Most techno-savvy White House evah can’t figure out e-mail
posted at 11:30 am on January 27, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
The excuse? Antiquated equipment used by the Bush administration is so low-tech they can’t understand it. No, really:
It’s more than five hours and counting now since the entire White House e-mail system went down.
Press Secretary Robert Gibbs announced the technical snafu at his 1:30 p.m. briefing, apologizing to the media for the e-mail silence this afternoon.
The result is maddening for the new White House team, which already has been frustrated with the archaic communications gear they discovered when they arrived at their offices. …
Both outgoing and incoming mail are out, the result, an aide explained, of an outage with the Outlook server. The aide said the outage goes beyond the press shop. The first lady’s office is also without e-mail, as are other offices.
Outlook isn’t exactly “archaic”. Many organizations use Outlook to handle e-mail, scheduling, and other tasks. It’s not my favorite program, but it works, especially for large organizations. Or at least large organizations that know what they’re doing.
This follows on the heels of their inability to get the voice-mail system to re-open the White House Comment Line. Bush staffers got the blame for that, too. Last week, they were bitching to the Washington Post about having to use PCs instead of Macs:
One member of the White House new-media team came to work on Tuesday, right after the swearing-in ceremony, only to discover that it was impossible to know which programs could be updated, or even which computers could be used for which purposes. The team members, accustomed to working on Macintoshes, found computers outfitted with six-year-old versions of Microsoft software. Laptops were scarce, assigned to only a few people in the West Wing. The team was left struggling to put closed captions on online videos.
Six-year-old Microsoft software? In other words, they didn’t upgrade from XP to Vista, a wise choice under the circumstances. Not only did it save the White House some money, it probably saved them untold headaches, too. Maybe someone on the Obama transition team should have checked the platform and started advising people to brush up on their PC skills.
Team Obama has been in office a week. At what point will they stop blaming Bush for their troubles and take some responsibility for themselves? 2012? After all, the supposed technological Neanderthals of the Bush White House managed to keep the Outlook servers and XP computers in operation until January 20th. (via David Knowles at AOL Political Machine)
Update: As several commenters have pointed out, there are no Outlook servers. Outlook uses Exchange servers. That may have been a mistake by the Post rather than the White House, though. Since the reporting doesn’t use verbatim quotes, it’s impossible to determine.
Update II: So now we have a Treasury Secretary who can’t figure out his own taxes and a White House that can’t deal with e-mail. So much for competence.
Blowback
Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.
Trackbacks/Pings
Trackback URL
Comments
Comment pages: « Previous 1 2 3 Next »
Gives me an idea to write a movie about an 8 year old kid coming in to save the White House.
- The Cat
P.S. “Hello Dell, yeah this is the White House admin. I can’t use my e-mail. . . no this isn’t a prank. . . seriously. . . stop laughting!!!!”
MirCat on January 27, 2009 at 12:09 PM
Looks like Obambi began his administration without preconditions or preparations.
eeyore on January 27, 2009 at 12:10 PM
I could see them all upgrading to new top of the line macs. They recycled everything Clinton did anyways, so why not pick computers made by a company who’s board of directors includes Al Gore
LordDaMan on January 27, 2009 at 12:10 PM
I say they get to use Etch-a-Sketch, maybe they could figure that out.
MDWNJ on January 27, 2009 at 12:11 PM
If an OS Pride parade breaks out in here, I’m leaving.
Ronnie on January 27, 2009 at 12:12 PM
So, the head of the IRS can’t figure out Turbo-Tax.
Popcorn, please. … The Keystone Administration is just beginning.
stenwin77 on January 27, 2009 at 12:12 PM
Hey White House Staffers…quit your bitchin’, it could be worse. The Bushies could have taken all the “O’s” off the keyboards.
Metalhead on January 27, 2009 at 12:12 PM
Maybe they should try this. How much you bet they haven’t yet.
- The Cat
MirCat on January 27, 2009 at 12:13 PM
Instead of counting their blessings: the silverware and furniture was still there as well as the W keys on the “antiquated” PC’s, the WHINE like little girls. They might have liked the pornographic graffiti that the Clintoon team left behind, (it might help them with their stimulus package), but boy oh boy do we have some ‘class warfare goin’ on here with the MACs versus the PCs. Sorry Mac users, you can be pretty snobby. ;-)
Christine on January 27, 2009 at 12:14 PM
Somewhere, John McCain is snickering
ToddonCapeCod on January 27, 2009 at 12:14 PM
‘the’ should be ‘they’ whine like little girls…
I can’t type worth scat; can I blame Dubya?
