Letter: G.W. Bush values greed, arrogance

Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2004 | 8:59 a.m.

Our country is the only industrialized nation in the world lacking universal health care. The new breed of Republicans, the kind heard on right-wing talk-radio shows, fight fiercely against the Democrats to preserve this shameful record. They argue that universal health care is a descent into socialism, or even communism.

The right wingers, however, see no problem in squandering our hard-earned taxpayer dollars on President Bush's unnecessary, pre-emptive and "all about oil and personal revenge" invasion of Iraq, a country that had nothing to do with Sept. 11.

Republicans also applaud the enriching of Halliburton and wealthy oil investors by spending billions more taxpayer dollars in Iraq "repairing" the damage we've done.

More than 1,200 of our courageous American troops have lost their precious young lives in the Iraq disaster. And thousands more of our military members are maimed for life, not to mention the scores of thousands of Iraqi casualties among the innocent civilian population.

Blindly partisan Bush supporters must be reminded that it is not loyal, patriotic, Christian or in keeping with family values to send Americans into harm's way in faraway countries that are no threat to the United States. None of those qualities are at work, either, as the Bush administration tells constant lies, trashes our environment and uses fear-mongering scare tactics to portray selfishness, arrogance and greed as virtues.

RUTH DIMAGGIO