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Monthly Archives: August 2011

Politics 101


Since I deliver prescriptions, the price of medicines comes up regularly. When this discussion arises it always comes around to the government’s involvement or lack of. My stock answer is always “don’t blame the President (who ever it happens to be)”. Our Congress has been in the midst of all of this for at least 20 years and under 2-3 presidents so where would the onus of our current fiscal state be placed. It is true that the President is ultimately responsible however history never shows the Congress as part of the problem. We as voters have been duped and scammed for many years by sound bites and semi truths by both major parties along with some minor political factions who make a lot of noise. We have an opportunity now in the upcoming elections to begin controlling the destiny of our country. The Scamocrats and Dupublicans have both used the same tactics to win elections even to the point narrowly telling the truth or at least not publishing the entire story. It is easy to give out truthful sounding and erroneous information but when it comes to the real truth that’s a bit harder. We are victims of a Congressional group gone media hungry at our expense. I would like to think we have people of honor looking after our interests however recent and near recent “media” events have shown otherwise.

The Change As A Nightmare


Did our President ever dream that he was in a country that was really ready for change? Even looking at the overwhelming mandate from the voters in his election, the real fight was always in the not so ready for change Congress. Our Congress unfortunately does not want change especially anything proposed from an upstart man of color. With all of the progress made in America our leaders and opinion makers have not moved beyond antebellum thinking of Black and White places in society.They all appear to espouse the openness of opportunity to all but in their own little circles they continue to segregate the country.You can be sure many Congressional members jointly and severally are uncomfortable with a non white stating what is needed for progress and have made a concerted effort to belie those ideas to the detriment of the voting public. It is the place of the voters to listen carefully and act wisely on what is presented by these factions in the media. It is quite easy to issue seemingly plausible arguments as to the failures of the President but the true change is in the hands of the longterm residents of Congressional seats who by their media remarks and actions have undermined the progress that could have been made by the simple act of doing the jobs they were elected to do. Amazingly many voters still think the President can do what ever is necessary to get our work done, this is absolutely not the case. Our constitution was set up to create a check and balance system so no one branch could do any harm to the civilian population but our Congress has effectively led us down a path to an economic which will take another 20 years to recover from no matter who is President.

Reality Needs To Set In.


The obtuseness of the American public is mystifying. The voting public has been “advertised” in to making poor judgements in electing government leaders. The same tactics that compel us to buy certain products are at work during election campaigns. A snappy, memorable music score, flashy graphics and buzz words serve to persuade us to give our most precious possession (our vote) away. All nominees and aspirants “color” the truth, being a politician is no longer the “noble” profession that it once was. We now have men and women who talk the talk and are unable to walk the walk. Anymore their true selves emerge when on the campaign trail in the form of anything negative about their opponents, mean spirited attacks while hiding their own foibles and flaws.

As I See It


At this time we have an ineffective Congress that is too involved in running for office and self promotion to do what they were elected to do. These “leaders” have over the years improved their own lots while the conditions of their voting base has gone south. The founding fathers never intended for Congress to be a full time position, even in these modern times with the huge amount of work to be done, Congress does not need to be a full time position. We have had in past years several high profile members who in their zeal created turmoil across the county to our detriment and to no good end. The modern Congress has enhanced their positions to a point of “Hollywood” style stardom which has not done much to move us in the right direction. These “leaders(?) spend more time “spinning” information than issuing facts that people can believe. The reason we are at such odds with one member or another is the advent of wider media coverage and their (the Congress) willingness to be seen as more than they are. I believe that coverage of Congressional proceedings should include the backrooms and other sacred areas where the real business of government is discussed. It is the job of the Congress to advance the good of the people not fight with other parties and factions but to determine what is needed for progress. Current aspirants for the Presidential nomination are all making references as to what they would do if elected and what the current administration should be ding or should have done but when you are in the big seat, the view is different.

The Misdirection of Legislators


The daily lives of all people are intertwined through public contacts, work contacts and family contacts. It is unfortunate that through those contacts we often act on important and lesser decisions that have an often long-range effect.Our elected officials on all levels have exhibited the lack of intellectual fecundity that created the fiscal chaos we are now experiencing throughout the United States. We as voters can point fingers at the assorted pacts, parties,fringe elements and even the Commander in Chief but in truth, the problem is the people we have elected and kept in office because of what they say and small gestures they make which temporarily blind us to their true nature. These media darlings continually assail the organizations that fight for the average person (voters). This country was founded on the needs of the common man yet the passing years have left us with a group of elitists and vagabonds known as legislators. I am personally no longer swayed by the headliners who categorically state “I am not a politician”, if you are campaigning for an elected office what are you? The public has been on the losing side of these elections for years and when we get a glimmer of hope from anyone, the establishment seeks ways to mess it up or the true nature of the office seekers emerges to our detriment.

