What We've Lost: How the Bush Administration Has Curtailed Our Freedoms, Mortgaged Our Economy, Ravaged Our Environment, and Damaged Ou

To the average Republican, this may read as a conspiracy theory book, but it's NOT. The author has thouroughly researched this book, and the result is a dubious description of the unconscionable activities of the Bush administration. From the elections in Florida right through April 2004 it gives example after examples of the administration lying to Congress and the American public. Topics covered are the Iraq, the economy, the environment (not mentioned is a single debate, much to my dismay), the Patriot Act, the treatment of the military, education (No Child Left Behind Act), and healt care, among others. It is amazing to me (though after all the bald-faced lying, not so much) how this administration has managed to hookwink so many Americans. Don't let yourself be one of them.

Many writers don't have access to the research staff Graydon Carter does, so we should not be surprised by the level of detail here. While many authors offer opinions for or against, Carter has provided a mountain of facts, with each major category being addressed in it's own chapter. Whatever one's political stripe, there is simply no way to put a good face on utter and complete incompetence shown by the Bush administration during it's stewardship. Most citizens will not learn of all the changes made by the Bush administration for many years, if ever. That does not mean that they won't eventually feel the pain or pay the price however. Even if you agree with the Bush administration on some major policy points, there are tens of thousands of changes that have been made, and some will very likely horrify you. Carter's staff of researchers has done an excellent job of digging them up and documenting them. As the saying goes, read `em and weep folks.

In black and white, "What We've Lost" lays down the facts without the author's political biases clouding his judgment. Post 9/11, Graydon Carter's allegiance rested firmly with the Bush Administration. See the February 2002 Vanity Fair for proof. He, like most of us, trusted our leaders to guide us to victory in the war against terror honorably, concisely and without a question of intent. But when they led the country stumbling into a war based on conjured circumstances, Carter re-evaluated how the Administration was conducting the affairs of the our country and realized we were being misled. What undoubtedly began as an indictment of the rush to an unnecessary war in Iraq, began to uncover a pattern and policy of misleading America. The Bush Administration had set on a path of unraveling our civil liberties and dismantling regulation put in place over several decades to protect average Americans from corporate greed and institutional apathy towards the environment. Legislation was enacted and judges and other civil servants were implanted whose only goal was to expedite the agenda of ultra right-wing conservatives, regardless of the fact it didn't even remotely reflect the opinions and desires of the majority of Americans. For good measure, they also succeeded in damaging our credibility and reputation among our allies, and other nations who might very well had become our allies in the war against terror. "What We've Lost" is an irreplaceable tool for anyone who finds themselves on the fence about this year's Presidential election. There's no bluster, conservative or liberal. There's no rhetoric, right or left. It's the facts, and just the facts. Any undecided voter who would, with a clear conscience, cast a ballot for the incumbent after reading this volume, was never really undecided. They were just too ashamed to admit that they were pro-Bush.

The editor of Vanity Fair has spoken through "letters" in his magazine. I wanted to see the totality of his view on the Bush first term. I was not disappointed by the well written book that takes a viewpoint of how Bush and this administration have destroyed the reputation of the US within the world community and weakened our civil liberties at home. Mr. Carter is Canadian and has many friends within the international community - it is this perspective of someone who was drawn to the promise of America, but is now disillusioned by the actions of Bush and his administration to dismantle that promise, which makes the book compelling. I admit that I am less conversant on the "facts" than another reviewer but I am concerned that the US has weakened itself in ways that may take decades to repair. I come from a home that can be described as southern conservative - my mother was a "grand dragon" of the DAR and I have heard bashing of the UN and internationalism all my life. Unfortunately, reality is that we cannot promote a global economy on one hand (including exporting all our manufacturing) and then embrace isolationism. This country has become too dependent on foreign oil and is quickly becoming dependent on importing everything else - does this sound anything like the fall of the Roman and British empires? Our future will be dependent on us waging war to keep the import of "guns and butter" coming. If we heed the warnings of this book and others, it is not too late to change course.

Fifty stars for Graydon Carter. They are all here, the figures that confirm what we have lost. In this packed booked, Carter, the Editor of Vanity Fair, lists all their names, paying tribute to the servicemen and women who have lost their lives in the useles, hopeless war of choice by George Bush. Carter exposes the spreadsheet of the Bush Administration: money spent on an unworkable missile defense system and astronomically costly war toys for the future while 40,000 service people for months were without Interceptor vests and ride in Humvees of which 87% have no armour-no more than soft-topped recreational vehicles. Bush has tried to charge returning troops a $250 fee to enroll in the VA Medical Plan. Decades of legislation meant to protect clean air and water, forests, shores, wetlands and mountain tops has been rolled back to accommodate mining, oil and logging interests. Thirty-two billions dollars needed to upgrade shools and the cash is not available. Students hold bake sales to retain special teachers. Teachers do janitorial work to save school funds. U.S healthcare, ranking only 37th among developed nations, is not available to 43 million of its people. Medical expenses are the primary reason for the escalation of bankruptcies in the country. The economy is on the edge of collapse owing to the trade deficit and profligate spending of this Republican Administration. If every undecided voter read Carter's book Kerry would win by a landslide in November. But the written word is not the preferred medium of the American people, so What We Have Lost will be read by too few.