Progressive Review
THE MODERATE VOICE OF A TIME THAT HAS YET TO COME

AN ONLINE JOURNAL & ARCHIVE OF ALTERNATIVE NEWS & INFORMATION

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THE OBAMA METER
Change we can count

Positive actions listed in blue

20%

17 good decisions out of 84

0% Afghanistan

Escalated war in Afghanistan & Pakistan

Obama's Afghan war chief linked to torture

14% Business

Named Goldman Sachs vice president as head of SEC's enforcement divison.

In bed with Goldman Sachs and other Wall Street barons

Named five pro-RIAA lawyers to top Justice Department positions

Created failed bank bailout

Mishandled AIG bailout.

Got the Swiss to turn over the names of US tax fudgers in major bank.

Supported the record industry in major downloading case.

0% Drugs

Opposes legalization of marijuana.

Increased funding for war on drugs

20% Economic and fiscal policy

Stimulus program falls far short

Named Lawrence Summers as head of economic council

Proposed crackdown on offshore tax avoidance

Created grossly insuffient jobs program

Failed to help signicantly with foreclosures

14% Education

Pushes test obsessed education program Policies repeastedly interfere with powers of local schools

Proposes $12 billion for community colleges.

Secretary Duncan threatens to withold funds to states that refuse to privatize public schools

Education secretary Duncan wants national education standards, for which there is no constitutional basis for federal government intrusion

Argues for more charter schools

Plans to press for merit pay for teachers and other interference in local schools

Educuation secretary Duncan wants to short student summer vacations and extend the school day

63% Environment

Issues new emissions standards for motor vehicles

Signs bill creating two million more acres of public wilderness

EPA declares greenhouse gases a public health threat

Plans to end projected use of Yucca Mountain as a nuclear dump

Permits states to set fuel emission standards. This is not only good for the environment; it's a rare example of a contemporary president observing the 10th Amendment's grant of powers to states

Supports expansion, and heavy subsidy, of nuclear power

Supports development of so-called "clean coal"

Fails to take meaningful steps to reduce human pollution

27% Foreign policy

Hasn't closed Gitmo

Hilllary Clinton threatens Iraq type war against Iran

Continues to suport Israeli apartheid

Caved in to Israel on handling of settlements

Revived Bush era military tribunals for terrorism suspects

Quietly announces that, in contradiction to a campaign pledge, he will not be pressing for new NAFTA labor and enviromental regulations.

Plans to leave a large number of troops in Iraq

Makes Hillary Clinton to be Secretary of State

Agrees to sign on to UN statement favoring global decriminalization of homosexuality

Eases restrictions on Cuban families visiting Cuba and sending money there.

Names George Mitchell envoy to Middle East

5% Freedom & Justice

Signed an extention of the Patriot Act

Obama administration says it has right to kill you when you're overseas

Supports warrentless tracking of US citizens via cellphone location

Supported renewal of key provisions of unconstitutional Patriot Act renewed

Made it much harder to find out if you are the terrorist watch list

Continues illegal border computer searches

Supports the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act.

Supported continued illegal wiretapping on American citizens

Permitting torture and renditions to continue

Continues searchs of computers at borders

Supports anti-gay marriage law

Opposes legalization of marijuana

Won't prosecute in states that allow medical marijuana

Claims right to kill Americans abroad it suspects fo aiding terrorism

Refuses to prosecute CIA torture criminals

Instutues virtual strip searches of air passengers, without record to either Constitution or to proper scientific testing for dangers.

Support overturn of long-standing law that stops police from initiating questions unless a defendant's lawyer is present

Claims prisoners have no right to DNA evidence that might prove their innocence.

Supports recording industry's legal war against listeners

Eric Holder says he favors continuation of secret searches of library and bookstore data files

67% General government

In an end run around the Constitution, names 18 'czars' to oversee cabinet level programs

Imposes lobbying limits on staffers who leave during his term of office.

Supports limits on offshore tax havens

Supports appointed commissions to carry out important functions of Congress.

29% Health

Wants to remove health insurers anti-trust exemption

Badly mishandled the healthcare debate. Healthcare legislation a disaster.

Secret deal with pharma industry drug costs cuts in healthcare plan

Calls for big cuts in Medicare and Medicaid

Plans end to Bush imposed ban on federal funding of stem cell research

Creastes a hyper-expensive, intrusive and potentially unreliable program to computerize all medical records.The primary beneficiaries seem to be the companies that will be doing the work.

Names major healthcare lobbyist Tom Daschle secretary of Health & Human Services. He later drops out.

0% Military

Ending the consruction of F22 planes.

-Appoints William Lynn deputy defense secretary. Lynn has been a top official of defense contractor Raytheon and did a poor job when he was formerly at the Pentagon.

Chooses Robert Gates to continue as Secretary of Defense

100% Mix

Has appointed a higher percentage of latinos than either Bush or Clinton.

0% Politics

Dumped Howard Dean as head of the DNC

Fired 200 DCN staffers working on 50 state strategy

Hired Rahm Emmanuel as top aide

0% Religion

Expands Bush's so-called faith based programs

0% Seniors

Chose Peter Orszag, who favors cutting Social Security for those under 59, to be budget director

0% Transportation

Launched hyper costly elite high speed rail serving business class riders instead of expanding badly needed conventional rail service for passengers and freight

0% War crimes

Refuses to end renditions

Will not prosecute Bush administration members for war crimes