War Is Peace,
Freedom Is Slavery,
Ignorance Is Strength
Tom Burka reports "virtually live from the Republican National Convention."
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Tucker Turns
I don't have cable, so I don't have the opportunity to watch Tucker Carlson on CNN's Crossfire. But I've seen him on PBS' Tucker Carlson Unfiltered and I don't care much for him. He is extremely manipulative in presenting his conservative point of view while posing as a unbiased journalist. Still, as Kos alludes to below, we'll take anti-Bush people wherever we can get them, especially when they happen to have a sphere of influence.
I agree with Kos, too... as the TV talking heads were praising Bush for being a leader on September 11, I was constantly doing the cartoon-like rubbing my eyes thing, wondering if the Bush they were seeing was the same Bush that I was seeing -- or not seeing as the case might be.
Guiliani was the voice of calm that gave this country, and particularly New York, the ability to catch its breath on one of the most insane days we are likely ever to experience as a nation.
Bush simply swooped in and grabbed the thunder after Cheney told him it was time to take his head out of the ground.
I don't have cable, so I don't have the opportunity to watch Tucker Carlson on CNN's Crossfire. But I've seen him on PBS' Tucker Carlson Unfiltered and I don't care much for him. He is extremely manipulative in presenting his conservative point of view while posing as a unbiased journalist. Still, as Kos alludes to below, we'll take anti-Bush people wherever we can get them, especially when they happen to have a sphere of influence.
I agree with Kos, too... as the TV talking heads were praising Bush for being a leader on September 11, I was constantly doing the cartoon-like rubbing my eyes thing, wondering if the Bush they were seeing was the same Bush that I was seeing -- or not seeing as the case might be.
Guiliani was the voice of calm that gave this country, and particularly New York, the ability to catch its breath on one of the most insane days we are likely ever to experience as a nation.
Bush simply swooped in and grabbed the thunder after Cheney told him it was time to take his head out of the ground.
Bush's 9-11 cowardice
So what does it mean when Tucker Carlson and Andrew Sullivan both declare they can't vote for Bush in November? That they're whores? That they're reading the tea leaves and don't want to get stuck on the wrong side of history? That they're tools and hacks and don't matter?
Perhaps. But they do have their own sphere of relevance, and frankly, every right-wing pundit that turns away from Bush is a victory for us. And the latest Esquire magazine, in addition to running Ron Reagan's anti-Bush screed, also treats us to Carlson and Sullivan declaring their disappointment in the failed Bush presidency.
Carlson, in particular, is brutal on Bush, taking him to task for his cowardice on 9-11 (no free online version):
... The attacks initially made me sorry I voted for him. For most of that day, as my wife and children stayed inside our house listening to the roar of fighter jets overhead, and black smoke from the Pentagon hovered above our neighborhood, Bush failed to return to Washington. My family sat unprotected a few miles from the scene of a terrorist attack; Bush hid in a bunker on some faraway military base.
It infuriated me, as did the subsequent excuses from White House spokesman. There was a risk in coming back, they said. There was a risk in coming back, they said. Of course there was. That's the point: Leaders must take risks, sometimes physical ones. Bush should have elbowed his Secret Service detail out of the way and returned in a display of fearlessness to his nation's capital. I found it distressingly revealing that he didn't.
So did I. It was one of my earliest thoughts that fateful day. Say what you will about Giuliani, and most of what I would say is bad. But Rudi showed the type of leadership Bush only wishes he could muster.
What's worse, Rove knew how bad Bush's cowardice looked, so much the same way they handle any obstacle they face, they lied. Rove claimed they had received credible threats against Air Force One, a ludicrous assertion that was proven false days later. But in the chaos of the moment, both Bush's palpable fear and the lies used to cover it up were lost.
But as Carlson says, the incident was revealing. Just as Kerry's heroism half a world away is revealing. There's a reason the Swift Boat Liars are going after the story so hard. Kerry turned his boat into the danger he faced. Bush ran to Nebraska and cowered in fear.
Bush: Flip-Flopper
Kos says, Bush: "I'm confused as shit"
I say that Bush can't take a piss without cue cards!
Kos says, Bush: "I'm confused as shit"
I say that Bush can't take a piss without cue cards!
Poor George. Asked whether we would "win the war on terror", he has wilted under the pressure of the question. First he says we will. Then he says we won't. Now he says we will.
One day after saying the war on terror could not be won, President Bush on Tuesday sought to calm a political storm by asserting he had been less than articulate and that America would prevail.
Sure, Bush is "less than articulate". But "I don't think you can win it" is not an issue of being articulate. Kerry's team jumped all over the statement and the subsequent flip flop:
Kerry campaign spokesman Phil Singer derided Bush's latest remarks.
"What today showed is that George Bush might be able to give a speech saying he can win the war on terror. But he's clearly got real doubts about his ability to do so and for good reason," Singer said.
We need a president who is committed to winning the war. Not one who clearly, and unambigiously, said he didn't think he was up to the task.
George W. Bush, Wimp-in-Chief
Brad DeLong presents the evidence...
Brad DeLong presents the evidence...
God! What a wimp! Does anybody really want a guy like this commanding the U.S. military?
George W. Bush: Face the Nation: March 5, 2000: Bob, there are people spending ads that say nice things about me. There are people spending money on ads that say ugly things about me. That's part of the American--let me finish. That's part of the American process...
George W. Bush: Larry King Live: August 12, 2004: Well, I say they ought to get rid of all those 527s, independent expenditures that have flooded the airwaves. There have been millions of dollars spent up until this point in time. I signed [the McCain-Feingold] law that I thought would get rid of those, and I called on the senator to -- let's just get anybody who feels like they got to run to not do so....
George W. Bush: White House: March 27, 2002: [McCain-Feingold] does have flaws. Certain provisions present serious constitutional concerns. In particular, H.R. 2356 goes farther than I originally proposed.... I believe individual freedom to participate in elections should be expanded, not diminished; and when individual freedoms are restricted, questions arise under the First Amendment. I also have reservations about the constitutionality of the broad ban on issue advertising, which restrains the speech of a wide variety of groups on issues of public import in the months closest to an election...
George W. Bush: Face the Nation: March 5, 2000: You know, let me--let me say something to you. People have the right to run ads. They have the right to do what they want to do, under the--under the First Amendment in America...
George W. Bush: Larry King Live: August 12, 2004: Well, I haven’t seen the ad, but what I do condemn is these unregulated, soft-money expenditures by very wealthy people, and they’ve said some bad things about me. I guess they’re saying bad things about him. And what I think we ought to do is not have them on the air. I think there ought to be full disclosure. The campaign funding law I signed I thought was going to get rid of that. But evidently the Federal Election Commission had a different view...
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Did We Sign Up for This?
Perhaps it's best just to let Molly Ivins have at it...
Perhaps it's best just to let Molly Ivins have at it...
Another record: We have already lost more American soldiers (488) in Iraq in 239 days of this year than we did in 287 days last year (482) – when there was a "war" on, and before our mission was "accomplished."
The grind of the numbers is so relentless. Price of gasoline – pressing $50 a barrel. Poverty rate – increased again, third year in a row. Number of Americans without insurance – increased again, third year. Part of the "vibrant economy" Bush touts daily now. And the news from Iraq just keeps getting worse and worse.
[...]
An enterprising student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Devon Largio, has done an honors thesis delineating 27 separate rationales advanced by the administration for the war in Iraq. The only one left, of course, is "Saddam was a bad guy" – in other words, the human rights argument, the only one specifically rejected by the administration before the war.
[...]
Meanwhile, at Bush's "Ask President Bush" events being staged around the country, only Bush supporters are allowed in. This results in such tough questions as, "This is the very first time that I have felt God was in the White House."
Did any of us sign up for this four years ago?
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Sunday, August 29, 2004
Saturday, August 28, 2004
No Kidding!
With the number of dead Americans in Iraq at 972, Bush will no doubt speak of the progress there -- the "one more democracy participating in the Olympics" crap.
There have been more Americans killed so far in the first eight months of 2004 than from March through December of 2003.
With the number of dead Americans in Iraq at 972, Bush will no doubt speak of the progress there -- the "one more democracy participating in the Olympics" crap.
There have been more Americans killed so far in the first eight months of 2004 than from March through December of 2003.
Many in GOP Want Bush to Downplay Iraq
By RON FOURNIER, (AP)
NEW YORK - Nervous Republicans are urging President Bush to unveil a robust second-term agenda at his convention next week to shift voters' focus from the unpopular war in Iraq and other issues that are a distraction to his re-election drive. Some contend the party should ditch the GOP-fueled controversy over rival John Kerry's combat record in Vietnam.
[...]
Many voters have soured on the war in Iraq, and their discontent has hurt Bush's approval ratings. With the death toll of U.S. troops nearing 1,000, several of the Republicans said Bush's political team doesn't realize how angry and anxious Americans are over Iraq. Each death dominates local news, often in a battleground state. Bush acknowledged Thursday in an interview that he miscalculated the postwar scenario in Iraq.
Friday, August 27, 2004
Dole: "He Was Right"
A few days ago, I got rather pissed about seeing Bob Dole essentially lending credence to the Swift Boat Liars For Bush. After seeing this brief video, I think I'm even more pissed...
Indeed, I'm thankful that the clip has come to light, as it addresses Bush's propensity for resorting to vile political attacks, but the fact that he's got the audacity to support Bush's tactics this time around after admitting his disdain for Bush's use of the same tactics four years ago. It just makes me sick!
A few days ago, I got rather pissed about seeing Bob Dole essentially lending credence to the Swift Boat Liars For Bush. After seeing this brief video, I think I'm even more pissed...
