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Obama Adviser Resigns Amid Controversy
WASHINGTON - Van Jones, President Barack Obama's adviser on "green jobs," resigned his post overnight, after a series of controversial comments came to light triggering withering attacks from conservatives.
Van Jones US President Barack Obama's special adviser for green jobs has resigned under pressure from leading Republican politicians and revelations about his controversial past statements, The Washington Post reported Sunday.
(AFP/Getty Images/File/Stephen Lovekin) At midnight, the White House released Mr. Jones' resignation letter from the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
"On the eve of historic fights for health care and clean energy, opponents of reform have mounted a vicious smear campaign against me. They are using lies and distortions to distract and divide," he wrote.
Within minutes, Nancy Sutley, chairwoman of the council, released a second, more curt, statement accepting Mr. Jones' resignation. "Over the last six months he has been a strong voice for creating 21st century jobs that improve energy efficiency and utilize renewable resources. We appreciate his hard work and wish him the best moving forward."
Mr. Jones has been in the center of a maelstrom on conservative radio and television talk shows since a video surfaced last week showing him calling Republicans a vulgar epithet. Since then, other controversies have emerged, such as Mr. Jones saying black students would have never committed a massacre such as the one at Colorado's Columbine High School. His name also appeared on a 2004 petition calling for the government to investigate its own culpability in the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. None of those issues happened after Mr. Jones joined the administration.
Mr. Jones apologized for the epithet aimed at Republicans, but he said the Sept. 11 petition "certainly does not reflect my views, now or ever."
Mr. Jones' resignation, in the dead of night over Labor Day weekend, marks the first time one of the numerous conservative campaigns raging against the Obama administration has drawn decisive blood. Mr. Jones was one of the "czars" conservatives have been attacking as extra-constitutional appointments not subject to Senate confirmation. He was a relatively minor official -- a special adviser for green jobs on the White House Council on Environmental Quality. But his best selling book, telegenic personality and frequent appearances as a motivational speaker made him an outsized figure in that post.
He was only one front in the wars waging in conservative circles. Conservatives are angry about an address Mr. Obama plans to deliver to school children on Tuesday about the need for hard work and perseverance. They say he is indoctrinating children in his "socialist" political beliefs. A suggestion from White House officials that Americans e-mail in suspicious claims about the president's health care plans was condemned as a hunt for political enemies.
"I am not aware of any precedent for a president asking American citizens to report their fellow citizens to the White House for pure political speech that is deemed 'fishy' or otherwise inimical to the White House's political interests," Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn wrote in a letter to the president. He continued, "You should not be surprised that these actions taken by your White House staff raise the specter of a data collection program."
The effort was quickly shelved.
On Friday, when White House press secretary Robert Gibbs was asked whether Mr. Jones had the president's confidence, he said only that Mr. Jones "continues to work in the administration."
"I have been inundated with calls -- from across the political spectrum -- urging me to 'stay and fight,'" Mr. Jones wrote. "But I came here to fight for others, not for myself. I cannot in good conscience ask my colleagues to expend precious time and energy defending or explaining my past. We need all hands on deck, fighting for the future."
120 Comments so far
Show AllThe only thing Van Jones did wrong, as far as I can see, is that he didn't stand his ground. I wish he hadn't resigned and I'm sorry that he thinks that taking away from the Health Care debate was a good reason to resign. These questions need to be answered or this country of ours will likely die for lack of accountability and transparency.
Many hundreds of expert professionals, including military officers, architects, engineers, physicists, pilots and others question the government's account of 911. They've put their own professional careers on the line and their own honor to offer reasons why the official account can't be trusted...
Patriots question 911
http://www.patriotsquestion911.com/
The 9/11 Commission Report: A 571-Page Lie ?
http://www.911truth.org/article.php?story=20050523112738404
There will be a re- (read, NEW) investigation of 9/11. There can be NO OTHER PATH to set this country free of the disease of deception that is now ruling every aspect.
