The Manchurian Candidate

Everyone seems to be delighting in the hardly-veiled parody of the Cheney/Halliburton connection in the remake of the Manchurian Candidate. Sure, there are lots of parallels between this fictional plot and the current presidential race, but no one seems to be talking about another, very central connection to the story, which has now been used to skewer politicians in two eras.

The brainwashed assassin rises to greater glory because of his bravery in combat, where he was supposed to have saved his entire company, who are all brainwashed to describe him as "the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I've ever known in my life."

Now, which candidate have we seen in the constant company of his old combat buddies whose lives he saved? Which candidate has incessantly trotted these old men out for his own political gain?

COUNTERPOINT by NastyBoy:

Having not seen the latest movie, The Manchurian Candidate, I can not comment on that, but let's take a look at who the President has trotted out for his own political gain.





Conclusion: They all do it.

COUNTERPOINT by jodru:

Which is exactly my point. The brilliance of the original film is that it is an equal-opportunity offender. It takes jabs at every part of the political machine. I just wanted to balance out the interpretations of the film which were only seeing it as a parody of the Halliburton/Cheney connection.

ADDENDUM by jodru

Note how eerily similar the swift boat conspiracy theories have become to this movie. Right wingers are actually now suggesting that Kerry wounded himself in order to manufacture his own war hero status. I bet they'd just love it if Theresa Heinz turned out to be the Commie operation commander!

Things are...uh...looking up(?)

This year's federal deficit will soar to a record $445 billion, the White House projected Friday in a report provoking immediate election-season tussling over how well President Bush has handled the economy.

Strategery

Will Ferrell made a funny little movie for ACT, where he portrays President Bush on his ranch filming a commercial.

You can view the film here.

"2nd place is......you're fired!"

Actor Alec Baldwin slammed the influence of religious conservatives on Wednesday, telling Democrats that the Republican Party "has been hijacked by these fundamentalist wackos."

"Ashcroft said that our way of life is being threatened by a group of radical religious fanatics who are armed and dangerous. And then he called for prayers in the schools and an end to gun control." — Jay Leno

The Paper Trail

Looks like the Repubs are......ahem......getting ready for a possible (wink wink) voting machine glitch.

"The liberal Democrats have already begun their attacks and the new electronic voting machines do not have a paper ballot to verify your vote in case of a recount," says a glossy mailer, paid for by the Republican Party of Florida and prominently featuring two pictures of President Bush. "Make sure your vote counts. Order your absentee ballot today."

Shove this!

Miami Herald

YEEAAAHHHHHHH!!!

Howard Dean to Sean Hannity:

"You Should Watch 'Outfoxed.' It's a great movie that says why people like you say things like that on this television station."

Plus, he should watch F9/11 while he's at it.

"Uh......shouldn't the President be smarter than me?"

Ilana Wexler, the 12-year-old founder of 'Kids for Kerry,' spoke to delegates at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday.

"Some people call you the elite. I call you my base."

The Democratic party convention has attracted a host of protestors, activists and jokesters on its fringes like the group of students calling themselves the 'Billionaires for Bush' who say they are there to warn people that John Kerry is 'a threat to no-bid contracts in Iraq, off-shore tax havens and higher pharmaceutical prices' with one, dubbed Cassius King, denying they were there for a joke saying 'we're Halliburton board members.'

yahoo.com

"Hey......where's my vote!"

A computer crash erased detailed records from Miami-Dade County's first widespread use of touchscreen voting machines, raising again the specter of elections troubles in Florida, where the new technology was supposed to put an end to such problems.

Maybe we should go to the Hand-Raising system.

"Raise your hand if you're voting for me"

FUBAR

Buzzflash exclusive

I'll tumble for ya!

President Bush charged up punishing climbs and down steep dirt paths on his high-performance bike Monday, at one point sailing over the handlebars and landing flat on his back.

Looks like the Prez could use some training wheels. Too bad Presidents can't have their own form of them! Bush never would have made it out of his!

America's Greatest Concerns poll

Courtesy of Ironic Times

I'll have your paper ready in a minute, sir!

A Sri Lankan company that made personalized stationery for President Bush from paper made of elephant dung is asking people to use its products to help the country's dwindling elephant population.

Turns out that, not only is he feeding us a load of crap, he's writing on it, also.

Wackiness on your fries?

When partison politics reaches what we eat, we know that we are in trouble. Now, conservatives are coming up with their own food products, guaranteed to divide the country even more.

First came the infamous furore over French fries - renamed "freedom fries" by a certain faction of patriotic Republicans. Now battle has been joined over the accompanying item on the menu - tomato ketchup.

