Does Obama deserve 54 White House Christmas trees and a trip to Hawaii? You betcha - Baltimore Post-Examiner

Does Obama deserve 54 White House Christmas trees and a trip to Hawaii? You betcha

By · December 5, 2012 · 73 Comments
·
white-house-christmas-tree-blue-room

The big controversy at the White House, and I mean the BIG, BIG, BIG crisis with the Obama Administration … well, it ain’t whether or not Susan Rice will get nominated to be Secretary of State nor is it this fiscal speed bump thing.

Nosiree Billy Bob!

The BIG controversy at the White House, right now, is the number of Christmas Trees that adorn the White House and its grounds this Holiday Season. Them damn Obamas have 54 Christmas Trees!

All those trees while we the American people are heading off the fiscal cliff. And you know some poor children in Calcutta won’t have any Christmas Trees at all. OK, the kids in Calcutta are probably Hindi or Muslim so they wouldn’t have any connection to Christmas or it’s affectations, but still …

Andrew Malcolm, in the Investors Business Daily, has posted an opinion piece titled, “As Americans face a fiscal cliff, the Obamas make do with 54 Christmas trees.” OH-EM-GEE!

The first two sentences of his opinion piece are: “Amazing how a reelection can reshape an incumbent’s thinking about many things. Now safely ensconced in the White House for 49 more months, the Obamas have decorated the place with 54 Christmas trees this year.

“Even allowing for the usual Washington excesses with taxpayer money, that’s a whole grove of Christmas trees.”

Well no, that’s not a whole grove. Having spent time on a farm as a kid and then a lot of time in Northern Wisconsin where people actually grow Christmas trees for a living, I can tell you 54 trees isn’t even 10 percent of a grove. That’s probably not even 10 percent that are ready for sale by the average growers, let alone the total number of Christmas trees on a Christmas tree farm.

As for excesses with taxpayer money … eh, no. The trees, with all their decorations, as well as all the decorations adorning the White House and surrounding grounds, that is all donated by various groups and individuals, through various Friends of the White House organizations.

You may not know this, but the White House is part of the National Park Service and the first floor of the building is a designated museum. So yes, some tax dollars go into the decoratin’ of the old White House, as it has every year for at least 90 years. It’s a budget set by Congress and the park service and the First Lady get as much mileage out of that budget as possible.

What goes on is, the First Lady, in this case Michelle Obama, gets together with her kids and decides on a theme and then they solicit decorations based on that theme from certain groups of people. This year the theme is “Joy For All.” For the official tree that goes up in the Blue Room of the White House, the families of service people deployed to Afghanistan created ornaments.

Then the rest of the building is decorated with stuff left over from previous years and decorations that are donated by thousands of Americans who want to add something to the White House Christmas. The White House is the “People’s House,” and the people, that would be us, want their White House to be the best decked out house in the nation, so we make it happen.

About half of Malcolm’s article is about the Obama’s Christmas being spent in Hawaii, where the president and his family have gone several times since his inauguration in 2009. According to Malcolm, the trip to and from the president’s home in Hawaii will cost 4 million dollars.

President Obama won’t be around to enjoy this Christmas tree in the Blue Room. He’s going to Hawaii for the holidays. Have you ever been in DC in the winter time? Let’s see, Hawaii or freeze your butt off. Tough choice. Blue Christmas or White Christmas?

OH-EM-GEE!

President Obama, as you may have guessed, is the first president to spend a Christmas away from the White House and by golly, the first to charge the taxpayers for the trip … that’s not true. But if we pay attention to the extremist right wing nuts you’d think that was the case.

Presidents have been visiting their homes away from the White House, or favorite vacation spots, for years. The Clintons loved going to Martha’s Vineyard. George H.W. Bush and his wife went to their seaside estate in Kennebunkport, Maine. The Reagans had their palatial ranch in Santa Barbara, CA. And who can forget George W Bush clearing away the brush on his Texas ranch?

Ford would vacation in Palm Springs, CA with (I’m speculating) Frank Sinatra, Nixon had two places: one in Key Biscayne, FL and his home in San Clemente, CA. That’s not too far from here as a matter of fact. It’s a little burb on the southern border of Orange County, butting up against San Diego County and Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. One year, old Tricky Dick was credited with saving the lives of some Marines involved in a car accident. Apparently he called paramedics from his car phone. This was back in the days before 9-1-1 and cell phones.

