Favorite Bushisms from the debate tonight

Mex missaging
Fighting so vociferously
Nude in Iraq

Kerry wins debate

ABC News
Kerry: 46
Bush: 37
Tie: 17

CBS also says Kerry wins. Will wait for polls to come in. Early posting in the morning.

UPDATE: Okay, I fibbed....I'm still processing polls.

CNN-Gallup-USA Today
Kerry: 53
Bush:36
Tie: 11

Vladimir is the new Cher

George is great friends with Vladimir. Sir, I knew Vladimir. Vladimir was a friend of mine. And, sir, you're no Vladimir.

C'mon, John, get him to say nook-ya-lure

Kerry says nuclear proliferation is the biggest threat to this globe. Make Bush say nook-ya-lure. And quote JibJab....you can't say nuclear, and that really scares me.

Mex missages

I'm still laughing....Bush said mex missages.

Will the experience in Iraq cause you to lead the US into another preemptive war?

BUSH: The enemy attacked us.

KERRY: The president said something very telling here...Iraq didn't attack us. But this president thinks they did.

As I lead in the world, Bush said

...does he think he is president of the world?

I think it's possible to be optimistic and realistic at the same time

He can add spastic if he keeps banging his hand on the podium.

Bush is pissed....bigtime

The petulant boy is angry.

Invading Iraq is the equivalent of Frankin Rooseveldt invading Mexico to retaliate for Pearl Harbor

I made a mistake in how I talked about Iraq; President Bush made a mistake by invading Iraq. Which is worse?

Wonder if George Bush will go with "We're making progress in Iraq" tonight

From USA Today: BAGHDAD (AP) — At least three bombs exploded near a U.S. convoy in western Baghdad on Thursday, killing 37 people and wounding more than 50, officials said. Hours earlier, a suicide car bombing killed a U.S. soldier and two Iraqis on the capital's outskirts.

He says God is his co-pilot, but George Bush is really in the Christian National Guard

George Bush is pandering to his "Christianity" just like he pretended to be a Vietnam warrior. I wonder when he'll go AWOL from Jesus. Bush dresses up in religion, just like he played dress-up in a flight suit. It's more about image than authenticity. His religion is a political Halloween costume. But he's carrying the cross prop for Partially Reborn.

Frank Rich writes today in NYT about The Passion of the Bush:

It's not just Mr. Bush's self-deification that separates him from the likes of Lincoln, however; it's his chosen fashion of Christianity. The president didn't revive the word "crusade" idly in the fall of 2001. His view of faith as a Manichaean scheme of blacks and whites to be acted out in a perpetual war against evil is synergistic with the violent poetics of the best-selling "Left Behind" novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins and Mel Gibson's cinematic bloodfest. The majority of Christian Americans may not agree with this apocalyptic worldview, but there's a big market for it. A Newsweek poll shows that 17 percent of Americans expect the world to end in their lifetime. To Karl Rove and company, that 17 percent is otherwise known as "the base."

Debate drinking game

Drink one sip if:
Anyone says "terrorism"
Anyone says "Halliburton"
Anyone says "flip flop"
Anyone says "Saddam Hussein"
Anyone blames "the media"
Anyone mentions their own military service
Anyone says "September 11"
One candidate interrupts another candidate

Drink two sips if:
Bush says "cut and run"
Kerry says "W stands for wrong"
Either candidate talks past their time limit
Kerry brings up Bush's "Mission Accomplished" moment
Bush mentions Crawford, TX
Anyone looks at the wrong camera
Anyone whips out "evidence"
Anyone says "Osama bin Laden"
Anyone mentions blogs
Anyone invokes the hurricane sympathy vote
Anyone mentions "North Korea"
Kerry mentions Bush wants to reinstate the draft
Everytime you see anyone wearing the yellow "LiveSTRONG" bracelet

Finish your glass if:
Anyone in the audience gets dragged out of the auditorium
Anyone in the audience gets off an unscripted question
Bush mispronounces any word or name
Anyone says "Osama bin Hidin'"
Anyone uses a sports metaphor
Anyone attempts to speak Spanish to pander to Latinos

Do a shot if:
Bush mentions the deficit
Bush accuses Kerry of being "French on terrorism"
Kerry accuses Bush of being a pansy for avoiding Vietnam
Bush admits he made a mistake ("miscalculation" counts)
Ralph Nader shows up insisting on airtime

Finish the bottle if:
Anyone challenges anyone to a duel
The moderator rips off his mask to reveal his true identity is Karl Rove

(I know this is making the rounds...I got this several days ago from my friend, Bill, who seems to get funny things well in advance of the Blogsnow moment.)

30 Days and 2,368 Attacks: A Map

Every province in Iraq has been hit over the past month. A map of where they happened and how.

Make up your own George W Bush stump speech

This is funny.

George Bush's Top 10 Flip-Flops: Another list

From CBS News.

UPDATE: Great WaPo collection of Bush lies and flip-flops in Who's the Biggest Flip-Flopper?

The Five Stages of Bushism

The Talent Show makes a list of The Five Stages of Bushism.

Stage 1 - Pretending to listen to the question

Stage 2 - Trying to understand the question

Stage 3 - Stalling for time

Stage 4 - Giving a pre-scripted answer unrelated to the question asked

Stage 5 - Acting like a badass motherf**ker

Kerry-ka-tures

Artist Dale Axelrod was standing on the corner of Broad and Sansom in Philadelphia this afternoon. His helmet caught my eye. His idea captured my imagination. From his website Kerry-ka-ture:

Kerry-ka-ture Mission: To support Senator John Kerry’s election as President, and begin the process of bringing our troops home from Iraq.

Strategy: To provide a way for Kerry supporters to communicate their support in a fun, positive, non-intimidating way to friends, coworkers, neighbors, and family and to engage them in a dialogue about how important it is for them to register and vote in the upcoming election.

Charlie has spoken about this - preaching to the converted isn't what we need, we must get to those who are undecided or against us. Dale Axelrod has an open source idea. He draws caricatures and says "by showing off your Kerry-ka-ture you can open up a low key dialogue about the election in almost any location." He's encouraging artists to download his artwork template, and draw Kerry-ka-tures for profit (or for donations to the Kerry campaign). He makes very good points. Check him out. Here's the sketch. If you see him, have your face put there. If he's there on Friday, I will.

Crazy is as crazy does

I'm so pleased that the assault weapons ban was lifted. Now crazy Carolina wingnuts can write "death and destruction to Arabs" blog postings and have the weapons to back it up (he says he has a closet-full). And get kudos. Get this part: He's a professor at UNC-Wilmington. Read more. Follow the links. And once again, be afraid. Be very afraid.

(via Atrios)

George Bush: It's about your record, Stupid

Al Gore has some advice for John Kerry as he prepares for the debates with George Bush. It's about Bush's record. Bush can no longer run on promises, he's created a mess, but is either too stubborn or too stupid to know what he's facing. From the article How to Debate George Bush:

The debates aren't a time for rhetorical tricks. It's a time for an honest contest of ideas. Mr. Bush's unwillingness to admit any mistakes may score him style points. But it makes hiring him for four more years too dangerous a risk. Stubbornness is not strength; and Mr. Kerry must show voters that there is a distinction between the two.

UPDATE: Sorry, I didn't quite get that headline right.

16 questions for George Bush that won't be asked

The Gadflyer made a list of 16 questions for George Bush that won't be asked in The NASCAR Debates. Thomas Schaller writes, "With the formats now agreed upon, it's time for the presidential debates. Of course, we don't have real debates in American presidential politics. Real debates allow opponents to spar, to ask each other questions, to follow up. The world's greatest democracy prefers its circuses to be highly scripted, its cakes pallid enough so as not to offend the national palate."

Asteroid misses Earth; other smaller asteroids slammed White House in 2001

A 3-mile-long asteroid whisked past Earth today, coming within a million miles of creating a cataclysm that scientists said would have wiped out a country "as large as France" and causing worldwide devastation. Rumor has it that George Bush dressed up in his cheerleader outfit and led Wingnuts in the chant "Hit France if there's a chance." See the video of the asteroid. Let's get rid of the asteroids at the White House. Last few days to register.

Documents reveal gaps in George Bush's service as president

From The Onion: Freshly unearthed public documents, ranging from newspapers to cabinet-meeting minutes, seem to indicate large gaps in George W. Bush's service as president, a spokesman for the watchdog group Citizens for an Informed Society announced Monday.

George Bush: Answer the questions or get out

13 questions for George Bush. Bet these become the anti-Lays: he can't answer just one.

