Bush vs. Kerry

[Survient]

It's not just bush, it's the bush administration too. Kerry may have changed his mind a lot, but he knows what issues to address, like health care, and getting america jobs. The republicans can't make up their minds over whether he was in Vietnam or not, even though the records show he was. You want reasons why we bash bush? Ok, I'll give them to you. He's cut funding for our troops in Iraq, and reinstated it just in time for election, still hasn't formulated a plan for an alternate energy source for gasoline(Hmmm wonder why?), he's given the VA hell, here's some stuff that my friend has found out 4 me:
1. Bush has revived and extended a presidential
directive created by his father stating "There will be
no arrival ceremonies for, or media coverage of,
deceased military personnel returning to or departing
from Ramstein [Germany] airbase or Dover [Del.] base,
to include interim stops."
Washington Post, 10/21/03


2.

Washington Post, 10/21/03 wrote:


"[A] White House spokesman said Bush has not
attended any memorials or funerals for soldiers killed
in action during his presidency as his predecessors
had done, although he has met with families of fallen
soldiers and has marked the loss of soldiers in
Memorial Day and Sept. 11, 2001, remembrances."



(I'll cut him a bit of slack here since he at least
met with some families.)

3.

United Press International, 10/17/03 10/20/03 wrote:


"hundreds of sick and wounded U.S. soldiers including
many who served in the Iraq war are languishing in hot
cement barracks here while they wait -- sometimes for
months -- to see doctors. The National Guard and Army
Reserve soldiers' living conditions are so
substandard, and the medical care so poor, that many
of them believe the Army is trying push them out with
reduced benefits for their ailments.

One document shown to UPI states that no more doctor
appointments are available from Oct. 14 through Nov.
11 -- Veterans Day.... One month after President Bush
greeted soldiers at Fort Stewart...as heroes on their
return from Iraq, approximately 600 sick or injured
members of the Army Reserves and National Guard are
warehoused in rows of spare, steamy and dark cement
barracks in a sandy field, waiting for doctors to
treat their wounds or illnesses."




4.

Washington Post 10/16/03 wrote:


"The survey...also recorded about a third of the
respondents complaining that their mission lacks clear
definition and characterizing the war in Iraq as of
little or no value. Fully 40 percent said the jobs
they were doing had little or nothing to do with their
training.

The findings, drawn from 1,935 questionnaires
presented to U.S. service members throughout Iraq,
conflict with statements by military commanders and
Bush administration officials that portray the
deployed troops as high-spirited and generally
well-prepared."



[The statistics were taken from the Pentagon funded
magazine Stars and Stirpes which did a survey of
soldiers]

5. Just before the Iraq war, the U.S. Senate
unanimously voted to increase pay for soldiers in
"imminent danger" areas by 50 percent. Pay for
families of active-duty troops was increased 150
percent. (The First danger-pay increase since the Gulf
War and first increase for families since 1997 during
the Clinton Administration.) Sounds good right? Well
it was for a while but then when it expired at the end
of FY 03 (September) the Bush Admin. opposed it's
renewal, essentially cutting the pay of soldiers in
Iraq. After objection it was restored though the
pentagon said that to compensate they would have to
reduce the pay of other soldiers.
[Army Times, 8/13/03; 8/20/03]

6. In FY 2004 Bush proposed a cut of $200 million
from Impact Aid, a program helping military children
recieve education, he tried to cut $3 million from
Impact Aid in 2003 as well
[House Appropriations Committee, Minority Staff,
6/17/03, 6/16/03; Washington Post, 6/17/03; Omaha
World Herald, 2/5/02; State News Service, 2/4/02]

7. The 2004 tax cut failed to extend child tax credit
to 200,000 low-income military families. Soldiers
"with taxable incomes below $26,625 are ineligible for
the increase in the maximum child tax credit from $600
to $1,000 that was part of a tax bill signed into law
in May"
[Washington Post, 6/17/03; Army Times, 8/11/03]

8. A bipartisan movement to extend benefits to
part-time reservists met some stiff opposition from
the Bush Admin. A Pentagon memo dated July 26, 2003
revealed that the Bush Administration would veto any
Defense appropriation request that included the
benefits. The legislation is strongly supported by the
National Guard Association, the Adjutants General
Association, and Enlisted Association of the National
Guard.
[Army Times, 8/13/03;
http://www.ngaus.org/newsroom/Sec 523 Letter.pdf]

9. A minimum of 230,000 veterans have been forced to
wait at least six months before their initial visit to
VA hospitals, some are even waiting up to two years.
Anthony Principi, Bush's VA secretary has said "I'm
concerned [the delays are] causing quality to be
degraded."

