Sunday, June 13, 2010

Hard Pill, Heavy Spill, Halting Will

A Hard Pill To Swallow.Disillusionment can be a hard pill to swallow.

The president is being tarred and feathered over the Gulf oil spill: He's either doing too little, or too much.

The Brits are up in arms because they see President Obama as being too passionate, unfairly attacking their favorite-son company, British Petroleum.

Some in Parliament are urging the Prime Minister to scold our president, to tell him to put a sock in it. If British Petroleum was an American company called U.S. Petroleum, and the English coastline was the first line of defense against an oil spill of the magnitude we're experience here, I don't think that our congress would be urging our president to tell the Brits to tone it down. Further, I don't think that the American people would be jingoistically attacking the Brits, just because an American company was single-handedly destroying their fragile coastline.

I could be wrong, but I don't think so.

Ironically, the president, here at home, is seen as too dispassionate over the oil spill. He's not showing enough emotions .

Many pundits see this oil spill disaster as part and parcel of a Bush-Cheney oil policy, their cavorting with Big Oil, a frolicking that President Obama was more than willing to join--although in a limited fashion--an acquiescence to offshore drilling, coming a mere few weeks prior to this oil-spill disaster, now calculated as the worse in our nation's history.

President Obama's presidency will be judged as much by his cleaning up the mess that Bush-Cheny-Republicans had a hand in making--two wars, torture, Gitmo, Abu Ghraib, Iran's nuclear bomb ambitions, a faltering energy policy, an economy teetering on a depression, a deteriorating national image around the world--as by his cleaning up of another mess, the Gulf oil spill that's threatening livelihoods, a fragile ecosystem, and is poised to be put additional strain on an economy already struggling to rebound.

Along with the tar balls rolling up on coastal beaches, we're now seeing an all too familiar picture of the damage to wildlife that and oil spill can produce--our fine-feathered friends drenched in the sticky goo that's preventing flight, restraining movement, and destroying their natural food source.

Figuratively tarred and feathered, the president is fighting the political fight of his life, as he takes full responsibility for this oil-spill disaster--and it's becoming clearer, that there's little that he and congress can do, but appoint a commission, and hold hearings.

But the tarring and feathering doesn't end there. A recent article, by Dorothy Rabinowitz, for the Wall Street Journal, is casting the president as not quintessentially American--going so far as to calling him an "alien," one who is "wanting in certain qualities citizens have until now taken for granted in their presidents. Namely, a tone and presence that said: This is the Americans' leader, a man of them, for them, the nation's voice and champion."

Frankly, blacks have always been seen by most in the majority as "alien," and not quintessentially American. Americanness was peculiar to whites, and not even native Americans could share in that Americanness, a sense and presence that came into existence upon the formation of this nation, but were seen as something to be dealt with, something to be cast out, or thrown away.

Because, I, to this day, after living in this country all my life, continue to feel outside of the American mainstream, in exile, as it were, I don't fly the American flag, and only say that part of the Pledge of Allegiance that I feel is relevant, and leave out the other. Lest you see me as not patriotic, let me disavow you of that notion--because you'd be sorely mistaken.

I'm ultra-patriotic, a true son of this Republic. I believe in the Constitution, perhaps more than those who do wave their flags, and give lip-service to their allegiance. I believe in "liberty and justice for all." I believe in the American Dream, the dream that the founding fathers dared dream, when they formed this country, and declared their independence from England and the Crown, with these words:

"We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Yet, how many times have we seen red-blooded Americans, so-called "real patriots," and true Americans, flout these "unalienable Rights"?

These were the things I used to believe that America stood for. I don't anymore. And although for many years I was deprived of these things, and because of that deprivation prized them more, I've learned that these Rights aren't the things that this country value most, not at the heart of her, not deep within her bosom, the locus where patriotic fervor live, flourish and flow, where the heart and soul of this country reside, within a collective body, multiracial, multicolored--with many colored plumes of cultures representing most of the cultures of the world.