Ketchup may be as all-American as cheerleading and apple pie, but Heinz, the country's leading ketchup maker, also happens to have a direct link to John Kerry, President Bush's Democratic Party challenger. And that poses a problem for every fast-food-loving Republican.

Be all that you can be!

The U.S. Army has long lured recruits with the slogan "Be All You Can Be," but now soldiers and their families can receive plastic surgery, including breast enlargements, on the taxpayers' dime.

The New Yorker magazine reports in its July 26th edition that members of all four branches of the U.S. military can get face-lifts, breast enlargements, liposuction and nose jobs for free -- something the military says helps surgeons practice their skills.

Before

After

"Sarge, my rice tastes funny"

Would you eat food cooked in your own urine? Food scientists working for the US military have developed a dried food ration that troops can hydrate by adding the filthiest of muddy swamp water or even peeing on it.

"Cheney" the new F-Word

Thanks to the Boston Phoenix for the following article.



With increasing pressure on the FCC to step up its role as censor, finding language that appropriately communicates the depths of one’s feeling (especially when speaking on the record or within earshot of the press) while remaining within the bounds of propriety has become difficult. As a public-spirited move, I am recommending to my fellow elected officials — and to others engaged in public controversies — a semantic solution to this dilemma: use the word "Cheney" where discretion is required in the expression of frustration, anger, or extreme derision.

Here are some examples of how this would work.

• Go Cheney yourself.

• How the Cheney would I know?

• Cheney you.

• I don’t give a flying Cheney.

• Who the Cheney do you think you are?

In some cases, substitution of Cheney for its synonym would be particularly appropriate. For example:

• George Bush sure has Cheneyed up the situation in Iraq.

• The Bush administration’s position is that it is none of our Cheneying business who helped formulate its pro-oil energy policy.

• In some cases, Halliburton seems to be Cheneying the American taxpayer.

Vice-President Cheney himself said after using the blunter word that it made him feel better. It makes me feel better to suggest a way of expressing the same sentiments while paying appropriate tribute to the vice-president’s role in our society.

Kerry Ad

There's an internet ad which shows pictures of George Washington, Abe Lincoln and GWB side by side and poses the question, "What do these three presidents have in common?"

The answer is revealed as the Washington and Lincoln portraits morph into US currency and Bush's face gets slashed by a red line, "Two of these presidents can help unseat the third."

Then comes the real fun, "Help us raise $10 million by July 29 and we will have outraised Bush for three months in a row."

Imagine if Bush had run this ad. There'd be holy hell to pay. 

Collateral damage is not in its lexicon

And are we somehow better because it is in ours? That phrase comes from the 9/11 Commission Report, which self-righteously gnashes its teeth over the cruelty of our enemies. For some reason, there's a distinction between Al Qaeda targetting civilians and Lyndon Johnson targetting civilians. Harry Truman and FDR wiping out hundreds of thousands of humans has a name; so, it's acceptable.

It's this dunderheadedness which will keep us up to our elbows in red alerts for the foreseeable future.

The Great Bush Economy

• The merger of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Bank One Corp. will result in the loss of 12,000 jobs!

Yippee!!

• Mitsubishi Motors North America said Wednesday that it would fire up to 1,200 workers at its Normal, Ill., assembly plant!

Hooray!!

• Fortune 500 company Capital One Financial Corporation announced Wednesday 1,100 jobs at its Tampa call center are being eliminated.
  
  Also, about 160 positions in Dallas, Texas, and 120 in Richomond, Va., will be cut. The layoffs will start this fall and should be finished by spring 2005.

Way to go!!

• Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. has notified the Georgia Department of Labor that it will begin laying off 1,410 Bibb County workers Aug. 13.

Yep, the economy is doing great! Keep up the great job, Prez!

I gotcha Family Values right here!

Don't you just love hypocrites? They're so cute and cuddly. Telling us what to do and what not to do. Gotta love 'em! Here are a few that showed just a little bit too much love.

• Republican fundraiser, Richard A. Delgaudio, found guilty of child porn charges.
  
  Story
  
  
• Republican activist, Mark A. Grethen, convicted on six counts of sex crimes involving children.
  
  Story
  
  
• Republican activist, Randal David Ankeney, arrested for assaulting a 14-year-old girl he had met in an Internet chat room.
  
  Story
  
  
• Republican Congressman, Dan Crane, had sex with a minor working as a congressional page.
  
  Story
  
  
• Republican activist and Christian Coalition leader, Beverly Russell, admitted to an incestuous relationship with his step daughter.
  
  Story
  
  
• Republican congressman, Robert Bauman, was charged with having sex with a 16-year-old boy he picked up at a gay bar. United Press International, Oct. 24,1980
  
  Story
  
  
• Republican activist, Marty Glickman (a.k.a. "Republican Marty"), was taken into custody by Florida police on four counts of unlawful sexual activity with a juvenile and one count of the delivery of LSD.
  
