I wish I had seen this a bit earlier, but maybe there's still time to change some minds--especially if you know any Christian "yellow-dog" Democrats who aren't convinced that their man is a lying leftist.
http://www.letfreedomring.com/innerstrength.asp
This would be a good video for folks to see, regardless of how the election turns out. People, especially Christians, need to be reminded that our Founding Fathers insisted that our system of government would only work if the people remained religious and morally upright, and it would work best if they remained Christian and elected Christian leaders.
http://www.wallbuilders.com/resources/search/detail.php?ResourceID=21
This is the first time I've had to watch my country's election process from a far-away land, and it has been disconcerting, to say the least. Our multinational church prayed for the U.S. elections yesterday, and we will continue to do so, fervently. The Democrats are going to try every trick in the book, inventing a few more along the way, to get Kerry into office. For example, Ohio's voter-registration rolls list over 12,000 duplicate names and an indeterminate number of ineligible voters, including a murder victim and two suspected terrorists. They're calling Ohio the "new Florida" for this election. Governor Bob Taft said that in four counties in Ohio there are more registered voters listed than there are eligible voters. And Republican election officials are being sued (unsuccessfully, thus far) in several other key states.
For my part, I am especially concerned about this election. Too many people seem to be voting "against" Bush instead of "for" someone else...and that's no reason to cast a vote, especially given the current status of the fight against terrorism. We need consistency in our leadership, and we need Bush's resolve. There are plenty of issues on which I disagree with Bush, even strongly, but I can't get around the fact that a Kerry presidency would be a national and international disaster.
If Kerry wins the election, I'll have a tough decision to make. I won't want to live in a country run by a leftist liar, but then again, Americans everywhere will be at a significantly greater risk of terrorist attacks--especially in the Middle East. If you think I'm exaggerating, consider the fact that Osama bin Laden supports Kerry, for crying out loud. So, I will have to decide whether to subject my family to Kerry's socialist, anti-freedom, anti-free-market, anti-American, anti-life, anti-Constitution agenda, or to remain in a part of the world that will undoubtedly be less physically secure. At least in Qatar, they make no bones about the fact that it's a dictatorship, and quite frankly I trust His Highness Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani far more than I trust John Kerry.
And that should send chills up your spine.
Somebody forwarded me a list of criticisms of George W. Bush and his presidency. I don't claim to agree with everything Bush has done, but overall he's doing a much better job than he gets credit for from the media, other leftists, and the gullible masses who unquestioningly absorb DanRatheresque sound bites. I don't know who originally compiled the list, but this is for them, wherever they are.
* I attacked and took over 2 countries.
Which is better, for us to attack and take over them, or for them to attack and take over us? And, as I recall, your elected officials in Congress were in full support.
* I spent the U.S. surplus and bankrupted the US Treasury.
* I shattered the record for the biggest annual deficit in history (not easy!).
First of all, the "surplus" was funny money that only existed on paper, and the Treasury was bankrupted years ago when FDR took the dollar off the gold standard. Second, Congress comes up with the spending bills. The President signs them. You cannot blame just the President. And hello, there's a war going on. As an aside, here's a pop quiz: Can you name one president in the past hundred years who hasn't overspent? The real question is, is he spending in areas where the federal government has constitutional authority to spend? Most politicians these days don't give a rat's ass about the Constitution except in rare instances when it helps their agenda.
* I set an economic record for the most personal bankruptcies filed in any 12 month period.
* I set all-time record for the biggest drop in the history of the stock market.
That's called a recession, and it started when Clinton was still in office. Unless I'm missing something, the President does not control the free market. Was it the President who created the dot-com bubble, or was it idiotic free market investors?
* I am the first president in decades to execute a federal prisoner.
All I can say is, it's about time!
* In my first year in office I set the all-time record for most days on vacation by any president in US history (tough to beat my dad's, but I did).
Do you ever work from home? I know I do. Even when my boss calls it a vacation.
* After taking the entire month of August off for vacation, I presided over the worst security failure in US history.
A security failure that was years in the making. Bush did not create that problem, but look at what he has done to fix it. Could you have done a better job?
* I set the record for most campaign fund raising trips by any president in US history.
