In Interview, Obama Pressed On Taking So Many exotic Vacations While Americans Suffer

If we added up all of the golf games, the B-ball games, the vacation time, the constant campaigning for a buck, the fun travel, just exactly how many days in three years has this GSA-type bozo actually worked for US?

....and a born and bred liar.

HAH! In a pig's eye. It's becoming more apparent every day, those without jobs, those who can't make ends meet, those who are worse off than they were 4 years ago had better do some real thinking before they vote for the spendthrift loser.

I just read this:

http://www.askheritage.org/are-you-ready-for-taxmageddon/?utm_source=AH_Weekly&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=2012-04-13&utm_campaign=2012_Brand

Hey...good to see you. You must be busy working outside, haven't see much of you lately. Hope your folks are OK.

He doesn't give a flying flip about what Americans are going through....its the very least of his concerns.  But its to his peril.....

Thanks AJ.  Yeah....been spending as much time outside as possible when I'm not at the folks.  They're doing as well as can be expected.  Tough ole coots. :)

Glad to hear the folks are OK.

Obama allowing a 13 year old to waste our money going to Mexico was the last straw for me.

The GSA's shennigans under Obama's watch was gravy!

Anyone with half a brain should see that.

Hershey,

"He'd bitch if he was hung with a new rope." LOL

And he still didn't answer to the allegations....cause he's guilty of waste, fraud and abuse. Just as guilty as the GSA.

AJ: I've read stats on the net re: the taxpayers costs for these vacation trips but each report clarifies that some of the figures $$ are not verified due to inability to do that. I have no problem with a POTUS and his family vacationing but when many are suffering financially it would be wise of him to be concerned about "appearances" of excessive trips. Each vacation requires a huge staff of Secret Service employees, advance trips and preparation by the staff and Secret Service for that vacation, and the fuel and staff to fly them wherever they go. These are difficult times for Americans who were told my Obama to skip the trip to Vegas and stay closer to home ( my porch vacation I guess) while he and his family are off to Hawaii, Mexico, Martha's Vineyard etc etc. Wouldn't hurt them to take an educational trip with their daughters to Annapolis, Gettysburg, Philly, Mt. Vernon etc instead of the distances they are flying in Air Force One.

The people are suffering, he is partying, travelling, and wasting as much money as I've ever seen, with utterly no regard for how it looks to the people who are paying his bills.

His 13 year old goes to MEXICO for spring break?

How profligate can a person get?

Obama has only been in office 3 years, yet he and his family have never missed a vacation or a trip.

How many vacations have YOU had in the last 3 years?

I've had  exactly NONE.

Can't afford to drive anywhere because gas is more than twice as much as when Obama took office , and I refuse to be groped or Xrayed by the TSA.

I'm a homebody. So we seldom travel. Hubby plays in two bands, so he spends most of his time either practicing or playing when he's not working, so we do a little traveling with that.

Politics is getting old to me because all politicians seem to be alike now days. Whatever Obama has done - whatever Bush did - whatever the next one does - they all pretty much suck and waste money they don't have. I'd be thrown in prison if I did what our Presidents and Congress do - regardless of their party. It's pretty sad. Sometimes I'm glad Im growing older and don't have kids that all this will be dumped on.

Nothing in our country is going to change until all the Republican & Democrats  - all the PEOPLE in this counry - join together IN THE STREETS and DEMAND change. If people can march in the streets en masse over a shooting in Florida, you'd think we all could do it for the sake of our country. I guess folks just aren't mad enough yet. The folks in DC don't give a shit as long as they can keep US divided and they have a job. Nothing will ever change, regardless of who is President, until we the people join together and make it happen in a very loud kind of way. Just my opinion.

So who spends what or who takes more vacation or who throws parties at the White House - doesn't matter - it's old now - they all look the same to me in Washington.

Sad, huh?

Cats,

That's what the teaparty movement was started for. Lower taxes, less government, less regulation, less waste, fraud and abuse, and anti-corruption.

