Van Jones Resigns…
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Per NBC
The righties get a scalp. Of course under a GOP administration the people with the really kooky ideas become defense secretary or vice president.
UPDATE: Here‘s his statment.
“I am resigning my post at the Council on Environmental Quality, effective today,” Jones said in a resignation letter released by the CEQ late Saturday.
“On the eve of historic fights for health care and clean energy, opponents of reform have mounted a vicious smear campaign against me. They are using lies and distortions to distract and divide,” he said.
“I have been inundated with calls — from across the political spectrum — urging me to ‘stay and fight,’” he continued. “But I came here to fight for others, not for myself. I cannot in good conscience ask my colleagues to expend precious time and energy defending or explaining my past. We need all hands on deck, fighting for the future.
“It has been a great honor to serve my country and my President in this capacity. I thank everyone who has offered support and encouragement. I am proud to have been able to make a contribution to the clean energy future. I will continue to do so, in the months and years ahead.”
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Up next from the right: “Obama throws another one under the bus!”
This is some bullshit. Seriously. All the right has to do is shriek and Democrats cower. Im tired of that kind of fuckery. And I am dissappointed in Van Jones if he wasn’t pressured to resign.
Glen Beck: the most powerful man in Media?
Then don’t. Have them, and yourself, put your time into working on something that matters and don’t let yourself be distracted defending something that shouldn’t be the item under discussion.
Or… act like a Dem and wimp out.
I will say this for the Bushies. They got things done.
Of course if he hadn’t flirted with the Truthers in the first place he’d still have his job.
Seriously. The hypocrisy of these folks deserves to be confronted head on and shown for the ridiculousness it is. Commend Pence on his views and ask him when he’ll be calling for the resignation of the extremists in the Republican party who have been crudely lying about “death panels”. Ask Bond when he’s going to be calling for the removal from his party of those who have associated with such radical and repugnant sentiments as torture is a good thing, etc.
Or… run for the hills because John “Al Gonzales is a decent and honorable man” Cornyn has twatted about you.
Gee, I wonder which path a Dem would take?
No, it was not a smear campaign against Mr. Van Jones. All people did was to shine a light on his record and unbecoming behavior. Way back in 1998, he attacked president Clinton and defended Al Qaeda. When the Clinton administration lunched a military attack against terrorist bases in Sudan and Afghanistan, he demonstrated in San Francisco and said that president Clinton was “using dead Third World bodies to cover up his own unzipped pants,” And after the September 11 attacks on the U.S. he signed a petition accusing the government of an inside job. he could have done what president Clinton did when heckled by truthers and he replied “An inside job? How Dare You!”
Of course if he hadn’t flirted with the Truthers in the first place he’d still have his job.
If George Bush hadn’t been asleep at the switch, we wouldn’t have had 911 Truthers. Or 911.
Wow, Quaker. Van Jones resigns because of his very distracting and, dare I say, radical past. It’s George Bush’s fault. I laughed out loud.
Just- find a way to blame George W. Bush. Well done, my old friend.
Nothing to do with some of the people Obama has always surrounded himself with. Nothing do with lack of vetting process. Nothing to do with appointing unaccountable Czars, sidestepping the Senate confirmation process. Can any of you Obama supporters just admit that much?
I know- the argument is- George Bush did it too. I know you are, but what am I.
(Sometimes I miss being a regular here, but most of the time it’s just too hard to come by anymore. At one time, Oliver’s site was filled with thoughtful discussion and commenters who could disagree and still have respect for each other’s arguments. But those times are long gone.)
You don’t reed so gud, do you?
At one time, Oliver’s site was filled with thoughtful discussion and commenters who could disagree and still have respect for each other’s arguments.
Marty, all you did was spit out a series of empty right wing talking points that we’ve all heard before. Like the other trolls who spit them out, you didn’t bother make an argument on behalf of any of them. You didn’t present a case for them. You just regurgitated them and demanded that we all admit they were true.
Then you moan and bewail the demise of “thoughtful discussion.”
Typical.
Nothing to do with appointing unaccountable Czars, sidestepping the Senate confirmation process.
Perhaps because every president has had “czars”, like Karl Rove.
I know- the argument is- George Bush did it too
So then why do you start from such a dishonest starting place?
But those times are long gone.
Yes, we do have a lot of conservatives commenting here.
I will say this for the Bushies. They got things done.
None of it good.
Quaker, that was WAAAAAY too subtle for Marty. Dumb it down a bit next time. A lot.
As someone who follows US politics from over here in the UK l have to say that l am very annnoyed that Jones has resigned. This wasn’t really about him, it was about the boycott that is being lead by Colorofchange which has seen 57 companies ask that they not have their products or services advertised on Beck’s show.
This is more about the green as the boycott is working.
The worst thing now is that this leaves the administration open to all attacks by bigots who will just start flinging as much monkey crap at the walls as possible to see if anything sticks. It won’t matter how absured of insane it is, they will fling it. Ans th eright wing politicians will sit back and do nothing as the cowed “liberal” media kneel down and get ready to take a shot in the mouth from the likes of Beck, Redstate, Instaputz and the others while saying “thank you can l have another”.
