My wife got an Obama countdown calendar that captures quotes Obama uttered that you never hear about on CNN, NPR, etc. During the 2008 campaigning, I remember people drooling over what a genius Obama was... No, I mean genius. And articulate. Why there had never been such an orator.
By now the jokes about being a teleprompter President is old news; if one shuts down, so does he. His handlers try hard to keep him on script. And of course, we've all heard about his claim of having been to the 57 states during his run.
This calendar offers some good ones. Example: "The Middle East is obviously an issue that has plagued the region for centuries." January 2010. Remember when people were upset because Dan Quayle couldn't spell potato? In May of 2008: "On this Memorial Day, as our nation honors its unbroken line of fallen heroes - and I see many of them in the audience here today..." I guess that is true genius - or does he really see the ghosts? How about "One of the things that's a huge advantage to America compared to countries like Europe..." April 2010. Or "The members of our highest court...are charged with the vital task of applying principles put to paper more than twenty centuries ago." You didn't realize the Constitution was written around the time of Christ? And my personal favorite: "A treatable illness like asthma...costs, when - if you - they just gave - you gave them treatment early, and they got some treatment, and ah, a Breathalyzer, or an inhalator..." Now that's eloquent.
Mainstream media does a great job of covering for President Obama. It will be interesting to see what happens in November. Between the war chest the President will have for campaigning and having the press in his back pocket, will the American people ignore what is right before them?
- Will we overlook the fact that we are dependent on foreign oil and Mr. Obama gave away the opportunity for the Keystone Project which would have meant energy and jobs?
- Will we accept the reality that our current administration is more pro-Muslim than supportive of our long-time ally, Israel?
- Will we pretend that the housing industry is recovering?
- Will we accept the manipulation of numbers in the unemployment statistics, and shrug our shoulders about the new formula which does not include those people who lost hope and quit trying, as well as those who were previously full-time employees but can, now, only find part-time work?
- Will we actually remember that the national average price of a gallon of gas in December 2008 was $1.66? (Look it up if you don't believe me.)
- Will we continue to drive by car dealerships that have no one shopping and believe the auto industry is actually recovering? Can you say Volt?
- Will we continue to tolerate having police protection so stretched that they won't respond to accidents or 9-1-1 calls unless they can substantiate an imminent risk to human life?
- Will we continue to foster the myth of human caused global warming when we all learned as school children that there were at least two previous Ice Ages, and that dinosaurs once roamed the earth in a worldwide tropical climate? Why would we expect climate changes to suddenly cease to exist now that self-proclaimed environmental experts like Al Gore say they should?
- Will we continue to pretend we really care about a "global community" and insist on them screwing up their resources by meeting our needs rather than becoming independent and responsibly obtaining the resources we need to survive?
- Will we continue to overlook the obvious right to defend our borders? Could we maybe use the simple analogy of one's home - that being, that just because someone sneaks into my home doesn't mean they have de facto earned the right to my family's medical insurance, our food, our shelter, our retirement savings. I have the right to kick them out. And if the intruder claims that he took out the garbage when my own children did not, does that mean they are entitled to stay?
- How many more corporate bailouts will we watch with the cronies at the top walk away with tens of millions of dollars in their pockets while the investors and stock holders lose the entire value of their stock?
- Will we sit idly by while the government tells a privately funded medical facility that has religious convictions that it MUST provide contraceptive services?
- Will we continue to wag our heads at the President simply ignoring and dismantling the Constitution?
- Will we elect a man who is effectively sidestepping the branch of government which has the power to "check" his power (Congress)? President Obama does this by utilizing czars who are not elected who then make national policy that was never reviewed by representatives elected by the people.
- Will we ignore the fact that Obama has removed the right of habeas corpus - that is, the right to not be held as a prisoner indefinitely, and be able to stand before your accusers, and know when you will have your day in court? That right is firmly planted in the Constitution and has its roots in the Magna Carta - dating back to 1215.
- Will we pretend Obama isn't taking over private enterprises such as GM, making attempts at private insurance, and "clean" energy. Do yourself a favor: If you don't really know what fascism is, look it up, and you will see Obama.
- Will we be silent when the mantra is continued that the Democrats only want to tax the very rich? I'm lower middle class, and my taxes continue to go up, up, up. And why wouldn't they? I cannot stand in line at the grocery store without noticing that many, if not most, consumers in my community are using food stamps - and then using cash to buy cigarettes and booze.
- Will we ever allow taxpayers to receive a voucher for education so they can send their children to the school of their choice, or will we always be captive to the liberal dictates of the NEA - one of the largest unions which supports Mr. Obama?
The revolutionary movement between 1763 and 1781 was based on a principle: that if you allowed the government to remove the rights of the people, the natural outcome will be tyranny. Our government was to be limited, empowered by the People, and for a Republic to stand, the citizens must remain informed and willing to dismantle the government when it practices an abuse of its power. We now live under a government which is becoming more and more intrusive and controlling of our freedoms while systematically sidestepping the Constitution.
Obama promised the most transparent administration ever. It has been nothing of the kind. He promised to be out of Iraq in 7 months; even after more than 3 years, we are still there; we just stopped calling military, combat soldiers. His handling of Afghanistan has done nothing more than put our soldiers in a Viet Nam style war. And then there's Libya - there's no transparency there nor yielding to the powers of Congress. Obama ran on Hope and Change - and the slogan of "Yes, We Can." There has been lots of change; we've moved closer and closer to becoming like the socialist powers of eastern Europe. "Yes, We Can" has become Yes we can... apologize for having become a successful country that tends to help everybody and then get kicked in the teeth for trying to help; yes we can run our economy into the ground by borrowing more, taxing more, spending more, and sending the message to the poor that they can have a cradle to grave experience of government subsidy, yes we can take over private industry, yes we can ignore the Constitution, yes we can say that we understand the poor while being America's golfing president and have my family take lavish vacations that involve renting out the entire Taj Mahal in India, yes we can turn our backs on Israel, yes we can allow Iran to develop a nuclear arsenal when their leader publicly states his goal is to take out Israel and eventually the Great Satan (US); yes we can bail out our corporate buddies who padded our election funds; yes we can change public policy without using the framework of the Constitution which specifies the duties of three branches of government and never mentions having unelected czars who set mandated policy; yes we can keep America dependent of foreign oil; yes we can secretly sell thousands of weapons to the drug cartels of Mexico in the name of tracing their routes; yes we can thumb our nose at the Constitutional duty to protect the sovereign borders of the United States and then take legal action against the border states which try to protect themselves, ad nauseum.
Okay, I'm tired of ranting. But, what will happen in November?
