Politics, Technology, Humor… You know, a general waste of time.

We are currently almost 1 week into the Obama administration. It has been quite the busy week for this administration as they move to undo the damage of the last 8 disastrous years. While I understand that 1 week in Washington is a very short time, I feel that there are quite a few things that need to be discussed about this historic first week, both good and bad.

The Impeach Obama movement

Seriously guys? Get a life. You’re the same people that threw a fit when people suggested impeaching Bush for lying to the American people and leading us into a war based on those lies. You’re the same people who said “He’s the president and if you don’t support him you’re unpatriotic.” Either take your own advice or shut the fuck up. The state of Hawaii has already certified that Obama is a natural born US citizen and won’t release his birth certificate only because it would create the potential for a privacy of information lawsuit. All credible sources have dropped that stupid argument. As for the swearing in flub on inauguration day? The Constitution clearly states that the president-elect becomes president at noon on January 20th regardless of the swearing in. Also, they re-did the swearing in and didn’t flub it as a handful of previous presidents have had to do for the same reason. Also, as for the “he wasn’t sworn in on a Bible the 2nd time” bullshit… that doesn’t matter! There have been previous presidents that weren’t sworn in on a Bible as well, the Bible doesn’t matter. This isn’t a Christian nation (as Bush made so plainly clear with many of his policies), it’s a secular nation. He could of been sworn in on a copy of Lord of the Rings and he would still legally be president.

Guantanamo

I have to give kudos to the Obama administration on this one. You promised to close it and it looks like you’re going to deliver.  This will be a huge help in repairing the American image abroad. I know there’s a lot of whining about the people being held there being let go and rejoining the fight against America. All I have to say is this, one, there has been no credible evidence presented that this will happen in anything but the rarest of cases and every count of the number of released detainees that have returned to the fight has been shown to be made up and have no credibility at all backing it up. Two, most credible intelligence sources have concluded that Gitmo, Abu Ghraib and other prisons that we have been running like them are being exploited by extremists to recruit new soldiers.  Even if a few of the detainees that are released return to the fight, that number will be much smaller than the massive number of new recruits we would aid our enemy in gaining by leaving the prison open. That’s really the problem with the Republican strategies over the past few decades really. It’s short-sighted and they end up creating more problems than they solve. Recall, it was Republicans that gave Saddam Hussein nerve gas and many other weapons in the first place. That worked out real well didn’t it?

The economic bail-out

This is the point where I start to ask what you think you’re doing Obama. You were not elected by a questionable margin like your predecessor. This country said overwhelmingly that we wanted you to lead us and a large part of that was because of your ideas on how to fix the economy. Now, I have no problem with bi-partisanship as long as both sides are bringing good ideas to the table. The right-wingers, however, are NOT bringing good ideas to the table about the economy. They simply want more of the same handouts that got us into this economic sink-hole in the first place. “More tax cuts!” they scream, seemingly oblivious to the fact that over the past 8 years that mantra has continuously failed to produce a stable economy. In times like these, people don’t spend… they horde. Giving more tax cuts to people will not stimulate the economy. Most economists agree on the fact that the way to jump-start this economy is a huge government investment in infrastructure. Our roads, power grids, sewer and water systems and public transit systems in this country are a joke. They are crumbling all around us. You can kill two birds with one stone by simply scaling back the tax cuts and investing that money in infrastructure instead. Not only will you be repairing the backbone of our country and ensuring it’s long term viability but it will create jobs and ensure that the money actually goes into the economy because it will be going directly into buying goods and services instead of padding peoples bank accounts. I’d be more than glad to not get a giant tax cut if it meant that my power or Internet didn’t get cut out the next storm we get and the roads and bridges I travel over aren’t in a constant state of decay. I’m pretty sure a lot of America would agree with me on that point too. There’s a reason that you were elected and that Democrat margins in the House and Senate grew and it wasn’t because we wanted the Republicans influencing policy more.  It’s because we wanted you to do what is right to get this country back on track.  I believe you understand this considering that you told Republicans “I won” when discussing the bail out with them. Now show us that you do by doing the right thing instead of the same old thing.

Lobbyists

One of the biggest things you did this week was put some of the strongest restraints on lobbyists in history. I applaud you for that. Too long has corporate America run wild through the halls of power influencing every decision of our lawmakers. What was the next thing you did though? You made an exception for William Lynn, former Raytheon lobbyist. What is the point of setting restrictions if you are just going to make exceptions like that? There are a lot of people in the U.S., surely there is at least one other person who wasn’t a lobbyist with credentials as good or better than Lynn’s? Raytheon already has too many tendrils in Washington and now you’re letting them in on this one? GIVE ME A BREAK! This has to be one of the most disheartening things I’ve heard this week. I though you were a man of principle Mr. Obama. Reading this news makes me question that. Do everyone a favor, sack Lynn and find someone who wasn’t a corporate sleazebag for one of the most influential defense contractors of all time… or at least hide it better.

Torture

You know, I thought you, being a lawyer, would get this one right. The talk is that you won’t be prosecuting people for torture. As I’m sure you know, being a lawyer, this will set a precedent which can be used in the future to defend people committing atrocious acts such as torture. I understand your desire to “look forward,” however, part of looking forward has to be accounting and making up for the mistakes of the past. If we don’t condemn these things as wrong then what is to stop us from repeating those mistakes in the future? Furthermore, how would it look to the world if we don’t hold those responsible for breaking international law accountable? What happens if the Hague decides to try them and finds them guilty? Yes, it would be unpopular with their supporters to hold them accountable for their crimes but it is the right thing to do. From an international relations point of view, nothing good can come from letting Bush & Co. get away with war crimes. We could be declared a rogue State, lose even more clout with the international community, your entire presidency could be tarnished by the fact that you let your predecessor violate international law. I implore you, save our countries reputation, investigate the possible war crimes of the last 8 years and prosecute them if the evidence is there. It may be unpopular in the short term but it is the first step in recovering our lost standing as the beacon of light for the free world.