Blog Reader's great letter to the editor: will they print it?

BlogReader Ed Taub sent me a copy of the letter to the editor he sent the San Jose Mercury yesterday. We'll see if they prinit :

Both George Bush and Arnold Schwarzenegger are presenting themselves as our strong protectors. They exploit their images as cowboy and movie action hero respectively.

But in reality they do not care about the weak. Their real protective instincts are always to protect the strong, to give only to those who can give back and support their true goal: the accumulation of even
more power.

If you need help, if you are struggling to survive in an economy that is rewarding the top tiers at the expense of the rest of us then you do yourself a disservice by trusting these phony father look-alikes. They are deadbeat dads. Just ask the poor people of New Orleans or the soldiers that have been sent into combat with outmoded armor and weapons. Vote for Phil Angelides, a decent man who really
cares about middle class working Americans.

So, what letters have you written to the editor this election season?

Mail them to me, and I'll print them here!

I loves me some Keith Olbermann

I know I've linked to him a couple of times lately, but that's because the man is on fire!

Check out this video of Olbermann's commentary on the now-infamous Clinton/Wallace smackdown on Fox News.

Is there anybody else in the world of traditional (and therefore theoretically objective) media who is willing to tell it like it is like Olbermann? (And no, much as we love them, Air America doesn't count...they're no more objective than Fox News, right?

Ten major stories no one is covering?

In case you missed this a couple of weeks ago, Thomas Kostigen posted 10 major stories he thinks the mainstream media is missing on MarketWatch.

I'll list the stories, but you must click through to his story to get the details. You must! (And I'm sure you'll want to once you see the headlines.)

1. The Feds and the media muddy the debate over Internet freedom
2. Halliburton charged with selling nuclear technology to Iran
3. World oceans in extreme danger
4. Hunger and homelessness increasing in the United States
5. High-tech genocide in Congo
6. Federal whistleblower protection in jeopardy
7. U.S. operatives torture detainees to death in Afghanistan and Iraq
8. Pentagon exempt from Freedom of Information Act
9. World Bank funds Israel-Palestine wall
10. Expanded air war in Iraq kills more civilians

Clinton on FoxNews

Clinton was with Chris Wallace on FoxNews.

Atrios has the transcript.

Crroks and Liars has the video.

It got contentious.

But at least Clinton finally ably defended his own record on national security. Key excerpt:

Clinton: Now, wait a minute -- wait, wait, wait. (CROSS TALK)

No, no -- I authorized the CIA to get groups together to try to kill him. The CIA was run by George Tenet that President (Bush) gave the medal of freedom to, and he said he did a good job setting up all these counter terrorism things. The country never had a comprehensive anti-terror operation until I came there.

Now if you want to criticize me for one thing, you can criticize me for this: after the Cole, I had battle plans drawn to go into Afghanistan, overthrow the Taliban and launch a full-scale attack search for bin Laden. But we needed basing rights in Uzbekistan -- which we got after 9/11. The CIA and the FBI refused to certify that bin Laden was responsible. While I was there, they refused to certify. So that meant I would have had to send a few hundred special forces in in helicopters, refuel at night. Even the 9/11 commission didn't do that.

Now, the 9/11 commission was a political document, too. All I'm asking is, anybody that wants to say I didn't do enough, you read Richard Clarke's book ...

Wallace: Do you think you did enough, sir?

Clinton: No, because I didn't get him.

Wallace: Right.

Clinton: But at least I tried. That's the difference in me and some, including all of the right-wingers who are attacking me now. They ridiculed me for trying. They had eight months to try, they did not try. I tried. So I tried and failed. When I failed, I left a comprehensive anti-terror strategy and the best guy in the country, Dick Clark, who got demoted.

Keith Olbermann on a roll

Keith Olbermann is to the President Bush disaster what Anderson Cooper was to the Katrina disaster...the one journalist who seems to have the cojones to tell it like it is.

Check out his 9/11 commentary here.

Now, I think there's a little more blame that could be spread around the hallways of New York's City Hall for the fact that the site of Ground Zero remains a gaping hole...a gaping wound really. But he takes that gaping wound and takes us up to the 40K foot level to look at the "lessons" of 9/11 that really haven't been learned.

Check it out.

The world according to Republicans

Presented here today is a list of recent quotes by Republicans. Please note that you have not entered the Twilight Zone, these are real quotes.

Republican Sen. Conrad Burns, whose recent comments have stirred controversy, says the United States is up against a faceless enemy of terrorists who "drive taxi cabs in the daytime and kill at night."

U.S. (Republican) Sen. Conrad Burns urged Gov. Brian Schweitzer to declare a fire state of emergency Thursday and activate the Montana Army National Guard for firefighting - more than a month after Schweitzer had already done so.

In a brief letter faxed to the governor's office Thursday, Burns, a Republican up for re-election in November, expressed his concern for the gravity of the 80,000 acre Derby Fire near Columbus.

"Entire ranches have been consumed and homes have been lost," Burns wrote. "Based on these conditions, I am requesting that you declare a State of Emergency."

Schweitzer declared just such a state of emergency on July 11 - thus, activating the Montana Army National Guard. He issued a second declaration on Aug. 11.

Limbaugh: At least here in America, didn't teach them how to fish, we gave them the fish. Didn't teach them how to butcher a - slaughter a cow to get the butter, we gave them the butter.

At an August 11 event, Sen. George Allen (R-VA) ridiculed a South Asian-American man who worked for his political opponent. In front of a large audience, Allen called S.R. Sidarth "macaca" (a racial slur), and said to Sidarth, who was born and raised in Virginia, "Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia!"

First, Allen's campaign manager referred "to the 'macaca' story with a barnyard epithet and insist that the senator had nothing to apologize for." Then, as criticism mounted, Allen apologized.

But yesterday on Fox, Allen said that Virginians don't "actually care" that he made the remarks and it's "only the media" who thinks it's an issue.

Last week, Rep. Katherine Harris (R-Fla.)
raised a few eyebrows by insisting that voters had to elect Christians to avoid "legislating sin," calling the constitutional separation of church and state a "lie," and arguing that God did not intend for the United States to be "a nation of secular laws."

Pat Buchanan has been a constant presence on cable TV since the release of his book, State of Emergency. Last night on Hannity and Colmes, Buchanan explained that he's motivated by his desire to keep the country overwhelmingly white.
Buchanan told Alan Colmes: "What I would like is - I'd like the country I grew up in. It was a good country. I lived in Washington, D.C., 400,000 black folks, 400,000 white folks, in a country 89 or 90 percent white. I like that country."

Bush II; Day 558: Letter from a Bush Voter

Doug McIntyre is the host of a morning talk show for KABS radio. And he is also a chagrined and regretful Bush voter. He explains why at great length on KABC's web site.

The reasons are familiar:

"But in the months and years since shock and awe I have been shocked repeatedly by a consistent litany of excuses, alibis, double-talk, inaccuracies, bogus predictions, and flat out lies. I have watched as the President and his administration changed the goals, redefined the reasons for going into Iraq, and fumbled the good will of the world and the focus necessary to catch the real killers of September 11th."

"After five years of carefully watching George W. Bush I've reached the conclusion he's either grossly incompetent, or a hand puppet for a gaggle of detached theorists with their own private view of how the world works. Or both.

Presidential failures. James Buchanan, Franklin Pierce, Jimmy Carter, Warren Harding - the competition is fierce for the worst of the worst. Still, the damage this President has done is enormous. It will take decades to undo, and that's assuming we do everything right from now on. His mistakes have global implications, while the other failed Presidents mostly authored domestic embarrassments."

My own S.O. rails against the two-party system, so I know liberals and conservatives alike have issues with it. But the simple truth is that just about everything McIntyre complains about in his long rant simply wouldn't have happened under Democratic rule.

There is a difference between the Republicans and we, Democrats. And it's a big one.

The environment
Human rights, from women's rights to control their own bodies and medical decisions to gay rights.
Balanced budgets vs. no-tax/all-spend (I got your fiscal responsiblity right here, buddy!)
Health care
Immigration
Church/State
Saving Social Security, not starving it

On and on. The Democratic position is markedly different and more in line with the principles of the American people when they're asked about them line by line.

So, admitting you're wrong on a guy is nice. Admitting you've been wrong about your entire philosphy...priceless. (And I'm still waiting.)

Bush II; Day 521: I'll take Misuse of Power for $1000, Alex

Was pointed to a wonderful post about the President and his sense of entitlement via arse poetica.