Indeed, I'm thankful that the clip has come to light, as it addresses Bush's propensity for resorting to vile political attacks, but the fact that he's got the audacity to support Bush's tactics this time around after admitting his disdain for Bush's use of the same tactics four years ago. It just makes me sick!
For Shame
A leaked video reveals what Bob Dole really thinks about Bush's tactics.
By Chris Suellentrop
For pretty much the duration of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth controversy, the Kerry campaign has been trying to demonstrate that the smear campaign being conducted against the Democratic presidential nominee is all the more loathsome because it is part of a pattern of behavior by George W. Bush: the use of front groups to damage his campaign opponents by putting false statements into the political bloodstream. Particularly salient, Democrats believe, is the 2000 campaign conducted against John McCain during the South Carolina primary.
Democrats now have an unlikely ally in their quest to prove that Bush has a history of these kinds of dirty tricks: Bob Dole. No one has done more to lend establishment respectability to the falsehoods being peddled against Kerry than Dole. The former Senate majority leader and 1996 presidential nominee of the Republican Party made several demonstrably false statements about John Kerry's war record this past Sunday on CNN's Late Edition before saying that "not every one of these people can be Republican liars. There's got to be some truth to the charges."
But Dole also made another statement that day, one that hasn't been aired until now. Of McCain's charge to President Bush during a 2000 debate—"You should be ashamed"—Dole told Wolf Blitzer, "He was right." Dole made the remark off-air, while CNN broadcast the Kerry ad called "Old Tricks," the one featuring McCain's 2000 debate remarks. The campaign stopped airing it recently at McCain's request.
Although the remark was made off-air, it wasn't made off-camera. A CNN employee who asked not to be named made a digital file of the raw camera feed from the Late Edition studio. The footage does not include the graphics or other video, such as the McCain ad, that was shown during the live broadcast. "Once the control room punches the ad, it automatically kills the mics in the studio," the CNN employee told me. "He knows he can speak to Wolf and no one will hear him." Slate has posted the video, so you can see Dole's remark for yourself. (Click the image to view the clip.)
Question for Bob Dole: If President Bush should be ashamed of his behavior four years ago, why aren't you ashamed now?
Arianna's Had Enough...
...of Undecideds.
Arianna Huffington has this to say about the effect of the Swift Boat Liars For Bush ads on the undecided voters...
...of Undecideds.
Arianna Huffington has this to say about the effect of the Swift Boat Liars For Bush ads on the undecided voters...
The repugnant non-story of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth is an irony-drenched exhibit A in the case against focusing on undecided voters. Consider: After being ardently wooed, courted, pursued and catered to by team Kerry, a sizeable chunk of this capricious lot has taken the noxious bait being dangled by the anti-Kerry slime machine and swallowed it hook, line and stinker.
According to a new poll by the National Annenberg Election Survey, 46 percent of undecided and persuadable voters say they find the group's vile ads "very or somewhat believable".
Believable?! But then why are we surprised that the folks who are still on the fence nearly four years into one of the most disastrous and polarizing presidencies in American history find foaming-at-the-mouth accusations that John Kerry might have shot himself because it would look good on his resume "believable"?
The 2004 election is nothing less than a referendum on the soul of our country - a political event with unprecedented significance for our lives and the lives of our children. The Kerry campaign cannot allow it to devolve into a debate over whether John Kerry bled enough to warrant a Purple Heart.
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Poll: Bush Behind Swift Boat Liars' Ads
Considering his pussy footing around the issue when he was asked several times if he would denounce the Swift Boat Lying Liars, is this really any surprise?
Bush and the lying liars that support him: Two peas, one pod.
Considering his pussy footing around the issue when he was asked several times if he would denounce the Swift Boat Lying Liars, is this really any surprise?
Poll: More Believe Bush Behind Swift Boat Attack Ads
NEW YORK (AP) - Americans increasingly believe President Bush's re-election campaign is behind the ads attacking Democrat John Kerry's Vietnam experience, a poll found.
Almost half in a poll taken this week say they think the president's campaign is behind the ads that try to undercut Kerry's medals for heroism while just over a third think the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth is an independent group, the National Annenberg Election Survey found.
The Swift boat ads, which ran in three swing states earlier this month, challenged Kerry's wartime service in Vietnam for which he received five medals.
The public's belief that Kerry did not earn his medals grew to 30 percent when the attack ads got widespread publicity on cable news networks. But that number has dropped to 24 percent now.
Kerry's campaign has accused President Bush of involvement in the ad campaign, a charge that was stepped up after Bush campaign counsel Benjamin Ginsberg acknowledged he was advising the group and resigned Wednesday from the Bush campaign.
Bush and the lying liars that support him: Two peas, one pod.
The Bush Betrayal
The Bush Betrayal by James Bovard is being serialized at AntiWar.com.
Read the entire Introduction.
The Bush Betrayal by James Bovard is being serialized at AntiWar.com.
George W. Bush came to the presidency promising prosperity, peace, and humility. Instead, Bush has spawned record federal budget deficits, launched an unnecessary war, and made America the most hated nation in the world. Bush is expanding federal power and stretching prerogatives in almost every area that captures his fancy. Though Bush continually invokes freedom to sanctify himself and his policies, Bush freedom is based on boundless trust in the righteousness of the rulers and all their actions.
Truth is a lagging indicator in politics. A president's promises and speeches receive far more publicity than subsequent reports and revelations about how his cherished programs crash and burn. This book does not aim to analyze all Bush policies. Instead, it examines an array of his domestic and foreign actions that vivify the damage Bush is inflicting and the danger he poses both to America and the world.
Read the entire Introduction.
Thursday, August 26, 2004
970
Why did it have to come to this?
Why did it have to come to this?
Father Sets Himself Alight After Son's Iraq Death
A distraught father set himself alight moments after he learned that his first-born son had been killed in combat in Iraq, police have said.
Three Marine officers arrived at the Florida home of Carlos Arredondo, 44, yesterday to break the news that his son, Private First Class Alexander Arredondo, 20, was dead.
Within seconds, Mr. Arredondo walked outside, smashed the windows of the Marines' van, doused it with petrol and climbed inside clutching a propane tank from the garage, a police spokesman said. He set the van ablaze, while still inside.
The three officers dragged him from the van and extinguished the flames on the man. He was taken to hospital in a serious condition.
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Kerry In Philly
Thanks to paperbag over at DailyKos.
Was there ever a time when George Bush actually considered taking care of someone other than himself or his cronies?
Thanks to paperbag over at DailyKos.
"It's become so petty it's almost pathetic in a way as I listen to these things. You know every -- (Rep.) Chaka (Fattah) was telling me a minute ago he keeps hearing these commentators, Republicans all of them, saying "well John Kerry was only in Vietnam for four months blah blah blah." Well, I was there for longer than that number one. Number two, I served two tours. Number three, they thought enough of my service to make me an aide to an admiral. And the Navy 35 years ago made the awards that I made through the normal process that they make. And I'm proud of them and I'm proud of my service and I'm proud that I stood up against the war when I came home because it was the right thing to do.
"I've been 35 years now involved in foreign policy one way or the other. From being at the tip of the spear when leaders made bad decisions to trying to oppose it when I came home as an act of conscience. And you can judge my character, incidentally, by that. Because when the Times of moral crisis existed in this country I wasn't taking care of myself, I was taking care of public policy. I was taking care of things that made a difference to the life of this nation. You may not have agreed with me but I stood up and was counted and that's the kind of president I'm gonna be."
Was there ever a time when George Bush actually considered taking care of someone other than himself or his cronies?
Anti-Spam Research
We've spent how long trying to develop a cure for cancer?
Well, I guess that since we haven't done that yet, we should be satisfied with this:
So, what if that one in 6,000 is a note fromthat sexy blonde I emailed months ago at LonelyHeartsClub.com?!? Ed McMahon asking me to enter the American Family Publicher Sweepstakes?!?
We've spent how long trying to develop a cure for cancer?
Well, I guess that since we haven't done that yet, we should be satisfied with this:
DNA analysis Spots E-mail Spam
Few would have thought that when Crick and Watson unravelled DNA, it would help in making a tool to fight spam.
But computational biologists at IBM's TJ Watson Research Center have devised an anti-spam filter based on the way scientists analyse genetic sequences.
Called after Feng Shui character Chung-Kwei, the formula automatically learns patterns of spam vocabulary and has proved to be 96.5% efficient.
In tests, the filter only misidentified one message in 6,000 as spam.
more >>
So, what if that one in 6,000 is a note from
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
George Bush: Liberator?
While away in New York last month, I got behind in my blog reading, then got further behind as my work intensified in preparation for the Great Lakes Folk Festival. As a result, I've tried to skim things as quick as possible with the hope of catching up. I haven't. I did manage to read a recent post by Juan Cole tonight, though, and he gives a little perspective on the so-called liberation of Iraq and Afghanistan that Bush has been touting in his campaign ads.
Read the entire post.
While away in New York last month, I got behind in my blog reading, then got further behind as my work intensified in preparation for the Great Lakes Folk Festival. As a result, I've tried to skim things as quick as possible with the hope of catching up. I haven't. I did manage to read a recent post by Juan Cole tonight, though, and he gives a little perspective on the so-called liberation of Iraq and Afghanistan that Bush has been touting in his campaign ads.
Most Iraqis would define liberation as the end of the American military occupation and their ability to choose a government of their liking. It seems highly likely that the Iraqi elections scheduled for January 2005 will be postponed for a good long time, allowing caretaker Prime Minister Iyad Allawi to consolidate his power (though whether the ongoing resistance to the occupation will allow him to do so is in doubt).
