Tuesday, August 31, 2004
5 Questions With GOP Shill And Two-Time Murderer Don King...
This actually reads like it should be on The Daily Show, but it's not satire...Go figure.
The real magic takes place with question #4:
CNN: Did you vote for George Bush four years ago?
KING: I think I did. I don't really know. I'll have to go back and check my notes.
I'd love to see what's going on in that notebook. Incidentally, I've got another question for the honorable Mr. King.
How did it feel to stomp a guy to death?
Don King: The New Face Of The Republican Party
A Tom Tomorrow RNC Double-Shot...
Two great cartoons dealing with the horror being inflicted upon NYC this week.
First, a cartoon from June of 2003, right after the GOP announced it's convention would be in New York City.
And secondly, a handy guide to the events of this week for prospective attendees.
GOP Conventioneers Find A Hilarious Way To Dishonor Veterans
Republicans always have the best senses of humor, don't they?
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Delegates to the Republican National Convention found a new way to take a jab at Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry's Vietnam service record: by sporting adhesive bandages with small purple hearts on them.
Morton Blackwell, a prominent Virginia delegate, has been handing out the heart-covered bandages to delegates, who've worn them on their chins, cheeks, the backs of their hands and other places.
Blackwell is president of the Leadership Institute, a nonpartisan educational foundation he founded in 1979. According to its Web site, the institute prepares conservatives for success in politics, government and the news media.
Emphasis added by me for obvious reasons, but I digress.
Nothing but class at the GOP Convention, Day One...
Bob "He's right" Dole stepped up to say the following:
"I'm certain there's no possible connection" between the Bush campaign or Republican leaders and the bandages sported Monday night, he said.
Where have I heard that before???
UPDATE: Here's a good graphic to pass around...
Monday, August 30, 2004
Bush's Colossal War On Terror Flip-Flop
From Talking Points Memo:
"We have a clear vision on how to win the war on terror and bring peace to the world."
-- George W. Bush July 30th 2004.
"I don’t think you can win [the war on terror]. But I think you can create conditions so that the — those who use terror as a tool are — less acceptable in parts of the world.”
-- George W. Bush Aug. 29th, 2004.
Damn, we had the vision on how to win the war on terror, but we lost it in one month's time.
Ain't that a B?
"I can understand why Senator Kerry is upset with us..."
This comment comes from President Bush, responding to a question about the Swift Boat Vets For Bush ads...
"I can understand why Senator Kerry is upset with us. I wasn't so pleased with the ads that were run about me. And my call is get rid of them all, now."
What Bush (gleefully) misses is that the attacks against him were based in truth. The Swifties, on the other hand, are spreading lies and fabrications about Kerry.
In another entry, Sullivan got in a nice rib kick against turncoat Zell Miller:
No wonder Zell Miller is now the keynoter for the Republicans. Here's a man who once proudly condemned LBJ for backing civil rights for African-Americans, while Bush's Republican grandfather stood up for decency. History has come full circle, hasn't it? The Dixiecrats meet again in New York. Now they're called Republicans.
Bob Dole's Says What He Really Thinks About Bush's Smear Campaign...
From Slate.com:
If you thought Bob Dole seemed less than enthused about being the GOP's newest hatchet man, and susequently losing his "elder statesman" status, take a look at this video that was leaked from the interview in which Dole alleged that John Kerry "hadn't bled" in Vietnam...
Dole actually agrees that Bush should be ashamed of his actions against John McCain in 2000. Not that Bush would ever admit to doing something so shameless.
The author piece asks a dead-on question:
Question for Bob Dole: If President Bush should be ashamed of his behavior four years ago, why aren't you ashamed now?
Bush's 9-11 Cowardice
This piece from Kos is so telling, I really don't want to add much to it. I will say, however, that it's pretty telling when Tucker Carlson and Andrew Sullivan say they will have trouble voting for Bush again.
Also, it shines a light on how our President really behaved when the chips were down...
Carlson, in particular, is brutal on Bush, taking him to task for his cowardice on 9-11:
... The attacks initially made me sorry I voted for him. For most of that day, as my wife and children stayed inside our house listening to the roar of fighter jets overhead, and black smoke from the Pentagon hovered above our neighborhood, Bush failed to return to Washington. My family sat unprotected a few miles from the scene of a terrorist attack; Bush hid in a bunker on some faraway military base.
It infuriated me, as did the subsequent excuses from White House spokesman. There was a risk in coming back, they said. There was a risk in coming back, they said. Of course there was. That's the point: Leaders must take risks, sometimes physical ones. Bush should have elbowed his Secret Service detail out of the way and returned in a display of fearlessness to his nation's capital. I found it distressingly revealing that he didn't.
So did I. It was one of my earliest thoughts that fateful day. Say what you will about Giuliani, and most of what I would say is bad. But Rudi showed the type of leadership Bush only wishes he could muster.
What's worse, Rove knew how bad Bush's cowardice looked, so much the same way they handle any obstacle they face, they lied. Rove claimed they had received credible threats against Air Force One, a ludicrous assertion that was proven false days later. But in the chaos of the moment, both Bush's palpable fear and the lies used to cover it up were lost.
But as Carlson says, the incident was revealing. Just as Kerry's heroism half a world away is revealing. There's a reason the Swift Boat Liars are going after the story so hard. Kerry turned his boat into the danger he faced. Bush ran to Nebraska and cowered in fear.
