First Lady Now Requires 26 Servants
By Dr. Paul L. Williams Monday, August 17, 2009
“In my own life, in my own small way, I have tried to give back to this country that has given me so much,” she said. “See, that’s why I left a job at a big law firm for a career in public service,”— Michelle Obama.
We were wrong.
Michelle Obama, as we reported on July 7, is not served by twenty-two attendants who stand by to cater to her every whim.
She is served by twenty-six attendants, including a hair dresser and make-up artist.
The annual cost to taxpayers for such unprecedented attention is approximately $1,750,000 without taking into account the expense of the lavish benefit packages afforded to every attendant.
Little did American voters realize the call for “change” would result in the establishment of an Obama oligarchy.
The discovery of the additional attendants was made by D’Angelo Gore of factcheck.org and by calls to Katie McCormick Lelyyeld, Michelle Obama’s press secretary.
Mr. Gore launched his investigation of the First Lady’s staff in the wake of an article that appeared on thelastcrusade.org and Canada Free Press on July 7.
The article, which became a chain letter viewed by millions of Americans, reported that Michelle Obama requires more than twenty attendants - - more than any First Lady in U.S. History. It provided the following list of White House
staff members assigned to the First Lady:
- $172,2000 - Sher, Susan (Chief Of Staff)
- $140,000 - Frye, Jocelyn C. (Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Policy And Projects For The First Lady)
- $113,000 - Rogers, Desiree G. (Special Assistant to the President and White House Social Secretary)
- $102,000 - Johnston, Camille Y. (Special Assistant to the President and Director of Communications for the First Lady)
- $102,000 - Winter, Melissa E. (Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief Of Staff to the First Lady)
- $90,000 - Medina, David S. (Deputy Chief Of Staff to the First Lady)
- $84,000 - Lelyveld, Catherine M. (Director and Press Secretary to the First Lady)
- $75,000 - Starkey, Frances M. (Director of Scheduling and Advance for the First Lady)
- $70,000 - Sanders, Trooper (Deputy Director of Policy and Projects for the First Lady)
- $65,000 - Burnough, Erinn J. (Deputy Director and Deputy Social Secretary)
- $65,000 - Reinstein, Joseph B. (Deputy Director and Deputy Social Secretary)
- $62,000 - Goodman, Jennifer R. (Deputy Director of Scheduling and Events Coordinator For The First Lady)
- $60,000 - Fitts, Alan O. (Deputy Director of Advance and Trip Director for the First Lady)
- $60,000 - Lewis, Dana M. (Special Assistant and Personal Aide to the First Lady)
- $52,500 - Mustaphi, Semonti M. (Associate Director and Deputy Press Secretary To The First Lady)
- $50,000 - Jarvis, Kristen E. (Special Assistant for Scheduling and Traveling Aide To The First Lady)
- $45,000 - Lechtenberg, Tyler A. (Associate Director of Correspondence For The First Lady)
- $45,000 - Tubman, Samantha (Deputy Associate Director, Social Office)
- $40,000 - Boswell, Joseph J. (Executive Assistant to the Chief Of Staff to the First Lady)
- $36,000 - Armbruster, Sally M. (Staff Assistant to the Social Secretary)
- $36,000 - Bookey, Natalie (Staff Assistant)
- $36,000 - Jackson, Deilia A. (Deputy Associate Director of Correspondence for the First Lady)
Readers throughout the country expressed outrage that Mrs. Obama would hire an unprecedented number of staffers in the midst of the Great Recession.
Sample comments from the hundreds of letters that poured into Canada Free Press are as follows:
Alan from Utah:
”The sad part is that after billions spent “stimulating” the economy, the list of new staffers for the wife of our pretend president represents the only new jobs that have been created. We’re screwed.”
Laurie from Texas:
”....and not a one of those attendants can help her find something decent to wear…pathetic waste of taxpayer money…..”
Terry from Colorado:
”This is from the family that supports a government run health care system. If they can’t control the spending inside the White House, how can we believe they can save money elsewhere?”
