How Did Obama Become Our Most Imperial President?

[Better Believe It]

How Did Obama Become Our Most Imperial President?
By Tom Engelhardt
April 29, 2012

Once upon a time, American presidents didn’t consider micro-managing a permanent war state as a central part of their job description, nor did they focus so unrelentingly on the U.S. military and the doings of the national security state. Today, the president’s word is death just about anywhere on the planet and he exercises that power with remarkable frequency. He appears in front of “the troops” increasingly often and his wife has made their wellbeing part of her job description. He has at his command expanded “covert” powers, including his own private armies: a more militarized CIA and growing hordes of special operations forces, 60,000 of them, who essentially make up a “covert” military inside the U.S. military.

In effect, he also has his own private intelligence outfits, including most recently a newly formed Defense Clandestine Service at the Pentagon focused on non-war zone intelligence operations (especially, so the reports go, against China and Iran). Finally, he has what is essentially his own expanding private (robotic) air force: drones.

He can send his drone assassins and special ops troops just about anywhere to kill just about anyone he thinks should die, national sovereignty be damned. He firmly established his “right” to do this by going after the worst of the worst, killing Osama bin Laden in Pakistan with special operations forces and an American citizen and jihadi, Anwar al-Awlaki, in Yemen with a drone.

At the moment, the president is in the process of widening his around-the-clock “covert” air campaigns. Almost unnoted in the U.S., for instance, American drones recently carried out a strike in the Philippines killing 15 and the Air Force has since announced a plan to boost its drones there by 30%. At the same time, in Yemen, as previously in the Pakistani borderlands, the president has just given the CIA and the U.S. Joint Operations Command the authority to launch drone strikes not just against identified “high-value” al-Qaeda “targets,” but against general “patterns of suspicious behavior.” So expect an escalating drone war there not against known individuals, but against groups of suspected evildoers (and as in all such cases, innocent civilians as well).

Read the full article at:

http://www.alternet.org/story/155196/how_did_obama_become_our_most_imperial_president/?page=entire

[Bolo Boffin]

1. Another Obama-bashing article from Better Believe It.

[msongs]

2. feel free to ignore the content and criticize the messenger. nt

[Bolo Boffin]

3. The messenger has an agenda. n/t

[Bobbie Jo]

106. +1

[BootinUp]

4. gee thanks, I will! lol.

[dflprincess]

5. +1

[blue neen]

7. I read the content.

It is mentions George W. Bush quite a bit.

[SidDithers]

26. Absolutely...nt

Sid

[paulk]

67. another content free post from Bolo Boffin

DU used to be a discussion board.

Not any more, thanks to Obamanauts like you.

If you don't like the conclusions drawn by the article then defend Obama's foreign policy.

Attacking the messenger is the height of intellectual laziness.

[AtomicKitten]

85. another personal attack

from a Clinton dead-ender like you

bookmarked for when you get all flip-floppy when Hillary wins in 2016

[paulk]

96. was it the "Obamanaut" bit that set you off?

LOL!

You know, the only reason I supported Hillary in 2008 was because I felt that Obama didn't have enough political experience to make a good President. After the GOP rolled him those first two years, despite the largest Democratic majorities in my lifetime, I suspect I was right.

Now we'll all have to hope that by his 2nd term he'll have figured a few things out and cut the bipartisan crap. His rhetoric has certainly improved (just in time for the election). Time will tell.

[Taylor Smite]

6. wouldnt this belong in

Good Reads?

[BootinUp]

8. Question...

whens the last time you posted an article that didn't try to paint Obama as right of Ronnie Raygun?

[randome]

9. Ohh, how scary. The article says Obama has lawyers!

And as for killing anyone at any time, that has ALWAYS been possible. It's not like Obama has taken it upon himself to declare himself king of the friggin' world.

You think Nixon couldn't have ordered someone killed? Truman? Humphrey?

This is just more fear-mongering bullshit from the usual source.

[Better Believe It]

10. "just more fear-mongering bullshit from the usual source." End your personal attacks/trash talk

directed against DU'ers you disagree with.

If you have an intelligent comment to make that is critical of the article I'd like to read it.

But, if you'd rather engage in low level personal attacks and trash talk on Democratic Underground perhaps you should find a discussion board that encourages that sort of anti-democratic and disruptive behavior.

If you won't engage in democratic debate and discussion on DU let me know.

I can put you on ignore.

[randome]

14. And I can use the word 'bullshit' when I see fit.

And 'fear-mongering', which is what you do best.

And you didn't respond to my observation that any president has always been able to subvert or bend the law to do nefarious deeds. Nixon? Humphrey? Truman? Reagan and Iran-Contra? Bush and WMD in Iraq?

So what has changed other than the fact that you don't like Obama?

[Better Believe It]

21. Political assassinations are now accepted as official government policy for the first time.

I find it hard to believe that you are unaware of the huge right-ward change in government surveillance and war policies since 9/11 under the Bush and now Obama administrations.

You are now on ignore due to your persistent personal attacks and trash talk.

Bye.

[randome]

22. Don't throw me in that briar patch!!!

Number of DUers I have put on Ignore: zero.

[got root]

28. excellent idea

i think i will do the same to him and a few other obnoxious posters I've come across tonight.

will probably make du much more tolerable.

BTW: Thanks for sharing

i just put these few folks on ignore and DU is so much better now, wow!


Username Block Mail Full Ignore Remove

randome Block Mail Remove
Bolo Boffin Block Mail Remove
SidDithers Block Mail Remove
TheWraith Block Mail Remove
ProSense Block Mail Remove

[SidDithers]

38. I'm proud to be in company with those fine DUers...

Last edited Tue May 1, 2012, 06:30 PM - Edit history (1)

thanks for including me.

