Does anyone really trust . . .

the present administration?

Is so much criticism against a sitting President of the US, A Vice President of the US and A Secretary of Defense in that administration just "sour grapes"? Is it just political rhetoric from the opposing party? Is it just political rhetoric from there own party? Is it paid mud-slinging against them? If one analyzes the many stories and sources of such criticism, as well as the many stories that appear to be neutral and without bias, the weight is heavy in favor of at least perplexity of how such an administration could have been born. Be born? Well, we know that the election process in our great democracy put the President and Vice President in office, right? That is how this administration was born. The appointments that followed and those that continue to be appointed, or nominated, are part of the on-going process and part of the continuing criticism.

I grew up believing in America, like so many others. It really didn’t matter which party was elected to office even though it may not have been your choice. Somehow you got over it because America was still America and with all its faults you felt that your government had your best interests in mind, even if it seemed like they were many times absent-minded. The United States of America stood for something: Equality, Justice, Prosperity, The Pursuit of Happiness and much more. And yes, we have always had criticism and many times many people fell victim to a "blind eye", but eventually some progress was made in making America a better place for all.

I have not only read and heard a lot of criticism of the "Axis of Evil" mentioned above, but I am guilty of making some of that criticism. It seems that, for the sake of a better phrase, the by-word I hear so much is, "I feel disenfranchised from my government!" Oh, over the years I have heard many times, "That the rich get richer while the poor get poorer", but it seems this administration has made that cliche more meaningful, certainly truer.

A October 29th 2005 news article led off with a headline, "No. 2 oil company’s profit up 12% . . . ". The story continued, "Chevron Corp. joined in its industry’s third-quarter earnings boom . . . " It could have made another $600 million had it not been for the hurricanes this year, it went on to say. Revenue for the period totaled 54.5 billion - a 34% rise from last year. They were not alone. Now, those record breaking gains were not from conservation, or super management decisions. They were from increased fuel prices that the consumer paid and are continuing to pay.

Another news story on the same day, "Bristol-Myers reports profits rose 27% in quarter". Now net sales were essentially flat and other "bad" news flourished. Hmmm! Could higher prices help their bottom line? Perhaps the government could help the fledgling pharmaceuticals by putting forth a drug plan in medicare that would be under-written by the recipient. This might help the poor drug industry a little. What? Someone has been trying that and there are few takers? Must be all those Canadian sales to Americans. Damn ingrates! Somebody should stop those Canadian sales to US citizens. What? They did! Hmmmm!

Well, what next in this newspaper? Ah! The CEO of Delphi is confident that management and the unions can reach an accord. The CEO stated that their proposal to the Union was not intended to provoke a strike. They are the largest auto supplier. He went on to say he sees no evidence of "slow-downs at American plants since the company’s filings for bankruptcy protection. The proposal to the 34,000 hourly workers reduces wages to $9 to $10.50 an hour from the $27 an hour they are used to. The proposal would also freeze pension plans and except no new persons into the plan and if that is accepted Delphi could then terminate pensions after January 1st or reduce benefits and they would be asked to pay their own health care deductibles.

Now, you could argue that the auto workers were "richly over-paid" for years. But by the same token you could also see that the trend is pervasive and many big companies are getting federal help to make even the "rich" poorer. Jobs and benefits being lost across the nation. Many companies receiving tax help from our government to have those companies ship US jobs overseas. And, of course this helps the poor get richer, right?

We see the lack of medical plans for our middle-class and others sorely lacking, while the high cost of medicine and healthcare cause bankruptcy in the US worker everywhere. And with such a high rate of such protection for the public mounting what can the government do to help. Of course, change the law so the rich among us, such as banks, credit card companies, hospitals, etc. will be able to get "blood out of a turnip" by still making your personal bankruptcy basically worthless, while corporations still use it to get leverage in negotiations over the rank and file.. Now, who ever said the playing field had to be level? I mean the "Captains of Industry" earned their high places through honest, hard work, right? Hmmmm! And companies like Haliburton, who are given contracts without competitive bidding and then get caught cheating this country is a disgrace. Of course the link between Vice President Cheney who was their CEO before getting elevated to his present position by the Supreme Court - not the public is not a conflict of interest or has any smell of impropriety, right?

Now, any President has the right to nominate who ever he wants to be a Supreme Court Justice, but shouldn’t they at least be qualified in addition to being your close friend? The insults being heaped on the citizen’s of this country, as well as other countries just adds salt to our wounds and embarrassment to his own party. The old adagee, "Would you buy a car from this man?" poses another question. "Does anyone really trust this adinistration?" One of the Senators during Harriet Meirs nomination battle made a remark with reference to President Bush’s nomination by indicating that the opposition would be to "Anyone that the President nominated, not just her." I hope that is true because he has proven not to be trust-worthy and I hope more are learning that important fact.

We should not just be concerned about his approval rating dropping to all time lows. We should be concerned with just who the enemy of America is. The enemy from without, i.e., The Terrorist, is perhaps not as dangerous as the enemy within. This administration does not appear to stand up for helping the people.

The other side of the isle is no better. Impeachment for lying about sexual misconduct seems to be a much more serious offence than all the lies these boys tell about war and other minor crimes. Republican/Democrat politics seems to be just two sides of the same coin.

Maybe we should stop thinking impeachment and start moving toward criminal conspiracy to defraud the American public. When is enough, enough?