Why Become An American?

   Original Article

Why Become an American? 

by ulookarmless         Fri Apr 01, 2011

It’s fashionable these days to find fault with most things American. To hear some tell it America is responsible for much of the misery around the globe whether social, economic or religious. For others, America has been taking what it wants without paying for at least two hundred years. And still others decry this nation’s gargantuan appetites for energy, food, communications and weaponry.

To make matters worse, America harbors the worst kind of know-nothing, backward looking, history denying, revisionist, flag waving, jingoistic, pea brained, closed minded troglodytes to ever grace a television studio. AND THEY SEEM TO BE WINNING!

So why should a thinking, well traveled, somewhat educated, open-minded, seeker of new experiences choose to become an American?

An anecdote from my past will illustrate. When I lived in Hong Kong, I hired a quite brilliant Chinese statistician for my consulting firm. He took the English name of “Oscar” for meetings with our American and British clients. Now Oscar had a pronounced stutter, a stutter which was extremely noticeable, as he said, “O-o-o-only on vowels”. One day, I asked him “Why then, did you name yourself Oscar?” to which he replied “ I-i-i-i-t was a challenge!”

I kinda feel that way about my adopted country.

There are so many great people in this country.
There are so many wonderful opportunities to right the wrongs perpetrated by the evil doers like Cheney and his minions.
I find the attitudes of the younger generation have changed dramatically.
I see it in my children. An attitude of giving before taking, of sharing before hoarding. And it gives me joy.

The mewling and screeching of the Tea Party governors and the other elected idiots around the country have only served to awaken the real “silent majority.”

Those good and honest people who will not stand for this nonsensical behavior any more.

Just read this list, they are their own adjectives! Boehner, Cantor, Palin, McConnell, Paul, Walker, Kasich, Bachmann, McCain, Romney, Pawlenty and on and on. They don’t need qualifiers or further explanation. Each name signifies an inflexible, owned by the corporations, unprincipled, automatic disagreement with any Democratic position.

On the other hand, the diversity within the Democrats, often a cross to bear, is our very strength! That’s what I’m looking for. That’s what I value. I have no desire to join an army, I’m really not into joining organized groups of any kind unless it’s for a good meal and conversation over a glass of wine.

So, in the end, why become an American?

Because, like my friend Oscar said all those years ago back in Hong Kong  “I-i-i-i-t’s a challenge!”

Originally posted to Indigo Kalliope: Poems from the Left on Fri Apr 01, 2011

Technorati Tags: Politics,America,United States,Democracy,Current Events

Friday Funnies

  I actually had some work this week which was a good thing, I guess. 20 hours was a bit of a disappointment but the pay was excellent.

   Have a great weekend Everyone!

Conan O'Brien :

"President Obama says that he prays every night before bed. Or as Fox News reported, 'Obama in Daily Talks With Allah.'"

"Obama said that one solution for using less oil is more nuclear power. He also admitted that he doesn't follow the news."

"General Electric did not pay any taxes at all last year. Of course that’s because G.E. reported its sale of NBC as a charitable donation."

Jay Leno:

"Newt Gingrich said he's afraid America will become an atheist country dominated by radical Islamists. Right. Our big problem could be religious atheists, almost as bad as pacifist warmongers. If they hook up with the communist capitalists we're screwed."

"We're down to the final four now. Only four Middle East countries we haven't attacked."

"Congress is mad at President Obama because he didn't consult them before the war in Libya. Congress got us into two other wars and put us 14 trillion dollars in debt. I can't imagine why he didn't consult them."

"In the wake of record losses, the U.S. Postal Service announced it is cutting 7,500 jobs. But a spokesman for the post office said those positions could be restored if this whole email thing turns out to be nothing but a fad."

Bill Maher:

"Michele Bachmann threw her hat into the ring. We think she's going to be running for president. For those who find Sarah Palin too intellectual. Michelle Bachman for President. As a comedian, all I can say is, where can I donate to this cause?"

"If Bachman and Palin get in to the presidential race, that's two bimbos. And there there's Mitt Romney, the millionaire and Newt Gingrich, a professor. We just need a skipper and a buddy and we've got 'Gilligan's Island.'"

"A new poll shows that one of the major parties in this country – I won't tell you which one – is a majority birther party. That's right, more than half of Republicans now think Obama was born in Kenya. They literally do not know where babies come from."

Technorati Tags: Politics,Humor,Political Humor,Bill Maher,Jay Leno,Conan O'Brian,Current Events,Sarah Palin

Wisconsin Taliban Senate Recall: 1st Victim

   DKos

This morning, the Wisconsin Democratic Party announced that local activists submitted over 100% of the signatures needed to "recall" Republican state senator Dan Kapanke from office! This is giving huge momentum to efforts in other Senate districts to gather recall signatures. Now’s the time to flood the Wisconsin airwaves with more of the TV ads made by the PCCC and Democracy for America supporting the recall, and pump energy into places where volunteers are still working hard to gather signatures.

