Barack’s got jokes and tried to get everyone, including Michelle, in on the caroling as the First Family flipped the switch and lit up the National Christmas Tree. Kenneth ‘Babyface’ Edmonds performed as more than 17,000 people came out to watch the 90th annual tree-lighting ceremony. Hit the flip for more from tonight’s celebration…and try not to crack up too much because Barack looks more excited than his own kids! Glad he’s in the Christmas Spirit.
SMH. Somebody paid him $15K to put that on his face and now he’s gonna go erase it. Via NY Daily News reports : A northern Indiana man who had the Mitt Romney-Paul Ryan campaign logo tattooed onto his face “to make politics fun” says it’s time for it to come off. Eric Hartsburg of Michigan City, Ind., says he plans to have the red-and-blue “R” removed from its prominent place next to his right eye. He says a Republican supporter paid him $15,000 to get the tattoo and keep it until at least the election was over. Weeks after President Barack Obama defeated the former Massachusetts governor in the Nov. 6 election, Hartsburg says “now to me it represents not a losing campaign, but a sore losing campaign.” Hartsburg says he reached out to the Romney campaign about the tattoo, but feels snubbed that no campaign staffer ever contacted him. Does this guy make you feel proud or ashamed to be an American? Facebook
Could you leave all the ‘unnecessary’ things in life behind in exchange for just enough space and cheaper energy bills ?? According to The Daily Mail , there are lots of folks in DC that are saying ‘Yes We Can’… A neighborhood of miniaturized homes, that look like what some Americans build in their backyards as dollhouses, is propping up in northeast Washington, D.C. The 150 to 200 square feet living spaces in a transformed vacant lot behind a line of row houses, sell for between $20,000 to $50,000 a piece and are part of a national backlash to the conspicuous consumption of the McMansion era. The concept of the tiny residences came from Tumbleweed Tiny House Co., based in Santa Rosa, Calif., that launched in 2000. The plans faced a tepid reception but after the credit crisis of 2008, have exploded in popularity. The lot was purchased in March by a group of four DC residents who became interested in creating a neighborhood of tiny houses as an example of affordable, scaled back living. The group have transformed the concrete abandoned lot into a grassy area for the stall-like homes. They also have plans to construct a garden area and plant 10-15 trees to surround the lot. The group of homes will all circle an open, grassy area with a picnic table open to the community. The homes, ideal for one or two inhabitants, are naturally limited in space and so the neighborhood will include a 8’x20’ garage/storage structure for those items that just can’t be squeezed into the miniature shelters. Jay Shafer, who founded the The Tumbleweed Tiny House Co., has sold more than 1,500 sets of plans for the small living spaces. He said after the recession of 2008, the tiny houses took off. ‘Americans still like our stuff big and cheap, so a 100-square-foot house is not for everyone or big families. But people in tiny homes save a ton of money on heating and AC,’ he told the Washington Post. Though Shafer used to reside in a 90-square foot house, he has since upgraded to a 500-square-foot home after he and his wife welcomed their second child. ‘It’s no longer about impressing your friends with your huge 1980s castle, it’s more about your lifestyle: What restaurants and fitness centers and community life can you walk to? It’s not about driving everywhere and staying inside and spending hours watching TV,’ said Monty Hoffman, chief executive and founder of PN Hoffman, a Washington area condo builder. ‘They’re a statement that no one needs to be trapped in a mortgage they can’t afford in a house that’s too big for them anyway,’ Amy Lynch, a consultant with the Minneapolis-based BridgeWorks, told the Washington Post about the practicality of the miniaturized residences after the housing crisis of 2009. ‘The baby boomers raised their children. Now, they’re looking at all this stuff they have and thinking, ‘What has meaning for me now?’ Plus, these tiny houses are small enough that you can clean — actually clean them!’ The DC neighborhood that is beginning to take shape, called Stronghold, is the brainchild of Boneyard Studios, a group that has mobilized volunteers and residents to join the cause. But the pint-sized homes make some area residents feel like the American Dream is no long attainable. ‘These tiny houses feels like we are going backwards,’ Patricia Harris, who owns a rowhouse in the District, said. Hit the flip for more shots of the tiny lil’ homes…
