measi's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rant on the State of the Union (very long) [hooligan]'s entry yesterday had me thinking a lot about the world in general the past few months. So much so that I actually sat and watched the President's State of the Union address last night. I went in with as neutral a stance as I could, knowing that the President is someone who sees my faith as make-believe and knowing that he is against me because I'm a woman who is pro-choice. However, as I watched his speech, I was surprised at how little he gave me to think about, to debate within myself. I was perfectly open for some challenges to my own beliefs on matters to look inside to see if it was actually what I believed, or if I was just hard-lining because of the way he won the election. I'm both sad and thrilled to say that my support of George Bush is still non-existent. The man scares me with his incompetence, and I am terrified of being in America with him as our "leader." Let's go through some things about his speech last night. Things that I actually started yelling at him when he said them: "as we gather tonight, our nation is at war, our economy is in recession and the civilized world faces unprecedented dangers. Yet the state of our union has never been stronger. " Our nation is at war, our economy is in recession. I don't think civilization faces any unprecedented dangers at all. I think America finally had to join the rest of the world as to what reality is. We don't live in a vaccuum on this side of the Atlantic/Pacific. And for the first time in my life, since September 11th, I have felt like I am unwelcome in my own country because of my faith. So perhaps the right-winged Christian movement "union" is stronger, but I don't see it here. We last met in an hour of shock and suffering. In four short months, our nation has comforted the victims, begun to rebuild New York and the Pentagon, rallied a great coalition, captured, arrested and rid the world of thousands of terrorists, destroyed Afghanistan's terrorist training camps, saved a people from starvation and freed a country from brutal oppression. The victims of the tragedies of September 11th were put on a pedistal to be near-worshipped for a while as living martyrs. Then they were stripped of it. Those relief funds to families are stuck in the muck that is corporate legality arguments. Has rebuilding already started? Seems to me that they're still digging in NY. Haven't heard much about the Pentagon. We've captured several alleged terrorists, and a few that admit to it. It was my understanding that the alleged terrorists held in Guantanamo Bay are not charged yet, and are under investigation. I haven't seen many trials for terrorism yet that could say we've "rid the world" of them. Rid the world? Hardly. We've more than likely encouraged more. And I'm more than positive that we have overlooked at least a few of the training camps in Afghanistan. Without bombing the entire country out of existence with a nuclear blast, I don't see how we've destroyed all of them. We have most DEFINITELY not saved a country from starvation and oppression. This temporary government is far too new to make such an arrogant claim, and I couldn't believe the audacity (okay, actually, I could, coming from him) of his claim that we have done so. Want another twist to that statement? Read the Boston Globe here. The last time we met in this chamber, the mothers and daughters of Afghanistan were captives in their own homes, forbidden from working or going to school. Today women are free, and are part of Afghanistan's new government. And we welcome the new minister of women's affairs, Dr. Sima Samar. What was done cannot be undone in only a few short months. Again, this government is far too new to have done anything this sweeping. When I called our troops into action, I did so with complete confidence in their courage and skill. And tonight, thanks to them, we are winning the war on terror. The men and women of our armed forces have delivered a message now clear to every enemy of the United States: Even 7,000 miles away, across oceans and continents, on mountaintops and in caves you will not escape the justice of this nation. Oh good. Can I see Osama Bin Laden in the shackles, because apparently he's been captured, according to you. How about the rest of his organization higher-ups that you've been looking for. You have them too, eh? We've bombed the shit out of Afghanistan, and are now expanding it into other countries in Asia. I haven't seen much winning going on here. Just a lot of Jerry Bruckheimer-esque explosions on a country we're supposedly liberating. But I haven't seen you or the military come up with the goods yet, Mr. President. Thanks to the work of our law enforcement officials and coalition partners, hundreds of terrorists have been arrested, yet tens of thousands of trained terrorists are still at large. These enemies view the entire world as a battlefield, and we must pursue them wherever they are. So long as training camps operate, so long as nations harbor terrorists, freedom is at risk and America and our allies must not, and will not, allow it. Okay... so lemme get this straight. We've only arrested hundreds. Not the thousands that you claim earlier in your speech. And again, aren't they alleged at this point? Or is our base on Cuba becoming an official prision with no trial? How are we winning the war if tens of thousands are still at large, and our freedom is at risk? Seriously... I wanna know. How did you get the impression we were winning, Mr. President? Our military has put the terror training camps of Afghanistan out of business, yet camps still exist in at least a dozen countries. A terrorist underworld -- including groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and Jaish-i-Mohammed -- operates in remote jungles and deserts, and hides in the centers of large cities. Ah, okay. So since we bombed the crap out of Afghanistan, one country going down means we're winning. Gotcha. Let's see... assuming that there were only 12 countries with terrorist camps... we've destroyed Afghanistan out of 12. That's 1/12th. Hardly a winning number. You'd