Obama is just a thorn prick in the hide of an elephant in his efforts
against big corporations.
My God! Should
I start saying nice things
about Obama?
I must remember
not to call him a "prick" Or did I already?
or the C.I.A. from the land of "free speech" might knock
on my
door in Vancouver Canada and haul me away with a black
hood, kicking and screaming.
(Ric Williams editor of this blog.)
not to call him a "prick" Or did I already?
or the C.I.A. from the land of "free speech" might knock
on my
door in Vancouver Canada and haul me away with a black
hood, kicking and screaming.
(Ric Williams editor of this blog.)
http://sayanythingblog.com/entry/british-teenager-banned-from-us-for-life-for-sending-obama-nasty-email/
British teenager sends nasty letter to Obama, calls him
a "prick". he is arrested by British police and banned
from entering the U.S. for life. Just as well he did not
call him a liar, drug addict and a traitor. He probably
would be shot by U.S. special forces, who have a
mandate by congress to enter any country and
assassinate
anyone.
"Yes I called hima "prick". At least I have never used cocaine."
Obama admits he used marijuana and crack cocaine. By British law
he should be excluded from entering Britain, as a self-
admitted druggie.
he should be excluded from entering Britain, as a self-
admitted druggie.
...............................................
What happens in the U.S, affects Australia.
What happens in the U.S, affects Australia.
That is why international articles are on my blog. (Ric)
Read the original article in the Independent. I cannot fit it into my blog
very well.
very well.
.............................................................................................
He is just a man, a good talker, half black,
half white. Why did the American people
think he was any different to other U.S.
politicians?
Maybe because they are gullible and manipulated by
the media and big corporations?
Obama has let us all down.(Ric)
............................................................................................................................
On the night he won, I too shed
a little tear;
but the people weeping
a little tear;
but the people weeping
today are those having their
homes repossessed
by Johann Harihomes repossessed
REUTERS
ENLARGEIs Barack Obama a politician whose actions should be judged soberly, or a figure from a feel-good fairytale to be revered from afar?
For two years now, most of the good and honorable people who desperately wanted him to beat John McCain – as I did –have watched his actions through a distorting haze of hoping for the best. So when Obama set us all up for another global crash by refusing to reregulate the banks or stop even their riskiest practices, we looked away. When Obama set us all up for more terror attacks by trebling the troops inAfghanistan and launching a vicious air war on Pakistan that is swelling the ranks of jihadis, we didn’t want to hear it. When Obama set us all up for environmental disaster by refusing to put the brakes on his country’s unprecedented and unmatched emissions of climate-destabilizing gases, we switched over to watch will.i.am’s YouTube rejig of the President’s “yes, we can” speech. And when a week from now he is beaten at the mid-term elections
– after having so little to show the American people –
by a group of even more irrational Republicans, we will
weep for him.
– after having so little to show the American people –
by a group of even more irrational Republicans, we will
weep for him.
As Rober D. Hodge writes in his excellent new book ‘The Mendacity of Hope’,
“Obama is judged not as a man but as a fable, a tale of moral uplift that
redeems the sins of America’s shameful past.” Our longing for him to be
Martin Luther King reborn has meant good people have not pushed and
pressured and opposed him, even as he endangered us.
“Obama is judged not as a man but as a fable, a tale of moral uplift that
redeems the sins of America’s shameful past.” Our longing for him to be
Martin Luther King reborn has meant good people have not pushed and
pressured and opposed him, even as he endangered us.
But if you choose to see this as another fairytale – of how one man who
seemed like a Good Prince turned out to be a Traitor – you will miss the
point, and the real need for change. This is not primary a question of
individual failings, but of the endemic corruption at the core of American politics.
The facts are not hidden.
If you want to run for national office in the US, you have to raise huge
sums of money from corporations and very rich people to pay for the
adverts and the mailings that get you on the ballot and into office.
These corporations will only give you money if you persuade them
that you will serve their interests once you are in power. If you say
instead that you want to prevent anything destructive they are doing
to ordinary people, or tax and regulate them, you will get no money,
and can’t run.
seemed like a Good Prince turned out to be a Traitor – you will miss the
point, and the real need for change. This is not primary a question of
individual failings, but of the endemic corruption at the core of American politics.
The facts are not hidden.
If you want to run for national office in the US, you have to raise huge
sums of money from corporations and very rich people to pay for the
adverts and the mailings that get you on the ballot and into office.
These corporations will only give you money if you persuade them
that you will serve their interests once you are in power. If you say
instead that you want to prevent anything destructive they are doing
to ordinary people, or tax and regulate them, you will get no money,
and can’t run.