GOP Calls For Resignation Of First-Ever Transgendered Government Official Conservative right wingers in New Hampshire have struck gold in the eyes of GOP goons everywhere as they have found a reason to kick the first-ever transgendered government official to the curb. via ABC News Republicans in New Hampshire’s state legislature have called for the first elected transgender official in the state – and the nation – to step down in light of a newspaper article that revealed her criminal past. Stacie Marie Laughton, a Democrat, made history this month when she was elected to a seat in the New Hampshire House of Representatives from Hillsborough County, which includes Nashua. But a story in the Laconia Daily Sun revealed that Laughton was a convicted felon who served more than four months in jail for ”conspiracy to commit credit card fraud” in 2008. Granite State House Majority Leader Pete Silva, R-Nashua, said Laughton’s failure to inform Nashua voters about her background before the election was grounds for her resignation, according to the Nashua Patch. The GOP goons are on their job. Sounds like they’re still salty from that massive L they took during the Presidential election and are taking it out on any Democrat within reach. SMH. Image via Shutterstock
The Long Island Power Authority should be ashamed of themselves! According to The New York Post , they’ve sent millions of their customers ‘normal’ electric bills, as if Sandy and the power outages never even happened!?!? The clueless utility charged Sandy-soaked Long Island residents an estimated rate that covered the entire billing cycle, and the statements made no mention of potential refunds to account for the prolonged blackouts. Jonathan Saporta was slapped with a double whammy by the Long Island Power Authority — a $649 bill for the Long Beach home he left in October and a $281 bill for his new Great Neck pad. He also is expecting a $1,700 bill for his storm-ravaged restaurant, Jake’s Wayback Burger, which is in hard-hit Long Beach and remains without power. “I can’t get LIPA to acknowledge my existence on earth to talk to me about anything,” he ranted. “But I guess they had power, so they could print my bills. Nice, right?” Saporta, 33, moved to the Great Neck home on Oct. 1 and got the bill in the mail on Wednesday for a cycle covering 43 days — including the two weeks he spent in the dark following the Oct. 29 storm. Even though he switched his account to the new address on Sept. 26, he still received an e-mail bill for the Long Beach house on Nov. 10 — and somehow it was $390 more than the previous month. “I am not paying any of my bills, that much I promise,” said Saporta. “They can put me into collections, and I’ll fight them tooth-and-nail. “It’s simply criminal.” Michael Hilferty, 29, an attorney from Long Beach, was e-mailed his bill — which was about a dollar more than the previous month — as he chowed down on some turkey. “To get this message on Thanksgiving was crass and classless. It’s just heartless,” he said. His oceanfront building was flooded with 7 feet of water and inundated with 4 feet of sand, covering the LIPA meters. Hilferty left the apartment, which remains dark and boarded up, and has been staying in Connecticut. Yet he was hit for 29 days of electric usage, including delivery and system charges. David Wasserman, 40, of Merrick, tried to report online the difference between his actual and estimated electric usage. “I got some message that said, ‘Service records show your usage would be higher. Please call an operator for further assistance,’ ” he said. “No one ever picked up.” LIPA did not return repeated calls seeking comment. Con Ed, on the other hand, wants to refund its Manhattan customers who lost power $3 and customers from other boroughs who lost power $6, the utility proposed this week in a filing with the Public Service Commission. Those figures represent a portion of customers’ fixed monthly bills, which exclude power usage. This is just ridiculous. SMH Images via tumblr
The Long Island Power Authority should be ashamed of themselves! According to The New York Post , they’ve sent millions of their customers ‘normal’ electric bills, as if Sandy and the power outages never even happened!?!? The clueless utility charged Sandy-soaked Long Island residents an estimated rate that covered the entire billing cycle, and the statements made no mention of potential refunds to account for the prolonged blackouts. Jonathan Saporta was slapped with a double whammy by the Long Island Power Authority — a $649 bill for the Long Beach home he left in October and a $281 bill for his new Great Neck pad. He also is expecting a $1,700 bill for his storm-ravaged restaurant, Jake’s Wayback Burger, which is in hard-hit Long Beach and remains without power. “I can’t get LIPA to acknowledge my existence on earth to talk to me about anything,” he ranted. “But I guess they had power, so they could print my bills. Nice, right?” Saporta, 33, moved to the Great Neck home on Oct. 1 and got the bill in the mail on Wednesday for a cycle covering 43 days — including the two weeks he spent in the dark following the Oct. 29 storm. Even though he switched his account to the new address on Sept. 26, he still received an e-mail bill for the Long Beach house on Nov. 10 — and somehow it was $390 more than the previous month. “I am not paying any of my bills, that much I promise,” said Saporta. “They can put me into collections, and I’ll fight them tooth-and-nail. “It’s simply criminal.” Michael Hilferty, 29, an attorney from Long Beach, was e-mailed his bill — which was about a dollar