Where did this man leave his balls?

When he went to The Hill Sunday..he did not take them with him, as he only chatted up the Democratic Caucus.

WTF? Did you leave them in your other pants? The Dog ate them?

I know our methods are incredibly different, the Big O and I, but for the love of Christ dude..give those fuckwits a hard time when you make the effort to address their sorry asses. Slap them around a bit. They are the worst set of elected representatives this side of Tom Delay.

Ok, maybe not Hot Tub Tommy, but still..wtf, rip em a new asshole ok? The Rethugs are all on the same page, or nearby it..yet the Dem’s all go off half-cocked and in six different directions.

Fuckers need to be herded like the dumbass bovines they are. The lobbyists have sure friggin figured it out, why the fuck can’t you dude?

He called it a ‘pep talk’. Give me an effin break. Those sumbitches don’t need a pep talk, they need a sharp object rammed under their fingernails, and a set of electrodes attached to their balls.

Sphere: Related Content

A Chilly Reception in Texas for Obama’s Afghan Troop Surge

“This war, destructive of humanity like all wars, is also supporting a corrupt, ineffective Afghani government, and has all likelihood of becoming an endless quagmire. ~ Joe Heyman, Border Peace Presence

El Paso TX, December 1. Downtown El Paso was uncharacteristically coated yesterday morning with a snow that closed the county offices and the University of Texas the previous day. Perhaps not as surprisingly, local activists greeted the news of Obama’s impending Afghanistan troop surge announcement with chilly opposition across from the city’s central plaza.

In conjunction with a broad coalition of Texas peace and justice organizations, the Border Peace Presence gathered outside Representative Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) office to emphasize their opposition to any escalation of the war in Afghanistan. Coalition spokespersons call on Obama to completely withdraw all military and paramilitary personnel and announce a plan to rebuild the country.

Joe Heyman, who summoned this special gathering of Border Peace Presence timed to immediately precede Obama’s call for a significant escalation of the war in Afghanistan, stated: “He’s going to promise that in some vague point in the future we’re going to begin to withdraw troops but in the meantime we’re actually adding troops. The wars continue. My sign says: ‘War without end?’. We’re asking that question.”

A dozen peace supporters braved temperatures that hovered just above freezing at the historic Cortez Building, which houses Reyes’s office. Several local television channels filmed their gathering and conducted interviews to illustrate the evening news coverage of Obama’s message.

Since the United States invaded Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2000, a total of 467 Texas men and women have lost their lives, according to The Texas Observer (11/27/09). This comprises 9 percent of the total American casualties. The recent toll has averaged one Texan killed per month.

Hundreds more troops will be killed along with countless civilians should the U.S. escalate forces, asserts the non-profit TrueMajority. It could become a decades-long quagmire. Terrorism experts question the effectiveness of this approach to fighting Al Qaeda. Add to this, they say: the war will devastate the US economy and divert funds urgently needed for health care, education and jobs.

Texans have paid $74.2 billion for the American invasion and occupation of Iraq and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan since 2001. That amounts to $3,163 per taxpaying Texan, according to The Texas Observer.

Other Texan groups on record as opposing the Obama initiative in Afghanistan are:
the Dallas Peace Center, Texans for Peace, the Crawford Peace House, Austin Center for Peace and Justice, Code Pink, the South Texas Alliance for Peace and Justice, Denton Peace Action, Houston Peace and Justice Center (HPJC), Iranians for Peace, Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), The Interfaith Community for Palestinian Rights, Military Families Speak Out (MFSO),  North Texas for Justice and Peace, Peace Action Denton, UNT Campus Antiwar Network, Peace Mennonite Church, San Antonio Peace Center, South Texas Alliance for Peace and Justice, Texans for Peace, Texas Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW), Under the Hood Café (Fort Hood Support Network), Veterans for Peace (VFP) – Houston, and Waco Friends of Peace.

For more information: 12 REASONS TO LEAVE AFGHANISTAN NOW by Texans for Peace

Sphere: Related Content

The President’s bully pulpit could be powerful; why not use it more?

It looks as if President Obama is reluctantly getting more out in front of the health care debate. Many have been urging a more active role in recent weeks as the congressional recess dramas play out on the 24-hour cable channels. The task has been to clear confusion, allay fears and dispel misinformation. And there is nothing like the written word to do that. (Image: Wordle.net)

So President Obama wrote an op-ed piece in the New York Times Saturday telling the nation “Why We Need Health Care Reform.” Retaining the most frequently made points from his speeches and town hall gatherings, the President laid out his main arguments in what sounded like his own “voice.” He used familiar phrases and stories about people he has told before, Steve Benen notes in his excellent analysis describing what will be the strongest elements of the new op-ed. (Hat Tip to Memeorandum and Mark Knoller’s tweets for this information).

