Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category

The 100 Days Overkill of President Obama

Thursday, April 30th, 2009

http://www.deconstructingthenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/obama-100-days.jpg

April 29th has been a hell of a day, with every news network killing themselves with the 100 day milestone of President Obama.  Don’t get me wrong, I like Barack Obama and what he stands for, but I do not recall all these daily milestones for any other president, but I guess things in our society have become so "instant" that we have become addicted to constant updates, with Twitter, Myspace, Facebook and every other social network and tracking platform on the web.  I think people are beginning to tire of all the media over-saturation with him and the markers… Even the President himself ranted on about "the 100 days and the next 100 days" in his address tonight.  There’s nothing wrong with analyzing what the President has done and is doing, but people should be able to form their own opinions based on what has been reported and known of his actions.

Overall, with all of the positive and negative press, President Obama receives on television, online, print and radio, I think he has done an exceptional job.  And my main reason for saying this is because he has shown the American people and the rest of the world, that a US President is human being, just like them.  He shows compassion and understanding and chooses to listen, before speaking.  I really give him a great deal of credit for his re-shaping of perception of Americans.  Being a Canadian, I grew up hearing and seeing that American people could be some arrogant and cocky individuals, but I let a lot of that slide, because the arena was sports related and they were 9 times out of 10, better than we were in every way.  As I got older, I started to see that these attitudes were not only related to sports but many other areas, where America didn’t have the upper hand that they did with sports.  Barack Obama is showing Americans that things can be achieved with out beating your chest and saying how great you are.  Everyone that hasn’t been living under a rock knows that America is a "super-power" when it comes to world affairs and if you don’t know, just take a look at who everyone looks to for help when their country is in crisis. 

The public just needs to realize that Barack Obama is a man, not a miracle working.  He is not going to be able to change the way that politicians operate overnight or even in his first term as President.  The old ways of reciprocal back-scratching to get things done is going to be a hard system to break and with far right Conservatives offering criticism rather than solutions, they are only making things more difficult in the long run.

Continued success, President Obama, don’t let anyone change your sense of responsibility to your fellow man.  If you’ve made a mistake, own up to it like you’ve done in the past.  No one expects you to be perfect, but we are all appreciating your honesty.

See you in the next 100 days or so!

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President Obama : 50 Days in.

Tuesday, March 10th, 2009

President Obama - 50 days in As I mentioned before, I listen to radio shows of Presidents harshest critics quite a bit.  Rush, Hannity and the insane Mark Levin (although I can only stomach him before has has his daily “spaz” attack), but I think it is always a good idea to hear what people have to say, whether you agree with it or not.  It helps to give you a different perspective, may change your views and if nothing else, give you more reasons to know you are on the right course for yourself. 

All of these daily milestones for the president don’t make a lot of sense to me, because many of the actions and decisions of a president do not have an immediate impact.  Having said that, they can be used as a gauge of promises made during a presidential campaign.  The website PolitiFact has done just that.  They have compiled a list of more than 500 promises President Obama made on the campaign trail and they are keeping track of what has been done to make them a reality or if they have been broken entirely. 

Here’s a snapshot of  President Obama’s progress:

The Obameter Scorecard

    1. Promise Kept17
    2. Compromise7
    3. Promise Broken2
    4. Stalled2
    5. In the Works39
    6. No Action – 446

via PolitiFact

Not that politicians are known for keeping their promises, I think Barack Obama will do the best he can to shape an America that is a little more compassionate and understanding.  I think he truly understands that it’s not all about the “haves” and “have nots”, it’s about giving everyone an equal opportunity to do the best for themselves, their families and their country.  I’ll wait for the 4 year milestone and see if President Obama is elected for a second term to really determine if he’s doing what the voting masses want.

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Waiting for Obama tickets that didn’t exist.

Monday, February 9th, 2009

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Driving out to the Harborside Event Center at about 2 am, I had a bad feeling about the 1500 tickets that were being given away for President Obama’s town hall style meeting in Fort Myers, Florida on February 10.  As I arrived, it was obvious that I was too late. There were quite a few hundred people already in the line, with their blankets, tents, coolers and everything they needed to stay for the duration; at 9 am the ticket counter opened.  Their spirits seemed to be high, because they were going to have an opportunity to see Barack Obama in person.  Going with my gut, an injured shoulder and it being a might chilly, I headed back home. I just didn’t think there were going to be enough tickets to go around.

To my surprise, I watched the news this morning and heard that people in positions of 150 to 180 did not receive tickets.  Now, I’m no mathematician, but 2 tickets per person from 1500 tickets should mean that people at least to the 700 person mark, should have received their free tickets.