The Final Jeopardy Question, courtesy of Elizabeth de la Vega from Common Dreams:

Is a President, on the eve of his reelection campaign, legally entitled to ward off political embarrassment and conceal past failures in the exercise of his office by unilaterally and informally declassifying selected -- as well as false and misleading -- portions of a classified National Intelligence Estimate that he has previously refused to declassify, in order to cause such information to be secretly disclosed under false pretenses in the name of a "former Hill staffer" to a single reporter, intending that reporter to publish such false and misleading information in a prominent national newspaper?

The answer is obvious: No. Such a misuse of authority is the very essence of a criminal conspiracy to defraud the United States. It is also precisely the abuse of executive power that led to the impeachment of Richard M. Nixon.

Why do Republicans seem so unphased by how low our standards have fallen since Dubya took office? We're in no position, it seems, to discuss ethics and morals and the concept of right and wrong. We're left to argue over what obscure methods and arguments can be used to find the right loophole to squeeze Dubya through.

Can you not see that those of us who have a problem with that approach to leadership have that problem because we believe in our country and expect more from it and our leaders than we're getting?

Sigh. So sad.

The George Clooney Kerfuffle

It seems George Clooney is a little miffed about the HuffPo's conversion of his interview responses into a blog post. They claim to have gotten his publicist's OK. He's a little cranky about it anyway. And I just linked to it today.

Oh dear.

Bush II; Day 490: My favorite Oscar moment

George Clooney professed his pride at being part of the "out-of-touch" Hollywood that raises difficult subjects and shines a light on darkness.

You go, George.

So, if you felt the same as me, read Clooney's post at the HuffPo: I am a Liberal! There, I said it!

Bush II; Day 427: Advice for the Democrats in 2006

...from Andrew Foster Altschul

Amen.

Altschul is my new PoliBlog crush. Who's with me?

Bush II; Day 415: Borrowing another leader's Christmas message

While still staggering over Dubya's "it's been a good year" reflection, I thought I'd pull a couple quotes from some other leaders who have a year end message of hope that still manages to acknowledge some of the difficult times that many people around the world have suffered this year:

Queen Elizabeth II, UK

"This Christmas my thoughts are especially with those everywhere who are grieving the loss of loved ones during what for so many has been such a terrible year...The last year has reminded us that the world is not always an easy or a safe place to live in. I believe also that it has shown us all how our faith - whatever our religion - can inspire us to work together in friendship and peace for the sake of our own and future generations."

"A united humanity will be able to confront the many troubling problems of the present time: from the menace of terrorism to the humiliating poverty in which millions of human beings live, from the proliferation of weapons to the pandemics and the environmental destruction which threatens the future of our planet."

Happy Holidays, and may 2006 truly be the year where a united humanity works toward peace and comfort for those currently in turmoil and unease.

Bush II; Day 413: Bush's "good year"

I guess my idea of what constitutes a "good year for the American people" must be very different from President Bush's.

Denial and Delusion.

The true leadership qualities that will uplift and inspire us as we look forward to the hard work ahead in 2006.

Uh huh.

Bush II; Day 400: Do you know what it means to kill New Orleans?

Absolute, no-doubt-about-it, must-read NY Times Editorial on the slow death we, as a nation, are helping subject New Orleans to.

"If the rest of the nation has decided it is too expensive to give the people of New Orleans a chance at renewal, we have to tell them so. We must tell them we spent our rainy-day fund on a costly stalemate in Iraq, that we gave it away in tax cuts for wealthy families and shareholders. We must tell them America is too broke and too weak to rebuild one of its great cities."

Is this what we want?

Bush II; Day 395: Worst President Ever?

Well, you know I think so, but I'm hardly the only one.

Read Richard Reeves' great USA Today article to see the whole list of reasons that historians have listed as reasons that Dubya qualifies for that unfortunate superlative.

Couple of key points:

"He has taken the country into an unwinnable war and alienated friend and foe alike in the process

He is bankrupting the country with a combination of aggressive military spending and reduced taxation of the rich

He has deliberately and dangerously attacked separation of church and state

He has repeatedly "misled," to use a kind word, the American people on affairs domestic and foreign"

Yup, those are pretty good (or shall I say bad) reasons.

Bush II; Day 367: Ouch! The NY Times with the Smackdown

Wow, this NY Times editorial doesn't pull a single punch in lambasting the Bush Adminsitration, but much more specifically Bush himself, for the current state of American affiars. Not even just domeitcally or in the MIddle East, but worldwide...focusing on last week's Latina American jaunt.

The NY Times points out that we should all hope that Dubya finds a way to turn his second term around, because it is in our own best interests to not have conditions and global relations degrade any further.

I'm really having trouble...not imagining that he could turn it around if he had the will, but imagining that he actually has that will.

He'd have to fire a bunch of people.

He'd have to use the veto power he has never used.

He'd have to admit errors and take responsibility.

He'd have to rein in the Republican powers-that-be-crazy in the Congress.

Can't see it. Just. Can't.

One-liners on Ah-nolds Propositions

After attending E-Board last weekend, and the County Committe meeting last night, I am here to give you your one-line positions on Ah-nold's ridiculous propositions being voted on next month at his ridiculously unnecessary and wildly expensive special election:

Prop 73:
They call it Parental Notification. We call it Teen Safety. Let's call the whole thing off and remember this:

This prop. tries to sneak in language defining when life begins. This is the peak of the steep slippery slope.

Prop. 74:
They say it rewards good teachers and prevents "guaranteed employment for life." But remember this:

There is not one word about "rewarding" anyone. It is all about punishment...and the punishment is to deny teachers a hearing before being fired (which they definitely can be fired, by the way.) My question is: what's so scary about a hearing?

Prop/ 75:
They call it paycheck protection, we call it corporate corruption. But remember this:

Sure, make unions get every individual member's permission before using that individual member's dues for anything. As long as you do the same with shareholders in public companies. As soon as corporations have to play on a level field with unions (especially since corps. give to politicians at a ratio to 23 to 1 over unions) then maybe I'll listen to you.

Prop. 76:
They call it...I don't care...I call it "Say Hello to King Ah-nold." Remember this:

His own staff can analyze the situations and tell him when things are in a state that allows him to declare the kind of emergency that gives him dictatorial powers. Can you say yikes?

Prop 77:
Leave aside that there are already rules for redistricting, and that we're smack dab in the middle of the period between redistricting efforts. Remember this:

The proposition calls for the districting to be done by "retired judges". >80% of retired judges in California are older white men. Nothing against them, but at least when the Legislature does it you have some hope of diverse perspectives looking at the problem.

Prop 78:

Here's all you need to know: the pharmaceutical companies support this pharmaceutical reform proposition. Companies, which are tasked above all else to deliver profits, shouldn't be expected to reform or police themselves...and we should not take their word about the best way to reform or police them either.

There, all done.

Bush II; Day 325: Digby on Roberts and Coice

Must-read post for the day.

Seriously, how do you refute what Digby is saying in this post?

I Miss Bill

Bill Clinton on Meet the Press

Sigh.

Bush II; Day 313: How Bush Blew It

I know that I linked to this second hand (by linking to Brad De Long's post that linked to it) but you really should make a point to read the Newsweek article: How BUsh Blew It.

So depressing and amazing. Chickens. Roost. Welcome home.

And you should be reading TalkingPointsMemo on the post Katrina "responsibility" moment, especially this post.

Yeah, I know, it sounds like "fingerpointing" or playing the "blame game". So exactly what other helpful tasks am I keeping you from by asking you to think about how we got where we are; why we got where we are...and how to avoid getting there again?

Bush II; Day 307: Tone-deafness runs in the Bush family

You just have to read it to believe it.

Barbara Bush, upon viewing the scores of evacuees sleeping on cots in the Astrodome says: "And so many of the people in the arena here, you
know, were underprivileged anyway, so this--this is working very well for them."

I have no comment. There is nothing to be said.

UPDATED: Bush II; Day 306: Keith Olbermann says it all. And so does Andrew Sullivan

Video of his editorial...don't call it a rant; it's controlled, it's rational. It's common sense.

One could ask where was the press when we needed it a year ago.

But let's be glad they're finally stepping up to the plate now.

UPDATED: Sure you can call Andrew Sullivan a Johnny-Come-Lately who has said some horrendous things about liberals in his time. But for the last year you cannot accuse him of being the typical partisan apologist conservative who'd rather re-elect a monkey than admit their guy is neither competent nor compassionate.

Andrew was on the Chris Matthews show Sunday morning and his anger and shame were powerful and bracing. So is this article.

