Patterico's Pontifications

10/11/2013

GOVERNMENT SLOWDOWN, DAY ELEVEN

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 7:27 am



Is Obama using the slowdown as a way to bury embarrassing data?

The White House has taken down online White House visitor logs and blamed Congress.

. . . .

It is unclear how much money it costs to keep the visitor database up on the site, but the Obama White House has a history of overspending for web services. The Daily Caller reported today that taxpayers spent $634 million to build its non-functioning Healthcare.gov exchange for Obamacare. (Related: Report: Glitchy Healthcare.gov cost taxpayers more than $634 million to build)

This is also one of many cases in which the shutdown has been cited as a reason to disappear information that is potentially embarrassing to the administration. The Bureau of Labor Statistics quickly deep-sixed its September unemployment statistics as other employment proxies indicated the work situation has worsened once again. The Department of Agriculture has buried its September food stamps statistics which are also expected to show increased poverty, dependency and economic regression under Obama.

I can’t believe they would do such a thing.

Yes, I am joking.

151 Responses to “GOVERNMENT SLOWDOWN, DAY ELEVEN”

  1. It is what they do.

    JD (5eea31)

  2. The White House realized awhile ago that the visitor logs tie them to scandals like the IRS.

    SPQR (768505)

  3. the vast majority of the fascist whores what go to food stamp’s white house will be a lot disappointed that there’s no public record I bet

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  4. Apparently there is still one sane government agency in this shutdown: The Army Corp of Engineers operate campgrounds and they are remaining open because they are self-funded.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  5. “…unexpectedly…”

    redc1c4 (abd49e)

  6. Here is proof that at least one facility’s well and pump handles were removed because of the shutdown.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  7. I’m doing laundry and running the air compressor at the same time (if I only knew what time it was). I hope the shutdown does not make the circuit overload.

    nk (dbc370)

  8. Gov’t shutdown, day 11

    A Red Cross helicopter air-dropped some supplies near the house – we were able to salvage most of it before the looters moved in. However, we’re out of potato chips and there’s very little beer left. I’m also running out of ammunition. I’ll probably have to stop and scavenge from the burned-out ruins of grocery and sporting goods stores on the way home.

    Wish me luck.

    alanstorm (cb237b)

  9. meanwhile, our one trick RINOs are up to their usual behavior…

    http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/10/establishment-gop-blasts-tea-party-promises-to-strike-back-in-2014/

    redc1c4 (abd49e)

  10. speaking of pompous whores someone needs to tell the coffee pimp at Starbucks he might could stand to be a lil less in love with the sound of his own voice

    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-10/starbucks-ceo-starts-petition-to-end-u-s-shutdown.html

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  11. “It’s time for someone to act like a grown-up in this process,” former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu argues, faulting Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and tea party Republicans in the House as much as President Barack Obama for taking an uncompromising stance.

    John Sununu’s that guy feckless Team R presidential nominee Mitt Romney had to fire in the closing days of his campaign cause he was so embarrassingly racist on the tv.

    But that was black people. Now he’s attacking hispanics.

    Some people just can’t help themselves I guess.

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  12. I looked up “deadwood” in the dictionary and it said SEE: GOP establishment.

    nk (dbc370)

  13. #7 Remember, nk, you can’t use a 2 with a 6.

    http://www.hulu.com/#!watch/140846#i0,p8,d0

    felipe (70ff7e)

  14. #13 is safe for work of all ages.

    felipe (70ff7e)

  15. #9 with friends like these…

    felipe (70ff7e)

  16. I think this Catholic Online article is the source of the report that the Park Service removed handles to keep the public from water sources. It identifies the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal as one place that did this, and the C&O Canal’s website that I linked in comment #6 confirms it removed handles because of the shutdown.

    Catholic Online also reports the NPS removed handles at the Great Allegheny Passage but I think that’s related to the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal towpath facility. The C&O Canal towpath is linked to the Great Allegheny Passage. They join in Cumberland MD. It appears both the C&O Canal towpath bike trails and the Great Allegheny Passage bike trails are open for a previously scheduled biking event. In another example of everyday civil disobedience, it seems some of the participants are biking the towpath even though it is closed.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  17. John Sununu and Haley Barbour are desperate to be relevant again, and this is their best chance. It will get them speaking engagements in blue states and invitations to lunch on K Street.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  18. WH arrival and departure records have long been subject to political and personal manipulation. 6 months into the first Clinton presidency Vince Foster’s time of departure from the WH was never revealed although it was confirmed he’d been in his office till lunch time.

    That same afternoon, he was found dead in Fort Marcy Park with semen in his shorts, carpet fibers all over his clothing, and a bullet hole in his head. His car was found in the park’s parking lot, although park visitors claimed it wasn’t there when the body was found.

    Not only did WH logs fail to note his departure time, video tapes showing who was driving his car and when it left the WH parking lot were strangely unavailable. Hillary Clinton was also unavailable, although her Chief of Staff kept the FBI waiting while she cleaned out the safe and file cabinets in Foster’s office.

    In spite of the evidence Foster’s body was dumped, Park Police, instead of the FBI, quickly concluded the death was a suicide.

    Clinton watchers knew it was another Arkancide, which is the unfortunate habit of potential witnesses to the Clintons’ criminal double dealing to be found dead and very quickly pronounced a victim of 2 self-inflicted gun shots to the back of the head.

    ropelight (9b2438)

  19. Didn’t I see a recent District, or Circuit Court decision saying that the WH visitor’s logs were not public docs and did not have to be disclosed via FOIA requests?

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  20. John Sununu: Can we all just send this man some postage stamps?
    Really big ones that will cover his mouth.

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  21. askeptic, a judge ruled in August that visitor logs are not subject to disclosure. The case involved Judicial Watch suing the Secret Service because they refused to turn over the logs.

    White House visitor logs are not subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), a federal judge ruled Friday, blocking the public from reviewing the records.

    U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled in a unanimous decision in Judicial Watch v. U.S. Secret Service that visitor logs for the office of the president are not agency records and therefore not subject to FOIA requests.

    Further: The Obama administration, which the president declared would be the “most transparent administration in history,” often points to its release of the White House visitor logs as a capstone of its transparency efforts.

    However, the administration’s policy is not codified into law. The White House does not have to release complete visitor logs, nor would future administrations be compelled to continue the practice.

    Dana (6178d5)

  22. Our Cairn Terrier woke up, stretched and slowly sidled up to my chair. She looked up at me with a quizzical look and I looked her in the eye and nodded in the affirmative… yes, little one, another shutdown day. She then slowly crept back to her doggie sleeptrain mattress and went back to sleep.

    It nearly broke my heart… but soldier-on, I must.

