Anna Wintour, the Vogue editor that hosted Obama’s supporters in her New York townhouse and who recently co-hosted a $35,000 per person fundraiser at Hollywood movie mogul Harvey Weinstein’s home, is heading up the venture. In the past, Wintour’s tony political functions were attended by the likes of Alicia Keys and $70,000 dinner power couple Coldplay singer Chris Martin and his actress wife, the “suddenly everywhere” Miramax “muse,” Gwyneth Paltrow.

So with Wintour now raising reelection funds, you can just forget the $5 raffle tickets for a hot dog dinner with Barry and Shelley. Instead, the campaign will be hawking designer duds to people who, last time around, were in such dire straits they hoped the new president would fill their gas tank and pay their mortgage.

For her latest effort, Anna Wintour has recruited Hollywood notables, designers, pop and hip-hop artists, and other all-around really rich people to raise money for Barack 2012 by designing overpriced T-shirts, tank tops, scarves, wristlets, and bags to sell at inflated prices to people who, in the midst of an Obama recession, really can’t afford them.

Thus, “Runway to Win” is yet another example that Barack Obama and his helpful circle of elite Hollywood friends and Seventh Avenue designer devotees are all pretty much insulated from reality, out of touch, and oblivious to the plight of the common man.

Recently, in order to make a point that a $40 tax cut is needed in order to feed starving American families, Obama asked the question: “What does $40 Mean to You?” Most Americans were probably thinking warehouse club paper towels and lunch for two at Taco Bell, not $45 T-shirts.

Unlike them, Obama was thinking T-shirts!  Apparently, the budget-minded President is comfortable with Mrs. Jay-Z, barely off the delivery table and out of the special maternity suite with the 10-man security team at Lenox Hill Hospital, designing cotton tee jerseys for impoverished Americans.

Beyonce’s creation stands to pull down a hefty profit for merchandise that’s actually worth no more than $5. For 45 bucks, clotheshorses all along the “Flaws and All” campaign trail, instead of buying groceries, will have a chance to wear a cheap quality “Yes we can… Greater Together” T-shirt.

New mom Beyonce is only one of many slobbering Obama supporters who will be joining forces to produce a trendsetting Barack Obama clothing line for 2012.

Thanks to all the participants, Obama for America supporters will have an opportunity to parade around with an Obama-logo tote bag while wearing clothing that shouts to the world that just because a person’s been unemployed for more than three years doesn’t mean they don’t want to contribute to four more years of watching Michelle Obama wear $2,000 sundresses.

For most Americans, splurging means shopping at Target. In the meantime, while the 99% eat Spaghetti-Os for dinner, the “Runway to Win” list of designers reads like a Who’s Who of attendees at White House Wednesday-night Kobe-beef Conga/cocktail parties.  The list is a couture catalog of who dresses Mrs. Obama in outfits whose one-year cost, when totaled, tallies to an amount that could save 1.2 million American homes from being foreclosed.

Some of the 22 designers participating in the effort are: Russell Simmons, billionaire business magnate of Def Jam fame; Sean “Diddy” Combs, another billionaire, rapper, and record producer who’s also recognizable by the names Sean John Combs, Puff Daddy, and P. Diddy; and even Tory Burch, the designer of the $500 boots Michelle wore to turn over the White House lawn when instructing Americans on the money-saving benefits of planting an at-home organic vegetable garden.

Many of Michelle Obama’s highbrow clothes designers will also be contributing to the effort: Narciso Rodriguez, Jason Wu, Alexander Wang, Joseph Altuzarra, Rag and Bone, Rachel Roy and Tracy Reese.

For those wanting a “first access pass,” on the tongue-in-cheek “Proudly made in America” campaign blog is the following announcement:

We’re launching something new, and a little different, over the next few weeks: Runway to Win, a collaboration by some of the country’s top fashion designers in support of Obama 2012. In the coming weeks, we’ll be rolling out Obama-inspired designs by everyone from Tracy Reese to Jason Wu to Tory Burch at runwaytowin.com. The details are still under wraps, but sign up for your First Access pass to get updates—and a first look at the new designs. Then invite your friends and family to do the same.

