FLOTUS gave all right *UPDATED*
Bookworm on May 17 2009 at 10:59 am | Filed under: Barack Obama
Michelle Malkin takes Michelle Obama to task for her apparently hypocritical advise to UC Merced graduates to “give.” Malkin took issue with this language:
“You will face tough times. You will certainly have doubts, and let me tell you because I know I did when I was your age,” she said. “Remember that you are blessed. Remember that in exchange for those blessings, you must give something back. You must reach back and pull someone up. You must bend down and let someone else stand on your shoulders so that they can see a brighter future.”
As Malkin pointed out, even when the Obamas started rolling in the green stuff, they were beyond stingy. Nor is there any record of FLOTUS doing significant (or, indeed, any) charity work.
Malkin’s relentlessly logical approach completely fails to understand the Obama outlook. I direct your attention to John 3:16. In the narcissistic, self-aggrandizing, egocentric Obama world, this couple gave the most generous gift of all: They gave a Messiah to America. Isn’t that enough, already?
UPDATE: In a comment to this post, 11B40 mentioned hearing a news snippet about the cost. The New York Times report from a few days ago has more, and it’s well worth reading. It is meant to remind us that the Obamas themselves are the gift that just keeps giving.
What’s amazing is that neither the pro-Obama public institutions, nor the pro-Obama media are at all embarrassed about this kind of news. That is, they don’t think the following is embarrassing, and seem to think it perfectly appropriate that taxpayers should bear these kinds of costs. As a preface, you have to understand that the UC Merced is a brand new UC campus (again, courtesy of California taxpayers):
“It’s going to be huge,” said Zain Memon, a 22-year-old senior. “This puts us on the map.”
Of course, such reputation-making is not cheap. Officials at the university were scrambling on Tuesday to finalize the financing for the event, which is expected to draw more than 10,000 visitors and cost some $700,000, or roughly $600,000 more than had been budgeted before Mrs. Obama committed to speak.
The cost includes a raft of technological upgrades, including an audio-video feed, a Spanish simulcast over cellphone and a concert-size stage set up on the Bowl, the sodded campus lawn where the first lady will speak. Extra security added nearly $100,000 to the cost, including metal detectors on the campus, which sits in a former cattle field surrounded by hay-laden farmland and cows of unknown political leanings.
None of which, university officials said, will be a problem.
“We are going to the office of the president, to the university’s discretionary fund, we’ll borrow if we have to,” said Mary Miller, the vice chancellor for administration. “This is an investment in our future. It is an investment in our community.”
Still all is not taxpayer burden. The local economy is very excited, since it has already given them a short term boost in terms of construction work and they assume they’ll benefit from a weekend’s excitement of visitors:
“It gave me a job,” said Mr. Hobbs, who was working on the set-up crew and said he has a 1982 Camaro longing for a new motor. “It gave all these people out here jobs.”
For residents in this recession-battered city of 76,000 people in the heart of the Central Valley in California, Saturday is also being treated as a local holiday, with a daylong, downtown block party featuring its own Jumbotron for viewing Mrs. Obama’s speech and activities ranging from “human bowling” to sumo wrestling.
“It’s great for the city,” said R. C. Essig, a co-owner of the Partisan, a Main Street bar that is bringing in a disc jockey from Los Angeles. “I mean any community event here is a big event, but this is even bigger.”
Indeed, local old-timers say the only event that measures up — political celebrity-wise — was a whistle-stop tour by one of the Kennedy brothers in the 1960s. (Which one is up for debate.)
So you see, Mrs. Obama is still giving. As a result of her mere presence, California taxpayers are coughing up hundreds of thousands of dollars to benefit the little community of Merced. I feel honored to be the tax paying conduit through which Mrs. Obama’s blessings are channeled.
