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What amazes me most whenever I write about this topic is recalling how terribly upset so many Democrats pretended to be when Bush claimed the power merely to detain or even just eavesdrop on American citizens without due process.  Remember all that?  Yet now, here's Obama claiming the power not to detain or eavesdrop on citizens without due process, but to kill them; marvel at how the hardest-core White House loyalists now celebrate this and uncritically accept the same justifying rationale used by Bush/Cheney (this is war! the President says he was a Terrorist!) without even a moment of acknowledgment of the profound inconsistency or the deeply troubling implications of having a President - even Barack Obama - vested with the power to target U.S. citizens for murder with no due process. Also, during the Bush years, civil libertarians who tried to convince conservatives to oppose that administration's radical excesses would often ask things like this: would you be comfortable having Hillary Clinton wield the power to spy on your calls or imprison you with no judicial reivew or oversight?  So for you good progressives out there justifying this, I would ask this:  how would the power to assassinate U.S. citizens without due process look to you in the hands of, say, Rick Perry or Michele Bachmann?

"We will fight it through all available means […] To quote what they say every day on Libya, all options are on the table." That's what the chief lobbyist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce told the New York Times after hearing the White House may issue an executive order requiring corporations that do business with the government to disclose their political spending. The Chamber's pledge to fight tooth and nail to keep the American people in the dark about conflicts of interest in government is appalling, but not surprising. If corporations and their executives are spending on politicians in an effort to "win" government contracts, the American people should know.  Urge President Obama to stand up to the U.S. Chamber and fight for disclosure. Sign the petition today!

LAHORE: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that People's Party Co-chairman, President Asif Ali Zardari will decide whether the party will sit on government or opposition benches in Punjab. He said the eyes of the international media are focussed over the situation of Punjab.

Why can't President Obama stop the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico? Why can't he get the Israelis and Palestinians to stop squabbling and make peace? Why can't he get the Europeans to contribute more troops to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan? Why can't he forge a global treaty to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases? Why can't he . . . well, you get the point. Obama, it turns out, is not Superman.

What can Obama do? "He probably can and should do more to assuage the anxiety of those in the way of the oil," said Langston. "It's just symbolism, but symbolic leadership matters, and people like to be reassured that the president cares about the things they care about, and about them." . . . . . . .

Daniel Ellsberg, legendary leaker of the "Pentagon Papers" in 1971, still has a bone to pick with the White House. In an interview with SPIEGEL ONLINE, the 79-year-old peace activist accuses President Obama of betraying his election promises -- in Iraq, in Afghanistan and on civil liberties.

By Glenn GreenwaldHere again, we see one of the principal and longest-lasting effects of the Obama presidency: to put a pretty, eloquent, progressive face on what (until quite recently) was ostensibly considered by a large segment of the citizenry to be

"ScienceDaily (Aug. 31, 2010) - There's something beyond plain old ignorance that motivates Americans to believe President Obama is a Muslim, according to a first-of-its-kind study of smear campaigns led by a Michigan State University psychologist."

At a $30,000 per plate DNC fundraiser, the President explains that it's your fault if you're dissatisfied

Justice (R) Malik Qayyum Former Attorny General, Ali Ahmed Kurd President SCBA, in Fresh episode of Capital Talk and discusses with Hamid Mir.

Ch. Aitzaz Ahsan Former President SCBA, Ch. Pervaiz Elahi PML-Q, in fresh episode of Islamabad Tonight & Discusses Currant Issue with Nadeem Malik.

Ali Ahmed Kurd President SCBA, Athar Minallah Spokesman CJI, in fresh episode of Meray Mutabiq with Dr Shahid Masood.

Kamran Khan presents another fresh episode of Aaj Kamran Khan Kay Saath in Geo TV and talk with Shah Mehmood Qurashi PPP, Ch. Nasar Ali Khan PML-N, Ch. Aitzaz Ahsan Former President SCBA.

Shehzad Roy President Zindagi Trust for free Education, Mir Hazar Khan Bajarani Federal Minister for Education, Dr. Mufti Sarfraz Naeemi Nazim-e-Ahla Jamia Naeemia Lahore, Prof. Dr. Qasim M Jan Vice Chairman Quid-e-Azam University, Prof. Dr. Saeeda Asadullah Khan Vice Chairman Fatime Jinnah Women University, Prof. Dr. Pirzada Qasim Raza Siddiqui Vice Chancellor Karachi University, in Special episode of Capital Talk and discusses with Hamid Mir.

A set of security lights illuminate the landscape at Bagram Air Base March 2, 2009 in Bagram, Afghanistan. Following - Bagram as a replacement for Guantanamo Bay U.S. President Barack Obama's executive order to close the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, Bagram Air Base is slated for a $60 million expansion, nearly doubling the size of the prison at Bagram. Currently the base north of the Afghan capital Kabul holds over 600 prisoners classified as enemy combatants.

Syed Naveed Qamar PPPP, Imran Khan President PTI, Khawaja M. Asif PML-N, in special episode of Kal Tak Disqualified with Javed Chaudhry.

'Deficits can be addressed by raising revenue, plugging tax loopholes, putting people to work, and developing the economy long-term in all the ways the President has discussed. But deficits are not what really matters to conservatives. Conservatives really want to change the basis of American life, 

Nothing distracts the citizenry and distorts political reality like the spectacle of the race for the presidency

Rush Limbaugh has resorted to repeating discredited or misleading claims - that "the rich are not richer than they've ever been" and that the number of millionaires in the U.S. has decreased -- in order to dismiss President Obama's newly proposed jobs plan.