Of late, the Obama 2012 campaign has been seizing on puerile political memes. The killing Big Bird soundbite from the first debate. When threats of a Million Muppet March proved to have no political legs, the Obama Ad Hominem Express shifted to the “Binders of Women” meme from the townhall debate. Little good that did, as Republican Presidential nominee Governor Mitt Romney (R-MA) erased the previous 16% gap with women.
How could the wunderkind braintrust from the Chicago office top this? They did not want to wait for the “horse and bayonets” trope from the third debate to play out. So they released: “The First Time” with performance artist Lena Dunham waxing poetically about her first time...voting for Barack Obama.
The sad part of this “First Time” campaign is that it isn’t even original. Barack’s boys copied ads for Russian President Vladimir Putin. So once again, Obama copies European lefies.
Aside from the unabashedly adolescently vulgar appeal for the youth vote, it is astounding how Obama’s campaign seeks the female vote by consistently degrading women. The Binders of Women memo probably produced Beavis and Butthead chortles, as if it was President Bill Jefferson Clinton’s little black book. In reality, the “Binders of Women” referred to outreach that Romney had to qualified female candidates to be part of his gubernatorial administration in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Then there was the Tumblr posting “Vote like your Lady Parts depend on it (because they do)". It was quickly withdrawn after public hue and cry. Consider the objectification involved in the “Lady Parts” appeal. To use the parlance to make a point, I believe that wise women vote with their lady smarts rather than just their lady parts.
Now in its final days, the Obama Campaign comes up with an innuendo ad prompting women to make their first time a good one.
No wonder why the Obamas have been urging everyone to vote early, including your knucklehead friends, per First Lady Michelle Obama.
The puerile politics displayed in their outreach, as well as the Dear Leader labeling his opponent a bullsh**ter in Rolling Stone are signs of serious presidential campaign imploding.
Ann Romney taped an appearance on ABC's The View. When the visit got serious (4:14 mark of video), panelist Whoopie Goldberg posed a poignant question to the prospective First Lady:
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: As first lady, if you get the job, it’s going to entail a lot of things, and one of those things is going to be talking to the mothers whose children are coming home in bags, you know, from wars. Now, I know -- I believe that your religion doesn’t allow you to go fight.
ANN ROMNEY: No, that's not correct. We have many, many members of our faith that are serving in armed services.
GOLDBERG: Okay, um, I say that because when I read about your husband, what I had read, and maybe you can correct this is that the reason that he didn’t serve in Vietnam was because it was against the religion. That’s what I read.
ROMNEY: No, that's not correct. He was serving his mission and you know my five sons have also served missions. None served in the military.
It seems that Ms. Goldberg confused the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints (a.k.a. Mormons) with Quakers, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists or other small American Christian pacifist oriented denominations.
Mrs. Romney was astute to highlight all of her sons being called to mission (through their church) which helped mature them and them better citizens. It tacitly acknowledged Mormon culture while accentuating the virtues from the practice.
Perhaps Goldberg was not at all ignorant about Latter Day Saint practice of faith. Her query gave credence to the chicken hawk charge (never served in uniform) as well as implying strange religious practices while conjuring notions of body bags from future American "aggression".
Whoopi's whoopsie strikes me as a ham-handed attempt to play the Mormon card. This sort of ad hominem attack seems like a desperate ploy to bolster a faltering incumbent by scaring unconvicted low-information voters with borderline religious bigotry. It could also have been foray to bog the Romney campaign to explain subtleties of Mormon theology, which can differ with most traditional Christian creeds.
Of course, First Lady Michelle Obama and President Obama got comparative softball questions when they were last on the View on September 25th, rather than meet with any world leaders after addressing the United Nations. That was when "Barack" said that he was just eye candy. Yet that fluff View interview still made some important news because Mr. Obama's careful statement about the attack on the Benghazi consulate contradicts the supposed Rose Garden "Act of Terrorism" claim at the Hofstra debate.
