By Anthony Wade
OpEdNews.com
President George W. Bush has made it clear coming out of the Democratic National Convention. His message is "results matter", and is now fond of pointing out that John Kerry does not have any "signature achievements."
When one looks at Bush's record, we can see why he chose this tact; after all he has so many signature achievements to pick from. In fact he has so many it is difficult to tell which one he may be most proud of.
Possibly it is his "War on Terror". In this signature achievement we see the following "results":
- Spent over 166 billion dollars to blow up two third world countries that posed no threat to us.
- Has presided over the deaths of close to 1000 US soldiers, and over 12,000 innocent Iraqi civilians.
- Has not attended one US soldier's funeral.
- Won't allow the returning dead from Iraq be seen by the public.
- He has crafted policy that allows us to torture prisoners, regardless of their innocence, violating international law.
- This torture has now been reported to have occurred to children, sexually, in front of their parents. This was used as a means to "break" them.
- Has not caught Osama bin Hidin.
- Has allowed the Taliban and warlord tribes take over Afghanistan again.
- Has turned Osama bin Laden from public enemy number one, to being marginalized and not thought of much.
- Encourages Americans to fly in the face of fear, but plans on canceling the elections.
- Created the terror color code chart which gives us a vibrant way of being perpetually scared, without anything of substance behind the fear. Conveniently, the chart comes in handy whenever trailing on the polls.
- Has permanently adopted Halliburton as a dependent.
- Has seen an increase in terrorist activity since taking office.
Hmm, that doesn't seem very positive. It can't be this area; maybe it is in his domestic agenda. No not in Iraq, here in the US. Let's try the environment:
- Created the Clear Skies Initiative, which would completely overhaul the Clean Air Act, to reduce requirements of businesses that contribute to pollution. The data has been summarized as follows: "under Clear Skies sulfur dioxide pollution could increase 34 percent, mercury pollution could rise by up to 88 percent, and nitrogen oxides pollution could double".
- Passed the Healthy Forests Initiative (No Tree Left Behind), which is a devious handout to the logging industry, which contributed over $14 million to political campaigns since 1999, with over 80 percent going to Republican lawmakers; President Bush has received more than $500,000. Healthy Forests is disguised as a fire prevention bill, which, you guessed it, solves the problem of forest fires by removing those pesky trees.
- Suspended the new arsenic-in-tap-water standard and right-to-know requirements, which compel water utilities to divulge their arsenic levels to their consumers. Interesting, remove the health restrictions, AND remove their accountability.
- 2005 budget slashes federal funding to prevent lead poisoning by $35 million, leaving some 40,000 homes contaminated with lead next year.
- Mountaintop Mining Self-Reporting Program will actually allow polluting companies that deposit mountaintops into streams which pollute public waters, to simply self identify and avoid any prosecution from the federal government.
- Proposed to loosen regulations to let the nuclear industry dump low-level radioactive waste, which now must be stored in closely monitored facilities, in regular landfills and hazardous waste sites that weren't designed to handle these dangerous substances. The rule change, which could open landfills to such deadly radioactive materials as cesium, strontium, cobalt and plutonium, would substantially reduce the nuclear industry's waste-disposal costs.
Yikes, that just doesn't sound right. Sounds like the only environmental thing about Bush, is his name. Well, I am sure when we look at the economy we will see those signature achievements. After all according to George, we have just turned a corner and are not looking back, right?
- The first net loss of jobs since Herbert Hoover. Yes, that Herbert Hoover from the Great Depression. - Has lost 1.8 million private sector jobs.
- Handed out tax breaks targeting the richest 1% of this country, who he affectionately refers to as his base.
- This tax break has not "stimulated" the economy, it has crippled it and accounts currently for 290 billion dollars of the deficit.
- Bush has created the second highest lay-off rate in history at 8.7 percent, only topped by Reagan in the early 1980's.
- On the average, those who are lucky enough to find work again are earning an average of $9,160 (21%) less, without medical insurance.
- 3.7 million American families have lost their medical insurance under Bush.
- A record 82 million American families have gone without medical insurance.
- For those who are still lucky enough to have coverage, family medical insurance premiums have increased over $2,600 under Bush.
- A new record budget deficit of over 400 billion dollars, which is 800 billion dollars worse, than when he took office.
- Home foreclosures hit a record high in 2003.
- Personal bankruptcies hit all time high in 2002.
I don't know what corner Mr. Bush has turned, but it appears he has left the rest of us behind in this little place we like to call reality. Luckily for him, we still have other areas to examine because those signature achievements should be around here somewhere, kinda like those WMD, right? We must be a safer country, where our civil liberties are protected and we don't live in a police state. That would be a great signature achievement. Let's take a look at life in George W. Bush's America:
- George W. Bush has essentially eliminated the provision of habeas corpus by granting himself unlimited power to declare any citizen an "enemy combatant". This results in permanent detention, at Bush's whim, no counsel, no offer or proof ever has to be made, and Bush may move the case to any district he wishes. - Email and library records are now allowed to be monitored and searched, without probable cause or warrant.
- Brandon Mayfield of Oregon is wrongly arrested for connection to Madrid bombing; his house is searched by FBI without his knowledge.
- Steven Kurtz of Buffalo is currently being persecuted, after his wife died, and is being brought up on bio-terrorism charges, for his artwork.