I say, I used to think so. But not anymore.

Whether we all did once, I can't say. But here's what I can say:

At some point we lost our way. We began to put money ahead of everything--our conscience, our integrity, and our American values of "liberty and justice for all." And to add insult to injury, we used the people's money to bail out wall street. We learned later, that certain financial institutions had become too big to fail, and that their failure would have brought down the whole economy; at least that's what we were told, and I've no reason to believe otherwise. What we got in return was something called TARP. TARP sounds a lot like the word, "tar," those tar balls that waves are washing up on our Gulf coast beaches. TARP. Toxic (or Troubled) Assets Relief Program.

Let me ask you a question: Do you know what those toxic assets are? How forthcoming was our government in telling us what "relief" was provided with our money, and the nature of that relief? Here's a list of those companies that received TARP, and how much, but we still don't know the specifics: How many malls did we take possession of? How many office buildings, and where are they located?

We know why we did it (the bail out), and we know how and why we fell in this economic sinkhole we call a recession, but what is our Federal Government doing about it now, now that those toxic assets that blew up in its face much like the Deep-water Horizon, and toxic assets washed up upon our national shores, much like the oil in the Gulf?

Well, the fear is that congress won't do much about it at all. The problems that created the problem will be allowed to remain, much like the oil gushing in the Gulf and the carcasses of wildlife.

Follow the Financial Reform Bill here, U.S. Congress : Financial Reform Watch, as it works its way through the congress.

Just as BP had no real response to deal with a catastrophic explosion upon its deep-water platform, or know how to repair a blow-out preventer that failed, our congress is crafting an economic response that fails to address the problems that precipitated the economic crisis--a lack of transparency, too big to fail (this nation's six largest banks control assets equivalent to about 60 percent of our gross national product), and the derivative market (a shadow banking system valued at around 600 trillion dollars, an amount larger than the collective GNPs of all the world's nations, including our own).

Are you beginning to see a pattern here. We have a government colluding (by not regulating, or failing to regulate various industries) in order to keep business thriving, corporations sound, oil companies drilling, and coal companies digging, notwithstanding the cost to taxpayers, the ecosystem, or the toll in human lives.

It's not by happenstance that, in recent years, we've seen our august Supreme Court take a mostly pro-business, pro-corporation stance in its rulings, placing corporations either above the people, or on an equal footing with.

It's not by happenstance that lobbyists with the most influence on Capitol Hill are those with the most money--and, that too, spells corporations.

It's not by happenstance that congress repealed laws, and created new ones to enable the economic fleecing of America--and won't do what it takes to prevent another economic collapse, a collapse similar to the one that we're now witnessing.

It's not by happenstance that the oil-drilling moratorium established by President Obama has met with stiff resistance by effected businesses along the coast, and by their workers--those whose livelihoods depend on Gulf-oil drilling, deep-water or otherwise. So, as complaints pile up, and dwellers along the coast tear out their hair, and rend their clothes over this oil-spill disaster, others are ripping Obama for the moratorium. I've seen Catch-22s, but this has to be the pappy of them all.

It's not by happenstance that green energy projects are slow to take hold, and even slower to be embraced, when so many of us are dependent on the money that comes to us by way of the coal and oil industries.

Here's the thrust of it, the hard, but indisputable truth: Money, the pursuit of prosperity, as though it and happiness are one and the same, money, that green lubricant of industry--and I bet you thought it was American ingenuity--is the real oil that greases the wheels of our giant industrial machine, our vast industrial complex. Money greases the palms of congress. It greases the palms of just about everyone. And anything that prevents the flow of that money--moratoriums, for example--will meet with an untimely demise, whether it's drilling for oil, developing businesses that provide jobs, or supporting those governments you believe belong to you.

