Tankgurl: Progressive Politics with an Attitude

What Went Wrong in Iraq

2004-08-26T10:20:00.000-04:00

Foreign Affairs has a damning article of what went wrong in Iraq. It makes for telling reading, the author repeatedly citing examples of where Ideology over-road experience and basic knowledge of the Middle East.

What makes the piece all the more damning is who the author is: Larry Diamond, Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. He also was hired by the CPA as a Senior Advisor this year.

Here's a BRIEF snip:
************
Many of the original miscalculations made by the Bush administration are well known. But the early blunders have had diffuse, profound, and lasting consequences-some of which are only now becoming clear. The first and foremost of these errors concerned security: the Bush administration was never willing to commit anything like the forces necessary to ensure order in postwar Iraq. From the beginning, military experts warned Washington that the task would require, as Army Chief of Staff Eric Shinseki told Congress in February 2003, "hundreds of thousands" of troops. For the United States to deploy forces in Iraq at the same ratio to population as NATO had in Bosnia would have required half a million troops. Yet the coalition force level never reached even a third of that figure. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and his senior civilian deputies rejected every call for a much larger commitment and made it very clear, despite their disingenuous promises to give the military "everything" it asked for, that such requests would not be welcome. No officer missed the lesson of General Shinseki, whom the Pentagon rewarded for his public candor by announcing his replacement a year early, making him a lame-duck leader long before his term expired. Officers and soldiers in Iraq were forced to keep their complaints about insufficient manpower and equipment private, even as top political officials in the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) insisted publicly that greater military action was necessary to secure the country.

In truth, around 300,000 troops might have been enough to make Iraq largely secure after the war. But doing so would also have required different kinds of troops, with different rules of engagement. The coalition should have deployed vastly more military police and other troops trained for urban patrols, crowd control, civil reconstruction, and peace maintenance and enforcement. Tens of thousands of soldiers with sophisticated monitoring equipment should have been posted along the borders with Syria and Iran to intercept the flows of foreign terrorists, Iranian intelligence agents, money, and weapons.

But Washington failed to take such steps, for the same reasons it decided to occupy Iraq with a relatively light force: hubris and ideology

***********
Read the ENTIRE article and then ask yourself: Is the United States truly a safer and better nation after 4 years of Bush's leadership??

Foreign Affairs - What Went Wrong in Iraq - Larry Diamond

Couldn't happen to a nice guy

2004-08-25T14:40:00.000-04:00

From Josh Marshall's blog:
***********
The Kerry campaign is sending Max Cleland and Jim Rassman down to the president's 'ranch' to hand deliver a letter signed by seven veterans serving in the United States Senate asking Bush to "recognize this blatant attempt at character assassination, and publicly condemn it."

Nice political theater and it couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

Maybe it's time for Bush to bug out?
*********
Ha! And Perhaps Bush will release is W-2s from 1970-73, including those for the missing months(? years?) from the TANG (Texas Air National Guard).

But I'm not holding my breath.

Talking Points Memo%3A by Joshua Micah Marshall%3A August 22%2C 2004 - August 28%2C 2004 Archives

What Bush was doing while John Kerry was getting shot at...

2004-08-23T18:17:00.000-04:00

From Juan Cole's website--He should be read by EVERYONE, EVERY DAY!

This little-noted interview with Blount's nephew Murph Archibald, which appeared on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered on March 30, 2004, gives a devastating insight into what it was like to have to suffer through Bush in that period.

"All Things Considered (8:00 PM ET) - NPRMarch 30, 2004 TuesdayThis campaign season, there have been questions about whether George W. Bush fulfilled his obligations to the National Guard as a young lieutenant in the early 1970s. For weeks, reporters scoured Alabama in search of pilots or anyone who might have remembered seeing Mr. Bush at the time he was serving in the National Guard there. There is one place in Alabama where Mr. Bush was present nearly every day: the headquarters in Montgomery of US Senate candidate Winton "Red" Blount.

President Bush has always said that working for Blount was the reason he transferred to the Alabama Air National Guard. NPR's Wade Goodwyn has this report about Mr. Bush's time on that campaign.

WADE GOODWYN reporting:In 1972, Baba Groom was a smart, funny young woman smack-dab in the middle of an exciting US Senate campaign. Groom was Republican Red Blount's scheduler, and in that job, she was the hub in the campaign wheel. Ask her about the handsome young man from Texas, and she remembers him 32 years later like it was yesterday.

Ms. BABA GROOM (Former Campaign Worker): He would wear khaki trousers and some old jacket. He was always ready to go out on the road. On the phone, you could hear his accent. It was a Texas accent. But he just melded with everybody.

GOODWYN: The candidate Mr. Bush was working for, Red Blount, had gotten rich in Alabama in the construction business. Prominent Southern Republicans were something of a rare breed in those days. Blount's support of the party led him to be appointed Richard Nixon's postmaster general. In Washington, Blount became friends and tennis partners with Mr. Bush's father, then Congressman Bush. That was how 26-year-old Lieutenant Bush came to Montgomery, at his father's urging . . . It was Mr. Bush's job to organize the Republican county chairpersons in the 67 Alabama counties. Back in 1972 in the Deep South, many rural counties didn't have much in the way of official Republican Party apparatus. But throughout Alabama, there were Republicans and Democrats who wanted to help Red Blount. It was the young Texan's job to find out what each county leader needed in the way of campaign supplies and get those supplies to them. Groom says this job helped Mr. Bush understand how even in a statewide Senate campaign, politics are local.. . . Murph Archibald is Red Blount's nephew by marriage, and in 1972, he was coming off a 15-month tour in Vietnam in the infantry. Archibald says that in a campaign full of dedicated workers, Mr. Bush was not one of them.

Mr. MURPH ARCHIBALD (Nephew of Red Blount): Well, I was coming in early in the morning and leaving in mid-evenings. Ordinarily, George would come in around noon; he would ordinarily leave around 5:30 or 6:00 in the evening.

GOODWYN: Archibald says that two months before the election, in September of '72, Red Blount's campaign manager came to him and asked that he quietly take over Mr. Bush's job because the campaign materials were not getting out to the counties.

Mr. ARCHIBALD: George certainly didn't seem to have any concerns about my taking over this work with the campaign workers there. My overall impression was that he didn't seem as interested in the campaign as the other people who were working at the state headquarters.

GOODWYN: Murph Archibald says that at first, he didn't know that Mr. Bush was serving in the Air National Guard. After he found out from somebody else, Archibald attempted to talk to Mr. Bush about it. The president was a lieutenant and Archibald had been a lieutenant, too; he figured they had something to talk about.

Mr. ARCHIBALD: George didn't have any interest at all in talking about the military. In fact, when I broached the subject with him, he simply changed the subject. He wasn't unpleasant about it, but he just changed the subject and wouldn't talk about it.

GOODWYN: Far from Texas and Washington, DC, Mr. Bush enjoyed his freedom. He dated a beautiful young woman working on the campaign. He went out in the evenings and had a good time. In fact, he left the house he rented in such disrepair--with damage to the walls and a chandelier destroyed--that the Montgomery family who owned it still grumble about the unpaid repair bill. Archibald says Mr. Bush would come into the office and, in a friendly way, offer up stories about the drinking he'd done the night before, kind of as a conversation starter.

Mr. ARCHIBALD: People have different ways of starting the days in any office. They're going to talk about their kids, they're going to talk about football, they're going to talk about the weather. And this was simply his opening gambit; he would start talking about that he had been out late the night before drinking.

GOODWYN: Archibald says the frequency with which Mr. Bush discussed the subject was off-putting to him.

Mr. ARCHIBALD: I mean, at that time, I was 28; George would have been 25 or 26. And I thought it was really unusual that someone in their mid-20s would initiate conversations, particularly in the context of something as serious as a US senatorial campaign, by talking about their drinking the night before. I thought it unusual and, frankly, inappropriate.

GOODWYN: According to Archibald, Mr. Bush would also sometimes tell stories about his days at Yale in New Haven, and how whenever he got pulled over for erratic driving, he was let go after the officers discovered he was the grandson of a Connecticut US senator. Archibald, a middle-class Alabama boy--who, by the way, is now a registered Democrat--didn't like that story.

Mr. ARCHIBALD: He told us whenever he was stopped, as soon as the law enforcement found out that he was the grandson of Prescott Bush, they would let him go. And he would always laugh about that. "
**********
It's time to ask GWBush about his substance abuse history: What drugs, etc. have you consumed???

Bush thinks he might lose...

2004-08-23T15:58:00.000-04:00

This little tidbit was buried in Saturday's LA Times. The setting is Ohio, the must-win swing state for W.

************
At the end of the meeting, Bush turned to his reelection prospects. Although he expressed his belief that he would win on Nov. 2, Bush said he would be at peace with himself "if people elect to send me home."

"He said he wanted to be remembered as being effective and he was not worried about trying to be popular," said Chancelor Wyatt, a marketing manager at Timken.

John Grogg, a furnace operator who put on the dress blues of his Pennsylvania Air National Guard unit for the occasion, quoted the president as saying: "You know, if I should lose this reelection for president of the United States, I know that I've done as good a job as I can do. And God would say, 'Good servant, take a break.' "
*********
From W's lips to God's ears, or so the saying goes... Even a miserable servant needs a break (*GRIN!*).

Bush Hears Straight Talk From Steelworkers

Jeb Bush's Banana Republic

2004-08-23T11:03:00.000-04:00

I truly hope Bob Herbert gets the Pulitzer. His current reporting on the intimidation of African American voters in Florida certainly derserves it.

Here's a fast snip:
*************
The G.O.P. was stung again in 2003 when Buddy Dyer, a Democrat, was elected mayor of Orlando. He won a special election to succeed Glenda Hood, a three-term Republican who was appointed Florida secretary of state by Governor Bush. Mr. Dyer was re-elected last March. As with Mr. Gore, the black vote was an important factor.

These two election reverses have upset Republicans in Orange County and statewide. Moreover, the anxiety over Democratic gains in Orange County is entwined with the very real fear among party stalwarts that Florida might go for John Kerry in this year's presidential election.

It is in this context that two of the ugliest developments of the current campaign season should be viewed.

"A Democrat can't win a statewide election in Florida without a high voter turnout - both at the polls and with absentee ballots - of African-Americans," said a man who is close to the Republican establishment in Florida but asked not to be identified. "It's no secret that the name of the game for Republicans is to restrain that turnout as much as possible. Black votes are Democratic votes, and there are a lot of them in Florida."