- A Wyoming woman is dragged off her cruise ship in cuffs and leg shackles for an incorrect warrant, involving a $50 "improper food storage" summons, which she had already paid, months prior.
- A Texas married couple at a Bush rally in West Virginia were arrested and led away in cuffs. Their offense? Wearing anti-Bush tee shirts. People wearing pro-Bush shirts were not accosted. The woman, who worked for FEMA, lost her job immediately. The ACLU is trying to help the couple fight the case in court.
- A St. Petersburg couple was pepper sprayed by police for receiving a cell phone call in a theater. Witnesses say the couple did nothing wrong and were cooperating at the time of the assault by police.
- A Homeland Security inspector of the United States was charged with violating a Chinese tourist's civil rights following an altercation that left the innocent woman's eyes nearly swollen shut and bumps and bruises on her face and head. This occurred at Niagara Falls, where the woman was mistaken for being involved with a marijuana buy. Apparently this officer beat the hell out of the wrong person.
- A government scientist finishing a candy bar on her way into a subway station where eating is banned was arrested, handcuffed and detained for three hours by transit police in Washington DC. Yes, that's right, illegal use of a Kit Kat is now punishable with handcuffs and arrest. The worst part is the Transit Police Chief actually defended the actions.
- A US couple were removed from a New York-bound flight at Miami Airport because crewmembers considered a T-shirt one of them was wearing obscene. The offending tee shirt had a picture of an exposed breast. Mind you, no passengers complained, the flight staff demanded they remove the shirt, when the couple correctly asserted their free speech rights, they were booted off the plane.
- At the presidential conventions, protesters are to be cordoned off in cages with razor wire. These are referred to as "free speech zones".
- Just last week John Ashcroft ordered five previously public documents to be removed from all libraries, without any rationale given other than the Department determined they were not "appropriate for external use".
Damn, doesn't seem like Bush would want to trumpet those results. If anything, it sounds like we are more in a police state. Last time I checked, America was supposed to be a "free speech zone". I think I know what Bush's signature achievement is. It must be the integrity with which he campaigns.
- Just last week, Team Bush tried to ascertain the race of a woman scheduled to photograph Dick Cheney. This is most probably due to the fact that her name was middle-eastern in sound. - Two weeks ago, a Bush campaign worker suggested that American workers unhappy with low-quality jobs should find new ones -- or pop a Prozac to make themselves feel better. Apparently, she is unaware that without medical insurance, Prozac costs a lot of money.
- The GOP sent out flyers to Florida republican voters telling them to make sure their vote counts, use absentee ballots! This after fighting any sane attempts to have a paper trail with the new computer voting machines, provided by big-time Republican donors.
- Also last week, in order to attend a Cheney rally, you had to sign an endorsement of Bush. You follow that? You are not allowed to even ATTEND a public event that Dick Cheney is at, unless you sign an official document swearing loyalty to GW Bush. Gee, it smells like Stalin in here.
- A group helping new citizens register vote, supplied the people with voter registration cards that already had Republican selected as their party.
Hmm, this doesn't sound too good to me. Demanding affiliation, falsifying voter registration cards, and callous "let them eat Prozac" mentality are not what I want to vote for. I would have looked at education, but Bush actually has no record there to examine. You see, he ran on No Child Left Behind, but then forgot to fund it.
I do however; wish to state that I finally have found some agreement with President Bush. Results do matter. Maybe he should have checked first if he actually had any. This is the record of George W. Bush. This is what he is going to run on, well this and fear. Hold onto this checklist and refer back to it when he is speaking over the next few months. You will hear all sorts of clever catch phrases, and snazzy slogans.
"We have turned a corner and are not looking back."
"My opponent has no signature achievements"
"Results matter."
All they are is words. Empty words from a shallow man who has done nothing for the first 3.5 years of his term and now expects you to reward him for it. This isn't Yale and his daddy can't help him. You want proof these are hollow words, try these on:
"I am a uniter, not a divider."
"Real plans for real people."
"Reformer with results."
"Leave no child left behind."
"Compassionate conservatism."
Has George W. Bush fulfilled any of these slogans, which he sold you on in 2000? His has been the most divisive administration in history, with people from his own camp constantly defecting. He has had no real plans, other than wars based on lies and how to avoid the Geneva Conventions. After nearly four years, he has reformed nothing, and has no results other than what is listed in this article. Children have been not only left behind, but also forgotten about and in other countries, tortured. Now he wants to say he is an education President? Where was he the first three and a half years? Finally, there is not only nothing compassionate about George W. Bush, there is actually nothing conservative either.
No, I am sorry George, these are your signature achievements and they say you do not deserve another term. The right will say that I am not "optimistic" or that I am part of the "blame America first" crowd. Don't you believe them. I am fully optimistic that if we get rid of this war-profiteering, ruin education, cripple the environment, trash the bill of rights, oil for blood president, that yes we can be a great nation once again.
I don't blame America. America voted for Gore.
Anthony Wade is co-administrator of a website devoted to educating the populace to the ongoing lies of President George W. Bush and seeking his removal from office. He is a 36-year-old independent writer from New York with political commentary articles seen on multiple websites. A Christian progressive, and professional counselor, Mr. Wade believes that you can have faith and hold elected officials accountable for lies and excess.
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Email Anthony: takebacktheus@gmail.com
