“Howard Schmidt, a former Microsoft security executive and a one-time cybersecurity adviser to President George W. Bush, has been appointed to the position of cybersecurity coordinator, according to a White House announcement on Tuesday,” Zetter reports. “In his new position, he will be responsible for coordinating the federal government’s cybersecurity initiatives to secure government networks and U.S. critical infrastructures. This will include working with the Office of Management and Budget to ensure that agencies have money allocated for cybersecurity priorities, and coordinating the government’s response to a major cyber incident or attack.”
“According to the Associated Press, Obama was directly involved in the selection of Schmidt, who was chosen after an extensive search,” Zetter reports. “But the announcement of Schmidt came with little fanfare on Tuesday and followed months of reports from other candidates that they either turned down the job or otherwise discouraged the White House from courting them.”
“Last May, Obama announced he was creating a new office to be led by a cybersecurity czar,” Zetter reports. “For nearly a year, however, he could find no one to take the job, due to what many viewed as its undesirable placement in the federal hierarchy.”
“Schmidt, Microsoft’s chief security officer until 2001, is the second former Microsoft executive to take a top federal cybersecurity position,” Zetter reports. “Last March, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano appointed Philip Reitinger to the position of deputy undersecretary of the department’s National Protections Program Directorate.”
“Reitinger was Microsoft’s chief trustworthy infrastructure strategist, a job that required him in part to help develop and implement strategies for enhancing the security of critical infrastructures,” Zetter reports. “In his new position, he oversees the protection of the government’s computer networks and works with the private sector to help secure critical infrastructures.”
Zetter reports, “There have been concerns about how the White House intends to address cybersecurity issues, particularly in the private sector, and protect civil liberties at the same time.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Who’s next, Balloon Boy to head up NORAD?
Given their record in the security area, I don’t know why anybody would buy from them. – Richard A. Clarke, former U.S. National Coordinator for Security, Infrastructure Protection, and Counter-terrorism, commenting on Microsoft, February 17, 2005
Well, he did work for microsoft. So he already knows about all the potential threats. It is only to bad that his former employer is the reason for all the threats…… damn you Active X!!!!!!!
This decision follows the now established tradition of Barack Hussein Obama making the lamest conceivable appointments to his already unconstitutional “czar cabinet”.
Now you know why people doubt global warming “experts”. Expertise is now a political title…you know like “guru” at a work place
just my $0.02
Reitinger was Microsoft’s chief trustworthy infrastructure strategist, a job that required him in part to help develop and implement strategies for enhancing the security of critical infrastructures.
…and with a resume like that, he STILL got the job??
I know the comments here will quickly devolve into pointless political bickering, but honestly, both GWB and Obama chose very unwisely when they picked this guy.
Just got a heads up from Merriam-Webster: “Irony” now has a new definition.
How many CZARs do we need? It’s funny how he can’t pick an actually cabinet member who actually has to be approved. Even his party cohorts would say what a “dumb ass” pick.
Oh my… The enemies will prevail!!!
And I like the part where they talk about their concern over “civil liberties”.
Oh yes, let there be no doubt that Barack Hussein Obama is ever so very concerned about our civil liberties. He’s a real freedom-loving tyrant if there ever was one!
Wow.
China and Russia are laughing their asses off.
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Tuesday, December 22, 2009 shows that 25% of the nation’s voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty-six percent (46%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -21.
That’s the lowest Approval Index rating yet recorded for this President.
Fifty-three percent (53%) of men Strongly Disapprove along with 39% of women. Most African-American voters (58%) Strongly Approve while most white voters (53%) Strongly Disapprove.
Seventy-four percent (74%) of Republicans Strongly Disapprove as do 52% of unaffiliated voters. Forty-seven percent (47%) of Democrats Strongly Approve.
For the second straight day, the update shows the highest level of Strong Disapproval yet recorded for this President. That negative rating had never topped 42% before yesterday.
Overall, 44% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the President’s performance. Fifty-six percent (56%) now disapprove.
http://bit.ly/IhrCW
@Josh
Gee, you spout ditto-headed Fox-based talking points so well.
Do you ever think for yourself?
All Obama needs to do is ban all Microsoft products from government use and go open-source. Linux and OpenOffice would be a good start. AND it would save money.
it just seems we are making jobs up or just changing the name, so they can hook their friends up with jobs.
“cybersecurity adviser”
“cybersecurity czar”
“cybersecurity coordinator”
“deputy undersecretary of the department’s National Protections Program Directorate”
I just noticed this but Boom! and Doomed sound a lot alike.
Fox hired to guard chicken coop.
Pictures at 11.
Did anyone here have inside knowledge of how the pick was made? Maybe Obama pursued other people and they were will to work for a bankrupt country the dub-ya left for Obama to clean up. Quit spewing hate toward obama. Remeber it took Steve jobs nearly a decade to get apple back on it’s current track. Give obama a chance. He’s been on the job 11 months.
Mr. Reeee and other misguided Libs/Progressives/Anti-Americans:
You had better start mentally preparing yourselves for your 2010 and 2012 ass-kicking now or your addled heads will explode when reality smacks you hard.
Worked for Bush?
There goes all the emails…
W had even more ‘czars’.
@ Mr. Reeee,
Regarding your dog-eared, cliched, timeworn and all-too-common leftist fallacious neurotic obsessiveness over “ditto head” this and “FOX News” that, I have a multiple choice question for you.
Your post qualifies as:
A) Thinking for yourself
B) An actual substantive counter-argument to my post
C) An insecure leftist realizing the Emperor Obama has no clothes – or to put it another way – our Hopeychangey gasbag of president is a colossal jackass, loser, and all-around socialist scum, and will go down as a historically awful one-term president – effectively demoting Jimmy Carter to 2nd place in that category.
I think it is fitting that a former Microsoft employee helps try and secure Microsoft based computers and networks. Let’s face it. The government is using it at all levels as well as many businesses and schools. Someone from that side of the water should help secure and monitor it. Why should they pick someone unfamiliar with the ugly monster world of Windows
That guy was one of very few even willing to take the job. Nobody wanted it.
I can’t fault Obama for this one.
LOL, I love how folks are all up in arms over the czars. They were perfectly fine under Bush, but Obama appoints some and its a national tragedy. I’m not choosing one side or the other, but make up your mind people. Good lord!
@Yours Smugly,
How many of Bush’s czars were:
A) self-professed communists
B) 911 truthers
C) anti-American low-lifes
D) birth restriction advocates
E) homosexual pedophile advocates (“safe schools” czar)
Need I go on? Or has your proud smugness collapsed in upon itself yet?
@Josh
No, I think Franklin Pierce wins in that category forever. He’s the only president in American history that couldn’t even get his own party’s nomination for re-election.
“No, I think Franklin Pierce wins in that category forever. He’s the only president in American history that couldn’t even get his own party’s nomination for re-election.”
Well, already hearing talk of that same situation within the party.
OMG… Thats the dumbest move I’ve seen yet. DUMB! DUMB! DUMB!
If you plan to buy any Apple produces this holiday season, don’t click through on this site unless you believe in the Neocon, Obama hating politics MDN pushes on a regular basis.
Funny how you right wingers give a pass to one of the most progressive, left wing people in American business, Steve Jobs!
Obama is like a prizefighter who gets everyone riled up and behind him. Then he gets into the ring and does nothing accept collect his paycheck. I was a lifetime democrat and I don’t like Obama one bit. And now I’m not a democrat any longer as all of his promises have turned out to be complete lies.
But voting Republican, you might as well give all your taxes away to the socialism military industrial complex. Oh, wait, if you vote democrats that what you get as well?
Remember folks this is all about class. The top 1 percent own it all and Obama, like Bush is the same man accept Bush was a much better leader. At least he took sides, Obama sits there like a pansy assed idiot, says one thing and does another, classic democrat pussy..
Maybe the guy is qualified, and is not personally responsible for the decades of Windows flaws?
Maybe he KNOWS about the most serious threats, BECAUSE he has worked with them before?
Maybe it’s OK to have a black president? One who actually makes smart decisions instead of acting macho and winning the support of idiots? One who is making headway solving the massive problems Bush and his corporate cronies caused? One who upholds American values instead of trashing them while hiding behind them like the Republicans do?
Maybe people can think for themselves instead of letting right-wing radio do it for them?
Nah.