The truth is, any designer invested in Obama winning another term is probably secretly hoping their names will continue to be printed on the tags of what fills Mrs. Obama’s sartorially-stuffed clothes closet.

On the other hand, previous Obama supporters like Donna Karan, who participated in 2008, decided this year their idea of change would be to put Republican customers and capitalism first. Apparently, some decided to bow out because maintaining a customer base means more to them than being introduced by Scarlett Johansson at an Obama 2012 fashion show/fund raiser.

So, while Americans continue to suffer, big-name fashion designers and a diverse group of entrepreneurs like ‘Let’s Move’-Beyonce will be directly involved in “Runway to Win.” And yet, aside from the all the glitter and glamour, in light of 2008’s “Runway to Change,” the whole thing is really a bit scary. Why? Because if “change” is any indication of what four years of “winning” will be like, instead of walking the runway, if Mr. Fashionista manages to win a second term, America will more likely be walking the plank.

The list contains celebrities you’d expect to see listed. Singers Marc Anthony, Jay-Z and Fergie, NBA players Vince Carter and Grant Hill, CEO Warren Buffett, and the well known “philanthropist” Chelsea Clinton (she’s described as a philanthropist on the list) all made the cut. None of this is too surprising until you scroll on down and find Nick, Joe, and Kevin Jonas listed as “surrogates” for Obama’s re-election.

Upon seeing their names, my first thought was: “Wow, children’s television stars. I guess after they teach our kids how to count they can teach them to vote for Obama.” After all, kids are their target audience, as the kinds of awards they’re nominated for demonstrate. Just last year Nick and Joe Jonas were nominated for Kids’ Choice Awards in the Best TV Actor category, and Joe received “two nominations at the 2011 Teen Choice Awards: one of which was ‘choice male hottie.’” I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried, folks.

But upon further reflection, the hypocrisy of the Jonas Brothers’ support for Obama simply wasn’t funny anymore.

For here are three kids, now young men, who live sheltered, cushy lives and who “made it” musically only because the Disney Channel force-fed them down the throats of viewers after signing them to a Disney record label, Hollywood records, in 2007. Yet they’re supporting a President who spends 99 percent of his time talking about how advantaged people who live sheltered, cushy lives are not paying their fair share.

Think about it: When Nick Jonas celebrated his 16th birthday in Sept. 2008, he did so by playing baseball with his brothers and some friends in Dodgers Stadium. The cost for doing this for two hours was about $30,000.

Don’t get me wrong; I have no problem with people being rich. As a matter of fact, I wish everyone were able to be rich and spend thirty thousand dollars for a two-hour birthday bash. However, we should all have a problem with a bunch of kids, now young men, who support a President who’s doing everything in his power to change our economy so that it’s and harder to become rich, especially when these kids are some of the very ones who benefited from the kinds of help Obama calls “unfair.”

The bottom line: the list of 194 makes it clear that once the Jonas Brothers pick up their Kids’ Choice Awards and finish teaching your kids how to count, they’re going to encourage them to vote for Obama.

What child doesn’t need a $20,000 crib?

That’s just the tip of the one-percent iceberg regarding the riches the rapper’s daughter received since her much-publicized debut.

Since entering the world of music royalty five days ago, 7-pound Blue Ivy Carter has collected a cache of presents from her parents and their celebrity pals, including media queen Oprah Winfrey.

The newborn’s superstar father plunked down $20,000 on a Posh Tots Carriage Fantasy Crib made of solid cedar and birch. A rear luggage rack doubles as a changing table.

And then there is the $285 Jean Paul Gaultier silk dress to burp on, sources told the Daily News….

The new parents have also been inundated with gifts from the likes of Sean (Diddy) Combs, Kanye West, Rihanna, Mary J. Blige and Mariah Carey, the source said.

The Daily News reports news that Jay-Z bought his daughter a $600,000 gold horse simply aren’t true. If Jay-Z is in the market for gold goodies, he can always turn to fellow Occupy sympathizer Russell Simmons.

But lavish gifts may not have been the only perks of being Jay-Z’s kiddie. The New York State Health Department has launched a probe into reports that security surrounding the birth of Blue Ivy Carter prevented other parents in the hospital where she was born from seeing their own new babies.

