I could tell today when he accepted Shinseki resignation that he thought alot of Shinseki. Shinseki’s wife also help out FLOTUS and Dr. Biden with their Joining Forces events. It’s to dam bad that the good man have to good and we are left with folks like McCain, Graham, Cruz, McConnell and folks who want to fight for kids having unhealthy school lunches.
I don’t think so. She was one of democrats that called for Secretary Shinseki’s resignation. Plus she was an Assistant Secretary of the VA under Secretary Shinseki. The media and the GOP would definitely go after her as well.
I am truly saddened by this turn of events. Secretary Shinseki is a great man, and did not deserve the swift boating that he received in the media. And he especially did not deserve the awful treatment he received from some democrats demanding his resignation.
As for Allison Grimes, It will not bother me one bit if she ends up losing to the despicable Mitch McConnell. I can’t stand her.
SOB re. this photo! I’m betting that was real tough duty for President Obama—-accepting Shinseki’s resignation. One very honorable man accepting the resignation of another very honorable man.
I could hear the sadness in PBO’s voice as he recounted all the great things Sec Shinseki has done and stood for. I know it must have been a tough day for him in many, many ways.
Very sad today. I really don’t understand why we keep tearing down heroes and propping up puppets. It must be the basest part of our nature. Or we’re too stupid / lazy to know why we owe these men profound respect and gratitude. I hope that prayer warriors are holding President Obama and General Shinseki above the fray. and they each recognize that they did everything they could.
In 2009, Captain Matthew Freeman, USMC, was killed in action in Afghanistan. His mother, Lisa Freeman, founded the Matthew Freeman Project http://www.freemanproject.org/ , a charitable organization, in his memory. Among her many activities with this foundation is the creation of teddy bears made from the uniforms of American soldiers who have died in the line of duty. Lisa Freeman gives these to children who have lost loved ones in the war.
It’s a way for her to cope with the pain of her own loss as well as help families grieve and remember. In an interview with CNN, she said: I don’t know about big, but I think that I’m making a difference . . . It makes me stop and think about Matthew . . . He’s loving that something good is happening out of something so tragic.
Video link below:
Mom Turns Fallen Soldiers' Uniforms http://t.co/M2m6VJLEsr Into Teddy Bears For Mourning Kids: http://t.co/CwmvsqGW37 pic.twitter.com/vQU96OX3uc
The VA cannot be fixed quickly. I don’t blame Eric Shinseki one bit for choosing to resign. He didn’t need the daily pummeling.
Sec. Sebelius’ situation was different.
People were calling for her to resign as she and Obamacare were on the precipice of triumph. 8 million!
Sebelius stayed for the success and the warm joke/tribute from PBO at the WHPC dinner. And soon, on her terms, she will be on her way.
Jay Carney, oh well, he will be missed also. I like jacquelinoboomers idea to give Jay Meet The Press.
Rev Al is showing Rachel Jeantel, Trayvon Martin’s friend who was the last person to speak to him on the phone. She just graduated from high school. Trayvon’s Mom was there to see her graduate.
…..For the past six years, the scientists at Applied Research Associates (ARA) have been working with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop an augmented reality system called ARC4. Imagine the name of your bartender, the height of the building in the distance, the location of your car, all floating right before your eyes. They’re finally getting ready to bring ARC4 to the rest of the world, but what will it take for a piece of software designed for soldiers to make the transition to the sidewalk?….
ARC4 isn’t a pair of sci-fi glasses; in fact, it’s not a hardware system at all. Rather, it’s is a software system that accepts inputs from a sensor module made of cameras, satellite information, and head tracking technology, and fuses it all into a display that can be overlaid onto someone’s field of vision. Functionally, the end product makes walking around look a lot like playing a first-person shooter game like Halo. In the military, it provides real-time information to soldiers about their environments, even if their vision is obstructed. The system can even show them people and objects around corners and behind hills to prepare users as they move through a battlefield…..
I read that Mark Cuban said that if it had come down to it,he would have voted against getting rid of Donald Sterling. Now why is it that that does not surprise me one bit.Mark Cuban is another first class racists. I hope the Dallas Mavericks never win another game.
One of the truly nauseating moments in the run-up to the Iraq war was the humiliating public rebuke that Paul Wolfowitz, then Donald Rumsfeld’s #2 at the Pentagon, delivered to Eric Shinseki, then a four-star general serving as Army chief of staff. Shinseki, a wounded combat veteran of Vietnam, was by career and reputation a cautious, methodical person. Those who criticized his performance as Army chief mainly complained that he was too traditional and non-innovative in his approach. Thus, he was constantly at odds with Rumsfeld’s crew, who viewed him as a passive-aggressive, fuddy-duddy obstacle to doing things in their new lean-and-mean way.
An honorable man MT @BethWellington: Fallows (2008) reminds us how Shinseki dealt honorably w. oth bullying http://t.co/6oFP3isa6J
— James Fallows (@JamesFallows) May 30, 2025
The showdown came just before the war began. Shinseki, who had direct experience with land warfare (in Vietnam) and post-combat occupation (in the Balkans), was urging that the U.S. go in with a force large enough to ensure that it could maintain order and genuinely control Iraq’s sizable territory and potentially fractious society after it ousted Saddam. Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz hated this whole idea.
Here’s one other point that is not as widely known as Rumfeld’s and Wolfowitz’s bullying of Shinseki: Despite being unfairly treated, despite being 100% vindicated by subsequent events, Shinseki kept his grievances entirely to himself. Although my book contains accounts of Shinseki’s inside arguents with Rumsfeld et al, and his discussions with his own staff, zero of that information came from Shinseki……
Meta, it is indeed sad to have to accept, time and again, that there is no depth to how low GOPs and current media(GOP shills) will go to harm an opponent. When I saw the news earlier it was like a body blow, even though I do not personally know Shinseki. It bothers me that these empty vessels can so easily ‘destroy’ an honourable, servant simply because he/she is honourable.
