October 2004 Archives

About to go out of town for a couple days and will be in New Mexico next week so I am gonna run a whole bunch of link by you for some weekend reading. Enjoy.

Corruption abounds in the White House as a Halliburton probe shows Cheney did have spurious conversations with the free ride contract kids. The GOP is stopped from removing 20,000 citizen's right to vote in Ohio. First time voters weigh in on why they are going to the polls this election. Soldier's votes and why they are so crucial this election year.

You've probably heard of Al-Qaqaa, the weapon's site where, by some estimates, 377 tons of explosives disappeared. The administration has apparently known about this for some time and ha, like a lot of things, neglected to tell us. But Rudy Giuliani has no problem blaming the troops for this event instead of, well, the administration who planned the invasion perhaps? Gen. Wesley Clark rebutts that slimey line of argument as well as taking a shot at Bush by using his own comments against him (Kerry had done to same to the false president).

So, the bad news for Bush continues to pour in, which one journalist assesses could only mean a Kerry victory, if people actually voted about the issues instead of party loyalty. FDR's grandson reminds people what a War President actually is. The Bush campaign is told to stop using a song at their rallies by the songwriter.

Two tools to figure out how you actually lean politically. One by the Christian Science Monitor. The other by AOL/Time which I had linked previously.

For any Republicans who actually still read this (and a shout out to you temporarily converted Democrats who don't have a GOP candidate you can believe in and are voting for Kerry this time around), I've been asking for quite awhile and still haven't received any reasons why you would actually vote for Bush. So...I'm gonna address in broad strokes why you shouldn't.

So, you voted for the Shrub because you wanted to restore some form of "dignity" to the White House. Seeing as your top dogs were more worried about what goes on in people's personal lives (big omen there by the way) than on what was best for the country, you went and voted for a drunk and former coke addict who had previously failed at most things he had ever tried. Good call. From there he proceeded to ignore any efforts at improving race relations, pissed off Russia and China, worked to undermine women, and prepared to give away our economic surplus to people who traditionally don't need the extra cash (and don't give me any of that repackaged Trickle Down theory crap because I still don't see those jobs being created).

Then we got attacked by psychos who had a strange and horrific bent view of the world because they had twisted the views of their chosen religion to something dark and menacing. But on to Al-Qaeda. We went into Afghanistan with the world behind us all the way, even the Cubans, Russians, Chinese, French, and Libya. We could do no wrong. Until of course, Bush began to unravel everything by focusing on Iraq. If you still believe Saddam was behind 9-11, had ties to Al-Qaeda, had WMDs, was an "imminent threat" to the US, and was the Easter Bunny, you are absolutely WRONG. Do you get it?

Anyway, while ruining the country's good name abroad, Bush reluctantly created the Department of Homeland Security which he immediately twisted. Instead of finding ways to protect the country from external threats, we began to have our rights taken away in airports, libraries, doctor's offices. If you think having your government treat you like a terrorist makes you safer, you are - once again - WRONG. And let's not even get me started on the PATRIOT Act which helps make all this possible.

So, we have antagonized the planet because Bush and his advisors basically lied to everyone. We have troops dead because of those lies and the man has the gall to say he respects the military (and hell, he at least put on the uniform, unlike his many advisors; then of course, he threw it off early to go to Harvard). Our environment is worse, civil rights are disappearing, jobs have vaporized like they have not since the Great Depression, government spending is out of control, unfunded mandates are spewing out of D.C. like a broken faucet, and your government is trying to scare you into rewarding such behavior by saying Kerry couldn't do as good a job as they can.

Are you frigging serious? I've seen Pokemon plushies that could run this country better. I refuse to justify some rampant hateful behavior by likely racists, sexists, wimps, thugs and zealots. You should to. Go get a actual Republican candidate and try again next time if you can't vote for Kerry. Sit this one out if you must. Anyway, that's my take on things. On to news stories.

