BlackLiberalBoomer

As we transition from November to December, and fully into the 2008 holiday season, our President-elect is very busy managing the (hopefully) smooth transition into his new administration.

According to the MSNBC website, the transition process as it is known now has been used since 1952 and was started by President Harry Truman:

Since 1952, at the urging of President Harry Truman, transition processes have been in place to help facilitate the change from one administration to the next.

The Presidential Transition Act of 1963 formalized the process, providing federal funds and logistical support. The act was updated in 2000 by President Bill Clinton to accommodate an increasingly complex transition process.

Presidential transitions today involve the turnover of over 4,000 political appointments, all of whom must be identified, vetted, and confirmed. Over 1,000 of those positions require Senate confirmation. By some estimates, recent transitions have taken an average of one year to be seen through to completion. The last time a transition occurred across political party lines was in 2000, between Clinton and President George Bush.

This year, just 77 days separate election day from inauguration day, but the transition process began long before any ballots are cast, and will continue long after Barack Obama takes the oath of office.

Until the mid-20th Century, the Presidential Inaugurations took place in March, to allow for the slower communications and travel available at that time. Now that the new President takes office in January, there is much less time to accomplish an increasingly more complex process.

It will be exciting to watch the Presidential appointments and nominations along with all of the politicking going on. December will be especially busy; so far only about 12 people have been officially named. However, historically, Presidential Cabinet and Staff positions didn’t even begin to be filled before December. President-elect Barack Obama realizes the seriousness of the job ahead of him, and as he stated: “There is not a minute to waste!”

You can see a great pictorial chart of the Cabinet and top staff members who will be named in the next few weeks here at MSNBC.

The United States of America has been known as the greatest country in the world. We have been responsible for some of the best inventions; we are usually a model of democracy, having almost no real problems with periodic transfer of power; we have been known as “The City on the Hill” to peoples from all over the world.

But as we celebrate the Thanksgiving Holiday this week and enjoy the blessings we have as Americans, let us not forget that America’s greatness was built on the tears, fears, and grief of indigenous peoples and enslaved peoples brought here in chains.

America could not have been America without the near-destruction of the native peoples who were here first; America could not have become America without the centuries of free labor of enslaved Africans.

God Bless America!

Future First Lady Michelle Robinson Obama

In the flurry of appointments and Cabinet picks in the last few days by President-elect Barack Obama, and the hoop-la over the possibility of you-know-who as Secretary of State, some important women and progressives may have been overlooked.  According to my favorite progressive journalist/blogger, Al Giordano, a high-level woman progressive has been appointed to the Economic Team. At his blog, The Field, Al says:

The most interesting news out of the press conference just concluded by President-elect Obama was the appointment of an unabashed progressive, Melody Barnes (in the photo, above), to head the Domestic Policy Council. Barnes will coordinate the mega-board of the Cabinet secretaries of Health and Human Services, Justice, Labor, Education, Housing and Urban Development, Commerce, Energy, Treasury, Agriculture, Transportation, Interior and Veterans Affairs. Basically, she’ll be domestic policy czar.

Meanwhile, “Chicago” will still continue to its mark on the new Obama White House, with the appointment of high-level Chicago businesswoman Desiree Rogers as Social Secretary. Hardly a light-weight dilettante, Ms. Rogers is a graduate of Wellesley College and has an MBA from Harvard. She has been working in prominent positions in Illinois government and in the private sector for over two decades. The Social Secretary does much more than plan parties; Ms. Rogers will be in charge of all functions–public and private, domestic and international–for the White House. She brings many social and political contacts to her new position, and everything that everyone does who is involved with the Obama White House has to be cleared through Ms. Rogers.

I posted this last Friday at my Detroit-focused “DSpot Redeux” blog…because I feel that the auto companies are really getting a raw deal concerning getting a $25B loan while financial companies are receiving hundreds of billions in out-and-out bailouts. The Congress and President-elect Obama are right for asking for a plan from the Big Three (and it was STUPID for the auto execs to appear before Congress with empty hands outstretched…), but now that Citigroup is the latest financial company to receive $350 BILLION without having to go through the drubbing that GM, Ford, and Chrysler had to endure. Citigroup didn’t have to go before Congress at all…and this is their second bailout in as many months…no questions asked…no plan for the future…no embarrassment…

OK, so the auto execs should’ve thought twice about going to Washington in separate $20K/trip corporate jets. Of course the auto companies need to change a lot of things about their business model. But is anyone thinking about not just the “rich guys at the top” but the millions upon millions of blue-collar workers and retirees who depend on the auto companies for their livelihood? What about the millions of auto-related jobs with small businesses around the country who depend on the auto companies? What about all of the other small businesses that will fail because they won’t have any customers? Why punish all of them because of what the bigwigs did or didn’t do?