Edit:



Sid

[Surya Gayatri]

47. Wear your badge of banishment with pride, Sid...

Anyone on BBI's black list is a hero for a higher cause!

[ProSense]

41. "obnoxious posters"?

I'm bookmarking this to check which last longer, you or your ignore.

It's a good thing because you can't see this post, but the other "obnoxious posters" can.

Oh, and I'm ROTFLMAO at you, but you can't see that either.

[SidDithers]

43. He thinks he's got a real winner of a post there...

lhttp://www.democraticunderground.com/1002629909#post77

Sid

[sabrina 1]

50. Do you have any comment on the actual subject of the thread?

[WonderGrunion]

103. I commented on the actual subject of the thread

Do you disagree with Noam Chomsky?

[Old and In the Way]

42. Please add me to your ignore list.

Thanks!

[FSogol]

80. Don't forget me. Oh, wait, nevermind.

[mythology]

91. Wow, you must feel tough announcing on the internet those you are ignoring.

I would never disclose my ignore list because to me it's a personal issue. By the way, calling other posters obnoxious isn't exactly civil either.

[sabrina 1]

49. Interesting sig line.

I would view not supporting illegal, unnecessary wars that kill soldiers as well as civilians, to be practical rather than idealistic. I view the notion that these wars are for some noble cause to be idealistic, until reality sets in, as it has for so many of those soldiers, for some, too late, sadly.

So in my view, the sig line has it backwards. If those practical enough to have opposed these wars had been in charge, we would have trillions of dollars to take care of THIS country's needs, thousands of our soldiers would be with their families instead of dead, tens of thousands more would not be traumatized, committing suicide, physically handicapped for life and untold numbers of innocent human beings would still be alive today.

Did your sig line mean to imply that those who rightfully opposed these wars were 'idealistic' and that those who rah-rahed for them, on Free Republic eg, were practical? Because we haven't won anything in fact we've lost so much, mostly precious lives, money, and any moral authority we used to have, not to mention probably created more people who now hate us for killing their innocent civilians.

[Autumn]

11. All president will be Imperial Presidents now.

Excellent article. Of course, few will read it, many will be here to trash you. Thanks for posting this.

"Sometimes to understand where you are, you need to ransack the past."

[EFerrari]

16. Caught this excellent BookTV segment with Tom and Jeremy Scahill on this

and related topics:

"The United States of Fear"

Tom Engelhardt

About the Program

Tom Engelhardt, creator and editor of TomDispatch.com, argues that the U.S. government successfully used the threat of terrorism to scare the public into supporting increased spending on war, the military, and homeland security, leading the country down the same path the Soviet Union took just prior to its collapse. During this event, Mr. Engelhardt is in conversation with journalist and author Jeremy Scahill. Hosted by New York University.

http://www.booktv.org/Watch/13212/The+United+States+of+Fear.aspx

[got root]

17. I think it could be said of most since the end of wwII, but it has been pretty blatant since the

fall of the Soviet Union.

[randome]

19. Maybe the war mongers know, deep inside their evil hearts,

that the fall of the USSR was not a 'win' for America after all.

[ProfessorGAC]

56. Maybe Interesting. Not Excellent

It's naive and contrary to history to believe that the presidency has just now become imperial.

It's been that way for decades. Just because the author of the article just figured it out, doesn't mean it just happened. It just means the author has just caught up.
GAC

[jeff47]

83. Now? Apparently we need to do a better job of teaching history.

McKinley. Became president on March 4, 1897.

Conquered Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines. Took them from Spain on behalf of US sugar interests who were funding a revolution in Cuba.

Launched the war based on a rather suspicious boiler explosion of the USS Maine - keeping in mind boiler explosions were somewhat common back then so it should not have been a shocking event.

These events should sound pretty damn familiar to everyone paying attention to our previous president.

[Autumn]

89. I don't quite remember that far back

LOL i was just thinking back to bush. But you are right on the money with this sentence, "These events should sound pretty damn familiar to everyone paying attention to our previous president."

[ProSense]

12. That's a

"Since the passage of his embattled healthcare bill, he has, in a sense, been in chains, able to accomplish next to nothing of his domestic program."

...sucky article. It was posted yesterday, and I asked: Do these people actually believe the crap they write? And responded...

What about Wall Street reform (http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002579118) and these:

What Do Americans Think Of Obama's Performance As A President?

Chris Weigl, Screenwriter and Political Consultant

A friend of mine put together an awesome handwritten sign outlining why she’s voting for President Obama this year, I think it says almost everything you need to know:

<...>

In case you needed a few other examples of what President Obama has accomplished I put together a list below:

