Obama breaks his own rule

just the geneva conventions...

Wow, have you been asleep for the last six or so years?
How about we start with lying to the American public about the threat of Saddam Hussein. If lying about an affair with an intern is an impeachable offense, what does the lie about WMDs deserve?
Let's move on to illegal wiretapping - they've openly admitted to doing it, and its a felony act against the people of the United States. That one charge right there should send both Cheney and Bush to a maximum security prison for about 20 years. YEARS. They're hiding behind their status and their money; if any congressman had done this they'd be rotting in jail.
Moving on to Guantanamo - human rights abuses cannot be tolerated, no matter whom they are against. Please don't pull the "but they're terrorists!" card, its proven bullshit. FDR said the same thing about the Japanese Americans put into concentration camps on US soil in WWII, and 40 years later we shelled out a huge apology and $20k per person (at least 130,000 people, you do the math). Why? Because it was WRONG. We were wrong.
If that isn't enough, there's more - there's the blatant disregard of the nation's best interests when contractors and mercenaries were sent instead of soldiers into both Afghanistan and Iraq; there's his shredding and deleting of official emails and documents related to the war and policies surrounding it; the open hostility to the incoming administration (well that was just petty but in my opinion goes to show bad moral character) as well as the United Nations; the list goes on and on. I know I wont change your mind on this but at least try to see where I'm coming from. George Bush, in his eight year tenure, has done more to destroy the integrity of the office of the President than any other president to date.

thanks for that.

so it appears that he was a registered lobbyist but didn't actively participate as one, at least in the traditional sense. i don't know if that vindicates the decision, but it certainly makes it more understandable.

Amen.

"New era of transparency?" Methinks you put too much trust in those who govern you.

So why do Zionists call themselves "Zionists" then? There's even an organization of American Zionists called the "Zionists Organization of America. Let me guess, are they a fictitious organization too?

The majority of Raytheon employees served in the military. Those that did not have a relationship with military tactics far more advance than any civilian and on par if not more advanced than some military officers. I know this because I've meet dozens of them. The men who make the best/most advanced weapons know how to use them best. I understand your concern about the fox guarding the chicken coop but I think you jump to conclusions. I'm confident things will be different under the Obama administration.

Do they know how NOT to use them? Do they understand global military strategy and theory?

I'm sorry, but you're going to have to do better than "I know some people."

how is this not one of them? he clearly broke the rules he himself imposed. i understand that there's no reason to be surprised, but to not be critical simply because this is 'politics as usual' is ridiculous.

enabler.

I think I'll stay thanks, hope that's ok with you. Do you mind if I try to make it a little better? Or should I wallow in apathetic acceptance like yourself?

haha nope, i am outta here. quite literally

dude, i feel ya killer queen. but.... i hate to break it to ya though. you leaving is not going to change whats happening. so go ahead. go ahead and live in your own little world where everything will be fine. the rest of us live in reality. i dont want your coins, i want change.

And what was it when Clinton hired lobbyists? It was a non issue. Obama helped make lobbying an issue with his own legislation. No senior white house official may recieve a gift form a lobbyist, and any current official may not lobby his administration upon thier departure. While I personaly don't think that Lynn is the best man for the job considering the current excesses of war contractors such as Halliburton and his own Raetheon and for the fact that his own ethical considerations for taking the job will cause him to be inefective for the first year as he is being forced to recuse himself from handling any contracts from Raetheon. Both to me are disqualifying but only by Obama's new standard. This man would be more than free in any other administration. While I am not thrilled the fact that we are even discussing this with an uproar means that he's forced a change. This man may sneak through but the public will be watching him and future apointments doggedly and if a future administration chooses to forgoe such stringent measures in the future the public is sure to be less than kind. Thats a HUGE improvement and coupled with the presidential memmoranda on increased FOA acceptance and the executive order making presidential records more accesible we are seeing a very significant and symbolic seachange. Lets keep up the pressure by all means but lets not miss the forest for some scattered weeds.

me too. text message him.

We are on the same page here. Hear, hear.

We are not at all. Do you loathe the fact that Dick Cheney worked for both Halliburton Subsidary Kellogg Brown and Root as well as numerous positions in our government resulting in massive no bid contracts for the Iraq war? Billions of dollars wasted. If you can say that, then we are one same page of two exceedingly different books.

nothing disappointing about this. sometimes the best man for the job is not without flaws.

It is impossible to operate in this world without breaking somebodys rules,sometimes, even your own.

Don't be so stupid as to believe the rule is more important than the idea it embodies.

Was Obama's EO intended to keep any person that ever was a lobbyist from every holding a job they would be the best canidate for or was it to reduce the power of lobbyist in Washington?

A fool follows rules blindly to the point of detriment. A wise man sees rules as guidelines and acts accordingly.

this is not the way to instill public trust, which was the very point of the new rules.

lol neo you let me know when you find someone who really understands miltary and global stragegy who is in a position to actually make it happen.

Generals?

neocongo, at least you are consistent.....dense.

