Anybody watching, reading or listening to Bush's speech to the UN had to be wondering what the man could possibly be thinking. Well, everyone except for his personal gaggle of Kool-Aid drinkers, who would say he was "brilliant" if he soiled himself in public.
This is the U.N. This is Clown-boy's last chance to get some international cooperation to help with what has become a gigantic disaster. This is his last chance to actully behave like a leader instead of a bully. This is his final opportunity to redeem something decent from the ashes.
What does he do? He gives them a campaign speech. The United-Frigging-Nations.
He actually looked the UN in the eye and pretended that Iraq was just rosy. As though they didn't know any better.
He refused to admit making any mistakes when talking to a roomful of people whom he has gone out of his way to antagonize, and who are suffering from his mistakes. He scolded them. For being right. What they said about Iraq turned out to be true. What he said turned out to be false.
And he and his minions seem to be the only ones in the world who don't know it.
"Kick the darkness till it bleeds daylight." - Bruce Cockburn
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
From Operation Truth:
The U.S. must face the monster it created
SPC Murphy was stationed in Iraq for 15 months, including several months as an MP (Military Police) at Abu Ghraib Prison.
I feel uneasy returning this month to American soil after my 15-month tour in Iraq. This dreadful feeling is inescapable. Every day I must look in the mirror and face the fact that I served in a war based on flawed premises. I was told that Iraq was an imminent threat, that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. There were no WMD. I was told that Saddam had collaborated with Al Qaeda. He had not. Later I was told that we invaded Iraq to bring its people freedom and democracy. In my time in Iraq I witnessed the security situation deteriorate daily, and elections have yet to be held. (Incidentally, before the war I believed in the humanitarian cause of liberating the Iraqi people from the evil of Saddam, and I still believe in that cause.) My personal experiences on the ground epitomize broader, and sometimes troubling, issues in the war.
When my company landed in theatre in May, I was one of the few soldiers equipped with body armor effective at stopping powerful AK-47 ammunition. My mother, an elementary school art teacher, shipped the bullet-proof ceramic plates to me from the States. Other soldiers weren’t so lucky, having to raid buildings and patrol dangerous streets while wearing inferior Vietnam-era flak jackets. Later I learned that 40,000 troops had been sent into Iraq without effective body armor. We rode in ‘soft shell’ Humvees, equipped with flimsy fiber-glass doors. A Volvo has more protection. I saw the blood of American soldiers spilled because of the lack of ‘up-armored’ Humvees
After training 2,000 police, and bringing law and order to the city of Al Hilla, my unit was tasked to run Abu Ghraib prison, a mission for which we had no prior training. We were combat support military police, ideal for conducting convoy security, not administering prisoner-of-war camps. My unit was desperately under-manned, so I was assigned to run an entire tier at the ‘hard site’. Even as a junior-enlisted soldier, I was personally responsible for 320 prisoners and a staff of four or five ill-disciplined Iraqi police. At Abu Ghraib, we were not afforded basic necessities such as cleaning supplies, instead prisoners cleaned their cells with water alone. Worst of all, nobody ever knew for sure who was actually in charge of the prison: military police, military intelligence or civilian contractors. All the while, insurgents’ mortars rained down on a near-daily basis, killing and wounding scores of soldiers and prisoners alike.
After being promised one year 'boots on ground', and in Kuwait just days from flying home, my unit’s tour was extended by three months. We headed back to Iraq. Our new mission was to guard Halliburton truck drivers, civilian contractors who made three and four times my $20,000 salary. I wondered what on earth civilian truck drivers were doing in a combat zone. Riding with Halliburton on long convoys, we faced roadside bombs, rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire to protect these high-paid contractors. Finally, we were sent home in August.
I enlisted in the Army Reserve following September 11, 2001, one of the hardest and best decisions I have made in my life. I love the United States, the Army and my unit. Out of this deep love, I ask that we as Americans take a long look in the mirror. We must ask ourselves who we are and what we stand for. We as a nation must face the monster we have created in Iraq, sooner rather than later. We must find a way out of the mess in Iraq with minimal loss of American and Iraqi life. We owe it to the soldiers on the ground and the embattled Iraqi people.
Thugs
I HATE making references to fascism - it makes you sound like a nut - but it might be better to sound like a nut than to ignore thuggery.
"Vandals set fire to signs and wrote pro-President Bush messages on the front of Lafayette’s Democratic Party Headquarters, the second time the office was hit by vandals.
"The remnants of a small fire fueled with John Kerry/John Edwards campaign signs remained on the front steps of the headquarters at 310 Buchanan St. in downtown Lafayette on Thursday morning.
"A mixture of ash from the fire and what appeared to be motor oil was used to smear “4+ GWB” across the front windows and “W” on the headquarters’ door.
“Obviously, this vandalism is an attempt to intimidate volunteers and the Democratic effort,” said Mike Skinner of Lafayette, chairman of the Louisiana Democratic Party. “This is not Iraq. This is Louisiana. Issues will decide this election, not intimidation.”
The situation could have been even more dangerous because the fire was set at the front door of the headquarters, Thompson said.
“Thank God we didn’t have anybody here this morning,” she said. “They were trying to harm us.”
Skinner said it’s the second time this location has been vandalized.
Bush campaign officials in Louisiana and Arlington, Va., did not immediately return calls for comment, the Associated Press reported."
Self delusion
Frm CNN:
I can never decide if Bush is really that rotten or really that self-deluded. If he doesn't want an image as a "heavy-handed unilateralist," it easy: don't behave like one.
Bush seems to think that being the President involves behaving like a total shit, and then giving a speech that says, "really - I mean well."
"President Bush, trying to soften his image overseas as a heavy-handed unilateralist, is using his annual address to the United Nations to offer up a brighter vision of a planet with less hunger, disease and oppression. In his speech today, Bush also is expected to defend his decision to invade Iraq."
I can never decide if Bush is really that rotten or really that self-deluded. If he doesn't want an image as a "heavy-handed unilateralist," it easy: don't behave like one.
Bush seems to think that being the President involves behaving like a total shit, and then giving a speech that says, "really - I mean well."
E.J. Dionne
I think it's more effective to focus on Iraq than Vietnam. Still, E.J. Dionne makes several delightful points about Bush's past:
"Republicans were conspicuously happy to have a front group spread untruths about John Kerry's Vietnam service in August and watch as the misleading claims were amplified by the supposedly liberal media. The Vietnam era was relevant as long as it could be used to raise character questions about Kerry. But as soon as the questioning turned to Bush's character, we were supposed to call the whole thing off. Why? Because the media were supposed to question Kerry's character but not Bush's.
"And, please, none of this nonsense about how Kerry "opened the door" to the assault on his Vietnam years by highlighting his service at the Democratic National Convention. Nothing any candidate does should ever be seen as "opening the door" to lies about his past. .
But, most important, there is only one reason the story about Bush's choices during the Vietnam years persists. It's because the president won't give detailed answers to the direct questions.
But a guy who is supposed to be so frank and direct turns remarkably Clintonian where the National Guard issue is concerned. "I met my requirements and was honorably discharged" is Bush's stock answer, which does old Bill proud. And am I the only person exasperated by a double standard that treated everything Bill Clinton ever did in his life ("I didn't inhale") as fair game but now insists that we shouldn't sully ourselves with any inconvenient questions about Bush's past?"
Monday, September 20, 2004
Reward Good Behavior.
Kerry's speech was excellent. EXACTLY the sort of thing he should be saying.
Like it or not, politicians pay attention to MONEY.
Reward Good Behavior.
Like it or not, politicians pay attention to MONEY.
Reward Good Behavior.
"Where is the freedom [Bush] promised? All the bloodshed, the sabotage, the killings. Who is paying the price? We, the Iraqi civilians." -Retired police officer Abaas Ramah.
Four-point soundbites.
Kerry just gave a speech at New York University on Iraq laying out a "four-point plan." I don't know about a "four-point plan." I agree with what he said, but the oppressive news cycle demands sound bites, and I don't think a candidate has any real choice but to provide them. People's eyes glaze over when you start talking about "four-point plans."
But Kerry's criticisms DID offer some REALLY GOOD sound bites, and he should do this every single day.
I especially like that last one. Flip-flop? Bush can't even make up his mind about why he started a war.
But Kerry's criticisms DID offer some REALLY GOOD sound bites, and he should do this every single day.
"Bush's mistakes were not the equivalent of accounting errors. They were colossal failures of judgment — and judgment is what we look for in a president."
"Iraq was a profound diversion from that war and the battle against our greatest enemy, Osama bin Laden and the terrorists. Invading Iraq has created a crisis of historic proportions and, if we do not change course, there is the prospect of a war with no end in sight."
"This president was in denial. He hitched his wagon to the ideologues who surround him, filtering out those who disagreed, including leaders of his own party and the uniformed military. The result is a long litany of misjudgments with terrible consequences."
"By one count, the president offered 23 different rationales for this war. If his purpose was to confuse and mislead the American people, he succeeded."
I especially like that last one. Flip-flop? Bush can't even make up his mind about why he started a war.
Flip-flop
From ABC News:
This is nonsense from a press corp that has ceased to exercise ANY critical thinking, and which sees its job as simply repeating spin points.
