Posts with the tag transparency

Obama Healthcare Press Conference

Jason M. Christos — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 21:31:39 EDT

I just finished watching president Obama's press conference. Everything looked staged and scripted, with long drawn out answers. I could comment on much but I will get right to what I feel is the most important point. All of the questions and attire seemed staged except for one woman who stood up to ask a question and with a smirk on her face she proceeded to ask about transparancy. This was a question in which Obama's answer did not seem smooth as the rest. She directly asked if Obama was keeping his promise of transparancy. Obama gave no direct answer. While he stood there for a good part of the hour purporting to know what goes on inside doctors offices when asked why his own office was not releasing TARP information his answer was 'I DONT KNOW'. So Obama says that he knows more about what goes on within medical offices but 'I DONT KNOW' what goes on inside my own office. Dont get me wrong I am not a republican I am not a Libertarian. But something about the entirety of politics seems like they are all disengunuine Jimmy Swaggerts. While I agree that healthcare reform is needed, let nothing be said of confidence in man. Something is fishy.

Did I Get Bamboozled By Obama?

Leo — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:39:34 EDT

Is it just me- or is anyone else starting to feel 'had'?

Covering up and not prosecuting the torture scandal?

Going back on one of the most ringing campaign promises regarding transparency? And I get weekly requests to donate more money from the Obama campaign? Maybe I was just a dumb wide-eyed child.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31373407/ns/politics-white_house/

No Cap for Corporate Executive Pay - Whoa!

Larry Gordon — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:06:55 EDT

Today I read that President Obama's administration will not ask for caps for top executive pay for those corporations that did not receive a bail out from the American taxpayers. This alarms me since this lack of prudence on capping top executive pay helped greatly to provoke the financial calamity this country has suffered.

Corporations that received taxpayer bail-out money do have restrictions on them. This is good.

If there is to be no capping of top executive pay, then checks and balances must be set in place so that (1) corporate executives cannot write their own bonuses, perks, or pay; (2) complete transparency of corporate pay is instated; and (3) immediate accountability and penalties for the infraction of items (1) and (2) stated here are implemented.

Big corporations and big financial institutions must not be allowed to jeopardize the financial well being of this country or the American people ever again.

Become Engaged

Engaged Citizen for transparency and accountability — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 15:16:31 EDT

We often hear today that our government is doing too much too fast. Really?

We have an economic melt down that is costing hundreds of thousands of jobs every month putting us in an economic and financial crisis. We continue to debate the financial and climatic impact of an unsustainable energy policy that requires a transition to alternative, renewable energy. We have the year-to-year cost of health care crippling individuals, businesses and our governement (Medicare & Medicaid). We seem to lack a commitment to the fundamental requirement of an educational system that produces competent, world class citizens on a scale with other countries.

We need to know what our representation in Washington is doing about these critical issues. We need to let Washington know how we would like them to legislate on our behalf. We need to make every elected representative accountable for the actions they either have or have not taken on our behalf.

Become engaged - let Washington know where we stand.

Inside the Obama White House with Brian Williams to air on NBC Special

Peter from Carrollton, TX — Sun, 31 May 2009 19:19:32 EDT

NBC News has special access to the White House and has strategically placed dozens of camera crews all over the White House. This is all an attempt to get a closer look of the daily occurences of the Obama administration. I don’t ever recall any other White House administration that allowed this. Only Brian Williams and his crew gets to go in and see what all the fuss is about. There have been some controversy over the White House Reality Show. If you really think about it, who wants a camera in their face from 5 am in the morning until you are done for the day. I think its a publicity stunt to show that Obama is getting stuff done. His promises on transparency in government has been taken a little too far. We don’t want to see your acting skills in front of the camera. We want to know what you are doing and have a say in what decisions are to be made on the topic. That was one of the premises you ran your campaign on. No more 1500 page documents sent out and approved 3 hours before voting. Stuff like that. I don’t want to see a reality show about the White House morning briefs, and what they eat for breakfast. This is either a tribute to the first Black President of the United States, or the most boring news special ever made. It’s going to be the White House version of The Office. From what I know about the special, there are several aides on camera typing at their desks, answering phone calls and doing general office work. Then there are interviews with certain people that are going to make everything sound nice and cheery, but there won’t be any dry office humor. I say watch at your own risk. The darn thing is a waste of time, but if you don’t have anything to do, it airs June 2, and the 3rd.
Read more: http://politicalpete.com/inside-the-obama-white-house-with-brian-williams-to-air-on-nbc-special/#ixzz0H84NcbQM&B

Transparency in our Government

James Ray — Thu, 21 May 2009 16:50:41 EDT

Greetings fellow Obama Supporters!

