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Bush Criticizes Kerry's Achievements
Associated Press ^ | July 30, 2004 | Pete Yost

Posted on 07/30/2004 9:13:54 AM PDT by buzzyboop

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - President Bush (news - web sites) launched his counterattack Friday against John Kerry (news - web sites), saying his Democratic rival spent 18 years in the U.S. Senate with "no signature achievements."

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AP Photo


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"My opponent has good intentions, but intentions do not always translate to results," Bush told thousands of supporters who repeatedly interrupted his remarks with standing ovations.

Appearing at a baseball stadium at Southwest Missouri State University, Bush said that during eight years on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Kerry voted to cut the intelligence budget but had no record of reforming America's intelligence-gathering capability. Problems with the intelligence agencies have been blamed for many of the failures surrounding the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Bush also said Kerry has no significant record for reforming education or health care.

The president said that Kerry and running mate John Edwards (news - web sites) consistently oppose reforms that limit the power of Washington and leave more power in the hands of the people.

"This week members of the other party gathered in Boston," Bush said. "We heard a lot of clever speeches and some big promises. After 19 years in the United States Senate my opponent has had thousands of votes but very few signature achievements."

Bush also mounted a defense of his record, saying that Kerry would erase gains made in the past four years in the economy and U.S. security.

"We are turning the corner and we are not turning back" in the war on terrorism and on issues from improving education and health care to maintaining the tax cuts he has put in place, said Bush, declaring: "Results matter."

"They're going to raise taxes, we're not," Bush said of Kerry.

He said the Bush administration has "a clear vision on how to win the war on terror and bring peace to the world."

Bush also contrasted the longtime government service of Dick Cheney (news - web sites) to Edwards, a first-term senator.

"I appreciate my running mate," said Bush. "He's not the prettiest man in the race, but he's got sound judgment."

Offering broad outlines of his re-election agenda, Bush promised better times and fresh ideas, declaring "we have more work to do."

In response to Bush's speech, the Kerry campaign said "results do matter" and that Bush's policies have led to record deficits, skyrocketing health costs, lower quality jobs, a military that is stretched too thin and a nation isolated from its allies.

In his acceptance speech Thursday night, Kerry hit hard at the president's handling of the Iraq (news - web sites) war and the war on terror.

"Saying there are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq doesn't make it so," said Kerry. "Saying we can fight a war on the cheap doesn't make it so. And proclaiming mission accomplished certainly doesn't make it so."

Outside the minor-league baseball stadium where Bush spoke, hundreds of protesters carried signs and chanted.

 

"I'm so frightened about what's happening to the country," said Joan Wagnon, 72, of Springfield. She held a sign reading, "Don't waive your rights while waving your flag."

Bush did not stay up to watch Kerry's convention address but read and saw reports about it, spokesman Scott McClellan said. Adviser Karl Rove watched the speech, McClellan told reporters.

"I think the senator of Massachusetts is a walking contradiction," McClellan said. Although he called Kerry's speech "nicely crafted," he criticized Kerry's Senate record and said he is "running as fast and as far as he can from that record."

In a trip focused on the Midwest, the president campaigns Saturday by bus in Ohio, the second bus tour he has made in the state in three months. He will wrap up two days of campaigning with a rally Saturday afternoon in Pittsburgh, just hours after Kerry speaks in a nearby suburb. It will be his 31st visit to Pennsylvania since being elected.

Bush won Missouri in 2000 with 50 percent of the vote to Al Gore (news - web sites)'s 47 percent, and in Springfield, Mo., the president appeals to some of his strongest supporters in the state.

"This is a turnout game and whoever mobilizes their base most effectively is going to win the state," says political science professor Martha Kropf of the University of Missouri at Kansas City.

Missouri has lost nearly 40,000 manufacturing jobs since Bush took office, but the picture has improved markedly in the past year, with the labor force as a whole adding 83,000 jobs.


TOPICS: Breaking News; Government; Politics/Elections; US: Missouri
KEYWORDS: baseball; bush; gwb2004; heartandsoul; kerry; mo; speech
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To: Malesherbes
How can Bush criticize Kerry's achievements? Kerry doesn't have any achievements.