Reinforcing the apparent let-Congress-lead stance of the administration, Secretary of HHS, Kathleen Sebelius, according to Reuters, has revealed what we always suspected, that the government-run health insurance option is not an essential to health care reform. She added that the non-profit member-controlled cooperatives being considered by a Senate Committee could also fulfill the goal of creating robust competition for private health insurers, probably to the utter dismay of liberals.  But, the White House is now insisting that nothing has change, according to reporters riding on Air Force One back from the President’s vacation..

Sticking to enunciated principles, rather than sending up an administration bill to Congress, has made President Obama’s leadership open to question by the chattering class. But he seems determined to stick with the legislative process and, typical of his leadership style, is looking to a less immediate time frame for his strategy to succeed. He seems truly confident that something useful that he can sign will pass. He is using his bully pulpit to give credit for small successes to others, to remind the big stake holders of the obligations of their agreements, and to teach the public what they must learn about complex issues.

As if to emphasize the health care reform issue as front and center, an LA sports arena hosted a health clinic of last resort for thousands seeking free health care. The clinic housed in an old sports arena will continue through Tuesday. The clinic, Reuters reports, is run by the nonprofit Remote Area Medical Volunteer Corps as part of its mission to provide free health, dental and eye care in needy spots around the world.” RAM is best known for its work in Third World countries. People have waited in line for days to attend.

The President’s bully pulpit will be used as necessary to do what Mr. Obama sees as his unique role in the political process. He is well advised by his people and he won the presidency by being good at politics. I remain optimistic about what will happen, even if it is less than the 1000% we assumed it had to be.

Bonus Reference: TPM Photo Gallery carried “Behind the Scenes: Summer 2009 at the White House.”

Sphere: Related Content

Leadership on both sides of the road

“Boxing the Republicans into a South-dominated party is very good strategy, because the more you reduce the Republican Party, the more conservative and reactionary it will become, and thus less attractive to moderates,” said Tom Schaller, a University of Maryland-Baltimore County professor and the author of “Whistling Past Dixie: How Democrats Can Win Without the South.” “The Midwest and the Northeast are the places where there are still remnants of old-line Rockefeller Republicans. And these are the places where the Democrats will build durable majorities.”

Related articles by Zemanta

• Obama taps NY Republican for Army Secretary (washingtonmonthly.com)
• Snowe: ‘Ideological Purity Is Not the Ticket Back’ (littlegreenfootballs.com)
• Nancy Reagan Assists Barack Obama in Signing Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission Act (shoppingblog.com)

Sphere: Related Content

POTUS vs EX VEEP: no contest

(image free-pictures-photos)

POTUS spoke, literally backed up to the Constitution. EX VEEP spoke and backed into the past. It was no contest; POTUS WON. Our best times are ahead of us. The ex Veep’s dark past is just that — deeply dark and past its prime. The worst time is behind us. America is turning the corner into the future.

What remains from the past? In the National archives, backing up POTUS, are the Constitution with the Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence. These original documents established a set of brilliantly conceived checks and balances among three co-equal branches of government. That system is working again, after being down for the past two presidential terms. America is no longer as deeply bound to its recent dark past.

What does the future hold? Solutions to America’ biggest problems are out there waiting to be discovered. Does POTUS have all the answers? Absolutely not, but he believes in the system and trusts what will emerge. Did the EX VEEP’s speech have any answers? Absolutely not, because he does not believe in the system. He believes his own dark demons. Now that the system is beginning to rebalance itself without him, his impulses keep him fearful and desperate for power.

What does Constitutional re balancing entail? POTUS gave some clues in his speech. He talked about the lack of foresight in the past administration. And he demonstrates foresight as he leads us into the future. For example, he acknowledged that he expects oversight by Congress and the courts as he picks his way through the Constitutional legal minefield of “prolonged detention” and “military tribunals with rules.”

Because the courts were active, even during the dark days, balances were kept in certain instances as courts prohibited Bush administration power grabs. Our new POTUS is also willing to live by court decisions on constitutionality. However, the same cannot yet be said about Congress exerting its proper authority, though there are hints. The Senate’s demand for a plan before opening the purse to close Guantanamo was a good first step at reestablishing its prerogatives, though the process has been awkward. What lies in the future for the questionable solutions to the detainee problem? POTUS has been preparing a plan that will be completed in January of next year. It is typical of his operating method.