The two ugly developments - both focused on race - were the heavy-handed investigation by Florida state troopers of black get-out-the-vote efforts in Orlando, and the state's blatant attempt to purge blacks from voter rolls through the use of a flawed list of supposed felons that contained the names of thousands of African-Americans and, conveniently, very few Hispanics.
*********
As events prove again and again, when conservatives yap about making the US a color-blind society, they mean blinding society to the government-sponsored abuse of people of color.

The New York Times %3E Opinion %3E Op-Ed Columnist%3A A Chill in Florida

A Kerry Landslide???

2004-08-23T10:54:00.000-04:00

This is something I've suspected since early July, which has been confirmed by my August travels.

Stick a fork in him: Bush is cooked.

Here's a snip from the Gadflyer article:
********
....here's the key point: the number of battleground states has grown since the beginning of this race, and in each case a state that Bush won easily in 2000 has, to the surprise of many, become highly contested, complete with multiple candidate visits and a tsunami of television ads. Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado were all supposed to be safely Republican; Kerry could win one or more.

In fact, there is not a single battleground state save Louisiana (which many people don't consider and actual battleground state) in which a non-partisan poll shows Bush with a lead larger than the poll's margin of error, while in many, things are trending Kerry's way. Bush won Missouri comfortably in 2000; Kerry now leads in polls there. Pennsylvania, the state Bush has visited more times than any other save Texas, now looks like it might not even be close, with Kerry garnering double-digit leads in some polls. Kerry also leads by a good margin in Michigan. Ohio was supposed to be the Florida of 2000, the state on which all could hinge; most polls show Kerry with a lead there.

Which brings us to Florida itself. After Jeb Bush coasted to re-election in 2002, some were saying Democrats shouldn't even bother trying to contest the Sunshine State; now Kerry leads there in every poll. And the situation on the ground is favorable to Kerry as well: According to the St. Petersburg Times, the Bush campaign, the state GOP, and the RNC combined have only 68 paid staffers in Florida, compared to the 300 working there for the crack anti-Bush field organizing group America Coming Together; that doesn't even count the Kerry campaign itself. Through June, the Democrats had added 129,423 new voters to the Florida rolls, compared to 75,132 for Republicans. And the Democrats will be watching the vote counting very carefully.

********
The question now becomes, Does Kerry have any coat-tails??

Additionally, I've been watching this campaign very carefully, and there seems to be a looming battle for the heart and soul of the GOP. For every two PO'd dems, there is a simliarly PO'd Republican. It's why Bush is working so hard in solidly GOP states (say SC): He may well lose his own party in a number of states.

It's probably why John McCain is campaigning with him. The 2000 GOP primary campaign was too rancorous for either Bush or McCain to truly "kiss and make up." But the only way McCain is going to be able to lead the fight for control of the GOP is to be a loyal soldier right now.

Go and read the entire article--The data are damning for W.
The Gadflyer%3A Landslide

Kerry: Slo-Mo on Swifties

2004-08-22T15:29:00.000-04:00

Normally Maureen Dowd drives me crazy...Too cute and too sloppy on her facts. But today in her NYTimes column, she does drives some important points home.

Here's just a snip:

It's easy for the Bushes to stay gallant. They delegate the gutter.

There are always third-party political assassins, ostensibly independent, to do the dynasty wet work.
**********

The New York Times %3E Opinion %3E Op-Ed Columnist%3A Kerry%3A Slo-Mo on Swifties

Bush Campaign Drops Swift Boat Liar

2004-08-22T10:36:00.000-04:00

This entire bruhaha is nothing more that a crass smear. As the details emerge, it's pretty clear that there has been a fair amount of coordinating between the Swift Boat Liars and the Bush Campaign.

Here's a snip from today's Pravda on the Potomac:

The Bush campaign said Kenneth Cordier, who appears in a new advertisement to be aired by the anti-Kerry group, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, will no longer serve in his voluntary position on Bush's veterans steering committee."

Uh-huh.

Here's a wonderful smoking gun of collusion between the smear machine and the Bushies. Glad that Kerry is filing a FEC complaint. I doubt much will come of it, but it's still important to nail these guys--to the degree it's possible.

Stay tuned.

Bush Campaign Drops Swift Boat Ad Figure %28washingtonpost.com%29

Kerry's going to romp

2004-08-20T10:50:00.000-04:00

I've suspected this since July, when traveling through rural PA and talking with families who have been Republican since the Civil War. --They're voting for Kerry this time, or sitting on their hands.

Today, economics James Galbraith says the same thing in a Salon column. You have to subscribe to see the entire piece, so here's a snip.

*****
To compare George W. Bush to Jimmy Carter is unfair to Carter, who showed his worth as a world citizen last week by upholding the plain fairness of the vote count in Venezuela. Carter was tough-minded and courageous in Caracas. He single-handedly forced the U.S. media -- which in early stories was giving equal play to spurious claims of vote fraud -- to fall in line with the truth. So let me apologize to that great American, a Nobel Peace laureate, for a parallel that, on a personal level, does him disservice.

And yet, George W. Bush is uncannily like Carter in one more respect. Remember the "malaise" speech of the summer of 1979 -- that unfortunate effort by a failing president to ignite the American imagination and get our juices flowing again? Well, Bush has given one of those too. This was the "ownership society" speech, a less-than-stirring call to Americans to go out and "own something." No doubt Bush will repeat this phrase in his acceptance speech at the Republican Convention. There's not much to say about this in a country where homes, college degrees and public pensions -- Social Security -- are already the property of millions, because of government programs that Bush is trying hard to destroy and which destructive efforts he will redouble if he gets a second term. If ever there was an "ownership society," it's the one we live in today, thanks to the New Deal and the efforts of presidents ever since who built on that foundation -- but not Bush.
***********
The question isn't that Bush is going to loose in November, he will, but how badly. And if he goes down, how many other Republicans who blindly drank his WMD kool-aide will follow??

Salon.com %7C November surprise%3F

Voting While Black

2004-08-20T09:07:00.000-04:00

Bob Herbert has been following this story for the last few weeks. Seems like the FL State Storm Troopers are going in the homes of elderly black voters in Orlando. WHy?? To look for evidence of voter fraud.

This is scary, scary stuff.

Here's a snip:
********
The officers were armed and in plain clothes. For elderly African-American voters, who remember the terrible torment inflicted on blacks who tried to vote in the South in the 1950's and 60's, the sight of armed police officers coming into their homes to interrogate them about voting is chilling indeed.

One woman, who is in her mid-70's and was visited by two officers in June, said in an affidavit: "After entering my house, they asked me if they could take their jackets off, to which I answered yes. When they removed their jackets, I noticed they were wearing side arms. ... And I noticed an ankle holster on one of them when they sat down."

Though apprehensive, she answered all of their questions. But for a lot of voters, the emotional response to the investigation has gone beyond apprehension to outright fear.

"These guys are using these intimidating methods to try and get these folks to stay away from the polls in the future,'' said Eugene Poole, president of the Florida Voters League, which tries to increase black voter participation throughout the state. "And you know what? It's working. One woman said, 'My God, they're going to put us in jail for nothing.' I said, 'That's not true.' "
*********
Grandma got run over by Jebbie's goon squad.

Disgusting!

The New York Times %3E Opinion %3E Op-Ed Columnist%3A Voting While Black

Differences on Dissent

2004-08-18T14:21:00.000-04:00

The following is posted at the Mediocrelawstudent weblog. It speaks volumes regarding which Presidential candidate tolerates dissent--not that this should be a surprise. The complete message is posted. It is dated August 3, 2004.

**********
I just wanted to tell you all about my experiences last Saturday. I found out last week that John Kerry was going to speak on July 31 in Wheeling, and so I went to get tickets. In addition, I made a general offer to pick up tickets for anyone at my work that wanted them. In response, some people noted that George Bush was also speaking in Cambridge, OH (which is not too far away) earlier the same day. Since it is not often that one gets to see both candidates for President on the same day, I went and got a ticket for the Bush rally as well.

On Saturday morning, I went to Cambridge with a friend. Wanting to see the President, but not wanting to be seen as supporting his policies, I wore a Kerry/Edwards T-shirt. I want to emphasize, however, that I was not there to protest, only to listen to my President. We stood in line in the rain for an hour an a half in the rain just like the other 10,000 or so people. And while I did get a few curious or dirty looks, very few people said anything to me, and I said nothing to the other people at the event outside of occasional small talk.

As I approached the security area, one low-level security person asked me to turn my shirt inside out. As I said, I was only there to hear the President, and so I complied. When I got to the main security area, however, the same man came up to me again, told me he had checked with his superiors, and that I would not be allowed into the event with the Kerry/Edwards T-shirt. I had been a little afraid of this eventuality and had brought another non-political T-shirt just in case. So I agreed to change shirts. The man took my other T-shirt and put it where I could find it after the speech.Thinking that was the end of that, we went inside and tried to find a place in the crowd where I could see the President. I had no intention of heckling the President or causing trouble of any sort. I just stood with the rest of the crowd waiting for the speech. After a few minutes (maybe 10-15), the first security person came up to me again, this time with a second burlier gentleman. I was asked to stand with the second man in an area somewhat away from the main crowd, and again I complied. A couple of minutes later a third man who told me he was with the President's advance team (or something like that) came up and escorted me out of the event. Still not wanting to cause trouble, I went out as I was asked, and waited for my friend who was allowed to stay. Incidentally, while outside, I did get to do what I came for. I got to see the President briefly waving from his motorcade on the way into the event.

Now being the curious sort, I obtained a Bush shirt to see what would happen at the Kerry rally in Wheeling. Still not wanting to be perceived as a Bush supporter, I waited and put the Bush shirt on about 10-15 minutes before we reached the security checkpoint. This time no one said anything to me, and I was allowed to enter with no questions asked. After entering, I put on my Kerry T-shirt, and listened to the speakers as I had planned.Now I don't know what others will make of this experience, but you should feel free to forward this email to anyone that you would like. I would ask that you include my name, however. Too many people spread lies and rumors on the internet anonymously. What I have said is true, and I am not afraid to sign my name to it.

Sincerely,
John Prather

P.S. If you would like to see a newspaper article written about this, you can access it by going to http://zanesvilletimesrecorder.com. Then click on local news. At the bottom of that page is a calendar for previous stories. Click on August 1. The story is titled "Rally draws only few with opposing views."

Retiring GOP Congressman blasts Iraq War

2004-08-18T13:22:00.000-04:00

It looks like a major fight is brewing in the GOP, with the Iraq war fracturing Bush supporters.

