According to Wikipedia, Watson is a “professor, author, frequent media commentator, and former [unsuccessful] candidate for the United States House of Representatives. …Politically, Watson has [surprise!] advocated universal health care and strengthening environmental protections… …In 2006, Watson and Yury Konnikov founded the non-profit think tank Think Act Lead, which advocates political reforms and progressive [i.e., socialist] solutions to public problems; the two also direct The Civics Campaign, which offers free civic education initiatives and [surprise again!] promotes community service.”

The professor’s absurd “list of great things Obama has done in his first year in office” is something I would normally ignore. There is no point in wasting time rebutting the nonsensical and false arguments of brainwashed Obamatons who will go to their graves believing they are morally and culturally superior to everyone else. But after some thought, I considered the vast number of Americans who are being exposed to the onslaught of Obama propaganda, and realized that they might benefit from a point-by-point rebuttal of the professor’s list. (My points are in red italics.)

Don Fredrick

January 23, 2009

www.colony14.net

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Writes Watson:

Hi friends,

I am always being asked to grade Obama's presidency. In place of offering him a grade, I put together a list of his accomplishments thus far. I think you would agree that it is very impressive. His first six months have been even more active than FDRs or LBJs the two standards for such assessments. [Because they are possessive, there should be apostrophes: FDR’s or LBJ’s; one would think a professor should know that. There should also be punctuation of some sort, such as a dash, after “LBJs.” Granted, FDR and LBJ were indeed “active” in their presidencies, but that is not admirable if their activities were in conflict with individual liberties and the U.S. Constitution. FDR, for example, took the United States off the gold standard and confiscated gold owned by Americans. Had the nation remained on the gold standard it would not have massive annual deficits or a national debt that can never be repaid.] Yet, there is little media attention given to much of what he has done. Of late, the media is focusing almost exclusively on Obama’s critics, without holding them responsible for the uncivil, unconstructive tone of their disagreements or without holding the previous administration responsible for getting us in such a deep hole. The misinformation and venom that now passes for political reporting and civic debate is beyond description. [I am not sure what media Watson follows, but the sycophantic media the rest of us have witnessed was mostly responsible for the election of a dangerous leftist ideologue intent on transforming the United States into a carbon copy of European socialist states. As far as “holding the previous administration responsible,” the liberal lemmings of the mainstream media have bashed George W. Bush unmercifully since 2000—albeit with a brief respite after 9/11. And with regard to “misinformation” and “venom,” one can readily absorb the recommended daily requirement by watching an hour or two of MSNBC each evening. That networks’ resident  unhinged leftist commentator, Keith Olbermann,  remarked, “In short, in Scott Brown we have an irresponsible, homophobic, racist, reactionary, ex-nude model, tea-bagging supporter of violence against woman and against politicians with whom he disagrees. In any other time in our history, this man would have been laughed off the stage as an unqualified and a disaster in the making by the most conservative of conservatives. Instead, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is close to sending this bad joke to the Senate of the United States.” Olbermann preferred candidate Martha Coakley, who did her best not to prosecute a man who raped his 23-month-old niece with a hot curling iron, and who withheld information about the girl’s testimony from the grand jury—because his father was a top union official contributing to Coakley’s campaign.]

As such, there is a need to set the record straight. What most impresses me is the fact that Obama has accomplished so much not from a heavy-handed or top-down approach but from a style that has institutionalized efforts to reach across the aisle, encourage vigorous debate, and utilize town halls and panels of experts in the policy-making process. [Obama has been the epitome of heavy-handedness. He has made no effort to “reach across the aisle,” bludgeons Republicans every chance he gets, has avoided policy debates, and surrounded himself with thugs like Rahm Emanuel, David Axelrod, and Valerie Jarrett. Obama’s “panels of experts” have consisted of left-wing ideologues, primarily in lock-step with the socialist think-tank, the Center for American Progress. (Watson is a clearly a pompous professor, feeling it necessary to write “utilize” when normal people would write “use.” And regarding those town hall meetings, Obama clearly did “use” them, frequently placing “plants” in the audience to ask softball questions to which he could respond with memorized talking points. The true town hall meetings took place in the summer of 2009, when Americans were up in arms over ObamaCare and Democrat congressmen were pummeled by angry constituents who saw their freedoms being unraveled and their wallets lifted.]

Beyond the accomplishments, the process is good for democracy and our democratic processes have been battered and bruised in recent years. [The United States is a republic, not a democracy.]

Let me know if I missed anything in the list (surely I did). [He got a dog for his daughters.]

