America Is A Liberal Concept

2005-09-11T11:59:00.000-04:00

MURDEROUS BUREAUCRACY

"We have been abandoned by our country," a tearful Aaron Broussard, president of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, told Tim Russert on "Meet the Press."

He details how FEMA turned away Wal-Mart trucks carrying donated water and other trucks carrying fuel.

"Bureaucracy has committed murder."

[Thanks to R.R. for this.]

2005-09-11T11:53:00.000-04:00

HURRICANE RAP

Busting out with a hip-hop song faster than that guy in "Hustle & Flow," a rap group has put out "George Bush Don't Like Black People." Anyone know who this is?

Thanks to C.M. for this.

2005-07-11T18:45:00.000-04:00

BURN, ROVE

For all the ways presidential political adviser Karl Rove will be able to beat the rap for his tratorious actions — the rampant cronyism and corrupted values of the Bush administration still count for something, after all — it was still fun to watch White House spokesman Scott McClellan squirm in front of the press, which has apparently grown a tooth in its dogged questioning:

You stood at that podium and said that Karl Rove was not involved. And now we find out that he spoke about Joseph Wilson's wife. So don't you owe the American public a fuller explanation. Was he involved or was he not? Because contrary to what you told the American people, he did indeed talk about his wife, didn't he?

McCLELLAN: There will be a time to talk about this, but now is not the time to talk about it. ...

QUESTION: You're in a bad spot here, Scott... because after the investigation began — after the criminal investigation was under way — you said, October 10th, 2003, "I spoke with those individuals, Rove, Abrams and Libby. As I pointed out, those individuals assured me they were not involved in this," from that podium. That's after the criminal investigation began.

Now that Rove has essentially been caught red-handed peddling this information, all of a sudden you have respect for the sanctity of the criminal investigation?

Too little, too late, perhaps. But fun to watch nonetheless.

2005-07-05T16:55:00.000-04:00

FAIR PAY

What a novel concept: Paying workers a living wage produces a more productive and stable workforce. So finds a BusinessWeek study, cited by friend and colleague Moira Herbst.

Costco CEO Jim Senegal has said: "We pay much better than Wal-Mart. That's not altruism. It's good business."

Go figure.

2005-07-05T13:06:00.000-04:00

FASCIST SYMPTOMS

The Flash presentation shows how the current administration fans the flames of fascism.

There's also this article, listing the 14 common threads of fascism in seven historic regimes.

2005-07-01T14:33:00.000-04:00

'ENORMOUS GOODWILL'

Mexico's decision to issue postage stamps bearing a cartoon caricature of a black child set off a furor among African American activists in the U.S.

Problem is, the more people attempt to defend it — including President Vicente Fox — the more ridiculous they appear.

Fox himself, an admitted longtime fan of the comic, told AP that the stamp recognizes a "character very loved in Mexico and that has absolutely nothing discriminatory about it ... And it appears to me that it has provoked a great national unity, because those who are making opinions from outside don't have information."

Wow.

But it doesn't stop there. Novelist Elena Poniatowska, described as "a noted supporter of leftist causes" was quoted calling the criticisms "absurd."

"In our country, the image of black people is one of enormous goodwill, which is reflected not only in characters like Memin Pinguin, but in popular songs ... like 'Little Black Watermelon.'"

It's almost as if they've borrowed arguments come from the Bush administration handbook of irony, from which we've heard such ironic terms as Clean Skies Initiative and "Mission Accomplished."

Anti-reality tends to catch up to its practicioners, even south of the border, I'd bet.

2005-07-01T10:13:00.000-04:00

TIME'S COWARDICE

Time magazine's spineless editor-in-chief Norman Pearlstine practically boasted of his complete lack of understanding of the First Amendment, the concept of journalism and what a backbone is for — not to mention why his "news" magazine should go under — in his comment to the New York Times:

"I found myself really coming to the conclusion that once the Supreme Court has spoken in a case involving national security and a grand jury, we are not above the law and we have to behave the way ordinary citizens do."

Pearlstine sold out his own reporter, Matthew Cooper, who was willing to serve up to 180 days in federal prison. The New York Times's own Judith Miller has steadfastly refused to reveal her sources in the probe to find who the identity of CIA undercover agent Valerie Plame.

The Times includes the following historical context:

The case represents the starkest confrontation between the press and the government since 1971, when the Supreme Court refused to stop The Times and The Washington Post from publishing a classified history of the Vietnam War known as the Pentagon Papers. And legal experts said yesterday that they knew of no other instance in modern journalistic history in which a major news organization announced that it would disclose the identities of its confidential sources in response to a government subpoena.

The Times in this case fully understands what to be in the journalism business.

Arthur Sulzberger Jr., the publisher of The Times, was critical of Time. "We are deeply disappointed by Time Inc.'s decision to deliver the subpoenaed records," Mr. Sulzberger said. "We faced similar pressures in 1978 when both our reporter Myron Farber and the Times Company were held in contempt of court for refusing to provide the names of confidential sources. Mr. Farber served 40 days in jail and we were forced to pay significant fines.

But not the clueless Pearstine, who said, "If I were The New York Times in 1978 I would have turned over the information."

James C. Goodale, a former attorney for the Times's parent company and First Amendment expert, said: "A public company must protect its assets even if that means going into contempt. It has an obligation under the First Amendment to protect those assets, and it's in the interest of shareholders to protect those assets."

Time magazine deserves to go out of business — the sooner, the better — for what it has done to damage the sacred status of the First Amendment and our press freedoms.

2005-06-30T09:42:00.000-04:00

SELLING OUT

Time magazine, playing the role of Bush administration lap dog, has decided it would sell out the First Amendment and its own reporter, Matt Cooper, and turn over notes about the CIA leak in which an undercover was identified by name — a felony.

In a statement, Time said it believes "the Supreme Court has limited press freedom in ways that will have a chilling effect on our work and that may damage the free flow of information that is so necessary in a democratic society."

But it also said that despite its concerns, it will turn over the records to the special counsel investigating the leak.

By contrast, Judith Miller, a New York Times reporter also subpoenaed (and one of the biggest suckers in parroting the Bush administration's shoddy claims that Iraq possessed WMD), had said she would sooner do time in federal prison than reveal her sources.

It's horrifying to think of how Time might have betrayed the trust of historically important whistleblowers, such as Daniel Ellsberg, Mark "Deep Throat" Felt or even Jeffrey Wigand, the tobacco executive who bravely revealed the industry's duplicity, as dramatized in "The Insider." (CBS's "60 Minutes" tucked tail at first, fearing a lawsuit.)

By Time magazine's standards of rolling over, reporters might have gone to jail for reporting about issues of real national importance, such as The Pentagon Papers, Watergate or even a story that challenged an industry with a powerful lobby like Big Tobacco.

Time magazine is dead wrong.

2005-06-24T10:14:00.000-04:00

CANNON FODDER

Now it comes to light that the Pentagon has been teaming up with a marketing company to track students of recruiting age — in violation of the federal government's own Privacy Act.

The Defense Department began working yesterday with a private marketing firm to create a database of high school students ages 16 to 18 and all college students to help the military identify potential recruits in a time of dwindling enlistment in some branches. ...

Some information on high school students already is given to military recruiters in a separate program under provisions of the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act.

It's absolutely horrifying to think that instead of seeing and treating our youth as the future of the nation, the bearers of freedom for a more enlightened tomorrow, our government sees them as mere cannon fodder.

More than Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction, this is the true obscenity that we face today.

2005-06-07T09:58:00.000-04:00

BOEING BAILOUT

The horrifyingly blatant proposed $30 billion bailout of Boeing at the expense of lawmakers and government officials who may or may not have secured comfortable, cushy and lucrative jobs with the aerospace giant continues to reek.

The Washington Post writes in an editorial that "negotiations were rigged in Boeing's favor by an Air Force procurement official as a 'parting gift' just before she took a $250,000-a-year job at the company."

Lawrence Di Rita, that classy guy who serves as Defense Department spokesman, during a meeting that Donald Rumsfeld attended, actually said his comments "were brought to you by the Boeing Company," according to James Roche, secretary of the Air Force.

But there's enough underhandedness to go around.

Even as she was negotiating with the Air Force about whether the tanker lease was a good deal, Office of Management and Budget Associate Director Robin Cleveland asked Mr. Roche to intercede with former colleagues at Northrop Grumman to help Ms. Cleveland's brother get a job there. Within half an hour, Mr. Roche had passed the material on to the company, noting Ms. Cleveland's key position and endorsing her brother. Then he wrote back to Ms. Cleveland, "Be well. Smile. Give tankers now (Oops, did I say that? ...).

By any sane measure, the attempts at war profiteering at the cost of an obscene amount of taxpayer money appears simple financial malfeasance.

2005-05-26T21:07:00.000-04:00

'SHAM WARS'

Village Voice editorial cartoonist Ward "Sith to My Stomach" Sutton takes on the "Sham Wars" of the Bush administration and points out our compliance in it all.

2005-05-26T21:05:00.000-04:00

Media & B.S.

Sydney Schanberg cuts through the B.S. surrounding the media and the Bush administration, and points how only one of the two has to answer for its mistakes.

Journalists used to come largely from the "outsider" precincts of our culture. They were children of immigrants and working people, raised simply, not prone to cozying up to power or accommodating power. That's because the press was supposed to be a watchdog on power on behalf of the public. That has changed—not completely, but it has changed. At times now, too many reporters seem to be channeling Dickens's Oliver Twist, with their bowls outstretched toward their government minders, asking: "Please, sir, may I have some more gruel?"

2005-05-23T13:11:00.000-04:00

FRANK PERSPECTIVE

Frank Rich puts the Newsweek snafu into its proper perspective, though a little belatedly for the shrill know-nothing ilk of the hysterical land of talk radio and many TV news programs.

Let's stipulate flatly that Newsweek made a serious error. For the sake of argument, let's even posit that the many other similar accounts of Koran desecration (with and without toilets) by American interrogators over the past two years are fantasy — even though they've been given credence by the International Committee of the Red Cross and have turned up repeatedly in legal depositions by torture victims and in newspapers as various as The Denver Post and The Financial Times. Let's also ignore the May 1 New York Times report that a former American interrogator at Guantánamo has corroborated a detainee's account of guards tossing Korans into a pile and stepping on them, thereby prompting a hunger strike. Why don't we just go all the way and erase those photographs of female guards sexually humiliating Muslims (among other heinous crimes) at Abu Ghraib?

Even with all that evidence off the table, there is still an overwhelming record, much of it in government documents, that American interrogators have abused Muslim detainees with methods specifically chosen to hit their religious hot buttons. A Defense Department memo of October 2002 (published in full in Mark Danner's book "Torture and Truth") authorized such Muslim-baiting practices as depriving prisoners of "published religious items or materials" and forcing the removal of beards and clothing. A cable signed by Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez called for interrogators to "exploit Arab fear of dogs." (Muslims view them as unclean.) Even a weak-kneed government investigation of prison abuses (and deaths) in Iraq and Afghanistan issued in March by Vice Adm. Albert T. Church III of the Navy authenticated two cases in which female interrogators "touched and spoke to detainees in a sexually suggestive manner in order to incur stress based on the detainees' religious beliefs."

Bravo, Mr. Rich.

2005-05-21T19:50:00.000-04:00

SMOKE, MIRRORS

Another instance of how Bush can't exist without B.S. is his latest series of tightly scripted forums in which participants (i.e., audience members) are handpicked for their friendly views.

This time, the Los Angeles Times, highlights a memo seeking a choir to preach to:

"You got any thoughts about Social Security?" Bush asked 22-year-old Concordia University senior Christy Paavola, one of five younger workers who appeared on stage with him at the Milwaukee Art Museum.

"Yes," Paavola said. "I don't think it's going to be there when I retire, which is really scary."

Many young people, the president commented, think they are paying into a retirement system that will never pay them back. He asked Paavola: "Got anything else you want to say?"

"I really like the idea of personal savings accounts," Paavola said.

"You did a heck of a job," Bush told her. "You deserve an A."

Fake support for a fake president. Par for the course.

2005-05-18T08:56:00.000-04:00

'ZERO COMPROMISE'

The reactionary, regressive, right-wing monolith exhibits a Taliban-like resolve in pushing through judicial nominees representative of its ilk. This could mean eliminating the filibuster, a time-honored Senate tradition that protects minority rights and even immortalized in the heart-warming Jimmy Stewart film, "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."

Yet when the rules — or election laws, in some instances — aren't to the liking of the oligarchy, the result is an effort to change those rules.

The Los Angeles Times includes this tidbit:

"We feel like there should be zero compromise, no deal," said Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Assn., a Mississippi-based conservative group whose members were among those flooding Lott's home-state offices with phone calls and e-mails in protest.

