Obama's Demagoguery in Selma

by Stephen Lendman

This weekend marked the 50th anniversary of Selma, AL's "bloody Sunday." The 1965 Voting Rights Act followed violent civil rights clashes.

Obama had the audacity to lead Saturday’s commemorative Edmund Pettus bridge march along with others very much deserving to be there.

Throughout his tenure, he's done more to harm blacks and other disadvantaged Americans than perhaps any post-Civil War president.

Black poverty, unemployment, underemployment, homelessness, hunger and deprivation are greater than any time in memory - worse  than during Great Depression years.

Black youth unemployment tops 50%. In Obama's home city of Chicago, an Urban League report revealed a shocking 92% unemployment rate among black male teenagers.

Only one in 13 aged 16 - 19 hold jobs - even rotten part-time/poverty wage/no benefit ones. The same report indicated 83% of black male teens in the same age category nationwide can't find work.

In 2013, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the percent of college graduates working sub-poverty minimum-wage jobs in 2012 was 71% higher than in 2002 - more than double the 2006 figure.

It's easy understanding unprecedented violence in impoverished black neighborhoods. It's much the same throughout most of America.

Capital's divine right alone matters. Obama's fealty to monied interests created unprecedented wealth disparity. Protracted Main Street Depression conditions persist.

So-called recovery is fake. Human suffering is real. Pathetically little is done to help.

Neoliberal harshness is official policy. Force-fed austerity reflects it. Social injustice is rife. Vital benefits are disappearing when most needed.

Blacks, Latinos, and other people of color suffer most. Inequality is institutionalized. It's unprecedented in modern times.

Poverty is a growth industry. Corporate America and privileged elites never had it better.

America's middle class is eroding en route to disappearing altogether. Dystopian conditions affect most others. Most children live in low income or impoverished households.

Over three-fourths of Americans live from paycheck to paycheck. They're one lost one away from hunger, homelessness and inability to cover other basic needs.

Obama thirdworldized America. Conditions match 19th harshness. Socially destructive government policies bear full responsibility.

Wealth and privilege alone matter. Ordinary households are sacrificed. Popular needs go begging. Conditions for blacks and other people of color are worst of all.

Racial injustice is worse than during the 1960s. White supremacist policies terrorize America's most unwanted. Killer cops operate freely -shooting black youths for sport.

Fundamental human and civil rights are disappearing in plain sight. Blacks and other people of color are harmed most of all.

Obama doesn't give a damn about his own people. He spurned them from day one in office. He broke every major promise made.

He consistently says one thing and does another. His leadership gives rogue governance new meaning.

In 2014, the Young America's Foundation Youth Misery Index (YMI) hit a record high 106.5. It's calculated by combining youth unemployment, student loan indebtedness and national debt.

Young Americans are suffering more than any previous time in memory. Obama inherited a weak economy and wrecked it.

On Saturday, he spoke at Selma's Edmund Pettus bridge. His remarks were like all his other addresses - beginning-to-end hypocrisy and Big Lies.

He's done more to increase racism than alleviate it. His comments belied his betrayal of black America.

While speaking, his wars against humanity rage. He's killed millions during six years in office - mostly people of color in far-off places. Hundreds more die daily.

New wars wait to be launched. Possible nuclear war with Russia looms. US streets are battlegrounds.

Obama's America is unfit to live in. Marching in Selma changes nothing. It's subterfuge for leadership beholden solely to wealth, power and privilege.

It hides bullying other nations to obey Washington rules or else. It ignores immiserating countless millions at home and abroad.

It conceals America run by neocon lunatics, crooks, miscreants, thugs and war criminals. It papers over their war against peace, equity and justice.

It shows America is beautiful for its privileged elites alone. Believing otherwise is pure fantasy. US policies cause more harm to more people than any previous regime in world history.

Fundamental rights don't matter. Rule of law principles are systematically spurned. Big Brother watches everyone.

Obama's kill list decides who lives or dies. Thousands of political prisoners languish in America's gulag. It operates worldwide.

It's the world's largest by far - the shame of the nation and then some. Largely filled with blacks and other people of color - many for minor offenses or from trials rigged to convict.

Obama's America reflects business as usual on steroids like never before. He wants dystopian harshness spread everywhere.

His agenda wasn't explained in Selma. It was hidden from view. His disingenuous comments belied what he stands for - what blacks and others everywhere should reject.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

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