I think my personal "wow, we really do have a new President!" moment was when I looked at the new whitehouse.gov website for the first time yesterday. Maybe it's because I've had to visit the site so many times over my four years as a blogger; I almost used to cringe pre-emptively, knowing that the moment I looked for a press conference transcript, I'd have to face something stupid Bush or any of his officials said, or see any number of smirk-filled photos of the former President.
So, it's kind of cool to see various bloggers discover parts of the new website that made them realize the new administration cares about healing the country.
For example, here's something from the blog Facing South:
The new White House Web site unveiled Tuesday by President Barack Obama's administration announces that "Change has Come to America." It also criticizes former-President Bush's failed response to Hurricane Katrina and makes a strong statement of support for rebuilding the region.
The new whitehouse.gov Web site details:
President Obama will keep the broken promises made by President Bush to rebuild New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. He and Vice President Biden will take steps to ensure that the federal government will never again allow such catastrophic failures in emergency planning and response to occur.
President Obama swiftly responded to Hurricane Katrina. Citing the Bush Administration's "unconscionable ineptitude" in responding to Hurricane Katrina, then-Senator Obama introduced legislation requiring disaster planners to take into account the specific needs of low-income hurricane victims. Obama visited thousands of Hurricane survivors in the Houston Convention Center and later took three more trips to the region. He worked with members of the Congressional Black Caucus to introduce legislation to address the immediate income, employment, business, and housing needs of Gulf Coast communities.
President Barack Obama will partner with the people of the Gulf Coast to rebuild now, stronger than ever.
There's something for everyone in the Agenda section. I was floored by the following statement in the "Women" subsection:
Reproductive Choice
- Supports a Woman's Right to Choose: President Obama understands that abortion is a divisive issue, and respects those who disagree with him. However, he has been a consistent champion of reproductive choice and will make preserving women's rights under Roe v. Wade a priority in his Adminstration. He opposes any constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court's decision in that case.
- Preventing Unintended Pregnancy: President Obama was an original co-sponsor of legislation to expand access to contraception, health information, and preventive services to help reduce unintended pregnancies. Introduced in January 2007, the Prevention First Act will increase funding for family planning and comprehensive sex education that teaches both abstinence and safe sex methods. The Act will also end insurance discrimination against contraception, improve awareness about emergency contraception, and provide compassionate assistance to rape victims.
This is on the White House website, folks. We have an administration that acknowledges that a woman should have control over her body, that the government has no role in dictating the availability of birth control, abortion, and health care for women in general (see the rest of the issues at that link; it's lots of information, and well worth a read). In essence, women have the right to choose.
There's an Energy and Environment section, too, detailing how the US government would like to decrease our total greenhouse gas emissions.
For the nuke nerds out there (like me), you can read about nuclear terrorism in the Homeland Security section:
Prevent Nuclear Terrorism
Barack Obama and Joe Biden have a comprehensive strategy for nuclear security that will reduce the danger of nuclear terrorism, prevent the spread of nuclear weapons capabilities, and strengthen the nuclear nonproliferation regime. They will:
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Secure Nuclear Weapons Materials in Four Years and End Nuclear Smuggling: Lead a global effort to secure all nuclear weapons materials at vulnerable sites within four years -- the most effective way to prevent terrorists from acquiring a nuclear bomb. Fully implement the Lugar-Obama legislation to help our allies detect and stop the smuggling of weapons of mass destruction.
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Strengthen Policing and Interdiction Efforts: Institutionalize the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), a global initiative aimed at stopping shipments of weapons of mass destruction, their delivery systems, and related materials worldwide.
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Convene a Summit on Preventing Nuclear Terrorism: Convene a summit in 2009 (and regularly thereafter) of leaders of Permanent Members of the UN Security Council and other key countries to agree on preventing nuclear terrorism.
[snip]
Control Fissile Materials: Lead a global effort to negotiate a verifiable treaty ending the production of fissile materials for weapons purposes.
- Prevent Nuclear Fuel from Becoming Nuclear Bombs: Work with other interested governments to establish a new international nuclear energy architecture -- including an international nuclear fuel bank, international nuclear fuel cycle centers, and reliable fuel supply assurances -- to meet growing demands for nuclear power without contributing to proliferation.
The list goes on, and definitely merits further discussion and analysis.
Click around the site. What do you like the most? What do you dislike? What speaks to you directly, and what would you add?
In other words, what the site blog says:
We'd also like to hear from you -- what sort of things would you find valuable from WhiteHouse.gov? If you have an idea, use this form to let us know. Like the transition website and the campaign's before that, this online community will continue to be a work in progress as we develop new features and content for you. So thanks in advance for your patience and for your feedback.
Let's brainstorm right here on this thread.
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