Obama has a very long list of things to clean up from the disastrous George W. Bush Administration and there may be more urgent issues, but this issue has to be addressed as a priority before we head further down the road to a military dictatorship.  A symptom of this proposition that we are headed in that very direction is the trend in the matter of torture  to have the Army Field Services Manual be the standard for whether an interrogation technique should be considered torture.   Seriously?  Are we going to let the military inform us whether they are torturing based on their own definition of torture, or is the military subject to the will of the people and therefore required to respond to the definition presented by Congress, if not the Geneva Convention of which the United States is a member? 

The military is getting away from democracy and becoming its own self-serving entity but for the fact that they operate funded by the US taxpayers.  It seems a moot point, however, when one considers that they receive billions of dollars from the US Treasury with little if no resistance anyway.  However, with the concurrent trend of privitizing military functions, we are already letting a separate military develop even further from the will of the people.

While Obama wrestles with the economy and the issue of torture, he also needs to see the larger picture of how the relationship between armed forces and the government has changed.  There is an urgent need to restore a military that serves a government of the people, by the people and for the people, rather then a profit-seeking entity determined to make their own rules.

Harry Reid came out today and once again displayed his inability to understand what power he has, what he has not, and that he still has no idea how to exercise his power.  Reid emerged from a meeting/photo opportunity with Roland Burris and tossed the issue of whether Burris should be seated as the junior Senator from Illinois to the Illinois Supreme Court, where it belongs.  Reid declared that Burris has a lot of experience in politics, has two PhD's, and, as if it matters, Burris is a nice guy.

On MSNBS, the discussion regards race and Reid being painted into a corner by Blagoyevich, the Governor of Illinois presently under scrutiny for corruption.  Did Blagoyevich earlier try to sell this Senate seat?   It is this question of Senate-seat-for-sale that is being lost in the present pomp and circumstance of Roland Burris' march to the Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Reid attempted a principled stand against Burris entering the Senate.  Did Burris pick up any "taint" on his way to the appointment from the Illinois Governor?  Reid declared that Burris recently signed an affidavit indicating Burris had done nothing wrong in attaining this appointment.  The credentials Burris provided to take the Senate seat, however, lacked the signature of the Illinois Secretary of State, so based on this shortcoming, Reid has managed to stall the appointment of Burris. 

Reid has no basis for rejecting the Burris appointment at this time.  Merely because Blagoyevich is under scrutiny for corruption does not disqualify Burris from being put forward by the Governor, so long as Blagoyevich is the Governor.  But there are things to consider as noted here on TPM,  http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/kgb999/2009/01/burris---the-truth-starts-to-e.php.  

Now we have to see what else shakes out.  Did Reid save the seat for another candidate, or did he save face by announcing his interview of Mr. Burris, who Reid reminds everyone he has never met, went very well?  As if an interview with Harry Reid was a requirement for someone to become a Senator.  Burris may be in a race now to get sworn into office before America hears the rest of the story, or he may be taking the tact of the tortoise, slowly and inevitably crawling into the Senate.  As for Harry Reid, he appears uncertain as to what is happening, but trying to appear that he has some say in the matter anyway.  Truth be known, it is out of Reid's hands, but he is putting his hands all over it.