Bush II; Day 248: A reasonable way to deal with Novak

Jay Rosen has a reasonable way to deal with douchebag of liberty Robert Novak:

Let him feel some chilling effects until he is more forthcoming.

And Surfette, Lisa Stone, expands on Jay's piece here.

I know this story seems like a backburner thing compared to some other events going on in the world. But there are extremely disturbing conclusions we can draw from it about how power is wielded in this country right now.

Bush II; Day 240: George Lakoff on the Huffington Post

Gets it right on Karl Rove and how the Democrats played right into his hands.

A good, bracing read and reminder of how important it is to stand up, don't backdown, and attack when attacking is justified.

As Pat Schroeder said: we are not above the fray. We are right there in it.

Bush II; Day 220: True words from Unfogged

Great post title at the Unfogged blog:

"My country right or wrong - but I much prefer right"

When people justify torture and the erosion of basic civil liberties in the name of security, this is what I'll say.

When people justify discrimination in the name of their interpretation of what Jesus must have meant, and their willful ignorance of the fact that their religion is not equivalent to this country's body of law, this is what I'll say.

When people claim on the one hand that we shouldn't care about what's happening in the Sudan or elsewhere because we gotta take care of Americans first...but then somehow that taking care of Americans doesn't include making sure American children have health care, or that American troops are well-armored, or that American seniors can afford both prescriptions and food, this is what I'll say.

I love my country despite its weaknesses...and when its weaknesses are perpetrated on the nation, and our national conscience is heavily burdened, by the actions of an arrogant, extremist minority who do not think they answer to the current laws of this country, let alone the open, generous, fair-minded spirit of this country...then it is patriotism to say it aloud:

My country right or wrong, but I much prefer right...and ladies and gentlemen what we have going on right now and right here is not right.

Bush II; Day 214: Some great speeches for your weekend

Take Back America 2005 just wrapped up, and some of my favorite speakers were there.

So if you'd like to be inspired and motivated, then watch:

Bill Moyers & Arianna Huffington

HERE.

Do it!

Bush II; Day 207: Wes Clark on Memorial Day

Yo know I love to plug the general. You can just read the transcript of his Saturday radio address.

Or you can listen to the mp3 file found over here at Kicking Ass.

I'd go for the listen. Clark gets very impassioned at the end.

Convention: Barbara Boxer Speech link

I loved Boxer as much, no really more, than Dean, so so you can watch her too.

Convention: Howard Dean video link

See Chairman Dean's speech for yourself here.

The Convention: Communications & Framing

On the final morning I attended a panel on Communications that featured some of the best content of the weekend.

The panel was led by Rick Jacobs, who's been hired to drive Democratic efforts into all of California's precincts, not just the already-blue ones. Joining him were Ann Lewis, Clinton's former Communications Director, Kevin Bleyer, the sole Democrat on Dennis Miller's writing team (and a self-proclaimed "intellectual prostitute"!) Sergio Bendixon, a pollster who focused on disturbing poll stats regarding the Latino vote in California and finally, rock star Arianna Huffington.

A couple of great lines:

Ann Lewis-"Yes, Democrats support democracy across the world...and here at home!" That got a big reaction of course.

Arianna is of course, one of my heroes. Among the many many things she said that articulated perfectly what I feel, she made one great quip:

"Republicans don't have the corner on moral values...why should Republicans have all the no-fun?"

And one great (and scary) point:

"Republicans are going to make sure we are living in a time of war."

Here's Arianna:

And the rest of the panel:

Snapshots from the Convention

Yes, I went to the Convention, and no, I haven't written about it yet. I did my best to record some of the best moments from the series of great speakers I got to see up close and personal.

I also took pictures, which really didn't come out so well, but oh well, here goes:

Is Phil Angelides our next Governor? He seems to have broad support, and he is obviously getting coaching, pulling off some good one-liners like: "We're right and he's just far right" And another speaker credited Phil with an awesome analogy...the Budweiser 401K. I don't recall all the metrics, but apparently if one had invested a thousand dollars in the stock market over the last xx years one would walk away with less money than if one invested that money in Budweiser and returned the bottles to get the deposit back! Awesome! Here's Phil:

Read on in the extended entry...

Don Perata had a couple of great quips too like: "A car is as important as a spouse in this state" "I'm a girlie-man." Now both of these are amusing only if you don't think too deeply about them, so stop and move along...nothing to see here.

I think it was Nancy Pelosi who pointed out that Ah-nold "won't eliminate the tax credit for million dollar homes, but does want to cut renter's credit for seniors making over $13k." This is why all the Republican talk about "no new taxes" is so hypocritical and disgusting. Here's Nancy:

Our own Zoe Lofgren had this to say: "Schwarzenegger has the same agenda as the Republicans in Washington...except the stuff about sex."

Barbara Boxer ROCKED. Honestly, I wish she would run for President. People think she's too liberal or too polarizing...but isn't that what they say on the end of the spectrum about Bush? But what they also say about Bush is that "people know where he stands." You and I know this is mostly BS, but he gives that illusion. With Boxer it's the real deal. She is even more up front. She puts it out there, shows some spine, and people have to respect her for it. Howard Dean (and others) reinforced this idea that Democrats need to stand, unafraid, and demonstrate their "deep convictions." No one needs to tell Barbara to do this; it's her stock in trade. Here's Barbara:

Another common theme was the Republicans "arrogance of power." In an America that fights for the underdog and doesn't like to be bullied (or, in its heart, to be perceived as the bully) this may be the downfall of the Republicans. It's not specifically about abortion or euthanasia or judge appointees or corrupt congressmen. It's about the smell of arrogance that hangs over the Republican response to each of these issues.

Howard Dean was the main attraction at the evening's dinner, and he didn't disappoint, although for my money Boxer got a bigger rise out of the crowd. Dean told some stories and made some points. Some of his salient points:

-The way these Republicans "borrow and spend" means you "can't trust Republicans with taxpayer dollars." Boom, 'nuff said.

-The Social Security debate isn't just about the money; it's about whether we still have responsibility to each other as a community.

-Some people say they're "pro-life", but that can mean for themselves. He told a great story about a Mississippi woman who said she was pro-life, meaning she wouldn't have an abortion and wouldn't want her daughter to have one. But she didn't think that meant she wanted to tell her neighbor down the block what to do. To a Democrat that smells like pro-choice.

This last point got me thinking. I think the time for framing the abortion as a "Choice" issue is gone. It implies a willfullness...one chooses because one desires. I think Dean's framing the abortion issue as a "rights" issue is better. He said, "who has the right to make your private medical decision? Congress or you and your doctor?" It's the same issue that arose over Terri Schiavo. Who had the right to step in there? People sure didn't think it was Congress.

Here's Howard Dean in a really crappy picture:

My favorite part of the convention, though, had to be a panel on the last morning about Communications and framing. So I'll give that a post of it own. Stay tuned.

Bush II; Day 138: One quote says it all

"DeLay and Hastert decided that the House Government Reform Committee, although drained by 11 hours of hearings on the issue of steroids in baseball, should launch an inquiry into the [Schiavo] case and issue subpoenas to doctors and hospice administrators to stop them from disconnecting Schiavo's tube."

Duh, sorry: Source: 3/19/05 Mercury

Seems to me that what we have here is a lot of politicians wanting to avoid the hard decisions and negotiations and compromises around issues that are on their plate: like the budget, Social Security etc. So instead we have a lot of grandstanding.

I'm just wondering exactly what steroids in baseball and Terry Schiavo's individual case has to do with Government Reform.

Is that wrong of me?

Bonus Link: Lengthy Digby post on the topic. Key excerpt:

"By now most people who read liberal blogs are aware that George W. Bush signed a law in Texas that expressly gave hospitals the right to remove life support if the patient could not pay and there was no hope of revival, regardless of the patient's family's wishes. It is called the Texas Futile Care Law. Under this law, a baby was removed from life support against his mother's wishes in Texas just this week. A 68 year old man was given a temporary reprieve by the Texas courts just yesterday.

And those of us who read liberal blogs also know that this grandstanding by the congress is a purely political move designed to appease the religious right and that the legal maneuverings being employed would be anathema to any true small government conservative."

Bush II; Day 106: What do 4500 roses look like?

Well, check out this photo of Barbara Boxer on Valentine's Day, and you'll find out. See, these are the flowers she received in her office reflecting the thanks of a grateful nation that someone has the guts to call it like it is on the election, and on Condi, and on Gonzales, and on social security. Boxer for President...what do you think?

BTW: I didn't know Boxer had her own diary on the Daily Kos site...how cool is that?

