On the subject of not being able to afford the essential, Obama points out that 37 million Americans live in poverty. There are more Americans living under the poverty line than there are Canadians altogether (I think there are 27 million Canadians now). Imagine, a whole population, larger by ten million than the whole Canadian population, living in poverty within the United States of America. I am unable to conceptualize this fact.
It makes you think twice about helping the poor in other countries, or launching costly wars on the other side of the planet, when at home you have that serious a crisis. If all 27 million Canadians were poor, we could not even afford a military, help anyone or dictate anything in the whole world. No way would we have such a percentage of our population being so poor, or would we leave them in such dire straight. Is there any compassion out here, or just selfishness, just pure capitalism?
And I am one of them. As a civil servant in England, I cannot see how I could possibly ever buy a car, let alone a house, and I don't understand how people can afford to have kids; I can't even feed my parrot. There is a God, as I will not have to pay for his education, which let's face it, should be free for everyone.
True, I am in England now, where everything is much more expensive. However, I found that when I was living in the United States, it was quickly becoming just the same. Fifteen years ago, we used to pay twice more for anything we wanted, but not now, you pay as much as we do. That pair of shoes costs you exactly the same, and beyond shoes, it may even cost you more. Standard of living is dropping rapidly worldwide, it is called humanity's evolution.
About Civil Rights, I think Obama is not going far enough. Bill of Rights is mentioned three times in his political plan, in the context of "credit cards' bill of rights". The word Constitution is mentioned once, and it is about Iraq's Constitution.
I understand that Black and Hispanic Americans (and women and gays) suffer a lot about their civil rights in America, or lack thereof; however, at this crucial time, the Patriot Act and other laws from Bush are more worrying for the population as a whole.
How can you have a whole blueprint of what you would do once in power at this time, without stating that you will restore the Constitution and the Bill of Rights as they were before George W. Bush came to power? How can you not even mention anything about those unwarranted spying laws, the loss of privacy, the lost civil rights of every American? After all, most political blogs talk only of that.
Should we assume then that Barack Obama has no intention of reversing those unpatriotic laws that the Republicans pushed into Congress? Because then, no matter what Obama intends to do in order to help the Black (and the Hispanic) community, it will prove totally useless. I'm sure they will be the first ones who will suffer the most from this new abuse of power that the police, the prosecution and the spying agencies have gained under Bush.
Obama might have talked about this in other speeches, I don't know. However, it should be in his blueprint, so we can hold him accountable. Civil rights right now, is no small political issue. We need clear assurance that the Democrats will redress the situation, or else it might be worth voting independent, for any independent candidate.
And dear me, don't talk to me about reforming the broken death penalty system right before stating that torture is not acceptable. Death penalty should be banned altogether from any civilized society, especially when one understands how the whole criminal system works nowadays. Another important political issue not mentioned. As far as we know, under Bush, we are all criminals at the moment.
About Obama foreign policy's ideas, it sounds easy and wonderful, but a bit vague. How he intends to achieve what he proposes, I don't know. Nevertheless, he favors diplomacy with everyone; he wants to get out of Iraq within 16 months; he does not wish to attack Iran; and he wants to work towards a Palestinian State. So I feel this is a good beginning for some sort of worldwide peace, so we could finally concentrate on what's going on at home.
He could have mentioned working with the United Nations though, he does sound like he will lead an international coalition and that he intends everyone to respond and rally behind American leadership. Well, I'm sorry, but diplomacy is everyone working together, not America dictating once again what should be done, and then go on to bribe everyone else into believing that this is the right course of action. And if that does not work, do it the Bush way and go about it alone, breaking all international laws.
On building a 21st Century Military, Obama believes we need more soldiers and more Marines, and better military equipment. I can't really say anything on these points as I have no clue if this is necessary in America right now, since there is no transparency about what is really going on.
All I know is that whenever someone says we need more policemen and policewomen on the streets, I shiver, and wonder, do we? It seems to me that we will all be their next target, whether we deserve it or not.
