Paris Hilton responds to her image being used in one of McCain’s ads… by making a campaign ad of her own! And you know what? She’s got a much more thoughtful energy policy than Barack Obama does. And they’ve probably got about equal experience when it comes to governing.
Check it out:
Scary question: if Paris and Barack were your two choices, which would you vote for? I honest-to-God don’t know who would be worse.
Best of all was the McCain camp’s response to Paris’ “ad”:
In the unkindest cut of all, McCain’s spokesperson Tucker Bounds tells TMZ that on the subject of energy, Paris is deeper than Barack. He says, “Sounds like Paris is taking the ‘All of the Above’ energy approach that John McCain has advocated — both alternatives and drilling. Perhaps the reality is that Paris has a more substantive energy plan than Barack Obama.”
Priceless. And pretty true. Folks, when Paris Hilton sounds more intelligent than the guy you’re supporting, it may be time to rethink your vote. Just a suggestion.
Hat Tip: Hot Air
(5 votes, average: 3.4 out of 5)
Loading ...He does her greatest hits, people. Get your minds out of the gutter!
This video is pretty old — the post date was January of last year. But I just saw it for the first time today, and laughed my ass off.
Enjoy:
Hat Tip: My colleague Jay Tea at Wizbang
(2 votes, average: 4 out of 5) Loading ...Couldn’t have happened to more deserving people:
The Topeka Fire Department is investigating a small fire today outside of a church whose members protest at soldier’s funerals.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports on its Web site that a fence and garage at Westboro Baptist Church became engulfed in flames early today.
Topeka Fire Marshal Greg Bailey said the cause of the fire has not been determined.
However, a spokeswoman for the church, Shirley Phelps-Roper, believes it was deliberately set.
Members of the church frequently picket military funerals, arguing that the deaths of U.S. troops overseas are part of God’s punishment for the nation’s tolerance of homosexuality.
Bailey said damage is estimated at $10,000.
Now, I don’t wish this kind of thing on anybody. But now that it’s happened, what can I say? What goes around comes around.
The WBC idiots think the fire was deliberately set (surprise, surprise). My thoughts are, maybe God got a little pissed off at the Phelps wackos for doing such vile things in his name and decided to take some action. Who knows?
Hat Tip: Rachel Lucas
(5 votes, average: 5 out of 5) Loading ...George Stephanopoulos grills Pioneer Pelosi on why she won’t allow a straight up-or-down vote on drilling. Enjoy watching her squirm:
Hat Tip: Hot Air
(5 votes, average: 4.8 out of 5) Loading ...Today, the United States Coast Guard celebrates their 218th birthday. The nation’s oldest continuous seagoing service began August 4, 1790 from a proposal written by Alexander Hamilton and approved by Congress. Some history:
The Coast Guard is one of America’s five armed forces and traces its founding to Aug. 4, 1790, when the first Congress authorized the construction of ten vessels to enforce tariff and trade laws, prevent smuggling, and protect the collection of the federal revenue. Considerable responsibilities have been added over the years including humanitarian duties such as aiding mariners in distress. The service received its present name in 1915 when the Revenue Cutter Service merged with the U.S. Life-Saving Service to form a single maritime service dedicated to safety of life at sea and enforcing the nation’s maritime laws.
Unfortunately, the Coast Guard is probably the most underrecognized and underappreciated branch of the military. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people query, “Is the Coast Guard part of the military?” Yes, Virginia, the Coast Guard is a branch of the military. They’re part of the Department of Homeland Security rather than the Department of Defense, and they’re our guardians at home while the other branches defend us around the world.
Today, the City of Jacksonville, the USO, and the Northeast Florida Chief Petty Officers Assocation hosted a Coast Guard Appreciation Day at Metropolitan Park. Jacksonville mayor John Peyton also issued a proclamation recognizing the Coast Guard and officially designating August 4 as Coast Guard Day for the city of Jacksonville. There was a live concert, contests, games, and raffles. Bono’s BBQ and Firehouse Subs also provided free food.
