Paranoia by John Braun

10% of profits from sales of Paranoia go to the Twin Towers Orphan Fund (www.ttof.org).

$15.70

Paperback

Pop Quiz:

What crazy, right-wing extremist made the following comments/decisions in the last 48 hours?

1. - Our current deficit spending is unsustainable and will result in skyrocketing interest rates for consumers. That we are mortgaging our children's futures.

2. - That military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay should continue rather than release these terror suspects into our civilian courts.

3. - That the pictures of abuse at Abu Gharib prison in Iraq should NOT be released to the public because it could bolster hard feelings and support for terrorism groups, which would ultimately endanger the lives of our troops overseas.

I'll give you a moment to think about it. If I wasn't so lazy, I'd get a clip of the Jeopardy theme music and insert it here, but I am, so don't hold your breath.

Well, I'll give you a hint. It wasn't me. It wasn't Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, anybody on Fox News, or Dick Cheney.

Give up?

Ok. The answer is: Barack Obama.

YES! THAT Barack Obama!

Hmmm, but those views seem to go against everything he's been saying recently or against things he's promised since the campaign. So, what's going on here?

In my estimation, President Obama is playing chess. He's positioning his pieces, trying to put himself in a position of checkmate. Checkmate, here, is to continue on the path of what you're doing, while convincing the people that you're not doing it because it appears, in polls, to be unpopular.

Let's look at each of these issues.

Spending
Well, I - along with most conservatives - have been saying this since this all started (yes, even speaking out against George Bush and his first bailout plan, but even more so as those hundreds of billions began to turn into trillions under Obama). We can't keep spending like this. Where does the money come from? Well, it comes from me and you. Guess what, folks. Taxes are going to start to rise, as predicted. If not, money will need to be printed which will result in inflation, so, either you give the government more of your money, or they make the money you have worth less. Either way, same result - the citizen is poorer.

Oh, but they'll tax the rich, you say. Well, let's not forget a few things - after this economic downturn, there are a lot fewer rich than before. People have lost jobs, tons in investments, much of the value of their homes. Forget the fact that the so-called "rich" already pay 80% of the taxes in this country and the whole socialism idea of because I don't do as well as you, you OWE me something. The fact is, everyone will be hit - through energy taxes, taxes on sugary products, taxes on anything they can find to tax.

But, I can see the argument now. A year down the road when the country is falling into financial ruin. True Obama-ites will be sure to remind us how President O warned us this was going to happen! He is SOOOO smart! He knew it would be unsustainable.

Hello. He's the one who SPENT the money in the first place! Try to remember that. By the way, anybody see a slowdown in his plan to spend tons more on additional stimulus packages, healthcare, etc.? No? Didn't think so.

So, our defecit spending is unsustainable Mr. President? Aren't you the same guy who, just a few weeks ago, was MOCKING over 200,000 American citizens for exercising their basic rights as Americans to freedom of speech and peaceful protest to protest.....runaway government spending???? I guess it just sounds better when you say it, huh?

Guantanamo Bay
Here's a clear case of how it's really easy to go out during a campaign and say you're going to do something, only to find out the reality is much more difficult (see: ending war in Iraq, not getting caught in open-ended war in Afghanistan). President Obama, knowing the public confusion over Guantanamo Bay and Abu Gharib prison, decides to make a popularity move and declare he will close Gitmo, rather than try to clear up the public's confusion between the two prisons (in fact, when asked about this very issue by family members of 9/11 victims and USS Cole bombing victims - that isn't this all over people thinking Gitmo is Abu Gharib - Obama reportedly just smirked and shrugged).

A couple of months later, there is no plan of what to do with the prisoners. As Dick Cheney pointed out, many of the prisoners had already been released and there was somewhere around a 20% recidivism rate - people who went right back into the fight. The 200+ that are left are the ones the government considered most dangerous. Expected recidivism rate would be near 50%, if not higher. We can't legally bring these people into the country, not to mention nobody wants them. Overseas, we can't guarantee they won't be released. All of a sudden it's a quagmire. His own party won't give him the money to close the base because there's NO plan. All that aside, forget that putting these terrorists on trial in civilian court would mean we would have to share government classified information with them in disclosure. I guess things like national security aren't important.

Prisoner Abuse Photos
Obama changes course and says, do not release these pictures. They could incite our enemy and result in U.S. Troop deaths overseas. Besides, they're old, outdated, and don't add to the conversation anything significant.

Hmm. So, photos of prisoner abuse might incite the enemy. What about constant public discussion of torture? What about releasing memos that the media has labeled 'torture memos'? What about the constant calvacade of celebrities and politicians, including the President, getting on TV and talking about what a bad country we are...

Is that endearing our enemies to us or is it empowering them? Are WE the best recruiting poster for Al Qaeda they've ever had?

Notice one thing. The President did NOT say the photos were exempt from the Freedom of Information Act as classified documents whose release would be a threat to national security. This leaves it open for the Supreme Court to overturn his ruling. If they did so, you know Obama would throw his hands up in the air and say, well, I said we shouldn't do it, but I can't stop the courts! Wrong. He could have put an end to this now without leaving it open. The courts are not the be all, end all. We have seperation of power and checks and balances in our government for a reason and that reason is NOT so they can use each other as the scapegoat and say, Sorry! I tried!

While many on the left will not see it this way, I see a government spinning out of control.

There's a President changing his position on just about everything, trying to keep his popularity up as public opinion starts to shift away from blind support of his policies.

There's a Speaker of the House on the 5th rendition of her involvement in the so-called torture of detainees. Pelosi went from I was not briefed, to We were told about the methods but not told they were used, to We were told they were used but misled about them, to Torture? What tort...Look! A polka dotted duck!.

There's environmentalists putting out a new study that says we're killing the environment with all these plug in gadgets and chargers and in order to sustain what we'll be plugging in by 2030, we'd need 200 new nuclear power plants in this country. Um...so, lets force the automakers to build electric cars. Anybody see the hypocrisy in that? (By the way, a new study shows the rising ocean levels they expected - 20 feet or so - will probably only be 10 feet, not to mention the U of W, Milwaukee study that shows we're in a 10 year cooling trend that they expect to extend through the next 30-40 years or the fact that though they reported on Antarctic ice thinning and loss on the east Antarctic coast, but failed to report on the thickening and growing ice on the 44% larger west coast as cited in an Australian study).

Will people now begin to wake up? I hope so, but I'm not holding my breath.

J.E. Braun is the author of Paranoia, a 9/11 survivor's tale. 10% of profits from sales of Paranoia will be donated to the Twin Towers Orphan Fund (www.ttof.org). For more information, see www.jebraun.com.