Submitted by Lawrence Rafferty (rafflaw), Guest Blogger
In light of the all the hoopla about President Obama’s upcoming State of the Union speech on Tuesday night, I have been thinking of all of the ideas and issues that I would like the President to address in his talk with the country. Since I am a Bears fan and used to dreaming, here it goes.
The first issue that I would like to hear President Obama discuss on Tuesday is the Economy. I don’t mean just “jump starting” the economy. I want to hear about the plans to reach full employment. I am not suggesting that the unemployment rate should be zero, but if we are not shooting for that, how will we get the unemployment rate down to an “acceptable” number? I want the President to tell me that he will be starting government jobs programs to assist cities and states with their infrastructure. I am talking about WPA type programs to give every willing worker a job. Whether it is rebuilding and renovating our National Parks and National Monuments, or helping out in State parks and recreation areas; the result is the same. Having jobs that pay people to actually help our country and get paychecks to people who will spur the economy as a whole.
The next issue that I would like the President to talk about is one that will probably be very contentious. I want him to challenge the Congress, on national TV to reintroduce the Assault Weapons Ban to control some of our deadliest weapons. That would include restricting the size of the magazines or clips that could be used on semi-automatic weapons. I would also want to hear that the gun show loop-hole must be “fixed” and made part of the legislation. This will create a firestorm from the Right and from the Left, but if he really wants to help save lives, this is a good first step.
When I read in the papers and on this blog that the Republicans and some Democrats want to repeal and/or defund “Obama care”, my blood just boils. To that end, President Obama needs to outline every single benefit of the health care reform legislation that will die or not be initiated if the legislation is repealed or starved to death financially. When the public hears what the Insurance industry funded Republicans and Blue Dog Democrats want everyday Americans to lose or do without, Americans everywhere will “inform” the Republicans and the Democrats just what is important to them. Since I am dreaming here, I would also want the President to challenge any legislator who votes to repeal or defund the legislation to give up their government-funded health insurance. If you don’t want Americans to have insurance coverage, you shouldn’t take any coverage from the government. What is good for the goose is good for the gander.
Finally, the President should reaffirm his vow to end any and all torture by our military and intelligence authorities. The President could reignite his base by going one step further to say that he will be instructing Attorney General Holder to investigate any past instances of torture during the Bush Administration including the actors and the officials who authorized it. It will be a bombshell, but justice deserves this kind of bombshell. If he really has grown a set, he could also mention Pvt. Manning by name and vow to end his solitary confinement and treat him like any other person who has only been charged of a crime.
Now that I have gone out on a limb to give you several of the items on my State of the Union wish list, it is time for you to go out on that limb and tell us what you want the President to discuss on Tuesday evening. It will be interesting to see if the President actually discusses any of our items. This will give us something to talk about after the Bears beat the Packers today!
Submitted by Lawrence Rafferty (rafflaw), Guest Blogger
rafflaw:
I am suggesting (because it is completely true) that there is only one group of people bringing terrorists into the country: the federal government.
How else did they get here?
They were INVITED. Congress let them in. The ones which are here already are for the most part LEGALLY here. The FBI isn’t hunting down the illegal ones, it is hunting down the legal ones. No one but government made that possible in the first place.
Obama could suggest that congress ban all foreign Muslims from entering into the country, whether visiting or immigrating. He doesn’t. What am I supposed to think?
But it is congress that is responsible for our immigration policy. The president is merely taking advantage of congress’s criminal negligence in order to create a gestapo state with the Department of Homeland Security. Without the threat of terrorism there is no justification for the DHS.
Essentially the government NEEDS terrorists in America in order to justify the existence of the DHS.
Supply and demand.
Terrorism is now a business enterprise run by the government mob.
It’s like mob towns like Chicago. The mob targets you for crime in order to strong arm you into paying for the mob’a protection.
This is exactly what is going on. Bush played along with it. Though I do recall he initially opposed the DHS.
Sorry Tootie, I don’t care to waste my time responding to your drivel today.
Lotta,
I like that suggestion. How about really making the Freedom of Information Act stronger by only allowing the national security exemption if the government can prove that it truly is so important that it cannot be divulged to a review body comprised of 3 members of the opposite party as the President’s?
Slart:
Oh, and by the way, it was congress that let China bring in lead contaminated toys, pet food, and dry wall (and heaven only knows what else).
