A beginner's work in progress.......
The Non-Arguable Case Against the Bush Administration
Published on October 23, 2004 By dabe In Politics
An observation I have made here is that whenever people post political stuff here, particularly those who post Democratic or Pro-Kerry arguments, many here insist upon citations, otherwise categorically dismissing a Democrat's claim as liberal lies and propoganda. Then, they merrily go about there ways posting the most Pro-Bush stuff without any citations, but the stuff is accepted without question.

I came across this article this evening, complete with citations, that lists 100 FACTS to support the case against the Bush Administration. I will post a few of them here, along with the link, should you feel inclined to read the rest of the list. I sure hope so. http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20041108&s=facts

7. Vice President Cheney said that Iraq was "the geographic base of the terrorists who have had us under assault for many years, but most especially on 9/11." The bipartisan 9/11 Commission found that Iraq had no involvement in the 9/11 attacks and no collaborative operational relationship with Al Qaeda.
Source: MSNBC , 9-11 Commission

8. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said that high-strength aluminum tubes acquired by Iraq were "only really suited for nuclear weapons programs," warning "we don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud." The government's top nuclear scientists had told the Administration the tubes were "too narrow, too heavy, too long" to be of use in developing nuclear weapons and could be used for other purposes.
Source: New York Times

All of these points creae quite a compelling argument against the Bush Administration, and hopefully would, at least, give some people pause to consider these points. To read the rest of the article, http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20041108&s=facts

11. According to Duelfer, the UN inspections regime put an "economic strangle hold" on Hussein that prevented him from developing a WMD program for more than twelve years.
Source: Los Angeles Times

18. The Bush Administration did not devote the resources necessary to prevent a resurgence in the production of poppies, the raw material used to create heroin, in Afghanistan--creating a potent new source of financing for terrorists.
Source: Pakistan Tribune

28. The Bush Administration has spent $7 billion this year--and plans to spend $10 billion next year--for a missile defense system that has never worked in a test that wasn't rigged.
Sources: www.gao.gov/new.items/d04409.pdf, Los Angeles Times

30. The Bush Administration awarded a multibillion-dollar no-bid contract to Halliburton--a company that still pays Vice President Cheney hundreds of thousands of dollars in deferred compensation each year (Cheney also has Halliburton stock options). The company then repeatedly overcharged the military for services, accepted kickbacks from subcontractors and served troops dirty food.
Sources: The Washington Post, The Tapei Times, BBC News

36. Top Bush Administration officials accepted $127,600 in jewelry and other presents from the Saudi royal family in 2003, including diamond-and-sapphire jewelry valued at $95,500 for First Lady Laura Bush.
Source: Seattle Times

40. The Bush Administration turned a $236 billion surplus into a $422 billion deficit.
Sources: Fortune, dfw.com

52. The Bush Administration underfunded the No Child Left Behind Act by $9.4 billion.
Source: nwitimes.com

56. The nonpartisan GAO concluded the Bush Administration created illegal, covert propaganda--in the form of fake news reports--to promote its industry-backed Medicare bill.
Source: General Accounting Office

59. The Bush Administration authorized twenty companies that have been charged with fraud at the federal or state level to offer Medicare prescription drug cards to seniors.
Source: American Progress

60. The Bush Administration created a prescription drug card for Medicare that locks seniors into one card for up to a year but allows the corporations offering the cards to change their prices once a week.
Source: Washington Post

65. President Bush signed a Medicare law that allows companies that reduce healthcare benefits for retirees to receive substantial subsidies from the government.
Source: Bloomberg News

72. The Bush Administration gutted clean-air standards for aging power plants, resulting in at least 20,000 premature deaths each year.
Source: cta.policy.net

76. The Bush Administration created a massive tax loophole for SUVs--allowing, for example, the write-off of the entire cost of a new Hummer.
Source: Washington Post

80. President Bush broke his campaign promise to end the maintenance backlog at national parks. He has provided just 7 percent of the funds needed, according to National Park Service estimates.
Source: bushgreenwatch.org


85. President Bush's top legal adviser wrote a memo to the President advising him that he can legally authorize torture.
Source: news.findlaw.com

88. President Bush opposed the creation of the 9/11 Commission before he supported it, delaying an essential inquiry into one of the greatest intelligence failure in American history.
Source: americanprogressaction.org

94. In June 1990 George Bush violated federal securities law when he failed to inform the SEC that he had sold 200,000 shares of his company, Harken Energy. Two months later the company reported significant losses and by the end of that year the stock had dropped from $3 to $1.
Source: The Guardian

96. The Bush Administration refuses to release twenty-seven pages of a Congressional report that reportedly detail the Saudi Arabian government's connections to the 9/11 hijackers.
Source: philly.com

99. The Bush Administration has spent millions of dollars and defied numerous court orders to conceal from the public who participated in Vice President Cheney's 2001 energy task force.
Source: Washington Post

Comments
on Oct 23, 2004
Same tired crap that's been beat to death already.

