This bothers me. Does it bother you?


https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-award-p...itics.html

Quote:Miriam Adelson is a doctor, philanthropist and humanitarian, but is perhaps best known as the wife of Sheldon Adelson, a Las Vegas casino magnate considered one of the nation's most powerful Republican donors. She gets to add a new title Friday when President Donald Trump honors her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

......

The Adelsons gave Trump's presidential campaign a $30 million boost in the final months of the 2016 race. The couple followed up this election cycle by donating $100 million to the Republican Party for last week's midterms.

(11-16-2018 12:25 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  This bothers me. Does it bother you?
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-award-p...itics.html

Quote:Miriam Adelson is a doctor, philanthropist and humanitarian, but is perhaps best known as the wife of Sheldon Adelson, a Las Vegas casino magnate considered one of the nation's most powerful Republican donors. She gets to add a new title Friday when President Donald Trump honors her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
......
The Adelsons gave Trump's presidential campaign a $30 million boost in the final months of the 2016 race. The couple followed up this election cycle by donating $100 million to the Republican Party for last week's midterms.

Why?

Why is it more bothersome than someone getting an ambassadorship for political contributions? I find the latter far more troubling. Ambassadors should be career foreign service types who speak the local language(s) and have a substantial working knowledge of the history, government, and politics of the host country. In fact, all embassy employees should be chosen with those considerations in mind. Appointing a political crony to a position of significant importance merely increases the possibility that something injurious to US interests will occur. Giving such a crony a medal has few if any long-term impacts.

Maybe I'm missing something here. If I am, what is it?

Not really. Dr Adelson has done more to earn her honor via philanthropy and work with drug addiction than Robert De Niro or Chita Rivera did to earn theirs.

(11-16-2018 12:51 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(11-16-2018 12:25 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  This bothers me. Does it bother you?
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-award-p...itics.html

Quote:Miriam Adelson is a doctor, philanthropist and humanitarian, but is perhaps best known as the wife of Sheldon Adelson, a Las Vegas casino magnate considered one of the nation's most powerful Republican donors. She gets to add a new title Friday when President Donald Trump honors her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
......
The Adelsons gave Trump's presidential campaign a $30 million boost in the final months of the 2016 race. The couple followed up this election cycle by donating $100 million to the Republican Party for last week's midterms.

Why?

Why is it more bothersome than someone getting an ambassadorship for political contributions? I find the latter far more troubling. Ambassadors should be career foreign service types who speak the local language(s) and have a substantial working knowledge of the history, government, and politics of the host country. In fact, all embassy employees should be chosen with those considerations in mind. Appointing a political crony to a position of significant importance merely increases the possibility that something injurious to US interests will occur. Giving such a crony a medal has few if any long-term impacts.

Maybe I'm missing something here. If I am, what is it?

How many Mar-a-Lago members are now ambassadors?

(11-16-2018 01:05 PM)BobcatEngineer Wrote:  

(11-16-2018 12:51 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(11-16-2018 12:25 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  This bothers me. Does it bother you?
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-award-p...itics.html

Quote:Miriam Adelson is a doctor, philanthropist and humanitarian, but is perhaps best known as the wife of Sheldon Adelson, a Las Vegas casino magnate considered one of the nation's most powerful Republican donors. She gets to add a new title Friday when President Donald Trump honors her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
......
The Adelsons gave Trump's presidential campaign a $30 million boost in the final months of the 2016 race. The couple followed up this election cycle by donating $100 million to the Republican Party for last week's midterms.

Why?
Why is it more bothersome than someone getting an ambassadorship for political contributions? I find the latter far more troubling. Ambassadors should be career foreign service types who speak the local language(s) and have a substantial working knowledge of the history, government, and politics of the host country. In fact, all embassy employees should be chosen with those considerations in mind. Appointing a political crony to a position of significant importance merely increases the possibility that something injurious to US interests will occur. Giving such a crony a medal has few if any long-term impacts.
Maybe I'm missing something here. If I am, what is it?

How many Mar-a-Lago members are now ambassadors?

I don't know. Do you?

If any, that would be a problem, for the reasons stated. We get killed in the foreign policy arena by using ambassadorships for political favors. Whoever does it, it's wrong. But it's been our MO for decades.

I just don't see where the Medal of Freedom impacts us operationally in any sense. It's pretty much always been nothing but a perk for presidents to reward their cronies. Let them have that, as long as all it costs us is what we spend on food and drinks and ceremony.

Quote:Trump to give donor's wife Medal of Freedom

That's the way I would expect a liberal to write the headline, yes. Or, it could be written this way.....

Quote:Trump to give Miriam Adelson the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Yahoo made a choice.

Of all the offensive things trump does, this is pretty low on my list.

Trump tapped Lana Marks for ambassador to South Africa. She's a handbag designer and a member of Mar-a-Lago. She has no prior diplomatic experience, but she was born in SA, and speaks Afrikaans, so she has that going for her.

Robin Bernstein is now the ambassador to the Dominican Republic. She's a founding member of Mar-a-Lago and was Trump's insurance agent for a period of time.

Trump tapped two other Mar-a-Lago members for ambassadorships, Patrick Park and Brian Burns, but they both turned down the position due to family responsibilities and health reasons, respectively.

There are no winners in the "which President appointed the least qualified ambassadors" pissing match.

(11-16-2018 01:49 PM)BobcatEngineer Wrote:  Trump tapped Lana Marks for ambassador to South Africa. She's a handbag designer and a member of Mar-a-Lago. She has no prior diplomatic experience, but she was born in SA, and speaks Afrikaans, so she has that going for her.

Robin Bernstein is now the ambassador to the Dominican Republic. She's a founding member of Mar-a-Lago and was Trump's insurance agent for a period of time.

Trump tapped two other Mar-a-Lago members for ambassadorships, Patrick Park and Brian Burns, but they both turned down the position due to family responsibilities and health reasons, respectively.

Did you express this much concern for the appointments of the following ambassadors?

Matthew Barzun
Timothy Broas
Suzi LeVine
John Emerson
Denise Bauer
James Costos

If not, why?

(11-16-2018 02:37 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  

(11-16-2018 01:49 PM)BobcatEngineer Wrote:  Trump tapped Lana Marks for ambassador to South Africa. She's a handbag designer and a member of Mar-a-Lago. She has no prior diplomatic experience, but she was born in SA, and speaks Afrikaans, so she has that going for her.

Robin Bernstein is now the ambassador to the Dominican Republic. She's a founding member of Mar-a-Lago and was Trump's insurance agent for a period of time.

Trump tapped two other Mar-a-Lago members for ambassadorships, Patrick Park and Brian Burns, but they both turned down the position due to family responsibilities and health reasons, respectively.

Did you express this much concern for the appointments of the following ambassadors?

Matthew Barzun
Timothy Broas
Suzi LeVine
John Emerson
Denise Bauer
James Costos

If not, why?

you just killed the thread.

(11-16-2018 02:42 PM)UofMstateU Wrote:  

(11-16-2018 02:37 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  

(11-16-2018 01:49 PM)BobcatEngineer Wrote:  Trump tapped Lana Marks for ambassador to South Africa. She's a handbag designer and a member of Mar-a-Lago. She has no prior diplomatic experience, but she was born in SA, and speaks Afrikaans, so she has that going for her.

Robin Bernstein is now the ambassador to the Dominican Republic. She's a founding member of Mar-a-Lago and was Trump's insurance agent for a period of time.

Trump tapped two other Mar-a-Lago members for ambassadorships, Patrick Park and Brian Burns, but they both turned down the position due to family responsibilities and health reasons, respectively.

Did you express this much concern for the appointments of the following ambassadors?

Matthew Barzun
Timothy Broas
Suzi LeVine
John Emerson
Denise Bauer
James Costos

If not, why?

you just killed the thread.

Actual photo of BobcatEngineer and this thread

(11-16-2018 02:37 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  

(11-16-2018 01:49 PM)BobcatEngineer Wrote:  Trump tapped Lana Marks for ambassador to South Africa. She's a handbag designer and a member of Mar-a-Lago. She has no prior diplomatic experience, but she was born in SA, and speaks Afrikaans, so she has that going for her.

Robin Bernstein is now the ambassador to the Dominican Republic. She's a founding member of Mar-a-Lago and was Trump's insurance agent for a period of time.

Trump tapped two other Mar-a-Lago members for ambassadorships, Patrick Park and Brian Burns, but they both turned down the position due to family responsibilities and health reasons, respectively.

Did you express this much concern for the appointments of the following ambassadors?

Matthew Barzun
Timothy Broas
Suzi LeVine
John Emerson
Denise Bauer
James Costos

If not, why?

I don't think it's right that Obama, or any president for that matter, should reward donors with lofty ambassadorships.