Lanette from California:
”This is OBAMANABLY!!!! I’ve been laid off….wonder if she will hire me?”
Bobby from Shanksville:
”I didn’t see anyone listed who wipes her ####.”
Lyle from Ilinois:
”This is a crime. I am sure not one of those aides comes close to earning what they are paid. How could they? What is there for them to do? I can’t believe Michelle will end up being a great first lady regardless how many aides she has. How will she ever survive at the end of his four-year term when she has to go back to being a civilian again. No way will the government pay for all these lackies for a civilian, no matter how hard she may try to make it happen. I recall a high school English teacher saying “like begets like” and it sure shows up with the Obama couple. They’re both in it for as much as they can get for themselves.”
Michelle from Michigan:
How can my nephew, who has been out of work for almost a year, get a job on Michelle’s staff? The pay is better than anything available here and he is colleged educated.
Betty from Pennsylvania:
My husband and I have worked hard all our lives. We are people of integrity. And yet when I read of spending like this my blood boils. How dare she use my hard-earned money like this. How dare she take advantage of her position. She did not earn her position because of who she is or how hard she has worked. I don’t know how she can sleep at night. Somehow, we need to get this President out of office before we lose all our rights.
The allegations within the July 7 article seemed so outrageous that many readers questioned their accuracy.
Does Mrs. Obama have an unprecedented number of staffers in a time when 34 million Americans - - a record number - - rely on food stamps to feed their families?
The answer, as D’Angelo Gore of factcheck.org discovered, is yes.
When questioned by Mr. Gore, Katie McCormick Lelyveld, Michelle Obama’s press secretary, said that the First Lady does retain a staff of more than twenty who remain at her beck and call. But the actual number is 24, not 22, as the article reported.
Mrs. Lelyyeld failed to provide the names of the two additional attendants to Mrs. Obama. But she did confirm that six staffers who do not have “first lady” in their title but are a part of the First Lady’s office staff, such as Desiree Rogers, who bears the title “Special Assistant to the President and White House Social Secretary,” and Natalie Bookey, who is listed as a “staff assistant.”
What’s more, even a list of 24 would be incomplete since it would fail to include the names of makeup artist Ingrid Grimes-Miles, 49, and “First Hairstylist” Johnny Wright, 31, both of whom travel aboard Air Force One and provide Mrs. Obama with daily attention.
This adds up to a whopping $1,600,700.00 and the amount doesn’t include the elite benefit packages granted to the White House staff and their significant others (include same-sex partners). Nor does the figure take into account the salaries for the two additional full-time staff members mentioned by Mrs. Obama’s Press Secretary nor the full time hair-dresser and makeup artist assigned to her. A guesstimate of the total salaries for Mrs. Obama’s attendants is $1,750,00.00 plus the additional benefits.
For comparison, let’s remember that poor Bess Truman and Mamie Eisenhower had to shell out the salaries for 5 of their personal secretaries from their own pocketbooks. Stephen Plotkin, reference archivist for the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, says that Jacqueline Kennedy’s office was “headed” by one person who supervised a staff of approximately nine full and part time workers (including the White House cooks and chambermaids).
Kim Coryat, an archives technician at the William J. Clinton Presidential Library, says that it is difficult to nail down a precise count of staff because “White House staffing for all offices ebbs and flows with time.” But she points out that a White House telephone directory indicates that Hillary Clinton had a staff of thirteen in 1993 - - this is telling since Mrs. Clinton intended to serve as a co-executive in the Oval Office by spearheading a health care reform program.
