The Obama Kudos Page

UPDATED: 4/24/2013

This will be a page in which I will post my kudos for President Obama. I disagree with much of Obama’s platform and behavior. But I will give credit where credit is due:

1. Didn’t raise a fuss when a man open-carried an AR-15 at a Tea Party protest across the street from his townhall meeting.
    
2. In referring to Kanye West’s despicable behavior, called him an asshole.
    
3. Declared that Federal law enforcement would not pursue medical marijuana users in the states that had legalized it. Helping to reduce victimless crime arrests.
    
4. Joined Billy Graham on the National Day of Prayer despite the court saying it was unconstitutional for government to have such a day.
    
5. In receiving Polanski’s letter from French President Sarkozy; didn’t even bother to read it – or so I hear.
    
6. Called for the  stop to Oil subsidies.
   http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/29/politics/oil-subsidies/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
    
7. Brews his own beer?
   http://news.yahoo.com/beer-geeks-determined-unlock-obamas-home-brew-recipe-172139287.html
    
8. President Obama supports your right to do with your own property as you please (at least so far as involves unlocking your cell phone).
    
9. President to sign bill allowing Native American tribes to have authority to prosecute certain criminal activities by non-tribe members.http://news.yahoo.com/bill-gives-tribes-authority-over-non-indians-091954152.html
    
10. President Obama discourages his daughters from getting tattoos. But gotta give him credit for how he does so. President Obama declared to his daughters, that if they get a tattoo, he will get the exact same tattoo in the exact same spot and post it to youtube.comhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/04/24/obamas-threat-to-sasha-malia-a-family-tattoo/

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This list may be added to over time. It all depends on President Obama.

Executive Order Items

Okay, So this is supposedly the list of proposed Executive Orders

http://mobile.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2013/01/16/read_president_obama_s_new_proposed_executive_orders_and_legislation_on.html

Most of which I have no issue with. Most of which the President did not discuss. Rather focusing in his legislation for AWB (which is mostly a red herring).

– enforcement
– mental health/drug reporting to background checks
– mandatory review of firearms and receipients before return of weapons seized by police

Those ACTUALLY do help make us safer. And most gun owners support stronger enforcement procedures such as the above.

It’s the legislative action items I take great issue with.

H/T Sebastian for Slate link

Updating President Obama’s Kudos page…

Yes, we have a specific page for the President’s KUDOS

President Obama is talking about ending the subsidies for oil companies.  (Albeit, he’d like to apply them to alternative energy subsidization.)

I for one am all for it.  And I’d wager even Ron Paul would be voting in support of President Obama on this one.  The truth is, we can’t deride subsidies for alternative energy and then hand them to oil.  And oil is a well developed industry which we do need to move away from for our energy use, (so as to preserve for manufacturing use).  

So it may be rare,….but “good job” Mr. President.  “Gitt’r’Dun!”

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/29/politics/oil-subsidies/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

My March 13th Birthday Present – S. 2188 Reciprocity Bill in the Senate

National Right to Carry Reciprocity Act introduced in U.S. Senate for my birthday!

http://www.nraila.org/legislation/federal-legislation/2012/national-right-to-carry-reciprocity-act-of-2012-introduced-in-us-senate.aspx

While I believe we have a fair shot of seeing this passed in the Senate, I’d wager it’s guaranteed to be vetoed by President Obama.

This is to me, one of the most coveted pieces of legislation. As a resident of Pennsylvania we have very good liberties in regards to RTKBA. However, the two states I most frequent next, Maryland and Connecticut, are far more limited in those rights.

I will re-iterate my prior promise, if by some miracle, President Obama passes this bill and Right to Carry Reciprocity is made law, than I am beholden to vote for President Obama’s re-election.

The passage of the above law is the one piece of legislation the President could pass to garner my support. Heck, if he passes it, I’ll even put a bumper sticker on my car and post a yard sign.

Primary Talk: Young chooses old…

Ron Paul repeatedly winning the vote of the younger generations.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/01/31/what-is-so-appealing-about-ron-paul-to-young-voters/

Please understand, in no way do I think Ron Paul is the perfect candidate. I have a few issues with his stances, namely, the fact that I am opposed to state rights. I believe individual rights trump both state and Federal and that the point of the two governments is to be in constant opposition to protect the rights of the individual.