The episode illustrates the powerful political forces that have helped make the Senate controversy over federal judges so intractable.

Ah, Democracy. Nothing expresses the love of freedom so much as a hard-line crackdown on debate and changing the rules in mid-game.

Though tempted to say Democrats will never learn, I can't ever believe that absolute power and its subsequent abuse is healthy for a nation.

2005-05-17T14:24:00.000-04:00

BUSH SITH

Woe is us when Hollywood offers a more reasoned, common-sense world view than Washington, D.C., and all the major mainstream media markets. The Associated Press, in a story titled "'Sith' Invites Bush Comparisons," outlines some of the dictatorial themes that resonate through George Lucas's final installment of "Star Wars."

Cannes audiences made blunt comparisons between "Revenge of the Sith," the story of Anakin Skywalker's fall to the dark side and the rise of an emperor through warmongering, to President Bush's war on terrorism and the invasion of Iraq.

Two lines from the movie especially resonated:

"This is how liberty dies. With thunderous applause," bemoans Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman) as the galactic Senate cheers dictator-in-waiting Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) while he announces a crusade against the Jedi.

"If you're not with me, then you're my enemy," Hayden Christensen's Anakin (soon to become villain Darth Vader) tells former mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor). The line echoes Bush's international ultimatum after the Sept. 11 attacks, "Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists."

Lucas, the political philosopher, waxes eloquent toward the end of the piece:

"You sort of see these recurring themes where a democracy turns itself into a dictatorship, and it always seems to happen kind of in the same way, with the same kinds of issues, and threats from the outside, needing more control. A democratic body, a senate, not being able to function properly because everybody's squabbling, there's corruption."

2005-05-17T10:16:00.000-04:00

OENOPHILE TEENS

One of the most ridiculous assertions in defending the idea that states can restrict shipments from out-of-state wineries is that repealing such bans could put alcohol in the hands of underage drinkers.

"Minors are just as likely to order wine from in-state producers as from out-of-state ones," said Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Not to mention that given most teens are impatient, lack credit cards and likely don't know jack about vintages.

Not to be outdone in utter baselessness, Justice Clarence Thomas maintained that both the 21st Amendment and a pre-Prohibition statute, the Webb-Kenyon Act, which served as a model for the 21st Amendment, "took those policy choices away from judges and returned them to the states."

That doesn't apply, of course, if a state (say, Florida) has an election whose possible outcome you don't like.

2005-05-17T09:57:00.000-04:00

'TROUBLING QUESTIONS'

A high-level, top-secret British government memo shines an inconvenient light on the fabrications of the Bush administration's call for war in Iraq.

The Times of London published the secret Downing Street memo, which is based on information from an official identified only as "C." It states:

C reported on his recent talks in Washington. There was a perceptible shift in attitude. Military action was now seen as inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy. The NSC had no patience with the UN route, and no enthusiasm for publishing material on the Iraqi regime's record. There was little discussion in Washington of the aftermath after military action.

Later, the memo adds:

It seemed clear that Bush had made up his mind to take military action, even if the timing was not yet decided. But the case was thin. Saddam was not threatening his neighbours, and his WMD capability was less than that of Libya, North Korea or Iran.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan issued called the report "flat-out wrong," though he had not seen the "specific memo."

What punishment, one wonders, is adequate for an inept administration's actions that — in McClellan's own words about the Newsweek story — "has had serious consequences. People have lost their lives. The image of the United States abroad has been damaged."

2005-05-17T08:55:00.000-04:00

MOUNTING HYPOCRISIES

Even as Newsweek retracts a flawed news report that the Pentagon didn't initially deny, the hypocrisies continue to build:

White House spokesman Scott McClellan and other administration officials blamed the Newsweek article for setting off the anti-American violence that swept Afghanistan and Pakistan. "The report had real consequences," Mr. McClellan said. "People have lost their lives. Our image abroad has been damaged."

McClellan could've easily been talking about what passes for Bush policy in the Middle East.

Rice also weighed in: "I do think it's done a lot of harm. Of course, 16 people died but it's also done a lot of harm to America's efforts" to demonstrate tolerance and breed goodwill in the Muslim world.

Do those efforts include the deaths of an estimated 100,000 or more Iraqis?

Mission accomplished.

If Newsweek screwed up one element of the story — namely, that military investigators had found evidence of Koran desacration — it doesn't mean such allegations haven't been made or that it didn't happen.

This, from an AFP report dated May 14:

But the Newsweek report was only the latest in a series of allegations by detainees that go back at least to March 2004 when three British detainees were released from Guantanamo.

The three Britons alleged in a joint statement that Guantanamo guards kicked and threw around prison-issued Korans and on occasion threw them in buckets that served as toilets. ...

In January, lawyers for Kuwaiti detainees at Guantanamo said after a visit that their clients also described being taunted by guards who on at least one occasion threw a Koran in a toilet.

"Several of our clients did tell us that the guards had desecrated the Koran," Kristine Huskey, one of the lawyers, told AFP.

"At least two stated that the Koran had been thrown in the toilet, another said it had been stepped on and I believe another said it had been thrown by a guard and/or spat on," she said in an email message.

Defense officials said they did not know whether there had been any previous investigations into the allegation.

Huskey said she was certain the military did not look into the allegations at the time. ...

"It's early to say how solid that is, but so far there are indications that a detainee may have done something like this," said DiRita.

2005-05-16T10:22:00.000-04:00

FACTUAL ERRORS

Newsweek acknowleges errors in a story alleging that U.S. guards at Guantanamo Bay flushed a Koran down the toilet, but stopped short of disavowing the piece.

An AP story recounts this response from the White House:

"It's puzzling. While Newsweek now acknowledges that they got the facts wrong, they refuse to retract the story," said presidential spokesman Scott McClellan. "I think there's a certain journalistic standard that should be met. In this instance it was not.

"This was a report based on a single anonymous source that could not substantiate the allegation that was made," McClellan added. "The report has had serious consequences. People have lost their lives. The image of the United States abroad has been damaged. I just find it puzzling."

Even better, ranking high on the hypocrisy meter is Pentagon spokesman Lawrence DiRita's quote that could've been used of Bush: "People are dead because of what this son of a bitch said."

The feckless Bush administration, no doubt, fails to see the irony in this and its unbased claims of WMD on Iraq and its trumpeting of a single source deemed untrustworthy by our own CIA, as well as all the goodwill from around the world our so-called leaders have squandered.

2005-05-12T10:11:00.000-04:00

LEGALIZING LOVE

Leadership rears its head in Spain, as a top government official takes the morally correct stance of supporting the right to marry, gay or straight.

MADRID (Reuters) &151; Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero defended a new law allowing gay couples to marry on Wednesday, in a veiled counter-attack on the Roman Catholic Church which has thrown its weight against it.

The Spanish parliament last month gave initial approval to the law, prompting the Spanish Bishops' Conference to step up its campaign against the measure by calling on all Catholics to resist applying the new law.

"I will never understand those who proclaim love as the foundation of life, while denying so radically protection, understanding and affection to our neighbours, our friends, our relatives, our colleagues," Zapatero told parliament in a "state of the nation" address.

"What kind of love is this that excludes those who experience their sexuality in a different way?" he said.

Sounds like someone's been receptive to the concept of compassion.

[Thanks to J.L. for this.]

2005-05-06T12:24:00.000-04:00

OL' BOYS

Not subject to the cloak of loyalty enjoyed by such inept administration officials as Condi Rice, Paul Wolfowitz and Donald Rumsfeld, a female Army officer has taken the fall for the Abu Ghraib prison scandal.

Writes the AP:

The Army announced that it demoted Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, whose Army Reserve unit was in charge of the prison compound during the period of abuse. Dropping her in rank to colonel required approval from President Bush, and officials said that he granted it on Thursday.

That brave leader of men, our feckless resident Bush saw fit in his personal code of loyalty and sense of justice to single out one woman officer, while a host of yes-men and bungling bureaucrats walk scot free for their failures that have cost taxpayers billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of lives, including those of more than 1,000 Americans.

2005-05-03T08:36:00.000-04:00

ILLEGAL BENEFITS

After watching the reactionary, lowest-common-denominator diatribe of the sixth-grade intelligence exhibited by CNN's Jack Cafferty and his incessant bleating about so-called illegal aliens and the wealth of benefits they purportedly have lavished upon them after trekking across the Arizona dessert to take all our high-paying, lettuce-picking jobs, I recalled a recent story.

The New York Times reported that workers using fake Social Security cards have contributed $7 billion a year since the 1980s.

A UPI story casts it as such:

A brisk business in fake identification and SSNs quickly grew, provided legal cover for the employers and, so far, a windfall for the SSA.

An SSA official told the Times the administration estimated 3/4 of illegal immigrants — estimated by the Census Bureau at 3.8 million households — pay payroll taxes. Those immigrants are not eligible to receive Social Security benefits.

A little information goes a long way in debunking the xenophobic arguments TV news amplifies with utter lack of basis or relevance.

2005-05-01T15:24:00.000-04:00

IGNORING IT

With it's usual zeal — and not unlike its response to the Aug. 6, 2001, memo titled "Bin Laden determined to strike in U.S." — the Bush administration continues to ignore crucial data that paints a harrowing fiscal picture of our future

Writes Nicholas Kristoff:

Laurence Kotlikoff, an economist and fiscal expert who with Scott Burns wrote the excellent and scary book "The Coming Generational Storm," calls this "fiscal child abuse."

The book says that the Treasury Department commissioned a study by two economists of the United States' long-term liabilities, for inclusion in the 2004 federal budget. The study found that the government faces a present value "fiscal gap" — the excess of expected payments over expected revenues — of $51 trillion. That's 11 times our official national debt and also greater than our total net worth, meaning that in some sense we're bankrupt.

Not surprisingly, the Bush administration took a look at the study, blanched, and declined to publish it.

Spectacular failures and a complete lack of vision remain the heights of success for this administration.

2005-04-26T12:53:00.000-04:00

In a dizzying display of judicial schizophrenia, the increasingly ideologically driven and nonsensical Supreme Court issued two separate rulings that expanded the government's law enforcement powers — except when it comes to keeping guns out of the hands of convicted felons.

One opinion rules that the U.S. can prosecute crimes in other countries, whether or not the suspect has even been charged.

The case centered on whether the U.S. could charge Canadians accused of avoiding steep alcohol taxes by smuggling liquor borth of the border. Canada had not pursued charges against the men.

Justice Clarence Thomas, advertising his automaton style of judicial interpretation that stands independent of thought, writes:

"It may seem an odd use of the federal government's resources to prosecute a U.S. citizen for smuggling cheap liquor into Canada. But the broad language of the wire fraud statute says so."

Then in a sweeping victory for the National Rifle Association and its idea of a gun in every hand, the court ruled that U.S. law didn't disallow foreign felons from toting their weapon of choice stateside — even after due process in a legitimate court process on foreign soil.

It almost makes you long for the days when Thomas was himself a punchline for his penchant for pubic-hair-on-his-can-of-Coke humor.

2005-04-25T14:57:00.000-04:00

RATZINGER'S WHITEWASH

Rabbi Michael Lerner, a leading Jewish scholar, says selection of Cardinal Ratzinger to succeed Pope John Paul II is something of a "disaster" on the mutual supposed goals of peace and justice.

We can't help noticing that under Cardinal Ratzinger's tutelage, the church began moves to elevate the infamous Pope Pius XII to the status of saint. Instead of repenting for the failure of the church to unequivocally tell all Catholics that they not receive communion if they collaborated or cooperated in any way with Nazi rule, or failed to hide and protect Jews who were marked for extermination, Ratzinger has sought to whitewash this disgraceful moment in church history. Many Jews are outraged at a church that denies communion to those who have remarried or those who oppose making abortion illegal but did not similarly deny communion to those who participate in crimes against humanity.

In fact, Cardinal Ratzinger publicly praised the fascist movement in the church known as Opus Dei and supported canonization of Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei, an open fascist who served in the government of Spain's dictator Franco, and who publicly praised Hitler.

It seems the pope's membership in Hitler's youth movement certainly made its mark on the pontiff-to-be.

2005-04-22T10:20:00.000-04:00

SIMPLETON BUSH

In typical simpleton fashion, "Resident" Bush again exhibited either a complete lack of understanding or an outright disdain for reality in whining about the stalled confirmation of John Bolton, his "kiss-up, kick-down" nominee to represent the U.S. at the United Nations.

The New York Times reports his comments yesterday:

In his speech on Thursday, to the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America, Mr. Bush brought up the subject quickly, saying, "I welcome you to the nation's capital, where sometimes politics gets in the way of doing the people's business."