He divorced a millionaire and married a billionaire. That's almost as a good a return as Hillary got on those cattle futures.

He's also managed to remain in the Senate for two decades with a weather vane for a moral compass. Heck, at least Drunk Uncle Ted is consistent.

161 posted on 07/31/2004 1:25:09 AM PDT by L.N. Smithee (When it comes to newborns getting stabbed in the head, Kerry cares...about drowning hamsters.)
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To: Poodlebrain
Not true, he nailed Morgan Fairchild.

That's not a big deal. Morgan Fairchild let Senator Alan Cranston hit it, too. Think about that.

162 posted on 07/31/2004 1:28:08 AM PDT by L.N. Smithee (When it comes to newborns getting stabbed in the head, Kerry cares...about drowning hamsters.)
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To: buzzyboop

The AP in in spin protection patrol.

Kerry Achievements?

The proper title would be "Bush States Kerry has no Achievements"

The AP, with the title alone, is trying to defend Kerry.


163 posted on 07/31/2004 1:32:08 AM PDT by longtermmemmory (VOTE!)
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To: stuartcr
There is no focus for me, as I really don't want to see either of them in office.

So in other words, you were just carrying water for the enemy by trying to tear down Bush, knowing full well that he had accomplished much as a two-term governor of Texas. How pathetic! A useful idiot for the demonrats!

164 posted on 07/31/2004 3:24:18 AM PDT by AmericaUnited (It's time someone says the emperor has no clothes.)
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To: stuartcr
I don't have anything to start, because, for the first time in a long time, I'm having major doubts about even voting.

The difference between Bush and Kerry could not be greater. But an all or nothing whiner and crybaby like yourself, if you don't get everything you want, you take your ball and go home, sniffling the whole way.

Son, you had better get over it, get a backbone, and report back to duty. This is no time for the spoiled kiddie routine!!

165 posted on 07/31/2004 3:30:37 AM PDT by AmericaUnited (It's time someone says the emperor has no clothes.)
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To: L.N. Smithee

Nailing Morgan Fairchild was no great achievement, but it far surpasses anything Kerry has done from a legislative perspective. I kind of figured Ms. Fairchild was doing someone from Hollywood a huge favor when she succumbed to Cranston's advances, either that or she confused him for the actor Patrick Stewart.


166 posted on 07/31/2004 3:51:28 AM PDT by Poodlebrain
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To: AmericaUnited

I don't carry water for anyone, as I don't consider an American that is running for president as an enemy.


167 posted on 07/31/2004 7:36:00 AM PDT by stuartcr
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To: AmericaUnited

I don't want anything..I take what the country elects, and I live with it.


168 posted on 07/31/2004 7:37:49 AM PDT by stuartcr
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To: RipSawyer
Re: Your tagline "Embed" Michael Moore with the 82nd airborne.

Now why would you want to do that to my beloved Eighty-Deuce? I don't think we had a chute that would carry his lard-butt to the DZ.


$710.96... The price of freedom

169 posted on 07/31/2004 7:44:58 AM PDT by rdb3 (REPUBLICAN as of July 23, 2004. I have my blueprint now!)
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To: rdb3

"I don't think we had a chute that would carry his lard-butt to the DZ."

If you rig the chute right you won't have to worry about him after the first jump, right? Just clear a large area for the spatter zone.


170 posted on 07/31/2004 8:18:47 AM PDT by RipSawyer ("Embed" Michael Moore with the 82nd airborne.)
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To: Honorary Serb; kosta50; FormerLib
July 23, 2004

John Kerry: Working Together with Albanian-Americans

Senator John Kerry issued the following statement:

I am proud to receive support from Albanian-Americans. For generations, Albanians coming to America have assumed eagerly the responsibilities and opportunities of citizenship. The newest generations of Albanian-Americans have carried on this tradition in a way that makes your ancestors ? and all who love America -- proud. As Americans, you have built our communities, creating economic opportunity and prosperity. You value family, community, responsibility, and opportunity. And many Albanian-Americans have given their lives in our armed forces over the last century, proudly serving our country and protecting our freedoms.

