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mikey1597
Herf-A-Holic

12 years ago

#301

Interesting question you pose.
Indifferent to our whining perhaps, even out of touch from the mainstream, and yet even despots such as Nero, Caligula, Hitler, Mao, Stalin and (insert any North Korean Dear Leader in here) wanted to be loved, revered, and worshipped by the unwashed masses.

bloody spaniard wrote:

But not to the point where it compromised their self indulgence, their sense of entitlement to all that is.

Edited by user 12 years ago | Reason: Not specified

bloody spaniard
Herf-A-Holic

12 years ago

#302

But not to the point where it compromised their self indulgence, their sense of entitlement to all that is.

mikey1597 wrote:

So you're saying she's WORSE?!😨

mikey1597
Herf-A-Holic

12 years ago

#303

Naw, that was a generalization of those listed.

ZRX1200
Herf-A-Holic

12 years ago

#304

PRESIDENT OBAMA: So Congress is going to be busy, and I’m looking forward to working with Democrats and Republicans, House members and Senate members, to try to continue to advance the economic recovery and to provide additional ladders of opportunity for everybody. But one of the things that I’ll be emphasizing in this meeting is the fact that we are not just going to be waiting for a legislation in order to make sure that we’re providing Americans the kind of help that they need. I’ve got a pen and I’ve got a phone -- and I can use that pen to sign executive orders and take executive actions and administrative actions that move the ball forward in helping to make sure our kids are getting the best education possible and making sure that our businesses are getting the kind of support and help they need to grow and advance to make sure that people are getting the skills that they need to get those jobs that our businesses are creating.

And I’ve got a phone that allows me to convene Americans from every walk of life -- non-profits, businesses, the private sector, universities -- to try to bring more and more Americans together around what I think is a unifying theme: making sure that this is a country where if you work hard, you can make it.

So one of the things that I’m going to be talking to my Cabinet about is how do we use all the tools available to us, not just legislation, in order to advance a mission that I think unifies all Americans -- the belief that everybody has got to take responsibility, everybody has got to work hard, but if you do, that you can support a family and meet the kinds of obligations that you have to yourself and your family but also to your communities and to your nation.

DrMaddVibe
Herf-A-Holic Topic Starter

12 years ago

#305

WH defends Obama's Key Largo vacation

White House spokesman Josh Earnest defended President Obama's weekend vacation in Key Largo, despite the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, arguing Obama would be able to monitor events from Florida.

“What the president will be doing this weekend in Florida is essentially what the president would be doing back at the White House. It's just that the weather will be a little warmer,” Earnest told reporters aboard Air Force One.

“The president is looking forward to spending some time with his wife and daughters, who are traveling down to Florida as well,” he continued. “There are some recreational amenities on the property, including workout facilities, tennis courts, a couple of golf courses.
“If there is an opportunity for the president to enjoy some of those amenities, then he'll do that. What he will do, and what he is looking forward to doing, is getting a little downtime in the warm weather with his wife and daughters.”

Earlier this week, there was speculation the president could scrap the trip — his third vacation of the year — because of the crisis. But Earnest downplayed the suggestion, saying deputy national security adviser Tony Blinken is traveling to Florida with Obama, along with the “regular assortment of communication tools” allowing the president to attend secure briefings.

“We have complete confidence the president can handle all the responsibilities he has," Earnest said.

The White House spokesman also said it was not unusual for the president, vice president, secretary of State and national security adviser to all be out of the nation's capital. John Kerry and Susan Rice are traveling on business, while Vice President Biden is visiting the Virgin Islands for his second vacation there in three months.

“Most of the people you described have as their job description traveling overseas to represent the interests of the United States. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is a fairly regular occurrence," Earnest said.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/200220-white-house-defends-obamas-key-largo-vacation#ixzz2vTqfpbKg

It's just too hard for him. Poor fella needs more vacations.

DrafterX
Herf-A-Holic

12 years ago

#306

That Bassard..!! 😠

DrMaddVibe
Herf-A-Holic Topic Starter

12 years ago

#307

Talking about more vacations....