Bush II; Day 102: Howard Dean, Party Chair

I wasn't a Deaniac during the primaries. If I'm being perfectly honest I found his communication style stiff, and kind of cranky. I'm no better than those who said Kerry was boring and pedantic I guess.

But when I've heard him speak in casual settings...talk shows rather than debates...I've appreciated his blunt, open message and long thought that his reputation (ultra-liberal, nutty) didn't seem to match the substance (no-nonsense, rational.)

Now he's been elected Chair, and I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that he can encourage party unity, plainspokenness and passion in all Democrats. I think we need all three of those qualities to regain the majority our positions on the issues seem to justify us having.

Read Howard Dean's Plan for the Democratic Party, and tell me...can you disagree with a single part of it? I can't.

Bush II; Day Ninety-Six: Today's Hero: James Wolcott

I've been trying to put into words how I feel about Andrew Sullivan and his imminent departure from regular blogging.

I mean, he's a good writer, no doubt. And he was a strong anti-Bush voice...even though you could tell it was killing him inside. But he has spouted as much vicious rhetoric as the next right-winger when the mood struck him, so I never thought of him as on my side. If Bush wasn't so virulently anti-gay, Sullivan would have been stumping for him most enthusiastically and passionately, I wager.

Now James Wolcott who, I dare say, is an even better writer than Sullivan, expresses what were only wild thoughts colliding in my brain.

Must-read post of the day on Sullivan, his long goodbye and the State of the Union address.

Bush II; Day Ninety-One: The Democratic Pre-buttal to the State of the Union Address

I have to say I like that some Democrats are finally willing to stand up, stand together, make some noise.

Maybe Barbara Boxer is pulling them kicking and screaming into casting aside their fear and demoralization and setting about the work to re-claim the country and its values from the neo-cons kidnapping it.

Case in point: the Democrats have issued a pre-buttal to Bush's State of the Union speech scheduled for the 2nd. We know his speech will be full of sound and fury and signify nothing, so you can watch or read some truth here:

Nancy Pelosi's Pre-buttal

Harry Reid's Pre-buttal

In Honor of MLK DAY: Listen to "I Have a Dream"

If you've only ever read it, or only ever heard snippets, then do yourself a favor and listen to MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech in its entirety.

Here.

It is more than you probably remember it being. And it resonates today, perhaps unfortunately.

Listen.

Some Links for the Weekend

Just because I'm focusing on just one (OK, sometimes two) "Outrage of the Day" here at the SCCDP blog doesn't mean I'm not still paying attention other things. So here are some good links for your weekend reading:

1. A little bit from my Personal Blog on Boxer's win and one man's quest to "re-brand" the Democrats:
Boxer/Re-branding Post

2. Salon.com report on interview with Colin Powell. Good soldier to the end. [Must watch brief ad to get Day Pass, if you're not already a member.]

3. Scathing WaPo analysis of Michael Powell's reign as FCC Chairman. Hint: "reign" was chosen on purpose to reflect Powell's desire to have dictatorial control over your TV, your radio, your phone, your PC...and probably some day your brainwaves. Bonus Link: Jeff Jarvis expose on how 3 complaints generated a 1.2 million dollar fine for ABC. Yes. 3 complaints.

4. And if you haven't already, you might want to check out SorryEverybody.com and ApologiesAccepted.com.

Quote of the Day: Oh, if only wehad known BEFORE the election

"The objective of securing the safety of Americans from crime and terror has been achieved."

JOHN ASHCROFT, the attorney general, in his resignation letter.

Michael Moore: One Day Left

Lightning Rod though he may be, Michael Moore is an excellent communicator.

And he has a lot to say too all sorts of people in this, the last day before Election Day.

I find it inspiring and motivating.

How about you?

Wes Clark: Secretary of Defense? or State?

Well, for now, he's simply slamming Bush/Cheney whenever they dare to question Kerry's commitment to our troops.

You can read the latest here.

So Many Republicans for Kerry

Here's just one more, a full-page ad that the founder of Land's End took out in Wisconsin (Land's End corporate HQ.)

Can't Help...Lovin' Dat Michael Moore of Mine

Yes, I'm mixing my political blog with my musical theatre blog now...it's been a long political season.

Nothing particularly newsworthy about this...just Michael Moore up to his usual rabble rousing, using humor as the best political weapon.

A Series of Great NY Times Links

The NY Times has had a series of great column and Op-Ed pieces on the last few days.

Links and brief descriptions in the extended entry:

Unfortunately, registration is required and access is cut off after a week. The Times sucks for that!

Robert Wright on Bush's "Faith" and "Optimism"

The ever-wacky Maureen Down on Dick Cheney-stein

Paul Krugman on Al Qa Qaa as just one more in a LONG LIST of incompetencies by the Bush Administration. (And he mentions quite a few of the breaking stories that I identified as sending the momentum Kerry's way.)

Thomas Friedman on Polarization

The ever-witty and articulate Frank Rich on our mass overload on the empty, entertainment-driven presidency

Hunter S. Thompson's Kerry Endorsement: Must Be Read To Be Believed

I really can't say much else about it. Thompson is as wildly outspoken and inappropriate as you would expect.

He'd vote for Nixon over Bush! (And he despised Nixon.)

Anyway, if you're a Thompson fan, or just curious...check it out.

Eminem's New Video: Scary and Powerful

Eminem has a new video out. It is frightening in its intensity; powerful in its passion, and contains a message that is surprisingly mature.

I've never been much of an Eminem fan, nor rap in general. I remember the first rap song I ever hear, "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash. I was driving to my college job at Macy's, and I sat in my car in the parking lot listening to the whole thing. I was blown away by its message, by the anger, by the honesty. So, to me rap is about the message, but with far too many rap songs you can't understand the message, or if you can, it's about as hateful towards women, towards gays, towards various "others" as can be.

I don't deny Eminem has talent and power. But his raps are often screeds, to my ear.

So, while watching his latest, "Mosh", I kept imagining what I would think of it if the target of his animosity was something/someone I supported, rather than George Bush. I think I'd be disturbed by the imagery, by the level of hatred and anger being put out there. The video's mood of impending doom is powerful, but very dark.

But you cannot deny that this kind of anger and power will reach some number of Eminem's fans.

And by having a twist ending that asks Eminem's "followers" to be a part of the political process, rather than a new problem, the video tries to end with a message of peaceful protest and power, not the violence that felt inevitable through most of the video.

This video might not reach you, but it's going to reach some people out there. Take a look. Forward it along. I think it's a powerful statement, albeit a little frightening.

Jesse Ventura Opens Up

Jesse comes clean about why he's a Kerry supporter.

And does it in his usual, no-holds-barred style.

Check it out.

Caroline Kennedy with the Smackdown!

Caroline Kennedy doesn't want Bush using her father's name.

And Maria Shriver deprived Ah-nold of sex for two weeks after his Convention speech.

I love the Kennedy women :)

Des Moines Register Kerry Endorsement

Another well-written and convincing endorsement, this time focused very heavily on Kerry's sterling record of achievement.

Key paragraphs:

"Yes, Kerry is liberal. But what's to fear from a liberal president? That he would run big deficits? That he would increase federal spending? That he would expand the power of the federal government over individuals' lives? Nothing Kerry could do could top what President Bush has already done in those realms.

That's a key quality, especially in an angrily polarized America. Of President Bush's shortcomings, the most disappointing is the betrayal of his promise to be a uniter. America should be united at times like these - and was for a shining moment after 9/11. But the president let that slip away, deepening divisions by adopting a my-way-or-the-highway cocksureness on both domestic and foreign affairs."

Clear-headed Kerry Endorsement

The Orlando Sentinel endorsed Bush in 2000, and in fact hasn't endorsed a Democratic presidential candidate since 1964.

But Bush vs. Kerry changes all that, and they have written a very concise, clear reasoning...lacking any fervent partisan rhetoric, sticking to just the facts, ma'am.

Read it here.

Nice Kerry Quote on the 3 Responsibilities of the President

And nice, concise breakdown of where Bush stands on all three at The Talent Show.

The WaPo Endorsement of Kerry

Is here.

94 Reasons NOT to vote for George Bush

If you still needed any.

Well, maybe you don't. But if you know anybody who does...forward them this helpful compilation from the Orlando Weekly.

My New Hero: Alan Hevesi

Who is he? The Comptroller for the State of NY, whose Retirement Fund happens to be invested in Sinclair Broadcasting.

Hevesi wrote a letter that can only be described as a smack-down to Sinclair.

Find it here at truthout.org.

You don't even have to read the whole thing to fall in love Hevesi.

Most Ironic Kerry Endorsement?