Congrats to the Boston Red Sox for winning the World Series and making the smug St. Louis Cardinals look like chumps. There are, supposedly, advantages to Kerry for having Boston, and Massachusetts by extension, being mentioned in other circles. Especially with Bush bashing Massachusetts so often. Too bad Curt Schilling had to take a decade of respect I had for him, ball it up and throw it away with his mad rush to endorse Bush out of the blue on Good Morning America. For a guy who so meticulously studies the game of baseball to make this life decision, I really have to wonder what brought him to this point. Would make, if nothing else, an interesting read I think.

What else? Oh yeah, Republicans are trying to prove voter fraud goes both ways (and hell, maybe it does, but the GOP run it straight from the party offices). Then there's
this racially motivated effort to remove voters from the rolls. You'll have to read between the lines, but I imagine it's pretty cut and dried that's its a GOP stunt.

Congratulations George, you've helped kill 100,000 people you (now) say we went into Iraq to give freedom to. And you wonder why they're so pissed at us. Speaking of Iraq and political hi-jinx, a just returned soldier planning to vote for Bush went to a rally and, after seeing what Bush campaign workers do to people, changed his mind to vote for Kerry.

Doom and gloom forecasted for next Tuesday, and why the Supreme Court might actually sit this one out like they should have last time. Somehow, people doubt the election will be clean. Maybe thanks to Bush's deceit and scare tactics? More on early voting and on Florida "irregularities," like say, missing ballots? Also, a story on the phenomenon of vote pairing you may wish to read.

Other stuff. Jimmy Carter rips Bush for pimping 9-11 to his own sick needs and comments on other subjects. The recession widened the racial income gap (big surprise). Liberal Catholics for Kerry. Bush relatives for Kerry. Bush as a bad Christian role model. The GOP against student vote campaigns ("Don't bother learning the democratic process kids; we're two elections from getting rid of it" - Ed Gillespie, okay, I made that up). Why aren't we ripping on Bush for Ashcroft's anti-Americanism? Voting for the French vs the Saudis. Wait? Who is the family values candidate? And 2004 scariest Halloween costumes.

Thanks to early voting here in Nevada, and because I'll be in New Mexico on election day, we ran out and entered our wishes for Kerry and against the forces of dictatorship, censorship, racism, sexism, classism and most -isms out there that bring harm to people. It's rather liberating to be done with it. Hopefully those votes help swing this state against Bush and the Hate Party.

This is either the height of hypocrisy or a cry for help. Dick Cheney took special care to assure the country that his heart condition would not impede him from his job as Vice President. We took that, and his doctor's assent, at face value. Now, in a time when all able-bodied citizens should avoid getting a flu shot, Cheney is basically first in line (along with other administration members). Why? Because of his heart condition. Look, he's either healthy enough to handle the job - and all inherent risks inclusive - or he's not. He's either in too high risk a job for his cardiac health or he's a frightened little boy afraid of a flu bug. Either way, for either concerns of his health or disgust at his heightened sense of self-importance, do us all a favor and vote him out of office.

The guy I got escorted away from the public library a few month's back wasn't acting alone. As reported earlier, more on the GOP-paid for group that worked to only register Republican voters. They say it is an isolated incident - if you call isolated occuring in many different states. BS is what I call it. Ex-pat voting is way up this year; we'll see how that plays out here but early voting is active.

As for the Bush camp, bad news on support from women, Arab-Americans, and September 11 widows. I mean seriously, with that horrid a track record, why does anyone back him? And, the rest of the planet continues to treat us like a banana republic when it comes to our election...and they might not be wrong to do so. And what's with all the money being spent on Iraqi elections?

Sinclair continues to get in hot water, firing employees who had enough integrity to speak out about their biased film showing plans; a film that commits libel and steals the work of others for its own twisted agenda.

The Bush administration keeps talking about how it won't reinstate the draft and now we know why. They plan on putting women into harm's way. While I congratulate their open-minded stance on equality, I don't think that's why they are doing this (especially given their moves to ban the pill, abortion, equal pay, etc.).

