The George W Bush Presidency was a Parody of Our Political System

What do we expect of our President? It is very simple really:

• Keep the economy working for everyone, not just the corporations
• Surround himself/herself with the most knowledgeable advisors in the most critical of fields
• Keep lines of communications open with foreign nations as a means of preventing wars
• Provide moral/ethical leadership
• Protect individual rights to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness
• Foremost, to abide by the rules of government as laid out in our constitution and defend Americas principles and values as defined by the Bill of Rights.

Based on these basic requirements, George W Bush has failed us miserably.

And we have failed ourselves. The ongoing self-imposed ignorance and apathy of the typical American voter set the stage for this presidential farce by keeping themselves uninformed of even the most major issues and that ignorance has allowed themselves to be manipulated and duped into believing this man was right for the presidency of the United States. Unscrupulous campaign architects, with a clear disdain for the political process, devised a plan to thrust a weak-minded, ethically questionable, politically hollow individual onto the national political stage. They found their ideal puppet in George Walker Bush. Known only by his fathers name and propped up by his fathers wealth, he stumbled through a very lackluster tenure as Texas governor, and was therefore ripe to be puppeted by political bosses bent on exploiting the American free enterprise system and hollowing it out for their own personal gain. And they got away with it because the average American does not understand what they are supporting.

Welcome to the Corporafasicist States of America where politicians have subjugated themselves to the whims of corporations. Where our president has opened the coffers of taxpayer dollars to fund corporate welfare and paved the way for easing legal pitfalls that stand in the way of their raping of this nation. Where Americans throw their unbridled support behind anyone that they think will make money for themselves without pondering the consequences. Where the unbridled and seemingly runaway power of the president has used the unabashed greed of capitalism to usurp citizens rights for the benefit of corporate America.

Act one: election scam
This presidential charade began with the 2000 election-scam orchestrated by Florida’s sectary of state Katherine Harris and finalized by a right-leaning U.S. Supreme Court. The fact that GW’s brother Jeb was governor of Florida is not a fact to take lightly. Add to this Daddy Bush’s post-White House lobby work with his deep pocketed friend’s and this election was bought and delivered in a pretty package.

In all fairness to the American voter, politicians reneging on campaign promises has repeatedly sullied the value of our vote to the point of worthlessness. A candidate is paraded before us seemingly from behind the scenes and is cheered by their party as the single greatest thing to ever happen to this country. In an attempt to sell this candidate, through spoon fed speech rhetoric using very slim poll results to determine what voters want, he/she is then allowed to waffle based on current political winds. Near the end of this popularity contest each candidate has given up on trying to convince us they are right for the job and are now expending all their time and money trying to convince us the other person is not right for the job. In the end, the selection process comes down to selecting the person you like least and then voting for the other.

In George W Bush we see an unfortunate example of the type of individual this country’s educational and social systems is producing. Lacking in social graces and ethically bankrupt without an ounce of respect for truth or Americas citizens, he is willing to overlook legal ‘indiscretions’ as long as doing so will benefit him and his party. He is the epitome of the type of person who makes it through life by irreverently joking his way through social situations, immersing himself in the ‘good-ole-boy’ network, in an attempt to cover up the fact that he has no idea how to tackle any real-world problem in any meaningful and ethical manner, much less aspire to be an example of the moral leadership this nation desperately needs in a president sworn to preserve, protect and defend the constitution on which this nation was built.

His loyalty shifted from his voters to corporate leaders in the blink of the presidential inauguration.

Act two: Iraq or Bust
The continuation of this parody is especially heinous for GW’s blind desire to avenge is father’s ‘mistake’ in not taking out Saddam Hussein during Operation Desert Storm in 1991. Bush the second and his machine drummed up support by manufacturing false claims of an Iraq missile development program and using Iraq weapons inspection teams as a cover for justifying the use of American troops to exact his vendetta against Saddam. By falsely claiming Iraq had weapons of mass destruction intended to be used against the U.S. he triggered events that had no recourse but to physically remove this man from power. Soon after invading Iraq it became unwaveringly apparent that these claims were false and that congress was complicit in declaring war on a sovereign nation.
claims were false

By illegally attacking Iraq, a Muslim nation, Bush callously stirred up a hornets nest of Islamic terrorists and targeted every American citizen around the globe for any terrorist group hoping to carve out a name for themselves in the name of Allah. Instead of choosing diplomacy or any other nonviolent option Bush’s “Wild West” mentality resorted to damning rhetoric that painted Saddam as undeterrable and being armed with nuclear weapons direct military action became the only answer. Saddam knew that his use of a nuclear weapon would result in Iraq being obliterated. There was no threat of danger from Iraq but Congress, incredibly, chose to ignore this simple fact and bought into Bush’s 2002 “axis of evil” speech and when the CIA presented its flawed findings, war was inevitable.

