bmwracer wrote:
So Dubya's The Scarecrow??
"If I only had a brain...........!"
he did, unfortunately it was Cheney and Rumsfeld's. :hehe:
he did, unfortunately it was Cheney and Rumsfeld's. :hehe:
Politics/Elections/World News
Started by pcmodem · 6 Oct 2004 · 1,480 replies
General Discussion
he did, unfortunately it was Cheney and Rumsfeld's. :hehe:
Kijinnmaru wrote:Perception based on political prejudice, endless soundbytes and misleading newslines from a media hell-bent on attacking and destroying her image, and little knowledge of the subject matter does not make it true. Take it to the Politics thread.
I wouldn't doubt the former (political prejudice), but Palin's had more then enough chances to prove her political qualifications and dropped the ball consistently...
Even McCain's campaign crew limited her access to interviews and the like...
I think that speaks volumes.
Rumsfeld nemesis Shinseki to be named VA secretary
By HOPE YEN, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON – President-elect Barack Obama has chosen retired Gen. Eric K. Shinseki to be the next Veterans Affairs secretary, turning to a former Army chief of staff once vilified by the Bush administration for questioning its Iraq war strategy.
Obama will announce the selection of Shinseki, the first Army four-star general of Japanese-American ancestry, at a news conference Sunday in Chicago. He will be the first Asian-American to hold the post of Veterans Affairs secretary, adding to the growing diversity of Obama's Cabinet.
"I think that General Shinseki is exactly the right person who is going to be able to make sure that we honor our troops when they come home," Obama said in an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press" to be broadcast Sunday.
NBC released a transcript of the interview after The Associated Press reported that Shinseki was Obama's pick.
Shinseki's tenure as Army chief of staff from 1999 to 2003 was marked by constant tensions with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, which boiled over in 2003 when Shinseki testified to Congress that it might take several hundred thousand U.S. troops to control Iraq after the invasion.
Rumsfeld and his deputy, Paul Wolfowitz, belittled the estimate as "wildly off the mark" and the general was marginalized and later retired from the Army. But Shinseki's words proved prophetic after President George W. Bush in early 2007 announced a "surge" of additional troops to Iraq after miscalculating the numbers needed to stem sectarian violence.
Obama said he chose Shinseki for the VA post because he "was right" in predicting that the U.S. will need more troops in Iraq than Rumsfeld believed at the time.
"When I reflect on the sacrifices that have been made by our veterans and I think about how so many veterans around the country are struggling even more than those who have not served \ higher unemployment rates, higher homeless rates, higher substance abuse rates, medical care that is inadequate \ it breaks my heart," Obama told NBC.
Shinseki, 66, is slated to take the helm of the government's second largest agency, which was roundly criticized during the Bush administration for underestimating the amount of funding needed to treat thousands of injured veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Thousands of veterans currently endure six-month waits for disability benefits, despite promises by current VA Secretary James Peake and his predecessor, Jim Nicholson, to reduce delays. The department also is scrambling to upgrade government technology systems before new legislation providing for millions of dollars in new GI benefits takes effect next August.
Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, and chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, praised Shinseki as a "great choice" who will make an excellent VA secretary.
"I have great respect for General Shinseki's judgment and abilities," Akaka said in a statement. "I am confident that he will use his wisdom and experience to ensure that our veterans receive the respect and care they have earned in defense of our nation. President-elect Obama is selecting a team that reflects our nation's greatest strength, its diversity, and I applaud him."
Veterans groups also cheered the decision.
"General Shinseki has a record of courage and honesty, and is a bold choice to lead the VA into the future," said Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "He is a man that has always put patriotism ahead of politics, and is held in high regard by veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan."
Obama's choice of Shinseki, who grew up in Hawaii, is the latest indication that the president-elect is making good on his pledge to have a diverse Cabinet.
In Obama's eight Cabinet announcements so far, white men are the minority with two nominations \ Timothy Geithner at Treasury and Robert Gates at Defense. Three are women \ Janet Napolitano at Homeland Security, Susan Rice as United Nations ambassador and Hillary Rodham Clinton at State. Eric Holder at the Justice Department is African American, while Bill Richardson at Commerce is Latino.
