History (Made and In The Making)
Throughout the last 8 years I have witnessed some of the most corrupt uses of power in my entire life. From the way that the 2000 presidential election was decided, I learned first-hand that gangsters are not always stereotypical or conventional criminals, that they often go unchecked because of the power that they are able to obtain, and that it is good to have family or friends in high places. Through the leadership of our President we went to war under false pretenses, migrated a part of the population in Louisiana, lost economic stability/credibility, and become more of an unpopular country than we already were. Over 3,000 people lost their lives on September 11, 2001 and George W. Bush declared war against everyone that he said was connected to Al-Qaeda. This not only included Osama bin Laden (who has still not been found almost 8 years later) and his supporters, this also included Iraq and cost OUR COUNTRY billions of dollars along with 1,000's of more lost lives for a war that continues to this day. This war was not only initiated for reasons that were not about Al Queda (in my opinion), it has continued for 6 years with no clear resolution in sight. This war is also opposed by a large percentage of the United States population, National Security and Military personnel, the House of Representatives, various religious leaders, and 54 other countries including the 7 of the most populated countries in the world...which means that over 1/2 of the world disagrees with what is going in Iraq right now. Where are the weapons of mass destruction and where is Osama bin Laden? What this has shown me is that power can be abused when you have it. George W. Bush proved this by using over 4,000 American lives and over $600 billion. Almost a decade of war is not the only highlight of the last 8 years, but it was probably one of the things that have lasted the longest. On the Monday, August 2005 Katrina made landfall as a category 4 hurricane and the following things took place on that day alone. The George W Bush administration finds out that a levee in New Orleans was breached, the White House circulated an internal memo stating that flooding was significant throughout the region and a levee in New Orleans has reportedly been breached sending 6-8 feet of water throughout the 9th ward area of the city, George W. Bush took a birthday picture with Sen. John McCain, Michael Brown requests that DHS dispatch 1,000 employees to the region over a 2 day period describing the situation as a near catastrophic event, a large section of the vital 17th Street Canal levee gave way late Monday morning in Bucktown after Katrina’s fiercest winds were well north, George W. Bush visited an Arizona resort to promote Medicare drug benefits, George W. Bush traveled to a California senior center to discuss Medicare drug benefits, Gov. Blanco again requests assistance from George W. Bush saying: Mr President we need your help...We need everything you've got, George W. Bush went to bed without acting on the requests to help the city of New Orleans. What this one day has shown me is that priorities such eating birthday cake and discussing Medicare outweigh the sight of people sitting on top of their homes, looting, and total anarchy. Man-made and natural disasters were not the only highlight of the last 8 years, but those are 2 of the most painful memories of the last 8 years. Last but certainly not least...We are broke as a country. The United States of America has created unity and we are on our path to have more control of our destiny, now we need to utilize that unity and begin creating a destiny that we always had the power to create. We have witnessed the mistakes that one man can make, lets do our part to correct our past and make sure that it remains a distant memory and constant reminder of a history we would like to repeat.
@ Irma Robinson
No one is supposed to be above the law, but it is up to the people to make sure the laws for the people are really benefiting the people.