The State of the State

I will not be listening to Bush's State of the Union address.

I can't really endure listening to him anymore. It has to be in smaller doses.

I know that he essentially has nothing to say. I believe he is ill equipped to give any purposeful or meaningful direction to the country. He will not arouse the finer qualities in us. He will not allay our fears, inspire us, or provide any vision of any value whatsoever.

I suspect that in his own mind he is doing these things. As a child I pretended I was Mickey Mantle. Unfortunately pretend is different from reality. Also, unfortunately, the privileged of our country get to play out their fantasies on the large scale, even when they are no better than the most sadistic bully on the block. But that's another essay.

Bush's speech ought to be titled "What Remains of Our Poor Country After the Incredible Mess I Have Made of It" address. This is far more accurate although admittedly somewhat clumsy.

The mess is unbearable. Bush has thrown a wrecking ball against the flimsy facade of democracy. What presently remains no longer resembles a wall.

Bush has invited torture back into the American "vision." Bush has invited lying to generate wars back into the American "vision." Bush has turned the wheels of jurisprudence back to the times of the Roman Empire, except the Romans were far kinder. Bush has sold out all of your rights to privacy. He can see your DNA, your private financial accounts, your reading habits, your internet habits, he can see what's in your mail. All achieved through Orwellian legislation.

Bush has placed more of the common wealth of ordinary citizens into the hands of the top tiered wealthiest individuals that ever existed on this planet and he has done this with blazing speed. This last point always seemed to be the real "purpose" of the Bush presidency.

Bush has not supported the troops of this country. His administration has cut funding for these vets, limiting their access to health care, not to mention inadequately providing for their protection.

Bush has increased the likelihood of terrorism. Bush has done nothing, repeat nothing, to decrease the use of oil and increase the use of renewable energy. Bush has done nothing to assist with reversing the degradation of the environment in any respect.

Bush is the curious uniter. It appears that it is only through his sinking unpopularity that perhaps he is the great uniter, uniting people in their contempt.

The list is much longer and far uglier.

In truth, George Bush has not earned the right to speak to America, he has failed.

I hold out the hope that the new Congress will investigate and expose, times a thousand. The story of the atrocity of the Bush administration needs to be unveiled in public and it needs to happen now.