My fellow Americans, this is the most important election of our lifetime. The stakes are high. We are a nation at war -- a global war on terror against an enemy unlike any we have ever known before. And here at home, wages are falling, health care costs are rising, and our great middle class is shrinking. People are working weekends; they're working two jobs, three jobs, and they're still not getting ahead.

***

We can do better and we will. We're the optimists. For us, this is a country of the future. We're the can do people. And let's not forget what we did in the 1990s. We balanced the budget. We paid down the debt. We created 23 million new jobs. We lifted millions out of poverty and we lifted the standard of living for the middle class. We just need to believe in ourselves -- and we can do it again.

***

So tonight, in the city where America's freedom began, only a few blocks from where the sons and daughters of liberty gave birth to our nation -- here tonight, on behalf of a new birth of freedom -- on behalf of the middle class who deserve a champion, and those struggling to join it who deserve a fair shot --- for the brave men and women in uniform who risk their lives every day and the families who pray for their return - for all those who believe our best days are ahead of us - for all of you -- with great faith in the American people, I accept your nomination for President of the United States.

***

As president, I will ask hard questions and demand hard evidence. I will immediately reform the intelligence system - so policy is guided by facts, and facts are never distorted by politics. And as president, I will bring back this nation's time-honored tradition: the United States of America never goes to war because we want to, we only go to war because we have to.

***

I defended this country as a young man and I will defend it as President. Let there be no mistake: I will never hesitate to use force when it is required. Any attack will be met with a swift and certain response. I will never give any nation or international institution a veto over our national security. And I will build a stronger American military.

***

In these dangerous days there is a right way and a wrong way to be strong. Strength is more than tough words. After decades of experience in national security, I know the reach of our power and I know the power of our ideals.

We need to make America once again a beacon in the world. We need to be looked up to and not just feared.

We need to lead a global effort against nuclear proliferation - to keep the most dangerous weapons in the world out of the most dangerous hands in the world.

We need a strong military and we need to lead strong alliances. And then, with confidence and determination, we will be able to tell the terrorists: You will lose and we will win. The future doesn't belong to fear; it belongs to freedom.

***

And the front lines of this battle are not just far away - they're right here on our shores, at our airports, and potentially in any town or city.

Today, our national security begins with homeland security. The 9-11 Commission has given us a path to follow, endorsed by Democrats, Republicans, and the 9-11 families. As president, I will not evade or equivocate; I will immediately implement the recommendations of that commission. We shouldn't be letting ninety-five percent of container ships come into our ports without ever being physically inspected. We shouldn't be leaving our nuclear and chemical plants without enough protection. And we shouldn't be opening firehouses in Baghdad and closing them down in the United States of America.

***

My fellow citizens, elections are about choices. And choices are about values. In the end, it's not just policies and programs that matter; the president who sits at that desk must be guided by principle.

For four years, we've heard a lot of talk about values. But values spoken without actions taken are just slogans. Values are not just words. They're what we live by. They're about the causes we champion and the people we fight for. And it is time for those who talk about family values to start valuing families.

***

We value jobs that pay you more not less than you earned before. We value jobs where, when you put in a week's work, you can actually pay your bills, provide for your children, and lift up the quality of your life. We value an America where the middle class is not being squeezed, but doing better.

posted by Jerry Bowles 6:20 PM

Meanwhile, Upstage...

Any bets on whether Shrub will roll out a dozen "Homeland Security" initiatives (that he could have put into effect any time over the past three years) sometime before noon tomorrow to divert attention from the Kerry nomination and try to capture the weekend news cycle? Do you think it might look a little too...obvious?

posted by Jerry Bowles 4:55 PM

The Dukes of Deception

As John Kerry primps for his “defining moment” his Dems are getting into a Texas-size pissing contest with the GOP over “homeland” security. To save their own asses on election day (if we have one) Congress will hold a special session to rubber stamp White House legislation that puts our constitutional rights on a short leash. Kerry is praising a Kean Commission report that exculpates the FBI from the “intelligence failures” associated with 9/11. The report conveniently postponed examining the Bush administration and does not plan to look into the Saudi connection. While positioned by the media as a fair broker, Kean is on the board of Amerada-Hess, a company with big time Saudi connections. It’s ironic that Jesse Jackson got ten minutes to address the Dems yesterday, but Willie Brown, who was told not to fly to New York the day before 9/11, didn’t. If George Bush had advance knowledge of 9/11 (as his behavior when “informed” of the event by Andy Card suggests he may have) John Kerry doesn’t want to go there. But then he never got to the bottom on his vaunted BCCI investigation either.

