Barack Obama's Inauguration

[snuffbox 0]

I would have liked to have seen a qualified nominee that came complete with a sense of integrity, an ingredient missing from the gentlemen you mentioned. Perhaps none exist in the intelligence world, I really don't know. But, this seems like trying to fit an important component into the wrong machine.

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

I don't know much about the guy, but you didn't complain before that he was unethical, you (909) said he was unqualified.

 

I know that he's anti-torture, so yeah.

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

Perhaps none exist in the intelligence world, I really don't know.

 

There will be at least one fairly soon!

[snuffbox 0]

Can Obama just say "CIA? I meant Commerce"?

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Maybe I'm just grouchy about the Rick Warren thing.

[SuperJerk 0]

Being White House Chief of Staff (and a good one) pretty much qualifies you for running anything.

[snuffbox 0]

Bob Haldeman ran the prison canteen with an iron fist.

[The Niggardly King 0]

Hey guys, is Obama related to Dick Cheney?

 

 

Say it ain't so, Barry.

[panthermatt7 0]

Minnesota is like a joke I'm not in on.

 

I'm in on it. And it's not a funny joke by any stretch of the imagination.

[snuffbox 0]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0109/17089.html

 

Evan Bayh isn't the worst after all.

[Guest Czecherbear]

Rick Warren? What the fuck.

 

1) I have a real dislike and distrust of those megachurches with their Starbucks and Urban Outfitters in the lobbies and big screens and laser light shows in the services. Oddly enough, this tenuously aligns me with the REALLY nutty Christian types who think that belching is sinful and all that jazz, because they don't like all that stuff either. Yeah, they're nuts, but houses of worship that pretend to be malls offend what few ecclesiastical sensibilities I have. The big one in my region is Willow Creek, down in South Barrington. It's a giant church-mall. It's down the street from Woodfield, a giant mall mall, so maybe it's to be expected in that corner of the world.

 

2) Empty conciliatory gesture to the religious right. I was kind of hoping Team Obama would just stick it to them.

 

3) In spite of spearheading the megachurch movement, which I suppose has to be moderate in some ways, he's still behind some pretty unsavory stuff, like the gay marriage ban or the whole Terri Schiavo thing.

 

4) I understand that he certainly couldn't bring Jeremiah Wright in. lawl. But why Rick Warren? Again, I'm uncomfortable with rockstar religious figures. Why does it have to be a household name? Should there be household names in this field at all?

[PUT THAT DICK IN MY MOUTH! 0]

Yeah, they're nuts, but houses of worship that pretend to be malls offend what few ecclesiastical sensibilities I have.

 

The big one around here actually refers to itself as "A Spiritual Shopping Mall" on its website. No joke.

 

EDIT: Here we go

 

NorthRidge—A Spiritual Shopping Mall

 

Our vision is most clearly understood when pictured as a spiritual shopping mall. The shopping mall seeks to provide availability and easy access to most everything a person needs or wants in an attractive, convenient and desirable setting. It does this through providing a few large anchor stores as well as a wide variety of unique specialty shops all under one roof.

 

The large anchor stores draw people to the mall by providing for almost every conceivable need of the majority of people. The host of specialty stores draws people by targeting the specific needs of particular groups of people. Those people whose needs are met by the anchor stores have several choices in one convenient place and are in no way put out by all of the specialty shops that have no personal appeal to them. However, while initially they have no interest, they eventually discover them as a great source for meeting their more specific needs.

 

[...]

 

We see NorthRidge as that kind of place, only for the purpose of meeting spiritual needs. It is our desire to provide availability and easy access to ministries designed for every spiritual need and want a person has at every stage of spiritual development, from unbelieving to mature believer. As well, we want to have something for every kind of person God has placed in our surrounding communities. We want the doors to discovering, developing and experiencing the Christian life to be open to our community in every direction and in every conceivable way.

