Obama Security Screening Stopped By Secret Service In Dallas? WTF?

This is terrible! It's a totally freaking outrage! What is going on with the Secret Service?

Police concerned about order to stop screening

By JACK DOUGLAS Jr.
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

STAR-TELEGRAM/RODGER MALLISON

Barack Obama speaks Wednesday at a Democratic rally in Dallas' Reunion Arena. Police were told to stop screening people for weapons before the rally began.
DALLAS -- Security details at Barack Obama's rally Wednesday stopped screening people for weapons at the front gates more than an hour before the Democratic presidential candidate took the stage at Reunion Arena.

The order to put down the metal detectors and stop checking purses and laptop bags came as a surprise to several Dallas police officers who said they believed it was a lapse in security.

Dallas Deputy Police Chief T.W. Lawrence, head of the Police Department's homeland security and special operations divisions, said the order -- apparently made by the U.S. Secret Service -- was meant to speed up the long lines outside and fill the arena's vacant seats before Obama came on.

"Sure," said Lawrence, when asked if he was concerned by the great number of people who had gotten into the building without being checked. But, he added, the turnout of more than 17,000 people seemed to be a "friendly crowd."

The Secret Service did not return a call from the Star-Telegram seeking comment.

Doors opened to the public at 10 a.m., and for the first hour security officers scanned each person who came in and checked their belongings in a process that kept movement of the long lines at a crawl. Then, about 11 a.m., an order came down to allow the people in without being checked.

Several Dallas police officers said it worried them that the arena was packed with people who got in without even a cursory inspection.

They spoke on condition of anonymity because, they said, the order was made by federal officials who were in charge of security at the event.

"How can you not be concerned in this day and age," said one policeman.

Christine Smith Blessed By NY Post's Cindy Adams - NY Upper East Side Interior Designer A Celeb

Christine Smith Interior Design Blessed By NY Post's Cindy Adams

Taking a break from politics, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John Mcain, we look at Cindy Adams who "brings you the juiciest celeb gossip and celebrity news" according to the New York Post, her employer. Well, if that's the case, then Cindy's just blessed Christine Smith as a celebrity. Cindy took note of the growing presence of Smith's workers around the Upper East Side, and gushed ..

"GUYS are around hauling demolition, filling dump trucks, wearing black T-shirts that read "Christine Smith." So who's Christine Smith? A stunning, skinny, befurred, 6-foot blonde with silver buckles on her jeans and waist-length hair. And why's anyone hauling fixtures wearing her shirts? She's this season's contractor du jour. Looking like a model, this lady is demolishing johns, pulling out sinks, building walls and redoing kitchens all over the Upper East Side."

Wow.

Not only is Christine a model, but the work of her and the crew of people she employs is as well.

Here is but one of the examples of the work of Christine Smith, who it can now be said rules the Upper East Side of New York. Visit her website at http://www.christinesmithassoc.com

Pro Clinton 527 / Emily's List Take $ From Questionable People

By now if you're a political junky like myself, you've heard about the "Pro-Clinton 527" that will concentrate on coming up with new ways to smear Senator Barack Obama on his way to what is an eventual Presidential Nomination. The Clinton 527 is being paid for in part by Steve Bing, who's a Hollywood type who reportedly -- according to the Telegraph of London -- got two starlets knocked up, then pressured the media to bury the story. Emily's List took money from this guy!

Read this from the Telegraph.Co.UK:

After Liz Hurley, Bing faces second bitter paternity row

By Oliver Poole in Los Angeles
Last Updated: 3:28pm BST 16/05/2002

Steve Bing, the playboy Elizabeth Hurley claims is the father of her son Damian, was named yesterday as the parent of a girl at the centre of the world's most expensive child support case.

The millionaire television producer was identified in court papers as the father of Kira Kerkorian.


Kirk Kerkorian
The four-year-old girl is the subject of a bitter paternity row between Kirk Kerkorian, one of California's richest men, and his former wife, who has demanded £223,000 a month in maintenance.

Mr Bing, 37, is already waiting for a DNA test to be carried out to determine whether he is the father of six-week-old Damian after Hurley agreed to the procedure last week.

However, he may have to spend thousands of pounds more on child support and make the girl heir to part of his estimated £280 million fortune after the latest development.