How many of Bush’s czars were:
a) Yes men
b) Corporate shills
c) Hypocritcal “Christians” who cheated on their wives
d) Good ol’ boys
e) Underqualified
f) Complete failures when put to the test
And tell me how homosexuality is relevant, please?
I tell you, the right wing loonies are only getting loonier. It’s kind of fun to watch the train wreck.
@dave smith
You got it right. The top 1% rule this country since it’s inception. Globalization only means that they want more. Our government officials are simple managers that can be disposed, if they don’t do there job right. Which is to keep that 1% at the very top. Democracy is an illusion where the fool everybody in to thinking they have a say as to how things are ran. But everything is O.K. because the next bubble is starting to go again, but this time, when it blows, it will really be a lot worse than the past two prior times. With out manufacturing, what does America stand for? It seems making movies and weapons.
“Artist
If you plan to buy any Apple produces this holiday season, don’t click through on this site unless you believe in the Neocon, Obama hating politics MDN pushes on a regular basis.
Funny how you right wingers give a pass to one of the most progressive, left wing people in American business, Steve Jobs!”
OK. Call yourself a Marxist if you support The One.
And oh yeah, I dump on Jobs, too. Being the commie you are, I suppose you dislike Jobs because of his elitest, expensive products. Me too. But for another reason – the man’s a snob. Pretty common trait of the poor and insane like yourself.
Yeah, America, freedom of speech…unless you don’t support The One.
“Mac-nugget
@dave smith
You got it right. The top 1% rule this country since it’s inception. Globalization only means that they want more. Our government officials are simple managers that can be disposed, if they don’t do there job right. Which is to keep that 1% at the very top. Democracy is an illusion where the fool everybody in to thinking they have a say as to how things are ran. But everything is O.K. because the next bubble is starting to go again, but this time, when it blows, it will really be a lot worse than the past two prior times. With out manufacturing, what does America stand for? It seems making movies and weapons.”
Suppose you think Marxism is any different? Get a life. At least under this farce of “Liberty,” ie Federalism, more have the opportunity to live a comfortable life.
Also suppose you’d prefer living in trees of light, flying beasts that don’t exist, ala Avatar.
And it’s “their” you moron, when talking about people, or possession, not a place.
“@ Josh
How many of Bush’s czars were:
a) Yes men
b) Corporate shills
c) Hypocritcal “Christians” who cheated on their wives
d) Good ol’ boys
e) Underqualified
f) Complete failures when put to the test
And tell me how homosexuality is relevant, please?
I tell you, the right wing loonies are only getting loonier. It’s kind of fun to watch the train wreck.”
Hahahhahahahha…they gonna’ wreck it right up your a**!!!!!!
Commie basturd.
“Toasty
LOL, I love how folks are all up in arms over the czars. They were perfectly fine under Bush, but Obama appoints some and its a national tragedy. I’m not choosing one side or the other, but make up your mind people. Good lord!”
Pay attention: When Bush did it, the Dems and their MM press corps howled like bitches.
Once again, “a lot of political nonsense in the air.”
Ignorance is not bliss. Generalizations are proof of ignorance.
“Mr. Reeee
@Josh
Gee, you spout ditto-headed Fox-based talking points so well.
Do you ever think for yourself?”
Do you, Mr. Reese? Not spouting that ol’ White House policy of attack-Fox-at-all-costs party line, are you.
Two names for you:
Mo
Ron
But no soup!
“Obama appoints former Microsoft security chief new cybersecurity czar”
We’re totally F*CKED now.
Goes to show you the depth of computer ignorance in our society. How ironic that just this morning I was listening to computer security expert Steve Gibson, of Security Now podcast fame, extoll the virtues of Windows. I quote:
“Windows is a steaming pile of crap.”
http://www.grc.com/sn/sn-192.txt
I recently wrote a couple essays about the incompetence of the NSA (National Security Agency) here in the USA:
http://mac-security.blogspot.com
I don’t see US federal computer security improving with this new dimwitted ‘cybersecurity tsar’ appointment. Here we are China! Open for hacking.
Further Steve Gibson discussing Windows with Leo Laporte:
“… You mentioned last week, Leo, that the electrical power grid of this country has been taken over, and essentially there’s spyware that’s been installed, apparently, the news reports say, by China and Russia. I haven’t reported much on that here because not much is known, I mean, not much is known publicly. I’m sure that our intelligence community has much better information about that. But again, what you find when you look is that these systems are running Windows. Somebody built some nuclear reactor control system on top of Windows. Which is just like, oh, my goodness. It’s inexcusable.”
Another wast of money “Czar”
More proof that Obama is a fool!!
… I thought I was on an Apple news site.
Will you please stop posting these non Apple news stories so these idiot right wing trolls will go away.
“auramac
Once again, “a lot of political nonsense in the air.”
Ignorance is not bliss. Generalizations are proof of ignorance.”
Actually, everyone here is generalizing. It’s only a proof of laziness and emotion. To attack one as ignorant…well, I’ll let some smarter than I make the point:
“A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool.”
— William Shakespeare (As You Like It)
“It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt.”
— Abraham Lincoln
An anonymous douche named ‘Josh’ wrote:
“This decision follows the now established tradition of Barack Hussein Obama making the lamest conceivable appointments to his already unconstitutional “czar cabinet”.”
I hope ‘Josh’ becomes literate. Then maybe he could read the article, as in:
“Howard Schmidt, a former Microsoft security executive and a one-time cybersecurity adviser to President George W. Bush….”
So much for the Neo-Con-Job scumbags doing any better. Hopefully “Josh” will also read the US Constitution where he will learn that the President has the right to create a cabinet.
“Josh” might also take a marketing course so he understands the verbal meaninglessness of ‘csar’ positions in the presidential cabinet.
He also might be able to read this history of the position of ‘csar’ in the US federal executive branch. The term was first used by President HW Bush in 1988 for the new cabinet position of ‘Drug Csar’, as described in this article:
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/03/president-to-do.html
He might also, with his new comprehension skills, realize that when he is listening to HATE MEDIA performers prattle the Neo-Con-Job line about ‘unconstitutional czar’ presidential appointments, he is listening to nothing more than the usual decrepit bullsh*t propaganda that is inherent in anything political. Nothing new, nothing sane, reliable, honest, reasonable, fair or balanced.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”tongue laugh” style=”border:0;” />
And maybe, just maybe, “Josh” will get the clue that there is no such thing as a decent politician, of any party. Not gonna happen.
ROTFLOL. How can you do anything else. Or maybe just shake your head ith disbelief. Amazing. Only in America….
Will you please stop posting these non-Apple news stories so these idiot left wing trolls will go away.
@Handsome Smitty
WTF side are you on? You’re all over the place.
I love Steve Jobs, and all Apple products. Steve Jobs an elitist? Far from it. His main focus is on making the world a better place by making better products. He may be a Billionaire many times over, but if he only cared about the money, he’d probably be the richest man in the world.
Handsome Smitty all I’m saying is that both parties cater to the very wealthy. And they use the population as pawns against one another. Obama has proven this to me.
It’s not about republicans vs democrats any longer. It’s about getting the 1 percent of the population and shaking their damn heads until money comes out from them.
You change things by doing, not by moving to some other hell hole outside the United States.
“there is no such thing as a decent politician, of any party”
Nor, apparently, the ability to place into advisory power anyone with any real competence.
We’ve been voting in lockstep for Democrats for 60 years and the vast majority of us remain on food stamps, are in jail, in public housing, and/or under the poverty line.
“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” – Albert Einstein
Black people should be voting Conservative. We don’t need handouts and dependency, we need to set ourselves free to achieve much, much better and more fulfilling lives.
Obama wants to do the same old, same old: Keep us down, so we’re dependent on the government and therefore vote for a Democrat party offering handouts instead of hand-ups.
“Obama appoints former Microsoft security chief new cybersecurity czar”
In other news, Wile E. Coyote has been hired to take care of the Roadrunner problem.
@ Wake Up Black America,
“We don’t need handouts and dependency, we need to set ourselves free to achieve much, much better and more fulfilling lives.”
And just how are you going to accomplish that goal without decent jobs? The Republicans are all about profit, and that’s why they haven’t done jackshit to keep well paying jobs in this country. They don’t give a damn about whites, let alone blacks.
Unless they back affirmative action, you aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
@derekcurrie
Most intelligent post I have read all day. People use some critical thinking. Both sides are playing the same game. Then they get us to argue about it but do nothing about it. Time to wake up America before it is to late.
