Login HereI've been waiting for this juxtaposition. The NYTMag had a great piece this weekend on governance after the Imperial Bush presidency. Just a taste:
...Come January, the current administration will pass on to its successor a vast infrastructure for electronic surveillance, secret sites for detention and interrogation and a sheaf of legal opinions empowering the executive to do whatever he feels necessary to protect the country. The new administration will also be the beneficiary of Congress’s recent history of complacency....thanks to the recent economic bailout, Bush’s successor will inherit control over much of the banking industry.
These are all issues we've opposed or critiqued constitutionally due to their balance of powers impact -- many of which need reforms quickly. (And it looks like Obama's already taking a running start at reforming Gitmo.) Given that an imperial executive was the very thing the Founders feared at our nation's start, you'd think everyone would have been aware of it's importance.
However, the sum total of most Republican responses during Bush/Cheney can be summed up thusly:
"If you don't have anything to hide, then you have nothing to worry about."
I look forward to hearing that frequently uttered in the years to come under President Obama. Not by me -- I'll stick with the constitution, thanks. But by the GOP which clearly considers individual liberty and the rule of law to be useless wastes of time.
Except when they don't.
Suddenly, ideologically-driven federal judges are a horrible prospect. Future budgets are an opportunity for huge tussles. And any deviation from perfection is awaited with all the caterwauling the Right-wing Wurlitzer can bring to bear. With no acceptance of responsibility for their myriad failures -- it begins.
CQ has a peek into the lessons Obama has learned from past transition failures and triumphs.
What I'd like? The first words out of any media interviewer's mouth ought to be: "I don't recall you saying anything like this while Bush/Cheney were in office? Can you explain your change, lest Americans see it as rank political hypocrisy on your part?" But I'm not exactly holding my breath...
(Clip of Chris Wallace on The Daily Show.)
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Good morning Christy! It was a great article in the NYT.
From the writer of “The Last Enemy”:
” Do you know what’s happening with surveillance in the United States?
As usual, the technology in the states is cutting edge. And you already do have the Digital Angel chip-an RFID [radio-frequency identification] chip-which you can use to tag and track your kids 24 hours a day. You have many fewer CCTV cameras than we do. But, like us, you have the huge potential for abuse of information from credit card and debit card transactions. If any agency wanted to, they could put together a profile of you very quickly.”
Who is the last enemy?
In a sense it’s Stephen, because he is the compliant man who turns around and stands up to the state. In the eyes of the state, the last enemy is the individual. After all, it wasn’t a country that sent airplanes into the Twin Towers. It was a group of individuals. The suicide bombers here in Britain were individuals. But when the state starts targeting individuals as the enemy, we need to be alert to protect the rights of individuals. That was the dilemma I wanted to write about.
Are all of the hi-tech security measures you depict technologically possible?
I did a lot of research to make sure they were. In one draft I had CCTV [closed-circuit television] cameras that could not only watch you but also hear what you were saying. But then I had second thoughts, because it seemed too much like science fiction. So I took it out. Later, those types of cameras that can listen as well as see came into use in the UK. So I put them back in.
Do you have a link for that — or are you copying it from a book?
I am sure there’s more of that to come! But, the priceless moment will be when you start seeing and hearing the media reporting real facts and not just TMZ crap!
When that moment arises, I can only hope that the pundits get called on it sooner than later…time will tell!
Do you know why CCTV in the U.S. does not listen? IIRC, some court, maybe even SCOTUS, decided you didn’t have right to visual privacy when you are out in public, but you still had the right to expect privacy for your conversations.
Do take a look at the caterwauling Right-wing Wurlitzer link, btw…but be forewarned, it’s irritating.
I’m looking forward to hearing the Republics snarl about the evils of unitary executive theory.
I must say, after watching hours ad hours of his conduct — and mostly his outright failure to even show up for hearings on SJC — having Jon Kyl be the first asshole out of the box to threaten filibuster on the federal bench appointments is beyond laughable.