According to the Lincoln Journal Star (Nebraska for non-mid-Westerners), SNIP
**********
In a dramatic departure from the Bush administration, Republican Rep. Doug Bereuter says he now believes the U.S. military assault on Iraq was unjustified.

"I've reached the conclusion, retrospectively, now that the inadequate intelligence and faulty conclusions are being revealed, that all things being considered, it was a mistake to launch that military action," Bereuter wrote in a letter to constituents in the final days of his congressional career.

That's especially true in view of the fact that the attack was initiated "without a broad and engaged international coalition," the 1st District congressman said.

"Knowing now what I know about the reliance on the tenuous or insufficiently corroborated intelligence used to conclude that Saddam maintained a substantial WMD (weapons of mass destruction) arsenal, I believe that launching the pre-emptive military action was not justified."

As a result of the war, he said, "our country's reputation around the world has never been lower and our alliances are weakened."

Bereuter is a senior member of the House International Relations Committee and vice chairman of the House Intelligence Committee

Lincoln Journal Star Online
***********
Too bad he had to retire to make this statement. But then again, who wants to risk the wrath of the Bush crowd??? If W goes down in flames in November there's going to be one whale of a fight for the heart & Soul of the GOP. MOre on this in a bit.

Harkin Unloads on Cheney

2004-08-17T20:47:00.000-04:00

I lived in Des Moines Iowa for 6 years (1985-1991). Harkin is a pretty easy going guy, not one for hot, emotional outbursts. That he's unloaded all over Cheney indicates just how nasty the BUshies are.

Here's a snip from the CNN site.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Vice President Dick Cheney's questioning of John Kerry's war record and his ability to protect America is "cowardly," Sen. Tom Harkin said Monday.

"It just outrages me that someone who got five deferments during Vietnam and said he had 'other priorities' at that time would say that," said the Iowa Democrat, a former Navy fighter pilot.

Harkin said he had seen clips of the vice president saying in Iowa last week that Kerry lacks a basic understanding of the war on terrorism.

He accused President Bush and his vice president of "resorting to dirty attacks on John Kerry's war record."

"They're running scared because John Kerry has a war record and they don't," said Harkin. "What he (Cheney) is doing and what he is saying is cowardly. The actions are cowardly."

*********
Hooray--FINALLY, FINALLY, FINALLY, the political pros are going after the chicken hawks.

CNN.com - Harkin%3A Cheney%27s comments %27cowardly%27 - Aug 16%2C 2004

Time To Get Out The Bush / How do you know it's time for a major change in American leadership? Let us count the signs

2004-08-11T10:34:00.000-04:00

Check out the fabulous op-ed by Mark Morford.

Here's a snip:
********
You know it's time for a serious change when the president of the United States actually mutters the infantile, instantly infamous line, "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we," just after finishing phonetically spelling out his name, in his favoritest red crayon, on yet another budget-reaming $417 billion defense-spending bill.
And you know it's time for a change when not a single one of the rigid and spiritually curdled military yes men standing around the ceremonial signing table, those sad automatons with their wooden smiles and stiff spines and bone-dry souls, not one broke into a hysterical bout of sad, suicidal laughter, followed by uncontrolled wailing and the rending of flesh and the muttering of oh my freaking God what the hell is this man doing as leader of the free world.

You know it's time for a change when you hear that Kerry and Edwards both wrote their own riveting, galvanizing acceptance speeches at the Democratic National Convention, heartfelt and effective rhetoric that gives you hope not for the quality of polished oratory but for genuine, refreshing political intellect, and verbal acumen, as you offer deep thanks that at least some politicians can still speak coherently and cogently without mangling the goddamn language at every adjectival clause.

Whereas you just know Dubya isn't capable of writing a single word of his own speeches, and will employ entire squadrons of lackeys to do it for him at the RNC, and will regardless still insist on mispronouncing "nukuler" and "'Murka" and "terrist" and "gin bender at Yale," and will doubtlessly say something like, "We must stamp out evil in all its forms because evil wants to do evil things to us and evil don't know the depths of its own, uh, evilnesses. Praise Jesus."

******
It gets to the heart of why I'm personally disgusted with W. He's incompetent to lead a prayer circle, much less the US.

Time To Get Out The Bush / How do you know it's time for a major change in American leadership? Let us count the signs

Outing of spy stuns security experts

2004-08-09T12:27:00.000-04:00

here's something that hasn't been too well covered in the US yet. Seems like the Bushies outed a spy who was operating inside al Qaeda.

Why???

To show they are wining (???) the war on terror.

A few Snips From the New Zealand Herald

LONDON - The revelation that a mole within al Qaeda was exposed after Washington launched its "orange alert" this month has shocked security experts, who say the outing of the source may have set back the war on terror.

Reuters learned from Pakistani intelligence sources at the weekend that computer expert Mohammad Naeem Noor Khan, arrested secretly last month, was working under cover to help the authorities track down al Qaeda militants in Britain and the United States when his name appeared in newspapers around the world.

....
Security experts said they were shocked by the revelations that the source whose information led to the alert was identified within days, and that US officials had confirmed his name.

"The whole thing smacks of either incompetence or worse," said Tim Ripley, a security expert who writes for Jane's Defence publications.

"You have to ask: what are they doing compromising a deep mole within al Qaeda, when it's so difficult to get these guys in there in the first place?

"It goes against all the rules of counter-espionage, counter-terror-ism, running agents and so forth. It's not exactly cloak and dagger undercover work if it's on the front pages every time there's a development, is it?"

New Zealand News - World - Outing of spy stuns security experts

Out there---way far out there (from the OK Gazette)

2004-08-09T11:40:00.000-04:00

Tom Coburn is the GOP senate Candidate for OK.

He really likes (NOT!) his queer Oklahomans.

Here's a snip from the article:

Last year to the Rogers County Republicans he said, “… The gay community has infiltrated the very centers of power in every area across this country, and they wield extreme power. ... That agenda is the greatest threat to our freedom that we face today. Why do you think we see the rationalization for abortion and multiple sexual partners? That’s a gay agenda.”

***
Inflitrated???? Extreme Power?? Shades of nazi-type rhetoric. You can replace "gays" with "Jews" and see where he maybe going.

Scary, scary, scary.

Out there�way far out there (from the OK Gazette)

Tax Cheat runs against Obama

2004-08-09T11:31:00.000-04:00

The Illinois GOP really is desparate. Their goldboy flames out, Ditka says "no," and so they import Alan Keyes, a conservative huckster extrodinaire, to run against Barak Obama.

Too bad Keyes doesn't pay his taxes.

Not only will Keyes be road kill on election day, but the Illinois GOP has now managed to look desparate, silly and totally irrelevant.

WWLT? (What would Lincoln Think?)

ABC7Chicago.com: Keyes announces US Senate candidacy

Prison Abuse

2004-08-09T10:16:00.000-04:00

Below is a great editorial on the Abu Ghraib scandal.

Here's just a snip:

THE PRETRIAL HEARING for Pfc. Lynndie R. England has the makings of a show trial. The military parades this pregnant, unmarried 21-year-old clerk in front of the world as one of a handful of rogue MPs responsible for the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison. Meanwhile, back at the Pentagon, officials huddle in their bunkers seeking to avoid responsibility.

Pentagon prosecutors have managed to unearth the details of Ms. England's sexual escapades with Spc. Charles A. Granger Jr., the alleged ringleader of the rogue police. But the Pentagon has been unable to muster the effort to probe the details of 94 documented cases of prison abuse, including 40 deaths.
. . .

In this light, there is something absurd about pinning a scarlet letter on a pathetic - though perverse - 21-year-old private from West Virginia, while the president and the secretary of defense skate.
STLtoday - News - Story

Fire John Ashcroft

2004-08-08T21:16:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks:

Sorry there's not been an update. I've been traveling. ANyway, below is a post to the latest snafu from Johnny Ashcroft's Department of Injustice. Actually, it's looking like the keystone kops, with apologies to the Commonwealth of PA.

Here's a snip:

**************
WASHINGTON (AP) - Prosecutors in the first major terror trial after Sept. 11 were hindered by superiors from presenting some of their most powerful evidence, including testimony from an al-Qaida leader and video footage showing Osama bin Laden's European operatives casing American landmarks, Justice Department memos show.

The department's terrorism unit "provided no help of any kind in this prosecution," the U.S. Attorney's office in Detroit wrote in one of the memos, which detail bitter divisions between front-line prosecutors and their superiors in Washington
*************
But then again, going after women's medical records is far more important. (Johnny is just a bit cuckoo about abortion).

GRRRRRRR!!!!

iWon News

Regular Republicans bailing on Bush...

2004-07-31T17:33:00.000-04:00

Looks like my experience with the PA gent a few weeks ago is playing out across the country. Why are life-long GOP-ers supporting Kerry??

It's the lying....the never ending lying of the Bushies. Here's a snip from the Yahoo piece:
******
In Tennessee, Brian Boland, a young music company manager shopping at a market near Nashville, said: "I've always voted Republican and my folks will just kill me if they find out I'm switching to Kerry this year ... but I am just frustrated with the way Bush has mishandled everything. All the untruths."

His wife said she too was switching. The Republicans carried Tennessee in 2000, even though it was the home state of Democratic nominee Al Gore.

At the same market Ron King, a black Vietnam Veteran, said: "I always voted Republican before but I'm against Bush ever since I found out that he doesn't love this country. His so-called military record is a sham. And the worst part is that he lies so much. He lied about weapons of mass destruction."

Lloyd Huff, 64, retired director of the Dayton Research Institute in Ohio, says he has "voted for a Republican in every presidential election I can remember" but it will be Kerry this time because "the Bush administration has been the most deceitful, duplicitous, secretive administration this country has ever had."

"Going to war in Iraq was a horrible, horrible mistake," he said. He accused Bush of "an arrogant, swaggering cowboy mentality ... he has done more than anyone to inflame the Muslim world by his words and actions."
********
And the chickens are coming home...

Yahoo! News - Some Republicans Defect to Kerry's Camp

Obtaining Cheney Rally Ticket Requires Signing Bush Endorsement

2004-07-31T17:27:00.000-04:00

You're expected to sell your vote (or perhaps your soul) to see Dick Cheney.

