George W. Bush--The First 30 Months

The Summer of Our Discontent with George W. Bush

The amount of discontent being expressed toward President George W. Bush on Free Republic seems to be increasing exponentially.

For the purpose of discussion, I have attempted to to draw up 2 lists. The first list is of accomplishments or 'directions' this administration is going. The second list, is for those items or behaviors many would like to see addressed or changed. I have made every attempt to list as many items as I could recall....or find by perusing MANY threads. I am sure I have missed some items.

Obviously, some of you will think some items on each list are not correct, that they should either NOT be listed, or are listed on the wrong list. Either way, it IS a start.

I have gleaned these items from multiple threads and posts going back over two years on Free Republic. These are NOT listed in any 'time-line' order.

If you have individual ping lists.....please use them to facilitate the widest possible discussion.

Presidency of George W. Bush --the first 30 months

Killed the Kyoto Global Warming Treaty.

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

Killed the U.S. - CCCP ABM Treaty that was preventing the U.S. from deploying our ABM defenses.

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

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

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

Passed 2 tax cuts----1 of which was the largest tax-Dollar value tax cut in history

Pushed through TWO raises for our military.

Increased Defense Dept funding which had deteriorated during the previous 8 years

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

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

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, NOT a leftist-imagined "collective" right.

Successfully executed 2 wars: Afghanistan and Iraq. 50 million people who had lived under tyrannical regimes now live in freedom.

Changed the tone in the White House, restoring HONOR and DIGNITY to the Presidency

Reorganized bureaucracy...after 9/11, condensed 20+ overlapping agencies and their intelligence sectors into one agency: the Department of Homeland Security.

Initiated discussion on Social security and individual investment accounts.

Improving govt. efficiency with .8 million jobs put up for bid...weakening unions and cutting undeserved pay raises. Wants merit based promotions/raises only.

Executed a WAR ON TERROR by getting world-wide cooperation to track funds/terrorists (has cut off much of the terrorist's funding and captured or killed many key leaders of the al Qaeda network)

Stopped foreign aid that would be used to fund abortions.

Ended abortions on military bases

Signed E.O. reversing Clinton policy of not requiring parental consent under the Medical Privacy Act

Told the United Nations we weren't interested in their plans for gun control.

Set to sign Partial Birth Abortion Ban

Orchestrated Republican control of the White House, the House AND the Senate.

Killed the liberal ABA's role in vetting federal judges for Congress.

GWB signed an executive order enforcing the Supreme Court's Beck decision (re: union dues being used for political campaigns against individual's wishes)

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

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

Signed the LARGEST nuclear arms reduction in world history with Russia

Initiated comprehensive review of our military, which was completed just prior to 9/11/01, accurately reported that ASYMMETRICAL WARFARE was critical.

Has CONSTRUCTION in process on the first ten ABM silos in Alaska, so that America will have a defense against North Korean nukes

Turning around an inherited economy in recession.

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

Reduced taxes on dividends and capital gains

In process of eliminating IRS marriage penalty.

Increased small business incentives to expand and to hire new people

Signed into law the CFR legislation (under dark of night)

Signed into law the No Child Left Behind legislation delivering the most dramatic education reforms in a generation (challenging the soft bigotry of low expectations)

Reorganized the INS in an attempt to safeguard the borders and ports of America and to eliminate bureaucratic redundancies and lack of accountability.

Signed trade promotion authority

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

Urging Medicare Reform

Urging federal liability reform to eliminate frivolous lawsuits

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

Submitted comprehensive energy plan--awaits Congressional action. ( works to develop cleaner technology, produce more natural gas here at home, make America less dependent on foreign sources of energy)

Endorses and promotes The Responsibility Era ("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 are 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. " -----this quote was too good to leave out)

Started the USA Freedom Corps

Pushing for passage of Prescription Drug Benefit package for Seniors which will have 'means' testing with a goal towards privatization of Medicare and CHOICES based on current Federal Employee Health benefits program.

