President George W. Bush - Evil or Good?

I have read enough e-mails regarding whether President Bush is good or evil. While he is imperfect like all of us, and his advisors are imperfect as well, our President went to war in Afganistan and Iraq for several reasons. Our President has been lampooned, criticized, and hated for his decisions and grammatical mistakes. But no matter how you feel about our President, he and his advisors had to go to war. I feel the American public, in general, should try to understand one solid reason for why. The reason goes beyond political posturing and deception. And, I understand that the President doesn't need me to defend him. Bear with me if you are religious and you don't support our President. Or, bear with me if you feel the reason is flawed after reflection. I would like to hear from you as to what you think.

William Shapespeare
(born April 23, 1564, died 1616-05-03) was an English playwright and poet.

William Shapespeare once said in his play, Hamlet, "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." My Mother used to paraphrase his words by saying, "Nothing is black, or white, or gray, only thinking makes it so." If God made everything, then everything is iherently good and no thinking can change the inherent property of good. How can evil exist? For an answer, I have always turned to the answer provided by St. Augustine in my Humanities 101 course.

St. Augustine - (November 13, 354 – August 28, 430),
Bishop of Hippo, in Algeria, was a philosopher and theologian."

St. Augustine stated, "God allowed free will. Therefore, it is the misdirection of will that causes evil." From the picking of the first apple, mankind was doomed to a flawed/imperfect existence. And the implications are wide spread. Moving forward to the 1700s, Edmund Burke made the profound statement below.

Edmund Burke
(12 January 1729 – 9 July 1797)

"All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing." Or, if you prefer a present day thinker, Albert Einstein paraphrased the same admonition below.

Albert Einstein
(March 14, 1879 – April 18, 1955)

"The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it." What do you think would be the next terrorists' event if the United Stated did nothing to let the terrorists know that there were consequences for their evil? I have always appreciated my Mother's statement, "We committ our biggest errors through ignorance." After living three times in Washington, D.C., I, for one, could not fathom the inner workings of our government and would not try to lay blame for decisions beyond my understanding and just gut feel. I have come to the conclusion that the biggest problem with all of us is our poor communication that causes misdirection of all our free wills. We also have a gift for not choosing the right priorities.

Again I ask you, let me know if you think the President should have done nothing, attacked someone else, or waited until all the facts were gathered. Remember, we bombed the Lybian leader several times and never got him.

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The following is a spoof of a real facility in Leoben, Austria. Read below or please visit:
SNOPES PRISON

The structure pictured in these photographs is not located in either the United Kingdom or the United States, although it is a prison. More specifically, it's the Justice and Detention Centre (i.e., court building and penitentiary) in Leoben, Austria. Designed by architect Josef Hohensinn, Austria's "show-piece prison" was built to house inmates in circumstances described as follows:

Prisoners in groups up to thirteen are accommodated in a wing of their own and can move freely among the cells and communal spaces. The architect suggested the additional possibility of stepping out for fresh air, so it was agreed that each communal section would have a kind of loggia — surrounded by bars, of course, but the inmates are outdoors. The prisoners also have three courtyards at their disposal, with concrete seating walls meandering through the space, so it would no longer be possible to circle around in a single file.

New Cook County Correctional Center, Chicago , Illinois

( I guess if I ever break the law, I'd better do it in Illinois !

Homeless people should have it so good!)

Once again the taxpayer gets stung.

It also shows that in most cases the quality of life for prisoners has improved considerably from what you might expect.

And I always thought prison was for punishment.!!!!!

Just in case you ever get these two environments mixed up, this comparison chart should make things a little bit clearer:

@ PRISON You spend most of your time in a 10X10 cell	@ WORK You spend most of your time in a 6X6 cubicle
@ PRISON You get three fully paid for meals a day	@ WORK You get a break for one meal, and you have to pay for it
@ PRISON For good behavior, you get time off	@ WORK For good behavior, you get more work
@ PRISON The guard locks and unlocks all the doors for you	@ WORK You must carry a security card and open all the doors yourself
@ PRISON You can watch TV and play games	@ WORK You could get fired for watching TV and playing games
@ PRISON You get your own toilet	@ WORK You have to share the toilet with people who pee on the seat
@ PRISON They allow your family and friends to visit	@ WORK You aren't even supposed to speak to your family
@ PRISON All expenses are paid by the taxpayers with no work required on your part	@ WORK You must pay all your expenses to go to work, and they deduct taxes from your salary to pay for prisoners
@ PRISON You spend most of your life inside bars wanting to get out	@ WORK You spend most of your time wanting to get out and go inside bars
@ PRISON You must deal with sadistic wardens	@ WORK They are called 'managers'
THERE IS SOMETHING SERIOUSLY WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE.

Oh, that special basketball court floor that prevents the inmates' knees being injured cost $55,000 in 1994. It is probably double that fourteen years later. Gonna' have to hire a few window washers to keep all that glass clean! And, since these guys and their families have never had anything nice in their lives, I wonder how long it will stay looking good? Blagojevich now wants billions for urban beautification in Chicago. I guess this is an example of his plans!

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