Good or Bad for the Jews

"Good or Bad for the Jews"

Many years ago, and for many years, I would travel to Morocco to visit uncles, cousins, and my paternal grandmother. Some lived in Tangiers;...

Friday, July 12, 2013

A Friday Repost: Obama and the Damage Done


Going to be out and about most of Friday, and given that our readership might have risen to eight or nine I wanted to repost a little something I wrote last August 5, 2012, when I still harbored the naive hope that the current calamity in the White House would be ended in the November elections.

Obama and the Damage Done

As noted before, I began my career in the Foreign Service during the Carter presidency, and ended it during the Obama presidency: two horrific bookends.

Jimmy Carter should not have been president. He was incompetent beyond belief; angry about America's success in the world; wanted us to get our comeuppance; and was and is a mean, reptilian and graceless little man. Being out of office has made him even angrier, meaner, smaller, more anti-American, and more anti-semitic. He was and remains a repellent creature; if anyone ever could make me ashamed of my country, he could. I can't forgive him for that.

He caused the United States a considerable amount of damage. His economic policies were almost non-existent. He, in fact, never seemed to have an interest in the economy except to the extent that our dire economic performance during his term seemed to fit his view that we were being rightfully punished. He wanted Americans to live small, and see the future as a bleak struggle for atonement for past sins. His foreign policy was disastrous. The USSR and its vassals were on the march throughout the world, including in Latin America and the Caribbean, with virtually no resistance from the United States. His administration gutted our intelligence and covert capabilities; our military was a hollow shell; our international alliances were badly frayed; terrorist organizations and states, with Soviet-bloc support, operated openly in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America; and the insane Imams of Iran turned a major ally into a major enemy.

Along came Reagan. He laughingly rejected the Carter premise that America deserved its "punishment" and that we could do nothing about the economy, the decline of American power, and the rising might of the Soviet empire. Reagan waved off the honking flocks of "intellectuals" who called him out-of-touch and dangerous. He connected with the American people and the great traditions of our country. He slashed taxes and our economy turned around; he took seriously the Constitution's main role for the president: national defense. Our military might came roaring back; he outmaneuvered the Soviets and brought them and their vast evil empire to their knees. It was a masterful performance. Reagan managed to fix most of the damage done by Carter--the Iranian disaster, however, continues to haunt us over three decades later--and he restored faith in America as the indispensable nation in the world.

We now are saddled with another abomination as president: one worse than Carter. The damage Obama has done to our economy and global standing, while immense, can be relatively easily fixed. The real damage he has done is more pernicious and perhaps permanent. He has participated fully and deliberately in undermining the essence of what it means to be an American. Let me explain.

Anybody remotely interested could know Carter, what he had done with his life, and what he advocated. He had an easily accessible public record. Obama, of course, is the most secretive and closed off president we have ever had. Only after years of badgering did he even release his birth certificate. We are not allowed to know about his education except that, like the absurd Elena Ceausescu, he is "brilliant." How did this self-admittedly mediocre high school student, from a relatively modest background, growing up in remote Hawaii and Indonesia as part of an apparently very dysfunctional family, manage to get into three expensive and "elite" universities? How did he come to their attention? Who vouched for him? Who paid? Did he claim to be a foreign student? What were his courses and grades? Who were his friends and teachers? In a celebrity obsessed world where we know everything about Tom Cruise and Britney Spears, we know next to nothing about the man who encumbers our presidency.

His political rise is shrouded in mystery. After Harvard, he suddenly moves to Chicago. Why? He becomes a "community organizer" there, and rapidly rises in the corrupt and crony-filled Democratic machine. He becomes the darling of gangsters such as Rezko, close friends with known terrorists and hate-mongers, and presto he is taking down opponents right and left and soon is in the White House. We can't ask anything about it all. To do so risks charges of racism. His ascendency is a liberal Hollywood fable and it must remain unquestioned and unexamined. He is our anointed leader. He is our Athena.

