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BUSH PROPOSES LARGEST EXPANSION OF GOVERNMENT SINCE TRUMAN
CNN ^ | 6/6/2002 | President

Posted on 06/06/2002 5:17:43 PM PDT by UnBlinkingEye

I am watching President Bush giving a speech on CNN telling us he is expanding federal government more than any Democrat since Truman.


TOPICS: Your Opinion/Questions
KEYWORDS: bush; defense; expansion; homeland
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To: sinkspur
I was pointing out a very plain hypocrisy, and you reply with Ebonics? What happened to you? You used to be one of the toughest posters to disagree with, because you always brought good information, solid logical thought processes, and deep conviction (despite being on the wrong side of the argument, LOL). Why the lame adolescent come-backs?

I hope to see you back in top form soon... I think, hehe. =^/

221 posted on 06/06/2002 7:01:26 PM PDT by Teacher317
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To: texlok
the tools and laws were in place to stop 9/11, some mid-level bureaucrats left over from the clinton PC bonanza decided to ignore/bury the evidence,

It seems to me that you and Bush agree and that the natural conclusion to the above is to reorganize so that its less likely evidence regarding terrorists will get buried again.

222 posted on 06/06/2002 7:01:41 PM PDT by VRWC_minion
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To: magellan
No clue
223 posted on 06/06/2002 7:02:25 PM PDT by PoppingSmoke
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To: Texasforever
Me: I'm no liar, want to compare SAT scores?

You: The ones you took last week?

No, I took the SAT in 1971, before they dumbed it down.

Of course I'm still willing to compare, regardless of when your test date occurred.

224 posted on 06/06/2002 7:02:52 PM PDT by UnBlinkingEye
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To: PoppingSmoke
And one does not throw the baby out with the bath water.

And two rights don't make a wrong.

And a penny saved is a penny earned.

And.......

225 posted on 06/06/2002 7:03:49 PM PDT by Lower55
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To: Trailerpark Badass
The above may illustrate the furthest reaches of your intelligence, but, thankfully, some of us are more sophisticated.

Sorry, I try to write to my audience. Next time I'll speak slower so you can keep up.

226 posted on 06/06/2002 7:04:39 PM PDT by VRWC_minion
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To: UnBlinkingEye
Just in case you didn't hear, see, or read the speech......... Not from CNN.....

Remarks by the President in Address to the Nation
The Cross Hall

8:00 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Good evening. During the next few minutes, I want to update you on the progress we are making in our war against terror, and to propose sweeping changes that will strengthen our homeland against the ongoing threat of terrorist attacks.

Nearly nine months have passed since the day that forever changed our country. Debris from what was once the World Trade Center has been cleared away in a hundred thousand truckloads. The west side of the Pentagon looks almost as it did on September the 10th. And as children finish school and families prepare for summer vacations, for many, life seems almost normal.

Yet we are a different nation today -- sadder and stronger, less innocent and more courageous, more appreciative of life, and for many who serve our country, more willing to risk life in a great cause. For those who have lost family and friends, the pain will never go away -- and neither will the responsibilities that day thrust upon all of us. America is leading the civilized world in a titanic struggle against terror. Freedom and fear are at war -- and freedom is winning. President George W. Bush address the nation from the White House on his intention to create a cabinet level position for Office of Homeland Security on Thursday June 6, 2002. White House photo by Paul Morse.

Tonight over 60,000 American troops are deployed around the world in the war against terror -- more than 7,000 in Afghanistan; others in the Philippines, Yemen, and the Republic of Georgia, to train local forces. Next week Afghanistan will begin selecting a representative government, even as American troops, along with our allies, still continuously raid remote al Qaeda hiding places.

Among those we have captured is a man named Abu Zabedah, al Qaeda's chief of operations. From him, and from hundreds of others, we are learning more about how the terrorists plan and operate; information crucial in anticipating and preventing future attacks.

Our coalition is strong. More than 90 nations have arrested or detained over 2,400 terrorists and their supporters. More than 180 countries have offered or are providing assistance in the war on terrorism. And our military is strong and prepared to oppose any emerging threat to the American people.

Every day in this war will not bring the drama of liberating a country. Yet every day brings new information, a tip or arrest, another step, or two, or three in a relentless march to bring security to our nation and justice to our enemies.

