07 August 2010

Michelle Obama's Binge in Spain: "Modern-Day Marie Antionette"

Outrage grows at the unblushing arrogance of a luxurious taxpayer-funded trip to Spain in the deepest depths of the Obama recession...

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From yesterday's Daily Mail (UK):
Michelle Obama today faced a fresh wave of attacks over her lavish break in Spain with 40 friends which has cost U.S. taxpayers tens of thousands of pounds. The First Lady has been lambasted for her extravagance at a time when the economy is still struggling. One blogger went so far as to brand her a modern-day Marie Antoinette...

The exact cost of the trip is unclear as Mrs Obama, 46, and her friends are footing personal expenses - including accommodation at Marbella's five-star Hotel Villa Padierna - themselves. But the taxpayer will have to pick up the tab for the First Lady's 68-strong security detail, her personal staff - and the use of presidential jet Air Force Two. 

The cost of accommodating the secret service team runs at around £172 each a day which amounts to nearly £60,000 for the length of the summer break. Use of Air Force Two, the Air Force version of a 757, comes in at £91,900 for the round trip. This does not include time on the ground. The American public will also cover the cost of the only official part of the holiday, a visit to the Spanish royal family on the island of Majorca. A conservative estimate puts the total amount at around £150,000. 

Back in the U.S., anger was mounting - especially as it has emerged the First Lady will have enjoyed eight holidays by the end of the summer. These include a trip to Los Angeles in June, a visit to the Florida's oil-hit Gulf Coast next weekend and a ten-day trip to Martha's Vineyard later this month. 

White House press secretary Robin Gibbs was asked at a briefing if there were any concerns about how the visit was being viewed by the public. 'The First Lady is on a private trip,' he said. 'She is a private citizen and is the mother of a daughter on a private trip. I think I'd leave it at that.' 

Yesterday New York Daily News columnist and blogger Andrea Tantaros likened the President’s wife to French queen Marie Antoinette, who was famously extravagant with her spending. Tantaros wrote: ‘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.’ 

She accused the Obamas of hypocrisy for preaching the values of sacrifice and austerity to Americans while seemingly refusing to heed their own advice. She said: ‘Instead, Michelle Obama seems more like a modern-day Marie Antoinette… than an average mother of two.’ She added: ‘I don't begrudge anyone rest and relaxation when they work hard. We all need downtime - the First Family included. 

‘It's the extravagance of Michelle Obama's trip and glitzy destination contrasted with President Obama's demonisation of the rich that smacks of hypocrisy and perpetuates a disconnect between the country and its leaders' 
So Michelle Obama's having a great time screwing-around in Spain with 40 hangers-on, this immediately on the heels of her and Barack's Maine and Martha's Vineyard trips last month... and at an incremental cost to the US taxpayer of almost half-a-million dollars:


Michelle Obama's crew has taken an entire floor of the 5-star Villa Padierna in Marbella... rated as one of the finest hotels in the world...


At least Jimmy Carter knew enough to stay home and put on a sweater, joining us in the malaise... as my dad would have said, these Obamas must really think they're something.





06 August 2010

TGIF Rock-n-Roll Oldies: Canned Heat 1970


In a way you could be excused for thinking that they're from down on some swamp or something in Lousiana with their Delta sound... when in fact the band was formed by citified blues enthusiasts out in LA.

Best known for US/UK hits Going Up to the Country and On the Road Again, Canned Heat (named for an old blues number about an alcoholic who'd taken-to slurping cans of Sterno) really broke out big following a gig at the Monterrey Pop Festival in 1968; Critics raved best guitar team in the world and other superlatives- they then went-on to make history at Woodstock and pretty decent worldwide commercial success.

Yeah... the lyrics are sounding pretty socialist on this one, hmmm- but I can bear even that for three minutes of the best electric blues-rock anybody could ask for. Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson seems to have had the slide-guitar dialed, anyway- the solo's fantastic.

