George W. Bush, The Policy Chernobyl

It’s been twenty years since Chernobyl disaster. In honor of this occasion, I thought of our own meltdown in the making.

When I left the United States to work overseas (not far from Chernobyl), things in America seemed pretty good. Employment was high, the economy was growing and we were mostly at peace. The only real dark cloud hovering over the country was the Monica Lewinsky / Bill Clinton sex scandal. How quaint it all seems now.

Between my 1998 departure and my 2005 return, America elected a new president who took advantage of an attack by religious extremists who murdered 3,000 people on September 11, 2001. From there, it’s pretty much all been downhill. While some presidents perform their best during crisis, President George W. Bush has taken people’s fears of attack and turned it into a mandate for a stunning number of ill-considered policies.

Here is a short list:

Fourth Amendment Shredded: Under the Patriot Act, it is now legal to “sneak and peak” into people’s lives without a search warrant. At the same time, the administration is also involved in illegal wiretapping. Of course, we are supposed to believe these tactics will only be used against the “bad guys”.

Bigotry Exploited: Following in his father’s “Willie Horton” footsteps, Bush used prejudice against an unpopular group to win elections. Using hatred and fear, Bush’s people brought out the so-called “family values” voters who seem to think only they have real families. Now the Bushes are confirmed experts in both race-baiting and gay-bashing. I wonder who’s next?

Legalized Discrimination: Bush’s faith based initiatives allow those who receive government funds to discriminate against non-believers. In case you think this is just aimed at nasty atheists, it also allows Christians to ban Jews. Our tax dollars now subsidize religious bigotry.

The Supreme Court: With Bush appointees on the court, laws protecting privacy, separation of powers and a woman’s right an abortion are all under threat. Now we have states where women could be forced to give birth to babies fathered by their rapists. I guess this qualifies as real “family values”.

Budget Deficit: The budget deficit is out of control. Like a manic-depressive armed with plastic, we’re accumulating debts that will eventually cause us some major problems. It not fun thinking of a future filled with big payments on that debt along with sharp reductions in important services. Did anyone tell the president that the baby boomers are retiring soon?

The Winner Take All Economy Reloaded: The soaring national debt mostly come from tax cuts for the rich, who really do not need them. How many more yachts can a person buy? Last time I checked, the treasury owned $8.3 trillion.

Contempt for the Poor: Being poor is not bad enough, but Bush does almost nothing to make it better. The minimum wage is a disgraceful $5.15 an hour, a number unchanged since 1997. It’s not easy living on $800 a month. Out of this princely sum, people are supposed to pay for food, housing, medical insurance and a college education for their children.

Katrina: Everyone saw this one coming but no one did anything about it. This disgrace again proves America really does not care about the poor. If you’re unconvinced, imagine if the hurricane had hit Texas or Florida…

The Harshest Cuts: Reductions in medical care and education will hurt the next generation. Proposed cuts will remove 300,000 families from off food stamps. Cuts to maternal and child health programs, child care programs, the Community Services Block Grant and the Healthy Start program are attacks against children, not “welfare bums”. It seems that these people are only pro-life until the fetus is born. After that, the kids are on their own. Life is tough.

Five Years Lost on Global Warming: Bush has disregarded mounting evidence that global warming is reality and could cause great problems for the world. How many more Category Five hurricanes, melting glaciers and species extinctions do we need to convince him that we are facing a real crisis?

Undermining Both Ecology and Security: Bush’s rejection of conservation not only hurts the environment but also makes us more dependent on imported oil. It is very comforting to know more of our money is going to Saudi Arabia. So far, our leader’s answer has been to promote drilling in a pristine arctic wilderness -- that would provide less than one percent of U.S. oil consumption. That will solve all of our problems.

Killing Science: How can a country be competitive if the Commander in Chief does not accept evolution, which is a fundamental principle of modern biology? Thanks to the president and his supporters, Pew polling from 2005 showed that 42 percent of the U.S. public believes in creationism, compared with 26 percent that accept evolution. This world class knowledge base will help us compete internationally.

National Security Mania: The paranoia is almost unparalleled in recent history. As America repels talented foreigners in droves, who knows how much we will suffer from rejecting this talent? Foreign-born doctors make up 25.2 percent of the total, along with many of our best scientists. Paranoia also makes it hard for tourists to visit, which cost the U.S. economy around $5 billion a year in lost expenditures. It also makes it difficult for Americans to go overseas as countries retaliate against us. Thanks to Bush, visas to Brazil cost $100 per person, the same amount we charge them. Maybe it’s his way of telling us not to travel overseas to these subversive places. After all, the samba could lead to sin.

Losing Friends Overseas: Sanctioning torture, telling allies to drop dead, running prison camps in defiance of the Geneva Conventions and forcing others to decide “are you with or against me” has ruined America’s reputation. According to the non-partisan Pew Research Center, “Anti-Americanism is deeper and broader now than at any time in modern history. It is most acute in the Muslim world, but it spans the globe -- from Europe to Asia, from South America to Africa.” Do you feel safer yet?

Human Rights Undermined Everywhere: America’s retreat on human rights has encouraged tyrants elsewhere to abuse their people more. If we don’t follow our principles, why should anyone else?

Crimes Against Humanity Continue: The Genocide in Sudan goes unabated. “Never Again” is a joke.

Iraq – The Black Hole: The country is falling into civil war and is an incubator of terrorism. There was no real connection between Iraq and Al-Qaeda before until Bush has created one.

Executive Power Grab: In the name God and national security, dissent is demonized, rights are ignored and checks and balances are undermined. The New Imperial Presidency may eventually be undermined by overreach and reaction, but the current authoritarianism should not make believers in liberty comfortable. It’s not surprising Bush “saw into Putin’s soul”. They think alike.

The Axis of Evil Goes Nuclear! One member of the Axis of evil has nukes and another is working on it. Don’t you feel safer knowing that North Korea has the bomb?

Tell me how we are safer, freer, more prosperous than before? From security to human rights to foreign policy, the Bush Administration has left a swathe of destruction that almost defies description.

His policies have not only maimed America today, but like Chernobyl’s radiation, they will poison the landscape for decades to come.

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