posted by Groom 2:55 PM

Coultergeist

One of the pleasant surprises to come out of the Democratic Convention so far has been the fact that Ann Coulter -- by the end of the first day! -- got herself shitcanned by yet another media outlet (the first being National Review Online; this one being USA Today), for spewing this particular brain-damaged screed. Coulter, who seems to envision herself as the Hunter S. Thompson of the Right, ignores two main differences between herself and Hunter: (1) you could always dismiss his more hallucinogenic rants as the product of psychoactive substances; and (2) his writing was actually funny, while making a point.

Perhaps Coulter's inflammatory and fact-deprived "journalism" will improve once the gender-reassignment surgery is complete, and the estrogen treatments take hold.

posted by Michael 11:42 AM

Shameless Pandering

The Washington Post is having a "Best Blogs" contest. It's completely open-ended, readers can nominate any blog they like in a number of different categories. If you like what we do here and are so inclined, drop over there and give us some props. "Outside the Beltway" and "Most Original" look good. Too bad they don't have a category called "best blog that doesn't ask for money."

posted by Jerry Bowles 10:28 AM

Tonight’s The Night

There is an old joke that goes like this: An expert asks participants in a lecture on improving marriage how frequently they make love. Starting in the front row, they volunteer "three times a week," "every day," "once weekly," "several times on the weekend," etc. He is still working his way through the front rows when he notices one participant jumping up and down in the back of the room, waving his arms, trying to get everyone’s attention. Finally, because he is disrupting the class, the instructor calls on him and asks, “How often do you make love?” “Once a year, once a year,” the man shouts out. “Once a year?” the expert says. “Why are you so excited then?” The jubilant answer comes back, “Tonight’s the night, tonight’s the night.”

I have this sinking feeling that after last night’s let-down in convention speak, and Edwards’ valiant attempt to vindicate his selection, that this is Kerry's one shot at getting those of us who view him as simply "not the other guy" and those coveted independents and marginal Republicans to fall in love with him. I don’t have confidence that he will rise to the occasion (no pun intended) as Bush did in his crucible moment in the 2000 Republican Convention. I’m not convinced that “hope is on the way.” On the other hand, it may turn out that hope is the only thing on the way.

I’m hoping Kerry, the kid, shows up rather than Kerry, the seasoned senator. I’m hoping he tosses some red meat to the crowd and doesn’t cower to those who caution a middle road to woo fence sitters. Like the old saw, you only get once chance to make a first impression and Kerry needs to draw a strong contrast between himself and Bush in both personal and policy terms. Bush has the personal edge, and Kerry has the policy edge, but if the love affair with Kerry is going to be more than a one-night stand, he needs to deliver on the personal side and show us a Kerry that we can be passionate about over the long haul. Tonight’s the night.

posted by Josh 8:30 AM

Support Our Troops

Among the many great things that Barack Obama said the other night, none is truer or more important than this:

When we send our young men and women into harm's way, we have a solemn obligation not to fudge the numbers or shade the truth about why they are going, to care for their families while they're gone, to tend to the soldiers upon their return and to never, ever go to war without enough troops to win the war, secure the peace and earn the respect of the world.

Yesterday's bloodbath in Iraq and the daily additions to the total more than 900 Americans already dead are grim reminders that the Bush administration went to war on the cheap and our troops are suffering from that misguided decision. The Pentagon's ineptitude borders on the criminal.

posted by Jerry Bowles 8:02 AM

Wednesday, July 28, 2004

It's a Hell of a Day in the Neighborhood

The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, which apparently had nothing better to do all summer, has learned that "In countries where large percentages of the population believe in hell, there seems to be less corruption and a higher standard of living." They point to the United States, in which 71 percent of us believe in Hell, and which has the highest per-capita income in the world. However intriguing that might be, it would make more sense if Americans who believe in Hell actually thought they themselves had a chance to go there. The thing about Hell is that although Americans believe in it, they believe in it only for other people. A Harris poll taken in 2003 found that only one percent of respondents thought they themselves were going to Hell.. So Hell's effectiveness as what Adam Smith called "a moral enforcement mechanism" that contributes to economic growth is clearly not a sealed deal.

