"If I were Bush?" Oh Geez.

I had a friend who responded to my previous post -- Time To Talk War Crimes, Indeed) -- with the rhetorical question, "what would you have done if you were Bush?" Here is my response...

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Well, since you asked...

• If I were Bush I would NOT have attacked Iraq since there was no true proof they were a threat to us. (There were no WMDs. None. How could there have been proof?)
• If I were Bush I would not keep implying that Iraq had anything to do with 9/11. They had nothing to do with it. That was all Osama, the Taliban and Afghanistan. In fact Saddam hated/distrusted Osama; didn't like the religious nut cases.
• If I were Bush I would not bomb hospitals.
• If I were Bush I would not permit torture or inhumane treatment in the prisons we run, in any way, shape or form, ever, and I would immediately fire and prosecute anyone who did. Anyone.
• If I were Bush I would not lie about wiretapping phone calls in this country. (Several months ago he reassured the press that a court order would be needed to do that; now we know they've done it in secret, bypassing a court set up for that very purpose.)
• If I were Bush I would not create a prison in the legal limbo that is Guantanamo so I could indefinitely hold detainees away from any legal recourse or protection, in violation of internationally recognized civil rights, just on a suspicion.
• If I were Bush I would not work so hard to create and perpetuate tax cuts that mostly benefit the wealthy while cutting services to the poor and undereducated.
• If I were Bush I would meet with the NAACP at least once a year, like every president before him.
• If I were Bush I would not clamp such a heavy hand of privacy over the entire government. The rate of documents that have been classified has increased dramatically since he took office, many of them formerly unclassified.
• If I were Bush I would not have let my Vice President write the country's energy policy only with input from big business leaders in the energy industry, shutting out any environmentalist input and keeping the minutes of the meetings secret.
• If I were Bush I wouldn't gut the EPA; I'd fund them better and tell them to get back to prosecuting polluters like they used to. I wouldn't create an initiative called "Clear Skies" that lets polluters pollute more. I wouldn't promote a program called "Healthy Forests" that lets big lumber log more trees in our national forests.
  
• If I were Bush I would not keep asking for "emergency funding" to pay for the Iraq war. I would roll it into the regular budget so everyone could see what it costs and so Congress could debate it.
• If I were Bush I would retool "No Child Left Behind" so it would help students actually pass those tests they're forced to take. Oh, and I'd fund it adequately too.

I could go on for a LONG time. (See 1000 Reasons.) This man is the worst president ever. Worse than Nixon. He's an international criminal. He's a liar. He's beholden to big business and his oil buddies in the Middle East. I oppose this man and just about everything he's done.

I also know the cost of freedom is not free. I'm ex-Navy. But how did attacking Iraq preserve, protect or defend our freedom?

It is NOT unpatriotic for me to say these things. In fact it is my patriotic duty to stand up and speak out. He is ruining this country. I love this country, but I am suspicious of this government and this president.

But in the end, in my previous e-mail it is not about what I said, but what I read. I encourage you to take the time to read about the attack on Falluja, or the article about how our policies in Iraq directly contradict the Nuremberg WWII war crimes trials. You'll see that our ship of state is being steered down a tragic road.

We're not supposed to be the bad guys, but now we are. Thanks to Bush.