Mr. President,It is with great sadness and regret that I must decline your emailed request. I do this with intimate and personal knowledge of how important this legislation is. I am a computer consultant by profession, and with the downturn in the economy, my income has been slashed to a small fraction of what it once was. In fact, our family has had to rely heavily on my wife's part-time income while I attempt to build a whole new business. Last week, that reliance ended. In a fall down the cellar stairs, my wife broke one ankle and the other foot. Because I have been self-employed for the last 2.5 years and my wife is only a part-time employee with no benefits, our only health insurance is what we can afford to pay for out of pocket. The bills arising out of her injury and her inability to work combine put us in a precarious position.I find myself having to rely on the charity of others, on the Council for Aging in our small town, on volunteer organizations such as Household Goods Recycling of Massachusetts, and the support of family members.Believe me, sir, I know how important health care reform is. I understand intimately how critical the Recovery and Stimulus plan are. I could not believe more in the important work that lies before you economically and with regard to health care. I understand that health care was, quite understandably your primary object during much of the campaign and that the economy has become both a problem of its own and an obstacle to the extremely hard work of making progress on health care.Sadly, sir, while I believe all that, and my own livelihood and home are threatened by the dual threat of healthcare costs and the collapsed economy, none of that is my primary concern. No, sir. My concern is for the health of our Republic and not of the body or the economy. I love my wife, and I love my family, and I love my home. But we are strong and we will survive, somehow. My deepest concern is for the heart and soul of this country, for the Rule of Law, for the principles upon which this great nation was conceived, and to which it is dedicated. And that, sir, I believe is endangered. It is endangered by torture; by indefinite detention; by warrant-less surveillance, search and seizure; by kangaroo courts that fail to uphold either our civilian laws or the uniform code of military justice; by the notion that the highest ranking officials can break our laws and not be investigated, let alone prosecuted; by a government that clouds its crimes in claims of secrecy and unspecified nationally security. Today, sir, it is endangered by you.After eight years of a Presidency that plumbed depths of deceit, greed, corruption, war crimes and the arrogation of raw power, I voted for you in hopes that we could turn the page, that we could heal this land, that we could restore the rule of law. Sadly, sir, it seems that we cannot; that your view of the presidency, of executive privilege, of state secrecy, of the immunity of the powerful from the rule of law is too tainted by the power illegitimately accrued by your predecessor. It seems, sir, that the old adage is true. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.So, no, sir, you may not have my voice on health care, nor on the economy. You may not have it even though the woman I love is in bad need of better health care, even though this economy is depriving me of the ability to support my family. At this time, even in the face of those great crises, I have only enough voice for this: "Return us to the Rule of Law, not men." Close Gitmo. Stop the Military Commissions. Try the prisoners or free them. Forswear prolong and preventative detention. Investigate the War Crimes and prosecute the guilty. Stop hiding behind Executive Privilege and National Security. Save my country. Save it for my children and their children. Save it for your children. This is not a distraction. Without our Soul this country dies.I will find some way, through the charity of strangers, the support of my family or the Hand of Providence to get my wife the care she needs. I will find a way to join with others to build a company to employ us all and save our homes and livelihoods. It will be hard, but since they brought my multi-great grandfather to these shores in chains for the crime of being a Scot and supporting the wrong absolute ruler, my family has found a way to do those things. Somehow, I and mine will find the way to protect and fend for ourselves. What you, sir, must do, is defend this country, and despite all that has been said in this new century, the threat to this country is not foreign fanatics. It is domestic fanatics. It is power misused, law abandoned. It is forgetting what makes this nation great. It is abandoning our principles. I am not of your party. I am an independent. Yet, I voted for you, and worked for you and wept with joy to see a man with your background, both in heritage and in principle, elected President. The promise of it! The hope. Live up to that hope, sir. Give us back our Country. That, above all, is what we need. Then, sir, I will join you in working for health care and the economy and the other great works there are before us.
Jim Burrows, aka Brons - Vox Libertas
No matter how much better he is than Bush on some things, the disregard for the rule of law and common decency makes Obama no better than the common criminals of the previous administration. In some ways he is even worse. At least with Bush I never held out hope that he was a man of true character. Between refusing to investigate torture and FISA, I can no longer deny that he is any more than the same kind of politician that we thought we had voted out. Sure, he says the right things and makes you feel good but that is what a con man does. The true test of character is in the actions and he has failed miserably. Why in the world should anyone believe that when the time comes, he is not going to sell out on health care too. Sorry, but all the hope for change I had is all gone.
