Democratic Principles eroding under the Obama Adminstration

Democracy is being challenged by the cloak of “Best interest of the United States”. Two alarming episodes playing out are the continual detaining of suspected terrorist and the message sent by Vice President Joe Biden. Granted the unending detaining of suspected terrorist subjects has been policy since 9-11, the thought that “change” was coming gave a glimmer of hope that America’s United States Constitution may regain its importance.

The President while campaigning for office set forth the notion of closing Gitmo detention center and to deal with those detained. The presumption was that all those housed in the facility would face trial and depending on the outcome would be either released or retained per court ruling. During the past week, President Obama and former Vice President Cheney have traded barbs on the issue of closing Gitmo and CIA memo results. Congress stripped out $80M that was to fund the closing of Gitmo due to no clear plan by the White House.

After the dueling speeches by Obama and Cheney, surrogates on all sides have laid out the plans going forward. One of the moves indicates that some detainees will be held “indefinitely” because they pose a threat to the United States even though proof, in the court of law, does not agree. The US Constitution protects the liberties of people accused of crimes from unnecessary punishment and a right to a speedy trial. Set aside the point that Bush has done the same thing as America voted for “change” in the last election cycle.

President Obama has proved, i.e. firing of CEO’s, that the US Constitution is a piece of paper worthy of nothing. It should not shock anyone that part of the plan for Gitmo detainees is to remand them indefinitely. The other affront to Democracy is being done through the message Vice President Biden is sent the Lebanon.

On Friday, Vice President Biden landed in Lebanon to carry the message that future US Aid to Lebanon hinged on the outcome of upcoming “Democratic” elections. Vice President Biden stated after a meeting with President Suleiman, “I do not come here to back any particular party or any particular person. I come here to back certain principles.” The United States has labeled Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.

Hezbollah has made inroads in recent elections by becoming an emerging force in the “Democratic” process. Hezbollah response to Vice President Biden’s statements is one of caution and “strong suspicion as to the real reason behind it”. Good or bad, if we are to stay true to our ideals of Democracy then the Obama Administration is not to dangle US Aid in front of the Lebonanese people in an effort to sway their vote.

Continuing the platform of “change” will lead America down the road of ruin and forever alter our liberties and pursuit of happiness within our own borders.

$80M Gitmo Closure debate

Both President Obama and former Vice President Dick Cheney spoke today on the issue of torture and Gitmo closing. President Obama still plans to close Gitmo within 1 year while “ordering a review the cases of all detainees at [Gitmo]”. According to President Obama there are 240 detainees currently being housed at Gitmo. Just this week, Congress striped out the money required by President Obama to close Gitmo because the plan lacked clarity.

Many in Congress fear that detainees will be relocated into their districts. This makes me laugh since many of these same Congressmen, and women, are demanding and applauding President Obama’s decision to close Gitmo. Yet, their vote of offers a different opinion on their support of the President’s plan to close Gitmo. During President Obama’s speech today, he alluded to the creation of a new facility to house those deemed “to dangerous” to be placed in current high security prisons. Why?

Why spend more money on a new facility? Gitmo is the state of the art. The concept is a waste of money and will not lessen the stigma of Gitmo. The move is similar to his promise to bring troops home from Iraq only to send them to Afghanistan or Pakistan. It’s a shell game. Americans wake up and see what is going on here.

Vice President Cheney, although not as eloquent, hit back hard at the accusations made by the current administration. The terrorist that were captured are not “prisoner of war” as President Obama claims. They are terrorist. That simply fact is the basis of the legal rendering made by President Bush’s legal team. As a terrorist they are not covered by the Geneva Convention.
The President has the right to declassify any CIA document. What is being suppressed or covered up by not releasing the CIA memos that former Vice President Cheney says justifies the use of EIT’s on the three detainee’s post 9-11. As former Vice President Cheney alluded to, the EIT’s were only used on three detainees and only after all other methods were exhausted.

In watching the MSNBC reaction to both speeches was entertaining because Chris Matthews and his group are so in the pocket of President Obama. Pat Buchanan is the token conservative in the ocean of liberals. It was entertaining on how Matthews lobbed up softballs to the other liberal commentators and avoiding Buchanan. Hardball has gone soft.

