Tag Archives: obama

May 30, 2012 · 3:53 pm

Time to Grow UP

AMERICA’S TEEN YEARS ARE OVER

Louise Annarino

May 30, 2012

 

In 1978, as Columbus Legal Aid Society staff attorney, I had a client who had traveled to the Nebraska Territory as a 5 year old, her bare feet dangling over the back edge of the Conestoga wagon. As she was making her way west with her family, my Italian immigrant grandparents were being processed through Ellis Island. The timing of these events seemed to my young mind to be in the ancient past. These were events I had studied in history books. Interviewing my client that day affirmed what I had also been taught in history class – America is a young nation.

 

Over the years, I have often had to remind myself that young countries, like young people are often impetuous, misguided, unable to imagine a future where they are not the center of everyone’s universe. As we age we realize we are but a small part of the whole, no one is really paying any attention to us, and we need to think before acting to avoid mistakes. Young people are the gods of instant gratification. Older people are surprised whenever they have reason to feel gratified. Accepting less than what one hoped for is all too commonplace. Okay replaces great, good replaces perfect in the  vocabulary of the mature.

 

Tall tales are told by every age group; but,the young are more likely to believe them. Ad agencies, abetted by entertainment-focused news media have institutionalized tall-tale telling in America. And America is still young enough, naive enough, and gullible enough  to believe what it reads, sees, and hears. We chide the ancient Greeks, Italians and Vikings for their ancient wisdom urging them to act like the teenagers we act like. Teens assume everyone is the same, and hide any unique characteristic which would set them apart from their friends. They travel in packs, alert for any opportunity to enhance their stature or wealth, with the least amount of effort and few accomplishments to justify it.

 

Maybe it is time America grew up. Maybe it is time we only reward those who contribute to the common good and the survival of America. Maybe it is time to realize we are not infallible and admit when we make mistakes. Maybe it is time to accept those civilizations which survive are those which have something positive to offer the world: art, music, freedom, education, compassion, wisdom, openness to the gifts of other nations.

 

Maybe it is time we grew up. Maybe it is time to see bravado and war-mongering as a sign of  fear and weakness. Maybe it is time to see stereotypes and discrimination as a lack of imagination and knowledge. Maybe it is time to see distorting truth and manipulating economic markets for private gain over public good as greed and piracy.

 

Mature nations and mature people know themselves well, take time to learn others well, remain true to reality, understand life is difficult and complex, make decisions calmly and  with the input of those more knowledgeable than themselves, can cooperate and assimilate, mediate and confront with more light than heat. Mature persons reserve their strength, their opinion, their actions for the greatest impact. Mature persons are other-centered, not me-centered. A mature person would not associate with a buffoon-ignoramus-racist, going to the lowest level of American politics to win the presidency.1

 

I do not intend to vote for a teenager. I shall vote for the adult in the room, President Barack Obama. His leadership during his first term has been measured and mature, focused and decisive, cooperative and comfortably confrontive. America is now a mature player on the world stage; steady and dependable, self-assured and polite, strong and supportive of a more mature and peaceful world. Neither America nor President Obama are perfect; but, they are good. They are very good!

 

 

1. Matthews: Romney ‘Going To The Lowest Level Of American Politics’ With Trump Appearance, Noah Rothman,5:59 pm, May 29th, 2012,  http://www.mediaite.com/tv/matthews-romney-going-to-the-lowest-level-of-american-politics-with-trump-appearance/

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May 28, 2012 · 1:52 pm

CHANTING FOR FREEDOM

CHANTING FOR FREEDOM

Louise Annarino

May 28, 2012

 

Perhaps it comes from attending Mass every day between the ages of 6 and 18, singing Gregorian Chant as part of the liturgy, which brought me such peace each morning and created my world view. Perhaps it was the chant itself.Chant flows seamlessly, each voice modulated to mingle with those of other chanters rather than lifting one voice above others. If every chanter took a breath at the same time, the fabric of the chant would tear, leaving tiny holes through which the notes would fall away. So, chanters learn to listen closely to nearby chanters, stretching the time to take a breath before or after that of those on left or right, to keep the fabric of communal song strong and vibrant. Chant is complex, rising and falling across chords layered in groups and overlapping phrases. When a soloist  lifts high a clear voice soaring above the whole, that single voice remains supported by the underlying chant of the group.

 

Chant is organic, flowing, ceaselessly seeking release as its power grows then crests and subsides, finally coming to rest in an eternal ohm. Chant leaves one attuned to others, supportive of one another, more alive within the whole than a single voice alone can do. Chant builds strength in cooperation and sharing. Chanters let go of ego, sacrifice personal control and individuality for the greater good.They know the song, the chant, the melody will enrich all who sing and all who listen. It will lift the entire universe in prayerful energy toward light and away from darkness into joy, toward strength and away from fear into freedom. It is ironic that such communal effort should result in joyful, fearless freedom.

 

When I hear presidential candidates talk about being free I listen carefully. Being free is the hallmark of our nation. Not one of us wants anything less than freedom. And, we describe it in many different ways. We talk about freedom from something: from taxes- from want, from dictators-from anarchy, from crime-from oppression.We talk of freedom of something: religion, speech, assembly. We talk of freedom to do something: marry, bear arms, pursue happiness. But, what is the underlying basis of freedom? What is the common thread which allows us to be free rather than puts us in chains?

 

Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s dramatic opening statement in his treatise “The Social Contract” explains “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains. One man thinks himself the master of others, but remains more of a slave than they are.” the very fact that Rousseau titles his work “The Social Contract” implies an answer.

 

With the first part of his opening sentence, Roussseau distinguishes the common good interests of “the sovereign”, the collective group of all citizens, from the private interests of each individual citizen. Are these competing or complimentary interests? It depends upon which song the nation sings. I prefer chant, in which each individual understands and appreciates his unique contribution to the group; and adjusts tone, cadence, rhythm, and vocal power for the common good. If man has chained himself to others for the common good, he remains free. It is only when others chain a man against his right to be free that he becomes enslaved. So long as man creates and attaches his own  thread to the common good, he can remain free. He is free to participate as an equal, empowered in a way he could not be on his own, and the result is greater freedom and power for the group.

 

The American system of slavery, and its current remnants is illustrative of Rousseau’s second statement. Those who think they are masters over others are more enslaved than those they seek to control. America’s premise that all men are created equal and have equal rights, is enshrined in her constitution and its amendments. Yet, for too long we chained our nation’s wealth and productivity to the system of slavery. Although America abolished slavery, we continue to chain our wealth and productivity to a system recognizing the rights of masters over workers,investors over laborers,the privileged over the 98%. It is not by chance that political operative Grover Norquist insists every Republican candidate take “the Pledge” to not raise any tax; nor close any tax loophole for those who believe themselves rightful masters over laborers. Such a pledge hardly allows a legislator or presidential candidate the freedom to work for the common good. Whom is enslaved by such a pledge?  Those who claim themselves our masters. Why do we allow this?  We allow it because we have yet to address the underlying justification that masters must remain in control: race, sex, and class.

