President George W. Bush
President George W. Bush
The Election
George
Bush won Florida's 25 electoral votes -- and the national electoral
total -- by a margin of only 537 votes, according to certified results announced
by Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris. That result was upheld by a
5-to-4 U.S. Supreme Court decision,
after a challenge mounted by Gore.
Although
Bush won the presidency by winning the vote in the Electoral College
271 to 266, Gore won the national popular vote by 539,947 ballots.
The
Supreme Court found there was no constitutionally acceptable procedure by which
a new recount could take place before the deadline for selection of presidential
electors.
5
judged "Against" a Florida vote recount:
Chief Justice William Rehnquist (Nixon)
Justice Antonin Scalia (Reagan)
Justice Clarence Thomas (Bush Sr.)
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (Reagan)
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy (Reagan)
4
judged "For" a Florida vote recount:
Justice John Paul Stevens (Ford)
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg (Clinton)
Justice Steven G. Breyer (Clinton)
Justice David H. Souter (Bush Sr.)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"One
thing, however, is certain. 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.”
- Justice John Paul Stevens
“In
sum, the Court’s conclusion that a constitutionally adequate recount is
impractical
is a prophecy the Court’s own judgment will not allow to be tested. Such
an
untested prophecy should not decide the Presidency of the United States. I dissent.”
- Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
“In
the December 12 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court handing the election to George
Bush,
the Court committed the unpardonable sin of being a knowing surrogate for the
Republican Party
instead of being an impartial arbiter of the law… From the beginning,
Bush desperately sought…to prevent
the opening of the box, the looking into the box—unmistakable signs that
he feared the truth. In a nation
that prides itself on openness, instead of the Supreme Court doing everything
within its power to find
a legal way to open the door and box, they did the precise opposite in grasping,
stretching and searching
mightily for a way, any way at all, to aid their choice for president, Bush,
in the suppression of
the truth, finally settling, in their judicial coup d’etat, on the untenable
argument that there
was a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause.”
- Vincent Bugliosi, author and prosecutor of Charles Manson
* * * * * *
Jeb Bush, Katherine Harris and Election Fraud
Black neighborhoods
lost many more presidential votes than other areas because of outmoded voting
machines
and confusion about ballots. And on Election Day, complaints began rolling in
across the state from registered
voters whose names were not on precinct voting lists.
The impact
of the botched felon purge fell disproportionately on black Floridians and,
by extension, on the
Democratic Party, which won the votes of 9 out of every 10 African American
voters, according to exit polls.
coincidence ?
Florida
hired an outside vendor for $4 million to compile a list of voters who had committed
felonies in other states.
Database Technologies (now ChoicePoint Inc.) was chosen to sort through state
and national databases to identify felons.
From the beginning, Database Technologies raised serious concerns that non-felons
could be misidentified.
One list sent to Florida officials inaccurately contained 8,000 people who had committed misdemeanors - not felonies - in Texas.
Q:
what are the chances that out of 49 other states, the faulty list comes
from ... TEXAS ?
A: chances are 1 in 49, or about 2 percent
It was left
to local election supervisors to determine whether residents of their counties
were accurately listed as felons.
With little guidance from the state, county supervisors devised their own rules.
"We warned them," said James E. Lee, vice president of communications
for the company. The list "was exactly
what the state wanted. They said, 'The counties will verify the information,
so you don't have to.' "
Florida wasn't concerned about the accuracy - they had "people" who would take care of that...
Florida
Gov. Jeb Bush (R) and Secretary of State Katherine Harris, who oversees
state elections, maintain that problems encountered by voters were unintentional.
George Bush was sworn into office January 20, 2001
George
Bush, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces
George
W. Bush and the Afghanistan War (George W. Bush's 1st War)
to route out Al-Qaeda, and get Osama bin Laden "dead or alive"
George
W. Bush and the Iraq Crusade (George W. Bush's 2nd War)
to avenge Daddy's legacy of previous failure, and to divert attention
away from domestic failures and his conservative agenda
George Bush and the Saudis
President Bush with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah
"Saudi
Arabia supports our enemies and attacks our allies. The Saudis are active at
every level
of the terror chain, from planner to financiers, from cadre to foot soldier,
from ideologist to cheerleader."
- Laurent Murawiec, analyst for the RAND Corporation
Of the 19 hijackers aboard the four jetliners on Sept. 11, 2001,
15 were Saudi citizens.