Friday, August 27, 2004
US Dead In Iraq In 2004 Exceeds Number Killed In 2003
2004: 239 days, 488 US troops dead.
2003: 287 days, 482 US troops dead.
As Kos points out, 2004 has now been bloodier in absolute terms, but also in relative terms, with troop deaths averaging 2.04/day in 2004, as opposed to 1.68/day in 2003.
But alas, President Bush says we're making progress, and has even said in the past that more attacks on our troops mean more progress is being made...
Of course the right doesn't want to think about this. They're too busy waiting with baited breath for the next Swift Boat Liars ad and convincing themselves that the economy is a-OK!
I anticipate that in the next few hours I will be accused of at least one, and maybe more, of the following:
a.) Celebrating bad news.
b.) Giving aid and comfort to the enemy.
c.) Being consumed with hatred.
d.) Being a smartass.
UPDATE: I should've included one more option:
e.) Right-wingers that are uncomfortable with the sad reality that this post forces them to confront will choose to ignore it.
Thursday, August 26, 2004
For The Third Straight Year, Ranks of Poverty and Uninsured Increased
Meanwhile, back in the real world where Swift Boat liars are about as useful as clothing for pets, America continues to suffer under Bush's failed economic policies...
The number of Americans living in poverty increased by 1.3 million last year, while the ranks of the uninsured swelled by 1.4 million, the Census Bureau reported Thursday.
It was the third straight annual increase for both categories. While not unexpected, it was a double dose of bad economic news during a tight re-election campaign for President Bush.
Approximately 35.8 million people lived below the poverty line in 2003, or about 12.5 percent of the population, according to the bureau. That was up from 34.5 million, or 12.1 percent in 2002.
The rise was more dramatic for children. There were 12.9 million living in poverty last year, or 17.6 percent of the under-18 population. That was an increase of about 800,000 from 2002, when 16.7 percent of all children were in poverty.
You probably won't hear these stats mentioned at the RNC next week...
Fool Me Once...
I've heard this clip roughly 5,000 times and it still kills me every time....
Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States of America.
Glad to be along for the ride!
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
Mugshots of The Rich and Famous...
This is the kind of discovery that can make your day. I give you The Smoking Gun's Celebrity Mugshot Archive.
Here are 3 of my favorites:
Joshua Jackson of Dawson's Creek fame, after being arrested right here in Raleigh at a Carolina Hurricanes game in 2002.
Tawny Kitaen after beating up her husband, baseball player Chuck Finley. Anyone else remember when she was arguably the hottest chick on the planet?
And finally, the immortal Nick Nolte. And you thought he looked rough in North Dallas Forty...
Bush's Campaign Lawyer Advising Swift Boat Liars...
...but for God's sake, please do not put 2 and 2 together...
You're getting very sleepy...
On Tuesday, Benjamin Ginsberg, a lawyer for Bush's re-election campaign, disclosed that he has been providing legal advice for a veterans group challenging Kerry's account of his Vietnam War service.
Ginsberg's acknowledgment marked the second time in days that someone associated with the Bush-Cheney campaign has been connected to Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the group Kerry accuses of being a front for Bush's re-election effort.
The Bush campaign and the veterans group say there is no coordination.
This is the point where I would normally make a smartass comment about beachfront property in Kansas, but why bother?
Tuesday, August 24, 2004
The "Vietnam: 35 Years Later" Issue Boils Down To This...
An excellent analysis from Talking Points Memo addressing how the Vietnam issue does extend to the character and integrity of our candidates in 2004:
The current debate about these two men's military service has put the spotlight on physical courage. But that really is a side issue in this campaign, if we're talking substance. The real issue isn't physical bravery but moral cowardice.
President Bush is an examplar of that quality in spades. And it cuts directly to his failures as president. Forget about thirty years ago, just think about the last three years.
Before proceeding on to that, one other point about the two men's service. On the balance sheet of moral bravery, as opposed to physical bravery, the two men are about as far apart as you can be on Vietnam. On the one hand you have Kerry, who already had doubts about whether we should be fighting in Vietnam before he went, and put his life on the line anyway. On the other hand, you have George W. Bush who supported the war, which means he believed the goal was worth the cost in American lives. Only, not his life. He believed others should go; just not him. It's the story of his life.
That is almost the definition of moral cowardice.
Swift Boat Ads Are Not Without Precedent...
According to a great editorial in the L.A. Times, the Republican party has a rich history of baseless smears against perceived threats to their power. The author points out that the method of smear is also eerily simliar to others in years gone by...
The technique President Bush is using against John F. Kerry was perfected by his father against Michael Dukakis in 1988, though its roots go back at least to Sen. Joseph McCarthy. It is: Bring a charge, however bogus. Make the charge simple: Dukakis "vetoed the Pledge of Allegiance"; Bill Clinton "raised taxes 128 times"; "there are [pick a number] Communists in the State Department." But make sure the supporting details are complicated and blurry enough to prevent easy refutation.
The key lies in the compliance of the media. In the case of the Swift Boat ads, national media sources (CNN, MSNBC, etc...) have been more than happy to make sure the ads are given FREE exposure on their airwaves during their programming. I've seen the ads several times already, and I'm not even in a battleground state where they're actually being aired on regular broadcasting.
