiently to value the nation he stands a chance of running.

And that scares me.

(for the record, CNN’s blog stopped accepting comments when the total reached 371.)