Group Protests Police Brutality, But Where Are Conservatives?

A small group of protesters gathered at Daley Plaza in downtown Chicago from Noon to 2:00 p.m. today to call attention to police brutality and killings. The event was called "No More! Rally to Demand an End to Police Violence!" and was organized by "Illinois Campaign to End the New Jim Crow." Occupy Chicago was also involved. Sadly, there were no Tea Party people there. This is something in which Occupy Chicago, Socialists, Tea Parties and everyone else should be united. 

"No man has a natural right to commit aggression on the equal rights of another, and this is all from which the laws ought to restrain him." ~ Thomas Jefferson

Some of you reading this will be tempted to dismiss these folks - and me - as a bunch of radical nut jobs. There were a few nutters at this little rally, to be sure, but all were sincerely concerned about abusive police and the tragedy that can result. Some of the people in attendance have suffered the loss of children and loved ones at the hands of overzealous police officers. There were family members of "police murder victims, Chicago police torture victims, and concerned community members." One of the victims highlighted by the protesters was young Stephon Edward Watts, a 15-year old with  Asperger’s Synbdrome (a type of autism).Stephon Watts was shot to death by two Calumet City police officers earlier this year.

Let me remind you that I am a conservative, as are most of my readers. So I ask you: As conservatives who oppose an abusive government, how can we not also be vocally opposed to police brutality?

"We will not stand for the daily abuse and racist harassment of our brothers and sisters at the hands of the police," say the organizers of the protest. Who can disagree with that statement?

Some of the protesters suffer from emotional distortion of facts. I do not, however, mean that as harsh criticism. Their children were killed, and I imagine that such an experience would have such an effect. Nevertheless, a number of the protesters insist that the Chicago Police Department "is the biggest gang out there."

The CPD is not a gang, of course, and while there have been some wrongful and questionable deaths caused by CPD officers, it pales in comparison to the ongoing slaughter committed by civilians who are gang members. Currently, CPD has approximately 9,600 officers. In comparison, there are  more than 68,000 gang members running free in the streets of Chicago by some estimates.

A large banner (photo, right) held at the rally showed 22 people killed by police in Chicago from 2007-2011. Just one is too many, of course, but compare that to the number killed by non-police civilian gangsters: On Friday, July 27, Chicago achieved its 300th homicide for 2012. At least six more have died since Friday night, and only God knows what the final toll for this weekend will be by the time we hear the morning news on Monday.

Listening to family members speak passionately about loved ones who died as the result of police actions is certainly moving. It's emotional. While I am not so gullible as to believe every parent who insists that their child was wrongly killed and did not pose an imminent danger to cops, I am also not so cynical as to not believe that there are cops out there who commit acts of brutality and even kill because they get overzealous, panic or act out of frustration and even hatred.

All Americans - regardless of political affiliation - must be concerned about this. Cops are human, and like any other group of people there are good ones and bad ones. I firmly believe that the good ones greatly outnumber the bad, but even one bad one is one too many. One wrongful death is one too many too - regardless of whether it was caused by a cop or by a criminal.

As a group that opposes governmental abuses, this is a natural for conservatives. However, I saw none at this event. I've never seen any at similar events. But why not? I don't know the answer, but I can guess: A lack of empathy, a lack of sympathy, and a disdain for the victims who are, far too often, people of color who are poor.

Is that a racist assumption on my part? As a poor white conservative who supports his local Tea Party and has battled socialists since 1976, I'd say not. It's just a fact. If I was wrong, there would have been at least a few people representing one or more local Tea Parties at this rally/protest. There was not. There never is. That is tragic.

While some conservatives freak out about "Obama's drones" spying on them domestically (I share their concern to a point), there are people across the U.S. being wrongly brutalized and even killed accidentally - or intentionally - by errant or rogue police officers.

Finally, consider this: Conservatives are blowing an opportunity to reach out to their fellow Americans. Many of the people who have been victimized by police brutality turn to radical socialist revolutionary groups such as the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA (revcom.us) because they feel that they have nowhere else to turn. Many of those who do so were not politicized before they or their family member was harmed by police. Radical leftist groups swoop in and offer support. Conservatives? Absent.

"Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of liberty." ~ Thomas Jefferson

I'm not sure why conservative groups do not get as riled up about this form of abuse by government as they do about anything else. I truly don't. Causing wrongful physical injury and even death is a violation of one's most fundamental Constitutional rights. Isn't that what conservatives love to say they would die to defend? Damned right it is, but getting up off the couch and going to a protest is just too much work.

Obama Racist Executive Order Violates 14th Amendment With Race-Based School Discipline

Grand Dragon Obama

Barack Obama is a racist. He has admitted it. He has demonstrated it. It is undeniable. Equal treatment for all? Not under Obama, nope. A "colorblind society?" Not if Obama can help it, and in fact he signed and executive order on July 26 that violates Section 1 of the 14th Amendment of U.S. Constitution (the "Equal Protection Clause") by establishing a government panel to promote “a positive school climate that does not rely on methods that result in disparate use of disciplinary tools.”

The Executive Order, titled "White House Initiative On Educational Excellence For African Americans," begins with this bit of irony: "By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America...." It is ironic because Obama is not given any authority by the Constitution or any laws to violate the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. He has violated the very Constitution that he falsely claims gives him the authority to do so. (Can we have a collective "Huh?" please?)

“What this means is that whites and Asians will get suspended for things that blacks don’t get suspended for,” because school officials will try to level punishments despite groups’ different infraction rates, predicted Hans Bader, a counsel at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Bader is a former official in the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights, and has sued and represented school districts and colleges in civil-rights cases. ~ Daily Caller

The Executive Order ends with as much irony as it begins with. Sec. 4. General Provisions (c) says, "This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations." As with the ironic beginning of the Order, there is no "applicable law" because the Order violates the Constitution, which is the supreme legal document.

If you can stand it, here's a video of Obama signing the racist executive order as reported by fellow racist, the Revolting Al Sharpton, complete with his usual bad grammar on MSNBC.

Hat tip: Pat Dollard

Video: 2008 Obama Supporter Bitterly Disappointed by 2012 Self

Sunny

July 25, 2012 - What if you were a starry eyed, hopey-changey supporter of Barack Obama in 2008, believing your New Messiah would change the world - but your 2012 self tells you what a sad failure he has been? That's what the clever Sunny of "House of Sunny" has done in a clever video collaboration with Republican Party Animals. Sunny notes on her blog that the video is "a spoof on the viral video where the guy is talking to his 12 year old self. What if a 2008 Obama supporter made a recording for her 2012 self about how awesome the world would be after 4 years of Obama?" Bitter disappointment ensues...
Sunny often contributes to PJ Media and can also be found on Facebook.

Guns Could Have Saved Lives In That Colorado Theater

When I first heard about the horrific shooting during a showing of "The Dark Knight Rises"at the Century 16 complex in Aurora, Colorado my first thought was, "What a shame that some of those moviegoers weren't armed." One woman was quoted as saying that the gunman, James Eagan Holmes, 24,, stood "right in front of me" and pulled the trigger. Her reaction: "I dove over the seats" to take cover.

James Eagan Holmes

Think about that. If she'd had a gun, she could have shot the bastard and saved some people. Another person aimed his cellphone camera at the gunman. Too bad that guy didn't have .38 to aim at him instead.

I have not heard or seen a single report of anybody shooting back at Holmes. 

Reuters sums up the nightmare: A gunman in a gas mask and body armor killed 12 people at a midnight premiere of the new "Batman" movie in a suburb of Denver early on Friday, opening fire on moviegoers after hurling a gas canister into the theater. Armed with an assault rifle, a shotgun and a pistol, he wounded another 59 with gunfire during a screening of "The Dark Knight Rises" at a mall in Aurora, which turned into a chaotic scene of bleeding victims, horrified screams and pleas for help, witnesses said. More from Reuters....

We'll be hearing from imbecile liberals all weekend and next week as they use this as an excuse for more gun control. The irony is that more guns - legal guns in the right hands - would have saved lives. Both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama had the good taste to express their horror at the shooting . I have no reason to believe that either was not sincere. The Repugnant Jesse Jackson, Sr., on the other hand, practically wet his pants, in such a hurry was he to make anti-gun political hay out of tragedy by calling for a ban on guns. Jackson, by the way, is often accompanied by armed bodyguards.

