Which regime to change?

Let's hold a contest. Which man should be awarded the title of "Greatest Hater of America"? Bin Laden? Khaddaffi? Chirac? Sorry, none of the above. The man who hates Americans the most, and shows it in his actions, is the incumbent president, George W. Bush. According to Ivins and Dubose, Bush has no equal in the damage he's done to education, the environment, food safety . . . the list seems endless. The authors have produced a catalog of social and economic transgressions attributable to Bush and his cronies. More than six thousand people, twice the toll of the WTC, die each year in workplace-related accidents. These deaths were preventable, but allowed to happen through lack of inspectors, poor enforcement or emasculated legislation all the result of the Bush regime.

Ivins and Dubose catalog the transgressions against American society perpetrated by the Bush regime. These authors aren't lofty ideologues, savaging the Republican minority president in favour of Democratic hopefuls. Instead, their aim is the exposure of Bush policies on people we usually can't see. Elderly residents of un- or poorly-heated apartments. Working people led down a deceptive path toward unfulfilled retirement schemes. Hungry children in American school lunchrooms being fed tainted turkey sandwiches. The team took to America's streets, coffee shops and fast-food outlets. What they found makes depressing reading. They relate how fish-plant workers, driven by assembly-line processing speeds suffer permanent limb damage. None of these people should be enduring these privations, as the authors make clear. It is also clear that but one person can set those offensives right - you.

The ironies contained here surpass easy count or description. One of the most glaring is the role of judges in interpreting the law and constitution. For decades, American conservatives have railed against courts "making law from the bench". Under the Bush regime, it is just such "justices" that are being elevated to lifetime appointments in Appeals Courts, once established to ease the burden on the Supreme Court. Even when the regime is finally toppled, those figures will continue affecting legislation for many years to come. Their positions designed to circumvent political interference, they show the Bush legacy won't equal the "thousand year Reich", but will extend far into your lifetime.

As you read this book, you begin to wonder if the authors hesitate to describe the regime's foreign policy. As they express it, the complexities of the regime's foreign affairs elude simple narration. Once holding the concept of "nation building" in contempt, Bush, leaning on "the most radical and chilling foreign policy statement ever made" is now embarked on a unilateral adventure in just that area. In summary, they see Bush's dealings with other nations as moving from "incoherent" to "silly". The folly of a "war on terrorism" has been demonstrated by Bush dropping bin Laden from the most wanted to the most ignored. Ivins and Dubose acknowledge America will be struck again, with no amount of bombast or rhetoric deflecting it.

Although the authors declare their distaste of overuse of the term "fascist", they cannot avoid the obvious. Bush's gratification of corporate greed and imposition of tax burden on those least able to bear it force the comparison. Quoting Mussolini [sorry, kiddies, but we older folks know who that is] they remind us that this regime is "the merger of state and corporate power". If Americans can justify regime change in other countries, certainly there's no excuse for not exercising that action at home. Indeed, that's the conclusion of this book - talk to one neighbour, one friend, one relative. Show the need for change and have them pass the word. It's possible. More importantly, it's necessary. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Worth reading

Many facts highlighted by this book, put into recent historical context, add detail to the conceptual impact of Republican control of various branches of government. For instance, I wasn't aware of the background on the gutting of Superfund during the Gingrich years in congress, and then Bush's decision to let it run out of money.

Whereas Franken is best listened to on tape, because his timing is so good, there's really nothing special about the audio version of this. Probably better to just read it.

A broadside from the left

Despite the allegations from the right, the left does not control the media. From the right-wing pundits to the totally superficial news coverage, the American public has not received a balanced view of the current administration. It is refreshing to see the liberals (BTW: When did liberal become an obsenity?) take some long overdue potshots at the right.