    Colonel Haiku (1a103d)

  23. 19. Comment by askeptic (b8ab92) — 10/11/2013 @ 9:34 am

    Didn’t I see a recent District, or Circuit Court decision saying that the WH visitor’s logs were not public docs and did not have to be disclosed via FOIA requests?

    It is longstanding policy that they are not covered by the FOIA. They just mislead people into thinking such records are available. I didn’t know there was arecent court case. I’d be interested to know who sued and for what records.

    I was told in 1997 that the Secret Service didn’t keep such records I think, and I would have to ask the White House counsel’s office, which said it wasn’t covered by the Freedom of Informaion Act.

    So I still don’t know if Prince Bandar bin Sultan visited the White House in the middle of the afternoon Tuesday, July 20, 1993, during the hours Viincent Fster was missing, but I suspect he did, aand that some kind of record exists, because that would explain the leak to Fred Barnes, then of the New Republic, published on page 10 of the March 14, 1994 New Republic, right at the height of the time when several Foster case leaks occured, of the White House’s explanation of a secret unscheduled visit by Prince Bandar “in July” (= July, 1993) during which he saw President Clinton and Sandy Burglar.
    And the explanation they gave is dubious, (the plane sale was already done and it wasn’t arranged through Prince Bandar and no more planes were bought from Boeing) and they even were careful to say not to draw conclusions from it.

    Sammy Finkelman (bec8ba)

  24. Judicial Watch, whose arose from teh Western Journalism Center, and the people who started it, like Joseph Farah, used to be ineterested in the Vincent Foster case, in fact that’s what got them startted, but they seem to have lost interest long, long ago. I think they were threatened with loss of non-profit status if they were ineterested in only one thing. They have dropped this completely, maybe 15 years ago.

    Sammy Finkelman (bec8ba)

  25. Comment by Dana (6178d5) — 10/11/2013 @ 9:50 am
    Comment by Sammy Finkelman (bec8ba) — 10/11/2013 @ 9:58 am

    Sounds like the Congress needs to attach a rider to the next WH appropriations bill including the visitors logs under FOIA, and making them subject to law, with actual hard penalties for failure to disclose, not just for WH political staff, but for the keepers of the logs, the SS.

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  26. askeptic, if they did that, they wouldn’t be able to hide things.

    Dana (6178d5)

  27. I just thought I’d make an observation. Remember how just a few days ago people were commenting that Obama put Reid in complete charge of dealing with the GOP.

    Reid is now fully in charge of his party’s negotiating strategy, a significant change from past showdowns with Republicans.

    He has taken the initiative from Obama, who played the principal role in the 2011 debt-limit talks and New Year’s fiscal cliff deal. Some Democrats on Capitol Hill are relieved by the switch.

    The majority leader has brought a more pugnacious style to the debate, bashing House conservatives as “anarchists” and mocking the “Banana Republican mindset.” This is a welcome change for Democrats who thought Obama was too accommodating to Republicans during previous crises.

    Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/326819-smash-mouth-reid#ixzz2hQwv9UQX
    Follow us: @thehill on Twitter | TheHill on Facebook

    Apparently Reid was the architect of the “no negotiations” strategy. I know this will stun you since it might impugn the sterling character of them most respected Senate Majority Leader ever, Dingy Harry. But he did it entirely for low reasons of personal political ambition.

    http://www.whitehousedossier.com/2013/10/02/president-harry-reid/

    Is Harry Reid running the country? Is President Obama a nonessential employee sidelined by the sequester?

    Everything you see going on with respect to the shutdown must be viewed through a single prism: the Senate, 2014. Democrats probably won’t win the House – it’s a midterm election in a president’s second term, which is usually bad news for the president’s Party. But they could lose the Senate.

    This is why there aren’t any negotiations, and it’s the real reason why the “suffering” attending the shutdown will occur. Harry Reid wants to ensure he remains as Senate Majority Leader. To do that, he hopes to try to implant in the minds of voters that if Republicans take charge of both Houses of Congress, the lunatics will be running the asylum.

    So it appears that this change of tactics, the fact that Obama and the GOP are talking directly, may indicate a breach between Obama and Reid. Similarly the Obama administration’s decision to let states reopen the national parks. It looks like Reid was the architect of the max pain strategy, too. And now it looks like Obama or his handlers have decided that’s not the best way to go.

    When you read the polls, keep in mind that groups are always more unpopular than individuals. So when you look at the Republican numbers those aren’t personal. But Obama’s numbers are personal. Obama is concerned about other things, primarily Obamacare, more than Harry Reid’s career. So those numbers matter to him.

    Steve57 (51ff17)

  28. when you look at the Republican numbers those aren’t personal

    Team R is the one what wants to means test entitlements to make them more redistributiony and end the sequester so they can slop the pentagon piggies and the National Park Service thugs

    It’s a wee lil bit personal.

    happyfeet (c60db2)

  29. Harry Reid wants to ensure he remains as Senate Majority Leader.

    That has been Dim-Bulbs Primary-Directive since they passed the Stimulus, and why we have Budget by CR.
    As long as Dingy can shield his caucus from the “hard” votes on spending involved in adopting a budget, they are protected (to a greater degree) out on the hustings from attacks by those evil Tea Baggers.
    After all, what else is Dingy qualified to do but his Passive-Aggressive BS Dog&Pony Show act?

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  30. A word of caution from the Teacher: “Will the Master not deal worse with the servant who says he will obey his command and does not than another who says he will not and then relents?”

    http://johngaltfla.com/wordpress/2013/10/09/americas-night-of-the-long-knives/

    If Boehner, Cantor, Ryan, et al., cave for ‘negotiations’ and get their customary nothing it will be far worse for them than if they’d never tried to act tough.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  31. …and should be!

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  32. Boehner, Cantor, Ryan, et al… these are deeply unserious people Mr. Gary

    spare me these whimsical congresswhores I cry aloud

    but if anyone hears they give no reply

    it’s just me and the soft crunch of my chicharrones

    It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

    happyfeet (c60db2)

  33. Put not your faith in Princes.

    nk (dbc370)

  34. It’s hard to know for sure but it looks to me like the Pentagon/DOD willingly participated in the decision not to pay the military death benefits. It looks just as politicized as the IRS, the Park Service, and the rest of Washington.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  35. 35. Indubitably.

    gary gulrud (dd7d4e)

  36. and every one of them with their hand out. This really shouldn’t surprise anyone, DRJ, as the overwhelming majority of government employees are Democrats

    Colonel Haiku (9fea4c)

  37. Particularly that weasel from DoD who was blowing smoke up that Cmte’s backside yesterday on The Hill.

    “Oh, we had all this advice from various legal staffs – ours, DoJ, others – that we couldn’t pay these Death Benefits.”

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  38. I don’t know. At this point I think a shift might be appropriate. I’d settle for the moment for just removing the special carve out for Congress, by which Congress and Congress only can keep their employer contribution, and putting the WH on Obamacare.