Admittedly before 911 we were open to terrorists and we’ve paid dearly for our lacks and arrogant mistakes in many ways; loss of life of those involved in the twin towers attack, individual freedoms, increased taxes, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and international embarrassment on the Bush’s administration policies regarding torture to name a few.
However, we keep reading and hearing, for the past five years, how we’re “winning” the “War on Terror”, and reading an article such as this posted in the New York Times, entitled “N.S.A.’s Intercepts Exceed Limits Set by Congress”, authored by Eric Lichtblau and James Risen is disturbing to me.
I was taught and agree with the fact; we live in a country governed by the “Rule of Law”, which to me implies our laws were authored for one sole purpose and to prosecute those who break this intended law. Not to use the congressional passed legislation to uncover personal information concerning individuals for storage in a National Database and used for unknown purposes.
Here are a few excerpts from the Post article which I feel are significant:
The National Security Agency intercepted private e-mail messages and phone calls of Americans in recent months on a scale that went beyond the broad legal limits established by Congress last year, government officials said in recent interviews.Several intelligence officials, as well as lawyers briefed about the matter, said the N.S.A. had been engaged in “overcollection” of domestic communications of Americans. They described the practice as significant and systemic, although one official said it was believed to have been unintentional.The Justice Department, in response to inquiries from The New York Times, acknowledged in a statement on Wednesday night that there had been problems with the N.S.A. surveillance operation, but said they had been resolved.The questions may not be settled yet. Intelligence officials say they are still examining the scope of the N.S.A. practices, and Congressional investigators say they hope to determine if any violations of Americans’ privacy occurred. It is not clear to what extent the agency may have actively listened in on conversations or read e-mail messages of Americans without proper court authority, rather than simply obtained access to themAfter a contentious three-year debate that was set off by the disclosure in 2005 of the program of wiretapping without warrants that President George W. Bush approved after the Sept. 11 attacks, Congress gave the N.S.A. broad new authority to collect, without court-approved warrants, vast streams of international phone and e-mail traffic as it passed through American telecommunications gateways. The targets of the eavesdropping had to be “reasonably believed” to be outside the United States. Under the new legislation, however, the N.S.A. still needed court approval to monitor the purely domestic communications of Americans who came under suspicion.One official said that led the agency to inadvertently “target” groups of Americans and collect their domestic communications without proper court authority. Officials are still trying to determine how many violations may have occurred.Notified of the problems by the N.S.A., officials with both the House and Senate intelligence committees said they had concerns that the agency had ignored civil liberties safeguards built into last year’s wiretapping law. “We have received notice of a serious issue involving the N.S.A., and we’ve begun inquiries into it,” a Congressional staff member said.And in one previously undisclosed episode, the N.S.A. tried to wiretap a member of Congress without a warrant, an intelligence official with direct knowledge of the matter said.Following is a video I produced during President Obama’s Presidential campaign, which I feel outlines the problems associated with the FISA legislation:
The National Security Agency intercepted private e-mail messages and phone calls of Americans in recent months on a scale that went beyond the broad legal limits established by Congress last year, government officials said in recent interviews.
Several intelligence officials, as well as lawyers briefed about the matter, said the N.S.A. had been engaged in “overcollection” of domestic communications of Americans. They described the practice as significant and systemic, although one official said it was believed to have been unintentional.
The Justice Department, in response to inquiries from The New York Times, acknowledged in a statement on Wednesday night that there had been problems with the N.S.A. surveillance operation, but said they had been resolved.
The questions may not be settled yet. Intelligence officials say they are still examining the scope of the N.S.A. practices, and Congressional investigators say they hope to determine if any violations of Americans’ privacy occurred. It is not clear to what extent the agency may have actively listened in on conversations or read e-mail messages of Americans without proper court authority, rather than simply obtained access to them
After a contentious three-year debate that was set off by the disclosure in 2005 of the program of wiretapping without warrants that President George W. Bush approved after the Sept. 11 attacks, Congress gave the N.S.A. broad new authority to collect, without court-approved warrants, vast streams of international phone and e-mail traffic as it passed through American telecommunications gateways. The targets of the eavesdropping had to be “reasonably believed” to be outside the United States. Under the new legislation, however, the N.S.A. still needed court approval to monitor the purely domestic communications of Americans who came under suspicion.
