22 posts tagged “obama”

Why is it that we follow others?   If we are truly a nation built on the individuality of people, why do some people rise while others fall?   Why do some people allow themselves to be herded to blindly follow a leader that may or may not be the right person for the job?  If history has taught us anything, it should be this – never trust your leaders. 

Trust is not something that should be offered to leaders, especially political leaders.   I do not care if the man or woman can perform miracles; you have to doubt your leaders at all times.  Doubting your leader should be mandatory because it keeps you thinking, questioning and analyzing their movements and actions.  Its doubt that allows you to see a “leader” for what they truly are – your equal that is capable of making mistakes and errors just like you.  Doubt helps you to understand that leaders are not better than you because they are simply operating on authority you gave them and you can take away.

I understand that there are people that need to trust their leaders, but that need is flawed.  Trust is something that should be earned and it simply cannot be done on a national level.   The people of this country can’t sit back and claim to know the President; they don’t know him at all.  They know the image and the brand.  They know the shiny exterior that is packaged and presented to the world, not the real person.  I don’t care if you have seen a President hug their children and kiss their wives – that is nothing more than a framed snippet presented to make the leader more likeable to the “common” people that are so willing to give away their own authority in the world.

Yes, many of you will read this and think I am talking about Obama followers, but others will look at this see Bush followers.   It doesn’t matter.  Apply it to whomever you want but you must understand that if you are willing to trust a leader without question, you are doomed.   After all, the people of Germany trusted Hitler because he was a moving and powerful leader that rescued the nation from a crushing depression and restored national pride lost during World War I.  Look what happened to that nation when trust was given rather than doubt.

Health care reform.   Socialized medicine.   Free market medicine.  Communists.  Socialist.  Capitalist.   Greedy pigs.  The Brooks Brothers Mob.  Obamacare. Unamerican.

You have to love buzz words.   If there is an issue, I guarantee that there are a few choice buzzwords attached to it, even if the words aren't even remotely relevant.  The argument ends up being nothing more than a series of buzzwords thrown at each other through every communications channel available.  Finally, the public decides which buzzword it likes the best (rather than an actual argument) and that is the winner.

The issue of the day?  The future of biomedical sciences in the United States.  Some call it health care reform, some call it the end of the line.  It doesn't matter who is right or wrong on the issue because the realm of rational discourse and debate ended the day it was introduced. 

The Obama administration, like every presidential administration before his, is looking for a defining piece of legislation that can give them enough momentum for reelection.  They saw a need and used John Dingell's decades long attempts to produce health care reform as their platform.  After all, how could the American public ever be callous enough to deny health care to everybody.  

Apparently, the Obama administration was asleep in the 90's and missed the outrage over "Hillarycare".  Maybe Obama should have talked to the person with actual experience in the arena of governmental health care reform....Hillary Clinton.  Had he talked to her, she could have prepared him for the public outcry.

The people are angry Mr Obama.  Yes, there are 45 million people uninsured in this country.   However, you forgot the majority that are covered via private or governmental insurers - that's 355,000,0000 people.  These people don't want to see the quality of health care diminish because there are more people that will almost certainly overwhelm our overtaxed medical system (next year we face a shortage of 40,000 internal medicine docs). 

We see calls for nurses (another shortage) but where are the calls to increase the number of doctors?   Where is the push to make the AMA allow more medical schools?   Where is the push to have our state universities expand medical school classes?  When a resource is scare, it costs more.  Produce more docs and the costs will be less.  Did the democrats miss Econ 101?  

The people hear small business saying they will downsize to eliminate their employer provided healthcare requirement.   The people see that it will be far cheaper for large companies to pay the fine and shift their employees to governmental programs.  They see companies for what they truly are - organizations with a goal of turning as much profit as possible - NOT benevolent parent figures caring for their children. 

The people also see how poorly our current governmental agencies run.  Why would we want to hand over an industry that is one fifth of our GDP to the most corrupt, inefficient, incompetent organizations in America, ie the Federal Government?  Hell, the Congress and the Administration know that the fed is incapable, how else can you explain their exemption from the plan?

