Pentagon requests $170 million to renovate GITMO

From R.T.

As part of his "Change-We-Can-Believe-In" campaign mantra, Obama promised to shut Guantanamo Bay down as his first point of business on entering the White House.

Yet the pentagon is now requesting $45 mil to upgrade the facility, suggesting it will remain open for many years to come.







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That's not "change we can believe in."

Quantitative Easing Explained

A few years old but I don't think I posted it and it is still as relevant today if not more so:


From YouTube:

Quantitative Easing Explained




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That's not "change we can believe in."

From YouTube.com:

As some of us might remember, Obama ran on a platform of transparency, however:

Obama Sets Record For Rejections Of Freedom Of Information Requests

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That's not "change we can believe in."

Demagogue

What is a demagogue?

At Wikipedia we find an insightful description for the term demagogue:

A demagogue (/ˈdɛməɡɒɡ/) or rabble-rouser is a political leader in a democracy who appeals to the emotions, prejudices, and ignorance of the less-educated people of a population in order to gain power. Demagogues usually oppose deliberation and advocate immediate, violent action to address a national crisis; they accuse moderate and thoughtful opponents of weakness. Demagogues have appeared in democracies since ancient Athens. They exploit a fundamental weakness in democracy: because ultimate power is held by the people, nothing stops the people from giving that power to someone who appeals to the lowest common denominator of a large segment of the population.


From Online Etymology, we learn the origins of the term "demagogue:"

demagogue (n.) 

1640s, from Greek demagogos "popular leader," also "leader of the mob," from demos "people" (see demotic) + agogos "leader," from agein "to lead" (see act (n.)). Often a term of disparagement since the time of its first use, in Athens, 5c. B.C.E. Form perhaps influenced by French demagogue (mid-14c.).

So is Obama a demagogue? Well, does he fit the descriptions above? Is he the leader of the mob? Absolutely! His speeches are riddled with rhetoric designed to stir the emotions of the masses, and who could argue that he is not "quick advocate immediate, violent action to address a national crisis?" I could go on but I want to keep the post brief.

And what of George W. Bush? Can we say he was the same of him? I dare say yes. In a democracy, we are ruled by demagogues. Wake up America.

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That's not "change we can believe in."

Wealth Inequality in America

From YouTube




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That's not "change we can believe in."

Didn't Obama run on a platform of ending wars?

From YouTube: --------------------
That's not "change we can believe in."

The Real Sequester Threat

From Reuters:

By Pedro da Costa

The real sequester threat: rising political risk in the United States

Despite the Obama administration’s cataclysmic warnings about the effects of $85 billion in looming spending cuts known as the “sequester,” chances are the lights will not go out when they kick in this weekend. Still, the economic impact could be significant. The cutbacks might shave a half percentage point or more from an economy that is forecast to grow around 2 percent this year — but which only mustered a 0.1 percent increase in annualized fourth quarter GDP. This, at a time when a similar austerity-driven approach has left much of Europe mired in recession.

Both the public and the markets seem to be taking Washington’s latest war of words in stride. After all, people are becoming inured to the regularly scheduled fiscal crises that have become a part of the capital’s landscape. But the sequester’s most frightening potential consequence is much broader than its near-term economic ripples. The real danger is that, with every new episode of political theater over the budget, America’s credibility as a serious, trustworthy nation is eroded. The concept of political risk, once reserved for banana republics in the developing world, is now very much alive in the United States. And that is one liberty a debtor nation cannot afford to take.

Link to article

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That's not "change we can believe in."