Saudi king showered Obamas with $1.3 million in gifts in 2014

Posted by $ nickursis 8 years, 5 months ago to Government
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One has to wonder why someone would lavish such items on someone who supposedly cannot keep them. Yet, on the other hand, they practice the same barbaric rituals as the the ones labeled as "evil, nasty people" (you know, like cutting off heads, stoning women, etc). Seems like a whole lot of manipulation and sleight of hand going on here..or some really dumb Saudis...But it is theirs to give, I just think they could buy a whole lot more love if they donated to the 8 year old girl who got a rare form of breast cancer..
SOURCE URL: https://www.yahoo.com/politics/saudi-king-showered-obamas-with-1308621692543030.html


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  • Posted by Esceptico 8 years, 5 months ago
    I disapprove of calling politicians whores because it gives a bad name to honest sex workers. We all trade for what we want, the word "whore" is pejorative only due to religious folks not liking the voluntary trading of acts which are not disparaged if free, but condemned if for a fee. Tsk, tsk.
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  • Posted by jimjamesjames 8 years, 5 months ago
    Isn't it Constitutionally illegal for an elected rep to receive personal gifts??
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    • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 8 years, 5 months ago
      If they paid attention to that any more. Case in point. Clinton promised to not use the Presidential Pardon if convicted.

      The Presidential Pardon is specifically and strictly forbidden for use in any impeachment proceedings.

      That's in the Constitution and he of course didn't and couldn't but he made political hay out of it. to the point that many people believes it is true. The pardon not the crime in Bubba's case.
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    • Posted by $ 8 years, 5 months ago
      I do not believe that is a Constitutional item, but it is in the ethics law, as we had to go through training every fricking year for a couple hours, in the Navy. They told us we could not accept any gift over 50.00 and had to report all gifts of any value. Somehow, I am sure that training is not applicable to Washington. Just to the masses.
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      • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 8 years, 5 months ago
        It is bold as brass and easy to find. I just posted it in another thread Read the very last sentence.

        Article II Section Two

        Section 2

        1: The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

        (Never been amended )
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  • Posted by johnpe1 8 years, 5 months ago
    as for me, I would like to donate many of our thousands
    which go to the government in taxes to that 8-year-old girl
    and her family, her doctors and their charity. -- j
    .
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    • Posted by $ 8 years, 5 months ago
      Well John, I actually did throw 20.00 to her gofundme page, simply because the story is so downright miserable: mom has cervical cancer, dad is a vet who had lymphoma, and now 1 of 2 daughters has some weird form of breast cancer at age 8. Just imagining how they could ever pay for it with all the caps and limits of most health care plans makes me feel bad for them. But I do agree whole heartedly with your statement, it seems the money always goes where it's not needed, just where it's wanted.
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      • Posted by johnpe1 8 years, 4 months ago
        Karl Marx would be proud of our "transfer payments" system. -- j
        .
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        • Posted by $ 8 years, 4 months ago
          Indeed. I am sure Bernie will improve on it once elected....
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          • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 8 years, 4 months ago
            That's a dilemma faced by the 'DNC and Darling Debbie Dubya. How to get rid of Hillary who has now come home to the center of the LEFT and that may yet be a side deal to keep RINOs in line. Hillary in Triple Deke is out and who knows Chelsea may get the job next.

            However the Carly ploy will store work in Wasserman's favor inso far as retainingi control of the entire range of RINO leftists through progressive leftists and the ability to manufacture any crisis they want at any time.

            My fly in the ointment suggestion given the distancing if such it is of Hillary from the Progressive extremists is the suggestioni of Jindal for VP running mate for Fiorini. He would bring in a massive amount of real votes for people who still think Republicans aren't left wing and other groups (about 30-35% of the available voting power with the notion of four to eight years later using Carly as the nose and
            Jindal as the other end of the camel. None of the other candidates or former candidates can do it as they have zero record (except for Webb) of any fiscal responsibility.

            Examine it closely from the DNC point of view, the RNC point of view and the disenfranchised point of view it's win win win....and Hillary is left out in the cold.

            This may well be the real reasons for the FBI investigations.

            Obama escapes to enjoy his multi millionaire status and doubles that with speeches.....etc.

            So far i can't find a flaw....

            Oh yes and we get to dump a trump in the bargain. Nothing but net!

            Bernie? He's only got the progressives and many of them are leery of being that open now they've been declared socialist extremists - by themselves!

