There is no doubt that he will not amend any of these laws that are central to the war on terror that he supports. The closing of Guantanamo bay is a populist move that negates any need for policy change. The Democrats just ILLEGALYrepealed a law that gives tax breaks of 140 billion dollars to the banks that have already robbed Americans blind. ONE HUNRED AND FORTY BILLION DOLLARS.
On Nov 12, 5:35 am, "mike [move on] 532" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > foot basins ! what do foot basins have to do with [ > > Barack Obama will become chief executive of a nation that has been > greatly weakened - in particular, our freedoms, our values, and our > international reputation have been greatly undermined by the policies > of the past eight years. > > > Ask President-elect Obama to restore the America we believe in > > Presidents have enormous power not only to set the legislative agenda, > but also to establish policy by executive order, federal regulation, > or simply by refocusing the efforts and emphases of the executive > agencies. The new president must use all of these tools to restore our > freedoms and move the country forward. > > Doing so will require determined action in the face of inevitable > opposition. It will require conveying to the American people why > grants of unchecked power do not actually make us safer, and why > Americans must stand firm in protecting the values that at our best we > have always represented and defended at home and around the world. > > It will not be easy to undo eight years of sustained damage to our > fundamental rights. But it can be done. > > This paper lists many of the actions that the new president should > take in order to decisively signal a restoration of American values > and a rejection of the shameful policies of the past eight years. > > The first year of any new administration is crucial and sets the stage > for what will follow. The new President needs to hit the ground > running and to make full use of that first crucial year. > > We have grouped needed actions into those that the new president > should take on day one, in the 100 days and then the first year. Those > actions include executive orders as well as mandates or directives > from the president to his cabinet secretaries and agency heads. > > Part 1 - Day One > Day One: Stop Torture, Close Guantánamo, End Extraordinary Renditions > > > Ask President-elect Obama to restore the America we believe in > > The next president will have a historic opportunity -- on day one -- > to take very important steps to restore the rule of law in the > interrogation and detention of detainees held at Guantánamo Bay, Iraq, > Afghanistan, and in secret prisons around the globe. Every action > taken pursuant to an executive order of President Bush can be reversed > by executive order of the next president. > > Therefore, on the first day in office, the next president should issue > an executive order directing all agencies to modify their policies and > practices immediately to: > > Cease and prohibit the use of torture and abuse, without exception, > and direct the Attorney General immediately after his or her > confirmation to appoint an outside special counsel to investigate and, > if warranted, prosecute any violations of federal criminal laws > prohibiting torture and abuse; > Close the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay and either charge and > try detainees under criminal law in federal criminal courts or before > military courts-martial or transfer them to countries where they will > not be tortured or detained without charge; > Cease and prohibit the practice of extraordinary rendition, which is > the transfer of persons, outside of the judicial process, to other > countries, including countries that torture or abuse prisoners. > > Stop Torture and Abuse > > > Ask President-elect Obama to restore the America we believe in > > The next president should issue an executive order, on the first day > in office, that orders all agencies to take immediate steps to ensure > that torture and abuse is prohibited by the federal government, that > no agency may use any practice not authorized by the Army Field Manual > on Intelligence Interrogations, that no president or any other person > may order or authorize torture or abuse, that all violations of Common > Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions are prohibited, that all persons > being held overseas must be registered with the International > Committee of the Red Cross in conformity with Defense Department > practices, and that all intelligence interrogations must be video > recorded. In addition, the president should order all agencies to > comply with requests from Members of Congress for unredacted copies of > documents related to the development and implementation of U.S. > interrogation policies. The president should also ask the U. S. > Attorney General to appoint an outside special counsel to investigate > and, if warranted, prosecute any violations of federal criminal laws > prohibiting torture and abuse - focusing not just on crimes committed > in the field, but also on crimes committed by civilians, of any > position, in authorizing or ordering torture or abuse. Finally, the > president should order the immediate closure of all secret prisons, > and prohibit the