I know we can’t change this, but it just is not right that the playing field is not level. Not having ONE honourable bone in their bodies, when GOPs fail, they dig in, and their kind plus the media spread arms around them for protection. *They* would never think to resign. While it may be laudable when people with integrity - all of them on our side - step back honourably, it empowers the cheaters and losers and corrupters. I’m rambling. I’ll stop; I’m not sure what the answer really should be though.
Well, I think this is the fight of our lives. There is a changing of the guard going on in our country. A sweeping change of demographics and a far-reaching change of heart. A sea change in what we value and what we want from each other.
The old guard is closing ranks and fighting with considerable force and a deep well of resources. They have the money and the mouthpieces. But I believe in my heart that as long as we continue to fight, we will prevail.
I am very sad today but I know this is just a bump in the road. We have to pay attention and we have to fight back. Hard. Every day.
Fight of our lives, for sure. New Orleans shutting the last public school is certainly a canary in the coalmine. We all need to wakeup completely to the danger.
That was another thread in my sadness today. The RWNJs really will stop at nothing to destroy every last American institution. We need all hands on deck, 24/7.
I guess you’re saying it’s one of those days when Dems who are following issues and actions fairly closely have to remind ourselves ‘There’s and endless supply of paint’?
The day I fear the most is the day PBO leaves office. There is NO ONE with his strategic insight, vision and sense of right and wrong about how to handle very tough problems and situations without taxing our resolve or our resources, without breaking a sweat. I trust his judgement implicitly. He thinks deeply and plans thoroughly. I don’t see this quality in evidence anywhere else.
X100% This is exactly how I feel. I have nothing to add, ;) other than to say these are the reasons I do not at all see you-know-who as a credible ‘next step’.
Meta, thank you for your very insightful comment. “you really can’t be a half-Democrat in our times. It just is not effective and it’s exceedingly cowardly.”
And meta, just think even more how this is going to be a very deep and important issue 4-10 years from now. My, my, my. What a day that will be.HZ
This has been a wonderful growing time for all of us here at TOD, and I really do think that we have become the better for it. I hope we will do all within our power to make every one of our efforts as we support POB and his administration to leave our business in a better place than what greeted PBO and VP Biden at the front door as they won in 2008. Now that is a set of books to be written for the ages.
Those thoughts are the ones that keep us moving with hope even through our days like today. We look with our leader through the long distance goals on this journey.
I really know in my heart that we all would probably find a way to make it on days like this one; but had it not been for Chips and her team, this shit would drive us crazy. That is one of the many reasons why I love Chips so much, because she gives us this beautiful place to come to and be together and share our joys and our disappointments. And even our sad moments that we experience on occasions like the ones those two beautiful men above have to be sharing on that walk; we will talk here, share important factual information about the issues, have a beautiful smile, share some great music, and get on with the business of supporting PBO.
I pray Sec. Shinseki and his lovely wife and their dear friends will have a peaceful evening as they prepare for the next chapter in their lives. I believe that it will be very fruitful and full of inspiration for so many people in a most beautiful way. I wish them the very best and I thank God that I was blessed to know that he worked for and with PBO to make a great difference in our nation throughout this part of his career. Nothing can keep a good and decent man down; no matter how deeply the enemy is entrenched in the VA. I am praying that POB will be able to make a great difference in the department as he has already with the hard work of Secy. Eric Shinseki.HZ
HZ, I leave it to you to express everything of importance with staggering intelligence and grace. Thank all that is right in the universe you are here. Your words are always a soothing balm. Everything you’ve said is in concert with what I’m feeling tonight. Thank you, dear friend.
I got the feeling Pres. Obama was very mad about the situation and I thought he was holding the WHPC partly responsible. I was surprised one of them didn’t get chewed up and spit out today. It’s the thing I watched live. But he is a far better man than me.
Tweety has been slobbering with praise for Hillary daily for the last few months—-nauseatingly—-and then—-it was announced she was giving her (first) book interview to FOX——-and since that news——Tweety appears to despise her and is suddenly finding all kinds of fault. Do these media types have a sincere, authentic bone in their bodies??? Just a game???
Really??? I was just guessing yesterday. Dotster, you said my guess may have had merit. And now you tell me Tweety has changed his tune.
I feel slightly sick that my cynical comment on all the TOD reporting on Tweety appears to have hit the mark. No matter how little we think of them they still can be worse.
“By think little of them” for me it meant that once I realized that Chris Matthews still had a photo of Hillary in his opening credits, after she was no longer SOS, I stopped watching him. Worthless panderer.
Thanks Bob for another great tweet! As always, I am coming late to TOD! Like everyone, I was so angry when I heard the news of Gen. Shinseki’s resignation. This man, in just such a short time, did so much for veterans! Once again, hype and manufactured outrage, by the MSM and spineless politicians, trumped common sense and common decency! But I am so glad to see that people at TOD are fighting back! I really appreciate your masterly of twitter, which has enabled you to effectively spread TRUTH.
Thanks to our President and his choices of many wonderful, intelligent, kind, compassionate people who want the right thing done, even tho they are bullied, swift boated, we have now have seen the ugliest, mean, hateful, incompetents in government. You have been exposed GOP, and God be with us, I believe you are going to pay a price when all comes forth about the VA issues. We know why you attacked General Shinseki, the war of Iraq continues to affect this country in a very bad way.
A good statement Anna.
Yes, I too feel very bad for Sec Shinseki today. A very honorable man doing the second hardest job in the country. No support, little funds, a massive department…..and as Pres. Obama said: “A good man.”
However, though it is little comfort now, he will be vindicated in the long run. He was right about Iraq, and no matter how much his enemies hated him and what he said, he was right. People need to listen closely to the President’s statement. I think his heart was breaking today.
“People need to listen closely to the President’s statement. I think his heart was breaking today.”
