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Friday, June 5, 2009 12:00 AM

Are House Democrats about to block Obama's new secrecy law?

Defeat of the Graham-Lieberman amendment would be an important blow against secrecy and presidential power abuses.

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  • Friday, June 5, 2009 09:02 PM

    It gets worse

    The New York Times just published a story: Obama is considering "allowing" prisoners at Guantanamo to plead guilty and be executed without a trial. Why? So that the details of their treatment - i.e. torture - over the past seven years can be kept secret forever.

    Obama Weighs Plan Allowing 9/11 Suspects to Plead Guilty - http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/06/us/politics/06gitmo.html

    So we took these guys without charging them with any crime, tortured them for seven years, and now we'll "allow" them to plead guilty and be executed. Many will do exactly that. Some want martyrdom, and some just want the torture and imprisonment to end. There have been many hunger strikes and suicide attempts at Guantanamo.

    In my book, this places Obama on the exact same moral level as George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. He is actively covering up torture, and he'll commit multiple murders to do so (sorry, but just because he's President that doesn't mean that it's somehow legal for him to kill without going through due process). And he won't even allow an investigation to determine if the people he's going to murder are guilty of anything.

    Between that and his support of the Graham-Lieberman amendment that would give himself and the Pentagon unilateral power to seize, suppress, and destroy any "photograph taken between September 11, 2001 and January 22, 2009 relating to the treatment of individuals engaged, captured, or detained after September 11, 2001, by the Armed Forces of the United States in operations outside of the United States." - well, it's clear that Obama has firmly aligned himself with torture, governmental secrecy, and a profound contempt for democracy and the First Amendment.

    Republicans can dance in the streets. It turns out their man won, after all. Obama is nothing more than Bush and Cheney wrapped up in a single, better-looking and more-articulate package.

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