Free Republic

NORTH KEY LARGO -- President Barack Obama spent his first weekend in Key Largo without ever leaving the secluded Ocean Reef Club. The president traveled from Washington, D.C., to Florida last Friday morning, accompanied by U.S. Congressman Joe Garcia, D-Miami, with whom he discussed the situation in Venezuela, immigration reform, implementation of the Affordable Care Act and skyrocketing flood insurance rates, Garcia's office said. After arriving in Miami, the president, with First Lady Michelle Obama, visited Coral Reef Senior High School, where he spoke to hundreds of teenagers about education and financial aid. From there, the Obamas were taken by...

President Obama Sunday returned from yet another golf vacation, this one a two-day excursion to Key Largo with First Lady Michelle Obama. The Obamas stayed at the ritzy Ocean Reef Club, requiring a major security operation to ensure their safety and happiness. “The White House rented several houses in Ocean Reef and security in the community was tight,” according to KeysInfoNet, which said F-16s had to be scrambled a couple of times to escort private planes out of the area. It’s the third vacation of the year for the Obamas, following their annual sojourn in Hawaii in January and separate...

And that’s pretty much all I have to say about it. The departure from the land of enchantment and endless sunsets: What not to wear. And how not to wear it: The homecoming: proof that covered is always the better choice. Keep in mind what Josh Earnest (filling in for Jay-Jay who was on vacation too) told us last Friday: White House spokesman Josh Earnest defended President Obama's weekend vacation in Key Largo,  despite the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, arguing Obama would be able to monitor events from Florida. “What the president will be doing this weekend in Florida is...

After vacationing at the $2,500 a night Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo this weekend, no wonder Barack and Michelle Obama look pleased with themselves as they returned to Washington on Sunday afternoon. Appearing relaxed after his third vacation of the year, the president has been heavily criticized for his taxpayer-funded trip as the crisis in Ukraine rumbles on. Squeezing in another round of golf on Sunday, the president's holiday coincided with his Vice President Joe Biden jetting off to the Virgin Islands for the weekend as the White House prepares to welcome Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk for critical...

Sorry you couldn’t all have been here for the “Women of Soul” concert on Thursday. Butt good news: you little people can vicariously enjoy the Women of Soul: In Performance at the White House on April 7 on PBS (9 p.m. ET/PT, times may vary).The festivities began in the afternoon with Lady M, some of the Women of Soul, and students from across the country for a workshop called "I'm Every Woman: The History of Women in Soul." And wouldn’t you know it? The one and only time Lady M’s Nickelodeon soul-full get-up might have fit right in…she chose to...

Did you know that today is National Day of Un-plugging?Probably not, if you’re reading this.Yes, it’s official: regardless of what Vlad does, we intend to unplug in the Florida Keys as a family this weekend. After a joint appearance of the Wons at a Coral Gables high school to deliver the pre-vacation obligatory speech on the importance of getting an overpriced college education.Besides, that whole Moscow/Kiev situation could stand a little unplugged cooling-off period if you ask me. So even if BO decides he has to return to the Big White so he can pretend to attend National Security meetings,...

The standoff between President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin isn’t preventing the U.S. leader from pressing forward with the ambitious domestic agenda he laid out in January's State of the Union address. The foreign policy crisis has occupied the bulk of Obama’s workdays this week, though he’s also carved out time to introduce his budget proposal, press lawmakers to raise the minimum wage, and encourage Latinos to sign up for Obamacare – all topics Republicans fiercely oppose. On Friday the President visits a school in Miami to encourage more teenagers to apply for college financial aid. It’s...

Add “vacation-destroyer” to the list of unflattering barbs being hurled at Russian President Vladimir Putin. The ongoing crisis between Ukraine and Russia has placed President Obama’s family vacation plans in jeopardy, according to a new report. Obama and the First Lady were scheduled to head to Miami on Friday for an event focusing on education, Politico reported, and the couple’s daughters were planning to join them afterward for a weekend trip in the area. But, due to the continuing international crisis sparked by Russia’s troops moving into Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, the first family may have to cancel their trip. “The...

ladimir Putin has put President Barack Obama’s vacation plans on hold. Obama’s headed to Coral Reef High School in the southern part of the city for an event about education and the economy Friday, which first lady Michelle Obama had been expected to attend as well. What hadn’t been known was that Obama’s daughters were planning to come with them, and that the four were going to extend the trip for a brief family getaway. Now the White House tells POLITICO that he’s reconsidering. “The president had planned to stay in South Florida with his family for the remainder of...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Michelle Obama plans a weeklong solo visit to China this month that includes meetings with China's first lady and high school and university students. It will be her first visit to the Asian economic powerhouse. In an announcement Monday on the White House blog, the first lady says a China visit is important because it is the most populous country in the world, with more than 1.3 billion people, and plays an important role on the world stage.