The "Independent Budget," an analysis of the VA
budget provided by veterans groups, has said "The
Department of Veterans Affairs health care system is
in critical condition." Meanwhile, the Bush
administration opposed a Senate addition to the Iraq
supplemental bill that would have added $1.3 billion
to veterans' health care.
[Air Force Magazine, 10/02;
http://www.pva.org/independentbudget/pdf/IB_04excsum.pdf]


10. In early August 2003, the Bush administration
declared it was closing hospitals in efforts to
"restructure" the Department of Veterans Affairs. The
administration has closed hospitals in:

Canandaigua, N.Y.
Pittsburgh
Lexington, Ky.
Brecksville, Ohio
Gulfport, Miss.
Livermore, Calif.
Waco, Tex.

Joy Ilem, assistant national legislative director for
Disabled American Veterans has commented, "When we
have hundreds of thousands of veterans on waiting
lists (for medical appointments), we don't want to see
facilities closed due to fiscal problems."
[Associated Press, 8/4/03, 10/28/03; Department of
Veterans Affairs]

11. Last year Bush proposed increasing prescription
drugs costs for veterans. The Bush plan would have
included a new $250 enrollment fee and a co pay
increase from $7 to $15 for veterans earning over
$24,000. On July 21, the House Appropriations
Committee agreed to a Democratic amendment to reject
the Bush fee increases and recoup the $264 million in
costs by reducing administrative funding for the
Department of Veterans Affairs.
[Reuters, 7/14/03; Washington Post, 7/22/03]

12. On January 16, 2003, the Bush Administration
announced it would cut access to health care benefits
for 160,000 middle-income veterans due to budget
constraints. John Pettyjohn, an Oklahoma veteran who
served in Vietnam, said of the cuts, "On one hand,
we're sending our sons and daughters out to war and
possibly to die, yet on the other hand we're punishing
a certain class of veterans who've made money in their
lives. The government made a promise to us. What
they're doing now is wrong." [Associated Press,
1/16/03; The Daily Oklahoman, 1/18/03]

13. Bush proposed cuts for Veteran's benefits in his
new budget several days before speaking on Memorial
Day telling crowds he "understood the hardships of
war."
[AP 5/26/04, 5/28/04]

What more do you need?  

[~Bikky~]

bush is a b***h and kerry kicks a**  

[fairy_goddess08]

i would pick karry ( if i could vote) b.c's bush has some stuff i really don't like about him like getting us back in deate and he could of stope september 11 from happaning and some other stuff like yah and yah but i am anarky so if bush win's i don't care and if karry win's i don't care iether and yah!


x_x Chelsea x_x  

[Rinimarie]

[Cesar]

Yoco

O.o; Sound to me like you just don't like Michael Moore....

You could say that: Or you could say that I don't like people thinking what he says is absolute truth. I can't stand how people just walk into the movie without knowing a damned thing about the topic and walk out like they know every little detail that has ever happened in the war.

Michael Moore works for Hollywood, he has to sell his product, and 6/10 times, the truth doesn't sell.