In the end, the only people who are sure they're going to Hell are those of us who don't believe in it anyhow.

posted by jabartlett 5:38 PM

Other Black Senatorial Candidates To AP: "We're Not Dead Yet -- In Fact, We're Feeling Better!"

OK, this is the kind of careless distortion that drives me nuts -- from an Associated Press article on Barack Obama's speech last night:

Obama would become the Senate's only black member, and only the fifth black senator in history, if elected this fall.

Um, no. That's not necessarily true. Look, I understand that with the Ryan implosion and the Barthwell and Ditka demurrers on the GOP side, Obama's practically a shoo-in for the Senate from Illinois. And that these other candidates still have to slog through some formidable primaries in the next few months.

But I believe Mike Miles of Colorado, Denise Majette of Georgia, and Arthur Morrell of Louisiana, might all have a problem with the use of that word, "only."

Wouldn't it be nice to have -- for the first time in history -- MORE THAN ONE African American Senator at a time?

posted by Michael 3:25 PM

"The Homeland is the Planet"


Those were the words of former Nebraska Senator Bob Kerrey at a press conference put on yesterday by Americans Overseas for Kerry. What Kerrey was talking about is that there is no real homeland security for the USA on a planet where so many of us lack the opportunity to seek a better life, especially if the USA insists on an our way or the highway approach that alienates potential allies and partners.

Couldn't agree more.

posted by John 11:49 AM

Are We Safer Yet?

One of paranoid myths long held to be self-evident by neoconmen is that the common sense reluctance of Americans to use military might since the Viet Nam fiasco has eroded the perception of our strength around the world and made the U.S. vulnerable to attack by those who doubt our will to respond. Most of the conmen--Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz, Douglas Feith, Richard Perle, Scooter Libby and their fellow travelers at The Weekly Standard and the American Enterprise Institute--arrived at this conviction mentally unemcumbered by real life experience with warfare, having studiously avoided the unpleasantness of actual combat and its inevitable byproducts of death and dismemberment. For these armchair warriors, 9/11 was a confirmation of just how right they were. If Bill Clinton hadn't cut and run in Somalia or had taken out Saddam Hussein when they urged him to in 1998, 3,000 lives could have been saved.

One of the major benefits of invading Iraq and deposing Saddam in the wake of 9/11, they believed, would be the "demonstration" effect of American power on other rogue states. Once potential evildoers were shocked and awed by the fierceness of our warriors and the beauty of our weapons, they would not dare mess with us again. This idea comported nicely with another neoconmen myth which is that only states are capable of 9/11-level attacks and, thus, a rootless, criminal group like al Qaeda must be working for somebody. The conmen assumed, incorrectly, as it happens, that that "somebody" was Saddam Hussein.

The disasterous results of our misguided show of force in Iraq are now plain to see. True, we proved what the world always knew--that American military forces cannot be defeated in conventional warfare. Unfortunately, we also revealed to friends and enemies alike that our military is stretched to the limit and that we are not good at fighting unconventional wars. In both Iraq and Afghanistan, a relative handful of insurgents have managed to spread chaos at will, deny the local government control of entire cities and vast territories, and tie down most of the American Army, making it dangerously unavailable for emergencies elsewhere. Far from creating a global environment in which American military might is feared and respected, the Bush administration has revealed to the world the limits of our military option. America is less safe today than it was on September 11 because the neoconmen's show of force has turned into an open display of our weaknesses.

Dick Cheney said yesterday that "Terrorist attacks are not caused by the use of strength. They are invited by the perception of weakness." He should know. No one has done more to foster that perception.

posted by Jerry Bowles 9:00 AM

It’s Contagious, It’s Contagious

His mama told him someday he would be a man,
And he would be the leader of a big old band.
People will come from miles around
To hear him play his music when the sun go down
Maybe someday his name would be in lights
Saying Johnny B. Goode is playing tonight.

And Johnny B. Edwards is playing tonight.
And Johnny B. Kerry is playing tomorrow night.

I don’t know what song they’ll sing at the Bush Convention (maybe you have some candidates) but this Chuck Berry anthem rocks. It had me up off of the couch and feeling good, marveling at the precision, poise, and promise of this convention.

One caveat: if Kerry does not repeat Barack Obama’s characterization of Red States and Blue States, he will have overlooked the greatest gift that anyone could give him for his acceptance speech. Obama said, and it bears repeating, “We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don’t like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the Red States. We coach Little League in the Blue States, and yes, we got some gay friends in the Red States.”

