The White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, in recent years, has become a time for the President to become quite the comedian.
Last night, The Empire Struck Back! President Obama was hilarious got rave reviews this morning. Poor Jay Leno. Not so much. As stated, the ‘Empire’ did strike back.
The President started off with lots of self-deprecation. I think he was every bit as good as Jon Stewart.
Update: Combined Obama routine with Jay Leno. Leno starts around minute 17. I thought Leno was just not funny.
What were your favorite lines? There were so many, it is hard to choose. I might have to listen more than once.
An SUV was loaded with explosive materials in Times Square yesterday evening. Around 6:30 and alert t-shirt salesman who also happened to be a Vietnam veteran noticed suspicioius smoke coming out of the car and he also smelled gun powder. He alerted a mounted policeman who called in reinforcements and a bomb squad. The mounted police got the passersby out of harms way. Critical areas were evacuated.
CNN covered this incident most of the night. Eye witnesses were interviewed and some officials have spoken. The car bomb did not totally detonate. It is unknown if this was domestic or international terrorism. The mounted police and the vendor are being called heroes. They were aware of their surroundings.
Christiane Amanpour has always been one of my favorites. She has been the eyes, ears, and mouthpiece for events and places around the world that I would never see for myself. I always trusted her to tell a story that perhaps no one else had the nerve to tell. I have no reason for that trust other than she seemed to go where other women feared to tread. She had just the international flair, or so it seemed, to be able to pull it off where the American-born somehow fell short.
Christiane Amanpour will be missed on CNN and I truly believe she is irreplaceable. I was not prepared for this loss. 27 years is a long time.
Not to be upstaged by Virginia, the cultural warriors of Indiana, embarrassed by a bare butted, pantsless buffalo on its state seal, made plans to correct this graphic depiction of animal indecency.
Here is the current State Seal of Indiana. As you can see, this fine fellow is not wearing pants, thus exposing his buffalo “parts.”
Considered way too personal and graphic, some of the Indiana cultural warriors met in committee to fix this embarrassment. After all, Virginia had covered the exposed breast of that Amazon woman, Goddess Virtue who had been slaying tyrants for Virginia for over 200 years. All sorts of Virginia tight-asses had averted their eyes for years until they were rescued by the new Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, a transplant from NJ, who changed the attire of Goddess Virtue from exposed breast to neck-high breast plate.
Here is the proposal to keep Indiana’s buffalo in a more modest pose:
Good job, Cultural Warriors of Indiana. Your honor has been restored.
(Your state seal now looks like Sponge Buffalo Square Pants but that’s ok!)
Satire and sarcasm button off now. Thanks to a mysterious Ray for his art work.
Apparently AG Ken Cuccinelli feels the Goddess Virtue is revealing too much wardrobe malfunction on the Virginia State Seal. He is now handing out pins with less …errr….cleavage? It sounds like he has been listening to too many Iranian clerics for his own good.
Traditional Virginia SealCuccinelli Goddess Virtue
The Cuccinelli goddess is more modest. Perhaps he is trying to prevent earthquakes like that wacko in the middle east.
Iranian cleric Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi angered women’s groups around the world on Monday when he claimed that promiscuous women were responsible for literally making the earth move.
“Many women who do not dress modestly … lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which (consequently) increases earthquakes,” Sedighi said.
“What can we do to avoid being buried under the rubble?” he asked during a prayer sermon on Friday. “There is no other solution but to take refuge in religion and to adapt our lives to Islam’s moral codes.”
So is Ken is trying to prevent our own Boob-quake here in Virginia with his new pins? Is he like the Taliban or something? The Virginia State Seal has the goddess Virtue vanquishing a tyrant. Sic Semper Tyrannis: Thus always to tryrants. Not that most NORMAL people have ever noticed, but her left breast is slighly exposed, in goddess warrior like fashion–classical art and all.
The Norfolk Pilot states:
When the new design came up at a staff meeting, workers in attendance said Cuccinelli joked that it converts a risqué image into a PG one.
The joke might be on him, said University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato.
“When you ask to be ridiculed, it usually happens. And it will happen here, nationally,” he said. “This is classical art, for goodness’ sake.”
It wouldn’t be the first time that Cuccinelli has found himself in a punch line since taking office. The conservative Republican made Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” in March after he advised state colleges and universities they lack the legal authority to protect gay employees from discrimination.
“You can’t be gay in college?” host Jon Stewart asked in mock disbelief. “That’s the whole point of going to college!”
If the jokes start to fly, Cuccinelli can’t say he didn’t see it coming, Sabato said – not after what happened in 2002, when U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft ordered drapes installed to cover partially nude statues at the Justice Department. “Ashcroft had one excuse: it hadn’t been done before and he wasn’t prepared for the critical onslaught that he faced,” Sabato said. “Cuccinelli has no excuse at all. He knows what’s coming because of what happened to Ashcroft. You can only conclude that he enjoys being the center of pointless controversy.”
Efforts to reach Cuccinelli on Friday were unsuccessful.
His spokesman, Brian Gottstein, said the pin was paid for by Cuccinelli’s political action committee, not with taxpayer funds. He acknowledged that the attorney general has pointed out Virtus’ “more modest attire,” adding that the rendition chosen by his boss “harkens back to an older version of the seal.”
The Great Seal of the Commonwealth is a two-sided image dates back to the year 1776.
The Code of Virginia stands firmly on its description of the State Seal:
The side depicted on the state flag features Virtus standing victoriously over Tyranny, a male figure prone on the ground in defeat, his crown fallen from his head. Beneath him is the motto Sic Semper Tyrannis: Thus Always to Tyrants.
