Barack, ya coulda been a contender, instead of a tool of the elite

Okay, Barack, from one Brooklyn guy to one Chicago guy, let’s talk straight and pull no punches. I don’t care how nice of a guy you want to be, or how intelligent and articulate . . . ya blew it, kiddo! Just like with your predecessors, especially Clinton and Junior Bush, you simply are a stooge of the wizards who control this empire.

Now, having said that, I’m no fool, Barack. I realize that a president does not have the power that our phony media and our hot air academics have been selling to us for who knows how long. I know that. Yet, even with all the conspiracy info that I possess, I do know that even the wizards cannot keep any president from making some headway against this empire of greed, war and imperialism. Sorry, Barack, but you dropped the ball on that by:

• Continuing the Iraq & Afghanistan debacles—You knew that our invasions and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan went against every moral compass you possess. You knew the Iraq thing was all about lies and disinformation. You knew we had no legal or moral justification to bomb the hell out of that country and then invade and occupy it. You could have told Congress and the American people that funding such a disgrace would bankrupt us financially and spiritually . . . as it has. As president you could have and should have used the bully pulpit to ‘alter the conversation ‘and push for a withdrawal of forces and funds immediately. Fact is, Barack, that most Americans would have agreed with you, despite the bought and paid for mainstream media with its phony left and right slants.

• Increasing funding for this military empire—You turned out to be the same as that jackass whom you followed into the Oval Office. Instead of drawing down our 800+ bases worldwide and cutting this outrageous military spending, you give us half hearted political stunts. The military spending in 2011 was over 560 billion dollars . . . and that does not include the black budget that even you probably know very little about (so much for who runs things, Barack). Twelve years ago, the military spending was almost half of what it is now! We now spend, and you know this, Mr. President, 56 cents of every federal tax dollar on it . . . and you say we need to help the middle class! With what, 52 million dollar Apache helicopters?

• Bailing out the rich and not the rest of us—Have you seen the film ‘Margin Call’? Watch it and understand what really went down. You could have stopped the TARP program or at least put pressure on Congress to revamp it. How? Well, that money could have been used by Uncle Sam to negotiate the purchase of ALL the bad mortgage paper at fire sale prices. Then, the homeowners could have been given the choice to make a much lower payment each month, which would still go towards what they owed on the original mortgage. That way, even if it meant a longer time to finally repay the mortgage, the homeowner would not have to leave or lose the house. More important, their homes would be off the market and the rest of our homes would slowly increase in value. Get it? Instead, your advisors told you to continue the bailout of the rich investment sharks, and let the rest of us struggle more.

• Keeping health coverage with the sharks—On this one you really blew it, kiddo. You made sure that the Public Option of buying into Medicare was taken off the table. Why? Because it would make sense! Instead, you pushed through this phony Health Care Reform (oxymoron ) that not only opened the door for the private insurance industry . . . it forced us all to go there! You really think that the clown who runs United Health Care, and made over 60 million dollars in one year for himself, wasn’t going to circumvent any reforms you pushed on his industry? Even when forced to cover pre-existing conditions and keep premiums reasonable (another oxymoron), they simply raised copays and deductibles to the roof! And they went ahead and played God with the repayment schedules for doctors and hospitals . . . anything to get more profits for themselves! You blew it, Barack!

• Defense Authorization Act & other ‘acts’ of aggression—How dare you, the guy who spoke of ‘Hope and Change,’ continue on the same course as the Bush gang? You send drone missile attacks into a sovereign nation, Pakistan, without approval of their government. These attacks, and similar ones in neighboring countires, kill many innocent civilians and destroy our good name. You and your NATO pals authorized the bombing of Libya when it was involved in a civil war. You allowed extraordinary rendition to continue. You allowed Gitmo to stay open, and keep those prisoners from having their day in court. You signed the Defense Authorization Act that allows Uncle Sam to detain American citizens without the right of habeas corpus. Let’s play the game What If: What if your daughter were friends with an Arab kid? This kid has a cousin who is on some terrorist watch list, and the cousin visits her here. Your daughter befriends the cousin, and exchanges emails with him. She hangs out at parties at the cousin’s apartment, etc. One night, the SWAT teams barge in and sweep all of them up in a raid . . .

The Bush/ Cheney gang have so much blood on their souls, let alone their hands. Barack, you became a more ‘kinder, gentler ‘version. Your State of the Union speech is as hollow as all the others have been. The empire needs war and fear to exist, and you always find a way to please it.

Philip A Farruggio is son and grandson of Brooklyn, NYC longshoremen. He is a free lance columnist (found on Nation of Change Blog, Truthout.org, TheSleuthJournal.com, Worldnewstrust.com, Intrepid Report , The Peoples Voice, Information Clearing house, Dandelion Salad, Activist Post, Dissident Voice and many other sites worldwide). Philip works as an environmental products sales rep and has been an activist leader since 2000. In 2010 he became a local spokesperson for the 25% Solution Movement to Save Our Cities by cutting military spending 25%. Philip can be reached at PAF1222@bellsouth.net.