Tareq and Michaele Salahi, Virginia socialites, may now be the most infamous reality TV stars in Washington. The couple has made headlines for crashing a recent White House state dinner and shaking hands with President Obama. The couple apparently made it past several security checkpoints to gain access to the party, even though they weren’t on the guest list.

This wasn’t the Salahis’ first celebrity photo op: according to the Washington Post, the couple hobnobbed with the likes of Justice Anthony Kennedy (who spoke at their 2003 wedding), Prince Charles, and Oprah prior to their recent White House appearance. What’s more, Michaele Salahi is reportedly being considered as a contestant on Bravo’s new show Real Housewives of DC, and many are billing the couple’s White House appearance as a publicity stunt aimed at securing a spot on the show.

It’s hard to say whether the stunt paid off. On the one hand, it may be exactly publicity that fuels reality television ratings. On the other, the Secret Service and Republican and Democratic senators alike think the couple should be punished criminally for their act. Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan said that the Secret Service is “deeply concerned and embarrassed” over the incident. A Secret Service spokesman later said that the Service is investigating potential criminal charges. On Fox News Sunday, Senators Evan Bayh (D-IN) and Jon Kyl (R-AZ) agreed that the couple should be criminally prosecuted as a way of deterring others from attempting the same sort of behavior. Senator Bayh commented that getting this close to the President and Vice President is “not a laughing matter.”

Assuming the couple was not on the guest list, was this a harmless stunt akin to the antics in Wedding Crashers? Or should the couple be charged with trespass and threatening the President?

– Spencer Compton

Image Source

You know what I’ve been thinking about lately?  Party crashers, Tiger Woods and the price of fame.

This past holiday weekend is usually one of my favorite times of the year.  In addition to the embarrassing amount of food I consume on Thanksgiving, I get to use my gluttonous behavior as an excuse to sit around for hours while my stomach slowly digests the excessive feast.  And as that simple act of biology takes place, I watch football and look for the Black Friday news stories that illustrate why allowing mobs of overzealous shoppers into your stores at dawn is a horrifically bad idea.

Needless to say I was disappointed this year.  Sure, the Turkey Day smorgasbord took hours and hours to make its journey through my digestive system and there was no shortage of football on TV, but apparently America’s shoppers were on their best behavior.  As far as I could tell, there were no significant reports involving parents engaging in hand-to-hand combat in order to get their hands on a Wii or a Playstation 3.  Nor did I hear any complaints from the wife after she ventured into a shopping mall and a Target on Black Friday.

I suppose this is actually good news.  Perhaps we’ve turned some kind of symbolic corner as a society.  Perhaps we’re on the verge of straightening out our collective priorities and committing to a way of life that isn’t all about rampant consumerism.  As I was pondering the idea of this new world order, I was introduced to the Salahis.

Mr. President... can you make me famous, please?

If you haven’t heard of the world famous Salahis, then you either haven’t checked in with a news outlet in awhile or you just didn’t bother to catch the surname of this newly famous couple.  These two yahoos are better known to the world as the White House party crashers.  These wannabe high rollers somehow managed to outsmart federal agents and infiltrate the Obama Administration’s state dinner thrown in honor of visiting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Breaches in Presidential security are a very serious matter.  So the fact that this couple managed to just walk in off the street should be very disconcerting for the American public.  However, what should be even more alarming is the media tsunami that’s about to crash upon all of us.

It’s been reported that Tareq and Michaele Salahi once aspired to be cast members on the Bravo reality show The Real Housewives of Washington, D.C. It’s also been reported that the Salahis have a publicist and are shopping “their story” to the highest bidder.  I think we all see where this is going.  As much as I’d like to believe in the concept of journalistic integrity, it’s pretty much inevitable that some network executive will pony up the cash to interview this couple.  I think it’s equally inevitable that they’ll have nothing of any substance to say.

Can’t we stop this from happening?  Isn’t there some subsection of the Patriot Act that allows us to waterboard these bottom-feeders?  Probably not.  That’s why the only hope our nation has right now is Tiger Woods.

The one thing that seemed to bump the Salahis off the front page of CNN’s website was the world’s best golfer crashing his car in the wee hours following Thanksgiving.  While alcohol was said not to be a factor, there’s been much speculation regarding what Tiger was doing driving at such a late hour and how he managed to bounce his very expensive car off a much less expensive fire hydrant.

Now don’t get me wrong.  I don’t dislike Eldrick Woods and I wish nothing but good things for him.  But in this case, I’m asking him to jump on the grenade and do America this one favor as a public service.  If he could just confess to doing something untoward it would really mean a lot to people like me who just can’t stand the thought of these party-crashing weasels becoming the next Balloon Boy family.

