Wish you were here
Observation Deck
James Baker
Issue date: 3/6/09 Section: Opinion
"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." -Teddy Roosevelt
Before the rooster crowed each morning, a middle-aged woman in a rusty 1960s thimble-sized Oklahoma town would drive to her job as a teacher where she made a paltry sum.
Married with four children, she and her husband worked day in and day out.
Like clockwork, her neighbor would hurriedly start his car and drive off before sunup, as well.
He was divorced but would sleep with his former wife at night; being divorced allowed her to pick up the welfare checks so they didn't have to work.
Years later, the working couple's children went their separate ways; one daughter invested in and crafted her own business, which made record profits before her death.
The youngest went into medicine, spending years and years acquiring the necessary skills and knowledge to be a doctor, no small feat. Although he became a successful doctor after paying his dues, he's still paying off student loans.
And now he'll be saddled with hefty taxes for making more than $250,000.
The 'Dalai Bama' is going to crush the upper-middle class because of a chip on his shoulder.
The wealth is going back to the people it really belongs to, as opposed to those who have earned their way into such a position through creativity, intelligence and hard work.
To a good portion of the population, he is redistributing the wealth, and that is socialism.
But those who are above that magical line don't need it, right?
Of course, I couldn't care less, as I picked the lucrative field of journalism as my career choice, but there are many who don't want Obama's liberal policies to succeed, which makes the furor over Rush Limbaugh's want for Obama to fail absolutely ridiculous.
Those who believe in the conservatism that made the Reagan years work are pissed and have every right to be.
It's amazing, with everything going on, that the Obama administration focused on crafting a bunch of hubbub that would link the Republican Party with Rush's comments and subsequently perch Rush at the top of the crumbling Republican mountaintop, as if such a blowhard would give up a lucrative job where all he does is talk and take calls from extremely conservative white males who act like giggling schoolgirls when he grants them a few seconds to spout off.
Only 11 percent of GOP members looked at Rush Limbaugh as the leader of the Republican Party in one poll, which would probably eliminate any notion of Rush having a clear mandate.
About that same number of people in the student demographic will lend an ear to the overweight Turkish-gangster-looking jerk. It's a complete waste of time and will set off more ultra-conservative panic.
Perhaps we can finally get over Obama-mania and see him and his administration for what it is: partisan, political and human.
This highlights the need for the GOP to be on his case at every turn. Using his mastery of rhetoric to proclaim the apocalypse in an effort to get things passed doesn't cut it.
Neither does handpicking reporters
and having questions submitted to him before press conferences.
Allowing the criticism of Bush doesn't help us look at ourselves, move on and realize we've messed up.
There will always be egotistical, blathering talking heads (see Keith Olbermann, Sean Hannity).
What isn't clear is if there will be a United States by 2011, with a prominent Russian scholar coming to the somewhat subjective conclusion that America will experience an epic collapse.
Of course, the way things are going, someone else might pull the plug for us. Israel and Iran, North and South Korea, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Taliban, nuclear bombs, recession, depression, "American Idol," "The Bachelor."
It almost makes me want to pack up and head west. Things are much too grim; even our president won't cheerlead the nation.
Like Oklahomans before me, I'll head out Californee way, and as I add to the already overpopulated land of gold, glory and opportunity, I'll swear I just passed through heaven's gates.
I'll be in a state that now no longer houses multiple illegal-immigration offenders because of overcrowded prisons, where Octomom lies in her lair and plots, like her super-villain name suggests, to rob taxpayers and make them pay for her 14 children.
On second thought, maybe Mexico. I'll arrive there and immediately embrace the vibrant culture … then get kidnapped because the disastrous War on Drugs is tearing it apart (kidnapping long-blonde-haired is a hot trend).
Well, there's still Canada; at least Toronto's getting a football team.
James Baker is a columnist for The Arkansas Traveler. His column appears every other Friday.
Before the rooster crowed each morning, a middle-aged woman in a rusty 1960s thimble-sized Oklahoma town would drive to her job as a teacher where she made a paltry sum.
Married with four children, she and her husband worked day in and day out.
Like clockwork, her neighbor would hurriedly start his car and drive off before sunup, as well.
He was divorced but would sleep with his former wife at night; being divorced allowed her to pick up the welfare checks so they didn't have to work.
Years later, the working couple's children went their separate ways; one daughter invested in and crafted her own business, which made record profits before her death.
The youngest went into medicine, spending years and years acquiring the necessary skills and knowledge to be a doctor, no small feat. Although he became a successful doctor after paying his dues, he's still paying off student loans.
And now he'll be saddled with hefty taxes for making more than $250,000.
The 'Dalai Bama' is going to crush the upper-middle class because of a chip on his shoulder.
The wealth is going back to the people it really belongs to, as opposed to those who have earned their way into such a position through creativity, intelligence and hard work.
To a good portion of the population, he is redistributing the wealth, and that is socialism.
But those who are above that magical line don't need it, right?
Of course, I couldn't care less, as I picked the lucrative field of journalism as my career choice, but there are many who don't want Obama's liberal policies to succeed, which makes the furor over Rush Limbaugh's want for Obama to fail absolutely ridiculous.
Those who believe in the conservatism that made the Reagan years work are pissed and have every right to be.
It's amazing, with everything going on, that the Obama administration focused on crafting a bunch of hubbub that would link the Republican Party with Rush's comments and subsequently perch Rush at the top of the crumbling Republican mountaintop, as if such a blowhard would give up a lucrative job where all he does is talk and take calls from extremely conservative white males who act like giggling schoolgirls when he grants them a few seconds to spout off.
Only 11 percent of GOP members looked at Rush Limbaugh as the leader of the Republican Party in one poll, which would probably eliminate any notion of Rush having a clear mandate.
About that same number of people in the student demographic will lend an ear to the overweight Turkish-gangster-looking jerk. It's a complete waste of time and will set off more ultra-conservative panic.
Perhaps we can finally get over Obama-mania and see him and his administration for what it is: partisan, political and human.
This highlights the need for the GOP to be on his case at every turn. Using his mastery of rhetoric to proclaim the apocalypse in an effort to get things passed doesn't cut it.
Neither does handpicking reporters
and having questions submitted to him before press conferences.
Allowing the criticism of Bush doesn't help us look at ourselves, move on and realize we've messed up.
There will always be egotistical, blathering talking heads (see Keith Olbermann, Sean Hannity).
What isn't clear is if there will be a United States by 2011, with a prominent Russian scholar coming to the somewhat subjective conclusion that America will experience an epic collapse.
Of course, the way things are going, someone else might pull the plug for us. Israel and Iran, North and South Korea, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Taliban, nuclear bombs, recession, depression, "American Idol," "The Bachelor."
It almost makes me want to pack up and head west. Things are much too grim; even our president won't cheerlead the nation.
Like Oklahomans before me, I'll head out Californee way, and as I add to the already overpopulated land of gold, glory and opportunity, I'll swear I just passed through heaven's gates.
I'll be in a state that now no longer houses multiple illegal-immigration offenders because of overcrowded prisons, where Octomom lies in her lair and plots, like her super-villain name suggests, to rob taxpayers and make them pay for her 14 children.
On second thought, maybe Mexico. I'll arrive there and immediately embrace the vibrant culture … then get kidnapped because the disastrous War on Drugs is tearing it apart (kidnapping long-blonde-haired is a hot trend).
Well, there's still Canada; at least Toronto's getting a football team.
James Baker is a columnist for The Arkansas Traveler. His column appears every other Friday.
Be the first to comment on this story