Initiated review of all federal agencies with a goal to eliminate federal jobs (review to be done by September 2003) in an effort to reduce the size of federal gov while increasing private sector jobs.

Part of coalition (Russia, Israel, Palestine, USA) for Israeli/Palestinian "Roadmap to Peace"

Challenged the United Nations to live up to their responsibilities and not become The League of Nations ( in other words, completely irrelevant)

Nominated strong, conservative judges to the judiciary.

Changed parts of the Forestry Management Act to allow necessary clean-up of the national forests in order to reduce fire danger.

As part of the national forests clean-up, the President restricted judicial challenges (based on the Endangered Species Act and other challenges) and removed the need for an EIS (Enivironmental Impact Statement) before removing fuels/logging to reduce fire danger.

Significantly eased field-testing controls of genetically engineered crops.

Cut federal spending on libraries by $39 million.

Cut $35 million in funding for doctors to get advanced pediatric training.

Cut funding for research into renewable energy sources by 50%.

Revoked rules that reduced the acceptable levels of arsenic in drinking water.

Blocked rules that would require federal agencies to offer bilingual assistance to non-English speaking persons

Proposed to eliminate new marine protections for the Channel Islands and the coral reefs of northwest Hawaii

Cut funding for research into cleaner, more efficient cars and trucks by 28%

Suspended rules that would have strengthened the government's ability to deny contracts to companies that violated workplace safety, environmental and other federal laws.

Approved the sending of letters by Interior Department appointee Gale Norton to state officials soliciting suggestions for opening up national monuments for oil and gas drilling, coal mining, and foresting.

Appointed John Negroponte -- an unindicted high-level Iran Contra figure to the post of United Nations Ambassador.

Abandoned a campaign pledge to invest $100 million for rainforest conservation.

Reduced by 86% the Community Access Program for public hospitals, clinics and providers of care for people without insurance.

Rescinded a proposal to increase public access to information about the potential consequences resulting from chemical plant accidents.

Suspended rules that would require hardrock miners to clean up sites on public lands.

Cut $60 million from a Boy's and Girl's Clubs of America program for public housing.

Proposed to eliminate a federal program, designed and successfully used in Seattle, to help communities prepare for natural disasters

Eliminated funding for the Wetlands Reserve Program, which encourages farmers to maintain wetlands habitat on their property.

Cut program to provide childcare to low-income families as they move from welfare to work.

Cut a program that provided prescription contraceptive coverage to federal employees (though it still pays for Viagra).

Cut $700 million in capital funds for repairs in public housing

Appointed Otto Reich -- an un-indicted high-level Iran Contra figure -- to Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs.

Cut the budget of the Environmental Protection Agency by $500 million.

Proposed to curtail the ability of groups to sue in order to get an animal placed on the Endangered Species List

Rescinded the rule that mandated increased energy-saving efficiency regulations for central air conditioners and heat pumps.

Abandoned campaign pledge to regulate carbon dioxide, the waste gas that contributes to global warming.

Gutted the White House AIDS Office.

Renegotiated a free trade agreement with Jordan to eliminate workers's rights and safeguards for the environment.

Cut the Community Oriented Policing Services program

Allowed Interior Secretary Gale Norton to shelve citizen-led grizzly bear re-introduction plan scheduled for Idaho and Montana wilderness

Continues to hold up federal funding for stem cell research projects

Makes sure convicted misdemeanor drug users cannot get financial aid for college, though convicted murderers can

Refused to fund continued cleanup of uranium-slag heap in Utah

Refused to fund continued litigation of the government's tobacco company lawsuit.

Signed a bill making it harder for poor and middle-class Americans to file for bankruptcy, even in the case of daunting medical bills

Cut $15.7 million earmarked for states to investigate cases of child abuse and neglect

Helped kill a law designed to make it tougher for teenagers to get credit cards

Canceled 2004 deadline for automakers to develop prototype high mileage cars.