POTUS’ governing style is to state the problem and assign members of the administration to work to find solutions. He announces the outlines of a preliminary plan, letting Congress know what its part is and when he would like to have something to sign. He gets feedback and makes changes. Eventually he realizes it is again time to teach the nation about what the problem and solutions will entail. Working with Congress and signing legislation finally leads to publishing the plan’s full details.

EX VEEP’s governing style, in contrast was to feel there was a problem, state the solution to his minions in secret, omitting the planning and reporting to Congress. He did not need feedback because the rule was “my way or the highway.” Eventually he would be found out, but refused to admit any mistakes. Rather than teach, he worked through maintaining a fear posture and bypassed or deceived Congress whenever possible. He did not need a public plan and did not feel bound by the rule of law. Governing behind closed doors in secret, his loss of power has now produced a starkly contrasting new set of behaviors. He is out front and everywhere — defending, obfuscating, prevaricating, fear mongering, insulting and angry for the most part.

POTUS is also out front and everywhere — asserting, explaining, being transparent, truth telling, reassuring, and showing respect to adversaries and a positive demeanor, generally speaking. His ideas will be accepted or not. POTUS feel himself bound by what Congress and the courts decide. He feels that the government must be backed by the Constitution. He is quite willing to take on the EX VEEP because the man is mired in the past. The ex Veep’s dark past is just that — deeply dark and disturbing. The worst of him is gone now because he is powerless, though not without influence. He will eventually sputter out of the limelight. America is looking to the future, and honoring its beginnings. It is no contest; POTUS will win. Our best times have already begun.
See also Behind the Links, for further info on this subject.

Carol Gee – Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for all my websites.

Technorati tags: news news and politics politics national security obama cheney

Sphere: Related Content

The Advocates Agenda

A Congressional hearing Monday aired horror stories on the abuse of school kids according to ProPublica’s excellent coverage of the hearing. I watched it on C-SPAN and it was positively chilling to hear the Inspector General of the GAO give the report of his investigation. He and the parents who also testified revealed the abuse, injury and deaths of children, many with special needs, at the hands of public and private school personnel. This is an issue to which activists and advocates must pay attention. Congress has just begun the process with this first hearing. There will be more and there must be legislative intervention.

Education around the world – One.org’s David Lane and Christina Holder are supporting high quality free education for every child via the “Big Read” petition drive.

Action agendas – CREDO Action’s Kate Stayman-London has three agenda items on top. First is one that urges action towards the Department of Justice to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Bush-era torture and what role Dick Cheney played in making it happen. Second, Stayman-London encourages an e-mail to the EPA telling them to stand firm against Big Oil and Big Coal regarding regulating carbon emissions. Third, she shared a message from Dan Choi, an Army Lieutenant who is an Arabic linguist, who was discharged for being gay. He and many other people want President Obama to move to get the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy changed.

Webby Award – Rock the Vote’s Heather Smith announced that her organization won the Webby Award. Enter a contest for the best five-word acceptance speech.

Citizen lobbying — Democracy for America’s Arshad Hasan announced first-round winners in the DFA Netroots Nation Scholarship Competition to find and send at least 30 activists to the biggest progressive event of the year: The Netroots Nation Convention in Pittsburgh, August 16 – 19. The debate on health care reform has already started in the Senate. Matt Blizek, Charles Chamberlain and Mia Moore are spearheading a drive to counter right-wing Republican Rick Scott’s efforts to scare Americans about a public option in health care reform. Governor Howard Dean has returned to DFA to take on health care reform as his next big cause. On May 26th there will be a free online citizen lobbying training session, “DFA Night School” with special guest, Governor Dean. Just sign up.

Health care reform agenda – President Obama’s old website Organizing for America still has the brilliant David Plouffe on board. The current effort is towards health care reform. Director Mitch Stewart prepared a petition of support for President Obama’s reform principles regarding the measure. They say that health care reform must achieve:

1) reduce costs, (2) guarantee choice, and (3) ensure all Americans have quality, affordable health care. And he set a hard goal for getting it done by the end of this year.

There is much to do for involved citizens. Many vulnerable people need our action. Stay connected; it feels good.
See also Behind the Links, for further info on this subject.

Carol Gee – Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for all my websites.

