President Obama's First Day on the Job

Obama street art, Atlanta, Georgia, uploaded on Flickr by brianmanley

And some people thought Obama wasn't ready to run the country. President Obama has done more in eight hours for peace and justice, freedom and ethics than Bush did in his whole eight years in office.

Palestinian children, uploaded from Flickr by shimriz

President Obama called the leaders of Palestine, Israel, Egypt, and Jordan. In the simple act of picking up the phone in his office, this president sent out a strong message, not only to the leaders on the other end of the phone line, but to all of the Arab world that he is serious about opening up a dialogue and engaging in diplomacy toward a peace process in the Palestinian/Israeli conflict.


Wrapped present, uploaded on Flickr by altered angel

Obama also signed an executive order banning gifts to staff from lobbyists. Also, if staff members are former lobbyists, they are not allowed to engage in in any activities to promote the lobby they were involved. He also plans to limit access of lobbyists to the White House. No more revolving doors. With these acts, we are definitely going to get a more just government without the stranglehold of the all powerful lobbyists.

President Obama plans to comply with the Freedom of Information Act. The FOIA holds the government accountable by allowing access to public records. No more massive blacked out pages like in previous administrations.

The president said to staff, "Transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this presidency."

President Obama also held meetings with economic and military advisers.

And as mentioned in my post yesterday, he has suspended all hearings at Guantanamo Bay prison for 120 days. This is a step toward closing down this torture and absolute hell on earth. Obama is expected to sign an executive order by Thursday that will call for the closing down of the prison within a year.

Lastly, he has imposed a pay freeze on staffers making more than $100,000 in an effort to ease the economic crisis.

I would say a most productive first day. Please remember that his website is up and running. It is interactive and I have heard the Obama will be blogging there. This president welcomes comments and suggestions. Check it out and get involved. We are one, we are the change. Here is the website: www.whitehouse.gov
Art by Koolhats, uploaded on Flickr by seetwist