Christine on January 27, 2009 at 12:16 PM
Really. I felt the same way listening to Geithner during his hearings. He said they will come up with a plan. What the hell were they doing since the elections? I saw all these articles about how the new administration was all over the White House during the transition. I guess they were picking out the plum offices or something.
genso on January 27, 2009 at 12:16 PM
Nice. Bravo Sir, Bravo.
- The Cat
MirCat on January 27, 2009 at 12:17 PM
“Isn’t somebody going to help that poor man?”
LimeyGeek on January 27, 2009 at 12:17 PM
I’m sort of at a loss here. whitehouse.gov is running on Microsoft servers using IIS6.0, so someone there ought to be PC-familiar…
As for the mail system, I thought the Bush Administration had, several months before the Presidential transition, transitioned to new servers which could handle several times the data that the previous ones could. Bush’s intent was that his team take the hit in getting the bugs out so Obama’s team could hit the ground running. Of course, all the servers run Microsoft Server 2003, and therein probably lies the root of the problem.
My guess: The Obama team fired the Republican sysadmin and hired a new Democratic one without transition:
The other possibility is that some brain dead Mac user, operating in waters far too deep for him or her to swim, attempted to perform an administrative task on the servers.
As for what the Obama administration inherited, it’s certainly better than the Lotus Notes-based system which the Bush Administration inherited from the Clinton Administration — an e-mail handling system with even fewer security features than Exchange Server.
unclesmrgol on January 27, 2009 at 12:18 PM
Obama’s team during the campaign: “We know how to use iPhones, Blackberries, and we can make our own campaign commercials using iMovie on our iMacs. So we feel we are much more tech savvy than the McCain campaign and we could relate to the people of the U.S. much more effectively.”
Obama’s team in the White House: “OH NO e-mail that’s not from Google!!! Wait a minute, why is this random tower sitting next to this computer”
Guys that tower is the computer.
Obama’s team: “What?!?! I thought the thing that looks like a monitor is the computer?”
No, that’s the monitor.
Obama’s team: “F-in Bush, keeping this country in the dark ages. Now what are we supposed to do?”
MobileVideoEngineer on January 27, 2009 at 12:18 PM
You mean like telling him the Secret is to press F1?
- The Cat
MirCat on January 27, 2009 at 12:19 PM
It takes 2 to transition. There should not have been a single surprise to the incoming people. I allocate blame equally to the new folks (should have asked) and the old (should have anticipated).
Generally system descriptions are a required piece of documentation for federal IT. I know I’ve had to fill them out even as a contractor.
DrSteve on January 27, 2009 at 12:19 PM
I am sure someone else must have mentioned it:
This is a call to all hackers: hey, Apples don’t have virus protection softwares.
We will know shortly if the young and hip, tech savy Obama team up to the challenge to firewall itself.
Otherwise, Obama administration will be the MOST open and transparent EVAH!
Sir Napsalot on January 27, 2009 at 12:20 PM
Just wait until Obama learns how old the Constitution is. And it hasn’t been updated since 1992.
- The Cat
MirCat on January 27, 2009 at 12:22 PM
I hate Outlook, as I do nearly all Microsoft products but the fact is, Outlook is the standard email program used by most corporations and has been since the dawn of corporate email. If the Obama team doesn’t know how to use it, it’s nobodies fault but their own.
Maxx on January 27, 2009 at 12:23 PM
Which just confirms my suspicion, none on Obama team ever worked an honest day job in a corporate.
Sir Napsalot on January 27, 2009 at 12:23 PM
i find this to all be a joke since all Senators (including Obama) and Congressmen use Outlook and Microsoft with no problem.
I mean I know Obama himself barely warmed the seat, but surely members of his staff should be familiar.
gippergal1984 on January 27, 2009 at 12:24 PM
Obama’s team is so cutting edge and tech savvy that they can’t handle reality.
Dusty on January 27, 2009 at 12:24 PM
You can never anticipate the stupidity of the new guy.
- The Cat
MirCat on January 27, 2009 at 12:24 PM
Too funny; great ridicule, Ed! As someone who has seen the joyous faces of those suffering through a reluctant transition from XP to Vista, I salute the Bushies for their tech savvy.