Technorati tags: news news and politics politics activism advocacy

Related articles by Zemanta

• Activism can help the President — (carol-sandy1.blogspot.com)
• Dean to Announce Health Care Effort (politicalwire.com)
• A quick look at activism and advocacy (carol-sandy1.blogspot.com)
• DFA/Netroots Nation Launch ‘09 Scholarship Competition (mydd.com)
• Public Health Plan – Tea Leaves (alankatz.wordpress.com)

Sphere: Related Content

Obama Report Cards —

Elected in November of 2008, President Obama on April 29 will go into the next 100 days of his new administration. I have no idea what is magic with the number 100, outside of President Franklin Roosevelt’s record-making administration during the Great Depression. Everyone with an opinion seems bent on grading the President’s first hundred days. Democrats, of course, will be giving him high marks. And many Republicans will fume.

During these times of extreme stress and anxiety producing recession, the President has been about cutting wasteful or ineffective programs while dramatically increasing spending on economic rescue of the financial sector and a different set of priorities from Republicans’. The House and Senate will meet for a 2010 budget conference to compromise on their legislative differences on April 27: CQ Politics reports that “Democratic leaders would like to have the final budget adopted next week as Obama marks his first 100 days in office.”

President Obama has been known to compromise, sometimes surprising people. The New York Times (4/18/09) put it this way: “Despite Major Plans, Obama Taking Softer Stands.” In summary, “After pledges to change Washington, the president’s early willingness to deal or fold has left commentators and allies wondering: where’s the fight?”

Well, here is the fight – The release of the top secret Bush Office of Legal Counsel torture memos, came after a difficult and protracted fight within the Obama administration. Nudged by events, an ACLU FOIA lawsuit, and the leaking of an International Committee of the Red Cross report on torture to the New York Times, President Obama took the very courageous decision to release the mostly unredacted classified OLC memos. The Justice Department is charged with enforcing the rule of law.

President Obama has ushered in a new era of foreign relations. The moment he took office the U.S. standing in the world improved. People of color all around the earth found new hope for a chance at success. During the first 100 days the President exercised effective leadership in his meetings in various countries in Europe and Latin America.

From Time Magazine – Joe Klein wrote a very good article on “Sizing Up Obama’s First 100 days” for the (4/23/09) Time Magazine. At the beginning Klein was discussing the President’s “prose” speech at Georgetown University on April 14. To quote:

. . . Obama was making his case in the midst of a national crisis, at a moment when it seemed possible that he might enact much of what he was seeking. And he was talking about far more than a new set of policies: he was implying a new set of national values. “There’s also an impatience that characterizes [Washington],” he said, “that insists on instant gratification in the form of immediate results or higher poll numbers. When a crisis hits, there is all too often a lurch from shock to trance, with everyone responding to the tempest of the moment until the furor has died down … instead of confronting major challenges that will shape our future in a sustained and focused way.” (See who’s in Obama’s White House.)

The combination of candor and vision and the patient explanation of complex issues was Obama at his best – and more than any other moment of his first 100 days in office, it summed up the purpose of his presidency: a radical change of course not just from his predecessor, not just from the 30-year Reagan era but also from the quick-fix, sugar-rush, attention-deficit society of the postmodern age.

From Politico - Jim VandeHei and John Harris of Politico wrote, “100 days: What Obama wants you to read,” a user’s guide to 100 days stories (4/23/09). Politico published a special glossy 100 Days magazine on Friday. The authors’ generallt positive story lists seven things the White House wants reporters to write: “Obama is a promise keeper. . . Obama is a game-changer. . . Obama is the decider. . . Obama’s not in the bubble. . . Obama is not FDR. . . Obama is FDR. . . Obama is one cool cucumber.”

From The Democratic Strategist -”Obama’s ‘Third Way’ ” is the manner that an article in The Democratic Strategist defines the Obama presidency. To quote: “. . . the president represents a sort of hybrid liberalism that reflects the market-friendly attitude of Bill Clinton’s New Democrats tempered by a more traditional commitment to equality.”

See also Behind the Links, for further info on this subject.

Carol Gee – Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for all my websites.

Technorati tags: news news and politics politics obama 100 days

Related articles by Zemanta

• Obama presidential style: pragmatic, partisan, polite (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Monumental expectations for Obama’s inauguration address (cnn.com)
• OLC torture memos revealed – an overview (carol-sandy1.blogspot.com)
• Obama’s Recipe: Two Parts FDR, Dash Of Reagan (huffingtonpost.com)
• Barack Obama promises ‘bold action and big ideas’ during Congress speech (telegraph.co.uk)

Sphere: Related Content

Bravo Bob Cesca!