 

E Pluribus Unum, Out of many One, is the fabric of America and the fabric of chant. We are all Americans, and all Americans are equal. But, having a bi-racial president has proven too much for some Americans. Those who seek to make President Obama the other, seek to deny his status as their equal because they do believe all Americans are free and equal. In order to justify denying some Americans freedom and equality, these persons must deny those Americans are as American as themselves. People of color, women, LGBT, new immigrants cannot be allowed to believe themselves equals, nor masters over themselves, nor over anyone else. A Black president cannot be allowed to disprove the construct by which some believe themselves masters over others.

 

To justify the determined ruination of the Obama presidency, he must become something (not someone) people can hate. He is described as a Muslim terrorist, a N*****, or Black liberation theologist ala Rev. Wright. He is a socialist, communist, fascist; some misguided souls say all three at the same time! They see no inconsistency in describing him simultaneously as a  strong and overpowering despot, and a weak and overwhelmed failure. The message is simple, “He is not like us”. Therefore, he is not entitled to equality, nor freedom. We use this ploy to train soldiers to kill the other: Japs,rag heads,gooks. 

 

In dehumanizing others so we can find a way to justify killing them, we dehumanize ourselves. We chain ourselves to lies. We give up our freedom to be fully, painfully human. No apologies needed.Our apologies are lies themselves, “IF (but of course only the other would say so) my words (not my SELF) or my actions (which I cannot remember) hurt anyone, I apologize. Man is born free, and is everywhere chained to self-deception.

 

Obama haters want to take back their, not his, country. They cut holes in the fabric we weaves to make America strong, productive, and a beautiful “one out of many” nation. It is easy to lie about the other, when we are lying to ourselves about ourselves. Once we start lying, it is difficult to stop. Until we honestly face what we are recovering racists, we feel more comfortable with lies than with truth. We remain enslaved, while attempting to enslave others. If only President Obama had stayed in his place, this country would be fine. We would all be wealthy. We would all be free to serve our own interest at the expense of the environment, mortgage security, the middle class, public education, equal pay, immigration reform,finding Bin Laden and hobbling Al Qaeda,commodities oversight,Wall Street regulation,closing Guatanamo,speeding up economic recovery through government investment in our communities etc. The boy needs to be taught a lesson. You think this is hyperbole?

 

Think back to the George W. Bush re-election to his second term. He had created the largest deficit and waged  two wars without raising taxes to pay them for the first time in our history; instead,funding them from loans from China. He lied and used others to unwittingly lie to justify invading Iraq; then joked about not finding weapons of mass destruction when he spoke at the Washington Correspondents’ Dinner, pretending to look for them under the table. He declared “mission accomplished” in Iraq as his unwarranted war escalated out of control at the cost of thousands of American and Iraqi lives. He announced he was not interested in finding Bin Laden, it was really not that important, and he took his eye off Afghanistan to invade Iraq making it more difficult for President Obama to wind up operations and end the Afghan war.

 

Under George W. Bush, Wall Street’s investment bankers and commodities traders were unregulated and out of control, creating unsafe investment packages with little to no real value other than to hedge fund investors’ huge profits,and a housing bubble based on unregulated and predatory mortgage lending practices. Banks were primed for failure, failing at such a rate that the FDIC was underfunded to handle the losses it guaranteed. President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act, even though it was less stringent than he had hoped for.1 Republicans still block his efforts to implement rules to enforce Dodd-Frank, and have refused to approve “anyone” Director of the newly created Consumer Protection Agency, forcing President obama to make a recess appointment. 2

 

President Bush spent 35% of his presidency vacationing at his Crawford Ranch, his parents home in Kennebunkport, Maine and Camp David.3 All presidents need time away from the White House, their vacation homes and Air Force One are equipped for business as usual. But the sheer percentage of time away must have left an impression on second-term voters. When president Obama used a much smaller jet to take his wife out for an anniversary dinner in Chicago one evening, it was considered an assault on U.S. taxpayers.

 

Energy prices skyrocketed under George W. Bush. He is on record stating that cheap energy was bad for America. U.S. oil production was low, refinery capacity at an all-time low. 4 Under President Obama, U.S. Oil production is at an all-time high, storage is at full capacity. Yet, he is attacked for being anti-oil production, while V.P. Cheney made secret deals to increase profits for energy companies behind closed doors of the Bush White House.  Oil is traded on the global market. No president is able to control oil prices. But regulatory oversight of commodities futures’ trades, increased production and legislative plans to make use of U.S. production at home, as proposed by Democrats, can influence the costs at home. President Obama’s plan does just that, despite unwarranted and distorted attacks by candidate Mitt Romney.5

 

When George W. Bush was re-elected despite what all agreed was a somewhat less than stellar performance during his first term, common knowledge affirmed that he carried the benefit accrued by any incumbent. Why does this reasoning not apply to President Obama? Gas prices were higher during George W. Bush, yet current gas prices are offered as a reason to vote out this incumbent.

 

The Iraq War has ended and Afghanistan War continues, scheduled to end by 2014. In the past, common knowledge held we not change presidents in the midst of war. This was one reason given for the re-election of incumbent Bush,despite his misguided Iraqi invasion. Why does this reasoning not apply to President Obama, who is responsibly ending these wars, while continuing to attack global terrorist networks?

 

Incumbent Obama meets every criteria used in the past to support re-election of an incumbent. Yet, he is not treated as an incumbent. The one way to avoid this discussion is to simply lie about his accomplishments and his challenges. The media, the public, supporters and non-supporters are too readily willing to overlook his record of accomplishment, to degrade, demean and distort it. Why, when they were willing and able to do so for former incumbents such as George W. Bush?

 

Racism. He is not one of us, not entitled to the same consideration. This is our dirty little secret. Racism plays the discordant notes of American history. It grates on our ears. It disturbs our souls. It holds back our future. We prefer to avoid it, like avoiding the scrape of chalk across a blackboard. We cringe when we hear it. We become angry with the kid holding the chalk. But it continues.How do we stop it? How do we drown out the noise of racism?

 

How we can make music together without listening to one another, without breathing an unbroken melody of continuity and completion, without learning the complexity of the governance process as part of the chant, without supporting each soloist in his diverse skills and needs, without putting aside our own ego to become part of a larger whole? …Well, it stuns me. It does not surprise me, but it wounds me. Worse, it hurts our nation. Take up the chant for freedom, and against slavery. Make music with one another as equals, where none is master over another.

