Obama – some more business as usual..gross.
Obama is a corporate guy.
Period.
In these videos the assertion is that Obama is keeping Bush’s policies in regards to secrecy and executive power intact, simply to appease the U.S. intelligence community and keep them on his side, (?!?!? – What other side would they be on?), but I personally feel he doesn’t want to open the can of worms that Olbermann talks about at the start of the fist vid, which is to NOT discuss any arrangements that the U.S. government and a private company may have had in matters of National Security.
Then he goes on to actually EXPAND the Executive powers Bush claimed, on TOP of what Bush’s people did! And Obama’s background is in CONSTITUTIONAL LAW!!
It’s insane.
I would argue that not being open about this MASSIVELY illegal snooping on the American Public is WAYYYYY more threatening to our National Security than any disclosure would be, especially when you consider that very likely the most damaging thing likely to come up with the release of this info would be the amount of lying and the level of illegality that the government and ATT actually participated in.
Of course there could also be effects in other relationships that the government may have that would be exposed or jeopardized, Blackwater certainly comes to mind as one that might be interesting to get some hindsight into, and that’s something I’m SURE they don’t want to get into….the examination of private contractor’s roles in taking actions the government can’t or doesn’t want to do.
I STILL think that Obama is a HUGE positive change overall, but this thing is one of the worst areas of Bush’s reign, and further coverups and continuance of these policies has got to be stopped. The wound must be uncovered, cleaned, disinfected, and the offending parties held up to the light, not only to show that we as a country will NOT stand for such behavior under any circumstances, but also that the rule of law DOES apply to everyone, all the time. Otherwise laws are only for some people, some of the time, and that’s not the kind of system I want to live under…you?
Remember, you can support him and many or most of his policies, and STILL push back against this stuff, and you really HAVE to. He has taken Bush’s worst transgressions to a new level, it cannot be allowed.
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Binding U.S. law requires prosecutions for those who authorize torture
*UPDATED BELOW**UPDATED AGAIN below – new video*
If Bush and his people admit that they ok’ed using torture (and they do admit it), and we have a law specifically forbidding it, even under the circumstances Bush et al describe as being the reasons they ok’ed it (and we do)…..and the Obama administration says that the acts used constitute torture (and they have), then they HAVE TO prosecute everyone involved, end of story.
Hmmm…..legal “opinions” eh?
Sorry, “opinions” are not laws, that’s why they are called “opinions”, and laws are called “laws”. A law is….well…a LAW! And everyone has to adhere to it’s standard. And opinions…..well…they are like assholes, everyone has one, and for the most part, nobody else cares about anyone else’s. Unless you happen to be getting waterboarded by the Bush administration, then you probably wish they had a different “opinion”.
Here’s a more detailed and referenced article, but the bottom line is, all the criteria for prosecution is in place, if Obama does NOT prosecute, then he will be breaking the law as well, and will “own” part of the crime as an co-conspirator.
Now I like Obama in general, ( though as I’ve said before, he’s HARDLY a liberal or anything even close to it), but it’s time to get our legal bearings set straght again in this country. And screw “moral”, this is simple unbiased no point of view LAW BREAKING we’re talking about, not some “morality” that’s open to debate or subjective interpretation. This is objective, court-testable “you broke the law, and in this country NO ONE is above the law, for ANY reason“.
Now maybe they wouldn’t be found guilty (!?!?!?!?), but THEY MUST BE TRIED FOR THE CRIMES!
A precedent (if you can call it that) must be set, that no matter who you are, or your justifications, or the political climate at the time, or what’s expedient, or what the other side will do if you do it, the bottom line is that THE PUBLIC has the right to have it’s leaders held to the same standards they themselves must adhere to. And future political leaders and their administrations must know that they WILL be held to account for their actions. You break the law, you get to go to court to have a conversation about it. Maybe (probably) you get off, but the public has the right to see it all, and to make sure the law is equal, and no one is above it. Not even the people who make it.
If you want to keep these people under control, you have to force them, otherwise they will own you every time.
Here’s an excellent bit on this from a constitutional law professor..
Here’s more from the same professor –
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Here’s a UN investigator speaking about the treaty and what we have to do about it.
“We have clear evidence,” he said. “In our report that we sent to the United Nations, we made it clear that former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld clearly authorized torture methods and he was told at that time by Alberto Mora, the legal council of the Navy, ‘Mr. Secretary, what you are actual ordering here amounts to torture.’ So, there we have the clear evidence that Mr. Rumsfeld knew what he was doing but, nevertheless, he ordered torture.”