Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Waterboarding

It has been reported in a New York Times article that C.I.A. interrogators used waterboarding much more than we previously were aware of. Waterboarding was used 83 times against Abu Zubaydah in August 2002. Former C.I.A. official John Kiriakou had previously reported that waterboarding had only been used for 35 seconds before Zubaydah agreed to tell everything. The C.I.A. used waterboarding 183 times in March 2003 against Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the mastermind behind the September 11, 2001 attacks.

President Obama has said that he “opposes Congressional proposals for a truth commission to examine Bush administration counterterrorism programs, including interrogation.” The Senate Intelligence Committee is investigating the C.I.A. interrogation program.

I am disgusted at President Obama for not supporting what needs to be done to get information from terrorists. The terrorists have no compassion for Americans and would kill us all if they could. The government needs to continue to use the methods necessary to help prevent this from happening.

Monday, April 13, 2009

State Cuts Delay U.S. Benefits, Official Says

Due to layoffs and furloughs of state employees, tens of thousands of severely disabled American’s benefits are being delayed. This according to a New York Times article dated April 13, 2009. Commissioner of Social Security Michael J. Astrue made the statement on Sunday that governors are hurting their states by trying to help balance budgets. He also says that states don’t save money by lay offs or furlough, they just hurt disabled people who need their money.

Mr. Astrue said that the Social Security system is so backed up with disputed claims that people may wait years for hearings. President Obama’s stimulus bill gave $500 million to help “reduce the backlog of disability claims.” Congress could take action to have the federal government take over the work that is performed by the states.

I think this is disgraceful. States saving money at the expense of disabled Americans. The government is supposed to take care of disabled people, not hold their benefits just to “balance the budget.” Just when I think the government has reached their low, they go even lower.

Showdown Seen Between Banks and Regulators

In a New York Times article dated April 11, 2009, the Obama administration has the nation’s largest banks scared about the repayment of bailout money. On Friday, Obama announced that we are starting to see “glimmers of hope across the economy.” Banks in better shape want to get their dept repaid quickly. The new administration wants weaker banks to move quickly to get rid of bad assets. But these banks don’t want to take a big loss.

As the bailout money is dwindling, tensions are rising between banks and the Obama administration. Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York stated that “between now and Memorial Day we’re going to know a whole lot more about the degree of trouble the banks are in.”

I feel that the banks should be scared at this time. They were giving loans to people that they should not have been. Now is the time to pay the price. The banks that got bailout money should be getting ready to pay up.

Monday, April 6, 2009

New Senate Election in Alaska?

In a New York Times article dated April 3, 2009, Republicans in Alaska are outraged at the Justice Department due to apparent mishandling of the prosecution of former Senator Ted Stevens. Alaskans are claiming that they have been “robbed of 40 years of seniority in the U.S. Senate.” Randy Reudrich, the Republican Party chairman, is asking for a special election, as the Justice Department has dropped all charges against Stevens.

Stevens has been Senator since 1968 and was the longest-serving Republican in history. Stevens replacement, Mark Begich, is a Democrat that won by less than 4,000 votes against Stevens. Now that the charges are being dropped against Stevens, Begich has no intentions of stepping down. Begich’s election increased the Democrats’ majority in the Senate. Now, Democrats are two votes away from the 60 needed to overcome a filibuster.

I feel that Stevens has been done very wrong. No matter what happens now, his name will be associated with “corrupt politics”, even if he is innocent. He has also been wrongly replaced in the Senate.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Battles Over Reform Plan Lie Ahead

Treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, said “Our financial system failed in fundamental ways,” in a New York Times article on March 26, 2009. It sounds as though both lawmakers and financial industry lobbying groups completely agree with Geithner that smarter tougher regulation is needed.

It took years to overhaul regulation of the financial industry which was related to Depression-era laws that separated commercial banks from investment banks. Geithner says that hedge funds and private equity funds would have to now register with the S.E.C. Credit-default swaps would also come under supervision for the first time. He has proposed to allow the government to seize control of troubled institutions whose bankruptcy might further damage the financial system.

I feel that supervision on financial institutions must happen in order to save what economy that we have left. It is such a shame that no one thought this was a good idea 18 months ago when thing started going bad.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Obama's Secret Letter

In a secret letter sent to Russia’s president Dmitri A. Medvedev, President Obama proposed abandoning the idea of a new missile defense system in Eastern Europe if Moscow would assist the United States in stopping Iran from developing long range weapons. As reported in a New York Times article on March 3, 2009, the letter was hand-delivered three weeks ago by officials. The letter stated that the United States would have no need for the interceptor system, if Iran put a stop to the idea of building nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles.

President Medvedev has not yet responded to the letter. A Russian official did comment that Foreign minister Sergey V. Lavrov would speak with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the subject when they meet in Geneva on Friday. President Obama and President Medvedev will be meeting in London on April 2.

This secret letter was sent in response to a letter that President Medvedev sent to President Obama shortly after he took office. He hopes to “press the reset button” on Russian-American relations.

I feel this is a good move on both parties. It shows that Russia wants a new start with the Obama presidency, and that President Obama is willing to entertain this idea. If we can work with Russia in a so-called “partnership,” I think it could be a win-win situation for both countries.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Secretary of State

The Secretary of State is the president’s chief arm for carrying out diplomatic affairs. In the New York Times article, Hillary Clinton, the new appointed Secretary of State, is modernizing the position. On Friday morning, she warned North Korea not to test long range missiles. Later that afternoon, she was answering questions posed to her by a Korean student about her love life.

Clinton is mixing security with personal family experiences. She says that she is determined to “make a connection with people in a non traditional way that is not just a staged handshake and photo.” People are excited to see Clinton; she is one of the most famous women in the world. 3000 female students packed Ewha Womans University in Seoul to hear her speak. Clinton wants to connect with people on a personal level. She believes that this in turn can help mold public opinion and influence governments.

I feel that Clinton is doing the right thing. She is a celebrity and is using this for the good of our country. I think that the “personal touch” is just what politics needs, instead of the same old stale approach.