Lawsuit forces DoJ to admit that Obama administration sneakily killed transparency bill

Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2017/02/23/thanks-obama.html

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The Freedom of Information Act Act?

It’s good to have these reminders that the Obama administration was far from perfect, especially now that we have an administration that makes the past look even rosier by comparison. I voted for him twice and generally supported his actions but we shouldn’t use him as the bar for what we expect from our government.

Also, the Freedom of the Press Foundation sounds like a good organization to donate to. Especially is these times.

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As much as this is good and ‘oh hey I was right Obama was anti-transparency they admitted to it’ I am dreading what the GOP supporters are gonna say when they hear this. Given the sample size I have to check refuses to acknowledge I’ve been anything but a blind obama supporter.

With that said, my personal discomfort is little against the actual truth coming out.

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Thanks, Obama.

(I know the meme has been retired, but this feels right)

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I’m not going to defend the dark side of Obama like this FOIA crap and the massive crackdown on leakers. But that campaign line about “most transparent administration” ought to be seen in context it was meant - he was talking about getting government data out of the filing cabinets and other internal silos and making it available on the net to everyone.

This kind of stuff:

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You know, the “dark side of Obama” is starting to seem adorably cute, compared to what’s coming.

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I know what you’re trying to say, but stories like this are neither adorable nor cute.

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There’s a too-long list of lives pointlessly destroyed by the Obama Administration. His supporters ignored the lies and abuses of power while he was in office, so it makes sense that the current monstrosity-in-chief would make them double-down on the fantasy that the last administration was honest and liberal.

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Please, give it a shot.

What lives were destroyed?

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Thank you, that’s one.

renke already linked to some. Here are some more.

Really, the damage done by his drone program, the innocent lives lost in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Libya, is rather extensive.

Also, the reason that President Trump gets a “kill list,” is because Obama thought that it was a good idea for the President to have one of those.

There are the medical marijuana dispensaries who were told they were safe if they were following their state’s laws, and then who were thrown into jail, with there businesses shut down, by the Obama’s Justice Dept. at double the rates of the previous administration.

There were the whistleblowers, who were prosecuted under the Espionage Act more times than all other presidents combined.

And with Trump’s recent Muslim ban, we seem to have forgotten that more people were deported under the Obama administration than any other.

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It makes the “dark side of Nixon” look cute.

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Against the direct orders of the president, I should point out. The DEA went a bit rogue.

Certainly, you understand that many, many more people (and more kids) than that one were killed as a direct result of Obama’s foreign policies?

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You have pointed that out, yes.

This is baseless nonsense. The DEA only goes as “rogue” as the President allows.

EDIT: But if you have any evidence, whatsoever, that the DEA “went rogue” and arrested all those medical marijuana dispensary operators “against the direct orders of the president,” please do provide it.

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So… when the President issues an actual executive order declaring an end to drug raids, but the DEA does so anyway, we’re to assume that the President is, what… secretly ordering them to disobey him?

I don’t think this ever happened. I really wouldn’t mind being proven wrong, so if you have a link, please provide one.

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