  This piece of gutter garbage will be on his way to the unemployment line very soon! Just a few more obstacles and the voters can boot his sorry ass out!

After local officials certify the signatures, a new election will be scheduled for Kapanke's seat. The news is sending shockwaves through the state -- and revitalizing those who are working tirelessly on the recall campaigns for the remaining Republicans senators.

Technorati Tags: Wisconsin Taliban,Recalls,American Taliban,Republicans,Dan Kapanke,Recall Elections,Current Events

America’s Plans For Middle East Not Going To Happen

  Still much rain, thunder, and lightening here in West Central Florida, but it is beginning to taper off.

   Meanwhile.

 Watching America

Maariv, Israel
The American Window Is Closed

By Ofer Shelah
Everyone seems to understand that the dream of Washington forcing an 'American Peace' is nothing but an outdated myth. Everyone but Israel.
Translated By Jay Estes
22 March 2011

Edited by Mark DeLucas

Israel - Maariv - Original Article (Hebrew)
It seems like everyone is disappointed in the U.S. and no one is more disappointed than us — Israel. Ever since the strong winds of revolution touched down in the Arab world, the question “Where is America?” has become the centerpiece of many newspaper columns. How can it be that Mubarak falls, Saudi Arabia is unstable and Washington does nothing? Where is George W. Bush — the man who fought two wars lasting longer than World War II — when we need him?
In addition to this feeling of disappointment is the added dimension of concern which is only publicly displayed in blogs and posts: the suspicion over Barack Hussein Obama. It is no wonder that websites and those who surf the Internet are very active participants in spreading rumors about Obama’s origin and the legality of his election as president. It seems that all of our worries magnified by the president’s very name are coming true.
What exactly are the Americans supposed to do? Are they supposed to just drop forces into Tahrir Square? Should they repeat Operation “Shock and Awe” but against the Shiite demonstrators in Bahrain? Perhaps they should send in the CIA to overthrow the governments as was done to Mosaddeq in Iran or to fight the revolutionaries in Central America? Those who hold similar sentiments are no different than the leftists who have been wishing from time immemorial that America take firm action and force Israel from the Territories.
It seems that here in Israel, more so than in the rest of the world, it has been difficult to grasp the idea that not only has the Cold War come to a close but that America as the only global policing nation has ceased as well. It is difficult to understand how Obama took over the reins of a superpower whose economy is weak (the result of unrestrained waste during Bush’s time in office) and its forces stretched to their limits and not budging at all. In essence, America no longer has the convenience to do as it pleases.
The Landlord of Old
There is no coincidence that America’s president, in dealing with Libya, was led but did not lead, “allowed” but didn’t initiate. Who understands the damage done to the United States by his predecessor, due to his government’s lack of restraint and justification of its actions, better than Obama? In 1990, at a time when the Soviet Union was collapsing, Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney (later Bush’s Vice President) initiated a review within the U.S. government to formulate a strategy for maintaining U.S. preponderance.
Two documents asserting two very different opinions came to light. The first was written by the Chief of Staff (later the Secretary of State) Colin Powell, a Vietnam veteran. Powell wrote that we can’t enter a war without an “exit strategy.” We have the responsibility to ask ourselves if the goal is clear enough and if American interests are at risk. Can we mobilize sufficient resources and maintain them for as long as necessary? Is there support for such action coming from Congress or the nation? Have we exhausted all other options? Only if the answer is in the affirmative to the questions above may we go to war and finish it as quickly as possible.
The second document was written by two people who led the government, at least conceptually, during George W. Bush’s term in office: Paul Wolfowitz and Scooter Libby. They weren’t deterred from taking an unequivocal stance that action is crucial, not necessarily stemming out of an internal or international consensus but rather to encourage countries to adopt a model like America. Their reasoning was ideological: America serves as a paradigm for the rest of the world. Practically speaking, we have a window of opportunity after the collapse of the Soviet Union and before the rise of a new world power.
Even the zealous neoconservatives realize that this window has already closed. However, it was Bush who used this open window to focus on the wrong target in Iraq. They understand that Obama has no other way to proceed besides the current one and that anyone still entertaining the idea of a forced “American Peace” in the rest of the world is simply a captive to an outdated myth. They understand that it is just not possible to send aircraft over unless there is an urgent call for humanitarian action, as indeed took place in Libya, and it is impossible to send forces on the ground to just about anywhere. They have accepted what is known the world over — except in a frightened small town on the shore of the Mediterranean where they continue to anticipate the landlord of old.

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Technorati Tags: Israel,Barack Obama,America,Middle East,Current Events