Amen, Carolyn; it was, it was.
I received an important personal call this afternoon, and if I did not know any better, I would say, “Carolyn was right there in the room with me when I received the call.” Pray a beautiful word of encouragement for our President. HZ
I am angry at DCCC and DNC for not targeting Darrell Issa for defeat in 2014! His constituents need to be reminded daily how their Rep. has wasted millions and millions of tax payer dollars on frivolous investigations.
“Businessman Vadim Rabinovich, who ran this year for the President, made a comment to Gordonua.com regarding military actions in Donbas. Entrepreneur believes that Ukrainian Security officials need to adopt practice of Israelis.
Vadim Rabinovich said that Israeli Security Forces were able to find a way, even in densely populated areas, to conduct targeted anti-terrorist operations against Palestinian terrorists and do everything very quickly.”
More at the link: http://inforesist.org/rabinovichs-advise-we-need-to-apply-the-experience-of-israel-in-the-donbas/?lang=en
I nearly always read your late night posts - but when I am reading them most on TOD are asleep, so I rarely comment - just wanted you to know that despite replies or lack thereof - your posts are an integral part of TOD and bring much understanding of the world & US foreign policy.
Oh, boy. There is steam coming out my ears. Just went to pick up my mail in the lobby and what do I find? A campaign solicitation from Ready for Hillary. OMG, I’m so mad I could scream. Is the DNC just handing over our addresses? Because this is WRONG.
Oh, how infuriating, meta! The only consolation, for me, is that I firmly believe the sooner she starts campaigning, the sooner she’ll be out. It’s just lost on me how anyone can find her appealing. But then I’ve been reeeally spoiled by the best.
At the same time as I feel embarrassed for Chelsea that she cannot seem to stand on her own, I am actually curious as to what the Clintons’ plans are for Chelsea. I wonder if they chose her husband for her too? IMO, he clearly is an addition more than he is a partner.
Meta, I received one today, also. Pissed me off. Had the nerve to include a pic of Hill, Bill, and Chelsea. Please! I am torn between sending them a scathing letter in their SASE, costing them 40-some cent, and having my mailing addy deleted; or, ignoring it and letting them waste money sending me solicitations. The republican solicitations are helping to increase my towns recycling tonnage…
I received the same 2 weeks ago, and returned it letting them know “No, I am not ready for Hillary, still enjoying President Obama”…”Not all PBO’s supporters are automatic Hillary supporters”…”PUMAs showed their asses”. Felt very good indeed !!
v. funny/v. sad… more great snark from The New Yorker:
May 30, 2025
SCIENTISTS CONSIDER NEW NAMES FOR CLIMATE CHANGE
POSTED BY ANDY BOROWITZ
NEW HAVEN (The Borowitz Report)—After a report from the Yale Center on Climate Change Communication showed that the term “climate change” elicits relatively little concern from the American public, leading scientists are recommending replacing it with a new term: “You will be burnt to a crisp and die.”
Other terms under consideration by the scientists include “your cities will be ravaged by tsunamis and floods” and “earth will be a fiery hellhole incapable of supporting human life.”
Scientists were generally supportive of the suggestions, with many favoring the term “your future will involve rowing a boat down a river of rotting corpses.”
“Any of these terms would do a better job conveying the urgency of the problem,” Tracy Klugian, a spokesperson for the newly renamed Yale Center for Oh My God Wake Up You Assholes, said.
“As long as the media and politicians find it in their self-interests to engage in hysterical linkbait and 5-second soundbites, we’ll continue to find ourselves caught up in this kind of frenzi rather than engaged in pragmatic problem-solving. Our power to change things lies in not following the linkbait, not engaging in the hysteria, and not buying the sound bites. That’s something President Obama has been asking us to do for a very long time now.
” PBO: I firmly believe that whenever we exaggerate or demonize, or oversimplify or overstate our case, we lose. Whenever we dumb down the political debate, we lose. A polarized electorate that is turned off of politics, and easily dismisses both parties because of the nasty, dishonest tone of the debate, works perfectly well for those who seek to chip away at the very idea of government because, in the end, a cynical electorate is a selfish electorate…
Our goal should be to stick to our guns on those core values that make this country great, show a spirit of flexibility and sustained attention that can achieve those goals, and try to create the sort of serious, adult, consensus around our problems that can admit Democrats, Republicans and Independents of good will. ”
Link: ibid
Thank you for posting this, df.
The only path is to eliminate the @GOP from any form of authority beginning on 4 Nov 2025 with #LandslideDEMS2014. Period.
A reporter asked Paul if he thought Kynect should be dismantled. Paul responded that he was “not sure.”
“You know I’m not sure — there’s going to be … how we unravel or how we change things. I would rather —I always tell people there’s a fork in the road. I was in healthcare for 20 years so we had problems in healthcare so we had problems in healthcare but we could have gone one of two directions,” Paul said. “One was towards more competition and more marketplace and one was toward more government control. The people who think that the government can efficiently distribute medicine need to explain why the VA’s been struggling for decade after decade in a much smaller system. And they also need to explain, even though I think we all want Medicare to work better, why Medicare is $35 trillion short. There’s a lot of questions that are big questions that are beyond the exchange and the Kynect and things like that. It’s whether or not how we’re going to fund these things.”
COS, you are absolutely spot-on! Rand Paul, did indeed “twist himself into a pretzel.” COS! Sadly, we don’t have Media that are honest to help people make sense of such self-serving political nonsense!
This is a story about resources, but it’s also a story about perverse incentives. By tying people’s annual reviews to their ability to create short wait-times, the VA gave folks a reason to game the reports. We all want accountability, but we have be careful about how we try to measure performance.
.
.
It the VA’s case, they have already suspended the wait-time tie to performance reviews. If they are going to revive that standard, they will need an IT solution that is robust enough to forestall cheating.