Let's Work Together is a reworking of a Howard Wilson song- also known for his classic hit "Kansas City"- While introducing the song on tour in 1970, Canned Heat insisted on a delayed launch of their single in the USA to give the songwriter's original version a spike in sales... that's  respect:


Wikipedia   

Previous RR Rock-n-Roll Oldies features -here-



Canned HeatLet's Work Together, 1970, Blind Owl Wilson, blues rock, TGIF, rock n roll oldies, saturday night oldies, on the road again, going up to the country, 1968, 1969Canned HeatLet's Work Together1970Blind Owl Wilson 

05 August 2010

This Week on McLaughlin Group~

This week's panelists: 
Pat Buchanan, Monica Crowley, Eleanor Clift, Peter Beinart


Issue 1: WikiLeaks Gusher
Issue 2: Arizona Annulment
Issue 3: Misplaced Mosque






Andrew Klavan: Let's Talk About SEX

Hey Hollywood freaks- listen up

From the archives: Klavan juxtaposes the "thinking" of anything-goes celebrity reprobates celebrated in the liberal media vs. more sensible minds who have actually considered the societal cost of turning this country into a moral black-hole:


04 August 2010

Point-Counterpoint: Is Obama Simply Incompetent... or is it All by Design? Then Take Our Poll...

Obama "Incompetence"
All Part of the Plan

Turns-out he road to Hell is paved with propaganda... 
speciously portrayed as good intentions

Taking advantage of Americans' propensity to back an underdog who at least seems to be giving it the ole college try, Obama still stumbles from failure-to-gaff-to-failure as he continues to play the idealistic, well-intending rookie manager. Didn't everybody root for Frank Robinson when he took the helm of the '75 Indians... fending-off mean ole racists like Gaylord Perry in the process?

Meanwhile -and by design- a grinning Obama steamrolls our society flat so he and other "progressives" can replace all he was raised to despise. The C'mon, let's all root for Barry spiel relentlessly pounded into our skulls by the MSM has propped-up at least some support... but it's surprising even 40% could still tolerate such apparent incompetence... most thinking people have seen quite enough.

Whether or not Obama actually has the ability to do a better job of managing our economy, internal social conflicts, immigration issues, diplomacy, and defense rather than exacerbating   problems -as he is now- is surely open to debate. While the results are for the most part dreadful, is he just making some typical rookie mistakes, able to adjust and pivot? Or is he in way over his head? Does this most inexperienced executive even have the necessary skills to get it together?

Well, he might, but I doubt it... and don't expect any improvements to the nation's outlook for the foreseeable future either, as this president seems to have no intention whatsoever of stimulating small business to create jobs, helping Americans to help themselves economically, nor of putting more than a token effort into protecting our nation's borders. He displays little real interest in resolving many of the most pressing challenges in a way that most Americans would call successful... and likely never will

Why? A prosperous and happy America doesn't tend to get the Mommy party elected for one, except perhaps Clinton taking credit for the long-term benefits of Reagan's investment-centric economic policy in '96.  And FDR turned an average of 17% unemployment into three terms, after all.

But likely the larger factor is that serial opportunist Obama and his crew seek incremental crises to exploit towards their ends, convinced they can blame the recession and related troubles on George W Bush pretty much indefinitely (while polls now show people aren't buying it). Wasting hundreds of billions on an wholly-ineffective Keynesian stimulus and scaring job creators half to death with new regulations and taxes, he plays the benelovent dictator, extending unemployment benefits to expand the entitlements-addicted class of voters that ACORN will be bussing from polling place to polling place come November.

Like most Leftists, Obama's true goals are not a happy and confident America, strapping with economic vitality... but rather centralized power, a consolidated state-dominated economy, suppression of patriotic resistance... as well as a demoralized military and general population ready to be remade as obedient automotons. Competently managing this country and guarding liberty really doesn't serve Obama's purposes, in his mind anyway- what he needs is a crisis, and preferably one without his fingerprints on it.

The vibrant 1980s Reagan-era economy did more than it's part to defeat world socialism... but as far as the Obammunists are concerned, such lightly-taxed boom times driven by small businesses and entrepreneurs now would do little to promote expanded statist control and their desired New World Order. Instead, they're more than willing to tear this country right to the ground to consolidate power- that's how much they hate America as the rest of us have known and loved it.

Obama also has all the trappings of a political incompetent, as he's tanked 30 points since inauguration.  With his odd detached manner and apparent lack of concern you'd think their must be a pretty solid Plan B... narcissists don't go down without a fight, and this regime's flippant disregard for the will of the people is surely unprecedented. 

