May 25, 2012 12:54pm
Obama and His Pot-Smoking ‘Choom Gang’
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Unlike Bill Clinton, Barack Obama never tried to say he didn’t inhale.
In his 1995 memoir “Dreams from My Father,” Obama writes about smoking pot almost like Dr. Seuss wrote about eating green eggs and ham. As a high school kid, Obama wrote, he would smoke “in a white classmate’s sparkling new van,” he would smoke “in the dorm room of some brother” and he would smoke “on the beach with a couple of Hawaiian kids.”
He would smoke it here and there. He would smoke it anywhere.
Now a soon-to-be published biography by David Maraniss entitled “Barack Obama: The Story” gives more detail on Obama’s pot-smoking days, complete with testimonials from young Barry Obama’s high school buddies, a group that went by the name “the Choom Gang.” Choom was slang for smoking marijuana.
Maraniss portrays the teenage Obama as not just a pot smoker, but a pot-smoking innovator.
“As a member of the Choom Gang,” Maraniss writes, “Barry Obama was known for starting a few pot-smoking trends.”
The first Obama-inspired trend: “Total Absorption” or “TA”.
“TA was the opposite of Bill Clinton’s claim that as a Rhodes scholar at Oxford he smoked dope but never inhaled,” explains Maraniss. Here’s how it worked: If you exhaled prematurely when you were with the Choom Gang, “you were assessed a penalty and your turn was skipped the next time the joint came around.”
As one of Obama’s old high school buddies tells Maraniss: “Wasting good bud smoke was not tolerated.”
Another Obama innovation: “Roof Hits.”
“When they were chooming in a car all the windows had to be rolled up so no smoke blew out and went to waste; when the pot was gone, they tilted their heads back and sucked in the last bit of smoke from the ceiling.”
Maraniss also says Obama was known for his “Interceptions”: “When a joint was making the rounds, he often elbowed his way in, out of turn, shouted ‘Intercepted!,’ and took an extra hit.”
Although Obama himself wrote that he and his pot smoking buddies were a “club of disaffection,” Maraniss says that’s not really true.
“In fact, most members of the Choom Gang were decent students and athletes who went on to successful and productive lawyers, writers and businessmen,” Maraniss writes. One notable exception was Ray, the group’s pot dealer who, known for his ability “to score quality bud,” would years later be killed by a scorned gay lover armed with a ball-peen hammer.
Obama himself managed to be a pretty good student despite all the pot smoking and unconventional study habits.
“He told his Choom Gang mates that the trick was if you put the textbook under your pillow the night before you would perform better on an exam,” Maraniss writes. No way, dude!
Back to the pot smoking.
Hawaii of the early 1970s was something of a pot-smoking Mecca.
“It was sold and smoked right there in front of your nose; Maui Wowie, Kauai Electric, Puna Bud, Kona Gold, and other local variations of pakalolo were readily available,” writes Maraniss.
Obama’s pal Mark Bendix had a Volkswagen microbus known as “the Choomwagon.” They would often drive up Honolulu’s Mount Tantalus where they parked “turned up their stereos playing Aerosmith, Blue Oyster Cult and Stevie Wonder, lit up some ‘sweet-sticky Hawaiian buds’ and washed it down with ‘green bottled beer’ (the Choom Gang preferred Heineken, Becks, and St. Pauli Girl). No shouting, no violence, no fights; they even cleaned up their beer bottles.”
Of course, smoking, drinking and driving on mountain roads could also be a little dangerous. Especially the night they tried drag racing.
The race to the top of Mount Tantalus pitted the “Choomwagon” against another friend’s Toyota. Obama was in the Toyota. The Choomwagon made it to the top first. When the other car didn’t show up, those in the Choomwagon drove back down to find them. Here’s how Maraniss describes what happened next:
“On the way down, they saw a figure who appeared to be staggering up the road. It was Barry Obama. What was going on? As they drew closer, they noticed that he was laughing so hard he could barely stand up.”
His friend had rolled the car. Fortunately, nobody was hurt. And, amazingly, they avoided trouble by leaving the driver alone to deal with the police by claiming it was just an unfortunate “mishap.”
Maraniss concludes his chapter on Obama’s high school years by looking at a note Obama had written in his high school yearbook in a section reserved for students to give a line or two giving thanks to those who helped along the way.
Obama had written this: “Thanks Tut [his grandmother], Gramps, Choom Gang, and Ray for all the good times.”