    Then fund the entire government including Obamacare. Then the entire onus would be on Obama and the Democrats. They’re only keeping the government shut down because they don’t want to live by the same rules as everyone else.

    Let them try to defend that.

    We can get the one year delay in the mandate simply on the basis that it’s unfair to fine people for failing to purchase a mandated product, then making it impossible to do so.

    Then point out how totally unnecessary this whole shutdown thing was, if only Barack Obama and the Democrats had been willing to face reality in October 2013 instead of being forced to acknowledge it in March 2014.

    It’s important to note that what users are experiencing with the launch of the Obamacare website and its user interface is the first of the “glitches” that will assault the purchaser. And by “glitch” I mean what NASA experienced with the launch of Apollo 1.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_1

    Not that the user interface problems are minor. If they’re as serious as outside experts who’ve examined the system say, there’s no way they’ll reach their 7 million enrollee target by March.

    But after people run the Obamaweb gauntlet and fill out the application they’re going to find the POS that Obama hath wrought doesn’t deliver all the right information to insurers to process the application.

    So people who think they’re covered are going to find out that no they’re not. The insurers are going to have to contact them individually to complete the application. Which again proves the point that the Obamawebs are primarily a data mining operation. Actually allowing you to sign up for insurance is a minor afterthought. If you need to talk directly to the insurer to actually get health insurance, what do you need the site for?

    So when the Republicans again call for a one year delay in the individual mandate, because its unfair for the government to penalize them for something that’s the government’s fault, who’s going to look reasonable then?

    You still get where you want. But then this whole shutdown becomes an advantage. The only reason we had it was because the Democrats are Obamacare zealots.

    Steve57 (51ff17)

  39. I’m not in love with Ted Cruz, but I love that he did what he did b/c he finally brought attention to this spiteful, evil government.

    Even the legacy media will have plenty of time to cover the FAIL of Obamacare. About a hundred people showed up today for the Sellout Steelers’ big Obamacare bash. No pics will be forthcoming, I would say, of the tiny crowd of partisans.

    Patricia (be0117)

  40. I been trying to warn you guys about the avaricious pentagon piggies but nobody listens

    the falcon cannot hear the falconer

    (in this metaphor I am the falconer)

    But in reality falcons are scary and falconers should be very wary cause of falcon talons can exert something like 900,000 pounds of force per square inch and they like to peck out your eyeballs just for fun.

    I used to volunteer at the zoo back home so one time they put the glove on me and put some big ass raptor bird on my arm.

    First of all the damn bird gets very heavy very fast cause of how you are trying to hold it away from you to where it doesn’t eat your eyeballs.

    Second of all it’s very unnerving cause of the way birds are so twitchy with their heads.

    happyfeet (c60db2)

  41. I always felt like the military was different than the rest of Washington, but I don’t feel that way anymore. Hopefully they are a little smarter than Sheila Jackson-Lee, who said this Monday, October 7, 2013, on the House floor in support of a continuing resolution on the debt ceiling:

    “This is not an idea of anyone over another person. Republican and Democratic Senators have already voted for this clean bill that we could vote on today. We have martial law. What that means – and my colleagues know what it means – is that you can put a bill on in just minutes.”

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  42. I think the military knows what martial law is. Beyond that, they may be equally intelligent.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  43. happy, when T&T’ers show up wearing large bird costumes, do you give them any candy – or even answer the door?

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  44. SJL takes the middle of the “O” out of Moron.
    It’s a wonder that her head doesn’t implode.

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  45. The Falconer and the Snowman.
    The Falconer and Edward Snowden.
    The Falconer Meets Frosty the Snowman.

    Do any of those potential script titles appeal to you, happyfeet ?

    Elephant Stone (6a6f37)

  46. The White House is already thinking about its victory lap.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  47. Comment by Steve57 (51ff17) — 10/11/2013 @ 10:14 am

    It looks like Reid was the architect of the max pain strategy, too.

    Well, I can see why Obama might want people to think that.

    But who is president of the United states?

    Sammy Finkelman (d22d64)

  48. Obama is willing to compromise, but he wants it portrayed to most people as a total Republican cave-in.

    Sammy Finkelman (d22d64)

  49. 35. It’s hard to know for sure but it looks to me like the Pentagon/DOD willingly participated in the decision not to pay the military death benefits. It looks just as politicized as the IRS, the Park Service, and the rest of Washington.

    Comment by DRJ (a83b8b) — 10/11/2013 @ 11:09 am

    It is political at the political appointee/JCS level/3 star level.

    You don’t get to flag rank without being forced to become politically savvy. But I think you can get to the one, maybe even two star level, without being primarily a politician. Above that, they’re a different breed. On purpose. DC selectively breeds them.

    They make decisions out of considerations that wouldn’t cross the minds of anybody below them. I give you Benghazi as an example.

    We’d have 4 stars come out to visit the boat and naturally they’d always arrange to come around to all the ready rooms to give a talk about how to advance your career. Invariably they’d tell everyone if they wanted to make flag rank and go to DC to get to know the pols. If they got to know you, then you were golden. They’d sort of sneer in an implied way at the aviators who wanted to actually fly. After the “pep talk” the aviators reaction would generally be, “f*** that.”

    Like I said, different breed.

    Steve57 (51ff17)

  50. Living in this leaderless country must resemble being on the Costa Concordia just before Captain Francesco Schettino ran his vessel aground.

    mg (31009b)

  51. The linked article suggests its the President feels sympathy for the GOP leadership because of its problems with the Tea Party conservatives in the House. In other words, it’s Obama + Boehner vs House conservatives.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  52. Optical mouse strikes again!

    …make flag rank get out of the cockpit and go to DC to get to know the pols…

    Does anyone else have that automatic highlight and delete feature?

    Steve57 (51ff17)

  53. Steve57,

    It’s not just the top military personnel who support Obama. It’s widespread.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  54. And the DOD was overwhelmingly for Obama.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  55. 51. Living in this leaderless country must resemble being on the Costa Concordia just before Captain Francesco Schettino ran his vessel aground.

    Comment by mg (31009b) — 10/11/2013 @ 11:27 am

    Francesco Schettino announces to the passengers: “I told you we wouldn’t get to Savona without experiencing a few glitches. But you’ll like Tuscany better. In fact, you should be thanking me. Now I’ve got to make my tee time on the Isola del Giglio.”

    Steve57 (51ff17)

  56. Republicans are known for supporting the military but my support is wobbly right now.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  57. DRJ – politico must have let Favreau or Messina or Axelturf write that article.

    JD (b37348)

  58. It does sound like something written by a White House publicist or a reporter taking notes based on leaks from inside the Administration, but I guess that’s pretty common for Politico.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  59. We do have an all volunteer military and it is now almost 5 years since Obama’s original election. I assume who the CiC is can make a difference in who signs up/stays in the military or not.
    I think it would for me.
    Not only do you go to war with the military you have, but the military goes to war with the CiC it has.

