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Editorials/Columns
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Aw Shucks, Mr. President
ccording to... Republi-
cans and some others,
President Barack Obama
is one of the dumbest men to ever serve in the White House. If you don’t believe it, then all you have to do is ask Morn- ing Joe who hates the Presi- dent, Bill O’ Riley or one of the scallion Republicans run- ning for president, either one of these know-it-alls.
You know, all these people know how easy the job of being president is. The Re- publicans have put together a list of reasons why Mr. Obama is having such a hard time being president. The Re- publicans first claim the num- ber one reason for the President’s problems is a lack of experience.
They continue their wild- ness by blaming it on his fam- ily. They started with the girls.
And oh, that wife of his, he has no control over her at all. She invites a lot of poor peo- ple to the White House. She can’t do that. That is degrad- ing. Then wear her own tailor- made style of clothing. She is always somewhere making a speech and molding minds.
Recently, Lady Obama did something that shook Re- publicans to the bottom of their hearts.
The First Lady of the United States made a rap song with a rap singer. She had all the moves and the words down pat. What is the mean- ing of this, asked the GOP. The answer was, if we don’t do anything now, then we know she will be playing Gospel music and Jeremy Wright will be the lead singer.
What does President Obama do while this is hap-
pening?
According to the Republi-
cans ... nothing. They claim if it wasn’t for basketball and golf President Obama would have nothing to do.
This lie and all the others get really sad when you come to find out that a lot of De- mocrats believe this to be true, when they know better. That’s the reason they often don’t support him in what he wants to do.
President Obama’s job is extremely hard. It is hard because he is a Democrat. No other president in history has had those two problems.
Under the circumstances the President has taken the hardest job in the world and made it LOOK fairly simple.
He did .it by Executive Or- ders. negotiations, citizen pressure, veto pressure and occasionally, help from Con- gress. These were all tools used to keep this nation safe.
Republicans and others, Mr. Obama and his Ivy League education is one of the smartest presidents ever!
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An Argument For Christmas
y the time you read this editorial, your argument
with Christmas will be done with, and, just as it was for previous years, your attitude about Christmas will more than likely not have changed.
For, the Christmas season is like some people: You ei- ther like them or you don’t. And then for a select few (call them Grinches), Christmas is just another day.
Well, to all our fellow human beings who are in ear- shot of the song “Jingle Bells,” listen to our argument on behalf of the Yuletide. Forget about the argument around whether or not there is a Santa Claus. Would it change your mind if you knew he did exist long before the time of Charlie Brown? And if you’re a Christian, stop accus- ing fellow Christians of forgetting the birth of Jesus sim- ply because they put up a pagan Christmas tree in their living room.
Yes, you may hate gift-giving for good reason, but re- member: no one forced you to go to the mall. So, the tra- dition of saying “I love you” (or at least “I like you”) by exchanging Christmas presents is not going away any- time soon.
And why should the Christmas spirit be deported back to the Middle East? Does anyone forget what usually hap- pens on the Christmas holidays? People get nicer! Mo- torists at least give you a warning before running you off the road; strangers open doors for you; folks who would normally not give you the time of day can be caught say- ing “please” and “thank you.”
After all, regardless of political-correctness that coun- sels saying “Happy Holidays,” what’s the robbery in wish- ing someone a “Merry Christmas?” No one wants to be broke for the New Year. But, Christmas isn’t about next year. It’s about now!
For, the foundations of true Christmas are kindness, love, laughter, and patience, four priceless gifts you can- not get at Wal-Mart.
Let’s Not Get Trumped
hen the topic of the
presidential race comes up in conversation and someone asks me if I believe Donald Trump has a chance of winning the general election I reluctantly respond, "any- thing is possible." I mean I never thought that a person as dimwitted as George W. Bush would be able to ascend to the presidency and I ended
up being wrong twice.
As brash, insensitive, crass,
disrespectful and polarizing as Trump can be at times, with some of the outlandish state- ments that spill from his mouth, judging by his poll numbers, he still appeals to a large segment of the American population. Mainly to those who live in the southern and Midwestern regions of the U. S. who can trace their lineage back to northwest and eastern Europe.
This is the demographic that seems to love Trump through all of his warts. He makes them feel comfortable about their prejudices because, as one woman put it on the tele- vision show 60 Minutes,
"Trump says what I'm think- ing."
I don't think anyone should be surprised at how Trump has solidified his standing atop the G.O.P. pool of candidates. His controversial rhetoric registers with the stereotypical views held by a large percentage of the republican base.
The same people who are drawn to Trump are the same people who formed the infa- mous Tea Party and vowed to "take back" their country in 2008 after President Barack Obama won the elec- tion. These are the same indi- viduals who felt compelled to donate to the George Zim- merman defense fund after he was charged with gunning down 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
They are the ones who made it a point to hold rallies in sup- port of police officers, in spite of the Black Lives Matter movement, after the killings of Michael Brown and Eric Garner. And, they are the angry faces that we often see holding the line for organiza- tions like the Promise Keepers
and the Klu Klux Klan, while fighting for the confederate flag they claim as part of their heritage.
Based on this track record of not-so-subtle bigotry is it re- ally shocking that Trump's racist viewpoints, on topics like immigration and Arabic Muslims, have made him a frontrunner of a political party that embraces this type of mindset? To me it would be more surprising if this weren't the case.
The only thing that puzzles me is the significant number of Black people, aware of what's going on around them, who still find a sense of pride in being Republican? I just won- der how they arrived to the conclusion that they were ex- empt from being recipients of the hate directed towards everyone else?
Can Trump become presi- dent? That is a question only time will be able to answer. The only thing I know for sure is that, based on his actions and what he projects, if he does somehow gain control of the Oval Office, people who look like me ain't got nothing good coming.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Company. Anyone wishing to contact Clarence Barr can email him at: realityonice@ yahoo.com.
Will One Political Candidate Tell The Truth?
e continue to be amazed at how quickly certain
gullible Americans adopt outright lies and other half-truths told by current presidential candidates, then spread such ignorance like a bad cold amongst their fam- ily, friends.
Indeed, if it were not for political fact-checking, the so-called “thinking” public would have to spend count- less hours checking the accuracy of practically everything any political candidate says.
In fact, one political fact-checker recently found that six of the top Republican presidential wannabes had a 50 percent or higher rate of making verbal goofs. Now, be honest: would you trust someone who spins lies 50 to 84 percent of the time? Or perhaps, they’re like a theater character who once said, “I didn’t ever tell a lie I didn’t mean to make come true someday.”
Or maybe, we should listen to the late B.B. King who once said, “Everybody lies a little.” That way, Democratic candidates’ rate of falsehoods at 28 percent, the lowest
of all candidates, doesn’t look so bad. One of the top lies, however, is “President Obama has not kept one promise he made since he took office.”
We suppose, saving the economy from a depression, reducing unemployment to its lowest rate in 8 years, bringing bin Laden to justice, providing health insurance for most Americans, and at least 50 other accomplishments don’t count. A second top lie is that Islamic terrorism is the biggest threat to America. However, every year in our nation, more than 30,000 citizens are killed by gun violence or other weapons in mass shootings and murders.
Indeed, domestic terrorism is America’s biggest threat. So, between lies told about the current Obama Administration and candidates’ personal qualifications, Americans should be worrying about finding a candidate who will tell the truth and who can be trusted.
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