One official said that led the agency to inadvertently “target” groups of Americans and collect their domestic communications without proper court authority. Officials are still trying to determine how many violations may have occurred.
Notified of the problems by the N.S.A., officials with both the House and Senate intelligence committees said they had concerns that the agency had ignored civil liberties safeguards built into last year’s wiretapping law. “We have received notice of a serious issue involving the N.S.A., and we’ve begun inquiries into it,” a Congressional staff member said.
And in one previously undisclosed episode, the N.S.A. tried to wiretap a member of Congress without a warrant, an intelligence official with direct knowledge of the matter said.
Following is a video I produced during President Obama’s Presidential campaign, which I feel outlines the problems associated with the FISA legislation:
Senators Obama, Clinton, McCain - The Patriot Act
As one can surmise it is my personal feelings that in the coming November election we will be voting for Senators Obama, Clinton or McCain to be our next President. Also, it is my sincere hope that this newly elected president will restore many of the personal liberties, we as citizens of America have given up over the past eight years. One example of surrendering our liberty, and for me the most important, is our Patriot Act. If I resided or visited a country outside the United States, and this country was on our country’s “watch” list, as being hostile to America; then I would fully support our current Patriot Act, has authored. But, me visiting a “friendly” country, to our nation and electronically communicating to my family, friends or work from this country, then I deem this an uncalled and unjustified surveillance an invasion of my privacy. Over the past six months I have attempted to follow all the candidates closely through their web sites, televised debates (via the Internet wire services) and YouTube; but really do not have a clear understanding of their feelings on this issue. I am not expecting any direct response from any of these three aforementioned candidates, but would like clarification stated within their respective web sites’. The video, produced by the ACLU and distributed by iTV presents our two governmental agencies that facilitate the usage of the Patriot Act and how it is implemented to monitor our electronic communications.
As one can surmise it is my personal feelings that in the coming November election we will be voting for Senators Obama, Clinton or McCain to be our next President. Also, it is my sincere hope that this newly elected president will restore many of the personal liberties, we as citizens of America have given up over the past eight years.
One example of surrendering our liberty, and for me the most important, is our Patriot Act. If I resided or visited a country outside the United States, and this country was on our country’s “watch” list, as being hostile to America; then I would fully support our current Patriot Act, has authored. But, me visiting a “friendly” country, to our nation and electronically communicating to my family, friends or work from this country, then I deem this an uncalled and unjustified surveillance an invasion of my privacy.
Over the past six months I have attempted to follow all the candidates closely through their web sites, televised debates (via the Internet wire services) and YouTube; but really do not have a clear understanding of their feelings on this issue. I am not expecting any direct response from any of these three aforementioned candidates, but would like clarification stated within their respective web sites’.
The video, produced by the ACLU and distributed by iTV presents our two governmental agencies that facilitate the usage of the Patriot Act and how it is implemented to monitor our electronic communications.
Additional postings regarding this topic and others may be found here:
Ok, as we said we will continue PLAYING this version of this music masterpiece every 9th of every month to conmemorate the year 2009, the 9 the YEAR OF THE CAT.,.and we now play and post comments about it..we will continue until my daughter's B-Day 9/9/9, and also until my own one, 11/11/11, and the YouTube Video is approaching 999,999 views and we need this number for the curse to work before 9/9/9, this is a double curse, it is good to you if you do not bother or hurt innocent citizens, if you do bad or are a GOV agent doing illegal espionage on innocent citizens under the unethical FISA program then you better start choosing your cemetery lot as my GOD will give you a punishment like some that hurt me when I was a teen and are DEAD in the cemetery, and HE only knows what he will assign to you, destroyal of your body or happiness, you decide, as I have been had my calls monitored by the dictator HUGUITO since 2004, all my family is wiretapped by workers with crime records who monitor the calls from overseas and inside, and yesterday it sounded like it was domestic spying somebody hanging up a phone that was heard in the background by me and my relative in Venezuela, My next post will be the long awaited post, it will be a protest post and a planned post that I knew it was going to happen and I am making it, if you are involved in ordering me fired from the scumbag Texas Environmental Agency, TCEQ, hurting me my US kids and my career and where there was a conspiracy for this malice act and I will detailed it in NEXT POST, The long awaited Post, now That I am a supporter of a president of the USA, the previous abusive one is long GONE, where the "Q" for Quality is too much (reason will be explained in next post) as they are a scumbag agency full of stupid scumbag people with low intelligence IQ who never had 1% of my education, knowledge and intelligence especially the white bosses who STINK..wait for the post that I knew It was coming someday, they probably thought that I forgot, but NO I have a super strrong memory and it will be a sweet bad-mouthing protest post..so lets wait and PLAY this music masterpiece, Al Stewart, THE YEAR OF THE CAT..