I promise as president to promote policies that protect the communities you have built and preserve the values you have honored. We will take care of our elderly, make health care more readily available, promote education, help small businesses, and provide equal opportunity for all.

I also appreciate the strong bonds Albanian-Americans have with their friends, families, and brethren in South-Eastern Europe. These ties make our strong country a great nation. They remind us of the values that brought us here and of the hope and opportunity that remains elsewhere. They help America build our friendships and forge alliances. It is no accident that Albania has sent troops to Afghanistan and Iraq, that Albania has been steadfast in the war on terrorism, or that the Albanian people are among the most pro-American people in the world today. It is a tribute to the network of connections that knits together not just governments but people who share the same values. You have done that for both your country today and for the countries of your ancestors.

I believe that stability, democracy and prosperity in the Balkans are in America?s best interest. My administration will re-establish America?s leadership in the Balkans, particularly when it comes to Kosovo. The Bush administration has turned its back on the region, hollowed out our security presence, and left the people of the region without the opportunity to govern themselves.

At a time when the populations of these countries took courageous steps to break from the past and were desperately looking to consolidate momentous reforms, the Bush administration chose to do as little as possible. It has missed an historic opportunity.

My administration will act quickly to address the issues facing Kosovo. Kosovo's future status should be decided as soon as possible. The people of Kosovo must be able to determine their own future, including how they want to be governed. Proposals to change the territory of Kosovo or to partition it along ethnic lines do not help build a multi-ethnic society or prepare the region for its future in Europe. As we pursue Kosovo's final status, we want to work closely with others in the region and engage them in promoting a smooth transition. Continued delay - which is all the Bush administration has offered -- hardens the positions of extremists on all sides. The region is vulnerable to nationalists within and extremists from outside; we must help rebuild the institutions that can protect the people of Kosovo so that they will resist calls for more violence and further calamity. Should the region be allowed to degrade it would return to the lawlessness of the Milosevic era and allow criminals to flourish.

We will need your help. We must approach Kosovo?s status in a way that makes its neighborhood safer and more secure. This will take American leadership, alliances, and effort, as it did with Western Europe at the end of World War II. And it will take time; we cannot walk away from Kosovo and the region.

I will need your help in building the support we will need in Congress and with the American people to carry out this historic task. With your support, my administration will:

Work with our European allies to see that all states of the Balkans are able to take their place as law-abiding members of the key institutions that helped to win the Cold War, including NATO and the European Union.

Assist the governments in the region to increase trade, attract investment, and address corruption, human trafficking, and minority rights.

Pursue individuals indicted for war crimes. All governments in the region must cooperate to achieve this purpose and bring war criminals to justice.

I will also need your help to support more vigorously Albania?s efforts to develop its economy, integrate into Euro-Atlantic institutions, and strengthen its democracy. We will continue to support the efforts of Albanians in Macedonia and Montenegro to become equal citizens of democratic societies.

Not every issue will be easy. America at our best stands for human rights, for everyone. My administration will enlist your support in seeing that the human rights of people throughout the region are respected. This must include the Serbs and other communities of people who want to live in Kosovo. Otherwise, it will be more difficult, if not impossible, to achieve lasting peace and prosperity in the region and to fulfill the legitimate aspirations of all who live there.

I am proud that we will, together, help make real the dream of Albanians, of Americans, of our allies, and of all who care about our security and freedom, of creating a Europe that is peaceful, democratic, and free from fear and from oppression -- a Europe whole and free, from the Baltic, to the Black Sea ? and in the Kerry administration, to the Adriatic.

www.JohnKerry.Com Paid for by John Kerry for President, Inc.

171 posted on 07/31/2004 6:50:36 PM PDT by MarMema (DON'T FORGET THAT HAMTRANCK MICHIGAN IS FILLED WITH ALBANIANS)
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To: buzzyboop
After 19 years in the United States Senate my opponent has had thousands dozens of votes but very few signature achievements."

The President was being too kind.

