nice abuse of power by the first lady

[Flyndaran]

'cause RED MEAT CLOGS YOUR ARTERIES AND KILLS YOU IN YOUR SLEEP WHEN YOU'RE TWENTY-SIX!

Eating high cholesterol foods daily vastly increasing your risk for heart disease and stroke is not hype. It's fact.

[AdminAssistant]

good quality meat

And that is the problem. The majority of hamburgers eaten in America come from places like McDonald's, Burger King, etc. Not that an occasional Whopper, Jr. isn't tasty (cause it is), but they're not made from great cuts of meat. Eating a well-made hamburger regularly would probably be fine, but eating Whoppers and Big Macs every day, not so much.

Personally, I like lettuce, pickle, mustard, and pepperjack cheese.

[BroomJockey]

Thread de-rail.... Why not??

'cause RED MEAT CLOGS YOUR ARTERIES AND KILLS YOU IN YOUR SLEEP WHEN YOU'RE TWENTY-SIX!

[Slytovhand]

Thread de-rail....

Fact is, hamburgers aren't that great for you if you eat them everyday.

Why not??

Well, over here at any rate, a well made hamburger is quite healthy... a bit of bread (which is probably the worst part of it), good quality meat (esp if it's a steak burger) and some nice salad - lettuce, onions, tomato... beetroot! (and let's splurge, pineapple, ham, cheese and an egg). Quite healthy! If you work off the calories (of which, there's not really a stack), it's fine (tad low on the vege count, but hey...)


As for their kids - yes, I would agree... such is the problem with 'celebrity' status anywhere.

Funny thing is, if a POTUS were assassinated, everybody would be up in arms,

hmmm... well, not everybody...

[AdminAssistant]

Honestly, I think it's very tacky of people to openly take pictures of the First Lady with her children. They're little girls, they didn't ask to become famous, and they deserve to not have cameras in their faces while going out for a hamburger. I feel that way about all celebrity kids; they should be off limits. Mrs. Obama out by herself? That I can swing with, although I can understand why she would get annoyed by it.

That said, I agree with Boozy. When President Clinton visited the local university to dedicate a library, the Secret Service took over the entire campus and did pretty much what they gosh darn well pleased. Funny thing is, if a POTUS were assassinated, everybody would be up in arms, "The Secret Service didn't do enough to protect them! It's their fault!" Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Yes, the "OMG They ate hamburgers!!" comments made me laugh. Fact is, hamburgers aren't that great for you if you eat them everyday. But the occasional hamburger, french fries, and chocolate shake, that's the classic American meal.

Why am I suddenly hungry?

[Slytovhand]

What I'm amused about on that link were the first few comments I glanced over..."OMG, hamburgerz are so bad for you..."

What?? What do you guys put in them over there?? (granted, I know you don't have the sanity to include beetroot as standard... so that's pretty sad!)

[Boozy]

First of all, the Secret Service was not in the kitchen to make sure her burger was prepared to her liking. The article may have implied it, but saying so outright would have been a lie. The Secret Service were there to ensure that the First Lady was not about to be poisoned.

Second, there is nothing that indicates that the agents were in the kitchen. I have a feeling this was an open grill visible to the dining room.

Third, the Secret Service will, on occasion, temporarily secure camera equipment to prevent intelligence gathering.

I see nowhere in the article that any of this was done at the behest of the First Lady.

[Flyndaran]

hmmm a government blogger-with nothing but "reports" of what wonderful things the white house tells her about-yeah that's trustworthy.....

Not only that, but it didn't really deny the accusation of those very phones being taken.
Since the secret service has a long history of taking people's stuff for non-existant reasons, I am likely to believe it happening at the behest of the wife of the president, or heck, even done of their own volition.

[linguist]

Seems as if the original story is no longer available...wonder why that might be?

[BlaqueKatt]

I agree it would've been a pretty blatant abuse of power ... if it had actually happened.

This is what actually happened. Paragraph five pertains to the subject at hand.

hmmm a government blogger-with nothing but "reports" of what wonderful things the white house tells her about-yeah that's trustworthy.....

[Chantilly]

I agree it would've been a pretty blatant abuse of power ... if it had actually happened.

This is what actually happened. Paragraph five pertains to the subject at hand.

Always take the NYP with a grain of salt, especially Page Six. Their veracity is on par with the Weekly World News.

<now going back to lurker mode >

[Mr Slugger]

I don't think anyone is suggesting she should be... but I don't think that gives her the right to walk all over anybody else's rights either... which is what the taking of the phones is.

Which I totally agree on the taking of phone's part. That should not happen. I will only defend her having the SS check on the food part

[Slytovhand]

I was actually about to point that out as well, Linguist. Sorry, Nyoibo, but I don't think that's right. 'Entering' isn't the problem - it's what you do there that matters.

Of course, on the other hand, there is also the situation of 'Trespass'. The 'No Unauthorised Personnel' includes anyone not there with a legitimate reason to... which means if the owner says no, the answer is no (excepting law enforcement and health officials... not steak quality assurance persons).

Linguist, just because someone is acting in an offical capacity does not automatically give them the right to walk all over someone else's rights - including trespass (although, I'd imagine the US constitution allows SS to go whereever they want... and probably to do anything they want as well....)

Just because she's the first lady doesn't mean she should be locked completely away. That's what the secret service are there for.

I don't think anyone is suggesting she should be... but I don't think that gives her the right to walk all over anybody else's rights either... which is what the taking of the phones is.

Cops taking mobile phones that contain evidence?? Hmmm... surely that's perverting the course of justice??

[linguist]

I don't know about the US but in Australia it wouldn't matter if they did that, it's a health code violation for any non-authorised personel to enter a food preparation area.

regulations vary by state and municipality, but in general, in my experience working in different cities and states, anyone can enter a food preparation area with the owner's permission, provided they follow proper food safety and sanitation protocol.

and who are considered 'authorized personnel?' is a law enforcement officer acting in an official capacity not considered authorized?

[Mr Slugger]

If you are that worried, then don't go to a private establishment. Being related to a politician does not allow you to violate health codes.

I dunno it wouldn't violate any health codes around here so long as they didn't actually handle the food. I've seen vendors, delivery guys, etc. walking around a kitchen around here. Again they just don't just the kitchen stuff. But I've seen far worse in a kitchen than some guy in a suit.

As far as private establishments. I dunno sometimes I'm in the mood for steak at home and sometimes I'm in the mood for steak at the texas roadhouse. Just because she's the first lady doesn't mean she should be locked completely away. That's what the secret service are there for.