Many Liberals immediately "assumed" that it was just composed of Social Conservatives and jumped down their throats. They "assumed" that the teaparty was their polar opposite.  They're not. They are made up of Repubs, Dems, Independents, Libertarians, of mainly the middle class who are simply fed up with the mess politicians have made and sick of paying so much of our money to bureaucrats who look for ways to waste our money.

And yes, it is sad. From what I'm seeing, the Gov. wants us to give up our independence, give up our rights to choose, and pay big bucks for a huge government, and live like hive creatures, "sharing" everything we have whether we want to or not . I'm 65. I've had a lot of experience, have been successful and I remember how much more freedom we used to have.

I never in my wildest dreams would have believed that the government would have the temerity to grope me if I wanted to hop a plane and go somewhere. As far as I am concerned, our government stole my right to physical privacy and my right to travel freely without interference. I don't look like a terrorist, yet they treat me, a natural citizen born and raised here as if I were a terrorist.

When I started driving, gas was under 35 cents a gallon. My girlfriends and I used to clip coupons, turn them in at the grocery store for pennies, cash in soda and beer bottles and be able to buy enough gas to trek to the nearest town to go to dances to meet guys in the early 60s. 

Now it's tough on kids to do anything. Minimum wage laws made it too expensive for employers to hire them. There are few entry level jobs for kids to get to even be trained to have a work ethic. I worked when I was 16 after school and it helped out because the folks were so poor. I weeded fields for farmers for a buck an hour in the summer, and picked fruit, babysat, did whatever I could do to earn money. We had no welfare, no medical, no food stamps, no government handouts. I learned a lot, I learned to be careful how I spent my money because I earned it.

The government is not careful. It isn't their money, but more and more, they act as if it is theirs. They spend OUR money on frivolous crap to get re-elected.

That to me is sad.

I'm only  a few years behind you, as I'll turn 60 this summer - I also remember the good times in my youth, teen, and even into my 20s. Right now I can say that I'm glad my husband and I talked it over and chose not to spend our lives raising children - or I'd probably be so depressed for them now that I wouldn't know how to cope with it. I'm very sad to see what's happened to our country - not just since Obama took office, but beginning way back in my 30s - so the last 3 decades in general.

We've given up everything that once made our country so great. Most of it traces back to greed on someone's part. The jobs are gone. The opportunities are gone. The country is being overtaken by illegals who, around the time I die, will have the majority vote in the USA. The dream of home ownership is disappearing. The  fear of losing all we've worked so hard for through our lives is a real possibility....I could go on and on, but you know it all. The majority of it is all for GREED at the expense of the American Dream for our kids and grandkids. It's really shameful. These people and companies no longer care about the big picture, but only instant gratification at the expense of the future.

I no longer feel there's anything I can do about it - if people took to the streets, I'd certainly join them. Americans have become so apathetic - maybe because things seem so hopeless.

I vote. I have never failed to vote since I was old enough at 21 years old, waaaay back when! I'm prepared too. Water, food, seeds and we are well armed. Hopefully I will never have to use force to repel idiots. But I would kill to protect my family and my one grandchild. No doubt in my mind.

That said, we are not so different. For the past 5 years we as a country have had our eyes opened. You're right, it isn't one party, it's both. We discovered that fact after some of the bastards used their divisive ways to incite fear in the American people to achieve their progressive agenda. There's only a small minority who use fear, and that minority are our "professional" politicians. The panderers. The big spenders. The liars. The Communist-trained holdovers from the sixties who have stolen our freedoms, and have made it their life's ambition to Socialize us. With the internet, it's relatively easy to root them out. You can vett their voting records easily. And yes, some are Republicans.

What gets me is watching these idiots try to define and assess what I am seeing, and them telling me it is not what I am seeing. The unethical use of the media by jerks who re-interpret what I can see with my own eyes and tell me it's something else.

