Strike TWO President Obama....

[rsmith6621]

1st Strike......Setting a double standard for those in suits and those jeans and t-shirts to work...It is ok for Bankers and investors to not be accountable for government hand outs but the company's/factory's where the heart of this country work must have a plan to get a bailout......so far Obama has not stood up for UNIONS during all this bailout mess but has let Wall St and Banks run wild. Obam said many times he was for the middle class.


2nd STRIKE .....TONIGHT.....Not Prosecuting those who torture.....What happened Mr President to upholding the laws and constitutions promise.....I don't get it.....


For me the 3rd strike will end the honeymoon of this administration.......I think Obama needs to fire the SOT and admit it was the wrong choice........I also think who in the administration is behind the choice to let the CIA off the hook should also go...Hillary or not.....

[greenbriar]

1. oh good god

really ?

[Honeycombe8]

83. Ditto.

The poster obviously doesn't understand the administration's attempt to help GM stay in business. Which, of course, helps the workers and the average citizens as much if not more than the fat cats (esp. if you count all the other businesses that rely on the existence of GM).

Bailing out the banks & financial institutions: First, it wasn't OBAMA who did that directly. That was done in 2008, altho O voted for the TARP. Second, the govt bailed out ONLY the really big ones that our country's financial system is dependent on. It wasn't to help the banks; it was to help the COUNTRY. The smaller ones are being allowed to fail.

I don't think anyone wants to give money to companies. We are only do so in those cases where the country would be harmed MORE if the company failed than if it succeeded in the long term, even if it means we have to give the company lots of $$$.

The unions? The unions aren't failing. What do you want the government to do for the unions? The unions aren't a company, and they are still going strong, as far as I can tell. A lot of union workers will lose their jobs, though, if GM fails. Do you mean that the union is being asked to give up some retirement benefits at GM? Hey, dood...when your employer is on the brink of bankruptcy, you either get greedy, refuse to make any sacrifices, and lose your job, or you come to terms on some sacrifices so your employer can stay in business, and you keep your job. That's reality.

We are not engaged in a give-money-to-just-anyone campaign. The government is on a mission to try and save the basis of our country: the financial system. SO we don't have another depression.

[oviedodem]

2. Riiiiiggggghhhhhttttt

[butterfly77]

75. Wroooooonnng!

[natrat]

3. please,more like strike 10-bank reform,forthright doj,nafta,domestic surveilance

of and for the oligarchs

[Name removed]

4. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[GoesTo11]

5. An excellent critique of Obama's failures

may be found at Hillary is 44.

Yes, they are still at it.

[zeemike]

6. Sure I know it sounds real simple

Just prosecute everyone...but do you know what that would mean?
And do you know how many there are?
I think you grossly underestimate the scope of the problem.

[ProSense]

7. It's strike four

Strike one: Obama is never going to release the torture memos

Strike two: Obama is no different from Bush

Strike three: Obama is protecting Bush

Strike four: Obama releasing the memos means nothing


I'll take a stab at Strike five: Obama prosecution must end with the death penalty.

[high density]

8. God damn.

The BUSH JUSTICE DEPARTMENT (i.e. the law) told the CIA that their techniques were perfectly within the bounds of the law. What is so hard to understand about this? How is Obama supposed to go back in time and rewrite these memos?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

[cascadiance]

25. The Bush Justice department isn't "THE LAW". They are supposed to enforce THE LAWs...

... that are on our books in legislation and in the constitution. The founders did NOT envision the "Unitary Executive" notion that the executive branch (in particular the president) should be able to make, enforce and adjudicate our laws. That's unconstitutional!

We can't rewrite those memos, but we should hold those accountable for violating the very tenets of our nation's founders and our laws and punish them accordingly for doing so!

For the rest of the country to respect the laws on the books, and not just a dictator's rules, we need to make sure those in power must also adhere to the same laws the rest of us adhere to as well.

[high density]

27. The CIA asked for advice from Justice

Justice said, "that's fine."

What exactly is the CIA supposed to do at that point? Get a second opinion from the ACLU?

Our personal outrage over what the Bush Justice Dept wrote in these memos doesn't change the opinions in them and the fact that the CIA acted on this advice.