 

There is a chant I hope you will join. To do so you must commit to seek the common good, knowing the individual needs of each of us will be sought to support the whole. You must set aside ego and accept the imperfections of other chanters. The chant itself is easy enough to remember: “Obama-Obama-Obama-Obama-Obama…”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act, Summary by Kimberly Amadeo, About.Com, Economy, http://useconomy.about.com/od/criticalssues/p/Dodd-Frank-Wall-Street-Reform-Act.htm

2.  “Putting Mr. Cordray in place grants the agency the standing to move ahead with new regulation of varied financial entities, authority it has lacked in the absence of a director since its creation in July 2010.With the three appointments to the National Labor Relations Board, Mr. Obama moved to ensure that the board, which has five seats, would not become paralyzed. The board shrank to two members when the term of a previous Democratic recess appointee expired on Tuesday, and under a Supreme Court ruling, it is not allowed to make decisions with fewer than three members. Helen cooper and Jennifer Steinhauer, New York Times, January 4,2012, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/05/us/politics/richard-cordray-named-consumer-chief-in-recess-appointment.html?pagewanted=all

3. ”As it turns out, Bush easily eclipsed Ronald Reagan’s previous record for presidential sloth.  By March 2008, Bush had spent all or part of 879 days at his Crawford, Texas ranch or at Camp David, surpassing Reagan’s mark of 866.  By the time he left office, George W. Bush had made 149 trips to and spent 487 days at Camp David, with another 77 getaways to (and 490 days at) Crawford.  Toss in 11 visits and 43 days at his folks’ compound in Kennebunkport, Maine and President Bush spent 1020 days – 35% of his presidency – getting away from the White House.” Obama NYC Date Night Highlights Bush Vacation Record , Avenging Angel, May,31,2009, http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/05/31/737229/-Obama-NYC-Date-Night-Highlights-Bush-Vacation-Record

4. “Why the price spike now?[under George W. Bush] We are talking about an oil price that is higher (again, in nominal terms) than at the height of the Nixon-Ford inflation, when we all found prices intolerably high. Prices fell all during the Reagan years, thanks to the effects of Carter’s deregulation, and during most of the Clinton years as well. In fact, prices reached good-old-days levels at the very end of the Clinton era: $11 per barrel. Gas hovered at $1 a gallon, an historic low in real terms. Pure heaven!” High Prices As Policy,Llewellyn H. Rockwell,Jr., http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/high-prices.html

5. ”In a television interview on Sunday and a Web video released on Monday, Mitt Romney said that President Obama has sought higher gasoline and energy prices and called on the president to dismiss three cabinet officers Mr. Romney claims have abetted him.But the assertion, which echoes charges from other Republicans, is largely unsubstantiated or misleading.”Romney Misleads on Obama and Energy Prices, JOHN M. BRODER,NYT blog, The Caucus,  http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/19/romney-misleads-on-obama-and-energy-prices/

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May 24, 2012 · 2:23 pm

A POLL BY ANY OTHER NAME WOULD SMELL…

A POLL BY ANY OTHER NAME WOULD SMELL…

Louise Annarino

May 24, 2012

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet.”

Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)

It is estimated that William Shakespeare coined approximately 135 phrases in common use today. The quote above is a line spoken mournfully by Juliet on her balcony, as Romeo lurks below in the bushes. It is one of Shakespeare’s most memorable lines. Juliet has been taught that Montagues are bad. Romeo is a Montague. In coming to know him she learns that this is stupid point of view. Whatever his name or family affiliation, he is still the same person.

Obviously, this is a lesson many of us still need to learn. Political strategy developed and perfected by Newt Gingrich, Karl Rove, Grover Norquist et al. over the past 30 years continues to demonize opposition candidates within and outside its own party. Ironically, Newt Gingrich himself was a victim of this strategy during the 2012 Republican presidential primary.

The 2012 Republican primary was very ugly. How ugly? So ugly it stunk. Last night, Dan Rather told CNN’s Erin Burnett that the 2012 campaign is the worst campaign he has covered; and, he has covered eleven campaigns.  When he says, “There have been bad ones before, but this is the worst so far,” he is not exaggerating.”I hope I’m wrong about this,but I think by the time we finish with this campaign, not only will it be a three billion dollar presidential campaign – three billion dollars – but it will be ugly enough to choke a buzzard before we get through with it.”1

Media buzzards are circling the candidates, waiting to pounce on any sign of weakness as measured by daily polls. At the close of this piece is a list of poll info sites. Reviewing them may be fun, but not necessarily very useful. Watching them over time, one realizes that a single media story can shift the results temporarily; an aggregate of stories can shift it substantially.

Call in more buzzards, the admen, to create stories funded by PACS and SUPER PACS; some true, others created out of whole cloth without a stitch of truth.  Does it matter if the ads are true or false? “…a rose by any other name would smell…” as bad. To most of us, the whole thing stinks! Are we so overwhelmed by the stench of lies we can no longer smell the roses of truth?

As for the polls, they are not “truth” either. Even the best efforts fail to consider large numbers of our populace. A recent report on the 2010 census with strong outreach to historically undercounted persons, shows both an undercount and an overcount, although an improvement over past years.

The overcount was “due mostly to duplicate counts of affluent whites owning multiple homes.”  On the backside of the count, the census missed about 2.1 percent of black Americans,1.5 percent of Hispanics (1.5 million people), about 5 percent of American Indians living on reservations and nearly 2 percent of minorities who marked themselves as “some other race”. “While the overall coverage of the census was exemplary, the traditional hard-to-count groups, like renters, were counted less well,” Census Bureau director Robert Groves said. “Because ethnic and racial minorities disproportionately live in hard-to-count circumstances, they too were undercounted relative to the majority population.”2

The disparities of the census count which occurred in every community over many months makes daily polls made via landline phones even more suspect. Who are these people who have the time to answer the phone and answer questions? Not the working poor. Not young men seeking to make their fortune by sheer effort of will, not minorities suspicious of white people asking a lot of questions.”We remain deeply troubled by the persistent and disproportionate undercount of our most vulnerable citizens — people of color, very young children and low-income Americans,” said Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League and chairman of the Census Bureau’s 2010 Census Advisory Committee.2

The breakdown analysis of the census shows the following:

—Renters were undercounted by 1.1 percent, while homeowners were over-counted by 0.6 percent.

—Broken down by age, men 18 to 29 and 30 to 49 were more likely to be missed in 2010 than other age groups, while women 30 to 49 were over-counted; that is a pattern consistent with 2000. Adults 50 and older had over-counts of their population, while some young children ages 4 and under were missed.

—The District of Columbia had the highest shares of people who were missed, at 2.2 percent. West Virginia had the highest over-count of its population, at 1.4 percent.2

Polls and the census are useful tools; but they are merely tools, not truths. Political ads are useful tools; but,they are merely tools not truths. Too often these tools are being used to tell us “Montagues” are bad. Unfortunately, that messaging leaves us with no good choices. Such a paradigm undermines our faith in our  political system.

What can we do? Look at the record of accomplishments for each candidate;is it broad and deep,or narrowly focused? Watch how each candidate plays to a specific audience; does he factually present his record, or play on people’s fears and racism? How do the candidate’s surrogates describe their candidate; with a recitation of the factual record of each candidate, or with an ad hominem attack on their candidate’s opponent? Does the candidate talk down to voters, or respect them as equals? Does the candidate acknowledge our current situation in a realistic manner, or in a bombastic fashion?

