A challenge: The Bush Administration, what's right, what's wrong? NO Debate!

[DaisynDonald]

He's done something right???


I can't think of ANYTHING!!!

 

[va32h]

Things that have gone right in the Bush administration:

1) The earth has not crashed into the sun.

2).....hang on, I'm thinking....

 

[Puffy2]

Failure of the Bush Administration: Misplaced priorities. Not enough troops, money or dedication to capturing the REAL terrorist responsible for 9/11, Osama Bin Lauden, but 14 times that spent on Iraq.

Apparently it only took 10,000 troops in Afghanistan to "hunt down the terrorists and bring them to justice"...or opps, try to ...Bin Lauden, the #1 guy is still at large:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A11485-2003Aug18&notFound=true


Bush Revises Views On 'Combat' in Iraq

'Major Operations' Over, President Says
By Dana Milbank and Bradley Graham
Washington Post Staff Writers

Tuesday, August 19, 2003; Page A15

President Bush, revising his earlier characterization of the fighting in Iraq, said in an interview released yesterday that combat operations are still underway in that country.

In an interview with the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service given on Thursday and released by the White House yesterday, Bush interrupted the questioner when asked about his announcement on May 1 of, as the journalist put it, "the end of combat operations." ....

In fact, the 10,000 troops in Afghanistan represent the highest number of U.S. soldiers in the country since the war there began. By the time the Taliban government had been vanquished in December 2001, U.S. troops numbered fewer than 3,000 in Afghanistan. And three months later, in March 2002, when the last major battle against remnants of the Taliban and al Qaeda took place in eastern Afghanistan, about 5,000 U.S. troops were in the country. ....

But the Bush 2nd inauguration merited at least 8,500 soldiers and police officers...


http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2005/01/20/bush050120.html

Unprecedented security to mark Bush's 2nd inaugurationLast Updated Thu, 20 Jan 2005 10:08:25 EST
CBC News
WASHINGTON - Under tight security George W. Bush will take the oath of office Thursday as he officially begins his second term as president of the United States....

Jet fighters will be on patrol and the normal no-fly zone over the city's centre has been expanded.

At least 2,500 soldiers and 6,000 police officers from across the country will be on duty patrolling the city. ...


But for Iraq the US sends over 140,000 troops...

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2004-06-08-marines_x.htm

U.S. force in Iraq to grow as Marine deployment pushed up
By Tom Squitieri and Dave Moniz, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon will increase the number of U.S. troops in Iraq to around 145,000 this summer, from the current 140,000, in recognition of the continued difficulty coalition forces are having in providing security leading up to the hand-over of political power to Iraqis on June 30.

 

[Puffy2]

Bush is the only president I've ever heard of (in the United States) that required a "loyalty oath" to be signed by citizens before allowing them into his so-called "town hall" meetings:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20040908-104357-3415r.htm

...Last month, the Massachusetts senator promised that if elected he would hold monthly press conferences. That promise came amid reports that President Bush was restricting access to his rallies and town hall meetings to Bush supporters and volunteers, and was requiring them to sign a loyalty oath....



and

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6175391

...Bush campaign officials have acknowledged efforts to keep hecklers out and that, on at least one occasion, some Democrats who signed up to attend a speech by Vice President Dick Cheney were asked to sign a pledge endorsing Bush.

The door policy at Kerry's events is a little looser and, perhaps as a result, he sometimes faces hecklers or disruptions, like one at Monday's event staged by apparent supporters of failed presidential candidate Lyndon LaRouche.

Kerry laughed off the encounter. Separately, he got in a dig at Bush:

"I trust that no one here had to sign a loyalty oath to get in," Kerry said. "Everybody is free to ask whatever you want."...

and Bush even had those with opposing views that managed to get in to his "town halls" arrested on a few occasions:


http://www.nbc13.com/news/4283808/detail.html

...A woman arrested during President George W. Bush's visit to Alabama has been released from jail.

Bush came to Auburn University, Montgomery last week to hold a town hall meeting to discuss Social Security reform.

Police said the woman, who was holding an anti-war poster, was arrested because she refused to stay in the area designated for protesters.

The woman held a sign reading "Stop the War!" outside the gym where Bush was speaking. She refused to give her name to authorities and is listed as Jane Doe in court documents...

http://www.kctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=3136534

Secret Service investigating removal of three from Bush visit

DENVER -- The U.S. Secret Service on Monday said it was investigating the claims of three people who said they were removed from President Bush's town hall meeting on Social Security last week after being singled out because of a bumper sticker on their car.

