Young Mattie Fein

Who says campaign ads can't be fun (and funny and brilliant). Republican newcomer Mattie Fein in running against popular long term Democrat Congresswoman Jane Harman in California. Conventional wisdon is Mattie doesn't have a chance.

But I like this ad! And I like Mattie.

George Bush's Solicitor General Ted Olson is Leading the Fight to Legalize Gay Marriage

Ted Olsen is one of the finest attorneys practicing law today. He has argued many cases before the Supreme Court and has never lost a single case!!

In particular he won what is arguably the most important Supreme Court case of this century when his arguments put George Bush in the White House in the landmark Bush v Gore 2000 election court battle. Beloved by conservatives and Republicans, hated by liberals and Democrats, no one doubts his legal prowess.

Olsen was rewarded for his legal efforts by President Bush when Bush named him Solicitor General. And Olsen still never lost a case before the Supreme Court.

Most recently his legal arguments carried the day in the lawsuit challenging California's Proposition 8, the Constitutional Amendment that mandated marriage only be between a man and a women. That case is almost certain to end up before the United States Supreme Court. Remember that Olsen has never lost.

Watch this video in its entirety. It's that important.

P!nk - Glitter In The Air (GRAMMYs on CBS)

Let's take a deep breath............

Let Them Eat Cake

Michelle Obama now leads my list of the most piggish, disgusting people on earth. There is no excuse for this lecturing, holier than thou, out-of-touch aristocrat.

The UK Daily Mail is reporting today:

Spanish police close public beach for Michelle Obama's £250,000 Spanish holiday

Michelle Obama today faced a fresh wave of attacks over her lavish break in Spain with 40 friends, which could easily cost U.S. taxpayers a staggering £50,000 a day.

The First Lady has been lambasted for her extravagance at a time when the economy is still struggling. One blogger went so far as to brand her a modern-day Marie Antoinette.
And her critics will be further annoyed when they learn that the president's wife had a Spanish beach closed off today so that she, her daughter and their entourage could go for a swim.

Spanish police cleared off a stretch of beach at the Villa Padierna Hotel in Marbella after the Obamas had finished a busy day of sightseeing.

Police used palm trees and police tape to mark off the boundaries of a 100-yard expanse for the American delegation. On either side, onlookers gawked - and police occasionally stopped and searched sun lovers if they strayed too close to the private party.

The per diems for the secret service team runs at around £172 each, which amounts to nearly £60,000 for the length of the summer break.

Use of Air Force Two, the Air Force version of a 757, comes in at £91,900 for the round trip. This does not include time on the ground.

Mrs Obama's personal staff, of which there are an unknown amount and who might cost considerably more per day, also have to be taken into account.

The American public will also cover the cost of the only official part of the holiday, a visit to the Spanish royal family on the island of Majorca.

This will involve transport there and back for the entourage - as well as travel, accommodation, food and expenses for all while on the island.

Barack Obama is my President. Michelle Obama is My First Lady. I respect the offices and everything those esteemed positions stand for both historically and today. We elected Barack Obama and we certainly knew that Michelle Obama was the most important member of the Barack Obama team.

We knew, and I wrote often, that Barack Obama had "imperial tendencies." I certainly feared his political and management experience. There are dozens of essays I wrote leading up to the election that highlighted these risks.

Today virtually every worst fear has been realized. The country is in shambles and headed down a path that will likely lead to the worst economic depression in written history. It is had to imagine a worse President or a worse Congress. The Health Care Bill alone may destroy our country.

But, let's be honest, President Obama genuinely doesn't know this and certainly doesn't agree.

But he sure a hell does know the the real economic facts facing the nation today. And so does our very own Marie Antoinette, the First Lady of our very Imperial President.

It's time for our government, our President and our Senators and our Congress members to share in our pain. If 41 million people have to go on Food Stamps, if we lost 131,000 jobs in July alone, if unemployment continues to hover at 9.5%, if teachers are loosing their jobs and our children are suffering with larger class sizes and fewer supplies, if small businesses are being crushed under an insane burden of paperwork, no available credit and taxes being raised to astronomical levels, then the First Lady can get her *#@ home and go on one hell of a diet.

Our nation can no longer afford an Imperial President with Marie Antoinette as our First Lady. If the bloated Executive Office of pollsters and advisers and consultants can't figure this out themselves, then the American Public needs to make this extremely clear with the November Election.

It is time for our First Lady to stand in line and get her Food Stamps.

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ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS:

1.) At least President George Bush had the common sense to go cut wood and clear brush in Crawford, Texas when he went on a summer vacation.

2.) Michelle Malkin addresses my same points but with more restraint and more attention to the economic realities: Unemployment at 9.5%; another Obama econ adviser bails; Mrs. Obama hits the beach

3.) We've seen this coming. Here is my essay from April, 2009 on The French Revolution and comparisons to today's events: The French Revolution

An (almost, sort-of) Great Victory for Gay Marriage

In a breathtaking ruling moments ago U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker ruled that California's infamous Proposition 8 is unconstitutional under due process and equal protection. The judge issued an astonishing 138 page ruling that invalidates the clause stating that "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."

Judge Walker stated, "Having considered the trial evidence and the arguments of counsel, the court pursuant to FRCP 52(a) finds that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional and that its enforcement must be enjoined."

I certainly applaud this great victory for gays and lesbians. I personally have fought long and hard on this blog and in real life to see this become the norm nationwide. As a Unitarian-Universalist I have participated in many gay marriage ceremonies and have many friends who have the benefit of that religious ceremony, but suffer with none of the legal benefits this ruling will now allow.

But, to be certain, this battle is far from over and that the court decided to overturn thousands of years of historical precedent and overrule the overwhelming will of the majority of the people is troubling.

A better victory, in my opinion, would have been a popular vote overturning Proposition 8 and I believe that was coming. Now the case will go to the Supreme Court and I think the outcome there is far from certain.

I am not a lawyer and I've not yet read the entire 138 page opinion, but I believe the judge was on shaky legal ground. I want the ruling to stand; I fear it will not.

On the plus side of the upcoming legal battle, fighting for the rights of gays and lesbians is former United States Solicitor General (under Prersident George W. Bush) Ted Olson, and famous Democratic attorney David Boies, one of the greatest attorneys to ever practice law.

Do you recognise the names? Olson and Boies both gained great fame when they were the lead attorneys on OPPOSITE SIDES of the landmark Bush v. Gore lawsuit which resolved the Florida electoral dispute in the 2000 election. Olsen may have won that battle, but now they are fighting as a team.

Back here in the non-legal real world we still have all the real work, all the heavy lifting yet to do. Our jobs will be done only when society at large accepts gay marriage. Only then will it truly become a reality.