Quite the Choice
Posted on 29. Nov, 2009 by Robert Voris.
“‘But I don’t want to burn my flag…’ THEN DON’T” – Bill Hicks
American life involves choices. George Carlin defined these choices as paper or plastic, cash or credit, Democrat or Republican.
In reality, it’s much funnier and much scarier than Carlin’s pithy summation.
For example, the right to bear arms so famously guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the Constitution is for the purpose of maintaining a militia, being necessary to the free state. The framers didn’t envision the United States maintaining a professional military, so they wanted the citizenry armed to defend their newly-created society. Section III of Article III of that same Constitution defines treason as levying war against the United States. As John Brown discovered after he took on the country’s professional military at Harper’s Ferry over a societal issue, when a citizen militia’s right to bear arms is weighed against national interest, the militia bears its arms into a hangman’s noose. […]
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I love me some party-crashers
Posted on 29. Nov, 2009 by Maria Clark.
Sure they are media whores. Sure they are looking to cash in on their stunt. It won’t be long until they make the rounds of talk shows. Till Valerie Bertinelli and the guy who played Will on Will and Grace, portray Michaele and Tareq Salahi in some Lifetime movie. There will be books, there will be signings, God let’s hope there will be t-shirts. It’s annoying, but damn I love them.
Let’s set aside the fact that their party crashing skills are tops. (If the Salahi’s choose to write any book, it should be a Dummy’s guide to party crashing. It be a hit!) Or that the incentive for barging into this particular party, was to film a tryout for the Real Housewives of DC. Total class!
They aren’t much different than most of reality tv obsessed America. Trying to come up with any stunt, any crazy- camera loving behavior for those glorious 15 minutes of fame.
But the Salahi’s took it a step further than even Balloon Boy and his crazy parents. Not only did they manage to humiliate the media: (SORRY COLIN I MUST CUE THE SALAHI/KATIE COURIC PIC)
Their spotlight hogging stunt helped uncover the shameful inadequecy in White House security. Imagine that. Anyone with money, time, and enough creativity can go face to face with Obama and shake his hand.
A senior Secret Service official said a “top-to-bottom” review of the agency’s protective department was ordered shortly after Obama began his term amid the highest threat level for any recent president. The results are due soon, spokesman James Machin told the Washington Post.
The gap in security is really the main focus in this tale of fame and money. The Salahi’s will eventually go the route of Balloon Boy and fly away from our collective minds. But the secret service should remember the moral of this tale and make up for it quick. Next time, who knows what the pretty blonde might be hiding under her sari.
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Are Politicians Now Cool?
Posted on 29. Nov, 2009 by Collin Orcutt.
*(I’m sorry Joe Walker, you don’t have to read this if you don’t want to)*
This is a post about the Obama Gatecrashers Michaele and Tareq Salahi. I refuse to do them the service of linking to a story about their stunt, nor will I direct you to the Facebook pictures of Michaele with Joe Biden or Rahm Emanuel. That I’ve just added to their Google Trend-iness by mentioning them annoys me a little, so to spite them and their SEO, they don’t get their names in the title of my post. In fact, I will only refer to them as “them” and “they“ from here on out.
But I won’t discredit them completely, because they sure did make me think a little.
The couple is obviously fame hungry–nothing new in our society–but the way they went about groping for it… Were they trying to boost their status by talking their way into a White House function or by appearing with political leaders? Because the idea of being somewhere you aren’t supposed to isn’t new. But the idea that being seen with politicians is cool, as if they’re celebrities or athletes–that feels a bit new. Sure, argue JFK or maybe Reagan to an extent, but those are exceptions. I don’t think many aspiring reality TV couples conspired about getting shared “W” face time, that’s for sure.
Just the fact that they posted the pictures to Facebook is interesting. I have Facebook friends that proudly tag pictures of themselves mugging with Jay-Z or Paul Pierce. But Joe Biden? It seems counterintuitive, doesn’t it? Not that there are D.C. socialites who would want to name-drop “Biden” over a champagne flute at a dinner function adorned in their best pearls, but that said socialites would also aspire to appear on reality television. It feels like serving donut hole hors d’oeuvres at a black tie function.
But hell, maybe that’s where we’re at as a society. Perhaps Facebook isn’t just for the kidz and “Real Housewives” not just for a certain demographic. Maybe we’re so interconn