I could not Say It Better


This is a observation I have made but could not say it as well as this Gentlemen, here it is in total and unchanged

Arrogance of being President while being Black
AUTHOR UNKNOWN (BUT IS WHITE) AND IS ALL OVER THE WEB

Arrogance of being President while being Black

I don’t think anyone was under some real illusion that the election of Barack Obama actually means the end of racism in America . I’m pretty sure that the president-elect knew it better than anyone. After all, he saw it every day, from the moment he announced his candidacy. To some degree, he saw it within his own party during the primaries. And he saw it in all ugliness during the general election. For half of this country, he was “That One”. No matter how big and clear his victory was. No matter how smart he is. No matter how decent he is. No matter what a true patriot he is. No matter how optimistic and positive his vision for America was. All that didn’t matter. Because at the end of the day, he was still black.

I’m quite old. I remember, vaguely, where my parents were on November 22, 1963. I’ve seen so many presidents. Some were feared, some were hated, some were adored, some popular and some not. But all of them, without exception, were treated with the highest respect deserving the office of the president of the United States .

That is until a black man won the right to occupy this office. It’s been 13 months now, and in the eyes of so many, Barack Obama is still that one. He is being disrespected and at the same time being held to the highest standard of any president I’ve ever seen – and not just by the Republican side! He has to perform three times better than any president in history, and even that may not be enough.

For the media, he is many more times just “Obama” than “President Obama”. They create scandals out of nothing issues. It took them at least 6 years to start giving Bush a small part of the shit he deserved. It took them 6 months to begin crap all over Obama because he’s yet to fix the catastrophe that was left for him.

They use condescending tones when they talk about him, and only mildly less condescending when they talk TO him. With anyone else, CNN wouldn’t dare go to commercials every time the president speaks, like they did during that summit on Thursday. They wouldn’t dare be counting how many minutes George Bush or Bill Clinton were talking. Chris Mathews wouldn’t dare make an issue out of Ronald Regan calling members of congress by their first name, like he is not actually the president. They fully cooperate with the Right-Wing smear machine when it comes to president Obama’s national security performance – even if almost every independent and military expert actually thinks that he’s a terrific Commander-in-Chief. You’ll never see them on TV, and virtually no one from the Left, in congress and outside, defend the president on this matter.

I don’t care about the Far-Right. They’re just crazy ignorant Neanderthals. It’s the way the beltway and the mainstream treats this president that is shocking. On Thursday, almost every Republican had no trouble interrupting him in the middle of a sentence. They looked like they’re going to vomit every time they had to say “Mr. president”. They all had this Eric-Cantor-Smirk whenever he spoke. Then they went out and started to spit their stupid talking points, to the delight of the media. Sarah Palin, a woman who can hardly read, thinks that he was “arrogant” towards John McCain, and somehow this is an important news. Because you see, “Obama’s Arrogance” is the talking point of the day.

Oh, those talking points. He is arrogant (because he knows the facts better than all of them combined). He is an elitist (because he uses big words that they don’t understand). He is weak on national security (because he actually thinks about the consequences). He divides the country (well, he did that the day he had the audacity to win the election). Worst of all, he actually thinks that he’s the president. He even dared to say so on Thursday. How arrogant of him. You’d think that previous presidents didn’t have any ego. Somehow it turned out that the one president who treats even his biggest opponents with the utmost respect – is the arrogant one. I wonder why?

I expected that his winning the Presidency would bring out some ugliness, but it’s been far worse than I imagined. The racism coming from the Right is obviously clear and shameless, but there’s also some hidden and maybe subconscious and disturbing underline tone behind some of the things that I read here and throughout the Left blogosphere, even before the end of Obama’s first year – ‘He’s weak, he’s spineless, he’s got no balls, primary him in 2012’. It’ll be dishonest to deny that.