172 posted on 07/31/2004 8:24:58 PM PDT by Colonel_Flagg ("I'm just preparing my impromptu remarks." - Sir Winston Churchill)
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To: Bob

"It's not a question of logic, it's simple mathematics."

No, it is a matter of reading comprehension.

"1) MO has lost 40,000 jobs since GWB took office."

That is not what the author says. The author says that Mo lost 40,000 MANUFACTURING jobs. (No indication was given about how these jobs were lost, nor whether any were regained.)

2) MO has gained 83,000 jobs in the past year.

Yes, as in 83,000 total jobs in one year with no mention of how many were MANUFACTURING jobs vs other jobs. This author also, does not indicate what jobs were lost/gained over the prior years under President Bush.

It is not that your math is wrong it is that the author wants you to presume the 2 statements are regarding the exact same subjuect, but they are not. It could be that there were 40,000 manufacturing jobs at $50,000 per year, were lost since Bush has been President, and 83,000 jobs were created this year at $100,000 per year. We simply can not compare the two sentences without much more information.


173 posted on 07/31/2004 10:50:23 PM PDT by mjaneangels@aolcom
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To: stuartcr
How bout what he has accomplished since election?
Old 07-17-2004, 08:51 PM
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PRESIDENT BUSH'S AMAZING ACCOMPLISHMENTS
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Abortion & Traditional Values

1. Banned Partial Birth Abortion - by far the most significant roll-back of abortion on demand since Roe v. Wade.

2. Reversed Clinton's move to strike Reagan's anti-abortion Mexico Policy.

3. By Executive Order (EO), reversed Clinton's policy of not requiring parental consent for abortions under the Medical Privacy Act.

4. By EO, prohibited federal funds for international family planning groups that provide abortions and related services.

5. Upheld the ban on abortions at military hospitals.

6. Made $33 million available for abstinence education programs in 2004.

7. Supports the Defense of Marriage Act - and a Constitutional amendment saying marriage is between one man and one woman.

8. Requires states to conduct criminal background checks on prospective foster and adoptive parents.

9. Requires districts to let students transfer out of dangerous schools.

10. Requires schools to have a zero-tolerance policy for classroom disruption (reintroducing discipline into classrooms).

11. Signed the Teacher Protection Act, which protects teachers from lawsuits related to student discipline.

12. Expanded the role of faith-based and community organizations in after-school programs.

Budget, Taxes & Economy

1. Signed two income tax cuts, one of which was the largest dollar-value tax cut in world history.

2. Supports permanent elimination of the death tax.

3. Turned around an inherited economy that was in recession, and deeply shocked as a result of the 9/11 attacks.

4. Is seeking legislation to amend the Constitution to give the president line-item veto authority.

5. In process of permanently eliminating IRS marriage penalty.

6. Increased small business incentives to expand and to hire new people.

7. Initiated discussion on privatizing Social Security and individual investment accounts.

8. Killed Clinton's "ergonomic" rules that OSHA was about to implement; rules would have shut down every home business in America.

9. Passed tough new laws to hold corporate criminals to account as a result of corporate scandals.

10. Reduced taxes on dividends and capital gains.

11. Signed trade promotion authority.

12. Reduced and is working to ultimately eliminate the estate tax for family farms and ranches.

13. Fight Europe's ban on importing biotech crops from the United States.

14. Exempt food from unilateral trade sanctions and embargoes.

15. Provided $20 million to states to help people with disabilities work from home.

16. Created a fund to encourage technologies that help the disabled.

17. Increased the annual contribution limit on Education IRA's from $500 to $2,000 per child.

18. Make permanent the $5,000 adoption tax credit and provide $1 billion over five years to increase the credit to $10,000.

19. Grant a complete tax exemption for prepaid or college tuition savings plans.

20. Reduced H1B visas from a high of 195,000 per year to 66,000 per year.

Character & Conduct as President

1. Changed the tone in the White House, restoring HONOR and DIGNITY to the presidency.

2. Has reintroduced the mention of God and faith into public discourse.

3. Handled himself with enormous courage, dignity, grace, determination, and leadership in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 hijackings and anthrax attacks. He almost single-handedly held this country together during those searing days:

Just three days after the attacks, in his address at the National Cathedral, the President reassured the nation when he said: "War has been waged against us by stealth and deceit and murder. This nation is peaceful, but fierce when stirred to anger. This conflict was begun on the timing and terms of others. It will end in a way, and at an hour, of our choosing."