The issue moving forward is no longer the definition of torture. The move forward is what to do with the detainees after Gitmo is closed. As an American taxpayer, I do not want to pay for a new facility when Gitmo serves the exact purpose a new facility will perform. It is a flat waste of money and with future Americans being taxed with a multi-trillion dollar deficit.

“To rule out future use of enhanced integration techniques,” according the former Vice President Cheney will only “weaken” our security. I agree with that. EIT’s should not be the first method of extracting information but it should be an option.

Pelosi is caught red handed

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi held a news conference today in an attempt to clear the air on her knowledge of water boarding. Prior to the meeting today, House Speaker Pelosi contended that she was never briefed on the use of harsh tactics, i.e. water boarding. In her press conference today, she contracted her previous statement when she announced that in September 2002 she was briefed on “enhanced interrogation techniques” were going to be used. The CIA is still contending that both House Speaker Pelosi and Rep. Porter Goss were briefed on the “use of EITS”.

The five months after September 2002 briefing, the CIA briefed Chairman Harmon who in turn, according to her press conference, was “informed” about the CIA briefing of Chairman Harmon and the use of EITS. Now President Obama is doing an about face on releasing additional photos of prisoner abuse. Why? As the debate of CIA Memos continues, it will be interesting to see what the “truth” commission is able to ferret out.

Former Vice President Cheney has been asking for further CIA memos to be released to the public and House Speaker Pelosi asked that the briefing she was given in September 2002 be released as well. The use of water boarding is just one EIT used, so is House Speaker Pelosi okay with the rest but draws the line at water boarding?

Will America see a Nixon cover-up or will President Obama finally have the opportunity to break away from the choke collar that House Speaker Pelosi has on the White House?

You can see House Speaker Pelosi attempting to absolve herself from any responsibility of the use of EITS. Judge for yourself.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2009/05/pelosi_accuses_cia_of.html?hpid=topnews

Media Double Standard; Gore vs. Cheney

Since leaving office Vice President Al Gore has been at the forefront of Global Warming debate. Although Vice President Gore tends to duck real debates on the topic, Vice President Dick Cheney is challenging the current administration on the CIA memos. Why is it that the media is demonizing Vice President Cheney while they have a lovefest with Vice President Gore?

The media, for a large part, has driven the liberal agenda while ignoring the facts of the day. A double standard is firmly established by the media when dealing with issues of conservative or liberal. Put aside the argument of defining torture; let’s demand that all the CIA memos be released to end the debate. President Obama has already made the decision that harsh tactics used are defined as torture and is willing to move forward with prosecution of those that wrote the legal opinions.

Investigative journalism, as I stated yesterday, is dead in America. Americans deserve to know the truth and not pieces of the truth. It is time to remove the double standard and report the truth. To end the debate on the CIA memos is easily done by releasing all the memos surrounding the issue. If people are tired of hearing Vice President Cheney then demand President Obama release all CIA memos that are the topic.

At the same time, it is time for a national debate to take place. It is time for Vice President Gore to debate one-on-one with John Christy.

Torture: Moving Forward and not backwards

Pandora’s Box has been opened and now the political fallout is to begin. The box in question is torture. Opponents and proponents alike have their definition of torture and how best to be applied. The CIA memo’s released by the Obama Administration set the stage for conversation on torture. Liberals on the far left are screaming for heads while stark conservatives are looking for full disclosure on the success of torture methods used.

Never before in our American history has the current administration gone after the previous administration. FDR put Japanese Americans in internment camps and Abraham Lincoln suspended Habeas Corpus but neither administration following went back to persecute anyone. Why now? President Obama needs to put the topic back on point and follow Gerald Ford’s handling of President Nixon.

The topic of conversation is torture. There is no use arguing the facts as in some cases water boarding worked and other cases it did not. The question is when that fine line of harsh interrogation becomes torture. As the topic drags on, it will continue to weaken the United States and strengthen the resolve of those that wish us harm.

The CIA and other intelligence agencies is now gun shy when it comes to harsh tactics of getting the critical data needed to keep Americans safe. In his book, The Elements of Moral Philosophy, James Rachels ponders the question of Moral Theory. Although the conversation in James Rachels book does not touch on torture, much of what is discussed can be applied.

It is through justice and fairness that our society must step forward on the issue of torture. To accomplish a compromise on torture pro and con debate must take place without emotional ties and with rational thought. Using the post 9-11 rhetoric and policies as an example, emotional reaction to torture needs to be divorced from the conversation. I understand that it can be difficult to do but it needs to be done.

