March 16th, 2006
Well, this has kind of slipped by with little hooplah, but while everyone was arguing about whether or not to censure President Bush over warrantless wiretapping and whether or not Democrats are spineless cowards (which they are), the Senate voted 52-48 yesterday to raise the limit on the national debt to $9 trillion so the U.S. Treasury wouldn’t default for the first time ever. In case you’re wondering, “$9 trillion represents about $30,000 for every man, woman and child in the United States.” [“Senate votes to raise debt limit” (ABS News)] Of course, it’s all up to President Bush now, but with his veto record, I’m not sure whether it’s worth the brain energy to wonder if he’ll sign it.
Granted, this “extra” money will allow the government to pay for the war in Iraq, Medicare, and other Federal programs, but they did it rather than do the responsible thing which is raise taxes. Let’s face it, Bush’s tax cuts have not trickled down to revive anything and they haven’t helped the economy. The only ones benefiting are large corporations and the rich, who can afford to help foot the bill a little more so that our country doesn’t go further into debt.
One of the things I agreed with John Kerry about was responsible spending. O.K. I don’t know if he was serious about it when he said it anymore, but it’s my belief that if you don’t have the money, you don’t spend it. This administration seems to be on a wild spending spree, shopping at all the expensive stores and forgetting to pay rent and utilities and the credit cards and the other necessities. If I managed my checkbook the way they managed the Federal budget, I’d be in prison by now or at least I’d be living in a shopping cart.
Is it too much to ask that my goverment be a little bit more responsible with the money I’m giving it?
Tags: Senate, Congress, George W. Bush, politics, national debt, taxes, Federal budget
August 26th, 2005
Over the past year, I’ve been thinking a lot about this big political tug-of-war this country has gotten into. It really does seem that there are a lot of very vocal people on both sides who are shouting rhetoric and propoganda back and forth.
It seems to me that many conservatives cannot get past Clinton’s marital indiscretions that ended up splashed all over the daily news for ages thanks to Newt Gingridge and Kenneth Starr — oh, and they don’t like the fact that he lied about it either.
And many liberals are hung up on the mysteriously disappearing Weapons of Mass Destruction and Bush allegedly taking the country to war on faulty intelligence which may have been fabricated to act as a reason to do so.
Meanwhile, so many liberals act like Clinton was the best thing since the Beatles and many conservatives act as if Bush was the right hand of God. Both sides turn a blind eye to the flaws of their own political hero, putting whichever it is on a pedestal behind unbreakable glass. Many think that the other party’s hero is the anti-Christ or at least that’s what you’d think to hear or read their sentiments.
So, I’ve been wondering if there’s been nothing that either of these men did that was a good thing that can be recognized by the “opposing party” as a good thing. With that in mind, I wonder if people realize these men are human beings and not perfect and therefore, not god-like — well, maybe if we’re talking about the petty gods of ancient Greek and Roman mythology…
So, here’s my challenge to liberals and conservatives alike:
For Former President Clinton, name one good Presidential thing he did for the country while in office. Name one bad Presidential thing.
For the current President Bush, name one good Presidential thing he did for the country while in office. Name one bad Presidential thing.
Remember, your political champion is not perfect and there has to be at least one thing he did that you didn’t like, just as there has to be at least one thing that you liked about the other party’s champion.
And, since I can’t expect other people to think on this if I don’t, here are my answers:
For Former President Clinton, name one good Presidential thing he did for the country while in office. Name one bad Presidential thing.
My one good Clinton thing is that he balanced the budget which was a campaign promise he made and kept. My one bad thing is that he didn’t secure social security which was also a campaign promise.
For the current President Bush, name one good Presidential thing he did for the country while in office. Name one bad Presidential thing.
My one good Bush thing is how he handled 9-11 in 2001; I felt that he handled the situation very well publically and that invading Afghanistan after the attack was the right thing to do — pacifist that I am.
My one bad thing for Bush is the invasion of Iraq which I felt was unnecessary and uncalled for and which I felt had nothing to do with 9-11 though it was implied at the time — and I also never believed Saddaam had WMD anymore.
So now it’s your turn.
Tags: George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, liberals, conservatives, politics, 9/11, Afghanistan, Federal budget, Iraq