I hope your loved ones didn’t get too much of it or should I mock them like you mock me?
And who did congress punish for this contamination?
As to the toys, it was little toy making enterprises and cottage industry crafters in America (i.e. the little guy).
It rewarded the big toy corps and China who no longer have to compete with small crafters like me who now cannot afford the expensive testing needed to sell to children. The free and independent bootstrap American worker/owner has lost ANOTHER means of independent living from government employment or working for a corporation.
Democrats are liars, they are not for the little guy.
Tanks for nuttin.
Saying that he would veto any extension of the Homeland Security Act that didn’t restore Constitutional rights to the citizenry would be good also. I’m not holding my breath.
Tootie,
Are you suggesting that President Obama is bringing terrorists in the the country? Please explain.
puzzling:
BINGO.
Yes. Bloodshed and terrorism is the US government’s jobs program.
Who do you think is bringing the terrorists into the country in the first place?
Slart
Those are the concerns of local and state governments.
puzzling,
I can understand your frustration, but I am not quite sure I can call Obama an enemy of freedom. At least not yet. Let’s see what he says in the SOTU.
You make it sounds as if Obama’s inclination is to stand up for these principled positions… and yet we have years of evidence to the contrary! How much more evidence do you need? This president – any many before him – are in fact powerful enemies of freedom.
Buddha,
Another good choice to try to bring the secret, corporate and foreign money out of our elections.
Puzzling,
ending the wars would be a great one.
Slarti,
I suspect its all of the above and some head dropping as a child….No one can be that dumb and still type….wait voice to text works well now with dragon…..
Tootie,
I stopped reading when you advocated putting arsenic in your drinking water and e. coli in your food – are you sure that you don’t have too much lead in your diet?
How about just ending the wars?
Or are we keeping those going in our quest for “full employment”?
The president of the United States does not have powers (as outlined in the Constitution) to be about the business of creating jobs.
He can constitutionally use his bully pulpit to advocate for jobs, but to do that effectively he would need to stop being a Marxist (more accurately a Neo-Marxist: redistribution through taxation and welfare, per Friedrich Hayek–the late Nobel prize winning economist, scholar, and victim of Hitler.
Obama would need to eliminate huge cabinet officies which strangle business, for example, the EPA and the FDA. This is not going to happen. Power would have to be given up and that isn’t fun for despots.
The EPA is critical in the Democrat’s Neo-Marxist redistribution scheme as well. The green ecomony is going to be a government run program, not private enterprise. Obama is using Beninto Mussolini’s fascist method for the green economy. We see being established this week with General Electric and other private companies who are now supplicants prostrated before our Dictator in Chief.
He has no constitutional authority to do this.
The health care industry leaders have already complied with these fascist schemes without a whimper. This is how Mussolini did it too.
You are all witnesses to how an imbecilic thug with a Harvard law degree not requiring much intelligence to speak of can stomp the necks and faces of brilliant neurosurgeons and people with real smarts into the dirt.
IF Obama was concerned about jobs he wouldn’t have signed Obamacare. It is not possible to advocate this costly destroyer of the monetary unit (the government will have to print more money to fund it)and be serious about jobs.
And he would also have to be opposed to amensty and continued legal immigration if he were concerned about our jobs. Since he isn’t we know he doesn’t care.
Bascially, actions outside of these kinds of steps would be:
One: lies
Two: unconstitutional
Finally, the president cannot re-ignite his base by pushing for a trial over Bush torture because of the likely criminal acts Obama has done already which put HIM into jeopardy from the opposing party come time for them to consider retribution about Bush.
May you get what you wish.
What likely criminal acts has Obama committed? For starters, sanctions against Iran.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVTElyiY-oU&w=480&h=390]
And the drones:
http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2010/10/03/us-unmanned-drone-attacks-within-pakistan-record-high-threat-civilians
raff,
I would add challenge Congress to eliminate corporate spending on campaigns thus disposing of the SCOTUS induced unconstitutional abomination that is Citizens United.
above….
Put Clintons folks in they did well with a surplus…I would like to see all of Education financed with a real kick start and measured…the results measured after 5 years….no true result will be present until after 7 years but you could see the signs of change….
I agree in totality with the about…
Off the top of my head, all I want is for this post to have been prescient (especially the WPA thing…). Oh, and PayGo+5% (any new spending requires budget offsets of at least 105% of its cost – got to work our way towards a surplus somehow…).