:: Pedantic Platitudes ::

:: Tuesday, November 02, 2004 ::

Election Day!

Everyone go out and vote!

I already submitted my absentee ballot last week, and I voted for John Kerry.

I love the USA, and I am very sad to see what the Bush administration has done to it after only four years. It doesn't matter if you identify as Democrat, a Republican, a member of another party, or an independent. As citizens of this country and this world, we cannot afford four more years of a Bush administration.

For starters, here are 100 factually-based reasons not to vote for George W. Bush.

George W. Bush has run one of the most secretive administrations in the history of the American presidency. His tenure in office has been marked with lies and distortions, and this political season has revealed just how power-hungry he is, doing and saying anything in an attempt to be reelected.

The Bush administration now has a net loss of thousands of jobs (the first in any administration since Herbert Hoover, and that was during the Great Depression), and the new jobs created pay less than the ones they replaced. Working families are struggling more than ever due to the policies of the Bush administration; meanwhile, huge corporations and the wealthiest individuals exploit tax loopholes and are given huge tax breaks. Bush apologists may whine that we're in a recession right now. Yeah, and even so, Bush has failed to help the economy and create more jobs.

We have spent billions upon billions of dollars on a war that was not necessary. George W. Bush lied to us about Iraq. Yes, Saddam Hussein was an evil dictator. But did we have to go to war to remove him at that exact time? And at what cost? Over a thousand U.S. soldiers have died in Iraq (most of them after Bush arrogantly declared "Mission Accomplished" on an aircraft carrier), even though reports confirm that the country had no weapons of mass destruction and no links to Al Qaeda, the real enemy and threat against the United States. This sidetracked our efforts in Afghanistan and may have cost us the ability to catch Osama bin Laden, who planned the evil terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Thousands upon thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens, mostly women and children, have been killed due to violence in Iraq. And the cost of the American reputation in the world is immeasurable. Many people in the Middle East already disliked Americans, but now, by going into Iraq, we have given them more reason to hate us. The pre-emptive, go-it-alone war in Iraq was a diversion from our true enemies, and the Bush administration's failure to plan for the country's reconstruction has now lead to chaos and spawned increased hatred and potential terrorism against the United States.

Here at home, George W. Bush's administration has weakened many crucial environmental laws; the director of the Environmental Protection Agency actually quit in protest against his anti-environmental policies. As soon as Bush took office, he announced that the U.S. would not be a part of the groundbreaking international Kyoto treaty to reduce global warming around the world. He then weakened laws designed to keep our air and our water clean. His solution to the devastating wildfires of last year was basically to allow more trees to be cut down. Bush's environmental policy is a danger to our natural resources, and we cannot allow another administration to create such harm to our precious Mother Nature. This administration has also systematically ignored or distorted science and research in order to fit their narrow ideology.

The list goes on and on. The Bush administration has done tons wrong for the American people and with its unfettered spending has driven what could have been the largest fiscal surplus in American history into what is projected to be the worst deficit in history. We cannot afford this; our children cannot afford this. We need a fresh start, and the fresh start comes from John Kerry.

John Kerry understands the plight of regular hardworking individuals in this country. He will keep the Bush tax cuts for the middle class, for those earning less than $200,000 a year. John Kerry also seeks to raise the minimum wage.

In these uncertain times, John Kerry will offer strength and wisdom in fighting terrorism. Having fought in the Vietnam War, he knows the importance of resolve and the difficulties of war. He will also offer a new perspective on the conflict in Iraq and how to get us out of that quagmire.

It's really a no-brainer. George W. Bush had his chance to do something good for the country, and he failed miserably; now, his policies have made our country less safe to terrorism and more difficult to get by financially. It's time for a change. Vote for John Kerry. It's the right thing to do for the future of America.

:: SL 1:18 AM [+] ::
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