Main stream media went along with everything Bush said, seeing an opportunity to ensure this war would be fully covered live. With visions of Nobel prizes and the promise of “exclusive” shocking wartime stories clouding their judgment, 24/7 news programming directors were salivating for raw footage to fill their schedule to satisfy a voyeuristic world public.

After learning that the basis for going to war was formed on false claims, the U.S. Senate put the blame squarely on the CIA, ignoring the fact that G W Bush and company instigated the entire affair.

The outward appearance that U.S. intelligence services failed to stop the September 11 attacks has many believing that the plot was discovered before hand and the White House administration allowed the terrorists to follow through with their plans knowing that the act would bolster Americas support for Bush’s dirty little war. The U.S. then promised to protect Saudi Arabia’s role in those attacks because it was in the U.S. best interest to protect our access to their oil.

And now the main prize is within reach: no-bid oil deals for western oil companies. This truly will finally mean success for Bush’s illegal war in Iraq.

Now, the Bush administration is following a similar script to start a war with Iran. And for what? Because of G W Bush’s blind rage over Iran’s refusal to bow down to him. As a result Russia has become leery over the placement of a so-called U.S. missiles defense system that places Russia squarely within its range and Putin has now grown colder in his relations toward the U.S. Way to go George, you have managed to piss off a peacetime partner destroying years of diplomacy and negotiations to get them to finally trust us. All thanks to your inability to accept that you are not the ordained protector of this planet. The rhetoric you and Cheney have put into place is taking on a life of its own and the entire world will deeply suffer if you ignite the fuse you yourself are responsible for laying down against Iran.

Act three: inner circle of friends
But George’s high jinx didn’t end with an illegal war. He has used the once prestigious White House as the scene of such low-class and immoral atrocities as the character assassination of anyone who dares utter a discouraging word against King George or his cohorts. It didn’t matter if that person was an operative of the CIA (Valerie Plame Wilson) and outing that person meant the loss of countless networks of foreign agents. Or, if that person was the Secretary of State (Colin Powell) because he was becoming more popular with the public than Bush himself. Or a Secretary of Defense (Donald Rumsfeld) because the military didn’t like the way he was handling Iraq. Or a Foreign Secretary (Jack Straw) for speaking his mind.

Bush is famous for going the extra mile to protect his inner-circle of friends, membership to which coincidently requires hefty financial remuneration, to the point of defying the legal process. Since top members of the legal system are a part of his inner-circle neither he nor his friends have to fear recrimination. Several members of that circle of ‘friends’ came to know just how generous GW and his gang could be. The list of donor friends includes Ken Lay, Enron CEO and co-architect of the biggest corporate fraud and market manipulation schemes ever perpetrated in this country. Ken and company became one of the biggest recipients of corporate welfare after donating $3 million to Bush electoral campaigns and the Republican Party.

Oil company executives receive a place of honor among GW’s circle of friends and have all seen record profits because of it. Due to their bought-and-paid-for friendship with George W Bush through campaign contributions big oil and chemical companies have had free reign over environmental concerns and it is no secret that the EPA has elected to go soft on these major polluters. Even now Bush is pushing to lift the offshore drilling ban under the ruse that doing so will help ease fuel prices to American consumers. Lifting this ban will provide no benefit to anyone except for big oil and will destroy coastal economies and the environment.

Anyone who actually worked in the White House is automatically covered by presidential privilege. One such person was Scooter Libby. Scooter, if you remember, was the sacrificial lamb who took the heat for the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson. As a thank-you to Mr. Libby for his time as Vice President Cheney’s chief of staff and for taking the fall for the true guilty person (many believe Cheney ordered the leak in retaliation against her husband Ambassador Joseph C Wilson), Bush commuted Libby’s sentence. It pays to be friends with the president of the United States.

