President Obama is requesting supplemental funds to support the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as to provide domestic aide to several of the countries in the region, including Pakistan.
Needless to say, I am confused. I thought all spending requests were going to be in the budget. Seems to me that Obama was a harsh critic when Bush requested supplemental funds and keep them separated from the budget.
Of course, once you're in the Oval Office your view of the world changes noticeably. The high hopes Obama promised are beginning to fade. American troops out of Iraq in 19 months, well, not all of the troops, some kind of defensive/reactionary force will need to stay in place. How many for how long?
Dialogue with the rest of the world. Off to a good start, but thus far only smiles, no real support for the war on terror or the world depression due to the collapse of the international economy.
I know the rest of the world is feeling Obama out, he's the new kid on the block and the others want to test him and see how strong or weak he really is. We can only watch and see if the world changes its opinion of the United States.
Guantanamo prison. Closing in a year. Where will the prisoners go? Will they be put on trial, released or hidden away out of sight? Just what kind of justice will the Obama Administration offer these "terrorists"? (After all, in the United States you are innocent until proven guilty, right?)
And of course there is national economy. Debt, debt consolidation, taxes, unemployment, green
jobs and very thing else domestically.
Anyway, where is this additional money to come from? How big a debt do we have to endure? When will the tax crunch hit those of us who are working, paying our mortgages and trying to keep the economy flowing.? Twenty bucks less in taxes a pay is not a stimulus. Showing control in spending and taking control of government spending is the true stimulus the country needs.
We need to tell the president ENOUGH! There is no more money to spend. A billion in relief to Pakistan should be going to help unemployed coal miners in West Virginia and Kentucky.
Why build schools in Afghanistan when we have American Indian reservations in this country that have no schools for their children?
We need to start giving here at home, fixing what's broken here, guaranteeing a quality of life to our legal citizens before we take on the problems of the world.
Its time for America first!
Its Common Sense!
Showing posts with label Global Warming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Global Warming. Show all posts
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Sunday, December 7, 2008
THe Unremembered Players in Global Warming
I read an interesting article today about the most recent Global Warming conference taking place in Poland. One of the none government representatives is a Canadian Indian who fears for his tribe's future as changes due to climate and industry - in this case oil producing - are changing the ways of the caribou, a important source of food for his people.
As the nations of the world argue the effects of Global Warming, all to often the most immediately effected are often overlooked. These are the Indians and Eskimos of the Arctic Region, trying to maintain a life style that is free of industrialization, pollutants and waste. The natives and Indians who live in the rain forests that circle the equator, who are losing their lifestyle and sense of being to industrialization and having "civilization" forced upon them.
All of these parties need to be represented at any talks dealing with Global Warming, because they are the ones who can tell the world what is actually happening right now. Their eyes are not shut because they have lived in smog covered cities and had their sense of smell destroyed by smelling the output of paper factories and the like.
These are the people who have tried to live as one with the earth, something the rest of us should be looking at a lot more closely. All of us should see what we can do to help save our planet.
We cannot sit comfortably in our homes and make demands on developing nations, who unfortunately feel obligated to imitate the industrialization of their countries to equal the nations of Europe and the USA, without offering practical alternatives. Who are we to say not to cut the rain forest for mining, lumber, farming and industry if we cannot offer an alternative equally economical that will have less impact on the environment.
Maybe the lesson to be learned from the indigenous peoples of the world who have put the earth as their priority, rather than individual wealth, is that the time has come to return to Mother Earth, that the needs of the community are more important than the needs of the individual, and that clean air, water, and harmony with nature are the only way we can ensure a productive world for those that are to follow us.
Its Common Sense.
As the nations of the world argue the effects of Global Warming, all to often the most immediately effected are often overlooked. These are the Indians and Eskimos of the Arctic Region, trying to maintain a life style that is free of industrialization, pollutants and waste. The natives and Indians who live in the rain forests that circle the equator, who are losing their lifestyle and sense of being to industrialization and having "civilization" forced upon them.
All of these parties need to be represented at any talks dealing with Global Warming, because they are the ones who can tell the world what is actually happening right now. Their eyes are not shut because they have lived in smog covered cities and had their sense of smell destroyed by smelling the output of paper factories and the like.
These are the people who have tried to live as one with the earth, something the rest of us should be looking at a lot more closely. All of us should see what we can do to help save our planet.
We cannot sit comfortably in our homes and make demands on developing nations, who unfortunately feel obligated to imitate the industrialization of their countries to equal the nations of Europe and the USA, without offering practical alternatives. Who are we to say not to cut the rain forest for mining, lumber, farming and industry if we cannot offer an alternative equally economical that will have less impact on the environment.
Maybe the lesson to be learned from the indigenous peoples of the world who have put the earth as their priority, rather than individual wealth, is that the time has come to return to Mother Earth, that the needs of the community are more important than the needs of the individual, and that clean air, water, and harmony with nature are the only way we can ensure a productive world for those that are to follow us.
Its Common Sense.
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