The most frustrating aspect of the Obama presidency has been his ability to zero in on the major problems of our society, then, rather than repair them, make them worse. And he does it in an impertinent, partisan, old school manner, while reassuring the populace with his warm smile. For a man who was to be a new politician, one we ‘could believe in’, he has given new meaning to secret procedures, confiscation of power (appointment of radical czars at latest count 32), and totalitarian rule. His campaign promise to eliminate special interests and lobbyists has all but been forgotten as he has expanded the process by aliening himself with such pundits as GE, GM, banking, etc.
He was exciting when he promised he would save GM and Chrysler and prevent them from bankruptcy. But after several bailouts he reneged firing the CEO of GM, declaring both auto giants bankrupt and forming new companies while simultaneously ignoring their obligations to thousands of pensioners (including this columnist) who depended on those bonds for their retirement.
He promised if the unread 1000 page “Stimulus Package” was passed immediately that unemployment would not reach 8%. We are now at 9.4% and by his own admission headed for double digits. On Saturday Fox News revealed that some of the Stimulus Package Funds are being used to increase salaries of union workers (transit workers in New York City), rather than, as promised, create 3.5 million jobs. Who knew the term ‘shovel ready’ referred to manure, not construction jobs.
Right from the start we were told America was fighting the wrong war, Iraq, and that the right war was in Afghanistan. Unlike Iraq, it would be without much sacrifice i.e. easy and swift. He increased the size of the armed forces, and the troop number in Afghanistan. Yet last week we were told that we need more troops and are in danger of losing that war as casualties mount. Rather than realize the genius of the Rumsfeld’s strategy in Afghanistan… technology, he is trying to apply the genius of Petraeus’s surge in Iraq (boots on the ground), to a nation with the most severe terrain in the world. He is falling into the same trap that Rumsfeld did in Iraq, rather than allow the terrain and society of each theater to dictate strategy, he is imposing a “one shoe fits all” mentality to the most unique and isolated nation in the world.
This will guarantee a brutal increase in casualties and is reminiscent of the strategy used in Viet Nam. But never fear, while he is increasing troop numbers he has simultaneously limited their effectiveness by imposing strict new rules on collateral damages as well as the inane idea of reading Miranda rights to insurgents captured on the battlefield. It is as if he could not make the situation more difficult for our soldiers if he tried.
With his penchant for dodging reality, we the people have been asked to suffer through yet one more policy redefinition. He is no longer interested in creating jobs as promised; rather he is concentrating on ‘saving jobs’. The only problem is a statistical one, with the great majority of economists assuring us that it is impossible to calculate the number of ‘saved jobs’.
Yet, never one to shrink away from indebting future generations he furthered the national debt as well as doubling the deficit by approximately another two trillion dollars with a pork laden budget. His budget joined the ‘Stimulus Plan’ with funds allocated to pork and lobbyists as well as donors to his campaign, rather than infrastructure as promised. Finally, after the ‘cap and trade’ was hoisted onto our society at the estimated cost of another trillion or so in yet undisclosed energy increases, the public is beginning to question his sincerity.
That brings us to the present, the “Health Bill”. This bill (HR3200) is over 1000 pages long and revamps medical care as we know it in America. It will virtually eliminate private health care, include euthanasia, tax funded abortion, and includes a drastic reapportionment of medical care based on and individual’s potential contribution to society. This bill, as presently written, would also cover illegal aliens. What is more, the Democratic National Committee and their congressional leaders are calling concerned Americans participating in Town hall meetings ‘mobs’, un-American, and worse. Yet when one either participates, as I have, or listens to the questions presented from the concerned citizens, it is apparent the ‘mobs’, for the most part, are better informed than the politicians who admittedly have yet to even read the bill for which they voted. Moreover, has anybody noticed the difference in the participants attending the President’s Town hall meetings vs. those of the Congressmen/women? It is apparent to all but the helplessly naïve, that the President’s audiences are being chosen. This has been reported and filmed (Fox News) as busloads of ACORN workings (most likely being paid for us taxpayers from the Stimulus Package) were allowed access to meetings, while local citizens were turned away (Montana 8/14). According to the same source, in one meeting (Massachusetts) a little girl, the daughter of an Obama captain, was used to read a softball question and make a favorable comment to the president. In another (Texas) a woman claimed to be a physician who supported the bill, and was proven not only a phony (not a physician) but also a Democratic plant. One can only sadly wonder where the ACLU has hidden in this First Amendment debate. In less than six months President Obama has managed to deepen an already severe recession, double our deficit, give the green light for the Federal Reserve Bank to buy back our own bonds… i.e. print money, deepen the war in Afghanistan while hampering the soldiers on the ground… grasping defeat from the very jaws of victory, spend half of the Bush TARP funds to buy controlling shares in banks, financial companies, as well as two auto companies, and manage to create virtually no new jobs. While spending over 3.5 trillion dollars he ignored the three 800 pound gorillas in the room… Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. None of his programs, not even his draconian Health Bill, have addressed these coming travesties. Yet he keeps smiling and promising change, change we can no longer afford to believe in.
