ClydeStyle

Tag: Barack Obama

  • Could you be president of the US?

    America has made a lot of major mistakes in government, and one of the greatest travesty has been the qualifications of the president.

    We have made 27 amendments to the constitution, and none of them had to do with the qualifications of the president.

    Right now, there are approximately 60,000 people who meet the qualifications for president – I am one of them. Now, I have a doctorate degree in family therapy and 20 years of leadership experience at the executive level. Although I know I could make some powerful contributions to the well-being of many, I would never run, and I don’t believe I am qualified. I know part of the job is the team you pick, but I know there are definitely smarter leaders who should have it before me.

    It is crazy to think that we have not applied what we have learned from the past regarding the presidency.

    There should be several tests for aptitude, intelligent, mental health, and a physical. There should be morality, spirituality, and personality tests as well as a background test. I believe a president should have an education that exceeds a master’s degree. We want a gentleman and a scholar in this position, and he or she should be someone that the world would admire.

    Elections should have nothing to do with money. No TV ads, only internet and radio ads. The president can not spend more than $250,000 on his campaign, and he should utilize his potential cabinet selects to help him win. We should see your who team because they will travel around and do televised town hall meetings in all the states.

    I also believe that the state that the candidate lives in must support him with 2/3 vote of the population. That means a candidate would have to prove their loyalty and leadership at the state level before running nationally.

    I’m not sure California would have co-signed Ronald Reagan in the 80s, but maybe Texas would have supported the Bush family twice. Arkansas loved Bill Clinton, and Illinois loved Barack Obama. Delaware would have definitely sent Joe Biden, but I highly doubt that New York would have approved Trump. He would have had a better chance in Florida.

    Nevertheless, in all these years, we should have learned from the past and required much more for the position of president.

  • Our political parties have failed us completely

    Next month, our Supreme Court will hear arguments as to whether former president Donald Trump is eligible to run for president given the 91 charges he is facing. The people are confused as to what is really happening because Trump is claiming he is immune from wrongdoing and that the charges are not valid.

    There would have been a time in our recent history that the Republican party would select a more presidential candidate. George Santos was booted out of Congress for all the lying and cheating he has done. How is Trump different?

    Would Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush or George W. Bush approve of such a candidate like Trump? Further, with the danger of election interference by Russia and Trump facing a ton of debt, are we not taking a chance with him being vulnerable to more corruption because of his debt?

    Then there is current president Joe Biden. He might as well be 300 years old because, for some reason, despite the level of stress that comes with the job, would any former president agree with Biden continuing in this role? It is hard to believe that Bill Clinton and Barak Obama would agree that Joe is ready for another term. We know that both parties could support better candidates. But at this point, they can not be trusted.

    The two-party system does not work for this reason. They have lost the trust of the people, and that is probably the only thing that can be agreed on.

    So what is the country to do? This clear, good Ole Boy network in politics has betrayed us. The parties have lost sight of what the people really want. The majority of the people are tired of seeing money by the billions sent overseas, and we have millions of struggling people here.

    We are tired of wars and being involved in wars. We are tired of our government taking care of everyone else by us.

    Solution: All three branches of government need to be replaced. One huge election and nobody over 70 should be allowed to take any position. Our smartest and brightest people are between 40 and 60 years old, and we need to tap into that market. We need to have a greater balance of medical professionals, former teachers, business executives, and blue-collar workers in Congress. We should maintain a third of each. We need to pledge to take care of home first and settle our own issues so that we can reach out together as a country to help others, but not until we are good at home. Finally, we need to be as diverse as the U.N. white people should not dominate the branches. We need to embrace diversity and build a country that works for everyone and not just some.

  • What does Reparations look like?

    In the spirit of Black History Month, I’d love to enter into a serious discussion about reparations. It seems as though this has become a taboo topic, because of the tension it brings with Blacks and Whites. It’s sort of the new racism: If you are for it, then you want to get something for nothing. If you are against it, then you are a racist.

    This should not be.

    Maybe it’s another case that America is not smart enough to really deal with. I mean, as a country, we are already paying reparations to a variety of folks, including Native Americans, Japanese atomic bomb survivors and Holocaust survivors. The word” reparations” simply means “to repair.” This concept brings up the idea of being broken. The idea of pay is just one way; not THE way.

    I am in favor of reparations. But I think we need to be careful what we call reparations. I’m not for cutting a check for every person that had a link to slavery. Actually, I don’t think reparations should even be connected to slavery. You see, there are some things that our government did deliberately to African-Americans. These things had lasting effects that have made it difficult for some to become anything but a permanent underclass.

