We Shall Be Dissidents

Dissidents. The very sound of the word conjures images of dank apartment hideouts and encrypted notes passed in fervent secrecy under the most bleak of landscapes. Even worse, however, are the more dreary connotations to political prisoners jailed in the utmost of deplorable conditions, forlornly gazing out upon desolate, rain-soaked landscapes through vertical bars - at ground level from subterranean cells - clutched in gnarled, arthritic grasps.

There is also the brave young Chinese man forever emblazoned on the canvasses of our minds from the infamous Tienanmen Square standoff between man and massive machine.

From the moment that Dorothy emerged from her demolished home and stepped out into the Land of Oz, and the cinematic miracle of color was introduced to the American public, the perception of life in this nation was also transformed into one of a seemingly perpetual mood of optimism. It also marked the line at which we began to sink into the coziness of our own magnificence and the notion that the time for rest was at hand. In other words, we had "arrived" and now deserved the luxury of sloth.

Not to suggest that our work ethic declined, far from it, but our sense of invincibility and perpetuity was ingrained in us and passed down through generations. We believed we were a beacon of freedom and power that no one would dream of attacking, and we slept well knowing that had they dared, the consequences would be dire. We never saw the figurative tunnels, though, through which a much more stealthy enemy has fostered success in our demise.

Oh, to be certain, some of us have not only noticed these burrows but have pointed and shrieked at them, to no avail. I have long been loathe to breach the plane of what is considered hysteria, and I am cognizant of the eyes that gaze at my musings, but I feel that in desperate times, someone must ring the alarm bell and risk the scorn of those who would scoff at the allegedly ridiculous prognostications of a careful observer.

I have previously compared Barack Obama to the proverbial alien in humanoid form beginning to grow impatient with the disguise and prematurely reverting to true form. Oddly enough, no one batted an eye or even looked askance at me. So far so good, since another, more plausible analogy is forthcoming.

While the "alien analogy" is useful only for illustrative purposes - since we have yet to actually witness a being from another planet - the concept of the puppet master is nothing new while the practice may well be. Even absent any ideological warning flags, Barack Hussein Obama was nonetheless a gamble due to his utter lack of a verifiable past and any form of pertinent accomplishments for the job. He was elected based on nothing more than a "likability factor" and the rhetoric that sequestered him from his predecessor.

He has since demonstrated a complete lack of understanding for the protocols that have served his office since its inception, but perhaps even more stunning is the absence of knowledge of those precedents by his entire team of advisers. Surely George W. Bush could not know what not to say at a State of the Union address, but his staff certainly did, and they relayed that information to the president. How is it possible that Obama's team could be so remiss in the same duties?

Obama's first SOTU was written for him, reviewed by him, and edited by people allegedly loyal to him. His attack on the Supreme Court was no accident, therefore. I maintain it was a product of Obama's true nature betrayed prematurely by his own impetuousness, and that he's only now getting warmed up. As the resistence continues to swell, look for more draconian measures to be taken, and for more true colors to show through.

Obama has already displayed his disdain for dissent and a desire to silence it. From his coordinated attacks on Fox News to his beseeching of Republicans to stop talking "so he can clean up the mess", his calls for more bipartisanship are nothing more than a veiled way of insisting that things be done his way. Without a fracturing of the triad of Democrats' control of the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives, we could all be dissidents in the next election cycle.

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Alito To Prez: You Lie!

As Ruth Bader Ginsberg appeared to doze off, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito - who was alert - did a quieter impersonation of South Carolina Representative Joe Wilson in response to a nearly unheard of rebuke of the High Court during a State of the Union Address. With the world as an audience, President Obama took a direct swipe at the Supreme Court's recent decision to void much of the McCain-Feingold travesty.

In the midst of yet another narcissistic, hour-long complaint about the very job he fought so hard to attain, Obama said of the Court:

"Last week, the Supreme Court reversed a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests — including foreign corporations — to spend without limit in our elections. Well I don’t think American elections should be bankrolled by America’s most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities. They should be decided by the American people, and that’s why I’m urging Democrats and Republicans to pass a bill that helps to right this wrong."

