Comment

Comment by Eric L. Wattree on August 4, 2011 at 4:49am

Thank you, Yvonne.

 

I'm still hoping that he'll wake up, not just for himself and the community, but so I can get rid of the anger of allowing myself to be bamboozled in the last election.  I wote well over a hundred articles touting Obama when he was 37% behind Hillary Clinton in the Black community. I was fighting other columnist and going against the Sentinel within their own pages on his behalf.  So I must admit, I feel a vested interest in waking him up - and in my own modest way,during this coming election, I'm gonna be working night and day  to see to it that he does just that.  I feel like I've helped to sell the community a used car with a bad transmission.

Comment by Yvonne Ellett on August 3, 2011 at 10:34pm

Straight to the perfect point as always, Eric.  My outlook on Obama has always been this:  You're not getting a second term so make the one you got count.  And count big.  I will thank him for Health Care.  But, he has not been a friend to the Middle Class.  If he didn't finger-waggle the Bush Administration for their wars, in the wake of rising High School drop out rates, he could at least mention the debacle of "No Child Left Behind".  While he has 12 months to turn this around for me, the reality is that he's not working for me or my vote.  With one more dip in the economy before that time, I may not have an address to send election info to.  Sorry, Mr. President; my PayPal is closed.

Comment by Leslye on August 3, 2011 at 9:08pm

Tell me, why do you think the Republicans are making it harder for our 44th President, by not compromising for the American people? Our 44^th President is the only President and will be the last that will ever guzzle that much power of the American people to have raised over 8 million in campaign promotion for the 2012 election.

In my mind, Republican is going to sit back and see how much stronger power this 44^th President can gain for a second term. Republican is actually using our 44th President's power to clean up or over look the biased mess they left. In my opinion, huge mistake, huge mistake they are making. As poor and middle class American people we must not allow it to happen, we must find our brave hearts and flood their phones, emails, snail mails and any means of media to bring them down to understand, sorry we are not stupid enough for them. This is a time our 44^th President needs our help, our voices to conquer the powerful snakes from continuing to bring us down to our knees. For Christ sake, what reason? It is a freak show to Republicans to watch us struggle and suffers among each other. 

The 44^th President can only say so many words, we as the people must speak our minds and speak up LOUDEST in History.

Comment by Eric L. Wattree on August 3, 2011 at 6:58pm

Leslye,

 

I am in total agreement with you. If we would just come together and become involved our on welfare, it would completely neutralize all of the money that the corporations are pouring into our political system - after all, the only thing the money is good for is influencing the people to vote their way. But they have us so distracted MTV, BET, and ESPN that we're more interested in worshipping Kobe's jump shot than we are in our own future and the future of our children. That's what I meant by educating the people, but maybe I should have said deprogramming the people.

 

It's like iconic journalist, Edward R. Murrow, said in the fifties - "A citizenry of sheep begets a government of wolves."   

 

Eric

Comment by Leslye on August 3, 2011 at 5:48pm

Hi! Eric

I also totally agree with you, but there is only one way to put the pressure on our historic 44th President for a second term. We as the American definitely has a voice louder than any politician can ever dream of. So it's totally up to us poor and middle class to fight for pressure as ever before, and make indeed another Historic gain. Otherwise! We will be in the same situation as Somalia. And to keep it real with you, to talk about educating us, PLEASE we knew enough then and know enough now, we should have saw this coming from the beginning, trust me, it's not our current President that's being softhearted, IT IS US!!! Poor and middle class Americans, because we are not speaking up loud enough for them to hear our importune to stop the non-sense with the American people. We Americans are the last to fall after all other countries, believe it or not.

IT IS OUR CHOICE! We are the voters right? The 2012 Campaign is our chance to make the changes and speak up LOUDER and FIGHT HARDER all of us voters.

Many of us College Graduates and Small Business owners should not even be tolerating this non-sense under any circumstances. This is America, RIGHT? What ever happen to the BRAVES and The American DREAMS?

 

We need stop being Hippocratic toward ourselves and each other, the poor and middle class, because at the end of day, it is us that suffer the consequences.

 

Speaking of Travis and West, we can't really blame them for making a profit off poor and middle class, because we allowed it to happen, we become too curious and buy into the powerful snakes anyway.

Comment by Eric L. Wattree on August 3, 2011 at 12:24am

Hi Enhager,

 

It's always good to hear from you, and thank you for featuring my article.

 

I know you read enough of my writings to know that I'm not on Tavis and West for criticizing Obama. The problem that I have with them is their motive and hypocrisy. I've become convinced that they're profiting  on poor, Black, and middle class misery. A prime example of that is this so-called "poverty tour" they're on.  It's no accident that it just HAPPENS to coincide with Cornel's book that Tavis just published. Tavis goes on some kind of tour to "benefit the Black community" each and every time he has some snake oil to sell, and I can't stand poverty pimps. It's unconscionable.

As for Obama, he could have acted in the best interest of the country by simply invoking the 14th Amendment. And again, just like he took single-payer off the table instead of at the very least using it as a bargaining chip during the healthcare debate, he signaled the GOP well in advance that he wasn't going to utilize the 14th amendment.  Why would he do that if he wanted to get the most out of the debt ceiling debate? It's quite curious.  Here's what I told another friend:

"It's time to stop defending Obama and start putting pressure on him. If we don't, we're gonna to end up on skid row. And there was something he could do other than cave. He could have invoked the 14th Amendment, which gives him the... right to circumvent congress when it comes to paying the bills. But he told them upfront that he wasn't going to do that. Why did he do that?

"I've been collecting a number of curious little things that he's been doing. I've got to tell you, Pelver. He's been giving away things that a Republican never could have gotten away with. So at this point I'm watching him very closely, because I'm beginning to wonder if he's a plant. If he goes after social security and medicare I'm gonna be convinced that he is. After all, he did come from Kansas, the heart of Republican country. Think about it - we just assumed that we knew what he stood for because he’s Black. We loved Bill Clinton too, but he cut our throats.

"There’s no room for love affairs in politics. You’ll get played every time. We can’t afford to be going by what a politician says. It behooves us to judge him based on what he does, and nothing else."

 

So that's exactly what I do, Enhager. I simply follow truth wherever it leads, regardless to whose ox it gores. Because in my opinion, the economy is not this nation's biggest problem. If this country is brought down, it's going to be brought down by lies, greed, and hypocrisy. So I don't trust ANY politician - I don't care how warm a smile he or she has.

Comment by enhager on August 2, 2011 at 10:59pm

You have been possessed by the spirits of Cornell West and Tavis Smiley. just kidding?

 

I really agree with you on this - Obama isn't up for a fight. He won't challenge the lies of Fox News and the ultra right of the Republican party. He is being nice and being a team player. I just don't think he can win them over. I never did - but when he can't get them on board with 85 percent cuts and 15 percent taxes, then there's no compromise possible.

 

Still there is another way to look at this - in the case of the debt ceiling, maybe just maybe, Obama did what he thought was best for the country and that was not defaulting on our debt. Maybe his choice wasn't made on principle, or to prove a point or to win. But perhaps he can see the consequences for making the economy suffer even more if this wasn't approved.

 

I'm trying to be an optimist.