Jan 24 2009

Friday Night at 8: Disconnected Thoughts

I remember when Bill Clinton got elected, one of his first acts was to reverse the international “gag order” on family planning.

After 12 years of Reaganomics, oh I was so unbelievably happy to see sanity restored.

I know there are various views of Clinton here, both positive and negative.   And simply mentioning his name usually calls forth comments to that effect.

But this essay isn’t about Bill Clinton.

This essay is really just a bunch of disconnected thoughts.  Hearing one of Obama’s first moves was to reverse the international “gag order” gave me the strangest feeling of deja vu and brought up my recollection of how happy I felt back in January of 1992.

So this time around, I wasn’t as euphoric.

Regardless of how good I feel about Obama, this essay isn’t about him either.

Ironically, the word that comes to mind in the disconnected thoughts of this essay is “continuity.”

I think politically, as far as electoral politics are concerned, we’ve learned it’s not enough to simply vote in order to be an free human being in this world..

I certainly don’t think the right wing noise machine is going to do much damage to President Obama.  That machine has been badfly battered in the past eight years and will soon be taken back to the shop.

Although I like this President, I am concerned about the office itself.  Has it withstood the worst President evah?  Is our Constitution still there?  Our entire way of governing has been tested severely and I don’t yet know what’s left that really works.

I know I don’t want to feel this kind of “deja vu” again.

Checks and balances.  Do we still have them any more?

I know that even the best system is not invulnerable to those who wish to destroy.  I know that each generation has to go through this struggle one way or another, the will to power, the great human game, it started long before we ever had villages, much less nations.

Continuity.  I don’t think we’re going to have political continuity this time around.  I think there’s going to be real change despite the predictable and cyclical nature of politics.

I am no doubt stating the obvious here.  But thinking about the obvious and actually having it happen is a strange scene, jelly bean!

Hope all is well and everyone has a good weekend.  Haven’t been commenting much lately but I have been reading the essays and comments here and they have been evolutionary!

11 comments

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  1. … is the new moon, for those who follow thar kind of stuff.

    • Alma on January 24, 2009 at 02:45
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    is a strange scene, jelly bean!

    Its seemed surreal to hear and think about things like: The Constitution, Geneva Convention, global warming, nuke treaties, no torture, ethics, responsibility, friendly leadership, peace talks, ect. and having hope about them.

    • Edger on January 24, 2009 at 04:12
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    In Vancouver we’ve had heavy morning fog rolling in off the ocean for the past 4 or 5 mornings.

    This picture was taken from the top of Cypress Mountain, one of the ski hills that overlooks the city, at 6:30 this morning…

    Those are the tops of a few downtown buildings, and the city spreads out behind and to the left of them, and the mountain in the background is I think Mount Baker in Washington State, near Seattle.

    You can’t see much detail at that size, but if you click the image you can see it full screen.

    Maybe Obama’s new administration is the building just poking out of the fog of the past 8 years, and the fog will clear and burn off? 😉

    A pre-special prosecutor investigation?

    THE WHITE HOUSE

    Office of the Press Secretary

    For Immediate Release January 22, 2009

    EXECUTIVE ORDER

    – – – – – – –

    REVIEW OF DETENTION POLICY OPTIONS

    By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, in order to develop policies for the detention, trial, transfer, release, or other disposition of individuals captured or apprehended in connection with armed conflicts and counterterrorism operations that are consistent with the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States and the interests of justice, I hereby order as follows:

    Section 1. Special Interagency Task Force on Detainee Disposition.

    (a) Establishment of Special Interagency Task Force. There shall be established a Special Task Force on Detainee Disposition (Special Task Force) to identify lawful options for the disposition of individuals captured or apprehended in connection with armed conflicts and counterterrorism operations.

    (b) Membership. The Special Task Force shall consist of the following members, or their designees:

    (i) the Attorney General, who shall serve as Co-Chair;

    (ii) the Secretary of Defense, who shall serve as Co-Chair;

    (iii) the Secretary of State;

    (iv) the Secretary of Homeland Security;

    (v) the Director of National Intelligence;

    (vi) the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency;

    (vii) the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and

    (viii)other officers or full-time or permanent part-time employees of the United States, as determined by either of the Co Chairs, with the concurrence of the head of the department or agency concerned.

    (c) Staff. Either Co-Chair may designate officers and employees within their respective departments to serve as staff to support the Special Task Force. At the request of the Co-Chairs, officers and employees from other departments or agencies may serve on the Special Task Force with the concurrence of the heads of the departments or agencies that employ such individuals. Such staff must be officers or full-time or permanent part-time employees of the United States. The Co-Chairs shall jointly select an officer or employee of the Department of Justice or Department of Defense to serve as the Executive Secretary of the Special Task Force.

    (d) Operation. The Co-Chairs shall convene meetings of the Special Task Force, determine its agenda, and direct its work. The Co-Chairs may establish and direct subgroups of the Special Task Force, consisting exclusively of members of the Special Task Force, to deal with particular subjects.

    (e) Mission. The mission of the Special Task Force shall be to conduct a comprehensive review of the lawful options available to the Federal Government with respect to the apprehension, detention, trial, transfer, release, or other disposition of individuals captured or apprehended in connection with armed conflicts and counterterrorism operations, and to identify such options as are consistent with the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States and the interests of justice.

    (f) Administration. The Special Task Force shall be established for administrative purposes within the Department of Justice, and the Department of Justice shall, to the extent permitted by law and subject to the availability of appropriations, provide administrative support and funding for the Special Task Force.

    (g) Report. The Special Task Force shall provide a report to the President, through the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and the Counsel to the President, on the matters set forth in subsection (d) within 180 days of the date of this order unless the Co-Chairs determine that an extension is necessary, and shall provide periodic preliminary reports during those 180 days.

    (h) Termination. The Co-Chairs shall terminate the Special Task Force upon the completion of its duties.

    Sec. 2. General Provisions.

    (a) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

    (b) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

    BARACK OBAMA

    THE WHITE HOUSE,

    January 22, 2009.

    • dkmich on January 24, 2009 at 11:21
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    I haven’t been commenting much anywhere, but I have been reading, too.  I can relate to the elated feeling when Clinton was elected and the lack of euphoria about Obama, which I attribute to the disappointment Clinton and his administration turned out to be.  

    Before we made forward progress albeit by tacking like a sailboat or a downhill skier.   Now, we’re more like a stationary see-saw going nowhere except back and forth.  Futility comes to mind, which is why I think we need a third party and something to overcome the inertia.  

    Hope you are well, too.  

    • dkmich on January 24, 2009 at 11:26
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    You must have really pissed off the gods, or I did.  I can’t find a recommend button for this essay.    Or, maybe its buried in all the fog Edger brought in.  Anyway, I would recommend you if I could.  

    • kj on January 25, 2009 at 18:01
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    Lunar Eclipse on the 26

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