===>THE YEAR OF THE CAT- PLAY HERE..
According to almost every news source in America, the Democratic Party will win big on November 4. Presidential candidate Barack Obama is far from the only Democrat who will ride into Washington on the coattails of bad feelings for President George W. Bush. Almost every Democratic candidate for office in America, fairly or not, has enjoyed a bounce in popularity by campaigning on a platform of being anti-Bush, or by linking his/her opponent to the "failed policies of the Bush administration". Indeed, George W. Bush has never had a lower approval rating than right now, partly because of the recent financial crisis. But what these Democratic candidates are not doing is reminding people what it is that is so bad about the "failed policies of George W. Bush" in the first place. If the American public remembers that it can't stand that Bush guy but can't remember why, then the "failed policies" will surely be repeated by elected members of the Government. So to serve as a reminder mostly to myself, I've jotted down 33 "failed policies" that I think have made our country worse off thanks to the 43rd President of the United States of America.1) "The United States doesn't torture." Except when it does. George W. Bush vetoed anti-torture bills, watered down water-boarding by referring to it as an interrogation technique (like how rape is just a sexual technique), and flauted the Geneva Conventions time after time when confronted in interviews or press conferences.2) Unfounded wars on sovereign nations. Bad intelligence that should have been ignored about WMD and yellow cake fissile material led to a war against Iraq. The previous sentence was the best-case, most P.C. explanations for George W. Bush's intentions in the Middle East. Speculation abounds as to his real reasons for war with Iraq, most of which would be inconceivable if you told it to anyone eight years ago.3) Secrecy. Over-classification of classified documents.4) The Patriot Act5) Bullying. Bullying of foreign nations for support for the above unjust Iraq war. Bullying of congressional leaders for support. Bullying of the U.N. to pass the war resolution, or else. It's called negotiating when there's a give and a take, and it's called persuasion when there's a well-explained and well-grounded rationale for action. It's called bullying if threats are made and fear is induced in entities that should be our allies.6) Over-simplification of foreign viewpoints. You don't have to be either "for us or against us".7) "Axis of evil". Well so much for negotiation.8) Isolating North Korea to the point that they needed to build an atomic weapon to get any bilateral negotiation with the U.S.9) War on terror. How does one win a war against extremism? You can't kill 'em all. There are always fringe elements in even the most tightly regulated societies, like gay people in Iran, bloggers in China, and terrorists in America.10) Pre-emptive wars. The "Bush Doctrine", I think. Even police *should* have to wait until a crime is committed to detain people. And speaking of detaining people...11) Guantanamo Bay. And more importantly, the lack of trials for prisoners there. (I hesitate to call them "detainees".)12) Oh wait, not "prisoners" or "detainees". "Unlawful Combatants".13) "Extraordinary renditions". They lead to "erroneous renditions" in the absence of the law.14) Over-reaching of executive power to facilitate illegal wiretapping. FISA courts are just not necessary anymore.15) The Alberto Gonzales Department of Justice. Attorney firings for partisan reasons, mealymouthed testimony by most Department of Justice officials including the Attorney General himself on several occasions, the approval of warrantless wiretapping, and the attempted repeal of Habeas Corpus.16) Incompetent "loyal Bushies" like "heckuva job" Brownie.17) Highly competent yet highly evil "loyal Bushies" like Dick "Overlord" Cheney.18) Anti-choice-ism19) Anti-intellectualism20) Anti-Europeanism.21) Right-wing judicial nominees. I'm not talking about Roberts or Alito, which almost any other Republican president would have nominated. I mean all the other judicial appointments to lower courts that add unfounded legitimacy to an extreme right-wing judicial viewpoint by giving high-level careers to cronies. This will lead to future right-wing judicial nominees to the Supreme Court who should have gotten rejected long ago for their lack of objectivity being seen as legitimate. These juditial nominees also nearly tore up the rules of the Senate.22) Federal Marriage Amendment. So glad that one didn't get anywhere.23) Stem cell