Every President (and family) has gotten away from the White House for the holidays at least a couple times while president. Let’s be real here: if given the option of spending the holidays in Hawaii as opposed to Washington, DC or Chicago, IL, where would you go? There’s only so much snow and cold some of us want to endure. I moved away from Wisconsin so my choice is easy: take me away Don Ho!

The true genius of Malcolm’s post, or maybe the true fallacy of it, is that by combining the two topics, i.e. decorating the White House and going to Hawaii, Malcolm would have you believe decorating the White House is costing the tax payers millions of dollars. Well, the upkeep of the White House costs millions of dollars every year, regardless of who occupies it. It’s part of that budget thing set by Congress.

The thing is, the Obama haters will make up anything to attack the president, including some nonsense about the number of Christmas trees in the White House. These people didn’t go after President Bush in 2008, but maybe 27 Christmas trees was just the right number. They will get outraged on Facebook, which is where I first saw this and then whip up a frenzy of “I told you so” and “The end is coming sooner than you think” doomsday predictions. All because there are 54 Christmas trees at the White House.

And it’s one ridiculous outrage after another. Every day there’s a new crisis. Maybe someone is putting the toilet paper on the rollers backwards in the White House. Obviously a Socialist message there.

Elvis did the Blue Hawaii thing close to the holidays in 1973. No one complained about his trip. OK, it was in January, but it’s better than going to DC in the dead of the winter.

Funnier still, if you try and point out the absurdity of the outrage to the Facebook posters, the usual answer is, “You’re missing the point.” No, the point is very clear: you Obama haters hate the man and his family so much you’ll make up any kind of nonsense, or endorse the crazy talk of others in order to vent your hatred of President Obama and his family.

Hate speech is alive and well in America. All you need do is log into Facebook to see it. In one respect it’s entertaining, but it’s also disturbing. There are people out there willing and capable of trying (at least) to put their hatred into action. The growth of hate groups masquerading as “militias” have spiked since Mr. Obama won his first term and these groups are not shy about stating their aims and goals.

This latest spate of hate group “militias” is the sequel to the hate group militias that sprung up during the Clinton years. The differences now being: A) the hate groups have more sophisticated technology; they can communicate easier through sites like Facebook, and B) the man occupying the White House isn’t White. FoxNews has made this abundantly clear with their message about how “traditional” America is now gone.

Bill O’Reilly leads the charge on that, of course. On the night of the election O’Reilly said, “It’s a changing country, The demographics are changing. It’s not a traditional America anymore. And there are 50 percent of the voting public who want stuff. They want things. And who is going to give them things? President Obama. He knows it. And he ran on it.”

Then he told us who makes up that 50 percent: non-Whites and women.

I’ll never forget the video from a news program right after President Obama won in 2008. There was a woman, sobbing into the cameras, “I want my country back!” From who? A majority of Americans just voted for Barack Obama. And then the crazies got out and started their nutty talk about the U.S. being taken over by a foreign agent (Obama) and the U.S. was turning into a socialist/fascist state.

Rick Santorum joined the World “Nut” Daily house, which believes facts have no business being in any reasonable discussion on issues.

Now that President Obama has won a second term the crazies have taken it up a notch. Former Republican senator and presidential candidate Rick Santorum became a columnist for World Net Daily, the wing nut “news” organization that brings us the latest in the birther information and various other conspiracy theories, including the formation of an “independent” secession party for White people to break away from the U.S. and form a government based on traditional, White, American values.

So, the hatred toward Obama won’t fade away any time soon. It will no doubt increase until the mid-term elections in 2014, at least. There’s no logic behind it and once President Obama and Democrats will this fight over the fiscal cliff we’ll see the crazy talk ratchet up yet again.

We can’t argue against it because the haters reject reality and facts. They’ll just tell us we’re missing the point and their point is: the Obamas are spitting in the face of Americans with their 54 White House Christmas trees.

The next four years will only get more interesting.