Laura Bush was far from a fiscal conservative during her time in the White House and, like her husband, served to bloat the White House budget. A list of Mrs. Bush’s staff attendants is as follows:
- McBride, Anita B. assistant to the president and chief of staff to the first lady $168,000.00
- Harder, Cherie S. Special assistant to the president for domestic policy and director of project of the first lady $108,000.00
- Niemiec, Sally M. Press secretary to the First Lady $90,000.00
- Miller, Sonja M. Deputy chief of staff to the first lady $84,700.00
- Ballard, Deanna M. Director of scheduling for the First Lady $75,000.00
- Underwood, Carrie P. Deputy director of policy and projects for the First Lady $65,000.00
- Wallace, Charity N. Director of advance for the First Lady $65,000.00
- Marshall, Misty C. Director of correspondence for the first lady $59,700.00
- Etter, Marisa L. Deputy director of scheduling for the First Lady $50,000.00
- King, Kristin N. Deputy director of advance for the first lady $50,000.00
- Lineweaver, Lindsey M. Special assistant and personal aide to the first lady $47,500.00
- Rawson, Kimberly D. Executive assistant to the chief of staff to the First Lady $46,200.00
- Donoghue , Tarah C. Deputy press secretary to the First Lady $43,000.00
- Vogel, Campbell B. Deputy director of correspondence for the First Lady $42,500.00
- Block, Jonathan F. assistant press secretary to the First Lady $39,000.00
This amounts to a total of $1,083,700.00. Laura was no piker when it came to spending. But she pales in comparison with Miz Michelle, who requires eight to ten additional attendants at an extra cost to taxpayers of $700,000 and change - - the only change American taxpayers can believe in.
Last night, in an emergency conference call, nearly 100 national and local Tea Party Patriot organizers around the country unanimously supported a recent proposal to hold new week long rallies in over 650 cities around the country. The rallies will target local and national offices of representatives and senators. Despise concerns expressed about overexposure and weather, all organizers agreed that we must do this to send a unified message; "We are still the silent majority and we will hold elected officials accountable for their votes". The October Surprise as it is being called will focus on health care legislation, cap and trade and the November elections. The October Surprise is intended to get the media saying, my god they're back, bigger than ever and where the hell are they coming from?
Many new ideas were proposed to go along with the rallies. One that was enthusiastically supported included citizen investigations into elected officials campaign contributions using publicly available websites, public documents and any insider knowledge that can be found. The thought is that with over 30,000 willing volunteers and a subdued media, we can drum up better pictures of our elected officials and their motivations than we are currently getting from the press. The early list of elected officials includes both republicans and democrats who will have key votes on health care. A committee was formed to begin training Tea Party Patriot volunteers on how to use the internet to dig for information and how to share it. Bloggers across the country are standing by to analyze revelations of importance.
Right now to the outside world it seems that the Tea Party movement has burnt out, but we are not. We are just average American's who go about our business living our normal lives, we are the silent majority. We follow national events on television and on the radio, so keenly it would appear as if our very existence depends on it, and in very real ways we know that it does. But history has proven that we always step up when we are called. And as tired and frustrated as we are, like a weary soldier in battle we will pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and continue to fight and continue to BE HEARD. No one said this was going to be easy and we are prepared to continue the fight.
Several approaches were proposed to the rallies which are going to target local offices for national elected officials. Some will hold drive by rallies and others will hold sign waving rallies and one proposal suggested we camp out on the steps of our elected officials offices until the vote and encourage them to mark against nationalized health care. The idea is to work in shifts either via tent and 24/7 for the duration, or just show up during office hours. This extended presence will demonstrate who has the passion, and give the local media someone with our viewpoint and our message as the primary viewpoint as the vote nears.
Tea Party Patriots is a bottom up organization, thus events and dates are always controlled by the local organizers. Tea Party Patriots simply provides a unifying voice and theme. To maximzie impact National organizers are asking that events be held beginning around October 17th, 2009 and last through October 25th, 2009 or until the final vote on nationalized health care is held.
More information about the October Surprise can be found on the Tea Party Patriots website at http://www.teapartypatriots.com/octobersurprise.
Dusting off this story.. Read the very disturbing article below. You may have already heard this, but it is potentially a HUGE story has gotten no attention at all.
