.......... wrote:
wub i think he is working on some of your top 43 problems...
I'm now going to underline which of the 43 issues could be resolved immediately, or else for which Obama is directly culpable, thus rendering the idea that he's somehow trying to resolve the issue obsolete:
(1) Withdraw all US troops immediately from all overseas conflicts - this could arguably take some time, but Obama could certainly signal this intention immediately.
(2) Stop funding Islamic militants in Syria as a pretext to invade the country.
(3) Guarantee that Iran will not be subject to military action.
(4) Concede that it's totally hypocritical for the US to be dictating to Iran regarding nuclear weapons when they possess thousands, and are the only country in history to have utilised atomic weaponry.
(5) Acknowledge the US role in creating the conditions that exist in Iran by their meddling foreign policy towards the country, beginning with Operation Ajax in 1953 (this was mentioned by Ron Paul during his election campaign).
(6) Close down all overseas US military bases. If this costs jobs then there are many ways to reorganise the economy, including, for example, paying people to retrain. - this would also take some time, but the intention could be announced immediately.
(7) Slash the US defence budget to almost zero, simply retaining enough expenditure to maintain a modicum of home defence (which will never be needed as no country will ever attack the US mainland) thereby almost eradicating the budget deficit overnight. - this would also take some time, but the intention could be announced immediately.
(8) Divert some of the trillions of dollars of black budgets that are currently poured into clandestine Pentagon programmes into, firstly, eliminating the budget deficit, secondly, reducing some of the US' external and government debt, and thirdly, to fund existing and new social programmes.
(9) Close down Guantanomo Bay as he promised to do during the election campaign.
(10) Close down other less high profile prison camps that resemble Guantanomo Bay as well.
(11) End the policy of 'extraordinary rendition' as he promised during the election campaign.
- note that Obama has claimed to have ended the policy of 'extraordinary rendition', but still reserves the right to engage in rendition. Surprisingly, it wasn't the word 'extraordinary' that was important, it was the word 'rendition'.
(12) Apologise explicitly and publicly for the US policy of bombing Vietnam with Agent Orange, and make immediate plans to pay the Vietnamese the compensation that they have never received.
(13) Renegotiate - or better still end - the North American Free Trade Agreement as he promised to do so during the election campaign. - possibly can't be achieved immediately, but Obama could signal his intention to do so immediately.
(14) Properly audit the Federal Reserve and hold it accountable for its actions. - would take some time to carry out, but intention to do so could be signalled immediately.
(15) Begin a huge independent inquiry into precisely where the TARP bailout money went (which Bernanake was unable to account for) and what is was used for, and explicitly ensure that public money isn't used to bail out huge investment banks again. - would take some time to carry out, but intention to do so could be signalled immediately.
(16) End all high frequency trading within the United States.
(17) Ban all corporate lobbyists from Washington. In fact, I wouldn't have any objection to charitable lobbyists being banned as well.
(18) Uphold the US constitution as he proclaimed he would do as he studied constitutional law in Chicago, instead of trampling all over it as he has.
(19) End the Security and Prosperity Partnership, and guarantee that there will be no further agreements of this nature.
(20) End the push for Cap and Trade and guarantee that no similar legislation will be put before Congress again.
(21) Once the US budget deficit has been eliminated - which would be the case if points (i) - (viii) were implemented - end the policy of quantitative easing immediately.
(22) Any surplus budget, which would easily be created by ending the Pentgaon black budgets should be diverted into (a) paying off some of the existing debt, (b) boosting America's gold reserves, (c) subsidising local, small-scale farmers, (d) funding social, educational and training programme for the poorest people in society. I would start with the 47 million people on food stamps. I would be looking to end the food stamp programme and have people do something productive for which they would receive a government paycheck. This is perfectly achievable.
(23) End US military aid to Israel, publicly acknowledge that Israel is occupying Palestine, state that a peaceful, two-state resolution would be the best outcome, but that the United States will no longer intervene directly.
(24) End US arms sales all over the world, particularly focusing on not selling arms and having favourable trading relationships with countries with abysmal human rights records, such as Saudi Arabia.
(25) Order a huge independent investigation into 9/11, and fund it properly, while ensuring that the people who sit on the commission can't be accused of massive vested interest, and that no hypothesis is automatically ruled out before the commission begins looking at the evidence. - this would take some time, but the intention to do so could be signalled immediately.
(26) End all drone bombing. Explicitly state that no further drone bombing will take place ever again. Publicly acknowledge the authoritative studies that have taken place which indicate that the policy kills ten civilians per militant that it targets. Apologise publicly for all the civilians that have been slaughtered by US drone bombing in Pakistan, Somalia, Libya, Yemen, etc.
(27) End all forms of corporate welfare immediately.
(28) Stop using signing statements to by-pass Congress, as you promised you'd do during the election campaign.
(29) Publish bills online before they are passed into law, as you promised you'd do during the election campaign.
(30) End the illegal wiretapping of American citizens, as you promised you'd do during the election campaign.
(31) Shelve the plans for a National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace, which amounts to spying on, not only the American people, but people all over the world.
(32) Don't allow such appalling and compromised people to fill key positions such as Lawrence Summers, Robert Gates, William Lynn, David Axelrod and Hillary Clinton.
(33) Attempt to limit the influence of groups such as the Trilateral Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations and Bilderberg, by not appointing dozens of their members to key positions as Obama did during his first term.
(34) Attempt to limit the influence of huge financial institutions on the political process by not appointing dozens of people with clear links to Goldman Sachs to key position as Obama did during his first term.
(35) Don't appoint people like Zbigniew Brzezinski to key advisory positions.
(36) Seeing as you supposedly represent black people and their interests, perhaps actually appoint some non-white people to serve in your government, thus at least giving some vague indication that it represents something approaching the full spectrum of people in the United States, and not just the fat, white, rich status quo.
(37) Investigate the huge manipulation of markets in the United States, particularly derivatives and precious metals. - this would take some time to carry out, but he could signal the intention to do so immediately.
(38) Actually ensure that some of the banksters who commit massive fraud are tried in courts of law as criminals, not made to pay a piss in pot fine, without any other recriminations whatsover. This would be nothing new, as thousands of bankers were jailed during the Saving & Loan crisis during the 1980s and 1990s. - this would take some time to carry out, but he could signal the intention to do so immediately.
(39) Repeal the deeply unconstitutional PATRIOT Act that was passed in the aftermath of 9/11.
(40) End the increasing, and completely unnecessary, militarisation of the police.
(41) State explicitly that you will uphold states' rights in the future, and ensure that federal law will not be imposed on individual states against their will.
(42) Completely reassess the nation's energy and food policies with regards to biotech, GM food, biofuels, etc. - this would take some time to carry out, but he could signal the intention to do so immediately.
(43) State explicitly that you will uphold the Bill of Rights and Constitution, but that moves will be made to instigate direct democracy in the United States, whereby the government, and federal laws / bills made by the government, can be held directly accountable by the people in regular referenda, and that people can raise their own issues and bills for vote if they can get enough people to sponsor / sign up for them. Essentially, the Swiss system of cantonal-based direct democracy could easily be copied in the United States as they already have the perfect separation of the country into fifty states. - this would take some time to carry out, but he could signal the intention to do so immediately.
So that would be 41 out of 43.
