Should The Obama Administration Investigate and Prosecute The Bush Administration?

During his reign King George used his executive powers to block Congressional requests for executive branch documents and testimony from former aides. Now that Bush will no longer rule, investigators are hoping that the Obama administration will open up Pandora’s filing cabinets and withdraw the declaration of executive privilege that Bush officials have used to keep from raising their right hands and swearing under oath.

“I intend to ensure that our outstanding subpoenas and document requests relating to the US attorneys matter are enforced,” said Representative John Conyers Jr. (D-MI) chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. “I am hopeful that progress can be made with the coming of the new administration.”

The American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights First have  and Human Rights First already have detailed reports ready for the new administration calling for criminal investigations into severe allegations of abuse of detainees at Guantanamo and other American holding prison oversees, etc.

With America and the world in the midst of a severe economic crisis, no one knows if President Obama will give his blessings to any such investigation, but we can hope. 

Since Presidents don’t have crystal balls and don’t know what kind of prickly situations they might find themselves in during their tenure, some tend not to pursue investigations into their predecessor’s acts while in office. George W. Bush used executive privilege for the first time in 2001 to stop Congressional Republicans from investigating the Clinton administration.

In April Obama told The Philadelphia Daily News that people need to discern what warranties an investigation and shouldn’t be eager to investigate just for investigations sake.  “If crimes have been committed, they should be investigated,” Obama said, but added, “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.”

But even if Obama himself throws-out the calls for investigations, he cannot control what the courts or Congress does.

Let’s hope that Representatives Conyers and Kucinich stay vigilant and prosecute Bush and Cheney for all their transgressions.

Also read: https://letustalk.wordpress.com/2008/06/09/drama-congressman-dennis-kucinich-calls-for-bush-impeachment/

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Senator Barack Obama: Presumptive Nominee! Will I Cry?

  Tonight just might be the night Senator Barack Obama officially becomes the Presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party of the United States of America.  If all I have read today is correct and this happens, it will be a night to remember.  Will I cry?

 

This will be a monumental night of great proportions for America.  This will show that many of us have reached a point in our lives where we believe that we can get to the mountain top together.  TOGETHER.  We are so much stronger and better when we stand together.  Stronger because Barack did not just get black votes; he got white votes, Hispanic/Latino votes, Native American votes, Asian votes.  We did this TOGETHER.

 

Most of us will stand tall tonight.  Most of us will be proud, happy, joyous, and emotional all at the same time.  We will feel really, really, really good. 

 

During a speech in Atlanta in January 2008, Obama recalled the story of Joshua.  He said that the scripture tells us that when Joshua and the Israelites arrived at the gates of Jericho, they could not enter. The walls of the city were too steep for any one person to climb; too strong to be taken down with brute force. And so they sat for days, unable to pass on through.

 

He goes on to say that, God had a plan for His people. He told them to stand together and march together around the city, and on the seventh day He told them that when they heard the sound of the ram’s horn, they should speak with one voice. And at the chosen hour, when the horn sounded and a chorus of voices cried out together, the mighty walls of Jericho would come tumbling down, and it did. 

 

There are many lessons to take from this passage, just as there are many lessons to take from what tonight means. Tonight is not about the deplorable past.  Tonight is about a brilliant future.  Tonight is about newness and oneness and unity.  Unity is how we will overcome the republicans during the general elections on November 4.