His latest HuffPo piece..is spot friggin on:

But it’s not just Bush administration officials they’re defending here. Extrapolating what the torture superfans are suggesting, they appear to believe that in light of the threat of terrorism, any administration should be able to torture, including the current president. In other words: they’re simultaneously accusing President Obama of being an oppressive and tyrannical “fascist,” while also insisting that he should exercise the power to do whatever he wants in order to prevent another terrorist attack. Put yet another way: unchecked government power is awful, unless Sean Hannity is scared. Then it’s excellent. Put a third way: WTF?

Exactly..wtf?? If we can’t keep our moral authority in tact, how is torturing ok on any level? Jesus-effn-Christ, its not rocket science folks.

Also, the fact that the torture methods were used in order to obtain false information to cover-their-smarmy-asses about attacking Iraq..that really chaps my ass. Bob says it best:

The reality is that the Bush torture methods were both horrifying and ineffective. The procedures we’ve read about in the OLC memos were clearly forms of torture as have been previously defined by America’s own standards (you might recognize waterboarding from such famous torturers as the Khmer Rouge, Imperial Japan and North Korea), and by most accounts they’re absolutely ineffective at acquiring decent information. And in fact, as McClatchy reported on Tuesday, the Bush administration used these torture techniques to gather intentionally false information about a link between Iraq and al-Qaeda.

Such fuckery as this deserves to be put on trial..so the whole world can point at the offenders and get indignant as hell..after all, we still have the audacity to complain about China’s human rights abuses….don’t we??

Related articles by Zemanta

• The Logic Of The Torturer (andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com)
• Tortured Reading: Of Waterboards, Shackles, and Sly Lawyers (blogs.cqpolitics.com)

Sphere: Related Content

Newt is a big fat liar.

Newt has some balls. Or he has Alzheimers like his hero St. Ronnie, any way you slice it..the man is full of shit. From Crooks and Liars:

The Teabagger King attacked President Obama because he actually shook hands with Hugo Chavez and tried to make into an international ordeal except only his teabagging compatriots bought into his lies. ABC News did a little digging and found this on Newt’s own website.

When it comes to Saint Ronnie however..its ok to shuck and jive with a dictator. Again from C&L:

As recounted in a recent interview highlighted on Gingrich’s own Web site, Gingrich fondly recalled the way that Reagan shared jokes with Mikhail Gorbachev.

In the interview, Gingrich refers to a favorite picture with himself and the late president: “One of the most memorable [moments] is actually a picture hanging on the wall of my family room. The two of us are on Air Force One. We’re both in shirtsleeves. We both have our arms crossed and we’re laughing. We’re laughing because Reagan has told another joke. Reagan collected jokes, particularly about the Soviet Union.”

I hope to hell Newt stays in the news..the fucker is so full of shit his eyes should be brown.

Sphere: Related Content

Obama doesn’t slam the door on prosecuting Bush and Company..

This just in, from MSNBC:

President Barack Obama is leaving the door open to possible prosecution of Bush administration officials who devised harsh terrorism-era interrogation tactics.

He also said Tuesday that he worries about the impact of high-intensity hearings on how detainees were treated under former President George W. Bush.

But Obama did say, nevertheless, he could support a congressional investigation if it were conducted in a bipartisan way.

Obama has said he does not support charging CIA agents and interrogators who took part in waterboarding and other harsh interrogation tactics, acting on advice from superiors that such practices were legal. But he also said that it is up to the attorney general whether to prosecute Bush administration lawyers who wrote the memos approving these tactics.

But..Rahm said this weekend that Obama wouldn’t go after the Bush Lawyers. How does this new statement fit with that one?

Your guess is as good as mine m’dear reader….

Sphere: Related Content

April 20, 2009. A Happy Day? Why Not?

Wow! The Alien Trucker’s big rig to insanity has been in and out of the shop so many times in the past few weeks and there aren’t even new tires for it. (I do, however recommend Tom’s Shoes for the retreading. Google it.) Another procedure tomorrow and then…maybe…I’ll be as good as new. Yeah…Right.

I do know one thing that is making me feel good…for a minute or two. It’s 4/20 all day today. Celebrating what has become known as the Stoners Holiday isn’t curing our country of the plague of rightwingism though. It plunders forward no matter what we try.

