[truth-updates] News from TheTruthAboutGeorge.com

IN THIS ISSUE:

Special Reports

• Bush Attempts More Deception in the Final Presidential Debate
• The Broken Promises of George W. Bush

Bushisms

• Don't expect Bush's public speaking skills to improve just because he's on the campaign trail.

War on Terror / War in Iraq


• Pat Robertson says Bush didn't expect any casualties in Iraq.

Flip Flops & Lies

• Bush Flip Flops on Civil Unions
• Who Wears the Flip Flops Now?

Domestic Policy


• Bush Says the "P" Word
• Remembering Bush's Forgettable Blunders
• You Call This a Democracy?
• Bush's Hometown Newspaper Endorses Kerry

The Economy


• Bush Taxes Immigrants Wanting to Become U.S. Citizens
• A Welfare Program for Big Business

Special Reports

BUSH ATTEMPTS MORE DECEPTION IN THE FINAL PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE: George W. Bush misled the American people yet again at the final presidential debate in Tempe, Arizona, on Oct. 13. According to The Washington Post, Bush was "stretching the truth" several times throughout the 90-minute debate. Bush stated that most of his tax cuts went to low- and middle-income Americans. In actuality, the wealthiest 1 percent of taxpayers got about 34 percent of Bush's tax cut, while the bottom 80 percent got only 32 percent of the tax cut. Bush also stated that his administration would continue to expand Pell Grants to low-income students. The only expansion of Pell Grants that occurred under Bush's watch, however, was due to an increased number of low-income families qualifying for the grants.

Additionally, Bush protested Sen. Kerry?s charge that he had never met with the Congressional Black Caucus. While he met with the group his first two weeks in office, he has repeatedly turned down requests to meet with the group ever since. Bush?s account of the economy was overly optimistic. The latest job figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed a net loss of 821,000 jobs during Bush?s time in office, putting him on track to be the first president in 72 years to preside over a loss of jobs. Kerry was correct in his assertion that Bush tried to cut 500,000 children from after-school programs; his 2004 budget cut funding for after-school programs from $1 billion to $600 million. Bush blamed the recession and the war for the reappearance of the deficit, but the Congressional Budget Office asserts that these are responsible for only a small portion of the deficit. They say that Bush?s tax cuts are more likely to blame.
Source: The Washington Post, "Attacks Misleading and Out of Context," Glenn Kessler and Mike Allen, Oct. 14, 2004.

THE BROKEN PROMISES OF GEORGE W. BUSH: The American Progress Action Fund released a report last month comparing George w. Bush's rhetoric to his administration?s track record on domestic policy, the economy, and the environment.
Source: The Center for American Progress, "The Broken Promises of George W. Bush," Sept. 2004

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Bushisms

"We will stand up for terror. We will stand up for freedom."
—Bush, speaking on the campaign trail, Oct. 18 in Marlton, N.J.

"Gosh, I just don't think I ever said I'm not worried about Osama bin Laden. It's kind of one of those exaggerations."
—Bush, during the final presidential debate, attempting to refute Kerry’s claim that the president boasted he was not concerned about Osama bin Laden

"So I don't know where he is. You know, I just don't spend that much time on him... We haven't heard much from him. And I wouldn't necessarily say he's at the center of any command structure. And, again, I don't know where he is. I- I'll repeat what I said. I truly am not that concerned about him."
—Bush, answering a question about Osama bin Laden at a March 13, 2002 news conference.

"After standing on the stage, after the debates, I made it very plain, we will not have an all-volunteer army. And yet, this week— we will have an all-volunteer army. Let me restate that."
—Bush, showing signs of confusion (yet again) at an Oct. 16 campaign stop in Daytona Beach.

"The truth of that matter is, if you listen carefully, Saddam would still be in power if he were president of the United States, and we’d be a lot better off."
—Bush at the second presidential debate in St. Louis, Oct. 8.

"And as a result of the United States military, Taliban no longer is in existence."
—Bush, demonstrating a weak grasp on reality at a campaign stop in Springfield, Ohio on Sept. 27.

"Free societies are hopeful societies. And free societies will be allies against these hateful few who have no conscience, who kill at the whim of a hat …"
—Bush, mixing metaphors at a Victory 2004 Luncheon in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 17.