Alito's seemingly subdued reaction - no doubt necessitated by the sense of decorum so cavalierly abandoned by the president - was, in reality, not much different than Joe Wilson's nearly a year ago. "Simply not true" is a first cousin of "You lie!"

Alito's facial contortions were an indicator of the force with which he meant his silent words. His accompanying look of incredulity spoke volumes of Obama's utter lack of veracity, and one must wonder whether Alito - if he had been watching the speech on television - would have flung his footwear at the screen.

Which also makes me wonder if the president inadvertently stimulated the economy with the rest of his speech, causing a run on Best Buy. I'm sure that there were a great many others across the country who were not encumbered by the protocol responsible for Alito's restraint, and whose frustrations boiled over at some point.

The president continued his juvenile finger pointing, blaming everyone and everything for the nations woes and refusing to accept any culpability, all the while vowing to work hard to right our course. The problem is that his "solutions" are nothing more than accelerating the practices responsible for those woes. He's going to continue to borrow and spend trillions of dollars and crow about saving a few billion through "cuts". Sadly, too many people will only be cognizant of the alleged savings and cheer the president.

Obama says that job creation is now his priority, despite the recent urgency of his failing health reforms. His answer to the unemployment situation does not seem designed to help, but rather to exacerbate the problem through even more prohibitive taxes on the very engine of the economy; "big business". He renewed his call for "bipartisanship", but common ground is not really what he seeks, unless it means hopping the fence to land in his yard. As long as you agree with him, that's called bipartisanship.

I haven't seen an official tally yet, but by my count, Obama referred to himself 102 times, though I may have missed a few due to my own howls of frustration and complete astonishment at the president's level of hubris. Fortunately I was able to resist the urge to hurl inanimate objects at the beautiful television - a gift from my children - as I watched.

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A Ghillie Suit Or A Grass Skirt

No matter how much Barack Hussein Obama may cling to the childish belief that no one can see him if only he covers his own eyes, and despite the success he achieved in getting elected, more and more people have slowly emerged from the cocoon of slumber to realize that they now see someone for whom they never intended to vote. And the farther we march into history - leaving scattered days and jagged pages torn from calendars in our wake - the more mild surprise is being rapidly replaced by a more palpable horror.

Like a sci-fi movie alien cleverly disguised in humanoid form for far too long, Obama's true identity is straining the limits of the slick veneer in growing impatience to attain freedom, bubbling ugly in revolting rivulets just beneath the surface. And some of us - just as those select characters in the same movie - have always seen the creature beneath, but our warnings were dismissed as ludicrous even though we have always known of the crunchy, Marxist core deep within.

I have long been astounded that a simple pair of horn-rimmed glasses were more than adequate in keeping people from realizing that Clark Kent was actually Superman but, in retrospect, I see now how easy it is to fool the willing. Or the hopeful. People want to believe that they can make cleaning easy for only $9.95 (plus shipping and handling), and that if they call right now, they can get twice the value for their money (plus a doubling-down on the shipping and handling). The lure of the bargain has always masked the true cost, and it has always been the nature of a business whereby the charlatan causes the citizen to part ways with his cash.

The currency with which we now gamble, however, is nothing so trivial as the trinkets we have accumulated through our labors. The stakes have been raised, the ante is liberty, and we now have a dealer of most ill repute. No one genuinely cared to know whatever personal frailties afflicted, say, Billy Mays, just as those who have invested their futures in Obama find it nearly impossible to realize that they've been duped. And like a slingshot effect, those who have had to come the farthest toward that realization do so with a fury that eclipses the relatively mild disdain that the knowing have long harbored.

Those of us who sounded the alarms loudest in the campaign of 2008 saw Obama in a grass skirt, when he was truly transparent, albeit unintentionally. Many who voted for him are now shocked that Obama in the ghillie suit - which they mistook for a pile of crumpled grass - has sprung up right in front of them.

It's all a matter of perception; some see clearly, others need time to adjust their focus. But for most, as the polls now reveal, the picture is becoming quite sharp. It's about time.

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