Earlier today, ThinkProgress noted that former FEMA director of external affairs John “Pat” Philbin had resigned his position, only to be rewarded with a promotion. Today, Philbin was set to become the director of public affairs for Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell. But the DNI’s office has since backed away from its offer, putting out a statement this afternoon that reads:
We can confirm that Mr. Philbin is not, nor is he scheduled to be, the director of public affairs for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
CNN reported that, as of this morning, the DNI’s office had said Philbin’s appointment was still going forward. Now, the DNI’s office has reconsidered in the wake of increasing anger about the hiring. Watch it:
Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww, poor widdle Wepubwican got his widdle ass fired…?
My heart is breaking for him.
NOT.
October 29th, 2007 at 3:36 pmIt’s so frustrating, when you get caught trying to manipulate public sentiment with tax dollars.
October 29th, 2007 at 3:36 pmHoly Crap! A BushCo Appointee with scruples! That has to really p!ss Darth off, as he loves nothing better than a scumbag with a microphone, spouting the Party BS.
October 29th, 2007 at 3:36 pmMaybe they’ll give him the Medal of Freedom instead.
October 29th, 2007 at 3:36 pmI’m sure that with his experience staging phony press conferences, he’s due for a cushy job as a Director of Marketing with a Fortune 500 company somewhere.
October 29th, 2007 at 3:38 pm…and we would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn’t for these meddling bloggers!
October 29th, 2007 at 3:41 pmPlease do not let troll-boy (wet mop clean-up to aisle 6) change the subject, although we can understand why, since he obviously finds nothing wrong with what Philbin did.
October 29th, 2007 at 3:43 pmHe should probably brush off his resumé for a think tank position.
October 29th, 2007 at 3:43 pm** waiting with bated breath for TCDon to call himself a Nazi on this thread **
October 29th, 2007 at 3:43 pmKeep your eye on Philbin, folks. He’ll receive a “job offer” somewhere else, just as soon as the heat’s off.
October 29th, 2007 at 3:43 pmSo, does he get to take back his original resignation?
October 29th, 2007 at 3:43 pmPlease use the REPORT ABUSE feature for any troll comment that is off topic. Let TP police their message board with the help of user complaints.
October 29th, 2007 at 3:45 pmwow. i really expected them to wait it out and appoint him when the focus went elsewhere…
October 29th, 2007 at 3:47 pm#6 – What does that have to do with Mike McConnell hiring or not hiring Philbin?
October 29th, 2007 at 3:48 pmThe troll obviously has a fascination with his idol Bill Clinton. We all agree that Bill did a great job and is orders of magnitude above Boy George, but your fixation seems a little wierd. And I don’t mean that in a homophobic way, TCDon, you can abuse yourself all night long to video clips of Bill, we just don’t need to hear about it.
October 29th, 2007 at 3:50 pmOH, that’s right, I remember TCDon was in the very front loudly yelling for the resignation of Bush when it was revealed that they hired someone to lob softball questions to him at a news conference. (and we won’t even mention his ‘other job’)
There’s my troll bait for the day.
What amazes me most is that until people’s attention was called to this by bloggers, it was going to happen. What happened to the so called liberal media?
October 29th, 2007 at 3:55 pm16: Changing the subject is troll abuse. Philbin, along with bushco’s continuing use of our tax dollars, to schedule fake news conferences is the issue. Your other rants are irrelevant to this thread.
October 29th, 2007 at 3:58 pmTCDon was very vocal in demanding to see the evidence of WMD’s before we sent troops into Iraq. I remember him wanting to hold Bush accountable for the loss of blood and treasure if Iraq turns out to be chasing the wrong targets.
October 29th, 2007 at 4:04 pmTCDon, just because Bill Clinton didn’t want to have sex with you doesn’t make him a bad person! It just shows he has SOME dignity, and that you are not worthy of ‘Slick Willy’s’ attention.
October 29th, 2007 at 4:07 pmTCDon was exposed as a liar on the other thread when he claimed that Berger stole original documents, even though he knows perfectly well that isn’t true, having had it explained to him in considerable depth earlier.
October 29th, 2007 at 4:07 pmTCDon sez:
Funny…you still haven’t provided any links to substantiate your claim that Hillary “stages” her town hall meetings, TCDon. I’d be especially interested in seeing some proof of this allegation, as I am no Hillary fan.
When (and if) you do manage to find support for this accusation, bear in mind that since Chimpy has raised the choreography of allegedly “spontaneous” public events to an art form, your objections, even if substantiated, still carry zero weight.
