I just finished reading Bill Baum’s Aug. 18 opinion piece (“GOP: Lots of obstructionism and disrespect”) for the third time. I’ve been trying to figure out if I am one of the “uneducated” persons who he thinks know nothing about the facts. I will try to get all the way through this without doing the name calling and hurling of insults, but, I must admit it will not be easy.

To be as clear as I can, Mr. Baum, I do not hate Barack Obama. I don’t even know the guy. I most certainly do not approve of his policies. I do not support the social issues that Obama supports. Abortion, gay marriage, social engineering and most certainly not his immigration (or lack of) policies. I disapprove of the Affordable Care Act and the partisan way it was put together. Fact is, I can honestly tell you that there is no Obama political policy domestic or otherwise that I do support.

I do support the PATRIOT Act (the Bush edition), but do not support the NSA’s lying to the FISA court to obtain the required warrants.  

U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton, the chief judge of the FISA court, admitted that the court’s rulings are based only on information provided by the government. Consequently, judges entrusted with determining what the NSA may and may not do are forced to rely on the NSA to prove the government has not and will not overstep its legal bounds. Well how is that working out?

“The [FISA court] is forced to rely upon the accuracy of the information that is provided to the Court,” Walton wrote to The Washington Post. “The [FISA court] does not have the capacity to investigate issues of noncompliance, and in that respect the [FISA court] is in the same position as any other court when it comes to enforcing [government] compliance with its orders.” So, this means that if the government decides that they don’t want to tell the court the truth then no one will ever know. Or, no one is supposed to know.

Where is the oversight, Mr. Baum? How can there be any oversight if this government just lies to everyone? I guess I must just be prejudiced. Do you “nice guys” approve of this action?

Are you asking me to be supportive and respectful of a president that deserted American diplomats in Benghazi when those diplomats needed their country’s assistance? Diplomats that were murdered while our government was sleeping?

Respectful of a president who claims executive privilege during a congressional investigation into an illegal gun running operation called “Fast and Furious”? Respectful of a president who rebuffs IRS and Justice Department congressional oversight hearings and refers to them as “drummed up scandals”? Do you “nice guys” approve of this action? I don’t. And a majority of the American people doesn’t either.

One last thing; please, please stop with the “George Bush did it” theme. It has been five years. Obama is going to have to take some responsibility sometime, isn’t he?

It is perfectly clear to me that Obama is doing an extremely poor job not only as the leader of our country, but also the supposed leader of the free world. This is the most arrogant, untruthful person that has been in the White House since Richard Nixon, and I am ashamed of his performance.

Browne is a resident of Lakeside.