Executive Order

A Human Rights Petition to President Barack Obama

Wade Norris | Posted 10.28.2009 | Denver


Wade Norris

For environmental refugees both within the United States and internationally, climate change means losing their homes, land and culture.

What Can Stop the Gay-Bashing in the Military?

Nathaniel Frank | Posted 11.22.2009 | Politics


Nathaniel Frank

Petty Officer Third Class Joseph Rocha was brutalized for more than two years at his base in Bahrain after his refusal to hire a prostitute raised suspicions that he was gay. This is not an academic debate.

Why Does Obama Use Executive Power for Everything But Gay Troops?

Nathaniel Frank | Posted 09.10.2009 | Politics


Nathaniel Frank

Sometimes moral and political leadership really are one and the same. Ending the needless firing of gay troops is one of those times.

Sahil Kapur

Transparency Groups Urge Obama To Involve Public In Executive Order Revisions

HuffingtonPost.com | Sahil Kapur | Posted 09.06.2009 | Politics


As President Obama prepares to modify the rules of executive power, 21 public advocacy groups and individuals are fighting to make sure he fulfills hi...

In Praise of Assassination

Eric C. Anderson | Posted 08.14.2009 | Home


Eric C. Anderson

Congressional outrage over not being told the Central Intelligence Agency had a secret program to kill a select list of al-Qaeda leaders is a needless...

Obama Courts Disaster With New Detention Plan

Ari Melber | Posted 07.27.2009 | Politics


Ari Melber

The Obama administration is rushing towards a unilateral plan to imprison people without trial. The proposal would cut Congress out of the process by using an executive order to essentially bring Gitmo stateside.

Patients Before Politics: Putting Science First

Susan L. Solomon | Posted 04.09.2009 | Politics


Susan L. Solomon

While the Obama administration brings a refreshingly friendly attitude toward science, researchers will still lack easy access to the full range of possibilities that stem cells present.

One Reason Why Gitmo Failed and (I Hope) Obama Won't

David Danzig | Posted 02.27.2009 | Politics


David Danzig

"When he took over [Gitmo], General Miller knew so little about questioning Al Qaeda suspects that he probably did not even know how to spell 'interrogation,'" one senior interrogator has told me.

Obama Says No to Torture; Interrogators Say Yes to Obama

David Danzig | Posted 02.22.2009 | Politics


David Danzig

Interrogators are lauding President Obama for signing an executive order that will shut down secret CIA prisons and place the use of coercive interrogation techniques completely off limits.

Executive Vigor Without Executive Arrogance III: Three Steps Away from the Unitary Presidency

Peter M. Shane | Posted 02.09.2009 | Politics


Peter M. Shane

My last two posts focused on whether a newly inaugurated President Obama can move energetically to displace Bush-era policy without embracing a radica...

Executive Vigor Without Executive Arrogance II: A Primer on Executive Orders

Peter M. Shane | Posted 02.09.2009 | Politics


Peter M. Shane

If the President issues a pardon, no later President can undo it. After George H. W. Bush pardoned the Iran-Contra defendants, Presidents Clinton could not say: "Hold on! I'm taking those pardons back!"

The Neo-Cons Are Not Gone, Nor Forgotten

Brian Ross | Posted 12.22.2008 | Politics


Brian Ross

Much of the economic crisis is also being engineered by our sweet neo-cons to create an untenable situation for the Dems coming into power.

Governors' Global Climate Summit: Thinking As One Planet

Paige Donner | Posted 12.21.2008 | Politics


Paige Donner

What was heard at the Governor's Global Climate Summit, held earlier this week in Los Angeles, was a chorus of international voices.

Obama: Close Gitmo On Day One -- You Can Do It. We've Got Your Back.

Anthony D. Romero | Posted 12.11.2008 | Politics


Anthony D. Romero

Our top issue -- closing down Gitmo and shutting down the military commissions -- can be done as soon as he lifts his left hand, picks up the new presidential pen and signs an executive order.

Bush Intel Reorganization Gives National Intelligence Director More Power

AP | PAMELA HESS | Posted 08.08.2008 | Politics


WASHINGTON — President Bush's new executive order revising rules for intelligence agencies expands the national intelligence director's powers a...

Sen. Whitehouse Reveals Secret Justice Dept. Memos: Bush Determines What Is Constitutional

Think Progress | Posted 03.28.2008 | Politics


This morning, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) delivered an impassioned floor speech to help frame the debate over FISA reform. Using his privilege as a...