When you're not renting out the Lincoln Bedroom or selling military secrets, you have to resort to more visible means of raising funds.
* In my first two years in office over 2 million Americans lost ! their jobs.
What article of the Constitution grants job-making power to the President?
* I cut unemployment benefits for more out-of-work Americans than any other president in US history.
What article of the Constitution authorizes the President to use tax dollars to fund unemployment programs?
* I set the all-time record for most real estate foreclosures in a 12-month period.
So Bush called all the banks and told them to foreclose or he'd sic the IRS on them?
* I appointed more convicted criminals to administration positions than any president in US history.
Convicted of what? Let's see the records, please.
* I set the record for the fewest press conferences of any president, since the advent of TV.
He also shows up to those press conferences on time. I prefer a President who balances his time wisely. The press would completely monopolize his time if he allowed it.
* I signed more laws and executive orders amending the Constitution than any other US president in history.
That's crap. Show me your documentation.
* I presided over the biggest energy crises in US history and refused to intervene when corruption was revealed.
Again, which article of the Constitution authorizes the President to get involved in private industry in that manner?
* I cut health care benefits for war veterans.
Read the fine print. Or did you just pass this tidbit along without actually researching it? Why is it that this list has no footnotes?
* I set the all-time record for most people worldwide to simultaneously take to the streets to protest me (15 million people), shattering the record for protest against any person in the history of mankind.
I'd call that a great thing. Do you suppose that 15 million, say, Chinese people would protest the government of China, if they could do so without being mowed down by tanks? The fact is that, due to the influence of policies from Presidents like Bush and Reagan, more people in the world are free to protest today than ever before.
* I dissolved more international treaties than any president in US history.
Good. The Constitution grants him the authority to do that, and several past presidents have made boneheaded treaties that needed dissolving.
* I've made my presidency the most secretive and unaccountable of any in US history.
If it's so secretive, then how do you know so much about it?
* Members of my cabinet are the richest of any administration in US history. (The poorest multimillionaire, Condoleeza Rice, has a Chevron oil tanker named after her.)
And that's bad because...? Is it evil to be rich? Other statements in this diatribe suggest that you are very concerned about economic issues; would you rather get your economic policy advice from a rich person or a poor person?
* I am the first president in US history to have all 50 states of the Union simultaneously struggle against bankruptcy.
* I presided over the biggest corporate stock market fraud in any market in any country in the history of the world.
Yeah, and I had a bad hunting season. That's the President's fault too, I suppose?
* I am the first president in US history to order a US attack AND military occupation of a sovereign nation, and I did so against the will of the United Nations and the vast majority of the international community.
That is a false statement, but even so, since when does the U.N. run the U.S.?
* I have created the largest government department bureaucracy in the history of the United States, called the "Bureau of Homeland Security"(only ! one letter away from BS).
He has also indicated that the BHS will be streamlined over the course of the next few years, and he has also indicated that the IRS may be streamlined or eliminated. Check your facts before you spew half-truths and nonsense.
* I set the all-time record for biggest annual budget spending increases, more than any other president in US history (Ronnie was tough to beat, but I did it!!).
It's called recession and war. If you think Kerry wouldn't do exactly the same thing, you are ignoring a vast body of evidence to the contrary.
* I am the first president in US history to compel the United Nations remove the US from the Human Rights Commission.
* I am the first president in US history to have the United Nations remove the US from the Elections Monitoring Board.
Mmmm. And who is on the "Human Rights Commission" and the "Elections Monitoring Board" at this point? Ah, yes...several bastions of human freedom that love the U.S. dearly. And how effective and/or useful has the U.N. been in general over the past decades? Does the term "worthless" come to mind? It should.
* I removed more checks and balances, and have the least amount of congressional oversight than any presidential administration in US history.
Love to see the documentation on this. Propaganda.
* I rendered the entire United Nations irrelevant. I withdrew from the World Court of Law.
The U.N. was already irrelevant, and the World Court would grant foreign courts power over American citizens within the U.S. That's unconstitutional, last time I checked.
* I refused to allow inspectors access to US prisoners of war and by default no longer abide by the Geneva Conventions.
