The White House is closing its doors to visiting school children because of the puny sequester cuts (which aren’t really cuts at all, they’re just cuts to increased spending) but the USDA is still going to have it’s wine conference in California.

In its bid to make the sequester as painful as possible, the White House announced Tuesday that it is canceling all visitor tours of the White House “during the popular Spring touring season.” This fits President Obama’s political strategy to punish the eighth graders visiting from Illinois instead of, say, the employees of the Agriculture Department who will attend a California conference sipping “exceptional local wines” and sampling “tasty dishes” prepared by “special guest chefs.”

Yes, even as the White House warns that the modest automatic spending cuts will force the furlough of meat inspectors, two divisions of the Agriculture Department will underwrite the 26th California Small Farm Conference in Fresno next week.

The event will feature USDA speakers, field trips, a banquet and a tasting reception, according to the conference website. Conference organizers promise the tasting will be a “mouthwatering event” featuring “fine wines and exceptional micro-brews paired with seasonally driven culinary delicacies.”(Read More)

But that’s not all. They have another conference scheduled in Oregon that will include some wine tasting. And I’m sure President Obama won’t stop flying around the country on our dime to remind us how mean those Republicans have been.

Update: Linked by Doug Ross – thanks!

Linked by The Right Planet – thanks!