more than the previous month — as he chowed down on some turkey. “To get this message on Thanksgiving was crass and classless. It’s just heartless,” he said. His oceanfront building was flooded with 7 feet of water and inundated with 4 feet of sand, covering the LIPA meters. Hilferty left the apartment, which remains dark and boarded up, and has been staying in Connecticut. Yet he was hit for 29 days of electric usage, including delivery and system charges. David Wasserman, 40, of Merrick, tried to report online the difference between his actual and estimated electric usage. “I got some message that said, ‘Service records show your usage would be higher. Please call an operator for further assistance,’ ” he said. “No one ever picked up.” LIPA did not return repeated calls seeking comment. Con Ed, on the other hand, wants to refund its Manhattan customers who lost power $3 and customers from other boroughs who lost power $6, the utility proposed this week in a filing with the Public Service Commission. Those figures represent a portion of customers’ fixed monthly bills, which exclude power usage. This is just ridiculous. SMH Images via tumblr
Kudos to the kids for telling the “The Donald” to have a seat. Via NYDailyNews reports : Donald Trump’s hatred of Barack Obama allegedly led his three eldest kids to do an Obama-vention before the election. Eric, Donald Jr. and Ivanka discussed telling their dad to calm down, then decided collectively to approach Trump (below) and ask him to turn it down a notch with the presidential bashing. “The three of them met and went to see their dad in his Fifth Ave. office. They showed a lot of respect, but told him he’s worked too long and too hard to build up the reputation he has. They understand completely he’s always been outspoken and that he likes attention, but this is too much,” says a source who knew about the mid-October meeting. Trump’s rep denies any such meeting ever took place. What began with Trump’s public demand for Obama’s birth certificate during earlier stages of the election cycle has grown into a one-man war against the President, with The Donald blasting Obama’s reelection as a “disgusting injustice” on Twitter. “The world is laughing at us,” the billionaire tweeted. The explosive Twitter missive, like many of his other micro-rants, is difficult to find, because Trump later deletes many of his tirades — once he’s let off steam. Prior to Obama’s win, Trump also demanded Obama release his college records and passport application in return for a $5 million donation to the charity of his choice. As for Obama as a target, the “kids said they know it’s not helping,” says the source. “They told him you can’t throw this all away on this nonsense.” Since the kids are the future of Trump’s empire, the insider adds, they are also worried for themselves. “They want their dad to get respect and then the whole family does well,” the source says. Trump’s rep called the story “completely untrue,” telling us that Eric, Donald Jr. and Ivanka love his use of “free speech” and would never try to rein in their father. “They would never ever do that. It never happened. It’s simply untrue,” the rep stressed. Pure comedy! Regardless of what the rep says we hope this one is true. Dude is a major annoyance. WENN
Don’t fawk with Texas ! A notice ‘warning’ residents about Afro-american youth was posted up at a Houston apartment complex. You can be sure the flyer ticked more than a few people off! According to The Grio : The Houston Chronicle reported that the notice, which was posted in the Rock Springs Apartments laundry room, read, “We ask you to please contact the office immediately every time you see teenagers or adolescents of Afro-American race or any other suspicious people in the property.” It was posted in English and Spanish, since the majority of the complex’s tenants are Hispanic. DeLoyd Parker, of S.H.A.P.E. Community Center, called on the Houston Housing Department and the Department of Housing and Urban Development to investigate the incident. “It’s typical of racist views constantly perpetuated by people who just don’t want people of color to be a part of their experience,” Parker said. According to the apartment complex, the notice is fake. When shown a photo of the sign, the apartment leasing employee said she had no knowledge of the notice and that “someone must have put it there.” K.K. Singh, a person who identifies as the complex’s property manager, wrote in an e-mail, “We are always careful what kind of notices we put out. Our notices are always dated and signed. You should be assured that this notice was never posted by our office. It appears someone has successfully fabricated it and been able to attract the attention of the media and take away their precious time from other momentous issues.” Deric C. Muhammad, of the Houston Ministry of Justice, said the notice is “indicative of a mindset that causes black teens to be racially profiled, not only by apartment complexes, but by convenience store owners and others.” He urged African-American families living in the apartments to “get the hell out of there as soon as possible.” Shelby Stewart, the chairman of the Coalition to Defend Civil Rights and Human Dignity, called the notice “tragic.” “It’s just depressing whenever I see racism rear its ugly head,” she said. “It’s tragic because crimes are committed by blacks, whites, Hispanics and Asians, but they have singled out a race of people.” GTFOHWTBS!!! Do you think this was a bogus notice or is the Property Manager trying to cover isht up?? Images via tumblr
