Voice from the Texas Smog

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My name is Josh Schonborn, and I am a thirteen year-old asthmatic who lives in Dallas. I'm here to talk about the former governor of Texas, and our new president, George W. Bush, and his position on environmental issues.

As a person living with asthma in Texas -- which has the worst air quality in the nation -- I've always had to pay attention to pollution. My awareness has led me to become involved with a few bills that would, if they'd been passed as written, have helped to improve the air quality here. This was how I first came to have contact with then-Governor Bush.

For many years, I've had to check the news every morning to see if it was an "Ozone Alert" day, a day when the quality of the air outside is so bad that it is considered dangerous, especially to the elderly and people with lung conditions such as asthma. If it is an "Ozone Alert" day, I'm unable to go outside, and if enough days of poor air quality follow each other, I have to increase my medications, or even go into the hospital for treatment. The summers seem so much shorter when you're stuck indoors.

A few years back, I wrote a letter to Mr. Bush telling him all of this and asking him to please take action and help clean up our air. I'm still waiting for him to reply.

Seeing that I couldn't elicit a response by mailing Mr. Bush a letter, I began working with a group of people in Austin, hoping to bring about a change in our air quality. We had heard that Mr. Bush opposed a bill that would close a loophole in the Texas Clean Air Act that allowed older factories to pollute our air at far greater levels than newer ones.

When we began peacefully protesting Mr. Bush's position in front of the Governor's Mansion, he had us moved to the opposite side of the street, and anyone who didn't move was arrested. This can't be a good sign for the future. If Governor Bush wouldn't listen to the views of his constituents, how can we expect President Bush to act any differently? Do we have to make a campaign contribution?

I worry about whether President Bush will listen to the views of people like me. I'm not a big company. I don't hire lobbyists. I'm just a kid with asthma.

Texas has the worst air quality in the nation. President Bush paid no attention to the air quality here, and now I'm afraid that he won't be concerned about the air quality of the nation. That worries me most of all.

If President Bush thinks the people can invest their money so well in the economy, maybe we should all invest in the gas mask industry.

http://www.tompaine.com/features/2001/02/13/1.html

-- 13-Year-Old Talks to Bush (GOP@doesn't.care), February 15, 2001

Answers

Sorry kid, no point in sending letters to Shrub, he's a major league asshole. Have you ever seen him be such a nice guy as since he became president? He even invites Democrats over to watch a movie! That's because he finally got what he wanted. Now he has the power to let his greedy pollution-spewing, forest-killing, corporate bastard friends destroy our country in the name of money. He and his friends will get even more stinking rich than they already are, while our entire nation will be ruined even worse than Texas. When you and others like you start to die, you can thank all of your neighbors who wanted a tax cut so that they could get a few hundred extra bucks a year, while Shrub's friends take home millions that might have been used for better schools and health care.

-- (rest.in@peace.kid), February 15, 2001.

We've witnessed Society-In-General de-evolve for a number of years but Bush will be remembered in the history books as the official "Beginning Of The End." He represents the epitome of all that is ugly, evil, loathsome and stupid. He threatens not only our freedoms and environment, but our very heart and spirit!

-- Quiet (Knight@Camelot.com), February 15, 2001.

Why do I doubt the author of this letter is a 13 year-old kid? Also "a few years" ago when he wrote the other letter, how old was he? This letter is more articulate than any of the Bush bashers we have here at Unk's place.

-- dudesy (dudesy@37.com), February 15, 2001.

Or maybe the Texas education system is better than the Gore people said it was.

-- dudesy (dudesy@37.com), February 15, 2001.

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