I have learned to read between the lines, to figure out what the real intent is of many in my government. Number one, they want to either take our guns, or so restrict ownership and use as to disarm us. What I know is every country who willingly gave up arms was stripped of all freedom. People have to realize that an armed citizenry keeps the government in line. WE THE PEOPLE are the boss, and we didn't get our freedom from government, it comes from God. I don't know if you believe that, but it's why the Founders put the checks and balances in the Constitution, to limit heavy-handedness by the Feds.

What is unfortunate is we have to listen to so much crap, and weed out the BS. But we're grownups, we have handled our own budgets, our own jobs, and we can apply all that we have learned, along with US Constitutional Law and figure out what works, and what is just so much BS.

I'm in it for the long haul. That is, until I die. I figure it was my bad for not paying attention for so many years, too. Shameful, actually. But I'm making up for lost time by educating myself.

I tend toward Libertarianism, but consider myself an Independent. The Democratic Party has betrayed me. The Republican Party, needs some long overdue lessons. So I am a thorn in all their sides.

It's my job, as a US citizen. Since retirement, I have the time, too.

We also have weapons in our home for the first time. My husband thinks down the same line as you do. It's also smart to have some gold and silver around, but to purchase it at coin shows and with cash so there's no paper trail. I'm getting more cynical in my older age....oh well. I don't see things getting any better. I try to pay attention, but won't let it rule my life or make or break any given day. Not much surprises me any longer. But I do vote and my representatives in Congress hear from me...just feel like blowing off steam now and then. Usually just get a form letter back, but have actually received a call once.  :-)

I do lean left, but really started blogging to learn from folks who think differently than I. We learn nothing if we only listen to those who feel and think the same way we do.  And so I appreciate the exchange here.  ^..^

We still buy metals when the price drops. Inflation is eating up cash and bank accounts. We buy from a local dealer, and no electronic records either. Metals are by no means a fast buck proposition. They are a hedge for inflation and the future. I'm having a tough time convincing my bro of that. He buys "collectible" coins, which he won't live long enough to recoup his investment. And if he has to cash them in quickly he will sell at a loss most likely.

Being prepared is good at any stage. I would hate the thought of dependency and the lessons of the past are not lost on me. My folks went through the depression. I remember what I read. I don't have a photographic memory, but do have a memory that once I read to understand a subject, I have it for life. Used to avoid politics but (finally) figured out that I was doing myself and country a big disservice. Better late than never.

What you call cynical sounds like experience and education, to me. Sounds like you have a smart Hubby  who will help take good care of you. So do I. Smart women, eh!

Oh, take a gun safety course if you haven't. Get comfortable with your weapon. My husband the hunter has taught gun safety. I actually took a course when I was 16, somewhere around 1963. Did it to please an old boyfriend. Ha!

I actually talked to hubby before about getting me a small pistol and taking shooting lessons. He wasn't overly thrilled about the request although I'm not sure why. I let it drop for then, but might bring it up again.

By the way, I can't read any of your past posts because I'm not a "friend." I'm not into confrontation these days as in my early days here, so I would probably be more of a reader than a commenter. Like I said before, if you don't hear opinions that have differed from your own, you never learn. It's up to you, but I think I'd find it interesting. Have enjoyed the conversation here though. Thx ^..^

Talk your husband into it. Everyone should know how to safely shoot and handle a gun. I don't really like them, but I figure I'm safer with one than without. Actually I'm a pretty good shot. One of the first things you should learn is that you must always treat all guns as if they are loaded when you handle them.

Cops are not required by law to risk their lives for me, they are never around when you need one, and I don't want to be a victim.

I have been so sick and tired of the fighting on Blogster, namecalling, baiting, hate and discontent here that I have only accepted one friend in the last year or so. I steer clear. I either ignore, block or delete. Too many times in the early days it ended up a free-for-all and I'm not here to be a referee either.

I currently have close to 90 friends requests, actually  I deleted all awhile ago, I need to clean it out again.