The author goes on to point out why the charges levied at John Kerry by Bob Dole are particularly embarrassing, and frankly, a little desperate:
Why would Dole put that makeover in jeopardy — and tarnish his own heroism and sacrifice — by starting a grotesque game of wound one-upmanship on behalf of George W. Bush, who never suffered anything worse during his (intermittent) service in the Texas Air National Guard than a hangover?
The Newest Swift Boat Ad Is Released...
You can listen to it here.
Also, Zogby has a new rundown of battleground polls out today. Kerry leads Bush in 14 of 16 battleground states, including Tennessee, Arkansas, and Missouri.
Who'da thunk it???
Monday, August 23, 2004
How To Win At Fantasy Football...And Annoy People...
My favorite time of year is fast approaching. The NFL season kicks off in just a few weeks, and for many football dorks like myself, it's time for one of the great traditions of the late summer.
The fantasy football draft.
3 hours of pure, unadulterated stupidity...
Bill Simmons of ESPN.com wrote the qunitessential guide to drafting a great fantasy football team back in August of 2001. Obviously, many of the player references are dated, but bear with me, you're gonna want to read this thing...
How perfect is it for me that Simmons wrote (in 2001, I'll remind you) the following...
"Fred Taylor should be good for about three games ... until that hammy starts acting up again ..."
...and Taylor just happens to be my keeper this year.
You know what they say: "When you draft Fred Taylor, you also draft Fred Taylor's groin."
Let the games begin...
Bear Downs 36 Beers, Wakes Up Feeling Shabby...
What to article doesn't tell you is that he also woke up with the name "Boo-Boo" tattooed on his ass, lying next to a butt-ugly female bear with several teeth missing...
SEATTLE (Reuters) - A black bear has been found passed out at a campground in Washington state after guzzling down three dozen cans of a local beer, a campground worker says.
"We noticed a bear sleeping on the common lawn and wondered what was going on until we discovered that there were a lot of beer cans lying around," said Lisa Broxson, a worker at the Baker Lake Resort, 80 miles (129 km) northeast of Seattle.
The hard-drinking bear, estimated to be about two years old, broke into campers' coolers and, using his claws and teeth to open the cans, swilled down the suds.
It turns out the bear was a bit of a beer sophisticate. He tried a mass-market Busch beer, but switched to Rainier Beer, a local ale, and stuck with it for his drinking binge.
Isn't it great that even a bear can tell that Busch beer tastes like watered-down piss?
Friday, August 20, 2004
Bush's Lapdog Admits White House Can Stop Swift Boat Liars...
From Atrios:
McClellan offered Kerry's campaign some terms for an end to the negative ads both sides are running.
"We could put an end to it all if Sen. Kerry would come out and join the president and say 'let's stop this,'" McClellan said.
Hey, asshole. Kerry already stepped up and condemned the MoveOn ad that questioned W's Nat'l Guard Service!
Also, what kind of bullshit comment is this? This sounds like the kind of threat the mafia would use...
Thursday, August 19, 2004
Iraqi Soccer Team To Bush: Find Another Way To Stroke Yourself
First, from midfielder Salid Sadir:
"Iraq as a team does not want Mr. Bush to use us for the presidential campaign," Sadir told SI.com through a translator, speaking calmly and directly. "He can find another way to advertise himself."
Then from midfielder Ahmed Manajid:
"How will he meet his god having slaughtered so many men and women?"
"He has committed so many crimes."
And finally, their coach gets in on the action:
"My problems are not with the American people," says Iraqi soccer coach Adnan Hamad. "They are with what America has done in Iraq: destroy everything. The American army has killed so many people in Iraq. What is freedom when I go to the [national] stadium and there are shootings on the road?"
I personally think soccer sucks, but what can I say about this?
Kerry Strikes Back At Swift Boat Liars...
All Dukakis comparisons can end right now...
Kerry speaking to the International Association of Fire Fighters:
Over the last week or so, a group called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth has been attacking me. Of course, this group isn’t interested in the truth – and they’re not telling the truth. They didn’t even exist until I won the nomination for president.
But here’s what you really need to know about them. They’re funded by hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Republican contributor out of Texas. They’re a front for the Bush campaign. And the fact that the President won’t denounce what they’re up to tells you everything you need to know—he wants them to do his dirty work.
Thirty years ago, official Navy reports documented my service in Vietnam and awarded me the Silver Star, the Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts. Thirty years ago, this was the plain truth. It still is. And I still carry the shrapnel in my leg from a wound in Vietnam.
Read on...
Greatest...Book Review...Ever...
The Little Goat (Random House Picture Book) by Judy Dunn, Phoebe DunnEdition: Paperback
Price: $2.25
Availability: This item is currently unavailable.
16 used from $0.99
106 of 108 people found the following review helpful:
I SPENT 7 MINUTES READING IT!, August 5, 2004
While my country was under attack, this book had me hypnotized. -George
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Bush Signs A Bible...
And I'm not really sure what to do with this information.
I thought it was weird when Bush was signing flags, but this is just bizarre...
I guess since he feels he's got a monopoly on the flag and the Bible, he can do whatever the hell wants with either of them...
Good for you, Bunnypants...
"Who Doesn't Understand The Threats Of The 21st Century?"
This is a great response from the Kerry-Edwards campaign regarding President Bush's "new" appeal for a Star Wars missile defense shield.