Typical patronizing liberal thinking. We don’t need affirmative action, we need to be freed from Democrat instituted and perpetuated slavery.
Never forget: It was the Republicans that enacted The Civil Rights Act of 1964, not the Democrats.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1964
Relax, wingnuts. Take a deep breath.
I know you all are just about hyperventilating over the inevitable passage of historic healthcare reform (which every other president failed at, yet President Obama managed to pull off in year one).
I know you neocons are foaming at the mouth over Obama’s 51% approval rating, demanding impeachment because only slightly more than half of Americans approve of him (how soon you forgot W’s final approval ratings, huh?).
I know you science-denying conspiracy theorists are working yourselves into a lather over President Obama’s green energy initiatives, proclaiming economic doom and gloom despite the fact that, thanks to Obama’s judgment, we’ve been rescued from the epic, catastrophic collapse caused by your neocon administration.
Here’s a newsflash, wingnuts: the economy is growing again; the world opinion of the U.S. is greatly improved; we’re on the path toward pollution reduction and a new green energy economy; 30 million more Americans will soon have healthcare; and your freedoms are the same as they always were.
The world is not ending, wingnuts. It’s getting better thanks to President Obama. Chill out and enjoy the ride.
Captain Kirk’s nipples!
We’re doomed!
Hmmm.. Outsourcing jobs to other countries…
Wasn’t it Mr. Clinton (described by somebody as “the first black president”) that pushed through NAFTA?
Just a thought…
The Real Rob,
Nice fantasy. Now, let’s try likely voters instead of merely “registered voters,” since actual votes are what will count:
OBAMA ENDING YEAR ON LOW: 56% DISAPPROVE
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/daily_presidential_tracking_poll
2010 is going to make 1994 look like, well, a tea party.
First 2010, the 2012,
No election day necessary. The revolution has already begun:
Democrat congressman switches to Republican party
Democratic Rep. Parker Griffith announced Tuesday that he’s switching parties – saying he can no longer align himself “with a party that continues to pursue legislation that is bad for our country, hurts our economy and drives us further and further into debt.”
“Unfortunately there are those in the Democratic Leadership that continue to push an agenda focused on massive new spending, tax increases, bailouts and a health care bill that is bad for our healthcare system,” Griffith said in a statement. “I have always considered myself to be an independent voice and I have tried to be that voice in Congress – but after watching this agenda firsthand I now believe that the differences in the two parties could not be more clear and that for me to be true to my core beliefs and values I must align myself with the Republican party and speak out clearly on these issues.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1209/30896.html
@ The Real Rob,
Thanks, my blood pressure is calming down already.
Ommmm.
@ Josh,
Please tell your boss, the ex-governor of Alaska, that rambling comments that all sound like just do not really know what you are saying, work much better on Microsoft web sites.
Here… well….. I think your mother is calling you.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” />
Just a thought,
en
Zetter reports, “There have been concerns about how the White House intends to address cybersecurity issues, particularly in the private sector, and protect civil liberties at the same time.”
With this announcement, I don’t think those concerns are going to go away.
Sir Gill Bates,
Awaken to reality for a real change:
LIKELY VOTERS: OBAMA ENDING YEAR ON LOW: 56% DISAPPROVE
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/daily_presidential_tracking_poll
@ First 2010, then 2012
LOL. Dude, I’m going by Gallup. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s a pretty well respected poll. Certainly not a “fantasy.”
http://www.gallup.com/poll/113980/Gallup-Daily-Obama-Job-Approval.aspx
Chillax, man. No need to get all riled up by busting out the all caps.
No election day necessary. The revolution has already begun:
Democrat congressman switches to Republican party
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1209/30896.html
The Real Rob,
Do you understand the difference between polls of “registered voters” (Gallup) and “likely voters” (Rasmussen)?
I hear the money is rolling in like a tsunami:
http://www.sarahpac.com/
@ Jen
Do you understand we don’t vote for president in 2010? Do you understand this is a job approval poll, not a “who will I vote for” poll?
@ End of Meditation,
What the heck does a dead Russian mystic know about Obama’s approval rating? Ommmm.
Let’s just admit it: Obama is a serious idiot. Slightly more people got snookered than not. Okay, so a mistake was made. We can correct it starting in 2010 and finish it off in 2012.
BTW: The brilliant windbag gets quite a neck workout without Mr. Teleprompter. I think I had the same cadence while reading “Where The Wild Things Are” aloud to my parents when I was in 2nd grade:
Hey REal Rob, this statement is funny:
I know you science-denying conspiracy theorists are working yourselves into a lather over President Obama’s green energy initiatives, proclaiming economic doom and gloom despite the fact that, thanks to Obama’s judgment, we’ve been rescued from the epic, catastrophic collapse caused by your neocon administration.
So, REal Rob, where are the green energy jobs? Where was Obama in Copenhagen. Did you know that he agreed to only a 4% cut in emissions by 2020. In order to stop a complete global catastrophe it will require at least a 40 percent cut.
Obama is the same thing in a black wrapper.
The Real Rob,
Oh, I understand perfectly well what’s coming in 2010.
Maybe you’ll be able to grasp this one better:
Republicans Post Eight-Point Lead On Generic Ballot
Republican candidates now have an eight-point lead over Democrats, their biggest lead of the year, in the latest edition of the Generic Congressional Ballot.
The new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 44% would vote for their district’s Republican congressional candidate while 36% would opt for his or her Democratic opponent.
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/generic_congressional_ballot
@ John,
“… while reading “Where The Wild Things Are” aloud to my parents when I was in 2nd grade:”
It’s nice that someone in your family finally learned to read.
LOL! All you wingnuts bleating about this congressman switching to the Tea Party need to calm down. You do realize this guy was basically already a Republican, right? That he’s a freshman representative and had voted for precisely zero of the Democrats’ signature initiatives this year? Seriously, this is not a “tsunami.” It’s one dude realizing he had the wrong letter by his name.
And maybe I should remind you all of the GOP to Dem defections this year? The most important being Specter, who, if you don’t recall, gave us the critical vote number 60 to pass healthcare. LOL. I’m loving it.
@Josh – I love you.
And he wasn’t talking about homosexuals, per se, he was talking about the “Safe School Czar” being OK with and giving advice to a minor regarding a homosexual relationship with a pedophile. Do a little reading on Mr. Kevin Jennings to get a clear picture of this disgusting individual. Nothing wrong with being gay, the problem lies in our government’s view of what “safe schools” should now be. Truly horrifying.
@ The Real Rob,
Hahaaaaa! Good one!
Neener, neener, neener, Republicans are wieners!
@ Jen,
Chill. Screaming about a single irrelevant poll a full year before midterm elections is a little bit overkill, even for a wingnut. I know the next 7 years of the Obama golden age will kick your cognitive dissonance into high gear, but try to relax anyway.
Vote republican or democrat. It won’t matter anyways.
The rich will eat you all for lunch.
Not screaming, except with laughter over your “Obama golden age” joke.
Thanks for the laugh!
Oh, BTW:
66% Favor Smaller Government With Fewer Services, Lower Taxes
Source: Rasmussen Reports, December 17, 2009
@NHL
“In other news, Wile E. Coyote has been hired to take care of the Roadrunner problem.”
Perfect analogy.
Heckuva job, Joshie. Them postings of yers and yer frends has nailed them commie fascist librals agin.
@ Jen
LOL! Seriously, what a ridiculously abstract question. You might as well ask people “Do you like high taxes?”
How about asking people if they want government to take away specific services; social security maybe? Or perhaps Medicare? Won’t get many people voting for that, even Tea Partiers. Heck, a congressman this year introduced an amendment to repeal Medicare. It got 0 votes.
For an even bigger laugh, 62% of Republicans think government should actually stay OUT of Medicare! LOL!
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/08/poll-republicans-think-government-should-stay-out-of-medicare.php
In summary, Jen, your cherry picked polls are meaningless. So relax and enjoy the next 7 years.
Many people are against government programs and taxes, until they find themselves in the situation of needing those same programs. Take healthcare for example.