Money owns the government. Money calls the shots. Money makes the decisions, sets the agendas, establishes the policies, and enforces them. Money owns us. We dare not complain, or do what's necessary to stop the flow of that green stuff, or stop digging for it. We dare not regulate. We dare not pass laws that are too draconian, that actually address the problem, for fear that the problem will grow worse--and businesses, and corporations will fail, people will lose their jobs, capital will become scarce, governments will founder, and America will lose her greatness.

Disillusionment can be a hard pill to swallow.


Pill image courtesy of: Free Images - Free Stock Photos

22 comments:

msladyDeborah said...

Well stated BD!

I find it interesting that so many people want Barack not to himself during this crisis.
After all this time it should be obvious that he is going to be graceful under fire. That just how he is an individual. He might be mad as hell over the problems and diversions that this disaster has created. But look at all he has to oversee. Two wars, an economy that is still on life support. We are a nation divided over the issues regarding immigration and legal status as a citizen. Plus the dealings within the international committee.

It is ironic that suddenly this has become a nation of "Tree Huggers". When there was open opposition to of shore drilling from people who have valid concerns about this type of activity what was the response? Drill, Baby Drill! Now that the drilling has happened and Mother Earth is letting it be known that she is not having it without resistance suddenly it is all this administation's fault. Bull.

I am not surprised that there was no ready to act upon disaster plan. That just seems to be the American way. After Katrina I stopped blowing off ideas about being prepared in case of a disaster of any kind. We deal a lot with weather conditions. And I learned that Mother Nature is a force that will make even the strongest of the strong very humble.

BP should of never been allowed to even begin the project without a plan that was approved and in place to act upon. That should of been a mandatory position of the government. The fact that the oil is still leaking is an indication that the expertise that their corporate heads boasted about isn't as stellar as they need to be.

The agencies under the control of the government are working. But this is a different type of natural disaster. Until the leak is stopped the people and the enviornment are at risk. And it is time to shake off the fast fix mentality that there is going to be a quick fix.

I think if I had to make a selection of style of leadership during a crisis like this-give me a calm and educated approach. Because anger isn't going to do a damn thing to solve the problem. It is going to require that the best of the national talented tenth be working over time.

Ernesto said...

You wrote about the same topics I had fomenting in my thoughts since the oil hit the fan. I'll probably still put something up on this, but you alreayd nailed the source of the problem: play for pay politricks.

And...this Dorothy Rabinowitz heffer needs to be forced into retirement just like Helen Thomas was. What she wrote was every bit as offensive. But the double standard remains, the same one that allows Israel to possess hundreds of nukes and slaughter people on a humanitarian mission and not be threatened with any sanctions, whereas Iran gets sanctions for enriching uranium.

Black Diaspora said...

Ernesto, I've missed you out here in cyberspace, and am looking forward to your take on all of this.

The lust for money has infiltrated our political system, corrupting it, and making us all susceptible to the power it wields.

Climate change is going to force us all to reexamine our values. We ain't seen nothing, yet.

To criticize Israel is pretty much like criticizing Rush Limbaugh, if you're Republican. Both have life-altering power, and aren't squeamish about using it.

Black Diaspora said...

msladydeborah said..."I find it interesting that so many people want Barack not to himself during this crisis.

"After all this time it should be obvious that he is going to be graceful under fire."

And this "grace under fire" is exactly what the nation needs right now. I want a president that's going to keep his head, while all those around him are losing theirs.

The American people need, at this time, a leader who can inspire confidence and hope. These are painful times for many. Some are barely holding on.

This economy has many victims, and not all of them are the middle-class, or the poor.

You're right: President Obama's plate is full. Frankly, I don't know how he keeps from being overwhelmed by it all. Some of us forget this, and think that he should be working miracles.

And it doesn't help that Repubs are doing all they can to derail his agenda, and make political hay of his missteps.

G.W. Bush reversed him father's moratorium on off-shore drilling, especially the outer continental shelf. His stated reason: Advances in oil-spill response make this type of drilling feasible again.

Bush the elder had put this moratorium in place after the Exxon Valdez spill.