Fixed election and fraud?  Reichstag Fire?  Suspended election?  Let's hope not.

Unsettlingly, Obama's loyalties are also not what one should expect of a US president, oriented towards the Socialist international and America-hating Far Left, both at home and abroad. Obama is now serving their mutual agenda, which is for all practices and purposes identical to his own... not to mention George Soros'. All this all has little to do with making America stronger through capable economic administration in the near term... although Barack knows enough to pretend that he's trying.

This ongoing socialist conquest of the US has been in the works for 50 years: KGB defectors have described the top priority in Soviet times as demoralization and destabilization of the US from within, precipitating a major crisis to be exploited in ruthless communist power grabs. This was orchestrated over three generations, utilizing America's liberal educators, the Democratic Party, the press, and Hollywood's herds of useful idiots to destroy Americans' ability to reason... as well as through direct KGB support of Soprano-esque unions and myriad far-Left social organizations like ACORN, the ACLU... and politicians like BHO.

Now Barack's here to bring on the crisis stage... not only was Obama long-involved with such groups, he's shovelled them all the money he and his allies possibly could get away with over the last 18 mos. This crisis could culminate in anything right-up-to a complete change of society, via an orchestrated crisis and/or violence if necessary... ala the Cloward-Piven strategy.  And in fact many of Obama's policies seem custom-designed to destabilize this country- like tripling the annual budget deficit, for starters.... risking an international debt crisis, dollar crash, and/or rampant inflation.

Obama's power grabs re.the internet, stated plans for a civilian paramilitary corps outside the Army's command structure, Executive Orders allowing incremental eavesdropping activities and targeted killings of US citizens, combined with his long-running enthusiasm for gun control legislation is chilling... seemingly preparing for an expected period of chaos- why such heavy pessimism re. the direction you're taking us, Mr President?

Rahm Emanuel reminds us they will "never let a good crisis go to waste", while Obama's noggin still festers with the foul, anti-American stratagems of Frank Marshal Davis and that community organizer's community organizer, Saul Alinsky. In Rules for Radicals, he states: "The first step in community organization is community dis-organization."

Patriots must resist the first anti-American president's efforts to draw us into a crisis.... don't go for the bait. And don't buy the innocent Presidental-Trainee Barry act, either- to dismiss this true radical as merely incompetent only allows this dangerous -and treacherous- man to buy more time while he systematically disembowels this once great nation in the name of socialism.
Cloward-Pivencloward-piven strategy Reichstag Fire 
______________________________________________________
Counterpoint from Michael at Jumping in Pools:
President Obama is Simply Incompetent

To say that the President hasn't erred in his time in office would be to throw away sense. His rebuffs of our Israeli allies, the mishandling of several economic factors, especially deficit spending, promises broken, and his misunderstanding of foreign policy cannot be denied. But a larger question arises out of all of this: is our 44th President making mistakes to further a liberal agenda (which, of course, means that they are not mistakes at all), or is he simply incompetent and inexperienced? I believe the truth to be the latter.

To me, it seems clear that while the President constantly makes mistakes, there seems to be no method to his madness. Instead, his mishandling of the simplest things paints the picture of a man over his head who just doesn't know how to get things done. Simply, President Obama does not know what he is trying to do. His whims seem to change quickly and markedly. It seems that he is trying to do what he thinks is right, but he is too inconsistent and naïve to accomplish anything.

Evidence of his fumblings and waffling abounds, in plain sight for anyone to see. For example, exclaiming as a candidate that he would treat Israel as a top ally and friend, then snubbing Netanyahu several times and publicly lambasting the nation over West Bank settlements. His promise to close Guantanamo Bay within a year was (thankfully) broken. His pledge for comprehensive immigration reform has been mostly disregarded. His declaration that "no amount of American lives" could solve the war, then claiming the victory is thanks to him. His support for a public option in health care, then his stance against it, then his want for it, then his compromise against it...these tell me that this President is simply ignorant of realities on the ground and around him.

It could also be argued that, while the President may have a grander scheme for things, that his incompetency is clouding it. I do not believe this to be the case, for President Obama would not play to political crowds, flip opinions, and change directions so often if he were actually trying to, say, institute a communist dictatorship. No, the President does not have a plan to destroy our great nation. He has no plan at all.




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