I'll befriend you. I think it's a good idea. If you have anything to say to me, I'd appreciate it being to me, not someone else. Be assured, I'll give you the same consideration. I think the second-hand sniping here has caused a lot of problems. You have a friend or two who I have blocked. So if they are around, I will be circumspect about commenting on your blog. OK?

Sounds good. I know I have some friends, as probably you do, who get involved in, and sometimes get off on, the blood baths here. I no longer care to get involved in that and they know that about me. As I said before, I come here sometimes at night to relax, read, sometimes learn, laugh, or touch base with people. I'm a very NON-confrontational person at heart although there's one or two issues I do feel strongly about. But I've learned over time it's not that difficult for me to pass something by rather than to jump into the fire, even if it involves people I'm friends with. After all - we really aren't going to change people's opinions on most issues. I try to show people the same respect they show me. We'll get along fine. Thanks ^..^

cats,

My friends here fight their own battles, and I am not expected to jump into a fire to "prove friendship". No friend would do that to me anyway. I think we have all figured that much out by this time. Things, so far as I can see have calmed down a lot here. Thank goodness.

I can get a little prickly at times, but it mostly has to do with people half reading my post, or misconstruing something I've written in a comment. Then applying an interpretation of their own that I clearly didn't mean, much less write. I guess half the battle in life is clear communication.

Bitching, yes....that is necessary!

I'm not complaining about their "time away", I'm complaining about the cost.

A weekend at a ranch owned by the Bush family is NOT the same as an Obama plane trip to Hawaii or Martha's Vineyard in a fancy rented house. Very expensive. The roundtrip plane fuel mileage alone is awful.

You're talking "time".

I'm talking taxpayer money, WASTED.

The huge entourage Obama took to Great Britain shocked the Brits. All the people who go with Obama and Michelle, the fancy vehicles, and the secret service cost US big bucks. It was a regular travelling circus.

Now look at the latest fiasco on Obama's watch. 11 Secret Service people sent home for hiring prostitutes.

Not good.

Why don't the Obama's spend their time taking their girls to educational places nearby? DC and adjoining states are loaded with places that cost next to nothing. It would sure look better to the taxpayers.

To me, they all look and act the same. I can't even watch the news any more. I pay more attention to state and local issues these days. Once there's a candidate who will outlaw lobbying, install term limits, put a halt to these companies (insurance) that are bleeding us dry and bankrupting Americans right and left - then I'll start paying attention again. Otherwise, they all look too much alike to me. They all waste the money I work HARD for every day. Vacations - wars - cushy offices - benefits far superior to anything I've ever seen in MY working life - Simply a waste and both parties do it. We need more choices, and the two parties established will never ever allow it. They have too good of a thing going. Sickening!

Scandals? No big surprise there either.

THIS is why he travels on our dime? To look for vacation spots for Michelle? While his Secret Service men get serviced by prostitutes? I want to know how long this crap has gone on. I want to know just how far-reaching this behavior goes in our government.

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/obama-colombia-part-my-job-scout-out-where-i-may-want-bring-michelle-back-later

Obama saying something like that publicly just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Back on Feb. 21, Washington Secrets columnist Paul Bedard of the Washington Examiner reported that up to that point members of the First Family had taken 16 extended vacations during Obama’s presidency.

“Accounting for trips out of Washington for several days, the total number of vacations Washington Secrets tabulated is 16, 10 where the family was together, such as for Christmas and summer vacations, one by the president for his 49th birthday in Chicago in 2010 and five by the first lady,” wrote Bedard. “Still, when compared to former President George W. Bush's 30 trips home to Texas at this stage of his presidency, the Obamas vacation-day count is less than half of Ws 220 days at his Crawford ranch.”

Yes, this is true. But what have Obama's vacations COST THE TAXPAYER compared to Bush going home to work on his ranch in Texas?

It's comparing apples to oranges and like the outrageous waste, fraud and abuse of the GSA, how much did the Bush vacations cost US compared to the Obama vacations?

We're broke. Our politicians are borrowing money in our name to live lavish lifestyles that WE can't afford.

It looks bad. REAL bad.