research. Not so much for the position (federal funds only for "existing" stem cell lines) but for the process of letting the church's viewpoint into a science decision.24) Not signing the Kyoto protocol for anti-UN reasons.25) While we're at it, John Bolton.26) Sabotaging the EPA to the point where entities are now suing the EPA because it's not strict enough in regulating emissions.27) Trying to privatize social security. How's that stock market idea looking now?28) Increasing the national debt from about $5 trillion to about $10 trillion. This riles me up so much, I'm going to need some more bullet points about the budget.29) Tax cuts benefitting the wealthiest of our society at a time when we were finally getting Reagan's debt under control.30) Massive non-mandatory spending increases primarily benefitting the military industrial complex. We've got loads of money for super advanced fighter jets, but we're losing wars against people who make explosives out of pvc pipe and wire.31) Making war spending separate from the budget. This would make sense only if the expenses were unforseeable.32) Not addressing health care at all. Seriously, during a decade in which health care spending rose faster than any other industry, how was health care almost completely ignored by the Bush administration?33) Well, he did address one thing. He vetoed SCHIP.I'm sure there are plenty more policies I dislike, and I know there are plenty more policies that others dislike (No Child Left Behind, immigration). But none of this stuff gets specifically talked about by any of the Democratic candidates. We need to remember this so that we can hold future administrations accountable.
(cross-posted at quibblingpotatoes.blogspot.com)
A reminder of all the things that went wrong over the last 8 years: Democracy to Banana Republic in a Few Easy Steps
I just made another small donation to the Barack Obama campaign.
Because I so publicly withdrew my support, I feel that I should make this announcement in the same place I made my previous announcement.
This election is too important to me; I must do what I can to save our country from the people running the current McCain campaign (and our current administration).
For a longer statement, please see this post on my person blog (WARNING: contains some language not suitable for posting here or viewing at work):
http://sirshannon.com/2008/10/05/vote-early-vote-often/
After the FISA vote, I stopped donating and suspended blogging here. Mostly I was bitching about FISA anyway. While I'm not happy about that vote, I firmly believe that Barack Obama will make a great President and have renewed my financial support for his campaign. I hope that you will do the same.
http://my.barackobama.com/townhalldebate
Louisiana is now a tossup state based on current polling data, one that has been deep red for a long time. As an independent voter, one who does not belong to any political party, I remain encouraged about this as I think that a change in the political landscape presents an opportunity for those who are all over the political spectrum.
There are a few points of disagreement I have with Barack Obama and while he will not always make decisions I agree with, I believe that those decisions will be made with due consideration and in consultation with people who view different angles of an issue. This stands in stark contrast to the leadership we've had for the last few decades.
Louisiana can deliver her electoral votes for Obama. Vote, encourage your friends, families, and colleagues to vote. Make your voice heard.
If you have the means, chip in a few bucks here: http://my.barackobama.com/townhalldebate
The finish line is within sight. Let's get there and get ready to run the marathon.
History certainly has its tragic figures and role models, and about the time the election hoopla winds down, I am confident that our Presidential hopeful will be the President-Elect. What a terrible mess Barack Obama will inherit. However, adverse conditions are what builds the greatest--and sometimes the worst--leaders. Think Churchill, and Lincoln-- and Nero. We know Lincoln's story; he was the first President who grew up outside the original Thirteen colonies; the child of impoverished farmers, he grew up amidst meager means, in a one-room log cabin. His childhood qualified him to take the kinds of positions he took in his Presidency, when perhaps no other President, certainly no child of the Aristocracy, could have allowed it. Lincoln's childhood adversity coupled with American turmoil of the 1850's made this humble man into perhaps the greatest American President.
