Obama inaugurated! - So What Now?

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... which means that, despite justice Robert's fumbled oath, he is in office now, and that suggests, to me anyway, that the previous thread "Obama Wins! - So What's Next?" appears somewhat out-of-date

 

Obama took the oath again, just in case...

 

Damned! He just destroyed a right-wing talking point! Just like the dismissal of the case challenging his citizenship destroyed another ... no, thinking of it, he didn't, and the dismissal didn't. We'll keep seeing both pop up here and there in the future

 

I wanna hear the cabinet postings. I know Hillary is Secretary of State, but who else did he ask to be his colleagues in this historic Presidency?

 

Mitt Romney is secretary of Lookin' Good...

(there's gotta be a Letterman viewer somewhere)

 

What now? First and foremost the economy, jobs, jobs and more jobs. He also promised he would do something about our schools. Who knows maybe our kids can learn to spell Sweden and where it is.

Medical care. I hope he gets the FDA up to snuff too. IMO the FDA is a joke.

Alternate means of energy and the environment.

I think the Blacks will be expecting some wonderful things and the whites will take a wait and see attitude. Which brings of the Mexican Illegal emigration problem. That needs a bit of work.

 

@ LKD,

Here ya go, and with pretty pictures.

For the linky challenged, and minus HRC:

Agriculture: Tom Vilsack
Commerce: Was going to be Bill Richardson, but he withdrew (still unfilled)
Defense: Still Robert Gates
Education: Arne Duncan
Energy: Steven Chu
HHS: Tom Daschle
Homeland Security: Janet Napolitano
HUD: Shaun Donovan
Interior: Ken Salazar
Justice: Eric Holder
Labor: Hilda Solis
Transportation: Ray LaHood
Treasury: Tim Geithner (should be confirmed by next week)
Veterans Affairs: Gen. Eric Shinseki

From what I've seen, all are very well qualified and well-respected people for their respective roles - particularly Holder, Shinseki, and (despite his recent tax snafoo) Geithner. Not a political hack in the bunch. This is the kind of governing I've been waiting patiently to see, and certainly a big indicator (at least to me) that Obama's promise to put governing before politics is one he's intent on keeping.

 

I'm not really familiar with most of these guys, except Hillary. Didn't Gen. Shinseki retire after giving a relatively pessimistic (for the time) estimate about the troops needed for Iraq? I'm afraid I know even less about the other ones. What are they, well, known for?

 

Yep DR, just as he promised to stop the revolving door of govt officials going on to become lobbyists.
Hmmm, Tom Daschle govt official - lobbyist - to govt official again. yep thats really stopping the cycle.

Hmmm, William Corr, who obama has indicated he wants to be deputy secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services was a federal lobbyist with Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids.

William Lynn, an undersecretary of defense in President Bill Clinton's second term, is nominated to be Defense Secretary Robert Gates' deputy. When he left office he went to work for Raytheon, as a vice president and lobbyist for one of the country's biggest defense contractors.
Now back in office he will be involved in the process of budgeting and acquisitions, in addition to running the day-to-day operations of the Defense Department.
Hmmm, lets see, owns a bunch of Raytheon stock & in charge of helping to assign new contracts. Little conflict of interest there.

 

You have it backwards, martaug. What he promised to stop was government officials leaving the government and then immediately becoming lobbyists, which is obviously more beneficial to an entity seeking lobbying than someone who's been out of government for a few years and isn't privy to the inner workings of the current congress. There is now a two-year waiting period before govt. officials can enter a lobbying field related to any committee positions they held (which also incentivizes them to do their elected jobs better, since they don't have a lucrative lobbying gig to fall back on if they screw up or get caught doing something illegal). Obama said nothing about lobbying former-officials re-entering the government. But by all means, keep looking for any reason to complain about the new administration, no matter how small the issue.

 

Yeah, where was all this "concern" during Bush II? It's funny because all the things these guys are complaining about now regarding Obama, and his "changes", are instead the things they were right at home with during GWB's administration. Next, they will be complaining that the War in Iraq, and Gitmo are not being closed down fast enough.

