Month: April 2009

President Obama had a meeting a few days ago with the leaders of the credit card industry, and gave them a clear declaration: Stop the exploitation of America’s consumers, an action long overdue.

Credit card abuse has been and remains a major problem, victimizing millions of American consumers, with short pay periods, sudden rise in interest rates, and all kinds of excuses to impose fees, even when a consumer pays the entire bill.  Millions of young Americans have been coaxed over the years to look at plastic as if it is a gift, and then ruining their credit histories for the long run by building up horrendous debt levels they cannot pay.

During the Bush Administration, creditors and the credit card industry received unfair advantages, including making it more difficult for debtors to declare bankruptcy.  Now the trend is toward helping debtors and cracking  down on the abuses so obvious in the credit card business that have made many middle class people fall into the lower middle or even the poorer class of society.  Regulation is now in the offing, something that was allowed to collapse during the years of the GOP in charge of Congress and the White House.  To say the least, long overdue and essential to occur as soon as possible!

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has turned out to be a big surprise to many who supported President Obama.

A lot of Obama partisans were surprised that he chose to keep Bush’s Secretary of Defense, but Gates has been willing to accept criticism and strong attacks from the conservative talk radio hosts and the Republican  party by his decision to support transparency on the issue of the torture memos and now on the  publication of Abu Ghraib photographs.

I commend Secretary Gates and now think that this was one of the best appointments Obama has made.  Gates is a true patriot willing to address the reality of what happened tragically during the Bush years, a total breakdown of constitutional government and promotion of fear and hysteria.  Fortunately, the American people were wise enough to conclude after years of lies and deceit that it was time for a change in government, which would include total transparency about the recent past.  If we are to become a nation that can again be admired worldwide and retain self respect, then total exposure and transparency about the evils of the Bush years is absolutely essential!

The news that the Taliban Islamic extremist group has gained control of a Pakistani province just 60 miles from the Pakistani capital sets up a nightmare scenario for President Obama and the nation.

The Taliban might have been completely defeated had the United States focused on the war in Afghanistan after September 11.  Instead, President George W. Bush decided to intervene in Iraq and therefore was not concentrating on the Taliban threat, which is extremist in its views on women, education, and economic and social reform.

The fear now is that the Taliban might gain control of the Pakistani government,  therefore putting the Taliban in charge of nuclear weapons.  This could lead to a holocaust involving either India, its traditional rival, or the general area of the Middle East, and all of Western society with its Christian beliefs.

Secretary of State Clinton testified today as to the tremendous danger and concern that the administration has about the concessions made to the Taliban without consultation.  Some predict that the extremists will indeed gain control of the central government of Pakistan within months, leaving President Obama with a challenge unmatched since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, and this nightmare scenario only complicated by the continuing antagonism that exists between Iran and the United States.

The Obama administration will certainly have sleepless nights worrying about what might happen in South Asia and how the US might have to react to it.

President Obama has seemingly changed his mind and is now willing to back an investigation of interrogation abuses during the Bush Administration, with possible prosecution of those who endorsed and promoted the use of torture methods. 

The investigation would be done by Congress but also possibly lead to action by the Attorney General, and would be centered on the people who worked in the White House and wrote memos justifying methods of interrogation that are against international law.  I would also say that it is proper to speak out against prosecution of those who followed orders given them by higher ups, but once it gets to the level of the White House, there should be no pause before even considering indictment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney and their closest aides and advisers. 

The Bush Administration has undermined every soldier who might be a prisoner of war or a hostage by its refusal to ban the use of torture, and it seems to me that his Presidency will prove to be more lawless and abusive, after a full investigation,  than even the Nixon Administration.  There is a need for complete transparency, and wherever the prosecution leads to the high levels of the Oval Office, it MUST be pursued.  It is good that President Obama seems to be on the same page regarding this matter, and again, we should applaud his clear denunciation and repudiation of those torture methods.  In that alone, he has proved to be a man of morality and ethics.

President Obama has changed the whole attitude within and outside American borders as to the role of foreign policy, and in a very revolutionary way.

Recognizing the horrible image America has had, particularly in the past eight years,and determined to open up new possibilities for our relations with the outside world, Obama has written to Iran’s President Ahmadinejad of the need for a new start in relations, allowed an opening of travel and money transfers to Cuban Americans who want to return to their homeland for a visit, shook the hand of and accepted a book from Venezuelan President Chavez, accepted partial responsiblity for the drug wars in Mexico being due to insatiable desire for drugs in the United States, admitted that the US has made mistakes in its dealings with Latin America over the past century, accepted the idea that we can learn from other countries in many areas, made clear that we must learn to respect and honor other nations’ ideas and culture,  tried to promote a new attitude in dealing with the Russian leadership, and accepted the concept that the worldwide recession is partially due to lack of proper regulatory mechanisms in the United States.

Anyone who has studied the foreign policy of the United States since World War II, the beginning of American supremacy, has to admit, if he or she is being honest, that America has often gone down the wrong path.  This has caused us to create what President Eisenhower called in his Farewell Address in 1961 the "military-industrial complex".  Obama seems determined to give us a refreshing change in our dealings with the world, and that should be applauded and backed in every possible way by the American people!

This week, there will be an international conference on Racism in Geneva, Switzerland, and President Obama rightfully will not be attending it, nor will anyone in the administration.

This boycott is perfectly justified as it is an obvious attempt to denounce Israel  and the Jewish people, and it is ironic that many of those leaders and nations which will attend are infamous for their own violations of human rights, and for their own hopes for the extinction of the state of Israel, the one true democracy in the Middle East.

