With all the things we have to worry about today...the economy, unemployment, the increase in cancer, the growing autism epidemic, the restart of the war between Israel and the Palestinians...now the intrusion of Hezbollah into the fray ... we can all take a deep breath and and relax. Mrs. Bush has just spent over FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND dollars for new china for the White House. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?
Here's the actual report from USA Today's site:
The White House Historical Association Acquisition Trust, a nonprofit group, paid $492,798 for 320 14-piece place settings, according to a fact sheet officials distributed to reporters.
I'm insulted! Firstly, I don't care if the money was presented to her by some organization and didn't come personally from the treasury or her own pocket, HOW DARE HER be so frivolous at a time when people are living in their cars, fighting to find food, or worried about the rising cost of fuel. How about those ducking for cover from incoming rockets? I guess the discord is what's caused the rise in gas prices again. It's climbed 20 cents in the past week. I see the respite was short-lived. I would have been more impressed if she'd suggested to her husband that the FEMA trailers that sit unoccupied around the nation be used to house some of the homeless, but then that's just me.
Secondly, the woman has one foot out the door. What happens if Michelle Obama doesn't like her choice? God, if I totaled everything in my home, it wouldn't amount to four hundred thousand dollars. Who's so friggin' important they need that quality of china to eat off of. What makes it so expensive? Does it feed you? Wash itself? Hold conversations? Does anyone who eats at the White House really care? Is the pattern a topic of discussion among the dignitaries who visit?
I just finished watching the Patrick Swayze special about his battle with cancer, and I was reminded of my best friend, Pat, who died several years back from the same ailment. I think it would have been a much more generous gesture on the part of Mrs. Bush to make a statement that she'd much rather buy one plate to represent her stay in the White House, then donate the rest to something worthwhile. Maybe it's just me, but I think making a purchase of this magnitude at a time when the country is quivering, is a slap in the face to us all. Doesn't she read the news?
I guess I'll go celebrate the good news and have a sandwich on a paper plate. :)
Ginger, I totally agree with you! That china isn't even attractive! What's wrong with good old fashioned stoneware? That's what we use and I can even put the plate in the oven to keep warm.
ReplyDeleteWasn't that interview with Patrick Swayze wonderful? I really enjoyed it. The man has such strength and I was so touched by his love for his wife and his concern for her during this trying time.
It brought back memories for me, too. I was reminded of when my beloved sister died of leukemia.
Yes, the Bush family has taken the citizens of this country for a ride. Why couldn't they have donated that money to a worthy cause? The American Cancer Society could have done a lot with that kind of money, as could their local hospice, children's hospital or food kitchen.
I believe we would all be better served, as you said, with her buying an inexpensive little plate and taking the rest of the money to buy paper plates and fill them with food for the needy.
ReplyDeleteLinda Gates
Gotta go with you on this one! Why buy china she'll never use? And what if the Obama's don't like it? Government waste at its finest!
ReplyDeleteSure, why not waste money on plate that you don't dare drop! Everybody has that kind of money. What kind of an idiot is she? Corelle works just as well, it holds the food and that is all a plate was designed to do. She did this to impress everyone with how frivalous (you spell it) government officials are. Most, like the Bushes, have no idea of what real money or the lack thereof is.
ReplyDeleteI think a few months living like a real citizen that lives paycheck to paycheck, and worse, would be good for her and all like her. I hate money and always have. Now I see the reason more clearly. She did not impress me, she depressed me, with wanton spending.
If she really needed new china, there are a lot of cheaper choices out there. She should have waited a few weeks, when she's out of the White House, and bought what she wanted for herself with her own money. Haven't they wasted enough of our money already?
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid I have to disagree. These weren't dishes for Laura, but dishes for the United States. White House dinners aren't like having family and friends for chili dogs.
ReplyDeleteAs long as the President remains the face of this country to dignitaries from around the world, there will be costs for entertaining. Dishes break, even expensive pieces at state dinners. One of First Lady's duties is to buy a new set whenever so many pieces of the former set have broken that the White House staff finds it hard to serve large state dinners.
Yes, the White House paid $1500 per place settings, but there were 14 pieces, and I assume there were matching service pieces. These aren't off the shelf dishes, either, but designed and made for this duty. They were probably order two or more years ago, before our economic crisis made us all very conscious of what we spend.
I would rather see the First Lady spend this much on dishes for the White house than the Treasury Dept. loan $250 billion to a bank that just can't track how the money was used. There a bank for crying out loud! Tracking money is what they do.
Rhobin,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with the point about loaning money with no oversight, but really, spend that amount of money on China when people are out of work, homeless, and facing a dire future? Dignitaries or not, the extravagance has to stop somewhere. $500,000 for dinnerware? who can tell the difference? Most visiting dignitaries are men anyhow, and do you actually think they are China connoisseurs? I don't think so. My point is that the madness has to end somewhere, and with the bitter taste people have in their mouth's over Bush's reign, I think she could have left on a more positive note. Just my opinion.
