In my last post I said that I would take some time to digest what I heard from President Obama’s speech on health care to a joint session of Congress. You know, the one that will be remembered for the guy from South Carolina yelling “you lie” at Obama when Obama pointed out that the health care legislation is not going to give “rights” to undocumented aliens. The “mainstream” of Washington have clearly repudiated the man, while Obama, as he usually does, casually accepted his totally insincere apology, and the right wing fringe, I’m assuming, are haling the guy as a hero. I briefly logged onto Rush Limbaugh’s website and Limbaugh was very upset that the Representative “apologized” even though he said he only did it because he was told to by the Republican leadership of the House. And the “beat goes on.”

First, tonight, I want to comment on that right wing fringe and then I’ll comment on Obama’s speech – neither of which am I too happy about after giving it some thought. I have been pointing out since before Obama officially became President that the right wing of the Republican party was composed largely of people who can’t “handle” a black person as President or Commander in Chief. They have been doing exactly what I said they would be doing which is trying to defeat Obama at every turn. They care more about him failing than for what’s good for the country. In fact, I believe they genuinely think that if a Black President “succeeds” they’ve “lost their country!” I’m not saying this to “pat myself on the back,” I’m saying it because if it was so obvious to me, I’m wondering why the President and his advisors seem to be so content to ignore this racist behavior. I’m really wondering about the illogic in many of President Obama’s decisions. Is it because he doesn’t want to stir these people up any more than he has to? Is he concerned about his own safety to the point that he’s trying to mollify them to some extent and still get his legislation through? I have no idea because there are many things that don’t add up.

This guy who blurted out the “you lie” comment should, at a minimum, be censored by Congress. Now, the Democrats have a huge majority in the house, so I’m wondering if they are going to take action, or if – as they’ve been doing since the elections of 2006 – they’re going to take the right action “off the table.” I’ve listened to a lot of Presidents stand before both houses of Congress and clearly lie without ANYONE EVER blurting out something like this guy. (and, based on what I’ve seen from the bill, Obama was actually telling the truth) Let’s just look at the recent past. I’ve always felt that someone SHOULD HAVE BLURTED THIS OUT when President Bush was lying us into the Iraq war and out of capturing Osama bin Laden. (Of course, most Republicans still don’t see the folly in that one) It is our history that Congressional members sit in respect when the President speaks in front of both houses of Congress. If they don’t like what’s being said, they just sit on their hands, while the other side does all the annoying clapping at every paragraph. But, of course, the more we learn about this particular Congressman, the more we realize the guy is an overt racist – so I guess it’s not too hard to figure out why his emotions “got the best of him” as he explained (during an add for campaign donations). President Obama can’t call this what it really is because he would then be accused of “playing the race card,” he has to rely on the leadership of Congress to do this.

But this is the same leadership that took “impeachment off the table” when everyone in the country knew that both the President and Vice President had committed “high crimes and misdemeanors.” This is the same leadership who allowed President Bush to send 30,000 additional troops into Iraq after the voters voted to get our troops out of Iraq in 2006. This is the same Congress that voted (along with then Senator Obama) to give a “free pass” to the telecom companies who had enabled GW Bush to violate the privacy rights of millions of Americans because they didn’t want to make “waves” during the “war on terror.” (the Bush administration became the terrorists after 9/11) This is the same Congress which is apparently going to come up with a health care bill that will mandate an additional 40+ million customers for the health insurance industry without giving me and ALL OTHER AMERICANS the choice of a medicare type “public option” because they can’t bring themselves to “cut off the hand that feeds them.” So, I don’t expect anyone in the Congress to censore this racist and “tell it like it is” because the Democrats in Congress seem to be just as afraid of Rush Limbaugh as the Republicans.

