Well, it’s getting close to “the peaceful transition of power” in America as Barrack Obama leaves the White House and the “birther in chief” takes over.  I’m sure, during the five or six years that Donald Trump was leading the “birther” movement, essentially accusing our president of being born in Kenya and not actually being a citizen, President Obama didn’t take seriously the thought that Trump would be the 45th president of the United States.  (Actually, I don’t think Trump actually believed this until it happened)  As I look back on Obama’s presidency and shudder in anticipation of Trump’s I can’ help but remind myself of a couple of decisions President Obama made that may turn out even worse than I anticipated at the time.

First of all, on several occasions I lamented the decision by President Obama to “look forward instead of back” regarding the outgoing administration of George W Bush and Dick Cheney – who clearly were in massive violations of not just American laws, but also international laws.  Both Bush and Cheney (and others in their administration) SHOULD have been held accountable for authorizing (and in the case of the “others” – COMMITTING) WAR CRIMES.  The sad reality is that Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld et al very PUBLICLY authorized America’s forces to TORTURE the so called “enemy combatants” – who, by the way, could be determined by Bush and Cheney themselves and who were, we’ve learned over the years, in many cases simply people in “the wrong place at the wrong time” OR in many cases people victims of Shia or Sunni “payback” as America’s troops allowed Afghans or Iraqi’s to help identify the “enemy combatants” with no regard to “probable cause” or “human rights.”

Obama essentially opened the door for soon to be President Trump to follow through on his campaign promise to “Waterboard and a whole lot more” as the “War on Terror” moves into its third American administration – more than likely foolishly attempting to solve an unsolvable problem that is like an open wound that won’t heal – thanks to the aforementioned GW Bush/Dick Cheney and their thirst for oil.  I predicted this at the time of Obama’s decision – calling it potentially, the worst decision of his tenure in office – and, it may well end up being so.  However, the second part of that same decision may end up being even more damaging in the “long run.”

If you remember, when President Obama was Senator Obama and campaigning to be president, there was a vote in the Senate to block the NSA from collecting massive amounts of “data” on American citizens – due to the FACT the Bush/Cheney regime had violated the FISA Act presumably MILLIONS of times.  The FISA court was put in place during the aftermath of the Nixon scandals to prevent the government from arbitrarily invading the fourth amendment rights of Americans through the intrusion of phone calls (and, by the time of Bush/Cheney the internet).  Each one of these violations was a felony with a potential fine of $10,000 and up to five years in prison – for EACH offense.  Then Senator Obama voted to pardon Bush/Cheney and the telecommunications companies which had complied with the government’s overreach into “we the people’s” privacy.  I actually wrote President Obama at the time – letting him know this issue was enough for me to vote against him – and, I got a return message assuring me that he would “fix” the problem once in office.

Well, in reality, the “fix” that President Obama put in place once he was in office was to EXPAND the “eavesdropping” the NSA was doing on its own people.  The problem is worse now as President Obama is about to leave the White House and a TERRIBLE precedent has been set for our incoming president Donald Trump – who I’ve pointed out many times already on this site has distinct FASCIST tendencies.   The worst fears of many of us so-called “liberals” are on the horizon.  The right wing (fascists) have control of the House of Representatives, the Senate, the media, and the courts – with the Supreme Court soon to be a “lost cause” for the next 20 – 30 years – I don’t anticipate I’ll live long enough to see the right wing authoritarians expunged from the court.  In addition, due to the Citizens United court decision of 2009 (have you noticed the amount of “dark money” – and, money in general, in our last few elections?), and the McCutcheon decision “we the people” will have more than an “uphill climb” to turn America back to a “we” society from the “me” society we’ve evolved into since Reagan first took the oath of office because the amount of wealth controlled by the so-called 1% is mind boggling.

