Obama Administration

While I want the thing eliminated, at least the CIA may now be run by someone with an inclination to obey the law, at least on torture:

"A CIA director who has denounced torture, advocated intelligence cuts, and backed greater congressional control of covert operations--that would be....different." READ MORE.

And how about a head of the Office of Legal Counsel who says this:

"we must regain our ability to feel outrage whenever our government acts lawlessly and devises bogus constitutional arguments for outlandishly expansive presidential power."

and this:

"We must avoid any temptation simply to move on. We must instead be honest with ourselves and the world as we condemn our nation's past transgressions and reject Bush's corruption of our American ideals." READ REST.

By Sasha Issenberg, Boston Globe

Elena Kagan, Harvard law school's dean, will be the new solicitor general, President-elect Barack Obama's transition office announced.

She will be Obama's voice at the US Supreme Court, and she has been considered a potential Democratic appointee to the Court itself.

"I have accepted this nomination because it offers me the opportunity, working under the leadership of the President-elect and his nominee for Attorney General, Eric Holder, to help advance this nation’s commitment to the rule of law at what I think is a critical time in our history," Kagan wrote in an email to the law school community.

By Mike Ferner

Chicago -- Standing outside for five days in the Windy City under skies of lead and the thermometer below freezing provides an opportunity to make certain observations. Standing three blocks from the home of the next president of the United States the day he leaves for a new home in Washington, D.C….well you can’t help but observe certain things.

Hyde Park, where the Obama family lives(d) on Chicago’s south side, is a study in contrasts. Victorian and turn-of-the-century estates, broad tree-lined boulevards and the University of Chicago occupy one end of the spectrum; vacant commercial lots and takeaway restaurants that don’t sell coffee to better discourage the homeless from hanging out, occupy the other. More women wore fur coats -- some pristine and some clearly threadbare -- than I’ve ever seen.

[Of course not, but will Congress? Will the media even ask it of Congress? -DS]
He has criticized Bush’s attempts to trump Congress, especially on war issues.
By Gail Russell Chaddock, Christian Science Monitor

As a US senator and presidential candidate, Barack Obama routinely criticized the accretion of presidential power during the Bush years.

But in the run-up to assuming the presidency himself, the president-elect has gone silent on whether he would roll back powers claimed during the Bush years – or support congressional efforts to do so.

The president does not have the constitutional right to trump laws of Congress when he deems it necessary, he said on the campaign trail.

by Linda Milazzo

I don't believe in god. I never have. I don't believe in religions. I study them, but I don't practice them. I try to understand them to be sensitive to the beliefs and traditions of others, and to attempt to appreciate the motivations behind religious thought and deed. But they are irrelevant to living my life.

Long ago as a freshman at CUNY's Queens College I was introduced to Taoism. Taoism began in ancient China as a religion, then morphed into a dogma free/deity free philosophy. Since my late teens I've tried hard to apply MY understanding of my Tao to my life. I have the freedom to choose my own path and not judge the paths of others. But since I have freedom of opinion, I fall prey to judge. I try not to. But I do.

Through the Tao, I'm both a peacemaker and a warrior since Taoism couples with the art of self-defense. I understand my right to protect myself when needed, and to protect the defenseless when they need me. Since I'm by nature protective, it suits my sensibilities to aid the weak, where I fancy myself absurdly as inordinately strong.

By Mike Ferner

A steady stream of reporters from corporate news media outlets warmed things up at a frigid Camp Hope in Chicago yesterday, when CNN and the local affiliates of ABC, NBC, FOX, and CBS all called at Drexel Park on day two of the 18-day vigil urging President-elect Obama to make good on his campaign pledges.

Universal, publicly funded health care was the theme yesterday, highlighted by a presentation from one of the nation’s top authorities on the subject, Dr. Quentin Young, MD.

For decades, Dr. Young has promoted the benefits of a Canadian-type, “single-payer” system like most of the world’s industrialized nations. Young’s office is in Hyde Park, the same venerable neighborhood where Camp Hope is pitched, a few short blocks from Barack Obama’s home. His partner in the practice has been Barack Obama’s personal physician since the Senator moved into the historic district a few years ago.

The U.S. Attorney Question Partially Answered
By Legal Times

In a meeting last month with the Barack Obama's transition staff, representatives of the nation's top prosecutors caught a glimpse of the president-elect's thinking on the politically fraught issue of what to do with the the current 93 U.S. attorneys.

