Obama Promises, Including Whistleblower Protections, Disappear From Website

[ClarkJonathanKent]

Source: Huffington Post

Amid the Obama administration's crackdown against whistleblowers, Change.gov, the 2008 website of the Obama transition team laying out the candidate's promises, has disappeared from the internet.

The Sunlight Foundation notes that it last could be viewed on June 8, which was two days after the first revelations from Edward Snowden (who had then not yet revealed himself) about the NSA's phone surveillance program.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/26/obama-whistleblower-website_n_3658815.html

---

Some people here might care about this.

[cosmicone]

1. Obama has been a major disapoointment

but better than McCain or Romney.

Lesser of two evils doctrine lives on.

[Android3.14]

12. He's like a fried apple pie

With a nice yummy Big Mac.

[lamp_shade]

2. See thread here >

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=3344766

[dipsydoodle]

5. Reply #8 provides a back door link into the missing information

which is preserved for posterity.

Thats in the cross link you provided.

[GeorgeGist]

3. Forgotten but not lost ...

Protect Whistleblowers: Often the best source of information about waste, fraud, and abuse in government is an existing government employee committed to public integrity and willing to speak out. Such acts of courage and patriotism, which can sometimes save lives and often save taxpayer dollars, should be encouraged rather than stifled. We need to empower federal employees as watchdogs of wrongdoing and partners in performance. Barack Obama will strengthen whistleblower laws to protect federal workers who expose waste, fraud, and abuse of authority in government. Obama will ensure that federal agencies expedite the process for reviewing whistleblower claims and whistleblowers have full access to courts and due process.

http://web.archive.org/web/20081119212627/http://www.change.gov/agenda/ethics_agenda/

[L0oniX]

10. Gold! n/t

[Android3.14]

11. What is the word I'm looking for...?

Oh yes...now I remember.
Hypocrite.

[panzerfaust]

44. Good old WayBack Machine

I suppose they will soon be getting a visit from the Thought Police for having retrieved something from the Memory Hole


Nascent Dictator, instead of the expected principled president: I want my vote back.

[didact]

68. Somebody needs to get the NSA to sanitize that damn wayback site!

eom

[snot]

4. K&R'd & bookmarked.

[GliderGuider]

6. Supraase, supraase, supraase! nt

[JoePhilly]

7. Duplicate faux outrage thread.

[truebluegreen]

16. Nothing faux about it.

[Ash_F]

21. At some point, you should consider to stop doubling down.

It is starting to look embarrassing.

[Scurrilous]

69. LOL

The replies are equally crazy the second time around.

I'm still trying to figure #27 out...

[cstanleytech]

8. Now whats the word I am looking for when you reveal to another country

that your own country is spying on them? Now its not whistleblowing, I know that.
Dang its just on the tip of my tongue, oh well nevermind.

[skepticscott]

15. If you're trying to say "treason"

You need to check your definition. Unless Germany has become our enemy.

[Ash_F]

20. Unless, Americans have become the enemy. /nt

[cstanleytech]

26. Oh, yes thats the word thanks.

In fact thats the exact word and what he did went beyond whistleblowing when he (Snowden in this case) began revealing to China details on the efforts of the US at gathering intelligence in China no matter how much you and others might want to pretend that he is a hero.
The same can and does apply to Germany as well even though they are an ally now the fact is they have not always been an ally and revealing the details on efforts of the US on gathering intelligence is called treason for a reason.

[Ash_F]

28. China is an important trade partner.

And many of our most powerful and important citizens are good friends with many of their most powerful and important citizens.

How dare you slander our good friends.

[cstanleytech]

30. More like rivals.

Because lets face it that is what they are.

But lets discuss whistleblowers.
A real whistleblower for example in Mannings case would have just released the records over the helicopter attack and the video he wouldnt have shared hundreds of thousands of classified documents unrelated to said incident.
A real whistleblower would in Snowdens case would have just revealed that the NSA was recording metadata of peoples phone records they would not have revealed to China details on US intelligence efforts.
Of course I am not saying Snowden or even Manning should face the death penalty because I dont think they should but people need to wake up and realize that both of them crossed the line from what whistleblowing is about and that they cannot hide behind the fig leaf of being whistleblowers legitimately.

[Ash_F]

32. Also would have released info on the sexual enslavement of children by Dyncorp

..a Virginia based company with close ties to our(Republican) leaders and the State Department's advice(in a cable) to Afghan leaders to keep quiet about it and the subsequent decision not to prosecute by the DoJ. This is a company that was previously caught selling women in Bosnia. Didn't get prosecuted then either.

See what I did there? You don't get to personally cherry pick what is acceptable and what isn't. There were many many fucked up things beyond the helicopter video that were brought to light by Manning.

Regarding Snowden. I am not sorry I have problem with such a powerful government mechanism that is controlled by 10/11 Bush/Reagan appointees(FISA) and headed by a Bush appointee(PRISM).