That said, the media (& his own party’s) repeated attempts to silence Ron Paul and his message, leads one to be concerned about the system.  Today, CNN casually leaves Ron Paul off the tally listing. I could understand if they simply include Romney and Gingrich. But they included Santorum, who had one win and less delegates than Ron Paul.

But here is the interesting case study. I’ve noticed that election after election that Ron Paul is winning the young vote 29 and under, and a lot of the mid-30’s crowds as well.

What does this say?  Some are finally starting to talk about this trend.

I am of the opinion that Ron Paul is really the 2016 candidate. But he will probably be too old to run at that point.

What do I think is leading to this support?

1. He is the only candidate talking about getting rid of America’s debt. The younger generations understand they’re going to inherit this debt.  Who wants to inherit your parent’s credit card debt. When grandpa says let’s pay it off, I’m with grandpa.

2. He is the only one addressing the issue of the American empire and militarism.  What many criticize him for as “isolationism”, but is in fact merely non-imperial behavior. Ron Paul supports free trade, diplomacy. I think this approach makes greater sense to me. I see how we’ve handled Cuba. 1/2 a century of embargo and zero effect or achievement of goals. I believe the sanctions are the wrong approach. That increasing trade relations would do more to bring down the regime and further change.  We can look to China, which is still no rose garden. But it’s been the introduction to capitalism that has encouraged change, not embargoes.

3. He comes across as not part of the big entrenched government beaucracy. I think this is what a lot liked about Barack Obama as a candidate, they had the hope that he would not be a typical entrenched politician. Many have since become disappointed and disenfranchised with President Obama on these matters.

4. On a number of social issues, Ron Paul’s libertarian approach gains approval of a generation that views the world much differently than it’s predecessors. Most younger people seem to want government out of marriage. Something Ron Paul supports, perhaps for different motivations. But the results are the same.

All of this needs to be noted by the Republican party who is more and more increasingly being seen by the younger voters as an old boys club which is simply concerned about politics and elections, and not the issues. 

I think 2016 and 2020 will have very different platforms to today’s politics. The Republican party has done much to impede Ron Paul. They are failing to grasp that it is not a man, but an ideology. In truth, were the ideology to have a better figurehead than Ron Paul, I believe the primary would already be over. 

Eventually things will change regardless. A nation cannot continue to have $1 trillion deficits without eventually facing the muster.

President Elect Barack Hussein Obama

By now, everyone is probably aware that Senator Obama has been elected to become our next commander in chief.

In many ways, this is a testimony of how far America has come. Particularly in regards to two areas. Firstly, race…four decades ago America was a segregated society. People of color were still struggling to gain their freedom and liberty a 100 yrs after the abolishment of slavery. Few imagined that forty years later America would elect its first black President.

Frankly, I believe it could have happened years ago with the right candidate.   Some see this as a testimony of America becoming more color-blind. Sadly, I am not sure I can accept that statement. I think race is much more a non-issue to the white, hispanic and asian communities. However, I know of very few people of color who did not vote for Obama. (Clarification Edit: I believe there is valid reasons to this. And I hope that Obama’s success will show everyone what they can accomplish regardless of skin color , religion or heritage. Remember, it took almost 200 yrs before the first Catholic president was elected.) I look forward to the day that we elect a person of color to office and half the black community will have voted for and the other half against, likewise all the other communities.  Then, I will be over-joyed because America will then be truly colorblind. I believe that day will come, and this election marked a notch in the progress toward that day.

There is a second area in which this election reflects upon. How far America has traveled down the road socialism.  Many people have been accused of not voting for Obama because of race. I think far more were opposed to Obama’s mix of socialism and elitism. The attitude that a) I know better than you do and b) I am going to take your hard work away and give it to someone else, who’s not working.

It’s this latter which is of most significant concern to us gun owners and to the beloved 2nd Amendment protection.  Obama’s viewpoint leads him to believe that the rights of individuals mean less than the whole, that it is acceptable to infringe on the individual in the name of such causes.  Rather, than realize that they way you protect the rights of the “whole” is by ensuring the rights of each and every individual.

To that regard, I hope and pray that President Obama will not pursue some of the more totalitarian agenda he has supported in his political career’s past.