And perhaps in confessing to something even remotely newsworthy, Tiger could teach the Salahis and the Hennes and the Jon and Kates of the world a valuable lesson.  Be careful what you wish for.  Because while these oxygen-wasters seem to desperately want to feel the white-hot spotlight shining on them, I don’t think they’re in the least bit prepared for the consequences that come with worldwide fame.

Tiger Woods knows a thing or two about those consequences.  For him, being famous  means he’s never ever alone.  It means there’s always someone watching him, ready to capture his most vulnerable moment and post it on TMZ or YouTube.  It means even something as harmless as an insignificant fender bender is newsworthy and fodder for public debate.

It's not easy being Tiger. I mean, who wants to sign hats?

I’ve never heard Tiger complain, and I’m sure if asked he would rightfully say he was blessed.  Being the best golfer in the world has earned him the admiration of millions of fans and so much money it probably takes a team of highly paid accountants to keep track of it all.  But make no mistake about it, being Tiger Woods isn’t easy.  And why people with no discernable talents keep pursuing this lifestyle is beyond me.

Assuming Tiger’s crash is as it seems, much to do about nothing, the Salahis will probably get their fifteen minutes.  Then, once their lives are put on display and vigorously deconstructed, they’ll probably tire of the attention and slither away into sweet obscurity.  After a few years, perhaps they’ll appreciate their lack of fame and look back at their publicity stunt as a horrible mistake.

So as my weekend came to an end I decided I’m thankful I’m not Tiger Woods.  And thankful I don’t have the last name Salahi.  Hopefully, next year’s post-Thanksgiving news cycle will be a little more traditional, with stories of crazed parents elbowing each other in the face for vibrating Elmo dolls taking center stage.

Then I’ll really be thankful.

Tareq and Michaele Salahi are becoming Washington social outcasts after crashing the White House state dinner. But before people snicker, scoff and judge, they should remember the Nation’s Capital breeds mindless social climbers like the Salahis appear to be. And, perhaps, there may be a bit of them in everyone.

It’s fair to say that most human beings hope others see them according to their abilities and the content of their character. But that’s still in many ways just a dream. It can be difficult and take time to get at someone’s essence. Therefore, people all too often limit themselves to studying what a person does for a living and who they socialize with.

People are not only looking to judge others but also achieve something. Many crave proximity to power because it may mean power for themselves, or at least the illusion of importance. Fame or notoriety also often makes people feel important. And, hey, we all want to matter in the end. It’s no surprise many of us feel the need, even the pressure, to play the social climbing game. It can be perilous not to. Good connections often equal high paying jobs or important appointments that can define a career.

Washington has a rich history of high society and social climbing. In the “olden days” political wives had to make regular calls on other wives. It helped create friendships and camaraderie among the nation’s political players and decision makers. A much evolved version of the dynamic happens today.

Eleanor Roosevelt was born into wealth and prominence. According to historians, she hated the social games of her age. But she learned to cope with them and use them for good. She employed her status to advocate for what she thought was right.

There may indeed be a Tareq and Michaele Salahi in all of us. But it may be the shallower, more unpleasant side that they represent.

This has been weighing on my mind for the past few days, yet every time I sit down to write this entry, I get sidetracked. Well this ends today! I have had it. I simply cannot take the idiocy anymore! Why in the world are the Salahis receiving so much media attention? You know, the Salahis, the couple that crashed the White House state dinner, and are receiving so much positive press? I cannot say they are simply getting press, because everything I have read thus far has been positive, or written with undertones of  adoration. What? Are we going to simply ignore the obvious safety issues and concerns of this fiasco? What is with all these puff pieces?  It’s horrible! Just recently did Yahoo News print that the Secret Service are embarrassed, and  looking into how this happened. Don’t state the obvious to me! Of course the Secret Service must improve security! The entire nation has witnessed one heck of a Secret Service “slip up.” Previous news articles have been filled with excuses! I do not care if this couple passed through “magnetometers”. I care that this couple was in the same room as the President of the United States, and no one knew who these people were! I care that these people managed to get into an official White House party, uninvited, and there was not immediate fallout, punishment, or genuine concern expressed from media outlets. Not to be an alarmist, but there’s no telling what persons or groups have taken this incident into account, and are forming schemes. This time it was “party crashers,” but what about people whose plans or more malicious than trying to get cast for “The Real Housewives of DC”?  In my humble opinion, this entire incident is being handled like a good-hearted grammar school prank! I should not see pictures of this couple smiling! I should see them with furrowed brows, crying, and wondering how they are going to pay the fine for their unwanted presence at President Obama’s first State dinner! NOW they are all smiles, how long until the beloved Salahis issue a professionally written, and insincere apology?

This entire issue has been handled quite poorly. Apparently aspirations for fame can overwhelm common sense. Never in life would this author barge into a White House party uninvited, and expect it to turn out well. This couple is being rewarded with attention, and they simply do not deserve it. Call me bitter, but they have done nothing of merit; instead they have done the President and his Administration a disservice. Upon realizing that this couple was indeed uninvited, the pair should have been ejected, and escorted into lock up. I should be seeing mug shots, not happy smiling faces. From State Dinner to State Prison, that’s what I say.

