[tomder55]

NK what was that list by Bush 19 in 8 years ? Take a quick count on the list I provided in Obama's 1st year and a half.
Btw... what is 'Firedoglake'? Is that one of the approved sites ? I guess Jane Hamsher is the next Edward R Murrow .

[NeedKarma]

You need your specs tom:



It came from wiki, it has notations to back it up.

[spitvenom]

Spit .. See where Benedict Arlen wants to exchange a czar position as "special envoy to Syria for a yes vote for Elana Kagan to SCOTUS ?

Paula Dean ? Nah ... Kim Kardashian

I would have picked Giada De Laurentiis she can cook, she is Italian, and she is beautiful!!

[NeedKarma]

She hangs her boobs out every opportunity she gets. Kind of hard to take a women seriously when she feels the need to do that.

[spitvenom]

That may be true NK. But she can cook. And you have to partly blame the food channel for that. Every time she is mixing something the shot is right at her chest.

[Just_Another_Lemming]

Great thread! I love to talk about food.

This of course is a Michelle thingy. When Russian President Medvedev came to town the President didn't have his chef cook them up a healthy meal . He took him to Ray's Hells Burgers. So what does that say about chef Sam Kass' cooking ?

Maybe it says more of Obama looking for an opportunity to escape the rigors of an enforced diet. "Sorry Hon, can't join you for that salad you planned for lunch. Dmitry said he keeps hearing about our wonderful American Burgers & asked to try one. Whatcha gonna do? I couldn't say no to the guy now could I? "

Free government cheese is out ....free government Kobe beef and arugula is in.

Have you ever tried that cheese Tom?

Let me know when this actually happens. I would like my Kobe medium rare please.

[tomder55]

I did something worse . To pay for college I signed up to work in the cafeteria. Summers I worked in the equivalent of Mel's greasy spoon diner .I am familiar with foods from all ends of the spectrum. Like Spitvenom I grow my own vegetables .He does the hydroponic method . I plant organic on a small patch of utility easement I maintain for the town .

I think there is nothing wrong with the 1st Lady's healthy food initiative aspublic education .

But I suspect they plan on going well beyond a public education campaign. In fact I know they will.
The new requirements for doctors who expect reimbursement from Medicare is to put their patient's health record on a national data-base. One of the things they made a particular emphisis about is the desire to have the patient's BMI .

But what prompted me to post this was the undisclosed salary . We the taxpayers deserve to know the compensation of everyone our tax dollars pay. Why is it a secret ? I speculate that it's because they know there would be a general outcry over the outrageous amt. he will be compensated .

[paraclete]

Say, does Jamie Oliver get a look in there, I'm sure he would like to extend the season of his TV program to include low income american families. He' has been doing this sort of thing for years and has even tried to convince american schools to change their menu. Obama could then keep his chef or is this another case of exclusively american?

[excon]

Why is it a secret ? I speculate that it's because they know there would be a general outcry over the outrageous amt. he will be compensated .

Hello again, tom:

You think the American taxpayer is going to be outraged about ONE bureaucrats salary?? Really? Dude!

excon

[tomder55]

I don't care if they become outraged or not . Do you mean to suggest that we shouldn't know the salaries of the people we pay ? I can access the salaries of every municiple worker ,I can look up the pay scales for every position in civil service including the cooks and janitors .

Unless this guy's pay is coming out of the President's pocket then we have a right to know.

As far as I can tell there has yet to be so much as a public announcement of this move.

I want to know the details beyond the fact that he serves at the pleasure of the President;is on People magazine's "100 Most Beautiful People" list, was part of President Obama's golf foursome on Martha's Vineyard,and makes a pretty good salad .

What is his expertise that qualifies him to be a policy advisor ? Is he going to direct a staff ,run a budget ? How much is his celery ?
This sounds a lot like a banana republic move... elevating a crony and not really giving them any new responsibilities . I guess the President can add this to the jobs created list .

[spitvenom]

Hey Tom Im off the hydroponics I actually have a house now and land. So It is cool to grow organic. The one thing I wasn't ready for was the rabbits ground hogs and squirrels. It is a lot more work but a lot less expensive.

[Just_Another_Lemming]

Tom, I agree. Ex, I think you know this isn't just about one salary. We have a right to know the salaries of all the employees that are pulling gov't paychecks since it is coming directly from our pockets.

Unfortunately, this type of cronyism has gone on throughout the history of the world. It is a sad fact of life and just isn't unique to this administration.

Tom wrote: "$10 billion to revise a plan that is already working .hmmm This price tag is of course the unreported aspects of the Michelle Obamas 'healthy foods initiatives' that the press never tires of reporting about."

Honestly, I don't know if the plan that was in place was working. In speaking to good friends who are really struggling financially and still have children in the public school system, the KIDS were actually complaining about the quality of the food this past school year. It appears one of the first things to get cut from the budget after the art program is the lunch program. They were being served nachos with greasy fatty cheese (the gov't cheese melted down?), soggy pizza, hot dogs, and hamburgers. Salads & fresh vegetables were cut out. So was milk! It may be that our particular school had to cut these things out only for the last few months of the school year and will pop up again in the fall, but if we skimp on nutrition for our children at any time, it doesn't allow them to function correctly and reinforces the dependence on garbage foods In my opinion. For most of these children on the lunch programs, this is the healthiest & largest meal of the day for them.

