Party Before Country
On Christmas Day, a flaming crotch bomber tried to take down a Northwest Airlines flight over Detroit. Luckily for us, he was as incompetent as shoe bomber Richard Reid and failed thanks to the passengers and crew on the airplane. As I stated yesterday, I think this incident exposed some unclosed loopholes and weaknesses in our current system. One thing that it has also exposed – the dangers of Republican obstructionism.
In September, President Obama nominated a highly qualified candidate to be administrator of the TSA named Errol Southers. Senator Jim DeMint put a hold on the nomination because DeMint hates unions more than he loves safety of the American people:
The sticking point for DeMint is that Southers would not answer a question about whether he would allow screeners to collectively bargain and unionize.
I’m sorry Senator DeMint, but I don’t really think that’s something you get to decide for other people or is all that supposed concern for the elimination of the “secret ballot” in the EFCA bill just imaginary?
I think there is a lot of blame to go around here – Obama has been very slow with his nomination process (in part because of the strict ethics screening they have to endure) and Democrats have been oddly passive in bringing these nominations to the Senate floor. Democrats have also continued to allow these one Senator vetoes with holds of nominations. Senator DeMint is an ass but why haven’t Senate Democrats been out there screaming about obstructionism and how it’s making our country less safe?
The TSA administrator debacle may be lighting a fire under the Senate a bit. Harry Reid has announced that he’s calling a roll call vote, which means that there will be a cloture vote on the nomination.
I hope that the Senate will stop allowing obstruction with their opaque rules and procedures. I didn’t elect Jim DeMint president, just like I didn’t vote for President Snowe, President Nelson or President Lieberman. I understand retaining the rights of the minority party and avoiding allowing the majority to run roughshod over the minority but this obstructionism is standing in the way of getting the people’s business done. Getting the people’s business done is what I thought the Senate was there to do.
Tags: Jim DeMint, Terrorism, TSA
Obama waited nine months to nominate, but it’s all DeMint’s fault.
Do you have a reading comprehension problem? I said:
That being said, DeMint chose of his own free will to oppose this nomination for partisan reasons. He refused to let a vote come up. That’s not Obama’s fault, or Harry Reid’s fault or my fault. Please try to pay attention.
Selective cognition is a trait of weak-mindedness, UI.
Please, do not feed the disingenuous!
It isn’t partisan to oppose allowing union rules to dictate national security policy.
Just as our military should not be unionized, neither should TSA screeners.
Just imagine when the SEIU-affiliated TSA Screeners Union decides to go out on strike. Do we then shut down all air traffic until there is a new contract? Does the government simply give in to the union to prevent such a disruption? Or does Obama have the cojones of a Reagan and treat the strikers like PATCO?
Just as our military should not be unionized…
The military has benefits beyond the wildest dreams of any civilian union member.
Just imagine when the SEIU-affiliated TSA Screeners Union decides to go out on strike. Do we then shut down all air traffic until there is a new contract?
What do we do when cops or teachers go out on strike? Answer: They don’t, it is illegal. When they do it is a wildcat strike provoked by extreme and deliberate neglect by management.
So, letting a Senator’s hold dictate national security is o.k. then? (As long as it’s a Republican with Republican ideals, right?)
silly Observer… it is partisan to opose the will of The One.
UI,
Teachers strike all the time.
Police unions don’t “strike” they sick out, it’s called the Blue Flu.
The policy concern goes far beyond strikes or work slowdowns. It centers on having to negotiate work rules with a union whose first priority is comfort and benefit of the worker and not the safety and security of the flying public.
Trolls are funny. Instead of talking about the issue, the partisan hold-up of a key national security position which is actually happening they are talking about hypothetical strikes by hypothetical unions. Good one, guys!
Let’s see — DeMint is holding up the nomination over the issue of TSA unionization. I pointed out there is good reason to oppose TSA unionization. You argue that I’m a troll because I’m not attacking DeMint for holding up the nomination for partisan reasons — despite the fact that I am pointing out that the reason for the hold-up is directly related to a national security concern, not partisanship.
Let’s see, pilots have strikes, baggage handlers have strikes, air traffic controllers strike… pretty much any of these groups will cause air travel to shut down, but suddenly if TSA screeners strike (theoretically) it is the end of the world.
