Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

"When the library for George Bush opens in 2013 on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, visitors will most likely see one of his most treasured items, Saddam Hussein's pistol.  The gun, a 9 millimeter Glock 18 C, was found in the spider hole where the Iraq leader was captured in December 2003 by Delta Force soldiers, four of whom later presented the pistol to Mr. Bush.  Among the thousands of gifts, Mr. Bush received as president, the gun became a favorite, a reminder of the pinnacle of the Iraq War according to his friends and long time associates.

"The gun is among 40,000 artifacts and gifts Bush has collected.

"Douglas Brinkley, an author and history professor at Rice University, said the pistol opened a psychological window into Mr. Bush's view of his presidency.

"'It represents that Texas notion of the white hats taking out the black hats and keeping the trophy,' Mr. Brinkley said.

"It's a True West magazine kind of pulp western mentality for President Bush.  This pistol represents his greatest triumph, like the FBI keeping Dillinger's gun.  He wants people generations from now to see the gun and say, 'He got the bad guy.'"

Wouldn't it be appropriate to display color photos of every service man or woman who died in the Iraq War?  We should maintain a list to honor the U.S. service personnel wounded in the Iraq War.  4,500 U.S. service personnel died with over 55,000 wounded.  

The Pentagon claims that 100,000 to 200,000 Iraqis died as a result of the war and that over 2.5 million Iraqis fled for their lives to Iran, Syria, and Jordan.  The respected British medical journal The Lancet claims that the cost in Iraqi lives resulting from the Iraq War actually stands at an estimated 1,320,110, considerably higher than the figure estimated by the Pentagon and reported in the U.S. media.

The question must be asked:  Has George Bush's view of the Iraq War lost sight of the total cost in U.S. lives, U.S. wounded, Iraqi death toll, and Iraqis fleeing their homeland to save their lives?  Saddam's framed gun may be a colorful trophy, but it doesn't tell the whole story.

Perhaps only a trial for war crimes at The Hague can jolt the Bush administration members to the terrifying reality of the unneeded Iraq War, launched on provable lies.

Now it is necessary to focus on a serious economic problem I have suffered due to the corruption in the U.S. banking system, generating the worst economic meltdown in U.S. history.  

I lost money when the 119 year old Washington Mutual Bank collapsed and Chase hastily took over.

I saw the U.S. budget deficit under Bush soar into the trillions.  Bush entered office with a surplus.  Bush exited office with a national debt greater than all the prior national debts combined since the U.S. was founded 232 years ago.  

Should the horrifying economic breakdown on George W. Bush's watch be revealed in the Bush Library opening in 2013 on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas?

After removing regulations, it was possible for corrupt banking officials to give themselves million dollar bonuses while their banks were collapsing.

Before Bush left office a $720 billion plus bailout package was hastily pushed through with no caps on bankers' bonuses.

Obama's administration hastily pushed through another $720 billion plus bailout package.  Once again no caps were put on bonuses for bankers.  

Is this the kind of change Obama voters sought?

As a retired teacher and author, I trusted the U.S. government to protect U.S. currency.  Instead, U.S. dollars have deliberately been devalued.  This is exactly what exporters wanted, in effect a government subsidy to boost their profits.  

Wall Street deal making con artists rejoice with money manipulation.  If banks will not give a fair interest return on certificates of deposit, the door to fraud artist investment schemes opens wide.

As of Friday, June 10, Wells Fargo offered me 1.40 percent interest on all certificates of deposit.  I also contacted Corus Bank in Chicago, where I was offered 1.70 percent interest on all certificates of deposit.

The percentage yields at Wells Fargo and Corus Bank are, in my opinion,  tantamount to legalized theft.

It is no surprise that the average U.S. citizen does not wish to invest with banks since the savings rate has been as low as a paltry 1 percent.

Unless a fair interest return for savings on CD's is given by banks, why would anyone want to invest money in banks except for safekeeping?

As U.S. citizens we are sadly forced to admit that we have become victims of money manipulation, aided by the U.S. government operating in collusion with Wall Street.