I’m sorry if you’re sick of the subject but it’s just not going away. It was on every single news broadcast that I watched today. Not even just news shows but shows like The View were talking about this today and it seems opinions are very varied so I thought it might make for a good discussions while it’s still news.

I had this conversation with my mom this morning but of course she thought I was “picking” on or “making fun” of Obama. Heaven forbid I do that so she wanted to pick an argument with me.

First she laughed over it. I didn’t really ever find any humor in it. I mean, it’s kind of funny I guess if you think it’s funny for just any person off the street to touch and be in the same room with our president. These people “seem” okay but hey, they didn’t have clearance to be there. Then she blamed the people and said they broke in. I asked her how did she figure that? They walked in the same door everyone else walked in. They didn’t sneak in a side door or climb through a window. Then she said they were trespassing but I still begged to differ with her. They were ADMITTED to that dinner. SOMEBODY let these people in knowing their names weren’t on the list. The first check point person who let them in didn’t see their name on the guest list but he “thought” the next person would catch them. HUH???

People are talking about pressing criminal charges. It leaves me wondering what for? These people didn’t break in. They didn’t really lie. They pretended like a couple of kids would pretend. They never planned to hurt anyone and they had nothing on them to hurt anyone so what would they be charged with? Is lying by omission a crime now? These are two celeb wanna be’s and they went to a dinner at the White House with no invitation and they were admitted. They were thisclose to our president. OUR PRESIDENT!!! This is downright scary to me. But I don’t blame the couple. I blame whoever’s job it was to keep this from happening.

This is an attention seeking couple and whoa, they sure got attention didn’t they? As an American, I’m also embarrassed that something like this, in these times of war and nuts being on the lose, that someone with no clearance was in the same room and shaking our presidents hand and is being “hugged” by the vice president.

So, what do you think?

If the Salahis had their umbrellas, what would have happened?:

‘The Secret Service has questioned the couple who crashed last week’s White House state dinner and discovered they were allowed into the function when they pleaded with an agent to let them come in out of the rain. Tareq and Michaele Salahi could face charges, said an official who characterized the questioning as part of a review of presidential security procedures.

‘Rather than letting them “stand there and get wet,” the agent “went ahead and let them go,” a source told the Washington Post. The Secret Service’s review is likely to result in cranked up security. “I would encourage the White House social office to buy umbrellas before the next event, because you can be sure the Secret Service will be doing their job,” said a Washington security veteran.’ -NY Times

Wise comedy.

TechLiberation.Com

Should an Independent Regulatory Agency Head Be Visiting the White House This Often?Move over, health care reform, climate change, and the economy. Judging by White House visits by various government agency heads, the Obama administration instead appears preoccupied with the re-regulation of communications, media, and the Internet. The Administration has just released logs of all visitors to the White House and Executive Office Buildings from Obama’s inauguration through August—including a staggering 47 visits by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski. By contrast, no other major agency head logged more than five visits.  Chairman Genachowski obviously has an audience with those at the highest levels of power, including the President himself, but this raises questions about just how “independent” this particular regulator and his agency really are.

I stand corrected. The absolute worst faux pas that you can make regarding your decision to attend an event is to show up uninvited! Last week, this would have sounded ridiculous and condescending, but that was before the White House Gatecrashers fiasco. This is not specifically too Arab, just too rude. But sadly, because of the recent escapades of money-hungry Tareq Salahi and his fame-crazed wife, we can file this embarrassing incident here. Acting like Borat and crashing a White House State dinner is not cool. This is not an old-school Arabic wedding where you can dress up, sneak in without a gift and get a free dinner without anyone noticing. And FYI to Mr. Salahi: begging someone (even if they are really connected) to get you an invitation in a series of emails does not mean you have been invited nor does the digital trail get you off the hook. You and your social-climbing wife are destined to be the fast-food kind of famous: at first tantalizing, then sickening and at the end disposable. In the mean time, buy an etiquette book, you might learn something, avoid a future social disaster and hopefully wash off your nouveau (faux) riche stench. Oh wait, you are going to need all the trashiness possible for your Bravo gig. But you will probably have more pressing things to attend this week: your hearing on Thursday. Don’t forget to RSVP, you are definitely invited!

]]> http://theconservativejournal.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/white-house-party-crashers/ Tue, 01 Dec 2009 01:50:04 +0000 Rick http://theconservativejournal.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/white-house-party-crashers/

Joe should be honored to be sandwiched between such geniuses.

