Living it up at the public trough

http://www.israel-commentary.org

By Dr. Paul L Williams* and the staff of thelastcrusade.org

“In my own life, in my own small way, I have tried to give back to this country that has given me so much,” she said. “See, that’s why I left a job at a big law firm for a career in public service, “ Michelle Obama No, Michele Obama does not get paid to serve as the First Lady and she doesn’t perform any official duties. But, this hasn’t deterred her from hiring an unprecedented number of staffers to cater to her every whim and to satisfy her every request in the midst of the Great Recession. Just think Mary Lincoln was taken to task for purchasing china for the White House during the Civil War. And, Mamie Eisenhower had to shell out the salary for her personal secretary.

How things have changed! If you’re one of the tens of millions of Americans facing certain destitution, earning less than subsistence wages, stocking the shelves at Wal-Mart or serving up McDonald cheeseburgers, prepare to scream and then come to realize that the benefit package for these servants of Miz First Lady Michele are the same as members of the national security and defense departments. Furthermore, John Q. Public pays the bill for these assorted lackeys. Here is a list of her personal helpers: Total of salaries listed for personal attendants - $1,564,500!

$172,200 - Sher, Susan (CHIEF OF STAFF)

$140,000 - Frye, Jocelyn C. (DEPUTY ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR OF POLICY AND PROJECTS FOR THE FIRST LADY)

$113,000 - Rogers, Desiree G. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND WHITE HOUSE SOCIAL SECRETARY)

$102,000 Johnston, Camille Y. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS FOR THE FIRST LADY)
Winter, Melissa E. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE FIRST LADY)

$90,000 Medina, David S. (DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE FIRST LADY)

$84,000 Lelyveld, Catherine M. (DIRECTOR AND PRESS SECRETARY TO THE FIRST LADY)

$75,000 Starkey, Frances M. (DIRECTOR OF SCHEDULING AND ADVANCE FOR THE FIRST LADY)

$70,000 Sanders, Trooper (DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF POLICY AND PROJECTS FOR THE FIRST LADY)

$65,000 Burnough, Erinn J. (DEPUTY DIRECTOR AND DEPUTY SOCIAL SECRETARY)
Reinstein, Joseph B. (DEPUTY DIRECTOR AND DEPUTY SOCIAL SECRETARY)

$62,000 Goodman, Jennifer R. (DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF SCHEDULING AND EVENTS COORDINATOR FOR THE FIRST LADY)

$60,000 Fitts, Alan O. (DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF ADVANCE AND TRIP DIRECTOR FOR THE FIRST LADY)
Lewis, Dana M. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT AND PERSONAL AIDE TO THE FIRST LADY)

$52,500 Mustaphi, Semonti M. (ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR AND DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY TO THE FIRST LADY)

$50,000 Jarvis, Kristen E. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT FOR SCHEDULING AND TRAVELING AIDE TO THE FIRST LADY)

$45,000 Lechtenberg, Tyler A. (ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE FIRST LADY) Tubman, Samantha (DEPUTY ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, SOCIAL OFFICE)

$40,000 Boswell, Joseph J. (EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO THE CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE FIRST LADY)

$36,000 Armbruster, Sally M. (STAFF ASSISTANT TO THE SOCIAL SECRETARY)
Bookey, Natalie (STAFF ASSISTANT)
Jackson, Deilia A. (DEPUTY ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE FIRST LADY)


*Paul L. Williams is the author of such best-selling books:
· The Day of Islam: The Annihilation of America and the Western World (Prometheus, 2007),
· The Dunces of Doomsday (Cumberland/WND Books, 2006),
· The Al Qaeda Connection (Prometheus, 2005),
· Osama’s Revenge: The Next 9/11 (Prometheus, 2004),
· The Vatican Exposed (Prometheus, 2003),
· Everything You Always Wanted to Know about the Catholic Church But Were Afraid to Ask for Fear of Excommunication (Doubleday, 1990).

In addition, he has written several Idiot Guides, including The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Lives of the Saints (Alpha/Penguin, 2002) and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Crusades (Alpha, Penguin 2001) and a scholarly text The Moral Philosophy of Peter Abelard, which garnered a National Book Award. He has been the subject of a PBS documentary and programs on the Discovery and History channels. He is a frequent guest on such national news networks as ABC News, CBS News, Fox News, MSNBC and NPR.

Williams holds a Ph.D. in philosophical theology from Drew University (1976). He has been the recipient of six major academic scholarships and a teaching fellowship from Lehigh University, and, for over a decade, has taught philosophy, religion and the humanities at The University of Scranton and Wilkes University.

As a journalist, Williams served as the editor/publisher of The Metro, the largest weekly newspaper in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The Metro, under his leadership/ownership, was named one of the best newspapers in the state for editorial content by the Pennsylvania Newspaper Publishers’ Association, and, in 1993, he became the only journalist to capture three first-place Keystone Press Awards in three distinct categories in the same year.

In addition, he has served as a correspondent on terrorism and world affairs for World Net Daily and NewsMax, and has penned feature articles for National Review (one of which sparked the longest running print debate in the history of a major periodical), USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal.