Malia, Peace Signs and Bottom Feeders (Political as well as Journalistic)

Oh, come on. You’ve buckets of blame for every one except for Malia and her Mother. Mostly for mom, for not restricting Malia’s clothing items as should be practiced by moms everywhere, when their daughters are too young to know any better. Next she’ll allow Malia to be wearing Ché or something equally communistic. An eleven-yo should be into less politically-charged items, unless mom wants someone to claim she’s “Pimping Chelsea”.
How about a nice retro Rug Rats or something?
(While you’re at it, address why we, the taxpayers, have to pay for wife and kiddies to accompany daddy on his business trips, and why he doesn’t pay for their travel and mileage reimbursements out of his own pocketses like that Alaska Governor had to.)

Serr6d – because Obama is the President and Palin was a governor of an obscure state.

Not to your points, but the photo grabbed me. How cynical we are to deride Malia’s hope for peace. I was a bit older, but at 13 my mother sewed a “war is not healthy for children and other living things” patch on the pocket of the blazer I wore to church. I bought the patch with my own money, the expression wasn’t a proxy for my parent’s views. Kids can be very earnest. My hunch is that Malia decided to pack the shirt herself and her mother had to make a decision. Michelle Obama decided that wearing a veil was appropriate protocol for meeting the Pope and I’m sure she had to think about that too. I think that like my mother so many years ago when it came to the peace shirt she couldn’t think of any good reason to prevent Malia from expressing her earnest expression for peace. Kids may be naive, but they’re not always wrong.

The Guardian also pushed the CND angle. I hate that I’m viewing so much of the Obama administration (and family) through rabid right prism. (“Oh, gawd. Someone’s gonna say something about Malia’s shirt” & “Oh, lord what are they gonna say about Michelle’s dress tonight. Maybe she shouldn’t have worn it” sort of thing).
Simple truth is that the peace sign is very trendy for Malia’s age group right now. (I’ve been looking for birthday gift for my niece who turns 11) It’s on everything from underwear to t-shirts to jackets to notebooks to backpacks to socks & shoes, etc. This summer/fall trend would’ve been put in train last fall, so I’m wondering if its a reflection of Obama’s win. Or maybe it’s coincidence & just this season’s smiley face?
I’ll bet it was her choice. I don’t know what her parents thought about it.
The press should back off.

See my note below re the current adolescent peace sign trend.
(the Obamas pay for the children & other family members travel expenses, etc. We do pay for Michelle’s travel when she’s making official appearances representing us a first lady. She buys her own clothes, etc.
But then, I’m expecting you already know that.)

The gaze of the two men behind Malia is on the back of her head. It reminds of this thought-provoking diary: It wasn’t about the shirt. It was about Malia’s hair. The politics of black hair.
The diary is well worth a read–with the Sotomayor confirmation hearings coming up, the privileged reaction to non-straight hair styles is all the more relevant.

What? Is this the first time someone wore a peace sign in public? Good post. I agree with what you wrote a hundred percent.

Nice troll you’ve got there.
Honestly, I had no idea this was an issue until I came here. I miss a lot of MSM blather, intentionally. I guess all I could write based on what you wrote is, yet another reason why the MSM continues to decline in influence and popularity. Sure, stuff like this plays well to the thirty precenters who think quitting is winning but I think the majority of Americans see it as what it is and nothing more. That said, the majority are solidly behind single payer health care and yet, to listen to congress and the media, you’d think exactly the opposite.
The “revolution” as it were, isn’t coming from tea baggers whining about gubmint taxes, it’s coming from people shunning the MSM and turning to other sources. As for changes in government, well, that’s another issue entirely.

Obscure state, Jymn? I thought all you ‘proggs’ were so done with that elitist, me-and-my-neighborhood-FIRST! sort of thinking. I’ll tell you this: that you, living in whatever overpopulated burg you call home, and all the other crowded (but oh-so fashionably upper crust) are less than obscure to the peoples who actually live in the countrysides…and fashion your foodstuffs.
God forbid anything happen to the thin veneer of civilization, and you ‘elitist city dwellers’ run out of food and ‘roof rabbits’ (what city dwellers during the Great Depression called house cats), and come outside your concrete and steel societies, looking for food. I’m sure those of us who are ‘obscure’ country folks will welcome you with open hearts, don’tcha know?

Really, now, dada? Just how much of M’chelle’s and kid’s tour of Paris last month was covered out of Barack’s pocket?

White House Won’t Reveal How Much Michelle Obama’s European Vacation Cost Taxpayers
America may be in the midst of a deep recession, and the nation may be facing unprecedented deficit spending and debt, but the White House will not reveal the cost to taxpayers of the European vacation that first lady Michelle Obama and the president’s two daughters, Malia and Sasha, took last month.
Travel by an American first lady typically includes the military passenger jet that carries her and the children, Secret Service personnel to provide security, and a separate cargo plane to haul official vehicles.
First Lady Michelle Obama’s tour of Paris with her children included a convoy of 20 vehicles, according to news reports. She also moved by “motorcade” through London.
The full cost of such a trip would also include the expense of meals and lodging for Secret Service agents and possibly other staff.

If you think that came out of Barack’s pocket, you are deluded to the hilt; and would thus believe anything sprake by Barack.
Wait…

I agree, Michael. I’m not sorry I missed all that over the weekend. The starvation is obvious and hopefully something more newsworthy will hit the pages soon. The peace sign is, indeed trendy these days (as it should be!) and I, too, suspect that the girls pack their own clothes and choose what to wear. Way for them to fabricate something out of nothing.

I gotta say that I would never have a problem with the President’s family accompanying him/her on a trip of this nature. I don’t care who the president is….did you do a lot of complaining about Laura Bush accompanying George on his various trips?

Of further interest – and not noted in this post – is the fact that the Vancouver Sun “journalist” who concocted the story – Chris Parry – is a member of the DailyKos team, known there by the handle “HollywoodOz”. In his “diaries” he urges people, among other unsavory acts, to “Moby” conservative forums (i.e. pose as a conservative posters and post all manner of scandalous things).
Currently Markos Moulitsas Zúñiga is working overtime to try to empty the incriminating evidence down the memory hole, scrubbing the site of a slew of embarrassing posts by Parry. Since the evidence has been alredy been “screenshotted”, I don’t know that will be of any help. It would have been better if DailyKos had just come clean on this and get it over with.
So you missed a “for shame” directed at Parry for “Mobying” up a faux story and Kos for desperately trying to hide the evidence.

DNFTT (Do Not Feed the Trolls)

O yeah – make a false comparison between a peace sign (and I just saw a $2500 purse with a great big peace sign on it – learn something about fashion before you pop off next time, please -) and Che Guevara. What’s the connection, please, besides the leap of illogic in your fevered brain?

I really love it that she’s wearing a peace sign. The only people who don’t love it are people who hate peace. And fashion. And the president and his family.
Admit it!

O really? Got proof for that accusation against Markos? I’ve known Markos for 7 years and I’ve never known of his hiding anything on his site.
You better have some backup for that – cause I think it’s a flat out LIE.

I didn’t really catch the hair, since it doesn’t register to me as out of the ordinary, but I did see that this photo could definitely be read in two very different ways, depending (in part) on how you register race.
First, two security guys who just always look grumpy because that’s how security guys always look — especially when trying to keep a child safe in the middle of a busy street in a foreign country where they’re unused to some of the social customs about eye contact, body language, etc, that they probably rely on to identify threats (though that’s assuming those are American Secret Service, rather than Russian security; if they’re Russian security, of COURSE they look grumpy. I’ve seen Russian security. Trust me, they’re grumpy).
Second, two well-dressed white guys resenting the uppity black folks who don’t even have the dignity to “dress respectably.” To me, that reading of the photo, and how readily available it is, is one of the really gross things about it.

This is the new Free Republic cover story: none of their members made those dozens of disgusting comments, they were all planted by Parry, in a big conspiracy to discredit the Free Republic site, so Parry could get a story for his Canadian paper. He even posted the comments by long-time members. I’m not sure how they think Parry did that, but hey, logic and realism are clearly not part of the intellectual arsenal at FR.
And Kos is in on it, too! Because Parry comments on his site!
Sad. Just….sad.
(It does show how ashamed of themselves they are, though, that they’re reduced to these desperate attempts at distraction/diversion.)