BP's disaster plan seemed to have been a boilerplate one, and not specific to the Gulf. This is how arrogantly the company went about its task of informing the government of its plans in case of a disaster.

OSHA, had they been allowed to do their job, conducting an environmental impact report, before BP was given a drilling permit, might have forced a workable plan before permitting this kind of drilling operation to take place that far out in the Gulf, 5000 feet down.

OSHA's oversight was bypassed. How potentially lucrative and fortunate for BP, and how devastating for those living and working along the coast, and the nation as a whole.

This incident may, in the end, strain the excellent relationship we now enjoy with the people of Great Britain.

Were the shoe on the other foot, I'd expect no less from a United States' company in the event of a disaster of this magnitude--that it clean up the mess, and fully compensate those who may have suffered as a result of its negligence, and shortsightedness.

Greg L said...

Money owns the government. Money calls the shots. Money makes the decisions, sets the agendas, establishes the policies, and enforces them. Money owns us. We dare not complain, or do what's necessary to stop the flow of that green stuff, or stop digging for it. We dare not regulate. We dare not pass laws that are too draconian, that actually address the problem, for fear that the problem will grow worse--and businesses, and corporations will fail, people will lose their jobs, capital will become scarce, governments will flounder, and America will lose her greatness.

It's called fascism my friend, but make no mistake, we're at the end of the game due to it and wanton greed and avarice that supports this sort of system.

What we're seeing now is a slow motion implosion or collapse of the system under it's own weight. Arresting the fall would require a major overhaul of our political and economic systems and there's too much vested interest in it for that to occur, so what will happen instead is a sort of "free for all", where everyone grabs whatever they can and heads for the exits before the music stops totally.

Black Diaspora said...

You paint a depressing picture, but I can't say that I disagree with you.

As I understand "fascism," I'd say you're right about our flirtation with "fascist" ideology, and that corporations exercise a dictatorial control over our government, so much so that we're now a democracy in name only.

I would term it a fascist corpocracy with the Right providing the corporate regime (to borrow Rush's term for the Obama administration, but more aptly applies to Republicans on behalf of corporations) all the support it needs, whether it's conservatives on the Supreme Court, or Republicans in congress to keep corporations viable, and in charge of the political agenda.

Even now, with the largest oil-spill disaster this country's ever seen, we have Republicans rushing to the defense of BP, characterizing the restitution funds exacted by the Obama administration as the "fleecing" of BP, and a "shakedown."

I'm hoping that these statements become a shot to the foot of Repubs that will cripple their efforts to win congressional seats in the Fall.

Although the Dems are problematical, as well, until we devise a better system, I'd rather have them running the country than the Repubs.

Today, congress is holding hearings with Tony Hayward on the hotseat. His evasive answers do not suggest that BP will do all in its power to make those that have been financially injured by this oil-spill whole again.

But I'm prepared not to buy any BP products until they do, and will urge others to do the same.

If you'd like to read an interesting, well-written, and insightful take on all of this, check out Ernesto's latest blog entry at his Seven Devils Dead web log.

Kathy said...

Beautiful post, BD.

Black Diaspora said...

Thanks, Kathy. I can't wait to have you back blogging!

Constructive Feedback said...

[quote]President Obama's presidency will be judged as much by his cleaning up the mess that Bush-Cheny-Republicans had a hand in making[/quote]

Black Diaspora:

You are an amazing person to me based upon how you think.

As I watch "Democracy Now" on a daily basis I note how they - like you - peg Obama by how much he, for example, VACATES Bush's governance policies where the Minerals Management agency was taken over by the "Oil Interests".

They are unable to note that Obama has some ORIGINAL THOUGHTS, many of which are parallel to those held by Bush.

As I research Progressive Thought I notice how you all are not going to accept any hand that your ideology played in making the present day "Rust Belt", for example. It is a creature of "Corporate Abandonment" as they went over seas looking for PROFITS. You are apparently unable to see that in these places where Progressives stand strong - YOUR POLICES were implemented yet the workers (former workers) now suffer.

