Well, it was just a matter of time. I always wondered how long it would be before Obama would be blamed for the eminent demise of arranger keyboards. As Bill pointed out (T-I-C), Obama is to blame for everything bad in America.

Of course, what is rarely talked about and is probably America's worst kept secret, is the fact that a sizable portion of Americans just cannot accept the reality of a Black president. We make up all kinds of excuses and put all kinds of spins on why we hate the current administration, but in the end, for a sizable group, it's just good ol' fashioned American-brand racism. All those thinly disguised slogans, "WE WANT OUR COUNTRY BACK", etc., fool no one. We've all seen the signs at the so-called 'Tea Party' rallies, showing Obama in all kinds of demeaning caricatures, usually with racial overtones. You would have to be blind not to see the real tone of these rallies and the people behind them. Then there is the constant and unrelenting hate-mongering of right-wing talk radio. But look at who buys into this garbage. Look at their average age, occupation, race, geographical area, religion, and (most importantly) educational level. Sadly, this country is infected with a disease that will probably ultimately lead to it's demise. We are willing to send a bunch of obviously unqualified clowns to Congress, to govern us, to legislate for us, to determine our role in this world, as long as they can demonstrate that they hate Obama more than the other guy. No plan, no agenda, just that they pledge to do everything in their power to undermine the current administration, whether or not it is in the best interest off the people.

They conveniently ignore the fact that taxes have actually gone down by 3.7% since Obama took office, or that the rate of job loss was twice as high at the end of the Bush administration than it currently is. They fail to ever mention the financial and regulatory reforms that were passed to stop the institutional practices that got us into this economic mess in the first place. No, we're too busy obsessing over the fact that our president is Black. Never in history has there been such disrespect for the office of the president, or the person occupying that office. Shame, shame, I say.

A friend of mine from my (Unitarian) church sent me some of his thoughts on the matter: I'll share some of them with you.

"The notion that we can have a major political movement represented by anti~government candidates is at the rotten root of the moment! How gullible can so many of us be? We have a government for a reason. It creates the rules and regulations we will function within. The idea the free enterprise system, commerce and accumulated wealth will act in the best interest of the nation is a myth that many have swallowed hook, line and sinker.
The foundation of the nation was based on a flight from an aristocracy that ruled over
the common man. I acknowledge that a majority of the founders were from a privileged strata of European society, but it was not the implications of the Declaration and the Constitution we work with.
There are certain domains of public life that must not be trusted to the ethics and morality of private individuals or corporate entities. The gains being made in the accumulation of wealth and power into fewer and fewer hands, coupled with a greater and greater tendency for corporations to grow internationally does not bode well for the United States.
Private enterprise that has no obligation to the sovereignty of the country of its origins is free to exit this country and any other country that does not meet its goals for profit. Profit that has no responsibility to the people and resources it exploits anywhere on the globe.
Privatizing the military, schools, prisons, communications systems, roads, airlines
health care, and the like can only mean that we, the people, must tolerate the tension and threat of the withdrawal of goods and services at any moment the board of directors finds it expedient to do so. Then leave the government and its people holding the bag.
At least one third of this nation has confused the common needs of us all with some bizarre counterfeit of freedom. This is a dangerous moment. The consequences for having "THE BEST GOVERNMENT ONLY MONEY CAN BUY" are on the horizon.
I hope the American experiment is not at its zenith.
There are going to be great battles ahead, inside and outside of government, over these issues I have tried to articulate above. Active citizenship is the first and most important step. This is my definition of patriotism.
I hope the battlefield remains civil and within the framework of The Constitution.
Contemplating the alternative is a contemplation of chaos on a grand scale."
I felt compelled to get out of my sick bed to respond to this thread. I really hate seeing these attitudes among people that I am sure I would otherwise like on a personal level.


chas