Here's another blot on the copybook of both American big media and the White House's investigation into the party crashers at the recent state dinner -- a Canadian journalist has proof that Obama is not unfamiliar with the Salahis:
Hey Secret Agent Man, here’s Obama, the senator flashing his pearly whites with Randy Jackson, better known as a judge on American Idol. “Others pictured are Black Eyed Peas Rock Band; Tareq Salahi the President of the America’s Polo Cup; President Elect Obama, Fergie from Black eyed Peas and Michaele Salahi, posing this time as a former Miss USA and SuperModel.”
A Canadian journalist gets out the shovel to dig into the story, while American journos and White House investigators apparently dig with a teaspoon.
Fabulous.
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Updates here and, more eye-raisingly, here from WorldNetDaily.
Hmmmm.... I haven't done a Blogthing in a while, but Jay inspired me:
You Are a Knight
You are very unusual and even a bit eccentric. No one can really figure you out easily.
Because you're not predictable, people behave irrationally around you. They may feel threatened by your presence, or they may underestimate you completely.
You do best when you're close to the action. You don't move quickly, so you need to be near the center of things if you want to make a difference.
You tend to act quickly, and decisively. In fact, you are often the first person to make a move.
Have you ever received one single cocktail that was designed to erase every bit of constraint you showed for hours?
Just received the single most lethal "Old Fashioned," which is usually light and delicious, in my entire life. It must contain an entire bottle of Angostura Bitters, along with half a liter of Bourbon. My previously wavy hair just stood up straight in a halo around my head. Pray for me.
Teresa has been posting rock wall pictures of her New England surrounds for a while now, so I thought I'd post one for her from my last trip to Ireland. This was taken in County Clare on our way to the Cliffs of Mohr, and is literally a road to nowhere, built during the Potato Famine:
Amid the bleak winter, hundreds of thousands of desperate Irish sought work on public works relief projects. By late December 1846, 500,000 men, women and children were at work building stone roads. Paid by piece-work, the men broke apart large stones with hammers then placed the fragments in baskets carried by the women to the road site where they were dumped and fit into place. They built roads that went from nowhere to nowhere in remote rural areas that had no need of such roads in the first place. Many of the workers, poorly clothed, malnourished and weakened by fever, fainted or even dropped dead on the spot.
It's a beautiful place, and a heartbreaking place.
And while I have you rabble-rousers' attention, here is the stupidest product with the funniest comments ever. Go read 'em all, then add your own -- the more creative, the better.
Your PERSONAL issues Score is 100%. Your ECONOMIC issues Score is 100%.
According to your answers, the political group that agrees with you most is... LIBERTARIAN
LIBERTARIANS support maximum liberty in both personal and economic matters. They advocate a much smaller government; one that is limited to protecting individuals from coercion and violence. Libertarians tend to embrace individual responsibility, oppose government bureaucracy and taxes, promote private charity, tolerate diverse lifestyles, support the free market, and defend civil liberties.
Call me a cock-eyed optimist, but I really hope this particular program is measurably successful.
If not, I can think of a ton of other places where we could spend the money. But it would be really, really nice if this worked. Too many dead kids this year. _____
Now THIS would be a hell of an excuse to miss a few extra days of work, and it would be quite comical to be a fly on the wall when the boss gets the news... _____
My number one biggie these days is that publishers are making paperbacks a little wider, a lot longer and way heavier than they used to, and charging a premium of at least $2 more per book for something that's unnecessarily weighty, difficult to read because the spine isn't as bendy, and provides no more real content than any other paperback by the same author.
The campaign of Chicago attorney and Democratic Senate candidate Jacob Meister said it began airing one-minute TV ads in central Illinois today in which he contends that helping the economy and creating jobs is more important than battling corruption.
You notice that he never made the connection that a corrupt system caused our economy problems in the first place.
“What I think is appropriate is that in the same way that everybody has to get auto insurance and if you don't, you're subject to some penalty, that in this situation, if you have the ability to buy insurance, it's affordable and you choose not to do so, forcing you and me and everybody else to subsidize you, you know, there's a thousand dollar hidden tax that families all across America are -- are burdened by because of the fact that people don't have health insurance, you know, there's nothing wrong with a penalty.”