Nancy Pelosi published an Op-Ed piece recently condemning protestors that shouted and chanted as "unamerican".   Hmmm, she doesn't say that when Code Pink is shoulting down conservatives.   She praises them.  Perhaps if she stopped being a hypocrite and answered the questions with facts other than 2 or choice tidbits of the bill (elimination of pre-existing condition, "patient choice", etc), people wouldn't be so damned mad.

Before anyone comments that I must be a Republican or a Limbaugh suppporter....WRONG.   I am a democrat.   I voted for buth Clintons, Gore, Kerry and Obama.  I support health care reform, but this bill does NOT cut it.   It simply add another layer of beauracracy to an already broken system.  If universal health care is the way to go, fine.   Do universal health care but fix the supply problem and make it mandatory for ALL americans (to include congressmen and presidents).   Also, tax all people EQUALLY - no one group should be responsible more than any other.  

To fix healthcare, you have to rebuild it from teh ground up - not by adding another layer of shit to the pile.

I have been a very bad blogger.   With my son home for summer break, I find my time is more limited than ever.  While I would love to blog every day, there are things in life that must take precedence and the boy is ALWAYS my number one.  That being said, its time to catch up some thoughts on current events....

1.  Farrah Fawcett - I've had respect for this woman because she threw away the pretty actress card by quitting Charlies Angels and then did amazing and important roles in movies like the "The Burning Bed".  She tried to make the world a better place through her roles, art and activism.   Even her cancer (and death) was a role she faced head on and tried to use to educate and make the world a better place.   She will be missed.
2. Michael Jackson - where do I even start?  First off, I was shocked by his death because it was completely unexpected. However, his death brings on extremely mixed feelings about the man.  Yes, the man was an amazing musician.   I live in Motown people - we grew up hearing the Jackson Five.  I am also a child of the 80's - I remember when I loved him in his yellow sweater vest and Thriller.  However, I am also a mother of a young boy and thinking of his perversions and sexual proclivities makes my skin crawl.  I happened to be at a New Kids on the Block concert here in Detroit the day he died and they did the best memorial to MJ, they did "I'll Be There" with all of us singing.  They memorialized the purer young Jackson rather than tainted man.
3. Iran - Wow.  What an amazing response by the people of Iran to what is most likely a crooked election.  This is a nation that has seen revolution within the last 50 years, so at this point they probably no how to do it better than any of us.  Hopefully we stay out of it militarily unless we are truly needed.  However, we need to stand up for those in Iran with our voices, prayers and support.
4. Obama - President Obama, I really want to like you.   Really, I do.  I hated the Bush era policies.  I was ready for a "change".  Unfortunately, you are letting me down.   I am sick of hearing speeches.  I mean REALLY sick of hearing you speak.   It rates up there with Bush and his vacations.   You are there to work, not give speeches.  What happened to transparency in government?   Why are you allowing Pelosi to force bills through without allowing public comment?  Your health care bill is a joke - how can you "fix" healthcare for everyone if you are adding another roadblock that will have to be overcome for complete reform to be effective?   You also don't understand how governmental programs force the costs upwards (Medicare did it, so will expanded governmental healthcare).  Don't even get me started on "cap and trade"...

OK...I got some of the itch out.  Anybody reading this knows the itch I am talking about.  Its that drive to blog about the happenings around us but life prevents us from doing so....

First off, let me start by saying that Obama gave me the one major change I wanted out of the last election cycle - an end to the presidency of George W Bush. So for me, anything else that changes (for the better) is gravy.  For me he has done some great things to help protect women's reproductive choice (GRAVY!).

The reason I ask this is because for so many people, they voted for a dream in 2008 not reality.  

