Jim Austin

His previous columns are archived HERE.

JIM AUSTIN

Democracy, Bush-style

I received my [federal] tax refund last week. I tried to think of a way to use it to bring down the Bush regime but settled on a titanium driver instead.

Only the guys at the top of the food chain have the money to make or break the leaders of this country. Maybe someday, after the revolution perhaps, we could try democracy.

I heard the head of the Salvation Army on NPR a little while ago. He claimed that the Salvation Army was not, in any way, prejudiced against homosexuals.

When asked if he would hire a homosexual to work in a shelter he said 'no.' The practice of homosexuality was against one of the basic tenets of their church.

It isn't bigotry; it is the Word of God.

Therein, of course, is the 200-lb. fly in Bush's faith-based ointment.

All religions purport to be the Word of God. Our constitution guarantees all religions the freedom to despise one another, women, gays, and non-believers, and to be assured that their way is the only road to a comfortable eternity.

This faith-based giveaway of my tax money to organizations I consider crackpot is surely the most ill-considered piece of legislation since the [alcohol Prohibition] Volstead Act.

Bush spoke to the Pope in Rome recently. He said he will "take the Catholic Church's view of stem-cell research into consideration."

No he won't. Stem-cell research, if viewed cynically, is a money-spinner for the pharmaceutical industry.

George will ignore the decrepit ideas of the Catholic Church for all the wrong reasons. He's not doing it because the RC Church is a misogynistic, autocratic, dictatorial organization. He's going to support stem-cell research because it is good business.

In the meantime the rest of us Parkinson's and Alzheimer's candidates can applaud this inadvertent bone that has been thrown our way. Is this what Reagan meant by trickle-down?

The rest of the world -- enemies, allies, and neutrals -- are opposed to Bush's missile-defense shield. In order to placate the arms industry, George wants to encircle the globe with satellites that have the ability to rain nuclear death down upon any country in the world.

It is probably impossible, given current technology to actually intercept an incoming nuclear missile, but that isn't the point. The point is to funnel our money into the hands of Bush's supporters. We will ignore the universal anger of friend and foe alike in order to pay the power-brokers.

This threat to the rest of the world will probably elicit more acts of terrorism, more isolation and more general hatred of America than any past heavy handedness by our leaders.

The refusal of the Bush administration to agree to the Kyoto accords is old news. At least he was honest about his refusal to join the rest of the world in trying to preserve our atmosphere. It would hurt business.

I guess the "incomplete science" excuse for continuing to poison the planet was getting a little too old. It sounded a lot like the tobacco company execs claiming that there was no "conclusive proof" that smoking causes cancer. There is no effort at global cooperation from this White House and very little from previous administrations.

Hey, I just noticed a pattern. Could it be that the Bush administration is only interested in lining the pockets of his biggest donors? Let's ask Dick Cheney.