 

Actually that isn't quite what he said, what he said was this.

So William lynn specifically will not be able to perform most of the duties of his job as stated by obama's own words. He worked for Raytheon before accepting the post & since Raytheon has a lot of gov't contracts & will obviously bid for more contracts this creates a conflict of interest.
Also notice that there is no waiting period if they leave service & become a lobbyist when his term is up.

The whole text is behind the spoiler tag

Spoiler

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

*

For Immediate Release January 21, 2009


EXECUTIVE ORDER

- - - - - - -

ETHICS COMMITMENTS BY EXECUTIVE BRANCH PERSONNEL


By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 301 of title 3, United States Code, and sections 3301 and 7301 of title 5, United States Code, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Ethics Pledge. Every appointee in every executive agency appointed on or after January 20, 2009, shall sign, and upon signing shall be contractually committed to, the following pledge upon becoming an appointee:

"As a condition, and in consideration, of my employment in the United States Government in a position invested with the public trust, I commit myself to the following obligations, which I understand are binding on me and are enforceable under law:

"1. Lobbyist Gift Ban. I will not accept gifts from registered lobbyists or lobbying organizations for the duration of my service as an appointee.

"2. Revolving Door Ban ‑‑ All Appointees Entering Government. I will not for a period of 2 years from the date of my appointment participate in any particular matter involving specific parties that is directly and substantially related to my former employer or former clients, including regulations and contracts.

"3. Revolving Door Ban ‑‑ Lobbyists Entering Government. If I was a registered lobbyist within the 2 years before the date of my appointment, in addition to abiding by the limitations of paragraph 2, I will not for a period of 2 years after the date of my appointment:

(a) participate in any particular matter on which I lobbied within the 2 years before the date of my appointment;

(b) participate in the specific issue area in which that particular matter falls; or

(c) seek or accept employment with any executive agency that I lobbied within the 2 years before the date of my appointment.

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"4. Revolving Door Ban ‑‑ Appointees Leaving Government. If, upon my departure from the Government, I am covered by the post‑employment restrictions on communicating with employees of my former executive agency set forth in section 207(c) of title 18, United States Code, I agree that I will abide by those restrictions for a period of 2 years following the end of my appointment.

"5. Revolving Door Ban ‑‑ Appointees Leaving Government to Lobby. In addition to abiding by the limitations of paragraph 4, I also agree, upon leaving Government service, not to lobby any covered executive branch official or non‑career Senior Executive Service appointee for the remainder of the Administration.

"6. Employment Qualification Commitment. I agree that any hiring or other employment decisions I make will be based on the candidate's qualifications, competence, and experience.

"7. Assent to Enforcement. I acknowledge that the Executive Order entitled 'Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel,' issued by the President on January 21, 2009, which I have read before signing this document, defines certain of the terms applicable to the foregoing obligations and sets forth the methods for enforcing them. I expressly accept the provisions of that Executive Order as a part of this agreement and as binding on me. I understand that the terms of this pledge are in addition to any statutory or other legal restrictions applicable to me by virtue of Federal Government service."

Sec. 2. Definitions. As used herein and in the pledge set forth in section 1 of this order:

(a) "Executive agency" shall include each "executive agency" as defined by section 105 of title 5, United States Code, and shall include the Executive Office of the President; provided, however, that for purposes of this order "executive agency" shall include the United States Postal Service and Postal Regulatory Commission, but shall exclude the Government Accountability Office.

(b) "Appointee" shall include every full‑time, non‑career Presidential or Vice-Presidential appointee, non‑career appointee in the Senior Executive Service (or other SES‑type system), and appointee to a position that has been excepted from the competitive service by reason of being of a confidential or policymaking character (Schedule C and other positions excepted under comparable criteria) in an executive agency. It does not include any person appointed as a member of the Senior Foreign Service or solely as a uniformed service commissioned officer.