Check out this site: Bush Relatives for Kerry!

Favorite quote:

" I'm voting for John Kerry because I'm a Christian. I know that my second cousin, George Bush, claims that he is the anointed leader of the American people and that God told him to run for office. I believe he may even believe that. I don't."

The Boston Globe Endorses Kerry

Kerry's hometown paper gives a ringing endorsement that is as pro-Kerry as the Times Endorsement tends toward the anti-Bush.

Key excerpt:

John Kerry's core strengths: an ability to see complex problems in new, often prescient, ways and a willingness to seek collaborative solutions. Far from being wavering or indecisive, Kerry's worldview has been steadfastly informed by these values for as long as we on this page have known him. In complex and dangerous times, the United States needs a leader who can bring together people and ideas.

Check it out

The NY Times Kerry Endorsement

More than an absolute ravaging of Bush and his heinous record, the Times talks about why thy have come to admire Kerry over this last year of campaigning.

No small part of this admiration:

1. His devotion to public service

2. His intelligence and common sense

Key excerpt:

We look back on the past four years with hearts nearly breaking, both for the lives unnecessarily lost and for the opportunities so casually wasted. Time and again, history invited George W. Bush to play a heroic role, and time and again he chose the wrong course. We believe that with John Kerry as president, the nation will do better.

But if what you want is a run-down of all of the reasons that Bush will go down in history as a terrible President, they are listed here.

Everything done that was "inappropraite".

And everything done that tells me that Bush simply is "not a good man."

Here's the link. [Registration required.]

The full text is in the extended entry.

John Kerry for President
NY Times
Published: October 17, 2004

Senator John Kerry goes toward the election with a base that is built more on opposition to George W. Bush than loyalty to his own candidacy. But over the last year we have come to know Mr. Kerry as more than just an alternative to the status quo. We like what we've seen. He has qualities that could be the basis for a great chief executive, not just a modest improvement on the incumbent.

We have been impressed with Mr. Kerry's wide knowledge and clear thinking - something that became more apparent once he was reined in by that two-minute debate light. He is blessedly willing to re-evaluate decisions when conditions change. And while Mr. Kerry's service in Vietnam was first over-promoted and then over-pilloried, his entire life has been devoted to public service, from the war to a series of elected offices. He strikes us, above all, as a man with a strong moral core.
•
There is no denying that this race is mainly about Mr. Bush's disastrous tenure. Nearly four years ago, after the Supreme Court awarded him the presidency, Mr. Bush came into office amid popular expectation that he would acknowledge his lack of a mandate by sticking close to the center. Instead, he turned the government over to the radical right.

Mr. Bush installed John Ashcroft, a favorite of the far right with a history of insensitivity to civil liberties, as attorney general. He sent the Senate one ideological, activist judicial nominee after another. He moved quickly to implement a far-reaching anti-choice agenda including censorship of government Web sites and a clampdown on embryonic stem cell research. He threw the government's weight against efforts by the University of Michigan to give minority students an edge in admission, as it did for students from rural areas or the offspring of alumni.

When the nation fell into recession, the president remained fixated not on generating jobs but rather on fighting the right wing's war against taxing the wealthy. As a result, money that could have been used to strengthen Social Security evaporated, as did the chance to provide adequate funding for programs the president himself had backed. No Child Left Behind, his signature domestic program, imposed higher standards on local school systems without providing enough money to meet them.

If Mr. Bush had wanted to make a mark on an issue on which Republicans and Democrats have long made common cause, he could have picked the environment. Christie Whitman, the former New Jersey governor chosen to run the Environmental Protection Agency, came from that bipartisan tradition. Yet she left after three years of futile struggle against the ideologues and industry lobbyists Mr. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney had installed in every other important environmental post. The result has been a systematic weakening of regulatory safeguards across the entire spectrum of environmental issues, from clean air to wilderness protection.
•
The president who lost the popular vote got a real mandate on Sept. 11, 2001. With the grieving country united behind him, Mr. Bush had an unparalleled opportunity to ask for almost any shared sacrifice. The only limit was his imagination.

He asked for another tax cut and the war against Iraq.

The president's refusal to drop his tax-cutting agenda when the nation was gearing up for war is perhaps the most shocking example of his inability to change his priorities in the face of drastically altered circumstances. Mr. Bush did not just starve the government of the money it needed for his own education initiative or the Medicare drug bill. He also made tax cuts a higher priority than doing what was needed for America's security; 90 percent of the cargo unloaded every day in the nation's ports still goes uninspected.

Along with the invasion of Afghanistan, which had near unanimous international and domestic support, Mr. Bush and his attorney general put in place a strategy for a domestic antiterror war that had all the hallmarks of the administration's normal method of doing business: a Nixonian obsession with secrecy, disrespect for civil liberties and inept management.

American citizens were detained for long periods without access to lawyers or family members. Immigrants were rounded up and forced to languish in what the Justice Department's own inspector general found were often "unduly harsh" conditions. Men captured in the Afghan war were held incommunicado with no right to challenge their confinement. The Justice Department became a cheerleader for skirting decades-old international laws and treaties forbidding the brutal treatment of prisoners taken during wartime.

Mr. Ashcroft appeared on TV time and again to announce sensational arrests of people who turned out to be either innocent, harmless braggarts or extremely low-level sympathizers of Osama bin Laden who, while perhaps wishing to do something terrible, lacked the means. The Justice Department cannot claim one major successful terrorism prosecution, and has squandered much of the trust and patience the American people freely gave in 2001. Other nations, perceiving that the vast bulk of the prisoners held for so long at Guantánamo Bay came from the same line of ineffectual incompetents or unlucky innocents, and seeing the awful photographs from the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, were shocked that the nation that was supposed to be setting the world standard for human rights could behave that way.
•
Like the tax cuts, Mr. Bush's obsession with Saddam Hussein seemed closer to zealotry than mere policy. He sold the war to the American people, and to Congress, as an antiterrorist campaign even though Iraq had no known working relationship with Al Qaeda. His most frightening allegation was that Saddam Hussein was close to getting nuclear weapons. It was based on two pieces of evidence. One was a story about attempts to purchase critical materials from Niger, and it was the product of rumor and forgery. The other evidence, the purchase of aluminum tubes that the administration said were meant for a nuclear centrifuge, was concocted by one low-level analyst and had been thoroughly debunked by administration investigators and international vetting. Top members of the administration knew this, but the selling went on anyway. None of the president's chief advisers have ever been held accountable for their misrepresentations to the American people or for their mismanagement of the war that followed.

The international outrage over the American invasion is now joined by a sense of disdain for the incompetence of the effort. Moderate Arab leaders who have attempted to introduce a modicum of democracy are tainted by their connection to an administration that is now radioactive in the Muslim world. Heads of rogue states, including Iran and North Korea, have been taught decisively that the best protection against a pre-emptive American strike is to acquire nuclear weapons themselves.
•
We have specific fears about what would happen in a second Bush term, particularly regarding the Supreme Court. The record so far gives us plenty of cause for worry. Thanks to Mr. Bush, Jay Bybee, the author of an infamous Justice Department memo justifying the use of torture as an interrogation technique, is now a federal appeals court judge. Another Bush selection, J. Leon Holmes, a federal judge in Arkansas, has written that wives must be subordinate to their husbands and compared abortion rights activists to Nazis.

Mr. Bush remains enamored of tax cuts but he has never stopped Republican lawmakers from passing massive spending, even for projects he dislikes, like increased farm aid.

If he wins re-election, domestic and foreign financial markets will know the fiscal recklessness will continue. Along with record trade imbalances, that increases the chances of a financial crisis, like an uncontrolled decline of the dollar, and higher long-term interest rates.

The Bush White House has always given us the worst aspects of the American right without any of the advantages. We get the radical goals but not the efficient management. The Department of Education's handling of the No Child Left Behind Act has been heavily politicized and inept. The Department of Homeland Security is famous for its useless alerts and its inability to distribute antiterrorism aid according to actual threats. Without providing enough troops to properly secure Iraq, the administration has managed to so strain the resources of our armed forces that the nation is unprepared to respond to a crisis anywhere else in the world.
•
Mr. Kerry has the capacity to do far, far better. He has a willingness - sorely missing in Washington these days - to reach across the aisle. We are relieved that he is a strong defender of civil rights, that he would remove unnecessary restrictions on stem cell research and that he understands the concept of separation of church and state. We appreciate his sensible plan to provide health coverage for most of the people who currently do without.