The Coast Guard’s motto is Semper Paratus, meaning “Always Ready”. And they are. They’re the silent heroes that we forget too often. Their missions include: search-and-rescue; drug interdiction; migrant interdiction; recreational boating safety; pollution response; foreign and domestic vessel inspections; ports, waterways, and coastal security; fisheries enforcement; service and construction of aids to navigation (plus more!). Obviously, that’s a lot of responsibility that most of us don’t even know exists.
So today, let’s give the Coast Guard a little appreciation. Wish them a happy birthday and thank them for their service. We thank every other branch for what they do, and we should thank the Coast Guard, too. Happy Birthday to the Coast Guard, and thank you to our silent heroes defending the home front!
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...It sure looks like it. Pamela Gellar broke the story of two Palestinian brothers from Rafah in the Gaza strip — currently controlled by Hamas, a notorious terrorist organization — who have apparently donated over $29,000 to the Obama campaign.
A series of donations were made in 2007 by Monir Edwan and Hosam Edwan. The online form for donations on Obama’s campaign site was filled out by the two with the city listed as “Rafah, GA”. The only problem is that there is no Rafah in Georgia. There is, however, a city of Rafah in the Gaza strip. The brothers also used a zip code of “972″, which, of course, is not a zip code in Georgia. Here’s the file from Atlas Shrugs.
While I’m sure that Obama will have some far-fetched explanation, the least of which will probably include blaming staffers, it doesn’t matter. This is a violation of election laws, which prohibit contributions from foreigners and donations over $2,300 from one individual. Monir’s donations totaled $24321.41. Hosam’s totaled $5,200.13. All donations took place during October of last year.
World Net Daily tracked the brothers down:
A WND investigation tracked down the Edwans, who are brothers living in the Tal Esaltan neighborhood of Rafah, a large refugee camp in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
The Edwans are a large clan that include top Hamas supporters.
Speaking to WND, the two brothers praised Obama and admitted giving the money online to his campaign. They said they are not U.S. citizens or green card holders but are citizens of “Palestine.”
The Edwans denied they are affiliated with Hamas. Palestinian sources in Gaza confirmed the Edwans in question are secular, but could not say whether they supported Hamas.
Monir and Hasam Edwan denied their financial transactions online – listed as donations in U.S. government election filings – were actual donations to Obama’s campaign. Instead they claimed they purchased about $30,000 in Obama T-shirts from the presidential candidate’s online store – a contention that did not hold up during a WND interview, when they changed their story several times.
“My brother Hosam and I knew that Obama will be a big hit even before he became a candidate. We knew the guy would be a celebrity in Gaza so we decided to invest the amount of $29,000 to buy Obama T-shirts from his website and sell them in Gaza,” Monir Edwan told WND, speaking by cell phone from Gaza.
“I know on the back of this story Obama rivals will present our business as a donation and they will try to use this story to let Obama fall, but I’m telling you, we bought T-shirts,” Edwan maintained.
Edwan said any profit made from purportedly selling the Obama T-shirts was not returned to the Obama campaign.
“We have nothing to do with the Obama campaign. We just like Obama and believe he will be the best for the Palestinians and for the world.”
At first Monir Edwan claimed he sold the T-shirts in Gaza for around $9 and that a profit was made.
“Some young men even bought the T-shirts for 60 shekel ($17.29), which is a lot to spend in Gaza on a T-shirt, but that is how much Gazans like Obama,” Edwan claimed.
But it was pointed out to Edwan the T-shirts for sale on Obama’s website are listed as $20.08 and that selling the merchandise for less would not yield a profit.
“Maybe we sold the shirts for a lot more. I can’t remember now,” said Edwan.
