The Obama Administration continues its retention and expansion of abusive Bush policies — now clearly Obama policies on indefinite detention and blocking the investigation of war crimes. Jeh Johnson, the Defense Department’s chief lawyer, has stated that it is a “policy question” whether acquitted individuals will be released or held indefinitely.
In May, President Obama announced that he supported indefinite detention of individual in violation of both domestic and international law. He has even found his detention policies to be a subject of jokes.
Liberals continue to be largely silent in the face of policies that they once denounced and protested. It is rare to hear any coverage or questions of the Administration’s refusal to investigate war crimes of torture, for example. Liberals seem to be quickly developing a cult of personality that has supplanted the most basic principles of human rights and international law. As with the Republicans under Bush, the Democrats are refusing to push the Administration to investigate torture or comply with international law. Before the inauguration, various generals and senators claimed that Obama and Holder assured them privately that no one would be investigated for torture. It now appears that these stories were likely true. Democrats must choose between their principles and their politicians — and they appear to be making the same choice as their Republican counterparts.
This is wrong, and illegal.
At this point the inertia argument isn’t valid. To reuse some tired imagery: Nobody expects the ship of state to turn on a dime, but after this long, we should at the very least feel that it has turned.
Other political considerations are not more important. If any part of the Federal government is free to operate outside of the U.S. Constitution, then it has stopped by by, for and of the people and started being only for itself.
I remember countless times telling Republicans that I would be just as opposed to Bush’s actions if they were being done by (then) candidate Obama. Well they are not only being done by Obama, but championed by him.
BeulahMan:
“Since when do we need another political pussy as POTUS?”
******************
Well we could have a real tough guys like Kim Jung Il or Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Which do you prefer?
Well I may as well get your “beaks” wet with this one:
House Chairman Says CIA Lied to Lawmakers.
http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docid=news-000003159736
Personally, I would hate to see Obama hand over anything that might be potentially useful in the near future.
I’m thinking specifically of things like the Nixon era Independent Counsel Rule used to nail President Bill Clinton, which having been withdrawn shortly thereafter on Ken Starr’s own suggestion, would actually have come in a handy more a few times during the last two Bush Co. terms.
This is more an issue of political courage than anything else.
Since when do we need another political pussy as POTUS?
I remain unpersuaded Obama is just another slime-ball politician trying to grab as much, and more, power as Bush Co. did for his own personal financial gain and/or misguided religious beliefs.
This is so much beyond Obama’s desires. This reaches far above him.
We aren’t dealing with personalities… we are dealing with an Elitist coup.
mespo,
Obama is the author, not the victim of his policies. If you look back at his voting record, his vote on FISA, his inaction as a member of the press was taken away as he calmly lunched with the telecom CEO’s and other donors, you will clearly see the man you see today.
If you think Obama is so weak that he cannot surround himself with any other people than left overs from bush and clinton, that he cannot bother to ask for dissenting opinions on matters of life, death and imprisonment, then I must ask again, why would you support such a person?
Obama put the very advisors you speak of in place. He has consitently chosen, not a cabinet of rivals, but a group that believes exactly as he does. It is not true that he could never have found anyone else to appt. It is not true that he could not fire these advisors and get new ones who honored the Consitution. At what point will you stop excusing him and hold him to account for his own decisions.
You say he has such opposition to deal with. That is not supported by the facts. His policies are not in opposition to his advisors, the are the same. Both he and his advisors are in opposition to our Constitution and to the people of this nation.
One of the strengths of learned men is caution in matters of importance; it is also a flaw to be manipulated by lesser men. It was Nixon himself, the Manipulator-in-Chief, who said that “education strengthens the mind, but weakens the backbone.” I suspect Obama has been counseled by legions of bureaucrats and military types with tales of woe if he steers the ship of state off of its Bushian course. This is more an issue of political courage than anything else. Many in the military industrial complex still take the words of cold-warrior, Gen. Curtis Lemay, to heart:
“Every soldier thinks something of the moral aspects of what he is doing. But all war is immoral and if you let that bother you, you’re not a good soldier.”
This is the opposition mind-set Obama is facing.