As the Wisconsin politician Ed Garvey puts it: “Even candidates who get
into politics with the best of intentions start thinking they can’t get
re-elected without money. Senators get so reliant on the money that
they reflect it; they stop thinking for themselves, stop thinking like
the people who elected them. They just worry about getting the money.”
into politics with the best of intentions start thinking they can’t get
re-elected without money. Senators get so reliant on the money that
they reflect it; they stop thinking for themselves, stop thinking like
the people who elected them. They just worry about getting the money.”
Barack Obama knows this. In 2006, he said that taking money from
the rich is “the original sin of anyone who’s ever run for office” in the US,
and it ensures that “Washington is only open to those with the most
cash.” There’s a term for this: legalized bribery. It is so naked that
corporations routinely give to both sides in an election: Goldman Sachs,
to name just one, gave to both Obama and McCain to ensure
whoever became President was indebted to them.
the rich is “the original sin of anyone who’s ever run for office” in the US,
and it ensures that “Washington is only open to those with the most
cash.” There’s a term for this: legalized bribery. It is so naked that
corporations routinely give to both sides in an election: Goldman Sachs,
to name just one, gave to both Obama and McCain to ensure
whoever became President was indebted to them.
In the Land of the Fee, Obama was brought to power by the “donations”
– actually investments – of Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup,
IBM, Morgan Stanley, General Electric, and others. So it is unsurprising
that his Presidency has largely served their interests, which are very
different from our interests. His first act after the election was to
appoint an economics team headed by the people who caused the crash: the
Clinton-era deregulators and the former heads of Goldman. They
proceeded to ensure that any reregulation to prevent another crash
was gutted, while the bankers’ bonuses continued to flow. In his official
report to Congress, Treasury Department Inspector General
Neil Barofsky
warned this year: “It is hard to see how any of the fundamental
problems in the system have been addressed to date? We are
still driving on the same winding mountain road, but this time
in a faster car.”
– actually investments – of Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup,
IBM, Morgan Stanley, General Electric, and others. So it is unsurprising
that his Presidency has largely served their interests, which are very
different from our interests. His first act after the election was to
appoint an economics team headed by the people who caused the crash: the
Clinton-era deregulators and the former heads of Goldman. They
proceeded to ensure that any reregulation to prevent another crash
was gutted, while the bankers’ bonuses continued to flow. In his official
report to Congress, Treasury Department Inspector General
Neil Barofsky
warned this year: “It is hard to see how any of the fundamental
problems in the system have been addressed to date? We are
still driving on the same winding mountain road, but this time
in a faster car.”
The corporations are getting massive returns on their investment
in Obama. Two-thirds of them pay no federal tax on their income.
These corporations get to veto any law that would eat into their
short-term profits, like a freeze on kicking Americans out of their
homes while the banks’ dodgy and probably illegal boom-time
mortgages contracts are clarified, or a transition away from
climate-destabilising oil and coal. And they rake in a fortune from
the reality that 44 percent of the entire federal budget is spent on
a largely unnecessary war machine – a figure that is growing
rapidly on Obama’s watch.
in Obama. Two-thirds of them pay no federal tax on their income.
These corporations get to veto any law that would eat into their
short-term profits, like a freeze on kicking Americans out of their
homes while the banks’ dodgy and probably illegal boom-time
mortgages contracts are clarified, or a transition away from
climate-destabilising oil and coal. And they rake in a fortune from
the reality that 44 percent of the entire federal budget is spent on
a largely unnecessary war machine – a figure that is growing
rapidly on Obama’s watch.
The fact that corporations have this power over what the
US government can do means Obama – or any other President
– is unable to approach a problem by asking: how do I fix this?
Instead he has to ask: how can we get corporations to consent
to a small cosmetic gesture that will, for a while, appease public
anxiety and anger about this problem?
US government can do means Obama – or any other President
– is unable to approach a problem by asking: how do I fix this?
Instead he has to ask: how can we get corporations to consent
to a small cosmetic gesture that will, for a while, appease public
anxiety and anger about this problem?
