The Orbis

When pondering the upcoming election, I can't help my recurrent puzzlement over how the United States could ever remain deadlocked in the polls concerning the next leader of the free world?

What else do George Bush and his cronies have to ruin, annihilate, bomb, destroy, etc., for the American people to open their star-spangled eyes; wasn't the pre-emptive war for oil and purposeful misdirection enough? Or, does the fault possibly lie within a weak opposing candidate? Could it possibly be the seemingly infinite smear campaigns targeting John Kerry?

To begin to tackle this conservative enigma, we must first explore the reasons why American first chose our presiding president.

If you weren't already aware, then you should be happy to know that our president has been improving environmental protection measures and restrictions, handling responsibly any economic situation he comes across, defending society's most basic civil liberties, oh wait, I'm so sorry, we're talking about George W. Bush, scratch that. The actual r�sum� of George W. Bush's governorship boasts the following:

George immediately laxed pollution laws to benefit power and oil companies, while simultaneously promoting Texas as the most polluted state in the Union. Not to mention, under his term, Houston surpassed Los Angeles as the most smog-ridden city in America. That was a doozy!

How could we ever forget his legislation, which fiercely cut taxes and bankrupted the Texas government to the tune of billions in borrowed money?

And of course, he greatly surpassed the record for most executions by any governor in American history. What fun! Forget you Illinois, I wish I grew up in Texas! How could I have missed out on all this wholesome, family-oriented legislation? So why didn't we see the W coming? Although he tried extensively to hide it, the media could have blatantly publicized his record.

Why didn't we stop the madness? Over Bush's last term he either ran out of ideas or liked ruining Texas, as he has begun and continues the national implementation of his state-wide legislation. Look at Texas four years ago and look at America now. Oh how cute; they could be twins!

When asked during his 2000 campaign for presidency by a reporter about Texas' fiscal crisis looming over the upcoming legislative session, our fearless leader responded, "I hope I'm not around to deal with it."

Well good for you Mr. President. You have accomplished your goal. You left your state of over 22,000,000 to "deal with it."

Could this web of lies, deceit and hypocrisy extend any further?

Unfortunately, yes. Unless by some divine intervention, Bush will easily win Texas and its glorious 34 electoral votes and the saturation of its redness will persist.

Texas, like the United States, finds itself in an encompassing, expanding, smog-filled and choking haze of the GOP trickery, double-speak and corruption. Why does W still have full support of a state he left in ruins?

Lies, media bias, political apathy and, most significantly, the coercion of the right wing's most favorite symbol, the American flag. Disturbingly, the flag has evolved into the manifestation of the right's "love it, or leave it" mindset.

Please, Texans, and Americans, I beseech you; do not be blinded by the flag. Look past the empty rhetoric and falsities; look past the fa�ade of the ever-droning "Protecting American Values" slogans. We simply deserve better.

The GOP and their all too prevalent bag-of-tricks will not cease for this election, so we must take it upon ourselves to end this downward spiral of conservative hypocrisy, hoopla and trickery.

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