 



About the author

Tim Forkes

Tim Forkes started as a writer on a small alternative college newspaper in Milwaukee called the Crazy Shepherd. Writing about entertainment issues, he had the opportunity to speak with many people in show business, from the very famous to the people struggling to find an audience. In 1992 Tim moved to San Diego, CA and pursued other interests, but remained a freelance writer. Upon arrival in Southern California he was struck by how the business of government and business was so intertwined, far more so than he had witnessed in Wisconsin. His interest in entertainment began to wane and the business of politics took its place. He had always been interested in politics, his mother had been a Democratic Party official in Milwaukee, WI, so he sat down to dinner with many of Wisconsin’s greatest political names of the 20th Century: William Proxmire and Clem Zablocki chief among them. As a Marine Corps veteran, Tim has a great interest in veteran affairs, primarily as they relate to the men and women serving and their families. As far as Tim is concerned, the military-industrial complex has enough support. How the men and women who serve are treated is reprehensible, while in the military and especially once they become veterans. Tim would like to help change that reality. Contact the author.
  • Godzilla

    Obama is a racist communist.

  • Robyn Simshauser

    I don’t think it’s a matter of “deserve”. It’s a matter of moral terpitude. For such a “green” president how does BO rationalize the cutting down of 56 trees from 5 to 20 years old for two weeks of enjoyment before he dashes off to Hawaii for his holiday. He is and ever will be the Rock Star President. Lots of rhetoric and little substantiation.

    • Tool Box

      Christmas trees are crops, just like broccoli and all of the other vegetables your mom told you to eat. Would you be making that same argument about an ear of corn?

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003859070421 Ted Dubin

    The President deserves a level of compensation equal to a corporate CEO.

    Whatever good business ethics allow is OK with me. Allowances for housing, travel, vacations, etc. are fine. And, of course, all this should be at a level in keeping with his position as symbolic leader of our Nation. Plus no expense spared for security.

    But, like a good CEO, some belt-tightening by example might be in order if the company, like our govt., was borrowing money daily to fund operations. We should spend carefully until there is little or no deficit. Or ask that some costs be paid personally.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/LVYXS2VHZYX2F24N4O4FS2EALY Terry Olivier

    Hmmmmm Joy for ALL? I wish! If only he acted that out in his daily life, as leader of the entire USA!

  • ConstitutionalFreedomFighter

    Wait, hold on, I hear we are making schtuff up and this is what I read, “As for excesses with taxpayer money … eh, no. The trees, with all their decorations, as well as all the decorations adorning the White House and surrounding grounds, that is all donated by various groups and individuals, through various Friends of the White House organizations.

    You may not know this, but the White House is part of the National Park Service and the first floor of the building is a designated museum. So yes, some tax dollars go into the decoratin’ of the old White House, as it has every year for at least 90 years. It’s a budget set by Congress and the park service and the First Lady get as much mileage out of that budget as possible.”

    What BUDGET?! Congress hasn’t passed a BUDGET in 4 YEARS!!!!!!!!

    • williswinning

      There’s a National budget, the separate budgets for different departments. Surely your are not that dumb to not know the difference?

      • ConstitutionalFreedomFighter

        Surely you have zero understanding that I was mocking the AUTHOR who stated that Congress is the one creating budget. See the quotations? That means those words are somebody else’s. Surely CONGRESS could not have passed a budget for this. Congress has not passed a budget. The NPS relegated the budget from the automatic dispersal of monies from the last budget passed. Surely, I have actually worked at a University and was in charge of 12 accounts, surely it was just me mocking THE AUTHOR, who seems to not understand the workings of government.

        • williswinning

          The author is correct. I knew who’s words were who’s. You lack English skills like you lack common sense. THE budget BTW. Congress does make the budget. The President submits his request and Congress then writes a bill and passes it, the it is sent to the President. That still has ZERO to do with the park services budget. I STILL work in a University, and you are a disgrace to wantever University you worked at.

          • ConstitutionalFreedomFighter

            Again, the author is slightly correct. Don’t get your panties in a wad at me just because the author said the budget is set by Congress. It is not. The Presidents submissions have not been approved, therefore the last bill passed by Congress that allocates money, is what budgets for Departments come from, Waste of My Time. Those budgets are give bi-annually to various Departments. Within those Departments are called Categories. Within those Categories are spending limits for each particular purchase. I know WAY more about this than you want me to know. Don’t be a fool. Nobody has approved a budget AT ALL for this THROUGH LAW AS THE AUTHOR IMPLIED for at least four years. This, the budget could be anything NPS wanted it to be, as long as funding is available. You are the one looking ridiculous here, trying to explain to me how Congress works, when I’m not the one insinuating they even KNOW what is being spent OR that the budget has remained stagnant through Congress’ authorization. Get a life. Do you think I care about what you say about where or how I work? I can absolutely tell you’re one of those snooty professor-types thinking they know it all. No, sorry, you do not understand what I am saying here. Mainly because you have taken the words from the author at point blank instead of thinking, very simply, “How could Congress have possibly approved the larger budget for this year if they haven’t passed a budget relegating specific funds to NPS in 4 years?” NPS budget has EVERYTHING to do with Congress NOT approving the President’s budget, which includes NPS. What are they unique? The President takes special time to submit a budget for NPS because they are special? No. Lol. Their budget is or is NOT approved with the rest of the Departments. Go ask your secretary how she got the funds for her Department. Guess what? Approved by a higher authority based off previous spending, usually done at the beginning of the fiscal year for ALL Departments.

