Believing the hype pushed by the president and legislators is much the same as buying a used-car from "Honest" Abe’s car lot.

To get you to spend your hard-earned cash and buy the broken-down heap, Abe makes it look like the best deal on four wheels. He’ll "spit-shine" it and tell you about all the "bells and whistles" that come with the purchase, even if you can’t see them with your own eyes.

Then after you buy the glorified heap, "Honest" Abe will follow you around for a while reminding you of what a great deal you just made and how lucky you are that you have him as your salesman.

Sound familiar?

It should, because that’s the same kind of deal we Americans got from the president and the legislature when they triumphantly sold us the legislation that is supposed to provide Iraq with democracy and give Iraqis their freedom! By the way, we’d probably get a better guarantee from "Honest" Abe than we did from our elected officials.

A few quick questions:

Why would Iraqi tribes whose history goes back to ancient times be so happy about having a democratic government?

What good is cutting taxes for the wealthy while spending trillions of tax dollars first on waging war in Iraq and then paying for its reconstruction?

Why develop an education program throughout our nation called "No Child Left Behind" and then not providing the tax dollars to ensure its success?

Why provide cheaper health services and less costly fuel overseas while charging Americans more at home?

Why beef-up the number of soldiers overseas, don't provide them with the tools and equipment they need to succeed, and then make it difficult for them to get medical and social services when they leave the military and arrive home?

Why continue to provide lucrative contracts to special interest individuals and corporations without having a bid process?

Why push for more toll roads and continue to freeze the gasoline tax? Why use and divert that tax to other interests when the soul purpose for implementing it was to use it to build and maintain roadways?

Why privatize Social Security when the system works well for most Americans?

Why don't we enforce our current immigration laws instead of looking to rewrite them?



Upon closer scrutiny, it sure does look like old "Honest" Abe isn’t the only "honest" salesman in the U.S.

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Peter Stern of Driftwood, Texas, a former Director of Information Services, University Professor and Public School Administrator, is a political writer well-known and published frequently throughout the Texas community and nationwide. He is a Vietnam-era Disabled Veteran and holds three post-graduate degrees. You may contact Peter Stern at: pstern@austin.rr.com.