After talking to my hubby, he keeps tabs on what's going on at the Air Base he worked at. He was upper management before he retired. Guess what. More money was given out for "bonuses" to Federal Employees there than ever before, just this past year.

Obama said he would end this bonus crap. NOT.

Instead, it's WORSE. Magnify this throughout the Federal government. Magnify this with the actual 15-20 percent addition of government employees growth under Obama's watch.

Do you like paying for it? I sure don't.

I bitch to my Congressional Representative all the time. I want them to know that WE SEE. WE vote.

As much as I hate watching this disgusting crap, it's MY JOB to keep up and bitch.

Obama said a lot of things...and now so does Romney. I've learned to listen but not believe any of it. They promise the world - knowing they can't or won't follow through - always blaming someone else for their lies.

I assume you are as critical on both parties, especially if you lean Libertarian as my husband has for so long. I'm probably going to move to Independent. Everyone should. Keep those suckers wondering LOL

I enjoy getting those calls from political parties and letting them know I do not belong to their party. Yes, keep 'em guessing. They sure as hell don't own my vote no matter which demographic they try to apply to me.

And no, I'm not happy with Romney simply because I don't know how much is pandering and how much is truth. But I could never vote Obama.

I was a Democrat for 40 years, albeit an unthinking one. Now I vett, then vote. But I have always been a fiscal and social conservative. Raised that way. There are no conservatives left in the Democratic party...the Blue Dogs are all but gone. They are "progressives" now, which I can't abide. In fact, the progressivism is in both parties.

A form of collectivism is what the first settlers here used as a form of government. It failed also. The first colony almost died out.

Capitalism is work to earn. Socialism is getting a share whether you work or not. It doesn't take a steel trap of a mind to figure that one out.

I would rather have someone resent me because I worked and earned and have wealth than have someone resent me because they got a handout and it isn't enough (and it will never be enough).

Like I said before, there are few entry level jobs left for the young because of minimum wage laws. The kids won't learn a work ethic. That's a crying shame.

I agree. My first job was as a waitress. Made decent money as well. Then I sold draperies at Sears (puke.)  I've been a receptionist, secretary, administrative assistant to a Research Scientist, and now hold a job only one other person holds where I work, and am allowed to do the majority of it from home. It does teach you something about moving up the ranks when you start at the bottom and set goals for yourself and have the will to learn and change. I'm hoping to retire at 62 if I can persuade my hubby. He's working on the numbers with our financial guy - but alot will depend on how the economy is going. He also likes me to hold on to it in case something happens to his job, then I can pick up insuring us both. Health insurance is what can make or break a family these days and is the biggest reason families have to file for bankruptcy these days. The rich are set and can take care of themselves. The poor dip into our pockets for their health costs. It's those of us with a home, savings, have worked hard....that end up getting hit the worst if a major medical issue comes up. We don't want to lose everything we have due to one.

Well, It sounds like you and your husband plan ahead. Excellent. I'm very glad to hear it.

"If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail". My husband says that. It's too true.

I've had a bunch of jobs in my life, none that I would ever want to do again. Mostly sales or menial labor-type stuff when I was young. I never had any great aspiration to have a career. I worked hard at all of my jobs because that was how I was raised to be. If I had it to do over again, knowing what I know now, it might be different. I never wanted to be anybody's boss, either. (Too much like raising somebody elses children.) LOL

Husband has excellent retirement medical coverage and I am on Medicare now. Which pisses me off in several ways. My husband's medical should be enough and I shouldn't need to be on Medicare. Frankly, I think the government being involved in any way in my healthcare pisses me off.

My irritatingly obtuse brother has volunteered to take a "layoff" at 62, so his wife decided at 55 that SHE had to quit working. DUH! He will be paying out of pocket because he failed to plan. He got only a years worth of coverage after his voluntary "layoff", which is really dumb. He has money, but I don't think he thought very far ahead. He may be sorry. He has Medicare in a year, though. But his wife will cost them until she is old enough for medicare and she has no retirement. Just a savings account that won't last. She likes to spend.

