Yesterday marked President Obama’s 100th day in office. Like other media generated “holidays,” day 100 is a wildly arbitrary date that we are nonetheless obligated to acknowledge. After all, why is Day 100 more significant than Day 200 or Day 1000? That said, I’ll join the fray and grade the commander-in-chief for his body of work thus far. Given the criminal incompetence of the Bush Administration, I’m tempted to grade Obama on a curve. Instead, I’m fighting the urge and assessing him on his own merits.

Transition – For the first few weeks, the media hype machine trumpted Obama’s transition as the “smoothest in American history.” Soon after, a series of hiring misfires and ethical scandals left Obama with mud on his face. Grade: C-

Economic Recovery – By far, the economic crisis was the biggest domestic fire that Obama had to put out. On the one hand, his stimulus bill, while slightly bloated, will provide short-term protection and long-term relief to the victims of the ailing economy. On the other hand, the President and Congress have demonstrated extravagant incompetence in their handling of corporate bailouts. Since many of these problems were an inheritance of Bush, we’ll cut him a little slack. Grade C+

Foreign Policy- As promised, the president quickly improved America’s global image by closing Guantanamo prison and reaching out to estranged foreign leaders. Unfortunately, Obama and his cabinet of Bush-era warmongers have continued the previous administration’s doctrine of permanent war by escalating activity in Afghanistan. As a result, violence is up 79 percent, innocent Afghanis continue to die, and global disdain for American foreign policy is rising. With no plan for withdrawal and no commitment to diplomacy or humanitarian, things are looking bleak for the so-called “good war.” Grade: C-.

Transportation – The President has demonstrated a firm commitment to mass transit that will improve the environment, produce jobs, and create new opportunity for urban denizens. More money is necessary, but a firm plan is in place. Grade: A-.

Environment – Although I’m optimistic about the president’s plans for energy independence, green jobs, and environmental protection, little has been done to date. Grade: Incomplete

Immigration – So far, there’s been more talk than action but, unlike the previous administration, the talk has not been racist or shortsighted. Grade: B

Education – After choosing one of the most unqualified Secretaries of Education in American history, the Obama Administration has continued the assault on teachers, unions, and public education. Grade: F

Urban Policy – While the establishment of an Office for Urban Policy is encouraging, the office has been poorly staffed and bogged down in bureaucracy. As a result, urban issues have remained at the bottom of the nation’s priority list. Grade: D

Overall Grade – C-

A ‘New Relationship?’
By Mumia Abu-Jamal
[col. writ. 4/19/09]

As U.S. President, Barack Obama treks to the Caribbean to sit and sup with Latin American leaders, he does so amidst a promise of a new relationship with America del Sur.

While this brand of quiet and thoughtful presence is indeed profoundly different from the thoughtless bravado and bluster of his immediate predecessor, George W. Bush, it still hearkens back to a bygone era, one rarely recalled today, that of John F. Kennedy.

Yet is this merely a difference of style or substance?

From the time of the 5th U.S. president, James Monroe (ca.1820) this country has pursued a policy of domination, interference and control over the countries to the south.  The U.S. has toppled governments it doesn’t like, supported dictators, backed military coups, and both trained and funded armies to oppose trade unionists and social activists, all in the name of the so-called Monroe Doctrine.

And while some presidents have thundered and bellowed, and others have whispered, the essential elements of U.S. foreign policy have remained virtually unchanged in a region many Americans think of as their ‘backyard.’

But Latin America is experiencing a renaissance of late, one caused, in part, by popular resistance to U.S. domination of their economies, governments and politics.

There is a wave of leftist governments arising in Latin America today.  Any serious student of U.S. – Latin American history can’t be surprised by this trend.

The U.S. has either intervened, invaded, or supported dictators in: Chile, Colombia, Cuba, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Panama, Grenada, Dominican Republic, and Haiti (just to name a few).

It must be said, only slightly tongue-in-cheek, that the U.S. has never met a dictator it didn’t like — especially when opposed by a populist or a nationalist.

