Methinks ValJar doth protest too much.  Apparently there is a lot of scrutiny surrounding the abysmal approval ratings for lip-syncing Milli Vanilli Obama.   Scrutiny which leads to band director Valerie Jarrett trying to parse a position as merely an abject observer and not participant in the scheme.   W-h-a-t-e-v-e-r.
WASHINGTON DC – Valerie Jarrett says she has “very specific responsibilities” in the Obama White House and focuses on them, rather than on an all-encompassing portfolio.
“I’m not the shadow chief of staff,” she said, responding to the use of the term by POLITICO’s Ben White at a Morning Money breakfast.
She mentioned her roles in outreach to women and girls, and to the business community and local government officials.
Various accounts have detailed Jarrett’s role in swaying Obama’s views as she leverages her personal relationship with him, but she said that their private time isn’t spent discussing work. “We do compartmentalize,” she said. (more…)

Twas’ the week before Christmas, and all through the land
the shoppers were righteous – Duck Stuff in their hand.
The camo was hung with great glee and good might,
knowing a family stood firm in their fight.

They cling to their bibles with great will – No dismay;
and the splodey head liberals are burned in the fray.
“How can this be so”, the pajama crowd screams,
while a God loving family is living their dreams.

EXCLUSIVE: Duck Dynasty’s multi-million payday: Their $400m empire flourishes amid scandal as fans flock to support Phil Robertson – and Walmart sells out of show merchandise  — Daily Mail

[…]  As the future of their show lies in doubt, the Duck Dynasty clan are still making millions thanks to their megabucks Walmart merchandising deal, MailOnline can today reveal.
The Robertson family has a merchandise empire that is estimated by Forbes to be worth about $400million – and their deal with Walmart makes up around half of this. (more…)

Sunlight answers a question – Last week the New York Times and the New York Post ran articles based on a classified congressional hearing.
In essence Massachusetts Democrat Congressman Stephen Lynch, who was present for the hearing, was used to push a story centered around his proposal to Congress to pass a resolution asking President Obama to declassify an entire 2002 report, “Joint Inquiry Into Intelligence Community Activities Before and After the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001.”
The context of Lynch’s request centers around this newly identified intelligence community report which, according to non-specific leaks, outlines Saudi Arabia’s involvement in supporting the 911 hijackers.
The question we had at the time was “why now”?    Obviously someone is seeking to gain some form of benefit from this discussion – it would be intellectually dishonest to think such a conversation would happen in a political vacuum.
The answer to the “why” question can be found in an article published a few days ago in the Wall Street Journal.   Within the Journal article you discover how much current anxiety and tension exists between the current Obama administration and the Saudi government against the backdrop of Obama’s failed Syria “Red Line”, and the Iranian Nuclear goals. (more…)

The chatter amongst the Inside-the-Beltway C&CCS* set is the recent flare up in the barely simmering ideological flame war between the Establishment “Main Street Republican” Decepticons and grassroots Tea Party activists leading into the 2014 election cycle for the very soul and future direction of “Conservatism” in America.
In addition to not-so-subtle chats with martial industry lobbyists, at a fundraiser held in early November McConnell personally demanded Defense contractors pony up to stop the Tea Party assault or face a defense contract spending drought in the next Congress.

Sources close to the discussions state McConnell is looking for deep pockets to fund his “one issue” campaign to “teach” those who seek to primary “approved” Establishment Republicans a “lesson” as some type of ill conceived anodynic salve that will simultaneously heal the internecine rupture and rally the troops while affirmatively castigating the wayward “wild eyed” Tea Party patriots and extinguishing any lingering questions about his impoverished ability to lead fence sitting middle America into rallying behind a resurgent majority Republican Congress. Overall support from the defense industries has tapered significantly since the 2008 cycle, and McConnell is demanding they open the spigot – wide.

