First of all, let me just say that criticism of any authority figure is good. That's how we keep them on their toes and don't allow them to forget who they're supposed to be working for: us. However, all too common on the politics board are threads that just bash Obama and what he's doing without really offering any better solutions or ideas as to how his policies could be tweaked to better suit our wishes. In general I agree with Obama's policies. I have listed some of the topics that Obama is lauded for most frequently along with a defense of them. I would ask anyone who disagrees with them to go through each topic and give an explanation as to why you think this is the wrong policy and what you think should be done instead. And please can we refrain from NWO/Obama Deception stuff? If you have a problem with the Fed or with the bailouts, etc. that's fine and I'd welcome such opinions, but just saying 'Obama's in league with the freemasons' is just an easy way of saying 'I don't have a rational argument against him, but here's my simple justification for hating him'. 1. The Bailouts: I'm of the opinion that the bailouts, while aggravating in the sense that we're helping out the people who had a large hand in getting us into this mess in the first place, were necessary. Many are of the opinion that we should simply let the banks fail. Truth be told, I would love to see these people get their just desserts if it were not for the fact that their economic downfall would cause a lot of financial pain for regular Americans. Big banks failing means businesses across the country are no longer able to get the loans they need for everyday business transactions (I do not believe small banks have the necessary capital to accomodate all of this new demand). As a result many businesses would not be able to function properly, firms would shut down, people would be laid off, and this recession would turn into a real depression. 2.The Iraq War: I was never a supporter of the Iraq war. I believe it had nothing to do with the people that caused our nation harm on 9/11. That being said, the fact is, we invaded. We destroyed the former administration of Sadaam and this created a void of power and an unstable country. I think we fucked up and I think we owe it to the Iraqis to do our best to leave the country with a reasonable assurance that it will remain stable. If this means having some American troop presence in there for a few years yet, I think that's something we have to do. 3. Afghanistan and Pakistan: I fully support our operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Taliban are a real organization and they mean harm to our nation. The Taliban are based in both countries and I feel we are justified in seeking to do them harm. That being said, I think we need to increase our focus on minimizing the number of civilian casualties as a result of our presence. Granted, this is hard to do when the Taliban plant themselves in non-combat-heavy areas. This is a smart move on their part because every civilian death gives them more 'death-to-America' fodder. Still, I believe our operations there are necessary. 4. Marijuana: Obama may have scoffed at the notion of legalization during his town hall meeting, and that bothered me a great deal at the time, but labeling him as an enemy of the legalization movement is a little premature in my opinion; he's pledged to end the raids against MMJ dispensaries in California and he's appointed a drug czar who has a far more public health issue view on drugs rather than a criminal justice issue view. This makes Obama more of a friend to marijuana than most presidents in my opinion. I'm sure there are things that I've missed, so please address them in your responses. Let's keep this civil and constructive
The Bailouts- Even if these financial institutions have screwed up so badly that not saving them would slow the flow of capital down to smaller commercial banks (I don't know enough about the entire economic system to believe this or not,) why can't we just cut these guys out of the loop? Obviously, we know understand that the FED just prints money out of thin air, so who's to say that they can't let the "bad guys" fail and just send the money they print straight to commercial banks which affect the lives of the average Americans much more? Surely each branch of the FED has a good understanding of how capital is flowing in each region of the Country. It should not be impossible to make sure the average American doesn't suffer while we let certain scam-artists on Wall Street fail and we find new ways of regulating the pyramid schemes within the pyramid scheme. Saving the financial institutions on Wall Street is only saving the people invested in these institutions... the richest of the rich. Now supposedly alot of honest people's retirement savings are tied up into these institutions, but if the Government is just going to take over banks, why can't they take the money that belongs to the people who actually need it out, move them into more stable accounts and let multi-billionaires who could afford to lose a little money take the hit? Apparently, they are going to do whatever they want anyway. I see no sense in saving the people who allegedly screwed up the whole system. Besides, these people were probably so in bed with the FED before the Bailouts they knew they'd get them if they gambled away their money and lost. Maybe if the FED made it clear there would never be any Bailouts, they'd be less likely to put their entire system on the craps table. The Iraq War- Unfortunately, I cannot appeal to the "We broke it, We gotta fix it" mentality. Yeah, we broke it... but continued fighting isn't really going to solve anything. Iraq will never be a "safe haven" for Al-Qaeda. First off, there are way too many different factions fighting over the Land, and there are way too many American allies and bases in the region... even if "bad guys" took over, we could run more limited bombing missions on their bases, and headquarters... no need for a continued ground presence. Besides, the Iraqi government, the one we helped establish, has been asking the US to pull out for like a half-decade now. If they feel confident enough to maintain order themselves, I tend to believe them. But it's quite difficult to run a nation with a perpetual war going on. IMO, the only reason we are still there is to complete construction on the multiple permanent bases we are building. Yes, we will be in Iraq for 100 years. Afghanistan and Pakistan- I don't know if the Taliban is a real threat or not, I'm just a Man sitting at a computer in Florida... but if they are real and need to be dealt with, I think it is most important that we do so alongside the governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan and make sure not only their politicians are on our side, but also the people of these nations... but it's real hard to get a people to believe in your cause while the whole world knows you are fighting a pointless war in another Country that was no threat to you. Marijuana- Obama ain't doin' jack shit about it... end of story.
1. The Bailouts: You will see this recession turn into a depression no matter how hard you try. Price fixing and corporate welfare will only prolong the agony. What we are doing now is targeting the lower class in favor for preserving the highest elite, via the inflation tax. The lower class who depend so much on their measly pay and liquid savings will suffer the most, and the income gap will rise. The dollar is on its last breath, the Yuan will be the next global reserve currency. The most important element of the free market is risk, and with the creation of the Federal Reserve that aspect of the economy has been removed. This is a very dangerous foundation for our financial system to operate on. Our giant banks and corporations have been given monopoly privileges by the state, and now they are "too big to fail". They will operate haphazardly on short term goals knowing their institution will not be allowed to suffer in the long run. edit: As Perpetual Burn said, at the very least we should focus on bailing out the lower half or our economic base rather than the upper echelon. Bailout the little banks and homeowners before the monsters that destroyed this country. 2.The Iraq War: Get the fuck out. Our presence is only making it less stable over time and their people will elect a leader we are unhappy with no matter what we do. If you want to achieve your goal of a pro-America Iraq you will need to use the CIA to bring rise to a militaristic dictator. Those are the only assbags that will support American economic interventionism. Iraq's inevitably democracy will be pro-Iraq, nationalizing oil interests and the like. Uncle Sam will never have that, and we will turn Iraq into the next Iran circa 1953-1979. 3. Afghanistan and Pakistan: Get the fuck out. We are still only damaging our reputation to the eastern world. China is going to be the next superpower anyways, let them take care of it. All troops come home and then we can give all the pussy liberals their free medicine, fair trade? Otherwise we will be over there forever until we have either killed them all or left. What ever happened to national defense? We're going abroad in search of monsters to destroy (exactly what our founders warned against) essentially committing suicide out of fear of death! (In case you didn't realize, America is flat ass BROKE!) 4. Marijuana: The only thing keeping Marijuana illegal is pressure from substitutes, ie logging, pharma, aggro. Obama supports these corporate industries more than he does the well being of innocent American citizens. Fuck him, say I.