The best exemplar of this imperialist trend may be seen in the U.S.response to the 1963 election of Dr. Juan Bosch as President of the Dominican Republic, after the CIA-backed assassination of dictator Rafael L. Trujillo in 1961. Bosch was shortly thereafter overthrown by a military coup.

The U.S., under President Lyndon B. Johnson, moved heaven and earth to insure the installation and election of Joaquin Balaguer, a Trujillo clone who outdid his former boss at repression. *  After the armed intervention, Johnson invited two leading Republican congressmen to the White House, to boast that he’d “just taken and action that will prove that democratic presidents can deal with Communists as strongly as Republicans” (p.80).

Because of U.S. intervention (and occupation, with some 40,000 troops!) the country endured some 60 years under brutal dictatorships — backed, trained, and funded by the U.S.

What would be a ‘new relationship’ would be an abandonment of U.S. interference, intervention, invasion and subversion of neighboring states to the south.

Kennedy smiled, and he was a brilliant politician, but he sent in Green Berets when he couldn’t get his way.

A new relationship would be an end to U.S. imperialism.

–(c)  ‘09 maj

{*Source: Chester, Eric Thomas, Rag-Tags, Scum, Riff-Raff and Commies: The U.S. Intervention in the Dominican Republic, 1965-66. (N.Y.: Monthly Review Press, 2001.)

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Why Black People Loved the First 100 Days

By Melissa Harris-Lacewell

On Monday the New York Times reported that the percentage of black Americans who believe race relations in America are generally good has doubled since July. This statistic forces me to ask: why are African Americans feeling so good about our country in a time of economic crisis and international conflict?

It is not just the fact of a black president. Instead, with everyone analyzing the 100-day mark of Obama’s administration, I think the answer lies in understanding this historic moment through a black cultural lens. I believe African Americans are feeling racially optimistic because they respect how our first Brother President is handling his business. Not all black people of course; there is a group clamoring for “accountability.” But the polls are clear that most black people remain enthusiastic supporters of this president.

In January Obama kicked things off with the ultimate political party. African Americans stood with numb fingers and toes on the National Mall to watch a day we never thought would come. Obama had Mary J. Blige singing on the weekend, Aretha in her Sunday-going-to-meeting-hat celebrating on Tuesday morning, and Beyonce serenading on Tuesday night. It was an unrivaled R&B trifecta, challenging even the Essence festival.

But the best part of January 20th was that Barack and Michelle got out of the bulletproof, black Cadillac and walked the streets…and no one shot at them. I know we are not allowed to say it, but one reason black people believe that race relations have improved in America is because Barack lived through the primaries, the election, the inauguration, and now through 100 days.

For the rest of the story, click here.

Swine Flu Epidemic Hits U.S.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano declared a public health emergency after a Mexican swine flu epidemic hit the United States. What do you think?

Charlie Sarris,
Garage Door Hanger
“I had a glass of orange juice this morning. I’ll be fine.”

Heidi Crittenden,
Pig Farmer
“Can you get infected if you work in Mexico at a pig farm where all the pigs are infected and you take no health precautions? If so, I have made some terrible life decisions.”

Sam Smith,
Insulation Cutter
“Let’s see if I can recall what precautions I took during the last outbreak of swine flu back in 1976. Oh, yes, I bought some oregano from a guy at an Atlanta Rhythm Section concert and scorched my chest trying to iron on a ‘Beaver Patrol’ decal.”

Today’s photo of the day shows Arlen Specter, who officially announced that he’s switching parties. Of course, this “conversion” has everything to do with the shifting political demographics in Pennsylvania –largely attributable to the new wave of Obama-inspired Republican defectors– that placed Specter’s re-election bid in serious jeopardy. As such, I’m very worried about the political character of this soon-to-be Democratic super-majority. My hunch (and fear) is that the Democrats are simply moving further toward the center, rendering progressive voices even more marginal.