EXCLUSIVE - STUDY: OBAMA MOST WELL-TRAVELED, EXPENSIVE PRESIDENT IN HISTORY THROUGH FIVE YEARS

President Barack Obama has spent more time traveling abroad than other U.S. president in history at this point in their presidencies, according to a forthcoming study from the National Taxpayer Union Foundation (NTUF) provided exclusively to Breitbart News ahead of its public release.

“The most internationally well-traveled President, through five years, is also flying the most expensive-to-operate Air Force One to date,” NTUF wrote.

After five years in the White House, Obama has taken 31 trips for a total of 119 days abroad. At that point in George W. Bush’s presidency, Bush had taken 28 trips for 116 days, while Bill Clinton had taken 27 trips for 113 days. Ronald Reagan, after five years, had taken 14 trips for 73 days while Richard Nixon had taken 12 trips for 60 days after five years in the White House and Lyndon Johnson took 10 trips for 34 days at the half-decade mark. Dwight Eisenhower took 8 trips for 31 days after five years in the White House.

Citing a recent report in the Washington Examiner that found through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) that taxpayers are on the hook for about $228,288 per Air Force One flight hour in 2013, a 27 percent increase from the previously confirmed cost of $179,750 per fight hour that NTUF used in its last study, the taxpayer watchdog concludes that Obama’s flights have cost taxpayers more than any other president.

“Taken on its own, the $48,535 jump may not sound all that significant,” NTUF added about the cost increase for Air Force One. “However, when trips are many thousands of miles and span several time zones and continents, the difference can quickly add up.”

NTUF estimates that Obama’s trip to Europe and the Middle East “will likely involve about 29 hours of total travel time, assuming a cruising speed of 575 mph between Washington, Amsterdam, Brussels, Rome, and Riyadh, and then back to D.C.” That amount, the group says, is going to cost taxpayers millions of dollars.

“Using the previous estimate, the total cost of flying Air Force One between those international cities would be about $5,212,750,” NTUF wrote. “Using the new data, the cost comes out to $6,620,352.”

NTUF added that those amounts are just estimates, and the actual cost is likely to be higher. “While these figures are approximations, and do not account for the additional (and likely greater) expenses of transporting the President’s Secret Service and diplomatic entourage, backup aircraft, land vehicles, and advance security teams, it goes to show that higher Air Force One operational costs substantially change the budgetary magnitude of these trips,” NTUF wrote.

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/03/23/Exclusive-Study-Obama-Most-Well-Traveled-Expensive-President-In-History-Through-Five-Years

DrMaddVibe
Herf-A-Holic Topic Starter

12 years ago

#308

Barack Obama's first visit to Brussels to cost Belgium more than €10m

Obama will arrive with 900-strong entourage, including 45 vehicles and three planes, and attend EU and Nato summits

As Belgium's capital and host to the EU and Nato, Brussels is used to deploying heavy security when big names pop by. But US President Barack Obama's visit on Tuesday will strain the city like never before with €10m ($10.4m, £8.4m) of Belgian money being spent to cover his 24 hours in the country.

The president will arrive on Tuesday night with a 900-strong entourage, including 45 vehicles and three cargo planes. Advance security teams orchestrating every last detail have combed Brussels already, checking the sewers and the major hospitals, while American military helicopters were last week given the green light for overflights. The city hosts at least four EU summits a year, with each of these gatherings costing €500,000 in extra police, military and transport expenses. "But this time round, you can multiply that figure by 20," said Brussels mayor, Yvan Mayeur.

The city's four-stage security scale will be raised from two to three during the visit, Obama's first to the country. A tight cordon will surround The Hotel, the 27-storey former Hilton in the Toison d'Or shopping district where the president will spend the night.

Belgium itself is mobilising 350 police and military on motorbikes to secure the president's routes to EU and Nato summits on Wednesday, while a convoy of nine US helicopters will take Obama to an American first world war cemetery.

After landing at Wevelgem aerodrome, a phalanx of 30 armoured cars will take Obama to the cemetery where – accompanied by Belgium's King Philippe and Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo – he will tour the battlefield and lay a wreath.

