Tuesday, July 28, 2009

That's a LOT of money, Mrs. Obama


From The Canadian Free Press...which is giving us Conservatives a lot of information lately that Americans aren't hearing here in our own country, have you noticed that?


First Lady Requires More Than Twenty Attendants


“In my own life, in my own small way, I have tried to give back to this country that has given me so much,” she said. “See, that’s why I left a job at a big law firm for a career in public service, “ Michelle Obama."

No, Michele Obama does not get paid to serve as the First Lady and she doesn’t perform any official duties. But this hasn’t deterred her from hiring an unprecedented number of staffers to cater to her every whim and to satisfy her every request in the midst of the Great Recession. Just think Mary Lincoln was taken to task for purchasing china for the White House during the Civil War. And Mamie Eisenhower had to shell out the salary for her personal secretary.

How things have changed! If you’re one of the tens of millions of Americans facing certain destitution, earning less than subsistence wages stocking the shelves at Wal-Mart or serving up McDonald cheeseburgers, prepare to scream and then come to realize that the benefit package for these servants of Miz Michele are the same as members of the national security and defense departments and the bill for these assorted lackeys is paid by John Q. Public.

Your tax dollars at work. Next up, 34 czarettes?

$172,200 - Sher, Susan (CHIEF OF STAFF)
$140,000 - Frye, Jocelyn C. (DEPUTY ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR OF POLICY AND PROJECTS FOR THE FIRST LADY)
$113,000 - Rogers, Desiree G. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND
WHITE HOUSE SOCIAL SECRETARY )
$102,000 - Johnston, Camille Y. (SPEC IAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND D IRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS FOR THE FIRST LADY)
Winter, Melissa E. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE FIRST LADY)
$90,000 - Medina, David S. (DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE FIRST LADY)
$84,000 - Lelyveld, Catherine M. (DIRECTOR AND PRESS SECRETARY TO THE FIRST LADY)
$75,000 - Starkey, Frances M. (DIRECTOR OF SCHEDULING AND ADVANCE FOR THE FIRST LADY)
$70,000 - Sanders, Trooper (DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF POLICY AND PROJECTS FOR THE FIRST LADY)
$65,000 - Burnough, Erinn J. (DEPUTY DIRECTOR AND DEPUTY SOCIAL SECRETARY)
Reinstein, Joseph B. (DEPUTY DIRECTOR AND DEPUTY SOCIAL SECRETARY)
$62,000 - Goodman, Jennifer R. (DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF SCHEDULING AND EVENTS COORDINATOR FOR THE FIRST LADY)
$60,000 - Fitts, Alan O. (DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF ADVANCE AND TRIP DIRECTOR FOR THE FIRST LADY)
Lewis, Dana M. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT AND PERSONAL AIDE TO THE FIRST LADY)
$52,500 - Mustaphi, Semonti M. (ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR AND DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY TO THE FIRST LADY)
$50,000 - Jarvis, Kristen E. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT FOR SCHEDULING AND TRAVELING AIDE TO THE FIRST LADY)
$45,000 - Lechtenberg, Tyler A. (ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE FIRST LADY)
Tubman, Samantha (DEPUTY ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR,SOCIAL OFFICE)
$40,000 - Boswell, Joseph J. (EXECUTIVE AS SISTANT TO THE CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE FIRST LADY)
$36,000 - Armbruster, Sally M. (STAFF ASSISTANT TO THE SOCIAL SECR ETARY)
Bookey, Natalie (STAFF ASSISTANT)
Jackson, Deilia A. (DEPUTY ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE FIRST LADY)

___________
$1,256,000.+ per year - for what?


Z: I found the above piece from Canada curious and wanted to share it after I'd found out the norm for First Ladies....so I asked a dear friend who worked very near the top at the White House under Ronald Reagan; she tells me that First Ladies usually have about 3 working for them directly, with others permanently in the White House overseeing big dinners, etc. The number above is outrageously out of proportion to past First Ladies. I'd not have printed this without that clarification. (I have to admit I like the new Michelle Obama haircut...) oh, I also find the white lines on this post curious, but whatever...I told y'all I'm no techie! xx

20 comments:

Opus #6 said...