Here are some clips. Be sure to read the rest and tell me how a missile defense system will keep a terrorist with a suitcase nuke out of the country...
May 2001 -- Bush Said "Most Urgent Threat" Was Ballistic Missiles.
Bush: "Most troubling of all, the list of these countries includes some of the World's least responsible states. Unlike the Cold War, today's most urgent threat stems not from thousands of ballistic missiles in the Soviet hands, but from a small number of missiles in the hands of these states, states for whom terror and blackmail are a way of life. They seek weapons of mass destruction to intimidate their neighbors, and to keep the United States and other responsible nations from helping allies and friends in strategic parts of the world." (Bush, Address at the National Defense University, 5/1/01)
May 2001 - Kerry Said "Immediate Threat" was From Terrorists and "Non-State Actors."
Kerry: "But let me underscore that missile defense will do nothing to address what the Pentagon itself considers a much more likely and immediate threat to the American homeland from terrorists and from nonstate actors, who can quietly slip explosives into a building, unleash chemical weapons into a crowded subway, or send a crude nuclear weapon into a busy harbor." (Kerry, Speech on Senate Floor, 5/2/01)
Funny, I thought the Cold War being over was one of the reasons Bush gave for his hare-brained troop deployment scheme (You're welcome, Kim Jong-Il!!!). Why is that he would now look to resurrect a Cold War era scheme for his campaign?
Maybe it's because nothing else is working and they have nothing to run on...
Take a look at a side-by-side comparison of Kerry's website and Bush's website and tell me who's presenting their vision for the direction of America...
Vernon Robinson Is Finished!!!
The "black Jesse Helms" (a misnomer, since Helms was actually far saner than Vernon Robinson) finally took the gas pipe last night, losing to Virginia Foxx in the GOP primary for
I do have mixed emotions about this, since a Robinson win would've provided a better chance for a Democratic pickup in the district. However, as was the case when Arlen Specter narrowly defeated wingnut freakshow Pat Toomey in the GOP Senate primary in Pennsylvania, any time you can keep a member of the lunatic fringe out of a spot in Congress, at least a part of you should be relieved.
Robinson finally conceded to the woman he had recently referred to as a (gasp!) "Hillary Clinton-type liberal" in a TV ad, but not before shitting out this lovely little soundbyte:
He drove from the Ramada to the Morning Dew, earning warm applause there and immediately offering to help Foxx "kill off Democrats and get more conservatives in office."
It's a pity that kind of mindset won't be representing the people of North Carolina...
P.S. Don't take this commentary to mean that Virginia Foxx is any prize peach. She's not. Take a look at her site to find out why...
...and get out and support Jim Harrell in the general election in November!!!
UPDATE: It's been brought to my attention that according to the Bush Doctrine, we Democrats are well within our rights to kill off Mr. Robinson since he's threatened to kill us off. I feel Mr. Robinson's alleged "Weapons of Major Delirium" or "WMD's" could even be construed as an imminent threat to my security and to the security of other freedom-loving Democrats...
Tuesday, August 17, 2004
New NC Polling Data...
Some positive trends are beginning to take hold, and with Kerry within 3-6 points, depending on the poll, there's pretty much no good news here for the GOP.
From DailyKos:
SurveyUSA (PDF). 8/13-15. MoE 4.1% (No trend lines.)
President
Bush 51
Kerry 45
Senate
Bowles (D) 50
Burr (R) 42
Governor
Easley (D) 51
Ballantine (R) 44
Monday, August 16, 2004
Bush Flip-Flop #83762
Further cementing his reputation as "Flip-Flopper-In-Chief", President Bush has now reversed course on the topic of granting a potential Intelligence Czar with budgetary authority. I will mention that this is the right thing to do, per the 9/11 Commission, but that was a honey of a flip-flop!
President George W. Bush, in an apparent reversal, has decided that the new national intelligence director recommended by the Sept. 11 Commission should have the budgetary and hire-fire authority that the commission wanted, one of the ten commissioners told United Press International.
"I have very good reason to believe that is what the president intends," John Lehman, the Reagan-era Navy secretary said Sunday, confirming reports from a handful of journalists briefed Friday by a senior White House official. Lehman declined to elaborate on his reasons.
Once again, Bush takes a "stand" on something and the Democrats beat his ass down with the reality of the situation so he has to reverse course.
How can Republicans support someone who can be bopped around by a bunch of slinky-spined liberals???
The "Kerry Didn't Earn His Medals" Argument Dies A Quick Death...
Not that this line of argument had any merit to begin with, but when President Nixon's own Naval secretary and a current Republican Senator says John Kerry earned his medals, that should carry some relevance...
The Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said yesterday that John Kerry "deserved" his combat medals for heroism in Vietnam, which some vets have disputed.Sen. John Warner, an ex-Navy secretary under President Richard Nixon, particularly defended the process by which Kerry won his highest honor, the Silver Star.
"I'd stand by the process that awarded that medal, and I think we best acknowledge that his heroism did gain that recognition," Warner (R-Va.) told CNN's "Late Edition."
Kerry was awarded a Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Hearts as a Navy Swift boat commander in the Mekong Delta in February and March 1969.
"We did extraordinary, careful checking on that type of medal [the Silver Star], a very high one, when it goes through the secretary," Warner said. "I feel that he deserved it." Like Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Nixon - both Navy vets of World War II whose war service was later questioned - Kerry has had to face recent allegations in TV ads from others serving near him in Vietnam claiming that he lied about his combat heroism.