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On a related note – ABC World News Tonight had a short segment about Three First Ladies giving Commencement Speeches. Amazingly ABC aired the piece without any real commentary except to say “Three First Ladies give speeches.” Of course, one can always argue that the bits ABC chose from their speeches is some sort of commentary. Here’s what I heard:
Hillary – Sounded too much like a politican as well as a typical “pushy” Feminist (I am not saying ALL feminist are pushy), which is okay except it sounded so 1970s. As if our society hasn’t changed since then.
Michelle – had on her “angry” face on. I’m hoping that was due to the fact that she had the sun in her eyes and that caused her to frown. While I agree with you and Michelle Malkin; I’ll go a little easier on her as she hasn’t given all that many speeches – yet! But, I will only be “forgiving” for a short while. Then she, the President’s and her advisors need to clean up their act.
Laura Bush – sounded like she was sincere, caring, and really wanted to give some advice to the graduates. She had such grace and charm (I’m sure that her husband has been influenced by her behaviour) She made it very personal by mentioning that she had listened to her not-yet-then-father-in-law giving his speech. She mentioned how much our society has changed, electing a Black man to be President. (a nice nod to the Obamas – now that’s grace)
Of the three of them – Laura Bush was the one that I would have liked to listen to the whole speech. But maybe that’s just my bias showing.
Greetings:
Greetings:
I currently live out San Francisco way, and last Friday evening there was a story on the local news about Mrs. Obama’s upcoming visit to the UC Merced graduation.
What caught my attention was the part where a UC Merced spokeswoman mentioned that the First Lady’s visit was going to cost over $700,000 (US) and that $150,000 (US) had already been raised. The spokeswoman was sure that the economics would work out fine because people were coming into town from all over and that all the hotels were full.
I think that this “disconnect” is right up there with Notre Dame’s honoring the President (Abortion-Enabler-in-Chief) at their graduation. The State of California is currently running a budget deficit in the $40 billion (US) range and UC Merced’s spokeswoman is all twinkle-toes about having incurred a $700,000 (US) obligation for her institution.
Back in my infantry days there was a bit of folk-wisdom about the difference between the Army and the Boy Scouts, the latter having “adult supervision”. It seems to me that UC Merced may be experiencing a similar disability.
In conclusion, I’ll grant that I do not know all the ins-and-outs of the White House-UC Merced deal, but this is what I saw on the TV news. I am much interested in finding out more.
I love it how anytime taxpayers get fleeced by free-spending bureaucrats, they are told that it is an “investment.”
Funny, I always thought that investments keep giving. That’s why you make them—you invest hard-earned surplus now in the hopes that it will, like carefully husbanded kindling, catch fire and produce a high return for a long time.
Stupid me. How was I to know that a two-day job laying down sod on the UC Merced quad was an “investment?”
I want to propose “FIRTOTUS,” a new term that can be appplied to either Barry or Michelle, depending on whose butt is in the air at any one time.
FIRTOTUS = First Tushy of the United States.
Tushy = That part of an Obama body to which the Whore Media most prefer to apply their worshipful lips.
I love it how anytime taxpayers get fleeced by free-spending bureaucrats, they are told that it is an “investment.”
Can you say Baa?
Didn’t you know…they’re going to make a coat of many colors (with all the wool they’re trying to pull over our eyes) and Obseph will wear the coat and dream of one day becoming an important person. In one dream, even the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed down to Obseph. One day Obseph saw a burning bush, or more likely he wanted to burn Bush and said unto his people….Change and Hope and they followed him into the desert and were lost and angry. Mrs. Obseph flexed her firm arms and spoke to the believers and said,
“You will face tough times. You will certainly have doubts, and let me tell you because I know I did when I was your age,” she said. “Remember that you are blessed. Remember that in exchange for those blessings, you must give something back. You must reach back and pull someone up. You must bend down and let someone else stand on your shoulders so that they can see a brighter future.”
Now, I don’t want to paraphrase FIRTOTUS, but I think she meant to say – Bend over, take your wallet out of your back pocket – it will be easier to fleece you later while we stand on your shoulders. And, oh yes, good luck graduates, they are no jobs available, serve your master and see the light.
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