April 27, 2011 - The Obamas are in town to visit with Oprah Winfrey, and you're paying for it. Barack Obama, who apparently has nothing more urgent to attend to (such as golfing), has deemed that it's just fine and dandy to spend hundreds of thousands of your dollars on his trip to Harpo Studios to chat with Oprah.
At approximately 11:25 a.m. today, I saw the president's helicopter, accompanied by two guard choppers, fly low over Rogers Park, a remote sector in the extreme northeast and far Left part of Occupied Chicago.
It upset me, and it should upset you too. Obama has said that he "will not rest" until he has solved the issue of ... well, he's said that of many issues. (Golf, in his world, is not "rest.") So, sleepless and overworked in his quest to solve domestic and international crises, Obama nevertheless placed Oprah Winfrey above all other items today.
Dropping everything, Obama has taken the time to fly to Chicago to sit next to Oprah for the taping of one of the last episodes of "The Oprah Winfrey Show." Her last show will air on May 25, after a 25 year run. This is very important in the world of entertainment and popular culture, and I really don't mean to diminish the significance of Oprah's influence. But...
Couldn't the President of the United States have arranged for Oprah's camera crew to visit him at the White House to tape his tribute to Oprah? Of course he could, but instead he chose to spend massive amounts of money on Air Force One's jet fuel and helicopter fuel to get him to Chicago. Once here, of course, he would be motorcaded from the helicopter landing zone over to Harpo Studios. (See his entire, official schedule at http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/complete.)
After the taping, a return to the helicopter, the helicopter flight back to Air Force One, then a flight to New York this afternoon. Is the president going to New York for urgent government business? Nope. He will give speeches at three Democratic National Committee events. In other words, fundraising for his re-election campaign. "I will not rest," he might say, until he gets that billion dollars for his re-election campaign, and an appearance on Oprah is certainly part of that strategy.
I haven't even mentioned, yet, the added costs to the Chicago Police Department for the needed extra security details. The local FBI and Secret Service will also be inconvenienced, both in terms of manpower and finances. Don't even get me started on the inconvenience that a presidential motorcade always creates for motorists, who will find major streets closed for the passage of Barack Obama on his way to perform his urgent presidential duties at Harpo Studios.
I can't wait for November, 2012. Or for May 26, 2011.
I Just Saw Obama's Helicopter, And I'm Pissed
April 27, 2011 - The Obamas are in town to visit with Oprah Winfrey, and you're paying for it. Barack Obama, who apparently has nothing more urgent to attend to (such as golfing), has deemed that it's just fine and dandy to spend hundreds of thousands of your dollars on his trip to Harpo Studios to chat with Oprah.
At approximately 11:25 a.m. today, I saw the president's helicopter, accompanied by two guard choppers, fly low over Rogers Park, a remote sector in the extreme northeast and far Left part of Occupied Chicago.
It upset me, and it should upset you too. Obama has said that he "will not rest" until he has solved the issue of ... well, he's said that of many issues. (Golf, in his world, is not "rest.") So, sleepless and overworked in his quest to solve domestic and international crises, Obama nevertheless placed Oprah Winfrey above all other items today.
Dropping everything, Obama has taken the time to fly to Chicago to sit next to Oprah for the taping of one of the last episodes of "The Oprah Winfrey Show." Her last show will air on May 25, after a 25 year run. This is very important in the world of entertainment and popular culture, and I really don't mean to diminish the significance of Oprah's influence. But...
Couldn't the President of the United States have arranged for Oprah's camera crew to visit him at the White House to tape his tribute to Oprah? Of course he could, but instead he chose to spend massive amounts of money on Air Force One's jet fuel and helicopter fuel to get him to Chicago. Once here, of course, he would be motorcaded from the helicopter landing zone over to Harpo Studios. (See his entire, official schedule at http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule/complete.)
After the taping, a return to the helicopter, the helicopter flight back to Air Force One, then a flight to New York this afternoon. Is the president going to New York for urgent government business? Nope. He will give speeches at three Democratic National Committee events. In other words, fundraising for his re-election campaign. "I will not rest," he might say, until he gets that billion dollars for his re-election campaign, and an appearance on Oprah is certainly part of that strategy.
I haven't even mentioned, yet, the added costs to the Chicago Police Department for the needed extra security details. The local FBI and Secret Service will also be inconvenienced, both in terms of manpower and finances. Don't even get me started on the inconvenience that a presidential motorcade always creates for motorists, who will find major streets closed for the passage of Barack Obama on his way to perform his urgent presidential duties at Harpo Studios.
I can't wait for November, 2012. Or for May 26, 2011.