This is the first bit of damage he has done. It is now considered by the majority of the media and the other honking "intellectual" geese as off-limits to question Obama's life, his claimed achievements, or note the contradictions in what he has said and what he says now. Free speech is no longer so free. If you question the President, you are a racist, insane, a danger to democracy, hate the poor or all of the aforementioned. If you still hold the same views that he purported to hold up to a few weeks ago, e.g., the traditional definition of marriage, and failed to "evolve" when he did, then you are a hopeless homophobe; your business should be banned and ruined, and your employees bullied. This is not unlike Orwell's 1984, "We have never been at war with Eastasia . . . " You must keep up with the changes in Dear Leader's views. He will tell you when you can favor gay marriage; when you can raise closing Guantanamo; when the war will end; when the deficit must be cut with more spending. New Think is here.

Obama has become the incarnation of a troubling trend in our country that has accelerated over the past 40 or so years. He has become the head of what passes for modern progressivism: the alliance between tax-supported university faculties, lawyers, government bureaucrats, journalists, NGO "activists," and Hollywood. This alliance has promoted the politics of envy and resentment, and launched a sustained attack on traditional American values. Our country is now filled with the half-educated idiots who emerge from our universities with no real knowledge but with feelings of entitlement and resentment. We should stand in awe of people with PhDs regardless of whether what they say corresponds to the reality we see, because they know what's good for us. They are the "experts."

One should not underestimate the power of Hollywood in forming what passes for thinking by these impressionable morons. What many of our youth, and foreigners, think they know about America and American history, comes from movies and TV shows. Hollywood bombards us with the viewpoint that rich evil conservative white men (RECWM) are behind all of our troubles, and those of the world. Our heroes should be the brave lawyers who sue corporations; the brave journalists who expose the nefarious plots of the RECWM conspiracy; the brave activists who stand up to the "violent" gun nuts of the Tea Party; the gutsy abortion clinic workers who live in fear of their lives; the brave public servants, e.g., cops and perky assistant district attorneys, who protect us from the RECWM who, of course, are what all of us fear to encounter when we are in a dark parking lot.

Obama has captured this movement and its view, and represents and promotes it better than anybody else in living memory. Unlike Carter, Obama is not incompetent in promoting his hatred for America's traditional values and in embedding it into our institutions, e.g., the ruinous Obamacare, the rapid expansion of the federal dole, the insistence on apologizing for our successes, the disastrous "stimulus" spending, the glorification of the "victim" culture, promotion of envy and cynicism, and denigration of individual effort and success ("You didn't build that!") That is the real threat posed by what Obama represents. Overcoming that threat will take years of sustained effort. It begins, of course, with voting Obama out of the White House next November, but does not end there.

WLA

33 comments:

  1. RE: "It begins, of course, with voting Obama out of the White House..."

    I wonder if that will be possible...ever. The laws of this nation haven't stopped him yet.

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    1. It better be possible. If Obama keeps pushing us we are gonna push back.

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    2. ::yawn::

      Sure they are. Americans, after being slapped around for a more than just a few years by the liberal progressives & RINO's are going to RISE UP... and change the channel.

      "Honey, could you grab me a cold one? And do we have any chips?"

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  2. "Overcoming that threat will take years of sustained effort. It begins, of course, with voting Obama out of the White House next November, but does not end there." Things don't look well agreed. But I see things on a little brighter side. This alliance of the liberals has some serious problems also, the MSM has burned it's creditability to the ground, higher academia is collapsing, Hollywood is bombing on their favorite RECWM themes, and unionism (except the governmental kind) is dying. One sure sign for this is attempts (some successful) to steal money from us through taxes for support all the above groups and other traditional allies. They know they are losing at the ballot box hence immigration. I've said this before, it's a big bluff, a formidable one to be sure, but a bluff none the less and it nees to be called in all areas.