Click the link for exact wording.
Now we know why Taliban Cooch is sending out those beg letters! He needs to buy new pins to hand out with Goddess Virtue fully clothed. He appears to have little regard for Virginia traditions, the Virginia Constitution, and anything past his own sense of misguided morality. Perhaps he is now an ‘earther’ in addition to being a birther. You know, one of those people who think showing breasts causes earthquakes.
When is our AG going to stop with the circus sideshow stuff? He just has too many attention seeking behaviors for most Virginians. Larry Sabato is correct. The Cooch’s behavior is juvenile and distracting from real governance. Meanwhile, Virginians anxiously await being the butt of yet more jokes on late night comedy.
This Tuesday the PWC BOCS plans to vote on a much watered down ‘Resolution’ (See 10H on the Agenda)
Mr. George Harris gets it. We hope the rest of the BOCS gets it.
George S. Harris’s open letter to the BOCS in News & Messenger May 1 says it all.
LETTER: To the Prince William Board of County Supervisors
Your View
Published: May 1, 2010
I am writing to you to ask you to help this unlearned citizen understand why a resolution is needed by the Chairman Corey Stewart to determine the number of people affected by the expansion of the Medicaid criteria under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. I simply wrote to the Prince William County Department of Social Services and within a few days received a reply from Mr. Dennis E. McFeeley, Divi-sion Chief of Benefits, Employment and Child Care Programs. His telephone number and email address are: Phone: (703) 792-4315 Email: [email protected].
By the way, the estimated number is 15,200 of the poorest of the poor.
It would seem to me that Mr. Stewart could simply pick up the telephone and call Mr. McFeeley or Mr. Ric Perez, the acting director of the Department of Social Services, and pose the question he has included in his draft resolution. While I don’t have Mr. Perez’s direct telephone number, the main number is 703-792-7500. I suspect whoever answers the telephone would be more than glad to connect Mr. Stewart with Mr. Perez.
Yes, I agree it would prudent to determine how much the Medicaid expansion will cost Prince William County, but considering that it will be some 14 years before the county must begin cost sharing, any estimation would at best be an onageristic estimate. Again, a telephone call might work.
On the other hand, if Mr. Stewart is using a resolution to stick the board’s collective finger in the federal government’s eye, I strongly recommend against this. We’ve already been made to look the fool too many times.
Therefore, I am left to draw the conclusion that this tempest in a teapot is nothing more than political posturing on Mr. Stewart’s behalf to satisfy his political base and the members of the Tea Party whose meetings he frequents as a speaker. If my conclusion is wrong, would someone be so kind as to let me know?
GEORGE S. HARRIS
Manassas
One has to ask why a resolution is needed when picking up the telephone and asking a few questions solves the same purpose? Could it be that Mr. Stewart is once again grand-standing? Is this his way of attempting to save face after standing on the steps down in Stafford like George Wallace demanding civil disobedience from county employees? (Click to see background material)
Hopefully all the supervisors will see the absurdity of this ‘Resolution’ and will vote NO. Why help Corey Stewart make a fool of himself?
It’s that time of year again…time to run for the roses. The Kentucky Derby is the first leg of 3 important horse races. The Kentucky Derby, the Preakness , and the Belmont Stakes haven’t produced a triple crown winner since Affirmed in 1978.
The odds are given at the official Kentucky Derby site. You can also read more about the contenders, trainers, owners, jockeys.
Kentucky Derby 136: Race 11, 6:24 p.m. EDT post time on NBC
There are 20 horses currently on the slate to run. Of course, anything can happen right up to post time. There is one filly running, Devil May Care. Racing critics feel she has been off her game this week. To read a little about the contenders, see the next page:
Speaking at a rally last week, Congressman Duncan Hunter said he didn’t intend to be mean but yes, he would deport American born children of illegal immigrants. It doesn’t sound like the Constitution means a great deal to Rep. Hunter. According to Huffingtonpost.com:
The San Diego-area Republican congressman spoke Saturday at a video recorded tea party rally in Ramona. Hunter was asked by someone in the crowd if he backed deporting natural-born American citizens who are the children of illegal immigrants.
“I would have to, yes,” Hunter said.
Hunter said in the video that some of his critics believe his stance is mean-spirited.
“And we’re not being mean. We’re just saying it takes more than walking across the border to become an American citizen,” he said. “It’s what’s in our souls.”
Perhaps if Rep. Hunter is going to be a congressman, he needs to uphold the Constitution. Is he planning on amending it? Being an American is in your soul? The 14th Amendment guarantees birth citizenship.
Bruce Springsteen surrounded himself with lovely ladies today as his European roots were celebrated at Ellis Island. Joined by his mother Adele, 85 (center), and aunts Dora Kirby, 90, (left) and Ida Urbellis, 87, the rocker was given the Ellis Island Family Heritage Award, given to immigrants or their descendants “who have made a major contribution to the American experience.”
Said The Boss, “You can’t really know who you are and where you’re going unless you know where you came from.” His maternal great-grandmother, Raffaela Zerilli, arrived at Ellis Island from Vico Equense, Italy, on Oct. 3, 1900, with five kids in tow. The rest is history.
Springsteen’s mother Adele (see above) who was the granddaughter of Raffaela Zerilli, married an Irish American, Douglas Springsteen. They had 3 kids who were raised in New Jersey. When the Boss was 16 his mother borrowed the money to buy him a guitar. He taught himself to play it and millions of recordings later, he is truly THE BOSS.