Earmarked $4 million in new federal grant money for HIV and drug abuse prevention programs to go only to religious groups and not secular equivalents

Reduced the Low Income Home Assistance Program by 40%; it aided low-income individuals who need assistance paying energy bills

Told U.N. "NO" re: global tax

Items still to be accomplished and/or addressed

Allow sunsetting of AWB

Fix illegal immigration issues and border control

Limit/eliminate federal entitlement programs

Cut size of federal budget

Shrink federal government job force

Hate all Dems and do not treat them civilly

Don't appoint any homosexuals to public office

Don't meet with Grover Norquist--or Muslims--or Homosexuals

Kill all terrorists in Israel

Drop the idea of a Palestinian state

"Eliminate" all Palestinians

Need means testing on Senior Rx legislation

Get the United States out of the United Nations

Banish the United Nations from U.S. soil.

Stop all foreign aid.

Stop all foreign aid to the Palestinians

Eliminate Steel and Wood tarrifs

Talk non-stop, at every opportunity, about judicial nominees and lack of Senate vote.

Push Frist out.....bring back Trent Lott

Fire Karl Rove

Fire Colin Powell

Of course, we are going to get such lists, and they are always impressive. No doubt, Bush is victorious in war, and during that time we lived day by day, hour by hour, for our trooops.

But, such a list isn't going to stop folks from asking obvious questions - and we need to continue to do so, and be aggressive about it. Because, one President isn't more important than conservative priciple. His re-election isn't a given.

Since its passage 30 years ago, the law known as Title IX, which bars discrimination against girls and young women in U.S. schools and colleges, has been twisted by America's anti-boy left-wing activists. With the laudable goal of assuring equal opportunities for girls in school, the law has required the elimination of hundreds of boys' athletic programs. Colleges and universities have been forced to cut men's wrestling, golf, swimming, track and other sports in order to comply with Title IX's "proportional representation" regulations. Failure to comply could mean the loss of federal funds. Last week the Bush administration urged a federal court to reject the lawsuit of the National Wrestling Coaches Association against the Department of Education (which originally wrote the offending regulations). The coaches' suit contends that U.S. rules are illegal, encourage gender quotas, and "mandate the very discrimination that Title IX prohibits." The Bush Justice Department raised procedural objections to the suit (statute of limitations, federal government immunity from suit) and didn't reach the substance of the plaintiffs' case. So we saw the beginnings of the Bush approach to this “diversity” issue, and recent Supreme Court rulings, of which Bush applauded in regards to the affirmative action ruling, all clearly demonstrate that re-election is more important to Bush, and some Bushies, than conservative principles. Where’s Bush? Either he says nothing or supports it. Where is Bush on the Davis (D-CA) recall? Where is he on illegal aliens? The latest court rulings have been the greatest calamity to conservative cause in decades – and it happens under a Republican President and he applauds it.

Anyone who asks questions, is attacked.

Tom Tancredo (R) would secure our nation and put an end to "Open Borders." This is the single most important public policy that will lessen the threat from aliens, who are hostile and willing to do harm to our citizens. Under Bush, guarding our borders means scrutiny for those who want to leave, while smiling at those who rush to enter. Tancredo embodies the common sense pro American viewpoint that only a politician of courage would dare demonstrate. He was then attacked by the Bush Administration, ostracized, for doing so. He was only one of so many that were ostracized.

How’s our borders? Safe? Where’s Bush on the illegal alien invasion?

Do we need to make “lists”? No, nor do we need to be silenced for asking questions (BECAUSE A LOT OF FOLKS ARE DOING EXACTLY THAT, and will CONTINUE TO DO SO), nor stop asking such questions. You will hear the questions asked on many of the communication channels of the conservative voice, including talk radio. And, the fanatical wing of some Bush groupies aren’t going to stop that, no way.

