Good Riddance to the Summer of ’11; Your Letters on My Take on Obama

August 31st, 2011 - by: danny

The News Dissector blog is a bit long today because I have been inundated by responses to my essay on Obama. Thanks to all who write. I will share more comments tomorrow!

Good Bye and Good Riddance

Let us bow our heads and say a solemn farewell and good riddance to the summer of 2011 that gave us all a disturbing view of what faces these disunited states in the years ahead,

The planet checked in at summer’s end with warnings that we had to check out: an earthquake followed by a hurricane with volcano warnings, devastating floods and damages in the billions, costs that just add to the bigger bill coming due from the wars without end, and political stalemate without a solution.

The mighty Ayn Rand-quoting Tea Party Army ‘deployed’ all its power of intimidation to insure that Congress would remain paralyzed, and cutting costs which also meant cutting jobs and slicing hopes for any improvement in the economic decline.

It was the summer of politicians cutting their noses to spite their faces, months of trench warfare by GOP kamikazes on suicide missions.

Their bluster and bragadacio did not a job create but it has had a disproportionate effect thanks to spinelessness in high places:

Yet. by the end of this month, one poll revealed, “Four of the announced GOP candidates are tied or ahead of President Barack Obama, with Romney the only one with a lead beyond the poll’s margin of error.:

OMG, Good Golly Miss Molly: It may all be coming down.

It was the summer of economic collapse following an irresponsible downgrade provoked by hard headed right-wing extremists in suits. The market volatility that followed in its wake swept across Europe which now menaces the global economy. We are in collapse mode.

It was the summer of DSK and The Maid with the Frenchmen exonerated without a trial thanks to a million dollar defense and a woman who couldn’t sustain a credible story to the satisfaction of prosecutors. (Who rarely use that standard in other cases!)

Meanwhile, financial criminals went free on Wall Street while the president and his bundlers gave them a pass,

The living wasn’t easy in this summer of depression for many and luxury life styles for a few.

The Great War on Terror seems to have captured Libya’s sweet oil when the brutal leaders in Yemen, Syria and Bahrain go free,. As the people in Somalia face another famine, and Israel delays yet another peace deal, and as China tightens its opposition to human rights while one of its artists gives us a statue of Dr. King for the Washington Mall, its back to hypocrisy and indifference as usual.

The great hopes of years past slip away to be replaced by fear and trepidation,

CNBC: Full Fledged Crisis Ahead?

FEMA: ALMOST BROKE

M-L Implode.com: Wealthy Use Auctions to Sell U.S. Mansions as Homes Languish on the Market

Real estate auctions, long used in the sale of foreclosed properties, are becoming more popular among wealthy homeowners to drum up interest for mansions that have languished on the market after the housing crash. In exchange for a quicker sale, many sellers are accepting price cuts of 50 percent or more.”

Guardian: Middle class slipping into homelessness.

The Raw Story: Col. Wilkerson: If someone will ‘“Pinochet”‘ Dick Cheney, I’ll testify.

We Have Been Here Before by conflict resolution Guu Johan Galtung* – TRANSCEND

At the time of writing what BBC and NATO call the Final Chapter is being written in the Libya-Gaddafi tragedy. Like the final chapter for Yugoslavia-Milosevic, for Afghanistan-Omar, for Iraq-Saddam, for War on Terror-bin Laden; get The Bad One. There will come more final chapters in this neo-crusade. Like in the 1090s crusade, orthodox Christians were also target of their “mission”.

We do not know how this “final chapter” will read, but, will use past experience as a guide to the chapters beyond. This is a trivial but quite useful approach. As somebody said, who does not learn from history will relive it, first time as a tragedy, then as a farce.

