BoatEater

Stop Palin. Really? Stay Focused and Vote.

We are in the last 48 hours of mid-term elections and Politico comes out with a piece on how the Republicans are gearing up for their next "urgent task." Their task, as they see it, is to "begin in earnest as soon as the elections are over: Stop Sarah Palin." Really? 

There are a number of things suspect about this. Most importantly is the timing. The idea that this is being floated now is bound to be tied in to the thought of depressing the Tea  Party voters. So many elections are so close that the both sides are doubling down. For the Democrats, unfortunately, that can result in voter fraud tweaks, suspect get-out-the-vote promotions, and, of course, planted stories. Whoever let this trial balloon loose simply wants to try to tap into the rage of many conservative voters and ramp their ire up to the point where they do nothing. This is not what is important right now. That's another fight for another day--if it's a fight at all. What's important is for conservatives, Republicans, and Tea Partiers to stay focused and storm the ballot boxes to take back this country the American way. VOTE! 

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1010/44449.html#ixzz143dOlnZO

Give a soldier a voice. Vote!

The fact that prisoners are given better treatment than our military is outrageous and particularly so when it comes to having the ability to cast a vote. I don't care whether someone in the military is right, left or simply squatting in the middle, they, above all others, deserve the right to cast a vote. They, more than anyone else, reap the consequences of our votes and the decisions of those we elect. The fact that even one soldier is unable to vote is disgusting. The fact that this happens over and over and over, from election to election to election, is beyond words. Why has this not been corrected? This is not new. This is an old problem. As Americans we all should be ashamed that this happening. Give a soldier a voice. VOTE!

Halloween brings out the Democrats

It's not just Halloween, it's Get-Out-the-Vote Union-style weekend. Like animated Zombies union workers will hit the streets, fill the bleachers, raise the signs, and pump up Obama and the Democrat candidates for one last hurrah. Well, good luck. How many union members support this? You can't tell me union dollars aren't behind all these last-minute efforts to mobilize. Will storming the streets and halls creating a delusion of all-is-well and Obama is king be worthwhile? What ramifications await the union leadership when the final tallies are counted and the amount of money expended is fully realized? Perhaps it won't just be the halls of government where calls for fiscal responsibility are heard.

I watched Obama address the crowds earlier today. It all sounded wonderful. A full chorus chanting, a crowd straining to recapture the fading moments of two years ago. And although Obama sounded a little more energized than he has in the past couple of weeks, there was a moment when he stopped, raised that haughty chin, took in the sound and appeared transported. Within moments he took on a more wistful look and, while still in the throes of the crowd, had clearly returned to the present. The moment was lost. Not for want of Obama's desire to cling to past glory but for the present to insert itself by means of a jarring Democrat heckler who returned him to reality. For all their cries, jeers, heckles, and yells, the left is losing air and the rest of us are slowly able to breathe again.

BoatEater now on Townhall as BoatEater2

Yep, it's a new year and I'm getting a little braver or my disgust level is crescendoing. I opened up an account over at Townhall and will be cross-posting entries. Oddly they don't seem to have a way to have a feed as Smart Girl Politics but that's okay. If you don't know Townhall is a a huge conservative site full of columnists and bloggers. The way this year is shaping up there's going to be plenty to cover. 

Obama the rock star

America's all-consuming passion for celebrity has reached its apex with President Obama. The public does not view him as a politician. He is the face of our nation. He is our hope. He is our future. Most of all, Obama is a celebrity and he has achieved cult status. Like any good rock star, Obama spends most of his time touring and playing to his fans. This week our rock star took center stage in Europe. In doing so, he has solidified his image as an international celebrity. He smiles, he nods, he speaks in vague terms in a soft, easy-going style that disarms and charms. He is the culmination of our culture.

This morning Obama spoke at a town hall meeting. Not in a small economically-hit town, not in a major city embattled in an economic battle that is resulting in a populace fleeing to another part of the country, not even in the district of Columbia. No, our gorgeous president was in his element addressing an audience mainly comprised of young and eager Europeans—with a smattering of Americans who were immediately directed to not to ask any questions. He only wanted to talk to the Europeans. Barely sixty days into his administration President Obama has taken his campaign to the world stage where the troubles in the United States take a back seat to the woes of the world. The United States of America is now the bank and the power that Obama the Rock Star will use to govern globally, and he will use his celebrity status to make it happen.