Don’t fawk with Texas ! A notice ‘warning’ residents about Afro-american youth was posted up at a Houston apartment complex. You can be sure the flyer ticked more than a few people off! According to The Grio : The Houston Chronicle reported that the notice, which was posted in the Rock Springs Apartments laundry room, read, “We ask you to please contact the office immediately every time you see teenagers or adolescents of Afro-American race or any other suspicious people in the property.” It was posted in English and Spanish, since the majority of the complex’s tenants are Hispanic. DeLoyd Parker, of S.H.A.P.E. Community Center, called on the Houston Housing Department and the Department of Housing and Urban Development to investigate the incident. “It’s typical of racist views constantly perpetuated by people who just don’t want people of color to be a part of their experience,” Parker said. According to the apartment complex, the notice is fake. When shown a photo of the sign, the apartment leasing employee said she had no knowledge of the notice and that “someone must have put it there.” K.K. Singh, a person who identifies as the complex’s property manager, wrote in an e-mail, “We are always careful what kind of notices we put out. Our notices are always dated and signed. You should be assured that this notice was never posted by our office. It appears someone has successfully fabricated it and been able to attract the attention of the media and take away their precious time from other momentous issues.” Deric C. Muhammad, of the Houston Ministry of Justice, said the notice is “indicative of a mindset that causes black teens to be racially profiled, not only by apartment complexes, but by convenience store owners and others.” He urged African-American families living in the apartments to “get the hell out of there as soon as possible.” Shelby Stewart, the chairman of the Coalition to Defend Civil Rights and Human Dignity, called the notice “tragic.” “It’s just depressing whenever I see racism rear its ugly head,” she said. “It’s tragic because crimes are committed by blacks, whites, Hispanics and Asians, but they have singled out a race of people.” GTFOHWTBS!!! Do you think this was a bogus notice or is the Property Manager trying to cover isht up?? Images via tumblr
Respect your elders and listen to this lady! While many Republicans have been acting super salty over Obama’s re-election , former First Lady Barbara Bush says she’s tired of election talk and ready to get on with another term for Obama! Via HuffPo reports : Former U.S. first lady Barbara Bush said on Thursday that she’s ready to move beyond this year’s campaign season, in comments that came at an Austin conference the week after President Barack Obama’s re-election. “I’m tired now of the elections,” Bush, who had endorsed Republican Mitt Romney, said at a forum on America’s first ladies. “People spoke. Move on, get on with it. I want to do other things and not to be ugly.” Bush, sporting a double strand of her signature pearls, joined former first lady Laura Bush on a panel for the Enduring Legacies of America’s First Ladies conference at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library. The first ladies avoided offering political opinions, but Barbara Bush did issue a stern warning to both Republicans and Democrats. “They are going to have to compromise,” said Barbara Bush, the wife of former President George H.W. Bush. “It’s not a dirty word.” Both first ladies reminisced about spectacular Christmases at the White House and cited family time spent at Camp David as the setting of some of their favorite memories. When asked what was the biggest misconception about her husband, former President George W. Bush, during his time in office, Laura Bush said, “That he was a heedless cowboy character.” Moderator Mark Updegrove, director of the LBJ library, asked the women if one ever can be prepared to be the first lady and without hesitation, both answered yes. “If you are the wife of a governor or the wife of a vice president, I think you can be prepared for it,” said Barbara Bush. “Or if your mother-in-law was the first lady and you watched her,” Laura Bush said. “I feel I really had a huge advantage.” Earlier in the day, during a panel featuring presidential children, Jenna Bush Hager, one of Laura and George W. Bush’s twin daughters, revealed that her grandmother Barbara Bush’s family nickname is “The Enforcer.” Hager also divulged the tidbit that her mother, a fan of reggae superstar Bob Marley, is a “secret Rastafarian.” Pure comedy at the “secret Rastafarian” business. We know that has to be deeper than just being a Bob Marley fan! Props to Barbara Bush for not acting like a lil whiny crybaby like most of these Romney supporters! WENN
