Yesterday Obama signed a one year extension of the Patriot Act into law. Provisions of the Patriot Act were due to expire today. Obama had a chance to do the right thing. All he had to do was not sign, but that is not what happened.
It is no big surprise that he picked an off night in the news cycle to betray the American people, yet again.
The Patriot Act embodies much of the worst of the last administration's excesses with the Constitution. Where is the outcry?
What will it take for people to realize Obama is just as bad as Bush?
When will people stop supporting him because he is a Democrat? The first black president? Supposedly better than the alternative? The lesser of two evils?
How long will it take before some sheep shows up in the comment thread and tells me to be patient because Obama can't fix things quickly?
When will people wake up?
Here is a link to the AP article if you don't believe the sainted Obama could have done such a thing: Obama signs one-year extension of Patriot Act
And to show this is truly a flip flop of betrayal read Obama's own words from a speech he gave in 2005:
"This is legislation [The Patriot Act] that puts our own Justice Department above the law…When National Security Letters are issued, they allow federal agents to conduct any search on any American, no matter how extensive or wide-ranging, without ever going before a judge to prove that the search is necessary. They simply need sign-off from a local FBI official. That’s all."
…And if someone wants to know why their own government has decided to go on a fishing expedition through every personal record or private document – through library books they’ve read and phone calls they’ve made – this legislation gives people no rights to appeal the need for such a search in a court of law.
No judge will hear their plea, no jury will hear their case. This is just plain wrong."
[Read more at Firedoglake: Obama Signs One Year Extension of Patriot Act (which he used to oppose)]
Something else Obama will be signing soon:
I sure hope Obama does a better job with his "Targeted Assassination list" than what has been done with the No Fly list.
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Chauncey DeVega
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the traveler
James and Lois Cowan
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Comments
I would love to be wrong about Obama, but it hasn't happened yet.
In many ways he is worse. Would we have put up with a Targeted Assassination list of American citizens from Bush?
Not likely.
good post
Tar-Paper Shacks R
We should be so lucky if the government actually limited itself to genuine national security issues and "essential" services.
Tar-Paper Shacks
But my hatred of the Christian/Conservative wrong/right remains
unparalleled.
Obama would have pull something really shitty
other than maintaining the status quo
to rival that.
Bush didn't have a declared policy of indefinite preventive detention like Obama does. Depriving people of due process is pretty shitty, isn't it?
Targeted Assassination lists of American citizens isn't shitty? This is essentially murdering US citizens for alleged crimes with no trial.
A 20 times increase in missile attacks from drones across the Pakistani border with 10 of 12 attacks last January failing to hit their targets and instead killing 123 civilians. The 2 attacks that were successful killed only 3 alleged Al-Queda leaders. Murdering 123 people to kill 3 is pretty shitty.
Your excuse is thin.
Kucinich would be an excellent president, but he is too principled and the public too shallow for him to be elected.
It is a shame that some folks do not follow "politics", especially because "politics" directly affects every man, woman, and child in this Nation on a moment to moment basis. And for one to simply ask why "..shouldn't the President listen to the American People through their intermediaries, the elected officials in the House on some issues", without qualifying that statement by its' obvious answer, which is that a huge segment of the American People are quickly growing to distrust anything in the way of actions that their "..official intermediaries.." are attempting to put forth, especially when such actions are detrimental to the Health, Safety, and Welfare of this Nation and it "Citizens".
And, on top of that, then to simply expect for those same people to simply "..move on.." and thereby stop exercising their' inherent right to participate in discussions that affect their "personal well-being", is a little perplexing in itself.
In fact, that in and of itself, is a little "S_ _ _ _ _ _", but then again what else could be expected from some folks?
Respectfully Submitted,
Tar-Paper Shacks
The Constitution? I think the Constitution is just invoked to attack the other side (of course 'liberals' during Bush were criticizing him on the Constitution now you see snakes like Glenn Beck criticizing Obama ostensibly on Constitutional grounds)... No one really cares about it, and they violate it without a moment's hesitation.
Rated and Facebook'd.
As far as Kucinich and the Targeted Assassination Lists go, Obama's Director of National Intelligence confirmed their existence on national TV. I linked it in update 34 in the How Does All That Hope and Change Taste Now? Compendium. There are three or four linked articles about it starting with the January 27 update.
Stats on the peopled murdered by Obama's January drone attacks are linked in update 37.
here are two of the many exposing his hypocrisy :
http://open.salon.com/blog/professoremerituspab/2010/01/05/america_the_ugly_the_military_medical_political_complex
http://open.salon.com/blog/professoremerituspab/2009/04/25/a_new_political_system_in_satire
They all poop the same way in the White House.
I could get no one to even read it.
Most have not read it and have only a vague idea of what it contains.
You do a yeoman's work BBE.
I am thinking Belize....