The fact is that Bush declared that the vote for authorization was NOT a vote to go to war.
What Bush SAID was:
And Kerry referred to that when
explaining his vote on Iraq back in October 2002:
Ok? That's what he said THEN, and it's what he says NOW.
Bush said that the vote WASN'T a vote for military action. Now he says it was. Flip-flop.
But Kerry said THEN exactly what he says NOW. That he gave Bush the authorization with the assumption that he would work with the international community and he would attack Bush if he FAILED to do so. And Bush DID fail to do so.
Does the press REALLY find this position confusing? "I voted to give Bush the authority to go to war, and he screwed it up." That's not complicated.
Congress gave Bush a license to drive. They didn't know he would drive recklessly and crash the car.
"But whenever the debate turns to Iraq, Republicans are quick to turn Kerry's sometimes confusing positions on the war against him. After voting to give Bush authority to invade Iraq, Kerry criticized the president for doing so and said Bush should have pursued more diplomacy first."
This is nonsense from a press corp that has ceased to exercise ANY critical thinking, and which sees its job as simply repeating spin points.
The fact is that Bush declared that the vote for authorization was NOT a vote to go to war.
What Bush SAID was:
"Approving this resolution does not mean that military action is imminent or unavoidable.
The resolution will tell the United Nations, and all nations, that America speaks with one voice and is determined to make the demands of the civilized world mean something."
And Kerry referred to that when
explaining his vote on Iraq back in October 2002:
"As the President made clear earlier this week, "Approving this resolution does not mean that military action is imminent or unavoidable." It means "America speaks with one voice."...
...In giving the President this authority, I expect him to fulfill the commitments he has made to the American people in recent days--
To work with the United Nations Security Council to adopt a new resolution setting out tough and immediate inspection requirements, and to act with our allies at our side if we have to disarm Saddam Hussein by force.
If he fails to do so, I will be among the first to speak out."
Ok? That's what he said THEN, and it's what he says NOW.
Bush said that the vote WASN'T a vote for military action. Now he says it was. Flip-flop.
But Kerry said THEN exactly what he says NOW. That he gave Bush the authorization with the assumption that he would work with the international community and he would attack Bush if he FAILED to do so. And Bush DID fail to do so.
Does the press REALLY find this position confusing? "I voted to give Bush the authority to go to war, and he screwed it up." That's not complicated.
Congress gave Bush a license to drive. They didn't know he would drive recklessly and crash the car.
Plan for Iraq
Kerry is laying out a plan for Iraq at New York University this morning to counter criticism that he has shifting position, and nothing concrete. Good. It really isn't hard: screw what happened 30 years ago. YES, Kerry was infinitely more heroic than Bush, but people really don't much care. Kerry should simply talk about foreign policy and domestic policy. It's EASY to make Bush look awful on both: he's BEEN awful. Kerry should talk about what he WILL do, and what Bush has and hasn't done. Every day. It really isn't hard.
"How can you fix a problem that you refuse to acknowledge even exists?" - Terry McAuliffe
Debates
Bush, Kerry Tentatively Settle on 3 Debates
Kerry should INSIST that they have at least one REAL debate - where the two candidates actually engage each other. Not one of these stupid rituals where some dumb reporter asks some dumb pre-packaged question, and they each give a dumb pre-packaged answer. The idea of a debate is to see how candidates think on their feet, not to see how well their handlers can write spin points..
Kerry should INSIST that they have at least one REAL debate - where the two candidates actually engage each other. Not one of these stupid rituals where some dumb reporter asks some dumb pre-packaged question, and they each give a dumb pre-packaged answer. The idea of a debate is to see how candidates think on their feet, not to see how well their handlers can write spin points..
Hit them again. Harder, harder.
"Let me just say this in the simplest possible terms. When John Kerry is president of the United States, we will find Al Qaeda where they are and crush them before they can do damage to the American people." - John Edwards
Sunday, September 19, 2004
Jimmy Swaggart - Bush supporter
Jimmy Swaggart, paramour of a 10-dollar-hooker, decides to explain why he supports Bush:
The video is here, courtesy of Oliver Willis.
Christians should loudly (almost as loudly as Swaggart) call this trash what it is.
And Democrats should demand that Bush distance himself from it.
"I'm trying to find the correct name for it ... this utter absolute, asinine, idiotic stupidity of men marrying men. ... I've never seen a man in my life I wanted to marry. And I'm gonna be blunt and plain; if one ever looks at me like that, I'm gonna kill him and tell God he died.
"And I thank God that President Bush has stated (applause) that we need a constitutional amendment that states that marriage is between a man and a woman."
The video is here, courtesy of Oliver Willis.
Christians should loudly (almost as loudly as Swaggart) call this trash what it is.
And Democrats should demand that Bush distance himself from it.
Rummy lies; surprise, surprise.
November 2003: Rummy says we have 118,000 Iraqi security personnel
December 2003: We now have 140,000 Iraqis in uniform
August 2004: Rummy says we now have 220,000 Iraqis in uniform, but only 110,000 functioning
September 2004: Rummy says we have only 95,000 Iraqis trained and functioning
"In the period ahead, we will be accelerating the training of Iraqi forces, with the objective of going from the level today, which is 118,000 Iraqis in the Army, police, site protection, civil defense and border patrols, 118,000 Iraqis under arms, to somewhere in excess of 220,000 sometime during the year 2004." - Rumsfeld, 11/10/03
December 2003: We now have 140,000 Iraqis in uniform
"The number of Iraqis in uniform is said to be about 140,000" - Wash Times, 12/8/03
August 2004: Rummy says we now have 220,000 Iraqis in uniform, but only 110,000 functioning
"We’ve gone from zero to something like 220,000 Iraqi security forces of which 110,000 are properly trained and equipped and functioning." - Rumsfeld, DOD Web site, 8/26/04
September 2004: Rummy says we have only 95,000 Iraqis trained and functioning
"[Rumsfeld] said the coalition has fully trained and equipped 95,000 Iraqis in the army, National Guard, Border Patrol and police." - DOD, 9/10/04
"The Secretary of Defense said in February we have trained 220,000 Iraqi military - what did he say? - 'an amazing accomplishment'. And that was malarky.
Then he said last Friday, a week ago Friday, we've trained 95,000.
But we had a witness before us from the State Department on Thursday at Dick's hearings, I asked them, I said: 'To the best of my knowledge, Rumsfeld is saying 32,000 cops have been trained, to the best of my knowledge not one single Iraqi policeman has gone through the full compliment of training, is that true?'
And the administration witness said 'yes, that's true.'" - Joe Biden
So-Called Liberal Media
Where is Edwards? All over the place, the press just doesn't mention it.
"Sometimes, it's as though it were two-against-one as John F. Kerry seeks the presidency: Vice President Dick Cheney knocks him down, and President Bush grinds in his heel.
While it may not seem so from the national news coverage of late, the Democratic presidential nominee does have a partner in the campaign. John Edwards is wowing crowds in battleground states, even as some members of his party wonder why he is not attracting the same attention to their cause as Cheney is for the Republicans.
Two or three times a day, the Democratic vice presidential nominee pops into a pivotal media market, addresses a rally, or conducts a town hall meeting, and then sits for a round of interviews with local reporters."
No Stars, Just Cuffs
From Mean Maureen
In World Wars I and II, gold star mothers were the queens of their neighborhoods, the stars in their windows ensuring that they would be treated with great respect for their sacrifice in sending sons overseas to fight and die against the Germans and Japanese.
Instead of a gold star, Sue Niederer, 55, of Hopewell, N.J., got handcuffed, arrested and charged with a crime for daring to challenge the Bush policy in Iraq, where her son, Army First Lt. Seth Dvorin, 24, died in February while attempting to disarm a bomb.
She came to a Laura Bush rally last week at a firehouse in Hamilton, N.J., wearing a T-shirt that blazed with her agony and anger: "President Bush You Killed My Son."...
Friday, September 17, 2004
Answers to Tough Questions
Liberal Oasis has created a document (unofficial, not endorsed by the Kerry campaign, but quite good) for use by grass-roots volunteers. It's a handy set of responses to the various attack points the the Bush Campaign has put out there. And, unlike the Bush attack points, the stuff here is accurate.
So, if you engage undecided voters, take a look a this.
It's in Microsoft Word, and it's here.
So, if you engage undecided voters, take a look a this.
It's in Microsoft Word, and it's here.
"I think that anybody that thinks that you can hold elections in the Sunni Triangle by the end of January is really smoking something." - military historian Frank Fukuyama.Attribution
Thursday, September 16, 2004
Terrorists and insurgents
George Bush has been keeping secrets. He has kept secret what he learned from the National Intelligence Council back in July: that the outlook in Iraq was bleak. That civil war was a distinct possiblity. That entire regions of the country were now a "no go" for U.S. troops, since those regions are now under the control of "terrorists and insurgents."
It's obvious why Bush can't level about that: it makes him look bad. But I'm thinking about how curious the terms have become: "terrorists and insurgents. It's interesting that we have now begun to define "terrorists and insurgents" as entire regions of Iraq.
Weren't the terrorists and insurgents supposed to be just little pockets of Hussein's loyalists?