Every day I review a document called the threat assessment. It summarizes what our intelligence services and key law enforcement agencies have picked up about terrorist activity. Sometimes the information is very general -- vague talk, bragging about future attacks. Sometimes the information is more specific, as in a recent case when an al Qaeda detainee said attacks were planned against financial institutions.

When credible intelligence warrants, appropriate law enforcement and local officials are alerted. These warnings are, unfortunately, a new reality in American life -- and we have recently seen an increase in the volume of general threats. Americans should continue to do what you're doing -- go about your lives, but pay attention to your surroundings. Add your eyes and ears to the protection of our homeland. President George W. Bush address the nation from the White House on his intention to create a cabinet level position for Office of Homeland Security on Thursday June 6, 2002. White House photo by Paul Morse.

In protecting our country, we depend on the skill of our people -- the troops we send to battle, intelligence operatives who risk their lives for bits of information, law enforcement officers who sift for clues and search for suspects. We are now learning that before September the 11th, the suspicions and insights of some of our front-line agents did not get enough attention.

My administration supports the important work of the intelligence committees in Congress to review the activities of law enforcement and intelligence agencies. We need to know when warnings were missed or signs unheeded -- not to point the finger of blame, but to make sure we correct any problems, and prevent them from happening again.

Based on everything I've seen, I do not believe anyone could have prevented the horror of September the 11th. Yet we now know that thousands of trained killers are plotting to attack us, and this terrible knowledge requires us to act differently.

If you're a front-line worker for the FBI, the CIA, some other law enforcement or intelligence agency, and you see something that raises suspicions, I want you to report it immediately. I expect your supervisors to treat it with the seriousness it deserves. Information must be fully shared, so we can follow every lead to find the one that may prevent tragedy.

I applaud the leaders and employees at the FBI and CIA for beginning essential reforms. They must continue to think and act differently to defeat the enemy.

The first and best way to secure America's homeland is to attack the enemy where he hides and plans, and we're doing just that. We're also taking significant steps to strengthen our homeland protections -- securing cockpits, tightening our borders, stockpiling vaccines, increasing security at water treatment and nuclear power plants.

After September the 11th, we needed to move quickly, and so I appointed Tom Ridge as my Homeland Security Advisor. As Governor Ridge has worked with all levels of government to prepare a national strategy, and as we have learned more about the plans and capabilities of the terrorist network, we have concluded that our government must be reorganized to deal more effectively with the new threats of the 21st century. So tonight, I ask the Congress to join me in creating a single, permanent department with an overriding and urgent mission: securing the homeland of America, and protecting the American people.

Right now, as many as a hundred different government agencies have some responsibilities for homeland security, and no one has final accountability. For example, the Coast Guard has several missions, from search and rescue to maritime treaty enforcement. It reports to the Transportation Department, whose primary responsibilities are roads, rails, bridges and the airways. The Customs Service, among other duties, collects tariffs and prevents smuggling -- and it is part of the Treasury Department, whose primary responsibility is fiscal policy, not security.

Tonight, I propose a permanent Cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security to unite essential agencies that must work more closely together: Among them, the Coast Guard, the Border Patrol, the Customs Service, Immigration officials, the Transportation Security Administration, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Employees of this new agency will come to work every morning knowing their most important job is to protect their fellow citizens. The Department of Homeland Security will be charged with --

The Department of Homeland Security will be charged with four primary tasks. This new agency will control our borders and prevent terrorists and explosives from entering our country. It will work with state and local authorities to respond quickly and effectively to emergencies. It will bring together our best scientists to develop technologies that detect biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons, and to discover the drugs and treatments to best protect our citizens. And this new department will review intelligence and law enforcement information from all agencies of government, and produce a single daily picture of threats against our homeland. Analysts will be responsible for imagining the worst, and planning to counter it.

The reason to create this department is not to create the size of government, but to increase its focus and effectiveness. The staff of this new department will be largely drawn from the agencies we are combining. By ending duplication and overlap, we will spend less on overhead, and more on protecting America. This reorganization will give the good people of our government their best opportunity to succeed by organizing our resources in a way that is thorough and unified.

What I am proposing tonight is the most extensive reorganization of the federal government since the 1940s. During his presidency, Harry Truman recognized that our nation's fragmented defenses had to be reorganized to win the Cold War. He proposed uniting our military forces under a single Department of Defense, and creating the National Security Council to bring together defense, intelligence, and diplomacy. Truman's reforms are still helping us to fight terror abroad, and now we need similar dramatic reforms to secure our people at home.