"Take John Bolton, the good man I nominated to represent our country at the United Nations," Mr. Bush said. "John's distinguished career in service to our nation demonstrates that he is the right man at the right time for this important assignment. I urge the Senate to put politics aside and confirm John Bolton to the United Nations."

The misleader-in-chief makes a disingenuous argument that assumes he has some sort of mandate. He doesn't.

The Times story highlights the fact that even Colin Powell has reservations about the seemingly unstable Bolton, while offering middling praise.

Politics? Aw, shucks. Whutz that?

2005-04-21T09:38:00.000-04:00

GOD'S ROTTWEILER

Maureen Dowd's take on the pope, as she put it in context in the larger picture of American politics, was dead-on:

The white smoke yesterday signaled that the Vatican thinks what it needs to bring it into modernity is the oldest pope since the 18th century: Joseph Ratzinger, a 78-year-old hidebound archconservative who ran the office that used to be called the Inquisition and who once belonged to Hitler Youth. For American Catholics — especially women and Democratic pro-choice Catholic pols — the cafeteria is officially closed. After all, Cardinal Ratzinger, nicknamed "God's Rottweiler" and "the Enforcer," helped deny Communion rights to John Kerry and other Catholic politicians in the 2004 election.

The only other job this pope would be qualified for is "60 Minutes" anchor.

Lord help us.

2005-04-20T07:46:00.000-04:00

STATUS QUO

Drafted into the Nazi youth movement against his will, the newly "elected" Pope Benedict XVI nonetheless espouses a theory Adolph Hitler himself could support.

Writes AP: Benedict has denounced rock music, dismissed anyone who had tried to find "feminist" meanings in the Bible, and last year told American bishops it was appropriate to deny Communion to those who support abortion and euthanasia.

A woman quoted in the same story cried upon hearing news of the papal election.

"This can't be true," she tells AP. "I had hoped so much that we would get a good pope who would do something for women. ... This is so terrible."

Similarly, E. made me laugh with her reaction when I told her.

"He's going to ruin all our lives."

2005-02-25T11:22:00.000-05:00

HENHOUSE FOXES

Under the Bush administration, the safety of Americans' health is based solely on one thing: The Profit Motive.

Don't believe it? Look at a recent FDA panel's vote to keep Bextra and Vioxx off the market, despite the curious and unintended effect those drugs had on patients — the tendency to kill them.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest recently conducted a review of these panels and found that 10 members had ties to the drug makers.

The kicker, from AP:

The New York Times reported its own analysis in Friday editions, indicating that the 10 individuals in question voted 9-1 in favor of allowing the drugs to be sold.

Without their votes, the Times said, the result would have been 12-8 to recommend withdrawing Bextra and 14-8 to keep Vioxx off the market.

2005-02-24T11:54:00.000-05:00

YOU 'ASHCROFT'

The Washington Post's "Reliable Source" serves up news of what could possibly be the worst insult I've ever heard: Calling someone an "Ashcroft."

You're an Ashcroft! No, you're the Ashcroft!

Imagine hearing that exchange in a movie — you'd think that Hollywood had come up with a crazy new insult. Well, it turns out that some airline passengers watching the Oscar-nominated film "Sideways" on foreign flights are, in fact, hearing "Ashcroft" as a substitute for a certain seven-letter epithet commonly used to denote a human orifice.

The Post's Monte Reel, based in Buenos Aires, tells us he heard the former attorney general's name substituted at least twice in "Sideways" dialogue when he watched the film earlier this week on an Aerolineas Argentinas flight to Lima, Peru. The movie was shown in English and the dubbing was done "in the actual voices of the actors," Reel reports. Star Thomas Haden Church utters the A-word.

Profanity is typically cut from in-flight movies to make them suitable for general audiences, but how did the studio come up with "Ashcroft"? Hoping for enlightenment yesterday, we queried Fox Searchlight Pictures, the studio behind "Sideways." A spokeswoman initally e-mailed us to say she had "all the info" about dubbing, then failed to respond to our followup questions.

Ashcroft did not return our phone message, but we're certain he was busy and not just being an ...

Let that eagle snore.

[Thanks to C.D. for this.]

2005-02-23T16:20:00.000-05:00

DARFUR EXCUSES

Nicholas Kristof leaves no doubt that what is going on in Sudan's Darfur region is genocide, pure and simple.

Four photographs, a rarity on the New York Times op-ed page, show the horrific toll militias have taken indiscriminantly innocent women, children and men:

Last is the skeleton of a man or woman whose wrists are still bound. The attackers pulled the person's clothes down to the knees, presumably so the victim could be sexually abused before being killed. If the victim was a man, he was probably castrated; if a woman, she was probably raped.

There are thousands more of these photos. Many of them show attacks on children and are too horrific for a newspaper. ...

Web sites like www.darfurgenocide.org and www.savedarfur.org are trying to galvanize Americans, but the response has been pathetic.

Where are our collective consciences?

2005-02-15T14:47:00.000-05:00

'CREEPING AUTHORITARIANISM'

Exhibiting a penchant for unseemingly non-ironically intended double-speak, Robert Zoellick railed against "creeping authoritarianism" — in Latin America.

Chavez has accused the United States of meddling in a recall referendum last year and of supporting a military coup that almost drove him from power in 2002. The Bush administration has denied both allegations.

Zoellick said a new breed of authoritarians follows similar patterns. "You win the election, but you do away with your opponents, you do away with the press, you do away with the rule of law, you pack the courts," he said. ...

Chavez, he said, wants to portray his relationship with the United States as comparable to "David and Goliath." He added that the United States "shouldn't be afraid to say, 'Well, he's taking away liberties.'"

Glass houses, throwing stones ... it might all be simply amusing if it weren't so hypocritical and dangerous to espouse such views.

2005-02-14T16:39:00.000-05:00

'THE GATES'

Though not universally loved, "The Gates" by Christo and Jeanne-Claude drew large crowds during its opening weekend, its bright saffron-colored fabric alternatingly resembling flames through the trees, a sliver of sunlight and a river of gold undulating along 23 miles of Central Park.

In writing to a friend, I described them as such:

It was a once-in-a-lifetime event — creating a beautiful, resplendent current of life and light as unique and spectacular as the park itself, at once eternal and transient.

I was one of those people who couldn't stop smiling — it was pure joy!

... experiencing it was truly like the essence of love.

I also loved what the Times wrote:

Thousands of swaths of pleated nylon were unfurled to bob and billow in the breeze. In the winter light, the bright fabric seemed to warm the fields, flickering like a flame against the barren trees. Even at first blush, it was clear that "The Gates" is a work of pure joy, a vast populist spectacle of good will and simple eloquence, the first great public art event of the 21st century. It remains on view for just 16 days. Consider yourself forewarned. Time is fleeting.

... The shifting light couldn't have been better to show off the effects of the cloth. Sometimes the fabric looked deep orange; at other times it was shiny, like gold leaf, or silvery or almost tan. In the breeze, the skirted gates also appeared to shimmy like dancers in a conga line, the cloth buckling and swaying.

The photos at a "Gates"-specific blog were quite nice and included the following quote:

"A great object of all that is done in a park, of all the art of a park, is to influence the minds of men through their imaginations." — Frederick Law Olmstead,Central Park architect

2005-02-10T07:51:00.000-05:00

COMPLICIT MEDIA

How disheartening to see the paper of record shovel the B.S. put forward by the established misleader-in-chief in his latest propagandist push, er, I mean, State of the Union.

Part of the proposed $2.57 trillion budget — which doesn't include allocations for sustained military action in Iraq (i.e., as large a fallacy as one can make by omission) — includes cutting the less than one-tenth of 1 percent ($257 million) it takes to run Even Start.

The president said the 16-year-old program, which serves low-income children of illiterate parents, was ineffective.

"I can't think of anybody in the Congress who is not for helping low-income families become literate," Mr. Bush told the crowd, which included the chief executives of Ford, General Motors and DaimlerChrysler. "The problem is, is that after three separate evaluations it has become abundantly clear that the program is not succeeding."

As 49 percent of the country realizes, just because he says it doesn't make it true.

The Times story incorporates meaningless quotes but no real, objective assessment. Slate's "Today's Papers" conducts a cursory Google search and finds a government-commissioned study that concludes:

On the whole, Even Start projects are meeting their legislative mandate. They recruit and serve needy families. And, a high percentage of families take part in core services and receive an amount of service that compares favorably with other existing programs.

Spoon-fed B.S. is still B.S.

2005-02-01T11:21:00.000-05:00

ELECTION FRAUD?

Who could deny that a sizeable number of Iraqis made their way to the polls to cast their ballots in that country's historic election on Sunday?

Bravo to them, but shame on the Bush administration for such twisted logic that turned a hunt for non-existent WMD — remember those? — into a fight for democracy and nation-building.

I call B.S.

The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz writes:

The 60 percent figure is based on the notion that 8 million of 14 million eligible Iraqis turned out. But the 14 million figure is the number of registered Iraqis, while turnout is usually calculated using the number of eligible voters. The number of adults in Iraq is probably closer to 18 million, which would lower the turnout figure. And the registration figure itself is questionable. Anyone who received a ration card was deemed registered, and there was no effort to remove duplicate names or those who sought extra food rations. Election officials concede they did not have a reliable baseline on which to calculate turnout.

No one seems to mention how the Bush administration, for all its expertise in carrying out massive voter fraud, could possibly be trusted to run someone else's elections honorably.

[Thanks to P.O. for this link.]

2005-01-19T17:49:00.000-05:00

PRIMAL SCREAM

While Bush coddles the war profiteers and corporate fat cats that donated lavishly to his campaign and obscene inaugural celebration amid a time of worldwide catastrophe (tsunami) and horrors of war in Iraq (see picture link below), please take a moment to reflect on the fact that the election was no mandate and Bush & cronies' "morals" are wholly repugnant to the world community.

So, if you have the inclination (and the proximity), consider attending the following event:

Inaugural Primal Scream in Times Square — Thursday, January 20 2005 5:00 pm

Come share the pain and release the frustration in a group scream during rush hour on Times Square!!

Location: Times Square - 42nd Street and 7th Ave outside the GAP 3 Times Square New York NY 10025

[Thanks to M.H. for this.]

2005-01-06T10:24:00.000-05:00

HERE'S GONZALES

You may not know Alberto Gonzales, but you'll recognize his work and his tortured logic.

This photo (http://www.antiwar.com/photos/perm/torture1.jpg) was part of a collection of Abu Ghraib prison photos, courtesy of Antiwar.com.

2005-01-06T09:01:00.000-05:00

GOODBYE, ACCOUNTABILITY

A New York Times op-ed piece by Mark Danner points out what appears to be the increasing irrelevance of the media as government watchdog with the expected confirmation of torture enthusiast Alberto Gonzales as attorney general:

At least since Watergate, Americans have come to take for granted a certain story line of scandal, in which revelation is followed by investigation, adjudication and expiation. Together, Congress and the courts investigate high-level wrongdoing and place it in a carefully constructed narrative, in which crimes are charted, malfeasance is explicated and punishment is apportioned as the final step in the journey back to order, justice and propriety.

When Alberto Gonzales takes his seat before the Senate Judiciary Committee today for hearings to confirm whether he will become attorney general of the United States, Americans will bid farewell to that comforting story line.

Danner reasons:

Mr. Gonzales is unfit because the slow river of litigation is certain to bring before the next attorney general a raft of torture cases that challenge the very policies that he personally helped devise and put into practice. He is unfit because, while the attorney general is charged with upholding the law, the documents show that as White House counsel, Mr. Gonzales, in the matter of torture, helped his client to concoct strategies to circumvent it. And he is unfit, finally, because he has rightly become the symbol of the United States' fateful departure from a body of settled international law and human rights practice for which the country claims to stand.

His eloquent case for the preservation of American pioneering principles of humanitarianism, justice and rights of the accused will likely fall on deaf ears. Meanwhile, such revolting and intellectually flaccid arguments such as that of Henry Cisneros will gain greater acceptance.

Clinton's former secretary of housing and urban development writes in a Wall Street Journal op-ed piece:

Of all the positions in the cabinet, it has been traditionally understood both by the Senate and by the American public that the president needs a trusted adviser in the attorney general's job. ...

In this case, Judge Gonzales is better qualified than many recent attorneys general. He was general counsel to Governor Bush in Texas, secretary of state of Texas, a member of the Texas Supreme Court, and for the last four years counsel to the president in the White House. Many of the challenges and decisions he will confront as U.S. attorney general he has seen in some form in these important legal positions.