[cascadiance]

35. It's one thing to say that we will be considerate of those having to follow orders...

... from those that are deemed to be speaking for the law, and therefore they had a tough choice to decide whether they should follow through with those orders or not. I can see having a lot of those in the CIA that were asked to engage in illegal actions to testify to a "truth commission", where unless someone could prove that they were in fact lying about what was going on, or in fact they went beyond the barriers of what they were ordered to do to engage in unlawful activity of their own volition, they should be allowed to get off for carrying out those illegal actions.

But for Obama to make general statement that would seem to indicate that we're not going to go after ANYONE, including those that were the authors of these illegal and highly TREASONOUS acts, is the problem. He should stop after saying that we're not going to prosecute all of the CIA just for following orders. And then say something like "But we will ask all involved to give us the truth of what happened, and once we understand what happened, to correct the mistakes that were made and those that broke the law to be punished according to American law." THEN I would say he's doing the right thing. But that's not what I'm hearing. At least not yet. I'm hoping he's still prepared to come forth with a message like that soon. Then my respect for him would return.

If we gave everyone else in society the pass he seems to want to give Bushco in order to "put the past behind us", then what use do we have for a judicial system or a prison system? We could all just live in a world of Mad Max and "look to the future"!

[liberal N proud]

9. Oh well lets send this to the greatest page

NOT!

[MrMickeysMom]

42. I say we do...

Yeah, that's "DO"

[LittleBlue]

10. There are laws for them, then laws for the rest

Us ordinary, non-banker, non-CIA folks gets prosecuted for fraud and torture.

They don't. That's the difference.

[liberalmuse]

11. Where was this passion when that fucktard Bush was President?

Sheeeit! That guy got about 600 strikes. Well, about a million if you count 1 strike for every innocent human being he murdered. Jesus fuck people!!!

[butterfly77]

76. Thank you!

:grr:

[Double T]

12. There are plenty more strikes where those came from.

Amnesty for an illegal alien workforce certainly will be another strike.

Allowing the financial institutions to pay off the TARP funds with ridiculously high fees and interest rates on their already cash strapped, abused customers will be another strike.

[newview88]

13. So does he gain points when he does something right?

Let me know where your scoreboard stands in that respect.

[SpartanDem]

15. no

[SpartanDem]

14. bullshit

so far Obama has not stood up for UNIONS during all this bailout mess but has let Wall St and Banks run wild. Obam said many times he was for the middle class

U.S. Squeezes Auto Creditors
Treasury Seeks Billions in Concessions for GM and Chrysler From Banks, Bondholders

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123932036083306929.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

[Thrill]

16. YAWN

[MrMickeysMom]

45. Looks like you're tired...

Go back to sleep, then.

[moodforaday]

66. Yawn is what Bushites did

when the Abu Ghraib story first appeared.

Congratulations.

[Boomerang Diddle]

17. I'm sure President Obama is shaking in his boots

because you're playing referee.

[MrMickeysMom]

47. Playing?

I thought we lived in the kind of representative democracy that should finally take some shape. To point these things out is not only obvious, it shows a concern that our president carry us forward.

It's not a fucking game where want-a-be's try to bee "referees", for Christs' sake, it's necessary for us to have this dialog.

What the fuck is wrong with that?

[Undercurrent]

18. Good grief!

You know this is probably why the divorce rate is so high. People dump the not perfect and move on the the "perfect", only to find out that they are not perfect either. (Of course no body is, but that doesn't stop people from believing such a myth.)

As for the prosecutions, people need take a breath. No more knee jerking with every little drop of information that we get, to say nothing about not knowing all the facts, or the whole strategy.

It has not been stated that there would be NO prosecutions. It was been stated that the administration will not go after underlings.

It has NOT been stated that there should be no further investigation. If you know anything about Obama it should be that he doesn't make moves until the ducks are lined up, and all considerations are made.

[Arkana]

19. *facepalm*

[Life Long Dem]

20. Can I help you out in anyway possible for the strike 3?

:rofl:

[tridim]

21. I think the teabagger stupid gas seeped into DU tonight.

[blue neen]

22. The last time I checked ball games were still nine innings; we're still in the top of the first.

I'd like to stick around for the whole ball game. Then, we'll talk.

Go buy yourself a beer, chill out, and watch the WHOLE game...or maybe you're just rooting for one team?

[Boomerang Diddle]

23. +1!

Some of these people have been rooting against Obama even before he was elected.

[Kaleva]

24. a comment by Obama

"In April (08), Mr Obama struck a similar note when he promised that he would ask his attorney general to review the Bush administration’s decisions to differentiate between "genuine crimes" and "really bad policies".

