Why I No Longer Support the President's War In Iraq

The President is taking this country in the wrong direction. This article is about getting us on the right track again, by electing a Democrat. I wasn't gung ho about going into Afghanistan, because the word was alread out on the internet that the WTC 9/11 attackers were Saudi Arabians. But I figured it was what America wanted-- a pound of flesh-- to soothe the horrific loss of 9/11. And I thought it would help us to regain a ferocious image to curb further attacks. But when the question became "War in Iraq" I had to wonder why Congress was so willing to bow to the Presdent's desires without questioning. They (Congress) didn't exercise independent judgment. Well, now the Downing Street Memos are out, and we know that President fudged the circumstances in order to invade Iraq. I still don't know why.

There is no reason to assume that there is a good reason, now that we know the President will lie and send a perjurer to Congress to increase his power. (He did that to improve his ratings. History shows that wartime Presidents get better ratings.) But let's go on to the next thing: It is now time to reassess the bad decisions that the President has made and try to pull this United States of America out safely. Bring our troops home! They may SEEM like expendable lives if the government can't figure out that the Iraqi people's "Democracy" may not look just like "Democracy" the way we do it here.

Will Rogers said that he wasn't a member of any organized political party-- he was a Democrat. I'm a Democrat, too. And our party is made up of a lot of different people with a variety of views across the spectrum. We welcome the poor and we take care of them. We wlecome working folks and we help to keep the window of opportunities open for them. We welcome minorities and women. And our religion is so deep, and so precious and so personal that we don't mix our faith and our politics. We know that the Founding Fathers came here to escape religious oppression exercised by the government of England, and we know they wouldn't want us to make the same mistake again.

For Democrats, its pretty easy to see the answer to pulling out of Iraq with dignity and success. We have a sense of appreciation for everyone and we don't try to make everyone do things our way. That is the kindest sense of the term "Liberal". It means free. We need to free up the Iraqi people to self-govern with their own self-determinism. As soon as we're gone, the insurgents won't have anything to fight against. They want us OUT of Iraq pretty bad.

It was an honest mistake... we relied on false promises by a President who mislead Congress and doesn't know how to undo the mess he has started. Now it is time to set the Nation on a different track. I'm tired of war. I'm tired of thinking about paying the bill. It's gotta happen some time, right? We have to pay our bills. That little tax cut didn't mean much. It was like getting dessert and then going without the next meal. It is an illusory promise.

Now, why I support the war. I support every single American soldier... every precious son and father, mother and daughter who is over there holed up in the dust and looking for ghosts that might come out of anywhere with a deadly message that seems a lot like "Get out of our country." We need to bring them home, with dignity, and be responsible about Veterans' Benefits when they get here. Only a Democrat is going to do that for us. The Republicans will undercut soldiers benefits just as they have undercut worker's rights in Oklahoma under the Comp Laws in May.

LET'S BRING THEM HOME AND PUT AMERICA ON THE RIGHT TRACK!

(Spoof) Interview With The President

An Interview with the President

by Kathy Tibbits

Interviewer:  Mr. President, it was a close election, right down to the wire, and you won by 1% of the vote.  Ohio put you over the top, and Ohio voters said that that jobs were worse than when you got elected.  You won't be running for re-election.  Who would you like to see take your place?

Bush:  Well, you know, Helen, I believe that my other brother Jeb down in Florida has a knack for sifting thru the voter lists and getting rid of all the undesireables, and a tight campaign machine--- er, I mean a "friendly" state election system.  I'd like to see him run.  You know... keep it all in the family like the Queen of England.  I think he's the man to carry on my legacy of deficits.  

Mr. Cheney:  He meant to say "budget priorities."

Bush:  Right.  Budget priorities and corporatization of federal revenues.

Mr. Cheney:  He meant to say "global economic growth."

Bush:  Right.  It is time for America to turn to tiny little trigger-button issues on the Home Front, while Dick and Condi paint with some large brushstrokes in the foreign policy arena.  You know, clear out Iraq and put in the oil companies. 

Mr. Cheney:  I wouldn't say "clear out" Iraq.  Its more like, "Make Iraq like America."

Interviewer:  When you say, "Make Iraq like America" do you mean "Make Iraq more Americanized" or do you mean "Make the people like us?"