Whom do we trust to assess candidates? Not political ads. Not polls. Not news analysts. Not all these buzzards! Trust yourself. Use your head. Set aside the stupidity of thinking a person is bad because of his name, the color of his skin, or even his party affiliation. Look for truth. Feel it in your gut. Replace fear with knowledge. Learn to know the candidates as well as you know your self; even if it means you have to learn to know your self first! This is your country. This is your election. Own it.

  1. http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2012/05/dan-rather-worst-presidential-campaign-124418.html
  2. http://hosted2.ap.org/OHCOL/0798b35a2b9245c790110b1366b5cc82/Article_2012-05-22-Census%20Accuracy/id-51befaeae7d3442c967b4e951b5466e5

Poll Links:

http://www.nationalpolls.com/obama/independents.html

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/elections/

http://electoral-vote.com/

http://www.politico.com/2012-election/presidential-polls/

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May 23, 2012 · 6:11 pm

THE WINTER OF OUR DISCONTENT IS OVER

THE WINTER OF OUR DISCONTENT IS OVER

Louise Annarino

May 21, 2012

Memorial day is just ahead, a time to remember those who filled a place in our hearts and minds we had no way to access on our own. Now, they have gone to a world we do not know but hope and long for, depending on our faith to bring us home. Whether we are Christian,Muslim,Hindu or Jew,agnostic or atheist, we can each identify with E.T.’s solemn entreaty to the children who loved him as he pointed skyward, “E.T. go home?” When those we love leave us it becomes winter in our souls. We are discontented, anxious, even angry. We say things we do not mean, statements indicate more about what we fear than what is true about those who left us. It is a winter of discontent.

Many Americans are in their gardens.The bird feeder is full, the bird bath in use, the compost spread. They spend time weeding, identifying the reborn perennials, dividing and moving them, and planting new seed. They do not ask if their plants like the spot they have chosen for them, but the plants will tell them with drooping stem or browning leaf edge. After a winter of discontent, anxious for the sun’s return, often angry over slick roads and crazy drivers, we find peace in our gardens. Spring brings hope for increased growth and abundance, a richness of color and diversity after a long grey-spell.

We have been through a winter of discontent with our political leaders,as well. Anxious over the excessive use of the filibuster by Senate Republicans, the deliberate block of Democratic House bills and appointments in Republican-led House committees which keeps President Obama’s legislative agenda locked away in committees to prove to us his promised change is a farce, the ease with which both Democratic and Republican parties cozy up to lobbyists and media, and the dead on arrival gridlock make us angry.

No one is satisfied with where we are as a nation. We are in winter’s grip even as we face a new political season, a new spring seems impossible. There is a calculation in play, a deliberate disorder to the natural ebb and flow of our political seasons. A Republican Party strategy was being designed even while President Obama was being sworn in on Inauguration Day.1  The Washington,D.C. garden of governance was being put to bed for the winter, a winter meant to last for the next 4 years.But, we cannot truly be without hope. Surely, we nation of farmers who tamed a wilderness, the world’s breadbasket, we who sing of “amber waves of grain” understand that after the winter comes the spring.

Much of the work by a gardener is unseen, testing and amending the soil to prepare for seeding, researching and reviewing past and future gardening practices, noting weather fluctuations and expected weather events, anticipating new technologies, finding the money to buy the best tools, incorporating new practices into old routines, preparing the beds, choosing the seed. Much of governance is unseen. It is just as tedious as gardening. Each can result in great productivity and abundance. We know when a gardener is on the right track. We can see the garden greening as plants begin to grow. But, watching plants grow can be as boring as watching paint dry. We really only understand how much progress has been made at the summer season’s close, when the garden has passed its zenith. That day is in the future. Neither the Obama administration’s accomplishments, nor our gardens are yet in full swing. For example, The Affordable Care Act does not become fully implemented until 2014. Growing a health care financing system which combines private/public sector efforts across 50 states with diverse delivery of care constructs, increased services, updated technology, best-practices and most cost-effective reviews etc. takes time. A gardener understands growth does not happen overnight. A gardener does not lose hope when change comes slowly.

This presidential race is not about change; change is occurring. It is about the direction of change. We can decide to govern using the same practices which nearly destroyed our garden of state and the entire world’s economy; or, we can move forward with the vision Barack Obama has for the sustained growth of this nation and its ability to offer the promise of abundance for all of its citizens. The difference between the candidates could not be more pronounced. The choice is backward or forward.

Furthermore,as Benjamin Byron points out, “…there is something rather odd going on in this presidential race. The Republican candidates — currently interested in courting conservative voters interested in shrinking the size of government, reducing debt and deficit, and reducing the tax burdens on individuals and corporations — have all submitted proposals that would, in most cases, increase deficits and debt over the next 10 years. Surprisingly, it is President Barack Obama’s budget proposal that has received the best scoring on reducing the debt-to-GDP ratio over the next 10 years.” 2

America was once untamed wilderness, and Libertarians such as Ron Paul revel in the freedom of the wilderness. There is a place for wilderness in each of our lives, and in a part of our garden. But, wilderness is a frightful task-master, and most of us are not up to its challenges. Too many would be left to struggle and die alone in the wilderness suggested by Mr. Paul. Civilization arose when wilderness was tamed. This is the role of government: to tame the wilderness.

When I visited Hilton Head, S.C. the first time I was appalled by the manicured, faux-garden island. It’s beauty left no room for spontaneous growth and abundance, no allowance for divergence of color or form. Like Mitt Romney, it seemed stilted and stuffy, with a controlled appearance meant to calm and orchestrate one’s compliance with the norm. We each need such places of calm in our lives and in our gardens; but, we need freedom to explore and ignite ideas which upset the norm in order to grow abundantly.

The best gardeners are those who take time to test the soil, feel the wind, learn the lay of the land and research what grows best given current conditions. The best gardeners are those who experiment to see what actually works, moving and adapting plants and treatments to get the strongest, most productive plants for sustained success, even if it takes a lot more work and a little more time. They don’t mind getting dirty, hot and sweaty; looking bad to make good on the promise of a healthy future for the garden and for the country. They leave room for wilderness to ignite our dreamers. They create spots of calm certainty for our most staid thinkers. They are the hope for our country and for our civilization. They are those who garden the middle ground. President Obama is the one candidate who can create such a garden of governance.

1.Method to Republican ‘Madness‘,May 5,2012,Consortiumnews.com, By Robert Parry (Originally published March 31, 2010) http://consortiumnews.com/2012/05/05/method-to-republican-madness/

2. Barack Obama Debt Plan Reduces Deficit While All Other Republican Candidates Increase Deficit, Polycymic, Next Generation News and Politics, Business, National Debt, by Benjamin Byron,  http://www.policymic.com/articles/4895/barack-obama-debt-plan-reduces-deficit-while-all-other-republican-candidates-increase-deficit 

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May 18, 2012 · 2:00 pm

TIMEKEEPER: FOREWARD

TIMEKEEPER: FORWARD

Louise Annarino

May 18, 2012

 

Who keeps the time

to say

when change

is on the way ?

