The International Writers Magazine: Comment: USA Election 2004

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UNDER THE BUSH TOO LONG • Rev. Dr. Antonio Hernández, O.M.D., A.B.F.

'From the moment they took over the White House, they have mislead, lied, cheated, stolen'...,

We used to think the presidential and vice presidential debates were a very good idea. In my household, dialectical skills and rapid debating were a matter of life or death. Seeing the candidates fielding questions and attacks, one could get a good feel for their leadership ability. Now it seems they score the high points just for looking avuncular while going for the jugular.

What is sad and painful is that the Bush administration is full of lies and deceit. From the moment they took over the White House, they have mislead, lied, cheated, stolen, and I personally say they have murdered. (They don't mind pointing fingers at pro-choice people.) Why are we all so angry at Bush and Cheney?

On 11 September 2001, America was attacked by a faction of a cell group, which group was an arm of the Taliban regime. Usama bin Laden planned and staged the attack. So... did America go after his assets, his market supply, his family? Did we even go after him? We finished off the Taliban rule in Afghanistan, and having barely accomplished it, we ran off to war on Iraq. The announcement was a slap in the face.

Did we finish the Taliban? Reports are constantly leaking to the press that the Taliban is as strong as ever, slowly trickling its way back into Afghani power. Come to think of it, did we ever see more than a few Taliban leaders in American custody? Did we hear our Taliban body count? What we didn't see: Usama bin Laden dead or in custody. A few flunkies we caught here and there? The Muslim terrorists have told us they can replace any fallen one with a fighting hundred. Unlike our administration, they were not lying.

America is in a war taking thousands of casualties, with no clear results. Its foundation was a complete lie. We were hornswaggled, as was Congress. "Hussein is the threat", we were told. Bush openly stated that he didn't care where bin Laden was. Cheney said Hussein was a viable participant in the 9/11 attack. Today he strains at his fat, sweaty self to deny that he ever said any such thing. As of this writing, intelligence confirms that Hussein was anything but a threat. We were supposed to be worried about our attackers and their forces. Yet bin Laden is yet to be found, unless he wants to be seen and heard.

Intelligence has been consistent since the early 1990s: Hussein had no materials, no means and no real will to try attacking America. He may have succored those who attacked us- is that so big? Is that a weapon of mass destruction? Is that somehow nuclear, or biologically threatening? Is that more evil than bin Laden's actions? What about Korea, Pakistan, Iran and India? These are places where powerful terrorists hide. In the list of terrorist-affiliated countries, Iraq is absent! Hussein was WHIPPED as of 1996, and we knew it!

Over 40% of America stupidly believes Hussein and the Iraqis attacked us on 9/11. This is a fact that should make everyone cringe. Yet over 60% of us in America feel the war is wrong. Why are those numbers so weird? Because we know it is the wrong thing. Proof: no bin Laden. Hussein is a poor substitute. No one feels safe, and that odd 20% in the polls becomes 100%.

Sure- the huge corporations (Halliburton, shall we say?) and the Texas oil men are content. Bush and Company started a war to 'raise the rents and finance a hunting expedition'. The middle American and the oil is their prey. They said, "To hell with the enemy, let the enemy escape. Get the oil." Now it is standard Republican party-line to spew lies about the 'noble war' and relief for the working class.

I recall the day when one's party didn't matter. One's level of conservatism is what mattered. Congressmen and citizens crossed the aisle thousands of times a day. Now we face a new civil war: the War Between the Swing States. But I try to see it more positively. The only terrorism I can see here comes from this tyrannical Republican administration. The party itself is dividing, many are defecting. They want Bush out as much as anyone.
How bad is a polecat that drives away all the other polecats? Bush the Polecat. It fits nicely, doesn't it?

So, what now? Do we talk to the Iraqi people? Say we're so sorry? Sorry for inflicting thousands of casualties on Iraqi innocents? Am I the only poor bastard still choking on Dick Cheney's smokescreen? We must understand: America started a war illegally, it remains an illegal war. We've violated the Geneva Convention, with the Abu Ghraib Prison disgrace. We've alienated our allies, and P.M. Tony Blair looks like... what's the word? A RIGHT PRAT for going along with us. And none of us can pull out now.

If the Constitution is toilet paper to Bush, which we know it is, what about his early plan to "take out Hussein"? We are told - only now - that Bush's urgent desire was to eliminate Hussein and take over Iraq, well before 9/11. Turns out Bush does more than fiddle while Washington burns. It turns out he fiddled while New York was burning, too.

Before I wrote this article, I was weeping. A friend, a great man, had just died on 5 October: comedian Rodney Dangerfield, born Jacob Cohen in 1921. I can never forget his line about the day of his birth: "The doctor told my mother, 'We did everything we could, but he's gonna pull through anyway."

In memoriam Rodney, from those who love you, maybe the doctors were talking about George W. Bush.
© Rev Antonio Hernandez October 8th 2004
Whose new book 'My Kingdom for a Crown: The Religious Skullcap' will be published soon! SKULLCAPS
www.justice-is-blind.com

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