Obama's first failed appointment

[TGRR]

Originally Posted by sycamore

Especially since 55 West doesn't even exist.

55 whichever, out of Chicago. Fer Chrissakes.

[elSicomoro]

Originally Posted by sugarpop

ummm, California has very well marked roads. I lived there for ten years, and have travelled across country 4 times, and from Miami to Toronto. California has the best marked freeways I have ever seen.

I was referring to the lack of exit numbers, which road geeks used to bemoan on Usenet all the time. Threw me off too when I was out there a few years ago. Last I heard, CalTrans is now working on that.

Originally Posted by TGRR

55 whichever, out of Chicago. Fer Chrissakes.

I knew what you meant...I was fucking with you.

[classicman]

Take it to the travel channel

[sugarpop]

Originally Posted by sycamore

I was referring to the lack of exit numbers, which road geeks used to bemoan on Usenet all the time. Threw me off too when I was out there a few years ago. Last I heard, CalTrans is now working on that.

ahhh, ok. Well, they mark roads 3-4 exits in advance, so you have plenty of time to get over. Most freeways don't do that, and I think it's dangerous not to, especially for freeways in/near big cities that have a lot of lanes.

[sugarpop]

Originally Posted by classicman

Take it to the travel channel

topic nazi. :p

[classicman]

Another one rides the bus...

Freeman Withdraws as Top Intelligence Analyst

Charles Freeman, the veteran diplomat slated to become the top U.S. intelligence analyst, withdrew under intense pressure from a largely Republican group of lawmakers.

The lawmakers had criticized Freeman’s statements on China, Israel, and the 9/11 attacks, and they had raised concerns about his business ties in the Middle East and China. Dennis Blair, director of national intelligence, said today that he accepted “with regret” Freeman’s decision to give up the post of National Intelligence Council chairman.

Just hours earlier, Blair defended his longtime colleague under sharp questioning at a Senate hearing, calling Freeman, a former ambassador to Saudi Arabia, “a person of strong views,” and adding that Freeman wouldn’t serve “precooked pabulum” to policy makers. He also said Freeman’s provocative comments were taken out of context.

Critics focused on Freeman’s comment that the Chinese government acted too slowly to crack down on protesters in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

[TGRR]

Charles Freeman, the veteran diplomat slated to become the top U.S. intelligence analyst, withdrew under intense pressure from a largely Republican group of lawmakers.

These dems...no balls AT ALL these days.

[classicman]

Obama's pick for EPA No. 2 withdraws

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama's pick for the No. 2 post at the Environmental Protection Agency abruptly removed himself from consideration Wednesday, saying the controversy surrounding a foundation he once belonged to would distract from the agency's work.

Jon Cannon, a professor of environmental law at the University of Virginia and the former top EPA lawyer, said he was withdrawing as the nominee for deputy EPA administrator because the nonprofit America's Clean Water Foundation had become the subject of scrutiny. Cannon once served on the now-defunct organization's board of directors.

The EPA's inspector general concluded in 2007 that the foundation mismanaged $25 million in EPA grants that it had received to help identify environmental risks on farms and to assist states and tribes in complying with water pollution laws. The report found that the foundation could not properly account for the money it had been granted.

What the heck is going on? I don't remember this many appointees resigning or being refused in, well forever.

[TGRR]

Originally Posted by classicman

Obama's pick for EPA No. 2 withdraws



What the heck is going on? I don't remember this many appointees resigning or being refused in, well forever.

This is what happens when you actually apply standards in Washington. Obama has managed to fill about 43 out of 350 or so positions.

On the other hand, his pics haven't been exactly stellar. I mean, TOM DASCHLE? Fer Chrissakes.

Originally Posted by classicman

Obama's pick for EPA No. 2 withdraws

What the heck is going on? I don't remember this many appointees resigning or being refused in, well forever.

Yep...its been sloppier than recent administrations..but not so much out of the norm.

Just off the top of my head...

I recall Bush first treasury secretary having tax issues, his first Labor secretary withdrawing because of an illegal immigrant issue, his first homeland security secretary withdrawing because of an illegal immigrant issue and alleged mob ties.

And Bush sub-cabinet nominees withdrawing their names...the top EPA enforcement official because of ties to industries to be enforced, the top mining official at the Dept of Interior for numerous mining violations by his company, top officials at HUD, Energy and Agriculture with questionable past practices in their former industry lives.....

[Shawnee123]

No one wants the job anymore, what with the public scrutiny. Of course, we can hope this brings us more people who DON'T have anything to hide, but these transgressions are nothing new. These issues have always existed: previous administrations were just better at keeping them hidden.

[Undertoad]

It's getting easier to mine information about people's lives.

[Shawnee123]

Good point.

[Undertoad]

And also, I don't think they used to really go after people for each and every detail. Politics is now teams of lawyers, teams of investigators, and teams of digicam shooters waiting for a candidate's macaca moment. It's fucked up.

[Happy Monkey]

I think this is the first time nominees have gotten full IRS audits.