If you think things were bad with Clinton, just wait. This has given the crazies an oppotunity.
Okay, that middle bit should read “how absured OR insane it is.”
Sorry!!!
It’s clear that the regulars here are very, very limited in their scope. All they can do is attack. When Jones was being attacked, no one was interested in defending him, only hitting out at his attackers.
I’m no sports expert, but it seems that teams that are all offense and have no sense of defense tend to be very successful… until, suddenly, they aren’t.
Why isn’t anyone interested in refuting the attacks against Jones? Why doesn’t anyone argue how the charges against him really aren’t that important?
Two explanations come to mind: those who ought to defend him are incapable of doing so, and Jones’ actions are indefensible.
And these are not mutually exclusive explanations…
J.
Good call with that first comment, Quaker. All I can add is we’re now waiting for the “this is not the Van Jones we knew, and followed with interest from his days in Oakland.”
Obama’s bus has morphed into a monster truck…
J.
“Up next from the right: “Obama throws another one under the bus!””
Tfj for Quaker:
http://wizbangblog.com/content/2009/09/06/obama-throws-van-under-the-bus.php
There’s a reason things becomes cliche’s, EL…
J.
So, perceived Truthers, out. Birthers, deathers and nutballs bringing automatic weapons to health care forums, IN. Okay, got it. Jebus!
…he demonstrated in San Francisco and said that president Clinton was “using dead Third World bodies to cover up his own unzipped pants,”
Yeah, he sounded an awful lot like the Republicans who were saying the same exact thing back then.
Jay Tea- when even Little Green Footballs is debunking the “Van Jones was a Truther” BS, it seems to me that it shouldn’t be necessary to do so here. But that also assumes that you’re interested in something resembling an honest discussion.
Would you care to give us a heads-up on the next designated wingnut hit job? Because now that the right smells weakness, it will be “Katy bar the door”! It seems Glenn Beck already has Valerie Jarrett in the sights, as well as some kinda hard-on for John Holdren. But I’m pretty sure he’s got secret info that Obama’s dog Bo is really a Communist….
Whether or not Jones is a fit for the position, what concerns me is how this is going to embolden the Glen Beck Fanclub. Now they know they have an effect, why wouldn’t more want to bring assault rifles to peaceful protests? Why would they want to stop there, knowing how they can have an effect through vigorous action? TheFoxNation.com’s comment thread for this story is fairly worrying, people reading into this the beginning of impeachment proceedings, people calling for armed insurrection, specifically wanting to shoot Jones himself.
Just thinking to myself, the last time I remember a U.S. Citizen talking about defeating domestic fascism he bombed the Murrough federal building. How positively do we really suspect this insanity is going to end?
Rheinhard, who’s next? It’s such a target-rich environment. Obama has surrounded himself with so many whackjobs. And I don’t have any inside information.
Cass Sunstein and John Holdren both have extensive records of “controversial” (translation: outrageously idiotic and loony leftist) statements and positions and beliefs.
You want a real question, Rheinhard? Where the fuck do Obama and his cronies keep finding these people?
You’ll probably find that easier to answer than “what was factually incorrect about the criticisms of Van Jones?” The Truther part was only a part of it.
I particularly appreciated his comments about “white polluters are dumping poison in minority neighborhoods” and “big agriculture is spraying poison on migrant workers.”
The “Republicans are assholes” was a bit gauche, and unbecoming, but I’ve heard far, far worse.
The “remake our entire agricultural system” from someone who’d never done jack shit in agriculture or economics was entertaining.
His helping to found a couple of out-and-out Marxist groups was also delightful.
No, the question was not “why was he attacked?” It was “what the fuck was he doing there in the first place?”
J.
Re: Sunstein — calls for animals to be able to sue in courts.
Re: Holdren — co-authored a book that said the US should at least consider mandatory abortions and forced sterilizations of citizens.
Where the fuck do they find these people?
J.
Rex, you’ve got a very weak memory. I remember a LOT of American citizens talking about “defeating domestic fascism” during the eight years of the Bush administration.
Usually accompanied by giant papier-mache’ heads, effigies of various Bush administration officials being burned or hanged, death-threatening posters…
J.
Van Jones… mainstream american, victim of the vast rightwing conspiracy.
“Van Jones… mainstream american, victim of the vast rightwing conspiracy.” Only in the Hopey Changey land of rainbows and unicorns.
This admin is even more of a disaster than I could imagine. I guess that’s what you get when you elect a “community organizer” with a single page tripe spaced resume. We are so screwed.
Why isn’t anyone interested in refuting the attacks against Jones? Why doesn’t anyone argue how the charges against him really aren’t that important?
What exactly are the charges again? I don’t have a problem with a single thing the guy said or did.
