HAVE YOU SEEN OBAMA’S GRADES?

[defrog]

ITEM: The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) releases its Privacy Report Card for President Obama. Overall result: better than Bush, but then who isn’t?

The elements related to cybersecurity, medical privacy and consumer privacy I’ll let slide, as I wouldn’t describe those as the most pressing things on Obama’s agenda. However, this is somewhat more distressing for civil liberties junkies like me:

Civil liberties: C+
"The Obama Administration inherited many troubling programs from the Bush Administration: the Patriot Act, Fusion Centers, No Fly Lists, E_Verify, and REAL ID. So far, there appears to be little change with the new Administration. There is a modified version of REAL ID called "PASS ID." The Patriot Act is still law. No Fly Lists and Fusion Centers are being expanded." The organization did note progress in some areas, "as well as open government and judicial appointments."

As Privacy Revolt points out, one thing not on the report card but worth adding is warrantless wiretapping. According to the Electronic Freedom Foundation, the Justice Department under Obama “has been pulling out all the stops to kill the major lawsuits challenging the surveillance while giving no indication that the surveillance has ceased.”

And then there’s all that other stuff I mentioned before.

Again, I understand Obama has only been on the job less than a year, he has a long to-do list, and he and I would probably prioritize things differently. But it’s also better to prompt him with constant reminders, rather than wait until, say, mid-2012, by which time he’ll be “too busy” and the next thing you know Sarah Palin is president and you already know where that's going to lead.

Also, the longer this kind of thing goes on under his watch, the more it stops becoming something some other president did and becomes something Obama has willfully continued.

We’re still waiting,

This is dF

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EDITED TO ADD [moments later]: This just in, re The Patriot Act: three provisions in it that made it easier for the govt to spy on Americans are about to expire. President Obama has assured Congress he supports renewing them. Nice one. Dick Cheney and John Ashcroft would approve.

Comments

[nebris.livejournal.com]

Once an organization of any type acquires power, it rarely surrenders it unless forced to do so.

~M~

..but then you knew that, didn't ya? ;)