At what point do you make note that your forces are now in power? Obama casts his DEFICIT SPENDING as "BUSH FORCED ME TO DO IT". He knows that there is an abundance of people like you who will buy his spin.

We were told that "Afghanistan is the REAL WAR" during the campaign run yet today as the troubles mount - people like you have hung up your protest signs.

Do you stand for anything beyond defending Obama and the progressives?

Why not look at the BLACK COMMUNITY that you purport to be working on behalf of, MAKE NOTE OF WHO IS CONTROLLING ITS INSTITUTIONS and start your reorganization efforts THERE?

Kathy said...

Constructive Feedback:
I want to say this, I love Barack Obama, and I love Michelle Obama, and I don't say that about many Presidents.
Why?
To me, when I look at President Obama, when he is making a newscast, ect, Obama seems real, he strikes me as a sincere person with a real family who he cares about.
I trust President Obama, and you know what, CF, I think that sums it up, I trust him. I can not say that about other Presidents.

Black Diaspora said...

Part I

CF, I make a point to respond to anyone who takes the time to post a comment, referencing any blog entry I've made.

In your case, I reserve the right not to. Just so you know.

"Black Diaspora:

"You are an amazing person to me based upon how you think."


You're right: I am an "amazing person." You'd be shocked to know just how amazing. But, then, if I divulged my real persona, it would still strain credulity, and would serve no purpose. For that reason, I keep it hidden.

Further, you have no idea "how [I] think." If you truly knew how I thought, and what I think, you'd be even more "amazed."

And as I stated, before, that revelation would serve no purpose, as it would be met with incredulity.

"They are unable to note that Obama has some ORIGINAL THOUGHTS, many of which are parallel to those held by Bush."

Your statement is a non sequitur. If Obama has "some original thoughts," then they can't be based on anything, and certainly wouldn't be "parallel to those held by Bush" and still could be said to be "original."

"You are apparently unable to see that in these places where Progressives stand strong - YOUR POLICES were implemented yet the workers (former workers) now suffer."

Why don't you say what you mean, and mean what you say?

You feel union demands killed manufacturing in this country, as well as government regulations, and forced it elsewhere--beyond our shores. In addition, you blame liberal policies for the exodus.

See that wasn't hard!

I think it's beyond naive to say that the American worker is the reason why jobs have been shipped to China, and other countries, and that our manufacturing workers should have been compensated at a pay level commensurate with that of China, and India.

This article may not be 100 percent accurate, but it does raise salient points as to what's going on in the manufacturing sector of our economy, and pointing to several factors that might be undermining America's manufacturing recovery.

But anything short of your assessment is, of course, going to be wrong. That's how certain you are of your position, which makes this discussion useless at the outset, and allows for the dismissal of my position out of hand.

"At what point do you make note that your forces are now in power? Obama casts his DEFICIT SPENDING as "BUSH FORCED ME TO DO IT". He knows that there is an abundance of people like you who will buy his spin."

And an abundance of people like you who will call him a liar, and misguided.

Deficit spending may, in the long run, save this country from what Bush wrought--a recession that was quickly descending into a depression. A depression, which is still possible, will do more harm over time than a recession, and will take this country a full 50 to 60 years to recover.

And these are my "forces"?

Black Diaspora said...

Part II

I distrust all governments, whether they're formed by liberals, conservatives, moderates, libertarians, or any group in between.

Can you say the same?

"We were told that "Afghanistan is the REAL WAR" during the campaign run yet today as the troubles mount - people like you have hung up your protest signs."

People like me? You jest, do you not? You don't know me! But let me offer you a little insight. I'm feeling generous.

For one, I'm opposed to all wars. The only ones that I might sanction are those wars that are supported by the nations of the world, and to stop the genocide that we saw take place in Hitler's Germany.

No war brings peace. War only acerbate it.

"Do you stand for anything beyond defending Obama and the progressives?"