No government employee should get any type of “incentive bonus”. They should be paid a salary commensurate with their role and responsibilities - as was done until some fool decided to add the joy of “private kickbacks” to people’s earnings. If they don’t think they are paid enough - let them get a job in that wonderful private enterprise. Many many excellent workers would love to take their place.
I think that it was a tough day and feel bad that Gen. Shinseki resigned. What I think is worth keeping in mind is that both Shinseki and POTUS both knew-before they each took their respective jobs- that it is about 80% politics that completely rules their jobs. It would be another thing entirely if this happened to a good person with a non-governmental job. But anyone who has their job because of an election or a govt appointment knows full well that this is always the inevitable outcome of a scandal or some such event. Gen. Shinseki’s service to the country is not impugned in any way by this political event.
so true..the hard part here is that this man was truly excellent at his job and had his heart in the right place the entire time. Thinking of the incompetent loons that filled GWB’s appointments…and THIS MAN had to resign??? It just sucks hard.
Totally sucks. It’s also worth noting that the President, once he decides to ask for or accept a resignation always needs his Party’s support to do that. So I wouldn’t be surprised if red state Dems were asked to publicly announce their support for Shinseki’s resignation. POTUS doesn’t really let others decide things for him. He fought hard for Sebelius against withering criticism for months. Just my opinion but POTUS wouldn’t have accepted it if he didn’t want to. IMHO, he might have thought about picking the right battles and this wasn’t one of them. So the sequence of events was Shinseki and POTUS possibly agreeing on the resignation a few days ago and then letting some Dems call for it. At least that’s how DC usually works/doesn’t work. :)
“We all have biases,” Ramos said. “You have your own biases, I mean whenever you are covering Obamacare or Benghazi or supporting the Republican Party more than the Democratic Party.”
O’Reilly cut his guest off quickly, asking, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, have you ever seen me do a softball interview with anybody?”
“I have seen you tough interviews, but I’ve also seen you support more Republicans than Democrats,” Ramos replied.
O’Reilly admitted that might be true in “editorials,” but insisted, “I have never done a softball interview in my life.” On the issue of “access,” which Ramos discussed in his POLITICO interview this week, O’Reilly lamented the fact that he cannot get House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to come on his show because she “knows” he will ask her “tough questions.”
“Marcus Davis is resolute. As many times as vandals paint over a mural of President Barack Obama, he will repair the damage over and over again.
“There is an endless supply of paint,” said Davis, 41, who opened The Breakfast Klub in 2001. “This mural is symbolic of the presidency of Barack Obama. He wakes up every day to obstacles and challenges far greater than a doggone mural being defaced. If he has the level of courage and type of character that causes him to continue to go on, I’ll be damned if I stop.”
Just days after Davis stopped a possible vandal from defacing a mural of President Obama, the restaurateur said he’s not about to let his guard down.”
[snip]
“Should we fix it? Absolutely,” said James, of James & Jordan, the Houston-based management search and consulting firm. “But my thought is it’s just a sign, unfortunately, that racism has not left, and that it will always be here. The only way you can fight racism is with diligent persistence.”
“I don’t care what you think,” he said. “We’re going to continue to push on and move on. We ain’t going nowhere.”
Congress has an oversight duty yet……the VA matter has been riddle with many issues over the years with little attempt to fix the problems? The media is willing and able to attack the Obama Team, but dragging their lazy feet to ask tough questions of what the Congress has failed to do? Congress has Chairpersons for each committee. What have they done and why not? They should be asked of every chairperson with an oversight duty Now.
White House.gov
And we go forward.
Cheat!
Oh wait? Have my eyes deceived me? The Book Man beat the Blog Diva? Say it ain’t so! ;-)
He has no morals, that fella :roll:
/smh a la amk/
Well that’s precious coming from YOU! :LOL:
er, :lol:
The nerve of Pots and such. :-)
Yay LL! Librarians Rule!
We do, we do.
:cool:
I could tell today when he accepted Shinseki resignation that he thought alot of Shinseki. Shinseki’s wife also help out FLOTUS and Dr. Biden with their Joining Forces events. It’s to dam bad that the good man have to good and we are left with folks like McCain, Graham, Cruz, McConnell and folks who want to fight for kids having unhealthy school lunches.
The good man have to go and we are stuck with those horrible Republicans.
Just changed the photo in the post in case any one thought their eyes were failing them.
When you’re not ‘innocently’ barging through the gate, you’re tampering with our minds! Sigh.
I could see Tammy Duckworth doing a great job as Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
I don’t think so. She was one of democrats that called for Secretary Shinseki’s resignation. Plus she was an Assistant Secretary of the VA under Secretary Shinseki. The media and the GOP would definitely go after her as well.
I am truly saddened by this turn of events. Secretary Shinseki is a great man, and did not deserve the swift boating that he received in the media. And he especially did not deserve the awful treatment he received from some democrats demanding his resignation.
As for Allison Grimes, It will not bother me one bit if she ends up losing to the despicable Mitch McConnell. I can’t stand her.
Soul in Action. This is our President. Bless him.
Of course there is a new thread.
I wrote a longish bit about public schools closing and what that means to all of us. Last entry on previous thread.
yes, I saw that New Orleans is the first school district in the nation to go all charter school. Disgusting.
I replied to it Vicki - I’m still catching up on the day’s events - sometimes I should never go to sleep!
SOB re. this photo! I’m betting that was real tough duty for President Obama—-accepting Shinseki’s resignation. One very honorable man accepting the resignation of another very honorable man.
I nearly cried when I saw it Dotster, incredibly moving.
I could hear the sadness in PBO’s voice as he recounted all the great things Sec Shinseki has done and stood for. I know it must have been a tough day for him in many, many ways.
Very sad today. I really don’t understand why we keep tearing down heroes and propping up puppets. It must be the basest part of our nature. Or we’re too stupid / lazy to know why we owe these men profound respect and gratitude. I hope that prayer warriors are holding President Obama and General Shinseki above the fray. and they each recognize that they did everything they could.