Presidential cronyism gets you other special privileges such as being appointed to high office, with complete disregard for ability to perform their respective positions. Alberto Gonzalez (Attorney General) is a prime example. Others were Harriet Miers (failed Supreme Court Nominee), and Michael Brown (FEMA Director). Bush will overlook incompetence to the point of seriously damaging his own credibility. That is what ‘good ole’ boys’ do for each other.

Because of Bush’s disregard for the letter of the law and the clearly spelled-out intentions of the U.S. Constitution, this Congress has lost all of its power to subpoena anyone. His leadership (sic) by the wrong example is making it comfortable for any well-heeled law-breaker to laugh at subpoenas and Karl Rove wields this ability to the limit. Best known as the architect of George W Bush’s rise to power, he is without doubt one of the most despicable characters to latch onto a presidential candidate through his use of negative campaign ads, campaign fund raising tactics and the simple fact that he helped orchestrate the selling of George W Bush to an unwary American public using every dirty tactic and lie he had at his disposal. To this day Karl Rove refuses to appear before the House Judiciary Committee to testify on the politicization within the Justice Dept. despite being subpoenaed. He was forced to retire last August under suspicion for his role in the firing of nine U.S. attorneys in 2006 as well as the prosecution of former Gov. Don Siegelman of Alabama, a Democrat. Rove, of course, has denied playing any role in the Siegelman affair. Lying has become second nature to this slug of a human being.

Bush appointee, and U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey refuses a Senate subpoena for files. Why won’t he hand them over? As a personal favor to his good buddy George W Bush. Imagine, the U.S. Attorney General refusing to answer a subpoena. What message do you think that is sending the rest of the country?

Act four: Dismantling of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights
George W Bush has approached the shredding of the constitution with an almost religious zeal and when the U.S. Senate stepped into the realm of the legal system (a clear violation of the separation of government powers as laid out in the constitution) by passing a law that would prevent telecoms from being sued for their part in the warrantless wiretapping scheme, Congress became partners in the dismantling of the very foundation of this once democratic nation. This takes power away from anyone who wishes to go through the courts to sue over the loss of their right to privacy. This new law also dramatically expands the government’s surveillance powers without any meaningful judicial oversight. This total lack of respect for Constitutional law and the refusal to stay within its clearly spelled-out intentions has amounted to an overthrow of our form of government from a Democracy to Fascism. These fools who pass themselves off as protectors of the American people and defenders of the constitution either have no clue as to what they are doing or are too afraid to stand up to the president. Either way American citizens lose. The Constitution has become nothing more than a piece of paper.

How many Americans know the true dangers that the passage of this legislation has presented to us as free citizens? The government now has the right to collect information on non-terrorist-related activities like P2P copyright infringement and online gambling. In short, the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 opens up loopholes that allows the feds spy on anyone they see fit without having to ask for permission. The government is no longer required to identify specific eavesdropping targets.
right to collect information on non-terrorist-related activities

A five-member Privacy and Civil Liberties Board was created in 2004 after being recommended by the 9/11 Commission. President Bush initially refused to nominate anyone at all leaving the commission vacant since the previous board's term ended in January thereby leaving the panel to exist in name only.

The Military Commissions Act, passed in the final hours before Congress adjourned in 2006, cast aside the constitution and the principle of habeas corpus, which protects against unlawful and indefinite imprisonment. Congress also gave the president absolute power to designate enemy combatants, and to set his own definitions for torture.

Bush held fast to the misplaced belief that torture guarantees honest results. Torture and the inflicting of pain on another human being weakens our value as a civil society and brings dishonor upon those individuals knowingly participating in the administration of it. When George W Bush vetoed a ban on waterboarding, finally admitting its practice after lying that the U.S. participated in such atrocities, he became the first American president to openly authorize torture on detainees. He took us a step backwards towards the Dark Ages and formally joined the ranks of the most heinous and hated men this world has ever produced. The black-hearted, evil bloody henchmen of WWII Nazi Germany are among those individuals.