Cisneros is a disheartening embarassment yet again. However, lying to the FBI (for which he pleaded guilty) and paying off a former mistress seem par for the course for a supporter of Bush's nominee. Hell, Cisneros might even get a Cabinet position out of his lapdog act.

[Thanks to P.O. for the second item.]

2005-01-04T13:51:00.000-05:00

'LIBERAL' MEDIA

Thorn in the side of nine presidential administrations Helen Thomas, a columnist and former UPI White House correspondent, pays tribute to retiring PBS newsman Bill Moyers — a journalist of utmost integrity and one of the last of a dying breed.

She quotes him:

"The biggest story of our time is how the right-wing media has become a partisan propaganda arm of the Republican National Committee ... and a mainstream press that's interested in the bottom line. Therefore, we don't have a vigilant, independent press whose interest is the American people."

2004-12-29T17:37:00.000-05:00

PLEASE HELP

As of Tuesday evening, the worldwide death toll from Sunday's underwater earthquake and resulting tsunamis is approaching 77,000. (As a point of reference, this is more than the number of U.S. casualties during the Vietnam War.) Although the true death toll may never be known, the Red Cross has estimated that number could surpass 100,000.

Some bloggers have proved indispensible. A couple of notable blogs include Sumankumar's yak pad and This Way Please.

Reading these stories tonight rendered me speechless.

Please help.

One worthy organization is Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières.

Here are some others, from AP:

The following aid agencies are accepting contributions for assistance that they or their affiliates are providing for those affected by the earthquake and tidal waves in Asia. U.S. organizations are members of InterAction, a coalition of relief, development and refugee assistance agencies.

Action Against Hunger
247 West 37th St.
New York, NY 10018
212-967-7800
http://www.actionagainsthunger.org

ADRA International
Asia Quake Fund
12501 Old Columbia Pike
Silver Spring, MD 20904
800-424-ADRA (2372)
http://www.adra.org

Air Serv International
6583 Merchant Place, Suite 100
Warrenton, VA 20187
http://www.airserv.org

American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Inc.
DC-South Asia Tsunami Relief
P.O. Box 321
847A Second Ave.
New York, New York 10017
212-885-0832
http://www.jdc.org

American Jewish World Service
45 W. 36th St., 10th Fl.
New York, NY 10018
212-736-2597
http://www.ajws.org

AmeriCares
88 Hamilton Ave.
Stamford, CT 06902
800-486-4357
http://www.americares.org

Baptist World Aid
Asia Tidal Waves
405 North Washington St.
Falls Church, VA 22046
703-790-8980
http://www.bwanet.org/bwaid

B'nai B'rith International
B'nai B'rith Disaster Relief Fund
2020 K. St. NW
7th Floor
Washington, DC 20006
212-490-3290
http://www.bnaibrith.org

Brother's Brother Foundation
1200 Galveston Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15233
412-321-3160
http://www.brothersbrother.org

CARE
151 Ellis St. NE
Atlanta, GA 30303
800-521-CARE
http://www.care.org

Catholic Relief Services
209 West Fayette St.
Baltimore, MD 21201
877-HELP-CRS
http://www.catholicrelief.org

Christian Children's Fund
Child Alert Fund
PO Box 26484
Richmond, VA 23261-6484
800-776-6767
http://www.ChristianChildrensFund.org

Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC)
South Asia Earthquake
2850 Kalamazoo Ave. SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49560
800-55-CRWRC
http://www.crwrc.org

Church World Service
PO Box 968
Elkhart, IN 46515
800-297-1516
http://www.churchworldservice.org

Direct Relief International
27 South La Patera Lane
Santa Barbara, CA 93117
805-964-4767
http://www.directrelief.org

Food for the Hungry, Inc.
Food for the Hungry
Asia Quake Relief
1224 E. Washington St.
Phoenix, AZ 85034
800-2-HUNGERS
http://www.fh.org

International Aid
17011 W. Hickory
Spring Lake, MI 49456
800-968-7490
http://www.internationalaid.org

International Medical Corps
Tsunami Emergency Response
1919 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 300
Santa Monica, CA 90404-1950
800-481-4462
http://www.imcworldwide.org

International Relief Teams
Asia Earthquake/Floods
3547 Camino Del Rio South, Suite C
San Diego, CA 92108
619-284-7979
http://www.IRTeams.org

International Rescue Committee
PO Box 5058
Hagerstown, MD 21741-9874
877-REFUGEE or 733-8433
http://www.theIRC.org

Latter-Day Saint Charities
Welfare Services Emergency Response
50 East North Temple Street, Room 701
Salt Lake City, UT 84150-6800
801-240-3544
ldscharities@ldschurch.org

Lutheran World Relief
South Asia Tsunami
700 Light St.
Baltimore, MD 21230
410-230-2700
http://www.lwr.org

MAP International
P.O. Box 215000
Brunswick, GA 31521
800-225-8550
http://www.map.org

Mercy Corps
Southeast Asia Earthquake
Dept. W
PO Box 2669
Portland, OR 97208-2669
800-852-2100
http://www.mercycorps.org

Operation USA
8320 Melrose Ave. 200
Los Angeles, CA 90069
800-678-7255
http://www.opusa.org

Oxfam America
Asian Earthquake Fund
PO Box 1211
Albert Lea, MN 56007-1211
800-77-OXFAM
http://www.oxfamamerica.org

Plan USA
Asia Disaster
155 Plan Way
Warwick, RI 02886
800-556-7918
http://www.planusa.org

Project Concern International
Asia Tsunamis Press List
5151 Murphy Canyon Road Suite 320
San Diego, CA 92123
858-279-9690
http://www.projectconcern.org

Project HOPE
Asia Tsunami Response
255 Carter Hall Lane
Millwood, VA 22646
800-544-4673
http://www.projecthope.org

SAWSO (Salvation Army World Service Office)
South Asia Relief Fund
615 Slaters Lane
Alexandria, VA, 22313
800-SAL-ARMY

Save the Children USA
54 Wilton Road
Westport, CT 06880
800-728-3843
http://www.savethechildren.org

Stop Hunger Now
SE Asia crisis
2501 Clark Ave, Suite 200
Raleigh, NC 27607
888-501-8440
http://www.stophungernow.org

US Fund for UNICEF
General Emergency Fund
333 E. 38th St.
New York, NY 10016
800-4-UNICEF
http://www.unicefusa.org

World Concern
Asia Earthquake and Tsunami
19303 Fremont Avenue North
Seattle, WA 98133
800-755-5022
http://www.worldconcern.org

World Emergency Relief
2270-D Camino Vida Roble
Carlsbad, CA 92009
760-930-8001
http://www.worldemergencyrelief.org

World Vision
P.O. Box 70288
Tacoma, WA 98481-0288
888-56-CHILD
http://www.worldvision.org

2004-12-29T17:36:00.000-05:00

CHOOSE BLUE

Choose the Blue helps blue-state voters make conscienscious purchases, even if they live in a red state.

Thank goodness for companies such as Toyota and Apple.

[Thanks to P.O. for this.]

2004-12-15T17:17:00.000-05:00

REACTIONARY PROPAGANDA

The beginning signs of a reactionary, regressive, right-wing machinery in action came in the form of two stories I happened to see today, though I can't even say I've been watching that closely.

First, AP writes, "Federal officials Tuesday backed away from the findings of two major studies on birth control pills, saying the research was flawed and that a new analysis shows there is no evidence that oral contraceptives cut the risk of heart disease."

So, if you use birth control, the overture goes, you will die. In light of all the lack of oversight for which the FDA has been called out on the mat, it's suspicious how they're suddenly enlightened as to what's best for the public.

Right.

The next sign of ideology's value over evidence in this administration comes in this story, also from AP:

Study: Married Adults Healthier Than Most

WASHINGTON (AP) - Married people are healthier than other adults, other than a tendency for husbands to pack on some extra pounds, says the National Center for Health Statistics.

The center's report on Wednesday, based on a survey of more than 125,000 people, didn't specify reasons.

So, let's see: The U.S. government is funding a study with your tax dollars that asked people whether they're healthy or not, but come to no conclusions. Instead, a "health statistician" known as Charlotte Schoenborn expounds on theories about why this may be.

Except, dear Charlotte, correlation does not equal causation.

Don't believe it.

2004-12-04T14:25:00.000-05:00

BHOPAL HOAX

Perhaps you heard a Dow Chemical spokesman tell the BBC his employer admitted responsibility for the deaths of more than 10,000 people in a gas leak in Bhopal, India, 20 years ago and would compensate their families for their losses from a $12 billion fund.

Don't hold your breath. It's an elaborate hoax by a purported member of The Yes Men, whose stated purpose is to "impersonate big-time criminals in order to publicly humiliate them. Targets are leaders and big corporations who put profits ahead of everything else."

The stunt forced Dow Chemical (who now owns the Union Carbide plant involved in the Bhopal leak) to put out a statement:

Dow will NOT commit ANY funds to compensate and treat 120,000 Bhopal residents who require lifelong care. ... Dow will NOT remediate (clean up) the Bhopal plant site. ... Dow's sole and unique responsibility is to its shareholders, and Dow CANNOT do anything that goes against its bottom line unless forced to by law.

Gotta love it.

2004-12-01T14:21:00.000-05:00

POLITICAL STDs

The upside is that 55 million Americans don't really have to worry about this.

[Thanks to Carol V. via C.D. for this.]

Warning from the CDC

The Center for Disease Control has issued a warning about a new virulent strain of sexually transmitted disease. This disease is contracted through dangerous and high risk behavior. The disease is called Gonorrhea Lecthym (Pronounced "Gonna Re-elect Him"). Many victims have contracted it after having been screwed by the Bush-Cheney-Rove-Ashcroft administration for the past 4 years, and failing to have taken adequate measures to protect themselves.

Cognitive sequellae of individuals infected with Gonorrhea lecthim include: Antisocial personality disorder traits; delusions of
grandeur with a messianic flavor; cognitive perseveration; inability to incorporate new information into a rigid idée fixee; xenophobia; inability to accept responsibility for actions; and a strong propensity for categorical, all-or nothing thinking.

This epidemic is out of control. MMWR reports it has already resulted in brain death in over 59,000,000 Americans. Excessive exposure to trailer parks, country gospel music and yellow ribbon asphyxiation
are thought to be contributing factors. New CDC Director Archbishop Burke has ordered a halt to research into the disease after determining the disease is incurable and is merely God's will.

Apparently, however, at least 55,000,000 of us have natural immunity and are poised to lead a brief, but exciting life right after the rapture begins and our afflicted fellow Americans ascend to their eternal reward. Godlessness has its rewards.

2004-11-30T11:34:00.000-05:00

SHOPPING GUIDE

The Center for Responsive Politics put out this handy guide a few years ago, showing where retailers make their political donations.

This why everyone will receive Rite-Aid products, a bottle of Mr. Clean and Warnaco undergarments in their stockings this year from me.

[Thanks to Marjorie H. via C.D. for this!]

With the holidays upon us, some of us might wish to be mindful of
who we patronize relative to their 2000 Election Cycle political
donations, as reported by the Center for Responsive Politics.

Shopping?

* Price Club/Costco donated $225K, of which 99% went to democrats;
WalMart, $467K, 97% to republicans;
K-Mart, $524K, 86% to republicans;
Home Depot, $298K, 89% to republicans;
Target, $226K, 70% to republicans;
Circuit City Stores, $261K, 95% to republicans;
* Rite Aid, $517K, 60% to democrats;
* Magla Products (Stanley tools, Mr. Clean), $22K, 100% to
democrats;
3M Co., $281K, 87% to republicans;
Hallmark Cards, $319K, 92% to republicans;
Amway, $391K, 100% republican;
Kohler Co. (plumbing fixtures), $283K, 100% republicans;
* Warnaco (undergarments), $55K, 73% to democrats;
B.F. Goodrich (tires), $215K, 97% to republicans;
Proctor & Gamble, $243K, 79% to republicans;
* Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, $153K, 99% to democrats;
* Estee Lauder, $448K, 95% to democrats;
* Guess ? Inc., $145K, 98% to democrats;
* Calvin Klein, $78K, 100% to democrats;
* Liz Claiborne, Inc., $34K, 97% to democrats;
* Levi Straus, $26K, 97% to democrats;
* Olan Mills, $175K, 99% to democrats.

Spirits?

Coors, $174K, 92% to republicans; (also Budweiser - sd)
Gallo Winery, $337K, 95% to democrats;
Brown-Forman Corp. (Southern Comfort, Jack Daniels, Bushmills,
Korbel wines - as well as Lennox China, Dansk, Gorham Silver), $644, 80% to
republicans;
* Southern Wine & Spirits, $213K, 73% to democrats;
* Joseph E. Seagrams & Sons (includes beverage business, plus
considerable media interests), $2M+, 67% democrats.