            DNC can put him on the slate in the primaries but hell Webb could come back and win in that case.
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            • Posted by $ 8 years, 4 months ago
              I don't know that Fiorina will be able to rope in enough people to get enough votes, even with Jindal as a draw. Too much HP hangover still...
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              • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 8 years, 4 months ago
                Better read it again. First she gets all the Republican votes especially the RINOs and the defeat hillary at any cost no matter if it does support evil votes. then she gets the anti-socialist extremist votes from the left wing of the left.

                Jindal brings in the rest of the non Rino non republican non Democrat votes the disenfranchised 30-40% yearning to be free and allowed to vote for something.

                Reason. Proven track record in fiscal responsibility and no heavy connection to the RINO leadership of the right wing of the left.

                DNC gets to dump Hillary and maintain control of the party. Since it's all one party anyway Triple Deke can offer her overt or covert assistance in button pushing DC style something Carly F. has no experience with.

                HP hangover is the only flaw it's not much. Of interest only to a few.

                After all to the left it 's just corporate greed and to the right wing of the left it's a corporatist socialist in office.

                On balance the mix while not perfect is miles ahead of any other RINO candidate and that's all that is left from the left. With the defection of Paul and Cruz that only leaves Rubio and Carson. For this kind of deal Wasserman will unleash the Bimbo Brigades or whatever it takes..

                She's a woman and it's their turn...
                She's a feminist
                She's a publicly admitted Democrat at heart
                She's a RINO outsider - double plus
                She's a corporatist statist socialist
                She's proven to be ruthless.
                She's controllable because she's an outsider.

                The HP baggage is easily marginalized

                A little deal making which she is good at and that only leaves the unregistered or registered vote flushers to attract a hefty chunk of support that far outweighs HP.

                Jindal takes care of that and who knows might bring some fiscal responsibility which both left and right wing of the left need badly.

                Now Given the abilities of the other potentials would the chance of Jindal four or eight years down the line not be a much better way to go? Get the slowdown anchor inside not outside at the least and a lot of publicity in those four to eight years. He for sure is no Biden.
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                • Posted by $ 8 years, 4 months ago
                  I guess I was mistookenly thinking that the election was about voters whose perceptions count, placed in that framework, you have a point. Still doesn't make much difference, we get screwed either way.
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                  • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 8 years, 4 months ago
                    True but we upset their apple cart in the process, cost them a lot of time, effort, money, split them into squabbling groups, and create an atmosphere where further raids, strikes, and political guerrilla tactics can continue. To paraphrase Captain Kirk we change the parameters.of their one hundred year old plan....and the best part of it is they won't even see it coming...they think only of us them socialists versus conservatives and forget the 30-40 percent waiting to be enlisted ...all it takes is as few more lucky breaks on the FBI investigations and enough interest shown in a Fiorini Jindahl ticket....with them knowing from whence comes their new source of support. Wasserman will figure the rest out on her own if she hasn't already.

                    You take the opportunities as they are and use them to own purposes even if just to weld a new group together.....from all the bits and pieces the socialists have left stranded along the way over a hundred years...Control first other issues next and destroy their control is part of that. Rome wasn't built in a day nor Washington DC turned into a marginalized suburb of Bethesda overnight...but it's where we should have been fighting our battles all along. Nothing there but one big fire sack full of target rich opportunities and no innocent bystanders no collateral damage to worry about.
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                    • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 8 years, 4 months ago
                      Carly Girl by the way has done well in the polls and appearances while the rest are losing ground. If you read all the polls....it's an easy sell....with very little baggage as compared to the rest of them.

                      Whats the schtick? If we have to have one of their choices - let it be our decision, our choice not theirs. Fiorini's baggage is one hell of a lot less than the Wicked Witch of the Left is carrying. No ongoingi FBI investigations for starters. No history continual wrong doing and naked greed. No history of flip flop fibbing

                      Kick in the knee kick em in the nuts kick in the ankle kick em in the shin kick where it hurts kick em while their down and can't get up. No VAT,, no pork barrel fat...time to take our country back....Kick til they bleed kick them til they scream and when the day is over kick them in their dreams.

                      And cost them a lot of big time money. 110,000 precincts, 3144 counties. they can't afford to cover them all and as Soros himself always says ,I don't back losers.'