Obama will return to Brussels for a lunchtime summit with the European Council president, Herman Van Rompuy, and the European Commission president, José Manuel Barroso. He will then go to Nato's headquaters for a meeting with its secretary-general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

Obama, who spent Monday in Amsterdam and The Hague, will depart Brussels on Wednesday evening for Rome, where he will meet Pope Francis. His sole planned speech during his three-nation, four-day European tour will be to a 2,000-strong audience at Brussels' Centre for Fine Arts (Bozar) on Wednesday afternoon.

Brussels already has a reputation as a gridlock capital, ahead of the likes of Los Angeles and London. But Brigitte Grouwels, who heads the city's transport policy, said the expected lockdown of key areas during Obama's visit should encourage locals to walk, cycle and take public transport. She said: "Obama's visit gives an excellent opportunity … to experience first hand a city unencumbered by cars."

Officials say Obama is unlikely to indulge in an impromptu city walkabout like George W Bush who, during a 2005 visit, dropped in on the distinguished chocolatier Mary to buy a box of pralines

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/24/barack-obama-visit-brussels-cost-belgium-10m

Wonder if he's going golfing there too????

DrMaddVibe
Herf-A-Holic Topic Starter

12 years ago

#309

Secret Service agents sent home from Amsterdam

Three Secret Service agents sent to Amsterdam ahead of President Barack Obama’s visit there this week were sent home, reportedly after spending a night out drinking.

The agency took action after hotel staff informed the U.S. Embassy in the Netherlands that it had found one agent unconscious in a hallway, the Washington Post reported, citing three people familiar with the incident.

Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary confirmed to POLITICO that “three employees were sent home for disciplinary reasons” but would not comment on whether they had been put on administrative leave, as the Post reported.

The Post reported that two of the employees were members of the Counter Assault Team and that one was a supervisor. A Secret Service source said that none of those sent home were supervisors.

The episode comes after nearly two years of reflection and reform at the agency, following an April 2012 incident in which a dozen agency employees were found to have been drinking — and some to have spent time with prostitutes — while in Cartagena, Colombia, ahead of a presidential trip there.

Obama selected Julia Pierson — the first woman to lead the Secret Service — a year ago in what was widely seen as an effort to clean up the agency’s culture following the 2012 scandal. Pierson is traveling with the president this week and arrived in the Netherlands early Monday.

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/03/secret-service-agents-amsterdam-netherlands-barack-obama-105035.html#ixzz2x5rpKEDc

Edited by user 12 years ago | Reason: Not specified

Abrignac
Herf-A-Holic

12 years ago

#310

DrMaddVibe wrote:

I'm guessing this was after he had a joint then failed to pay a hooker?

Burner02
Herf-A-Holic

12 years ago

#311

Most agents would toe the line if they had any respect for the POTUS.

But to get respect, one has to earn it!

DrMaddVibe
Herf-A-Holic Topic Starter

12 years ago

#312

I'm guessing this was after he had a joint then failed to pay a hooker?

Abrignac wrote:

[-( 🤐 🤐

It was after he borrowed the iPod the Kenyan King gave the Queen loaded with his speeches!

😴

DrafterX
Herf-A-Holic

12 years ago

#313

Most agents would toe the line if they had any respect for the POTUS.

But to get respect, one has to earn it!

Burner02 wrote:

good point.... 😟

DrMaddVibe
Herf-A-Holic Topic Starter

12 years ago

#314

That's probably why he's globetrottin' all over the place...he's trying to find respect.

Abrignac
Herf-A-Holic

12 years ago

#315

That's probably why he's globetrottin' all over the place...he's trying to find respect.

DrMaddVibe wrote:

Maybe he'd have more luck if he learned how to spell it.

Burner02
Herf-A-Holic

12 years ago

#316

good point.... 😟

DrafterX wrote:

Through the years I had the opportunity to come in contact with agents that served on the POTUS detail from President Carter through the second term of W. All indicated that President’s Carter, Regan, George H. and George W. and their staff’s treated the agents with total respect and appreciated what they were doing. The few that I had contact with that protected Clinton indicated that Clinton and staff really had nothing for them and basically treated them like chit. With that said, to the best of my knowledge during this period or era there were never any negative public incidents involving POTUS detail agents.

Wonder what the current problem may be? Either the current generations serving the POTUS don't get it or POTUS is not walking the walk.

🌫