I must admit that I am very amused by people who think President Bush is going to restore "moral integrity" to the White House. What does integrity mean? Does that mean he's not going to cheat on his wife? Well, that's great. Still, what's he going to do for the people of this country, and, moreover, what is he going to do for the world?

I'm not the least bit enthusiastic about Bush being president. He wasn't even elected. He was forced in. Is it any surprise that he was? Look at Congress and the Courts! Flooded with conservatives! The majority opinion in the Supreme Court said that the "recounts were not consistent with voting procedure" or something to that effect. It doesn't really matter what they said; they stopped the counting of votes when clearly there were discrepancies. Justice Clarence Thomas is one of my favorite people right now, because he stated that the real loser in their decision was not Former Vice President Al Gore but the American people's confidence in the courts to make an unbiased decision, a decision based on the Constitution alone. I don't want to say there was a conspiracy to get Florida's 25 electoral votes, but it sure looks like something fishy was going on. All that matters is there were voices that went unheard, and this is supposed to be a democracy. Do the math.

His policy reeks of the stone ages. He doesn't care at all about campaign finance reform. Right now he's too worried about his "faith-based" programs and voucher programs. "Faith-based programs." He's essentially giving money to religious groups. This is being criticized for blurring the lines of the First Amendment. It doesn't look too harmful on the surface as the money is for social programs. However, these are social programs sponsored by religious groups. And what, may I ask, do religious groups do? They promote their religion. That's great, but it's not something the government needs to get its nose in. Dubya doesn't care about that, apparently. And, yes, it's great he's concerned with education, but I can think of a few million people who are just a tad miffed that their tax dollars will be used to send kids to private schools where biased education reigns supreme.

He'd also like to have you believe he's an environmentalist. This is where I fall out of my chair laughing so hard I'm bleeding internally. Bush wants to employ what he calls an "industry-friendly environmental policy" which means dollars are more important to him than the lungs of the earth. If you go lax on the polluters, that means they'll do whatever the heck they want, removing all the restraints set in the interest of our children having clean air and water to partake of in the future. He is adamant about drilling for oil in Alaska, and even in Gulf of Mexico, where his own brother, Florida Governor Jeb Bush, begged the President not to call for exploits in the area. But no. He does it anyway. Sixty-seven percent of the nation releases a cry in extreme opposition to drilling near-dry oil reserves in Alaska, but he goes ahead with it anyway (who does he think he works for?) Does anyone see the damage that is doing? Why all the money spent on archaic forms of energy when nuclear energy constantly renews itself? Why all this monkeying around when the sun has a few good million years left in it? The very second he got into office he stopped Former President Clinton's orders for land to be set aside for a nature preserve. Why? So Bush could open it up to further corporate prostitution. Yeah, it keeps the economy booming, but we can think of ways to keep a good economy without tearing down the house six billion people live in.

Cut taxes, cut taxes. Everyone wants to cut taxes, Democrats and Republicans alike. How are we going to pay for anything? You cut one tax; you have to raise another! When is anyone going to realize this? Does anyone think Governor Gilmore's no-car-tax plan is sliding through the General Assembly like a black racer snake? Anyone? Anyone?

His ideas about abortion legislation are very troubling. Yes, I think abortion is digusting; however that is not the issue. He thinks he can get Roe v. Wade overturned. He thinks he can tell the Supreme Court what to go do with itself. Does anyone remember checks and balances? Well, considering the Supreme Court's most recent publicized performance, I wouldn't be surprised if this whole establishment starts telling women how to wear their hair. I thought Republicans were all for little government. Guess this one is not.

Military spending. This is quite a laugh as well. The amount of money he wants to spend on guns and ammo is frightening. The scariest part is the American public doesn't know where half of that money goes! I ask you: why do we need things like Trident missiles, the remnants of the Cold War that can eliminate a major city in fifteen minutes? There are an unscrupulous many who would say such goliaths of gore are for our protection. Protection against what? The killer tomatoes? Man-eating aardvarks? The Hun?

Another thing that gets me is his nomination of Sen. John Ashcroft (R-MO) to be attorney general. Here are some facts about Johnny Boy: He led attempts to amend the Constitution and pass legislation that would virtually eliminate women's reproductive rights by banning abortions, even for rape and incest victims. The abortion ban he proposed was so drastic that it could have been used to outlaw widely accepted and commonly used birth control methods. Little government indeed. He's a golden-boy for the Religious Right and thus supports their narrow view of the First Amendment, i.e. say something nice about us and only us or don't say anything at all. He is opposed to affirmative action and based on that opposition he wanted to block the nomination of Bill Lann Lee as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. He has praised the far-right magazine Southern Partisan, a neo-Confederate publication that promotes the view, among others, that slavery was beneficial to the slaves. Beneficial. How stupid can you be? And, most injurous to me, he voted to eliminate funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, because they are supportive of gay-themed art and artists. Those tidbits are paraphrased from OpposeAshcroft.com, but you'll find similar facts listed on GOP websites. They just won't word it so dramatically and negatively.

