Updated January 26, 2009.
Because of the excesses of the Bush administration, the Obama administration has a lot of work to do on civil liberties issues--and it's certainly not beyond the realm of possibility that the Obama administration may effect civil liberties violations of its own. This timeline of Obama's first 100 days in office, which will be updated every Monday, will provide a record of his administration's early civil liberties agenda.
Because of the excesses of the Bush administration, the Obama administration has a lot of work to do on civil liberties issues--and it's certainly not beyond the realm of possibility that the Obama administration may effect civil liberties violations of its own. This timeline of Obama's first 100 days in office, which will be updated every Monday, will provide a record of his administration's early civil liberties agenda.
January 21, 2009: Creates the Open Government Directive
"I direct the Chief Technology Officer, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Administrator of General Services, to coordinate the development by appropriate executive departments and agencies, within 120 days, of recommendations for an Open Government Directive, to be issued by the Director of OMB, that instructs executive departments and agencies to take specific actions implementing the principles set forth in this memorandum. The independent agencies should comply with the Open Government Directive ..."January 21, 2009: Strengthens Executive Branch Interpretation of the FOIA
"Despite the cold weather in D.C., President Obama threw open some windows on his first day in office. In one memo, he directed his department heads that when it comes to Freedom of Information Act requests, they 'should adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure.'"January 22, 2009: Orders Closure of Guantanamo Bay Detention Facilities
"By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, in order to effect the appropriate disposition of individuals currently detained by the Department of Defense at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base (Guantánamo) and promptly to close detention facilities at Guantánamo, consistent with the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States and the interests of justice, I hereby order as follows ..."January 22, 2009: Bans Use of Torture
"By the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, in order to improve the effectiveness of human intelligence gathering, to promote the safe, lawful, and humane treatment of individuals in United States custody and of United States personnel who are detained in armed conflicts, to ensure compliance with the treaty obligations of the United States, including the Geneva Conventions, and to take care that the laws of the United States are faithfully executed, I hereby order as follows ..."January 23, 2009: Rescinds the Global Gag Rule
"Citing 'the goal of reducing unintended pregnancies,' President Obama took his first step as a pro-choice president by rescinding an anti-abortion policy that in his words, 'undermined efforts to promote safe and effective voluntary family planning in developing countries.' Called the 'Mexico City Policy' by some and the 'Global Gag Rule' by others, the policy was first enacted by President Ronald Reagan in 1984."January 29, 2009: Signs the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act
"'This is what change looks like.'< br>That's what Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-Maryland) said as two historic events neatly dovetailed into one momentous occasion. President Barack Obama today signed his first law -- the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act -- and by doing so moved the United States closer to the goal of equal pay for equal work."
