Pie wars recently include whether to criticize or not to criticize President Obama. I think this is too simplistic and asks very little of us.
President Obama has many great qualities that we ask for in a president. He is charming, has charisma, can give a speech like few in the current political scene can even hope to come close to.
As president he has two jobs: 1) to get reelected and 2) govern a complex, multilayered, multifaceted bunch of responsibilities ranging from FDA, EPA, NASA to IRS, Homeland Security and the bunch of 40,000 people sitting somewhere listening to our phone calls and reading our emails LOL. He is also responsible for 2 and 3/4 wars and diplomatic efforts to navigate the ever changing foreign seas.
I think we can safely say that, in spite of our continuing battles w/in Dkos, we can all agree that he is much better than cranky pants McCain. Who might possibly have actually "bombed bombed Iran"!
Obama has taken some lessons from President Clinton, IMO and tries to triangulate with the GOP. A task that is not as easy now as it was then, considering that most of the GOP has now scampered into completely uncharted territory of extreme craziness.
And of course, Michele Bachman
"During the last 100 days we have seen an orgy. It would make any local smorgasbord embarrassed … The government spent its wad by April 26." -Rep. Michele Bachmann, accusing the Obama administration of premature fiscal ejaculation, May 2009
quoted here in
Dumb Michele Bachman quotes.
Now let us discuss us and our aspirations. It is our right to have aspirations for our government and for our country and our communities and our states. I feel that WE have been lacking the clarity and the spine and the resolve when it comes to aspirations. We cannot be leaders, we cannot even be good followers, IMO, if we cannot voice our aspirations clearly, succinctly, and with such beauty that others come to rejoice in just the ideas alone.
(Having said that, I confess that I lack the ability to really be succinct and I cannot ever remember a time when anybody ever longed for any vision I ever came up with, but I live in hope that if I put it out there SOMEBODY will step up to the plate! Fortunately for me, Eleanor Roosevelt already did that.)
Below is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, first pioneered by Eleanor Roosevelt. The US has yet to ratify this document. I wonder why? Maybe our corporate sponsorship is universally opposed to human rights? Maybe it doesn't fit in with our MIC? What does it say about us, as a people, who lack the will to push for ratification?
PREAMBLE
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,
Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,
Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,
Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,
Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,
Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,
Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.
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Article 1.
* All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
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Article 2.
* Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.
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Article 3.
* Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
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Article 4.
* No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
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Article 5.
* No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
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Article 6.
* Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.
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Article 7.
* All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.
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Article 8.
* Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.
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Article 9.
* No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
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Article 10.
* Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.
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Article 11.
* (1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
* (2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.
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Article 12.
* No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.
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Article 13.
* (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
* (2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.
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Article 14.
* (1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
* (2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
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Article 15.
* (1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.
* (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.
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Article 16.
* (1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
* (2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
* (3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
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Article 17.
* (1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
* (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.
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Article 18.
* Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
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Article 19.
* Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
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Article 20.
* (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
* (2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.
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Article 21.
* (1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
* (2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.
* (3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.
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Article 22.
* Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.
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Article 23.
* (1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
* (2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
* (3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
* (4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.
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Article 24.
* Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.
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Article 25.
* (1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
* (2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.
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Article 26.
* (1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
* (2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
* (3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.
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Article 27.
* (1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
* (2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.
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Article 28.
* Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.
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Article 29.
* (1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
* (2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
* (3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
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Article 30.
* Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.
In the light of the words above, how say we about the Obama adminstration? We can say that they have made some progress in the area of LGBT with the repeal of DADT and, finally, allowing DOMA to sink.
But I don't think we have gotten very far with torture and with treating people humanely. Indeed, I fear for our people because they have become so hideously punitive. I think our prisons are becoming slave labor and the trashing of unions is to facilitate the degradation of working conditions.
I get the feeling that people, like Obama, are pragmatists. But that is an enigma to me. I get that we have to sacrifice this or that in order to achieve this or that. Isn't that why we have politicians in the first place? But is the sacrifice and the achievement balanced?