As a Christmas gift to the lefty airheads hereabouts, I present you with a few lessons on the facts of life:
1) Being black (or half black) is not a magical property which mysteriously transports Barack Obama to a plane high above us all beyond the realm of any and all criticism. When you are POTUS, you are in a position of great power and responsibility, and likewise the focus of a corresponding level of scrutiny. If this last bit is too much for your fragile sensitivities, then you are not suited for the highest office of the land. Every single POTUS in U.S. history has received LOTS and LOTS of criticism and opposition, and this POTUS is not entitled to treatment that is any different. Content of character trumps color of skin. If you disagree with that, then you need to quit pretending to revere Martin Luther King, as that was his most famous message. That these fundamental realities have to be repeatedly explained to those on the left only reinforces their image as superficial, substance-free, and quite clueless. Again, Barach Obama is a democracitally elected executive of commerical republic. NOT A KING! Grow up and deal with it already. Sheesh!
2) Steve Jobs is a capitalist. An exceptionally good one, in fact. He harshly criticized the teacher’s unions in a very public way (taboo for anyone who is supposedly a committed across-the-board statist as some of you are ignorantly claiming), and I am unaware of him having made any attempts at socializing 17% of our economy. Whereas, when B.O. was employed for a short time in the private sector, he referred to that in one of his two needless autobiographies as working in “enemy territory”. Stop conflating Steve Jobs with our community organizer in chief. We benefit from having Steve Jobs in the world. Whereas with B.O., in keeping with the aptness of his initials, he stinks.
3) You have to be exceptionally gullible, uninformed, and economically moronic to think that healthcare “reform” as defined by this Congress or the current administration is anything other than a power grab by our statists in the current legislative and executive branch. They’re curtailing your liberties, raising your taxes, putting generations of as yet unborn Americans in deep debt, and raping the U.S. Constitution, and all the while you have your heads so far up your poop shoots that you actually think all this is ACTUALLY a great series of spectactular event. Extraordinary human debris. Every last Obamaroid.
Merry Christmas!
Hum! Aren’t Windows guys total republicanists? Wonder if this is a good choice… Or maybe juste because a former windows specialiste should know more about viruses, malwares, suckwares and backdoors than any other?
@ Josh
Relax, man. Nobody’s saying “Barach Obama” (sic) is “king” or shouldn’t be criticized. Heck, I think his choice of Schmidt for Cybersecurity czar is atrocious. But honestly, quit acting like Obama’s Thought Police are about to break into your house and take your first born from you. Your wingnut rhetoric is out of control.
Seriously, chill out. Obama’s got this.
Ol’ purple lips is a one-termer.
Barack Obama’s czars are not only anti-American scum comprised of, among others, a birth rate restriction advocate, a 911 truther, an admitted Marxist radical, tax cheats, and a homosexual pedophile for good measure, BUT ALSO,
A) yes men
B) coporate shills/lobbysits (even though B.O. promised there’d be none of that)
C) hypocritical Marxists who nevertheless enjoy the luxuries afforded only by capitalism
D) Alynsky-ite community organizer types
E) unqualified
F) complete failures as czars AND as human beings
And seriously guys, in the HERE and NOW, Barack Obama has to take ownership of his own crap piles. HE is the current president. NOT…BUSH! The blaming Bush thing is seriously old by now. Has been for some time in fact. EVERY POTUS inherits problems of previous administrations combined, and they should know this going in. He needs to be a man and stop pointing the finger backwards to Bush.
He disrespects and betrays our allies, bows to non-Western royalty, and is finally being criticized in foreign press. The Soviets, North Koreans, Iranians and Islamofascists now feel emboldened like never before. If you do not know this then you’re either in denial or you simply haven’t been paying attention. The world is not full of feel-good puppy dogs with the politics of an impressionable 20 year old at their third year of UCAL Berkley. The maniacal tyrants of the world are not impressed. Again, the time for Bush obsession is over. Take ownership of your messiah and the vast discrepancies between his canned sunshiney campaign rhetoric of 2008 and his ACTIONS of 2009. The blame goes where the blame goes. Like it or not. Grow up, educate yourselves, and live in the real world. It may not be pretty, at least it is REAL.
Politicians love you people. You just don’t get it.
Fight back and forth and back and forth. It won’t change a thing….
In the meantime merry Xmas!
Yep, you’re right ‘dave’. Divide and conquer – they have us right where they want us.
@ “The Real Rob”,
Strawman alert! Strawman alert. I didn’t act like “Obama’s thought police were going to kick down my door….” blah blah blah. That is merely your characterization. A false one. A strawman.
So, in case you have not noticed, every time Obama is criticized or opposed, leftists start playing the race card. It has happened in this very thread. It has happened in other threads on this forum and on countless thread on other forums. It happened LOTS over the summer when people had the unmitigated gall to protest the proposed healthcare “reforms”. It has happened on major media outlets. It has happened in liberal op-eds. Barack Obama himself has employed it. And it happened a couple of days ago on the floor of the senate with Senator Whitehouse. It happens unrelentingly. In lieu of actual argumentation, the left plays the race card. Over and over and over and over…
If you are unaware of this, that’s YOUR fault, not mine.
The sheer volume of hatred expressed on this site…MAC DAILY NEWS…not a political site mind you but a mac news site is a reminder that hatred itself never solved a problem, never cured an illness, never fed someone hungry, never supported a someone in the military, never had a part in true patriotism, never served the common good. Love of country, the belief that we can come together for a common purpose, the genuine foundations of this nation are not built on hatred and personal attacks.
The people who wrote the constitution did so out of a love for freedom and values we still die to defend today. We don’t attack militarily out of hatred. That’s some confused movie style version of what powers democracy.
To vent your spleen over what you think is wrong and for this to happen on a computer news site is just absurd in many ways.
Why should anyone who wants to stay current on news about Apple care who is hired at the White House?
This mix of politics and computers is a recipe for further hatred…not problem solving, not resolution of differences, not an intelligent adult discussion.
Why don’t you go over to Politico.com and start a computer thread? Why not stop by Foxnews.com and tell them how much you hate Steve Ballmer?
Get a clue people.
Historian,
I asked my doctor if he thought that Obama’s purple lips were an indication of an oxygen supply issue.
My doctor replied, “Well, it is rather hard to breathe when your head is up your ass most of the time.”
@The Real Rob,
Ah yes, I made a typo didn’t I? I spelled his first name “Barach” instead of “Barack” – ONE TIME. And you decided to quote it. For what reason? I don’t supposed you happen to have noticed that in that very same post, I also spelled his name correctly, did you?
Seriously, quoting someone’s obvious typo for the sole purpose of pointing out the type is really, really lame.
Again, and now for the umpteenth time: Stick to the actual, substantive…arguments. Why is that so hard for some people?
@ Superior Being,
Did you know that Dr. Josh gives those prostate exams for free?
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@PR,
You’re an airhead. No one SAID that hatred ALONE solves anything. Yours is a strawman argument. And a really stupid one at that. Intelligent people are not going to pretend to not hate Marxism. They hate it, and with good reason. And that hatred moves them to fight it. If you didn’t hate the thing, you wouldn’t fight it. Yes, hate ALONE does solve any problems. But it IS an essential component of certain types of necessary action, among other essential components.
Stop being simplistic.
Stop pretending to be above it all.
Stop with the Kumbya “can’t we all just get along” crap.
No, we can’t all just get along. Some people are Marxists, and some people are not. Some people are tyrants, and some love liberty. It’s a struggle. Grow up.
And by the way, I hate your post. People like you are the type to let yourself get ass-raped just so you can “get along with others”.
You are what is wrong with the world. Enough said.
THE ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER This one is a little different… . Two Different Versions…. ………. …. Two Different Morals
OLD VERSION The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold. MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!
MODERN VERSION The ant works hard in the withering heat and the rain all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while he is cold and starving. CBS, NBC , PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food. America is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so? Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper and everybody cries when they sing, ‘It’s Not Easy Being Green.’ ACORN stages a demonstration in front of the ant’s house where the news stations film the group singing, “We shall overcome.” Then Rev. Jeremiah Wright has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper’s sake. President Obama condemns the ant and blames President Bush, President Reagan, Christopher Columbus, and the Pope for the grasshopper’s plight. Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share. Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer. The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government Green Czar and given to the grasshopper. The story ends as we see the grasshopper and his free-loading friends finishing up the last bits of the ant’s food while the government house he is in, which, as you recall, just happens to be the ant’s old house, crumbles around them because the grasshopper doesn’t maintain it. The ant has disappeared in the snow, never to be seen again. The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident, and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the ramshackle, once prosperous and once peaceful, neighborhood. The entire Nation collapses bringing the rest of the free world with it. MORAL OF THE STORY: Be careful how you vote in 2010
Why would say to go to Fox News???? Why not MSNBC or CNN or CBS or ABC or NY Times or Washington Compost, etc., etc. The one news outlet that gives both sides of the story, Fox, versus the state controlled media sources and you blast Fox. Says a lot about you.
