<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; = charset=Windows-1252"> <TITLE>Message</TITLE> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1400" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY> <DIV>Bravo! = Brilliant! Sadly, the people who need to read your comments, thoughtfully, will not. And = they know their arguments are bogus, anyway. They just don't care about truth. = Hatred blinds the terrorists. Hatred blinds half our nation, too, it seems.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV align=left>Alan R. = Barnard</DIV> <DIV align=left>Salem, MO</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV></DIV> <DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader lang=en-us dir=ltr = align=left>-----Original Message----- From: = Andrew & Rebeca Anderson [mailto:anrebe@zianet.com] Sent: Wednesday, = February 11, 2004 8:03 PM To: Pianotech Subject: = Re: Political Questions ( very OT - feel free to delete ) </DIV>Jim: As a dual citizen who follows Canadian = politics I am relieved that the silliest man to ever lead a civilized nation = has been retired.  I hope for Canada's sake they don't put another = pathological drunk in. As for the vitreolic spin be passed around down here = by extreme left-wing democrats.  Bring on the salt.  What is = surprising is how many lies they think they can get away with.  But = then...wasn't it Goebbels that said to the effect that for a lie to succeed it must be = told boldly and often?  The author apparently wasn't very bold though, = he/she didn't put a name to this piece of = propaganda.0 T.M.W.R.T.C.N.D. (The Man Who RunsThe Country Next Door) - <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite">I. Subject: GWB - = Presidential Resume EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:   LAW ENFORCEMENT: I was arrested in Kennebunkport, Maine, in 1976 for = driving under the influence of alcohol. I pled guilty, paid a fine, and = had my driver's license suspended for 30 days. My Texas driving record = has been "lost" and is not available.</BLOCKQUOTE> Could add, "I joined = Alcoholics Anonymous and kicked drinking.  This also introduced = me to Christianity and I became a born-again-Christian. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> MILITARY: I = joined the Texas Air National Guard and went AWOL. I refused to take a drug = test or answer any questions about my drug use. By joining the Texas Air = National Guard, I was able to avoid combat duty in Vietnam.   = </BLOCKQUOTE>The AWOL charge is a proven falsehood but is sooo juicy to = hate-filled-democrats that they won't drop it. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite">COLLEGE: I = graduated from Yale University with a low C average. I was a cheerleader.</BLOCKQUOTE> Anyone who is admitted to the Yale = School of Business is above average.  (A student from that time reported = that the Prince of Wales applied and was denied admission at the same time Bush = was admitted.  Oh, and his father was a lowly congressmen at the time = and a member of a political party despised by the Yale elitists.)  The = few who don't wash-out are super-above-average.  If they graduate with a = C they are the average of the above. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> PAST WORK = EXPERIENCE: I ran for U.S. Congress and lost.   I began my career in = the oil business in Midland, Texas, in 1975. I bought an oil company, but = couldn't find any oil in Texas. The company went bankrupt shortly = after I sold all my stock. </BLOCKQUOTE>That is, super-low oil prices = from an OPEC afraid it would lose control over the market actually worked = effectively to destroy domestic production where the costs are higher. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> I bought the = Texas Rangers baseball team in a sweetheart deal that took land using taxpayer money.</BLOCKQUOTE> All stadiums etc. involve taxpayers = money.  If you don't like that (I don't) you're in the minority of the = electorate. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> With the help of = my father and our right-wing friends in the oil industry (including Enron = CEO Ken Lay), I was elected governor of Texas.</BLOCKQUOTE> Uh-huh, and = with the help of big-insurance etc. Kerry got elected to the senate where he shamelessly voted on behalf of his big-money-contributors.  = <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> ACCOMPLISHMENTS = AS GOVERNOR OF TEXAS: I changed Texas pollution laws to favor power and oil companies, making Texas the most polluted state in the Union. </BLOCKQUOTE> Really? Statistics are available from the EPA = website.  Falsehood can be juicier than the truth especially if you want to = believe it. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> During my = tenure, Houston replaced Los Angeles as the most smog-ridden city in America.</BLOCKQUOTE> Addressed above. BTW when California = was experiencing its power snafu it had power plants running idle.  = The now ex-governor wouldn't let them run because they were too = polluting.  Instead they bought power from a plant in Texas that is usually idle = for the same reason.  It usually is a short-term backup for other, newer = plants undergoing maintenance.  Upon their insistence it was started up = and then the daily EPA fines were passed on in the bill.  Yep, the = Californians screamed bloody murder and charged price gouging.  A charge that = was dismissed in court.  So why doesn't California have more modern = power plants of its own?  Because of NIMBYism.   The price in = the form of political bribery, law suits, and environmentalist group = bribery is higher than the return on the business. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> I cut taxes and = bankrupted the Texas treasury to the tune of billions in borrowed money.</BLOCKQUOTE> It seems a certain political party is out to = try to achieve what the NDP in Canada and the Communists in eastern europe = have already proven impossible.  The power to tax is the power to destroy.  The higher the tax the slower the economy until it = stops like it did in British Columbia where the NDP where booted out in a = super-landslide election.  In Russia they went to a flat tax that is much lower = then ours and tripled their revenue in a matter of months.  Now they watch = bemused while some of us are hell-bent to reinvent the broken wheel they abandoned. Democrats love to hate Reagon.  Problem is his tax principles were also Kennedy's and they worked.  The economy he = started survived the Gulf War with the slightest blip (big enough to elect = Clinton) and powered through most of the two Clinton administrations despite = the imposition of high taxes.  High taxes did take their toll and it = is official, the recession started during the Clinton's last years.  = Usually there is some lag time and the next president gets blamed for the = results of the previous president's incompetence.  Then there was 9-11 and = the corporate scandals.  Unlike Democrats in bed with the big-money contributors, Bush bit the hand that gave and sicked the justice = department on the wrong-doers and those wheels are still turning. Bush saw that = desperate measures were necessary and he window dressed a huge tax cut.  I = say window-dressed because until the "Alternative Minimum" tax is dealt = with the other is largely fictitious.  All those early refund checks = kicked in and wow, Bush will get blamed for the improving economy in his own presidency.  I personally didn't think such a large ship could be = turned around so quickly. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> I set the record = for the most executions by any governor in = American history.</BLOCKQUOTE> That has more to do with more obscure judicial history in Texas than it = does with his administration.  A lot of appeals were opened up in the past = by some judicial decisions.  They had exhausted their course during his administration.  The appeals process takes much longer than a = governor's term lasts.  Come on now does this spin-monger think we're that stupid? <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> With the help of = my brother, the governor of Florida, and my father's appointments to the = Supreme Court, I became President after losing by over 500,000 votes.</BLOCKQUOTE> Presidents are not elected by popular vote nationwide.  They are elected by popular vote state-wide.  = The winner takes all the state's electoral votes which are apportioned = every ten years in the census.  In Florida there was an attempt to = steal the election by the Democrat party.  The votes were being recounted = over and over again in the hopes that local election judges could somehow pull = off a coup.  This was properly thrown out by the Florida Supreme court = and then by the US Supreme Court.  I have been an election judge and I = know very well what was going on there. After the court decisions a lot of = news organizations went in and funded a private un-official recount to = determine who actually won.  They came back rather crestfallen with the = report that, under rules even more generous than the whining Gore had wanted, = Bush still won Florida handily with a good margin. The democrat party = has elevated stealing elections to an art-form in places like Chicago Illinois.  This is getting harder to do as the equipment gets = better and they're getting caught more often now.  By the way, the only way = to get a hanging chad with a punch card system is to stuff more than one ballet = at a time into the machine.  Tried it.  Think about that for a while... <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> ACCOMPLISHMENTS = AS PRESIDENT: I am the first President in U.S. history to enter = office with a criminal record.</BLOCKQUOTE> Huh? What criminal = record?  That would prevent his candidacy and Democrats would have been quick if = there really was one. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> I invaded and = occupied two countries at a continuing cost of over one billion dollars per week.</BLOCKQUOTE> Afganistan How quickly we forget 9-11.  = If there were a Democrat in the oval office this would be a regular occurrence = like the bombing of the twin towers etc, according to this writer's = logic.  Come to think of it, there were a lot of terrorist strikes during the = Clinton years and all we did was lob missiles at empty buildings. Iraq As = for Iraq, is anyone concerned about the UNs credibility?  The only = world leader willing to do something about Saddam's ceasefire agreement = violations and all the ignored UN resolutions was Bush (well not quite, GB Poland = and many others stood up too).  All Sadam had to do was to abide by = his agreement, stand back and let the inspectors do their work.  Uday = and Qusay could still be raping dissadents wives and daughters if he = had.  Yes Iraqi dissadents probably did lie to us to get us off of our = duffs.  Oh well, someone had to kick us into action. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> I spent the U.S. = surplus and effectively bankrupted the U.S. Treasury.</BLOCKQUOTE> The = "surplus" was an accounting fiction perpetrated by a Clinton White-house in search of a = legacy.  The national debt continued to rise during the Clinton years.  During good times congress should run small budgetary = surpluses and during bad times deficits are good for the economy.  