Last week the teabaggers took to the streets in a failed attempt to show some kind of solidarity calling for the sensible spending of taxpayers money. That same cry was raised for the past 8 years but was scorned by the same bunch who showed at these pitiful rallies. In fact, if you tallied all of the attendees of these so called tea parties they would probably fit in a highschool auditorium so the voice they called sucessful was actually just a pathetic showing of bitter folks who would rather be in the dark ages instead of progressing.

They have already moved on to a new line of bitching though. (short attention span like babies…Oh yeah…their crying is quite infantile too.) Seems they want to retain the failed policies of the past when it comes to sanctioning other countries whose ideals and politics don’t match the ones of AmeriKKKa. I mean…How dare our president shake hands with Chavez or Castro? They are Commies of the worst kind! I mean…they both called our esteemed drunken past president a devil and evil and…and…all kinds of stuff…

Waaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh again.

Personally, I would love to see the US begin trading with Cuba and Venezuela. It was just a little over a year ago that Chavez offered oil to us at a low 12 bucks a barrel to help poor folks get heating fuel in the winter of 07/08. Cuba is just a few miles away from Florida so aren’t they our neighbors? Love your neighbor is one of the Christian right’s mantra’s so why not our Cuban neighbors?

Not good enough neighbors for our leader to actually touch one of them.

They call Obama a Socialist. What the f*(k ever! I see him as a right wing extremist warmongering puppet that is just trying to juggle his plans for policing the world with an honest attempt to fix our economy. Of course they call me a Commie too.

On this most holy of days I am going to sit back, hit that bowl, and hope. I mean…Hope was one of the Obama campaign’s mantras too.

Since there is no real Change….

Sphere: Related Content

OLC Torture Memos revealed – an Overview

President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder should be given a great deal of credit for releasing the latest memos produced by the Bush Office of Legal Counsel, to the American Civil Liberties Union. Glenn Greenwald makes this point strongly in his first post following the release of the mostly unredacted material. It contains a number of excerpts from the memos with interesting points about each. He and many others were unsure at the start of the day what the President would do, given the huge fight going on within the administration. Greenwald is sharply critical of the administration’s decision not to prosecute however, pointing to an inability to reconcile certain basic principles of the rule of law, treaty obligations, etc.

President Obama’s written statement upon the release of the memos, is included in Firedoglake blogger, emptywheel’s post, which adds to the discussion and reflections on the lack of accountability for the wrong-doing. She makes a couple of useful points about the release: “The ICRC report may have made a difference in this fight. . . No mention of who wrote these memos. . .” And Wheeler closes with this: “If we’re a nation of laws, then we cannot let those who have broken the laws to go unpunished. That’s not retribution. That’s what ‘nation of laws’ means.”

More from emptywheel — A further point made by this outstanding investigative writer, who labels the OLC memos “erroneous and inflammatory assumptions, and John Rizzo’s lies,” is that the OLC memos should not be taken as authoritative regarding the events surrounding the interrogation program. For example, the section on the supposed mental health of Abu Zubaydah is patently wrong. Also the ICRC report contradicts the section on the frequency and harshness of the use of sleep deprivation. Another post links to the ACLU website that has the original memos (in pdf) posted, and reminds us that the ACLU lawsuit was what freed up the memos from the DOJ in the first place.

Here is the latest on the torture memos from the investigative journalism organization, ProPublica:
1) Newly Released Memo Inadvertently Reveals CIA Held and Abused Missing Prisoner.
2) Obama Promises to Defend Interrogators, But No Promise on the Bush Lawyers Who Signed Off.
3) Resource: The Missing Memos

References: Following are several authoritative and complete articles on the story of the release of these OLC memos:

• “Interrogation memos detail harsh tactics by the C.I.A,” by Mark Mazzetti and Scott Shane of the New York Times (4/16/09). An earlier NYT story: “Memos reveal scope of the power Bush sought in fighting terror,” by Neil Lewis (4/3/09).
• “Obama Releasing Four Torture Memos,” by Zachary Roth at TPM Muckraker (4/16/09). Includes a good AP overview along with the official statements of the President and the Department of Justic
• “Obama says no prosecutions, no ‘laying blame’ for interrogation techniques,” is by Keith Perine and Seth Stern of the Congressional Quarterly-Politics website (4/16/09).
• “Obama Releases Torture Memos, Vows Not to Prosecute,” by David Kravets from Wired-Threat Level (4/16/09).

See also Behind the Links, for further info on scandals and excesses.

Carol Gee – Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for all my websites.