Perhaps this e-mail from Bloggers Pat and Jim make my point in a more dramatic fashion:
And you think George W. Bush was a dummy?
Really…forget Democrat or Republican for a minute and think about this…
You Obama supporters, be honest now . Read the following and tell me how you would have reacted:
If George W. Bush had made a joke at the expense of the Special Olympics, would you have approved?
If George W. Bush had given Gordon Brown a set of inexpensive and incorrectly formatted DVDs, when Gordon Brown had given him a thoughtful and historically significant gift, would you have approved?
If George W. Bush had given the Queen of England an iPod containing videos of his speeches, would you have thought this embarrassingly narcissistic and tacky?
If George W. Bush had bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia, would you have approved?
If George W. Bush had visited Austria and made reference to the nonexistent “Austrian language,” would you have brushed it off as a minor slip?
If George W. Bush had filled his cabinet and circle of advisers with people who cannot seem to keep current on their income taxes, would you have approved?
If George W. Bush had been so Spanish illiterate as to refer to “Cinco de Cuatro” in front of the Mexican ambassador when it was the fourth of May (Cuatro de Mayo), and continued to flub it when he tried again, would you have winced in embarrassment?
If George W. Bush had misspelled the word advice would you have hammered him for it for years like Dan Quayle and potatoe as “proof” of what a dunce he is?
If George W. Bush had burned 9,000 gallons of jet fuel to go plant a single tree on “Earth Day”, would you have concluded he’s a hypocrite?
If George W. Bush’s administration had okayed Air Force One flying low over millions of people followed by a jet fighter in downtown Manhattan causing widespread panic, would you have wondered whether they actually “get” what happened on 9-11?
If George W. Bush had been the first President to need a teleprompter installed to be able to get through a press conference, would you have laughed and said this is more proof of how inept he is on his own and is really controlled by smarter men behind the scenes?
If George W. Bush had failed to send relief aid to flood victims throughout the Midwest with more people killed or made homeless than in New Orleans, would you want it made into a major ongoing political issue with claims of racism and incompetence?
If George W. Bush had ordered the firing of the CEO of a major corporation, even though he had no constitutional authority to do so, would you have approved?
If George W. Bush had proposed to double the national debt, which had taken more than two centuries to accumulate, in one year, would you have approved?
If George W. Bush had then proposed to double the debt again 10 times within years, would you have approved?
If George W. Bush had reduced your retirement plan’s holdings of GM stock by 90% and given the unions a majority stake in GM, would you have approved?
If George W. Bush had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to take Laura Bush to a play in NYC, would you have approved ?
So, tell me again, what is it about Obama that makes him so brilliant and impressive? Can’t think of anything? Don’t worry. He’s done all the above in just 5 months — so be patient — you’ve still got three years and seven months to come up with an answer
Bud… ABC’s assessment of health care… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXJgkvF19QA
Lighter Side…
Blogger Rivers…
I was confused when I heard the word ‘service’ used with these agencies:
Internal Revenue ‘Service’
U.S. Postal ‘Service’
Telephone ‘Service’
Cable TV ‘Service’
Civil ‘Service’
State, City, County & Public ‘Service’
Customer ‘Service’
This is not what I thought ‘Service’ meant.
Then I overheard two farmers talking, and one of them said he had hired a
bull to ‘Service’ a few cows.
BAM!!! It all came into focus. I understand what all those agencies are
doing to us.
Now you are as enlightened as I am.
Val
TOP TEN INDICATORS THAT YOUR EMPLOYER HAS CHANGED TO OBAMACARE:
(10) Your annual breast exam is done at Hooters.
(9) Directions to your doctor’s office include “Take a left when you enter the trailer park.”
(8) The tongue depressors taste faintly of Popsicles.
(7) The only proctologist in the plan is “Gus” from Roto-Rooter.
(6) The only item listed under Preventive Care Coverage is “an apple a day..”
(5) Your primary care physician is wearing the pants you gave to Goodwill last month.
(4) “The patient is responsible for 200% of out-of-network charges,” is not a typographical error.
(3) The only expense covered 100% is “embalming.”
(2) Your Prozac comes in different colors with little M’s on them.
AND THE NUMBER ONE SIGN YOU’VE JOINED OBAMACARE:
(1) You ask for Viagra and they give you a Popsicle stick and Duct Tape.