There have been so many great diaries these past few days, and I for one, appreciate all of them. This is in fact a pivotal time for our nation, and I believe President Obama has shown great skill, courage and guts in these dark times.
I don't even pay attention (nor do I ever) to what the Republicans are saying, but I do know this:
We have now come to yet another moment, when we can either forge our financial resources back to the exhausted and weary people of this nation, including our troops, or we can continue down the same path that has proven a disaster.
Today, I was watching as a spokesperson who lost a loved on on 9/11 was taking about the word: 'Closure.' She said, that was the wrong word, and it struck me as so true, because when someone you love dies (especially in wars, and they can die in many ways, not just physically but emotionally, mentally and spiritually) sometimes when that final cost comes down, there is no closure.
The cost is too dear, and it lasts a lifetime. I happen to believe that when someone you loves dies, especially in your family, it takes a tiny piece of your heart every single time.
I believe we can honor the dead through memory, and love, and our actions and our deeds, especially because for the past ten years, we have paid so dearly and in so many ways, especially in the 'reactionary politics.'
We can thank the war criminals for that: George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. We can also thank George W. Bush for destroying our national economy, by undermining every single law he could to protect the same 'war criminals' (just a different kind) on Wall Street.
We have now gotten, what I would call the 'double whammy'...the shock doctrine that has completely done in our nation.
My dad, a 30 year military man, was very old school. He was very quiet about what he had been through, and rarely if ever talked about it. I knew that he had spent a year a half in Stalag 11 during WWII, and I also knew, that night after night he screamed in his sleep. Three of my own brother suffered deeply from the Vietnam war, and so it goes, that our mistakes, are an opportunity to honor our dead, but to also remember that to glorify war, is and never will be the answer.
My dad used to tell my six brothers: the truth worth of a man, is to have the courage to walk away from a fight, and to leave the fools alone. He also used to say, that real hero's of WWII were buried upon the battle grounds they fought on, in Europe. In 1968 when he retired, he hated Vietnam, and grew a beard, and even smoked a few fatties with his 'pacifists children,' such as me, his daughter. LOL.
Today, and yesterday, I was not exactly full of 'blood lust' or whatever, I was fully exhausted after 10 years of the total 'double whammy.'
Americans are weary, we are just so damn weary of it all, and honest to god, I do not at all envy President Obama, to what is now in front of him. But you know what? We have a damn right to be weary.
But if there was ever a time, when he had more of a new political mandate or capital than this (other when he got elected in a landslide) this is the time.
Understand, this: I am not trying to rush away the celebration, or all that. This is an amazing time in our nation.
What I keep hearing in my own heart and soul is 'Carpe diem,' seize the day, Mr. President: make it now, and show your true heart as a Democrat in our nation.
This President, has truly show great skill and patience and courage, and I have to say with all my heart:
Sir, my hat is off to you, so let us go forward and show thrice or even ten times the courage and truly, 'Win the future,' because if you can do that Mr. President, then I believe you may go down as one of the greatest President's in the history of this nation.
Now you may not believe that is the way I feel, but I do. I honestly do. I so want President Obama to succeed, and I want our nation to dig ourselves out of this fucking black hole that George W. Bush left us in, but the first step is this:
We have had real and meaningful accountability for the first time in a long time, but let's not waste that moment. Let's turn it into an amazing new momentum for our own party platform. Shall we? Can we gather this moment in history and repair our own fragmented party and nation? Yes we can, if we push President Obama now to truly understand, this is his moment and his time to turn our nation around. Take the damn dice and throw them, and President Obama CAN show real courage, and lead us all back to our party platform. God bless you if you can. Don't let us down now when we need you most, President Obama.
Let us begin to truly understand this fact, and btw I would appreciate any help that any wonderful, fabulous nerds on this site (and I know who you are) to try to figure out how much money we as a nation have given Pakistan (and other nations: Iraq and Afganistan for bribes and Nation Building over the past 10 years?) And this is not the fucking costs of business, this is feeding the MIC people: Wake up!!!!!
The big question on the news today is this:
How in the fuck could the Pakistan government not know (with the West Point of the entire nation there being less than a mile from the huge Compound that was built specifically for this mass murderer, bin laden, in 2005, none the less) not know what was going on?
Not only did they know, they 'played us' all the way. This reminds me of how the exact same bullshit war profiteers stole (via Dick Cheney and Bush, and Black Water, and Halliburton and the rest) from Iraq:
Nearly $9 billion of money spent on Iraqi reconstruction is unaccounted for because of inefficiencies and bad management, according to a watchdog report published Sunday.