Similar childhood adversity and chaos can work the other way. Nero, though born amidst Imperial splendor, as a toddler had a a father who was murdered and a mother who was exiled; he was raised by an uncle, outside Rome, amidst the harshest poverty. When the chaos of Rome gave opportunity for him to return, he received a first-rate education by a famous tutor, and soon he was the young Emperor of Rome. He started his rule with all the hallmarks of a populist, of one who cared even for the slaves of Rome. He ended as a persecutor of Christians at the time of Paul, as a self-absorbed power monger and ruthless killer. If ever there was an example of the corrupting influence of absolute power, it is Nero, who infamously fiddled while Rome burned.
Barack Obama will, we hope, become our President. I will never get tired of hearing of and re-reading Barack Obama's story of his childhood. I sincerely believe that we have a Lincoln in waiting, that Barack Obama will fill out the circle that Abraham Lincoln started but whose life and great works were cut short. And here, I mean not only will Barack Obama do justice for African-Americans, though I am sure he will. Barack Obama will pick up the shattered pieces of a nation, a nation not shattered in political pieces, but shattered just the same in ideology, in economic condition, in moral standing in the world, in our ability to move forward as a coherent positive force for itself and for others in the world. It seems we are so near collapse.
Barack Obama will also inherit powers of the Presidency that are in some ways greater than any other President has had. Under the Bush Regime unprecedented expansions of Executive powers to spy on American citizens has produced a centralization of power unlike any previous American leader, or any leader of any nation anywhere, ever. The President now has the ability to eavesdrop, without warrant and without oversight, on American citizens, including political opponents; even though that is still against the law, it is not something easily caught under the FISA provisions. In my opinion, Barack Obama's vote for the FISA bill, however anguished it may have been, is the lowest point in his political career. He has taken so many other honorable stands on other issues that I have no doubt about where his heart and mind and spirit currently rests, and he has my unequivocal support. But also in my opinion, the difference between a 21st Century Lincoln and a Nero is a fine line, which crossed, makes crossing back very difficult. I appeal to Barack Obama to begin his Presidency not only with a thorough review of the $700 billion bailout, but a review of FISA. We do indeed need to fight terrorism. But checks and balances and oversight is what will bring out Barack Obama's "Lincoln."
I've been outraged that Barack has betrayed us on FISA. I think we should stop campaign contributions until we get an apology and a position reversal:
http://dimmeria.com/?q=node/1791
Ummmm..Mr McCain?…are ya sitting down? Here’s a few of your own words that lead all of us to distrust you overwhelmingly, every day! You’re an embarrassment to yourself, McSame! This is the age of the “Internet(s)” and “the” Youtube using Bushian malaprops. We’ve got you on record, McFlip/Flop! Facts are just silly things that get in your way…ehhh, McSame?
Many, many, many thanks to one of my true media heroes and ever-present mentor..Keith Olbermann!
this is my first and only post here.
I WAS a very enthusiastic supporter of you,
I believED in your mesage of hope, change, and integrity.
Then you voted AGAINST your PROMISE not to give retroactive immunity to the telcoms for their illegal activities.
I have not heard any explanation.
I do not believe in you...you lied. Simple truth. You lost my vote. I will not vote for McCain, though. I believe he is an obviouse disaster trying to happen. I doubt I will vote. I refuse to be forced to choose between two candidates I do not support. I refuse to subscribe to the lesser of two evils. This is one of the reasons I was so enthusiastic and excited about your candidacy. For the first time in my adult life there was a candidate I truely believed in, that made me WANT to participate, that made me feel like there was actually someone there WORTH paying attention to. All of that went away when you broke that promise. What other promises will you be breaking. Mr. Obama?
You have left me lower than I was before your candidacy. I had no faith in our system (largely thanks to "W"), and you raised me up. Unfortunately, you let me down. I would have been better off simply disbelieving in the system under "W", than having my hopes built up and let back down again. I simply cannot support you, and that really sucks, since you really had me going. Change...ha
I guess they really are all the same.
joshp
I love this country and the MILLIONS of dumbasses that will believe ANYTHING the politicians tell them. And refuse to vote for the other party..even if they are BETTER...like RON PAUL.