The weapons used by Holmes included an AR-15 assault rifle, a 12 gauge shotgun and a Glock .40 caliber handgun. All of his weapons were purchased legally, reports say, and this will undoubtedly be cited by liberal anti-gun extremists as further evidence of a complete ban on firearms. That would be a ridiculous argument, however, because most of the baseball bats, knives, meat cleavers, bottles of Drain-O and automobiles that are used to kill people every year are also legally purchased. No weapon, legally purchased or otherwise, kill  makes the decision to kill. That's done by the person who possesses the weapon, and the fact is that some people will always commit violence. Banning all firearms would leave the rest of us defenseless. (Please read the excellent opinion piece by Tom Weaver below.)

Must-Read: Dark Knight Rises Shooter Could Have Been Stopped 'If Members Of The Audience Were Armed,' Says American Guns Star - RadarOnline.com

Tom Weaver, candidate for Congress, understands that:
http://tomweaverforcongress.com/news/2012-07-20/another-senseless-shooting

We wake up this morning to the news of a terrible tragedy carried out in Colorado. Innocent people watching a newly released movie were suddenly facing a deranged shooter. And the effects are devastating.

Our prayers must go out to the victims and their families.

Why did this person commit these horrific acts? The answer is simple – no one will ever really know. Throughout the history of man, individuals, groups and governments have committed these crimes – destroying both life and liberty.

But as once stated, we have a natural right to life, a natural right to liberty, and a natural right to the pursuit of happiness. Our Founders believed in those natural rights and understood that the right to life means we have a natural right to defend our lives. And hence, they placed a guarantee within the Constitution that Government will never interfere with a person’s natural right to self-defense.

And yet, Government has done just the opposite by creating so many rules and regulations which limit the ability of people to defend themselves. Government has created an atmosphere which allows the right of self-defense to be forfeited for almost any reason. Government has created the façade that only they can protect us. This is wrong. Why? GOVERNMENT CANNOT PROTECT US – it is up to us, the people, to provide that protection.

One country that understands the natural right of self-defense is Switzerland. Switzerland has one of the highest gun ownership rates in the world, yet, there is hardly any gun crime.

This tragedy may have been avoided had the person known that everyone in the aisle seats had the ability to defend themselves, their children, their loved ones and their neighbor. Our Founders were correct in stating that government must protect the right of citizens to self-defense, to keep and bear arms.

Child Molesters Must Be Treated Like Rabid Dogs

"The serial killer has the same personality characteristics as the sex offender against children" 
~ Dr. Mace Knapp, Nevada State Prison Psychologist

Child rapists should be executed. Period. Kill them. They are worse than murderers. The dead suffer no longer, their pain ends and they cannot continue on to kill more people.

Molest a child, however, and their life is hell, and a high number of them become molesters themselves (see below). Even those who do not become molesters - and that's the majority of them, I should point out - suffer horribly and are plagued by a long list of pychological problems for the rest of their lives.

An analogy: A rapid dog can spread rabies by biting other animals. The rabid dog cannot control its actions, and it is not Fido's fault that he has rabies. That doesn't change the fact that Fido is dangerous, and even after he is shot dead the some of the animals that he has already bitten may already be spreading the disease. Pedophiles who molest children are like that. Their uncontrollable urges may not be "their fault," but that does not change the fact that they are a serious menace.

Pedophiles are like rabid dogs

The Baltimore Sun had an interesting article on July 18 which quotes James Cantor of the University of Toronto, who studies sexual behavior and abuse. "No one has been able to find a way to change pedophiles into nonpedophiles," the Sun quotes him as saying, "but that doesn't mean we cannot prevent child molestation."

Granted, complete prevention is probably impossible. But a significant reduction of the frequency of child molestation could be achieved by removing the molesters themselves. Once identified and convicted, kill them. I guarantee you that no killer that was put do death has ever killed again.

The same reality applies to those who rape children, but consider this: The evil of even an executed child raper continues on forever. If he (or she) molested half a dozen kids, one or two of them may go on to be molesters and might molest at least half a dozen themselves. Then, some of those victims become perpetrators, and the numbers keep growing. The murder victims, on the other hand, lay harmless in the ground.