I like the org chart that they have up on the official transition website - it was linked the other day at Talking Points Memo.
Right at the top: The Constitution.
Next row: Legislative Branch, Executive Branch, Judicial Branch.
The VP is under ‘Executive Branch’.
Yes, I suppose “The Barnacle” has been rendered inoperable…or will be shortly, that is.
The problem of Right wing hypocrisy is compounded by the fact that the Right owns all the major media. One of the things I hope President Obama (hang on I want to type that again just for fun, President Obama) does is take steps to break up the media monopolies. I would hope that existing anti-trust legislation ought to be sufficient, it simply needs to be applied. This B.S. where General Electric and Rupert Murdoch and Time Warner and Disney control what the nation can see has to end.
My workplace has a giant TV screen in the corporate lunchroom, and it shows CNN all day long. Likewise airports, with the CNN. The idea that CNN is any sort of “mainstream” or “impartial” is laughable on its face, and being forced by cultural habit to suffer from CNN indoctrination gets really old.
(And hopefully it won’t be too late for Obama to roll back the digital TV boondoggle in February. When they digitize broadcast TV, they make it controllable, and when it’s controllable, they can charge for it. When they charge for it, they criminalize watching for free, and aren’t these OUR airwaves?)
You know what would REALLY reform Gitmo? Handing it all back to Cuba.
What the HELL are we doing holding onto a useless military base right there in a country that we are all ascairt of (if you are a GOPer)? Close Gitmo entirely.
Talk radio could really have a field day pointing out Republic hypocracy. That is if there was much talk radio outside of the right wing variety. On the other hand, Limpy Limbaugh isn’t doing a very good job as their water carrier these days. Maybe his audience will dwindle enough to impact his pocketbook and encourage radio execs to give other viewpoints a try.
Yes and yes.
This switch in regimes is still getting to me.
This morning when I watched the feed of the Obamas arriving at the White House. I got tears, again.
Can’t wait for the inauguration.
Can’t wait for The Thing to go away.
Maybe I’m misquoting the movie, but didn’t Doc Holiday say in Tombstone, “My hypocrisy knows no bounds.”
At least he was self-aware (well Val Kilmer’s portrayal of him anyway).
How about President Obama (hee!) ending the stupid embargo on Cuba? Dear Miami Cuban Exiles: I’m sorry, but you lost. After forty years in America, maybe it’s time to accept that…
It used to be that FOX had some sort of contract with my local Panera, so that any time I and the laptop would go in for a morning croissant and coffee…there was FOX. On alla time. Ugh.
Who wants to eat with that crap on? So I stopped going over there for a while. Stopped in to pick up a couple of fresh baguettes recently and…*poof*…no FOX. Looks like I can now go on a chocolate croissant run on occasion without having my appetite utterly ruined. Sweet.
I’ve always wondered why we had Gitmo. Is Cuba likely to attack us? Give Gitmo back to Cuba and leave.
I think it would be more efficient to do some pay-back to the parent companies, who have a lot more in the fire than their news divisions, in particular regulations governing cable and in the case of GE all sorts of government contracts. A couple of shots across the bow will bring the CEO’s to attention. Not to mention the defeat of Chambliss in GA. This is the time for Obama to show some muscle, but not to waste it. If he can’t deliver a good punch, he should hold back. But if he can, he should let them have it good, hard, and silently. They won’t want to talk about it, and there’s no need for him or any of his people to do so either.
Sadly if you complain that CNN is biased, they’ll misunderstand and give you Fox.
I complained to the management at the South Bend Regional Airport about the TV’s being set to Fox and they responded that somewhere in the small airport (I have no idea where) they have other televisions set to CNN so they feel they are providing balance.
They just couldn’t get the fact that they were presenting EXtreme right, and just plain right-wing POV.
Because someday we may have to invade Cuba if they threaten us? (Think Grenada on steroids…just guessing, but that sounds just wingnutty enough, doesn’t it?)