(c) "Gift"

(1) shall have the definition set forth in section 2635.203(b) of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations;

(2) shall include gifts that are solicited or accepted indirectly as defined at section 2635.203(f) of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations; and

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(3) shall exclude those items excluded by sections 2635.204(b), (c), (e)(1) & (3) and (j)‑(l) of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations.

(d) "Covered executive branch official" and "lobbyist" shall have the definitions set forth in section 1602 of title 2, United States Code.

(e) "Registered lobbyist or lobbying organization" shall mean a lobbyist or an organization filing a registration pursuant to section 1603(a) of title 2, United States Code, and in the case of an organization filing such a registration, "registered lobbyist" shall include each of the lobbyists identified therein.

(f) "Lobby" and "lobbied" shall mean to act or have acted as a registered lobbyist.

(g) "Particular matter" shall have the same meaning as set forth in section 207 of title 18, United States Code, and section 2635.402(b)(3) of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations.

(h) "Particular matter involving specific parties" shall have the same meaning as set forth in section 2641.201(h) of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, except that it shall also include any meeting or other communication relating to the performance of one's official duties with a former employer or former client, unless the communication applies to a particular matter of general applicability and participation in the meeting or other event is open to all interested parties.

(i) "Former employer" is any person for whom the appointee has within the 2 years prior to the date of his or her appointment served as an employee, officer, director, trustee, or general partner, except that "former employer" does not include any executive agency or other entity of the Federal Government, State or local government, the District of Columbia, Native American tribe, or any United States territory or possession.

(j) "Former client" is any person for whom the appointee served personally as agent, attorney, or consultant within the 2 years prior to the date of his or her appointment, but excluding instances where the service provided was limited to a speech or similar appearance. It does not include clients of the appointee's former employer to whom the appointee did not personally provide services.

(k) "Directly and substantially related to my former employer or former clients" shall mean matters in which the appointee's former employer or a former client is a party or represents a party.

(l) "Participate" means to participate personally and substantially.

(m) "Post-employment restrictions" shall include the provisions and exceptions in section 207(c) of title 18, United States Code, and the implementing regulations.

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(n) "Government official" means any employee of the executive branch.

(o) "Administration" means all terms of office of the incumbent President serving at the time of the appointment of an appointee covered by this order.

(p) "Pledge" means the ethics pledge set forth in section 1 of this order.

(q) All references to provisions of law and regulations shall refer to such provisions as in effect on January 20, 2009.

Sec. 3. Waiver. (a) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget, or his or her designee, in consultation with the Counsel to the President or his or her designee, may grant to any current or former appointee a written waiver of any restrictions contained in the pledge signed by such appointee if, and to the extent that, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, or his or her designee, certifies in writing (i) that the literal application of the restriction is inconsistent with the purposes of the restriction, or (ii) that it is in the public interest to grant the waiver. A waiver shall take effect when the certification is signed by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget or his or her designee.

(b) The public interest shall include, but not be limited to, exigent circumstances relating to national security or to the economy. De minimis contact with an executive agency shall be cause for a waiver of the restrictions contained in paragraph 3 of the pledge.

Sec. 4. Administration. (a) The head of every executive agency shall, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Government Ethics, establish such rules or procedures (conforming as nearly as practicable to the agency's general ethics rules and procedures, including those relating to designated agency ethics officers) as are necessary or appropriate to ensure that every appointee in the agency signs the pledge upon assuming the appointed office or otherwise becoming an appointee; to ensure that compliance with paragraph 3 of the pledge is addressed in a written ethics agreement with each appointee to whom it applies, which agreement shall also be approved by the Counsel to the President or his or her designee prior to the appointee commencing work; to ensure that spousal employment issues and other conflicts not expressly addressed by the pledge are addressed in ethics agreements with appointees or, where no such agreements are required, through ethics counseling; and generally to ensure compliance with this order within the agency.

(b) With respect to the Executive Office of the President, the duties set forth in section 4(a) shall be the responsibility of the Counsel to the President or his or her designee.