October 29th, 2007 at 4:09 pmTCDon, William Jefferson gets no support from anyone here, or any Democrats for that matter. But Bush sure gets a lot of support from you. And Bush is the worst President ever, and a criminal too. You have already made it clear to everyone here that your underlying philosophy is that two wrongs make a right, and that the rule of law doesn’t matter. And we all can see that your style of argumentation is “straw man, blah blah Clinton, straw man, blah blah Clinton.” We get it. So shut up.
October 29th, 2007 at 4:11 pmOld Bushies never die…
October 29th, 2007 at 4:15 pmand they don’t fade away either.
Nice try fudging it, liar. Let’s go back and see exactly what you said:
“Have they recovered the documents Sandy Berger stole from the National Archives to protect the Clintons?”
Well, how would making copies (which is not stealing, by the way) protect the Clintons if the originals are still there? I think anyone over the age of, oh, say seven years old, can parse your sentence for what it means: that Berger actually removed original documents. ‘Cuz otherwise your little sentence makes no sense, now does it?
October 29th, 2007 at 4:15 pmStop making it so easy, Don. Really.
October 29th, 2007 at 4:16 pmIt really baffles me that the trolls are so FREAKIN’ STUPID that they will lie about what they wrote on a thread AT THIS VERY SITE.
October 29th, 2007 at 4:17 pmAs for that other troll on this thread, it is just the kind of freak that will drive independents straight into the arms of the Democrats.
October 29th, 2007 at 4:18 pmTCDon sez:
Here’s what you said in that earlier thread, TCDon:
There’s quite a difference between stealing the original documents, and stealing copies of documents…but like the difference between a document not being certified as authentic, and a document being proven a forgery, I’m sure the difference escapes you.
By omitting the fact that they were copies, that’s what you attempted to imply.
Are you serious? Are you incapable of doing the minimal amount of research necessary to uncover this basic fact? If so, what makes you think you’re qualified to spout off about it here?
And how many criminals are part of this current administration?
Matthew 7:5 comes strongly to mind…
October 29th, 2007 at 4:20 pmQustion for the Progressive posters on this thread (trolls need not apply):
Is John Philbin related to Patrick Philbin who was a law clerk for Judge Laurence Silberman of the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals, and for Justice Clarence Thomas? He also served as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Counsel, according to John Dean, “The Conservative Case for President Bush’s Exercise of Presidential Powers: Why It Fails to Convince, and Ignores Mainstream View on the Constitution.” http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20060505.html – paragraph titled, “Who Is Patrick Philbin?”
Also according to Dean, “…he (Patrick Philbin) sent a number of memoranda to then White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales regarding the establishment of military commissions, the purported lack of federal court jurisdiction over Guantanamo, and other matters relating to dealing with purported terrorists. Philbin’s work is among the infamous “Torture Papers” assembled by Karen Greenberg.
I googled it, but got no hits.
Anyone know?
October 29th, 2007 at 4:20 pmTCDon sez:
October 29th, 2007 at 4:22 pm
I can see that the trolls have received an RNC directive to keep Berger in the news. It really shows their desperation. Sorry, freaks, lies about Sandy Berger aren’t going to district voters from the war in Iraq. And the last few hundred polls I have seen don’t rank Sandy Berger very high on the list of voter concerns. Oh, wait, they don’t rank him at all. Seems that things like the WAR, the sorry state of THE ECONOMY, and the collapse of HEALTH CARE rank at the top. Bad news for your guys.
October 29th, 2007 at 4:24 pmLittlefoot sez:
Given your history here, you’ll excuse us if we don’t interpret that as the ringing endorsement you apparently intended it to be.
October 29th, 2007 at 4:25 pmNow that I’ve given TCDon a good hard beating I’ve got to get some work done. Adios, Don. See you here again tomorrow. If you show up, that is.
October 29th, 2007 at 4:26 pmDid Bill Clinton pardon or commute the sentence of Sandy Berger?
Did George Bush commute the sentence of Scooter Libby?
Which action had the most negative impact on the execution of justice in American politics?
No, yes, Libby. Any other answers are spin, distortion, and delusion.
October 29th, 2007 at 4:26 pmIn case you haven’t noticed folks, TCDon wins again. The thread has been hijacked, and the comments are almost all about the straw man that he has erected. I think we all know it’s fruitless to try to debate these trolls. Can we get back to the actual topic of the thread?
October 29th, 2007 at 4:26 pmHas William Jefferson resigned yet?
