Posts Tagged ‘Barrack Obama’

Earlier this week, Glenn Beck outlined on his show, his belief that America is slowly turning into Nazi Germany. To help illustrate his point, Beck shows Nazi propaganda that was once used to create an feeling of apathy towards the disabled. Now, maybe I am confused as to the definition of propaganda, but isn’t Beck using Nazi propaganda to push forward his agenda, to scare his audience into believing that if you are not a member of the dissenting party then you are no better than a German living during the days of the Third Reich?

As support for his outrageous claims, Beck cites that the weakness of the Dollar is reminiscent of the collapse of the Mark, which ultimately ushered Germany into the Great Depression. While it is true that the Dollar is at its weakest in generations, I ask you who was the party of power during its collapse? And does Beck not comprehend the perfect storm of circumstance that allowed the Nazi party to assume power? The hyperinflation of the Mark ceased in 1923, yet the Nazi party did not assume power over the country for another ten years. The collapse of the Mark was not the sole reason behind the Nazi’s rise to power.
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After surviving eight years of a president that did not understand the finer nuances of foreign policy, I am proud that we finally have a president that understands the United States’ role in the world. Currently, mass protest are crowding the streets of Tehran, as the repressed citizens of Iran are attempting, via peaceful demonstrations, to have their voices heard. Many serving members of our government, have criticized the Obama Administration for not taking a hard line stance in support of those speaking out against the elections in Iran. One fierce critic has been former Republican Presidential nominee, John McCain.

“He should speak out that this is a corrupt, flawed sham of an election, and that the Iranian people have been deprived of their rights. We support them in their struggle against a repressive, oppressive regime and they should not be subjected to four more years of Ahmadinejad and the radical Muslim clerics.”

While I believe most Americans would agree with the sentiment of McCain’s words, having the administration take sides in this developing conflict, would be disastrous at this stage. America is viewed as the Great Satan by many of the Iranian people and not without just cause. In the past, our government has meddled in the affairs of the Iranian people many times. Our actions helped organize a coup of a truly democratically elected official, install a Shah (Iranian Monarchy) that many felt was corrupt, and supply Iraq with chemical warfare to aid in their eight-year war with Iran. We are hated. If we were to come out and openly support those currently protesting, we would be giving the ruling Mullahs the ability to change the debate. No longer it would the debate center around the democratic ideals of freedom of speech and of the media… rather it would become a debate between the Iranian nationals and the American-supported rebels. Considering our standing in that region of the world, the latter is not a winnable debate.

Back in 2002, there was an attempted coup in Venezuela to overthrow Hugo Chavez. While initially successful, American involvement allowed Chavez to scapegoat the United States, consolidate his power, and resume control of the country. Since then, the freedoms of the Venezuelan citizens have diminished. Seven years later, we are learning from history. Our president understands that the United States needs to remain supportive of democratic ideals, but ensure that our involvement does not compromise the message of those democratic movements we support. It’s a fine line, but President Obama is walking it correctly.

Yesterday, I discussed how the stock market is a poor tool in evaluating the failure or success of the president. Well, apparently Jon Stewart is a reader of my blog  as he decided to bring up this issue on last night’s The Daily Show.

What is the stock market? It’s an instrument of speculation and while it tends to reflect the nature of the economy, it should not be used to judge the strength of the economy. This is a common fallacy of the public. The market tends to reflect the public’ confidence on the economy as a whole. When it becomes common knowledge that the economy is in trouble, the market will feel the impact. If you were to search the web for articles regarding the housing bubble in this country, you will find articles from a few years ago, spelling out the impending economic catastrophe that we are experiencing today. But when one looks at the market in ’06, they would conclude that the economy was thriving. The common person never cares to look at the numbers behind the market and for this reason alone, the success or failure of the stock market should not be used as a model for success or failure of the economy.

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When riding on the New York City subway during rush hour, you tend to see two types of people. Those who sleep and those who read; I fall into the latter category. My taste, which happens to vary quite a bit, includes the area of socio-economic thought, as found in Levitt’s Freakonomics and Gladwell’s The Tipping Point. I am intrigued by the concept of how what we take for granted, can be explain when analyzed using economic models, such as cost-benefit analysis and game theory. In recent months, I have tried to take a step back from my biases and view situations economically. One such situation has been the political climate in this country since the Obama administration has assumed power.

Only days before Obama took the oath of office, the de facto spokesman for the Republican Party, Rush Limbaugh, drew a divisive line in the sand when he uttered the words, “I hope Obama fails.” (more…)

When asked about the delay in Congress passing yet another economic stimulus package, the president had these words to say:

The time for action is now. If we don’t move swiftly to put this plan in motion, our economic crisis could become a national catastrophe. Millions of Americans will lose their jobs, their homes and their health care. Millions more will have to put their dreams on hold.

To me this is eerily reminiscent of the Bush administration insisting that the country would fall into depression without an immediate approval of his economic stimulus package. Why have both presidents resorted to the use of fear in hopes that their bill pass through Congress quickly? Our economic crisis could become a national catastrophe? I highly doubt that a delay of a few days, even weeks will matter much in the long run when most economists claim that the brunt of the economic stimulus package will not be spent until 2010… so what’s the hurry?
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(Originally written on January 21, 2009)

As the world begins to embrace the new administration of Barack Obama, I felt the urge to collect my thoughts on the prior eight years and the legacy of the Bush administration. While never an ardent supporter of Clinton and his policies, I decided to support George W. Bush in his efforts to become the 43rd president of the United States when it became apparent that John McCain would lose the primary. During the election, Bush ran on a more traditional Republican platform of fiscal responsibility and a stance of neutrality on the world stage. However, as we close the door on the Bush years, he will forever be remembered as a war-mongering president who presided over the worst terrorist attack on American soil and what could eventually amount to the worst economic crisis on American soil. While it could be argued that Bush was not directly responsible for either of these events, failures in his administration have tainted these events as we look back at the last eight years.

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