"If crimes have been committed, they should be investigated," he told the Philadelphia Daily News. "You're also right that I would not want my first term consumed by what was perceived on the part of Republicans as a partisan witch hunt, because I think we've got too many problems we've got to solve." "

[Jennicut]

26. Laughable. What would prosecuting CIA officials mean anyways? The top guys who put this in

motion are the former Prez, VP, SOD, and Rove.

[moodforaday]

67. Here's what it would mean:

it would mean that anyone in a similar position down the road would think twice before they shrugged and continued throwing people against a fucking wall because a partisan lawyer told them it was OK. It would remind people that the Nuremberg defense doesn't doesn't obtain. It would uphold the law.

Things like that.

[Jennicut]

74. Any President can come in and change around the rules.

We need to limit the power of the Presidency (and Vice Presidency!) more than we need to limit the power of underlings.

[yurbud]

28. his whole economic team should have been the first to be prosecuted

[yurbud]

29. I'm divided on even these--he has to split the difference between what is right and

what will get him killed--literally.

He's smart enough to know where that line is and what his margin of error is in approaching it.

[geek tragedy]

30. What will you do, hurl more poutrage at him?

Yeah, he's doomed.

[MrMickeysMom]

44. He's not doomed...

... if he listens to the Americans who put him into office.

I've got to believe that his administration meant it when they said it was the intent to open up their website to this kind of feedback.

There is a difference between the actions you've interpreted and a true grass roots reality check.

Barack Obama said it himself... mistakes will be made. Maybe the biggest God-damned mistakes in the first 100 days are discovering the people he's put in charge of finance will not solve our nations' insolvency and the unwillingness to react to what Bush did with the Unitary Executive MUST BE REVERSED.

[geek tragedy]

51. Most people voted for him because of health care,

the economy, and getting us out of Iraq.

War crimes trials were not a big deal in the election.

[MrMickeysMom]

56. Well, I wonder why you think you know that...

Personally, I didn't poll everyone. I think there's a bit more to it than THAT!

[scheming daemons]

31. Strike three, rsmith6621....

...welcome to ignore, Mr. Poutrage.

[stevenleser]

32. Alerted. And IBTL

:argh:

[nomaco-10]

38. Hi Steve....

saw your interview on fux the other day. You were great and that british interviewer was a real ass. You held your own, you done good.

[stevenleser]

46. Thanks! ;-)

:toast:

[polmaven]

58. May I ask, please,

what rule was broken in this OP which you think was worthy of an alert?

[moodforaday]

69. The unspoken rule

of all toadies: ingratiate yourself with local powers by any means available. The easiest way to do so is to denounce someone else. In Germany in 1930s they would report Jews and homosexuals to the authorities. In Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge they would report teachers, who tried to survive posing as peasants. In Iraq just recently they were literally selling their neighbors to the US Army as supposed Al Qaeda supporters.

The difference is in degree; the motivation to act is the same.

[polmaven]

72. Ah....I see.

Unspoken toady rule got by me....Thanks. :hi:

[earth mom]

79. Great post, but few will listen to you on GD-P.

Wish I could rec your post! :thumbsup:

[opihimoimoi]

33. Friggen Bush had 6475857566615142.09 STRIKEs and he survived

No one did shit....

Obama makes "2 strikes?" in 87 days and we rip him....?

What about them Homeruns ?

What the fuck is this? Kill Obama day?

Go watch Susan Boyle.....

[butterfly77]

77. Ditto!

[nomaco-10]

34. I see the one percent PURISTS are still present amongst us....

They have no clue that they are the very people they, themselves malign, and are one step away from renaming themselves independents and libertarians and supporting Texas's right to succeed.

YOU ARE SO TRANSPARENT.

[moodforaday]

68. Succeed?

And you deign to ridicule people?

So you have a wife beater who drinks, has no job, can't feed the family, abuses the kids, lost the family home in Vegas... Now he got a job and promised not to gamble or not hurt the kids anymore, but he still beats his wife every day. And it takes a "one percent purist" to speak out about that guy?

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

36. Get a grip. Obama's kickin' ass and taking names.

[jeanpalmer]

37. Whose name is he taking

Not the kind of change we need.....

[Hanse]

39. Ooo, oh no.

He must be worried now.

