TAXING REALITIES
While people from the left and right oversimplify the dilemmas faced by the U.S., and egocentrically think that all the government has to do is this or that and voila!, all will be fine. It is especially distressing when these simple suggestions for complex issues come from power groups that only have an attitude that everyone who disagrees with them is the hated enemy. Or conceal the fact that their opinions come from commercial and all-too-greedy motivations. Too often these hate-filled attacks come from people and groups who have little or no understanding of the historical backdrop to events and developments. When one has only an elementary understanding, elementary solutions seem obvious.
With George W. Bush we have a case in point. From the beginning of his political life, he had the resources and power to devise his own life story. Often it was done leaving others in his destructive wake. His ridicule of John Kerry and John McCain for his own political gain is only a small portion of the story. George W. Bush's trip to the White House and his subsequent horrid administration is not drawn by political perspective, it is drawn from his history; from his sordid history.
George W. Bush was born into wealth. He always was used to favors offered his way. His trek through Yale was one of lewd and partying behaviors. His father and family always rescued him. But it is not the wealth that bothers me, it is the way the family got the wealth and how they used it. He was the spoiled brat who received the most from this spring of wealth and influence, and in many ways he was the least talented and deserving in the family.
George W. Bush's grandfather, Prescott Bush, needs to be followed to know the nature of the Bush family wealth and influence. [use any search engine: Bush.Nazi, Prescott Bush.Nazi, Prescott Bush.Saudi, etc.] Suffice to say, Prescott Bush built his wealth on the backs of America, including American soldiers fighting Nazi Germany in World War II. Though illegal, Prescott Bush established a cozy relationship with the oil-rich nation of Saudi Arabia. That close connection between the Bush family and the Saudi family and nation continues to this day. Prescott Bush was the man who profited greatly from clandestinely selling Saudi oil to Nazi Germany. His wealth was literally built on the backs of U.S. allies fighting the Nazis, and upon the backs of our military men, risking their lives to preserve the capitalist system that Prescott Bush twisted to his own fortune and advantage. Repeat: this sale of Saudi oil by an American was illegal. The Bush family never allows illegality to get in its way. And Prescott Bush had other ties to the Nazis, including steel, use of Holocaust victims, Auschwitz slave labor, etc.
The horribly unpatriotic nature of the building wealth of the Bush family did not end in World War II. The grandson, George W. Bush, our former president, was vulnerable to the military draft during the Vietnam War. To escape the danger of being called to fight in Vietnam, George W's father, very influential in all parts of the federal government, arranged to have his son "serve" in the Texas air guard. I guess our military hero, George, was protecting Dallas from a Vietcong invasion. But that wasn't enough for playboy George. He disappeared for long stretches of time from anything connected to the Texas air wing. Indeed, he was AWOL. That is what made his later landing on the aircraft carrier in full military pilot's uniform so repugnent. And to land on that carrier and claim "Mission Accomplished" in his illegal war in Iraq is about as poor form as is imaginable.
I could go on and on about this. It gets more and more sickening. Read for yourself the story of Prescott Bush, whatever has not been stricken from the record of George W. Bush. Some material on George W. miraculously disappeared before and after his campaign for the White House.
I could go on with the positive history of Dwight D. Eisenhower. This is not a dialogue to criticize only Republicans. Eisenhower was truly a war hero. Eisenhower served his time. Eisenhower would never have pulled that trick on the aircraft carrier. Eisenhower was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Eisenhower warned us against the military-industrial complex. Some Republicans have been heroic.
However we should not run away from the sinister history of George W. Bush. His sordid past, his sordid administration should serve as a warning: never again! If we ignore the ignomineous example of George W. Bush, we are asking to be duped again. It is no surprise that President George W. served the Saudis and military corporations very, very well in his administration. After all, ONLY Saudis were allowed to fly in the U.S. immediately following 9-11. George W. Bush's father still serves on Saudi oil boards. We do whatever the Saudis ask when it comes to Middle East actions, at least during the two Bush administrations.
I anticipate the continuing criticisms in reaction to this blog entry by stating the sex exploits of Bill Clinton. However it is interesting to note that Newt Gingrich was "fooling around" with young female government workers also. And it is further interesting to note that the Impeachment of Clinton in the House was led by adulterer Henry Hyde, who called his adultery in his forties "a youthful dalliance." And the man who the Republicans chose to replace Gingrich as Speaker had to withdraw his nomination when it was found that he was an adulterer. But this is miniscule compared to George W. Bush and the Bush family ties to Nazi Germany, the Saudi family, and the "special" favors offered George W. to avoid serving in Vietnam yet finding it expedient to sabotage two who did, Kerry and McCain.
Write all the diatribes you will, but instead of wild, sweeping statements, please try to do as I have always done here: used my historian's education and background to make a point historically.
Let the games begin!