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    1. We can't vote Obama out until the 2016........wishful thinking that it is "next" November. We have three more years of this rot to endure. Mid-term elections are our best hope in taking back the Senate if the inept GOP doesn't screw that up.

      Penny

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    2. Boehner's less than stellar performance gives me great concern, especially his willingness to apparently compromise with those who would cut his political throat in an instant.

      If he tries to take the GOP along for the illegal alien amnesty boat ride, things will indeed be grim in 2014.

      Funny, 1914 was a disastrous year, also. Here's hoping that 2014 is not.

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    3. RE: "I've said this before, it's a big bluff, a formidable one to be sure, but a bluff none the less and it needs to be called in all areas."

      Oh, I agree with you, Obama is great at bluffing. My thoughts are the reason he even bothers using that tactic is that he's lazy - always looking for the quick and easy answer, which is usually the convenient lie.

      This does not negate that fact that he's a bully and thug. When bluffing doesn't work, then the heavy hand of the petty tyrant comes into play.

      Come hell or high water, Obama intends on holding onto power - a fine wine he's grown accustomed to, just like every tyrant that has trod the same path before him. He may decide to stay as POTUS (brought about due to civil insurrection) or strike out into greener pastures.

      Mmmmm... How does Secretary-General of the UN sound? Just imagine all the power he could accumulate there. He would be the perfect choice: Nobel Peace Price winner, ex-President of the United States, etc. How the progressives and Muslims would love him, while freedom and democracy would wither on the vine globally. An Islamic Caliphate could be assured due to the ministrations of our Kenyan goat herder.

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    4. A question please, in reference to this statement: When bluffing doesn't work, then the heavy hand of the petty tyrant comes into play.

      At what point does Obama 'stop' being a petty tyrant with his Executive Orders, Czars, Extravagant trips, Superfluous Vacations, etc. and become the 'real thing'? Where's the marker here: re-education camps, political prisoners, police state tactics?

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    5. "How does Secretary-General of the UN sound?" Actually pretty good if conservatives take back the government here. When I say call his bluff, I also believe that he and his group will fold (after some sound and fury), the IRS affair shows they don't have the stomach for an open fight Don't get me wrong, I'm not underestimating how hard it will be, but it's not as nearly as hopeless as it seems. I will also say this; we can't wait around for a Reagan or Churchill to save us, each in his way must do what they can to reverse this administrations damage. Diplomad here has done Herculean labors in this regard (Mr. Mad I hope an earlier post of mine was not the cause of you coming out, I was using this site as an example of faith and who do you trust) and is wonderful to read.
      Final Note: What more perfect marriage than for Obama to lead an organization that is corrupt, overweaning, stupid, and is a betrayal of all mankind has fought for thousands of years.

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    6. RE: "Come hell or high water, Obama intends on holding onto power - a fine wine he's grown accustomed to, just like every tyrant that has trod the same path before him. He may decide to stay as POTUS..."

      Not to be alarmist, but we should be concerned about the potential for election fraud in 2014: Something like the electronic voting in several Pennsylvania precincts that went 100% for Obama in 2012.

      A majority Democratic Congress after 2014 could simply vote to suspend the Constitution. Recommendations along these lines have already been floated publicly, notably by Elizabeth Warren. So, why not?

      What would stop them? In our current condition of national and cultural demoralization, it may be that no civil insurrection at all is needed to create the premise for an Obama third term. About the only people likely to complain are radio talk show hosts. Many RINOs and ostensible "conservatives" would just yawn and say, "So what? There was a legitimate vote to suspend the Constitution. Next time our team is in power we'll look at the possibility of potentially maybe re-instating it, if interest groups we care about appear to back the move."

      Sorry, Mr. Diplomad. This is your forum and the parameters of debate belong to you. If I have pushed the topic too far, I relent.