1. Extended child tax credits and marriage-penalty fixes
   
   
2. Created an Advanced Manufacturing Fund to invest in peer-reviewed manufacturing processes
   
   
3. Required economic justification for tax changes
   
   
4. Implemented “Women Owned Business” contracting program
   
   
5. Changed standards for determining broadband access
   
   
6. Established a credit card bill of rights
   
   
7. Expanded loan programs for small businesses
   
   
8. Extended the Bush tax cuts for lower incomes
   
   
9. Extended the 2007 Alternative MinimumTax patch
   
   
10. Closed the “doughnut hole” in Medicare prescription drug plan
    
    
11. Expanded the Senior Corps volunteer program
    
    
12. Required insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions
    
    
13. Gave tax credits to those who need help to pay health premiums
    
    
14. Required large employers to contribute to a national health plan
    
    
15. Required children to have health insurance coverage
    
    
16. Expanded eligibility for Medicaid
    
    
17. Expanded eligibility for State Children’s Health Insurance Fund (SCHIP)
    
    
18. Required health plans to disclose how much of the premium goes to patient care
    
    
19. Established an independent health institute to provide accurate and objective information
    
    
20. In non-competitive markets, forced insurers to pay out a reasonable share of their premiums for patient care
    
    
21. Eliminated the higher subsidies to Medicare Advantage plans
    
    
22. Expanded funding to train primary care providers and public health practitioners
    
    
23. Increased funding to expand community based prevention programs
    
    
24. Reinstated executive order to hire an additional 100,000 federal employees with disabilities within five years.
    
    
25. Increased the Veterans Administration budget to recruit and retain more mental health professionals
    
    
26. Expanded the Veterans Administration’s number of “centers of excellence” in specialty care
    
    
27. Appointed a special adviser to the president on violence against women
    
    
28. Fully funded the Violence Against Women Act
    
    
29. Directed military leaders to end war in Iraq
    
    
30. Began removing combat brigades from Iraq
    
    
31. Created a military families advisory board
    
    
32. Ended the abuse of supplemental budgets for war
    
    
33. Made U.S. military aid to Pakistan conditional on anti-terror efforts
    
    
34. Opened “America Houses” in Islamic cities around the globe
    
    
35. Allocated Homeland Security funding according to risk
    
    
36. Created a real National Infrastructure Protection Plan
    
    
37. Increased funding for local emergency planning
    
    
38. Extended monitoring and verification provisions of the START I Treaty
    
    
39. Appointed a White House Coordinator for Nuclear Security
    
    
40. Initiated a grant and training program for law enforcement to deter cyber crime
    
    
41. Improved relations with Turkey, and its relations with Iraqi Kurds
    
    
42. Launched an international Add Value to Agriculture Initiative (AVTA)
    
    
43. Created a rapid response fund for emerging democracies
    
    
44. Granted Americans unrestricted rights to visit family and send money to Cuba
    
    
45. Restored funding for the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne/JAG) program
    
    
46. Established an Energy Partnership for the Americas
    
    
47. Expanded the Nurse-Family Partnership to all low-income, first-time mothers
    
    
48. Required new hires to sign a form affirming their hiring was not due to political affiliation or contributions.
    
    
49. Provided affordable, high-quality child care
    
    
50. Recruited math and science degree graduates to the teaching profession
    
    
51. Reduced subsidies to private student lenders and protect student borrowers
    
    
52. Encouraged water-conservation efforts in the West
    
    
53. Increased funding for national parks and forests
    
    
54. Increased funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund
    
    
55. Encouraged farmers to use more renewable energy and be more energy efficient
    
    
56. Expanded Pell grants for low-income students
    
    
57. Pursued a wildfire management plan
    
    
58. Removed more brush, small trees and vegetation that fuel wildfires
    
    
59. Expanded access to places to hunt and fish
    
    
60. Pushed for enactment of Matthew Shepard Act, which expands hate crime law to include sexual orientation and other factors
    
    
61. Repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy
    
    
62. Restored funding to the EEOC and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs
    
    
63. Reformed mandatory minimum sentences
    
    
64. Created a White House Office on Urban Policy
    
    
65. Fully funded the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
    
    
66. Established program to convert manufacturing centers into clean technology leaders
    
    
67. Established ‘Promise Neighborhoods’ for areas of concentrated poverty
    
    
68. Worked toward deploying a global climate change research and monitoring system
    
    
69. Funded a major expansion of AmeriCorps
    
    
70. Created a Social Investment Fund Network
    
    
71. Bolstered the military’s ability to speak differentlanguages
    
    
72. Appointed the nation’s first Chief Technology Officer
    
    
73. Provided grants to early-career researchers
    
    
74. Worked to overturn Ledbetter vs. Goodyear
    
    
75. Created a national declassification center
    
    
76. Appointed an American Indian policy adviser
    
    
77. Created new financial regulations
    
    
78. Increased funding for land-grant colleges
    
    
79. Banned lobbyist gifts to executive employees
    
    
80. Signed a “universal” health care bill
    
    
81. Created new criminal penalties for mortgage fraud
    
    
82. Required 10 percent renewable energy by 2012
    
    
83. Released oil from Strategic Petroleum Reserve
    
    
84. Raised fuel economy standards
    
    
85. Invested in all types of alternative energy
    
    
86. Enacted tax credit for consumers for plug-in hybrid cars
    
    
87. Asked people and businesses to conserve electricity
    
    
88. Required more energy-efficient appliances
    
    
89. Created a ‘Green Vet Initiative’ to promote environmental jobs for veterans
    
    
90. Created job training programs for clean technologies
    
    
91. Required states to provide incentives for utilities to reduce energy consumption
    
    
92. Supported high-speed rail
    
    
93. Supported airline service in small towns
    
    
94. Invested in public transportation
    
    
95. Equalized tax breaks for driving and public transit
    
    
96. Considered “smart growth” in transportation funding
    
    
97. Shared environmental technology with other countries
    
    
98. Doubled federal spending for research on clean fuels
    
    
99. Provided grants to encourage energy-efficient building codes
    
    
100. Increased funding for the Environmental Protection Agency
     
     
101. Raised the small business investment expensing limit to $250,000 through the end of 2009
     
     
102. Extended unemployment insurance benefits and
     
     
103. temporarily suspend taxes on these benefits
     
     
104. Supported network neutrality on the Internet
     
     
105. .Reversed restrictions on stem cell research
     
     
106. Killed Osama bin Laden
     
     
107. Doubled funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, a program that encourages manufacturing efficiency
     
