Many of you voted for Barack Obama because you hated the Bush program of open use of torture, evisceration of civil liberties and illegal wars of aggression.  I ask you to look honestly at what the Obama administration has done in the past couple of years.

by David Swanson

A writer at the Atlantic named Conor Friedersdorf recently noted the level of evil many have been brought to support:

"Tell certain liberals and progressives that you can't bring yourself to vote for a candidate who opposes gay rights, or who doesn't believe in Darwinian evolution, and they'll nod along.

by Chris Floyd

In the category of "the sky is blue," "fire is hot" and "the sun rises in the east," the Guardian reports on a new study showing that Washington's murderous drone killing campaign in Pakistan is "counterproductive."

The sarcasm above is not meant to cast aspersions on the report itself -- which is detailed, devastating, and very productive -- but on the prevailing mindset in the ruling circles of the West (the self-proclaimed "defenders of civilization") that makes such a study even necessary, much less 'controversial.'

by Kevin Gosztola

One hallmark of the administration of President Barack Obama has been the commitment of the administration to move forward and not look back—to, as a Democratic Party operative only concerned with election results might say, not re-litigate the eight years of the administration of George W. Bush. This means no accountability for those responsible for committing torture.

From Revolution Newspaper

Romney Is a Wannabe Criminal-in-Chief... But Obama’s a Proven One... 

People—especially progressive people—will tell you that “the stakes are too important to sit out this election.” And they are half-right: the stakes are important. But the stakes are not what they say. And the way that people who really want change need to participate in this election is to expose the bankruptcy of the whole process.

From Revolution Newspaper

It is time for anyone who wants a better world to shake off the deadly illusion that supporting Obama is somehow “the best we can do.”

Barack Obama came into office promising “hope.” Millions of people in this country were eager for a change from the nightmare of the Bush years—its brutal wars; its torture and rendition; the spying; the vicious assaults upon the right to abortion; the mass criminalization and incarceration of Black and Latino youth; the worship of obscene wealth while millions lived on the brink of homelessness and joblessness or were plunged into complete destitution. The reality is that Obama has continued, developed, and intensified the policies begun by George W. Bush.

1.  Admit you are in a self-destructive relationship with the Democratic Party.

2.  Remove conflicting bumper stickers from your collection.  “Shut Down Guantanamo” and “Obama 2012” are mutually exclusive.

3.  Understand that kill lists and more unjust war is the wrong kind of change to believe in.

Most of the 168 detainees at Guantanamo have been imprisoned by the U.S. Government for close to a decade without charges and with no end in sight to their captivity. Some now die at Guantanamo, thousands of miles away from their homes and families, without ever having had the chance to contest accusations of guilt. During the Bush years, the plight of these detainees was a major source of political controversy, but under Obama, it is now almost entirely forgotten. On those rare occasions when it is raised, Obama defenders invoke a blatant myth to shield the President from blame: he wanted and tried so very hard to end all of this, but Congress would not let him. Especially now that we’re in an Election Year, and in light of very recent developments, it’s long overdue to document clearly how misleading that excuse is.

In a thorough and important article in Esquire, author Tom Junod explores and exposes the Obama administrations policy of "targeted killings". 

"John Brennan presents each decision as something like a symposium - 'we discuss. We debate. We disagree'. But there have been thousands killed on the direct order of the president. How can each death possibly be the end product of rigorous review when there are so many of them?"

Read the entire article here.

By Debra Sweet 

One thing I can state for certain: no matter which party wins in November, or who is president, we will be facing a government intent on spreading empire, detaining indefinitely, surveilling almost everyone.

A friend asked me recently if there's any hope for justice and accountability for the Bush era war crimes.  He had campaigned hard for Obama, with the hopes many had, that Guantánamo would close, and that the Bush regime would face charges, or at least investigation for Abu Ghraib, for lying about WMD's, or at least for detaining thousands of people with no charge.

by Chris Floyd     

Barack Obama has helped make Honduras a living hell. In one of the early foreign policy successes of his illustrious administration, Obama helped midwife a brutal coup by Honduran oligarchs, who overthrew a democratically elected president, sent him into exile, then began jailing and murdering those who objected to this regime change.

Although almost all of the nations of Latin America condemned the coup, Obama and his equally progressive Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, told the Hondurans to get over it, and embraced the murderous new government. This despicable policy -- a throwback to the very worst of America's long and very dirty history in Latin America -- has not provoked the slightest ripple of concern from our earnest progressives.