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The M word

Look who's using it. Does old warhawk Arnaud de Borchgrave have an axe to grind? Will Lepke Wolfowitz order the NCOs to shoot the reservists in the back if they don't follow orders?

posted by Groom 6:50 PM

Steel Cage Match

Jay Rosen of PressThink has been following the Sinclair Broadcasting controversy like the rest of us. Last weekend, he noted that Sinclair has offered Kerry time on their broadcast to respond to the accusations in the film Stolen Honor--and offered his opinion that Kerry should accept. Last night, Rosen quoted the comments of other bloggers and journalists who think Kerry would be nuts to do so, but then raised the following point--Sinclair has said that if Kerry would sit for an interview with them, it's conceivable that they would air very little or none of the film at all. Rosen sees an opportunity for Kerry in that possibility. He wonders: If terms of the interview could be negotiated in such a way that Kerry wouldn't be a victim of some kind of last-minute gotcha (unlikely, it seems to me), couldn't it conceivably give him one more significant moment in the national spotlight, and a powerful opportunity to confront his past--dubious though the need for confrontation is--and at the same time prove once and for all that he's worthy of being president?

I have been reading over Rosen's piece for a while this morning, and I honestly have no idea what would be the best thing for Kerry to do. I am somewhat persuaded by those who say giving Sinclair more attention is like "adding plutonium to a chain reaction," and that for Kerry to appear "lends legitimacy to the smear," which has already been pretty much debunked by other media sources. On the other hand, the idea of Kerry calmly sitting for a televised battle with Sinclair's wingnut-in-chief, Mark Hyman, and documentarian Carlton Sherwood, and proving by doing so that they're nutjobs, is appealing--particularly coming as it would a scant 10 days before the election. And if the session were broadcast on other media outlets--C-SPAN and the cable news channels--like the news event Sinclair claims it to be, so much the better.

Tough one. Any ideas?

posted by jabartlett 11:58 AM

The long count...

The top Bush-Cheney campaign lawyer is predicting that it will take several weeks for Americans to know who won the popular vote, undermining the electoral process. Sounds like some misdirection from the Rove playbook.

posted by Groom 8:42 AM

Who spiked the sake? Koizumi endorses Bush!

You don't think that one of Karl Rove's moonlighting FBI agents could have put LSD in Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's sake now, do you? He did come out for Bush after reporters asked him about polls that show Kerry leading after the final debate. Maybe John McCreery can tell us more about why Japan is meddling in internal US affairs...

posted by Groom 5:20 AM

Friday, October 15, 2004

So Outraged at Kerry’s Use of Mary Cheney’s Sexuality, Bushco Fights Back by Using Mary Cheney’s Sexuality

Evelyn just posted the results of the kind of poll that suggests – and they way the question is phrased how could it not? – that John Kerry’s mentioning of Mary Cheney’s lesbianism is hurting Kerry’s presidential bid.

I wrote a comment to an earlier posting on this subject, but let me reiterate: I think that Kerry used the occasion to try and mitigate what he and his handlers probably felt was an upcoming reintroduction of the gay marriage issue into the presidential race. It is not hard to believe that as Bushco pivoted from flip-flop to liberal in its ever-constant attempts to cartoonize Kerry it would only be a matter of time before good old homophobia would again become part of the w’s stump speech rhetoric. I think Kerry was trying to plant in the public mind the disconnect between Bushco homobaiting and the fact that the veep’s daughter is not only gay but is a high-ranking member of the reelection campaign. In theory, it must have seemed like a good idea, and the careful and respectful wording of his statement demonstrate that though Kerry was trying to make a political point he was trying very hard not to disrespect Mary Cheney or her parents.

But it was a miscalculation on Kerry’s part. What he did – and again, I understand why he might have done it – was to give the GOP a desperately needed talking point in lieu of yet another dismal performance by w in the third debate. All momentum was swinging Kerry’s way. This weekend’s talk shows, the evening talk shows, instead of being dominated by the platoon in Iraq that refused to follow orders or a discussion on just how badly w did in the debates or on Karl Rove’s testimony before the Plame grand jury will instead be dominated by yap about how shameful it is that Kerry yapped about the lesbian. The issue is not whether Kerry was right or wrong in his assertion that " . . . 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" – of course I think he’s correct. The issue is that after days of keeping Bushco on the defensive Kerry’s given them an opportunity to take the offensive.