Obama has a plan and it is working. It is tempting to write him off and think that he is a man with little substance. That would be a mistake. President Obama has a reasoned-out plan for the United State and for the world. Hope is the shield he raises to draw attention away from what is really going on. It is the ultimate shell game. To not see Obama for who and what he is, is dangerous. This is a man who views the presidency as a resume enhancement for his true intention which is to govern globally. He is anything but an empty suit and woe to those who ignore what is happening.

We have a president who knows exactly what he is doing and is sure he is right. We have a Congress with an elected majority who is in sympathy with him and who work in concert to meet his aims. We have a majority of people who are content to drop the reins and have given him his head. As long as Obama is able to feed the people soft words, easy smiles and that false sense of security he so ably conveys, all the while drawing attention and interest away from the detailed implementation of his plans, we will remain in this state. We have a huge infatuated populace and an elected president who exults in their adoration. The two are locked in a dance that, for now, doesn't seem to have any end in sight. The damage that this celebrity president is going to accomplish is huge. The bigger question is can he be stopped?

 

Here’s the thing: Tell Obama what you think

Citizenship is a bit like a marriage. At some point in the ceremony the minister looks out over those gathered together and provides a moment for those who are opposed to the marriage to voice their concerns. We Americans are living in that moment. Unfortunately, our president is not pausing to hear any voices. I doubt many on that second Tuesday in November last year thought that now President Obama would come to office and push through such wide-sweeping, even radical, changes and do it as fast as he is currently doing. We are a country of laws and procedures. It is customary for us to watch as the politicians hem and haw and call it debate. It takes forever for Washington to act. Right? Barely 60 days into Obama’s reign, we are rapidly gaining an understanding of how Obama intends to govern. Inclusion? Gone. Debate? Over. Transparency? Never happened.  

President Obama is intent on pushing through his agenda no matter what. We are to accept his plans and not question the details. Well, as a people we have always had the option of expressing our opinion and taking action when we disagree with our government. Nothing is more fundamental to our governing system. The problem is today fewer and fewer people appreciate this gift given to us by the Founders. That’s unfortunate because we’re heading at bullet-train speed toward a time when dissent, if not criminalized, will be crushed by social, political and legal infrastructures that are now in their infancy. Already people are expressing their fear of speaking out. They speak quietly; they whisper; they keep their thoughts to themselves. They dislike heated debate. They fear reprisals. They don’t want to make waves. Waves are exactly what we need. In fact, right now we could do with a wave of Tsunami proportion.

That there is a growing anxiety at the wide-ranging proposals being pushed through in Washington without discussion and, worse, without being read is clear. You can see it in the tea parties sprouting up in state after state, town after town, neighborhood after neighborhood. You can feel the unease as it settles in and people begin to search for others who share their fears and their uncertainties. Neighbors are gathering and they’re talking. But is talking enough?

If you’re feeling overwhelmed and your anxieties are having an impact on how you function, do something. Talking is good. Action is better. “What can I do?” is a refrain heard hour by hour as people respond to the nonstop stream of events out of Washington. The answer is that it depends. What works for you? If talking and meeting with others who share your fears and concerns help, do that. If writing about what worries you helps, do that. The mushrooming tea parties offer opportunities to combine talk with action. Online groups such as the burgeoning Glenn Beck’s 912 Project provide ways for people from all over the country to congregate. Even a simple action such as ordering and reading books can be helpful. Find authors who are talking about your concerns. Engage with them by reading their words and examining their ideas. Change your self-talk and rid yourself of fear.

Your level of engagement will be defined by your character but know that action is needed to stop the rising tide of anxiety and fear. Doing nothing is dangerous; dangerous for you and dangerous for the country. If you are worried by this administration’s focused, intentional rush to take over so many areas that will impact your daily life, then the time to act is now—not later when the ability to act has been erased. Feel better: Act. Treasury Secretary Geithner says we have a moment of opportunity. I say, don’t waste it. The opportunity to dissent is here. Grab it. 

Has Obama made a mistake?