It sadly became apparent that 1500 tickets were never available to the general public.  I have no problem with Democratic volunteers receiving tickets, but politicians and news media personnel?  The bottom line however is that the people who put out the number of 1500 tickets were wrong in doing so.  I know people want to try and blame President Obama for this, but please use your head.  Do you think Obama was directly involved with the ticket process for this or any event?  I think he has bigger fish to fry.  And from what I see in him as a man, he will not be very happy when he does hear about what happened with this ticket fiasco and his trip to Fort Myers.  I totally understand the anger and frustration of people that waited for hours, when there was no chance of them receiving tickets.

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The Fairness Doctrine? Really???

Tuesday, November 18th, 2008

http://www.cultureandmediainstitute.org/specialreports/2008/Fairness_Doctrine/Images/CMI_FairnessDoctrine_Front.JPGI’ve been hearing all about this “Fairness Doctrine” on the radio now that all of the election buzz is over.  What is this “fairness doctrine”  you ask?  Here is what Wikipedia has to say.

The Fairness Doctrine was a policy of the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that required the holders of broadcast licenses to present controversial issues of public importance and to do so in a manner that was honest, equitable, and balanced. The United States Supreme Court upheld the Commission’s general right to enforce such a policy where channels were limited, but the courts have generally not ruled that the FCC is obliged to do so. In 1987, the FCC abolished the Fairness Doctrine, prompting some to urge its reintroduction through either Commission policy or Congressional legislation.

I also found an interesting article from Fred Langemark III about it and I couldn’t agree with him more. I think unbiased media is an oxymoron these days, but I do think that it is a bad idea to try and start restricting what can be said and by who. There are so many ways to find information in today’s world that as individuals, each of us should be able to decide who we want to listen to and be able to find our own facts.  I listen to Rush & Sean when I’m in the car, but I disagree with 99% of the things they say… but to me it’s entertaining and I always find it interesting to hear the arguments and opinions of the extremists out there and then I am able to look at the facts and fiction and make my own decisions. Putting something like the fairness doctrine in place would make a lot of the people listened to in the media into liars and hypocrites, which some already are! Just leave that thing alone. People can choose what and who they want to listen to and if they want to blindly believe everything they hear, without their own investigation and fact checking, then they were lost in the first place.

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President Elect – Barack Obama!

Friday, November 7th, 2008

I would first like to say congratulations to Barack Obama and his family, Joe Biden and his family and a HUGE well-done to the Obama campaign organizers, staff and volunteers for running what will go down as being the best presidential campaign in U.S. history! November 4th, 2008 will forever be a historic date in U.S. History, when a black man was elected as the President of the United States of America.

When things started to heat up in race to be President of the United States, I did my best to keep my views and opinions away from this blog and trust me, it wasn’t always easy.

I wasn’t sure that Barack would win this election, with the huge obstacle of race to overcome and although people say and claimed race shouldn’t be an issue in this campaign, anyone in their right mind had to know it would be.  But even with that age-old hurdle to overcome, I am very happy to see that a majority of American voters were able to look passed the feable claims of Barack’s opponents, John McCain and Sarah Palin and vote for the candidate that they thought would be the most progressive and positive in leading America towards better times. And I know that John McCain doesn’t have many years left of service in the U.S. Senate, but in his remaining years he will have the opportunity of “reaching across the isle” and working with Barack Obama in making America better for all of its people.

As a black man, I am extremely proud of Barack Obama and what he has achieved.  It is a landmark achievement, but it is only the beginning of his journey.  And although many have made statements like “rascism is over”, I simply ask you to review some of polls that stated 20% to 30% of Americans stated that they could not vote for a black man regarldless of where he stands on the issues.  Unless that percentage of the population has magically vanished, rasicm will still be an issue in America, although my greatest hope is that black people around the world can now truly see that anything is possible.  It’s not going to be easy, there are going to great obstacles, opponents and naysayers, but if you persevere with respect, dignity and knowledge, what you want to achieve is possible.  This whole issue really hit home for me when speaking with the older generation about what they went through in the 1960′s before I was born and how they thought it would never be possible for America to elect a black man as President. As black parents, we constantly tell our kids how much harder they have to work, how they can be president some day and thanks to Barack Obama, black children now have a visible, tangible example that they can see and hear to verify what their parents have been telling them for years.

I with Barack Obama & Joe Biden all the best in their Presidency and although they are taking office at a very difficult time, I hope they will be able to stay true to their beliefs and not let the political machine run them over and compromise their values.

Like Barack Obama said, he needs all of our help to make America a better place.  So no matter your party, I hope we can all assist him in making America a better place for everyone.

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