Catherine, "children starving in Africa" is a figure of speech often used to imply that there are people in genuine need.... in dire straits to the point of death... and that their problem is something that your money could solve or at the very least, help.

I didn't intend for this to be a thread about Iraq. I still don't, but since you brought it up, I'll say that there were children starving and dying in Iraq long before the war. The U.N. was sending food to Iraq and it was mandated that that food be used to feed the poor and starving Iraqi citizens. If you will recall, Saddam was found to be selling that food to France (and other nations, and for the life of me I STILL do not understand why the U.N. did not sanction those nations for buying it from Saddam!) and using the proceeds to build palaces for himself and his sons, where they held captive many young women with whom they had sex and then murdered. Google a little and I am sure you will find all sorts of information on it.

Our money would not have gotten food to the tables of the starving Iraqi children prior to the war. He found a way to illegally convert food to cash. Straight-up cash would've been even easier for him to convert to a new palace.

Whether you agree with the war or not, I assume that far more Iraqi children have food on their tables now than they ever have. The war was expensive... but they are eating now and they would not be if we had not fought it.

ETA: I agree that first ladies should present themselves well. I just think it is interesting that no other first lady needed to hire someone to travel with her to do her makeup like the artist M.O. has hired. It just seems like a frivolous thing to do during these times when people are losing jobs right and left. Let 'em eat cake and all that jazz.

And yes, they did serve $100/lb Japanese steak at a dinner party in February. So much for that whole "shared sacrifice" thing. I'm guessing the first pooch probably didn't come from the pound, either... correct?