Robert

1. [Obama] Ordered all federal agencies to undertake a study and make recommendations for ways to cut spending

and

2. Ordered a review of all federal operations to identify and cut wasteful spending and practices

The federal budget deficit in Obama’s first year—about $1.4 trillion—is approximately three times the deficit of Bush’s final year in office—about $450 billion. Bush should be ashamed, and Obama should be three times as ashamed. Obama’s budget cutting results were infinitesimal, amounting to suggestions such as “using both sides of a piece of paper.” One of the few department cuts made by Obama was in the budget of the staff that investigates corruption in labor unions. Obama also ordered an end to the federal oversight of the operations of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters… arguing that Teamsters would no longer abuse their power.

3. Instituted enforcement for equal pay for women

Obama had nothing to do with The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which made it illegal to discriminate on the basis of race or gender.

Watson is probably referring to Obama signing the “Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act,” which extends by 180 days the statute of limitations for filing a claim of pay discrimination based on gender. Ledbetter, who had worked 19 years for Goodyear Tire and Rubber in Alabama, earned less than her male co-workers did. After she retired, she sued Goodyear, which correctly argued that the statute of limitations had run out. The Supreme Court properly ruled in Goodyear’s favor. The court did not address the issue of whether there had been any discrimination. Goodyear argued there had not, and submitted Ledbetter’s many substandard performance appraisals to support its case. After the bill signing ceremony, Michelle Obama remarked that Ledbetter “…knew unfairness when she saw it, and was willing to do something about it because it was the right thing to do”—when in fact Ledbetter took no action for 19 years. (In signing the bill, Obama broke the campaign promise he had made to pro-abortion supporters that the first piece of legislation he would sign would be the Freedom of Choice Act, which would overturn all state pro-life laws, including prohibitions against partial-birth abortions and parental notification requirements for minors seeking abortions. Obama also signed the Ledbetter bill without first posting the text on the Internet for five days, as he promised he would do with all non-emergency legislation.)

The argument that women earn only 70 cents for every dollar earned by men (or whatever amount is currently used by the person making the argument) is completely bogus. Comparing the total average pay earned by all women with the total average pay earned by all men is a meaningless exercise, because they do not all perform the same work. Most working men earn less than Oprah Winfrey. Is that proof of gender discrimination? No. Most working women earn less than Bill Gates. Is that proof of gender discrimination? No.

Granted, most kindergarten teachers earn less than ironworkers who construct skyscrapers. So what? Women can apply for those jobs if they wish to walk steel girders hundreds of feet in the air. The question is not “Do kindergarten teachers earn as much as ironworkers?” The question is, “Do female ironworkers with the same training, skills, and experience earn the same as men doing the same work?” If the answer is yes, then shut up. If the answer is no, then file a discrimination claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and cite the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The total average pay of men and women will never be equal, because they are not all doing the same work.

Obama has done absolutely nothing to enforce equal pay for women—and has no need to. The relevant law has been on the books since 1964. What Obama did was make it easier for workers to sue their employers—long after the fact. (If you are stupid enough to need 19 years to figure out that your pay is less than that of your co-workers, you probably deserved to be fired long ago.) The result of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act  will not be equal or fair pay, it will be lawyers doing their best to skim millions off jury awards, while the consumers are stuck with the costs that businesses have to pass on to consumers in higher prices.

4. Beginning the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq

The troop drawdown began under President Bush. It was made possible by the troop surge—which Obama adamantly opposed. Obama is following the Bush policies in Iraq, and will leave a significant military presence there for years.

5. Families of fallen soldiers have expenses covered to be on hand when the body arrives at Dover AFB

This sentence is ungrammatical and unclear. The families of fallen soldiers certainly do not get billed for the transport of the body back to the United States.

6. Ended media blackout on war casualties; reporting full information

and

7. Ended media blackout on covering the return of fallen soldiers to Dover AFB; the media is now permitted to do so pending adherence to respectful rules and approval of fallen soldier’s family

There has been no blackout on the number of casualties, but there have been restrictions on media coverage of coffins being returned to the United States. Ending the restrictions allowed Obama to have a “photo opportunity” at Dover Air Force Base as he saluted one of the caskets as it was unloaded. The White House press corps was invited to ensure that Obama was photographed at the staged event. The White House had to seek permission from the families in order to do so; purportedly only one of 18 did so. The remains of Dale R. Griffin, from Terre Haute, Indiana, were the last to be taken from the plane—and photographs were allowed only for that final casket. Obama received considerable criticism for the early morning (4 a.m.) activity, mostly because there was no need to invite the press corps and turn it into a “photo-op.”

