Bet you're sorry you voted for Obama now

[Will_B_Healthy 0]

I don't care about his poll numbers as much as I care about the fact that he is addressing the tough problems:

1) he stopped the economy from crashing with the successful stimulus program

2) he passed healthcare to address insurance abuse and cover the uninsured

3) he got financial regulation passed

4) he got $20 billion from BP for those affected by the oil spill

5) his auto industry bailout is a big success and they are paying back the money and hiring thousands of workers.

6) We've had 5-6 months of positive job growth

7) The GNP is up

These are the things I care about and the things that are helping the country. These are the statistics that are meaningful to me. These things are moving our country in a positive direction.

And what is the republican response to all this? Vote no on everything, including the unemployment extension for those hurting. But there is one thing they want to vote yes on, let me think for a millisecond. Oh, yes.

EXTEND THE TAX CUT FOR THE RICHEST AMERICANS THAT WILL CONTINUE TO ADD BILLIONS TO OUR DEFICIT. IT IS UNPAID FOR. BUT SOMEHOW THAT'S OKAY.

You go, girl!

I love how you get all fired up and start spraying salvo after salvo of facts at the regurgitation (now there is a term dear to many on this site!) -- mental regurg, that is.

My screed of the day:

In the tradition of Clinton, Carter, and Roosevelt, our President actually processes information from a vast spectrum of resources to determine the best course for the country, a course beyond the immediate, most assuredly beyond the sound bite avarice and feeding-frenzy psychosis of the MM.

I also admit to feeling disappointment, but it is not disappointment in the POTUS but rather in the country, we the citizens, we the people, for losing the sense of how really powerful we are when we are supporting a common cause, a shared purpose, when we recognize our differences and respect one another without resorting to the petty and perverse. We have in many senses lost our way.

Nostalgic as it is, it nevertheless, these times remind me of how we were collectively hoodwinked before. (The anthem accredited to the Who, sadly turned out to be wrong: We Won't Get Fooled Again! But we were and we will most likely again) The usurpation was sophisticated as it was sweet.

This is woefully reminiscent of the late '60s to mid '70s when the Boomers tapped into something magical and dynamic amidst and through the chaos, ambiguous and amorphous forms - the big three "w's": war protests, women's movement, Woodstock, et. al. We rediscovered or "tuned in" to the roots of American strength in the vitality of our diversity, in our acceptance of the imperfect and in our unvarnished commitment and profound belief in making a different and better world//planet/universe/backyard for everyone and everyone's children and grandchildren.

But somewhere along the way, maybe just off Abby or Desolation Road, we got incredibly selfish, greedy and stupid. A few blinks, winks, and tabs of acid and the same peace-love-dope crowd morphed, evolved or devolved into the core of the dot com era of millionaires and geeks fueling an endless succession of demonic self obsession, of IPOs without foundation or even tangible products. The bubble engorged, algebraically expanded: it wasn't the Mad Hatter's Un-birthday Party -- it was Thorstein Veblen on steroids. Conspicuous consumption in hyperwarp. We were primed and certainly ready for the likes of Reagan, Bush 1, Bush 2 and cast of ignoble modern robber barons whose mantra of more and more for me and the hell with you. We deserved what we got. Rhinestones and rhinoplasty. Botox and Bangalore torpedoes. Vanity and vericose veins. Sigfried and Roy.

Odyssean lotus-eaters -- apathetic, resigned, narcotized. Trapped in a Teflon cistern; the task of Sisyphus inconsequential. Defeated, forlorn, beaten, bedraggled, broken, forsaking dignity, treasures squandered, futures negated -- an entitlement generation of subordinates gravitating towards a communal abyss.

Or at least that is what many would have us believe, many who want to tear apart the last remnant of hope, cover us in ashes, carve our tombstones, retreat into the mythos of a fantasy era when things were Edenic.

That certainly is not the gospel of the 44th President. No, President Obama is pragmatic, intelligent, resilient, trusting in the innate dignity of the American character, reflective and contemplative, creative and resourceful, self-effacing and humble, a student of history, a promoter of good will, a husband, a father, a leader, a man.

As always, I leave you with respect and love.

[tommygunn49 0]

thought this site was about support for WLS,and not about who did a better job running this country. but if you really must no this country got mess up when an group people decide to leave one country bcos of taxes and landed in this great country call america. lied, kill,stole and cheated to get what they want. then decide to make it all legal by forming an government. SO your problem start way before obama and bush

[JudyDF 0]

Yes for obama!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Cleo's Mom 257]

Will Be Healthy: What you say is so true. In the 60's and 70's our time had come. Fed up with the horror of what happened in Vietnam, with women being second class citizens, and people of color or disability being discriminated against - we rose up. And after awhile, white males started panicking. We were asking for a share of the pie that they, for so long, controlled. White men held the power and the good jobs. So, the only way for them to get it back was to limit the success of others who wanted some. Women or blacks were the enemy. Women only worked for "pin money" thus taking jobs from men who needed them and blacks just got hired because of affirmative action, again taking jobs from white men. This whole premise was based on the idea that all power and jobs (except maybe nurses, secretaries, elementary teachers and janitors) belonged to white men. No one else need apply. Thus began the power struggle. No one who has the power ever willingly shares it.

The republican southern strategy for elections would often include sending mailings showing a white hand being given a pink slip at work with the not so subtle implication that you know who would be taking that job. It worked.

And this continued in earnest with Reagan. He started voodoo economics, that don't work, and he made the government the enemy. The rich got richer, the poor poorer and the middle class started to shrink in terms of buying power and earnings. And it has been going on ever since.