“Got proof for that accusation against Markos?” – Tena
I imagine you are already aware of Markos hiding his infamous “screw them” remarks about Americans brutally murdered in Iraq, Tena. If not, just Google, “Kos” and “screw them”. Hiding/scrubbing embarrassing remarks is SOP at Kos.
On this item you can simply go to this diary by the “journalist” in question (Chris Parry aka “HollywoodOz”) if Kos hasn’t disappeared it yet. (Again, it doesn’t help him – screenshots were taken.) In it the guy orderss everyone at Kos to “Googlebomb” Bill O’Reilly in one of his previous and obviously dishonest attempts at manipulating the internet.
Google-Bomb O’Reilly as a “terrorist sympathizer”
by HollywoodOz
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/11/12/18344/783
Then see if you can find any diary entry for 2009, let alone the now scrubbed entries of the last few days. Just a few hours ago there were more than a few. But that’s changed fast and
it’s something you can quite easily verify for yourself, Tena.
http://www.dailykos.com/user/HollywoodOz/diary
If Kos were smart or honest he’d shame the guy for this stunt and make him “persona non gratia”, just as he gave Cindy Sheehan the boot awhile back.

DNFTT, take two.

you sound like one of those church lady, old maid, busy bodies.

Its neet; almost got your tiger feet. But an ancient reference to allowances. Surely: I was in despair. Deep despair. I drew myself: the representative of an individual in despair, with hands palm outstretched outwards and downwards in the manner of Goya’s peasant before the firing squad. I formalised the drawing into a line and put a circle round it.. The origin of the symbol. Prince is also dead!

here is sasha sporting a scarf with peace signs :
http://thepage.time.com/photos-sasha-malia-first-day-of-school/
4th pic down.

i haven’t trusted kos ever since he suggested it would be “fun” for democrats in michigan to cross over and voted for romney instead of a dem candidate in the primary. voting should be treated as sacrosanct, not some game or opportunity to create mischief. for kos to endorsing this kind of tactic reveals his immaturity.

Of course I don’t believe everything Barack “sprakes”… He’s a politician — they always disappoint in the end.
I understand Obama family follows the law as did previous first families. I’ve never seen a breakdown of the cost for the Bush family, have you? (I also understand the Obamas have rejected certain perks such as the new-occupant-in-WH remodeling funds, etc.)
I don’t know what would please you other than that Obama wasn’t president. I see only two possible scenarios here: The president & his family never allowed to leave the white house unless it’s official business. Or, if it’s not official business, they can leave the white house so long as they travel commercially and without the Secret Service?

Ah, Tena — Brevity is the soul of wit.
(Had I seen your comment before replying upthread, I would’ve just writ: “What Tena said.” and saved myself grief.)
Spot on.

Plus, her backpack is pink camo!

Perhaps its fashion but on the other hand, might Sasha be expressing one of the core beliefs of her Quaker school.
‘In the USA, Children and Friends school students are often taught the acronym SPICES, which stands for Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality and Stewardship.’
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_Society_of_Friends#Peace

PS – I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt and assuming (as with your “sprake”) that your ” M’chelle ” was a typo. I’d hate to assume anything else.

Maybe I am dating myself, but this picture screams one name to me, one name etched in time, and here embodied by the young man on the right:
Bell Biv Devoe!!

Ok looks like I got my pop star references messed up, but that guy looks just like a singer from the late 80s / early 90s.

The odd thing, to me, is that I just do not see “Second” there at all. Those are two grumpy guys focusing significantly farther away than Malia’s hair. I.e., doing their damn job and doing it right. I mean, te job includes both the grumpiness and looking at places where an actual threat might come from.
In fact, the guy in back, in the blue tie, scares me. Not a bad quality for somebody laying his life on the line to protect the First Family. If he really is allowing himself the luxury of disapproving of the young lady’s style, somebody has made a bad, bad, bad error, because keeping scary hostile people away is the idea; but again, I can’t see that that’s where he’s looking.

