Watching as the events continue to evolve throughout the Middle East, it's difficult to determine a central theme to our current foreign policy positions. Widespread protests have been squelched by iron fisted leaders across the region as people are gunned down by oppressive regimes in Yemen, Iran, Tunisia, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. Saudi royalty is keeping one hand on the oil spigots and the other on top of the heads of their citizenry. Bahrain, one of our most strategic allies, teeters on the precipice. Our response? Tepid and indecisive.

As the genocide in Rwanda and Darfur showed us, the United States apparently has more important concerns than humanitarianism or the simple-minded and unsophisticated promotion of democracy. Is it any wonder that we're suffering from a national identity crisis?

The brutal slaughter of rebel forces continued for weeks in Libya and once we finally did decide to intervene, many on the right have cried “too little, too late”. As thousands died by the hand of Gaddafi, President Obama dithered over intervention and sought approval from the United Nations before moving to act. After mobilizing a small armada, committing US troops to the battlefield under eventual NATO leadership and launching nearly $200 billion dollars worth of cruise missiles in an initial salvo, Mr. Obama then took some time from his grueling golf schedule and NCAA bracketing to enjoy a much needed vacation in Brazil. No Presidential address, no congressional approval and no legitimacy in the eyes of many.

Despite a consistent and unwavering stance against such military actions in the past, President Obama has committed our forces to yet another Islamic conflict. Contrary to previous promises, troops have been bolstered in Afghanistan, we remain in Iraq and war trials are resuming at Guantanamo Bay. The Obama administration continues the controversial rendition program and backed renowned torture expert Omar Suleiman as a replacement for Hosni Mubarak. People on both sides of the political equation are struggling to make sense of this latest incursion and put our country's recent actions in context with the President's rhetoric.

To cast further doubt upon this “kinetic military action”, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi penned a heartfelt letter to the President claiming that the rebels we support are really members of Al Quaeda. Perhaps this explains that whole birth certificate hullabaloo.

I have said to you before that even if Libya and the United States enter into war, God forbid, you will always remain my son, and I have all the love for you as a son, and I do not want your image to change with me. We are confronting Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, nothing more. What would you do if you found them controlling American cities with the power of weapons? Tell me how would you behave, so that I could follow your example?

Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan chided:

I warn my brother do you let these wicked demons move you in a direction that will absolutely ruin your future with your people in Africa and throughout the world...Why don't you organize a group of respected Americans and ask for a meeting with Qaddafi, you can't order him to step down and get out, who the hell do you think you are?

Although later recanted, Dennis Kucinich had initially suggested that the president should be impeached for his action in Libya as reported by CBSnews.com

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) told Hotsheet today that it's an "indisputable fact" that President Obama committed an impeachable offense by authorizing a military attack without congressional approval. "The next question is what does Congress do it about it," Kucinich said, adding that he hasn't said he's introducing a resolution for impeachment.

Ralph Nader joins the anti-war/impeachment chorus with:

Why don't we say what's on the minds of many legal experts; that the Obama administration is committing war crimes; and if Bush should have been impeached, Obama should be impeached.

[Bush officials] were considered war criminals by many people. Now, Barack Obama is committing the same crimes. In fact, worse ones in Afghanistan. Innocents are being slaughtered, we are creating more enemies, he is violating international law.

For those that might suggest such actions to be hasty or unmerited, we should remember the words of the constitutional scholar and then Senator Obama as stated in 2007, “the President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation".

Is this simply hawkish posturing before next year's campaign? Perhaps this series of unfortunate events is merely positioning for future conflicts in which the armed forces of the United States of America can be called to action by the President and the U.N. without congressional approval?

Whatever the reason for our latest military endeavors and however we've gotten to this sorry point in our nation's development, it's clear that we've lost our way. We're in the process of losing our soul as well - although “selling” might be a more appropriate term.

We've acted rashly in some instances and not at all in others. Despite our best intentions and the media's incessant portrayal of the Egyptian uprising as a revolution worthy of Nathan Hale and freedom lovers everywhere, our encouragement appears to have placed the anti-American Muslim Brotherhood in a position to assume power. Gaddafi must be stopped, but do we really understand the consequences of our actions?

The Desert sands of Afghanistan and a tenacious bunch of “freedom fighters” kicked the rear end of the Russian bear so hard that it scurried back to its cave and hibernated through the entire collapse of the former Soviet Union. As we continue the same fight against an army of our own creation in the longest war of American history, is our fate to be any different? With a decade behind us, we're facing a generational hatred of America that lies smoldering within billions of people that simply wait for a flame.

Our money and blood is not buying us any favors or banking a surplus of international goodwill. We need to seriously reevaluate our position in the world, fess up to our indiscretions and back up our future promises with clear, decisive action that speaks to our values as a nation.