RedState.com noted that President Bush never staged any such photo-ops. He would meet privately with members of the fallen soldier’s family, and there was “…no fanfare. The families were taken to a large area and were briefed before the President’s arrival so they would know what to expect…  In every instance, President Bush would come into the room, make a few short remarks and then meet with families. In every instance he would talk to individual family members about anything they wanted to talk about, he never rushed them and he stayed until the families suggested he should talk to someone else. There was always a White House photographer present to take pictures that were made available ONLY to the families. Repeat, O.N.L.Y. the families. The press was NEVER present. There was NEVER an announcement from the White House that the President was meeting with the families of the fallen nor were they ever recognized publicly at the event. Their privacy, and their loss, was always respected. …Which brings me to the self-serving bastard who occupies the White House today. He went to Dover. One might think it was to pay respect to the fallen coming home. Wrong. It was for a G*d damn photo op. He took the White House Press Corps with him and made his visit about him.” (In July 2008, Obama canceled a visit to wounded troops at U.S. military bases in Germany after he learned the military would not allow campaign photographers to politicize the event; there was no point in bothering to look sympathetic and caring if no cameras would be present to record the event.)

There have been 319 U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan (there were 155 in 2008), and 152 in Iraq since Obama took office.

Watson perhaps feels that Americans should learn the horrors of war by getting a steady body count on the evening newscasts. I have no problem with that, and networks are and have been free to report or not report those numbers. If Watson wants Americans to see video footage of American troops as they are being killed on the battlefield, I would only ask that they also be shown the videos of Muslims slicing off the heads of Christians and Jews, and the process of a partial-birth abortion. It is undoubtedly uncomfortable to see a Marine being blown to bits by an I.E.D. It is also uncomfortable to view Muslim children decapitating an “infidel” or an abortionist puncturing an infant’s skull and extracting its brains with a suction device.

8. The White House and federal government are respecting the Freedom of Information Act

This claim is laughable. The Obama administration has fought a FOIA request from Freedom Watch for documents relating to the involvement of special interest groups in writing the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) legislation.

On November 13, 2009 DebbieSchlussel.com broke the story that the Selective Service System registration form showing Obama registered for the draft may be a forgery. The form’s document location number (DLN), 0897080632, indicates a 2008 entry into the federal system, because the first two digits (08) indicate the year. (Had Obama registered in 1980, the first two digits of the DLN would have been 80, rather than 08.) Obama’s document also appears to be a 1990 form, modified to look like a 1980 form. The date the form was signed is July 30, 1980, yet the form has a date stamp of July 29. A retired federal agent had requested the Obama form via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). It took almost a full year for the document to be found and a copy given to him.

New York resident Christopher Earl Strunk filed a lawsuit demanding that Obama-related documents he requested through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) be provided to him as required by law. Both the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security have refused to release the requested documents, which include passport applications for Obama and his mother, Stanley Ann Dunham.

Obama’s pledge of “transparency” in his administration shows no sign of being honored, as Newsweek’s Michael Isikoff pointed out in a column called “Obama Closes Door on Openness.” Attorney and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) expert David Sobel said “nothing has changed,” and “For a president who said he was going to bring unprecedented transparency to government, you would certainly expect more than the recycling of old Bush secrecy policies.” According to Isikoff, Obama’s lawyers intentionally included “loopholes” in Obama’s January 21 Executive Order 13489. Obama’s order revoked a prior order relating to the privacy of presidential records. The new order describes rules defining executive privilege, control of records in the National Archives, and the release of records under FOIA. The changes will make it more difficult to obtain access to records of the self-described “most transparent administration in history.” (As an example, Obama refused to release White House visitor logs. In his view, the American public is not entitled to know who meets with him in the Oval Office.)

The public interest law firm Judicial Watch filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to obtain documents disclosing campaign contributions from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Release of the documents may shed light on whether political favors were expected or received from politicians who received substantial contributions. Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT), Obama, and Senator John Kerry (D-MA) are believed to be the top three recipients of campaign cash from the two government sponsored entities, Judicial Watch is still waiting for the documents.

The Competitive Enterprise Institute was successful in using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to obtain federal documents pertaining to the proposed “cap-and-trade” global warming legislation. However, several documents obtained through FOIA were heavily censored, and one read, “It will raise energy prices and impose annual costs on the order of…”—with the rest of the sentence blacked out. The Obama administration wants the legislation passed, but does not want Americans to know what it will cost them. Further, Obama kept the cost estimates hidden from House Democrats, allowing them to approve the bill despite the harm he knew it would do to the economy.

Late on October 30, the Obama administration finally released a list of some of the visitors to the White House covering the period January 20 through July 31. The White House tried for months to avoid making any names public, vigorously fighting Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests—and after finally relenting brags about Obama’s openness and transparency. But the list only provides a name if someone asked whether that name is on the list. (If Charles Manson visited the White House but no one asked specifically whether Charles Manson visited, his name will not be included on any released list.)

Freedom Watch filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit in district court demanding that the White House release documentation of Obama administration meetings with health care lobbyists. According to TheHill.com, the lawsuit “…refers to reports of meetings between