Let's talk about replacing GWBush in 2004.

There's no denying that George Bush knows how to stage patriotic spectacles at sea, but the reality back on shore is not so well stagecrafted.

Did you know that Top Gun Bush is poised to become the first President since Herbert Hoover to preside over job destruction rather than job creation? Thanks to Daniel Gross's article, recently posted on Slate, we also know that Bush's last tax cut, the largest cut in American history, has so far "cost" America 1.7 million jobs and counting.

For a comparison of how Bush's record of job destruction compares to previous presidencies since World War II, check out the following compilation by the International Association of Machinists, which looked at the average growth in monthly employment during the terms of the last fifteen presidential administrations (There's a link for this if anyone wants it):


Truman First Term: 60,000 jobs gained per month

Truman Second Term: 113,000 jobs gained per month

Eisenhower First Term: 58,000 jobs gained per month

Eisenhower Second Term: 15,000 jobs gained per month

Kennedy: 122,000 jobs gained per month

Johnson: 206,000 jobs gained per month

Nixon First Term: 129,000 jobs gained per month

Nixon/Ford : 105,000 jobs gained per month

Carter: 218,000 jobs gained per month

Reagan First Term: 109,000 jobs gained per month

Reagan Second Term: 224,000 jobs gained per month

G. Bush: 52,000 jobs gained per month

Clinton First Term: 242,000 jobs gained per month

Clinton Second Term: 235,000 jobs gained per month

G.W. Bush : 69,000 jobs LOST per month


Also back on land: While this Administration stakes out the patriotic high ground, it is decimating programs that benefit veterans, their families and their communities to hand the super-rich another tax cut.

National unemployment has just increased to 6 percent, the highest in almost a decade. The states face the worst budget crisis since the 1930s. Primary services such as schools, basic health care, sanitation and law enforcement are being undermined. Lines at food banks are longer and longer. Homelessness is on the rise. Even the state agencies charged with combating terrorism are being gutted. As Bob Herbert wrote in his May 1 New York Times column (it's in the pay-per-view archives now, so no link):

"There is a faint but unmistakable whiff of Depression in the air."

I'll spare you the long quotes if you'll promise to pick up a copy of the latest Harper's and read Thomas Frank's great analysis of the 2004 budget submitted by Bush -- Frank read the entire 2500 page thing and has uncovered... well... READ IT!

PDiddie, Depression is good, it rolls back the cost of goods so that the unemployed can afford to live!

BillW

!

Are you for real. I remember when a loaf of bread was 6 cents during the depression, cheap right. There was only one little kicker. People didn't have the 6 cents to buy it with.

BillW, I think you stepped into this one! LOL Depressions are not good for anybody, even for the rich, because there's nothing for them to buy. They can afford to pay .06c for a loaf of bread, but the quality is probably worse than poor, because there's no competition. Recessions are probably easier to stomach for most people, but that protends badly for our economy; it means more people out of work. Recessions are usually a temporary setback for most. c.i.

Bush times, Bush logic!

Kinda goes along with "Budget deficits are good for the country........"

I think I'm gonna be sick

PDid, If I remember correctly, the jobs lost in the first quarter of this year was 500,000. A wee bit more than the 69,000 per month loss under GWBush. c.i.

Yet another circumstance where a 'conservative' estimate is found lacking, c.i.

Will Congress Remember the Jobless?

While the Republican-led Congress pours its energy into creating another windfall tax cut for the affluent, the toll of unemployed keeps growing, with temporary federal benefits about to expire for some of the most hard pressed. Unless Congress acts this week, the suffering will deepen for close to four million Americans. A fast extension of unemployment benefits is far more vital than the wrestling match over what mix of cuts in capital gains and dividend taxes will allow President Bush to proclaim another economic "growth" victory.
The truly eye-popping growth of the past two years has been in the rising tally of lost private-sector jobs: 2.6 million and counting, a record for any modern presidency. The number of unemployed, 8.8 million, is the highest in a decade, while the number of jobs has slipped to a three-year low. The emergency help now expiring provides 13 weeks of extra aid to those who exhaust state benefits. Past recessions had more generous programs. The hard-core jobless are running through benefits well before job opportunities come along.
If "growth" be the mantra, then Congress will not find a stronger and more immediate stimulus for the economy than an extension of benefits to job-hungry Americans, eager to spend on basic needs. Each new dollar in the program quickly boosts the economy by $1.73, according to a study done by Economy.com, a research firm. In comparison, the study found the Bush cut in dividend taxes enriching the economy by only 9 cents per dollar. The better deal for Congress is obvious and urgent.

The question is will congress act our will they take the attitude of Marie Antoinette when it was reported that the people had no bread to eat she purportedly said let them eat cake. We all know what happened to her. Will congresses answer to the unemployed and desperate be a tax break for the wealthy?

I also heard on the radio this morning, that unless congress approves additional money, the feds will stop sending social security checks. Those dunderheads in congress needs to be replaced by others who understand the sufferings of the 'average' American. c.i.

Been watching "Hitler, The Rise of Evil", yes it is imperative that GWB and his ilk are replaced in 2004. IMHO, the worst of the bunch is Tom Delay - put a brush 'stash under his nose and voila!

BillW, There are many imposter Hitlers out there in this world, and they still believe Hitler as their hero. c.i.

I caught a little of that work of fiction myself. I'll bet you $$$ that if 911 never happened that "The Rise of Evil", if it had ever been produced, which I doubt, wouldn't look anything like it does now.

I especially loved that scene where he grabs Eva by the neck, pushes her down on the couch and starts to ravage her, then, he backs away, buries his head in her crotch, and slinks away altogether, back to the off the hook phone. Someone wanna comment on the deep meaning of this? I'm sure I'm missing some obvious, and very important, psychological clue(s) here, disguised as misplaced eroticism.

Since I'm one of those folks who has an open mind about the possible origins of 9/11 and think that the Bush administration is the real Rise Of Evil, I could care less about the fictional relationship between the possibly gay Hitler and the chronically disappointed Eva.

Now that Tart has properly displayed her dillusional side, we can all breathe a sigh of relief that we weren't just imagining it.

That's delusional, Cjhsa. Education teaches you how to spell and be more perceptive and inquiring about current events.

W/e tart. If you knew me you'd know my spelling is usually spot on - I'm a little tired this AM and missed that one.

Enjoy the misplaced herbs.

Fascism on the rise? Yes I do believe so!

Turned on local talk radio -- Republican through and through -- just now while getting some coffee and have left it on.

They are talking about:

1. The Dems, the destruction of documents by the Texas DPS, the collaboration of the Homeland Security Department and they are wholly against all the latter and in favor of what the Dems did "which wasn't illegal, after all... though the Republicans are trying to make it look that way." That from Republicans.

2. They segued to Homeland Security, Patriot Act, etc. Against them all. One guy called in and said, while he wasn't FOR it exactly, he didn't think the Bush admin would do anything nefarious. Laughter. Another guy called and -- still laughing -- said, Hey, do you know anything about the background of Bush-Cheney? These guys are Bad News! Host responded, Yes, they've turned out to be not what we thought at all. Have you seen, he asked, the articles in the Wall Street Journal today -- THE WALL STREET JOURNAL!, he yelled. The WSJ has one article about Homeland Security and the Patriot Act and how we need to be REAL careful; another article uncovers the fact that the new tax program will mean many at the top end will pay NO TAXES! ZERO! etc. etc.

Sounds to me as though Bush isn't getting all that support he seems to be getting in the polls. If his beloved TX Republicans are turning against him...

The Rise and Fall of the Bush Empire!