Two reports from Iraqi concerning humor and baseball. Speaking of baseball here in the US, it looks like good news (so far) for the Red Sox. Since I've been asked a couple times by folks, that's pine tar on the Bo-Sox helmets and here's some more info on why.

Thanks to those who let me know the main page was down. Had a bad FTP connection when uploading pages last night. Usually I check to see the new pages work but was tired. Sorry about that.

On the heels of Iran's endorsement of Bush (seeing as he avoids them and wouldn't object to an anti-American, Shi'ite-led Iraqi theocracy, why wouldn't they?) comes a couple other global perspective sources. One, GlobalVote2004, offers non-US voters a chance to choose who amongst our candidates they would vote for. They will announce their results two days before our polls open. Should be an interesting result. The BBC is running a similar poll but are offering the results in realtime. Pretty striking results. Bush's support seem to come from dictatorial Arab states, Iran, and Russia, where democracy has been systematically dialed back in the face of terrorist attacks. Sounds familiar, don't know why though.... Oh yeah, "If this were a dictatorship, it would be a heck of a lot easier — so long as I'm the dictator." — George W. Bush, Dec. 19, 2000.

The reason I bring all this up is that a lot of people are voting for Bush because they apparently think he is stronger in foreign affairs than Kerry. While, granted, he's gotten better at it than when he thought Africa was a country or when he asked the Brazilian president, "Do you have blacks, too?" Even so, moronic gaffes might actually be preferable to the blatant disregard for what other countries think. Look, antagonizing a few billion people by going to war, then being proved wrong on all counts for why you did it does not endear people to buy American, trade American, or treat other Americans with respect. Rule by fear never works, not in the long run, and last I checked most Americans were rather fond of this nation's current and future existence.

So, you have a guy who dismantles our agreement to various global treaties and conferences, including those related to combatting racism, land mines, nuclear weapons, as well as the Kyoto treaty amongst others. Even his former erstwhile allies, like ex-Spanish PM Jose Maria Aznar say things like "The combination of being a Republican, of being an emperor, a Texan and outspoken is really a bad mix." Remember, this is a guy who forced his country into the "Coalition of the Willing" (upwards of 70% opposed the war, much less joining the effort) and lost his job because of it. Ignoring the abuses of Pakistan, North Korea, and Sudan amongst others while threatening Germany, Belgium and yeah, France while we're at it; only to focus on kicking Saddam Hussein's butt. You call this a solid foreign policy? Come on.

Want more on this and other issues? Instead of just 100 reasons to not vote for Bush, I have since been pointed to One Thousand Reasons. Or heck, just take another look at the administration's culture of fear, deception, and outright discrimination detailed here.

Kudos to Jon Stewart of The Daily Show for getting an invite to CNN's Crossfire and putting the screws to all parties for fostering hate and invective over intelligent discussion (transcript here). In particular, he got that smug jerk Tucker Carlson so hyped up that he tried to drown out Stewart and kept cutting to commercials on him. If you have the bandwidth and the time, video is here (or here via BitTorrent - if you have to ask, I'll just email you instructions) as well as Stewart's Monday evening review of events on his show. As for his new book, don't expect the prudes at Wal-Mart to carry it.

Congrats to the Boston Red Sox for pulling off the near impossible and beating the dreaded Yankees, coming back and winning the last four games of their series. Now I have to wonder if I'll be torn between rooting for them or the Astros. Of course, there are those pesky Cardinals to take care of first.... In any case, I've seen one juggernaut build by deceit and large sums of cash fail this month, maybe we'll see another fall by the wayside in a couple weeks.

And now, a moment of humor:

Leading off, two stories loosely related to the Guard unit whose members refused a mission last week and it's affect on the Reserve and Guard troops as whole.

Next up, lies and false prophets. Pat Robertson is either lying or was unusually frank with Paula Zahn the other night (I saw the interview and was left wondering what Bizarro World America he lived in). In any case, according to him, Bush did not forsee any major casualties incurred by invading Iraq. This of course is being refuted by the White House, home of the "Saddam is an imminent threat" and "Al Qaeda wants John Kerry to be president" schools of thought.