Liberation as self-determination is not in evidence in either Afghanistan or Iraq. That is why the Iraqi soccer team spoke out against Bush. Samples:
Talking to Sports Illustrated, Iraqi midfielder Salih Sadir expressed dismay at being used in Bush's re-election propaganda: "Iraq as a team does not want Mr. Bush to use us for the presidential campaign. He can find another way to advertise for himself."
"My problems are not with the American people; they are with what America has done in Iraq: destroy everything," Coach Adnan Hamad added. "The American Army has killed so many people in Iraq. What is freedom when I go to the [national] stadium and there are shootings on the road?"
Ahmed Manajid, whose cousin was an insurgent killed by US soldiers, went even further, saying he would "for sure" be fighting the occupation as a member of the Iraqi resistance were he not playing soccer.
and
One of the team's midfield players, Ahmad Manajid, accused Mr Bush of "slaughtering" Iraqi men and women. "How will he meet his God having slaughtered so many? I want to defend my home. If a stranger invades America and the people resist, does that make them a terrorist?" he said.
and
Hamad said: "One cannot separate politics and sport because of the situation in the country right now."
He said the violence which continues to afflict Iraq, more than a year after Bush declared major combat there was over, meant the team could not fully enjoy its success.
"To be honest with you, even our happiness at winning is not happiness because we are worried about the problems in Iraq, all the daily problems that our people face back home, so to tell you the truth, we are not really happy," he said.
So, the Bush definition of "liberated" and the Iraqi definition are two entirely different things.
Given that the Bush administration has turned Iraq into a failed state and a country in flames, the condition of which is far worse than the US public is allowed to know, it is quite outrageous that Bush should be trumpeting Iraq as an achievement. That he is doing so in connection with the Olympics is just tacky and probably illegal.
Will any of the Iraqi soccer players get interviewed on US television?
Read the entire post.
US Iraq Prison Abuse Highlights
An interesting choice of words for the above headline... "Abuse Highlights"?
Compiled by the Associated Press, via the Duluth News Tribune.
An interesting choice of words for the above headline... "Abuse Highlights"?
Compiled by the Associated Press, via the Duluth News Tribune.
Highlights of the Army investigation report on the role of the 205th Military Intelligence Brigade in abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq:
- Twenty-three military intelligence soldiers and four civilian contractors are alleged to be involved in detainee abuse. Six military intelligence soldiers and two contractors are accused of having witnessed abuse but failed to report it.
- Two Army medics are alleged to have known about abuse but failed to report it.
- In addition to the seven military police soldiers previously charged with abuse as a result of an earlier investigation, three other MPs are alleged to have been involved. One additional MP is accused of having known about abuse but failing to report it.
- The primary reason the abuse happened was that a "small group of morally corrupt soldiers and civilians" knowingly violated Army regulations. A contributing factor was a lack of discipline by some of the soldiers' leaders, who in some cases knew about the misconduct and did nothing about it.
- In most of the 44 substantiated incidents, the abuse did not occur during interrogations of prisoners and there is no evidence that it was done in response to any Army order.
- One incident involved the death of an Iraqi detainee.
- There were at least eight Iraqi "ghost detainees" - prisoners kept off the books at the request of the CIA, in violation of the Army's rules for handling prisoners. Those cases are being further investigated by the Defense Department and the CIA.
- The highest ranking person to be referred for possible disciplinary action as a result of the investigation is Col. Thomas Pappas, commander of the 205th Military Intelligence Brigade. He was cited for numerous failings. Four other military intelligence officers outside the 205th also were accused of failings. No decisions have been made on whether criminal charges will be brought against any of the five.
- The cases of the civilian contractors have been referred to the Justice Department for further consideration.
Swift Boat Facts
Another site dedicated to sinking the Swift Boat Liars...
SwiftBoatLiarsForBush.com
Another site dedicated to sinking the Swift Boat Liars...
SwiftBoatLiarsForBush.com
More Swift Boat Lies
"Oh, yeah... well, there was that."
"Oh, yeah... well, there was that."
Swift Boat Writer Lied on Cambodia Claim
By ELIZABETH WOLFE, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - The chief critic of John Kerry (news - web sites)'s military record told President Nixon in 1971 that he had been in Cambodia in a swift boat during the Vietnam War — a claim at odds with his recent statements that he was not.
"I was in Cambodia, sir. I worked along the border," said John E. O'Neill in a conversation that was taped by the former president's secret recording system. The tape is stored at the National Archives in College Park, Md.
In an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, O'Neill did not dispute what he said to Nixon, but insisted he was never actually in Cambodia.
"I think I made it very clear that I was on the border, which is exactly where I was for three months. I was about 100 yards from Cambodia," O'Neill said in clarifying the June 16, 1971, conversation with Nixon.
Chad Clanton, a spokesman for the Democratic presidential candidate, said the tape "is just the latest in a long line of lies and false statements from a group trying to smear John Kerry's military service. Again, they're being proven liars with their own words. It's time for President Bush to stand up and specifically condemn this smear."
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GOP Bias
One never knows if such claims are true, but... it's Florida and it's the GOP. After 2000, I wouldn't trust a Florida Republican any farther than I could throw one. They deserve any bad publcity they might get!
One never knows if such claims are true, but... it's Florida and it's the GOP. After 2000, I wouldn't trust a Florida Republican any farther than I could throw one. They deserve any bad publcity they might get!
Dismissed Black Woman Sues GOP
WASHINGTON - A black woman charged Florida's Republican Party on Tuesday with discriminating against her, based on race, and then firing her when she complained.
Nadia Naffe, 25, of Tampa was a field director for the state party from August 2003 until she was fired on April 2 after she complained to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, according to a lawsuit she filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Florida.
"When I went to work for them I was so disappointed in the things that I saw," said Naffe, who cried during parts of a news conference Monday at the National Press Club. Naffe, former head of the campus GOP group at the University of Tampa, is unemployed now.
Naffe said the state party required her to do outreach to African-American groups, which the lawsuit describes as illegal "race matching." Employees there also created a hostile work environment by making racially insensitive remarks, such as calling blacks "ignorant," she said.
After she took her complaints all the way to state party chairwoman Carole Jean Jordan, party officials fired her in retaliation, the suit said.
Party spokesman Joseph Agostini denied the charges.
"Allegations are simply that - allegations," he said. "We believe that once the process takes its due course these allegations will prove to be without substance."
Naffe's suit also blamed the Republican National Committee and the Bush-Cheney presidential campaign, saying those groups were involved with the financing and supervision of her position.
Start Value
Imagine if Bush's performance as President were rated by Olympic gymnastic judges...
Charles P. Pierce sticks it!
Imagine if Bush's performance as President were rated by Olympic gymnastic judges...
Charles P. Pierce sticks it!
Start Value
There’s a simple reason why George W. Bush should never win the gold: His routine is just too easy.
[...]
A South Korean gymnast named Yang Tae Young was the victim of a scoring error that also helped hand the individual all-around gold medal to American gymnast Paul Hamm. This was treated as a kind of that's-the-way-it-goes by the broadcast crew. (And, yes, you are correct in your imaginings as to what would have happened has it been the American kid who was on the business end of this bungling.)
Yang ran afoul of something called the "start value" of one of his routines, which apparently is the assessment of the judges as to how hard the routine is to perform. The eventual score is calculated down from the start value. Due to an error by those mysterious folks in blazers who sit there like the politburo used to sit, Yang was given a start value that was too low. Great huffing and blowing ensued, and Trautwig -- who assuredly has a job at FOX whenever he needs it -- made sure to give the Korean an I-told-ya-so kick two nights later when Yang screwed up in the high-bar competition
Anyway, I like the start value. I think it's an interesting, charmingly egalitarian concept. For example, let's say you want to stay president of the United States. For most of the first 40 years of your life, you're a conspicuous ne'er-do-well, even in a family notable for them. (Hi, Neil! Back in the attic now. Be quick about it.) You are backed in several business ventures, all of which crater, but out of which you are helped from the wreckage by many of the people who were your stake horses to begin with. You do well selling your percentage of a baseball team to one of your family's best friends. You become governor of Texas and then, despite receiving half a million votes less than the other guy, you become president of the United States after nearly a decade of relative peace and prosperity.
For a year or so, you serve no apparent function in the office. However, a really bad thing happens, and the country and the world rally to your cause. Over the next three years, you squander almost all of that goodwill. A war into which you had to euchre the nation goes terribly bad. The economy remains narcoleptic. And then it's time to run for president again. You don't exactly stick the landing, but you throw your arms in the air and give the judges your best and biggest smile. But you know you have trouble.
Why?
Start values.
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More Bush Lies
I have a feeling that George Bush will rue the day he decided that the Swift Boat Liars For Bush was a good idea.
From Sirotablog...
And let's not leave out the Bush minions that aren't campaigning for him...
I have a feeling that George Bush will rue the day he decided that the Swift Boat Liars For Bush was a good idea.
From Sirotablog...
Bush Lied About His Military Service
There is no more debate about it - we now know Bush deliberately falsified and lied about his own military service:
BUSH TOOK OUT AD LYING ABOUT HIS MILITARY SERVICE: "A pullout ad from The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal of May 4, 1978, shows a huge picture of Bush with a 'Bush for Congress' logo on the front. On the back, a synopsis of his career says he served 'in the U.S. Air Force and the Texas Air National Guard where he piloted the F-102 aircraft.'" [Source: AP, 7/14/99]
BUSH INSISTED THAT HIS LIE WAS TRUE: When confronted with questions about why he lied about serving in the Air Force, Bush claimed "The facts are I served 600 days in the Air Force." That is not true. Bush served stateside in the Texas Air National Guard, not the Air Force. [Source: AP, 7/13/99]
AIRFORCE CORROBORATES BUSH'S LIE: Bush served stateside in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War. The Air Force says that "Air National Guard members are considered 'guardsmen on active duty' while receiving pilot training. They are not, however, counted as members of the overall active-duty Air Force." [Source: AP, 7/14/99]
And let's not leave out the Bush minions that aren't campaigning for him...
