Associated Press Article: American Men’s Tennis Crisis No USA Man Is Ranked In The Top Ten.
By HOWARD FENDRICH (AP) – 1 day ago
WASHINGTON — Thanks to players such as Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe, then Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, and, lately, Andy Roddick, there always has been at least one man from the United States in tennis’ top 10 since the computer rankings began in 1973.
That streak will end next week.
With Roddick sliding from No. 9 to no better than No. 12 when the new rankings are issued Monday, the ATP said, it will be the first time zero U.S. men are among the top 10.
“It’s a big thing to say, ‘Look, there’s no American in the top 10.’ That’s certainly not something I take lightly,” said Patrick McEnroe, the U.S. Davis Cup captain and general manager of player development for the U.S. Tennis Association.
“But it’s not that surprising when you look at the way the game has changed and the global nature of the game,” McEnroe added. “Players are coming from all over the world.”
He spoke in an interview Friday at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, where the quarterfinals were contested without a U.S. man for the first time at the tournament that dates to 1969.
Roddick lost in the third round Thursday, when the other three remaining Americans also were beaten: John Isner, Mardy Fish and Ryan Sweeting.
“Does it affect our ability to bring in some additional crowds? I would say so,” tournament director Jeff Newman said. “From a name-recognition standpoint, for the casual fan or the non-tennis fan, we want to have Americans who are household names.”
U.S. men are in their longest Grand Slam title drought in tennis’ 42-year Open era: No man from the country has won a major championship since Roddick at the 2003 U.S. Open, a 27-tournament gap. The only longer span between U.S. Grand Slam titles was a 30-tournament shutout from 1955-63.
Only two active U.S. men, Roddick and Robby Ginepri, even have reached the semifinals at any major tournament.
At the Legg Mason event, essentially a tuneup for the U.S. Open, the men playing in Friday’s quarterfinals were from Argentina, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, France, Serbia and Spain.
“I don’t think the U.S. has anything to panic about. There are so many good players,” said Belgium’s Xavier Malisse, who upset Isner on Thursday, then knocked off Wimbledon runner-up Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, the tournament’s No. 1-seeded player, to reach the semifinals.
“There are so many young kids knocking on the door, too,” Malisse said, “so it’s just a matter of time, I think, and good guidance.”
That’s where McEnroe comes in.
He has overseen the USTA development program since 2008, and he is confident that help is on the way, thanks to funding that allows for 24 full-time coaches and others who work on a part-time basis. There is a training center in Boca Raton, Fla., where kids aged 13 to 18 live while working on their games, and other facilities in New York and California.
McEnroe thinks Roddick will return to the top 10 soon. And he figures that Isner and Sam Querrey — who are ranked 19th and 20th this week — are on their way to making it there for the first time.
But he also knows that it’s key for the future of the sport in the United States that new players are groomed.
“That’s why the USTA has put more money into player development,” McEnroe said. “They realize that for the continued success of the U.S. Open, and continued success of television deals, and continued success of growing the game, it’s important to have our players at the top of the game.”
Toronto Star Article: Tyson Gay Beats Usain Bolt At Stockholm Track & Field Event!
Usain Bolt beaten in Stockholm 100
Tyson Gay pulls away from Usain Bolt to win the 100-metre final in Stockholm on Friday.
NIKLAS LARSSON/AFP/Getty Images
STOCKHOLM—Tyson Gay handed world record-holder Usain Bolt his first loss in two years in the 100 metres at the DN Galan meet Friday, while Canadian Priscilla Lopes-Schliep won a silver medal in women’s hurdles.
Gay finished in 9.84 seconds and always looked in complete control against Bolt, who was straining to keep up by the end of the highly anticipated race. Bolt was second in 9.97.
A sellout crowd at Olympic Stadium was silent before the race between the two fastest men of all time. The tension increased after two false starts.
The sprinters both looked like they left plenty in reserve when they cruised through the heats.
“I’m really happy with the win, even though Usain Bolt isn’t in the best shape,” Gay said. “It was very important to beat someone like that for the fans and the sport. My body worked well today, I was excited and motivated.”
Bolt has run faster this year, timing 9.82 a month ago in Lausanne, Switzerland.