Only the United States Congress can create a new department of government. So tonight, I ask for your help in encouraging your representatives to support my plan. We face an urgent need, and we must move quickly, this year, before the end of the congressional session. All in our government have learned a great deal since September the 11th, and we must act on every lesson. We are stronger and better prepared tonight than we were on that terrible morning -- and with your help, and the support of Congress, we will be stronger still.

History has called our nation into action. History has placed a great challenge before us: Will America -- with our unique position and power -- blink in the face of terror, or will we lead to a freer, more civilized world? There's only one answer: This great country will lead the world to safety, security, peace and freedom.

Thank you for listening. Good night, and may God bless America.

END 8:13 P.M. EDT


227 posted on 06/06/2002 7:04:50 PM PDT by deport
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To: discostu
Good List

Now where's the list of Legislative Oversight Committees that are about to implode?!

228 posted on 06/06/2002 7:04:58 PM PDT by Drumbo
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To: Lower55
Your point? or don't you have one.
229 posted on 06/06/2002 7:05:36 PM PDT by PoppingSmoke
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To: MississippiDeltaDawg
But when Carter added another cabinet post there were two major differences:
1 - the department that cabinet guy was to run was outside of the responsibilities of the federal government as outlined in the constitution.
2 - the department wasn't made up of agencies stolen from other departments, it actually got new agencies and increased the bottom line of government and the number of employees.

This is a re-org pure and simple. Not growth, just moving things around and tweaking responsibility.

230 posted on 06/06/2002 7:05:38 PM PDT by discostu
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Comment #231 Removed by Moderator

To: PoppingSmoke
I though you were quoting old sayings....sorry.
232 posted on 06/06/2002 7:06:43 PM PDT by Lower55
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To: Geezerette
Can you tell me what year that department's name was changed from The War Department to the Department of Defense? I distinctly remember it referred to as The War Department years and years ago, but I don't remember when it changed.

Up until the Defense Reorganization Act of 1947 there were two departments, War and Navy. In that Act these two departments were made part of the new Defense Department, with the Air Force added as a third branch. The Marine Corp got a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but they remain within the Navy. The Defense Department has inherited the seniority of the War department.

233 posted on 06/06/2002 7:07:55 PM PDT by Lucius Cornelius Sulla
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To: deport
I bet Tom Daschle is cuttin' buttonholes.
234 posted on 06/06/2002 7:08:41 PM PDT by Lower55
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To: UnBlinkingEye
Of course I'm still willing to compare

Reminds me of the joke whose punch line is "And deep too".

235 posted on 06/06/2002 7:08:45 PM PDT by VRWC_minion
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To: VRWC_minion
Some advise, your arguments are getting more hysterical each moment. Maybe you should start a new thread like "How chimpy wants to sell us out for oil" or something.

Actually the word is spelled advice.

I see no reason to call the President a "chimp", no doubt he has ties to oil interests.

236 posted on 06/06/2002 7:08:49 PM PDT by UnBlinkingEye
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To: Texasforever
Expansion? Did they miss the part about using existing agencies to fill the need? Selective hearing, I guess. They have made up their mind what they want to believe. Bush could say the sky is blue and they would ask "How did he know, and when did he know it? It's not blue, it's yellow and green"
237 posted on 06/06/2002 7:09:03 PM PDT by RedBloodedAmerican
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To: UnBlinkingEye
Of course I'm still willing to compare, regardless of when your test date occurred.

So in your mind, SAT=intelligence? Tell me what would be the next metric in our little show and tell. I entered College in 1963, I took no SATs just very tough individual collage entrance exams. I passed each one with flying colors. Now for a person, a "smart" person, that does not know the distiction between consolidation and expansion I would assume you were in the control group of dumbed down test SATs and just didn't know it.

238 posted on 06/06/2002 7:10:18 PM PDT by Texasforever
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To: UnBlinkingEye
I do. People like Osama are the violent equivalent to environmentalists. They don't respond to logic or reason. Osama needed an enemy and we were the biggest target. Best case scenario is he kills 3000 of somebody else's people, which really isn't any better.
239 posted on 06/06/2002 7:11:20 PM PDT by discostu
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To: Texasforever
I'll side with you, the engineer. I know it takes a lot to drive a train. just kidding..
240 posted on 06/06/2002 7:12:43 PM PDT by Lower55
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