More Republican lies about John Kerry's record

So, it's come down to this: Republicans using images of Osama bin Hidin' and scary voice over saying "children have been killed in Russia" while lying about John Kerry's voting record on Iraq, terrorism, and national defense. (See the lies for yourself.) Looks like desperation time, because they don't have their own record to run on. 1,053 American soldiers dead in Iraq is just an afterthought. Read more on FactCheck.

One raindrop for each John Kerry vote in Philly

I was headed to the Drinking Liberally event in Philly this evening. I started walking. Then swimming. And while I was squishing in my shoes as the rain drenched my pants, I thought about a stat I heard at the Barack Obama/Joe Hoeffel event yesterday: 1.3 million registered voters in Philly. Get out and vote, my friends. One John Kerry vote for every raindrop that fell this evening in Philly.

Republicans lie, people die: RNC's new lies about John Kerry's position on Iraq

A new RNC ad is out It features "selective use of Kerry's own words makes him look inconsistent on Iraq. A closer look gives a different picture."

Summary from FactCheck.org
Kerry has never wavered from his support for giving Bush authority to use force in Iraq, nor has he changed his position that he, as President, would not have gone to war without greater international support. But a Bush ad released Sept. 27 takes many of Kerry's words out of context to make him appear to be alternately praising the war and condemning it.

Michael Moore spotlights Bush flipflops

MIchael Moore's site has a summary of 10 alternating postions that Bush and his administration have taken on Iraq.

Breaking news! Jon Stewart smarter than Bill O'Reilly

Stewart's rapier wit vs. O'Reilly's dull butter knife of doltishness
Bill O'Reilly called Jon Stewart's audience "stoned slackers" when Stewart appeared on Triumph of the Bill. But, wouldn't you know it? Viewers of Jon Stewart's show are more likely to have completed four years of college than people who watch "The O'Reilly Factor," according to Nielsen Media Research. Duh. O'Reilly doesn't exactly need thinking people to do the goose step. Read more.

Freeway Signs

Freewayblogger.com Kudos Maria. Zoom, zoom, zoom.

Votes dead in Ohio

Neil Young keeps humming in my head as I think about the Secretary of State killing voters in Ohio with lethal paper cuts.

Read Holy F***ing Jim Crow in MyDD.
Atrios outlines voting rights laws that are well worth reviewing.
Oliver Willis writes about Vote Theft in Progress

Don't let the Bushies steal this election again folks. Start calling and writing.

Barack Obama and Joe Hoeffel in Philadelphia

Barack Obama said, "Eighteen months ago, you didn't even know who I was. Just some skinny state senator. And now look."

The next Senator from Illinois came to Love Park today in Center City to endorse Joe Hoeffel, the next Senator from Pennsylvania. Hundreds of supporters rallied this afternoon.


Dr. King said: "The arc of history is long, but it bends toward justice."


He just leaned down because a woman asked him to "sign my baby." She said, "I want her to meet the first black president of the United States."


It was great to shake his hand. Here's Sarah with him right after she did.


He stayed and signed autographs for hundreds of people. I have one. I'm keeping it.


Change is gonna come.


Joe mingled with the crowd before his speech. Here he is with Sarah.


Joe basks in the glow of a well-deserved endorsment by Barack Obama.


Ego shot. Joe Hoeffel, Sarah, and me.

Detritus under the Bush

Oliver Willis provides this quote: "Like Vietnam, the military is again being asked to clean up the detritus of a failed foreign policy." And he asks, "Who is this freedom-hating hippie?" His answer will surprise you.

George Bush is a vandal

Boing Boing featured a vintage anti-vandalism poster by the WPA. This one, titled Result, made me think about George Bush's work to throw rocks at the street lights of the world. He's that little creepy kid who's tough when he's in a group, but a weakling by himself. I added some text to the poster.

How Bush's grandfather helped Hitler's rise to power

Link

Iraq: You break it, you buy it

From Maureen Dowd (she is always so clever): Rummy also blew off Colin Powell's so-called Pottery Barn rule that if we broke Iraq, we own it.

Obama in Love Park

Obama in Love Park
Sep 27, 2004, 2:30 p.m.
Joe Hoeffel campaigns with Barack Obama to "Take Back the White House, Take Back the Senate"
Love Park, 15th Street and JFK Blvd., Philadelphia

Nicked from Atrios

The Two Georges: Bush and Custer

George Walker Bush|George Armstrong Custer
New bumper sticker: "Custer stayed the course, too"
(via Kos)

John Kerry and George Bush in a boxing match: Dick Cheney referees

From Aaron McGruders' great comic, The Boondocks, today. Aaron was very good last night on Bill Maher's show, too. Worth a look in the rerun.

Fascism 101: Bush Administration Goose-Stepping toward Total World Domination

VLWC outlines the classic example of Fascism that the "Bush Junta" uses. He also links to a great article titled Fascism Anyone? that shows the 14 common threads that link Fascist regimes in recognizable patterns of national behavior and abuse of power. George Bush's government is overlaid. Now I am afraid.

Iraqi election: George Bush's team achieves mediocrity

Elections must be open to all. Four out of five ain't bad. We'll work to get it right. It's already perfect.

That's the assessment of the upcoming "elections" in Iraq. "Oh, Georgie, what a fine mess you've gotten us into this time." Read more.

3,487 Iraqis killed since April; 2,752 killed in WTC. Are we even yet?

From an article by Nancy A. Youssef in the Philadelphia Inquirer titled Military faulted on Iraq deaths

BAGHDAD - Twice as many Iraqis, most of them civilians, are dying as a result of operations by U.S. and multinational forces and Iraqi police as are being killed in attacks by insurgents, according to statistics compiled by the Iraqi Health Ministry.

According to the ministry, the interim Iraqi government recorded 3,487 Iraqi deaths in 15 of the country's 18 provinces from April 5, when the ministry began compiling the data, until Sept. 19. Of those, 328 were women and children. An additional 13,720 Iraqis were injured, the ministry said.

Diary of a Political Tourist

Note to self: watch this. HBO schedule.

Two faces of George Bush

Iraqi "insurgent" groups ID'd

Iraqi newspaper identifies insurgent groups. I hated writing the word "insurgent" and wonder if we could come up with a better word. The report uses "revolutionary," "brigade" and "faction." There must be something. Comments?

Sick fear mongers: Republicans' terror campaign

Tying Kerry to Terror Tests Rhetorical Limits by Dana Milbank in WaPo
An Un-American Way to Campaign in NYT

George Bush isn't a flip-flopper, he's just a flop

Mr. Bush and His 10 Ever-Changing Different Positions on Iraq: "A flip and a flop and now just a flop." From Michael Moore to George Bush (aka Baghdad Bush).

Moore's also going on a Slacker Uprising Tour to 60 cities in 20 battleground states. He's coming to Philly, so I'll see him there. From the press release:

"It is not the wealthy and the elite who don't vote," added Moore. "The non-voters are the poor, the disenfranchised, the single moms and young people. I am calling for a non-voter uprising, led by thousands of campus slackers who proudly sleep 'til noon and who believe papers are for rolling, not reading. They are rightfully cynical, but this year their motto will be: "Bush and Kerry Both Suck -- That's Why I'm Voting for John Kerry!"

Word up. Billionaires for Bush by 50 Billion

Billionaires for Bush visit G-Dog's house. The billionaires are in the house.

Grassroots endorsement for your favorite candidate

(via Democracy for America)
Put the power of Democracy for America to work for your favorite candidate.

The incumbent and the challenger with the most votes at the end of balloting will win a national email appeal from Governor Dean and Democracy for America. Howard Dean will send a special message to the Democracy for America grassroots about the candidate who best demonstrates that they are running a people-powered campaign.

This is an easy way for your favorite candidate to gain widespread exposure, recruit a national base of support and raise much-needed resources for the final weeks of the campaign.

The voting will take place online, will last for five days and is open to all visitors to Democracy for America. Vote now to show your support for your favorite Senatorial candidate:

I cast my vote for Joe Hoeffel today by clicking here.

Kerry debate zingers

People voted on Kos...here's the "Best of" list.

More Wingnut Lies: Republicans Lie about John Kerry's Quote on Abortion

From FactCheck.org:

When Kerry said abortions should be moved "into the mainstream of medical practice," he was talking about safer locations, not more frequent abortions.

Summary
A Republican National Committee website urging Catholics not to vote for Kerry prominently features a 1994 quote in which Kerry said abortions "need to be moved out of the fringes of medicine and into the mainstream of medical practice."

But Kerry wasn't advocating more frequent abortions, he was calling for them to be performed in safe locations. His stated position on abortions is that they should be "safe, legal and rare."