The so-called 'birthers' who believe in the most childish and asinine attempts to smear Obama because of his non-American father can triumph over a 'truther', who is backed by hundreds of experts and engineers who have spent thousands of man hours examining the evidence, and deliberate disappearance of same.
An obvious and badly executed forgery (the 'Kenyan' birth certificate) triumphs over carefully documented evidence (NORDAD stand-down, steel framed buildings collapsing from fire, lack of any 767 wreckage at the pentagon, WTC Building 7... the list goes on.)
Yeah. The US is doomed.
If you want to have a glimpse of where you are headed, check out Margaret Atwood's work "The Handmaid's Tale".
Walk in peace.
Whether or not anybody agrees with Mr. Jones comments or the petition that he signed really should be irrelevant. He has a constitutional right to both.
It's funny how the right wing is concerned with upholding the constitution only when it suits them, otherwise they act like the document doesn't exist.
DICK Cheney told Pat Leahy on the Senate floor to go "F@&k" off and I am quite sure the thought of resigning never even crossed DICKs mind. Van Jones should have the same right to foul language as DICK did. Calling Republicans or Democrats A-holes may not be civil but it is protected speech. The left really needs to grow a spine.
OK - Here's the deal. If you are a black political appointee, you had better not express even one opinion that reflects original or critical thinking. Or else a Democratic President will throw you out. Cases in point:
Lani Guinier - talked about the benefits of proportional representation, the system used in most of Europe.
Jocelyn Elders - suggested masturbation as a safe sexual outlet for teenagers, a way to prevent pregnancy and disease.
Van Jones - signed a petition asking for more investigation of 911. Criticised a Republican using vulgar words of language. Oooooh, that is not allowed because we are such a delicate and sensitive nation.
I suppose Obama has been hazed into this culture because he is smart and opportunistic enough to adjust to the realities.
Joe
The petition which Van Jones signed suggested, without a shred of evidence, that the Bush administration deliberately allowed 9/11 to happen in order to start a war. If Mr. Van Jones knew what was in that petition he was stupid. If he did not know what he signed he was stupid. The criticism directed at him has nothing to do with race. The group that started the petition is just as crazy as the current "birthers".
Crowsnest September 6th, 2009 10:52 am.................You think they are "crazy". Back up that assertion with FACTS!
I get irritated at the people who constantly raise 911 because it is a distraction from working on things with no factual ambiguity involved.
But it is absolutely legitimate to question whether the Bush administration allowed 911 to happen either deliberately or through gross incompetence. They certainly hit the ground running to exploit 911 to the hilt to start wars and get rid of liberties.
Joe
jclientelle September 6th, 2009 11:01 am................I have never seen the seeking of truth as a distraction.
But, I would love to know what "things" have no "factual ambiguity" involved. Once politics become involved, ANY FACT is in question.
I do not want to get drawn into a long debate about 911 at this time. I think we agree that Mr. Jones had a right to sign the petition.
Joe
jclientelle September 6th, 2009 11:18 am..............Indeed!
Thank the Universe we ALL STILL have a right to sign petitions. For how much longer is the real question.
Crowsnest September 6th, 2009 10:52 am, please take some time before scribbling hastily on matters about which you know nearly nothing and take cognizance of what thoughtful folks have had to say about what happened on September 11, 2001:
1) Begin by watching the lecture by architect Richard Gage "9/11 Blueprint for Truth" (2008) at the Web site of “Architects and Engineers for 9-11 Truth,” www.ae911truth.org (you will find the video on the left, near the top of the site’s home page).
2) Read the peer-reviewed paper "Active Thermitic Material Discovered in Dust from the 9/11 World Trade Center Catastrophe," by [the international team of scientists and engineers composed of] Niels H. Harrit, Jeffrey Farrer, Steven E. Jones, Kevin R. Ryan, Frank M. Legge, Daniel Farnsworth, Gregg Roberts, James R. Gourley and Bradley R. Larsen, published on April 4, 2009 in "The Open Chemical Physics Journal," 2, pages 7-31.