After destroying Gaddafi symbols there will be a ceremony celebrating NATO victory-all know who brought down Gaddafi. So vulgar as to fill an aircraft carrier with heads of government and state-a Sarkozy, a Cameron, a Stoltenberg, a Berlusconi, key bombardiers-in-chief-declaring Mission Accomplished, and lining up for oil contracts promised, like Bankrupt Big Brother, BBB? Hardly. There will be some European style to the ceremony. They may even drop that part and go straight to the routine conference, like Petersberg I for Afghanistan-drafting a constitution, setting dates for free elections and-if captured alive, the West’s International Criminal Court routine for Gaddafi.

Before that there will be massive burning of Libyan uniforms and “loyalists” dressing up in everyday garb preparing for the long haul. After a week, a month, a year, ten years-who knows-there will come the wayside bombs; the sabotage of pipelines, of refineries; the inability of the Benghazi clan with adherents to counter the Syrte clan with its adherents. The drift toward NATO occupation with ground forces, of course to train the new Libyan army. Ever more drones and Apache helicopters. In short, everything normal.

Today: New York Times reports rivalries among rebel factions and tribes undermine their unity.
Frank Rich, If The Terrorists Lost, Who Won?

News You May Have Missed from Harper’s.org

An Iowa woman was fined for a towel assault on a salon
worker after being denied a bikini wax because she was
intoxicated, federal agents raided two Gibson Guitar
factories in Tennessee in search of illegal wood, and a
Nashville interstate on-ramp was briefly closed after
four canisters of bull semen fell from a Greyhound. “The
bus did not know it lost its load,” reported
WKRN-TV

strong>BAMMING BAM: Commenting on Your Comments On My Comment

Yesterday, I published a piece about how I felt I had been seduced by the idea of Barack Obama, and reflected on why I supported him in 2008.

Some comments on Facebook were disdainful and hyper-critical, one even suggesting that my support for him made me culpable in war crimes. The thrust of other comments was how could I —and presumably the millions who voted for him,— be so naïve and stupid.

In my article, I wrote that many of us will vote for him. I didn’t say I would but many readers seemed to have read that into that statement. I was speaking of many Democratic voters. You will note I criticized today’s rebels becoming tomorrow’s rationalizers.

One comment chastised me for explaining why I didn’t think Hillary Clinton was a real alternative. A recent article in the New York Times Magazine by a Hillary booster concluded in some detail that had she been elected she wouldn’t do much that was different from Obama & Co, In any event, she joined the Administration and has not been critical publicly,

I don’t want to refight the 2008 “change” election, but I do want to make two points.

All politics is not partisan or electoral. Unfortunately, to many the horse race is all that matters,

I disagree and have spent a considerable amount of time and effort making two films, and writing three books about the economic crisis. I have argued in countless articles, essays and commentaries that the fight for economic justice is what matters. I have also criticized progressives for not being more active on that front and prefer to spend too much their time bashing right-wing politicians and lining up behind Democrats.

Secondly, we all have to be judged by what we do, not just what candidates we vote for . I am a partisan of grass roots political action, not Party controlled and media mediated campaigns, with their polls, superficial soundbites and manipulation.

I, like many, had hoped for a different outcome after 2008, but I don’t have what eggs I own in the Obama basket,

Change has to come from below and political activists need to oppose institutional power not just individual politicians and their media boosters.

My orientation is explained in more depth in my work on the origins of the financial crisis, the film, Plunder The Crime of Our Time, and the companion book, The Crime of Our Time. Those works are not kind to the president’s policies.

Some of Your Letters

Ray McGovern, a retired intelligence professional of conscience who briefed Presidents writes:

“great piece on believing and then pain!!!!!!!! really good thanks, ray.” You can read Ray’s writings on his new website: raymondmcgovern.com

Rupah Shah writes:

I have just read your article (on Obama)…… absolutely great. I could not articulate like you but you have written exactly how I feel. However, I for one am not going to vote for him again unless he does something spectacular to prove he is what he made us believe what he was.

