Melania's "Be Best" Copies FTC Guide from Obama-Era

By Jeralyn, Section Trump Administration
Posted on Tue May 08, 2018 at 02:29:33 PM EST
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Melania Trump had a big to-do yesterday announcing her kids' project called "Be Best". Aside from not understanding what that means (why not "Be the Best" or "Be Your Best Self" or something that made grammatical sense) it turns out her project isn't even about empowering kids or encouraging them to strive and succeed -- it's a guide book for parents on ways to restrict their kids' online activity.

But putting all that aside, there's this: New allegations of plagiarism.

Compare Melania's 17 page pamphlet called "Talking with Kids About Being Online"to this 15 page pamphlet written in 2013, NET CETERA: Chatting with Kids About Being Online. Here is the Net Cetera web page which is still up. It's also available on another government website here, from 2014.

So Melania added a page with her photo and a handwritten note, changed the word "chatting" to "talking", and takes credit for a new program on how parents can restrict their kids internet and social media use.

Sorry, Melania, I'm not impressed. [More...]

Why not pick a project that promotes the idea that every child should have an equal chance to succeed in life and put some resources behind it?

Why not pick a project that isn't as hypocritical as cyber-bullying when your husband is the biggest cyber-bully of all time?

To even call this a children's project is laughable. It's nothing but a guide for parents to police their kids.

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Melania's "Be Best" Copies FTC Guide from Obama-Era | 23 comments (23 topical)

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Not a fan of Melania (5.00 / 4) (#3)
by MKS on Tue May 08, 2018 at 03:56:35 PM EST

When asked some time ago if she would have married Trump if he were not rich and she replied "would he have married me if I were not beautiful." She was a birther.

She enables a bully. She has done nothing as First Lady.

: But, she (none / 0) (#4)
by KeysDan on Tue May 08, 2018 at 04:04:35 PM EST

wears a white hat. must be a good guy.

How embarrassing? (5.00 / 2) (#5)
by Ga6thDem on Tue May 08, 2018 at 04:15:38 PM EST

Be Best? She couldn't find someone that could at least use correct English? Kind of ironic that Hispanics with an accent bother Trumpers but not Melania. I guess since she is white she's excused from the problem conservatives have with accents.

The first name was (5.00 / 2) (#12)
by CaptHowdy on Tue May 08, 2018 at 06:36:25 PM EST

Do Stuff


I don't know (5.00 / 1) (#14)
by Ga6thDem on Tue May 08, 2018 at 07:44:47 PM EST

whether you are telling the truth or joking with me with that comment sorry to say.


: Some of our funnier TLers (5.00 / 1) (#17)
by Militarytracy on Wed May 09, 2018 at 10:09:48 AM EST

Are throwing Be Best in their messages hahahaha
I need reminders, I really do

Couldn't she have (none / 0) (#11)
by Zorba on Tue May 08, 2018 at 06:19:28 PM EST

found someone to write the whole thing for her, or at least do an extensive rewrite, as opposed to plagiarizing it?


Apparently (none / 0) (#13)
by Ga6thDem on Tue May 08, 2018 at 07:11:32 PM EST

this is the MO of Tumpers. Don't do the work yourself, copy someone else and then say you are a victim of the "opposition media" when they point out what you are doing.

I seem to recall Ivanka got in some trouble from copying other people's designs.


: And just no shame (5.00 / 1) (#16)
by Militarytracy on Tue May 08, 2018 at 09:34:29 PM EST

None of them
They can be exposed as posers and imposters over and over again, and it just doesn't matter. Trump university, Ivanka's stolen shoes, everything Michelle Obama ever did ~ stolen, and they'll do it all again tomorrow. They are zombies

She is barely (5.00 / 4) (#15)
by Repack Rider on Tue May 08, 2018 at 09:33:22 PM EST

...even mailing it in.

She clearly hates him, not that I have much sympathy for that. I hope Avenatti handles her divorce.

Not much sympathy? (1.00 / 1) (#18)
by linea on Sat May 12, 2018 at 11:48:46 PM EST

I have sympathy. I'm not a jerk.

Individual women live in a world of individual angst and anxiety that is individual to their experiences. Melania was born in 1970 in Slovenia which was a nation and a people denied freedom and individual statehood under the dictatorship of Tito a Russian puppet. It was a horrible time and a horrible place.

My feelings, Melania loves her son and loves her mother and father and has made every effort in her life to give her child a better life than what she experienced. Now, obviously I'm too young to truly understand a life under Soviet domination, but I do somewhat understand her early life of a poor rural existence and her hope for a better life for herself and her child. This is an understanding that the typical middle-class American family cannot. Not an argument. Melania is fine with me. I lay no demands or expectations upon her and only hope that she maintains the love of her child and of her mother and father.