The most repulsive thing about Bush is his global ignorance. I learned of it when I watched the election coverage in November. On national television, he says, "the world is at peace." What I said out loud to my television set cannot be repeated here. I'd like to drop him in the middle of East Timor, or Columbia, or Iraq, or Iran, or Indonesia, or Algeria, or Libya, or Ethiopia and see how peaceful he feels while guns blaze and innocent human beings dying from bloody "revolutions" is commonplace. I implore all of you to realize that we are not just citizens of the United States, we are citizens of the world. Everyone is our neighbor and should be treated as such. We're fragmented, and it will be the quiet death of us all. Bush supports this fragmentation because it reinforces business as usual. It keeps things the way he and his cronies want them.

Do you sense a bit of scorn here? If you do, you're right. I'm sick of people who think we need to turn back the clock. I'm sick of people who think everything is fine and freaking dandy in this nation, or anywhere else, and I'm tired of people who are so ignorant to suggest that spinning our tires in the mud is going to get us anywhere. I'm tired of legislation that serves for a quick fix, a quick fix that makes the wallets fatter instead of the lives fuller. John Stuart Mill said it best: "It is not true that all conservative people are stupid. It is true, however, that most stupid people are conservatives." Look at the world. A change needs to be made. Get out of your 1950s fantasy. Bush would like you to believe he's gonna make things okay again. Why can't he step outside of himself and make things wonderful for everyone?

Name: Jeff
Year: Junior
Major: English
Comments:
Dr. Scott Christianson, on GWB:
"He's like this: Friendship with Russia, BAD INVESTMENT, tax cuts for the rich, GOOD INVESTMENT!"

Name: Shaun
Year: Senior Citizen
Major: English
Comments:
Well, for all you people who voted for Bush in November, are you happy now? Three months into office and he's pretty much broken every promise he made during his campaign. Big shock there. He's working to weaken OSHA standards and busting up labor unions, which is going to allow his dumb ass big business buddies to walk all over the working class. Again big shock, he's a Republican, what do you expect. And this whole situation with China just shows how ignorant and incompetent he is. Did anyone happen to see the press conference (or one of em anyway) in which Bush was asked about the situation, and he just stood there with the stupidest look on his face. After about a minute he finally answered with some simpleton remark. George Wubba seems hell bent on starting another Cold War, and if he handles all foregin relations like he has with China so far, then he'll probably do just that. After all is said and done, history will remember George Wubba as one of the most worthless presidents in US history, right alongside Millard Fillmore, Calvin Coolidge and John Quincy Adams.

Name: Amanda
Year: Sophomore
Major: Media Studies
Comments:
I have to say bravo Jeff, you've got him pegged. I'm by no means Democrat....but with Bush in office I don't think I want to be called a Republican, EVER. Compassionate conservative my ass. The man's complete lack of intelligence makes me want to promptly heave onto my shoes. His lack of knowledge when it comes to foreign policy is going to end up with us in World War III. I mean look what happened with the whole China. A friend of mine in the guard was worried she'd be shipped out all because our dunderhead Prez wouldn't apologize for the sake of diplomacy. Maybe, had we had better choices during the election we might not be facing Dubya's stupidity now. This should be a lesson to you all, when primaries roll around go out and vote, that way the candidates on the ballot in November are ones that you actually want to vote for and not some ignorant man who toked and coked his way through Yale.

Name: Jason Miller
Year: 2002
Major: Social Science
Comments:
Jeff, I could not agree more. George Bush IS NOT qualified to be President. He is someone who has coasted by his whole life relying on his Dad's money and his name. I believe in the American Dream and I believe in people who make it good for themselves by rising from poverty. It is due to this belief that leads to support such men as Bill Clinton who was basically an orphan to become the US President. I am also very fond of Mr. Mark Warner who I believe will be the next Governor of the Commonwealth. Mark paid his own way through college and no owns 70 businesses and employs 22,000 Virginians. We need people who can get the country results. Not some bible-toting redneck who can only promise to cut taxes, keep "huntin" rifles, and restore prayor in public schools. To sum it up George W. makes me sick.

