Those like Me

I have been waiting for this, he said. At last SOMEBODY has finally had the gumption, verve and acumen to write between the lines. See through them first, then write about them. Obama has taken some heat of late over his comments about the middle class being bitter about the current state of their plight and clinging to guns and gods in retaliation. If I were stumping in Pennsylvania I would pick an adjective a lot stronger than bitter. How about, 'pissed off', how about 'mad as hell', how about 'fucking outraged'? Those all work better, IMHO, he thought.

And how black is the kettle calling this pot black? Elitist? Out of touch? Oh, really?

So here is the latest on my election wish list: I want a candidate who is and who will:

• Be as innocent and naive as one can possibly be and still compete in this incredibly convoluted and rigged electoral process.
• Be able to see the truth, tell the truth and live the truth.
• Have personal integrity and values unrelated to campaign donations.
• Do what is right, not what furthers a political agenda.
• Represent the wishes of the people, not the Military/Industrial complex.
• Adhere to the Constitution.
• Not murder, torture, exploit or threaten our brothers and sisters of the planet. Even of they cannot aide or abet our current agenda.
• Not have corporate ties, industry apron-strings, a map of where the bodies are buried, favors to be named or skeletons in the closet.
• An inquiring mind, a creative approach, a gentle spirit, a ready smile.
• Deeply concerned with the environment, pollution, global warming, alternative energy, and the right of all Americans to freely seek health, personal expression and happiness without wiretaps, warrants, security cams, the TSA, Homeland Security, more prisons, a wall to keep Mexicans out, (but the NAFTA profits and cheap labor, in).
• A true separation of church and state.
• Thinks that a gay lifestyle, abortion and anything else dealing with one's body and with whom he or she shares it with, it up to them.
• Admit that we lost the 'war on drugs' about 20 years ago. Admit that the 'war on terror' is being sponsored by the war industry to meet 21st century profit expectations.
• Want real change. Not just from the neo-cons, but from the entire system that is no longer meeting the needs of the many. And that means the bitter, the pissed off, the mad as hell and, even the fucking outraged of America. Those like me, he thought.

A new silent (and bitter) majority


Robyn
BLUMNER

tbt* COLUMNIST


B arack
Obama may have been a little too blunt in his now infa­mous quip about how the economic insecurities gripping small-town America manifest themselves, but the word “bitter” perfectly sums up my feelings these days.
You bet I’m bitter.
I’ve watched my country get hi­jacked by a group of self-serving incompetents who have little con­science about sending young men and women to die in an unnecessary war, while putting the bill on a credit card for the next generation.
You bet I’m bitter.
I’ve seen some of the greatest moral handiwork of modern civili­zation — the Geneva Conventions — get treated as if it were the naive ramblings of out-of-touch do-good­ers. I’ve watched the founding prin­ciples of our nation — the inalien­able right of due process of law and the checks and balances of three co-equal branches of government — treated as a copse to be mowed down en route to the unitary executive.
You bet I’m bitter.
I’ve stood by as the wealth of our nation has been concentrated in the hands of a tiny elite while the middle class struggles to financially tread water. I’ve seen our tax policies shift to benefit this small group, starving our national treasury of needed re­sources and making it far less pos­sible to prepare for the future by in­vesting in infrastructure, education and shoring up Social Security and Medicare.
You bet I’m bitter.
I’ve watched a macabre health care system become even more dys­functional, so that a single accident or illness can destroy the economic security of a family. I’ve seen Big Pharma use its lobbying muscle to keep Medicare from negotiating better drug prices. I’ve observed as health insurance companies with their inflated middle-man profits add immeasurably to the cost of care while trying to deny coverage and services to their customers. I’ve heard our leaders whine about “so­cialized medicine” any time a com­prehensive fix is suggested.
You bet I’m bitter.
I’ve seen industry insiders put in charge of regulatory agencies so that worker safety and environmental protection are eroded in the name of increased profits. I’ve watched as sci­ence is subverted to ideology. Where facts on global climate change are ignored or manipulated to fit a po­litically driven script. I’ve seen the Department of Justice transform into the legal arm of the Republican Party.
You bet I’m bitter.
I’ve watched the dismantling of the wall of separation between church and state, allowing billions of tax dollars to flow to religiously af­filiated groups that peddle their own brand of faith as part of the govern­ment- funded service. I’ve seen Chris­tian fundamentalism defeat funding for international family planning and constrain the distribution of condoms in places where HIV/AIDS has decimated the population.
You bet I’m bitter.
I’ve stood by as the national debt nearly doubled in the last seven years due to irresponsible tax cuts and spending on such folly as an endless pre-emptive war that may end up costing three trillion dollars. I’ve observed the privatization of core government functions, such as the handling of security assignments in Iraq by the unaccountable Black­water. I’ve seen billions of dollars in Iraq reconstruction money wasted and lost to a system of endemic cor­ruption.
You bet I’m bitter.
I’ve watched our nation get less secure thanks to the counterproduc­tive policies of the neocons in charge. I’ve seen the populations of other­wise friendly nations turn against the United States, seeing us as the world’s biggest bully and hypocrite rather than its greatest beacon of lib­erty, justice and opportunity. I’ve ob­served that our willingness to abuse prisoners has become a recruiting tool for our enemies, making us mas­ters of our own demise.
You bet I’m bitter. And when more than 80 percent of Americans think we’re on the wrong track, I’m not the only one. Obama chose the right word. The only question is, how long this bad taste will last and how to get rid of it?

From the Tampa Bay Times