I don’t recommend busting into the White House uninvited, but I figure if you’ve got the guts to do it, you’re a braver person than I am.  And heck, if they can make it all the way to the room where the president is located and shake his hand without an invitation and without getting caught, I think we should hire them up right and give them top positions in the espionage department of the CIA.  And while I’m not condoning what they did, I’m certainly not on the “throw ‘em in prison bandwagon” like Neil Cavuto, among others.  If you dig through all the hooplah, we can actually learn a lot from this whole fiasco.  Like:

1. The secret service isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. How can they allow two uninvited guests to not only enter the White House, but also make it all the way to the president and even get a picture with them?  It’s amazing they’re able to protect Barack from all those crazies out there that want to take him down.
2. The recession has definitely hit the news media. Sure news agencies have said for years that they don’t pay for interviews, but you and me both know that 4 years ago SOMEONE would have stepped up by now to fork over what the Salahis are asking for to land an exclusive interview.
3. Some people will never take responsibility for their actions. Though I haven’t heard anything about the secret service doing this, I’ve read many articles from reputable news personalities saying the Salahis should be “ashamed for embarrassing our secret service”.  Umm I think the secret service has that covered on their own, thank you.
4. Saturday Night Live should plan their off-weeks better. Everyones favorite Saturday night entertainment missed a great oppurtunity for a parody of this event.  Kristen Wiig and that guy she does the “Two A-holes” skit with would have been brilliant as the Salahis.  Oh well, there’s always next week.
5. America really is making great strides away from racial prejudice. With a name like “Tareq Salahi”, this guy is just a turban away from being on the “100 most dangerous terrorist list”.  It’s refreshing to know that we’re at a point where people who just a few years ago would have been background checked to fill up their gas tank are able to avoid harsh judgement.  I just wish this lesson could have been learned in a manner that would have been so devastating if all of the “what if”s would have played out.
6. Facebook really is the root of all evil. I have a Facebook, but I only made it to make The Conservative Journal fan page.  On last count, I have zero friends.  Sad I know.  Regardless of my own friendlessness, the Michaele has proven that Facebook is the downfall of modern society.  If she hadn’t posted pictures on her Facebook page, she and her husbands presence probably would have gone undetected.  But then again, what’s the point of doing anything if you can’t make it your Facebook status?
7. We’re running out of reality show ideas. When you have to stoop so low as make several different versions of a show called “Real Housewives of [insert city here]” (the show the Salahis are trying be cast for), it’s obvious the reality show well is drying up.  Watch out for the next big thing of 2010, “Real Housewives of Tyler, Texas”.
8. The stress of the office is getting to Barack’s hair. In the picture of Michaele and Barack ( found here), you can clearly see Barack’s hair color is making the famed shift that all presidential manes experience: from colored to Paw-paw.

If there’s one thing the Salahis aren’t, it’s unmotivated.  Unlike the many fame-whores before them, I actually wish them the best.  Because the likes of Perez Hilton, Speidi (these two are the worst), and others NEVER managed to do something as impressive as sneak into the White House.

Can you think of anything else we can learn from the Salahis?  Leave your comments below or send an e-mail to theconservativejournal@gmail.com.  Don’t forget to bookmark The Conservative Journal and sign up for the RSS Feed and the daily e-mail newsletter.

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Thanks for reading!

Rick

Congress calls for party crashers to testify.

Washington (CNN) — The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee called Monday for the couple who crashed President Obama’s state dinner last week and the head of Secret Service to testify at a Thursday hearing on the security breakdown at the White House event.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, the committee chairman, announced that he wants to hear Tareq and Michaele Salahi, and Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan, explain how the couple was able to get inside the White House and shake hands with President Obama without being on the guest list.

“This is a time for answers, recognition of security deficiencies past and present, and remedies to ensure the strength of the Secret Service and the safety of those under its protection,” Thompson said in a statement. “This is not the time for political games or scapegoating to distract our attention from the careful oversight we must apply to the Secret Service and its mission. My confidence in the management of the Secret Service hangs in the balance.” He called the incident a “slap in the face” to other Secret Service employees.

Internal investigations have indicated that the Secret Service didn’t follow protocol at at least one security checkpoint.

(PHOTO CREDITS: Getty Images)

Washington (CNN) — – Secret Service security officials at a perimeter checkpoint failed to “get on the phone” to ask about a couple not listed as guests who sought entry to last week’s White House state dinner, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Monday.

The couple was allowed into the event in a security breach at the first state dinner of President Barack Obama’s administration.

Tareq and Michaele Salahi met Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and other top White House officials during the dinner held for visiting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The couple was not invited to the event, according to the administration.

Asked repeatedly at his daily briefing about what happened, Gibbs blamed the problem on a lack of communication between the initial screening point and White House organizers.

“If somebody was confused about whether or not somebody was on a list at a guard tower on the perimeter, then why not get on the phone and ask,” Gibbs said.

Pressed about the possibility that no one from the White House social office was at the perimeter checkpoint, as reportedly occurred at previous White House dinners, Gibbs said the point is that the Secret Service security crew didn’t ask about the couple.

