Commentary
Pardon my confusion
By Diane E. Dees
Online Journal Contributing Writer


Nov 28, 2005, 13:41

George W. Bush never had any meaningful job training in his life. He went missing for long periods of time when he was supposed to be serving in the National Guard. He committed insider trading and didn't get indicted because his father's attorney handled the "investigation" for the SEC. As governor, he brought the state of Texas into almost total disrepair and handed polluters their largest treasure ever.

When he ran for president in 2000, the news media totally ignored all of the above (contrary to popular liberal opinion, this is nothing new; the media also ignored his father's role as one of the chief liars for Nixon during his commission of war crimes in Vietnam). As a campaigner, Bush revealed himself to be blindingly ignorant. He did not know what the Taliban was, though in 2001, when there was a pipeline to be built, he would invite its members to the White House for tea. He did not know the names of world leaders. He had seen very little of the world. He was, and is, a monumental Philistine. In addition, he was born into New England privilege, but presented himself to the nation as a Texas "commoner."

There is ample evidence, also ignored by the news media, that he stole the election. Also, no one seemed to notice that wealthy corporations were pouring unprecedented millions into his campaign whenever he needed money. Apparently, the consensus was that these corporations were throwing large fortunes at him because their boards were comprised of good Christian people.

Multiple credible sources described Bush's zeal, right upon entering the White House, regarding an invasion of Iraq, and this revelation was also swept aside by the media. Bush's first act as president was to deny thousands of women in poor countries safe reproductive healthcare. Later, he would try to deny the people of Third World countries AIDS treatment by insisting that they use expensive drugs made by American pharmaceutical corporations, even though drugs just as safe were available at a much lower price.

He appointed a variety of known liars, criminals, and likely criminals to positions of importance. A few of them include: the Secretary of the Army, Director of the Office of Information Awareness, National Intelligence Director, National Security Committee Director for Democracy, Human Rights, and International Operations, Assistant Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere, and Ambassador to the United Nations. Among them, they have been accused of insider trading, and lying under oath; convicted of conspiracy, obstructions of justice, and destroying evidence (a conviction that was overturned on a technicality, but which no one has ever doubted was true); accused of covering up human rights abuses and drug trafficking; convicted of withholding evidence in a major national crisis; accused of conducting prohibited covert propaganda activities; and accused of committing rape. Other Bush appointees and nominees have been accused of committing rape, practicing law without a license, falsifying a resume, and ruling with oil industry bias from the federal bench.

In the five years he has been in office, Bush's accomplishments -- in addition to the aforementioned moral crimes against Third World people, especially women and children -- include: relaxing pollution laws, increasing the amount of lead that children can be exposed to (and lying about it), doctoring EPA reports so that reports of water and air toxicity are omitted, refusing to regulate carbon monoxide emissions (and lying about it), giving the go-ahead for churches to get public money and discriminate against populations they dislike, concealing information on dangerous mercury risks for children, giving massive tax cuts to the wealthy, systematically chipping away at a woman's right to choose, decreasing worker safety, destroying the civil liberties of millions of American citizens via the USA PATRIOT Act; removing protections for our forests, refusing to acknowledge the reality of global warming, ignoring the warnings about perchlorate in our food and water, exposing fetuses to pesticides, obstructing the already lame September 11 Commission from conducting its investigation, cutting funds for first responders (and lying about it), betraying Afghan women, lying about his relationship with Kenneth Lay, significantly cutting veterans' benefits, encouraging that adolescents be taught that condoms are not safe, invading a country based on fabricated evidence, supporting the American military's war crimes in Iraq, phasing out emergency services and then totally ignoring the biggest natural disaster in modern history (and lying about it).

There is strong evidence that Bush also stole the 2004 election, which the news media have not only ignored, but have also soundly criticized, based on nothing even remotely connected to reality. There is no doubt that the invasion of Iraq and the subsequent war crimes committed by this administration's military have made America much less safe than it was only a few years ago.

Now, after five years of corruption, oppression, bigotry, democracy-bashing, and immorality of every kind, the American people have turned against Bush. It was okay when he poisoned their children, sealed the doom of hundreds of thousands of African women and babies, told innumerable lies, put the nation's adolescents at risk for pregnancy and STDs, and appointed criminals, liars, and incompetent people to positions of importance. It was okay when he enabled ordinary American citizens to be arrested and questioned by the FBI because they picketed one of his rallies or made antiwar comments or antiwar art. It was okay when he wrecked their retirement, their healthcare plans, and their veterans' benefits. It was even okay for some when he let New Orleanians die on the street during Hurricane Katrina.

But now, suddenly, "only" 36 percent of Americans think Bush is doing a good job.

Would someone please explain to me why I am supposed to feel good about this?