ABC News ran a photo Monday on Good Morning America of what was referred to as an invitation to Obama's Nov. 24 state dinner, provided by alleged third party crasher Carlos Allen, who said the document proved he had been invited to the dinner.

ABC noted that the "invitation Allen provided to ABC News came without an official envelope or any documents bearing his name."

But sources familiar with the authentic state dinner invitation told ITK that Allen's document is missing something far more critical than an envelope: an invitation.

That's because Allen's "invitation," shown here, isn't an invitation at all. It's a dinner program, the kind which would have been placed at each guest's seat and contained a welcome message, dinner menu and perhaps special thanks.

The real invitation reads:

The President and Mrs. Obama request the pleasure of the company of Mr. _____ at a dinner in honor of His Excellency Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of the Republic of India, and Mrs. Gursharan Kaur, to be held at The White House on Tuesday, November 24, 2009 at seven o'clock

Allen's document:

President and Mrs. Obama welcome you to the White House on the occasion of the visit of His Excellency Dr. Manmohan Singh and Mrs. Gursharan Kaur.

Reached for comment, a spokeswoman for ABC News said the network never presented the document as an official White House correspondence, only what Allen alleged was proof of his having been invited.

Calls and emails to Carlos Allen were not returned at press time. The White House declined to comment on the discrepancy and referred all questions about the incident to the Justice Department. 

As part of National Influenza Vaccination Week this week, MTV announced in a press release today a partnership with the White House and Health and Human Services to encourage H1N1 vaccines for youth.
 
MTV plans to be there as Jason Derulo, the musician who sings “Whatcha Say,” gets an H1N1 vaccine in Chicago. Later this month, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will host a press conference call with journalists who are in mtvU’s College Media Network to answer their H1N1 questions.
 
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly half of Americans hospitalized with H1N1 are under 25.

It was a close race, but Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) beat out President Barack Obama Monday in an online vote for the the 2009 Arms Control Person of the Year.

The poll was conducted by the Arms Control Association, and while just under 1,000 people cast ballots, the prize recognizes Lugar's well-documented, longtime advocacy on arms control issues.

The press release also featured a great photo of the senator in a fur hat with a briefcase bomb.

For all you Lost fans out there, don’t worry. The White House has promised that the upcoming State of the Union speech by President Barack Obama won’t cut into the premiere of the show’s final season on Feb. 2.
 
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs recently said, “I don’t foresee a scenario in which the millions of people that hope to finally get some conclusion in Lost are preempted by the president.” But he didn't say when the SOTU will take place.
 
Lost fans created Facebook pages and tweeted to beg the White House not to cut into the three-hour time slot for the show that ABC set aside for that Tuesday.
 
The SOTU is typically delivered in late January, triggering speculation it will occur on Jan. 26. That's the same date as one of the popular first few audition episodes of American Idol. Obama could also speak before primetime, but that's highly unlikely.
 
By the way, there is a unique tie to Lost and the White House: Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel’s brother is the talent agent who represents Lost executive producer Carlton Cuse.

Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) will be a speaker at the Marijuana Policy Project’s 15th anniversary gala Wednesday. Cohen has been a supporter of the decriminalization of marijuana for medical use, the Associated Press reported.
 
Three years ago, Cohen spoke on the House floor about a friend who used marijuana to ease the pain of pancreatic cancer.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has logged more air miles in her first year on the job than most people do in a lifetime, but for one member of Congress, that's not quite enough.

Del. Eni Faleomavaega (D-American Samoa) is ticked off that Clinton isn't planning to stop by more Pacific Island nations during her three-day trip to the region later this week.

On Sunday he told the Samoa Observer that the perceived slight "shows a lack of sensitivity for the region."

Or perhaps just a lack of time: Clinton will visit three countries in about 72 hours, including Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.

The lawmaker (pictured here at right with actor Dwayne Johnson and his wife) said Clinton's decision "sends a message that some 15 Pacific Island nations are not an important or integral part of our U.S. foreign policy objectives."

