Liars and Promises

Liars and Promises

I spent some time with my eighty year old father yesterday. He is retired and spends much of his time watching the cable news channels. I never watch these channels or listen to the talking pinheads on them or conservative talk radio. He made me aware of their new chosen tactic of undermining Obama's presidency even before he takes the oath of office. They are doing this by posing the following question: What promises will Obama try to keep?

Some may think this is an appropriate thing to ask of any president elect. That thought should last for nanoseconds when one considers the source of this question and their agenda. This is the same group of lying jackals that declared Bill Clinton a failure before he was sworn in. They are masters of framing the arguments to suit their intended outcome without discussing anything approaching reality. Their unstated insidious assumption is that Obama will never keep all his promises because they have deemed it impossible or worse yet, they have decided or hope that Obama is just another lying politician. They are at the end of a twenty-eight year period where lying and/or stupidity or both have become the fashionable norm for our president.

The real answer to this question would astound these liars in its simplicity: All of them. Nearly 68 million voters cast their vote for Obama making this assumption, close to 9 million more than his opponent. To put this in historical context, no presidential candidate received 9 million votes in total until Woodrow Wilson was reelected in 1916. Many of those 68 million voters, I among them, felt the promises did not go far enough. We all voted for change including the assumption that the lying and the just plain criminality of the last eight years needed to end.

Our country is deeply divided. The last time we were this deeply divided was during the election cycle of 1860. That resulted in the Civil War, the single seminal event of our country's history. Before that war the United States was referred to with plural references such as "the United States are," since the references are in the singular such as "the United States is." Obama has so far done some astounding things but the one of the most astounding is the idea of appointing Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. I admit that initially I was against this action but after further thought, I have come to believe this is very Lincoln-like. When Lincoln took office, he formed a cabinet that included many political rivals. This type of action goes back to Obama's choice of Biden as running mate, a former opponent in the primaries.

Our country is in deep economic trouble. The last time we were this deeply in economic trouble was the election cycle of 1932. Many of the programs and regulations that helped dig us out of that crisis have been systematically dismantled over the last twenty-eight years. It is not mere coincidence that we are again on the brink of another Great Depression. My father remembers living through the Great Depression. To quote him, "The bastards have done it again."

Most are suffering because of this division and hardship. Very few are prospering as result of this suffering. Among those that prosper are the liars that are promoting the idea Obama can't possibly succeed. Their vested interested is in seeing Obama fail. They are not the loyal opposition, they are just the opposition. Their loyalties are to their bank accounts and those that fill them. They have convinced far too many to vote against their own best interests with their lies. It is past time to tell them if they can't be loyal to the country, to shut up and go away. The Big Lie has been "Government is the Problem." This must be vanquished to rhetoric Hell, for "a Government of the People, for the People, and by the People," is our singular hope.


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Scorched Earth Politics Must End

Scorched Earth Politics Must End

It is now two weeks to the election. The Republican campaign has shifted into high gear. For them this means using any innuendo or out right lie in an effort to win. That's their best result. Their second best would be to make the vote close enough they could perform election theft again ala 2000 and 2004. (Make no mistake about it, those two elections were stolen; there is no such thing as stealing them fair and square.) The third outcome, which now seems most likely, is for Obama to win the presidency. Their fall back plan is to guarantee that if elected Obama will be so weakened by the "Scorched Earth" effect that he will be unable to lead effectively.

When the War Chimp took the oath of office in 2001 and 2005, he claimed false mandates based on razor thin margins. His idea of compromise has been, "My way or the highway." With a compliant Congress, he has done as he damned well pleased for nearly eight years. McWar and Caribou Barbie want to extend this devastating practice. I am not sure we haven't gone past the point of no return but I am convinced that if they were to gain office, our chances would assuredly be zero.

This Scorched Earth campaign being waged pits white against black, rich against poor, liberal against conservative, young against old, and finally, worst of all, patriotic American against patriotic American. It is the politics of division and hate. Obama is being accused of being a terrorist by association. Big city dwellers are being told they don't see the real America. Obama is whispered to be a Muslim. Obama is accused of being the most liberal member of the Senate. I would like to say a few about each of these absurd accusations and assertions.

Obama is being accused of being a terrorist by association. This is ridiculous on its face but the Repugs are still making robo-calls with this accusation. Joseph McCarthy asked, "Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?" This accusation asks, "Do you now or have you ever associated with domestic terrorists?" A witch-hunt even worse than McCarthy! I try to live true to my liberal philosophy and have over the course of time volunteered for organizations at many different levels. While the organizations did some background checks on me, I would never consider it my role to check on those volunteering with me. This just goes beyond the pale.

Big city dwellers are being told they don't see the real America. This is a not so veiled reference to racial prejudices. This insidious ploy says people of color can't be real Americans because they are incapable seeing the real America. It is designed to destroy unity and promote divisiveness. The U in USA stands for United; any attempt at driving us apart is at its core, unpatriotic.

Obama is whispered to be a Muslim. When Colin Powell endorsed Obama, he said the correct response to this should be, "So what?" While the Constitution includes several qualifications for President, there is only one thing that it specifically excludes, a religious test. The Repugs claim to be strict Constitutionalists, but it now appears to be only when it will let gain and maintain power. For me, the most enlightening thing is that Obama is head and shoulders a better Christian than either McWar or Caribou Barbie. McWar came to Obama defense when a woman from the crowd said she couldn't vote for Obama because he was an Arab. McWar said Obama was a good family man, implying an Arab couldn't be a good family man, revealing a deep-seated bigotry that may or may not even be conscious. The other is this conflating of Arab and Muslim. Not all Arabs are Muslim. Not all Muslims are Arab. But, most of all, very few Arabs, Muslims, Christians or Jews are radical extremists willing to die or kill for their cause.

Obama is accused of being the most liberal member of the Senate. I would be extremely pleased if only this were true. Obama is far from being the traditional liberal. The NeoCons have turned this term into such a pejorative, they believe just applying the label is the kiss of death. It is for the sheeple that believe Fox News. For the true liberal, we know the names of Kennedy and Sanders are better representations of the liberal philosophy.

Stop this Scorched Earth policy. United we stand, divided we fall. Embrace the differences and roll up your sleeves and let's try to right this ship of state.



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(They're Still) Running the World (on the) Eve of Destruction For What It's Worth

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