Jay-Z, whose worth is estimated at a half billion dollars, told CNN Money recently that he’s perfectly fine with sharing more of his income. He just wants to be sure it’s going toward noble efforts. Let’s assume he doesn’t mean propping up failing solar panel companies.

“I wouldn’t mind paying more taxes if it went to the things that really mattered. If it went to education, people [in] poverty and if it went to the right things,” the rapper and producer … said on CNNMoney. “It should be clearly defined … where all the money’s being allocated. Because you can understand paying so much for taxes and then things not improving, you’re like, where’s everything going to?”

There is one way Jay-Z, who loves Occupy Wall Street so much he created an OWS line of shirts without letting the movement in on the profits, can see his money go directly to worthwhile causes. Start researching the best nonprofits in a given field and, when you’ve found one with little overhead costs and tangible results, write one very, very large check.

The hip hop mogul just released a new line of shirts from his Rocawear collection that offers a sartorial shoutout to the rancorous OWS types. But so far he’s keeping all the profits to himself. That’s a no-no in OWS circles:

A Rocawear spokesperson told the publication: “The ‘Occupy All Streets’ T-shirt was created in support of the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ movement. Rocawear strongly encourages all forms of constructive expression, whether it be artistic, political or social. ‘Occupy All Streets’ is our way of reminding people that there is change to be made everywhere, not just on Wall Street. At this time we have not made an official commitment to monetarily support the movement.”

Let’s see what kind of reception he gets the next time he tries to mingle with the OWS faithful.

He may never reach the heights of Dora the Explorer or SpongeBob SquarePants, but Warren E. Buffett is back in 2D. And this time he gets some help from the rapper Jay-Z.

In a break from deal-making, the Oracle of Omaha is once again starring in “Secret Millionaires Club,” a rebooted animated Web series that follows the adventures of a group of kids as they tackle financial emergencies, like low-performing lemonade stands and troubled bicycle shops. The club, which meets in a “secret” bunker outfitted with hidden laptops, is led by a trusty financial wizard. Who? Well, Mr. Buffett, of course.

“I saw an opportunity to have a good time and maybe get a fair number of kids in this country started with the right financial habits,” Mr. Buffett told DealBook on Tuesday. “Learning at the starting line is so important.”

Mr. Buffett is not the only well-known mogul to lend his voice to the project. The rapper Jay-Z, or “Jay” as Mr. Buffett calls him, also makes a cameo in one of the clips. “It was not a tough sell, believe me,” Mr. Buffett said, citing the musician’s interest in financial education and his chops as a wealthy entrepreneur.

Video after the break:

“He’s a real business man, I’m just pretending,” Mr. Buffett said with a chuckle.

The series, which originally appeared on the Web in 2009, was co-founded by Mr. Buffett and Andrew Heyward, creator of “Inspector Gadget” and head of A Squared Entertainment. It is part of a larger education program aimed at improving financial literacy among children. Beyond the Web series, the initiative includes an online portal, a business competition for children and a television show adapted from the online episodes, which will start running on the Hub cable network on Oct. 23.

Read the full article here.

Now that that’s out of the way, Kanye West has a new album out, and it’s pretty darn good.  Not as good as all the other critics are managing to say once their spit glands dry up, but pretty darn good.  Entitled My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, aka “The Kanye album with the naked armless chick,” which everyone will call it in 6 months cuz that title is just truly dumb, West’s latest work is, as always, an ode to himself, his career, and how much his success invalidates the people who hate him.  That’s narcissistic, you may say, and you’re right.  West’s music has always been about the tension between his pride and vulnerability, the brief flickers of soul and morality from his Christian upbringing vs. the pleasures and temptations brought on by his considerable skill.

The latter has caused him a ton of personal trouble, from simultaneously dealing with a broken engagement and seeing his mother die from cosmetic surgery complications to becoming Public Enemy #1 after his VMA rant launched the “I’mma let you finish” meme.  And for how admittedly flawed he is, this latest album further cements how skilled he is, working as both producer and vocalist– quite a rarity in the hip-hop world.  He claims to “do the rap and the track– triple, double, no assist” on “Monster,” but in reality, he often does concede the mic to guests, acting more as an emcee or ringmaster than a spotlight hog.  More contradictions– one of the biggest egos in rap is also one of the most generous collaborators.

