Tag: Arab Spring

President Obama’s State of the Union Address 2012

people-politico-president-barack-obama-debatingThe President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, gave his 2012 State of the Union Address. Whether you love or hate President Obama, there is no denying that he knows how to give a great speech. President Obama is a very charismatic speaker using a great amount of intelligence and elegance when he speaks. Whether you agree or disagree with what he said last night does not change the fact that he is great at addressing America.

Watch the web enhanced video of the 2012 State of the Union Address


It’s always interesting to see how the fact checkers rate these addresses. Not just the State of the Union Address but the many other speeches, policies, rallies and other promises that are made by politicians. They are so easily lost in the tumult that is politics that no regular person, like you and I, can keep track of it all. So I like to wait at least a day for all of the fact checking places to do their due diligence. Then I peruse through them to see what was real and was smoke. I urge everyone to take a few extra minutes and check several different sources yourself, especially about the political issues you care most about.

It turns out that on the scale of what was true and what is reality President Obama’s State of the Union Address turns out to be mostly true! This is great news and a refreshing change of pace from the last administration. I always hate when we hear great promises or “facts” about what they have done or not done only to find out it was a thinly veiled attempt to earn favor, and far from the truth. Unfortunately, our first impressions are often the strongest. This means it is much harder for us to “unlearn” the lies we hear first instead of being able to believe the truth we learn later. Unfortunately this is widely known and is an often used tactic in politics. Know they use it, so you can guard yourself from it.

President Obama definitely covered the full gamut of issues that America is facing. There is a lot to talk about for sure and it will be interesting to see what, if any, action is actually taken. President Obama took a tougher stand last night during the State of the Union Address than we have seen before. We can only expect this “toughness” to increase over the course of the election year. I do appreciate that even though President Obama was talking tougher, he was still addressing everyone with respect and dignity. This is something that is unfortunately becoming more and more rare.

Formation of Committee to Investigate Misconduct of Big Oil and Wall Street

I think this was one of the biggest, most important announcements from the State of the Union Address, the formation of a Committee to formally investigate big corporations. If this actually happens, and actually gets to a place that they can actually do their job, it has the possibility to illuminate the insanity that our financial system and its corporations that puts on the people of American and the rest of the world. This decision alone could reach deep into the workings of our government and economy to expose the massive issues and broken systems that have brought the world economy to its knees. It amazes me how fast people have already forgotten how close we were to a calamity of massive proportions. Hopefully this will help to expose these issues and help us move forward to a solution in the future.

I know these are high hopes, look at how crippled some of the others have been. Tied up in the bureaucracy but more importantly the lobbyists pushing their congressman to fight against these common sense steps to a better America.

Combine the Citizen’s United, political partisanship, election year politics and it will honestly be a miracle if anything gets done at all this year. However, I am still hopeful that something will be, or at least could be, accomplished. We have to keep on trying and keep on pushing forward. Contact your representative and urge them to action!

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Martin Luther King Jr Day and the Occupy Wall Street Movement

martin-luther-kingMartin Luther King Jr. Day is coming up, which gives us a chance to reflect on how far we have come as a society, and remember those who worked tirelessly for the betterment of us all. Martin Luther King Jr. is probably the most recognizable figure in the American Civil Rights movement. He brought attention to race issues in the 1960’s, rallying citizens to end racial segregation by use of non-violent protest. He also worked to end poverty and bring about an end to the Vietnam War, before he was assassinated in 1968.

Dr. King’s contribution to civil rights and equality is undeniable: trying to explain to kids that in America, it used to be expected that you would treat other people differently because of the color of their skin, just results in puzzlement. Slowly, Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream has come true—our children are basically colorblind. His work is not yet completed, of course, there is still more to be done to accomplish true equality. But this success shows the effectiveness of peaceful activism.

His goals to end poverty and inequality are echoed in the Occupy Wall Street Movement, whose protest method is based upon Dr. King’s nonviolent activism. Dr. King’s methods were based on Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violent civil disobedience. The Occupy Wall Street movement’s actions are based upon the prior successes of both Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi, and are protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Bill of Rights allows for peaceful assembly and freedom of speech.

There are a large number of homeless protesters involved in the Occupy Wallstreet movement. After all, the economic downturn was fueled by just the types of issues the Occupy Wall Street movement is trying to bring to light: economic inequality and the corrupting power of major corporations. The homeless and jobless, most obviously affected by the recession, are the most bitterly appropriate people to represent the rest of the 99%. And as the states and the protesters began having differences about how public areas should be used, it brought to light the age-old issues of homelessness and poverty. Now that more people are at serious risk of becoming homeless and impoverished, some of those who already hit the bottom are speaking up to try and prevent the rest of us from sliding down.

In several cities across the nation, on the same November night, the protesters were evicted from public areas, effectively ending the Occupy Wall Street movement in its original form. However, the movement has grown quite large, gaining media exposure because of a popular lament, an abiding inclusiveness of varying points of view, and because the protesters insisted upon nonviolent protest. They have a breathtaking new tool in technology and social media, and have received the world’s attention.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy has rippled across generations. His method gained results and changed the world. Indeed, large numbers of people in countries all over the world have engaged in unarmed protests, demanding to be heard, and have seen results from their tireless activism. Although change is measured in years and not months, preventing the horrors and loss of life that result from violent uprisings is worth the wait.

People Politico Sources

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