            /mock shock face a snooty knows-not-much works at a university.

          • williswinning

            And once again that is completely irrelevant to the discussion. They HAVE A BUDGET. They IN FACT DO NOT HAVE UNLIMITED FUNDS. The author NEVER implied that a budget was passed through Congress. Not even close. It simply stated she gets the most out of here budget that is set for the White House decorations. You are an idiot.

          • Guest

            Oh my God, you Effing T W A T, I literally quote where the author STATES THE BUDGET COMES FROM CONGRESS AND NPS.

            Waste of my time, you f u c k I n g worthless idiot.

          • ConstitutionalFreedomFighter

            “You may not know this, but the White House is part of the National Park Service and the first floor of the building is a designated museum. So yes, some tax dollars go into the decoratin’ of the old White House, as it has every year for at least 90 years. It’s a budget set by Congress and the park service and the First Lady get as much mileage out of that budget as possible.”

            ^^^^^^^ that is the author saying the budget is set by Congress. My question was WHEN YOU F U C K I N G WORTHLESS IDIOT.

          • williswinning

            I know who said what you moron. YOU SAID Congress hasn’t passed a budget in years, I said they are different budgets YOU FUCKING MORON.

          • ConstitutionalFreedomFighter

            It’s common for trolls to ignore blatant evidence, like the link I sent after the comment you decided to ignore to state you are right.

            Your ignorant eyes decided to ignore a link sent to you putting a straight end to your hubris, you egotistical fool. Read you effing moron. Read where NPS says their budget is one and the same, you effing ridiculously stupid moron, who can not grasp even the slightest issue. Seriously, I’m just making fun of your illiterate, trolling azz from henceforth.

            I’m just going to post the link to NPS’s budget website until your wasted breaths finally cease.

            What is SO ridiculous, is that people AGREE with and LIKE your absolute stupidity.

          • williswinning

            That’s because they have common sense. They in fact DO have a budget, just like I said. Just because Congress hasn’t passed one, does NOT mean they have unlimited funding. They have earmarked a certain dollar amount, AKA a get the BUDGET. Ergo your comment, “What BUDGET?! Congress hasn’t passed a BUDGET in 4 YEARS!!!!!!!!” is INCORRECT you idiot.

          • ConstitutionalFreedomFighter

            And this is where we are back to the ORIGINAL comment where I call it SARCASM. I never said they have unlimited funding. I said WHAT BUDGET WAS APPROVED?! Seeing as how Congress DOES NOT- IN ANY WAY- APPROPRIATE SPECIFIC FUNDS TO CATEGORIES IN DEPARTMENTS AND REDLINE WHATEVER THEY DON’T LIKE! THEY APPROPRIATE LARGE LUMP SUMS OF MONEY AND THE DEPARTMENTS THAN ALLOCATE IT, WITH NEEDED CHANGES. HOW IN THE WORLD WOULD THEY KNOW WHAT IS SPENT ON THIS THROUGH A CONTINUING RESOLUTION?! A CONTINUING RESOLUTION APPROPRIATES MONEY TO DEPARTMENTS IN LUMP SUMS, CONTINUING THEIR BUDGETS AT THE SAME OR LOWER THAN THE LAST BUDGET ALLOCATED BY CONGRESS. AGAIN, CONGRESS DOES NOT GO THROUGH LINE BY LINE- THE DEPARTMENTS DO, YOU IDIOT. THE DEPARTMENT, IF YOU TAKE JUST THE CURSORY GLANCE AT THEIR EFFING BUDGET TO INFORM YOURSELF, RAISES THE COST OF MAINTENANCE BUT LOWERS THE OVERALL BUDGET BY ELIMINATING AN ENTIRE CATEGORY THEY OVERSAW. THUS, CONGRESS COULD APPROPRIATE THE SAME OR DIFFERENT FUNDING TO NPS AND NPS CAN SPEND WHATEVER THEY WANT WHEREVER THEY WANT AS LONG AS THEY DO IT WITHIN THE BUDGET ALLOCATED FROM CONGRESS. OR EXACTLY WHAT I HAVE BEEN SAYING THIS ENTIRE TIME YOU COMPLETE WASTE OF ENERGY AND HUMORLESS BAG OF FECES.

