Theodore's World

obama's always talking about us 'getting some skin in the game.' when does this dirtbag get some of his own skin in the game. He and his partner live of the fat of the land, always Million dollar vacations, the most extravagent places to visit, gifts that normal people only dream about, always the best of everything, but We the people are expected by him to sacrifice while he enjoys the spoils of our hard work. When does this mangy Son of a Bitch put some skin into the game.

New E-mail. Thought this might fit in here.

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September 19, 2011
Obama's New Maiestas
by Victor Davis Hanson
Ricochet.com

There are a lot of disturbing — and ironic — things about the new Obama effort (AttackWatch.com) to monitor, hunt down, and attack his critics. It used to be a classically liberal idea that conservatives and liberals would debate policies, put their views out, and let the public decide the validity of their positions. Supposedly disinterested newspapers would occasionally weigh in on disingenuous or especially egregious transgressions of good manners and basic professionalism.

At certain times — so the liberal narrative went — this notion of an arena of ideas was perverted by the paranoid and vindictive right-wingers, like a Joe McCarthy shaking papers “with the names of known communists”, or Richard Nixon with his enemies lists.

Yet go onto the new ("Paid for by Obama for America") AttackWatch.com website. It reads and looks like some sort of Stasi file (“file” is their vocabulary, not mine). It asks readers to inform them of criticism of Obama. The format is, I guess by intent, supposed to resemble a government intelligence dossier ("Attack files"), with its blaring black and red headers: "Attack"/"Attackers" (followed by names and pictures of the supposed bad guys)/"Attack Type"/("public statements") followed by check off boxes like “Have you seen or heard this attack?" "Yes/No". It reminds me of of living in 1973 dictatorial Greece, when we all kept silent about the Colonels upon entering the apartment building, lest the government-paid concierge write something down not nice in her black book.

Apparently no one in the administration learned from the spooky tone of the now defunct Journolist. That obtuseness begs the question, what is it with these extra-journalistic efforts to intimidate critics, as if the 2012 campaign will be based around deterrence: e.g., as if: “Beware: if you criticize Barack Obama, your name and picture will appear on our "Attack File." We are watching you, so you watch out!"

So creepier still is the request to snoop around and collect evidence for what the Roman emperors and French monarchs used to call maiestas/Lèse-majesté — supposed crimes against the head of state, by circulating criticism of his authority that might lessen his proper sense of majesty. Indeed, on AttackWatch.com there is a special pop-up window that is reminiscent of Crimestoppers.com that supposedly will help form some sort of a clearing house: "Your email"/"content of attack or link"/"Attack type", "Attach" with a link "Report" that pops up yet another window.

This is yet another disturbing symptom of Obama’s current malady: Near 40% approval polls; widespread terror of 2012 Democratic candidates that Obama may bring them down in the fashion of the 2010 tsunami (cf. the wipeouts in the Nevada and New York special elections); leftwing columnists scapegoating Obama in hopes that they can blame the public rejection of their own statist agenda on a supposedly inept messenger.

I predict AttackWatch.com will fail and go the way of Journolist. It is contrary to the American tradition of unfettered free speech to post, in psychodramatic style, names and pictures as if they were criminals for speaking out against the head of state. The request for millions of spies to report such incorrect discourse will offend rather than inspire. As in the case of the 2008 Obama rejection of public campaign financing funds, it is hypocritical; and also antithetical to the supposed liberal tradition of tolerance and free expression without worry of intimidation.

I also predict in the following weeks we will see a lot of pushback from even the liberal media that will seek to disassociate itself from AttackWatch.com — lest the names and pictures of themselves start showing up on it.

©2011 Victor Davis Hanson

obama wants to replace Social Security and Medicare with obamasecurity and obamacare. They will be many times more costly and freedom restricting. obama also wants to tax the job producers(wealthy) out of existance so the state can take over all industry and jobs. His goal is to break America economically and put us on the path to Marxism. Meantime, like all good commies, he and his communist insiders will live the good life. A la N. korea.

The old can't get health insurance because of medicare. My Folks had very good health insurance but they could not keep it after 65. So Medicare will now become a welfare program like medicaid. If they had that option to start with they would have paid a life insurance plan. They could have afforded it.

Thank you so much all of you for your input and sharing.

Avitar, thank you for sharing about your parents.