“None of that relay happened between the Secret Service and the social office, whether the social office was at the gate or on the phone in the office,” Gibbs said.

Earlier Monday, another administration spokesman said Obama still has “full confidence” in the ability of the Secret Service to protect the first family.

“The president believes that the men and women of the Secret Service put their lives on the line every day to protect him, his family and many others,” White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said, adding: “He thinks that they do an exceptional job, that they are heroes and they have his full confidence.”

An internal investigation into the incident has found that Secret Service agents did not follow protocol at the security checkpoint.

“The Secret Service is deeply concerned and embarrassed by the circumstances surrounding the state dinner on Tuesday,” the agency said in a statement last week. “Although these individuals went through magnetometers and other levels of screening, they should have been prohibited from entering the event entirely. That failing is ours.”

Shapiro and Gibbs both noted that the White House has asked the Secret Service to do a full review of the incident.

The “Secret Service said they made a mistake and they are taking action to identify exactly what happened and they will take the appropriate measures pending the results of their investigation,” Shapiro said.

At his later briefing, Gibbs said it would be up to the Secret Service and the U.S. attorney to decide if the Salahis should face criminal charges.

Also Monday, Defense Department official Michele Jones denied in a statement obtained by CNN that she helped try to get the couple on the list for the state dinner.

“I did not state at any time, or imply that I had tickets for ANY portion of the evening’s events,” Jones said in a prepared statement released by a White House official. “I specifically stated that they did not have tickets and in fact that I did not have the authority to authorize attendance, admittance or access to any part of the evening’s activities. Even though I informed them of this, they still decided to come.”

Jones is a special assistant to Defense Secretary Robert Gates and serves as the Pentagon’s liaison to the White House. The Washington Post reported that the Salahis have turned over copies of an e-mail exchange with Jones to Secret Service investigators.

Updated: 8:30 p.m.

–CNN’s Ed Henry contributed to this report.

U.S. President Barack Obama (2nd L) greets Michaele Salahi (C) and her husband Tareq (R) during a state dinner for India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (L) at the White House in this official White House photo taken November 24, 2009 and released November 27, 2009. REUTERS/Samantha Appleton-The White House/Handout

Well, now we know the “publicity stunt” is back. First the balloon boy of Colorado, now the real housewife of D.C., Michaele Salahi.

They’ve asked the news folks to “get their bids in” for interviews, according to the AP:

The couple who crashed President Barack Obama’s first state dinner are peddling their story to broadcast networks for hundreds of thousands of dollars, a television executive says.

The executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the network does not publicly discuss bookings, told The Associated Press that representatives for Michaele and Tareq Salahi contacted networks to urge them to “get their bids in” for an interview. The executive said the Virginia couple was looking for a payment in the mid-six figures range.

Meanwhile, CNN confirmed that the Salahis had canceled an appearance they had scheduled for “Larry King Live” on Monday.

Network news divisions say they don’t pay for interviews. But for eagerly sought interviews in the past, they have offered to pay for access to exclusive material, such as pictures or videos from their subjects.

Representatives for the couple did not immediately return telephone and e-mail requests for comment.

Michaele Salahis is a reality TV hopeful trying to get on Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of D.C.” Her and her husband’s success in getting into the state dinner Tuesday without an invitation embarrassed the White House and Secret Service.

Scandal marketing and publicity stunts are one thing, but this kind of activity is dangerous and inconsiderate. Keep it clean and honest, please.

The White House announced the launch of an initiative that is designed to transform the federal government into the model employer of America’s veterans.  The Executive Order creates an interagency Council on Veterans Employment that will advise the President and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management on the veterans’ employment initiative.  The Order also establishes a Veterans Employment Program office within most federal agencies.  These offices will be responsible for helping veterans identify employment opportunities within those federal agencies, providing feedback to veterans about their employment application status, and helping veterans recently employed by these agencies adjust to civilian life and a workplace culture often different than military service.

To read the entire White House Press Release regarding this Veterans Employment Initiative, please go to: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/president-obama-launches-major-veterans-employment-initiative

I have to take off my flip flops to get on a plane, but they'll let anyone into the White House.

By now everyone has heard about the infamous couple who somehow managed to crash a party at the White House. Michaele and Tareq Salahi gained entry to the White House state dinner last week without being on the list, rubbing shoulders with Joe Biden, Katie Couric and Obama himself. Everyone wants to know who these people are and what they were thinking.

What I want to know is who the hell was the security guy and how can I get him hired in my city?

I think the White House needs to make some cuts, let this guy go and perhaps hire some security guards who have “able to read guestlists” on their resume. (I mean, come on, what’s next – will Bin Laden just saunter into the Oval Office??) Then this guy will be free to work a number of venues, (where he has no way of sacrificing our national security) and help me out big time.