Jay’s definition of “worked in agriculture” is “did what Monsanto told him to do”. Here’s a clue Jay, all of those terrible things are true. Field Workers are regularly exposed to dangerous pesticides and herbicides. And let’s be honest, a lot of those field workers are migrants. If anyone gets appointed to significant agro position who isn’t a corporate whore for Monsanto, the right will cry foul. You could have someone who has spent years studying organic farming, and who is opposed to suing smaller farmers for growing crops on fields adjacent to those owned by agribusiness using genetically engineered crops because pollen from those crops may have pollinated some of his plants, meaning that the bees have violated Monsanto intellectual property rights. This person will be attacked mercilessly precisely because they are not a corporate whore. Look at the screaming fit over Michelle Obama merely planting an organic vegetable garden, for Christ’s sake.
And we all appreciate your concern for the integrity of public service Jay, after supporting GW Bush for appointing a fucking horse breeder to run FEMA, graduates from Pat Robertson’s Jesus Law school (who believe their oath of service is directly to the President and not the Constitution) to run the Justice Department, etc etc etc…
The Truther part was only a part of it. ”
Except he apologized and disavowed himself from that. Oh and Jay Tea, I believe I brought up last time when you were commenting about him being a criminal how the charges were dropped and said police department apologized, yet not a peep from you sir. My problem is that people like past VP Cheney were part of PFNAC, yet he isn’t too “radical”. This is just more character assasination. Is his job being comprimised by things he said or do conservatives just hate his views. News Flash: Obama will hire liberals in his admin! This is a non-scandal. If he is actively involved in corruption or something then I will agree with conservatives, but the argument is Van Jones= crazy, so lets burn the witch!
Be glad he caved because now your hatred will embolden the rest of your ilk that holds a violence fetish towards this administration.
I particularly appreciated his comments about “white polluters are dumping poison in minority neighborhoods” and “big agriculture is spraying poison on migrant workers.”
Both absolutely fucking true:
http://baselinescenario.com/2009/05/05/pollution-race-and-poverty/
OH, fafaroo, just for you, I’ll repeat myself:
I particularly appreciated his comments about “white polluters are dumping poison in minority neighborhoods” and “big agriculture is spraying poison on migrant workers.”
The “Republicans are assholes” was a bit gauche, and unbecoming, but I’ve heard far, far worse.
The “remake our entire agricultural system” from someone who’d never done jack shit in agriculture or economics was entertaining.
His helping to found a couple of out-and-out Marxist groups was also delightful.
That help you, fafaroo?
J.
The “Republicans are assholes” was a bit gauche, and unbecoming, but I’ve heard far, far worse.
And we’ve all heard a lot worse about liberals spewed from the mouths of the likes of Glenn Beck.
Van Jones was also responding to a question about the blatant hypocrisy of republican legislatures who did nothing to cultivate bipartisanship when they were in power but are now whining on and on about how the dems aren’t consulting them and might actually pass health care reform without them.
So, yes, Jay Tea, in that case, Republicans are being assholes.
I honestly can’t get too worked up over this – I guess getting a relatively minor advisor to the Obama admisinstration to resign is what passes for a major victory in conservative circles these days.
Even a dying animal is capable of inflicting a few wounds.
Conservatives are right about one thing – they have lost their country – and just in time too.
That help you, fafaroo?
Let me repeat myself, Jay Tea, I don’t have a single fucking problem with a a single fucking thing he said.
This is just another example of conservatives being lying, whiny, hypocritical, babies. Yourself included.
All you can do it repeat mindless talking points.
Case in point, you have no idea how pollution impacts minority populations in this case country and when you read the Van Jones quote I’ll bet you didn’t bother to do any research on the subject either. You started mindlessly retyping it here and elsewhere.
It figures you’re old haunting ground wizbang would be firt out of the gate with the most predictable canard. It’s what you excelled at there.
I guess that didn’t go down so well at Commentary, did it, Jay Tea? So tell us Jay Tea, were you fired, did you resign, or your you thrown under the bus?
Obama has surrounded himself with so many whackjobs.
Translation: they’re not Republicans. The only real mistake Jones made was the Truther stuff. The rest was more or less within the bounds of political activism.
“The rest was more or less within the bounds of political activism.”
That’s not allowed either, unless it’s astro activism from the extreme far right of the political spectrum. Then it’s OK. Then it’s democracy in action blah blah … little old ladies …blah blah … average Americans … blah blah … founding fathers … blah blah blah.
“What exactly are the charges again? I don’t have a problem with a single thing the guy said or did.”
LOL,
The mask slips, You just can’t make this stuff up, eh fafaroo?
“The rest was more or less within the bounds of political activism.”
The mask is pulled off, thrown to the floor and stomped on.
The mask slips, You just can’t make this stuff up, eh fafaroo?
I don’t know, Amused. It would be helpful to know what you’re actually talking about.
Don’t mind him. Just Like Jay Tea, he won’t dive deeper than the surface to understand something and will probably have a racist slant to his comments anyways. You do know Van Jones is black….:o!
Bite me, you honky cracker cetacean.
