^^ WTF, as soon as the election ends, your posts start to be reasonable again?

Quote :

"Had he been a white male in the primaries he would have lost to Hillary. Period. "

This may be true, but Obama isn't responsible for peoples' low expectations.

[Edited on November 6, 2008 at 11:26 PM. Reason : ]

11/6/2008 11:24:44 PM

Quote :

" When you say "extreme" leftist, that has a very negative connotation. If your goal is to try and confuse or enrage a crowd of people, you may be able to get away with this technicality. But in reality, it just makes you look like a partisan hack. You'd call Chavez an extreme leftist, not Emanuel. "

come on. we are talking about the US, not around the world. When compared to every politician in the USA, where Obama will be getting the people to appoint, Emanuel is as far left as they come. No one on any news channel is going to be comparing his appointments with people around the world.

CNN will not say, "well he appointed emanuel, who is actually pretty much in the center politically when compared to Hugo Chavez." They are going to say, as most already have in news and elsewhere, that he is very far to the left on pretty much every issue.

doesn't make me a partisan hack to note that a democrat appointed by obama is extremely to the left in his political views.

11/7/2008 9:33:19 AM

Quote :

" joe : obama is qualified on paper to be president." JCash : He has no executive experience, he is considered something of a lightweight by other senators ..."

I'm sorry, you dont get what i'm saying.

go look in the U.S. Constitution, and tell me what exactly are the "paper qualifications" for president. Tell me where in the constitution a "resume" is specified.

I'll answer for you: the qualifications required are these... must be 35 years old, must be natural citizen, must elected.

someone already mentioned Lincoln. he had no executive experience. neither did Kennedy or Truman or Lyndon Baynes Johnson, for that matter. GWB had a very thin resume. that was the subject of much criticism by one side, and given as evidence of "outsider" status by the other.

many other successful presidents only had the Vice Presidency (historically a VERY weak position) as any sort of "executive" experience prior to taking the Chief Executive position.

11/7/2008 3:27:00 PM

http://www.236.com/video/2008/get_your_war_on_new_world_orde_10121.php

11/7/2008 4:42:31 PM

Batman
Flash
Green Lantern
Wonder Woman
Black Lightning
Red Arrow

11/7/2008 5:15:06 PM

Obama to get his OWN mountain:

http://briefingroom.thehill.com/2008/11/07/antigua-and-barbuda-to-rename-peak-mount-obama/

Quote :

"Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister W. Baldwin Spencer wrote a letter to Obama on Wednesday congratulating him on his victory in the presidential election. To show that he meant it, Spencer said he would take "immediate measures" to have Boggy Peak, the Caribbean nation's highest mountain, renamed "Mount Obama.""

Haha, wow. I hope this doesn't get to his head

11/7/2008 5:27:35 PM

Goddamn... he isn't even president yet and it's not even happening in America...

Some of these people need to chill the fuck out. I'm talking to you, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister W. Baldwin Spencer.

11/7/2008 5:30:24 PM

It's kind of cool though that for years to come, and AMERICAN president will have the name of the highest mountain of another country.

11/7/2008 5:33:36 PM

"highest" mountain... youre right, fitting

11/7/2008 5:37:03 PM

forgive me if I am wrong, but can the Governator be in the President's cabinet in any position? Aren't all of those positions in the line of Succession, which would require Constitutional eligibility? I'm asking, because I really don't know, so don't flame too hard

11/7/2008 8:25:06 PM

Yes, Kissinger was Secretary of State, to name just one foreign born cabinet member off the top of my head.

11/7/2008 8:31:48 PM

how does that work, then? Do they just skip over that guy in Succession, then?

11/7/2008 8:36:02 PM

successors to the presidency have the same constitutional requirements as does the elected president. Ahhnold can never become president, barring a future constituional amendment.

This is a list of the current presidential line of succession, as specified by the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 (3 U.S.C. § 19).