Esti writes:

Yes, yes, yes. it is so astute, describes my evolution (it began with
his appearance at AIPAC during the campaign, but i buried the twinge of
warning and moved on hoping for the best) and i agree with all of it
and have much more to add. i have decided that i will not vote for
Obama again no matter who the republicans nominate.
things are really bad, eh?

Mel L. O’Cat writes:

I read your essay, “Oh, The Pain…” with some interest
until I reached the paragraph excerpted below. Then
I wondered, why bother writing the essay at all? What’s
the point of dissecting and complaining about the
betrayals if you’re just going to vote that son of a bitch
again?

The two party system has brought America to the edge
of ruin, partly because every four years people vote for
the lesser of two evils — essentially no choice at all.

For me, the time has come to reject both of these degraded,
corrupt gangs of thieves and liars. I’ll vote for a third party
regardless of the consequences. In fact, I welcome the
consequences. Four more years of Barack? That’s the
same as four more years of Bush Jr. except that all of the
blame for what happens will properly be assigned to him
and to the Democrats. And then what choices will you have
in the voting booth?

Eric Remington, among others seems to think I am voting for Barack Again.

I wrote this comment in response to your essay, Barack’s Betrayals Offer Lessons We Can’t Deny, on ReaderSupportedNews.

I doubt they will print it. You should; especially if you are voting for Obama.

You should also ask yourself why you missed a necessary step in the political process. One that addresses your expressed concerns, as a solution.

That is Primary Elections: the only elections with choice.

If you are simply suggesting that others, like you, will rationalize their dispair over what we have for the alternative, but not you. I am only half-right in my insolence.

Hopefully this is printed, as to express proper contempt, for your essays failures, and not for what, was otherwise, well written.

——————————————————————–

What a waste of time.

This guy has the nerve to insult his “not so smart” brethren at Harvard.

You can keep your miserable company, and you don’t need to explain why they are not so smart. They must have gotten A’s in your class.

Are you kidding me with this crap?

I guess this is a case of do-unto-others, … but what did I do to you?

Where is the strength? The insight? The Harvard standard?

Or is this it? Just suck up the reality. Mope and bear it?

I thought, for a moment, that at least the professors get it.

But alas, no.

This to you, Einstein.

PRIMARY ELECTIONS.

The only elections with choice.

My God.

BRB. Have to vomit.”

Pana writes: “Right on!

I too was duped.

Thank you for your article. It expressed my sentiments exactly.

Yvonne Siu-Runyan

Maxwell Aley writes;

Thanks for your mea culpa. You speak for most of us who are politically aware on the left. Chris Hedges said it in ” the Election March of the Trolls”, and I felt even grimmer. However, I, for one, will not vote again for Obama. I cannot in good conscience whatever the pragmatic course might be. Obama has deceived us and will continue to do so as the Orwellian face of the ruling class. We cannot serve the cause of needed transformation of this society and culture by voting for him again.

Although voting is an important part of the game, it is not the most important part. The movement is what counts, and the defeat of Obama by one of the Republican Trolls will help to highlight the problems we face and is an opportunity to organize and advance the real change that is needed. Let’s talk now openly about what is needed, namely, a real democratic socialist program (let’s make the term acceptable in the debate) starting with taxpayer funded election campaigns and the call for federal job programs, single payer health insurance, free public education all the way from K-12 through technical schools, college and graduate school, the restoration of progressive taxation right up to 90% at the highest bracket, the replacement of the the Federal Reserve by a Federal National Bank with branches everwhere, an effective anti-trust program, the social ownership of the most important industrial activities, starting with the armaments and military contractors businesses (take away the profit aspect), severe cuts to military spending and limit to only essential national defense, withdrawal from most of our foreign military bases, etc, etc.etc, complete reform of Wall Street (if not a replacement).

I think we can develop about ten key issues that will meet the needs of our country and our working people. And let’s hammer those points during the election campaign to show that neither of the two presidential candidates are on point. And we’ll vote for the candidate who adopts our program.

