BRIEF HISTORY:
I will start the list at 1940.
1940 - 1945 Franklin D Roosevelt (DEMOCRAT)
1945 - 1953 Harry S. Truman (DEMOCRAT)
1953 - 1961
Dwight D. Eisenhower (REPUBLICAN)
1961 - 1963 John F Kennedy
(DEMOCRAT)
1963 - 1969 Lyndon B Johnson (DEMOCRAT)
1969 - 1974 Richard Nixon (REPUBLICAN)
1974 - 1977
Gerald Ford (REPUBLICAN)
1977 - 1981 Jimmy Carter (DEMOCRAT)
1981 - 1989 Ronald Regan (REPUBLICAN)
1989 - 1993
George Bush Sr. (REPUBLICAN)
1993 - 2001 William Clinton (DEMOCRAT)
2001 - 2009 George Bush Jr. (REPUBLICAN)
2009 -
Barak Obama (DEMOCRAT)
We
hear a lot from Republicans about how Democrats cannot be trusted with our security.
(That is part of their "fear" campaign.)
World War II (1941 - 1945) was the largest war
in our time. It seems the Democrats did OK with that.
Next Korea (1951 - 1953) and then Viet Nam (1959
- 1975). No one did very well with either of these, so called, police actions!
The war in
Afghanistan (2002 - ????) was a direct response to the September 11, 2001 bombings in New York. This was a totally justified
action! (I don't think it is now) You can judge for yourself how well that has been handled. Bin Laden
is still wandering around generating trouble.
We heard a
lot about "experience" in the last election. Speaking of experience; Rumsfeld and Cheney had something
in the range of 50+ years of experience in government and a lot of good that did! Experience is an odd measurement;
it is measured in years but the question is this? If a person has 20 years of experience, is that 2 years of experience
10 times; or is it really 20 years of experience?
The Iraq
war (2003 - ????) is the first war we started! We attacked a sovereign country,
while the people slept, with our "shock and awe". Blowing up and killing families, who never did a thing
to us, is not exactly what I thought the USA was all about! All of this based on lies told to us by our President
and his henchmen!
Being an
Air Force veteran, I was not very proud watching that action take place!!! We do, however, need to get Bin Laden and
his top commanders as soon as possible!
I watched
the Republican Convention from Minnesota. I could not and cannot understand all the talk of "victory"; "defeat
the enemy"; etc. I could not understand all the cheering for war and more war!
Our
enemy, as they are called, is a very small minority of Muslims who are spread all over the world!
Muslims in Afghanistan, for the most part, are also innocent; they have all they can do to survive on a day-to-day basis.
We will never
have a victory over this enemy using a military force. As the recent study published by the Rand Corporation indicates;
this is a law enforcement issue. Here is an excerpt from the Washington Post:
Strategy Against Al-Qaeda Faulted
Report Says Effort Is Not a 'War'By Joby WarrickWashington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday,
July 30, 2008; Page A04 The
Bush administration's terrorism-fighting strategy has not significantly undermined al-Qaeda's capabilities, according to a major new study that argues the struggle against terrorism
is better waged by law enforcement agencies than by armies. The study by the nonpartisan Rand Corp. also contends that the administration committed a fundamental error in portraying
the conflict with al-Qaeda as a "war on terrorism." The phrase falsely suggests that there can be a battlefield
solution to terrorism, and symbolically conveys warrior status on terrorists, it said.
Feel free to do a search on this subject and read
some of the studies and comments.
Now, don't
give me any of that nonsense about no recent attack has taken place on our soil. That is just some more of the propaganda
you hear. My response is simple. Why would a terrorist try to get here to attack us when we supplied them all the targets
they needed in Iraq? I might repeat: Over 4,000 killed and 30,000 severely wounded! They still have targets there
and in Afghanistan.
Why don't we just forget this business about
who can or cannot be trusted with our security. We cannot broad brush this issue as being Republican or Democrat; it
has everything to do with the particular President.
Every
President takes an oath to protect this country! How they choose to do that is where judgment
comes in. Also
remember, every President is surrounded with experts in every field. They can also call on anyone in the world they
wish to consult with at any time.
So
stop making it sound like the President is some poor soul in an empty room trying to make this decision. The President
is not in a vacuum.
Also, do
not imagine, for one minute, because someone was in the military they are some kind of expert. It might be a good idea
to stop listening to all the lies being told by the various politicians and pundits on this subject.
Let me return to a little history. Each
party had its basic reputation... Democrats were "for the people"; Republicans were "for business and the rich".
This was pretty general but was somewhat true.
In the 1960's and into the 70's the Democratic
Party lost its way. In an effort to support the people, they went overboard with their "for the people" philosophy
creating crazy things like unchecked and uncontrolled welfare; destroyed the need or incentive to work; provided questionable
rights for some and took away rights from others.
Civil rights
actions were taken, some of which, offended many people. Things like affirmative action, school busing, and various
other programs. History has proven most of these actions were necessary but not all.
The pendulum had swung too far to the left and the party had fallen into disarray.
Thus,
starting in the 1980's, we have what are known as "Reagan Democrats". The Republicans took over from 1969 through 2008 for the most of 40 years, with
the exception of four years during the Carter Administration and eight years during the Clinton Administration.
Guess what?
During this period from the early 70's until now, the "for business and the rich" party has taken their turn and
they have lost their way! (I think you should have gotten this point during the review of income, wealth, etc.)
They managed
to virtually eliminate our manufacturing base and the middle class has been decimated to the point it hardly exists anymore.
This is a direct result of the constant thrust to send our manufacturing jobs off shore. The trend toward the rich and
very rich continues today and is actually accelerating. This may or may not be bad... it depends on who you are.
If
you earn $250,000 a year or more and/or have a net worth in excess of a million dollars or more, then you might see this
as good. However, if you are like the rest of us, you might see this as something other than good.
This has happened gradually over time.
Now, too many people are still living in the 70's regarding their political
outlook. They don't realize the Republican Party has let the pendulum swing too far to
the right!!
I hope,
in the various parts of this document, I will shed some light on that. I mentioned the "much loved" or "much hated"
Clinton Administration. Everyone should take the time to look up his record.
That
administration did a lot for most of us. Yes, he initially lied about his affair but you know what; most people do.
The affair, and lying about it, was very foolish but I don't know anyone who died from it. We just had a very famous
golfer "outed" regarding extra marital affairs; a Governor hiking the Appalachian Trail; etc.
Maybe we
should spend more time talking about how he balanced the budget; how he
produced a surplus to lower our national debt; how he attacked welfare with a vengeance to bring
the pendulum back into balance; cut taxes for the working people, etc.