Now, suddenly, "terrorists and insurgents" are entire regions, many of whom, no doubt, passionately HATED Saddam Hussein.
How big of a stretch would it be, then, for Bush to extend the term "terrorists and insurgents" to cover every person in Iraq? Is that so far-fetched? If virtually every person in Iraq wanted the U.S. out of there, would that make them ALL terrorists and insurgents and entitle the U.S. to kill them all?
Is that the definition of a "liberated Iraqi"? One who pledges allegiance to the United States?
It's obvious why Bush can't level about that: it makes him look bad. But I'm thinking about how curious the terms have become: "terrorists and insurgents. It's interesting that we have now begun to define "terrorists and insurgents" as entire regions of Iraq.
Weren't the terrorists and insurgents supposed to be just little pockets of Hussein's loyalists?
Now, suddenly, "terrorists and insurgents" are entire regions, many of whom, no doubt, passionately HATED Saddam Hussein.
How big of a stretch would it be, then, for Bush to extend the term "terrorists and insurgents" to cover every person in Iraq? Is that so far-fetched? If virtually every person in Iraq wanted the U.S. out of there, would that make them ALL terrorists and insurgents and entitle the U.S. to kill them all?
Is that the definition of a "liberated Iraqi"? One who pledges allegiance to the United States?
Clueless in Baghdad
Iraq is falling apart. Some people are claiming that we are now losing. Soldiers are dying due to Bush's incompetence. And Bush continues to pretend that everything is just finem and is psychologically unable to change course.
This is from Crossfire today:
This is from Crossfire today:
BEGALA: The president has been misleading us about Iraq from the beginning. And he's doing it again today. And let me explain to you why. In today's "New York Times," for example, there is a report that President Bush has been briefed on an exhaustive national intelligence estimate of what is really happening in Iraq. The estimate was completed back in July. And it is unrelentingly pessimistic, likely outcomes reportedly ranging from a best-case scenario of a shaky security, economic and political climate, to the worst case, civil war.
But that is not what Mr. Bush told us in his September convention address. Then, he spoke of -- quote -- "a vibrant, successful democracy at the heart of the Middle East" -- unquote. And he told the National Guard earlier this week -- quote -- "The world is changing for the better" -- unquote.
Well, one former Army colonel bluntly tells "USA Today" -- quote -- "The bottom line is, at this moment, we are losing the war" -- unquote. Too bad our commander in chief is not as honest as that Army colonel.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
CARLSON: Look, look, the idea that Bush is lying -- anybody who watches television, anyone who reads the newspapers, anyone who bothers to go to Iraq knows what's obvious. It's a bit of a mess in Iraq. Everyone knows that, Paul.
BEGALA: Except George W. Bush, who knows it and won't tell us. He keeps telling us, oh, it's great, it's wonderful. Things are terrific.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
CARLSON: You know what? You know what? The idea that this is somehow an example of Bush lying. The point is, Bush has a plan. You may not agree with it.
BEGALA: He doesn't have a plan.
CARLSON: Yes, he does.
BEGALA: He doesn't have a clue.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
Kerry spoke to the National Guard, just like Bush did a few days ago, and had this to say:
Kerry is GOOD when he fights.
Let's hope he keeps fighting.
"The president stood right where I'm standing and did not even acknowledge that more than 1,000 men and women have lost their lives in Iraq. He did not tell you that with each passing day we're seeing more chaos, more violence, more indiscriminate killings."
"You deserve a president who will not play politics with national security, who will not ignore his own intelligence while living in a fantasy world of spin, and who will give the American people the truth about the challenge our brave men and women face on the front lines."
Kerry is GOOD when he fights.
Let's hope he keeps fighting.
Bottom Feeder.
The putrid, disgusting, sorry excuse for a human being also known as "Dick Cheney" apparently thought that saying (in essence) "vote for us or you might die" just wasn't disgusting enough.
So he decided to dig deeper into the slime.
Apparently, he thinks that the kids in Russia got what was coming to them because they didn't support our quagmire in Iraq.
Do you BELIEVE that?
Using the murder of a few hundred children to make political points.
This man is utterly beneath contempt, and he and his puppet should be rejected by every decent human being.
So he decided to dig deeper into the slime.
Apparently, he thinks that the kids in Russia got what was coming to them because they didn't support our quagmire in Iraq.
"I think some have hoped that if they kept their heads down and stayed out of the line of fire, they wouldn't get hit. I think what happened in Russia now demonstrates pretty conclusively that everybody is a target. That Russia, of course, didn't support us in Iraq, they didn't get involved in sending troops there, they've
gotten hit anyway."
Do you BELIEVE that?
Using the murder of a few hundred children to make political points.
This man is utterly beneath contempt, and he and his puppet should be rejected by every decent human being.
Hold Them Accountable
A new 527 called the "Fight Back Campaign" has a dynamite TV ad. Click here to view the ad, or contribute to keeping it running.
FUBAR
Iraq? It is now an official disaster.
This is astounding. Our official intelligence community is telling Bush that he has caused a DISASTER. And it's worse than that, since this report was written when the situation was a bit BETTER than it is now.
And Bush's only response is to publicly bullshit, and play "put on a happy face" for the TV cameras.
And everybody KNOWS that he's doing that, and LYING about what a disaster he created.
And the So-Called Liberal Media is giving him a free pass on it.
The most gigantic foreign policy blunder since God Knows When - maybe EVER - and the media won't treat it like it's a big story.
"The National Intelligence Council presented President Bush this summer with several pessimistic scenarios regarding the security situation in Iraq, including the possibility of a civil war there before the end of 2005.
At worst, the official said, were "trend lines that would point to a civil war." The official said it "would be fair" to call the document "pessimistic."
The intelligence estimate, which was prepared for Bush, considered the window of time between July and the end of 2005. But the official noted that the document draws on intelligence community assessments from January 2003, before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and the subsequent deteriorating security situation there.
The estimate appears to differ from the public comments of Bush and his senior aides who speak more optimistically about the prospects for a peaceful and free Iraq. "We're making progress on the ground," Bush said at his Texas ranch late last month."
This is astounding. Our official intelligence community is telling Bush that he has caused a DISASTER. And it's worse than that, since this report was written when the situation was a bit BETTER than it is now.
And Bush's only response is to publicly bullshit, and play "put on a happy face" for the TV cameras.
And everybody KNOWS that he's doing that, and LYING about what a disaster he created.
And the So-Called Liberal Media is giving him a free pass on it.
The most gigantic foreign policy blunder since God Knows When - maybe EVER - and the media won't treat it like it's a big story.
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Weeping may endure for a night
"But joy cometh in the morning."
Firing someone for his or her political beliefs seems to go against everything this country stands for. But it isn't actually illegal.
So a dedicated member of Right-Wing-BrownShirts-R-Us, Phil Geddes, owner of c ompany called "Enviromate" actually fired an employee, Lynne Gobbell, for having a Kerry Bumpersticker on her car.
So in a fine move, John Kerry, after reading the story somewhere, called the woman up and hired her.
Let's see if the media covers it. This is a perfect campaign story - the sort that the press just eats up. But it makes Kerry look good, so I'll bet it gets little play.
By the way, here's contact info for the clown that fired. If you are so inclined, call him up and tell him what a piece of crap he is.
Email: phil@pgeddes.com
The Enviromate Company is here:
EnviroMate Insulation
13855 Court Street
Moulton, Alabama 35650
Phone: 256.350.0442
Mr. Geddes also has a law office with contact info as follows:
619 Bank Street
Decatur, AL 35601
Firing someone for his or her political beliefs seems to go against everything this country stands for. But it isn't actually illegal.
So a dedicated member of Right-Wing-BrownShirts-R-Us, Phil Geddes, owner of c ompany called "Enviromate" actually fired an employee, Lynne Gobbell, for having a Kerry Bumpersticker on her car.
"We were going back to work from break, and my manager told me that Phil said to remove the sticker off my car or I was fired," she said. "I told him that Phil couldn't tell me who to vote for. He said, 'Go tell him.' "
"I asked him if I was fired and he told me he was thinking about it," she said. "I said, 'Well, am I fired?' He hollered and said, 'Get out of here and shut the door.' "
She said her manager was standing in another room and she asked him if that meant for her to go back to work or go home. The manager told her to go back to work, but he came back a few minutes later and said, " 'I reckon you're fired. You could either work for him or John Kerry,' " Gobbell said.
So in a fine move, John Kerry, after reading the story somewhere, called the woman up and hired her.
"Then, late this afternoon, Kerry himself phoned Gobbell. "He was telling me how proud he was that I stood up," Gobbell told me. "He'd read the part where Phil said I could either work for him or work for John Kerry. He said, 'you let him know you're working for me as of today.' I was just so shocked."
Let's see if the media covers it. This is a perfect campaign story - the sort that the press just eats up. But it makes Kerry look good, so I'll bet it gets little play.
By the way, here's contact info for the clown that fired. If you are so inclined, call him up and tell him what a piece of crap he is.
Email: phil@pgeddes.com
The Enviromate Company is here:
EnviroMate Insulation
13855 Court Street
Moulton, Alabama 35650
Phone: 256.350.0442
Mr. Geddes also has a law office with contact info as follows:
619 Bank Street
Decatur, AL 35601
Monday, September 13, 2004
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, responding to allegations that he fostered a climate that led to the prisoner-abuse scandal, said yesterday that the military's mistreatment of detainees was not as bad as what terrorists have done.Attribution
"Does it rank up there with chopping someone's head off on television?" he asked. "It doesn't."
