Our New King, Barack Obama

I'm extremely furious right now, so I might seem a bit incoherent at times. Forgive me, I'll have a better post coming up soon, but I just had to express my freedom of speech on this historical day of epic disappointment.

So, let's take the meat of this speech and we'll see what it boils down to.

"Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor -- who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom."

He means the Founders, right? Those were the days when we were free, but I hardly consider our current state "free". We're close to a military state, and Obama holds in his hands bill on what can be considered Thought Crime. That's not freedom. Freedom is the ability to express ourselves, make our own choices, even if they may not necessarily be the best, and to live our lives. The government is not a babysitter, it is merely a protector from our enemies.

"They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction."

Socialist, anyone?

"We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished."

Okay, there's all kinds of things wrong with this. We are not the most prosperous nation on Earth any longer. Heck, we'd be bankrupt if we weren't printing off money at the speed of light and borrowing from China. If we followed a standard (say the gold standard) and spent the way we do, we'd never see the light of day!

Also, our military is stretched so thin that if someone were to attack us right now, we'd never ever be able to defend ourselves. We aren't strong, we're weak; but we insist on pretending that we're strong to remain somewhat intimidating. We want to be a force to be reckoned with, but right now we're little more than bullies and aggressors.

Let's not even get started on our capacity! Has anyone been keeping track of the unemployment rates?

"Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America."

Yeah, if we had Ron Paul this may be a possibility. Pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and let the free world work its wonders! Wait a minute... Huh? Obama wants us to work towards a socialist ideal? He wants to get the government totally involved in our lives? That's not in this transcript, but anyone who has ever heard the guy speak in other speeches will know this to be true.

"The state of our economy calls for action: bold and swift. And we will act not only to create new jobs but to lay a new foundation for growth."

Does this involve letting more people keep their money by, say, sacking the income tax? Or maybe it means getting the government out of the market and letting it do what it's got to do to return to normalcy? Let me guess, it means pumping money into the market, creating bubbles and inflation, then hoping it evens out.

"We will restore science to its rightful place and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality..."

Yeah, I've been waiting to see Dr. McCoy's little gadgets in action. So, where does holistic medicine lie in this crazy plan?

"We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age."

I actually don't mind the quest for alternative energy if it's done by private companies, but it sounds to me like he really wants more government involvement in education. Hey, Obama! Did you know schools are failing because of these government standards? Individualized education is undermined, teachers spend way too much time trying to pick out students with "mental illness", and lessons are rushed through. Don't even get me started on education!

"All this we can do. All this we will do."

Lord, please help us. They know not what they do!

"Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions, who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short, for they have forgotten what this country has already done, what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose and necessity to courage."

Yeah, because our government isn't supposed to be involved in everything! The governments role is a) secure our borders, and b) secure our liberties. I see no room for "big plans" on a federal level.

Oh, and my memory isn't short. I've seen what our country has already done and the mess it's gotten us into. And free men and women joining for a common purpose is contradictory, because this purpose is a government mandate.

"The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works, whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified."

Wow, just a few paragraphs ago, he praised the Founders for creating such a prosperous government. Now he's saying that it may not work? Also, it's not the governments job to ensure my comfort, it's mine. I live in poverty, and I intend to pull myself out all by myself. I don't need Obama to subsidize me, and I don't need him to tell me how to take care of myself.

"But this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control. The nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous."

Again, this is a problem created by government intervention, namely by letting the Federal Reserve do as it pleases. The gold standard would fix this, the market doesn't need a watchful eye.

"The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on the ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart -- not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good."

Dear me, more socialsim. This guy sounds like he grew up on Star Trek. As much as I love the show, let's not let it influence us politically. I intend on writing an article about this in the future. Maybe one for Avatar and its freedom positions as a contrast.

"As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals."

Then why, pray tell, did he vote for extending the Patriot Act?

"And so, to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and we are ready to lead once more."

Something finally made sense! It's contradictory to some of his other statements made of seperate occasions, but at least he's trying to play the role of a peace-keeper and not a war monger. How long before the true colors shine, I wonder.

"We are the keepers of this legacy, guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort, even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We'll begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people and forge a hard- earned peace in Afghanistan."

Dang, he just contradicted himself. Here I thought we'd have a non-intervention foreign policy that promoted free trade and mutal respect.

"With old friends and former foes, we'll work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat and roll back the specter of a warming planet."

Ignoring the warming planet bogus, it sounds like he's trying to contract himself yet again! Then again, maybe this falls into his intervention plan, too.

"And for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that, 'Our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken. You cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.'"

You know, for a guy trying to make peace with former foes, he certainly knows how to play the intimidation card, doesn't he?

"And because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace."

Sounds like a New World Order, doesn't it? I refuse to cooperate.

"To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist."

So this means that when I pass out my pamphlets and articles tomorrow morning to high school students, I won't be stopped? Great!

"To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds."

We can start by breaking down those unneeded bases that use up their resources and poison their land. Then, we can let the Red Cross and other charity organizations help these poor people out. I'm not against helping the needy, but the government has a habbit of embezelling that money.

"As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages.

"We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service: a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves."

More socialist ideals permeating the brains of Americans. Besides, they aren't guarding our liberty or anyone else's - they're working to protect our overseas interests, which don't include our liberties, and to topple leaders and prop up new ones. We shouldn't be there in the first place.

"Our challenges may be new, the instruments with which we meet them may be new, but those values upon which our success depends, honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism -- these things are old."

The challenges are old, too. Doesn't anyone study history?

Well, those are all the interesting exerpts. Why was this a great speech? For a guy who wants to be like Honest Abe, I half expected his speech to begin with, "Four score and seven years ago..." Unfortunately, it wasn't that intelligent.

More on this later, though. I need to cool down a bit.