>> ^vairetube:
You know what, I'll just google the phrase: convicted criminals appointed by bush .
Here's a start for you:
John Poindexter, Convicted of conspiracy, lying to Congress.
Appointed to head DARPA by Bush [...in December 2002]

"The convictions were reversed in 1991 on the technical grounds that the prosecution's evidence may have been tainted by exposure to Poindexter's testimony before the joint House-Senate committee investigating the matter, in which Poindexter's testimony was compelled by a grant of 'use immunity'. The prosecution was not able to re-try the case."

More information is coming out on this, but so far I honestly can't find anything that gets me bent out of shape about it.

William Lynn comes with a lot of recommendations from both Democrats and Republicans. If he is nominated then he has vowed to sell off all of his Raytheon stock and all of his decisions would be subject to an ethics review (for one year at least). He also happens to be highly qualified for the position, but that isn't what people are upset about.

The problem is Obama's campaign promise to keep lobbyists out of his administration. He's trying to avoid a conflict of interest, but it also made him more popular because many people believe "lobbyist = dishonest." I don't believe in the inherent dishonesty of lobbyists, but the conflict of interest issue is valid.

If Lynns actions are as tightly monitored as he and members of congress are proposing then I can't bring myself to be all that upset about it. Even McCain is withholding judgment until certain questions are answered about Lynn's intentions and how much oversight he will have.

As far as Obama "lying" (or u-turning) about this, I'm not completely comfortable with it but I'm not completely against it. I feel the same way about politicians who claim to be religious to get elected... lots of people think atheists are bad people, just like they automatically think that lobbyists are bad people. I don't think Obama should have made such a strict statement, but he's still pushing for more ethical oversight rather than saying "our administration doesn't have to tell you what we're doing."

Hate me for not "holding Obama accountable" if you want, but this is how I feel about the situation based on all of the information I could find around the internet. If Obama were instead doing something like reversing his position on waterboarding or rights of detainees then that is something I would definitely get upset about. This misstep is annoying, but I can't get angry about it from the available information.

>> ^deedub81:
I typically vote republican and I couldn't wait for Obama to show his true colors. Just because McCain and every other politician tries to twist facts to make themselves look good doesn't give Obama a pass. If anything, the fact that he was pretending to be different makes it worse.
Half the Obama supporters I talked to before the election were trying to pretend to be idealists. They would talk about how Obama was going to bring change and be different and yadda yadda yadda.
I guess they forgot that in the end, he's still just a politician.
>> ^NetRunner:

PS: Republican apologists who see this as a crack in Obama's armor to try to stab him through can still go f k themselves. McCain's campaign manager was a lobbyist for 3rd world dictators, and McCain proclaimed his campaign "lobbyist free" every other day throughout his campaign.



Right, I totally forgot that McCain's platform was : "I'm not going to change anything." And WTF about Obama pretending to be different. Are you saying that McCain was advertising that he's full of shit? Cause' I don't see it that way. Every politician paints himself in a good light.
Makes it worse... please.

>> ^quantumushroom:
Hey QM: George W Bush appointed more convicted criminals to administration positions than any other president in US history.
Are these real criminals, that is, people with unrelated criminal records, or libmedia phantasy creations like "war criminals"?

Why don't you fucking look up something for a change.

I typically vote republican and I couldn't wait for Obama to show his true colors. Just because McCain and every other politician tries to twist facts to make themselves look good doesn't give Obama a pass. If anything, the fact that he was pretending to be different makes it worse.

Half the Obama supporters I talked to before the election were trying to pretend to be idealists. They would talk about how Obama was going to bring change and be different and yadda yadda yadda.

I guess they forgot that in the end, he's still just a politician.


>> ^NetRunner:

PS: Republican apologists who see this as a crack in Obama's armor to try to stab him through can still go f**k themselves. McCain's campaign manager was a lobbyist for 3rd world dictators, and McCain proclaimed his campaign "lobbyist free" every other day throughout his campaign.

>> ^quantumushroom:
Never mind lobbyist nonsense...
The Senate has voted to confirm Timothy Geithner, who didn’t pay his income taxes for years and lied and cheated on them when he finally did, as treasury secretary.
What can I say?
It’s just the most honest and ethical administration ever. Change we can believe in.