The United States used to stand for something and whether they agreed with it or not, everyone everywhere knew what that was. It's time we got back to our roots. We've spent decades flirting with dictators and fostering trade with those amounting to little more than international gangsters.

The answer is simple although the execution will be difficult. Promote democracy, foster freedom, help, barter with and defend those that respect basic human rights. Lead by example with character and dignity and others will follow.

Like it or not, a line has been drawn in the sand and we need to decide which side we're going to stand on. Once our feet are firmly planted, we'll be in a position to help others to stand with us as we confront what is shaping up to be an ideological war of biblical proportions. It's time we got our house in order.

When you add it all up
The tears and the marrowbone
There's an ounce of gold
And an ounce of pride in each ledgers
And the Germans kill the Jews
And the Jews kill the Arabs
And the Arabs kill the hostages
And that is the news
And is it any wonder that the monkey's confused
He said Mama Mama, the President's a fool
Why do I have to keep reading these technical manuals
And the joint chiefs of staff
And the brokers on Wall Street said
Don't make us laugh, you're a smart kid
Time is linear
Memory's a stranger
History is for fools
Man is a tool in the hands
Of the great God Almighty
And they gave him command of a nuclear submarine
Sent him back in search of the Garden of Eden

“Perfect Sense” - Roger Waters

Is anyone else getting fed up with the absolute incompetence of the Washington elite? How about the utter hypocrisy of the Obama administration or the unspoken double standards applied by the mainstream media?

Barely two and a half months into this new Presidency, it’s starting to feel as though we’ve stepped through the looking glass into a surreal underworld of socialistic idealism - some sort of parallel universe where Schrodinger finds himself in the box while his cat plays dice with the lunatics running the asylums. Each new day brings another shocking development and I think surely this will not be tolerated by the American people. Will we continue to sip Soylent Green with the Mad Hatter’s in Washington or will the tea party that awaits us bear closer resemblance to the Bostonian resentment expressed by our founding fathers?

After denouncing the excesses of American life during the election:

We can't -- drive our SUVs and you know, eat as much as we want and keep our homes on you know, 72 degrees at all times, and whether we're living in the desert or we're living in the tundra, and then just expect that every other country's going say OK.

President Obama has apparently decided that such admonishments were only applicable to the great unwashed masses that exist outside the gates of luxury. After a lavish $170 million dollar inauguration, Mr. Obama has brought his own brand of climate change to the White House as senior advisor David Axelrod states, “He’s from Hawaii, O.K.?  He likes it warm. You could grow orchids in there”.

You’d think there must be a couple of sweaters left over from the Carter administration somewhere in the White House?

Lavish cocktail parties and exorbitant dinners of Kobe beef ($200 for a 10oz. steak) are now the norm for the Washington insider’s club as Larry Klayman of Freedom Watch comments:

Barack and Michelle Obama have been throwing taxpayer funded parties nearly every night with their 'friends' and supporters, with Michelle Obama even exhorting them not to 'break' White House property.

It was right to criticize corporate execs for using taxpayer bailout money on bonuses and corporate junkets. In the face of this criticism, it is an outrage for Barack and Michelle Obama to party on, as Rome burns.

In between chants of “play Nero play”, Congress quietly slipped a nice little pay raise through for themselves shortly after Christmas as noted by Tom Schatz of Citizens Against Government Waste:

If Congressional leaders believe that the taxpayers should gives pay raises to this rogue’s gallery of ineptitude and venality, they ought to step away from the spiked egg nog.

Even as Acorn’s “rent-a-mob” masses were bussed into Connecticut amidst great media fanfare to protest the AIG bonuses, thousands have been gathering at symbolic tea partiesacross the country to show their disdain for Washington’s uncontrolled actions. The press coverage of these protests has been sporadic at best but massive gatherings are being planned in every state for April 15^th  - probably in a town near you.

As President Obama and congressional leaders feigned outrage over the AIG bonuses, our Treasury Department quietly monetized more than a trillion dollars of our national debt. Stop. Think. Resist the temptation to pound your head against the faux marble pillars of government tyranny. The Fed has just printed a trillion dollars to buy the debt of our Treasury Department. Dumping truckloads of worthless cash into the system is a short term fix that will only magnify our financial woes down the road – the same dead end road Zimbabwe recently traveled down with most of Europe tailgating close behind.

President of the European Union, Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek recently commented on the latest actions of the Obama administration stating,

All of these steps, these combinations and permanency, is the road to hell. The United States did not take the right path. 

Watching our downward spiral from afar, foreign investors are pulling out of the U.S. faster than you can say I-O-U and countries such as China and Russia are now calling for the implementation of a new global currency system as the United States has voluntarily relinquished its role as the world’s “gold standard” of financial stability.

