Either that, or they’re becoming increasingly desperate. A GOP mailout in Pennsylvania includes images of the burning WTC in an attempt, we suppose, to suggest that Kerry won’t protect us.
The degree to which the Bush team “protected” us on 9/11 is left as an exercise to the reader.
Jesus Tapdancing Christ, do these people have no shame whatsoever?
When Catherine Herold received mail from the Ohio Republican Party earlier this year, she refused it. The longtime Barberton Democrat wanted no part of the mailing and figured that by refusing it, the GOP would have to pay the return postage. What she didn’t count on was the returned mail being used to challenge the validity of her voter registration.
The GOP is unapologetic:
The angry voters had the Republicans on the defensive. “Why’d you do it?” one challenged voter shouted out at [Howard] Calhoun [one of the four challengers]. “Who the hell are you?” the man asked. “What the hell do you care?” replied Calhoun, an attorney. After the hearing, Calhoun said he felt the challenges were legitimate.
If you think that reducing voter turnout helps your cause, you’ve got a problem. If you try to quash legitimate voter registrations, you’re just about as far from the ideals this country is supposed to be about as you can be, and I wouldn’t cross the street to piss on you if you were on fire, you evil goatfucking jackasses.
The Economist and American Conservative have both endorsed John Kerry.
The Medium Lobster endorses George Bush:
When it comes to the war on terror, America cannot afford to have the wrong man at the helm. The leader of the free world must understand that this clash of civilizations is, above all things, a war of concepts, and he must have the strength and the purity to embrace the boldest possible vision. Now more than ever, America needs a man of ideas in the Oval Office. George W. Bush is that man. For his administration had not only embraced ideas, it exists, in a sense, only as an idea. It has so rapidly and so readily embraced the boldest of ideas that it has transcended the need for real actions, real plans, real accomplishments, and reality itself. Any leader could have made the war on terror into a tedious, ongoing struggle to unearth and uproot a multi-tentacled terrorist organization while attempting to heal the rifts between the Muslim world and the West. But George Bush didn’t just see the task: he saw the grand idea behind the task, and better still, the vague abstractions behind the grand idea. And he was willing to fight those vague abstractions. Terror, weapons of mass destruction – they may not have been really in Iraq, but the idea of them most certainly was. And that was an idea the world’s only superpower had to confront with real troops.
Giblets, of course, endorses Giblets.
One candidate is taking Giblets – and the threat of Giblets – seriously. One candidate knows that if Giblets’s rivals are elected president he could transform into a pack of ravenous wolves and eat your children. And that candidate is Giblets.
Fafnir, though, endorses a gila monster, but not without real deliberation:
It is a confusin an frightenin time to be America. Because a 9/11 an these Times Of Change. “Oh no!” says America. “I’m so confused who do I voooote for!” You need steady leadership in times a change America. The steady leadership of a big ol dog. Some other candidates say they are steady but are they really? Or are they just suspiciously french an ketchupy? “Sacre bleu, vive le France,” say some other candidates. “Ceci n’est pas une pipe.” Well always know where a big ol dog stands on hard issues like terror!” “HRARRGL HRAARRGL GRRRAAARRRGL,” says a big ol dog bitin an spittin an growlin at terror. The dog is also tough on other dogs, postal workers, small children, plants an stuff that looks like plants.
Well, actually, it’s Atrios quoting Wesley calling attention to what George said, but it’s still pretty fucking fine:
Today George W. Bush made a very compelling and thoughtful argument for why he should not be reelected. In his own words, he told the American people that ÒÉa political candidate who jumps to conclusions without knowing the facts is not a person you want as your Commander in Chief. President Bush couldnÕt be more right. He jumped to conclusions about any connection between Saddam Hussein and 911. He jumped to conclusions about weapons of mass destruction. He jumped to conclusions about the mission being accomplished. He jumped to conclusions about how we had enough troops on the ground to win the peace. And because he jumped to conclusions, terrorists and insurgents in Iraq may very well have their hands on powerful explosives to attack our troops, we are stuck in Iraq without a plan to win the peace, and Americans are less safe both at home and abroad. By doing all these things, he broke faith with our men and women in uniform. He has let them down. George W. Bush is unfit to be our Commander in Chief.