Rabid Dog: Jerry Sandusky should be executed

It is important to note that not all children who are molested become molesters. But it's a high percentage. "Male perpetrators of child sexual abuse were more likely to have been abused as children than male subjects who were not perpetrators," according to a study by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust in London, U.K.  "35% of male perpetrators of sexual abuse had been victims of such abuse, while 11% of males who had not perpetrated abuse had been victims of child sexual abuse."

"In many cases, child sex abusers suffer from traumatic experiences during their childhood," note writers Michael Cochran & Meghan Cole at Neuroanthropology. "More specifically, pedophiles tend to also have been molested as children. As children, they lacked the ability to control the situation. By sexually assaulting children, pedophiles attempt to re-live the trauma they experienced and they learn how to master it. A complete role reversal gives them the upper hand and prevents them from being victimized. Overall, through the impact of cerebral dysfunction and traumatic development, the sexual urges and desires for children can become ingrained within a person’s nervous system."  "Ingrained within a person's nervous system," they said. Just like rabies.

Bastille Day, The Beginning of Great Tragedy

July 14, 2012 - Today is Bastille Day, which marks the beginning of the French Revolution in 1789. You may hear a few ignorant people wish you a "Happy Bastille Day" today. Smile and know that they have no idea how tragic Bastille Day and all of that followed really was.

Unlike the American Revolution, the French Revolution led to hideous terror and mass slaughter, ultimately leading to dictatorships and finally to a France that is drowning in socialist debt. People died in the American Colonies's fight against England for independence, but a few years later (in 1793), the French emulated our revolution and made killing their own citizens a national sport.

"A real civil war took place in the French countryside, between the Vendeen and the republican guards. From March to September 1793, more than 100,000 people died from this opposition," Bastille-day.com reminds us.

That was just the beginning of "The Terror," and there is no analog to it in the history of the American Revolution. The Terror continued: After September, 1793 it spread all over France. "This was a cruel period when France was killing its people by hundreds in a frightening movement of rage and decadence. People were arrested and executed without trial if they were accused of being enemies of the revolution. It is estimated that about 40,000 people died during this 15 month period. Marie Antoinette, wife of Louis XVI, was beheaded in October, 1793. But that was merely the opening act....

"One of the darkest periods in French history soon ensued," says Bastille-day.com. "The Great Terror began in June 1794....Thousands of people who were suspected to be anti-revolutionists were executed savagely. A campaign of dechristianization took place all over the country....On May 8th, 1794 the Assembly introduced the "Culte de l'Être Supreme" (The cult of Supreme Being), as form of deism. On June 8th, 1794 Robespierre, the President of the Convention, participated in the "Fête de l'Etre Supreme" (Supreme Being celebration) in Paris."

There is a lot more than this simplified summary, of course. Napolean Bonaparte would eventually become the self-declared Emperor of the French in on December 2, 1804. (Isn't it funny that the French celebrate Bastille Day on July 14 but have no big fireworks shows on December 2?)

The bottom line: The French Revolution was an anti-Christian, anti-Establishment, barbaric orgy of class warfare that led to a brutal central government. While the French Revolution was slumping toward military dictatorship in 1800, it was an election year in the new United States of America.

The difference, I need not say, is stunning. Those who glorify the French Revolution have no idea what it was about or the tragedy it caused. (More about the anti-God savagery and the creation of a France dedicated to total warfare can be read at kwintessential.co.uk.)

Happy Bastille Day? There is very little about it that was happy, actually.

Urban Dictionary Defines 'Harry Reid' As Sexual Position

She stood there naked, wanting it, but he was clueless.
It was like trying to seduce Harry Reid.

Urban Dictionary is a source that many people consult when they hear a befuddling phrase or word. While "Harry Reid" is not a confusing phrase - it's the name of a jerk U.S. Senator from Nevada - it does have a meaning other than that jerk's name. Or, at least, that's what Urban Dictionary now says.

So, what's a "Harry Reid?" Urban Dictionary defines it as a "sexual position where you climb on top and then do absolutely nothing. Named for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)."

Why would they name a sex act after Harry  Reid? As Urban Dictionary explains, it's for his lack of leadership and, essentially, being a do-nothing politician. One of the examples of how to use the phrase "Harry Reid" in a sentence:

"He talked a big game, but it turns out he was completely clueless. It was like sleeping with 'Harry Reid'."