Z, that was going to be my next question. So Michelle Obama is working at spending 7 tines the normal amount on her staff, and all during a huge recession? What a goof!

No wonder she loves America for the first time. Cha CHING.

dmarks said...

It's not surprising, really. The Obama administration spending priorities have set a higher value on pure waste of taxpayer dollars than any Presidential administration before. Any.

As a millionaire, she could pay for this herself.

Jess said...

Ya know I could go with just two--one to handle the social shit and one to handle the official shit. That's it. Why all those staffers?

And since when is being First Lady a career in Public Service?

Just another case of "do as I say not as I do"

Always On Watch said...

First Lady Requires More Than Twenty Attendants

[...]

$1,256,000.+ per year


Good Lord!

MO must think that she's the Queen of America. SHE'SNOT! Even though she THINKS she is.

The Gray Headed Brother said...

The racists are out in full bloom today

Anonymous said...

We are talking about the same woman who spent $475 on "brunch" at a fancy hotel during the campaign, are we not?

RaDena said...

"I have to admit I've never liked Michelle's haircut." LOL!

I have to admit I've never liked Michelle and now I like her even less. Good grief! She obviously now perceives herself to be a queen and is acting accordingly.

christian soldier said...

check out their vacation spot...
http://carolmsblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/just-anther-expensive-to-us-taxpayers.html
Your 'Little Ray of Sunshine"-C-CS

Anonymous said...

This blog is new to me. I discovered the subject matter thru my news server & I also just happened to see this info released on another blog. I am glad this story is making the rounds! This is really insulting, what is going on here! I hope this info gets into the eyes & hands of the "right" people - - Those who can possibly tell the Queen to try an In & OUt Burger for a change instead of her gourmet beef.

I do recall how annoyed I became when reading an article re Desiree Rogers being sent to NYC Fashion Week & then on to Paris, at tax payer expense, to hob-nob w/the Style Designers & People who influence our culture. That is the way Desiree perceives her job & the 1st Lady is happy to expand on that. Gong to fashion shows & gourmet dinners at ***** bistroes at our expense, in this recession. Further, MO has had the nerve to brag about importing her cronies from Chicago, so she can have her old support system!

Here is a 1st Lady who really needs help learning about diplomancy. She needs a couple of people who are from the "old schools" of protocal to help her learn what she does not know. Instead she hires a tribe of personal servants from Chicago who have not been exposed to DC & The World of Int'l Diplomacy. This 1st Lady has made some very clumsy mistakes & will continue to do so at our expense. So pathetic. Just look at how wisely her P.R. people set up her "Date w/Husband in NYC". At this depressed time, The Obamas could have quietly had their Sat. nite in NYC. There would have been some publicity, but not the MAIN EVENT, which antagonized everybody. This faux pas was produced by their very own PR People! This is just one tacky incident

All the readers here have responded so appropriately, and I just pray this article gets into the hands/eyes of others who can possibly stop this blood-letting, WASTEFUL & insulting behavior. I know vampires are now part of our pop culture but we don't need to breed them at W.H.! Do we have an overly extended East Wing office or a LAIR in the East Wing?

Z said...

Opus...no wonder, exactly !:-)
GOOD point!

dmarks.....she sure could.

Jess...I'm sure they got lots of mail and have lots to do, but how the heck did other First Ladies do it so streamlined, right? I hate to slam unfairly, but this got to me.

Always, sure seems like it..

Thanks, Gray Bro....We're RACIST for thinking Mrs. Obama's spending too much money?
Holy COW! You think it's because she's BLACK? Or can we never again criticize ANY Black person for doing the wrong thing? Let me know. Did you see the two black Cambridge cops say they'd never vote for Obama again? No, the media barely covered it, I know.