CIA and its contractors from detaining anyone. > > Close Guantánamo and Restore the Rule of Law for Detainees > > > Ask President-elect Obama to restore the America we believe in > > On the first day in office, the president should order the shutdown of > the Guantánamo Bay detention facility and restoration of the rule of > law for the detainees now held there. Specifically, the president > should order the prompt shutdown of the detention facility, the > transfer of any prisoners charged with a crime to a facility within > the continental United States for trial in a federal criminal court or > before a military court-martial, and the transfer of all uncharged > detainees to countries where they will not be abused or imprisoned > without charge. > > End and Prohibit the Practice of Extraordinary Rendition > > > Ask President-elect Obama to restore the America we believe in > > The president should order all agencies, on the first day in office, > to end and prohibit any rendition or transfer of any person to another > country without judicial process. The president should prohibit the > rendition or transfer of any person to another country where there is > a reasonable possibility the person would be subject to torture or > abuse or detained without charge. Any person subject to any transfer > shall have a due process right to challenge any transfer before an > independent adjudicator, with a right to a judicial appeal. > > In each instance, the executive order should by its terms rescind any > conflicting previous order - none of which have been made public and > remain secret to this day. > > Part 2 - First 100 Days > 1. Warrantless spying. > Issue an executive order recognizing the president's obligation to > comply with FISA and other statutes, requiring the executive branch to > do so, and prohibiting the NSA from collecting the communications, > domestic or international, of U.S. citizens and residents. Issue an > executive order prohibiting new FISA powers from being used to conduct > suspicionless bulk collection. Re-examine the recent amendments to > Executive Order 12333 to limit and regulate all intelligence community > activities and to fully protect the privacy and civil liberties of > U.S. citizens and residents. Repeal and make public any secret > executive orders that limit or qualify that order. Order the attorney > general to launch an investigation to determine if any laws were > broken or to appoint a special counsel to do the same. > > 2. Watch lists. > Issue an executive order requiring watch lists to be completely > reviewed within 3 months, with names limited to only those for whom > there is credible evidence of terrorist ties or activities. Repeal > Executive Order 13224, which creates mechanisms for designating > individuals and groups as terrorist suspects and preventing US persons > and companies from doing business with them - a power of such breadth > that, the record shows, it inevitably leads to the designation of many > innocent people and does more harm than good. > > 3. Freedom of Information - Ashcroft Doctrine. > Direct the attorney general to rescind the "Ashcroft Doctrine" > regarding Freedom of Information Act compliance, which instructs > agencies to withhold information whenever there is a "sound legal > basis" for doing so, and return to the compliance standard under > Attorney General Janet Reno, which promoted an "overall presumption of > disclosure" of government information through the FOIA unless it was > "reasonably foreseeable that disclosure would be harmful." > > 4. Monitoring of activists. > Direct the attorney general and other relevant agency heads (eg, > Defense and Homeland Security) to end government monitoring of > political activists. Direct the attorney general to repeal the new > Attorney General Guidelines regarding FBI investigations, and replace > them with new guidelines that protect the rights and privacy of > innocent persons. An executive order should also direct the relevant > agencies to refrain from monitoring political activists unless there > is reasonable suspicion that they have committed a criminal act or are > taking preparatory actions to do so. > > 5. DOJ's Civil Rights Division. > Order renewed civil rights enforcement at Civil Rights Division, DOJ. > Specifically: in Voting Section - prosecution of Section 2 and Section > 5 cases on behalf of minority communities; in Employment Litigation > Section - renewed class action litigation and disparate impact cases; > in Criminal Section - prosecution of pattern and practice cases, > enforcement of consent decrees; in Special Litigation Unit of Civil > Rights Division - rebuild docket of prison conditions of confinement > cases and where appropriate seek consent decrees by accepting > admissions of constitutional violations. > > 6. Real ID Act. > Direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to suspend the regulations > (73 Fed. Reg. 5272) for the Real ID Act pending congressional review. > > 7. Abortion gag rule. > Rescind the Executive Memorandum of March 28, 2001, known as the > "Mexico City policy" or "Global Gag Rule," prohibiting foreign aid to > organizations overseas that promote or perform abortions. > > 8. Ban all workplace discrimination against sexual ... > > read more » --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
