Well, we’re about to enter week 2 of the post “bailout” era (although I suppose a case could be made as to which “bailout” I’m referring to). Prior to Congress acting on this, I (along with millions of other Americans) said NO BAILOUT!!! Coming from an administration that pressured Congress into approving an invasion of Iraq that, while there is room for debate as to how we get out, has few left who think it was a good idea to destabilize the Middle East in order to either take care of a grudge – or get Iraq’s oil – whichever it was (hopefully, we’ll find out the truth someday – if the democrats can grow some courage and demand investigations once this election is over). This is the same administration which scared Congress into sacrificing principles that millions of Americans have died for over the last 200 years for a “Patriot” act. They scared and shamed Congress into legitimizing torture and eliminating habeus corpus (for crying out loud, the Jews wouldn’t kill Jesus until after he had a chance to face his accusers over 2000 years ago) – even John McCain voted to enable “enhanced interrogation” despite his being tortured during Viet Nam. They’ve had one “Yellow alert” after another at strategic times during their tenure in office designed not to keep us safe, but to keep them in power. After all that, it didn’t take much for them to scare the Congress into “bailing out” the very people who have led to what may be the destruction of our economy, saying without their plan the market would tank.

Well, they got their plan, AND THE MARKET TANKED. They have screwed up every thing they have touched. They are greedy beyond imagination. Secretary Paulson was the CEO of Goldman Sachs – he stepped in to stop the downward spiral right before Goldman Sachs became the next “victim.” So far, I haven’t heard any “commentary” as to how much of a conflict of interest he had in deciding to take decisive action when he did. Had he been the CEO of Lehman Brothers do you think he might have stepped in a week or so sooner? I’m sure that he has several million reasons why Goldman Sachs needs to keep afloat. And did anyone but me notice the flurry of companies who led us into this “crisis” wanting to take part in “managing” the distribution of the 700 billion dollars. Kind of like the drug addict, they see the opportunity to possibly grab onto some more “easy money” and it’s like the excitable kid in school waving his hand in the air and jumping up and down because he thinks he’s got a good answer to a question. It’s like OK there’s a crisis, it’s been caused because I’m greedy and dishonest and without conscience, but that was yesterday and here’s another opportunity to be greedy and dishonest so – Pick me Henry, Pick me!!!

We are all in for a terrible ride because, whether we like it or not, the president is the president for all of us. And for those of us who have been disgusted, disillusioned, disbelieving, and I could go on – about George W. Bush and his cronies for the last 8 years we get to try to suffer through this just like his supporters. It has been very difficult for me because, as a Christian, I have been openly ridiculed by members of my Church and even in my own house for being unabashedly against Bush. I have been, at a minimum, actively observing politics since I was very young. My degree is in Political Science. I have always considered myself a conservative fiscally and a moderate to progressive socially. I’m disgusted by racism and I believe unions are what made this country great. I’m saying this because there are so many things that seem like “no brainers” to me. I have watched the republican party hijack millions of good Americans by “stealing” the abortion issue. I almost got sucked into that – but I’ll never forget listening to the republican icon Ronald Reagan say that abortion would not be an issue during his second campaign for president because it wasn’t “politically expedient” or something of that sort. I realized at that point republicans were using this “wedge” issue to dishonestly court working class people who were so passionately against abortion while knowing that they were going to do nothing about it (I have come to believe that creating an environment where a minimal number of abortions are even desired – by helping women in untenable circumstances should be our pro-life policy). These voters seem to look the other way while the republicans have been ripping us off for trillions of dollars monetarily, in addition to unmeasurable expenses – which would include the lives lost and ruined by the decision to invade Iraq and the sacrifice of our standing in the world due to multiple corrupt policies.

The upcoming election is an opportunity for the American people to acknowledge that they have finally had enough. Elections do matter. It does matter who the president is. George Bush has proven beyond doubt how much damage an incompetent person in the White House can inflict on America and the rest of the world. It may take twenty or more years to recover from his blunders – that is if we chart a course that attempts to restore our moral authority in the world and addresses the pressing needs at home. It is imperative, in my view, that ALL of the misdeeds of the past 8 years be investigated and anyone, including Bush, who are found to be in violation of laws be held accountable. If somebody who might read this thinks its OK for Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and Douglas Feith (along with many others) to have profited off of the Iraq war to the tune of more than 100 million dollars each (and counting), while our best young men and women are dying and suffering debilitating wounds, I would really appreciate a response to this post. Were George Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Gonzalez, et al within their rights to order inhumane treatment of thousands of individuals simply because they declared them “enemy combatants?” Do we want future administrations listening into our phone conversations and hijacking our emails without probable cause? Is it OK to commit treason by “outing” a CIA agent in order to get “even” with someone if you’re the President or the Vice President? Are we really willing to give away “rights” such as habeous corpus? Are our leaders above the law?

When I listen to John McCain and Sarah Palin claiming they are right about Iraq, they will “create more jobs in Ohio,” and all the while throwing out coded racial rhetoric I have to hope that people reject their “message” en masse. There were millions of us who went through Viet Nam who knew invading Iraq was a mistake before it happened, but no one listened (well, no one in a position to do anything about it). When we complained about the ballooning deficit, republicans shot back that our economy could withstand twice as much debt as we have incurred to this point. When we complained about torture, they said torture is important for our national security – and no one could investigate what they’re doing due to national security. When I took all my money (what little I have) out of the stock market over a year ago and told anyone who would listen “get ready for a recession that will be severe, possibly rivalling the Great Depression” many people said, let’s talk about something else. When I, along with millions of other people said don’t bail out Wall Street, figure out how to bail out Main Street, Congress passed a 700 billion dollar bailout package (that in my own self- interest I hope somehow is at least somewhat effective). I fully realize that I’m far from an expert and I write this so-called “blog” as a release of my frustration, but watching Sarah Palin running for the Vice Presidency makes me feel a bit more intellectual, and it does feel good to make a correct assumption once in a while. However, under the present circumstances saying “I told you so” doesn’t feel that good.