What in the hell does THAT mean?
Is Donald Rumsfeld claiming that anything less than a public beheading is an acceptable way for the United States to treat its prisoners of war?
Bitch slap
PETE SESSIONS (R-Soulless Robot): "This is similar to being an away game. We had our home game on September 11th, 2001. We inflicted - they inflicted, the enemy inflicted - heavy damages upon the United States. But it's now up to us not to sit back and treat this like it's an international circumstance that may be thought of, uh, with a law enforcement exercise."
MARTIN FROST (D-Dallas): "Pete, my wife is an army officer, and she's on assignment in Iraq right now. Two weeks ago I went to the burial of a twenty-one-year-old marine from this area who was killed in Iraq. That burial was at the National Cemetary. We've had a thousand - more than a thousand - people die in this war so far. Pete, this is not a game."
Video here
George W. Putin
"President Vladimir Putin outlined plans Monday to "radically" change the Russian political system in a way that would increase his own power, portraying the moves as a means of combating terrorism in the aftermath of this month's deadly school seizure."
"Give me power or you might die."
Who does THAT remind you of?
Thank you
Kerry seems to be taking the gloves off and actually tying Iraq (in this context, pronounced "a-rock" - what a great pun) around Bush's neck. Which is exactly what he should do.
You think maybe John Kerry figured it out from reading this page? Well, okay, but maybe he SHOULD.
"Senator John Kerry on Sunday accused the Bush administration of letting "a nuclear nightmare" develop by refusing to deal with North Korea when it first came to office.
"They have taken their eye off the real ball," Mr. Kerry said, his voice almost shaking in anger. "They took it off in Afghanistan and shifted it to Iraq. They took it off in North Korea and shifted it to Iraq. They took it off in Russia, and the nuclear materials there, and shifted it to Iraq."
Mr. Kerry's basic argument, that the Iraq war has diverted attention from more dangerous nations like North Korea, is one he has often used on the campaign trail and in interviews over the past several months. But his language on Sunday, calling the situation "a nuclear nightmare" and directly accusing Mr. Bush of leaving the United States more vulnerable to North Korea, was far harsher and more incendiary than the language he has used before."
You think maybe John Kerry figured it out from reading this page? Well, okay, but maybe he SHOULD.
Friday, September 10, 2004
Sheesh
Ok, I REALLY didn't want to write about the "are the documents forged?" question, because I meant what I said below: it's secondary, and Bush has to be made to defend what he's doing NOW, not what he did 35 years ago. Also I don't have a whole lot to say: I'm hardly qualified to make a determination. For the record:
Personally, I think some of the questions are good ones and warrant examining, despite the fact that SOME of the claims that have been made are plain false (like the claim that proportional space fonts didn't exist. They existed since the 1940s, and were downright common by the 70s.)
BUT (and it's a big but) CBS insists that they thoroughly investigated and the documents are authentic, and they are the ONLY ones who have examined the originals. The media "experts" making claims about these documents are seriously breaching protocol; they aren't supposed to pass judgment on documents that they haven't examined with their own hands.
That said, here are a few observations about the question of superscript. Just food for thought:
1) Despite the claims that superscript was not used at the time, it was, and, in fact, it appears on one of the official National Guard Documents Bush released himself. You can see a superscripted "111th" on page 3, the second line. The page is sideways.
2)In addition, THIS document, which is one of the ones the right-wing claims is phony, has a superscript "111th" and a NON superscript "111th" (in the heading). Also a non-superscript "1st." Indicating that it was typed with something that DIDN'T superscript automatically. In fact, there is the LACK of superscript in three out of four memos. May 4th ("111th" and "1st"); May 19th ("1st"); and August 1st ("111th," "1st" and "147th" twice). NONE of these have superscript. But Microsoft Word superscripts automatically.
That's it. For the rest, I'll just sit back and let the mess work itself out in the wash. Back to important stuff, like Bush's current incompetence.
Personally, I think some of the questions are good ones and warrant examining, despite the fact that SOME of the claims that have been made are plain false (like the claim that proportional space fonts didn't exist. They existed since the 1940s, and were downright common by the 70s.)
BUT (and it's a big but) CBS insists that they thoroughly investigated and the documents are authentic, and they are the ONLY ones who have examined the originals. The media "experts" making claims about these documents are seriously breaching protocol; they aren't supposed to pass judgment on documents that they haven't examined with their own hands.
That said, here are a few observations about the question of superscript. Just food for thought:
1) Despite the claims that superscript was not used at the time, it was, and, in fact, it appears on one of the official National Guard Documents Bush released himself. You can see a superscripted "111th" on page 3, the second line. The page is sideways.
2)In addition, THIS document, which is one of the ones the right-wing claims is phony, has a superscript "111th" and a NON superscript "111th" (in the heading). Also a non-superscript "1st." Indicating that it was typed with something that DIDN'T superscript automatically. In fact, there is the LACK of superscript in three out of four memos. May 4th ("111th" and "1st"); May 19th ("1st"); and August 1st ("111th," "1st" and "147th" twice). NONE of these have superscript. But Microsoft Word superscripts automatically.
That's it. For the rest, I'll just sit back and let the mess work itself out in the wash. Back to important stuff, like Bush's current incompetence.
Why are conservatives the ones pointing out the obvious hypocrisy is Bush's attacks? Why aren't the Democrats?
I mean, didn't the Democrats NOTICE that the guy claiming that Kerry couldn't pay for his proposals was running up the largest debt in history? How could they not notice? Why didn't they point that out?
I mean, didn't the Democrats NOTICE that the guy claiming that Kerry couldn't pay for his proposals was running up the largest debt in history? How could they not notice? Why didn't they point that out?
"President Bush, who accuses his Democratic rival of keeping his budget plans secret, has yet to offer plans of his own for funding his campaign promises and cutting the deficit in half, fiscal conservatives said on Friday.
Bush is campaigning for a second term promising to overhaul the Social Security retirement system and the U.S. tax code. He is pushing for more spending on job training and for expanding health care tax credits.
But Bush has yet to say how he will pay for it, even as he charges that his Democratic presidential rival, John Kerry, is hiding "details on how they would raise spending and lower the deficit" until after the Nov. 2 election."
Focus, dammit, focus
AWOL documents. The SWILLs (SWIft Boat Lying Liars). The raking of the muck of petty scandal after petty scandal. I'm a little tired of it. And I've participated in it myself. But it's a distraction, and it isn't doing much to help beat Bush. The focus should be on domestic and foreign affairs, both of which Bush has handled badly or hasn't handled at all.
Kerry has done a fair job in the last few days of focusing on that stuff, and he's been smart to tie the Iraqi debacle to domestic issues by pointing out the disaster that it is AND how its costs are negatively impacting America's domestic needs. But it doesn't seem sustained. Crap keeps rising to distract attention from it.
You know what the big news SHOULD be? That Bin Laden's top lieutenant just released a video mocking the efforts of the United States - THREE YEARS after 9/11.
Three years. And the guys who staged the attack on the United States are STILL AT LARGE. They're making videos and releasing them to the media, so, NO, they aren't holed up in a cave somewhere.
That's how big of a failure Bush has been.
While the nation has spent time, money and LIVES wondering when the Iraqis were going to start loving us for occupying their country, the people who attacked us are walking around scot free, making videos mocking our efforts two days before the actual anniversary of the attack.
And what has Bush done about the threat? INCREASED it. James Fallows in the October Atlantic writes that "It is hard to find a counterterrorism specialist who thinks that the Iraq War has reduced rather than increased the threat to the United States."
Terrorists attacked Australia two days ago. They attacked Russia last week. But George W. Bush is trying to hinge his campaign on the transparent falsehood that his actions have increased our safety.
His response to 9/11 has not only NOT been good - it hasn't even been acceptable. It's hard to imagine one more thoroughly incompetent. It's hard to imagine any opportunity in the history of the United States that has EVER been more thoroughly squandered.
John Kerry, the DNC and the whole pack of them should stuff Bush's bullshit right back down his throat. If they must focus on 35 years ago (and it probably isn't a good idea to completely ignore it, since it HAS been turned into an issue), they should do so in a way that ties it to the present.
"George Bush's failure to finish the job in the National Guard is part of Bush's pattern: he never finishes the job. He didn't finish it in Afghanistan, and the video of Ayman al-Zawahiri proves it."
Is that so hard?
Kerry has done a fair job in the last few days of focusing on that stuff, and he's been smart to tie the Iraqi debacle to domestic issues by pointing out the disaster that it is AND how its costs are negatively impacting America's domestic needs. But it doesn't seem sustained. Crap keeps rising to distract attention from it.
You know what the big news SHOULD be? That Bin Laden's top lieutenant just released a video mocking the efforts of the United States - THREE YEARS after 9/11.
Three years. And the guys who staged the attack on the United States are STILL AT LARGE. They're making videos and releasing them to the media, so, NO, they aren't holed up in a cave somewhere.
That's how big of a failure Bush has been.