Here's a snip:

Some would-be spectators hoping to attend Vice President Dick Cheney's rally in Rio Rancho this weekend walked out of a Republican campaign office miffed and ticketless Thursday after getting this news:
Unless you sign an endorsement for President George W. Bush, you're not getting any passes.
The Albuquerque Bush-Cheney Victory office in charge of doling out the tickets to Saturday's event was requiring the endorsement forms from people it could not verify as supporters.

Can you say "Desparation mode?"

ABQjournal: Obtaining Cheney Rally Ticket Requires Signing Bush Endorsement

Bush camp solicits race of Star staffer

2004-07-31T17:21:00.000-04:00

And why on earth did they want to know this????

Racial profiling anyone???

From the Arizona Star.

Bush camp solicits race of Star staffer | The Arizona Daily Star �

- Kerry, Edwards warm up crowd of 15,000 in Scranton

2004-07-31T17:16:00.000-04:00

This is a stunning turnout.

Scranton is very blue/rust collar, and traditionally conservative cities as they come.

But Kerry & Edwards scored a HUGE crowd. This is fabulous. W is in biiiiigggg trouble if Kerry & Edwards carry Scranton. They'll carry Pittsburgh & Philly, no problem. But if they win the smaller PA cities, which trend GOP.....

Hmmmmm

mcall.com - Kerry, Edwards warm up crowd of 15,000 in Scranton

Farmers' Refrain: Where's All Our Money?

2004-07-31T17:12:00.000-04:00

The New York Times has a follow-up story on black farmers, most of whom have yet to receive any settlement money from the feds.

It's an awful story of discrimination, which keeps getting worse. I believe the government is waiting the farmers out, hoping they give up and/or die before they receive their money.

The New York Times > National > Black Farmers' Refrain: Where's All Our Money?

Savage: "I'm voting for Bush ... I'm a white, m ... [Media Matters for America]

2004-07-31T14:08:00.000-04:00

Michael Savage's viewpoint just sez it all... All not white guys, who aren't non-liberals, are a "hot coal" in Savage's peepers.

BTW: According to Savage's reasoning, the majority of Americans are out of the mainstream.

Hmmmm....

Savage: "I'm voting for Bush ... I'm a white, m ... [Media Matters for America]

Let them eat Prozac...

2004-07-31T13:56:00.000-04:00

Yet another example of the Bushies not getting it.

Unemployed??? Having a devil of a time finding a job at a decent salary???

Take Prozac, at least that's what a Bush Campaigner said.

I wish this were a joke.

And I wonder how the unemployed are to pay for this prescription medication????

From Yahoooooooo....

Yahoo! News - Unhappy Workers Should Take Prozac --Bush Campaigner

Local10.com - News - Woman's Dying Wish: Bush Defeated

2004-07-31T13:02:00.000-04:00

Check out this story.

Instead of sending flowers, this woman's dying wish was for "those who loved her to try to make sure President George W. Bush is not relected."

Fabulous.

Local10.com - News - Woman's Dying Wish: Bush Defeated

Arab Americans Report Abuse (washingtonpost.com)

2004-07-29T09:04:00.000-04:00

Well, DUH!

THis is an important story, but is stating the obvious for those of us who have Arab American family members.

The racism can be rather fierce at times. My partner, who is Arab American, is ALWAYS pulled over to be searched when we fly. Her brother in law has ditched his mustash, because he looks "less Arab" with it gone. (He now looks like he's maybe 14, but that's other story).

Not only are Arab Americans targeted, HISPANIC Americans have been targeted for attacks, because they are mistaken for being Arab American.

When will this madness stop??

Arab Americans Report Abuse (washingtonpost.com)

The Public Editor: Is The New York Times a Liberal Newspaper?

2004-07-26T08:31:00.000-04:00

Take some pepto before you read this puppy.

Why is the Times a liberal paper, according to their "public editor," Daniel Okrent?

Because they cover gay marriage, and generally don't cite right-wing bigots in their coverage.

What Okrent ignores is the Times was the most homphobic of mainstream papers (See Alwood's "Straight News," 1996 Columbia University Press). Okrent's reasoning is that since it's generally neutral on queer issues, it's now a liberal paper.

Rightttt.... See the Wen Ho Lee Scandal, the endless Clinton bashing, the weird coverage of John Kerry, etc. etc.

What Okrent's column demonstrates, is not that the NYTimes is a liberal paper, but that their "public editor" has a real problem with queer people.

The New York Times > Week in Review > The Public Editor: Is The New York Times a Liberal Newspaper?

Proposed Marriage Ban Splits Washington's Gays

2004-07-25T14:57:00.000-04:00

The New York Times finally covers the outing story.

Here's a snip:
**********
The election-year fight over gay marriage has altered the gay scene here in ways that have left some in the community - most notably gay Republicans - stunned and even fearful. Under intense pressure to separate their gay consciousness from their broader political identity, gay and lesbian conservatives are facing stinging ridicule in the very neighborhoods, bars and restaurants that were once unquestioned safe zones.

In recent weeks Lynden C. Armstrong, administrative director for Senator Pete V. Domenici, Republican of New Mexico, an opponent of gay marriage, has been called "a Jew working for Nazis," and "a gay Uncle Tom." During a recent dinner at a Washington restaurant, a friend loudly berated Mr. Armstrong in front of other patrons. He was even confronted about his political allegiance during a weekend getaway in Rehoboth Beach, Del., again, by people he considered friends.

"I don't feel like I'm being attacked by anyone in my office," said Mr. Armstrong, 33, who is also co-chairman of the Gay, Lesbian and Allies Senate Staff Caucus. "The attacks have come from other gays and lesbians, and that's hard. It's very hard for me to understand how they can do that. Most people know how difficult this all is for all of us."

The tension experienced by Mr. Armstrong and others has been ratcheting up since February when President Bush formally endorsed a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. But it has reached fever pitch in the past two weeks, since Mike Rogers, a gay activist in Washington, began posting on the Internet the names of gays who work for lawmakers supporting the amendment.

"It's about exposing hypocrisy wherever we find it," Mr. Rogers said.

********
Poor, poor conservative queers. They work for brownshirt pols who campaign against queers, then they cry foul when other queers call them on their hypocrasy. Get over it.

The campaign is also designed to out the pols who spout crap, but are perfectly fine with queers, so long as we are silent.

Right.....

The New York Times > Washington > Proposed Marriage Ban Splits Washington's Gays

Jenna Bush

2004-07-25T13:30:00.000-04:00

Jeanna Bush is on record of saying she would like to teach, and thinks she'd do a good job teaching in Harlem.

Now....Let's talk about the arrogence and itty bitty dollop of racism wrapped up in that pronouncement. Better yet, check out the following from the NY Daily News...not exactly a bastion of progressive thinking.
**********
Jenna is unwanted

Not everyone wants Jenna Bush to teach in Harlem.

Artists and Activists United for Peace, a black and Latino public-action group, plans to express its displeasure with the First Daughter at a rally on Sept. 2, during the Republican National Convention.

"We don't think she is of a high enough moral character to teach school, considering her past adventures," said group organizer John Penley. "Her taking this job is keeping a black person from getting the job. We think she and her sister should enlist in the military."
**********
Actually, her run-ins with the law combined with a teeny tiny drinking problem might keep her from getting a teaching license. Then there are all those "morality clauses" which still lurk in most agreements.

Hmmmm...Any bets on Jenna actually teaching anywhere???

New York Daily News - Daily Dish & Gossip - Rush & Molloy: Martha's next move may soon be to jail:

Democrats blast GOP lawmaker's 'suppress the Detroit vote' remark

2004-07-22T21:05:00.000-04:00

Oh no, nothing racist implied by this at all.

From the Detriot Free Press, opening paragraph:

Democrats on Wednesday denounced a Republican lawmaker quoted in a newspaper as saying the GOP would fare poorly in this year's elections if it failed to "suppress the Detroit vote."

Democrats blast GOP lawmaker's 'suppress the Detroit vote' remark

Former Christian Coalition Leader Outed

2004-07-22T20:49:00.000-04:00

No! Not THAT one silly, the former head of the Florida Christian Coalition, who now works for Mel Martinez's senatorial campaign.

What a PIECE of work.

From the Washington Blade.

Just a fast snip:
*************
Throughout his career, both at the Christian Coalition and after, Dowless has had a long history of pushing an anti-gay agenda.

As far back as 1994, Dowless, then the director of the Christian Coalition of Florida, was quoted in the New York Times opposing the popular Gay Days event at Disney World in Orlando because it allegedly was a threat to kids.

“This whole day is focusing on sex,” Dowless was quoted as saying, “and when you put these elements together, there is the greater possibility of illegal activities on children or some harassment.”

In 1997, Dowless, still in his role as director of the state’s Christian Coalition, cheered when the University of Florida rescinded a student spouse ID card that had been given to the partner of a lesbian student. The card gave spouses of students special advantages, such as use of the university’s libraries and recreational facilities.

“Marriage should be reserved for a man and a woman,” Dowless told the Alligator, the student publication.

In 1998, Dowless successfully blocked a move by the state legislature to write the Religious Freedom Restoration Act into the state Constitution. The move would have prohibited discrimination based on a variety of attributes, including gender.

But, according to the St. Petersburg Times, Dowless opposed the gender provision, saying it would be a possible loophole for allowing same-sex marriages.

And in 2002, Dowless created a misleading phone message for Gov. Jeb Bush. The message, sent to 50,000 social conservatives in the state, claimed that voters should cast their lot with Bush over Democratic rival Bill McBride because Bush was “the only candidate who supports traditional marriage.”

But the statement was false. McBride did oppose same-sex marriage, and after a public controversy, the phone message campaign was pulled.

Just last year, Dowless was scheduled as one of 25 guest speakers at a “Reclaiming America for Christ” conference held Oct. 24-25 in Fort Lauderdale. Promotional materials indicate he spoke about grassroots organizing among conservative Christians.

******
Now, would some one please explain again why outing is a bad thing??????

Washington Blade Online

'Fahrenheit 9 / 11' Making GOP Nervous

2004-07-22T12:05:00.000-04:00

GOOD!!!

From the NY Times...

The New York Times > National > 'Fahrenheit 9 / 11' Making GOP Nervous

A note from the principal's office

2004-07-21T12:17:00.000-04:00

Dear Mr. and Mrs. G. H. W. Bush,

Once again, it is that time of year when we update the parents of our students on their child's progress, and we regret to inform you that your son, Georgie, is not doing as well as we'd hoped and expected when he embarked on his four-year program at our school.