Technorati tags: news news and politics politics obama

Sphere: Related Content

Taking It On The Chin, Like A Man

It should be no surprise to any even minimally politically aware citizen that if you have the audacity to aspire to, let alone, eventually accept the job as president of the United States, antagonists will come at you from all sides, taking shots at your ability, integrity, and performance.  It is a part of the rights and privleges we have living in a society that is protected by our Constitution.  Unlike life in a totalitarian regime, the act of challenging the leadership becomes a frequent and unremarkably normal part of a robust, free democracy.  Criticism, given freely and openly, whether in an honest constructive manner or even with some other agenda never hurts an honest person operating with honorable intentions.  Strong criticism today may or may not affect the future actions of an honorable person, may cause an honorable person to firm his or her resolve, or may result in that honorable person reconsidering past decisions and factoring those experiences when formulating new decisions.

That criticism will not harm an honorable person is a lesson that Barack Obama apparently learned early on in his intellectual and moral development, and early in his political career, and it is a lesson he has never forgotten.  President Obama has taken, is taking and will continue to take a lot of heat for his decisions, and not just from those in diametric opposition from his political values, but even from various constituencies within his own political family.  That is just a part of life in the Whitehouse.

What is setting President Obama apart, in my mind, from many of his predessors, in either political party, from many contemporary political opponents who would aspire to his  office, is the fact that President Obama is conducting his office in an open, transparent manner, and by doing so he is “sticking his chin out there”, willing and able to withstand the “shots” from those who disagree with him, whether those shots are a “right cross” or a “left cross” aimed at his chin.  He still juts his chin out there, taking the punches, but at the same time moving, moving inexorably forward with his agenda.  He does not “back pedal”, he does not “dodge” or attempt to hide behind any veil of secrecy.

There has been a lot of discussion in the progressive blogosphere about the fact that the Obama administration has not demonstrated any intention to prosecute members of the previous administration for war crimes linked to the various memoranda released previously, and the memoranda released this week as a result of the ACLU law suit.  The words from President Obama in this regard are not placating progressives and have led to President Obama being administered the ultimate “spanking”, a Special Comment (full transcript) by Keith Olbermann, who was responding specifically to President Obama’s April 16 statement on the last release of torture memos:

The Department of Justice will today release certain memos issued by the Office of Legal Counsel between 2002 and 2005 as part of an ongoing court case. These memos speak to techniques that were used in the interrogation of terrorism suspects during that period, and their release is required by the rule of law.

My judgment on the content of these memos is a matter of record. In one of my very first acts as President, I prohibited the use of these interrogation techniques by the United States because they undermine our moral authority and do not make us safer. Enlisting our values in the protection of our people makes us stronger and more secure. A democracy as resilient as ours must reject the false choice between our security and our ideals, and that is why these methods of interrogation are already a thing of the past.

But that is not what compelled the release of these legal documents today. While I believe strongly in transparency and accountability, I also believe that in a dangerous world, the United States must sometimes carry out intelligence operations and protect information that is classified for purposes of national security. I have already fought for that principle in court and will do so again in the future. However, after consulting with the attorney general, the director of national intelligence, and others, I believe that exceptional circumstances surround these memos and require their release.

First, the interrogation techniques described in these memos have already been widely reported. Second, the previous administration publicly acknowledged portions of the program and some of the practices associated with these memos. Third, I have already ended the techniques described in the memos through an executive order. Therefore, withholding these memos would only serve to deny facts that have been in the public domain for some time. This could contribute to an inaccurate accounting of the past, and fuel erroneous and inflammatory assumptions about actions taken by the United States.

In releasing these memos, it is our intention to assure those who carried out their duties relying in good faith upon legal advice from the Department of Justice that they will not be subject to prosecution. The men and women of our intelligence community serve courageously on the front lines of a dangerous world. Their accomplishments are unsung and their names unknown, but because of their sacrifices, every single American is safer. We must protect their identities as vigilantly as they protect our security, and we must provide them with the confidence that they can do their jobs.

Going forward, it is my strong belief that the United States has a solemn duty to vigorously maintain the classified nature of certain activities and information related to national security. This is an extraordinarily important responsibility of the presidency, and it is one that I will carry out assertively irrespective of any political concern. Consequently, the exceptional circumstances surrounding these memos should not be viewed as an erosion of the strong legal basis for maintaining the classified nature of secret activities. I will always do whatever is necessary to protect the national security of the United States.

