Blame it on Obama

America is absolutely full of hyperbolic rhetoric these days about how this country is not safe due to President Obama's inept handling of our security issues. The more I hear people blame Obama for the failures of America's security, the more I believe Bill Maher may have been correct when he made the statement that "American's are stupid".

George W. Bush and Dick Cheney made sure that our foreign policy elevated tensions between us and most of the rest of the world, took us into two open ended wars at the same time, allowed government spending to go unchecked for eight (8) years, blew our national deficit into the stratosphere, dealt Wall Street several "get out of jail free" cards while allowing unethical trading practices to keep going which led to the global economic crisis and a long list of other practices like torture, water boarding, extraordinary renditions (ghosting people or legal kidnapping), war profiteering, domestic surveillance without warrants and other unacceptable behavior.

Dick Cheney even shot a man in the face after a lunch filled with alcoholic beverages. Any other American would have been arrested for shooting someone in the face, especially after drinking. Not Dick Cheney, like Nixon times ten, he and Bush were above the law.

America's security after September 11, 2001 was supposed to have been beefed up and modified. Watch lists were made and expanded, a partial wall was eventually built on our border with Mexico, wiretaps were put into play for average Americans along with terrorism suspects, putting us all in the same category while we spent billion upon billions for Iraq and Afghanistan as we watched our own infrastructure decay and break down, our economy crashed and those on the top of the financial heap were bailed out while main street all but died. Obama has been in office barely a year. How does anyone in this country expect him to be able to fix what George Bush allowed to slide (America's security), break down (America's infrastructure), or deteriorate (America's economy) in such a short time? It would be more adequate to place blame at the feet of the Bush/Cheney administration because in almost eight (8) years after 9/11, Bush and Cheney were less interested in our security than they were their open ended wars and their attempt to turn America into a "one party" country. It is asinine for anyone to think that in less than one (1) year Obama can fix what Bush helped to screw up and chose not to fix in eight (8) years.

The 9/11 Commission made recommendations to the Bush administration that were never taken seriously nor implemented. Bush had a severe problem with taking responsibility for any of his actions or policies but Obama has publicly stated that he takes responsibility for his administration and what happens on his watch.

The failed suicide bomber on Christmas day boarded the plane in another country and the GOP has been clamoring with Cheney taking the lead that Obama is to blame. The GOP has been up in arms that Obama did not immediately find a camera and do a photo op. Sorry, Obama did not need to grandstand the networks just because disaster was averted, even if it was due to "dumb luck". It's only a guess, but I'd say, from the news that I heard, that President Obama was not frolicking around his hotel while intelligence failed yet again. Obama was well informed of the situation and was all over it instead of enjoying family time on vacation.

The Christmas bomber failed his objective and not one person died. George Bush didn't bother to say anything for four days as New Orleans drowned and the death toll kept growing. Why is it a big deal for the GOP that Obama was not immediately public when not one person died yet it was not too big of a deal when Bush wasted time telling "Brownie" that he was doing "a helluva job" while many American citizens died horrible deaths? I forgot. Blame it on Obama.

Today a man in Minnesota caused a plane to have to turn around before it even got off the ground. He packed live ammunition in his carry on bag, it was missed at the security checkpoint and the only reason we heard about it was the man who brought the ammunition on the plane told the flight attendant about it. The TSA has already "retrained" the screener that missed the ammo by the time that the ABC World News came on at 5:30 PM CST. I would not be surprised at all if we find out in the near future that our ammo carrying gun dealer is some kind of GOP plug that wanted to see if he could get the ammo on the plane. Sort of like "Joe, the Plumber", the guy that really wasn't a plumber and earned nowhere near $250,000 a year like he led us to believe when he first appeared in front of the cameras in 2007.

You have got to be kidding. The screening process is so slight that "retraining" had been accomplished in less than 12 hours? It is no wonder that the ammo was not noticed. The TSA apparently has some terribly inept training processes if a screener can get through training in only a few hours. Oh yes, I digress...blame it on Obama.

During the Bush administration, America was led down a path of self destruction out of GOP fear mongering and hidden agendas. There had not been such secrecy within the Presidency since Richard Nixon held the White House and disgraced our country from the inside out. Currently the party of Nixon and Bush are once again attempting to scare us out of our wits in order to achieve their goals and the "Religious Right" extremists are once again trying to land a stranglehold on our Constitution.

Throwing the blame at Obama over every little thing is a veiled attempt at racism in my view. The white hierarchy of this country can not stand the fact that an intelligent black man, or any black man for that matter sits in the most powerful chair in the world...and most of the world loves it.

I have the courage to call it as I see it. I am not so meek that I allow someone else to think or speak for me. Any American who allows religion or political party to think for them is a coward. Those who hide behind religion or party are not patriots, they are the proverbial "Lemmings" of video game fame, or more simply put, the lambs that are led to slaughter.

Hypocrisy from any political party in our once great country is why I can honestly refer to America as our "once great" country.

The one thing I know is that if Obama is blocked from getting anything accomplished, he is not to blame for what does not get done. The GOP does not want to raise taxes on "luxury items" that most Americans can not afford, it is preferred that the majority of Americans pay more in taxes than the wealthiest of us, by percentage. The minimum wage did not see an increase from the time Clinton left office until the Democrats gained the majority in our government. The GOP is strongly against health care reform that would include a "public option" that would be a GAURENTEE that health care prices would fall, allowing health care costs to be reduced for our entire country. Those who claim that the "public option" would only hurt us are the same kind of people that claimed Medicare, social security, unemployment insurance and disability insurance would crumble us in a short time. These programs did not destroy America, they enhanced us. To give the Pharmaceutical, Health Care and Insurance companies real competition would see the profit margin be replaced by healthy and fair business practices as incentive for pricing...if you don't agree with the price, you go elsewhere. The point is that there WOULD BE BETTER PRICING out there.

Americans have become the "dog that has been beat too much". Many of us just take what is shoveled to us by politicians or religious sects as fact without thinking for ourselves or making our own choices.

I don't know about you but I would rather die standing than live on my knees. It is way beyond the time for America's citizens to stop allowing themselves to be beat down or led by an imaginary ring through your noses. Stand up and think for yourselves. Look at the whole picture and decide for yourself. Fantasy blame or realism in America.

Those are your choices. Choose wisely...