Hypocritical Rat Bastard Series, 1. President Obama

I just said that Obama is on my watch list and he has the distinct honor of being the first to be exposed in this series. During the campaign for president, candidate Obama was adamant that was happening at Guantanamo Bay was wrong and that the prison holding alleged terrorists would be closed. He said torture was wrong. He said holding people without the rule of law was wrong and that once president, he would immediately change the way the US dealt with the prisoners held there and then the symbol of US injustice and abuse would be closed. Well it's been two years since then and it's still open. It's still open and American injustice is beamed into television sets and sent via the internet to cities and small villages all over the world.

Before any of my right wing war mongering friends get up in arms, let me say this. To any terrorist who harms innocent people, or to anyone who assisted in terrorism, I wish them death or life long incarceration. But you have to do it right. You have to expose these people in a legal system which is admired the world over, except by Republicans in our own country. So, to those Republicans, I ask, "why do you hate America?". OK, that was a little joke to play on their hypocrisy. But it kinda rings true doesn't it? Back to the point. Unfortunately there are many problems with convicting these people in US courts and they all start with the policies of "The Little Goat Reader", GW Bush. First, there is little evidence to suggest that there was any discretion used when many of the Guantanamo inhabitants were picked up, blindfolded and flown to Camp X Ray (side note; I was among 20 security specialists sent to GB in 1994 who oversaw the construction of the prison and ran it for the first 6 months. Another story, another time.) Taxi cab drivers, farmers, goat herders were swept up in a huge fishnet in a race to catch real terrorists. Many of these people were held for months or years before being released. If they didn't have a hatred for America before they kidnapped and tortured, they do now. Another problem is evidence. We may suspect they are terrorists but may not have all the facts needed to convict them. But the main problem, is torture. Tortured subjects who confess during torture can not be convicted with that evidence.

Yes, the non-closure of GB is hypocritical but what this post is really about is a 15 year old Canadian boy, Omar Khadr. Don't know the name? A little history; Omar Khadr was 15 years old when he was caught up in the war in Afghanistan. He was indoctrinated to believe that America was the enemy and that enemy was going to kill him and to be a good Muslim he would have to fight if the Americans came. The Americans came and amidst a battle, Omar threw a grenade which killed an American service member. As tragic as one of my fellow Americans deaths was, it was not by terrorism. It was done during an act of war by a 15 year old boy defending himself and those he loved. What happens next is detailed in a piece by Glenn Greenwald on Salon.com
http://www.salon.com/news/guantanamo/index.html?story=/opinion/greenwald/2010/08/11/khadr

"It boggles the mind that the military judge could find that Khadr was not coerced and gave these statements to interrogators voluntarily. Khadr, then 15 years old, was taken to Bagram near death, after being shot twice in the back, blinded by shrapnel, and buried in rubble from a bomb blast. He was interrogated within hours, while sedated and handcuffed to a stretcher. He was threatened with gang rape and death if he didn't cooperate with interrogators. He was hooded and chained with his arms suspended in a cage-like cell, and his primary interrogator was later court-martialed for detainee abuse leading to the death of a detainee. During his subsequent eight-year (so far) detention at Guantánamo, Khadr was subjected to the "frequent flyer" sleep deprivation program and he says he was used as a human mop after he was forced to urinate on himself."
Omar Khadr is being tried as a terrorist by a military tribunal which is supposed to be fair and protect the accused basic rights, like not allowing admissions of guilt to be allowed if gained by torture. A miliatry judge has ruled that his guilty statements, made while being repeatedly tortured, are admissible.

President Obama promised us to shut down the Guantanamo Bay prison and restore our rule of law. He has not and by trying a boy who was 15 years old when he defended himself, was then tortured, is barbaric.

Our country used to be a shining beacon of decency and hope for the world to admire. President Obama was the guy who was going to help restore that admiration. Unfortunately, as we have seen with GB and Omar Khadr, President Obama is a Hypocritcal Rat Bastard.

Whatcha gonna do?

It's been over a month since a British Petroleum oil rig exploded in the gulf of Mexico. Since that time eleven people working on that rig lost their lives, millions of gallons of crude oil has been released into the richest fishing waters our country has and Rush Limbaugh has again affirmed his role as America's biggest jack ass.

One more thing, President Obama has proved you can't have it both ways. Or at least you can't always have it both ways. President Obama is trying very hard to be a business friendly president very much like President Clinton was. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. The problem is business' are in business to make money not lose money on costly clean ups. Because of a friendly relationship with our government during the Bush years business is not prepared to clean up the disasters they create. So, when the oil rig in the gulf exploded British Petroleum told the White House they could handle the problem. The word disaster had not come up yet even though eleven people lost their lives pulling oil out of the gulf for BP. Now if Obama were the socialistic big government tyrant the right makes him out to be, he would've handled the response differently. Most likely he would've strolled in front of the cameras and declared a massive government response with the military taking the lead. There would've been coverage of US Navy ships rushing to the scene and helicopters hovering over head drop oil sponges into the sea. No expense would've been spared by the White House Press office to show how on top of things the government was. It didn't happen that way.

President Obama took BP's word that they could handle the spill. The president didn't want to appear as a guy who overreacts and that he trusts companies to take care of their responsibilities. Unfortunately BP was unwillingly or unable to handle the problem they created. Obama and his administration has for the most part stood on the sidelines and prayed BP could fix problem. That strategy has failed miserably and is making Obama look more like George W. Bush everyday.

Before any of you right wingers stand up and rejoice let me stop you right now and tell you, "shut up, you don't get a say in this". You can not espouse small government day in and day out and and then witness what happens when government stands on the sidelines and lets business have their way to disastrous effects. Then have the stones to say "see told ya, big govmint is bad!". This is a perfect example of the simple fact that massive problems can not be solved by big business because it's not in their interests to solve them.

There doesn't seem to be a solution in the immediate future. I do hope the Obama administration has learned that when something looks like a potential disaster that they rush in with everything they have even if it looks like over kill. Let the conservative pundits howl about how the president looked scared and unsure when he overreacted. The fisherman and their families in the gulf would've appreciated a little more help than they've gotten from BP or the federal government.

So what are you going to do now Mr. President? Are you going to continue to sit on the sidelines or are you going to commit every government resource to try to mitigate the damage. Or are you going to fly over the gulf and stare dispassionately out of the window like a failed oilman once did?