get an F on your math test if you only got 1/12th of the questions right. Or is my math off on that one? [skipping through all of the harassment of Korea, Iran, and Iraq... *yawn*] And all nations should know: America will do what is necessary to ensure our nation's security. Trust me, Mr. President. The nations of the world are more than aware that America thinks of itself first. This is not news. Our war on terror is well begun, but it is only begun. This campaign may not be finished on our watch, yet it must be and it will be waged on our watch. Again... then how do you claim we're winning the war?!? We can't stop short. If we stopped now, leaving terror camps intact and terror states unchecked, our sense of security would be false and temporary. History has called America and our allies to action, and it is both our responsibility and our privilege to fight freedom's fight. With this statement, I truly began to feel fear as he spoke last night. And I realized that this war is going to be my generation's Vietnam. Not because we're meddling in another country's civil war, as what happened over there, but because we're winning a war that is unrealistic to win. Without breaking every single treaty on human treatment on the books, we will never destroy all of the camps of terrorists. EVER. It's physically impossible. If we can't get rid of the KKK in our own country, how the heck are we supposed to get rid of all of these terrorist camps? Get ready, folks. Because this is the only thing President Bush will accomplish during his reign as President... ready for it? Here it comes: It costs a lot to fight this war. We have spent more than a billion dollars a month -- over $30 million a day -- and we must be prepared for future operations. Afghanistan proved that expensive precision weapons defeat the enemy and spare innocent lives, and we need more of them. We need to replace aging aircraft and make our military more agile to put our troops anywhere in the world quickly and safely. Our men and women in uniform deserve the best weapons, the best equipment and the best training and they also deserve another pay raise. My budget includes the largest increase in defense spending in two decades, because while the price of freedom and security is high, it is never too high. Whatever it costs to defend our country, we will pay. The next priority of my budget is to do everything possible to protect our citizens and strengthen our nation against the ongoing threat of another attack. Time and distance from the events of September the 11th will not make us safer unless we act on its lessons. America is no longer protected by vast oceans. We are protected from attack only by vigorous action abroad and increased vigilance at home. My budget nearly doubles funding for a sustained strategy of homeland security, focused on four key areas: bioterrorism; emergency response; airport and border security; and improved intelligence. All of our money is going directly to this war. Our country is going to go back down into disasterous debt because of this crap. It's never too high to pay for security, that supposedly was being paid for and was fantastic, even though it took little more than a jetliner to crash into the Pentagon. Of the four key areas that he lists, the only one I give credit to is emergency response. Our police and firefighters-- paid for by local funds, not national, were exceptional. The rest? Please. Once we have funded our national security and our homeland security, the final great priority of my budget is economic security for the American people. To achieve these great national objectives -- to win the war, protect the homeland and revitalize our economy -- our budget will run a deficit that will be small and short term so long as Congress restrains spending and acts in a fiscally responsible way. That's right folks... once we've spent billions on the military, then Congress will be asked to restrain itself in spending. That means on us. Americans who have lost their jobs need our help, and I support extending unemployment benefits and direct assistance for health care coverage. Yet American workers want more than unemployment checks. They want a steady paycheck. Damn skippy. I've been fortunate to avoid layoffs. But I haven't seen a single damn thing done since September 11th to help the workers of America get back on their feet. Not a single thing. The layoffs have continued. In fact, the only industry I see any money going to is the airline industry, who could give a crap about people in the first place. Their laziness and lax standards in hiring security personnel were one of the reasons it was so easy to hijack those planes. When America works, America prospers, so my economic security plan can be summed up in one word: jobs. Good jobs begin with good schools, and here we've made a fine start. Republicans and Democrats worked together to achieve historic education reform so that no child is left behind. I must have slept through this reform, sorry. I don't see any change that has happened since you've become President, Mr. Bush. In fact, if anything, I see more arguments about people insisting religion needs to be thrown into public schools. I see bitter arguments over standardized testing, such as the MCAS here in Massachusetts. I see schools continuing to crumble apart from poor condition. I see teachers scraping by because they don't get paid enough for the crap they have to take from both parents and kids for what really is little more than state-funded babysitting everyday, because teachers aren't given the rights to TEACH. They have to fall to the lowest common denominator in the classroom. There's more to do. We need to prepare our children to read and succeed in school with improved Head Start and early childhood development programs. We must upgrade our teacher colleges and teacher training and launch a major recruiting drive with a great goal for America: a quality teacher in every classroom. I won't argue with Head Start. It's a good program. It has its flaws as all do, but it is a good program. As far as upgrading colleges? They'll upgrade, but then the increased cost of college will be passed