The Buss says:

Charlie, I’ve been following your blog for a few months now, and so I didn’t really know where to throw in this comment, but I figured this would be as good a place as any. I voted for Bush, twice, in both ‘00 and ‘04. It wasn’t until recently that I began to regret this. I grew up in a similar place to you, and grew up with a lot of very conservative, “don’t rock the boat” ideologies. I’ve recently come to realize that this country is headed completely in the wrong direction, not just with the war in Iraq (and you’re hearing this from a registered Republican, and someone who actually served on the committee to elect Bush in ‘04, that Iraq was a mistake). I don’t feel any obligation to follow one certain politician, and as my own ideals have led me more to what they call the “left”, or liberal viewpoint, my loyalties still lie with the American PEOPLE, and not the American POLITICIANS. Your blog is insightful when it comes to the political viewpoints of a Christian who doesn’t feel obligated to follow the same political mindset as most Christians. I’m slowly joining this way of thinking. It’s almost like a self brain-washing of sorts, as I unlearn a lot of what I came to tell myself was right. I can no longer justify the war, Bush’s educational policies (and I am a 5th grade teacher, so I can tell you that No Child Left Behind is crap). Well anyways, just thought I’d rant. Love the blog Charlie, keep it up.

The Buss says:

I’ve actually seen a similar bumper sticker, and it’s so true. Not that I’m begging for money on a daily basis in my classroom, and actually education has healthy funding in my opinion, but our priorities (our=Bush and his government) are completely out of whack.
As far as the war in Iraq goes, I disagree now with our motives for being there. I got a call last week from an old friend from Carlsbad who was a marine, and served a tour of duty in Baghdad, and was actually present at the fall of Baghdad when they tore town the statue of Hussein. I asked him what he thought about the war, and he said that when they’re over there, they try to ignore what Americans are saying about the war, because they’re risking their lives and like to think they’re doing it for a good cause. He said that the good cause was helping those Iraqi children and people get away from that tyrant Saddam Hussein, but now that he’s home, he’s beginning to think that he risked his life every day over there so that some rich guys in America could get even richer. It just makes you think.