     
108. Included environmental and labor standards in trade agreements
     
     
109. Created an international tax haven watch list
     
     
110. Made permanent the Research & Development tax credit
     
     
111. Required automatic enrollment in 401(k) plans
     
     
112. Required automatic enrollment in IRA plans
     
     
113. Created a consumer-friendly credit card rating system
     
     
114. Created a $60 billion bank to fund roads and bridges
     
     
115. Required full disclosure of company pension investments to employees
     
     
116. Provided easy-to-understand comparisons of the Medicare prescription drug plans
     
     
117. Invested in electronic health information systems
     
     
118. Phased in requirements for health information technology
     
     
119. Required that health plans utilize disease management programs
     
     
120. Required providers to report measures of health care costs and quality
     
     
121. Held hospitals and health plans accountable for disparities in care
     
     
122. Implemented and funded proven health intervention programs
     
     
123. Prevented drug companies from blocking generic drugs
     
     
124. Allowed Medicare to negotiate for cheaper drug prices
     
     
125. Worked with schools to create more healthful environments for children
     
     
126. Improved recruitment of public health workers
     
     
127. Mandated insurance coverage of autism treatment
     
     
128. Fully funded the Combating Autism Act and Federal Autism Research Initiatives
     
     
129. Doubled federal funding for cancer research
     
     
130. Increased participation in cancer-related clinical trials
     
     
131. Fully funded the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
     
     
132. Set a national goal to provide re-screening for all 2-year-olds for developmental disorders
     
     
133. Commissioned a study on students with disabilities and their transition to jobs or higher education
     
     
134. Set goals and timetables for implementing Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act
     
     
135. Created a best practices list for private businesses in accommodating workers with disabilities
     
     
136. Launched educational initiative for employers on tax benefits of hiring employees with disabilities
     
     
137. Reduced the threshhold for the Family and Medical Leave Act from companies with 50 employees to companies with 25 employees
     
     
138. Provided a $1.5 billion fund to help states launch programs for paid family and medical leave
     
     
139. Required employers to provide seven paid sick days per year
     
     
140. Streamlined the Social Security disability approval process
     
     
141. Expanded Veterans Centers in rural areas
     
     
142. Established standards of care for traumatic brain injury treatment
     
     
143. Made the Veterans Administration a national leader in health reform
     
     
144. Reduced the Veterans Benefits Administration claims backlog
     
     
145. Instituted electronic record-keeping for the Veterans Benefits Administration
     
     
146. Expanded housing vouchers program for homeless veterans
     
     
147. Launched a supportive services-housing program for veterans to prevent homelessness
     
     
148. Expanded the Family Medical Leave Act to include leave for domestic violence or sexual assault
     
     
149. Fully funded debt cancellation for heavily indebted poor countries
     
     
150. Created a fund for international small and medium enterprises (SME)
     
     
151. Launched robust diplomatic effort with Iraq and its neighbors
     
     
152. Provided $30 billion over 10 years to Israel
     
     
153. Limited Guard and Reserve deployments to one year for every six years
     
     
154. Ended the “Stop-Loss” program of forcing troops to stay in service beyond their expected commitments
     
     
155. Fully and properly equipped troops
     
     
156. Created a Civilian Assistance Corps that would organize private sector professionals to help in times of need
     
     
157. Included humanitarian international missions in long-term budgeting
     
     
158. Reviewed weapons programs
     
     
159. Modernized ships and invested more in small vessels
     
     
160. Set standards for when the government should hire defense contractors
     
     
161. Restored the government’s ability to manage contracts by rebuilding our contract officer corps
     
     
162. Created a system of incentives and penalties for defense contracts
     
     
163. Establish a Global Education Fund
     
     
164. Strengthened the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) aimed at stopping spread of weapons of mass destruction
     
