It's only been a week, and things are already completely different under an Obama Administration.
Love means only having to say you're sorry
Barack Obama, promising the most ethical government in the history of the United States, has offered his full support for Treasury Secretary nominee Timothy Geithner, saying he is confident the Senate will confirm him despite his "innocent mistake." Geithner claimed he wasn't aware that he had to pay self-employment taxes on self-employment income, a confusion not shared by 20 million other self-employed taxpayers who did not hold senior-level positions at the U.S. Treasury Department, the International Monetary Fund, and as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
According to the Associated Press, President Obama is confident the Senate will confirm Mr. Geithner despite his "innocent mistake." Obama said that only one man on this planet, Timothy Geithner, has the intelligence, experience, wisdom and integrity to lead the Treasury Department during a period of financial crisis, and must be confirmed.
However, according to AP reports, this is the same Timothy Geithner who was "flummoxed by TurboTax, a popular income tax preparation computer program used by millions of people. He neglected to closely read IMF yearly statements warning him of his personal liabilities for the Medicare and Social Security taxes in question, even though he signed the statements saying he understood that. After giving up on TurboTax, he hired a tax preparer, who, he claimed, also failed to catch the errors. Geithner also incorrectly claimed summer camp for his children as a dependent-care deduction. He paid the back taxes plus interest for the years 2003 and 2004 only after being audited by the IRS. But he did not pay taxes he owed for 2001 and 2002, even though he had made the same mistakes for those years – until last fall, shortly before he was nominated by Obama to be treasury secretary."
Those wishing to invoke the "Geithner Predicate" when discussing their own tax returns with the Obama Administration's IRS, please consult Eric Holder for a possible future presidential pardon. That is, if you have a big enough bank account, and well-endowed enough wife, to help argue your case successfully.
In an unrelated story, The Sealy Posturepedic company has introduced a new "mattress stuffer" line for people who want to hide their money (taxed or untaxed) under their beds, rather than let the world's smartest Treasury Secretary use their hard-earned dollars to help manage the nation's finances.
And the "Emily Latilla Award" goes to . . .
"In what ethics-in-government advocates described as a particularly far-reaching move, Mr. Obama barred officials of his administration from lobbying their former colleagues 'for as long as I am president.' He barred former lobbyists from working for agencies they had lobbied within the past two years and required them to recuse themselves from issues they had handled during that time."
However, "Mr. Obama's nominee for deputy secretary of defense, William Lynn, has been a lobbyist for the defense contractor Raytheon, and his nominee for deputy secretary of health and human services, William V. Corr, lobbied for stricter tobacco regulations as an official with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. A senior White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, conceded the two nominees did not adhere to the new rules." To resolve the issue, Mr. Lynn would receive a formal "waiver," and Mr. Corr would promise not to do it again, thus ending the issue.
Confidence in government has therefore been restored under an Obama Administration. The rules are always the rules, except when they aren't. And there will be no exceptions, except when there are. I hope this clears up any confusion.
Meet the New Boss, same as the Old Boss
US airstrikes on suspected terrorist camps in Pakistan on January 24, 2009 killed at least 20 people. The strikes "follow the Bush military blueprint."
Women and Children First
Afghan President Hamid Karzai denounced a U.S. operation on January 25, 2009, he claimed killed more than a dozen civilians, including two women and three children. Karzai said the killing of innocent bystanders "is strengthening the terrorists."
Forgotten but not gone
President Obama has issued his first Executive Order on January 24, 2009 in the fight against international terrorism. The U.S. prison facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (GITMO), housing many of the world's most dangerous terrorists, will be closed down.
In reading the fine print of the Executive Order, however, the closing will not take place for another year or so, and no decision has been made on where to send these prisoners once GITMO is finally closed. The option of releasing the prisoners has been delayed by a related Executive Order shutting down all military tribunals currently underway to assess each individual detainee's guilt or innocence.
Thus, while maintaining that the US will once again put the rule of law at the forefront of its policies and actions, President Obama has shut down any ability for individual prisoners to have their day in court, closed a military prison facility at some future point while allowing it to remain in operation for the indefinite future, and has not determined what to do with the world's most dangerous terrorists who reside at that facility if and when it is ever closed.
Oh, and just for good measure, any captured terrorist will henceforth be interrogated according to the Army Field Manual, and not made to feel uncomfortable in any way at any time. Interrogators who do not say "please" or "thank you" when interviewing captured terrorists will be subject to Congressional Investigation, fines and imprisonment for violating the terms of civilized behavior, as will those who offer these detainees a Coke instead of the new Obama-logo Pepsi products during refreshment breaks.
Questions regarding what Mr. Obama intends to do, and when exactly he intends to translate his words into actions, should be directed to the author of the Executive Order Greg Craig, the new White House Council, who explained the terms to Obama during a televised press briefing so that Obama could immediately repeat Craig's words to the press which had already heard them.
Change has definitely come to Washington. Hope too — in that we all hope the next four years go by fast with limited domestic casualties.