How about that Picture up thread?
Simply The Best. <3 it.
RESPECT. PERFECT.
In 2009, Captain Matthew Freeman, USMC, was killed in action in Afghanistan. His mother, Lisa Freeman, founded the Matthew Freeman Project http://www.freemanproject.org/ , a charitable organization, in his memory. Among her many activities with this foundation is the creation of teddy bears made from the uniforms of American soldiers who have died in the line of duty. Lisa Freeman gives these to children who have lost loved ones in the war.
It’s a way for her to cope with the pain of her own loss as well as help families grieve and remember. In an interview with CNN, she said: I don’t know about big, but I think that I’m making a difference . . . It makes me stop and think about Matthew . . . He’s loving that something good is happening out of something so tragic.
Video link below:
The saying Empty Vessel makes the loudest noise is what we have today with the GOPers and their cheering groupies, the Media.
No substance. No accountability. Nothing for the greater good. Just Scream and Shout.
The VA cannot be fixed quickly. I don’t blame Eric Shinseki one bit for choosing to resign. He didn’t need the daily pummeling.
Sec. Sebelius’ situation was different.
People were calling for her to resign as she and Obamacare were on the precipice of triumph. 8 million!
Sebelius stayed for the success and the warm joke/tribute from PBO at the WHPC dinner. And soon, on her terms, she will be on her way.
Jay Carney, oh well, he will be missed also. I like jacquelinoboomers idea to give Jay Meet The Press.
Rev Al is showing Rachel Jeantel, Trayvon Martin’s friend who was the last person to speak to him on the phone. She just graduated from high school. Trayvon’s Mom was there to see her graduate.
Nice story.
Oh I am so sorry I missed that Dudette.
…..For the past six years, the scientists at Applied Research Associates (ARA) have been working with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop an augmented reality system called ARC4. Imagine the name of your bartender, the height of the building in the distance, the location of your car, all floating right before your eyes. They’re finally getting ready to bring ARC4 to the rest of the world, but what will it take for a piece of software designed for soldiers to make the transition to the sidewalk?….
https://twitter.com/DaRiverZkind/status/472161205256065025
ARC4 isn’t a pair of sci-fi glasses; in fact, it’s not a hardware system at all. Rather, it’s is a software system that accepts inputs from a sensor module made of cameras, satellite information, and head tracking technology, and fuses it all into a display that can be overlaid onto someone’s field of vision. Functionally, the end product makes walking around look a lot like playing a first-person shooter game like Halo. In the military, it provides real-time information to soldiers about their environments, even if their vision is obstructed. The system can even show them people and objects around corners and behind hills to prepare users as they move through a battlefield…..
I read that Mark Cuban said that if it had come down to it,he would have voted against getting rid of Donald Sterling. Now why is it that that does not surprise me one bit.Mark Cuban is another first class racists. I hope the Dallas Mavericks never win another game.
What a tough and sober day for these two great men who admire and respect each other.
Wish them both the best.
Okay guys, I’m gonna have to make my exit. Hopefully I’ll be back later this evening.
Here’s a rundown on proper exiting technique… Remember: Rip it, roll it and punch it! :-)
:-) :-)
Fallows via 2008:
One of the truly nauseating moments in the run-up to the Iraq war was the humiliating public rebuke that Paul Wolfowitz, then Donald Rumsfeld’s #2 at the Pentagon, delivered to Eric Shinseki, then a four-star general serving as Army chief of staff. Shinseki, a wounded combat veteran of Vietnam, was by career and reputation a cautious, methodical person. Those who criticized his performance as Army chief mainly complained that he was too traditional and non-innovative in his approach. Thus, he was constantly at odds with Rumsfeld’s crew, who viewed him as a passive-aggressive, fuddy-duddy obstacle to doing things in their new lean-and-mean way.
The showdown came just before the war began. Shinseki, who had direct experience with land warfare (in Vietnam) and post-combat occupation (in the Balkans), was urging that the U.S. go in with a force large enough to ensure that it could maintain order and genuinely control Iraq’s sizable territory and potentially fractious society after it ousted Saddam. Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz hated this whole idea.
Here’s one other point that is not as widely known as Rumfeld’s and Wolfowitz’s bullying of Shinseki: Despite being unfairly treated, despite being 100% vindicated by subsequent events, Shinseki kept his grievances entirely to himself. Although my book contains accounts of Shinseki’s inside arguents with Rumsfeld et al, and his discussions with his own staff, zero of that information came from Shinseki……
Wolfowitz stands out as one of the most despicable among many in W’s war room. A horrific low point to witness in our history.
Meta, it is indeed sad to have to accept, time and again, that there is no depth to how low GOPs and current media(GOP shills) will go to harm an opponent. When I saw the news earlier it was like a body blow, even though I do not personally know Shinseki. It bothers me that these empty vessels can so easily ‘destroy’ an honourable, servant simply because he/she is honourable.
I know we can’t change this, but it just is not right that the playing field is not level. Not having ONE honourable bone in their bodies, when GOPs fail, they dig in, and their kind plus the media spread arms around them for protection. *They* would never think to resign. While it may be laudable when people with integrity - all of them on our side - step back honourably, it empowers the cheaters and losers and corrupters. I’m rambling. I’ll stop; I’m not sure what the answer really should be though.
Well, I think this is the fight of our lives. There is a changing of the guard going on in our country. A sweeping change of demographics and a far-reaching change of heart. A sea change in what we value and what we want from each other.
The old guard is closing ranks and fighting with considerable force and a deep well of resources. They have the money and the mouthpieces. But I believe in my heart that as long as we continue to fight, we will prevail.
I am very sad today but I know this is just a bump in the road. We have to pay attention and we have to fight back. Hard. Every day.