[cstanleytech]

33. Oh I am not cherrypicking, those ignoring *all* of the facts are.

The Dyncorp issue is a perfect example of what whistleblowing is meant to expose however again it doesnt excuse the release of information unrelated to that specific issue because then its no longer whistleblowing if you are revealing unrelated classified information.
Besides which the other "cherrypicking" fact people ignore is Manning had the legal option to reveal to a member of congress and to the Inspector Generals office any illegal acts, he didnt have the legal right to reveal classified documents otherwise.

[Ash_F]

42. I am curious what your stance on the Pentagon Papers was

There was a lot of "unrelated classified information" there as well.

I am sorry but the world is not an action movie or Tom Clancy novel. This constant talk of "SUPER SECRET SPAI STUFFF!!!! PEWPEWPEW!@#" gets grating after a while.

[cstanleytech]

43. Thats a very complicated issue.

And a bit before my time as well
But suffice it to say that if Ellsberg didnt have the same option Manning had of reporting what he knew to congress and or the inspector general then yes he should have been charged for releasing anything unrelated to revealing a crime and or corruption, lucky for him though alot of what he released needed to be exposed.

[skepticscott]

31. Did I say I thought he was a hero?

Please point out where I did.

Oh...right..you can't. You just made that up about me. Typical tactic to bolster a failed argument.

Now go back and read the definition of treason. You'll find it in the Constitution.

[cstanleytech]

34. No you didnt nor did I claim you did.

"In fact thats the exact word and what he did went beyond whistleblowing when he (Snowden in this case) began revealing to China details on the efforts of the US at gathering intelligence in China no matter how much you and others might want to pretend that he is a hero."

[skepticscott]

39. If you want to play word games, fine

Show me where I said or even implied that I "might" want to "pretend" that he is a "hero". You can't do that, either. It's still a false attribution by you about the thinking of someone that you know nothing about.

Check that definition of "treason" yet? We're all still waiting for you to show us how what happened here qualifies.

[cstanleytech]

41. "Check that definition of "treason" yet?" Hey, I'm game. Now lets see..........

ah here it is http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/treason

1 the betrayal of a trust : treachery
2 the offense of attempting by overt acts to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance or to kill or personally injure the sovereign or the sovereign's family

[skepticscott]

50. Nice try

But those definitions are meaningless in US law, as you well know. By law, there is only one definition for the crime of "treason" in this country. Do you have the intellectual honesty to lay it out for everyone, or would you like me to make an even bigger fool of you by doing it for you?

[cstanleytech]

51. You asked for the "definition" and I provided it.

And as by that definition specifically the "1
: the betrayal of a trust " and they were trusted and they betrayed that trust and broke the law by revealing classified intelligence and that is an actual crime btw.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/798

[skepticscott]

53. As expected...blatant intellectual dishonesty

Here's the only definition that has any legal weight:

Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.

Recognize it? Perhaps you'd like to tell our audience where it comes from. And how the crime of treason has been committed here. Not simply the alleged crime of revealing classified information, but TREASON...because that was what you claimed in posts 8 and 26.

Or perhaps you'd like to wallow in more feigned ignorance. Your choice.

[cstanleytech]

54. Ya know you win. Happy?

Now how about we focus on the law itself then? Did they or did they not break the law regarding the release of classified information?
If you are not intellectual dishonest then you shouldnt have any problem answering.

[skepticscott]

56. And so the backpedaling begins..what a shock.

Did I ever say that what happened here was not a violation of ANY law? Of course not. And I'm not saying it now. But if that's what you really wanted to discuss, you would have said it right up front, instead of making a smug and snarky (and failed) attempt to paint this as "treason".

Epic fail.

[cstanleytech]

57. No, not backpeddling just dont see any point in wasting our time

as we have different views on the subject as I believe he passed the point of being a whistleblower and went over into treason by supplying China with details on US intelligence gathering inside China that wasnt relevant to revealing details over the NSA having the database of phone numbers.

"Did I ever say that what happened here was not a violation of ANY law? Of course not. And I'm not saying it now."
Yes, I noticed that but feel free to answer now if you believe he broke the law.

[enlightenment]

60. Wasting "our" time?

How many of you are there?

[frylock]

22. ich bin ein enemies of the state

[Pterodactyl]

36. German: Ein can't precede a plural.

It should be ich bin ein enemy.

[panzerfaust]

45. Ich bin ein Feind des Staates - weil der Staat ist der Feind des Volkes.

I am an enemy of the State - because the State is the enemy of the People.

[Pterodactyl]

70. Whoa, whoa, whoa! You actually think Barack Obama is a totalitarian "Big Brother"?

[L0oniX]

9. ...and the window shades are pulled down. Real journalism is in trouble. n/t

[bvar22]

13. I noticed that "embarrassing" YouTube clips ...

...of Candidate Obama making Promises that were later "forgotten",
and embarrassing clips of Hillary during the 2008 "debates" have also begun disappearing.

I maintained a library of links to these clips,
but when they started disappearing,
I found a FireFox AddOn that lets me download them to a hard drive,
so I have preserved them for historical reasons.

If I have to, I will host them again myself.

VIDEO is FOREVER!!!

[awoke_in_2003]

23. Don't worry...

someone will come along and make Sense of it soon.

[FiveGoodMen]

24. !