Go Johnnys, Go.

posted by Josh 7:12 AM

Denial along da Nile

Bushovictim enabler Tony Bliar is sending 5,000 troops to the Sudan to help slow the genocide being conducted by the Islamic Janjaweed militias. But "Pappy" Powell says it's "premature" to talk about sending US forces. That's today. Wait until the GOP convention. The Bushovictim needs to show the world and undecided voters that he can be a team playa on the international stage. As a non-alcoholic beer fan, maybe he can point out that there's no difference between Janjaweed and Ganja weed. He should remember that from his non-inhaling party days on the Redneck Riviera.

posted by Groom 6:16 AM

Tuesday, July 27, 2004

An American Brezhnev

The latest meme from conservative pundits is that maybe the American people are so weary of the sturn und drang of four years of Shrub's not-so-excellent misadventures that they find a boring drone like John Kerry appealing because he represents a return to "normalcy." Peggy Noonan was on the case yesterday and now David Brooks has checked in with the helpful observations:

I didn't realize that tediousness is John Kerry's greatest trait. I didn't realize that a country barraged by a decade of Gingrich, impeachment, hanging chads and war may actually be looking for a Brezhnev to give it a break....Kerry has been talking for years, and yet such is the thicket of his verbiage that he has achieved almost complete strategic ambiguity.

We're not the kind of folks to toot our own horn (yeah, right) but we suggested that Kerry go the harmless windbag route back on March 3, 2004. I have to admit he's damned good at it.

posted by Jerry Bowles 4:43 PM

Dems Slow Dancing

Jerry wondered if I redlined on paranoia this morning after reading my post on "The Rainmakers." Then he read Krugman. Meet the folks at Accenture, the Bermuda-based firm that Jeb Bush green lighted to bleach Florida's electoral lists. John Edwards has jabbed at them a couple of times but the heavy artillery has been from Nader. Let's see, Likudnik Joel Friedman is Accenture's head of "Business Process Outsourcing. Then there's, yes, Steve Ballmer. These folks have some monster sweet deal contracts to assist with "homeland security" and don't pay a cent in taxes.

posted by Groom 3:37 PM

A Good Start

I’ve been thinking about the themes of Jerry’s post, “No Joy in Beantown,” for some time now, ever since we sang the praises of Senator Bryd’s lone voice in the wilderness last year, or should I say the forest, because one of Jerry’s points is that the trees in the political woods are invisible or indistinguishable?

I’ve thought about the precedent level of deception by an administration, the same complicity by the press, same lock step endorsement by the Congress that occurred 30 years ago when I was a staffer in the United State Senate. In 1964 Lyndon Johnson did to the Congress, the American people and the press on Vietnam with his Gulf of Tonkin Resolution what George Bush has done on Iraq. The parallels are disquieting similar and unsettling.

Only two U.S. Senators voted against the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution; Wayne Morse of Oregon who was considered a bit of a Michael Moore in the Senate, and Senator Ernest Gruening, a senile curmudgeon from the Alaskan tundra. Contrary to Jerry’s point, there has been some progress in the Democratic Party: 23 senators (excluding Kerry and Edwards) voted against Bush’s Iraq Resolution.

The great issues of our republic: independence, preserving a democratic way of life, slavery, women suffrage, civil rights, fighting communism, a women’s right to choose, and so on have all taken time to find common ground and effective public policy. None of these issues found their public or political footing quickly and many took decades and decades of conflict before resolution. And now to the list—and to the same processes—we add fighting terrorism.

The fact that we have been at it for less than three years is a measure of how much we have shortened the process and why the prospect for a Kerry approach is hopeful, even though we don't have the details. Bush has been exposed and there is no place for him to hide. He may be elected again, but not because we were deceived again. We know now what to expect, domestically and on foreign policy. A clearer choice there has not been.

There is much to be said for the notion of voting for the man, not the promises. The person is more important than the issues. Bush has turned out to be what he has always been, as Clinton did before him. The things that troubled many about Clinton before he became president turned out to trouble us--and him--while he was president. So we know Bush the man and he is no different than Bush the President. Now we are getting to know Kerry the man, not his voting records or what others are saying about his voting records, and last night was a great start.  