For example, giving up single payer for public option and then giving up public option to get a bill passed, was that balanced? Was the ultimate bill worth the sacrifice? If so, why is it so difficult to defend? Why is it so confusing?
Another example: we declined to prosecute the Bushco for war crimes. Impeachment was put off the table. We are told to look forward not back. Is there balance between letting wrong doing pass and going forward? Are we substantially less evil now? Is the going forward more beneficial to us in that we have some civil peace? We do not have civil peace, IMO, we have open warfare but we are not allowed to engage the enemy. Where do we get to do other than poke fun at Michele Bachman, when she has used the capital grounds to promote her frenzied base?
At what point do we see the Obama administration righting the ship of state and steering clear of the shoals of unregulated capitalism? Net neutrality? anti trust? mortgage fraud?
To be fair to Obama, he has had some glowing successes and I count amongst them the Lily Ledbetter act, the student loan reform, DADT repeal, credit card reform, the main street stimulus bill, and I am sure there are a host of others. And to be fair to Obama, there is much that he is confronted with on a daily basis that we do not have to deal with. I, for one, would not be happy watching Boehner cry all the time. I think Eric Cantor is a prick. And I think the tea party fruitcakes are just totally exhausting in their ability to shut anything out that they don't understand or don't want to deal with. I get how difficult it is and continues to be.
But I matter, the base matters, the ideals matter. We are not just ATMs and little androids, you wind us up and see us go into action. We are more apt to go into action when things are clear cut. Muddling doesn't seem to get our juices flowing. And yes, it is not the stars, but ourselves that are the problem.
It has been said that we are "beat down" as a people. I think, in many ways we have been taught to beat ourselves down. We respond to negativity by shutting down and the rethugs have used that relentlessly to depress voting. I think that we have not well understood the implements of our imprisonment by the so-called media and the relentless framing of every frickin' issue. And I think we see in WI what happens when those restraints fall off like scales from the eyes and we see that we do, indeed, have access to power.
I think it is crystal clear that corporations are not only getting huge tax breaks (in spite of the framing) but they are also getting corporate welfare while welfare to the disadvantaged is being merciless slashed.
I think it is crystal clear that the human rights talked about in the Universal Declaration were not talking about Corporate Rights!
I think most everything going wrong on this planet, from starvation, to wars, to plundering asshats, is about greed. It is about not realizing that we are all connected. The rich blood sucking soul from BofA doesn't seem to realize that after he takes that last dime from us there will be NO MORE. He thinks that money, like blood, just keeps on flowing. He never thinks that eventually he will be looking at a carcass with no blood, no treasure, no meat and no measure to make him better than somebody else. It is truly amazing.
Anyway, back to Obama and us. President Obama reads the tea leaves but they are all brewed in dc. He thinks that we are stuck having to vote for him and dems because there is no frickin' competition. We are not totally asshat stupid so Boehner's tears and Bachman's fears are not appealing to us. But he has missed a crucial element here. We are not left without any alternatives. Thanks to the rethugs we have a revival in the country. A revival of solidarity, of believing in ourselves. WE are now in charge!
ACTION ALERT
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Now we have a solidarity moment coming up Monday, April 4th. For those of you that can, look for planned protests - move-on might be a place to look. For those of you who can't, I have a special need that you can fill. As you can see, brevity may be the soul of wit, but I am witless! Help us figure out good signs to take out there for our protests. Short, concise, to the point signs that can be read quickly and photograph well. The last protest I went to I had a big huge sign that was a total bust. I was trying to complain about companies making big profits and not paying taxes, but it was too much.
Oh, and take your cameras!
I don't think it takes an Einstein to recognize: "It is the GREED, stupid!"
So are we to wait for our leaders to catch up? I don't think so. Leaders are born knowing that they have to get out in front in order to lead. I think we need to go full steam ahead and see who it is that wants to join us and act as if they are leading.