Government Informers, on the next Episode of the Obama-pranos

I thought informants or street-snitches were only good for dirty cops and Batman. But as it turns out, the government thinks they'd be useful, too.

Now, were this a communist country, or a third-world pisspot, I'd probably expect this. I'd be watching my tongue every time I spoke because I'd never be totally sure that government stool pigeons weren't around the corner. But this is America.

In times past, America has elected some leaders it regretted giving any power to, or at the very least thought were handling things wrong. They were free to speak out. This was AMERICA, where the government served at the will of the people, rather than tried to force its will upon the people. Be it Roosevelt, Truman, Johnson, Kennedy, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush Sr., Clinton or Bush Jr. (some might say especially him), all those presidents had their naysayers. They all had to put up with some things they said or did being unpopular with the people.

But President Obama apparently holds himself to a higher standard.

You see, since taking office, Obama has done almost none of the things he said he would do that caused people to vote for him. Despite his claim of having the troops home by March of this year, they're still out there, and no closer to home, despite it being almost September. The Patriot Act, which the left villified Bush for, is still in effect, and Obama hasn't even talked about rescinding it. Gay people still can't get married, but I had to laugh at all the gay people who voted for Obama on the hopes that he would legalize gay marriage, because that, at least, is one promise Obama never made.

But that's just what Obama has not done. Now what about what he has?

Well, he rushed through a bill that raised the level of government spending to unprecedented levels, trying to claim that it was to stimulate the economy. Not only hasn't it, but many who were promised stimulus money haven't gotten it, even though ACORN and other special-interest groups already firmly in Obama's pocket have gotten theirs. He managed to slip this bill through Congress without even giving anyone the time to read it, claiming that it was time sensitive and needed to be done now! And then he took his sweet time signing it himself.

Then he appointed numerous cabinet members, each of whom turned out to be a tax cheat.

Then he tried the same rush job through Congress on a cap-and-tax energy plan that would cause the cost of energy to skyrocket. Americans, even those who voted for Obama, stood up and took notice. Some of them may have thought the stimulus bill was an abberation. Turns out that it's BO's modus operandi.

Now he's trying to rush through a "public option" healthcare bill, which is supposed to bring costs down and make healthcare available for everyone. Folks, I've lived under a system like the one Obama's proposing. It's not cheap, it doesn't make healthcare available for everyone, and it doesn't even cover most stuff you'd really need.

This article expresses perfectly what's wrong with Obamacare, as the right-wing media has dubbed it. These reasons are the reasons most Americans do not want this bill. You heard me: most Americans. That Obama has to stoop to name-calling and derision to try and claim that all these dissenters to the bill are being paid by insurance companies or that it's all just a race issue is deplorable.

But now he's gone too far. He has removed free speech from the people. I'm frankly shocked that there hasn't been a march on Washington about this. Perhaps there will be.

For those of you who haven't heard about this, the White House is afraid of anyone talking about Obamacare in anything less than glowing tones. One would think that if their claim of "misinformation" being spread were true, that they would encourage public debate, that they would show up at Town Hall meetings and assuage fears. That they would invite people to read the bill, or read the relevant sections of it themselves in an attempt to show private citizens what the plan really entails.

But instead, they've offered vague, happy-sounding answers that don't really say anything. They tell you that they have all the facts, and you don't need to read the bill to know that. They tell you that the president himself has not read the bill, but it doesn't matter because you should just trust that he knows what's in it. And then they tell you this:

There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.

Wow. Just...wow.

Now, here's the thing. Whether you trust Obama or not, whether you think the American people need to lighten up or not, this should scare the daylights out of you. The White House, the home and office of the President of the United States, is asking private citizens to inform upon each other.

The thing is, this cannot merely be a way to fight the spread of misinformation. This is hardly the first time a sitting President has had to fight misinformation. The response is usually something like "If you have any questions or anything you are not sure of, please contact your congressperson."

But that's the problem. The congresspersons are more or less in hiding from their constituents, and when they show their faces, they refuse to take questions, talk on their cell phones while questions are being asked, tell dissenters that if they don't pipe down they'll be escorted out, etc.

So, while the government tries to pretend we don't exist, they're trying to get us in on the act. We are now to "flag" anyone we see spreading "misinformation", which can loosely be defined as "Information that the White House has not given you, not that the White House has been a fount of information on this topic, or is ever likely to become such."

This is suppression of our right to free speech, any way you want to look at it. For Obama, or anyone in his cabinet, to encourage us to report private conversations or emails is the height of despotic dictatorship. What's next? Re-education camps for those that refuse to be silenced? Public trials and executions so that "examples" can be made of those who dare to question the Golden One?

I hope the American people make their voices heard loud and clear on this. So far, the opinion polls are plummeting, but it's not enough. Obama is trying to convince you that the movement against his plan does not exist. If you are against it, and you're not on some insurance company's payroll, then you have been duped, and had better cross over to his side immediately.

Don't buy it. It's time for America to show Obama that we're not frightened of him, and if he wants to play mafia boss and have us report on one another, then we will stand up proudly and say "I'm a dissenter, and you work for us, not the other way around."

This is not the kind of hope and change America voted for. Let's wake up before Obama has altered all the rules and truly has turned into a dictator.