The three said they had obtained tickets through the office of Rep. Bob Beauprez, R-Colo., had passed through security and were preparing to take their seats when they were approached by what they thought was a Secret Service agent who asked them to leave.

One woman, Karen Bauer, 38, a marketing coordinator from Denver, said the agent put his hand on her elbow and steered her away from her seat and toward an exit.

"The Secret Service had nothing to do with that," said Lon Garner, special agent in charge of the Secret Service district office in Denver. "We are very sensitive to the First Amendment and general assembly rights as protected by the Constitution."

The Secret Service is in charge of protecting the president.

The three who were removed, along with their attorney, Dan Recht, met with Garner Monday. Recht said he may file a lawsuit based on the group's alleged violation of their First Amendment rights.

Garner said the group appeared confused as to who asked them to leave and declined to release further details, citing an ongoing investigation.

Alex Young, 25, an Internet technology worker from Denver who was among the three removed from the event March 17 at Wings over the Rockies, said officials told them the next day they were identified as belonging to the "No Blood for Oil" group.

Young said they belong to no such group, but the car they drove to the event had a bumper sticker that read: "No More Blood for Oil."

"I don't think a bumper sticker on a friend's car should disqualify me from seeing the president," Young said.

Beauprez distributed tickets to the event, which was part of President Bush's effort to gain support for his plan to overhaul Social Security. Messages left after-hours at Beauprez's office were not immediately returned Monday. A call to Bush's advance team in Denver went unanswered Monday afternoon.

Lawrence Pacheco, a spokesman for Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo., said the congressman had asked the Secret Service about the group's allegations.

Young, who along with Bauer and lawyer Leslie Weise, 39, is a member of the Denver Progressives, a political activist group. He said the three had T-shirts underneath their business attire that read, "Stop the Lies" and they had talked about exposing them during Bush's visit. He said they had scrapped the plan by the time they arrived at the museum.

Recht said the T-shirts did not play a role in the group's removal.

"They hadn't done anything wrong. They weren't dressed inappropriately, they didn't' say anything inappropriate," Recht said. "They were kicked out of this venue and not allowed to hear what the president had to say based solely on this political bumper sticker.

"The very essence of the First Amendment is that you can't be punished for the speech you make, the statements you make," Recht said.

Several high profile groups, including the older citizens' lobby AARP, oppose changes to Social Security that would privatize the country's retirement safety net.

President Bush has visited at least 17 states since the State of the Union to gain support for his plan, meeting with people who are generally supportive.

Some people who have stood up to disrupt Bush while he was talking have been removed. But a group called Americans United to Protect Social Security said there have been at least two additional instances where people who have done nothing wrong have been removed or barred from a Bush event beforehand.

One instance happened in February in Fargo North Dakota, where a "black list" of people banned from getting tickets was obtained and published by the Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. The White House and the Republican Party denied such a list existed and Gov. John Hoeven's staff said nobody was denied tickets.

Brad Woodhouse, a spokesman for Americans United, called the Denver example the most egregious violation.

"They're screening the people who are allowed to come and then they're profiling them in the parking lot," he said. "It's quite extraordinary, and disappointing."

 

[Charade]

Bu$h ??? No debates???

 

[VSL]

Things that have gone right in the Bush administration:

1) The earth has not crashed into the sun.

2).....hang on, I'm thinking....

 

[CheshireVal]

I honestly can't think of anything that Bush has done right. I feel that he's mishandled everything horribly, and, as far as I'm concerned he's probably one fo the worst presidents in our nation's history.

Initially, I really appreciated the tax cuts and that extra refund check he had mailed out to everyone, but I'm not sure it was really a great move.

 

[Disney Doll]

No debate.

Are you kididng me??????????

 

[mickeyfan2]

What about Turkey? The US put pressure on Austria to change it's vote and it did. Now Turkey will be joining the EU. This is a good thing. Turkey is a secular muslim nation.

 

[mom2rb]

What he has done right.

Well after 11 years of Bush messing with the schools, six just in Texas, five more in the whole country, I home school. I NEVER thought I could do it, but I really enjoy it and it works well for my family.

What Bush has done wrong.

Everything else.

 

[deelam]

Bush has provided some great comic material when he speaks unscripted. I saw this one clip where I know he meant to say something about malpractice insurance and the effects on OBGYN's. Instead he said that because of the malpractice insurance cost OBGYN's have not been able to show their love for there patients like they want to.
It could be taken the wrong way.