 

posted by Josh 10:46 AM

The Night Belonged to Reverend Alston

The news reports I've read so far have been full of well-deserved praise for Bill Clinton's speech last night. When, for example, UPI's Martin Walker writes,

The Democrats began to parade their stars Monday night, led by their two living former presidents, Bill Clinton (1993-2001) and Jimmy Carter (1977-1981), a Nobel Peace prize laureate; their last presidential nominee, Al Gore; and their nine women senators.

But shining most brightly was Bill Clinton, introduced by his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, a couple who once more displayed their extraordinary appeal to the Democratic faithful. The cheers for Hillary seemed to fill the vast hall of Boston's FleetCenter, a decibel level of applause that seemed unbeatable. But then her husband came on and the cheers and applause redoubled and rose even higher until the roof threatened to lift off.

his description cannot be faulted.

But for Tom Foley and me (couldn't resist, I ran into the former Speaker of the House and Ambassador to Japan in the Radisson's fitness center this morning), the night really belonged to Reverend Alston...one time Swift boat gunner serving under Lt. John Kerry, now a powerful preacher. Not as dazzling as Jesse Jackson, not as funny as Al Sharpton, but obviously totally sincere describing his former commander and friend. I read accounts of the Iowa caucuses that talked about how important Kerry's crew had been in his capturing the nomination, but that was just words in print. This was a powerful, live voice with a story that got me right in the gut and made me believe, yes, that Kerry is a man who might just make a truly great president.

posted by John 7:14 AM

Card Carrying Democrat

Andy Stern's Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has given the Dems $65 million to make John Kerry a contender. Stern gave a scathing interview to David Broder in today's Washington Post blasting the Democratic Party for its intransigence and suggesting that it might even be better for the potty if the Bushovictim wins in November. After reading Jerry's post below, one might conclude that Stern understands the meaning of four more years, John Kerry president.

posted by Groom 5:29 AM

The Rainmakers

When the Dems aren’t talking about how John Kerry is gonna lay a can of whup-ass on the Bushovictim they’re talking the favorite subject of New Englanders… the weathaaahhhh. But as smart money knows the GOP prays for rain on Election Day. Anybody got a better way to let an “act of g-d” drown out the tyranny of the majority? Reuters is reporting that cloud seeding technology is on the move and is China’s best hope of avoiding devastating drought.

Just in case the conventioneers visiting Boston forget to Scotchgard their Burberrys and Louis Vuitton umbrellas let’s revisit the themes of weather modification and weather warfare. Nobody at the convention will. They’re all being told not to use aggressive language about anything. Just because you can’t see the chemicals doesn’t mean they aren’t there. If the “inner circle” doesn’t want to postpone the election due to a “terrorist threat” all Rummy has to do is launch a few drone aircraft and voters in five “battleground states” will go floating down the Mississippi like Huck and Tom in their raft. Like Mark Twain said… “whisky is for drinking and water is for fighting.”

posted by Groom 2:11 AM

No Joy in Beantown

Maybe it's just me, but I'm not getting that much of a thrill watching a party where the main thing that unites most of the guests is their simmering, strategically unspoken, contempt for George W. Bush. Beyond the smiling, multicultural faces, the big-tent notion that Michael Moore and Howard Dean are soulmates of Al From and Joe Lieberman is as silly as the idea that GOP convention keynoters Rudy Guiliani or John McCain might actually play an important role in a second Bush administration. Both sides have descended into "Screw principle, we want to win at any cost." Driven by their hatred of Bill Clinton, the Republicans played this game to the hilt in 2000 when Shrub was packaged and sold as a "compassionate Conservative," a make-no-waves "uniter, not divider." Those pretenses evaporated the day he took office.

Now, we have Kerry and the Democrats playing the same sneaky game of don't say too much, wink, wink, because the end justifies the means. Those of us who believe that the world cannot survive another four years of Shrub, the sock puppet of Dick Cheney and the radical right, will pull the Democrat lever knowing as little about John Kerry's true intentions as we knew about Shrub's back in 2000. The discernible facts about Kerry--that he has long been the not-particularly-distinguished junior senator from Massachusetts, that he is an rich, aging playboy who has a fondness for expensive toys and hobbies and wealthy widows, and that he comes off as a waffling, ear-to-the-wind gasbag--have all been shoved to the background in the interest of "winning." We even "diss" Ralph Nader, the last honest man, because he stands in the way of our achieving that goal.