In fact = there is a line of thinking among contrarian economists that embraces deficits = on the national level.  (You have to remember that the money you are = spending is an elaborate fiction and that the way it works has nothing to do with = the old view of scales and weights.)  On a national scale the debt is an interesting fiction that is not entirely without consequences.  = "Secrets of the Temple" is a worthwile tome to read if you want to understand this. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> I shattered the = record for the largest annual deficit in U.S. history.</BLOCKQUOTE>False in = per-capita or inflation adjusted dollars, we've run higher deficits in war time in = the past. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> I set an = economic record for most private bankruptcies filed in any 12-month = period.</BLOCKQUOTE> He didn't overspend his means and then find himself unable to pay his = debts when business was slow.  A bunch of over-optimistic individuals did = despite severe warnings about our general lack of savings over the past decade. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> I set the = all-time record for most foreclosures in a 12-month period.</BLOCKQUOTE> The one = does follow the other. ;-) <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> I set the = all-time record for the biggest drop in the history of the U.S. stock market.</BLOCKQUOTE> 9-11 was the biggest drop yes, a democrat in = the same seat would face the same illogical charge.  This stressed = companies that were playing shell games with their finances and revealed all the = corporate scandals that followed.  To Bush's credit he has been severe with = respect to prosecution.  CEOs etc usually don't have to pay back their = ill-gotten gains and they never had to do time under Democrat masters. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> In my first year = in office, over 2 million Americans lost their jobs and that trend continues = every month.</BLOCKQUOTE> Actually that trend has reversed, jobs = recoveries usually trail economic recoveries by at least a quarter.  His = desperate measures seem to be paying off.  As to low paying blue-collar = jobs; they are being exported at a phenomenal rate.  If you think you can = get a blue-collar job out of high school and keep it until retirement age = you are in for a rude surprise.  Education is not optional now.  Should = we stop the exodus of manufacturing jobs?  Maybe we should slow it.  = Problem is, fighting the economy is very expensive.  Say we improve our = free trade practices (We get free access to your markets and you get = tariffed access to ours) to increase the cost of imports, that cost will hit = the poorest first and generally filter its way up.  By maintaining a = higher standard of education (under stiff competition right now) we create = new industries and stay ahead.  Trying to keep an economy static = always causes it to stagnate.  There are no silver bullets, let alone = golden ones for this problem/opportunity. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> I'm proud that = the members of my cabinet are the richest of any administration in U.S. history.</BLOCKQUOTE> And the most racially diverse ever.  For = the first time ever Blacks and Hispanics hold real power and influence in = any administration, not just the back-office consolation jobs.  It = doesn't hurt that they've already proved their capabilities elsewhere and have = been willing to take the huge pay-cut that public service entails. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> My "poorest = millionaire," Condoleeza Rice, has a Chevron oil tanker named after her.</BLOCKQUOTE> I'd take that as a complement. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> I set the record = for most campaign fund-raising trips by a = U.S. President.</BLOCKQUOTE> So did Clinton before him so he's in good company after all. ;-) <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> I am the = all-time U.S. and world record-holder for receiving the most corporate campaign donations.</BLOCKQUOTE> It might come as a surprise to democrats = that so-called campaign reform hurt them more than Republicans.  The Republicans raise much more in small campaign contributions than the = Democrats do.  Democrats have been relying on George Soros for money during = this present campaign. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> My largest = lifetime campaign contributor, and one of my best friends, Kenneth Lay, presided = over the largest corporate bankruptcy fraud in U.S. history, Enron.</BLOCKQUOTE> And he's getting no thanks for it from my = justice department either. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> My political = party used Enron private jets and corporate attorneys to assure my success = with the U.S. Supreme Court during my = election decision.</BLOCKQUOTE> Bad corporate expenditures don't you think, in light of the drubbing = they're now getting in court.  (Enron and other companies are also known for = playing both sides.  Most pay protection money to both parties in an election.  The dirty little secret is that Democrats generally = got more because they were more dangerous and willing to make serious threats = to get it.  Microsoft got in so much trouble because it wouldn't give = donations to the Democrat party or to anyone else either.  Bill Gates = figured it out late though and established a foundation to immunize himself and = his company for the future.) <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> I have protected = my friends at Enron and Halliburton against investigation or prosecution. = More time and money was spent investigating the Monica Lewinsky affair than = has been spent investigating one of the biggest corporate rip-offs in = history.