“I think showed that I wasn’t in the best of shape,” Bolt said. “I’m not unbeatable. This is my easy season. If you don’t beat me this season it’s not going to happen next season because next year is a championship year.”
Richard Thompson of Trinidad finished third in 10.10.
Asafa Powell of Jamaica pulled out of the race on Wednesday with a back injury, denying fans the chance to see the first race between the world’s three fastest men since Bolt stormed to the world record of 9.58 last August at the world championships in Berlin.
Lopes-Schliep, of Whitby, finished second in the 100-metre hurdles in 12.59 seconds. Australia’s Sally Pearson won in 12.57 while American Lolo Jones was third in 12.70.
“After my heat, my goal was to get out much faster in the final,” Lopes-Schliep said in an email. “I felt I got out better but it was at hurdle seven I felt my legs start working and I began to reel in the girls. I’m very happy with a second place in such a deep field.”
The result brings Lopes-Schliep within three points of Jones for the overall Diamond League hurdles result.
“This is my second-fastest race of the season so things are coming together very nicely,” said Lopes-Schliep.
Perdita Felicien of Pickering was fifth in 12.79.
Article: Pregnant Man Thomas Beatie Gives Birth To His Third Child!
Thomas Beatie Pregnant Man Gives Birth to Baby Number 3
Pregnant Man Third Child
Thomas Beatie, best known as the “pregnant man”, has given birth for the third time to a baby boy, his second son.
Beatie first came to light in 2008, where he announced he was pregnant after living as a transgendered man for ten years. Despite consistent use of testosterone under doctor’s supervision, he beat the odds and was able to complete the pregnancy.
Now, with his third, his son has been described as big, healthy, and the family is happy to meet their new addition to the Beatie clan.
There is no word yet over whether or not he and his wife are planning on any more youngsters, but the physical possibility is there.
As a transgendered man, Beatie chose to have his chest sculpted, but otherwise left his genitals, originally female, intact. He also chose to keep his reproductive organs, as well, as his wife was unable to have children after a hysterectomy.
Houston Chronicle Article: Transgender Widow Nikki Araguz Says E-mail Proves Her Deceased Husband Was Aware She Is Transgender!
Real-life drama fit for daytime television
By LISA FALKENBERG
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Aug. 2, 2010, 9:45PM
CBC News: Should Canada Allow Transgender Irish Refugee To Stay Or Be Deported?
Transgender N.S. woman to seek refugee status
Chester business owner says she’ll be target of hate if returned to native Ireland
Last Updated: Thursday, July 29, 2010 | 9:56 PM AT
CBC News
Tanya Bloomfield says being transgendered makes her a target for hate in Europe. (CBC)A transgendered Nova Scotia woman who is originally from Ireland said she will claim refugee status if immigration officials try to send her home.
Tanya Bloomfield says being transgendered makes her a target for hate in Europe.
Bloomfield has been in Canada since 2006, but immigration officials are now asking her to leave.
“This is just the latest temporary residence permit that we’ve applied for, which they’re now questioning and wishing to issue the voluntary departure order on,” she said Thursday.
“I have a lot invested in Canada. I have a lot of friends here, I have a business.”
Bloomfield became a local hero earlier this year when she raised money for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community by running the Scotiabank Blue Nose marathon barefoot.
She owns and operates a computer business outside Chester, N.S., but said the immigration department has continued to refuse to issue her a temporary work permit.
Her lawyer, Lee Cohen, now says Bloomfield will seek refugee protection.
“She has indicated her intentions to claim refugee status in Canada, primarily on the grounds of seeking protection as a transgendered person,” Cohen said.
Returning to Europe, Bloomfield says, could be dangerous.
“There are statistics [that] show that there is increasing hate crimes within the European Union.”
If the refugee application is accepted, Bloomfield’s stay in Canada could be extended to 18 months. If not she will have to leave by the end of August.
Ny Daily News Article: Angry Lover Attacks Boyfriend With Acid While He’s Having Sex With Transgender Teen Partner!!!
Enraged lover attacks man who was about to receive sex act from transgender partner
BY Rocco Parascandola, Joe Jackson and Joe Kemp
DAILY NEWS WRITERS
Saturday, August 7th 2010, 4:00 AM
Antonio Lara suffered burns to his face, neck, arms, chest and stomach.