I trust that you are all doing well, and that you continue to support PRESIDENT OBAMA in his efforts to deliver on the promises he made during the 2008 Campaign. For the latest examples, have a look at an outstanding example of transparency just released today: Data.gov. This and other resources are always available on the the White House website.

On this topic of transparency in our government, I'm sure you've heard about the new legislation passed by Congress to improve fairness for consumers with respect to Credit Card providers. I hope you are also aware that the NRA and their political bloc managed to insert an addendum to this bill that has absolutely NOTHING to do with consumer lending practices. The addendum was to reverse a previous legal statute that prohibits carrying concealed weapons within our National Parks.

THIS is an outrageous example of the same OLD political process, concealing the work of special interests and hijacking the legislative process to achieve a goal that would not be achievable in an "open" process. Our democratic process will only survive if we take an active role in OUR government. WE must hold our legislators accountable to be sure that our representative government is truly representing US!

Handling evidence of torture by US troops

Rikki — Mon, 18 May 2009 04:58:25 EDT

Hi everybody,

This is the first time ever, I decided to start my own blog, and politics is the reason.

As a political scientist who has been following political developments in North America very closely in the past, I would like to forward the following statement:

Mr. President, please reconsider your decision not to publish evidence of torture committed by US troops. As transparency has been a major issue in your campaign, you have raised high expectations which you are about to disappoint badly. Why not set up a committee which has (truly) independent experts assess the material before maybe publishing at least parts of it. Anything else, I am afraid, would make your role in this appear like some cover-up activity.

Thank you for listening, and feel free to contact me anytime.

Best wishes,

Rikki

13 National Security Whistleblowers Write to President Obama

Martin Edwin "Mick" from Churchton, MD — Mon, 11 May 2009 19:02:01 EDT

May 11, 2009
President Barack H. Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear President Obama:

Like millions of Americans we, the undersigned national security whistleblowers, are inspired by the bold and creative measures you have taken to put people back to work while at the same time re-engineering government to make it more responsive to people’s needs and more accountable to voters and taxpayers.

We are particularly heartened by your special relationship with America’s young people and by your call on them to make a significant contribution to their country through public service.

For those reasons and more, we write you today to ask that you take concrete steps in favor of national security whistleblowers that will help to restore time-honored values of openness, honesty and transparency to the federal service – and help those entrusted with the nation’s secrets to do their jobs in a manner consistent with the public interest.

A call to public service without needed whistleblower protection can only - at some future date - put at risk those most inspired by your leadership. We the undersigned feel we have a special bond with you and your Administration, given your long-standing support for federal employee free speech and against acts of bureaucratic retaliation against those who dare to “commit the truth.” We have been thrilled by your strong statement of support for whistleblowers, both during your presidential campaign and the transition:

Often the best source of information about waste, fraud, and abuse in government is an existing government employee committed to public integrity and willing to speak out. Such acts of courage and patriotism, which can sometimes save lives and often save taxpayer dollars, should be encouraged rather than stifled as they have been during the Bush administration. We need to empower federal employees as watchdogs of wrongdoing and partners in performance. Barack Obama will strengthen whistleblower laws to protect federal workers who expose waste, fraud, and abuse of authority in government. Obama will ensure that federal agencies expedite the process for reviewing whistleblower claims and whistleblowers have full access to courts and due process.

In the years before your presidency, each one of us undertook a largely solitary battle in favor of the values we share with you and against the kind of wrongdoing that resulted in many of the American people flocking to your standard last year. And in doing so, each one of us, together with our families, and sometimes our friends and colleagues, have paid a heavy price for our ethical dissent.

While we national security whistleblowers made critical disclosures that exposed corruption and protected life at the expense of our own careers and financial security, our federal peers took the safe route by turning a "blind eye" and remaining silent, so that their careers could advance.

The steps we are asking that you take are a necessary remediation for past wrongs and would be a clear signal to those now heeding your call for service that by adhering to the standards you have so clearly embraced, they will not become – as we did not so long ago – victims of bureaucratic wrongdoers, who may still feel that they can get away with continued misdeeds.