J.
LOL fafaroo,
I’m talking about you, your views of fellow Americans, your ideology, intellectual honesty, fairmindedness, and typical liberal tolerance.
Bite me, you honky cracker cetacean.
Gosh, Jay Tea, what a relevant defense of your position.
I guess either you can’t defend your position or your position is indefensible.
I’m talking about you, your views of fellow Americans, your ideology, intellectual honesty, fairmindedness, and typical liberal tolerance.
See, Amused, you still haven’t actually said anything. Remember, we don’t all understand crazy right wing shorthand.
J.
I had a good laugh from that one. Honky cracker is a new one.
Jay Tea,
Just admit labeling Van Jones as a criminal was going overboard. We already know that it is his views that don’t line with yours which creates a problem. Or this isn’t a witch hunt? Please explain:o!
And we’ve all heard a lot worse about liberals spewed from the mouths of the likes of Glenn Beck.
Dick Cheney, yes.
Glenn Beck, no.
Wow fafaroo,
You appear a wee bit dense. Your political values as revealed in your telling remarks regarding Van Jones are the antithesis of what makes the U.S. a good place to live and a nation worthy of pride in citizenship.
fafaroo, look up “cetacean” and you might get who I was talking to.
And it’s remarkable how much crazy there is among those Obama is appointing to positions that don’t require Congressional approval. It’s like he knows that these nominees wouldn’t survive the questions, and is counting on his sycophants in the media to not do their jobs in digging.
Too bad that there are citizen journalists whose Google Fu is strong.
J.
Looking on the bright side, you cons can finally replace ‘Dan Rather TANG’ on the awards mantle. The bronze on that one was going dull from excessive fondling.
“But I’m pretty sure he’s got secret info that Obama’s dog Bo is really a Communist….”
Comrade, you know he is! Just look at Bo he already has the black furry hat, the only thing that is missing is the red star!
Cons worship Glenn Beck who went Galt on his first marriage despite having a special needs child. “Radical” is Foxese for Blacks, Jews and Latinos
Amused, Jay Tea, stop repeating the same thing over and over. Take a breath, take a step back and explain what’s so crazy about anything Van Jones has said.
It is not crazy to say that pollution disproportianetly impacts minority communities or that health and safety rules in farm labor are not what they should be. It is als not crazy to point out that said polluters are invariably run by whites.
It is not crazy to call Republicans assholes. A lot of them, including Glenn Beck are.
Speaking of Beck, he’s said a lot of crazy shit on national television and radio, advancing all manner of conspiracy theories while telling his audiences that Obama wants to destroy the country.
So please. Stop regurgitating and actually defend what you’re saying.
If there is any argument about migrant farm workers, democrats have no right to them at all.
Everytime securing our borders is a real issue the proponents are labeled “racist”. So noting is done, they cross the border illegally and work for slave wages in places that can’t be forced to abide by OSHA standards by thier employees because they are here illegally.
If anyone were serious about these workers we first seal the borders, then talk about amnesty and then come down on violating bussiness hard.
What we have done in the past is akin to putting air into a tire that we know has a giant hole in it.
Fix the hole, then worry about inflating the tire.
Oh, man, that one is SO stupid.
Dogs are incredibly territorial. Communists don’t believe in private property.
Although after Communists get their hands on land, they do figuratively piss all over it, so there’s that…
J.
I look back at the horde of incredible picks made by the Bush administration, and laugh. I’d take Van Jones over Kerik, Goodling, Scholzman, or Hallen any day. Seriously, no crimes were committed, and whatever Van Jones thought or didn’t think re: 9/11, how is this impacting his knowledge and experience on environmentalism?
(Frankly, I think he was conned into signing that statement; truthers aren’t exactly the most reasonable people, and they’ve tried that sort of stunt before. If you’ve ever argued with one, you’d know – same level as moon hoaxers and young earth creationists.)
But I’m resigning myself to watching the Republicans target every single person Democratic leaders even talk to for some sort of BS scandal. Politics for them is not about governing, but winning. They have forgotten the whole purpose of democracy is not to win and make the other eat crap as part of the victory dance – it’s to get all the sides together and craft a solution to the nations problems.
But I’m resigning myself to watching the Republicans target every single person Democratic leaders even talk to for some sort of BS scandal. Politics for them is not about governing, but winning. They have forgotten the whole purpose of democracy is not to win and make the other eat crap as part of the victory dance – it’s to get all the sides together and craft a solution to the nations problems.
Wow, reverse it and it sounds just like what was said in 2000 and 2004.
So, banterer, I take it you have no comment about creationists, birth-certificate whackos, and the like?
J.
Jr;
“Cons worship Glenn Beck who went Galt on his first marriage despite having a special needs child. “Radical” is Foxese for Blacks, Jews and Latinos”
First Beck never abandoned his kids, he has always been a part of thier life.
Your race baiting holds no water, otherwise Michael Steel, Colin Powell, Condi Rice, Mel Martinez & Bobby Jindal would be Radicals.
