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Archive for the 'Barack Obama' Category

A GITMO-ECTOMY

January 22nd, 2009, 1:00 pm by Dan Lehr

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Above: President Obama removes one of terrorism’s biggest recruiting tools.

Read about it here, & a discussion about whether it’s the right thing here.

Today I heard Rush Limbaugh on the radio call this move a “political” one.

To which I say: well, duh.

But not ‘political’ in the way Rush is meaning (appeasing the left).

For too long we have failed to capitalize on the United States of America’s greatest weapon: the idea behind this country & the ideals it champions.

The Guantanamo Bay prison represented a step off of the path of those ideals. It said loudly to the world, “do as we say - not as we do.” Closing the prison sends a - yes, political - message around the world that we are better than that. & that our legal system can be effective in terms of meting out justice - even against those who would call for our destruction.

Some discussion on Talk 102.3 this morning brought to mind an analogy. Styles, et al were discussing what to do with the Guantanamo prisoners - & how we can’t have them mingle with the “normal” prison population, because they wouldn’t last longer than 2 seconds. They noted that America-bombers & child rapists are subject to the prisoners’ “own form of justice.”

That’s a perfect way of looking at the mindset behind the creation of Guantanamo.

The problem with the system is that it doesn’t leave room for justice. It keeps terrorist suspects off the streets .. but because we’ve thrown them down a legal rabbit hole, one that’s in my view ultimately self-defeating, many of the legitimate terror cases will never be given true justice.

Closing Guantanamo takes away a terrorist recruitment tool, & joins the battle where it really should be fought, & ultimately will be won - not in a physical location, but rather inside the minds of everyone around the world.

& there’s nothing that says we can’t hold a suspect extra-legally. But those cases should be both temporary & reserved for the very few, ones which we have clear-cut evidence on, & not just people picked up off the battlefield, or arrested in cases of mistaken identities who have languished in Gitmo hell for years.

We as a people are far smarter than that, & it’s a breath of fresh air to have someone in charge who realizes this.

(I should also note that I have the utmost confidence we are perfectly capable of housing these prisoners on U.S. soil. The fears of “well, what if we have a prison break?” can be dispelled if you think through logically the scenario about exactly how much damage a person in handcuffs & an orange jumpsuit could really do while on the run).

We need to have faith in our country, & the multitude of legal precedents of our criminal justice system.

We should not be afraid to try these cases based on evidence & the rule of law, & the rights that our Founding Fathers believed to be inalienable - not just to American citizens, but to the entire human race.

I, for one, would rather die while upholding my great country’s ideals than give those ideals up in the name of security.

FURTHER READING:

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DON’T REPEAT, HISTORY! DON’T REPEAT!

January 22nd, 2009, 12:02 pm by Dan Lehr

Ross Douthat warns the members of the left-leaning media trying to find its footing in an Obama-dominated world:

“It would be absurd for a ideologically-motivated publication to turn down a shot at political influence to preserve its sense of purity…. But it’s still worth noting that this is roughly how the Bush Administration treated the conservative media - rolling out scoops to partisan outlets, wooing right-wing media types with Presidential face-time, bypassing mainstream outlets in favor of talk radio and Fox News, and so forth. And in the long run, it was good for neither the Bushies nor for conservatism.

So far, from what I’ve seen, I don’t expect the President to follow his predecessor’s (all-too-easy) media path.

Watch a discussion expanding on this topic between Douthat & Matthew Yglesias (across ideological lines, if you’re not familiar with them) here.

Earlier on this blog: Another warning to the media on the perils of complacemency.

LET IT IN

January 22nd, 2009, 9:06 am by Dan Lehr

[Above: Sunrise, Worth County, Missouri, August, 1975. Photo by my father.]

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“The old rules said that if there was a defensible argument for not disclosing something to the American people, then it should not be disclosed. That era is now over. Starting today, every agency and department should know that this administration stands on the side not of those who seek to withhold information, but those who seek to make it known.”

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This is fantastic news, & should be celebrated by anyone in favor of accountability in all levels of government.

