Dear Mr. President,

Dear President Obama,

Two years ago, I cheered you historic election and the prospects for some real change in the United States. Although I voted for President Bush twice, I became disillusioned with the failed policies of his presidency including but not limited to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the torture of detainees in Guantanamo Bay and other black cites around the world, and corruption within the White House. I felt that we, as a country, were better than this. So I voted for change. I voted in the hope that those who were especially vulnerable, the poor, the disabled, the sick, would once again have a voice with those in power.

I was not so naive as to believe that your presidency would be without naysayers and opponents. I did not expect the potency of the vitriol and venom from the political Right. While I believed the Republican campaign slogan of "Country First" was a farce, I was not prepared for the extent to which those on the Right would try to damage not only your presidency, but also this nation. I truly question whether these people have any love for country left in them. Their lies become the false reality for so many people in this country and now a large percentage of the public will believe any story told in any medium, up to and including the Easter Bunny, as long as it sheds you in a negative light. 1 in 5 of my fellow Americans believe that you are a Muslim and about the same amount believe that you work for the destruction of this country. Many of them do not believe that you are even an American. They not only oppose your policies Mr. President, they hate you sir. The loathe you with every ounce within them. The Republicans have stated, publicly, that their main goal in the next two years is not bringing this country out of a recession, not ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, not protecting the United States against another terrorist attack, but to make your presidency one term.

Mr. President,as much as you might try, there is no bipartisanship. There can be no cooperation with the Republicans and they have stated this publicly. For every inch you give them, they will take a mile and then ridicule you for giving an inch in the first place. You refused to pursue an investigation of the previous administration's mishandling of intelligence and lying that led us to war in Iraq. Now billions of dollars are wasted and more importantly thousands of lives are lost. You refused to investigate the previous administration's role in the torture of detainees and possible war crimes. You did this in the hopes of bipartisanship. They called you a Kenyan and demanded you prove your citizenship, something unheard of previously. You gave up on a public option or a single payer health care system in the hopes of bipartisanship. They spread lies about what was in the bill. They told the people that you wanted to kill babies and grandmothers. Now, you have extended the Bush era tax cuts for the wealthy for another two years. You extended tax cuts for people who do not need them and who will not create jobs with the money they save. What will they call you now? God only knows.

The Democrats lost control of the House in 2010, not because the Republicans had a better platform. They have no platform except to critic and lie about every move you make. You lost because you refused to stand by your principles. You lost because the people lost confidence in you. You cannot win these people over. Even if you give in the every Republican whim in the next two years they will still hate you. They will still spend billions of dollars and even second trying to send you home in 2012. What we need is leadership. What we want is leadership. We want a President to stand firm and say that enough is enough. Are you that leader? I thought you were two years ago, but today I am not so sure. The people need you. Those who are going hungry need you. Those who cannot feed their kids need you. Those who scrape by with scraps and then see the exorbitant amount of wealth controlled by 2% of the people. We need a voice. We need someone who will stand on their principles. Will you be that person Mr. President? I hope so, but time is running out.

They Don't Know They're Being Used

A new poll from Pew Research Center states the 18% of Americans believe that President Obama is a Muslim. A poll from Time Magazine puts the number at 24%. Less than half, believe that he is a Christian. For the record, President Obama and his family are members of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. He was baptized there. It is a fact. Indisputable.

So why do less than half of Americans believe he is a Christian and almost 1 in 4 believe he is a Muslim? It is not because they are uninformed. There has never been more, better, and fast access to information before in human history. Information is literally at our fingertips. The problem is that these people willfully refuse to accept the reality of the facts. They believe the Obama is a Muslim because they WANT to believe he is a Muslim. They want to live in an illusionary mindset either of their or someone else's creation.

Since the presidential campaign of 2008 the Right in this country have propagated an alternative reality. A reality where the President of the United States is not really an American, is a socialist, hates white people, and is a Muslim. It is a reality where President Obama deliberately engages in policies that will destroy this country and to a point Christianity. It is a false reality. It is a reality where someone will get hurt because many of these people also own firearms and they bring them to their rallies. We have seen many TEA partiers armed with automatic weapons at their rallies.

The Republican base believes whatever Fox News, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Michelle Malkin, Ann Coulter, etc tells them to believe. Opinion becomes fact and the subjective becomes objective. The Right does this to solidify their base into lockstep. The Right says "jump" and the base says "how high." Why? One reason is power. This is an election year and the Republicans want to regain and maintain their power in Washington. They have no platform. There are no Republican solutions to the problems facing this nation. Instead they present an illusion of fear to maintain the loyalty of their base and maybe snag some weak-minded independents with them. Second, they do it for the money. Beck, Limbaugh, Hannity, Coulter, etc need ratings and they need to sell books, videos, and other products. Some have even admitted to being "entertainers" rather than sources of information. They do it for the money and the glory, not for the country and certainly not for the people.

The Right call the people they fool "great Americans" and "true patriots." The people think that those on the Right really care about them. But the sad truth is that the people don't know they're being used and they are being used. The Right will toss them aside like a used tissue when they get what they want. What will happen when that false reality comes shattering down around them? What will happen when someone acts out on these false threats propagated by the Right and someone gets killed? When that happens the Right will have blood on their hands.

How can one break free of this false reality or keep from being suck into it? Do not accept one source's version of any story. If all you watch is Fox News you will have a false and biased view of reality. The same is true for MSNBC or CNN. Never take a blog, even mine, as hard fact. These are my opinions. I try not to have an agenda, but sometimes my own biases come through. The more news sources you use, they better chance you have to not be fooled by an illusion.

Wicked and Decitful Mouths: Psalm 109

I must admit, the religious right in the US knows how to make a buck while spreading their pseudo-gospel. Now there are "Pray for Obama: Psalm 109" t-shirts, bumper stickers, hats, oven mitts, you name it. Psalm 109:8 reads "Let his days be few; and let another take his office." KJV So, facetious or not this is a prayer that Obama's presidency be short. Does it infer a violent end? The next verse reads "Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow." That sounds somewhat ominous to me. But I am sure you already know this. It has been blogged about and written about a lot lately.

However, I want to look at this situation from another angle. Read the Psalm 109 in its entirety. First, Psalm 109 is attributed to David and for argument sake let's make that assumption. David, a biblical hero and presumably a hero to the Christian right, is lamenting over the fact that his enemies are plotting against him. He is king over Israel and his enemies are hoping that his days in office are short. So, by using this particular Psalm in connection with Obama they are placing Obama in the position of King David, chosen and anointed by God. Obama is King David. OOPS! Not only this, the people who created this are those with "wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues" Psalm 109:2 actually that sounds pretty accurate to me. Also, "Let my assailants be put to shame" v.28, again this is David/Obama writing. Again, "May my accusers be clothed with dishonor; may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a mantle" v.29 Here again, those who created these t-shirts are now the accursed and dishonored and should be put to shame. I really don't think this is the theme they were going for.

What lessons can those persons learn from this? First, proof-texting does not work and often makes you look like an idiot. You might want to read the ENTIRE psalm and understand the context before printing t-shirts and aprons. Second, if this is the best you can come up with give it a rest, really you are only making yourselves look dumb. Finally, if you really believe that the Bible is the inerrant and infallible word of God, don't you think God gets a little peeved when people misuse it.