Seven Reasons Why Obama's Farewell Does Not Get Me Misty Eyed
First - I voted for Obama.
Secondly - the crap he has had to put up with from the Republican Congress is mostly horseshit.
That being said, here are reasons why his farewell week left me dry eyed and unmoved.
Pick a progressive issue - any one of them and see how Obama stacks up.
1. Immigration Reform: This president has deported more people than any previous president. If you think they are all criminals and nasty folks, you got it wrong.
2. Give Peace A Chance: Obama has overseen the death of more people by drones than GWB. Do you want to discuss how obscene killing with drones is - some kid in an air conditioned room in Utah is playing a video game that ends in the death of innocent men, women, and children - all done with no possible harm to himself, save for the gnawing mental anguish that is sure to surface. If blowing oneself up while taking innocent lives is cowardice, then how exactly would you classify drone killing?
3. Legalization of Weed: President Obama paid a lot of lip service to legal pot. He admitted to using it himself and opined that it is less dangerous than alcohol. The reality is that his Administration oversaw more dispensary raids and more people being imprisoned for the use of pot - this in spite of the empirical evidence of the shifting tide of opinion in the US as evidenced by the increased legalization of both medical and recreational use of pot by adults.
4. Gay Marriage: If Joe Biden had not shamed him into action, my money said this issue would have seen no action from Obama.
5. Universal Health Care: There was a window of opportunity for Obama to push for and maybe even achieve, at the very least, the OPTION of a single payer, Universal Health Care System for All. Instead he allowed the Insurance Companies to draft a hot mess of a health care plan that while it did benefit some, spanked the majority of the rest of us with continuing rate hikes while the Insurance Companies profits keep on rising.
6. The Flint Water Crisis: Obama showed up for a photo op with Little Miss Flint and then what was it he did? What direct action did he take to show his support for the poor and people of color in Flint who have to take a bath in bottled water? Oh yeah - nothing.
7. Big Oil: The final straw for me was when President Obama said, "We are going to let this play out for several more weeks...." after seeing videos of storm trooper outfitted "security forces" spraying peaceful, often kneeling, water protectors with pepper sprays and/or water canons.
Secondly - the crap he has had to put up with from the Republican Congress is mostly horseshit.
That being said, here are reasons why his farewell week left me dry eyed and unmoved.
Pick a progressive issue - any one of them and see how Obama stacks up.
1. Immigration Reform: This president has deported more people than any previous president. If you think they are all criminals and nasty folks, you got it wrong.
2. Give Peace A Chance: Obama has overseen the death of more people by drones than GWB. Do you want to discuss how obscene killing with drones is - some kid in an air conditioned room in Utah is playing a video game that ends in the death of innocent men, women, and children - all done with no possible harm to himself, save for the gnawing mental anguish that is sure to surface. If blowing oneself up while taking innocent lives is cowardice, then how exactly would you classify drone killing?
3. Legalization of Weed: President Obama paid a lot of lip service to legal pot. He admitted to using it himself and opined that it is less dangerous than alcohol. The reality is that his Administration oversaw more dispensary raids and more people being imprisoned for the use of pot - this in spite of the empirical evidence of the shifting tide of opinion in the US as evidenced by the increased legalization of both medical and recreational use of pot by adults.
4. Gay Marriage: If Joe Biden had not shamed him into action, my money said this issue would have seen no action from Obama.
5. Universal Health Care: There was a window of opportunity for Obama to push for and maybe even achieve, at the very least, the OPTION of a single payer, Universal Health Care System for All. Instead he allowed the Insurance Companies to draft a hot mess of a health care plan that while it did benefit some, spanked the majority of the rest of us with continuing rate hikes while the Insurance Companies profits keep on rising.
6. The Flint Water Crisis: Obama showed up for a photo op with Little Miss Flint and then what was it he did? What direct action did he take to show his support for the poor and people of color in Flint who have to take a bath in bottled water? Oh yeah - nothing.
7. Big Oil: The final straw for me was when President Obama said, "We are going to let this play out for several more weeks...." after seeing videos of storm trooper outfitted "security forces" spraying peaceful, often kneeling, water protectors with pepper sprays and/or water canons.
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