#       Office                                          Current Officer
1       Vice President and President of the Senate      Dick Cheney
2       Speaker of the House of Representatives         Nancy Pelosi
3       President pro tempore of the Senate             Robert Byrd
4       Secretary of State                              Condoleezza Rice
5       Secretary of the Treasury                       Henry Paulson
6       Secretary of Defense                            Robert Gates
7       Attorney General                                Michael Mukasey
8       Secretary of the Interior                       Dirk Kempthorne
9       Secretary of Agriculture                        Ed Schafer
—       Secretary of Commerce                           Carlos Gutierrez '†
—       Secretary of Labor                              Elaine Chao '†
10      Secretary of Health and Human Services          Mike Leavitt
11      Secretary of Housing and Urban Development      Steve Preston
12      Secretary of Transportation                     Mary Peters
13      Secretary of Energy                             Samuel Bodman
14      Secretary of Education                          Margaret Spellings
15      Secretary of Veterans Affairs                   James Peake
16      Secretary of Homeland Security                  Michael Chertoff

11/7/2008 9:15:17 PM

17       Moderator of TWW Tech Talk Forum      BobbyDigital

11/7/2008 9:22:07 PM

We need to make sure Margaret Spellings is up for the job when the robots take over.

11/7/2008 9:24:11 PM

here's some pretty harsh criticism on the prospect that Obama might appoint Robert F. Kennedy to any position that has to deal with science, like the FDA or EPA
http://www.theness.com/neurologicablog/?p=414

Quote :

"That is why it is extremely disturbing that Obama appears to be considering Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for either Secretary of the Interior or as head of the Environmental Protection Agency. This would be an unmitigated disaster for science in government, and I don’t think I am overstating the case. It would mean that abuse of science for ideological reasons is not a defect only of the extreme right but one easily embraced by the left as well. Yes - there is already evidence for such abuse from across the political spectrum. Abuse of science was never the sole purview of conservatives. But the Bush Administsration raised science-abuse to a new level, and now the eyes of the scientific community are on President-Elect Obama to see how much he is going to correct what Bush did. Appointing RFK Jr. would send a terrible signal. The reason for concern is that RFK Jr. is an antivaccinationist crank. He has defended the belief, against all evidence, that thimerosal in vaccines causes autism. He has attacked scientists who are just doing research and reporting on the evidence as being part of a dark government conspiracy, and as “attacking moms.’ His is a particularly vile form of antivaccinationist crankery."

11/7/2008 11:41:14 PM

Quote :

"ell he appointed emanuel, who is actually pretty much in the center politically when compared to Hugo Chavez." They are going to say, as most already have in news and elsewhere, that he is very far to the left on pretty much every issue"

Rahm Emanuel is not far to the left on any issue that I know of

He is against Universal Health Care

He is pro-Isreali hawk who volunteered for the Isreali Civilian Defense Force during desert storm (yes as an American citizen)

He was for moderate regulation of the financial industry

His economic policy was almost completely aligned with Clinton

He is a member of the DLC



I think you are confusing "liberal" with partisan. He is a ball busting, steak knife wielding democratic attack dog. But his positions are pretty moderate.

Side note his brother Ari Emanuel is the inspiration for Ari Gold on Entourage.

11/8/2008 12:26:43 AM

^^

if anyone sounds like a crank here, it's you. apparently you dont realize that Thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative, IS implicated as a potential cause of neurotoxicity in children and infants.

i mean, if you want to hate on Robert Kennedy for whatever reason, i guess that's your prerogative, but you might want to do a basic google search before running off half-cocked sounding like anti-science fruitcake. because there is hard science, in fact, that supports Kennedy's position:

the following is from the FDA's website:

Quote :

" Thimerosal is a mercury-containing organic compound (an organomercurial). Since the 1930s, it has been widely used as a preservative in a number of biological and drug products, including many vaccines, to help prevent potentially life threatening contamination with harmful microbes. Over the past several years, because of an increasing awareness of the theoretical potential for neurotoxicity of even low levels of organomercurials and because of the increased number of thimerosal containing vaccines that had been added to the infant immunization schedule, concerns about the use of thimerosal in vaccines and other products have been raised. Indeed, because of these concerns, the Food and Drug Administration has worked with, and continues to work with, vaccine manufacturers to reduce or eliminate thimerosal from vaccines. Thimerosal has been removed from or reduced to trace amounts in all vaccines routinely recommended for children 6 years of age and younger, with the exception of inactivated influenza vaccine. A preservative-free version of the inactivated influenza vaccine (contains trace amounts of thimerosal) is available in limited supply at this time for use in infants, children and pregnant women. FDA is continuing its efforts to reduce the exposure of infants, children, and pregnant women to mercury from vaccines. FDA is in discussions with manufacturers of influenza vaccine regarding their capacity to further increase the supply of preservative-free formulations. Of note, all hepatitis B vaccines for the U.S., including for adults, are now available only as thimerosal-free or thimerosal-reduced containing formulations. --http://www.fda.gov/CBER/vaccine/thimerosal.htm "

And the only reason they still reccommend pregnant women and children get the mercury-laden influenza vaccine is because (1) they dont have enough of the non-mercury vaccine to go around, and (2) because infants dying of influenza is deemed a greater statistical risk than the potential to develop a neural disease from a heavy metal toxin.