Cheers,
Daiwa
on Oct 23, 2004
Dabe,

I applaud your efforts and hope that someone decides to read this list. Unfortunately, it would seem to me that most of your support will come from people already voting for Kerry. As the election comes down to the wire, it's going to be harder and harder to get people to change their minds. Hopefully, all Americans would take these facts into consideration before deciding whom to vote for. Thanks for speaking out.
on Oct 23, 2004
Thanks, CraigAlan. I know you are right. This election has been decided by almost everyone. I'm not really trying to change anyone's mind here. What I attempt to do is just add some clarity to why Democrats and liberals think the way they do, and why we are going to vote the way we do. As you can see from the previous two posters, they have also made up their minds, they both hold complete disdain for me, which I could care less (as feelings are quite mutual), but they both, as do many others here, seem to think that Dems and liberals are some kind of stupid, uncaring, unpatriotic sheep who have bought some liberal message without thinking. On the contrary. My decision to vote for Kerry is very well thought out, considering FACTS, and is based on strong philosophical beliefs. Therefore, I tend to think that Republicans who bought into their candidates lies and deceptions are just that. In other words, it cuts both way, unfortunately.
on Oct 23, 2004

Reply #4 By: dabe - 10/23/2004 9:36:56 AM


Hey dabe Kerry has been a senator now for over 20 years. Can you show me something he has acomplished *besides* the 5 bills we know about? And please don't show co-authored bills they aren't his idea it would be some elses.
on Oct 23, 2004
So, how do you know that a co-authored bill wouldn't be Kerry's initial idea? I presume you are just ASSuming this.
on Oct 23, 2004
drmiler:

You know, I think this argument is a straw dog, so I will pose this question. Pick a really respected Senator who has served as long and tell us how many bills they have authored. Isn't it enough that Kerry is so highly thought of by Republicans such as John McCain? Dabe writes about the President and instead of refuting the arguments, you try to change the focus.....

on Oct 23, 2004
Wow, at least you wrote a whole paragraph of your own before posting someone eles's work this time.




Hey dabe Kerry has been a senator now for over 20 years. Can you show me something he has acomplished *besides* the 5 bills we know about? And please don't show co-authored bills they aren't his idea it would be some elses.


"Co-author" means that it's the idea of BOTH authors. That's the whole meaning of the prefix "co-." You read my "Why I'm a Green for Kerry" article Doc, I listed quite a few things I consider to be Kerry accomplishments.

My problem is -- Republicans are using Kerry's VOTES on bills against him, but I can't use bills he CO-AUTHORED as accomplishments? Do you see the problem here? You use a vote against him and then tell me that his accomplishments can't be simply votes or even bills he co-authored. That's a really unfair double standard.
on Oct 23, 2004
P.S.

I've been guilty of asking for sources/verification -- and I'm as left as they get, so don't be too offended.
on Oct 23, 2004

Reply #9 By: Myrrander - 10/23/2004 10:00:59 AM
P.S.

I've been guilty of asking for sources/verification -- and I'm as left as they get, so don't be too offended


I won't. You don't offend me, Kerry does.
on Oct 23, 2004
Myrrander, I know you were also asking for sources. That's OK. I get it. My point was that when someone posts republican diatribe, there is seldom any request for citations. It's applauded here as God-given fact.
on Oct 23, 2004
Wonderful article! There is so much against Bush, I'm boggled by him running for re-election.
on Oct 23, 2004
What boggles me more is that people are actually going to vote for him.
on Oct 23, 2004
Non-arguable? Appears not.

Cheers,
Daiwa
on Oct 23, 2004
drmiler:

I keep waiting for a reply....but all I hear is one hand clapping. (Well, 1 hand doing something....hmmm). The TRUTH is that in a Republican Congress that controls the agenda or under a Republican President who refuses to sign the bill at the end, what is the point of spending 6 months to sponsor legislation going nowhere? So, let's see, Congress or President Republican in let's see, ALL BUT 2 OF THE LAST 24 YEARS!!!!

Got it DR?
on Oct 24, 2004
Hi dabe,

Thanks for posting the list. Two things impress me:

(1) Most -- although not all -- of the points are factual, and really can't be debated anymore than you can debate the existence of the Moon.

(2) In spite of (1), Some bush supporters will still insist that these points aren't true or don't matter.