Granny Rant
Wednesday, September 10, 2003
::: Memo To President Bush: While You Were On Vacation :::
Dear President Bush,
August has been a difficult month for Americans. While you were vacationing at your ranch and raising millions of dollars for your re-election campaign, American soldiers kept dying in Iraq, the American economy continued to flounder, and new reports emerged describing just how little your administration cares about our environment. But at least someone got some good news: your friends at Dick Cheney's Halliburton have been awarded even more uncontested contracts for oil in Iraq.
We wanted to make sure that as you returned from your vacation, you were fully up-to-date. Please review the following stories below to learn what happened while you were clearing brush on your ranch.
All stories available if you follow this link
Associated Press: "Bush Less Sure-Footed in Postwar Iraq as Casualties Mount."
Los Angeles Times: "US Military Strength Called Lacking in Iraq; Republican Senators Are Among Those Saying More Troops Are Needed to Speed Rebuilding Efforts."
New York Times: "Senators Assail Two Officials for Lack of Postwar Details."
Los Angeles Times: "US Suspects It Received False Iraq Arms Tips."
San Antonio Express-News: "VA Seeks to Care for More With Less."
Wall Street Journal: "The Economy: CBO Projects Deficit Next Year of $480 Billion."
USA Today: "Gas Costs a Record $1.74 a Gallon."
Wall Street Journal: "Medicare Legislation Said to Be in Danger Without Bush Push."
Los Angeles Times: "The Nation: Nation's Jobless Plight Worsens."
Newsday: "EPA Misled Public On 9/11 Pollution."
New York Times: "Draft of Air Rule Is Said to Exempt Many Old Plants."
San Jose Mercury News: "Bush Administration Says It Won't Regulate Carbon Dioxide."
Washington Post: "Halliburton's Deals Greater Than Thought"
Overseas
Associated Press: "Bush Less Sure-Footed in Postwar Iraq as Casualties Mount."
Bush Is Under Bi-Partisan Pressure To Change Course As Number Of Post-War Deaths Surpasses Those Killed In Open Conflict. On August 26, the same day Bush spoke to American veterans, the US casualty count in Iraq reached a tragic milestone. The number of troops who have died in Iraq after May 1, when Bush declared an end to open conflict in Iraq, reached 141 -- surpassing the total who died before May 1. The Associated Press noted, "With casualties climbing and criticism growing, Bush is under intense pressure to do something differently -- something to stop the deaths of U.S. soldiers, quell acts of terrorism and turn on the electricity and water for frustrated Iraqis. At home, Democrats and Republicans alike are demanding answers... Struggling for solutions, the administration is divided on some of the central points. In the meantime, U.S. soldiers are dying at the rate of more than one a day." [Los Angeles Times, 8/27/03; Associated Press, 8/27/03]