(11-16-2018 03:09 PM)BobcatEngineer Wrote:  

(11-16-2018 02:37 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  

(11-16-2018 01:49 PM)BobcatEngineer Wrote:  Trump tapped Lana Marks for ambassador to South Africa. She's a handbag designer and a member of Mar-a-Lago. She has no prior diplomatic experience, but she was born in SA, and speaks Afrikaans, so she has that going for her.

Robin Bernstein is now the ambassador to the Dominican Republic. She's a founding member of Mar-a-Lago and was Trump's insurance agent for a period of time.

Trump tapped two other Mar-a-Lago members for ambassadorships, Patrick Park and Brian Burns, but they both turned down the position due to family responsibilities and health reasons, respectively.

Did you express this much concern for the appointments of the following ambassadors?

Matthew Barzun
Timothy Broas
Suzi LeVine
John Emerson
Denise Bauer
James Costos

If not, why?

I don't think it's right that Obama, or any president for that matter, should reward donors with lofty ambassadorships.

LOL

Ever heard the saying "Sweep your own porch before you complain about mine?" It applies here.

The instant that you show that you have held your party's leaders to a certain standard then you have the right to complain about the other party.


Besides, Trump has already shown to be an improvement over Obama in regards to ambassadors. He appointed someone with diplomatic experience as Ambassador to Germany instead of first his political party's finance chair and then a political crony like Obama.

(11-16-2018 12:25 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  This bothers me. Does it bother you?

Not in the least.

It *Would* bother me, and bother me greatly, if I thought there was anything special or important or meaningful about the “Presidential Medal of Freedom”. And maybe in the days of George Washington or Abraham Lincoln (or whoever the hell started this) there really was something special about it. But in the last few decades it’s just been another piece of crap like the Oscars or Emmys or what have you. A chance for rich people and politicians to say “Look at me!” in front of the media. Yeah, once in a while there is a deserving honoree, but that’s hardly the norm.

(11-16-2018 02:37 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  

(11-16-2018 01:49 PM)BobcatEngineer Wrote:  Trump tapped Lana Marks for ambassador to South Africa. She's a handbag designer and a member of Mar-a-Lago. She has no prior diplomatic experience, but she was born in SA, and speaks Afrikaans, so she has that going for her.

Robin Bernstein is now the ambassador to the Dominican Republic. She's a founding member of Mar-a-Lago and was Trump's insurance agent for a period of time.

Trump tapped two other Mar-a-Lago members for ambassadorships, Patrick Park and Brian Burns, but they both turned down the position due to family responsibilities and health reasons, respectively.

Did you express this much concern for the appointments of the following ambassadors?

Matthew Barzun
Timothy Broas
Suzi LeVine
John Emerson
Denise Bauer
James Costos

If not, why?

A step up from Gay Wally,

(11-16-2018 02:54 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  

(11-16-2018 02:42 PM)UofMstateU Wrote:  

(11-16-2018 02:37 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  

(11-16-2018 01:49 PM)BobcatEngineer Wrote:  Trump tapped Lana Marks for ambassador to South Africa. She's a handbag designer and a member of Mar-a-Lago. She has no prior diplomatic experience, but she was born in SA, and speaks Afrikaans, so she has that going for her.

Robin Bernstein is now the ambassador to the Dominican Republic. She's a founding member of Mar-a-Lago and was Trump's insurance agent for a period of time.

Trump tapped two other Mar-a-Lago members for ambassadorships, Patrick Park and Brian Burns, but they both turned down the position due to family responsibilities and health reasons, respectively.

Did you express this much concern for the appointments of the following ambassadors?

Matthew Barzun
Timothy Broas
Suzi LeVine
John Emerson
Denise Bauer
James Costos

If not, why?

you just killed the thread.

Actual photo of BobcatEngineer and this thread

(11-16-2018 01:32 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(11-16-2018 01:05 PM)BobcatEngineer Wrote:  

(11-16-2018 12:51 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(11-16-2018 12:25 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  This bothers me. Does it bother you?
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-award-p...itics.html

Quote:Miriam Adelson is a doctor, philanthropist and humanitarian, but is perhaps best known as the wife of Sheldon Adelson, a Las Vegas casino magnate considered one of the nation's most powerful Republican donors. She gets to add a new title Friday when President Donald Trump honors her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
......
The Adelsons gave Trump's presidential campaign a $30 million boost in the final months of the 2016 race. The couple followed up this election cycle by donating $100 million to the Republican Party for last week's midterms.

