Sitting Here in Limbo

Hear today's Radio or Not episode by clicking here (runtime 21:13)

We're at an odd place in time right now... It's lame-duck time for this obscene excuse for a president who was ineffective at best, downright criminal at worst. He can't, nor should he be able to, get anything more done to further damage this country.

It's a time of preparation for our incoming administration. A time when many of you are second-guessing the president-elect's every move. But he's not in power yet, and has not had the chance to show what he can and will do.

He is assembling his team, and wasting no time in doing so. But he does not yet have the power to affect any change or policy. We have to give him time.

For we Americans, it's also limbo time. The time of year between Thanksgiving and the start of the New Year. A traditionally horrific time to be unemployed and looking for work, yet a time of year when companies, feeling the pinch, do often let workers go. And this year figures to be the worst in recent memory.

It's also the time of year when we traditionally spend more than we should, all in the spirit of giving. It's one contradiction after another.

It's a time of waiting, of impatience, and also of hope combined with hopelessness.

I'm suggesting we give our newly elected, not-yet-in-office President Obama the chance to succeed before proclaiming him a failure! He'll get enough of that from the Republicans who'll criticize anything he does.

In watching his introduction of his national security team today, I could hear the bloggers in my mind going nuts. "Where's the Change?" is the refrain that I know will be blanketing the blogosphere.

The change, I believe is right there in front of our eyes. It comes with a president who actually has a brain and the common sense to use it. It's in a president who's secure enough with his intelligence to seek out differing points of view instead of just a cabal of yes-men who'll follow his every order without question-- which is exactly what we witnessed for the past eight years.

Instead, Obama chose people who are highly competent, intelligent, and capable of doing the job. Not a cronie in sight. And for that we should be very thankful. See the credentials of these people here.



The change comes in the form of a president who knows enough to surround himself with other brilliant minds -- even though and even possibly because they may not agree -- and to use the benefit of their knowledge, experiences and opinions to come up with the right answers for the very difficult questions he's charged with figuring out the answers to.

I believe in giving intelligence of the brain-trust type a chance to figure it out. That's why I voted for Barack Obama in the first place.

Let's use the tools of the increased transparency this administration is promising to stay on top of the actual moves made by these teams being assembled, and hold them accountable for every decision made along the way. But how about letting them actually get to work before we deem them ineffective or, even worse, failures.

It's tough to remain optimistic when faced with seemingly insurmountable obstacles. But neither you nor I had the temerity, wherewithal or ability to go for the job. So why don't we just let the people who did and do prove to us that they're worthy of it. At least let them start the job before we tell them they're doing it wrong!

On another note that may prove to be sour to many on the left, I think Obama needs to leave the prosecution of Bush and Company to others. Barack Obama has done amazingly well by staying above the fray, not getting bogged down by drama and political infighting.

He's positioned himself as an agent of change and forward thinking.

If there were not ways to hold the Bush Crime Family accountable for their many crimes against humanity, I would not give this administration a pass on it. But there are.

First of all, one need look no further than little Willacy County, TX and a rogue prosecutor who was able to obtain indictments against Dick Cheney and Alberto Gonzalez. Here's some new info on how he was able to do it. Thanks to Michael Moore for keeping an eye out for us.



Next, there's Vincent Bugliosi. Yes, the prosecutor of Charles Manson and many others knows that there are over 4000 cases to be made to prosecute George W. Bush for murder, and he lays it all out in a book for any DA or prosecutor who cares to use it. I interviewed him back in March when the book was first released, and included that interview in today's podcast.

Of course, many are still calling for impeachment, even if only to stop George Bush from issuing blanket pardons. You can and should sign the petition here.

See TV ads that are running in California and some other places around the country, with a renewed call for impeachment:



And read David Swanson's blog today, As Congress Lay Dying.

By the way, I applied for a job in the Obama administration. Although it's pretty likely nothing will come of it, I love the fact that we can all do it. Just click here, fill out the initial form, and they'll email you an application. What have you got to lose? I basically made a suggestion for a dream job for myself, and I think it'd be a great move on their part to hire me to do it. You never know unless you try!

Hear today's Radio or Not episode by clicking here (runtime 21:13)