[Freedom]

A Speach by Dubya:

At this place, liberty and life were stolen and sold. Human beings were delivered and sorted, and weighed, and branded with the marks of commercial enterprises, and loaded as cargo on a voyage without return. One of the largest migrations of history was also one of the greatest crimes of history.

Those who lived to see land again were displayed, examined, and sold at auctions across nations in the Western Hemisphere. They entered societies indifferent to their anguish and made prosperous by their unpaid labor. There was a time in my country's history when one in every seven human beings was the property of another. In law, they were regarded only as articles of commerce, having no right to travel, or to marry, or to own possessions. Because families were often separated, many denied even the comfort of suffering together.

For 250 years the captives endured an assault on their culture and their dignity. The spirit of Africans in America did not break. Yet the spirit of their captors was corrupted. Small men took on the powers and airs of tyrants and masters. Years of unpunished brutality and bullying and rape produced a dullness and hardness of conscience. Christian men and women became blind to the clearest commands of their faith and added hypocrisy to injustice. A republic founded on equality for all became a prison for millions. And yet in the words of the African proverb, "no fist is big enough to hide the sky." All the generations of oppression under the laws of man could not crush the hope of freedom and defeat the purposes of God.

In America, enslaved Africans learned the story of the exodus from Egypt and set their own hearts on a promised land of freedom. Enslaved Africans discovered a suffering Savior and found he was more like themselves than their masters. Enslaved Africans heard the ringing promises of the Declaration of Independence and asked the self-evident question, then why not me?

...Their moral vision caused Americans to examine our hearts, to correct our Constitution, and to teach our children the dignity and equality of every person of every race. By a plan known only to Providence, the stolen sons and daughters of Africa helped to awaken the conscience of America. The very people traded into slavery helped to set America free. --President Bush

[Tigerlily]

When did he say this? Before or after September 11th? What was the occasion for his to say this?

I can't make a judgement on it unless I know all the details.

But so far, it looks like another BS speech from Bush.

[Adrien]

A speech with nice things in it doesn't mean anything about the person who says it, as it is 99% of the time another person who writes it and since the orator is absolutely not forced to mean what he says.

[CasX]

Nice speech. Of course, he didn't write it, but good none the less. I'm guessing he made that speech in Africa? Apparently when he visits South Africa he won't be visiting Nelson Mandela. Mandela is fifty-seven thousand times the man and leader Biush is, so I don't think he'll be too bothered by being left out by a man who "can't think properly".

Bush isn't 'all bad'. He has done a few good things. But they are few and far between, and don't make much of an impression after all the terrible things the Bush administration does...daily. Saying he is 'all bad' would be misunderestimating him, him and his government are just 95%-99% bad, I think.

[Vassili Zaitsev]

Oh gimmie a break! Bu$h hasn't done jack shit for the working person in America! My family is suffering terribly because he hasn't done a damn thing to help struggling families that have been affected by 9-11 (my mother works for the airline industry and her job has never been the same). My father is going from job to job just to help us keep their house! What happened to Bu$h's promising tax reform and refund? Where's the help for starving family's and the millions unemployed who can't find work!? Children are starving, but food costs $$$ so they're struggling just to get a meal. All Bu$h is doing is raping Iraq of its oil, oppressing its people (we've replaced one tyrant for another) and last I heard Bu$h stopped free elections in Iraq, American's wake up! Bu$h isn't out for freedom, he's out for himself! The French see it, the Germans see it, the Canadian people see it, hell everybody but yourselves see it! American's can no longer afford to be so blind to the truth!

[Adrien]

Yeah, i talked with somebody in the same situation and i then realized that here in France we were damned lucky, with all our subventions and our services.

[jaakko]

Double-you seems so... 'simple-minded' that I can't think of him as someone evil. I don't really even hate him. I know of his connections with the big business, but I just can't believe he's the brain behind USA's policies. He's just a figure, and I don't rule out the possibility that he believes he's really waging some 'war on terror' and liberating peoples and advancing 'democracy' in the world. He could very well think of himself as somekind of benefactor.