According to the papers filed at a Los Angeles court, Mr Kerkorian, who owns MGM film studios and a string of Las Vegas casinos, hired private detectives who matched DNA from the child with a strand of dental floss they found in Mr Bing's dustbins.

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The 84-year-old had become suspicious when he heard rumours that Mr Bing and his ex-wife, the former tennis player Lisa Bonder, had an affair around the time of Kira's conception.

The couple were living apart at the time. They were reconciled for a one-week fling in which Miss Bonder claimed that she became pregnant.

Mr Kerkorian's investigators took DNA from the floss and compared it to strands of the child's hair which showed a match with 99.993 per cent certainty, the court papers said.

The case went to court at the start of this year after Miss Bonder, 36, filed for child support as well as demanding use of her former husband's private Boeing 737 up to five times a year. She said the money was needed to keep her daughter in the manner to which she had become accustomed, which included £4,200 a month for visits to restaurants and £300 a month to look after Kira's pet rabbit.

Mr Kerkorian said he believed that the child was not his. However, he had become emotionally attached to her and was happy to continue paying £53,000 a month to help support her.

Neither he nor representatives of Miss Bonder or Mr Bing were available to comment on the new allegations yesterday. The latest development comes after the flurry of claims and counter-claims after the birth of Damian whom Hurley, 36, insists was fathered by Mr Bing during their 18-month relationship, which ended last November.

That would not only make the boy eligible to a share of his fortune - which is based in New York property - but also about £450,000 a year in child support until he is at least 18.

When the pregnancy was announced Mr Bing questioned whether he was the boy's father and said the couple were not in "an exclusive relationship" when he was conceived.

However, Hurley said she was "completely loyal and faithful" to her former boyfriend, whom she "loved enormously during the two years we were together".

A DNA test is expected to take place within the next month to settle whether he is Damian's parent. At present no father is named on the boy's birth certificate.

When proceedings to resolve the paternity case were issued in the Family Division of the High Court last month, Mr Bing's spokesman said: "If it is proved that Mr Bing is Damian's father, he would wish generously to support him and to be involved in his upbringing."

John McCain Lobbyist Scandal With Vicki Iseman About Power

The MSN and the Internet in the form of thousands of emails on the Barack Obama listservs were abuz with the news about John McCain's association with a beautiful lobbyist Vicki Iseman. The association between the two is eight years old and while Senator McCain says there was no sexual relationship, in my view there was a "power association" -- a marriage of a Senator flattered by the attention of a smart, lovely young woman who knew the ropes in Washington, and her desire to be in the company of a senior elected official who could open doors for her.

Vicki Iseman is no slouch. A look at the bio on her website will tell you that:

VICKI ISEMAN
Vicki Iseman, Partner, represents corporate and public clients on issues as diverse as government contracting and regulatory reform. Her experience includes representation of clients before Congress, Federal government agencies and local opinion leaders.

She has extensive experience in telecommunications, representing corporations before the House and Senate Commerce Committees. Her work on the landmark 1992 and 1996 communications bills helped secure cable access for broadcast television stations. Her experience in the communications field includes digital television conversion, satellite regulations and telecommunications ownership provisions.

She has been active in grassroots communications campaigns for clients, building community based support for legislative initiatives. Among others, she participated in the "Keep America Moving" campaign that educated community leaders on the allocation of Federal highway trust funds.

In addition, she has consulted for clients who are interested in government contracting opportunities. She has assisted corporations through the authorization and appropriation process. An active fundraiser, she has organized and participated in many political fundraising events.

A native of Pennsylvania, she holds a B.A. degree in Education from Indiana University in Pennsylvania.

(Note: the company took her bio off their main site, but a cached version is at the Huff Post. )

Iseman is skilled in getting earmarks for her clients. Earmarks are expenditures for projects in an area of interest to an elected official. While, it's not clear -- yet -- that she helped McCain in that area, it's documented that by 2006, she'd become a name partner in her firm and quite good at the practice.