My opinion.


: More excuses/apologia (5.00 / 3) (#20)
by Yman on Sun May 13, 2018 at 08:22:27 AM EST

This constant excusing of Melania's behavior is beyond tired. The fact that Tito ruled her country when she was a baby is irrelevant. The fact that she loves her child is irrelevant. The fact that she's thin, rich and "posh" is irrelevant. She grew up in a small town with a father who, as a privileged member of the communist party, was the director of a factory - not a poor farm girl.
You know what IS relevant? She's a grown woman who's responsible for her statements and actions. SHE is the one who pushed the racist, birther lie about Obama. SHE is the one who lied about he education. SHE is the one who plagiarized Michelle Obama. SHE is the one who refuses to speak out against her husand's attacks on "anchor babies", while her parents immigrate to the US because she's a citizen. SHE is the one who remains silent and even justifies her husband's bullying, while claiming to fight internet bullying. SHE is the one who married for money - and now remains with her husband for the same reason. There are many admirable ways of giving your children a "better life" - something every parent strives for. Gold digging is not one of them.
My opinion.

: Linea, I suggest you study up (5.00 / 3) (#23)
by jondee on Sun May 13, 2018 at 01:40:20 PM EST

a little more on the history of Yugoslav-Soviet relations, before going off half-cocked about the history of countries "under Soviet domination" like some writer from the National Review.
Though the bastardization of history is an everyday fact of life in America, lets not add to it.

Yeah, this probably isn't the greatest thing (none / 0) (#1)
by McBain on Tue May 08, 2018 at 02:55:15 PM EST

But how would you go about making it so every child has an equal chance of succeeding in life? Some people are born lucky, some aren't (family money, high IQ, good role models). I think sometimes we limit our country when we try too hard to level playing field.

As for Trump being a cyber bully, I think there's some truth to that but he knows how to play the game. He knows the reaction to what he says is usually going to be over the top and he ends up looking good in the eyes of his base.

Not (5.00 / 5) (#2)
by FlJoe on Tue May 08, 2018 at 03:22:49 PM EST

so much leveling the playing field, as to making sure no child faces an uphill climb. Done correctly it doesn't have to be a zero sum game and in any case I think most of these affluenza victims would benefit from a few hurdles in their life.

Funny how you grudgingly accept that there is "some" evidence tRump is a bully and then turn around and tell us how good he is at...all in the paragrpah!

You need to up your game, McBain.


I think you meant to say (none / 0) (#6)
by McBain on Tue May 08, 2018 at 04:27:13 PM EST

no child faces a "steep" uphill climb. I'm OK with some of that but we need a accept that life isn't going to be completely fair.

My point about Trump is his critics make him the underdog. I think it's often by his design.


: Trump is not (none / 0) (#7)
by MKS on Tue May 08, 2018 at 04:30:50 PM EST

an underdog in any rational universe. His base is nuts. Best to stop fetishizing them.

Seriously ridiculous victim blaming (5.00 / 1) (#8)
by Yman on Tue May 08, 2018 at 05:28:57 PM EST

He knows the reaction to what he says is usually going to be over the top and he ends up looking good in the eyes of his base.

You must not think much of his base. Anyone who thinks Trump "looks good" after one of his ridiculous statement is a moron.


There is definitely (5.00 / 1) (#9)
by CaptHowdy on Tue May 08, 2018 at 05:45:54 PM EST

A moron demo


: Having (none / 0) (#10)
by Ga6thDem on Tue May 08, 2018 at 06:18:15 PM EST

encountered quite a few of them I would say "moron" describes the majority. Some of them are so stupid it's downright scary. They could be led to do anything.

BIG HUGS (none / 0) (#19)
by linea on Sun May 13, 2018 at 12:20:52 AM EST

AND WELCOME

HUGS to `yerioy' and `lc' who I believe are new and who both high-five'd a recent comment. Welcome!!

I am linea. Or I should say, my forum name is `linea' which is the end result of drinking too much wine and repeatedly trying to force Linnéa as a username and being rejected. Linnéa is a camp counselor I loved deeply at sleep-over summer camp when I was a child. I make a lot of (others say) dumb posts in an effort to understand current events. I'm inquisitive and open but I suspect I am perceived as contrarian. I hope you - both of you - `lc' and `yerioy' will stay and contribute your opinions. SMILE.

Which is off topic in this thread (none / 0) (#21)
by CaptHowdy on Sun May 13, 2018 at 08:41:02 AM EST

But to linea every thread is about her

And she usually only get 5s from McBain and Peter.


: SMILE (none / 0) (#22)
by CaptHowdy on Sun May 13, 2018 at 08:51:41 AM EST