[Freedom]

I just thought it was a good speech. He made it in Senegal i believe.

Not all glorified leaders are good either, do this little questionaire(also the compass thing is cool. Someone from the board posted it i cant remember who...)http://www.digitalronin.f2s.com/politicalcompass/iconochasms.html

The administration has proposed a $15-billion (U.S.), five-year AIDS initiative for the 14 hardest-hit countries in the world, 12 of which are in Africa. Mr. Bush also has proposed a $1-billion famine initiative, including a $200-million emergency famine fund, and a five-year $600-million education initiative


This is some serious money, Nelson Mandela should not be blinded by his Anti War stance, George Bush is making serious contributions to Africa.

[Demosthenes]

Oh gimmie a break! Bu$h hasn't done jack shit for the working person in America! My family is suffering terribly because he hasn't done a damn thing to help struggling families that have been affected by 9-11 (my mother works for the airline industry and her job has never been the same). My father is going from job to job just to help us keep their house! What happened to Bu$h's promising tax reform and refund? Where's the help for starving family's and the millions unemployed who can't find work!? Children are starving, but food costs $$$ so they're struggling just to get a meal. All Bu$h is doing is raping Iraq of its oil, oppressing its people (we've replaced one tyrant for another) and last I heard Bu$h stopped free elections in Iraq, American's wake up! Bu$h isn't out for freedom, he's out for himself! The French see it, the Germans see it, the Canadian people see it, hell everybody but yourselves see it! American's can no longer afford to be so blind to the truth!

Oh come on yourself you can't possibly lay all your problems on Bush. Its not his responsibility to get your dad a job. I am sorry to hear your having such a rough time, but that is hardly gives you the right to blame the President. In fact Bush was behind the airline subsidies that kept many of them afloat after 9/11. Its not his fault nobody wants to fly anymore. Millions are always unemployed and looking for work. The country is actually doing well, and the economy has been growing, albeit at a slow pace, which means no recession, once again like many would have you believe.

Secondly, despite what the liberals would have you believe their are hardly mass starvations going on, it does sound nice(or rather paints an ugly picture, but it's simply not true) As far as Bush's promising tax cut package well look no further than the democrats who cut it down and the republican congress who accepted it. You can't possibly say he didn't try to pass a much larger tax cut. In fact your parents should receive a 400-600 tax pre-bate later this year, so your hatred is misplaced there also.

As far as raping Iraq for oil well guess what Iraq isn't producing oil yet, it'll be awhile before it does and even then it won't account for much of our oil consuption even IF American companies get lucrative oil contracts.

As far as any of those European countries seeing anything other than THEIR own interests it's sheer madness to claim they are somehow more enlightened than we are. I mean if Europeans know so much and its so great over there how come so many of our ancestors are white Europeans? Oh that's right because they thought Europe wasn't so enlightened after all. You're buying into all the rhetoric they're throwing about a little too much. The only country I can buy a (very slightly) more enlightend seeming attitude from is Canada but I am skeptical of them also. It seems to me they're just looking to curry favor with France and Germany, instead of us now. Not that they don't have that right, I'm just saying don't act like you disagree with America because you have some "higher" purpose when clearly your position is just as self-interested as anyone elses. Don't blind yourself to the real truth.

[Boondock Saint]

Aye ...

Bush is a bafoon ... perhaps a well meaning bafoon or perhaps a cruel one, who is to say. My own opinion ... he is the figurehead used by the men behind the scene. The real makers and shakers, the real thinkers and do-ers. Bush himself is just a monkey who has found himself holding the talking stick ...

As fer the starving masses ... considering poor Americans are usually fat Americans ... I hardly see any starving masses ... at least here in the US ...