Got it.
First of all DeMint made it up that he “thought the nominee would unionize the baggage handlers”. Where is the evidence of any facts to that statement by Mr. Unamerican Demint? The nominee has tremendous credentials for the job. Its just the Party of No, who are so blatantly partisan they would put the safety of the nation in jeopardy. Secondly, theres little the US could have done to prevent the guy from getting on the plane. He got on in Amsterdam, and I understand Amsterdam actually has the Israelie made “naked body scanners”. I smell a rat here. You can google what airports here in the US already have the body scanners, but the blogosphere is filled with reports that Israel stands to make zillions from installing these body scanners at airports worldwide. Here again we have the loss of our civil liberty. Remember what Jefferson said about giving up our civil liberty for “safety”.
There is an article out today stating that terrorism is not the biggest threat to american citizens. In fact it our for profit health care system that will kill you before some “terrorist”.
I am not a sucker for hype and believe this story is so hyped up to cover the fact that the US, Israel, and Saudi Arabia are bombing the hell out of Yemen and have been for the last 3 weeks. The more bombing we do in Muslim countries, the more potential terrorists we create.
So if we stop bombing terrorists,terrorism will cease to exist. Riight.
you don’t understand basic logic, do you h?
try something called contraposition. ie – contrapositive.
“Remember what Jefferson said about giving up our civil liberty for “safety”.” that was ben franklin, bud.
it seems that the right wants an all out war with islam…. which is EXACTLY what the terrorists want. you people are playing RIGHT (get it) into their hands and damned if i, or any other sane person are going to let you take down the world with you.
The right wants an allout war with Islam. Absolutely. Leiberman wants us to attack Yemen and Iran. Some on the right (as reported on Hardbal tonight) want us to attack Syria, Lebanon. We are already dealing with 5 fronts! The right wants American involved in a World War with 1.6 billion muslims. Guess who will win that one!
We might as well call a spade a spade. The right wing neo cons of Cheney ilk did start a war against Islam. They believed they could launch an attack on all muslims, demonize them all and get the dumbed down american sheeple on board. The same ole “cold war generals” are stuck in a time warp. Its not commies we fight anymore, its not the ruskies or the nazis….now we fight the entire muslim world. That will keep america safe? According the republicans we have a bottomless pit of money. We are ready outspend more for war and the Pentagon than all other countries combined. We are the imperialists with an imperial agenda. Can we say the republicans no longer believe in the Consitution or democracy, no longer believe in civil or human rights!
We are not the shining house on the hill, not after the last 8 years. In fact we havent been the shining house on the hill since WW2. We have been involved in literally dozens of wars and conflicts none of which were voted on by the Congress…the only branch with the consitutional right to declare war. I hope the dems get their crap together and stop funding these wars of agression. Its the worldwide perception, the US, UK and Israel are the worlds sponsor of terrorism. Perception is everything and the US is loosing its place in the world because of its own actions, directed by a bunch or right wing zealots and generals stuck in the cold war mentality.
ALCIAEDA couldnt be more pleased to see the US drawn into all these wars. They no our economy is in bankuptcy, and another war will completely deplete the country. The know that the Soviet Union ceased to exist in large part because of the long war with Afganistan. The Taliban have no problem with recruitment, while America continues to ask the same soldiers to do tour after tour. I think we should tell the war mongers you want war…then sign the hell up, or shut up.
deMint never asked Bush’s TSA director if he would allow the TSA to unionize.
No, I don’t want a war between Islam and the West like Islam wants. I want one in which the West wins — and Islam becomes either a truly peaceful faith or a footnote to history like Nazism (preferably the former).
And delecrat — there was no need to ask, because the Bush Administration was on record as opposing the unionization of the TSA. The Obama Regime, on the other hand. . .
I think you are right, ‘just kidding’!
Problem is, Obama, ‘Change we can believe in!’, appears to be responding to the neocons/generals/military-industrialists by doing the same thing, re his escallation in a terribly corrupt Afghanistan.
I understand he campaigned on Iraq withdrawal and focus on Afghanistan, so he thinks he has a mandate for his policy.
