If you were paying attention, it was Erik Prince’s (founder of Blackwater) mother, Elsa Broekhuizen,who was an extremely influential supporter of Proposition 8. It was the family’s wealth that bought the land in North Carolina on which Blackwater is headquartered. Both Prince and Broekhuizen are major supporters of Republican candidates and causes and Erik Prince was once a White House intern for George H. W. Bush.

Hopefully, Halliburton and KBR will see the same fate. As you may know, Halliburton, who former Vice President Cheney worked for, was awarded numerous contracts worth billions of dollars and is infamous for various controversies. Cheney retired in 2000, received a $36 million severance package and later, while Vice President, received $398,548 in deferred compensation from Halliburton.

KBR, which was once a subsidiary of Halliburton, is an engineering and construction company. They are more well known now for instances involving gang rape, human trafficking and poor standards resulting in the electrocution and subsequent deaths of U.S. soldiers.

No more feeling as though we are living a real-life version of a suspense movie with an evil mastermind, bald, dressed in black, sitting in a wheelchair, plotting our demise. By the way, did you see Dick Cheney at the Inauguration?

One of the most moving parts of the Inauguration yesterday was the size of the crowd, estimated to be between 1.5 and 4 million people in attendance. Simply amazing. I wish I could have been there, aside from the sub-freezing temperatures!

And, perhaps the second most touching sight of the day was when the Bush clan boarded the Marine 1 helicopter and lifted off, while Barack and Michelle Obama and Joe and Jill Biden looked on. I enjoyed Biden’s flippant salute as if to say, now GTFO!

So, here we are. The day after the big day. The Bush Administration has been escorted off the premisis and the Obamas woke up in their new home. I look forward to seeing what’s next for President Obama, now that he’s in the Oval Office.

]]> http://drivelocity.com/politics/no-44-president-obama/feed/ 8 http://drivelocity.com/politics/war-crimes-questions-at-changegov/ http://drivelocity.com/politics/war-crimes-questions-at-changegov/#comments Mon, 05 Jan 2009 18:59:55 +0000 drivelocity http://drivelocity.com/?p=443 With the appearance of more openness, the web site for the President-Elect at Change.org has created a new social voting platform where we, the people, can present questions to Obama and his team. We can then vote on the questions we like or dislike and those with the most votes will have priority.

An important issue for me, in light of recent admissions by Cheney, is that of war crimes and the prosecution thereof. If you search Change.org for questions regarding war crimes, you can find (and vote on) questions such as the ones below.

“Will you appoint a Special Prosecutor – ideally Patrick Fitzgerald – to independently investigate the gravest crimes of the Bush Administration, including torture and warrantless wiretapping?” (21, 287 up votes)

“Will you appoint a Special Prosecutor (ideally Patrick Fitzgerald) to independently investigate the gravest crimes of the Bush Administration, including torture and warrantless wiretapping?” (6,093 up votes)

“Will Obama investigate members of the former administration for potential war crimes, and if evidence is found how will he address it?” (3,697 up votes)

“After WWII the US became a force for bringing war criminals to open trials for their crimes. Now that Cheney has admitted ordering torture are we going to regain our moral leadership by bringing this administration to justice? The world is watching.” (1,288 up votes)

“What is your position on investigating members of the Bush administration, including President Bush and Vice president Cheney, for war crimes? What will you do to re-establish the rule of law?” (806 up votes)

“The Senate has determined that war crimes were committed by members of the Bush administration. When will the rule of law be restored and prosecutions begin?” (661 up votes)

“It’s common knowledge that the Bush administration committed war crimes, with torture and rendition flights. Will you examine the evidence and prosecute the people responsible?” (691 up votes)

“Will President Obama appoint a special prosecutor, hopefully Fitzgerald, to investigate Cheney’s involvement with war crimes and prosecute if Cheney is guilty ?” (607 up votes)

While there may be more important issues that we are currently facing and that will affect us more directly in the new year, thankfully, more people have voted in favor of the questions above. Unfortunately, it may be likely that, unless we apply pressure, those in the Bush Administration who were involved in the war crimes will not be prosecuted. The President-Elect has provided a useful tool to show how important this issue is.

So, how does this issue stack up against other important topics including the economy, national security, education, health care and the environment? Let’s take a look at the leading questions from each section, and the current number of up votes, and compare those to the war crimes questions.

“I’m concerned about the banks who received tax payers money and have had no accountability. Will this be corrected after President elect Obaham is in office?” (17,791 up votes)

“Our current war on drugs is failing America. Billions of dollars are spent on a losing campaign. Our prisons are overflowing with people that don’t deserve to be there. What is the government going to do in an effort to fix this major problem?” (6,680 up votes)

“I know many teachers that are familiar with the “No Child Left Behind Act”. They think while the intention of the act was good it falls FAR short of its’ intended goals. How will you improve or change this act?” (4,419 up votes)

“In all other 1st world countries, there’s a minimal level of universal healthcare for all citizens. What will your adminstration do to provide truly universal, affordable healthcare for all US citizens, regardless of employment status?” (11,007 up votes)

“Will transit and intercity rail projects be a major component of the infrastructure stimulus package, rather than focusing on highway projects?” (6,864 up votes)

“How will the Obama Administration encourage the future generations of Americans to become the worlds leading scientists and engineers?” (3,636 up votes)

The other issues are vastly important to the citizens of the United States and do, also, affect the rest of the world. However, we need to set an example by showing the world that we are not complacent and that our new leaders do have the balls to stand up and do the right thing. Bush, Cheney, et. al. are not above the law.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWpQKCgAEP8[/youtube]

Not only does Vice President Dick Cheney admit that they would have invaded Iraq regardless of Saddam Hussein’s possession of, intention of having, or possibility of creating weapons of mass destruction, Cheney states that he knew about and supported the torture method known as Waterboarding of prisoners of war.

You may be thinking, I already knew Cheney had a hand in this, but for him to actually publicly admit it is something else. There should now be no issue in having him tried and convicted of war crimes. I fear that he may be pardoned in the U.S., but find solace in that he could be tried under international law.

So, what’s the holdup?