So shut your piehole, Jamz...
Friday, August 13, 2004
Many Anti-Kerry Slurs Come From A Familiar And Shameless Place...
Pure and simple, Ted Sampley is a disgusting human being. If that sounds like an overstatement, allow me to explain myself.
Mr. Sampley started Vietnam Veterans Against John Kerry in order to smear Sen. Kerry and call into question his service in the Vietnam War. Recently, these actions have shown the attackers to be nothing more than partisan hacks (see: John O'Neill). However, in Sampley's case, something far more disturbing seems to be at work.
During the 2000 GOP primary, Mr. Sampley repeatedly slandered Sen. John McCain, going so far as to accuse him of being "brainwashed" his Vietnamese captors during his 5 years as a prisoner of war. He even referred to McCain as the "Manchurian Candidate".
Horrible...
Senator McCain has since spoken out very strongly against Sampley:
"I strongly caution reporters who may be contacted by or are interested in Mr. Ted Sampley and the various organizations he claims to represent, and his opinions on the subject of Senator Kerry, or any subject for that matter, to investigate thoroughly Mr. Sampley's background and history of spreading outrageous slander and other disreputable behavior before inadvertently lending him or his allegations any credibility."
"I am well familiar with Mr. Sampley, and I know him to be one of the most despicable people I have ever had the misfortune to encounter. I consider him a fraud who preys on the hopes of family members of missing servicemen for his own profit. He is dishonorable, an enemy of the truth, and despite his claims, he does not speak for or represent the views of all but a few veterans. The many veterans I know would think it a disgrace to be considered a comrade or supporter of Ted Sampley."
What many people may not know is that Mr. Sampley has had another target on his radar screen in the past: George H. W. Bush, the 41st President.
Bush honorably fulfilled his duty in World War II, but apparently, this was not sufficient for Mr. Sampley.
In an article printed in 1997, Sampley wrote the following:
Former President George Bush, who bailed out of a crippled Navy Avenger bomber 53 years ago, jumped again in March of this year. His World War II jump is historic. It made Bush the only president to ever bail out of an airplane and the only president whose crew mates were sent careening into the ocean because their pilot had abandoned the aircraft.
Disgusting...
What is almost as disgusting is the inability, or rather the outright lack of interest of most of the Republican party and particularly, President George W. Bush, to condemn the attacks by Mr. Sampley and the rest of the anti-Kerry machine.
A president with any integrity would at the very least condemn the words and actions of Ted Sampley, a man who had so cruelly slandered his own father.
It's too bad we don't currently have a president with that kind of integrity...
Congressional Budget Office Tells Us What We Already Knew About Bush's Tax Cuts...
The "we" I refer to is, of course, those of us that don't have our lips firmly locked on the Presidential tookis...
President George W. Bush's tax cuts have transferred the federal tax burden from the richest Americans to middle-class families, with one-third of the cuts benefiting people with the top 1 percent of income, according to a government report cited in newspapers Friday.
The Congressional Budget Office report, to be released Friday, is likely to fuel the debate over the cuts between Bush and his Democratic challenger in November, Sen. John Kerry.
The report said the top 1 percent, with incomes averaging $1.2 million per year, will receive an average $78,460 tax cut this year, and have seen their share of the total tax burden fall roughly 2 percentage points to 20.1 percent, according to The New York Times.
In contrast, households in the middle 20 percent, with incomes averaging $57,000 per year, will receive an average cut of only $1,090, the newspaper said, citing the CBO report.
Taxpayers whose incomes range from $51,500 to about $75,600 saw their share of federal tax payments increase, according to CBO figures cited by The Washington Post.
Now Bush can stop lying to every crowd he sees about how his tax cuts help all taxpayers, because his comments will be just that: LIES.
Thursday, August 12, 2004
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"I couldn't get a job with CIA today. I am not qualified..."
No, that's not an angry America-hating pinko Democrat talking about why Porter Goss isn't qualified to be in the CIA. That's Porter Goss talking about why Porter Goss isn't qualified to be in the CIA.
But he didn't stop there. Goss went on expound further to Michael Moore as to why he couldn't hack it in today's CIA:
"I don't have the language skills. I, you know, my language skills were romance languages and stuff. We're looking for Arabists today. I don't have the cultural background probably," Goss is quoted in an interview transcript.
"And I certainly don't have the technical skills, uh, as my children remind me every day: 'Dad you got to get better on your computer.' Uh, so, the things that you need to have, I don't have."
Good pick, George...
UPDATE: Yes, I do understand that Goss is being nominated to be the head of the CIA and not an operative. That being said, it still concerns me that the guy running the CIA could be so out of touch with what the average intelligence gatherer is faced with in the year 2004...
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
Halliburton Takes Gold In The Scandal Pentathlon
Awesome press release from the Kerry campaign outlining Halliburton's Herculean efforts to screw the American taxpayer, the American military, it's shareholders, etc...
Event No. 1: For Enron-Style Accounting
Event No. 2: Bilking
Event No. 3: "The Axis" - Doing Business With Iran
Event No. 4: Bribery
Event No. 5: Gouging
Why A Solidly Red District Here In NC Could Go Blue...
Two words: Vernon Robinson.
