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reposted from "The Cypress Times" newspaper: http://www.thecypresstimes.com/article/News/Opinion_Editorial/MICHELLE_OBAMA_TO_AMERICANS_LET_THEM_EAT_CAKE/32188
MICHELLE OBAMA TO AMERICANS: “LET THEM EAT CAKE”
John G. Winder, The Cypress Times, Published 08/06/2010 - 10:59 a.m. CST
In light of the difficult U.S. economy Michelle Obama is roughing it in Spain on your tax dollars
![JW pic[2]](http://www.thecypresstimes.com/Media/8/jpg/2009/1/JWpic2.jpg){kind=small}
"Qu'ils mangent de la brioche" or “Let them eat cake” was Marie Antoinette’s reported response when she was told that the peasants had no bread to eat. Antoinette was the wife of French ruler Loius XVI and was eventually beheaded for her lack of compassion for the poor of France during the French Revolution.
Now with more unemployed Americans than any time since the great depression struggling to feed their children, First Lady Michelle Obama is off in Spain with 40 of her BFF’s occupying an estimated 60 to 70 rooms at the posh five-star hotel, Villa Padierna, on the chic Costa del Sol in southern Spain where the room rates range from $379 (Euro) per night to $1,540 (Euro) per night.
So, even if the Obama entourage is staying in the cheap rooms (which they ain’t) that would come to roughly $22,740 (Euro) per night for 60 rooms or $26,530 (Euro) for 70 rooms per night. PER NIGHT! It’s good to be Queen, right Marie?
CBS News digs into the numbers, too, which should be an indication even to the Obamas how ridiculous the extravagance of this trip is to those of us who are paying for it. I mean even CBS is reporting this! Fear not The Huffington Post chose to focus on Michelle's "one shoulder" dress instead of anything substantive.
“CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller reports the C-32A (757) the First Lady used to fly to Spain - one of the planes that usually serves as Air Force Two, and sometimes Air Force One - operates at a Department of Defense reimbursement rate of $11,351 per hour.
“So a 6.5 hour flight to Spain would run $73,781.50 - double for the round trip.”
The round trip would then cost you, $147,563.00 (U.S. tax dollars)
No word on what the security force surrounding Michelle Obama, her daughters and friends is costing you. But it’s a bunch. More than you’ll spend on a thousand vacations.
However, despite the fact that you’re footing the bill, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibb’s said, "the First Lady is on a private trip."
"She is a private citizen and is the mother of a daughter on a private trip. And I think I'd leave it at that."
I’m sure Gibbs and the Obamas would love to leave it at that, but unfortunately that answer sounds like a big bunch of hooey! Sort of like when they said once we see what the Health Care Reform legislation says, we’ll all love it, and the administration’s statement that the border (with the U.S. and Mexico) is more safe now than it has ever been.
Speaking of safety, before Madame O and her court landed in Spain, the State Department abruptly removed a travel warning for U.S. tourists planning a trip to Spain. The warning read in part, “racist prejudices could lead to the arrest of Afro-Americans who travel to Spain.” Ooops! Perhaps to ease hurt feelings from Spaniards, Michelle could buy the whole country a round of drinks on you. Or maybe this trip is simply the First Lady’s way of offering Spain a stimulus package of its own. Too bad that when the First Lady decided to blow hundreds of thousands of your tax dollars on a trip for her friends, she didn’t think of spending that money here in America. But then who vacations domestically, I mean really? Certainly not anyone of the Obamas' social standing.
Well, there was that vacation so long ago to Maine. When was that? Oh yeah, way back in mid-July. Whew! It’s already August, and Michelle must be all tuckered out.
As American’s struggle daily to keep their homes, pay their bills and even put food on the table, the President, who promised us he will not “sleep” until he’s fixed the economy, works diligently instead to thumb his nose at all of us. Is this the ideology of compassion? Is this truly the party that represents the downtrodden?
Apparently, the Obamas believe there is nothing the America people won’t believe, or put up with, if it comes from the Obamas themselves. Please sir, may we have some more?
As the Bush (according to Obama: “The root of all evil”) tax cuts (also “evil”) are about to expire and your taxes are about to go up, Barack Obama continues to want to focus on the “evil” rich in our country and levy more taxes on those making what the Obamas consider to be too much money, and the President has the nerve to want to penalize you for what you earn even as the First Lady behaves like Lady Gaga on a bender spending your money.
Their hypocrisy knows no limits.
The Obamas, Pelosi, and their liberal ilk (all millionaires by the way) truly believe that people who earn money should be punished. They believe that what you earn is rightfully theirs and apparently Michelle Obama is hell-bent on spending it. All of it.
Hey Michelle, what about all those peasants back here in the U.S. who have no jobs? Oh, yeah, “let them eat cake.”
We all know the fate of Marie Antoinette. Come November we’ll know much more about the fate of the Obamas, their failed policies and their consistent disregard for the people of America.