Jones, Lloyd, Holdren & Emmanuel have some kooky ideas that scares alot of people.
You guys can’t see past skin color to ideals and you label the right racist?
How convienent.
Nope JT, I have no comment on any of those beliefs, perhaps for the reasons you have no comment on the Bush picks I mentioned? I wouldn’t know if they were the same.
And no – this is not what you heard in 2000 and 2004. For the vast majority of Bush’s decisions, there were a number of Democrats to help him with cover, mostly from conservative Dems, but occasionally from surprising sources. Democrats were not nearly the obstructionists the Republicans are now, and were always willing to talk to the other side. The GOP out of power has done everything it can to hamstring the process, even when it goes against their own interests.
Nope JT, I have no comment on any of those beliefs, perhaps for the reasons you have no comment on the Bush picks I mentioned? I wouldn’t know if they were the same.
I had no comment for two reasons, banterer:
1) The Obama fan base keeps bragging how much better Obama is, but every time another one of these idiocies erupts, the defense is always the same: “at least he’s a smidgen, marginally better than Bush.”
B) I can read a calendar. The Bush administration ended a bit over seven months ago. MoveOn, for heaven’s sake.
What I’m wondering is why Jones went so easily, while Holdner — he of the forced abortions and mandatory sterilizations — is still on the payroll.
Add in the long, long list of people who have either withdrawn or resigned because they had dirt in their past, and I repeat:
Where the hell is where Obama getting these people?
Who the hell is in charge of vetting these people?
J.
…they cross the border illegally and work for slave wages in places that can’t be forced to abide by OSHA standards by thier employees because they are here illegally.
Upwards of 1.3 million migrant workers are U.S. citizens, asshole.
Jones, Lloyd, Holdren & Emmanuel have some kooky ideas that scares alot of people.
Of course, these people are the same ones that think that “Teh Gheyz” are going to rape them in their sleep.
So, Zython, you have no problems with Holdren’s endorsing forced abortions and mandatory sterilizations?
Good to know that…
J.
I asked myself that very question when Bernie Kerik popped his little head up. And when I found out about Haller. And Deutsh. These people were fired after their incompetence/corruption were discovered. Those are not the only ones; this list is hardly exhaustive.
Van Jones signed something they have since disavowed, and called the GOP assholes. Can you honestly tell me that would not clear a security check?
And I’m not sure how you can compare a current president with a former one without, you know, comparing them. Is there some other technique we should be using?
So, Zython, you have no problems with Holdren’s endorsing forced abortions and mandatory sterilizations?-
Ah, but you still won’t defend calling Van Jones a criminal when you know it isn’t true. Again, just floating on the surface as usual.
Ah, Jay Tea must be back at work, that explains how he has so much time to post in this thread.
Well, honky cracker cetacean, if Obama had bothered to put Jones up for Congressional review, this would have likely all come out BEFORE he took his position and then quit it.
It’s because Obama wants to surround himself with advisers that don’t have to be subjected to Congressional approval, don’t have to be tied to dreary responsibilities and duties, and ignore the actual structure of the government with its checks and balances that so much incorrect information floats around.
And, even worse, correct information gets quietly swept under the rug.
Such as, say, Holdner’s co-writing a book that calls for forced abortions and mass sterilizations. Or Jones having been a proud Marxist and revolutionary. Or having an admitted tax cheat as Treasury Secretary.
Rangel doesn’t fit in, as he’s not part of the Obama administration, but he’d get along just fine with them.
J.
Ya’ll can scream Kerik all you want, but he withdrew BEFORE serving in the Administration. Because he was subject to Congressional approval and thus subject to the vetting process. Unlike Mr. Jones.
So, Zython, you have no problems with Holdren’s endorsing forced abortions and mandatory sterilizations?
No, Jay (Tea), it’s just that I don’t believe you. When you assume a conservative is wrong about something, you’re rarely wrong yourself.
It’s because Obama wants to surround himself with advisers that don’t have to be subjected to Congressional approval, don’t have to be tied to dreary responsibilities and duties, and ignore the actual structure of the government with its checks and balances that so much incorrect information floats around.
WTF are you talking about? Same goes for you, Save. Did Karl Rove have to approved by Congress before he could serve as Bush’s political adviser?
Can either of you point to the exact section of the Constitution that spells out who the President can have as advisers and how they are to be selected and approved?
In other words, can either one of you explain your position on this beyond just repeating, yet again, the same old fucking accusation?
Here, there is something. Holdren did co-author a book on the subject of resources and over-population. Several means of reducing the birth rate to prolong sustainability were discussed including sterilization after a a certain number of births. But he finally recommends birth control, voluntary abortion and sex ed as preferable routes. This is being made out that he literally wants to start killing people and forcing the population to not have kids no more. Which is ludicrous to even speculate about. Discussion and evaluation does not mean endorsement.
Oh, Zython. I hate to pee on your parade, but it’s all laid out in EcoScience, by Paul Ehrlich, Ann Ehrlich, and John Holdren (1977).