The Liquor Store Near Campus
Now that I’m 21, I no longer sweat buckets buying a bottle of wine, but for all of my poor under-age college friends who still do, this guy would be a big help. He obviously doesn’t want to offend anyone by say, turning them away. We could all march in there anxiety free, pick up a couple cases of beer and confidently claim we’re 25 year old Susan from Canada.

An Overpriced New Years Eve Venue
This year NYE is really stressing me out. All the cool places want to charge me an arm and a leg to party all night long, sending me straight into the new year with a big fat negative in my bank account. But this White House guy can really help me out. If I shmooze him and claim that I did in fact purchase a $300 ticket but absent-mindedly left it home, chances are he will believe me and let me pass. Being able to party at a venue I can’t afford without giving up eating for a month? Priceless.

The Security Desk on Campus
Forget your student ID? No problem! You look like a student here so it must be the truth. Oh, that clanking coming from your backpack is a bunch of glass Coke bottles? No need to double check; he knows how good Coke is from a bottle. How much easier would all of our lives be if the grumpy stickler who grills you every time you pass was replaced by a generous, rule-bending softy? Hey, if he’s good enough for El Presidente, he’s good enough for me.

The Campus Library
It’s hard enough to fit all my books and notes in my bag, but as I head to the library for some last minute studying I have to make room for all my snacks and create a safe pocket to hide my Starbucks latte, then shimmy by the security guard before he hears the potato chips crunching. But if the White House bouncer worked here, he would understand that I need the nourishment, even if outside food and drink are against the rules. Wait, who am I kidding? This guy is so oblivious he wouldn’t even smell the Chipotle wafting from my pocket. He would wish me a good day and send me through, coffee and all. If he’s allowing strangers to mingle with our president, I doubt he’d even notice my orange Cheetoh fingers as I swipe my ID and mosey on by.

Hey, it’s no good in the Whitehouse, but negligence does have benefits. Where else could you guys really use this bouncer’s leniency around campus?

There are a whole lot more from this night, but I wanted to post my favorites:

So, about Tuesday.

Yeah, there was definitely a security breach of some sort. Heads are going to roll. And that should be the story. Not the crashers-who-shall-not-be-named. I was walking from a parking garage on I Street to the White House – three and a half blocks, tops – and on the way there this morning I heard at least two conversations that referenced the crashers. In the briefing room, I hear their names all over. They’re instant celebrities – which is of course what they wanted. And it makes me sick that we’re letting them attain such status.

If you spend much time on internet discussion boards, you soon learn a hard and fast rule: Do Not Feed The Trolls. By “feeding the trolls”, it means giving disruptive people fuel for argument or even just paying attention to them. Ignore them, and they go away. If they don’t, they become unbearable assholes, and they get the banhammer. Simple principles of human interaction, really.

Trolls come in varieties other than mere irritating pinheads; for the purposes of this post we will focus on the attention whore. Attention whores cannot stand the fact that someone is getting more attention than they are, and will be whiny and disruptive and announce their presence in all caps and with many emoticons. Not surprisingly, in my expert opinion, the crashers fall into this category. There’s little that more perfectly exemplifies the attention whore lifestyle than crashing a state dinner honoring a foreign dignitary. Not only is it completely ridiculous, it’s just plain rude.

Maybe it was just how I was raised, but I cannot abide rudeness, and this publicity stunt was rudeness of the highest caliber. It was, dare I say, douchey.

One thing I can say for them is that they dared to dare – and it got them in contact with many of the influential people in attendance, including the President himself.

Of course, the real problem with this is the voracious news cycle, the ever-hungering beast. While there are other, frankly more worthy stories to cover, the major networks are focusing on Mrs. Crasher’s hair and makeup tab. Really? Is this the story we should be covering? Tomorrow is World AIDS Day. Shouldn’t we be focusing on the current administration’s policy on helping afflicted nations, as well as combating the problem within DC itself? Hell no. Why do that when we could have something vapid and light and captivating about a pretty lady in a pretty sari who wasn’t supposed to be there?

[As I predicted, the briefing was taken up with questions about Afghanistan and the crashers. We’re making them into a bigger story than they need to be. Yes, I know this article is a meta-irony - me whining about the crashers being a big story while I write a story about them being a big story...but this is all I shall say on the matter. Meanwhile, I'll write this other article about World AIDS Day over here...]

By Keeley Sheehan

Health care and gun control are inextricably linked. Supposedly.

I came across this article today. The lobby group Gun Owners of America is opposed to health care reform bill that the Senate is debating. According to GOA, the proposed health care reform will create some sort of super special government database that will keep track of everything you do, and your doctor will be able to enter into the database whether you own a gun, and you will be denied coverage. And if you have a mental health disorder, you won’t be able to own a gun.