Thanks, Big Guy. You almost slipped that one right past us. _____
And more honesty in Chicagoland today, this by a well-known radio host and opinion columnist (nope -- he's not a reporter), speaking about bloggers and blog commenters:
I've got news for you: The "town hall meeting" was invented by politicians to make you think that your opinion actually counts. It doesn't. A town hall meeting just gives people with too much time on their hands a chance to vent. Beyond that, it's an insult to broadcasters and journalists who have at least taken the time to form an opinion longer than a sentence and have actually done some research. What's the point of doing all of that, when any knucklehead has the same access to the people you brought to the party in the first place?
Nice to know the only opinion that counts is a journalist's. And that only a journalist knows how to do research. And the media wonders why many of us resent them? _____
My Conservative Identity:
You are a Flag-Waving Everyman, also known as a patriot. You believe in freedom, apple pie, rooting for America at all times, and that God gave us a two-day weekend so we could enjoy football and NASCAR.
That's about fourteen different levels of wrong. _____
Quote of the Day:
If there are any of you out there with any connection at all to the Bushes, we implore you to give them our thanks…you tell them that a bunch of gay Hillary guys in Boystown, Chicago were wrong about the Bushes…and are deeply, deeply sorry for any jokes we told about them in the past, any bad thoughts we had about these good, good people.
You may be as surprised by this as we are ourselves, but from this day forward George W. and Laura Bush are now on the same list for us as the Clintons, Geraldine Ferraro, Stephanie Tubbs Jones, and the other political figures we keep in our hearts and never allow anyone to badmouth.
Criticize their policies academically and intelligently and discuss the Bush presidency in historical and political terms…but you mess with the Bushes personally and, from this day forward, you’ll answer to us.
We hope someday to be able to thank George W. and Laura in person for all they’ve done, and continue to do. They didn’t have to head to Ft. Hood. That was not their responsibility.
The Obamas should have done that.
But didn’t.
Wouldn’t.
Thank goodness George W. is still on his watch, with wonderful Laura at his side.
The Chicken-in-Chief can't be bothered to get his ass down to Fort Hood to show one iota of compassion for the dead, the wounded or their families and fellow soldiers, but he can invoke them for his own political purposes???
Yep. That pine-scented air freshener hanging from your rearview mirror can net you a ticket and a search. Whether you're coming for a visit or live in the state, take 'em down.
Yusuf Ishaq said he resented hearing Hasan called a "devout Muslim" because his actions contradict that. "The man is mentally sick," said Ishaq, of the Bridgeview mosque. "We condemn his actions. ... Islam does not permit what (he) did."
"....We have chosen to be a part of this community," Mustapha said. "We have first, second and third generations that grew up with no other homeland but the United States. We are a part of this country and serve it honorably. We are Americans; we are most concerned about this country."
In the Chicago community, anyway, this is a step in the right direction. More, please.
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Did you recently refinance your mortgage using Counselor's Title Company? If so, you may be in for a world of hurt. And if you're considering refinancing, read the article anyway. Make sure you are protected.
When Lake Park closes the competition with a near-perfect show, Marian's hopes sink.
Near midnight, a voice bellows the results on the PA system, counting down from 12th place. The announcer says that second place goes to Lake Park. Marian Catholic has won the state championship.
The kids try hard not to erupt. "Shhh, shhhh, shhh," they say to each other, having been instructed time and again that it's not about winning.
Then, a surprise: Lake Park band director Chiodo instructs his students to face the Marian students and play a chorale in their honor. Tears flow from both bands, and from Bimm as well.
The audience files out, and Bimm speaks to his kids.
"Being named the champions today is a huge honor," Bimm says. "But I want you to think about something. ...
"There were some pretty not-happy faces when we finished the performance, because some of you didn't perform as well as you wanted to."
The lesson of the night, adds Bimm, came from Lake Park's impromptu salute.
"With great dignity, they turned around and played for you," Bimm says. "We should try to be like them."
Yeah. It made me tear up a bit.
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Gotta head for the shower. I'm meeting Mr. Bill to go see "Mojo Mickybo" this afternoon.
Yes, I know. It's going to inspire me to keep a sharp eye out for another cheap flight to Ireland... which I miss already.
And how do you think the good folks who voted this stellar representative are going to feel about that?
And that healthcare bill he's so wild about now? Whether or not you like it, if you don't buy a $15,000 policy and cover your spouse and your children, you can be fined up to $250k and go to jail.
And if you still think that bill is a good idea, get a load of this:
This crazy story about bare bears got me to reminiscing about the Fuzzy Wuzzy bath soap I begged for as a kid. Vile stuff, actually. And lookie -- you can get new and improved Fuzzy Wuzzy soaps here and here.
