MSNBC: Admiral Poindexter to Resign

MSNBC | July 31, 2003

[bonesmccoy]

Long live a Free Republic... not a Poindexter Republic.

[FairOpinion]

"How did this program get out anyway? "

---

As someone pointed out on another thread, this was part of the DARPA budget, which was submitted to Congress over six onths ago and they approved it. So now, when DARPA was implementing it and put up a website about it, some Democrat operative saw it as an opportunity for distortion, trying to embarass Bush, so they all got their talking paper. They needed something, since the Niger uranium flap had run its course.

I hate to look at the news and find out what they are going try to inflate into something significant tomorrow.

I think DARPA and the Pentagon need a serious domestic public relations office -- if they had come out and explained this to people first, it would have defanged the Dem attacks. It is too bad that now they just rolled over and actually fired Poindexter over this. The more they roll over for the Democrats, the more it emboldens them. Watch them go after Condi Rice, Cheney and Bush with renewed vigor. They are smelling blood.

[af_vet_rr]

Must everybody agree with you on everything to avoid being labelled an "Enemy Combatant" or it's equivalent??

You probably own a firearm (or two or three), as do I. At some point, gun owners will probably be labeled "enemies of the state" which is pretty close to "enemy combatant" and the equivalents, so don't worry, you'll be in good company with the rest of us :-)

I do have to laugh at those who start dropping labels on people just because they don't agree with them. Reminds me of kids who have their various groups, and if you don't agree with one group, then obviously you are against them, lol.

[FairOpinion]

"Long live a Free Republic... not a Poindexter Republic. "

---

What many fail to understand, is that without innovative, serious measures, political correctness be damned, we will not have a "Free Republic" what we may have is an Islamic state or all glow in the dark. Apparently 9-11 didn't wake everyone up, and 9-11 would be a picnic in comparison to some of the things the Islamic terrorists have in store for us.

[af_vet_rr]

I think DARPA and the Pentagon need a serious domestic public relations office --

Explain why the Pentagon/DARPA even needs to be involved in domestic policy/operations/etc. in the first place. It's one thing to defend the nation's borders, the seas, and the airspace, quite another to get involved in things like databases that look at American civilians, who have done nothing wrong. Others in other threads have gotten into the legalities in relation to the Constitution and DARPA/DoD's actions or would-be actions in regards to American civilians living on American soil.

I'm curious to hear your opinion, if it's mildly interesting, I'll go dig up some of those threads.

I'm retired and do not have a job that has anything to do with the DoD, so I'm pretty sure that what I buy or where I go is none of DARPA's/DoD's business, let alone what my next door neighbor who manages a grocery store or the other one who teaches at a Catholic school, buys or where they travel.

[FairOpinion]

I keep repeating to people that DARPA is a RESEARCH agency, and as such they look at creative, innovative solutions to problems. Terrorism is a serious problem and ordinary methods don't provide a high confidence of prevention.


http://www.darpa.mil


"The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
is the central research and development organization for the Department of Defense (DoD). It manages and directs selected basic and applied research and development projects for DoD, and pursues research and technology where risk and payoff are both very high and where success may provide dramatic advances for traditional military roles and missions."

[sanchmo]

I still don't get it:

not just anybody would be allowed to have a betting account...
The object is to get people to bet on the likelihood of an event...
The people who'd have the best idea of when a terrorist strike would occur are the terrorists themselves. So, do they only allow the terrorists to buy/sell??? And if the general public are the ones betting on the likelihood, they're not the ones with the knowledge so the results are meaningless.

And the results could be classified...
it is not necessary for the betters to know what others think...
So you'd have a market that doesn't disclose trade prices? That's not a public market, it's just a central clearinghouse for individual, private transactions.

The entire thing just seems self-contradictory: Trying to use the power of free, open markets of gathering distributed information to:
a) try to gather information that isn't distributed?
b) while keeping the market closed and private?

[Joe Brower]

I am sick and tired, "kimosabe31", of all you keyboard-jocks who hide behind ficticious names, and call people names while hiding behing an internet connection. What a man you are! You would not dare call me stupid to my face.

If you're such a fan of Poindexter and his "TIA" madness, why don't you enlighten us all to to what is so great about building an Orwellian central database on all American citizens.

[bonesmccoy]

You should be arguing in favor of tighter border security.

What's your point?

Poindexter is an idiot. He lost the debate twice and was already indicted once. What more does the loser need?

[KEVLAR]

Thanks for the reply.
You don't have to convince me, I just wondered if those defending TIA could point to any realistic redeeming features of the proposal.