Wednesday, January 21, 2009

DAY ONE, there's a new game in town!

Yes, there's a new game in town : it's called "competence". This is what a competent president can accomplish, especially when he has a competent team. I like competence. So refreshing!


Item One: trash that stupid Jacket Required Rule imposed by Bush in the Oval Office.

Day One Team Obama Accomplishments:

New WhiteHouse.gov website up with all policy proposals… and a blog.

Ordered federal agencies to halt all pending regulations from the Bush administration.

Suspended special military tribunals for Guantanamo detainees.

Ordered new ethics rules for “a clean break from business as usual.”

Announced a change in policy that will require each federal agency and department to give full attention to Freedom of Information requests, potentially revealing secrets hidden by the Bush administration.

“Transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this administration,” Obama said in a statement to reporters.

Circulated a draft executive order to close extra-legal prison at Guantanamo Bay within a year.

Made phone calls to Mahmoud Abbas and other Middle East leaders.

Met with economic advisers in the Roosevelt Room.

Held a meeting to discuss Iraq withdrawal plans with the National Security Advisor, Secretary of Defense, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and top commanders in the Situation Room.

Decided to appoint George Mitchell as a special Middle East envoy.

Set White House pay freeze and lobbying rules.

Retook the Oath of Office because Chief Justice Roberts garbled it.

Oh, and the President also attended a nice White House Open House.

Now MY question is: should Obama keep the Bush Sun-King Rug in the Oval Office?

Bush was quite fixated on this rug, never failing to tell visitors all about how Lady Laura commissioned it to reflect his optimism (cough, obliviousness).

What do you think? Send it and the magnolia china down to Dallas?

10 comments:

Annette said...

Yep, I think he should get rid of the rug..just keep the hardwood floors... I love hardwood. Maybe a nice throw rug or something if he needs something..lol

And yes get rid of that nasty ass china...lol
I LOVE the shirt sleeves.
BTW..it's NOT just GitMo...it is all the SECRET prisons...all those nasty CIA hell holes all over the world he is closing too. I didn't realize that either at first.
HOOORAY!!!!!!!

D.K. Raed said...

Annette:
I was just reading a NYT article about closing the other torture chambers. I shouldn't be shocked anymore, but still find it outrageous we would engage in RENDITION as a form of justice ... and worse, that supposed freedom-luvin' people would stand for it because Bush screeched about terra.

I think the rug cost us $200K? The china $550K? If Bush wants them for his legacy library, maybe he could cough up the dough. He supposedly found out how yesterday how much his Blind (gag) Trust made earned off his wars. I'm still trying to ferret out that info.

Annette said...

Geeze...I hope he chokes on another pretzel...especially now that we find out about all the wiretaps and such now. It just keeps coming and I am sure it is just going to be worse before it gets better.

Fran said...

Obama is kicking ass! He also particularly revoked Executive Order 13233 of November 1, 2001, which undoes a special regulation Bush made to keep upper level documents secret.

See, you put 2 smart lawyers in the white house (Michelle and Obama). and they are whipping this place into shape.

It great he is setting the tone for his admin, and fixing past crapola.

What a total breath of fresh air Obama is.

I just wish the gitmo shut down was on a faster track. For detainees to have to be there another year..... when they have already endured hell.
Imagine being stuck there if you are totally innocent & they had already stolen 5 years of your life.

D.K. Raed said...

Annette:
It has definitely been a shock to find out how widespread the wiretapping was. Now maybe we can guess why the homeland security dept is so huge & what all those detention camps might've been built for.

Fran:
The way I understand Obama's intent is until they can get hearing & trials, the prisoners are simply incarcerated in Gitmo. Bad yes, but not as bad as before. So now the Kit Bonds & John Cornyns are screeching about not sending any Gitmos to their states. Idiots! We are talking about trials & hearings to determine guilt. If minor guilt is established, they will probably stay in military prisons forever. If major guilt is established, they will probably be executed. There may even be a future use for GITMO as a holding place for enemy combatants pending trials. But not holding them for years! And no more TORTURE! Just a military prison for those awaiting trials. I can live with that. Of course, if we weren't involved in military actions, we wouldn't be bringing in those enemy combatants, but that is a different topic.

Tina said...

Prez O IS kicking ass as he races out of the gate.
The refunding of women's clinics around the world that help women obtain contraceptives and abortions, and his comments about the right of all Americans to privacy and the American woman's right to reproductive freedoms on the anniversary of Roe made my female heart soar.
As a wife and woman of child-bearing yrs, daughter, sister to sisters, aunt to nieces, and mommy to one daughter, I couldn't feel more strongly about this issue.
After going thru 2 near fatal pregnancies and having a little girl, I have become MUCH more fiercely pro-choice. I suspect that being raised by/with and choosing to have in his life such smart, strong, savvy and independent women as his grandmother, mother, sister, Michelle, and 2 daughters have shaped Prez O to feel the same way.
Isn't it funny that most Dem males come to value and respect a woman's reproductive freedoms whereby most GOP males are somehow threatened and frightened and want to take a woman's freedoms away? The only conclusion I can reach is this: What kind of weak and pathetic man is so terrified of a woman and her vagina? They are truly sad little minded and needle dicked wussies and I wouldn't want to be one of their poor chattle... err... females for all the money in the world.

Fran said...

Oh! Yea that rug looks like large scale barf.

Anemic, bad taste ug--ly.

I would not want to have to log hours in the room looking at that thing.

Send it to the Bush library.

I would have the oval office redone in a whole different color scheme,

That room looks like pepto bismol. Yuck,

D.K. Raed said...

Tina:
Yeah, I never understand what it is about CHOICE that prods these control-freaks in the gonads. Your conclusion reminded me of this very old guy I used to see picketing a Women's Health Clinic I had to pass on my to work. Everyday he'd be out there walking with canes, barely able to heave some pathetic sign at the passing cars. Once when he was hovering on the sidewalk near my car at the stoplight, I asked him "Why are YOU out here?" ... he pointed to his bloody fetal picket sign. I said, "No, I mean why are YOU so concerned with my uterus?" ... he said, "I'm here for God"!!! Fortunately the light turned green just then, so me & my uterus could drive away.

Fran:
That rug makes me seriously dizzy. It looks a little better in bright daylight which is, I'm sure, the only time Bush ever saw it. He definitely did not burn the midnight oil like you know Obama will be doing. I think if Bush reimburses us for the rug, we can ship it down to him N/C. Maybe drop it from Marine One down on his new home? We could arrange the same deal for Cheney's man-size safe. Just gotta make sure the heli-pilots have good aim. Wouldn't want to hurt any innocent bystanders.

enigma4ever said...

the china has gotta go ( although I would rather heave it somwhere...)
and then the rug- doggone ugly- gotta go....

D.K. Raed said...

Enigma:
Some TV pundit was talking today about how little Obama has personalized the Oval Office. So far, no family photos on the credenza, no favorite artwork, etc. I was thinking he's probably BLINDED by that damn rug!

Later today I heard Obama himself saying something like he's not into the plates, so I think they will be history .... as soon as he takes care of some of the important stuff!