Maraniss notes: “Ray was the older guy who hung around the Choom Gang, selling them pot. A hippie drug dealer made his acknowledgements; his mother did not.”
The White House told ABC News that it has no comment.
[ Stocks end worst month of 2012... get that inept fraud out of the White House ]
WORST MONTH OF 2012
3:17PM: U.S. stocks straddle breakeven line, on track to end a wretched month on lackluster note. More
WORST MONTH OF 2012
3:17PM: U.S. stocks straddle breakeven line, on track to end a wretched month on lackluster note. More
[ We're at the brink of another nasty recession, and the ass-clown in the White House is flying a barber from Chicago to Wash DC every two weeks. Way to lead by example you fucking shit-stain ]
Report: Obama Flies Special Barber To WH Every Two Weeks
http://nation.foxnews.com/barack-ob...ecial-barber-wh-every-two-weeks#ixzz1wU663l13
Youtube Screen Grab
Report: Obama Flies Special Barber to WH Every Two Week
Reports have surfaced that President Barack Obama is very loyal to his barber. The President is a man of the common people, the report tells its listeners. He hangs out with regular folks, like his barber for example. The President has been using the same Chicago based barber, who goes by the name Zariff, for the past 17 years. According to German Public Radio, the President flies Zariff from Chicago to DC for a trim every two weeks. The president allegedly personally funds these trips. President Obama obviously also does not care much about the massive carbon footprint his haircuts are leaving on our planet which, we are told, is tipping precariously.
The German NDR reporter says: ‘The barber never says a word about what they discuss. Perhaps that’s also a reason why Obama feels comfortable being around him. Otherwise he would not fly his barber in from Chicago to Washington every ten to 14 days.’
Read more: http://nation.foxnews.com/barack-ob...ecial-barber-wh-every-two-weeks#ixzz1wY7oIa9g
Report: Obama Flies Special Barber To WH Every Two Weeks
http://nation.foxnews.com/barack-ob...ecial-barber-wh-every-two-weeks#ixzz1wU663l13
Report: Obama Flies Special Barber to WH Every Two Week
Reports have surfaced that President Barack Obama is very loyal to his barber. The President is a man of the common people, the report tells its listeners. He hangs out with regular folks, like his barber for example. The President has been using the same Chicago based barber, who goes by the name Zariff, for the past 17 years. According to German Public Radio, the President flies Zariff from Chicago to DC for a trim every two weeks. The president allegedly personally funds these trips. President Obama obviously also does not care much about the massive carbon footprint his haircuts are leaving on our planet which, we are told, is tipping precariously.
The German NDR reporter says: ‘The barber never says a word about what they discuss. Perhaps that’s also a reason why Obama feels comfortable being around him. Otherwise he would not fly his barber in from Chicago to Washington every ten to 14 days.’
Read more: http://nation.foxnews.com/barack-ob...ecial-barber-wh-every-two-weeks#ixzz1wY7oIa9g
by Mike Flynn 2 days ago 288post a comment
In recent years, Democrats have argued that requiring voters to show photo IDs prior to voting is an egregious act of voter suppression. Ben Jealous, of the NAACP, has gone so far as to argue that such requirements are tantamount to modern-day Jim Crow laws. In the world they inhabit, lots of voters don't have access to photo IDs, so requiring voters to provide this will "disenfranchise" them and leave them out of the democratic process. Funny they don't feel that way for their own party conventions.
On Saturday, Massachusetts delegates will meet in their state's Democrat party convention. The votes of these delegates will determine whether there are primary elections for their party nominations. With so much at state, Democrats have decided to implement Voter ID requirements:
If the Democrats actually believe the rhetoric from people like Ben Jealous, then they have disenfranchised scores of potential delegates with this photo ID requirement. If, on the other hand, they instituted the photo ID requirement to ensure the integrity of the votes of the party delegates, they should repudiate the NAACP and work to ensure that their own rules carry through election day.
Voter ID is good for me, but not thee is not a winning campaign slogan.
In recent years, Democrats have argued that requiring voters to show photo IDs prior to voting is an egregious act of voter suppression. Ben Jealous, of the NAACP, has gone so far as to argue that such requirements are tantamount to modern-day Jim Crow laws. In the world they inhabit, lots of voters don't have access to photo IDs, so requiring voters to provide this will "disenfranchise" them and leave them out of the democratic process. Funny they don't feel that way for their own party conventions.
