Showing posts with label Washington DC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Washington DC. Show all posts

PostHeaderIcon More disenchantment over Obama’s administration

9/13/2009 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post




In the weekend thousands rally in Capitol Hill to protest against overspending and Obama’s way of managing the government. This comes on the heels of more uncertainty over joblessness and doubts over the healthcare revamp the government is proposing to the Americans.

Under overcast skies, the demonstrators whose magnitude was greater than expected aired their anger ---accusing Obama of not following with his campaign promises. The protesters’ dissatisfaction came across vexing issues from excessive government spending, unemployment, budget deficit, healthcare and illegal alien.

“Liar! Liar! Liar! Liar!” the crowd shouted back, echoing the accusation that Representative Joe Wilson, Republican of South Carolina, hurled at the president three days earlier during his address to Congress.---New York Times (09/12,09, Zeleny, J.)

Dick Armey, former House Republican leader and member of Freedomworks who helped organize the rally assailed Obama’s lack of loyalty to the USA's founding fathers. Like Ruth Lobbs, a schoolteacher from Jacksonville, FL., Armey believed the president is violating the constitution.

There is wide public perception that Obama was not being honest with his policies. The details of his costly plan are confusing and hazy---suggesting his radical socialistic tendencies and ambivalent naivete.

Attended by citizens of all political stripes, the protests parallel the findings of the recent popularity polls showing Obama losing grip on approval ratings. He has lost a big fraction of his popularity capital since his spectacular win in the November election. The incongruence of his lofty rhetoric and uncertainty in the direction of the government cause more Americans to regret voting for him. But his ardent supporters are optimistic that bright days are ahead if his plans are put into action. Obama has a very short window period o prove he can be trusted. (Photo Credit: New York Times) =0=

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PostHeaderIcon Keeping a tally on extravagance

8/14/2009 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post


According to Daily Tribune, the following astounding expenses have emerged in the shameful travel of Pres. Gloria M. Arroyo last July-August 2008 to see Pres. Barack Obama.

The US delegation of Filipinos that included lawmaker(s) who just wanted to have a “photo-op” with the charismatic black US president numbered to about 65, explaining the humongous amount spent to underwrite the trip. Sen. Lito Lapid complained he did no have a chance to have a picture with Obama and rued over the poor ambience and service at Le Cirque Restaurant in NY.

The expenses below are just the tip of the iceberg that boggles the mind of the poor Filipinos back home. What the public doesn’t know may be wildly greater---and more deplorable. Except saying that there are rich congressmen who paid the dinners, Arroyo can't come up with a coherent explanation to justify the outrageous expenses. (Photo Credit: yummyinthetummyblog)

Waldorf Astoria Suite for GMA in NY..........…$3,500/ day (P168,210/day)
Waldorf Astoria Suite for Congressmen.........$950/day (P45,657/day)
(> 60 rooms were occupied)
Bobby Van Steakhouse, Washington, DC..........$15,000 (P750,000)
Le Cirque Restaurant, NY.........................$20,000 (P1,000,000)

"A congressional investigation must be immediately conducted on whether a series of criminal and administrative laws have been violated by the President not only during her recent travel to the US but also on her previous 50 travels since 2001."---- Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares. Daily Tribune (08/14/09)

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PostHeaderIcon A $15,000 dinner tab in Washington DC adds more fire to GMA’s extravagance

8/12/2009 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post


It’s really easy to spend money when someone gets cash for a song. No matter how much Malacanang Palace says that not a single centavo come from the Filipino, when When Pres. Gloria M. Arroyo travels on official trips abroad, the expenses fall on the shoulders of taxpayers. She and her entourage don’t have qualms in the amount to spend for they think they are giving the Filipinos a big favor. In foreign land, they think of themselves as public servants who represent the best interest of the country.

With the estimated P8 billion already spent by GMA in her trips, there are ways to hide unbridled abuse and extravagance. Having a patron like Rep. Martin Romualdez to pay for a $20,000 dinner in their pricey splurge in NY’s Le Cirque Restaurant is a good way to confuse and divert attention. Stupefied by the irrational display of pomp and self-indulgence, New York Post can’t resist commenting on the GMA’s controversial meal about the time she declared national mourning for Pres. Cory Aquino.

Now it’s the Washington’s Post turn to tell another story. According to Roxanne Roberts and Amy Argetsinger, writers of the influential newspaper in Capitol Hill, Pres. Arroyo and her delegation dined on "lobster, steak and fine wines" in Washington and spent $15,000 for the meal on July 30, 2009.

In the column “The Reliable Source” they said an "unidentified woman opened a handbag stuffed with cash" and paid for the tab plus the sizeable tips for Arroyo and its bloated entourage of 65 people at Bobby Van's Steakhouse on 15th Street.

Surely these spectacular dinners are just the tip of the ice-berg. Many agree they are scandalous and deplorable when a third of Filipinos are languishing in poverty. So what more is there to say of corruption and abuse in the Pearl of the Orient Seas? (Photo Credit: Oustgloria) =0=

RELATED BLOGS: New York City's dining lesson for GMA: Le Cirque versus Elvie’s Turo-Turo Posted by mesiamd at 8/11/2009; GMA’s NY dinner and the discordant ritzy lifestyle of Filipinos Posted by mesiamd at 8/10/2009

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PostHeaderIcon GMA meets with Barack Obama

7/31/2009 | Posted by mesiamd | Edit Post


The meeting of Pres. Gloria M. Arroyo which is drummed up in the Philippines as "historic" occured Friday, July 31, 2009. In spite of high hopes of Filipinos that something big will happen to such a meeting, it barely made a stir in the US media.

Arroyo's and her coterie of 20 congressmen beheld the face of the US president and defended their travel with familiar justifications of advancing the diplomatic relationship of the Philippines with the US, an old time ally. Philippine authorities speak of a 45-minute talk on the economy, security, the Mindanao conflict and regional cooperation among Asian nations---something glowing that makes the trip look essential. Few disagree except fot the money to spend.

Yet, it is hard to quantify what benefits ordinary Filipinos will get from this recent US travel. In the fading days of her presidency, GMA is beset with poor popularity, charges of corruption, human rights violations, and a weak economy. With some gains, many look at the White House visit as another political move which combines government business with pleasure.

As before, many legislators and administration supporters scramble to join the travel wagon to be part of an official trip underwritten by taxpayer's money. Many of them include in their travel side trips to Las Vegas, tourist attractions, and shopping malls in various cities of America. It is unclear what this group of GMA companions will do after the Washington DC meeting with Obama. =0=

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