I don't know what Barack Obama has included on his list of New Year's resolutions. But here is my list of the top ten resolutions that I'd like to see on his agenda for 2009.
He will need to multitask. But any president must do that.
1. Announce a plan and date to close the prison at Guantanamo. (Apparently Secretary Gates is already working on this, but they'll need to turn talk into action.)
2. Issue an executive order to ban torture (including waterboarding) by U.S. agents.
3. Work with the Justice Department to launch a serious investigation into Bush administration crimes in the "war on terror" -- and prosecute the offenders. (No one is above the law, and it's time for the Bushies to learn that lesson.)
4. Stimulate the economy and job growth via massive public works project.
5. Revoke Bush's tax cuts for the rich, effective immediately. (It's time they started paying their fair share to help the economy.)
6. Start the ball rolling on universal health care coverage for all Americans. (Please hurry. People are sick and dying and cannot afford the care and treatment they need.)
7. Renegotiate Bush's "security agreement" with Iraq. Get Congressional buy-in on an alternative plan to get our troops out more quickly. (Remember the 16-month timeline that you promised us in your campaign?)
8. Work with other world leaders to develop a new international blueprint to stop global warming and "green" the planet.
9. Work with all involved parties to find a lasting solution to the ongoing hostilities in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.
10. Work with the United Nations to escalate efforts to pressure Sudan to admit UN peacekeepers into Darfur. (It's time for the genocide to end. Then we must say "never again" and really mean it this time.)
Fingers crossed in hopes that 2009 will be a year of great progress.
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