Posted on 10/16/2002 7:31:20 AM PDT by bradactor
Rules of royal protocol bruised during queen's visit By SHELY HODGE Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle
Thai hospitality and Texas grit suffered an uncomfortable collision Monday night when Queen Sirikit of Thailand, on her first visit to Houston, hosted a lavish black-tie dinner at the St. Regis Hotel.
The Thai side was flawless -- the beloved queen gracious, the five-course dinner executed meticulously, Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn eloquent in his greetings.
On the heels of visits to New York and Washington, D.C., where the queen hosted equally grand evenings, the Thai entourage might have anticipated a sophisticated audience familiar with simple rules of protocol.
The 250 guests, including Jack Blanton and Ginger Renfroe, Lynn Wyatt, Katrin and Dr. Michael DeBakey, and Gail and Jenard Gross, gracefully filled their roles as adornments of power and influence. Thailand's honorary consul general, Charles Foster, and his wife, Lily, provided the Houston-Thailand liaison.
The crack in Houston's diplomatic veneer appeared with the arrival of U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee -- 50 minutes after the appointed dinner hour wearing business attire rather than the "long evening dress" that was called for in the queen's invitation.
The wife of Thailand's lord chamberlain (the national treasurer) gave up her seat to make room for the late arrival. Never mind that this close friend of the Thai queen was already through her first course. Thai generosity of spirit prevailed even as the rules of protocol -- with two queens in the same ballroom -- were smashed like so many fragile tea cups.
After securing her seat, Lee made her way to the head table -- first to Mayor Lee Brown and then to the queen. It is a hard and fast rule: No one approaches a queen once she has been seated for dinner. Queen Sirikit, gracious to the core, rose from her seat, greeted the late-comer with aplomb and did not faint when one of Lee's aides strode up with flash camera in hand for a mid-dinner photo op
Houston embarrasses itself with this trash as its rep.
I have read that she has one of the largest turnover rates for staff on Capitol Hill. She is impossible to work with. The stories of her boundless arrogance are legendary. She drives staff and fellow Members half-mad with her constant demands.
Apparently, while serving on the Science and Technology Committee, she toured NASA. She actually asked the NASA tour guide where she could see a picture of the American flag that the astronauts put on Mars. That is a true story.
Her district is majority - minority. Therefore in the redistricting process the percentage of black voters can never be allowed to drop by law. Some idiocy about "protecting minority rights", though how exactly guaranteeing a black Democrat's election protects minority rights has never been adequately explained, unless of course the law believes that Republicans would trample over blacks if they could. Silly me.
She can literally do and say almost anything, and she will be reelected in a landslide. There is no point in even fielding an opponent against her.
The only person who could conceivably beat her is another black Democrat ala Barbara Lee in Georgia.
If you want on (or off) of my black conservative ping list, please let me know via FREEPmail. (And no, you don't have to be black to be on the list!)
Extra warning: this is a high-volume ping list.
Did you hear the one about her flights aboard Continental Airlines? Oh, they are rich.
She insisted that her staff book 3 flights in the afternoon from Washington to Houston. The reason being that she wanted to depart whenever it floated her fancy. The airline ate the other two reservations, every time. One day, she left her seat shortly before the aircraft was about to depart the gate because she thought she left her purse in the ladies room.
After they shut the door, she demanded to be let on the aircraft as they were backing it. The ticket agent refused, and she threw a tantrum.
They found her purse under her seat, which Sheila Lee demanded be returned to her right away! So, the co-pilot opened his side window, and dropped it on the tarmac.
By inviting the Jordanwannabe, the Thais were casting pearls before swine.
I am no more a fan of Ms. Lee than anyone else on this board, but one of the (many) bottom lines is that Ms. Lee is an AMERICAN who was ELECTED to her post. Like her or loathe her, she earned her job. Queen Sirikit, on the other hand, rules her nation simply by virtue of birth and marriage to the King. To this American, the idea that some people are simply born rule the rest is an abomination far worse than anything Ms. Lee has espoused.
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