Remember the dealership closures just before the summer? Of the 789 dealerships closed, 788 of them donated solely to republican candidates!!!!!!
Here is where it hits home in North Louisiana...
It seems that Landers Dodge (http://www.landersdodgechryslerjeep.net) on Benton Road in Bossier City is one of over a dozen dealerships owned by Obama financial supporters and they are mixed up in this up to their eyeballs. Mack McClarty, a co-owner of this location, was Bill Clinton's White House Chief of Staff.
Apparently the owners of Landers Dodge, RLJ-McClarty-Landers were on the winning end of the shut down of 8 of their nearby competitors.
Maybe tea party protesters should 'drive' business away from Landers?
Notice Bossier City in the dealer locations on the RLJ McClary Landers website.
http://www.rljmclartylanders.com/dealerlocator.jsp
This is a huge story because of the enormous turmoil these closing caused. Dealerships owned by families for generations were told they were going to be shut down immediately with no explanation all, with seemingly no rhyme or reason. I can only imagine the untold heartache this has caused across the country. This is America at it's worst, being manned by simply the most evil people self serving people, I find it unbearable that we have to live with this for 3.5 more years and it simply cannot be tolerated.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
This could be a scandal of epic proportions and one that makes Nixon's Watergate or Clinton's Monica Lewinsky affair pale by comparison.
Why was there neither rhyme nor reason as to which dealerships of the Chrysler Corporation were to be closed? Roll the clock back to the weeks just before Chrysler declared bankruptcy. Chrysler, like GM, was in dire financial straits and federal government graciously offered to "buy the company" and keep them out of bankruptcy and "save jobs." Chrysler was, in the words of Obama and his administration, "too big to fail," same story with GM.
The feds organized their "Automotive Task Force" to fix Chrysler and GM. Obama, in an act that is 100% unconstitutional, appointed a guy named Steve Rattner to be the White House's official Car Czar - literally, that's what his title is. Rattner is the liaison between Obama, Chrysler, and GM.
Initially, the national media reported that Chrysler had made this list of dealerships. That is not true. The Washington Examiner, Newsmax, Fox News and a host of other news agencies discovered that the list of dealerships was put together by the "Automotive Task Force" headed by no one other than Mr. Steve Rattner. Now the plot thickens.
Remember earlier we said that there was neither rhyme nor reason as to why certain dealerships were closed? Actually there's a very interesting pattern as to who was closed down. Again, on May 27, 2009, The Washington Examiner and Newsmax exposed the connection. Amazingly, of the 789 dealerships closed by the federal government 788 had donated money, exclusively, to Republican political causes, while contributing nothing to Democratic political causes. The only "Democratic" dealership on the list was found to have donated $7,700 to Hillary's campaign, and a bit over $2,000 to John Edwards’. This same dealership, reportedly, also gave $200 to Obama's campaign. Does that seem a little odd to you?
Steve Rattner, the guy who put the list together: Well, he happens to be married to a woman named Maureen White, who happens to be the former national finance chairman of the Democratic National Committee. As such, she would have access to campaign donation records from everyone in the nation, Republican or Democrat. But of course, this is just a wacky coincidence, we're certain.
Then comes another really wacky coincidence. On that list of dealerships being closed down, a weird thing happen in Arkansas , North Louisiana, and Southern Missouri.
It seems that Bill Clinton's former White House Chief of Staff, Mack McClarty, owns a chain of dealership in that region, partnered with a fellow by the name of Robert Johnson. Johnson happens to be founder of Black Entertainment Television and was a huge Obama supporter and financier. These guys own a half dozen Chrysler stores under the company title of RLJ-McClarty-Landers.
Interestingly, none of their dealerships were ordered closed - not one - while all of their competing Chrysler/Dodge and Jeep dealership were! Eight dealerships located near the dealerships owned by McClarty and Johnson were ordered shut down. Thus, by pure luck, these two major Obama supporters now have virtual monopoly on Chrysler sales in their zone. Isn't that amazing? Go look in The Washington Examiner, the story's there at (http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Furor-grows-over-partisan-car-dealer-closings-46261447.html), and it's in a dozen or so other web-based news organization, this isn't being made up.