3) Go to www.patriotsquestion911.com in order to take stock of what dozens and dozens of professionals and academics (all identified by name and photograph, along with their credentials and academic affiliations), in many fields (scientific and other) have to say about what happened on 9/11.
4) Read David Ray Griffin’s detailed response to Popular Mechanics’ attack against alternative accounts of what happened on 9/11, in his book “Debunking 9/11 Debunking: An Answer to Popular Mechanics and Other Defenders of the Official Conspiracy Theory,” (Arris Books, 2007); and his books “9/11 Contradictions An Open Letter to Congress and the Press” (Interlink Publishing, 2008), and "Mysterious Collapse of World Trade Center 7: Why the Final Official Report about 9/11 is Unscientific and False" (Interlink Publishing, 2009).
5) Peruse the pages of the free online “Journal of 911 Studies,” and read the first paper by physicist Steven Jones “Why Indeed Did the World Trade Center Buildings Completely Collapse?” in volume 3 (2006); to which you might add the reading of “Some Physical Chemistry Aspects of Thermite, Thermate, Iron-Aluminum-Rich Microspheres, the Eutectic, and the Iron-Sulfur System as Applied to the Demise of Three World Trade Center Buildings on 9/11/2001″ by Jerry Lobdill in volume 12 (2007); and “Extremely high temperatures during the World Trade Center destruction” by Dr. Steven E. Jones, Dr. Jeffrey Farrer, Dr. Gregory S. Jenkins, Dr. Frank Legge, James Gourley, Kevin Ryan, Daniel Farnsworth, and Dr. Crockett Grabbe in volume 19 (January 2008).
In the meantime Mr. Van Jones has pulled the rug from under you by stating that he never believed in what he signed. Try another rug.
Crowsnest September 6th, 2009 12:23 pm........Jones' lack of support will not make or break the 9/11 truth movement. The momentum is gaining. Why not look at THE FACTS?
Some people just don't want to consider the facts and the arguments. It's called denial, a widespread and common condition associated with the human species. Denial is also often accompanied by prejudice, anger, hatred, and resentment.
Abendland September 6th, 2009 1:41 pm............"You cannot awaken a person pretending to be asleep"...............Chinese Proverb.
Has it ever occurred to you that Mr. Van Jones joined an administration which is reluctant to investigate and if necessary prosecute possible torturers low on the totem pole and, according to Truther hypotheses, apparently refuses to investigate and prosecute former President Bush for the alleged crime of consciously having allowed 9/11 to occur, an alleged crime which Mr. Van Jones once supported by signing that statement?
In that case Mr. Van Jones is not a hero but is complicit in the continued covering up an alleged crime by the Bush administration. Should Mr. Van Jones be investigated and prosecuted too for aiding and abetting the cover up of a crime?
The only rational explanation is that Mr. Van Jones no longer subscribed to the Truther nonsense when he joined the Obama administration.
President Obama should have vigorously defended him.
FACTS, allright.
If this was a "criminal" case as the Truthers claim, then in court it must be proven beyond any reasonable doubt:
1. That the Bush administration invited Bin Laden to send his men for training as pilots to the USA.
2. That the Bush administration assured Bin Laden that these men would not be arrested or hampered in any other way while in training.
3. That the Bush administration assured Bin Laden that it would ignore any warnings that 9/11 was afoot.
I have not read anywhere that this has been proven.
Crowsnest September 6th, 2009 7:00 pm...............My friend, you do not have a clue as to anything about truthers, 9/11 or OBL. Do you read? Research? Think? Reason? Observe? THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO EVIDENCE THAT OBL WAS INVOLVED WITH 9/11. THE FBI DOES NOT EVEN HAVE HIM ON THEIR WANTED LIST FOR THIS CRIME.
