Moment of Truth

Attorney’s underwire bra sets off
alarm, denies visit to client, removed
it prevents it because of being bra-less.

I think we have now reached the moment of truth when President Obama, acting on behalf of the citizens of the United States, is going to have to make the decisions that will determine our continued survival as a nation as well as his continued Presidency. He is to speak to the nation from the Oval Office tomorrow evening. I do not know what he will say, but I do know what he must say if we are to survive as an important nation. No more dithering can be permitted, he has to say for one thing that our addiction to oil is finished, over and done with. He should order a permanent moratorium on drilling for oil and mount an all-out effort to convert to renewable sources of energy as soon as possible (and without nuclear). If he merely says we will not drill for six months, pending new controls that will make spills impossible, and we will then begin drilling again, you will know that he has either been compromised by Big Oil or he is subject to magical thinking, and in either case there will be little hope for significant change.

Far more importantly, I think Obama will have to decide if our nation even has a future. We have an almost impossible national debt, we are involved in a “war” that is going nowhere, unemployment is rampant, our infrastructure and schools are badly deteriorated, recession/depression is imminent, there are increasing suggestions for a revolution, either peaceful (Nader) or violent (Militias), a massive oil leak is the most serious ecological and economic problem we have ever experienced, national morale is low, there seems to be little hope that things will get better very soon, especially in the Gulf (and this disaster may eventually spread even farther). We have a national defense budget that is totally out of control, and far from being that wonderful “beacon on the hill,” we are increasingly despised around the world, partly but not exclusively because of our defense of the racist, colonial, vicious, pariah nation of Israel.

President Obama is the only person in the world who could reverse all this and restore our nation to its former greatness, although it could well cost him his Presidency. He could simply admit we can no longer afford our “empire,” and bring our far-flung troops home. He could admit that our defense budget is no such thing but is, rather, merely an excuse for permanently enriching the huge corporations that profit from it. He could create hundreds of thousands, even millions of jobs by rebuilding our infrastructure, promoting clean renewable energy, improving our impoverished educational system, improving health care, curbing the terrible excesses of the pharmaceutical industry and the insurance giants, along with Wall Street and the Banking industry in general. And he could insist on rebuilding and supporting our own manufacturing industries instead of those in China and elsewhere. He cannot, however, do any of these things very well because we are, to put it bluntly, broke. And we are broke because of our endless “wars,” our military/industrial/political complex, our empire, and our profligate ways. So…we cannot go on pretending that we are the greatest (debtor) nation on earth, we cannot continue to be the world’s policemen, we cannot continue to waste our resources, both financial and human, on stupid and unnecessary “wars” that lead nowhere, nor can we put up with much longer a political party that says “no” to everything and wants us to fail.

Will Obama save us from our own greed and short-sightedness, not likely. Can you imagine what the reaction would be on the part of some if Obama simply announced the “war” in Afghanistan is going nowhere and we can no longer afford it? Or what would happen if he was to dramatically raise taxes on the obscenely wealthy as he should, or if he were to order no more drilling for oil offshore (or anywhere else for that matter)? What if he announced we were giving up our bases in Japan or Germany where they are not even needed? If he were to do anything at all that was perfectly sensible and would help us recover our position in the world it would cost him his Presidency, his critics, especially in the right wing, would raise such a fuss you would think it was the end of the world. So here he is, caught up in an impossible situation where, to do anything sensible, would require the cooperation and collaboration of a Congress that has no interest whatsoever in doing what is the right thing for the nations or its citizens, and is solely interested in suckling at the corporate teats that keep them in power.

I suspect Obama’s speech tomorrow night is going to reveal just whose side he’s on, the corporatists or the people. His statement that in a year or two the beaches and the marshes will be back to normal indicates to me he’s either not on the side of the people or is, perhaps, demented.

LKBIQ:
No, I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.
President George Bush

TILT:
Mahi-mahi live four to five years and seldom exceed 33 pounds in weight.