Sarek
Vuhlkansu Wihs
Sweetheart, I've got a much better grasp of the realities of the Bush administration than you'll ever get from behind as desk. And my realities are written in the sand in the form of my fellow soldiers blood.
You're taking it out of context. It's well documented that the Republican party vocally and publicly condemned citizens of this country that didn't agree with Bush or his administration. I think the exact terms used were "terrorist sympathizers, domestic terrorists" and "un-American". And this countrys history has shown that once those thoughts enter American politics, well, you end up with interment camps and McCarthyism. It just so happens that the American public voted the Republican out before the real fireworks started.
Of course government cares about poor people. Issues regarding the poverty stricken are always fantastic campaign material. And god knows, it's easier to take a buck out of the poor mans pocket than it is to get 20 from a rich man. That's pretty much how the IRS works it anyway. Tell me this, for all the contracts for grants and aid that come across your desk, how many do you follow up on to see if and whether the funds were actually used for that purpose? How many get sidelined because of lack of funds or because someone down the line vetos it? How many fall to the Republican "I've got mine" ideology?
You sound like a petulant child there. We'll forget the fact that there's still $116 billion worth of promised federal aid still missing and just concentrate on things like the crappy job done in rebuilding the damns, the fact that the Bush administration turned it's back on the people being screwed by shady insurance companies and the fact that Halliburton has picked up a few more lucrative contracts to clean up the coast and turn the area into a nice tourist resort for the rich.
Again, you mistake what i say as having some personal impact on me and my family. It really didn't. We've had to tighten our belts a bit, but we're doing fine.
No, my complaint is with the blatantly obvious way that this administration has allowed corporate America and the rich fatcats to feed off the working backbone of this country. When corporate executives are pulling down multi million retirement settlements while their employees, the people that put tham there have to literally decide whether to put gas in the car or food on the table, whether to pay the electric bill or buy medication for the baby, there's a problem. Prices for gasoline and consumer goods have almost tripled in the last 8 years. But wages have stagnated while companies put away billions in profits.
You know, when I was in the military, I wasn't in touch with what was going on in this country. It was a pretty safe and secure environment to be in. I was even a strong supporter of Bush the first couple years. I noticed things going wrong when he diverted us into Iraq and left Osama running loose. But it wasn't until I tried to live off just my civilian pay that I realized just how fucked up government and corporate America have become. Between my wife and I, her career and my retirement, investments and careful planning, we've done well and will continue to do so. But there's no way a family of four could live off the income from my civilian job alone if we were forced too.
Someday, try coming out from behind your desk and take a walk through the streets. Don't always put so much faith in what you read on a piece of paper that might float across your desk. Because once it's gone, chances are, so are the noble ideas you thought it represented.