Obama VOTED TO GIVE telecom companies IMMUNITY For ILLEGALLY spying on citizens.
He also voted for the PATRIOT ACT...which allows the government to spy on We The People...without warrants or even a reason for the need to spy.
but who cares about his voting record..ITS party OVER country...NO MATTER what.
One of Barack Obama's strongest appeals is his desire to break down the walls of ugly party partisanship and replace them with a mechanism of governance based more on consensus based on a common wish to solve America's problems than with the brutal scorched-earth partisanship that has marked the recent Republican rule.
This is a laudable goal once he is in the White House and has the power and Congressional backing to deal with the Republican as equals.
But, I have noted a disturbing shift (dare I call it 'Change" in his campaign since he became the presumptive Democratic nominee.
One critical element in consensus government is the willingness of all sides to compromise and move away from extreme positions for the common good of everybody. However, Obama's unilateral compromise in the campaign is not only not being met with similar cooperation from the Republicans, it is being used, and used very effectively, to portray him as a flip-flopper, a weakling, not entirely honest, and without a central core belief system - willing to betray his core constituency and principles in search of votes.
We have seen this in Bill Clinton, whose early compromises with the Republicans shifted the Democratic party to the Right and marginalized its progressive wing. For this one-sided cooperation he was rewarded by the GOP with 8 years of smears, attempts to create phony scandals, and ultimately the indignity of an impeachment trial.
Al Gore and John Kerry, in their turn, tried to 'triangulate' by moving toward Republican positions in hopes of gaining the center, but, in the end, lost by, in large part, the votes of the very same working class "Reagan Democrats" they were trying to woo - most of whom voted for Bush anyway.
Now, I see a pattern repeating itself. Barack Obama has come out in favor of the Supreme Court ruling gutting gun control. Barack Obama has supported the idea of the death penalty for rape of a child (not understanding that, if the rapist is already subject to the death penalty, there is nothing to keep him from killing his victim and getting rid of the only witness). Obama's vote on the FISA bill simply can not be rationalized or excused - it is not leadership but follow-the-herd. Obama supports expanding taxpayer aid to faith-based charity. Obama has advocated limited off-shore drilling. Obama supports keeping a contingent of troops in Iraq, and, worse, would trade our quagmire in Iraq for a much bigger and more brutally violent quagmire with Pakistan and Afghanistan. Obama has backed away from his earlier promises of public financing and not accepting PAC or corporate funding. Obama's health care plan still keeps the private for-profit health insurance companies at its core - there will never be both universal and quality health care in this country while for-profit health insurance companies sit at the table. Obama has turned his back on many of the same progressives who were his earliest supporters in hopes of not alienating the middle.
Right now, Obama's compromises and shifts to the Right do nothing to win new votes in the middle, while merely providing easy fodder for McCain's slime-eel smear machine. What should by now have been a runaway election sees Obama shrinking daily in the polls (the last one I saw was McCain 44% and Obama 44%).
It is not just the Hillary fanatics who may end up sitting out this election (or, worse, vote for McCain). All through the progressive netroots I'm hearing people seriously considering voting for a third party; Green, Nader, even Libertarian or one of the Socialist parties. They seem to be taking John Quincy Adams' advice to heart this year:
"Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost."
How do we, as Obama supporters, communicate to our candidate that so far the only Change he has shown us has been in his positions - and not for the better?
- Blue Sun
" If you want to build a ship, don't herd people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
In case of an emergency in the United States, Congress has long had the power to declare an emergency and set in motion all the U.S. provisions that deal with emergencies. There are the Patriot Act and the War and Emergency Powers Act of 1933 and more. Presidents over the years have assumed more and more power by issuing a multitude of Executive Orders, many of them secret. There is nothing in the constitution to authorize these, but they are “the law” none-the-less. There is also a National Security Presidential Directive/NSPD 51 (http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/05/20070509-12.html) and a Homeland Security Presidential Directive/HSPD-20 (http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/05/20070509-12.html) which assigns all power to the executive branch in case of a catastrophic emergency.
The outlook for our democracy in case of emergency has always been bleak. Our democracy is in danger with all the above lurking. Once an emergency is declared, we will live in a dictatorship.
The situation today is MUCH WORSE than even the above would indicate. Prepare to UPDATE THE HORROR!