     
165. Organized successful Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference in 2010
     
     
166. Expanded federal bioforensics program for tracking biological weapons
     
     
167. Developed a comprehensive cyber security and response strategy
     
     
168. Mandated standards for securing personal data
     
     
169. Required companies to disclose personal information data breaches
     
     
170. Worked to persuade the European Union to end credit guarantees to Iran
     
     
171. Seek to negotiate a political agreement on Cyprus
     
     
172. Restructured and streamlined USAID
     
     
173. Increased the size of the foreign service
     
     
174. Urged China to stop manipulation of its currency value
     
     
175. Pressed China to end its support for regimes in Sudan, Burma, Iran and Zimbabwe
     
     
176. Created a public “Contracts and Influence” database
     
     
177. Required Cabinet officials to host Internet town hall meetings
     
     
178. Conducted regulatory agency business in public
     
     
179. Promoted more pre-school education
     
     
180. Expanded Early Head Start and Head Start
     
     
181. Reformed No Child Left Behind
     
     
182. Doubled funding for Federal Charter School Program and require more accountability
     
     
183. Addressed the dropout crisis by giving schools incentives for more dropout prevention
     
     
184. Created Teacher Residency Programs that will send teachers to high-need schools
     
     
185. Expanded teacher mentoring programs and provide incentives for more planning time
     
     
186. Promoted innovative ways to reward good teachers
     
     
187. Simplified the application process for financial aid
     
     
188. Increased the number of high school students taking college-level courses
     
     
189. Created incentives for tree planting and promote carbon sequestration
     
     
190. Improved water quality
     
     
191. Regulated pollution from major livestock operations
     
     
192. Strengthened federal environmental justice programs
     
     
193. Increased funding for organic and sustainable agriculture
     
     
194. Partnered with landowners to conserve private lands
     
     
195. Created a community college partnership program
     
     
196. Increased funding for progams that conserve lands and habitat for select species such as the Osceola turkey
     
     
197. Supported wetlands protection
     
     
198. Promoted economic development in Mexico
     
     
199. Supported repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)
     
     
200. Vigorously pursued hate crimes and civil rights abuses
     
     
201. Signed the Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act into law
     
     
202. Supported regional innovation clusters
     
     
203. Helped low-income areas get phone and Internet service
     
     
204. Created a Homeowner Obligation Made Explicit (HOME) score for mortgage comparisons
     
     
205. Increased the supply of affordable housing throughout metropolitan regions
     
     
206. Invested in transitional jobs and career pathway programs
     
     
207. Fully funded the COPS program
     
     
208. Improved emergency response plans
     
     
209. Capped interest rates on payday loans and improve disclosure
     
     
210. Expanded public/private partnerships between schools and arts organizations
     
     
211. Improved climate change data records
     
     
212. Supported improved weather prediction program
     
     
213. Offered prizes for advances in consumer technology
     
     
214. Encouraged contests and programs to interest students in science
     
     
215. Increased research opportunities for college students
     
     
216. Strengthened the levees in New Orleans
     
     
217. Directed revenues from offshore oil and gas drilling to increased coastal hurricane protection
     
     
218. Shook loose federal money for rebuilding the Gulf Coast

- more -

http://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2012/02/24/what-do-americans-think-of-obamas-performance-as-a-president/

16 million: number of Americans who become eligible for Medicaid under the health care law
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002531684

In case you missed it: Good moves by the Obama administration
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002540300

BREAKING: Obama Administration To Establish Strong Carbon Pollution Limits For New Power Plants
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002476217

Barack Obama's Had a Pretty Damn Good Presidency
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/03/barack-obamas-had-pretty-damn-good-presidency

Obama-Biden 2012!

[ProSense]

13. Oops:

Shorter: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002626969

[Jamaal510]

39. I wish everybody could see this list.

Especially those undecided voters and conservatives who try to frame it as if Obama hasn't produced any change at all. Seriously, somebody should attend a few GOP rallies, and hang a bunch of flyers with a list of his accomplishments just to troll everyone there and to make Romney look stupid.

[eridani]

57. Political junkies care about lists, but nobody else does.

My comparatively non-involved neighbors don't give a rat's ass about laundry lists. All they care about is whether or not Obama is on their side.

[Skittles]

23. THE LIST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ProSense]

24. O.M.G.

[lonestarnot]

27. It's fucking loooooooooong!

[ProSense]

30. Just for you,

I'll shorten it:

16 million: number of Americans who become eligible for Medicaid under the health care law
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002531684

In case you missed it: Good moves by the Obama administration
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002540300

BREAKING: Obama Administration To Establish Strong Carbon Pollution Limits For New Power Plants
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002476217

[lonestarnot]

33. L!

I like L!

[NYC_SKP]

110. !

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

[Skittles]

36. just for lonestarnot?

what am I, chopped liver?

[lonestarnot]

111. Snort!

Yep!

[progressoid]

29. And six links.

[Old and In the Way]

44. Excellent compilation of Obama's accomplishments!

Thanks.

[stockholmer]

101. that list is very weak, full of fluff, much of it's so vague or commonplace as to render it useless

Is Obama better than Rmoney? Yes. But that is merely damning with faint praise.

The US 2-party sham system has truly devolved to a 'lesser-of-two-evils' paradigm, whilst your civil liberties are stripped, the banksters not only go unpunished, but further consolidate their power, and the empire marches on.

[got root]

15. Yeah, it is very creepy... after 911, everything changed, and now this is the new normal

imagine what would be said here if this was being done under bush.

hmmm...

[blue neen]

18. I know.

What did you think about the mention of Harry Truman?

[xchrom]

20. Very good to see you back BBI. Du rec. Nt

[SidDithers]

25. Keep trying...nt

Sid

[dionysus]

64. vaht?

[SunSeeker]

31. Who's getting your vote for President in November, BBI?

[sabrina 1]

52. I think you probably meant to ask Sid that question. BBI is a Democrat.

Posts often go the wrong person by accident.

[SidDithers]

61. ...

Sid

[Number23]

102. Wow. Looks like someone has a crush!

But you're the first person to actually respond to one of that person's NUMEROUS posts in this thread so is it reciprocal?

[SidDithers]

108. Damn, you've uncovered my secret...

Sid

[SunSeeker]

78. No, I meant to ask BBI, and I'm still waiting to hear.....

[mythology]

92. But one of them routinely posts anti-Obama posts and very little else.

Hint, it's not Sid.

[sabrina 1]

97. One of them posts about issues which used to be of importance to Democrats, and still are.

The other I rarely see posting about anything. Which is why one generates discussion while the other does not.

We are NOT Republicans who march in lockstep and followed their 'leader' no matter what, simply because it was their team. Democrats hold their Party accountable and will say when they think they are on the track. We slammed Republicans for refusing to do that, and look where their 'loyalty' got us? Had the Republican base refused to support every wrong policy of the Bush administration, our job right now would not be so difficult. We voted to reverse those disastrous policies and to remain silent if that is not happening, is to be like them. I never, ever want to be compared to Republicans who often knew their party was on the wrong track but remained silent rather than do their duty as citizens.

You seem to be objecting to what is a proud, Democratic tradition. I disagree with you.

