View Full Version : Michelle Obama's five-day Spanish holiday picked up by the American taxpayer
BMT (RIP)
08-06-2010, 12:51
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1300852/Michelle-Obamas-day-Spanish-holiday--picked-American-taxpayer--easily-250-000-thats-50-000-day.html
As the World Turns!!
BMT
We have to pay for their vay-cay somehow. Makes sense for them to vacation overseas instead of going to the Gulf Coast where they really could use the economic bump.
I wonder if we'll even get a T-shirt? "I paid for the The First Family's vacation in Spain and all I got was a tax increase."
From the WSJ (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748704017904575409513685644960.html):
WASHINGTON—Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner made the Obama administration's economic case for letting tax cuts for high earners expire at the end of this year, saying that failure to do so would harm rather than help economic growth.
Utah Bob
08-06-2010, 15:09
Doesn't surprise me at all but I'm not going to spend any time on it. Much bigger issues are at hand.
Where's the beef?
The whole Family make my gag reflexes act up :mad:
alright4u
08-06-2010, 16:07
Unreal. Curse the wealthy, buy designer clothes, spend like a drunken sailor, scold those who gamble in Vegas, SCHIP is great, Obamacare is your right, a college education is a right, too, and; notice my made in the USA union labels.
I don't support the man in the White House, so please keep that in mind when reading this:
The American tax-payer has been funding Presidential vacations (including First Lady and family trips) for quite some time. Of course when there has been a lack of change in Washington, and Presidential support is low, something like this is going to be put in the spotlight. I agree with Utah Bob; there are more important things which deserve attention than a vacation to Spain.
Vacation might not be the only reason they're in Spain - makes a good 'smoke screen' for some of the 'friends' along on the trip to meet unofficially with others from around the Mediterranean - it's an olde technique to preserve anonymity when dealing with someone we may not want to recognize diplomatically. ;)
And so it goes...;)
Richard's $.02 :munchin
Note: Edited to 'spell it out'.
rubberneck
08-06-2010, 16:37
I have a hard time begruding any President or first family vacation time. Living in that fish bowl ages them in dog years. What bothers me about this vacation is that would be considered excessive even in the best of financial times. 40 friends for a week at a $2500 a night resort with 70 secret service agents burning the midnight oil providing security.
IMHO it's tone deaf. It's understandable that they want to give their daughters experiences that they otherwise might not have, but not when there are millions of American's hurting badly, many of them supported this President. The absurdity of this lavish vacation is highlighted by the White House spin on the latest revised job numbers. How stupid does it look to have a President saying that they expected they numbers to drop (that wasn't the tune they were signing when they were counting those jobs to being with but I digress) while his wife and kids are living it up like rock stars.
Green Light
08-06-2010, 19:23
It's not the problem and certainly there's more pressing things to talk about. But by golly, if you don't see it as a symptom . . .
Didn't someone say "Let them eat cake" once upon a time? They've got their gig and they're enjoying it. Bush did it too. Damn him for those vacations in Crawford, Texas!
The Reaper
08-06-2010, 19:28
Arrogance anyone?
Hubris, perhaps?
TR
WholeManin2010
08-06-2010, 20:23
The whole Family make my gag reflexes act up :mad:
Including the kids? If so, why? Not personally attacking you, just interested in knowing what a 9 and 12-year old could have done to evoke such a response.
OTOH, no sympathy here for the "responsible" adults ...
Red Flag 1
08-07-2010, 08:26
Arrogance anyone?
Hubris, perhaps?
TR
On a scale of one to ten, a 9.5.
RF 1
But what? This is number eight? Not counting all the parties given at the White House.
Plus they're off on # 9 at Martha's Vinyard when they get back. Hard work being FLOTUS.
alright4u
08-07-2010, 13:42
It's not the problem and certainly there's more pressing things to talk about. But by golly, if you don't see it as a symptom . . .
Didn't someone say "Let them eat cake" once upon a time? They've got their gig and they're enjoying it. Bush did it too. Damn him for those vacations in Crawford, Texas!
