<p>It did sound like a drunken rant, but if you’re a ‘media specialist’ you should know to stay off your employer’s FB page when inebriated. </p>
<p>The Washington Post reports that her former boss, Illinois Republican Rep. Joe Walsh, said “She didn’t last with me. She had some issues and some problems," and called her remarks “pretty stupid.”</p>
<p>Well, not just your employer’s FB page, but ANY public forum, even CC!</p>
<p>As far as presidential offspring go, I think the meanest thing was the attack on Chelsea Clinton. How’d you like to be 13, and the whole world is laughing about how ugly you are, when all you did was have the misfortune of being born a Clinton? I mean both for the genetics and the notoriety. 13 is probably the most awkward age, and some a-hole has to mock you. It’s such a miserable thing to do.</p>
<p>I remember Amy Carter being parodied on SNL, so Chelsea wasn’t the first, but it Amy was younger, and they didn’t attack an adolescent girl’s looks. Of course, Jimmy Carter might have started the whole thing by claiming that he sought her advice during the 1980 debate with Ronald Reagan.</p>
<p>The Bush girls were cute, and even if they liked to party, my recollection is that it was a pretty mild scandal, especially these days. Of course, it couldn’t have been easy for them either,but they were older, and the jokes were more based on the partying.</p>
<p>The Obama girls are also cute, and this criticism is crazy, grasping at straws, and possibly a result of posting while drinking. It’s really silly. I’m assuming that they are being shielded from the horrific racial slurs that abound on the internet.</p>
<p>Wow…someone who made a ridiculously irrelevant rant about the First Family children?!!</p>
<p>And it turns out she was a shoplifter at an older age of 17 and caught on social media with a photo of her imbibing some spirits…and not the consecrated holy kinds, either!</p>
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<p>That is likely a reference to the year the Greek oriented Byzantine Empire was completely overrun by the Ottoman Turks at Constantinople* and thus, the end of “Ancient Greek” civilization as perceived by whoever made that Linked-In entry. Although I am not a Classics major, I’m dubious about Ancient Greek lasting into 1453 based on what I’ve heard from Classics majors. </p>
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<li>Was Byzantine capital city formerly known as the “Eastern Rome” to some. Currently known as Istanbul.<br></li>
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<p>Sadly, I don’t think being drunk is the only explanation for stupidity such as Lauten’s. Comments such as hers are “red meat” for a certain subset of the population.</p>
<p>cobrat, no offense but we all took world history and we also all have wikipedia.</p>
<p>It’s impressive, though, that you’ve already had conversations with classics majors about the end date of ancient Greek civilization!</p>
<p>Its been cleaned up so theres no longer a history, but other sites state she receive a BA in classical studies from East Carolina in '07. I’m not sure that squares up with those scores,in my estimation.</p>
<p>Social media and things that are written down permanently can bite you in ways you didn’t anticipate. (Says. the guy typing on CC.) </p>
<p>I remember that it said that she went to East Carolina 00-07 and took 13 classes, mostly Latin and Greek. It struck me as odd. Her long list of jobs, most that were just a few months, was also unusual.</p>
<p>But it’s all gone now. She must be scrubbing her online presence.</p>
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I was mostly confused by the “dressed to go to a bar”</p>
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<p>It doesn’t make sense. It’s just a snarky-outburst made in the heat of partisanship. No excuses for it. </p>
<p>We all need to rise above such pettiness. I didn’t see the video clip, but I am sure that the girls looked fine and behaved appropriately. To suggest otherwise is just crazy.</p>
<p>I don’t care for any of this type of behavior. You can like or dislike a politician’s policies…fine. But, don’t take things to a personal level. These are all human beings with feelings, hurts, and disappointments. </p>
<p>Here’s my theory: Lauten was living in an echo chamber in which any kind of criticism of Obama was OK. Probably the vast majority of her Facebook friends agree with her opinions of the Obamas. She just didn’t get how this would play out if it got beyond the echo chamber.</p>
<p>I was driving in Pennsylvania last week, and I saw a large sign by the side of the road reading, “A Village in Kenya is Missing its Idiot.” Lauten’s Facebook friends were probably like the person who put up that sign. Her problem is that her message went beyond its intended audience.</p>
<p>Yes, I think that’s right and comparing a Facebook post to whatever happens on a news show is a little off in my opinion. These are not even close to the same thing. Her problem was her professional position not her opinion of the girls attire. There are lots of Facebook posts much more controversial than her little rant a but if it’s a personal page no-one cares nor should they. </p>
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<p>Was it central PA by any chance? Just wondering as the political sentiments you described seem very similar to what I’ve observed in parts of the rural south, rural Ohio, suburban Seattle area, and upstate NY. </p>
<p>Also, unlike disputations from a certain poster here, such sentiments are also prevalent to near echo-chamber levels in many near all-White parts of Staten Island along with other parts of NYC area like Bayside. </p>
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such sentiments are also prevalent to near echo-chamber levels in many near all-White parts of Staten Island along with other parts of NYC area like Bayside.</p>
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<p>So, true.</p>
<p>and…one side’s echo chamber is no better than the other’s</p>
<p>“one side’s echo chamber is no better than the other’s”</p>
<p>This is true to the extent that both chambers are echoing harmful lies (Obama is a Muslim; vaccines cause autism). They may or may not be full of lies to the same extent.</p>
<p>There’s a group of folks in this country (I think they are all over–not just in certain geographic areas) who just can’t deal with a black man as President of the US. Obama can’t win with these people–no matter what he does, they’ll criticize. That criticism also extends to his kids (which is a sad state of affairs). </p>
<p>It’s not as though these are the first presidential kids to be criticized and in the case they were criticized by a stupid pr person on facebook. Talk about an over-reaction.</p>
<p>If Joe Walsh is calling her out she must really have issues! </p>
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<p>As someone who has lived in central PA, upstate NY, and currently in suburban Seattle (can’t speak for rural Ohio), they are not nearly what you make them out to be. Yes, they have opinionated people, but no, not at all homogenized.</p>
<p>Isn’t it kind of kindergarten-y to respond to a case like this by finding some supposedly similar naughty thing that the “other side” did? It’s not as if that’s any kind of defense of the obviously bad behavior we’re talking about.</p>
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<p>Please. There was a huge rise in the number of white supremacist hate groups after the 2008 election. The Tea Party with its goals of “taking America back” was born after the election. There has been a calculated effort from the GOP to oppose every single thing Obama has done since he took office. All of this is unprecedented.</p>