  Story
  
  
• Howard L. Brooks, a Republican staffer for a California assemblyman, was charged with molesting a 12-year old boy and possession of child pornography.
  
  Story
  
  
• Republican preacher, Stephen White, was arrested after allegedly offering $20 to a 14-year-old boy in West Chester, Pa. for permission to perform oral sex on him.
  
  Story

That's George "Waffle" Bush, to you!

"I'm a war president. I make decisions here in the Oval Office in foreign policy matters with war on my mind," he said in February.



"The enemy declared war on us. Nobody wants to be the war president. I want to be the peace president," he said yesterday.

Which is it, Georgie?

War President?
or
Peace President?

"They said legal, not lethal!"

WorldNetDaily brings us the following story.

Ten weeks before San Francisco shocked the nation by issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, the city quietly took another step in America's cultural revolution by liberalizing its massage permit laws to the point where some critics call it de facto legalization of prostitution.

Addressing the issue of sex workers in the massage industry, outgoing Mayor Willie Brown, with the nearly unanimous support of the Board of Supervisors, signed a new law Dec. 5 that redefines it as a public health issue rather than a matter of law enforcement.

Nice Job, Mayor. This is the exact direction that we need to go, to deal with Draconian Sex Laws like this. Prostitution should be legalized. Most people know (wink wink) what can possibly go on at some massage parlors. The customers aren't forced into doing anything they don't want, and neither should the masseuse/masseur. As long as that doesn't happen, I don't see a problem with it.

Legalize it + Tax it = everyone's happy

EXTRAPOINT

Legalize it; Tax it; Regulate it. Improved standards is the biggest legacy of legalization of both drugs and prostitution. The rampant spread of AIDS in communities like Atlantic City with high prostitution rates would be slowed by applying even the most basic health standards. You'd also put to an end the brutal cycle of victimization of millions of women who suffer at the hands of a pimp.

Don't be Girlie Men!

ARNOLD Schwarzenegger has been accused of sexism and homophobia after the California governor referred to politicians delaying his state budget as "girlie men".

The Hollywood actor turned Republican politician made the remark at a political rally, aiming it at Democrats who, he claimed, were holding up his budget by catering to special-interest groups.

The term "girlie men" first appeared in the United States television comedy show Saturday Night Live in a sketch in which two Schwarzenegger-worshipping weightlifters use it to mock those who do not meet their standards of physical perfection.

I, for one, can't get all that upset over the fact that The Governator used the term "Girlie Men" to describe the California Dems. It's pretty obvious that his speechwriters were told to put a lot of Ah-nold Movie and Television references into his speeches.

The Dems need to get over this. It was obviously a joke.

Got lawyers?

John Kerry does, and he is well ahead of GWB in the litigation preparation process. You know, the litigation process! That old American tradition of contesting vote counts after a presidential election.
 
Kerry's already mapped out his game plan for individual states where the votes could be as close as Florida 2000. Bush says he is ready too, but Kerry's got the edge here because he's engaged private lawyers to do the prep work, whereas Bush is relying on the legal network of the GOP, which has other priorities.
 
It's awfully depressing to think that Americans don't vote enough to preclude the necessity for such legal planning.

Central Intelligence

The 9/11 Commission is all set to simultaneously release its report online and in a bookstore near you, while each one of them goes on to a media outlet to up their Q rating. Chief among their recommendations is a new post for a director of intelligence operations, an Intelligence Czar, if you will. Well, place this blue-ribbon finding next to the Magic Bullet in the Bureaucratic Hall of Fame.

Does the CIA ring a bell to anyone? The entire existence of the CIA is predicated upon this very recommendation. The 9/11 panel is recommending that the US do what Harry Truman already did in 1947, when he signed the National Security Act, which charged the "Director of Central Intelligence (DCI)  with coordinating the nation’s intelligence activities and correlating, evaluating and disseminating intelligence which affects national security".

The problem then was the same as it is now. Intelligence is easy to come by. It's difficult to process. The thinking is the same as shipping everything to Memphis before you overnight it all over the world. By centralizing your operation, you increase efficiency. (That approach is debatable, especially now) But further, there was simply no way to get various department heads to give up their local power, and the situation has improved none over the past half century.

Case in counterpoint

Thanks for posting that fine example of partisan bluster, which really holds more entertainment value than anything released this weekend. Will Smith pretending to shoot at cartoon robots with red hearts? Please. This has all the drama and suspense as well as the pandering without the overpriced admission.