 

[Puffy2]

Instead he said that because of the malpractice insurance cost OBGYN's have not been able to show their love for there patients like they want to.

I saw that too! I couldn't believe the words actually came out of his mouth!

And yet another example of the Bu$h Administration favoring corporate interests at the expense of average working Americans - the 2005 Bankruptcy Law which makes it harder for working Americans to file for bankruptcy and leaves them in debtnote that many of the new bankruptcys being filed have to do with sky rocketing medical expenses...another area of the economy that the Bush Administration has done zero about):


Some info on the new 2005 Bankruptcy Law:

http://www.nolo.com/article.cfm/ObjectID/B0B66870-4C52-4303-919B10B9611D3EF9

http://www.prleap.com/pr/6964

News Released: April 25, 2005
Debt Management Expert Voices Opposition To New Law: “New Bankruptcy Law Hurts Rather Than Helps”

(PRLEAP.COM) President Bush has signed into law a measure that will deter tens of thousands from filing bankruptcy under Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

According to Kenneth Priore, an attorney in California and a principal in a professional debt negotiation company, New Leaf Debt Settlement, “This law goes too far, instead of punishing a few bad actors, it is a direct slap in the faces of thousands of average wage earning Americans. This means test hurts doesn’t catch just the bad apples but hard working wage earners.”...

and from;

http://credit.about.com/od/bankruptcy/a/031605.htm

"The fastest growing group of bankruptcy filers is older Americans. While individuals over 55 make up only about 15% of the people filing for bankruptcy, they are the fastest growing age group in bankruptcy. More than 50% of those 65 and older are driven to bankruptcy by medical debts they cannot pay. Eighty-five percent of those over 60 cite either medical or job problems as the reason for bankruptcy.12 Here again, abuse is not the issue. The bankruptcy filing rate reveals holes in the Medicare and Social Security systems, as seniors and aging members of the baby-boom generation declare bankruptcy to deal with prescription drug bills, co-pays, medical supplies, long-term care, and job loss."


and from:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=23643

..."A recent study by Harvard researchers found that the average out-of-pocket medical debt for those who filed for bankruptcy is $12,000 and noted that 68% of those who filed for bankruptcy had health insurance. In addition, the study found that half of all bankruptcy filings were partly the result of medical expenses."...

 

[Crankyshank]

He's given Jon Stewart some pretty great material.

 

[Just2554]

I can't say there's much the Bush administration has done right.

A biggie I'm surprised no one has mentioned yet is "No Child Left Behind."I did a 20-page research paper on this last year. What a disaster!

I also agree with the person who said that Bush is a terrible public speaker. I laugh everytime he's on. Even my 12-year old sister who doesn't understand a word he says laughs at his public speaking skills.

 

[mickeyfan2]

I am actually for the tighter bankruptcy laws. It was way too easy before. I know of somebody who went backrupt - Kept the house, pool, shed, cars and all personal belonging but got rid of $75,000 in credit card debt. So they got to keep the "stuff" but not pay for it.

 

[deelam]

Just want to know, what failed in the no child left behind act?

 

[Puffy2]

I'll get to Every Child Left Behind , but today's failure is:



Republicans answer to the skyrocking DEBT of the USA that the Bush Administration and Republicans CREATED for this country:
More reductions for the poorest Americans...while they INCREASE THE TAX CUTS FOR THE WEALTHY!


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/18/AR2005101801219.html

A revolt of House conservatives has persuaded that body's Republican leadership to offset the increased federal spending going to rebuild the Hurricane Katrina-devastated Gulf Coast by reductions in Medicaid, food stamps and other programs for the indigent. If things go according to plan, this week the House will begin to cut $50 billion from those efforts.

"And it gets worse. The same Republican zealots who demand fiscal responsibility by cutting $50 billion for the indigent sick are now also demanding a new $70 billion in tax cuts, including the permanent repeal of the estate tax, that would chiefly benefit the rich. For a few brief weeks after Katrina, Republicans actually suspended their advocacy of tax cuts, but this onset of sanity came to a shuddering halt once the cameras were removed from the Superdome."

and from:
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/politics/3400874
By BENNETT ROTH
2005 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau

"This is taking the most from those who have the least and nothing from those who have the most. What kind of faith-based program is that?" said Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, a member of the House Budget committee....

...The Republican leadership, however, still plans in the coming weeks to seek congressional approval to make previously approved tax cuts permanent, which would cost the treasury another $70 billion. Republicans say the tax cuts are necessary to keep the economy growing.