And they used to say that the 43rd President of the United States was too dumb to walk and chew gum at the same time.
Sedonaman
Your statement was indeed all encompassing; it just didn’t express the needed nuance I so cleverly, you know, nuanced, & did not specifically hone in on the cowardice of the left! ☺
What was that said about feelings?
“What did I say, million?” asked Pelosi, adding that it “feels like 500 million.”
Ivan
Nancy P’s Catholic Theology tells her that there can be 500,000,000 American angels on the head of a pin.
Or was it 500,000,000 American angels in the mind of a pinhead?
WaPo 2/8/09
Obama’s NSC Will Get New Power
Directive Expands Makeup and Role Of Security Body
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/07/AR2009020702076_pf.html
Coming soon to a torture center near you!
If Bush had proposed this, imagine all the “Dark Night Of Fascism” comments by the usual Leftists, who now apparently are saying “Nothing here; let’s move on.”
Last Angry Man – Frankly, would you allow your principles to be so deeply held that you’d risk your own life and many, many others, just so you don’t in extremis compromise…
Circumstances do alter cases. I’ve already said before things like “Note: in combat things are different. When the bullets are flying survival and accomplishing the objective are the priorities, and everything else drops far behind.”
There’s also things like “hot pursuit”, when police can search fleeing suspects and enter places (including private residences) when actively pursuing suspects they’ve witnessed committing crimes, and search evidence can be used in court.
Now, to “in extremis”. The “ticking bomb” scenario would qualify, generally… except as I’ve noted history doesn’t record any examples of such a situation actually happening in the real world. (Dr. Jackson certainly can’t cite one. He hints that it’s possible that there might be some in some secret government records. There may also be secret government records of crashed UFOs. But should we base policy on what we can’t prove didn’t happen? That opens up a fascinating line of thought…)
If (big if) such a ‘ticking bomb’ scenario came up, and some real-life Jack Bauer tortured someone, got the magic disarm code, and saved the day… well, that seems like the perfect opportunity for a Presidential pardon afterward, no?
Me, I’m not all sweetness and light about Obama. In this one regard, though, I can’t see him being worse than the previous administration, and there’s some indication it’ll be better.
I’ll be happy call for impeachment of Obama if cases of torture are revealed without any ticking bombs. Does that make you feel better?
>I can’t see him being worse than the previous administration, and there’s some indication it’ll be better.
I found someone to agree with Raymond’s position
In a major speech focused on Obama titled “Off and running: Opportunity of a lifetime,” Communist Party USA leader Sam Webb [says that] Obama’s administration is considering turning education, childcare, and health care into “no profit zones;” rerouting investment capital from military infrastructure to “green economy” projects and public infrastructure; and waging a “full scale” assault on global warming.
“We now have not simply a friend, but a people’s advocate in the White House,” declared Webb at a recent speech in Ohio for People’s Weekly World Communist newspaper.
“An era of progressive change is within reach, no longer an idle dream. Just look at the new lay of the land: a friend of labor and its allies sits in the White House,” Webb proclaimed.
He stated Obama and the “broad coalition that supports him will almost inevitably have to consider – and they already are – the following measures:
Public ownership of the financial system and the elimination of the shadow banking system and exotic derivatives.
Public control of the Federal Reserve Bank.
Counter-crisis spending of a bigger size and scope to invigorate and sustain a full recovery and meet human needs – something that the New Deal never accomplished.
Strengthening of union rights in order to rebalance the power between labor and capital in the economic and political arenas.
Trade agreements that have at their core the protection and advancement of international working class interests.
Equality in conditions of life for racially minorities and women.
Democratic public takeover of the energy complex as well as a readiness to consider the takeover of other basic industries whose future is problematic in private hands.
Turning education, child care, and health care into “no profit” zones.
Rerouting investment capital from unproductive investment (military, finance and so forth) to productive investment in a green economy and public infrastructure.
Changing direction of our nation’s foreign policy toward cooperation, disarmament, and diplomacy. We can’t have threats, guns and military occupations on the one hand and butter, democracy, goodwill, and peace on the other.
Full scale assault on global warming.
Serious and sustained commitment to assisting the developing countries that are locked in poverty and misery.”
Webb lauded Obama’s $800-plus billion so-called stimulus package as “a good bill that will ease the pain of this crisis, create jobs, and begin to reflate the economy.”
He explained labor unions, which he said were instrumental in Obama’s election, must work to keep the White House in check by “exercis[ing] an enormous influence on the political process. Never before has a coalition with such breadth walked on the political stage of our country,” he said.
Indeed, in an article just after last November’s election titled, “Special Interest or Class Consciousness? How Labor Put Obama in the White House,” Political Affairs reported on polling data released that revealed the extent of union support for Obama.
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, or AFL-CIO, sponsored a poll showing union members supported Obama by a 68-30 margin and strongly influenced their family members.