The healthcare “reform” trumpeted as Obama’s greatest
achievement
illustrates how this works. The biggest problem with US healthcare
is that
squatting between a doctor and his patient are the bloated insurance
companies whose job is to turn down any claim from a sick person
they possibly can, in order to maximize their profits. Some 45,000
Americans die every year as a result. Obama had within his grasp
a way of taming these corporations and saving the lives of all these
people. It was called the public option: a government-run healthcare
insurance programme that would guarantee affordable care to all
American citizens. It was supported by 61 percent of Americans. But it
would cut into corporate profits – so Obama’s outgoing chief of staff,
Rahm Emmanuel, said its defenders were “fucking retards,” and the
administration killed it.
achievement
illustrates how this works. The biggest problem with US healthcare
is that
squatting between a doctor and his patient are the bloated insurance
companies whose job is to turn down any claim from a sick person
they possibly can, in order to maximize their profits. Some 45,000
Americans die every year as a result. Obama had within his grasp
a way of taming these corporations and saving the lives of all these
people. It was called the public option: a government-run healthcare
insurance programme that would guarantee affordable care to all
American citizens. It was supported by 61 percent of Americans. But it
would cut into corporate profits – so Obama’s outgoing chief of staff,
Rahm Emmanuel, said its defenders were “fucking retards,” and the
administration killed it.
Instead, Obama pursued the polar opposite approach. He guaranteed
the healthcare companies that he would never use the bargaining
power of the government to force their prices down. His “reform” has
been simply to force millions more Americans to buy from the insurance
companies – without any mechanism for making that care more
affordable. There were a few brilliant tweaks, like making it illegal for
the corporations to refuse insurance to people with “pre-existing
conditions” – but their share-prices jumped after the package was
announced for a reason: Obama overwhelmingly served their interests,
not the patients’. At the end of this, millions will be still left uncovered,
and others financially broken, so a tiny number of corporations can profit.
If Obama can’t stand up to corporations in a situation where
Americans are demonstrably being killed in huge numbers and
a majority is behind him,
isn’t his subservience almost complete?
the healthcare companies that he would never use the bargaining
power of the government to force their prices down. His “reform” has
been simply to force millions more Americans to buy from the insurance
companies – without any mechanism for making that care more
affordable. There were a few brilliant tweaks, like making it illegal for
the corporations to refuse insurance to people with “pre-existing
conditions” – but their share-prices jumped after the package was
announced for a reason: Obama overwhelmingly served their interests,
not the patients’. At the end of this, millions will be still left uncovered,
and others financially broken, so a tiny number of corporations can profit.
If Obama can’t stand up to corporations in a situation where
Americans are demonstrably being killed in huge numbers and
a majority is behind him,
isn’t his subservience almost complete?
All this corruption means Obama has very few achievements to show
the American people. He is left presenting pitiful corporate-fattening
tweaks as the best he could do. They aren’t nothing – but they aren’t
much. His inadequate stimulus was slightly bigger than McCain’s would
have been, so unemployment is about 2 percent lower. He has
restored federal funding for stem cell research, and for abortions abroad.
He hasn’t bombed Iran. These make a real difference: they’re reason
enough to vote Democratic over Republican. But we have to be honest:
the continuities with Bush are far more pronounced than the
differences.
the American people. He is left presenting pitiful corporate-fattening
tweaks as the best he could do. They aren’t nothing – but they aren’t
much. His inadequate stimulus was slightly bigger than McCain’s would
have been, so unemployment is about 2 percent lower. He has
restored federal funding for stem cell research, and for abortions abroad.
He hasn’t bombed Iran. These make a real difference: they’re reason
enough to vote Democratic over Republican. But we have to be honest:
the continuities with Bush are far more pronounced than the
differences.
There are Democrats who refuse to be corporate shills – and they
deserve to be defended with every ounce of your energy. If you’re
an American and you have time over the next week, phone bank or
donate to Representative Alan Grayson, or Senator Russ Feingold, to
name two of the best who do it the hard way, run their campaigns by
collecting small donations, and actually defend the American people.
But they are, alas, a minority in the Democratic Party.
deserve to be defended with every ounce of your energy. If you’re
an American and you have time over the next week, phone bank or
donate to Representative Alan Grayson, or Senator Russ Feingold, to
name two of the best who do it the hard way, run their campaigns by
collecting small donations, and actually defend the American people.
But they are, alas, a minority in the Democratic Party.