      John-onymous

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    7. All he needs to do to continue in power "legally" is to have Mrs O'Bummer elected as POTUS. (Switch sarcasm mode on) First woman AND black president? What's not to like? (Switch sarcasm mode off)

      She would be a sock puppet controlled by the Shining one - either 12 or 16 years should be enough for anyone to so comprehensively screw the system to FUBAR status.

      Phil B

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  3. Dear Diplomad,

    Just wanted you to know that, although I rarely comment, I visit daily - and would miss your posts greatly were they to cease.

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    1. Feel free to comment. All views are welcome.

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    2. Ditto! You're on my daily list and would miss your musings. I find them quite interesting. Keep it up.

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    3. Yes Dip, and others regularly here. I find your spot to be my little corner of sanity in the world. When the Cloward-Piven strategy of overwhelming the public with scandal after scandal seems on the brink of pushing us to just deny it all and join the rest of the country in watching DWTS and such, I turn instead to the Diplomad and am reminded by all of you here that there are still Americans who know what it means to be an American and the serious responsibilities that entails.

      God Bless you all for hanging in there and God Bless America.

      LibertyGrace'sGrandma

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  4. One of your classic posts, and one that I've shared with many friends. It's a shame more voters didn't see Obama this clearly before lasat November.

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    1. Massive voter fraud in many different forms and venues stole the election for hussein obama. This is a national disaster! If, when we vote our vote does not count, will we ever be able to legally shift the power from the corrupt traitors who are in control?

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  5. "...who protect us from the RECWM who, of course, are what all of us fear to encounter when we are in a dark parking lot."

    Someone has to pen this as a political cartoon.

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  6. May I push your acknowledged readership to 10!

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  7. I doubt the use of my word makes O'Reilly's Word of the Day - however I'm using it anyway only because of what you Diplomad Sir included in your paragraph 7, lines 4 - 5, "We are not allowed to know ... except that ..."

    If it's something we should know, our Heirophant will tell us.

    Arkie

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  8. I cannot recommend highly enough Angelo Codevilla's "The Character of Nations" for its perspective on how a country's particular type of political regime may influence for the long term the character of its citizens. The long-time and recently-accelerated "progressive" trend in this country will have (has already had, to some extent), yes, a destructive effect on the American character.

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    1. As a former diplomat myself and now a professional swindler of the young (oops--high school social studies teacher), I've witnessed the Gramscian "March through the institutions", and agree that the institutions are in much worse shape for it.

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  9. I don't have an account for sign-in but I wander in to read your interesting posts on a regular basis and have this site bookmarked. I am sure your readership must be at least two score.

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  10. I've been reading this site since Benghazi, and it's a great place to learn things from. You probably have more readers than you think.

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  11. heh... the latest box office flop 'white house down' was exactly this.. all characters who were white, male, and over 50 were evil or criminally incompetent. All other characters were good.

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  12. Paul_Vincent_ZecchinoJuly 12, 2013 at 8:07 PM

    Number 11 or 12 here? Sight unseen, a few syllables heard on radio news soundbites five years ago, it was obvious. He was a walking mausoleum of resentments with not merely chips but actual cinder blocks on each goat-shoulder. He was and remains obsessed with revenge, filled with hate, in love with death. He's not at all bright let alone 'brilliant' but 'just bright enough to be dangerous' as is said of moron criminal masterminds.

    It was obvious five years ago, sight unseen, a few syllables heard. Oh, and that pile of crud about 'eloquent speaker'? Really? Yeah. Right. First day in any high school or college public speaking course, first thing the prof says, 'never use uh or ah, better to pause and collect your thoughts and then continue speaking. Never us uhhhsss and ahhs'. So, what's this one do? Uh. Ah. Uh huh huh uhhh...Beavis & Butthead are by comparison, modern era Demosthenes and Ciceros.

    Eloquent my foot. My foot!

    Instinct warned that he was fanning up a race/klass war right before peoples' eyes, yet they weren't see it nor would they hear of it. But he was and is. Case in point: The Evil 'white hispanic' Mr. Zimmeran who's being railroaded to the chair for martyring poor little anointed baby child sweet innocent St. Trayvon of Skittleford, the patron saint of gangstas and purple lean.