I might ask you the same question?

Do you stand for anything beyond defending Bush, Republicans, corporations, and BP?

If you wanted to know what I stand for, you only had to ask. I'll answer you, but I doubt that you'll understand the answer, anymore than you understand me.

I stand for Life.

It's that simple, or that complex, depending upon your perspective.

"Why not look at the BLACK COMMUNITY that you purport to be working on behalf of, MAKE NOTE OF WHO IS CONTROLLING ITS INSTITUTIONS and start your reorganization efforts THERE?"

You make this statement as though you don't purport to be working on its behalf?

I told you once, but apparently you're not listening: I'm not working on behalf of the "black community," or the "white community," or any community.

I don't care who's "controlling its institutions," nor am I interested in "reorganization efforts."

I've told you before that the problems of the black community, as you perceive them, are not political, and not social.

The genesis of the problem runs deeper, and are akin to the problems that vex the earth.

The solutions for the inner city, are the solutions for America, and all the nation's of the world.

I tell you this: Things are going to get worse, not better, at least in the short term.

They're going to get worse, because we don't know how to make things better, but that's about to change.

That knowledge is, at last, being disseminated, and a crucial tipping point is at hand.

Mull that over, if you dare!

Black Diaspora said...

Kathy said...
"Constructive Feedback:

"I trust President Obama, and you know what, CF, I think that sums it up, I trust him. I can not say that about other Presidents."

Kathy, I trust him, as well, as much as I can "trust" a politician.

But CF will say we're buying his "spin," as though Bush's spin wasn't swallowed whole by his supporters.

Constructive Feedback said...

[quote]To me, when I look at President Obama, when he is making a newscast, ect, Obama seems real, he strikes me as a sincere person with a real family who he cares about.
I trust President Obama, and you know what, CF, I think that sums it up, I trust him. I can not say that about other Presidents.
[/quote]

Kathy:

I learned a long time ago that it is a folly for me to attempt to force someone to think a certain way that I believe that they should.

Instead I choose to evaluate the framework that they utilized. I ask them to consider their PERMANENT INTERESTS and note if any of them are achieved per their viewpoint.

You keep "trusting" Obama to your heart's content girl.

For me: THIS AIN'T ABOUT OBAMA!!!

I focus on POLICIES and the RESULTS of the POLICIES.

It is all too interesting that we are hearing an increasing amount of phrases that had been used by the OPPRESSORS of Black people bantered about by this Administration.

* Boots on their necks
* Kick their ass
* "We are going to slice and dice him during the hearing"
* "I'm gonna get every last dime that you made the government pay" Obama said to the Banks. Imagine if he said the same thing to the people he provided mortgage relief from the US treasury? The banks have largely paid back the funds given to them.

Kathy I have said all along that to me Barack Obama represents the "vertical infrastructure" that presently is in control over every single Black community. In fact every voting district that has 35%+ of a Black voter base. In addition - some states have a full Democratic Sweep (IL, WI, MD and NJ prior to Christie)

Despite this favorable arrangement on paper there is NO detectable benefit to our community's interests.

IF the "RED pill" is said to cause us liver failure then who is doing inspections to confirm the benefit of the BLUE PILL that we have been affirmatively sold?

Is it just a coincidence Kathy that this line of anti-capitalistic theory has many of these cities suffering massive economic erosion (Trenton, Newark, Philly, Detroit, Milwaukee, Buffalo, Rochester, Cleveland, etc). These are the cities with the highest rates of Black unemployment and misery YET the most ENTRENCHED Democratic machines that suffer no consequences.

I am not asking ANYONE TO VOTE REPUBLICAN. I am asking people why they KEEP DOING WHAT THEY ARE DOING yet failing to note the results?

When I hear Obama talk I hear an IDEOLOGICAL BIGOT. With the help of people like you he will have spent an array of deficit spending twice as large as Bush but will have convinced you that it was justified because BUSH forced him to do it.