    MD in Philly (f9371b)

  60. It’s very possible that someone has already linked this elsewhere–but just in case…

    http://www.grantland.com/fivethirtyeight/story/_/id/9802433/nate-silver-us-government-shutdown

    Actually Nate put out quite a bit to chew on and to think about.

    elissa (18305b)

  61. elissa,

    What Silver says is true but it won’t matter if the Republicans cave — as it appears they are — because the “truth” will be whatever Obama and the media claim it is.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  62. … and that truth will be that Obama and the Democrats won and the Republicans lost because Obama was right and the GOP was wrong. It will be that simple.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  63. The Civil War was perhaps decided by one lost note that fell into the wrong hands,
    who knows what note by whom will fall into whose hands.

    There was that note supposedly from Boehner putting him on the side of people wanting to exempt themselves from ObamaCare, but to me it is unclear if that was for reals or an attempt to smear and undermine Boehner when he was showing a spine.

    Vince Foster- I wasn’t following the news or politics then, and still have no idea whether the thought that he was murdered is somewhat reasonable or total wacko conspiracy. It seems that ropelight thinks there may be something to it, and I generally consider his/her thoughts to be reasonable.

    MD in Philly (f9371b)

  64. Another wasted opportunity to educate Americans about what’s at stake and how we will fix it. No wonder Americans want a third party. It’s getting harder to argue they’re wrong.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  65. Anyone know if the truckers are occupying the beltway highway today?

    MD in Philly (f9371b)

  66. 54. Steve57,

    It’s not just the top military personnel who support Obama. It’s widespread.

    Comment by DRJ (a83b8b) — 10/11/2013 @ 11:33 am

    DRJ, that fundraising data is self reported. And as we know, Obama supporters are not always (usually) honest about who and what they are.

    http://stockman.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/stockman-invites-failed-obamacare-signup-chad-henderson-to-join-him-at

    “Chad Henderson is ObamaCare personified. He pushed ObamaCare on other people but refused to buy it himself because he would pay more. He’s practically a Democrat member of Congress,” said Stockman. “I hope Chad will join me at the State of the Union Address so Obama can point to someone who personifies his policies.”

    After a nationwide search for one person who had benefitted from ObamaCare turned up nothing, the national news media made Henderson a celebrity last week by rushing to report his claims he successfully purchased an ObamaCare policy. They did not reveal he was actually an activist for Obama’s “Organizing for America” political group.

    People with the most tenuous relationship with the armed forces identified themselves as such. Is career civil servant at EPA who also happens to be a reservist in the DC National Guard really National Guard just because they check that box when they contribute to the Obama campaign? Or even better, is a civilian administrator at Walter Reed really Army? Nobody verifies that information.

    One of the major networks, ABC or CBS or something, sent a crew out to follow candidate/Senator Obama when he visited Iraq and Afghanistan in June 2008. At one of his stops a reporter interviewed the troops and asked them who they were going to vote for. About 70 said they were voting for McCain, 6 were voting for Hillary!, and 3 for Obama.

    I know this because a proud dad sent out emails saying his daughter was going to be on TV. Guess what, she wasn’t. She was one of the 70. They only showed the Democrat supporters.

    You can’t take that self-reported fund raising data at face value.

    Steve57 (51ff17)

  67. Steve57,

    All political donations are self-reported in the sense that donors voluntarily name their employer and/or area of employment when they make a donation. It’s certainly possible that donors don’t accurately state employment information but I don’t have any reason to doubt the veracity of donors who claim to be employed by the military more than other political donors.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  68. You realize that Open Secrets’ donor information comes from FEC records, right?

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  69. DRJ, not to harp on it too much but here’s how misleading that fundraising data is.

    The Defense Acquisition University is primarily for DOD civilians. Contract managers and such. In other words it’s for bureaucrats, who are instructed by bureaucrats, and staffed by bureaucrats. There may be some supply corps guys who attend that school. But looking at the website that’s not the schools primary focus. It’s to train civilian bureaucrats who work in the field of acquisitions.

    National Defense University is also an inside-the-beltway institution with tons of civilians.

    Some people identified themselves as “US Military.” No servicemember would do that. They’d identify their branch of service. Anybody who identified themselves as generic “US military” has to be some sort of DoD civilian.

    By the same token no one wearing the uniform would identify themselves as generic DoD. Again, those donations have to be from civilian bureaucrats.

    NATO? For all we know some Dutch Army hairdresser sent in illegal donation (I don’t know if the Dutch Army still has hairdressers, but they used to).

    People actually in the military tend not to contribute to political campaigns. But the civilian bureaucrats do.

    Steve57 (51ff17)

  70. Compromise, Sammy? It’s not in the man’s nature to do so. This bad joke of a media will of course cast whatever deal is reached as the result of Obumbler’s genius and all-around amazing awesomeness.

    Colonel Haiku (ee5253)

  71. Fewer military troops identify with the GOP now than in the past, and that number has been falling since 2004. It could be a result of Bush and the War on Terror, but the trend continued after Bush left office so it’s not clear to me.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  72. Steve57:

    People actually in the military tend not to contribute to political campaigns. But the civilian bureaucrats do.

    I think that’s wishful thinking. We both may wish it’s true but that doesn’t make it true, and the evidence suggests otherwise.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  73. This Washington Times report indicates the military donations come from civilian personnel (as you indicate) and enlisted personnel. It’s not our fathers’ military anymore.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  74. What I’m saying, DRJ, is that based on the categories open secrets lumped under the general heading “military,” a lot of those donations couldn’t possibly be from uniformed members of the armed services. Others are highly unlikely to be.

    Nor am I saying that anyone is being dishonest. If you’re a reservist in the National Guard it’s not a lie to say you’re in the National Guard. But it’s also true that very few people are primarily Guardsmen. The paycheck from one weekend a month, two weeks a year, is nice to have but not enough to make a living on.

    It’s a second job. Not a career.

    By the same token if you’re in the reserves you’re not lying when you check “Army” or “Air Force.” You are, after all, a member of one of those outfits. I don’t see the people at open secrets breaking people out by active duty or reserve, do you?

    Look at the comments. The fact that this sort of thing immediately jumped out at people who were actually in the military should tell you something.

    Tony • 11 months ago

    Oh, and DOD civilians make a TON more money that the troops, so the $$ figure disparity is no surprise, either.

    Tony • 11 months ago

    Don’t be misled by the reports that the “military” overwhelmingly prefers Obama over Romney. The polls lump military together with DOD civilians, and the two are VERY different. The latter are generally unionized, hence it’s no surprise they support Obama, and they far outnumber actual military personnel (so the percentages are skewed). The MILITARY itself supports Romney.

    One quoted an Military Times article.