According to GOA, the government will require Americans to purchase as much health coverage as they seem fit, forcing citizens to “have less money for buying firearms and ammunitions.” (Though, as the author of the story points out, the same could be said for buying groceries, and so far the GOA hasn’t made any moves to shut down supermarkets.)

The White House responded, offering the GOA a “reality check.” The GOA responded further, tearing apart the White House’s arguments line by line.

What I found most interesting about the story was not the way the author wrote it (though I did enjoy reading it), or the White House/GOA back-and-forth. The Slate author added a link in his story to a St. Petersburg Times fact check.

According to their Politifact check, the bill does allow for “healthy” and “unhealthy” behaviors to factor into health care premiums, but to say that this will lead to the demise of the 2nd

It's important for journalists to keep checking the facts.

Amendment is a stretch. It also points out two things the GOA didn’t touch on in their arguments: the bill could give more protection to those engaged in “unhealthy behaviors,” and there’s nothing in the bill to suggest that the government will consider gun ownership in regard to health care in the future.

I think all these links point to the importance of journalists, and the need for unbiased reporting, especially with how quickly information, particularly false information, can spread via e-mail and the Internet. With entities like the White House on one side and the GOA on the other, it’s important that a middle exists, keeping both sides’ facts – or lack of – in check.

In the last week we as Americans have been treated to a lot of turkey. The question is who is the largest – the one you enjoyed on Thursday, the 45-pounder “Courage’ that was pardoned, or the Secret Service of the United States allowing party crashers into the White House dinner?

Cue Jeopardy theme please…What is the Secret Service?

Yes. The United States Secret Service as it turns out didn’t do their job. Someone at the first check point let a couple into the party without checking. Rumor has it because they thought someone at the next check point would do that.

Here’s the story on ABC’s Good Morning America.

In the text of the story there is mention of charges against the couple. One being trespassing and the other lying to a federal officer. Is the White House private property or a public government building and is it trespassing if you are allowed in. I am also not sure on what they lied about…they gave their real names. If the Secret Service didn’t check their list and let them in how can they be charged with trespassing and lying?

What do you think? Should they be prosecuted? I say No.

The Obama Administration says “do as I say, not as I do.” For an example, let’s look at the recent State Dinner at the White House. A State Dinner is really an elegant special event. Black tie and ball gowns, pomp and circumstance, cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, excellent food and wine, and fabulous entertainment in an elegant White House setting.

You may be asking yourself what is wrong with an elegant State Dinner – and I agree that under normal circumstances there is nothing wrong with using this type of special event to advance our countries objectives. I really encourage the use of special events and strategic meetings to move forward one’s cause. The White House in fact said the purpose of the dinner was to create a greater strategic alliance with India and define the partnership for the 21st Century. These are commendable objectives with which I have no squabble. It’s not the objectives of the event or the event itself that I have issue with, it is the hypocrisy of the Obama Administration to regulate to certain US businesses, and recommend to others, what they can and can not do to advance their strategic objectives. The government has limited US businesses from conducting normal business practices by using one of the great strategic tools available; either a special event or meeting, to advance their tactical relationships with their employees and customers. Hypocrisy is when you do as I say, not as I do.

Today’s White House news conference on the Obama Administration’s global HIV/AIDS efforts did not, in fact, provide all that much news.

The main announcement came from Secretary Hillary Clinton, who said the International AIDS Society would host its 2012 conference in Washington, D.C., a step made possible by the Administration’s repeal of the HIV entry ban. That two-decades-old ban barred HIV-positive individuals from coming to the U.S., a discriminatory rule that had no basis in public health.

Its demise “is a significant victory for public health and human rights,” Dr. Elly Katabira, associate dean for AIDS research at Makerere University and president-elect of IAS, said at the White House event. To be sure, it’s great that for the first time in 22 years the IAS meeting will be held in the U.S.–in D.C. no less, a city that, as Dr. Katabira noted, has been heavily affected by the HIV epidemic.

Clinton said that PEPFAR would serve as “the cornerstone of our Global Health Initiative,” the White House proposal, first unveiled in May, which called for spending $63 billion over six years on a new global health strategy. And Jeffrey Crowley, director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy, said that Obama would build on PEPFAR’s success by “doubling PEPFAR funding over the next six years” as part of the GHI proposal. But Crowley didn’t elaborate, and the math behind that statement was unclear.

For now, we know that Ambassador Eric Goosby, MD, the Administration’s global AIDS coordinator, has predicted PEPFAR may be flat-funded, or nearly so, for fiscal years 2010 and 2011. And with key details of the Administration’s GHI remain under wraps, there’s still growing concern the administration will pull back from global AIDS scale up.

At today’s event, Dr. Goosby, said he would outline the five-year US global AIDS strategy later this week. The Office of the US Global AIDS Coordinator will also release some “annexes” later this week that provide more detail about the Administration’s plans to transition PEPFAR from an emergency response to a more sustainable “country-owned, country-driven” program, as Dr. Goosby put it.

