Just like four years ago, another group of legendary Obama 1 percent supporters have stepped forward to lend a creative hand to help the President raise money for his 2012 bid for reelection. Last time around it was “Runway to Change.” This time the design-for-Obama group effort has been dubbed “Runway to Win.”

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.

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While the length of a Profiles in C̶o̶u̶r̶a̶g̶e̶ Liberal Hypocrisy compendium would rival War and Peace at this point, every now and again one such story surfaces so as to merit a collective “what?!” from the free-thinking masses.

Guess what tycoon is Occupy Wall Street’s most vocal supporter and fervently in attendance at its events, eagerly addressing the crowds and speaking to the media on its behalf? Yes, Russell Simmons, a.k.a. Uncle Rush, the hip-hop mogul with uber-cool credentials and author of SuperRich: The Guide to Having it All (yes, you read that title correctly, and no, it is not by The Donald). Thanks in large part to his founding the wildly successful Def Jam record label and Phat Farm clothing line, Simmons’ net worth exceeds a whopping $300 million. A true American success story!

Hang on, though.

The Occupy movement is, first and foremost, about income inequality and the so-called “need” for wealth redistribution, as evidenced by its “we are the 99%” slogan and its angrily protesting outside notable 1%ers’ homes. So, what is a rollin’-in-cash 1%er doing at an Occupy rally? Need I even type out the phrase “inherent contradiction”?  Reading about Russell and his “support” for Occupy, I had one of my Mugatu breakdown moments (i.e., “Doesn’t anyone notice this?! I feel like I’m taking crazy pills!!!”). (more…)

Russell Simmons can’t stop loving the Occupy Wall Street movement.

The hip-hop impresario recently told The Huffington Post that it’s his “moral duty” to support the nascent movement, a veritable “revolution” that represents his most important work to date. What, more important than installing a gold toilet in your home? C’mon, that’s crazy!

Here’s Simmons’ response to a question on why a 1 percenter like himself cares so much for the 99 percent types:

It’s part of human kindness and I feel it is my moral duty to do this. You give what you get. I want to do what I can to relieve suffering and improve the quality of other’s lives. A yogi’s commitment to life is to relieve suffering, protect all beings and improve the quality of life for all.

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Man, could anything be worse than getting heckled by a beautiful woman?

By the way, have you seen Russell Simmons’ gold toilet?

He of the $350 million, he of the gold toilet, he of the Rush Card that exploits the poor is only fooling the willfully stupid MSM, not the Occupiers.

Must-see video below the fold….

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You would think MTV would ask Simmons about the questions surrounding his Rush Card.

MTV:

So what if Russell Simmons is rich? The hip-hop mogul doesn’t believe that takes away from his support of the Occupy movement in the least bit. For the Def Jam co-founder, it doesn’t matter if he is part of the 1 percent — ultimately all he wants is to be part of the solution.

“I can’t show solidarity with the people that are suffering?” Rush asked MTV News rhetorically. “I just don’t want to have corporations control our government, I want a better democracy. I’m part of the 100 percent. If they’re suffering, I’m suffering with them.”

Russell, who has spent much of his career fighting social injustice, wrote a blog on his Global Grind website in September asking the U.S. government to raise his taxes in an effort to reverse the effects of the economic recession. “For far too long in this country we have allowed the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer,” he wrote.

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Obviously feeling the sting from those of us who have pointed out that there’s a very simple way to fulfill your own burning desire to pay more in taxes, gazillionaire Russell Simmons tried to explain his way out of that with this nonsense:

The conservatives always say to me, would I, why don’t I just write a check for more taxes.  … Well, no, I won’t give my money to war machine and to other things, but if it will help the education and the health care for people who are locked out, of course I want to pay more taxes.

Oh, so that’s the hold up. He only wants to pay more taxes if those taxes are directed towards what he believes in. Unfortunately, that is not how taxes work and you can bet Simmons know this. But he lacks the moral courage to speak the truth and say he doesn’t want to pay more taxes.  Furthermore, a gift to the Treasury doesn’t fund anything. It helps to pay down the national debt. So Simmons doesn’t even have his facts straight.

Hit PLAY and hold your nose. The hypocrisy is strong with this one:

What a weaselly, pathetic excuse.

And naturally this raging hypocrite wouldn’t dream of giving the rest of us the choice of where our taxes go to, because I can assure you that all of mine would be directed towards the “war machine” and not a penny would go towards a drug of dependency known as welfare. 

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Capitalism has been pretty darned good to hip-hop star Kanye West and music mogul Russell Simmons. But the pair worked the millionaire-bashing Occupy Wall Street crowd this week all the same, enjoying the kind of welcome usually reserved for unwashed anarchists.