Name: norm
Comments:
If there are only white people in the Republican party, why blame that on the Republicans? Minorities traditionally turn away from that party and flock to the Democrats. Do you think they're being turned away, or shut out, like it's some "whites-only" club? For some reason minorities rely on the party that has done the least for them.

About taxes, try this little CNN feature:

http://www.cnn.com/interactive/allpolitics/0102/tax.cut/frameset.exclude.html

That's pretty clear to me.

Lastly, about the environment - this is something environmentalists have a hard time understanding, but it is completely possible to harvest natural resources without destroying the environment. Drilling in the Alaskan wilderness does not necessarily equal destroying the Alaskan wilderness. Have you check gas prices lately? Why do you think they're so high? It's because we rely on oil from the middle east. We don't drill for our own oil anymore, so we're dependent on them and the prices they set. Why are the lights going out in California? Because despite huge growths in use of power out there, no new power plants have been built. We have to be responsible in how we deal with the environment, but that doesn't mean we should all have to suffer unnecessarily. About your comments on money real quick - yeah, I got money in the bank. I've busted my ass for it. I work long hours and am trying to save it up so I can support my kids and not have to struggle. And the government takes about 25% of that money. Is that right, when they know they don't need it all? That guy working the factory line is the same way. He works hard, and struggles to get by, but there's a big difference - he pays a lot less in taxes than I do. Does he deserve to get more back than me?

Name: Jeff
Comments:
Perhaps, but you see, I'm no Democrat. I'm more liberal than the Democrats. :) I fear I must reiterate to the crowd, yet again, that this was an anti-Bush article, not an anti-Republican article or Pro-Gore or Pro-Clinton or Pro-Democrat article. There are quite a few Republicans I deeply admire, such as Colin Powell. There was also a Republican senator who called for a moratorium on the bloody, pissing-in-the-wind, child-slaughtering, United States-sponsored sanctions imposed on Iraq (but a vast majority of his colleagues were disgusted by his humanitarianism). If you pro-Bush people can show me where Saddam's weapons are, I'll gladly take that parenthetical back. Maybe they were in the medicine factory we bombed (hey, did I ever say I was a major Clinton foreign policy fan?) And can anyone tell me that Republicans are not money hungry? Wanna disprove the fact that this tax cut WILL ONLY significantly benefit the top 1% income bracket? Please do so, then show your facts to an analyst. I know some very conservative people who didn't vote for Bush based on his Reaganesque, debt-destined economy policy, and that seems to be what most of the pro-Bush comments on here have been about, more money, we need more money, tra la la. Bill Gates will be able to buy a new Bentley while a man who works as a shift manager at a factory can buy a used muffler for his Escort. And I also find it VERY VERY VERY engaging that no one has challenged the environmental aspect of this article. Does that mean that many of the pro-Bush folk are willing to sacrifice unreplacable natural resources for "signs" of a recession? No one has said anything negative about the John Ashcroft aspects...since you can find such facts anywhere, and he admits to these things. Talk about "restoring moral integrity." I admit that I am more convinced now that there was less corruption in the voting process than I was previously aware of, but still the minorities were put to an identification standard reminiscent of the Grandfather Clauses of the bigotist America of the past. That's not the fault of Republicans alone (this is hard for me to realize since 90% of the people at the Republican National Convention in 1996 were white males and I'm soooo sure that accurately represents the population of our country), it's the fault of the system that pro-establishment people such as Bush (who proudly states he is "pro-establishment) enforce. We don't acknowledge how much it dehumanizes the less fortunate, not only here, but around the world. And why does this come as such a shock to so many people, and why are so many people so quick to deny it angrily? Because we have lots and lots of money in the bank! And the politicians say "IT'S OKAY!" WOOHOO!

Name: hippie republican
Year: junior
Major: psych and math
Comments:
way to vent...even more typical of the sneaky money hungry democrats

Name: norm
Comments:
Oh by the way I was really responding to Shaun, who was agreeing with Trevor.

Name: norm
Comments:
I'll touch on the Supreme Court thing again in response to Trevor's post. The US Supreme Court was very concerned about overruling the FLA Court because of the States' rights issue. But what drove them to their decision was that the ruling of the FLA court trampled on the equal voting rights of the other 49 states. Florida's recounts, which violated their own election process, were going to affect the outcome of the entire national election. Florida's actions were a "slap in the face" to the rest of the nation. That's what made it a federal matter. And keep this in mind - 7 of the 9 US Justices agreed that the Fla decision was wrong, all they disagreed on was what to do about it. Five of them said that there was enough of a federal election rights concern to overturn the decision. But keep this in mind too - the US Court may lean a little conservative, but the entire Florida Supreme Court was democratic (well one says he's independent, but he used to be a democrat). Considering their questionable decisions, don't you think maybe their opinion was skewed a bit?