Now if you thought Chrysler was owned by Fiat, you are mistaken. Under the federal court ruling, 65% of Chrysler is now owned by the federal government and the United Auto Workers union; - Fiat owns 20%. The other 15% is still privately owned and presumably will be traded on the stock market. Obama smiles and says he doesn't want to run the auto industry.
As horrifying as this is to comprehend, and being as how this used to be the United States of America, it would appear that the president has the power to destroy private businesses and eliminate upwards of 100,000 jobs, just because they don't agree with his political agenda. This is Nazi Germany stuff, and it's happening right here, right now, in your back yard.
There are voices in Washington demanding an explanation, but the "Automotive Task Force" has released no information to the public or any of the senators demanding answers for what has been done. Keep your ear to the ground for more on this story. If you've ever wanted to make a difference about anything in your life, get on the phone to your national senator or representative in the House and demand an investigation on this.
Edmund Burke, 19th Century British M.P., had it right when he said,
"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."
Car Czar No More
An amazing thing happened as this story was going to press. Obama's Car Czar, Steve Rattner, resigned on July 13 and was promptly replaced by former steel workers union boss Ron Bloom. According to CBS News, Rattner left "to return to private life and spend time with his family ..." Treasure Secretary Tim Geithner said, "I hope that he takes another opportunity to bring his unique skills to government service in the future." By the way, Rattner is under investigation for a multi-million dollar pay-to-play investment bank scandal in New York. Uh-oh! But, we're certain that had nothing to do with his resignation.
And, according to several news sources out there, there are rumors he's being investigated for what could be pay-to-play scandal involving the closing of Chrysler and GM dealerships. Again, that couldn't have anything to with his resignation; that's ridiculous! Like CBS said, this guy just wants to spend more quality time with his family. Obama has 32 personally appointed "czars" that answer to no one but him, all of whom are acting without any Constitutional authority. But hey, we're sure they all have "unique skills," as Tim Geithner likes to say.
Physicians Are Talking About: The Million Med March on Washington
“I’m tired, mad as hell, and just not going to take it anymore,” says Richard Chudacoff, MD, a gynecologist from Las Vegas. “I am going to Washington, DC. At noon, on Thursday, October 1, 2009, I will be on the Mall with a few other physicians.”
Dr. Chudacoff is not talking about vacation plans. Rather, he intends to unite with other physicians in what he calls the Million Med March.
“We simply decided that we will not work that day and perhaps the day before and maybe even the day afterward,” says Dr. Chudacoff. “Perhaps we will show the country that physicians are worth more than a $5 copay; that physicians are more important than a mid-level healthcare worker; and that our profession is needed, our services are required, and our practice is a calling to be respected, not a trade that is to be negotiated to the lowest bidder.”
A letter posted by Dr. Chudacoff on www.obgyn.net in June has been spreading like wildfire across the Internet, finding its way to personal blogs, discussion groups, and professional forums. On June 23, it was posted to Medscape’s Physician Connect (MPC), a physician-only discussion group, where it sparked a flurry of responses. A number of MPC postings suggest that Dr. Chudacoff will have plenty of company on October 1.
“Finally, something constructive,” says a dermatologist. “I’ll see you in DC on October 1. Some of the office staff, including our nurse, expressed a wish to be there too. Bring spouses and friends and anybody else who actually cares about healthcare in the US.”
“I have cleared my schedule and plan to attend,” responds a vascular surgeon. “I think this type of grassroots action, unaffiliated with hospitals, insurance companies, or the AMA, is likely to get the most sympathetic attention.”
“This is the best proactive effort I have heard from physicians,” says an MPC family medicine physician. “Actions speak louder than words.”
“I can be there without changing my schedule,” adds an anesthesiologist. “I was just terminated from my office-based practice where I have been for 7 years.”