President Obama arrived in Washington ushered in by a fawning press, an adoring public--minus the 50+ million who didn't vote for him, and a preening, overly ambitious, Congress. Obama and his compadres took their elections as a mandate to go forward on every single thought they ever had about changing the government. In their bones you know they understand that had it not been for the sudden apparent collapse of the economy their electoral victory would be nonexistent. It's obvious in their everyday actions and statements. 

Sensing the potential brevity of the sudden opportunity, Rob Emmanuel set the tone and the stage for what will ultimately become the largest attempt at government hi-jacking ever in these United States. Talk about a political coup. Under the mask of emergency measures demanded by economical upheaval on Wall Street and the anxiety of the people, the current administration has ramped up their political ambitions in a land grab that would put the best robber baron to shame. Along the way he, Obama, and the pitiful excuse for house and senate leadership toss out the campaign promises, the governing principles, and--shock--existing laws. Why? Because the once shrouded holy grail of Liberalism has now been pulled aside and the promise of a future that is even beyond socialism and a nationalized economy is now visible in all its glory. It's too tempting to not want to reach out and make it so. 

The problem is that Obama and friends know that they only have a short window to make it happen. They also know that the public must be distracted non-stop while they work under the guise of an economic disaster to implement the infrastructure that will make their dream a reality. So checks and balances are ignored, congressional debates are refused, and in no way, shape, or form will anyone be allowed to read, let alone digest, what is being put forth. There is a massive rush to carry the ball forward and to do so unheeded. 

What they are counting on is an electorate that is asleep at the wheel. An electorate and complicit media that willingly follows the pointed fingers of distraction to gather at the gates of homes in Connecticut, to wail at the Wall Street excesses, and to willingly embrace the mantra of the day. What they want is an electorate who is quick to respond emotionally but dead to any intellectual thought. Unfortunately, given the state of education the populace is sorely in need of a healthy dose of reality, of US history, and of economics and civics. The lackluster education that has been dolled out over the last thirty years has made this population a fertile bed for Obama and friends. 

Given all that, Obama and the Democrats, still heady with success, have determined that they don't even need to hide what they are doing any more. They've thrown the shells away and left the peas visible for all to see. Thankfully, there are still people in America who were required to take economics and civics when they were in high school and it was of the kind that actually represented our government and capitalism. Thankfully, there are still people in America who remember the way America once was and who see and understand what is really going on. Thankfully, there are still Americans who value individualism, capitalism, and the right to be free from the state. Thankfully, they are on the move. 

The real question is who will win this race? Will it be Obama and friends? Or will it be the American people? Only time will tell but that time, in this instance, it is not far-off. Already millions are embracing the Tea Parties to give voice to their fears and to bring the full scope of what is being done to the people. Obama may have won the election but the question is fast becoming whether he won it fairly and whether he came to Washington as a pretender? His current actions speak far louder now than his years of campaigning. In less than sixty days,  the real Obama has dropped his campaign mask and is finally letting us see who he really is. 

Perhaps the real question is how will the American people respond?  

BoatEater joins Smart Girl Politics

Unless you live an un-plugged lifestyle, it's not easy to avoid the nonstop streaming of today's events. The onslaught can easily provoke feelings of helplessness and a sense of being overwhelmed when you hear over and over that the economy is in the tank, the Congress is drunk on spending, and the solutions--if there are any--are, shall we say, just plain nuts. If you're housebound like me, the opportunity to vent and take action is extremely limited. You want to do something. Since I'm a writer, my instinct is to write. The BoatEater blog comes out of this frustration I have with both sides of the aisle and a culture that appears to have turned deaf, dumb, and blind. In a search for like-minded individuals, I found and joined Smart Girl Politics. So this is my "hello, Smart Girls" shout out!    

Links: Smart Girl Politics

We are no longer adrift

Technology speeds up our rapid response time and increases our stress rate. Today we operate in full 24/7 mode and some embrace this breakneck lifestyle with all its techno gadgets and ever-increasing level playing field. It all sounds good, feels great. But has anyone noticed we're lost the time to think? We rely on our gut reactions and emotional responses to increasing onslaught of emails, faxes, and networked connections. We've lost the time and are losing the ability to reflect, to weigh the consequences of our actions. Too late, we hit enter, click on send and move on to the next incoming techno-missile. I confess that there are many days when I miss the built-in time offered by snail mail when the back and forth between queries and proposals took days, even weeks, compared to the minutes and even seconds where we reside now. But where is this leading us?