Mr. Kerry has an aggressive and in some cases innovative package of ideas about energy, aimed at addressing global warming and oil dependency. He is a longtime advocate of deficit reduction. In the Senate, he worked with John McCain in restoring relations between the United States and Vietnam, and led investigations of the way the international financial system has been gamed to permit the laundering of drug and terror money. He has always understood that America's appropriate role in world affairs is as leader of a willing community of nations, not in my-way-or-the-highway domination.

We look back on the past four years with hearts nearly breaking, both for the lives unnecessarily lost and for the opportunities so casually wasted. Time and again, history invited George W. Bush to play a heroic role, and time and again he chose the wrong course. We believe that with John Kerry as president, the nation will do better.

Voting for president is a leap of faith. A candidate can explain his positions in minute detail and wind up governing with a hostile Congress that refuses to let him deliver. A disaster can upend the best-laid plans. All citizens can do is mix guesswork and hope, examining what the candidates have done in the past, their apparent priorities and their general character. It's on those three grounds that we enthusiastically endorse John Kerry for president.

UPDATED: Listen to Jon Stewart on 'Crossfire'

Jon Stewart was on Crossfire today, and he ate these guys for lunch.

Stewart is far more than a fake news anchor...he is, as Arianna called him: the chronicler of our times.

Listen here.

UPDATED:

Here's a site with the video for Stewart's Crossfire appearance.

Read Salon.com's War Room...it's been great

Salon.com has been having some great stories in their daily political War Room section.

It's true, you have to watch a brief ad to get access, but it's better than requiring you to register, tight?

Put it on your book mark list. (They have an RSS feed too.)

Great Bumper Sticker I Saw on 280

"I left the Republican Party when the Republican Party Left Me!"

Great post-debate blogger psot

From The Daily Kos:

This post demonstrates why the momentum is all in our favor. but also read the comments. The 4th Comment in is damn brilliant. i wish I'd written it:

You can go read the whole entry and scroll down to the 4th Comment, you can view other Comments by this guy, VeganPa or you can read that Comment text in the extended entry:

Kerry needs to start asking the American people straight-out: Do you really believe...

If you really believe that everything is going well in Iraq, where, every month, more Americans are butchered than the month before, vote for George Bush.

If you really believe freedom is on the march in Afghanistan, where heroin production is at record levels and the Taliban and warlords control much of the country, vote for George Bush.

If you really believe that the economy is doing great, where not enough jobs are created even to keep up with population growth, vote for George Bush.

If you really believe that those earning over $200,000 a year were abused by the tax code under Bill Clinton, and that trillions of dollars in new debt don't matter, vote for George Bush.

If you really believe that a microscopic clump of frozen cells deserves more moral consideration than Michael J. Fox, Christopher Reeve, and millions of other children and adults, vote for George Bush.

If you really believe that the current administration truly cares about the millions of kids who now live in poverty who didn't in 2000, that they care more about seniors than the drug companies, and that they care more about the environment than the oil, coal, logging, and mining companies, vote for George Bush.

If you really believe that yelling at and ridiculing those who disagree with or question you is the best way to lead, vote for George Bush.

But if you recognize that America has done better in the past, and can do better in the future, vote for change. Vote for John Kerry.

Message of the Week: They're Getting Desperate

And it's not pretty.

If you send out email blasts, if you write letters to the editor, if you call in to radio shows, or if you just talk to people throughout your daily life, here is the message for this week

Everywhere you turn, there is a strange smell: it's the smell of desperation, and the Bush Team reeks of it. What are the symptoms of desperation? Telling easily disproved lies to get a momentary zinger in, such as when Cheney told Edwards he had never met him before. Telling the networks you're going to introduce a major new policy to get live air time, and then delivering your basic stump speech, as Bush did on Wednesday. Taking a CIA report that basically knocks down every reason you gave for going to war, and saying it bolsters your position. Striking fear in the populace that our children's schools are next on the Al Qaeda list, the same day that poll numbers show Kerry taking the lead and job numbers show just what a failure this president has been domestically.

It's crunch time in BushWorld, and even the mainstream media is starting to notice and call it like they see it: the desperate moves of a losing campaign. Read Howard Fineman in Newsweek for just one example:

And why do we need to remember that they're desperate? Because desperate men will say anything. And as the Bush rhetoric gets more and more aggressive and attacking, demonizing and deceptive, mistaken and misleading, we need to keep our heads on straight and continue to stop the spin.

Their desperation isn't pretty. And it will take them straight home to Crawford.

Was Bush Wired?

You MUST hear about the latest scandalous rumor racing about online...that Bush was wearing a wire during the debate and being fed his lines.

As my sister put it: well then that makes his pathetic performance even sadder.

These type of rumors have been floated about Bush before. And it would certainly explain why he sometimes has weird pauses, and why he told someone to "let him finish", even though no one was speaking.

I also think, if it's true, then the media has known about it for a long time, and they ignored the debate rule that the candidates could not be shot from behind on purpose to expose it without having to report it.

Myself? I just thought he was wearing a strangely ill-fitting suit. And considering the resources available to the President, it actually is less likely that that is the explanation, rather than a transceiver pack!

Full Salon story in the extended entry:

Bush's mystery bulge
The rumor is flying around the globe. Was the president wired during the first debate?
- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Dave Lindorff

Oct. 8, 2004  |  Was President Bush literally channeling Karl Rove in his first debate with John Kerry? That's the latest rumor flooding the Internet, unleashed last week in the wake of an image caught by a television camera during the Miami debate. The image shows a large solid object between Bush's shoulder blades as he leans over the lectern and faces moderator Jim Lehrer.

The president is not known to wear a back brace, and it's safe to say he wasn't packing. So was the bulge under his well-tailored jacket a hidden receiver, picking up transmissions from someone offstage feeding the president answers through a hidden earpiece? Did the device explain why the normally ramrod-straight president seemed hunched over during much of the debate?

Bloggers are burning up their keyboards with speculation. Check out the president's peculiar behavior during the debate, they say. On several occasions, the president simply stopped speaking for an uncomfortably long time and stared ahead with an odd expression on his face. Was he listening to someone helping him with his response to a question? Even weirder was the president's strange outburst. In a peeved rejoinder to Kerry, he said, "As the politics change, his positions change. And that's not how a commander in chief acts. I, I, uh -- Let me finish -- The intelligence I looked at was the same intelligence my opponent looked at." It must be said that Bush pointed toward Lehrer as he declared "Let me finish." The green warning light was lit, signaling he had 30 seconds to, well, finish.

Hot on the conspiracy trail, I tried to track down the source of the photo. None of the Bush-is-wired bloggers, however, seemed to know where the photo came from. Was it possible the bulge had been Photoshopped onto Bush's back by a lone conspiracy buff? It turns out that all of the video of the debate was recorded and sent out by Fox News, the pool broadcaster for the event. Fox sent feeds from multiple cameras to the other networks, which did their own on-air presentations and editing.

To watch the debate again, I ventured to the Web site of the most sober network I could think of: C-SPAN. And sure enough, at minute 23 on the video of the debate, you can clearly see the bulge between the president's shoulder blades.

Bloggers stoke the conspiracy with the claim that the Bush administration insisted on a condition that no cameras be placed behind the candidates. An official for the Commission on Presidential Debates, which set up the lecterns and microphones on the Miami stage, said the condition was indeed real, the result of negotiations by both campaigns. Yet that didn't stop Fox from setting up cameras behind Bush and Kerry. The official said that "microphones were mounted on lecterns, and the commission put no electronic devices on the president or Senator Kerry." When asked about the bulge on Bush's back, the official said, "I don't know what that was."

So what was it? Jacob McKenna, a spyware expert and the owner of the Spy Store, a high-tech surveillance shop in Spokane, Wash., looked at the Bush image on his computer monitor. "There's certainly something on his back, and it appears to be electronic," he said. McKenna said that, given its shape, the bulge could be the inductor portion of a two-way push-to-talk system. McKenna noted that such a system makes use of a tiny microchip-based earplug radio that is pushed way down into the ear canal, where it is virtually invisible. He also said a weak signal could be scrambled and be undetected by another broadcaster.

Mystery-bulge bloggers argue that the president may have begun using such technology earlier in his term. Because Bush is famously prone to malapropisms and reportedly dyslexic, which could make successful use of a teleprompter problematic, they say the president and his handlers may have turned to a technique often used by television reporters on remote stand-ups. A reporter tapes a story and, while on camera, plays it back into an earpiece, repeating lines just after hearing them, managing to sound spontaneous and error free.