And why not? It's only fitting that one of the top clowns in the Democrat Party should have a sexual position named after him. After all, Democrats are obsessed with sex. The only irony is that Reid is one of the least likely in his party to actually get any.

UPDATED: Rep. Paul Gosar: Constitution Not Worth Fighting For

Rep. Paul Gosar, Arizona:
Willing to compromise on
the U.S. Constitution

July 12, 2012 - "What happens when a Republican Congressman tells Conservative Activists that fighting for the Constitution is a losing battle?" That's the question posed by Unite In Action, which posted this disturbing video to YouTube today. According to Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz, District 1), half of all Americans don't believe in the Constitution, and so that makes it not worth fight for if it means losing on other issues. Gosar was speaking as a panelist with other conservative activists (although one wonders how "conservative" Gosar really is if he's willing to compromise on the Constitution). Gosar is currently running for re-election.

"If all you're going to do is stand just for the Constitution and nothing less, you will lose," Gosar said. "We have to have the Constitution but a plan to get back."

"Why would they lose if they stood for the Constitution? Is it too far to go?" another panelist asked him.

"Because not everybody believes in the Constitution," Gosar said. "You have fifty percent of the people..." he was interrupted by KrisAnne Hall, Unite In Action's Director of Legal Affairs.

"You cannot abandon the Constitution," Hall said emphatically, and she continued to make a strong case for not backing down or compromising when it comes to the Constitution - as Rep. Gosar had just urged the group to do.

Gosar had local tea party support when he ran for Congress in 2010, and is now running in Arizona's 4th District after moving to Prescott. According to TriValleyCentral.com, "That leaves things wide open in the 1st District, where Democrats hold a slight numerical advantage over Republicans in the far-flung region that stretches from the north edge of Tucson through Pinal County, much of eastern Arizona and northern Arizona to the Utah border." 

It would be surprising if Gosar gets the same level of enthusiastic support from tea party factions after this.

I would present more information about this but, oddly, there is nothing on the website of Unite In Action. Strangely, too, there is no information about when this event happened, where it was or even what the name of the event was. I tried to contact them, but their message function was not functioning properly at 3:14 p.m. CDT today.

Related:

• AZ-4: Paul Gosar Says Constitution Not Worth Fighting For MadisonProject.com
• 1st congressional district campaign: Six contend for Gosar's seat TriValleyCentral.com
• Rep. Gosar says Congress should give up salaries, but won't give up his AZFamily.com
• GOSAR: If all you do is stand for the Constitution you will lose High Plains Pundit
• Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Suggests Americans Stop Fighting For The Constitution! Waking Giant

Video: Obama Blues by Augie and the Black Tears

Cool new song recently uploaded by some good ol' boys in Texas. They claim that they recorded the song, "Obama Blues," at an "undisclosed, secure location in Texas" by "a few musicians who are fed up and got together to try to make a difference." The snappy song was written by Kevin Kosub.

I like the tune so much that I hope they release another version - with different lyrics - after Obama's defeat in November. Get more info about Augie and the Black Tears at ObamaBluesSong and at their Facebook page.

Legendary Actor Ernest Borgnine, Dead at 95 (Despite His Secret to Life)

Rest In Peace, Mr. Borgnine

July 8, 2012 - Legendary actor Ernest Borgnine died in Los Angeles today. He passed away while surrounded by family members at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Borgnine attributed his long life to his frequent masturbation. Perhaps he should have pleasured himself more often. Or, perhaps, he overdid it. We hope the L.A. County Medical Examiner will be able to determine that soon.

Borgnine was the voice of Mermaid Man in the Nickelodeon cartoon “SpongeBob SquarePants” and he made a cameo in the 2010 action film “Red.”  In 2008, Borgnine was on the Fox & Friends morning show to promote his book. Asked what his secret to a long life was, he  whispered, "I masturbate a lot." Fortunately for historians, that was picked up by the microphone. 

Of course, Borgnine should be remembered for much more than his hobby of waxing the tadpole. He was an accomplished actor, after all.

