Last year at this time there was a real feeling of hope in America. For the first time in twelve years, American voters gave control of Congress to the Democratic party; along with a clear mandate to end the war in Iraq, bring our troops home, and stop the Bush administration’s all-out assault on our Constitutional protections.
Now, a year later, instead of ending the war and bringing our troops home, we have even more troops occupying Iraq, and 2007 was the deadliest year for American forces since the war started. Nearly 4000 U.S. military lives have now been sacrificed and $600 billion dollars squandered in Mr. Bush’s unnecessary wars; and what do Americans have to show for it?--$3+/gallon gasoline and $100/barrel oil.
Personal privacy is now only a memory in America, because each time the Bush Administration is caught illegally spying on Americans; their crimes are retroactively legalized by our so-called representatives in Congress.
The Democratic leaders in the House and Senate began 2007 by taking impeachment “off the table” and ended it by caving in and funding Mr. Bush’s War on Iraq (again) with no strings attached--after promising in the Spring that they would not pass another war funding bill that didn’t contain a timetable for troop withdrawals.
Senate Democrats whine that they don’t have enough votes to end the war, but the fact is that they control the legislative agenda and could have stopped any further appropriations for Mr. Bush’s wars at any time. Instead, the Democratic leadership seems to have made the political decision to let Mr. Bush’s unpopular war continue, believing it will somehow help Democrats in the 2008 election. In the meantime, a few hundred more U.S. troops will be killed and another $200 billion will go down the drain; but hey, sometimes sacrifices have to be made for the greater good (like getting re-elected). No wonder Americans have such a low opinion of Congress.
Americans can not afford to wait another year. Bush has said, “…my spirits are high, my energy level is good and I'm sprinting to the finish line.” (11/1/07) You can be sure that Bush, Cheney and their corporate cronies have an ambitious agenda to push through during the next year--with much of it being accomplished by Royal decree, without benefit of congressional advice, consent, approval or oversight. By the time this gang of thieves leaves office; America’s wallet will be empty, its cupboard bare, its credit cards maxed out, and somebody better count the White House silverware.
Even after Bush is gone, our national nightmare will not be over. It will take years to undo the damage that has been done. We need more people, who will stand and fight the big-money corporations that have been making their own rules and riding the gravy train for the past seven years--with American taxpayers picking up the tab.
In June 2007, a CBS News poll found that 75 percent of Americans believed that America was headed in the wrong direction. You would think when three out of four Americans say we are going the wrong way, we would change course; but no, we just keep going--full speed ahead in the wrong direction, because George W. Bush has assumed the powers of a virtual king, and Congress has failed to do anything to stop him.
If you want to know how America came to this sorry state, I can tell you. Too many Americans (like me) have ignored the workings of government for too long, expecting government to run the country and control itself. …It doesn’t work that way.
· “Unless the mass [of people] retains sufficient control over those intrusted [sic] with the powers of their government, these will be perverted to their own oppression.”--Thomas Jefferson, 1812
· “The strength of the Constitution lies entirely in the determination of each citizen to defend it. Only if every single citizen feels duty bound to do his share in this defense are the constitutional rights secure.”--Albert Einstein
This past fall, I attended a GreenFestival conference in Washington, DC and listened to several nationally-known speakers talking about America’s problems and what can be done about them. Every speaker I heard offered the same solution: It is up to us--We The People of the United States. It is our country and our government. If we want anything to change, we will have to change it.
· “This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or their revolutionary right to dismember it or overthrow it.”--Abraham Lincoln, 1861
So, why not make a belated New Year’s resolution to become a more active participant in your government? You won’t be alone. George W. Bush’s “election” and presidency has made millions of Americans aware of how dysfunctional our government has become, and how its defects have allowed the Bush Administration to do so much damage in such a short period of time.
Our government has become a giant monster, running amok; destroying everything that once made it the model of democracy to the world--and it is up to us to change it. To do this, we need another American Revolution.
· “The [American]Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people; a change in their religious sentiments, of their duties and obligations...This radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people was the real American Revolution.”--John Adams, 1818
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