In this video you can see President Bush joking at the White House Correspondents Dinner looking for WMDs in the Oval Office. This one particular dinner was held in March of 2004 and today with over 3,700 American casualties as well as one million Iraqi casualties, there is nothing to laugh at.
It has now been reported by the Washington Post that he is asking congress for an additional $50 billion to fund the war in Iraq. As reported by the Washington Post, “The request -- which would come on top of about $460 billion in the fiscal 2008 defense budget and $147 billion in a pending supplemental bill to fund the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.”
What I find maddening is, “Congress will be unlikely to balk so soon after hearing the two officials argue that there are promising developments in Iraq” I just do not see the destruction of a sovereign country as holding any promise. I do not see the loss of life in this occupation as being promising.
What was promised to Youssif is that he faces many surgeries as we turned his country upside down.
In this feed you can actually see how much this war or rather occupation is costing the American taxpayer. Below the counter is how this money could be used in your communities to fund education, housing, and children’s health. All of these are a part of our domestic agenda which has fallen by the wayside throughout this administration.
We only have to look at that bridge that recently collapsed into the Mississippi River to fully understand the devastation to our infrastructure. We only have to remember that Northeast blackout in 2003 to remind all of us that our electrical grid needs repair.
As Bush addressed the American Legion convention the other day urging patience, he stated, “It will take time for the recent progress we have seen in security to translate into political progress. Leaders in Washington need to look for ways to help our Iraqi allies succeed, not for excuses to abandon them." How much time is he speaking of? He recently made some comparisons between this war to the Viet Nam War and as all of us know, we were in Viet Nam for eleven years. We have been in Iraq for four years now; does he see us being there for seven more?
Another point is that Iraqis did not want us there in the first place, so the idea of abandonment does not make any sense. In fact a large percentage of Iraqis want us out. Note to congress, if you will not listen to the American people at least listen to the Iraqi people.
At times I wish a video could be made as this administration requests more funding for this war for congress to look under their seats for additional funding. They may even dig into the corners of their seats for coins in order to fund it. While that may be somewhat humorous, American taxpayers are literally doing that. They are seeing their hard-earned tax money going off to fund a war instead of helping them here at home.
Those hardest hit by Katrina are still waiting for this government to help them. As reported by AlterNet.org, “The federal government has promised more than $116 billion in recovery aid, but residents of the still-devastated Gulf Coast wonder whether the check bounced.” I would say that the citizens of this devastated area have not seen any promise and their patience has all but run out. I know so since writing two columns from those hardest hit. Contained within my columns are letters from Katrina survivors. I wrote one column this past June with another following soon afterwards.
We have all witnessed the Midwest devastated by floods recently and they too will need financial help coming from Washington, D.C. since many of their insurance policies do not cover flood insurance. Will they also find themselves stranded like Katrina victims? I hate being a doubting Thomas, but my gut feels yes.
I also see the promise for many Americans fading especially as one reads that the number of those without health insurance rising. As reported by HealthDay, “David S. Johnson, chief of the bureau's Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division, said "The number of people without health insurance coverage increased from 44.8 million in 2005 to 47 million in 2006," Yes, Congress, keep looking under those cushions to fund Bush’s war as millions Americans go without health insurance. Johnson also added, "This is the second consecutive year of increase,"
The issue of foreclosures is also worth making note of since it will have a negative impact on our economy. The other night, Lou Dobbs stated, “as we watch home mortgage foreclosures skyrocket -- we're looking at the prospect of somewhere between two and two-and-a-half million foreclosures this year, record personal bankruptcies. I mean I don't know where we go from here.”
Robert Zimmerman responded, “Well, I think one of the saddest moments of the Bush White House or the Bush administration was watching President Bush blame those homeowners who didn't read the fine print. The White House should have been -- and the president should have been responding to those predatory lenders who took advantage of individuals. And his administration should be calling them to task.”
Maybe congress can look under the cushions to help those who were targeted by these predatory lending institutions instead of funding a war. Here is a neat idea, let congress foreclose on this war. Let congress say to Bush since the American people are being bled dry. As the body count continues to rise, no fine print is needed only visual proof to see that this war should be foreclosed on. It is time for congress to stop lending our tax money to President Bush. Then again, lending may be the wrong word since we will never see that money again. It is being gobbled up in front of our eyes and this congress time and time again refuses to turn off the spigot.
Author’s email address is, xmjmac@optonline.net