Asked why he would purchase T-shirts at such a high rate and pay the cost of shipping when he could pay a company to produce T-shirts for less, Edwan replied, “We wanted the shirts to come from the campaign.”
But Edwan could not explain how he managed to get shipments of T-shirts into the Gaza Strip during the months he claimed to have purchased the merchandise, since Israel imposed a tight closure of the Gaza Strip starting in June 2007 that lasted until June 2008, when the Israeli government agreed to a cease-fire with Hamas in Gaza.
“We don’t want to cause any damage to Obama’s campaign,” was Edwan’s reply.
The Obama campaign apparently did not return WND phone calls or e-mails.
Has Obama returned the money? If he hasn’t yet, then why did he feel like he didn’t need to? And is he going to? Obama may be in a lot of hot water with this, and he should be. This kind of violation should be taken seriously and a full investigation needs to take place. If everything is as it seems (and the evidence certainly looks solid), and Obama so blatantly violated election laws, then Obama certainly shouldn’t be President. Period.
(3 votes, average: 5 out of 5) Loading ...All last week, I’ve been calling around my various contacts, asking them what’s been going on in the world. I hate being in the dark, so to speak, and hate to think that I’m missing a huge news story. Well, I missed something all right. I only missed the best thing to happen to the House of Representatives since the Democrats took over! House Republicans revolted on Friday to protest when the Democrats adjourning for a five-week vacation without doing anything about the energy crisis. Pioneer Pelosi responded by having the lights, mics, and CSPAN cameras turned off. But Republicans wouldn’t be deterred.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and the Democrats adjourned the House, turned off the lights and killed the microphones, but Republicans are still on the floor talking gas prices.
Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and other GOP leaders opposed the motion to adjourn the House, arguing that Pelosi’s refusal to schedule a vote allowing offshore drilling is hurting the American economy. They have refused to leave the floor after the adjournment motion passed at 11:23 a.m., and they are busy bashing Pelosi and her fellow Democrats for leaving town for the August recess.
At one point, the lights went off in the House and the microphones were turned off in the chamber, meaning Republicans were talking in the dark. But as Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz..) was speaking, the lights went back on and the microphones were turned on shortly afterward.
But C-SPAN, which has no control over the cameras in the chamber, has stopped broadcasting the House floor, meaning no one was witnessing this except the assembled Republicans, their aides, and one Democrat, Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (D-Ohio), who has now left.
Only about a half-dozen Republicans were on the floor when this began, but the crowd has grown to about 20, according to Patrick O’Connor.
“This is the people’s House,” said Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.). “This is not Pelosi’s politiburo.”
Democratic aides were furious at the GOP stunt, and reporters were kicked out of the Speaker’s Lobby, the space next to the House floor where they normally interview lawmakers.
“You’re not covering this, are you?” complained one senior Democratic aide. Another called the Republicans “morons” for staying on the floor.
Update: The Capitol Police are now trying to kick reporters out of the press gallery above the floor, meaning we can’t watch the Republicans anymore. But Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) is now in the gallery talking to reporters, so the cops have held off for a minute. Clearly, Democrats don’t want Republicans getting any press for this episode. GOP leaders are trying to find other Republicans to rotate in for Blunt so reporters aren’t kicked out.
Update 2: This message was sent out by Blunt’s office:
“Although this Democrat majority just adjourned for the Democrat 5-week vacation, House Republicans are continuing to fight on the House floor. Although the lights, mics and C-SPAN cameras have been turned off, House Republicans are on the floor speaking to the taxpayers in the gallery who, not surprisingly, agree with Republican energy proposals.
“All Republicans who are in town are encouraged to come to the House floor.”
Update 3: Democrats just turned out the lights again. Republicans cheered.
And they’re back at it again today:
House Republicans will be back on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives again Monday to continue the unprecedented protest that began last Friday, when dozens of Republicans joined hundreds of American citizens on the House floor to protest Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) decision to send Congress home for the rest of the summer without a vote on legislation to lower gas prices and move America toward energy independence.
