That's because you don't award the Nobel Peace Prize to someone on a lick and a promise -- duh! And yet, when I think of Obama's presidency, I am disappointed for exactly the opposite reasons. He has done too much along those lines.In Europe, where more than 200,000 people thronged a Berlin rally in 2008 to hear Barack Obama speak, there's disappointment that he hasn't kept his promise to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, and perceptions that he's shunting blame for the financial crisis across the Atlantic.
In Mogadishu, a former teacher wishes he had sent more economic assistance and fewer armed drones to fix Somalia's problems. And many in the Middle East wonder what became of Obama's vow, in a landmark 2009 speech at the University of Cairo, to forge a closer relationship with the Muslim world.
In a world weary of war and economic crises, and concerned about global climate change, the consensus is that Obama has not lived up to the lofty expectations that surrounded his 2008 election and Nobel Peace Prize a year later.
- You don't close a military prison unless you're sure you have no need for it anymore, as I'm sure Obama discovered upon taking office.
- Shunting blame for the financial crisis across the Atlantic -- what, to the
twilightEuro zone? Say it ain't so! I hate to admit it, but he got that one partly right. - Armed drones are one thing, but if forging a closer relationship with the Muslim world means appeasing Islamic extremists, then no.
- War weariness will not be addressed simply by calling home the troops. Wars happen because of cultural differences and human ambition. Those things won't go away by ignoring them, or by creating one world government. Dream on.
- Economic crises will not be addressed by creating class warfare, nor by imposing the same old, same old collectivist non-solutions. Maybe they were "progressive" 150 years ago, but now they're just a cruel joke.
- Climate change will not stop whether we impose a "sustainable" world government or not. The climate has always changed, and it always will. The idea that humans can affect climate on a global scale is not verifiable, and is most likely false. Having the premise wrong guarantees that we'll get everything else wrong for as long as we cling to that cockamamie hypothesis.
Is it not tbe ultimate hubris for a politician to believe that his legislation can
ReplyDeleteactually affect the weather...?
Nothing else in history has worked as well the TCOTUS period!
ReplyDeleteEverything else has resulted has resulted in suffering and death ad-infinitum period.
If mankind truly desires hope and change for the better in life it has been right there for about 236 or years.
But...
Our right to self-determination - the "pursuit of happiness" -- is under constant assault from arrogant demagogues who believe they know what's best.
ReplyDeleteThe founders acknowledged the right of people to establish a government sufficiently limited in power to leave us room for this pursuit, according to citizens' unique circumstances and desires.
But our elected and their bureaus have no interest in acknowledging the Constitution that placed limits on their powers.
There's no aspect of life - no endeavor - untouched by governance under the figleaf of planning. Where once there was "rule of law," planning (wink-wink) has become the mechanism of control. Governance of the people occurs by regulatory authority to "permit or deny" activity on private property. Not only "what is permitted" but HOW activity occurs is being prescribed, as best management practices (BMP's). What grows in your yard, how farmers "farm," your health care - everything is to be managed. This doesn't even stop at the threshhold of our homes.
The ruling class intends to oversee all "natural resources," the food supply (agriculture), transport (mobility), culture (!) and even "recreation" - everything. The over-arching role of government undeniably includes planning the "economic development" of the private sector, right here.
What happens in Washington DC and Olympia matters. But I believe our best hope of stopping the assault on our right to self determination and the pursuit of happiness is to "say no" locally. Local is where the rubber meets the road, where the jackboot is applied to the neck.
Smart meters, the smart grid. The government deputies (maybe in the form of the power companies) will have the authority to dial down the heat in your house, or program your dishwasher or laundry machines. You say you think this is tinfoil hat territory? I wish it were. Read the Energy Independence Security Act. Google "smart grid", or "programmable communicating thermostat". Or just go outside and look at your power meter. Most likely, it is already connected wirelessly to the power company. Have you received your energy report card with your power bill? That's the first step, to shame you into compliance voluntarily by comparing your energy consumption to that of your neighbors. Nevermind whether you have more people in your household, or if you have a good reason to use more. The busybodies are busy building the necessary infrastructure to dominate you involuntarily if you don't fall into line. Nevermind if you can afford to pay your electric bill, which should be incentive enough to conserve.
Delete