Since when? Fact please, not propaganda. You've been watching too much Dan Rather.
* I am the first president in US history to refuse United Nations election inspectors access during the 2002 US elections.
Does the Constitution authorize foreign intervention or monitoring of our elections? Ah, nope. If anyone has the authority to request that, it's Congress, not the President.
* I am the all-time ! US (and world) record holder for most corporate campaign donations.
And this is bad because...? I'd much rather be endorsed by corporations, which represent multiple people, than by a bunch of single rich guys, not that either one is necessarily bad.
* The biggest lifetime contributor to my campaign, who is also one of my best friends, presided over one of the largest corporate bankruptcy frauds in world history (Kenneth Lay, former CEO of Enron Corporation).
None of your friends have ever done anything wrong, I suppose? When they did, was it your fault?
* I spent more money on polls and focus groups than any president in US history.
I find that pretty hard to believe...do you have the numbers? It seems to me that someone who is "secretive and unaccountable" wouldn't care much about polls and focus groups anyway...
* I am the first president to run and hide when the US came under attack (and then lied, saying the enemy had the code to Air Force 1)
That's crap. He did exactly what any President should have done, according to standard policies and procedures. What is it, exactly, that you think he should have done?
* I am the first US president to establish a secret shadow government.
Oh, brother. Better watch out, the silent black helicopters are coming for you!
* I took the world's sympathy for the US after 9/11, and in less than a year made the US the most resented country in the world (possibly the biggest diplomatic failure in US and world history).
* I am the first US president in history to have a majority of the people of Europe (71%) view ! my presidency as the biggest threat to world peace and stability.
Gee, and those folks have done such a great job of fighting terrorism. Hey, if you really think they're onto something, why don't you move somewhere else? The truth of the matter is that Bush's policies have kept America safer than anywhere else in the world, and you know it.
* I changed US policy to allow convicted criminals to be awarded government contracts.
Aside from the low merit of the accusation, can you show me where the Constitution states that a criminal who has paid his debt to society is not allowed to run a business or bid for government contracts?
* I set the all-time record for the number of administration appointees who violated US law by not selling their huge investments in corporations bidding for gov't contracts.
Did you get that from your reading of the Constitution, or out of your own imagination?
* I have removed more freedoms and civil liberties for Americans than any other president in US history.
Really? I thought Lincoln and FDR did that. Can you give me a list? Love to see 'em.
* I entered office with the strongest economy in US history and in less than two years turned every single economic category heading straight down.
First, that's crap. Second, the President does not control the economy, stupid.
* RECORDS AND REFERENCES: I have at least one conviction for drunk driving in Maine (Texas driving record has been erased and is not available).
You ever driven drunk? Ever hear of Ted Kennedy? It might surprise you how many of our elected officials do that sort of thing regularly, even today. At least Bush has been reformed and redeemed.
* I was AWOL from the National Guard and deserted the military during time of war.
Lies and propaganda. Been listening to Dan Rather again, eh?
* I refuse to take a drug test or even answer any questions about drug use. (wink,wink)
That's called personal privacy. Remember that? You complain about him eroding our civil liberties, yet you'd do the same thing to him. Hello, hypocrites anonymous?
* All records of my tenure as governor of Texas have been spirited away to my fathers library, sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.
Standard practice, my friend. Check it out.
* All records of any SEC investigations into my insider trading or bankrupt companies are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.
* All minutes of meetings of any public corporation for which I served on the board are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.
Can I see your checkbook, bank statements, credit cards, etc.? Can I put them on the evening news? I thought you were concerned about civil liberties...?
* Any records or minutes from meetings I (or my VP) attended regarding public energy policy are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public review.
I thought you said he didn't do anything about the energy crisis? So, really, you're saying that he did do something, he just didn't tell you exactly what he did. Gosh, I didn't know you were an energy expert. And where, exactly, does the Constitution demand that the President reveal the minutes from all of his meetings? Did you ever stop to think that maybe, just maybe, high-level meetings on energy policy could have significant national security ramifications, so maybe, just maybe, they should be kept secret--according to the Constitution, even--for your own good?