CLAIM vs. FACT: Snow & Campaign Activity
CLAIM:
"[Treasury Secretary John Snow] is not engaged in campaign activity, and that hasn't changed." (U.S. Treasury Department spokesman, 8/24/04)
FACT:
"U.S. Treasury Secretary John W. Snow will visit Grand Rapids, Michigan on Friday, August 27 to meet with local business leaders and discuss the President's efforts to strengthen the economy and create jobs." (U.S. Treasury press release, 8/25/04)
FACT:
"Snow has touted the benefits of the administration's tax cuts and economic policy during visits to 21 states so far this year…Of the 21 states Snow has visited, 13 have been 'battleground' states that were among the most closely split between Bush and former Vice President Al Gore in the 2000 presidential election. (Dow Jones Newswires, 8/24/04)
Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Dissecting Bush's Lies
First Draft took a look at the Bushes' visit with Larry King last week and documented the fiction they spun...
First Draft took a look at the Bushes' visit with Larry King last week and documented the fiction they spun...
On Bush's oposition to the Sep. 11 Commission:
KING: You first were opposed to the 9/11 Commission and then changed. Why?
G. BUSH: Not really.
KING: You weren't opposed?
G. BUSH: Well, I just wanted to make sure that it was done the right way. I felt like that -- one of my concerns was that it would usurp the Congress' need to fully investigate.
Then I recognized this was a good avenue -- a good venue and a good way to really get out the facts. And they did a really good job.
What really happend (Link):
Q Should the American people conclude there were some intelligence lapses before September 11th? And can you please explain why you oppose a commission to look into the matter, and why you won't release the August 6th memo?
And quickly to you, sir, do you think there should be regime change in Iraq?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, first of all, I've got great confidence in our CIA and FBI. I know what's taken place since the attacks on September the 11th. Our communications between the two agencies is much better than ever before. We've got a much better -- doing a much better job of sharing intelligence.
I, of course, want the Congress to take a look at what took place prior to September the 11th. But since it deals with such sensitive information, in my judgment, it's best for the ongoing war against terror that the investigation be done in the intelligence committee. There are committees set up with both Republicans and Democrats who understand the obligations of upholding our secrets and our sources and methods of collecting intelligence. And therefore, I think it's the best place for Congress to take a good look at the events leading up to September the 11th.
more >>
Swift Boat Liars For Bush (The Yarn Unravels)
The connection between the Bush campaign and the Swift Boat Liars For Bush continues to come to light...
The connection between the Bush campaign and the Swift Boat Liars For Bush continues to come to light...
Attorney Works for Bush, Anti-Kerry Group
By SHARON THEIMER (AP)
WASHINGTON - A lawyer for President Bush's re-election campaign disclosed Tuesday that he has been providing legal advice for a veterans group that is challenging Democratic Sen. John Kerry's account of his Vietnam War service.
Benjamin Ginsberg's acknowledgment marks the second time in days that an individual associated with the Bush-Cheney campaign has been connected to the group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which Kerry accuses of being a front for the Republican incumbent's re-election effort.
The Bush campaign and the veterans' group say there is no coordination.
The group "came to me and said, 'We have a point of view we want to get into the First Amendment debate right now. There's a new law. It's very complicated. We want to comply with the law, will you keep us in the bounds of the law?'" Ginsberg said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I said yes, absolutely, as I would do for anyone."
Ginsberg said he never told the Bush campaign what he discussed with the group, or vice versa, and doesn't advise the group on ad strategies.
"They have legal questions and when they have legal questions I answer them," Ginsberg said. He said he had not yet decided whether to charge the Swift Boat Veterans a fee for his work.
Kerry's presidential campaign last week filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission accusing the Bush campaign and the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth of illegally coordinating the group's ads. The ads allege Kerry has lied about his decorated Vietnam War service; the group's accounts in a television ad have been disputed by Navy records and veterans who served on Kerry's boat.
"It's another piece of the mounting evidence of the ties between the Bush campaign and this group," Kerry campaign spokesman Chad Clanton said of Ginsberg's admission. "The longer President Bush waits to specifically condemn this smear, the more it looks like his campaign is behind it."
On Saturday, retired Air Force Col. Ken Cordier resigned as a member of the Bush campaign's veterans' steering committee after it was learned that he appeared in the Swift Boat veterans' commercial.
more >>
966
I hadn't made a comparison but the Wage Slave Journal did:
In October of 2003, as reported by The World Today, Bush had this to say:
To use the Bush strategy in which they have said that John Kerry is "proud" of voting against supporting U.S. troops with adequate equipment, I'd say that it's safe to assume that George Bush is proud to have caused harm to so many soldiers.
I hadn't made a comparison but the Wage Slave Journal did:
Compare the number of US casualties month-to-month between 2003 and 2004. Notice that with the exception of March -- the month the invasion started -- each month in 2004 is deadlier than the year before.
In October of 2003, as reported by The World Today, Bush had this to say:
"Listen, we're making good progress in Iraq. Sometimes it's hard to tell it when you listen to the filter. The situation is improving on a daily basis inside Iraq. People are freer, the security situation is getting better..."
To use the Bush strategy in which they have said that John Kerry is "proud" of voting against supporting U.S. troops with adequate equipment, I'd say that it's safe to assume that George Bush is proud to have caused harm to so many soldiers.
Monday, August 23, 2004
Daily Image
When I take the time to do a little exploring of blogs on the web (most often via links from other blogs), I discover some pretty cool stuff...
When I take the time to do a little exploring of blogs on the web (most often via links from other blogs), I discover some pretty cool stuff...
I found [daily dose of imagery] thanks to Jillian at SlyBlog: The Snarky Cat...
I've not spent a lot of time at the site, but so far, this image is my favorite.
Swift Boat Liars for Bush De-bunked
I had been thinking this afternoon how there needed to be a site dedicated to sorting out the lies being spread by the Swift Boat Liars for Bush and the truth.
Someone else was way ahead of me... swiftvets.eRiposte.com
I had been thinking this afternoon how there needed to be a site dedicated to sorting out the lies being spread by the Swift Boat Liars for Bush and the truth.
Someone else was way ahead of me... swiftvets.eRiposte.com
Sunday, August 22, 2004
Veering From The Wave
With the Swift Boat Liars For Bush dominating the news of late, I thought I'd take a slightly different tack as regards swift boats...
Last fall, I saw one of the most powerful documentaries I've ever seen on PBS' Independent Lens series -- Be Good, Smile Pretty, produced by Tracy Droz Tragos, a Vietnam War era orphan.
Tracy discusses her father, Don Droz, with her mother for the first time, exploring her mother's memory, letters, photographs and audio recordings. She meets with her father's swift boat comerades and -- while visiting the Vietnam Memorial for the first time -- she and her mother and grandmother pay a visit with an emotional John Kerry, who knew her father.
Buy this film for your collection... and keep lots of tissue at hand! It is a heartbreaking story in so many ways, but it is also incredibly uplifting as Tracy's relationship with her mother rises to a whole 'nother level as they both learn about a man taken too soon from their lives.
With the Swift Boat Liars For Bush dominating the news of late, I thought I'd take a slightly different tack as regards swift boats...
Last fall, I saw one of the most powerful documentaries I've ever seen on PBS' Independent Lens series -- Be Good, Smile Pretty, produced by Tracy Droz Tragos, a Vietnam War era orphan.
|
Tracy discusses her father, Don Droz, with her mother for the first time, exploring her mother's memory, letters, photographs and audio recordings. She meets with her father's swift boat comerades and -- while visiting the Vietnam Memorial for the first time -- she and her mother and grandmother pay a visit with an emotional John Kerry, who knew her father.
Buy this film for your collection... and keep lots of tissue at hand! It is a heartbreaking story in so many ways, but it is also incredibly uplifting as Tracy's relationship with her mother rises to a whole 'nother level as they both learn about a man taken too soon from their lives.
Bob Dole, Attack Dog
I recall when Bob Dole was running as Gerald Ford's running mate against Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale in 1976. He was snide, flip and often disrepectful of his opponents during the campaign -- essentially an attack dog unleashed to do the Republicans' dirty work. I recall that I didn't like him all that much then.
In more recent years, he's earned a bit more of my respect as he's (seemingly) mellowed, becoming more statesman-like now that he's retired from political office.
After today's appearance on CNN's Late Edition With Wolf Spritzer, he's gone and lost any respect he'd gained.
As Josh Marshall says, "Dole knows better."
I say, "Prick!"
These people will do and say anything!
I recall when Bob Dole was running as Gerald Ford's running mate against Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale in 1976. He was snide, flip and often disrepectful of his opponents during the campaign -- essentially an attack dog unleashed to do the Republicans' dirty work. I recall that I didn't like him all that much then.
In more recent years, he's earned a bit more of my respect as he's (seemingly) mellowed, becoming more statesman-like now that he's retired from political office.
After today's appearance on CNN's Late Edition With Wolf Spritzer, he's gone and lost any respect he'd gained.
Dole told CNN's "Late Edition" that he warned Kerry months ago about going "too far" and that the Democrat may have himself to blame for the current situation, in which polls show him losing support among veterans.
"One day he's saying that we were shooting civilians, cutting off their ears, cutting off their heads, throwing away his medals or his ribbons," Dole said. "The next day he's standing there, 'I want to be president because I'm a Vietnam veteran.