Shinseki is a recipient of two Purple Hearts for life-threatening injuries in Vietnam.
Upon leaving his post in June 2003, Shinseki in his farewell speech sternly warned against arrogance in leadership.
"You must love those you lead before you can be an effective leader," he said. "You can certainly command without that sense of commitment, but you cannot lead without it. And without leadership, command is a hollow experience, a vacuum often filled with mistrust and arrogance."
Shinseki also left with the warning: "Beware a 12-division strategy for a 10-division army."
By HOPE YEN, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON – President-elect Barack Obama has chosen retired Gen. Eric K. Shinseki to be the next Veterans Affairs secretary, turning to a former Army chief of staff once vilified by the Bush administration for questioning its Iraq war strategy.
Obama will announce the selection of Shinseki, the first Army four-star general of Japanese-American ancestry, at a news conference Sunday in Chicago. He will be the first Asian-American to hold the post of Veterans Affairs secretary, adding to the growing diversity of Obama's Cabinet.
"I think that General Shinseki is exactly the right person who is going to be able to make sure that we honor our troops when they come home," Obama said in an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press" to be broadcast Sunday.
NBC released a transcript of the interview after The Associated Press reported that Shinseki was Obama's pick.
Shinseki's tenure as Army chief of staff from 1999 to 2003 was marked by constant tensions with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, which boiled over in 2003 when Shinseki testified to Congress that it might take several hundred thousand U.S. troops to control Iraq after the invasion.
Rumsfeld and his deputy, Paul Wolfowitz, belittled the estimate as "wildly off the mark" and the general was marginalized and later retired from the Army. But Shinseki's words proved prophetic after President George W. Bush in early 2007 announced a "surge" of additional troops to Iraq after miscalculating the numbers needed to stem sectarian violence.
Obama said he chose Shinseki for the VA post because he "was right" in predicting that the U.S. will need more troops in Iraq than Rumsfeld believed at the time.
"When I reflect on the sacrifices that have been made by our veterans and I think about how so many veterans around the country are struggling even more than those who have not served \ higher unemployment rates, higher homeless rates, higher substance abuse rates, medical care that is inadequate \ it breaks my heart," Obama told NBC.
Shinseki, 66, is slated to take the helm of the government's second largest agency, which was roundly criticized during the Bush administration for underestimating the amount of funding needed to treat thousands of injured veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Thousands of veterans currently endure six-month waits for disability benefits, despite promises by current VA Secretary James Peake and his predecessor, Jim Nicholson, to reduce delays. The department also is scrambling to upgrade government technology systems before new legislation providing for millions of dollars in new GI benefits takes effect next August.
Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, and chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, praised Shinseki as a "great choice" who will make an excellent VA secretary.
"I have great respect for General Shinseki's judgment and abilities," Akaka said in a statement. "I am confident that he will use his wisdom and experience to ensure that our veterans receive the respect and care they have earned in defense of our nation. President-elect Obama is selecting a team that reflects our nation's greatest strength, its diversity, and I applaud him."
Veterans groups also cheered the decision.
"General Shinseki has a record of courage and honesty, and is a bold choice to lead the VA into the future," said Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "He is a man that has always put patriotism ahead of politics, and is held in high regard by veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan."
Obama's choice of Shinseki, who grew up in Hawaii, is the latest indication that the president-elect is making good on his pledge to have a diverse Cabinet.
In Obama's eight Cabinet announcements so far, white men are the minority with two nominations \ Timothy Geithner at Treasury and Robert Gates at Defense. Three are women \ Janet Napolitano at Homeland Security, Susan Rice as United Nations ambassador and Hillary Rodham Clinton at State. Eric Holder at the Justice Department is African American, while Bill Richardson at Commerce is Latino.
Shinseki is a recipient of two Purple Hearts for life-threatening injuries in Vietnam.
Upon leaving his post in June 2003, Shinseki in his farewell speech sternly warned against arrogance in leadership.
"You must love those you lead before you can be an effective leader," he said. "You can certainly command without that sense of commitment, but you cannot lead without it. And without leadership, command is a hollow experience, a vacuum often filled with mistrust and arrogance."