The Democrats in Congress lost the moral high ground when they stood by and let Bush run amok with the upper class tax breaks and his mad rush to the wrong war with the wrong enemy. Out of simple fear of taking on a "war-time" president, they fell in line behind the Patriot Act and its assault on American liberties. John Kerry and his fellow sandbagees asked no questions, saw no evil, cast no stones. They simply failed to answer the bell for the 2002 mid-term election. By all rights, they deserve to lose the 2004 election. Only the fact that Shrub and his crew are a mortal danger to human life make it imperative that they don't.

We have reached a sorry state where both major American political parties have sold their souls to the devil for yet another turn at wielding the levers of power. That's why principle, when it does make a rare, flickering appearance, is so refreshing and effective that you wonder why more politicians don't appreciate its force or, at least, try to fake it. Think of Senator Robert Byrd, the lone voice in the Democratic wilderness of Congress, who consistently spoke out against Shrub's war of choice. Think of Howard Dean, who actually excited young people about the political process again (until he was done in by the party establishment and a handful of nice rural Iowans with cowshit on their boots who went to their local high schools and designated John Kerry as candidate most likely to continue business-as-usual.)

Our political system is hopelessly broken and cannot be fixed because the people with the power to fix it don't really want to do so. The special interests are too entrenched, the flow of money too big and corrupting; most of the politicians of both parties are far more partisan and ideologically dug in than the American public as a whole. We, the people, struggle through the endless politicking in the reassuring knowledge that one bunch of liars is probably not that much worse than the other. Actually believing in something and standing up for it is a trap for losers and fools.

Enjoy the Boston show, folks. Let's win this one for the planet. We'll find out if there's a prize in our box of Cracker Jacks later.

posted by Jerry Bowles 12:05 AM

Monday, July 26, 2004

Noblesse oblige...

CNN just did a segment highlighting the emergence of "bloggers" at inclusionfest. Their idea of a blogger... MTV. The MTV blogger was dressed to the nines sporting a diamond as big as the Ritz. Like John Lennon said... "the rich can go rattle their jewlery."

posted by Groom 9:01 PM

Media Bias on Convention Fringes

One story that apparently won't get much media coverage is the substantial and substantially attended program of events put together by Veterans for Peace. That was, at least, the discouraging word that Ruth and I heard as we strolled back to our hotel last night from a VIP reception and ran into a couple of the organizers, a Marine (retired) and his German partner (female). What was really, really annoying them was that while they had worked their butts off to put on a big, well-organized event, they got no TV cameras. What got some cameras, instead, was a flaky demo on Boston Common by groups like the World Workers Party that included an obviously staged counter demonstration and mini-riot. If you were looking for another reason to think that the media are out to make the nascent anti-Iraq peace movement look like kooks, look no further.

posted by John 12:20 PM

Soak the Rich

Here's a howler via Al Kamen in the Washington Post:

The average wage in Cedar Rapids is $34,600 and if you throw in the Visa bills and the house and car payments the typical family probably has a negative net worth. Shrub Bush, who spoke there last week, reported income of $822,000 in 2003 and his assets were worth as much as $19 million, including that 1,583-acre ranch in Crawford, Texas where he pretends to clear brush and raise prize-winning black flies. But, don't be deceived. Unlike most Yale and Harvard Business School graduates who happen to be sons of ex-presidents, Shrub is just another working class stiff. Here's how he explained Kerry's plan to "tax the rich""

"In the campaign, you'll hear, we're only going to tax the rich," Bush said. "That's what you'll hear. Now, this from a fellow who has promised about $2 trillion of new spending thus far. And only taxing the rich, first of all, creates a huge tax gap, which means buyer beware.

"You see, if you can't raise enough by taxing the rich, guess who gets to pay next?" Bush asked. "Yes, the not-rich. That's all of us."

That's all of us? Somehow, I think some "not rich" folks are doing better than the rest of us "not rich."

posted by Jerry Bowles 11:21 AM

You Said It, Bro

William Safire on why the Democrats are playing nice with each other:

The party-unifying target is That Man in the White House and his coldblooded coterie of warmongering neocon homophobic tax cutters.

Apparently, he thinks he's joking.

posted by Jerry Bowles 8:04 AM

We Can't Afford Four More Years Of "The Pet Goat" Approach To Every Problem



Sit on your ass, stare into space, and wait for Uncle Karl to come rescue you . . .