The Kerry quote came from remarks inserted into the Congressional Record about the murder of two people at a Florida abortion clinic. More recently Kerry has said he's personally opposed to abortion and believes life begins at conception, even though he favors the right to abortion and has promised if elected to appoint to the Supreme Court only persons who support the Roe v. Wade decision.

If America were Iraq. What would it be like?

From a powerful article by Juan Cole, professor of history at the University of Michigan:

What would America look like if it were in Iraq's current situation? The population of the US is over 11 times that of Iraq, so a lot of statistics would have to be multiplied by that number.

Thus, violence killed 300 Iraqis last week, the equivalent proportionately of 3,300 Americans. What if 3,300 Americans had died in car bombings, grenade and rocket attacks, machine gun spray, and aerial bombardment in the last week? That is a number greater than the deaths on September 11, and if America were Iraq, it would be an ongoing, weekly or monthly toll.

Pix from John Kerry visit to Penn today

Okay, at the risk of this becoming a slide show from my summer vacation, here's a great set of pictures from John Kerry's visit today to UPenn in Philadelphia. (I was lucky to get a Red Ticket because of Sarah's persistence, so we got lots of closeup pix and even got to shake Big John's hand.) Other dignitaries included Gov. Ed Rendell, Mayor John Street, Sen. Joe Biden, Congressman Joe Hoeffel, and Bernard Hopkins, the undisputed middleweight champion of the world.


I was in Orlando this week. I drove past Disney World and Fantasyland. George Bush lives in Fanstasyland.


Bernard Hopkins, the undisputed middleweight champ, gave John Kerry a set of boxing gloves and said, "Knock out George Bush like I did Oscar de la Hoya."


"Take off the gloves, John" was the shout from right behind me. John Kerry laughed.


The crowd was huge. I'd estimate 20,000 people easily. There were 11 Bush backers outside the fence. UPDATE: ABC News is estimating 25,000 to 40,000 supporters.


This woman yelled, "I want to have your babies, John." She was a little embarrassed after she said it. And I thought the women commenting about how "cute" John Edwards was this past Sunday in Phoenixville was something!


Vote Peace '04 from KerryTshirts.net was the most popular shirt at the rally.


Our own Governator, Ed Rendell, told Penn students they can register to vote in their domicile.


John Street led a call-and-response about the Declaration of Independence that could only have been done on Penn's campus. How many times can you hear a crowd of 20-thousand respond with the words "inalienable rights" when asked the answer to "We are all endowed with what?"


Joe Hoeffel pointed out that Sen. Arlen Specter voted with Bush/Cheney 89% of the time, with the NAACP 14% of the time, and with the NRA 100% of the time.


Help is on the way.

America to George Bush: Oops, there goes gravity; back to reality

George Bush is living in fantasyland again. From today's NYT article titled Bush Upbeat as Iraq Burns:

The president said he is personally optimistic and he delivered an upbeat assessment of conditions in Iraq to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday. Iraq, he said, is well on its way to being "secure, democratic, federal and free."

If you spend more than a little time immersed in the world according to Karl Rove, you'll find that words lose even the remotest connection to reality. They become nothing more than tools designed to achieve political ends. So it's not easy to decipher what the president believes about Iraq.

This is scary. With Americans, Iraqis and others dying horribly in the long dark night of this American-led war, the world needs more from the president of the United States than the fool's gold of his empty utterances.

Off to see John Kerry; pix this afternoon

John Kerry is in Philly today. Speaking at Temple U this morning; UPenn this afternoon. I'll post pix when I return.

Liar Liar, World's On Fire

Seen in Center City, Philly.

Send a letter to Baghdad Bush

(via BoingBoing) This guy takes USPS stickers, runs them through his printer and prints 'USPS does not acknowledge the authority of the Bush administration.' and then puts them back in the rack at the post office. Link to Quicktime movie

Voting machines are electoral machine guns

More Diebold E-Voting Vulnerabilities (via Slashdot)

UPDATE: E-Vote Fears Soar in Swing States (via Wired News)

Bush still can't understand the difference between Abu Abbas and Abu Nidal

I'm watching him right now during his press conference with Allawi. When asked if it's an act of hypocrisy to use CIA reports about WMD to invade Iraq and then dismiss them when it says Iraq is foundering, Bush said: "Anyone who believes that this world is better off with Saddam Hussein is just wrong. He harbored terrorists like Abu Nidal...Abu Abbas, al Zarqawi." Only problem, as has been shown on VLWC and others, Bush can't get the name of the bad guy right. Heck, at this rate, what's the difference between Iraq and Iran? (Just one little letter.)

"Suiciders." That's what Baghdad Bush just called the suicide bombers. "We're not going to be moved aside by the suiciders." Heck, I have to stop writing. He's coming up with a new one each minute. More soon. "The ability of 'suiciders' to affect free societies." Okay, I really have to stop now. ADDED: Link.

Georgie Porgie is such a petulant little boy

Why pay attention to the thousand-plus soldiers killed in Iraq, the millions of Americans without healthcare, or the state of America's declining reputation in world when you can just try to poke fun at John Kerry? That's how Baghdad Bush and the rest of the Liars Brigade does it. See the Kerry-Edwards response to the Bushies' stupid high-school AV class video in Juvenile.

Bush vs. Bush: Baghdad Bush Wins!

Watch George Bush kick his own ass in this debate against himself on The Daily Show. Video.

For fun, you can watch Rummy squirm like a worm in this MoveOn video.

The asshat Zell Miller challenging Chris Matthews to a duel. Video.

All cited in a piece on Daily Kos titled Suggestion for Kerry Website/Possible Ads

Cheney: to Bush: It's only make-believe, Georgie Porgie

From the AP, Little Georgie Porgie in his world of make-believe, where he gets to play with plastic Army men and use dirt-clod bombs:

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. Sept. 22, 2004 — President Bush is living in a make-believe world in his understanding of Iraq, misleading the American people and attacking Democrats on phony issues, presidential rival John Kerry said Wednesday in an interview with The Associated Press.

"Even today, he blundered again saying there are only a handful of terrorists in Iraq," Kerry said. "George Bush retreated from Fallujah and other communities in Iraq which are now overrun with terrorists and threaten our troops."

Bush, campaigning in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, said, "It's hard to help a country go from tyranny to elections to peace when there are a handful of people who are willing to kill in order to stop the process. And that's what you're seeing on the TV screens. You know, these people cannot beat us militarily."

The President of the United States is a Liar

From Oliver Willis, this video of Baghdad Bush caught lying like a rug in this piece by Peter Jennings. Kudos to Kos, too.

When Fascism Comes to America

Powerful article and analysis by Maureen Farrell in BuzzFlash titled "When Fascism Comes to America."

Tell the truth about Iraq, Baghdad Bush

A long e-mail from MoveOn today (I thought it was worth having in its entirety):

Dear MoveOn member,

To hear President Bush tell it, Iraq is a bed of roses: "Our strategy is succeeding," he said last week. Yesterday at the U.N., he said Iraq is "on the path to democracy and freedom."

Yet the CIA told Bush recently that the scenarios we're really facing there range from a quagmire to a bloodbath. The CIA's July report outlines three possibilities for Iraq, ranging from "an Iraq whose stability would remain tenuous" to "civil war," according to the New York Times. [1]

Senator Bob Graham (D-FL) is calling on Bush to level with us, by releasing the report, formally called a National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), to the public. Graham, the former chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, has read the NIE, and he thinks we all should see it too.

Join Senator Graham in demanding that President Bush to face the facts and tell us the truth about Iraq, by releasing the NIE, at:

http://www.moveon.org/tellthetruth/

It's not just Democrats who are questioning the President's grip on reality.

Senator Chuck Hagel (NE), a Republican, says: "The worst thing we can do is hold ourselves hostage to some grand illusion that we're winning. Right now, we are not winning. Things are getting worse." [2] "The fact is, we're in trouble. We're in deep trouble in Iraq." [3]

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) also supports releasing the NIE [4] and says: "We made serious mistakes right after the initial successes by not having enough troops there on the ground, by allowing the looting, by not securing the borders." [3]

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), says "he believes the situation in Iraq is going to get worse before it gets better, adding that he believes the administration has done a 'poor job of implementing and adjusting at times.'" and says "We do not need to paint a rosy scenario for the American people...." [3]

Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) says it's "exasperating for anybody look at this from any vantage point." [1]

Those are Republicans talking. Here's what the generals and national security experts are saying, in a terrific recent piece in the UK's Guardian newspaper:

Retired general William Odom, former head of the National Security Agency, said: "Bush hasn't found the WMD. Al-Qaida, it's worse, he's lost on that front. That he's going to achieve a democracy there? That goal is lost, too. It's lost." He adds: "Right now, the course we're on, we're achieving Bin Laden's ends."

