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Down The Middle - Oct 3, 2004 - Printable Version
- "The Last Time I had Bush" and "Bush Secrets - Did You Know?"
by Down The Middle and To The Left
By: Down The Middle
Oct. 3, 2004
They think they're going to pull it off without a hitch. The religious right is primed for holy war, Bush gave the middle class a wee tax break, and most of the media is covering his campaign as if they're getting a bonus every time they "don't" ask the right question. Besides all that, who the hell would vote for Kerry, anyway?
The Administration has convinced themselves that the opposition is weak and much too fragmented to mount a serious offense. Kerry certainly hadn't excited the nation and they were confident Cheney's "business smarts" would be enough to neutralize Edwards‚ southern charm and finesse...but are they making the old mistake of "putting all their eggs in one basket?"
Their entire strategy has become, as Bush, himself, had said at a Republican meeting in 2002, "to ride this war on terror all the way through the election". He was the "warrior" president (I did see the flight suit!) and the nation was at war.
Unfortunately, there's always people on both sides who embrace whatever their party shovels at them, no matter what the evidence or how ridiculous the argument is. The trouble for Bush is, we're not all Manchurian candidates...at least, not yet and, as I've said before, the moderate center will decide a close election...and in the first debate, Kerry showed Bush what "nucular" attack is all about. Plus, there's two more attacks, I mean, debates, yet to come.
So, what's up with Bush? Is he getting stuck in the muck of Iraq? Are the people in the "contested" states beginning to realize, their jobs are NOT coming back? Is it the sluggish economy or could it be allthat Halliburton stuff? Maybe, it was the stem cell thing or how 'bout Cheney using the "F" word in our hollowed halls of Congress. I'll bet it was that fat Michael Moore spreading his "propaganda", again.
Perhaps, it was all of these...but just maybe, there was even another element lying beneath the surface that we don't think about much, these days. That being, "how we play the game". Okay, I know. Just finish laughing and then, stop and think about it a moment. Our entire society is based on competition, from the sports arena to the board room. We are now, and have been for quite some time, teaching our children to "win at any cost" or suffer the fate of being a "loser". Do whatever it takes, just come out on top. The "winners" get the money and the cars. "The losers" get a lifetime of hard labor. That's the way it works. Right!
Not too many years ago, I stood and listened to a single mother boast of her son hurting a boy on the opposing team during a football game. She talked about it as if it was the greatest thing she'd ever seen, and had her son beaming with pride over the foul incident. These boys were only about twelve years old! I walked away, thinking how foolish...no, how stupid she was and fearing, what a little monster this kid would someday turn out to be. The other side of my thoughts were even scarier. What about the weaker kid who was injured on the field? Would he accept his role of being a "good loser" or next time, would he do "whatever it takes" to win. I couldn't help but think that one day, having learned their lesson well, both of these children might do "whatever it takes" to come out on top, either in a board room with a pen or in a 7/11 with a gun.
Although, it seems, every generation of the modern age produces less appreciable morality, there are still many good people in the world that truly admire honesty, integrity and some of those other like words that seem to be falling from our vocabulary.
President Bush has clearly demonstrated he will "do whatever it takes" and he will say "whatever it takes" to keep his power. I, for one, have never admired those who would twist the truth into a lie and I know there's still "good people" out there who feel the same way. Just maybe, this time, W. and the Party have stretched it out a little too thin. Has he finally insulted the "fair minded" moderates of the country?
No matter "what they say"...no matter "what they do"...the voters must remember "what they got", the last four years. They must remember how unprepared we were for 9/11. (Condie told you "No one could have ever imagined..." when apparently everyone, from the C.I.A. to Tom Clancy and at least two people on my block, already had.) They must remember how quick that little tax break was eaten up by inflation. (With the rosy outlook Bush has been painting and the Fed sneaking up the interest rates, you would never know that the Index of Leading Indicators had dropped significantly, the last three months in a row.) They must remember how bin Laden was allowed to escape from Tora Bora and then, we invaded a country which had not attacked us. (The country seemingly being guilty of just about everything, except what they had been accused of.) They must remember Bush's promises of freedom and democracy for Iraq. (U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan suggested the upcoming elections be postponed for lack of security. (Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld said, "Life's not perfect." If elections are not possible in some areas, "So be it! You have the rest of the election and go on."