He calls himself the "black Jesse Helms", but ol' Jesse endorsed another candidate in the GOP primary. Oops...
DailyKos has some great details about Vernon Robinson's run that make it seem quite possible that he is the 2nd most bigoted candidate for Congress in 2004. (The 1st being this asshole.)
He's already had former VP candidate Jack Kemp pull his endorsement after he realized what a lunatic Robinson is. (Way to do your homework, Jack!)
Jim Harrell is the Democrat opposing Robinson in this race. Check him out and see if you feel he's worth some much-needed help. I plan on donating today.
And if you need more convincing of Vernon Robinson's screwed-up worldview. Take a quick listen to one of his ads...
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
"...the really rich people figure out how to dodge taxes anyway."
Our noble President jammed his foot in his mouth yet again yesterday. Shocker, there.
We can argue all day that what he said was true or false. What is striking about a statement like this is the chief executive of our nation basically condoning a fairly shady (and sometimes illegal) practice.
I love the Kerry campaign's response:
Asked about that comment, Jonathan Beeton, spokesman for Kerry's campaign in Virginia, said "George Bush can speak with authority about really rich people. ... That's his base, so I'm sure he knows what he's talking about. But that doesn't make it right."
Thanks to DailyKos for a great piece...
Bill O'Reilly Wants You....To Shut Up!
This is a hilarious piece from Slate.com demonstrating "average guy" O'Reilly's severely thin skin.
After almost 30 examples of O'Reilly using the H-bomb of argumentative devices...
"And it is our duty as loyal Americans to shut up once the fighting begins, unless—unless facts prove the operation wrong, as was the case in Vietnam." —Feb. 27, 2003
"I'm going to give you a plug, so shut up for a minute, Dick [Morris]. Here we go. You've got the State of the Union address coming up."—Jan. 27, 2000
...O'Reilly bullshits himself and his viewers one more time for posterity:
A Viewer Protests the Treatment of McGough
"Paula Evans, Winston-Salem, N.C. [writes]: 'Bill, if you are so concerned about public figures being bad role models for children, please stop interrupting your guests and telling them to shut up!' "
"Well, the 'shut up' line has happened only once in six years, Ms. Evans..."
—Nov. 15, 2002
Monday, August 9, 2004
Tom Tomorrow Examines the "Liberal" Media's Perceptions Of Kerry and Bush
It's a funny cartoon, but this is the kind of perception that led to Bush "winning" the debates against Al Gore in 2000.
The media will set expectations nice and low for Bush, and impossibly high for Kerry.
That way, as long as Bush doesn't burp, fart, or suddenly develop Tourette's syndrome, the "liberal" media will be quick to once again anoint him a brilliant statesman...
Bush on: Tribal Sovereignty
I've got a game for you to play.
If you can listen to this clip and not laugh or crack a shit-eating grin, I'll give you 5 bucks.
Lucky for my financial situation, the audience that the prez was speaking to lost BIG time...
Friday, August 6, 2004
Speed Thee To Heaven, Rick James...Don't Burn Any Angels With A Crack Pipe...
Singer Rick James was found dead in his home Friday morning by his caretaker, a Los Angeles police Department spokesman said.
James, 56, was a musical icon of the early 1980's and credited with helping to create the "punk funk" style of music that was characterized in his 1981 album "Street Songs."
"Street Songs" was widely acclaimed as a masterpiece upon its release and featured such hits as "Super Freak," "Give it To Me Baby," and "Fire and Desire."
Best Headline Of The Week...
3rd-Generation Yalie Bush Opposes Legacies
President Bush, who followed his father and grandfather to Yale University despite an undistinguished academic record, said Friday that colleges should get rid of "legacy" admission preferences that favor the sons and daughters of alumni.
Bad week, Georgie Boy...Bad week, indeed...
Bush's Dirty Little Secret: Troops Are Still Dying Daily...
Oh sure, you don't hear about it anymore unless you're really paying attention. And of course, President Bush won't be bringing it up at a campaign rally near you, but the reality is that we're still losing about 2 US soldiers a day in Iraq.
Paul Krugman points out that the June 28th "handover" of power in Iraq successfully "Afghanized" media coverage of Iraq. (Iraq? That's SO last year!) That is to say, led people to believe that the conflict had in some way ended.
Wrong...
In June, 42 US soldiers were killed.
In July (after the "handover"), 54 US soldiers were killed.
In the first six days of August, 13 US soldiers have already died.
The media has bought into the "Afghanization" of Iraq hook-line-and-sinker. Reports of US casualties barely merit a mention on TV news, and are pushed to the bottom of almost all internet and newspaper reports.
I still adhere to the idea that anyone that thinks removing Saddam Hussein was worth the lives of 900+ of our bravest is giving Saddam Hussein way too much credit.
But we're turning the corner. They swear...
Bush's Job-Loss Recovery Continues...
Brooding right wingers take note. In your eyes, this became Bush's economy when jobs started being created a few months ago.
It's all his now. Don't try to pin this on Clinton...
The nation's payroll growth slowed dramatically in July with a paltry 32,000 jobs being added_ a potentially troubling sign that the rough patch the economy hit in June was no aberration.
The unemployment rate, however, dipped down a notch to 5.5 percent last month, from 5.6 percent in June, the Labor Department reported Friday. The new jobless rate was the lowest since October 2001.