    There was a missed opportunity for the Bush Administration to redeem itself when the recession started. Consistent with his ideology of tax breaks and stimulus packages, Bush could have ordered reparations be given to the poor in the amount of $30,000 and say that it’s because of slavery. “Poor” would be defined as any African-American who is living in generational poverty (two generations or more). If Bush did this, he would have redeemed himself and the Republican party because he would have literally bought the poor black vote. At the same time,  in 2008, now President Barack Obama spoke against reparations. If we are being honest, we know that the 30k would have ended up right back into the economy in less than 30 days. What a jump start that would have been. It may have even ended the concept of White guilt … or maybe not.

    So here is what I would propose for reparations. What I would like to see happen is to give opportunity, not money. The Federal Housing Administration did not do right by minorities in the 1930s. Low interest rate loans were given to White people to buy nice homes and the loans had nothing to do with their credit. They got those home loans because of the color of their skin. I say we do the same thing today. Identify the disenfranchised of our time and help them into a home that, on their own, they could never get. I don’t mean to give a mansion away to the poor, but I do mean to follow the example of Habitat for Humanity and make that single mom with four kids a homeowner. Literally, grant her a pass on the credit score and give her a loan to have a reasonable mortgage payment not to exceed $400 a month. This house has to be in a suburban area with a better than average school system. This could easily be done. As a country we’ve done it before.

    The second thing I would do is grant 10 years of government paid education (or forgiveness if you have school loans and finished your degree). This would allow any minority who is on welfare and in a dead end career to elevate themselves higher. They would have to put in the work though. They could never be on academic probation and they would have to have a life coach. This would grant those who have had hard lives to get a second chance to fix some of the problems they have had.

    The sad part of all this is that most would not take advantage of it. Nevertheless, it’s something that should be done. It’s finally an opportunity to get ahead with the assistance of your government working in your favor. This is what reparations should look like.

  • Liberty and justice for all?

    President Barack Obama’s endorsement of a controversial plan to build a mosque just blocks from Ground Zero has fueled raging debates over religious freedom and sensitivities over the 9/11 attacks.

    One of the many things about President Obama’s presidency that bothers me is the fact that Christians I know keep circulating propaganda that says Obama is not a US citizen. Furthermore, there is an email – I call it a hate email – that talks about Muslims out-numbering and taking over America. This is also being circulated by so-called Christians.

    I’m reminded of a quote by Gandhi: ‎”I like your Christ, but I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ … ”

    How true, how true!

    I’d like to think that America is home to some of the smartest people in the world. I’d also like to believe that given the facts, we, as a people, would allow for our opinions to be trumped. It’s sad that I can’t believe or think these things.

    How can we be “One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all” and fight against the building of a mosque near Ground Zero?

    I guess the same way James Carter and R’heem Turner could get beaten unconscious in Atlanta in 2006 for being gay (not to slight thousands of others); or the same way Emmett Till was murdered in 1955 (not to slight millions of others).

    It doesn’t matter the target or the place. There’s just always a, “we don’t want _____ in our or near our _______” in America. We don’t want Jews in our neighborhoods! We don’t want Blacks in our schools! We don’t want foreigners in our factories! We don’t want gays near our children! And now, we don’t want a mosque near Ground Zero!

    What’s worse is that there are some who think that protesting the building of a mosque near Ground Zero is a religious stand. This is the truest insult to all of the first century Christians that were persecuted for the cause of Christ.

    This is not a religious stand at all.

    Religion in this instance is a cover up to mask the hatred and prejudice toward Muslims!

    Let me give some sobering words here: All Muslims are not violent and waiting for an opportunity to blow us up. Just like all Blacks are not criminals and waiting to steal from you. Nor is it true that all Whites are racist and looking for a chance to discriminate against you – although these statements are true for a small minority in each group.

    It is true that in all races there are people who hate and are looking for ways to harm other people. It is true that all races have criminal intenders who plot to take what doesn’t belong to them. And it is equally true that all races suffer from bigotry and hatred.

    Every one of us needs to examine what “liberty and justice for all” means.

    Originally, many of the framers of the U.S. Constitution agreed to these words – while still owning slaves. They didn’t sign the documents and run right home and free their slaves.

    But over the years, these words could have been changed, but they were not. “All” could have been changed to “some” because, unfortunately since this country’s beginning, it’s been interpreted that way.