The primary theme of the album is the value of expression and the human voice itself, with West fusing together the roles of vocalist and producer.  Opener “Dark Fantasy” prominently features a heavily-layered chorus with strong pitch straightening and octave shifting, and the use of multi-layered and sampled choruses continue through “Power,” “All of the Lights,” the intro and outro of “Monster,” and the penultimate track “Lost in the World,” which gloriously expands a vocal sample from Justin Vernon of Bon Iver. Vernon describes his collaboration with West, claiming “some of the stuff I was doing with my voice was more weird and instrumental– basically building what would sound like a synth part with vocals.”  That experimentation shows up with West himself, who concludes the ballad “Runaway” with a heavily distorted, auto-tuned vocal track, shattering the distinction between singer and instrument.  It’s obviously nothing incredibly novel, but it’s an affecting expression of his view of his role in the music world.

—–

While his songcraft has progressed well, West also shows he can still rap after singing his way through 2008’s 808s & Heartbreak, cycling through bravado, arrogance, humor, and soulfulness.  The first released track “Power” shows West discussing the ups and downs of his celebrity– an unapologetic ode to his pride that somehow culminates in him contemplating suicide.  In “Monster,” West riffs on his bad reputation, bringing in Jay-Z and song stealer Nicki Minaj, who obviously relish the goofy old-school monster movie imagery they present (the song was first released right before Halloween).  The song builds and builds through the dynamic performances of each guest, bolstered by some no-frills pounding drums to create a song that’s so full of pure fun, you don’t even notice it’s almost 7 minutes long.

However, some songs are still unable to overcome weaknesses in the rap genre.  ”Gorgeous” and “So Appalled” repeat a single ho-hum, mid-tempo loop through their entire runs, which would be fine if their vocal performances were dynamic enough to keep our attention.  The Kanye-to-mumbly-singers-and-back structure of “Gorgeous” turns it into a snoozefest, and unlike “Monster,” we lose interest as more and more guests show up on “So Appalled.”  Take away these songs, and the album loses nothing; it becomes tighter, less unwieldy.  To find a good metaphor for the album as a whole, I only need to look to “Devil in a New Dress:”  a near-perfect exercise in experimental soul gets dragged down by totally unnecessary content (in “Devil”’s case, a mood-crushing guest verse by Rick Ross).  Even the hype magnet “Runaway,” to clinch its cloying sentimentality, is bogged down by an extended instrumental coda that virtually doubles the length of the track.

And aside from the musical missteps, there are some moments of lyrical facepalms.  There’s the dopey assertion that the government intentionally spreads AIDS among blacks.  There’s a sampled monologue where Gil Scott-Heron calls America the result of Freedom raping Africa and giving it VD… or something.  There’s West’s (and virtually all of rap’s) trademark lasciviousness that presents itself in new and even more perverted ways, which further undercuts his professed Christianity (“pussy and religion is all I need,” he crows on “Hell of a Life” while delving into the juvenile fantasy that porn stars really like getting raped all the time and want their marriages exactly like their careers).

George Bush's unlikely defender.

It’s kind of disappointing to see, after the introspection of 808s, West has swung back the other way to a level of prurience he hasn’t indulged in before.  That said, he does conjure some genuinely emotionally compelling moments:  “Lost in the World” responds to malaise with optimism, “All of the Lights” oddly fuses a memorial for Michael Jackson with the career-long pathos West has maintained for the issues working-class people experience, and “Blame Game” takes a filthy Chris Rock comedy monologue and makes it a poignant bookend to a song about the profound pain of a breakup.

I’ve gained a healthy respect for Kanye West as an artist and a person, revisiting his earlier catalog around the time he began releasing weekly tracks from his “Dark Fantasy” sessions.  The man has used his microphone to talk about whatever he thinks is important as honestly and as skillfully as he can.  His “George Bush hates black people” crack wasn’t a poseur move made to get “in” with the establishment media; it was a genuine moment of uninformed, misguided rage (which I’m sure none of us have ever succumbed to… ever).  More importantly, he was able to empathize with Bush, admit he was wrong, and defend the man’s humanity when the majority of West’s audience probably isn’t satisfied unless W. is portrayed with both a Hitler mustache and a noose around his neck.

