I smell more than sulfur, innocence being stolen from children as well as their lives

by Mary MacElveen

When President Chavez called Bush "the Devil" he was lambasted for making that comment, but I read this comment from Bush’s Press Secretary, Tony Snow concerning Mark Foley’s criminal actions "Yes, look, I hate to tell you, but it’s not always pretty up there on Capitol Hill.

And there have been other scandals, as you know, that have been more than simply naughty emails."

To call the exchange of emails between a former congressman and a minor page is not naughty but criminal. Tony Snow is the one to be lambasted.

Then again, it can truly explain the demonic behavior of the Bush led government as I wrote in a previous VHeadline.com article where I included this passage: "Right now, young girls in the Congo are being raped, and sexually sodomized. Jan Goodwin of The Nation Magazine wrote a piece concerning this very issue called "Silence=Rape" in which she called people’s attention to their plight.

I wrote my own piece called, "The Congo: A Hidden Terror That Is Not Our Top Priority" That piece can be found on my personal web log where I cited Jan Goodwin: “30% of rape victims are sexually tortured and mutilated during the assaults, usually with spears, machetes, sticks or gun barrels thrust into their vaginas. Increasingly, the trigger is being pulled.”

But, wait, there is a damning response coming from the Bush state department as I wrote, "Jan Goodwin referred to Van Woudenberg, the Congo specialist for Human Rights Watch who tried to bring it to the attention of the US government: “In November, I tried to raise the issue with the US Mission to the UN in New York, and they told me fairly point-blank that they were aware rape was going on in the Congo, and it was just not high on their priorities ... I had a similar response from the US State Department." Are you beginning to see the amoral behavior of this Bush led government when they can turn their backs on the rape and sodomy of children living in the Congo?

What should repulse people more than President Chavez calling Bush "the devil" is when Bush’s own government turns it back on these innocent children and when his own press secretary calls the email exchanges between Foley and the minor page, "naughty emails".

As an American, I am so sick and tired of being embarrassed overseas by the Bush/GOP-led United States when I found Tony Snow’s comments reported in the UK Guardian. The article in which I found his comments was called, "Republican in sex email scandal" I would like to correct the Guardian in stating that this exchange was not, and is not, a sex scandal but criminal behavior.

What I find equally demonic coming from the GOP-led government here in the United States is that Mark Foley up until his resignation was the co-chairman of the Missing & Exploited Children’s Caucus.
It is no wonder why the many suggestions on how to protect our children went ignored.

One suggestion made by me as I have been in contact with both Republicans and Democrats alike is to make pedophilia a federal crime. I have suggested doing away with Megan’s Law and similar notification programs. What people must demand is that these criminals be sentenced to lengthy sentences such as 25 to life. The public is not qualified in dealing with these predators, nor is it our responsibility. That is the responsibility of the criminal justice system.

With many parents working longer hours or working more than one job here in the United States all thanks to the Bush/GOP-led government, it is impossible for them to go through these ever increasing sex registries.

Also, what we have now found yet again through the actions of Foley is that the sex offender is right in our own homes instead of living in the house down the street.
I would also like to remind this GOP-led government that many children are murdered by these registered sex offenders, so what good is this registry to begin with? There were two cases in Florida two years ago, in which two children were murdered after being raped by the offender. There was also one case in Iowa that same year.

Do we really want these offenders in our neighborhoods?

How did these registries protect those children?
They didn’t and as a result three families must grieve a lifetime when these predators should have been locked up and not roaming our streets.

At the Republican National Convention in 2000, Bush stated, "Leave no child behind." Now consider this as it relates to this crime known as pedophilia, many psychiatrists cannot quantify what sets off each sexual predator. There are many stressor points that we as lay people do not know what to look out for. Child sexual predators have a high rate of recidivism, so why place the community in danger as they live amongst us? Why place our children in danger?

Do you want to know how well the United States is protecting our children from these sexual predators, than this will shock you ... you will be floored as you read, “Still, California’s authorities have been unable to track up to almost half of the state’s total number of registered sex offenders at any one time: In 2002, for example, California could not account for 33,000 sex offenders, or approximately 45% of the 76,000 who registered with the state at least once ... rapists and child molesters who vanished after registering. That’s approximately 20% over the current estimated national average of sex offenders who have failed to comply with state registration requirements.”

Some folks think that Bush and the GOP are better at handling our national security, but as evident in this one particular crime known as pedophilia, they are not doing their job at protecting the children of the United States.

They will even turn their backs on the children of the Congo.

Only the devil himself and his party would cover up the criminal acts by one of their own. The Bush/GOP led government within the United States will excuse Mark Foley’s criminal behavior and call it naughty.

If pedophilia is not demonic, then I do not know what else is besides the whole sale slaughter of innocent Iraqi children. Also another example of demonic behavior coming from the Bush/GOP led government can be found in this passage: "Human rights groups, international legal observers and journalists contend Rumsfeld and top Pentagon brass have personally ordered the "torture policy," including authorizing the rape of Iraqi children in prisons in order to humiliate their parents into providing information about the so-called anti-American insurgency."

Do you really trust the Bush/GOP led United States government at protecting children within the United States, but worldwide?

I smell more than sulfur as relayed by President Chavez, what I smell is the innocence being stolen from children as well as their lives.

Mary MacElveen
mary@vheadline.com

http://www.vheadline.com/MacElveen

http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=68479