The only thing that I can draw upon to those who are conscious in the "black disapora" (Small "b" and "d") is to ask:

WHAT COMPETENCIES ARE BEING DEVELOPED IN YOUR COMMUNITY AS YOU ARE TREATED TO ENHANCED CARE AND FEEDING BY THE PROGRESSIVE AGENDA?

* Did your money provide you with more health care in the name of cooperative economics?

* Were the schools that you now control able to deliver more Black kids to medical school so that they can become the Professional Service Agents, supplying the needs of our people?


Don't be confused by the notion that someone who can tell you THAT our culture has been stolen from us is qualified to CONSTRUCT a new culture for those in the black diaspora to prosper from. Far too often these people have a grievance based agenda. The replacement culture that they construct injures us.

Constructive Feedback said...

[quote]You feel union demands killed manufacturing in this country, as well as government regulations, and forced it elsewhere--beyond our shores. In addition, you blame liberal policies for the exodus. [/quote]

It is so easy for some people to see "Corporate Greed" which prompted them to depart from the negotiating table and go find other people to exploit.

It is far harder for these same people to make note of the GREED that was present on the side of the Organized Labor.

As a "Green" - you and others are able to have us look beyond the price that the "carbon refueling station" - known as the gas pump - shows to us. Instead you add in the acid rain, the Global Warming, the dead animals and the ruined crops.

I challenge YOU to look at the human beings that live in Detroit, Rochester, Buffalo, Trenton, St Louis. As their industrial engines collapsed the PEOPLE's collapse soon followed.

It is easy for the words describing the COSTS of incarceration that those who have been denied "opportunity" to make a living now suffer. Broken families, fathers away from their kids, etc.

I still don't believe that you are able to take these societal costs and use them to bridge the gap between the idealized LIVING WAGE that you demand and the MARKET WAGE that their actual work efforts command from the "CONSUMER OF LABOR".

As it stands, Black Diaspora, your entrenched stances afford you to wear the championship belt as the "Protector Of All Man Kind From The Evil Of Conservatives and Capitalists". In truth since you are not forced to bear the total burden of your choices and are always able to project them outward - you wear the belt but don't realize that "you have no clothes on" otherwise.

Constructive Feedback said...

[quote]I distrust all governments, whether they're formed by liberals, conservatives, moderates, libertarians, or any group in between. Can you say the same?[/quote]

Funny how you didn't challenge Kathy that same question about her TRUST in OBAMA!!!!!
Is she TRUSTING him because he is a MAN THAT SHE TRUSTS or is his POWER AS PRESIDENT the drive for her "trust"?

To answer your question: I look toward INSTITUTIONS to abstract the inherent UNTRUSTWORTHINESS of MAN who is otherwise selfish.

Institutions that have checks and balances.

This is what I argue HERE in so many words:
http://functionalculture.blogspot.com/2010/06/delivering-results-for-community-civil.html

In the video Farrakhan speaks in Kathy's voice: Protect the President while never DISPASSIONATELY confirming that your interests are being advanced.

[quote]
People like me? You jest, do you not? You don't know me! But let me offer you a little insight. I'm feeling generous.
[/quote]

BD: It is clear that Obama, unlike Bush has done NO OFFENSES that prevent you from providing net support to his cause.

I ask you to show the evidence of your protests marches against the Commander In Chief who has American troops on the battlefield, having EXPANDED our presence and the KILLING that has taken place as well.

[quote]
For one, I'm opposed to all wars.
[/quote]

BD:

I am reading a book by Rev James Forbes of Riverside Church - good friend of Bill Moyers. He is telling the perspective of PROGRESSIVE Christians. From this book I am made to understand the PROGRESSIVE INTENT. But it also clarifies the key flaws in the ideology.

You see BD - just as General Patton said "It is better to have the ENEMY DIE FOR HIS COUNTRY" your words above need proper contextualization.

