Should we trust George W. Bush?

World Net Daily ^ | 8/29/02 | Harry Browne

[feelin_poorly]

Shortly after 9-11, TV talk-show host Sean Hannity said, "Thank God, we have an honest man in the White House!"

And when you think about it, a great deal of what you might believe about the so-called War on Terrorism is based on statements from George W. Bush. You have only his word, or that of someone in his administration:

• that Iraq, which George Bush is dying to invade, still has "weapons of mass destruction" that threaten Americans directly;

• that Osama bin Laden masterminded the 9-11 attacks (the infamous videotape demonstrated his joy at the success of the attacks, not his participation);

• that the people being imprisoned as terrorists really are terrorists – even though they've received no public trial (whether you believe terrorists deserve to be protected by the Bill of Rights is irrelevant. You don't even know that they are terrorists until they receive a fair trial under the Bill of Rights);

• that the Bush administration won't misuse the private information it's acquiring through its massive violations of civil liberties.

Since America is endangered by the "you're either with me or against me" tactics of the Bush administration, it becomes vital to know whether we can trust the man in charge of our government.

The record

So does George Bush's record inspire confidence in his honesty?

Unfortunately, this is the same man who has referred to trillions of dollars in budget surpluses – even though the federal government hasn't had a budget surplus since 1956. (The appearance of any "surpluses" was created by taking excess receipts from Social Security and applying them to the general budget, even as the politicians swore they were protecting Social Security.)

Mr. Bush even has the chutzpah to refer with a straight face (well not exactly a straight face, he loves to smirk) to corporate executives "cooking the books." He neglects to mention that many of the corporate bookkeeping methods the politicians are so incensed about today were motivated by rules imposed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

And George Bush is the same man who in 2000 said he believed in "limited government." Most people assumed he meant a government limited by the Constitution. In fact, he took an oath in which he swore to uphold the Constitution.

But he's violated virtually every one of the first 10 Amendments – especially the Ninth and 10th Amendments, which are meant to impose precise limits on his power.

• He's willing to give your tax money to foreign dictators who claim they "need" it (meaning they've gone too deeply in debt by spending money on palaces and other forms of self-aggrandizement);

• He wants to escalate the spending of your tax money on farm subsidies, health care, welfare, government schools, the War on Drugs, propaganda and other programs – none of which are authorized in the Constitution;

• He believes we should trust him and his minions when they tell us the unnamed people they've locked up are not entitled to the protections of the Fourth and Fifth Amendments.

• He claims he can attack Iraq without a congressional declaration of war – even though the Constitution clearly gives such authority exclusively to Congress.

So his belief in "limited government" apparently means government limited to what he wants to do.

George Bush is the same man who in one breath tries to ingratiate himself with you by saying, "It's your money, not the politicians' money" – but in the next breath, he says he's entitled to one third of "your money."

George Bush is the same man who said he has learned more about political philosophy from Jesus of Nazareth than from anyone else. But he's proven by his actions that he doesn't really believe such things as "Blessed are the peacemakers." And "the meek" who Jesus said would inherit the earth are in Mr. Bush's eyes really just "collateral damage" in his plans to tell the world how it must live.

Is honesty important?

In these and in so many other ways, George Bush has proven that he's not an honest man – and that we shouldn't trust him with the safety of America.

In fact, Thomas Jefferson understood that we shouldn't put our trust in any politician. He said we should bind them down from mischief "by the chains of the Constitution." And a truly honest man wouldn't even ask you to trust him.

Contrary to what you might have thought, this isn't an article about George Bush. It's an article about you. Are you going to demean yourself by putting your faith in a man who has done so much to demonstrate the folly of such faith?

Are you going to let politicians stampede you into throwing away the Bill of Rights, based on "evidence" you never see, reassured by politicians who have proven that the truth is secondary to their own ambitions?

Don't you have enough respect for your own mind to make your own decisions, refuse to accept conclusions without evidence, and be something better than a cheerleader for a politician or a political party?

[Mo1]

Thanks .. and I think so too .. but I'm bias .. he was my dad

[Southflanknorthpawsis]

Gosh......please tell me where Jesus suggested that anyone marry for superficial reasons and worship money at the same time.

[FreedominJesusChrist]

I don't think that wanting to just get married and raise a family in a secure enviornment, is an immoral thing to do.

[justshe]

ROFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[FreedominJesusChrist]

Yes, that was another clever moment brought to us by Howlin, who even though I have my disagreements with her, I am still fond of, in a weird way.

[Southflanknorthpawsis]

Do you understand the term "trophy wife"? You are a moron.

[Howlin]

Well??? :-)

[Howlin]

Some of us have a sense of humor.

And then some of us just blab on and on about things that mean nothing and try to convince ourselves that people think we're swell.

[FreedominJesusChrist]

Well, I understand it to mean that a younger, good-looking woman, is married to an older man. It's just a label and I don't think it would be fair to castigate couples just because they have an age difference.

It comes down to this: if a young, good-looking woman wants to marry an older man for security and to dedicate her life to being a good housewife, what is so wrong with that? The answer is nothing, it's just that feminists have been hollering for so long about it, it was made to look like a bad situation, when it many times isn't.

[Southflanknorthpawsis]

I repeat.........You are a moron AND clueless.

Please, please, please change your screenname. Please !!!!!!

[FreedominJesusChrist]

Yes Howlin, you are the greatest too.

But I think that in real life, you and I would honestly get along swell. I don't think there would be all this bickering. I may witch about you sometimes, but really, I still like you as a person. I could even go out to coffee and chit-chat with you.

[FreedominJesusChrist]

South...I may be naive at times, but I am not a moron.

I still don't see anything wrong with that.

[justshe]

I never would have THOUGHT of that.......lol!

[justshe]

Do you all realize you are now sucked into the vortex of twitterdom?

[Southflanknorthpawsis]

I seriously doubt if you fit the description of trophy anything, but here's a possible prospect for you.

I hear tell, he will sue anyone and could probably make you a rich woman some day. If he's not available there are plenty of others that are just as "exciting" and could offer you security.

Again.......I realize that you probably fall way short. But if you ever were a trophy wife, you would eventually be an old, dusty trophy wife and as long as hubby-poo still had some green stuff to wave around, you would probably be replaced.

Of course I can understand how a nice Christian girl like you would see nothing wrong with this.

IDIOT !!!!!!!!!!!

[FreedominJesusChrist]

Well you guys have a lovely evening now.

I am on my way tonight to get some life experience, drink some adult beverages, and of course, hit on 50 year old men, like you say.

Ta, ta, for now :)

[Southflanknorthpawsis]

I am on my way tonight to get some life experience

Which one of the Nancy Drew mysteries are you reading tonight?

[Mulder]

I think that when people get to be in a certain part of their life, age isn't so important any longer....

I agree totally. There are many things more important than an age difference (within reason).

And don't let anyone tell you there is something wrong with having friends older than you are. It's much preferrable than joining some superficial clique of people your own age, simply because others tell you "that's the way it's supposed to be".

By the way, you've handled yourself pretty well in response to some petty personal attacks here :-)

[Howlin]

No, you couldn't.

[Mulder]

The scary thing is to compare the verbage and attitudes on this thread of most freepers to that of the population at large in Germany in the early '30s when Hitler was taking over. They're virtually identical.

It's sad to watch. But not surprising considering Acton's observation that "power corrupts". For too many people, being part of the winning team is more important than fundamental principles.

Conservatives need to wake up before it's late for our Republic.