The Spanish resort of Marbella anxiously awaits the arrival of U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama this week for a summer vacation. One firm estimates the tourism boost from media coverage of the visit could be worth over a billion dollars. (August 3)
Updated:
Andrea Tantaros has penned a scorching editorial for the New York Daily News deeming First Lady Michelle Obama a "modern-day Marie Antoinette" for her vacation in Spain with her daughter.
"The First Lady is spending the next few days in a five-star hotel on the chic Costa del Sol in southern Spain with 40 of her 'closest friends,'" Tantaros writes, pointing to a CNN report that Michelle Obama and her group are expected to occupy 60 to 70 rooms. "Not exactly what one would call cutting back in troubled times."
Pictures: Michelle Obama in Spain
Tantaros goes on to criticize the first lady for traveling abroad instead of within the United States, something that would help the U.S. economy.
"Michelle Obama seems more like a modern-day Marie Antoinette - the French queen who spent extravagantly on clothes and jewels without a thought for her subjects' plight - than an average mother of two," she writes. "... I don't begrudge anyone rest and relaxation when they work hard. We all need downtime - the First Family included. It's the extravagance of Michelle Obama's trip and glitzy destination contrasted with President Obama's demonization of the rich that smacks of hypocrisy and perpetuates a disconnect between the country and its leaders."
According to the White House, Mrs. Obama is traveling with minimal staff and a small group of family friends for a mother daughter trip long in the works.
The First Lady's press office referred to White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs' statement at the White House briefing yesterday that "the First Lady is on a private trip."
"She is a private citizen and is the mother of a daughter on a private trip," he said. "And I think I'd leave it at that."
CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller reports the C-32A (757) the First Lady used to fly to Spain - one of the planes that usually serves as Air Force Two, and sometimes Air Force One - operates at a Department of Defense reimbursement rate of $11,351 per hour.
So a 6.5 hour flight to Spain would run $73,781.50 - double for the round trip.
The White House says that as a policy, official trips by the first family are paid by the government but all personal elements paid are personally. Since this is a private trip, the White House seems to be suggesting that the Obamas are personally paying all costs associated with the vacation.
But there appears to be some wiggle room there, in part because the Secret Service must protect the First Family, and the cost to taxpayers would presumably go up during travel.
A few years ago, as Knoller notes, the Government Accountability Office did an analysis of presidential travel at the behest of Congress. The Secret Service refused to divulge how many personnel and costs are associated with safeguarding a protectee during a trip, citing its policy to not give up information that might be used to gauge a level of protection.
source: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2010/08/04/2010-08-04_material_girl_michelle_obama_is_a_modernday_marie_antoinette_on_a_glitzy_spanish.html#ixzz0vka65lxZ
Michelle Obama Criticized as "Modern-day Marie Antoinette" Over Spain Vacation
First Lady Michelle Obama smiles during a walk at Marbella's city center, southern Spain, on Aug. 4, 2010.
(Credit: Jorge Guerrero/AFP/Getty Images) Andrea Tantaros has penned a scorching editorial for the New York Daily News deeming First Lady Michelle Obama a "modern-day Marie Antoinette" for her vacation in Spain with her daughter.
"The First Lady is spending the next few days in a five-star hotel on the chic Costa del Sol in southern Spain with 40 of her 'closest friends,'" Tantaros writes, pointing to a CNN report that Michelle Obama and her group are expected to occupy 60 to 70 rooms. "Not exactly what one would call cutting back in troubled times."
Pictures: Michelle Obama in Spain
Tantaros goes on to criticize the first lady for traveling abroad instead of within the United States, something that would help the U.S. economy.
"Michelle Obama seems more like a modern-day Marie Antoinette - the French queen who spent extravagantly on clothes and jewels without a thought for her subjects' plight - than an average mother of two," she writes. "... I don't begrudge anyone rest and relaxation when they work hard. We all need downtime - the First Family included. It's the extravagance of Michelle Obama's trip and glitzy destination contrasted with President Obama's demonization of the rich that smacks of hypocrisy and perpetuates a disconnect between the country and its leaders."
According to the White House, Mrs. Obama is traveling with minimal staff and a small group of family friends for a mother daughter trip long in the works.
The First Lady's press office referred to White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs' statement at the White House briefing yesterday that "the First Lady is on a private trip."
"She is a private citizen and is the mother of a daughter on a private trip," he said. "And I think I'd leave it at that."
CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller reports the C-32A (757) the First Lady used to fly to Spain - one of the planes that usually serves as Air Force Two, and sometimes Air Force One - operates at a Department of Defense reimbursement rate of $11,351 per hour.
So a 6.5 hour flight to Spain would run $73,781.50 - double for the round trip.
The White House says that as a policy, official trips by the first family are paid by the government but all personal elements paid are personally. Since this is a private trip, the White House seems to be suggesting that the Obamas are personally paying all costs associated with the vacation.
