Thank You, Mr. Bush...

Thank you, Mr. Bush...and thank you members of Congress who were not outraged and you who sat on the Supreme Court silently while the government "of the people" brought our beloved nation to the brink of disaster. And thank you, American citizens, who were busy pounding your chests, waving flags and attacking anyone in this country thoughtful enough to imagine the outcome of the actions of the Bush administration. Thank you.

Thank you for robbing me of the nation I grew up in...the proud nation that I held dear as a world leader dedicated to the advancement of civil liberties and economic opportunities for those not fortunate enough to have been born here. Thank you for transforming the global image of The United States from a land of freedom and opportunity to a declining, aggressive empire. Thank you for the immense national debt that my kids and grandkids will inherit. Thank you for making me responsible for actions this administration committed "in my name" and that I now have to accept responsibility for even though I was in opposition to those actions. When this country re-elected the Bush administration and his apologists in Congress, those who voted for their re-election or allowed votes against the neoconservatives to be stolen, lost or just not counted, bought into a crime that we all now shall be convicted of.

At the end of the cold war, our country was in a unique position. We, as Americans, could stand proud and go forth as the world's only surviving super power and use our influence to the betterment of all the peoples of the world. Our government chose to take a different path. The neoconservatives who saw the opportunity to increase their wealth and power at the expense of our nation and the peoples of the world did not care to better the lives of anyone but themselves. And that, they have been very successful at. Mission Accomplished. Meanwhile, we the people have watched our freedoms erode, our paychecks and job opportunities dwindle and our hope for a comfortable retirement all but vanish. And we can't say we couldn't see it coming...there has never in the history of this country been an elected government more blatantly corrupt than the current administration. They have openly declared that they were above the law. I guess "we the people" were too busy with the sports pages and our computer games to occasionally look at what was happening to our country and ourselves. Anyone who did take that occasional look was quickly cast as a defeatist, a terrorist sympathizer or even traitor. In retrospect, I believe the traitors were those who blindly followed the Bush administration without question while they brought both domestic and international ruin to our nation. In order for a nation to lead the world, that nation must command the world's respect. We have lost that respect. I sincerely hope that in the decades to come, "we the people" have enough courage and conviction to watch those who are supposed to be our representatives and make sure that they implement policies that can earn back the respect of the world. If we don't, we will have no one to blame but ourselves as we slide from super power to the brink of the third world, much as Russia did after the collapse of The Soviet Union. We must remain vigilant. We must provide oversight to our elected officials. If we falter...if we fail in carrying out this responsibility, we are current witnesses to the consequences.

The new Congress is charged with a responsibility unlike any other preceding it. The 110th Congress of The United States must not only rectify the sins of its predecessor, but must hold those who committed those sins accountable and provide that they are punished. This is not an option that they hold, but their duty as our representatives. Our duty is to make sure that they do theirs. There are many laws that were passed by the preceding Congresses that must be repealed. Our freedoms as Americans must be restored. The steps that this country took towards becoming a police state must be aborted. Government of the people, by the people and for the people must not be allowed to vanish from this nation.