• They voted for the troops to be magically transported out of dangerous warzones.  However, they got the very approach that McCain promised - a coordinated withdrawal of combat troops while leaving a peacekeeping force to assist the Iraqis that would be withdrawn (hopefully) in a year or so but would stay as long as needed if something changed (*cough*  remember McCain's 100 years comment?)
• They voted to end Guantanamo.  However the reality is the closure of the prison leaves 100s of terrorists without anywhere to go (we don't want them here, their countries dont want them).   The prison is set to close in a year but where will those 200+ prisoners go?   I personally doubt that they will make their way to mainland America so they will probably end up at one of the secret prisons we run (or our allies run on our behalf). 
• They voted for a new kind of "non-partisan" politics.  However we have all seen that both the Republicans and the Democrats (Obama included) are firmly entrenched in their party alliances and wars.  Just because Pres Obama declares a bill he wrote to be "non-partisan" does not make it true.   You can not expect people to go completely against their ideology and beliefs to accept legislation that is radically different.  It didn't work under Republican rule and it wont work under Democrat rule.
• They voted for an end to lobbyists that are beholden to large corporations and the rich.  President Obama even declared that his administration would be lobbyist free.  However, he backtracked on that promise within days of making it by hiring multiple lobbyists who owe companies like Raytheon massive favors.
• They voted for Obama because he would restore the USA's standing in the world and bring peace.  The reality is that plenty of countries simply don't like us and they haven't liked us for generations - with or without George W Bush.

Now, I don;t want President Obama to fail.  In fact, I want him succeed.  I just know that there were a LOT of naive people that believed Obama to be this mythical figure that could solve the world's woes.   They believed he would bring peace while protecting us from all harm.  They believed he would bring an economic revival that would make the poor rich (or at least middle class).  They thought he would fix our educational system.   They thought he had magic in him that would fix everything.  So I wonder this, at what point will their fantasy view of Obama end and reality set in?  

Worse yet, will their inevitable disillusionment with Obama lead to a return to their apathetic voting practices?  I would hate to see Sarah Palin come into power because Democrats decide to not vote (thats how we got Bush!)

President Barack Obama excited me when he declared that his administration would be a "no-lobbyist" zone.  It established a sense of integrity in him and his administration.  Unfortunately, in his first week in office, he broke that rule with the nomination of Bill Lynn, a former Raytheon employee/defense industry lobbyist, to the office of Deputy Secretary of Defense.

Now, in my wanderings, I found that many people are confused by what a lobbyist does, so let me explain.   A lobbyist is an individual that uses the contacts, relationships they have built, influence and money for a client to get favorable legislation and/or spending passed in government.   Now, the clients can be anybody - non-profit organizations, charities, issue oriented collectives, and commercial entities.  Basically - they are the people that get Congress to act.

In the case of Bill Lynn, he is a commercial lobbyist for Raytheon.   If you don't know who Raytheon is, they are the defense company that was awarded a 3 BILLION dollar contract in December to sell/implement/manage the American Patriot missile system to the United Arab Emirates in December '08.  This is the man that made their governmental contracts a reality.  Now, Obama wants him to help hand out those contracts as the deputy secretary of defense.  

Can you say conflict of interest?   Can you say preferential treatment?

Obama criticized other politicians for doing this very thing - he was supposed to be above handing out jobs to lobbyists who paid were beholden to companies.   For me, this knocks his claims of a "new kind of government" to an all-time low.   Had he not promised me a better, more honest government, I would not even care about the nomination.  It would be just another lobbyist getting a job.  However, Obama SWORE he would be different.  He set the rules but broke them the first day.

So where is the change that I can "believe" in?  Right now, I only see hypocrisy.

President Obama began declaring that his economic recovery package was non- or bi-partisan before he ever stepped into the Oval Office.   While many people sat agreeing that Mr Obama's bill was indeed a bi-partisan wonder that would save the country, they forgot to do one thing - ask the opinion of the other party.  You see, most of the people talking were die-hard Democrats.  Republicans have made their thoughts known over the past couple of days and guess what happened?   The Republicans don't like the bill.  Shocker.

Now, I am still debating the merits of the bill as I am a fiscal conservative (socially extremely liberal).  So I have not decided where I stand on the bill.  However, I do no one thing - the bill is EXCEEDINGLY liberal.  It follows the Democrat platform almost verbatim.  So how did Mr Obama ever think that it would pass as some non-partisan approach to economic recovery? 