Thank God for the real Americans out there and Apple Inc. for making such great products.
@ Josh
“Waa waa waah! I’m Josh and I like to whine about how people point out my typos! Boo hoo, Barach (sic) Obama is the democracitally (sic) elected executive of commerical (sic) republic and I want to be able to call him a Marxist and an anti-American scumbag without people playing the race card!! Waaaaa!”
LOL!! Dude, Josh, do you realize how patently absurd you sound?
Seriously, chill out dude. You’re still free to drive your gas guzzling SUV 1 block to the grocery store and buy All-American TV dinners. It’s all good.
not for long…… these no growth anti-capitalists want to put a stop to all consumption and the American way of life. No more Apple Inc. products for sale.
@@ therealrob
No more Apple Inc. products for sale.
LOL! Dude, cut back on the Glenn Beck, it’s not healthy.
Real Rob,
Wake up and see what’s going on around you. WTF Glenn Beck. Anyone with any brain capacity at all can see what is going on and it’s very, very bad. These monsters are going to be voted out in the next two elections and the horrific things they have done will be undone. Can’t wait! Bring back America and keep my Apple Inc. safe along with our way of life. Screw Maobama.
“Now you know why people doubt global warming ‘experts’. Expertise is now a political title…you know like “guru” at a work place.” —Ray
The fact that the world is full of bogus “experts” doesn’t make all experts suspect. People who doubt the findings of the world’s leading climate scientists are morons. They are precisely the ones who have ushered the phonies into the limelight. Lacking the intelligence to tell the difference between truth and fiction, they flock to the altar of anyone who plays to their preconceived opinions. Just ask them and they’ll be glad to tell you that evolution itself is a matter of opinion. Ridiculous!
Hooray for political dribble on MDN. Combining politics and anything-Microsoft are just as bad as politics vs. religion, although I suppose Microsoft combined with religion could be far, far worse.
Methinks “The Real Rob” has some personailty issues along with a paper thin intellect. How many times have I told
him to bring forward something substantive, and yet he obsessed over typos.
Yes Rob, when I post from my iPhone my posts are usually going to have some typos. What a peculiar fetish you have.
Poor slob – you never could counter a single one of my arguments. Instead, you resort to pure sophomoronic obnoxiousness.
As I said, and as you reaffirm, statists are intellectual lightweights.
@ Kelly
These monsters are going to be voted out in the next two elections and the horrific things they have done will be undone
LOL! What “horrific” things have they done, precisely?
@ Josh
Poor slob – you never could counter a single one of my arguments. Instead, you resort to pure sophomoronic obnoxiousness.
Are you being serious? Here, I’ll quote some of the laughable comments you’ve made, and you tell me if you’re really trying to have a substantive debate:
– “unconstitutional ‘czar cabinet'”
– “Emperor Obama has no clothes”
– “our Hopeychangey gasbag of president is a colossal jackass, loser, and all-around socialist scum”
– “anti-American low lifes”
– “community organizer in chief”
– “with B.O., in keeping with the aptness of his initials, he stinks”
– “raping the U.S. Constitution,”
– “you have your heads so far up your poop shoots that you actually think all this is ACTUALLY a great series of spectactular event” (sic)
– “anti-American scum”
etc.
Now Josh, explain to me why I should have a substantive debate with you when you’re not living in reality?
How about this: I’ll debate you when you chill out, turn off Beck, and quit with the frothing lunacy.
that is like a midget is now the head of the NBA….
Being black (or half black)…Hopeychangey gasbag…assrape…colossal jackass, loser…all-around socialist scum”…poop shoots…purple lips
I think I see the problem. Josh and the other screamers have likely been bitten by a rabid animal. The wild rage and delirium…all classic signs of rabies. It may be too late to save them.
Well, the guy’s job was to FIX Windows, so if he had any success at all, he must be a miracle worker!
…and the Obamination continues…
It’s amazing how seemingly intelligent people can be so brainwashed to prefer the left wing indoctrination news channels over the only news network that makes it a point to always present both sides of story… Fox News
Maybe because, if you hear both sides of a story, you actaully have to think for yourself.
Alansky,
Are you trying to say that you actually believe in the massive power grab called “Global Warming” or was it “Climate Change”??????? This pathetic joke has been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt with the emails and subsequent admissions by those involved that all this movement was was an excuse to grab more of our liberty and put an extreme amount of power in the hands of a very few. To put it mildly not good you drone. The farce is over. Look out the window. It’s cold out. The sun is the thing that controls 99.9999999999999999% of the climate situation. You drones need to wake up and think for yourselves. Our founding fathers would be appalled.
Ben Nelson, now there’s a man of integrity sticking to his morals. Nebraska should be proud……… This guy is the poster guy of what is wrong with our government. You liberals love to try to silence dissenting opinions at all costs. Just like all the good communist leaders throughout history.
At least I have my Apple products.
A little somethin-somethin put out by the AP and picked up by the liberal favorite Fox News:
Pain Before Gain in Health Care Overhaul
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/12/23/pain-gain-health-care-overhaul/
Why a 2,000 plus bill that is intentionally written in such a confusing way that no one can understand it easily????????
If this government health care nightmare is so great why won’t anyone in the government get on it?????????????
Why all of the secret meetings and bribing of senators and congressmen with taxpayer dollars?????????
This is just one more and the ultimate way to take most of our liberty away. I can’t wait for these government bureaucrats to tell me what procedures I’m “allowed” to have and what incompetent government employee is going to administer it to me.
This is the end of the US. The UN and liberals want one world government with a very, very few completely controlling the masses. Sick.
I hope Apple wakes up and kicks Gore the hell off their board.
The Obama-led spiral to American mediocrity seems snappier….
And so it remains that the lefty statists still……STILL……cannot make any substantive arguments for how and why the following things are in the best interest of our country:
1) Economy killing tax increases
2) Government sponsored institutions like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (leading to last year’s financial collapse)
3) Massive and increasing debts to the Chinese and others which will burden as yet unborn generations of Americans for their entire lives (no taxation without representation)
4) A rapidly devaluing dollar
5) A POTUS who goes abroad revising history, making up fake, non-existing accomplishments of Muslims while simultaneously badmouthing his own country, and emboldening the slimiest actors on the global stage
6) Transferring wealth created by the productive classes to the unproductive ones and other economically moronic crimes
7) Curtailing our liberties and a government takeover of our economic sectors (banks, automobiles, healthcare, etc.) – which, like it or not, IS the true embodiment of economic fascism
8) Puffing out several tons of sunshiney feel-good promises during the 2008 campaign, and then turning around and breaking every single one of those promises over the course of his first year in office – revealing himself to be a baldfaced liar
9) Appointing czars who are the scum of the earth. Just do a little research for once and see for yourself
10) A daily raping of the U.S. Constitution and violation of the founding principles of the best nation this earth has ever seen
____________________
And the reason the lefty statist cannot make any arguments for any of this is because those arguments do not exist. That’s why their only recourse is cognitive dissonance and sophomoronic obnoxious behavior.
Right on Josh and other proud Americans!
This proposal is non-political, neither Democrat nor Republican, liberal or conservative. It is just good, common sense, and we need it!
Proposed Congressional Reform Act of 2009
1. Term Limits: 12 years only, one of the possible options below.
A. Two Six-year Senate terms
B. Six Two-year House terms
C. One Six-year Senate term and three Two-Year House terms
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.
2. No Tenure / No Pension:
A congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.
3. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security:
All funds in the Congressional retirement fund moves to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, Congress participates with the American people.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, server your term(s), then go home and back to work.
4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan just as all Americans..
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.
5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.
6. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career.. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.
7. Congress must equally abide in all laws they impose on the American people..
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.
8. All contracts with past and present congressmen are void effective 1/1/10.
The American people did not make this contract with congressmen, congressmen made all these contracts for themselves.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.
@Guilome
6. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.
Absolutely! This is the first change I’d make. If these jerks had to buy their own lousy health insurance and beg companies to cover them or their loved ones despite a pre-existing condition, we would already have a good American healthcare plan.
You’re right on about the need for term limitations, too.
