I'm sick of it too. In the Chicago Sun Times today someone wrote blaming the BP mess on the regulators because companies are there to make money and they shouldn't be faulted for doing that. It's as if making money is an excuse to do anything and break any law and they only have to obey the law when someone is watching them.
In the times the author talks about, we protested, we organized, we found a candidate, and we went to the polls for him because he promised that things would be different once he got into office.
But now we're realizing that the candidate we supported is just as much in the pockets of big corporations, is just as opposed to civil rights for gays or for the accused, is just as eager to continue and expand imperial wars for no possible gain, is just as secretive and just as ruthless about squashing leaked information, and is just as willing to ignore or outright break his campaign promises as his predecessor.
In other words, we're discovering that there's no substantive difference between Barack Obama and George W. Bush after all- except that the party labels are different. Even the lies are beginning to look similar now.
Obama doesn't destroy energy or ambition. Obama destroys HOPE.
(I found it especially ironic that he used the phrase, "People said we couldn't put a man on the moon," only a couple of months after he himself said we couldn't put a man BACK on the moon. No hope for you: Obama has spoken.)
I disagree that Obama is like W. Obama didn't start a war based on lies. Obama is pulling us out over Iraq (and has a plan to do so). Obama's plan in Afghanistan is clearer than "victory" (Osama bush Forgotten, remember him?). He also is more accepting to equal marriage as a matter of law and not trying to enforce his own views upon a nation the way W has done and conservatives still do.
* Obama's promise was to have us completely and totally out of Iraq by last month. His "revised" plan will have all "combat" troops out by 2011... which will still leave a 50,000 man permanent garrison stationed in that country for "training and support" purposes. In other words: no end in Iraq.
* Obama's Afghanistan plan was: "Well, if a surge worked in Iraq, it'll work here, too." We currently have over 100,000 soldiers in Afghanistan. And, where the Iraqi occupation propped up a corrupt regime and postponed a sectarian civil war, our Afghanistan forces are propping up a corrupt regime (which is actively thumbing its noses at us, because Kharzai knows politically Obama can't abandon him no matter what) and playing whack-a-mole with Taliban, al-Qaida, and other insurgents with no signs of any end to said insurgency- or any end in our occupation of Afghanistan.
* The first thing Obama did re: gay rights was to assign the defense of the Defense of Marriage Act to a Bush-era DoJ hire who wrote a brief saying, in essence, that gays had no rights worth respecting and should be imprisoned. When gay marriage issues came up in Maine, and he was asked for his help, he remained silent- after, in the 2008 campaign, expressing his opposition to gay marriage. He's even treated the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell in weasel fashion- appointing not one but TWO committees to study it, calling for its repeal after the first committee reported in, then stating that repeal couldn't possibly happen until after the midterms (if ever), then backpedaling only after Nancy Pelosi said a repeal bill would go forward with or without him. (The fact that gay rights groups have begun boycotting Democratic fundraising probably has something to do with it too.)
* Obama has allowed torture to continue unabated in Afghanistan, particularly at Bagram Air Force Base, according to the International Red Cross. (Torture, that is, conducted BY AMERICANS, not Afghani forces.) He has aggressively defended warrantless wiretap authority and the power to hold people indefinitely without writ of habeas corpus. He has prosecuted and persecuted those who blew the whistle on Bush-era monkeyshines. He has turned major portions of his legislative agenda, especially "health insurance reform", to a cash hand-out for his corporate allies- and, incidentally, this includes the corn lobby, whose ethanol boondoggle is still slurping up the lion's share of alternative energy funding while everything else except nuclear got cut.
I see more resemblance than dissimilitude between Obama and Bush every day.
FCC investigating regulation of radio to eliminate instances of "hate-speech".
The installation of a "kill-switch" on the Internet to turn it off if and when Homeland Security wishes.
Approving the use of drones to kill American citizens abroad who are accused of terrorism. Neither warrants nor criminal convictions were obtained.
From the Legislative Branch:
Possible installation of a tax on "new media", the proceeds from which to go to subsidize failing newspapers.