It really frustrates me that Obama makes a decree and expects everyone to fall in line with his thinking.  I spent the last eight years of Bush jr doing the same. 

Like it or not - the change of our governmental seat happens today in just a few short hours.  No matter who you voted for in the Primaries and the General Election - today is the day we welcome a new President and say goodbye to Bush. 

Today is a day of promise, hope and positive contemplation.   Today is a day that we have a President that has made no mistakes while in Office.  Today is the day that we have a President that has committed no crimes or acts of moral ambiguity.  Today is the day that we will see people across the country celebrate our President, our Government and our nation.  Today is the day that we will see people proclaim their national pride.  Today is a day that America will see the ultimate racial glass ceiling broken.  Today is the day that most people will look to Obama and see a man that has the potential to do a good job.

I say that this will be the best day of his Presidency not because I expect him to be horrendous President.  I say it because this is the first day of a term of office that will face challenges.  Before he leaves office he will be required to change his own policies.  He will be required to mitigate the damages of a bad decision.  He will be required to compromise on his agenda.  He will be required breaks campaign promises.  He will have to face scrutiny for military, economic and policy decisions. 

So today President Barack H Obama should enjoy himself.   This term of office will not get any better than the celebrations of hope today.

On November 4, 2008 - I joined with the masses of voters here in the Metro detroit area and voted for President.  Up until the point where I stepped into the booth, I was undecided.   I did not know who I would vote for even though I had educated myself on EVERY issue.   In the days before, I tried to make up my mind using every information resource and election tool available on the internet.  I was even stumped at a non-partisan site that had me fill out a survey of issues so it could match me to the proper candidate - I matched 48% Obama and 48% McCain.  In the end it came down to Palin and her conservative views, attacks on reproductive rights, and I hate to say it - McCain's age.   I voted for Barack Obama because I was worried that if the office took a toll on him - we would end up with a Palin Presidency (possibly worse than Bush).

So now I will stand up and support our new President Elect.  I am going to hope that the Democratic Party can actually do the good that it promises to do.  Obama certainly has the tools to do it - charisma, charm, intellect and a Democrat controlled congress.  If he blows the promises and does stuff I hate - I will disagree out loud.

McCain moved me with his grace last night during his concession speech.  He told booing supporters to be quiet.  He told them that BArack Obama was HIS President.  I loved that he was able to handle defeat without throwing a temper tantrum or calling for recount after recount. 

No matter your candidate - you have to admit that both men fought hard.  The race was MUCH closer than anybody thought it could be after 8 years of George W Bush, a failing economy and an endless war. 

So congratulations to both men on ending such a hard fought campaign with grace and dignity.

This election season, like every other,  we have long time voters that are set on doing their duty and voting - even if it is for somebody they consider to be only slightly better than the person they have deemed the anti-christ. So here are some simple steps for you to follow if you don't like the person you are voting for, are embarrassed to vote for that candidate or you simply don't have a clue.

I don't like the candidate that I am voting for but they seem to be the lesser of two evils:

• Take pride in the fact that you are at least voting.  Half of our nation is too concerned with the winner of American Idol to waste time voting for something silly like President.
• Look for validation before you go to the polls with spokes people that are lending the candidate their credibility (ethos in the campaign biz).   There has to be at least one celebrity, public figure or pundit that you quasi-respect that is campaigning for that person you are being forced to vote for, they can help justify your vote.
• Look for validation on the net.  After all, if there is a Paris Hilton fansite - you are bound to find some third party site giving you reasons that you can get behind the candidate on.
• Make sure you thoroughly list every reason why you think the other guy is evil.  Make sure you reassure your self that they are nothing more than a pure evil person hell-bent on destroying the entire world.  This will help ease your conscious.

