Dear President Obama: It's about Time to either Put up or Shut Up!

One thing that President Barack Obama is finding out with increasing certitude is that it is far easier to criticize someone than to walk a mile in their shoes; or in this case, the few steps from the Rose Garden to the Oval Office. Notwithstanding the disagreements with Moderate [Reagan] and some Liberal Democrats, Republicans, and Independents within both the House of Representatives and Senate regarding legislation over Health Care, the Economy, and dozens of other domestic as well as foreign policy issues, Barack Obama is looking more like a “lame duck” [legislatively ineffectual] already than a newly elected President.

With nearly a year into his presidency, Barack Obama has achieved very little in the way of steering a sure and steady course toward any coherent, meaningful, and realistic agenda for moving the country forward. Outside of the occasional rhetorical flourishes, he has not shown the very thing that people expect, namely, “leadership.” It is about time that something tangible and sustainable emerges from the president other than him trying to do everything all-at-once, thereby accomplishing very little in the way of achieving ‘real’ results.

During the Presidential campaign, candidate Barack Obama promised accountability, transparency, doing things right that make sense, reaching out to members across the [political] aisle (bi-partisanship), being deliberate and thoughtful, and bringing economic relief to those Americans on Main Street and not Wall Street. So far, none of this has happened and the printing presses at the US Treasury Department have issued nearly a trillion dollars to keep Insurance companies, US Automakers, and major Banking Institutions from bankruptcy. The average unemployed worker has received an extension of UI benefit checks but none of the optimistically forecasted new "Green Energy" jobs.

Even Federal and State Pell Grant or Worker Retraining funding to go to a College University or Technical School is dwindling and may be unavailable for those who most need it. President Obama is reminiscent of the Nursery School tale of the Little Dutch Boy who tried to plug a hole in the dike with his little finger to stop a leak. When he did that, another leak sprung somewhere else; you get the picture. Just like the little lad in the story, President Obama doesn't know how to "fix" the problem. And in the story, was it that the little boy didn't have enough fingers to plug each leak that formed in the wall of the dike, or was the dike constructed of cheap materials and of such poor quality to hold back the swelling waters, or was it instead, the mounting water pressure on the other side of the dike's protective wall which threatened its eventual collapse?

President Obama’s numbers are plummeting, edging below 50% according to the latest MSNBC poll for the first time since he took office, and is likely to drop even more until the “CHANGE” that candidate Obama promised the electorate truly comes to pass. Internationally, outside of the few mostly positive remarks from Western European countries and their leaders who sing his praises publicly, it is uncertain whether Barack Obama conveys the same kind of confidence and support in private diplomatic negotiations and discussions.

If the United States governmental officials and politicians are at odds with him on the domestic agenda, what chance does Barack have to persuade an International assembly of disparate and separate political entities, ethnic, religious, and economic ideologies, each with their own particular self-interests and priorities? Political representatives and citizens of countries in Central and South America, Eastern Europe, The Middle East, and the Far East as well as in parts of Africa are waiting to see what President Obama is going to do; as they have yet to swoon over the eloquence of Barack’s oratory because as the old saying goes, “Talk is cheap but it takes money to buy land,” or as the slogan in an unforgettable former fast foods commercial asks, “Where’s the Beef?”

Years ago, former President George W. Bush mentioned to a reporter during questioning after one of his press conferences that, "It's a hard job [being President]," and based upon what Barack Obama is dealing with behind-closed-doors and out of the glare of the media spotlight, he would undoubtedly say, "Amen, Brother!" Of course, President Obama is not one who lacks a high estimation of himself, as told to Oprah recently when she asked him to rate his performance in office, and not surprisingly, he gave himself a "B+" grade. That overrating must be for "style" points because it sure is not based on "substance;" and come to think of it, isn't this the very thing that Hillary Clinton pointed out during the Presidential Caucuses and debates? And if this is how Barack does now, what will he do in a real national emergency or International crisis in the future when that "red phone" in the Oval Office actually does ring at 3AM?


Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
December 18, 2009
pbks@hotmail.com

Slain Police Officers shock Washington residents

The State of Washington has for the third time this year made national news, and once again, not in a positive light. A few days ago, four Lakewood, WA police officers were gunned down, or rather assassinated at a local coffee shop by Maurice Clemons near the town of Parkland, WA. On Halloween night of October 31st, Seattle police officer Timothy Brenton was slain by John Monfort, and back in June of this year, Kurt Husted, a 16 year veteran of Loomis armored cars, was killed by Calvin Finley at a Wal-Mart store in Lakewood, WA. This is all the more distressing because the assailants were Black men and this will undoubtedly not be a positive step towards healings the feeling of animosity, tension and distrust that typically exists between Law Enforcement and the African-American community. It is anyone’s guess as to whether these isolated incidents will increase the scrutiny and racial profiling towards Black males that come into the proximity and attention of White police officers who, despite their extensive professional training, may feel the sting, anger, and frustration of a Criminal Justice system that they feel does not protect the public adequately from criminal activity, and who may feel potentially threatened and act instinctively to protect themselves by what they may perceive as a ‘War’ on Law Enforcement.

Ironically, this latest victim of the fallout and collateral damage from Maurice Clemons apparently unprovoked murderous vendetta is former Arkansas Governor and Republican Presidential candidate, Mike Huckabee. Huckabee approved the recommendations from the Arkansas Parole Board to commute Clemons 108 year prison sentence to 47 years in 2000, making him eligible for parole; which he made. Maurice Clemons was 16 years old when he was sentenced to the exorbitant and excessive prison time for robbery and theft, a sentence that even the most vicious of criminals would not have been subjected to. For Mike Huckabee, this is like former Massachusetts Governor and Democratic Presidential candidate Michael Dukakis’ “Willie Horton” moment when he as a first term Governor, furloughed convicted murder Willie Horton who later committed rape and assault in Maryland after his release. So, where do we lay the blame; on the Courts, State Legislatures Criminal Law Codes, Parole Boards, Governor’s Executive authority to pardon, family environment of the criminals, or society as a whole?

Is the disparity that exists in American society which cuts across all educational, economic, and racial sectors to blame for these deadly outbursts; and if so, what is the solution before-the-fact; not after-the-fact? Unfortunately, we do not have the benefit of the aquatic telepaths in the science-fiction movie, “Minority Report,” who predict criminal acts of the perpetrator before they happen. No, we are not so fortunate and the laws as they are presently written do not penalize someone for a crime that is about to performed in the future. The slippery slope on which that leads to would be the eventual outlawing of “thought crimes.” No, there is no simple answer and the anecdotes or recriminations are not helpful as they only tend to focus on the problem but offer little in the way of a solution. The thing is that recidivism among those released from incarceration is at 90% or more, and rehabilitation of inmates is quite rare and minimal at best.

Not only that, but the first penal system brought over to the North American Continent from Europe by those beloved God-fearing Quakers is ineffective with regards to reintegrating people back into society nor does it serve as an ideally effective deterrent to antisocial behaviors resulting in criminality. Instead of the dismal failure of civil remedies, perhaps a spiritual solution should be given more serious consideration because the teaching of the holy Koran and Islam seems to have promising results to those African-American prisoners who testify to having a greater sense of peace and less violent tendencies. Also, there are numerous prison ministries among the Christian Church with varying degrees of success also, so why not support these outreaches with more of our prayers and other resources for healing the wounds, pain, anxiety and hurting that is prevalent in American society; besides, what do we have to lose but very much to gain?


Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
December 2, 2009
pbks@hotmail.com