RaDena, Actually, I said I DO like her haircut!! But, that might sound RACIST to Gray Beard, so pretend I never said that, right!?

Hermit..imagine how HOPPING ANGRY Gray Headed Bro would have been if Mrs. Bush had done ANY of this? :-)
by the way..there were the $500 tennis shoes, too.
By the way, I say BUY IT AND WEAR IT if you can afford it because I believe success should be rewarded, but in times like these? From the WHITE HOUSE?...I'd suggest they show a little less "Let THEM eat cake", huh? I'm actually a bit surprised that the Obamas would take advantage like this...so openly.

Anonymous..thanks for your comments.and thanks for coming by. Pretty amazing, isn't it?

CS: Article says the Obamas are determined to pay their way, which I'd admire...but even if they only pay 1/3 of the $50K a WEEK rent, there's also expensive entourage to pay for, secret service, etc...
By the way, your article AGAIN mentions how Bush took more days away from the WH as if he wasn't working on Presidential things; a typical leftwinger harangue, right? He spent a third of his days away from the WHite House...mostly at Crawford and Camp David, and his family home on the East Coast.

I do not begrudge the Obamas a nice vacation, and a safe place to be away from crowds, etc.....I do question the priciness in times of trouble..........but, how can you find a place that private and luxurious that's going to cost much less? I don't know.

I'll just say Mrs. Obama has REALLY gone over the limit on staff and, again, the media's sleeping...............in the bag for THEM.

Ducky's here said...

Pickles Bush didn't have a staff?

Where's the story here?

Anonymous said...

All first ladies have a staff, and there are permanent employees at the whitehouse.

However, Michelle, my belle has elevated staffing to a new level.


But for Mrs. Obama to comment SHE gets no money for serving as first lady is so tacky and shows me she is not honored to be in the people's house.

If my noticing that and commmenting on this observation
is racist, then so be it.

She is an ungracious human being and greedy woman.

WVDOTTR

Z said...

Ducky...PLEASE read the posts, you won't sound so darned vacant.

WV...there's a Black prof at Syracuse U who said "So, he's in the White House....BIG DEAL...He's in PUBLIC HOUSING!"
But, I guess it's just me being racist for mentioning it, right? His saying it's NO BIG DEAL. man

Steve: The Lightning Man said...

Don't fret, Z...The Grey Headed One has visited many of the conservative blogs, mine included, to call us racists and imply that we are all vile evil Republicans. Whatever.

Matter of fact, I'll be so racist that I'm going to borrow this post from you, with all due credit of course, over on my site. It goes well with my listing of all of his czars a couple weeks ago.

Anonymous said...

Somebody just tie a pork chop around her neck... the White House dog will love her for nothin'.

Z said...

Thanks, Lightning Man....

And FJ...:-)

MathewK said...

Well you know Z, she is like a queen and all that, married to a god even.

How come ducky isn't on that list, or are his ass-polishing services free now.

HoosierArmyMom said...

It's easy to feel pride in your country for the first time in your life when you are handed a blank check as First Lady, eh????

Zack R said...

Unbeleivable! Just when I thought I had taken in all the excrutiating Obama garbage that one mind could bear, I read this. Thanks for getting us the goods on this hypocrite queen, Z.

Anonymous said...

I don' t know how anyone is even shocked at this revelation!

Take a look around at the corruption that follows black "leaders" whenever they get their hands on the power structure. It's a free ride all their lives and the hand never leave the cookie jar...your pocket!

Detroit, Philly, Newark, Trenton, LA and on and on. It's reparations their style.

I'm reminded of the move American Gangster. The main character played by Denzel hires more than 30 of his closest relatives, sets them up in houses, business and then they all go down when they get caught! As will barry and his GANG! The ultimate American Gangster...community organizer, hood from Chicago.

Not PC? I frankly don't give a damn.

Take a look around and seed if 40 years of PC have done anyone any good or has it had the desired effect? Gates should be the answer if you hadn't guessed.