    Terry • 11 months ago

    As Reported by the Military Times

    The professional core of the U.S. military overwhelmingly favors Mitt Romney over President Obama in the upcoming election — but not because of any particular military issues, according to a new poll of more than 3,100 active and reserve troops.

    Respondents rated the economy and the candidates’ character as their most important considerations and all but ignored the war in Afghanistan as an issue of concern.

    The Military Times Poll is a secure email survey of active-duty, National Guard and reserve members who are subscribers to the Military Times newspapers (see How We Did It, below).

    This population is older and more senior than the military population at large, but it is representative of the professional core of the all-volunteer force.

    The 3,100 respondents — roughly two-thirds active-duty and one-third reserve component members — are about 80 percent white and 91 percent male. Forty percent are in paygrades E-5 through E-8, while more than 35 percent are in paygrades O-3 through O-5.

    It’s misleading that this means people actually in the armed forces overwhelmingly supported Obama, which is the impression its trying to give.

    Steve57 (51ff17)

  75. DRJ, I have no doubt that the junior enlisted were big Paul and Obama supporters. Just like college students were.

    But the junior enlisted don’t have a lot of money to spend on politics. They don’t make that much. They’re not responsible for the gulf between what Obama collected versus Romney.

    Steve57 (51ff17)

  76. 28. And they apparently changed the policy (which was maybe never officially mpermitted in the first place) without bothering to goive the families notice, or an opportunity to appeal.

    It’s not actually linked to the shutdown, except that it happened this week or so.

    So they prefeerred anonymous complainers to the families of those killed, or even maybe sided with some families against others. Or were the complaionersd maybe those who worked in the cemetery?

    Sammy Finkelman (bec8ba)

  77. 73. I think that’s wishful thinking. We both may wish it’s true but that doesn’t make it true, and the evidence suggests otherwise.

    Comment by DRJ (a83b8b) — 10/11/2013 @ 12:19 pm

    Why would that be wishful thinking? I spent 20 years in. As you pointed out the junior enlisted are supporting Obama. When I was in they supported Clinton, then the candidacies of Gore and Kerry.

    But not many sent checks. And when they did the checks weren’t large.

    74. It’s not our fathers’ military anymore.

    Comment by DRJ (a83b8b) — 10/11/2013 @ 12:27 pm

    When it was my father’s military, they overwhelmingly loved FDR.

    So you’re right, it’s not. Now the officer corps and senior enlisted are far, far more conservative than in my father’s day.

    Steve57 (51ff17)

  78. I don’t get any trick or treaters where I live cause of there’s no kids there and we have a childproof gate.

    The Falconer Meets Frosty the Snowman screams franchise to me Mr. Stone. The Falconer would be a down on his luck part-time barista kid in his mid-twenties what failed to launch but who has fabulous teeth and he befriends a mysterious old man at his Starbucks who gives him a silver whistle. Over time our hapless barista kid, Todd, he learns how to use the whistle to befriend local fauna, and bend them to his will. He forges a particular bond with a young falcon he names Merriweather and they hang out a lot but not in the gay way Harry Potter did with the owl more in a cool way.

    Todd has angst because of… his dad died mysteriously several years ago. So mysteriously that Todd suspects he may have simply run off. Todd has trouble Letting People In.

    ***Musical Interlude***

    Meanwhile a ghostly druid, the Snowman, who is ensconced in a third floor walk-up and who mostly minds his own business is alerted to Todd and the stuff he’s doing with his animal pals and realizes Todd is very close to being able to communicate with the beasts – *without* the whistle – and that when he does he’ll learn ancient secrets that the beasts of the city have guarded for centuries.

    Ancient secrets which threaten to tear apart our whole world.

    And so in the pilot episode at the very end the Snowman sends a beautiful young lady with dazzling teeth and a hidden past to befriend Todd and to distract him from his pursuits. She serves the Snowman but we strongly suspect she also Has Her Own Agenda.

    Season one involves their relationship and stuff involving animals and other enchantment certain to appeal to females 18-24 with also many action/horror sequences and just enough violence and gore to draw in a young male viewership.

    Supporting characters are include the girl who does the Snowman’s shopping and such (there’s more to he than meets the eye!) as well as Todd’s best friend who has some stupid but vaguely retro name like Micah or Caleb.

    Todd also has a mom who is a little more hot than normal moms but who works in a strategic job in a hospital or a law office or a newspaper that helps advance the plot at key plot points – and a kindly and wise grandfather who has had many adventures of his own, and who may or may not have insight into all of these goings-on with his increasingly enigmatic grandson.

    We also learn that the hearts of some of the animals, they are dark. There is another in the city. Malevolent and baneful. He has to find and destroy this Todd person because that is what the big bad guy what is introduced towards the end of season one does for season two.

    Throughout the first season Todd never meets the Snowman though they interact through intermediaries and such.

    In Season Two however everything changes and the Snowman becomes a Central Character in the battle against the darkness.

    happyfeet (c60db2)

  79. … and that truth will be that Obama and the Democrats won and the Republicans lost because Obama was right and the GOP was wrong. It will be that simple.

    Comment by DRJ (a83b8b) — 10/11/2013 @ 11:48 am

    Optics and words matter – the truth will be Obama and the Democrats rescued the nation from the Republicans holding the America and its people hostage.

    Because, why waste a melodramatic narrative.

    Dana (52ddcc)

  80. #64, MD, thanks for the kind words, ropelight is male and he is convinced Vince Foster was murdered, likely in the WH, and his body rolled up in a carpet, secretly removed from the WH, and dumped in Fort Marcy Park.

    Foster was Hillary’s pal at the Rose Law Firm and was long rumored to be her boyfriend. She made a mad dash out of DC on a private jet on an unscheduled visit to her mother between the time Foster finished his lunch in his WH office and the time his dead body was discovered.

    I didn’t see him die so I can’t be absolutely certain she did it, but I am willing to bet my bippy that if she didn’t do it herself she knows damn well who did. And, she knows who fudged the WH departure logs and made the parking lot video tape disappear.

    So, yeah, I’m pointing the finger right straight at Hillary Clinton and the accusation is murder.

    ropelight (9b2438)

  81. I pledge 150K for to help Happy with his pilot. All I want is for me little one to be an extra -maybe a forest critter?

    felipe (70ff7e)

  82. Steve57:

    When it was my father’s military, they overwhelmingly loved FDR.

    So you’re right, it’s not. Now the officer corps and senior enlisted are far, far more conservative than in my father’s day.

    I think you are mixing apples and oranges. In our fathers’ day, many people in the military came from the South so they were overwhelmingly Democrats. As a result, it’s not surprising they supported FDR, but they were still conservative compared to today’s Democrats.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  83. 48. …But who is president of the United states?