By the way, this is what I like about Whim. Someone can post a provocative article and get a good discussion going. People can disagree, but it's good to hear other people points of view... and sometime make fun of them...

Name: Jeff
Comments:
Correction. I did mention Clinton, but not in the context Mr. Name Caller was referring to.

Name: shaun
Year: senior citizen
Major: english
Comments:
I agree with Trevor. It's no coincidence that the Supreme Court did what it did, it's a pretty conservative court. What really gets me is that the Republican party, who make such a big to do about getting the federal goverment out of the way of the state and local government, would embrace something like overruling the Florida State Supreme Court. If anything, the Supreme Court's decision in Washington was one of the biggest slaps in the face to state's rights ever. And even if Gore wouldn't have won Flordia, so what? There were votes that went uncounted, and if the democratic process is truly fair, then those votes would have been counted. But no. And now we're stuck with four years of an incompetent daddy's boy. Enjoy the ride, ya'll.

Name: Jeff
Comments:
"Liberal baby"? LMFAO! Nice. I would like you to go through here and tell me what is entirely fictitious and based on my emotions alone. My email address is jldavis@radford.edu. By the way, it's interesting that most of the pro-Bush comments here are economically based. So many of his supporters are so worried about the economy when they don't realize that with the current world system there will be no place to enjoy any economy in. The ignorant comments by the anonymous poster below clearly and accurately reflect a very dangerous complacency. And did I ever mention Clinton? No. Too many people want to make this a spitting contest. This is not a Pro-Gore or Pro-Democrat article or anti-Republican article. This is an anti-Bush article. And if you want to insult me, you don't do it on this page. Keep your infantility to yourself or share your small thoughtless comments with me and me alone.

Name: Trevor
Year: Graduate
Major: English
Comments:
I think we're trying to have a debate here to get down to the bottom line of this election. Yes, Bush won. Yes, there were irregularities. Yes, this happens in every election. However, when the brother of one of the candidates is the Governor of the state where there are many irregularities, and the Supreme Court, a supposedly non-partisan body, votes along party lines, we must ask ourselves questions. And if you must refer away from the argument, and put the emphasis on Clinton once more, like all the other Republicans do, I think the defensive nature of your comment shows the nervousness of your party.

Comments:
Liberal baby spreading his tears all over this webpage. This entire article is based on emotion and not fact. If you want to write about some facts, you can write about all of the bucks your boy Clinton made while freeing fugitives.

Name: Jeff
Comments:
The latest Bushism: He stated that he was going to get some people from NASA to look at any possible retroactivity...concerning his tax cut. So my taxes are causing mutations. That explains a lot. This dope has the keys to our missiles...

Name: norm
Comments:
"He wasn't even elected. He was forced in." - You know, there are discrepancies in every election. People don't get a chance to vote in every election. People are turned away in every election, on all sides, in all states. The problems in Florida last year were actually better than in '96, the only difference was that this election was so close. There were also discrepancies in many other states, including absentee ballot issues in California. Gore's team planned to contest Florida if he lost there before the election even took place.

But Bush won. He won Florida, he won the election. And it was legitimate. I understand if that's difficult, but everyone has to accept it at some point and look at where we are now. And to say "It doesn't really matter what they said" about the Supreme Court's decision, you clearly haven't read it. See the pdf link below. There is such a thing as law in an election.

Another quick point - you mentioned the budget, and cutting taxes - "How are we going to pay for anything?" Well, I know this is a really hard concept for some people to get, but WE ARE OVERTAXED. There is an expected surplus because the government plans to take more money from us than it actually needs to function. That is the definition of a surplus. And considering the fact that the government already spends too much money, why is it so distructive to allow us to keep some of that money? It's EXTRA money. They won't have to pull it out of social security, or any other program to afford it. I know when I was a student I had a different perspective on this, but being a salaried worker now, I know that I give the government way too much of my money. Even the fact that giving it back to us will stimulate the economy is irrelevant. It's the right thing to do. And does anyone really think we'd even be talking about a tax cut of any kind if Bush hadn't been elected?

Comments:
I think all points have been heard here, but I would like to say to Brian Reach that the pledge of allegance isn't part of religion, it's a part of our patriotism. If you don't like the freedoms that you have in this country then maybe you should go to another country with all of the liberties we have here. Good Luck! Everyone needs to stop being so cynical and enjoy what they have because there are plenty of people who don't have a choice in anything they do.