The payrolls figure and the unemployment rate can sometimes go in different directions because they are derived from two separate statistical surveys.
Economists, however, look more closely at the payroll figure as a better barometer of the health of the jobs market. The 32,000 net jobs added in July represented the smallest gain in hiring since December and followed a revised gain of just 78,000 in June, even less than previously reported. May's payrolls also were revised down to show a gain of 208,000.
If you choose to refer to this as celebrating bad news, just remember that someone close to me just became a victim of this "juggernaut" economy, so spare me...
Thursday, August 5, 2004
Laura Bush Says News Media Is Too Opinionated...To Bill O'Reilly...On Fox News...
She's truly a remarkable woman if she can say that on Fox with a straight face..
"I think there are a lot of reasons to be critical of the media in America," she said in an interview Tuesday with Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor."
"I think that a lot of times the media sensationalize or magnify things that aren't _that really shouldn't be," she said.
"I do think there's a big move away from actual reporting, trying to report facts," the first lady said. "It's in newspapers and everything you read — that a lot more is opinion."
Isn't it odd that "Regular Guy" O'Reilly didn't ask her about the $95,000 worth of jewelry she received from Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdallah. I figured that sort of thing would be right up his alley...
My head hurts...
Barack Obama's Story...From 1995
New Democratic superstar Barack Obama wrote a memoir back in 1995 called "Dreams from My Father : A Story of Race and Inheritance". It's being re-printed now that Obama has hit the national spotlight.
Obviously, I haven't read it, but I venture to say that if it's half as evocative and thoughtful as his keynote speech at the DNC, it should be worth far more than eleven bucks...
From the book's 1995 Amazon description:
Elected the first black president of the Harvard Law Review, Obama was offered a book contract, but the intellectual journey he planned to recount became instead this poignant, probing memoir of an unusual life. Born in 1961 to a white American woman and a black Kenyan student, Obama was reared in Hawaii by his mother and her parents, his father having left for further study and a return home to Africa. So Obama's not-unhappy youth is nevertheless a lonely voyage to racial identity, tensions in school, struggling with black literature with one month-long visit when he was 10 from his commanding father. After college, Obama became a community organizer in Chicago. He slowly found place and purpose among folks of similar hue but different memory, winning enough small victories to commit himself to the work he's now a civil rights lawyer there. Before going to law school, he finally visited Kenya; with his father dead, he still confronted obligation and loss, and found wellsprings of love and attachment.
If You Believe Anything Michael Savage Says, Please Re-consider...
To preface this, I will say that most conservatives I know think Savage is insane. However, this is just absolutely scary and deserves to be mentioned...
From the August 3 nationally syndicated broadcast of Savage Nation:
[T]he San Francisco Human Rights Commission, hold your nose-- When you hear the words "Human Rights Commission," you know what you're dealing with. Think of the worst people in America, they're the ones who go on to human rights commissions. They're neo-fascists in the guise of human rights activists. They wanna tell you what you can think, what you can't think. Who you can listen to, who you can read -- they're stinkers. They're communist or Nazis or both. ... So they're attacking the San Francisco Police Officer's Association, because the San Francisco Police Officer's Association received free tickets to my event, Michael Savage Uncensored. ... Now I'm extremely popular, but the San Francisco Human Rights Commission thinks that their Nazi background gives them an opportunity to say that I'm a hateful person because they don't like what I say about homosexuals. ... When you hear "human rights," think gays. When you hear "human rights," think only one thing: someone who wants to rape your son. And you'll get it just right. OK, you got it, right? When you hear "human rights," think only someone who wants to molest your son, and send you to jail if you defend him. Write that down, make a note of it. So anyway, let's get back to the serious stuff here.
I shudder to think what the "serious stuff" entails...Also, remember that only a few months ago, this lunatic had a show on MSNBC...
The Boss Speaks Out...
This is a great piece, so I'll let it stand on it's own, except to say that this is my favorite part:
These questions are at the heart of this election: who we are, what we stand for, why we fight. Personally, for the last 25 years I have always stayed one step away from partisan politics. Instead, I have been partisan about a set of ideals: economic justice, civil rights, a humane foreign policy, freedom and a decent life for all of our citizens. This year, however, for many of us the stakes have risen too high to sit this election out.
Thanks, Boss.
PS: If you haven't seen High Fidelity, you probably didn't get that last line. Sorry!
Sandy Berger's Been Cleared, But What About Richard Shelby?
Now that Sandy Berger's nefarious doings have come up to be bubkis, (much to the disappointment of the GOP attack squad) it comes to light that Senator Richard Shelby, a Republican from Alabama, leaked classified information to news sources back in 2002.
Let's see if the GOP gives this story as much play as the Berger non-story...
Federal investigators concluded that Sen. Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.) divulged classified intercepted messages to the media when he was on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, according to sources familiar with the probe.
Specifically, Fox News chief political correspondent Carl Cameron confirmed to FBI investigators that Shelby verbally divulged the information to him during a June 19, 2002, interview, minutes after Shelby's committee had been given the information in a classified briefing, according to the sources, who declined to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the case.
Cameron did not air the material. Moments after Shelby spoke with Cameron, he met with CNN reporter Dana Bash, and about half an hour after that, CNN broadcast the material, the sources said. CNN cited "two congressional sources" in its report.