As the federal government of necessity grows in response to the many crises that you have inherited from your predecessor, the lack of protection currently afforded to whistleblowers means that federal workers – the front line in the fight against fraud and waste, and best guarantee that taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and government works effectively – must either sit on the sidelines or, still forced to look over their shoulders for signs of reprisal, risk their careers.

Not only did the U.S. Office of Special Counsel fall into ridicule under the stewardship of George W. Bush appointee Scott Bloch. In the last nine years, the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), charged with adjudicating federal worker claims, has found only one case of illegal retaliation in 56 decisions on the merits. And only three whistleblowers out of 212 prevailed in decisions on the merits in the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals since October 1994, when the current whistleblower “protection” law last was modified.

We the undersigned, national security whistleblowers from agencies across the federal government, know the special vulnerability people like us have in trying to do right by our principles and by the country we love. And we still do not have any real safeguards against retaliation. Instead, for protecting this nation, we and others face having our security clearances yanked, as well as a rosary of humiliation, demotions, threats, punitive polygraphs and myriad other intimidatory measures. To be sure, these are meant not only to destroy our careers – and in the process our physical and mental well being, our marriages and the tranquility necessary for nurturing our families in a wholesome environment. They also serve as a warning to others – that the price is high, too high, and the possibility for real vindication remote. Even if Inspectors General, Congressional committees, the reputable news media, or other outside groups are fully able to corroborate our complaints, wrongdoers are mostly allowed to retain their posts - and many even receive promotions.

For all that you have accomplished in little more than 100 days in office, we are sure you would agree that ensuring true transparency and accountability means the enforcement of a zero-tolerance policy for repression and retaliation, and the guaranteeing of the legal rights of every federal employee.

We urgently need a law to protect national security whistleblowers from retaliation, including those in agencies where even paper protections do not exist. We ask you to make one of your highest priorities support for whistleblower protection legislation that would end our second-class status compared to that of all other federal employees, contractors, and private sector workers who report threats to public health and safety, violations of laws or regulations, or waste, fraud and mismanagement. We also ask that you seek the criminalization of bureaucratic retaliation against whistleblowers, whose only “crime” is the exercise of their employee free speech rights for the common good.

Finally, we respectfully request that for those of us who have lost jobs, reputations and significant professional opportunities because we stood fast in favor of the principles you maintained even before you announced your presidential candidacy, consideration be given to “making us whole” once again. In giving us the opportunity to restore our often shattered lives, others will know that better times are in store for people who tell truth to power on behalf of the American people.

With warmest best wishes to your and to your family, we remain,

Martin Edwin Andersen, Former senior advisor for policy planning at the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division; Winner of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel’s 2001 “Public Servant Award”

Mark Danielson, Department of Energy SRT whistleblower

Michael DeKort, Former Lockheed Martin program manager/systems engineer; exposed waste, fraud and abuse on Coast Guard Deepwater program and major security/safety issues

Bogdan Dzakovic, Aviation Security whistleblower regarding the 9-11 attacks, as well as current issues within the Transportation Security Administration

Richard E. Hoskins II, Formerly of the Federal Air Marshal Service; Only Non-Air Marshal to report corrupt behavior and violations of veterans rights to the Office of Special Counsel and Congress

Robert J. MacLean, Former Federal Air Marshal, U.S. Department of Homeland Security/National whistleblower liaison, Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA)

Spencer A. Pickard, Federal Air Marshal, U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Coleen Rowley, Retired FBI Agent (retired 2004) and former Minneapolis FBI Division Legal Counsel

Craig R. Sawyer, Former Tier-1 level U.S. Navy SEAL Operator, decorated for "Heroic Service" in combat; "Original 33" Air Marshal and whistleblower, as an ATSAIC (manager) in the Federal Air Marshal Service, against gross mismanagement and retaliation.

Lt. Eric N. Shine, Graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point [1991]; Federal maritime engineering watch officer

George R. Taylor, U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Federal Air Marshal Service

Frank Terreri, Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association director of labor relations; FLEOA Federal Air Marshal Agency President

Russell D. Tice, Former intelligence analyst and capabilities operations officer for Special Access Programs (SAP) Information Warfare, National Security Agency (NSA)

(Non-National Security Whistleblower Category)

Peter D. Nesbitt, FAA Whistleblower Alliance

National Security Whistleblowers' letter to President Obama

Martin Edwin "Mick" from Churchton, MD — Mon, 11 May 2009 00:21:06 EDT