Presidential transition/Inauguration 2009 and beyond/CLOSED

[doodler]

   

As one of the sheep... I personally am involved ONLY in things that interest me. I really don't give much thought to anything else. And that is the way everyone is, whether they want to admit it or not.

oh my... i CAN'T let that pass unaddressed.  i can speak for myself in saying that long before i was involved in my own civil rights battle, i was actively involved in the black civil rights movement.  after i had already been discharged from the navy i was fighting to end the war in vietnam.  i have no children of my own, but i have gone out of my way to help with the education (and sobriety) of other people's children.  ditto feminism, ditto hispanic rights.  just today, i got a ride to the doctor's from a man who although comfortably retired, volunteers to drive patients to appointments and deliver meals on wheels.  my brother and sister-in-law who are neither gay nor hiv positive have been working for years perparing meals for GOD'S LOVE WE DELIVER.

in fact, the USA is one of the most giving, most charitable nations in the world, and frankly, even though human's are capable of great evil, they are just as often capable of great deeds of giving for NO benefit of their own.  sometimes we see things that need doing, and we just do them.  because we can.

either you misrepresented yourself, or you and the people you know are ... well, i just can't say that here.   

You make my point... we do things, we address ONLY those things which interest us individually. Everything else, for each individual in the world, is left to someone else to deal with. Most of the people on this thread are really interested in politics. (Of course, some are interested only in bashing Bush and the Republicans.) Most folks that I know... myself included... care not a fig about politics. Seems to me it doesn't matter which party or which person is running things, it all just chugs right along. Yeah, the economy is bad right now. So? It's been bad before. We'll get over it. Yeah, there's a war going on. So? We've been at war before and people said the same thing about those wars as they do about this one. We'll get over THIS one too. Yeah, things aren't fair for any number of social/racial/religious/whatever groups in this country. So? Things will change eventually as they always do. It's evolution and I'm not talking just genetics. Everything on this planet is continually changing, adapting, moving in a different direction.

And as for the US being "one of the most giving, most charitable nations in the world'  I beg to differ. We are probably the most CONTROLLING country that ever existed. The British and the Romans have nothing on the US. We try to impose our beliefs, government and social behaviors on the entire world. The handouts we give ALWAYS have strings attached, there is always fine print. But, hey, it works for us. Why shouldn't everyone in the world toe our line... at least if they want anything from us? And if they don't care to join up, well we're bigger than they are.

[doodler]

As one of the sheep, I don't want to know every little detail of the way my government operates. I'm GLAD there are people looking out for my interests when it comes to terrorism. If a few people get hurt along the way, sometimes the ends DO justify the means.

    Doodler, I'm glad so many are looking out for our interests with regard to terrorism, too.  But there's plenty of evidence that our safety is undermined by a system that has gone badly wrong, because of politicalization and no accountability, and some very sick minds.
   Two FBI agents gave warning of the terrorists training to fly planes, but not to land them.  They were ignored.  Because of the good ol' boy system, those that ignored them.....still have their jobs.  Does that make you feel safe?
   Bush/Cheney had every wish to protect this country, but they also saw a grand opportunity to pump up the neo-cons, and the GOP.  With nobody wanting to oppose them, they shuffled or fired military commanders that warned against the strategy in Iraq, and that has led to a breeding ground for terrorism against this country that wasn't there before (the danger from Iraq was to Israel, not to the U.S.).
  In the same climate of supposedly protecting us, they politicalized the Justice Department and the intelligence agencies.  How safe is that when politics might, on some occasions, trump the national security interests?

  Doodler, there's been some really good work done, and there's been some really crummy stuff done, deadly to a careful strategy to keep the Doodler, and the rest of us, safe.  Failure to expose, and require accountability, is the surest formula for inefficient, self-serving, and criminally incompetent decisions that would be the weak link through which the next attack arrives.  I love your posts, but I just wanted to say: you are not safe if you let either a Republican or Democratic administration cover up mistakes instead of investigating and correcting them.   As it stands, now, no one ever gets fired, and we STILL don't know just how bad the Bush/Cheney crowd exhausted the military.

I appreciate what you're saying. But I don't think much is unexposed... eventually it all comes out because, pardon me for being cynical (!) there is money in it... books, public appearances, etc. Nobody really gets by with much over the long haul. No matter what it is, sooner or later someone is going to tell... usually someone who was involved and didn't get their expected piece of the action. Yes, the government on every level needs checks and balances. BUT if all we do is spend time UNDOING, how to we advance?

[Rosewood]

......BUT if all we do is spend time UNDOING, how to we advance?

Exactly Obama's point.