[bvar22]

25. That IS something we never have to worry about.

Its comforting, somehow.

[Bragi]

61. Aren't you then aiding the enemy?

If national security requires removing promises from websites, then putting them back online where Al Qaeda can see them, is surely treason, no?

[bvar22]

63. Nothing surprises me anymore.

There are some here that would make that very case.

[Vanje]

66. Obama's campaign promises aid Al Quaeda!??!!!!!????

That is (almost) the silliest thing I've ever read on DU.

If campaign promises aid "the enemy", then We the People are that enemy.

Edited to state that your post may have been satire. Good Lord! I hope so!)

[FiveGoodMen]

14. “The illusion of freedom will continue as long as it's profitable to continue the illusion.

At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater.”

-- Frank Zappa

[bananas]

17. 1984: The Memory Hole

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_hole

A memory hole is any mechanism for the alteration or disappearance of inconvenient or embarrassing documents, photographs, transcripts, or other records, such as from a web site or other archive, particularly as part of an attempt to give the impression that something never happened.[1][2] The concept was first popularized by George Orwell's dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.

<snip>

[Jack Rabbit]

18. No, it's not out of 1984

It sounds more like Animal Farm.

[panzerfaust]

46. Please re-read both: Winston's job at the Ministry of Truth was to drop things into the memory hole

In the walls of the cubicle there were three orifices. To the right of the speakwrite, a small pneumatic tube for written messages, to the left, a larger one for newspapers; and in the side wall, within easy reach of Winston's arm, a large oblong slit protected by a wire grating. This last was for the disposal of waste paper. Similar slits existed in thousands or tens of thousands throughout the building, not only in every room but at short intervals in every corridor. For some reason they were nicknamed memory holes. When one knew that any document was due for destruction, or even when one saw a scrap of waste paper lying about, it was an automatic action to lift the flap of the nearest memory hole and drop it in, whereupon it would be whirled away on a current of warm air to the enormous furnaces which were hidden somewhere in the recesses of the building.

...http://tmh.floonet.net/books/1984/1984Ch1.4.html


Oh, and the book is named "Nineteen Eighty-Four", not 1984.

[Ash_F]

19. Oh, THAT's the change we could believe in.

[Vanje]

62. /\

LOL

[Thinkingabout]

27. As I was observing the Thunder Moon, I notices a couple of drones with whistle blower sites attached

Just saying.

[cprise]

29. Simultaneously, the administration said

... that Snowden is a traitor, and they promised to Russia the US would protect him if they hand him over.

A lot of irony and self-contradiction going on here.

Anyway, its good to see that Change.org is living up to its moniker in some sense. When Obama leaves office, they can change the text to "Be careful what you ask for".

[cstanleytech]

35. The US would have little choice actually but to do so.

Remember he is a citizen of the US and as such when in custody of US authorities he has full constitutional rights and that means the government has obligations as well to him such as providing him with a lawyer if he requests one and as big a name as he is now they cant do anything to try and make him disappear because that would set off some major alarm bells and would force SCOTUS to take action as well as congress and the senate.
So yes he would be safe in US custody.
Almost zero chance he would ever be free again but he would be safe if you call a jail cell safe

[Vanje]

64. In custody of US authority........

In a cold solitary cell, under 24 hour a day lights, wearing nothing but his "full constitutional rights".

Like Pvt Manning.

[cstanleytech]

65. Pretty much but keep in mind

while both committed the same basic crime Manning is in the military and subject to military law Snowden isnt in the military thus he doesnt fall under military law but rather the civilian authorities.

[blkmusclmachine]

37. Campaign Obama was nothing but a pitch, a sales gimmick, a slick illusion.

The real Obama was kept under wraps.

[Sunlei]

38. here's the actual recorded Policy "protecting whistleblower"2012 (not the text from old 2008 elect)

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/image/ppd-19.pdf

[panzerfaust]

47. Thanks. Sadly, the last section is the only one our Leader is enforcing

This directive is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law
or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

BARACK OBAMA

(Page 8: http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/image/ppd-19.pdf)

[Sunlei]

49. he should have reported by policy, THEN run to the press 4 the security of the knowledge out public.

someone put him up to the path he took.

[OnyxCollie]

40. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

This reminds me of when the Bush administration doctored the "Mission Accomplished" video, where the frame was moved down to hide Mission Accomplished banner, leaving a big black box on the bottom of the screen.

[Sunlei]

48. the policy was written and entered in the 2012 federal register.

link in the post above you.

running to the press is not in any of the policy, not the official 2012 document or the old 2008 statement on the election website.

I don't think any president has left up their old election websites forever.

[woo me with science]

58. K&R

[woo me with science]

59. AND LOOK WHAT IS BEING DONE NOW:

Fed Court: Just changed interpretation of Espionage Act to cover leaks that are NOT Harmful To USA
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=3365713

All the promises were lies. They are criminalizing investigative journalism. They are criminalizing leaking. They are eliminating every avenue for holding this government in check.

They are dismantling the Constitution.

[Vanje]

67. "They are dismantling the Constitution."

The Bush administration left the constitution teetering dangerously.
The Obama administration kicked it into the abyss.