Check out this link from Truthout.org: http://www.truthout.org/111108S
While most administrations create these kinds of last minute regulations, Bush and Co. appear to continue their assault on civil liberties, the environment, the little guy, etc... And, they are trying to get these regs in with enough time to prevent Obama from reversing them without a great deal of work. It must me noted that these guys are so totally shameless in their pursuit of their agenda.
Which brings me to note the continuing self-immolation of the Republican punditry. There is this kind of self-righteous flagelation that only reveals a total lack of acceptance of the failure of their ideology. It continues to be so hard for me to hear this kind of sour grapes stuff from a group of people who have engendered the kind of hatred that leads to booing and cat calls when McCain makes his concession speech. Liberals are so much more respectful.
I also have to say that it feels quite weird to feel that one's perspective in the world is validated. I feel that I have been exiled for so long (I even wrote the following song several years ago):
Enlightenment has faded
A new world is comin’ to be
I’m havin’ trouble seein'
What it has to do with me
Primitive are the words I hear
Comin’ from your mouth
I don’t want to say it
But we’re all headin’ south
The world I know has crumbled
Replaced by things I can’t see
I’ve heard talk about what’s ahead
It’s not including me
I want to get up – run and hide
But there’s no place to go
A gerbil runnin’ on his wheel
That’s me, that’s me so
I’m Exiled - within my own space
Exiled - a refugee in my place
Exiled - that’s the case
Exiled - like having mace sprayed in my face
I thought my mind was flexible
In that I guess I’m wrong
I'm havin' trouble writin'
These feelings in a song
Days go by and I feel worse
My ideas have been pushed aside
The feeling of being exiled
Tears me up inside
So what am I supposed to say
How are we to talk
When our ideas are so divergent
And there’s no place to walk
I don’t see my way beyond
The place we are today
You rise up and I fall down
That’s all I've got to say – so
I’m Exiled –in my home
Exiled – no place to roam
Exiled – there's no place for me
In your ideology
I’m Exiled - within my own space
Exiled - a refugee in my place
Exiled - that’s the case
Exiled - An IED in my face
I'm really not sure how to feel about this so far. Our man Obama is certainly a mixed bag, but I still have to accept that only 43% of white voters in the country voted for the man. That means that 57% of whites continue to hold extremely right wing views. I guess one has to look at the bright side and see that 43% of whites were willing to vote for a black guy - that is something after all.
Still, I think the Republicans have been incredibly successful in their agenda to make sure that governement would fail so that government would look like the problem they have been saying it is all along. This success, and the mess that this agenda has left for us, will make it very difficult for anything to get done (I'm not sure we can pay for any of the things Obama has promised). But I guess we shall see.
My main hope is that Obama will reverse the Bush adminstration's policies on domestic spying, suspension of Habeas Corpus, Guantanamo Bay detentions, and all of the rest of the unconstitutional abdications. Again, I would reiterate that the right wing tends toward paranoia (not to diminish the real threats that are out there) which leads to these kinds of failures of rationality and sticking with the country's fundamentals (which, by the way, is the right wings mantra when it comes to Judicial appointments and constitutional issues - but they are really a bunch of hypocrites when it comes right down to it - the 2000 election decision by the right wing of the Supreme Court is a prime example).
But no one is really talking about this particular issue, and as I have said before, there was little to no mention of the suspention of constitutional protections during the primary or election campaign (much to my chagrin). I would like to see some signal coming from the Obama team that they are going to work on this.
I think that it would be a great idea for Al Gore to be involved at a cabinet level position to direct global warming initiatives (Though he may be doing a better job outside of govt. than he would inside it). I am happy Obama is talking about green technology and starting a kind of New Deal infrastruture plan to encourage this kind of growth, but I would really like to see a real push by Congress and the Executive to institute mandates for renewable energy sources and cars that don't run on fossile fuels.
I heard on NPR part of a conversation in which the host was asking if the election of Obama was a signal to the country that the 60s were over. Actually, I think that it is a signal that the 60s have only just begun! Lets continue to hope and work together to really transform how people in the country see themselves in relation to the world (acceptance of a more global and historical outlook), see themselves in relation to others (stop being a bunch of bigots and xenophobes), and being able to value intelligence (and understand that there are people who know more than you do, to seek out answers through exploration of ideas and not to just reject ideas because they conflict with an uninformed world view). Let us hope that we can achieve some of these goals while we have the upper hand - and while the forces of ignorance that drag us backward are in decline once again.
Finally, a much more personal note. On the night Obama won, my father called me to say that he hoped that this election will lead to a country in which my children would have the same opportunities that his generation had. On the one hand, I felt that there was this feeling in his generation that their children have had to struggle more then they did because of the catastrophic policies of the last 30 years (and especially the last 8). On the other hand, his comment really expressed in a nut shell the type of coming out from under the lead blanket that has been pushing the country down for so long. Lets hope that the forces of ignorance, fear, oppression, and radicalization don't drag us back into hiding.