A sexual tryst turned violent early Friday when a man used a corrosive liquid to douse another man he caught with his transgender lover, police said.
Ruben Olivares, 37, walked into his upper East Side home only to catch his 19-year-old flame about to perform a sex act on Antonio Lara, police and the victim said.
The jilted lover – a porter who works in the building – splashed Lara, 29, with the liquid, which investigators believe to be hydrochloric acid, and high-tailed it away from the scene, cops said.
“She wanted money for oral sex,” Lara told the News from his bed at New York Presbyterian Cornell Weill Hospital. “So I give her $20.
“Then, this guy comes through the door,” the Mexican immigrant said. “He brought a coffee cup.
“I thought it was coffee and he threw it at me,” he said. “It was acid in the coffee – it was very hot.”
Neighbors said they heard a ruckus at about 6:20 a.m.
“The girlfriend came running out screaming, naked,” said neighbor Dianora Niccolini, 74.
Lara said he met the unidentified teen through a phone service he saw advertised on television. She sent him a photo and they agreed to meet before he went to work as a scaffolding builder in Queens.
Olivares used his key to get inside the apartment and soon spotted Lara. An argument erupted and the porter tossed the liquid on Lara, police said.
He suffered burns to his face, neck, arms, chest and stomach. He is in serious but stable condition.
Witnesses said firefighters sprayed the father of two down with water, while cops searched for Olivares.
“The Fire Department guys were telling him to stand still,” said Jason Catlin, 39, who watched the scene from his bar on E. 78th St. “It was crazy. I never saw anything like it.”
Neighbors did not express sympathy for Olivares, who they said has a wife in Queens.
“I feel sorry for Ruben, but he’s not a nice guy,” Niccolini said.With Kerry Burke
Media Traffic Music Charts: The Top Forty Albums In The World
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1 / 1 week 6 |
Eminem – Recovery  Aftermath / Interscope – 291.000 – 6 weeks at No.1 |
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Avenged Sevenfold – Nightmare Warner Bros. – 212.000 – Hot Shot Debut |
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Miliyah Kato – Heaven Sony Music Entertainment Japan – 151.000 |
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4 / 3 week 37 |
Justin Bieber – My Worlds (My World+My World 2.0) 2 Island – 104.000 |
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5 / 5 week 83 |
Lady GaGa – The Fame (Monster) 5 Interscope – 101.000 |
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Soundtrack – Fullmetal Alchemist (Final Best) Anxious Japan – 70.000 |
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3 / – week 2 |
Rick Ross – Teflon Don Def Jam – 64.000 |
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8 / 6 week 4 |
Kylie Minogue – Aphrodite Parlophone / Capitol – 55.000 |
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Vamps – Beast Avex Trax Japan – 53.000 |
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7 / 7 week 8 |
Soundtrack – The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Chop Shop / Atlantic – 53.000 |
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9 / 9 week 4 |
Enrique Iglesias – Euphoria Polydor / Universal – 49.000 |
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11 / 13 week 3 |
Sting – Symphonicities Deutsche Grammophon / Decca – 47.000 |
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12 / 10 week 6 |
Miley Cyrus – Can’t Be Tamed Hollywood – 46.000 |
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16 / 17 week 27 |
Lady Antebellum – Need You Now Capitol Nashville – 45.000 |
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Tom Jones – Praise & Blame Island – 45.000 |
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10 / 11 week 7 |
Drake – Thank Me Later Young Money Entertainment / Cash Money – 45.000 |
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17 / 16 week 61 |
Black Eyed Peas – The E.N.D. 3 Interscope – 44.000 |
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6 / – week 2 |
Sheryl Crow – 100 Miles From Memphis A&M – 42.000 |
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Lecca – Lecca Cutting Edge / Avex Trax Japan – 41.000 |
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15 / 12 week 9 |
Jack Johnson – To The Sea Brushfire / Island – 39.000 |
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13 / 4 week 3 |
Korn – Korn III (Remember Who You Are) Roadrunner – 39.000 |
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19 / 19 week 32 |
David Guetta – One Love Astralwerks / Positiva / Virgin – 37.000 |
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23 / 24 week 25 |