From the Judicial System:
Granting the right to the prison system to hold sex offenders who were convicted of crimes involving minors indefinitely after their sentences are up. (Note that I am not condoning sex with minors, but pointing out that if the courts can indefinitely continue imprisonment for one type of crime, they can do so for any arbitrary offense.)
If my car has no gas in the tank, hope won't fill the tank. I'll need to get the money together to buy gas. That may mean that I'm not driving for a few months or years, if my credit card bill is too high.
If the government doesn't have money in the budget to go to space, they'll need to get the money together to go to space. That may mean not going to space for a few months or years, if the national debt is too high.
(The reason for the lack of gas/money is left to the reader's political bias.)
Your analogy might hold up, except that Obama's proposed 2011 budget increases NASA's budget by about 10%.
Obama raised funds, and then said that we couldn't go to the moon because he couldn't raise funds.
Instead, we're going... nowhere. At all. ISS access will either be by Russian capsules or by a "privatized" American program (never mind that no private enterprise has yet put a man in orbit or even built anything capable of doing it except under government contract and control). Fifteen years from now, maybe we'll try landing on an asteroid, and by 2040, maybe Mars... but the Moon is off the board for good, Because Obama Said So.
There are sadly three factors that are stopping this from happening.
1) The feeling of "not enough people would go for this" - consequently, not enough people go for this, because each of the million people, albeit willing, fears the numbers not actually showing up and therefore BAD STUFF happening to themselves that would negatively impact their lives.
2) Way too many millions who don't have the means to get themselves down there. Poverty is becoming more of a fact of American life, and it keeps people's resources down and keeps them from traveling.
3) Most of the people with resources are either (a) part of the problem and don't care or (b) are too spoiled to miss the next epiosde of Idol or [insert show here].
Sadly, I fall into (2), which is why I can only go to local cons.
"What would happen if a million people parked themselves on Pennsylvania Avenue and refused to leave until American military forces are removed from Iraq?"
And what would happen if a million people parked themselves on Pennsylvania Avenue and refused to leave until all Muslim-owned businesses in the country stopped receiving Federal money in any way, shape, or form? An that all Muslim citizens stopped receiving Federal aid?
I get the point trying to be made, and to an extent even agree with the point on the oil spill, but to say that actions should be taken based on the influence of a vocal minority is just plain retarded. I mean, being a loudmouthed vocal minority is pretty much the only reason the media - and consequently, anyone else - pays any attention to the Tea Partiers.
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branchandroot
(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-16 12:36 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-16 01:02 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-16 02:15 pm (UTC)Obama is not a narcotic.
In the times the author talks about, we protested, we organized, we found a candidate, and we went to the polls for him because he promised that things would be different once he got into office.
But now we're realizing that the candidate we supported is just as much in the pockets of big corporations, is just as opposed to civil rights for gays or for the accused, is just as eager to continue and expand imperial wars for no possible gain, is just as secretive and just as ruthless about squashing leaked information, and is just as willing to ignore or outright break his campaign promises as his predecessor.
In other words, we're discovering that there's no substantive difference between Barack Obama and George W. Bush after all- except that the party labels are different. Even the lies are beginning to look similar now.
Obama doesn't destroy energy or ambition. Obama destroys HOPE.
(I found it especially ironic that he used the phrase, "People said we couldn't put a man on the moon," only a couple of months after he himself said we couldn't put a man BACK on the moon. No hope for you: Obama has spoken.)
(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-16 03:11 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-16 03:56 pm (UTC)* Obama's promise was to have us completely and totally out of Iraq by last month. His "revised" plan will have all "combat" troops out by 2011... which will still leave a 50,000 man permanent garrison stationed in that country for "training and support" purposes. In other words: no end in Iraq.
* Obama's Afghanistan plan was: "Well, if a surge worked in Iraq, it'll work here, too." We currently have over 100,000 soldiers in Afghanistan. And, where the Iraqi occupation propped up a corrupt regime and postponed a sectarian civil war, our Afghanistan forces are propping up a corrupt regime (which is actively thumbing its noses at us, because Kharzai knows politically Obama can't abandon him no matter what) and playing whack-a-mole with Taliban, al-Qaida, and other insurgents with no signs of any end to said insurgency- or any end in our occupation of Afghanistan.