Between these sorts of in-concert rants and his Twitter feed, West’s quick rebound in public esteem can be chalked up to his PR-bypassing connection with fans, where his self-effacing genuineness charmed us into forgetting “I’mma let you finish.”  I can’t speak for everyone, but I know I’ll embrace a disgraced honest screw-up rather than a disgraced fake, calculated goody-goody.

But personal issues aside, West is still on his top game, making great music by taking chances and expanding his musical palette.  Despite falling into the common foibles of rap and leaving in too much filler, he’s doing his best to transcend the genre and make, in his own words, “pop art”– experimental music with universal appeal.  It’s worth a listen, if you don’t believe that rap is a musical genre with no artistic merit.  If you do, how have you made it this far?

For which group is there more evidence of members assenting to racist comments:  the Tea Party or the NAACP?  

While the national leftist media outlets continue to fall over themselves trying to figure out a spin on the story that sticks, we at Big Hollywood thought we’d double down with some analysis of the NAACP’s treatment of racism in the entertainment industry.

For 41 years, the NAACP has awarded “Image” awards to black entertainers who achieve excellence in the arts.  Despite its rightful role in celebrating the accomplishments of people of color in the arts, the awards show has also been beset by controversy.  Several nominees and winners of awards have engaged in openly racist behavior.  For example, Jamie Foxx, a winner of multiple NAACP Image awards, called Miley Cyrus a “little white bitch” who should “catch chlamydia on a bicycle seat.”  The NAACP has yet to comment on Foxx’s remarks.  Going beyond hatred for one white person, rapper Ice Cube released a song in 1993 titled “Enemy,” with lyrics that state:

[Referring to Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech]

You gonna grow old holdin’ crackers’ hands
Before you hold each others’ hands?
You gonna walk with your enemy
Before you learn to walk with one another?
How sick can you be? …
Please don’t [shoot] til you see the whites of his eyes,
The whites of his skin, the whites of his lies.

Two years later, Ice Cube was nominated for an Image award for his role in the film Higher Learning.

His other songs are reprehensible as well. “No Vaseline” makes derogatory statements about Jews, but the actual focus of the song revolves around anally raping and shooting/lynching his former N.W.A. colleagues.  “Black Korea” is unabashedly racist against Asian-Americans.  After peppering the song with slurs (“Oriential one-penny counting motherfuckers,” “little Chinese motherfucker,” “your chop suey ass”), Mr. Cube says, “So pay respect to the black fist/ Or we’ll burn your store right down to a crisp.”  Sounds a little too close for comfort to the racially incendiary art of another Image award winner. No NAACP statement has ever been made condemning his endorsement of racially motivated violence.

As is commonly criticized in rap lyrics, the “N” word is all too often used and abused.  Jay-Z and Whoopi Goldberg have each stated that they use the term to delineate brotherhood and try to co-opt its original hateful meaning, which I understand completely.  I can’t count the number of times I’ve called myself an evil neocon in jest, attempting to turn a stupid pejorative into a word with no power to intimidate or silence any person by grouping him or her with a label that immediately assigns hate and ostracism.  But in rap music, the use of “n*gger” is often derogatory, not uplifting.  Consider lyrics from Image award winners R. Kelly, Tupac Shakur, and—oh yes, nominee Jay-Z.  Perpetuating the “N” word’s use as a hateful and demeaning slur against African Americans is exactly what the NAACP should be denouncing, not rewarding.

And for these artists, the racially insensitive expressions are not limited to lyrics themselves.  In the music video for “Run This Town,” a collaboration between Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Rihanna (all three are Image winners & nominees), the artists lead a flame-engulfed riot, dressed in outfits similar to groups that promote racially motivated violence:  the PLO (keffiyehs), the KKK (pointed hoods—but they’re black!), and the Black Panthers (plain, all-black shirt & pants with black beret—but, of course, this could just be a reference to beatniks, right?).