On Friday, September 14, 2001, President Bush visited Ground Zero. Standing on a crushed and burned fire engine atop the smoldering pile at Ground Zero, he put his arm around a retired firefighter who had volunteered to help, and began speaking to the crowd. Rescue workers shouted that they could not hear him. Someone handed him a small American flag and bullhorn. The President spontaneously shouted: "I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon." The crowd roared with cheers and chants of "USA! USA! USA!" Then he raised that American flag and rallied a nation.

Education & Employment Training

1. Signed the No Child Left Behind Act, delivering the most dramatic education reforms in a generation (challenging the soft bigotry of low expectations). The very liberal California Teachers union is currently running radio ads against the accountability provisions of this Act.

2. Announced "Jobs for the 21st Century," a comprehensive plan to better prepare workers for jobs in the new millennium by strengthening post-secondary education and job training, and by improving high school education.

3. Is working to provide vouchers to low-income students in persistently failing schools to help with costs of attending private schools. (Blocked in the Senate.)

4. Requires annual reading and math tests in grades three through eight.

5. Requires states to participate in the National Assessment of Education Progress, or an equivalent program, to establish a national benchmark for academic performance.

6. Requires school-by-school accountability report cards.

7. Established a $2.4 billion fund to help states implement teacher accountability systems.

8. Increased funding for the Troops-to-Teachers program, which recruits former military personnel to become teachers.

Environment & Energy

1. Killed the Kyoto Global Warming Treaty.

2. Submitted a comprehensive Energy Plan (awaits Congressional action). The plan works to develop cleaner technology, produce more natural gas here at home, make America less dependent on foreign sources of energy, improve national grid, etc.

3. Established a $10 million grant program to promote private conservation initiatives.

4. Significantly eased field-testing controls of genetically engineered crops.

5. Changed parts of the Forestry Management Act to allow necessary cleanup of the national forests in order to reduce fire danger.

6. Part of national forests cleanup: Restricted judicial challenges (based on the Endangered Species Act and other challenges), and removed the need for an Environmental Impact Statement before removing fuels/logging to reduce fire danger.

7. Killed Clinton's CO2 rules that were choking off all of the electricity surplus to California.

8. Provided matching grants for state programs that help private landowners protect rare species.

Defense & Foreign Policy

1. Successfully executed two wars in the aftermath of 9/11/01: Afghanistan and Iraq. 50 million people who had lived under tyrannical regimes now live in freedom.

2. Saddam Hussein is now in prison. His two murderous sons are dead. All but a handful of the regime's senior members were killed or captured.

3. Leader by leader and member by member, al Maida is being hunted down in dozens of countries around the world. Of the senior al Qaeda leaders, operational managers, and key facilitators the U.S. Government has been tracking, nearly two-thirds have been taken into custody or killed. The detentions or deaths of senior al Qaeda leaders, including Khalid Shaykh Muhammad, the mastermind of 9/11, and Muhammad Atef, Osama bin Laden's second-in-command until his death in late 2001, have been important in the War on Terror.

4. Disarmed Libya of its chemical, nuclear and biological WMD's without bribes or bloodshed.

5. Continues to execute the War On Terror, getting worldwide cooperation to track funds/terrorists. Has cut off much of the terrorists' funding, and captured or killed many key leaders of the al Qaeda network.

6. Initiated a comprehensive review of our military, which was completed just prior to 9/11/01, and which accurately reported that ASYMMETRICAL WARFARE capabilities were critical in the 21st Century.