</BLOCKQUOTE> Now there's a lie being revealed in the daily = headlines.  By the way Halliburton was made a big government = contractor by Albert Gore, no less (reference his "smaller" government speeches = how Haliburton could supply and setup cheaper then the evil military = could.  It is the Bush White House that has soured on that and kicked = Halliburton out of military supply contracting in Iraq because of = price-gouging. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> I presided over = the biggest energy crisis in U.S. history and refused to intervene when = corruption involving the oil industry was revealed.</BLOCKQUOTE> Intervene = how?  The justice department is involved.  The problem was bigger than corruption.  It was largely a lack of capacity close enough to = the market.  NIMBYism struck hard there. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> I presided over = the highest gasoline prices in U.S. history. </BLOCKQUOTE>According to Albert = Gore that is a good thing.  The higher the price the more efficient and environmentally friendly the cars will become.  When Bush's = speech writer extolled low prices the president himself commented that they got us = into an energy efficiency and foreign source dependency problem that is going = to be hard/pricey to get out of. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> I changed the = U.S. policy to allow convicted criminals to be awarded government contracts.</BLOCKQUOTE> Really?  Be specific.  Clinton = changed US Policy to allow nobodies with no money to tie up huge amounts of oil = being released from the National Energy Reserve to combat high fuel oil prices.  Some of these clowns had fancy papers and websites but = no credit or history in the market and they tied up large fuel contracts and the = resulting litigation kept them from market until long after they were needed <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> I appointed more = convicted criminals to administration than any President in U.S. history.</BLOCKQUOTE> Be specific...I've encountered too many lies = to swallow that statement unsubstantiated. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> I created the = Ministry of Homeland Security, the largest bureaucracy in the history of the = United States government.</BLOCKQUOTE> Actually knee-jerk reaction = Democrats in Congress forced that on the President over his demurrals that it = wasn't necessary. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> I've broken more = international treaties than any President in U.S. history.</BLOCKQUOTE> Treaties have done individual US = citizens more harm financially than most are aware off.  I'd like to see a = lot more broken. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> I am the first = President in U.S. history to have the United Nations remove the U.S. from the = Human Rights Commission.</BLOCKQUOTE> And replace us with Libya where = woman are still forced into arranged marriages and honor killings are still = legal.  The UN is a pure democracy.  Remember that Hitler was = democratically elected.  Think that through... <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> I withdrew the = U.S. from the World Court of Law. </BLOCKQUOTE> The world court wanted to = entertain lawsuits against individual US soldiers for their actions while on the = line of duty.  We turn US soldiers over to local jurisdictions when we = find they have committed a crime.  Check out headlines in Australia for an example.  This was a whole new level of jeapardy that no soldier = should have to face personally. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> I refused to = allow inspectors access to U.S. "prisoners of war" detainees and = thereby have refused to abide by the Geneva Convention. </BLOCKQUOTE> The Red = Cross has access to detainees at Guantanamo Bay Cuba and in Iraq.  They are = probably talking about terrorist detainees in Guantanamo Bay who did = not wear military uniforms and fight for a recognized government.  Sorry, = the Geneva Convention only applies to those specific circumstances.  = We let the Red Cross in even though we didn't have to. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> I am the first = President in history to refuse United Nations election inspectors (during the = 2002 U.S. election).</BLOCKQUOTE> And the first to be offered the insult. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> I set the record = for fewest number of press conferences of any President since the advent of television.</BLOCKQUOTE> And....?  Since when is the White = House to revolve around a reporter feeding-frenzy-circus.  Right now = they're complaining about how many public events he's taking part in--how its = stealing attention from the all-important-democrat presidential candidate = vetting process. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> I set the the = all-time record for most days on vacation in any one-year period.</BLOCKQUOTE> Finally a president who doesn't = have delusional fantasies that he's superhuman. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> After taking off = the entire month of August, I presided over the worst security failure in = U.S. history.</BLOCKQUOTE> By terrorists encouraged on by the previous = president's half-hearted responses to terrorist attacks.  This = attack was below the radar of the CIA and the FBI, it didn't show up on any = terrorist briefings.  Bush had campaigned on a get-tough about defense policy.  Al Queda miscalculated big time on this one. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> I garnered the = most sympathy for the U.S. after the World Trade Center attacks and less than a = year later made the U.S. the most hated country in the world, the = largest failure of diplomacy in world history.</BLOCKQUOTE> Actually do = something and you will be hated by someone. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> I have set the = all-time record for most people worldwide to simultaneously protest me in = public venues (15 million people), shattering the record for protest = against any person in the history of mankind.</BLOCKQUOTE> And = so...?  Hitler was elected by a landslide.  Neville Chamberlain was elected by a = majority over Churchill. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> I am the first = President in U.S. history to order an unprovoked, pre-emptive attack and the = military occupation of a sovereign nation. I did so against the will of = the United Nations, the majority of U.S. citizens, and the world community.</BLOCKQUOTE> Ahem, a conveniently ignored fact:  = The first Gulf War ended in a cease-fire based on a cease-fire-agreement that = was voided by a dictator that didn't think we would actually hold him to the = terms of the agreement. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> I have cut = health care benefits for war veterans and support a cut in duty  = benefits for active duty troops and the ir families -- in = war time.</BLOCKQUOTE> Be specific...I've caught too many lies so far to believe this = one. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> In my State of = the Union Address, I lied about our reasons for attacking Iraq, then blamed = the lies on our British friends. </BLOCKQUOTE> They were our = reasons. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> I am the first = President in history to have a majority of Europeans (71%) view my presidency = as the biggest threat to world peace and security.</BLOCKQUOTE> Those = numbers depend on where you choose to draw your European boundaries and how = you want to spin the questions. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> I am supporting = development of a nuclear "Tactical Bunker Buster," a WMD.</BLOCKQUOTE> A = WMD is an indiscriminate weapon that hurts civilians as much as it does the military.  Generally it is intended to destroy a civilian population.  Tactical Bunker Busters are intended to get bunkers = with less collateral damage than conventional weapons currently do.  = So far that promise has yet to be proven.  US military policy has = shifted more and more towards achieving the least impact against an civilian = population possible.  Compare any recent war to wars in the past and the = differences are phenomenal.  I am personal friends with experts who work for = the government in this very field and they are proud of their progress and = anxious to make much more. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite">I have so far failed = to fulfill my pledge to bring Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein to justice.    </BLOCKQUOTE> Saddam Hussein is in a = cell.  Osama Bin Laden in reported to have fled to Iran after we pressured = the Pakistanis to go after him in Pakistan.  Right next door to = biggest US force in the Middle East.  I hope that fact is not lost on the = Iranian mullahs.  It would be unfortunate if we had to go into Iran too! <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite">All records of my = tenure as governor of Texas are now in my father's library, sealed and = unavailable for public view.</BLOCKQUOTE> All public records are still = available at the capital. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite"> All records of = SEC investigations into my insider trading and my bankrupt companies = are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for = public view.</BLOCKQUOTE> All records that do not result in indictment and conviction are private period.  I should hope so. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite">All records or = minutes from meetings that I, or my Vice-President, attended regarding public = energy policy are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public review.</BLOCKQUOTE> As are all executive meetings, even Clinton = fought for this.  He lost in one case because his wife was not an executive = of the United States and could not claim executive privilege.  Executive = privilege exists for good reasons and will be protected by smart = democrats and republicans alike whenever attacked. <BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" = type="cite">-----------------------------------------------------------= -------------- The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress           -- = Joseph Joubert (1754-1824) French Philosopher  = </BLOCKQUOTE> Obviously a truth filled discussion was not the "progress" the author was hoping for.  I personally am disappointed in Bush because of his big spending.  Democrats are promising to spend less, they think we = should spend more! I also feel that we over-reacted on the security side = of things.  Security measures are now reaching the point of = ridiculousness and are punitive to good Americans without any payback on the security = side.  There seems to be the attitude that if we rough them up = they'll feel safer.  I don't like to fly anymore and that can't be good = for American airlines. Anyhow, don't take seriously anything that = the author isn't willing to sign. Here's my signature, Andrew C. = Anderson III Las Cruces, NM </BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML> --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.581 / Virus Database: 368 - Release Date: 2/9/2004