Bush ownded the damn property. No cost to rent.
Bush owned the damn property. No cost to rent.
and very "inexpensive" to protect (compared to the current Admin).
The Reaper
08-07-2010, 14:17
Most of FL Laura Bush's private solo vacations were camping or hiking trips here in CONUS.
God forbid the Annointed One and/or his family should visit the Gulf Coast or go somewhere plebian.
Let them eat cake.
TR
Including the kids? If so, why? Not personally attacking you, just interested in knowing what a 9 and 12-year old could have done to evoke such a response.
OTOH, no sympathy here for the "responsible" adults ...
Honestly ,I don't/didn't even think about the kids .I think of The One ,and The C**T .
Maybe ,I should have clarified ,and not made such a blanket statement .
So no I have no problem with the children .
Team Sergeant
08-08-2010, 10:00
I don't know if anyone noticed the real irony in this article? This is not a American newspaper article blasting Hussein's wife trip, it's "socialist" European newspaper blasting her trip as arrogant, self-centered and conceited. The article even points out that at a time when most Americans are having a tough time making their car payments this individual is spending American taxpayers money like it was growing on trees.
I find it amusing that even the hard-core "Socialists" think she's a smug, self-important, arrogant human being.
I wonder why they feel this way?
(see picture below)
MOO, the president and first lady could send two powerful messages to their fellow citizens if they were to spend some of their vacations in parts of America hard hit by the recession, or made a point of having a "Blockbuster" night at the White House or Camp David. The messages would be clear: We're all in this together and There are plenty of ways to have a great vacation without spending a lot of cash.
The president ran his campaign in many quarters as a "man of the people." I feel he owes it to some of his supporters to act that way.
More generally, I do not begrudge a sitting American president taking time off from the world's hardest job. Not even this president.
CloseDanger
08-11-2010, 14:15
;)
Translation un-needed (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAfdaDVBDto&feature=player_embedded)
Even the Chinese catch onto the act...
Translation un-needed
Oh how I love Chinese news reporting with the 3D animations, I think they're on to something...
We're all in this together and There are plenty of ways to have a great vacation without spending a lot of cash.
Took the words right out of my mouth! She would do well to hear that phrase over and over.
Oh how I love Chinese news reporting with the 3D animations, I think they're on to something...
.....I wonder if they purposefully made Michelle look like a man with boobs? That was pretty funny though! :D
Utah Bob
08-11-2010, 17:32
.....I wonder if they purposefully made Michelle look like a man with boobs? That was pretty funny though! :D
They didn't do it. God did.;)
alright4u
08-11-2010, 22:48
MOO, the president and first lady could send two powerful messages to their fellow citizens if they were to spend some of their vacations in parts of America hard hit by the recession, or made a point of having a "Blockbuster" night at the White House or Camp David. The messages would be clear: We're all in this together and There are plenty of ways to have a great vacation without spending a lot of cash.
The president ran his campaign in many quarters as a "man of the people." I feel he owes it to some of his supporters to act that way.
More generally, I do not begrudge a sitting American president taking time off from the world's hardest job. Not even this president.
Heck even areas hit by floods like Nashville. There are places hit very hard in this USA. I think Arizona deserves our attention. The Pres disagrees.
ZonieDiver
08-11-2010, 23:46
Heck even areas hit by floods like Nashville. There are places hit very hard in this USA. I think Arizona deserves our attention. The Pres disagrees.
Yeah, where's his FDR-like 'fireside chats'? His Jimmy Carter wearing a sweater , talking about 'malaise'? (At the time, I wondered what 'mayonaisse had to do with it.) He'll, he doesn't even try to use Ross Perot's charts.
Why?! Does he care? I wonder.
Dozer523
08-12-2010, 06:21
,and The C**T .
This is unacceptable.
:o I am sorry I will do better next time
Take it for whats it's worth. I heard Rush say The Obamas have taken more vacation time so far then Bush did in his first four years.
Rush also said he didn't understand how any Male liberal could call himself a Man. I thought that was pretty funny.
This is unacceptable.
Thank you.