I feel your pain…but we will all feel the last 8 years for many many years to come. That is just a realization fact!
Oh, and wouldn’t that be a shame. Someone pass me a tiny violin…
Yes, it IS all about the money. They don’t care about anything else. The Christians along for the ride and whoever are just means to an end. It is just business.
I’ll second that, for sure.
it’s so Kafkaesque it must be preserved. Cuba is evil and we have a Navy base on Cuba.
I’ll second that too.
Both prez wore blue ties today, but Michelle wore a red dress. Heh.
“I don’t recall you saying anything like this while Bush/Cheney were in office?”
I said this every day throughout the campaign and continue to do so (talking to the teevee!); but this should extend to the media as well and not just their guests. Where were all these incisive & fearless people all these years? As the Bush gang and Wall Street have shown us; not having to take responsibility is a wonderful thing
with a DNR order I hope
The media are putzs. Do you know that term?
Those incisive & fearless people were making sure that they said nothing that would risk future employment by News Corp.
Bingo!
Too bad for them they have had their ideological blinders on for the last eight years.
Thanks for the opportunity to repay the favor of watching you cry in your elitest beer.
I hope Obama keeps them awake at night, every night.
Maybe I’m misquoting but I think Kilmer, as Doc Holiday, also said, “I’m your Huckabee,” a lot!
Christy:
Get a load of this
After 4 years of the George Bush / Dick Cheney nazipalooza of wiretaps, Gitmo, stolen elections political hires at the DoJ and everything else, he fears Obama?!? WTF?
He goes on
Put all drinks down before reading this
The dissonance is stunning
I’m hopeful (though it’s not guarantee) that Obama is smart enough to play really dirty hardball with some of these forces, all while keeping the game completely out of the public eye.
It’s important for him to keep up the public persona of the nice guy for the public while he has really tough operatives applying mafia-like pressure behind-the-scenes.
Actually, it’s been a little while since we had a yiddish lesson here.
And don’t forget the ever popular
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPj9w_cZ7_k
Yiddish With George and Laura.
I’m sure his columns regarding FISA made for some exceptionally researched constitutional and federalist paper reading bonanzas. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA Oh, I just cracked myself up there…
It’s sort of like “that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.”
They have nothing else. If they retreat even an inch their whole structure falls apart. Poor babies s/
Wow….
There are no words to describe that. It goes beyond hypocrisy. “Pot calling the kettle black” seems too simplistic to describe the full extent of their inverted world view.
That is what we have to contend with. My solution is education.
Where’s edit? :-) I meant 8 years of the nazipalooza
we knew it.
Or, maybe he can just back Lieberman up against the wall and make his face turn red again on the Senate floor. Ya know, just for old times sake… *G* Ahhhhh, good times…
Isn’t the American Taliban cute these days? They were fine with our civil liberties being trampled on, but now with a Democratic president coming up, they’ll suddenly care! Well, I’ve got news for them…we’re not going to go one minute reminding them of their hypocrisy. And if their phones are tapped and they don’t like it……..TOUGH SHIT! You assholes had plenty of opportunity to clamp down on your out of control president, but you didn’t, so now you have to live with the paranoia you created and allowed yourself to happen!
Of course, I won’t like it if President Obama goes to the extreme George Bush did, but if he decides to infiltrate the KKK, the white supremacist groups, the Nationalists, and the GOP itself, THEN GOOD! THESE A-HOLES DESERVE TO BE LISTENED TO BECAUSE AS FAR AS I’M CONCERNED….THEY ARE DOMESTIC TERRORISTS IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE!
Okay, I said my peace. I go away softly now. LOL
What they say? What goes around comes around. Trouble is they could care less. They are nuts.
Y’know, I didn’t vote for a bunch of Democrats just to see them operate like a bunch of Bush-Cheney political operators. I really don’t want that!
But don’t worry about Obama. He will fight back, when appropriate.