          • ConstitutionalFreedomFighter

            Please read at NPS’ website, where they specifically state their budget is what THEY decide they need per Department, then Congress approves it. But Congress has not approved anything in 4 years. You really think NPS’ budget stayed exactly the same? They eliminated entire departments, asked for further funding for specific projects. These are things that didn’t exist in 2008′s budget, the LAST “Budget” Congress saw. THIS is a NEW Congress with NEW Representatives who have NOT IN ANY WAY PASSED A BUDGET. Their NEW budget in 2012 is DIFFERENT than in 2008; plainly by the very simple fact that the White House has 54 instead of 27 trees like in 2008. Things are NOT the same. Congress=lump sum giveaways. They have not looked at Departmental budgets in YEARS. To imply so is FALSE.

          • ConstitutionalFreedomFighter

            Happy trolling!

          • williswinning

            Get off the drugs.

          • ConstitutionalFreedomFighter

            Bravo, way to be original. Will is a loser, he didn’t win here. He’s winning like Charlie Sheen was winning.

          • williswinning

            Yes, you win. Now go back to your crystal meth.

            “What BUDGET?! Congress hasn’t passed a BUDGET in 4 YEARS!!!!!!!!”

            Does not equal

            “NPS CAN SPEND WHATEVER THEY WANT WHEREVER THEY WANT AS LONG AS THEY DO IT WITHIN THE BUDGET ALLOCATED FROM CONGRESS.”

          • ConstitutionalFreedomFighter

            Aw, poor troll doesn’t comprehend sarcasm? I wrote that in my second explanation to you, days ago, you incredibly humorless fool. I win by the very simple fact you argued nonsense to give yourself a job. Yep. You work at a University, alright.
            I told you to stop bothering me. Your little mind CANNOT comprehend what is said here. Interestingly, I tell my husband and he is blown away. He gets it. Everybody else I’ve told that I’m arguing with a straight-up TOOL calling me stupid and is directed to the link understands I CAN’T FIX STUPID. It is called Satire, it is not meant to be explained away in entirety, unless you include the DESCRIPTOR WORD “Satire”. Taking Satire serious like I thought they have zero constraint is where YOU went wrong, not me. I explained my thoughts, which actually order in GREAT DETAIL how the budget process works. You chose to IGNORE that and take tiny quotations from HUGE explanations, making the quotes INCOMPLETE. Everybody ELSE understands this.

            So I don’t need to win with you. No matter what I explain, you are a busy troll busy changing your argument. My argument stayed the same for the three DAYS you stalked me, you fucking loser.

          • ConstitutionalFreedomFighter

            Here it is, where I explain, in great detail, but you chose to ignore so you could scheme, Schemer. “Don’t get your panties in a wad at me just because the author said the budget is set by Congress. It is not.” < the budget is set by NPS, is sent for approval to the DOI, who sends it to the President, who sends it to Congress, and Congress then approves the budget AS A WHOLE or REJECT IT AS A WHOLE. "Presidents submissions have not been approved, therefore the last bill passed by Congress that allocates money, is what budgets for Departments come from, Waste of My Time" < Me, explaining how Congress has given lump-sums to budgets for 3 years, and never ONCE said NPS has "no budget; unlimited funds". "Those budgets are give bi-annually (actually annually here)to various Departments. Within those Departments are called Categories. Within those Categories are spending limits for each particular purchase. I know WAY more about this than you want me to know. Don't be a fool. Nobody has approved a budget AT ALL for this THROUGH LAW AS THE AUTHOR IMPLIED for at least four years."