7. Killed the old US/Soviet Union ABM Treaty that was preventing the U.S. from deploying our ABM defenses.

8. Has been one of the strongest, if not THE strongest friend Israel has ever hand in the U.S. presidency.

9. Part of the coalition for an Israeli/Palestinian "Roadmap to Peace," along with Great Britain, Russia and the EU.

10. Pushed through THREE raises for our military. Increased military pay by more than $1 billion a year.

11. Signed the LARGEST nuclear arms reduction in world history with Russia.

12. Started withdrawing our troops from Bosnia, and has announced withdrawal of our troops from Germany and the Korean DMZ.

13. Prohibited putting U.S. troops under U.N. command.

14. Paid back UN dues only in return for reforms and reduction of U.S. share of the costs.

15. Earmarked at least 20 percent of the Defense procurement budget for next-generation weaponry.

16. Increased defense research and development spending by at least $20 billion from fiscal 2002 to 2006.

17. Ordered a comprehensive review of military weapons and strategy.

18. Ordered a review of overseas deployments.

19. Ordered renovation of military housing. The military has already upgraded about 10 percent of its inventory and expects to modernize 76,000 additional homes this year.

20. Is working to tighten restrictions on military-technology exports.

21. Brought back our EP-3 intel plane and crew from China without any bribes or bloodshed.

Globalization & Internationalism

1. Challenged the United Nations to live up to their responsibilities and not become another League of Nations (in other words, showed the UN to be completely irrelevant).

2. Killed U.S. involvement in the International Criminal Court.

3. Told the United Nations we weren't interested in their plans for gun control (i.e., the International Ban on Small Arms Trafficking Treaty).

4. The only President since the founding of the UN to essentially tell that organization it is irrelevant. He said: "The conduct of the Iraqi regime is a threat to the authority of the United Nations, and a threat to peace. Iraq has answered a decade of UN demands with a decade of defiance. All the world now faces a test, and the United Nations a difficult and defining moment. Are Security Council resolutions to be honored and enforced, or cast aside without consequence? Will the United Nations serve the purpose of its founding, or will it be irrelevant?" We all know the outcome and the answer.

5. Told the Congress and the world, "America will never seek a permission slip to defend the security of our country."

Government Reform

1. Improved government efficiency by putting hundreds of thousands of jobs put up for bid. This weakens public-sector unions and cuts undeserved pay raises.

2. Initiated review of all federal agencies with the goal of eliminating federal jobs (completed September 2003) in an effort to reduce the size of the federal government while increasing private sector jobs.

3. Led the most extensive reorganization the Federal bureaucracy in over 50 years: After 9/11, condensed 20+ overlapping agencies and their intelligence sectors into one agency, the Department of Homeland Security.

4. Ordered each agency to draft a five-year plan to restructure itself, with fewer managers.

5. Converted federal service contracts to performance-based contracts wherever possible so that the contractor has measurable performance goals.

Health

1. Strengthen the National Health Service Corps to put more physicians in the neediest areas, and make its scholarship funds tax-free.

2. Double the research budget of the National Institutes of Health.

3. Signed Medicare Reform, which includes:

A 10-year privatization option.

Prescription drug benefits: Prior to this reform, Medicare paid for extended hospital stays for ulcer surgery, for example, at a cost of about $28,000 per patient. Yet Medicare would not pay for the drugs that eliminate the cause of most ulcers, drugs that cost about $500 a year. Now, drug coverage under Medicare will allow seniors to replace more expensive surgeries and hospitalizations with less expensive prescription medicine.

More health care choices: As President Bush stated, "'when seniors have the ability to make choices, health care plans within Medicare will have to compete for their business by offering higher quality service [at lower cost]. For the seniors of America, more choices and more control will mean better health care. These are the kinds of health care options we give to the members of Congress and federal employees. What's good for members of Congress is also good for seniors.

New Health Savings Accounts: Effective January 1, 2004, Americans can set aside up to $4,500 every year, tax free, to save for medical expenses. Depending on your tax bracket, that means you'll save between 10 to 35 percent on any costs covered by money in your account. Every year, the money not spent would stay in the account and gain interest tax-free, just like an IRA. These accounts will be good for small business owners, and employees. More businesses can focus on covering workers for major medical problems, such as hospitalization for an injury or illness. At the same time, employees and their families will use these accounts to cover doctors visits, or lab tests, or other smaller costs. Some employers will contribute to employee health accounts. This will help more American families get the health care they need at the price they can afford.