GAWD, WAKE UP!
Good point nevergiveup, show me the EVIDENCE. No evidence? Then I call BS.
Remember "Remember the Maine"? As with the Maine is a textbook false flag, too bad some are too emotionally fragile to admit it.
BTW: we now know tha FDR knew that Pearl Harbor would be bombed days before it happened. The Japaneses codes were cracked first by the British, then Americans. Churchill knew about it in advance as well.
Crowsnest (9/6, 2009 12:23 pm): I suppose that makes you a threefold ignoramus:
first, for not knowing the fact of Van Jones's aboutface;
second, for ranting ignorantly about 9/11; and
third, for wallowing in your ignorance (as if Van Jones's retraction exonerated your own thickheadedness, or one wrong justified another one).
From a recent press conference:
QUESTION: Van Jones. His name appears on a 2004 petition, demanding to know the truth about 9/11, whether or not the Bush Administration played a role in 9/11 so as to justify a war for oil. He said in his statement yesterday that he doesn't agree with that, and an administration source said he didn't fully read it before he signed it, he agreed to have his name signed to it. Now it comes out today that in 2002 he was on an organizing committee for a 9/11 Truther march. Your administration has been very active in knocking down the so-called Birthers, the people who allege without any evidence, and despite all evidence to the contrary, that the president was not born in the United States. How can the administration tolerate somebody who subscribes to a different insane conspiracy theory, as a senior adviser?
GIBBS: Again, it is not something that the president agrees with, and again I would point you to the statement from CEQ.
Ergo: either the White House or Van Jones are lying. Do you know who?
Abendland
Intelligently and persuasively well stated. I would also like to add to the impressive tomes that you have recommended these two books: 9/11 and American Empire: Intellectuals Speak Out which is edited by David Ray Griffin and Peter Dale Scott and Towers of Deception by Barrie Zwicker. The latter book also comes with a DVD inserted in the book entitled The Great Conspiracy.
Yes, I know those works. Thanks for adding them to the list.
Bring America Back !!!!
****Thanks for these reminders Abendland, does my heart good !!
****Your erudite summations make me believe you are aware of the current
petition efforts ongoing at NYC CAN .. They are stubborn with these efforts,
and they strongly believe if they can get it on the voters ballots, the NYC
citizens will overwhelmingly vote FOR an investigation.
****And, this coming Friday , let the faithful proclaim "We will Never Forget !"
Agree that he should not have signed something "he doesn't agree with" and claim different later (probably Obama made him do it).
I see name calling is alive and well here for people who believe differently than you do. Your response sounds more "crazy" than many I've seen on here.
Yeah Crowsnest, I believe what Fox/CNN tells me. The Neocons would never allow a "new Pearl Harbor" to happen would they? PNAC plans never existed, that is just a conspiracy theory right?. We must always believe what our media tells us, they would never lie and have no ulterior motive or conflict of interest right?
My post to Joe (jclientelle) appears to have gotten lost in transmission, 2nd try:
VJ describing anybody as a__holes is not an example of critical thinking or even good judgment, especially at this political climax for Obama.
I wish like the rest of us that we could just barrel on down with single payer and force it down their throats (remember what happened to Bush when he force-fed his agenda? the country almost unraveled). I'm sure if there were *any* chance in h-e-double- hockey-sticks that it would pass that Obama would go for it. Instead, let's be focused on being glad for his political skill and ability to see reality in the real world of disgusting politics.
I'm glad for someone with a good heart and a wisdom born of experience willing to get in the sh__storm that is government and politics and fight the good fight. We know where his heart is; the evidence that he can't get much done shows how powerful the forces are against him. This is no Harry Potter movie, unfortunately. No magic wand. He's just a real guy trying to do almost unreal things. Didn't stop him from trying. Good for him!
crescentrose September 6th, 2009 1:16 pm..........Lawd, are you serious? A good heart???? The man is continuing rendition and refusing to prosecute the last administration for lies, deceit, a false flag, the debacle of Katrina, the stripping of our right and the end of habeas corpus et al. Wisdom? Heart? Put down that Kool-Aid and wake up!