Comment by TCDon — October 29, 2007 @ 3:39 pm
No, not yet! But I think he should and I did write to his office and a letter to the editor regarding my opinion that he should retire, for the good of Louisiana.
October 29th, 2007 at 4:32 pmJust what was your point with this question? Some of us are not like the republicans who think the rules only apply to one party, and not the other.
DNI shitcans former FEMA staffer.
Fixed it for ya, TP. ;)
October 29th, 2007 at 4:33 pmComment by hterrya — October 29, 2007 @ 4:20 pm
I don’t know if the two Philbins are related or not, though I suspect they are. If not biologically related, it appears that their ethical and moral system are certainly related.
October 29th, 2007 at 4:34 pmUh, PLC, Berger was convicted after the end of Clinton’s reign of power. Former presidents cannot pardon or commute anyone.
Comment by TCDon — October 29, 2007 @ 4:30 pm
You’re right on this.
October 29th, 2007 at 4:36 pmThat’s unfounded and highly offensive considing my own maternal grandfather was a holocaust victim. But you don’t need facts for your unfounded attacks, do you?
Comment by TCDon — October 29, 2007 @ 4:14 pm
Donkey boy here proves himself to be a liar day after day and then he expects us to believe this one. I bet some of his best friends are Jewish too. And if Sandy Berger didn’t take the original documents then he is guilty of copying them not stealing them.
October 29th, 2007 at 4:38 pmFrom what I understand about the investigation of William Jefferson – the Pukes effed that up so badly that he’ll probably get off scot-free – even though he had that $90 G’s of cold cash.
Gee. Poor little Pukies can’t do ANYTHING right. Can’t find their weenies with both hands, poor things.
October 29th, 2007 at 4:40 pmI’ve got a bush planted in my front yard that “stands its ground” very well. It hasn’t moved in 15 years. Maybe I should register it as a Republican and have it run for office. It’s got the name and, apparently, the “integrity” vote.
October 29th, 2007 at 4:41 pmSo, then what would be my purpose in proving something that holds zero weight with you?
Comment by TCDon — October 29, 2007 @ 4:16 pm
This troll doesn’t realize he serves no purpose anywhere. Well maybe he does provide a certain amount of moisture to his mother’s basement when he spews all over the place. But if the air isn’t dry down there …
October 29th, 2007 at 4:42 pmDick Cheney had a shredding truck backed up to the door of his personal residence. I don’t here the trolls complaining about those missing documents. And where are all those missing emails discussed on the previous thread that are by law to be archived? Don’t hear them complaining about that. Berger copied files to get ready for a hearing and that’s the end of the world, almost as dangerous to our national security and getting a bl*wj*b in the Oval Office. What a bunch of whack jobs these trolls are.
October 29th, 2007 at 4:45 pmSeems the trolls have been overfed on this thread. Time for that cleansing.
October 29th, 2007 at 4:46 pmTopic: John “Pat†Philbin, FEMA’s director of external affairs stages phony press conference. The Department of Homeland Security said the propaganda press conference was “inexcusable,†and claimed they were taking the issue “very seriously.†Dana Perino said the White House does not “condone†FEMA’s actions.
Philbin quickly announced his resignation. “It was absolutely a bad decision. I regret it happened. Certainly…I should have stopped it,†he said. However, he used the occasion to announce that he was landing comfortably at the Director of Public Affairs for the Director of National Intelligence. Whoops.
Conservative political hacks, like “bugs under the rug,” can hide, but they can’t run. And with a little light, they can’t hide, either!
Progressives: Do you have an answer to my quetion of 4:20 pm? You have to hop back over a TON of troll dung, but my question is there!
October 29th, 2007 at 4:46 pmReminder: Don’t feed the trolls; report them for abuse. Thanks.
Topic John Philbin, political hack and phony “news” conference instigator. Anything else, is OFF TOPIC!
I still want to know if Patrick Philbin and John Philbin are related.
October 29th, 2007 at 4:55 pmDo you see their method of distraction? The thread started as a post about the FEMA guy getting – and then not getting – a promotion. It then goes to:
TCDon talks about Berger (copies vs originals), staged townhall meetings (no link), William Jefferson, Holocaust stuff?, Pelosi and Reid lying to bases (baseball bases, moon bases?), more staged townhall meetings (no links),
O. Bigfoot talks about NOT voting for Hillary Clinton. On and on…
So, we have two rather unhappy and unAmerican trolls taking time away from issues very important to the American people. Instead of speaking to what is wrong with administration employees putting on their own press conferences – and then getting promoted for it – they take us somewhere else.