See for yourself:
http://zombietime.com/john_holdren/
Complete with scans of the text and page numbers cited.
You’re quite welcome.
J.
Banterer, he discussed how forced abortions, compulsory surrendering of children for adoption, limiting the number of children people could have, and mass sterilizations could be legal under existing laws and the Constitution.
All in the name of the great population crisis that was going to destroy humanity by the year 2000.
This is Obama’s top scientist.
J.
Jay Tea, Save, never mind. You’re both morons. Mindless droning morons.
Van Jones was a special adviser within the White House Council on Environment Quality, a division of the Executive Office of the President first established in 1969. The Executive Office of the President, in its initial form, was first created by an act of Congress in 1939. The vast majority of the positions in the EOP do not require Congressional approval and they have been in existence for decades. Here’s a complete list:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Office_of_the_President_of_the_United_States
Oh and while were on the subject, how many “czars” did Bush appoint to the EOP? 36
How many has Obama? 32
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._executive_branch_czars
So would either one of you care to continue on with this pathetic line of attack?
fafaroo,
How does the country as a whole benefit from having a rowdy black nationalist and self described communist with a penchant for antagonizing Obama’s political opponents, a radical lawyer as an adviser on cutting edge technology?
What is it about communism you think is so great?
Amused, perhaps you could list some of the policies that Jones advocated in his actual position as adviser to Obama on green jobs.
Perhaps you could actually cite some specific thing he did in that capacity that you disagreed with.
Perhaps, in other words, you could advance some kind of claim that wasn’t based completely on regurgitated wing nut talking points.
Can you name a single policy that Jones advocated while he was in the position he just resigned from?
fafaroo,
When you stake out a position as you did, “I don’t have a single fucking problem with a a single fucking thing he said” you are voicing approval for a pretty wide range of attitudes, activities, and beliefs. Your words not mine.
I give scant credibility towards black nationalism, communism, deliberate political antagonism, and a law degree as evidence of fitness in a political position at the federal level on a subject that combines cutting edge technology and real world economics.
You on the other hand are advocating for the man. So again I ask you;
What do you think makes this man qualified as an expert on the subject he was hired for? Anybody can write a book but why should we think he has a very good grasp of the subject?
Why do you think communism is a viable system for the United States?
And in the end, he decided birth control, sex ed, and voluntary access to abortion was a better way to go. Which is outside of his field of expertise anyway, since his work is in climate change, energy policy and technology development. Which he’s built up for the last 30 years since writing this book. Damn, thirty years ago, I thought we’d have flying cars and robots that looked like people in the year 2000.
In any case, he’s not advising in these areas, but in the areas that he’s actually been teaching for over 20 years. And the entire Senate, including every GOP senator, voted him in. Even after he was asked about his opinions on the book. I guess everyone sucks now, right?
So, you may thankfully go to sleep knowing he will not have any say into whether he’s going to cut yer nuts off; this is probably going to be Michelle Obama’s job, which is probably why Malkin and Coulter hate her so much, because they are jealous.
There’s a perfect explanation for why Jones had to go, and I can’t mention it without being accused (falsely) of racism.
Oh, screw it.
Jones had no business in government because he was a “watermelon” — Green on the outside, Red on the inside. In brief, he was using environmental issues to push his Marxist ideology. The environmental concerns were simply a front for tearing down the capitalist system.
J.
Thirty years ago Holdren co-wrote a textbook in which the various ways society might have to deal with overpopulation were discussed – including forced abortions and mandatory sterilization – While there does not appear to be any explicit endorsement of those methods, the writers do not seem entirely unsympathetic to them as a last resort in order to curb population growth, which at the time they found to be a major threat to human survival.
Past writings of those in the political arena are fair game, and if Holdren’s writings can be described as an endorsement of such methods as described above, then I suppose it is fair to say that many high profile conservatives are currently “endorsing” armed insurrection against the government of the United States when they warn that it may be neccassary in order to prevent Obama from succeeding in implementing his agenda.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Van Jones, Communist:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Jones#cite_ref-28
Amused, you’re a fucking idiot.
Red on the inside. In brief, he was using environmental issues to push his Marxist ideology. The environmental concerns were simply a front for tearing down the capitalist system.
Please, Jay Tea, cite a single example from Jones book or public comments that would suggest this is true.
fafaroo, you blathering dolt (sorry, just trying to get the local lingo down), that’s a fascinating list. Of course, what I find fascinating is how many of those positions 1) don’t require Senate approval and B) take their authority away from actual Cabinet officers.
For example, why do we have a Secretary of State? She’s not responsible for Iraq and Afghanistan (Richard Holbrooke), Iran (Dennis Ross), the rest of the Middle East (George Mitchell), and the U.N. Ambassador has Cabinet rank. No wonder Hillary Clinton spent so much time in Africa — it’s one of the few places Obama lets her have. And no wonder she was testy while there.
Obama has a “Weatherization Czar” who isn’t the Secretary of Energy.