I finished reading Ed Schultz's book: Killer Politics - how the middle class is being destroyed. Very informative.

We need to wake up and become more proactive to keep our country from becoming a 2 class society - the rich and the poor, but without safety nets. That's where we're headed if we let the republicans back in power. That's what they want.

Edited August 3, 2010 by Cleo's Mom

[Cleo's Mom 257]

Yes for obama!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi, Judy. Welcome to rants & raves. We welcome your input.

[Will_B_Healthy 0]

thought this site was about support for WLS,and not about who did a better job running this country. but if you really must no this country got mess up when an group people decide to leave one country bcos of taxes and landed in this great country call america. lied, kill,stole and cheated to get what they want. then decide to make it all legal by forming an government. SO your problem start way before obama and bush

You are spot on, Tommygunn49, for this site is primarily one for the support of fellow fatties but as the banner to this site states "LBT Rants and Raves *** Off-Topic DEBATE AREA." What did you expect to find under the topic of "Bet you're sorry . . ." ?

Nonetheless you are equally correct in stating "your (our) problem start (sic) way before . . ." even though your revision of history is a tad tweaked. That group of people to whom you allude were more forced out than "decided to leave" and it was not because of taxes but religious intolerance or so the popular story goes. Those same European outcasts established a beachhead for others who followed bringing their hoard of goods along with the legacy of treachery and debasement (slavery, indentured servitude, male dominance, etc.). The earlier fur traders may have decimated the indigenous unknowingly with smallpox, but the infections of those who fled and founded were far more destructive, chronic, and fatal. That we exist at all given the quality of inheritance is remarkable and fortuitous.

But thanks for the post, Tommygun49. It is always nice to have different fish in the pond.

As always I close with my respects,

[BJean 16]

Enjoyed your posts, Will B and Cleo's.

And now the baby boomers are stuck with the world that they helped create - capitalism on steriods. And all we thought we wanted was a retirement that allowed us to have more than what a social security check would buy us. We wanted was to go out in comfort with a beautiful (oversized) home, fancy cars, a TV in every room, luxurious vacations and the assurance that we won't be stuck in a nursing home run with medicare funds.

Too bad. The stock market and now the world market has changed all that we worked hard and planned for. But Bush and Cheney and their Yalie cronies WILL have all I mentioned and much more. But at the country's expense and certain at the expense of many upper and middle class baby boomers. Now we just hope we can hang onto our big homes until the housing market recovers. Otherwise, we may be standing in line with the working poor for health care, food and a place to sleep.< /p>

[pattygreen 5]

Enjoyed your posts, Will B and Cleo's.

And now the baby boomers are stuck with the world that they helped create - capitalism on steriods. And all we thought we wanted was a retirement that allowed us to have more than what a social security check would buy us. We wanted was to go out in comfort with a beautiful (oversized) home, fancy cars, a TV in every room, luxurious vacations and the assurance that we won't be stuck in a nursing home run with medicare funds.

Too bad. The stock market and now the world market has changed all that we worked hard and planned for. But Bush and Cheney and their Yalie cronies WILL have all I mentioned and much more. But at the country's expense and certain at the expense of many upper and middle class baby boomers. Now we just hope we can hang onto our big homes until the housing market recovers. Otherwise, we may be standing in line with the working poor for health care, food and a place to sleep.< /p>

dramaqueen!

[BJean 16]

LOL, ROLLEYES, LOL!!**

**That's what we get from you when you have nothing you can come back with.

If I'm a dramaqueen (one word?) what do you think that makes you, my dear?

[tdslf1 0]

Today is a day to Celebrate. 100k troops are out of Operation Iraq. 50k+ plus will stay for training, but still a win for Obama. I will never be sorry I voted for the guy. We would probably still be there if the maniac and loose Lucy had taken office.

[BJean 16]

We do indeed need to Celebrate the return of many of our troops. I can't help but wonder if they will pretty quickly be re-routed to Afghanistan after a brief home visit though.

[peaches9 3]

Today is a day to Celebrate. 100k troops are out of Operation Iraq. 50k+ plus will stay for training, but still a win for Obama. I will never be sorry I voted for the guy. We would probably still be there if the maniac and loose Lucy had taken office.

Celebrating for you too here in Canada!!!!! Yeah Obama!!!:thumbup:

[pattygreen 5]

Watch a video of former Pres. Bush welcoming Home the troops in a surprise visit to the airport. It's very heartwarming.

Former President Bush welcomes military home in surprise visit

[Cleo's Mom 257]

President Obama went to Dover Air Force base to observe the flag covered coffins of those who died in war. He did this at night and without a photo op. bush never went to Dover Air Force Base to view the coffins of soldiers.

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- Standing in the pre-dawn darkness, President Barack Obama saw the real cost of the war in Afghanistan: The Americans who return in flag-covered cases while much of the nation sleeps in peace.

In a midnight dash to this Delaware base, where U.S. forces killed overseas come home, Obama honored the return of 18 fallen Americans Thursday. All were killed in Afghanistan this week, a brutal stretch that turned October into the most deadly month for U.S. troops since the war began.

The dramatic image of a president on the tarmac was a portrait not witnessed in years. Former President George W. Bush spent lots of time with grieving military families but never went to Dover to meet the remains coming off the cargo plane. Obama did so with the weight of knowing he may soon send more troops off to war.

[tdslf1 0]

I am also glad that Bush went as well. He needed to see the beginning of the end of what was started. Another celebration will be when our troops in Afganistan start to come home. i think we will be in both places for a long time after but not in combat mode, which is the real joy for me. Besides, we still have troops all over to keep the peace in other countries, why not Iraq?