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War on Terror / War in Iraq

PAT ROBERTSON SAYS BUSH DIDN'T EXPECT ANY CASUALTIES IN IRAQ: Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson told CNN reporter Paula Zahn on Oct. 19 that George Bush did not expect American soldiers to sustain any casualties in Iraq. "I was trying to say, Mr. President, you better prepare the American people for casualties." And according to Robertson's account, Bush replied, "Oh, no, we're not going to have any casualties." Bush's political team was quick to refute such claims. White House press secretary Scott McClellan said, "The president never made such a comment." Long-time Bush crony Karen Hughes told CNN, "Perhaps he misunderstood, but I've never heard the president say any such thing." Pat Robertson has not backed down from his original comments, although he asserts that he is 100 percent behind Bush's re-election.
Sources: CNN, "Paula Zahn Now" Transcript, Oct. 19, 2004; CNN, "No Casualties? White House Disputes Robertson Comment," John King, Oct. 21, 2004.

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Flip-Flops & Lies

BUSH FLIP-FLOPS ON CIVIL UNIONS: In an Oct. 24 interview with ABC correspondent Charlie Gibson, Bush claimed he disagreed with the Republican Party platform opposing civil unions of same-sex couples and that the issues should be left up to the states. "I don't think we should deny people rights to a civil union, a legal arrangement, if that's what a state chooses to do so," Bush told Gibson during the interview. Gibson then noted that the Republican Party platform opposed civil unions, to which Bush replied, "Well, I don't." Gibson then asked, "So the Republican Party platform on that point, as far as you?re concerned, is wrong?" "Right," Bush said. However, Bush opposes same-sex marriage, continues to support a constitutional amendment to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, and despite these latest remarks, White House officials have said that Bush would not have endorsed civil unions as the governor of Texas. In Oct. 2003, Bush issued a proclamation endorsing Marriage Protection Week, a week of anti-gay family events sponsored by more than two dozen right-wing religious organizations, which called on elected officials to sign a pledge not only opposing marriage equality for same-sex couples, but also opposing civil unions and domestic partner benefits.
Sources: New York Times, "Bush Says His Party Is Wrong to Oppose Gay Civil Unions," Elisabeth Bumiller, Oct. 26, 2004; National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, "Bush and today's civil unions statements," Oct. 26, 2004

WHO WEARS THE FLIP-FLOPS NOW? Joel Connelly, of the Seattle Post?Intelligencer, demonstrates how Bush, who has charged John Kerry relentlessly with flip-flopping, has flip-flopped himself on a number of issues throughout the past four years. Some of Bush?s flip-flops include: speaking against the Clinton administration?s use of U.S. troops for nation-building, then using the same concept in Iraq; declaring Osama bin Laden as the real enemy and later claiming he is not a priority; originally opposing the creation of a 9/11 Commission, then later supporting this idea; declaring the administration would support (at least sign) the renewal of Congress?s ban on military-style assault weapons with no follow-through; and promising to limit carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere, but ultimately doing nothing to help this problem. Connelly presents the voter with a more "educated" depiction of what it means to flip-flop. As it turns out, Bush is not one to talk. A web site dedicated to keeping track of Bush?s flip flops continues to add more charges to its collection. Check out 50BushFlipFlops.com for a complete list.
Sources: In These Times, "Bush-Cheney Flip Flops Cost America in Blood," Joel Connelly, Sept. 29, 2004; 50BushFlipFlops.com, "Long Flip Flop List."

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Domestic Policy

BUSH SAYS THE "P" WORD: Has Bush blown the election with just one word? At a confidential luncheon with big-money supporters in September, Bush reportedly made the following announcement: "I'm going to come out strong after my swearing in with fundamental tax reform, tort reform, privatizing of Social Security." As AlterNet's David Corn reports, "Everyone in politics knows a candidate is not supposed to say [privatizing of Social Security]. Bush has been trained [?] to talk about Social Security 'reform,' not privatization." Bush has dodged the question of Social Security for years, implying partial privatization without saying so directly. He hasn't endorsed a specific plan and he won't account for the $2 trillion short-term cost of such a move. Now we're beginning to see why.
Source: AlterNet, "Bush Said the 'F' Word," David Corn, Oct. 18, 2004.

