Be open-minded, truthful about President Bush

On Oct. 22, The Pitt News published a letter to the editor written by Chris Kurowsky speaking… On Oct. 22, The Pitt News published a letter to the editor written by Chris Kurowsky speaking of the open-mindedness of the Republican Party. He included several facts that were meant to prove the capability of George W. Bush as president of the United States.

He stated, “[George Bush gave] tax cuts to all Americans.” However, he failed to mention that while giving these tax cuts, the median was only $470, and the cost of living has risen so much that they’ve been deemed virtually useless. For every $100 you got back in tax cuts, $40 was borrowed from foreigners, $20 was borrowed from Americans, and $40 was taken from Social Security.

Mr. Kurowsky also stated that “homeownership is at a record high,” but the black homeownership gap has risen by 2.6 percent, which means fewer minorities own homes.

Also, a reality check about the “fact” of 75 percent of all Al-Qaida leaders having been captured or killed: The terrorist organization has adapted by drafting new leaders and gaining footing in new countries. Some terrorism specialists feel the president has been softer toward countries like Iran and Syria, which are far more welcoming to terrorists than Saddam Hussein’s regime was. Also, a side note which has not been acknowleged by President Bush: Every single terrorist that has been caught or killed has already been replaced.

In regard to your information with the economy and jobs, regardless of what he’s done in the past year, President Bush has created negative job loss. (However, he predicted a creation of 7 million during his term.) Unemployment has actually skyrocketed. It has increased by 2.4 million people — of which 1.1 million are women. Young people (read: most of us) face the highest unemployment rate of any other group at 12 percent.

So maybe, Mr. Kurowsky, you feel that President Bush is right for you, but don’t you think it would be open-minded for you to tell the entire truth?

Rachael Heisler

CAS: Sophomore

Rch9@pitt.edu