Mumford & Sons – Sigh No More Island – 35.000 |
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28 / 37 week 12 |
Plan B – The Defamation Of Strickland Banks 679 Recordings Ltd. – 34.000 |
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20 / 22 week 42 |
Muse – The Resistance  Helium 3 / Warner Bros. – 33.000 |
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2 / – week 2 |
Smap – We Are Smap! Victor Entertainment Japan – 33.000 |
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35 / 33 week 43 |
Michael Bublé – Crazy Love 2 Reprise – 30.000 – Largest Sales Increase |
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22 / 21 week 15 |
AC/DC – Iron Man 2 (Soundtrack) Columbia – 29.000 |
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25 / 25 week 33 |
Alicia Keys – The Element Of Freedom J Records – 27.000 |
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21 / 18 week 6 |
Ozzy Osbourne – Scream Epic – 26.000 |
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24 / 34 week 18 |
Usher – Raymond V Raymond Laface / Arista – 26.000 |
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14 / 2 week 3 |
Yui – Holidays In The Sun Sony Music Entertainment Japan – 26.000 |
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29 / 31 week 30 |
Ke$ha – Animal Jive / RCA – 26.000 |
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36 / 40 week 34 |
Rihanna – Rated R Def Jam – 24.000 |
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– / – week 12 |
B.o.B. – Adventures Of Bobby Ray Atlantic – 24.000 |
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39 / 39 week 3 |
Eliza Doolittle – Eliza Doolittle Parlophone – 23.000 |
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Fujifabric – Music Sony Music Entertainment Japan – 23.000 |
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31 / – week 25 |
Florence & The Machine – Lungs Island – 23.000 |
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34 / 32 week 8 |
Christina Aguilera – Bionic RCA – 21.000 |
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26 / 14 week 3 |
M.I.A. – Maya XL Recordings / Interscope – 21.000
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Huffington Post Article: The Republican Party, Conservative White Media Don’t Like President Obama’s Placing Regulations On Big Business.
Taylor Marsh
Political analyst and veteran national politics writer.
Implying that First Lady Michelle Obama should have her head cut off in a blaring headline? Well, that at least tells the reader they’re in for a right-wing ride.
Sacrifice is something that many Americans are becoming all too familiar with during this economic downturn. It was a key theme in President Obama’s inaugural address to the nation, and he’s referenced it numerous times when lecturing the country on how to get back on its feet… – New York Daily News
I feel a stem winder coming on.
The hit piece in Mort Zuckerman’s rag, the New York Daily News, this week about First Lady Michelle Obama’s trip to Spain was one for the books. The title was “Material girl Michelle Obama is a modern-day Marie Antoinette on a glitzy Spanish vacation.” I guess they chose that one because “Who Does This Bitch Think She Is?” didn’t allow for the Marie Antoinette guillotine image. Besides, Mort wanted to get the biggest bang for his buck.
That’s likely why Mort’s editors chose Andrea Tantaros to write the piece. According to what accompanies the article, “She is a corporate communications professional who was formerly a Republican campaign strategist.” Of course she is. That’s why she can so easily throw around things like “modern-day Marie Antoinette” and “toning down the flash” so the Obama’s could “humanize” themselves. Ms. Tantaros steps all over herself in her class warfare cry.
To be clear, what the Obamas do with their money is one thing; what they do with ours is another. […] I don’t begrudge anyone rest and relaxation when they work hard. We all need downtime – the First Family included. It’s the extravagance of Michelle Obama’s trip and glitzy destination contrasted with President Obama’s demonization of the rich that smacks of hypocrisy and perpetuates a disconnect between the country and its leaders.
Can you just imagine the ginormous squeal that would come out of these people if First Lady Michelle Obama traveled commercial and ended up inconveniencing who knows how many people, because she commandeered a plane? And the notion that Pres. Obama is demonizing the rich is ludicrous, but no doubt Ms. Tantaros and Mr. Zuckerman are simply furious about Obama holding BP’s bottom line to the fire. So, I’m sure the financial regulatory reform, however, minuscule, sent Mr. Zuckerman into a panic.
