VOTE! for Cowardly Bush ... you deserve him

With the election nearly upon us, it becomes ever more important that people consider the concept behind “catch phrases”. We are a Democracy and a “nations of laws” functioning in a world which we hope – and desire – is population by other “nations of laws”. For this to be true on the national on the national level, and achieved on the international one, it is important that we understand that all actions are subject to trail – ideally by a jury of ones peers.

Recently, a reader wrote in denouncing the idea of a “global test” as put forth by John Kerry. President Bush has denounced the idea that either he, or the United States, should be subjected to the indignity of having to justify our actions, or ask permission before engaging in any act which he deems to be in the defense of this nation.

The world is composed of some one hundred sixty (160) sovereign nations. The leaders, or legislative authorities, of those nations are peers – they, regardless of the power of their individual armies or economies, are equals when it comes to determining the interests of their respective nations. Any one leader has the responsibility and duty to act in defense of his people and nation – which is the same obligation President Bush rightfully asserts. However, no nation, no national leader or legislative body, has the right to invade another nation. National leader, like the citizens they represent, do not have the right to commit assault and latter claim self-defense as if the claim alone is sufficient to preclude judgment by ones peers.

If we hold that Bush can assault Iraq without the need to justify his actions, than the rule of law should hold that you have the right to assault your neighbor without expectation of having to be called upon to explain. As it happens, we now know for a fact that we were lied to about Saddam Hussein’s involvement in 9/11; we were lied to about claims he had WMD; and our actions have caused the death of more than forty thousand Iraqi civilians. The President says he should not be held accountable for his actions – on November 2nd, the American voter will declare him right or wrong in that assertion. By extension, the voters will also announce to the world our belief in the “Rule of Law” – are we accountable to a jury of our peers for injury we inflict upon one of them? President Bush has declared a resounding NO! At least not when it comes to the omnipotent power of the American presidency to take unilateral action without just cause.

We hear that John Kerry “flip-flops”. People who think, consider facts, and whenever new facts emerge revisit the issue can be seen – characteristically – to change their minds as new facts emerge. At the dawn of the industrial age, those who refused to adapt to new facts and developments were called Luddites – after a band of English workmen who, between 1811 and 1816, organized to destroy manufacturing equipment rather than learn to utilize it. In government there are Luddites, when one becomes the leader of government and declares his absolute authority over life and death – without question, being subject to challenge or requirement to provide honest justification for his actions – we are discussing a fascism.

As much as I hate the analogy – more so being Jewish – I would remind people that Hitler was elected through a democratic process. I would remind people that he, like Bush, second guessed the military and commanders on the ground. I would also remind readers that, before they were attacked before insurgencies his armies were welcomed into the nations they first invaded – invasions justified by national interest and self-defense.

Our enemy was, and is, Osama Bin Laden. We have ten times the troops in Iraq as we have searching for our true enemy. Bin Laden is no fool – he might have underestimated the damage the planes would do, but his attack worked as well as any attack in military annals. Bin Laden knows, as Bush proclaims, that it is better to fight on foreign shores; so it is that the fighting is not in Afghanistan or Pakistan, but rather it is Iraq, Egypt and Europe.

Kerry is a man who has looked his enemy in the face, who has looked into an enemy weapon and attacked. Bin Laden is a man who has carried a gun and faced an armed enemy. Bush is a man who could not complete his pilot training – completion requiring he appear for a flight physical examination – by so doing he evaded active duty and evaded facing death. The death that honest guardsmen are now being called upon to face.

Bush showed his courage when he exclaimed, “Bring it on!” Bin Laden brought it on, and nearly 1,100 brave members of the American military died. How many more have been crippled? And what was Bush’s response – how did he perform his duty to these brave souls? When the Congress attempted to increase medical benefits for guardsmen, ex-guard member Bush threatened to veto the $87 billion military funding bill it was attached to. Bush showed his courage – surrounded by Secret Service, and guarded by the full might of America, Bush can yell – BRING IT ON – knowing full well, that if it was, he’d have an army of brave men ready to lay down their lives to save his pitiful cowardly ass.

Both Kerry and Bin Laden assess situations and modify their positions accordingly – Bush rushes forward on faulty information and stubbornly refuses to admit even the possibility error. Bush is a man of history, in the same way the Charge of the Light Brigade was an action of history.

My faith in the intelligence of the American voter is such that I have long held Bush will be re-elected. I would not wish to argue for anyone to vote for Kerry – if only to be able to be proven right in my projections for four more years under a Bush administration. This year, the only thing that is really critical – if you are citizen over the age of 18, register and vote. The next four years are in our hands.