As for the nitwits on the Obama team, I keep waiting for someone else in this country to admit that the Emperor is naked and not nearly so buff as the flabby white female reporters would have you believe.
Jaibones on January 27, 2009 at 12:24 PM
That includes Obama himself. Quite the executive, eh? They’re all Community Organizers!
Brat on January 27, 2009 at 12:25 PM
“I said, the sherriff is a n-*bellrings*-ear”!
my 3 year old wants to know what’s so funny!
Thanks for the chuckle, Limey!
Goody2Shoes on January 27, 2009 at 12:25 PM
That’s Great Snark!
Jaibones on January 27, 2009 at 12:25 PM
Who was the genius who fired all the IT people?
pedestrian on January 27, 2009 at 12:26 PM
They just need to call in Chuck and the Nerd Herd…
Keith_Indy on January 27, 2009 at 12:26 PM
It’s all Bushes fault. The damn Republicans used PC’s and the Obamamites only no how to use Mac’s.
Dasher on January 27, 2009 at 12:26 PM
You think the Bushies are at fault for not transitioning to Macs before they left office?
The new guys always think they know more than the old guys, and I’m not about to fault people who are no longer on the premises for something that happened days after they left.
I’m betting even Bush’s sysadmins were sacked. Obama brought in his own, and I think therein is the problem. See my previous post to understand possible results from such a sacking — Sen. Leahy certainly understands…
unclesmrgol on January 27, 2009 at 12:26 PM
Back in the mid 90s my ISP’s mailserver was funky. Things were much more open back then, and I started using the White House server (storm.eop.gov?) as my outbound. It worked fine back then.
exception on January 27, 2009 at 12:26 PM
Once you get a lobotomy, you can’t go back either.
James on January 27, 2009 at 12:27 PM
Finally.
Now, can we admit that the idiot messiah hasn’t got two brain cells to rub together?
progressoverpeace on January 27, 2009 at 12:27 PM
Before I even finished the first paragraph, I said to my self, “Obama and his crew are probably all hipster Mac douches.” Then I got to the middle of the article. Awesome.
Sir Corky on January 27, 2009 at 12:28 PM
Just smoke and mirrors. What they really did was install a parallel system and most of the emails will never see the light of day. Took a while to run the cables.
debg on January 27, 2009 at 12:29 PM
+10
Sendmail. Thunderbird. Squirrelmail.
unclesmrgol on January 27, 2009 at 12:33 PM
It just keeps getting better and better.
Now Douchebag Matt Damon wants to debate Bill Kristol. Guy plays a pretend CIA agent in a movie and now he thinks he’s a national defense and intelligence expert. Dude, if you want to make the transition to reality from the pot and coke world of make-believe, there’s a model already; follow it.
Jaibones on January 27, 2009 at 12:33 PM
MSNBC may have to come up with some original programming content tonight.
mankai on January 27, 2009 at 12:34 PM
If you have a bunch of people that use nothing but Macs and they move into a PC/Exchange environment, why wouldn’t you hire or at least retain some IT people that can run the systems?
Queasy on January 27, 2009 at 12:34 PM
hahahhaha… they’ll go upgrade to vista and exchange 2007… let the real problems begin…
I’m waiting for the “Emergency Steve Jobs Medical Discovery, Recovery, and White House Email Implimentation Act of 2009″ to bail out the hipsters in the WH
gatorboy on January 27, 2009 at 12:34 PM
One thing I have never ever felt passion for is an operating system. Ooo mine’s better than yours. No, mine’s better than yours. Can we debate on-screen programming for DVD players next?
Ronnie on January 27, 2009 at 12:35 PM
I think about six months is the normal period for blaming the prior administration. After that, the public will stop believing it. With favorable press (is there any other kind for the Obama administration?), they should be able to blame the Bush administration for an additional six months. So I figure a year will about do it.
After that, they will start blaming the Republicans in the Senate for blocking their plans.
It’s the old three envelopes joke. President Bush left three envelopes for President Obama, with instructions to open them in times of trouble. The first envelope has a note that says, “Blame me”. The next envelope has a note that says, “Blame Congress”. The last envelope has a note that says, “Prepare three envelopes”.
dirc on January 27, 2009 at 12:35 PM
I mean seriously, whining about the fact that people don’t use Macs = douche.
If they can’t figure out Microsoft programs, it just shows that he has nothing but 20-year old know nothings on his staff who have never actually worked in a real business.
