Posted on 08/29/2002 1:00:30 PM PDT by 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:
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.
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?
This calls for a little context.
Posted by DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet to Interesting Times; one_particular_harbour On News/Activism Aug 27 8:21 PM #464 of 554
First let me say that I am in the music business, and I consider this thread cruel and unusual punishment.
Now:
I have one of those Nakamichi bedside alarms that will wake you up with a CD. I'll have you both know that for about three months, Shatner's "Transformed Man" CD was in it, and I woke up to "Mr. Tambourine Man" with a big smile every morning.
Nothing like it. I just wish I had a copy of him doing "I Wanna Sex You Up".
Posted by one_particular_harbour to DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet On News/Activism Aug 27 8:23 PM #466 of 554
OMG - You are one sick, sick woman. Masochism before coffee? No way......
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Posted by DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet to one_particular_harbour On News/Activism Aug 27 8:26 PM #468 of 554
What can I say? Nothing makes me laugh quite like William Shatner's voice screaming "MISTER TAMBOURINE MAN!!!!!!!!"
(Okay, I've put some cool stuff in there, too - Brian McKnight, Stevie Wonder - but sometimes you just have to go for the funny stuff.)
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Yeah, Beckie, and when I'm feeling REALLY naughty, I listen to Weird Al. That's how stupid your implication is.
Your age can be your excuse (unlike your friends), but I think even YOU know better than to use something like William Shatner's performance of that song at the MTV Movie Awards in an attempt to smear me. You'd have to be a moron not to know he was poking fun at himself AND the song.
As I told you in Freepmail, my pastor laughs at Shatner when he does this stuff.
There's the context. People can decide for themselves if what I said was something to gasp about.
ROFLMAO!!!
Somebody needs to get out more.
1) What school *I* went to has nothing to do with what I stated. I was quoting someone who started one of the elite USMC schools, whose opinion on the current state of the American military is worth infinitely more than mine.
2) Shooting at a bunch of camel jockeys and then thumping one's chest and believing one has participated in a real war is laughable - and sad. My God, man - ragheads aren't warriors, they even surrendered to reporters < g > I hope the current crew never has to go up against a real military. They're totally unprepared.
3) The thread was about trusting Junior Bush. The extensive list posted by KentuckyWoman makes it clear that we can only trust him to continue the policies started by Clinton and his father, the vast majority of which are blatantly unConstitutional.
4) The pathetic flag waving that goes on here on FR is extremely reminiscent of Nazi Germany in the 30's - blindless patriotism for the Fatherland. Germans are still ashamed, today, of their fathers and grandfathers foolish blindness. And now America is far down the same road, while most "conservatives" cheer the fascism on, just as the Germans did.
Ah well - the signs have been clear for many decades. The chickens are finally coming home to roost.
Finally, texasforever - apparently you're unaware that a few years ago Special Ops finally admitted that yes, they use black, unmarked helicopters on American soil. LOL - better get caught up on your items of ridicule, boy - that one's been outta the bag for a few years now.
As for me, this is my final post to this asinine thread. You all wanna believe in your fantasies of living in a free country, be my guest. It's gonna bite you eventually. And assuming ( a big assumption) that you have an IQ above room temperature, you might not be too dumbed down to recognize it when it does.
I especially like 'em when they drink!
(For outside observers, yes, that was sarcasm.)
P.S. I think he got married again. [Snaps fingers.]
Somebody also needs to stop trying to draw some equivalency between my conduct and their own. (If you know what I mean, and I think you do.)
2) Shooting at a bunch of camel jockeys and then thumping one's chest and believing one has participated in a real war is laughable - and sad. My God, man - ragheads aren't warriors, they even surrendered to reporters < g > I hope the current crew never has to go up against a real military. They're totally unprepared.
In other words, you have absolutely ZERO first hand information, because you've never served in the military in any capacity whatsoever, but you feel qualified to denigrate and ridicule those who have.
Your comment about chest-thumping is especially ingenuous, considering that you've done little but on this thread.
You are a pathetic little excuse for a man.
I know exactly what you mean.
I just read his post. You are being far too kind.
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