Lately I haven't been very active in posting anything here. I guess I'm feeling like a deer in the headlights. There are so many problems with what the government is doing and is planning that I don't know which way to turn. In an online discussion on Ecunet I recently posted the following partial list of some of the things the Bush administration is doing which concern me:
- A homeland security department (not necesarily a bad idea in and of itself as that could help to avoid data getting lost between agencies) that is only accepted by Dubya if it reduces the labor union and civil service protections of the employees. Those protections were put in place over the years because of previous abuses. Having a monumental investigative department with fewer protections for whistle-blowers and people who resist inappropriate investigations (such as investigations of MLK and others in the civil rights movement in the 50s and 60s) makes for a scary prospect.
- Working on developing a national energy policy by consulting only with energy company officials who are his pals (many of whom were shortly thereafter found with their hands in their corporate tills) and no conservation groups who might have presented alternate views.
- Asking civilians to spy on their neighbors in the TIPS program.
- Tax breaks for the wealthy while the government goes broke. People decry the "tax and spend" Democrats, but I think I prefer that to the "borrow and spend" Republicans.
- A national database of incredible size including virtually all consumer transactions in the name of national security. (This was tacked onto the Homeland Security bill and has now been signed into law.)
- Aggressive steps to lead us into a war with Iraq which both the CIA and the military leaders are wary of, ignoring another "Axis of Evil" country, N. Korea, which admits working on developing WMD, while focusing on Iraq with no apparent reason for the preference beyond wanting Iraq's oil while N. Korea has no such comparable wealth to plunder.
- Calling for bi-partisanship, but accepting only acquiescence. Any time Bush is thwarted in his ambitions he denounces his opponents, stating they are soft on terrorism or don't care about American security and saying it is purely partisanship. He applauds "bi-partisanship" when Democrats go along with his plans (until someone more compliant runs against them, at which point they are no longer worthy of office). When has Bush offered to accept compromises in order to get most of what he wants. It is his way or the highway, and with the Republicans in charge of both houses, he is likely to get his way almost all the time.
- Increasingly conservative judicial appointments (for life) who support anti-abortion forces, fewer restrictions on police power, greater freedom to use capital punishment, etc.
- Fewer environmental controls with potential for environmental damage that will last for decades or longer.
- I've seen members of Congress and the Cabinet quoted as saying that they are considering changing the law that says military forces cannot be used for domestic law enforcement. That's just what we need, our military taking action against our own citizens.
- I've even seen reports of discussions of reviving the draft.
This is not all of the reasons I oppose Bush. The fact that he cannot speak clearly and correctly without a script (often, not even with a script) just makes him the butt of jokes. It is the actions he is taking that make me oppose him.
Posted by JoKeR at December 05, 2002 03:24 PM | TrackBack