"[The president-elect] is going to be smart and be cautious. My gut feeling is it won't be like it was in 1993," said U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton of Texas' Western District, a member of the Attorney General's Advisory Committee of U.S. Attorneys. On Dec. 11, Sutton and 15 other members of the committee met with Obama's DOJ transition chief, David Ogden, and his staff at the Justice Department to advise them on law enforcement issues and to point out areas the committee believes require special attention.

By Dr. Mahathir Mohamad and Former Prime Minister of Malaysia
www.GlobalResearch.ca

Dear Mr. President,

I did not vote for you in the Presidential Election because I am Malaysian.

But I consider myself one of your constituents because what you do or say will affect me and my country as well.

I welcome your promise for change. Certainly your country, the United States of America needs a lot of changes.

That is because America and Americans have become the best hated people in the world. Even Europeans dislike your arrogance. Yet you were once admired and liked because you freed a lot of countries from conquest and subjugation.

It is the custom on New Year's day for people to make resolutions. You must have listed your good resolutions already. But may I politely suggest that you also resolve to do the following in pursuit of Change.

9 Steps to Peace for Obama in the New Year
By Deepak Chopra | AlterNet

The following is a memo to Barack Obama from Deepak Chopra

You have been elected by the first anti-war constituency since 1952, when Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected after promising to end the Korean War. But ending a war isn't the same as bringing peace. America has been on a war footing since the day after Pearl Harbor, 67 years ago. We spend more on our military than the next 16 countries combined. If you have a vision of change that goes to the heart of this country's deep problems, ending our dependence on war is far more important than ending our dependency on foreign oil.

It may well be that in denouncing "Israel's" attack on Gaza one, in an important way, unwittingly does a disservice to the cause of holding the Bush Administration accountable for its crimes.

Is there any doubt that the Bush Administration approved this assault? Is there any doubt that it could not have taken place without the Bush Administration's approval?

Is there any doubt that it could not continue without the support of the Bush Administration and the protective umbrella of its veto at the UN Security Council? Is there any doubt that it will stop the very day that the Bush Administration says that it must?

If so, is it in the interest of humanity that we Americans engage in the charade that the Israeli government is an autonomous actor in this matter?

All these observations are true in general, but we have plenty of specific evidence in this case.

By Mike Ferner

Chicago -- Sub-freezing temperatures and a brisk wind did not darken the day in Drexel Park for the kick off of Camp Hope, an 18-day vigil just down the street from Barrack Obama’s home on Chicago’s south side, yesterday.

Organized by a coalition of social justice, religious and peace organizations from the Chicago area, Camp Hope’s goal is to remind President-elect Obama of the progressive themes he sounded in his campaign and urge him to follow through with policy changes when he takes office later this month.

Asked what she was hoping for, Jessica Phillips, 37, answered, “I hope Barack Obama hears of us and gets our message. I hope he realizes that the promises he made and the reasons we elected him are important.”

By WACO HERALD TRIBUNE

Speaking of change in 2009, we share the relief that some of our neighbors in Crawford are likely feeling — President Bush no doubt among them — as the protest movements that dogged him the past eight years have now largely moved on.

Yep. President-elect Barack Obama has yet to be sworn in, but anti-war protesters have already turned up at his Hawaii vacation home, led by no less than Ann Wright, a retired Army colonel and a figure familiar to those of us in the Central Texas news media as well as folks in and around Crawford.

According to a news pool report yesterday, Wright wore a T-shirt that read: “We will not be silent.” She carried a sign that read “Change U.S. foreign policy. Yes we can.” Other signs included one that read, “Free Palestine,” a common theme of protests well before the invasion of Iraq in spring 2003.

By Dave Lindorff

The deafening silence from American government officials and from the US media regarding the criminal Israeli assault against civilians in Israel’s ghetto of Gaza, where nearly 1.5 million Palestinians are trapped every bit as brutally as were the Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto, is beyond unconscionable.

` As Israeli shells and bombs and rockets rain down on university buildings, clearly marked ambulances, and homes, it has to be pointed out that much of the ammunition being used, as well as the planes that are delivering this death and mayhem, are provided by the United States and by American taxpayers—with no strings attached.

Here's a story in the Hill which spins the news as its opposite.

By Star-Bulletin

Demonstrators protesting Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip tried to get President-elect Barack Obama’s attention this morning in Kailua.

