Letter: Press must hold Bush in check

Wednesday, April 4, 2001 | 9:19 a.m.

The control of the three branches of government by the Republicans gives them a kind of omniscience. President Bush killed a program to aid poor kids because "it was not working." The evidence shows it was working. Lately we've been told that carbon dioxide does not hurt the ozone layer and that arsenic in water is good for you.

Not only does the GOP control all truth and science, but the last election shows they control the meaning of the Constitution and state law, too. The conservatives have demonstrated that they will do whatever it takes to advance their agenda. At present the only dissent is a disorganized group of Democratic senators, a soon to be replaced minority in the Supreme Court, and the free press.

It's time the press raised its expectations for Bush. He is the president and his buffoonery is not funny, unless destroying the environment for a few extra bucks is funny. Bush hides behind a bland mask. A compassionate conservative, this uniter features a nice-guy smile, which is none the less an aristocratic sneer. At this moment Darth Bush is planning a Star Wars program, which will break our own treaties and rekindle the nuclear arms race. He will turn the United States into the Evil Empire because he controls the law. It's much like that tree falling in the forest; is a lie a lie if there is no dissent?

JERRY BITTS