An inspector general's report said the U.S.-led administration that ran Iraq until June 2004 is unable to account for the funds.
"Severe inefficiencies and poor management" by the Coalition Provisional Authority has left auditors with no guarantee the money was properly used," the report said.
http://articles.cnn.com/...
I'm just wondering now exactly how much money between the $9 billion dollars that was stolen from us, and all the fucking money spent on so called "nation building' in Pakistan and the bribes and all that other crap has cost us. Here is clue:
According to a March 29, 2011 Congressional Research Service report, Congress has approved a total of $1.283 trillion for “military operations, base security, reconstruction, foreign aid, embassy costs, and veterans’ health care for the three operations initiated since the 9/11 attacks.” Those three operations include Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) Afghanistan; Operation Noble Eagle (ONE), providing enhanced security at military bases; and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF).
Broken down individually, the government has spent $806 billion for Iraq, $444 billion for Afghanistan, $29 billion for enhanced security and $6 billion on “unallocated” items. The vast majority of all the money appropriated has gone to the Department of Defense, and of that money more and more is being spent on Operation & Maintenance (O&M) funding, which went from $42 billion in FY2004 to $79 billion in FY2008. Only $67 billion (or 5 percent) went to the State Department or USAID. Only $8 billion (or 1 percent) went to veterans' care, via the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Because U.S. troop presence will remain at relatively high levels in Afghanistan and, to a lesser extent, Iraq in the years ahead -- and because veteran health-care needs will likely only get worse -- the price will continue to rise. If Congress also approves the president’s FY2012 war-funding request, the cumulative cost of post-9/11 operations would reach $1.415 trillion. The Congressional Budget Office -- the nonpartisan accountant for lawmakers -- estimates that over the next ten years, total costs “could reach $1.8 trillion by FY2021.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
And then of course there is this:
Delusions of Debt
The bill that has been rung up is in the form of a national debt that has increased by $4.6 trillion since September 2008, a 48% increase in two and a half years. Over this same time frame real GDP has increased by $200 billion, a 1.6% increase in two and a half years. Over this same period, the Federal Reserve has tripled their balance sheet by adding $2 trillion of debt. Think about this for one second. The leaders of the great American empire have burdened future generations with $6.6 trillion of new debt and increased the Gross Domestic Product by $200 billion. Is this a good return on investment? Did the 30 million unemployed and underemployed Americans benefit? Did the 45 million people on food stamps benefit? Did the 11 million households who are underwater in their mortgage benefit? Did the 3 million people who lost their homes in foreclosure since 2008 benefit? Are Americans paying twice as much for groceries and gasoline benefitting? Did the Tunisians, Egyptians, and other poor people around the world benefit?
The answer to all these questions is NO. The only beneficiaries have been bankers, billionaires, mega-corporations and the politicians who were bought off by these greedy traitors to the Republic. Anyone with an ounce of sense knows the country got into this mess due to the issuance of mountains of debt that was un-payable based upon any reasonable assessment of future cash flows to service the debt. Consumers could never have increased their wages enough to pay off the credit card, mortgage, home equity, student loan, and auto debt they accumulated since 1980. The government could never collect the amount of taxes needed to pay for the $100 trillion of entitlement promises they have made over the last four decades. By 2008 we had reached peak debt delusion. would bear the brunt of the default. The Federal Reserve Chairman and the U.S. Treasury Secretary rolled out a master plan that revolved around convincing the masses they were being saved, while actually enriching their masters on Wall Street. Their PR machine and captured mouthpieces throughout the mainstream media and in Co. The only questions that remained were how would the debt be defaulted on and whongress spun the fear mongering message of Depression if the mega-banks were not handed trillions of taxpayer funds.
The only questions that remained were how would the debt be defaulted on and who would bear the brunt of the default. The Federal Reserve Chairman and the U.S. Treasury Secretary rolled out a master plan that revolved around convincing the masses they were being saved, while actually enriching their masters on Wall Street. Their PR machine and captured mouthpieces throughout the mainstream media and in Congress spun the fear mongering message of Depression if the mega-banks were not handed trillions of taxpayer funds. The proof of what did not happen is borne out in the chart below, showing the total credit market debt in the U.S.at $52.6 trillion, $200 billion higher than it was in 2008. If those who had collected billions in fraudulent profits while using unprecedented levels of debt were rightfully required to take responsibility for the catastrophe they caused, the debt levels would have dropped dramatically. The losses would have been borne by those responsible. The economy would have taken a body blow, all Americans would have been hurt, and many billionaires would have become millionaires or even paupers. The debt would have been written off and lessons would have been learned. The remaining banks (there are 8,000 others besides the 10 who control 50% of the deposits) would have followed traditional risk mitigation methods and the economy would have recovered.
http://www.theburningplatform.com/...
