NEWS

Gail Sheehy in her article, The Accidental Candidate, in the latest issue of Vanity Fair, infers that George W. Bush is dyslexic. His stupid, Republican quotes could be symptoms of this particular brain dysfunction. If this is so, it wouldn't be wise to elect a dyslexic president. Like his father before him who had his own stupid, peculiar quotes (SRQ's), and vomited on the Japanese, Jr. might perplex the same folks by suggesting that the US shouldn't put a cufflink on free trade with Japan.

It's unfortunate that George Bush was talked into running for Governor and President by individuals that thought he'd push their right wing agenda without question. What he really wanted to be was baseball commissioner, according to Sheehy's article. Appointing him baseball commissioner may have been a good idea. He seems to really love the game, more than anything else in his life, and it would be an assignment that he would have relished and perhaps done well at.

Instead, we have to worry that if elected president, he would try to dismantle many of the progressive programs the Democrats have put in place. One of the most worrisome elements mentioned in Sheehy's article is his refusal to safeguard his fellow citizens from dangerous pollution in Odessa, Texas. Midland and Odessa are twin cities for the petrochemical industries, but Midland is where the executives live and Odessa is the town for blue collar workers. In Odessa, the Huntsman company which makes plastic pellets, is a major polluter of ethylene, a neurotoxin, propylene, which adversely affects breathing, and Butadiene and benzene, carcinogens that promote liver cancer and affect the heart, blood, respiratory and immune systems.

Although Huntsman told the local school that it was installing an air quality monitor on the school grounds, nothing has been done to stop the dangerous emission of toxic chemicals from the plant. The government allows this travesty because Texas does not enforce its clean-air laws. Under a federal act signed by George Bush Sr. in 1990, each state was allowed to set up it's own strategy.

There are other troubling facts mentioned in Sheehy's article. Although George W. oftens remarks about his born again status and how his favorite person is Jesus Christ, none of his friends seem to remember that he ever had a religious conversion. In the 1980's, he was drawn into a James Dobson lecture series by his wife, Laura, but cracked jokes and acted disrespectful. When asked "What is a prophet?" Georgie said, "That is when revenues exceed expenditures. No one's seen that out here in years." Being disrespectful of James Dobson could normally be a point in someone's favor, but Bush is trying to pose as a true believer.

He was also involved for a time with a men's religious groups that was a precursor to the Promise Keepers. His snide, school boy sense of humor was displayed again in response to the question, "What happened to the Jew on his way to Jericho?" George answered, "He got his butt whipped."