West, reportedly wearing his signature accoutrement, couldn’t stay long since he was quickly mobbed by the masses. Simmons reflected on his time with the protest on his blog Global Grind:

“It was amazing to see how people loved seeing Kanye West at Occupy Wall Street. His music and his art has always been about the voice and the power of the people. Kanye just wanted to come down and experience the growing movement that has opened the eyes of many around this country and around the world of the struggles of poor people. The energy at Liberty Plaza was electrifying and the momentum to get the money out of politics is growing quickly.”

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All these millionaire celebrities running around begging to have their taxes raised are nothing more than hypocritical posers. How many pursue write-offs every year? How many donate the amount of money they say they want to pay in taxes to the Treasury — which is a very, very easy thing  to do.

Whatever happened to live the change you want?

Newsbusters:

As FNC’s Geraldo Rivera appeared in New York City for his Geraldo at Large show on Sunday night to give attention to the Occupy Wall Street protests, participant and music mogul Russell Simmons sparred with FBN’s Charles Payne after Simmons complained that his taxes were too low and claimed that his employees pay more taxes then he does.

When Payne jumped in to suggest, “you could have written an extra check,” Simmons shot back: “Why am I gonna write a, that’s a dumb thing.”

Payne mocked Simmons’s refusal by cracking, “Because you feel patriotic.”

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Few things make us happier than “Factor” producer Jesse Watters, a video camera, and a hypocritical Obama-supporting celebrity:

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When Russell Simmons recently said, “Donald Trump is not a racist,” I thought it was a nice gesture. Although Simmons was stating the obvious — we’ve all watched Trump on television for years, and unless he’s really good at hiding ulterior motivations, it’s always been clear that race is not an important issue to him – it was good to see Simmons stand up for a friend’s reputation.  However, the same thing cannot be said about Simmons’ recent support for Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr., a.k.a. “Common,” one of the guests who joined President Obama in celebrating “poetry and prose” at a White House last night.

Simply put, whereas Simmons’ defense of Trump was well-received because Trump’s past doesn’t contain even a hint of racist tendencies, his attempts to gloss over Common’s participation in a White House event are untenable.

Why?

Well, for starters, Common is another disciple of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. You remember Rev. Wright don’t you? He’s the one who cursed America in God’s name and then implied that terrorist attacks against us were proof that “America’s chickens were coming home to roost.” (Of course, in a perverted way it makes sense that Common would be going to the White House as the President himself is another Rev. Wright disciple: the only difference being that Common admits and maintains his ties to Wright while Obama tries to downplay his.)

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Ashley Judd’s no conservative, that’s for sure, but the predicted backlash has already begun. Here’s where it started – excerpts from her memoir:

Along with other performers, YouthAIDS was supported by rap and hip-hop artists like Snoop Dogg and P. Diddy to spread the message…um, who? Those names were a red flag.

“As far as I’m concerned, most rap and hip-hop music — with it’s rape culture and insanely abusive lyrics and depictions of girls and women as ‘ho’s’ — is the contemporary soundtrack of misogyny.

“I believe that the social construction of gender — the cultural beliefs and practices that divide the sexes and institutionalize and normalize the unequal treatment of girls and women, privilege the interests of boys and men, and, most nefariously, incessantly sexualize girls and women — is the root cause of poverty and suffering around the world.”

After the backlash hit, Judd got in touch with rap mogul Russell Simmons. He interviewed her for his website. To her credit she didn’t appear to back down:

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Rap mogul and purple-prosed hyperbolist Russell Simmons over at the HuffPo:

If [Keith Olbermann] goes we lose the Edward Murrow of our generation, the voice that spits truth to power and vested interests. I have devoted my entire adult life to truth telling. Without Olbermann, MSNBC can’t survive — and the voice of progress will fall to the dark ages, when one unholy church dictated a fictional version of the truth.

When exactly did one unholy church dictate the truth? Prior to the creation of talk radio, the Internet and Fox News, we remember the one unholy church of left-wing newsmen disguised as sober, objective reporters, but our guess is that that’s probably not what Simmons mean — our guess is that Simmons has no idea what he means.

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Once again over at the HuffPo, Russell Simmons writes like a pretentious flower child begging to have his guitar smashed. Here are the ridicule-able highlights:

It is said in the yogic scripture that in or order to really change the mind of another person, you must first learn to love them. …

What journalists like Michelle Malkin, Andrew Breitbert and countless other conservatives have made their money on, is the ability to distract their audiences from the real issue, by focusing on the most insignificant portion of the opposing argument. This is exactly what they did when I spoke on Larry King last week about the Muslim community center in Lower Manhattan, Park 51, as they harped on a ten-second mistake I made from a twenty minute interview[.] …

But when the bombs came from the Right Wing media and public opinion turned, I saw many Democrats, including Sen. Reid, former Gov. Dean and even Gov. Paterson turn political and become sheep to the growing American trend of Islamophobia. … (more…)

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This is why Big Hollywood will never join the shut up and sing choir. As a matter of fact, we’d actually prefer they stop with the singing and talk more. Nope, Hollywoodists can never speak their minds enough to please us. Knowing how those with their hands on the lever of the most powerful propaganda device ever created think is vitally important to exposing, defeating, and best of all, ridiculing them. (more…)

So at that bug lamp for bozos known as the Huffington Post, media mogul Russell Simmons says opposition to the mosque being built near Ground Zero amounts to bigotry, or more specifically, Islamophobia.
He writes:

…in my backyard, I have no tolerance for a new fear-mongering, hateful rhetoric that has sprung up over the proposed …center ….we know that we must fight Antisemitism and Islamaphobia together ….Let us pass this test with grace and dignity. As I will not stand for any sort of Islamaphobia in my backyard.