Raise your hand if you have a family member who works now, or who is retired from one of the Big Three or a related company. Raise your other hand if that family member bought a house, raised a family, donated to charity, sent their kids to college, and just basically lived the American life by keeping the American economy going. Now, put down one or both hands if that family never ever made a mistake throughout life. See all of those hands raised?

The auto companies are asking for a “bridge loan”; the re-tooling for the future starts next fall–the plans are already in place. The unions have cut their wages and benefits to the bone. Huge world-wide companies can’t change overnight, but changes are coming.

But because of vengefulness, short-sightedness, and frankly, elitism on the part of Republicans in Congress–yes the same ones who spend $10 BILLION a MONTH in Iraq–the white-collar financial companies got their bailout, but the blue-collar auto companies can’t get a loan without rancor and vitriol.

Meanwhile, Nissan has pulled out of exhibiting at both the Detroit and Chicago Auto Shows (bad for the economies of both cities), and Toyota, Honda, and other “foreign” car companies have acres and acres of new cars sitting on the dock in San Diego because they can’t even be delivered to the dealers who can’t sell cars because of the credit crunch and mismanagement brought on by: THE BAILED-OUT-WITH-NO-QUESTIONS FINANCIAL COMPANIES!

November 22, 1963. 45 years ago. Many Americans still remember where they were and what they were doing when they heard that the 35th President of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy had been assassinated in Dallas Texas.

I was, if you can believe it, in my 8th grade Civics class. We were supposed to be doing some kind of writing assignment, but it was Friday afternoon and everyone waiting for 3 pm when school would finally be out for the weekend. I clearly remember my teacher (can’t remember his name, but I remember he wore wire-rimmed glasses, though) sitting at his desk in the front of the room. Another teacher poked his head in the room and called my civics teacher to the teachers’ lounge where there was a radio. A few minutes later, my teacher came back to the room. Tears were streaming down his face. He told us what had happened, although he could barely get the words out of his mouth.

School was immediately dismissed. Everyone at school, everyone in the city, everyone in the country, everyone in the world seemingly was in shock. Even Walter Cronkite, the anchor of the CBS Evening News, cried on-air when he announced that the President had been killed. That’s the way it was.

Where were you on November 22, 1963?

Why are the Cabinet picks of President-elect Barack Obama important? Exactly what do Cabinet Secretaries do? (Remember, Governor Sarah Palin did not know what the Vice-President does, which is one reason why she’s not VEEP-elect!)

In addition to being the most senior-level appointed officers of the President and the Executive Branch, they are Constitutionally required (Article Two) and are in the line of succession should the President, Vice-President, Speaker of the House, and President pro tempore of the Senate become unfit for office.

The first Cabinet Secretary in the line of succession is the Secretary of State; which probably explains why there is so much hoop-la over whether Hillary Clinton will be appointed. The Attorney General, who doesn’t have the title “Secretary”, is in charge of the Department of Justice and is fourth in line. Eric Holder will apparently be nominated for the top Justice job.

Next in line is the Secretary of the Treasury; and with the economic crisis now being experienced, this nomination is also being highly anticipated. But while we wait, the Secretary who is 9th in line is the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Former Senator Tom Daschle (D-SD) is reportedly up for nomination for this post. For some reason, the Secretary of Homeland Security is 15th in the line of succession. Governor Janet Napolitano (D-AZ) is reportedly up for this Cabinet post.

It has been 2 1/2 weeks since the election, and watching this transition (and how it is different from the campaign) has been both interesting and informative.  Mr. Obama is walking a fine line between “change” and “experience”, trying to balance having some of both.

There has been much speculation about the President-elect’s choices. It may be good to remember that Mr. Obama has repeatedly said that there is no choice until he says there is a choice.  Until then, it’s just an exercise in lots of talk and conjecture.