Retired general Joseph Hoare, the former marine commandant and head of US Central Command, [said]: "The idea that this is going to go the way these guys planned is ludicrous. There are no good options.... The priorities are just all wrong."

Jeffrey Record, professor of strategy at the Air War College, said: "I see no ray of light on the horizon at all. The worst case has become true..."

W. Andrew Terrill, professor at the Army War College's strategic studies institute -- and the top expert on Iraq there -- said: "I don't think that you can kill the insurgency"... "The idea there are x number of insurgents, and that when they're all dead we can get out is wrong. The insurgency has shown an ability to regenerate itself because there are people willing to fill the ranks of those who are killed"... "Most Iraqis consider us occupiers, not liberators."

General Odom [also] said: "This is far graver than Vietnam. There wasn't as much at stake strategically, though in both cases we mindlessly went ahead with the war that was not constructive for US aims. But now we're in a region far more volatile, and we're in much worse shape with our allies."... "I've never seen [tensions] so bad between the office of the secretary of defence and the military. There's a significant majority believing this is a disaster." [5]

Just as important are the opinions of those whose loved ones are serving in Iraq, like Martha Jo McCarthy, whose husband is on National Guard duty there. She says:

"Everyone supports the troops, and I know they're doing a phenomenal job over there, not only fighting but building schools and digging wells. But supporting the troops has to mean something more than putting yellow-ribbon magnets on your car and praying they come home safely."

"I read the casualty Web site every day and ask myself, 'Do I feel safer here?' No. I don't think we can win this war through arrogance. Arrogance is different from strength. Strength requires wisdom, and I think we need to change from arrogance to solid strength." [6]

Join Senator Graham now in calling on President Bush to face the facts and level with us, by releasing the CIA's report, at:

http://www.moveon.org/tellthetruth/

President Bush has got to tell us the truth about Iraq. No weapons of mass destruction. No Saddam-al Qaeda connection. The mission is not accomplished. The transition has not been peaceful and stable. Attacks on our troops are increasing, not decreasing. These failures lie solely with the president, and he owes us an honest explanation.

Thanks for signing our petition today, and for everything you do.

Sincerely,

--Carrie, Joan, Lee, Marika, Noah, Peter, and Wes
The MoveOn.org Team
September 22nd, 2004

And while you're at it, could I have a new puppy?

The Philadelphia Inquirer did a story yesterday on political prayer sites. I'm praying that Pat Robertson and Jimmy Swaggert get boils in very uncomfortable places. Have a look. And be very afraid. (BTW: These Friends in Cheez-Whiz are not praying for John Kerry. Funny, because the sky is blue - a blue state if I ever saw one.)

Pray the Vote
Intercessors for America
Pathway

George Bush: The Anti-Midas

George Bush is the anti-Midas. He took a golden opportunity with the UN and turned it into lead (to be kind, I was thinking more like sh*t). It's much worse than that. From today's NYT editorial titled George Bush's Lead Balloon:

Mr. Bush might have done better at wooing broader international support if he had spent less time on self-justification and scolding and more on praising the importance of international cooperation and a strengthened United Nations. Instead, his tone-deaf speechwriters achieved a perverse kind of alchemy, transforming a golden opportunity into a lead balloon.

Considering the opportunity costs of Iraq

Lambert at corrente writes: "James Fallows has a sober, and sobering, look at Iraq that takes opportunity cost into account, as apparently Bush did not—amazingly for anyone with an MBA—when choosing to invade Iraq." Great read.

Baghdad Bush addresses the U.N.; hears the sound of one hand clapping

Baghdad Bush addressed the United Nations General Assembly today. In characteristic fashion, Bush said without a hint of irony, "We know that dictators are quick to choose aggression, while free nations strive to resolve differences in peace." (Link.) The French delegate was heard to shout, "Incroyable!"

As as service to Baghdad Bush, I outlined what some of the world's newspapers headlines are saying about his speech today:

Unapologetic Bush calls on UN to 'help spread democracy and freedom throughout globe' - The Scotsman

UN takes a new swipe at Bush - Gulf Daily News

Defiant Bush defends war in speech to UN - The Guardian

Sweet Nothings: Bush's U.N. speech offers platitudes instead of solutions. - Slate

Bush defends Iraq war in U.N. speech - Japan Today

Bush, Annan trade barbs over Iraq at United Nations - The (Lebanon) Daily Star

Bush returns to UN to ask for help in Iraq as bloodshed threatens progress - Canada.com

A side note: Bush's remarks drew applause only once at the end of his speech. (Link.) Little different than his Triumph of the W campaign stops where attendees have to swear allegiance to Der Fumbler.

Baghdad Bush flip-flops again

Baghdad Bush has flip-flopped more than a fish out of water, says DeWayne Wickham in this piece that nicely summarizes Bush's mendacity about Iraq, the Congressional Black Caucus, and nation-building. Read more.

Stop whining and start winning, says Michael Moore

Michael Moore's message starts: "Enough of the handwringing! Enough of the doomsaying! Do I have to come there and personally calm you down? Stop with all the defeatism, OK? Bush IS a goner -- IF we all just quit our whining and bellyaching and stop shaking like a bunch of nervous ninnies." Read more. Well worth the read.



If you like the article a lot, you can always get the Che/Michael t-shirt.

Bush's colossal failure of judgment

Google bombing time, my friends. Sen. Kerry said yesterday in a speech that George Bush has had a colossal failure of judgment. New memes, new energy.

George Bush was a lightweight

Link.

Kerry spoke in, spoke in, class today

Obviously Sen. Kerry isn't like Pearl Jam's Jeremy, but it's great to see him taking direct aim at the Liar-in-Chief. From Sen. Kerry's speech today at NYU:

The President has said that he “miscalculated” in Iraq and that it was a “catastrophic success.” In fact, the President has made a series of catastrophic decisions … from the beginning … in Iraq. At every fork in the road, he has taken the wrong turn and led us in the wrong direction.

The first and most fundamental mistake was the President’s failure to tell the truth to the American people.

He failed to tell the truth about the rationale for going to war. And he failed to tell the truth about the burden this war would impose on our soldiers and our citizens.

By one count, the President offered 23 different rationales for this war. If his purpose was to confuse and mislead the American people, he succeeded.

His two main rationales – weapons of mass destruction and the Al Qaeda/September 11 connection – have been proved false… by the President’s own weapons inspectors… and by the 9/11 Commission. Just last week, Secretary of State Powell acknowledged the facts. Only Vice President Cheney still insists that the earth is flat.

Read more.

Baghdad Bush

From About: Political Humor.

Joe Klein's take on the President's spokesman: "Scott McClellan is beginning to sound like Baghdad Bob, the infamous spokesman for Saddam who announced hallucinatory Iraqi victories as the American troops closed in on Baghdad." (Source: Time, Bush's Iraq: A Powerful Fantasy)

Joe Klein on Bush's flip-flop on whether he believes national security reports or not: "[T]he President's obvious skepticism about this National Intelligence Estimate stands in stark contrast to his wanton embrace of the NIE he received in October 2002, which said that Saddam probably possessed weapons of mass destruction."

The Daily Kos on the Baghdad Bush meme.

Editor & Publisher on Bill Maher's use of the phrase Baghdad Bob.

Hastert: Speaker of the Nuthouse

From CNN: When a reporter asked Hastert if he thought al Qaeda would operate with more comfort if Kerry were elected, the speaker said, "That's my opinion, yes."

Hastert, the Speaker of the Nuthouse, is the same overstuffed sausage who falsely accused George Soros of coddling the international drug cartels. Danger, Will Robinson, danger. Link.

McCain says Bush not "straight" about Iraq. Translation: Bush is a liar

From CNN: Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona said Bush was not being "as straight as maybe we'd like to see" with the American people about Iraq.

Lots of others criticized Bush's rose-colored-glasses take on the Mess-O-Potamia.

Flip-flops, lies and credibility

Link.

Bushies keep trying to scare us & it's not yet halloween

The story of Bush Administration's scare tactics in The Nation.

Surprisingly, there may be 1 or 2 things that are more important than fashion (or at least as important)...

...like our future. The great thing is, we can combine the two - fashion about our future. From a link on LiquidTreats.

John Edwards - Joe Hoeffel - Lois Murphy

John Edwards was in Phoenixville, PA today. So were thousands of his supporters. That included my son, Stephen, and me. Pix.

Hope is on the way.


One woman standing behind me said, "He's as gorgeous in person as he is on TV." The little girls think so too.


