There is something very wrong when the Secret Service does not stop two uninvited “guests” from entering the White House.
That is precisely what happened when Tareq and Michaele Salahi of Virginia arrived for the first White House state dinner honoring Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. They were not on the guest list that was supposed to be checked by the Secret Service.
They were allowed to mingle with three hundred invited guests and had their photos taken with various officials including Vice President Biden.
According to the New York Times the couple has ”been auditioning for a possible role in a housewives TV franchise: “The Real Housewives of Washington.”
I guess they got the publicity they were seeking. They are to appear on Larry King Live on Monday night and I am sure we will be seeing them for days to come.
They are also facing possible felony charges if they lied to the Secret Service.
The right wing thinks it has found something new on the Obama administration.
Yesterday the White House released a list of names of people who visited the WH between January 20, 2009 and July 31, 2009.
The right wing bloggers and talking heads went crazy.
The list of well known people included Steve Ballmer (Microsoft), John Boehner, George Clooney, John Cronyn, Alan Greenspan, Serena Williams and many more.
The list included only the names who were specifically requested, as can be done by anyone here.
The list also included the names of William Ayers and Jeremiah Wright.
You can guess the rest of the story. Right wing bloggers, talking heads and others jumped on this as proof that President Obama still has ties to these people.
The Weekly Standard’s Michael Goldfarb tweeted “What a Friday afternoon news dump.. I tried to warn you America. Rev. Wright and Bill Ayers”.
The Chamber of Commerce appears to be like FOX following the ideology of the Right.
Politico reports that “The White House and congressional Democrats are working to marginalize the Chamber of Commerce — the powerful business lobby opposed to many of President Barack Obama’s first-year priorities — by going around the group and dealing directly with the CEOs of major U.S. corporations.”
“Democrats in Congress have been angered by the Chamber’s attacks on the House climate change bill and its staunch opposition to the creation of a consumer financial protection agency, a centerpiece of the administration’s financial regulatory reform efforts.”
“There’s a strong, very conservative ideology there,” said House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.). “They’re more like The Heritage Foundation then they are like an economic association.”
It appears that the Chamber of Commerce has made itself dispensable and that is a good thing considering the positions they have taken lately.
The White House released the salaries of its staff and the top salary earned by those actually working for the White House as opposed to those who are on “loan” from other departments is $172,200. Those at this level are Rham Emannuel, Robert Gibbs, David Axelrod, Lawrence Summers and others.
The salaries are the same as the ones for the Bush staff but the caliber can not be compared. Dana Perino also at the top of the salary range, was Bush’s White House Press Secretary. The one who didn’t know what the Cuban missle crises was.
But the thing that is most annoying is the salary of the president which is $400,000. Clinton and Congress passed a salary increase in 1999 that increased the President’s salary from $200,000 to $400,000. The increase went into effect in January 2001. Bush received double Clinton’s salary and the same as Obama. Where is the justice ..continue reading
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