@Josh
When someone like yourself is at the far right end of the ultra right-wing spectrum, your viewpoint is so skewed that everyone looks like a “lefty statist” to you. The reality is most people’s beliefs, including mine, are closer to the middle of the debate.
In regard to this steaming load of sh*t: 10) A daily raping of the U.S. Constitution and violation of the founding principles of the best nation this earth has ever seen, it was the Dept. of Justice under George W. Bush whose incompetents wrote a memo “suggesting” the First and Fourth Amendments be “relaxed.” That truly would have destroyed the Constitution.
Finally, Josh, you seem to be obsessed with violence. Witness all the references to “rape” and “assrape.”
If you addressed that problem, you’d be a nicer person to be around.
@ Islandgirl,
“If you addressed that problem, you’d be a nicer person to be around.”
Nicer than what?
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@Sir Gill Bates
Nicer than what?
Well, you do have a point there.
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@ Josh
You still don’t recognize how much of a joke you are, do you Josh? Fine, allow me to rip your ludicrous post to shreds.
1) Economy killing tax increases
Explain exactly what “economy killing” tax increases you’re referring to. Here, let me bring you back to reality since you’ve clearly been living in a hole the last 2 years. Our economy was in utter ruin on January 20, 2009 when Barack Obama was sworn in as president. That’s right: it had recently suffered a catastrophic collapse under the watch of 8 years of George W. Bush and the Republicans. Yet under Obama’s watch, we’ve been brought back from the brink of depression and the economy is now growing again. Observe this job loss graph as proof, and take note of when Obama took office:
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_12/021288.php
2) Government sponsored institutions like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (leading to last year’s financial collapse)
LOL. “Government sponsored institutions?” So it was all the big bad government’s fault? Those poor banks had no control, they were just doing what Uncle Sam told them to do? Laughable.
3) Massive and increasing debts to the Chinese and others which will burden as yet unborn generations of Americans for their entire lives (no taxation without representation)
Wow, where do you think these “massive and increasing debts” came from? Barack Obama? Wrong again. CBO projected a record $1.2 trillion deficit 2 weeks before Obama took office:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0643708720090107
You think the Republicans are the ones who are fiscally conservative? Wrong again. In case you weren’t born at the time, we had a budget surplus at the end of the Clinton administration. We were on a path to pay off the national debt. Then George W. Bush took a wrecking ball to that plan with irresponsible tax cuts and unnecessary wars, turning that surplus into a record 1.2 trillion deficit.
4) A rapidly devaluing dollar
Yep, caused by George W. Bush’s out of control deficits.
5) A POTUS who goes abroad revising history, making up fake, non-existing accomplishments of Muslims while simultaneously badmouthing his own country, and emboldening the slimiest actors on the global stage
Provide a single example of Obama “revising history” or “making up fake, non-existing accomplishments of Muslims.” Oh wait, you can’t? That’s because he’s done no such thing.
6) Transferring wealth created by the productive classes to the unproductive ones…
LOL! What is the “productive” class? The CEOs on Wall Street who push money around, or the workers in the auto repair shop who fix your car? Sorry, but I’d rather that the repairman can afford to put food on his table, even if it means the CEO won’t get to buy his 5th Porsche.
7) Curtailing our liberties and a government takeover of our economic sectors (banks, automobiles, healthcare, etc.)…
Hello? The banks, automobile, and healthcare industries have failed miserably at their jobs. It is the government’s responsibility to step in and save everyone from their stupidity. We depend on these industries, and we can not afford for them to collapse. Go learn some history and learn about what caused the Great Depression.
8)turning around and breaking every single one of those promises over the course of his first year in office…
LOL. Breaking “every single one” of those promises? Sorry, wrong again. He’s actually only broken 9 promises out of the 500 he’s made. That’s 1.8%. Nice try though.
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/
9) Appointing czars who are the scum of the earth…
LOL! Pure nonsense.
10) A daily raping of the U.S. Constitution…
Your most hilarious comment yet. Explain exactly how Obama has “raped” the Constitution. By providing healthcare for 30 million more people?
Perhaps you meant George W. Bush, who instituted a program of illegal torture, illegally wiretapped his own citizens, and invaded a country based on a lie. I would certainly think W’s policies are a lot closer to “raping the Constitution” than Obama’s. But perhaps I misread the document.
And the reason the lefty statist cannot make any arguments for any of this is because those arguments do not exist.
I just demolished every single one of your preposterous “arguments.” Now run along back to Beck to get some more conspiracy theories; I’ll wait. But next time, try to avoid replicating Beck’s habit for typos:
I am not sure about this appointment. But I did read that the first several people they tried turned down the job so maybe this is the best they could come up with. At least I hope they continue to treat cyber security seriously.
As for all the over the top political rhetoric flying back and forth. All I know is I was pretty unhappy with the way things went when the republicans were in power, 40% growth in government, taking a budget surplus and spending their way to record deficit levels, failure to stop the worst terrorist attack in the history of the United States even though a report specifically warning of it was given to the president one month before it occurred, health insurance costs doubling, America torturing as official policy (can you BELIEVE that?), America ignoring the Geneva conventions, reduction in our constitutional rights, a revolving door between government appointments and jobs as special interests lobbyists, a president that sounded like an idiot half the time when he spoke, rushing into a war based on false intelligence without a clear plan on how to finish it, and the worst economic meltdown since the great depression.
Compared to that it would be very hard to do worse in my opinion and so far I am pretty pleased with how President Obama has been doing despite the obstructionist at any cost tactics being pulled against him.
@ Jack
Well said.
@ Jack,
A very concise, coherent, and intelligent comment.
Yer not from around here, are ya.
RnR
1) ” 8 years of George W. Bush and the Republicans”
-last two were under Democrat rule
2) “Those poor banks had no control, they were just doing what Uncle Sam told them to do?”
-Yes
3) “In case you weren’t born at the time, we had a budget surplus at the end of the Clinton administration.”
-No, that is utter bullshit, even with the Republicans in charge of Congress.
4) “Yep, caused by George W. Bush’s out of control deficits.”
-His were bad, but manageable. The Chinese are sick of Obama, and he has no way to do what he wants and be deficit neutral.
5) “Provide a single example of Obama “revising history””
-well, he was elected, so the history books have to be revised…
6) “LOL! What is the “productive” class? The CEOs on Wall Street who push money around, or the workers in the auto repair shop who fix your car?”
-As far as taxes paid to fund a Socialist agenda, that would be closer to the CEOs.
7) “It is the government’s responsibility to step in and save everyone from their stupidity.”
-No, it isn’t. And when part of the problem is bad regulation that causes it, maybe it is time to also look at the regulators.
8) “He’s actually only broken 9 promises out of the 500 he’s made”
-I wouldn’t be too proud of that. Think about it.
9) “Pure nonsense. ”
-Dude, get real. All administrations allow a few bad apples in, but the Socialist that were intentionally let in are pretty sorry.
10) “Explain exactly how Obama has “raped” the Constitution. By providing healthcare for 30 million more people?
-Yes. Cap and Trade is next.
Perhaps you meant George W. Bush, who instituted a program of illegal torture, illegally wiretapped his own citizens,”
-And Obama has repealed these?
Rob, it is good that you think you are up on reality, but it is sad how much you don’t know.
I don’t really care to pound our President. Maybe it is the memory of the excessive whining from the über-left about Bush that makes me want to act a little more mature and patriotic, but it sure doesn’t look good for him. This health care bill is an utter mess, no matter what the intent. It is a piece of crap thrown together to get votes and power, not to help lower the cost of medical care, and it for damn sure is not ‘deficit-neutral’.
Of course, this is all going according to my predictions made over a year ago…..
You liberals are out of your minds. Island Girl, Rob, etc. are so far gone on the looney left that they can’t be taken seriously. Not one of your arguments are even remotely valid. It will be fun to watch you liberal scum lose badly in 2010 and 2012. F you.
@The Real Rob:
Okay, first off, I am fully aware that I’m wasting my time with you, since trying to explain facts and reality to a leftist must be like trying to explain quantum mechanics to a mealworm.
Next, I’m going to list several of the more queer predilections which you seem to have mistaked for counterargumentation:
1) “LOL” (I didn’t count the instances, but using internet shorthand so popular with the kids these days seems to be a crutch for you.)