One physician’s decision to take a stand and unite with his fellow colleagues has given doctors a simple way to show the public and elected officials that healthcare, for them, is not a political agenda. It is their life and livelihood. And in recent weeks, the partisan discussions in the Senate and House of Representatives on healthcare legislation have seemingly marginalized — and at times even maligned — physicians.
“I was for nationalized healthcare,” says a family medicine physician, “but I thought that meant providing a safety net for needy Americans. But this monster of a bill is something quite different.”
“Politicians and payers have turned our profession into a political football,” retorts an anesthesiologist.
President Obama’s recent tonsillectomy remark, in which he insinuated that doctors make medical decisions based on what they would be paid for a procedure rather than the best treatment for the patient, has further incensed physicians. “As a hard-working, conscientious physician, I am offended. It’s like racial stereotyping. Only now it’s about a group that is mostly overworked, tired, and saving people’s lives,” retorts a family medicine practitioner.
If the president is looking for greed within the healthcare system, Dr. Chudacoff suggests that he not take aim at primary care physicians. Chudacoff adds, “Medicine is going corporate, and we physicians are just flipping burgers so corporations have an improved bottom line.”
Although fair compensation is an important issue among the organizers of the Million Med March, it is not the only issue. Medicine has become a toxic environment in which to work. Dr. Chudacoff underscores the situation. “Quality of care suffers with less time to see patients and less reimbursement received when we do see patients. We cannot do pro bono work as we have in the past because we have to see an ever increasing number of patients. This extra work is forced upon us when insurance companies, especially Medicare and Medicaid, constantly refuse to pay us in a timely fashion for our time and efforts. And then once we do see patients, our clinical acumen is stifled as we must follow a cookbook approach to patient care. It is time that we stand up for ourselves.”
A vascular surgeon comments, “We can lead the way to real reform. Now is clearly the time to act, not just type.”
On July 10, an MPC contributor and one of the supporters of the Million Med March launched a Website, www.millionmedmarch.com, to build support for the October event. The site announces a physician grassroots movement to re-establish honor, dignity, and worth to the medical profession. “The Million Med March movement has taken off, on so many sites, and within so many communities. Why now? The debate on national healthcare has forced this conversation, and this conversation has pushed us over the tipping point.”
The mandate as stated on the Million Med March Website includes the following points:
•Services must be adequately reimbursed so that we may spend more time with our patients and not be forced to see an unsafe number of patients to pay for increased business costs.
•Less money must go into the hands of insurance companies’ administrative costs, and more money must go towards patient care and medical research.
•We must abolish third-party payers or prevent a single-payer system for office visits and medical services; these services are costly to the patient, physician, and society as a whole.
•Our patients need access to brand-name drugs that are as affordable in the United States as in Canada and Mexico.
•We must have medical malpractice reform, with caps on all damages, so that we can practice without the fear of needless and unwarranted lawsuits that only benefit attorneys.
Some MPC contributors voice concern that the Million Med March scheduled for October will occur too late to have any meaningful impact on healthcare reform. “The health reform bill is going nowhere,” says an anesthesiologist. “Let’s make a major statement between its failure and the next attempt to marginalize the docs.”
A plastic surgeon adds, “Stand up for our profession and come to DC.”
Here is something we can do on the state level.
Down load this .pdf from the Pelican Institute. It has all the goodies on waste in the state.
http://www.pelicaninstitute.org/files/pdf/2009%20LA_PorkRprt_3C.pdf
A few examples from the report...
Ticketing the Taxpayers
Lawmakers must be big sports fans because
in 2008 they spent $5.8 million for sporting
events so they could feel the thrill of victory
while taxpayers felt the agony of defeat.
The state spent $3 million for the Sugar
Bowl and $358,000 for the Independence
Bowl, as well as $2.5 million for the NBA
All-Star Game. Since these events are all
highly subsidized by corporate sponsors,
taxpayer money doesn't need to be spent
on them.
