There is hope that our new President-Elect will make the kind of appointments that will help his administration be fair-minded and wise. A major issue during the campaign was the fact that he had many questionable associates in his past. The Bible says, "Bad company corrupts good character." -1 Corinthians 15:33
Sept. 7, 2009 - Yesterday Van Jones resigned from his position as President Barack Obama's "Green Jobs Czar." Rising complaints about his background, qualifications, and statements threatened to become a scandal.
Jones was also linked late last week to efforts suggesting a government role in the Sept. 11 terror attacks and to derogatory comments about Republicans.
Sept. 5, 2009 - A growing number of lawmakers are demanding the resignation of Van Jones as "Green Czar."
Sept. 4, 2009 - President Obama's "Green Czar," Van Jones, signed a 2004 petition asking then-New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and others to investigate evidence that "people within the current administration may indeed have deliberately allowed 9/11 to happen, perhaps as a pretext for war."
Jones said he has never believed in that theory.
But such statements just scratch the surface of Jones' past commentary, and could present a dilemma for the Obama administration as it struggles to pass health care reforms and other priorities.
July 14, 2009 - Republican senators plan to interview New Haven firefighter Frank Ricci as part of Judge Sotomayor's confirmation hearings. Mr. Ricci and other, mostly white, firefighters lost their opportunity for a promotion because no blacks scored well enough to advance.
Judge Sotomayor was a member of a three-judge panel for that had issued a one-paragraph ruling siding with the city against the firefighters.
July 13, 2009 - The first day of hearings on the confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court begins with statements from members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, followed by Sotomayor's own statement.
Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the leading Judiciary Committee Republican says she is "out of the mainstream" of legal thinking and has a very activist judicial profile.
Sessions also said on CBS's "The Early Show" that he thought the native New York appeals court judge deserves a fair hearing. He quickly added that Republicans on the Judiciary panel won't hesitate to question her closely on her judicial philosophy.
June 11, 2009 - In the process of meeting with each Senator, Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor was asked an important question by Senator Jim DeMint.
"When I asked if an unborn child has any rights whatsoever, I was surprised that she said she had never thought about it," he said.
Because of this DeMint questions whether Sotomayor has an "unwavering commitment to the Constitution and equal justice for all Americans."
According to the Washington Times, Sotomayor was a member of the board of directors of a Hispanic group, and a part-time head of its litigation committee, that filed several legal briefs urging support for unlimited abortions.
May 26, 2009 - An anonymous source says President Barack Obama will nominate federal appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court today. If approved by the Senate she will succeed retiring Justice David Souter.
Administration officials say Sotomayor would bring more judicial experience to the Supreme Court than any justice confirmed in the past 70 years.
She will be the first hispanic to be nominated to the Supreme Court.
She was confirmed an appeals judge more than a decade ago by the Senate. At that time she said, "I don't believe we should bend the Constitution under any circumstance. It says what it says. We should do honor to it."
Mar. 4, 2009 - Charles Freeman, a former senior Pentagon official, is President Obama's choice to be chairman of the National Intelligence Council.
He has stirred controversy with several statements, including one in which he said the Chinese government acted too slowly to crack down on protesters in Tiananmen Square in 1989. Mr. Freeman has also criticized American policies supporting Israel.
In an interview, Representative Pete Hoekstra (R., Mich.) said, "I hope that this is one that's withdrawn."
Feb. 3, 2009 - Less than 24 hours after saying he was "absolutely" committed to Tom Daschle's confirmation as secretary of health and human services, President Obama admitted to NBC news that it was a mistake to pick candidates who failed to pay all their taxes. He said he was frustrated with himself and his team for the error.
"Ultimately, it's important for this administration to send a message that there aren't two sets of rules — you know, one for prominent people and one for ordinary folks who have to pay their taxes."
Jan. 26, 2009 - President Obama has appointed George Mitchell as US Mideast Envoy. The appointment is disappointing to Yesha Council Chairman Danny Dayan because Mitchell has previously voiced objection to allowing natural growth in West Bank settlements. He had served President Clinton in the same role.
"In the past, Mitchell made an indecent comparison between the war on terror and the settlements," the Yesha leader said.
Mitchell will visit the region next week. President Obama is eager to engage the issue of peace in the Mideast. He said, "It will be the policy of my administration to actively and aggressively seek a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians, as well as Israel and its Arab neighbors."
Jan 20,2009 - Several of the incoming president's picks for public service have already been an embarrassment to him. Jim Meyers lists these:
Timothy Geithner, his choice for Treasury secretary, failed to pay $34,000 in taxes several years ago.
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, Obama's commerce secretary preference, withdrew from nomination because of questionable political activities revolving around a construction contract worth more than $1 billion.
llinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, tied to Obama through Chicago slum lord and felon Tony Rezko. was impeached after trying to sell Obama's vacant Senate seat.
Obama’s choice for Attorney General, Eric Holder, acknowledged that he made mistakes in the 2001 pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich.
The article lists other questionable choices as well.
Dec. 21, 2008 - President-elect Obama has chosen Rep. Hilda L. Solis of California to head the Labor Department. Solis is strongly pro-union, and is known to have close ties to both socialist and communist organizations in the U.S.
Trever Loudon, a communist researcher based in New Zealand, found that in November 2005 Solis addressed the DSA [Democratic Socialists of America] National Convention in Los Angeles, entitled, "The New Capital of Progressive Politics?"