directly to the people paying for the education. When yearly tuition to go to college is a third of what you'll ever hope to make as a teacher, the incentive is a bit frustrating. Congress listened to the people and responded by reducing tax rates, doubling the child credit and ending the death tax. For the sake of long-term growth, and to help Americans plan for the future, let's make these tax cuts permanent. The way out of this recession, the way to create jobs, is to grow the economy by encouraging investment in factories and equipment, and by speeding up tax relief so people have more money to spend. For the sake of American workers, let's pass a stimulus package. Good jobs must be the aim of welfare reform. As we reauthorize these important reforms, we must always remember: The goal is to reduce dependency on government and offer every American the dignity of a job. The only way Americans will have money to spend is if they have full-time jobs at a living wage. Right now any money from tax relief goes to pay the debts from having to suffer being unemployed. It will take months if not years for some people to break even. Americans know economic security can vanish in an instant without health security. I ask Congress to join me this year to enact a Patients' Bill of Rights to give uninsured workers credits to help buy health coverage, to approve an historic increase in spending for veterans' health and to give seniors a sound and modern Medicare system that includes coverage for prescription drugs. A good job job should lto security in retirement. I ask Congress to enact new safeguards for 401(k) and pension plans. Employees who have worked hard and saved all their lives should not have to risk losing everything if their company fails. Through stricter accounting standards and tougher disclosure requirements, corporate America must be made more accountable to employees and shareholders and held to the highest standards of conduct. On this, I have no argument, surprisingly. I just want to see what he has in mind to pull this off. Our enemies believed America was weak and materialistic, that we would splinter in fear and selfishness. They were as wrong as they are evil. The American people have responded magnificently, with courage and compassion, strength and resolve. America is materialistic. We are selfish. That's just part of what America has always been. Money rules our country. If you've got it, you have power. If you don't, you're nothing. There has been courage, compassion, strength, and resolve shown in America, but I don't see us as some great marching patriotic force. That died down by about mid-November. Once people started feeling left out of this great unity because of minor details, it did splinter. For too long our culture has said, "If it feels good, do it." Now America is embracing a new ethic and a new creed: "Let's roll." Huh? My call tonight is for every American to commit at least two years, 4,000 hours over the rest of your lifetime, to the service of your neighbors and your nation. Many are already serving and I thank you. If you aren't sure how to help, I've got a good place to start. To sustain and extend the best that has emerged in America, I invite you to join the new USA Freedom Corps. I will never argue with a call to community service. And America needs citizens to extend the compassion of our country to every part of the world. So we will renew the promise of the Peace Corps, double its volunteers over the next five years, and ask it to join a new effort to encourage development, and education, and opportunity in the Islamic world. Interesting. What compassion have we shown, truly? When it's not a moment designed for PR? Individuals HAVE. I haven't seen America doing much of that lately. America will lead by defending liberty and justice because they are right and true and unchanging for all people everywhere. No nation owns these aspirations, and no nation is exempt from them. We have no intention of imposing our culture -- but America will always stand firm for the non-negotiable demands of human dignity: the rule of law ... limits on the power of the state ... respect for women ... private property ... free speech ... equal justice ... and religious tolerance. As a Pagan and a woman in America, I'm going to give a big BULLSHIT right here. If you weren't monotheistic, you weren't welcome on that day of prayer, Mr. Bush. Nor have you been at any other time since in relation to religious activity in the United States. Beyond all differences of race or creed, we are one country, mourning together and facing danger together. Deep in the American character, there is honor, and it is stronger than cynicism. Many have discovered again that even in tragedy, especially in tragedy, God is near. Thank you for proving my point. We are most definitely not one country mourning together. Atheists are automatically eliminated from your "one country" since for them, there is no God in existence. Want to see how tolerant America is to those of us who are polytheistic? Call another public prayer service, and invite a Pagan. Then listen to all of the protests from your "tolerant" Christian majority. We choose freedom and the dignity of every life Dignity does not extend to women who do not want to have a child, apparently, but cannot afford reliable birth control. Nor does it even extend to allowing women to have coverage for birth control. How about some national requirements of insisting on birth control coverage in HMO's? Viagra is supported, so men can get it up longer. But women still have to pay for their own birth control. Steadfast in our purpose, we now press on. We have known freedom's price. We have shown freedom's power. And in this great conflict, my fellow Americans, we will see freedom's victory. As long as there is humanity, there will be strife and disagreement. But then again, it was my understanding that "freedom of speech" covered that... Thank you, thank you all, and may God bless. And may the Goddess bless you, Mr. President. A sickened, Mel. 10:46 a.m. - 30 January 2002 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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