Or is a lot of legislation leaning towards a prison state? This was well alive in the Bush administration with the stupid Patriot Act, but it seems Obama is reinforcing it...I could be wrong, and hope I am, mainly because this country isn't ready for anarchy.

I want to know what, if anything, is being done to reinforce our basic liberties? Where are our freedoms headed with the new administration? Oh, and you can pry my guns from my dead, cold hands.

Oh no not this again. Oh well I do have other thing to do..

Thanks for the explanation...you could of just done what everyone else is doing and not bothered to post, but nope, not you.

Examples? (current admin, please, only).

Okay...

Let me rephrase the question since apparently a few of you don't know what I meant. What is Obama doing?

Oh. Well, I asked my question not because I didn't understand your question but because with work and a bunch of family emergencies, I haven't paid any much attention to the news in any format for a while. I wasn't sure if you were referring to something in specific that I missed or what. Which is why I asked for examples.

Your quite welcome. And your right, I could have. You catch on quick.

I think I know What F&L is getting at here. Obama's "Change" has been one of 2 things. A push to control our economy in a more direct way is an example of what Bush didn't have the sack do try, Imagine the outrage had Bush the Lesser tried to make a CEO resign? There's more, but I'll go onto the other, which is Cosmetic, like Gitmo closing, but the CIA rendition black sites are wide open for business, like a hardcore evil McDonalds or "ending" the Iraq war, no matter 50,000 troops will be there forever. (you don't build an embassy like that and then leave.) Meanwhile, the most horrific of Bush policies, such as the Patriot act, the John Warner Defense Authorization act, the Homegrown Terror prevention act, PDD 51, or the SPP agreements are just continuing on like nothing ever happened or is wrong with them.

Here's another example of "Change we can believe in". I swear, when he was elected I said he was going to keep Bush's illegal power and Mr. Obama hasn't disappointed.
-------------------------------------------------------------------


Following Bush lead, Obama moves to block challenge to wiretapping program
John Byrne
Published: Monday April 6, 2009

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Obama_follows_Bush_policy_on_wiretapping_0406.html

Wants case against NSA dismissed
President Barack Obama invoked "state secrets" to prevent a court from reviewing the legality of the National Security Agency's warantless wiretapping program, moving late Friday to have a lawsuit that challenged the program dismissed.

The move -- which holds that information surrounding the massive eavesdropping program should be kept from the public because of its sensitivity -- follows an earlier decision in March to block handover of documents relating to the Bush Administration's decision to spy on a charity. The arguments also mirror the Bush Administration's efforts to dismiss an earlier suit against AT&T.

The decision Friday involves a lawsuit filed by the civil liberties group Electronic Frontier Foundation, which is suing the NSA for the wiretapping program. The agency monitored the telephone calls and emails of thousands of people within the United States without a court's approval in an effort to thwart terrorist attacks.

In attempting to block a San Fransisco court from reviewing documents relating to the NSA program, the Obama Administration is also protecting other individuals named as defendants in the suit: Vice President **** Cheney, former Cheney chief of staff David Addington and former Bush Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

It also stands firmly behind the telecommunications giant AT&T. AT&T whistleblower Mark Klein revealed that the company allowed the agency to install network monitoring hardware to spy on American citizens.

The Director of National Intelligence, the Justice Department says, "has set forth a more than reasonable basis to conclude that harm to national security would result from the disclosure of whether the NSA has worked with any telecommunications carrier." AT&T is specifically mentioned. Public reports have fingered AT&T, Verizon, MCI and Sprint as participating in the government's eavesdropping efforts.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Michael Hertz penned the brief on behalf of the Obama Justice Department.

"The grounds for this motion [to dismiss] are that the Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction with respect to plaintiffs' statutory claims against the United States because Congress has not waived sovereign immunity, and summary judgment for the Government on all of plaintiffs' remaining claims against all parties... is required because information necessary to litigate plantiffs' claims is property subject to and excluded from use in this case by the state secrets privilege and related statutory privileges," Hertz and other trial attorneys for the Justice Department wrote.

The Justice Department also holds that the lawsuit can't proceed because of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Congress expanded the wiretapping program in 2008 with passage of amendments to the Act, which gave telecom companies immunity for past and future participation in the program and expanded the legal use of warrantless wiretaps from 48 hours to seven days. The revised Act also allowed the government to destroy records of previous taps.

Obama voted for the revised Act while a senator last year.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation fired off a scathing press release Monday.

"President Obama promised the American people a new era of transparency, accountability, and respect for civil liberties," said EFF Senior Staff Attorney Kevin Bankston in the release. "But with the Obama Justice Department continuing the Bush administration's cover-up of the National Security Agency's dragnet surveillance of millions of Americans, and insisting that the much-publicized warrantless wiretapping program is still a 'secret' that cannot be reviewed by the courts, it feels like deja vu all over again."

The Obama Administration's full motion to dismiss can be read here (PDF).

http://www.eff.org/files/filenode/jewel/jewelmtdobama.pdf

Google:

Fairness Doctrine

HR 45


Also...Obama himself also voted to reinstate the patriot act, which means, the responsibility is now his as well, not just Bush.

You see?

You are not alone Fear...

i am in fear about what the next four years brings. and if he gets reelected in 2012..i will assume the destruction of the whole earth as we know it is near

See, that is my point. Where is this "change"? This one thing that was touted throughout his entire campaign, the one hinge that he was hooked on...where the hell is it? I understand things take time, I do, but I also keep up with what he is doing which seems an awful lot like what Bush was doing before he left office.

We are in a crisis, an economical meltdown, we have other countries after our throats and more and more countries becoming more discontent with our actions. We have threats from Asia, Middle East, and Russia...we need direct action, and we need it now, not years down the road...years is something we may not have...

To be honest I think Bush and Obama are exactly alike.There is virtually no difference in their policies.

Honestly i would have to agree. I don't see much of a difference....

Why should there be any? Good cop, bad coop, the end is same.

Bad cop, Slicker much worse cop?