Politician Keeps Promises

On his second full day as president, Barack Obama has signed three executive orders doing away with the Bush administrations draconian and quite possibly illegal detention and interrogation policies. The first order closes all of the so-called “black sites” operated by the CIA in eastern Europe and around the world as secret detention facilities for suspected terrorists. The extreme secrecy surrounding those sites made them prime locations for illegal and inhumane torture practices that the previous administration was known to condone and even request. This executive order will also specifically require any interrogations to follow the codes of the U.S. Army Field Manual, which don’t include torture and are safely within the legal bounds of the Geneva Conventions. The second and third executive orders will dictate the closing of the military prison at Guantanamo Bay within twelve months and see to the relocation of any federal detainees. As much as I’m happy about these decisions, I don’t know if I like all this rational and moral behavior from the president. Maybe I’m just not used to it, but it feels a little creepy. I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop and Obama will be photographed in an extramarital threeway on the Oval Office floor while wiping his ass with the Constitution. At least then I’d feel normal again. More details here.