And, Trump will feel very comfortable in authorizing MASSIVE electronic intrusions into the lives of “we the people” – especially those who oppose him.  Have you noticed how he reacts to anyone who disagrees with him?  Yikes!  Oh yes, don’t forget the Court “gutting” the Voting Rights Act and all the voter suppression laws that sprung up prior to the 2016 election – very possibly the MAIN reason Trump is the president – elect.  This is just one more part of the reality “liberals” face going forward as we attempt to prevent Trump from turning America into a totally fascist state.  Seriously, some of the republican operatives “behind the scenes” were part of the “dirty tricksters” of the Nixon era – they’re just older and “wiser.”  I believe “we the people can expect the worst! (and, most of us won’t even know what’s happening)

Many democrats are emailing me as they try to figure out how to “save” as much of President Obama’s “legacy” as they can – and, it’s true that he’s going to leave office with an approval rating that is almost unmatched in modern times (maybe the closest would be Bill Clinton when he left office).  I’m worried, however, that the stains on President Obama’s “legacy” could come from the things he didn’t do – and, the most significant was “looking forward instead of back.”  There’s a general consensus in America right now that those in “power” are “above the law.”  Trump obviously believes this because he’ll be thumbing his nose at history AND the constitution the day he takes office as he will be clearly in violation of the emoluments clause in the constitution.  To suggest that his varied business interests won’t collide with his responsibility as our president from day one are, in my view, absurd.  Of course, Trump and all his minions (the best group of LIARS I’ve ever seen) will blatantly deny any accusation of conflict of interest and they totally believe they can bully the congress and the press into submission.  Unfortunately, I’m feeling they’re probably correct.

It’s this “bullying” part of Trump’s nature that worries me the most regarding this ability to spy on America that President Obama has given Trump as a parting “gift” – that Trump will be busy finding “stuff” to hold against potential enemies from the day he moves into the White House.  Trust me, this is not far fetched.  Think I’m crazy?  Well, I hope you’re correct, but I see the makings of something dreadful on the horizon and I have ZERO confidence in our Congress to stop Trump if he tries to put a total stranglehold on our government.  (Actually, the saving grace will be that he’ll be “impeachable” from the first days in office due to the violation of the emoluments clause – but, I don’t believe there’s a republican willing to take him on at this point – for example, the “never Trump” republicans “falling in line” since the election has been a sight to behold – a true picture of the character of America’s politicians!)

I’m presently reading Glenn Greenwald’s book “No Place to Hide, ” subtitled “Edward Snowden, the NSA, and America’s Surveillance State” – which gives a very sobering view of what I’m trying to put in perspective here.  The ability of America’s “surveillance state” to intrude into our lives goes way beyond our imagination – meaning us average people who wouldn’t suspect the government eavesdropping on our “stuff” – and, many of us thinking, well, there’s nothing for them to hear with me so it’s OK.  In reality, we’re letting our government eviscerate the fourth amendment to the constitution with little more than a whimper.  In fact, Snowden, who should be a national hero, is in exile in Russia because President Obama – who promised the most TRANSPARENT administration ever has essentially been in charge of what amounts to the opposite.  Whistleblowers beware! Obama’s administration has prosecuted more “whistleblowers” – including Snowden, than any administration in history.  Of course, Snowden “blew the whistle” on the FACT the Obama  administration had accelerated the surveillance of America’s citizens as opposed to stopping the abuses as promised, so Snowden was vilified because how else could the illegal gathering of “data” continue? – and, it is continuing to this day – and, likely to be accelerated MORE under a Trump administration!

Herein lies my deepest disappointment with President Obama.  As an optimist I’m sure he was unable to conceive that someone such as Trump would ever win the White House – but that is EXACTLY why our fore fathers put the protections into the constitution that Obama was willing to ignore in the name of, what else (this has been the excuse for the past 40 years for virtually all government overreach) but NATIONAL SECURITY.  Well, earth to President Obama – and, anyone else willing to listen – the greatest danger to our national security is when our leaders choose to violate the constitution in the name of “national security.”  As I’ve said many times on this site – rights (fourth amendment right of privacy in this instance) are much easier to give away than to get back.  In reality, MOST AMERICANS have no idea they’ve allowed the NSA to compromise their right of privacy.  I find it interesting to observe all the right wingers – Trump included – making such a “stink” over the “2nd Amendment” (which they, and the NRA, have twisted far away from the original meaning of the amendment) while being seemingly oblivious to the attack on our fourth amendment which is far more significant as far as protecting our “liberty.”

I really hope I’m wrong here, but the virtual elimination of the fourth amendment is, from my view, the easiest and most direct manner in which an authoritarian regime can turn our republic upside down.  All the “ingredients” are there, so “we the people” need to beware!  To me, Trump is clearly the result of a “white backlash” against the idea that someone “different” could be in our “White House” – and without question, at least in my opinion, the “war” for the heart and soul of America continues!  If “we the people” don’t wake up soon, the damage to what created the greatest middle class in the history of the world could last a generation or more!