The State Of Our Union
Today is the day our "leader" tells us how our great country is fairing. How we are the beacon of light shining as an example of the world. If you ask Bush, we represent all that is good and great. If you ask any other country we represent the greatest threat to world peace that currently exists.
My State of the Union Prebuttle after the jump.....
As seen on my Blog
Many people, like me, have preemptively ignored his SOTU speech. We know before he even opens his mouth that it is lies that will fall out.
All politicians lie. But it has been a long time indeed since such massive and widespread death and destruction has been the price of such
lies.
Does it suprise us that our country has become so feared? That when I hear Bush speak of
"freedom" and "liberty" all I can think of is death and destruction? Does it surprise anyone that we are about to be lied to yet again in another address by the president? After all this is a man with a track record of absolute incompetence and deceit. Time and time again he has made errors in judgment that have cost the American people money and anguish and all too often the lost life of a loved one.
No. I will not let this fool tell me how my country is. I know all too well how it is. The rosy picture Bush will paint in his speech is much like the rosy picture he painted of how the war in Iraq would go over.
We would be greeted as liberators. It was a
slam dunk. They would greet us with flowers. Or like the rosy picture he painted for us when he "landed" that plane on that aircraft carrier and told the nation that the mission was accomplished. Hard to say what that mission might be since our stated goals in Iraq seem to change back and forth with each day. Republicans have
a word for that.
We were there because
they had WMD's. That didn't pan out so they toned it down. Now we were there because they were involved in
weapons related program activities (and had significant amounts of equipment! Significant mind you!) At one time we were there because
they had nukes, we were there because
saddam was involved in the 911 attacks. We are there to
bring democracy to the iraqi people. First we were told
they found weapons, then recently we were told
there were no weapons. So far nobody has paid any price for this incompetence. Instead we see the people responsible for the blunders
rewarded or
promoted. So many reasons given for our war with a nation that posed no threat to us and yet none of them are
the real reason. Sadly enough,
the real reason had very little to do with leace and prosperity.
Although the reasons have changed the cost remains the same.As of today 1,438 troops have died in Iraq since the war began. Not that you would hear much about it since the White House has made it illegal for press to cover the coffins that return from Iraq. Not that president Bush seems to care much, as he has attended a total of 0 funerals of the soldiers who have died for his war. In fact Bush seems oblivious to the pain and suffering his ignorant foreign policy decisions has created for countless peoples lives.
Bush's plan to Bomb the Iraqi people into peace has been riddled with mistakes from day one. With the low estimated for civilian casualties in the tens of thousands and the injured civilians estimates around 40,000, we must stop and ask ourselves, is there not a better way? Can't we bring peace to a region without first bringing death and destruction? Don't the fools in power see that this reckless foreign policy is only making more terrorist? Don't they see that terrorism is now at the highest levels we have seen in 20 years? All this with no exit plan. No plan to win the peace. They throw all this money at the problem and still go in with very little equipment and preparation. The Administration took over 8 months to supply soldiers with sufficient body armor, and there is still a shortage of armored Humvees. Newsweek has estimated that as many as 25% of casualties could have been avoided if our troops had proper equipment from the start (PDF).
The Bush administration has spent over 140 Billion for this war of choice in Iraq. They have Just asked for another 80 billion. Countless Billions have disappeared and are unaccounted for. Surprisingly small fractions of this money that should go for reconstruction is being spent for that purpose. Of the $18.4 billion Congress approved last year for Iraqi reconstruction, only $1.1 billion has been spent because of violence and other problems. One might ask... who pays for all this? The estimated long-term cost of war to every U.S. household: $3,415. Your children's children will still be footing this bill.
All this reckless spending has created a record deficit. But Bush won't be mentioning that in his State of the Union speech tonight. Because then the Republicans might realize that they are supposed to be the fiscaly responsible party. Why Republicans aren't fuming over Bush's reckless spending is a mystery. When Bush became president the Budget surplus stood at $127 billion. By 2003 the surplus was gone and we had a record budget deficit of $374 Billion. The numbers are even worse today, as it climbs up at an estimated $1.58 billion a day. Let that sink in. How many schools could be funded with that money? How many children could be provided with health care for that amount? How many people could we feed in Africa with that kind of money? $1.58 a day. Of my money. Your money. Waisted. Each American citizen is asked to pay $23,920 to fix this mess. Which would be easier if we had jobs. During the first three years of the Bush administration 2.4 million Americans lost their jobs. President Bush is the first President since Herbert Hoover to have a net loss of jobs--around 800,000--over a four-year term. More than 1.5 million private-sector jobs have been lost under President Bush, compared to nearly 21 million private-sector jobs created under President Clinton. Long-term unemployment has more than doubled under Bush. The unemployment rate has gone up 1.4% since Bush took office.
The state of our union is far from strong. Bush likes to say we have a strong economy. That a recent rise in jobs has cleared him of any wrong doing in regards to his economic policies. It is a simple thing to put that in perspective. Americans know better. We remember better days. And we remember who was in charge in times when our economy was thriving.
So tonight when Bush proclaims victory in Iraq do not be fooled. When he claims social security is in crisis, do not be fooled. When he speaks of freedom and liberty do not be fooled. When he tells us that things in Iraq are just peachy do not be fooled. Remember the civilians tortured in the name of America. Remember that even now Bush is rewarding the "few bad apples" that made that torture possible. Remember what America TRULY stands for.
And above all know that the Democratic party is stronger and growing stronger. There will be a better day. Our union will become strong in time. We will once again be respected instead of feared. Education jobs and health will become American values. Our day will come and when it does we will create in reality what Republicans dream of. We will some day bring the state of our union back to greatness.