I don’t know whether this has legs much less whether this will ultimately make a difference in the election, but I do know this: Bushco will do everything to keep this story center stage. The strategy has already been put into action: treat lesbianism as a family disgrace, as if Kerry had said instead that Mary Cheney was a drug addict. Yes, Mary Cheney is a lesbian, but saying she’s a lesbian is akin to calling someone’s mother a slattern and a drunk. He embarrassed the Cheneys for political profit. When that runs dry it’s an illogical but inevitable step to attack Kerry for his intolerance. Then, illogically but inevitably, because Bushco fears that his base may be off put by w’s sudden tolerance for homosexuals Kerry will be attacked for trying to peel two or three percent of w’s base from the vote by deviously exposing w as tolerant, and dammit he’s not. I wonder if Mary Cheney herself will come out, so to speak, and criticize Kerry; does anyone doubt that it hasn’t crossed someone’s mind to ask her? Because remember, it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t make sense, it doesn’t matter if it in fact does bother the Cheney family so much that they stumble over each other to emphasize just what bothers them the most. What matters is that the Russerts, Imuses, Greenfields, and Matthews of the world are talking about this rather than everything else while everything else is not going w’s way. And that is a tactical error on Kerry’s part.

posted by Blackdogred 9:31 PM

Push-Polling Courtesy of the Washington Post

Why did the Washington Post fan these ridiculous flames? Wouldn't it have been just as important to spend money on a poll which asked the question: "Do you think it is likely that the Republicans will engage in dirty tricks between now and Election Day?"

posted by Evelyn 5:38 PM

Tony Bliar... closet Catholic

After confessing that maybe it wasn't such a good idea to use WMD as the reason for invading Iraq the press in Britain is wondering if, indeed, Tony Bliar has become a member of the Roman Catholic church. Only his priest knows for sure. Will Shrub be the next one to bite the cookie?

posted by Groom 4:14 PM

All Rove, All the Time

Just posted on WashPost: Rove testifies in Valerie Plame investigation. Who doubts that he knows, if he was not the person himself, who the person who outed Plame was? And how delicious would it be if he was perp-walked out of the White House the night before the election? Not going to happen, but fun to think about.

Courtesy of Steve Clemons, typical Rove tactic in Tennessee. Think it sounds familiar? Read this article by Joshua Green in this month's Atlantic. I'm not saying Rove was personally involved in the Tennessee dirty trick. I am saying he'd approve.

posted by Blackdogred 3:30 PM

You Can Never Accuse that Boy of Under-Selling

Dana Millbank in the Washington Post opines that BushCo may have oversold an image of Kerry as a cartoon figure, a combination of "Jane Fonda and Ted Kennedy," and one might add, Nathan Lane. You think?

I also wonder if you share my belief that Bush-Buddy-Bob Scheifer from the Collaborateur Broadcast System actually hurt his guy by asking all those powder puffs about faith and strong women, simply because everybody has already heard enough of that from Under-medicated-in-Chief but not so from our Wasp/Catholic Democratic candidate?

(Speaking of CBS, do you think Viacom Corporate wrote those questions? Sumner Redstone probably put that memo next to the one announcing that the sun revolves around the earth.)

Laying aside the relative importance of strong women and Jesus to energy policy and the environment, I thought Kerry's answers demonstrated a sense of humor and a sort of restrained, Harrison Fordish sensitivity.

Agreed?

posted by Evelyn 11:53 AM

The Road Not Taken

I posted this piece first on February 11, 2003. In light of Tom Friedman's column today and the stark choice we face in this election between moving beyond 9/11 or adopting a policy of permanent war, I thought it bore repeating:

On February 26, 1993, two Islamic fundamentalists left 1,200 to 1,500 pounds of a homemade fertilizer bomb in the rear truck of a rented Ford Econoline van on the second level of the World Trade Center parking basement about eight feet from the south wall of Trade Tower Number One, near a major support column. At 12:18 pm the device exploded killing six people and injuring more than a thousand. Had the bomb done what its creators expected--topple the Tower, perhaps even collapsing into Tower Two--the death toll would have been much higher. It was midday and there were 50,000 people in the two buildings. The number of dead could easily have been as high as it was on September 11, 2001. Perhaps, more.