[SidDithers]

98. One of them posts articles authored by racist shitbags...

and right-wingers.

I do not.

Sid

[JoePhilly]

60. I'm guessing Karl Rove.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

32. Looking "tough" is de rigeuer during campaign season. And, don't forget the flag pins.

[woo me with science]

34. DU Rec.

Once again, no response or refutation of the argument...because there isn't one.

Keep up the good work. Gotta shake this country awake.

[midnight]

35. Nuclear missiles to drones.

US Peace conference puts face to drone victims

- Common Dreams staff
International law experts, peace activists, journalists and human rights advocates from around the world gathered in Washington, DC over the weekend to inform the American public about US drone policy and the impact it is having on human populations throughout the world.


Protesters staging a demonstration against drone attacks in Pakistan. (AFP)
Peace group CODEPINK and the legal advocacy organizations Reprieve and the Center for Constitutional Rights hosted the first International Drone Summit as a way to build an organizing strategy against the growing use of drones, call an end to airstrikes that kill innocent civilians, and to prevent the potentially widespread misuse both overseas and in the United States.

"Drone victims are not just figures on a piece of paper, they are real people and that’s why it is important to see what happens on the ground when a missile hits a target," said Pakistani attorney Shahzad Akbar, according to the Pakistani newspaper DAWN. “We have to see what exactly is happening on the ground, what is happening to the people,” he told the Washington conference.

During his speech, journalist Jeremy Scahill, who has done in-depth reporting on the US drone program in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen, questioned the Obama Administration's policy of assassination. "What is happening to this country right now?" asked Scahill after noting that recent legislation in the US Congress opposing the assassination of US citizens abroad without due process received only six votes in the House of Representatives. "We have become a nation of assassins. We have become a nation that is somehow silent in the face of -- or embraces, as polls indicate -- the idea that assassination should be one of the centerpieces of US foreign policy. How dangerous is this? It's a throwback to another era -- an era that I think many Americans thought was behind them. And the most dangerous part of this is the complicity of ordinary people in it." [Note: See below, Part 4 at the 5:30 mark]

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/04/30-2

[Marr]

37. BBI, I've noticed there are rarely any rebuttals to your posts.

Just tons of kneejerk personal attacks that really remind me the Bushies of a few years ago, who were so quick to excommunicate anyone whose words they didn't want to consider.

[ProSense]

40. Here's one

The OP article made the following claim (which is really proof that it's nonsensical spin):

"Since the passage of his embattled healthcare bill, he has, in a sense, been in chains, able to accomplish next to nothing of his domestic program."

That's actually BS. The President has done a lot more since Health care passed.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002629948#post12

[Marr]

45. That wasn't a rebuttal-- it was a commercial.

A commercial I've seen about a thousand times.

[ProSense]

46. Of course,

"That wasn't a rebuttal-- it was a commercial.
A commercial I've seen about a thousand times."

...the nonsense in the OP hasn't been beaten like a dead horse, huh?

It's likely the reason that the author is making the idiotic claim that nothing has been done since health care reform passed.

I mean, the EPA rule, which is less than a month old, hasn't been repeated "a thousand times."

Obama does something, trot out stupid article with laundry list of bullshit claims and distort the facts to make it seem credible.

Obama launches his campaign, trot out stupid article with laundry list of bullshit claims and distort the facts to make it seem credible.

If the stupid claims can be repeated over and over, why can't the growing list of accomplishments be repeated?

In fact, when an article specifically states:

"Since the passage of his embattled healthcare bill, he has, in a sense, been in chains, able to accomplish next to nothing of his domestic program."

...it's a great time to pull out the "commercial."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002626969

[Major Hogwash]

48. The OP's droning on and on is boring.

He complains about the President of the United States using drones, yet he "carpet bombs" this forum with articles written by "gawd knows who" authors and then expects the rest of us to just throw away the 40 or 50 years we have invested in being Democrats simply after reading one of those worthless diatribes.

This is not just a case of "a shipment of major fail".
It's the Titanic all over again, 30 minutes after it sunk!!

[sabrina 1]

53. Then start your own OP about it. Do not derail threads other people are interested in. It doesn't

help your goals, whatever they are. People CARE about these issues. And I and others will be telling Dems just how much we care. So what is the point of coming into threads you clearly do not want to read? Just use 'thrash thread, or put BBI on ignore. The solution is simple. I know many people would not be here if issues are 'off the table' or if they cannot express how they feel about issues. If politics is not about issues, why on earth would people even bother with it?

[ProSense]

73. WTF?

"So what is the point of coming into threads you clearly do not want to read? Just use 'thrash thread, or put BBI on ignore. "

I responded to a specific point in the article.

You, on the other hand, are commenting on me. Maybe you should put me "on ignore."

Absurd!

[dionysus]

65. thats because his shtick is totally stale by this point...

[jeff47]

70. That's because those of us who have rebutted them quickly learned not to bother

Once you show the premise in the linked article is wrong, BBI stops replying. But a new article with new errors will be posted tomorrow.

There's no point in trying to have a discussion. That would require both sides to want to discuss a subject.

Just as an example, this article seems to forget an enormous number of Presidents who have actually conquered or tried to conquer other countries. Puerto Rico and Guam aren't US territories out of goodness and light. Heck, California, Arizona and New Mexico aren't US territory out of goodness and light. But Obama is the most imperial prezident evar!!1!

[BootinUp]

74. How many times do I need to consider a broken record before

I can discard/ignore it?

[Egalitarian Thug]

79. It's what they got. There are too many facts that they can't talk around and too many people

that refuse to ignore them, so this is what's left.