            Now, this is the confusing part, you imbecile. Congress has only passed CR. Congress gives LUMP SUMS from CR. They do not REQUIRE that Departments spend the same on EVERY LINE ITEM. Therefore, AS LONG AS NPS STAYS WITHIN ALLOCATED FUNDS FROM CONGRESS, THEY CAN SPEND WHATEVER THEY'VE ALLOWED IN THEIR BUDGET FOR "MAINTENANCE" (AN INCREASE IN OVER A MILLION THIS YEAR, ACCORDING TO NPS' BUDGET) AS LONG AS THEY LOWER BUDGET FOR OTHER CATEGORIES. THEY ELIMINATED AN $8M PROGRAM FROM 2008-2013!!!! CONGRESS PASSES A CR AND THEY HAVE THE SAME AMOUNT OF MONEY, BUT NOW $8M IN "DISCRETIONARY" FUNDING, IN WHICH CASE, THEY CAN DISPERSE AMONG VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS, INCLUDING THE 1.8% INCREASE OR WHATEVER THE EFF IT IS IN MAINTENANCE COSTS. THESE EXPENDITURES FALL UNDER THE SUBCATEGORY CHRISTMAS, WHICH FALLS UNDER "MAINTENANCE" IN NPS' BUDGET.
            YOU FUCKING TOOL.

            Now, I'm done. Reply stupidly all you want. If you actually want to try and tear this apart, actually do it. Don't just make yourself busy with fucking nonsense.

          • ConstitutionalFreedomFighter

            PS: Keep changing your story there. I see where you multi times said their budget has nothing to do with Congress (FALSE). I saw how you think I said they had unlimited budget (FALSE). The Author never implied the budget was passed through Congress (FALSE- SO EFFING FALSE). SIMPLY stated quotes by you are COMPLETELY misquoted, leaving out extremely pertinent information. Saying the General Budget has nothing to do with NPS’ Budget, when that’s HOW NPS’ BUDGET IS SET (FALSE).

            BOOM! Bye bye, Troll!

          • Guest

            You just make shyt up you effing worthless azz troll. Probably are a professor, you know so damn little. You can’t read and make stuff up that was never there. Stupid waste of a human. You didn’t even read the article. You said I said unlimited budget? I didn’t, I said unlimited within their budget! CONGRESS DOES NOT SET EACH EXPENDITURE FOR EACH DEPARTMENT, THE GOVERNMENT WOULD SHUT DOWN OTHERWISE.

            Enjoy being the absolute f u c k up and illiterate “university” worker that you are. I don’t feed these kind of stupid, lying trolls, especially lying about s h i t I directly quoted. You’re H I G H.

          • ConstitutionalFreedomFighter

            To finish this once and for all: http://www.nps.gov/aboutus/budget.htm

            What?! THEIR BUDGET IS APPROVED BY CONGRESS THROUGH THE PRESIDENT SUBMITTING A BUDGET AS PART OF THE ENTIRE BUDGET PROCESS???!!!! WWWWWWHHHHHHAAAATTTTT?!?

            I GUARANTEE YOU NPS INCLUDES CHRISTMAS AS A CETEGORY FOR EXPENDITURES IN THEIR YEARLY BUDGET.

            Looks like their budget DOES have everything to do with Congress, that the author IS quoted directly. Surely, now you must understand.

            GSY.

      • ConstitutionalFreedomFighter

        You meant *you’re* not that dumb, right? Mmm, who’s English sucks? Yeah.

  • John Gault

    “We have over 2,630 Christmas trees this year,” exclaimed a jubilant Mrs. Obama, “that’s thousands more than last year – it’s like a forest in here!” Get your facts straight Tim

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1581527232 Tim Forkes

      There are 54 in the building itself. That was the central point. Learn to read.
      And Big Hairy News is such a credible source!

  • http://www.facebook.com/paula.magnuson.5 Paula Magnuson

    i heard california is broke and a few cities are bankrupt! so hows that working out for you? lol

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1581527232 Tim Forkes

      Of course you heard that … California is one of the most prosperous states in the Union. It’s working out great for me.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001014849544 Mike Alan

    Bush going to his ranch, clinton to Marthas Vinyard, Bush senor to Maine all have one thing in common. They kept costs down. In the case of the two Bushes, they went to their own home and brought the secret service to keep them safe. WHat Obama is doing is horrible. His vacations cost us tax payers 10s of millions of dollars. His wife takes multimillion dollar trips with her 50 closest friends. His daughter takes a spring vacation and cost the tax payers 100K plus. Nobody suggests a president doesnt need a vacation. Its the extravagance on our dime when the country is going through a major recession we that is revolting. Its not like Obama doesnt take time to golf or play basketballl all the time. You liberals have your head so far up Obama’s ass, its pathetic.