[jack]

You make my point... we do things, we address ONLY those things which interest us individually.

if your line of reasoning leads you to really believe that i made your point, if everything that doesn't deal with your personal comfort can be dismissed under the rubric of 'POLITICS',  then it is so self absorbed and lacking in empathy that your logic is irrefutable. 

[tonydude]

   Doodler, I get your point, that we need to look forward.  Was just saying, a glance in the rear-view mirror is needed, and if there's trouble there, adapt accordingly. Your posts are well-reasoned, IMO, but it's part of Hot Topics, I guess, that disagreement comes out in posts when, in fact, mostly we all share the same values.  We aren't that far apart, and, again, I really enjoy your posts.

[doodler]

Thanks. And I do like playing devil's advocate to a certain extent....

[michaelflanagansf]

SHOULD she commit to this and enact a state department policy, i wouldn't want to be the politico that got in a pissing contest with HRC.

should being the operative word.

Look like she's committed to it, Jack....

Gay U.S. diplomats to receive equal benefits
By MATTHEW LEE • Associated Press Writer • May 24, 2009

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will soon announce that gay American diplomats will be given benefits similar to those that their heterosexual counterparts enjoy, U.S. officials said Saturday.
Advertisement

In a notice to be sent soon to State Department employees, Clinton says regulations that denied same-sex couples and their families the same rights and privileges that straight diplomats enjoyed are "unfair and must end," as they harm
U.S. diplomacy.

"Providing training, medical care and other benefits to domestic partners promote the cohesiveness, safety and effectiveness of our posts abroad," she says in the message, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press.

"It will also help the department attract and retain personnel in a competitive environment where domestic partner benefits and allowances are increasingly the norm for world-class employers," she says.

"At bottom, the department will provide these benefits for both opposite-sex and same-sex domestic partners because it is the right thing to do," Clinton says.

Among the benefits that will now be granted gay diplomats: the right of domestic partners to hold diplomatic passports, government-paid travel for their partners and families to and from foreign posts, and the use of U.S. medical facilities
abroad.

In addition, gay diplomats' families will now be eligible for U.S. government emergency evacuations and training courses at the Foreign Service Institute, the message says.

continues:

http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200990524018

[jack]

as far as i can tell this is a reiteration of the previous announcement.

will soon announce

it ain't announced until the press conference.

i believe she will follow through, but i have believed a lot in the recent past to little avail.

[michaelflanagansf]

it ain't announced until the press conference.

i believe she will follow through, but i have believed a lot in the recent past to little avail.

And when she does, you can be certain that I will post it here...

[Lyle (Mooska)]

Obama demonstration Wednesday in Los Angeles
(protest Obama's inattention on gay issues like DOMA and DADT)

On Wednesday, May 27th, a demonstration is planned during President
Obama's appearance at a Democractic fundraiser in California, calling on him to
honor his promises to LGBT people.  Mr. Obama has been silent on two major
campaign promises to the LGBT community - repeal of the Defense of Marriage
Act (DOMA) and Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT).  The group organizing the event
says, "We are calling for full equality now - full and equal protection under the law
for LGBT people in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states." 

http://www.facebook.com/common/browser.php

If you are in LA on Wednesday, please consider joining the demonstration.  It is
planned for 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. at the Beverly Hilton, 9876 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly
Hills.

http://www.examiner.com/x-4107-Gay--Lesbian-Issues-Examiner~y2009m5d25-Prop-8-DDay-events-planned-in-90-cities

[brokebacktom]

So, what is Obama waiting for when it comes to North Korea. All around that little country, other nations don't want them to have Nuclear Weapons. So, Just go in there and get this guy. China will do nothing as usual, NK to them is their distraction. NK is just a waste land, why not stop this lunatic.



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/25/analysis-nkorea-widens-th_n_207384.html

[jack]

you may not have noticed, tom, but thanks to a previous administration's incursion into another country or two, we are currently engaged in two losing wars with our military frayed beyond effectiveness and troops committing suicide at escalating rates.  we would be hard pressed to deal with a threat from venezuela much less a nuclear armed n korea.

think before you speak is probably a suitable adage.

[huntinbuddy]

I would think once they lob a missile at our west coast, perhaps someone will wake up and realize they are part of the "axis of evil" the previous administration spoke of.

[BayCityJohn]

So, what is Obama waiting for when it comes to North Korea.

Obama and the people he works for won't do anything until they know exactly how much NK has in oil reserves.

[Ellen (tellyouwhat)]

and since N. Korea threat of nuclear weapons was REAL, why did the previous administration not invade N.Korea on the same day as Iraq?

In other words, we have been awake and worrying about the time when this day would come.