As you are well aware, Georgie was installed as class president at the start of the school year, despite the fact that the majority of his fellow students did not vote for him. We foresaw problems immediately, but were assured by several school board members (who, as we understand it, are friends of your family) that this would not result in any real difficulty. Unfortunately, they have been proven wrong.

In the area of scholastic achievement, despite our best efforts, Georgie is still reading and speaking at a grade level far below our usual standards. At this point, we are not sure if his failure to learn is due to laziness and a lack of ability to apply himself to his studies, or if he simply lacks the intellectual capacity to improve in these areas.

His oral presentations to the class are particularly troubling; it is apparent that Georgie has not read the necessary materials, and he often simply fabricates facts to hide this shortcoming. In oral exams, he tends to repeat the same answers over and over, e. g. "The economy is good; jobs are on their way," indicating a profound failure to keep up with the Current Events portion of the curriculum.

Georgie also tends to fabricate elaborate stories about himself - which, admittedly, can sometimes be very amusing. During a school celebration last May, he delighted his fellow students by coming to class in a little "flight suit" (just like the grown-ups wear!), and had everyone in stitches with his story about the family dog having eaten his report card from military pre-school!

On the whole, however, Georgie does not play well with other children. His "leadership" in the classroom continues to divide many students, one against the other. Other study groups, such as our French and German-language classes, are no longer willing to cooperate with Georgie's group, even though they have traditionally done so in the past.

Your son also displays a lack of taking responsibility for his failings, and seems unable to appreciate the consequences of his actions. Although he was provided with the best textbooks on the subjects of the Economy, Job Creation, The Environment, et cetera, these books were damaged or completely destroyed within a matter of months. Georgie insists that he "inherited" these books in poor condition, despite all evidence to the contrary. (In fact, these same textbooks were previously used by one of our very best students, who actually returned them in better condition than he found them!)

During his first few weeks with us, Georgie quickly became part of a group of other "problem students." Despite warnings, he has consistently befriended children whom we consider to be "bad elements," such as Little Kenny Lay and a foreign-exchange student named Chalabi. Both of these youngsters have been expelled from other schools due to their involvement in cheating other students out of their lunch money. We feel that these kinds of relationships can only lead to no good, and hope that you will advise your child accordingly.

Georgie often displays aggressive behavior in the schoolyard, and recently assaulted a student in another school district, completely unprovoked. When asked about this incident, Georgie insisted that the other child was armed and dangerous. When investigation into the matter proved otherwise, Georgie changed his story several times: he was just trying to "democratize" the other child, the other child's school was harboring gang members, and so on. Quite frankly, his story on this topic has so changed from week to week, we simply can't trust his word at all anymore.

Georgie's friends, while not great in number, are very loyal, but tend to be over-protective. If any of the other students point out Georgie's failing grades, these friends simply shout them down and tell them not to speak at all. When Georgie was summoned to the principal's office several weeks ago, he insisted that his "best friend" come with him. We feel that it is in Georgie's best interest to learn to stand up for himself; failure to do so could seriously damage his ability to handle a leadership role in his adult years.

As you are aware, final exams will be held in November, and Georgie's past performance leads us to conclude that he will not be able to achieve the grades necessary to continue on with another four-year term at our institution.

Yours Truly,
Ms. J. Q. Public, Assistant Principal

Black Farmers Accuse Agriculture Dept. of Failing to Live Up to Racial Bias Settlement

2004-07-21T09:28:00.000-04:00

From the NY Times...

Here's the backgrounder on this issue. Back in the 1980s, the Reagan administration, then Bush administration systematically CUT OFF black farmers from Agricultural subsidies that they were legally entitled to, while at the same time funded larger, white-owned and controlled, agricultural coroporations (Think con-agra, monsanto, etc).

I remember seeing an interview with the head of the program during this time. He's was just increadibly bigoted (BTW: My dissertation was on the Reagan administration--they used to place the most bigoted and numbed headed racists in the domestic agencies).

Anyway, the results for black farmers were devastating...

The farmers filed a class-action suit and finally reached a settlement with USDA in the mid-1990s.

And now, the current Bush administration is denying these same farmers (9 out of 10) the settlement money that they are legally entitled to.

It's evil, evil, evil crap.

The New York Times > Washington > Black Farmers Accuse Agriculture Dept. of Failing to Live Up to Racial Bias Settlement

Paper calls the former governor of Texas a bigot...

2004-07-20T13:22:00.000-04:00

From the Capital Times, Madison Wisconsin...

Here's a snip:

So why is the president lying about a supposed threat posed by allowing same-sex couples to marry?

Why is he attempting to demean the country's most important document by smearing it with an official sanction of discrimination?

Out of respect for the president and his office, we suggest that he is a bigot.

The alternative would be to suggest that he is a political cynic who continues to push an amendment to the Constitution that will never be enacted - in part because key senators from his own party oppose the amendment - in order to gain political advantage.

If he is a cynic, then he is also a fool. Trying to whip up anti-gay bigotry in Wisconsin, which more than two decades ago was the first state to enact significant gay rights legislation, is politically inane.

The Capital Times

Grandpa got run over by the draft board...

2004-07-20T13:19:00.000-04:00

From Corrente. I wish it were a joke.

corrente / Leah, Lambert, Tresy & the farmer

The Daily Show With George Bush - by Paul Craig Roberts

2004-07-20T13:03:00.000-04:00

Roberts is a conservative, and HE's slamming Bush's war in Iraq.

Here's a snip:

What would you do if your army was mired down in a country turned hostile by your invasion, forced to hide behind fortified positions, and only able to make an occasional foray to kill a few women and children along with an occasional insurgent? A plethora of reports are issued revealing that the reasons you thought you had for invading the country were completely false. The invasion was based on mistaken "intelligence."

You would pull your army out? Ah, that's the difference between sense and nonsense. The Bush administration, with the military stretched to the breaking point, wants to continue to occupy Iraq while starting a war with Iran.

Enjoy!

The Daily Show With George Bush - by Paul Craig Roberts

How has the US been spending other people's billions?

2004-07-20T12:50:00.000-04:00

Henry Waxman asks a good question about the US and their spending of Iraqi resources...

Here's a snip from the UK Guardian:

Right now, Mr Waxman has a question on Iraq. In fact, he has several - and in typically robust fashion, he is demanding answers. What he wants to know is whether the Bush administration has been fiddling with Iraq's oil revenues.

He wrote to the Republican chairman of the reform committee on July 9, suggesting there was a serious case to answer. Subpoenas should be issued, he said, 'to investigate potential mismanagement of the Development Fund for Iraq (DFI) by the United States'.

The DFI was set up after last year's invasion as the depository for Iraq's multi-billion-dollar oil revenues and was administered, until June 28, by the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) - with notional UN oversight.
In particular, Mr Waxman is curious about 'the [Bush] administration's last-minute 'draw-down' of billions of dollars from the DFI for unspecified expenses' prior to last month's transfer of sovereignty. 'For example, $1bn [about �550m] was withdrawn from the DFI during the last month of the CPA's existence for unspecified 'security' purposes.'

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | How has the US been spending other people's billions?: "How has the US been spending other people's billions?

Faux news is being sued...

2004-07-20T12:47:00.000-04:00

Fox news is being sued for deceptive advertising, since it markets itself as being "Fair & Balanced."

The issue involves consumer fraud, not first amendment. Here's a snip:

"...Chellie Pingree, president of Common Cause, said the legal actions were consistent with the First Amendment. 'Fox has no obligation under the law to be fair and balance, just not to market itself as fair and balance,' he said."

Stay tuned....

Fox News' use of 'Fair and Balanced' challenged legally

W's use of queer-baiting...

2004-07-20T10:52:00.000-04:00

Robert Scheer of the LA Times has a dandy editorial on W's and the GOP's use of homophiba during this election year. A brief snip:

"...still smarting from the defeat in the Senate of a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages, the president has returned to playing the God-and-patriotism card heavily — always implying that the GOP is the party for "real" Americans. During his Midwest swing, he promised to protect those homeland values from the latest big threats: gays who marry and Hollywood entertainers who support Democrats. Bush did not quite equate gay marriages with Al Qaeda, as Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Rick Santorum did: "Isn't that the ultimate homeland security — standing up and defending marriage?" Bush just held that gay marriages would destroy "the most fundamental institution of civilization."

****
Yup, W is using the us vs them electoral strategy. I really hope it bites him HARD. Perhaps like father like son...
Homophobia and Apple Pie

THE BUSH-CHENEY 22-POINT PROGRAM

2004-07-18T15:01:00.000-04:00

To mobilize conservative churches.....

Notice the text uses the term "pastor," not minister, rabbi, iman or priest.

Hmmmmmm....

Herald.com | 07/18/2004 | THE BUSH-CHENEY 22-POINT PROGRAM

Some fresh air from Canada

2004-07-18T13:52:00.000-04:00

The following is from the Toronto Sun

Here's a fast snip.

The era of strategic deception

Sun, July 18, 2004

The era of strategic deception

By Eric Margolis -- Contributing Foreign Editor

HAVING PRESIDED over the two worst intelligence disasters since Pearl Harbor -- 9/11 and the misbegotten invasion of Iraq -- the Bush Administration and its apologists are now whining, "Okay, we were wrong about Iraq's weapons and supposed threat, but so was everybody else. Besides, it was all the CIA's fault."

No way. The Iraq weapons fiasco was absolutely not caused by an "intelligence failure," as the White House and the recent Senate whitewash claim.

U.S. national security and CIA were corrupted and blinded by extremist ideology, cowardice, and careerism.

Nor was everyone wrong about Iraq.

Scores of Mideast professionals, this writer included, insisted from Day 1 that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction, posed no threat to the U.S., and had no link to al-Qaida

Toronto Sun Columnist: Eric Margolis - The era of strategic deception

Surprise! Bush doesn't know what he wants to do...

2004-07-18T13:48:00.000-04:00

Check out Dan Balz's analysis. Here's a snip.

"Bush's failure to detail a second-term agenda, beyond his pledge to keep wagining an aggressive war against terrorism, represents a stark contrest to all his previous campaigns, in which he set out a handful of priorities almost from the opening day of his candidacy and rarely deviated from them the rest of the campaign."

Stay tuned for the movie "Clueless in DC."

ContraCostaTimes.com | 07/18/2004 | Bush camp late to define new agenda ANALYSIS

The War on Terror

2004-07-18T13:29:00.000-04:00

Check out Kevin Drum's analysis on Bush and his efficacy regarding the War on Terror.

It makes for distressing reading.

