When the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 passed Congress earlier this year, I knew it was only the beginning of a long four years under the Obama Administration. When President Obama was elected, he promised us, repeatedly, (Can I get a “Let me be clear…” anyone?) to run a transparent and honest administration, a goal I hope any political opportunist candidate lives up to.
However, mere months after the implementation of this so-called stimulus package, we’ve learned the “jobs saved or created” numbers were falsified and that someone got a little lax with their number checking regarding Congressional District numbers. But the whole point of this whole kerfuffle isn’t the fact that some Congressional District information was iffy.
The real issue here is the sanctity of the American Republic. What time machine did we step into that dropped us off in an alternate-universe called Soviet America? As The Next Right wrote today, “Politicians lie,” but never before in American history have we had an executive branch so blatantly use the 1984 treatment on figures and data with the expressed intent of creating more support for a political agenda.
But with lax legislative language regarding the posting of “estimates” (h/t TNR) of jobs created (or saved, whatever that means), it’s no wonder we’ve ended up where we are today. Language such as this is nothing more than a cop-out on the part of our elected officials. They provided enough wiggle room for themselves to claim accountability, but, at the same time, offer some justifiable deniability. It’s just “politics as usual” in Washington, to quote my favorite former Governor; we’re still beating the same dead horse named corruption. The problem is, she’s not really dead; the sleaze bags in Washington just renamed her.
Final thought: how much better would the world be if America could trust her leaders?
Across the world, in the troubled area known as the Middle East, in the Islamic Republic, there is a nation fighting for its God-given freedom, and you don’t seem to care. You seem more content to bask in the glowing media attention and reminisce about your intense popularity in Europe. For days you were silent on the the developing Iranian Revolution, then you issued a weak, limp-wristed, written statement claiming you didn’t want to “interfere” with internal Iranian affairs, even though the presidential election that started this recent chain of events was very visibly unfair and most definitely rigged. Oh, but I forgot, you know all about working with groups that support voter fraud, don’t you? For what it’s worth, Iran just admitted fifty cities had more votes cast than voters registered! What were you waiting for?
Then, days later, responding to pressure from lawmakers and the American public, you finally released something with just enough meat to appease your liberal supporters:
“What you’re seeing in Iran are hundreds of thousands of people who believe their voices were not heard and who are peacefully protesting and–and seeking justice. And the world is watching. And we stand behind those who are seeking justice in a peaceful way. And, you know, already we’ve seen violence out there. I think I’ve said this throughout the week. I want to repeat it that we stand with those who would look to peaceful resolution of conflict, and we believe that the voices of people have to be heard, that that’s a universal value that the American people stand for and this administration stands for.” (link)
Okay, well that’s all well and good, sir, but where’s the call to action? You spent the majority of your interview once again apologizing for America, the West, and our way of life, carefully side-stepping anything that might possibly resemble hard-and-fast support for a new, democratic government in Iran (these are from the same WSJ article):
“Well, first of all, let’s understand that this notion that somehow these hundreds of thousands of people who are pouring into the streets in Iran are somehow responding to the West or the United States. that’s an old distraction that I think has been trotted out periodically. And that’s just not gonna fly.”
And,
“And I’m very concerned based on some of the tenor and tone of the statements that have been made that the government of Iran recognize that the world is watching. And how they approach and deal with people who are, through peaceful means, trying to be heard will, I think, send a pretty clear signal to the international community about what Iran is–and is not.”
I understand the need for a thoughtful approach, but I don’t think anyone is calling for war. All we, as the American people, want is a strongly-worded statement.
Now, perhaps you feel I’m being unfair, Mr. President. After all, you say, I didn’t vote for you, nor do I support the vast majority of your policies. In fact, I do my best to stop them, so why would I give you a fair shake on this subject? With all due respect, sir, I do my best to always treat you and your policies fairly, but at this time of crisis, that is beside the point. The point is, Mr. President, you are the leader of the free world. You set the course for all other democratic republics to follow, whether you like it or not, and your inability to release a quick, concise, and very direct message straight to the Iranian people is troubling. All it would take is two or three sentences. Here, I’ve even written them up for you:
—————–
(SUGGESTED)
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT OBAMA
“We stand with the Iranian people in their fight for democracy. Every people deserves to be free. The United States will do everything in its power diplomatically to assist the people of Iran.”
—————–
See, that’s not so bad. If British PM Gordon Brown can do it, surely you can, too.
Mr. President, the world is counting on you to support those demonstrating in the hope of a Free Iran. People like Neda are dying for the cause of freedom. Isn’t a strongly worded press conference the least you could do?
