It's only his first day in office, but President Obama has already signaled a serious commitment to transparency and accountability in government. The President ordered federal agencies in a memorandum released today to approach the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) "with a clear presumption: in the face of doubt, openness prevails."
This message is in line with advice EFF and other nonprofits gave the Obama Transition Team on transparency issues shortly after the election.
According to Obama's memo:
All agencies should adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure, in order to renew their commitment to the principles embodied in FOIA, and to usher in a new era of open Government. The presumption of disclosure should be applied to all decisions involving FOIA.
This statement is almost certainly meant to address a controversial memo issued by John Ashcroft in the wake of 9/11, which ordered agencies to disclose information only after considering all possible reasons to withhold it, and assured them that government lawyers would defend their decisions in court unless they had no "sound legal basis." Many open government advocates believe Ashcroft's policy effectively gutted the FOIA over the past several years. Today's memo doesn't explicitly reverse that policy, but directs the incoming attorney general to issue new FOIA guidelines to agencies "reaffirming the commitment to accountability and transparency." This is a big step in the right direction.
The memo doesn't stop there. It goes on to say:
The presumption of disclosure also means that agencies should take affirmative steps to make information public. They should not wait for specific requests from the public. All agencies should use modern technology to inform citizens about what is known and done by their Government. Disclosure should be timely.
Toward that end, the memo orders the Office of Management and Budget to issue guidance on how agencies can improve information dissemination, including through the use of new technologies.
We've still got some unanswered questions. While we're hopeful that this new era of openness will make our FOIA work easier, it remains to be seen how or when the memo's directives will be implemented. Regardless, we're excited and optimistic about the President's emphasis on open government, and look forward to the Administration's next steps.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/01/on-day-one-obama-demands-open-government
Some newspaper editorials, for all their criticism, suggested historians might just be kinder later on than those now writing first drafts of history. A success often cited by those seeking a silver lining was the United States' freedom from further homeland attacks following September 11.
Bush's successor, Barack Obama, will be sworn in as the 44th U.S. president on Tuesday.
"A weak leader, Bush was just overwhelmed in the job," said Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung under a headline: "The Failure." "He confused stubbornness with principles. America has become intolerant and it will take a long time to repair that damage."
Editorials hit out at Bush for two unfinished wars, for plunging the economy into recession, turning a budget surplus into a pile of debt, for his environment policies and tarnishing America's reputation with the Guantanamo Bay detention center.
Bush was given credit in some editorials for defending the United States against terror attacks after September 11, 2001.
Israel was most complimentary, of his intentions if not necessarily of his achievements.
"Of all the U.S. presidents over the past 60 years, it is hard to think of a better friend to Israel than George W. Bush," the Jerusalem Post daily wrote during Bush's final visit.
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE50I2OV20090119?sp=true
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The News & Observer of Raleigh reports Tuesday that Huger was searching through a list of expiring domain names two years ago when he noticed the Web address http://www.GeorgeWBushLibrary.com was about to expire.
He bought the rights for $5, then sat on them for two years.
Huger says he recently sold them for $35,000 to Florida-based Yuma Solutions, which the Bush Library Foundation says is in charge of Web site care. Company owner Mark Mills didn't return the newspaper's calls.
The recent popularity of the movie Milk, starring Sean Penn, made me wonder why I never learned Harvey Milk's story in classroom discussions of civil rights, especially considering I grew up in San Francisco, where Milk carried out his work. As a result, I started searching for other activists who have changed our world, but have been left out of the usual history lesson. These people have made great strides toward gender equality, women's liberation, and civil rights. Without them, the world wouldn't be what it is today.
Fred Shuttlesworth: Champion for Civil Rights
After Alabama outlawed the NAACP in 1956, this Baptist minister founded the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights, announcing that he would act out against all segregation laws. He led sit-ins, boycotts, and strikes, and his work in Alabama was a major force in pressuring Congress to overturn segregation. He fought against violent racism with peaceful activism—white supremacists bombed his house multiple times, a white mob beat him with whips and chains and, after his leadership during the mass protests in Birmingham, he was slammed against a wall by high-pressure fire hoses. He later became one of the first officers in Dr. Martin Luther King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference and King described him as "one of the nation's most courageous freedom fighters." Still alive today, Shuttlesworth is a pastor and directs the Shuttlesworth Housing Foundation, an organization that helps low-income families purchase homes.
Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon: Challenging the Norm
In 1955, Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon co-founded Daughters of Bilitis, the first national lesbian organization (named after a fictional lover of Sappho—the famously lesbian Greek poet). In 1964, they helped start the Council on Religion and the Homosexual, a group that sought to join religious leaders and gay activists to discuss marriage equality. Martin aided in the successful campaign for the American Psychiatric Association to take homosexuality off its list of mental illnesses. Meanwhile, Lyon became the first openly gay woman on the National Organization for Women's board in the '70s. They also co-wrote two books, Lesbian/Woman and Lesbian Love and Liberation, during the same decade. Four years ago they were the first of thousands of couples married in San Francisco when Mayor Newsom began allowing gay marriage, though it was suspended a month later by the Supreme Court. They were able to marry again in 2008 after the court ruled in favor of marriage equality, but Martin passed away only two months later.
http://www.divinecaroline.com/article/22343/63892-inspirational-activists-won-t-learn-school
The poll also shows people around the world are looking to President Obama to put highest priority on dealing with the current global financial crisis.
In 15 of the 17 countries polled, majorities think that the election of Barack Obama will lead to improved relations with the rest of the world. On average 67 per cent express this upbeat view, while 19 per cent think relations will stay the same and just 5 per cent that relations will worsen.
This is up sharply - by 21 points among tracking countries - from polling done for the BBC World Service six months ago, before Obama was elected. At that time just 47 per cent expressed optimism that an Obama presidency would lead to improved relations with the rest of the world. The number of people giving no answer to the question is also down sharply.
This optimism does not necessarily mean, however that views of the United States itself have changed. BBC World Service is currently completing its annual poll assessing views of major countries' influence in the world, which will be released within the next few weeks and will show whether views of US influence are improving.
Asked to rate six possible priorities for the Obama Administration, the top priority in all countries polled was the global financial crisis. On average 72 per cent said that it should be a top priority.
This was followed by withdrawing US troops from Iraq - with 50 per cent saying this should be a top priority - then addressing climate change (46%), improving America's relationship with the respondent's country (46%), brokering peace between Israel and the Palestinians (43%), and supporting the government of Afghanistan against the Taliban (29%).
Polling was completed prior to the current Gaza conflict in all countries except Egypt and India. In Egypt, 75 per cent said brokering peace between Israel and the Palestinians should be a top priority.
http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/articles/home_page/583.php?nid=&id=&pnt=583&lb=
Krispy Kreme, being the genial purveyor of glazed goodness that it is, decided to get in on the Obama inauguration craze and is offering one free doughnut to every costumer on January 20, Inauguration day, and released this seemingly innocuous press release: "Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. (NYSE: KKD) is honoring American's sense of pride and freedom of choice on Inauguration Day, by offering a free doughnut of choice to every customer on this historic day, Jan. 20. By doing so, participating Krispy Kreme stores nationwide are making an oath to tasty goodies -- just another reminder of how oh-so-sweet 'free' can be."Well, The American Life League noticed the liberal use of the word choice and decided to blast the chain bakery for producing abortion doughnuts.
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