While the nation has spent time, money and LIVES wondering when the Iraqis were going to start loving us for occupying their country, the people who attacked us are walking around scot free, making videos mocking our efforts two days before the actual anniversary of the attack.
And what has Bush done about the threat? INCREASED it. James Fallows in the October Atlantic writes that "It is hard to find a counterterrorism specialist who thinks that the Iraq War has reduced rather than increased the threat to the United States."
Terrorists attacked Australia two days ago. They attacked Russia last week. But George W. Bush is trying to hinge his campaign on the transparent falsehood that his actions have increased our safety.
His response to 9/11 has not only NOT been good - it hasn't even been acceptable. It's hard to imagine one more thoroughly incompetent. It's hard to imagine any opportunity in the history of the United States that has EVER been more thoroughly squandered.
John Kerry, the DNC and the whole pack of them should stuff Bush's bullshit right back down his throat. If they must focus on 35 years ago (and it probably isn't a good idea to completely ignore it, since it HAS been turned into an issue), they should do so in a way that ties it to the present.
"George Bush's failure to finish the job in the National Guard is part of Bush's pattern: he never finishes the job. He didn't finish it in Afghanistan, and the video of Ayman al-Zawahiri proves it."
Is that so hard?
Remember?
TIM RUSSERT: "What will happen if we're not treated as liberators but as conquerors." Would the American people be "prepared for a long, costly and bloody battle with significant American casualties?"
DICK CHENEY: "I don't think it's likely to unfold that way, Tim, because I really do believe we will be greeted as liberators." - March 2003
DICK CHENEY: "I don't think it's likely to unfold that way, Tim, because I really do believe we will be greeted as liberators." - March 2003
Bushels of bad apples
This crap just gets worse and worse.
So the CIA hid prisoners, possibly tortured them (why ELSE would they hide them?), and now no one knows who they are or where they are.
Just another day in Bush's America.
"Army jailers in Iraq, acting at the CIA's request, kept dozens of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison and other detention facilities off official rosters to hide them from Red Cross inspectors, two senior Army generals said Thursday.
The disclosure added to questions about the CIA's practices in Iraq, including why the agency took custody of certain Iraqi prisoners, what interrogation techniques it used and what became of the ghost detainees, including whether they were ever returned to military custody.
Military officials have said the CIA's practice of using Army-run prisons in Iraq to hide prisoners held for questioning violated military regulations and international law and led to "a loss of accountability at the prison."
So the CIA hid prisoners, possibly tortured them (why ELSE would they hide them?), and now no one knows who they are or where they are.
Just another day in Bush's America.
Thursday, September 09, 2004
Order? What Order?
Here are the memos that were exposed last night on 60 Minutes, with excerpts, but the actual memos aren't much longer:
This stuff proves three things:
1) There was pressure placed on the National Guard to make Bush's record appear better than it was.
2) Bush disobeyed a direct order, and then left.
3) Bush lied when he said that he released all the records. The AP filed a Freedom of Information request to release all the records, and Bush said he had. But after 60 Minutes showed the new documents on TV, the White House suddenly released the documents that they said they didn't have. Where did they come from, and why weren't they released BEFORE the 60 Minutes expose?
And will the jellyfish of the press bother to ask?
May 4th, 1972
"You are ordered to report to commander 111 F.I.S.. Ellington AFB, not later than (NLT) 14 May, 1972, to conduct annual physical examination (flight) IAW AFM 35-13."
May 19th, 1972
"I told him I had to have written acceptance before he would be transferred, but I think he's also talking to someone upstairs" - May 19, 1972
August 1, 1972
"On this date I ordered that 1st Lt. Bush be suspended from flight staus due to failure to perform to USAF/TexANG standards and failure to meet annual physical examination (flight) as ordered."
August 18, 1973
SUBJECT: CYA [I LOVE that subject title - Ig]
"...Harris gave me a message today from Grp regarding Bush's OETR [Officer Evaluation Training Report] and Staudt is pushing to sugarcoat it: Bush wasn't here during rating period."
This stuff proves three things:
1) There was pressure placed on the National Guard to make Bush's record appear better than it was.
2) Bush disobeyed a direct order, and then left.
3) Bush lied when he said that he released all the records. The AP filed a Freedom of Information request to release all the records, and Bush said he had. But after 60 Minutes showed the new documents on TV, the White House suddenly released the documents that they said they didn't have. Where did they come from, and why weren't they released BEFORE the 60 Minutes expose?
And will the jellyfish of the press bother to ask?
Mean Maureen
Cheney Spits Toads by Maureen Dowd
"Mr. Cheney implies that John Kerry couldn't protect us from an attack like 9/11, blithely ignoring the fact that he and President Bush didn't protect us from the real 9/11. Think of what brass-knuckled Republicans could have made of a 9/11 tape of an uncertain Democratic president giving a shaky statement that looked like a hostage tape and flying randomly from air base to air base, as the veep ordered that planes be shot down.
"Mr. Cheney warns against falling back "into the pre-9/11 mind-set,'' when, in fact, the Bush team's pre-9/11 mind-set was all about being stuck in the cold war and reviving "Star Wars" - which doesn't work and is useless against terrorist tactics. The Bush crowd played down terrorism because Bill Clinton and Sandy Berger had told their successors that Osama was a priority, and the Bushies scorned all things Clinton. The president shrugged off intelligence briefings with such headlines as "Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States'' because there was brush to be cleared and unaffordable tax-cutting to be done."
Thanks, George
In Geauga County, anger and frustration over the death of a young soldier inside Iraq has prompted one family to send a personal message to President Bush.Photos: Landrus puts up his sign.
Ken and Betty Landrus have put up a large sign outside their home near Thompson, Ohio that is sharply critical of the Bush administration.
The sign reads "Thanks Mr. Bush for the death of our son."
Their son, Staff Sgt. Sean Landrus was killed near Fallujah in January.
They believe the president misled the country about the reasons for invading Iraq and that their son died for nothing.
I suppose that some Bush apologists will now accuse this grieving family of "exploiting" and "celebrating" the death of their own son, instead of being rightfully outraged.
Wednesday, September 08, 2004
"Just to answer that guy — because he's right, I'm privileged — my tax burden went down, and I don't think that's right. I think your tax burden ought to go down. This is about fairness and the fact is George W. Bush and I fit in the same category of privilege. Bush thinks the wealthiest people ought to be rewarded again. I don't. I think the average American deserves the tax break in this country." - John Kerry, showing that he has the good sense to pay attention to Bill Clinton.
De-bounce
Per Josh Marshall:
New ICR poll, conducted September 1st-5th ...
With Nader, among 'likely voters': Bush:46, Kerry: 46, Nader: 4.
Without Nader, among 'likely voters': Bush 48, Kerry 47.
Without Nader, among 'registered voters': Bush 46, Kerry 47.
New ICR poll, conducted September 1st-5th ...
With Nader, among 'likely voters': Bush:46, Kerry: 46, Nader: 4.
Without Nader, among 'likely voters': Bush 48, Kerry 47.
Without Nader, among 'registered voters': Bush 46, Kerry 47.
Duh.
"Bush refused to answer questions from reporters. He simply stared at a reporter who asked if he agreed with Vice President Dick Cheney's assertion that if Democrat John Kerry is elected, "the danger is that we'll get hit again" by terrorists."
Remember when we had a President who could think for himself and answer questions?
Scare Tactics
Filed under "Too Despicable to Believe"
Dick? We already WERE hit, and it was when YOU were in charge, not someone else.
It's absolutely essential that eight weeks from today, on Nov. 2, we make the right choice, because if we make the wrong choice then the danger is that we'll get hit again and we'll be hit in a way that will be devastating from the standpoint of the United States."
Dick? We already WERE hit, and it was when YOU were in charge, not someone else.
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
Keyes Stone Cop
Remember: The Republican went to Maryland specifically to run THIS guy against Obama:
Keyes Says Christ Would Not Vote For Obama
CHICAGO -- Illinois Republican U.S. Senate candidate Alan Keyes injected religion into his race against Democratic candidate Barack Obama on Tuesday.
According to a list of quotes put out by the Democratic candidate, Keyes said in a radio interview at the Republican National Convention that Jesus would not vote for Obama. The quote was part of a list Obama sent reporters of Keyes' accusations and epithets about him since Keyes became a candidate, NBC5 political editor Dick Kay said.
Keyes Says Christ Would Not Vote For Obama
CHICAGO -- Illinois Republican U.S. Senate candidate Alan Keyes injected religion into his race against Democratic candidate Barack Obama on Tuesday.
According to a list of quotes put out by the Democratic candidate, Keyes said in a radio interview at the Republican National Convention that Jesus would not vote for Obama. The quote was part of a list Obama sent reporters of Keyes' accusations and epithets about him since Keyes became a candidate, NBC5 political editor Dick Kay said.
Potential Dynamite
The question is: will the press actually treat this like an important story, or will they give Bush a free pass, as usual?
"Former Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Bob Graham accused the White House on Tuesday of covering up evidence that might have linked Saudi Arabia to the Sept. 11 hijackers.
Graham's charges, made in a new book and at a news conference arranged by the John Kerry campaign, were rejected by Republicans as "bizarre conspiracy theories." The Saudis said Graham's claims were unsubstantiated and reckless.