The Washington Monthly

Bush was a sloppy student

2004-07-17T20:28:00.000-04:00

From the Harvard Crimson

Why are we surprised???

The Harvard Crimson Online :: News: "Published on Friday, July 16, 2004

Snip:

Tsurumi said he particularly recalls Bush’s right-wing extremism at the time, which he said was reflected in off-hand comments equating the New Deal of the 1930s with socialism and the corporation-regulating Securities and Exchange Commission with “an enemy of capitalism.”

“I vividly remember that he made a comment saying that people are poor because they’re lazy,” Tsurumi said.

Bush displayed a sense of arrogance about his prominent family, including his father, former U.S. President George H.W. Bush.

“[George W. Bush] didn’t stand out as the most promising student, but...he made it sure we understood how well he was connected,” Tsurumi said. “He wasn’t bashful about how he was being pushed upward by Dad’s connections.”

Kristof hits a home-run

2004-07-17T16:00:00.000-04:00

Normally, reading Nick Kirstof in the NYTimes makes me wince--in anger. This time, he's nailed an issue.

He takes on the "Left Behind" series by Tim LaHay. Here's a snip:
***********
If a Muslim were to write an Islamic version of "Glorious Appearing" and publish it in Saudi Arabia, jubilantly describing a massacre of millions of non-Muslims by God, we would have a fit. We have quite properly linked the fundamentalist religious tracts of Islam with the intolerance they nurture, and it's time to remove the motes from our own eyes.

In "Glorious Appearing," Jesus merely speaks and the bodies of the enemy are ripped open. Christians have to drive carefully to avoid "hitting splayed and filleted bodies of men and women and horses."

...
No, I don't think the readers of "Glorious Appearing" will ram planes into buildings. But we did imprison thousands of Muslims here and abroad after 9/11, and ordinary Americans joined in the torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib in part because of a lack of empathy for the prisoners. It's harder to feel empathy for such people if we regard them as infidels and expect Jesus to dissolve their tongues and eyes any day now.

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Jesus and Jihad

Bush believes God speaks through him...

2004-07-17T13:04:00.000-04:00

Check out the following article by a Lancaster PA newspaper.

THe killer quote is from Bush who reportedly told assembled Amishers, "“I trust God speaks through me...."

Oh boy!

BTW: Did you know there's a significant correlation between super-religiousity and mental illness???? Check out the medical literature and the history of religion. All those saints hearing voices, etc. etc.

Lancaster Online.com: News : Bush quietly meets with Amish here; they offer their prayers

Rural Poverty

2004-07-17T12:18:00.000-04:00

Today's Washington Post has an article that examines young people and rural poverty.

Briefly, while the percentage of urban poor is 16%, for the rural poor it's over 20%. Furthermore, poor rural children have less access to medical care, dental care, and a host of social services, governmental and non-profit.

This is consistent with what I've been seeing in my home town, which is located in Northern PA, in the foothills of Appalachia.

I've seen families devasted by the lack of health insurance, particularly when a child is diagnosed with cancer. The local people will do their best for the family running all manner of fundraisers, but as they saying goes, "You can't get blood from a stone."

Needless to say, the area leads the nation in per-capita military enlistments. With the military, a person gets a regular salary, regular health and dental care (the quality is questionable, but something is generally better than nothing), and somewhat decent housing. Of course, you do run the rise of going to Iraq. But the benefits are more than what many of these kids have ever seen.

Go read and learn.
Poverty Tightens Grip On Mississippi Delta (washingtonpost.com)

Where the hell is Congress???

2004-07-16T15:28:00.000-04:00

So it seems the good GOPpers in Congress are against sodomy when its consensual and loving (queers), but it's OK when used as by non-queers against the "enemy."

From the UK Independent, a snip:

Young male prisoners were filmed being sodomised by American soldiers at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad, according to the journalist who first revealed the abuses there.

News

Why isn't ANYONE investigating besides Seymour Hersh???

Citing Falwell's Endorsement of Bush, Group Challenges His Tax-Exempt Status

2004-07-16T15:10:00.000-04:00

Let's see if the separation of church and state is still breathing. Looks like Rev. Falwell has openly endorse the Former Governor of Texas for president. The good Rev. did so in his capacity of being a minister. According to the NY TImes.

****
Mr. Falwell defended the right of a pastor to endorse political candidates in his personal capacity, even from the pulpit. Mr. Falwell said he often did this at his church, the Thomas Road Baptist Church.

"I support President Bush,'' he said. "I support him on Sunday mornings from the pulpit where it doesn't cost the church or anybody anything. I make it very clear, just like at most African-American churches and many liberal churches, that as a tax-paying citizen I vote. And I tell people who I vote for."
***
Falwell is right, that he does have a first amendment right to tell his parishoners who he's voting for and who they should vote for. But if he does so, he can't keep is CHARITABLE status.

See ya in court Jerry.

The New York Times > Washington > Campaign 2004 > Citing Falwell's Endorsement of Bush, Group Challenges His Tax-Exempt Status

Check out a great cartoon on John Ashcroft...

2004-07-16T14:04:00.000-04:00

who according to Paul Krugman is, "The worst AG ever!.

Clink on the link from the Alliance for Justice

The Intrusive Spy-der-Man

Labor Board Says Graduate Students at Private Universities Have No Right to Unionize

2004-07-16T10:46:00.000-04:00

This is a very worrisome ruling.

Graduate assistants are grossly overworked, underpaid, and can be ground to pieces at some universities. While there may be university regulations limiting the hours, typically 20 hours per week, they're laughable.

In many situations, the boss, is also the academic advisor in dissertation chair. It can be a highly exploitative situation. While obviously most academic advisors/chairs/bosses aren't tyrants, the power dynamic can lead to all manner of abuse.

The New York Times > Education > Labor Board Says Graduate Students at Private Universities Have No Right to Unionize

An Ode to President, oops!, Vice-president Cheney

2004-07-16T10:22:00.000-04:00

From the Blogger Corrente, with a few selective edits....

We love you Cheney-poo,
oh yes we doooo!
We don't love anyone,
as much as yooooo!
When you're not near us,
we're bluuuuuu!
Mis-Ter Vice-Fuck-Yourself,
we luuuuuv yoooooo!

Bush's pup tent

2004-07-16T09:35:00.000-04:00

Below is a link to Bob Herbert's column in today's NYTimes.

Here are a few snips.
*****
What is troubling is Mr Bush's relationship with black Americans in general. He's very good at using blacks as political props. And the proposa are too often part of an exceedingly cyncial production.

Four years ago, on the first night of the Republican convention, a parade of blacks was hauled before the television cameras (and the nearly all-white audience in the convention hall) to sing, to dance, to preach and to praise a party that has been relentlessly hostile to the interests of blacks for half a century.

I wrote at the time that "you couldn't tell whether you were at the Republican National Convention or the Motown Review."

That exercise in modern-day minstrelsy was supposed to show that Mr. Bush was a new kind of Republican, a big-tent guy who would welcome a more diverse crowd into the G.O.P. That was fiction. It wasn't long before black voters would find themselves mugged in Florida, and soon after that Mr. Bush was steering the presidency into a hard-right turn.

*****
Bush is the worst sort of pol--Smile to your face, kiss your kids so long as the cameras are rolling. Then, once the cameras are long gone, have his minions knife you in the back...repeatedly.

That said, Kerry has got to a better job reaching out to African American communities. He needs to incorporate the all of the African American 30-ish and 40-ish year olds who cut their political teeth working in the Clinton administrastration and for the Gore campaign. Clinton and Gore did a relatively good job giving folks from all sorts of backgrounds national political experience.

Kerry ignores this experienced talent at his peril.

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Bush's Not-So-Big Tent

Memo Rips GOP Hopeful for 'Lewd' Actions

2004-07-15T19:23:00.000-04:00

The Illinois Republican Party is such a mess.

1. Their wonder boy candidate for US SEnate flames out over nasty divorce papers. This may not have hurt the candidate, but he had embraced "Traditional Family Vaules." Encouraging one's wife to join in the festivities at sex club probably disqualifies him from that crowd.

2. The current hopeful likes to gay-bash, big time, even when the victim is STRAIGHT. Check out the ABC article.

ABCNEWS.com : Memo Rips GOP Hopeful for 'Lewd' Actions

'Doonesbury' Artist Trudeau Skewers Bush

2004-07-15T13:34:00.000-04:00

A Disturbing Insight From the UK Guardian.
***************
"Trudeau said he penned his very first cartoon to illustrate an article in the Yale Daily News on Bush and allegations that his fraternity, DKE, had hazed incoming pledges by branding them with an iron.

The article in the campus paper prompted The New York Times to interview Bush, who was a senior that year. Trudeau recalled that Bush told the Times ``it was just a coat hanger, and ... it didn't hurt any more than a cigarette burn.''

``It does put one in mind of what his views on torture might be today,'' Trudeau said.

**************

And HOW!
Guardian Unlimited | World Latest | 'Doonesbury' Artist Trudeau Skewers Bush

The CIA's Prisoners (washingtonpost.com)

2004-07-15T09:28:00.000-04:00

Check out today's editorial in the Pravda of the Potomac. It's a keeper.

The CIA's Prisoners (washingtonpost.com)

An e-mail from Senator Lautenberg..

2004-07-14T15:36:00.000-04:00

BTW: He's got a fabulous staff. Enjoy!
************************
Thank you for contacting me about the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment. I appreciate hearing from you on this issue.

The United States Constitution provides the framework for our government and the foundation upon which our laws are based, and it is the primary guarantor of individual freedoms. It is a document of critical importance, and I believe it should be amended only in extremely rare circumstances.

The Federal Marriage Amendment that has been introduced in Congress provides that "marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution or the constitution of any State, nor State or Federal law, shall be construed to require that marital status or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups."

I believe that this proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution on marriage is unwarranted. Current federal law, the Defense of Marriage Act, P.L. 104-199, prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriages and allows individual States to recognize or refuse to recognize such marriages performed in another State. Furthermore, proposed civil union laws in several States, including New Jersey, provide significant benefits, such as health and retirement benefits, to gays and lesbians in a demonstrated, committed relationship.

Finally, with the exception of prohibition of alcohol -- which was repealed -- this would be the first amendment to our Constitution that expressly restricts individual rights. This would be a most unfortunate shift in the heritage of our Constitution as a symbol of civil liberties and the use of amendments to expand individual rights.

For these reasons, I do not support the initiative to pass a Federal Marriage Amendment. Thank you again for contacting me.