Amnesty International’s more than a little disturbed about our human rights record of late:
LONDON (Reuters) – The United States has failed to guard against torture and inhuman behavior since launching its “war on terror” after Sept. 11, 2001, Amnesty International said Wednesday in a report just days before the U.S. election. The rights group called on President Bush and his Democratic challenger John Kerry to promise to take prompt action to address the issue head on if elected on Nov. 2. It condemned Bush’s response to the 2001 attacks on U.S. cities, saying it had resulted in an “iconography of torture, cruelty and degradation.” Amnesty’s report accused Washington of stepping onto a “well-trodden path of violating basic rights in the name of national security or ‘military necessity’.” “The war mentality the government has adopted has not been matched with a commitment to the laws of war and it has discarded fundamental human rights principles along the way,” it said. At best, Washington was guilty of setting conditions for torture and cruel treatment by lowering safeguards and failing to respond adequately to allegations of abuse, it said. At worst, it had authorized interrogation techniques which flouted its international obligation to reject torture and ill-treatment under any circumstances.
Say, how about that “shining city on a hill” thing again?
Relative to population, it turns out our votes in Texas are only worth about 0.8 votes, while folks in tiny states like Wyoming are worth better than 3. Check out this analysis of the Electoral College system for more. It’s interesting — and a bit disturbing, particularly if you think in terms of “one man, one vote” — no matter what your politics.
Have a look at his video for Mosh. (Big Quicktime file, but worth it.)
Thomas Schaller believes in our president. Here’s a sample:
I believe in President George W. Bush. I’ve always believed him. I believe the president invaded Iraq to secure liberty and democracy for the Iraqi people. I believe he had compelling evidence that Iraq was a significant threat to America and the world, and presented that evidence in a complete and balanced manner. Like 42 percent of Americans — and 62 percent of Republicans — I believe Saddam Hussein was involved in the September 11 attacks. I believe we have enough troops on the ground in Iraq to ensure stability. I believe the rising American fatality rates, the rising casualty rates, and the rising American share of those coalition fatalities and casualties testify to the undeniable progress we’re making there. I believe it is inappropriate and traitorous, however, for the media to broadcast pictures of American flag-draped caskets returning from Iraq. I believed then-candidate Bush when he said during the 2000 campaign that America should not nation-build, and believe him now when he says our nation was divinely chosen for this task. I believe, as the president claims, that “free societies are peaceful societies,” but that the political and civil rights in oppressive, undemocratic countries like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are exempt from this standard. I believe Iraqis view Americans as liberators, and that once this swift, cheap war concludes the world will be more stable, our allies more cooperative, and our enemies fewer and less threatening.
There’s more. Enjoy.
There’s apparently a plan to keep blacks from voting in some heavily Democratic districts in Florida. Lovely. The BBC has more, lest ye think it’s just Kos whining again.
MNFTIU weighs on on the missing explosives.
George Bush appeared at a Wisconsin high school today. Students were told they could not wear any pro-Kerry items — buttons, t-shirts, whatever — or they would be expelled.
Foreign Policy magazine has the answer: 21. In handy chart form, too!
From this NYT story:
Republican Party officials in Ohio took formal steps yesterday to place thousands of recruits inside polling places on Election Day to challenge the qualifications of voters they suspect are not eligible to cast ballots. Party officials say their effort is necessary to guard against fraud arising from aggressive moves by the Democrats to register tens of thousands of new voters in Ohio, seen as one of the most pivotal battlegrounds in the Nov. 2 elections. Election officials in other swing states, from Arizona to Wisconsin and Florida, say they are bracing for similar efforts by Republicans to challenge new voters at polling places, reflecting months of disputes over voting procedures and the anticipation of an election as close as the one in 2000. Ohio election officials said they had never seen so large a drive to prepare for Election Day challenges. They said they were scrambling yesterday to be ready for disruptions in the voting process as well as alarm and complaints among voters. Some officials said they worried that the challenges could discourage or even frighten others waiting to vote.
What’s perhaps most disturbing is the assumption that the GOP needs to defend itself against more people voting.
Republican? Horny? Lonely? We’ve got just the thing.
Courtesy of Joi Ito.
Fafblog deconstructs our national priorities. Go. Read. Trust us.
Ashcroft stooge and torture buff John Yoo explains why his “what can we get away with” torture memo was justified and necessary.
Whatever, John.