And Vicky's client list is extensive:

American Maglev Technology

AMFM Inc

Arison Family Trust

AstraZeneca

BearingPoint Inc

CACI International

CanWest

Capstar Broadcasting Partners

Carnival Corp

City of Miami, FL

City of Palm Springs, CA

Click Radio

Computer Sciences Corp

Future Leaders of America

Hillsborough County

Hispanic Broadcasting Inc

Homer-Center School District

i2Telecom International

Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Ion Media Networks

Jovan Broadcasting

Latona Assoc

Marin County, CA

National Stroke Assn

Operation Warm

Paxson Communications

PriceWaterhouseCoopers

Saga Communications

Sinclair Broadcast Group

Telemundo Network Group

Total Living Network

Tulare County

Univision Communications

Walter Industries

I don't think this is a case of a classic sex scandal and to look at it that way is to miss what in my view is a much richer story: a tale of how McCain made relationships with lobbyists and very much before his relatively new efforts to curb lobbiyst activities.

But one does have to wonder if McCain's sudden war on lobbyists had something to do with his relationship with Ms. Iseman. Time will tell.

Major News From Barack Obama

I received this e-mail message from Democratic frontrunner Barack Obama less than an hour ago.

david --

We learned something extraordinary since I wrote to you last night.

We've crunched all the numbers and discovered that we are within striking distance of something historic: one million people donating to this campaign.

Think about that ... nearly one million people taking ownership of this movement, five dollars or twenty-five dollars at a time.

We're already more than 900,000 strong, including over half-a-million donating so far this year. This unprecedented foundation of support has built a campaign that has shaken the status quo and proven that ordinary people can compete in a political process too often dominated by special interests.

Unlike Senator Clinton or Senator McCain, we haven't taken a dime from Washington lobbyists or special interest PACs. Our campaign is responsible to no one but the people.

One million donors would be a remarkable feat -- something that's never been done before in a presidential primary and something no one ever thought would be possible for us. And you still have the opportunity to be a part of it.

If you make a donation right now, one of those 900,000 donors has promised to give again in order to match your first gift. You can double the impact of your first donation -- and you can even choose to exchange a note about why you are part of this movement.

We started this improbable journey a little over a year ago in Springfield, Illinois.

And because you've joined together to make your voices heard, this journey isn't looking as improbable anymore.

Since our victory on February 5th, we've won ten straight contests.

But on March 4th, we face a huge challenge in Texas and Ohio, who will vote along with Rhode Island and Vermont. We are behind in the big states and need as many people involved as possible if we're going to win.

If we can reach our goal of one million donors by March 4th, we can send a powerful message that the Washington establishment and big-money interests cannot ignore.

As one million people with one voice, we can tell them that their days of dominating Washington are coming to an end -- the old politics are crumbling and a new voice is breaking through. Our voice.

I learned the power of ordinary people coming together as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago.

I worked side-by-side with people who had been laid off from steel plants that were moved overseas. These were people who needed new jobs to rebuild their lives, and their political leaders were ignoring them.

But even though the odds were stacked against them, they discovered that by coming together with one voice, they could no longer be ignored.

When we launched this campaign, we knew we were up against similar odds. We knew we'd be running against a massive political machine with deep ties to the Washington establishment.

We knew it wouldn't be easy.

But if we can do this, we're not just going to win an election. We're going to change our country.

Thank you so much,

Barack

John McCain Wins Wisconsin and Washington State Over Huckabee

John McCain is just a few steps closer to the Republican nomination with decisive wins on Tuesday and in Wisconsin and Washington State. But John's got a bigger problem and Amy Holmes and the Republican Party has an uphilll battle in that Barack Obama himself tonight has drawn more voters than the entire Republican Party has for all of the primary contests.

Yikes!

Barack Obama's Sweep: Wisconsin, Hawaii, and Washington State

Barack Obama has one again. He won decisively in both Wisconsin and Hawaii, and by 58 percent / 41 percent in Wisconsin, and a whopping 74 percent to 26 percent, respectively in Hawaii. That's ten straight wins for Obama and a fresh set of donors and fans.

But the campaign withstood what is the strongest challenge of negative press on the part of both the Clintons and the mainstream media. It's started with what I think was a misguided and vealedly racist attack on Barack's speeches as lacking substance. But then it got worse with attacks on Michelle Obama because she said that in her adult life she was finally proud to be an American.

I agree.

Clinton fans are wondering why she's not only losing, but being totally beaten in a landslide most of the time. The answer is simple. She's using the old style politics of divide and attack and it's not working. Many public officials know that you don't attack when it's not popular to do so.

I end this blog post with a video made by the University of Wisconsin chapter of Students for Obama: