The president was supposed to have a photo op meeting with the presidents of the nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The meeting was brief. Only a few presidents were allowed to speak. They were allotted one minute each. There wasn’t much listening.
The big story to come from the meeting was not what was said but the photo of Kellyanne Conway sitting on a sofa with both legs tucked under her.
What did this mean? Does she sit that way at home? Would she sit that way if the guest was a head of state? Say, Vladimir Outin or Theresa May? Was her pose not a mark of disrespect for 17 college presidents?
Twitter exploded with comments.
My favorite:
Double amputee survivor of Bowling Green Massacre invited to White House
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Oval Office? Hasn’t the name been changed to Offal Office? Or Awful Orifice?
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And where is deVos? She sent the quoted notice after the meeting, but is not seen in the room.
Great tweet re double amputee Conway after the alternative fact massacre. If Trump wants to send a message about women who are inappropriate in the WH, he could not have picked a better pair that deVos and Conway.
And the endless clapping for the First Lady (?) last night was like all his cued reality shows. She felt secure enough to show up in glitter and deep cut outfit that showed all her qualifications to be in that role.
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“Double amputee survivor of Bowling Green Massacre invited to White House.”
Now THAT’s LOL funny.
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I used that sentence along with the photo on my face book….acknowledging the photo, but not the sentence. Great reaction quickly. Let me know if acknowledgement is needed.
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She lacks manners and common sense. A reflection on the person that hired her.
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Birds of a feather….
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Surely, a sign of disrespect for these esteemed Black College Presidents. Or, are we all being a little trite in our observation of this “alternative facts” Ivanka-fashion designer enthusiast political consultant person?
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I’ll go with the latter, except to change “little” to “quite”.
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Too bad we have to be so petty when it comes to anything associated with president trump! At the very least he does not take vacations at the same dizzying pace his predecessor did!!
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No, Trump takes more vacations than Obama. Every weekend to his plush resort.
Camp David is not good enough for him
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Yeah right! No one took more vacays than the golfer in chief.
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And it is costing the American taxpayer a fortune to protect him and all his progeny in their many golden palaces…and he gets the profits from all of us when his detail is housed in Trump Tower and Mir a Lago which he owns. Double dealing all the way.
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His security detail at Trump Tower intends to rent an entire floor, at a cost to taxpayers of $1.5 million a year. Couldn’t Trump give them the space for free? It is for his protection.
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The Real One,
Remember that all the real work of upper management gets done on the golf course. So the Obomber (golfer in chief?) was just conducting business.
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John Trask, you have been bamboozled by Trump, his ruling oligarchy of billionaires and the GOP politicians they own. They love and depend on citizens to remain ignorant of their greedy and devious ways. Read Dark Money by Jane Mayer.
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Diane,
HYPOCRICY Alert
This is pathetic, and deplorable – yes, and every one of you were up in arms and blasted the tweets and Facebook and blogs with your disbelief and hatred that Obama put his feet up on the desk – the Resolute – and for that matter Bush did the same..
For a number of pictures please avail yourself of the following:
Get your feet off the table Mr President! Obama’s laid-back style …
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2317402/Get-feet-table-Mr-President-Obamas-laid-style-revealed-photos.html –
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She could have shown respect by paying attention and sitting up straight, like her mother told her.
I have been in the Oval Office on several occasions, and it would never occur to me to act as if was my personal Barca-lounger
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Yes Diane,
My father and mother taught me well not to put feet up on furniture
I guess obama and other presidents were not
Move on to important issues
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Jscheidell,
Lots of business executives put their feet up on their desk. I don’t know why. I never tried it, nor would I want to.
I will say that when you are a staff member or a guest in the Oval Office, you don’t sit with your legs curled under you. That shows disrespect for the office and bad manners. Would she have behaved that way with the white presidents of Ivy League universities? I think she showed her disrespect for the guests.