Despite revenue shortfalls, Louisiana continues to provide funding for non- governmental
organizations (NGOs). Here are 'some' requests from the 2010 budgetxxiv :
$5,521,272 for the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) to continue its renovation
of the 900 Camp Street complex;
$350,000 for the Louisiana Shrimp Association to provide legal services for the
Louisiana shrimp industry;
$169,101 for the Delta Waterfowl Foundation which provides “knowledge,
leaders and science-based solutions that effectively conserve waterfowl and
secure the future for waterfowl hunting;
$129,500 for the Louisiana Future Farmers of America Foundation;
$10,000 for Abbey Players, Inc., an organization which produces four plays a
year; and
$10,000 for Healthy Lifestyle Choices, to teach youth to make healthier
choices in safety, nutrition, fitness, substance abuse and violence prevention.
Take Away the Mayor's Keys
Shreveport City Council members are asking
Mayor Glover to return the $31,766
Chevrolet Suburban his office has been
using to either the Shreveport Police
Department or the dealership.
The Suburban was purchased with Police
Department money in 2007. The City
Council says the mayor's office should have
asked the council for funding or funded the
car out of its operations budget. Using
Police Department funds, they claim, is in
violation of the city's charter, and the
money was intended for the purchase of
police vehicles.
Mayor Glover already receives $450 a
month as a car allowance. Several other
mayoral staffers receive car allowances and
those who do not are paid for mileage.
Mayor Glover is double dipping in the
taxpayer's coffer. It's time to take away his
keys.x l v i i
Here is the VOTE
Senator Mike Johanns (R-NE) introduced an amendment to the HUD and Transportation appropriation bill to strip ACORN of all federal funding. A week ago, Johanns wouldn’t have gotten the amendment to the floor. Today, however, after three straight days of BigGovernment.com’s video exposés of ACORN offices in Washington DC, New York City, and Baltimore offering assistance to pimping, tax evasion, and trafficking in underage Salvadorean girls, Johanns not only got his vote — but he got an impressive bipartisan showing. The Senate passed the Johanns amendment 83-7.
At the beginning of the vote, it appeared that Democrats might resist. Initially, a half-dozen Democrats cast votes in opposition to the amendment. A few more cast votes against it as the rest of the Senate voted, but the tide appeared to shift. More and more Democrats signed onto the amendment, and votes started changing. One male voice could be heard in the chamber saying, “I want to change my vote!” Among those who changed their votes: Tom Udall (D-NM), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), and Herb Kohl (D-WI).
I do not have the official roll call record of the vote yet, but three of the seven Democrats voting against the bill were Dick Durbin (D-IL), Roland Burris (D-IL), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT). I’ll get the rest in a few minutes, but it’s worth repeating what Jim Geraghty said on the Twitter stream: “Who were the seven Child-Whoring Pimp Assistance Program defenders?”
The big question will be whether the House follows suit. Nancy Pelosi may not be inclined to let an amendment come to the floor, but James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles may not be done yet, either. A few more of these videos and even Pelosi will have little choice but to slam the door on ACORN. The big test will be whether the Johanns amendment survives a conference committee. This isn’t over yet.
Update: Thanks to Sean Hackbarth, we have the list of seven nays on the amendment so that the Child-Whoring Pimp Assitance 7 can be publicly identified:
- Dick Durbin (D-IL)
- Roland Burris (D-IL)
- Robert Casey (D-PA)
- Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
- Patrick Leahy (D-VT)
- Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
- Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
So can we assume that Illinois and Vermont are especially sympathetic to child-whoring pimp assistance?
Is the president trying to indoctrinate our kids? It would appear so... Kids will be forced to watch and listen to this president as he addresses them on September 8th. One of the questions kids will be asked is this...
"Why is it important that we listen to the President and other elected officials, like the mayor, senators, members of congress, or the governor? Why is what they say important?"...
Excuse me, but shouldn't it be the other way around!
