Who's the 'Good Shepherd?'

Editor,

My Republican parents sent me to Christian elementary school where I found comfort in the 23rd Psalm and the story of the Good Shepherd. The shepherd loved his entire flock, even when he left them to rescue one little lamb precariously stranded on a precipitous cliff.

George W. Bush preys on America's traditional religious values to convince us that he cares for all of us. He promised to leave no child behind.

Since Bush took office, four million Americans have lost health insurance, 1.8 million have lost jobs and 1.3 million more are living in poverty.

Bush promised his tax cuts would shift federal tax payments from the richest Americans to middle-class families. According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, the wealthiest one percent of us received 33 percent of Bush's trillion dollar tax cut, leaving most of us out on a precipice. The only shift we feel is an earthquake.

The rest of the Good Shepherd's story: Mr. Shepherd is in cahoots with corporate agribusiness. They, too, have profound fondness for sheep, giving them cute nicknames: mutton, lamb chop, rack of lamb.

Don't let Bush lead you astray with divisive theological issues. American taxpayers are being fleeced to the tune of $4 billion a month to rebuild and occupy Iraq.

Meanwhile, American schools flunk, our health care is terminally ill, security remains perilous, deficits skyrocket and our environment decays.

With this administration, all "we the people" get is preemptive wars, tax rewards for excessive wealth and unchecked corporate welfare.

We must lift our eyes to see the looming valley of the shadow of death. Let's behave like responsible citizens instead of woolly-headed sheep. Please vote for greener pastures and elect a real president, not this false shepherd.

Wanda L. LaCroix

Arlee