He has a “Great Lakes Czar” that isn’t the Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of Commerce, or Secretary of Transportation.
He has an “Energy/Climate/Global Warming Czar” who is a FORMER head of the EPA.
And there’s a separate “Climate Czar.”
He has an “Economic Czar” who isn’t the Treasury Secretary.
He has a “Domestic Violence Czar” who isn’t the Attorney General.
He has a “Pay Czar” who isn’t the Treasury Secretary, telling companies when they can and can not honor their contracts with their employees.
There’s both an “Auto Czar” and an “Autoworker Czar” to oversee the government-run carmakers — and they’re not the Secretary of Commerce or the Secretary of Transportation.
So, why doesn’t Obama just call for reorganizing the government?
That’d be too much like work. Easier to ignore the existing structure and pick whoever he wants to really run things, especially if he can get past that pesky Senate approval thing.
Which would probably discover things like the “watermelon” Van Jones, the whackjobs Holdner and Sunstein…
J.
Never heard environmentalists ever called commies before. No sir, not even once. I may faint from the shock!
Complete with scans of the text and page numbers cited.
None of which actually constitutes “call[ing] for forced abortions and mass sterilizations.” Such measures are among those envisioned by the authors as possible methods that may be resorted to if the population problem careened out of control. Got to understand it in the context of the times, which is always a big strain on the right-wing brain. I’ll leave it to the White House to give the appropriate response:
“anybody who actually wants to know what we and/or Professor Holdren believe and recommend about these matters would presumably read some of the dozens of publications that we and he separately have produced in more recent times, rather than going back a third of a century to find some formulations in an encyclopedic textbook where description can be misrepresented as endorsement.”
Again, the difference between “description” and “endorsement” is lost on our right wing friends whenever it is convenient for them.
So, why doesn’t Obama just call for reorganizing the government?
You really are an idiot. Did you also see the list of 36 “Czars” that Bush appointed, many of whom were not confirmed by the Senate?
Bush and Obama both appointed a “Faith-Based Czar” by executive order. Any complaints about that?
They both appointed “Terrorism Czars” which were not confirmed by the Senate. Where’s the screaming about that?
And Jay Tea as to this:
And guess why? Because the person in that position is appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury, who BTW, also appointed the Pay Czar.
Jay Tea, even when you’re given the facts, you get them fucking wrong.
You are the dumbest person on the internet.
Easier to ignore the existing structure and pick whoever he wants to really run things, especially if he can get past that pesky Senate approval thing.
Jay Tea, the Executive Office of the President was created in 1939 by an act of Congress.
Please explain how it is not part of the “existing structure” of government.
Bush had an Abstinence Czar.
# of czars # of appointees
Jimmy Carter 1977-1981 2 3
Ronald Reagan 1981-1989 1 1
George HW. Bush 1989-1993 2 3
Bill Clinton 1993-2001 7 9
George W. Bush 2001-2009 36 46
Barack Obama 2009 32 34
the first Czar I remember was right out of high school, William Bennett the Drug Czar. It went something like this…
“Ok, kids, drug are bad, okay? If you want to have fun legally, try blackjack”
So it’s OK for Bush to have czars, but not Obama?
Could Republicans become any more ridiculous?
What is it about communism you think is so great?
That depends. Why do you hate America so much, AO?
Guys on Medicare shouldn’t bitch about communism.
fafaroo,
Quoting Van the man; “I was a communist.”
Another little factoid.
He got involved with Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement (STORM), a group explicitly committed to revolutionary Marxist politics[15] whose points of unity were revolutionary democracy, revolutionary feminism, revolutionary internationalism, the central role of the working class, urban Marxism, and Third World Communism.
Nobody has claimed the man isn’t smart but his patriotism is has not been aligned with U.S. interests in the past. He seems a dilettante flitting from obsession to obsession. But you back up everything he has ever said. LOL real slick move on your part. Just about as slick as Obama. Either he was lying about trying to achieve a new era of cooperation and effective governence or he is stupid about how to achieve that.
Zython,
Perhaps you could expand on your support of communism. Your question to me is so baseless as to place your intelligence in question. How is that sock puppet thing going?
Quoting Van the man; “I was a communist.”
Amused, let me give you a little lesson in verb tenses:
Past tense: “Van Jones was a communist.”
Present tense: You are an idiot.
Now, write that last one out a hundred times.
My aren’t you the clever one EL.
…a new era of cooperation…
While the right’s idea of fostering a new era of cooperation is to trash relentlessly whatever the president does. To fling all the poo that comes into a baboon’s arm’s reach and see what sticks.
Most of us at waited till Bush fucked up Iraq to go postal. Then when we trashed Cheney, Condie, Brownie, for things they actually did in office, not by finding things they wrote thirty years ago that could be spun in a certain way, not by setting up a 24-hour media tom-tom chorus about things they said in the past and then repudiated before ever taking a government post. Not by making a big deal out of all the advisors Bush had. Hell, we figured he could use all the advice he could get.