Sincerely,
Caleb Hays.
P.S. In case you hadn’t heard, Mr. President, Iran already hates us and was blaming us for this revolt even before your first statement. In other words, they’ll hate us whether or not you stand in support of the people of Iran, so what’s stopping you? Even Congress has approved a joint resolution supporting the protestors.
World President Barack Obama spoke today from Prague, Czech Republic on the need for total nuclear disarmament, calling on the citizens of Earth to create “peace in our time,” to quote another failed politician.
In his speech this morning, Obama delivered the wrist slap to North Korea we’d all been waiting on, at least after the U.N. “surprisingly” failed to act. In a passing, off-hand statement, Obama condemned the launch by North Korea of a ballistic missile, “Rules must be binding,” he said. “Violations must be punished. Words must mean something.” However, North Korea’s launch was in direct conflict with a 2006 U.N. Security Council Resolution. (See, Mr. President, these resolutions are just words). FOXNews reports, in the end, President Obama addressed the North Korea crisis at least a dozen times. Unfortunately, he said nothing stronger.
The meat of this speech dealt with the utopian fairy world I sometimes (read: everyday) feel he lives in. He spoke of a day when nuclear weapons will no longer be necessary, a day we all hope for, but the president laid out a plan in which a new nuclear non-proliferation treaty is drawn up, and all so-called “good” countries sign, agreeing to drastically pare down their nuclear weapons arsenals. While in liberal theory, this sounds good, it’s unrealistic, just like so many other liberal policies. Sure, perhaps we and Western Europe will agree and actually follow such a treaty, but how does anyone in their right mind believe al Queda or Russia will? Of course they won’t!
The president did said we would maintain large enough stockpiles to fend off any threat from rogue nations such as Iran or North Korea, but I have sneaky suspicion his idea of “large enough” and reality are two different things. If these groups want these weapons, nothing this current administration is apparently willing to do (talk them to death) or the U.N. says is going to stop them from acquiring these weapons.
Lending to his role as a “world citizen” Obama received large cheers from the Czech crowd when he told them his new treaty would provide safe, clean nuclear energy technology to the whole world, and that the U.S. had donated a very large sum of money to the IMF to provide a sort of “global stimulus package.” Mr. President, need I remind you who you serve? As much as I’m sure it pains you to admit it, you are not the President of the Czech Republic, or of the farther-right-than-us European Union. You are the American President, and we have enough problems of our own; we don’t need you galavanting across the countryside of the Old World undermining our security by blatantly telling the terrorists we’re dumping nuclear power.
Around 9:30 CDT this evening the communist North Korean government in Pyongyang launched a missile with the supposed intent of putting a satellite in orbit. The international community, including the United States, was suspicious of this intention, given North Korea’s very public nuclear aspirations. However, besides a few “slap on the wrist” press release exchanges, no one was willing to stop this dangerous act. South Korea is scared out of its mind, Japan is worried, given its proximity, and, well, the United States says this a “provocative” action.
Honestly, is that the best we could come up with? How about a, “If you dare shoot that ‘blasted’ thing into the sky, Kim Jong Il, we’ll shoot it down before you can say ‘Red Scare’.” But did our new President take the necessary steps to keep America safe? Of course not. The “Global Citizen”, South Korea, and Japan all referred the situation to the ever-so-helpful UN Security Council. Sorry to break it to you, Mr. President, but we’ve already administered the slap on the wrist… there’s not much more the Security Council will do.
Now, there is the (slight) chance that North Korea was simply looking to expand its space program. Perhaps all this missile contained was a satellite. But we cannot allow (warning: political incorrectness to follow) evil nations like North Korea to possess the knowledge or technology to launch rockets into space. It’s a small step to switch out a so-called “satellite” with a nuclear warhead, especially with the temptation such a missile provides; this rocket can reach the United States.
Mr. President, I call on you to do you Constitutional duty to protect the United States America and her citizens. Contrary to popular European belief, and those that you seemingly personally hold. your duty is not to the world, it’s to us and to our national interests, including our defense. I’m going to come right out and say it: forget about courting Europe, its leaders are beginning to think you’re an economic fool as it is, anyway. America is not an evil nation, nor are we “arrogant.” That’s you. We’re tired of you tearing us down; sure, we’ve made mistakes, but stick up for our good traits, stand up for America and protect us.
Mr. President, words won’t do it this time, teleprompter or not. It’s time for strong action against North Korea. I’m not calling for war by any means, but we must send a strong message to Pyongyang that launches such as this will NOT be tolerated.
