Obama's first two weeks in office have been excellent

[ProSense]

• Issued executive orders: 1) Calling for the closure of the Guantanamo detention center within one year. 2) Creating a Special Task Force to review detainee policy going forward 3) Ensuring lawful interrogations by requiring that all interrogations of detainees in armed conflict follow the Army Field Manual interrogation guidelines.
  
  
• Rescinded the "Mexico City Policy" and released the following statement.
  
  
• Signed the Lilly Ledbetter bill into law.
  
  
• Signed a memorandum directing more than $20 million for "urgent refugee and migration needs" in Gaza.
  
  
• Stimulus bill passed in the House (Republicans vote against bill, at odds with many Repub Governors).
  
  
• SCHIP approved by House and Senate.
  
  
• Eric Holder sworn in as the 82nd Attorney General of the United States.

[NJmaverick]

1. It's certainly a good start

[ProSense]

12. You know what they say: one man's good start

is another man's opportunity to whine. :)

[derby378]

2. Is there still a ban on stem-cell research?

If so, I wouldn't call it "excellent."

And Obama needs to take a much stronger stance on torture. So we're back to the Army Field Manual. Wheeeeeee. How about some prosecutions, now that Holder is in charge of Justice?

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

3. But he's caved to Republicans!@!#!!#!@

:sarcasm:

[geek tragedy]

4. Low-hanging fruit.

1) Restoring things to the way they were before Bush

2) Restoring things to the way they were before Bush.

3) Restoring things to the way they were before a bad SCOTUS decision.

4) Meh.

5) Passed after being watered down by Obama to pander to Republicans, who still voted against it. Also a legislative branch accomplishment, credit goes to Pelosi.

6) Legislative branch accomplishment--credit goes to Pelosi and Reid.

7) Cabinet appointees are supposed to get confirmed. It's a spectacular failure if they don't.

[ProSense]

8. Nitpickingly wrong.

Obama orders people to comply with the Convention Against Torture, and that Convention states that we cannot return people to states where there are substantial grounds to believe that they will be tortured. And nothing the Obama administration has done to date suggests to me that they would engage in the kinds of creative reading of legal documents that would allow them, say, to disregard Egypt's long record of torture in making this determination.

Moreover, Obama's Executive Order also establishes a commission one of whose goals is:

"to study and evaluate the practices of transferring individuals to other nations in order to ensure that such practices comply with the domestic laws, international obligations, and policies of the United States and do not result in the transfer of individuals to other nations to face torture or otherwise for the purpose, or with the effect, of undermining or circumventing the commitments or obligations of the United States to ensure the humane treatment of individuals in its custody or control."

So in addition to announcing that the administration will obey the Convention Against Torture, the administration will also study not whether to send detainees off to be tortured, but how to ensure that our policies are not intended to result in their torture, and will not result in their torture. This seems to me like a very clear renunciation of the policy of sending people to third countries to be tortured. His executive order also precludes any kind of secret detention of prisoners, and thus "secret abductions and transfers of prisoners":

"All departments and agencies of the Federal Government shall provide the International Committee of the Red Cross with notification of, and timely access to, any individual detained in any armed conflict in the custody or under the effective control of an officer, employee, or other agent of the United States Government or detained within a facility owned, operated, or controlled by a department or agency of the United States Government, consistent with Department of Defense regulations and policies."

more

Maybe Obama can veto a few bills to allow you to give him credit for anything.

[geek tragedy]

10. Maybe he can show leadership and stand up to the

Republicans on the economic recovery plan instead of kissing their ass.

[ProSense]

11. The bill passed so he can do whatever he wants to. n/t

[Deep13]

5. .

:party: :patriot: :bounce:

[lamp_shade]

6. Have you read this "excellent" thread (same subject)?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=4969890&mesg_id=4969890

[ProSense]

9. Thanks for the link. n/t

[SIMPLYB1980]

7. Glad to give this a K&R!

:party: :smoke: :toast:

[azmouse]

13. k&r

'cause we need the reminder of the good that has happened already.

[MISSDem]

14. Then why do I feel so disheartened? Someone help me feel

more up. One tax cheat confirmed as a member of Obama's cabinet and another tax cheat takes his name out of consideration. How did TD make so much money in two years is yet another question.