Thursday, October 15, 2009

Transparency, Progress, and the Birther Issue

     All of us are keenly aware of the problems facing our nation, many of which have been a direct result of the economic crisis.  Many Americans have begun to ask questions of their leaders and elected representatives about the massive expansion of federal government through control of many areas of the private sector and many are taking a closer look at what amounts to be gross violations of Constitutional law. Some have raised questions and even accusations about the eligibility of Barack Obama to be the president citing the Constitutional requirement that the president be a natural born citizen.

     I had been aware of the arguments raised by this group since before the election of Obama last year, but I never put much stock into the claims, as they appeared to be just another conspiracy theory similar to claims made before about other candidates. I am not claiming, as others have, that Obama is not a natural born citizen, nor do I have an opinion one way or another. I am, quite honestly, the furthest thing from a supporter of his possible, but I believe that without proof one way or the other, it is obsurd to make claims or hold beliefs about such a serious claim. I have made some rather important observations and would like to share those here.

     First, the fact that Obama has spent large sums of money fighting the release of his birth documents and other important documents, is not in keeping with his campaign of transparency and a farewell to the politics of the past. One has to wonder that if he has nothing to hide, why he would spend so much money, over a million dollars, on keeping these records hidden. When accused of a crime, most people provide an alibi which clears them. However, if they were to withhold this information, it would likely steer more suspicion in their direction. No person in their right mind would do such a thing. Why is Obama? With so much at stake in this nation, why allow the distraction of continued claims and doubts? All of this could be put to rest very simply and easily with the release of the documents in question. 

Just some thoughts.

P.S. I would like to give credit to Michael Johns for inspiring most of this. Here is the link to his blog post.
http://bobmccarty.com/2009/10/15/release-the-birth-documents/

Friday, October 2, 2009

Some Quick Thoughts on Change We Can Believe

     I'd love to post some thoughts about the recent health care debate and some true solutions that will work vs. the liberal government-run nightmare, but I don't have a lot of time, as I must get ready for work shortly. Instead, I have had some thoughts burning in my mind about the change that Obama promised. While Obama, the candidate campaigned on the need for change from the policies of the Bush administration, Obama the President seems to be embracing all of the policies he and the liberals in Washington charged to the former administration.

     Obama charged the Bush administration with giving tax breaks to the wealthy and punishing the middle class, yet the current administration has given massive bailouts to major corporations and the financial giants who got themselves into financial trouble. Much of this money landed right in the pockets of the fat cat's on Wall Street.

     Obama called the War in Iraq a massive failure of the Bush administration, and pledged to bring the troops home within the first year of his administration. Later, when it appeared that he had clinched the nomination, he began to step back the rhetoric. As President, Obama has pledged that the combat mission in Iraq will continue through 2010, indicating that support troops will remain after 2010.

     Obama and many liberals were intensely critical of the Bush administration use of the Patriot Act. However, we see a much different stance from the current President regarding the wiretaps and other policies they were so critical of, as they seek to renew the provisions of the Patriot Act which are set to expire this year.

     Bush was criticized for his massive deficit spending, and Obama campaigned on the fact that McCain would only provide more of the same. Interestingly enough, the Obama administration has gone on a spending spree that makes the Bush spending look conservative. We've seen massive bailouts, proposed deficits in the trillions, a proposed government takeover of health care that will cost nearly a trillion dollars and proposes tax increases on the middle class, and witnessed the continued devaluation of the dollar.

     While Obama promised change and hope, he has offered more of the same liberal policies and failures of the Bush administration. I'm not saying that the Bush administration was a failure in all aspects, there was much good that came from many of the policies of his administration, but there were many policies from the Bush administration which were disastrous and are being carried out in greater measure under Obama than any administration ever has.  So for all the promises, we have seen more and greater examples of failure and ineptitude.  We as the voting public with whom freedom and our children's future have been entrusted must hold the current administration accountable.