So now tell me: what's your deal? do you own stock in company that produces Thimerosal? does your family own a mercury mine?

once you have a kid, i want you to come back and tell me that you're okay with injecting him or her with mercury-based preservatives that "may or may not cause autism"

11/8/2008 1:43:33 AM

dude, i didn't write that. That should have been pretty clear from the huge blockquote in my post. A neuroscientist at Yale did.

Either way, you have obviously bought into the "thimerosol has caused the increase in autism" hype-bullshit. Do you take your orders straight from Jenny McCarty, or from her boyfriend Jim Carrey?

Nobody has ever said that it's a good thing to put heavy-metals into human bodies. The vaccine scare that is being hyped by McCarthy, Larry King, Oprah, etc, however, is very dangerous - much more dangerous than the trace amounts of thimerosol being used previously in vaccines. Responsible parents will get their kids vaccinated to protect them from deadly diseases like small pox and polio. As long as the vaccination rate stays >~90%, then even unvaccinated kids will benefit from "herd immunity". If we start dipping below that rate because dumb shits start listening to Hollywood actors for their medical advice instead of doctors and scientists, then everyone is in trouble.

Consider:
1) Thimerosal was removed from child-hood vaccines in 2002. Autism rates since then have continued to climb at the same rate as through the 90's, which, incidentally, was when the diagnostic criteria for autism were significantly reduced, resulting in many, many more children being diagnosed with autism who would not have just a few years earlier.
2) All major studies to this point are negative linking autism to thimerosal, nor has there ever been a legitimate mechanism proposed for such a link.
3) More studies are showing autism is genetically and prenatally determined, not something that all of a sudden pops up after a couple years. The diagnosis most often happens as a toddler, but the reason why should be obvious given the diagnostic hurdles that must be crossed.

However, given all this, the thimerosol-autism loonys aren't slowing down, even in the face mounting evidence.

But hey - don't get your kid vaccinated. But don't start complaining when measles or small pox make a comeback because herd immunity is gone and pockets of disease start to spread.

oh, wait - measles is on the rise already? Well, you'd better just quarantine your kid, then, because he's in danger if he wasn't vaccinated
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/08/21/measles.outbreaks.ap/index.html
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106020.php


btw, it's funny you would jump on me immediately for "owning stock" or having some financial kickback for just posting a link. That is a classic argument used by conspiracy theorists, young and old. Don't believe in UFOs? The government must be paying you!! Don't believe in accupuncture, homeopathy, or reflexology? Big Pharma must be paying you!! Our medical system wants to keep us sick!!
try again

11/8/2008 10:17:20 PM

Glad to see the autism / RFK discussion is already going on here.

Mr. President Elect,

First, let me thank you for your hard work and congratulate you on your win. I volunteered for your campaign and am so very glad you won not only the Presidency but my own state of North Carolina. I am very proud today.

However, I must say I am already disappointed in one of your choices, assuming you are going to pick Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the EPA. I'm quite sure you know this, but he is an antivaccination advocate or at least supports the hypothesis that early vaccination can lead to autism. There is a wealth of research and an almost 100% consensus on this issue in the scientific community that shows this to be false.

I am quite sure you know this, but here is a starting point.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-f-kennedy-jr/attack-on-mothers_b_52894.html

For some scientific analysis, a study in Pediatrics says
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/114/3/793

Quote :

"Studies do not demonstrate a link between thimerosal-containing vaccines and ASD [autistic spectrum disorders], and the pharmacokinetics of ethylmercury make such an association less likely. Epidemiologic studies that support a link demonstrated significant design flaws that invalidate their conclusions. Evidence does not support a change in the standard of practice with regard to administration of thimerosal-containing vaccines in areas of the world where they are used."

Please do not make this mistake so early; choose someone like Nichols or Bowles.