 

[Puffy2]

Bush failure # 9 (is that right? I’m losing count)

Bush thought it was a good idea to appoint the divisive, angry, bitter John Bolton as the American Ambassador to the United Nations (a post that absolutely requires diplomacy).

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13790-2005Mar7.html

...Forty-three Democrats voted against his nomination as undersecretary for arms control four years ago; even some Republicans privately expressed dismay at Bolton's elevation yesterday.

Some U.N. diplomats said they were surprised. European officials said they were puzzled at how the appointment meshed with the administration's recent efforts at consultative diplomacy...

And from:

http://www.nwprogressive.org/weblog/2005/04/bolton-wrong-choice-for-un.html

Bolton is a man who…has a history (of) harshly browbeating subordinates who had the misfortune of disagreeing with him.

In the words of one career foreign service officer, Bolton "kisses up to his boss and kicks down his staff" [New York Times, April 12th 2005] over the course of policy analysis. In addition to his abusive office politics, Bolton has consistently shown downright contempt for international institutions and even international law.

He was once quoted as saying: "If you cut off the top ten stories of the UN Headquarters, it wouldn't make a bit of difference."

With an attitude this disdainful, it is not surprising that he would also describe foreign policy goals that entailed using the UN as "a secondary component of our foreign policy," i.e. we will use the UN when it suits us while flaunting its authority and remaining unaccountable to its laws through blatant unilatealism.

Bolton has even been quoted as saying, "there is no United Nations, only a loose syndicate of nation-states." With this in mind, it is some wonder why such a bellicose bean counter would even want the job as UN Ambassador.

After all, as Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) pointed out in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, how can Bolton work with an institution that he doesn't even believe exists?

The Center for American Progress has more details:

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is scheduled to vote on John
Bolton's nomination to the U.N. this afternoon. Bolton's questionable diplomatic skills, shoddy record on security and overall temperament clearly indicate that he is not the right person to represent the United States at the world's leading institution.

Bolton's inability to accept facts when they challenge his agenda has
caused serious harm to American security. Bolton sought to replace two CIA analysts who would not support his agenda on Cuba and has blocked intelligence which didn't conform to his personal policy views in other areas.


On multiple occasions, Bolton refused to forward information vital to U.S. strategies on Iran to Secretary Powell, delaying intelligence from getting through for weeks or, in some instances, not at all.

Bolton's management style and temperament are highly suspect for the world's leading deliberative body. As Senator Chuck Hagel, a leading Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee , stated this weekend: "I have been troubled with more and more allegations, revelations, coming about his style, his method of operation," adding, "to intimidate or bully people is something that is not what we want in our government, especially at the very senior, responsible, high-level positions."

Lawrence Wilkerson, the chief of staff for Bolton's previous boss, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, weighed in on Bolton's qualifications: "Do I think John Bolton would make a good ambassador to the United Nations? Absolutely not…He is incapable of listening to people and taking into account their views. He would be an abysmal ambassador."

 

[CheshireVal]

I can't say there's much the Bush administration has done right.

A biggie I'm surprised no one has mentioned yet is "No Child Left Behind."I did a 20-page research paper on this last year. What a disaster!

I also agree with the person who said that Bush is a terrible public speaker. I laugh everytime he's on. Even my 12-year old sister who doesn't understand a word he says laughs at his public speaking skills.

NCLB is the biggest joke in the history of jokes.

 

[Independent]

What has he done well:
Provides comic relief as he slaughters the English Language:

Bushisms:

"The vast majority of our imports come from outside the country."
- George W. Bush


"If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure."
- George W. Bush


"One word sums up probably the responsibility of any Governor, and that
one word is 'to be prepared'." - George W. Bush


"I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgments in
the future."
- George W. Bush


"The future will be better tomorrow."
- George W. Bush


"We're going to have the best educated American people in the world."
- George W. Bush


"I stand by all the misstatements that I've made."
- George W. Bush


"We have a firm commitment to NATO, we are a part of NATO. We have a
firm commitment to Europe. We are a part of Europe."
- George W. Bush


"Public speaking is very easy."
- George W. Bush


"A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the
polls." - George W. Bush


"We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur."
- George W. Bush


"For NASA, space is still a high priority."
- George W. Bush


"Quite frankly, teachers are the only profession that teach our
children."
- George W. Bush


"It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities
in our air and water that are doing it."
- George W. Bush


"It's time for the human race to enter the solar system."
- George W. Bush


And something to be really worried about:

God Save the USA