Why?
Why is it more bothersome than someone getting an ambassadorship for political contributions? I find the latter far more troubling. Ambassadors should be career foreign service types who speak the local language(s) and have a substantial working knowledge of the history, government, and politics of the host country. In fact, all embassy employees should be chosen with those considerations in mind. Appointing a political crony to a position of significant importance merely increases the possibility that something injurious to US interests will occur. Giving such a crony a medal has few if any long-term impacts.
Maybe I'm missing something here. If I am, what is it?

How many Mar-a-Lago members are now ambassadors?

I don't know. Do you?

If any, that would be a problem, for the reasons stated. We get killed in the foreign policy arena by using ambassadorships for political favors. Whoever does it, it's wrong. But it's been our MO for decades.

I just don't see where the Medal of Freedom impacts us operationally in any sense. It's pretty much always been nothing but a perk for presidents to reward their cronies. Let them have that, as long as all it costs us is what we spend on food and drinks and ceremony.

I know that Trump has nominated a handbag designer who owns a condo at Mar a Lago to be US Ambassador to South Africa. There probably are others.

We should have some minimum standards for being an Ambassador.

(11-16-2018 03:58 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  

(11-16-2018 01:32 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(11-16-2018 01:05 PM)BobcatEngineer Wrote:  

(11-16-2018 12:51 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(11-16-2018 12:25 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  This bothers me. Does it bother you?
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-award-p...itics.html

Why?
Why is it more bothersome than someone getting an ambassadorship for political contributions? I find the latter far more troubling. Ambassadors should be career foreign service types who speak the local language(s) and have a substantial working knowledge of the history, government, and politics of the host country. In fact, all embassy employees should be chosen with those considerations in mind. Appointing a political crony to a position of significant importance merely increases the possibility that something injurious to US interests will occur. Giving such a crony a medal has few if any long-term impacts.
Maybe I'm missing something here. If I am, what is it?

How many Mar-a-Lago members are now ambassadors?

I don't know. Do you?

If any, that would be a problem, for the reasons stated. We get killed in the foreign policy arena by using ambassadorships for political favors. Whoever does it, it's wrong. But it's been our MO for decades.

I just don't see where the Medal of Freedom impacts us operationally in any sense. It's pretty much always been nothing but a perk for presidents to reward their cronies. Let them have that, as long as all it costs us is what we spend on food and drinks and ceremony.

I know that Trump has nominated a handbag designer who owns a condo at Mar a Lago to be US Ambassador to South Africa. There probably are others.

We should have some minimum standards for being an Ambassador.

She's originally from South Africa and speaks both Afrikaans and Xhosa.


The previous ambassador to South Africa was a career political operative. The one he replaced sole qualification is he raised $500k for Obama's campaign.

(11-16-2018 04:23 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  

(11-16-2018 03:58 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  

(11-16-2018 01:32 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(11-16-2018 01:05 PM)BobcatEngineer Wrote:  

(11-16-2018 12:51 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  Why?
Why is it more bothersome than someone getting an ambassadorship for political contributions? I find the latter far more troubling. Ambassadors should be career foreign service types who speak the local language(s) and have a substantial working knowledge of the history, government, and politics of the host country. In fact, all embassy employees should be chosen with those considerations in mind. Appointing a political crony to a position of significant importance merely increases the possibility that something injurious to US interests will occur. Giving such a crony a medal has few if any long-term impacts.
Maybe I'm missing something here. If I am, what is it?

How many Mar-a-Lago members are now ambassadors?

I don't know. Do you?

If any, that would be a problem, for the reasons stated. We get killed in the foreign policy arena by using ambassadorships for political favors. Whoever does it, it's wrong. But it's been our MO for decades.

I just don't see where the Medal of Freedom impacts us operationally in any sense. It's pretty much always been nothing but a perk for presidents to reward their cronies. Let them have that, as long as all it costs us is what we spend on food and drinks and ceremony.

I know that Trump has nominated a handbag designer who owns a condo at Mar a Lago to be US Ambassador to South Africa. There probably are others.

We should have some minimum standards for being an Ambassador.

She's originally from South Africa and speaks both Afrikaans and Xhosa.


The previous ambassador to South Africa was a career political operative. The one he replaced sole qualification is he raised $500k for Obama's campaign.

She's a handbag designer

I don't like this practice by either party. My God, y'all must have absolutely hated Obama's Ambassador to South Africa. Sounds like my kind of guy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Gaspard

But at least he had some experience doing something other than designing handbags.