"Maybe he should apologize to all the other 2.5 million veterans who served. He wasn't the only one in Vietnam," said Dole, whose World War II wounds left him without the use of his right arm.
Dole added: "And here's, you know, a good guy, a good friend. I respect his record. But three Purple Hearts and never bled that I know of. I mean, they're all superficial wounds. Three Purple Hearts and you're out."
As Josh Marshall says, "Dole knows better."
In a 1988 campaign-trail autobiography, here's how Dole described the incident that earned him his first Purple Heart: "As we approached the enemy, there was a brief exchange of gunfire. I took a grenade in hand, pulled the pin, and tossed it in the direction of the farmhouse. It wasn't a very good pitch (remember, I was used to catching passes, not throwing them). In the darkness, the grenade must have struck a tree and bounced off. It exploded nearby, sending a sliver of metal into my leg -- the sort of injury the Army patched up with Mercurochrome and a Purple Heart."
I say, "Prick!"
These people will do and say anything!
Back At It!
The last couple of weeks have been long and exhausting (though fruitful!) and I'm just getting back to feeling like I can come out of hiding and start posting regularly again...
The 2004 Great Lakes Folk Festival has come and gone... it was a great weekend filled with great music, dance and food — all enjoyed by large crowds. The challenge for me every year, of course, is to be in as many places at one time as is humanly possible!
I can't say enough about all of the people I work with who are so key to the success of this event: my fellow staffers at the MSU Museum; all the volunteers (350 or so), the sound and tech crews, the great staff at the Marriott at University Place, the great, amazing musicians and the thousands and thousands of people in attendance for three days last weekend.
There were many highlights for me, despite having little opportunity to spend big chunks of time listening to music...
On Friday night, with rain clouds threatening, Aziz Herawi, an Afghani Dutar (lute) player, took the stage with his son and an Indian (I believe) dancer, who was absolutely stunning. In the large venue of Valley Court Stage, Herawi's ragas demand a more attentive audience than the boisterous Québécois band Le Vent du Nord or Ireland's Danú, but the dance helped to capture the attention of the growing twilight audience.
Le Vent du Nord and Danú brought the evening to a rousing ending despite shortened sets caused by delays with set-ups. Their musicianship is astounding. Watching Danú, in particular, was breathtaking as each member of the seven-piece group illustrated their skills individually and in unison. Perhaps it's just the Irish in me, but there is almost nothing better than music from Eire — particularly when it's performed by people from its shore, only feet away from me. My daughter and I spent time with the band later in one of their hotel rooms listening to music, checking out the rough mixes for an upcoming DVD and tipping a few beers (me — not my daughter!).
Another magical moment for me was to see the huge crowd gathered in the sun (and shadow of the CVS) to see Danú on Saturday afternoon. The mass of people extended from the stage back beyond the intersection of M.A.C. and Albert — the first time I'd ever seen that large an audience at the M.A.C. stage. It was a delight to share shots of Bushmills and beers with Danú's Tom Doorley later that night, talking (too much about) politics, and discussing my friend Mary Pat Doorley and her family's support for the band when they appear in Ohio.
This year, we featured several Hip-Hop artists and complemented their performances with discussion panels. One of the groups did a street performance that drew a lot of attention and much praise. Going into the weekend, we were concerned about the response this element would get from the attendees, but we were fortunate to have selected artists who have a lot to say and who understood what we were trying to do.
I wasn't privy to one of the most moving moments of the Festival, unfortunately, which I have to tell second-hand, as best as my memory might allow...
Because the Festival is designed to be educational as well as entertaining, one of my duties as music coordinator is to put together what we call "Traditions Showcases", sessions which are usually comprised of musicians from different cultural traditions who play the same or similar instruments. One such showcase featured six accordion players: Celtic, Québécois, Cajun, Conjunto (Tex-Mex), and two from the Polka tradition.
There is mention of the session in a Lansing State Journal post-fest review (a little more comprehensive look at the Festival appeared in the Lansing City Pulse), but from what I heard from people who were there, it was a more moving story than as reported. One of the Polka-playing accordionists, Staś Wisniach had been presented a Michigan Heritage Award and so came late to join the other five musicians. By the time he arrived, it was his "turn" to play something in order to demonstrate his background. He played a classical piece and from all reports had the other musicians rapt in attention, astonished, I think, at his virtuosity on the instrument.
When Staś finished, he spoke eloquently of the musicianship of the others present on stage with him, and what an honor it was to be amongst them. Of course, it was clear from the reactions on the faces of the others that they were the ones feeling honored.
Prior to the Festival, when I had talked with one of the accordionists (Frank Piotrowski of Pan Franek & Zosia's Polka Towners) about participating in the showcase, he expressed concern — that he was a bit nervous since he'd never done anything but play music; rarely (if ever) had he talked about it in such a setting. Sunday morning, when it came time for Frank to leave, he was beaming and raving about the experience he'd had with the other accordionists and with Staś in particular.
I received a similar rave from Gao Hong, who was thrilled to have had the opportunity to share a Lute Traditions Showcase with Abdel Karim Bader, an Arab-American Oud (rhymes with food) player, and the previously mentioned Aziz Herawi. I was thrilled to have recognized the opportunity to present these three outstanding lute players in this format as our audience appreciates learning about the various cultures we present, but when the artists leave the sessions excited, my thrill grows exponentially.
Sunday, after the Festival wrapped up ("rapped" up?), a few of the staff, some friends and Le Vent du Nord gathered at Lou & Harry's to share a few drinks in the cooling night air of the establishment's patio. I think that Harry stayed open past his regular hours as we kept ordering pitchers and laughing. Eventually, a couple of the Hip-Hop artists joined; later, a handful of us gathered in the hotel room of ethnomusicologist/folklorist Nancy Groce, and into the hours of morning, we continued our discussions of music and cultures.
These are the moments that make a year's worth of phone calls, meetings (and more meetings!), contract negotiations, schedule preparations, blah, blah, blah... all worthwhile. While it's great to hear how much the audiences enjoyed the variety and quality of the music that I help to program, I think the most treasured aspect for me is knowing that most of the musicians, who often come to the Festival thinking that it's just another gig, leave with such meaningful experiences.
Without a doubt, this is the best job I've ever had. Ever could have. Ever will have.
The last couple of weeks have been long and exhausting (though fruitful!) and I'm just getting back to feeling like I can come out of hiding and start posting regularly again...
The 2004 Great Lakes Folk Festival has come and gone... it was a great weekend filled with great music, dance and food — all enjoyed by large crowds. The challenge for me every year, of course, is to be in as many places at one time as is humanly possible!
I can't say enough about all of the people I work with who are so key to the success of this event: my fellow staffers at the MSU Museum; all the volunteers (350 or so), the sound and tech crews, the great staff at the Marriott at University Place, the great, amazing musicians and the thousands and thousands of people in attendance for three days last weekend.
There were many highlights for me, despite having little opportunity to spend big chunks of time listening to music...
On Friday night, with rain clouds threatening, Aziz Herawi, an Afghani Dutar (lute) player, took the stage with his son and an Indian (I believe) dancer, who was absolutely stunning. In the large venue of Valley Court Stage, Herawi's ragas demand a more attentive audience than the boisterous Québécois band Le Vent du Nord or Ireland's Danú, but the dance helped to capture the attention of the growing twilight audience.
Le Vent du Nord and Danú brought the evening to a rousing ending despite shortened sets caused by delays with set-ups. Their musicianship is astounding. Watching Danú, in particular, was breathtaking as each member of the seven-piece group illustrated their skills individually and in unison. Perhaps it's just the Irish in me, but there is almost nothing better than music from Eire — particularly when it's performed by people from its shore, only feet away from me. My daughter and I spent time with the band later in one of their hotel rooms listening to music, checking out the rough mixes for an upcoming DVD and tipping a few beers (me — not my daughter!).
Another magical moment for me was to see the huge crowd gathered in the sun (and shadow of the CVS) to see Danú on Saturday afternoon. The mass of people extended from the stage back beyond the intersection of M.A.C. and Albert — the first time I'd ever seen that large an audience at the M.A.C. stage. It was a delight to share shots of Bushmills and beers with Danú's Tom Doorley later that night, talking (too much about) politics, and discussing my friend Mary Pat Doorley and her family's support for the band when they appear in Ohio.
This year, we featured several Hip-Hop artists and complemented their performances with discussion panels. One of the groups did a street performance that drew a lot of attention and much praise. Going into the weekend, we were concerned about the response this element would get from the attendees, but we were fortunate to have selected artists who have a lot to say and who understood what we were trying to do.
I wasn't privy to one of the most moving moments of the Festival, unfortunately, which I have to tell second-hand, as best as my memory might allow...
Because the Festival is designed to be educational as well as entertaining, one of my duties as music coordinator is to put together what we call "Traditions Showcases", sessions which are usually comprised of musicians from different cultural traditions who play the same or similar instruments. One such showcase featured six accordion players: Celtic, Québécois, Cajun, Conjunto (Tex-Mex), and two from the Polka tradition.
There is mention of the session in a Lansing State Journal post-fest review (a little more comprehensive look at the Festival appeared in the Lansing City Pulse), but from what I heard from people who were there, it was a more moving story than as reported. One of the Polka-playing accordionists, Staś Wisniach had been presented a Michigan Heritage Award and so came late to join the other five musicians. By the time he arrived, it was his "turn" to play something in order to demonstrate his background. He played a classical piece and from all reports had the other musicians rapt in attention, astonished, I think, at his virtuosity on the instrument.
When Staś finished, he spoke eloquently of the musicianship of the others present on stage with him, and what an honor it was to be amongst them. Of course, it was clear from the reactions on the faces of the others that they were the ones feeling honored.