Hungry?

Pilgrim's Pride Corp. (chicken), $366K, 100% republican;
Outback Steakhouse, $641K, 95% republican;
* Sonic Corporation, $83K, 98% democrat;
Tricon Global Restaurants (KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell), $133K,
87%republican;
Brinker International (Maggiano's, Brinker Cafe, Chili's, On the
Border, Macaroni Grill, Crazymel's, Corner Baker, EatZis), $242K, 83%
republican;
* Triarc Companies (Arby's, T.J. Cinnamon's, Pasta Connections),
$112K, 96% democrats;
Waffle House, $279K, 100% republican;
McDonald's Corp., $197K, 86% republican;
Darden Restaurants (Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Smokey Bones, Bahama
Breeze), $121K, 89% republican;
* Hyatt Corporation, $187K, 80% to democrats;
Mariott International, $323K, 81% to republicans;
Holiday Inns, $38K, 71% to republicans.

2004-11-25T07:35:00.000-05:00

NO THANKS

The Los Angeles Times highlights what some National Guard members call shortcomings in training and equipment before being sent to assignment in Iraq.

Far from being peaceniks, they had complaints such as these:

"I'm a cop. I've got a career, a house, a family, a college degree," said one sergeant, who lives in Southern California and spoke, like most of the soldiers, on condition of anonymity.

"I came back to the National Guard specifically to go to Baghdad, because I believed in it, believed in the mission. But I have regretted every day of it. This is demoralizing, demeaning, degrading. And we're supposed to be ambassadors to another country? We're supposed to go to war like this?"

And when faced with the prospect of death on foreign soil, some of them are willing to put their status on the line, as well.

The soldiers also said they were risking courts-martial or other punishment by speaking publicly about their situation. But Staff Sgt. Lorenzo Dominguez, 45, one of the soldiers who allowed his identity to be revealed, said he feared that if nothing changed, men in his platoon would be killed in Iraq.

Dominguez is a father of two — including a 13-month-old son named Reagan, after the former president — and an employee of a mortgage bank in Alta Loma, Calif. A senior squad leader of his platoon, Dominguez said he had been in the National Guard for 20 years.

"Some of us are going to die there, and some of us are going to die unnecessarily because of the lack of training," he said. "So I don't care. Let them court-martial me. I want the American public to know what is going on. My men are guilty of one thing: volunteering to serve their country. And we are at the end of our rope."

2004-11-19T11:57:00.000-05:00

RALL SILENCED

Edgy, satirical editorial cartoonist Ted Rall has been dropped by WashingtonPost.com after a post-election piece depicted the American electorate as a drooling idiot.

WashingtonPost.com Executive Editor Doug Feaver told Editor & Publisher: "Ted Rall does very interesting work. Some of it is not funny to an awful lot of people. We decided at the end of the day that it just did not fit the tone we wanted at WashingtonPost.com."

Vanilla, in other words, is still the most popular flavor.

2004-11-18T07:08:00.000-05:00

TRUE THAT

Thanks to Alison S. of Los Angeles for the following quote highlighting what she called the "idiotification" of America.

"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."

H.L. Mencken (1880-1956)

2004-11-16T07:52:00.000-05:00

ELECTION MAPS

We've all seen the reductionist election maps that depict a sea of red states. Yet reality comes in many more shades of purple, as depicted in this series of maps Center for the Study of Complex Systems, University of Michigan.

[Thanks to Kris K. for passing this along.]

2004-11-16T07:44:00.000-05:00

FASCIST TENDENCIES

The road to facism has many road markers along the way, argues author Laurence W. Britt. Although he himself argues the historical comparisons between fascist regimes are merely "exercises in verbal gymnastics," the list of symptoms sound familiar — and frightening.

Without the supporting evidence, the list includes:

1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism. ...

2. Disdain for the importance of human rights. ...

3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause. ...

4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism. ...

6. A controlled mass media. ...

7. Obsession with national security. ...

8. Religion and ruling elite tied together. ...

9. Power of corporations protected. ...

10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated. ...

11. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts. ...

13. Rampant cronyism and corruption. ...

14. Fraudulent elections. ...

[Thanks to Carlos M. for this.]

2004-11-13T21:54:00.000-05:00

FLIP SIDE

The flip side to the profanity-laden rant below is this haughty, yet true, piece that ran in The Register, titled "Reach out and sneer: Dem radicals speak to the Red States."

With hard work and superb organization, you have triumphed over John Kerry and the forces of Blue-state paternalism. Congratulations. The multinational corporations that hold you in bondage remain free to profit off your sweat nearly tax free, while their overpaid senior execs continue to pay a pittance in personal income tax.

It certainly won't do much in the way of persuading any voters in the near future — or in the long-term, for that matter — but the truths feel good to hear.

Especially because we know they're true.

2004-11-13T21:39:00.000-05:00

'SCREW YOU'

This anonymous rant to the so-called red states, titled "Fuck the South," makes a few excellent points.

From how much more the welfare-loving red states receive from blue-state tax dollars to pointing out the hypocrisy of supposed "moral values" voters for having a higher divorce rate than gay-friendly Massachussetts, the author spares no profanity.

Though I might have chosen different language, I must give props where props are due: Well said!

2004-11-10T13:58:00.000-05:00

'HALLIBURTON HONEYMOON'

It's over.

Reminding us that second terms are jinxed, The Washington Post flags Dick Cheney's former company as the albatross around this administration's neck, regardless of fictional "mandate."

In a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, the oil services company said that the Justice Department expanded its investigation into Halliburton, that government probes have found that bribes may have been made in Nigeria and that A. Jack Stanley, a former senior executive, may have been involved.

The latest news about alleged shenanigans at Halliburton, some of which may have occurred on Cheney's watch, serves as a timely warning for the Bush administration: Second terms are often beset by scandal. President Bill Clinton was impeached in the Monica S. Lewinsky affair. President Ronald Reagan endured the Iran-contra scandal. And President Richard M. Nixon had Watergate. ...

Even the chief investigator faces investigation. The Justice Department's Public Integrity Section is examining whether Attorney General John D. Ashcroft, when he served in the Senate, violated criminal campaign funding laws or federal disclosure laws relating to the transfer of a mailing list to his campaign committee.

We are, after all, a nation of laws.

[Thanks to Peter O. for passing this along.]

2004-11-09T18:26:00.000-05:00

DIVINE HELP

British tabloid journalism speaks what many people only think but dare not say in polite company. Not the Mirror, though. Its editorial pleads, "God Help America":

A self-serving, dim-witted, draft-dodging, gung-ho little rich boy, whose idea of courage is to yell: "I feel good," as he unleashes an awesome fury which slaughters 100,000 innocents for no other reason than greed and vanity.

[Thanks again to red-state denizen Jeff F. for passing along this gem.]

2004-11-09T17:21:00.000-05:00

MORAL ICEBERG

The regressive, right-wing monster begins to rear its ugly head,
according to this USA Today story.

For a year, Julee Lacey stopped in a CVS pharmacy near her home in a Fort Worth suburb to get refills of her birth-control pills. Then one day last March, the pharmacist refused to fill Lacey's prescription because she did not believe in birth control.

Thanks to Jeff F. of Arizona for sending this one. He writes, "I fear we have only seen the tip of the 'moral' iceberg."

2004-11-08T19:33:00.000-05:00

MARRY CANADIAN

No, I don't actually propose making a run for the border (to Canada) but some enterprising folks have taken the idea to a new level, starting with MarryAnAmerican.

This is how Reuters describes it:

OTTAWA (Reuters) — The number of U.S. citizens visiting Canada's main immigration website has shot up six-fold as Americans flirt with the idea of abandoning their homeland after President George W. Bush's election win this week.

"When we looked at the first day after the election, November 3, our website hit a new high, almost double the previous record high," immigration ministry spokeswoman Maria Iadinardi said on Friday.

On an average day some 20,000 people in the United States log onto the website, www.cic.gc.ca — a figure which rocketed to 115,016 on Wednesday. The number of U.S. visits settled down to 65,803 on Thursday, still well above the norm.

2004-11-08T19:21:00.000-05:00

WE SECEDE

Thanks to Mark H. via Pam A. in California for this!

Ladies and gentlemen, you needn't fret anymore. We have decided that we can't live in the United States anymore, because so many of you in the 'heartland' are so full of shit. We were all going to move to various other countries, but then we thought — why should WE move?

We are tired of rednecks in Oklahoma picking the leader who will Determine if it is safe for us to cross the Brooklyn Bridge.

We are sick of homophobic knuckle-draggers in Wyoming contributing to the national debate on our gay marriages. So we have done the only thing we could.

We seceded.

May I present to you: AMERICAN COASTOPIA.

That's right, American Coastopia. The states of Washington, Oregon and California are joining us on one coast, and we will provide all of New England. In the middle of the country, we have taken Iowa and Illinois, mostly because we need the fine produce of Iowa's soil, and the museums in Chicago are fabulous.

The other dot is New Orleans, which you don't deserve. American Coastopia needs a place to gamble, and the locals want nothing to do with you.

Sure, you can visit, but it isn't part of your country anymore.
I can sense your worry. Who will get all the banks? You can fucking have most of them, because we're taking downtown and midtown Manhattan back, turning the whole thing into a giant artist colony replete with movie studios and progressive think tanks. Wall Street and other financial institutions will be relocated to Charlotte, which we believe will suit your needs better. Frankly, the good folks in Manhattan are sick of being a terrorist target for your benefit.

A word about our politics. Abortions will be safe and legal in American Coastopia, and homosexual men and women will be free to marry at their discretion. We will have our own currency, and trade with any countries we want. Everyone will have health care. Everyone will have an identity card. Homelessness and unemployment will be virtually unknown. We believe in a meritocracy and a huge chasm between church and state. 100% of our cars will be hybrid by 2006.

Yes, we're taking all the people that ever created everything beautiful. Yes, we're taking all the funny people too. All the sculptors, architects, surgeons, philosophers, violinists and fishermen.

You should have treated them better when you had them.

We have no pledge of allegiance, but I can say this: I am no longer From your United States of America. I belong to American Coastopia, the United States of My Friends, the Nation of Two: my wife and I. We hold our noses as we fly over you. We are sickened by the way you treat people that are different from you. The rest of the world despises America, and we don't want to be lumped in with you anymore.

Please, all of you who went to bed last night sick with worry, come to us. In American Coastopia, the light is always on, the hazelnut lattés are always hot, and we have a trundle bed for each and every one of you.

2004-11-08T16:14:00.000-05:00

GRAPHIC ELECTORATE

Thanks to J.F. for passing along this mini-compendium of new electoral maps of how the "election" last week went.

2004-11-05T13:30:00.000-05:00

51% 'MANDATE'?

The press is in danger of falling back into its role as Bush's lap dog, buying the hooey that Bush has some sort of mandate.

He doesn't.

As someone pointed out recently, 48 percent of Americans — an historic 55 million people — voted for Kerry, ostensibly "the most liberal member of Congress."

Greg Mitchell of Editor and Publisher writes:

If only 51% percent of my family or my editorial staff think I am doing a good job, I might look to moderate my behavior, not repeat or enlarge it. At the minimum, I would not assert that I was overwhelmingly popular. ...

As Doyle McManus and Janet Hook of the Los Angeles Times put it, Bush aides "repeatedly" made the point that their man had won by such a wide margin he should be given full rein to institute new policies (or perhaps enact new wars). Did McManus and Hook consider this a bit overblown? No, they repeated the talking point, declaring that "Bush can claim a solid mandate of 51% of the vote."

As the Wall Street Journal's Al Hunt observed, it was "the narrowest win for a sitting president since Woodrow Wilson in 1916." And a Gallup poll conducted after the election found that 63 percent of voters would prefer to see Bush pursue policies that "both parties support" compared to only 30 percent who want Bush to "advance the Republican Party's agenda."

Don't believe the hype.

2004-11-05T10:58:00.000-05:00

STOLEN AGAIN?

An increasing number of people are questioning how exit polls could've been so wrong. Greg Palast writes:

Most voters in Ohio thought they were voting for Kerry. CNN's exit poll showed Kerry beating Bush among Ohio women by 53 percent to 47 percent. Kerry also defeated Bush among Ohio's male voters 51 percent to 49 percent. Unless a third gender voted in Ohio, Kerry took the state.

So what's going on here? Answer: the exit polls are accurate. Pollsters ask, "Who did you vote for?" Unfortunately, they don't ask the crucial, question, "Was your vote counted?" The voters don't know.

The evidence is troubling.

