Nothing to See Here - Move Along Now...

Featured story at Netscape News - and the headline just comes right out and says it.

Millions Blocked from Voting in U.S. Election

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Millions of U.S. citizens, including a disproportionate number of black voters, will be blocked from voting in the Nov. 2 presidential election because of legal barriers, faulty procedures or dirty tricks, according to civil rights and legal experts.

The largest category of those legally disenfranchised consists of almost 5 million former felons who have served prison sentences and been deprived of the right to vote under laws that have roots in the post-Civil War 19th century and were aimed at preventing black Americans from voting.

But millions of other votes in the 2000 presidential election were lost due to clerical and administrative errors while civil rights organizations have cataloged numerous tactics aimed at suppressing black voter turnout. Polls consistently find that black Americans overwhelmingly vote for Democrats.

"There are individuals and officials who are actively trying to stop people from voting who they think will vote against their party and that nearly always means stopping black people from voting Democratic," said Mary Frances Berry, head of the U.S. Commission on Human Rights.

Vicky Beasley, a field officer for People for the American Way, listed some of the ways voters have been "discouraged" from voting.

"In elections in Baltimore in 2002 and in Georgia last year, black voters were sent fliers saying anyone who hadn't paid utility bills or had outstanding parking tickets or were behind on their rent would be arrested at polling stations. It happens in every election cycle," she said.

From the Pen of: Steve Benson

From the Pen of: David Horsey

From the Pen of: Tom Toles

Kerry Calls Bush Delusional! Edwards Uses the "Q" Word!

Both running mates brought down the hammer on the Crackhead-F***Yourself campaign today. SWEET!

Kerry Says Bush in 'Make-Believe World'
AP Interview: Kerry Says Bush in 'Make-Believe World,' Misleading American People

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."

Bush said the insurgents "use the only tool at their disposal, which is beheadings and death, to try to shake our will. They understand the nature of America. ... We weep when we think about the families affected by those who have been brutalized by these terrorists."

Kerry said that in criticizing his statements on Iraq, Bush was "living in a make-believe world," unwilling to tell the truth or to understand the situation in Iraq.
_______

Kerry spoke to the AP shortly after Vice President Dick Cheney delivered a scathing attack on the Democrat. Speaking to reporters after meeting with Republican leaders on Capitol Hill, Cheney argued that Kerry's penchant for wavering makes him a weak alternative to a "steadfast leader, which is exactly what we have in President George W. Bush."

"John Kerry gives every indication that his repeated efforts to cast and recast and redefine the war on terror and our operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, of someone who lacks the resolve, the determination and the conviction to prevail in this conflict," Cheney said. "He has demonstrated throughout the course of this campaign that he lacks the clarity of vision and purpose necessary to lead our country during extraordinary times."

In a day filled with rhetorical charges and countercharges -- at campaign stops and in advertising -- all four candidates found fault. Responding to Cheney's criticism of Kerry, Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards said in a statement that Bush and Cheney "are the last two people we need a lecture from about how to keep the American people safe."

"It is the height of absurdity for Dick Cheney, a chief architect of the Iraq quagmire, to talk about the leadership needed to fix the mess in Iraq that he created," said Edwards, reviving a word -- quagmire -- often used to describe the Vietnam War.

Tell America the Damned Truth, Mr. Bush

Like that's gonna happen. But if enough of us speak up, it'll be asked much louder and much more public.

"President Bush must face reality and tell us the truth about Iraq. He must immediately release the CIA's July 2004 National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq to the public."

MoveOn.org - sign the petition.

The New Daily Show Book

Get it now - before someone else does.

Dreier's Closet Door is Falling Off its Hinges

Raw Story has been on this story for several weeks. It looks like L.A. Weekly - our weekly from the same folks who publish the Village Voice - is picking up the gauntlet. It's not the gay thing. It's the anti-gay thing.

Since we told you about it when it launched, John Byrne has transformed Raw Story into the left's version of the Drudge Report - without all the lies. When the truth is as damning as it is, why embellish? We're so proud...

LINK - The left-leaning alternative newspaper, LA Weekly, is set to launch a major piece formally outing anti-gay California Republican congressman David Dreier for the first time in print media, RAW STORY has learned.

