-- IraqNam by GWB, and IraqNam.com by CJC.

 "It is becoming increasingly clear that George Bush [Sr.], operating largely behind the scenes throughout the 1980's, initiated and supported much of the financing,
     intelligence, and military help that built Saddam's Iraq into the aggressive power that the United States ultimately had to destroy."
-- Ted Koppel, ABC News Nightline, June 9, 1993
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Shortly before the invasion, Saddam called a meeting with then US ambassador April Gillespie, who told Saddam: "We have no opinion on the Arab-Arab conflicts, like your border disagreement with Kuwait." She went on to say: "James Baker has directed our official spokesmen to emphasize this instruction."
(San Francisco Examiner, 11/18/02)
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The government has room to scale back individual rights during wartime without violating the Constitution, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said Tuesday.

"The Constitution just sets minimums," Scalia said after a speech at John Carroll University in suburban Cleveland. "Most of the rights that you enjoy go way beyond what the Constitution requires."

Scalia, one of the court's most conservative judges, was responding to a question about the Justice Department's pursuit of terrorism suspects and whether their rights are being violated.

Scalia did not discuss what rights he believed are constitutionally protected, but said that in wartime, one can expect "the protections will be ratcheted right down to the constitutional minimum. I won't let it go beyond the constitutional minimum."

Scalia was interrupted once briefly by a protester who shouted an anti-war statement.  The protester was taken from the room by security officers but was not arrested.

Scalia stopped speaking during the scuffle, then joked that the protest probably was more interesting than his topic, which was the constitutional protection of religions.
(UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio March 18 2003)

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OK -- why don't I like Bush?  After all, I voted for him?  (I have been asked)

I think we have never been more vulnerable to terrorists -- that nothing we have done will actually impede them, it is all for show, and that we have escalated the things that provoke them to a new all-time high.  It is classic treat the symptoms, never the cause.

It is fine to make lemonade if you get lemons -- but GWB turning 9/11 into a "watershed" (as the network news says) and somehow politically profiting from it is obscene.  The administration he heads should spend every day in deepest apology for ever letting such a thing come about.  No – not apologize for not stopping it, which seems to be the only thing the 9/11 commission will investigate -- apologize for provoking it. The terrorists are not "evil", nor do they just sort of hate freedom and capitalism.  They are not "madmen" -- they are mad men and women.  They are angered to the point of suicide bombings.  And they direct that anger here because of our foreign policies of past years.

I reject the whole notion that GWB just happened to start his "war on terror" right after 9/11, but nobody was meant to assume the two are connected.  (And don't go telling me that because the 9/11 guys were "terrorists" and we went after some other "terrorists", that this connects them.  Like giving you my speeding tickets.)

The image that GWB's America presents to the world offends me.  One great strength we have is that we really do have all sorts of races and religions living together with really minor problems.  The rest of the world has hatred and feuds going back eons; they should see what we have accomplished, see how freedom can work.  But we are always joining one side of any conflict that somehow serves our own interests, pissing off the other side. Guantanamo Bay is an obscenity -- is this really a good flagship of the American Justice System to show to the world?  Holding people without trial as long as we want, daily interrogations?  This whole "enemy combatants" deal is another GWB classic, he's too good and important to live by the law, so he comes up with some scam to sidestep it.  Nope, not POW's that even had rights under the Nazis -- some new word we stamp them with and they have zero rights.  And then let's show this to the whole world and say it's the way we do things.  Outrageous!

I really think he cares more about the people of Iraq than the people of the Midwest.  I see schools being shut down due to lack of funds here in the Midwest --  but he can always become up with $80B to set things right in Iraq.  Spend your welfare check on booze and let the kids starve, fine idea.  It's one thing to cut the Parks budget, or have streets with potholes.  But when you cut education, you are doing damage for years to come.  Democracy, free enterprise, they all depend on an educated public.

I have never seen so many of my civil liberties trampled upon.  Not just obscure ACLU cases that just might effect my world someday -- real liberties, unlawful searches of my person and baggage anytime I travel to name just one.

I have never seen any leader of any democracy treat opposing viewpoints in such a disparaging way.   Never seen anyone so quick to call anyone who disagrees a traitor.  Seen Senators like McCarthy do it, but not world leaders.  GWB doing tricks like setting up "free speech zones" out of camera range when he arrives at an airport, arresting someone with an antiwar sign outside of them -- outrageous!

This whole affair where a member of his staff revealed the name of an undercover CIA agent is also outrageous.  Treason during wartime, isn't it? And all the investigators get is lip service from GWB.  Think of that – a member of your staff commits treason during wartime, and the best you can come with is you asked around and couldn't find out who it was.

The recent Medicare prescription deal is classic in how his administration deals with things.  Prescription costs too high?  Drug companies making a fortune too?  Try some policy to actually lower the drug costs?  Nope, just find more "gove-mint" money to pay for part of the bill.  Amazing what a campaign contribution will do, likely a 10M% return on investment?  Their approach to the whole "high cost of medicine", the Medicaid fund running out is the same -- let's find more money, or cut benefits.  Actually force some doctor to take a tiny $25 for 5 minutes of his time vs. the $40 he'd like to charge?  Nope.

And the economy!  I don't give a flying f_ck about the statistics on TV.  I don't care about all the theories about how wonderful "free" trade is.  The manufacturing capabilities of the Midwest are what built this country.  Shutting them all down and selling the plants to China as scrap steel is ludicrous.  People without jobs is not "wonderful."  The theory that we export every job that can be done abroad will have everyone here cooking food, sweeping up, or inserting rectal thermometers working at raisin ranches.

So, to me, GWB has turned out to be the worst president I could have possibly imagined.  I long for Clinton to be back.  I'm a charter member of the ABB society -- anybody but Bush!  People tell me about how lame his opponent this year is -- I'd vote for Charles Mansion!

ANYBODY else!

Classic GWB supporters.  They have no need for facts, issues, personal history.  And even they they are completely BS'ed.  Oh yeah, good ole cattle rancher GWB -- hasn't spent a day of his life around cattle.  He's the pampered son of a President Of The United States, he wasn't helping daddy at the ranch as a kid.  I love the "Harvard-type" criticism -- these buffoons don't seem to know he has a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Yale and a Masters of Business Administration from Harvard.  I'm sure if you asked them about GWB's alcoholism and cocaine use, they just give you a blank look.

Just a few typical GWB supporters  -- "My mind is made up, don't confuse me with facts!"

Copyright 2003,2004,2005,2006,2007