2004-11-05T10:56:00.000-05:00

2004-11-04T15:20:00.000-05:00

GOP SLUGFEST

Though many folks were upset on Election Day, this tough guy looks to take his aggressions out the old-fashioned way.

I would like to fight a Bush supporter to vent my anger. If you are one, have a fiery streek, please contact me so we can meet and physically fight. I would like to beat the shit out of you.

That's some personal ad.

2004-11-04T12:08:00.000-05:00

DOOM GLOATS

L.C., a Republican, sent this to me moments ago:

I've given you the proper, respectful day of mourning you so deserve. Now, it's time to gloat!!!

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/vote2004/countymap.htm

My reply:

I didn't mourn at all. A couple of percentage points in the popular vote means he has no mandate, just like he didn't have last time around — without the benefit of incumbency or the fictional "wartime president" status he created.

There won't be much to gloat about when we're less safe, our troops are even more strained under a failed iraq policy, social security is bankrupt, we're paying more in local & state taxes, prescription drugs, et cetera.

All it proves is that the politics of division and obfuscation work, something antithetical to the idea of an informed, critical electorate that understands the constitutional protections the Founding Fathers intended — church & state and balance of powers being chief among them.

2004-11-04T11:20:00.000-05:00

HOPE REMAINS

This was a beautiful reflection on the debacle earlier this week from Viva, my friend, ex-bandmate, former high school classmate and inspiration.

hello friends and neighbors

number one: what the FUCK.

i feel compelled to reach out and share some words because today reminds me somehow of the time following 911. like a hovering anxiety, sadness, and a huge helplessness.

i see the conservative screws tightening, and it makes me afraid. for women and reproductive rights, for LGBT's in those red states, for PWA'S, for minorities, for the poor, for the continuing deterioration of our basic constitutional rights.

i am writing to say i am glad for community, glad for like minds and hearts, and as grateful for un-like minds who can agree to be so, peacefully.

so much about this today frightened and has shaken me, and made me angry. it s easy to see THEM as the enemy, then of course i have throughout the day 2 conversations with 2 latino men who so reminded me of my family , talking to me about how they voted for bush. they believe they are protecting their families by voting this way, they truly believe in the FORCE that this president is compelled to use, an eye for eye ( but its not even the right eye dammit!)
its frustrating because i felt so close to them too, like we shared so much culturally here in NYC together. its frustrating but somehow perfect to listen to them, it's hard to hate an individual person, easier to lump them all into one group, so it was weird and good for me to have had these encounters today. we are all the same, we want to be safe and cared for and they believe he will protect them.
oh my god it hurt me how huge a turnout he got from the latinos, but it makes sense to me they went his way.

but c'mon catholic latinos! jesus? was there ever a more peaceful figure, he taught unconditional love and that god is within as much as without. that guy wasnt throwing stones, he was hanging out with hookers.

what god is the president taking orders from?

i pray that bush is relieved of the voices he's hearing that guide him to war, so that he can hear the true voice of that god he claims to fully believe in, that voice that says love compassion and forgiveness.

i pray that he truly experiences the change of heart he says god granted him, the one that saved him from drug addiction, did it say now that you're sober you can feel free to kill thousands of innocent men women and children? oh my god have a drink AND a bump, please. (no, just kidding! it would make everything worse, he'd be pushing the big red button like martin sheen in the dead zone QUICK)

i pray the same for everyone that plan and decide and preach war, that they see that the truth of god is the opposite of war. this hate is taught, this hate is taught. any holy book can be used to justify any atrocity, and in my heart i know all war on every level comes about from the lovelessness children have endured. it's taught.

what can we DO?

one of my most favorite people, on halloween , on a completely unrelated topic said to me " in times of great darkness there is great light". i'm holding on to that one-

it was incredible how many people i know, personally, who were motivated to service these last couple of years. the last few weeks were astounding this way. the 911 vigils, the RNC demos, to see with my eyes , to be a part of these events and see the care and action, is heartening. it counts. we are not alone.

so the the tide has turned but you know the ocean she keeps moving and it will turn again. it's the law of nature. how is this gonna happen?

i dont know .

what can i do?

i encourage you, and i encourage me, to live our bliss, find the thing that makes you happy, whatever the hell it is. do it. do it without any doubt , now is the time, now is always the only time. everything you do in joy helps everyone and makes a difference, i believe this to be so.

some of my greatest frustration and anger was that 911 was used really effectively for bush by the only person who could appropriate it ,new york mayor guiliani. he used it to again goad people into fear and revenge.

in contrast i remembered the actual day of 911, out of the window we could see they were burning, huge black smoke pouring, we were watching the one tv channel that was still working. a firefighter crying, bawling like a baby, he had just come out of one the buildings b4 it fell, and he saw the cameras facing him, he took the opportunity to say this straight into the camera , sobbing:
"love each other just love each other"

i leave you with a prayer written by the official 911 victim #1, who was openly gay, a recovering addict , a catholic priest, and my friend.

i cant imagine he would say the answer to destruction is more destruction.

"Lord, Take me where you want me to go
Let me meet who you want me to meet,
Tell me what you want me to say,
and
Keep me out of your way.
Written by Father Mychal Judge
FDNY Chaplain

in love and light
viva

Amen.

2004-11-04T10:27:00.000-05:00

DIG IN

It's always darkest before dawn.

Until first light breaks, enjoy this humorous film strip of the right-wing extremists' duplicity and failures.

As the site suggests, "Be sure to have flash enabled and your speakers turned on. You may also want to make sure your right wing hosebag boss is at lunch."

[Thanks, M.H.]

2004-11-04T08:31:00.000-05:00

STARK REALITIES

The following map depicts the feelings of many of the historic high 55 million voters who sought to oust failed leadership from Washington, D.C.

[Thanks to C.D. and C.V. for this.]

2004-11-03T11:31:00.000-05:00

TEMPORARY SETBACK

It was with the following bulletin, shortly after 11 a.m., that the campaign came to a close:

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush won a second term from a divided and anxious nation, his promise of steady, strong wartime leadership trumping John Kerry's fresh-start approach to Iraq and joblessness. After a long, tense night of vote counting, the Democrat called Bush to concede Ohio and the presidency to Bush, The Associated Press has learned.

Yes, it's surprising to see that a failed administration can invent reasons to go to war, then run on a campaign as a wartime president; preside over the first net job loss since Hoover, then claim he's boosting the economy, etc.

Don't be upset.

There is no clear mandate for the misleader, who won because he divided the nation and appealed to our worst instincts with fear-mongering, race-baiting and class divisions. This is not — I repeat, not — the vision our Founding Fathers held.

Do not despair.

We still have our jobs, we still have our families and our health, and we still have the ability to influence the world around us. It won't always be easy or encouraging, but it will be necessary to speak up for injustice, now more than ever. We will have to work to ensure that the ideals that form the foundation for the United States of America — religious freedom, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to peaceably assemble — are protected and exercised wherever, whenever possible.

America is larger than any one man.

2004-11-03T08:45:00.000-05:00

RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM

The killing of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh after making a movie critical of Islam's treatment of women highlights the dangers of religious extremism, whether here or abroad.

Dutch newspaper Telegraaf, which published a crime-scene photo of the slain filmmaker, reported that thousands turned out to protest the killing.

One thing I admire about Holland is how many people turned out for that protest, understanding that hate crimes are unacceptable and that a free society requires tolerance — something apparently lost in the U.S.

P.D. of Holland writes:

Reminds us of the murder of Pim Fortuyn, the politician. Someone calculated that the filmmaker was murdered 911 days after Fortuyn was murdered. The filmmaker was killed on November 2nd. 112 is the emergency number in Holland ...

An uneasy omen, to be sure.

2004-11-03T08:09:00.000-05:00

COSTA RICA

Friends this week had said they would move to Canada if the unspeakable were to happen, but I think I'd pick Costa Rica — especially when the world's oil reserves run out in 10 to 20 years.

Warm climates will be muy importante!

2004-11-03T07:52:00.000-05:00

ELECTION PROBLEMS

Although problems at the polls haven't reached the dire level of last election, they have popped up. VotersUnite! provides a handy guide to these reports, whether it's "machine malfunction" or "animosity at polls."

2004-11-02T16:03:00.000-05:00

PARTING THOUGHTS

As I head home to vote tonight, I'm overwhelmingly positive about Kerry victory tonight.

I don't believe it will go into recounts and lawsuits, as worst-case scenario preparations have suggested. We will know tonight that Americans have rejected the regressive, reactionary, right-wing exremists tactics of fear-mongering and abject failure of Bush administration policies abroad, in Iraq, on terrorism, on a dismal economy, on tax cuts we can't afford, on privatizing Social Security, on reducing a woman's right to control her own body, on robbing our children of their education.

And so on.

At this point last time around, Gore was behind in the polls by 4 percent. This time, Kerry is tied. Once you count minorities, first-time voters, immigrants, mobile-phone users and those enraged by an administration that was appointed by a partisan Supreme Court — Chief Justice William Rehnquist aided 1962 Republican efforts to disqualify black and Hispanic voters — there is a far greater number of Americans who are outraged that they were denied their majority choice of president.

Bush has awakened the sleeping giant of American democracy, and for that he'll pay dearly.

On that note, I urge you to vote if you haven't already and provide this late-breaking development from blogger John Marshall, who cites late Gallup statistics:

According to Gallup's mega-final-ultra poll out Sunday evening, 30% of registered voters in Florida have already voted, either through early voting or by absentee. Of those who have already voted, Kerry leads President Bush 51% to 43%.

According to the Des Moines Register poll out late Saturday evening, 27% of Iowa adults have already voted. And among those Kerry leads 52% to 41%.

Both numbers seem good for Kerry — though they may mean a lot of different things.

Good night, and see you on the flip side of Election Day.

2004-11-02T15:53:00.000-05:00

EXIT POLLS

They're not intended for public consumption, but a source inside the Democratic National Committee has passed these along:

State % Kerry % Bush

NH 58 41
WI 52 48
MN 58 41
MI 58 41
OH 52 48
FL 52 48
PA 59 40
ME 55 44

2004-11-02T11:16:00.000-05:00

KERRY LEADS

Kerry leads just slightly on Tuesday morning, according to the Current Electoral Vote Predictor 2004.

Keep watching.

2004-11-02T09:34:00.000-05:00

MUTED 'JUBILATION'

Continuing it's grand tradition of doublespeak, soon-to-be lame-duck Bush officials struck a dour note on the campaign trail:

Bush's aides predicted victory when talking on the record, pointing to polls showing that the race remained a tossup, both nationally and in key states. But despite the insistence that all was well, the erosion in the moods of Bush's inner circle over the past two weeks was unmistakable. Several of his close advisers said they were concerned because the president had achieved no last-minute momentum, and Democratic turnout was looking as if it might swamp the Bush-Cheney campaign's projections.

A Republican official who is privy to Bush-Cheney strategy and polling said that as the incumbent, Bush should be further ahead of Kerry in polls. "Some of them have been moving in the right direction, but it isn't enough," the official said. "Karl [Rove] is a big believer in the bandwagon effect, but there has been nothing over the past week for the president to use it to turn it around." ...

Mark McKinnon, Bush's chief ad strategist, flew with him all day and said Bush was "nostalgic" about having so much of his team from 2000 out on the road with him one last time. Asked about the mood on the plane, a subdued McKinnon replied, in a deadpan voice: "Jubilation."

2004-11-02T09:23:00.000-05:00

PUNDITS' PICKS

In a bad sign for the misleader-in-chief's campaign, CNN conservative commentator Tucker Carlson predicts Kerry will win the popular vote, the Electoral College and Florida.

Reactionary, right-wing extremist shill Ann Coulter would make a great spokesmoron for a booze company with her predictions the draft dodger would take 52 percent of the popular vote and dominate 217 Electoral College votes.

Wonkette gives Kerry a squeaker at 271 electoral votes.

Twenty-one students in a D.C. high school provide the most level-headed analysis, giving Kerry Florida and the popular vote (48 percent) and Bush the electoral votes (272). They're young. You'll have to forgive them.

2004-11-02T09:06:00.000-05:00

DEAD HORSE

Evidence that the path to success for Iraq's new president, Ghazi al-Yawar, lies in opposing the Bush administration's bungled mess comes in this quote related in a New York Times story:

"I completely disagree with those who see a need to decide the matter through military action," the president told the daily Al Qabas. "The coalition's handling of this crisis is wrong. It's like someone who shoots at his horse's head just because a fly has landed on it. The fly escapes and the horse is dead."

2004-11-01T14:14:00.000-05:00

UNDIGNIFIED MISLEADER

See how Bush, the world's most famous draft dodger, comports himself when he's not on the air and talks about a "one-fingered victory salute."