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1581527232 Tim Forkes

      “They kept costs down.” That’s funny! The Bush daughters were so wild, with the Secret Service in tow, it became a crisis, especially after the one was busted trying to buy alcohol with a phony I.D.

      The president and his family and their friends pay all the basic costs for themselves on these vacations, as the Clintons did when they went to Martha’s Vineyard. Same with Malia and her SCHOOL TRIP TO MEXICO. Like many other kids (like all my nieces and nephews and the children of my friends), Malia’s school sponsored a trip to Mexico, at the expense of the parents. Should Malia and Sasha be denied these things because extra security measures need to be taken?

      All the rest of your nonsense, this is what it boils down to: you hate the Obamas so much anything they do, even if it’s just what other presidents have been doing for decades, is bad. But there’s no point discussing it because you Obama haters are off the chain insane.

      • http://www.facebook.com/paula.magnuson.5 Paula Magnuson

        hey tim go check out the money obama is sending to repair mosques in arab countries, oh i forgot liberals do not like to hear true facts lol, our people are suffering and our hard earned money is going to repair mosques in arab nations wow obama is really so compassionate for the american people!

        • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1581527232 Tim Forkes

          “Oh i forgot liberals do not like to hear true facts ..”
          True facts? What other kind of facts are there? Do you ever look at what you’re writing? So is President Obama sending the money out of his pocket, or is it foreign aid that is BUDGETED by CONGRESS?
          Another twit enters the fray.

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001201025675 Vonnise Cobb

        Tim Forkes, you keep repeating that ‘we hate the obamas so much’, as if we are trying to hide it or deny it. Well, watch my fingers type….I do hate the obamas just as much as you think I do. And I would not not not hate them that much if they did not not not deserve it.
        Have you just stopped to wonder WHY soooo many people hate the obamas so much? It is not not not because they are black, it is because they are destroying our country!! And you sir are a typical Kook-aid drinking blind sheeple!

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=739688071 Steve Lawnick

      and you, Mike, have your head so far up your own ass it’s pathetic. GW Bush racked up more vacation time than any other Pres. I assume you totally bitched about this as well?

      • sdbcat

        at least Bush’s vacations were mostly working. He had almost every leader from our ally nations out to the ranch. He worked into the early morning hours while at the ranch. He worked into the early morning hours while in DC, unlike the current POTUS who has admitted that he stops working by 6 pm because he goes up for dinner, homework and family time for the rest of the evening before retiring for the night. Please stop claiming something is vacation simply because the POTUS isn’t in DC.

    • williswinning

      Please stop doing drugs. None of that is true. If you believe it you need apsychological evaluation.

  • Stimply

    Words of wisdom: Funnier still, if you try and point out the absurdity of the outrage to the Facebook posters, the usual answer is, “You’re missing the point.” No, the point is very clear: you Obama haters hate the man and his family so much you’ll make up any kind of nonsense, or endorse the crazy talk of others in order to vent your hatred of President Obama and his family.

    That is so very true. Anytime I respond to ridiculous, uninformed posts, with facts and clarity, the response is “that’s not the point.” And I think really? Because I’m responding directly to what you wrote so what, it’s not the point now that I’ve successfully rebutted it?

    Duck and run.

  • KellyJ

    OK, lets ignore the trees for a moment. Lets look at the vacation to Hawaii. For weeks we have been regailed with the tales of the Fiscal Cliff. So dire that Obama has even given a press conference on the issue. And now that Congress is back in session and its time to buckle down and do something about the situation he created last year (pushing the decision past the election, not to mention the plan for sequestration came from the WH), now that its time to stand tall and show true Leadership…he takes off to Hawaii.
    It was 3AM.
    A phone was ringing in the White House.
    Our Ambassador got a voice mail.
    Obama took off to Vegas to collect campaign cash.

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1581527232 Tim Forkes

      It was 3 a.m., the phone was ringing in either Air Force 1 or the president’s vacation residence and it was answered. Our ambassador spoke with the president immediately, despite the president’s location. And as I recall, the GOP was at least as unwilling to fix the problem last year. It was a bipartisan punt.

      • KellyJ

        Except that is not how it happened. The Ambassador called; pleading for assistance. Nothing was done. The General in Command of AFRICOM tried to set up a rapid response, but he was relieved of Command (bet you didn’t hear about that on MSNBC or in the NYT). Then a BS story was concocted and We were lied to for 2 weeks regarding the circumstances. The families of the 4 dead Americans still can’t get any information from the White House or State Dept.

        • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1581527232 Tim Forkes

          No point in rebutting this nonsense.

          • KellyJ

            Because those are the facts and you dont want to deal with the truth that you have been duped. Quite understandable, but to grow and learn you really need to open that dor and walk through.

          • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=739688071 Steve Lawnick

            wow…so Kelly…I guess you were present for all of it? Must have been intense.

          • http://www.facebook.com/paula.magnuson.5 Paula Magnuson

            i quess the general that resigned lied? NOT! 4 men died for no reason!

          • williswinning

            over 40 Ambassadors and staff died under Bush, were is that outrage?

          • sdbcat

            Please supply a link to confirm this “fact”. All media outlets and the government itself have reported that Ambassador Stephens was the first US Ambassador killed since 1979. If you have information to the contrary, please supply the source that we all may be enlightened.

          • http://www.facebook.com/paula.magnuson.5 Paula Magnuson

            kelly save your breath on these morons, they could get hijacked on a plane by muslims and they will still deny that it happened ! lol they are so blinded . they will never see the truth!

          • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1581527232 Tim Forkes

            You really hate Muslims and Arabs. I guess that means you’re a Christian.

          • http://www.facebook.com/paula.magnuson.5 Paula Magnuson

            nonsense well not surprised by your usual liberal response! liberals will never see the light!

    • williswinning

      LOL, Congress is back in session, that means Obama has to jump. They make him wait, then upon their return he is suppose to jump. You’re an idiot.

      • KellyJ

        It’s his frikkin job you moron.

        • williswinning

          Just like it is Congresses job. Don’t worry. Obama will make it safe for retards like you.

          • KellyJ

            Well, if it’s Congresses job, why hasn’t Obama taken Harry Reid to task for failing to pass a budget for the last 4 years?

          • williswinning

            Because it’s not harry Reid who’s holding up the vote. It’s Boehner. But that would require you to turn off Fox News and learn to Google.

          • KellyJ

            So your saying that in the past 4 years it has been Boehner holding up the votes on a budget? Even when Nancy Pelosi was Speaker of the House? The house has passed a budget every year since the Republicans regained it. Reid refuses to even bring them to the Senate floor for a debate.

          • sdbcat

            That, actually, is not accurate. The dems have not presented a budget for 3 years now but the reps have. The rep budget proposals have been shot down every single time. You are buying into campaign hype that is not based in fact. Google it and learn the truth.

  • Vy

    Thank you for dispelling the ignorant accusations against the Obamas in such a funny and informative way! I really enjoyed reading this.

  • Amanda from Round Rock

    Applause!!!!

  • paulm

    Of course, all those other Presidents you cite actually OWNED the properties they spent Xmas at, whereas the Obamas and their mooching friends will stay in lavish hotels, paid for by the taxpayers.

    • paulm

      oops, with the exception of The Clintons. (big surprise!)

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1581527232 Tim Forkes

        And the Fords didn’t own any property in Palm Springs until after he left office.

    • Amanda from Round Rock

      Would you have your President sleeping on a cot or on a family member’s floor? Personally, I’d like him to be treated with the dignity befitting his station.

      • KellyJ

        Now if he can only start acting with the dignity his position requires.

      • http://www.facebook.com/paula.magnuson.5 Paula Magnuson

        he has not earned the dignity! i quess it is ok for poor suffering americans to sleep on a cot! well obama is no better than us!

        • williswinning

          The GOP is the reason you have to sleep on a cot, and if some rich person wants to put you up for a night, I don’t care.

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1581527232 Tim Forkes

      And where do you think the American taxpayers put up all the Secret Service and staff that travel with those other presidents (and there families) while they’re off vacationing? Do you ever think these things through before writing?

    • stimply

      Read the news paulm. The Obamas and their friends are paying for their rental houses.

    • http://www.facebook.com/paula.magnuson.5 Paula Magnuson

      we cannot post a boo hiss unless we sign in lol so i supported all the conservatives comments!!

      • williswinning

        Of course, you are incapable of independent thought.

←
→

© 2013 Baltimore Post-Examiner

HOME / ABOUT / CONTACT / JOIN THE TEAM / TERMS OF SERVICE / PRIVACY POLICY