The FBI and the U.S. attorney's office pursued the case, and a grand jury was empaneled, but nobody has been charged with any crime. Last month it was revealed that the Justice Department had decided to forgo a criminal prosecution, at least for now, and turned the matter over to the Senate Ethics Committee.
Wednesday, August 4, 2004
Paranoia In The Skies?
Over the last two weeks, an article from Women's Wallstreet has made it's way through the blogosphere like Ann Coulter through a carton of cigarettes.
The article accounts Annie Jacobsen's terrifying experience on a plane that was supposedly going to be blown up by "14 Middle Eastern men between the ages of approximately 20 and 50 years old."
The article is particularly harrowing, considering the fact that most of us have had concerns about flying since 9/11 (if not before). However, new information has come to light that there was no terrorist threat aboard the plane. Only a group of Syrian musicians.
Here are some details from the air marshals who were on board the flight with Mrs. Jacobsen and the group of Syrians. This information was taken from Snopes.com, a site that debunks urban legends of every manner:
Undercover federal air marshals on board a June 29 Northwest airlines flight from Detroit to LAX identified themselves after a passenger, "overreacted," to a group of middle-eastern men on board, federal officials and sources have told KFI NEWS.
The passenger, later identified as Annie Jacobsen, was in danger of panicking other passengers and creating a larger problem on the plane, according to a source close to the secretive federal protective service.
"The lady was overreacting," said the source. "A flight attendant was told to tell the passenger to calm down; that there were air marshals on the plane." The middle eastern men were identified by federal agents as a group of touring musicians traveling to a concert date at a casino, said Air Marshals spokesman Dave Adams.
This article has no doubt induced fear and paranoia into at least some of the people that read it. The problem now, is letting people know that the situation did not play out exactly as Mrs. Jacobsen described it. As usual, the initial story gets the publicity, the correction does not. (Think WMD's being "found" in Iraq)
Do I blame Mrs. Jacobsen for her reaction to the events on the flight? No, not really. She probably wanted only to inform people of a situation that we've all considered.
I do blame the right-wing media machine (particularly Michelle Malkin) that made sure this article found it's way around the internet at a staggering pace and tried to capitalize once again on the fear it induced. In reading the right wing reactions to Mrs. Jacobsen's story, you can almost hear them yelling, "SEE, SEE!?!" Exploiting middle America's perceived fear of anyone or anything Middle Eastern is allowing a lot of talking heads to score points.
The conservative (but not solely conservative) ideal that racial profiling is the way to solve many of America's ills is so patently un-American, it's upsetting that so many rational people would support it in any way.
Then again, when confronted with a terrifying ordeal such as this, one's judgment can become clouded.
Maybe that's what the right wing is counting on...
Tuesday, August 3, 2004
Senator Corzine Steps Up To The Plate
Echoing what was said by John Kerry and John Edwards, New Jersey Senator John Corzine is proposing action to help safeguard America's chemical resources from the threat of terrorism.
Bush Put Big Money Corporate Contributors Above Homeland Security In the U.S.
There are more then 100 chemical plants each of which threaten a million or more Americans with crippling injuries or death in the event of a terrorist attack. You and your family probably live in the shadow of one.
Right after 9/11 Senator Corzine introduced a bill that would have put safeguards in place to prevent terrorists from getting at our chemical plants and turning them into weapons of mass destruction. Incredibly, it ran into heavy opposition from chemical industry lobbyists who had President Bush and the Republican leadership dump the bill. They replaced it with a toothless bill that rubberstamped voluntary industry programs, leaving hundreds of plants with little or no security.
Take a look and see if you'd like to sign...
Monday, August 2, 2004
I'm Rick James, Bitch...
Here's a funny site with some soundbytes from the now legendary Rick James/Charlie Murphy skit from Chappelle's Show. If you haven't seen it, you've got some serious problems...
My favorite quote?
I wish I had more hands, so I could give those titties 4 THUMBS DOWN!!!
Tucker Carlson's Bowtie Is Too Tight...
A little bit of Carlson's racist worldview bubbles to the surface:
"His [Kerry's] plan for Iraq, such as it is, is to have other people, dark skinned foreigners, from the Middle East fight our war for us. He said it last night in his speech. I watched his speech."
I wonder how Tucker feels about George W. Bush turning the hunt for Osama bin Laden over to some other "dark-skinned foreigners"...
The Zell-Out Gets Caught With His Pants Down...
Zig-Zag Zell was in midseason shilling form this weekend. Here's a wonderful exchange from Meet The Press:
SEN. MILLER: This is a man who voted to cut every single one of the weapons systems that won the Cold War. This is a man that voted against the weapons system that we're using to fight the war on terror. This is a man who voted against increases in intelligence funding. He wanted to cut intelligence funding.
MR. RUSSERT: “But on defense and intelligence authorization bills, you have the same voting record as John Kerry.”
SEN. MILLER: “…(long awkward pause)…I didn't try to cut--now ultimately he came along and voted for some” [NBC, Meet the Press, 8/1/04]
Good God, that is a pathetic performance...
Good To See the GOP Keeping It On The Up-and-Up...
The Mississippi Hair Helmet's got himself in a tizzy...
U.S. Sen. Trent Lott today told an enthusiastic Neshoba County Fair crowd that Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry is “a French-speaking socialist from Boston, Massaschusetts, who is more liberal than Ted Kennedy.”
Oh, why couldn't Strom Thurmond live to be 200???