As President-elect Barack Obama moves with all deliberate haste (”emphasis on ‘deliberate’”) in appointing people to his Cabinet and White House staff, many people are asking: why so many “Clinton people”? where’s the “Change”?

First of all, there are “Clinton people”, and then there are “Clinton people”.  According to the absolute BEST progressive blogger on the planet, Al Giordano, some Clinton people are totally loyal to Bill and Hill, and nothing less will do than making sure that the Democratic Party and all of America stays all Clinton all the time. Then there are those Democratic operatives who worked in the only Democratic White House available since 1980–if they are Democrats, they worked in the Clinton White House! There IS a difference.

As it stands right now, the mainstream media as well as many progressive blogs are all agog about the possibility of Hillary Clinton being named Secretary of State in an Obama White House. Yes, it’s “As the Clinton World Turns…”, but this is BARACK’S party.

If you’re ready for some comic relief, check out Al’s post about the vetting of the First Dog…

Tomorrow: more real Obama staff picks…

 Eric Holder, Attorney General Nominee

One of the most important tasks for President-elect Barack Obama during the Transition is the selection of the Cabinet members. “The Cabinet” as it is called, is not exactly listed in the U.S. Constitution, but the President is supposed to name advisers and staff.  President George Washington started “The Cabinet” with four members; now there are twenty-three Cabinet Members.

This series will be continuous as President-elect Obama selects his Cabinet members, the fourteen Cabinet “Secretaries” and the Attorney General must be approved by Congress. The Huffington Post today reported that Eric Holder has been nominated as Attorney General.

The Cabinet Secretaries to be chosen are:
Secretary of State
Secretary of the Treasury
Secretary of Defense
Attorney General
Secretary of the Interior
Secretary of Agriculture
Secretary of Commerce
Secretary of Labor
Secretary of Health and Human Services
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Secretary of Transportation
Secretary of Energy
Secretary of Education
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Secretary of Homeland Security

The Cabinet members as listed are in the “line of succession” after the President, Vice-President, Speaker of the House, and President pro tempore of the Senate in the case of death or resignation. Therefore, one Cabinet member is always absent from any instances (even the Inauguration and State of the Union Address) where all the rest of the Cabinet members may be; in an “undisclosed location” in case all of the rest of the Executive Branch are killed at once. That absent Cabinet member is called the “designated survivor” and would immediately become President of the United States of America.

Tomorrow will be exactly 14 days or two weeks since Barack Obama was elected as the 44th President of the United States!

Tomorrow will also be the day I start blogging on issues concerning the Transition Period…it is just over two months before the Inauguration.

There are so very many important issues confronting President-elect Obama: the economy, his White House staff, his Cabinet posts, a dog breed…

Speaking of Cabinet posts: Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State?  Oh here we go again…methinks that many different “unofficial sources” are trying to force President-elect Obama’s hand in choosing Hillary for the top vacant spot.  This is exactly what happened when Mr. Obama (he is no longer a Senator) was choosing his Vice-Presidential candidate.

Everyone said it HAD to be Hillary…she had 18 million votes, she was the most qualified, she was a woman: on and on ad naseum!  Mr. Obama said back then, that whatever “other people” said and heard was not what he said; and he said that he would name his Secretary of State Designate when he was ready.

Until Barack Obama makes his choice, everything else is pure speculation.  Those pundits and almost-important people have to say something to justify their high salaries; their only “sources” are the standard-issue anonymous sources…

Personally, I feel that Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State is a bad, bad move…

Stay tuned…

Here we go, eight days after the 2008 elections, and already some religious groups are again trying to make the United States of America into a theocracy…a Christian theocracy.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution prohibits one religion from being established in this country, and at the same time protects established religions by allowing them to exercise their religion freely.

“Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” thus building a wall of separation between Church & State.”  Thomas Jefferson

Unfortunately, several religious groups feel that their beliefs should also be the law in the United States; in particular in outlawing marriage between same-sex couples and a choice option for pregnant women.

… no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinion in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish enlarge, or affect their civil capacities…  James Madison

Last week in California, voters actually took away rights from an entire group of people when they passed Proposition 8, making possible a state constitutional amendment that denies the rights and benefits of marriage to same-sex couples.