Despite the deadly potential, the 1993 attack was treated from the beginning as a criminal matter to be pursued through the normal legal channels, not an act of war that justified draconian measures to transfer power to the government while limiting judicial review and public access to information. Nor, was it was it seen as an excuse to invade countries based on an administration's need to punish someone quickly. It certainly wasn't used to cynically justify a war against a country that was not involved in the bombing.

Within three days of the 1993 bombing, some 200 law enforcement officers from at least eight different agencies were on the case and four Assistant U.S. Attorneys were assigned to the prosecution. One week after the bombing, the FBI arrested the first suspect, Mohammad Salameh, when he returned to the truck rental agency to collect his deposit. Within three months, three other suspects were rounded up--including one who was extradited from Egypt. On March 4, 1994, exactly one year after Salameh's arrest, the jury found the four men guilty on all 38 counts. They are currently serving life sentences.

The moral of the story? There are several. One is certainly that had the Clinton administration and Congress viewed this as the sign of worst things to come and begun beefing up our domestic security and ordering our intelligence agencies to start paying a lot more attention to Islamic fundamentalists, 9/11 might easily have been averted. Another important point is that we demonstrated to the world that we are a country of laws, not men, and justice for all means justice for all. In the wake of our current President and our anti-Christ attorney general bragging on TV about our expertise in extrajudicial killing, this is a moral high ground that is lost to us forever.

From a legal viewpoint, September 11 differed from the 1993 WTC attack only in the degree of success for the terrorists--the horrible death count of nearly 3,000 victims. But, was it an act of war or a tragic and horrible crime?

After 9/11, there was a tremendous outpouring of goodwill from most countries around the world. What would have happened, one cannot help wondering, if the Bush administration had treated this as a huge criminal act by a small and marginal group of religious fanatics rather than an all-out assault by the world on America and its institutions?

What if Bush had actually used this opportunity to build a permanent highly-mobile American-led international anti-terror agency--empowered by the United Nations to investigate, prosecute and bring to justice--terrorists wherever they strike in the world. With military force, when absolutely necessary.

What would have happened if the administration had not dusted off Scooter Libby and Paul Wolfowitz's 1992 Defense Policy Guidance (DPG) document--the seed of today's preemptive war and global domination policies--and used it to justify an unnecessary war with Iraq--in the process propping up a quasi-fascist Israeli regime and threatening to destroy both the United Nations and NATO?

What would have happened if the administration had accepted the help of the rest of the world and not behaved like a bunch of power-drunk, belligerent, cowboys?

In short, what if the Boy Emperor had seized the moment to be a uniter, not a divider, both at home and abroad?

Surely things could not be worse, with Usama bin Laden either quietly dead or still on the loose; the al Qaeda organization regrouping and still lethal; the economy in tatters, held hostage by the administration's obsession with an unnecessary war, and burdened by deficits that rob future generations of a decent life. NATO and the UN are on the ropes and the administration's bellicose rhetoric has inspired a dangerous Milosovic-level hatred for Muslims among the religious right fanatics, left a permanent bitterness on the left, and created more potential suicide bombers than bin Laden could have dreamed of.

Had the Boy Emperor followed the New Testament instead of the Old, we would be the envy of the civilized world for the way we handled this crisis without trampling on the rights of our own citizens or those of others. George W. Bush, the least prepared President in American history, would be seen as one of the greats, a man who defended his country from the extremists and brought the perputrators to justice, while defending due process and democracy. Instead, I suspect, history will recall him as an immature, foul-tempered, Christian nationalist who has singlehandedly destroyed the American dream of liberty, with fair and impartial justice for all.