2) You continue to project your weaknesses onto me. I imagine this is routine with you. Most likely everything wrong in your life is someone else’s fault. That’s how leftists think anyway. For example, you continue to assert that I don’t have my facts straight, and then you routinely follow that assertion with an “understanding” of facts that does not square with reality. That’s called projection. In one case you point out the overspending of Bush, but are too cowardly to admit that Obama’s/Congress’ spending this year absolutely dwarfs that of Bush.
3) Next, you have made certain assumptions about my stance on Bush. I was much of a fan of his, even when he was fairly popular after 911. And when he started spending even beyond Clinton, advocating amnesty for illegal aliens, telling us about all the good things he saw when he looked into Putin’s eyes, Katrina, and other nonsense, I really grew to dislike his presidency. But in the here and now, Obama has to own this and stop pointing the finger backwards. Every president inherits the failures of past presidents, and Obama should have known this going in. HE is the POTUS now, and this is his deal.
Moreover, Bush’s failures do not absolve Obama of his own – especially those that make Bush’s look like chump change by comparison. And his spending is down the money hole. Wasted. The only kinds of jobs the government can create are government jobs. And always at the expense of the private sector. We don’t need more bureaucrats. We need more people working in the productive sectors – those that create wealth.
4) You say that our economy is recovering. With the amount of debt we’ve piled up to foreign and unfriendly entities, the current price of gold, the unemployment rate, the taxes that will be incurred should this healthcare “reform” go through, the inflation that will surely follow when we have to print more money, the devaluing of the dollar, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, you have to be completely and utterly economically clueless to think the this government’s policies are good for the country.
5) Among your other peculiar obsessions, you seem to be particularly wrapped up in me seeing myself as ridiculous on the sole account that that’s how YOU see me. Of course you see that way. I wouldn’t expect for someone of your stunted capacity to think anything else. What you don’t seem to understand is that how you and your ilk see me is not relevant.
6) This bizarre fetish you have for Glen Beck, SUV’s, and FOX News. You lefties seem to think that even mentioning them somehow constitutes an argument. Really, you need to get out more. There ARE other sources of information besides TV – though in your world it would seem not – so again, your projecting your limited field of view to others – me, in this case.
7) You ask, “What is the productive class?” And then you bring up Wall Street. There’s a lot more to this world than Wall Street. Listen, if you really do not know what the productive class is, then you’re hopeless. You’re uneducated. You’re clueless. That’s a helluva thing to go around admitting you know nothing about. Go to school. Learn something.
8) As for Obama rewriting history, you are clearly ignorant, and you equate your ignorance with reality. He has, in fact, done it. Look at his speeches to the Arabs. Giving credit to those shit-hole cultures for things they didn’t do and then turning around and laying blame and moral equivalence on the U.S. Look it up for yourself. Do some research. Turn off the TV.
And in another speech he gave credit to “the world coming together” for the Berlin airlift – whereas it was mainly a U.S. operation with some help from the British. But he can’t give positive credit to the U.S. Repeatedly badmouthing this country, but assuring everyone that, well, now that he’s in charge, we’re finally gonna be good. Barf!
He even rewrites his own history. His serial denials about Rev. Wright, Bill Ayers, Marxist associations, so on and forth. You have to have your head very far up your better half to really ignore all this.
Anyway, that’s all the time I’m going to spend on hopeless cases like yourself. Your a loser now, and you’ll always be a loser. That’s why people like you need the government to take care of them. Too damn dumb to take care of themselves.
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas to you Josh! Great points as usual. You own these losers. They have no coherent arguments and are only interested in destroying the US and it’s constitution. The majority of the US is against this even though our dear leaders could care less what we think.
Their next big scam is to grant citizenship to illegal aliens to guarantee another demo-commie win even though the vast majority of legal citizens are against all of this crap. According to the polls it would be a “landslide” against this crap.
@ TowerTone
1) ” 8 years of George W. Bush and the Republicans” -last two were under Democrat rule
LOL. So it’s really the Democrats’ fault? All the monumental catastrophes of the Bush Administration were solely due to the 2 years of Democratic rule in Congress? Hilarious.
2) “Those poor banks had no control, they were just doing what Uncle Sam told them to do?” -Yes
Sorry, I’m left speechless by your ignorance.
3) “In case you weren’t born at the time, we had a budget surplus at the end of the Clinton administration.” -No, that is utter bullshit, even with the Republicans in charge of Congress.
100% wrong. Get your facts straight.
http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/during_the_clinton_administration_was_the_federal.html
5) “Provide a single example of Obama “revising history”” -well, he was elected, so the history books have to be revised…
Good joke. I’ll just assume you have no real examples and I can move on.
-As far as taxes paid to fund a Socialist agenda, that would be closer to the CEOs.
That sentence doesn’t even make any sense.
7) “It is the government’s responsibility to step in and save everyone from their stupidity.” -No, it isn’t.
Yes, actually it is. It’s the government’s job to regulate corporations. Our country is run by government elected by the people, not by private corporations. How would you like it if all the banks failed and all your money you had saved was lost? You wouldn’t like that very much, would you? That’s what happened in the 1930s. That’s what could have happened this time. But we learned from the past and the government did its job to save the economy.
8) “He’s actually only broken 9 promises out of the 500 he’s made” -I wouldn’t be too proud of that. Think about it.
Are you serious? Come on, no politicians can keep every single promise they make. Circumstances change. When campaigning, Bush promised he would have a “humble” foreign policy and wouldn’t nation build. Then 9/11 happens, and 8 years later we’ve started two wars and we’re stuck nation building two countries.
-Dude, get real. All administrations allow a few bad apples in, but the Socialist that were intentionally let in are pretty sorry.
There’s nothing wrong with having a socialist in an administration. It’s just another point of view, and the President should have many points of view to draw upon. We have a socialist Senator also, who was elected by the people. The problem is when you start calling those people “the scum of the Earth,” like Josh does. That’s what’s pure nonsense.
10) “Explain exactly how Obama has “raped” the Constitution. By providing healthcare for 30 million more people? -Yes. Cap and Trade is next.
Wow. Please explain how increasing access to healthcare and implementing cap and trade qualifies as “raping the Constitution.” Also, please explain how either of these are worse than implementing a program of torture.
-And Obama has repealed these?
He repealed torture and is ending the Iraq war, which were two of the most egregious of Bush’s many offenses. Obama should have repealed wiretapping but didn’t. So yes, he’s dead wrong about that, and it’s absolutely unconstitutional. But he did not start that program, Bush did.
This health care bill is an utter mess, no matter what the intent… it for damn sure is not ‘deficit-neutral’.
Wrong. It cuts the deficit by $132 billion over 10 years. Go read the CBO report. Republicans should be loving it for this reason alone.
@ Josh
Wow. I’m used to the wingnuts on this site bringing out their alternate realities here, but yours is so far out I’m literally floored. You’re almost on the same level as Beck with your delusions, which is really saying something.
Next, I’m going to list several of the more queer predilections which you seem to have mistaked for counterargumentation:
“Mistaked” for “counterargumentation”? LOL. Who do you think you are, George W. Bush?
1) “LOL” (I didn’t count the instances, but using internet shorthand so popular with the kids these days seems to be a crutch for you.)
LOL!
2) You continue to project your weaknesses onto me. I imagine this is routine with you. Most likely everything wrong in your life is someone else’s fault. That’s how leftists think anyway. For example, you continue to assert that I don’t have my facts straight, and then you routinely follow that assertion with an “understanding” of facts that does not square with reality. That’s called projection.
Uhh, what? How did this turn into a psychological analysis of my weaknesses? I’m simply pointing out that you’re wrong about pretty much everything you say. It has nothing to do with me; it’s about objective reality. Here, let me simplify this for you with an example that will hopefully make it clear how absurd you sound.
You: “The sky is orange.”
Me: “No, the sky is actually blue.”
You: “You’re projecting your weaknesses onto me.”
Me: “Umm…what? No, the sky really is blue.”
You: “You leftist, anti-American scum.”
Me: “LOL!”
In one case you point out the overspending of Bush, but are too cowardly to admit that Obama’s/Congress’ spending this year absolutely dwarfs that of Bush.
Wrong. My point, which you completely missed, is that because of Bush’s recklessness, Obama was forced into spending that he never otherwise would have needed. The biggest example being the stimulus, which pretty much every economist agreed was completely mandatory in order to save our economy from catastrophic collapse caused by Bush. What you’re doing is whining about how much Obama is spending on the fire hose that he needs to put out the fire George Bush started. I’m simply reminding you why the fire hose is necessary in the first place, since you seem to have selective memory.
