I heard from a UCLA scheduling nurse this afternoon: My surgery is scheduled for noon tomorrow.
I have been extremely calm up to this point, as there have been so many junctures at which the whole thing could have been called off. But now that it is this close, I have a very strong feeling it's going to happen.
My last night on dialysis! Yippee!
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
Is Obama a Republican Lackey?
Once again, Obama has caved. This time it's extending tax cuts for the rich. I called this more than a month ago. I mean, you could have made a very good living betting against Obama's campaign promises and his beautiful-sounding rhetoric since he became prez. Let me mention but a few:
* repeal of the Patroit Act
* reinstatement of habeas corpus
* closing of Guantanamo Bay
* trying suspected terrorists in civilian court
* protecting the middle class
* preventing industry from moving overseas
* working on behalf of working people
* halting extraordinary rendition
* protection of citizens' constitutional rights
* supporting Main Street, not Wall Street
* Medicare for all
* protection of whistleblowers (like Bradley Manning and Julian Assange)
Oh, yes, Obama sounded great on the campaign trail, and he continues to snow his apologists both at home and abroad. But if you look at his record, it is one of caving, often before he even gets to the bargaining table. When he was running for president, he put forth a center left agenda, but as president, he is center right and often slipping into full-on right.
I was always skeptical of him, and I voted for the other African American candidate, Cynthia McKinney, former congresswoman from Georgia and a real fighter. I have the feeling that she would not have laid down and played dead every time the Republicans wanted something. After all, remember her skuttle with Capitol Police.
* repeal of the Patroit Act
* reinstatement of habeas corpus
* closing of Guantanamo Bay
* trying suspected terrorists in civilian court
* protecting the middle class
* preventing industry from moving overseas
* working on behalf of working people
* halting extraordinary rendition
* protection of citizens' constitutional rights
* supporting Main Street, not Wall Street
* Medicare for all
* protection of whistleblowers (like Bradley Manning and Julian Assange)
Oh, yes, Obama sounded great on the campaign trail, and he continues to snow his apologists both at home and abroad. But if you look at his record, it is one of caving, often before he even gets to the bargaining table. When he was running for president, he put forth a center left agenda, but as president, he is center right and often slipping into full-on right.
I was always skeptical of him, and I voted for the other African American candidate, Cynthia McKinney, former congresswoman from Georgia and a real fighter. I have the feeling that she would not have laid down and played dead every time the Republicans wanted something. After all, remember her skuttle with Capitol Police.
I know that many of you are skeptical of conspiracy theories, but I can find no other explanation for Democrats' willingness to give in to Republicans at every turn. A Democratic congress that didn't say "boo" to Bush's invasion of a country that had done nothing to harm us, to the Patriot Act, to torture, to the illegal detention of thousands of people post-9/11. Dems were in the majority but you would have thought they had no leverage whatsoever.
The same is true for extending tax cuts for the super-rich. Why didn't Obama hold out, let the tax cuts expire for everyone, then after the new congress takes their places, Dems could introduce tax cuts only for those making less than a quarter mil? That way, if the Republicans opposed, they'd be seen as the enemies of the middle class.
I often wonder if Obama and Clinton are in league with the Republicans while giving Democratic principles lip service. Look what happened on Clinton's watch: NAFTA, which put a nail in the coffin of America's manufacturing; further deregulation, including that of the banking industry, which brought about the crisis we're in today; and the 1996 Telecommunications Act, which buried the Fairness Doctrine forever, thereby finishing the work of the Reagan administration. I wonder if Democratic presidents are pulled aside on their first day by the powers that be--the IMF, World Bank, Federal Reserve, Trilateral Commission, big bankers, and multinational corporations--and told that they have to do what's in the best interest of world domination by the super-rich. That was nice, all that talk about helping the people, but now they're presidents and they have to tow the line.
Clinton at least made a bit more show of it, putting on a good front that he actually supported Democratic principles. But Obama just says progressive things, then immediately implements policy that further erodes the Constitution, destroys the American workforce, and funnels even more money to the super-rich. Obama is such a sell-out, yet a good many people still support him. This reminds me of a woman who is beaten by her husband, yet when someone points out to her how awful her situation is, she heartily defends the man.
I would love to see the Shepard Fairey poster of Obama changed from "HOPE" to "BETRAYAL." That would be far more accurate. Perhaps some entrepeneurial soul will do so when Obama runs in 2012.
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