Tuesday, October 21, 2014

The Boston Globe: Vote all you want. The secret government won’t change.

Via WRSA

The people we elect aren’t the ones calling the shots, says Tufts University’s Michael Glennon

The voters who put Barack Obama in office expected some big changes. From the NSA’s warrantless wiretapping to Guantanamo Bay to the Patriot Act, candidate Obama was a defender of civil liberties and privacy, promising a dramatically different approach from his predecessor.

But six years into his administration, the Obama version of national security looks almost indistinguishable from the one he inherited. Guantanamo Bay remains open. The NSA has, if anything, become more aggressive in monitoring Americans. Drone strikes have escalated. Most recently it was reported that the same president who won a Nobel Prize in part for promoting nuclear disarmament is spending up to $1 trillion modernizing and revitalizing America’s nuclear weapons.

Why did the face in the Oval Office change but the policies remain the same? Critics tend to focus on Obama himself, a leader who perhaps has shifted with politics to take a harder line. But Tufts University political scientist Michael J. Glennon has a more pessimistic answer: Obama couldn’t have changed policies much even if he tried.


10 comments:

  1. Interesting that the Boston Globe printed this article.

    Bob
    III

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    1. Yes, though they are more conservative that the rest of the culprits, not sure if that means much though. :)

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  2. If I remember correctly, just after Obama was elected W told some press person that he wasn't worried about what Obama would do as president. He said something to the effect of "once he gets the secret briefings he'll realize he has no choice in what he does".

    With all that said, I'd still feel a hell of a lot better with W or Romney. CH

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    1. I'd feel better with anyone who wasn't a commie. :)

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  3. I have been saying this for a long time. The faces we elect are just puppets for those truly in power. Elections are just to let the worthless masses think they have a voice. Since the Republic was killed in 1865 and the elites seized total power in 1913 the direction of America has never changed. The constant march of less freedom more “Federal” control has moved forward. It never mattered which party was in charge look back for yourself and see. The direction of America has never moved off course.

    Badger

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    1. The constant march of less freedom more “Federal” control has moved forward. It never mattered which party was in charge look back for yourself and see. The direction of America has never moved off course.

      Well, the Founders thought....... there would always be men of their caliber at the helm.

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  4. It is the, permanently in place, federal employee that drives government to ever larger proportions. They see hazards, risks, and danger that, if only they were more numerous and better paid, could be fixed and we could live happily ever after. Happily ever after will never occur in a nanny's world...just observe Bloomberg or any pain in the ass gloating narcissist that finds it impossible to leave people alone.

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    1. just observe Bloomberg or any pain in the ass gloating narcissist that finds it impossible to leave people alone.

      Really.

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  5. Makes it all seem hopeless. Does this mean obama goes golfing (when he should be at work) because his presence just dont really matter? I thought it was because he just dont give a shit. If this is really the case (and our vote wont change it ) then who do we hold responsible?

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