<html> <body> 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite cite>  I set the all-time record for most foreclosures in a 12-month period.</blockquote> The one does follow the other. ;-) <blockquote type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite cite>  My "poorest millionaire," Condoleeza Rice, has a Chevron oil tanker named after her.</blockquote> I'd take that as a complement. <blockquote type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite 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 type=cite class=cite= 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 </body> </html>