President Bush with Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal
Saudi officials confirmed that Princess Haifa bin Faisal, wife
of a Saudi Arabian ambassador to Washington,
had written cheques that were then signed over to friends and associates of
two of the hijackers.
"The President, from the first day, has been
very satisfied with
the actions of the Saudi government and the Saudi people."
- White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer
"the
Saudis funneled half a billion dollars to al-Qaeda over a decade"
- Robert Baer, former CIA agent
The Saudi - al-Qaeda connection
al-Qaeda
mastermind Abu Zubaydah was captured in Pakistan on March 28,
2002.
Using painkillers and sodium pentothal, US interrogators questioned him.
The CIA then flew him to an Afghanistan complex fitted out as a fake Saudi jail.
Two Arab-American special forces, pretending to be Saudis, questioned him further.
But when Abu Zubaydah was confronted by the false Saudis, he was utterly relieved.
He reeled off telephone numbers of a senior royal family member for them to
contact.
The number was that of Prince Ahmed bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz.
Prince Ahmed was a nephew of King Fahd, and owner of Kentucky Derby winner "War
Emblem".
Abu Zubaydah told the fake Saudis that Saudi Intelligence Chief Prince
Turki al-Faisal bin Abdul Aziz
had allowed Osama bin Laden to leave Saudi Arabia
and was providing him with secret funds,
which were funneled to Osama bin Laden through three royal-prince
intermediaries - Prince Ahmed,
Prince Sultan bin Faisal bin Turki al-Saud, and Prince
Fahd bin Turki bin Saud al-Kabir.
He also told them that Pakastani Mushaf Ali Mir was providing
al-Qaeda with supplies.
On July 22, 2002 Prince Ahmed bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz died
of a heart attack, at age 43.
On July 23, 2002 Prince Sultan bin Faisal bin Turki al-Saud
died in a high-speed car accident.
On July 30, 2002 Prince Fahd bin Turki bin Saud al-Kabir died
of thirst while traveling near Riyadh.
7 months later, Mushaf Ali Mir died in a plane crash in clear
weather.
-from Gerald
Posner's book "Why America Slept"
Why were 28 pages of the Official Report on 9/11 regarding Saudi Arabia censored??
George
Bush and the US Economy
the
myth:
the current economic downturn was the Democrats or Bill Clinton's fault
the
facts:
George Bush was named President on January 20, 2001.
one common definition of recession:
two consecutive quarters with declining gross domestic product
3rd quarter 2000 - the economy grew 2.7 percent
4th quarter 2000 - the economy grew 1.1 percent
1st quarter 2001 - the economy grew 1.3 percent
2nd quarter 2001 - the economy grew 0.3 percent
3rd quarter 2001 - the economy declined
1.3 percent *
* this is the worst performance since 1st quarter
1991, when Bush Sr. was President.
Using this common definition of recession, the recession started in the third
quarter of 2001,
before the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.
another definition of recession,
from the National Bureau of Economic Research:
"A recession begins just after the economy reaches a peak of activity and
ends as the economy reaches its trough."
According to the National Bureau of Economic Research:
"The economy peaked and started shrinking in March 2001, two months after
the
Bush presidency began. Thus, the current recession began in March 2001."
"In 2002, our economy was still
recovering from the attacks of September the 11th, 2001,
and it was pulling out of a recession that began before I took office."
-President Bush, in his final radio address of 2002
fact:
BUSH = LIAR
The recession might not be George Bush's fault. But the lying about it sure is.
For
some people, lying while under oath about sex with an intern is a horrible offense
which disgraces the United States and is grounds for impeachment, but lying
about
the US economy to the entire country during a national radio address is somehow
acceptable. (?)
"I
know how hard it is for you to put food on your family."
-George Bush, Greater Nashua, N.H. Chamber of Commerce, Jan.
27, 2000
"It
is clear our nation is reliant upon big foreign oil. More and more of our imports
come from overseas."
-George Bush, Beaverton, Ore., Sep. 25, 2000
"It's
going to require numerous IRA agents."
-George Bush, referring to Gore's tax plan, Greensboro, N.C.,
Oct. 10, 2000
“My
economic security plan can be summed up in one word: jobs.”
- George Bush, Jan 29, 2002
[the unemployment rate reached 6 percent in April 2002.
It was 4 percent when Bush became president, 15 months prior]
* * * * * *
the
Tax Cut of 2001
includes $1.3 trillion in tax reductions
* * * * * *
the
Tax Cut of 2003
includes $350 billion in tax deductions over 6 years
Families
earning between $10,000 and $26,000 per year
will be excluded from receiving the $400-per-child tax refund.
