Those who know me know that I *hate* talking about politics. I absolutely abhor it and try not to do it. Only occasionally will I speak up on the poli-blogs that I read. I freely admit that I’m apolitical, and that I generally don’t follow politics. But that’s mean I don’t have particular beliefs or opinions on various political subjects – I do, and those beliefs help me determine who I will vote for.
Having said that, I received an email this morning from someone that had some interesting “facts” – so I checked with my political guru (my sister) to verify that what I post below is factually true as opposed to yet more propaganda or misrepresentation of facts. She confirmed for me that this is all basically true (my comments in italics):
Clinton awards Halliburton no-bid contract in Yugoslavia – considered “good”…
Bush awards Halliburton no-bid contract in Iraq – considered “bad”…
Note: I can see how Bush’s Halliburton situation would be a conflict of interest due to Cheney being in office – however, it is my understanding that other than receiving profits due to his departure from Halliburton, Cheney is no longer truly associated with Halliburton and makes no profit on the Halliburton Iraq contract (source).
Clinton spends 77 billion on war in Serbia – good…
Bush spends 87 billion in Iraq – bad…
Clinton imposes regime change in Serbia – good…
Bush imposes regime change in Iraq – bad…
Clinton bombs Christian Serbs on behalf of Muslim Albanian terrorists- good…
Bush liberates 25 million from a genocidal dictator – bad…
Clinton bombs Chinese embassy – good…
Bush bombs terrorist camps – bad…
Note: my sister pointed out that the Chinese embassy bombing was a mistake – not something deliberately done (source). So this particular talking point is a bit misleading.
Clinton commits felonies while in office – good…
Bush lands on aircraft carrier in jumpsuit – bad…
No mass graves found in Serbia – good…
No WMD found Iraq – bad…
Stock market crashes in 2000 under Clinton – good…
Economy on upswing under Bush – bad…
Clinton refuses to take custody of Bin Laden – good…
World Trade Centers fall under Bush – bad…
Clinton says Saddam has nukes – good…
Bush says Saddam has nukes – bad…
Clinton calls for regime change in Iraq – good…
Bush imposes regime change in Iraq – bad…
Terrorist training in Afghanistan under Clinton – good…
Bush destroys training camps in Afghanistan – bad…
Milosevic not yet convicted – good…
Saddam turned over for trial – bad…
Every year an independent tax watchdog group analyzes the average tax burden on Americans, and then calculates the “Tax Freedom Day“. This is the day after which the money you earn goes to you, not the government. This year, tax freedom day was April 11th. That’s the earliest it has been in 37 years. It’s latest day ever was May 2nd, which occurred in 2000. Notice anything special about those dates?
Note: the article linked goes on to say that the current tax cuts and credits are due to be limited in the future under current law. Bush wants to change the law to keep the current levels rather than let them dip. If, however, he is booted from office and the current law stands then the tax burden will increase, and tax freedom day will be postponed every year for at least the next ten years.
Recently, John Kerry gave a speech in which he claimed Americans are actually paying more taxes under Bush, despite the tax cuts. He gave no explanation and provided no data for this claim.
Note: the linked article also says that while the tax burden is less in 2004 Americans are paying more in taxes – however, I interpret that much like I interpret movie ticket prices. Five years ago I paid $6.25 to see a movie. Now I pay $9. In five years I may have to pay $12. Houses cost $25,000 to buy in the 1950s. Now they cost a national average of about $150K (I’m guess that number but I know it’s close). In five years the national average may be $300K. In my mind, you can say the same thign about taxes – people pay more now than they have in the past, but I don’t believe it’s because we’re TAXED MORE so much as the value of a dollar has changed.
Another interesting fact: Both George Bush and John Kerry are wealthy men. Bush owns only one home, his ranch in Texas. Kerry owns 4 mansions, all worth several million dollars. (His ski resort home in Idaho is an old barn brought over from Europe in pieces. Not your average A-frame).
Note: Yes, I know that Kerry’s homes all come from Heinz money, not Kerry money. But he’s still the owner of those homes, regardless of where the money came from.
Bush paid $250,000 in taxes this year; Kerry paid $90,000. Does that sound right? The man who wants to raise your taxes obviously has figured out a way to avoid paying his own.
Note: On his 2003 federal tax return, Kerry’s income was $395K. Bush’s was $727K. On those figures, Kerry paid 29.49% in taxes, and Bush paid 31.29% (source). Considering the difference in INCOME, no wonder Bush paid $250K versus Kerry’s $90K. So in my mind the statistic in the email I received is slightly misleading although Bush did pay 1.8 PERCENT more than Kerry.