Shinseki also left with the warning: "Beware a 12-division strategy for a 10-division army."
Kijinnmaru said
Perception based on political prejudice, endless soundbytes and misleading newslines from a media hell-bent on attacking and destroying her image, and little knowledge of the subject matter does not make it true. Take it to the Politics thread.[/list:u] Well, the elections over, so there's really no point in arguing it, however, "little knowledge of the subject matter" does pretty much sum up Palin. I know if I ever run into Katie Couric and she asks me what newspapers I read, the answers not going to be, "er, um, well, , , LOTS, I read lots of newspapers!" [/list:u]But like I said, the elections over, Obama's got his work cut out for him, let's hope he does well.
From the Wonkette:
===========================
McCain-Palin Fire Sale Features $20 Blackberry Phones Full of VIP Emails & Numbers
CrackBarryThis fantastic McCain Campaign fire sale doesnft just provide gadgets and office supplies on the cheap \ you can also buy enough Republican VIP personal information and incriminating emails to run your own failed presidential run! Local teevee station Fox 5 sent somebody over to the Everything Must Go sale, and while most of the good stuff was gone, there were still 10 Blackberry fancy-phones selling for $20 each. The teevee reporter bought as many as she could afford (two?) and raced back to the newsroom.
Why? Because this newsroom has a Blackberry charger! Everybody presumably stood around anxiously as the batteries recharged, and then it was like Christmas in, er, mid December.
When we charged them up in the newsroom, we found one of the $20 Blackberry phones contained more than 50 phone numbers for people connected with the McCain-Palin campaign, as well as hundreds of emails from early September until a few days after election night c.
Most of the numbers were private cell phones for campaign leaders, politicians, lobbyists and journalists. We called some of the numbers c.
gThey should have wiped that stuff out,h another said. But he added, gGiven the way the campaign was run, this is not a surprise.h
McCain-Palin: Morons to the end.[/b]
===========================
McCain-Palin Fire Sale Features $20 Blackberry Phones Full of VIP Emails & Numbers
CrackBarryThis fantastic McCain Campaign fire sale doesnft just provide gadgets and office supplies on the cheap \ you can also buy enough Republican VIP personal information and incriminating emails to run your own failed presidential run! Local teevee station Fox 5 sent somebody over to the Everything Must Go sale, and while most of the good stuff was gone, there were still 10 Blackberry fancy-phones selling for $20 each. The teevee reporter bought as many as she could afford (two?) and raced back to the newsroom.
Why? Because this newsroom has a Blackberry charger! Everybody presumably stood around anxiously as the batteries recharged, and then it was like Christmas in, er, mid December.
When we charged them up in the newsroom, we found one of the $20 Blackberry phones contained more than 50 phone numbers for people connected with the McCain-Palin campaign, as well as hundreds of emails from early September until a few days after election night c.
Most of the numbers were private cell phones for campaign leaders, politicians, lobbyists and journalists. We called some of the numbers c.
gThey should have wiped that stuff out,h another said. But he added, gGiven the way the campaign was run, this is not a surprise.h
McCain-Palin: Morons to the end.[/b]
[image]
Bush Dodges Thrown Shoe
BAGHDAD - On an Iraq trip shrouded in secrecy and marred by dissent, President George W. Bush on Sunday hailed progress in the war that defines his presidency and got a size-10 reminder of his unpopularity when a man hurled two shoes at him during a news conference.
"This is a farewell kiss, you dog!" shouted the protester in Arabic, later identified as Muntadar al-Zeidi, a correspondent for Al-Baghdadia television, an Iraqi-owned station based in Cairo, Egypt.
Bush ducked both shoes as they whizzed past his head and landed with a thud against the wall behind him.
--------------------------------------------
:lol: :hehe: :rofl:
![[image]](http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20081214/videolthumb.24bb19d5762787d4942960cc630287f7.jpg){kind=link}
Bush Dodges Thrown Shoe
BAGHDAD - On an Iraq trip shrouded in secrecy and marred by dissent, President George W. Bush on Sunday hailed progress in the war that defines his presidency and got a size-10 reminder of his unpopularity when a man hurled two shoes at him during a news conference.
