Nobody’s Perfect
Jimmy Carter set off a firestorm with his comments to Brian Williams yesterday when he injected race into the nation’s current political discourse. To quote the former President: “I think an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man.”
I thought long and hard about how to handle this issue. I’m sure there are those who are parsing every syllable of that statement, looking up each word for the exact definition in Webster’s Dictionary, and pontificating on the many faults of the peanut farmer from Plains. I decided to take a simpler approach, because the best way to understand complicated matters is to beak them down to their most basic components.
We are all, Black, White, Conservative, Liberal, young, old; human. Emotions are an essential factor in what makes us who we are. Therefore, when folks say they aren’t racist, they’re not following the old axiom, “Know thyself.” Every American, hell, every person on the planet, has both positive and negative feelings toward other people. We tend to like those more that we find similarities with.
I’m not condemning all Republicans as hatemongers for their opposition to President Obama, but choosing to ignore the fact that race plays a part – no matter how great or small – is as foolish as Larry Craig denying he’s gay. What do you feel when you look at this picture:
Please be honest with yourself. Some find it hilarious, some find it highly offensive. Either way, you feel something.
We cannot conquer our faults overnight, I understand. Still, we’ll never be able to conquer them if we refuse to admit they exist. There are plenty of reasons conservatives might object to the way we’re trying to reform healthcare. Yet all too often the vitriol spewing from the Right has nothing to do with policy differences, but something much more sinister. And until we’re ready to deal with the darker side of our consciences, we’ll never fully be able to enjoy the light.
Are You Listening, Washington?
Yesterday, 9/12, two million patriotic Americans stormed the streets of Washington to protest against the socialist push for higher taxes, bigger government and exploding deficits.
It was an entirely grassroots effort, led by Glenn Beck and funded by lobbyist groups such as FreedomWorks, The Competitive Enterprise Institute, The Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights, and Americans for Tax Reform, just to name a few.
In the spirit of 9/12, 2001, a day when we were all deep in a fog of shock, sorrow and terror following the worst attack on American soil in history, these heroes rallied for a return to the good old days…
As to their three main grievances, higher taxes, bigger government and exploding deficits, a return to the good old days isn’t such a bad idea. President Obama has already given 95% of Americans a tax cut they didn’t have when Bush was in office. Cutting the size of government will be more difficult, since the previous administration presided over the largest expansion of government since FDR. And Bush turned the budget surplus he inherited into the largest deficit in history. Barack Obama inherited a one point three trillion dollar debt the day he took the Oath of Office. Reigning in healthcare costs will do a lot to fix that mess.
There are, of course, other issues these patriots are against, such as Death Panels and White House Czars. The President has taken about as strong a stand as possible that he wants to reform the current Health Insurance Death Panels which reject people with preexisting conditions and refuse to pay up when folks get sick. Unfortunately, Obama hasn’t been able to end the proliferation of White House Czars, which were invented by Richard Nixon and fully blossomed under the Reagan regime.
I hope republicans from coast to coast paid attention to those angry protesters. We are sick and tired of disastrous right-wing policies that have brought this great land to its knees. If the GOP doesn’t wake up and smell the coffee, they may go the way of the dinosaur. Two million people can’t be wrong.
Now Is the Season For Action
Many have stated that last night’s special address to the joint session of Congress was the greatest of its kind in America’s history. I won’t go that far, but I certainly believe it was a phenomenal message to us all. Here’s a few things that particularly grabbed my attention.
“I am not the first President to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last.”
He then clearly outlined his three basic goals which the reform bill must meet:
“It will provide more security and stability to those who have health insurance. It will provide insurance to those who don’t. And it will slow the growth of health care costs for our families, our businesses, and our government.”
How to achieve these goals? He further explained:
1) “As soon as I sign this bill, it will be against the law for insurance companies to drop your coverage when you get sick or water it down when you need it most.”
2) “We will do this by creating a new insurance exchange – a marketplace where individuals and small businesses will be able to shop for health insurance at competitive prices.”
And as to the dollars-and-cents aspect:
3) My guiding principle is, and always has been, that consumers do better when there is choice and competition.”
Moreover, “Now, I have no interest in putting insurance companies out of business. They provide a legitimate service, and employ a lot of our friends and neighbors. I just want to hold them accountable.”
Also, “I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits – either now or in the future. Period. And to prove that I’m serious, there will be a provision in this plan that requires us to come forward with more spending cuts if the savings we promised don’t materialize. Part of the reason I faced a trillion dollar deficit when I walked in the door of the White House is because too many initiatives over the last decade were not paid for – from the Iraq War to tax breaks for the wealthy. I will not make that same mistake with health care.”
The President then went on an emotional journey with real life examples of how our current system has failed, he spoke of the character of our country, and brought up remembrances of his fallen hero, Ted Kennedy.
