REALITY- First of all calm down and keep reading. If you are reading this blog from any of the protests in Iran, Tunisia, Egypt, Iraq, Bahrain, or Libya please refrain from throwing this computer at your imperialist oppressors at least until you've read the 'Palin' Joke.
Revolution is under way all over the world. The Egyptian revolution has so far lead to the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, not much besides but we'll all see what happens next. After exactly 30 years of ruling Egypt on behalf of The U.S.A. Hosni gets to retire without his county being invaded by the U.S. military. At least we haven't invaded them or Libya yet. Everyone gets to retire and as retirement parties go this one was better than Saddam Hussein's had been. Less fireworks yes, but far fewer Americans died for no reason. At least so far.
Iraq and Iran have experienced recent social upheaval. In Iraq the people were said to be protesting for better working conditions not protesting against their government. Iraq called it a "Day of Rage" just as The Egyptians had had their "Day of Rage". Iran's Green Revolution put Twitter on the map. Then waited two years for other Arab nations to join in. These widespread protests have been uniting people from different nations to a common cause. Freedom.
Not freedom only for those folks in this world who are wealthy enough and white enough to afford it, but freedom for all people of all colors and nationalities. Freedom from tyranny, from harassment, and indeed freedom from injury and murder. The people of the Middle East just want a chance to survive as most others take theirs for granted.
They are people and so are we. We all want the same things, instead of fighting over what's left of what there is we should focus on making sure that there is enough of everything for everyone. Once that might not have been possible but technology makes the impossible possible every day. Maybe if we spent less time, money, and effort developing the next big (little) tech gadget we could use those resources to create technology that helps to feed people rather than making them starve.
And then there is Libya. A nation that will probably be invaded by The U.S. or some such coalition lead by The U.S. or Great Britain any minute now. Moammar Gadhafi has been a source of international intrigue since 1969 when he led a successful military coup to take control of Libya. In 1986 Ronald Reagan bombed Libya in response to several terrorist acts perpetrated by Libyan agents including the bombing of a nightclub in West Berlin. With Moammar Gadhafi ignoring the international community and its collective call to stop violence against protesters in Libya it's a safe bet that some kind of military intervention is very likely in the near future. Especially if recent reports of civil war in Libya are true.
Whether or not President Barack Obama wishes to allow such military intervention remains to be seen. Although he has asked his administration to prepare a "full range of options" to stop the violence in Libya. I'll guess that that means that The United States will soon be offering support to the Libyan rebels. For the record George W. Bush would already by riding a 'nuke' down to Libyan soil, waving his cowboy hat and going WAHOO all the way down.
Wisconsin is another Arab nation that has been fighting for its rights...wait no sorry Wisconsin is a fully recognized state of the United States of America.
In Wisconsin the fight is about the collective bargaining rights of public unions. On February 11th 2011 The Governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, introduced budget repair legislation that if passed would strip most public employee and teachers unions of their collective bargaining rights. Union Busting.
Two days later there were 250 protesters in the state capitol and in front of the Governor's Mansion. By February 15th 10,000 protesters had gathered at Capitol Square to peacefully demonstrate their freedom.
That is what democracy looks like.
As of now the protests are still ongoing, with documentary film maker Michael Moore set to address the crowd at the mass rally in the Wisconsin state capitol later today.
Here in America freedom of speech is well known but seldom seen. In fact if you want info on the protests in Wisconsin from Google you're going to need to know how to spell Wisconsin. This information will not be stumbled upon.
When I say freedom of speech, I don't mean just the freedom to speak your mind only in support of the powers that be, but also in legitimate opposition. Real opposition not just a set of talking heads on the television that parody the opinions of the real people. Mocking the passionate while gathering the naive.
The American people need leadership. Not merely an opposing side that fails to fight for its own causes, but a living breathing second option. An option that is not the Republican Party and will also fight against the Republican Party on its own terms about the real issues that face Americans every day.
The American people have only two choices when it comes to major political parties. The Republicans who stand for war, theft, and the preservation of their own status and position at any and all costs to anybody but themselves. This is their working business model.
And The Democratic Party who, up until now, have been too passive. Even when it had total control of The U.S.A. via The House of Representatives, The Senate, and The White House they still gave The Republicans pretty much everything that they wanted including an election cycle that saw The House of Representatives fall under Republican rule.
Are we really watching the Harlem Globetrotters vs. The Washington Generals?
The fact is that President Obama has gone way out of his way to do everything exactly opposite to the way that George W. Bush did things. Where Bush forced through terrible policy Obama will thoughtfully reach out to the other side and find common ground with his opponents. Setting a perfect example of how a President should behave.
Of course if you're always reaching out and your opponents are always taking whatever they want pretty soon the one who does all the reaching out has nothing left to reach out with. And those who do the taking have it all. While those who were indeed more thoughtful and generous are left with nothing. Good people end up with nothing, greedy people end up with everything that they can carry, hide, and store. Is that your American Dream?
The American people need a president who will stand up for what he believes in and then fight to make it happen. That was the one thing that George W. Bush had going for him personally as president, he got things done. Horrible, terrible things that President Barack Obama must face the consequences for. But they got done.
Barack Obama needs to stop playing political games for the appeasement and amusement of his enemies, and start moving the ball forward on issues that are important to the American People.
If Democratic Presidents never move the ball to the left then the ball is always moving to the right.
And As Always,
Ps. As promised here is that Palin joke
If only she were a funny joke. >8^ )