And, Michelle Obama isn't doing anything different than any other First Lady. This is her pet project of choice. If the complaint is regarding the cost, yes, it is a lot of money. But, if we take into consideration the cost of living over the past 25 years and compare it to the cost of Nancy Reagan's war on drugs during the '80's, I do wonder how much of an expenditure difference truly exists. In my opinion both issues are of equal importance. With Reagan's involvement, the "just say no" campaign has become part of the curriculum in the public school system. I hope proper dietary habits become just as important. Excon pointed out earlier that eating healthy will reduce medical care costs. Although the figures he quoted are suspect (I think he stated he made them up), I think the point is well taken that, over time, it will reduce the costs for obesity related health issues.

Spit, I just saw your post as I was finishing up. I do the same thing as you two do. This year I am trying to sell my house so I didn't plant my garden & buying my produce from my friends at the farmers markets. If you haven't dealt with them yet, watch out for the green horned caterpillars that show up in the tomato garden.

[tomder55]

I feel your pain about the ground hog. I can keep the rabbits away with the fence I put up and my cocker spaniel.
But once the groundhog gets in the garden he has a voracious appetite and no plant is safe.

I have to come up with a permanent solution short of killing him. I'm thinking concertina wire dug into the ground under the fence. He can move boulders out of the way ,but I don't think he'll like razor wire .

I also have deer problems .But I spray liquified cayanne around the perimeter and that seems to work .

[twinkiedooter]

Yes, I tried the government giveaway cheese back in the 1980's and it was delicious to put it mildly. Much better than I even thought it would be. Why did they stop that program anyway? It was "surplus" cheese and it was not "seconds" it was labeled Grade A cheese.

And I like Angus beef better. It has more flavor to it. I eat it all the time here in Ohio and can buy it rather cheaply when it is on sale. Even the 80% ground Angus is very tasty. The fat comes off easier than other cattle fat when cooking burgers. Much tastier and a heck of a lot cheaper than Kobe beef.

Michelle has to "find" some cause as all First Ladies have to have "causes" to pound the bushes over. Seeing as she doesn't look like she's missed too many meals in her time I think it a most appropriate "cause" for our Lardo First Lady to have. But at what cost... I tend to shiver at the bottom line cost of her "pet project".

And as for the WH Chef who has an undisclosed salary. Shame on him for being so greedy as to take all that $. And having him appointed Food Czar is most hilarious on top of all that.

I think Michelle needs to personally eat some of the extremely expensive toxic veggies from her WH toxic garden. Might do her some "good".

[tomder55]

JAL , should parents who are on the edge and sending their children to school with soggy sandwiches really be asked to shell out tax money to provide what the 1st Lady determines is healthy food for other's children ?

It sounds harsh ,but it really isn't. The difference between the 2 is an arbitrary cut off for eligiblity .

[NeedKarma]

Seeing as she doesn't look like she's missed too many meals in her time I think it a most appropriate "cause" for our Lardo First Lady to have.

Class... it can't be bought.

[excon]

JAL , should parents who are on the edge and sending their children to school with soggy sandwiches really be asked to shell out tax money to provide what the 1st Lady determines is healthy food for other's children ?

It sounds harsh ,but it really isn't. The difference between the 2 is an arbitrary cut off for eligiblity .

Much better than I even thought it would be. Why did they stop that program anyway? It was "surplus" cheese and it was not "seconds" it was labeled Grade A cheese.

Hello tom and twink:

The cheese WAS surplus, if you want to look at it that way. It's what they made of all that milk they bought from dairy farmers in order to keep milk prices high. They're still doing it, but you don't get it anymore. We feed it to prisoners in places like Gitmo. In fact, that's why we keep 'em there - so we can get rid of the cheese.

Tom, the poor don't pay taxes...

excon

[Just_Another_Lemming]

JAL , should parents who are on the edge and sending their children to school with soggy sandwiches really be asked to shell out tax money to provide what the 1st Lady determines is healthy food for other's children ?

It sounds harsh ,but it really isn't. The difference between the 2 is an arbitrary cut off for eligiblity .

Tom, this DOES sound harsh and it is harsh. Don't get me wrong, I would rather not have to carry other people on my back but there are far worse and wasteful programs created by our government than a healthy lunch program for the children of this country. We are supposed to be a leading nation. Are you willing to stand by and watch the children of this country suffer from malnutrition the way they do in 3rd world countries? I am not. Those few families that are just above the cut off line can do what my friends are doing. Turning to family, friends, church group,. and receive some financial help so their children can buy a decent lunch at school.

So, do you feel Nancy Reagan's pet project "Just Say No" was a waste of government money too?

[tomder55]

Those few families that are just above the cut off line can do what my friends are doing. Turning to family, friends, church group,. and receive some financial help so their children can buy a decent lunch at school.

So, do you feel Nancy Reagan's pet project "Just Say No" was a waste of government money too?

Nancy Reagan's project cost us a couple billboards and was highly effective.

What you say about the people not eligible to qualify for the public dole also applies to those slightly below on the income scale ( I try to avoid the word class because that plays into the Marxian philosophy) .

My position is that the social safety net should not leave the person receiving better off than the one paying for it.

Look ; there is no more an advocate of healthy living than I... trust me on that . I make my living in the supplement industry .

My objection as I already stated was the opaqueness of the whole process. Look at the news and get back to me when the White House even announces this major announcement . This is under the radar and highly suspicious . I think it is cronyism and when I see cronyism I wonder about quid pro quo.

[NeedKarma]

I make my living in the supplement industry .

Vitamin supplements?