We have a large number of politically and socially concerned groups, including the unions; if we can help to pull all of ourselves together we can accomplish a stunning defeat of the Democratic Party and its Obamas and Pelosi’s and Bacus’s, et al, and we will prove that the the Republican president to be elected would be illegitmate. We”ll take it from there.

Let’s make this election the catalyst for real change in good old USA. What do we have to lose? “Only our chains?”

Murray Polner writes:

Bravo! As a lifelong antiwar liberal, I wrote a similar piece about Obama and his foreign policy back in March 2010 for The American Conservative magazine.

You liken him to Hoover. He reminds me of James Buchanan.

Marianne Thompson writes

I completely agree with everything you said in your article about Obama
and the pain of believing in him. Courageous of you to write this. I just
as completely disagree with you going to vote for him
again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What you don’t realize is both parities
are in the pickets of the same crooks and voting for Obama again in light
of what you wrote is betraying your own conscience. Marianne

Anne Peticolas writes from Austin Texas:

Well, you can vote for him – but I can’t and won’t. And I think it’s a big mistake. (like you , I was fooled before, and did vote for him – never again).

And whenever I get mail from Obama for America, I write NO WAY, ARE YOU JOKING? and enclose a column like yours – postage-paid at their expense.

It breaks my heart when I remember the Pete Seeger song at the inaugural – and the hopes we had –

It’s not good enough to be a slightly better bad person, and at least more Democrats might FIGHT the other terrible candidate . . . as they should be fighting this awful man.

Not voting for him, urge you not to.

Ric writes:

“Yet, at the same time, many of us who now know how we have been used,
will vote for him again, because, as he rightly calculates, there is no
one else, and the alternative is even worse. Watch and weep as today’s
rebels become next year’s rationalizers.”

No. No more. If there is no one else, then no one will get my vote. If
the alternative should win, then perhaps the kick in the face that the
“alternative” gives to the public might make that public aware of just
how badly they have failed to act as responsible citizens, and then, and
only then, might we have a chance to turn away from the foulness of the
right.

No. No more. Come what may, no more. There comes a point where personal
integrity, when dignity, demands to be listened to and acted upon. Now
is the time, and if the act required is even the small one of refusing
to vote for liars and cheats and incompetents again, then so be it. No.
No more.
–
Live as if you were to die tomorrow, learn as if you were to live forever.”

Barb BF writes:

I was not betrayed…after reading Larry Pinkney’s articles on Obama in 2008…I voted for Nader. I knew he had no chance of winning…but I kept remembering..the lesser of 2 evils is still evil.

Jerry Policoff writes:

Great piece Danny. It closely parallels my own feelings. I also had major issues with Hillary, but Obama left me a bit uneasy as well. That possible CIA connection bothered me, and his relationship with companies like Exelon did as well. He also gutted an Illinois healthcare bill that was assigned to his committee when he was in the Legislature. It was originally intended to morph into a single-payer law, but he gave all the special interests a seat at the table and turned it into a bill any health insurance executive could love. I originally supported Edwards and then turned to Obama, but I was never anything close to an Obamamaniac. I was hoping he would prove my misgivings to be unwarranted. Instead he is far worse than I ever imagined he would or could be. I think the Wall Street interests personified by the Hamilton Project groomed him for the job, and he has not disappointed them. The Hamilton Project was originally designed to weaken the influence of progressives on the Democratic Party, and Obama has not only shown himself not to be a progressive, but to actually have disdain for us.