[Edited on November 9, 2008 at 1:43 AM. Reason : ,]

11/9/2008 1:42:51 AM

11/9/2008 2:55:59 AM

you people, i swear to fuck,

what part of

Quote :

"potential for neurotoxicity of even low levels of organomercurials"

do you not understand?

look i realize y'all have had to suffer through NC's public education system, but goddamn,
WHEN THE US FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION IS TELLING MANUFACTURERS TO
STOP USING THIMEROSAL IN CHILDREN'S VACCINES...

well, there might be a motherfucking reason for that, yathink????

i dont sniff after every crumb that drops from RFK's mouth, and I'm also not saying that there's
a link between thimerosal and autism, *specifically*. but the fact research suggests there may
well be links between organomercurial toxins and neurological disorders

and yet corporatist fanboys like you two are saying "fuck it, go on and inject kids with heavy
metal toxins"

go drink a big cup of antifreeze, will ya? i mean, the Chinese food/drug industry think low
levels of ethylene glycol are safe for use in kids' toothpaste, and they're professionals, they
know what they are doing.





[Edited on November 9, 2008 at 3:08 AM. Reason : ]

11/9/2008 3:03:22 AM

^You're buying into a misinformation campaign based around bullshit and fear mongering, with some speculation and internet hype on the side. There's virtually no evidence supporting what you're saying, but there's a ton stacked up against it (see citations from agentlion and DirtyGreek). Hell, even what you posted is essentially saying "there is a possibility that this might have something that might be able to hurt you, some of the time."

If you want your kids to be at-risk for polio, measles, and who knows what else, that's fine with me. But just know that in doing so you are choosing to acknowledge the validity and credibility of a campaign that is nearly as anti-intellectual as Sarah Palin.


You used to be a rational TSBer, joe. You did. Lately you're becoming the liberal version of hooksaw. It's disappointing.

11/9/2008 3:17:25 AM

i will never NOT vaccinate my kid.

i will ALWAYS insist on non-thimerosal vaccinations for my kid.

it's real goddamned simple: mercury is a toxin, and there is evidence for potential neurological damage.

now alll you fuckers can sit around and argue the finer points every day and night for all i care, but as long as theres a possibility that these heavy-metal preservatives can be causing neurological damage to children, the shit needs to be yanked off the shelf.

i am NOT advocating for people to not vaccinate.

i am a huge proponent from removing potential neurotoxins from children's vaccines.

11/9/2008 3:32:50 AM

Quote :

"i will ALWAYS insist on non-thimerosal vaccinations for my kid."

Quote :

"Consider: 1) Thimerosal was removed from child-hood vaccines in 2002. Autism rates since then have continued to climb at the same rate as through the 90's, which, incidentally, was when the diagnostic criteria for autism were significantly reduced, resulting in many, many more children being diagnosed with autism who would not have just a few years earlier. "

Also, banning things because of slim possibilities is simply dumb. Let's also ban cellphones because they MIGHT cause cancer sometimes! Let's ban EVERY MEDICATION IN EXISTENCE because it has a list of side-effects! Let's ban marijuana even though it's far less harmful than alcohol or tobacco and never been documented to cause a single death, but just ban it anyway because some people out there think it might not be good! Let's ban cars because they might crash!

But seriously. What you're saying contains all the logic of banning medications for having side-effects... hell, it has LESS logic, because at least the side-effects of said medications have been credibly proven. It's wildly speculative and more importantly it would be bullshit to write it into law.


Now, in the case of something that is proven by credible sources to consistently cause problems, I would be all in favor of banning it's application to children. But what you're talking about simply does not fit that case.

[Edited on November 9, 2008 at 3:46 AM. Reason : .]

11/9/2008 3:38:31 AM

not entirely true.

influenza vaccine routinely has thimerosal even still.

other vaccines sometimes are available with thimerosal, or other mercury-based preservatives.



the fact is, they put mercury in vaccines to give them longer shelf life...mercury is a neurotoxin. ... the shit needs to giiit out.

i've got no beef with RFK over this issue. he's right to make a big deal of it. I dont want my kid to turn out like DNL.

11/9/2008 3:47:14 AM

Interesting that the secretary of treasury is ahead of the secretary of defense in the succession. What were the founders thinking?

11/9/2008 12:03:26 PM

Quote :

"By all accounts Obama is extremely sensitive to polls. "

read the newsweek story from people that were embedded in the campaign for a year. obama is not extremely sensitive to anything, and rarely reacted emotionally to anything.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/167582

11/9/2008 12:31:32 PM

^^ the Presidential Succession Act was passed in 1947. Founders had nothing to do with it. prior to that it was only Pres, VP, Speaker and Senate pro Tem...

as to why the order? i guess you cant fight wars if you dont have money.

11/9/2008 2:53:38 PM

CNN just reported that Obama has extended an invite to Hillary to be Secretary of State. Man, way to stick it to those Washington insiders by... putting them in your cabinet...