Or marks the place

we stand

where change

meets new demands?

Or opens the book

which tells

which change

expands and swells?

Or fills the gap

between

which change

remains unseen?

 

Who is this time

keeper

Of mutual discourse,

Of unfulfilled promises,

and half-way-there schemes

which lack the votes or means

to reach the goals we set

together once?

Was it less than four years ago?

It seems so

much longer when

we went to vote

for better times and thought

we could rely on

One another to reach across

the aisles, for once.

 

Who is this time

keeper

staunch and loyal

president

who remains faithful

to the pledge

that time is on

Our side

with history pointing the way

and setting the pace

despite those who place

Obstacles in our way

to stop the metronome

and stand in the way

to delay progress

until election day?

Vote OBAMA! Keep time by marching forward together.

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May 10, 2012 · 8:03 am

ABUSERS AND ENABLERS CAMPAIGN TOGETHER

ABUSERS AND ENABLERS CAMPAIGN TOGETHER

Louise Annarino

May 10, 2012

 

I received the following e-mail tonight: “Louise: Thank you for all the e-mails with information on the campaign you have sent us and others over the past 4 years. You kept us well informed. Unfortunately, Pres. Obama publicly admitted today his preference for same-sex marriages, (emphasis mine) which prevents us now to vote for him. So, please take us from your distribution list.” I must not have understood President Obama. I did not hear him say he preferred same-sex marriage. I am certain Mrs. Obama would have been surprised to learn of her husband’s preference, from these former Obama supporters. http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/09/politics/obama-same-sex-marriage/index.html

 

The President, like many others, has struggled with his own perceptions, misconceptions, and stereotypes of those who are gay,lesbian,bi-sexual or transgender (LGBT), His past reluctance is even more poignant given his racial heritage. There are those who say he should have known better, having experienced prejudice himself. Others are grateful he was willing to openly engage in the struggle to face down his own prejudices. His journey is one we can all learn from.

 

It is 2:34 a.m. I could not sleep and decided to write. I found the above note as I first sat down at my computer. I had not intended to write about the president’s announcement. I had been thinking I would write about the similarities between the way we treat President Barack Obama and how an abuser treats his victim. The above e-mail fits right in to the puzzle that is abuse.

 

Few of us are strangers to abuse and bullying. If we have not personally been abused, we are close to someone who has been. It is never easy to be the victim, nor to be close to a victim. An abused person seeks to escape the abuse in many ways: denial, deflection, perfection-seeking, appeasement, depression, hostility, violence against self and against others, even suicide. To get close to a victim and stay close is a struggle indeed. It is hard to watch someone be slapped mentally, physically, emotionally – often all three. It is harder to the one slapped.

 

So many have told me over the past few months that they can no longer watch television news programs, nor read the newspaper, nor read on-line missives which contain one demeaning slap against President Obama after another. Even liberal commentators on MSNBC spend much of their programming discussing the attacks. There is no escaping the hateful distortions of his record, personal beliefs, character and leadership. There is no escaping the outright lies meant to undermine the country’s confidence in him. The bullies cannot even credit him with the death of Osama Bin Laden, the resurrection of the auto industry, the steady creation of jobs, the lower cost of health care, the investment in green energy, the increased production and glut of oil and gas since he took office. These abusers credit him with nothing, not even his humanity. They hide their racism behind their abuse. No wonder it is hard to watch. No wonder we cringe in distaste.

 

Obama supporters know the attacks are meant to not only act as cover for those who oppose the president, and seek to destroy his presidency and his historical record; but, are also meant to turn his supporters away from him, to make any close contact with him so unbearably hard to stomach that even his supporters cannot approach him or his campaign. This is classic abuser behavior: Separate then attack,repeat,repeat,repeat. We see it. We know it. We hate it. We avoid it; and, in so doing doing we fail our president, our country and our selves.

 

An abuser is charming. He disarms any potential supporters of his victim with a story-line upon which he acknowledges a commonality with the victim’s friends and family. His remarks appear innocent; hidden behind his smile and slight chuckles is a comment assuming shared agreement with the victim’s poor behavior. He assures friends and family he does not blame them for the victim’s shortcomings. At the beginning of the abusive relationship, both the victim and supporters strive to please the abuser, catering to his whims, reaching “across the aisles” to make everyone feel better about what is fast becoming a “situation”, a falsity created by the abuser to separate the victim from his support group. By the time the supporters get suspicious, and uncomfortable enough to express their doubts about the abuser’s veracity, supporters have already ostracized the victim. Media personalities awoke too late to the abuse game being played out in public view.

 

African-Americans, Native-Americans, and others are not so easily duped. After all, they have been victimized by abusers for over 200 years. They understand the methodology of abuse and oppression. When I voice my outrage to white supporters they too often express a desire to avoid the election entirely. When I express my outrage to African-Americans they often tell me “shoot, this is nothing new; if my people got this upset every time, they would have committed mass suicide! You got to be tough.” They offer this wisdom, “Only white people can afford to get upset; we got to survive!” Those who think African-American voters will avoid voting for President Obama because of today’s announcement, do not understand the strength and wisdom of African-Americans to face down abusers. White supporters need to “get tough” and face them down, too.

 

We are right to feel uncomfortable. We are correct when we acknowledge the abusive behavior. We are justified in saying, “I can’t stand anymore of this!” but, we are wrong to abandon the victim so we can feel comfortable again. None of us should feel comfortable so long as any of us is being abused. That is why President Obama changed his position regarding same-sex marriage. Knowing members of the LGBT community continue to be abused made him more uncomfortable than his own discomfort with same-sex marriages, and his concern of potential political fall-out. He put aside his discomfort and chose to take the courageous path. It is time we all do so.

 

It is time we all acknowledge the abuse of others sanctioned by law, the ongoing victimization occurring daily in our local communities, and the abuse being heaped upon a president who continues to “do the right thing” while abusers attempt to undermine and destroy his every effort on our behalf, his personal integrity, even his personal safety. If you have ever suffered abuse or bullying you can see it as clearly as I can. It can keep us up at night, but it cannot stop us from supporting the LGBT community and President Obama.

 

 

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May 9, 2012 · 5:50 pm

GARDENING A SWING STATE

GARDENING A SWING STATE

Louise Annarino

May 9, 2012

 

It’s cooler today after the heavy rains that soaked my new garden beds. The 88 degree days have subsided; humidity lies like a blanket of clouds over the newly-planted tomatoes. It seems a bit risky for tomato planting, despite the burgeoning evidence that Spring arrived very early this year. It is often hard for the mind to shut out the negativity of hail, wind, snow and ice storms of past Mays. Yet, Ohioans are changing their mind-set, little by little, forced to do so or be left behind in getting their crops to market. Ohioans won’t let changing weather patterns stop their forward progress. Ohio has become a swing-state despite its conservative history; maybe, because of it.