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amen!!!!! people who think of themselves as intellectuals should not be concerned about such trivia!! .by doing so we plunge into the intellectual abyss that is populated by the likes of nancy pelosi and maxine waters
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JT….both Pelosi and Waters have been re elected repeatedly, so I guess you would insult all their voters as well as those of us who comment here as being in an “intellectual abyss” because we see this ‘so called’ president as an ignorant and bigoted liar.
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John Trask,
When the government of our nation has been taken over by people who would destroy art and culture, it would be self-destructive and nihilistic to pretend that it doesn’t matter. I don’t know if I qualify as a “true intellectual,” by your lights. I have a Ph.D., I read books, I love thinking and learning. And it terrifies me that people in charge of our nation show no respect for teachers, for the higher learning, for books, for education, for the arts. Is that someone else’s department? Am I not supposed to care?
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camp david was not good enough for obama either as he rarely went there!!he preferred much more costly jaunts (on our dime!!)
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John Trask,
Obama released his tax returns and divested himself of everything he owned. When will Trump release his taxes? When will he divest himself of his multiple conflicts of interest? He presently is violating the emoluments clause of the Constitution by continuing to engage in business in other countries.
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Apparently not as many costly jaunts as you think if Obama’s travel expenses for a year totaled slightly over $12 million and Trump as already spent over $11 million in a few weeks!
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John Trask and Ellen and Diane:
As usual JT they change the topic and when cogent intellectual reply elude them they revert to the name calling – anyone with an opposing view – you continued on the vacation issue and Diane jumps to the tax release – and if you change the topic they can’t follow your wandering topics, but I will add that the Bush family went to the ranch .
No one complained when Mrs. Obama and her entourage took a separate plane to Hawaii trip and how about those Europe trips. BTW add the following :spent nearly $80 million of taxpayer money on vacations.
That’s according to the newest total compile by Judicial Watch, which has been monitoring those costs since Obama moved into the White House and started getting away to Hawaii, sending his kids to Mexico for spring break and his wife to Africa.
Judicial Watch said the information from the Department of Homeland Security shows the Obama family’s August 2015 vacation on Martha’s Vineyard cost taxpayers $465,420.49 in Secret Service expenses alone.
“The records were obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed on November 24, 2015,” the organization reported. “Judicial Watch sued the Department of Homeland Security, of which the Secret Service is a part, because it had failed to respond to 19 FOIA requests from Judicial Watch since July 21, 2014.
The newly obtained records show Obama’s trip in July 2014 to Seattle and Los Angeles “solely for fund-raising, specifically to boost the treasuries of two ‘super pacs’” cost taxpayers $237,731.04 for hotels, $19,888.70 for rental cars and $1,451.40 for air or rail travel.
“Judicial Watch previously reported that Air Force transportation expenses for this trip cost taxpayers $2,425,085.50 – bringing the grand total to $2,684,145.60.”
Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said taxpayers “should be incensed that the Secret Service’s resources [are] wasted to provide security for endless golf excursions, political fundraisers, and luxury vacations.”
Chris Farrell, the director of investigations and research for Judicial Watch, told WND that expenses for personal trips have varied over the years, as have the number of “vacation” days.
Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush, often spent vacation time at his Texas ranch.
The costs there would have been significantly lower, he noted, because the Secret Service was dealing with one location.
“They weren’t getting hotel rooms, moving multiple aircraft, fleets of cars. It was predictable, constrained,” he said. “It was repetitive.”
The new details revealed by Judicial Watch include $1,604,380.50 for Obama’s Westchester, New York and Providence, Rhode Island, trip in August 2014, when the purpose “was for fundraising and attending the wedding of an MSNBC host.”
An August 2015 trip to Martha’s Vineyard, for the Obamas’ sixth family summer getaway to that location, cost more than $457,000 in hotels alone.
A trip to Palm Springs in February 2015 for a meeting with national leaders that featured golf, several Democratic fundraisers and filming of an episode of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” cost taxpayers $1,189,985.70.