As for Republicans telling anyone what “perpetuates a disconnect between the country and its leaders,” I’d say wanting to repeal the 14 Amendment isn’t exactly embracing America or its people, not to mention that it was Republicans who wouldn’t extend unemployment benefits to workers, but want to continue the Bush tax cuts. Now that’s hypocrisy.
I wonder if either Ms. Tantaros or her boss Mr. Zuckerman has recently served food at a homeless shelter like Michelle Obama and the first family have done on occasion since they started living in the White House? Or if they spend time at a food bank like First Lady Michelle Obama has regularly? Oh, and I don’t care about “cellphone guy.”
Last year Mort’s rag went after First Lady Michelle Obama’s shoes. Yes, they were hellishly priced, but if she pays for them why should we care?
Now, I understand the Spain trip cost money to cart the Secret Service to Spain, as well as Mrs. Obama, and that Air Force Two obviously costs as well. So, if that blows your mind, so be it, but it’s xnot what Mort’s rag is making it out to be, because the First Lady paid for her own lodgings, as did her friends. Besides, Mrs. Obama is not being paid a dime as First Lady. But as to Ms. Tantaros’ suggestion of a domestic trip, the Obamas will be spending their family vacation in the Gulf Coast region. Pres. Obama stayed home to work on his birthday while Michelle went to Spain with Sasha, while the Malia was at camp. Not good enough, I know, but we never saw George W. Bush making work versus vacation sacrifices.
The nut of the Daily News hit piece is that Mr. Zuckerman is very displeased with Pres. Obama, because of his mean, old policies against big business. He said so a week or so ago on “Morning Joe,” lashing into Rahm Emanuel and Obama saying “It is the most hostile administration to business and to the role of business that we’ve had in decades and he’s saying it’s not hostile to business? It’s total hostile to business.” I don’t have time to dissect Mr. Zuckerman’s gigantic whine, but it’s really silly, all because Wall Street got a bad name, because a bunch of crooks stole our money then blew it all. But for the record, not only has Mr. Obama reneged on his pledge to renegotiate NAFTA so far, he’s made a NAFTA-esque trade pact with S. Korea, Panana and Columbia, with David Sirota writing about Obama helping to train workers in South Asia. I could add nuclear power, the oil industry, you name it, but you can use The Google yourself.
Mort’s just miffed because of a little regulation coming back into his world. Or maybe it’s because he might lose his Bush tax cut, I have no idea.
There was some media criticism of Nancy Reagan when she was spending a fortune on gowns in the ’80s, but it wasn’t much, even as an entire generation of gay men died off because her husband, Pres. Ronald Reagan, wouldn’t even say the word AIDS in public.
I wonder where Mort Zuckerman was and if he had this kind of cow when Jackie Kennedy went on her spending spree to outfit the White House, including indulging herself in a few French designers herself.
But as you can see from the poll below that appeared with the wingnut hit piece, nobody is fooled by the New York Daily News screaming “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche!”
I’d personally like to see Pres. Obama call Mr. Zuckerman out on this cheap shot. I know, I know, then Mr. Obama would just get tagged as an angry black man, which might scare the Republican Tea Party into panicking. We can’t have that now, can we.
Huffington Post Article: The White American Media Attack First Lady Michelle Obama Because She Is A Black Woman.
Jim Kennedy
The First Lady has been subject to vicious attack by Republicans over her travel costs and her use of governmental aircraft, despite the fact that she has paid for a substantial portion of it herself.
Michelle Obama in 2010? No, Hillary Clinton in 2000. In March of that year, a House appropriations subcommittee held a hearing focusing on the First Lady’s trips to New York. In May, two House committee chairs followed up by demanding that the White House turn over records documenting Mrs. Clinton’s travels in extraordinary detail. The Republican National Committee and the campaign of Rudy Giuliani piled on, trying to stir a pot of scandal around long-standing and bipartisan practices involving the way first families travel.
As a White House spokesman at the time, I criticized the way Republicans were “looking to play politics with the safety of the First Lady,” and distributed memos from Republican chiefs of staff James Baker and John Sununu supporting the use of military planes for the First Lady’s trips. Eventually the diaphanous controversy dissipated like a morning fog.