Sir Corky on January 27, 2009 at 12:37 PM
It might have been the BES installation that the White House IT staff was trying to figure out. It can be finicky with Exchange 2003, especially if this was their first time through the process.
dedalus on January 27, 2009 at 12:41 PM
I suspect that they are referring to Office 2003 as the six year old Microsoft software, with Outlook 2003.
Either way, the transition teams should have been ready. At a minimum, keep some key folks for a 60 – 90 day period of overlap. And does the White House staff really handle the exchange servers? Wouldn’t it be a stable group of technologists that serve any administration? I shudder to think that the technology is left to whoever comes in with the next administration. There has to be some continuity…
juanito on January 27, 2009 at 12:42 PM
And, by the way, weren’t they the ones knocking McCain about e-mail?
juanito on January 27, 2009 at 12:44 PM
Affirmative action in action
jukin on January 27, 2009 at 12:48 PM
Some movie lines are only funny in the movies. You gonna try the fart sounds around the campfire next?
Took out the garbage for ya!
The Race Card on January 27, 2009 at 12:49 PM
EXCUSE ME??
WHAT??
ALL these IDIOTIC LIBERALS
DOnt know how to use a PC?
Ever heard of
ohhh
windows 2000
windows xp pro
Windows server 2003
Windows Server 2003 R2
Windows Server 2008
Ok not a ms fan fine
lets see i know and have
Linux mandrake 7.1 – 9.0
Linux unbuntu 8.11 (i just got it yesterday)
Free bsd
Red hat..
ANY OF THESE RING A BELL
you absolute Frigging morons..
Technically competent
Who in the HELL is their network admin
Send him nasty ass to me..
I will straighten his ass out..
Morons..
jcila on January 27, 2009 at 12:55 PM
We’ll all be in our graves.
Jim Treacher on January 27, 2009 at 12:56 PM
Sorry, here ya go…
“I said, “The Sherriff is a nigger!”"
Better?
Goody2Shoes on January 27, 2009 at 12:56 PM
SO now when White House emails get subpoenaed by a grand jury, they can turn up missing, and everyone will shrug, “Bush’s fault.”
cadetwithchips2 on January 27, 2009 at 12:56 PM
And some, like this one, are funny anytime.
Jim Treacher on January 27, 2009 at 12:57 PM
ALso to the others who mentioned send mail
How about all of the freeware you know
or shareware ????
its available on that thing AL GORE supposedly invented
YOu know
its CALLED
The INTERNET!!!
MORONS… /N Idiots /n Your not nurds your turds /n
jcila on January 27, 2009 at 12:57 PM
Using computers in government service requires the software to go through specific testing regimes to ensure, among other things, security. The Navy for instance, is just NOW upgrading its systems to XP from Windows 2000.
Obama Administration, welcome to the bureaucracy you so heartily promote. But I get the feeling from your reactions it’s more “for thee and not for me.”
JeffWeimer on January 27, 2009 at 12:58 PM
I’ve always thougth the White House Communications Agency handled IT for the White House. The agency falls under the Defense Information Systems Agency. They have military staffers from all branches, but maybe they were reassigned.
Sadly this is a common attitude I’ve seen with people who want to work in technology. You have some guy who maybe worked helpdesk for a couple years and the day they become a sysdmin, they know everything. They don’t really put much thought into risk, support costs, return of investment, and things that business people want to know.
Instead they want to push their platform of choice because they think its the best solution ever. They have no clue as to what apps the business uses and what kind of impact it would be on business if those apps had to be replaced.
Anyway, I just think it’s hilarious that these guys can’t get an Exchange guy considering the military uses it. Not only that, Microsoft has guys that work in government agencies and have clearances. When I was at Bragg, the major command that my unit was in had their own Microsoft guy. He worked with us for our NT4 to Windows 2000 transition.
Lay-Z on January 27, 2009 at 12:58 PM
Please do not use the N word..
I disagree vehimantly..
Do not use Racist remarks (even if they were in a movie)
I dont want to go there period..
Its ok to point out the obvious obama teams faults and failings
Its ok to point out their hypocrisy and even treasonist activities
It is NOT ok to use that word..
PERIOD end of STORY..
jcila on January 27, 2009 at 12:59 PM
I know how hard it is to diagnose / redesign a network.
Especially if it isnt documented..
I dont think this is the case here..
this sounds like sheer incompetence..
Oh its not a mac???