The present Republican president has led us into an unjustified war — based on misguided and blatantly false misrepresentations of the threat of weapons of mass destruction. The terror seat was Afghanistan. Iraq had no connection to these acts of terror and was not a serious threat to the United States, as this president claimed, and there was no relation, it’s now obvious, to any serious weaponry. Although Saddam Hussein is a frightful tyrant, he posed no threat to the United States when we entered the war. George W. Bush’s arrogant actions to jump into Iraq when he had no plan how to get out have alienated the United States from our most trusted allies and weakened us immeasurably around the world.
A PIPA survey found that Bush supporters are as a rule poorly informed about world events and the administration’s own positions, while Kerry boosters fare much better.
Guess who’s back on the campaign trail?
The CIA is sitting on their 9/11 responsibilty analysis until after the election. Gee, I wonder why?
“The agency directorate is basically sitting on the report until after the election,” the official continued. “No previous director of CIA has ever tried to stop the inspector general from releasing a report to the Congress, in this case a report requested by Congress.” None of this should surprise us given the Bush administration’s great determination since 9/11 to resist any serious investigation into how the security of this nation was so easily breached. In Bush’s much ballyhooed war on terror, ignorance has been bliss. The president fought against the creation of the Sept. 11 commission, for example, agreeing only after enormous political pressure was applied by a grass-roots movement led by the families of those slain. And then Bush refused to testify to the commission under oath, or on the record. Instead he deigned only to chat with the commission members, with Vice President Dick Cheney present, in a White House meeting in which commission members were not allowed to take notes. All in all, strange behavior for a man who seeks reelection to the top office in the land based on his handling of the so-called war on terror.
From the LA Times (reg required), via BoingBoing. No-reg version of story here.
Salon’s coverage of Ohio’s gay marriage fight makes me ashamed to share a God with some people.
Eisenhower endorses Kerry.
BoingBoing theorizes that the online audience for Crossfire’s Stewart appearance exceeds the actual TV audience. Heh.a
Joey DeVilla — a.k.a. Accordian Guy — created the graphic at right to celebrate his membership in the group famously snubbed by some Bush aide in the aforementioned New York Times story. We’re glad to join him.
They’re trying to move polling places in Philly — out of African American neighborhoods. We’re sure this about “safety” and not at all about reducing the turnout in historically democratic areas. We’re also sure monkeys are going to fly out of our butt any minute now.
The Feds want to know every bit of travel data the airlines have from June of 2004 as a pilot (heh) for a new program called “secure flight.” Think of it as Son of CAPPS II. While the government may even believe this is to fight terrorism, it goes without saying that eventually, it’ll get abused and warped into something else.
Needless to say, we feel this is a very, very bad idea. We continue to fear creeping government intrusion into private life far more than we fear random terrorist attacks, particularly when 9/11 itself may well have been prevented if so many folks hadn’t been asleep at the switch or too partisan to pay attention to warnings from the prior administration.
Pirates and Emperors is a short film done in perfect homage to the old Schoolhouse Rock animations, except instead of being about our nation’s origins, it’s about our bad behavior for the last 30 years or so. Required viewing.
A week or so ago, John Kerry mentioned that Dick Cheney’s daughter was a lesbian. As we and others have noted, this is in no way news; Mary Cheney has been very open about her sexuality for years, even serving in official and unofficial gay & lesbian outreach roles. Kerry, for his part, said nothing negative at all about this; he merely noted that the VP’s daughter was gay, and that he didn’t think she had any choice in the matter:
We’re all God’s children, Bob. And I think if you were to talk to Dick Cheney’s daughter, who is a lesbian, she would tell you that she’s being who she was, she’s being who she was born as.
Well, you’d never know the context from the shitstorm the right side of the press has stirred up; they’ve spent an awful lot of ink describing this as somehow akin to pointing out that someone was unfaithful, or had an abortion, with all the assumed moral equivalency that implies. Clearly, the reasoning goes, Kerry was hitting below the belt here.
Er, what? How’s that again? Kerry notes Mary’s orientation — in a pretty fair and basic statement, with no value judgements attached — and in doing so calls attention, subtly, to the GOP’s position on All Things Gay. The GOP, in response, goes into a frenzy of weird accusations, and in doing so say (or imply) all sorts of nasty things about gay people. And yet somehow Kerry mentioning Mary’s orientation is the problem. Wow.