Fight of our lives, for sure. New Orleans shutting the last public school is certainly a canary in the coalmine. We all need to wakeup completely to the danger.
That was another thread in my sadness today. The RWNJs really will stop at nothing to destroy every last American institution. We need all hands on deck, 24/7.
I guess you’re saying it’s one of those days when Dems who are following issues and actions fairly closely have to remind ourselves ‘There’s and endless supply of paint’?
Yes. We have to see the long game.
The day I fear the most is the day PBO leaves office. There is NO ONE with his strategic insight, vision and sense of right and wrong about how to handle very tough problems and situations without taxing our resolve or our resources, without breaking a sweat. I trust his judgement implicitly. He thinks deeply and plans thoroughly. I don’t see this quality in evidence anywhere else.
X100% This is exactly how I feel. I have nothing to add, ;) other than to say these are the reasons I do not at all see you-know-who as a credible ‘next step’.
And I also meant to say, you really can’t be a half-Democrat in our times. It just is not effective and it’s exceedingly cowardly.
Meta, thank you for your very insightful comment. “you really can’t be a half-Democrat in our times. It just is not effective and it’s exceedingly cowardly.”
And meta, just think even more how this is going to be a very deep and important issue 4-10 years from now. My, my, my. What a day that will be.HZ
This has been a wonderful growing time for all of us here at TOD, and I really do think that we have become the better for it. I hope we will do all within our power to make every one of our efforts as we support POB and his administration to leave our business in a better place than what greeted PBO and VP Biden at the front door as they won in 2008. Now that is a set of books to be written for the ages.
Those thoughts are the ones that keep us moving with hope even through our days like today. We look with our leader through the long distance goals on this journey.
I really know in my heart that we all would probably find a way to make it on days like this one; but had it not been for Chips and her team, this shit would drive us crazy. That is one of the many reasons why I love Chips so much, because she gives us this beautiful place to come to and be together and share our joys and our disappointments. And even our sad moments that we experience on occasions like the ones those two beautiful men above have to be sharing on that walk; we will talk here, share important factual information about the issues, have a beautiful smile, share some great music, and get on with the business of supporting PBO.
I pray Sec. Shinseki and his lovely wife and their dear friends will have a peaceful evening as they prepare for the next chapter in their lives. I believe that it will be very fruitful and full of inspiration for so many people in a most beautiful way. I wish them the very best and I thank God that I was blessed to know that he worked for and with PBO to make a great difference in our nation throughout this part of his career. Nothing can keep a good and decent man down; no matter how deeply the enemy is entrenched in the VA. I am praying that POB will be able to make a great difference in the department as he has already with the hard work of Secy. Eric Shinseki.HZ
HZ, I leave it to you to express everything of importance with staggering intelligence and grace. Thank all that is right in the universe you are here. Your words are always a soothing balm. Everything you’ve said is in concert with what I’m feeling tonight. Thank you, dear friend.
I got the feeling Pres. Obama was very mad about the situation and I thought he was holding the WHPC partly responsible. I was surprised one of them didn’t get chewed up and spit out today. It’s the thing I watched live. But he is a far better man than me.
Tweety has been slobbering with praise for Hillary daily for the last few months—-nauseatingly—-and then—-it was announced she was giving her (first) book interview to FOX——-and since that news——Tweety appears to despise her and is suddenly finding all kinds of fault. Do these media types have a sincere, authentic bone in their bodies??? Just a game???
He doesn’t have a genuine bone in his body, dot.
Really??? I was just guessing yesterday. Dotster, you said my guess may have had merit. And now you tell me Tweety has changed his tune.
I feel slightly sick that my cynical comment on all the TOD reporting on Tweety appears to have hit the mark. No matter how little we think of them they still can be worse.
“By think little of them” for me it meant that once I realized that Chris Matthews still had a photo of Hillary in his opening credits, after she was no longer SOS, I stopped watching him. Worthless panderer.
I said yesterday that I think Chris Matthew has some mental issues.
YES WE MUST
Thanks Bob for another great tweet! As always, I am coming late to TOD! Like everyone, I was so angry when I heard the news of Gen. Shinseki’s resignation. This man, in just such a short time, did so much for veterans! Once again, hype and manufactured outrage, by the MSM and spineless politicians, trumped common sense and common decency! But I am so glad to see that people at TOD are fighting back! I really appreciate your masterly of twitter, which has enabled you to effectively spread TRUTH.
Thanks to our President and his choices of many wonderful, intelligent, kind, compassionate people who want the right thing done, even tho they are bullied, swift boated, we have now have seen the ugliest, mean, hateful, incompetents in government. You have been exposed GOP, and God be with us, I believe you are going to pay a price when all comes forth about the VA issues. We know why you attacked General Shinseki, the war of Iraq continues to affect this country in a very bad way.
A good statement Anna.
Yes, I too feel very bad for Sec Shinseki today. A very honorable man doing the second hardest job in the country. No support, little funds, a massive department…..and as Pres. Obama said: “A good man.”
However, though it is little comfort now, he will be vindicated in the long run. He was right about Iraq, and no matter how much his enemies hated him and what he said, he was right. People need to listen closely to the President’s statement. I think his heart was breaking today.
“People need to listen closely to the President’s statement. I think his heart was breaking today.”
Amen, Carolyn; it was, it was.
I received an important personal call this afternoon, and if I did not know any better, I would say, “Carolyn was right there in the room with me when I received the call.” Pray a beautiful word of encouragement for our President. HZ
Every night HZ……two GOOD men, for whom my heart aches.
interesting article
I don’t think he did that on his own - no doubt wrote the diatribe to cover the fact that he was told to give it away.
I am angry at DCCC and DNC for not targeting Darrell Issa for defeat in 2014! His constituents need to be reminded daily how their Rep. has wasted millions and millions of tax payer dollars on frivolous investigations.
