Thursday, September 02, 2004

It's Bush's Empire, We Just Live In It

Well, I caught some of Dubya's speech; from what I can tell, he wasn't exactly going for the moderates. I thought the ranting about how America has only just begun to conquer problematic states, with God's blessing, was a bit over the top.

There were some huge, whopping lies thrown in for good measure.

But here's my view of the highlights:

  • Bush will reform the tax code -- if you buy this, you must be one of the elite receiving the bulk of his tax cuts now. He's right to point out the tax code is a giant corporate playground filled with breaks for big business and the wealthy: his base. This is by far the biggest lie of them all.
  • Job training, community colleges, and enterprise zones -- a bone for the middle class that means nothing if we continue on the course of shrinking the middle class. Community colleges are thriving already, for many reasons; not the least of which is fewer people can afford public universities (thanks to exploding state budget deficits, courtesy of Bush's tax cuts.) Job training programs have always helped the poor get a leg up; to absorb the middle class as well will require some major league funding boosts, something unlikely under Bush. Enterprise zones? Same problem as job training. What Bush is really saying here is: I'm going to start funding again those poverty safety nets I shouldn't have dismantled in the first place.
  • Health savings accounts -- he specifically says this is needed to help the working poor. Studies show, shockingly, the poor are too busy buying food and shelter to adequately fund such accounts (thank you, neocons, for opposing minimum wage hikes.) In the end, this turns out to be another benefit for the wealthy.
  • Compassionate conservative -- he's got the cajones to drag out this tired old line? Particularly after sending his attack dogs after Kerry, and ending his speech with rip-roaring, blood-thirsting calls for expanding the empire?
  • Comp-time and flex-time: "We will expand the elimination of overtime wherever possible! You're welcome, CEOs."
  • A bunch of lies about education
  • Kerry will raise your taxes -- a lie, unless you're part of Bush's base (haves and have-mores)
  • Kerry is a tax-and-spender for bigger government -- we don't have a Kerry presidential record, but we do have Bush's. He has created the biggest national debt in our history, with no end in sight, and no plan to fix it.
  • God told me he needs federal money -- whatever
  • The heroes of 9/11 told me to not let them down -- of course, Bush stood on that pile of rubble a month after reading "Bin Laden Determined to Attack Within the United States." I have no doubt they told him "don't let me down, again!"
  • Iraq and al Quaeda and 9/11 and Iraq -- really, besides Fox viewers, who out there still believes this bullshit? There was no link, and we created an unstable, terrorist-riddled country by invading Iraq, offsetting the good done in Afghanistan! If we stay on this path, Iran will be the major player in the Middle East for years to come (with nukes, no less.)
  • History will look upon Iraq as my Germany and Japan -- yes, of course. And Reagan was the greatest President in history. I guess this is part of the master plan to eliminate public schools and rewrite the Christian history books our kids will be reading.
  • I'm dumb and I smirk a lot, but that's only because I'm superior -- no comment


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