What do you mean the cmd prompt???
that was my point to these coolaid drinking liberal mac loving idiots..
I like the mac (i really do)
but i run both ms and linux all over the place..
jcila on January 27, 2009 at 1:02 PM
The fact that they all use overpriced toy computers speaks volumes about the new administration.
I picture their “techs” as a bunch of 20′s something know-nothing idiots with soul patches on their chins, Che t-shirts, and some fruity looking beret perched jauntily on their noggins
Sugarbuzz on January 27, 2009 at 1:04 PM
Since Obamateam wasn’t smart enough to survey the assets before they came in, I’m sure it won’t be long until they figure out they can just add computer upgrades to the stimulus package…with new grass for the National Mall…
Rockygold on January 27, 2009 at 1:06 PM
I use Outlook Express. Oooo…
Aronne on January 27, 2009 at 1:07 PM
What a bunch of maroons. Actually, I figured the techies were non-political staff who stayed on with the White House accross administrations like the janitorial staff, etc. Guess not.
t.ferg on January 27, 2009 at 1:08 PM
Sounds like a classic ID TEN T problem to me:
I D 1 0 T
Stephen Macklin on January 27, 2009 at 1:09 PM
Just more evidence that Obama is the new Jesus and the new Lincoln as they and their staffs couldn’t deal with e-mail either.
- Chris Matthews
MB4 on January 27, 2009 at 1:09 PM
You would hope that there would be some really talented IT folks with a background in computer security handling this. I always thought there was some group at the NSA assigned to that kind of stuff.
If they want Macs, why don’t they just buy them? There has to be some kind of capital expenditure budget for the new administration.
vermillionsky on January 27, 2009 at 1:09 PM
I was having trouble with my computer. So I called Richard, the 11 year old next door whose bedroom looks like Mission Control, and asked him to come over.
Richard clicked a couple of buttons and solved the problem.
As he was walking away, I called after him, ‘So, what was wrong? He replied, ‘It was an ID ten T error.’
I didn’t want to appear stupid, but nonetheless inquired, ‘An, ID ten T error? What’s that? In case I need to fix it again.’
Richard grinned…. ‘Haven’t you ever heard of an ID ten T error before?’
‘No,’ I replied. ‘Write it down,’ he said, ‘and I think you’ll figure it out.’
So I wrote down: I D 1 0 T … I used to like the little shit………….
cjs1943 on January 27, 2009 at 1:09 PM
I love this comment! Thanks a bunch, Cicero43, for the laughter.
mz.josephine on January 27, 2009 at 1:12 PM
Outlook Servers? If they are looking to upgrade their Outlook Servers they shall be down for the distant future! Idiots! They might call a local Geek Squad guy and pay him $10.00 per hour and all the pizza and diet coke he can consume. They would be up and running in 4 hours!
Most technical White House Evah…Indeed!
sabbott on January 27, 2009 at 1:12 PM
I’m still using XP at home, but I have a Windows 7 beta box for my main machine in the lab. Windows 7 is what Vista should have been. It’s about 1000 times more stable as a public beta than Vista was at this stage.
That said – good luck to the Obamatrons trying to convert the WH over to Macs. Government, as others have said, is notoriously slow at upgrading/changing any tech.
crazy_legs on January 27, 2009 at 1:13 PM
You should have asked little Richard if he’s ever heard of My Foot Up Your Ass Error? You could have told him to write that down and think about that for awile Poindexter!
sabbott on January 27, 2009 at 1:15 PM
Come on, man.
Jim Treacher on January 27, 2009 at 1:15 PM
The Geek Squad guys that are in the VW Beetle’s get paid pretty decent money (about $20 an hour or more), but they are worth it. As a former Best Buy and in-store Geek Squad employee, almost nothing is “above their paygrade.”
MobileVideoEngineer on January 27, 2009 at 1:17 PM
When you hire enviro-nuts who think “root” has something to do with gardening, you’re bound to have problems.
TheUnrepentantGeek on January 27, 2009 at 1:17 PM
Ten bucks says one of them called it a “hard drive.”
crazy_legs on January 27, 2009 at 1:19 PM
Sigh…. MCSE… long time techy…
Problem is probably not in the server at all.
Government regulations dictate that all Whitehouse mail recipients have their own accounts and mailboxes in the system, so all their male is permanently stored, and can be accessed.
