Obama says good things?!?!

[Matt Collins]

"I don't want to be ambiguous about this. We are going to close Guantanamo and we are going to make sure that the procedures we set up are ones that abide by our Constitution." -- President-elect Barack Obama (http://www.googlecom/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hRGYDHx6xh1Lqs-KdBtXveFmWraQ)

“Under my administration, the United States does not torture. We will abide by the Geneva Conventions. We will uphold our highest values and ideals. We must adhere to values as vigilantly as we protect our safety.” -- President-elect Barack Obama (http://www.freep.com/article/20090110/NEWS07/90110003)



(http://www.freep.com/article/20090110/NEWS07/90110003)

[Matt Collins]

This week he introduced his new intelligence team. In doing so he made some very good promises and statements of principle. We've used them as our quotes of the day. We agree with everything the President-elect says in the quotes above. We want to help him achieve these objectives.

The ”American Freedom Agenda Act” is a bill that will do what the President-elect says he wants, as well as other important things that are consistent with his statements. This bill was created by conservatives, supported by progressives, and introduced in Congress by Representative Ron Paul, Republican of Texas. This legislation will . . .

* Repeal the “Military Commissions Act of 2006” and thereby restore the ancient right of habeas corpus and end legally sanctioned torture by U.S. government agents

* Restore the ”Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act” (FISA) and thereby outlaw warrantless spying on American citizens by the President of the United States

* Give Congress standing in court to challenge the President's use of "signing statements" as a means to avoid executing the nation's laws

* Make it illegal for government agents to kidnap people and send them abroad to be tortured by foreign governments

* Provide legal protection to journalists who expose wrong-doing by the Federal government

* Prohibit the use of secret evidence to label groups or individuals as terrorists for the purpose of criminal or civil sanctions

Please help President-elect Obama make good on his excellent promises and statement of principle. Please use our quick and easy Educate the Powerful System to urge your elected representatives to co-sponsor the “American Freedom Agenda Act.” (http://www.downsizedc.org/etp/campaigns/82)

You can use your personal comments to paste in the quotes from the President-elect featured at the top of this message. Tell your elected representatives to help the President-elect made good on these commitments. Or mention that this bill was created by conservative groups but also has the support of many liberal organization. Or put it in your own words. But either way, tell them to get this bill passed.

Then, if you want to see this message spread to more places -- to reach more new DC Downsizers -- go to our blog, located conveniently on our home page at www.DownsizeDC.org (http://www.downsizedc.org/), and "Digg" the blog version of this message. If you've never used Digg before, please, go sign up!
Thank you for being a part of the growing Downsize DC Army.

Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

[RSLudlum]

I know there's gonna be alot of hellraising going on in my city if this happens. One of the potential places these detainees could be moved to is here at the Charleston naval brig located in the Charleston Naval Weapons Station (7 miles from my house ), also the place where Ali al-Marri has been held. There's already been a bit of a stir going round.

[JeNNiF00F00]

I know there's gonna be alot of hellraising going on in my city if this happens. One of the potential places these detainees could be moved to is here at the Charleston naval brig located in the Charleston Naval Weapons Station (7 miles from my house ), also the place where Ali al-Marri has been held. There's already been a bit of a stir going round.

Oh god no. Im in Columbia. Didn't they arrest someone today down there who was plotting to kill Bush? lol

[RSLudlum]

Oh god no. Im in Columbia. Didn't they arrest someone today down there who was plotting to kill Bush? lol


He was indicted today for threats he made last September. He was charged for threatening gov't official with biological weapons and planning to blow up the brig in a letter that he sent to Bush.

[libertea]

Talk is cheap.

[nodope0695]

"I don't want to be ambiguous about this. We are going to close Guantanamo and we are going to make sure that the procedures we set up are ones that abide by our Constitution." -- President-elect Barack Obama (http://www.googlecom/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hRGYDHx6xh1Lqs-KdBtXveFmWraQ)

“Under my administration, the United States does not torture. We will abide by the Geneva Conventions. We will uphold our highest values and ideals. We must adhere to values as vigilantly as we protect our safety.” -- President-elect Barack Obama (http://www.freep.com/article/20090110/NEWS07/90110003)



(http://www.freep.com/article/20090110/NEWS07/90110003)

All good statements I guess, too bad they were written for him and mean absolutely nothing now that he's in office....

And, if he closes Gitmo, where are they going to send the prisoners that are there?

[LittleLightShining]

So apparently my spineless representative is a co-sponsor of this bill and it's been referred to a subcommittee where it has sat since the fall of 2007.

I just called Senator Bernie Sanders and requested he pick up the bill and try to get it going in the Senate since it is right in line with so much of what he has always said he stands for-- also to put some pressure on the Obama admin. to keep their word on this.

I also urged him not to approve the Geithner appointment.

[M House]

Wait so they just are going to move them? Cool, I guess we can always torture, um interrogate, them here.

[angelatc]

I think they'll open up some detention facilities in Afghanistan or something and ship them over there.

Obama says a lot of good things, simply because he says a lot of things. He contradicts himself all the time.

[yongrel]

http://chickencrap.com/images/49.jpg

[wizardwatson]

I think they'll open up some detention facilities in Afghanistan or something and ship them over there.

Obama says a lot of good things, simply because he says a lot of things. He contradicts himself all the time.

Yeah, he needs to specifically address "Extraordinary Rendition (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraordinary_rendition)". Saying "The United States doesn't torture" is not enough.

From wikipedia:


According to Clinton administration official Richard Clarke:


“ 'extraordinary renditions', were operations to apprehend terrorists abroad, usually without the knowledge of and almost always without public acknowledgment of the host government…. The first time I proposed a snatch, in 1993, the White House Counsel, Lloyd Cutler, demanded a meeting with the President to explain how it violated international law. Clinton had seemed to be siding with Cutler until Al Gore belatedly joined the meeting, having just flown overnight from South Africa. Clinton recapped the arguments on both sides for Gore: "Lloyd says this. Dick says that. Gore laughed and said, 'That's a no-brainer. Of course it's a violation of international law, that's why it's a covert action. The guy is a terrorist. Go grab his ass.'" [15] ”


Both the Reagan and Clinton cases involved apprehending known terrorists abroad, by covert means if necessary. Neither involved handing over detainees to foreign countries. The policy later expanded.