Fear just isn’t gonna work anymore, Republicans.
Fear is not relative. We all find fear in our lives. The triggers are varied, but we always hope some element of logic breaks through that provides us with the real truth in each situation we face. In my life I’ve nearly drowned, was mugged and threatened, almost had someone break into my house (I could see him and his cohorts through my door peephole), have been in an airplane that’s lost it’s engine, survived the Northridge quake in 1994 and was in Manhattan on 9/11. I’m sure there have been many other moments, but these are the one’s that stand out, with two caviats: 9/11 wasn’t a fearful situation for me in the same way the Northridge quake was not - I was too busy trying to focus on my own survival to find the time to recognize the fear in these situations.
This is why I wasn’t surprised when the most fearful crowds during our nation’s worst day were everywhere but New York City. Everyone else had the chance to watch this event in slow motion, let it sink in, not have to deal with the real event right in front of their eyes - on the ground - like many of us had to. And while this is a completely natural human condition, in a democracy with a President and administration that made a decision to prey on that fear for political reasons, it does not exhonerate the fearful after the fact.
Here is a more scientific description of this experience from the Neurobiology of Fear by Laurel Duphiney Edmundson:
Studies of neuronal activity in the brain have suggested that the prefrontal cortex, a cognitive and emotional learning center that helps interpret sensory stimuli, is responsible for the conscious assessment of danger. After passing through the amygdala, sensory information is sent on to the cortex. There, the frightening stimulus is examined in detail to determine whether or not a real threat exists. Based on this information, the amygdala will be signaled either to perpetuate the physical response or to abort it. Because the amygdala is aroused before the cortex can accurately assess the situation, an individual will experience the physical effects of fear even in the case of a false alarm.
The folks who used to be in charge of our country understood the dynamics of fear well. Since Richard Nixon they’ve been utilizing it to drive the most fearful to the polls. In fact, many of the same players back then held similar positions during Bush. Today, it is the Republicans who continue to play that card to no avail. Our country doesn’t believe them anymore. In the wake of their stubborness on the stimulus, Obama HAS played the fear card these last few weeks. It was disappointing to me that he did this, however, I understood it was a shortcut to put pressure on the Republicans.
Obama should not play this game again. It was an easy approach for his first piece of legislation, one he felt had urgency at it’s back. My hope is that this practice becomes a thing of the past for the next 8 years so we can truly see what the real threats are and what are the false alarms.
As I’ve mentioned before, cowards are of no use in a democracy. The Republican leadership and it’s followers have essentially been that for a good part of their two terms. This practice must go.
Fear will not work and should not be used as a tactic, but it should be pointed out that there has never been in instance in history where huge spending has gotten an economy out of a recession.
Obama kept saying that this is the worst economy since the great depression, which it is not. In another op you wrote, maybe last week, you were asking that people lay off because he has only been in office in three weeks. Well let’s look at what he has done:
1) He has lied about the transparency of his administration. One thing he said they would do is put the spending bill on for everyone to see online for 48 hours before the vote. It was up for less than 14 hours before the vote. No one can get through 1,200 pages of legal talk in that time.
2)He said no lobbyists would be a part of his administration. He has a couple.
3)He has appointed several people to cabinet positions that have had problems with their taxes. The one that made it through is the most is head of the treasury department and IRS. There is nothing anyone can say that can justify a turd like that getting to run the tax system when he can’t even get it right himself. I don’t care if it is a mistake. I know people make mistakes. He is supossed to be an exceptionally bright person who doesn’t fudge on something like that.
The American people have a right to be scared, but not necesarily because of the economy. If it looks like a potato and smells like vodka, it must me a communist.
I’ll give you this: Regarding the lobbyists, I agree. Never should have been considered.
Regarding the tax cheats, once again, these guys should never have been considered for the job.
As far as the stimulus delay (from HumanEvents.com):
This was not Obama’s doing. As we all know now it was a decision by Pelosi. No fan of hers, I can assure you. I can’t tell you if he was secretly on the phone with her over this, but you can’t tell me that either.
But, you know something? When Bush came into office he pulled in people that were involved in the Iran-Contra mess. There was flack over that as well. None of it was “telling.” What IS telling with any administration are patterns, and we have yet to really see patterns with Obama. Sure, you can cull these few elements together and try to look for patterns, but It’s just too early to tell. Relax.
And as far as there not being a time in history where huge spending got us out of a recession, there has never been a time where tax cuts alone have gotten us out of one. Bush tried that 7 years ago and the economy lulled up until now - when it tanked.
I didn’t agree with everything Bush did. I thought the spending that occured under him was atrocious, but I also don’t think he was the brightest guy in the world and depended heavily on who ever had his ear and in the end he would gamble on what he alone thought was best, which was wrong.
Over the last seven years we have had a couple of huge things that were killing the government; 9/11 and that butt-pucker effect it caused in the economy and an ill founded war, which to this day based on what I know leading up to it was warranted. But that is a different subject.
I don’t agree with universal healthcare, you already know that. I don’t see how it benefits everyone as a whole, and if they do plan on using the outline of Tom Daschl’s plan we will be sending our elderly and invalids to the glue factory. WHile I love technology and believe that it is going to benefit healthcare, the federal govt. shouldn’t have it’s eye on every practice and every patients medical records.