This new tone set by the highest office-holder in the land will hopefully trickle down to the level where NewsChannel 9 reporters & producers live, & will end the end help make our jobs - keeping our government officials honest about what they do in your name - easier.

But it’s not just we journalists who benefit. You, the citizen, do as well.

Many government institutions - state, county, city, & school - have often taken advantage of your ignorance of your rights.

Here’s a link (PDF file) to what your rights are in regards to open records in Tennessee.

& here’s a link (PDF file) to what your rights are in regards to open records in Georgia.

This site has plenty of tools for you to take your own action - not just wait for us to do so.

This development marks a hopeful day for the country.

NO, HE CAN’T

January 21st, 2009, 1:17 pm by Dan Lehr

Politico’s Jim Vandehei & John Harris outline 7 reasons why you should be skeptical the new president will get anything accomplished, including this depressing one:

“7. The watchdogs are dozing.

The big media companies that once invested in serious accountability journalism are shells of their former selves. The Tribune Co. — in other words, the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune — has slashed its Washington staff by more than half. Newspaper chains such as Cox are fleeing D.C. altogether.

The end result: There are few reporters in this country doing the kind of investigative reporting that hold government officials’ feet to the fire. Think back eight years to the pre-Iraq war reporting and consider the words of Scott McClellan in his otherwise humdrum book.

“The collapse of the administration’s rationales for war, which became apparent months after our invasion, should never have come as such a surprise,” McClellan wrote. “In this case, the ‘liberal media’ didn’t live up to its reputation. If it had, the country would have been better served.”

Rigorous reporting is even more important when you have one-party rule in Washington. Democrats, like Republicans, are simply less likely to scrutinize a president of their own. The end result here: Don’t expect the Democratic Congress to investigate the Obama administration or hold a bunch of tough oversight hearings. That means the only real check on Obama is the same one it’s always been — the voters.”

George W. Bush’s was (in part) a failed presidency because of enablers in the media & (particularly) his own party.

This is one mistake we should never repeat.

A NEW FEATURE: 100 DAYS (1933) vs 100 DAYS (2009)/DAY 1

January 21st, 2009, 11:42 am by Dan Lehr

(image by Matt Brunson)

Why not pit these 1st 100 days against the grandaddy “100 Days” of them all?

I hope I can follow through & do all 100.

What I plan is this:

Each literal day of the Obama administration will be compared to the corresponding day of FDR’s 1st term. I don’t have exact data for each of the 1933 days but I’m sure it’s out there somewhere on the internets.

I will (try to) post on the day after the ‘day’ in question.

Meaning, yesterday, for both candidates, was Day 1:

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NEW WHITE HOUSE BLOG UP & RUNNING

January 21st, 2009, 11:22 am by Dan Lehr

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Check it out here.

It’s added to this blog’s blogroll.

From the 1st post:

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PHEASANT CONVERSATION

January 21st, 2009, 10:18 am by Dan Lehr

From the website Pheasants Forever (h/t News Channel9’s webmaster & outdoors enthusiast Richard Simms):

“Pheasants Forever (PF) has learned the new President of the United States, Barack Obama, will dine on pheasant today at the inaugural luncheon. The President will be joined by new Vice President Joe Biden, both families, the Supreme Court, as well as the incoming Cabinet and Congress.

“I’m not a guy that believes in signs, but I am pleased to learn our new President has a taste for pheasant; our favorite bird,” said Dave Nomsen, PF’s Vice President of Government Affairs. In an unprecedented show of support for conservation, Obama’s transition team held three meetings with Nomsen and other conservation leaders since his November election victory. Those meetings have focused on the country’s top conservation issues, including the future of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and global climate change.”

More details on yesterday’s lunch menu here.

[Pictured in this post: the pheasant hunters of my family. Top: my late father-in-law & two brothers-in-law, January 1982. Bottom: my father, October, 1970.]