And, to top it all off, this past year the NAACP gave an Image award to Van Jones, the former Green Jobs Czar who casually singled out “white polluters,” stereotyped that “only white suburban kids shoot up schools,” and decried Israel’s “occupation” of Israel.  Benjamin Jealous gave Jones the NAACP President’s Award at the 41st annual Image Awards.  “Van Jones is an American treasure,” he reasoned. 

—–

Now, the temptation here is to use the tactics of the left, to declare these men and women wholly bad and to disregard any artistry, charity, or basic humanity for which they should be shown respect.  To do that, or to label the NAACP as an organization that tolerates and welcomes racism as the Left has labeled the Tea Party movement, would be disingenuous and irresponsible.  One person making racist statements or statements construed as racism indicates nothing about the people who constitute the majority of and define the values of a group.  But let’s look at how said majority has reacted to racism in both the Tea Party and the NAACP.

This last April 15th, a small movement of agent provocateurs mobilized to try and embarrass Tea Partiers at nationwide protests.  In several locations, individuals espousing white supremacy or other hateful sentiments were booed and forced away from the crowd.  Whether these people were leftists trying to forge some evidence for the “Tea Partiers are Racist” meme or genuine racists trying to piggyback off the Tea Party’s popularity, the overwhelming majority of Tea Party members showed that racism has no place in their movement. 

Compare this with the NAACP’s reaction to clear racism in both the political and entertainment world.  Ms. Sherrod’s remarks, before revealing her change of heart, were greeted by her audience with murmurs of approval, chuckles, and absolutely no objections.  Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s audience has been a tad more enthusiastic in response to his hateful comments, with no rebuke from Mr. Jealous’ organization.  The NAACP has nominated the aforementioned artists for Image awards, given them the prizes—sometimes more than once—and never once condemned their openly hateful speech.  At the very least, even if the opportunity to deny an artist a nomination has passed, the organization could issue a statement saying that such behavior is not appropriate for those who have been honored with Image awards. 

The NAACP ought to hold those it designates as role models for the black community to higher standards than this.  If it continues to ignore the propagation of racially incendiary and violent expression, the group has no leg to stand on when condemning the Tea Party.

Jay-Z, Beyonce in the White House Situation Room

Jay-Z has been a huge supporter of the president’s since March of 2008, and recently declared that Britain needs its own Obama to cure its nation’s ills. Unfortunately, he—along with the majority of the Black community—has put blind faith in the president even though his political ideology and the America he intends to create in his image, completely dispels his belief that “Barack Obama ran so all the children could fly”.

First, Obama has been the most pro-abortion, pro-infanticide president in this nation’s history. As a legislator, Obama supported infanticide on a number of occasions, and as president he’s signed several pieces of abortion legislation including a repeal of the Mexico City Policy, which prohibited government funding to be provided to overseas abortion providers. According to the Centers for Disease Control, Black women have 37% of this nation’s abortions, and since the passing of Roe v. Wade, nearly 20,000,000 Black babies have been denied the God-given right to life.

Second, Obama has staked his claim as the Unemployment and Handout President. As such, he’s directing an agenda that is continuously squeezing the private sector. Individuals and families lack the resources they need to consume, and in turn, the lack of demand is forestalling the incentive for businesses to hire and make other expansive investments. As a result, the Black community has been hit the hardest by the nation’s prolonged, high unemployment problem; their unemployment rate is sitting at nearly double that of Whites.

Third, it was Jay-Z who said in his remix of Young Jeezy’s “My President Is Black”:

“no more war, no more Iraq, no more White lies, the president is black!” 

As president, Obama has extended the Patriot Act, implemented Bush’s suggested surge strategy in Afghanistan, and his withdrawal plan for troops in Iraq isn’t what he advertised on the campaign trail, but you won’t find any records from Jay-Z decrying the president’s actions.

Lastly, with last year’s Omnibus Appropriations Bill, Congress ended the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, which provides over 1,000 children—90% of them Black—with the opportunity to attend private schools instead of failing public schools in their districts. If Obama wanted these children to fly, he could have vetoed the bill, and he had two legitimate reasons to do so: one, the provision to end the program, and two, it violated his campaign pledge to not sign legislation filled with earmarks—there were thousands of them in the bill. But, voucher programs shine a light on the failure of the Teachers’ Union, and Obama’s allegiance is stronger to teachers than it is to children.