* The first thing Obama did re: gay rights was to assign the defense of the Defense of Marriage Act to a Bush-era DoJ hire who wrote a brief saying, in essence, that gays had no rights worth respecting and should be imprisoned. When gay marriage issues came up in Maine, and he was asked for his help, he remained silent- after, in the 2008 campaign, expressing his opposition to gay marriage. He's even treated the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell in weasel fashion- appointing not one but TWO committees to study it, calling for its repeal after the first committee reported in, then stating that repeal couldn't possibly happen until after the midterms (if ever), then backpedaling only after Nancy Pelosi said a repeal bill would go forward with or without him. (The fact that gay rights groups have begun boycotting Democratic fundraising probably has something to do with it too.)
* Obama has allowed torture to continue unabated in Afghanistan, particularly at Bagram Air Force Base, according to the International Red Cross. (Torture, that is, conducted BY AMERICANS, not Afghani forces.) He has aggressively defended warrantless wiretap authority and the power to hold people indefinitely without writ of habeas corpus. He has prosecuted and persecuted those who blew the whistle on Bush-era monkeyshines. He has turned major portions of his legislative agenda, especially "health insurance reform", to a cash hand-out for his corporate allies- and, incidentally, this includes the corn lobby, whose ethanol boondoggle is still slurping up the lion's share of alternative energy funding while everything else except nuclear got cut.
I see more resemblance than dissimilitude between Obama and Bush every day.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-17 08:34 am (UTC)From the Executive Branch:
FCC investigating regulation of radio to eliminate instances of "hate-speech".
The installation of a "kill-switch" on the Internet to turn it off if and when Homeland Security wishes.
Approving the use of drones to kill American citizens abroad who are accused of terrorism. Neither warrants nor criminal convictions were obtained.
From the Legislative Branch:
Possible installation of a tax on "new media", the proceeds from which to go to subsidize failing newspapers.
From the Judicial System:
Granting the right to the prison system to hold sex offenders who were convicted of crimes involving minors indefinitely after their sentences are up. (Note that I am not condoning sex with minors, but pointing out that if the courts can indefinitely continue imprisonment for one type of crime, they can do so for any arbitrary offense.)
Tom T.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-16 03:59 pm (UTC)If the government doesn't have money in the budget to go to space, they'll need to get the money together to go to space. That may mean not going to space for a few months or years, if the national debt is too high.
(The reason for the lack of gas/money is left to the reader's political bias.)
(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-16 04:20 pm (UTC)Obama raised funds, and then said that we couldn't go to the moon because he couldn't raise funds.
Instead, we're going... nowhere. At all. ISS access will either be by Russian capsules or by a "privatized" American program (never mind that no private enterprise has yet put a man in orbit or even built anything capable of doing it except under government contract and control). Fifteen years from now, maybe we'll try landing on an asteroid, and by 2040, maybe Mars... but the Moon is off the board for good, Because Obama Said So.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-16 02:32 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-16 04:32 pm (UTC)1) The feeling of "not enough people would go for this" - consequently, not enough people go for this, because each of the million people, albeit willing, fears the numbers not actually showing up and therefore BAD STUFF happening to themselves that would negatively impact their lives.
2) Way too many millions who don't have the means to get themselves down there. Poverty is becoming more of a fact of American life, and it keeps people's resources down and keeps them from traveling.
3) Most of the people with resources are either (a) part of the problem and don't care or (b) are too spoiled to miss the next epiosde of Idol or [insert show here].
Sadly, I fall into (2), which is why I can only go to local cons.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-16 09:05 pm (UTC)And what would happen if a million people parked themselves on Pennsylvania Avenue and refused to leave until all Muslim-owned businesses in the country stopped receiving Federal money in any way, shape, or form? An that all Muslim citizens stopped receiving Federal aid?
I get the point trying to be made, and to an extent even agree with the point on the oil spill, but to say that actions should be taken based on the influence of a vocal minority is just plain retarded. I mean, being a loudmouthed vocal minority is pretty much the only reason the media - and consequently, anyone else - pays any attention to the Tea Partiers.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-17 08:31 am (UTC)Or, as it formulated in my mind as I read the article: "Of course! Because mob justice is the best justice!"