I’m sure that by now, most of you have heard about First Lady Michelle Obama’s extravagant Spanish vacation. The story that was on the front page of The Drudge Report for days reported that Mrs. Obama’s trip would cost the tax payers around $75,000 per day (during a recession no less)–not to mention, it had photos of her wearing tight spandex leggings and a revealing, inappropriate top. In fact, Mrs. Obama’s vacation seemed so self-indulgent and over the top, that New York Daily News writer, Andrea Tantaros, called her “a modern day Marie Antoinette”.

Ruth Marcus wrote a column responding to Ms. Tantaros. In her column, Marcus conceded that the optics of Michelle Obama’s Spanish getaway might be less than ideal when she wrote the following–

“Let’s stipulate: A five-star resort on the Spanish Costa del Sol was probably not the first choice of White House spin-meisters for a mother-daughter getaway. Especially when the getaway included a posse of 40 friends of the first lady staying at the Hotel Villa Padierna, where rooms start at $330 a night, and photos of Michelle Obama strolling in Marbella wearing an off-the-shoulder number by Jean Paul Gaultier.”

[For the record, that John Paul Gaultier top probably cost over $2000.]

However, Marcus concludes her column by stating that we are all being a little hard on Mrs. Obama, and that maybe we should “give the First Lady a break”.

Well, I might tend to agree with Ms. Marcus if this had been Michelle Obama’s first foray into ridiculous behavior–however, it most certainly is not. Furthermore, if you will all bear with me, I am prepared to bring forth a plethora of evidence that spans back over two years in order to prove–beyond any reasonable doubt–that Mrs. Obama has gone out of her way to deliberately cultivate the image of a spoiled, entitled brat. Read the rest of this entry »

Again violating it’s promise and guarantee of transparency, the White House has moved to block the testimony of former top aide to First Lady Michelle Obama, Jackie Norris.

Republican efforts to interview a former top aide to Michelle Obama in the controversial case of a fired inspector general have been stymied by the White House, the the top Republican looking into the case said Tuesday

The White House counsel’s office has blocked Republican investigators from interviewing Jackie Norris, former chief of staff for the first lady, about President Obama’s dismissal of former AmeriCorps Inspector General Gerald Walpin.

Republican investigators from the House Committee on Government Oversight and Reform have wanted to question Norris — who is now senior adviser to the Corporation for National and Community Service, the organization that oversees AmeriCorps — since they discovered earlier this month that she met with Alan Solomont, chairman of CNCS on June 9, the day before Walpin was fired.

Solomont was heavily involved in the Walpin firing, according to the Washington Examiner, which first reported the response by the first lady’s office.

The White House move was revealed in a letter sent Monday to Norris by Rep. Darrell Issa, the ranking Republican on the oversight panel.

“Our request to meet with you was denied by (Corporation for National and Community Service) general counsel Frank Trinity,” Issa wrote to Norris. “Mr. Trinity told my staff that the White House counsel’s office has advised him that they were not permitting the corporation to make you available for an interview.

“The White House has averred that you had no role whatsoever in the president’s decision to prevent your testimony. If the information provided by White House officials is true, it follows that no colorable claim of executive privilege should impede your cooperation with the committee,” he continued.

Issa said in a statement Tuesday that he does not see a difference between this case and Democrats’ pressing the political nature of the firings of nine U.S. attorneys under President George W. Bush.

Judaical Watch has more at their Corruption Chronicles blog:

Norris is currently a senior advisor at the organization that oversees AmeriCorps, the country’s national services program which annually receives millions of federal dollars to conquer everything from illiteracy to affordable housing and the environment. During his tenure as inspector general, Walpin exposed a multi million-dollar fraud scheme in AmeriCorps’ most expensive program, a teaching fellow project at the City University of New York, and he busted a Sacramento charity, operated by a powerful Obama ally who happens to be the city’s mayor, for misusing nearly $1 million in federal grants.

The mayor (Obama pal Kevin Johnson) illegally used the money to pay volunteers for political activities, run personal errands and even wash his car. Johnson, a former professional basketball player, acknowledged that there “may have been administrative errors” and reached a settlement with federal prosecutors to repay about half of the money. This certainly indicates that Walpin did his job of rooting out government fraud, waste and abuse quite efficiently.

It also explains why Obama has yet to come up with a valid reason—other than retaliation for busting his corrupt friend—to fire Walpin. The president violated a law that safeguards the independence of government agency watchdogs and the Democratic senator (Missouri’s Claire McCaskill) who authored the measure blasted the commander-in-chief for removing an inspector general who exposed widespread waste in taxpayer-financed community service groups.

Weapons Officer M’Chel invades the UK.

Weapons Officer M’Chel invades the UK.

From Gateway Pundit

Comic book publisher Bluewater Productions hope to sell Michelle Obama comic books to “downright mean” Americans.
The Chicago Tribune reported:

She’s not faster than a speeding bullet or more powerful than a locomotive.

Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound? Hardly.

But First Lady Michelle Obama is poised to become a superhero next month when a biographical comic book hits the stands.

Chronicling Obama’s path from South Side schoolgirl to White House occupant, the comic is part of the “Female Force” series showcasing powerful female leaders. Issues featuring Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sold out immediately upon their release this week.

While the Clinton and Palin comics are already on their second printings, their publisher believes Obama will be an even bigger seller. Distributors have stopped taking orders temporarily while Washington-based Bluewater Productions catches up with the demand.

“I feel like the guy who invented the Furby,” Bluewater President Darren Davis said. “The reaction has been insane.”