Kerry has called for an independent investigation into the charges made by Graham, his former rival for the Democratic nomination."
1000 dead
1000 dead.1000 families torn apart. 1000 young people who will never live a full life.
And Bush called it a "miscalculation."
And he called it a "catastrophic success."
The soldiers get the catastrophe.
Haliburton and Bush's cronies get the success.
And Bush called it a "miscalculation."
And he called it a "catastrophic success."
The soldiers get the catastrophe.
Haliburton and Bush's cronies get the success.
"Halliburton Says It May Not Rebid for Iraq Work"
What the hell are they talking about, REbid? They didn't bid the FIRST time.
What the hell are they talking about, REbid? They didn't bid the FIRST time.
Scum.
Remember a few days ago when an administration official said they wereclosing on Bin Laden? It was bullshit.
"Pakistan Tuesday dismissed a claim by a U.S. counter-terrorism official that the United States and its allies were closing in on the world's most wanted man, Osama bin Laden.
Pakistani media Sunday quoted Cofer Black, State Department coordinator for counter-terrorism, as saying that the United States and its allies have put the al Qaeda leader on the defensive, increasing chances of his capture soon.
But Pakistani Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said Black's remarks were a "political statement."
Excuses, excuses
"Bush, linking Kerry policies to campaign donations from trial attorneys, said "junk lawsuits" hinder job creation and cost the economy more than $230 billion a year." Attribution
Yeah, George, that's why your dumbass economic policies haven't done what you said they would do. It's the lawyers' fault. Yeah, that's the ticket - it's the lawyers' fault.
"Only George W. Bush could celebrate over a record budget deficit of $422 billion, a loss of 1.6 million jobs and Medicare premiums that are up by a record 17 percent," Kerry said. "W stands for wrong — the wrong direction for America."
That's more like it, John. Keep that up.
The George W. Bush OB-GYN gaffe is apparently the result of the need to repeat a talking point. Bush highlighted the OB-GYNs in his acceptance speech at the convention:
Got that? Especially OB-GYNs. Apparently, George is on crusade to make the nation safe for gynecology.
Actually, the OB-GYN thing is probably a carefully planned talking point wherein Karl Rove tries to appeal to the women's vote and trash John Edwards at the same time. Bush, as usual, knows how to do nothing except mindlessly repeat the talking points he's been told to repeat, and as usual, he doesn't QUITE get it right.
Well, it's either that or the cocaine.
"As I have traveled our country, I have met too many good doctors, especially OB-GYNS, who are being forced out of practice because of the high cost of lawsuits. To make health care more affordable and accessible, we must pass medical liability reform now.
Got that? Especially OB-GYNs. Apparently, George is on crusade to make the nation safe for gynecology.
Actually, the OB-GYN thing is probably a carefully planned talking point wherein Karl Rove tries to appeal to the women's vote and trash John Edwards at the same time. Bush, as usual, knows how to do nothing except mindlessly repeat the talking points he's been told to repeat, and as usual, he doesn't QUITE get it right.
Well, it's either that or the cocaine.
“George W. Bush wishes he and I had the same position on Iraq but wishing doesn’t make it so. I have said repeatedly that when it comes to Iraq, I wouldn’t have done just one thing differently, I would have done almost everything differently. George Bush’s wrongheaded, go-it-alone Iraq policy has created a quagmire, costing us $200 billion and counting. As a result, George Bush is shortchanging America on everything from education to health care to job creation – making it more difficult to meet our needs here at home.” - John Kerry
Lest We Forget
This website is extremely moving.
This provides a very different, far more detailed and far more realistic picture of what it's like to be in Iraq and Afghanistan than you get from the news. While the Republicans try to downplay the realities of war for political reasons, the men and women who are over there have to LIVE it, whether it's on the fron page of the newspaper or not.
Especially look at the "Vets Profile" and "Vets Speak" section.
I'm placing this site on the side banner as a permanent link.
God bless the men and women who are over there.
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet -
Lest we forget. Lest we forget.
The Truth About Iraq From Those Who Served.
Operation Truth is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that seeks to educate the American public about the truth of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan from the perspective of the soldiers who have experienced them first-hand.
This provides a very different, far more detailed and far more realistic picture of what it's like to be in Iraq and Afghanistan than you get from the news. While the Republicans try to downplay the realities of war for political reasons, the men and women who are over there have to LIVE it, whether it's on the fron page of the newspaper or not.
Especially look at the "Vets Profile" and "Vets Speak" section.
I'm placing this site on the side banner as a permanent link.
God bless the men and women who are over there.
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet -
Lest we forget. Lest we forget.
Laura - slap this man.
President Bush offered an unexpected reason on Monday for cracking down on frivolous medical lawsuits: "Too many OB-GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country."
Hear's the video. It has to be heard to be believed.
Monday, September 06, 2004
Family Values
"Republican," of course, is synonymous with "sanctimonious." But the hypocrisy gets more and more astounding.
A Republican State Senator - who is up for re-election in November - was arrested for groping the crotch of a (male) undercover police officer. His excuse? He was upset over his wife's death.
So of course he has the full support of the entire State Republican Party.
It often seem that Republicans consider "morals" something that only Democrats are required to have.
But THEY'RE the moral party.
A Republican State Senator - who is up for re-election in November - was arrested for groping the crotch of a (male) undercover police officer. His excuse? He was upset over his wife's death.
So of course he has the full support of the entire State Republican Party.
It often seem that Republicans consider "morals" something that only Democrats are required to have.
But THEY'RE the moral party.
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
Here is Kerry finally attacking Bush on Iraq. As I said below, this is in the right direction, but we need more of it. Do you think that the protests in NYC finally made Kerry realize that Iraq is REALLY, REALLY unpopular?
Whatever the reason, good for him.
Whatever the reason, good for him.
Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry on Monday called the invasion of Iraq "the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time" and said his goal was to withdraw U.S. troops in a first White House term....
n Racine, West Virginia, Kerry assailed Bush's record, repeatedly telling a Labor Day rally the "W" in Bush's name stood for "wrong -- wrong choices, wrong judgment, wrong priorities, wrong direction for our country" on everything from jobs to Iraq.
"I would not have done just one thing differently than the president on Iraq, I would have done everything differently than the president on Iraq," Kerry said.
"I said this from the beginning of the debate to the walk up to the war," Kerry told supporters. "I said, Mr. President don't rush to war, take the time to build a legitimate coalition and have a plan to win the peace."
He said Bush had failed on all three counts. He called the president's talk about a coalition fighting alongside about 125,000 U.S. troops "the phoniest thing I've ever heard."
Off the usual subject matter for this blog, posted because I like it and because I can:
The Episcopal Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Times Square, NYC sometimes processes through Times Square with full vestments, candles, and incense (this is a sight to behold). Here's the latest picture on their webpage:
The ad for the Broadway show in the background was no doubt included in the picture by design out of truly inspired sense of irony.
The Episcopal Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Times Square, NYC sometimes processes through Times Square with full vestments, candles, and incense (this is a sight to behold). Here's the latest picture on their webpage:
The ad for the Broadway show in the background was no doubt included in the picture by design out of truly inspired sense of irony.
Bush and 9/11
Some Democrats have apparently been advising Kerry not to focus on national security, but to focus on domestic issues. Kerry doesn't SEEM to be taking the advice (thank God), but he's not going far enough with it.
"Focussing on domestic issues" would be stupid. It's a loser in the current climate. While Bush is talking about protecting people from possible nuclear anihillation, you can't stand there countering by talking about the price of prescription drugs. One just isn't nearly as important as the other. If there is a major terrorist strike, nobody CARES about the price of prescription drugs. The war in Iraq and fighting Al Qaeda ARE the most important issues, by far, and a candidate who ignores those two issues will lose (and the Democrat has to make it clear that they are two different issues, not one, as Bush would have it).
Kerry should hit Bush right in the 9/11.
Karl Rove's strategy is to attack an opponent's perceived strength instead of his weakness, and it's a good idea. Kerry should do the same. Bush wants to brag about his reaction to 9/11? Fine. Hammer, hammer, hammer the facts: Bush ignored the threat of terrorism BEFORE 9/11, he ignored the August 6th, 2001 Presidential Daily Briefing ("Bin Laden determine to strike inside United States"), he presided over the biggest intelligence failure in American History, he sat like a deer in the headlights when the attack occurred, and he swore on a pile of bodies that he was going to get Bin Laden when he was already planning to go after Saddam Hussein instead.
George W. Bush's reaction to 9/11 is nothing he should be bragging about, and he shouldn't be allowed to get away with it. He THINKS it's a strength. It's not, and shining a white light on it will turn it INTO a weakness.
Kerry should knock him right off that pedestal. And it should be like shooting fish in a barrel.
"Focussing on domestic issues" would be stupid. It's a loser in the current climate. While Bush is talking about protecting people from possible nuclear anihillation, you can't stand there countering by talking about the price of prescription drugs. One just isn't nearly as important as the other. If there is a major terrorist strike, nobody CARES about the price of prescription drugs. The war in Iraq and fighting Al Qaeda ARE the most important issues, by far, and a candidate who ignores those two issues will lose (and the Democrat has to make it clear that they are two different issues, not one, as Bush would have it).