We'll see who gets the finger tomorrow, jackass.

[Thanks to J.H. for this.]

2004-11-01T10:29:00.000-05:00

BANNING PHOTOGRAPHS

Freelance photographer James S. Henry of Sag Harbor, N.Y., was arrested Sunday while taking pictures of voters in Palm Beach County, Fla., for allegedly ignoring a deputy's order to move. The officer pinned the 54-year-old journalist to the ground, yelling at him and punching him.

All this because of a new law by Theresa LePore, the genius behind the so-called butterfly ballot that helped sway the 2000 into chaos, leading Bush to steal the election.

Next: Will reporting inconvenient facts will be punishable by death?

2004-11-01T09:38:00.000-05:00

HEADS UP

This comes from a friend of a friend in Texas, who cast an early ballot via electronic voting machine and found that despite voting for the entire Democratic ticket in Austin, the machine told her she had voted for Bush. She immediately got a poll official had her ballot corrected.

Aside from the larger issue of voting machines, urge everyone you know to double-check your vote:

I called the Austin office of the Democratic National Committee, 512.637.1737, and they said that it has been happening a lot. They don't know why but the machines seem more "sensitive" this year and that every voter MUST check their summary as the presidential choice often rolls over to the Republican choice if you vote straight Democratic.

Here is there web site: http://www.democrats.org/ and their main number in Washington, D.C. is 202.863.8000.

2004-11-01T09:10:00.000-05:00

MOBILE VOTERS

As I've been saying all along, political polls are inherently skewed. A Salon.com story picks up on a groundbreaking — but still not foolproof — polling methodology:

Will the cell phone voting bloc wind up becoming the November surprise? Zogby has just released a path-breaking presidential poll conducted exclusively on mobile phones. And the winner is John Kerry by a landslide margin of 55 to 40 percent. Jimmy Breslin and others have been complaining that traditional telephone polls just aren't capturing the new voter realities, because so many young people are only reachable by their Nokias. If the Zogby poll, which was conducted in partnership with Rock the Vote, is a reliable indicator, Tuesday night might not be such a drawn-out, nail-biter after all.

2004-11-01T00:49:00.000-05:00

SWAY THEM

There are precious few hours until the election, and here are a few links to help sway any Bush supporters you might know to vote for Kerry. Choose one or two of the links you believe will have the desired effect, depending on who you're sending them to.

I'm Brunocerous and I approved this message.

B

[Thanks to E. for this list.]

As we all know, Nov. 2 is Election Day.

Most of the links in this list are from groups that typically support a Republican candidate, yet, for various reasons, support the Democrat, Kerry for this election.

Please take which links you think are important and send them to friends and family.

CONSERVATIVE GROUPS

Republicans for Kerry
Conservatives for Kerry
American Conservative Magazine

CHRISTIAN GROUPS

Christians Against Bush
The Right Christians
Why Evangelical Christians Must Vote Against George W.
Bush
Why Christians Should Not Vote for George W.
Bush
Catholics for Kerry
Believers Against Bush
Christians for Kerry

MILITARY and VETERANS GROUPS

Iraq Veterans Against The War
Veterans for Peace
Veterans for Common Sense
Veterans Against The Iraq War
Citizen Soldier
Military Families Speak Out
Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change

NEWSPAPERS and MAGAZINES

New York Times endorsement for Kerry
The New Yorker's first presidential endorsement in
its 80-year history:
36 Newspapers Abandon Bush for Kerry

MISCELLANEOUS GROUPS

More than 100 tenured or emeritus business and economics
professors speak out on Bush fiscal policy
48 Nobel Prize winners against Bush
Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan
ExPatsAgainstBush
Independents for Kerry
Kids for Kerry
Teens for Kerry
Librarians Against Bush
Poets Against The War
Voters Against Bush
Re-Defeat Bush
Peaks Vs Valleys

ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS

Republicans for Environmental Protection
Greens for Kerry
Natural Resources Defense Council

MOM GROUPS

Mothers Opposing Bush
Mainstreet Moms Oppose Bush

FUNNY (yet serious) GROUPS

"please, don`t vote for our cousin!"
Billionaires for Bush

2004-11-01T00:13:00.000-05:00

PRESIDENTIAL INANITY

Maureen Dowd once again skewers the Bush administration for its astounding incompetence:

The Bushies' campaign pitch follows their usual backward logic: Because we have failed to make you safe, you should re-elect us to make you safer. Because we haven't caught Osama in three years, you need us to catch Osama in the next four years. Because we didn't bother to secure explosives in Iraq, you can count on us to make sure those explosives aren't used against you.

You'd think that seeing Osama looking fit as a fiddle and ready for hate would spark anger at the Bush administration's cynical diversion of the war on Al Qaeda to the war on Saddam. It's absurd that we're mired in Iraq — an invasion the demented vice president praised on Friday for its "brilliance" — while the 9/11 mastermind nonchalantly pops up anytime he wants. For some, it seemed cartoonish, with Osama as Road Runner beeping by Wile E. Bush as Dick Cheney and Rummy run the Acme/Halliburton explosives company — now under F.B.I. investigation for its no-bid contracts on anvils, axle grease (guaranteed slippery) and dehydrated boulders (just add water) .

Osama slouched onto TV bragging about pulling off the 9/11 attacks just after the president strutted onto TV in New Hampshire with 9/11 families, bragging that Al Qaeda leaders know "we are on their trail."

Maybe bin Laden hasn't gotten the word. Maybe W. should get off the trail and get on Osama's tail.

2004-10-29T22:07:00.000-04:00

'MOSH' HIT

Eminem weighs in on the Bush administration in his new video, "Mosh."

[Thanks to P.O. for this one.]

2004-10-29T21:58:00.000-04:00

HALLIBURTON HONEY

Pity the military commanders who dare to raise objections to sweetheart deals doled out to Dick Cheney's former employer, like the $165 million contract in question below that raised red flags.

Bunnatine Greenhouse, the Corps of Engineers' chief contracting officer, questioned a decision by commanders to award a contract extension to Halliburton, the oil services company run by Dick Cheney until he became vice president, without the competitive bidding designed to protect U.S. taxpayers.

The FBI is seeking to question Greenhouse, her lawyer said Thursday, marking an expansion of the bureau's ongoing investigation of other Halliburton contracts.

"I cannot approve this," Greenhouse wrote on one version of the proposal that is filled with her handwritten scrawls such as "Incorrect!"; "No! How!"; and "Not a valid reason."

Greenhouse, who was threatened with demotion after raising objections to the Halliburton contract, sent her complaints to acting Army Secretary Les Brownlee. Portions of her letter to Brownlee were obtained by Time magazine last week.

Even the ultra-partisan Ashcroft couldn't muzzle the FBI from investigating more criminal behavior on the part of cronies of Bush and Cheney.

Never underestimate, though, just how far the Bush camp will stoop: The IRS is reviewing the tax-exempt status of the NAACP because its chairman "condemned the administration policies of George W. Bush on education, the economy and the war in Iraq" in a July 11 speech.

Frances Hill, an authority on non-profit groups at the University of Miami Law School, called it "amazing" that the IRS would audit a group based on a public speech.

"Usually you would look for some activity other than disagreeing with policies," she said.

2004-10-29T19:57:00.000-04:00

OSAMA SURPRISE

More than three years after the deadliest terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, Saudi mastermind Osama bin Laden — remember the guy Bush vowed to catch "dead or alive"? — released a new videotape in which he appears to be in good health.

Bin Laden took direct responsibility for ordering the attacks, unwittingly highlighting Bush's abject failure to capture him.

"It appeared to him (Bush) that a little girl's talk about her goat and its butting was more important than the planes and their butting of the skyscrapers. That gave us three times the required time to carry out the operations, thank God," he said.

Could this be the October surprise theorized about by conspiracy theorists? In some ways, it's worse: Chasing bad guy du jour Saddam Hussein in what Cheney calls a "spectacular success," the Bush administration has failed the United States and its people.

2004-10-29T19:50:00.000-04:00

MEDICAL MISINFORMATION

As part of another discussion with L.C., this time on health care, it sounds like someone is being sold a bill of goods that somehow the poorest among us are responsible for a failing health care system, surely an easy scapegoat but as erroneous an argument as we'll ever encounter.

the problem is that there is so much exploitation of our health care system now that ends up getting paid for by the taxpayers...i do not feel i should be liable to pay for someone's abortions, you know? yes, it is unfair that kids do not have health care and i am not sure what the answer is to that but i know i do not want to sacrifice my health care as a hard working middle class contributor that does pay for it...i should not be forced to wait for treatment or for better technology because the government tells me i have to.

You're ABSOLUTELY correct that there's exploitation of our health care.

Pharmaceutical companies and their price-rigging cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars, such as PROHIBITING Medicare from using its tremendous buying power to negotiate better prices — something that is outright anti-competitive and anti-capitalist (it's what Wal-Mart does).

My sister lives in Canada and has NEVER waited for access to a doctor or a dentist any longer than I have, nor does she have to go to a government doctor. She's 29 ... and her take-home pay is the same as mine.

The US has the best treatments available because of the money the pharmaceutical companies make on the sales of their drugs...they are the primary innovators of new drugs marketed, especially for cancer research and heart disease...the # 1 killers in the country. Who is going to pay for the billions of dollars that go into R&D?? Medicare?? I don't think so...they are too busy paying for abortions and health care to illegals, Bruno...with my tax dollars to boot!!

Expecting Medicare to step in and regulate the drug companies would only hurt the welfare of the citizens of the US.

By the way, I know a lot of young healthy people in Canada too and they say the same thing you did about your sister. However, bottom line, I do not want socialized healthcare because I never want to be put in the position where I could become ill and not just need to go get a yearly physical, but need chemo or specific treatments that are life-saving. I doubt your sister and neither my friends use the Canadian health care system in that capacity.

So, anticompetitve measures should be enacted wherever possible in order increase profits (not R&D budgets, but profits) over the public good and affordable health care? That's domestic protectionism. Yet drugs can be purchased more cheaply in Mexico, Canada and abroad — the same ones Americans are turning to in order to bypass pharmaceutical profiteering.

Medicare doesn't pay for abortions. Plus, the amount of money it pays for health care to "illegals" are but a drop in the bucket for the amount of labor they perform at below-market levels and the extent to which they buoy the American economy. (How many people do you know who would pick lettuce for 60 cents a head or wash dishes at a restaurant for $40 a night?)

Yet taxes can go down as we spend upwards of $330 billion a MONTH in Iraq?

My grandfather (and several aunts, uncles and cousins) also lived in Canada, and he had great health care throughout his declining health, eye surgeries and long-term hospital stay before he died last December. He had top specialists from all over the world, including the U.S., because, bottom line, Canada takes care of its citizens.

His quality of life was excellent and he lived to be 89.

2004-10-29T18:00:00.003-04:00

PARTISAN SPARRING

A friend of a friend has a penchant for partisan sparring, which I am more than happy to oblige, even if I don't quite have the time to devote to it that I should. What follows is part of our exchange from this afternoon, sparked by my forwarding of an endorsement of Kerry by American Conservative magazine co-founder Scott McConnell.

It's quite an interesting study to see the twisted reasoning behind support for Bush. His comments are in italics.

This is not the first time, nor will it be the last, that there is a difference of opinion within a party. For example, Ronald Regan was a president who fired more people in his administration than many other presidents combined. Why? Because to get the job done, bureaucracy sometimes needs to break ranks. The America Conservative is not one of the more favored Conservative outlets, compared to the National Review (founder of Conservative periodicals) or the Talk Radio circuit with more than 50 million avid followers. But back to Regan, so many Republicans broke ranks with him, and even tried to undermine his position. Bush has not fired anyone, and very few Republicans have broken ranks with Bush. ...

Every time a conservative breaks ranks with the extreme, reactionary right-wing factions, he seems to attack their credentials. I could just as easily say, "Zell who?"

Howard Stern, the No. 1 radio personality among listeners 18 to 34 and second among the 25-to-54 set, has exposed much of the hypocrisy of the Bush administration.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer writes: "Though he supported Bush after the 9/11 attacks, Stern now blasts the president for his positions on the war in Iraq, stem-cell research, the environment, gay marriage and religion."

He makes his millions from ant-Conservative views, like indecency. He is not a Conservative.

Never said he was, but I'd bet a bunch of his listeners never voted before. Perhaps now they will.

The reason why Bush will win is because Republicans are more united as a whole under Moderates, Conservatives and Liberal Republicans. The Democratic party has no uniform base of ideas under which the entire party believes in as a whole. No core of its own, no central message. Disparate, almost.

