If I pick up part of the tab for your fabulous trip abroad, I get at least a postcard, right?

Not so right (here and here):

First Lady Michelle Obama will be accompanied by her children and her mother on her trip to China, which begins today. But she won't be accompanied by the press. 

"Michelle Obama’s trip to China starting on Wednesday will be nonpolitical, the White House says, a 'people-to-people exchange' emphasizing the importance that both nations place on education. As if to underscore the point, no reporters are traveling with the first lady, and she does not plan to give interviews while there," reports the New York Times.

The White House is defending the first lady bringing her family along for the ride by saying it's what the Chinese would want….

What kind of churl would begrudge Mrs. Obama, the girls, and mom Marian Robinson a trip to China?

This kind of churl right here: I want to know what this junket—er, I mean trip to emphasize the importance of education—is costing the American taxpayer.

Yes, I know it’s a drop in the bucket for a country as in debt as this one.

But it's not just the money. I don’t want to feel that our First Family would take advantage of us. I want to know that they are sensitive to the honor of being America's First Family and that they take this seriously and do not regard it primarily as an opportunity to acquire perks.

If reporters were accompanying the family, I'd be marginally more inclined to believe that this trip is something besides spring break.