Besides providing a reminder of what shenanigans might be in store should Democrats lose control of the House of Representatives this fall, the parallelism of the attacks on two Democratic First Ladies – when coupled with the way Republicans went after Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her own use of government planes not long ago – offers lessons on the politics of personal destruction, as practiced by the right wing.
Simply put, there are some in this country who cannot stand the idea of women and people of color in positions of power, and there are cynical power mongers who don’t mind pushing their buttons to keep the political pot boiling. And they are not above exaggeration and outright lies to prove their nonexistent point.
One small example: a newspaper headline reads, “Spanish Police Close Public Beach” for Michelle Obama. Well, no. The beach wasn’t closed. A 100-yard buffer was set up to provide protection for the family. In this age of terrorism, that seems to be quite a modest nod to security.
Not all the criticism of the First Lady’s trip is malevolent, but you do not have to travel far into the depths of the conservative blogosphere to find evidence of extremely sexist and racist commentary about it.
Could all of this have been avoided by choosing a “safer” location for a vacation? Perhaps, but I say give the First Family a break. The Drudge Report will keep lighting the match, Rush Limbaugh will keep fanning the flames, and maybe Sarah Palin will pour some gasoline (“Come to Alaska, Michelle!”), but Marbella-gate has all the earmarks of a mid-August media mob gone amok.
Come September, it should all blow over. But when it does, just remember this: the folks who find fault with the cost of a small vacation in Spain are the same folks who helped turn the historic Bill Clinton surplus into the giant George Bush deficit. That’s one strange and expensive trip I for one don’t want to take again.
Atlanta Journal Constitution Article: First Lady Michelle Obama Meets King Juan Carlos & Queen Sophia Of Spain!
Michelle Obama Meets Spain’s king
By MANUEL MIELNIEZUK
The Associated Press
PALMA DE MALLORCA, Spain — U.S. first lady Michelle Obama and daughter Sasha had lunch with Spain’s king and queen on Sunday at the royal family’s holiday retreat on the resort island of Mallorca in the Mediterranean.
U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama, center waves during a visit to Ronda in southern Spain, Saturday, Aug. 7, 2010. Michelle Obama is currently on a private trip to Spain with friends. (AP Photo/Sergio Torres)
Spain’s Queen Sofia, right, welcomes U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama and daughter Sasha, left, in presence of Spain’s King Juan Carlos, center, on their arrival at the Marivent Palace, in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, Sunday, Aug. 8, 2010. The White House says first lady Michelle Obama is in Spain for a private trip with longtime family friends. (AP Photo/Manu Mielniezuk)
From left: Sasha Obama, Spain’s King Juan Carlos, U.S. first lady Michelle Obama, Spain’s Queen Sofia and Princess Letizia pose before a lunch at the Marivent Palace, in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, Sunday, Aug. 8, 2010. The White House says first lady Michelle Obama is in Spain for a private trip with longtime family friends. (AP Photo/Manu Mielniezuk)
Spain’s King Juan Carlos, right, welcomes U.S. first lady Michelle Obama and daughter Sasha, 9, on their arrival at the Marivent Palace, in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, Sunday, Aug. 8, 2010. The White House says first lady Michelle Obama is in Spain for a private trip with longtime family friends.
Mrs. Obama and her daughter arrived at Marivent palace shortly before 1 p.m. and were greeted at the front door of the residence by King Juan Carlos, Queen Sofia and Princess Letizia.
The king, a keen yachtsman, has for decades spent August vacations at the palace with its dramatic cliff-top views of the sea on the Balearic island’s southwestern coast near Palma de Mallorca.
Lunch was Andalusian-style chilled gazpacho soup, chargrilled turbot, veal escalopes with mustard, Oriental rice with sauteed mushrooms, a Mallorca-style vegetable ratatouille and sliced fruit with ice cream, accompanied by wines from the northern regions of Rueda and Rioja, the palace said.
The lunch meeting marked the end of a five-day private visit to Spain by Mrs. Obama, who toured beauty spots in the southern region of Andalusia including Marbella, Ronda and the Alhambra palace in Granada.
The king gave Mrs. Obama some seeds for the White House garden as a parting gift, while the queen made a present of handicrafts typical of Mallorca, the palace said.
After lunch the first lady’s party was due to fly back to the United States aboard Air Force Two.
Gayblackcanada 