So that’s the email, as well as my responses. Despite some flaws in the email, I still won’t vote Kerry. Because for me the election is about MORE than just taxes and Iraq. It’s EVERYTHING.
And let’s not even get into the fact that Kerry has a FRESHMAN SENATOR as his running mate – someone who has about as much political experience as *I* have since he’s been running for President during his entire term and hasn’t really been participating in his Senatorship (is that a word? Well, it is now.).
Oh and another thing, I’m so sick of this whole “who served in Vietnam? Who didn’t?” crap because past military service isn’t why I vote for a particular nominee. In about 15 years you won’t even be able to discuss military history of a candidate because I don’t believe we had a major military upheaval in the 1980s. What – people are gonna dig up Grenada? Panama?
Have at.
You? Apolitical? That isn’t the way I’d describe you.
I’ve been seeing that email all over the place. See, the problem is that George W. Bush is not running against Bill Clinton…so I’m not sure how that helps the political discourse. I could fact check the entire thing if I was inclined, which I’m not, because it doesn’t have anything to do with the current race [except for possibly the tax stuff].
I think the comparison was meant more that Clinton did many of the same things that Bush did and is considered a “great” president whereas Bush did them and is criticized for it. I took the email to be more of a “pro-Bush” email as opposed to an anti-Kerry email. And not even relating to the election at all. Obviously you can’t compare Kerry and Bush in that regard since Kerry isn’t a past president.
And yes, I’m very apolitical – ask my family. They are frustrated by how NOT into politics I am (they are VERY political).
Jaynee — I know that you are Apolitical and that your parents and sister are. I can see that by the comments that they make regarding the election when Denis makes his political comments. Vote for who you think will be the better of the two. I, too, also do not get into politics. I’m much safer that way
I think I have come to the conclusion that I can’t really stand either Candidate that is running for office. Both are liars and will pretty much say what they want people to hear so they can either get elected or re-elected into office. Maybe I just wont vote this year and deal with the consequences of the outcome. Maybe I will just wait for ’08. Yes, that is what I will do…
Giuliani in ’08
Who’s with me?
In my attempt to avoid getting political I will just say, thanks for a post finally showing something other than a cute toddler wearing a ‘Mommy wants a new president’ t-shirt!!!
Ace, I’d love a McCain/Guiliani ticket…
Jaynee that was not an apolitical diatribe. Sorry to say that. You’re as apolitical as I claim to be. Secondly, go to http://factcheck.org/ and see if any of what was written in that e-mail was true. I suspect it was very distorted. You are the typical person who would read this stuff and vote for Bush. Glad Kerry is taking the great state of New Jersey. *lol*
Ace, they’re not both liars, although one definitely is and has said whatever he thinks will get him elected.
Denis, did you not notice that one of her links was from factcheck.org? All of those facts can be checked by various news sources as accurate.
Denis, obviously you didn’t click on any of my source links to further investigate what I wrote. As Jen said, one of the links IS to factcheck.org.
And I AM apolitical, but you are forcing me to get off the fence and be political, which I hate. Once this election is over I hope to go back to my apolitical self.
Once Kerry wins, we can both go back to our apolitial selves. And they are both liars, Jen. They are politicians. It’s the nature of the beast. Much like being a lawyer.
“Ace, they’re not both liars”
I think Denis said it best.
“They are politicians”
I am so disgusted by this journal entry of yours, Jaynee.
All you have to do is look at this country and see how poorly domestic, as well as INTERNATIONAL issues, have been managed under Bush to know we need a new president in office.
I’m not going to get into a big political debate, but this “email” you got is so off base. I agree with Ace when he said this isn’t Clinton running for president.
What exactly has Bush done for this country except make enemies of most of the rest of the world and funnel our money toward war. Our children are suffering in schools, and I’d gladly give up my $300 tax break (adding to the deficit) to fix our domestic problems in education and off-shoring, just to name a couple.
Ugh. The media is such a brainwashing tool.
omy – I guess you didn’t notice the points that I said were not quite true and provided links for, and you also didn’t realize that most of the press pretty much endorses Kerry. I think Fox News Channel is the only network that leans to the right in their editorializing.
You may think that we need a new man in office – and who knows, maybe I do too. But I know that man should not be John Kerry by a long shot. Give me John McCain anyday – he’s who I’d LOVE to vote for.
omy, you can sent your $300 to the local IRS office. Make the check out the the US Treasurer. You might want to include a note that this is your donation to pay off the national debt.
Thanks!
Between a risky choice (Kerry) and an awful choice (Bush), I’ll take my chance on the first one any day. Media brainwashing!!!!! *lol* Kerry in ’04.