Sorry, Mr. President, but liberty is not God's gift to mankind. It is--or at least it used to be--America's gift to the world.

posted by Jerry Bowles 9:15 AM

From national security adviser to #1 jock sniffer

Now that future NFL Commissioner Condi Rice is on the record saying that she was supposed to be a boy and grow up as an All-America linebacker maybe it’s time to wash Lynne Cheney’s mouth with Lava soap and send her over to Martha’s hooch for a soiree at Camp Cupcake. (photo credit John Reid III at Cleveland Browns website)

posted by Groom 6:52 AM

Don't Laugh: It's Probably A Lucrative Magazine Idea

posted by Michael 1:41 AM

Welcome Back, Tom

Tom Friedman comes to his senses:

By exploiting the emotions around 9/11, Mr. Bush took a far-right agenda on taxes, the environment and social issues - for which he had no electoral mandate - and drove it into a 9/12 world. In doing so, Mr. Bush made himself the most divisive and polarizing president in modern history.

posted by Jerry Bowles 1:02 AM

Thursday, October 14, 2004

Carpetmunching Update

Leathery desert creature Lynne Cheney has gone ballistic because John Kerry had the bad taste to mention in the debate last night that the Cheneys have a daughter who is a lesbian. Mary Cheney has been out for a long time now and this is hardly news to anyone who follows politics but we liberals are such sensitive namby pambys that signaling out people by name seems...well, tacky. Kerry should do a hundred Hail Marys. After all, it isn't like they've ever made rude implications about Hillary or Teresa or told lies about Kerry's war service or claimed that Bill had Vince Foster murdered or sent letters to people in West Virginia claiming that Kerry would take away their Bibles or anything like that. We must have some perspective here.

posted by Jerry Bowles 3:37 PM

Thursday's Open Thread

If you had a son who laughed at inappropriate situations, blinked rapidly when listening to others talk, angered quickly and excessively at the slightest provocation or challenge and told private jokes that only he knew the punchline, would you a) get him to a psyciatrist stat or 2) Let Karl Rove adopt him and make him president?

posted by Jerry Bowles 1:18 PM

The October surprise…

Undecided voters watched a very un-presidential looking president slam his hand violently on the podium, grimace and make other ballistic gestures and look completely at a loss when asked about the flu vaccine mess. GOP shill Bob Schieffer let him yack about Iraq and dodge questions on jobs and healthcare that resonate with average Americans... including a lot of blue collar and lower middle class Republicans who are victimized by Bushco’s declining real wages, bunko economic stats and tax cuts that subsidize job outsourcing. No wonder Times of London’s man in Tempe, Gerard Baker, suggests that the Bush campaign is having problems dealing with Kerry’s momentum. Hammering away at the key issues, Kerry is becoming the ABB (anybody but Bush) candidate who is winning in spite of himself. Now, can he avoid "Bill Buckner syndrome?"

posted by Groom 6:40 AM

Wednesday, October 13, 2004

Shame on Bob

Not a single question about the environment. Not one. And, in place of that, a question to Kerry about Catholic authorities saying it's a sin to vote for him. Shame on you, Bob. Pathetic.

Bush looked much, much better tonight and that may be enough for him. Unless, of course, folks feel like he told unemployed workers that they were too stupid for the 21st century. Or that he told minorities that they needed his education reforms to improve themselves so they wouldn't need affirmative action. Or noticed he flat-out lied about his veteran's health care record and couldn't believe that any national guard troops were complaining ("all the ones I spoke to were happy to be serving!")

Kerry did fine, although he didn't go for the jugular, as many here advised him to do. Perhaps he should have. On the other hand, he kicked the President's bony ass on assault weapons. And his answers to all questions dealing with faith (and weren't there a lot of them?) were wonderful, though I wonder if anyone not already voting for him will notice.

We've got work to do, certainly. I have to believe, though, and I refused to give up. Bust Sinclair, get out the word on GOP vote suppression, keep telling the truth about the President and GOTV, GOTV, GOTV.

posted by Opus 10:53 PM

3-0

The talking heads are calling it a draw but I think Kerry did himself a lot of good on the all-important "likeability" front and won fairly easily by simply not behaving like an immature jerk. Aside from his decent Jimmy Swaggert impersonation, I haven't seen a comedian fall as flat as Shrub since the last $2 all-amateur night at Stand Up, New York.

posted by Jerry Bowles 10:45 PM

Lord, Somebody Put A Fork In Dubya

'cause he's done . . .