                      Another area is the move towards using the friendly judge route to give the Billionaire Boys Club direct access to controlling campaigns make an issue of it and demand a reversal of some of the previous steps. the Supremes are not supreme and the circuit judges wiring it not safe from corrosion if country starts demanding amendments not the rule of dictators.
                      .
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  • Posted by CircuitGuy 8 years, 5 months ago
    "200+? Boy, she is an economy lawyer. I have seen the m at 400+ (my lawyer I hired to fight the idiot next door BK trying to bail on a 148K judgement)." --nickursis
    She mostly takes simple stuff, all estate planning related. She says she'd rather do easier projects that pay less than complicated/contentious cases that pay more.

    She says her prices are lower than the competition. Part of it might be that she's from a modest background and feels rich. I also get the notion that people are cost conscious about paying for documents but not when someone dies and money is being disbursed. People are eager for it to finish and may irrationally think "the attorney gets 1%, which not much," if they would balk at the fees outside the context of a large estate.

    My wife doesn't do business law. There's another lawyer I use for that who's in the $225 range. I don't remember the extact hourly rate, but the bill amount always feels consistent with what he did.
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    • Posted by $ 8 years, 5 months ago
      Oh, she must do Probate type stuff? Even the other guy is really inexpensive ( I do not use "cheap" as it implies a quality standard for something I have no knowledge of). My BK dude ran us through 15K and then showed up in court with basically no idea how he would stop the BK, even when the judge was basically pleading with him to give him something to work with. Luckily, I had given him pictures to show the judge, who then noted that the animals were dead, then dug into his huge book of law, and found some obscure thing about "reducing the value of the estate intentionally" and tossed the BK out on that. The lawyer had no idea of that angle, which is supposedly the reason we hired him. I could have floundered with more skill than he did.
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  • Posted by wmiranda 8 years, 5 months ago
    Whether he can keep it or not, BHO's upbringing as a muslim plus $1.3 million in gifts buys a lot of sympathy for Islam and a critical view of America.
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    • Posted by $ 8 years, 5 months ago
      Indeed, it seems somewhat suspicious, why give all that crap to someone who cannot keep it in the first place? Hmmm unless....
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      • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 8 years, 5 months ago
        The dudes King of Altruism????
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        • Posted by $ 8 years, 4 months ago
          I guess ooodles of oil money can loosen the purse....
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          • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 8 years, 4 months ago
            Now apply that same logic to the context of buying votes. and this is probably Soros' main thrust right now. Legally awarded direct access to candidates and positions, questions, proposals which the BBC is denied at present but which only takes an ACLU presentation before a bought and paid for progressive Judge singular one each only every one of them (on both sides and not all Republican Billionaires are not themselves Rinos it means the capability to influence every voting level in the country. No need for congress. Their song is all citizens will enjoy the right to buy votes but to paraphrase Yoda Lakoff without the money and money is now legally listed as free speech buying access, and influencing votes and elections directly is a little difficult. Freedom issue unless everyone has the funds. They don't. We don't.

            Second think of the wealth accruing to Obama. Speeches sure but book deals alone. The BBC can buy three or four editions of the same book or books not to mention purchases of the faithful and it only takes 100,000 sold through book stores etc to become a best seller. The rest can be bought by 'distributors' and disappeared or sent to the dollar book store tables.

            And who else besides the Saudi's

            Legalized interference with every thing on and everybody on every ballot in the country is the prize they are one step away.

            Obama comes out of this worth less than 100 million plus fat retirement plus no strings attached medical for life....I'll be shocked and awed.

            And he never had to work a day in his life.....
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            • Posted by $ 8 years, 4 months ago
              Nope, he never did, he was supposedly a professor at some college before this. I still think that a one time senator, with no track record, gets elected twice, is a real bad fishy smell item..there is still more to this than has ever been revealed, but yes, they have gathered in the money in their 8 years. And he HAS never worked a day in his miserable life, except what work has been required to figure out how to hide and accrue more ill gotten gains.
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  • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 8 years, 5 months ago
    How much of it did he keep - directly or indirectly? Of that which he kept what were the taxes both tariff and income or if property then property tax.

    Of that not kept How was it disposed of?
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    • Posted by Riftsrunner 8 years, 5 months ago
      Apparently, if the gift is not from an official foreign government, those gifts are designated as domestic gifts and can be disposed of per the first family's wishes (usually to charities). If they decide to keep these items they aren't required to buy them from the government. Certain gifts designated possibly harmful (food, drinks, colonges, flammable etc.) are destroyed per Secret Service.

