CHARLOTTE, February 26, 2014 – Sometimes you just get the feeling that Barack Obama wakes up in the morning and says to himself, “How can I screw with the American people today?”

Lately it seems as though the president sees his administration getting shorter by the day, so he is making decisions at warp speed to initiate as many of his pet philosophies as quickly as possible. Forget about the freeloaders and hangers-on who will support Obama regardless of what he does. Ignore the politicians who are obliged to follow party lines even if they might disagree with them. That is just politics as usual. But what about the rest of the country?

Certainly the media isn’t going to say anything about the current state of affairs. In fact, the administration is throwing so much “stuff” at the wall these days, even Barack Obama’s loyalist press cannot keep up with him. One thing is sure, when Obama leaves office, he has a surefire career ahead of him with Cirque du Soleil as a master juggler.

“I’ve got a pen and I’ve got a phone,” said the president and that may be the only promise he has kept during his five years in office. As if the non-scandal scandals that permeate the “most transparent” presidency in history, along with the healthcare fiasco, weren’t enough, the president has decided that reducing the military and telling state attorneys general they can ignore the law have now been added to controversy mix.

You really have to wonder whether this is an effort to get the ACA out of the national conversation or if it is an accelerated tactic to enact more of Obama’s misguided values before the leaves office. Perhaps it’s a combination of both.

Barack Obama’s expertise at creating controversy, whether by accident or design, makes the Clintons look like amateurs.

For eight years the American people were treated to images of George W. Bush as being a cowboy, but in his wildest imagination, Bush was never as lawless at Barack Obama. Some conspiracy theorists have speculated in recent years that when the time comes for Obama to be evicted from the White House that his contempt and disrespect for the Constitution may lead to a loophole that keeps him in power.

Even Obama’s most avid critics thought such an idea to be absurd beyond measure, but given some of the president’s recent maneuvers, it may not be as far-fetched as it seems. What authority exists that could stop him? Attorney General, Erik Holder? Not much of a roadblock.

Not only is Barack Obama never at fault, he is never wrong. It is a dangerous combination. One person out of more than 300 million citizens holds the most powerful position in the world and believes he is ordained to use that power to the nth degree because he believes he is also the smartest human being on the planet.

Never in American history has there been a president who has been so disengaged with issues of national interest, unless they are concerns that he personally deems important. Only then does Barack Obama act with decisiveness and expediency. All politicians are first and foremost self-severing, but none have ever reached the overbearing narcissism Barack Obama wields over the people who elected him. He is a man obsessed with his own authority.

The sad thing is that, as the first black president, Obama could have been a source for positive change unrivaled in American history. Instead, he squandered that opportunity, and, in the process, he has made a mockery of the presidency. Not because he is so important, but because he is so incredibly small. Not only has Barack Obama altered perceptions of statesmanship and diplomacy to their lowest levels in memory, he has also diminished American credibility and respect throughout the world.

To some that might seem like a failed presidency. It certainly represents five years of largely wasted time and money. To Barack Obama, however, this is a mark of success because he gives no indication of having any allegiance to a strong America regardless of how much that strength might represent a force for what is good in the world.

Night will soon be upon us. And Barack Obama will once again be in sweet repose, dreaming up new ideas to distract the media and the American people from the real issues of the day.

Bob Taylor has been traveling the world for more than 30 years as a writer and award winning television producer focusing on international events, people and cultures around the globe. Taylor is founder of The Magellan Travel Club(www.MagellanTravelClub.com).

Read more of What in the World and Bob Taylor at Communities Digital News

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http://www.commdiginews.com/politics-2/distraction-is-a-hallmark-of-the-obama-presidency-10665/

Earlier this week we noted that an invasion of the Ukraine by Vladimir Putin would likely lead to a complete destruction of U.S. stock markets. It’s not so much the invasion force itself, but rather, the economic maneuvers that would come with it should Russia take this course of action.

Well known economist and founder of the Shadow Stats web site John Williams seems to agree. If Russia were to begin unloading US Dollars it would almost instantly lead to a collapse of not only our financial markets, but our entire way of life. And while Russia alone may not have the economic power to single-handedly crush the U.S. economy, if theirtrading partners and allies like China got into the mix, coupled with front-running investors who may suspect the move is about to happen, it could well be a blood bath on a global scale.

This wouldn’t even be an issue if the U.S. economy were operating at healthy levels, but as Williams notes in the following interview with Greg Hunter’s USA Watchdog, it’s anything but:

(Video via Alt Market)

It does have the effect of creating a hyperinflation, which I think it would. It’s the type of circumstance that will not allow life to continue as we know it because the U.S. is not able to handle hyperinflation.

We’re not structured for it. Zimbabwe had one of the worst hyperinflations that anyone has ever seen. They were still able to function for a while because they get paid in a rapidly depreciating currency.

It was so rapid it became like toilet paper overnight… they would go to a black market and exchange it for dollars. We (the U.S.) don’t have a black market to escape from our dollars. Gold is probably the closest thing to that. Gold will tend to rally here as the dollar sells off, barring very heavy intervention by the central banks which you may see.

The fundamentals will eventually dominate, and you will see a very weak dollar and very strong gold coming out of this.

As it stands now, even without Russia and China, our economic system is, once again, on the cusp of a serious deleveraging. John Williams highlights that January retail sales, a leading indicator of economic health, gave the strongest signal since September 2007 that a recession is looming, if not already here.

One huge indicator of this is that Staples, a leading supplier of office supplies nationwide, is shutting the doors on 225 stores. And, they aren’t the only ones getting hammered by a pullback in consumer spending. The world’s largest retailer, Walmart, saw sales drop over 20% year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2013.

And as trend forecaster Gerald Celente once noted, “as goes Walmart, so goes America.”

So, in reality, Russia can probably sit back and watch the U.S. economy slip into a coma over the next couple of years. Of course, if their intention is to return their nation to super power status, an attack on the US economy by dumping the dollar would speed up the process and amplify the fall-out, causing a multi-generational depression.

Last year Barack Obama faced off with Russia over Syria, a situation that could easily have led to a much wider conflict.

Now, the same players have taken the game to Ukraine.

In both instances we’ve heard warnings of a potential collapse of our economic system in the event of an escalation.

The point is that it really doesn’t matter if it’s Syria, Ukraine, Iran or some other periphery conflict.

It should be clear that eventually this is exactly how it’s going to play out with respect to the US dollar.

China and Russia will make their move when they are good and ready.

When that day comes the implosion will be so fast that most Americans won’t even realize what has happened or know how to cope.

Mac Slavo is the Editor of SHTFplan.com

http://www.dcclothesline.com/2014/03/08/economist-warns-collapse-risk-will-allow-life-continue-know/