I wonder if those polls showing extraordinary Bush leads have had pollsters call any of these people. This was a Sunday at noontime!


Dick Cheney is going around the country making a punchline of my talk about "Two Americas" - the haves and the have nots. Well, it's not a punchline to the millions of people living in poverty, even though this country is a punchline to Mr. Cheney.


Joe Hoeffel's speech had the crowd chanting "Outsource Bush."


Lois Murphy led the charge, and generously greeted supporters after the speeches.

9/11 Commission Continues with Public Education

From the 9/11 Public Discourse Project:

The ten members of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (known as the 9-11 Commission) have initiated a nationwide public education campaign for the purpose of making America safer and more secure. In so doing, the commissioners will give people throughout America the opportunity to participate in a debate that has been limited largely to those inside the Washington Beltway.

In the absence of such an effort, they are concerned that there will be insufficient public examination of how the lessons learned from the terrorist attacks can be used to shape public policy. The perils of inaction are far too high-and the strategic value of the Commission's findings too important-for the work of 9-11 Commission not to continue.

Summary in NYT.

A free service I'll gladly provide for the President

To: President George W. Bush

Re: News Stories from Iraq - A Service I Would Provide Free-of-Charge

Dear Mr. President,

I provided a sample of the 643 articles listed today about the deteriorating situation in Iraq. I would like to volunteer as your personal news aggregator because I believe people who are working near you and for you are leaving the newspaper in The White House's driveway each morning.

Sincerely,

Frank

*********************************************

I’m the President and I’m the person who has set policy for this country. And what I’m assuring you of, and assuring your readers of, and assuring the Iraqis of, and our troops in harm’s way, is that we’re on the right path and I intend to keep us there. - George Bush, Sept. 18, 2004 The Union Leader (NH)

Headline: Militants Threaten to Kill U.S., UK Hostages in Iraq (Source: Reuters, Sept. 18, 2004)

Headline: Falluja victims, 56 killed, 40 injured (Source: Arabic News, Sept. 18, 2004)

Headline: Suicide car-bombing kills 8 at Iraq police checkpoint (Source: Detroit Free Press, Sept. 18, 2004)

Headline: US targets militants; bombs hit Baghdad (Source: The Boston Globe, Sept. 18, 2004)

Headline: Bombs rock Baghdad (Source: SwissInfo, Sept. 18, 2004)

Your French lesson for today, kids

Link

What did happen at the Pentagon on 9/11?

I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but this video is a bit unnerving. Where is the airplane?

Nice flip-flops, George

By Signe Wilson (Link)

Polling sham: Presidential pollsters never call cell phones

This is an interesting piece by Jimmy Breslin about the sham in political polls. As Breslin says, "Anybody who believes these national political polls are giving you facts is a gullible fool." Read more.

Bushies: I'm gonna wash that woman right out of my hair

As Lambert says on Corrente, "Do real men hit women? Do real "Christians"? Apparently so."

Yesterday, presidential spokesman Scott McClellan was asked about the continued use of excessive force to drag women protestors by their hair from Bush events. You make the call on what this means:

Q I've got another question about women. In the last few public events, we've seen anti-Bush women treated rather roughly, physically. Does the President -- is he aware of the treatment of these demonstrators?

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't know what you're specifically referring to, Ed.

Q Well, one we saw a woman being led out by her hair, rather forcefully. Another one yesterday at Mrs. Bush's event.

MR. McCLELLAN: Those are questions I think you can direct to authorities. I don't know what you're specifically referring to.

Q Well, the one yesterday, the woman who spoke up --

MR. McCLELLAN: The President has always said it's important to treat everybody with dignity and respect. And people certainly have the right to express their views in a peaceful way. (Source: The White House)

Talking Points: Bush Lies about Jobs Growth

George W Bush - Colmar, PA, Sept. 9, 2004
Our country has now seen 12 straight months of job gains. Over the past year, we've added 1.7 million jobs.

From FactCheck.org
Bush also says nothing about the fact that as of August, the number of persons employed in payroll jobs was still 913,000 below what it was when Bush took office in 2001. At the current rate of growth it is almost certain that Democrats will be proven right about Bush being the first President since Hoover to suffer a net job loss over a full four-year term.

Worldwide POTUS Vote

Banned by the RNC in WV: The Separation of Church and State

From the Seattle PI:

WASHINGTON -- Campaign mail with a return address of the Republican National Committee warns West Virginia voters that the Bible will be prohibited and men will marry men if liberals win in November.

The literature shows a Bible with the word "BANNED" across it and a photo of a man, on his knees, placing a ring on the hand of another man with the word "ALLOWED." The mailing tells West Virginians to "vote Republican to protect our families" and defeat the "liberal agenda."

Read more.

Thanks to SM Dixon at VLWC for the pointer.

RNC Scumbag ID'd

The scumbag who kicked a RNC protestor (while she was pinned under three Secret Service agents) has been outted. He's a junior at at UPenn, in my home town, the City of Brotherly Love. Details.

See the video of this guy using Republican Brownshirt tactics to quell free speech. Video.

Dick Cheney would be proud.

Hold Them Accountable

See the video.

Quicksand in Iraq

See the MoveOn ad.

Piling Up the Big Lies: Safer World

Credible reporting now indicates that al-Qaeda is moving forward with its plans to carry out a large-scale attack in the United States in an effort to disrupt our democratic process. - Tom Ridge, July 8, 2004 (Source: U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security)

We have led, many have joined, and America and the world are safer. - George Bush, St. Cloud, Minn., Sept. 16, 2004 (Source: The White House)

Which is it? We're going to be attacked? Or, we're safer?

Time for Kerry's team to start Rove-ing

Here's a real kick-ass media strategy by Thomas Schaller titled Out-Roving Rove that he wrote to Sen. Kerry. Well worth the read.

You couldn't make this up

This is a banner from the White House archives on 1/2/03

They'll be dancin', dancin' in the streets

Um, not. From the USA TODAY:

The National Intelligence Council presented President Bush this summer with several pessimistic scenarios regarding the security situation in Iraq, including the possibility of a civil war there before the end of 2005.

Still, Bush continues to lie about the situation in Iraq. He and his cabal continue to tout the dancing in the streets happy-happy-joy-joy even while all evidence and video shows Iraq imploding.

Iraq war was illegal and breached UN charter, says Annan

From the Guardian this morning, UN Chief Kofi Annan said "that the invasion was not sanctioned by the UN security council or in accordance with the UN's founding charter." In an interview with the BBC, Mr. Annan said, "I have indicated it was not in conformity with the UN charter. From our point of view and from the charter point of view it was illegal."

Why Bush Left Texas

Booze and nose candy. Read about it in The Nation.

Nothing Accomplished

When you have Secret Service protection, it's easy to let terrorists buy assault weapons

The assault weapons ban ended thanks to George Bush and the Republicans. That hasn't gone unnoticed by John Kerry, who was quoted in The Washington Post about the risk this poses to American citizens:

"For the first time in 10 years, when a killer walks in a gun shop, when a terrorist goes to a gun show somewhere in America, if they want to purchase an AK-47 or some other military assault weapon, they are going to hear one word - sure," Kerry said. "Today George Bush chose to make the job of terrorists easier and make the job of police officers harder, and that's just plain wrong."

Read more.

"Uncovered: The Whole Truth about the Iraq War" Premiers

I got this today from Wes Boyd. My show is in Philly; you can check the MoveOn site for a screening near you.

Dear MoveOn member,

Last winter, MoveOn members gathered in living rooms across the country to help launch Uncovered: The Whole Truth about the Iraq War, the documentary film which clearly and powerfully shows how the Bush administration mislead the American public into this failed war on Iraq.

Remarkably, Uncovered has been such a success on DVD, it's now on the big screen in your area. The new theatrical version includes an exclusive interview with UN weapons inspector David Kay and a section on the media's role in the build up to war.

Uncovered opens Friday at:

The Ritz East
125 S. Second St.
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Showtimes: (215) 925-7900

The theatrical version is not to be missed. And bringing friends and family is a great way to mobilize them. Thanks for bringing Uncovered into the world. Now let's use the film to spread the whole truth about the Iraq War.

Sincerely,
- Wes Boyd
MoveOn.org
September 15th, 2004

Let's Pull Together...

There are less than two months until the election, an election that will decide the next President of the United States. The man elected will be the President of all Americans, not just the Democrats or the Republicans. To show our solidarity as Americans, let's all get together and show each other our support for the candidate of our choice. It's time that we all came together, Democrats and Republicans alike.

If you support the policies and character of John Kerry, please drive with your headlights on during the day.

If you support President Bush, please drive with your headlights off at night.