The voters should also remember, those ain't flowers that are being thrown at our troops, over there...and the worst may be yet to come. They should remember how our rights are starting to slowly disappear. (I didn't even know we were on the Terrorist Watch List. I just hope they don't lock me up with Cat!) They should remember the all new, record high deficit Bush has given us. (He gave himself, not to mention, everyone in his family, a huge tax break.) They should also remember how a man who fought for this country was slandered because he didn't vote for the Patriot Act, citing the loss of our freedoms. (I'm sure Senator Max Cleland would have left more of his body in Viet Nam, if he hadn't needed that last limb to drag himself back to the "Land of the Free"!) They should remember how Kerry's heroics in battle were belittled while Mr. AWOL couldn't seem to make that physical. They should THINK about everything Bush "gave" us, during his first term in office {Mercury, it's what's for dinner} and they must THINK about what he has in store for us, if he's allowed a second term. (When he has NOTHING to lose!)
I think, each and everyone of you should take a moment and think back to the last time you had Bush. If you ain't smiling...it couldn't have been that great.
By: To The Left
Oct. 3, 2004
Well, the heat is rising and the time is close for Americans to make their choice in the presidential election. I've tried to stay as informed as possible on the moves of the Bush Administration from the very first moment they went into office. One of the first points of interest was that he broke the record of having the longest vacation (staying down in Texas rather than at the White House where he should have been) than any other president. At the time, I was in my last year of college.
First of all, I would like to give a little background about myself, and why I began my intense interest in the doings of the Bush Administration. You see, I farmed for twenty-five years, and in the mid '90s, like many other farmers, had to file for bankruptcy. Many farmers just found menial, low paying jobs in their area just to barely get by.
I decided, at age forty-six, to get a degree in college for a better paying career. When I began in 1996, I was advised, since I had experience from my farming, to major in Industrial Technology. This degree was associated with a specialization in manufacturing supervision. I remember reading a Newsweek magazine in 2000 that said that there was no better time for a graduate student to be looking for a job, especially in manufacturing. Employers were readily training college grads and many were starting at salaries in the $40,000 range.
Well, I didn't graduate in 2000 but on August 8, 2001. The 9/11 attack happened and everything began to go in disarray. Before I knew it, there were no jobs to be found. As time went on, as you know, it got worse. Everywhere I went, they wanted me to start at the bottom and work my way up toward a supervisor role. My education didn't really matter, it was the experience they wanted and all the positions I found were without benefits, if not temporary. My degree didn't mean a thing! I was competing with displaced workers with 20 to 30 years of experience.
Needless to say, I wasn't a very happy person. So I spent most of my time at home just waiting for a change. My mother helped my family get by (I am a single parent with 4 boys, ages 9 to 17). We have spent all this time living way below the poverty level. To keep myself sane, I really got into what was going on by watching a lot of news and reading a lot of Internet info.
I began to see a lot of power plays and deceit coming from the Bush Administration toward the World and fellow Americans. The more I found, the worse it became!
One of the first shockers was an article that exposed a website that popped up right before the Iraq War began. This site is at www.newbridgestrategies.com
This is a real head-turner. Just look at the bios page and see who is running this project - Bush I and Bush II associates. They are middlemen for the economic business opportunities in the "New Iraq". Our soldiers sacrifice their lives so these choice few can become rich and powerful. They even advertise that financial support for new businesses is available (our tax money)! I almost fell out of my chair when I found this, well over 18 months ago!
When it comes to terrorism, I have always had reservations about the magnitude of what it is built up to be. 9/11 was a terrible incident, but why, if terrorism is so urgent and widespread, haven't we had as much as a suicide bombing since? Our "Homeland Security" is not that good, especially since it is so under-funded! Did you ever stop and think that the Bush Administration might have had something to do with it? Look at the Bush family connections with the Saudi royalty. Look at the letters sent to President Clinton and others in 1998 and especially the people that signed them: www.newamericancentury.org/iraqclintonletter.htm
also: www.newamericancentury.org/iraqletter1998.htm
There is another website that may explain it all. If this info is true, it is the ultimate sin! Did President Bush authorize the 9/11 attacks? Check this out and be sure to listen to the radio address at the bottom of the page!
www.rense.com/general57/aale.htm
Like I said before, YOU DECIDE!!
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