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Category Archives: George W. Bush
Obama Administration Ends Use of "Enemy Combatant" Designation
The Department of Justice announced several weeks ago that the government would end the Bush-era practice of designating people “enemy combatants.” The Bush administration had asserted that the president has a wartime power to declare a person an “enemy combatant” arbitrarily and detain him or her indefinitely. The administration used “enemy combatant” status to ensure that suspected terrorists were held out of reach of both international law (namely the Geneva Conventions) and fundamental Constitutional rights, particularly the right to due process.
It is widely agreed that the president has increased powers during wartime. President Abraham Lincoln first asserted such wartime powers during the Civil War. Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman also took up expanded powers during war. Following September 11th, President Bush argued that he too had extraordinary wartime powers–this time from the War on Terrorism.
While the principle of expanded wartime powers is reasonable, it becomes concerning in the context of the War on Terrorism. Terrorists, by definition, do not represent a country; rather they are individuals or members of organized groups that commit acts of violence in an effort to attain change (usually political change). Terrorists can spring up anywhere in the world at any time. While this makes them particularly dangerous, it also changes the concept of “war.” In traditional wars, such as World War II, there are clear sides and the war ends when one side is defeated. A war against a noun , however, will always be perpetual. While the War on Terrorism certainly needs to be fought, using an indefinite war as grounds for extraordinary governmental powers is straight out of “1984″ and is certainly not something that the Framers had in mind.
Fortunately, President Barack Obama has signaled a change in course by dropping the “enemy combatant” designation and removing such prisoners from legal limbo. President Obama, a Constitutional law scholar himself, understands that America derives its greatness from its values and its freedoms, and that the terrorists have won we surrender our liberties.
On the web.
More frightening abuses of executive power from the Bush Administration
A recent article in Newsweek describes a memo released by the Justice Department’s legal council on Monday. The memo detailed several scary provisions allowed by the Justice Department under the Bush Administration. While it’s common knowledge the Bush Administration had little to no respect for civil liberties, the memo divulged that the provisions allowed Bush to suspend first amendment rights if it was necessary to fight the “War on Terror.” The memo directly states that:
“First Amendment speech and press rights may also be subordinated to the overriding need to wage war successfully.”
Additional provisions of the memo also allowed the U.S. military to attack office buildings and apartment complexes within the United States and allowed for the deployment of high tech surveillance against U.S. citizens. While action was never actually taken during the 7 years the memo was valid (it was revoked last in October of last year), it still scares the shit out of me that the Bush administration even contemplated taking away our first amendment rights. WORST PRESIDENT EVER.
2006 and 2008 through 2004
2006 and 2008 were very special. They were expressions of outrage by a pissed off electorate that resulted in huge Democratic majorities in the House and Senate. These majorities were enlarged both years in a magnitude not seen since the congressional elections of 1932 and 1934.
The other idea that I had rattling around in my head came from the 2000 and 2004 elections. The electoral map was remarkably stable. You all know what it looks like, so I’m not really going to expound on it. Only New Hampshire, Iowa, and New Mexico changed colors, the first to the good guys and the other two to the bad guys. Yet, there was some internal shift within the numbers. The goal of this data crunching was to see if this internal shift had to do with the subsequent gains in 2006 and 2008. The short answer is yes. The longer answer is below.
This is my data set. I don’t remember where I got the numbers from. I kinda found the spreadsheet on my computer, but I know these numbers are right:
State 2000 2004 % Change
VT 40.7 38.8 -1.9
SD 60.3 59.9 -0.4
NC 56 56 0
DC 9 9.3 0.3
ME 44 44.6 0.6
MT 58.4 59.1 0.7 (more…)
Posted in Blog, Elections, George W. Bush
Tagged 2000, 2004, boo-yah, flapjacks, tom just wasted a good hour and a half
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Ok, so I'm a big geek
Coming up this weekend National geographic Channel will air a special all about Air force One. In this clip, President Bush’s secret 2003 Thanksgiving trip to Iraq is described. It was so secret, only a handful of people were aware it was going down…not even the air traffic controllers.
A Few Bad Apples, My Ass
“We tortured [Mohammed al-]Qahtani… His treatment met the legal definition of torture” – Susan Crawford, overseer of military commissions, appointed by Bush
“The United States does not torture” -George W. Bush
Mohammed al-Qahtani, a detainee held at Guantanamo Bay, who has not been charged with a crime, who has never been proven guilty, was threatened with a dog, put on a leash with chains and forced to perform tricks, subject to forty-eight of 54 consecutive days of 18-to-20-hour interrogations, stripped naked in front of female guards, forced to wear a bra with a thong on his head, subjected to long term freezing conditions, waterboarded, and beaten according to the Washington Post and abridged by the AP. This doesn’t come from a detainee, or from the ACLU, it comes from a Bush-appointed life-long Republican who is so insensitive to the torture issue that she wouldn’t have even called this torture but for the fact that the combination of these de-humanizing attacks left Mr. Qahtani in a “life-threatening position” where he was repeatedly hospitalized for low heart-rate.
It’s Abu Gharaib all over again, but this time the defense isn’t so robust from the White House. “A few bad apples” has been replaced by a statement saying that the torture techniques were legal when they were performed. That’s a war crime, authorized by the Bush Administration, right here in the United States of America. And, the good-will this will buy us in the Muslim world is a fitting farewell for an administration who has spent eight years burning bridges.
Posted in America, Blog, Foreign Affairs, George W. Bush, Social Justice, Torture, Uncategorized
Tagged Bob Woodward, gitmo, Guantanamo Bay, SUsan Crawford, Torture, war crimes, washington post
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The one thing I'll miss: Bushisms
So, President Bush is gone in one week. HALLELUJAH AMEN AAAAAAAAAAAAMEN!
While we may be excited by the news, I will miss the one thing President Bush did to keep me entertained and motivated to keep reading: Bushisms. I wanted to take the time here to write down my favorites, I hope the rest of you add yours as well:
“I think it was in the Rose Garden where I issued this brilliant statement: If I had a magic wand — but the president doesn’t have a magic wand. You just can’t say, ‘low gas.’” –George W. Bush, Washington D.C., July 15, 2008
“There’s an old saying in Tennessee — I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again.” —Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002
“Amigo! Amigo!” –George W. Bush, calling out to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in Spanish at the G-8 Summit, Rusutsu, Japan, July 10, 2008
“Your eminence, you’re looking good.” –George W. Bush to Pope Benedict XVI, using the title for Catholic cardinals, rather than addressing him as “your holiness,” Rome, June 13, 2008 (oh, I’m sorry – is the Catholic showing again?)
“The German asparagus are fabulous.” –George W. Bush, Meseberg, Germany, June 11, 2008
Posted in Blog, George W. Bush, Republican Party
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Quote of the Day
Well, I’ll say two years and it will be four. I don’t know. I mean, yes, I’d like to get it done. I am a Type A personality that — you know, I require things to do, and I bet once I get going on this book, I’ll be able to get ‘er done.
~President George W. Bush on his plans to write a book, post presidency.