Moreover, the neocons have made it politically difficult for Obama to do otherwise than he is doing, so Obama has knuckled under to their political pressure.
If Obama cannot effect a change, no American leader can, which is why I am so disappointed right now.
Why cannot we focus on homeland security, on our border security, on our incoming shipping, on our air security, and begin to deescalate our military presence all over the globe?
‘Speak softly and carry a bit stick.’ — What is wrong with this strategy?
And if you want another motivation for change, face it, we can no longer afford this global military-industrial presence. So we are doubly insane to continue it as Obama is doing!
Th prblm s tht bm’s plc s “spk pmpsl nd pl wth flccd dck.”
And by the way, Perry, the GOP told you exactly what Obama was, and you didn’t believe us. Heck, Hillary tried to tell you guys, too. Instead you have Barack Obama, Poseur of the United States.
Yes, the GOP is known for its clear-eyed realism, LOL.
and their kick-ass national security record. thanks right wing for letting the terrorists out of guantanimo so they could go to yemen and plan a failed attack. it lets us blame it on Bush.
Since when is unionization up to the TSA Director anyway?
It’s not those filthy Republicans, or the perceived incompetence of our President, who threaten our national security, it’s BLOGGERS.
“As the government reviews how an alleged terrorist was able to bring a bomb onto a U.S.-bound plane and try to blow it up on Christmas Day, the Transportation Security Administration is going after bloggers who wrote about a directive to increase security after the incident.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/AP/story/1403807.html
I feel safer now.
White House defends its TSA nominee
AP ^ | 1/1/2010 | AP
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. Erroll Southers, a former FBI agent whose nomination has been delayed by Republicans for unrelated concerns, sent a letter to senators in November to correct what he called a distortion of his record. As Democrats push for his speedy confirmation, the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee said he maintained faith in the nominee.
When the US is in 160 countries, spends more money on defense than all other nations combined is it any wonder our country is going bankrupt. When Russia tried to take Afganistan from the people of Afganistan, how did that work out for them? Of course, the “terrorists” want to do to the US what they were able to do to Russia, destroy their economy! If any American believes keeping all these forces in all these countries plus having a “five fronted war”, while our jobs continue to go overseas, our homes are foreclosed on, our health care is a mess my question is what does the government do for the people of the US anyway? Common Sense went out the window in both parties. Did any of you see Jesse Ventura’s “Conspiracy Theories” this last week. He has done about 3 shows. One was on HAARP, one on 911, and one on “who controls the world”. The Bilderbergs want the planet to have less than 500M people. He had a doctor on who fled the US (along with many other micro biologists), because they all knew the truth. The swine flu vaccines were designed to destroy the immunity of people. In todays European Press, the European Parliment is now calling for mass investigations into WHO, their push for these vaccines and whether they were designed to make people more sick, getting rid of the “useless eaters”.
We know that both Clinton and Obama showed up at the last Bilderberg conference~~ it’s on YouTube video to prove it. Its the elites vs the people, forget parties.
Southers may not be on the job, but there are plenty of people to hold accountable:
From the TSA web.gov site:
Gale Rossides, Acting Administrator
Robert S. Bray, Assistant Administrator for Law Enforcement
and Director of Federal Air Marshal Service
Domenico C. Cipicchio, Assistant Administrator for Acquisition
Cindy Farkus, Assistant Administrator for Global Strategies
Dr. Emma Garrison-Alexander, Assistant Administrator for Information Technology
Claire Heffernan, Acting Assistant Administrator / Deputy Assistant Administrator for Legislative Affairs
K. David Holmes, Jr., Assistant Administrator for Inspection
Lee Kair, Assistant Administrator for Security Operations
Robin E. Kane, Assistant Administrator for Security Technology
Keith G. Kauffman, Assistant Administrator for Intelligence and Analysis
Francine Kerner, Chief Counsel
Kristin Lee, Assistant Administrator for Strategic Communications and Public Affairs
David Nicholson, Assistant Administrator for Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer
John P. Sammon, Assistant Administrator for Transportation Sector Network Management
Kimberly Walton, Special Counselor
Gregory R. Wellen, Assistant Administrator for Transportation Threat Assessment and Credentialing
Richard Whitford, Assistant Administrator for Human Capital
is the lunatic Right gonna publish their addresses too?