How can Jay-Z turn a blind-eye to this myriad of issues?

We must remember, as he’s rhymed in the past, “I’m not a businessman; I’m a business, man!”

Through his music, he’s continuously flaunting his accessibility to the president—who has an average monthly approval rating from Blacks exceeding 90%—which serves as a reminder of just how far he’s come from Brooklyn’s Marcy Projects.

But Jay-Z doesn’t seem to realize that the association between the rapper and the president allows Obama to use him to further solidify his own celebrity and street credibility, while his credibility wanes.  He should be just as outspoken about the president’s governance as he was his predecessor’s because even though he will never be detrimentally affected by the creation of Obama’s America; unfortunately, many Blacks will.

Add singer Beyoncé Knowles to that list:

On Sunday, Mediaite reported that singer Beyoncé Knowles had given a private New Year’s Eve performance for an exclusive crowd in St. Barth — and made the case that she had performed and been paid by relatives of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi (variously known as Khadafy, Qaddafi, Quadhafi and more). Atlanta-based blogger Necole Bitchie reported a $2 million fee; the UK Mirror reported a “six-figure sum” and yesterday Media Takeout made the same claim, repeating the $2 million number and confirming the Gaddafi-hosted party from a guest who was there (hip-hop impresario Russell Simmons also placed Beyoncé at a “Khadafy party.” Today Page Six confirms our original report, with one new piece of information: the party was thrown by Moutassim Gaddafi, known as Hannibal, son of the Libyan dictator who less than a week before made headlines for allegedly attacking his wife in a London hotel.

As far as I know, Beyoncé is not some washed-up has-been who’s been relegated to hawking skin care products and jewelry on infomercials or shilling for casino resorts in Las Vegas. She’s still at the top of her game, commanding big bucks on the legitimate concert circuit, in music sales and from corporate endorsements.

Did she really need to accept the reported $2 million paycheck from the family of Gaddafi?

Gaddafi has long been suspected of harboring terrorists. You’ll recall, of course, that Libya produced the creep who was responsible for the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988 – well before plane bombing had become all the rage amongst jihadists - murdering a total of 270 people in the air and on the ground. And Scotland, in its infinite wisdom, recently released the convicted bomber due to his supposed impending death from cancer. He not only received a hero’s welcome  upon his arrival back in Libya (orchestrated, no doubt, by Gaddafi himself) but instead of going home or to the hospital to die surrounded by family and friends, he disappeared.

As Gomer Pyle might say, “Surprise, surprise, surprise!”

Gaddafi, the jewel of the Muslim world, also claims that Israel is to blame for all the conflicts in Africa, and his new buddy is Venezuelan “president for life” Hugo Chavez. You know, Chavez, who isn’t nearly as impressed with Obama as Gaddafi is and made the same reference to sulfur with regard to Obama as he did with Bush. Chavez, the guy who’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s new BFF and who is trying to flex his muscles down in Latin America. Chavez, the guy who is busy taking over as much of the private sector in Venezuela as possible. (That’s probably a plus for him, according to libs.)

Maybe Beyoncé has a soft spot for Gaddafi and his kin because Gaddafi is a big fan of The One (just like she is):

But when it came to America’s 44th president, Gaddafi offered only warm words, calling him “our son” and “our Obama,” and saying, “The election of Obama is the beginning of change.”

“We are content and happy if Obama can stay forever as the president,” Gaddafi said during a rambling, 95-minute speech during which he read from notes, exhausted at least one of his interpreters, threw the U.N. schedule into disarray, and put much of his audience to sleep.

Or maybe she’s just stupid.

But it’s not just Beyoncé who deserves recognition here: according to the Mediaite link above, others at the New Year’s Eve shindig include her hubby Jay-Z, Lindsay Lohan, Jon Bon Jovi, Usher, BET founder Bob Johnson and supermodels Miranda Kerr and Victoria Slivstedt. And let’s not forget Mariah Carey, who sang at last year’s party (along with Jay-Z), which was hosted by Gaddafi’s brother.

How pathetic that these people’s need for adoration and exclusivity outweighs their common sense, dignity and national pride.

Stalin would be proud.