In an urgent memo sent to GOP Members and staff Saturday (“A Call to Action on American Energy”), Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) and Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO) hailed Friday’s action, which was led by Reps. Mike Pence (R-IN), Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA), Tom Price (R-GA), and others, and encouraged House Republicans to return to the Capitol beginning Monday morning to help keep the historic effort going.
“It’s not a request we make lightly. But the American people are suffering,” Boehner and Blunt said in the memo. “The consequences of continued congressional inaction on gas prices are unacceptable. We’ve called on the Speaker to call Congress back into an emergency session this month and schedule a vote on the American Energy Act. We must continue to make a stand until the Speaker complies.”
There are apparently 30 Republicans currently there… and oh, what a surprise, no Democrats. Pioneer Pelosi is too busy with her book tour to do her duty as Speaker of the House.
Message to Democrats: you should be in there with the Republicans. In the real world, we don’t get five week taxpayer-funded vacations. And when there is an honest-to-God crisis going on, and the government you control is the only thing standing between Americans and relief, you should be working every day to fix it. Your energy plan does not work, because you have no energy plan!
Rep. Devin Nunes from California gives us a brilliant representation of the Democrats energy plan:
This is a brilliant move for Republicans. Finally, some leadership from the GOP! Now that’s change I can believe in. This is exactly what they should be doing every day for the next five weeks, or until Democrats get off their lazy asses and get back to work. They shouldn’t be afraid to pound Democrats on their refusal to act, and they should be videotaping all of it. As Michelle suggests,
House GOP members should also be spreading the word to their local newspapers and local talk show hosts in their congressional districts to assail Nancy’s gag order and hammer the “Drill now” theme home.
And where’s the RNC? How about sending someone in a chicken costume to trail Nancy Pelosi during her hiatus? As the House Republicans asked repeatedly on Friday: What’s she so afraid of?
On 8/1, the House GOP brought it on.
Keep it going, turn it up, and make sure the American public sees you at work on proactive energy proposals to bring down the Pelosi Premium during the Democrats’ vacation.
This is the best thing that the Republicans could ever have done. If they keep this up, we might not see the massacre at the polls that we’ve all been dreading in November.
Get it, Republicans? Do your jobs, stick to your principles, and be unafraid to take on Democrats, and Americans will love you. It’s not that difficult.
Hat Tip: Michelle Malkin
(6 votes, average: 5 out of 5) Loading ...The last candidate who paraded around as if they were inevitable crashed and burned. Yes, Hillary crashed and burned hard, and alienated herself from her own party. And now, for the Obamamessiah, apparently scrubbing his campaign jet of the American flag in favor of his own “O” symbol was not enough. He’s done the interior now too, complete with his own little chair marked President. It’s being dubbed “O-Force One”.
Barack Obama’s new campaign plane is nothing short of grand. Well, for the candidate that is.
Obama’s section of the plane rivals that of any first class. Recently the front cabin of the Boeing 757 was retrofitted to install four individual chairs that resemble La-Z-Boys. They are free-standing and made of plush leather with pockets on the sides. There is also a booth which seats four for a meeting or a meal.
His chair has his name and campaign logo embroidered on the back top — “Obama ‘08” on one line and “President” underneath. To one side is a small table stacked with newspapers ready for the candidate’s arrival. The table of the booth is always covered in snacks and cheese and is where Obama spends most of his time during flights meeting with staff and sitting for the occasional interview.
“Typically the candidate’s cabin is like business class — roomier and less chaotic than the staff and press areas, but still short of the accoutrements of a pro team’s charter,” says Politico’s Mike Allen, a frequent campaign flier.
After looking at a few photos of Obama’s cabin, Allen quipped, “Air Force One may seem a tad claustrophobic.”