11/14/2008 6:49:19 PM

i dont think she should accept that post.

I mean, Hillary would be a good Sec of State, but this seems partly like a power move by
obama to neutralize his biggest potential competitor by bringing her into his camp.

and joining a cabinet is not necessarily a wise career move for a senator. they're going
to be out within 4 or 8 years, and have lost their position in senate.






[Edited on November 14, 2008 at 7:01 PM. Reason : ]

11/14/2008 6:54:51 PM

She plans on running for Prez in 2016 anyhow.

11/14/2008 9:04:49 PM

so is powell not under consideration for the sec of state job? if not, why not?

11/14/2008 11:18:10 PM

Don't think he wants it? I seem to remember reading somewhere that he said as much.. but not sure.

Clinton would be a bad choice for Obama, and as was already said, I think politically it wouldn't be a great move for Clinton. Clinton is easily one of the more powerful Senators in congress, why give that up? She could have an argument with Obama and be sacked next year...

11/14/2008 11:23:42 PM

lol nvm

[Edited on November 14, 2008 at 11:36 PM. Reason : nvm]

11/14/2008 11:25:20 PM

Quote :

"Don't think he wants it?"

thats the only thing i can think of, but i haven't done much any research into it.

there is this: http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/11/05/powell-says-he-wouldnt-serve-in-obama-administration/ but i doubt it means anything.

11/14/2008 11:34:52 PM

hooray for change

11/15/2008 12:22:39 AM

^

11/15/2008 1:14:32 AM

ive been thinking/reading about this, and maybe it would be a good move for Hillary, after all.

because her ultimate goal is to be President. *IF* she's confident about the success of an obama admin, then being Sec of State, she'd be in a perfect position to launch a presidential bid in 8 years.

really, theres just no way shes going to be able to run for Pres in 2012 ... because even if the Obama admin is a complete disaster, and if that's the case *no* dem is going to win.

The 2016 is her only hope. The question now is: would Sec State help her achieve that goal more than remaining in Senate?.

11/15/2008 1:32:35 AM

plus doesnt sec of state like 3rd in line to pres? obama is assinated, biden has a brain hemorrhage, bam, shes pres

11/15/2008 1:35:02 AM

4th in line (5th counting Obama).

so, only if the simultaneous events occur of Obama's assassination, Biden's brain hemorrhage,
AND both Pelosi and Reid are hit by a train while staggering home together drunk from the bar.



[Edited on November 15, 2008 at 2:02 AM. Reason : ]

11/15/2008 1:58:46 AM

byrd not reid

11/15/2008 2:55:36 AM

lol well byrd will prolly die soon anyways

11/15/2008 3:54:01 AM

Apparently Lincoln filled is cabinet with political opponents (from his own party). Obama has said on multiple occasions that Lincoln is one of the previous presidents that he holds in the highest regards.

Lets face it if Hillary is not working for Obama she is going to be taking subtle jabs at him at every opportunity the whole time he is in office. The Clintons are nothing to fuck with.

11/15/2008 10:22:44 AM

Obama: Hey, let's hire the Clintons and just about all their cronies! You know, Team of Rivals or some shit like that.

Change we can believe in. Really?!

11/15/2008 10:47:56 AM

i think politically the best move for obama is nominating clinton. but she doesn't seem overly qualified for the position. but you've got to remember, obama is also considering richardson (apparently they met recently as well). i think he'd be a way more effective SOS. the question is, does obama gain more from neutralizing a likely very critical voice from the senate or gain more getting a very qualified SOS.

i hope he picks richardson, but i understand the reasoning fro him picking clinton as well. some are predicting that clinton will basically launch a "failed administration" campaign for obama starting in 2010 and try to ride that into 2012 if she's not a part of his administration.

11/15/2008 11:50:19 AM

Hooksaw makes a good point, why is he seemingly surrounding himself with tons of Clinton era people. I figured he would bring in a lot of new blood, but so far almost every name mentioned is linked to Clinton. Very odd. Hopefully that will change. I think most of the lesser secretaries will come from more academic circles, well that's what I imagined would happen.

Clinton would actually be a much more... "hawkish" SoS than I thought he would pick. I heard some talking head the other day talking about Obama keeping Gates as SoD, I think that would be highly unlikely, but funny, though I think Gates has done a superb job, especially given the situation he was given.

11/15/2008 2:28:38 PM

11/15/2008 3:47:09 PM

i believe it is spelled CABNIT

11/15/2008 4:32:37 PM

self pwn

11/15/2008 4:53:28 PM