Protection is more than fighting terrorism

President Bush talks a lot about protecting Americans from terrorism.

However, there is so much more that Americans need to be protected from than terrorists.

1. Food. The standards and inspection of meat is below what other industrialized countries do. The results of GM foods are not known, but GM foods have gone into the regular diets. The long-term effects aren’t known.

2. Job losses. With outsourcing to other countries Americans are working more, earning less and afraid of complaining because companies can get their labor cheaper elsewhere.

3. Overwork. Americans work more than any other industrialized countries even Japan. Often they need to work two jobs to make ends meet.

4. Illness. No country can protect illness, but with 46 million uninsured for health care the health of the country is at risk. Despite claims that American is number 1 in health care, the World Health Organization rates America 35th. Cuba is 8th. France is 1st.

5. Chemicals. People are surrounded by chemicals with long-term effects not known. What are hair sprays, Teflon, plastics and hundreds of other contaminates doing to us. Europe is beginning to require testing.

6. Medicine. Drugs are no longer properly tested or monitored. Vioxx is not an isolated case. HRT once hailed as an answer for every woman is now being looked at again.

7. Truck drivers. No truck drivers are not rampaging but with the lessening of standards and the methods of free-lance hiring they can now drive to a point where they can present a hazard to themselves and others on the roads.

8. Air pollution. Standards for clean air are being diminished
Pollution. Standards for other pollutants in our ground and in our water are being lessened.

9. Credit. Americans have been so encouraged to spend that their personal finances are the worst in the industrialized world. Their savings have now gone into the negative numbers. One recent article claimed a percentage of all Americans owe more than they make in a year.

10. Being born. CNN just reported that America has the second worse infant mortality rate in the developed world. Latvia is the only country with a worse rate.

11. Child Poverty. Here we are number two again. Mexico is worse

12. Old age. With pensions being reduced, savings almost impossible and Social Security being attacked, will a little old man of 90 be expected to run a steam shovel?

13. The government. Spying on Americans can go beyond terrorism. It can discourage any dissent.

14. Dishonest or irresponsible companies. Since co-operations have the legal rights of people they should also have the responsibilities. Fines for misbehavior need to carry weight. A perfect example is the mining disaster in West Virginia compared to one in Canada which followed stringent standards. In West Virginia, people died. In Canada they lived.

15. Global warming. I can guarantee more horrendous weather this year. I won’t guarantee a terrorist attack although it is possible.

President Bush doesn’t seem to want to protect my friends and family from any of the items listed above which are far more likely to happen them a terrorist coming through