3) Next, you have made certain assumptions about my stance on Bush. I was much of a fan of his… Obama has to own this and stop pointing the finger backwards. Every president inherits the failures of past presidents, and Obama should have known this going in. HE is the POTUS now, and this is his deal.
I don’t care about your feelings towards Bush. I’m pointing out the simple fact that all of Obama’s presidency so far has been about cleaning up Bush’s mess. He’s had to do a lot of spending that wouldn’t have been necessary if Bush hadn’t completely obliterated the country. Sorry, but it takes time and money to clean up such a monumental mess. And Obama has absolutely taken responsibility for the cleanup. If you’ve actually listened to him, he’s repeatedly said it is now his responsibility to do the cleaning. He just doesn’t appreciate people like you (who helped get us into this mess) whining about how much it’s costing to clean it up.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2009/10/16/obama_im_busy_with_a_mop_cleaning_up_somebody_elses_mess.html
Moreover, Bush’s failures do not absolve Obama of his own – especially those that make Bush’s look like chump change by comparison.
Name one Obama failure that makes Bush’s “look like chump change.” Seriously, name one.
@ Josh (contd.)
And his spending is down the money hole. Wasted. The only kinds of jobs the government can create are government jobs. And always at the expense of the private sector.
100% wrong. Are you really that ignorant? Do you really have no idea about government grants and loans to private sector? Heck, the small business I work for (completely private sector) has a government grant and it’s helped us stay afloat. So stop talking about things you clearly don’t understand.
Here, go read up on where your money is being “wasted.”
http://www.recovery.gov/
4) You say that our economy is recovering. With the amount of debt we’ve piled up to foreign and unfriendly entities, the current price of gold, the unemployment rate, the taxes that will be incurred should this healthcare “reform” go through, the inflation that will surely follow when we have to print more money, the devaluing of the dollar, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, you have to be completely and utterly economically clueless to think the this government’s policies are good for the country.
LOL! Do you disagree the economy is recovering? If so, that means you disagree with pretty much every economist out there (and hence it’s likely you’re dead wrong).
Fact: Under the last administration, our economy underwent total meltdown.
Fact: Under current administration, our economy is recovering (DOW is up, number of job losses are decreasing, GDP is growing, banks are profitable again).
So either the economy is magically recovering on its own, or else the administration’s policies are helping. But hey, considering the alternate reality you live in, you probably believe in magic.
5) Among your other peculiar obsessions, you seem to be particularly wrapped up in me seeing myself as ridiculous on the sole account that that’s how YOU see me. Of course you see that way. I wouldn’t expect for someone of your stunted capacity to think anything else. What you don’t seem to understand is that how you and your ilk see me is not relevant.
Obviously I see you as ridiculous. The things you say are completely false. What sane person wouldn’t see you as ridiculous?
6) This bizarre fetish you have for Glen Beck, SUV’s, and FOX News. You lefties seem to think that even mentioning them somehow constitutes an argument. Really, you need to get out more. There ARE other sources of information besides TV – though in your world it would seem not – so again, your projecting your limited field of view to others – me, in this case.
There are other sources of information besides Beck and Fox. Though in your world it would seem not. I suggest you look into them.
7) You ask, “What is the productive class?” And then you bring up Wall Street. There’s a lot more to this world than Wall Street. Listen, if you really do not know what the productive class is, then you’re hopeless. You’re uneducated. You’re clueless. That’s a helluva thing to go around admitting you know nothing about. Go to school. Learn something.
LOL! “Go to school” he says. This is coming from the person who says Obama is “raping the Constitution” and that healthcare reform is “a power grab by statists.” The irony is so thick I’m drowning in it.
8) As for Obama rewriting history, you are clearly ignorant, and you equate your ignorance with reality. He has, in fact, done it. Look at his speeches to the Arabs. Giving credit to those shit-hole cultures for things they didn’t do and then turning around and laying blame and moral equivalence on the U.S. Look it up for yourself. Do some research. Turn off the TV.
Ah, yet more irony. You claim Obama is rewriting history, yet you’re the one doing it. Unlike you, I watched his entire speech to the Muslim world. Not once did he “rewrite history” or give credit “for things they didn’t do.” Laughable.
But he can’t give positive credit to the U.S.
Uh… wrong again.
http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2009/04/04/obama-too-is-an-american-exceptionalist/
His serial denials about Rev. Wright, Bill Ayers, Marxist associations, so on and forth.
“Waaah, Bill Ayers!! Rev. Wright! Waaaah!” Dude, Josh, your side lost the election; get over it.
Anyway, that’s all the time I’m going to spend on hopeless cases like yourself. Your a loser now, and you’ll always be a loser. That’s why people like you need the government to take care of them. Too damn dumb to take care of themselves.
LOL! I thoroughly owned every single one of your “counterargumentations” (sic), and this is the best comeback you have? “You’re a loser”? Classic.
“the world opinion of the U.S. is greatly improved”
Only to the extent that your country’s dear leader no longer wears a swastika on his arm and a death head on his cap.
Rob
If you believe what they sent to the CBO is really what will happen in Health Care, then I completely understand why you choose to believe the other stuff.
So please iCal this statement of mine-
Health Care “Reform” will never pay for itself, even with a four-year head start on the taxes.
Merry Christmas!
Socialist programs created to help the average American citizen will never be self-sustaining or profitable. These funds should be reserved solely for supporting the U.S. military complex around the world and all of the democracy building efforts involved, such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Helping the common man and the down trodden is not the role of our government, and should not be encouraged or condoned. In fact, other money squandering entities such as Social Security and Medicare should be abolished; there is no Constitutional basis for their existence, therefor they are nothing more than illegal drains on our economy, instituted only to support the unproductive parasites that are bringing our glorious country down.
The delusional left-wing, progressive, liberal riffraff who are undermining our beliefs need to pull their heads out of their asses, get right with God, and see the light.
Then, and only then, will this great nation of ours be able to maintain it’s rightful place as the one true leader of the free world. Amen.
To Sir (Gil) With Love
You hit the nail on the cross with that one.
And thankfully our forefathers saw fit to ensure our rights in the Constitution for such things as not having to look at Christmas lights on public property, abortions, and mandatory payments to the Federal Government for medical insurance.
And no matter how many times the opposition says they have a right to bear arms, I would like for once to be shown where in the Constitution it says that.
Oh, sure, they can quote some speech by one of the authors out of context, or take a decision by a court and run with it to the extreme, but they will never be able to say that it is written in plain English such as the The Right to Marry My First Cousin bill.
Happy Hollandaise!
There is nothing in the constitution about separation of church and state jackasses.
You liberals need to leave and go to a socialist country and be happy there in that failed place. We will not let you kill the US. You might get a temporary victory but it will be short lived. Unfortunately the slim majority bought the bs you freaks laid out last election. They have now woken up and you are done in 2010 and 2012. Stealing from the producers to give to the slackers never works throughout history. You liberal drones are the definition of pathetic. Your dear leaders are leading you right off the cliff.
Merry Christmas to the real Americans. Not the liberal terrorists.
Merry Christmas to the real Americans. Not the liberal terrorists.
Wow.
They never fail to impress. True defenders of the faith.
Well, it’s septic style promotion again. The big turds rise to the top.
If he couldn’t make MS secure, why should I have faith he’s going to save the country? I thought the Obama bunch were supposed to be Mac people. I forgot who hinted at that.
Liberals are out to rid the earth of people. We are the scourge in their minds. Only a select chosen few should have privilege, power, wealth. Those people should be appointed by their friends and relatives. Just like the old days in Europe and Egypt and Rome, etc. You liberal, clueless, statist, drones don’t have a clue how badly you’re being used. The proven best way of the world is the Capitalist way and US constitution that the liberals are out to destroy. We will not let that happen. 2010 and 2012 will be a great win for conservative America. Happy new years fellow conservatives. Go to hell liberals.
Liberals are going down the tubes so fast it’s dizzying to watch. Trying to blame all of the huge number of their blunders on Bush is sad. These idiots are in so far over their heads they’re not even trying to represent the people. What is going on right now is the biggest power grab and destruction of freedom in the history of the world. 2010 and 2012 can’t come fast enough.
What is going on right now is the biggest power grab and destruction of freedom in the history of the world
LOL!!