I am embarrassed to vote for the candidate I want:

• First off, why be embarrassed?  Once again, take pride in the fact that you are getting up off of your butt to vote.  Remember my American Idol example?  Still applies.
• Once you pick a candidate, be PROUD!   After all nearly half of the Americans that actually decide to vote will back up your choice as a valid one.
• Even if you are still embarrassed at the polls - relax.   Its a secret ballot and nobody knows who or what you voted for on you ballot.  Just make sure your curtain is pulled tight so a nosey election worker or the kid that comes with their parents don't peep your vote.
• Are you afraid of what friends will think of you?  SCREW THEM!  They are probably too busy watching American Idol or America's Next Top Model to actually vote and you don't need those losers!  Real friends will be proud of your patriotic decision to vote!
• Are you afraid of what family will think?  Thats a tricky one because you are stuck with your family for life.  If your candidate wins, gleefully parade through the house with patriotic songs like "Nanny, nanny, boo, boo.  My guy one and your guy lost".  If they lose - LIE!   Its a secret ballot - remember?
• If all else fails...DENY, DENY, DENY!   If it works for politicians - it should work for you!

I want to vote but I am completely lost this year and don't have a clue as to who I should vote for!

• First off relax.  Of the voters that will actually turn the TV off and go out and vote - probably a third of them are "undecided" until they enter that voting booth.
• Now rejoice in the fact that you are going to the polls to participate in a right that so many have died for you to have.
• Vote by your political party.  these people are the rocking cool crew of people that you have decided knows you best.  Many people vote by party so blind faith in organizations that take millions from corporations like Target, Chase Manhattan, Enron, Lehman Brothers, Wachovia, etc can't be wrong!
• Pick the coolest name.   Face it, there are some really awesome names on the ballot!
• Pick the name you know the most.  Familiarity is a great thing - if you know the name that means you like them!  There is no way that the only reason you know the name is because of its appearance in a series of exposes showing your candidates seedy criminal dealings.
• Use a blind ballot method - that means close your eyes and just start voting without reading.  Who cares about who you voted for because the important thing is that you vote!
• When all else fails vote for things that make you comfortable - ie men, Christians, traditional major parties or people that showed you their advertisements the most.

Please note...this post was all in fun.  It is completely dripping in sarcasm.

OK.  In the 6th grade, I can still remember political campaigns of the time.  I knew what my parents wanted.   I thought Reagan and Bush Sr were supposed to be cool because Dad said so.  Kids are so easily lead in their belief systems.  However, we never wore political crap to school.  We also didn't wear stuff that was meant to cause a controversy or disruption in the school.

Last week a six grader in Aurora, Colorado was suspended for causing a disruption in school when he wore an Anti-Obama shirt that went beyond campaign slogans and moved into the realm of derogatory rhetoric.  It said "Obama - A Terrorist's Best Friend".  This shirt was not designed to campaign or support any candidate.  the shirt was not meant to be a positive statement about anybody.  It was meant to offend.  It was meant to cause a stir at the school.  It hit its target.  When the child was told to turn the shirt inside out or to go home and change - he refused.  the result?  A three day suspension and a dad whining about his child's "freedom of speech".

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1 comment

In 2007 the Supreme Court (Morse Vs. Fredrick) ruled that students should not receive First Amendment protections in school when the school has a clearly defined student code of conduct.  In 1969, the Supreme Court stated that students could wear protest armbands so long as they did not cause a disruption.   Clearly, the shirt caused a disruption and that was what the boy was suspended for in the end - the disruption and his refusal to change the cause of the disruption.

I have to laugh though.   I've been hearing a multitude of conservatives complaining that had it been an anti-McCain shirt, the result would have been different and the shirt allowed.  Wrong!  The child had a sister who wore the same shirt and managed to go the whole day without being suspended because there was no disruption in her class over the shirt.  It was the disruption the boy caused and then the boy;s choices that got him suspended.

Since when did our children become political billboards?  It great to be politically active and to show your children their future rights.  However, turning your child into a zombie spouting empty rhetoric or participating in the lowest level of the political machine - mudslinging - is not acceptable.  Teach children to use critical thinking to analyze a candidate.  Teach your children to engage in respectful, mature debate.   Pissing people off just because its fun is not what kids need to learn!