A weekend getaway for the president and his daughters to New York and an appearance at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser cost $576,803.85.
Prior to a presidential trip to sub-Saharan Africa in 2013, the Washington Post reported: “Hundreds of U.S. Secret Service agents will be dispatched to secure facilities in Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania. A Navy aircraft carrier or amphibious ship, with a fully staffed medical trauma center, will be stationed offshore in case of an emergency. Military cargo planes will airlift in 56 support vehicles, including 14 limousines and three trucks loaded with sheets of bullet-proof glass to cover the windows of the hotels where the first family will stay. Fighter jets will fly in shifts, giving 24-hour coverage over the president’s airspace, so they can intervene quickly if an errant plane gets too close.
“One hundred [Secret Service] agents are needed as ‘post-standers’ – to man security checkpoints and borders around the president – in each of the first three cities he visits. Sixty-five are needed to meet up with Obama in Dar es Salaam. … In addition, 80 to 100 additional agents will be flown in to work rotating shifts, with round-the-clock coverage, for Obama’s and his family’s security details …”
During the 2013 Christmas break in Oahu, presidential security essentially took over the entire island. In addition to concrete blockades and security patrols around Obama’s vacation quarters, his rental home was installed with bullet-proof glass, existing security systems were disabled, secure phone lines installed and his entourage brought in 20 to 30 vehicles. The Coast Guard enforced temporary exclusion zones in Kailua Bay, and armed Coast Guard dinghies patrolled the canal near the president’s rental home.
The 2013 17-day vacation in Hawaii for the president, his family, and staff and security was estimated to cost more than $4 million.
In 2014, WND reported two golf outings for Obama – to Key Largo, Florida, and to Palm Springs, California – cost $2.9 million.
When the Obamas went to Northern Ireland, at a taxpayer expense of $7.9 million, it cost $251,000 just for Michelle Obama and her daughters to go sightseeing in Dublin.
When Michelle Obama and her girls went to China, along with Michelle Obama’s mother, they stayed in a suite costing $8,350 per night.
There’s more but do not want to overburden the distraught who still have problems in election losses. They should worry about the future of their democratic party – its dying – and the list of the future leaders shows no youth – Joe Biden is the top choice so far. Not only have they lost the house senate and the presidency but the SCOTUS choices, governorships and a myriad of other state offices. And yet they continue to revert to the name calling and #5 Alynsky directive – Oh and yes Putin is still sneaking around but the FBI and the other investigations can’t find his hand or footprints on anything
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2016/07/no-vacation-obama-spends-80-million-on-vacations/#ZQ0dWAflW5iubQRZ.99
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jscheidell: I guess I’ll give up and become a republican and admit that Trump is such a sterling example of American integrity, intelligence, and well-meaning where the American people are concerned. Yawn.
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Jscheidell,
Not to worry. Trump will be very frugal with our money, both in terms of his personal lifestyle and his budget decisions. Sarcasm. He, the man with golden toilet seats. He, the king of debt. He, who will increase military spending, but eliminate the arts, culture, foreign aid, science, and basic research.
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Diane,
I’m glad you like the golden toilet seats –
But to your other worry on cuts on our bloated oversized government which is involved in activity not envisioned by the Founders and directed to the states — be reassured – as tough a request for you —
Trump is on the path to frugally deal with our money – he is not “watching” it but acting on it – something former Presidents promised in their election promises but didn’t carry thru…
so in limited space for your comment of multiple topics to address –
Reducing discretionary spending is not just about achieving budgetary savings to control the national debt.
Equally important is removing government barriers that inhibit individual and economic freedom, and to eliminate federally-funded corporate cronyism.
Cutting discretionary programs will help to build fiscal credibility and support needed to tackle entitlement programs next. That is the arts – he isn’t destroying it – just cutting its budget. Agencies are naturally reluctant to accept any proposed cuts — it is the nature of bureaucracy to grow or at the very least, maintain, even when their programs are shown to be wasteful or ineffective.