Its not tied to the JOB, its tied to the User. However, each user will need to have their individual security settings created, and placed both on the correct server, but the security policies must be in place to support the incoming user environment.
Add in that it can take HOURS for changes to replicate throughout a Forest/Domain Structure, and this all had to be done as the OLD mailboxes were being moved, so they could be archived seperatly from incoming administration people?
Add in that not everyone was replaced… some staff remains???
Without proper planning… nightmare…
Romeo13 on January 27, 2009 at 1:21 PM
No, It just isn’t PC to use that word.
Cracker must be ten times worse than the nigger word.
Many black people call other black people nigger all the time and many black people call white people cracker usually in the pejorative.
Some white folk may use the word nigger but they almost never use the word Cracker.
So I guess in this PC world only black folk are allowed to use the words nigger or cracker.
By the way nigger just means black, as in Nigeria, Niger, Negro, il nero, noir.
There are many words that are far more demeaning.
But no matter what word someone calls you, you have to know what you are inside and don’t let it bother you.
This whole deal over the “N” words is bullsh*t and is a tool used by race baiters to polarize us.
If you let the speech police dictate what you say, then you are not a free person.
TheSitRep on January 27, 2009 at 1:22 PM
As for what the Obama administration inherited, it’s certainly better than the Lotus Notes-based system which the Bush Administration inherited from the Clinton Administration — an e-mail handling system with even fewer security features than Exchange Server.
unclesmrgol on January 27, 2009 at 12:18 PM
You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about in that statement. None. Do your homework on each of those systems and then lets talk.
The whitehouse and Bush administration has been plagued with problems since they switched from Domino to Exchange. Lots of email was lost in the process. My guess is that the whitehouse got a sweetheart deal on the microsoft software after Bush took office and the ongoing monopoly/antitrust investigation of Microsoft in the 90′s went away with Janet Reno and the Clinton administration.
Now we have supposedly “tech saavy” in-duh-viduals in the whitehouse and they get tripped up with corporate email systems…. you elect a n00b with ZERO real world experience and this is what happens.
maineconservative on January 27, 2009 at 1:24 PM
It’s Bush’s fault
notagool on January 27, 2009 at 1:26 PM
They should be lucky they’re not using the Tactical Army Combat Service Support System – Enhanced or TACCS-E. Let me put it this way, a couple of units I used still had the Burroughs badge on it.
Here’s a link to a gallery of what they looked like:
http://www.kourafas.com/taccs/index.html
Lay-Z on January 27, 2009 at 1:30 PM
Gotta add my 2c to the tech debate here. I use Mac and PCs, prefer the Mac but the PC does the job. I find Outlook plus Exchange to be a sluggish beast, but it’s what most big companies use so deal with it.
If you call yourself tech-savvy, you should be able to make either OS do your bidding. You should also be able to find your way around Unix. Learn, adapt, overcome, or STFU.
ZenDraken on January 27, 2009 at 1:30 PM
Totally! Where was the moronic hipster douche bailout to help them break out of their overprotective pampered shells so that they could understand the technology of the common folk?!?
PC? Haven’t you seen how uncool that guy in the commercial looks? I don’t even think he uses conditioner in his hair! And where are those clothes from? Target? How gross! Microsoft loser!
…Sorry, might have gone overboard there…
Sir Corky on January 27, 2009 at 1:32 PM
Why, “come on?”
According to you, it’s funny, every time. It’s even funnier when it’s totally obvious that somebody is just scratching that little itch they get to be able to use a verboten word in a public forum.
The use and context here is obvious. Prez is black; sheriff was black…they’re both n1ggers. BWAHAHAHAHA!
Goody, explain to your daughter how some guys just love to say the word “n1gger.” I’m sure she’ll get a laugh. I’m sure it won’t be the last time she laughs at you.
Mel Brooks was funny. Goody2Shoes is a joke.
The Race Card on January 27, 2009 at 1:33 PM
How long before they go to a Mac Store and bring over a “genius”?
c.u.shoeless on January 27, 2009 at 1:35 PM
Uh huh. And if I call your mom a “bitch” I’m only saying she’s your dad’s best friend.
The Race Card on January 27, 2009 at 1:36 PM
It is NOT ok to use that word..
PERIOD end of STORY..
jcila on January 27, 2009 at 12:59 PM
I agree, and I apologize, well, for nothing. While I’ve never, ever had a use for the word, I’m a little fed up with being worried about who I may offend.