Oh, by the way, there are overwhelmingly more registered Dems than Repubs in this country always have been. In this election, Dems will re-elect Bush http://democrats.bushblog.us/ for many reasons:

1. Jews are Dems and like Bush's Israeli policy:
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0604/jewish_vote.php3?printer_friendly

Jewish voters see the dangers posed by Bush's reckless, devil-may-care attitude in the Middle East.

The Washington Post writes: "Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) is gaining support among Jewish voters as growing numbers disapprove of President Bush's handling of the war in Iraq, according to a poll commissioned by the American Jewish Committee.

If the election were held today, 69 percent of Jewish voters would support Kerry, 24 percent would back Bush and 3 percent would give their votes to Ralph Nader, the survey found. That's an increase of 10 percentage points for Kerry since December, when the previous AJC poll showed him with 59 percent of the Jewish vote."

False again!!! Show me poll that is not dominated by liberal biased. Freidman and crew continue to blame Jews for the problems of the Islamic ideology and you think Jews want more of that? One word for Al Gore on the way to Hawaii, FLORIDA!!!

I'm not the one who started quoting polls. Israel has a myriad of issues to deal with, none of which can be simplified like "My Pet Goat." Bush campaign workers I know in Florida are worried, and with good reason.

When Bush's deregulation exposes the serious flaws in our health care system and its utter lack of attention to detail over something so mundane as flu shots (thus our true vulnerability to biological attack), who did we turn to? Canada and its "socialist" health system. Europe, curiously, hasn't faced any shortages whatsoever. The elderly recognize this.

So pay 50% more in taxes for socialized health care like Canada and UK. US still ranks #1 in health services in the world. Quote Canada's MRI wait or UK’s mad cow disease epidemic, but they are so good and the US is so bad.

Hey, I can make out-of-thin-air statistics, too. A little less jingoism and a little more reasoned study of the issue would go a long way.

Earlier, in response to "facts" about military cuts Clinton and Kerry supported (Bubba-obsessed, perhaps?), I wrote:

As for the "facts" below, it might mean something if we still had a superpower we were facing and not 19 guys with boxcutters, a death wish and utter hatred for all the great things that are America — 15 of whom were from Saudi Arabia, state sponsor of terror.

So why do Liberals say we are not safe if we are? Reagan defeated Russia and Bush will defeat radical Islam. So far Republicans are more than 4 for 4 but who is counting other than the good people Republicans have helped. Civil War, Cold War and Both Iraq Wars (lets count as 1) and winning war on Terror has freed slaves, Spanish Colonies, Central Americans, Kuwaitis, Iraqis and Afghanis well over 75 million people. Who bombed innocent Japanese? Truman. Who lost China? Roosevelt. Allowed for Communism to take over 90 countries and kill 100 million people? More Dems. Who lost Korea? Kennedy. Vietnam? Johnson. N. Korea nuclear freeze? Clinton. Dems lose wars, kill people and abandoned democracy.

1. We're talking about now, not WWII. That's the problem with folks like Rumsfeld — stuck in Cold War mentality. (Kennedy lost the Korean War? Even though it ended in 1953 — a full eight years before he took office?)

Bush still ignored an Aug. 6 presidential briefing titled, "Bin Laden Determined to Strike America," which was not "historical" in nature as Condoleezza Rice attempted to argue (a perfunctory look at the TITLE establishes that).

It was historical in that the info pertained to data of Osama from 1998, it was 2001, hello?. What was Bush supposed to do, arrest Osama as Kerry wrote in his book from the mid 90’s? Or engage in falatio as Bill Clinton was on Airforce 1 with Monica Lewinski while Osama was destroyable under surveillance in the Sudan. Or what about Clinton and Dick Clarke who turned their back while 800,000 people were killed Rumalia. Clinton passed on both accords. 5 terror attacks in the 90’s under Clinton.

2. Fellatio was the Republicans' concern throughout Clinton's presidency, an obsession the Sept. 11 commission noted as creating an atmosphere unwilling to support the president's military actions abroad. Nonetheless, how about the fact that Bush ignored the very report that might have prompted authorities to step up its vigilance? Shouting "Clinton did this! Clinton did that!" does nothing to support the re-election of failed Bush policies at every turn.

It was Bush who allowed Ashcroft to slash domestic antiterrorism funding from the FBI, even as Ashcroft was more concerned about covering up the breast of a STATUE in D.C.

It was Bush who first opposed, then supported the creation of a Department of Homeland Security (the made it toothless).

It was Bush who first opposed, then supported the creation of a Sept. 11 investigation, then opposed and later relented over speaking to investigators.

It was Bush who has not pursued or even mentioned Osama bin Laden for months prior to the debate, much less made capturing him a priority.

It was Bush who has not pressured to shut down or has even mentioned the funding his family's Saudi allies provide to religious, fanatical masadras — i.e., sponsors of terrorism.

[Thanks to L.C. for unwittingly facilitating this exchange. It felt like being on "Crossfire."]

2004-10-29T15:17:00.000-04:00

TRUTH HURTS

How many members of the Bush Administration are needed to change a light bulb?

The answer is 10

1. One to deny that a light bulb needs to be changed

2. One to attack the patriotism of anyone who says the light bulb needs to be changed.

3. One to blame Clinton for burning out the light bulb.

4. One to tell the nations of the world that they are either "for" changing the light bulb or "for" darkness.

5. One to give a billion dollar no-bid contract to Haliburton for the new light bulb.

6. One to arrange a photograph of Bush, dressed as a janitor, standing on a step ladder under the banner: "Lightbulb Change Accomplished."

7. One administration insider to resign and write a book documenting in detail how Bush was literally in the dark.

8. One to viciously smear #7.

9. One surrogate to campaign on TV and at rallies on how George Bush has had a strong light-bulb-changing policy all along.

10. And finally, one to confuse Americans about the difference between screwing a light bulb and screwing the country.

[Thanks, J.R.]

2004-10-29T15:01:00.000-04:00

SCARY COSTUMES

This political season has given rise to a host of the Scariest Halloween Costumes.

Will you be an arrested RNC protester, Jenna Bush's liver or the littlest Abu Ghraib prisoner?

That's a tougher choice than the one on Election Day.

[Thanks to D.K. for this one.]

2004-10-29T14:55:00.000-04:00

RICH BOY

Though Bush has always seemed something of a caricature, now you can see the true nature of the beast in this animated short, "Richie Bush, The Poor Little Oligarch."

[Thanks to J.R. for this, too.]

2004-10-29T14:53:00.000-04:00

BUSH-MINDED

Ever wish you could give the deserter-in-chief a brain?

Now you can.

[Thanks to J.R. for this one.]

2004-10-28T19:10:00.000-04:00

SAY WHAT?

After rushing to war with Iraq based on false pretenses and flat-out untruths, the worst president ever manages to indict himself without even knowing it by saying:

"A president needs to get all the facts before jumping to politically motivated conclusions."

2004-10-28T13:40:00.000-04:00

BELIEVE IT

The only way the Republicans can return one of their own to the White House this November is the way they did it last time — cheating and violence.

They are planning to keep black voters from the polls and have even been caught sending e-mail containing their plans, the BBC reports.

In West Palm Beach, Fla., a Bush supporter was charged with imprisoning and threatening his girlfriend, who was considering voting for Kerry. "I kill you," he said, according to the arrest report. "You want (to) live to see the election?"

Sixty-five miles west in Vero Beach, Fla., AP reports, "anti-John Kerry demonstrator [Michael Garone, 52] was charged with felony aggravated assault with a gun for allegedly pointing a weapon at the head of a Kerry supporter."

More bad news for the Bush camp:

AP writes: The FBI has begun investigating whether the Pentagon improperly awarded no-bid contracts to Halliburton Co., seeking an interview with a top Army contracting officer and collecting documents from several government offices.

And trouble in New Hampshire: "In a Republican state that has never refused a governor of either party a second term, Democrat John Lynch is running a surprisingly strong campaign against freshman Republican Gov. Craig Benson. Polls show the race about even."

A piece by Salon reader Kevin Criss, who argues that black voter opinion is lacking from major polls, makes the following points and predictions:

First, let me just say prepare for the death of polls, as that will be the dominant story coming out of election night. First blacks. I saw Ann Coulter on some show where she was literally speaking for black America. Being that she is an aging white chick with poorly dyed roots, she obviously got it wrong. Those polls saying how Bush will get 16 to 18 percent of the black vote are just wrong. To quote ODB, "Nigga please." ...

Kerry wins Arizona: This state has the most college students per capita. Kerry will win Flagstaff, Tucson and Tempe. Throw in Native Americans, Latins, and even moderate Republicans who will vote Democratic (they got the Democratic governor elected), and oh I forgot all the Independents, Kerry will win this state.

Kerry wins Nevada: This state simply comes down to Vegas. Kerry will win Vegas by a big enough margin to cancel out the rest of the state.

Kerry win Missouri: What people either don't realize or just don't give a fuck to report is that the black mobilization efforts in St. Louis and Kansas City are second to none, literally. Florida got the attention last time, but people seem to have forgotten that blacks there were denied the right to vote at many polling places that were closed on them. Throw in college towns, Kerry wins.

Kerry wins Minnesota: I can't believe people actually think this state is close. What people tend to forget is that voters here can register as you vote. Throw in Ventura's endorsement and the young'ns.

Kerry wins Colorado: Sometimes people just got to listen to the streets. I have family and friends in Colorado, and what they tell me is that "Fahrenheit 9/11" has had a huge impact there, so much so they are still talking about it, and as people watched it they were changed by it. How can a tradtional red state have a rich ass Senate candidate getting his ass kicked and polls showing Bush/Kerry within the margin. Kerry wins.

Kerry wins Texas: PSYCH! But just as people are saying Kerry wins CA, NY, and NJ by closer margins, so does Bush take his own state. I'll go out on a margin and say Bush gets no more than 60 percent in his own state. Holla.

Believe it.

[Thanks to P.O., C.M. and E.F. for these contributions.]

2004-10-27T23:05:00.000-04:00

NOT OUTRAGED?

I walk out of work angry sometimes — at the media, at the public, at my own friends for not "getting it."

I cannot for the life of me understand how people aren't out rioting in the streets to protest the disgusting excuse for leadership and their simple manipulations of our fears to carry out an agenda for which they have no mandate.

Sometimes, I get angry when people don't care to talk about this first and foremost. Anything short of outrage and you're simply not listening.

2004-10-27T21:25:00.000-04:00

WANTED: DEMOCRACY

While the worst president ever pays meaningless lip service to spreading freedom abroad, his trusty cronies are once again taking steps to prevent votes from counting.

Amy Sherman and Erika Bolstad of the Miami Herald write:

After a brief inquiry, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement has closed its investigation into why thousands of absentee ballots have not reached Broward County voters.

The largely Democratic county has received 50,000 ballots out of the 127,000 that were requested.

"Let's face it. It's no surprise that the only county where these absentee ballots go missing is Broward, the most democratic county in the state," writes friend and former colleague C.M., who gets credit for passing along this article.

2004-10-27T17:56:00.000-04:00

HUMAN COSTS

U.S. Army Lt. Paul Rieckhoff, executive director and founder of Operation Truth, went $20,000 into debt to found the organization running those ads that feature a veteran whose hand was lost during a tour of duty in Iraq.

The ad reminds us: Bush told us there were WMD, but they weren't there.

Its purpose, Rieckhoff told CNN, is not to speak out against the war but "to speak out about the war" and its human costs.

2004-10-27T15:36:00.000-04:00

BUSH CAN'T

Yes, Bush Can, "the campaign that tells it like it is," has abandoned its effort to support the failed administration and endorsed Kerry for president.

"In the course of our travels, we ended up learning more about Bush's policies than he wanted us to know," said Harmon Spellmeyer, one of the Yes, Bush Can team. "We came to see that this administration is a catastrophe for most people."

Better late than never.

[Thanks to M.H. for this.]

2004-10-25T20:51:00.000-04:00

VOTING TRICKS

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush could very well deliver the state's electoral votes for his unelected brother this time around if all goes to plan. See for yourself: Florida Election Ballot.

[Thanks to A.S. in Los Angeles for this.]

2004-10-25T18:01:00.000-04:00

WHAT EXPLOSIVES?

In its newest display of astounding incompetence, the Bush administration failed to secure nearly 360 tons of high-powered explosives in Iraq.

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on CNN this afternoon called it an unfortunate series of "unintended consequences," not unlike the Supreme Court selecting Bush as the "winner" of the 2000 election.

The missing cache includes HMX and RDX, which are "key ingredients in plastic explosives such as C-4 and Semtex — substances so powerful that Libyan terrorists needed just one pound to blow up Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, killing 170 people."