And increasing the drone attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan...killing innocent men, women and children. HEART!...Oh yeah!
And you think *he* is doing these things? You have a thing or two to learn about politics and the way things work in the real US of A, my friend. Just spend some time at a state legislature or Congress and you will get it.
The President is not as powerful as you may think. Again, yes he can go hard left but it will *destroy* the country because the backlash will be greater than the benefit. He sees this. I see this. I want hard left. But just like doing a hard left in a windstorm on a boat will sink it, he *cannot* change all of those things without taking it all down. He can't even speak of his desire to take it down. That will have the same effect. Capiche?
...and by the way I am very familiar with the debacle of Katrina because it took everything my family had and ripped us from our roots.
crescentrose September 6th, 2009 1:52 pm..........Very sorry to hear that.
Thx. You pick up and move on.
At the risk of veering off topic, I want to throw out into the ether what should be said more often: Katrina should have served as a lesson for the world on disaster preparedness, not just in hurricane-land.
And also on smart rebuilding of virtually an entire historic city (80% destroyed).
Nyet in both cases.
IMO, based on what I see in my new digs (a supposedly progressive and advanced place), NOLA was the most prepared city in the nation. Only 1400 out of more than a few million dead. Each of the 1400 one too many, but a great disaster statistic nevertheless. Try getting that statistic in any other regional disaster. Ain't gonna happen. (I am not in disaster preparedness, just a citizen).
Testament to 10 years of planning of the state, local and fed officials. That never gets airtime but it should. They screwed up some of it for sure, but they were 95% ahead of the game compared to everybody else under similar levels of disaster threat. Saving 99% of the population thru years of planning is amazing.
It's a shockeroo to me there hasn't been a critical mass of folks who sat up and took notice for their *own* selves. Apparently thinking "well, we don't live below sea level in hurricane alley, so we're ok". This is dangerous denial. Take a look at the "big one" disasters threatening several areas of the US and it *should* knock anybody out of their complacency.
As best as I can tell the planning to have every citizen taken care of is virtually nil. I'm talking reverse statistics, like 95% of people homeless or lacking food and water, and only 5% making it out ok. You can't flee in advance of an earthquake or a levee breach that comes without warning (no hurricane to announce it).
But, we are creatures of habit and we need to see and feel things before we will get off our cushy butts.
crescentrose September 6th, 2009 2:30 pm.............I would assume you are aware that Bush was told the levees were giving way and "neglected" to pass on the information which at the time would have saved 1500 or so lives.
Yeah. And I'm also aware the the US Army Corps of Engineers, which built the levees over many years under both parties, knew that the levees only would hold a Cat 3 storm surge but they weren't emphasizing that before the storm after Katrina turned to Cat 5 a few days before it hit. They make the engineering fit the budget and often fudge the numbers to make it fit.
I am also aware that the levees were built with safety factors designated for farmland and cows, not humans. A comparable engineering negligence in the private sector, on a bridge or highrise for example, would have put the designers behind bars. But you'd have to dig to find that out, the MSM does not report it.
I'm also aware that Sacramento, CA is a disaster just waiting to happen, as are other areas in the US. Ditto for the media.
crescentrose September 6th, 2009 5:04 pm.....UNTIL we re-claim some part of the MSM, there can never be any change. Americans do not have the stomach for true revolt.
Best of luck. I believe you will eventually see that Obama was a huge mistake. If I am wrong, he has one hell of a rabbit up his sleeve.
crescentrose September 6th, 2009 1:44 pm............Sorry, he's a shill and shows no leadership ability or courage. You can call it politics, I call it cowardice...
Capisce?
ok let's agree to disagree. But I hope I'm right. Otherwise we're f*c*ed.