"This is a farewell kiss, you dog!" shouted the protester in Arabic, later identified as Muntadar al-Zeidi, a correspondent for Al-Baghdadia television, an Iraqi-owned station based in Cairo, Egypt.
Bush ducked both shoes as they whizzed past his head and landed with a thud against the wall behind him.
--------------------------------------------
:lol: :hehe: :rofl:
Bush has been a disgrace and an embarrassment worldwide.
It's doubtful he could successfully manage a Dairy Queen in rural Texas.
It's doubtful he could successfully manage a Dairy Queen in rural Texas.
bmwracer wrote:I wonder if this is what Cheney meant when he "Americans will be welcomed as liberating heroes." :shakehead: [/list:u]
Bush Dodges Thrown Shoe
kenjilina wrote:
i saw this on the news this morning. apparantly george replied that they were size 10s. i'm glad he can joke about it. :shakehead:
Bush further went on and replied "Missed me! Missed me! Now you gotta kiss me!"
Takoyama wrote:Bush further went on and replied "Missed me! Missed me! Now you gotta kiss me!"
That would be considered cruel and unusual punishment.
The one thing that bothers me about all this is "Where the hell was the secret service?" :beatyou: This guy has time to stand up, start yelling and throw not one, but two shoes. Suppose he'd had a grenade instead. If I'm Barack Obama, I'm telling the secret service, "You guys can take a vacation, I'm getting some of my homies from Chicago for protection."
gaijinmark wrote:The one thing that bothers me about all this is "Where the hell was the secret service?" :beatyou: This guy has time to stand up, start yelling and throw not one, but two shoes. Suppose he'd had a grenade instead. If I'm Barack Obama, I'm telling the secret service, "You guys can take a vacation, I'm getting some of my homies from Chicago for protection."
I think those guys were screened/searched before they were allowed into the press room... No one could've anticipated that a shoe would be used as a weapon...
bmwracer wrote:
I think those guys were screened/searched before they were allowed into the press room... No one could've anticipated that a shoe would be used as a weapon...
+1
Bush's Closing Argument: Was Anybody Listening?
President George W. Bush said farewell to the nation, but the nation wasn't paying attention. TV barely cut to him in time for his first words Thursday evening and couldn't wait to cut away when he finished 13 minutes later. Something unexpected and awesome had happened to shoulder him out of the picture: a jet gliding to a stop in the middle of the Hudson River, with everyone emerging safe. The departure of President Bush, by contrast, had become part of the world's mental wallpaper some time ago.
------------------------------------------------
I'll bet you could hear in crickets and toads in the press room... :rofl:
A fitting end to one of the worst Presidents in the history of this country.
Good riddance, President Knucklehead.
President George W. Bush said farewell to the nation, but the nation wasn't paying attention. TV barely cut to him in time for his first words Thursday evening and couldn't wait to cut away when he finished 13 minutes later. Something unexpected and awesome had happened to shoulder him out of the picture: a jet gliding to a stop in the middle of the Hudson River, with everyone emerging safe. The departure of President Bush, by contrast, had become part of the world's mental wallpaper some time ago.
------------------------------------------------
I'll bet you could hear in crickets and toads in the press room... :rofl:
A fitting end to one of the worst Presidents in the history of this country.
Good riddance, President Knucklehead.
Inauguration is in two days.... :victory: :applaud:
I think I'll take the day off to watch history being made. :thumbsup:
I think I'll take the day off to watch history being made. :thumbsup:
Looks like Obama needed his teleprompter swearing in. :hehe:
I just hope the economy picks up. :fingerscrossed:
Good luck, Obama! :victory:
Good luck, Obama! :victory:
Takoyama wrote:Looks like Obama needed his teleprompter swearing in. :hehe:
So did the judge swearing him in. :beaten:
President Obama made a terrific, powerful speech.
Now comes the hard part. :fingerscrossed:
bmwracer wrote:Yup, as soon as he sits down behind his desk in the oval office, he's probably going to say to himself, "Geez, if I'd known the country was this screwed up, I'd have left McCain win!!" [/list:u]
Now comes the hard part. :fingerscrossed:
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