Yes, Bush has given us some tax cuts. The victory in Afghanistan and Iraq, historical.

But no one is going to stop asking questions because of a list of achievements.

Hey! “It’s the economy, stupid”, right? Do you know what’s happening across America, right now? The BOLD new WORLD? It’s GLOBAL, and it’s called offshore outsourcing. And where’s Bush on this?

Bush has a bold job plan for India. The GOP Hires 75 Telephone Marketers in New Delhi Suburb to Raise Funds for the Republicans.

What will they be doing. Raising money for the Republican coffers, of course. In the January 31, 2003, article in a New Delhi business publication called the "Business Standard," HCL eServe, the business process outsourcing arm of the India based HCL Technologies, is utilized, "HCL eServe has put in place a team of 75 people to work on the project out of its call centres in Noida and Gurgaon . . . These operators are required to call up people in the US seeking their support for President George W Bush and a donation for the Republican cause."

Working out of a software technology park in Noida, not far from New Delhi, these 75 telemarketers may be joined by additional workers if they raise lots of cash for the Bush campaign.

What will these telemarketers ask their callers? Indian telemarketers will be raising money for Bush and the GOP, and to inform Americans about all the Republicans are doing to increase jobs in America and improve the economy.

Of course, what better way to get the job done, than to use offshore outsourcing to get it done.

How Clintonesque.

Here ya go.

Do Republicans really support smaller government? Here are some interesting facts:

Republicans controlled both Houses of Congress from 1995 through 2001 during which time the federal budget grew from $1.4 trillion to $2.1 trillion (about $100 billion annually). [source]
Since Republicans took control of the House in 1995, federal discretionary spending has grown by a rate of about 7% annually. The number of earmarks lawmakers have put in the spending bills to steer federal funds to their districts has also grown. By one estimate, between fiscal years 2001 and 2002, they increased from about 6,300 to 8,300, or 32%. [source]
Social welfare programs under George W. Bush have grown by $96 billion in just two years, versus $51 billion under six years of Clinton, according to economist Stephen Moore of the Club for Growth. [source]
When Ronald Reagan became president in 1981 the federal budget was $680 billion. When he left office in 1989 the federal budget was $1.14 trillion -- an increase of 67%. [source]
The last Republican presidents to preside over a decrease in federal spending were Warren G. Harding (who served from 1921 until his death in 1923) and Calvin Coolidge (who served from 1923 until 1929). During that time federal spending decreased 44% from $5 billion to $2.85 billion. However, spending began increasing again in 1928 before Calvin Coolidge left office. [source]