Any word on where this thing came from? I wouldn't be surprised if the relations between these two campaigns were this laughably uncivil, but it's tough for me to believe that something so sophomoric actually came from the desk of Mary Cahill.

EXTRAPOINT

Here is a link that also published the letter.

You want what? Oh, it's here somewhere!

The following is a letter that Kerry's campaign manager, Mary Beth Cahill, sent to Bush's Campaign Manager, Ken Mehlman, in response to the repubs asking for the release of the video of last Thursday's Kerry/Edwards fund raiser, in which Whoopi said some/a naughty word(s) about the Prez.
It's a thing of beauty!

July 13, 2004
Ken Mehlman
Campaign Manager
BUSH-CHENEY '04, Inc.

Dear Ken:

Over the past several months, allies of the President have questioned John Kerry’s patriotism while your staff has criticized his service in Vietnam. Republicans and their allies have gone so far as to launch attacks against his wife and your campaign has run $80 million in negative ads that have been called baseless, misleading and unfair by several independent observers.

Considering that the President has failed to even come close to keeping his promise to change the tone in Washington, we find your outrage over and paparazzi-like obsession with a fund-raising event to be misplaced. The fact is that the nation has a greater interest in seeing several documents made public relating to the President’s performance in office and personal veracity that the White House has steadfastly refused to release. As such, we will not consider your request until the Bush campaign and White House make public the documents/materials listed below:

● Military records: Any copies of the President’s military records that would actually prove he fulfilled the terms of his military service. For that matter, it would be comforting to the American people if the campaign or the White House could produce more than just a single person to verify that the President was in Alabama when said he was there. Many Americans find it odd that only one person out of an entire squadron can recall seeing Mr. Bush.

● Halliburton: All correspondence between the Defense Department and the White House regarding the no-bid contracts that have gone to the Vice-President’s former company. Some material has already been made public. Why not take a campaign issue off the table by making all of these materials public so the voters can see how Halliburton has benefited from Mr. Cheney serving as Vice-President?

● The Cheney Energy Task Force: For an Administration that claims to hate lawsuits, it’s ironic that the Bush White House is taking up the Courts’ time to keep the fact that Ken Lay and Enron wrote its energy policy in secret behind closed doors. Please release the documents so that the country can learn what lobbyists and special interests wrote the White House energy policy.

● Medicare Bill: Please release all White House correspondence between the pharmaceutical industry and the Administration regarding the Medicare Bill, which gave billions to some of the President’s biggest donors. In addition, please provide all written materials that directed the Medicare actuary to withhold information from Congress about the actual cost of the bill.

● Prison Abuse Documents: A few weeks ago, the White House released a selected number of documents regarding the White House’s involvement in laying the legal foundation for the interrogation methods that were used in Iraq. Please release the remaining documents.

We also wanted to wish you a happy anniversary. As we are sure you and the attorneys representing the President, Vice-President and other White House officials are aware, today marks one year since Administration sources leaked the identity of a covert CIA agent to Bob Novak in an effort to retaliate against a critic of the Administration.

In light of the fact that the Administration began gutting the laws protecting the nation’s forests yesterday, we hope you will accept the paper on which this letter is written as an anniversary gift. (The one year anniversary is known as the “paper anniversary.”)

Sincerely,

Mary Beth Cahill
Campaign Manager

Hey, there's an Air Marshal onboard!

I thought that the point of having Air Marshals on flights were to protect & serve but, only in a covert way. If a 14 year old kid can pick one out, that is not a good sign.

Taking a gamble on internet schooling.

William Bennett, the former education secretary, family-values advocate, and out-of-control gambler, is pushing Internet-based schooling. The for-profit company Bennett chairs is providing the curriculum for the California Virtual Academy of Sonoma, a publicly financed charter school that will begin online instruction this fall.

Bennett told the Santa Rosa Press Democrat that his political views didn't influence the K12 curriculum.

I'll bet you $100 it did!

Spelling Bee

"Oh, It's spelled with an N?
 OOPS!"

It seems that the Prez confused the letters N and Q when it came to the country that was helping al-Qa'eda.

Get the boys ready. Iran's next.

Partisanship

I'm a big fan of it. It keeps me entertained, and it keeps America honest. When it's batting 1.000, it keeps legislators from passing new laws. That's like hitting the trifecta.
 
Election years offer up the most fun, of course, and nothing trumps conspiracy theories for entertainment value. The Dems have had four years to chip away with their conspiracy sledgehammer: the GOP is a cabal of elite business men who control the world through secret societies and closed-door deals.
 
Now it's the GOP's turn to dust off their conspiracy warhorse: The Dems are controlled by a liberal elite which will take away your individual rights and install a socialist government.
 
