Malia in Mexico story vanishing from the Web

Times247 ^ | 3/19/12 | Eric Ritz

[lward99]

Have you heard that Malia Obama, the president’s daughter, is reportedly spending her spring break in Oaxaca, Mexico?

Allegedly, she’s jetting off with some of her classmates and 25 Secret Service agents to a country that the State Department has said all Americans should avoid. But something is different about the latest “Obama vacation controversy:” references to it are disappearing from the Internet — and fast.

[lward99]

Someone made the point earlier...Twitter, Facebook are part of our lives a guest could have tweeted how cool it was to see MAO. The risk is simply with being the daughter of the POTUS.

I am a father and there is NO FN WAY I would have sent my 13 yr old kid to Mexico during a period of time when the State Dept was warning against traveling there. Bad parenting. Bad decisions. Bad POTUS.

That being said - It is still a violation of the first amendment for this administration to abuse its power to ask politely or forcefully for many news organizations to pull a story that he found objectionable.

We are dealing with a dictator, it’s time people recognized that.

BTW - There were plenty of stories about the Bush twins about where they partied and drank....none of them were as flattering as this story about MAO.

[mojitojoe]

AMEN!

[BuckeyeTexan]

Yeah, how dare the mods actually moderate FR. /s

[Shimmer1]

25 SS agents!, wow, how many of the kids are they protecting?!

[BuckeyeTexan]

To your point, there’s a difference between an individual tweeting about what they see and the press publishing security details for an international audience.

[Shimmer1]

Join the club!

[Shadowstrike]

Tweeting IS an International audience.

[Shimmer1]

They probably took over the entire hotel.

[Shimmer1]

oh YUCK. You entirely went to far there, you’re talking about CHILDREN

[Shadowstrike]

And that makes me mad as he** too!

More money wasted!

A 13 year old does not need to be going on Spring Break to Mexico! Period! Especially when my tax dollars are paying for it.

[Las Vegas Ron]

To your point, there’s a difference between an individual tweeting about what they see and the press publishing security details for an international audience.

That has to be the most idiotic comment I have ever seen posted here.....series???

What, you think Twits and FB are somehow confined in some inner circle?

Evidently, you are also fine with the SS having the power to scrub the Internet, I knew you had a smell, I should have stayed with my gut instinct.

Please, no more suck up FRmails, thanks.

[Pearls Before Swine]

Mexico is not dangerous unless you happen to be selling cocaine or trying to trans-ship marijuana to the US, or are a decent Mexican unfortunate enough to live in one of the areas where these have become normal activities.

Wasn't a whole bus full of tourists on a Carnival cruise robbed at gunpoint in Puerta Vallarta 2 or 3 weeks ago? Doesn't sound too safe to me when they start feeding off the tourists en masse.

[BuckeyeTexan]

I never suggested I was okay with the SS scrubing the Internet. You totally misinterpreted what I said. I’m okay with the press taking down a story voluntarily if the SS indicates it could be a security risk. Cleary, the SS doesn’t have the power to scrub those stories. FR took down a story earlier. You think they got to JR & the mods too? Nonsense.

[EDINVA]

I’d have a fit if my 30 year old went to Mexico! Been to Mexico many times way in the past, wouldn’t even consider it today. Lots of places I wouldn’t consider today.

At this point I am more concerned with Obama’s HHS mandating that college girls’ voluntary sterilizations be covered by insurers than his putting the arm on his ever-compliant friends in the press about when/where his daughter is.

I’m not too sure, tho, this is a technical violation of the 1st Amendment. He doesn’t have to ORDER the press what to say or not to say, he just says what he wants and it’s done. The ‘free press’ has, over and over again, violate its responsibility as a free press. It has been utterly corrupted. And I fully realize he is a dictator.

[lward99]

I agree that the media likely agreed to pull the stories. The problem is the abuse of power and privilege. Removing the stories after they were posted for hours on the internet was NOT a security measure. It was a political one.

How did making a few major news sources pull the story make the situation any safer for MAO?

Damage done, move the girls to a remote secure location or bring them home. Instead the bully in charge, and I mean Michelle likely overreacted to someone posting a story about her princess and she demanded the POTUS/SS do something about it.

[Jean S]

You got some history with some of those folks, that’s all.

Yep, and so do I, but this stalking is getting out of line. Tex is good people.

[Houmatt]

They need to bloody well stop nuking it.

I strenuously object to my money being used for Obama getaways, regardless of which Obama it happens to be.

My money, my business. Period.

[Brown Deer]

Mexico is not dangerous unless you happen to be selling cocaine or trying to trans-ship marijuana to the US, or are a decent Mexican unfortunate enough to live in one of the areas where these have become normal activities.

Travel Warning
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Bureau of Consular Affairs

Mexico
February 08, 2012

The Department of State has issued this Travel Warning to inform U.S. citizens about the security situation in Mexico.

U.S. citizens have fallen victim to TCO activity, including homicide, gun battles, kidnapping, carjacking and highway robbery.

The number of U.S. citizens reported to the Department of State as murdered in Mexico increased from 35 in 2007 to 120 in 2011.

The rising number of kidnappings and disappearances throughout Mexico is of particular concern. Both local and expatriate communities have been victimized. In addition, local police have been implicated in some of these incidents.