Suggestions that Bush may have using this technique stem from a D-day event in France, when a CNN broadcast appeared to pick up -- and broadcast to surprised viewers -- the sound of another voice seemingly reading Bush his lines, after which Bush repeated them. Danny Schechter, who operates the news site MediaChannel.org, and who has been doing some investigating into the wired-Bush rumors himself, said the Bush campaign has been worried of late about others picking up their radio frequencies -- notably during the Republican Convention on the day of Bush's appearance. "They had a frequency specialist stop me and ask about the frequency of my camera," Schechter said. "The Democrats weren't doing that at their convention."

Repeated calls to the White House and the Bush national campaign office over a period of three days, inquiring about what the president may have been wearing on his back during the debate, and whether he had used an audio device at other events, went unreturned. So far the Kerry campaign is staying clear of this story. When called for a comment, a press officer at the Democratic National Committee claimed on Tuesday that it was "the first time" they'd ever heard of the issue. A spokeswoman at the press office of Kerry headquarters refused to permit me to talk with anyone in the campaign's research office. Several other requests for comment to the Kerry campaign's press office went unanswered.

As for whether we really do have a Milli Vanilli president, the answer at this point has to be, God only knows.

Republicans for Kerry

It was never any surprise when Ron Reagan Jr. came out so strongly against Bush...he's been a lifelong liberal. It had its impact, but probably only on those who weren't really too plugged in.

Now, however, there are more endorsements coming Kerry's way, and from life-long Republicans.

The Talent Show blog has kindly consolidated 4 such endorsements into one post here.

But I wanted to especially and directly link you to John Eisenhower's column endorsing Kerry. President Eisenhower's son is a life-long (50-year) Republican who has now changed his registration to Independent.

It is not just Bush that he cannot support. He no longer recognizes his Party. This is significant. True.

And he presents his argument very forcefully and eloquently.

but look at all of the links in the Talent Show entry; they all have a point to make, and make well.

Framing the Debate

We all know that the Republicans are supposed to brilliant at "framing" the debate. Coining terms and getting their language generally accepted for common usage.

Such terms as:

Partial Birth Abortion (Not a medical term, that's for sure)

Climate Change (Rather than Global Warming)

and so on.

Well, here's a great site: AnotherRepublicanForKerry.

And here's his memo on how we should be framing the debate.

This is a great document. Yes, it mirrors most of the same arguments we have made in our handy one-page campaign literature hand-outs.

but it's worth listening to a good message twice...make sure it sinks in!

People Are Getting Riled Up

As you can imagine, I get a lot of political emails. Sure, most of them are from MoveOn and the DNC, asking for money more often than not.

But many of them are just regular folks who are riled up and trying to get other people riled up too.

One of the very common themes that explains why so many people I know are taking so much time to express themselves to pretty much everyone they know is that they don't trust or believe the media anymore. The media seems hopelessly biased to protect the incumbent and to have forgotten their job should be to investigate and inform.

I got a great rant-y email from a fellow volunteer yesterday on just this topic.

Favorite excerpt:

And then there were the lengthy articles in the New York Times and Washington Post abut how Bush’s and Kerry’s style may be more important than what they actually say. Yup, I’m sure gonna cast my vote for the guy who stands up the straightest at the podium. Kerry has perfect hair. But Bush isn’t wearing a tie these days. Yep, those are the real issues.

Entire text in extended entry:

Courtesy of intrepid Party volunteer, Ken:

This startling insight just in from Judy Woodruff’s column today on CNN.com:

"So...what is at stake for the candidates on Thursday?

A lot."

Hello? Judy? Are you some kind of idiot? Or do you think we are a bunch of
idiots? Fox News appears to be competing for best right-wing propaganda
disguised as news coverage. But CNN appears to be competing for the most
vapid news organization.

After Kerry's acceptance speech, Wolfe Blitzer turned to a co-anchor and
asked, "What do you think was at stake...?"

It’s time for CNN to come up with another question.

And then there were the lengthy articles in the New York Times and Washington Post abut how Bush’s and Kerry’s style may be more important than what they actually say. Yup, I’m sure gonna cast my vote for the guy who stands up the straightest at the podium. Kerry has perfect hair. But Bush isn’t wearing a tie these days. Yep, those are the real issues.

But seriously folks, there are serious issues at stake here, thought you’d never know it from the so-called news or the campaigns themselves.

And then there are the polls. It’s important to remember that if the polls meant anything, Howard Dean would be running for President today. Anybody remember Howard Dean?

The polls’ general lack of meaning hasn’t stopped, Judy, Wolfe and their colleagues from their myopia with the daily horse race and the candidates' barb of the day.

The polls, of course are all over the map. The news reports that they all show Bush ahead. But there was a poll released today that showed Kerry ahead by a point. You won’t hear about it from any of the major news organizations, because they didn’t conduct the poll and it goes against the "Kerry the Underdog" theme that the press has fallen into.

This most recent poll was conducted by Investors Business Daily and the
Christian Science Monitor. It shows Kerry with 46% and Bush with 45%.

Indeed, the media have noticed how confusing and contradictory the polls are. But instead of moving on to other topics that would actually educate the electorate about actual issues, they’re writing about how confusing and contradictory the polls are, as if that matters. In other words, the media don’t know what’s going on so they’re writing about their own lack of insight.

It comes down to this: Polls and pithy barbs are easier to write about than
poverty, global warming, national security, underemployment, etc. And the
press is a fundamentally lazy lot.

Watching the news is kinda like being a Mets fan: Sigh, maybe next season.

On Intelligence, and Why It Matters

I've been meaning to carefully read and pas along this article by blogger, Matt Yglesias, for a long time.

He makes a very basic, but forgotten argument: yes, intelligence matters, and yes Bush is NOT an intelligent guy, and yes, that should disqualify him to be our President.

And it's not so much that he's dumb. It's that he completely uninterested in thinking: in thinking about issues, thinking things through, thinking ahead.

We, as Democrats, tend to shy away from this argument. We don't want to be called elitists. This is amazing, given that our loyal base is anything but comprised of so-called intelligentsia, but rather regular, hard-working people who know we are the Party that looks out for the good of all, not the good of the few.

Yglesias does not shy away from the argument. And I find it compelling.

Read it.

Troubled Times Inspire Great Art

it's kind of a cliche, but it's nonetheless true. Troubled Times, whether personal or political, can inspire great work from artists.

E.L. Doctorow is a literary artist, and one who has explored political themes before. Earlier this month he published an essay in his local rag in the Hamptons.

One excerpt that had me nodding my head:

"But this president does not know what death is. He hasn't the mind for it. You see him joking with the press, peering under the table for the weapons of mass destruction he can't seem to find, you see him at rallies strutting up to the stage in shirt sleeves to the roar of the carefully screened crowd, smiling and waving, triumphal, a he-man."

This is what struck me after seeing "Fahrenheit 911." This president doesn't grasp the seriousness of situations with a mature and adult mind. He is a perpetual adolescent. And one who desires power and privilege like it was his life's blood.

Read the entire essay here.

Michael Moore is Singing my Song

OK, you know how I've been ranting about stupid Democrats eating their young, criticizing our candidate instead of Bush and falling into premature and unwarranted despair?

Apparently Michael Moore reads my blog, because his latest missive on his web site is in perfect harmony with my rants.

Read it...and then take it to heart. Really. Truly.

E-Bay is where all the missing family income has gone!

Check out this latest little verbal exchange between VP candidates Cheney and Edwards.

What cracks me up is Cheney's statement that Ebay-derived income is: "a source of money that didn't even exist 10 years ago"

Huh?

People act like everything that happens on the web is some kind of new magic. No, it's just the medium that is different; the activities are the same.

And before Ebay, people bought and sold stuff at flea markets, via want ads, via garage sales. Sure, lots more people are selling stuff on Ebay than probably did those other things, but most of these are not dealer-types, and they are making modest little amounts of money, that they probably spend bidding on other stuff on Ebay :)

The dealer-types were selling via other avenues before Ebay.

Once again the Internet is providing a more efficient, more scalable avenue for an activity, but it didn't CREATE the activity.

That's my opinion anyway. Am I wrong?

Wise (yet premature) Words from Robert McNamara

I've been reading Clinton's autobiography.

I've been reading it for what seems like a very long time. It is a very big book.

But last night I came upon a section that made me very sad. It represents what should be true, but isn't.

Seems that Robert McNamara, former Secretary of Defense and prosecutor of the Vietnam War, wrote President Clinton a letter upon his election in 1992.

Read the excerpt. It is beautifully written, amazingly relevant, and so so sad that McNamara's sentiments have not been borne out by current events.

