Now is the time on Sprockets vhen ve juxtapose headlines!

Associated Press: State dinner has it all: Beyonce, world-class chef
"Markets dive on jobless claims, Europe concerns"

Washington Post: Michelle Obama's dress -- and new state dinner hairstyle
"One in 7 U.S. homeowners paying late or in foreclosure"

Chicago Sun-Times: Obama splashy, elegant State Dinner honors Mexico
"Housing recovery threatened by homeowners' 'strategic defaults'"

WaPo: White House State Dinner: Beyonce, the non-spouse dates, and other leftovers
"32 States Now Officially Bankrupt: $37.8 Billion Borrowed From Treasury To Fund Unemployment; CA, MI, NY Worst"

ABC News: The Low-Down on the First Lady's State Dinner Gown
"College Grads about to Flood Labor Market; Class of 2009 Still Without Jobs in Deep Trouble"

NPR: Obama's Second State Dinner Celebrates Mexico
"Mortgage Foreclosures Hit Record as Job Losses Strain Budgets"

CBS News: Michelle Obama's State Dinner Gown Made by Peter Soronen
"Surge in Strategic Defaults Threatens Housing Market Recovery"

CNN: Obama's second state dinner has Mexican flair
"Area foreclosures jump unexpectedly"

Chicagoist: Bayless, Beyoncé Highlight Obama's Second State Dinner
"Central Falls Rhode Island - Bankrupt - Goes Into Receivership"

HuffPo: Michelle Obama & Margarita Zavala At State Dinner: Whose Dress Do You Like Best?
"Extra Unemployment benefits fail to halt tide of long-term jobless"
* * * * * * * * *
Just one question: During a time of severe economic dislocation, rampant unemployment, an oil spill in the gulf, an Iranian nuclear crisis and a Korean peninsula on the brink of war -- try to imagine a fawning media treating a Republican president's opulent, over-the-top party (hosted by Reagan or Bush, for example) like this.

I can't.


Images: Flickr and CBS News.