Last month, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released budget and economic projections for the next 10 years. They painted a grim picture of the country’s fiscal situation.
Assuming current programs remain unchanged, the federal debt will swell by an additional $9.4 trillion over the next decade. At that point, debt held by the public would consume nearly 90 percent of the economy (as measured in GDP). In 2027 alone, federal spending was projected to outpace revenues by more than $1.4 trillion.
Such mammoth overspending doesn’t come cheap. In the coming decade, annual interest payments on the debt are expected to rise by more than 184 percent, reaching $768 billion in 2027. Taxpayers would be spending more on interest payments than on national defense.
There is already much gnashing of teeth on both sides of the aisle over the scope and magnitude of the cuts being proposed by President Trump. Almost all federal programs, regardless of their effectiveness and purpose, have their constituencies and invoke outcry when lawmakers try to rein them in.
Trump will provide lawmakers certain guidelines to help them decide which programs should be reduced or eliminated — why not eliminate programs that reduce economic opportunity or tilt the playing field to politically-favored industries and corporations.
Would program be better served if the program were administered and financed by the private sector or state and local governments.
Each year we get the wasteful programs list – Ie the lobster on the treadmill research programs – eliminate wasteful and duplicative programs.
Streamline the bloated federal bureaucracy, empower the private sector and local jurisdictions and stimulate innovation and economic growth. This will also allow for scarce resources to be prioritized toward funding critical defense needs and to begin rebuilding our military capabilities after years of cuts.
President Trump’s proposed discretionary cuts are an important down payment toward significantly reducing the size and scope of government.
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The two words “frugal” and “Trump” have never occurred in the same sentence before now.
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Diane,
I knew it would be tough to swallow the link of both those words –
But consider the following regarding the cuts to arts and agencies and research etc for increasing defense – during the Obama era, the two departments had very different budgetary experiences. Carafano made note that The Department of State’s budget grew significantly- 30 percent bigger than when Mr. Obama entered the Oval Office. But defense spending is down — about 24 percent since 2011.
But the world is certainly no safer. Global Islamist terrorism, for example, is far more pervasive than when the Obama took office. The Great Russian Reset has utterly failed: we’ve seen Russia take Crimea, foment war in Ukraine, prop up the failing Assad regime in Syria and threaten our Baltic allies. North Korea’s missile and nuclear weapons programs continue to advance. Iran will one day follow suit. Meanwhile, China has aggressively expanded its territorial claims in the South China Sea and embarked on a major military build-up.
All of those extra dollars spent on soft power appear to have purchased very little in terms of national security or global stability.
How the money was spent is part of the problem. Much of the increased spending at State went to fund pet items on the president’s agenda. For instance, last year, Obama requested about $3.45 billion for Gender, Climate Change, and Biodiversity programs. Further, the administration added literally dozens of global envoys, each with his or her own staff and budget.
That is not to argue that foreign aid is bad. It will, for instance, be crucial to helping the U.S. stabilize the unsteady Middle East and spare pouring more American troops into the mess. From Israel to Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, and Tunisia, there are plenty of good steps the U.S. can take with its money. But programs that don’t impact core issues of statecraft and can’t deliver tangible results ought to be cut.
The Trump proposal will save American taxpayers millions of dollars in duplicative administrative costs.
A 30 percent drop would take the department back to the pre-Obama days. That’s a good thing. It would allow State to jettison all of Obama’s baggage, and focus on the core responsibilities — and very hard work-of exercising soft power.
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Stop plagiarizing! All you need to do is say, “here’s something from the Washington Examiner that I just saw on the Internet.”
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Jscheidell,
Did you like Trump’s executive order allowing coal waste to be dumped into streams? Don’t coal miners like to fish? You okay with cutting environmental regulations and cutting EPA budget by 25%? Does it create jobs to pollute the water and air?
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Diane,
As a fisherman – basically in lakes and streams – no desire for the ocean excursions – I am not in favor.
Cutting the EPA by 30% – There is always room to cut – I read 20 and 25% which leads me to Trump’s book – The Art of The Deal…everything is negotiable. But at same time I find myself in disagreement with the Climate Change issue on many points. I do feel there is a desire by the EPA to overreach and they have had trouble with the Court. My mother’s brother is a farmer in Iowa – 640 acres – and he has concerns with the CWA because of the water/ponds on his land. Pros and Cons on the issue and the action technically doesn’t take the regulation off the books for good, but it does give clear guidance to federal agencies that they must “review and reconsider” the rule immediately, potentially ending ongoing legal battle.
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If you’re going to cut and paste from an article, at least use quotation marks so readers don’t get the impression that you’re expressing your own thoughts.
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My apology to all for such a mistake unintended
Will be careful next time
I thank you!
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Skeptical that it was unintended, given that the text was reordered and edited in places, presumably so that it would appear to be a direct response to Diane’s comment.
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Wow typical dem cant accept apology text was going to be too long
As an individual you are pathetic excuse
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See, that’s what your original prose looks like.
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Will Judicial Watch report on what it costs to provide Secret Service for the Trump family in all their travels? Or will it be another four years of complaining about Obama?
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If you want the cost of the secret service costs on Trump’s trips and vacation just ask Judicial Watch – that is one of the many functions they have —
And I do not see Conway being off limits – let alone any politician – I like the humor but not the hatred … so continue with your tickles…
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Jscheidell,
I don’t hate Kellyanne. I think she is a laugh riot! The double amputee survivor from the Bowling Green Massacre!
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I probably have Norovirus and it is easier to deal with than the alternative universe our right commenters are in .
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/sep/09/occupy-democrats/facts-take-vacation-occupy-democrats-claim-about-p/
Obama put his feet on the desk while talking to his staff . LBJ took a crap with his staff outside the open door. But there is a difference between your staff and a large group of guests. Michelle had the audacity to wear a sleeveless dress. I would be happy to post a picture of our First (——) where her sleeves might be the only thing covered.
Kelly Ann ConJOB (that is out of respect ) belongs in Jail for treason, where she can sprawl out any way she likes on her mat.
Along with “Donny LittleHands” and the rest of the crew . This post is a little dated . Get the needles.
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Joel,
I must correct that last statement. There are pictures of our new First Lady (FLOTUS) all over the Internet with no sleeves, no stockings, nothing at all.
Only pineapples have sleeves, if you recall the famous Pearson test gaffe.
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To John Trask and his other Trump trolls here, it is you who changed the direction of this post re the lack of RESPECT and crude manners of Conway to the Oval Office Black Academics when these WH guests should be honored rather than dismissed by the crude mendacious woman playing with her cell phone while lolling on the couch in a most disrespectful position.
You all immediately jumped in to point out Obama trips and expenditures to deflect from the real info of this post. You do not fool anyone for we here do indeed have intellectual prowess…so Trumpsters, go somewhere else for in this room you will NEVER get away with your assignment to create chaos.
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Ellen Lubic: I second that.
To Trump Trolls: When are you going to realize that you are shooting yourselves in your feet?
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And when will you finally come to the. Conclusion that your party has since 2010 elections have become the losers and your party has nothing to offer in the way of ideas which work .
The only thing you have going for yourselves is character assasinations and the inference that russia will be your salvation. After a year and half FBI investigations no evidence to your alligations. Keep looking for the smoling gun
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jscheidell Troll-yawn.
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Wow john you have reached the ultimate status of TROLL from the prowess of “intellects” Such an education proffered from the liberal left who wallow in their loss and hate anything Trump! If they get a tax cut I wonder if they will gladly return it to Trump?
#MAGA🇺🇸 Sent from my iPhone
>
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jscheidell: Yawn. . .
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Sorry, but as a professional woman, there is no way I would strike this pose at WORK in a room full of men. Would you?? Once again showing her lack of class.