Prior to the Festival, when I had talked with one of the accordionists (Frank Piotrowski of Pan Franek & Zosia's Polka Towners) about participating in the showcase, he expressed concern — that he was a bit nervous since he'd never done anything but play music; rarely (if ever) had he talked about it in such a setting. Sunday morning, when it came time for Frank to leave, he was beaming and raving about the experience he'd had with the other accordionists and with Staś in particular.
I received a similar rave from Gao Hong, who was thrilled to have had the opportunity to share a Lute Traditions Showcase with Abdel Karim Bader, an Arab-American Oud (rhymes with food) player, and the previously mentioned Aziz Herawi. I was thrilled to have recognized the opportunity to present these three outstanding lute players in this format as our audience appreciates learning about the various cultures we present, but when the artists leave the sessions excited, my thrill grows exponentially.
Sunday, after the Festival wrapped up ("rapped" up?), a few of the staff, some friends and Le Vent du Nord gathered at Lou & Harry's to share a few drinks in the cooling night air of the establishment's patio. I think that Harry stayed open past his regular hours as we kept ordering pitchers and laughing. Eventually, a couple of the Hip-Hop artists joined; later, a handful of us gathered in the hotel room of ethnomusicologist/folklorist Nancy Groce, and into the hours of morning, we continued our discussions of music and cultures.
These are the moments that make a year's worth of phone calls, meetings (and more meetings!), contract negotiations, schedule preparations, blah, blah, blah... all worthwhile. While it's great to hear how much the audiences enjoyed the variety and quality of the music that I help to program, I think the most treasured aspect for me is knowing that most of the musicians, who often come to the Festival thinking that it's just another gig, leave with such meaningful experiences.
Without a doubt, this is the best job I've ever had. Ever could have. Ever will have.
Saturday, August 21, 2004
Memories Of Bush-McCain
The case of the Swift Boat Liars For Bush is nothing new really...
Sign the petition.
The case of the Swift Boat Liars For Bush is nothing new really...
Sign the petition.
Buried Secrets, Brutal Truths
One of the arguments that the Swift Boat Liars For Bush has is that Kerry testified to Congress about the atrocities being committed in Vietnam, claiming that Kerry dishonored those who fought in Vietnam.
In April, Toledo's The Blade won a Pulitzer Prize for reporting on Tiger Force, an elite platoon in Vietnam that had massacred unarmed civilians. An investigation by the Army had been opened in the 1970s, but the results never came to light and no charges came about. The Blade's series, Buried Secrets, Brutal Truths, began in October and soon afterwards, the Army reconsidered its case.
One of the arguments that the Swift Boat Liars For Bush has is that Kerry testified to Congress about the atrocities being committed in Vietnam, claiming that Kerry dishonored those who fought in Vietnam.
In April, Toledo's The Blade won a Pulitzer Prize for reporting on Tiger Force, an elite platoon in Vietnam that had massacred unarmed civilians. An investigation by the Army had been opened in the 1970s, but the results never came to light and no charges came about. The Blade's series, Buried Secrets, Brutal Truths, began in October and soon afterwards, the Army reconsidered its case.
After a 4-1/2-year Army investigation concluded that at least 18 Tiger Force soldiers committed war crimes, the matter was dropped by the Army. The official files were buried in the Army's archives since 1975, and to this day military officials continue to withhold them from the public. [...] In this case, we still don't know who made the final decision not to prosecute. The Nixon White House received case updates of the Tiger Force investigation in 1972 and 1973 at the request of presidential counsel John Dean. Reports also went to Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger and Secretary of the Army Howard "Bo" Callaway. The decision not to prosecute was made more than a year after Gerald Ford became president in August, 1974, but it is not known how far up in the Ford administration the decision went. Assistants to Mr. Ford and Mr. Schlesinger said neither would comment. Mr. Callaway said he has no recollection of the Tiger Force investigation, but that if it were brought to his attention he would not have "swept it under the rug." [...] Tiger Force was created in the fall of 1965 as a special highly trained reconnaissance unit to find the enemy and report enemy positions to U.S. air and ground forces. Its members wore special tiger-striped uniforms, they could grow beards, and could carry their own side arms. The unit's slogan was "out guerrilla the guerrillas." After listening to details of the Tiger Force case, William Eckhardt, lead prosecutor in the My Lai court-martial and now a law professor at the University of Missouri at Kansas City, said, "What I see is a loss of control and obviously ill discipline, far beyond what you would want in Vietnam." Mr. Eckhardt said The Blade's investigation is important, but the public also needs to know that most soldiers don't act this way. "I think whatever public institutions do, good or bad, is subject to public scrutiny," he said. "This is something that should be open to scrutiny as troubling as it is." The Army, citing privacy concerns for former soldiers, says it will not release records of the Tiger Force investigation or records that could explain why the case was dropped in 1975. more >> |
This series reveals for the first time anywhere that members of a platoon of American soldiers from the 101st known as Tiger Force slaughtered an untold number of Vietnamese civilians over a seven-month period in 1967.
Libertarians For Kerry (well... sort of)
John Perry Barlow is a former lyricist for the Grateful Dead, and now a former "bohemian libertarian" who, while showing a lukewarm support for John Kerry, is terrified of four more years of the Bush administration. (Aren't we all?)
From an interview at ReasonOnline (by way of Lessig Blog)...
John Perry Barlow is a former lyricist for the Grateful Dead, and now a former "bohemian libertarian" who, while showing a lukewarm support for John Kerry, is terrified of four more years of the Bush administration. (Aren't we all?)
From an interview at ReasonOnline (by way of Lessig Blog)...
I have grave misgivings about John Kerry, but I certainly don’t have misgivings about Kerry that equal the terror I have about another four years of Bush. What he’s done to aspects of the Constitution that are there to assure individual rights is breathtakingly bad.
So I’m becoming an active Democrat. I wasn’t one until just a few months ago, because I felt there was more room for libertarian thought inside the Republican Party. I never found the Libertarian Party was a credible political institution. It holds a pure line, and I’m glad there’s somebody out there defining that point of view, but in terms of actually having power, making a difference... There are libertarian wings in both the Democratic and Republican parties, and in the past I found it most effective to be inside the Republican Party acting as a libertarian. But I’ve switched.
[...]
Kerry isn’t perfect, but the alternative is just completely....I hate to keep carping on this, but within the libertarian movement we’re gonna have to actually sit down and talk about where we stand on the two variants, because one of them is actually part of the problem at this point. I used to think of myself as both kinds of libertarian, but I have pretty well parted company with [D.C.-based leader of libertarian-leaning conservatives] Grover Norquist at this point. I don’t see anything particularly free about a plutocracy.
Wacko Jacko
The Reuters headline reads:
Michael Jackson: Stop Calling Me "Wacko Jacko"
I'm sorry, but I can't help myself...
Wacko Jacko, Wacko Jacko, Wacko Jacko, Wacko Jacko!!
The Reuters headline reads:
Michael Jackson: Stop Calling Me "Wacko Jacko"
Beleaguered pop star Michael Jackson, responding to a recent TV movie about his life and legal troubles, said in a statement he was tired of being "vilified" and taunted as "Wacko Jacko" in the public eye.
In a statement issued late Thursday on his Web site, Jackson said his family had dedicated their lives to "spreading unity and peace to the world through our music" and had been misrepresented by the film, VH1 television network's "Man in the Mirror."
"It is unfortunate that for years we have been targets of completely inaccurate and false portrayals," he said. "We have watched as we have been vilified and humiliated. I personally have suffered through many hurtful lies and references to me as 'Wacko Jacko..."'
He added: "This is intolerable and must stop. The public depiction of us is not who we are or what we are: We are a loving family."
more >>
I'm sorry, but I can't help myself...
Wacko Jacko, Wacko Jacko, Wacko Jacko, Wacko Jacko!!
More Swift Boat Liars
The New York Times ran an exposé yesterday about the so-called "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth"...
That Bush has not condemned this kind of deception (read: lying) might very well cost him John McCain's support. I believe that McCain's sense of loyalty to John Kerry runs deeper than his loyalty to Bush. At some point, I think McCain will recognize that honoring truth is more important than maintaining a façade for Bush.
The New York Times ran an exposé yesterday about the so-called "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth"...
A series of interviews and a review of documents show a web of connections to the Bush family, high-profile Texas political figures and President Bush's chief political aide, Karl Rove.
Records show that the group received the bulk of its initial financing from two men with ties to the president and his family - one a longtime political associate of Mr. Rove's, the other a trustee of the foundation for Mr. Bush's father's presidential library. A Texas publicist who once helped prepare Mr. Bush's father for his debate when he was running for vice president provided them with strategic advice. And the group's television commercial was produced by the same team that made the devastating ad mocking Michael S. Dukakis in an oversized tank helmet when he and Mr. Bush's father faced off in the 1988 presidential election.
The strategy the veterans devised would ultimately paint John Kerry the war hero as John Kerry the "baby killer" and the fabricator of the events that resulted in his war medals. But on close examination, the accounts of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth' prove to be riddled with inconsistencies. In many cases, material offered as proof by these veterans is undercut by official Navy records and the men's own statements.
Several of those now declaring Mr. Kerry "unfit" had lavished praise on him, some as recently as last year.
In an unpublished interview in March 2003 with Mr. Kerry's authorized biographer, Douglas Brinkley, provided by Mr. Brinkley to The New York Times, Roy F. Hoffmann, a retired rear admiral and a leader of the group, allowed that he had disagreed with Mr. Kerry's antiwar positions but said, "I am not going to say anything negative about him." He added, "He's a good man."
