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Gov'ment of da businesses, by da businesses, fo da businesses

In case you did not see it, check out Amazon.Com for a copy of "Shrub: The Short but Happy Political Life of George W. Bush". Here you get all the facts about "Dubya", such as how he used political influence to skip over 100,000 applicants to get into the Texas National Guard in order to dodge the draft, and how, when the state funeral home board cited one of his biggest campaign contributors for shoddy embalming, he went on the warpath and got the whole funeral home board abolished for doing their job.

The most disturbing thing that Molly documents is how George W. Bush is a true Texas politician. You see, in Texas, they believe that government is in the business of helping business, and fuck the individual voter. Texas politicians are proud of having low taxes on business, few rights for workers and consumers, and a legal system which prevents most workers from being compensated when they are injured or killed due to the negligence on the part of employers. They are proud of having one of the worst state park systems in the country, and enough toxic wastes floating around to kill a fair-sized city in a heartbeat. They believe that, by making Texas a safe haven for businesses to do anything they want, businesses will in turn move to Texas.

That's a nice theory, as theories go. So why is California, with some of the strictest environmental and worker protections in the nation, the home of the Silicon Valley and the center of all things Internet? Could it be that people with brains don't want to be in a state that basically gives your employer the right to even your thoughts? (Follow that link -- that's right, in Texas your employer even owns your THOUGHTS, even if they're thought at home, on your own time, and never placed on paper!).

But that Texas theory that George W. Bush upholds so well with his servitude to his big money financial backers also overlooks another factor: Government doesn't exist to provide prosperity. That's a socialist idea. It's odd that macho Texas believes that the business of government is socialism. Government exists for two reasons:

1. to provide infrastructure (such as roads, parks, and airports) that aren't easily handled by private businesses, and
2. to protect citizens (including business owners) from fraud, abuse, theft, and bodily harm. That's all, folks. Infrastructure, and preventing crime.

Example of how Texas works: If someone comes onto my property and I poison him, I am charged with murder. If, in Texas, a corporation dumps toxic wastes into the Rio Grande and a dozen children die in the shanty towns along the border, the corporation gets hit with an awesome $500 fine and the executive who managed to save $50,000 in disposal costs by dumping it into the river gets a raise. In other words, murder is the electric chair in Texas if you're an individual -- and a raise if you work for a business. This is wrong. This is not only wrong, this is evil. I'm sorry, murder is murder, and a Texas state government that tacitly condones murder -- if the victims happen to be poor Hispanics and the perpetrator happens to be a multi-million dollar company -- is not the kind of government that I want for the United States of America.

Just Say No to Shrub -- even if it requires voting for Gore the Bore (sigh).
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