About six demonstrators assembled near the security checkpoint fronting the entrance to the $9 million rental home where Obama and his family are staying. Some carried signs urging Obama to address U.S. foreign policy when he takes office.

Ann Wright, a retired Army colonel, wore a T-shirt that read: “We will not be silent” and carried a sign that read: “Change U.S. foreign policy. Yes we can.”

Wright, 62, of Honolulu, said the demonstrators represented various groups, including her organization Veterans for Peace.

Other signs read “War is Terror” and “Free Palestine.”

“From the people who put you in office”
By Mike Ferner

Determined to keep President-elect Barack Obama true to his promise of change, peace and economic justice activists kick off an 18-day outdoor vigil January 1, four blocks from the Illinois Senator’s home in Chicago.

Camp Hope, headquartered in the Windy City’s Drexel Square Park, seeks to have Obama swiftly enact eight initiatives on issues he supported during his campaign.

A Thursday, 1:00 pm news conference will feature ministers, a Chicago City Alderman, a 25 year-old father facing deportation after living in the U.S. for 17 years and the mother of Tomas Young, a paraplegic Iraq war veteran featured in the movie, “Body of War.”

Change.org, which is not Obama's, seems to be producing similar results to Change.gov which is. I got this Email today from Change.org:

Hello David,

We wanted to let you know that the first round of voting for the Ideas for Change in America competition will end this Wednesday, December 31 at midnight Pacific Time.

You have voted for the following ideas:

* Appoint Secretary of Peace in Department of Peace and Non-Violence (currently in 1st place in the Other category)
* Appoint a Special Prosecutor for the Crimes of the Bush Administration (currently in 1st place in the Government Reform category)

You can also see all the ideas you have voted for by clicking the following link:

http://www.change.org/ideas/your_ideas

President-Elect Obama's website asked for questions. People submitted and voted on questions, and finishing in sixth place was this one:

"Will you appoint a Special Prosecutor - ideally Patrick Fitzgerald - to independently investigate the gravest crimes of the Bush Administration, including torture and warrantless wiretapping?"
Bob Fertik, New York City

Now round two begins, and we'd appreciate your voting for this question:

"Do you believe the pardon power extends to allowing a president to authorize a crime and then pardon his subordinate? Are you aware that the Geneva Conventions and the Convention Against Torture commit the United States to prosecuting violators?"
David Swanson, Charlottesville VA

Please go here, and...

1. Sign in. Click to sign into the Change.gov website. It's just one easy step. You won't need to check your Email, and you'll be returned to the screen you were on.

2. Search. On the Open-for-Questions page type or paste into the search box these words:
pardon power

3. Vote. That should bring up the right question which you can then vote for by clicking on the check mark.
Please do it now!

Note to the confused: Yes, I've squeezed two questions into one, and the answers we'd like to them are "no" and "yes." That should not give you any difficulty in voting the two questions together up the list by clicking the check mark. You're not answering them yes or no but voting them up to where the president elect has to read them. Thanks!!

UPDATE 1: Please also vote for this question:
"Will you appoint a Special Prosecutor - ideally Patrick Fitzgerald - to independently investigate the gravest crimes of the Bush Administration, including torture and warrantless wiretapping?"
-Bob Fertik, New York City

New Note to the further confused: We appreciate the efforts of everyone who has copied the above questions word-for-word and reposted them as new questions, but this is actually counterproductive. Instead, please find the questions posted by David Swanson and Bob Fertik and click the check mark. That's our best shot at moving those questions up the list. Thanks!

UPDATE 2: Please also vote for this question:
"* President-Elect Obama, you were elected in large part because of your promise to end the War in Iraq. Will you sit down with leaders of the peace movement to talk about bringing our troops home? Sincerely, PeaceVoter"
CODEPINK Women for Peace, Anywhere, USA

Rev. Rick Warren's Invocation | Jerry's Place

When I first heard that President-elect Obama invited Rev. Warren to give the invocation for the Inauguration, I was saddened. There are so many other pastors to whom he could have turned, Rev. Jim Wallis, Rev. Jesse Jackson, a Catholic bishop, or a Rabbi. Why the pastor who rigged the debate between the two nominees for President? Why the pastor who supported California Prop 8 and verbally beats up on some folks he disagrees with? At least, the pastor giving the benediction, Rev. Joseph Lowrey, is going to get the last word.