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Inside U.S.A.: George Bush: About As American As Apple Pie In The Sky
Posted on Friday, September 05 @ 21:46:27 UTC
Topic: Bushwacked
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 By Ben Roberts
During the presidential elections of 2000 a woman was heard to say, 'I'll go with George Bush for president and give him my vote because he comes from good stock.' In other words she saw Bush as someone in good standing. Someone All American and wholesome. As American as apple pie if you will. Wouldn't you pay a kings ransom to hear now what this lady has to say about casting her lot in such a fashion? I would. The reason is that this American as apple pie notion of Bush has shown itself to be an illusion, and nothing more than pie in the sky. In looking at what has befallen this country from presidential elections 2000 to now, taking into account what Bush has said and done, this becomes crystal clear.
During his campaign, Bush talked non stop about accessing Social Security and 'investing the American people money,' so that they 'could have their money in their pockets.' What a pie in the sky pipe dream.
Does it look to you like we have money in their pockets compared to four years ago? Every financial expert will tell you our bountiful Social Security surplus, our retirement nest egg, has been sucked dry leaving an empty shell as a result of Bush's ill conceived, infinite war on terror. So then you would think our own entrepreneurial spirit would save the day, as we engage in the true and tried American pastime of investing in stock of our nation's industries, as a way of securing our financial future. Forget it! George Bush and his cronies at Enron, Harken, and various other stock market superstars, have already made off with the goods, depressing the stock market, making our hard earned profits next to worthless. American as apple pie? Think again. All we are left with is a pie in the sky. And remember this is from a man with a business degree from an Ivy League school who, in the wake of September 11, strangely advised us all to 'go out and buy some stocks.'
In the run up to the war in Iraq, Bush hawked the idea that attacking Iraq would be a good thing because we would free the Iraqi people from the shackles of oppression and dictatorship, swaddle them in democracy and freedom which would sweep through the Middle East, and resolve the trying Palestinian Israeli conflict. Multitudes of Americans bought into this. Of course democracy and freedom was a good thing. As American as apple pie. And if we could bring peace to the troubled region then all the better. Sounds good. But what actually happened? We attacked Iraq. Now companies closely affiliated with the Bush Administration, such as Halliburton, are wallowing in profits. We now know that their no bid contract is worth a staggering amount. Far more than was previously disclosed. And if you think the citizens of that country are headed for freedom and democracy, think again. A few months ago, Najaf, a volatile and troubled city was scheduled to have elections. American soldiers were out front enthused as they made the preparations for this historical event. Suddenly American Overlord, Paul Bremmer nixed the elections, to the dismay of our soldiers.
Just a few weeks ago we lost a United Nations giant, Sergio Veiera de Mello in a bomb blast. He was stressing freedom, democracy, and self determination for the Iraqi people. Then just a few days ago a bomb blast in the very city of Najaf took the life of a powerful Shiite cleric with strong leadership potential. It seems that chaos works to the benefit of those in control, and anytime anyone talks of freedom and democracy like Bush did, or shows the potential for assuming power, their health takes a drastic turn for the worse. And on the matter of peace breaking out and resolving the Palestinian Israeli conflict. The violence has escalated. Twenty Israelis were killed in a bus bomb attack a few weeks ago, and the Israeli government has responded by targeting and conducting assassination operations against Palestinians that they have deemed as guilty without evidence or trial. In the process they have killed a number of innocent bystanders. The media neglects to show this. Where is the United Nations in all this? If this is not enough, the Bush Administration recently contacted the Israelis about the possibility of pumping oil out of Iraq northwards through Turkey, and into Haifa. A gift to the Israelis for supporting America in the war on Iraq. What a powder keg! Our government is in the process of taking someone else's resources and giving it to their friends, facilitating their ability to attack a people with whom the Iraqi citizens sympathize. Yet Bush, and Bremmer and Co., keep telling us that the Iraqi resources are for the Iraqi people. Is it any wonder that same pipeline is sabotaged on a regular basis? Peace? What a pipe dream Bush has sold to the Iraqis, the Palestinians, and the American people.
