Tag: Obama

Boston Marathon Explosions the Boogeyman Strikes

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As I sat down to write a blog post last night, I saw a “push” come up on my Facebook wall. It was from an old colleague who stated that he hoped his family in Boston were okay.

Curiosity piqued, I asked him what was going on and while waiting for a response I typed  “Boston events” in the search bar and got the news sightly ahead of his answer.

Someone or some group had exploded two devices at the Boston Marathon finishing line. Two people were killed, I found out from a friend who is from Boston that one of these was an eight year-old child, and at least 23 injured. The news went on to state that two more devices had been found and that there was a further explosion at the Kennedy Library.

I was shocked.

Although it was late and I was quite tired, I spent the next several hours watching live coverage of this obscenity and “tweeting” what I was learning. One of the things I learned was that at that time no one group had stepped forward to claim responsibility for placing  these bombs in the rubbish bins.

I also learned that the official line on the “devices” was not to call them bombs.

I was once again, shocked.

If something has been set up to explode, it is a bomb. I can only think that officials have decided that to call them bombs would scare people and dredge up some sort of “negative” connotation.

I’ve got news for the authorities, a bomb by any other name is a bomb.

The bitter irony in this is that while the bombs were exploding, President Obama was working on new gun laws to protect his constituents from acts of murder. While he was looking at stopping death within, death came (presumably) from without.

With the introduction of drones that spy on American citizens in the name of national security, the good guys were obviously looking in the wrong direction and the bad guys got in.

It is sad that the times we live in now include urban terror attacks from whatever group or source. These attacks are designed to keep people afraid. Afraid of public events, of walking down their own streets (Bostonian’s were told to stay inside after the explosions and Boston was put on “lock-down”) and afraid to trust “foreigners” let alone each other.

The group or people responsible  want all free countries to be placed under “house arrest” and to be too terrified to leave their homes. And through the diversionary news worthy events of killing sprees with guns and with the media shouting to the heavens about gun control, the folks responsible for the country’s security forgot to look at the ongoing issue of terrorism.

I might be wrong (and I have been wrong before) but I think that the security forces need to stop looking for “Boogeymen” under their own beds or backyards and remember to look at those “outside” the country they’ve been sworn to protect.

As the death toll rises to three and the injured numbers more than triple, I’m sure the people in yesterday’s Boston Marathon would agree.

Aftermath...
Aftermath…

 

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Win, Lose, or Draw it’s All Over Tomorrow Night

The day before the election. In a few short hours Americans from all over the world will be voting. Polling stations will open and absentee ballots will be counted (remember George Bush). In the wee hours of the morning of the 7th, America and the world will see who the President will be for the next four years.

It’s like watching a genteel boxing match. In one corner you have Mitt Romney with his designer hair and “Hollywood Casting Director” presidential looks. In the other corner, we have the President himself. Barack Obama. Compared to Romney and his seemingly generic presidential lines, Obama looks like everyman.

But looks do not a president make. Romney may look the part, but thus far in his speeches he makes G W Bush look like Socrates. He is also a silver spoon rich kid who grew up to be a rich man. This rich man understands corporate mergers and profit margins.

America does not need someone whose main concern is the money they can get from their employees, sorry constituents.

Barack Obama grew up without a silver spoon and through intelligence, hard work and integrity became the president of the United States of America. He came into the office telling everyone that he would do everything he could to turn the country around. He told us that it would be hard and that it would take a long time.

He did not lie.

There are things that the current President has done that I do not agree with, but, he is still my president (well half of me claims him anyway, the other half loves the Queen) and I think he should be given the time to do what he promised.

I believe he will deliver.

But either way, tomorrow the poll stations will close and a winner will be chosen.

We can only hope that the Electoral College does not pick who they want, especially if it turns out to be Mitt Romney.

There will be those who do not like this brief post and to them I say, “That is okay. We are all entitled to opinions and mine do not have to match yours. I know that I have not “lived” under President Obama, but like the man who could not see the forest because he was too close to the trees, I feel that I can see so much from a distance that perhaps is missed by those living in America.”

However this election falls, we will all have a president to support and follow. Let’s do our best.

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