He crystalized the issue plainly and soberly:
“Everyone in this room knows what will happen if we do nothing. Our deficit will grow. More families will go bankrupt. More businesses will close. More Americans will lose their coverage when they are sick and need it most. And more will die as a result. We know these things to be true. That is why we cannot fail.”
So please, support the President’s efforts. Contact your congressmen and senators. Talk to your friends and neighbors. Spread the word. Because now is the season for action.
The End of the World
By this time tomorrow, Barack Obama will have turned all our children into zombies. With Armageddon right around the corner, it’s time for all Americans to get on their knees and pray to the Almighty that the end will come swiftly. Although the outrage over the President’s planned address to schoolchildren is without any legitimate merit, the seething hatred for this man makes otherwise sane people seem mad.
Is it partisanship? Is it racism? For God’s sake, parents are telling their kids NOT to go to school. They’re teaching them it’s okay to disrespect authority. Don’t think for yourselves… You can’t handle the truth…
When Rush Limbaugh called the President an “angry black man”, he received an “Amen!” from millions of true patriotic Americans. These are the very same people that are so angry at the President they’re willing to psychologically abuse their own kids just to make a point. And as Sir James M. Barrie pointed out, “Temper is a weapon that we hold by the blade.”
So to all you kids out there, don’t stay in school, don’t strive for success, and for heaven’s sake, avoid personal responsibility at all cost.
Keith Olbermann Is Wrong
On the very morning the Senate was going to decide whether or not to kick Bill Clinton out of office, the President was acting as if he hadn’t a care in the world. When asked why, he replied: “They don’t have the votes.”
See, administrations are pretty good at figuring out where each senator stands on a particular issue. Same is true with the Obama Administration on the current healthcare debate. Experts approximate there are 37 progressives who favor a public option, with 4 leaning that way. I’m no mathematics expert, but that doesn’t seem to be enough to get a bill passed.
Olbermann, on the other hand, has repeatedly called the President “weak” for not forcing the issue. The pundit repeatedly attacks Obama for not sticking to what he said during last year’s campaign. How many times did Barack Obama say a government option was the best way to achieve reform? Too many to remember. Note, he always said the “best” way – not the “only” way. And how many times did Barack Obama say, “The Perfect should not be the enemy of the Good”? I think that line was second only to “Yes we can!”
Olbermann and the far left are just as bad as O’Reilly and the far right on this one; both sides are going all-or-nothing. Have all these geniuses forgotten that politics is all about compromise? Just look at how far we’ve come in just a few months. We’re on the verge of doing something for the first time since it became an issue forty years ago – passing healthcare reform.
The rabid followers of Michelle Malkin as well as the wild-eyed followers of Arianna Huffington need to remember, Barack Obama is not just President of the Blue States or the Red States, but the United States of America…
Welcome Back, Jim
Kansas congresswoman Lynn Jenkins apologized for showing a little racism in a forum last week when she stated republicans are in search of their Great White Hope.
Conservative satirist Paul Shanklin got his racist freak on with a little ditty called “Barack the Magic Negro”. The song’s bad enough; the thousands of hateful comments all over YouTube are even more disturbing.
And of course, how can we forget the number one poster in the land, Obama as The Joker:
A great excuse to paint our President as a despicable villain while also portraying him in white-face.
With Texans calling for secession, angry folks drawling, “I want MY America back!”, the Birther movement, Rush Limbaugh repeating the line that Obama’s an “angry black man”, and Glenn Beck’s assertion that “Obama is a racist”; it’s clear that Jim Crow-era racism is alive and well. Only difference is, these people no longer wear hoods…
Another Victim of Reform
Stephen is 56 years old. Because he’s a republican, the Obama Death Panel will kill him in just nine short years. But that’s not even the worst of it. His entire life savings is in jeopardy, solely due to the fact that this hero happens to work in the healthcare field. You can bet that Obama will be quite pleased when Stephen’s family is destitute; begging on the streets. And why? All in the name of fiscal restraint.
As a foot-soldier for UnitedHealth Care, Stephen Hemsley has broken his back for over a dozen years, and all he has to show for it is $744,232,068.00 in unexercised stocks, and a measly salary of $3,200,000.00 a year. How the hell is a CEO supposed to live on that?
If Obama has his way, Hemsley will lose millions. UnitedHealth Care won’t be able to deny claims that cut into their profits. They won’t be able to screen out folks with preexisting conditions. Some people might change providers simply because Obama will let them!
Sure, UnitedHealth Group, who owns UnitedHealth Care and much, much more; has had a few legal issues. But dealing with the restraints Obama wants to throw their way just might break the bank. Perhaps that’s why Hemsley and friends are spending millions every day to stop reform now. Before it’s too late…
