Trust me. Don't judge me by my past actions, don't question my motives or reasoning, just trust me. I have only the best of intentions. Don't worry about my obsessive need for secrecy. I have your best interest at heart. So don't think about ANYTHING too much. All you have to do is TRUST ME.
This seems to be the approach the Bush administration is taking with the American people. The White House & the neo-cons in power now believe they are invincible & can impose their radical ideology on all Americans. All we have to do is trust them. Apparently they equate trust with blind faith. Trust, however, must be earned. Are these people deserving of the public trust? Let's look at their track record of the last 4+ yrs: (1.)Bush ignores CIA, FBI warnings about terror attacks = Sept. 11th; (2.)Bush makes pledge to get Osama bin Laden "dead or alive" = Afghan war, Bush says he's not concerned with bin Laden; (3.)Saddam Hussein & Iraq WMD's present imminent threat, US troops will be greeted as liberators, war will be quick & cost of the war funded by Iraqi oil $$ = illegal invasion of Iraq, no WMD's, 1500+ U.S. troops & untold Iraqis killed, 2 yrs. later war still raging & cost is $300 billion & counting; (4.) Bush says America against torture = Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay, extraordinary rendition, etc.; (5.)Tax cuts for everyone, will spur the economy = benefits primarily to wealthy, results in largest federal budget deficit in history; (6.)New federal budget unveiled, will reduce deficit = budget cuts slash funding for education, science, social programs that affect the poor, don't include war costs - but military spending increased; (7.)Bush/Cheney complain about "liberal" media & unfair coverage = government caught in media propaganda payola scandal; (8.)Social Security in crisis, insolvent, "personal accounts" the answer = no details, please (just trust me), economists agree privatization won't help solvency; (9.)Bush appointees Condoleeza Rice, Alberto gonzales, John Bolton & Paul Wolfowitz all hailed as the best qualified for their respective promotions = Rice was head of National Security during 9-11 (Sec. of State),Gonzales authored "torture memos" calling Geneva Convention "quaint" & made legal case for Bush being above international law (Atty. Gen.), Bolton notorious for anti-UN comments (UN Ambassador), & Wolfowitz, war architect, stated to Congress that Iraqi oil $$ would fund the war (World Bank Pres.);(10.)Bush Bros. & Republican-led Congress, advocates of state law & limited government, intervene in Terry Schiavo case, citing "culture of life" = interference in Florida state law, pandering to conservative Christians, but notably silent after polls show Americans overwhelmingly against government involvement in private family matters; Bush Bros. record as governors of Texas & Florida (executions of prisoners & "culture of death"?).
So they want us to trust them. I don't think they've earned it. Now we have the FBI & the Joint Terrorism Task Force putting pressure on Portland Mayor Tom Potter, saying Oregonians should trust the FBI's JTTF to not break any state laws nor violate any citizens rights. The FBI's Robert J. Jordan even had the audacity to use the Brandon Mayfield case as an example, as well as the so-called "Portland Seven". Kudos to Mayor Potter for wanting oversight of OUR government's activities in Oregon. The obsessive secrecy which surrounds this administration & its agencies begs the question -- What Do They Have To Hide?
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