Ding-dong the bigots loose big-time

2004-07-14T13:18:00.000-04:00

Here's a happy link from the Washington Post..

Senate Scuttles Amendment Banning Same-Sex Marriage (washingtonpost.com)

The "I hate queers" contingent could not even muster a majority in the senate--they lost 48-50. HAH! This means the White House and their toady Bill Frist, lost THEIR OWN PARTY.

But what will Sen. Man-on-Dog Santorum do with his free time now??

The intrepid Wonkette strikes again, outs FOX

2004-07-14T10:44:00.000-04:00

The blogger Wonkette has done a WONDERFUL public service by posting 30 memoes from Fox News grand poo-bah John Moody. A quick read indicates just how slanted Fox actually is.

ENJOY!!!
Fox News Memos: The Whole Batch

Psssttt.. What do Ken Lay and George W. Bush have in common??

2004-07-14T10:36:00.000-04:00

The same criminal lawyer.

Josh Marshall has a quick analysis.

Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall: July 11, 2004 - July 17, 2004 Archives

Mel Martinez gay bashes, but he has a gay man as finance chair.

2004-07-13T19:38:00.000-04:00

Mel Martinez (GOP) is running for the US Senate from Florida. Today, he released a radio ad in which he equates the move towards gay marriage to living under a totalitarian regime, like Castro's.

The logic on that is completely loopy. But it gets worse. Martinez's campaign finance chair is an out gay men.

Hence, my little e-mail note.
(FYI) kirk@melforsenate.org
*******************
Dear Mr. Fordham:

I understand that you are the finance chairman for Mel Martinez’s Senatorial campaign.

I have just listened to Mr. Martinez’s campaign ad in which he compares extending civil rights to gays and lesbians to living under Fidel Castro.

*HUH?!!!!*

Castro has long persecuted gays and lesbians.

Martinez is officially against extending civil rights for gays and lesbians.

Since Castro is hostile towards gays and lesbians and Martinez’s central campaign theme is hostility towards gays and lesbians could you please explain why Martinez is not like Castro???

I eagerly await your response.

PS: As a gay man, you should know better than to fund this crap. For Shame!

Red Cross suspects U.S. hides detainees

2004-07-13T17:51:00.000-04:00

This is VERY worrisome. The Red Cross suspects the US is making terror suspects "disappear." According to the AP article posted on Salon.com:

"Terror suspects reported by the FBI as captured have never turned up in detention centers, and the United States has failed to reply to agency demands for a list of everyone it's holding, said Antonella Notari, spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross. "

Making folks disappear, who may or may not be threats to the state, is a brown-shirt tactic. If our fearless leaders truly believed in democracy, they would follow long-established rules of law. But they don't....

I have a better replacement for Cheney--Pinochet.

Salon.com News | Red Cross suspects U.S. hides detainees

Grading Mistakes Caused More Than 4,000 Would-Be Teachers to Fail a Licensing Exam

2004-07-13T08:24:00.000-04:00

From the NY Times

The New York Times > Education > Grading Mistakes Caused More Than 4,000 Would-Be Teachers to Fail a Licensing Exam

I'm not wild about standardized tests--they're a crude instrument, at best, to determine most anything about humans.

But lately, they've become the equivalent to taking a blood oath to prove one's worthiness. Of course, since kids don't vote or give campaign contributions (except for rich kids), they're subjected to the vast majority of tests.

Teachers are another segement of society that routinely get standardized tests crammed down their collective throats. The article gets an a critical point: "There is more public oversight of the pet-food industry than there is for test makers."

Stay tuned....

Did Bush pull a Nelson Rockefeller???

2004-07-12T09:40:00.000-04:00

Go check out this post. It's clear the author is in his early 20s, and the writing is a bit uneven.

But again, it seems there were more protestors along W's PA route than the media told.

This is a constant through out the current regime: Ignore and/or supress dissent. Remember: Bushie got egged after his inaugeration/coronation.

jiveturky: The single greatest event of my life.

DeLay's is toast

2004-07-12T07:57:00.000-04:00

Looks like Tom DeLay, that roach killer from Texas, used corporate money from ENRON to push congressional redistricting in Texas.

Except it's against the law to use corporate money for political purposes in Texas.

I can hardly wait to see DeLay do the "perp" walk.

From the Washington Post:

DeLay's Corporate Fundraising Investigated (washingtonpost.com)

On NJ's Domestic Partnership

2004-07-11T16:40:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was a good day in my state. New Jersey's Domestic Partnership law came into effect. It covers LGBT people as well as non-queer people who co-habitate who are past the age of 62.

It is considerably LESS than marriage, and actually expands heterosexual priviledges for those non-queer folks over 62. Since non-queer folks who are DP'ed aren't legally married, I doubt their respective social security surviorship benefits, widow/widower pensions would be threatened [Survivorship benefits can be threatened upon re-marrying].

That said, for queer folks, Domestic Partnership is much better than nothing. Queer partners are now officially recognized by various branches of bureacracy. This is vitally important: For example, fy partner faced cancer surgery 3 years ago. While the fine folks at the hospital recognizing me as her partner, the bureaucracy insisted that her sister in Georgia be listed as next of kin. The hospital staff was great, supportive and queer friendly. Nevertheless, LEAGALLY, I was a stranger to her.

It was a searing experience.

At least in NJ, this will not happen again for queer DP'ers. But it's also under attack by the former governor of Texas and his cronies. This week the US Senate will take up the Federal Marriage Amendment, or what I call "Writing homophobia into the US Constitution."

I suggest that LGBT people who are partnered get registered ASAP. Otherwise, you may never be able to if these brown shirts win.

From the blogger Corrente

2004-07-11T13:09:00.000-04:00

Looks like the Bush goon squad eradicated any whiff of dissent in W's PA tour. What's disturbing is how an University did some of the dirty work for the administration.

corrente / Leah, Lambert, Tresy & the farmer

Just how many people can W piss off??

2004-07-11T12:56:00.000-04:00

Bush has a serious problem with the NAACP and it's HIS problem.

1. He blows off the annual convention, the first president who's refused to attend a single convention during his 4-year term.

2. Then he decides to be insulting. To quote the article in the Chicago Tribune, "There are a lot of people I admire in the NAACP," Bush said. But he added, "I describe my relationship with the current leadership as basically non-existent because of their rhetoric."

Ok...Mr. Bush name one person. C'mon.... you can do it. We're waiting.... Uh huh...I thought so.

W has employed the old, "The group is ok, but the leadership is lousy" canard when dissing a long-established African American social justice organization. He makes himself transparent when he says, "there are a lot of people.."

BTW: This is also the same weekend that Bush endorsed the Federal Marriage Amendment, which would ban "gay-marriages" in the US.

What a bigot!

Chicago Tribune | Bush criticizes NAACP leaders

Bush Rallies Faithful in Keystone State???

2004-07-09T14:53:00.000-04:00

From the Washington Post
Bush Rallies Faithful in Keystone State (washingtonpost.com)

I spent the past weekend in PA visiting friends and relatives. I'm from the North-Central region, which has been solidly Republican since the Civil War.

That said, I was SHOCKED by the number of life-long Republicans who are GIVING money and their votes to Kerry. For example, one elderly gentleman, whom I have known literarlly for my entire life and with whom I have sparred over politics, is a former county District Attorney and life-long GOP activist. He has even attended the GOP convention as a delegate (1964).

However, he's supporting Kerry, both with his vote and $$. My jaw literally dropped in shock. He also hoped that Kerry would pick Edwards as his running mate (we chatted on Sunday, July 4th).

Once I gathered my wits, I asked him, "why?"

His reponse: "Because George Bush and his administration are lying bastards. They, as well Tom DeLay and Pat Robertson, don't represent me or my values."

His wife quickly intejected that she's been contemplating switching parties because she is SO disgusted.

I can't tell you how shocked I am by this. It's sort of like being half-awake at 5 AM, stumbling towards the refridgerator for some breakfast and finding Fidel Castro sitting there (thanks to Molly Ivins). I'm just absolutely flumuxed by this development. This gentleman has worked for the GOP in various capacities for almost 50 years. He's a regular church go-er, professional, white, solidly upper-middle class. And utterly HOSTILE towards the Bush White House.

Since the Pravda on the Potomac doesn't interview REAL people, I believe they're missing a major story.

No WMD, no terror links

2004-07-09T14:37:00.000-04:00

The Senate Report is pretty interesting. You can download all 500+ pages, compliments of the Washington Post.

It's fairly watered down and skirts the issue of possible White House manipulation of intelligence. But these tightly targeted findings are still damning. Iraq had no WMD and there were no links to terror groups.

Why did we invade Iraq???

Senate Report Blasts Intelligence Agencies' Flaws (washingtonpost.com)

Planned Parenthood has some NIFTY banners...

2004-07-08T22:23:00.000-04:00

You can download them for free. It's time to STOP the Federal Marriage Amendment in its tracks.

US Holds children in IRAQ

2004-07-08T21:58:00.000-04:00

My German is close to non-existent, but this story uncovers a potential and horrific war crime by the US. Since when do CHILDREN count as "bad guys," fit for Abu Ghureib treatment???

Over 100 children might have been tossed in the klink, so to speak. UNICEF is investiagating.

From Der Spiegel.

Irak: US-Soldaten sollen inhaftierte Kinder misshandelt haben - Politik - SPIEGEL ONLINE

Larry Flynt on the 2004 Election

2004-07-08T21:39:00.000-04:00

Salon has posted a great interview with Larry Flynt. You have to subscribe to read it, so I've posted just a small snip.

Yes Flynt is crude, unbelievably sexist, but always politically blunt, and spot on regarding the Washington hypocrasy. Here's a snip of the Q&A.
**********
So in your heart of hearts, you feel Bush is going to be defeated.

Short of finding that Kerry is a transvestite, I think so. Iraq isn't going to get any better. It's only going to get worse.
************
This is an updated saying from the ex-con, ex-gov Edwin Edwards who once said, "Unless they catch him in bed with either a dead girl or a live boy, he'll win."

The election is Kerry's to lose.

From one rat to another

2004-07-08T15:47:00.000-04:00

I've always been repulsed by Al D'Amato, particularly since he lesbian-baited Liz Holtzman on his way to the Senate. He's been hiding in seculsion ever since Chuck Schumer punched his lights out.

Nevertheless, his advice that the Bushies dump Cheney in favor of Powell or McCain has got to hurt. Looks like the Cheney/Bush ticket seems unelectable even to Republicans.

From Newsday.com.