Why is it important that the President and other elected officials, like the mayor, senators, members of congress, or the governor listens to us? Why is what we say important?
Everyone needs to call their schools, school systems and school boards and demand that this not take place!
This is the agenda being given out to all teachers and schools around the country.
------------------------
PreK-6 Menu of Classroom Activities:
President Obama’s Address to Students
Across America
Produced by Teaching Ambassador Fellows, U.S. Department of Education September 8, 2009
Before the Speech:
Teachers can build background knowledge about the President of the United States and his speech by reading books about presidents and Barack Obama and motivate students by asking the following questions: Who is the President of the United States? What do you think it takes to be President? To whom do you think the President is going to be speaking? Why do you think he wants to speak to you? What do you think he will say to you?
Teachers can ask students to imagine being the President delivering a speech to all of the students in the United States. What would you tell students? What can students do to help in our schools? Teachers can chart ideas about what they would say.
Why is it important that we listen to the President and other elected officials, like the mayor, senators, members of congress, or the governor? Why is what they say important?
During the Speech:
As the President speaks, teachers can ask students to write down key ideas or phrases that are important or personally meaningful. Students could use a note-taking graphic organizer such as a Cluster Web, or students could record their thoughts on sticky notes. Younger children can draw pictures and write as appropriate. As students listen to the speech, they could think about the following: What is the President trying to tell me? What is the President asking me to do? What new ideas and actions is the President challenging me to think about?
Students can record important parts of the speech where the President is asking them to do something. Students might think about: What specific job is he asking me to do? Is he asking anything of anyone else? Teachers? Principals? Parents? The American people?
Students can record any questions they have while he is speaking and then discuss them after the speech. Younger children may need to dictate their questions.
After the Speech:
Teachers could ask students to share the ideas they recorded, exchange sticky notes or stick notes on a butcher paper poster in the classroom to discuss main ideas from the speech, i.e. citizenship, personal responsibility, civic duty.
Students could discuss their responses to the following questions: What do you think the President wants us to do? Does the speech make you want to do anything? Are we able to do what President Obama is asking of us? What would you like to tell the President?
Teachers could encourage students to participate in the Department of Education’s “I Am What I Learn” video contest.
On September 8
th
the Department will invite K-12 students to submit a video no longer than 2 min, explaining why education is important and how their education will help them achieve their dreams. Teachers are welcome to incorporate the same or a similar video project into an assignment. More details will be released via www.ed.gov
.
Extension of the Speech: Teachers can extend learning by having students
Create posters of their goals. Posters could be formatted in quadrants or puzzle pieces or trails marked with the labels: personal, academic, community, country. Each area could be labeled with three steps for achieving goals in those areas. It might make sense to focus on personal and academic so community and country goals come more readily.
Write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president. These would be collected and redistributed at an appropriate later date by the teacher to make students accountable to their goals.
Write goals on colored index cards or precut designs to post around the classroom.
Interview and share about their goals with one another to create a supportive community.
Participate in School wide incentive programs or contests for students who achieve their goals.
Write about their goals in a variety of genres, i.e. poems, songs, personal essays.
Create artistic projects based on the themes of their goals.
Graph student progress toward goals.
Talk about a "shovel-ready" project: 2,200 people incarcerated in U.S. prisons got $250 checks from President Obama's stimulus bill.
The federal government once again is showing itself to be completely inept. The average hardworking American deserves not to be at the beg and mercy of such an inept group of elitist people.
Give them our health care system too? Not a chance.
In fact, I say every enterprise they have their fingers in should be taken away and sold to the private sector and the directors should be held accountable for their failure, we did the same thing to Enron, GM and our banking system. The post office, Amtrak, Medicare, Medicaid, Fanny Mae, Freddy Mac all should be sold to a private company to be run. They are currently worth absolutely nothing, I am sure we could find savvy investors to purchase them clean them up and make them profitable.
Looks like Obama is really bringing people together.
Whereas Ronald Reagan brought people together, Obama is clearly dividing our country. This is horrible.