I will try and see if my contact at RNC is familiar with these trolls. If so, I will pass it on to TP. It will be easier to ban them if we can show they are not only lousy bloggers who cannot stay on topic, but they are also water carriers for the criminal enterprise known as Bushco. Either way, we don’t need them.
October 29th, 2007 at 4:56 pmIt’s got the name and, apparently, the “integrity†vote.
Comment by PatrioticLiberalChristian — October 29, 2007 @ 4:41 pm
And the brains of our current shrub, I mean president.
October 29th, 2007 at 4:56 pmBull. It is the information, not the actual pieces of paper, which is classified. If what you said had any truth, then deleting emails wouldn’t matter either, since they are not physical pieces of paper.
Comment by O. Bigfoot — October 29, 2007 @ 4:44
Dumbass trolls mixing apples and oranges and can’t tell the difference. Federal law says that all communications from White House employees have to be archived. The papers Berger copied were archived, that’s where he got them. And he had security clearance to see them, that’s how he got them. He should not have taken copies from the building and he he was punished for doing so. Still waiting for the Contempt of Congress charges to fall on you’re people like Gonzales and Meiers for not answering questions asked by Congress. And for Rove to end up in jail for the missing emails. That will be a glorious day in the country.
October 29th, 2007 at 5:02 pmWhat is your point? You’re not a Holocaust denyer too, are you?
Comment by TCDon — October 29, 2007 @ 4:50 pm
No I am in fact Jewish. And we don’t need you rapture righty reichwing nuts crying antisemitism. We have enough problem with the Zionist nutbags like Lieberman and Kristol.
October 29th, 2007 at 5:05 pmYou can certainly do that, but if enough posters simply report the abuse of their thread derailing, TP will do something. I recommend you do both!
Comment by republicans hate facts
Absolutely…They waste my time, plus I am curious as to who they really are.
October 29th, 2007 at 5:07 pmRead the 2.4 MB document entitled Dod Information Operations Roadmap, as well as the rest…
Sincerely,
NRA Gun Nutes
Comment by Arn Gunnutes
Thanks…I am getting my information straight for the horses mouth. The mis-information campaign is a huge effort by the administration. Everybody is involved in either de-railing the topics altogether or steering them toward topics favorable to Bush.
October 29th, 2007 at 5:13 pmNo I am in fact Jewish. And we don’t need you rapture righty reichwing nuts crying antisemitism. We have enough problem with the Zionist nutbags like Lieberman and Kristol.
Comment by Shayne — October 29, 2007 @ 5:05 pm
I’m sure TCDon’s apology will be forthcoming…
October 29th, 2007 at 5:20 pmI still want to know if Patrick Philbin and John Philbin are related.
Comment by hterrya — October 29, 2007 @ 4:55 pm
And Regis Philbin, while you’re at it. He certainly looks the part.
October 29th, 2007 at 5:21 pmTopic: John Philbin.
Did the troll dung distract the progressive posters from the topic? Report ‘em, shine the light on who they are trolling for, and move on! [Too bad this isn't a BetrayUS thread. {:-) - Off topic, sorry]
Patrick and John “Pat” Philbin. Relation?
October 29th, 2007 at 5:22 pmRegis doesn’t support torture, so far as I know, gummitch.
Patrick Philbin does.
October 29th, 2007 at 5:24 pmPummeling trolls seems to me to be a poor substitute for pummeling (in person, as many of us have expressed the desire to do) the current corrupt, criminal president, SiCKO DiCKO, and little dweeb Philbin, the TOPIC of this thread.
Please report the trolls; don’t feed them. Thanks.
October 29th, 2007 at 5:30 pmIn the meantime, the fires are still burning and the wind is supposed to pick up again sometime this week. But FEMA can’t be bothered with that, it’s too busy staging fake news conferences and covering their asses. Then again they still haven’t done anything about NOLA. And I’ve never heard and apology from anybody about that gross negligence that resulted in so many lives.
October 29th, 2007 at 5:36 pmCorrect. But if he were, he’d get my vote over Hillary Clinton or any of the current Democrat field.
Comment by O. Bigfoot — October 29, 2007 @ 4:20 pm
well, we knew you were terminally stupid. thanks for adding unpatriotic and antiAmerican to the list, all on your own. And, please, write bush in. Everybody needs a good laugh after the deserter’s Disaster in The Desert.