Believe me, I would love nothing better than to be able to honestly say "this President has done far more for us little people than Wall Street", but I can't. Nothing would please me more than being able to point to the thousands of infrastructure projects, pure research, expansion of civil rights, improvements to actual health care, reduction in poverty, and constant push to generally improve the lives of the citizens of this nation, but I can't do that either because he and they haven't done it.

No, we had our futures stolen from us and then pushed into generational debt to those who stole it by this Change President. And now we get the odious opportunity to decide which Wall Street Warrior we will suffer under for another four years. SCOTUS appointments are the sole factor in casting my vote for reelection.

[Better Believe It]

81. Well, it seems we have a few posters who would rather engage in drive-by personal attacks.

Endless trash talk and low-level personal attacks is their M.O.

That's because they find it difficult if not impossible to present any effective rebuttal to posts they disagree with.

[jeff47]

82. 'Fraid you're the one driving by

There's several rebuttals in this thread. You've yet to respond to them.

Perhaps before claiming ineptitude on the part of those you disagree with, you should actually respond to them. If they are truly so inept, it should be quite simple to show how wrong they are.

[Better Believe It]

86. So you think the author indicated an imperial President is something new in U.S. history?

Last edited Tue May 1, 2012, 05:03 PM - Edit history (2)

Where did he write that?

It's certainly taken on a new and aggressive form and has changed since President McKinley with covert operations, drone attacks, political assassinations, new repressive legislation, several invasions of other nations, U.S. troops in more nations than ever before and other manifestations since 9/11.

Do you really believe that President Obama is a non-imperial "peace prize" President?

[jeff47]

87. No, I think the author has a weak grasp of history if they think Obama's the most imperial

Where did he write that?

Probably next to wherever you think I wrote down this was "something new". Since neither was actually written down.

It's certainly taken on a new and aggressive form and has changed since President McKinley with covert operations, drone attacks, political assassinations, new repressive legislation, several invasions of other nations and other manifestations since 9/11.

Hold on a second.....Multiple massive invasions involving enormous numbers of troops storming multiple countries across the world to conquer their territory is the LESS aggressive action? Methinks you might want to re-calibrate a tad.

About the only thing "new" is the drones, because they weren't invented yet. Instead back then we blew the shit out of a city with battleships and field artillery. Yeah, that's SOOO much less aggressive than a drone strike. Covert operations? Political assassinations? Repressive Legislation? All are old "tools".

Btw:

other manifestations since 9/11.

Are you saying Obama's responsible for W's imperial presidency? Or did you drift a bit?

Do you really believe that President Obama is a non-imperial "peace prize" President?

Not even remotely close to what I've been saying. Let me try to sum up for you:

1) Your author's claim is Obama is the most imperial president ever. He or she cites....W. We've had 42 other presidents, and aside from a brief mention of Truman (in which they happen to be wrong wrong), no other president is cited. So there's absolutely no factual basis for their claim of "most imperial ever". Just their feelings.

2) I point out there's been far more imperial presidencies, involving things like actual conquest. I provide one example, because it's obvious the original author's grasp of history is poor. If you'd like, we can get examples all the way back to the Alien and Sedition Acts.

3) You now claim I'm saying Obama presidency is not at all imperial. Which I never said. You now also claim that despite both me and the author talking about history, somehow one of us is claiming this is new for Obama. Which neither of us said.

4) And now Marr (#37) has his example of why more people don't bother.

[Better Believe It]

88. And this afternoon we are treated to a marvelous Obama speech to the Afghan occupation troops.

"Are you saying Obama's responsible for W's imperial presidency?"

Not at all. President Obama has continued and intensified the Bush imperial presidency.

So, do you believe that President Obama is a non-imperial President, a less imperial President than Bush or a more imperial President?

A simple non-evasive answer to that question would be appreciated.

I assume you have an opinion on that which you'd like to share on DU. I'm still waiting for it.

And your answer is .....

I'm listening.



Oh .... I've noticed that the Commander in Chief has a lot of commanding to do around the world, certainly more than any previous government CEO in the Executive Mansion. I hope that hasn't escaped your attention.

[jeff47]

90. The answers have been provided over and over and over again.

You'd just pretend they haven't, so you can change the subject from your poorly-written author's post.

So, do you believe that President Obama is a non-imperial President, a less imperial President than Bush or a more imperial President?

Less. All the "bad" you blame on Obama are W's policies, and Obama isn't trying to conquer the middle east. To claim W was less imperial is a demonstration that one is not being objective. You'd have to claim that increased drone strikes are somehow more imperial than conquering Iraq. And that is patently insane.

However, neither W nor Obama are LBJ. Or FDR. That guy reaaaaaly loved his war powers. Perhaps we should consider Lincoln's jailing of people who said things he didn't like? Or do we ignore that MASSIVE first amendment violation because he ended slavery? Do the founders get a pass on the shit they pulled, even though they had just written the Constitution?

As for your map, here's a couple exercises that might help you:

First, how many of those places had no US presence, and then received troops after Obama took office?
Second, how many of those places have US troops that aren't providing training or other foreign aid?
I'll wait while you look it up.



Frankly, I think the issue is people on the left are measuring Obama not against other presidents, or reality, but the dream candidate in their head. When the actual Obama comes up lacking against their dream candidate, they declare him "Worst ever!!!!" without bothering to consider history.

Is Obama perfect? Fuck no. The guy's way too desperate for a grand bargain, for example. But he isn't Satan either.

[Better Believe It]

93. So you think President Obama is a less imperial President than George W. Bush!!!

Well thank you for finally presenting your opinion.