This is a time for reflection, not retribution. I respect the strong views and emotions that these issues evoke. We have been through a dark and painful chapter in our history. But at a time of great challenges and disturbing disunity, nothing will be gained by spending our time and energy laying blame for the past. Our national greatness is embedded in America’s ability to right its course in concert with our core values, and to move forward with confidence. That is why we must resist the forces that divide us, and instead come together on behalf of our common future.

The United States is a nation of laws. My administration will always act in accordance with those laws, and with an unshakeable commitment to our ideals. That is why we have released these memos, and that is why we have taken steps to ensure that the actions described within them never take place again.

President Obama is demonstrating the pragmatic reasoning and calculated strategy that he seems to bring to everything he does in his administration.  He is saying here, in my analysis, that he abhors torture, and recognizes that it is against the law and that he will not sanction any torture while he is in office.  He is also saying that he has no appetite to launch any broad action to “throw a posse together to round up and hang every perceived miscreant” who might have been a government or military employee who might have  acted in good faith, when at the time, they were told by their government provided legal advisers that what they were doing was in fact permitted under the law.  Specifically he is thinking about those government employees below the politically appointed chain-of-command, those people who work year in, year out, selflessly to protect the security of the United States and that he has a duty to support their honest efforts.  Nor will he do anything that might compromise the security of the United States.  And the president is saying, now is not the time to divert ourselves for the sake of retribution, that he wants to use the resources available to him to move the country in a forward direction in terms of the economic, health care and security challenges us today.

Barack Obama has kept his word to the American people, by operating in an honest, transparent manner, by not standing in the way of the disclosure of the previously secret memos.  He is acknowledging that rather than operate in a secretive manner as the previous administration, his decisions will be made in full light of the American people.  President Obama is saying in essence, “like it or not, this is what I am doing and why I am doing it”, which is a very welcome change from the previous administration, who’s response would typically be “F*** you, I am the decider-in-chief and I don’t have to explain myself [which I am incapable of] to you”.

Barack Obama, through his words and actions is standing up in the ring and taking it on the chin, taking his lumps with alacrity, like a man and persevering in an agenda that he believes is in the best interests of all of us, and you have to respect the man for that.

Would I like to see President Obama appoint a Special Prosecutor to investigate the allegations of the facilitation of illegal torture by members of the previous administration, and then prosecute if there is sufficient evidence of culpability, absolutely, that also would be the morally right, pragmatic thing to do.  Barack Obama has occupied the Oval Office for a mere 90 days, come next week, there is still plenty of time for him to continue to work towards a better future for our country, and there is still time to go back and redress some of the mistakes of our past, and that is a pragmatic strategy.

Read more from Big Fella at the BFD Blog!

Related articles by Zemanta

• Will Obama Keep His Word Today? (outsidethebeltway.com)
• Rights groups rip CIA immunity on interrogations (cnn.com)
• Reporters track the changes (news.bbc.co.uk)

Sphere: Related Content

Et tu Obama?

Well, I couldn’t stay away from Countdown. Nope, and lemme tell ya..today was one helluva doozy. I learned all about the newly released torture memo’s (courtesy of TPM Muckraker) and how Obama has no interest what so evah in prosecuting those who tortured. I will look at the redacted memo’s shortly, but let me say this…

President Obama is going down the same road President Ford did, only Obama refuses to go after those who tortured. At least the underlings were prosecuted in the Nixon administration. No such luck with the Obama administration. So no one will be held accountable for torturing..no one.

KO’s Special Comment follows, as does his interview with John Dean on the subject. I am horrified that Obama wants to take this route.

But I am not surprised. President Obama has signaled he would lean this way, you just had to pay attention to hear it.

There are people out there that will be able to justify this newest fresh hell brought to us by President Obama..but I am not one of them. I find Obama’s decision unconscionable and wrong on many levels. I salute him for releasing the memo’s, and allowing us to see into the black hearts of the Bush Administration.

But I damn him and curse him for wanting to walk away from doing the right thing.

Sphere: Related Content

Obama backs BushCo on warrantless wiretapping?

First video is Professor Turley’s take on this new development and the legal ramifications. The second is KO and Howie Fineman discussing this newest fresh hell.

Let me see if I have this correct. President Obama’s administration is supporting BushCo’s wiretapping program and their defense of said program by invoking ‘government secrecy‘ aka the almighty States Secret Privilege fuckery.

Thats a whole lotta bullshit folks..It gives one pause..to wonder wtf is up and why in the blue hell the DOJ would pursue this line of defense when all Obama has talked about is transparency..transparency and yep..transparency. Not to mention ‘the rule of law’.

Sphere: Related Content

Next Page »