The continued hypocrisy of our elected officials is unbelievable. In 2008, which Senator received the most money from AIG? Senator Obama. The number two recipient? Chris Dodd – the same person who blatantly lied about his direct intervention to ensure that the AIG bonuses were grandfathered into the stimulus bill, but later confessed that the Treasury Department had specifically asked him to safeguard executive bonuses in contracts signed before the bill’s passage.

Although we were promised at least five days to review all new legislation, the “stimulus bill” was uploaded late at night with less than 24 hours before the vote. Perhaps if our congressional leaders actually read legislation before voting (particularly when it has ramifications that will last for decades), they would have a better understanding of what they’re talking about.

Apparently we’ve been told to be outraged over $165 million in AIG bonuses but what of the $170 billion (with a “B”) given to them in the first place? Readers will remember that AIG “was too big to fail”.   Their collapse would have a cascading effect on the entire banking industry starting with financial giant Goldman Sachs. As it turns out, Goldman Sachs did not even need the money as their chief financial officer David Viniar has commented recently.

So who were the top beneficiaries of AIG bailout funds?

As outlined in a previous post, despite repeated campaign promises of change, our new President has surrounded himself with a cabinet of tax cheats, admitted Socialists and a host of politicians that seem to harbor outright disdain for our constitution. Despite the administration’s repeated alarmist cries about the dire state of our economy, nearly 20 vital treasury cabinet positions remain unfilled and this is the sort of farcical ineptitude our “brightest and best” are displaying?

I can see it now.. Hey Abbott, Who’s in the Treasury? What’s in that bill and Why do we care? All kidding aside, in less than 3 short months our government has successfully initiated an unprecedented power grab of truly monstrous proportions. It seems to be growing at an almost exponential rate and may soon overwhelm all future attempts at restraint.

In less than 90 days, the government of the United States of America has now deemed itself to be justified in limiting the salaries of private citizens. Our greatest Congressional minds thought little of imposing a 90% taxation rate upon those in the crosshairs. Our exalted leaders have begun to nationalize American businesses hand over fist and now want the ability to seize businesses outright in the event that they do not measure up to the governmental standard of the week. What country are we living in?

According to the Washington Post:

Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner today told Congress the administration will seek unprecedented power to seize non-bank financial companies..

Besides seizing a company outright, the Treasury Secretary could use a range of tools to prevent its collapse, such as guaranteeing losses, buying assets or taking a partial ownership stake. Such authority also would allow the government to break contracts..

From the same article, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs states that the administration is seeking "resolution authority to go in and be able to change contracts, be able to change the business model, unwind what doesn't work".

If that’s not enough, in a weak attempt to demonstrate their new aura of authority, the government has “asked” Rick Wagoner, CEO of General Motors to step down after 30 years with the company.

According to Politico,

The White House confirmed Wagoner was leaving at the government's behest after The Associated Press reported his immediate departure, without giving a reason.

When questioning Treasury Secretary Geithner during a Congressional hearing, Rep. Donald Manzullo (R) of Illinois offers us the following exchange:

Manzullo: Do you realize how radical your proposal is?

Geithner: It's not a radical proposal.

Manzullo: Oh, this is absolutely -- you are talking about seizing private businesses, and you don't consider that to be radical?

If that’s not enough, despite the constant campaign rhetoric criticizing the runaway spending of the previous administration, President Obama’s new budget will saddle this country with an unprecedented 10 trillion dollar deficit.

At what point will the media wake up and start doing their jobs? As I continue to watch these events unfold, I can’t help but wonder what sort of unrelenting front page coverage we’d be seeing if George Bush was still in office.

What would the press be saying about Mr. Bush had he compared his athletic ability to that of a Special Olympian? What if Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had flown overseas to present Russian President and Putin protégé Dmitry Medvedev with a giant red button? Aside from the fact that the intended word “reset” was translated incorrectly to “overcharge”, the idea in itself is ludicrous.

Our new administration’s treatment of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was disgraceful to say the least. Perhaps both our last and greatest ally, Britain deserves more than excuses and cheap dvd’s that won’t even work in their country.

With recent polling data showing Mr. Obama’s approval rating dropping below that of George Bush at an analogous point in his presidency, I feel there’s still “hope”. The clock is definitely ticking and I fear that the deliberate and calculated erosion of this country’s capitalistic foundation, as well as our fundamental rights and freedoms as human beings may be reaching a tipping point from which we may not easily recover. If we continue to sleep much longer, we will undoubtedly awaken to a brave new world order that will bear little resemblance to the life we’ve known previously as Americans.

Perhaps there’s still “hope” but I fear that the deliberate and calculated erosion of this country’s capitalistic foundation, as well as our fundamental rights and freedoms as human beings may be reaching a tipping point from which we may not easily recover. If we continue to sleep much longer, we will undoubtedly awaken to a brave new world order that will bear little resemblance to the life we’ve known previously as Americans.