Biographical tidbit: during his youth in Indonesia, his father coached him in boxing. And taught him the value of hitting back. And remember, that Obama has been schooled in Chicago politics. Look at how he got elected to his first few positions. He was no shrinking violet.
Bob in HI
Dan Rather is on cspan blathering about new media. It’s pretty funny.
Thats what you get when you hired someone else to take your college exams and didn’t read the fine print. Crazy unreasonable men/women with nothing else to do but pass the buck with out knowing the facts.
Jan. 21 couldn’t come sooner!
I still say karma is a bitch on wheels when she wants to be…and if ever someone earned himself another butt boil…
I’m just sayin’.
Yes they are nuts. I hope Barack Obama keeps an eye on the nuts. And if the nuts don’t like? Tough crap! LOL
hehe
hehehe ;-)
Listening to Limbaugh and Hannity on this subject might actually become somewhat entertaining. How will they explain the difference?
The hypocrisy of the Republican noise machine is fond of painting Obama as a ‘big government’ librul. That one’s rich. From where I stand, the Obama platform is much more centerist than I care for; and I probably will never be comfortable with the role of Corporations in any President’s administration. That’s just a sad fact of our modern body politic; if you managed to get elected, you did so by playing ball with some corporate dudes, period.
However, I still continue to be impressed with the shear sense of wisdom that the man seems capable of employing. It is too easily elevated to the “wisdom of Solomon,” levels by those given to hyperbole and myth, but he really does seem to be an exceptional human in this regard.
It is my hope that this sense of wisdom also allows for a swift and direct sense of just action. Like the example of confronting Lieberman on the Senate floor, I like to think that this is a man who will know that for everything there is a season…a time to sow, a time to reap…I time for cautious reflection, and a time to kick some serious ass!
Obama is a double edged sword. One edge is honed with book smarts, the other with street smarts. A lot of goopers are gonna rue the day they tried one up the skinny kid from Illinois. Not saying he’s perfect but he’s definitely not a chump, or a chimp for that matter. [g]
Sometimes we don’t see everything. I just hope for a gradual realization in the next 50 years.
Mr. bama will surprise you and everyone. Wait.
You can say you can make your own reality. That doesn’t mean your not a fool, only delusional.
I tend to go with the don’t really trust and try to thoroughly verify and then dig some more mode. Keeps me hopping. *g*
I would definitely never challenge the President-Elect to a game of basketball or poker.
..also keeps you in business. [g]
Sorry, didn’t get that MB.
Well, certainly no shortage of piles of crap to tackle, that’s for sure. *G*
Check this site out:
http://www.balloon-juice.com/?p=13579
They think Barack is a Super Dork complete with Star Trek innards and are thrilled! LOL
You know what? I say give them air space. They will dig their own hole.
True, but I like the idea of pushing them into the space first. See? LOL And if they’re kicking & screaming all the way, then good. My day is complete.
One right winger today was praising Sarah Talon about how nice she is as a person and how she was treated so badly. Ummmmmmmm, right winger? Even the Secret Service has come out blaming her for inciting the knuckle dragging masses in the GOP for all the death threats against Barack! Jees. Who are these people and when did their brains fall out? The fall of 2000? That’s what I’m thinking.
I was referring to the Republicans, so long ago, bragging about making their own reality when they took over. Once Obama is in a lot of that faux reality will come back to bite them on the a^^. They may say and act like they don’t care, but no one is immune to guilt and shame. The worst ones are those who try to totally internalize it. The universal truth of “what goes around, comes around” spares no one.
Got it.
Yes, they HAVE to be pushed. LET them go out on a limb. Heh.
Hey california, don’t lump all us (including me) Christians on one train. This one voted for Obama. Some, a lot, of us are a whole different spececies from the fundamentalist crew.
OK now which is it Obama=Anti-Christ or Obama=Trekkie Nerd????
PW’s up
on Franken v Coleman
only one wurd for the righties: caitiffs ..