“PEPFAR’s five-year strategy will focus on sustainability, programs that are country-owned and country-driven … programs that build upon our success and incorporate efficiencies,” Dr. Goosby said. 

So perhaps we’ll get some of the nitty-gritty details later this week. For now, on the eve of World AIDS Day, many critical questions about the Administration’s vision for PEPFAR and its commitment to scaling up the global AIDS initiative remain unanswered. What about funding levels? What about treatment targets? What about new evidence-based policies on needle exchange?

In the next few posts, it is my desire to examine as many aspects of the failing black family as possible.  Everywhere you look in today’s world there are more and more questions surrounding the issues of relationships.  There are quite a few blog sites which are dedicated to these and other issues, and one can learn much from some of these posts. This is such a big topic that one wonders where do you start?  What should be first? Where are we hurting the most?

Bob Marley once said:

“every man thinks his burden is the heaviest, but who feels it knows it.” 

So depending on who you are and more importantly, where you are in your life’s journey we all know our pain.

I hope to tackle some of the most talked about issues, love, marriage, money and sex. We also would like to take a look at what Public Enemy once called the “fear of a Black planet.”  Why is so much hatred directed at the first black family in the White House?  Why does there appear to be a hatred not just of the President’s policies, but of himself, his wife and their children?

Today we start with the word relationship which the dictionary defines as “a connection, association, or involvement.”  Sadly, most of what are called “relationships” in our communities have very loose connections, the associations have very little in common, and the involvements are seasonal at best. One could make a good living counseling black men and women thru the issues of failed relationships. We as a community are most profoundly impacted by the pain of our women, who now are crying out for relief, along with the women of the world.  Black women have stood for us and by us and are tiring of carrying the burden alone.  The churches and mosques are filled with women who have borne the brunt of the frustration of men, who wanted to do better but did not know how.

We no longer relate to each other as our grandparents and even some parents did. Today’s social engineering causes us to meet in some very different ways. MySpace, Facebook to name a few, are now considered legitimate ways to find a partner. Most of our women, having grown up without fathers, have no idea how to relate to men and most of our men have no idea how to relate to women, having never seen that in their homes.

The music of today tell us that our relationships are all about the fleeting physical pleasure we derive from each other, but seldom tells us how to have a love that last. One of my favorite exceptions is a “Teach Me” by singer Musiq Soulchild.

Meanwhile, our children continue to lag behind, continue to fall into the cycle of failed relationships, and fractured homes. They struggle in schools and begin a life trying to belong.  As a parent who has failed in many regards, I can see the effects of my failures in my children and their relationships.

Thankfully we can be encouraged by the Bible’s teaching that where there is life, there is yet hope. So as we begin these series of post it is our hope they are of some benefit to all who read them, they are not intended to answer all the questions and not all the answers may be right, however if they can keep the conversation going, or perhaps steer them in the right direction this would have served its purpose.

Bro Richard

FoodCycles inspiration, Will Allen of Growing Power Inc was featured on CNN in the US. Will founded Growing Power in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and now shares his knowledge with people from all over the country (and Canadians too, how else do you think FoodCycles got started). Growing Power is the last city farm in Milwaukee with 14 greenhouses, chickens, goats, turkeys and fish. Will Allen has even been invited to the White House by Michelle Obama.

Get the full video and post at FoodCycles.org.

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel “is scheduled to visit Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) later today to talk health care reform, an aide said,” according to POLITICO’s Live Pulse blog.

The continuation of these backroom negotiations on the public option and other issues are the flip side of the very public Senate floor.

(credit image – getty)

From Charles Kerchner, CDR USNR (Ret), and lead plaintiff in Kerchner V Obama and Congress, November 30, 2009.

“This pointed and hard-hitting ad is running today in the Washington Times National Weekly addition as a full page on page 9.  Would you give it some note in your blog and do a post on it.  We need to get the word out as to who is allowing Obama to “sit on the fence post” he is sitting on.  Who put him up there and who is keeping him there.  This ad does it very well.  A picture says a thousand words.

http://puzo1.blogspot.com/2009/11/obamas-lack-of-eligibility-three.html

Ad link to it at SCRIBD.com:  http://www.scribd.com/doc/23299370/

PDF copy attached too.

Your blog is very well read.  And with you challenging the Congress people to debates, this ad ties in with that.  It show them hiding their eyes and not wanting to look into this matter and hope it will go away.  It will not.

We need all the help we can get to get the word out as to who is blocking progress in addressing the Constitutional Crisis of the Usurper in the Oval Office. Thanks in advance.

Charles Kerchner
CDR USNR (Ret)
Lead Plaintiff
Kerchner v Obama & Congress
http://www.protectourliberty.org/

“

US Navy Commander:

Commander ranks above lieutenant commander and below captain. Commander is equivalent to the rank of lieutenant colonel.