Bush constantly tries to sell himself as both a compassionate and environmental President. Sounds good. But he is neither. Being environmentally conscious and compassionate are stellar qualities that one should strive for. However, for Bush to elevate himself to this category is like Jack the Ripper declaring that he is the leading proponent of women's safety. It is absolutely ludicrous. Bush's chief counsel for environmental affairs declared this week that CO2 auto emissions cannot be categorized as a pollutant since the gas is a natural product. What insanity! As a child I learned in school that CO2 is a waste product of respiration. We breathe oxygen for sustenance and it is transformed into CO2, which we exhale as a waste product. Waste products usually are pollutants. Waste from industry, garbage, and sewage are all pollutants. Now Bush and Co. is telling us that a waste product of combustion is not a pollutant? Where did Bush and his cronies get their early years of science instruction? As our citizens succumb in record numbers to respiratory illnesses due to auto emissions contribution to bad air quality, Bush is telling us that CO2 is a natural product. Maybe next time one of these characters visit the hospital for an operation we should substitute their oxygen tanks for CO2. They shouldn't have a problem with this, because this is in essence what they are subjecting the American public to with such a ridiculous decision. With this decision, the auto industry cheered loudly. They got the American pie. We Americans got the pie in the sky 'natural product' nonsense.
As far as compassionate goes, George Bush does not even come close. As governor he signed the death warrant of 150 Americans, sending them to their deaths. Some of them wrongful deaths. This record puts him head and shoulders above governors in this country. What is compassionate about that? It is American as apple pie for a citizen of this country accused of a crime to stand before his accusers and a jury of his peers in a court of law to defend himself, with the burden of proof on the accusers. Yet Bush authorized a Hellfire missile to be fired from a drone into Yemen, obliterating a car, and killing an American for being in the company of suspected terrorists. This blatant killing was touted as necessary to keep America safe from terror. What a pie in the sky notion. And what is so compassionate in having no qualms about killing an American citizen simply for being in the company of alleged terror suspects?
The second anniversary of September 11 is exactly one week away today. No matter how much anniversaries go by, we in this country will never forget that fateful day. Transcripts of this horrific event were made available this week. It makes my blood run cold to hear the man outside the Trade Center Towers radioing in a report that bodies were falling to the pavement where he stood. The female recipient is incredulous, and says something like 'Come again.' He reiterates the gruesome event. How sad and horrible that flesh and blood like this man's, and like yours and mine were crashing to their deaths from so high up. These were not inanimate objects. They were the bodies of people's parents, children, grandparents, wives, husbands, and lifelong acquaintances. As long as I live I would not want to bear witness to such a shocking event. And if I feel this way I can only imagine how the loved ones of these souls must feel. But even in my imagination I certainly do not come close to how those left behind truly feel.
But in this mayhem and death at the Trade Towers, in a field in Pennsylvania, and at the Pentagon in our nation's capital, where was our President? In such a time of unprecedented disaster one would expect our leader to be available to comfort, show compassion, and empower his stricken people. George Bush vanished from sight! Then he was briefly seen like a firefly flitting about. First at an airbase in Indiana, then in the foothills of the Colorado Rockies. And he was wearing a flak jacket as if he was under attack. He showed up in Washington at nightfall, alighting gingerly on the White House lawn as if told the coast was finally clear. What a spectacle. While our defenseless innocent citizens were dying, our safely ensconced leader vanishes, to pop up occasionally giving the impression that he is in battle and under attack. But this is right in keeping with 'Bring em on!' and prancing from the flight deck of a warplane as our soldiers die. Compassionate? American as apple pie? Good stock? Think again.
Ben is a newsletter editor, freelance writer and published author. His most recent articles *Tears For America , and *Believe George Bush At Your Peril can be found in the May archives of SmirkingChimp.com, AmericaHeldHostile.com, and Bushcritics.gmx.de. His action adventure novel, Jackals of Samarra, can be found at www.iUniverse.com, and at all the major Internet book outlet sites. Ben can be contacted by email at: grandt730@aol.com
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