The fact is that for millions in America, Barack Obama is this uppity black man (Not even a “real” black), who received good education only due to affirmative action, and has no right to litter the sacred Oval Office with his skin color. They just can’t accept the fact that the president is a black man, who unlike his predecessor, was actually legally elected. But what’s really sad is that it’s not just the fringe, its deep deep in mainstream America .

Barack Obama’s ability to remain above all this slob, to keep his optimism and his strange and mostly unjustified faith in people, while continuing to gracefully deal with an endless shitstorm – is one of the most inspiring displays of human quality I have ever seen. And I can only hope that the Cosmos is on his side because God is and He never makes a mistake.

Sometimes, they make me feel ashamed to be a white man!!

Lets Call It What It Is.


Leonard Pitt’s column in today’s local paper hits the mark. This political and now financial crisis is more about race than anything else. As much as many of us want to believe the opposite, America is not far removed from pre 60’s racism. This presidency is a historic period but only for people of color and the more open-minded Americans. Outside the U.S. many countries were happy for the change because they have not been happy with U.S. and its outward call for halts to their internal policies on freedom, religion and class policies. We as a nation have come a long way but we are in fact no further along than the nations we have condemned for the same actions. It appears that if you are a member of the Majority race in America it is alright to be incompetent in a national office since you will be fondly remembered when you leave the office. The President has been exceptional in his calmness through all of this and his party has urged him to throw some punches but will this solve the problem? Unless we the people put aside our innate racism and learned prejudices we are doomed to be considered the “ugly Americans” for more reasons than we can count. Our own personal alliances by proxy with our Congress and their parties has belied our overt thoughts to be above the issue of race. Contrary to “popular” belief we are not as well thought of abroad as we would like to believe.

Police Minority Hiring


The announcement of the minority hiring initiative by the Springfield Police is commendable but doomed to failure. Looking at the available candidates one will quickly realize that many of the age appropriate minorities in Springfield are high school dropouts, have minor criminal backgrounds and no chance of passing a background check. This was borne out during the “Put Illinois to Work Program (PITW) as administered by the Springfield Urban League last year. Towards the end of that program and a more adequate screening 50 to 80 % of the hires were released due to background screenings. The focus on this initiative needs to take place at the High schools and not at a non profit that is not in touch with their client base. It is already a problem at some of the lower performing schools where there is an uneasy relationship with law enforcement due to poor outreach and sensationalized police encounters. A better solution in recruiting is an alliance with the school district where the ability to monitor the process is possible.

Pundits


I have read the writings of several pundits in the local paper regarding the Federal Government working or non working. While I agree our Government is limping along, I do not agree on the same reasons. These particular pundits cite the President as more to blame than the true source of the problem and that source is our Congressional Elite! The underlying reasons for their pointed attacks on the President seems to be more rooted in a racial way than a centrist observation as I feel a noted or high profile columnist should pursue. I am just a minor writer who says what I think but as reasoned as I can with my limited writing abilities. If I can see the clear indications of bias then so can anyone else who is open to the idea that our Congress has been in office for years under several Presidents yet we are in a fiscal mess which could have been avoided had the trusted elected officials been on their toes. These Elite are concerned with their own personal well being and keeping the office they hold through numerous elections where they have been less than honest in their accomplishments. We as voters have had and will continue to have opportunities to correct this situation through our votes. We must be aware that no matter what campaign promises are made during the Presidential election run, implementing these promises is all but impossible without the backing of the Congress. We as country are being held hostage (believe it or not) by our own Congressional elite. We hear this gang of 535 constantly speaking in our names about things we have not agreed to or even know about. What we know is what we hear through high profile media appearances and then only the parts that serve to rile us up but never offering the truth of the matter. These well known writers (columnists) speak their minds on events but unfortunately not as reasoned as we need. All of these writers have their biases but those should play no part in the information they offer us daily. We get enough poisoned rhetoric from our legislators and our reporters should be better than that.

Urban Play Time


I was reading an article on “free running”. This exercise is similar to the activities we engaged in when I was a sub teen. We called the activity “follow the leader or stump the leader”. The premise is one person would do stunts such as vaulting over a first floor porch rail to the ground (up to 10 feet), broad jumping the concrete part of the alley way or leaping the space between buildings (up to 7 or 8 feet). The stump portion would occur when someone in the line thinks of a stunt that the current leader could not or would not do. The current free running is somewhat more vigorous and extensive as our activities were confined to our immediate neighborhood. I am sure our parents would have had fits if they knew what we were doing in our free time. Run on freerunners!