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So awful. All of it reeks of clueless. She does not know nor sense the significance of who is gathered and what they collectively represent.
Soles of shoes on sofa in Oval Office?! Don’t do that in anyone’s home. Put the phone down. Stand up in respect and keep your ill-bred Kelly mouth shut in the hope you might learn something.
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I assumed her shoes were off. If not, that’s a potentially dangerous position, given the heels she wears.
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“Pictures of one of Mr Trump’s most senior advisers kneeling in her high heels on the cream settee as she photographed the gathering were widely seen as an appalling breach of etiquette — even for a Trump administration determined to tear down many Washington traditions.”
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This is a bit of a silly story. Yes, Conway is sitting in an undeniably odd position in that photo. On the other hand, when you work 20 hours a day, there are all kinds of weird positions you’ll find yourself assuming. Maybe Conway was assured she was out of the photo’s frame. Maybe there are other reasonable explanations. Maybe not. Who cares? Sitting like a weirdo is the least of Conway’s recent sins.
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It is a bit of a silly story because of the extent of attention; however, even sitting normally in the presence of a number of individuals who are guests of the President in the Oval Office shows a lack of class. If she couldn’t manage to give them the respect of her attention then she needed to leave and conduct her very important business elsewhere.
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What I used to say to students when they put their feet up on the desk <¿Estamos en tu casa?>
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This is a good one. But seriously, I believe I heard Conway say that she was asked to take a picture and was trying to get a good shot.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/03/01/kal-penn-kellyanne-conways-couch-gaffe/98606510/
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It says that in the article you linked.
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No Flerp,
I would laugh with you regarding Joe Biden – and I do not rage on the internet – sorry that you feel that way regarding the hypocrisy pointed out or opposing views etc – I find this topic a distraction to the important issues that used to be discussed here –
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Jscheidell,
The important issues are discussed here every day. However, I have always included humor and frivolity, from the beginning. When something tickles me or strikes my fancy, I post it. That has been true from Day 1. I have poked fun at politicians and at human foibles. For some reason, you think Kellyanne is off limits. Sorry.
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Yes, I know. I think I heard her on tv, too.
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Mamie,
I have visited the Oval Office. It is awe inspiring. I can’t imagine sitting on my legs in that adolescent fashion. It is disrespectful to the office. Nothing about her pose suggests that this is the best way to take a picture. By the way, the White House has an official photographer for every event.
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I don’t think there’s much mileage in criticizing Conway for the way she sits or her photography technique. If anything, it gives the pro-Trump bozos fodder for their argument that the left will criticize anything about Trump.
If I saw a photo of Joe Biden kneeling on a sofa in a goofy-looking attempt to take a photograph of Obama and some guests in the Oval Office, I probably would laugh and think, “You gotta love Joe,” because I like and admire Joe Biden. And jscheidell probably would be somewhere on the Internet raging about how disrespectful Biden is.
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FLERP,
you are probably right about that. I just had to find a way to post that tweet about the “double amputee survivor of the Bowling Green Massacre.”
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That was a good one. And the photo itself is hilarious.
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HI Diane,
I totally agree with you. I’m just passing on the story. 🙂
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Much ado about nothing.
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It isn’t nothing. It was an insult.
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Exactly…it was a purposeful insult and she would not have been so crude were it DeVos and a White entourage in the Oval Office including self proclaimed religious Christian educators/donors like Falwell..
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It’s notable, given all the rest, like a tick that one notices is common to many crazy people.
Her pose is little-girlish , bizarre and presumptuous, as if she owns the place. Like something a brash mob boss’ daughter might do. Smacks of corruption.
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tic
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tic = Tongue in Cheek?
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That would be one kind of a tic, perhaps.
“. . . like a tic that one notices . . .”
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Joseph,
Don’t bother commenting any more. Your previous anti-Semitic statement, implying that Jews had organized attacks on Jewish institutions has qualified you to be shown the door. I told you then to leave and don’t return.
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