(c) The Director of the Office of Government Ethics shall:

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(1) ensure that the pledge and a copy of this order are made available for use by agencies in fulfilling their duties under section 4(a) above;

(2) in consultation with the Attorney General or the Counsel to the President or their designees, when appropriate, assist designated agency ethics officers in providing advice to current or former appointees regarding the application of the pledge; and

(3) in consultation with the Attorney General and the Counsel to the President or their designees, adopt such rules or procedures as are necessary or appropriate:

(i) to carry out the foregoing responsibilities;

(ii) to apply the lobbyist gift ban set forth in paragraph 1 of the pledge to all executive branch employees;

(iii) to authorize limited exceptions to the lobbyist gift ban for circumstances that do not implicate the purposes of the ban;

(iv) to make clear that no person shall have violated the lobbyist gift ban if the person properly disposes of a gift as provided by section 2635.205 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations;

(v) to ensure that existing rules and procedures for Government employees engaged in negotiations for future employment with private businesses that are affected by their official actions do not affect the integrity of the Government's programs and operations;

(vi) to ensure, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, that the requirement set forth in paragraph 6 of the pledge is honored by every employee of the executive branch;

(4) in consultation with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, report to the President on whether full compliance is being achieved with existing laws and regulations governing executive branch procurement lobbying disclosure and on steps the executive branch can take to expand to the fullest extent practicable disclosure of such executive branch procurement lobbying and of lobbying for presidential pardons, and to include in the report both immediate action the executive branch can take and, if necessary, recommendations for legislation; and

(5) provide an annual public report on the administration of the pledge and this order.

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(d) The Director of the Office of Government Ethics shall, in consultation with the Attorney General, the Counsel to the President, and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, or their designees, report to the President on steps the executive branch can take to expand to the fullest extent practicable the revolving door ban set forth in paragraph 5 of the pledge to all executive branch employees who are involved in the procurement process such that they may not for 2 years after leaving Government service lobby any Government official regarding a Government contract that was under their official responsibility in the last 2 years of their Government
service; and to include in the report both immediate action the executive branch can take and, if necessary, recommendations for legislation.

(e) All pledges signed by appointees, and all waiver certifications with respect thereto, shall be filed with the head of the appointee's agency for permanent retention in the appointee's official personnel folder or equivalent folder.

Sec. 5. Enforcement. (a) The contractual, fiduciary, and ethical commitments in the pledge provided for herein are solely enforceable by the United States pursuant to this section by any legally available means, including debarment proceedings within any affected executive agency or judicial civil proceedings for declaratory, injunctive, or monetary relief.

(b) Any former appointee who is determined, after notice and hearing, by the duly designated authority within any agency, to have violated his or her pledge may be barred from lobbying any officer or employee of that agency for up to 5 years in addition to the time period covered by the pledge. The head of every executive agency shall, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Government Ethics, establish procedures to implement this subsection, which procedures shall include (but not be limited to) providing for factfinding and investigation of possible violations of this order and for referrals to the Attorney General for his or her consideration pursuant to subsection (c).

(c) The Attorney General or his or her designee is authorized:

(1) upon receiving information regarding the possible breach of any commitment in a signed pledge, to request any appropriate Federal investigative authority to conduct such investigations as may be appropriate; and

(2) upon determining that there is a reasonable basis to believe that a breach of a commitment has occurred or will occur or continue, if not enjoined, to commence a civil action against the former employee in any United States District Court with jurisdiction to consider the matter.

(d) In any such civil action, the Attorney General or his or her designee is authorized to request any and all relief authorized by law, including but not limited to:

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(1) such temporary restraining orders and preliminary and permanent injunctions as may be appropriate to restrain future, recurring, or continuing conduct by the former employee in breach of the commitments in the pledge he or she signed; and

(2) establishment of a constructive trust for the benefit of the United States, requiring an accounting and payment to the United States Treasury of all money and other things of value received by, or payable to, the former employee arising out of any breach or attempted breach of the pledge signed by the former employee.

Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) No prior Executive Orders are repealed by this order. To the extent that this order is inconsistent with any provision of any prior Executive Order, this order shall control.

(b) If any provision of this order or the application of such provision is held to be invalid, the remainder of this order and other dissimilar applications of such provision shall not be affected.

(c) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(1) authority granted by law to a department, agency, or the head thereof; or

(2) functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budget, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(d) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(e) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

(f) The definitions set forth in this order are solely applicable to the terms of this order, and are not otherwise intended to impair or affect existing law.



BARACK OBAMA



THE WHITE HOUSE,
January 21, 2009.

 

You sound like lefty, Martaug. I'm lovin' it!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28767687/

 

Except for the part they put in here

So basically they are saying "everyone has to agree but we can exempt anyone we want at anytime"
Just how is this any different than business as usual?

 

Well, America is now out of the torture business and he is closing Gitmo. These are excellent moves, IMO.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28788175/

 

Long overdue. I heard the press conference yesterday on CNN, where one reporter asked: Won't we be less safe now?

The press person ought to have replied: It will certainly help when our country doesn't violate the torture convention any more. That will help to no longer irresponsibly expose US personnel and functionaries to prosecution. Among other things ...

Legally, the illegality is pretty much clear everywhere except the US, where apparently a sober public dispute over such a matter still is impossible in light of partisan politics. That is exemplified by the embarrassment of conservative party conventions where approval for torture gets a 9 out of 10 candidate support, and draws cheers from the crowd. So, I explicitly approve of Obama's step. I'm curious whether he'll revoke the phony construction of the 'enemy combatant' status as well, that would clearly be consequent - and mandatory, if the US policy under him is to realign US conduct with international law.

 

Now that, Ragusa, I can agree with. If the USA wants to have any credibility internationally we should be following International Laws. We should be prime supporters of International Law and do everything we can to make the United Nations a viable, constructive organization.

The USA is a major power in the this world and with that power does go responsibility. However, I still feel that we have no responsibility to a nation that demands or wants our help in some way and then turns around and verbally or physically slaps us in the face. I, as an individual, would not help someone who did this to me and I certainly don't expect my government to do so.

Our children learn more from our example than by our words and the same thing goes for other nations. The USA should do the best it can to set a good example. Words are much more easily twisted than actions.

 

Couldn't be bothered to actually read the section you quoted, eh? That provision allows a waiver in 2 types of instances, neither of which have anything to do with placing the individual interests of members of the Obama administration above the interests of the people. If the literal application of the restriction is inconsistent with the purposes of the restriction, or if loosening a restriction is in the public interest, than a restriction is waiverable on a case-by-case basis. This only makes sense.

Clauses such as the eminently reasonable one that you quoted for us are just as commonplace as they are necessary for good governance. In crafting its ethics rules, the Obama administration is unable to account for every possible situation that could occur, and if a situation required the loosening of a restriction in order to serve the public interest or if the literal application of a restriction runs counter to the purpose of that restriction in a specific instance, the administration needs to have some means of correcting the problem. Only a fool would craft such restrictions without having a system in place to ensure they are (1) serving their purpose and (2) not hamstringing the administration's ability to govern.

 

Drew, you're putting a lot of faith in Obama's ethics. Realize that he and his Director of the Office of Management and Budget could apply that to just about anyone these days, using the economy excuse to get them through, and if that fails, use the national security excuse. I'm not saying it's worse than others have been, I'm just saying it's really a castrated 'protection'.

Nakia, I agree with you 100%. In fact, I'd like to see the US pull back on international support for a few years. Not long term, mind you, but just so everyone sees exactly what it would mean. Contribute no more to any UN fund or action than any other major entity, significantly decrease or even remove free food and aid shipments to war-torn countries, stop giving 'loans' that are actually gifts (never expected to be repaid), etc. I imagine there'd be just as much international uproar about us doing this as there is now.

 

We're supposed to know where Sewden is?