    Comment by Sammy Finkelman (d22d64) — 10/11/2013 @ 11:25 am

    Normally it’s Valerie Jarrett, but she must be on vay-cay.

    You don’t think Barack “lead from behind” Obama is the Preezy, do you?

    Steve57 (51ff17)

  84. In other words, I’m not convinced the military is more conservative today than it was in the 1930’s-1950’s. Some military personnel are more likely to identify with Republicans because the parties’ ideologies have changed, but that doesn’t seem true of enlisted personnel. They seem more liberal like their peers in civilian life.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  85. I wonder if WH visitors can still have their picture taken with the President. Magic 8-ball says YES.

    Kevin M (bf8ad7)

  86. BTW, is Biden furloughed? Like many supernumeraries, he’s hardly an essential employee.

    Kevin M (bf8ad7)

  87. DRJ, you bring up an interesting point. During the general mobilization of WWII lots of people were drafted from lots of places outside of the south, so of course they were overwhelmingly Democrats but many of them were anything else but conservative. It would fun to explore what effect that had on the make-up of the senior enlisted and officer corps, but we’re getting far afield.

    I’m just pointing out a few simple facts. For instance in the aftermath of the recent Navy Yard shooting there were 14 fatalities including the gunman. Every single one of them was a civilian. And every single one of them had they contributed to a political campaign could have checked the block “US Navy” when asked for their employer. And they wouldn’t have been lying. After all, they were employed by the Department of the Navy, weren’t they? Even the contractors. They might have been employed by Raytheon, for example, but if the Navy cancelled the contract they’d be out of a job. Raytheon wasn’t really paying them.

    It is my opinion that the data on political contributions that open secrets collected doesn’t tell you a thing about which candidate those actually in the military preferred.

    I think it’s an informed opinion based upon 20 years of close observation. But I’m not going to try and talk you into it.

    Steve57 (51ff17)

  88. O/T….but sometimes something good happens in CA:

    Jerry “Moonbeam” Brown today VETOED the expansion of the ban on Assault Weapons (SB374) that was sitting on his desk, thereby not making millions of CA citizens and residents felons.

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  89. ….Brown….more….

    Altogether, Jer faced eleven bills regarding firearms, signed four, and vetoed seven – including the biggie, SB374.

    His mind works in very strange ways.

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  90. i think even Moonbeam was afraid of the massive civil disobedience that would have resulted had he signed that bill.

    redc1c4 (abd49e)

  91. He might have been afraid of the NRA lawsuit. Perhaps he was convinced it had merit.

    Steve57 (51ff17)

  92. I think, in light of CA’s perilous financial condition, that the bill just was going to be too expensive to defend for two decades in court, and all it would have done is to drive the weapons underground.
    When the original bill (Roberti-Roos) was passed 2-decades ago, it was estimated that there were hundreds of thousands of AW’s in CA, possibly millions, yet they had less than 50,000 register during the sign-up period.
    A lot of people in CA do not take kindly to dictates about their personal safety from Sacramento – just as they didn’t take kindly to having to drive 55 on freeways that were designed for 70+ under the Interstate Hwy Act.

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  93. the lawsuit would have been epic, and might very well have resulted in the whole stupid “assault weapons” law being thrown out…

    time to buy a few more rifles before the new register starts in January. 😎

    redc1c4 (abd49e)

  94. Anybody besides ropelight have a strong opinion that Mr. Foster’s death was murder? Just wondering.

    MD in Philly (f9371b)

  95. I’m not saying I know you’re wrong, Steve57. But it seems to me there are too many polls, donations, and events with the troops that support Obama and the Democrats to conclude it’s only civilians who feel that way.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  96. I have always thought there were more questions unanswered than answered.

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  97. MD,

    I am suspicious there was a coverup relating to the circumstances of Foster’s death, but that doesn’t mean I think he was murdered. I don’t think what they told us is the whole truth.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  98. I wonder if it was even 10%!

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  99. I guess if one wanted character witnesses, the parents of those killed in Benghazi would not be very helpful to Sec. Clinton, now would they?

    Or President Clinton, disbarred for perjury, doesn’t exactly inspire trust, either.

    MD in Philly (f9371b)

  100. I wish we had an open thread on Republicans but since we don’t, I’m putting this here. John McCain says the people responsible for the Defund ObamaCare movement should be held accountable. Fine, as long we hold the people responsible for the last two GOP Presidential election losses accountable first.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  101. If Sen. McCain wants to do a head to head on accountability with Sen. Cruz, from what I can tell I think Sen. Cruz has done a great job being accountable to his constituents for going what he said he would do if elected.

    Then again, Sen. McCain has generally done what we have expected him to do, as well, but I’m not sure what he has actually promised the people of Arizona.

    MD in Philly (f9371b)

  102. going doing

    MD in Philly (f9371b)

  103. Steve Schmidt has a lot to answer for, as do Rick Davis and Nicolle Wallace.

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  104. Comparing Champagne to Thunderbird….
    Cruz v. McCain

    askeptic (b8ab92)

  105. John McCain is a cowardly squackering geriatric whore but it’s almost like he’s got some kind of tic where he compulsively makes a complete twat of himself

    It’s stale, how he does it over and over, and nobody really takes him seriously anymore except for millennial icon breasty mcjiggles

    it’s this Boehner what still has the ability to execute the most unbelievably loathsome and whorish acts of uselessness – I just

    I can’t countenance a Republican party with a Boehner in it

    I have no idea who his target audience is but it sure as hell isn’t me

    happyfeet (c60db2)

  106. I always figured, that if not real suicide, Foster had a dangerous liaison in the park that went wrong. Not remarkably rare.

    (And Firefox has spell check. Cool.)

    nk (dbc370)

  107. Steve57 #87 and DRJ – could it be that those contributing to the party of those who decide upon advancement (or not) in their careers will do so while giving their names and connections as publicly as possible ? And those who wish to donate to the opponents of those who have the power to promote or demote will do so as anonymously as possible ?

    Possibly more importantly, the two sources I saw cited were Politico and the Puffington Host … neither is exactly objective and unbiased …

    Take a look at current reports of Congressional activity in the MSM … most current AP articles talking about bills Obama is signing do so in terms of “The Senate passed this [useful/appropriate/positive statement] bill that President Obama is signing” in the first paragraph or so … you have to keep reading to the final paragraphs to find any reference to the fact that the House of Representatives originated the bill in the first place (and that is if there is even any reference to the House) …

    Boehner is getting bills passed, and those bills are getting passed by the Senate and signed by Pres’ent Obama – and the MSM is *still* trying not to give the GOP any credit … most recently, for example, “a bill that would restore funding for emergency payments to the families of deceased soldiers” was signed … see what you can find about it … from most media accounts, the Senate and Pres’ent Obama did it …

    Alastor (e7cb73)

  108. happyfeet, maybe we’ll work on a project together in the future.