Another scary passage from Suskind’s faith-based presidency article:
In the summer of 2002, after I had written an article in Esquire that the White House didn’t like about Bush’s former communications director, Karen Hughes, I had a meeting with a senior adviser to Bush. He expressed the White House’s displeasure, and then he told me something that at the time I didn’t fully comprehend — but which I now believe gets to the very heart of the Bush presidency. The aide said that guys like me were “in what we call the reality-based community,” which he defined as people who “believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.” I nodded and murmured something about enlightenment principles and empiricism. He cut me off. “That’s not the way the world really works anymore,” he continued. “We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you’re studying that reality — judiciously, as you will — we’ll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that’s how things will sort out. We’re history’s actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.”
Jesus.
The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart went on Crossfire (big-ass file) to spank Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson. The audience was with him; the hacks were a bit taken aback. The best part may be this exchange (transcript here):
STEWART: But the thing is that this — you’re doing theater, when you should be doing debate, which would be great. BEGALA: We do, do… (CROSSTALK) STEWART: It’s not honest. What you do is not honest. What you do is partisan hackery. And I will tell you why I know it. CARLSON: You had John Kerry on your show and you sniff his throne and you’re accusing us of partisan hackery? STEWART: Absolutely. CARLSON: You’ve got to be kidding me. He comes on and you… (CROSSTALK) STEWART: You’re on CNN. The show that leads into me is puppets making crank phone calls. (LAUGHTER) STEWART: What is wrong with you? (APPLAUSE) CARLSON: Well, I’m just saying, there’s no reason for you — when you have this marvelous opportunity not to be the guy’s butt boy, to go ahead and be his butt boy. Come on. It’s embarrassing. STEWART: I was absolutely his butt boy. I was so far — you would not believe what he ate two weeks ago. (LAUGHTER) (CROSSTALK) STEWART: You know, the interesting thing I have is, you have a responsibility to the public discourse, and you fail miserably. CARLSON: You need to get a job at a journalism school, I think. STEWART: You need to go to one.
As it happens, ol’ Tucker didn’t quite like getting called on the bullshit state of TV news, eh?
A Knight Ridder review of the administration’s Iraq policy and decisions has found that it invaded Iraq without a comprehensive plan in place to secure and rebuild the country. The administration also failed to provide some 100,000 additional U.S. troops that American military commanders originally wanted to help restore order and reconstruct a country shattered by war, a brutal dictatorship and economic sanctions. cite
“Mission Accomplished” indeed.
A NYT article about the faith-based presidency Bush has given us includes the following passage:
[an introducing supporter] said he ”looked to God” and said what was in his heart. ”The United States is the greatest country in the world,” he told the rally. ”President Bush is the greatest president I have ever known. I love my president. I love my country. And more important, I love Jesus Christ.” The crowd went wild, and they went wild again when the president finally arrived and gave his stump speech. There were Bush’s periodic stumbles and gaffes, but for the followers of the faith-based president, that was just fine. They got it — and ”it” was the faith. And for those who don’t get it? That was explained to me in late 2002 by Mark McKinnon, a longtime senior media adviser to Bush, who now runs his own consulting firm and helps the president. He started by challenging me. ”You think he’s an idiot, don’t you?” I said, no, I didn’t. ”No, you do, all of you do, up and down the West Coast, the East Coast, a few blocks in southern Manhattan called Wall Street. Let me clue you in. We don’t care. You see, you’re outnumbered 2 to 1 by folks in the big, wide middle of America, busy working people who don’t read The New York Times or Washington Post or The L.A. Times. And you know what they like? They like the way he walks and the way he points, the way he exudes confidence. They have faith in him. And when you attack him for his malaprops, his jumbled syntax, it’s good for us. Because you know what those folks don’t like? They don’t like you!” In this instance, the final ”you,” of course, meant the entire reality-based community.
It’s a long article, but it’s worth reading.
We’re so fucking doomed. People are idiots.