It matters not that YOU are against war.
It is your task to convince your potential enemy to BE AGAINST WAR so that in your pacifistic state he does not conquer you and make you his SLAVE or concubine.

My goal after reading various samples of liberal discourse is to seek out the LEFTIST influences that are proximate to my ENEMY'S residence, working on him so that he might moderate his stance into non-violence.

For some reason these other leftists are always killed off or oppressed into silence.

Black Diaspora said...

@CF: "I am not asking ANYONE TO VOTE REPUBLICAN. I am asking people why they KEEP DOING WHAT THEY ARE DOING yet failing to note the results?"

If not Republican, for whom, then? You never seem to get around to answering that question.

"It is far harder for these same people to make note of the GREED that was present on the side of the Organized Labor."

I asked you once. Now I'll ask you again: Should workers in this country, to keep corporations viable, accept wages that Chinese and Indian workers accept?

You didn't address my question. I wonder why?

"As it stands, Black Diaspora, your entrenched stances afford you to wear the championship belt as the 'Protector Of All Man Kind From The Evil Of Conservatives and Capitalists'".

You're not hearing me. I have no "entrenched stances." My true stance you refused to acknowledge. I distrust governments. All governments. I side with those governments that support Life, and do the least harm to it.

If conservatives will do that, I'll support them. If liberals will do that, I'll support them.

As it stands, neither liberals, nor conservatives support Life to the degree that it should be supported, but, at this point, liberals support it best.

"Funny how you didn't challenge Kathy that same question about her TRUST in OBAMA!!!!!
Is she TRUSTING him because he is a MAN THAT SHE TRUSTS or is his POWER AS PRESIDENT the drive for her "trust"?"


Why should I question her "trust" in Obama? You shifted the discussion away from political parties, and governments, to Obama. I say again: I distrust all governments--local, state, federal.

I distrust all political parties, be they liberal or conservative.

All political parties have one aim: to remain in power. Some, like Repubs, use cutthroat tactics to effect that, and some, like Dems, seek to support, at times, the common good.

"It matters not that YOU are against war.
It is your task to convince your potential enemy to BE AGAINST WAR so that in your pacifistic state he does not conquer you and make you his SLAVE or concubine."


You're confused. I'm not a "pacifist." I gave you one scenario whereby I might support war. Because I'm against war doesn't make me a pacifist. War is an unnatural state. War is self-perpetuating.

You will never find peace through war. How many wars have we had which were labeled the "war to end all wars."

I can never be a "slave."

"My goal after reading various samples of liberal discourse is to seek out the LEFTIST influences that are proximate to my ENEMY'S residence, working on him so that he might moderate his stance into non-violence."

You can't work on a person to "moderate his stance into non-violence." Your very words smack of manipulation. You can manipulate anyone to attain peace.

CF, you have manufactured boilerplate answers to questions. You lump all people into Right and Left categories, and seek to address all issues with a similar band-aid.

The world we live in is not that simplistic.

Kathy said...

Black Diaspora did you see this!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/kill-barack-obama/128768473823851?ref=mf.

Hopefully it will be deleted soon, but I hope whoever did this is arrested and goes to jail.

Black Diaspora said...

Thanks for the 411, Kathy. I made several attempts to bring up the page, but couldn't.

I'll see if it's been captured by a site for review.

Kathy said...

here is the link to the Daily Kos where it was first reported, the same site is back up again today, with comments even!
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/6/21/19252/3562

Black Diaspora said...

Kathy said...
"here is the link to the Daily Kos where it was first reported..."

Thanks, Kathy. I'll give Kos a try.

Blinders Off said...

Wonderful post BD!

America is not the dynasty it once was and we are delusional to think American cannot fall. That is the real fear of the Tea Baggers, instead of blaming the corporations for buying our Congressmen and Senators; they want to blame President Obama. They also focus the blame on people of color and the poor. The TB's biggest fear and the reason their chant is, "We want to take back our country" is because...a black man is the POTUS and he now knows the secrets of the world and has his hand on the button.