      Any gifts from a foreign dignitary is turned over to the National Achives unless the first family decides to pay the appraised value and keep it. However, everything turned over to the National Archives is retained only until the president's library museum is build and becomes part of that collection.
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      • Posted by $ 8 years, 5 months ago
        I would disagree, as it would seem to violate the Ethics law. I will see if I can find it and reference it.
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        • Posted by $ 8 years, 5 months ago
          Here is where it is detailed:

          http://www.oge.gov/Laws-and-Regulatio...

          Subpart B:
          Subpart B prohibits employees from soliciting or accepting gifts from prohibited sources or gifts given because of their official position. The term “prohibited source” includes anyone seeking business with or official action by an employee’s agency and anyone substantially affected by the performance of the employee’s duties. For example, a company bidding for an agency contract or a person seeking an agency grant would be a prohibited source of gifts to employees of that agency.

          The term “gift” is defined to include nearly anything of market value. However, it does not include items that clearly are not gifts, such as publicly available discounts and commercial loans and it does not include certain inconsequential items, such as coffee, donuts, greeting cards, and certificates.

          There are several exceptions to the prohibitions against gifts from outside sources. For example, with some limitations, employees may accept:

          Unsolicited gifts with a market value of $20 or less per occasion, aggregating no more than $50 in a calendar year from any single source;
          Gifts motivated by a family relationship or personal friendship;
          Free attendance at certain widely-attended gatherings, such as conferences and receptions, when the cost of attendance is borne by the sponsor of the event; and
          Food, refreshments, and entertainment at certain meetings or events while on duty in a foreign country.

          The subpart also contains guidance on returning or paying for gifts that cannot be accepted."

          It does seem to have some loopholes in it, what if the 500K necklace was a gift from a "Personal friend" such as the King? I mean I am sure that Michelle is on first name terms with him (or was then, he's dead now).

          Here is the page detailing "gifts":

          http://www.oge.gov/Topics/Gifts-and-P...
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          • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 8 years, 5 months ago
            the missing information is it only applies to appointees and employees. '"Guess who is exempt? Guess who signed the Executive Order?

            Executive Order 13490 (Jan. 21, 2009): Prescribing Standards of Ethical Conduct for Government Officers and Employees

            Read Full Text of Executive Order 13490: (HTML) (PDF)

            Read the Annual Reports on Executive Order 13490

            2009 Report (PDF)
            2010 Report (PDF)
            One waiver was inadvertently omitted from the 2010 report. A total of 13 appointees appointed January 1 - December 31, 2010 were granted waivers from the requirements of Ethics Pledge paragraph 2. The missing waiver is available here: (PDF)
            2011 Report (PDF)
            2012 Report (PDF)
            2013 Report (PDF)
            2014 Report (PDF)

            Most of the executive branch ethics laws and regulations apply equally to career employees and to political appointees, but some apply only to political appointees (or to a defined category of political appointees) or the laws or regulations apply differently to them. President Obama signed Executive Order 13490 on January 21, 2009. It requires full-time political appointees, appointed on or after January 20, 2009, to sign the Ethics Pledge set out in section 1 of the Executive Order. The Ethics Pledge requires that appointees comply with the additional restrictions set out in the Pledge.

            In brief, Executive Order 13490:

            Requires full-time political appointees to agree to additional restrictions by signing an Ethics Pledge;
            Authorizes the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to grant a waiver of one or more of the restrictions;
            Directs agencies to establish rules and procedures to ensure that every covered appointee signs the Ethics Pledge;
            Requires that a covered appointee’s ethics agreement address certain matters;
            Directs OGE to assist Designated Agency Ethics Officials in providing advice concerning the Ethics Pledge;
            Directs OGE to take steps to apply the Ethics Pledge’s lobbyist gift ban to all executive branch employees;
            Directs OGE to study or report on certain matters; and
            Provides for enforcement of the Ethics Pledge.

            Executive branch ethics provisions generally apply only to Government “employees.”
            Some executive branch ethics provisions apply only to certain categories of employees or apply differently to certain categories of employees or not at all.
            Executive branch ethics provision generally do not apply to “representatives” serving on an advisory committee or to independent contractors.


            I could find no list of those exempted.....
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            • Posted by $ 8 years, 4 months ago
              Michael,

              I found this in the Manual under definitions:

              Employee means any officer or employee of an agency, including a special Government employee. It includes officers but not enlisted members of the uniformed services. It includes employees of a State or local government or other organization who are serving on detail to an agency, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 3371, et seq. For purposes other than subparts B and C of this part, it does not include the President or Vice President.

              It seems that everything BUT the gift part is meant for everyone else except them, but it seems to me to indicate they are covered by it.
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