1.
"The new president effectively reversed a post-9/11 Bush administration policy making it easier for government agencies to deny requests for records under the Freedom of Information Act, and effectively repealed a Bush executive order that allowed former presidents or their heirs to claim executive privilege in an effort to keep records secret.
“Starting today,” Mr. Obama said, “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.”
Advocates for openness in government, who had been pressing for the moves, said they were pleased. They said the new president had traded a presumption of secrecy for a presumption of disclosure.
“You couldn’t ask for anything better,” said Melanie Sloan, the executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, an advocacy group that tangled frequently with the Bush administration over records. “For the president to say this on Day 1 says: ‘We mean it. Turn your records over.’ ”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/us/politics/22obama.html?ref=us2. "grappling with matters as mundane as e-mail access and getting to work (some aides arrived at the gates of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue on Tuesday morning to discover they lacked clearance to enter) "
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/us/politics/22obama.html?ref=us3. "In announcing the salary freeze, Mr. Obama effectively gave pay cuts to roughly 100 top executive branch officials, like the national security adviser, the press secretary and the White House counsel, who earn more than $100,000 a year. “Families are tightening their belts,” Mr. Obama said, “and so should Washington.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/us/politics/22obama.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2&ref=us4.
The new president also moved to fulfill his campaign pledge to end the so-called revolving door, the longstanding Washington practice whereby White House officials depart for the private sector and cash in on their connections by lobbying former colleagues.
In what ethics-in-government advocates described as a particularly far-reaching move, Mr. Obama barred officials of his administration from lobbying their former colleagues “for as long as I am president.” He barred former lobbyists from working for agencies they had lobbied within the past two years and required them to recuse themselves from issues they had handled during that time.
The Republican National Committee criticized that requirement and said the new administration was already violating it. Mr. Obama’s nominee for deputy secretary of defense, William Lynn, has been a lobbyist for the defense contractor Raytheon, and his nominee for deputy secretary of health and human services, William V. Corr, lobbied for stricter tobacco regulations as an official with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
A senior White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, conceded the two nominees did not adhere to the new rules. But he said that Mr. Lynn had the support of Republicans and Democrats, and would receive a waiver under the policy, and that Mr. Corr did not need a waiver because he had agreed to recuse himself from tobacco issues.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/us/politics/22obama.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2&ref=usHe also rolled out new rules for his appointees, requiring them to sign a pledge meant to disrupt the "revolving door" by which lobbyists flow seamlessly into government and back into the lobbying business.
His aides are barred from lobbying any executive agency for the life of the Obama administration. That means an appointee who leaves the White House in, say, 2010, would be barred from lobbying the executive branch until 2017 if Obama were to serve two terms.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-obama22-2009jan22,0,6328347.story5. "On his first full day as president, almost everything Barack Obama does qualifies as unprecedented. But one of the more notable firsts on Wednesday was a series of calls President Obama made this morning to four Middle Eastern leaders commenting about the Gaza crisis and offering support for a fragile cease-fire. (snip) Obama called President Mubarak of Egypt, Prime Minister Olmert of Israel, King Abdullah of Jordan, and President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority. In a statement, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs described the calls as “warm,” adding that “the president appreciated the spirit of partnership.”
http://features.csmonitor.com/politics/2009/01/21/obama-calls-middle-eastern-leaders-and-engages-on-gaza/6.
"President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama arrived at Washington's National Cathedral this morning for a prayer service that traces its origins to the inauguration of President George Washington. Obama carries on that tradition today with a notably diverse group of religious leaders. The invitation-only service includes nearly two dozen clergy who represent, in their views and background, the theme of inclusion that Obama stressed in his campaign and in his inaugural address.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-obama-prayer22-2009jan22,0,3307994.story(i wish they would stop this type of shit--tradition or not--how is this seperation of church & state?)
7.
"The 44th president arrived at the Oval Office at 8:35 a.m., savoring the moment alone as he read a note left by his predecessor in an envelope marked "To: #44 from #43."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-obama22-2009jan22,0,6328347.story8.
"In a move cheered by human rights activists, the Obama administration also began circulating a draft executive order on Wednesday calling for a review of all prisoner cases at Guantanamo and the closure of the detention center within a year.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-obama22-2009jan22,0,6328347.story9. OMG!!
Obama also issued a trio of decrees intended to make government more transparent. The moves were applauded by historians, political scientists and lawyers who took their battle for access to executive branch records to court during the Bush presidency.
The first order effectively undid a Bush administration policy that had restricted the release of presidential documents -- a rule that had been challenged in court by Fuchs' organization and by historians.
Bush's rule allowed former presidents, vice presidents and their heirs to cite executive privilege to block the release of documents after they have left office. With his order, Obama essentially threw out that rule, allowing only the current president to block the release of documents and depriving heirs of that right.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-obama22-2009jan22,0,6328347.story10. "After the flub heard around the world, President Barack Obama has taken the oath of office. Again. Chief Justice John Roberts delivered the oath to Obama on Wednesday night at the White House — a rare do-over. The surprise moment came in response to Tuesday's much-noticed stumble, when Roberts got the words of the oath a little off, which prompted Obama to do so, too. (snip) "We decided that because it was so much fun ...," Obama joked to reporters who followed press secretary Robert Gibbs into the room. No TV camera crews or news photographers were allowed in.
Roberts put on his black robe.
"Are you ready to take the oath?" he said.
"Yes, I am," Obama said. "And we're going to do it very slowly."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28780417/what a good day.
THANK YOU MR. PRESIDENT!
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