Thank you.

The truth hurts, and George Bush is in some kind of pain

From SF Gate, this summary or Sen. John Kerry's direct body blows at the Liar-in-Chief, George Bush:

"This president has created more excuses than jobs," Kerry told the Detroit Economic Club. "His is the excuse presidency - never wrong, never responsible, never to blame. President Bush's desk isn't where the buck stops - it's where the blame begins."

"This president consciously turned a $5.6 trillion surplus into trillions of debt for our children," Kerry said. "George Bush accomplished all of it in only four years. Imagine what he could do in another four years."

Bush approval ratings plunging

A study by the Annenberg Public Policy Center says George Bush's job approval rating is plummeting. According to this Bloomberg news summary, "The poll found 32 percent of uncommitted, or 'persuadable,' voters approved of Bush's handling of the economy and 63 percent disapproved. In August, 39 percent approved and 54 percent disapproved. Bush's approval rating among these voters dipped from 56 percent in August to 44 percent in September."

Bush flip-flopping made a mess of Fallujah

In this piece by Robery Parry in Consortium News, George Bush over-ruled the on-site general twice: once to demand an extreme retaliation and then three days later demanding that the Marines pull back. Six Marines and hundreds of Iraqis were killed during this assault, which was so bad that a soccer field was turned into a mass grave. Read more.

Fractal Foreign Policy

From the DNC: "No matter how you look at it, whether it's individual orders or overall strategies, the decisions of this White House are disasters built upon disasters built upon disasters." It's the fractal nature of the war. Read more.

George Bush: Big government Republican

An article on MSNBC by Mike Allen is titled "Bush's agenda could top $3 trillion: President doesn't emphasize 10-year price tag." There a lot of information in the piece that outlines the $3 trillion that Bush outlined in spending over the next decade. And in the Unmitigated Gall category: he's been criticizing John Kerry for proposing $2 trillion in long-term spending. Note in the article that the Bush Administration is ignoring the $4 billion per month cost of the Iraq war.

My favorite line: He's a big-government Republican, and there's no longer even the pretense that he's for smaller government. Read more.

30 Bush flipflops

The American Progress Action Fund has a list of 30 Bush flipflops. They are even available in a handy poster.

Operation Fortunate Son II

This fortunate son has some questions to answer. He's sending soldiers into harm's way while he avoided the very thing by his National Guard deferrment. See the video Fortunate Son.

Just when you think it's getting better, it's getting better all the time

We've been saying Mr. Kerry needs to call George Bush on the quagmire on Iraq. He did today. Bush gave another "it's getting better all the time" speech to the National Guard Association today.

Bush's Lies and Delusions about Iraq Continue
Our mission in Iraq is critical. And our men and women in uniform - active, Guard, and Reserve - are doing a superb job for America. Because of your service and sacrifice, we're defeating the terrorists where they live, and that makes us safer....Because of you, the world is more just and more peaceful. (Source: The White House)


Mr. Kerry Says Things Are Not Getting Better - And He's Right
Today, we heard more of the same distortions from the President about the situation in Iraq. George W. Bush keeps saying that things are getting better even when we all know that’s just not true. The fact is, no matter what he says, all of us can see for ourselves what’s happening in Iraq – we can see it on the front pages and on the nightly news. But why would we expect George Bush to level with us about Iraq? He never has. (Source: Kerry/Edwards 2004)

Kerry must take on Bush about the quagmire in Iraq

From Paul Krugman this morning:

Some pundits are demanding that Mr. Kerry produce a specific plan for Iraq - a demand they never make of Mr. Bush. Mr. Kerry should turn the tables, and demand to know what - aside from pretending that things are going fine - Mr. Bush intends to do about the spiraling disaster. And Mr. Kerry can ask why anyone should trust a leader who refuses to replace the people who created that disaster because he thinks it's bad politics to admit a mistake.

Read more.

Bush knew about Gitmo abuses

Evidence of prisoner abuse and possible war crimes at Guantánamo Bay reached the highest levels of the Bush administration as early as autumn 2002, but Donald Rumsfeld, the defence secretary, chose to do nothing about it, according to a new investigation published exclusively in the Guardian today. Read more.

Going Dutch: Ping-Pong for the Presidency

Play presidential ping-pong. In Dutch. Worth a look. As my friend Pepijn says, "It's about pingponging for the 'Kiesmannen' of the different states. Try it." And impress your friends with a few words in Nederlandse. Groetjes.Link.

Operation Fortunate Son

The flap over the superscripts on memos from 1972 continues to get press. Most of that coverage is blustering designed to cloud the fact that George Bush, The Fortunate Son, didn't do his duty in the National Guard. This article in USNews.com outlines the essential evasions. Read more.

The road to Baghdad isn't paved with flower petals or good intentions

There was an average of 87 "insurgent" attacks per day in Iraq during the month of August 2004 according to this article in the NYT. Yesterday, at least 25 Iraqis were killed by suicide bombs and other attacks. Yet, George Bush said on August 8, 2004, " We are safer - we are safer and the world is better off because Saddam is sitting in a prison cell." Tell that to the 1,007 dead American soldiers in Iraq and over 13,000 dead Iraqis. Wonder if we're going to have to come up with a better word than "insurgent." Can all the citizens of Iraq be "insurgents"?

Stubborn George Flip-Flops on Iraq War

By Mike Smith, Las Vegas Sun, for USA TODAY

Prerequisite for Victory Against Terrorism

We've neither smoked 'em out or killed 'em. Heck, Osama bin Laden is still loping across the scree of the Pakistan/Afghanistan border and has his lieutenants making videos threatening worldwide terrorism. Meanwhile, the Bush administration seems to have forgotten about the real war on terror while persuading 43% of Americans (idiots) that Saddam Hussein had connections to al Quaeda (not). What we're doing to fight terrorism isn't working. From an article by the Cato Institute:

According to Shibley Telhami, a member of President Bush's advisory group on public diplomacy, we are "worse than failing. Failing means you tried and didn't get better. But at this point, three years after September 11, you can say there wasn't even much of an attempt, and today Arab and Muslim attitudes toward the U.S. and the degree of distrust of the U.S. are far worse than they were three years ago." Telhami's forecast is bleak: "There is a total collapse of trust in American intentions and it's only gotten far worse over the past year. When people hate or resent the United States far more than they dislike bin Laden, how can you succeed?"

George Bush's Role Models

If the opposition disarms, well and good. If it refuses to disarm, we shall disarm it ourselves. - Joseph Stalin (Source: Brainy Quote)

My fellow citizens, at this hour, American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger. - George Bush, March 19, 2003 (Source: The White House)



How fortunate for leaders that men do not think. - Adolf Hitler (Source: Military Quotes)

If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator. - George Bush, Dec. 18, 2000 (Source: CNN)

9/11 Remembered

(Image: USA TODAY)

The truth about presidential race polling: statistical deception

This piece in MediaMatters shows the deception in presidential polling. From the article:

On September 7, Zogby explained that poll's sample was weighted too heavily Republican:

Their [Newsweek's] sample of registered voters includes 38% Republican, 31% Democrat and 31% Independent voters. If we look at the three last Presidential elections, the spread was 34% Democrats, 34% Republicans and 33% Independents.

Read more. And remember: lies, damn lies, and statistics.

One dead is a tragedy, a thousand dead is a statistic

Truthout shows the faces of 1,000 dead American soldiers from the Iraq War. Every single one a tragedy. See for yourself. Think George Bush will look? Or are these men and women only statistics?

Cost of Iraq War

On 9/11/04 it's worth thinking about lives lost and costs incurred both three years ago...and now. 3,000 killed on that day. Since then, 1,006 American soldiers have been killed in an unjust war with Iraq; over 13,000 Iraqis have been killed; and over $136B has been spent. For what? Feel any safer today?


From a billboard in Midtown Manhattan on Tuesday, 9/7/04


A candelight vigil in Center City Philadelphia on 9/9/04 sponsored by MoveOn. One of 1,064 vigils that night across the country. This picture is a little blurry, but to George Bush & Co. it's invisible.

Bring It On

Another powerful movie from the MoveOn contest. This one's targeted at America's youth and is titled Bring It On.

If Parents Acted Like Bush

This one was voted funniest ad in Bush-in-30-Seconds. Titled If Parents Acted Like Bush, it outlines the bad behavior of the administration. My favorite line (and where this picture came from): "It's okay honey, I know it's not mom, but she's rich."