Another question I have is this; Why is so much money going into infrastructure? The govt has approved over 500 billion towards infrastructure since 1998. Has that money already been spent and if so, where did it go and why are several billion more being put into infrastructure all over again?
These shovel jobs and goverment contracts are not a good thing. This is the beginning of increased government dependency and lack of responsibility. Everyone thinks they have the right to this, the right to that, and so on. No one ever wants to own up and take responsibility for these rights they feel they are entitled to.
I think this might actually be by biggest beef with the goverment providing healthcare to everyone and subsidizing income for low income families. Hell, we are about to be paying for California and its safe haven cities any way. I think in a couple more weeks complacency on my part will set it and I just won’t give a shit any more.
Here’s the way I see it:
I live in a house I can afford. Could I have bought a larger house at the time and tried to wing it? Sure. Why didn’t I? Because I’m a realist. As much as I’d like to think I’m going to double my income in the next few years, as optimistic as I am, I also have to consider that things beyond my control my change the landscape. I remember my folks selling their house in 1996, when the housing market was still flatlined for the previous 8 years. So, I bought a house with a fixed mortgage, despite the other “products” I was offered, and put 20% down so I didn’t have to pay mortgage insurance.
Am I pissed off that these ignorant, short-sighted assholes who bought larger houses than me but couldn’t afford them are going to be given the opportunity to keep their home and ONLY pay what they can afford? OF COURSE I AM. VERY PISSED OFF!
But then there’s this. Without help, all these people will eventually lose those homes. More of those homes might crop up around me, meaning my property value will decrease - and really, that’s what I care about here. MY property value. I don’t want to wait 10 years before my equity finds its way back to where it is now so I can buy a larger home. I want this nightmare to go away NOW. While it is unfair, it is also practical to help these people until the economy turns around.
Do I like the idea of paying for the medical care of someone I don’t know who is lounging around on welfare and too lazy to get a job. NO! I hate it. But, this is a bigger issue than me and this fool. It is about the fragiility of life and how your situation can change any minute. Reagan started a culture in Washington that integrated elements of the religious right. By the time he was headed toward a slow death with Alzheimers, the very government that could have helped through stem cell research was so filled with religious extremists that, ironically, he was doomed to wait based on their personal beliefs. Life is not fair, or certain.
There are a few things I feel just plain aren’t going to happen and there’s no reason to believe they are. This country will not become socialist. The group that would like that have always been on the fringes, and despite the “branding” the democrats have had to deal with for the past 40 years, they would not be the party to enforce that. They are too fractured. That’s one of their strengths, actually. You really don’t want a party that walks lockstep. The nazis were like that.
Secondly, whatever monies were alotted at the tail of Clinton and the survived through the length of Bush can be forgotten. NOTHING has been as badly managed as money siphoned through the Bush era. We’ve had 18 million alone lost through Halliburton, not to mention the rest of KBR and other subcontractors hired during this time. If Obama manages money the same way Bush did, he deserves our wrath. Personally, I think he’s smarter than that, but that remains to be seen. Transparency is a good start, better than we’ve had.
Do I enjoy paying for anything beyond what is good for me or my family? Enjoy, No. Feel it is my duty as an American. Well, if I want this country to be the best part of itself, I have to start with me, and contribute where it is necessary. I think our issues or generally one of trust in the government at managing money. In that respect, they’ve proven in the past to be miserable businessmen. But they’re the only horse we got, unfortunately.
And you see, it is wierd. I am fundamentally conservative, but not because I was raised as such or because I watch Fox News, or because I listen to Sean Hannity and Andrew Wilkow. I actually attended the University of Georgia and studied business and Econonics, where I had a lot of influence from left leaning professors. I approach everything in my political world with extreme objectivity and listen to every side of an argument. I may actually spend more time listening than I do talking because it is the only way to learn.
That being said, I do feel that Nancy and Harry are trying desperately to move on their political agendas. California is backwards, and I think that speaker Pelosi has lost touch with reality. I don’t think that a truly socialized government would ever come to pass in America because the public wouldn’t allow it.
I have read the constitution over several times as well as the bill of rights, and I do not see any direct civil right garaunteeing healthcare. While there are words that are vague with regards to the welfare of the public and the federal government’s right to tax, I know where it came from. Do I think that people should be turned away from medicare and welfare? No. But I do believe that there are programs (like in Kentucky) that have worked to get people away from relying on government subsidies.
As far as wrath towards Obama, I will refrain from dishing a whole lot because to be fair he has only been in office for a few weeks. I don’t like what I have seen so far but I will need to wait and see.
What do you think about the spending as a whole? Is it a good idea? Can you honestly say that while people need to get back to work that the best way to do it is by putting them into positions that could be set up for a bust when that government job/contract is no longer necessary? Why can these huge dollar amounts from CLinton and Bush be forgotten? If it was the same where the money was allocated for years to come, why was even more put forward?
One thing I do have a problem with President Obama is this; he has never owned, operated, or maintained a solid job in the private sector to my knowledge. Is he an idealist or does he actually have a clue as to how business works? If the answer is no, does he really have the best peopleavailable to go about maiking these decisions?
Oh! On a completely different note, it should be noted that Obama’s lawyers are trying or have tried to justify wire taps. If this is the case and it is legal through the courts does that mean the Bush will be exhonerated of charges for warrentless wire tapping?