McHale's Navy was a huge TV hit that starred Borgnine as a kind-hearted skipper of a PT boat. He protected his goofy crew of sailors from the stricter, higher ranking officers.

I'm not sure why Vivek Shankar called his character "buffoonish" in a column today at Bloomberg Businesweek. Perhaps Shankar never really watched the show, or misinterpreted a few short clips. In any case, Borgnine's PT boat skipper was cunning, clever and anything but buffoonish. See for yourself in the video below.

There are so many great Borgnine moments that it would require a full hour to begin to do justice to his career. No doubt that will happen soon, and it would be worth you time to watch it.

In the meantime, check out the last video below: Borgnine received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild in January, 2011. Few actors have ever deserved it as much as Borgnine did, and few ever will.


"How fitting it was," wrote Access Hollywood, "that the actor who personified humility in his Oscar-winning performance in 1955’s 'Marty' would take the opportunity of the lifetime achievement award to remind his colleagues of that quality."

Video: Occupy Scum Hold "F-ck The 4th" Day, Burn U.S. Flag

Occupy Oakland flag burning scum, 4 July 2012

July 7, 2012 - There's nothing like a good old flag burning and vandalizing rampage to celebrate U.S. Independence Day. That is, if you're a hate filled liberal piece of crap like the rats of Occupy Oakland.

This video below shows a group of anti-American vermin who burned at least one U.S. flag, yell "f*ck da PO-lees" a bunch of times and set fire to at least one garbage bin. I'm not sure what symbolism the burning of a garbage bin holds, but to these mental midgets it was apparently a huge victory over, well over garbage I suppose. That's ironic, because they are human garbage, two-legged sewer chunks, ill-educated morons who think they're Marxists, and the natural useful idiots of the Left.

According to the MercuryNews.com, over 60 Occupy Oakland protesters "marched through downtown Wednesday night, spray-painting anti-police slogans on police headquarters and other buildings, vandalizing a police car and setting at least one garbage bin on fire..." MercuryNews reported that the Occupy vermin also "spray-painted a patrol car parked near Seventh and Washington streets, punctured one of its tires and broke a window."

Viewer Advisory: Foul Language, Lousy Music.

Thanks to the Republican Party Animals (RPA) for calling attention to this very special July 4th Liberal Hatefest.


The original video (left) was posted to a pro-Occupy page on YouTube ("pfailblog") on July 5th. RPA posted a partial copy to their YouTube page the next day and wrote a brief commentary about the event and the video at their website.

Related: 

• Celebrities, liberals mark Independence Day by slamming America Examiner.com
• Occupy Oakland celebrates 4th of July with 'kill cops' vandalism, flag burning Examiner.com

Anderson Cooper Comes Out As Albino

Anderson Cooper of CNN has come out of the closet to admit that he is an albino. "Pigment challenged, actually," Cooper said at a press conference today.

UPDATED 2024: He's still an albino.

Anderson Cooper is a lifelong albino

Cooper doesn't mind the term "albino," but thinks it carries too many negative connotations thanks to Hollywood's portrayals of albino people as evil freaks. It's "all about albino pride," he said.

"Albino-American is kind of nice too," he said, "although I guess we're not really an ethnic group. We should be, though." He went to point out that albinism is nothing to fear and is not contagious. "You cannot catch albinism," he said, "no matter how hard you try."

Albinism, or "hypopigmentation," is not a laughing matter, says Cooper. It's a genetic disorder that has no cure. "I'm not aware of any 5K runs to help fight albinism, are you?" he asked rhetorically.

Albinism is not a fatal disorder, it does make it difficult for albino animals to blend in with their surroundings. "The up side, though," chuckled Cooper, "is that we're more visible to drivers at night."

He said that revealing his albinism makes him feel "more free to be myself," and that he can now "stop wearing blue contact lenses to hide my albino condition."

Some people are shocked by his pink eyes when they first see them, but Cooper just gives his award-winning smile and tells them to "think pink."

Most people, he says, do not have a problem with his eyes. "They match the rest of me," he says, "which is so obviously lacking any pigmentation that my pink eyes just seem more normal, if you will." That's why he wears blue contact lenses on air.

"Didn't everyone already suspect that Anderson was an albino?" asked one of the reporters at the press conference. "I mean, come on," she said.