[How's that sit with the men and women of the US Armed Forces, who are generally in this tax bracket?]
"By
dealing almost exclusively with Republicans to get this tax bill through, the
bill shot through congress
with no attention paid to democratic concerns and little real debate. For the
most part, rank-and-file lawmakers
were cut out of the process, except when it came to voting.
That means there is no one but Bush
to blame if the tax cuts harm rather than help the economy. Opponents contend
that Bush's back-to-back tax cuts will drive up the federal deficit and leave
a crushing debt to
future generations."
-Philadelphia Inquirer, May 25, 2003.
In
America, the number of people living in poverty increased 1.7 million from 2001
to 2002.
This is the second year the number has risen, after a decade of decline.
The median household income in 2002 of $42,409 is down 1.1% from the previous
year.
-Time Magazine, October 6, 2003.
Congress
yesterday approved a belated $373 billion spending bill financing most federal
agencies
and endorsing President Bush's policies on overtime pay, food labeling, media
ownership and guns.
The Senate approved the bill by a 65-28 vote. The House passed it in December.
It allows companies to pay overtime to fewer white-collar workers and lets media
companies
own more television stations. It would create the first federal school vouchers
and shorten the period
the government leeps records on gun purchasers from 90 days to 24 hours.
The bill also permits companies to wait until September 2006, rather than this
September,
to put country-of-origin labels on meat and many other foods sold in U.S. stores.
-Associateed Press, January 23, 2004.
George Bush and Education
"Rarely
is the question asked: is our children learning?"
-George Bush, Florence, SC, January 11, 2000
"You
teach a child to read and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test."
-George Bush, Townsend Elementary School, February
21, 2001,
George Bush's Administration
Conservative columnist Robert Novak reported that 2 senior Bush Administration officials had named Valerie Plame as a top-secret CIA spy. Valerie Plame was a "covert operative who specialized in nonconventional weapons", passing herself off as an energy expert.
Valerie
is the wife of former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, a leading critic of the president's
Iraq policies.
Revealing the identity os an undercover CIA agent is a felony that carries a
punishment of up to 10 years in prison.
George
Bush and the Environment
Bush
refers to environmentalists as "green, green lima beans."
President Bush displaying his contempt for environmentalists,
which include most of the reputable scientists on
the planet, who are dedicated to improving the health of the eco-system that
supports them, and all life on Earth.
actually,
"green, green lima beans" is kinda funny. I want royalties from
anyone out
there that wants to make and sell "I'm a green, green lima bean."
bumper stickers.
I would be willing to bet that if it is left up to MONSANTO,
there is a good chance that lima beans won't be green in the future.
Kyoto
Protocol. Opposed global pact, ratified by 95 other nations, aimed
at curbing industrial emissions
of carbon dioxide. Many scientists say these emissions are contributing to global
warming.
Arsenic.
Called for a review of Clinton-era rule tightening regulations on arsenic in
drinking water.
After public outcry, the EPA let the rule stand.
Automobile
mileage standards. Lobbied against legislation that would force automakers
to raise the minimum
miles-per-gallon standard for new cars.
Snowmobiles. Stopped a ban on snowmobiles in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.
Clear
Skies initiative. Proposed deep cuts in emissions of three of the worst
air pollutants through a system
that gives industry wide latitude in implementing the reduction.
Christine
Todd Whitman, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator, announced her
resignation on May 20, 2003.
According to the EPA itself, under Whitman:
the number of officially "smoggy" days slightly increased from 2000
to 2001
a number of officially "smoggy days" increased 32 percent from 2001
to 2002
the number of polluted waterways increased from 2000 to 2001
cleanups at toxic "Superfund" sites dropped 41 percent
a regulation was eased that required old coal-burning power plants to install
pollution controls
According to the UN, US military forces exploded as much as 2000
tons (4 million pounds) of depleted-uranium
weapons during Iraq War II - about six times the amount used in 1991. The Pentagon
says it has no plans to do a cleanup.