We are f*c*ed.
Believe it.
Most of the people want a public option in healthcare. Almost a majority oppose the escalation in Viet... I mean Afghanistan. Most would like to see some accounting and payback from the banksters. Taking those positions would not be a "hard left" if he appealed to and listened to the people who worked for and voted for him. I have no way of knowing what is in his heart, but in actions he has dismissed the opinions and power of the people as insignificant.
Sorry to hear about your family's experience with Katrina.
Joe
Unfortunately, Obama has shown that he doesn't have the balls to stand up for single payer, or apparently anything else.
Congress has created so many health programs since 1965 -- Medicare, Medicaid, EMTALA, Native American Health Plan, Federal Employee Health Plan, TRICARE, sCHIP, etc. They cost us nearly a trillion dollars a year, while leaving 47 million uninsured and another 55 million under insured.
What Congress needs to do is repeal all of them and create one single program -- a single payer, universal health care program that covers EVERY citizen from conception to death. That would save about $400 billion a year in bureaucratic overhead, as each program has its own bureaucracy.
Mary Russo offered us the "Universal Health Care Act of 1991" in 1991, which would have done just this. It would have been paid for by a 15% surcharge on each individual's federal income tax. In 1991, it would have saved me about $5,000 a year in premiums, so it wasn't a bad deal, despite being an added tax.
Hey boss, if you're listening. We want a single-payer option.
Well caught - it doesn't take much to have Democrats turn on ya. One unguarded moment and its toast time.
(Am I really the only one who picked up on that Woody Guthrie reference?)
"I have been inundated with calls -- from across the political spectrum -- urging me to 'stay and fight....I cannot in good conscience ask my colleagues to expend precious time and energy defending or explaining my past. We need all hands on deck, fighting for the future."
So the way you fight is never to fight about anything concrete, only in the rarified realm of the hopesphere. I completely disagree. You have to fight for real things as they come up.
Any excuse to get rid of an advocate for JOBS and CLEAN ENERGY. I am furious at the venality of our representatives. Republicans first, Democrats not far behind.
Joe
wtf?
"[the strategy is] never to fight about anything concrete, only in the rarified realm of the hopesphere"
Translation: Obama does not fight for any progressive component of his own policies and appointees. In this case, Obama could have said "This is a good man and I stand behind him". He did not. He could have said "we need single payer. It is the option that makes sense". He did not. He could have said "I was mistaken to propose escalation in Afghanistan", but didn't. And so on and on. Obama needs to get down to earth with struggles.
The HOPESPHERE is a faroff place where dreams go to languish and die.
Granted, O has powerful, greedy, ruthless and irrational enemies. But he knew that. It's one thing to fight and lose. It's another to wimp out without really trying. We are seeing much too much of the latter.
Joe
Why is everything always so f*cking predictable?
Because we've seen this before, many, many times. It's always the same - money rules - no exceptions. Soon there will be no turning back. maybe we've crossed that line already.
Isn't it a pity.
Because he is what the majority of Americans voted for. He was always conservative and, I suspect, his only reason for running was to be the first African-American president. He never had any progressive positions on anything. His fan club read what they wanted to on what was a pretty blank slate; those of us who saw what was coming only voted for him because he was not McCain-Palin--the only viable alternative. Frankly, other than not getting us into any more wars, the Obama presidency is pretty well what the presidency of the old warmonger McCain would have been.
The only entertaining thing going is the hatred and loathing of the right-wingnuts for a president who is a Democrat in name only. But that, of course, is basically racism on their part; they don't fool anybody.
In my opinion, we're the ones who have to start doing unpredictable things. I'd sure hate to be reading the "progressive" part in the plutocratic script.
If Obama had any balls, he wouldn't let Van Jones resign. He would be behind him 100%. Van Jones has done nothing but tell the truth. Obama gives much to much credence and legitimacy to those who were voted out of power. That's his mistake, but it is to be expected from a Democrat.