Aye, and you can't blame anyone for people not wanting to fly as much as pre-9/11 ... that's just the way it is. More blame lies on the CEO's of the airlines who apparently can't manage anything other then their own personal hygiene ...

Me old mans been out of work since 91 ... thats a long time, now he is too old and undereducated for anything ... then again, he should have taken that job as a janitor in the high school ... fool passed up a right good living ...

[Proctor]

Nice speech. Good on him.

I'm not going to get into what looks to rapidly become a vicious flame war.

[Adrien]

I don't know Demos if what you said about Europe was as a "response" to what i said about the fact that i was happy to live where i live, but if it is then you misunderstood me, i wasn't saying that to scorn the USA.

It's true that i'm very happy to live where i live because of what our government provides (even if it's disappearing little by little) but i said France particularly because that's where i live, i could have said another country, but i don't know how it works there.

And if we are more "enlightened" than the USA about that it's not because we're europeans, it's (partly it's true, and at least for us) we had 15 years of left-wing government (1981-1995 : just when it was needed) and then another 6 years (1997-2003) even if the second period was a bit lousy.

Anyway, i think i lost my line a little.

[Demosthenes]

Actually I wasn't directing anything towards you specifically Adrien, I was being more general when I was saying I'm glad to live here. Further I think we reached an amicable understanding on our two countries on theses issues in "the French" thread. So you shouldn't take me personally.

[Adrien]

Mmm, it's true that my last post doesn't sound very friendly..

I feared that i might be misunderstood here as you talked about Europe a bit after my reply so i just wanted to precise what i meant, be assured that i wasn't and won't be jumping on you.

[Anti Imperialist]

Bush can do no good, he is a war mongering, corporate lie. He may play the light hearted moron when he gives his little pre staged speeches on the television, but in reality he is just as much of a greedy capitalist as anyone. Of course Dick Chaney is far more of a disgusting person than Bush, because Chaney doesn't even pretend to be a good guy, he is openly a Fascistic corporatist pig.

[Mr. Smith]

Bush is probably about 95% a true threat to the world.

He's done a few good things....

Spoke out against affirmitive action
The War on Drugs
Pro-Life (not for my reasons though)

Yes but that is 3/100000

[Tovarish Spetsnaz]

The administration has proposed a $15-billion (U.S.), five-year AIDS initiative for the 14 hardest-hit countries in the world, 12 of which are in Africa. Mr. Bush also has proposed a $1-billion famine initiative, including a $200-million emergency famine fund, and a five-year $600-million education initiative

That is chicken $hit...

US military spends MORE THAN 1 BILLION DOLLARS A DAY!!!

Whats 1 billion to famine relief??? 2% of that ever reaches the people in need...

[Demosthenes]

What relevance does our defense budget have with the aids package? How about if every American just rolls over and dies and bequeaths everything we own to Africa will you be happy then or will you still whine about it not being enough? Maybe our memories should be wiped from the face of the earth as well?

[Tovarish Spetsnaz]

If you insist Demosthenes...

But what I am getting at is that this ammount of money is VERY LITTLE and will not make any difference to anyone.

It also shows where the priorities of the US and Bush are. They are not even willing to give more than a day's worth of their military spending to help feed the world...and even that one day's worth of money they spread it out over some years.

Humanitarians?? Nice people?? I don't know...spending 400 billion a year to kill people...and then give 200 million for famine relief...somehow doesn't balance out.

[Freedom]

Well actually 15 billion is going to combat AIDs more than the whole of EU. Its pretty damn substantial. Urm maybe you should read the quote again:

The administration has proposed a $15-billion (U.S.), five-year AIDS initiative for the 14 hardest-hit countries in the world, 12 of which are in Africa. Mr. Bush also has proposed a $1-billion famine initiative, including a $200-million emergency famine fund, and a five-year $600-million education initiative

If the EU didnt cripple the Africa agriculture sector then maybe Africa wouldnt be better off.