Islamic terrorists are defending their homelands from the illegal invasion of a nation who thinks it has eminent domain over every resource and has to impose its idea of democracy on every nation on the face of this planet. Americans would do the same thing if tables were turned. This idea of manifest destiny that is so embedded into America’s thinking is likened to the Catholic Church of the 13th century who imposed the Holy Inquisition to destroy heretics and non-believers through the use of torture.
Source: Torture Throughout the Ages

This nation has done more to banish the use of torture than any other nation and then along comes George W Bush to undo it all. He has violated America’s treaty obligations, the military code of justice, the United Nations convention against torture, and U.S. law. This savagery is the last vestige of a frustrated, unlawful, uncivilized society.

Due to the acceptance of torture as a viable means of treatment towards prisoners, and the common atrocious wartime practice of presenting the enemy as less than human, this nation created the horror of Abu Ghraib. Individuals, incompetent and sadistic, were allowed and even encouraged to inflict any manner of pain on prisoners never once realizing the irony that one of the reasons the U.S. invaded Iraq was to remove a dictator accused of torturing his citizens. The hypocrisy that is America is best stated thusly: “Do as I Say, Not as I Do”

Even the grunts that Bush’s lies are responsible for maiming and killing in his illegal war are tossed aside after their ‘usefulness’ has ebbed. He shows no concern for their welfare unless forced to do so. And then he stages a teleconference with troops to show his “support”.

Hurricane Katrina put the spot light on how much this administration gives a damn about disaster victims in this country. FEMA trailers are rotting away behind locked gates. Supplies stockpiled in warehouses while needy victims are still waiting for relief. FEMA knew they were incompetent in fulfilling their duties and instead of devising a plan to correct their shortcomings, they staged a press conference stocked with their own people, and did not invite the press, in an attempt to regain the respect of the American people. This is the best solution that our leaders can come up with!. After three years victims of Katrina are still waiting for assistance.

Grand Finale: Destroying the World’s Economy
The sub-prime mortgage debacle screwed more than the people who lost their homes. Taxpayers once again will feel the screws tighten even tighter because of the upcoming bailout required to keep Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac solvent. This is another example of how corporations can screw people out of tons of money and run their respective corporations into the ground without any fear of reprisal because of the knowledge that the federal government (taxpayers) will always bail them out. And the crooked participants always walk away richer for it.

There are currently 76 banks under threat of collapsing, as reported by the FDIC, a 52% increase over last year. Next year, the number is expected to reach over 200. Not since the flood of bank failures after the Savings and Loan bailout by the federal government in the 1989 has our banking system been in this much trouble. The larger problem is the potential tightening of credit provided by major banks which is the life blood of the economy. Without new loans, we are all in deep trouble. The leading cause of all of this trouble is most regulators failed to scrutinize many banks who were overly eager to provide home loans to borderline recipients. When these loans began to become delinquent many small banks suffered. The domino effect is bringing down much more than those small banks. If there are not enough strong banks to take on assets and deposits of these smaller failed banks then we are headed for a depression.

This economic situation is the main reason we are paying record high prices for gas, record high prices for food, record budget deficits, record trade deficits, record number of Americans without health insurance, record number of home mortgage loan failures. While Bush is giving money away to his rich friends through tax cuts and subsidies this nation has suffered through two recessions and is currently threatened with another depression. This poor excuse for a leader and this spineless congress have no idea how to effectively manage economic matters. They spend their time writing laws to benefit large-donor corporations and financially generous lobby groups, and lining the pockets of their richest constituents with pork but when it comes down to actually doing something useful or meaningful for the people who are paying their salaries they are clueless.

Bush’s economic policy is simple: “all money should flow to corporate entities and any other consideration is counterproductive”.

And now it has come out that favors are being offered in return for donations to the presidential library. This guy is laughing at anything that resembles class or ethics.
paying for access to presidential library

We are leaderless, and this imposter who calls himself president is robbing us blind.

What is truly terrifying is the number of people who are backing the Bush clone John McCain. They are actually asking that this eight-year-nightmare not end.

You know, you can dress up an ignorant rich boy and elect him president of the United States but you can’t make him give a damn about his fellow citizens.

We may have the physical structure of the government that our founding fathers laid out for us, but we no longer abide by the spirit of what they intended. Our founding fathers would shudder if they could see what their vision of America has been reduced to.

In their own words from the Declaration of Independence: “But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.”

People, I beg of you, pay more attention to national and international news, not just from main stream media, from alternative sources so we can all be better informed and stop this madness of electing someone just because someone you know did, or just because he/she is cute, or just because of sex or race. We need to be informed and we can only do it for ourselves.