Planning on traveling by plane over the holidays? Then you might want to read this warning that flights may be cut. Overbooking is always a problem, but it sounds like it may be far worse than normal this year. _____
If you're coming to Chicago, be sure and schedule a little time for a walk around the Aqua Building. This photo doesn't do it justice, as it seems to undulate like water as you walk around it. Truly spectacular! _____
My heart goes out to those who were wounded or lost their lives at Fort Hood today, those who live and/or work there, and their families. This is simply heart-wrenching.
I awoke from a very strange dream this morning. There was a leak in my living room and my books were getting soaked. As I was frantically trying to rescue them, the Princess Mom came into the room and started giving me grief about the state of my underpants, paying no attention whatsoever to all the water flowing into the room.
(Not underWEAR -- underPANTS. She said it over and over again in the dream.)
And really, my underpants were just fine -- clean, unfrayed, no holes.
It must have been her x-ray vision* at work, because I was fully clothed in the dream, too.
I'm sure good old Sigmund Freud would have a field day with this... _____
*I don't know about your mom, but MY mom sure had it.
In what respects, then, does California "excel"? California's state and local government employees were the best compensated in America, according to the Census Bureau data for 2006. And the latest posting on the website of the California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility shows 9,223 former civil servants and educators receiving pensions worth more than $100,000 a year from California's public retirement funds. The "dues" paid by taxpayers in order to belong to Club California purchase benefits that, increasingly, are enjoyed by the staff instead of the members.
Not on the government's payroll? There's hope for you yet. After all, the Dem's healthcare bill will create 111 new government bureaucracies that'll need staffing. That's the ticket! _____
Saw this, and thought that maybe it's something "The Bride" might be wanting to order ahead for my BlogDaddy for Christmas. It's right up his alley. _____
I saw this, and thought it was a common sense aproach to a real problem. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not one of those Global-Warming-Sky-Is-Falling-We're-All-Gonna-Die nutjobs. I do, however, really hate to see the amount of waste we produce willy-nilly every day. So this is teaching responsibility and good stewardship, without going overboard on the dogma.
Good show. _____
It's incidents likethis that illustrate why it's a crying shame that CTA took conductors off the El trains:
Screaming "the train took my baby,'' a mother watched in horror as a CTA train pulled away from a North Side station with her baby and stroller stuck in the doors.
The train dragged the stroller until it hit a barrier at the end of the Morse station and the 22-month-old girl flew onto the tracks, missing the third rail, police said. The mother jumped onto the tracks, scooped up her child and handed her up to someone on the platform, he said.
Thank all that is holy that the baby is okay. But this is just not good. _____
If you heard loud weeping and gnashing of teeth from the eastern shores, it's not that he's upset about potential voter fraud; oh, no! Jimbo just got this news:
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Just a quick note that the boots that I ordered from Endless.com yesterday arrived today. They clearly run a size small, so I'm sending them back. Start to finish, my dealings with this e-tailer have been wonderful -- free overnight shipping; free return shipping; easy-to-use and liberal return policy.
As soon as my refund hits the debit card, I'll be ordering another pair in a larger size.
No, they didn't pay me to say this. Yes, I'll order from them again. This is how you succeed in business. _____
Once again The Lipstick Mystic (via the RedEye) believes yours truly has a much more interesting love life than reality:
Leo July 23-Aug. 22
You're pushing ahead with a romance. [Lies! I'm behaving myself and waiting patiently.] Mars is turning you into a dominatrix. You want your lover to obey you and satisfy your every demand, but your honey could be preoccupied with an ex. Give him or her time to end that old relationship.
Sure thing. In the meantime, I just ordered some new winter boots illustrative of my demure and girly nature. Behold. _____
Want your weekly horror-scope? Drop me a note in the comments and I'll post your sign's for you.
I'm guessing these educators sprung as fully-formed 40 year old prigs from their parents' loins. Clearly they were never children, who are more bloody-minded than most adults when it comes to costumes.
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It's no secret that I consider bacon one of nature's perfect foods. Which is why I regret like hell missing this bacony blowout.
This is the stupidest bit of jurisprudence I've seen in a long, long time. She knowingly legally waived those rights long ago. Why in the world the judge gave her a do-over after 20 years is beyond me.
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McDonald's blew it here. They should have hired those kids for their next ad campaign instead of having them arresting for a harmless and creative bit of fun. Sheesh. Some people have no sense of humor.
