By John Scripsick

For The Transcript

It’s good to see that Woodward, OK invited George W. Bush to their 4th of July celebration. Some days I feel sorry for this poor lonely man. His dream of being rich and famous took him to be the leader of our great nation. My satisfaction as a Oklahoma farmer and rancher is the rain that comes in July or August to carry a cow herd till fall.

I wonder what Bush will say in his 40 minutes speech. I’m sure it will be sprinkled with patriotism, independence and how we were only attacked once during his presidency. 

Maybe he’ll talk about how going to war in Iraq helped move oil from less than $25 to $147 a barrel. If oil could go to six times it’s price, maybe cattle could go to $6 a pound or each cow could have six calves in one year.

That $4 a gallon fuel put many people behind on their stretched mortgages and kind of turned our economy into a tail spin.  That money ended up in the pockets of his campaign contributors,  so it should be a fair trade. 

I doubt if he will talk about 4,300 American soldiers killed in Iraq or the 30,000 maimed for life.  Or the haunting memories of thousands of others who watched it all happen.

The Iraqi people suffered the greatest loss of property and life, but I doubt if there is time to mention them in a 40 minute speech.

He could touch on torture for a few minutes.  Bush said America did not torture which is partly true because most Americans would not torture a fellow human being.  Bush and Cheney had to torture to back up faulty intelligence and extract information to suit their story of why we invaded Iraq.  So that must mean it’s okay.  

I often wondered why a man would commit suicide to kill my son in Iraq. I guess if we treated his son, brother or cousin in a sub human way with our torture techniques, it would compel him to take revenge at the first American he could find.

The war is depressing to all but Halliburton, KBR, Blackwater and others who profit.  So my guess is, Bush will stick to our independence or maybe mention SEC watching Madoff, or how he firmed up the banks with our tax dollars.

The story of how the big banks failing would cause a major economic collapse reminds me of another story he told about weapons of mass destruction that were never found.  

On second thought, I’ve heard his stories before and I'm short one family member because of him. So, I’ll pass on George’s speech this 4th of July.

John Scripsick, a farmer and rancher, lives in Wayne.