Bush camp denies link to Swift Boat Liars; evidence disputes claim

Once again, the Bush administration continues to lie about links to the Swift Boat Liars. But the evidence show quite the opposite. From today's NYT, this article about the $6.7 million the Swifties raised to continue their smear campaign against John Kerry:

The largest contributor was T. Boone Pickens, a famous Texas oilman and longtime Republican supporter who was a major political backer of Mr. Bush's father, who gave $500,000 to the Swift boat group. Aubrey McClendon, chief executive of Chesapeake Energy in Oklahoma, gave $250,000; Bob Perry, another Bush supporter from Texas, gave $200,000 to seed the group; and Albert Huddleston, a Texas energy executive who has raised money for Mr. Bush, gave $100,000, records show.

It's the Dishonesty, Stupid

Lies, damn lies, and Bush statistics. That's what Paul Krugman writes about today in The Dishonesty Thing in today's NYT. It's not that the Bush Administration can't help themselves, they actively and premeditatedly lie, and lie big, about budget numbers and deficits and that black is white and white is black. Krugman says:

It's the dishonesty, stupid. The real issue in the National Guard story isn't what George W. Bush did three decades ago. It's the recent pattern of lies: his assertions that he fulfilled his obligations when he obviously didn't, the White House's repeated claims that it had released all of the relevant documents when it hadn't.

It's the same pattern of dishonesty, this time involving personal matters that the public can easily understand, that some of us have long seen on policy issues, from global warming to the war in Iraq. On budget matters, which is where I came in, serious analysts now take administration dishonesty for granted.

How the Bush administration handles dissent

Today in Willow Grove, PA, a female AIDS protestor was dragged by her hair from a George Bush rally. The President stood there and smiled. Story developing.

A Smell Arose in Texas

Something stinks on the bottom of George Bush's cowboy boots. He walked in it while whistling the Texas anthem "A Smell Arose in Texas." While he should have been in his National Guard uniform, Bush was out partying like it's 1969. Watch the CBS video of Bush's lost year. Choose "Bush's service questioned."



And if you're really in the movie-watching mood, check out AWOL, the new movie by Texans for Truth.

Bush Big Lies, Part 11

From the Hartford Advocate News: In her 1979 book, Lying: Moral Choice in Public and Private Life , philosopher Sissela Bok wrote, "Political lies, so often assumed to be trivial by those who tell them, rarely are. They cannot be trivial when they affect so many people ... . When political representatives or entire governments arrogate to themselves the right to lie, they take power from the public that would not have been given up voluntarily."

Where's Waldo? George Bush's National Guard Disappearing Act

Did not perform. Failed to meet standards. Received favorable treatment. That's what recently-released memos from George Bush's National Guard file show. (BTW: These are the self-same records that "couldn't be found" until there were several FOIA requests filed by leading media institutions.) From the NYT today:

Colonel Killian wrote in another report, dated Aug. 1, 1972, that he ordered Lieutenant Bush "suspended from flight status" because he failed to perform to standards of the Air Force and Texas Air National Guard and "failure to meet annual physical examination (flight) as ordered."

Colonel Killian also wrote in a memo that his superiors were forcing him to give Lieutenant Bush a favorable review, but that he refused.

"I'm having trouble running interference and doing my job," he wrote.

Read more.

Candlelight vigils for 1,000+ soldiers killed in Iraq

Tonight there will be candelight vigils across the nation for the over 1,000 soldiers killed in Iraq. You can locate a MoveOn-sponsored vigil near you by checking out this link. It's a quiet vigil, not a loud protest. Vote Peace '04.

Rock Against Bush

Rock Against Bush show dates.

U.S. Census Bureau statistics show that in 2002, 38.2 percent of Americans 18 to 24 years old registered, and 17.2 percent voted. That compares to 60.9 percent of all Americans who were registered in 2002 and 42.3 percent who voted. Read more.

Zogby shows Kerry lead

From WSJ, Kerry's lead looks to be 307-231. So what's all that stuff about Bush's 11-point lead? It's a poll of all people - not all registered voters or calibrated for electoral votes. Here's the map that tells the story:

Dr. No Gets Scarier - Cheney's Blair Witch Project

Dick Cheney is using terrorism as political napalm. In his typically unseemly way, the Veep tried to give a terrorism heart attack to the American public with another scary story. This one's about the risk of the U.S. taking a major terror hit if John Kerry is elected president. All the more interesting that the administration continues to scare people and say big terror hits were going to happen at least 5 times this year, most recently during the RNC. Crazy. Cheney's version of The Blair Witch Project. Here's what he said:

"It's absolutely essential that eight weeks from today, on Nov. 2, we make the right choice," Mr. Cheney told a crowd of 350 people in Des Moines, "because if we make the wrong choice then the danger is that we'll get hit again and we'll be hit in a way that will be devastating from the standpoint of the United States." Link.

Intelligence Matters - or, Why My Pet Goat Isn't One of the 100 Great Books

From Sen. Bob Graham's new book, Intelligence Matters.

In sum, I will argue that the Bush administration's action and inaction-in protecting a foreign government (Saudi Arabia) which played a central role in the loss of nearly 3,000 lives; in failing to alert government agencies of known tactics of terrorists; in diverting the nation from the real war on terrorism in Afghanistan to a falsely justified war in Iraq; and in politicizing and falsifying intelligence in order to build support for that war, and then in covering up these and other actions-constitute an indictment of President Bush's leadership so serious that it warrants his removal from office.

1,000 soldiers dead in Iraq - it's just a start

"One dead is a tragedy, a million dead is a statistic," said Joseph Stalin. The Bush Administration's latest "statistic": 1,000 dead American soldiers in Iraq. And the number is climbing. No "one dead" items from The Service-Dodger-in-Chief, who won't allow pictures of solders' coffins returning to the US. Because, after all, when your philosophy is based on Stalin's principles, why not oppress and suppress? Read more about all the casualties, American and Iraqi, at Anti-War.com.

The Luv Doctor

From George Bush's lips to our ears: "Too many OB-GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country." The luv doctor is in. Read more.

Young Republican kicks female protestor at RNC

THIS "MAN" KICKS WOMEN
But only if 3 Secret Service Agents are holding her down.

Watch him do it.


He is still unidentified. Have you seen him?
If so, reply here.

The chicken has come home to roost - in the White House

Bush's National Guard records are "missing." This story is developing. And growing. Bet those Bushies hate bringing that silly Vietnam thing up. Read more.

George Bush has left America "Home Alone"

White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card said yesterday that President Bush views America as a ''10-year-old child" in need of the sort of protection provided by a parent. If that's the case, it's more like Home Alone than Father Knows Best. Read more.

Foxfired

View the MoveOn ad featured in the NYT.

A whole lot of flippin' and floppin'

Les Payne's piece in Newsday about Republican flip-flopping during the RNC has some great lines. My favorite: "Zell Miller is as fond of the flip-flop as he is of his dirt roots in Georgia." LOL. Read more.

If you don't stop telling lies about us, we're going to have to start telling the truth about you

George&Co. are gonna hate this. All that mud slinging is boomeranging, and now the Democrats are getting angry. And even. To paraphrase Adlai Stevenson: " If you don't stop telling lies about us, we're going to have to start telling the truth about you." Here's what's coming out:

George Bush is back drinking; the rumors are flying all over Washington. Read his DUI summary.

One of George's old girlfriends wasn't as pro-life as he professes to be now. Two of her girlfriends who drove her and George's baby to the clinic supposedly signed an affidavit that will be exposed in Kitty Kelly's new book. Link1 Link2.

Read more of Susan Estrich's "Mad as Hell" article.

Where the Right Went Wrong

While I'm not in the habit of quoting Pat Buchanan, his words in his new book, Where the Right Went Wrong, ring true: “[L]istening to the neoconservatives, Bush invaded Iraq, united the Arab world against us, isolated us from Europe, and fulfilled to the letter bin Laden’s prophecy as to what we were about. We won the war in three weeks - and we may have lost the Islamic world for a generation." (p. 84)

George Bush: Lying from the podium at the RNC

Bush Lies as a Punch Line
America has done this kind of work before - and there have always been doubters. In 1946, 18 months after the fall of Berlin to Allied forces, a journalist wrote in the New York Times, "Germany is - a land in an acute stage of economic, political and moral crisis. [European] capitals are frightened. In every [military] headquarters, one meets alarmed officials doing their utmost to deal with the consequences of the occupation policy that they admit has failed." End quote. Maybe that same person is still around, writing editorials. (Source: The White House, 9/2/04)

The Truth about How Bush Lies: Distort and Use Selective Editing
The president distorted the columnist's dispatch. The "moral crisis" and failure she described were in the British and French sectors. She reported that the Americans were doing better because of their policy to "encourage initiative and develop self-government." She wanted the U.S. to commit more troops and stay the course - not cut and run. (Source: Maureen Dowd, NYT, 9/5/04)

The full text of Anne O'Hare McCormick's article, from which George Bush stole a segment and then created the lie about rebuilding to use as a Republican punchline, can be downloaded as a PDF here. 1946mccormick.pdf

Got Red Meat from Blue States?

