Send a Suggestion to the Obama Campaign to End Polygraph Screening

[George W. Maschke]

The Obama campaign has a web form through which members of the public can present their ideas on issues of policy. Regardless of whom you support for president of the United States in this fall's election, you might want to send a suggestion to the Obama campaign to end polygraph screening:

http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/mypolicy

I submitted the following suggestion under the topic "Homeland Security":

End polygraph screening. The lie detector has been the centerpiece of U.S. counterintelligence policy for decades, but scientists overwhelmingly agree that it's junk science.

During President Bush's 1st term, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) conducted a thorough review of the scientific evidence on the polygraph and concluded that "[polygraph testing's] accuracy in distinguishing actual or potential security violators from innocent test takers is insufficient to justify reliance on its use in employee security screening in federal agencies."

The Bush Administration has completely disregarded this scientific finding and has instead EXPANDED federal reliance on the polygraph. As president, Barack Obama can improve U.S. security and prevent needless harm to individuals by ending our reliance on this pseudoscientific procedure that terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda KNOW doesn't work.

In addition to being a supporter of Mr. Obama's candidacy, I'm also a co-founder of AntiPolygraph.org, a non-profit, public interest website dedicated to exposing and ending waste, fraud, and abuse associated with the use of lie detectors. You'll find additional documentation on our website of the unreliability of the polygraph and the harm that misplaced reliance on it has caused to our national security:

http://antipolygraph.org

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, and I wish Mr. Obama all the best going into November!

Sincerely,

George Maschke

PS: I'm also a former U.S. Army Reserve intelligence officer, am fluent in Arabic and Persian, and hold a doctoral degree from UCLA in Near Eastern languages.

As you may surmise, I support Obama's candidacy for president. But the polygraph issue is not a partisan one (and AntiPolygraph.org is not affiliated with any party or candidate). It's an issue of science versus pseudoscience, reason versus unreason. So again, for whomever you intend to vote this fall, please consider politely sharing your views on polygraph screening with the Obama campaign.

[Harry Gillis]

Suggested ad for Barak Obama --
Show a good McCain one liner from the Letterman show followed by Sara Palin shouting "Live From New York It's Saturday Night Live" with the comment "They're a good comedy team but do we want them playing the White House?"
Harry Gillis, 81, absentee voter for Obama-Biden

[Mark Carbonneau]

One of the first things that will confront Mr. Obama as President will be the addressing of the military. What I mean is, he will be saluted. Please make sure that he is well versed in the proper way to return a salute. It will go a long way in the perception department and gain some points with those he will command. Just a thought. Thank you and I wish him well.