By Timothy V. Gatto

29 August, 2008

Countercurrents.org

I am sick to death of the Democratic Convention and all that they have brought to the table in their feeble attempt to show that they are worth considering in this election. They have dodged the questions about the loss of our civil liberties, proposed different battlefields instead of ending these wars that have destroyed America�s credibility and wrecked our economy. In this war of words for the votes that will put them in power, these Democrats have failed to address the true concerns of those whom they court. They have played the corporate controlled media games that are supposed to enable the American people to become a �knowledgeable, well-informed electorate�. This has resulted in the nomination of people that don�t have the American peoples� best interests at heart.

The truth is that the Convention in Denver shows us how gullible and na�ve the majority of Democrats really are. It sickens me to see tears streaming down the faces of people that honestly believe that the first African-American to seek the nation�s highest office is something grand, something that will help heal the scars of racial intolerance and bigotry. While the nomination of an African-American is long overdue, to see these people put their dreams and aspirations into the hands of a corporate controlled, shameless sociopath that has turned his back on old friends and colleagues in order to seek higher office is enough to put tears on the face of many Americans. The tears I speak of are not the tears that come from joy and hope, but they are tears of anger and disillusionment that come from seeing how this man can use the hope of the people�s desire for change, into a tool that he can wield to suit his own agenda.

What is that agenda? I don�t believe that there is anyone that can answer that question. I don�t believe that Mr. Obama can answer that question himself. In the beginning of this, during the primaries, he seemed to desire and end to America�s military adventure in Iraq that have caused, directly and indirectly, the deaths of over 1.2 million Iraqi men, women and children. We see that now he wants to shift the war to Afghanistan and increase the size of the military by 65,000 soldiers. Where is the peace candidate that debated with the likes of Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel along with Chris Dodd? Was this just a tactic? If this was just a tactic, should the Democrats that believed in his rhetoric forgive him because he did it out of political expediency and that this is �just how the game is played�? In fact, is this just all a big game, a kind of national spectacle that we participate in every four years just so we can pretend that we actually have the power to change this nation�s direction?

Let me take a moment to address the questions that haven�t been asked. Whether these questions should have been asked or not, I�ll leave up to you. I put these questions before you in the hope that you may find them important as to the direction that we as a people find ourselves heading.

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Will there be an investigation into the numerous signing statements and the Presidential Directives that George W. Bush used during his presidency to determine whether or not they were legal, and will Mr. Obama ask that Bush be prosecuted if it is found that he violated the law?

Will the use of weapons of war such as napalm, white phosphorus, cluster bombs and depleted uranium by our military against civilian targets be investigated to determine if International Law and treaty obligations were violated?

Will the Executive Branch review The Military Commissions Act of 2006, The John Warner Defense Bill (the re-vamped Innsurection Act that does away with posse comitatus), the revamped FISA Bill and the Patriot Acts to determine if they are Constitutional?

Will a criminal investigation into the events of 9/11 be conducted?

Will the investigation into the outing of CIA covert agent Valerie Plame be continued?

Will there be an investigation of �extraordinary rendition� and allegations of torture that have been leveled at the CIA and other intelligence agencies? If it is determined that U.S. and/or International Laws have been broken or circumvented, will there be prosecutions for the violators?

Will there be an investigation into the allegations of the charges that Iraq held Weapons of Mass Destruction prior to the invasion of that country by the U.S.? If it is determined that the Executive Branch knew that they did not exist and used this as a pretense for the invasion and the war that followed, will the people responsible for these violations and those that covered it up be prosecuted?

Will allegations of voter fraud in the last presidential election be investigated? Will this administration review any charges of voter fraud or try to find new ways to combat it?

In the latest crisis in Georgia, the mainstream press reported for weeks afterwards that the Russians invaded Georgia without provocation. We have now learned that it was Georgia that invaded South Ossetia that started the conflict. Will Obama look into why the media in the United States either cannot get the true facts out to the people or why many events that occur in the world are not reported on by the American media?

Will your administration look into lost funds, overspending and no-bid contracts given to corporations linked to the Bush administration? If wrongdoing is found will you authorize prosecutions for the law-breakers?

These are just a few questions that come to mind. I�m sure there are others that many people have that have not been asked by the media.

Why don�t we hear the questions about how the Bill of Rights has been stripped away from Americans since this �Global War on Terror� started? Who is the Federal government at war with exactly, is it us, the American people? How many more of our freedoms will be given away to this new breed of corporate shills that have infiltrated every branch of government? Why must they be allowed to wiretap and spy on us? Who exactly are they worried about and why?

Ruby Ridge, Waco, and even the false allegations that allowed the FDLS raids in Texas and numerous other assaults on Americans have been taking place, yet everyone turns a blind eye to the bypassing of our Constitutional rights in order not to be singled out as a �dissenter�. Deny constitutional rights to some, and you deny them to all. No-fly lists and enemies� lists are kept secret from the people. This is not just a small by product of �keeping the American people safe�, this is a war declared against our right to protest and to demand accountability from our government.



When a nominee for the highest office in the land is not asked questions about the loss of our freedoms, when our press no longer holds them responsible for doing anything about it, then it�s time we replaced that press. The media that represents a free press should not be controlled by the same corporate interests that also control our elected officials. That is the very definition of a fascist government. Sinclair Lewis said that �When fascism comes to America, it will be draped in the flag and be carrying the cross�. This statement unfortunately comes very close to the truth.

The American people have a large task in front of them if they wish to stop this slide into a fascist police state that looms large before us. Waving the flag and cheering on the Democrats and Republicans that have been complicit in moving us in that direction will only reinforce their belief that we are incapable of critical thought and therefore true dissent. We can continue to turn a blind eye to the treacherous game these people are playing with us and wait until our lives become regulated beyond what we can endure and revolt in a bloody struggle, or we can wake up from our slumber now and strip them of these powers that they have managed to gain through fear and deceit. This is something we must decide, and decide we must. We can either reform this government through the ballot box by rejecting both major corporate-funded and corporate controlled political parties by voting for Cynthia McKinney (the only candidate with ballot access an almost every State), or wait can wait until the boot of oppression becomes unbearable.

This is the choice we have in this election cycle.

UPDATE: I waited to publish this until after Senator Obama gave his acceptance speech in Denver. While he gave a rousing speech about caring for each other, and talked about economic freedoms and flatly contested the Republican mantra of the �trickle down economic theory�, he repeated the media lie about “Russian Aggression”, pandering to the right when he knows that it was not Russia that started the conflict. If they had wanted Georgia, they would have taken Georgia! He did not mention our loss of civil liberties. He did not touch upon the draconian laws passed during the Bush administrations war on the Constitution; in fact he never mentioned the document at all. We must either make him incorporate this loss of our civil liberties, or vote for Cynthia McKinney who does. There is no big choice here, either we want our freedoms restored, or we don�t. We don�t owe Barack Obama or the Democrats our loyalty because they are not the Republicans, rather they must earn OUR loyalty because we are the people that will or will not put them in office. The choice is Obama�s to make.

timgatto@hotmail.com

http://liberalpro.blogspot.com

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