Obviously the producers of "The View" were remiss at doing background briefs for their coterie of star chatters. But progressive minds also seemed to have missed the memo from Chicago about now eschewing negative advertising. Karl Rove observed that the Obama campaign has pulled negative ads in swing states and now is only showing positive pieces touting Obama's accomplishments. It seems that the debates have wrecked $100 million negative advertising blitz on opponent Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA). Maybe the Obama campaign is relying upon their media surrogates to continue doing the dirty work as well as the puerile social media Binders of Women meme.
Visitors queued up at the White House Fall Garden Tour
Fountain on the White House South Lawn
Flower pot near the Oval Office brings a splash of color to the White House South Lawn
Flash of purple adjacent to the White House East Wing
Closeup of the Truman Balcony at the South Entrance to the White House
Flowers near the Oval Office
Colorful florals near the White House Rose Garden
Flower bed between two Littleleaf Lindens planted by [L] Bill Clinton (1993) and [R] George W Bush (2001)
Closeup of Southern Magnolia planted during Andrew Jackson's Administration (1830)
Obama's First Dog Bo knows animal lovers as he poses with a fan
First Dog Bo, a Portuguese Water Dog, does his thing on the South Lawn
A monumental view from the White House South Lawn
Park Police vigilantly guards the White House Playground
The Playset was erected in March 2009 for President Obama's daughters, Sasha (then 7) and Malia (then 10) who squealed with joy at the surprise. The swing set is dubbed "Sasha and Malia's Castle", was manufactured by Rainbow Play Systems from Brookings, South Dakota for an estimated $7,000. The Playset is billed to be "green friendly" although it is made from both cedar and redwood as it was made with "certified" green energy and using "certified" green lumber. Several years ago, the White House Play area hosted a meeting between President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
In mid March 2009, First Lady Michelle Obama established the largest and most expansive White House Kitchen Garden to date on the South Lawn. The 1,110 square foot garden produces 55 varieties of vegetables including arugula. Mrs. Obama had never planted a garden before but she was motivated to help her daughters as well as all Americans to eat healthy. The project was started with just $200 seed money.
The White House Kitchen Garden, planted at the initiative of First Lady Michelle Obama in March 2009
Here is Mrs. Obama sharing her teaching moments about her garden, while promoting her book American Grown. All profits from the book go to the National Parks Service, which has been tasked with managing the White House grounds since 1961.
Lettuce alone in the White House Vegetable Garden, South Lawn
Saucer Magnolia planted by John Kennedy with Eisenhower (Old) Executive Office Building in background.
Please note that despite the slanted appearance of the OEOB in the photo, not everything in Washington is crooked, although people not from Between-the-Beltways may be inclined to think that's the case.
New York City under Nanny Bloomberg's tutelage has been in the vanguard of forcing public health down the public throats. New York City banned smoking in bars in 2003 and later extended this prohibition on smoking to public parks in 2011. In 2006, New York City led the way by banning trans-fat from the Big Apple's 24,000 eating establishments. In 2008, New York City regulations forced restaurants to display the calorie count next to price. About the only place where Bloomberg lagged behind was banning toys in Happy Meals as was done in San Francisco. The "success" of these dietary diktats issued by Bloomberg's bureaucrats gives them the hubris to think that the hubbub which the large drink ban has brewed will eventually fall flat and be accepted by the public.
But the Big Sugar Soda Ban seems as complex as implementing Obamacare. The Nanny State Big Soda ban applies to city restaurants, movie houses, Broadway theaters, street vendors and stadiums, but diet sodas can still be sold at affected establishments. The ban does not extend to convenience stores like 7-11 so one can still legally lip on a Big Gulp in the Big Apple. Nor does the ban apply to vending machines. The limits are inapplicable for grocery store sales. This regulation does not cover beverages that are 70% juice, dairy drinks that are more than 50% milk or alcoholic beverages. And city officials are quick to point out that there is nothing stopping consumers from getting refills or ordering two drinks (yet), aside from the additional cost and hassle.