It was like pulling teeth!



Now I'd appreciate it if you would provide some evidence that President Obama has abandoned the world-wide war without end against alleged "terrorists" and imperial ambitions in the middle east and around the world.

Obama was alone, with the sole exception of the right-wing government of Canada, in opposing an end to the economic blockade of Cuba at the recent western hemisphere nation conference.

I suppose that's yet another example of his abandonment of old imperial policies.

[jeff47]

100. So according to you, Invading Iraq is less imperial than drone strikes?

Seriously.

Conquering a country is less imperial than drone strikes.

That is your argument.

Seek help.

Now I'd appreciate it if you would provide some evidence that President Obama has abandoned the world-wide war without end against alleged "terrorists" and imperial ambitions in the middle east and around the world.

You might wanna, you now, actually answer someone else's questions if you're gonna keep up the facade of having a debate.

Obama was alone, with the sole exception of the right-wing government of Canada, in opposing an end to the economic blockade of Cuba at the recent western hemisphere nation conference.

Which makes him exactly the same as every President since JFK.

Which means your claim of him being worse is wrong, by your own argument.

Remember, you have to show that Obama is the worst, not that Obama isn't better.

Or have you abandoned your own argument? Probably should go up and edit that OP then since you're admitting it's a lie.

[polichick]

105. True - there's a lot of hands-over-the-ears action.

[BlueIris]

51. If you want to know how,

look at where it all began. The explanation is obvious.

[sabrina 1]

54. Unless the people put a stop to this, the next president will be a lot worse.

Occupy!

[joshcryer]

55. He got elected.

Simple.

[eridani]

58. All American presidents since the end of WW II have been imperialists n/t

[jeff47]

84. You don't need the "since" clause in there. (nt)

[WonderGrunion]

107. Agreed

Go all the way back to the Monroe Doctrine

[JoePhilly]

59. How would Karl Rove counter the fact that "Obama killed OBL and the GOP didn't"

You take the point strength, and you claim its actually a weakness.

On the one year anniversary of the death of OBL ... suddenlywe see a flurry of "Obama is an imperialist" articles.

That is SOOOO weird.

Now let's cut to Arianna Huffington and she what she thinks ....

[jeff47]

62. Only by people like the OP forgetting history

Obama's not as transparent as you'd like.

William McKinley conquered Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines by pretending a fairly common boiler explosion was an attack on the US.

Or if you can't be bothered with history older than your lifetime, there was this guy who invaded Afghanistan and Iraq...what was his name again?

[dionysus]

63. keep trying.

[WI_DEM]

66. I love how BBI posts critical Obama articles but then he and his friends can say

but it's not him who is saying it but the author of the article! Brilliant!

[Better Believe It]

72. I think you're misrepresenting or simply haven't read my comments on articles that disagree

with some of Obama's policies.

For example, I have expressed strong criticisms of President Obama's attacks on our civil liberties and constitutional rights many times and have come under relentless attacks from a few posters for daring to express such opinions.

You seem to be stalking DU'ers looking for such dissenters ready to pounce on them with your drive-by attacks!

Isn't that right?

What I haven't done is gang up with other DU'ers in a similiar fashion against those who appear to be uncritical apologists for any and all actions taken by the Obama administration on every issue.

How many times have I personally attacked you and your lead posts?

If you continue such disruptive and anti-democratic bahavior I shall put you on my ignore list.

[SidDithers]

75. Especially when the authors of those articles are right wingers and racists...

Timothy P Carney, Avik Roy and Paul Craig Roberts are all sources that have been used recently.

Any port in a storm, I guess.

Sid

[jeff47]

76. I'm waiting for a link from Stormfront. (nt)

[EFerrari]

77. Do you have nothing to say about the article?

[Romulox]

68. It's *easy* to be a fan of this President, if you approve of due-process-free Drone Killings.

[Generic Other]

69. I wish I could come up with a defense of this president

but all I can think of is that he is not as bad as Bush was or Romney would be. I fear the imperial presidency is a permanent fixture in Washington DC no matter who the man is.

[Better Believe It]

95. I don't think I'm allowed to sell fast food to the drive-by attackers!

But that was a good idea!

[WonderGrunion]

99. Bullshit!

The Monroe Doctrine was the single greatest imperialistic act in our nations history. It put half the world under defacto control of the United States. No president has ever come close to this level of imperialism since this document became US policy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monroe_Doctrine

The Monroe Doctrine is a policy of the United States introduced on December 2, 1823. It stated that further efforts by European nations to colonize land or interfere with states in North or South America would be viewed as acts of aggression requiring U.S. intervention.[1] The Doctrine noted that the United States would neither interfere with existing European colonies nor meddle in the internal concerns of European countries. The Doctrine was issued at a time when nearly all Latin American colonies of Spain and Portugal had achieved independence from the Spanish Empire (except Bolivia, which became independent in 1825, and Cuba and Puerto Rico). The United States, working in agreement with Britain, wanted to guarantee no European power would move in.[2]

Noam Chomsky calls the Monroe Doctrine a "Declaration of Hegemony" in his 2004 book, Hegemony Or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance.

http://books.google.com/books?id=tzAC75P9sscC&pg=PA64&dq=noam+chomsky+hegemony+or+survival+doctrine+declaration+of+hegemony#v=onepage&q&f=false

Last I checked, Noam's liberal credentials kick Tom Engelhardt's in the ass.

[polichick]

104. I can't help wondering how Americans will feel when...

...somebody starts sending drones here.

[ProSense]

109. By

ending the Bush wars:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002633818

http://www.whitehouse.gov/iraq