According to the survey, Obama won among white men who are union members by 18 points. Union gun-owners backed Obama by 12 points, while union veterans voted for Obama by a 25-point margin. In the general population, Obama lost these groups by significant margins
>The “ticking bomb” scenario … Dr. Jackson certainly can’t cite one. He hints that it’s possible that there might be some in some secret government records. There may also be secret government records of crashed UFOs. But should we base policy on what we can’t prove didn’t happen? That opens up a fascinating line of thought…
*** What an asshole. The President’s nominee for the CIA is discussing “ticking time bombs”, but Raymond still maintains that because he, Raymond, hasn’t read about it in the newspaper yet, it can’t be a realistic possibility.
“ ‘If we had a ticking bomb situation, and obviously, whatever was being used I felt was not sufficient, I would not hesitate to go to the president of the United States and request whatever additional authority I would need,’ Mr. Panetta said in his nomination hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/06/us/politics/06cia.html?_r=2
Raymond doubles down on his stupid remarks about torture to deny something Leon Panetta is currently testifying about before Congress.
RI:
“In this one regard, though, I can’t see him being worse than the previous administration, and there’s some indication it’ll be better.
“I’ll be happy call for impeachment of Obama if cases of torture are revealed without any ticking bombs.”
Hmmmmm:
Military Lawyer: Gitmo Conditions Have Worsened Since Inauguration:
http://www.talkleft.com/story/2009/2/8/172339/8866
The ACLU says the Obama Administration is not bringing change:
Obama Endorses Bush Secrecy On Torture And Rendition (2/4/2009):
http://aclu.org/safefree/torture/38662prs20090204.html
plus ça change?
Inwood: Raymond has long since stopped responding to actual facts and actual issues in favor of living in his own self-defined reality. I’ve got a new article about this kind of pseudo-intellectual “analysis” coming out soon.
Dr. Jackson, why can’t you keep context in the quotes? It didn’t say ‘I can’t see [Obama] being worse than the previous administration, and there’s some indication it’ll be better.’
I said “Me, I’m not all sweetness and light about Obama. In this one regard, though, [i.e. torture of detainees and so forth] I can’t see him being worse than the previous administration, and there’s some indication it’ll be better.”
I’m used to creationists quote-mining scientists, removing context to make quotes say something different – often the exact opposite of what was actually said. It’s really disappointing to see you do so, without even a “…” or any acknowledgement that you elided something.
I’m not at all sanguine about Obama’s prospective economic impact – I don’t like it when any one party has a majority. If we’re stuck with a two-party system, I much prefer one party to have the White House and the other to have Congress. Fortunately, I don’t think it’ll be quite as bad as Mr. Webb apparently believes. Communist predictions and reality have never matched up all that well.
As to “If we had a ticking bomb situation…”, since people are asking about it, I’m not surprised that Panetta’s addressing it. That’s a big “if”, though… a Spartan if.
From Inwood – No, I’m not happy to read about such things. It’s still a little early to reverse everything done in the past seven years, since it hasn’t even been a month yet.
If he just let everyone in Gitmo go, y’all would be unhappy – as would I. Taking some time to review the procedures and fix ‘em up makes sense. Resolving the whole thing in three weeks… well I don’t think Obama’s superhuman, either.
Generally supporters of the Iraq war say ‘we’ll know more in six months’. Obama’s only asked for four. We’ll see what things are like towards the end of May. No improvement then, I’ll be more upset.
>”If we had a ticking bomb situation…”, since people are asking about it, I’m not surprised that Panetta’s addressing it.
And this is what passes for political analysis from the Left. Panetta gives testimony about how such a scenario would actually affect real world policy, but Raymond says it’s still no evidence that it’s a real world option because “people are talking about it”, and well, because they are, Leon had to tell how it this ‘bogus’ option would actually influence Obama’s policy instead of saying “even though you’re talking about it, it’s not real, so there’s no need for me to elaborate.”
Double down on the double down.
By the way, I’m moving any further commentary to the new article I posted.
Mr. Ingles:
Re: “No, I’m not happy to read about such things. It’s still a little early to reverse everything done in the past seven years, since it hasn’t even been a month yet.”
Now, really, do you think liberals would cut George Bush any slack? I can remember when they wanted the Iraqi war done and over in a week.
You’re right, sedonaman. Those ‘liberals’ are impatient. They wanted only one week when they were told it’d be weeks rather than months.
What was your point, exactly? That there’s hypocritical rhetoric on one side? Duh. Thankfully, there’s none on the other.
Fortunately, I’m not a liberal, except in the sense that I disagree with some of y’all on some issues, which is apparently enough, even if I disagree just as much with ‘liberals’ on other issues. Ah, well. I’m getting used to being attacked here for things I never said.
Mr. Ingles:
Re: “What was your point, exactly?”
What is my point? Bush him.
Sedonaman – So it’s wrong for ‘liberals’ to do it, but not wrong for conservatives to do it? Glad to know that. Could come in handy.