October 29th, 2007 at 5:46 pmComment by StratRat — October 29, 2007 @ 4:56 pm
I think I will start reporting as abusers any troll who uses the “but Clinton!” form of attack on any thread. This has proven to be a very effective method of hijacking the thread and turning us all into Clinton defenders instead of discussing the thread topic.
I will also start reporting as abusers any troll who attempts to post anything about the approval rating of “the Democrat controlled Congress” on any thread about Bush’s approval rating, since the two cannot be compared and we have said this many, many times. (BTW — do we really need threads about Bush’s approval rating? We all know it’s in the toilet. It’s really no longer news).
These are just two of the hijacking tools trolls use. And I’m weary of these tactics.
And just as a nod to the topic of the thread — I’m glad that Americans are finally waking up and paying attention to what’s going on. Six years ago, we lapped up everything the media fed to us without question. So who knows how long Philbin and his ilk have been operating like this?
October 29th, 2007 at 5:52 pmThese are just two of the hijacking tools trolls use. And I’m weary of these tactics.
Comment by missmolly
So true. The tools they use are predictable and consistent. When the right side bloggers appear uninformed and write something having no basis in fact, progressives jump in and “correct” the blogger. But the right side blogger already knows what they write is nonsense – and that begins the circle. We correct them and they come back with something a little bit more off topic, but still wrong. We correct them again, and they come back with still more rubbish. After a few iterations of this, we are side tracked into the new argument.
If we believe we can change the thinking of those who want good and accurate information by reading blogs, then we must help them understand the devices the right side uses. If they understand the devices, they will be able to spot them a mile away. Nobody likes to be lied to. Nobody likes to be played for a fool. We tell the truth and provide links to support our words.That is our strength and our obligation.
October 29th, 2007 at 6:24 pmShaya, the fires were caused by arson; and I still suspect that at least one of the fires was caused by arson set by environmental terrorists to further their “progressive†political causes. See, Earth Liberation Front. http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ Timeline_of_Earth_Liberation_Front_actions
Comment by TCDon — October 29, 2007 @ 5:48 pm
bullshit, all the way.
October 29th, 2007 at 6:38 pmDamn, TCDon is just itching to find some liberal boogeyman to make his side look like a white knight.
pffffft, philbin got canned because he acted like a perfect totalitarian propagandist, serves him right.
October 29th, 2007 at 6:54 pmnot to bait the troll….but….
October 29th, 2007 at 6:56 pmIs Tom Delay in prison yet?!
Anyone remember a photo-op George H. W. Bush did at the White House back when he was President with a group of “construction workers”, who all turned out to be a bunch of Republican staffers wearing hard hats and flannel shirts?
October 29th, 2007 at 9:06 pmThe Republicans have been staging phony photo-ops for ages now.
The Republicans have been staging phony photo-ops for ages now.
Comment by OxyCon — October 29, 2007 @ 9:06 pm
They have to, being a bunch of whiney, draft-dodging communists.
October 29th, 2007 at 9:20 pm> Ali Mohamed? Sure.
> Are you certain you aren’t
> talking about Muhammed Ali?
Do you still think “accountant” and “accountability” mean the same thing just because they are spelled similarly? Or do you still think you’re more intellEgent than us? hahahahaha. Feebs like you are the ones who equate Iraq and Iran because they are spelled almost the same.
Statements like yours are perfect examples of the white trash trailer park ignorance that makes up the republican base. Yeah, that Mohammed Ali feller, he’s the same feller as that Ali Mohammed feller. Actually, Ali Mohammed is one shady @ss Arab that worked for both us and Bin Laden.
Do you deny his existence? He was a member of the United State military, look him up. And since he’s arab, you shouldnt have a hard time believing he engaged in conspiracies… of course you’re willing to believe any kooky conspiracy theories if they involve arabs working on devious plots with Al-queda, right?
Because god knows those evil plotting arabs are capeable of all sorts of dastardly things, but we know that white people with immense power would never ever stoop to engage in criminal conspiracies.. only the mafia and arabs do that, fight Bigfwat?
Oh, and Tampon Don, lets, for a moment, assume everything you stated in your “opinion journal” cite is true. A) It admittted there was no evidence Berger took any originals and B) it admitted that YOUR prescious Justice Department didnt give Berger a lie detector test to see if his claim was true. If it was so important, as important as you make it out to be, why didnt YOUR justice department even waste the time giving him a simple lie detector test, the type they administer almost daily for a variety of reasons less important than the security of national archives?
October 30th, 2007 at 6:11 am