“Yes, we can,” was the rallying cry of the Obama campaign for the presidency. It was a cry for change and the promise of better things for ordinary working people. Obama caught the imagination of the people, enough so that they supported him and abandoned the darling of the Democratic Party, Hillary Clinton.
Here we had an intelligent, well spoken man with a nice family, a man who sings publicly and who plays basketball, and has a nice engaging smile. And, the icing on the cake, he is African-American, an important symbol of progress in the U.S.
Many young people were, for the first time, motivated to participate in the electoral process. With their hopes for change high, I am concerned that the past 5 years under the Obama administration, most of these young people will experience the futility of using the electoral system for change, become politically inactive and drop out. It is true that whether we vote Democrat or Republican, change or transparency under our present political structure is not attainable.
Let us come back to what President Obama, the man of the people and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize has accomplished:
Obama used an Executive Order to create the Deficit Commission and appointed Alan Simpson, who is well known for his views on old age entitlements and how they are bankrupting the country, as co-chair. This commission had a large number of anti-Social Security corporatists. We now know what recommendations they made.
Military spending increased.
Trillion dollars given to the health insurance companies by eliminating a public option and mandating health coverage for all citizens.
Blocked any regulation of big banks and credit cards.
Refused to pursue criminal action against the Bush administration for crimes against humanity and torture.
Expanded drone assassinations, resulting in hundreds, if not thousands, of innocent people dying.
Expanded government surveillance. Spying on Americans is as aggressive, if not more aggressive, under Obama as it was under Bush.
Signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act which gives the executive the power to order assassinations or incarcerations of those he deems a threat to the U.S. This is one of the most dangerous laws on the books because of the power it designates to the executive. Our president is a constitutional lawyer who signed into law this unconstitutional legislation.
His Justice Department has had a brutal, retaliatory response to those whistleblowers (Manning and Snowden) who have exposed crimes committed within the government but has taken no action against those who committed the crimes.
Expanded military involvement in Africa (see AFRICOM).
Initiated and personally oversees a “Secret Kill List.” Every Tuesday Obama and some advisors create a list of those who will be targeted for assassination. No arrests, no charges, no trials.
Deported a record number of immigrants, outdoing any other president.
Obama sends U.S. troops to Niger to set up a drone base.
Continued George W. Bush’s rendition program.
Escalated the CIA drone war in Pakistan.
Waged war on Libya without congressional approval.
Sold $30 billion of weapons to the dictatorship in Saudi Arabia.
The above is a partial list of Obama’s achievements during the 5 years he has been president. It is now clear that when he said, “Yes, we can,” he meant that as president, he can continue the policies set forth in Bush’s administration without being held accountable.
Glenn Ford of Black Agenda Report responded, when asked recently if he feels Obama is the lesser of two evils, “No, he is the more effective evil.”
Obama has done things that Bush could never have done without a public outcry. Progressives have responded to him the same way they responded to Bill Clinton. They sat on their hands because he is our guy. No, he is not our guy, he belongs to bankers and corporate America, and those who wish to continue the U.S.’s imperialist policies.
Dave Alpert has masters degrees in social work, educational administration, and psychology. He spent his career working with troubled inner city adolescents.
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“Yes, we can!”
Posted on December 20, 2013 by Dave Alpert
“Yes, we can,” was the rallying cry of the Obama campaign for the presidency. It was a cry for change and the promise of better things for ordinary working people. Obama caught the imagination of the people, enough so that they supported him and abandoned the darling of the Democratic Party, Hillary Clinton.
Here we had an intelligent, well spoken man with a nice family, a man who sings publicly and who plays basketball, and has a nice engaging smile. And, the icing on the cake, he is African-American, an important symbol of progress in the U.S.
Many young people were, for the first time, motivated to participate in the electoral process. With their hopes for change high, I am concerned that the past 5 years under the Obama administration, most of these young people will experience the futility of using the electoral system for change, become politically inactive and drop out. It is true that whether we vote Democrat or Republican, change or transparency under our present political structure is not attainable.
Let us come back to what President Obama, the man of the people and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize has accomplished:
The above is a partial list of Obama’s achievements during the 5 years he has been president. It is now clear that when he said, “Yes, we can,” he meant that as president, he can continue the policies set forth in Bush’s administration without being held accountable.
Glenn Ford of Black Agenda Report responded, when asked recently if he feels Obama is the lesser of two evils, “No, he is the more effective evil.”
Obama has done things that Bush could never have done without a public outcry. Progressives have responded to him the same way they responded to Bill Clinton. They sat on their hands because he is our guy. No, he is not our guy, he belongs to bankers and corporate America, and those who wish to continue the U.S.’s imperialist policies.
Dave Alpert has masters degrees in social work, educational administration, and psychology. He spent his career working with troubled inner city adolescents.