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The Politicizer Team

If Obama Can’t Stand Up For Freedom, What Does He Stand For?

Michele Walk, Staff Writer

On Tuesday, “President Obama told CNBC that the US is not in danger of overregulating the economy and that the outcome of the Iranian election will not make that much difference in his administration’s policies toward that country.”

You have got to be kidding me.

Even though I didn’t support Obama in the fall, I still had high hopes for him as a President. Perhaps he would bring beneficial change to America as a moderate, as he claimed during the election season. Since coming into office, I have disagreed with his policies more than agreed with them. A majority of these disagreements have been economic, especially his increased involvement in the American economy. He is expanding the Federal Government more than any other president, and is exercising control over the economy that is not his to exercise. GM, the company of whom we once said “what’s good for GM is good for America,” is now Government Motors, and we now have a “pay czar” that intrudes into the affairs of banks more than any other government post has. “Not overregulating?” Give me a break! However, despite  different viewpoints on how issues should be addressed, most of the time I could still understand and agree with his underlying intent: to provide genuine help for those in need.

However, his response to the current election crisis in Iran tells a different story. The Iranian people are begging for support from the rest of the world, and Obama and his administration, even though they are, in the words of Joe Biden, “deeply concerned” by the situation in Iran, have done absolutely nothing. How can he, as the leader of the free world, sit idly by as this crisis unfolds? We as Americans pride ourselves on our freedoms and liberty, and for decades our Presidents, Democratic and Republican, have actively encouraged the spread of freedom. Say what you will about George W. Bush (I myself was not a fan), but his foray into Iraq has at least brought the people more democracy than they have ever experienced and given them hope that they one day may be able to live under a government which reflects their own wishes. The Iranian people are demanding democratic representation, and have shown extraordinary courage in order to defend their fundamental human rights to liberty and freedom in the face of an oppressive regime. We should be assisting the Iranian people in any way possible. The Middle East is ready for democracy – now. So why aren’t we helping them?

Honestly, I’m flabbergasted that Obama doesn’t see his policies changing in the wake of this unprecedented turmoil in Iran. Mousavi, the opposition leader, publicly stated in his campaign many times that he would like to open up diplomatic talks with the United States. For an Iranian politician, he is rather moderate, especially in comparison to Ahmadinejad. If Obama were to recognize Ahmadinejad as a legitimate ruler, which his comment would suggest, it would be an insult to democracies across the globe and humanity in general. While there is no doubt that the United States would still oppose Iran having a nuclear program, to say that the Iranian peoples’ demands for democratic representation wouldn’t change a thing is absurd. The people of Iran, and indeed people everywhere, have the right to free and fair elections.  If Obama can’t stand up for freedom, what does he stand for?

Mr President, Tear Down This Silence

Conor Rogers, Editor

In an unprecedented move by a US President, Barack Obama has very nearly refused to comment, act or speak out regarding a popular uprising, wherein millions of people have risen up, protested, and endured gunfire, beatings and brutality. These people are demanding nothing more than the right to vote and live as they wish – the mantra of the United States. This is not even to mention the fact that it is occurring in a nation that the US has been trying to get to embrace democracy for decades, or that the man they are protesting in favor of, Hossein Mousavi, is an avid supporter of the United States. Throughout history, the President of the United States has embraced democratic uprisings and the dawn of freedom at nearly every turn. The most famous of which can be summarized in one quote by Ronald Reagan, “Mr. Gorbachov, tear down this wall.” Reagan not only spoke out against the Soviet oppression of the German people, he traveled Germany during the height of tensions and sided with freedom for the German People, despite its risky international and political implications.

Fast forward to 2009, the protests are the same, and the goal is the same. The threat posed by radical Islamic governments is nearly the same as the Soviets. The difference: The American President.

In Defense of Business: Corporations Create Jobs, Employ Americans and Keep This Country Moving

Conor Rogers & Kathleen McCaffrey

In the wake of the financial crisis, corporations have gotten an even worse reputation than previously held. Pundits and politicians from both parties slam ambiguous “corporations” and “CEOs” for ruining America. Let me point out what none of these spectators have – it is thanks to the same CEOs and businesses that America became so successful in the first place. Any critic has committed one of two fallacies when they express this opinion:

One option is that this person actually believes that all corporations are bad and that CEOs are a bad influence – which would be a ridiculous and uneducated opinion. The other, and the more likely of the options, is that they realize that a large number of Americans are currently unfoundedly directing their anger at corporate America and are merely pandering to their collective rage. It is only a handful of corporate policies and legislative mistakes that have led to this crisis, yet the fair-weather politician begins to talk about what the voter thinks is true, rather than what actually is.

So what is the truth that many politicians are ignoring? Corporations create jobs, employ millions of Americans, give them opportunity to move up through promotion and merit-based qualification, and in the end, provide nearly every American with opportunity.

