December 4. 2008

In a move that is closer to his campaign promise of change, President-elect Barack Obama has fired 600 George W. Bush appointees from the Defense Department.

Side bar: Speaking of the Defense Department, it's amazing how much of an interest they have taken in this website over the last few years, the State Dept as well, routinely appearing in website statistics as site visitors.

Ha, that's what you get for goofing off on the internet all day - you got fired (just teasing about you getting fired for that - it's because Obama is trying to clean house after George W. Bush).

Seriously, it's probably because I objected to the Iraq war on the site. When you write items of that nature or break political stories first online (Patriot Act abuses) or in the newspaper, the DOD and or the FBI might keep a file on you, so paranoid Bush can keep track of things. According to historians, Nixon used to do that as well.

*Cough* what's the sense, as FBI agents have university degrees, so it's not like Bush can easily read the reports anyway. 

George Bush to his wife while reading report: Laura, what's an ornery black woman?

In all seriousness, if you have a website or newspaper column read by many and it contains political items, especially those with scoops, some of it not necessarily favorable to the incumbent, they will read your site and make regular private reports about it *looks at Drudge* (someone very credible told me the FBI reads Drudge all the time and if there is a relevant political/government scoop, it is notated and looked into by FBI agents. The site writer is looked into as well).

Gates Will Lead New Obama Team at Defense Department

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3, 2008 – While Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates will stay in office in President-elect Barack Obama’s administration, other Bush administration political appointees will move on, a Pentagon spokesman said today.

More than 600 political appointees work in the Defense Department, 49 of them in positions requiring Senate confirmation. The Senate confirmed Gates in December 2006, and he does not have to go through that process again.

During a news roundtable yesterday, Gates said the vast majority of political appointees will leave Jan. 20 as planned. Others will remain until their successors are named and confirmed, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters today.

“There may be a very small number of folks that are asked to stay beyond that,” Whitman added.

http://www.defenselink.mil