This week, the Catholic Church in the United States is both demanding that President-elect Barack Obama help to enact policies that will make it more difficult if not impossible for women to obtain a legal abortion; and the Church is also working to censure Vice-President-elect Joseph Biden for supporting womens’ choice because he is also a Catholic.

In both of these cases, religious groups are seeking to impose their own beliefs on the entire country. Marriage is first and foremost a civil union authorized by the state, which then confers on the couple all of the rights, benefits, and privileges due them as a married couple. It has absolutely nothing to do with the sexual act or with procreation. Even if a heterosexual couple has the most spectacular and expensive church wedding possible, they are “not married” by law until the state in which they reside says they are married.

But because some religions believe that marriage is only between and man and woman and only for the creation of children, they feel they have the right to deny a marriage relationship to those people who do not fit their particular idea of a loving couple. These groups feel that their own marriages are so fragile that same-sex couples getting married is so damaging that heterosexual marriages need special protection from same-sex marriages.

Homosexuality is not a “lifestyle” or a “choice”. Gay people are people just like all other people are people. They smile, frown, laugh, cry, hurt and heal just like everyone else. They do not “bother” or “damage” anyone else just by “being”. They deserve to have a loving, committed, life-long married relationship just like anyone else.

I will be blogging about this regularly…I feel very strongly about this. I am not gay, but I am a human being. It is not my place to tell other human beings that they are “less than” me because of their sexual orientation. There is enough hate and vitriol in the world; why deny people love?

There is a difference between being “pro-choice” and “pro-abortion”. When life actually begins has many different interpretations. Some people believe life begins at conception. Others believe that life begins when the child is actually born and can breathe on its own outside of the womb. There are many reasons why a woman may have to choose to have an abortion; but the point is, she has that choice. Until the fetus can exist outside of the womb and without the umbilical cord, it is still a part of the woman’s body. Having an abortion is a very serious and very private decision. There are very few people who want more abortions; but the same “anti-abortion” people are also against sex education and/or sexual protection. Again, they are attempting to force their views and beliefs on everyone.

Choice means just that: choice. A woman may choose to keep the baby, to give it up for adoption, or to terminate the pregnancy. That is a choice. It has been proven that the better the education and knowledge of options before pregnancy, the fewer abortions there are. However, there are those who do not want a woman to have “choice” because she might choose something different than what they would choose. These people who “choose life” don’t think about “life” after the body is born.

Again, I will be blogging on this regularly in the future…I also feel very strongly about this issue.

I am a heterosexual, married, Christian woman. But it is not my place to force my beliefs on others; especially in a diverse, secular republic such as the United States of America.

There will be those who disagree with me, and that is their right. But it is not their right to force their beliefs on me, either. The United States of America is based on Judeo-Christian ideals, but this country is NOT a Christian country, or part of a Catholic Archdiocese; it is NOT run by religious leaders. We can respect religious ideas without being beholden to one group’s beliefs.

Everyone is a human being who deserves to live like every other human being. Every woman has the right to make the choice that is right for her at the time. The Church is the Church and the State is the State, and ne’er the twain should meet.  America is a country for all religions; even though who are atheists or humanists have rights, and the basic tenet to treat others as you would like to be treated is for everyone. 

THE GOLDEN RULE

The Golden Rule or the ethic of reciprocity is found in the scriptures of nearly every religion. It is often regarded as the most concise and general principle of ethics…

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

1. Judaism and Christianity. Bible, Leviticus 19.18

Whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them.

2. Christianity. Bible, Matthew 7.12

Not one of you is a believer until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.

3. Islam. Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi 13

A man should wander about treating all creatures as he himself would be treated.

4. Jainism. Sutrakritanga 1.11.33

Try your best to treat others as you would wish to be treated yourself, and you will find that this is the shortest way to benevolence.

5. Confucianism. Mencius VII.A.4

One should not behave towards others in a way which is disagreeable to oneself. This is the essence of morality. All other activities are due to selfish desire.

6. Hinduism. Mahabharata, Anusasana Parva 113.8

Tsekung asked, “Is there one word that can serve as a principle of conduct for life?” Confucius replied, “It is the word shu–reciprocity: Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you.”

7. Confucianism. Analects 15.23