Not that they ever really took a break from bashing each other with these, but this week provided an especially ripe opportunity for conservatives like Sam Brownback to reinterpret this old conspiratorial chestnut during the gay marriage debate,  "They [GOP] do not believe a small group of activists or a tiny judicial elite have a right to redefine marriage and impose a radical social experiment on our entire society."
 
It's like having your grandpa read you fairy tales at bedtime. I love this stuff!

COUNTER-POINT (Sweet Smell)

It's not success we're smelling but spin, which smells a lot like the alternative fuel source that Tina Turner used in the Thunderdome.

It's too tiresome to go through all of these, but let's take some batting practice:

- The Surplus Issue: He inherited one quarter of negative growth. His first quarter was the second quarter of negative growth which forms a recession. In addition to the Fed's suppression of interest rates, Bush's tax cuts helped to stimulate spending and limit the scope of the recession. The burst of the Tech bubble could have been substantially worse, and the markets never corrected themselves entirely. The engagement of our military on several fronts would have taken place with or without Bush, hence the need for more military spending. Given the circumstances of his Presidency, it's fair to say that Bush has done an estimable job of keeping America from a greater economic slide.

- Gas prices: When adjusted for inflation, gas prices are actually $.10 lower than they were 25 years ago. Go back to WWII and see what you find. This is always a stalwart rhetorical trick, and it's nice to see it dusted off.

- The Allies: Granted, this is where Bush is the most vulnerable. The status of our diplomatic ties with other countries is far from good, but our allies have hardly been driven away. Friends have disagreements, and both Germany and France have clearly asserted that this is merely a strong disagreement in the course of a stronger friendship. Neither country has stopped considering us an ally or removed any of the major benefits of their friendship. China's the one that counts anyway, and they haven't even blinked as we've set about in Iraq.

The Sweet Smell of Success

Kudos to 'Gary from Phoenix' at BuzzFlash

"I'm getting sick and tired of my fellow Democrats saying that the presidency of George W. Bush is a failure. With the string of successes he's had, nothing could be further from the truth. Let me list a few:"

• He has successfully rid America of that troubling budget surplus and turned it into a $500 billion deficit.
  
  
• He has successfully helped America's trading partners have the highest trade surplus with us in America's history.
  
  
• He has successfully lowered the taxes for the richest Americans and corporations at the expense of 99% of the American population.
  
  
• He has successfully started another Viet Nam in Iraq after lying to the whole world.
  
  
• He has successfully pushed the price of gas up to the highest level ever here in America.
  
  
• He has successfully allowed American corporations to dramatically increase their pollution.
  
  
• He has successfully thrown about 10% of the population out of work.
  
  
• He has successfully allowed corporations to export our best middle-class jobs.
  
  
• He has successfully divided our country as never before.
  
  
• He has successfully driven our oldest allies away.
  
  
• He has successfully united the terrorists as never before (he said all along he was a uniter, not a divider).
  
  
• He has successfully broken his oath to uphold the constitution of the United States of America.
  
  
• He has successfully united Democrats (yay!) as they haven't been for years (I told you he was a uniter).
  
  
• He has successfully driven me out of the Republican party for the rest of my life.

"You know, with a string of successes like that, it's a wonder America is still standing. Vote a straight Democratic ticket in November; it's the only hope we have."

Guilt by association

So, there I was, listening to some right-wing radio host describe what happened when John Edwards went to his church over the weekend. Seems that he had a conversation with one of the members who happened to have spent some time in jail. Now, keep in mind that John had never spoken to this individual before. But did that matter to this (ahem) radio host?
Hell no!
He proceeds to say the following:

"This is the type of person that Edwards hangs out with."

Real bright, right?

Of course, all the hillbilly republicans are going to believe it. Guilt by association.

Well then, how's this for Guilt by association

COUNTER-POINT (Two Myths)

It was a ban on gay marriage:

Absolutely, it's a BAN on gay marriage. That is the whole intent of the amendment. No one would care otherwise. Oh, they can change the words to make it sound more palatable, but it's nothing but semantics. Everyone knows the true meaning behind it.
Of course, it doesn't matter because, the Senate doesn't have enough votes.

Right, Anita?

Two myths about the marriage amendment

It was a ban on gay marriage:

Of course it wasn't. It was a codification of the precedent that marriage is only a heterosexual union.

It would be the first time the Constitution was used to take away rights from a group of people:

Prohibition ring a bell? How about the amendment to disallow more than two Presidential terms? Rights are arbitrary and never self-evident, no matter how much we'd like to believe that beautiful turn of phrase. Each society decides what rights to grant its citizens, and the US has done a better job than most at steadily recognizing expanding and equal rights.