Obama inherited the biggest domestic and foreign shitpile than any president has in decades, and, no, he hasn’t been able to wave a magic wand and make all the problems in the world disappear, but by and large he’s making progress on many fronts and holding his own on others.
You guys got nothing real, absolutely nothing, which is why you have to make federal cases out of these bullshit issues. Doesn’t matter whether things are working or not — since the country isn’t being governed the way you’d like you’re determined to tear it all down no matter what the cost. Shame on you. If you succeed, you’ll inherit the chaos you deserve. So will the rest of us, unfortunately.
Your question to me is so baseless as to place your intelligence in question.
No more so than yours.
Nobody has claimed the man isn’t smart but his patriotism is has not been aligned with U.S. interests in the past.
What is this? 1954? It’s remarkable to me that after I present you with the central thesis of Van Jones book on green jobs, in which he champions the power of the free market to both create jobs and help heal the environment, you still come back with the “Van Jones is a com-symp bent on destroying the United States.”
This is why you, Jay Tea and the rest of the conservative movement these days are a complete joke: In defiance of the readily available facts, you claim an esoteric knowledge and keen mind reading ability that proves, PROVES, that Obama and his minions are plotting to destroy America because they are all secret communists.
You all have mush for brains.
fafaroo,
As the government tightens it’s control of the means of production somehow I just can’t trust someone like Van Jones as being sincere in his backing of private enterprise.
“electing leaders who will pass bills to aid them.”
Passing bills to help them sounds like subsidies to me. That’s no way to build a successful profit driven model that is sustainable. I don’t think you have sufficient real world experience as an employer to have much of a grasp of how private enterprise actually works. After all you support everything Van Jones has ever said.
Watch for Mikey Moore’s new movie, I’m sure it will prove invaluable to your efforts to understand the economic world that we live in.
Red baiting is back in style? What’s next? Hula Hoops?
“As the government tightens it’s control of the means of production somehow”
Thanks for that AO. Dumbest thing I’ve read all month.
“Watch for Mikey Moore’s new movie”
I’m looking forward to it. I take it the basic premise is that the untrammeled deregulation of Wall Street led to the Bush Recession/Collapse.
Care to tell me what’s wrong about that link of thinking?
As the government tightens it’s control of the means of production… wordswordswords. Seriously? No, not seriously. How can I take you seriously now? It’s like all those creepy folks at the John Birch booth trying to hand me pamphlets at the county fair when I was a teenager.
Very creative editing Jaim. Did you ever hear of Eats, leaves and shoots? It’s sad to think of the young minds you needlessly hinder masquerading as a teacher. Lucky for us you aren’t here in the States failing our kids but over in Korea doing your part to stifle progress.
As the government tightens it’s control of the means of production somehow I just can’t trust someone like Van Jones as being sincere in his backing of private enterprise.
OMFG. Really? The government is tightening control on the means of production? Are you shitting me?
Amused, you’re an insane person.
fafaroo,
Coming from someone like you that is a compliment.
Jones was honored by the Aspen Institute–not exactly a lefty outfit.
AO, time to change your diaper and take your nap.
Care to explain to anyone how the “means of production” are under threat? The US auto industry received a bail-out, but the idea is that they’ll hopefully get back on their feet. If US troops had stormed Detroit and Flint and taken over factories you’d have a point.
Personally I was opposed to giving the auto industry anything (Japan and Korea make much better cars, so let the free market take its course). But it was the mostly-Republican industry leaders for GM and so on that were begging hardest for the bail-out. And it did save jobs (although they might be gone again in a few years).
You have no understanding of basic history or politics. Which is to say, you are a Republican.
As the government tightens it’s control of the means of production somehow
Means of producing what exactly? Wool? Steel? Guns?
I think Jay Tea has gone 7 posts without admitting he was wrong calling Van Jones a criminal. Its nice to know you lack any integrety. Our conservatives know they are grabbing at straws, but it doesn’t matter as long as someone is eliminated.
Jay Tea: When Jones was being attacked, no one was interested in defending him, only hitting out at his attackers.
This from someone who’s only idea of “defending your side” is to yell “Look, over there!”
Jay Tea: Banterer, he discussed how forced abortions, compulsory surrendering of children for adoption, limiting the number of children people could have, and mass sterilizations could be legal under existing laws and the Constitution.
I notice you point out he discussed these things. Not advocated. Discussed.
So you’d now make talking about ideas a bad thing.
And no doubt wrap yourself in the flag as a proud American as you do it.
Jay Tea: <i.Jones had no business in government because he was a “watermelon” — Green on the outside, Red on the inside. In brief, he was using environmental issues to push his Marxist ideology.
IOW, Jay Tea would deny someone a job because of their political beliefs.
What is this? 1954?
Red baiting is back in style? What’s next? Hula Hoops?
Better question: When did Marxism and its various morphs come back into style? When did we decide to “eighty-six” capitalism and individual entrepreneurship?
I missed the memo… I thought you all voted for President Hopey Change, not Proudhon