Inaugural Observations

Certain portions of President Bush's Second Inaugural Address jumped out at me as I listened. Here are just a few of those remarks. (Translations provided at no extra charge):

• "The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world."
  
  TRANSLATION: "The survival of the welfare/warfare state depends on an interventionist foreign policy. The best hope for peace is the expansion of the American Empire throughout the world."
  
  
• "Freedom, by its nature, must be chosen ... America will not impose our own style of government on the unwilling."
  
  TRANSLATION: "Freedom, by its nature, must be forced ... America will impose our own style of government on other nations whether they like it or not."
  
  
• "We will encourage reform in other governments by making clear that success in our relations will require the decent treatment of their own people."
  
  TRANSLATION: "We will encourage reform in other governments by making it clear that they may be facing the business end of a 'bunker-buster' if they don't do as we say."
  
  
• "To give every American a stake in the promise and future of our country, we will bring the highest standards to our schools, and build an ownership society. We will widen the ownership of homes and businesses, retirement savings and health insurance—preparing our people for the challenges of life in a free society. By making every citizen an agent of his or her own destiny, we will give our fellow Americans greater freedom from want and fear, and make our society more prosperous and just and equal."
  
  TRANSLATION: "To give every American the impression that their government cares, we will throw away more money on schools, further regulate the ownership of homes and businesses, encourage reliance on government for retirement savings and health insurance—preparing our people for life in a nanny state. By making every citizen a subject of the state, we will give our fellow Americans greater freedom from personal responsibility, and make our society more of a collective paradise."