That gets me to the health care bill that President Obama was speaking about. I’ve heard many people say that it was his best speech yet. Well, it’s true, Obama seems to give one good speech after another. And, believe me, I fully think that President Obama is a good man, an excellent father and husband, and – in his own way – he’s trying to get something significant accomplished. And, I TRULY HOPE HE SUCCEEDS! I’m sure you can tell that there’s going to be a “however” thrown in. You’re right, and here it comes. After pondering what the President said, I’m convinced that there will either be NO PUBLIC OPTION or what they call a “public option” will be something that doesn’t even come close to what I – and millions of other Americans – are expecting as a public option. THE INSURANCE COMPANIES JUST WONT HAVE IT – and, if they won’t have it, then Congress “won’t have it” because they are in this for the money. Guys like Max Baucus have received so much money from the health insurance industry that they HAVE TO PROTECT THEIR CLIENTS. When you think about the fact that there are only 100 (actually 99 until they replace Teddy Kennedy) Senators, and the health care industry is spending 1.5 million dollars PER DAY to defeat the “public option” – well, it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out two things. OUR SYSTEM IS TOTALLY CORRUPT and we’re not going to get a “public option” that actually gives people like me a true “option.” Just as “We the people” vote our pocketbooks, SO DO MEMBERS OF THE SENATE!

President Obama himself said that any “public option” would be “only for people without health insurance.” He also said that it would only affect, at most, 5% of the people. In other words, there really won’t be any true “OPTION” to keep the insurance companies “honest.” Saying that – keeping them “honest” – is a joke in itself. That’s like saying that all of that money we threw at Wall Street is going to keep the investment bankers “honest” – and, therefore, we don’t need to pass a bunch of “stifling” regulations. And, what people are not talking about, is the fact that President Obama has already “negotiated” a deal with “big Pharma” for them to reduce their ripoff of the American people from something like 600 billion dollars by 80 billion. That’s supposed to be “health care reform.” I honestly believe that President Obama feels that any legislation is better than no legislation. I’m feeling that this health care debate is going to be Obama’s “Waterloo” as another of the racist South Carolina Congressmen called it, whether he gets the bill or not. Obama and the Democrats are being totally outmaneuvered by the Republicans – AND IT’S HARD TO WATCH!

So, in the interest of attempting to change my tone from 100% complaining to about 80%, I’ll suggest some alternatives – AGAIN! (the reason I’m getting so close to 100% complaining is because PRESIDENT OBAMA IS NOT LISTENING TO ME :o) I’ve said this OVER AND OVER AGAIN – but please if you have a connection to the White House – talk some sense into them. OBAMA HAS TO STOP PANDERING TO REPUBLICANS! This is a war!!! I’ve been saying this for too long, and I’m very concerned that President Obama is going to choose trying to mollify Republicans over doing what’s right for the American people. Regarding health care, the only Congressman out there (well, actually there’s more than one – but I’m talking about the leader “of the pack”) pushing something that will actually solve the problem is Dennis Kucinich (and his supporters) with the bill calling for a single payer system – and ending this health care for profit nightmare that is destroying our economy (along with the two endless occupations “left behind” by the Bush administration). Unfortunately, our Congress “for hire” has essentially taken that “off the table” just like they did with impeachment.

Then there’s the two aforementioned endless occupations. Actually, BRING THE TROOPS HOME – that’s my advice to Obama, also not being listened to. I’m very concerned that President Obama has succumbed to the will of the Generals so that he won’t look like a “weak” President (of course, in the end, he WILL look like a weak President to his own “base” if he continues to leave the troops in Iraq – inexplicably – and to escalate the occupation of Afganistan without even an explanation to the American public as to what the goal is – way too much “Bushlike” for me. I’m presently reading a book titled “Descent into Chaos” about the fiasco in Afganistan during the Bush years, and the author, Ahmed Rashid, suggests in the introduction (I’ve just begun reading it) that the Afgans were supportive of American intervention, but Bush and company messed it up so bad that our credibility there has been completely undermined. I’m seeing MORE of the “deja vu all over again” signs, reminding me of Viet Nam that I’ve been seeing in Iraq since our misadventure there commenced. I believe the only reason I didn’t feel this about Afganistan sooner is because my attention, along with almost everyone else, has been on getting our troops out of Iraq. I’m thinking we went into Afganistan (with the world’s blessing) to get Osama bin Laden, not to get mired into some half-hearted effort at “nation building.”