 

In the past,late freezes often occurred in Ohio. Ohioans tend to be conservative gardeners. No root crops planted before the oak tree puts out leaves the size of a mouse’s ear. No flowers or green crops put out before the last official freeze date, which gets earlier every year.Ohioans play it safe doing what they know works, taking few risks, and turning out crops to feed the nation year after year: corn,wheat,soy beans,canola,tomatoes,peppers,pumpkins, and more.

 

Most family farms have been corporatized. We now farm chickens and eggs in tiny cages, in huge barns. Driving mile after mile, we now we see farm field after farm field turning canola flower yellow.  Diversity within a single farm is nearly obsolete. These corporate practices require greater applications of more and more  chemicals, which run off fields into our streams, our small lakes, and our Great Lake resulting in huge algae blooms which  sicken swimmers and kill fish. Chemical companies provide more chemicals to treat the algae blooms. Conservative Ohioans know it is better to prevent a problem rather than treat it after; “A stitch in time, saves nine.” But, chemical companies have lobbyists who pay better than organic farmers, gardeners, and environmentalists.

 

At the same time, backyard farming has taken hold in our cities. Smaller organic farms and dairies are emerging. Farmers’ markets are flourishing. Local restaurants serve locally grown crops, and meat from locally raised, free-range chickens or grass-fed animals. The old is new again in Ohio. Corporations are not people, so have no life-principles, nor historical memory to guide their actions. But Ohio’s people do. And they are swinging back to policies and practices they learned from their farming and immigrant grandparents. Smaller is not always less; and, is often better because a smaller enterprise’s growth can be more closely regulated and controlled for greater productivity and more positive outcomes. Ohioans are not against regulations which protect commerce, banking and investing any more than they oppose regulations to protect the soil, air and water. They are not against gas and oil wells; they are against destroying our water supply by unregulated drilling practices. One can see well heads on farms all across the state, many of which supply energy for the local farmer whose field it sits upon.They are not against wealth accumulation; they are against unregulated and unscrupulous seekers of wealth, who destroy our middle class for their personal gain.

 

Ohioans have a history of shared community; of seeing the larger community as a living being entitled, as well as obligated, to the care of each member. Family farmers care for their own, and for their neighbors. Barn-raisings involve an entire community, sometimes for several days. No disaster is faced alone in an Ohio town. We see fewer farm towns today, but we see their remnants in our caring communities: races for “cures”, change jars on store check-out counters for struggling families, “battles of the bands” for town disasters etc. Ohioans care for one another, as best they can.

 

This is why the messages against “big government” are so insidious and so wrong-headed. The only way to make Ohioans, who are so community focused, believe them is to baldly lie that government is our enemy;and that government is taking away our money, our civil rights, our religion,our very means of survival, and our abillity to  care for one another. The truth is that for every $1.00 dollar Ohio sends as tax to the federal government it receives back $1.05 in return. Ohioans are actually getting more of their money than they give. 1

 

The federal government is the entity which protects our civil rights. Have we forgotten the Civil War? Jim Crow Laws? Anti-Miscegenation laws? Segregated schools? The Civil Rights Act of 1963?  Title VII and Title IX?  Repeal of “Don’t Ask,Don’t Tell”?  The federal government alone was able to assure civil rights protection so that slaves could be freed, African-Americans and women could vote,  African Americans could freely travel-eat in restaurants-get hospital care-drink from a drinking fountain, persons of different races could marry, children of different races could learn side-by-side, girls could play sports and be treated as equals to boys,age discrimination would not be tolerated,and everyone could serve and protect our towns, cities and nation openly and with respect. The government we are told to fear is the greatest protector of our civil right. Does this sound like your federal government is taking away your civil rights?

 

It is the federal government which grants religions tax exempt status so that church-raised dollars support only their religious tenets,not the larger community. And, it is federal dollars raised from American citizens of every religion, as well as from agnostics and atheists, which are given to religions for their “faith-based initiatives” which do serve the larger community. It is the federal government which protects those tax dollars received from all Americans from being used to promote the specific religion accepting the federal funds. This is what the Ist Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1791, intends by the following language: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”2  Anyone can pray in school at any time. Just don’t do it out loud. The schools are for students of any, or no religious belief; public schools are not religious schools. This does not mean public schools take away one’s religion, nor do they promote religion. This is in keeping with our Constitution. Does this sound like your federal government is threatening your religion’s existence?

 

It is the federal government which regulates the water,soil and air against corporate pollution which destroys are fishing industry, our agricultural product desirability, our own health. It is the federal government through the Affordable Care Act, ObamaCare, which regulates medical providers delivery of services against fraud and lowers the cost of services, which insists 80% of insurance premiums are used for medical care rather than corporate profit lowering the cost of heath care, demands no one is to be denied medical insurance due to pre-existing conditions. etc. Providing an environment and social structure to keep citizens healthy, lowers health care cost and promotes growth. Does this sound like your federal government is threatening your right to exist?

 

Ohioans are conservative farmers, gardeners, and citizens; but, they are fair and wise. Those who remember their history, who see through the BIG LIE about BIG GOVERNMENT, understand that S.B. 5’s intended purpose is to destroy unions, eliminate government workers, and undermine Democratic party support by such middle class workers;and they also see this attack actually undermines the Ohio tax base and  Ohio productivity, leads to increased foreclosures and bankruptcies, increases joblessness, and threatens Ohio’s economic recovery. It was the stimulus of federal government dollars which kept police, EMT’s, fire personnel, teachers and other essential public workers on the job despite the actions of Governor Kasich and the Republican-led Ohio legislature to reduce big government. Without “big government”,under President Obama’s federal leadership, the economic consequences for Ohio of Kasich’s small government would have been even more devastating.

 

In the weeks and months to come, as we fight off the pests attacking our fields  and gardens, we will also fight off the pests who sponsor attack ads against “Big Government”, President Obama, and Democratic candidates. These pests have also attempted to destroy conservative Republican candidates such as Lugar, and those like  Snowe and others who declined to run rather than face Tea Party Republican attacks. We can’t ignore such attacks in our gardens, nor in this election. We grassroots gardeners must prepare and amend our soil to strengthen our plants and our minds to withstand such assaults.

 

President Obama has wisely stated that this election could make the difference for the survival or failure of our middle class, of those farmers and gardeners who toil their own crops and tend their own fields, and support their own communities within their middle class means and with their middle class value that we care for one another. We believe in the goodness of community, the power of pulling together and helping others who need our help. We don’t blame the farmer for a lost crop during times of drought or flood. President Obama and the current Democratic candidates don’t blame the middle class for corporate greed and de-regulation by past administrations and elected officials which led to economic disaster. President Obama, who has sought repeatedly to find a hand to hold across political aisle, does know whom to blame: small-minded people  who promote reducing government  oversight in order to amass great wealth through de-regulation, the  people who created the lie of “big government is your enemy.”