Kerry should hit Bush right in the 9/11.
Karl Rove's strategy is to attack an opponent's perceived strength instead of his weakness, and it's a good idea. Kerry should do the same. Bush wants to brag about his reaction to 9/11? Fine. Hammer, hammer, hammer the facts: Bush ignored the threat of terrorism BEFORE 9/11, he ignored the August 6th, 2001 Presidential Daily Briefing ("Bin Laden determine to strike inside United States"), he presided over the biggest intelligence failure in American History, he sat like a deer in the headlights when the attack occurred, and he swore on a pile of bodies that he was going to get Bin Laden when he was already planning to go after Saddam Hussein instead.
George W. Bush's reaction to 9/11 is nothing he should be bragging about, and he shouldn't be allowed to get away with it. He THINKS it's a strength. It's not, and shining a white light on it will turn it INTO a weakness.
Kerry should knock him right off that pedestal. And it should be like shooting fish in a barrel.
This is the sort of thing that they should stuff right down Bush's throat. The guy couldn't care less if what he says has any grounding in reality whatsoever, and there's a reason for that: he's never CALLED on the crap that comes out of his mouth.
"Raising taxes will stifle job creation. His [Kerry's] plan to raise taxes on those at the top end of the income-tax scale will raise taxes ... for the 900,000 small businesses and entrepreneurs who pay at the individual rate and who are creating most of the new jobs in our changing economy."Now - why doesn't Kerry say, "Mr. Bush, why would anyone think that YOU know anything about what does and doesn't create jobs? You're the first President since Hoover to show a net job loss!"
Or would that be MEAN?
But it's that simple. Bush has no record. "Mr. Bush, you gave them that tax cut. So where the hell are all these jobs that they were supposed to create?"
It's the most obvious, simplest argument in the world.
So why don't I hear it?
Saturday, September 04, 2004
Many people have pointed out that GOP's attack on Kerry's defense record is wildly distorted and/or taken out of context. The Washington Post gave a pretty decent analysis of exactly where it is wrong.
The Independent UK has a very cool list of stuff about Bush. E.g.:
1 Number of Bush administration public statements on National security issued between 20 January 2001 and 10 September 2001 that mentioned al-Qa'ida.
104 Number of Bush administration public statements on National security and defence in the same period that mentioned Iraq or Saddam Hussein.
101 Number of Bush administration public statements on National security and defence in the same period that mentioned missile defence.
65 Number of Bush administration public statements on National security and defence in the same period that mentioned weapons of mass destruction.
0 Number of times Bush mentioned Osama bin Laden in his three State of the Union addresses.
83 Number of times Bush mentioned Saddam, Iraq, or regime (as in change) in his three State of the Union addresses.
$1m Estimated value of a painting the Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas, received from Prince Bandar, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States and Bush family friend.
0 Number of times Bush mentioned Saudi Arabia in his three State of the Union addresses.
1,700 Percentage increase between 2001 and 2002 of Saudi Arabian spending on public relations in the United States.
79 Percentage of the 11 September hijackers who came from Saudi Arabia.
3 Number of 11 September hijackers whose entry visas came through special US-Saudi "Visa Express" programme.
140 Number of Saudis, including members of the Bin Laden family, evacuated from United States almost immediately after 11 September.
$3m Amount the White House was willing to grant the 9/11 Commission to investigate the 11 September attacks.
$0 Amount approved by George Bush to hire more INS special agents.
$10m Amount Bush cut from the INS's existing terrorism budget.
$5m Amount a 1996 federal commission was given to study legalised gambling.
7 Number of Arabic linguists fired by the US army between mid-August and mid-October 2002 for being gay.
It's quite long. It is well worth reading the whole thing, and emailing it to everyone you know.
Bullshit for dinner again?
Herr Groper (a.k.a. Arnold Schwarzenegger) appears to have done some selective stretching of the facts.
Just in case you don't think this is no big deal, remember - they painted Al Gore as a compulsive liar for not being perfectly hair-splittingly accurate 100% of the time. If this was a Democrat, the right-wing and their willing media bootlickers would still be flogging it to death a month from now:
Just in case you don't think this is no big deal, remember - they painted Al Gore as a compulsive liar for not being perfectly hair-splittingly accurate 100% of the time. If this was a Democrat, the right-wing and their willing media bootlickers would still be flogging it to death a month from now:
"Austrian historians are challenging California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for telling the Republican National Convention that he saw Soviet tanks in his homeland as a child and that he left a "Socialist" country when he moved away in 1968.
Recalling that the Soviets once occupied part of Austria in the aftermath of World War II, Schwarzenegger told the convention on Tuesday: "I saw tanks in the streets. I saw communism with my own eyes."
Historians, however, are questioning Schwarzenegger's version of postwar history -- if not his enduring popularity among Austrians who admire him for rising from a penniless immigrant to the highest official in America's most populous state.
"It's a fact -- as a child he could not have seen a Soviet tank in Styria," the southeastern province where Schwarzenegger was born and raised, historian Stefan Karner told the Vienna newspaper Kurier."
From corrente:
The easily excitable cable "news" drones are all a-twitter over a recently published Time magazine poll. This shiny new vibrating object, dangled before the pundoltery, depicts Bush with a 52% to 41% lead among "likely voters" nationwide. The poll, taken from Aug. 31 to Sept. 2 can be found here:
What the pampered "journalistic" mediocrities at CNN - as well as MSNBC - do not prattle on about are two other polls taken during the same general period. ALL these polls (including the TIME poll) were taken before the conclusion of the RNC convention in New York. Nevertheless the obedient cable "news" fetch-poodles are doing their yappy best to shill the Time magazine numbers (only) as post convention results. And obvious indicators of the Bush boy's unstoppable appeal. Oh sure.
ZOGBY - Zogby America Poll. Aug. 30-Sept. 2, 2004.
"Do you think George W. Bush deserves to be reelected as president of the United States, or is it time for someone new?"
Among likely voters nationwide:
8/30 - 9/2/04
deserves reelection - 46%
someone new - 48%
unsure - 6%
American Research Group Poll. Aug. 30-Sept. 1, 2004.
"If the election for president were being held between George W. Bush, the Republican, and John Kerry, the Democrat, for whom would you vote: Bush or Kerry?"
Among registered voters:
polled 8/30 - 9/1/04
Bush - 46%
Kerry - 48%
unsure - 6%
The Bush boy: whose entire strenght has always depended upon those willing to hide the entire story.
Friday, September 03, 2004
Hatestock
What a disgusting excuse for a political party.
President Bush on Friday wished Bill Clinton "best wishes for a swift and speedy recovery."
"He's is in our thoughts and prayers," Bush said at a campaign rally.
Bush's audience of thousands in West Allis, Wis., booed. Bush did nothing to stop them.
When these clowns come up with a bullshit excuse, they don't care HOW stupid it is, as long as they say something.
Here's the official excuse for their decision to dump Zell Miller:
Really? He was scheduled to do television interviews during Bush's speech?
Pray tell, what news program was it that pre-empted Bush's speech for an interview with Zell Miller?
Here's the official excuse for their decision to dump Zell Miller:
"Late Thursday, Miller and his wife were removed from the list of dignitaries who would be sitting in the first family’s box during the president’s acceptance speech later in the evening. Scott Stanzel, a spokesman for the Bush campaign, said Miller was not in the box because the campaign had scheduled him to do too many television interviews."
Really? He was scheduled to do television interviews during Bush's speech?
Pray tell, what news program was it that pre-empted Bush's speech for an interview with Zell Miller?
Pray for Clinton
AS you have no doubt heard, the Big Dog is going to undergo bypass surgery after experiencing chest pains.
Clinton seems rather young for this, but he's BEYOND being a Type A personality. He's Type A+.
But we need President Clinton around for many, many more years.
Clinton seems rather young for this, but he's BEYOND being a Type A personality. He's Type A+.
But we need President Clinton around for many, many more years.
Who's missing?
When Dick Cheney's family came up to the stage to join him, there was a notable absence: his daughter Mary. You know, the lesbian. Gee, I wonder why?
There is something about this that is just so foul and cold. It so clearly demonstrates that political calculations trump EVERYthing, including respect for your own family and common decency.
Admittedly, Cheney is in a no-win situation. He has to deal with stuff like THIS from his some fellow Republicans:
Senate candidate Alan Keyes calls Mary Cheney a "selfish hedonist"
Republican Alan Keyes, who is running against Democrat Barack Obama for a U.S. Senate seat from Illinois, has labeled homosexuality "selfish hedonism" and said Vice President Dick Cheney's lesbian daughter, Mary, is a sinner. The former talk-show host, who has made two unsuccessful runs for the White House, made the comments Monday night in an interview. After saying homosexuality is "selfish hedonism," Keyes was asked if that makes Mary Cheney "a selfish hedonist." "Of course she is," Keyes replied. "That goes by definition."
So I imagine if Cheney brought Mary up on the stage, Keyes and his fellow travelers would be having apoplexy and screaming "selfish hedonist" all over the airwaves, joined by Zell Miller on percussion and Jerry Falwell on bass. And, of course, when he DOESN'T bring her onto the stage, he gets criticized by folks like ME and Log Cabin Republicans of his own party.