Speaking of actual endorsements by those who want our civilization dead, Iran is onboard the Bush bandwagon as they find dealing with him (or not as it has turned out) less strenuous than dealing with a Democratic president. You know, as Kerry, unlike Bush, would actually respect civil rights in both this country and abroad. So that means, aside from Bush also - and this is just deranged - says he wouldn't object to a religious theocracy taking power in Iraq. Way to piss on the graves of those who fought for...well, whatever the hell reason you're giving for why we invaded the place this week.

As both sides resort to juvenile tactics such as raiding yard signs, let us not forget the pretty hate machine that follows Bush, like Sinclair Broadcasting, the all-of-a-sudden politicized bishops who call a vote for Kerry a vote for evil, and let's not forget those smug "moral" fools like Limbaugh the drug addict and O'Reilly the self-pleasuring phone sex boy. Let's not forget the hatemongering brought up by the entirely unconstitutional concept of an anti-gay marriage amendment just for the sole purpose of getting the fascistis to the polls. Because, you know, nothing gets a conservative motivated like telling other people how to live their lives. And even though Bush can't think of a single mistake he's ever made as president, the Center for American Progress conjured up a list of the top 100 back in May.

As far as the election itself is concerned, Florida (big surprise) is having electoral difficulties...and this is before the GOP starts turning minority voters away! Just as disturbing, our military is finding it hard to vote, especially in Iraq. One more article for your consideration from Michael Stackpole. He's an occasional Star Wars novel writer and has taken the time (and risk to his bottom line) to detail why he is not voting for George Bush. Which reminds me, no one has actually responded to my open call as to why anyone would vote for Bush. Which just makes me thinks you're only doing this because he's a Republican? Bad logic people.

The news from Iraq is filled with stories of the members of the 343rd Quartermaster Company which refused to deliver a fuel run to Taji, where elements of the 39th Infantry Brigade (of which Battery F 1/202 ADA is attached) are headquartered. These troops, regardless of the possible correct assessment of their lack of safety, are more likely than not in serious trouble. I'm not sure which is worse; the perception by some of our troops that we are not doing well by them enough that they mutiny, or the slap in the face of every American that an administration that says "all is well and morale is high" is so obviously not addressing reality.

With the oncoming departure of the oft-referenced Polish troops in Iraq, the administration has come under more scrutiny by newspaper columnists and Ron Reagan among others.

(By the way, I plan on listing some of the logins used by certain newspapers I link, but I want to re-encourage you to download Mozilla or Firebird browsers and use the BugMeNot service and extension to gain access to information.)

Remember when Bush was slamming the Canadian health system in the debates? Turns out one Canadian company could help us with the flu vaccine shortage - if our government wasn't so eager to screw up the deal in red tape. Then again, some morally deficient creeps are already trying to sneak into Canada to obtain flu shots for themselves. Bet they vote Republican too. Thanks to Matok for the links.

The local press here in Vegas has been addressing instances of pro-GOP bias (I mean, besides the local paper, though even the Review-Journal has been reporting on it). Luckily, our weekly alternative papers do a better job and have things well in hand. Back in August I saw, reported, and watched a guy get removed from a public library because he was openly registering voters for just the Republican party. Apparently he had hoodwinked the library into thinking he was doing a legal registration drive. According to the Mercury and the R-J, he was definitely not working alone. The R-J even did us the courtesy of writing a story on Secretary of State Dan Heller, Nevada's Katherine Harris. The Mercury and CityLife have stinging indictments of the Bush reign while Joshua Ellis just lays it out as he sees it.

I had planned to vent a frustration here but opted to take it to the message board instead for any discussion that might be felt necessary. Also, I didn't want to start up a storm in the midst of so much real news...unlike some people. Head on over and read the rant if you are interested.

Even as Bush and Cheney run around the country attempting to misquote John Kerry (apparently they can only digest speeches sound bites at a time), polls (and newspaper endorsements) show the Senator surpassing the deceptor-in-chief. Which, while I won't hold my breath, puts a grin on my face. Then again, what do you expect from a guy who can't tell the difference between the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution? Read a transcript of the second debate if you don't believe me.