 

It is not big government we must fear, but the wrong government. Vote for President Obama. Give him a  congress which will protect the famers and gardeners, the middle class, the true conservatives of small towns and big cities who swing with the sun and rain to protect their crops. The rest of us! Gardening in a swing state ? Ohioans know how to  do that!

 

1.http://visualeconomics.creditloan.com/united-states-federal-tax-dollars/ , V E, Visual Economics

2.http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#Am1

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May 6, 2012 · 2:04 pm

AFTER THE HONEYMOON

http://photos.mercurynews.com/2012/05/super-moon-shines-on-as-brightest-and-closest-of-2012/10379/#7

AFTER THE HONEYMOON

Louise Annarino

May 6, 2012

Yesterday’s moon appeared 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than normal full moons as it passed closest to earth  all year. As our orbits grow farther apart, and the  light of reflected sun dims, will the moon be any less a presence in the night sky? Or only our perception of it as we look at it from narrower angles? Does such sudden appearance of a moon larger than we can imagine after months and years of only giving the sky an occasional glance while we go about our  daily routines diminish the moon, or us?

In the bottom cavern of my Mom Angela’s china closet, was a stack of photo albums on the right, and a cardboard whiskey box chock full of photos on the left. The photos in albums always seemed more precious for the effort Mom made to enshrine them for posterity. Four triangular holders encased the corners of each photo. They had to be licked before pasting the edges of each photo onto the black pages. It was a work of art;black and white photos against the black page,starkly elegant. This took time, so what was so special about these photos?

The photos in the albums were of my parents when they first met during the war, of each others family members standing with them in first introductions, of days spent at the beach on Staten Island when my Dad Angelo had a few hours leave, of Angelo and his sailor buddies while stationed in Honolulu, of Angelo aboard ship, of Angelo and Angela’s childhood events: first communions, confirmations, graduations; and, of simple things like Angelo riding a bike, Angela and her younger sister Millie eating ice cream cones.

These photos of my parents were 14% bigger and 30% brighter than the parents I knew in the flesh. They were the moments my parents first fell in love. They were on their honeymoon. They offered a glimpse of their true being, not parents, just  people in love with life and with one another. It was a new perspective for me. It was a honeymoon for me to look at those photos, and I looked at them every few weeks.

Mom would often end up sitting beside me before the open doors, the albums spread around me, one open on my lap. I enticed her by shouting questions to her as she worked in the kitchen. Soon, we were back in time, Mom’s face aglow as she remembered much more of her life before kids. Story after story unfolded and she became a glorious creature right before my eyes. I no longer saw her in a sauce splattered apron, hair pulled back, small brother clinging to her leg whining, an exasperated look at the clock moving too fast to get everything done on time. She became the fullness of being that was Angela, bigger and brighter than Mom.

I would corner Dad with an album, climbing on his lap to make him take it seriously and keep him from falling asleep in the chair. Running  a restaurant meant twelve hour days, six or seven days a  week. Dad usually fell asleep as soon as he hit the chair. But when he looked at the album, his first response was a happy chuckle. His tired eyes lit up, his grin awakened his spirit, his happy energy seeped from his body to mine. As he embellished the stories behind each photo, I learned about his youthful shenanigans not caught on film, how many planes he shot down during each battle he fought in the South Pacific, aboard a destroyer. How he was introduced to Mom and immediately asked her to dance; his first words to her, “I’m going to marry you.” He gave me his war medals,battle ribbons and bronze stars to keep in safety, sensing a kindred spirit in his lone daughter. He became the fullness of being that was Angelo,bigger and brighter than Dad.

Yesterday, as the moon was gathering its fullness, Ohio State University welcomed President Obama for his 2012 campaign kick-off. At such a huge rally,  President Obama appeared 14% bigger and 30% brighter than normal. He showed us his fullness of being. He has been the president for over 3 years now. We have come to view him from narrower angles. We have gone about our daily routines, giving him an occasional glance. Others have tried to cast a cloud over him, take pieces out of him, dim his light and reduce his impact on our nation and on our world. But, yesterday, we looked up and gave him our full attention, and we saw him as he is – a leader who understands the tides of war and peace, who pushes the economic flow with a subtlety of purpose that increases growth without eroding profitability and productivity, who monitors the winds and tides of our environment, who strives to keeps us healthy-educated-employed. He has done so since elected, turning back the destruction he found upon his ascendance to the presidency.

The work of the moon is sometimes imperceptible but inexorable. The work of President Obama is often the same. He keeps moving us forward in the right direction, despite sustained opposition of other forces. At yesterday’s rally, we took out the photo album and rejoiced together. We each recalled the honeymoon of 2008 and the inauguration. Life got complicated after that. Reality set in, we each got busy. We lost track of the larger vision. The 2012 campaign is a chance to shine some light on what we have accomplished, where President Obama has taken us, how far we have yet to go. But, we can now see it more clearly and act with more confidence in him, and in ourselves.

The honeymoon is over; let the real work begin. Let’s knock on doors, make phone calls, register voters, get them proper I.D., get them to the polls. Let’s win this election!

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May 5, 2012 · 1:16 am

FORGET GEORGE III; WE ARE AMERICANS NOW

FORGET GEORGE III; WE ARE AMERICANS NOW

Louise Annarino

May 4,2012

All over the country local grassroots groups like the Worthington Area Democratic Club (WADC) are restructuring activities to campaign on warp speed, as illustrated by the following memo:

Instead of holding our usual WADC monthly meeting on Wednesday, May 16, we have decided to ask our friends and members to volunteer to assist the Worthington area Obama For America campaign, headed by Lucie Pollard and Glenda Overbeck.

Their contact information is as follows:

Lucie Pollard” <pollard_Lucretia@hotmail.com>, 785-1843

Glenda Overbeck” <goverbeck@wowway.com>, 436-3229

We also will be continuing our collection of petition signatures for placing the anti-gerrymandering amendment on the November ballot.  Lucie Pollard is coordinating this.

Individual campaigns for Senator Sherrod Brown, Cong. candidate Jim Reese  and HD 21 candidate Donna O’Connor are looking for volunteers.

Their contact information is as follows:

Sen. Sherrod Brown” info@sherrodbrown.com

Jim Reese” info@reeseforcongress.com

Donna O’Connor” oconnorforohio@gmail.com

We expect to get back to our regular WADC meetings in June.

Thank you for your support!

Mike

Wherever you are, whoever you are, ask yourself one thing: Do you support the failed policies of:

– de-regulation of Wall Street, banks, corporations, environment, food safety,   education.

– 15% tax rate on hedge fund, commodities, and investment traders’ income.

– lowest tax rate in history on regular income of wealthiest citizens.

– 15% tax rate on those living on investment income rather than labor income.