Contrary to the glib stereotype, Americans aren’t stupid, and they
can see what is happening: a recent CNN poll found 60 percent of
Americans said Obama “has paid more attention to the problems
faced by banks and other financial institutions than to the problems
faced by middle class Americans.” They’re right. It’s not that they
want him to be “more liberal” or “more conservative”: few think in
these terms. No. They are asking – is my job more secure? Is
my home
more secure? Is my healthcare more affordable? And the answer
is no, not really. They know the people who caused the crash are
fatter than ever,
while the people who had nothing to do with it take the pain, and
Obama is left calling this farce progress. In the absence of a liberal
populism that would have actually fixed these problems, all the
oxygen goes to the fake populism of the Tea Party. US politics has
ended up as a battle between the mostly corrupt and the entirely
corrupt.
can see what is happening: a recent CNN poll found 60 percent of
Americans said Obama “has paid more attention to the problems
faced by banks and other financial institutions than to the problems
faced by middle class Americans.” They’re right. It’s not that they
want him to be “more liberal” or “more conservative”: few think in
these terms. No. They are asking – is my job more secure? Is
my home
more secure? Is my healthcare more affordable? And the answer
is no, not really. They know the people who caused the crash are
fatter than ever,
while the people who had nothing to do with it take the pain, and
Obama is left calling this farce progress. In the absence of a liberal
populism that would have actually fixed these problems, all the
oxygen goes to the fake populism of the Tea Party. US politics has
ended up as a battle between the mostly corrupt and the entirely
corrupt.
I’m sure Obama believes he is doing the best he can in a corrupt
system
– but it’s not true. There is another way. Imagine if, when he came
to office, he had articulated the real solutions – and, when he was
blocked, named the corrupt corporations and the corrupt Senators
stopping him getting healthcare for sick children or preventing
another crash. Explain that it is time to drive the money-lenders
out of the temple of American democracy. Tell the American people
they will always be screwed over until they end this corruption and
pay for the democratic process themselves, and propose serious
measures to achieve it. Call for a mass movement to back him,
just as Franklin Roosevelt did – and succeeded. At least then there
would be a possibility of real progress. Would the outcome
conceivably have been worse than this – being beaten by the
foaming Tea Party Republicans with almost nothing to show for it?
system
– but it’s not true. There is another way. Imagine if, when he came
to office, he had articulated the real solutions – and, when he was
blocked, named the corrupt corporations and the corrupt Senators
stopping him getting healthcare for sick children or preventing
another crash. Explain that it is time to drive the money-lenders
out of the temple of American democracy. Tell the American people
they will always be screwed over until they end this corruption and
pay for the democratic process themselves, and propose serious
measures to achieve it. Call for a mass movement to back him,
just as Franklin Roosevelt did – and succeeded. At least then there
would be a possibility of real progress. Would the outcome
conceivably have been worse than this – being beaten by the
foaming Tea Party Republicans with almost nothing to show for it?
At moments, there have been flickers of what this alternative
Obama Presidency would have looked like. His huge government
bailout of the auto industry kept millions of people in work,
was hugely popular – and is already making a profit for the government.
In the final days of this election campaign, he is railing against the
massive corporate donations to the Republicans – a hypocrisy, for
sure, but a popular one, pointing to a better path he might have chosen,
and still could, if enough sane Americans shake themselves awake
and pressure him hard.
Obama Presidency would have looked like. His huge government
bailout of the auto industry kept millions of people in work,
was hugely popular – and is already making a profit for the government.
In the final days of this election campaign, he is railing against the
massive corporate donations to the Republicans – a hypocrisy, for
sure, but a popular one, pointing to a better path he might have chosen,
and still could, if enough sane Americans shake themselves awake
and pressure him hard.
Yes, on the night Obama won, I too felt that great global ripple of hope,
and shed a little tear – but the people weeping today are those having
their homes repossessed in the Rust Belt and their homes blown to
pieces in the SWAT Valley as a direct result of Obama’s decisions.
They are the ones who deserve our empathy now, not the most
powerful man in the world, who has chosen to settle into and
defend a profoundly corrupt system, rather than challenge and
change it. It’s long past time to put away your Obama t-shirt that
and take out your protest banner.
and shed a little tear – but the people weeping today are those having
their homes repossessed in the Rust Belt and their homes blown to
pieces in the SWAT Valley as a direct result of Obama’s decisions.
They are the ones who deserve our empathy now, not the most
powerful man in the world, who has chosen to settle into and
defend a profoundly corrupt system, rather than challenge and
change it. It’s long past time to put away your Obama t-shirt that
and take out your protest banner.
For updates on this issue and others, you can follow Johann on
twitter at:www.twitter.com/johannhari101; or you can
email him at: j.hari@independent.co.uk
twitter at:www.twitter.com/johannhari101; or you can
email him at: j.hari@independent.co.uk
To watch Johann on US TV discussing Britain's austerity
cuts, click here:www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3ozOpqh9WM
cuts, click here:www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3ozOpqh9WM
To read Johann's latest article for 'Slate', about one of the
great taboos of our time, click here: www.slate.com/id/2272098
great taboos of our time, click here: www.slate.com/id/2272098
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