As the week begins, we have news of GOP stalwarts hiding information from the American people. For example, all major assaults in Iraq are on hold until after the election because - as they should - any casualties incurred would be blamed on Bush, irregardless of the success of the battles. More insidiously, a damning report concerning the Bush Administration's awful civil rights record has had it's release date pushed back by Republicans who don't wish you to know what their candidate's record has been. Similar bad news has, however, been released concerning the disrespect for women by this administration. And his environmental record only looks good because he omits data necessary to make an actual judgement of said record.

More voices of opposition from some Marines in Iraq. I just hope they don't get in trouble for being so frank. Thanks to Jim Doherty for the story. And apparently George may have problems within his cabinet...but who could it be? Heh, partisan snub there, just figured I'd warn ya.

Meanwhile, more deception from both in and outside the GOP. First, fake reporters have been used to tout the No Child Left Behind Act in ads made to look like government press releases. C'mon, isn't the existence of FOXNews enough for these guys? Then, Sinclair Broadcast Group - home of the "We don't honor our war dead" pledge - have chosen to air a blatantly anti-Kerry infomercial on it's public channels. These supposedly moral people (one of which got busted earlier this year in a prostitution ring) censored Ted Koppel when he wished to recognize the sacrifices of our troops but will stoop to slander a presidential candidate using illegal means to do so. All to keep their corrupt candidate in the Oval Office. And still people will vote for this so-called "leadership."

Incidentally, I have uploaded many Iraq pics from Lucas Seimers (given to Mom during his July visit) and a slew of pics from Tom. I also have two GMail accounts left to give (first come, first serve).

I couldn't have said it better myself. In speaking against John Kerry, Bush said what seems to be a very striking thing, "You can't win a war if you don't believe in fighting."

His goal was to discredit Kerry's call for telling people the truth and using war as a last resort, but it should remind us of a more serious issue. None of the principals involved in formulating the Iraq war ever believed in putting their own butts in harm's way for this nation. You could argue Colin Powell, but he didn't want this war anymore than most of this country did. Bush quit the service when it got inconvenient for his life; pity he won't even let Guardsmen and regulars leave when their service requirements are fulfilled, much less eight months early. Cheney is a world class scumbag when it comes to answering his nation's call. You can read more about the staff of service dodgers and general Chickenhawks here (and here) if you haven't read it before.

Hey, Saddam didn't have any WMDs. Most of us already know that, but even the government-appointed investigators now agree. So much for that "imminent threat" our troops have died and are dying to remove.

As for the debate, Cheney's lies about never meeting Edwards before or his previous statements linking Saddam to September 11th have met the light of day and have promptly withered and died. Seriously, this guy lies about small issues and large and then expect you to vote for them because of their conviction and morals? As Flo from Alice would say, "Kiss mah grits."

Bush & Cheney may have tanked the economy, led 1,000+ troops to their deaths in an ill-conceived war, taken away your job and health care, poisoned the environment, taken a leak on the Bill of Rights and Constitution with their pet dog Ashcroft, etc. ad nauseum, but it's okay. Take heart fellow citizens, because when a terrorist finally finds a nuclear weapon to detonate in an American city because our administration keeps pissing off the world, good ol' Dick Cheney will be hiding in an undisclosed location ready to kick the butts of the "evil doers." That was I learned from tonight's debate.

Granted, the Heart Attack in the Wings did put on a better show than his meat puppet did Thursday, but this whole reign of fear stuff has got to go. Seriously, if you are gullible enough to vote for these guys because they tell you horror stories that keep you up at night, you seriously need to grow up and look around at the mess they have made.

That said, Edwards got his digs in and stood up to a dinosaur in political circles and made him stumble a couple times. Considering the long odds going in, you have to call that a win, albeit a squeaker.

From EvilNed, what Bush was doodling during the debate (Offensive material warning).