Homeland Security, Border Enforcement & Immigration

1. *See Government Reform above. Under President Bush's leadership, America has made an unprecedented commitment to homeland security.

2. Has CONSTRUCTION in process on the first 10 ABM silos in Alaska so that America will have a defense against North Korean nukes. Has ordered national and theater ballistic missile defenses to be deployed by 2004.

3. Announced a 9.7% increase in government-wide homeland security funding in his FY 2005 budget, nearly tripling the FY 2001 levels (excluding the Department of Defense and Project BioShield).

4. Before DHS was created, there were inspectors from three different agencies of the Federal Government and Border Patrol officers protecting our borders. Through DHS, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) now consolidates all border activities into a single agency to create "one face at the border." This not only better secures the borders of the United States, but it also eliminates many of the inefficiencies that occurred under the old system. With over 18,000 CBP inspectors and 11,000 Border Patrol agents, CBP has 29,000 uniformed officers on our borders.

5. The Border Patrol is continuing installation of monitoring devices along the borders to detect illegal activity.

6. Launched Operation Tarmac to investigate businesses and workers in the secure areas of domestic airports and ensure immigration law compliance. Since 9/11, DHS has audited 3,640 businesses, examined 259,037 employee records, arrested 1,030 unauthorized workers, and participated in the criminal indictment of 774 individuals.

7. Since September 11, 2001, the Coast Guard has conducted more than 124,000 port security patrols, 13,000 air patrols, boarded more than 92,000 vessels, interdicted over 14,000 individuals attempting to enter the United States illegally, and created and maintained more than 90 Maritime Security Zones.

8. Announced the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), an internet-based system that is improving America's ability to track and monitor foreign students and exchange visitors. Over 870,000 students are registered in SEVIS. Of 285 completed field investigations, 71 aliens were arrested.

9. This week, the US-VISIT program began to digitally collect biometric identifiers to record the entry and exit of aliens who travel into the U.S on a visa. Together with the standard information, this new program will confirm compliance with visa and immigration policies.

10. Eliminated INS bureaucratic redundancies and lack of accountability.

11. Split the Immigration and Naturalization Service into two agencies: one to protect the border and interior, the other to deal with naturalization.

12. Signed the workplace verification bill to prevent hiring of illegal aliens.

13. Established a six-month deadline for processing immigration applications.

14. Information regarding nearly 100% of all containerized cargo is carefully screened by DHS before it arrives in the United States. Higher risk shipments are physically inspected for terrorist weapons and contraband prior to being released from the port of entry. Advanced technologies are being deployed to identify warning signs of chemical, biological, or radiological attacks. Since September 11, 2001, hundreds of thousands of first responders across America have been trained to recognize and respond to the effects of a WMD attack.

Judiciary & Tort Reform

1. Is urging federal liability reform to eliminate frivolous lawsuits.

2. Killed the liberal ABA's unconstitutional role in vetting federal judges. The Senate is supposed to advise and consent, not the ABA.

3. Is nominating strong, conservative judges to the judiciary.

4. Supports class action reform bill which limits lawyer fees so that more settlement money goes to victims.

Politics

1. His leadership resulted in Republican gains in the House and Senate, solidifying Republican control of both houses of Congress and the presidency.

2. Signed an EO enforcing the Supreme Court's Beck decision regarding union dues being used for political campaigns against individual's wishes.

Second Amendment

1. Ordered Attorney General Ashcroft to formally notify the Supreme Court that the OFFICIAL U.S. government position on the 2nd Amendment is that it supports INDIVIDUAL rights to own firearms, and is NOT a Leftist-imagined "collective" right.

2. Signed TWO bills into law that arm our pilots with handguns in the cockpit.

3. Currently pushing for full immunity from lawsuits for our national gun manufacturers.

4. *See Globalization & Internationalism.