    • legislative attack on women’s health, income parity, wages, privacy, and care of their infants and toddlers.
    • increasing health care premiums, deductibles, costs without accountability to  consumers.
    • return to extreme fees and punitive rate increases on ATM use and credit cards.
    • reduction of PELL grants, Stafford Loans, and other student financial aid vehicles; and, increase in interest rates on same; and, privatization of student loan programs which rewards banks over students.
    • denial of health care insurance coverage due to pre-existing conditions.
    • reduction in medicaid benefits for the poorest disabled and children among us.
    • elimination of LGBT civil rights: to join military, engage in civil unions, visit partners in hospitals, share financial wealth while alive and access the wealth of an estate upon death, etc.
    • return to benign neglect at best and outright racist legislative policies governing African-American, Latino, Asian, Arabic and other people of color.
    • oppressive immigration policies which fail to consider humanity of the immigrant, rights and needs of their children born in USA, and labor needs of America’s businesses, innovative ideas from new cultural infusion.
    • ignorance and disdain for the developmental stages of childhood, and the diversity of learning styles; continued “teaching to the test” instead of “teaching to the child”.
    • elimination of unions which are the engine driving increased wealth within the middle class, increasing GNP and productivity of American companies.
    • foreign affairs based on “my way or the highway” philosophy rather than on informed and thoughtful presidential leadership, favors war over limited police actions, does not avail itself of latest technological advances, ignores privacy and civil rights of detainees etc.,would willingly violate Geneva Convention’s ban on torture.
    • privatization, underfunded vouchers replacing guaranteed medicare.
    • risky 401Ks to replace social security contributions for young workers, underfunding guaranteed benefits for oder retirees.
    • appointment of more Supreme Court Justices who think corporations are human beings.

This list is not comprehensive, but should at least explain why we must do several things:

1.Re-elect President Barack Obama. We need his continued pragmatic wisdom and  leadership.

2.Elect Democratic candidate to the U.S.House of Representatives.

3.Elect Democratic candidate to the U.S. Senate.

4.Elect Democratic candidates to the State House and State Senate.

5.Elect Democratic judges.

We do not do this to “Take back our country,” as Republicans constantly assail us. We do it to take control of the Senate, take back the House and keep the presidency. This is not about taking  back or losing our country; it is about taking or losing political office. Those are two very different things and indicate why the Republican point of view has become so toxic and does not serve us well. In years past the rallying cry for each party was “take back the House, the Senate, the Presidency!” Now, for Republicans it is “Take back the country!”.

We don’t lose our country when our party loses an election, and others take control. It is still ours. We don’t lose our religion when religion has no political control over us. Our religion, and that of each believer, is still ours. We don’t lose our freedom and civil rights when we lose a political race; but, the Republican leadership believe we do.

I don’t want a party in control which believes those outside the party must lose their freedom and their rights as citizens, should they lose a political race. That kind of “freedom” is not what our military fights to protect. That is not the political system our founding fathers created. If we wanted an aristocracy of the 1%, religious control of our laws and institutions, and a government which recognized only its own rights and not those of the citizenry we could have just continued to be ruled by George III and the Church of England.

But we are Americans. Republicans who remember this, Independents who firmly hold to this, and Democrats who are struggling to keep this truth must do all we can to make it possible for a re-elected President Obama to enact his forward looking policies into law. He needs a Democratically controlled House and Senate. We need to help make it happen. Even if you have only a limited amount of time and energy, when you join with others, the power to keep moving forward is unstoppable. Good-bye George III, once and for all.

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May 2, 2012 · 5:55 pm

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

Louise Annarino

May 2, 2012

 

Is it just me, or do you also find yourself surprised by talking heads’ commentaries? I often wonder if the commentator just watched the same speech or event I did. Our take-aways are usually quite different. Last night was no exception.

 

Earlier in the day, I watched president Obama and President Karzai  of Afghanistan sign a long-term strategic partnership agreement, President Obama acknowledging as he did so that there would be “difficult days ahead”; but, “By the end of 2014, the Afghans will be fully responsible for the security of their country.” This month NATO meets in Chicago and is expected to endorse a proposal to support a “strong and sustainable long-term Afghan force” (Obama).

 

Soon after, the president met with US troops at Bagram Air Force Base and addressed them with compassion and forthrightness. “I know the battle’s not yet over. Some of your buddies are going to get injured and some of your buddies may get killed and there will be heartbreak and pain and difficulty ahead. But there’s light on the horizon because of the sacrifices you’ve made.” He ended, “I could not be prouder to be your commander-in-chief.”

 

A few hours later, President Obama addressed the nation and the world in a more formal manner. “I will not keep Americans in harm’s way a single day longer than is absolutely required for our national security,” Mr Obama said. “But we must finish the job we started in Afghanistan, and end this war responsibly.” This is nearly identical language to that he used when he announced he would withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq. About 23,000 of the 88,000 US troops currently in the country are expected to leave Afghanistan by the summer, with all US and Nato combat troops out by the end of 2014.

The agreement President Obama signed promises Afghanistan an on-going partnership, just as he pledged a strong and enduring partnership with the government in Iraq.

Seemed pretty clear to me that we are positioning ourselves for major troop withdrawl ongoing economic and structural support, continued military monitoring and force intervention to prevent a resurgence of Al Quaeda, as we did in Iraq. Is it a clean end like WWII? No, but we are engaged in different struggle for survival; one calling more for strong policing than for traditional military maneuvers.

Then, the media begins its spin, arguing as Chuck Todd, with his cynical smile, body language of disgust, and obvious prejudice in a truly exceptional Mr. Darcy pose that anyone who believes what the president said is simply “naive”. He and others continue today to insist President Obama’s trip, speech and the signed agreement are merely political. Of course they are political, but there is no merely  about it. When two heads of state and NATO agree after months of negotiation to chart a course for continued partnership and mutual security that is a political act. That is why we HAVE a president, to represent our best interest and negotiate relationships with the rest of the world. TO BE POLITICAL. The reason we televise their speeches and appearances is because we believe in transparency, not because it is an election year, and not because our president is self-serving.

Does Barack Obama hope to be re-elected? Of course. Is he campaigning? Of course. But he is also about our business at home and abroad. The man is simply doing his job; the job a strong majority of us elected him to do. And, he is doing it very well. Those prejudiced against him may find that too much to bear. They would, if they could, deprive those of us who support President Obama of our pride in him.

President Obama will bring our troops home, with a sense of responsibility to Afghans who tolerated our presence on their soil for much longer than they should have had to do so, thanks to president Bush’s inattention to the Afghans. Packaging lies to our congress and to us citizens, President Bush opened a second front in Iraq and abandoned the effort to find and kill Osama bin Laden. He asserted, as Mitt Romney asserted, that getting one man was not all that important. It is estimated President Obama has eliminated 30 of the 40 leaders of Al Quaeda , and we can expect that effort to continue. President Obama understands that simply eliminating the leadership is not enough, we must also offer respectful support and partnership to a country mired in such poverty, hopelessness, and shame that its anger leads to re-emergence of such leaders.

President Obama will bring our troops home, with a sense of responsibility to our troops and to their families. He and Mrs. Obama are leading efforts to assure they receive health care, education benefits, consumer protection, and to prevent the plight of homelessness. This is not a cynical, but a loving president. He is proud to be our commander-in-chief and we should be proud of him.

 

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