REMEMBERING BUSH'S FORGETTABLE BLUNDERS: In an article for AlterNet, Molly Ivins takes a look back at some of the less memorable Bush blunders from the past four years. Remember when Bush chose Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday to announce that his administration would oppose affirmative action in the University of Michigan case? Or how about the day a major earthquake hit the northwest U.S. and Bush decided to do away with a federal program designed to help communities deal with natural disasters? "Of course, Florida in an election year—different story," Ivins says. Despite rhetoric to the contrary, Bush allowed companies to switch from traditional fixed-benefit plans to cash-balance plans, which saves corporations millions of dollars a year, but which cause older workers to lose up to 50 percent of their pensions. Bush awarded companies who switch to the cash-balance plans a tax advantage. "It's the perfect Bush plan," says Ivins. "Corporations get to screw workers, and they get a tax break for it—plus, nobody can sue.?
Source: AlterNet, "Times Gone By," Molly Ivins, Oct. 19, 2004.

YOU CALL THIS A DEMOCRACY? As the Bush administration continues its reelection campaign, one cannot avoid hearing the president boast of the "democracy" he supposedly is spreading throughout Iraq and Afghanistan. However, according to evidence presented by journalist David Sirota, Bush should not be speaking about the wonders of democracy when he has done such damage to democracy at home. Some of the non-democratic issues going on right here in the U.S. are: allowing Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to clear felons off voter rolls in order to disenfranchise "traditionally Democratic voters," giving a voice to Republican efforts to censor minority voter turnout, and holding ceremonies for new immigrants to trick them into registering Republican. In addition, the government has detained a great deal of people who have organized political protests, such as peaceful AIDS demonstrators who were violently removed and then arrested for "disorderly conduct." As Sirota points out, the U.S. may not be the ideal democracy these days.
Source: In These Times, ?You Call This a Democracy?? David Sirota, Sept. 28, 2004.

BUSH'S HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER ENDORSES KERRY: The Lone Star Iconoclast, the weekly newspaper in Bush's adopted hometown of Crawford, Texas, announced its endorsement of John Kerry for president in a Sept. 29 editorial. The publication's editors cited Bush's handling of the war in Iraq, his proposals on Medicare and Social Security and his fiscal irresponsibility as reasons for their decision. "The publishers of The Iconoclast endorsed Bush four years ago, based on the things he promised, not on this smoke-screened agenda,? the newspaper announced. "Today, we are endorsing his opponent, John Kerry."
Source: Capitol Hill Blue, "Bush?s Hometown Newspaper Endorses Kerry," Wire Reports, Sept. 29, 2004

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The Economy

BUSH TAXES IMMIGRANTS WANTING TO BECOME U.S. CITIZENS: George Bush says that America is a "welcoming" nation. So why has he raised fees on the very things he wants incoming immigrants to do: work hard, play by the rules, and become citizens? Over the past four years, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (now a faction of the Department of Homeland Security) has raised the cost of 31 existing fees and has added nine categories of new ones. The tax to become an American citizen has increased 55 percent. The Bush administration has privatized the 1-800 immigration help line, and the new privatized workers usually need to read from a script to answer callers' questions, resulting in the dispension of incomplete or conflicting information. The administration cites the cost of increased security for the price hikes, but that figure ($21 per application) is less than half the amount of the recent fee increases. The real cost of these increased fees may be that fewer immigrants can afford to take the legal route to citizenship.
Source: AlterNet, "Taxing Immigrants," Jonathan Rowe, Oct. 19, 2004.

A WELFARE PROGRAM FOR BIG BUSINESS: In early October, Congress considered a $140 billion dollar tax bill that would provide a tax break to 276 large companies and special interest groups. Instead of using this money to help national financial worries, Congress has decided to give tax breaks to the rich and powerful. As Doug Thompson explains, this "corporate tax reform bill" is more like a "welfare program for big business." A few specific examples include provisions for the following corporations: Starbucks, NASCAR, Carnival Cruise Lines and Home Depot. Thompson claims that many members of Congress, representatives and senators alike, only care about "the golden rule." That is, "he who has the gold, makes the rules."
Source: Capitol Hill Blue, "Corporate 'Tax Reform:' Rich Get Richer While Taxpayers Get Screwed," Doug Thompson, Oct. 12, 2004.

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