Impressed by the Presidents Speech?

Every week it's easy to find a letter to the editor of the Arizona Republic that's worth a closer look. I'm going to make this a weekly feature here at the Blue Voice. If you spot an email or letter out there you'd like to see featured here, email it to me and I'll give it a look.

This week's letter comes from Mr. Ted Barber of Tempe, Arizona. It appeared in the Arizona Republic Letters to the Editor under the heading - History will vindicate President Bush:

I was impressed by the president's State of the Union address Tuesday night.

President Bush has low approval ratings because he has chosen the hard path, the path of "standing firm behind his resolve." Other presidents have balanced their rating by being wishy-washy. (The last president races to the forefront of my mind!)

President Regan also held firm and was endlessly criticized for it, but time told the story. By the time he died, he was one of the most celebrated presidents in recent history because of what he stood for and what he accomplished was right.

Thomas Jefferson said, "The tree of democracy must occasionally be watered with the blood of tyrants." Yesterday's tyrants were fascism and communism; today's is terrorism.

The next 1,000 days will see the president criticized endlessly, but the results will speak for themselves when the world develops new democracies and becomes a safer place for all.

My immediate impression was to wonder how many of Mr. Barber's family have spilled their blood in the past five years to water the tree of democracy? And as for those new democracies growing in the Middle East, how proud he must feel that the Palestinians have elected the Hamas and the Iraqi's have elected hard line fundamentalists similar to Iran to their government? The world is most surely a safer place for all. Well, at least its pretty safe in Tempe, Arizona, which is really all those who think like Mr. Barber are concerned about.

President Bush's ratings aren't low because he's "standing firm behind his resolve," they're low because he's hiding behind some expert stonewalling so that American's won't see the real rot and fungus growing in his Administration. If the White House hadn't stonewalled inquiries like those attempting to expose their Abramoff connections, their connections with the outing of Valerie Plame, the Able/Danger conspiracy, and many others. The American people know (even if those like Mr. Barber do not) that when you throw so many nets in the water you're going to catch some fish.

What has George Bush done to actually make us safer during the War on Terror? Has he tightened up our ports and docks? No. Has he secured our boarders to make it more difficult for terrorists to get into our country? No. Has he required our transportation and Nuclear centers to stiffen their security? No. Face it - a terrorist with a gas can and a match could have a field day in this country. But Mr. Barber can feel safe. They probably won't be attacking in Tempe.

And what if they DO attack? Hurricane Katrina has proved that this Administration has no ability to follow up with help. Thousands of acres from Florida to New Orleans are STILL awaiting government help. Thousands of people are STILL displaced. What would have happened if New Orleans had been wiped out by a dirty bomb instead of a hurricane? And what if it happens in Los Angeles next week?

I gagged when the Republicans stood and applauded Bush for secretly spying on Americans without getting the required okay from the courts. Obviously people like Mr. Barber have never heard of the Enabling Act that took away Germany's democracy in 1933. In one felled swoop, the freedoms guaranteed them by their constitution were done away with - along with their democratic process. All this in the name of protecting the German people from the socialists.

Imagine the aftermath of another terror attack in the US. What if George Bush stood up in the Senate and said for the safety of America and Americans he was stopping all upcoming political elections in this country until terrorism was defeated? Imagine, no national elections in '06 or '08. Could he do it? He has the controlling vote in the Supreme Court in his hip pocket now. And remember, we're speaking of the man who said things would be easier if this country were a dictatorship and he was the dictator.

I'm not saying the above would happen or even could happen. I'm saying that as Americans we need to stop giving our freedoms away to an Administration which has shown its corruption and its willingness to lie and cover up those lies in the face of investigation.

If we don't stop sticking our head in the sand, like Mr. Barber, we will deserve the loss of freedom that's coming our way. The Republicans are getting ready to renew the Patroit Act as I write this.

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