She has reportedly sent representatives recently to a forum on worker's rights organized by Socialists International, and to a major event of the Communist Party USA.
Dec, 20, 2008 - It is known that Rahm Emanuel, President-elect Obama's choice for Chief of Staff, called Illinois Governor Blagojevich's office to discuss the filling of Obama's vacated Senate seat, but details are not known.
Emanuel's refusal to discuss the matter publicly, and the few comments offered by Obama to date, have prompted questions about Emanuel's ties to and what fallout he'll face as the criminal case unfolds.
Dec. 19, 2008 - Harvard University physicist John Holdren is President-elect Obama's pick for presidential science adviser. Oregon State University marine biologist Jane Lubchenco gets the nod for head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The appointments ... dismayed conservatives but heartened environmentalists and researchers.
Both appointees favor a mandatory limit on greenhouse gas emissions to avert catastrophic climate change.
Dec. 16, 2008 - Arne Duncan, head of Chicago Public Schools, is President-elect Obama's choice for Secretary of Education. He is known as a reformer. One of the changes he has proposed is the establishment of a "Social Justice Pride Campus," which would be Chicago's first high school designed for gay, lesbian and transgender teens.
Dec. 13, 2008 - Sources in Washington told Ynet that President-elect Obama wants to establish a special peace envoy to the Middle East, and former Secretary of State Colin Powell is a serious option.
Powell – a Republican statesman ... served as national security advisor under the President Ronald Reagan, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President George H.W. Bush and secretary of state in the George W. Bush administration.
Powell is not the only option. Former chief negotiator Dennis Ross, ex-Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer are also under consideration for the role. It is not clear how Hillary Clinton, who has been chosen to be the next Secretary of State, will feel about a dignitary to the Middle East who will report directly to the President instead of her.
President-elect Barack Obama will nominate Nobel laureate Steven Chu as energy secretary and Lisa Jackson to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, according to media reports Wednesday. Obama is also expected to name Carol Browner as energy 'czar,' the reports said. Chu, a Chinese-American, won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1997.
Dec. 9, 2008 - Because there are global warming, global financial problems and a global war on terror, there may be acceptance of the concept of a world government. Jacques Attali, an adviser to President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, says that that the "core of the international financial crisis is that we have global financial markets and no global rule of law".
A "world government" would involve much more than co-operation between nations. It would be an entity with state-like characteristics, backed by a body of laws. The European Union has already set up a continental government for 27 countries, which could be a model.
President-elect Obama is more inclined to global governance than President Bush. He has appointed Susan Rice, one of his closest aides, as America's ambassador to the UN, and given her a seat in the cabinet.
Dec. 1, 2008 - At a news conference this morning President-Elect Obama is expected to name Hillary Clinton as his choice for Secretary of State and confirm his plan to keep President Bush's Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates. Other likely nominations will be:
Attorney General - Washington lawyer Eric Holder
Director of Homeland Security - Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano
U.N. Ambassador - Campaign foreign policy adviser Susan Rice
National Security Adviser - U.N. ambassador and retired Marine Gen. James L. Jones
Secretary of Health and Human Services - Former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle
Commerce Secretary - New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson
Last week Obama named President of Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Timothy Geithner, as Treasury Secretary.
Because of the wars, threat of terrorism, and the economic crisis, Obama is moving quickly to bring reassurance and continuity in the federal government when he takes over in less than two months.
Eric Holder for Attorney General? - aides questioned whether Holder's confirmation would be delayed because of his involvement in Clinton's pardon of fugitive Marc Rich in 2001.
Nov. 13, 2008 - Stephen Bloom, author of The Believer's Guide to Legal Issues, says that the Supreme Court justices who might resign during his administration are the more liberal ones, so his appointments will probably not change the current "balanced" nature of the court.
Nov. 8, 2008 - President-elect Barack Obama is expected to ask Henry Rivera, a former commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission, is expected to head the FCC transition team. This could signal a return to the "Fairness Doctrine" that would tend to silence conservative talk radio.
Many fear the "Fairness Doctrine" would drive talk radio hosts – like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Michael Savage – out of business.
Nov. 7, 2008 - President-Elect Barack Obama has chosen Illinois Congressman Rahm Emanuel to be his Chief of Staff. He said,
"I announce this appointment first because the Chief of Staff is central to the ability of a President and Administration to accomplish an agenda. And no one I know is better at getting things done than Rahm Emanuel,”
Oct. 29, 2008 - According to an LA Times article Barak Obama had close ties and admiration for a professor and activist for the PLO.
Obama was a "friend and frequent dinner companion" of Rashid Khalidi, who from 1976 to 1982 was reportedly a director of the official Palestinian press agency, WAFA, which was operating in exile from Beirut with the PLO.
The LA Times refuses to reveal how it obtained the tape of Khalidi's farewell party.
Oct. 15, 2008 - John McCain's campaign accuses ACORN (The Association of Community Organisations for Reform Now)of massive voter fraud. The organization claims to have 400,000 members and has led a national voter registration drive in poor communities using some 13,000 canvassers to sign up 1.3 million new voters. Recent investigations have revealed numerous instances of multiple voter registrations by the same individuals. Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin sent a message to supporters saying,
“The Left-wing activist group, Acorn, is now under investigation for voter registration fraud in a number of battleground states... We can’t allow Leftist groups like Acorn to steal this election.”
Barak Obama has close links with ACORN since his days as a Chicago community organiser. The organization has endorsed Obama for president.