You know, we always lived within our means. And by that I mean if one of us had lost our job, we could still make the house payment and eat. We actually planned ahead, for our whole married life, 35 years, for this time and we are well off because of it. We did without a lot, learned to fix, repair, build, and do all kinds of things to avoid paying someone else. We saved. He was in charge of all of the trades at work and he can do them all, or at least has a good working knowledge of all. My Dad was a very capable man, too, and we kids learned a lot. We were poor so we had to do for ourselves. You wouldn't believe some of the stuff I learned. Heck I installed a generator on a 50 Chevy when I was 16. Dad had Parkinsons Disease and he couldn't control the shaking, so I did it. Burnt myself, (not badly), on the damned manifold. He told me not to touch it...

Thing is, we didn't have health insurance when I was growing up. We actually paid the doctor. Yes, it was tough, but we didn't have IPODS, cell phones, computers, fancy tennis shoes, fancy TVs, etc, etc, etc. And we saved every cent we could.

Dad had the VA Hospital and my brother who had cancer was taken care of at the Childrens Orthopedic Hospital which was financed by donations. Spinal surgery, and he died at 11.

This talk about how "critical" it is to have health insurance (especially for the young and healthy) is pretty much ridiculous and has become a one of the most phony entitlement grabbers I've ever seen. I do agree with health savings accounts. I agree with Tort reform so lawyers don't fleece us or our doctors, (Texas did it and it works), portability if we change jobs and the right to shop all across the nation for a policy. Competition drives the price down. It's only been the past 20 years or so that we can't really shop for insurance in my state. These idiot politicians (and lobbyists) stopped it and there are only a few companies to choose from. The prices went sky-high.

We can take care of the disabled, the very poor, but the able-bodied non-workers I have a problem with. There are lots of jobs out there, my husband has researched it. Heck, the US is actually importing more "immigrants" to do them. This puts more on the welfare rolls, more to feed, clothe, jail, educate and provide healthcare for.

How stupid is that?

When my Motherinlaw came here in 1947 she had to have 2 sponsors to guarantee her character and support, and she had to pass a health test, teeth, too. She had to learn English. She became a citizen within 5 years and had to renounce her German citizenship and swear allegiance to the USA. If she became indigent, it was guaranteed she would be deported. This is how it should still be. Most other countries on the planet would never put up with what we do.

The sharing the wealth thing is ridiculous. I don't have wealth, I'm comfortable. Most in this country have too many handouts, too much is "given", not "earned". THAT is the problem. When too much is "free" it creates contempt. And it ain't free.

When you "earn", you appreciate what you have so much more. It's a fact.

I don't know if it's too late now since jobs have seemed to have disappeared in so many places, but anyone with a shred of intelligence knows that things mean much more to people who work for them (as you just said as well). There's so much abuse in "entitlements" these days that I honestly believe that if we cut half (or probably way more) of the people off of taking the money from you and me....that they would be fine. No one would die from hunger OR from actually getting up and going to work. And I DO know people who, as long as the government (you and me!) keeping sending them an unemployment check each week (or however often they get them), that they have no intention of looking for work. It's ridiculous - also infuriating - I hate my alarm clock and sometimes I hate my job (not often as it's a pretty good one) - but I do it because my mom taught me at an early age to always take care of myself, never be dependent on a man (LOL) and be smart with the money I do earn.

I do also believe in taking care of the very poor and disabled. But it's  exploded way out of control. There are unblievable number of people living off of us who do not need to and would be fine without the government handouts. Like you, me and my husband have worked and saved for decades, and now feel we should be in great shape for the remainder of our lives barring a total collapse of the dollar and our economy. I want to and intend on holding on to it.

You and I have a lot more in common than I've realized in my few years here at Blogster. Amazing what one can learn in a simple conversation that can change one's perception. It helps (in my case) when the subject of religion stays out of it......and also other people :-)  Enjoy your evening!

True!