Twelve Days To 'Change'

Due to a brief hospital stay and some weeks of recuperation, I have been unable to wish a happy, healthful and more secure 2009 for my readers, so I start by doing that today.
May the changes on the way within the next 12 days, with the inauguration of Barack Obama as President of the United States, lift this country's image to the place of respect and admiration it enjoyed prior to the past eight years of Constitutional violations. Not a change, but a return, to the balance of power intended by the authors of our Constitution to ensure the continuation of one of the greatest democracies in history.
Not a change, but a return to the belief the United States does not endorse, participate in, nor sanction in any way, the torture of any other human being, nor do we endorse "preemptive" strikes against any other country. Iraq had nothing to do with the attacks of Sept. 11 and had no WMDs, yet our "preemptive" strike has cost the lives of more than 4,000 American troops, changed the lives of thousands more of our men and women due to the wounds they suffered, created millions of Iraqi orphans and refugees, created more hatred and threat to the safety of the United States from the Middle East.
The Bush/Cheney administration claims they have successfully prevented another Sept. 11 attack on our shores as their gold-star achievement, but this is just wholesale baloney. Osama Bin Ladin remains at large while our tax dollars were spent to build the world's largest embassy in Baghdad, unwanted by the people of that country, while they could have been spent here to provide jobs, prevent bridge collapses and failure of levees and fund education.
Let's look at the so-called "orderly transition" supposed to be taking place in Washington, D.C. How "friendly" is it folks? Small stuff first. Obama had requested an earlier move to Blair House (one week earlier than originally proposed) so that his daughters would be able to begin classes on time at their new D.C. school. He was told by George Bush that the GOP had already planned "parties" at Blair House for that week and, as a consequence, the Obama family has now moved into a hotel for this week. How petty can you get? These "parties" could have been held anywhere and the incoming First Family could have been treated with deference and respect, but these have seemed to be personal traits severely lacking for more than eight long years now.
What has George Bush been so busy doing for his last two month in office? How about trying to write into law less regulation protecting workers from toxic exposure and depriving those workers of the ability to sue for damages when they find themselves ill? How about giving up for "exploration" the last of our pristine environmental areas ignoring all the scientific evidence of global warming and threatened extinction of many species of animal life?
And what is happening right here in the State of Florida? Well, how about Florida House Speaker Ray Sansom having his new job at Northwest Florida State College (salary: $110,000 annually) announced on the day he became Speaker.
While education, just for one thing, is cut again and again, Sansom quietly steered $6 million in public construction money to this college, all the while preaching "fiscal conservatism." Apparently, fiscal conservatism, to Republicans, means what is to their personal advantage, not to the benefit of the citizens of Florida. Did even one Republican Florida legislator come out openly condemning Sansom? Don't hold your breath! As of Tuesday's newspapers, Sansom has now resigned the position at Northwest Florida State College, effective Jan. 31. I don't know about you, but I want his resignation from the Florida House, not the college. He has continued the practice of "pay to play" and does not deserve the elected office he holds. Are the rules different for Republicans than they are for Democrats and, if so, how come?
Florida was the first state this incompetent government was forced to acknowledge as being in recession. Do you think Gov. Jeb Bush had something to do with getting us that illustrious title? And why the heck would you want to let him continue the destruction of this democracy? Truth is, the Republican Party ceased to exist quite some time ago, being replaced by an ideallogical band of Neo-Conservatives. You know who they are: They persist in trying to do away with the separation of church and state, they think torture is OK and claim God tells them so.
They describe their supporters as those at low-educational levels and expect you to be proud to be numbered as such! How about that for a slap in the face? Change begins in 12 days - pay attention to who tries to stop you from getting the economic stimulus check in the mail!