But there appears to be some wiggle room there, in part because the Secret Service must protect the First Family, and the cost to taxpayers would presumably go up during travel.
A few years ago, as Knoller notes, the Government Accountability Office did an analysis of presidential travel at the behest of Congress. The Secret Service refused to divulge how many personnel and costs are associated with safeguarding a protectee during a trip, citing its policy to not give up information that might be used to gauge a level of protection.
source: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2010/08/04/2010-08-04_material_girl_michelle_obama_is_a_modernday_marie_antoinette_on_a_glitzy_spanish.html#ixzz0vka65lxZ
Queen Obama Pharaonic Trip To Spain
5,000 euros = 6540.5 U.S. Dollar
In Fawning Obama Interview, ABC Elicits Hot Scoop about... Babysitting?
In Fawning Obama Interview, ABC Elicits Hot Scoop about... Babysitting?
"We're not that far removed from what most Americans are going through,"
Posted by Ron Futrell Jul 26th 2010 at in ABC
Michelle Obama has booked a very expensive vacation to Marbella, Malaga in Spain accompanied by Sasha and "long-time family friends". Spending a night in one of the suites of the Villa Padierna is not affordable to anyone. It costs 5,000 euros, 6540.5 U.S. Dollar
the full interview:
http://bigjournalism.com/rfutrell/2010/07/26/in-fawning-obama-interview-abc-elicits-hot-scoop-about-babysitting/
fotos from the Hotel site
http://www.hotelvillapadierna.com
Michelle Obama heads to Marbella for Spanish holiday with daughter and friends
Michelle Obama and her daughter are to take a holiday in the Spanish resort of Marbella on the Costa del Sol, the White House confirmed on Monday night.
America's First Lady and her younger daughter, Sasha, nine, will spend four days in the seaside resort, staying at the five star Villa Padierna, which has a reputation as the best hotel in Spain.
President Barack Obama will not be making the trip, nor would the couple's elder daughter Malia, 12, who is going to an American summer camp.
original source: http://www.cbsnews.com/1770-5_162-0.html?query=cost%20of%20michelle%20obama's%20spain&searchtype=cbsSearch&tag=dsGoogleModule
Posted by Ron Futrell Jul 26th 2010 at in ABC
Michelle Obama has booked a very expensive vacation to Marbella, Malaga in Spain accompanied by Sasha and "long-time family friends". Spending a night in one of the suites of the Villa Padierna is not affordable to anyone. It costs 5,000 euros, 6540.5 U.S. Dollar
the full interview:
http://bigjournalism.com/rfutrell/2010/07/26/in-fawning-obama-interview-abc-elicits-hot-scoop-about-babysitting/
fotos from the Hotel site
http://www.hotelvillapadierna.com
Michelle Obama heads to Marbella for Spanish holiday with daughter and friends
Michelle Obama and her daughter are to take a holiday in the Spanish resort of Marbella on the Costa del Sol, the White House confirmed on Monday night.
America's First Lady and her younger daughter, Sasha, nine, will spend four days in the seaside resort, staying at the five star Villa Padierna, which has a reputation as the best hotel in Spain.
President Barack Obama will not be making the trip, nor would the couple's elder daughter Malia, 12, who is going to an American summer camp.
original source: http://www.cbsnews.com/1770-5_162-0.html?query=cost%20of%20michelle%20obama's%20spain&searchtype=cbsSearch&tag=dsGoogleModule
Michelle Obama heads to Marbella for Spanish holiday with daughter and friends
Michelle Obama and her daughter are to take a holiday in the Spanish resort of Marbella on the Costa del Sol, the White House confirmed on Monday night.
Michelle Obama will be staying at Villa Padierna Photo: Alamy
America's First Lady and her younger daughter, Sasha, nine, will spend four days in the seaside resort, staying at the five star Villa Padierna, which has a reputation as the best hotel in Spain.
On Sunday evening, websites of Spain's national newspapers claimed the entire family would be coming, but the White House quickly denied that the president, who is beset with problems at home, would be leaving the country for his holiday.
However, a day later an official statement released by the White House read: "The First Lady will travel to Spain next week for a private, mother-daughter trip with longtime family friends. President Obama will not be joining this trip."
Spanish media reported that the trip would take place between August 4 to 8 and that Spain's King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia had invited Mrs Obama to visit them at their summer palace on the island of Majorca.
The Villa Padierna, a golf and spa resort with a private beach set along the coast from Marbella, regularly plays host to Sheiks from the Gulf States, most recently Prince Faisal, the son of the king of Saudi Arabia.
Sources quoted in the Spanish media said the Obama party had booked 30 rooms at the resort, which start at 250 euros for a standard double, rising to between 2,200 and 5000 euros for a private villa within the gardens.
According to the Obama's official schedule, the First Family will visit the disaster-hit Gulf Coast in Florida for a weekend in August and will spend 10 days in the New England resort island of Martha's Vineyard.
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