That being said, let's not delude ourselves in defending against an absurdist sop to a hardliner political base. Although, the Dems do deserve credit for combatting nonsense with nonsense.

What's Wrong With Kansas?

That's the title of a new book by Thomas Frank wherein he argues that the working class has abandoned its own interests in order to vote on cultural issues. He believes that the reason that traditionally liberal working class populations are voting Republican is because they feel more strongly about issues like abortion and gay marriage than they do about labour unions.

Why do they feel this way? He argues that it's because the Democrats have completely abandoned the social agenda of the New Deal. Clinton signed NAFTA, deregulated the communications industry, neutered anti-trust controls and more. The Dems finally realized how to play the game, it seems, which means abandoning their base.

So, what's a liberal base to do? Vote on issues it thinks it can affect. The Republicans have proved to be very adept at playing this new game of political small ball. The Dems need to adapt again.

....divided we fall

Let's look at where the so-called "Uniter" President has divided:

• Seeks a ban on gay marriage
• Refuses to meet with the NAACP
• "Either you're with us or you're with the terrorists"
• Against stem cell research, which has the potential to save people.
• Charitable Choice Programs, which would allow contractors to hire workers based on their religious beliefs.

The only thing that he is going to unite, is the Democrats & the White House.
Thanks!

Nader's fine

The Dems should leave well enough alone. Instead of dispatching Dean to parry with him, they should realize that such tactics only bring attention to Nader who is nowhere near the level of support he had in 2000.

But to Dean's point. Nader's not stooping at all by getting signatures from this group. His radical independence is often the hallmark of rifle-toting anti-government Fundamentalist zealots as much as it is tree-hugging soy-eating anti-corporate Vegans. He's every right to get support wherever he can, and the Dems should realize what every teacher who's ever had a class clown has: any attention received, no matter what kind, is a victory for the clown. Ignore him, and he'll quiet down.

Strange Bedfellows

I found this quote from the Dean/Nader debate to be funny.

"Ralph, I think you’re being disingenuous about your candidacy this year, and let me tell you why,” Dean began at start of the debate. “Forty-six percent of all your signatures to get you on the Arizona ballot turned out to be Republican supporters. You accepted the support of a right-wing fanatic Republican group that’s anti-gay in order to help you get on the ballot in Oregon."

Anything to get on those ballots, huh Ralphie boy?

"I got your trees right here!"

Our newest friend WTF is it now?!? has a funny story about the Prez giving the finger to a couple of guys that held up a sign that said More Trees - Less Bush.

Starting to feel the pressure, are we?
Very dignified, sir!

Pic-a-schtick

The GOP pulled this same schtick when Dean had a fundraiser where Garafalo and other liberal entertainers worked blue. It was all the rage on the Drudge report, and it almost broke through to the mainstream media. You really have the sense that it was a test run for a later attempt to miscast the sensibilities of a candidate.


And then there's this:


full story

Don't want to put old 57 Varieties on your Freedom Fries, thereby supporting the filthy liberalism of the Kerry's? Well, fret not. The GOP is offering a new brand of ketchup called "W". Four more years of these guys, and we may well be writing in NuSpeak.

Fµ(k You B*sh!

Looks like the Republicans can dish it out but they can't take it.

Those are Dick's words, Whoopi. Don't use 'em up!

You're fired!

"Tell me, how is it possible that we can't find a guy who's 6-foot-6 and supposedly needs a dialysis machine?" Trump said. "Can you explain that one to me? We have all our energies focused on one place - where they shouldn't be focused."

Oh Donald, you are a hoot!

Oh,......you mean THOSE records!

OOPS!

Looks like the military records that show the Presidents whereabouts during his disputed service in the Texas Air National Guard more than 30 years ago have been inadvertently destroyed.

Why isn't this surprising?

"What shredder?"

Cheney's Staying

Otherwise, Bush looks like a wishy-washy liberal, like he's trying to portray Kerry to be. If Bush/Cheney really tanks, look for Cheney to bow out due to "health problems". There's no way that they'll lose face by being honest about why Cheney would leave the ticket.

Bush and the NAACP

Story here

Unlike Kerry, Bush has declined an invitation to speak at their national convention. That brings his streak to 4 years of declining NAACP invites, making him the first President since Hoobert Hoover to never attend their convention.

When Bush came out for an amendment against gay marriage, or in defense of heterosexual marriage if you want it in NuSpeak, I was struck by how brazen he continues to be even in an election year. I supposed that the next thing he would advocate is a repeal of the rights of African-Americans to vote.

In an election year, to snub both the gay and the black community is just about unthinkable. No candidate is ever going to put in an appearance at the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade, but he sure knows that gays vote, and there are enough of them that you don't want to alienate them.