Danny, Rob Kall (who I understand is a friend of yours), and I and a few others have been talking about the possibility of starting a movement not unlike the “dump Johnson” movement launched by Al Lowenstein back in 1967. We feel the signs are starting to emerge that Obama, much like LBJ, may well be unelectable in 2012, and that in the interests of the Democratic Party and the country he should step aside and not run for re-election. The fact that Lowenstein was able to pull it off may also convince people that we can too. Yes, I know we ended up with Nixon, but if Bobby Kennedy had not been assassinated things might have turned out differently. What are your thoughts? Would you be interested in participating or in helping us spread the word? Rob has been running an interactive poll on this at Op Ed News, and so far 784% of participants want Obama to pull out of the race. Last week’s AP poll indicated that 28% of Democrats want to see Obama primaried and 49% of registered voters do not believe he should be re-elected. I think those numbers will grow

Guy Cottman writes from Dubai: “I thought you article on Barack Obama was spot on.”.

Elizabeth Axtell writes:

Obama’s presidency has not only been a disappointment, it has been a
disaster. I will not vote for Mr. Obama in 2012; I will vote third
party or write in a name. Time for folks to say, THE EMPEROR HAS NO CLOTHES!

Gene Schulman writes:

“Okay, it’s my gut. But it’s an educated gut. Yes, it would seem unlikely with such a large war chest. But I have a theory. Not a conspiracy theory, mind you, unless we can believe just one person can conspire. Like you, everyone else thinks I’m a bit quirky when I talk about this, and would not think of conspiring in my fantasies.

I believe Obama was picked to run the first time with a specific job of convincing the American people that after eight years of Bush, policies would change. And America would become a “kinder and gentler” place. He, and his oligarchic promoters did a good job, and Obama was elected. But once in office he would resort, under cover of that reputation, to continuing the same policies that prevailed under Bush. It has taken a long time for that to become evident, but evident it is becoming as each new day dawns, with each new scandalous act: health care, continuation and expansion of the wars, unqualified support for Israel, collapsing economy and transfer of wealth to the elite. I think Obama has done an excellent job for the role he was given. However, now that his mask is slipping, I believe he will not be able to pull it off again, and I think his handlers think that too. So here is what happens: the real political power in this country do not want the Tea Party set to win this election, which is possible as Obama loses following. He elects (is chosen) not to run for a second term; a replacement is chosen – maybe Hillary or some other insider – who wins, because all the corporate money will go into a PR job like the last one, convincing everyone that change is again on the way. Bingo!

And the horror show continues ………………….

Lyman writes:

Where is the outrage from America? Where are those Liberals who backed Obama? Where are those with enough courage to confront these lunatics of the GOP? My fingers are worn to the bone from writing to Paul Krugman and his ilk. Pundits pour from the news and opinion channels with their frothy diatribes each attacking the other.
Are we so blind that we can’t see the subterfuge? This is what the far right want. This is victory for them. They enjoy sticking it to Obama who is comfortable ingratiating Boehner every time he gets a slap in the face. How Christian can one get? Let’s have a little more of the tossing of the money changers out of the temples. I’m not so young that I don’t remember the effects of the last depression. I’m a war baby. I remember ration stamps and the absence of meat. People younger than me have no such experience and mores the pity.
This mewling and puking generation is about to face a rude awakening. The rich will still have theirs. They always do. But the riches will dwindle to millions instead of billions. How very sad.
There is no rumbling in the streets. Pitchforks are still in the barn. Most of the current gen-x and gen-y kids have no idea what I’m ranting about. Their only retort is ‘What’s your problem, Jack?’ Some are even happy with their McJobs thinking that it’s only temporary. Come daybreak and they face the fact that this is it and then the tears begin to fall. But will it be too late? Will all those jobs that could have been now all be overseas?
Or am I closing the barn door too late? We are the Third World and don’t even know it.
The Tea Party that Liberals all thought was such a joke, is having the last laugh. They may be idiots, but the lunatics have taken over the asylum. The King of Hearts will be some loud mouth nitwit who has mustered the anger of tax payers into thinking that government is a bad thing. The sadness of the that assumption is government has done little to dispel the rumor.
I want to continue, but my rage is subsiding. Please continue your good work. You are needed.

Your comments to dissector@mediachannel.org

The News Dissector