Like torture? -- George W. Obama (Village Voice)

[kpete]

Nat Hentoff
George W. Obama
After his first year, Obama shows his true face
By Nat Hentoff
Tuesday, January 12th 2010 at 3:33pm

............

Like torture.

I increasingly wonder whose Constitution Barack Obama was teaching at the University of Chicago. China's? North Korea's? Robert Mugabe's? Glenn Greenwald, a former constitutional lawyer, whose byline I never miss on the Internet, asks: "What kind of a country passes a law that has no purpose other than to empower its leader to suppress evidence of the torture it inflicted on people?

I often disagree with ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero—though I'm almost always in synch with his lawyers in the field—but Romero is right about Obama creating "Gitmo North": "While the Obama administration inherited the Guantánamo debacle, this current move is its own affirmative adoption of those policies. It is unimaginable that the Obama administration is using the same justification as the Bush administration used to undercut centuries of legal jurisprudence and the principle of innocent until proved guilty and the right to confront one's accusers. . . . The Obama administration's announcement contradicts everything the president has said about the need for America to return to leading with its values. American values do not contemplate disregarding our Constitution and skirting the criminal justice system."

If Dick Cheney were a gentleman, instead of continuing to criticize this president, he would congratulate him on his faithful allegiance to many signature policies of the Bush-Cheney transformation of America.

.................."

Maybe Dick Cheney can ask Barack to confirm him as a friend on Facebook.

much more plus "too many" links, kp!
http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-01-12/columns/george-w-obama/

[shadesofgray]

1. K&R. Just one of the many Obama things there is absolutely no excuse for.

[Solly Mack]

2. K&R

[billyoc]

3. K&R for the Bush-Obama Doctrine.

[blogslut]

4. I knew this would be a Hentoff piece n/t

[Don Caballero]

5. Nat Hentoff?

No thanks.

[frog92969]

6. Let's all attack the messenger

and ignore the message!
:bounce:

K&R

[ThomCat]

7. There seems to be a lot of that going on recently.

If people are so very selective about who they bother to read, then they can assure themselves that the they will never, ever read anyone who says anything uncomfortable. They will never have to challenge their thinking.

If you only read people who say things you know you will agree with then you aren't likely to learn much.

They don't want to learn that Obama is continuing rendition and torture though. They don't want to know that Obama is arguing in court that the government can never be brought to trial or sued. They don't want to know that Obama is setting it in stone that Torture as an American Policy can never be challenged.

It all seems very Un-Democratic to me, and it should be un-American, but apparently it isn't. :(

[Solly Mack]

9. To be fair - there's a lot to attack him over.

His support for the invasion of Iraq. His defense of Bush's lies to invade Iraq. His support of Clinton's impeachment. To name just a few things.

And the article is chock full of hyperbole....which is something Hentoff excels at.

That said...I wondered if people would attack him - or read the piece and refute (or not) the major points

[frog92969]

10. I'd never heard of him

but I came to politics post Iraq invasion.

I won't doubt that he's a tool, but what he says here is exactly what I'm seeing.
And it's a very painful truth that I take no joy in.

[Solly Mack]

11. I can't refute the major points. I stand with the ACLU on these issues.

[blogslut]

12. I won't read the piece

And I won't read it because it was written by Hentoff. I stopped reading him years ago when he launched his Beatles hate crusade.

Now, if it's Village Voice and Tom Robbins, I will read it. He's got a great article up right now. Can't read Sydney Schanberg @ the Voice anymore because he quit in protest after the paper was sold and new management fired a bunch of good people.

[Solly Mack]

13. I understand that he's an automatic turn-off for many people

Still, I was curious...(if people would read the article or not)

I missed his Beatles hate crusade (thankfully)

I only read him if he's posted on DU. He's not someone I go out of my way to read.

[blogslut]

14. It was the early 90's, I think

And I could be wrong that it was sheer hate but I distinctly remember being completely disgusted with his viewpoint and vowed to never read him again.

[Solly Mack]

15. I have the neatest Beatles xmas ornament. I had to have it.

I keep it on display always. lol

[blogslut]

16. I'm no fan of music crtics to begin with but

I know I vowed to stop reading him and after (just now) finding this little gem on freaking Lew Rockwell:

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig8/whitehead6.1.1.html

Well, fuck Nat Hentoff.

[Solly Mack]

17. I think that was posted on DU a while back

or some portion of it anyway...quotes, maybe.

Not an article I'd recommend at all.

[leftstreet]

8. K&R