Lynn's qualifications are not the issue here. Stay on point FaintLee

Well maybe his qualifications should be the issue? The point is Americans can never view anything in a rational way. Everything has to be one extreme to the other. If Lynn is the best person for the job than he should serve in that position.

He is not the only "highly qualified" man available...get over it.

I fully agree with you FaintLee.

Agreed FaintLee. Not to mention in his Deputy position he won't [or shouldn't be lobbying therefore Obama's rule is still in tact. period.

Obama said Lobbyist will not work in the same field as a lobbyist.

OMG! THE MAN pompously declares a rule. Then, with the very first opportunity to test the rule THE MAN discredits it. He has officially traveled the shortext distance to utter hypocrit in the history of the world. Then, his blind followers come up with all sorts of distorted logic to defend THE MAN. Obama has no moral authority to declare any rule again. Let's IMPEACH HIM!! We need someone who isn't a moral relativist and will do the right thing, even if someone else has ade the rules, like our founding fathers

I did not vote for Obama but as I have said before...I believe and HOPE he will do a good job. So far he seems far above in his character compared to most of his followers on this site who whine about his smoking, the dog he picks, dogging his every move.

Hell, I want him NOT to stop smoking now and I would never be so pretentious as to tell him how to pick a dog for his allergic child. He is OUR President, He has already shown he's going to work by all the work he did before taking office. No other Pres. has picked his cabinet prior to inauguration.

I am surprised anyone would take this horrendous job. You are damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Bush admitted to waterboarding. Waterboarding is a felony offense in America and has been since the 1940's. It violated the Geneva conventions, a standing U.S. law, and the constitutional provisions establishing that the president, congress, and the supreme court have no extra constitutional authority and can not violate the seperation of powers, and the constitutional provision banning cruel and unusual punishment, found in the most fundamental of our ammendments, THE BILL OF RIGHTS. Bush did not carry out waterboarding against U.S. citezens but authorized its potential use against domestic citezens by authorizing it as an enhanced interogation technique. He clearly violated the law for what he felt were national security reasons. Sorry but I can't commit torture and get away with it and neither should he.

Check into the "Fairness Doctrine" for talk radio and possibly cable. It will be used to silence people like Hannity and Limbaugh....I care for neither but I do care about them randomly writing up something that will affect a lot of people's free speech!

My thoughts exactly.

I'm not saying that I don't agree with you, but did you have to use such foul language to state your case?

i didn't think her language was foul. i thought it was actually quite benign compared to many other comments heard here.

Except I wasn't comparing her comment to any others. Point is, there's a classier way to explain yourself and when you have the right words there's no need to use that kind of language--benign in comparison or not

Give Class where Class is due. For politicians of all types, they deserve the worst.

yo beastie,

sorry if I offended your gentility - I was only having some rhetorical fun with my hyperbolic verbiage.

peace out

Ha, the same could be said for you liberal left-wing losers about your behavior towards Bush.

Way to not be able to take what you dish out.

Same cannot be said... The complete and utter failure that was Bush's administration has made it so everyone, democratic or republican, are so pathetically full of themselves and their views that the matters at hand aren't even being discussed.

You're more concerned with bashing liberals to make up for all the crap you've taken the last 8 years because deep down you know that your views elected the worst president to two terms of embarrassment.

That said - I feel I have now wasted my time on the ignorance of others when in reality we should be discussing the restrictions being placed on lobbyists.

I was merely responding to unimatrix0's bash on republicans.

Oh, and might I add that the failure that was the Bush administration also got you liberal left-wing losers really good at condescension.

Nice job, you arrogant fool!

Learn to read. I clearly said that both democrats and republicans (not just you) because of the political turmoils we have undoubtedly experienced have become too caught up in argumentation to actually understand the real problems. Thank you for making my point for me.

Do any of you actually think it makes any difference who's in charge? The point is, they're still in charge.
You, hew2702, you can't deny that Bush was a joke. He didn't even make that good of a tyrant. He wasn't actually good at ANYTHING. As for you're point about condescension, I agree. Respect all around, alright? Everyone go out, buy a gun and some food, and read some of these files:
http://www.textfiles.com/directory.html
Spread information, spread chaos.

That is so like you Unimatrix....Your blanket, one-size-fits-all politics: quote : Poor dumb bastards don't know how to win or lose - they just wallow in their own excrement.

Leftist fail to comprehend that the Democrats were wholly involved in decisons made by Bush on almost every level so you must have some stained underwear yourself!

This kind of name calling, disrespect for others opinions is what is destroying our country. That along with your statement : "I don't want to micromanage Obama". How LUDICROUS ! Some of you people act like you contol his agendas....wake up to reality! Your one-sided opinions are the last thing he would listen to. He is looking for team players and unity; something you , judging from your posts don't have a clue about.

Right on barbara. Patriot Act. Senate vote 98-0 Tom Daschle presiding

I have something you can wallow in...

cant be worse than what bush was selling, dick.

eat your heart out, hombre# 76, you prick