    Subsequent to getting himself elected, if not prior to, it was obvious by his trash-talking of the stock market into the gutter and constant gainsaying of the American people that he hates and resents and fears Americans, as he himself is not. He immediately struck one as the slithering fusion of corruption and incompetence.

    The two are not at all mutually exclusive. One must possess many skills to build a fine building. But to burn it down? One needn't know a thing of plumbing, wiring, building codes, or finish carpentry. All one need know is how to strike a match or toss a Molotov cocktail when no one's looking - and neighborhood agitators nee 'community organizers' are if nothing else, passive-aggressive sneak thief/assassins, just like their jihado-marxist mentors.

    That's is what I heard, what came across the radio waves, five years ago, that's what instinct said of him. He embodies that noxious, genocidal admixture of corruption and incompetence.

    And apparently many people just love it. History has seen this countless times. As our Cuban friends say, 'We've seen this movie before. It always ends badly."

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    1. re: "He embodies that noxious, genocidal admixture of corruption and incompetence.

      *And apparently many people just love it.* History has seen this countless times."

      I find it horribly fascinating how a child can hate it's own parents enough to commit patricide. A father spends his life supporting his family. Given just one life to live, he gives his away freely so that his family will have adequate sustenance. Rewards? Murdered by the hands that should comfort him in his old age. The young woman who endured the pain of childbirth and the sleepless nights of caring for a sick child for years on end. Rewards? Violent abuse from the same children who should be comforting her in her time of need.

      Also, just as fascinating, is how people granted every advantage a society could give them would willingly spend themselves on that countries destruction. "...apparently many people just love it."

      Yes, there are those who walk in our midst who love their hate for America. Cowards, they joyfully gather to defame their own heritage. It's not just Obama they flock towards; Islam is another attractor for their bitter dissatisfaction. Plump & plain women of European background proudly wearing the hijab, challenging with their eyes any who would look at them. The list of the dissatisfied is long, the haters numerous.

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  13. Multiple layers in offical PDF of Obama's Birth Certificate
    07/18/2012 - American Thinker
    === ===
    The focus of this report is centered on Obama's PDF file released on April 27, 2011; the file can be downloaded at this White House link. From the moment Obama's PDF file was posted, numerous professionals have been speaking out on the multitude of anomalies.

    The most notable indicator of malfeasance within Obama's PDF file is the presence of multiple layers. A document scanned into a computer should only contain one layer -- known as a flattened file. However, Obama's PDF file not only contained more than one layer; it contained nine layers that clearly display recognizable signs of forgery, along with a host of other manipulative indicators.
    === ===

    EasyOpinions.blogspot.com

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  14. Your comments on Jimmy Carter are absolutely on the mark. No president until our most recent one had the naivete of Carter. When asked if Ayatollah Khomeini represented a threat, he said no, he trusted him because he is a man of God. This is the same blindness as Obama has with Egypt. Obama still favors the Muslim Brotherhood and disdains the gift the Egyptian army has handed us on a platter.

    Suddenly America's two close allies in the mid-east, Saudi and the Emirates are on board with Egypt, and Israel's southern border is far more secure and less porous to Iranian arms smuggling. Saudi and Emirates $12 billion in aid makes the US $1.3 billion in military aid look like peanuts.

    Back to Carter. He did do two meaningful things, but both were in desperation to save his skin for the 1980 election. He appointed Paul Volker to the Fed and he deregulated the airlines and trucking industry. The Volker move backfired on him. Volker jacked up interest rates to break the stagflation and in doing so caused a temporary recession that cost Carter the election. Strangely Democrats still worship Volker, as do fiscally responsible conservatives.

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    1. Can't anybody spell Volcker? Seriously, people seem to get this wrong (even professional financial writers) more often than they spell it correctly.

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    ReplyDelete