    Maybe we’ll entitle it, “Falconer Crest.”

    Elephant Stone (6a6f37)

  109. Isn’t “Fosterized” a term referring to someone found dead, face down, shot through the back of the head, gun (warm and still smoking) in the non-dominant hand ? (possible dispute/disagreement with HRClinton optional)

    (unknown as to how accurate that description is, as compared with the reality of what happened to Vince Foster)

    Alastor (e7cb73)

  110. Mr feets – perhaps you would enjoy a trip to those British islands in the South Atlantic east of Argentina … you know the ones … the Falconlands ?

    Alastor (e7cb73)

  111. ACK ! I’ve been Sammified !

    (blush)

    Alastor (e7cb73)

  112. DRJ – Ask and you shall receive.

    JD (b37348)

  113. Falconer Crest!

    Lorenzo looks like he been rode hard and put up wet but he still delivers the goods dramatically.

    If we can get him on board we’re gold Mr. Stone.

    I’m a find out what Starbucks he goes to

    happyfeet (c60db2)

  114. Mr. Alastor my boss, one of them, is from Argentina he spent some of his adolescence there

    He makes it sound like a very lonely place. I think it was hard for him to be around so many uneducated people so he kept to himself a lot.

    His family has these fun stories about how they flew down to mexico and met the uncle and the aunt and the cousins there and then smuggled them all across the border in a modified vw van at great personal risk for so they could start their new lives in America. The two cousins are both fabulously wealthy American citizens now.

    I love that story so much.

    happyfeet (c60db2)

  115. Have found that having a bikers severed head as a hood ornament has greatly reduced the number of roadblocks I had to crash during this mornings commute …

    on the food front am down to my last 3 cats and the dogs are looking nervous, will have to remember to put out some traps and milk tonight to resupply …

    JeffC (6737ff)

  116. “Isn’t “Fosterized” a term referring to someone found dead, face down, shot through the back of the head…”

    Could be… or if you’re down undah, face down in the muck after more than a few too many of one of the Aussie’s favorite brews, you, too, have been Fosters®ized…

    Colonel Haiku (0d9d91)

  117. 95. I’m not saying I know you’re wrong, Steve57. But it seems to me there are too many polls, donations, and events with the troops that support Obama and the Democrats to conclude it’s only civilians who feel that way.

    Comment by DRJ (a83b8b) — 10/11/2013 @ 2:35 pm

    DRJ, if you see events with the troops that support Obama and the Democrats, you’re seeing something that is staged on the pretense it’s an official function with the CinC. Or a Senator doing some sort of “fact finding tour.” Not a campaign event. Although we all know that’s BS, which is why I’d always offer to stand duty whatever day the politician was showing up to use the troops as campaign props.

    We were required to go to those “official” events, which invariably popped up during election season. Unless you had duty. I’d take an extra duty because I couldn’t stomach that. I was a bipartisan watchstander, too.

    You aren’t supposed to see actual troops at a purely political function. One where there’s no possible pretense it’s in any way an official visit. If it’s a political event for a candidate or political party, it’s a serious violation for troops to attend in any way that identifies them as active duty servicemembers. That implies official endorsement.

    In any case, I was observing that for a variety of reasons those open secrets statistics on campaign donations are a poor measure of which candidate the majority of troops support.

    I’m not trying to talk you out of conclusions.

    Steve57 (51ff17)

  118. …it’s only civilians who feel that way.

    I hope you don’t think I was saying that only civilians who support Obama. Nor was I saying it’s only the junior enlisted who support Obama. I worked for some extremely liberal Captains. The majority of senior officers were conservative, just like the majority of Chiefs and junior officers.

    Man, was that Captain PO’d when I took the duty so I didn’t have to go shake Clinton’s hand. He didn’t find out until he saw the duty officer was their with the rest of the gaggle, and I wasn’t. He was steamed when he got back. I just told him LT so-and-so on duty wanted to go to the Nuremburg Rally sooo much I just had to let him have my spot.

    OK, I didn’t call it the Nuremburg Rally. But that’s what I was thinking. And he knew it.

    I did that term when everybody else got back after Bush visited. “How was the Nuremburg Rally, guys?” They busted up, but then that Captain was a conservative as is the norm, and conservatives have a sense of humor.

    Steve57 (51ff17)

  119. he’s got some kind of tic where he compulsively makes a complete twat of himself

    Poor. Impulse. Control.

    McCain is always about a half-hour short of a half-baked notion.

    Kevin M (bf8ad7)

  120. Let’s see how many words the optical mouse swallowed on that last one.

    *it’s

    *use

    I take responsibility for the misspellings, but the magical mouse has this automatic highlight-and-erase feature that if you’re typing away you may not notice it’s happening.

    Steve57 (51ff17)

  121. Thanks for the open thread, JD.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  122. Don’t worry, DRJ, I don’t plan on commenting on the open thread.

    Steve57 (51ff17)

  123. Why not? I enjoy talking to you.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  124. I enjoy talking to you, DRJ, but I get accused of coming across as if it’s ok to have any opinion you want as long as it’s mine.

    Which I was making an extra effort not to do in this case, but I mistook your last comment as a sign that maybe I just wasn’t succeeding.

    I was intrigued by your comment that you’ve seen many events with the troops that support Obama and the Democrats. Where have you seen that? Because while servicemembers can participate in any political campaign or event they want in a private capacity they’re not supposed to advertise they’re in the military. The only hint they’re in the military should be the haircut, which is not necessarily conclusive evidence.

    Steve57 (51ff17)

  125. I’ve seen TV reports and video of Obama speaking at bases. I know the troops are required to show up for some events but you can tell when people are sincerely supportive or just going through the motions. It’s my impression that many of the enlisted personnel who attend Obama’s military events are sincerely supportive.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  126. I think the ones they stick behind his podium feel extra pressure.

    I remember a buddy of mine coming back from the Clinton Nuremburg Rally on the Kittyhawk. He said, “Steve, what could I do? I didn’t want to shake the guy’s hand, but he stuck it right out in front of me. There were TV cameras.”

    They’re under orders to go. They’re under pressure to make it look good. The brass wants to impress the boss.

    It’s not a democracy.

    Have you read this post by the DiploMad?

    http://thediplomad.blogspot.com/2013/09/no-ugly-or-fat-people-on-rope-line.html

    “No Ugly or Fat People on the Rope Line!” Remembering a Visit by Hillary Clinton

    It’ll give you an idea of what kind of pressure the troops forced onto the rope line are under, except without the extra duty.

    Steve57 (d1b97d)

  127. …the troops are required to show up for some events…

    All those events, not some.

    Steve57 (d1b97d)

  128. Of course, I didn’t, but I did make sure one old ugly guy was not at the departure ceremony, me.

    I would get along with the guy who blogs at the Diplomad 2.0.