America cannot remain safe if a coherent and acceptable level of torture, in war and peace time, is not established. Now, I do not want to see the President or the Director of the CIA standing in front of the podium and lay out the torture levels. Americans need to have faith that methods going forward are “humane”.

Transparency: Really?

As the CIA memo debate continues on and Attorney General Eric Holder is comtemplating legal action against those involved, the Obama administration has promised transparency. Really? If what former Vice President Cheney is saying is true, why is it taking so long for the Obama administration to declassify CIA memo’s that showed technique’s used saved Los Angeles from an airline attack. Throughout the run for office and since, President Obama repeated the claim that his administration would be the most transparent in history.

I ask again; really? Why hasn’t the President Obama produced a birth certificate? President Obama has done everything possible to block the true nature of his birth certificate. Many will say that Hawaii has it on record. A certificate of live birth, which Hawaii has on record, is not the same as a birth certificate. The certificate of live birth is something that you or I can get in any state since it simply acknowledges a live birth took place regardless of location.

So why doesn’t President Obama produce his original birth certificate? President Obama speaks of transparency but fails to be transparent on a vital piece of information. American’s, in hindsight, are seeing how President Obama has no plans of honoring the U.S. Constitution. Other evidence is the nationalization of banks, firing a CEO, and now forcing an automaker into Chapter 11.

Everyone on the left feels that former Vice President Cheney is out of line when speaking out against the CIA memos. Never in our history have we looked at the previous regime to punish. FDR administration didn’t get looked into for the Japanese internment camps, Wilson’s Sedition Act, or Clinton’s administration in their three missed opportunity to capture Osama Bin Laden. The continue attack on the CIA, Bush Administration, and the U.S. Constitution by the Obama Administration only weakens the United States.

Liberals wants blood; America wants Jobs

“I acted primarily because of the exceptional circumstances that surrounded these memos, particularly the fact that so much of the information was public,” President Obama said to CIA on Monday April 20th. President Obama went on to assure CIA operatives that, “You need to know you’ve got my full support.” Robert Gibbs, during his press conference on Monday, responded to the prospect of legal action against Bush administration officials that approved “torture” methods by saying that President Obama was looking forward and not going to hold those involved in the new “torture” methods will not be prosecuted. Rohm Emanuel said on Sunday when asked about retribution and accountability of the Bush Administration officials; Mr. Emanuel defended the position of the Obama administration of looking forward and not going after those that approved the “torture” techniques.

All of this rhetoric upset the liberal base of the Democrat party that had elected Sen. Obama to end the use of water boarding and other “torture” techniques while prosecuting those responsible for their approval. Less than 24 hours after Robert Gibbs saying President Obama is not looking backwards or establishing a review board on “torture” techniques used on Al-Qaeda operatives, President Obama has come out saying he is approving a “blue-ribbon” panel to investigate those involved.

When President Clinton was in office, I told many of my peers that if one wanted to do well in politics they need to study Clinton for success. Now that President Obama waffles on the investigating Bush administration approval of the CIA “torture” methods has President Obama read the Clinton playbook? President Obama is leaving the legal aspect of prosecuting Bush administration officials to the Attorney General and did not want to pre-judge and leave it to the legal experts. Didn’t President Obama go to Harvard Law School?

If President Obama did read the Clinton playbook in handling tough situations, along with mass media in his back pocket, the damage done will be minimal to Barak Obama but how will this investigation assist the image of the United States? Liberals want blood even if it weakens the country. President Obama took the proper steps by stopping further use of the technique of water boarding, which, according to proponents, assisted in discovering a plan to attack Los Angeles in the same manner done in New York.

The releasing of the CIA memos was done under the guise of verifying common knowledge; fine. To take the issue further will not be good for America nor will it assist in our improving image around the world. Other Intelligence Agencies around the world will not want to participate in sharing of information with the United States out of fear their techniques or methods may be exposed. The CIA operatives are put in a dangerous way since their abilities will be handcuffed.

It is time to move forward and not look to the past. President Obama needs to learn from Gerald Ford and his handling of President Nixon during the mid-1970’s. The CIA memos were released and the techniques have been ended. The money and time spent into further investigation will not benefit Americans nor will it help our Economy.