I sat quietly the other night when several people gushed about how much they love President Obama.  I do not love Obama, partly because I have no idea what he actually stands for.   He’s a great speaker, a master salesman, clearly brilliant, but he continues to do many things Bush and Cheney did, hateful things, and he gets a pass from those who love his eloquent thoughtfulness and the way he comes off, somehow, as a cool guy and man of the people.

Obama must get a pass in a certain way, if only because of the fanatical opposition he faces, much of it fueled by barely concealed racist hatred.  Even if he wanted to, there are limits to what a president can do, although, to me, he’s done very few truly positive things while continuing virtually every anti-democratic policy of his unscrupulous predecessors.  

The American president is not all-powerful, it’s true, though Cheney took many brutal steps towards restoring the Unitary Executive.  Among the things presidents can now do without real oversight is create a secret kill list and carry it out,  kill anywhere on earth with missiles fired from robot planes, institute a top secret kidnapping and torture program,  designate anyone as an Enemy Combatant and hold them without charges forever, classify as state secrets anything even remotely compromising, or embarrassing, to the administration, conduct secret data collection on virtually every American’s private communications, severely and publicly punish those who try to expose corruption, torture and other illegality.  

The lack of the transparency necessary for a functioning democracy was striking under Bush and Cheney, the most opaque administration to date — and rightfully so, they had a lot to hide.  The press, with few exceptions, were their tuxedo clad lapdogs, gratefully licking their faces instead of probing for the news that Americans needed to know– like the fact that the entire case for the long, destructive, destabilizing, demoralizing, illegal and immoral multi-trillion dollar war in Iraq, like the extensive torture program, was founded on a tissue of lawyerly bullshit that would not have stood up even in a kangaroo court run by kindergarten kids.  

Things are even more opaque under President Hope and Change, Freedom of Information is much harder to come by and the 1917 Espionage Act has made traitors out of whistle blowers and other people of conscience and put the death penalty on the table as reward for their acts of civic courage.

Of course, there’s the psychopath test for presidents.  It is impossible to even get on the ballot without raising literally hundreds of millions and showing the ability to kill without hesitation or remorse.   Not only are presidential candidates required to say whatever big donors want to hear said, to raise enormous sums of money for their ad campaigns but, if they are in position to, they must show they will not flinch from doing terrible things.  

If you are a governor, race back to your state to sign the death warrant for a retarded woman who has found Jesus and begs for life in prison instead of the needle.  Tough on crime, I got your Jesus right here, lady.  That murderer who tried to kill himself when the cops closed in, bungled the job and wound up with an IQ of 70?   Strap him into the electric chair yourself, after he saves the pie from his last meal for “later”, pose as you do with a resolute expression the American people will understand.  Enjoy your pie, bitch.

When Bush’s people rewrote the bankruptcy laws they made it impossible to get out of student loan debt, except by the death of the debtor.  Run up the maximum on all your credit cards, buy too many houses, fuck up in any other way, no worries, all that can be discharged in bankruptcy.   Borrow $40,000 from the U.S. government to get a degree at a state school and you will get this email from time to time:

 Dear Borrower,

Your federally owned student loans are running just a few days late.

There is an easy way to bring them current!!

By changing your due date to another day of the month that would better fit into your budget based on your pay date, other bills, etc., we can bring your loans current.

Just choose any date between the 1^st to the 15^th of the month to better meet your needs.  In doing so you will skip your upcoming payment and resume payments the following month on your new due date.

Please contact us as soon as possible to avoid going into default at (866) 264-9762 orDLCollections@osla.org.  Our Customer Service Representatives are available to take your call M-F from 8am-5pm CST.  You may also manage your account online 24 hours a day at osla.org.

Sincerely,

Default Aversion Team

And they call me every month, too, just a few days after the due date passes.  They remind me, if I ask, that I am paying the historically low 3.75% interest rate, tell me how lucky I am, how wise I was to lock it in.  Some borrowers are paying the government 7% and more on loans they took to get college degrees.  

Liberal lioness Elizabeth Warren is sponsoring legislation to cap student loan repayment at 3.9%.  I love Elizabeth Warren and I watch her struggle to pass a law that will marginally help a few without solving the larger problem and I despair for my country.  Reminds me of Obamacare, applauded by everyone not effected by it as a great step forward, even if possibly a bit of a gift to the private health insurance and pharmaceutical industries.  

We are a great democracy and an Exceptional People in name only, it goes without saying.  We are a country run by advertisements, slogans and mindless, fanatical cheering for one of two teams who are fierce rivals but almost indistinguishable in their goal: to protect the privilege of the persecuted one percent that finances their campaigns.  

A few random ideas for helping students paying massive interest to the government on education loans made to them:  tie the interest rate on student loans to actual income, let unemployed graduates pay down the principle interest-free until they are earning a living.   Make the repayment rate the same rate banks and corporations pay to borrow from the US Treasury.  

The federal government can spend literally trillions to murder people who pose no threat to Americans, average working people who live thousands of miles from the U.S.  They can spend billions annually on a failed war against a drug that kills almost nobody while alcohol is legal and causes death and destruction everywhere it is abused.   They can’t figure out a way not to gouge a generation of college graduates who get these notices every month, and friendly phone calls, from the Default Aversion Team.  

President Obama was in town last week, wearing a tux and making jokes at dinners where people paid thousands of dollars to eat rubber chicken and shower our brilliant president with love.   Many hate Barack Obama, it’s true, and I like to see him get his love.  But I also have to say:  what the fuck?  This is really the best you can do, my man?