Bush either doesn't know or doesn't care. Unlike the popular characterization of him, I think he's smarter than he lets on, which leaves us with the depressing fact that we have a President who really could care less about millions of his constituents.

"I did not have political relations with that guy Kerry"

Just curious if the Bush campaign will drop those McCain was Kerry's first choice ads. I'm guessing that they ride it as long as they can.

McCAIN: "Uh, no. No, it was never offered."

Cheney...................out!?!?

D'Amato Suggests Bush Drop Cheney for Powell or McCain

Good luck, Gus. McCain has already said that he doesn't want to be Vice President, and Powell has always turned down offers to run for President. I don't see how he would except the VP position.
Looks like some of the Republicans don't trust the VP, either.

I love quotes!

I found this quote to be really funny. This is from an interview that Larry Flynt did with Salon, concerning the Moralista, Ann Coulter, about an affair that she had with Bob Guccione Jr.

"Bob Guccione Jr., who was the publisher of Spin magazine. And she was dating him. I find it hard to believe that any man could screw Ann Coulter, but they were having an affair."

July Surprise?

Looks like the Bush Administration has started to put the pressure on Pakistan to kill or capture Osama bin Laden, his deputy, Ayman Al Zawahiri, or the Taliban's Mullah Mohammed Omar, all of whom are believed to be hiding in the lawless tribal areas of Pakistan. The kicker is that they want this done by the 26th, 27th, or 28th of July.
The first three days of the Democratic National Convention in Boston!

Will the real Republican please stand up!

Check out this lineup.

• New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani
• Senator John McCain
• California's Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
• Governor George Pataki
• Democratic Senator Zell Miller

If you haven't figured it out yet, these will be the speakers at the Republican Convention. Nice little group there. Funny, that out of all of the above speakers, the most conservative one is a Democrat.
Of course, very four years the GOP goes about the business of portraying themselves as moderate. Anybody remember how many African-Americans were on the stage of the Philly convention 4 years ago?

If the Republicans really wanted to show the people where they stand on the issues, they would have the following speakers at their convention.

• Tom DeLay
• Rush Limbaugh
• Michael Savage
• Dick Cheney
• Donald Rumsfeld
• Pat Robertson
• Rick Santorum

If the Republicans like to say that the country is more conservative, why don't they have these people as their speakers?

Of course, that's a rhetorical question. We all know what's going on. They're trying to court the swing vote.
We'll see if it works.
Again.

It's your fault..........no,it's your fault!

Continuing with the theme that they can do no wrong, the Bush Administration is now blaming the military for the failure to acknowledge that they were facing a well-armed guerrilla war in Iraq.

They go together like Oil & Water

What is it with Florida and their voting systems? Now we have some voting rights groups suing the Florida election administrators to try and overturn a ruling that prohibits manual recounting of ballots cast with touch-screen machines.
Do they think that those things could never be wrong?

I just love quotes

You really do need to be careful about what you say. With so much whining about Edwards not having the necessary experience to be Vice -President, let's take another look at what Orin Hatch(R) had to say about Bush while he was running for President.

"You've been a great governor," Hatch declared of his rival for the Republican presidential nomination. "My only problem with you, governor, is that you've only had four and going into your fifth year of governorship. . . . Frankly, I really believe that you need more experience before you become president of the United States. That's why I'm thinking of you as a vice presidential candidate."

"I will not be Vice President!"

Let's remember. Kerry is not the only one that McCain has turned down. Oh, how the Republicans soon forget!

McCain: “I’m not running for vice president. President Bush in 2000 asked me if I was interested in being vice president. I said no then. I’m not interested in being vice president now.” [NBC, “Today,” 3/18/04]

McCain: “I don’t want to be vice president of the United States... I would not be vice president of the United States on either ticket. I told President Bush when he asked me in 2000 if I--if--when he asked me if I was interested.” [CBS, “The Early Show,” 3/18/04]

Republican Tricks

Let's take a look at the latest Republican Trick made to make Kerry look bad. The following is a picture that was posted on Rush Limbaugh's website.



Let's now take a look at the original picture.
Makes you wonder what else they're doing.

What you talkin' bout, Willis?

With the Republicans now featuring McCain in their ads, let's look at another of McCain's quotes, concerning John Edwards.

"He's got the ambition, the talent and the brains to go very far, to be president of the United States."
-Charlotte Observer, 2/26/01

Quote of the day

Oops!!

Er, one Dick's enough!



Not quite "Dewey beats Truman," but close enough.

Kerry chooses Edwards

Massachusetts Senator John Kerry has named North Carolina Senator John Edwards, 51, as his vice presidential running mate.

Was there really any other choice?

• Dick Gephardt? Boring!
  
