Time to pose the hard questions to Bush

Just Joshin' Around By Josh Knoll

Ah, the fall. School bells are ringing, summer’s heat is making its last muggy breath felt, and stores are parading cackling pumpkins and demented skeletons.

With the advent of this new season comes questions—where the hell are those weapons of mass destruction that at any minute were going to be raining down on our heads? Where is the United States going to come up with $87 billion, the suggested retail price for the continued war in Iraq? And why aren’t more people outraged by the behavior of the Bush administration?

Let’s take each question separately. Earlier this year, the American public was continuously told of the imminent danger Saddam Hussein posed. He allegedly had Mt. Everest-sized biochemical weapons stashes and his nuclear program was humming along, thanks in no small part to a purchase of materials from Africa.

And yet, here we are and nothing has been found. No documents, no biochemical weapons facilities, no nuclear remnants. Nothing!

People, this stuff leaves traces. I work in an environmental chemistry lab and we test everything from the bottled water you are now drinking, to wallpaper from meth labs.

And I reserve my most severe eye rolling for those who think they are being clever by declaring Hussein as the weapon of mass destruction. Brutal dictators are fairly abundant.

If people were truly morally outraged, they would demand Bushie boy also deal with those leaders who use brutality and terror everyday like we use toothpaste. Oh, but wait, not much oil in either Asia or Africa. Next question.

About that jaw-dropping price tag. The United States is mired in a slumping economy, 48 states are facing astronomical budget crises and the deficit is roaring toward the upper billions. But hey, we are expected to sacrifice for this hefty little pocket change. I guess that means bye-bye to monies for education, health services, highways and other things we presently enjoy.

Let’s rebuild Iraq, a country we went to under less-than-honest pretenses and watch parts of the United States go to the crapper. Bush and every republican have to stop crowing, “no more taxes.” If people and politicians truly approve of this war, then they will have to raise the money from somewhere without whittling away much needed programs here.

And lastly, every day there are more backtracking statements from this administration. Whoops! The documents from Africa were fakes. Our bad! Saddam really had nothing to do with Sept. 11 or even with al Qaida. But, what are some little white lies when this administration is giving away tax refunds. Oh, wait. The majority of Americans didn’t get one.

It’s one thing to lie about sexual indiscretions that cost no one their lives. It is an entirely different thing to lie to an entire nation and drag them into a war where the death toll on all sides continues to rise. We have been inundated with lies and everyone is just sitting around whistling “God Bless America.”

People, it’s time to get angry at our president and his cohorts and demand answers and actions. This $87 billion, the out-of-control deficit and the United State’s new image as gung-ho jackasses is going to be our inheritance that is going to keep on giving. Are you ready to start paying?

— This columnist can be reached at collegian@csufresno.edu