President George W. Bush has asked for eighty seven billion dollars to rebuild Iraq and some other projects his big business "buddies" probably want to get involved in. Vice President, Dick Cheney, will probably see that his old business partners get their share of the rebuilding contracts, some have already been awarded lucrative deals in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Speaking before the United Nations today, President Bush said the deposed regime of Iraq had built castles and armies while neglecting the needs of the people, schools had fallen into disrepair, hospitals are inadequate, roads breaking down and power grids are not functioning. Sounds a lot like what we are experiencing in the United States!
President Bush insists on giving the richest among us big tax breaks so they can buy islands and build castles and thinks nothing of asking Congress for eighty seven billion dollars to spend in Iraq and other places in the world while insisting that domestic spending in this country is much too high. His budgets always include money for building up the military or for financing forays into far-off places while millions of people sit in the dark because of power grid failure in the northern states.
Our states are experiencing much difficulty at this time, just think how much could be done to replace our crumbling schools with eighty seven billion dollars. This should be a lesson for future generations and presidents, if you want to save hundreds of billions of dollars, keep your army at home until you are attacked by an enemy.
In his speech before the United Nations, President Bush appeared to be giving a report of the things that organization is engaged in while insisting that invading Iraq was the proper thing to do and now the UN should bear much of the financial burden for the rebuilding and keeping the peace. Has he forgotten that the UN did not agree with his invasion of that country? He has gotten into a quagmire, financially and politically, and now wants to place his burden on the rest of the world. I'm sure most countries will weigh the matter carefully before committing their resources to Mr. Bush's blunder. 

President Bush and his people continue their rhetoric about the economy beginning a turn around and how much the tax cut for the rich has helped. Sure, the economy is better for the rich but most people in the US aren't in that high income bracket. Every day we hear and read of big layoffs in many industries which indicates trouble for the economy. The working class are the people who buy goods and services and when their pay checks stop, so does their buying.
We have seen the national deficit go from a surplus under President Clinton to a huge negative since George W. Bush took office. Of course, the Bush administration claims the economy had already begun a downward turn before he was elected and, maybe it had, but people knew President Clinton was leaving and it was doubtful, in many people's minds, that Al Gore could defeat Bush. They expected George Bush would quickly try to get legislation enacted which would hurt the working class, and he did.
This country's economy cannot be sustained by the rich, no matter how many tax breaks are given them. The sooner our President and others realize that, the sooner our economy will begin to grow.
Spending huge sums in foreign lands does very little for the economy here at home. I predict that much of the eighty seven billion dollars Bush has asked for will be used to rebuild the oil fields of Iraq and then they will be turned over to American and British oil Companies to operate.
Military men are now skeptical about getting any troops from other countries to replace our men and women in Iraq which means more reserve troops will have to be called into service. With the economy continuing in a downward spiral, many of these soldiers will return home to find their employers have closed or left the country and their "guarantee" of employment after serving will no longer be valid.
As if he didn't already have more problems than he can handle, President Bush is now looking for trouble in Iran. Will he allow the nuclear inspectors to prove whether Iran is making atomic bombs or just decide to overthrow the government there as he did in Iraq.
There is little wonder that polls are beginning to show a downward turn in his popularity. Will George W. Bush be a two term president? Not without a Miracle!!
Will the economy make a recovery under his leadership? Not without a Miracle!!
The Voice From The Mountain Sept. 22, 2003