The only reason I am now actually just reticent, instead of being scandalized at the idea that we need to invest more in the military, is because I just watched two documentaries about the Falklands War. If it was just for defense purposes, then yes, we need to insure that we can defend ourselves against anything. If it is for attack, pre-emptive strikes and policing the world, just like under the Bush/Cheney's regime, no, we do not need to invest one more cent into the military. What we need, is to spend much less on military and reallocate this money to social securities and eliminating poverty within America.
It makes you think twice about helping the poor in other countries, or launching costly wars on the other side of the planet, when at home you have that serious a crisis. If all 27 million Canadians were poor, we could not even afford a military, help anyone or dictate anything in the whole world. No way would we have such a percentage of our population being so poor, or would we leave them in such dire straight. Is there any compassion out here, or just selfishness, just pure capitalism?
And I am one of them. As a civil servant in England, I cannot see how I could possibly ever buy a car, let alone a house, and I don't understand how people can afford to have kids; I can't even feed my parrot. There is a God, as I will not have to pay for his education, which let's face it, should be free for everyone.
Or else, here comes the elitist society where discrimination is the law. Don't tell me we cannot afford it, as I know better. I have seen where we are spending all our money, I know it would be better spent elsewhere. Responsible spending is one of Obama's main points.
About Civil Rights, I think Obama is not going far enough. Bill of Rights is mentioned three times in his political plan, in the context of "credit cards' bill of rights". The word Constitution is mentioned once, and it is about Iraq's Constitution.
I understand that Black and Hispanic Americans (and women and gays) suffer a lot about their civil rights in America, or lack thereof; however, at this crucial time, the Patriot Act and other laws from Bush are more worrying for the population as a whole.
How can you have a whole blueprint of what you would do once in power at this time, without stating that you will restore the Constitution and the Bill of Rights as they were before George W. Bush came to power? How can you not even mention anything about those unwarranted spying laws, the loss of privacy, the lost civil rights of every American? After all, most political blogs talk only of that.
Should we assume then that Barack Obama has no intention of reversing those unpatriotic laws that the Republicans pushed into Congress? Because then, no matter what Obama intends to do in order to help the Black (and the Hispanic) community, it will prove totally useless. I'm sure they will be the first ones who will suffer the most from this new abuse of power that the police, the prosecution and the spying agencies have gained under Bush.
Obama might have talked about this in other speeches, I don't know. However, it should be in his blueprint, so we can hold him accountable. Civil rights right now, is no small political issue. We need clear assurance that the Democrats will redress the situation, or else it might be worth voting independent, for any independent candidate.
And dear me, don't talk to me about reforming the broken death penalty system right before stating that torture is not acceptable. Death penalty should be banned altogether from any civilized society, especially when one understands how the whole criminal system works nowadays. Another important political issue not mentioned. As far as we know, under Bush, we are all criminals at the moment.
About Obama foreign policy's ideas, it sounds easy and wonderful, but a bit vague. How he intends to achieve what he proposes, I don't know. Nevertheless, he favors diplomacy with everyone; he wants to get out of Iraq within 16 months; he does not wish to attack Iran; and he wants to work towards a Palestinian State. So I feel this is a good beginning for some sort of worldwide peace, so we could finally concentrate on what's going on at home.
He could have mentioned working with the United Nations though, he does sound like he will lead an international coalition and that he intends everyone to respond and rally behind American leadership. Well, I'm sorry, but diplomacy is everyone working together, not America dictating once again what should be done, and then go on to bribe everyone else into believing that this is the right course of action. And if that does not work, do it the Bush way and go about it alone, breaking all international laws.
On building a 21st Century Military, Obama believes we need more soldiers and more Marines, and better military equipment. I can't really say anything on these points as I have no clue if this is necessary in America right now, since there is no transparency about what is really going on.
All I know is that whenever someone says we need more policemen and policewomen on the streets, I shiver, and wonder, do we? It seems to me that we will all be their next target, whether we deserve it or not.
The only reason I am now actually just reticent, instead of being scandalized at the idea that we need to invest more in the military, is because I just watched two documentaries about the Falklands War. If it was just for defense purposes, then yes, we need to insure that we can defend ourselves against anything. If it is for attack, pre-emptive strikes and policing the world, just like under the Bush/Cheney's regime, no, we do not need to invest one more cent into the military. What we need, is to spend much less on military and reallocate this money to social securities and eliminating poverty within America.
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