[Renew Deal]

40. Yesterdays tea party was ball 1 and ball 2.

:D

[amborin]

41. it's those who gave the orders who should be prosecuted

not the operatives

and to pursue bush and crew would be so divisive and such a slog....

our nation is confronting terrible problems, the world is.....we need to concentrate on other, more crucial issues

[moodforaday]

70. Many will disagree with you.

In my native Poland, as in several other ex-eastern bloc countries, there have been prosecutions of soldiers, police officers and members of other forces who shot at factory workers, etc. during protests at various times under the communist rule. Some generals and other officials who gave orders have been indicted too, but those who shot and killed unarmed citizens are held responsible themselves. Do you not think this is the right course of action?

A court in Poland is now prosecuting several members of the armed forces who mortared a village in Afghanistan (Nangar Khel) and killed several civilians, including women and children. Apparently they too were following orders. Some of them claim the weapon was faulty and did not hold aim properly - still they continued the attack. They are facing serious prison time. Do you think prosecuting them is not the right thing to do?

[quiller4]

43. Hold your fire

Holder will not seek to prosecute those who relied on the Justice Dept. memos. That means that the little guy who followed the order is protected. If does not mean that the DOJ author of the memo is protected. You should listen to Dean on KO today for his take on this.

[MrMickeysMom]

48. If you listened to KO...

You'da heard his special comment tonight with clear examples through history of what it means when the excuse is, "we were just following orders".

[quiller4]

52. I heard it but I disagree with it.

I also listened closely to Dean.

[vaberella]

59. Ditto. n/t

[Blue_Roses]

49. oh, good grief...

how old are you? Drama overload don't you think? :eyes:

[CAG]

50. You're ignoring all of the singles, doubles, triples, and home runs that were

hit between the strikes.

Tell you what, just take a nap, we'll wake you up when the Dennis Kucinich/Mike Malloy ticket wins the presidency, because until that happens, you'll just be miserable.

[jberryhill]

61. He's also not counting two balls /nt

[PBS Poll-435]

53. He picked up a spare with Clinton

Where is your beeber set?

[Raine]

54. Whatever ...

it will be your loss.

[Butch350]

55. Which type of Neurosis do you suffer from?

[JamesA1102]

57. What self righteous tripe.

This is why the Dems never stay in power for long. Too many like this poster making the good the enemy of the perfect and wanting everything to change in an instant.

[vaberella]

60. Who gave this clown +13?!

I mean really.

[Teaser]

63. insane clown posse

.

[vaberella]

65. I thought those guys went in the way of the do-do....

They haunted my teen years with shitty music...and they're back again with ridiculous authorizations...oy.

[Teaser]

62. OH BOY, rsmith6621 IS GONNA GET MAD NOW

we all tremble.

[mwb970]

64. Oh, not again, please. I sighed heavily when I read your headline.

Can we please, please create a separate DU forum for Obama-bashing? I am so sick and tired of reading FR commentary here on DU! Reading this forum is like stepping over piles of goose crap on the sidewalk. Why don't you start a few threads on his birth certificate while you're at it?

:eyes:

[Taverner]

71. Sorry, your pony has been delayed

Shake the magic 8 ball again...maybe it will come up different this time?

[SoxFan]

73. Door, ass, way out, etc

[butterfly77]

78. Say it again!

[Mike L]

80. I'm very pleased with Obama's centrist leadership. He successfully moved

from the far-left after making a name for himself and confirmed it after the election with his appointments (I especially like SecOfState). His rapport with the DLC has been excellent. I didn't like him at first, but things couldn't have turned out better!

[Yukari Yakumo]

81. One problem with strike 1

Ummm... How do I break this to you...

Everything you said for Strike #1 is policy established while Bush was still in office. So that would be Strike #670626709 for Bush.

Therefore...

[zulchzulu]

82. You're not paying attention

First of all, what do you want? Do you want the banks to fail? Do you know what that would do to this economy and the World economy as well?

It would be a 30's style Depression on steroids.

Secondly, you haven't been following the ball when it comes to the torture investigations. There are investigations in the Justice Department and the President need not have to focus on that while they do their job. The last thing Obama needs to get things passed is to openly be at war with the Republican party. They are doing a great job themselves becoming the new Whig Party.

No, Obama has not been perfect. But he has done a lot so far that I agree with. Should he fire Geithner? Are you kidding me? That kind of advice is hapless at best.