Lastly, I’m going to “beat the dead horse.” While I could espouse the need for additional stimulus designed to create decent paying jobs, I’ll leave that topic for another day (although it’s importance is HUGE). My final point – I will always believe that President Obama betrayed the entire nation (even the Republicans – they just won’t agree with me until a Democrat gets into office who thinks along the same lines as Bush/Cheney) by “looking forward and not backward” regarding criminal behavior by the executive branch. Somehow, I don’t think Republicans would “look forward” if they thought they could “nail” a Democrat “legally.” I mean, look at what they did during the Clinton years. And, if Clinton had committed “high crimes and misdemeanors” I believe action would have been warranted. Clinton’s personal behavior was repulsive to me, and it totally changed my impression of him. But, just as I don’t think Governor Sanford of South Carolina (boy that state’s politicians are really in the news lately) broke the law by having an affair (he may have by doing so – trips to Argentina – on the taxpayers dime) neither did Clinton. And, the result of Clinton’s behavior is a lot of Democrats would not have supported him had he been running for re-election – and, it’s true, HE LIED TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. Not good!

The problem in all these comparisons is that the lies and the behaviors of George W Bush and Dick Cheney and many of their surrogates led to over a million LOST LIVES! I’ve often wondered why the “pro-life” supporters of Bush/Cheney don’t have a problem with that. Between Afganistan (from the time we turned our attention away from bin Laden) and Iraq we’ve lost around 5000 troops. On top of that, the wounded, including PTSD, is in the hundreds of thousands, and our military is stretched to the limit – not to mention that these two occupations have and will cost us WAY MORE than any potential cost of health care for our own citizens! And, I remember America’s media doing the same thing in Viet Nam as they’re doing regarding Iraq and Afganistan; it’s like THEIR PEOPLE DON’T COUNT! I mean, think about this for a second, WE’RE SUPPOSED TO BE LIBERATING IRAQ! So, how can we possibly ever justify THE KILLING OF OVER 1,000,000 IRAQI’S? At one point in the war, it was reported that at least 25% of Iraq’s population was either killed, wounded, or displaced – either internally or externally – THAT’S 7 MILLION PEOPLE! I’ve never understood how that’s liberating them.

During this time President Bush has authorized both torture and the illegal wiretapping of American citizens. Vice President Cheney “outed” a covert CIA agent, which is treason and led to what no one will ever know – how many deaths of persons who were in her circle of associates. The Bush/Cheney administration pushed through legislation that sacrificed rights we have cherished since the founding of this nation in the interest of “fighting terrorism” while all the while purposely terrorizing their own citizens (us) in order to maintain a stranglehold on power (I’m sure you remember all the terrorist threats that conveniently happened right before elections or at other strategic times) – rights like habeous corpus, free speech (I remember an OLD lady being arrested in front of an arena where Bush was speaking because of something written on the shirt she was wearing – and, the media and Congress put up with this – because THEY WERE SCARED) – plus the illegal wiretapping, a violation of the fourth amendment of the contitution. Well, the only reason I can come up with for the “looking forward and not backward” strategy is that people in Obama’s administration are STILL SCARED!

I’m not sure of what they’re scared of. Do they think that Republcans will get mad and start making ridiculous claims and attacks against them. WELL, HELLO WORLD! – isn’t that what’s happening! As I’ve stated many times – Obama and the Democrats NEED TO GIVE THE REPUBLICANS SOMETHING REAL TO COMPLAIN ABOUT! A full investigation of the Bush administration by a special Prosecutor – do you remember Kenn Starr? Someone like that. Someone who’s not afraid to look under every “stone.” I know that if you’ve been around here for any length of time you’re probably tired of hearing this – I’M TIRED OF SAYING IT – but, I will ALWAYS consider it a crime to “LOOK FORWARD!” What right does President Obama have to prevent me and EVERY OTHER AMERICAN from learning the truth about what was done IN OUR NAME! We went to a lot of effort in the 1970’s to PROVE that IF THE PRESIDENT DOES IT DOESN’T MEAN IT’S LEGAL! I would never have voted for Obama if I thought for an INSTANT that he believed that. Well, I started this rant by saying that I was going to comment on Obama’s speech about health care which led me back to the subject which his actions constantly lead me back to – enabling the crimes of Bush/Cheney. So, when it sunk in that President Obama said the “public option” was ONLY FOR THOSE WITHOUT HEALTH INSURANCE I instinctively knew that I would not be able to support his “plan.” President Obama’s backpedaling on the “Public Option” shows the same weakness as “looking forward and not backward.” I believe Obama’s “great speech” will likely be remembered more for the “you lie” foopah, than for any words Obama spoke – when all is said and done. And, in the end, in both instances I’ve mentioned at the end of this diatribe, WE ALL LOSE!