My Vote for Nader, Vindicated

Noah Baron, Staff Writer

According to AMERICAblog, Barack Obama’s legal team — likely on instructions from the White House — filed a motion to dismiss a legal challenge to the “Defense” of “Marriage” Act (DOMA). The full-length, fifty-four page assault on the Constitution and queer constituents can be found here. Among some of the claims the team makes are:

* Homosexuality is comparable to incest and pedophilia. Maybe if the Obama administration lawyers had a basic understanding of reality, they might comprehend that since children aren’t able to consent (unlike adults, the persons in question in same-sex marriage) the comparison to homosexuality is not a very good one. They might also understand the fact that incest has been scientifically linked to genetic problems in offspring, whereas homosexuality…not so much.

* DOMA is fine because it saves the federal government money. (Funny, I don’t recall that being a concern of the Obama administration.) Besides, aren’t our rights priceless? Or something? Maybe? This nonsense goes on and on; I encourage every person who voted for Obama to read this in full and then seriously reconsider voting for him again.

Let Freedom Ring

The Politicizer Staff, In Solidarity.

Though we are liberals, conservatives, moderates, Republicans, Democrats and independents, the struggle for freedom by the Iranian People is one that cannot be ignored. The Politicizer joins the growing chorus of blogs and social media users demanding freedom for the Iranian People and stand with them in solidarity. Today the Politicizer goes green, the color of the Iranian freedom fighters.

There is no greater cause than the fight for liberty. No matter what country it rises up in, let freedom ring.

George W Bush Vindicated on the Streets of Tehran?

Conor Rogers, Political Editor
A brief note about the connection between the 2001 and 2003 US Wars and Iran today

It is no coincidence that the first ‘election’ in Iran following the successful implementation of democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan has been met with demands for rights, true democracy, and openness in Islamic government. Calls for liberalization are being trumpeted by thousands of people marching in levels not seen on the streets of Tehran in decades.

Let me be clear, as a middle-of-the road Republican, I was not fond of how the Iraq war was initially handled, nor the fact that information was apparently manipulated by Rumsfeld et al during the course to war, call me a surge supporting-Petraeus Republican if you will, yet these recent developments may in fact vindicate the use of the Bush Doctrine in Iraq regardless of how one feels about the run up, or the initial handling of it.

When All Else Fails – Use Force.

Cynthia Meyer, Staff Writer
How the Obama Administration is repeating the deadly mistakes of the Clinton foreign policy.

The American public is distracted. Right now, we are in the middle of a deep recession. Unemployment is the highest we have seen in decades, and your average Joe is worried about keeping his job and supporting his family. And while it is important that we be concerned about this rapid expansion of government through “stimulus” (spending), bailouts, and “spreading the wealth around”, we often have the tendency to let issues that seem urgent divert our attention away from issues of equal or greater importance. Usually, and regrettably, the neglected issue is one of foreign policy and national security. For example, while mass genocide was being committed by Nazi Germany, we were distracted at home—and it wasn’t until it directly affected us, it wasn’t until we got hit with Pearl Harbor, that we entered WWII to forcefully cease the growing German power and claim victory. America was distracted, and we came in too late.

We have been at war with radical Islamic fundamentalists ever since 9/11, but they have been at war with us for decades.

“Let Them Eat Cake?” – A Response to Michele Walk’s ‘Economic Darwinism’

A liberal response to Michele Walk’s recent post entitled “Economic Darwinism and the Recession”
Noah Baron, Staff Writer

Around 100 years ago, the notion of social Darwinism was wildly popular amongst the well-to-do. Since then, it has been largely derided as unacceptable, cruel, and just plain incorrect. Apparently it’s reared its ugly head again, this time in Michele’s post and a Republican Party seemingly dedicated to driving itself into the ground.

Michele says that it bothers her that “the recession, and its effects, are regarded as ‘unfortunate’”. Already irked at her statement, I was even more flabbergasted by her reasoning. She claims that regarding the recession as “unfortunate” implies that “we are entitled to having fortunate things happen to us” — when, in reality, that is not the case at all. In my experience, at least, the recession is regarded as unfortunate not because of a sense of ‘entitlement’ but rather because I — and others — recognize that it is sad when people lose their job, lose their home, and have to struggle to get by.

Economic Darwinism and the Recession

Michele Walk, Staff Writer

It is no news that our nation, and the rest of the world, is currently experiencing one of the most severe economic downturns in recent times. In 2009 alone, almost 3 million jobs have been lost in the United States already. It is truly an unfortunate occurrence.

That, however, bothers me – the fact that the recession, and its effects, are regarded as “unfortunate;” it implies that we are entitled to having fortunate things happen to us, all the time, which is hardly the case. Yes, I agree, the job losses and other effects on the economy are perhaps not the most pleasant occurrences; on the other hand, we as a nation – whether we are blue-collar workers, Wall Street bankers, middle-class families or politicians – must keep our heads about us.

It also bothers me how everyone is content running around acting as if the sky is falling, acting as if we will never, ever, ever be able to get out of this recession and recover – that is, unless the government pours money into businesses. I would like to offer an alternate perspective: we should let failing companies fail, and we should let the economy recover on its own; the economy will turn around. It will be brutal for a few years – especially in the beginning, with job losses and the like – but new businesses will open, and the economy will go on.