Obama Appointees

In a video address released just hours ago, President Obama for the first time publicly posits a link between the Christmas Day bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, and al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.“We know that [Abdulmutallab] travelled to Yemen, a country grappling with crushing poverty and deadly insurgencies,” Obama says. “It appears that he joined an affiliate of al-Qaeda, http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=OGZkMjA0YzZiNjhmNWVmNDUyYWU0NzZhNjZhYjRiYTQ=

[I would ask: is he trying to say that George Bush, or the nasty United States of America caused this crushing poverty? Is he intimating that if it were not for our greedy Capitalism, and if only we would send trillions of dollars of our money to their corrupt leaders, Yemen would be a lovely place? Or should he be saying that without Capitalism, there is yet one more country where the dictators who control the county are fomenting the crippling poverty in order to feed their own greedy needs?] [Yes, of course, as follows, he at least mentions the word war and defeat, but does blame Bush]

“Our nation is at war against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred, and that we will do whatever it takes to defeat them and defend our country,” Obama says.

The video also contains thinly-veiled criticism of the counter-terror strategy of George W. Bush. Obama says that the current administration has “refocused the fight” against al-Qaeda on Afghanistan and Pakistan, while “bringing to a responsible end the war in Iraq, which had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks.”

Speaking broadly once more, Obama says that this strategy has reaped benefits, thwarting unspecified terrorist plots on U.S. soil and saving “countless American lives.”

[Didn't we just narrowly escape a terrible plane explosion because our security has been compromised since Obama's inauguration? Didn't he appoint an inexperienced woman as Homeland Security Chief, who has declared our military veterans and Tea Party protesters as possible terrorists? She who actually declared, in her total ignorance, that the system worked? Hasn't he released from Gitmo some detainees, right back to Yemen, where they are plotting against us again? Isn't he ready to close Gitmo, and to try Muhammed in a NYC court of law? Hasn't he had the Miranda rights read to this terrorist, to be tried in a civilian court? Do you feel comforted and secure? George Bush was thoroughly condemned because he had been in office for over 7 months before 9/11 and failed to stop the plot. Obama has been in office for 11 months, was given (three days prior to this incident) a "shout-out" about an unspecified Christmas Day plot against America, had been warned by the father of the perp, and still failed to secure our nation. Where is the outrage at his continued ineptitude, exacerbated by his unwillingness to disrespect his own once-stated Muslim faith as a faith that believes in the death of ALL infidels? And just when will he grow up, be a man, and stop blaming his predecessor? It is he who is now our President, and it is his and his appointees' directives and agenda which are being followed.]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The White House nominee to lead the Transportation Security Administration gave Congress misleading information about incidents in which he inappropriately accessed a federal database, possibly in violation of privacy laws, documents obtained by The Washington Post show. The disclosure comes as pressure builds from Democrats on Capitol Hill for quick January confirmation of Erroll Southers, whose nomination has been held up by GOP opponents. (Snip) Southers, a former FBI agent, has described inconsistencies..... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/31/AR2009123102257.html?hpid=topnews

Acknowledging he has given inconsistent answers to Congress, President Barack Obama's pick to lead the Transportation Security Administration wrote to lawmakers to explain a reprimand he received for running background checks on his then-estranged wife's boyfriend two decades ago.

In an October affidavit for the Senate committee, he initially said he asked a San Diego police employee to run a background check on his then-estranged wife's boyfriend and was censured by his FBI superiors 20 years ago for what he said was an isolated instance.

But a day after the committee approved his nomination and sent it to the full Senate, he wrote to the senators and told them that he was incorrect, that he twice ran background checks himself.

In the letter correcting the record, Southers also said he downloaded law enforcement records and shared them. He said he forgot the incident in 1987 or 1988. http://apnews.myway.com/article/20100101/D9CUQQB01.html

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another compromised Obama appointee-in-waiting is discovered: Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/obama_nominee_under_fire_withdraws_fWUjQkPhanbrlCeY15PpkO#ixzz0bH4FRVpg

A controversial Obama administration nominee has withdrawn his candidacy for “personal reasons,” White House spokesman Tommy Vietor confirmed.

Jide Zeitlin, a former Goldman Sachs banker who was to be America’s financial point man at the United Nations, faced character questions amid allegations of identity fraud and improper business practices. One of his India-based firms is being sued in a New Dehli court for failing to pay $2.4 million to a client, The Washington Post reported in November.

He responded to the criticism by telling a November hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee “no one bats a thousand,” the newspaper said.

Zeitlin’s withdrawal was first reported by a Foreign Policy magazine blog. [Once again, our press is unwilling to give us the news...]----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/16200/?ck=1
This is the link to the great Barack Obama National Anthem, first posted by Glenn Beck prior to the election last year....

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/01/us/politics/01terror.htmlKANEOHE, Hawaii —

The attempted bombing of an American passenger plane on Christmas Day could greatly complicate President Obama’s efforts to close the detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, as lawmakers in both parties call on the administration to rethink its approach. But evidence that Al Qaeda’s branch in Yemen was behind last week’s failed plane attack will make closing the center even harder since nearly half the remaining detainees are from Yemen.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/01/01/democrats-join-calls-napolitano-step-following-failed-attack/ \

Though the CIA and an agency under the Director of National Intelligence have been under particular scrutiny in the preliminary review of possible missteps, Napolitano so far has taken the most heat from lawmakers. Not only does her department oversee the Transportation Security Administration, but her initial claim Sunday that "the system worked" was widely ridiculed and interpreted by critics as a sign that she's in over her head.Regarding the charges being dropped against the Blackwater guards: The issue was that the guards, as government contractors, were obligated to give an immediate report of what they had done, but the Constitution prevents the government from requiring a defendant to testify against himself, so those statements could not be used in a prosecution.

Some Republicans, who've taken issue with her in the past for calling terrorist acts "man-caused disasters" and other remarks, started calling for her ouster in the spring. The failed bombing on Christmas Day revived those calls.

Now Democrats have joined the chorus.