President-Elect Obama's campaign featured the "Change" mantra and little in the way of specifics. His early appointments leave us wondering if America will indeed get the correct change.

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Candidate Obama's mantra was "Change!"  What evidence of "change" have we thus far from President-Elect Obama? 

This from a press account, November 19, 2008:  "WASHINGTON - Barack Obama's incoming administration is unlikely to bring criminal charges against government officials who authorized or engaged in harsh interrogations of suspected terrorists during the George W. Bush presidency." 

So, not to worry, de Sade devotees, and by all means do not discard the whips, chains, "water beds," attack dogs, head bags and other tools of your craft.  Your precedent is safe and merely awaits the next burp in the "war on terror" so to be redeployed in defense of the Republic and Freedom everywhere! 

Also today, our "free" press advised (though not "officially" announced) that Hillary Clinton has indeed been offered the Secretary of State post in Obama's cabinet.  As such, Mrs. Clinton would be our chief diplomat, and a leading influence on the course of future peace in the world, or war in the world, which indeed she supported in 2002 as one of the traitor senate Democrats who in blatant political cowardice and self-interest supported the minority Republicans to gift George W. Bush with the sword of war, to employ as he saw fit, which was then used to thus far destroy a million-plus lives. 

Further from today's news we learn:  "John Brennan and Jami Miscik, both former intelligence officials under George Tenet, are leading Barack Obama's review of intelligence agencies and helping make recommendations to the new administration.  Brennan has supported warrantless wiretapping and extraordinary rendition, and Miscik was involved with the politicized intelligence alleging weapons of mass destruction in the lead-up to the war on Iraq." 

Then some time before these malodorous winds from the press, there was the largely unnoted tsunami by the Messiah Barack himself that some "role" in his administration would be played by Colin Powell, the former Secretary of State (and Peace!) who served as George W. Bush's designated liar to the United Nations in the cause for unjustified war against an innocent people several oceans from our shores.  

Questions:  Whatever happened to the mantra for "Change"?  Once the prize is won, to be replaced by "Let the Good Times Roll," even before the new furniture is moved in?  Should not "change" begin with disavowal of the treachery of the past eight years and its captains shunned if not brought to the bar of justice?  And  WHAT IN GOD'S NAME IS HAPPENING HERE?     

It is extremely difficult to accept that any decent citizen would consider this reported course as appropriate or excuse such, and we would hope that the new president in fact faces up to the moral imperative, rather than for history to include America along with the Nazis in its chapters on unconscionable slaughter and torture. 

This moral putrification cascades from its captains all the way down to the working level of this evil business.  The torturers on the job were/are (Yes, Virginia, we do torture!) the CIA and our military (Now swallow hard!) and they were if not abundantly enthusiastic then the compliant henchmen/femmes of treacherous masters, and they are "our troops." 

Innocent question:  DO WE SUPPORT THESE TORTURE TROOPS?  

Associated question:  DO WE SUPPORT THE TROOPS WHO BOMB WEDDING PARTIES IN AFGHANISTAN? (More than one of those lately.) 

Hopefully at the minimum, those who would respond in the affirmative will have given this moral issue torturous consideration, especially in the all embracing context of the favorite line of the Nazi criminals on trial at Nuremburg:  "I vas only followink mein orders!" 

Yes, it can be very painful to think right and to do the right thing.  Do we have any other choice?  Consistent with the right choice is to muster the integrity to condemn the treacherous masters, have them answer for their crimes in court, and to deliver our troops from their influence and return them to the embrace of their families.  Any other course is to excuse treachery at all levels of command and to leave open the door to American atrocity and infamy -- until forces of decency from elsewhere take us down.  And the lesson of history is:  they indeed will, they will. 

President-Elect Obama may still be able to alter what appear to be signs of continued treachery.  He needs to signal us some evidence of the beneficial "Change" he implied during his campaign, that is the RIGHT change.

A majority of the electorate and a wounded humanity will suffer little more lies and treachery.  We will be watching.  Across the past six years we have learned that our lives and the lives of our children may very likely depend upon it.  We did NOT vote for nor will we tolerate our country and the world to be victimized by treacherous masters for four more years!

Authors Bio:
Rafe Pilgrim, after "a life largely wasted on hard honest work," found himself a jungle of turkey oak, scrub pine and giant palmettos up a dirt road running east of Crystal River, Florida, which neither school busses nor the U.S. Postal Service dare to assay. Sharing a house of his own design with Spanky the cat, Darla a pit bull, and a foundling of mysterious breed named Alfalfa -- all collectively known as Our Gang -- he spends his time "productively: writing poetry, working for peace, and gazing at the sky."


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Central High School of Philadelphia, University of Maryland, Syracuse University, University of Maine, Ursinus College, Air Force Intelligence (Washington D.C., Germany), Ford Motor Company, Philco-Ford Corporation, Eighth Day Gallery, Phi Kappa Phi, Romey Everdell Award for Journalism,(1988), Hole in one (1998), and struggling to find America ever since 2000.