PBU Petitions Bush to Dignify the Inauguration

Please go sign the following petition HERE:

President Bush: We urge you to replace your elaborate inaugural celebration plans with arrangements for spare, dignified proceedings because: - Over 123,000 people were killed by the December 26 tsunamis caused by the massive earthquake in Southeast Asia. The death toll rises by the day. If there were multiple deaths in your hometown, would you host a showy party shortly thereafter? You—and all Americans—are citizens of the world and thus must show respect for the tragic losses of our fellow world citizens. - You have pledged $350 million in aid to the nations hit by tsunamis, but your planned inauguration, with nine balls, a youth concert, a parade, a fireworks display, and the official swearing-in ceremony, is expected to be the most expensive in history, costing about $40 million—in addition to security costs. That $40 million could help provide water and sanitation systems, lessening the effects of disastrous diseases that now loom. Surely you, as a supporter of the right to life, have a moral obligation to save lives. You would be a humanitarian if you told your corporate donors that you have decided to use their money to help the survivors of one of the worst natural disasters in recorded history—donors including ChevronTexaco of Concord, California; Ameriquest Capital Corp. of Orange, California; Corporate Capital LLC of New Orleans; Argent Mortgage Co. of Orange; Long Beach Acceptance Corp. of Paramus, New Jersey; Town and Country Credit of Irvine, California; and Golden Eagle Industries of Charlotte, North Carolina. Gold-plated celebrations in the face of such suffering do not become a world leader; a little humility does. - The United States is currently spending $177 million a day in Iraq, yet American soldiers lack the life-saving equipment they need to do the job you sent them to do. - You are considering asking Congress to freeze domestic spending in 2005 in light of massive federal deficits that have set records, peaking at $413 billion in 2003. It is obscene to flaunt your corporate donations and to wallow in lavish celebrations amid international agony, and then ask Americans to tighten their belts. President Bush, please do the right thing: Have an inauguration befitting a world leader rather than the ostentatious festivities one might expect of a king out of touch with his subjects.