In
a quiet flurry of late-summer activity, the Bush administration
eased a series of environmental regulations, including:
diluted federal rules governing air pollution from old coal-fired plants
dramatically easing requirements on companies to install new
pollution controls when they make big upgrades
diluted federal rules governing emissions that cause global warming
the conclusion that carbon dioxide, which most scientists say
is the chief cause of global warming,
is not a pollutant that the EPA can cite to regulate emissions from cars and
power plants
diluted federal rules governing contaminated ballast water on ships
the EPA will no longer regulate ships' ballast water under the
Clean Water Act, turning the issue over to the coast guard
diluted federal rules governing the sale of land tainted with PCBs
scrapping a 25-year old rule
drilling for oil and gas on federal land
ordering the Bureau of Land Management to speed the process permitting
drilling for oil and gas on federal lands
The Philadelphia Inquirer, September 7, 2003.
George Bush and American Veterans
"The
struggle over the Budget approved by Congress this year has been a tough one.
In order to fund the President's
proposal for very large tax cuts, the Republican-controlled House and Senate
have cut funds vitally needed for veterans
health care. In the Senate Budget Committee, an amendment offered by Sen. Tim
Johnson (D-S.D.) was rejected during
mark up, apparently because the offset would reduce the tax cut. Since VA health
care is already grossly underfunded,
this would have had terrible effects on both access to and the quality of VA
health care. "
-Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc., April 2003
George Bush and the FCC
Chairman
of the FCC Michael Powell (son of Secretary of State
Colin Powell) was named chairman by George Bush in 2001.
The FCC
plans to eliminate the 28-year old rule that bars joint ownership of a newspaper
and television station in the same city, and plans to change the rule that limits
a network from
owning more than 35 percent of the TV stations in the country - to allow 45
percent, and
also to eliminate the rule that says a company can only own 2 TV stations in
the largest cities.
The rule
changes were lobbied for by:
Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. (FOX)
Viacom (CBS)
Disney (ABC)
AOL Time Warner
NBC
Gannett
Tribune Co.
Many citizens
groups (the NRA, religious groups, consumer advocates, writers, musicians)
have come out against these changes to the rules.
In 1996,
similar rules were relaxed for radio. By 2003, two companies - Clear
Channel Communications Inc.,
and Viacom, Inc. - own a majority of the radio stations. Clear
Channel owns more than 1200 stations itself.
Incidentally... Clear Channel's stations staged "Rallies for America", to counter popular worldwide anti-war rallies.
Clear Channel
owns:
Merriweather Post Pavilion
Saratoga PAC
PNC Bank Arts Center, NJ
"Bill Graham Presents"
Fillmore Theatre, San Francisco
Warfield Theatre, San Francisco
Shoreline Amphitheatre
The
Senate voted 55-40 yestreday to kill all of the new Federal Communications
Commission rules that would allow media giants to control more of what American
see and hear.
Separately from the legislative struggle, a federal court earlier this month
temporarily blocked all of the FCC's rule changes, which were to take effect
Sept. 4.
- Philadelphia Daily News, September 17, 2003
George Bush and North Korea
Bush ended
with an attack on North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il. "He´s
starving his own people," Bush said, and imprisoning intellectuals in "a
Gulag the size of Houston." The president called him a "pygmy"
and
compared him to "a spoiled child at a dinner table." Stunned senators
didn't know quite what to make of the performance. "It was like in church,
when the sermon goes on too long and you're not sure what the point is,"
one Senator told NEWSWEEK. "Nobody dared look at anybody else."
The
term "Pygmy" denotes a racial slur against the African peoples.
Does George Bush think that the North Korean leader is African?
fact: BUSH = RACIST
"It
is clear that the destiny of Iraq is at stake due to its consession and compromise.
North Korea would have already met the
same miserable fate as Iraq's had it ... accepted the demand raised by the imperialists
and their followers for 'nuclear disarmament'."
"The arrogant and outrageous behavior of the U.S. that has adopted it as
a national policy to
kill the state leader of [another] country is typical state terrorism that can
never be tolerated."
-from the Rodong Sinmun, North Korea's state-run newspaper, March 2003.
The BUSH family tree
Prescott Bush
George
Herbert Bush
41st President
George
W Bush, wife Laura
43rd President
twin daughters Jenna and Barbara
Jenna Bush
Barbara Bush
Jeb Bush, wife Columba
Governor of Florida
daughter Noelle Bush
completed 16 month
drug rehab August 8, 2003
- jailed for 10 days, for posession of 2 grams of crack cocaine in October 2002
- jailed for 3 days, for posession of pills in July 2002
"Clear Skies" initiative
"Healthy Forests" campaign
Prescription Drug Fiasco
"To
announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are
to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile,
but is morally treasonable to the American public."
- Theodore Roosevelt