Bush:  Both.  Did you ever hear of democracy?  Does the Liberal Media know anything about democracy?  I'm talking about one man one vote.  Then the lobbyists come in and make the decisions.  Until we have special interests who can deliver the money for TV ads in Iraq, we'll never have democracy there.  That's when we'll pull out... after a secure and compliant government is elected by the people.

Mr. Cheney:  I wouldn't say we'll ever "pull out."  You know, Helen, building voting in Iraq has its problems.  I think we'll be there for a long, long time.  And since we're there anyway, why not build a pipeline to get all that oil to America?  With all those big gas-guzzler Hum-Vees on the highways, and American gas peaking in 5 years, We're going to be the ones buying all the fossil fuels anyway.  Let's just secure that against foreign weirdos who want to sell it in a free market.

Interviewer:  Mr. Cheney, a lot of fuss has been made about your secret  meetings and letting the energy companies drive the agenda in energy policy.

Mr. Cheney:  Didn't happen.  Don't know what you're talking about.  Shut up.

Interviewer:  Um, OK.  Let's move on to WMD.  Congress voted for war because you assured them of Weapons of Mass Destruction.  Why Iraq?  And where are the WMD.

Bush:  Look.  Understand one thing.  There are Weapons of Mass Destruction, and we're very close to them.  So far, 14,000 lives have been lost.  Billions of dollars have been spent.  America is under terra alerts every time my ratings go down.  What does it take to prove to you that SOMEONE has weapons of mass destruction? And if you don't believe that, believe this:  What we said was technically true, because we were secretly in Iraq, and WE had WMD.

Interviewer:  I see.  We have a Republican Executive Branch, a Republican Senate and a Republican House.  Recent efforts to get a Right-Wing Judiciary have been criticized as tinkering with the Balance of Powers-- the Checks and Balances of the Founding Fathers in the Constitution.  What do you think about that?

Bush:  "Checks and balances."  It isn't my job.  I think my deficit proves that I don't give a hoot about checks and balances.  Now if you want to talk about fundraising checks and campaign coffer balances, I'm all ears.

Interviewer:  I see.  Which brings me to another subject... cartoonists depict you as a simeon kinda guy.  Does that offend you?

Bush:  Simeon?

Interviewer:  Monkey.

Bush:  Let me answer that with an analogy.  You know that I stopped new diabetes research because it involved using stem cells from human tissue.  I have said it before and I'll say it again.  Read our lips, "I am not an Organ Grinder!" 

Interviewer:  Mr. President, thanks for taking time from your busy schedule for this interview.  I'll let you get back on your tour to promote privatization of Social Security.  But I have one final subject.  How does privatization of Social Security help to solve the funding debt?  Won't Social Security be deeper in debt than ever?  Won't social programs have to make up for bad investments?  Won't retirees have less to make-do with?

Bush:  My best Republican minds have been studying that.  It works like this:  Private accounts will rarely out-perform the market, and retirees will have less to live on.  As they become homeless and the mortality rate increases, our payment burden also goes down.  Simple math.  My wonks are calling it "Trickle Away" economics.  Thanks Helen.  Hey, sorry about kicking you out of the Presidential Press Corp.  Let me get you a Commendation for being a Presidential Pioneer.  Here ya go.  You take care now.  Bye.  Toodles.  Git.

In My Opinion, its all about Individual Freedoms...

Every day, you hear that Republicans in Congress are taking bold steps on quirky subjects. One day it might be Terry Schiavo and the right to stay plugged into life support systems long after the quality of her life has declined to that of a paralyzed, bedridden person. The next day, Republicans in Congress are trying to do away with 200 years of history by ending congressional filibuster. Another day, some Republican Senator is talking about trying to punish a news comentator under the laws of Treason, for commenting about how the troop shortage has to do with low public support for the way the Iraq war is being managed.

To me, all of these Republican pushes are about taking away the peoples' choices about things involving their own lives. Families and courts should be free to decide about life support systems, not interfered-with by Congress. Filibusters may be keeping Republicans from getting judges that they want, but the filibuster itself is not the problem... Republicans want to sweep away rules that stand in their way-- not because Congressmen shouldn't be allowed to talk. And when someone speaks out with a different view about why the war is a big mess, they shouldn't be put into prison for noticing it.

Democrats have a long history of standing up for individual freedoms, and Republicans have a long history of forcing their opinions on the whole population. That's one reason why I am a Democrat.