There is no legitimate reason for people to be upset about this. They are upset because an African American President's daughter is having a vacation in Mexico.

so-'n-so will be with us and SS and all, pleeeeeaaasssseee!". Oh yeah, this allowed trip did not come easily...

Not to mention, not to put too fine a point on it but she's turning into a gorgeous young woman, and no doubt they're currently equipping the Secret Service with cattle prods to keep the boys away. So I wouldn't blame Pres O if even the mention of a tropical spring break vacation made him a little twitchy and nervous.

- they were protected by their Secret service too.

Not at all, not even a little bit.

MAO!

thinking they worship them little Red Books of Mao in the White House .

Maybe both
a communist jihad wont surprise Martha or me!!!
This country is doomed i tellya and all the signs like her name were there all along!!!

Of course, Sasha is really "Natasha" -- she probably was named for the Russian spy in Rocky and Bullwinkle

The Secret Service would never disclose how many agents they have protecting someone, and the only source is an unnamed Mexican "official".

I never heard them whining every time one of the Tequila Twins traveled out of the country. They would have twice the number of SS agents, too. No bitching from these whiners about that. IIRC, the pair were tossed out of Argentina for unruly behavior toward the end of their father's second term

good one!!

I think it was Bartcop who coined "Tequila Twins".

And, on further thought, it may actually have been Paraguay that gave them the boot. It's whichever South American country where their father bought up a huge chunk of land for whatever reason.

find a reason to be pissed at that.

There's a whole list of them right here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biggest_ball_of_twine

Great food, great music, and an insane drive over the mountains down to the Pacific at Zipolite.

Also, some very interesting and heavy-duty local and regional politics happens there.

I knew a musician in Austin, Dan Del Santo, prominent in the world beat scene. He got in trouble over a truck load of pot and vanished. They never caught him. News came years later that he had gone to Oaxaca and eventually died there, a free man.

run for the hills its sure to be a sign or, something

they make it sound like Malia is going of on a weekend of heavy partying, something that was pretty much standard for the Bush twins.

They weren't supposed to budge from the White House because of all the costs involved.

do not piss off the Powers That Be.

Wouldn't it be great to just shove that in the haters faces...??

She is a child, we don't need to pay for her and her gang of groupies.

why should tax payers protect the first family. i am aghast at this.

The taxpayer is not paying her travel costs - just the security costs.

It's a lie, of course Furthermore, they know it's a lie. It's pretty damn pathetic that they hate the man so much they have to make up shit to be outraged about.

Edited to correct spelling.

before I opened the link for comment section reading
I didnt have a chance to win The crazies out there - whoa

the three zombies on Faux Morning News.

To get my last class for a Spanish major. While there's no shortage of fun things to do, it's not what would be considered a traditional party place like Padre Island. The place exudes history and culture and is well known for it's Spanish language schools that attract tourists from all over the world. Think of the most stereotypical Mexican architecture you can then take it up a notch, and you've got Oaxaca. Along with Mitla, there are other architectural zones to visit such as Monte Alban and the lesser known Dainzu. Various small villages surrounding the city are well-known for various art forms from weaving to the famous Barro Negro pottery of the area. If Malia is anything like her nerd father (meant affectionately), she's going to have fun and learn a ton.

TlalocW

Truly horrifying. Who does Malia think she is? How dare she go on spring break in Mexico.

Not only is she taking spring break in Mexico, she's going there to learn stuff!

For those who don't get sarcasm:

"hate republicans and democrats alike"... yeah, right.

Most of the haters have probably never left the Continental US, which is part of their problem.

That has been the case for every President, including the current one. And, ALL Presidents' children get Secret Service protection, regardless of where they are. Sane Americans accept that, and don't bitch about how much it costs. Are you going to complain if Mitt Romney gets elected and you have to pay for protecting his five sons and their wives and multiple children???? I doubt it.

And it's a great right wing talking point. Not that you are, necessarily. Right wing, I mean. Enjoy your benefit of a doubt.

But you have to ask what a normal SS escort would be for a juvenile child of the President while traveling in this country before you can make a comparison. I don't know. Do you?

Then you have to ask yourself.......should they be required to stay put to save a buck? Does their travel have some value as temporary ambassadors of the US (Bush girls notwithstanding)?

And finally, if it's that big a deal......you should consider the number of children the right wing challengers to Obama the SS would have to protect.

I'll help......Mitt....5.......Santorum.......7.

Newt at 0 would be your best bet but who takes HIM seriously.

Mitt probably has a bunch of grandchildren since his kids are older.

Cost benefit analysis suggests this trip is a bargain compared to a Republican Presidency.

...prefer that all Democratic Presidents and their families stay prisoners in the White House for 4-8 years. Republican Presidents are free to travel the world, haul their staff to the fake ranch in Texas every other month, booze it up at the Beijing Olympics...