WEALTH REDISTRIBUTION PROGRAMS & POLITICAL BOONDOGGLES

[source] $5 billion bailout and $10 billion loan for airlines via the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act.
[source] $521 million Amtrak budget for fiscal 2002.
[source] $205 million bailout plus $100 million loan to Amtrak.
[source] Dept. of Transportation budget increased by 6% over fiscal 2001 to $59.5 billion. (riddled with pork)
[source] $145 million for the New Freedom Initiative to ensure transportation alternatives for people with disabilities.
[source] "Homebuyer bill of rights" to Reform Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act -- federal regulation of real estate.
[source] Continued anti-trust lawsuit against Microsoft.
[source] $1 billion over 5 years for the poor to purchase homes via the "American Dream Down Payment Fund."
[source] Proposed $3.7 billion in new Medicare funding over the next three years (2003-2005) .
[source] Health care subsidies for laid-off workers and expanded job retraining benefits ($10 billion to $12 billion over 10 years).
[source] Wage insurance -- federal wage supplement.
[source] $67 million in taxpayers' money to finance presidential campaign via federal matching funds.
[source] Issued executive order creating the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.
[source] Submitted largest budget ever to Congress, $2.13 trillion.
[source] Increased debt-limit from $5.95 trillion to $6.4 trillion.
[source] Scholarships for Cuban students and professionals via the Initiative for a New Cuba.
[source] Increased budget for National Health Service Corps by $44 million to $191.5 million.
[source] $150 million for the Coast Guard and the Customs Service to hire new personnel.
[source] Increased farm subsidies by $180 billion over 10 years via the Farm Security Act.
[source] Increased Pentagon budget by 12% over fiscal 2001 from $316 billion to $355 billion.
[source] $560 million for the USA Freedom Corps which includes $230 million for AmeriCorps.
[source] Double the number of Peace Corps volunteers at a cost of $200 million over five years.
[source] $3.5 million for SuperBowl anti-drug ads.
[source] Faith-based subsidies.
[source] Increased federal spending on education from $39.9 billion to $44.5 billion via the "No Child Left Behind Act."
[source] Signed Congressional payraise of $4,900.
[source] Patients Bill of Rights.
[source] Federal Compassion Capital Fund, $700 million over 10 years.
[source] $100 million to beef up investigative manpower and technology at the SEC.
[source] $6 million to upgrade a U.S. Geological Survey data center near Sioux Falls, S.D.
[source] $10 million to help farmers near the Rio Grande River involved in a water dispute with Mexico.
[source] $7 million for enhancing water supplies in New Mexico.
[source] A provision pressuring the Agriculture Department to reimburse poultry producers in West Virginia and Virginia for losses from avian influenza.
[source] $1 billion for Pell grants for low-income students.
[source] $417 million for veterans' medical care.
[source] $400 million to help states improve voting systems.
[source] $100 million for countering western wildfires and floods.
[source] Taxpayer-funded national memorial, congressional gold medals, and gold coins for victims of 9/11.
[source] Scholarships and grants to nurses and help hospitals with retention.
[source] Increased the NEA budget by $10 million, to $126 million.
[source] $200,000 for a trucker congestion notification system in Tacoma, Washington.
[source] $500,000 to save the Prebles Meadow Jumping Mouse in Colorado.
[source] $62 million to promote the Sacajawea dollar coin.
[source] $100,000 a month to monitor news reports and offer advice on media strategy for the Pentagon.
[source] $1.5 million for maintenance of the Vulcan Statue in Alabama built for the 1904 World's Fair.
[source] $20 million annually for "Strategic Milk Reserve." Was phased out in 1999 by the 1996 Freedom to Farm Act. Congress extended it temporarily, and then made it permanent again in the farm bill that President Bush signed into law in May.
[source] $877 million in disaster relief for victims of Tropical Storm Allison.
[source] $2 million in federal recovery assistance to typhoon victims in Guam.
[source] Steel and lumber tariffs.
[source] $1.7 billion plus $300 million in emergency funds for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) via the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2001.
[source] $230 million for the Weatherization Assistance Program.
[source] Federal disaster relief for tonado victims in Maryland.
[source] Payoff to families of 9/11 victims with taxpayer money via the "Victim Compensation Fund."
[source] Bush pushes for school vouchers.
[source] $450,000 in federal funds for the Chicago Project for Violence Prevention for fiscal year 2003 on top of $750,000 in 2002.
[source] $752 million in drought aid to livestock farmers.
[source] $30 million in research grants over the next five years to develop new ways of making industrial products from plants and natural waste materials.