I kinda agree with you QM, that choice is fucked up. Still, it also shows your tax laws are fucked up too, that even he cheats on his taxes. Fair taxation would reduce tax fraud.

>> ^Truckchase:
I'm an Obama supporter (for now) but I've upvoted this because I think keeping your politicians honest is much more important than blind faith.


That's EXACTLY why I posted it.

Congratulations! Your comment has just received enough votes from the community to earn you 1 Power Point. Thank you for your quality contribution to VideoSift.

So per Obama's new rules he shouldn't hire William Lynn as deputy defense secretary because he lobbied in the defense industry within the past two years. This makes sense because William Lynn could favor his previous employer (Raytheon) during his work as deputy defense secretary and then as soon as his job is done he could potentially go back to Raytheon and presumably be "rewarded" with a much higher salary. The point of the two years is to help safe guard against that type of behavior, because presumably one would have to work somewhere else during that two year period.

So how does this waiver thing work? Who approves it? I don't mind exceptions to rules like this so long as there are checks and balances in place.

If it's the case that Obama is just allowed to make an exception to his own rule without any third party approval, that would definitely lower my opinion of him.

>> ^spoco2:
Also... holy crap so many of you are being huge Obama apologists. Geeze. I'm as happy as the next guy that he is president, but you don't just start making excuses for him if he goes against what he says, that's just blind.
Regardless of who you voted for, you have to hold politicians accountable, don't give him a free ride because you've based all your hope on him, scrutinize what he does and make SURE he lives up to his promise.


Can't agree more. Obama deserves to hear complaints from people about this from both sides of the aisle.

PS: Republican apologists who see this as a crack in Obama's armor to try to stab him through can still go fuck themselves. McCain's campaign manager was a lobbyist for 3rd world dictators, and McCain proclaimed his campaign "lobbyist free" every other day throughout his campaign.

Texas Instruments is effectively part of Raytheon, one of the biggest defense contractors, eh?? They keep the private sector storefront the same at some facilities, but it's the same machine....

No, not pollution, not a natural occurrence , Could this be HAARP focused upon a specific area of the globe??.....Could the epicenter, about 500km away from where these lights appeared, prior to the Sichuan Earthquake, have been the location of China's main centers for designing, making and storing nuclear arms ????...Think so, perhaps.
Red and green light emitted from oxygen atoms is a constituent of the light seen at the poles. Atmospheric nitrogen also plays a role. Solar winds are the prevailing catalyst for brilliant auroral displays....
Was this an artificial geomagnetic occurrence, a blast of solar wind, or some benign, regular phenom in this area of the globe??? Kind of.Maybe.Perhaps.
Is HAARP or the patents associated with the dynamics of the apparatus involved capable of producing a variety of effects, which Nikola Tesla described as being wholly possible back in the 30s-40s? Did the military and the elite financiers shut Tesla down, when he would not stop talking about free energy and a new era of prosperity and evolution for humankind? Has the Dept. of the Navy, the air force, Raytheon done anything in recent years, to facilitate peace and prosperity for all, or for but a few, of their friends, family, cronies and sympathetic assholes??? Is China in the way of the European stranglehold over world economies that they have held for centuries??
Do you speak Chinese??? Better fucking learn, because these folks are pissed, and there's more of em than anybody....

Next stop, WW3, the natural order of things in a world where kings still play chess, the masses have their heads planted firmly in their own bullshit too smart, lazy, or fucking stupid to see they are the pawns, and where chaos, in all her glory, still reigns supreme, regardless of assholes and imbeciles....

Raytheon and others have all this shit already, and no throwback, dark-age Iranians "developed" it. Be advised, they can use the shit if they choose, where, and on whom.

http://www.haarp.alaska.edu/
http://www.videosift.com/video/HAARP-30-It-Aint-Weather-Control-Dumbass
Tesla warned us years ago....

So now what.

the Raytheon raid story

Thanks for the heads-up.

In reply to this comment by kulpims:
dupe