The first poster was right on. This is a very politically charged symbol, for those of us old enough to know it. No way should the child of a president be wearing it. I say the bad judgment here was not Michelle’s, but Obama’s himself. He is very careful about how his family looks and dresses (remember that odd moment on the sixty minutes interview when he asked Michelle if that was a speck of lipstick on one of her teeth, or what? ). He’s got his mother in law exiting from another side of air force one, because she is not as photogenic as Michelle and the kids. Oh, you thought it was for “privacy” reasons, like they said? uh huh.

So the pale faced, flat behind conservatives have nothing better to do than attack a child with racist taunts. This beautiful girl cannot change who she is nor her race. Please go back to suntanning in an attempt to banish your ghostly paleness, being brainwashed by the Republic News Channel (aka Fox/ Faux News), and injecting your non-existent lips, breasts, and butts with fillers. Just leave this child alone.

I bought my 11 year old niece a scarf with peace signs last week, and she LOVED it!
If only the freepers cared as much about the Bush administration deceiving Congress as they do about the Obama children’s clothing.

Bullshit.
I’ve been at Daily Kos since 2002 and I’ve never even noticed HollywoodOz (no offense to him). Funny how everyone is trying to play him up as a “blogger at Daily Kos” as if he owns the place. He’s just another commenter/diarist like 200,000 or so others.
As to the other person replying here that lost respect for Markos for encouraging people to cross over in Michigan to vote for a Republican. Welcome to the world of politics. That’s a fairly common tactic on both sides.

yeah, I think that it’s even more true these days that kids take all kinds of political/moral positions pretty young — I’ve known 10- or 12-year olds who insisted that their parents make them vegetarian meals on conscience grounds, and junior high and highschool kids are doing a lot of activism on peace and environmental issues, as well as things like giving time at soup kitchens and other charities. it’s a good sign for their generation(s)…

“everybody else does it” isn’t a convincing argument nor an ethical position.

No, I just believe in fighting a gunfight with guns and not with a putty knife.

it was kos who first suggested electoral manipulation. then rush thought it a dandy idea and suggested the same with “operation chaos.”
do you like the idea of a bunch of dittoheads potentially selecting the democratic nominee?
sure, you want to show up fully equipped for a fight, but fighting stupid isn’t going to make up for lack of firepower.

FYI, Kos didn’t invent this tactic. Please. Both parties have been manipulating like this forever.

What exactly would be the objection to a peace sign worn as such? Nevermind. I probably don’t want to know.
Malia for president.

Southern Belle sounds coarse and vulgar.

Some sites identified the man next to Malia as P-Diddy…it is not; but the image of the two AA one a nubile female and the other a virile young male in very casual clothing, surrounded by ‘professional” style older white men in the classic city of Rome…cognitive dissonance for some, perhaps. I personally found the image a bit startling.

doing the same old thing over and over again because that’s how it’s always been done — is the reason we are where we are.

peace sign tote bag:
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/gallery/2009/07/obama-first-trip-to-africa.php?img=10

Oh, ha ha. Just got your “sprake” …. As in Thus Sprake Zarathustra? Or something.

The Obama’s, all of them, have to be careful about giving their enemies ammunition. It’s that simple.

What is wrong with a Peace symbol?

That ISN’T P-Diddy? It must be his brother then, because he really looks like him. Who is it?

The peace sign was the symbol of the disarmament movement which became somewhat discredited over time, as seen by the fact that we still have nuclear weapons. How come? How come we never experienced armageddon with the soviet union, as confidently predicted by those who marched with the symbol? How come those of Eastern Europe threw off Soviet chains — a country, which, according to the U.S. peace movement, only wanted what was best for the people? The demise of the Soviet union caused people to silently know, though never acknowledge, that something was indeed wrong with communism in practice. In any event, the president’s pre-teen daughter should not be used, or even seem to be used, as a billboard for his beliefs and policies.

and where was this article when Palin’s kids were getting drug though the mud? Its only bad if its BO’s spawn?