How did Our Union get into such a State?

For the 80% of the American workforce whose salary (adjusted for inflation) has decreased as prices (adjusted for inflation) have increased, the economic outlook is not the rosy, robust one being seen by likes of exxon/mobile. Who, under the current regime's corporation based tax cut and spend economic policy, has made Record Profits. It's no wonder so many people feel the need to buy the cheapest Chinese products they can at their global wal-mart. Not that there is much surprise that the new regime's current policies do little to help those that need help.

The lack of action in both preparing for and reacting to a natural disaster in New Orleans, despite estimations known to this presidential administration, was an appalling dereliction of duty. And saying your responsible for mistakes made, only to turn around and refuse to release documents or testify under oath concerning the "response" to Hurricane Katrina, is beyond even that. An extra marital affair and real estate deal from before you took office, and the president is made to TESTIFY UNDER OATH. Incompetence that leaves 1,200 people to die and thousands more stranded then displaced, and we get a shrug, a smile and a "heck of a". Mr. president, if you visit New Orleans before your next State of the Union speech, maybe you could leave the Garden District and walk where the flood waters raised, people scurried to rooftops and waited for Days. I guess the City of New Orleans and its police department didn't have a fleet of helicopters to swoop in from aircraft carriers sitting in the Gulf.

As Al Gore said, before he was made to refute more red lies, "A president who breaks the law is a threat to the very structure of our government,” 72 HOURS. That's how long the administration, NSA, CIA, ETC. have to obtain a secret court's order AFTER performing an emergency warrant-less wiretap under the current Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Why are they still not getting these secret court orders? What judge or secret court would not grant such an order for a tap on al qaeda or someone legitimately "linked" to al qaeda? Who exactly are they tapping? Are there "fishing" expeditions going on? One can only hope they are not spying on the same peaceful activist groups that the FBI is. But don't bother asking the president, he'll just tell you, to ask is to help the enemy?

At least there is this administration's "shock and awe", "you're with us or you're against us" foreign policy. At the forefront of which is Iraq. Iraq, where cheney's friends at halliburton are giving our troops water contaminated with sewage. Iraq, where "rebuilding" funds have gone untraced, and at times were stored in footlockers and bathrooms. Iraq, where even US reports say reconstruction has hit delay after delay. Iraq, where the president's pre-emptive war of choice is "straining" Our Army. 2,245 American soldiers have been killed. 16,420 American Soldiers have been seriously injured. $240,000,000,000.00 has been spent. And for what? The "trial" of saddam hussein? The spread of democracy, in hopes that it won't be the wrath of democracy like that felt from Palestinians voting hamas into power or the less recent election of the current president of Iran? And now there are reports of a case of bird flu in Iraq. Let's hope the human to human mutation of the virus doesn't start there.

In 2000, george w. bush said “I will restore honor and integrity to the White House.” I guess, the powerful, lifelong republican, K Street lobbyist and "pioneer" for the Bush/Cheney campaign, jack abramoff must have been a "means" to justify those "ends". With ties to numerous elected officials, not the least of which is former majority leader tom delay, ohio congressman bob ney, speaker of the house dennis hastert, and the pres., who is trying to keep images of himself and abramhoff hidden better than the images of torture he let slip through rummy's hands. As reds and blues scramble to smell less like corrupt dung, and the reds claim that "they did it too", consider this. Jack Abramoff was and is a republican, the republicans currently have the power to buy, and the number of registered lobbyists in Washington has more than doubled since 2000 (the year the current regime Took office) to more than 34,750.

So as the red rubber stamped, litmus tested, federalist socialite, sam alito, gets voted into his life term seat on the highest court in the land, the president's buddy "kenny" lay goes to trial, al-qaeda's "number two" man rises from the dead to thumb his nose at us again, and a failed oil man takes center stage for a prime time speech that he has rehearsed for days, but will still have to read word for word, all we can do is wonder. How did Our Union get into such a State?