But you know what? If you are faced with two unpleasant choices like that, the ONLY proper thing to do is choose on the basis of what's right
If Dick Cheney possessed a single testicle - one OUNCE of principle - he'd tell the Alan Keyeses of the world to stuff it. This is his DAUGHTER.
But instead, Cheney chose to do the craven thing, the expedient thing, the spineless thing. He chose to hide a member of his own family as though she was something to be ashamed of rather than stand with her.
For politics.
Ed Stephan is responsible for this handy-dandy chart. Click here to go to the original, with working hyperlinks.
Thursday, September 02, 2004
Bring It On
Kerry's Midnight Address - Sept. 3, 2004
In about one hour at midnight tonight, John Kerry will deliver a speech. Here are some excerpts.
The election comes down to this. If you believe this country is heading in the right direction, you should support George Bush. But if you believe America needs to move in a new direction, join with us. John and I offer a better plan that will make us stronger at home and more respected in the world. And we need your help to do that.
For three days in New York, instead of talking about jobs and the economy, we heard anger and insults from the Republicans. And I'll tell you why. It's because they can't talk about the real issues facing Americans. They can't talk about their record because it's a record of failure.
We all saw the anger and distortion of the Republican Convention. For the past week, they attacked my patriotism and my fitness to serve as commander in chief. Well, here's my answer. I'm not going to have my commitment to defend this country questioned by those who refused to serve when they could have and by those who have misled the nation into Iraq.
The vice president even called me unfit for office last night. I guess I'll leave it up to the voters whether five deferments makes someone more qualified to defend this nation than two tours of duty.
Let me tell you what I think makes someone unfit for duty. Misleading our nation into war in Iraq makes you unfit to lead this nation. Doing nothing while this nation loses millions of jobs makes you unfit to lead this nation. Letting 45 million Americans go without health care makes you unfit to lead this nation. Letting the Saudi royal family control our energy costs makes you unfit to lead this nation. Handing out billions of government contracts to Halliburton while you're still on their payroll makes you unfit. That's the record of George Bush and Dick Cheney. And it's not going to change. I believe it's time to move America in a new direction; I believe it's time to set a new course for America.
And we have a specific plan to do just that. So tomorrow morning, John and Elizabeth and Teresa and I are hitting the road across America's heartland. From here, we'll go out and talk with Americans in towns across Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Michigan. And because a stronger America begins at home, we'll talk about our plan to create jobs, cut taxes for the middle class, lower health care costs, and make America safer and more secure.
The man without a party
The GOP is backing away from Zell Miller after his stint yesterday as the Crown Prince of Loonies R' Us.
Ummm...folks? It was the keynote address of YOUR CONVENTION! If it wasn't intended to be the fundamental statement of the principles of your party, then why the hell was it the keynote address?
Is the Bush Administration actually going to stand there and claim with a straight face that they didn't clear the content of the convention speeches?
Of COURSE they read the speech before Miller delivered it, and of COURSE they approved it and cleared it.
But they thought that the rest of America was as thorougly extremist as THEY are.
Fools.
"After gauging the harsh reaction from Democrats and Republicans alike to Sen. Zell Miller’s keynote address at the Republican National Convention, the Bush campaign — led by the first lady — backed away Thursday from Miller’s savage attack on Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, insisting that the estranged Democrat was speaking only for himself.
Late Thursday, Miller’s name was removed from the list of dignitaries who would be sitting in the first family’s box during the president’s acceptance speech later in the evening. No explanation was immediately offered, but the change was made only a few hours after Laura Bush, asked about Miller’s deeply personal denunciation of his own party’s nominee, said in an interview with NBC News that “I don’t know that we share that point of view.”
Aides to President Bush and his campaign said Miller was not speaking for all Republicans."
Ummm...folks? It was the keynote address of YOUR CONVENTION! If it wasn't intended to be the fundamental statement of the principles of your party, then why the hell was it the keynote address?
Is the Bush Administration actually going to stand there and claim with a straight face that they didn't clear the content of the convention speeches?
Of COURSE they read the speech before Miller delivered it, and of COURSE they approved it and cleared it.
But they thought that the rest of America was as thorougly extremist as THEY are.
Fools.
Lord Voldemort
Or at least something close to it. Osama Bin Laden has become He Who Must Not Be Named. The Republican Convention has had speech after speech about 9/11 and Bush. Bush and 9/11. What Bush Did About 9/11.
The fact that the guy what was actually responsible for the attacks hasn't even had his name mentioned in such an atmosphere is rather glaring omission, isn't it?
Jimmy Breslin noticed.
The fact that the guy what was actually responsible for the attacks hasn't even had his name mentioned in such an atmosphere is rather glaring omission, isn't it?
Jimmy Breslin noticed.
"In three straight speeches, one by Cheney at Ellis Island and those by John McCain and Rudolph Giuliani on Monday night at the Republican convention, not once was the name of Osama bin Laden mentioned. . . Giuliani's bothered the most. He left out bin Laden because Bush can't get the words out of his mouth. Why shouldn't his boss ignore bin Laden? He is the killer who got away and he stands for the war that kills Americans every day."
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
From Fafblog:
Read it.
So Your City Is Full Of Republicans!
A Fafblog Guide
So it is Republican National Conventiontime an there are all these funny people in your town all of a sudden. They do not look like you. They do not act like you. They may dress in more cow-an-flag-themed apparel than you are accustomed to. Do not panic! They are not invaders or zombies (if they are please consult the Fafblog guide So Your City Is Full Of Zombies!). They are Republicans an they are jus like you an me! Take a minute an get to know your new Republican neighbors with Fafblog!
Read it.
Purple Hearts
To: National Desk
Contact: Mokie Porter of the Vietnam Veterans of America, 301-585-4000 ext. 146 or 301-996-0901
WASHINGTON, Aug. 31 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following is a statement by Vietnam Veterans of America National President Thomas H. Corey:
Vietnam Veterans of America has received reports of delegates at the Republican National Convention disseminating and wearing "Purple Heart" band-aids in mockery of one of nation's most distinctive honors, the Purple Heart medal.
The Purple Heart is one of the oldest military awards, first introduced in 1782 by Gen. George Washington to honor the service and sacrifice of the common soldier and recognize the spirit of volunteerism and selfless dedication. It was reinstated in 1932. The Purple Heart is awarded to members of the armed forces who are wounded by the enemy.
The spirit of the award recognizes the personal sacrifice of our troops without regard to the severity or nature of the wound. It is the wounding itself that merits the honor. To demean the decoration and the sacrifice it symbolizes demeans all veterans and the patriots who honor them.
With our nation's sons and daughters at war to protect global freedom, demeaning military service in this way is especially hurtful. Vietnam Veterans of America urges all Americans to decry this type of outrageous, disrespectful, and infantile behavior.
Contact: Mokie Porter of the Vietnam Veterans of America, 301-585-4000 ext. 146 or 301-996-0901
WASHINGTON, Aug. 31 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following is a statement by Vietnam Veterans of America National President Thomas H. Corey:
Vietnam Veterans of America has received reports of delegates at the Republican National Convention disseminating and wearing "Purple Heart" band-aids in mockery of one of nation's most distinctive honors, the Purple Heart medal.
The Purple Heart is one of the oldest military awards, first introduced in 1782 by Gen. George Washington to honor the service and sacrifice of the common soldier and recognize the spirit of volunteerism and selfless dedication. It was reinstated in 1932. The Purple Heart is awarded to members of the armed forces who are wounded by the enemy.
The spirit of the award recognizes the personal sacrifice of our troops without regard to the severity or nature of the wound. It is the wounding itself that merits the honor. To demean the decoration and the sacrifice it symbolizes demeans all veterans and the patriots who honor them.
With our nation's sons and daughters at war to protect global freedom, demeaning military service in this way is especially hurtful. Vietnam Veterans of America urges all Americans to decry this type of outrageous, disrespectful, and infantile behavior.
More Lies
One more person has come forward claiming that the SWILLs (SWIft Boat Lying Liars) used his name without permission.
them to," he said.
COLUMBUS - Swift boat veteran Bob Anderson of Columbus is ticked.
It bothers him that Sen. John Kerry's swift boat history has become such a political hot potato. But he's even more irritated that his name was included - without his permission - on a letter used to discredit Kerry.
"I'm pretty nonpolitical," the 56-year-old Anderson said Tuesday. So, when he found out last week that his name was one of about 300 signed on a letter questioning Kerry's service, he was "flabbergasted."
"It's kind of like stealing my identity," said Anderson, who spent a year on a swift boat as an engine man and gunner.
"After reading the letter," Anderson said, "it kind of got under my skin. I had never come across a situation where someone used my name without my support or approval. It's not a very comforting feeling."
What's worse, he said, he disagrees with the letter.
"Had they asked me to use my name, I wouldn't have allowed
"I remember sitting in the window of the White House," she said, "watching as my husband walked on the lawn below . . . wrestling with those agonizing decisions that would have such profound consequences for so many lives and for the future of our world." - Laura Bush
"Fuck Saddam, we're taking him out." - George W. Bush
Maybe it's me, by I don't think Bush has ever "agonized" over anything except maybe whether to use a 5 iron or a 7 iron.
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