From All Hat, No Cattle. Link.

Kerry says Bush is unfit for duty

In a speech on Friday, Senator Kerry decided he was going to go Network on George Bush's ass and he just wasn't going to take it anymore. From his speech:

"Let me tell you what I think makes someone unfit for duty," Kerry said. "Misleading our nation into war in Iraq makes you unfit to lead this nation. Doing nothing while this nation loses millions of jobs makes you unfit to lead this nation. Letting 45 million Americans go without health care makes you unfit to lead this nation. Letting the Saudi royal family control our energy costs makes you unfit to lead this nation. Handing out billions [in] government contracts without a bid to Halliburton while you're still on their payroll makes you unfit."

Read more.

Unmitigated Gall

Molly Ivins outlines the "Unmitigated Gall" of the Wingnuts and their Wingnut Convention. As Ivins says, "The real theme of the convention is 'George Bush Makes Us Safer,' as dubious a proposition as Madonna's virginity." Read more.

So much for compassionate conservatism

Audience boos as Bush offers best wishes for Clinton's recovery

By Associated Press, 9/3/2004 13:57

WEST ALLIS, Wis. (AP) President Bush on Friday wished Bill Clinton ''best wishes for a swift and speedy recovery.''

''He's is in our thoughts and prayers,'' Bush said at a campaign rally.

Bush's audience of thousands in West Allis, Wis., booed. Bush did nothing to stop them.

Read more.

Has anybody here seen my old friend, George?

George Bush disappeared from his Guard duty and needed some babysitting in Alabama. This story in Salon recounts the recollections of the widow of a Bush family confidant.

"The impression I had was that Georgie was raising a lot of hell in Houston, getting in trouble and embarrassing the family, and they just really wanted to get him out of Houston and under Jimmy's wing," Allison's widow, Linda, told me. "And Jimmy said, 'Sure.' He was so loyal."

Read more.

Bush by the numbers: four years of double standards

This is a powerful list by Graydon Carter, the editor of Vanity Fair. Examples:

0 Number of times Bush mentioned Osama bin Laden in his three State of the Union addresses.

73 Number of times that Bush mentioned terrorism or terrorists in his three State of the Union addresses.

83 Number of times Bush mentioned Saddam, Iraq, or regime (as in change) in his three State of the Union addresses. 0 Number of times Bush mentioned Saudi Arabia in his three State of the Union addresses.

1,700 Percentage increase between 2001 and 2002 of Saudi Arabian spending on public relations in the United States.

79 Percentage of the 11 September hijackers who came from Saudi Arabia. 0 Number of minutes that President Bush, Vice-President Dick Cheney, the Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, the assistant Defence Secretary, Paul Wolfowitz, the former chairman of the Defence Policy Board, Richard Perle, and the White House Chief of Staff, Karl Rove ­ the main proponents of the war in Iraq ­served in combat (combined).

0 Number of principal civilian or Pentagon staff members who planned the war who have immediate family members serving in uniform in Iraq.

10 Number of days that the Pentagon spent investigating a soldier who had called the President "a joke" in a letter to the editor of a Newspaper.

The power of words to overcome insurrmountable facts

Another entertaining piece from The Daily Show. Here's a movie titled "George W Bush: Words Speak Louder Than Actions."

Bush is going to hate that he ever opened this can of Vietnamese worms

The campaign battle over Vietnam War records is still raging, but President Bush may soon be the one answering uncomfortable questions about his past service. Ben Barnes, the former lieutenant governor of Texas, will finally break his silence and talk to the press about what role he played in helping Bush get a coveted slot in the Texas Air National Guard in 1968. Sources say Barnes has already sat down for a "60 Minutes" interview that will air a week from Sunday. A "60 Minutes" spokesperson declined to comment, saying the program does not discuss reports that are in progress. (Source: Chester County Combined Campaign)

We have free Gmail invitations to give

We have a few Gmail invitations to give away. Free. First come, first served for those who write us an answer to this question:

How does the Administration continue to get away with the Big Lie?

Send an e-mail with your answer to info@iflipflop.com

Zell Miller: Lying Flip-Flopper

Zell Miller, the "Democratic" Senator from Georgia, showed his real stripes as a lying flip-flopper by giving an anti-Kerry fire-and-brimstone speech righ out of The Apostle at the Republican Convention. Miller slammed Kerry last night, but he said something very different just a couple of years ago. The only thing worse than a turncoat liar is an arrogant turncoat liar.

My job tonight is an easy one: to present to you one of this nation's authentic heroes, one of this party's best-known and greatest leaders – and a good friend. (Source: Introduction of John Kerry, March 1, 2001))

For more than 20 years, on every one of the great issues of freedom and security, John Kerry has been more wrong, more weak and more wobbly than any other national figure. (Source: CNN transcripts

Word of the day: Flipocrite

Clever word play on Buzz Flash: George Bush - Flipocrite

Main Entry: flip·o·crite
Pronunciation: 'fli-p&-"krit
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English ypocrite, from Old French, from Late Latin flipocrita, from Greek flipokritEs actor, flipocrite, from flipokrinesthai
: a person, esp. a presidential candidate, who accuses his opponent of flip-flopping on issues, all the while knowing that his own record of flip-flopping is infinitely worse. See also: George W. Bush. Read more.

How to start each day with a positive outlook...

No More Years Therapy

1. Open a new file in your PC.
2. Name it "George Dubya".
3. Send it to the trash.
4. Empty the trash.
5. Your PC will ask you, "Do you really want to get rid of "George Dubya?"
6. Answer calmly, "Yes," and press the mouse button firmly.
7. Smile.

Karl Rove's Gotta Go

In response to today’s outrageous attacks on John Kerry’s service by Karl Rove, former George Senator Max Cleland and former Nebraska Senator Bob Kerrey made the following statements:

Senator Max Cleland:
“Karl Rove was behind it all, it’s part of his smear campaign to tarnish to tarnish the records and service of Vietnam Veterans, and now he’s doing it again. I find it interesting that three different people have had to resign from basically the Bush Campaign and their official duties because of this ad, because they are all tied together.”

Senator Bob Kerrey:
“If the question is whether or not there is any independence left between the campaign and these swift boat ads, that question has now been answered. Karl Rove has been in enough political campaigns to understand how separate you need to be from these independent efforts and he just ended that separation. If Ginsberg resigned, so should he.”

(via John Kerry for President)

Somebody please return the real John McCain: this one's from iRobot

What is the deal with that iRobot thing that stood in for John McCain last night at the RNC? The real John McCain thinks clearly; he speaks his mind. This one is an iRobot sent in by Karl Rove if I ever saw one. Heck, he spent more time attacking Michael Moore than he did attacking the terrorists (Republicans booed Moore more loudly than they did the mention of Osama or Saddam). And he said through the side of his mouth that George Bush would do a good job for four more years.

McCain's attack on Michael Moore's movie, Fahrenheit 911, is a crazy lie. Look at this:

The Ebert and McCain show
By Michael Moore
NEW YORK — Poor John McCain.

Here's a guy I've always sort of liked, a courageous war hero reduced to carrying water for the Bush campaign.

So it was Monday night, as I sat in the press section — unbeknownst to Sen. McCain — when he switched from pro-war convention speaker to film critic. Out of nowhere, he began to attack my movie, Fahrenheit 9/11, calling me a "disingenuous filmmaker." The problem is, he hasn't seen the movie, a fact he later admitted to Chris Matthews on MSNBC.

(via USA TODAY)

More Republican lies: Speaker Hastert accuses George Soros of getting drug cartel money

In the category of "How in the hell do they just keep getting away with it?" House Speaker Dennis Hastert appeared on Fox "News" to say about world financier George Soros (who supports liberal causes): "I don't know where George Soros gets his money, I don't know if it comes from overseas, I don't know if it comes from drug cartels..." See the video.

Then Hastert went on to repeat this LIE many times on the floor of the RNC. Read more at Talking Points Memo. The Republicans keep promoting the Bie Lie.

Bush quote of the day: We can't win the war on terror

Bush was asked whether the war on terrorism can be won.

"I don't think you can win it," Bush responded. "But I think you can create conditions so that those who use terror as a tool are less acceptable in parts of the world. Let's put it that way." (via CNN.com)

These signs are turning up all over Philadelphia

Subtitle: Re-defeat Bush on Nov. 2