As Egyptian’s Take to The Streets For Real Democracy, Obama Loses His Voice

   It is a funny thing with our Presidents over the years. They will stand up while giving their speeches about how all countries should have “ real democracies “ with their citizens having more human rights and such things,but, when the citizens of a country such as Egypt actually take to the streets wanting a better government and more rights, our President (s) suddenly lose the will to speak up and tell the current leaders of said country that perhaps it is time for a change. Obama, mister democracy himself, is no exception to this rule. In the case of the uprising in Egypt, he may be keeping his mouth shut because the United States sends billions of dollars to the soon to be toppled (I hope) Mubarak regime.

"The fourth issue that I will address is democracy," he declared, before explaining that while the United States won't impose its own system, it was committed to governments that "reflect the will of the people... I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed; confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and doesn't steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose. Those are not just American ideas, they are human rights, and that is why we will support them everywhere."

"No matter where it takes hold," the president concluded, "government of the people and by the people sets a single standard for all who hold power."     2009 Cairo Speech

   So President Obama. Do the people of Egypt not count in the fight for a “ real democracy?”  You talk the talk, but now you cannot/will not walk the walk when it comes right down to it.

Al Jazeera

Similarly, president Obama has refused to take a strong stand in support of the burgeoning pro-democracy movement and has been no more discriminating in his public characterisation of American support for its Egyptian "ally". Mubarak continued through yesterday to be praised as a crucial partner of the US. Most important, there has been absolutely no call for real democracy.

Rather, only "reform" has been suggested to the Egyptian government so that, in Obama's words, "people have mechanisms in order to express legitimate grievances".

"I've always said to him that making sure that they are moving forward on reform - political reform, economic reform - is absolutely critical for the long-term well-being of Egypt," advised the president, although vice-president Joe Biden has refused to refer to Mubarak as a dictator, leading one to wonder how bad a leader must be to deserve the title,

    A State Department spokesman had an interview with Al Jazeera on Thursday.  Go HERE to watch it if you have the time. Get educated!

    Barack Obama! Open your mouth and say the D-word

Technorati Tags: Egypt,United States,Democracy,Fight for Democracy,Barack Obama

Social Security In Deficit?

  Who would have thought that Social Security would be running in the deficit category after all of the reports out that have been saying that it would be in good shape for years to come? It is now being reported that the Social Security trust funds will be depleted sometime near 2037.

                           Yahoo/ A.P.

The massive retirement program has been suffering from the effects of the struggling economy for several years. It first went into deficit last year but had been projected to post surpluses for a few more years before permanently slipping into the red in 2016

This year alone, Social Security will pay out $45 billion more in retirement, disability and survivors' benefits than it collects in payroll taxes, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said. That figure nearly triples — to $130 billion — when the new one-year cut in payroll taxes is included.

   Of course, all of those baby boomers will begin hitting the retirement age and applying for benefits also, so we can all look forward to an even bigger lag in those S.S. trust funds. Our lovely Congress says that it will replace the shortfall, but that will only add to our already massive deficit.

    Why do I get the feeling that you and I are being set-up by our politicians so that they can then come in with a big list of cut-backs that we will have to have in order to keep Social Security solvent? This will be the excuse for raising the retirement age and for cutting our benefits also.

   We are about to get screwed royally!

Technorati Tags: Social Security,Deficits,Baby Boomers,Current Events