[source] $10 billion military reserve fund for the Pentagon.
[source] National Institute of Health to spend $24 million on a retirement facility for chimpanzees.
[source] $750,000 for grasshopper research in Alaska.
[source] $2 million to house a worm collection at the Smithsonian museum in Washington, DC.
[source] $400,000 to study manure management at the National Swine Research Center in Iowa.
[source] $4.2 million for a shrimp aquiculture research project in six states.
[source] $400,000 for the Montana Sheep Institute.
[source] $23.1 billion for the National Institute of Health for fiscal 2002, a 13.5% increase over fiscal 2001.
[source] $10 million upgrade for Amber Alerts.
[source] $1 million to upgrade a law enforcement communication system in Placer County, CA.
[source] $850,000 for a wastewater treatment facility in Placer County, CA
[source] $1.7 million to purchase 6,100 acres of land along the American River.
[source] $14 million for restoration projects in the Lake Tahoe basin.
[source] $3 million for the acquisition of land for rare plant preserves in El Dorado County, CA.
[source] $600,000 for the West Blount sewer system. (Alabama)
[source] $1 million for the Duck River Dam. (Alabama)
[source] $99,000 for sidewalk improvements at Vinemont Middle School. (Alabama)
[source] $100 million in grants for communities to develop mosquito-control programs. (pending)
[source] $753 million for Import-Export Bank.
Increased loan limit for Import-Export Bank to $25 billion. Taxpayers must guarantee loans.
[source] $159 billion deficit for fiscal 2002.
[source] $14.2 million for Phoenix Sky Harbor traffic control tower replacement. (pending)
[source] $4.2 million for Phoenix bus facilities. (pending)
[source] $500,000 for a Scottsdale pilot project to determine the best technologies for removing arsenic from drinking water. (pending)
[source] $300,000 for a Southwest Transit Assessment and Review Team (START) project for Bus Route 131, which runs through Avondale. (pending)
[source] $500,000 for Central Arizona College to continue implementation of the Science, Engineering, Math and Aerospace Academy in Pinal County. (pending)
[source] $1 million for Rio de Flag (Flagstaff) flood-control project. (pending)
[source] $1.5 million for Maricopa County's AZTech Integrated Emergency and Transportation Communications Network. (pending)
[source] Creation of new federal bureaucracy, Office of Rare Diseases.
[source] $100 per month federal subsidy to welfare parents who marry.
[source] $8 million to maintain a heating oil reserve to stabilize prices in the U.S. Northeast. This fund was created in 2000 by Bill Clinton.
[source] $2 billion over 10 years to help companies develop cleaner-burning coal.
[source] $87 billion in corporate welfare which includes (but is not limited to) funds for oil companies through the fossil energy research and development program, research subsidies to aerospace companies, the National Agricultural Statistics Service, the Foreign Agriculture Service, and the Conservation Reserve Program.
[source] $6 million for teaching English through the Elementary School Foreign Language Incentive Program.
[source] The federal government currently provides $700-800 million in annual ethanol subsidies.
[source] $37 billion through 2007 for the National Science Foundation via the National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002. (pending)
[source] $15 billion for NASA fiscal 2003.
[source] $903 million in grants to spur federal agencies, industry and universities to devote more energy to cyber security research.
[source] $533 million over two years for Project Safe Neighborhoods. Billed on the official website as "America's Network Against Gun Violence."
[source] $900 million for the President's "Reading First" plan.
[source] $28.9 billion "anti-terror" package. (As if the federal government didn't already spend enough on defense)
[source] Increased FDA budget by over $120 million.
[source] $1.1 billion for federal reading programs.
[source] Proposed economic stimulus package which could cost as much as $600 billion over 10 years.
[source] Ordered military to begin deploying a missile defense system.
[source] Urged Congress to raise pay of federal judges who already earn $150,000 or more annually.
[source] Increased the National Science Foundation budget from $4.8 billion to $7.4 billion in 2005 and $9.8 billion in 2007.
[source] Proposed increasing defense spending to $378.5 billion next fiscal year from the $364.1 billion appropriated by Congress for fiscal 2003.
[source] $782 billion in new spending for fiscal 2003 above what Washington spent in the previous four years.
[source] Reinstated program to pay cash bonuses to political appointees. The program was previously stopped during the Clinton administration because of concerns about potential abuse.
[source] "Terror insurance" which would force taxpayers to compensate those affected by future terrorist attacks.
[source] Up to $3,000 for unemployed Americans to pay for their job searches.

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