Thanks for your service.

JURY RESULTS

You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Mon Mar 19, 2012, 10:53 PM, and the Jury voted 6-0 to HIDE IT.

Juror #1 voted to HIDE IT and said: No explanation given
Juror #2 voted to HIDE IT and said: this is a troll
Juror #3 voted to HIDE IT and said: Bush took more vacation than any president. He was on vacation, clearing brush on his fucking prop ranch, when the August DPB came in warning him that bin Laden was going to strike the US. Fuck this RW troll talking point about Obama's vacation, and fuck this RW troll newbie.

I'm drunk and I'm angry. Tempt your fate, fuck with me; the world won't miss you.
Juror #4 voted to HIDE IT and said: oy vey. hope this one goes to the MIR team.
Juror #5 voted to HIDE IT and said: No explanation given
Juror #6 voted to HIDE IT and said: I hope this has taught you kids a lesson: kids never learn. --Chief Wiggum

I taught kids her age for many years. I'd love to know what's on her mind.


--imm

but on the flip-side, my parents didn't restrict me to an hour of TV and computer a day. I guess it evens out.

which is pretty traditional I believe for most 13 year olds. Malia however lives in DC and goes to a MUCH fancier private school than my daughters' public schools so I'm guessing an architectural trip would be a possibility.

I personally think it's great that she went. Kids need to see the world. And she needs to have SOME kind of a life.

But of course this just enrages those already sick from racism in their souls.

There won't be boozing and poolside lounging. There will be enrichment trips and an opportunity to speak Spanish.


She goes to Sidwell Friends, they do this kind of stuff during their break for those who want to participate (AND pay). They also do trips where kids will go and build Habitat for Humanity houses or do "socialist" things like Hurricane relief in Haiti, or what-have-you.

and a 5 day sixth grade camp at the end of elementary school, but those weren't held during breaks.

That's a city that's in my bucket list btw.

Lucky kid. And lucky secret service team.

As to the city getting money, this s costing more than they are spending.

Something that Malia's school arranges for its middle-school students on an annual basis. As for the cost: the students flew commercial and I'm sure the cost of Malia's flight was paid by the Obamas, not by the government. The Secret Service that accompanied her also flew commerical and while the cost of the Secret Service detail is a taxpayer expense, I'll eat my hat if anyone can prove that 25 Secret Service members accompanied Malia on this. Its probably considerably less than that -- the total security detail is probably no more than 25, including Mexican security which almost certainly represents the majority of the security detail.

Dime on dollar the kid got a four layered security from the Mexican side.

Estado Mayor Precisencial, army outfit, equivalent to secret service

Federal police

State police

Outer layer local cops.

Regardless, this is still cheaper than the pope's protection. He will be in Guanajuato in a week or so.



But the hotel gets to say, this s where the American President's daughter staid.

I hope she enjoys a good mole.

There are so many kidnappings anymore in these other countries. It scares me to hear of her down there even with an army of guards.

A beautiful city. And Mitla is so cool. I hope she has a great time.

Sidwell Friends, the school Malia attends, has for some time had a "mini-mester" program whereby middle school students engage in learning activities outside the traditional classroom setting, and sometimes abroad.

From the Sidwell Friends website: Minimester is held for all Middle School students the week before spring vacation in March. There are no classes during the week of minimester; instead, students and teachers engage in a concentrated exploration of one area of interest outside of the classroom and sometimes outside of the city. Minimester provides an opportunity for experiential education, for stronger ties to the community, and for multi-age connections among students and teachers. Offerings for the week are different each year, and students are urged to propose projects for the week. Some of the recent projects were Casting, and Sculpture, Life on the Bay, Free for All on the Mall, and Apprenticeships. Some trips out of the area carry an additional charge; financial aid is available.

Just like Bill Cosby's joke from his comedy routine, "we're going to the zoo today, yup, yup, and we're going to have lots of fun, and do lots of fun things, yup, yup."

Do they replace the story on that page every now and then? Probably don't have to look far to find haters though.

And of all Places Mexico isnt the safest anymore, though with her own platoon of automatic weapon armed Secret Service she will be safer than most others in the country. Seriously, this was not a good judgement call on Barack and Michelles part.

Its a school trip. With teachers and everything. Its to a portion of Mexico that is not on any watch lists -- its safe.
As for the "platoon" of Secret Service agents, its probably no more than a couple of agents and a bunch of Mexican security.

But thanks for your "concern"

Believe it or not Mexico is not a constant running gun battle.

Or getting blasted out of her mind.

Cuz ya know, that was okay when the Bush twins did that.

incident and full of fun.

What I do wonder is why such information would be public. It seems like that would just make security more difficult, cause more disruption in the town, and make the child more of a target.

Seems really stupid to me.