According to information I've read, almost every first lady has selected China to represent her husband's term in the White House. I find it strange that with one foot out the door, Laura Bush has made her selection. One plate from this set will go on display to represent the Bush Administration. Does that mean that Michelle Obama will have to buy more? I'm not an authority, I'm just commenting on what I've read, and given the economic situation, this seemed like an extravagance that could have been minimized.
Here's the link I refer to:
http://www.firstladies.org/documents/PartyPoliticsbrochure-webcompress.pdf
That's insane. Thanks for the twitter add! Love to see you at Thornesworld, too.
ReplyDeleteExtravagance? Listen you Idiots... This is not Government money, so it didn't cost you anything. This has been a TRADITION in the White House for as long as it has been around. The outgoing First Lady always buys a China set for the Incoming First Lady. I say who cares. 500,000 is a drop in the bucket. Did anyone talk about this last year when the Democratic Congress OVERWHELMINGLY voted to give themselves a pay raise? No.
ReplyDeleteIts a small Tradition that costs next to nothing when you look at the big picture.
What WILL cost us alot, is the fact the this Country, especially the Government, Is filled with a bunch of spineless douche-bags that don't understand that this country weaker than it has ever been and is on the verge of collapse. Why?
1: Illegal Immigrants
2: Terrorism
3: Arabs
Shoot em all... not necessarily in that order.
Okay Dimes, holster your weapon and take a deep breath. I don't advocate 'shooting' anyone, and I really don't consider anyone who spends time reading my blog an 'idiot' Rather I'm grateful they keep coming back to check my posts. I suppose the 'idiot' is directed at me for starting a post I knew nothing about. Not knowing the custom, I found it hard to believe someone would approve that expense. Clearly, I need to research my topics before I post them, and I'll try to do better on that. I appreciate your enthusiasm and love your support, but please try to contain yourself. Geez!
ReplyDeleteI spend time reading your blog... and you have called me an Idiot all my life!
ReplyDeleteRemember when I was 11 and I told you not to call me an Idiot anymore and you duct-taped me to the hot water heater for like 6 hours naked? You told me it was because I was your favorite little idiot :)
Love ya...
Oh Dear,
ReplyDeleteReally Ginger,
I can't believe you duct taped poor Dimes to the hot water heater...lol...personally, when I read the article about Mrs. Bush buying the china and the amount she spent, I was dismayed and wondered who the hell she was trying to impress. If it was the American people, she failed, but then the Bushes have failures for quite some time now...Personally, I don't care what kind of plates dignitaries eat out of, I really don't care if they eat off the floor...I don't care if the money was donated...what I do care is the fact that if the donor has that kind of money to give away, then put it to better use...better education for kids who are graduating and still can't read, better research on the cure for cancer, homes for the homeless, food for the starving...they'd probably gladly take a warm meal from a paper plate...if that makes me an idiot, so be it...Tabs
Tabitha, If the Donor has that much money to give away, isnt it his choice on who to give it to? Everyone is bashing these poor people for spending their own money! Isn't that what makes us NOT COMMUNIST???
ReplyDeleteWell, not Communist for another 8 Days anyways.
Dimes,
ReplyDeleteI think you've missed my point, and perhaps Tabitha's as well. Yes, the donor had the right to spend the money however they saw fit, but Mrs. Bush could have departed the White House and left a less bitter taste in the mouth of the public if she had chosen to depart from custom by making a statement with cheaper or NO china at all. Sometimes, you have to veer from what is customary when monetary reasons dictate. The president and his wife should be no different. The Bush family are going to be haunted by a legacy of bad decisions and outcomes; she could have made a difference should she have chosen to do so.
And before you judge the incoming president, why not wait and give him a chance. I don't think any of us likes to be condemned before we actually do something to earn it.
Well I am all for her buying what ever China she wanted. Because it is a tradition. One of the few traditions left in the US that hasn't been pissed upon by every cry baby lawyer/activist/lobbyist/reformist out there. I am also one of the few that think the Bush's shouldn't be remembered in a negative light. If you remember the first 4 years of his presidency, things were great! Even his approval ratings were amongst the highest ever... Then the Balance of power in Congress changed, and now everything is in the Tank.
ReplyDeleteThis country is going to ruin, not because of the President, but because of the Government as a whole. Any good manager will tell you that he/she is only as good as the people that work for him. Same with the President. He is not a Dictator and can not run the country however he seems fit. There are 600+ people (Congress) who make those decisions.
As far as Obama, I am a Patriot and I pray that he turns everything around and brings us back to the super power we are supposed to be. I hope he is the best ever! but I dont think it will happen.
Ciao!