Barack Obama: All I Want is Some Truth

The Reality of a President’s Record 

Photographic proof that Barack Hussein Obama is not Muslim

“No one’s ever asked to see my birth certificate. They know that this is the place that we were born and raised” – Mitt Romney

“Talk to me, baby, tell me lies, 
Tell me lies as sweet as apple pie…
Tell me I'm marvelous, exaggerate! 
Prevaricate if you must” – Robert E. Dolan

“I've had enough of reading things
By neurotic, psychotic, pig-headed politicians
All I want is the truth
Just gimme’ some truth” – John Lennon

This go-round you will not be assailed with the customary concentration of attempted clever wordplay, alliteration, similes, japes or jests at the expense of the usual targets of Palin or either of the Flying Bachmanns. Rather, think of this blog as a valuable reference tool (again “tool” not intended as an allusion to the aforementioned targets), like your high school “Great Expectations” Cliff Notes, like “Roget’s Thesaurus” (woeful would be my existence without it) or “The Kama Sutra” (ditto).  For reasons inexplicable, the Obama administration rarely revels in the President’s numerous, impressive and historic achievements creating a PR vacuum joyfully and somewhat heinously filled by the bombardment of the Right’s non-stop campaign of falsehoods, fabrications and fairy tales. An important election against an opponent dead-set on transforming our democracy into a plutocracy is certainly a most inopportune occasion to feign shyness, profess a proclivity toward humble pie that would make Steve Marriott envious or downplay one’s accomplishments and goals. So, we’ll be presenting to you a series of facts, actualities, and verifiable truths -  be neither frightened nor faint-hearted in the face of such an unlikely and unusual occurrence, for as uncommon as it may be to encounter realities, and not unfortunate and fractious fictions, it’s beneficial to have this information gathered and assembled  in one easy to find site here at “… and several butcher’s aprons,” (please feel free to become a member, bookmark the page, share the link with a compadre or two, or two hundred – groveling, solicitation and supplication, a specialty.) And rest assured, that as sure as my fake name is nycityman, there is not a tall tale in the tally, all claims can be effortlessly confirmed.   Beyond that, this is very much intended as just a partial enumeration as I’m sure neither you nor I have a fortnight to peruse this. Keep in mind that all victories were obtained in the face of a Republican Party that used the filibuster in vastly historic numbers turning to it more frequently than Sarah Palin turns to a Boggle roll for baby names, more than Paul Ryan turns to Ayn Rand for guidance on empathy and compassion and more than The Letterman “Turn Around, Look At Me,” blocking, for example, every job and infrastructure bill, such as the American Job Act, and obstructing programs that they themselves initially originated and proposed, like Cap and Trade. More than just the Obstructionist Party, more than just the Party of No, the Grand Old Party proved to be quite self-loathing, rejecting their own concepts and ideas, their repugnance of themselves surpassed only by their hatred for the first Chief Executive of color, for women, for immigrants and for those financially less fortunate; as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell made quite clear, the goal of the Republicans was not to help the jobless, not to extricate ourselves from two wars, not to work in a bipartisan manner to attain advancement for the country, but as he stated, "The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president." How noble. How high-minded. How forward-thinking.

By necessity much of what follows is a list, certainly not the most enticing, entertaining or exciting form of writing (see Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s “My Favorite Things” or the tedious, tiresome and interminable, “12 Days of Christmas”) but it does carry a message of some import, speaks truth to lies and hopefully, enlightens, all sans a single “dog bite” or “bee sting.”

Obama’s Tale of the Tape

- Approved the Lily Ledbetter "Equal Pay" for women rule

- Ended "Don't Ask/Don't Tell" discrimination in the military

- Passed the Hate Crimes bill in Congress

- Cut taxes for 95 percent of working families, signed 18 tax cuts for small businesses and extended the payroll tax cut for all American workers

- Tax bills hit their lowest level since 1950

- Pushed through the Affordable Health Care Act, outlawing denial of coverage for pre-existing conditions, extending until age 26 health care coverage of children under parent's plans, will provide coverage to 32 million uninsured and according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, will result in a reduction of $138 billion in the federal deficit over 10 years

- Provided $12.2 billion in new funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Act though the American Recovery and investment Act.

But Wait There’s More!

- Fully funded the Violence against Women Act

- Bailed out the U.S. auto industry, preserving 1.14 million jobs

- Pushed through a $789 economic stimulus bill that created 4.4 million jobs, when under Bush we were losing 800,000 jobs a month

- Established a credit card bill of rights, providing strongest level of consumer protection in history

- Pulled troops out of Iraq and began draw down of troops in Afghanistan

- Overhauled the student loan program eliminating the banks as a middle man and expanded Pell Grants making college loans more affordable and easier to get

- Dedicated $150 million for Pathways out of Poverty green jobs training grants

- Cut prescription drug costs for Medicare recipients by 50% and began eliminating the plan’s “donut hole” gap in coverage

Now How Much Would You Pay?

- Expanded loan programs for small businesses

- Signed Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the biggest financial reform law since the Great Depression

- Increased support for the Veterans Administration and expanded mental health care for veterans

- Created new criminal penalties for mortgage fraud

- Increased research and investment in public transportation, national infrastructure and clean energy

- Tightened sanctions on Iran

- Osama Bin Laden!

And, like Stephen Bishop at an oldies concert, I could go on and on.

I feel fairly confident that if President Obama does secure a second term, the Republicans are going to finally have to start working with him and stop behaving like spoiled, bratty toddlers and cease fighting him tooth and nail. Unfortunately, far too much of government involves not governing at all but instead preparing for the next election. As it is impossible for Obama to be the opponent for a third term, it would just be an ugly, childish and ultimately self-defeating and pointless exercise for the GOP to maintain their current contrarian posture.  And, thinking perhaps substantially too optimistically, perchance they will realize that his re-election is a bit of a referendum from the public and if they don’t begin to show some reasonable cooperation, some spirit of compromise and bipartisanship for the good of the nation, our Red State rivals may damage their chances in both the mid-terms and in the next presidential race. Consequently, once our Commander in Chief has the Kenyan, Communist, terrorist accusing jackals off his back he can possibly pursue an authentic progressive agenda he dared not previously, while setting the stage nicely for the prodigiously popular Hilary Clinton, our first woman President.

Concluding with those pleasant thoughts, we leave you with the musical portion of our program; all tracks alluded to in the text.  In order of mention, Frank Sinatra performs “Talk to Me Baby,” John Lennon brings you, “Gimme’ Some Truth,” and the Letterman harmonize on “Turn Around, Look at Me.” Enjoy.