Well lets think this way, maybe you should consider even the tiniest part of it could be true, rather than rejecting it so quickly. I didn't walk out of the movie thinking I knew every detail, and seriously, I don't think anyone can honestly claim to know every detail of the war. I walked in with an opinion, and it was just rearranged a bit after seeing that movie.
Yes it's hollywood, yes he presents it in a very biased way, but I still think, if a person wishes to be able to call theirself open-minded, they need to see it. How do you know he's saying a load of crap if you haven't even seen it for yourself? You shouldn't believe all the media hype, untill you experience it. (and that goes for anything. The media could say monkeys are falling from the sky, but that doesn't make it true. Look out your window and check to be sure, and when you see monkeys hitting the ground, then okay, maybe the media was right for once)

[Cesar]

I read your post until I saw you refer to Michael Moore's movie. Have you even looked further into movie? Have you read about anything from that movie? If you have, then you will see that Mr. Moore makes no facts in that movie.

I can't explain to you how disapointed I feel. You only read up to the part where I spoke of F9/11? Do you always shut things out when something you disagree with is mentioned? I made a comment about the unemployment rate, and it had nothing to do with that movie.
Yes, I have looked further into the movie, have you? And how can you state there are no facts, if you haven't seen it yourself? It seems all you've done is read some material that is presented in an even more opinionated fashion than the movie itself. If you read a bit more, you will see that Moore has offered a $10,000 reward to anyone who can prove one peice of information from his movie wrong. So the facts are there, my friend, it's just that people don't like the way it is presented. You see, it makes Bush look like a fool...
but if you have ever listened to him speak, you could figure that out youself.
(I tried to hide my shock a few months ago when I heard him say "...hispanicans" wow, way to piss off the minority groups. Hispanicans? That's not even a word. Hispanics, Mexicans... but hispanicans? Ohhh man.)  

[cherry haterade]

Well, I want to start this out crystal clear. I do not like Kerry or Bush, they can both suck my left nut is how much I like them. What we have is, which is the greater of the two evils? That clearly has to be Bush. I can't stand people who look at bush and say they don't like him but they will vote for him just because he has the conservative side of views. You probably can't imagine how many votes his whole gay marriage thing is going to get him. You are thinking it will lose him some, but it will equal better to him in the end.

One of the main thing that is a deciding factor for me is the ties between the Bush family and Saudi Arabia. If you do not know this then the Bush family has very good relations with the Saudi royale family. Bush seniors takes trips there all the time and is on friend to friend bases with the Royale family. Now maybe I am just being stupid, but Saudi Arabia owns 8 percent of our economy. I don't like that they are so close with our president. You may not believe this but Saudi Arabia has a lot of pull in a political world. About 30 to 40 percent of America's politics are being HEAVILY influenced by outside forces. One of the reasons I want Bush gone is because this would help to begin dropping the percentages.

Alright, to lazy to spell check or reread this so if I sound like a dumass excuse me for being a dumass.  

[Rinimarie]

OblivionKnight

Well, I want to start this out crystal clear. I do not like Kerry or Bush, they can both suck my left nut is how much I like them. What we have is, which is the greater of the two evils? That clearly has to be Bush. I can't stand people who look at bush and say they don't like him but they will vote for him just because he has the conservative side of views. You probably can't imagine how many votes his whole gay marriage thing is going to get him. You are thinking it will lose him some, but it will equal better to him in the end.

Ahaha me too, I really don't like either, but I really don't want Bush in office. That is one of the reasons. Gay people are just that, people. They deserve the right to marry just like the rest of us, regaurdless on whether it is normal or not. I feel so upset that people will let their own religious or personal opinions be used to oppress others who are not tied to them in any way. Gay people don't need their souls to be saved, and just because they happen to love in a different way does not mean we should fear them. Why does gay marriage make people feel so threatened? It's not like the human race is on the brink of extinction and we need everyone to procreate like mad to continue our existance...

(...besides, if two girls get married, good. It means less competition for me. blaugh jkjk i'm not that shallow wink )  

[[Cesar]]

Rinimarie

[Cesar]

Yoco

O.o; Sound to me like you just don't like Michael Moore....

You could say that: Or you could say that I don't like people thinking what he says is absolute truth. I can't stand how people just walk into the movie without knowing a damned thing about the topic and walk out like they know every little detail that has ever happened in the war.

Michael Moore works for Hollywood, he has to sell his product, and 6/10 times, the truth doesn't sell.