He also made an unflattering comparison between the U.S. and China, saying, "China takes the time to meet with heads of state from small Pacific Island nations ... [They] deserve something better than fly-by diplomacy."

Hunkin's frustration is at odds with the stated intent of Clinton's trip, as described last week by Assistant Secretary for East Asian & Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell.

Briefing reporters about the upcoming visit, Campbell said, "as many of you know, one of the efforts of the Obama administration and Secretary Clinton has been to step up our engagement in the Pacific Islands ... as part of this overall effort, she will be stopping in Papua New Guinea."

The man accused of being a third White House party crasher told Good Morning America Monday that he received an "actual invitation in the mail" to President Barack Obama's Nov. 24 state dinner, a claim disputed by the White House and Secret Service.

Carlos Allen gave GMA a photo of what appears to be a dinner program from the event, claiming it was an invitation. He later said that the Secret Service took his original invitation.

Allen (pictured here with Gen. David Petraeus at an unrelated event) could not supply an accompanying envelope or a place card with his name written on it, nor could he explain why his name was not among those originally given seating assignments.

He was eventually seated at a table with GMA’s Robin Roberts, but only after asking a White House staffer where he should sit.

Appearing alongside his attorney, Allen offered a rambling account of how he ended up at the Willard Hotel, where he boarded a bus filled with members of the Indian delegation who were attending the dinner.

His story began with two unsuccessful attempts to get into the dinner through the main gates, after which Allen said he went to a nearby hotel “to see if I saw anyone that I knew.” He didn't, so he continued on to The Willard. There, he says, he ran into a large group of people all talking about going to the White House, so he hitched a ride over with them.

Before boarding the bus, Allen claims a Secret Service agent checked him with a metal detecting wand, but never asked for identification.

Allen also commented on video that appears to show him nervously looking over his shoulder as he enters the White House. He said he wasn't nervous at all, and that he only looked back in order to tell fellow guests, "Yo, it's time to go party!"

Allen is the third person alleged to have attended the event without an invitation; the first two, Tareq and Michaele Salahi, may face criminal charges related to the incident. Allen said he has been interviewed by the Secret Service twice since the dinner, but has not been subpoenaed.

Should he find himself under oath, Allen's lawyer gave a brief preview of what could be his defense, telling Roberts that "at some time that night, [Allen] became an invitee of the White House," because, "a White House staffer led him to that seat."

Oscar-winning actress Meryl Streep has only been star-struck once in her life. But it wasn't by a Hollywood star.

As she told the India Times, "I was star-struck by our president and first lady," whom she met for the first time during a recent visit to the White House.

Also present that day was a long-time fan of President Barack Obama, rocker Bruce Springsteen.

Streep, who was born in New Jersey, said Springsteen "impressed" her, but the movie star saved the lavish praise for Obama.

"I think it is thrilling to have someone who is thoughtful and can articulate with a certain amount of passion and dispassion, the necessary choices that we have in the world," she said.

Obama has named Streep one of his favorite actors, which of course thrilled Streep.

Streep did not contribute to Obama's presidential campaign, according to a review of contributions at opensecrets.org, but it's a good bet that'll happen in 2012.

Conservative political commentator Tucker Carlson and his college roommate, former Cheney aide Neil Patel, launched their new, heavily hyped online venture, The Daily Caller, just after midnight on Monday.

Widely characterized as a conservative answer to Arianna Huffington's hugely successful, left-leaning Huffington Post, the Daily Caller combines aggregated news from across the web with original reporting, video clips, and guest contributors.

Monday's lead story, written by Carlson, concerns alleged "third gate crasher" Carlos Allen. Opening-day contributors include Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R), Arianna Huffington (who wishes them luck), and Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), who's essay is titled "How the GOP Gets its Mojo Back."

Despite appearances, Carlson told The Washington Post he isn't interested in furthering a conservative agenda on the site. "We'll cover the people in power," he said, later describing Republicans on Capitol Hill as  "totally powerless."

The site has 21 employees and aims to lure freelance writers by offering them a share of ad revenues, which is a departure from the typical industry practice of paying a pre-determined fee for each published submission.