From a public health perspective, this Sugary Soda regulation is half-hazard. Granted that the NYC Health Board may not have jurisdiction over ever establishment, but its application seemed unevenly applied, allowing big drinks in grocery stores and convenience stores. If large drinks are really a health concern, then the substance should be banned not limited. Secondly, the loopholes for some dairy and juice drinks is spurious. If the problem is calories, then large servings of those drinks should be equally problematic. While diet drinks may not contain the calories, there are a bevy of health surveys which call into question the salubriousness of such sodas.
From a liberty perspective, it is outrageous that a Nanny State should dictate what are "reasonable" sized portions. Until the soda police are tasked to intercede against consumers buying more than their reasonable portion of beverages, the thirsty can buy multiple drinks. But I don't think that NYC restaurants will give the same volume discount as when you Super-Size. And for that matter, what business is it of the government to tell its citizens how to live. Oh, yeah there's Obamacare. And the meme at the Democrat National Convention in Charlotte, we were told that we belong to the government.
New York establishments have nine months to comply before facing a $200 fine. But this vote may not be the end of the subject. New Yorkers for Beverage Choices, a soda industry inspired coalition, have gathered 250,000 signatures protesting the super sized sugary soda ban. And lawsuits are pending.
Alas, Nanny Bloomberg's crusade against super sized sugary sodas is not the only prominent instance of progressive food fascism. This year, First Lady Michelle Obama greeted students around the country with the White House message for the new school year.
Much of the kick-off message was to sell the New School Lunch Requirements, a policy passion of FLOTUS. The new nutritional requirements, enforced by the USDA, include more fruits and vegetables, whole grains, fat free and low fat milk, and a reduction in the sodium content. Parents note that in lower elementary school, serving are limited to 650 calories, which is enough for some kids but seems like a snack to a growing child. There is pressure for cafeterias to have "Meatless Mondays". And these nutritional aspirations only work if children eat what is dished out in Lunch Lady Land. Replacing hot dogs with "whole wheat pasta" is a dicey proposition with finicky kids palates. The food nannies think that greasy hamburgers can be substituted with black bean burgers.
Los Angeles Schools had a healthy school lunch program which was a model for the new national rules, but students report that they eat more junk food than before healthy meals with smuggled food. There were reports that much of the healthy food went untouched into the trash. Time will tell if the New School Lunch Requirements nationally will satisfy students or if it will better feed the trash.
Food Fascism in the schools is not just a well intentioned imposition of unpalatable options on kids. Last year, some Chicago Public Schools banned students from brown bagging lunches. This move was couched in public health justifications but it conveniently enriched Chartwell-Thomas, the designated CPS cafeteria vendor. And of course it kept the SEIU cafeteria employees busy. Then there was the officious school lunch inspector in South Carolina which prevented a preschooler from eating her prepacked lunch because of nutrition requirements (got to meet the national standard) and had her eat three chicken nuggets (a healthy choice--not!) and billed her parents a couple of dollars for their "mistake". Let us not forget the Portland Oregon school principal who in a courageous conversation posited that eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches can be linked to "white privilege".
Isn't progressive food fascism a super sized serving of fun? If it a danger then use the legislative (not regulatory) process and ban it with public consent. If there are health concerns educate and control your own government establishments. Otherwise, leave private enterprises alone and let educated consumers decide for themselves.
Of late, the Obama 2012 campaign has been seizing on puerile political memes. The killing Big Bird soundbite from the first debate. When threats of a Million Muppet March proved to have no political legs, the Obama Ad Hominem Express shifted to the “Binders of Women” meme from the townhall debate. Little good that did, as Republican Presidential nominee Governor Mitt Romney (R-MA) erased the previous 16% gap with women. 
Posts