While officiating a basketball game this past weekend, I caught myself suddenly having an internal debate as to whether it will be seen as racist because I refered to a team’s black jersey color as black because the players were all black. I had to think whether or not it was still safe to say black around black people, even if referring a color.
Additionally, I made an earlier attempt to refrain from using that word, but the manner in which I ‘cleansed’ the quote was still not above some petty ridicule. Blame my response on “appeasement”!
Goody2Shoes on January 27, 2009 at 1:38 PM
Is the Obama Administration whining about still having a job to do and still getting paid for it? Yes, it is.
baldilocks on January 27, 2009 at 1:39 PM
While attending university, it was common for the computer labs — then running actual IBM desktops, somewhere around the 286 era — to be full. Or, if they weren’t full, students doing actual classwork were given priority. So, those of us who were there to surf the net, hang out on IRCii, and get our geek on were often run out of the labs. We made our way over to the sciences department, and used the UNIX machines with their command lines and MOSAIC. In short — we adapted. It was a good thing, too, because when I got into the military, guess what we used for my work? Sun Sparcstations and MOSAIC.
Sounds like the Obama “new media team” needs to do the same thing — adapt.
Or put in the req for new Macs. That should only take another year to go through the process….
ScaryBiscuits on January 27, 2009 at 1:40 PM
Well, all Mac OSes are Unix based, but most of the people that use Macs more than likely don’t know this little fact. That being said, if you were to put these morons in front of a Sun Microsytems machine with Solaris on it, their heads would probably explode.
MobileVideoEngineer on January 27, 2009 at 1:41 PM
The only people I ever hear using the pejorative “white trash” are whites. You can’t justify ill behavior with other idiots behavior. I believe that most blacks are offended by “nigger” as they should be considering its hateful origins.
I also think whites should be offended by “white trash” because it’s classist and degrading to other people for no reason other than they are white.
Your generalizations about the usage of these terms only justifies your need to use them. You offer no factual basis for your analysis. The blacks with whom you associate sound like they all live in rap videos and in front of liquor stores.
My mom suffered at the hand of white terrorists as a child. I’ve been the victim of racial violence. More than half of my family is white. You refer to any of us as “nigger” or “white trash” and you will understand just how failed your logic is.
But you and I both know you don’t practice such stupidity in your real life. You say this stuff online because you’re too meek to speak that way in public.
The Race Card on January 27, 2009 at 1:44 PM
fine (i know its just a word)
I also know that it offends many..
its not good to use that..
We never ever want to even plant that seed of racial hatred..
Obama like it or not is the duly elected president of the USA..
Now personally i believe he is a muslim because of his actions – like addressing the muslims first –
or perhaps obama is just another idiotic liberal laywer
who is so stupid he actually thinks he can reason with the islamic nazis..
Either way americans were STUPID enough to vote the liberals into power..
and it may very well be the end of our country..
But if obama and the Democrats betray us..
We speak out here.
We resist the messiahs efforts..
But not using RACE as a reason..
Thats why i keep calling them all
Over educated MORONS..
Because that is the truth..
And it is becomming obvious they dont have a clue..
Remeber when Bush first came in and the liberals
hollered about his supposed lack of intelligence?
Same thing i am pointing out the obvious to everyone.
But not using Race..
jcila on January 27, 2009 at 1:44 PM
It’s not a “speech police” error. It’s a racial slur. Cut it out.
baldilocks on January 27, 2009 at 1:47 PM
Agreed. I’ve made this argument before.
You know it’s true.
baldilocks on January 27, 2009 at 1:48 PM
Oh yea and i knew the mac was using linux
free bsd i think right?
I dont have one right now so i cant actually look..
I jsut found it laughable that they dont know how to
ohh
login into a windows domain
Find the exchange server
and ohh see if the data store is mounted..
Come on – i am old and i know how to do all of that..
I was around when advanced computing meant
you had 2 piles of rocks in different colors
laid out in a 2 dimensional array.
that was Advanced in my younger days..
jcila on January 27, 2009 at 1:49 PM
But my parents couldnt afford the newer upgrade
To the macintosh rocks..
you know the ones with the smiley face on them :)
jcila on January 27, 2009 at 1:49 PM
Real conservatives don’t use the “Mommy, Jimmy down the street does it, so why can’t I” argument to justify wrong.
baldilocks on January 27, 2009 at 1:50 PM
Comment pages: « Previous 1 2 3 Next »