George W. Bush Was Right!

Apparently, George W. Bush was right in suspending the legal rights of "terrorists," torturing them, showing no pictures of that torture and setting up military tribunals instead of court trials. Few were ever tried, the rest were just held indefinitely with no charges. And Mr. Bush fought wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

He also gave out huge piles of cash as bailouts to giant corporations at the expense of the vast number of hard working Americans.

That Mr. Bush was right is my impression from President Obama's actions. Despite his campaign promises to the contrary and his pledges of "change" and "transparency," Mr. Obama is following in Mr. Bush's footsteps.

Alleged "terrorists" will still have their legal rights suspended. Some may face military tribunals in which their rights will be severely limited while others will simply be held indefinitely. President Obama retains the option of sending suspects to other nations for questioning, for as Mr. Bush said, "America doesn't torture."

As for the wars, instead of getting out of Iraq, Mr. Obama is following the Bush plan, including the continued use of up to 180,000 mercenaries. And when he finally does draw down the U.S. soldiers, he plans to send them to Afghanistan and Pakistan to fight as he rapidly escalates those wars.

As for Mr. Bush's giant corporate bailouts at the expense of working class America it continues on a grander scale under Mr. Obama. And as with Mr. Bush, no corporate titans are held accountable for their recklessness nor is there any transparency as to how the taxpayer's bailout money is being used.

As for Mr. Obama not releasing the torture pictures despite his promise to do so, that makes good sense. Those torture pictures would serve as graphic evidence the U.S. violated its own Constitution and The Geneva Convention as well as the United Nations charter the U.S. helped to write.

Mr. Obama would then be compelled by law and by world opinion to put the perpetrators on trial. And those perpetrators include President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney among others and may include House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. After all, in America nobody is above the law.

It's best to sweep it under the carpet and let people forget it. The risk is that some principled pesky reporters will get those pictures and publish them. That would be a form of what happened with Watergate.

If all of this offends you, you could raise your voice and compel Mr. Obama to live up to his promises and to enforce the law. In America, you are in charge, not those who in your silence seized your rights. Desperately, the world looks to you to restore a compassionate and peaceful America, and one that acts with fiscal integrity before it bankrupts us all.

Dick

Saving America

Directed by President Bush, the CIA tortured numerous prisoners, some to death, which is unconscionable and a gross violation of U.S. and International Law. Mr. Bush accepts no responsibility, saying his actions were justified and legal.

The situation is so bad, President Obama now opposes releasing dozens of pictures of this torture afraid it will set-off a huge wave of anti-America sentiment abroad and anger and shame at home. It will also trigger strong widespread demands for prosecution of those who conducted it, starting at the top, President Bush.

Meanwhile House Speaker Pelosi claims Congress is not responsible for she didn't know it was happening, but documents show she did.

Giant U.S. financial institutions collapse from massive greed and crazy investments. Do they accept responsibility? Not at all as they demand and receive bailout money. Whose money? The money from America's vast number of working people whose financial security they jeopardized.

Violating U.S. and International Law, the U.S. invades Afghanistan and Iraq, selling it to the American people with titles such as "Operation Iraqi Freedom," when in fact both nations are under U.S. military occupation. Vast numbers of their people have been killed, injured or orphaned. The U.S. has even spread the war to Pakistan.

President Obama is elected after blaming President Bush for all these horrifc actions. He then forgives the CIA torturers, expands the corporate bailouts, continues the war in Iraq, while escalating the one in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Baseball, "America's pastime" is rocked by on going drug scandals. Do the players accept responsibility? Only when caught. Do team owners accept responsibility for knowingly looking the other way? No, they issue brief suspensions, anxious to get their top revenue producers back on the field. But then this is just a reflection of America's leadership, one of irresponsibility and greed.

As for the economic crisis, we're told the worst is behind us because the financial institutions are doing better and the stock market is up. But most Americans don't know the results of the financial "stress tests" on the biggest banks were rigged to paint a better picture.

They don't know that last month accounting standards were lowered so lenders no longer must accurately value the huge losses in their portfolios, nor do most people know the Fed is now printing money out of thin air, an action which could trigger hyper-inflation.

The very premise that working class America, the people who pay most of the taxes and barely keep their heads above water, are bailing out corporate giants shows us all how absurd the system has become.

If you want change, if you want fairness, if you want to end the wars and stabilize the financial and political systems, you're going to have to get involved. The political system won't fix itself and it belongs to you, not to the people who have taken it from you. Only in your silence could they have done this. So speak up and demand your rights and you'll rock this corrupt system to its foundation.

As you raise your voice, others will find the courage to raise theirs. Together we will restructure this government so it once again becomes "Of the people, by the people and for the people."

Dick