    Steve57 (d1b97d)

  129. Steve57,

    Several of these smiling troops appear sincerely supportive to me.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  130. And some seem like they are just going through the motions. I understand it’s a tricky situation, but I still think there are more than a few military personnel who are sincerely supportive of Obama.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  131. Yeah, but you don’t know what duty Obama’s visit got them out of.

    Dueling videos.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsPokKnxXIM

    President Obama Speaks at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton [FULL SPEECH] 8/7/2013

    Have you ever seen a group of guys who looked like they wanted to be somewhere else? Sure, they react to the applause line at the 5:30 mark with relative enthusiasm. Because they know they better because off camera their NCOs are clapping and glaring at them.

    The difference being the video you show are a bunch of troops in Korea, which does wonders for lowering your expectations of life, and the second are in Oceanside CA and they really have places to go and people to see.

    Steve57 (d1b97d)

  132. So is it your position that no one in the military likes Obama?

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  133. It’s my impression that many of the enlisted personnel who attend Obama’s military events are sincerely supportive.

    Hardly surprising during an era when the US military emotionally/operationally/philosophically accommodates nefarious characters like a Nidal Hasan, when military chaplains are frowned upon for expressing a pro-traditional-marriage theology, and when male-on-male rape among enlistees apparently is on the increase.

    I used to wonder what it must be like to be a sensible, down-to-earth non-liberal trying to survive in — and native to — a country like Greece, Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela or France. I’m experiencing glimmers of what such people have long had to contend with 24/7, and it ain’t a pretty picture.

    Mark (58ea35)

  134. It’s not my position that everyone in the military likes Obama. It’s my position that some in the military like Obama, and I thought you would agree with that. Thus, I’m having a hard time understanding where we disagree.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  135. I still think there are more than a few military personnel who are sincerely supportive of Obama.

    I don’t disagree. There are more than a few. But there are lots of people in uniform.

    You could fill dodgers stadium with sincere supporters of Obama and still have several Wembley stadiums full of non-supporters.

    Steve57 (d1b97d)

  136. To repeat, I’m not disagreeing.

    Steve57 (d1b97d)

  137. Did you watch the video I linked to at 131, DRJ?

    Didn’t some of those guys have a look on their face that said, “I left Afghanistan for this?”

    Steve57 (d1b97d)

  138. From the 2008 campaign:

    According to an analysis of campaign contributions by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, Democrat Barack Obama has received nearly six times as much money from troops deployed overseas at the time of their contributions than has Republican John McCain, and the fiercely anti-war Ron Paul, though he suspended his campaign for the Republican nomination months ago, has received more than four times McCain’s haul.

    Despite McCain’s status as a decorated veteran and a historically Republican bent among the military, members of the armed services overall — whether stationed overseas or at home — are also favoring Obama with their campaign contributions in 2008, by a $55,000 margin. Although 59 percent of federal contributions by military personnel has gone to Republicans this cycle, of money from the military to the presumed presidential nominees, 57 percent has gone to Obama.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  139. I had already seen that video, Steve57. I acknowledged earlier that not all the troops seem supportive. I was trying to show you an example of one where they did seem genuinely enthusiastic.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  140. There are also videos from Bagram, Fort Bragg and Fort Bliss that are similar to your link from Fort Pendleton. The troops have similar expressions in each. I’m sure there are others, as well as some for President Bush. The troops are supposed to be apolitical and they generally do a good job acting that way. But as I said above, you can tell when people are sincerely supportive or just going through the motions. I think many of the enlisted personnel were genuinely supportive, especially in the 2008 election and after Obama was elected.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  141. DRJ, I don’t think that’s the whole story. If the military was such a rich vein of Obama voters, the administration would be enforcing the MOVE (Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment) Act with vigor.

    http://pjmedia.com/blog/outrage-pentagon-grants-five-states-waivers-from-move-act/

    Steve57 (d1b97d)

  142. I don’t think we have any real points of disagreement, DRJ. Not all the troops are supportive of Obama, true. On the other hand, some are sincere believers.

    It’s just a matter of the proportion of the demographic, to which I have no more insight than you anymore. I’m just not as down about it, based upon my experiences.

    I’m not trying to prove I’m right, believe it or not. Just that there are reasons to think things are looking up.

    Steve57 (d1b97d)

  143. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2Wx230gYJw

    Monty Python – Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life [HD]

    Steve57 (d1b97d)

  144. My focus has been the enlisted personnel but you have a point. First, I’m sure there are officers who support Obama but I don’t think there as many, percentage-wise. Second, and anecdotally based on friends who have children in the military, I think there is less excitement about Obama than in the past — not only because the military is down-sizing but also because the national job market isn’t that great. It was one thing to support Obama when they were enlisted and the bonuses were big. It’s another to be worrying about staying in and/or where to get a job if you don’t stay in. It makes politics seem a lot more real.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  145. In essence, we may have been “disagreeing” about enlisted personnel in 2008 vs 2012. I think they were more supportive of Obama in 2008 than they probably are now, and I think you might agree.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  146. My only point was, “Don’t abandon all hope all ye who enter here.”

    Steve57 (d1b97d)

  147. I didn’t see your 10:23 comment because I didn’t refresh the page.

    Yes, I agree.

    Steve57 (d1b97d)

  148. ya know, so much of what the Obama administration has been pretending its forced to do when the gub’mint is shut down, as in 17% defunded, is complete BS.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/mclean-youth-lacrosse-beats-government-shutdown-in-court-langley-fork-park-reopens/2013/10/10/c79ad664-31d3-11e3-9c68-1cf643210300_story.html

    McLean Youth Lacrosse fights government shutdown in court; Langley Fork Park reopens

    Just complete crap that only the Kook Kounty Klown Kar administration would dare to come up with.

    Steve57 (d1b97d)

  149. I can say for certain that the Appalachian Trail is still open. I have offspring clambering along that rocky, muddy, picturesque, and storied path today. Good luck closing that NPS site, even if they had the authority to do so.

    Amphipolis (e01538)

  150. 95. Comment by MD in Philly (f9371b) — 10/11/2013 @ 2:30 pm

    Anybody besides ropelight have a strong opinion that Mr. Foster’s death was murder? Just wondering.

    It was a murder, but it was an unplanned murder.

    For two years actually I thought it was suicide – but then realized there’s absolutely no reason to believe that, and people don’t do things like that. (kill themselves because of possible scandals coming out, certainly not on the first day)

    However all the common conspiracy theories about how and why he was killed are false, and many pof them are red herrings created by Clinton. When Chrostopher Ruddy was writing his stories in the New York Post from january 1994 to March 1994, and being answered the next day or so by competing leaks to the New York Daily News, he was led on one or more false trails.

    The goal was that noody should even guess or suspect the truth, and that even the skeptics should feel they know the truth..

    Sammy Finkelman (bec8ba)


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