In a profile of the candidate that ran in The Boston Globe in June 2003, Mr. Hoffmann approvingly recalled the actions that led to Mr. Kerry's Silver Star: "It took guts, and I admire that."
George Elliott, one of the Vietnam veterans in the group, flew from his home in Delaware to Boston in 1996 to stand up for Mr. Kerry during a tough re-election fight, declaring at a news conference that the action that won Mr. Kerry a Silver Star was "an act of courage." At that same event, Adrian L. Lonsdale, another Vietnam veteran now speaking out against Mr. Kerry, supported him with a statement about the "bravado and courage of the young officers that ran the Swift boats."
"Senator Kerry was no exception," Mr. Lonsdale told the reporters and cameras assembled at the Charlestown Navy Yard. "He was among the finest of those Swift boat drivers."
Those comments echoed the official record. In an evaluation of Mr. Kerry in 1969, Mr. Elliott, who was one of his commanders, ranked him as "not exceeded" in 11 categories, including moral courage, judgment and decisiveness, and "one of the top few" - the second-highest distinction - in the remaining five. In written comments, he called Mr. Kerry "unsurpassed," "beyond reproach" and "the acknowledged leader in his peer group."
more >>
That Bush has not condemned this kind of deception (read: lying) might very well cost him John McCain's support. I believe that McCain's sense of loyalty to John Kerry runs deeper than his loyalty to Bush. At some point, I think McCain will recognize that honoring truth is more important than maintaining a façade for Bush.
Bush and 527s
Bush approves messages which paint John Kerry as saying one thing and doing another. The foundation for another Bush presidency is not his own failed record, but Kerry's so-called "flip-flopping."
In the coverage of the recent "Swift Boat Liars" ads, Bush had this to say on Larry King Live (August 12, 2004) when he was given the opportunity to denounce the ads:
Of course, the bill he signed was the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform bill, a signing for which no public ceremony was held (supposedly to spite Bush's now-all-of-a-sudden-buddy Senator John McCain). Bush had this to say about the bill at the time he signed it (March 27, 2002):
Bush opposed McCain-Feingold then, and feigns disdain for the groups that support that kind of advertising now.
Bush approves messages which paint John Kerry as saying one thing and doing another. The foundation for another Bush presidency is not his own failed record, but Kerry's so-called "flip-flopping."
In the coverage of the recent "Swift Boat Liars" ads, Bush had this to say on Larry King Live (August 12, 2004) when he was given the opportunity to denounce the ads:
"Well, I say they ought to get rid of all those 527s, independent expenditures that have flooded the airwaves."
[...]
"There have been millions of dollars spent up until this point in time. I signed a law that I thought would get rid of those, and I called on the senator to -- let's just get anybody who feels like they got to run to not do so."
"Well, I haven't seen the ad, but what I do condemn is these unregulated, soft-money expenditures by very wealthy people, and they've said some bad things about me. I guess they're saying bad things about him. And what I think we ought to do is not have them on the air. I think there ought to be full disclosure. The campaign funding law I signed I thought was going to get rid of that. But evidently the Federal Election Commission had a different view."
Of course, the bill he signed was the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform bill, a signing for which no public ceremony was held (supposedly to spite Bush's now-all-of-a-sudden-buddy Senator John McCain). Bush had this to say about the bill at the time he signed it (March 27, 2002):
"I also have reservations about the constitutionality of the broad ban on issue advertising, which restrains the speech of a wide variety of groups on issues of public import in the months closest to an election."
Bush opposed McCain-Feingold then, and feigns disdain for the groups that support that kind of advertising now.
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Leadership Begets...
Fahrenheit 9/11 documented a number of Iraq War veterans who showed dissatisfaction with Bush. I wonder how rampant the anti-Bush sentiment is in the military, especially in light of the administration's use of a "back-door draft" to beef up the ranks in Iraq.
Fahrenheit 9/11 documented a number of Iraq War veterans who showed dissatisfaction with Bush. I wonder how rampant the anti-Bush sentiment is in the military, especially in light of the administration's use of a "back-door draft" to beef up the ranks in Iraq.
US Soldier Sues Over Iraq Call-up
A veteran US soldier is suing the Defence Department over its plans to forcibly extend his reservist's contract and send him to Iraq.
The man, known by the pseudonym John Doe, has been with the army for nine years and last year served in Iraq.
He took on a one-year reservist contract after returning to the US and may now be required to return to Iraq under the army's "stop-loss" policy.
Thousands of soldiers' tours of duty have been stretched under the policy.
Mr Doe's contract was due to have expired in December this year.
But the summoning of his California-based unit to Iraq could extend his period of service by up to two years.
more >>
The Pet Goat
Amazon.com removed the many reviews for Reading Mastery - Level 2 Storybook 1 (Bush's September 11 reading material that included the infamous story, "The Pet Goat"), one of which read:
Some of the better ones are archived at Sadly, No!.
Amazon.com removed the many reviews for Reading Mastery - Level 2 Storybook 1 (Bush's September 11 reading material that included the infamous story, "The Pet Goat"), one of which read:
Presidential material, through and through!, July 6, 2004
Reviewer:Lolla Fallujah (Hannah Storm's house) See all my reviews
After reading the enclosed story "The Pet Goat," I was stunned by its lyrical beauty and easy cadence. The tempo, the choice of words, and the layout on each page captured my imagination so much that it took me about seven minutes to recover my bearings.
Some of the better ones are archived at Sadly, No!.
Republican: Iraq War "A Mistake"
Apparently, not all Republicans have lined up as "Bush: Right or Wrong" supporters. From the Lincoln Journal Star...
Apparently, not all Republicans have lined up as "Bush: Right or Wrong" supporters. From the Lincoln Journal Star...
Bereuter: War In Iraq Not Justified
BY DON WALTON
Lincoln Journal Star
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.
His four-page letter represented a departure from his support for a 2002 House resolution authorizing the president to go to war.
His vote to authorize the use of military force - even pre-emptive force - was based on faulty, or misrepresented, intelligence that led to the fear Saddam Hussein would share weapons of mass destruction with terrorists, Bereuter said.
"Left unresolved for now is whether intelligence was intentionally misconstrued to justify military action," he said.
more >>
Friday, August 13, 2004
One Moore Before I go...
Bush illustrates again why he shouldn't be re-elected - his vetting process (read: "Who can I nominate that's from a major electoral state?") sucks.
The story is here...
The video clip is here.
Bush illustrates again why he shouldn't be re-elected - his vetting process (read: "Who can I nominate that's from a major electoral state?") sucks.
The story is here...
Moore Footage Shows New CIA Boss Ruling Himself Out
Michael Moore yesterday released unseen footage of the new CIA boss explaining his own unsuitability for the role. The scene, which didn't make the cut for Fahrenheit 9/11, shows Porter Goss pointing out that his lack of language and computer skills means he "wouldn't get a job" with the CIA.
Only Senate approval lies between Republican Congressman Porter Goss and the office of America's most senior intelligence chief following his nomination by the president, George Bush, earlier this week.
Just six months ago, however, Goss told Moore's production company he doubted he could even find employment with the agency.
Goss, who served in army intelligence and the CIA 30 years ago, said: "I couldn't get a job with the CIA today. I am not qualified. I don't have the language skills."
Porter Goss is set to take over from George Tenet, who resigned before the 9/11 commission delivered its damning verdict on the state of the US intelligence community.
Moore >>
The video clip is here.
People of Color United, People of Smear
You would think that grown people who truly believed in a Presidential candidate would know how to discuss issues or illuminate the voting populace; you would think that an incumbent President would have a little more dignity and not rely on or encourage campaign devices such as this.
As Slate puts it...
You would think that grown people who truly believed in a Presidential candidate would know how to discuss issues or illuminate the voting populace; you would think that an incumbent President would have a little more dignity and not rely on or encourage campaign devices such as this.
As Slate puts it...
The GOP Minstrel Show
A white tycoon in blackface race-baits Teresa Heinz Kerry.
By Timothy Noah
Aug. 12, 2004
A new radio ad paid for by a nonprofit called People of Color United takes Teresa Heinz Kerry to task for playing up her African heritage. (She was born and raised in Mozambique.) As Thomas B. Edsall reports in the Aug. 12 Washington Post, the ad copy includes the following:
"His wife says she's an African American. While technically true, I don't believe a white woman, raised in Africa, surrounded by servants, qualifies."
What's interesting about this blacker-than-thou statement is that it's underwritten by a white man. People of Color United, although run by a black woman named Virginia Walden-Ford, got nearly half the money for its media buy from a Caucasian insurance tycoon named J. Patrick Rooney. Walden-Ford confirmed to the Post that Rooney gave the group $30,000 for a series of ads that are running in swing-state urban areas, and that the total ad buy thus far cost $70,000. Rooney, she said, was the group's biggest donor. All its funding information will eventually be public, but the law does not require People of Color United to file with the IRS before the ads go on the air. It will be interesting to learn whether a single person of color has written a check to People of Color United.
more >>
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
Electoral Vote Map
The Los Angeles Times has an electoral vote map on its website, in which clicking on a state puts it in either the Bush (red) or Kerry (blue) column, and tallies the number of electoral votes each state represents.
One can dream... right?
click map to enlarge
The Los Angeles Times has an electoral vote map on its website, in which clicking on a state puts it in either the Bush (red) or Kerry (blue) column, and tallies the number of electoral votes each state represents.
One can dream... right?
click map to enlarge
Porter Goss
Bush wants this guy to be the new CIA Director...
The above quote comes from an outtake from Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11
Goss apparently doesn't have much interest in bringing the swine who outed CIA undercover agent Valerie Plame to justice. From Digby via Atrios...
