Free Republic

A fight has broken out between the White House, its defenders and a conservative public watchdog group over first lady Michelle Obama's travel costs and how they are calculated. The dispute stems from a Judicial Watch release yesterday, reported by Whispers, that said the first lady's June goodwill mission to Africa cost $424,142 just for her Air Force C32A. Judicial Watch said it used Pentagon calculations to come up with the price to taxpayers, multiplying the hourly cost of $12,188 by the number of flight hours, 34.8. [Read: Michelle Obama's Africa Trip Cost More than $424,142.] The White House later...

(CNSNews.com) – On Tuesday, the office of First Lady Michelle Obama sponsored several conference calls featuring administration officials discussing Mrs. Obama's “Let’s Move!” campaign to combat childhood obesity but “with listen-only lines for the media,” according to The Washington Daybook. On Wednesday, Mrs. Obama personally conducted a conference call for “online media” that was “by invitation only,” according to the Daybook. Traditionally, conference calls that public figures in Washington, D.C. hold for the media--which, obviously, are designed to get media attention for the public figure--allow the reporters who join the call to ask at least a few questions.

The question is — be honest — where will the money come from? Government is chock-full of programs many people view as worthwhile — until the cost is added up. Then, many taxpayers decide priorities need to be set. That is why liberals in government have become adept at concealing the cost of social programs. One example is currently in the news. First lady Michelle Obama insists that healthier foods should be served in public school lunches. That will require a new $4.5 billion program, say the program's proponents. The federally funded school-lunch program feeds 31 million low-income American children...

After meeting with wounded Marines, first lady Michelle Obama told thousands of troops and their families Sunday that she is launching a national challenge to Americans to find ways to support them. Since her husband took office, Obama has been visiting bases across the country as part of her mission to improve the quality of life for military families. She called Camp Pendleton and the surrounding Southern California cities a model for community support of troops. But California Republicans called the event a publicity stunt to help Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who is running for a fourth term and has...

BEXLEY, Ohio, April 24, 2006 – In an effort to ease the burden military families face when a loved one is deployed, the first lady of Ohio, Hope Taft, started the "On the Ohio Homefront" initiative. Ohio First Lady Hope Taft started the "On the Ohio Homefront" initiative to help military families. She discussed the initiative with American Forces Press Service at the Ohio governor's mansion in Bexley, Ohio, April 19. Photo by Steven Donald Smith  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The Internet-based project connects the families of deployed Ohio military personnel with free and discounted services from...

WASHINGTON, April 20, 2006 – The National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve has lauded first lady Laura Bush's chief of staff for outstanding support of military reservists. ESGR, an agency of the Department of Defense, announced yesterday that Anita McBride, deputy assistant to the president and chief of staff to the first lady, was honored with an ESGR Patriot Award in recognition of her extraordinary support of a staff employee who serves in the U.S. Naval Reserve. Maria Miller, deputy director of projects in the Office of the First Lady, is a Naval Reservist who nominated...

First lady's salute 10/17/02 By JEFF AMY Staff Reporter First lady Laura Bush saluted the opening of the new West Regional Branch of the Mobile Public Library on Wednesday night, delighting the 200-plus invited guests inside the $10.5 million new building, and the dozens more who gathered outside to try to catch a peek. "You should be proud of the investment you've made in your community and your future -- especially in your children's future," Bush said in a short speech. "So as we open new doors today, we open a new chapter in the history of the Mobile Public...