Well lets think this way, maybe you should consider even the tiniest part of it could be true, rather than rejecting it so quickly. I didn't walk out of the movie thinking I knew every detail, and seriously, I don't think anyone can honestly claim to know every detail of the war. I walked in with an opinion, and it was just rearranged a bit after seeing that movie.
Yes it's hollywood, yes he presents it in a very biased way, but I still think, if a person wishes to be able to call theirself open-minded, they need to see it. How do you know he's saying a load of crap if you haven't even seen it for yourself? You shouldn't believe all the media hype, untill you experience it. (and that goes for anything. The media could say monkeys are falling from the sky, but that doesn't make it true. Look out your window and check to be sure, and when you see monkeys hitting the ground, then okay, maybe the media was right for once)

[Cesar]

I read your post until I saw you refer to Michael Moore's movie. Have you even looked further into movie? Have you read about anything from that movie? If you have, then you will see that Mr. Moore makes no facts in that movie.

I can't explain to you how disapointed I feel. You only read up to the part where I spoke of F9/11? Do you always shut things out when something you disagree with is mentioned? I made a comment about the unemployment rate, and it had nothing to do with that movie.
Yes, I have looked further into the movie, have you? And how can you state there are no facts, if you haven't seen it yourself? It seems all you've done is read some material that is presented in an even more opinionated fashion than the movie itself. If you read a bit more, you will see that Moore has offered a $10,000 reward to anyone who can prove one peice of information from his movie wrong. So the facts are there, my friend, it's just that people don't like the way it is presented. You see, it makes Bush look like a fool...
but if you have ever listened to him speak, you could figure that out youself.
(I tried to hide my shock a few months ago when I heard him say "...hispanicans" wow, way to piss off the minority groups. Hispanicans? That's not even a word. Hispanics, Mexicans... but hispanicans? Ohhh man.)

I read the scripts, I am not supporting him by going and seeing his movie.

You don't understand the false sense of knowledge that people think they have from that movie, do you? We have kids from 13 years up believing that since they saw the movie, they know what they are talking about. Hell, 90% of the media is like that. When you refer to F9/11, you open yourself up to these views. Michael Moore makes no money off of the truth. Bowling for Columbine? Yeah, it was funny, yeah, but Michael Moore prides himself on being a provocateur, not a journalist. In this weeks edition of Rolling Stone, he directly says that he is only trying to say the undecided to the left this election. So how can I trust him?

And did I ever saying anything about Bush being intelligent? I don't think he is the brightest bulb in the box either, hell, I don't even really like him. But I'd rather have a dense person who is dependable, than an undecided intellectual. How many times has Kerry said he will do something, and then did the opposite? It goes past the standard lying in the campaign, it goes on for the past 30 some years of John Kerry's career.

And while I am talking, I might as well throw in my 2 cents in on the war. I am going to be 18 in a few days, and the war is a BIG concern. I don't want to go to a war. I just want to live my life peacefully, and without much conflict. But I don't think we can just get up and out of Iraq and the Middle East until things are cleaned up. And I believe that the UN will NEVER help much more than it is now. They could care less about cleaning up the Middle East, and are more concerned with the US flexing it's military muscle the way only a Republican can/will.

I am much more Liberal than most people, but with my harsh liberalisms, come a few things that are extremely conservative, enough to make me moderate? Probably, but I could care less. THe thing is, I am getting tired of people jumping on the Anti-Bush bandwagon, and since F9/11, it has gotten much worse.  

[Rinimarie]

[Cesar]

I read the scripts, I am not supporting him by going and seeing his movie.

A picture is worth a thousand words. You cannot understand the full effect of this movie by just reading a script... besides, where did you get the script? perhaps it was tampered with a bit, to make you disinclined to see it.

[Cesar]

You don't understand the false sense of knowledge that people think they have from that movie, do you? We have kids from 13 years up believing that since they saw the movie, they know what they are talking about. Hell, 90% of the media is like that. When you refer to F9/11, you open yourself up to these views. Michael Moore makes no money off of the truth. Bowling for Columbine? Yeah, it was funny, yeah, but Michael Moore prides himself on being a provocateur, not a journalist. In this weeks edition of Rolling Stone, he directly says that he is only trying to say the undecided to the left this election. So how can I trust him?