Check out the Obamamessiah’s special President chair:
I wonder if they serve arugula on his cushy little plane, too. Does Obama really not understand why he turns off so many middle-class voters? His elitist arrogance is a huge red flag. And while McCain may or may not have the same elitist arrogance, if he does, at least he has the common sense to rein it in. At least he can act like a normal American. Obama, on the other hand, seems perfectly content to run around like a celebrity and a rock star, basking in the praise and adoration of the international media, and makes no effort whatsoever to bring himself down to Earth. He’s just better than us little people, I guess. He can do the fist bump, folks, come on. He’s not even the President, just a Senator hoping to become the President, but already he’s decked himself out in a plane that makes Air Force one look modest.
Seriously — is he incapable of reining in the elitism? There’s a reason he got the nickname Snobama, after all, and when things like this keep popping up over and over again, it doesn’t make him look any less the arrogant, elitist snob.
As Roger Simon says,
I am stunned at how unsophisticated Obama really is. Does he think that the American public is impressed with a 46-year old with little or no experience, acting like le roi soleil in a campaign plane that already dwarfs Air Force One? It’s as if his people were secretly working for the McCain Campaign, setting them up with one opportunity after the other. All the McCain folks have to do now is make an ad showing shots of McCain carrying own luggage, as he did last summer, juxtaposed with this cushy nonsense. Global warming,my fat hen! Is Obama the new John Edwards… not for his personal behavior (Michelle would brain him upside the head), but for his tone deaf entitlement?
You know, if the Obamamessiah does land the Presidency, I think John Edwards will be able to breathe a sigh of relief. His “Two Americas” schtick will actually have some truth to it.
Hat Tip: My colleague William Teach at Stop the ACLU
(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5) Loading ...Hey everyone! I am back from my business trip and ready to get back to blogging. First, though, I want to thank everyone for your birthday wishes and gifts. I appreciate it more than you know! Second, a HUGE thank you to MK Freeberg, who helped me out tremendously by filling in last week. He did an AWESOME job, which I knew he would, which is why I asked him! I’m sure you all enjoyed his blogging, so add him to your daily blogroll (House of Eratosthenes and go and visit him more often.
Now, back to the blogging!
- Cassy
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Me, opining about human nature a little over a month ago…
I do not understand how this fools people. It seems to be a public-relations ploy that goes back to Roman times, and doubtlessly extends back thousands of years before that…unchanged.
The political contender says,
I want people to be unified after they’re forced to agree with me
And what he really means, is…
I want people to be unified after they’re forced to agree with me
And after untold thousands of years of this bait-and-switch game, people still gulp it down like it’s yummy caramel-covered popcorn. Mmmm…look, he wants to unify people!
DRJ, offering a guest post at Patterico’s today:
Now that the primaries are over and Obama is the presumptive nominee, he wants the Michigan and Florida delegations to have full voting rights in the interests of “party unity” … a/k/a party unity for him.
From the story linked:
Obama sent a letter Sunday to the party’s credentials committee, asking members to reinstate the delegates’ voting rights when the committee meets at the start of the convention in Denver.
The delegates were originally stripped because the two states violated party rules by holding primaries before Feb. 5. The delegates from each state were given half-votes at a contentious party meeting in May, as part of a compromise designed to give two important states some role at the convention.
Obama’s former Democratic rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton, had won both primaries, though Obama’s name was not on the Michigan ballot and neither candidate campaigned in Florida.
“I believe party unity calls for the delegates from Florida and Michigan to be able to participate fully alongside the delegates from the other states and territories,” Obama said in the letter.
Unity! +++chuckle+++
Okay, it wasn’t that much of a prophecy because I was already talking about the Obamessiah. But it is an interesting commentary on how little the tactics change over time, and are likely to change from here on out.
And that — you know, that’s a little bit on the strange side if not on the unexpected one. The dude talks about “change” all the time. But he doesn’t do much of it, does he?
Cross-posted at House of Eratosthenes.
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