This decision by Obama is to be applauded, and should calm the worries of American Jews as to the concept that Israel’s security and American backing might be compromised.  It is the first time that the United States has boycotted a United Nations conference, and it demonstrates the courage that Obama possesses, as he certainly generally wants to work with the United Nations on many international problems.  However, once again, this will not be done at the expense of American backing of Israel!

A surprising moment at the Summit of the Americas in the past few days was Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez greeting President Obama very warmly, stating he wanted to be his friend,  and presenting him with a book that discusses US exploitation of Latin America.

While it is always hoped that relations with all nations can be improved, it is important for our President NOT to be overwhelmed by this gesture, as I consider it basically just political theater.  Chavez has been a heavy handed, autocratic leader and he associates with the Iranian President Ahmadinejad  and with the Castro brothers in Cuba, as well as making deals with China. 

There is no way to see Chavez as someone who could become a genuine partner with the United States.  He cannot be judged as sincere, based on his outrageous behavior at the United Nations when he called President Bush a devil.    He has gained a reputation as a troublemaker in the Western Hemisphere, who uses his oil supply as a weapon in international affairs.

So my advice to President Obama:  Don’t set out to reject any possibility of good relations with Venezuela,  but also don’t get bamboozled by charm and gifts from someone who leaves the impression of being deceitful and untrustworthy.

Barack Obama is making history this week with his visit to Mexico and to the Western Hemisphere Summit of the Americas in Trinidad-Tobago.

The President has been attempting to deal with the Drug Cartel issue with Mexico’s President, promoted the open visits and financial backing of Cuban Americans for their families on the Communist island, and is now attending the Summit of the Americas and receiving a warm reception from the leaders of 44 nations, including a surprising greeting from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a close friend of the Castro brothers and a bitter critic of former President George W. Bush. 

Obama has also in a speech welcomed the willingness of Cuban President Raul Castro to discuss at a high level all of the many issues that have divided the US from its nearest non land boundary neighbor for the past fifty years.  Imagine even in rhetoric that the Castro regime states its willingness to discuss human rights and political prisoners!  While certainly one cannot realistically expect great changes anytime soon, it is promising that there seems to be an ability to have progress of any kind, and the American people in a new poll overwhelmingly favor re-establishment of diplomatic relations, as well as trade, with Cuba.

So again, as in so many other areas, the American people continue to have faith in Obama, and seem to be supportive of his many initiatives in foreign policy.  We seem  to be on the road to a warm relationship with Latin America, similar to the times of FDR’s "Good Neighbor Policy" in the 1930s and JFK’s "Alliance for Progress" in the early 1960s.

The first two weeks of April, 2009, have seen  unbelievable advancement of gay rights in a breathtaking way.

Not only have Iowa and Vermont been added to the list of states that allow gay marriage, but also the following has occurred. 

New York is moving in the same direction on gay marriage,  as are New Hampshire, New Jersey and Maine. Additionally, top retired military brass have come out in favor of ending the "don’t ask, don’t tell" policy in the armed forces.  Also, the campaign manager of the McCain Presidential run in 2008, Steve Schmidt, who is not gay, has called on the Republican party to cease its opposition to gay marriage and other areas of gay rights, and to point out that in his mind gay rights are an unfulfilled area of human rights.  Even more shocking is that Cindy and Meaghan McCain, wife and daughter of the Presidential candidate,  are both endorsing the same belief and are attending this weekend the meeting of the Log Cabin Republicans!

There are many struggles and obstacles still to face, of course, and never will everyone accept the changes that are coming, but that is not important.  What is important is that law and justice move in  that direction, and just as there are people who oppose civil rights and interracial marriage even  today, it is obvious that there will always be a resentful minority that will continue to hold prejudiced views on gay rights.  But the promising aspect is that the younger generation of Americans, who will inherit the country in the future, are overwhelmingly in favor of change in the treatment of gay Americans.  So time and adaptation to change will bring about in the next couple of decades the full recognition of the rights of a courageous group that has long suffered from discrimination, much of the time in silence.

President Obama has stirred up strong reaction yesterday with his decision to make public all of the torture memos and directives issued during the Bush Administration.  These memos were utilized by CIA operatives in attempts to extract information from alleged terrorists,  arrested and sent to Guantanomo Bay, Cuba and to third countries, who were allegedly involved in the September 11 attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center.

Leaks had occurred earlier regarding the use of torture.  Obama decided that full transparency was necessary and he authorized a clear statement that such tactics used in the last seven years were abhorrent and that they would no longer be permitted.  Indeed the Bush Administration tactics were roundly condemned at the same time that Obama stated that those CIA operatives would not be prosecuted.  The result of his decision was to have many liberals criticize the decision to refuse to prosecute CIA agents, and to have conservatives state that Obama had undermined national security and limited our ability to fight terrorism.

My thoughts on this is to back Obama on the need for exposure of the truth and to agree that the CIA agents had a legal backing of their actions, however abhorrent they were.  But at the same time, there is a definite need for the people in authority at the White House, including the President, Vice President, Attorney General, top military brass, leading Presidential aides, etc to be fully investigated and prosecuted for war crimes.  What makes the Bush crowd any different than those who worked at top levels for war criminals and dictators is beyond my imagination.  Yes, the President and his advisers have the responsibility to defend the nation, but to break international law and alienate the entire world was in itself a war crime that should be pursued as much as the cases of Pinochet of Chile, Milosevic of Serbia, and the international outlaws of Cambodia, the Sudan and other nations. 

America must regain its stature as the leader of decency, ethics and morality in international affairs, while at the same time upholding basic principles of protecting the American people from harm.  So there needs to be a Watergate type congressional investigation of these violations and take it wherever it goes.  Instead of only blaming and making scapegoats of underlings and foot soldiers, the leadership MUST be held  accountable for their illegal, immoral actions in office!