I keep thinking of just how much 'we,' are Americans have paid in the bribes, and Nation building, and war profiteerers, and I keep asking myself this singular question:
If President Obama did have the 'guts' and courage to start bringing our troops home from Afganistan, what jobs would those troops have at home?
And that, my friends is the rub. There are NO JOBS IN AMERICA FOR ANY AMERICANS.
It truly bothered today, (although I understood why she was doing it) to hear Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton tell us all now, that it was time for us all to:
Double down on our efforts to completely destroy all the terrorists and al-Qaeda.
I understand the back lash from what is going on, but when do we stop this insane nation building and feeding our borrowed money from China to the wealthiest of this nation, in form of the Bush tax cuts, to pay off the crooks and liars, and to pay off more of the same? More wars, more feeding of the Oligarchy, more feeding of our failed two party system, that is draining the Middle Class to the bone?
So here is the deal:
If President Obama froze the wages of Federal workers, and the Republican Governors are going to knowingly destroying our Unions, and cut Teachers, Police and Fire Fighters, (those on the front line that were honored today on this great day of celebration,) then don't you think President Obama can just stop and freeze:
1. Any more funds for so called Nation Building in other countries, when our own nation needs it desperately?
2. Create a real jobs program, now that he has as much politcal capital than he ever did, in fact a new madate? (Now bigger than when he was actually elected?)
3. Bring our Troops home, Mr. President and honor them with a new jobs program. Take care of them for the 10 fucking years they have shown as a so called, volunteer Army? (The only real employment opportunity left in our country?) How many tours of duty did these men and women do?) How long and at what cost emotionally and physically and spiritually will they suffer? Let me tell you how much: forever. And who got rich off of it, is the real question, isn't it?
As I stated earlier, I do not envy President Obama and what he was given to him on his plate, but at the same time, I just want to give our own nation, a great big fucking hug. We deserve it.
Now is President Obama's Carpe diem moment. Now is the time.
I'm not even going to go into the 'financial fiasco' that Bernanke and Geithner have led us to, because I believe, in this:
I believe that at this moment in history, like other moments in our history, when a President is called to his destiny, then he/she either hears that calling or they do not. It is a strange moment, and it is calling to their souls that only they can hear.
You might find that a bit too esoteric for your liking, but then I believe in miracles. I believe in great leaders, that are called to destiny, whereupon, they dig down deep in their souls and fight the 'better part of their angels' and do the right things.
All I can hope for is the very best of this nation, because I refuse to give up on all of you, or President Obama.
This is our moment, this is his moment, and this is 'his time.'
I just hope, that he will not squander it, and rise to his own destiny and greatness that is simply waiting for him to grab it.
Let us remember now how to 'rise:'
Still I Rise:
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.
Create Date : Friday, January 03, 2003
Maya Angelou
Just wanted to end this diary, by begging President Obama, to 'Rise Up' to his own destiny and his own call. The American people are so weary and tired, and now you have a great, great moment in history.
It is all up to you.
I applaud you for your patience, courage, guts and so much. Now, we move forward, or not, to 'Win the Future.' If you do this, President Obama, I will follow you all the way, just show us the way, is all we are asking.
Carpe diem, (seize the day) President Obama. Put those asshole Republican Governors down when they belong, in the devils hole and stand up for the Unions and jobs in our nation.
Never in this history of our nation, (not since Teddy Kennedy handed over the tourch to President Obama) did our party have more strength or mojo.
The thing I always loved about my own party (the Democratic Party) was our diversity, all colors, all creeds, all sexual preferences, all about freedom and light and love and moving forward. The greatest melting pot there ever was. That is 'American' as it should be. That is the greatest thing about our nation, we are in fact the greatest melting pot there ever was.
I am so full of hope and love for my President and this nation tonight.
Thank you for letting me share my feeling with all of you. Let us all move on, and hope for a better day in our nation.
Carry on Democrats.
Ms. B.