I am far from silent. I am simply not interested in being bombarded with more fear-based rhetoric.
I remain unpersuaded Obama is just another slime-ball politician trying to grab as much, and more, power as Bush Co. did for his own personal financial gain and/or misguided religious beliefs.
I do think that at least in a few respects, even if he could, Obama would be foolish to leapfrog the constitutional processes, as Bush did, to undo everything himself that was not his doing in the first place for matters of expediency, only. I think looking before leaping is still a reasonable idea.
In other respects, I believe he either can’t or is choosing not to even with all the power you mistrust him to hold for reasons which we are either not fully aware or privy to at all, yet.
Change for the better is always lot harder than you think and then you only wish it were that easy.
By now, we all should have learned, it certainly is going to take a smidge more than sitting at a computer all day and clicking endlessly. You still gotta get out in the world and actually mingle.
Unless you’re aim is herding cybersheep with bank accounts, that is.
I think Americans are basically lazy and I wish people would get off it and start thinking for themselves before jumping on the latest bandwagon just because suddenly one has pulled up in front of them.
Bob,
Yes.
Strong, but not untrue.
Jill: “this is a liberal Milgram experiment. We must not fail it.”
As in Stanley?
Strong language.
Ithuedk, Your work is awesome. The political cartoons spot on, compelling & evocative!!!
BuelahMan, Thank you very much. Thanks for taking the time to look and comment.
You know there’s no need to request my Fair Use images. Just right click, save and use. I intentionally make the images large enough to fill an 8 x (hint, hint).
I’d like to thank Professor Turley for not assuming anything, including any spamming-which I do not do. I communicate with pictures and never request or accept monetary support. Anyone visiting my site knows I am entirely dedicated to my country-not to the dollar. It is I who owes the country everything I have, and that includes every patriot-visitor kind enough to stop by.
all the best
I would like to hear someone address if and how Mandamus might be used to force Obama to have to investigate and prosecute our torturers. I think Congress has standing to use Mandamus against a sitting President but not sure. If not the President than maybe AG Holder? I realize Mandamus is a stretch and making Dems challenge their own President this way an even bigger stretch, but that doesn’t mean we can’t raise these issues and force them to have to explain why they won’t act when they have a legal obligation to do so.
Also I don’t hear much discussion about getting Congress to repeal the Use of Force Authorization they gave to Bush that Obama is claiming gives him many of the same powers Bush had to abuse our laws. So why aren’t more people demanding that Congress repeal this authorization?
BIS,
As a news aggregator, Huff Po isn’t all bad, but yeah, their original content is becoming more and more indistinguishable from the propaganda methods used at FAUXNews to prop up that fascist Bush.
I agree. And C&L still puts up great videos, as well (and I am still subscribed there because of 2 or 3 regular bloggers there). But I never stop chastising John Amato for turning into a Party Clown. Every chance I get, as a matter of fact.
Same with Cenk at Young Turks (of whom I wrote about yesterday)
Beulahman,
As a news aggregator, Huff Po isn’t all bad, but yeah, their original content is becoming more and more indistinguishable from the propaganda methods used at FAUXNews to prop up that fascist Bush. It’s a real Obama Cult now. All personality and little or no action. Ariana is all for justice as long as it doesn’t send any of HER rich friends to prison. Go take any one of her semi-criminal guests columnists from Congress to task some time and see where her editorial policy lays. Anything read there, unless it’s linked from another source, should be evaluated in that light.
“9-11 was facillitated so to give the Bush Admin a reason to go to war, no different than Teddy allowing Pearl Harbor to be bombed so he had an excuse to go to war.”
Frankie, not Teddy.
Bluto: “Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor! Hell, no!”
When I started posting to this blog I found the voices against the misuse of presidential power and abrogation of the rule of law to be both impressive and impassioned. I never saw one regular poster on this blog back down from stating that Bush and Cheney were acting illegally. I never saw anyone remain silent. Never. Why are you silent on this? Please help me understand.
If you are pro-constitution, you are pro-democracy and everything that goes along with it…
The best thing you can do is become involved locally, first, by contacting your elected representatives and figuring out how you might contribute some of your time.
Start your own Movements!