Good advice …
“Businessman Vadim Rabinovich, who ran this year for the President, made a comment to Gordonua.com regarding military actions in Donbas. Entrepreneur believes that Ukrainian Security officials need to adopt practice of Israelis.
Vadim Rabinovich said that Israeli Security Forces were able to find a way, even in densely populated areas, to conduct targeted anti-terrorist operations against Palestinian terrorists and do everything very quickly.”
More at the link: http://inforesist.org/rabinovichs-advise-we-need-to-apply-the-experience-of-israel-in-the-donbas/?lang=en
Hi Bob
Many thanks again for your ongoing updates on events in the Ukraine - much appreciated
Happy to do so, 99. Thank you!
I nearly always read your late night posts - but when I am reading them most on TOD are asleep, so I rarely comment - just wanted you to know that despite replies or lack thereof - your posts are an integral part of TOD and bring much understanding of the world & US foreign policy.
Oh, boy. There is steam coming out my ears. Just went to pick up my mail in the lobby and what do I find? A campaign solicitation from Ready for Hillary. OMG, I’m so mad I could scream. Is the DNC just handing over our addresses? Because this is WRONG.
I get a email from Ready for Hillary all the time and I delete it, soon as I get it.
Oh, how infuriating, meta! The only consolation, for me, is that I firmly believe the sooner she starts campaigning, the sooner she’ll be out. It’s just lost on me how anyone can find her appealing. But then I’ve been reeeally spoiled by the best.
The topper was the photo of the Clintons & Chelsea included in the request for money. Just put me over the edge.
At the same time as I feel embarrassed for Chelsea that she cannot seem to stand on her own, I am actually curious as to what the Clintons’ plans are for Chelsea. I wonder if they chose her husband for her too? IMO, he clearly is an addition more than he is a partner.
Meta, I received one today, also. Pissed me off. Had the nerve to include a pic of Hill, Bill, and Chelsea. Please! I am torn between sending them a scathing letter in their SASE, costing them 40-some cent, and having my mailing addy deleted; or, ignoring it and letting them waste money sending me solicitations. The republican solicitations are helping to increase my towns recycling tonnage…
I wrote an angry note on the request and sealed the envelope. It bothers me that it’s even sitting on my table. I’ll mail it in the morning.
Honestly, I want to know where they got my address. Is it the DNC? If it’s OFA, I will really blow a gasket.
I received the same 2 weeks ago, and returned it letting them know “No, I am not ready for Hillary, still enjoying President Obama”…”Not all PBO’s supporters are automatic Hillary supporters”…”PUMAs showed their asses”. Felt very good indeed !!
SO glad to know I’m not alone!
I did the same thing two weeks ago with the same message. Said I’m not ready for anybody. We have the best president right now.
Not handing over anything, meta, we’ve been sold, or rented. It’s always about $$$.
I know that, which is what makes me especially mad!
v. funny/v. sad… more great snark from The New Yorker:
May 30, 2025
SCIENTISTS CONSIDER NEW NAMES FOR CLIMATE CHANGE
POSTED BY ANDY BOROWITZ
NEW HAVEN (The Borowitz Report)—After a report from the Yale Center on Climate Change Communication showed that the term “climate change” elicits relatively little concern from the American public, leading scientists are recommending replacing it with a new term: “You will be burnt to a crisp and die.”
Other terms under consideration by the scientists include “your cities will be ravaged by tsunamis and floods” and “earth will be a fiery hellhole incapable of supporting human life.”
Scientists were generally supportive of the suggestions, with many favoring the term “your future will involve rowing a boat down a river of rotting corpses.”
“Any of these terms would do a better job conveying the urgency of the problem,” Tracy Klugian, a spokesperson for the newly renamed Yale Center for Oh My God Wake Up You Assholes, said.
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/borowitzreport/2014/05/scientists-consider-new-names-for-climate-change.html?utm_source=tny&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=borowitz&mbid=nl_Borowitz%20(77)
THIS. I think that this is exactly what those of us that pay attention and understand the issues, feel today
http://immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2014/05/why-shinseki-resignation-was-pragmatic.html
“As long as the media and politicians find it in their self-interests to engage in hysterical linkbait and 5-second soundbites, we’ll continue to find ourselves caught up in this kind of frenzi rather than engaged in pragmatic problem-solving. Our power to change things lies in not following the linkbait, not engaging in the hysteria, and not buying the sound bites. That’s something President Obama has been asking us to do for a very long time now.
” PBO: I firmly believe that whenever we exaggerate or demonize, or oversimplify or overstate our case, we lose. Whenever we dumb down the political debate, we lose. A polarized electorate that is turned off of politics, and easily dismisses both parties because of the nasty, dishonest tone of the debate, works perfectly well for those who seek to chip away at the very idea of government because, in the end, a cynical electorate is a selfish electorate…
Our goal should be to stick to our guns on those core values that make this country great, show a spirit of flexibility and sustained attention that can achieve those goals, and try to create the sort of serious, adult, consensus around our problems that can admit Democrats, Republicans and Independents of good will. ”
Link: ibid
Thank you for posting this, df.
The only path is to eliminate the @GOP from any form of authority beginning on 4 Nov 2025 with #LandslideDEMS2014. Period.
YES WE MUST
She is so consistently wonderful. Nancy gets it:)
I hope there’s a clip somewhere of Josh Earnest saying a few words about assuming the position of Press Secretary. His remarks were magnificent.
You Too Rand Paul?
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/rand-paul-kynect-obamacare-mitch-mcconnell
A reporter asked Paul if he thought Kynect should be dismantled. Paul responded that he was “not sure.”