Back to Iraq, both Bremer and Rumsfeld have countered the Administration's "we're all going by the same playbook, even if it's wrong" strategy. Sure, they'll try to recant a bit, but they didn't say these things without some reason. Meanwhile, another death to place at Bush's feet. Not that he cares.

The companion of fear is hate, and the administration hasn't done a whole lot to stop hatemongers from spinning their lies either. The Council on American-Islamic Relations has released the results of a poll showing that 1 in 4 Americans hold a negative view of Islam. From the day Bush called the War on Terror a "crusade" on 'til now, the White House has done little to educate Americans nor Arabs about each other and about how this is NOT an intra-religious conflict. Kerry, take note, as this will be key should you become president.

And in the worst news of the day, pause for a moment of silence for the passing of Rodney Dangerfield.

Forgot to link this earlier. If you are 35 and under, the New Voters Project wants you to decide what youth-related questions to ask Bush and Kerry.

Bush came off like a gomer during the debate. Only a few morons like Bob Novak (who is a cretin) and the Bush campaign (who has to say this) think he actually won the debate. Hopefully the next couple follow the same line. At least Kerry showed up and did what he had to do; and much more skillfully than many of us would have guessed.

Then again, Bush is out lying and mis-stating Kerry at every turn. Most obvious is attacking the concept of a "global test" for any pre-emptive strike. Bush thinks this means we have to check in with Paris every time we want to launch a military attack. Which, given his limited scope of "send troops to do what I never would" it is easy to confuse that with actually proving to your citizens and the world that a threat actually exists. Case in point: Iraq.

Here's a gem I've found hilarious: "I've never seen a meeting that would depose a tyrant or bring a terrorist to justice. ... I will never submit America's security to an international test."

So says Bush when commenting on Kerry's call for an international summit about Iraq.  Apparently, ol' George never read about any of the Big Three summits during World War II in which such disparate personalities as FDR, Churchill and Stalin set aside their differences long enough to take out a certain tyrant named Hitler.  Sure, that never worked at all.  As for the latter part of the quote, Kerry, in the debate and on many previous occasions, has always stated he would never subject the national security of the United States to a foreign body. The GOP just can't stop their boy from lying about his opponent instead of attempting to find some credibility to run on. And don't even start me on the whole "the Taliban is gone" thing. Who do you think we're still fighting in Afghanistan?

Basically, George is either lying out his butt again or scrambling for foothold.  Either way, he's definitely not laying out any positive agenda on what he would do. Then again, we've had four years to find that out - and none of that is positive news. Hopefully Edwards can put Cheney's feet to the fire on all the corruption and in-attention to true homeland security this administration has fostered over their term.

Thanks to EvilNed for this one. GOP-TV, err FOXNews, forgot to censor themselves before posting this story yesterday. They have since replaced it with this sorry excuse of an explanation. But hey, it's not just them. Here's more on the "liberals are gonna burn yer Bibles" crap. And hey, apparently most of you voting for Bush don't even have a clue where he stands on foreign policy. Real smart decision making kids. And hey, it seems the White House may have had a hand in PM Allawi's speech last week. Way to let the guy think for himself. Bonus new article concerning the Bush White House purposely using known bad intelligence about Iraq's weapons programs. Joy.

And then there's Tom Delay. Scandal ridden, ethically challenged, hateful, anti-democracy thug that he is, has had a busy couple years. And now he's playing politics with an intelligence reform bill. Just another sign of the corruption in the Republican party. Clean your house out, GOP supporters.

I don't have a need to refer to Arianna Huffington much, but this article was well written and didn't seem to come from the logic of Planet X. Give it a read. Also, a followup on the Bill O'Reilly "my viewers are smarter than the Daily Show's" crap. Apparently the Daily Show viewers are more informed than Letterman and Leno's viewers as well. Bonus: Bush's flip-flops, courtesy of CBS.

A couple things from the debate and all these polls. If a majority of people think the country is moving in the wrong direction, why are some of them still voting for Bush? Get an answer for that, find a way to change their minds, and you just might have the election in the bag for Kerry.