It took filing a lawsuit, but Judicial Watch discovered Friday that President Obama has set a new record for travel on the taxpayer dime. The conservative watchdog group obtained travel records from the U.S. Department of the Air Force that show the Obamas racked up $7.4 million during just three trips in 2013 – in flight expenses only. The records, revealed Friday, include the Obama family’s Christmas vacation in Hawaii from Dec. 21, 2012, to Jan. 5, 2013. During that stay, the president took a short break and flew back to Washington to work on a budget deal, then returned...

After nearly a year of stalling by the Obama administration, Judicial Watch has obtained the vacation travel records for the Obamas’ and Vice President Joe Biden’s 2013 President’s Day weekend excursions and Michelle Obama’s 2011 South African trip. President Obama spent President’s Day weekend, Feb. 15-18, golfing in West Palm Beach, Fla., while the first lady and the girls enjoyed a ski trip to Aspen, Colorado, as did Biden. Taxpayers picked up a tab which totaled $295,437.04 for the personal vacations, according to U.S. Secret Service records from the Department of Homeland Security obtained by Judicial Watch.A Freedom of Information...

Hey folks, Where is the Mooch?? Everything has been totally quiet since Christie has taken over the news. Is she still sitting on a Maui beach, chomping on lobsters with Oprah, Gail, others, filing and then kissing her toenails?? The news of this boondoggle vacation has gone to yesterday's back page, while everyone needs to trash Christie. Where is our Queen

If rumors are true that the first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, is on Maui, the security around Oprah Winfrey’s Upcountry Maui estate is compelling evidence, as is the national attention via various media outlets.

Michelle Obama's visit to Oprah's Hawaii compound has crippled the neighborhood around O's home ... and some neighbors are pissed. Some of the residents and business people around Oprah's palatial 12-bedroom Maui estate -- where Michelle recently retreated to spend the last few days of her 40s -- are all telling the same story ... Michelle's visit is making day-to-day life almost impossible.

First Lady Michelle Obama extended her own vacation, flying to the island of Maui, where she is spending time with family friend Oprah Winfrey. Winfrey’s magazine describes the home as a “perfect 21st-century farmhouse” in a “remote up-country region, where the houses that dot the moss-covered rock hillside face the ocean.” The president said he sent his wife to Maui as an early birthday present; she turns 50 Jan. 17. The Daily Caller reports Michelle Obama is also spending time with Gayle King of CBS News, White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett and Sharon Malone, wife of Attorney General Eric...

What do you get for the first lady who has everything? Try a few more days in sun-kissed Hawaii for Michelle Obama while her husband and two daughters return to Washington – so she and her Praetorian guard of Secret Service agents and assorted hangers-on can stay on the islands at no small expense to the taxpayers. The New York Times is reporting the first lady is staying put “for several days to spend time with friends in advance of her upcoming 50th birthday” – and staying away from the hustle and bustle of her onerous White House duties. The...

Michelle Obama doesn't want jewelry or chocolates for her 50th birthday later this month. She wants to be alone. President Barack Obama returned to Washington Saturday after two weeks of vacationing with his family in Hawaii. He left with daughters Sasha and Malia. Michelle stayed behind. 'As part of her birthday gift from the president, the first lady will remain in Hawaii to spend time with friends ahead of her upcoming 50th birthday,' the White House explained in a statement. The First Lady turns the big 5 - 0 on January 17. The White House did not say how much...

President Barack Obama is out to dinner with his wife and friends at Morimoto's in Waikiki on his last night of vacation. White House officials say that the first family is expected to depart Hawaii on Saturday night

President Obama Thursday took his daughters to see the grave of his grandfather, Stanley Dunham. From the pool report: President Obama’s motorcade made its way to Honolulu, passing by stunning vistas while occasionally being slowed by congested roads. After a 30-minute drive, Obama and daughters Sasha and Malia arrived at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Puowaina Punchbowl Crater. Obama’s grandfather, Stanley Dunham, is interred at the cemetery. Four minutes after arriving, Obama and his daughters were back in the motorcade. The next destination is unknown. Afterward, the president, Sasha and Malia made a late afternoon stop at...