“You know I’m not sure — there’s going to be … how we unravel or how we change things. I would rather —I always tell people there’s a fork in the road. I was in healthcare for 20 years so we had problems in healthcare so we had problems in healthcare but we could have gone one of two directions,” Paul said. “One was towards more competition and more marketplace and one was toward more government control. The people who think that the government can efficiently distribute medicine need to explain why the VA’s been struggling for decade after decade in a much smaller system. And they also need to explain, even though I think we all want Medicare to work better, why Medicare is $35 trillion short. There’s a lot of questions that are big questions that are beyond the exchange and the Kynect and things like that. It’s whether or not how we’re going to fund these things.”
Boy, I feel like a pretzel reading this from Rand Paul. He did a good job of twisting himself into a pretzel. :)
As always talking from both sides and both corners of his rapacious mouth.
COS, you are absolutely spot-on! Rand Paul, did indeed “twist himself into a pretzel.” COS! Sadly, we don’t have Media that are honest to help people make sense of such self-serving political nonsense!
word salad - is it a disease passed on from one wingnut to the next?
Best thing about today’s news - instantly took GG & Snowden out of the pundit’s views. How sad - GG trumped by PBO - for the 7777th time
Jay’s WH Presser on 5-30-14
Josh Earnest came in at about 1:02:56 minutes in to speak briefly.
‘INCENTIVIZED TO CHEAT’
Shinseki Steps Down
—————————————————-
This is a story about resources, but it’s also a story about perverse incentives. By tying people’s annual reviews to their ability to create short wait-times, the VA gave folks a reason to game the reports. We all want accountability, but we have be careful about how we try to measure performance.
.
.
It the VA’s case, they have already suspended the wait-time tie to performance reviews. If they are going to revive that standard, they will need an IT solution that is robust enough to forestall cheating.
——————————————————-
http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2014/5/30/12737/8755
No government employee should get any type of “incentive bonus”. They should be paid a salary commensurate with their role and responsibilities - as was done until some fool decided to add the joy of “private kickbacks” to people’s earnings. If they don’t think they are paid enough - let them get a job in that wonderful private enterprise. Many many excellent workers would love to take their place.
I have had a very tough time dealing with the garbage that led to Gen Shinseki’s resignation;
now this photo of PBO with Gen Shinseki has destroyed the remaining control - I admit I am crying
That photo rips your heart out. It just hurts.
I think that it was a tough day and feel bad that Gen. Shinseki resigned. What I think is worth keeping in mind is that both Shinseki and POTUS both knew-before they each took their respective jobs- that it is about 80% politics that completely rules their jobs. It would be another thing entirely if this happened to a good person with a non-governmental job. But anyone who has their job because of an election or a govt appointment knows full well that this is always the inevitable outcome of a scandal or some such event. Gen. Shinseki’s service to the country is not impugned in any way by this political event.
so true..the hard part here is that this man was truly excellent at his job and had his heart in the right place the entire time. Thinking of the incompetent loons that filled GWB’s appointments…and THIS MAN had to resign??? It just sucks hard.
Totally sucks. It’s also worth noting that the President, once he decides to ask for or accept a resignation always needs his Party’s support to do that. So I wouldn’t be surprised if red state Dems were asked to publicly announce their support for Shinseki’s resignation. POTUS doesn’t really let others decide things for him. He fought hard for Sebelius against withering criticism for months. Just my opinion but POTUS wouldn’t have accepted it if he didn’t want to. IMHO, he might have thought about picking the right battles and this wasn’t one of them. So the sequence of events was Shinseki and POTUS possibly agreeing on the resignation a few days ago and then letting some Dems call for it. At least that’s how DC usually works/doesn’t work. :)
If politics is going to turn away good and able from doing public service, it’s the voters that will suffer. Endlessly.
You speak the absolute TRUTH! Sadly, without credible media, most people are easily swayed by hype, exaggerations, and sensationalism.
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/univisions-jorge-ramos-calls-out-oreilly-over-right-leaning-bias/
“We all have biases,” Ramos said. “You have your own biases, I mean whenever you are covering Obamacare or Benghazi or supporting the Republican Party more than the Democratic Party.”
O’Reilly cut his guest off quickly, asking, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, have you ever seen me do a softball interview with anybody?”
“I have seen you tough interviews, but I’ve also seen you support more Republicans than Democrats,” Ramos replied.
O’Reilly admitted that might be true in “editorials,” but insisted, “I have never done a softball interview in my life.” On the issue of “access,” which Ramos discussed in his POLITICO interview this week, O’Reilly lamented the fact that he cannot get House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to come on his show because she “knows” he will ask her “tough questions.”
For days like today:
“Marcus Davis is resolute. As many times as vandals paint over a mural of President Barack Obama, he will repair the damage over and over again.
“There is an endless supply of paint,” said Davis, 41, who opened The Breakfast Klub in 2001. “This mural is symbolic of the presidency of Barack Obama. He wakes up every day to obstacles and challenges far greater than a doggone mural being defaced. If he has the level of courage and type of character that causes him to continue to go on, I’ll be damned if I stop.”
Just days after Davis stopped a possible vandal from defacing a mural of President Obama, the restaurateur said he’s not about to let his guard down.”
[snip]
“Should we fix it? Absolutely,” said James, of James & Jordan, the Houston-based management search and consulting firm. “But my thought is it’s just a sign, unfortunately, that racism has not left, and that it will always be here. The only way you can fight racism is with diligent persistence.”
“I don’t care what you think,” he said. “We’re going to continue to push on and move on. We ain’t going nowhere.”
Congress has an oversight duty yet……the VA matter has been riddle with many issues over the years with little attempt to fix the problems? The media is willing and able to attack the Obama Team, but dragging their lazy feet to ask tough questions of what the Congress has failed to do? Congress has Chairpersons for each committee. What have they done and why not? They should be asked of every chairperson with an oversight duty Now.
LIVE NOW: Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel speaking in Singapore - http://www.cbsnews.com/liveFeed/widget.shtml
LP’s new post.
http://theobamadiary.com/2014/05/30/the-week-in-toons-6/
Uh oh, sorry LP. . .