It'll be a slow count by the refs (20 more days, in fact), but he ain't getting up off the canvas between now and then . . .

posted by Michael 10:12 PM

I'll Scratch His Silly Eyes Out, Bush Vows

See the Dreaded Drudge for details.

posted by Jerry Bowles 6:57 PM

Debate audience... whites only y'all keep out

Show me da money was a black football player's line in the Tom Cruise-Cuba Gooding vehicle Jerry McGuire. It's also the line that football factory Arizona State University is taking on general seating for this evening's "debate." The 3,000 seat Gammage Auditorium has been transformed into a TV set with space for only 350 spectators. According to the Arizona Republic, tickets were given to sponsors who gave $100,000 or more to help put on the debate: $100,000 bought two tickets, $200,000 bought four tickets, and $800,000 bought eight tickets. A few tickets were set aside for ASU students via a lottery. A small number of tickets will go to guests of the Bush and Kerry camps (we don't know how much they had to shell out). No tickets were available to the general public. Audience members will not be able to ask questions. Let's see... $100,000 pays for X number of flu shots at your local Julie Gerberding price-gouger (shame on you!) outlet. And we know that a hit of smack costs the same as a #3 value meal. Let's get this potty started Amerika!

posted by Groom 5:52 PM

Those Plucky Brits Coming to our Aid

The Guardian has started a kind of "adopt a US voter" program to help undecided voters in Clark Co, Ohio.

posted by Evelyn 3:07 PM

Your Debate Moderator

Did you know this about Bob Schieffer:

"During the '90s, Schieffer also struck up a friendship with George W. Bush when his brother Tom -- now the U.S. ambassador to Australia -- became partners with the future president in the Texas Rangers. Bob and W. went to ballgames together, played golf, attended spring training. "He's a great guy -- that doesn't mean I agree with him," says Schieffer, adding that the situation became "a little awkward" when Bush ran for the White House but that he's never gotten favorable treatment."

Or that his brother Tom is a former business partner of w and was named Ambassador to Australia by w?

Craptacular.

posted by Blackdogred 1:56 PM

Hey, Nineteen

And twenty, and twenty-one. Think voting is for stupid old white men? Think John Kerry is, like, just too weird-looking. Well, if the prospect of having George Bush appoint two or three Supreme Court justices who think you'd look just darling in a burka isn't enough to get you off your pilates-toned ass on November 2, think about this: any new draft would also apply to women and up to 34-years-old. Want to tote an AK-47 around a booby-trapped 115-degree sandbox? Want to be famous like Lynndie England? I didn't think so. Vote, honey-buns.

posted by Jerry Bowles 11:44 AM

Cheaters, cont.

Repugnicans ripping up Democratic voter registrations in Nevada.

Repugnicans planning to supress African-American vote in Florida.

Former South Dakota congressman says national GOP urging operatives to cheat.

And let's not forget Sinclair. Here is a source for finding national and local advertisers on Sinclair stations. Contact the advertisers and the local stations, not Sinclair itself, and, as the website says, please be polite.

Update:

And then there's Oregon.

And Oregon again.

And Ohio.

posted by Blackdogred 11:21 AM

Wednesday's Open Thread

Which George will attend tonight's debate: 1) whiney, sniveling, pouty undermedicated, thinking-is-just-too-dammed-hard George; 2)winking, belligerent, dry drunk, undermedicated frat boy George; 3) meltdown George?

posted by Jerry Bowles 8:32 AM

Did he get a free flu shot too?

The press release sounded like he’s still president. Saddam Hussein got a free hernia operation while millions of Americans are being price-gouged for flu vaccine by free market enthusiasts. The best CDC topette Dr. Julie Gerberding can do is say "shame on the people who price-gouge". Nodding and smiling to build rapport like Condi Rice, she downplayed the price gouging on the Today Show, telling Lester Holt that we should use “traditional” epidemic control methods like “hand hygiene” and “don’t go to school” and “don’t go to work.” Other than saying it wasn’t her job, Gerberding had no explanation as to why the US only contracts with two flu vaccine manufacturers while Britain and other nations have five and six suppliers… but they’re investigating. Chiron, which had its license suspended in Britain, is also the lead manufacturer on the avian flu vaccine. Maybe president Bush and Julie will go out trick or treating on Halloween dressed as Harry Lime and The Third Man.

posted by Groom 6:03 AM

Electronic Or Alien, Take Your Pick

OK, salon.com is running the above two pictures, side by side. To me, it means one of two things -- either:

1. Dubya's "wired for sound" pretty much all the time (at least while a camera is on him); or

2. He's got one of those slimy alien leeches on his back, a la Puppet Masters:

posted by Michael 1:13 AM

Tuesday, October 12, 2004