First off, what's wrong with 13 year olds developing an opinion on politics early on? They still have several years to research, and I think it's good they are starting now.
As for Michael Moore embellishing a story to make money, that isn't true considering this movie. He only shows the facts, if you can find one claim of his to be false, you'll win his little wager I mentioned before.
He is trying to make people aware of these situations. And isn't everyone trying to sway the undecided? So then, you really can't trust anyone then, huh? Also, you really don't need to trust the man, just research his claims. Facts won't change, regaurdless of his agendas.

[Cesar]

And while I am talking, I might as well throw in my 2 cents in on the war. I am going to be 18 in a few days, and the war is a BIG concern. I don't want to go to a war. I just want to live my life peacefully, and without much conflict. But I don't think we can just get up and out of Iraq and the Middle East until things are cleaned up. And I believe that the UN will NEVER help much more than it is now. They could care less about cleaning up the Middle East, and are more concerned with the US flexing it's military muscle the way only a Republican can/will.

Did you know, there is only one member of congress who has a child over in Iraq? Moore went with a former member of the armed forces (fresh from iraq) and approached congressmen asking them to sign their children up for the armed forces. you know, it's only fair, if they expect parents to send their kids over seas, for the congressmen to send their own children as well. Of course they all decide to decline, and word travels fast, to the point that the other congrsesmen avoid moore. F911 has some redeaming qualities that you can't get from the script.
Also, we're not wanted over there. We shouldn't go places we're not invited... the more we try to "clean up" (aka enforce our foriegn views on a country that doesn't want them) the more of a mess we make, and the more soldiers and innocents die. We don't need to stay over there, we should just put up a sign that says: THEY OIL FEILDS ARE OURS NOW, STAY OUT OR WE'LL BLOW YOU UP. I'm sure that would just as easily get the point across.

[Cesar]

THe thing is, I am getting tired of people jumping on the Anti-Bush bandwagon, and since F9/11, it has gotten much worse.

I don't think i'm jumping on a bandwagon. I've pretty much disliked the man since he came into office. How he won, the election was horrible. His brother is govenor of FL, a friend was in charge of the polls... hmm I wonder. I was at the "Hanging Chad" festival today, at my college campus, and they were talking about how that political group made it so that any vote that had a hanging chad (wasn't completely punched), wasn't counted... oh and yeah, they were all had something else in common: they were votes for Gore. Hmmm not suspicious at all. Also, (it talks about this in F911) alot of black voters' (who tend to not vote republican) were told they were inelligable to vote because they hadn't voted in several years, but ohhh big surprise here: the white voters who hadn't voted in the same amount of time were allowed to vote. That is a fact, and F911 just shows the blacks making their presentation to Congress, and shows how no member of the senate would approve their motion. F911 isn't just about Bush, it's also about how corrupt Congress is.  

[unseen_idiot]

kerry! , if he manages to mess up worse than bush did, it will have to go in the world records xd  

[T.C. Mystikal]

I switched my party to recently because what the democrats believe I morally cant agree on.  

[ccg1232009]

there was only one real good candidate. and people thought he was nuts. he will be kerry's vice president. so I feel a little better. But all the democrats are saying is anyone but bush.

(but on a side note I like bush. Either shaved or hairy they all taste the same.)  

[The Noble Protoman.exe]

yeah, it best to stick with Nader  

[The Noble Protoman.exe]

T.C. Mystikal

I switched my party to recently because what the democrats believe I morally cant agree on.

UNCLE T!!!!  

[T.C. Mystikal]

Master Protoman_exe

T.C. Mystikal

I switched my party to recently because what the democrats believe I morally cant agree on.

UNCLE T!!!!

Hey Proto biggrin  

[The Noble Protoman.exe]

T.C. Mystikal

Master Protoman_exe

T.C. Mystikal

I switched my party to recently because what the democrats believe I morally cant agree on.

UNCLE T!!!!

Hey Proto biggrin

it was you wasn't it?