Now, this is a key point – because, like Simmons, I also think fear of Islam plays a role. But the fear lurks within folks like Simmons who fear ticking off Islam, or worse – looking intolerant.

And also – it’s a fear of debate. Rather than argue against my point that it’s simply obnoxious to build the mosque, they’d rather reflexively belch “race!”

Islamophobia?

Please. (more…)

Stalin reportedly referred to blind defenders and apologists for the former Soviet Union in democratic Western countries as “useful idiots.” Since Stalin’s day, the list has grown to include either those who defend or apologize for radical Islamic regimes or who just turn a blind eye because it suits them for financial or other reasons.

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.

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Russell Simmons confuses me. He’s one of the finest examples we have of an American kid from the most difficult circumstances imaginable hustling and struggling and pulling himself up by his own bootstraps to create a life for himself that is, in a word, extraordinary. Yet instead of inspiring other poor African American kids who are in the position he once was with his story of hard work and perseverance, Simmons spreads religious silliness and tells those kids to put their hope in government. And last week, he did both at the same time. I wish Simmons were an atheist.

As many of you who frequent this blog know (and often condemn me for), I believe there is no god. That’s quite different from saying “I don’t believe in God.” When I say I believe there is no god, I mean that in this vast universe (or maybe multiverse) I don’t choose to not believe in a god, but that there is no god to not believe in. There’s a distinction, and I’m very certain where I stand. It’s deeply personal to me, and I don’t really begrudge those who choose to believe that an invisible man lives in the sky. Sometimes people need to believe in something more, I suppose, even if it’s not real. And while I recognize I’m in the minority, and I’m happy to argue religion and god with you, I won’t push my thoughts on you unless you ask. But I wish that Russell Simmons could put aside the idea of God or Allah for a while. It would be more honest and it would certainly help a lot more people. (more…)

Over at HuffPo, Russell Simmons has let go of the wheel and bounced off a guard rail. His apocalyptic melodrama sounds like the typical Hollywood cliche of a Christian right-winger. But these lefties are all about projection, so that’s to be expected.

A normal celebucrat post has a pull quote or two you can highlight and make sport of, but Simmons is all pull quote — a bonanza of crazy — so where to begin? Hey, I know, let’s play a game. Here are ten quotes, nine are from Simmons, one is not. Can you pick out the lunacy that doesn’t belong? 

1. The president’s honest attempt to promote world peace through the same methods taught by Jesus Christ are met with contempt by a country whose collective consciousness is extraordinarily fearful and at times, sacrilegious. (more…)

In the aftermath of the Andrew Breitbart/James O’Keefe/Hannah Giles-broken ACORN scandal, President Obama and his allies in Congress have distanced themselves from the community organizing goliath.  Congress has cut off funds, and Obama has refused to speak about the matter.  End of story, right?

Wrong.

There’s only one problem: the ACORN mentality – pinpointing and mobilizing particular groups in support of a radical-left agenda – is no longer restricted to government-funded private non-profits like ACORN.  The ACORN mentality now dominates the government itself.  Taxpayer dollars are being used by elected officials to encourage the deification of President Obama and his agenda.  And one of the chief organs of the government propaganda machine is the National Endowment for the Arts.

Let’s start from the beginning.  On August 25, artist Patrick Courrielche told the story of a conference call he attended on August 10.  That conference call was hosted by the NEA, the White House Office of Public Engagement, and United We Serve.  The goal of the conference call: “to help lay a new foundation for growth, focusing on core areas of the recovery agenda – health care, energy and environment, safety and security, education, community renewal.”  The call would push “a group of artists, producers, promoters, organizers, influencers, marketers, taste-makers, leaders or just plain cool people to join together and work together to promote a more civically engaged America and celebrate how the arts can be used for a positive change!” (more…)

I recently wrote a critique of the art community’s lack of dissent in the face of many controversial decisions made by the current administration. Entitled “The Artist Formerly Known as Dissident,” one of the key points argued in the article was the potential danger associated with the use of the art community as a tool of the state. Little did I know how quickly this concern would be elevated to an outright probability. 

Sometime between when I finished the critique and when it went live online, I was invited by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to take part in a conference call that invited a group of rising artist and art community luminaries “to help lay a new foundation for growth, focusing on core areas of the recovery agenda – health care, energy and environment, safety and security, education, community renewal.”  (more…)