Fafblog, of course, does it better than we could:
Dick and Lynne Cheney are right to be outraged [. . . ]. And this outrage comes not because they feel that homosexuality is shameful or icky or full of cooties. It is because they know that the greatest shame one can bring to a lesbian is to note their existence. Before John Kerry’s terrible words, Mary Cheney only had to be gay to her family, her friends, the Coors Corporation, the staff of Bush/Cheney Re-Elect, and the gay community at large to whom she acted as a liason. But John Kerry made her gay to the entire world, effectively making her more gay than ever before. (Emph. in original)
Our quote-of-the-day mailing list sent us this gem, from the CNN crawl earlier today:
“PUBLIC SPLIT ON WHETHER BUSH IS A DIVIDER”
Sinclair’s so hot to get this on the air, so MMfA decided to review the film and document a few of its lies. “Facts are stupid things,” Reagan famously said; if only the media and the public would pay more attention to them.
The Justice Department has intervened to delay the discovery and despositions in a 2002 New Hampshire felony election fraud case until after the election. Said discovery is almost certain to be embarrassing to the GOP, since it’s likely to involve the actions of one Jim Tobin, a so far unindicted co-conspirator in the case (two others have already entered guilty pleas, and their statements name Tobin). Tobin is New England regional chair for BC’04.
Josh Marshall has more, including cites to local paper coverage.
If you vote for Bush, remember what you’re voting for.
Presumably, everyone who reads Heathen is just as puzzled as we are about the right-wing response to Kerry mentioning that Mary Cheney is gay. I mean, the woman’s been out for years, and did outreach work into the gay/lesbian community for Coors. Being gay is part of her resume. She’s also got a high-profile job with BC’04, so it’s not like she’s not political.
It occurs to us that perhaps they only reason they’re (pretending to be) pissed off about this is because the GOP thinks being gay is something to be ashamed of.
As always, Josh Marshall has more, and there’s a fairly even-handed treatment from the wires over at Salon.
UNITED NATIONS – The United States has refused to join 85 other heads of state and government in signing a statement that endorsed a 10-year-old U.N. plan to ensure every woman’s right to education, health care, and choice about having children. President Bush (news – web sites)’s administration withheld its signature because the statement included a reference to “sexual rights.” cite
The title quote is Bush, speaking about Osama bin Laden. This is what Kerry was talking about in the debate. Of course, around the same time, Bush was doing his level best to get us to attack someone who hadn’t actually threatened us. Some might call this a lack of focus.
Josh Marshall, of course, has more, as does Atrios, who references a Washington Post story worth noting for its unusual focus on the degree to which Bush has simply ignored bin Laden in favor of his hard-on for Saddam.
A bit more: MediaMatters notes the bizarro-world spin some major media outlets put on the obvious falsehood. What’s that about the “liberal media” again?
Operation Truth has a fine ad worth watching. (Link to host page; Quicktime and Windows Media available.)
IScrewRepublicans is just plain rude, but damn if we’re not laughint. Where else will you find Ann Coulter’s lady parts are dirty“, not to mention other hits headlines like “Senator Zell Miller turns his back on more than just his party” and “Man-Whore Pony Rides for Ralph Reed“? Heh.
CNet is reporting that the DOJ has requested sweeping new powers to prosecute piracy. Not the “Arrr!” kind, but the kind where you copy a CD or a movie. Heretofore, these pursuits have been the responsibility of the rightsholder; now, that powerful lobby is trying to get the government to stack the deck in their favor even more.
This is a profoundly bad idea, but so was copyright extension, and Congress bent over for the RIAA/MPAA cabal then, too — this time, it’s even more attractive to the Feds, since it means more power for them. Remember, once governments get power, they’re loathe to give it up — which is why laws like RICO, PATRIOT, and provisions like these are such bad ideas.
Dred Fucking Scott? What the Hell?
From the Well, we discover two interesting points:
You just can’t make this shit up.
According to this PIPA study, Bush supporters typically misunderstand many of his policy positions, while Kerry supporters’ understanding of their candidate’s positions tend to be more accurate.
Fred Clark shows us why James Fallows would make a better president than Bush.
An Army Reservist who wrote an essay for a conservative antiwar site called “Why We Cannot Win” now faces official charges of disloyalty which may carry up to a 20 year sentence. While it’s true that members of the military are bound by some rules that do not apply to the public at large, it also seems likely that simply expressing an opinion contrary to official US doctrine should remain protected speech. Even if he’s acquitted, it’s a sure bet they’ve ruined his career.
Nice. Way to encourage democracy and freedom!