An acting department head is basically keeping everything going — they are not likely to be working on new initiatives or fine tuning ops. And there are some of those positions that may also change once there is a permanent leader. So basically you have a department that is operating, but waiting for leadership to move forward.
But the business of leadership would be one more FAIL from the so-called party of business. If the winguts cared about airplane security they would not have been so cavalier about leaving the TSA rudderless for so long.
“One of the defenses people speaking on behalf of the Administration have thrown up is the one about Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) having put a hold on Obama’s choice to head up the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). . . . According to DeMint, he has not put a hold on Erroll Southers, but he objected to a request to have Southers confirmed by unanimous consent – that is, without a roll call vote.
“. . . The point the Administration spokespeople have been making is that absent DeMint, Southers would have been busily working out the details of how best to stop terrorists from getting on airplanes in Amsterdam had not this unionization thing been going on for months and months. Goose Cookies.
“According to the Congressional Record, the President sent Southers’ nomination to the Senate on September 17, 2009. Not January 21 nor February 15. Not March 4 nor April 25. He sent it on September 17. According to my new Microsoft Excel 2010 that means 240 days elapsed between the day Obama was inaugurated and the day he got around to officially nominating a TSA chief.
“The Democratic-controlled Senate received the nomination and sent it to two committees which acted on Southers sequentially, rather than at the same time. It was not until November 19, 2009 – 63 days later – that they got around to actually trying to vote on him.
“Total time elapsed between Obama’s inaugural and Senate floor action? 303 days. No holds. No filibusters. Just showing how important Obama and the Senate Dems felt this whole thing was, prior to Christmas day.”
– Rich Galen of Mullings.com
just remember to blame the republicans.
lizard, i found another article you may enjoy, and believe. Its in the weekly world news
The End of the World may be coming, and Weekly World News knows what you need to look out for!
A new year is almost upon is, and so is the end of times. With a fond look back at life as we have known it, we now look forward to predictions of what we might expect when the end of the world comes.
Biblical scholars agree that signs hidden throughout the Bible would put the end of the world at the year 2000. With the end of the world now years overdue it could come at any moment. Although scholars also agree that God would likely end the world in time with the resetting of the calender year purely out of good manners.
Should the end of the world come several key signs will let people know that it is about to happen. Noteworthy on the list of portents are the seas beginning to boil, the moon turning to blood, and the dead rising from their graves. Climate scientists have documented that ocean temperatures are rising drastically. Though they are nowhere near a boil, the oceans could feasibly be set on fire with all the pollutants now found in them. Tonight’s lunar conditions are exceptionally rare for a new years eve, with a very full and blue moon. Should this suddenly change to red would be atmospherically unpredictable, but an excellent light show to herald in the end of days. A rising of the dead, if taken out of the literal context, could mean many things. Zombies are dominating the landscapes of many comic books right now, and it is possible that Biblical prophets were looking into a comic book store without knowing it. Other interpretations point towards Hugh Hefner, and the “raising” of a man who should be dead. Zombie enthusiasts are eagerly hoping that the dead literally rise from the ground, and soon. The Zombie Survival Society is anxious to put its theories into practice and are already preparing for an attempt to survive an zombie plague.
Most notable in the Christian signs of the Apocalypse is the coming of the Anti Christ. As foretold in the book of Revelations the Anti Christ will come, born of the eternal sea (the world of politics), to bring suffering to the world. But before he can do that Jesus will show up to defend the Christ family name. One book of the Apocrypha, the book of Levi, refers to a one on one fight between the Son of God and the Son of Satan over who will rule in the end of times. Though ancient the book describes what sounds like a boxing match, where the two deities will assume human form and settle their differences with fisticuffs.
Should the Anti Christ win this pugilistic duel, Jesus will take all of his followers directly to heaven leaving the world and all disbelievers in the hands of the Anti Christ. The Anti Christ will then create a One World government to carry out his evil, which contemporary scholars and most of Arkansas agrees would look much like Sweden. The Anti Christ will reign over a world with free health care and legalized prostitution from then on for all time.
Should the world end tonight at midnight, or not, everyone here at the Weekly World News wishes you a very Happy New Year.
I better hurry up and return my library books then…