On Saturday, Massachusetts delegates will meet in their state's Democrat party convention. The votes of these delegates will determine whether there are primary elections for their party nominations. With so much at state, Democrats have decided to implement Voter ID requirements:
A PHOTO ID WILL BE REQUIRED TO ENTER THE MASSMUTUAL CENTER
Wait, what? Democrats tell us that photo ID requirements disenfranchise minority voters, who, inexplicably, have limited access to photo IDs. Yet, at their own convention, they insist that all delegates provide a photo ID to even have access to the convention floor. When their own party is at state, it seems their priorities are somewhat different that their rhetoric suggests.
If the Democrats actually believe the rhetoric from people like Ben Jealous, then they have disenfranchised scores of potential delegates with this photo ID requirement. If, on the other hand, they instituted the photo ID requirement to ensure the integrity of the votes of the party delegates, they should repudiate the NAACP and work to ensure that their own rules carry through election day.
Voter ID is good for me, but not thee is not a winning campaign slogan.
by Mike Flynn 2 days ago 288post a comment
In recent years, Democrats have argued that requiring voters to show photo IDs prior to voting is an egregious act of voter suppression. Ben Jealous, of the NAACP, has gone so far as to argue that such requirements are tantamount to modern-day Jim Crow laws. In the world they inhabit, lots of voters don't have access to photo IDs, so requiring voters to provide this will "disenfranchise" them and leave them out of the democratic process. Funny they don't feel that way for their own party conventions.
On Saturday, Massachusetts delegates will meet in their state's Democrat party convention. The votes of these delegates will determine whether there are primary elections for their party nominations. With so much at state, Democrats have decided to implement Voter ID requirements:A PHOTO ID WILL BE REQUIRED TO ENTER THE MASSMUTUAL CENTERWait, what? Democrats tell us that photo ID requirements disenfranchise minority voters, who, inexplicably, have limited access to photo IDs. Yet, at their own convention, they insist that all delegates provide a photo ID to even have access to the convention floor. When their own party is at state, it seems their priorities are somewhat different that their rhetoric suggests.
If the Democrats actually believe the rhetoric from people like Ben Jealous, then they have disenfranchised scores of potential delegates with this photo ID requirement. If, on the other hand, they instituted the photo ID requirement to ensure the integrity of the votes of the party delegates, they should repudiate the NAACP and work to ensure that their own rules carry through election day.
Voter ID is good for me, but not thee is not a winning campaign slogan.
The epitome of hypocrisy.
Homeland Security Is Supporting a Gay Pride Celebration & Janet Napolitano Is Getting an Award
On June 7, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is holding a gay-themed event called the June Pride Ceremony. The hour-long gathering, scheduled to take place from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., will feature DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano as a guest speaker, among others. The purpose of the event is to commemorate June Pride Month, while also marking “a year of significant progress for DHS Pride and for the LGBT community.”
Coming soon: PolitiFact's scorecard on the economy
By Louis Jacobson
Published on Friday, June 1st, 2012 at 10:26 a.m.
Share this article:
The presidential campaign is turning into a referendum on the American economy.
President Barack Obama says he’s gotten it back on track, while Republican Mitt Romney says it’s lagging because of a lack of leadership.
To sort out their claims, PolitiFact has created a scorecard — a revealing look at what’s up and what’s down in the U.S. economy since January 2008, a year before Obama took office.
We'll post the scorecard later today on PolitiFact, but for now here are some highlights:
• The unemployment rate has been above 8 percent for 40 consecutive months.
• The number of food stamp beneficiaries rose by 50 percent between October 2008 and February 2012.
• Corporate profits in 2011 were 56 percent higher than they were in 2008.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average has gone up an average of roughly 11 percent per year since Obama took office.
• The weekly average price of gasoline exceeded $4 per gallon for nine weeks in the summer of 2008 and for three weeks in May 2011.
• Residential natural gas prices in February 2012 are at a nine-year low.
• Household debt as a percentage of disposable income is at a 28-year low.
• Mortgage rates in February 2012 fell to their lowest level since Federal Reserve data became available in 1971.
• Prior to 2009, the record annual federal deficit was less than half a trillion dollars, in 2008. In each of the three subsequent years — 2009, 2010 and 2011 — it has exceeded $1 trillion, with 2012 expected to exceed that level as well.
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'Fast & Furious' — and FRUSTRATED
Tense exchange as Attorney General Eric Holder gives series of 'I don't know' answers to House Judiciary Committee probing whether he or anybody else in the Justice Department told the White House about so-called 'gunwalking' tactics.