(graphic courtesy of doug watt)

posted by Michael 8:04 AM

My choice for intelligence czar

Fear is the worst kind of political currency… are you ready for new “anti terrorism” executive orders based on Kean Commission recommendations and crafted by the most partisan and corrupt administration in our history. Some of these measures will effectively circumvent the Constitution. A few scraps of “reforms” will be thrown to Congress for approval. Lee Hamilton reminded Americans on the talk shows yesterday that we need a new intelligence oversight bureaucracy because "these people want to kill us."

We created the Drug Enforcement Agency to win the War on Drugs and look where we are now. We created the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency to stop the spread of nuclear and guided missile technology… are we any safer today than we were before the Reagan and Bush administrations stepped up the sale of “dual use” technologies? We created the Department of Homeland Security spending our tax dollars pretending to make every airport in America as safe as the one in Tel-Aviv.

Now, the rush to judgment to create a new Cabinet-level bureaucracy to ride herd over the “reformed” intelligence community before its too late. Just so after the Prez makes a bonehead decision he can point to the "intelligence czar" and say "you are responsible for my bad decisons... good-bye. Fear is the worst kind of political currency. And don’t forget… it was FDR who said “we have nothing to fear but fear itself.” We need a fearless intelligence czar… Moe Berg is my choice. He’ll be up from Cryogenics and holding court over at Jake Wirth’s place if Dem national security “experts” want to learn how to pull a bad pitch into a small strike zone. With Kean and Hamilton likely to be calling the balls and strikes, the outfoxed Dems will need all the help they can get to keep the "reforms" from being labled by the media as a "victory" for the White House. It's time that fear strikes out. Go for Moe.

posted by Groom 3:41 AM

Sunday, July 25, 2004

It Ain't Over Till The Fat Man Sings

In a change of heart, brought about apparently by a change of ownership, the new management of the Aladdin casino in Vegas has apologized to Linda Ronstadt, invited her back to perform, and even invited Michael Moore to sing with her:

After a day of negotiations, the prospective new owner of the venue, Robert Earl, Chairman and CEO of Planet Hollywood International, Inc., issued the following statement:

"We hope to be approved by the Nevada Gaming Commission to become the new owners of the Aladdin Resort in Las Vegas as early as September 1, 2004. Upon the assumption of ownership, and with a new management team in place, we would like to offer the use of the Theatre of Performing Arts to Linda Ronstadt for a second concert and further to take Michael Moore up on his offer to join her on stage to introduce her and sing a song."

On a related note, a DLC/DINO holdout splinter cell within the Democratic Party seems to have denied Michael Moore credentials to even get in to the Democratic Convention in Boston. Dumb, dumb, dumb. Unfortunately, these Zellouts and their fellow travelers have been watching so much FoxNews, they've developed "Stockholm Syndrome" . . .

posted by Michael 6:19 PM

Homeland Security… Trump Card or Trojan Horse?

Coach Shrum and Team Kerry will use the Democratic National Convention to convince America to trust their guy on “homeland security.” But Congress, writhe with collective guilt, will upstage Jean LeGrand, holding a special session on the eve of the Republican National Convention to address key recommendations of the president’s commission to investigate 9/11.

Beyond the go-slo on getting the party started, Condi playing coy and a general reluctance to disclose information the White House still owns the Kean Commission. Thus any recommendation that Congress votes into law during the special session becomes a victory for the president and a major media event for Obersturmbannfuehrer Rove and his spinmeisters. That’s a big stone for Kerry to drag up the mountain and the slope will get slippery if he runs true to form and stays out on the campaign trail instead of showing up to vote the bill. Bottom line, no matter whether Coach Shrum has a winning game plan, his guy gets sloppy seconds on “Homeland Security.”

While the Dems hold their Inclusion Fest in Boston, the GOP will be holding a Homeland Security Fest in New York. The Bushovictim will strut and cut, projecting leadership to the nation, praising Congress for taking the necessary actions recommended by "his commission" to keep Americans from living in fear. And speaking of fear, Homeland Security Secretary Ridge interrupts Convention programming for a special message. Credible intelligence indicates that the nation’s terror alert system be increased to ______ (fill in blank with your favorite color).

You gotta expect the GOP to turn Labor Day weekend into a bummer for working Americans. So here we go, into the homestretch, with Homeland Security in the lead and pulling away. The Economy has dropped to the middle of the pack. Iraqi Freedom is losing ground rapidly. Electoral Fraud is out of the money. Halliburton’s Sting is fading. And at that point, the “inner circle” will decide whether even more “credible intelligence” of a terrorist threat will require the “postponement” of the November elections.

posted by Groom 8:01 AM