 

[snuffbox 0]

The Rick Warren thing is really bad. "Black! White! Brown! Young! Old! Straight! People that fuck dogs and kids!" Rather than, at the very least, avoid the sect of people that deem it necessary for the federal government to discriminate based on scary differences, Obama chose to embrace one of the worst on the issue. It has been embarassing seeing so many Obama supporters give him a free pass because they like him, he's a Democrat, other assorted bullshit.

[Turbo Lion 0]

No worries, there are myself and other Christians my age just as wary of the Rick Warrens and the Joel Osteens and the megachurches.

 

There are some of us able to sort out the differences between church and state, scripture and the Constitution. Christ and America. Which isn't to say we've traded the loyalty, merely that we know that you can't make someone who hasn't placed themselves under the authority of scripture follow its tenets. Legislating scripturally specific morality is not only wrong, but it shows a stunning ignorance on the overall lesson about scripture and political power - it was a contributing factor in pretty much everything Jesus stood against.

 

I'm glad that Obama is not an unreligious man. I like him, I voted for him, I support him. But I'm not sure Warren is the face of the next generation of believers, and I'm not sure he's the guy to put up there...

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Sanjay Gupta as Surgeon General is an interesting pick.

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

I don't really care about the Rick Warren thing because it's pure symbolism and won't actually affect policy.

 

I guess I would prefer someone from the "religious left," but I just can't bring myself to get all outraged here, and gay rights is one of the issues that I care the most about. That being said, if I had my druthers, we would just eliminate all state prayers and religious ceremonialism, of course.

[snuffbox 0]

I agree about the elimination of the prayers from these events. The "So help me, God" part can stay out of respect for Washington, though.

[SuperJerk 0]

Sanjay Gupta as Surgeon General is an interesting pick.

 

Yeah, weird, but isn't the Surgeon General's post basically just a P.R. job for government-sponsored health information anyways? If you look at it that way, it kind of makes sense.

[snuffbox 0]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090107/ts_al...ygays_newsmlmmd

 

Maybe Obama's getting back on track after involving that awful Rick Warren in the inauguration.

[Art Sandusky 0]

This was expected before the guy got elected. Maybe in a few years we can let them get married. The men in the services who resent having a buncha fags 'round 'em will learn to respect them quickly thanks to us being in wartime.

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Barry Goldwater was on the right side of this issue. That makes me happy.

[BUTT 0]

Barry Goldwater's on the right side of EVERY issue!

[snuffbox 0]

Except for his votes on certain Civil Rights Acts. Principled stand or not, he was still wrong. In lieu of the federal government mandating civil rights, the opposite would have still been in place under the dictate of the State. With the state still holding power anyway, it is important to err towards the side of freedom/liberty for all, not just towards those who share a physical resemblence to you.

 

 

[SuperJerk 0]

My problem with states right advocacy is that every indication is that most state legislatures are even more corrupt and incompetent than the federal government.

 

The fact that conservatives interpret the 10th Amendment to mean that the states have near-dictatorial powers makes me wonder how civil libertarians like Goldwater would ever want to side with them on that issue.

[snuffbox 0]

That's exactly the problem. You can't take a "principled stand" against the federal govt in favor of granting the same wide power to a smaller govt. This is the the kind of problem that arises if somebody blindly follows a party or an individual; if they're wrong, they're wrong even if you happen to like them. Goldwater was absolutely wrong on this issue. But, to be fair (and accurate), he was absolutely not a racist.

[snuffbox 0]

Hillary Clinton's confirmation hearing for Secretary of State is tomorrow morning, if you like that sort of thing. There's been plenty of scuttlebutt over how John Kerry will approach it. He really, really wanted that job.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Because he probably would've been a better fit?

[snuffbox 0]

I think he would. But I don't disagree with Clinton as Secretary. They're both qualified, both earned the position by efforts during the campaign. It had to have been Obama's hardest selection.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

The advantage with Clinton is that she is well known, and I would assume somewhat popular abroad. That's a huge plus right now.

[SuperJerk 0]

I'm in favor of her experience meeting with foreign leaders, name recognition abroad, and vast understanding of issues and interest in solving problems. I'm not too crazy about her past judgements on foreign policy, especially with regards to Iraq and Iran.