I like to write, which goes without saying that I am passionate about literacy and the written word. Having said that, I can recall reading somewhere that someone said, "I think therefore I am". Now, I don't say that to imply that what I think or write is "RIGHT"! But I hope my views though this vehicle will provoke conversation on a wide range of subjects and maybe some sane dialog that will lead to enhancing unity and intellectual civil discourse.
There are many-many concerns, as I see it, which is not in the best interest of furthering humanity. One, and maybe the most dangerous discourse, is the scary political environment today. For example, the challenger to president Obama and the vitriol of the right harkens, in my opinion, back to the days of Jim Crow. If you can't remember this era or don't know what this is; it was a time when overt racism was the law of the land. If you don't agree, let me suggest that you view footage of some of the conservative gathering and you will see the faces of one hue.
But on this Sunday morning, I want to not do what I am accused of doing by some, which is to play the "race card". Nonetheless, I’ll tell you that I have live long enough to know that there are two constants in the American Diaspora. One is money and the other is race. I have seen, and believe true, that conservatives will say or do anything to support their position on matters relating concerning either. For example, the presumed challenger, who many republicans call "Him", has a long documented history in this area. He will say anything – regardless of fact and more often than not fiction.
He gave a speech recently and started by saying - “Good morning”. The problem with that was it was in the afternoon. The accuracy of his statements went downhill from there. He blamed the president for the “weakest economic recovery since the Great Depression.” When in fact, it was the last president whose name they never mention who was responsible for that problem.
He went on to say that he would save “about $100 billion a year” eliminating Obamacare and accused the president of “taking a series of steps that end Medicare as we know it.” He made the claimed that the president had created an “unaccountable panel, with the power to prevent Medicare from providing certain treatments.” Incorrect, wrong, , not true, and fictitious. This is just an example taken from one speech delivered by Romney on a given day. Fortunately, there are fact-checkers.
Because he does not always, mostly not, tell the truth is hardly news. Voters and most knowledgeable people already know there are lies, damn lies, and politics. Certainly, Romney has abundant company in his mendacity. But the fact that fibs are routine doesn’t make them less insidious. Romney’s fast-and-loose play with the facts — deployed equally against his Republican rivals and Obama — is particularly disappointing because it is unnecessary.
PolitiFact has awarded Romney its “Pants on Fire” or “False” ratings for 32 claims. Among them are these: that Obama “didn’t even mention the deficit or debt” in his State of the Union address, that “our Navy is smaller than it’s been since 1917,” that Obama “never worked in the private sector,” that Obama “gave” the automakers “to the UAW,” and that “we’re only inches away from no longer being a free economy.”
The recent speech that I began with, where Mitt said "Good Morning", alone had more than a dozen distortions, including allegations that: Obama “has failed to even pass a budget” (Congress passes budget resolutions, which the president doesn’t sign); Obama created a panel empowered to deny treatments under Medicare (the board can only make recommendations, and only if Congress fails to find Medicare cuts), Obama “has added regulations at a staggering rate” (the Business Roundtable just said it “lauded” the administration’s attempt at regulatory reform).
In that same speech PolitiFact noted that no fewer than three Romney claims merited their covenanted “Pants on Fire” rating: that Obama led “a government takeover of health care,” has been “apologizing for America abroad” and is ending “Medicare as we know it.” Romney’s assertions that Obama “is the only president to ever cut $500 billion from Medicare” and that eliminating Obamacare saves “about $100 billion” were rated false.
For Romney to resort to such gratuitous falsehoods discredits him, in my opinion, as a man ethically challenged and someone with limited moral character, and not the kind of man I want to be president. All of this and these kinds of untruths leads me to concluded that when you have nothing to say, you will say anything! And that’s my Thought Provoking Perspective…
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