Traditional Values, Compassion & Volunteerism

1. Endorses and promotes "The Responsibility Era." President Bush often speaks of the necessity of personal responsibility and civic volunteerism. He said, "In a compassionate society, people respect one another and take responsibility for the decisions they make in life. My hope is to change the culture from one that has said, if it feels good, do it; if you've got a problem, blame somebody else - to one in which every single American understands that he or she is responsible for the decisions that you make; you're responsible for loving your children with all your heart and all your soul; you're responsible for being involved with the quality of the education of your children; you're responsible for making sure the community in which you live is safe; you're responsible for loving your neighbor, just like you would like to be loved yourself."

2. Started the USA Freedom Corps, the most comprehensive clearinghouse of volunteer opportunities ever offered. For the first time in history, Americans can enter geographic information about where they want to get involved, such as state or zip code, as well as areas of interest ranging from education to the environment, and they can access volunteer opportunities offered by more than 50,000 organizations across the country and around the world.

3. Established the The White House Office and the Centers for the Faith-Based and Community Initiative, located in seven Federal agencies. The faith-based initiative supports the essential work of these important organizations. The goal is to make sure that grassroots leaders can compete on an equal footing for federal dollars, receive greater private support, and face fewer bureaucratic barriers. Work focuses on at-risk youth, ex-offenders, the homeless and hungry, substance abusers, those with HIV/AIDS, and welfare-to-work families.

4. The White House released a guidebook fully describing the Administration's belief that faith-based groups have a Constitutionally-protected right to maintain their religious identity through hiring - even when Federal funds are involved.

5. Issued an EO implementing the Supreme Court's Olmstead ruling, which requires moving disabled people from institutions to community-based facilities when possible.

6.Increased funding for low-interest loan programs to help people with disabilities purchase devices to assist them.

7. Revised the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Section 8 rent subsidies to disabled people, permitting them to use up to a year's worth of vouchers to finance down payments on homes. HUD has started pilot programs in 11 states.

8. Committed US funds to purchase medicine for millions of men, women and children now suffering with AIDS in Africa.

9. Heeding the words of our own Declaration of Independence, the president laid out the non-negotiable demands of human dignity for all people everywhere. On January 29, 2002, he said, "No nation owns these aspirations, and no nation is exempt from them. We have no intention of imposing our culture. But America will always stand firm for the non-negotiable demands of human dignity." As stated by the President, they are a virtual manifesto of conservative principles:

__________________


Naw, he didn't do anything.../sarcasm>

174 posted on 08/01/2004 9:36:44 AM PDT by Issaquahking (U.N., greenies, etc. battling against the U.S. and Constitution one freedom at a time. Fight Back !)
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To: Issaquahking; Libertina; isasis

For your reading enjoyment.


175 posted on 08/01/2004 10:01:20 AM PDT by Issaquahking (U.N., greenies, etc. battling against the U.S. and Constitution one freedom at a time. Fight Back !)
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To: Issaquahking

Good sized reply...I promise I'll read it.


176 posted on 08/01/2004 6:33:25 PM PDT by stuartcr
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To: ItsOurTimeNow

And CHALLENGE. Kerry has never attacked Bush, only CHALLENGED him. Caught that lovely in another AP headline.
(Or was it Yahoo? Same diff...)


177 posted on 08/01/2004 6:37:40 PM PDT by stands2reason (Kerry/Edwards: TERRORISTS FLEE FROM BETTER HAIR!!!)
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To: stuartcr

Kerry had 20 years in the Senate and managed to accomplish nil. That in itself is quite an accomplishment. ;-)


178 posted on 08/01/2004 6:39:59 PM PDT by stands2reason (Kerry/Edwards: TERRORISTS FLEE FROM BETTER HAIR!!!)
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To: stands2reason

OK, thanks


179 posted on 08/01/2004 7:18:31 PM PDT by stuartcr
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To: stuartcr
. . .whatever Kerry set out to acheive; he always approached his goals unencumbered by moral contraints.

Couldl not even 'sell cookies' without trying to steal them first.

Like most Left-wing/Libeals; truth depends on so many variables as to make it an impossible value.

180 posted on 08/01/2004 7:38:46 PM PDT by cricket ( Keep your head. . .Vote Republican)
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