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?

[Texasforever]

I have no idea. Our reserves are still fairly good and we are really only importing 30% of our daily usage as it stands. South America is our primary source with and that is growing. Russian imports are a bit problematical just from logistics standpoint but a recent test of cost viability has shown that Russian crude can still be shipped here a bit below domestic prices. The United States is really not that reliant on Middle Eastern oil but Japan and Europe are. That is one major reason they are so soft on the region and one reason we are soft on Mexico and all points south.

[oldvike]

I have a slight feeling that it will happen the weekend after Labor Day weekend. If it doesn't happen then, it won't happen for a while

As long as it doesn't happen during the baseball strike...

[FreedominJesusChrist]

We shall see.

By the way, it was good to talk to you again.

How was Vegas?

[Mo1]

Mi>That is the whole reason why the media was making a big deal about it, because it was illegal!

BULL .. they went after those girls because the liberal media had an agenda

Grant you they were wrong .. but who in the hell calls 911 for a fake ID ..

Please

[FreedominJesusChrist]

I don't drink right now, I was just saying that when I turn 21, I will have a few drinks.

[dark_lord]

To be a true "liberal", you have to buy into one or more of the liberal philosophies (ie; abortion rights. feminism, environmentalism, animal rights, global warming, tax cuts being only for the rich, etc).
I see where you are going with that, but I think that in general there are a lot of self-defined liberals who would not accept that definition any more than most conservatives would define themselves by the following philosophies: (1) If it ain't in the bible then either its wrong or its redundant; (2) freeing black people was a mistake, let's either reenslave them or ship 'em back to Africa; (3) a good tree is a dead tree, let's pave America from sea to shining sea with asphalt - etcetera.
BTW - you think "tax cuts being only for the rich" is a liberal viewpoint? I thought they wanted to tax the rich.

[FreedominJesusChrist]

I thought it was funny and so did tons of other people.

I don't think that anyone cared that much anyway.

[Southflanknorthpawsis]

Can we PLEASE just ignore her? I'm sick of reading about her thongs and her hair and her drinking habits.

I think you're right. It's like a stray cat. If you stop feeding it, eventually it will give up and find food somewhere else.

[justshe]

You didn't address your comment to me, but I am going to answer. If you go back thru this thread and read this woman's posts you will see that she has not only spit on the United States of America.....but has made EVERY attempt to denigrate every institution that makes this country great. She is taking ALL of the benefits of this country while doing everything she can to destroy it from within.

She doesn't even have the common sense to NOT trash the military and our veterans. She is trash. Pure and simple. And she wraps herself in some constitutional mumbo-jumbo that perhaps impresses her friends at the laundromat...but didn't buy her any friends here.

Rant over.

[Diddle E. Squat]

[FreedominJesusChrist]

GREAT ANALOGY!!! I am eager to hear more of your pithy and wise mental connections.

[Fred Mertz]

How was Vegas?

I had a wonderful time in Vegas. It was informative, fun and well worth the time and effort to be there. Too bad you couldn't make it;(

[justshe]

LOL! Pesky facts.

[Mo1]

Funny ????

It was an attempt to embarrass the President and his wife

They did not do this to the Gore kids or Chelsea

And there were a NUMBER of stories they didn't print on those kids ..

[FreedominJesusChrist]

Well, if you go to C-PAC in 2003, I will be there.

[VaBthang4]

Thank you Holy Spirit.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Pssst. The airport is not your house.

[Southflanknorthpawsis]

My Shadow

I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,
And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.
He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;
And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.

The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow--
Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;
For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball,
And he sometimes gets so little that there's none of him at all ...

One morning, very early, before the sun was up,
I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;
But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head,
Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.
--Robert Louis Stevenson

[Fred Mertz]

Someone called these folks jackals on another site. It almost makes sense now. Be good!

[FreedominJesusChrist]

That is because Chelsea was too unattractive to make a worth-while story about her. The Bush daughters are decent-looking enough to make a readable story.