It's in the extended entry:

McNamara's letter included the following:

"For me - and I believe for the nation as well - the Vietnam war finally ended the day you were elected president. By their votes, the American people, at long last, recognized that the Allers and the Clintons, when they questioned the wisdom and morality of their government's decisions relating to Vietnam, were no less patriotic than those who served in uniform. The anguish with which you and your friends debated our actions in 1969 was painful for you then and, I am sure, the resurrection of the issues during the campaign reopened old wounds. But the dignity with which you met the attacks, and your refusal to draw back from the belief that it is the responsibility of all citizens to question the basis for any decision to send our youth to war, has strengthened the nation for all time."

You Wanted Kerry to Fight Back? Well, Here He Goes

Read it; read it all.

The pass it along to any of your friends who have been getting discouraged or nervous or angry at Kerry, rather than that guy deserving of America's anger...Dubya.

Quote of the Day from wacky Maureen Dowd

I have to admit that sometimes Maureen Dowd escapes me. Especially if you've seen her live, say on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

But sometimes she comes out with some great quotes, and here's one today:

"Despite the fact that the economy is cratering, Iraq is teetering, Afghanistan is reverting to warlords, Dick Cheney is glowering at the world, the war on terror has created more acts of terror, Ahmad Chalabi is an accused spy for Iran and the Pentagon has an accused spy for Israel, Republicans felt so good about themselves that when Arnold Schwarzenegger said he was inspired to become a Republican by Richard Nixon, they exploded. When Tricky Dick is a hot applause line, they're feeling cocky."

Blogging the RNC Convention: Day 2

OK, again I was stuck listening to quite a bit of Day 2 in my car. Luckily my Palm Tungsten T3 has a voice recorder.

So I was recording my thoughts. Problem is, sometimes I didn't say who was speaking! Grrr.

Constant hypocrisy truly abounds in these Republican speakers though. Not one went by that didn't have me talking back to the radio.

I'm sure the other drivers along 280 South on Tuesday night were wondering about the crazy lady yelling in her car.

Of course, given the preponderance of Kerry stickers vs. Bush stickers you find in this area, I likely wasn't the only one.

Read more about it in the extended entry:

Okay, random guy #1 who said that Bush would fight for "the man stuck in prison overseas for practicing his faith", when we have a whole passel of folks stuck in Guantanamo, no charges, no lawyers, no due process? Somewhere in a foreign country they're saying the same thing about us.

Bill Frist: OMG...so MANY appalling things here.

This speech was Orwellian in its inaccurate use of wishful-thinking-language. For starters, how can Frist go on about how Bush has made sure that health insurance when you need it, when the recent Census figures clearly show that fewer people than ever actually have coverage?

And did he or did he not sound like a snale oil salesman with his "Git yer card now; it's simply; git it today; call this toll-free number." It was embarrassing, I mean this is the Senate Majority Leader we're talking about.

Can someone explain to me the logic behind saying. "Well, adult stem cell research has yielded results, but embryonic stem cell research is still in the early stages and hasn't yet yielded results." And so, of course, it follows we wouldn't want to get started as soon as possible or anything right?

Last thing about Bill Frist: does it not just epitomize the Republican affinity for the 'elites' (or Bush's base, as he likes to call them) that his big health care sob story is about a surgeon?????

Dude, his grandfather, father and he are all surgeons...most people in this country are NOT going to feel sorry for him, especially not compared to the little injured child that John Edwards went to court for.

But, oh yeah, it's all the trial lawyers' fault. Not the insurance or medical companies. I'm just not sure demonizing lawyers gets all that far.

Then NPR interviewed my favorite dude, Rick Santorum. This time not about abortion, but about the marriage issue. So Rick just thinks we ought to realize that marriage is a special thing, the best environment for raising well-adjusted children, and that children do better with a mom and a dad, so married moms and dads deserve special privileges and rights, that's all. No wonder single parent families struggle so much in this country huh? Doesn't that just discount so many people, relationships, families, and not even gay ones, that you know?

And I didn't even watch the Bush twins, but the blogosphere is buzzing about them and their poor performance.

Dan Gillmor, Business Writer, Takes on "Compassionate Conservatism"

Dan Gillmore writes about a lot of things: technology, blogging, social media, journalism, copyright laws, and every now and then, politics.

Today he gets it just right.

My favorite quote:

But now that it's election season, we're supposed to think these folks are now going to live up to Bush's 2000 promise not to be a divider? Maybe Bush is compassionate in his heart. His policies rarely reflect any such thing.

Republicans must think swing voters are stupid or have a 30-second attention span.

Honestly! A Catastrophic Success? Huh?

Sometimes Bush leaves me speechless.

This is one of those times.

here is the story.

And here is the quote that makes my head want to explode:

Bush, in an interview with Time magazine, suggested he still would have gone into Iraq, but with different tactics had he known "that an enemy that should have surrendered or been done in escaped and lived to fight another day."

He called the swift military offensive that led to the fall of Baghdad in April 2003 "a catastrophic success" even though fighting continues despite the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's government.

How exactly is it a catastrophic success that you let the enemy escape and live to fight another day?

And isn't that exactly what Guiliani was using as the reason to compare the world's leaders for the last 30 years to Chamberlain and his appeasement of Hitler?

Honestly.

They guy should just learn to not speak. Especially not off the cuff. Ever.

Results Matter? Then Why Don't You List Some?

Again, feeling nauseated by exposing myself to the noxious fumes of self-righteousness and disingenuousness, AKA the RNC Convention.

Apparently the phrase "Under George Bush's leadership" is going to be as well-worn this week as "safer at home and respected abroad" was at the DNC Convention.

But it's almost funny how they keep talking about results, but never actually listing any. Oh, sure, they'll say..."students are learning again" or "the economy is recovering" but you will wait in vain for any supporting follow-up data.

But, as ever, Arianna comes to my aid.

Read this blog entry to see some results that Bush surely doesn't want to be the ones that people think "matter."

Anyone Heard the Phrase "Two Wrongs..."

Here is an instructive quote from a recent Time Magazine interview with Laura Bush (Thanks to Atrios for the link:

TIME
Do you think these swift-boat ads are unfair to John Kerry?

BUSH
Do I think they're unfair? Not really. There have been millions of terrible ads against my husband.

So then two wrongs do make a right I guess? Wouldn't this have been an opportunity for her to take the higher ground against negative campaigning?

Well, I guess Laura really does fit right into the Bush clan, where it's really not about right and wrong; it's about effectiveness, pure & simple.

It's nice of Bush after 2 weeks of SWVFT hysteria to finally come out and say, sure Kerry was heroic, maybe even a little more heroic than I (!)

Perhaps doing that immediately when McCain asked you too might have seemed a wee bit more sincere, though, don't you think?

And maybe not having your hacks claim there was "nothing, nada, no connection" between your campaign and the ads, when you had not one but two employees have resigned because they were among those involved with the ads...maybe that would have made it all seem a wee bit more credible.

And, I'm guessing here, but it could be that your current righteous indignation about ads from 527 groups would carry a little more weight if you hadn't supported their "right to free speech" last time the issue came up.

But as always, I'm confusing my concept of "free speech" that is, for everyone, with yours, that is, for your supporters only.

Kerry on The Daily Show

Brief immediate reaction:

He did a great job. He seemed loose,relaxed, fully equipped with a sense of humor...and always driving to talk on point and message about issues. real issues. Like people losing their health care, going to war without international participation etc.

Bu the wisest thing he did: set up Bush as the one who's a good debater.

This is brilliantly turning the Bush strategy right around on him. Bush folks always try to portray their guy as just a plain-talkin' dude who doesn't stand a chance against those slick, smooth-talkin' politicians like Ann Richards and Al Gore.

He therefore exceeds expectations when he doesn't start jabbering like a monkey.

As Kerry very correctly points out though: Bush has won every debate he's had...with Richards; with Gore. So he clearly a very good debater.

Nice job, Senator.We're gonna have to play their game, and that was a lovely lob right there.

Fox News Channel Parent Co. President is for Kerry!

I LOVE this. Ah, the irony.

Peter Chernin, President and C.O.O. of News Corporation (yes, Rupert Murdoch's company and parent of Fox News Channel) is one of Kerry main supporters. Not just a supporter, but one might call him a rabid supporter.

Here's Chernin with the smackdown:

"The Kerry-Edwards plan for America is exactly what is needed to jumpstart businesses and get America working again. It will lower healthcare costs and cut taxes on corporations and small businesses to strengthen our economy today and invest in education, science and innovation to help us stay competitive in the economy of tomorrow."

Bill Clinton on TDS

Great quote from Bi