It seems to me that you want a handout from the government, and you want to complain about how much those handouts are costing. You want to live in safety and security, and you want to complain about the cost of that safety and security. You want the President to confide everything in you on every issue of national importance, and you can't be bothered to educate yourself on any of those issues. You blame the President for negative things over which he has no control or constitutional authority, and you refuse to give him credit for positive things over which he has control and constitutional authority. You have no grasp on the proper constitutional role of the federal government, so you make it up as you go along to suit your agenda, which at this point is to criticize the sitting President of the United States. You are lying coward, a traitor and a fool, and I hope I get an opportunity to say that to your face. Do us all a favor and get the hell out of our country.
I'm sitting in a meeting with a dozen Arabs, French, and Americans, and the Frenchman from Dassault who's supposed to be giving the presentation is using an IBM ThinkPad and trying to get it to mirror the laptop video onto the projector. It just doesn't work, despite the fact that he has several computer jocks giving him advice. He's already tried to blame the projector, replacing it with his own unit (with a lower lumen bulb, so we had to kill the lights in the room), but of course that didn't help. It also doesn't help that he's using the French localized version of Windows, so nobody else can read the dialogues. Ah, well...c'est la vie.
What it all boils down to is which candidate best understands the spirit of the founding documents (FDs) of our nation, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. The author suggests that the reader take a few moments to read the FDs, in order to have an appropriate frame of reference from which to evaluate the rest of this article.
Both candidates talked about how many jobs the government had or hadn't created, so apparently neither candidate seems to grasp the fact that it is not the U.S. government that creates jobs, but the free marketplace. The FDs contain nothing about government being empowered to create jobs.
Both candidates talked about things the government has done to protect the environment, so apparently neither candidate understands that individual Americans, not the government, are responsible for their own property, and the free market is perfectly capable of handling the issue of stewardship of resources. That said, President Bush definitely delineated the better policy, least intrusive on the citizens of America.
Same goes for medical care. Neither candidate seems to understand that the FDs do not give the federal government any power relating to medical care, but Bush seems to have the less intrusive plan. No sentient American should want the federal government involved with doctors, drugs, or insurance, at all, period.
And taxes...hoo boy. Everybody talked a lot about taxes, budgets, and government spending ad nauseam. It's hard to say which candidate would really spend more money, but it's easy to say that either one of them will be a big spender--just in different areas. In general, Bush will overspend most often in areas where the FDs actually authorize the government to spend money, whereas Kerry will overspend anywhere he sees fit.
Both candidates talked about Supreme Court justices. Bush seems to respecct the FDs in this regard, stating that he would nominate "strict constructionists." Kerry managed to mention a lot of stuff that apparently he thinks is in the FDs (he said plainly, "These are constitutional rights."):
Other than the fact that "equal opportunity" is built into the FDs, and the reserved rights of individuals are already inclusive of every citizen regarless of gender, none of this is contained in the FDs. In fact, since the Declaration of Independence lists "Life" as one of the unalienable rights granted to every human by their Creator, it should be obvious to anyone who respects the FDs that there is no such "right to choose" to kill an unborn child, thus abridging one of that child's most fundamental rights. Kerry said that this fundamental right to life is actually just an "article of faith" that cannot be legislated. He obviously hasn't stopped to read the FDs lately.
Both candidates talked about federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research. Kerry fully supports federally-funded killing of human embryos in the pursuit of a mystical cure for various diseases (AIDS, Parkinson's, whatever), and Bush supports the use of cell lines from embryos that have already been killed. Ethically, it might be a fine line, but ethics don't even have to enter into it. The fact of the matter is that, if this venture is worthwhile, then the free market will support it. The government has no FD authority to delve into medical research. They need to stay out of it, and let the market have its way.
In conclusion, neither candidate fully understands the proper role of the federal government as delineated in the FDs. However, President Bush's policies suggest that he has far more respect for the FDs than does Kerry. Most important, Bush understands the concept of the Declaration's unalienable right to life, and he attempts to incorporate that into his policies. Kerry believes murder is perfectly OK, and should be funded with your tax dollars. He talks a good game about equal rights and equal opportunity, but he is overtly prejudiced against those who have no political voice, no ability to speak for themselves. Thus, he is not fit to lead.