I'd say that Goss' selection has more to do with the fact that he's from Florida than for either his qualifications or investigative judgement.
Bush wants this guy to be the new CIA Director...
Filmmaker Moore Quotes Goss on Lack of CIA Credentials
Wed Aug 11, 2004 06:40 PM ET
By David Morgan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Congressman Porter Goss, President Bush's nominee for CIA director, could be his own worst enemy when it comes to making the case that he deserves to lead the U.S. intelligence agency.
"I couldn't get a job with CIA today. I am not qualified," the Florida Republican told documentary-maker Michael Moore's production company during the filming of the anti-Bush movie "Fahrenheit 9/11."
A day after Bush picked Goss for the top U.S. spy job, Moore on Wednesday released an excerpt from a March 3 interview in which the 65-year-old former House of Representatives intelligence chief recounts his lack of qualifications for employment as a modern CIA staffer.
"I don't have the language skills. I, you know, my language skills were romance languages and stuff. We're looking for Arabists today. I don't have the cultural background probably," Goss is quoted in an interview transcript.
"And I certainly don't have the technical skills, uh, as my children remind me every day: 'Dad you got to get better on your computer.' Uh, so, the things that you need to have, I don't have."
more >>
The above quote comes from an outtake from Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11
Goss apparently doesn't have much interest in bringing the swine who outed CIA undercover agent Valerie Plame to justice. From Digby via Atrios...
Goss Says CIA Leak Not Worthy Of Committee Action
By Cory Reiss
Rep. Porter Goss said Thursday that the uproar over allegations that White House officials purposely identified a covert CIA agent appears largely political and doesn't yet merit an investigation by the House Select Committee on Intelligence, which he chairs.
Goss, who was a CIA agent himself from the early 1960s to 1971, said he takes such leaks seriously, but he distinguished between a willful violation of federal law and an inadvertent disclosure.
Goss also said no one from the intelligence agencies has raised the issue with him since syndicated columnist Robert Novak identified the agent in a column July 14.
"I would say there's a much larger dose of partisan politics going on right now than there is worry about national security," said Goss, R-Sanibel. "But I would never take lightly a serious allegation backed up by evidence that there was a willful -- and I emphasize willful, inadvertent is something else -- willful disclosure, and I haven't seen any evidence."
Goss said he would act if he did have evidence of that sort.
"Somebody sends me a blue dress and some DNA, I'll have an investigation," Goss said.
more >>
I'd say that Goss' selection has more to do with the fact that he's from Florida than for either his qualifications or investigative judgement.
Wake Up Everybody
This wave of publicity continues to roll...
We have a little-p president who is running on a record of divisiveness, faux patriotism and the smoke and mirrors of tax cuts and... oh yeah, keeping America safe. I don't care how people come to the conclusion that a vote for Bush is a vote for failure, so long as they reach that conclusion by November 2.
Also...
Musicians Reveal Anti-Bush Dates
Rickie Lee Jones Attacks Bush
Chords For Change by Bruce Springsteen
This wave of publicity continues to roll...
We have a little-p president who is running on a record of divisiveness, faux patriotism and the smoke and mirrors of tax cuts and... oh yeah, keeping America safe. I don't care how people come to the conclusion that a vote for Bush is a vote for failure, so long as they reach that conclusion by November 2.
Blige Joins Anti-Bush Song Remake
Rap and R&B stars Mary J Blige, Missy Elliot and Eve are recording a song to encourage voters away from President Bush in the run-up to the US election.
The trio are re-recording the 1960s hit Wake Up Everybody, which was used during the 1976 election to mobilise black voters to back Jimmy Carter.
It will feature on a benefit album for America Coming Together, a campaign group promoting a change of president.
Songs by Marvin Gaye, Linda Rondstadt and Yoko Ono will also be on the album.
[...]
Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds will be producing the updated track.
more >>
Also...
Musicians Reveal Anti-Bush Dates
Rickie Lee Jones Attacks Bush
Chords For Change by Bruce Springsteen
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Bush Plays Dirty: Illegal But Gratifying
Looks like playing dirty goes way back for Bush...
This image is scanned from a photo published in yesterday's Los Angeles Times; The photo didn't accompany the on-line story...
As Bob Harris, of This Modern World says, "the rest of the country should see it."
Bob also says:
Save it... email it to your friends. Got friends who work at newspapers? Email it to them. Or copy and paste the link to this blog entry (below) and send it to them.
http://voiceofpower.net/2004/08/bush-plays-dirty-illegal-but.html
The photo (and caption) originally appeared in a Yale yearbook.
The caption would seem to be a somewhat prescient description of Bush's political career as well: "Illegal but gratifying."
Looks like playing dirty goes way back for Bush...
This image is scanned from a photo published in yesterday's Los Angeles Times; The photo didn't accompany the on-line story...
He's Got the Bad-Boy Vote Sewed Up
By Jim Sleeper
I am looking at a photo of the George W. Bush that you've probably never seen before. It's a sports-action close-up of him at Yale, over a caption written prophetically by a fellow undergraduate more than 30 years ago: "George Bush delivers illegal, but gratifying right hook to opposing ball carrier."
Never mind that this is a rugby game, alien to most Americans, and that the caption writer's assessment wasn't political. I think it explains one reason why Bush hasn't slid in the polls since John Kerry reported for duty: He owes more than a little something to the "bad boy" vote that no pollster captures as well as this photo and caption do.
[...]
As president of his chapter of the DKE fraternity, Bush sounded a classic bad-boy note when he said he "didn't learn a damned thing" at Yale. "The reason was that he didn't try," Jacob Weisberg reported this spring in Yale Alumni Magazine. "One year, the star of the football team spotted him in the back row during [course-] shopping period. 'Hey, George Bush is in this class!' Calvin Hill, '69, shouted to his teammates. 'This is the one for us!'"
I was in that room that day. Bush gave them a grinning thumbs up and, I have to admit, everyone laughed. He had a certain charm about getting away with things, like DKE's custom of "branding" new members' on the butt, a less-than-noble tradition he managed to protect when it came under fire.
[...]
Whoever wrote that caption under George's rugby photo would understand. What he shouldn't understand is how anyone could act as if Iraq were just rugby or a dalliance. A history lesson ignored might be more like it.
more >>
As Bob Harris, of This Modern World says, "the rest of the country should see it."
Bob also says:
Incidentally, while rugby is a contact sport, every player knows that tackling above the shoulders is a foul. So is leaving your feet during a tackle. Either of these is serious enough that the other team is immediately awarded a penalty kick, often directly resulting in points for the other team.
So even without throwing a punch, Bush is already well outside fair play.
Grasping an opponent by the back of the head and punching him in the face is beyond the pale -- I've watched rugby avidly for years, and I've never seen it during an open-field tackle like this, honest -- and will typically result in a player being immediately sent off.
Save it... email it to your friends. Got friends who work at newspapers? Email it to them. Or copy and paste the link to this blog entry (below) and send it to them.
http://voiceofpower.net/2004/08/bush-plays-dirty-illegal-but.html
The photo (and caption) originally appeared in a Yale yearbook.
The caption would seem to be a somewhat prescient description of Bush's political career as well: "Illegal but gratifying."
Monday, August 09, 2004
Bush's Broken Promises
Rhetoric vs. Reality in a nice, easy-to-read table over at the Center For American Progress
Rhetoric vs. Reality in a nice, easy-to-read table over at the Center For American Progress
"President Bush: Moving America... Forward???"
The Bushies have been alternating their "Blowing In The Wind" negative ad with a flowery "Moving America Forward" ad...
I'm finding it difficult to think of a single issue I could look at (with my very objective eye, of course) and consider that Bush has made positive strides.
Categories
Finding bin Laden (Failure*)
Finding Weapons of Mass Destruction (Failure)
Iraq War (Failure)
Afghanistan War (Incomplete; see also "Finding bin Laden")
Economy (Failure)
Education (Failure)
National Unity (Failure)
Civil Liberties (Failure)
Evironment (Failure)
International Diplomacy (Failure)
War On TerrorISM (Incomplete)
*This, of course, is likely to change as I believe that bin Laden will be "captured" before November 2.
The Bushies have been alternating their "Blowing In The Wind" negative ad with a flowery "Moving America Forward" ad...
I'm finding it difficult to think of a single issue I could look at (with my very objective eye, of course) and consider that Bush has made positive strides.
Categories
Finding bin Laden (Failure*)
Finding Weapons of Mass Destruction (Failure)
Iraq War (Failure)
Afghanistan War (Incomplete; see also "Finding bin Laden")
Economy (Failure)
Education (Failure)
National Unity (Failure)
Civil Liberties (Failure)
Evironment (Failure)
International Diplomacy (Failure)
War On TerrorISM (Incomplete)
*This, of course, is likely to change as I believe that bin Laden will be "captured" before November 2.
Clarence Thomas... Chief Justice?!?!?
Jaysus! If this is true, what the **** is next? Does this administration pause even for a moment to consider anything beyond their self-serving agenda?!?
Jaysus! If this is true, what the **** is next? Does this administration pause even for a moment to consider anything beyond their self-serving agenda?!?
Biographer Sees Thomas As Chief Justice
By Anne Gearan (AP)
August 7, 2004
WASHINGTON -- Clarence Thomas has been interviewed by White House lawyers as a possible choice to be the next chief justice of the United States, says the author of a new biography.
Thomas says he isn't interested but could find it hard to turn down an opportunity to be the first black man to lead the Supreme Court, said biographer Ken Foskett.
Judging Thomas, out this week from William Morrow, traces Thomas' life from rough beginnings in rural Georgia, through Yale Law School to his life today.
Thomas initially refused Foskett's request for interviews, but later spoke to the author both on and off the record.
more >>
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