Name: Jeff
Comments:
For real. I don't see how he won in Jacksonville either. As far as Bush being president, the next four years are going to be disastrous, but potentially hilarious.

Name: Trevor
Year: Graduate
Major: English
Comments:
Yeah, Bush won Dade County. He got the votes that came in. But what about all the minorities that were made to jump through hoops, and weren't able to vote at all? There are instances of making minorities show 2 forms of ID (only one is required to vote), telling people standing in line that the polls were closing soon and they should go home, and police officers pulling over carloads of minorities going to the polls and charging them with, and I swear this is true, "taxi violations." So if the fact that Bush would have still won even if a recount occured helps you sleep at night, so be it.

Comments:
If you haven't heard the latest news, Gore would NOT have won Dade county(Miami, Florida)...So Bush didn't get FORCED in afterall, huh?

Name: Brian Reach
Year: none
Major: none
Comments:
I don't go to Radford, I'm a high school student in Northern VA. THANK YOU Noise needs to be made. I happen to go to public schools where Warren Barry has instituted not only a one minute moment of silence (a.k.a. minute of prayer) as well as a law (that is soon to be passed) mandating the pledge of allegiance. Is this what happens when Republicans take control? What happened to the Separation of Church and State? Anyway, thank you for this article. It is very frustrating not being able to vote people like Gilmore, Allen, Bush, and Barry out of office, as well as attending Public Schools in Virginia, and until My fellow classmates and I can vote, it is articles like these that help us organize ourselves in our quest to having our voices heard. Thanks again -Brian Reach

Name: Dave
Year: Junior
Comments:
Hopefully he'll last in office the same amount of time as his dad. He can't relate to minorities at all. You have to go back years before you find a president that black america distrusted so much. Maybe he'll go speak at Bob Jones again. Or maybe he'll keep saying stuff like "city of Pennslyvania". although he did correct himself quickly so I'll cut him some slack.

Name: norm
Year: 3000
Comments:
I'm very impressed. Great job. You actually managed to get through that whole thing without saying that the tax cut will only benefit the rich. Or did you forget to say it? The only point I'll bother making here is about the silly statement "a few million people who are just a tad miffed that their tax dollars will be used to send kids to private schools " Why not look at it from another perspective: "a few million people will be able to KEEP their own money so they can send their own kids to a school of THEIR choice where they can expect a decent education." God forbid.

Name: Brian Korte
Year: 00
Major: MSTD
Comments:
Jeff,
Stone-aged tactics may be just what this country needs to get back on its feet. Out in the real world, people are losing jobs left and right.

Also, it is disturbing to think that your nation's leader was "forced in." Please tell me you're not one of the people crying bloody murder that a few votes were possibly misrepresented after an initial count and two more after that!! I'd say three recounts constitutes enough effort for a second, third, and fourth chance for Al Gore.

Count your blessings. Bush comes from a long line of politicians. He knows how to work with people. He knows the importance of international diplomacy, and he knows how important it is to protect our nation's parents and children from evils overseas. That's where the money's going. It's paying for soldiers, weapons, and intelligence to keep chemical weaponry from seeping into your dorm room. Also, don't be fooled by the numbers. Clinton was not only not supportive of the military in his 8 year tenure, but he was stingy with them as well. Larger numbers in the Bush era are coming from settling the score with our military (along with the usual inflation adjustments)

Have you noticed how LITTLE attention the media has given to him? Everyone's picking at him, trying to find faults. The best they could turn up with was an alcohol problem, 17 years ago and that when asked his position on a very controversial subject on camera in front of 68% of our nation's TV viewers, he stumbled a bit on getting his words out clearly? Come on now.


(a non-stupid conservative)

BTW, I know I don't own the handle "Peer," but if anyone's been posting with that name pretending to be me, they were misleading you. My last post was back in early fall.

Name: Jeff
Comments:
Yes, you're right. Thanks for the factual correction, Peer Gynt. :)

Name: Peer Gynt
Comments:
Jeff writes: Justice Clarence Thomas is one of my favorite people right now, because he stated that the real loser in their decision was not Former Vice President Al Gore but the American people's confidence in the courts to make an unbiased decision ... __________________________________ Wasn't it Justice Stevens (joined by Justice Ginsburg and Justice Breyer) who said that? He said: Although we may never know with complete certainty the identity of the winner of this year’s Presidential election, the identity of the loser is perfectly clear. It is the Nation’s confidence in the judge as an impartial guardian of the rule of law. I respectfully dissent. Check out http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2000/resources/uscdecision1212.pdf It's somewhere around Adobe Acrobat page 32 of 65.