• Hillary Clinton? She's waiting to make her own run.
  
• Wesley Clark? Not quite!
  

This obviously was the safer and more realistic choice. Edwards should help with some of the southern votes. He's young, enthusiastic, and his looks don't hurt either. Plus, he was my choice for President.

Florida at it again

More than 2,100 Florida voters -- many of them black Democrats -- could be wrongly barred from voting in November because Tallahassee elections officials included them on a list of felons potentially ineligible to vote, a Herald investigation has found.

A Florida Division of Elections database lists more than 47,000 people the department said may be ineligible to vote because of felony records. The state is directing local elections offices to check the list and scrub felons from voter rolls.

But a Herald review shows that at least 2,119 of those names -- including 547 in South Florida -- shouldn't be on the list because their rights to vote were formally restored through the state's clemency process.

Miami Herald

Iraq Turnover Schedule

1:00 PM: Pre-Turnover Special hosted by Dennis Miller
2:00 PM: Donald Rumsfeld gives ceremonial prisoner leash to Iraqi Security Force
3:00 PM: U.S.-Iraqi Glee Club sings “Proud to Be an American”
4:00 PM: Iyad Allawi declares martial law
4:30 PM: Jerry Falwell leads the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in "Onward Christian Soldiers"
5:00 PM: Flag ceremony/Ann Coulter striptease, music by U.S. Marine Band
6:00 PM: Civil war officially begins

Ironic Times

"Gotta keep 'em seperated"

So much for seperation of Church & State. Not only does Bush want to see the marriage of Church & State; He also wants to perform the service. His campaign is trying to get various church leaders to turn over their directories to them, have pastors hold voter-registration drives, and let campaign members hold meetings with church groups about the Bush campaign.

Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, said it best.

"Efforts aimed at transforming houses of worship into political campaign offices stink to high heaven."

Story here

Warheads found in Iraq not chemical weapons, military says

Multinational forces in Iraq said on Friday that more than a dozen missile warheads said to contain mustard gas or sarin have tested negative for chemical agents.
Washington had announced the find by Polish troops on Thursday, which was later confirmed by Warsaw.

The head of Poland's military intelligence service also said on Friday that "terrorist" groups were seeking to acquire the weapons.

But the 122mm warheads, found in late June, have been found not to contain the deadly chemicals, a statement from multinational forces here said.

"Those 16 rounds were all empty and tested negative for any type of chemicals," it said.

Two other warheads found in mid-June were found to contain an insignificant amount of sarin gas. The armaments were left over from the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, the statement said.

"Due to the deteriorated state of the rounds and small quantity of remaining agent, these rounds were determined to have limited to no impact if used by insurgents against coalition forces."

Washington justified leading the invasion of Iraq in March 2003 by claiming the country was harbouring weapons of mass destruction. However, none has yet been found.

If you say so, sir!

Well, I received my first comments today. Of course, it was from a close-minded individual who believes that if you disagree with Bush it somehow makes you stupid & un-American. Isn't that sweet?

We'll delve into this person's racist & homophobic feelings at another time. It's fascinating stuff and a good case study on close-mindedness. You'll want to set the VCR to this one, kids.

The Republican Belief System

Things that Republicans have to believe in order to be a Republican today:

1. Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a conservative radio host. Then it's an illness and you need our prayers for your recovery.

2. The United States should get out of the United Nations, and our highest national priority is enforcing U.N. resolutions against Iraq.

3. Government should relax regulation of Big Business and Big Money but crack down on individuals who use marijuana to relieve the pain of illness.

4. "Standing Tall for America" means firing your workers and moving their jobs to India.

5. A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body, but multinational corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind without regulation.

6. Jesus loves you, and shares your hatred of homosexuals and Hillary Clinton.

7. The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches while slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay.

8. Group sex and drug use are degenerate sins unless you someday run for governor of California as a Republican.

9. If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex.

10. A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our long-time allies, then demand their cooperation and money.

11. HMOs and insurance companies have the interest of the public at heart.

12. Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy. Providing health care to all Americans is socialism.

13. Global warming is junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools.

14. Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush's daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him and a bad guy when Bush needed a "we can't find Bin Laden" diversion.

15. A president lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachable offense. A president lying to enlist support for a war in which thousands die is solid defense policy.

16. Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which include banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet.

17. The public has a right to know about Hillary's cattle trades, but George Bush's driving record is none of our business.

18. You support states' rights, which means Attorney General John Ashcroft can tell states what local voter initiatives they have a right to adopt.

19. What Bill Clinton did in the 1960s is of vital national interest, but what Bush did in the '80s is irrelevant.

20. Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is communist, but trade with China and Vietnam is vital to a spirit of international harmony.