Newsday.com - AP Regional

Kerry, Edwards focus on Florida

2004-07-08T15:26:00.000-04:00

Looks like Kerry & Edwards are Wowing 'em in Florida. The Bushies have got to be going nuts on this one.

BTW: The article is from the Miami Herald--you'll have to log in to read it... I think.

Kerry, Edwards focus on Florida

It must hurt to get hard questions....

2004-07-08T15:23:00.000-04:00

Bush FINALLY got asked a question about Ken Lay by our docile, at times fawning, press corps. What does he do??? Stomps sullenly away.

What LEADERSHIP!!

Yahoo! News - Top Stories Photos - AFP

Outing

2004-07-08T09:13:00.000-04:00

As the FMA comes to a vote, and the political season is now in high gear, it's time to re-visit the issue of outing. Here's Michelangelo Signorile's take (he's the daddy of outing).

PS: I'm all for it, particularly if the person in question is working for a hateful poll, like "Man on Dog" Santorum.

New York's Premier Alternative Newspaper. Arts, Music, Food, Movies and Opinion

Why Edwards is an INSPIRED (and inspiring) choice

2004-07-07T21:37:00.000-04:00

I was traveling yesterday when the Kerry campaign made the announcement regarding John Edwards. I am quite delighted in the selection.

One principal reason why this is SUCH a great selection is that Cheney is such a goon on the campaign trail. C'mon. He's got the charm of Dark Vader, complete with the scary wheezing....

From the NY Times.

The New York Times > Washington > Campaign 2004 > Cheney on the Hustings: The Reluctant Candidate

The Conspiracy Theorist

2004-07-07T21:23:00.000-04:00

This person has been filling the Bushies' collective heads with stories of plots and conspiracies, all led by Saddam.

What a kook!

From the UK Guardian

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Peter Bergen: How conspiracy theories took the US to war

Krugman explains the job numbers

2004-07-07T21:18:00.000-04:00

I've been on vacation (rolling around for 800 miles), so I missed this. Paul Krugman does a dandy job of explaining what many Americans feel, regardless of what the Bushies spin. Seems the job numbers are as dismal as we thought they were. BTW: The Bushies stopped counting long-term unemployed, the first administraiton to do so. So, we have to "guesstimate" our true unemployment rate a few points higher than what we're feed by the Media Mandarins.

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Bye-Bye, Bush Boom

Pants on Fire

2004-07-07T21:09:00.000-04:00

Won't ANYONE point out the obvious on this one????

From Reuters....

Yahoo! News - Cheney Had No New Data on Saddam, Al Qaeda-Panel

Iraq's basic services worse now than before war, GAO says

2004-06-30T16:57:00.000-04:00

So, is Iraq really better now that we've blown a good chunk of it up??

Not according to the GAO.

I'm amazed the Bushies didn't supress this one. IT's a DAMNING report.

The Seattle Times: Nation & World: Iraq's basic services worse now than before war, GAO says

When I grow up...

2004-06-30T10:57:00.000-04:00

I want to be Molly Ivins.

This essay is a keeper.

Enjoy!

Herald.com | 06/30/2004 | Dragging God into partisan politics is a sin

Kristof does not get it

2004-06-30T09:17:00.000-04:00

Take some mylanta or pepto bismal and go check out Nick Kirstof's latest bit of silliness.

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Calling Bush a Liar

In Kristof's opinion, when lefties call Bush a liar, they're being just like the right, when, during the 1990s, they called Clinton a liar.

Uhm--I will concede to the right that Clinton lied, most woefully about Lewinsky. But lying about a consensual blow job is not quite the same as lying about a link between Bin Laden and Saddam, or WMD, etc. Close to 900 US service men and women have DIED for W's lies. That's a FUNDAMENTAL difference that Kristof blithely ignores.

Toad.

Yet another reason to LOVE NY Yankees

2004-06-30T08:59:00.000-04:00

I confess to a major character flaw.

Normally, I cheer for the underdog, but I've been a hardboiled Yankee fan forever. Given my politics, I should be cheering for the hopeless Cubs, but I digress. So, I was thrilled when the hometown crowd BOOed Darth Vader...er...Dick Cheney last night.

While Bush-Cheney was never popular in Manahatten (except, perhaps in isolated sections of the Financial District), they've obviously lost the Bronx as well.

From AMERICAblog

Cheney just got booed at the Yankees game

(I was thinking of retitling this: "Yankee fans tell Cheney 'go fuck yourself.'")

I just got a live phone-in from the Yankees vs. Boston game in NYC taking place right now. Dick Cheney just got booed by the crowd!

Even as my friend Michael called me from his seats at the game, God Bless America was still playing in the background. During the 7th inning stretch at Yankees Stadium, they play God Bless America and show on the big screen pictures of anyone famous who's in the audience that night. Dick Cheney is apparently in the audience, and as soon as his face went up, the entire crowd started booing! As my friend Michael tells it, this is the blue-collar Bronx we're talking about, and Cheney is still getting booed - not a good sign for the Bush-Cheney ticket. As soon as the camera guys realized Cheney was getting booed, they quickly switched the picture on the screen to someone else.

Michael's read of the situation, as a die-hard Yankees fan: The election is over.

On the Supreme Court

2004-06-29T16:11:00.000-04:00

Law Prof Jack Balkin has a pungent analysis of Justice Thomas' legal reasoning. It's not to be missed!

Balkinization

From AMERICAblog

2004-06-29T08:38:00.000-04:00

This is a GREAT Idea!

What to do with your Fahrenheit 9.11 ticket stubs...
***************
From Scott:

Here's what to do with you "Fahrenheit 9/11" ticket stub....

After you go to Fahrenheit 911, keep your ticket stub and mail it to:

George W. Bush
1600 Pennsylvania Ave
Washington DC 20500

With a note attached, "I saw what you did last summer".

AMERICAblog: Because a great nation deserves the truth

Sex pros get ready for party

2004-06-28T19:07:00.000-04:00

Yes, the modern day Republican party does embrace "traditional" values, particularly the world's oldest profession. I hope Larry Flynt attends with video recorders on hand.

New York Daily News - Politics - Sex pros get ready for party

W's Watergate moment

2004-06-28T11:05:00.000-04:00

came last week. Please read on.

President doth protest too much

Pandagon: I Am So Totally Excused For Doing This

2004-06-28T10:27:00.000-04:00

Check out Pandagon's embrace of Bill Frist's logic regarding Dick Cheney's potty mouth.

It's blazing to the point that my contacts almost melted. Gotta remember to wear that safety eye-gear.

Enjoy!

Pandagon: I Am So Totally Excused For Doing This

Iraq chaos a result of blinkered arrogance

2004-06-28T08:49:00.000-04:00

Yet another damning op-ed on the Neo-cons' con.

FYI: Registration required.

Philadelphia Inquirer | 06/27/2004 | Worldview | Iraq chaos a result of blinkered arrogance

Ron Reagan Unloads on W and the Christian Right

2004-06-27T21:47:00.000-04:00

Check out the following in Today's NY Times Magazine section.

[INTERVIEWER:] How do you account for all the glowing obituaries of [former President Reagan]?

[REAGAN:] I think it was a relief for Americans to look at pictures of something besides men on leashes. If you are going to call yourself a Christian—and I don't—then you have to ask yourself a fundamental question, and that is: Whom would Jesus torture? Whom would Jesus drag around on a dog's leash? How can Christians tolerate it?
It is unconscionable. It has put our young men and women who are over there, fighting a war that they should not have been asked to fight -- it has put them in greater danger

The New York Times > Magazine > Questions for Ronald P. Reagan: The Son Also Rises

W's defining moment

2004-06-27T21:39:00.000-04:00

Jack Beatty is this Atlantic essay maps out the differences between Clinton and the former governor of texas.

Atlantic Unbound | Politics & Prose | 2004.06.23: "Atlantic Unbound | June 23, 2004

A fabulous Fahrenheit review

2004-06-27T08:08:00.000-04:00

By Rex Reed, no less. I wish I could write like he does. *SIGH.*

A quick snippet:

"Mr. Moore, who has tackled corporate greed (Roger & Me) and gun control (Bowling for Columbine), now feels driven and obligated to strip the façade from a swaggering, bow-legged, grammatically challenged bully and a cabinet that is beginning to look more like the Third Reich every day"

Go read it!

Moore�s Magic: 9/11 Electrifies

LA TImes BLASTS W

2004-06-27T08:01:00.000-04:00

It's a lengthy editorial, but the LA Times unloads on W's Iraq policy and the docrine of preemption. It makes for instructive reading.

The Disaster of Failed Policy

On Fahrenheit 9/11

2004-06-27T07:50:00.000-04:00

My partner and I went to the 2 PM showing at the Montgomery Theatre on June 25th. The theatre is in suburban Princeton [no, not a redundancy], so the crowd was very lefty. We got there at 1:30 to be sure we got tickets. When we came out at 4:20, it was clear the 4:30 showing was sold out.

Anyway, it's a fabulous movie. There are a few surprises regarding information, but most of it I already knew. However, it's a MOVING film. I won't mention how he presented the 9/11 attacks, but I found myself sobbing shortly into it. Normally, I don't react at all to the 9/11 stuff because I've seen most of it, but Moore is a genius.

Moore also gets at the pathos of the US recruits who land in Iraq. Of course, the kids are poor and working class, who joined the Army to escape tough economic circumstances as well as genuine and fierce love for the USA. He focuses on kids from his hometown of Flint, MI, but the kids could have easily come from Knoxville, PA, which is where I grew up [think Northern Appalachia].

Fahrenheit is playing in Manville, NJ, which is a big surprise. Manville used to be home of Johns Manville, the biggest, baddest maker of asbestos. When the company was going full throttle in the 50s and 60s, it would actually SNOW asbestos over the town in the afternoon. Needless to say, it's now a SAD town that is poor and working class. There are all manner of military recruiting stations located in Manville. And of course, the local VFW and American Legions are important and PROMINENT cultural institutions. But, the local theatre obviously thinks the movie will be popular with residents. It's also a fiercely UNION town, so in that vein, it's much like Flint.

Anyway, it's a movie that has defined an era. It's not to be missed.

Tortue Memo Enthusiastically Approved at Highest Levels; CIA Getting Cold Feet

2004-06-27T07:43:00.000-04:00

From Discourse net. The torture scandal gets worse. The paper trail leads....to Cheney's office.

Discourse.net: Tortue Memo Enthusiastically Approved at Highest Levels; CIA Getting Cold Feet