(more…)

25 year old 2nd Lt Paul deWolf, USAF, third year medical student and active duty officer on an Air Force scholarship at the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor,  was murdered by three black thugs during a home invasion robbery of his residence, an off campus fraternity house he shared with other medical students.

DeWolf was asleep in his own domicile – a bedroom in the basement of the Phi Ro Sigma fraternity house – when he was startled awake by the noise the intruders were creating during their return to the residence after previously stealing and removing a PlayStation 3 game system.  At a hearing held this week, it was revealed by Ann Arbor police that the still unnamed alleged trigger puller currently jailed in Michigan on a bond violation in a different case, had not yet been charged with deWolf’s murder. (more…)

The Denver Post re-edited their initial story removing the reference to the shooter being a socialist. When challenged about why that decision was reached the editor of the DP began a series of obfuscations and ridiculous explanations:

@Whatwesettlefor We decided not to have another student apply a label to the shooter — a label the student likely didn't even understand ..

— Lee Ann Colacioppo (@LAColacioppo) December 14, 2013

(more…)

Seniors Carl Schmidt and Brendon Mendelson were in yoga class at Arapahoe High when the shooting began. Their teacher hurried them promptly away from the door and into a closet. (link)

Seriously ? What type of schools have accredited Yoga Classes?

https://twitter.com/toddstarnes/status/411722030975692800

A classmate said Karl Pierson got a bit of a kick out of the fact that his first name was spelled the same way as Karl Marx. #ArapahoeHigh

— Sadie Gurman (@sgurman) December 14, 2013

We’re learning more about the gunman, too. A student who had econ with him called him opinionated, outspoken, a little odd, a socialist.
— Sadie Gurman (@sgurman) December 14, 2013

Denver Post – […]  Pierson’s parents  divorced in late 2011, according to court records. The  divorce was finalized in August 2012.
Thomas Conrad, who had an economics class with Pierson, described him as   very opinionated.
[…]  In one Facebook post, Pierson attacks the philosophies of economist Adam Smith who through his invisible hand theory pushed the notion that the free market was self-regulating. In another post, he describes himself as “Keynesian.” (more…)

INDIANA – An Iraq veteran who thought he was buying an iPad as a Christmas present after responding to a Craigslist posting, has been shot dead in an Indianapolis parking lot by the fake sellers.
New-dad Jim Vester, 32, was lured to an address on Wednesday in the west side of the city and brothers Tyron Kincade, 19, and Tyshaune Kincade, 18, have been arrested after Vester was shot dead leaving behind his one-year-old son, Gavin and wife, Jamie.

In the wake of the senseless murder, nearly 1,500 people have donated $58,000 to a YouCaring.com fundraiser set up by Vester’s family for the man described as a ‘great cook, loving father and faithful man.’ (more…)

By now almost everyone is aware of the “exclusive” MSNBC/Chris Matthews interview with President Obama on Thursday.

However, many may not know the venue,  American University’s Greenberg Theatre, was previously booked by a 7 and 8-year-old dance troupe, Ballet Petite, to present their Christmas Nutcracker Ballet under a $25,000 contract.   A contract the university cancelled/dismissed without any consideration.  The university just told the troupe and the parents, “tough”.
…Because when it comes to exclusive propaganda no previous commitments are bold enough to break the demands of the sycophants.
(Via Washington Post)  The fight for Christmas took a hit this week when politics bigfooted  a troupe of adorable little ballet dancers performing “The  Nutcracker.”
MSNBC’s Chris Matthews is scheduled to interview  President Obama on Thursday night at American University as part of the  “Hardball College Tour.” MSNBC approached AU to host the chat, and  officials jumped at the chance for a free, hour-long commercial for the  university and its students.
But the interview, announced Tuesday morning, abruptly kicked the  Ballet Petite’s rehearsals of ”The Nutcracker” out of AU’s Greenberg  Theatre. That didn’t sit well with the ballet school’s staff, teachers  and parents who have been preparing for the performance for months. (more…)