SURE TO KEEP THE CONSPIRACY THEORISTS HAPPY

January 21st, 2009, 9:24 am by Dan Lehr

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Above: that horribly mangled & awkward Oath of Office.

NBC and ABC say the flub was Roberts’, while the AP says it was Obama’s.

Chris Wallace wonders:

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But calm down, though.

Language Log parses:

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VERBAL FIRSTS

January 21st, 2009, 9:09 am by Dan Lehr

Speechwars.com, says there are three words uttered yesterday that made their presidential inaugural address debut (h/t Marc Ambinder). See what they were after the jump.

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FACT-CHECKING THE INAUGURAL SPEECH

January 21st, 2009, 9:05 am by Dan Lehr

[Above: Obama prepares his inaugural speech. Photo by Callie Shell, Time Magazine]

As Steve Clemons points out & I realized when he said it yesterday, there was a factual error in Obama’s inaugural speech:

“Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath.”

Wrong number. Find out why after the jump.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

January 21st, 2009, 8:59 am by Dan Lehr

[Above: my silhouette, northwest Missouri, 1977-ish. Photo by my father.]

“As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake.” - President Barack Obama, yesterday

SUPPLEMENTAL INAUGURAL SPACKLE

January 20th, 2009, 8:20 am by Dan Lehr

Read eyewitness accounts from NewsChannel9ers who were there, as well as listen to some tunes that capture the patriotic spirit of the day, after the jump.

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HISTORY BETWEEN THE LINES

January 19th, 2009, 3:39 pm by Dan Lehr

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Above: a fascinating piece about the role of slaves & the U.S. Capitol, which aired on PBS Friday night.

It provides a stirring context to what will happen there tomorrow - especially the story about the statue atop the Capitol, which is particulary inspiring.

IT’S A LONG WALK TO DC

January 19th, 2009, 1:36 pm by Dan Lehr

A total of four NewsChannel9 employees are in DC right now for the inauguration (they’re not on the clock, they’re each on vacation to witness history).

I hope to hear from them a little later this afternoon.

So check back for an update.

UPDATE #1:

What the train lines look like in DC this afternoon, from NewsChannel 9’s Tanya Mendis (who, again, is not on the clock working, but sent this on her own volition).

I went to the Bill Clinton’s 1993 inauguration & the experience weaned me off of going to any in the future. Traffic is a nightmare - I can only imagine how worse it’s gotten in 17 years.

If you want to do anything - say, go get a cup of coffee - be prepared to be in your car for at least a half hour each way.

& inauguration night? We threw up our hands & stayed in. Not worth it.

But - I hope the folks from Channel 9 that are there are having fun.

Hopefully I’ll have more updates later.

GOODBYE TO ALL THAT, CTD

January 19th, 2009, 9:55 am by Dan Lehr

A great segment with Mark Shields & David Brooks on the PBS NewsHour Friday, which included these nuggets (emphasis mine):

“JIM LEHRER: Remarkable time in our country, David?

DAVID BROOKS: It is. Even as the economic mood goes down, the political mood really does go up.

And I’m personally very excited about it, and excited about the day, but even excited about the mood that has already happened. I mean, Obama talks about changing the tone. He really has. Republican senators are saying they hear more from Obama than they did from Bush. He’s had conversations with conservatives, with liberals.

And he’s demonstrated he’s not a guy who is partisan.


Now, what I mean by that, with some people, when you disagree with them, you get the sense that it’s like a little status battle, that their side is a little better than your side.

And he has absolutely none of that, in part because he is so self-confident. But there’s no status. It’s not a cultural war. Like, with the Clintons, there was a little cultural war, with the Bushes. There was a little status. You know those Democrats, you know?

But, with him, there is absolutely none of that. And, therefore, disagreement doesn’t carry a lot of the emotional baggage that it might otherwise.

JIM LEHRER: What about the expectations saying — there’s already stories now, oh, the expectations are so high, there is no way in the world that the country cannot be anything but disappointed with Barack Obama, because the expectations are so high.

MARK SHIELDS: Boy, we will find an angle, won’t we?”

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