Titled "The Outing," the 900-word piece penned by veteran investigative reporter Doug Ireland, will formally blast Dreier for his extremely anti-gay voting position and its apparent conflict with the relationship he is said to be having with his male chief of staff.

The piece begins by citing activist Mike Rogers, whose site, blogACTIVE, first intimated that Dreier might be gay.

"Rogers' campaign against Dreier got a major boost when it was taken up by Raw Story, the hot new liberal gadfly newsblog," Ireland writes. "Raw Story - which is edited out of Cambridge, Mass., by 23-year-old John Byrne...published an interview with Dreier's Democratic opponent in 1998 and 2000, Dr. Janice Nelson, who said she was aware during her 2000 campaign that Dreier was living with his chief of staff, Brad Smith. 'Brad was like an invisible presence,' she said, adding 'They really have the routine down slick.'"

Wanna Bet Bush Will Use This as Proof That the War on Drugs is Working?

Less people smoking spliff isn't good for the economy, though...

Twinkies Maker Seeking Ch. 11 Protection

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Interstate Bakeries Corp., the nation's largest wholesaler baker whose products include Twinkies and Wonder Bread, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection early Wednesday. The company also named a new chief executive.

"IBC has some of the most recognizable and popular baked breads and sweet goods brands in the nation," [CEO Tony] Alvarez said in a statement. "By filing for protection under Chapter 11 and obtaining...financing, the company should have the liquidity, time and resources necessary to thoroughly identify, assess and address the issues that will enable this company to be successful in the future."

All The President's Nostrils

It's from the same organization with the strongest legal team to support its reporting. The same news operation that broke the Limbaugh pill-popping, the Gennifer Flowers affair, Rock Hudson's AIDS diagnosis stories and more. The outfit that lost only one libel suit and that was over 20 years ago. And the people who broke the story of Kirstie Alley ballooning to 496 pounds. All these important stories and more...

Yes, the most fastidious news organization in America today - the National Enquirer - seems to have a new set of goods. We consider this a lot more serious than welching out of military service. It's a dangerous behavior issue. And yes - we'll believe the Enquirer before we buy a single word coming out of Fox News.

NEW PROOF BUSH SNORTED COCAINE

While President George W. Bush's spokespeople are denying the allegation in Kitty Kelley's new book that Bush used cocaine, an ENQUIRER investigation has tracked down others who are making similar bombshell charges!

One source, author Toby Rogers, said a former member of George Bush Sr.'s staff revealed to him that George W. used cocaine and "has been out of control since college."

The issue that goes on sale Friday explores Kelley's charge that George W. did cocaine at Camp David while his father was President, that First Lady Laura Bush sold marijuana in college ... and much more.

Beyond Comprehension by the Logical Mind

Let's say - for the sake of the conversation - someone had family members who have a friend whose son is going to serve a tour of duty in Iraq. He's going as a driver - which we now know is one of the most dangerous things to be right now. These good people, through their church, are trying to raise $1500 so he can have the body armor he needs.

Still - these family members are resolutely supporting George W. Bush, and think Democrats are evil.

I get it (they're devout Christians and Republicans). But I just don't get it.

If You Live by the Smear, You'll Die by the Smear

Okay, Mr. Rove. Maybe you haven't tried your worst yet, but this sure will distract you from it. The democrats are not only fighting back, they're making sure there ain't a rock, pebble or grain of sand they haven't thrown back at the GOP's conniving failing-fast face.

So - NOW are you enjoying the campaign? I sure am...

Bush Campaign Gets a Case of Camera Shyness
Backs Away From Defending Bush Guard Service, Debating the Facts

Washington, DC - Facing questions about President Bush's Guard Service and its own possible involvement with the disputed National Guard documents, the Republican National Committee has postponed a call scheduled to discuss the issue this afternoon.

And, in the last several hours, the Bush campaign has also cancelled scheduled appearances by Dan Bartlett on cable networks this evening. These cancellations came as the Bush operatives refused to appear live alongside Kerry campaign official Joe Lockhart.

"It's clear that even the Bush campaign is having a problem defending the President's National Guard service," said Democratic National Committee Spokesman Howard Wolfson. "The Bush campaign has decided to once again duck the tough questions and avoid real debate. Given the President's National Guard service, I don't blame them for being camera shy."

DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe himself held a conference call earlier today where he focused on tough questions on the President's lack of service, his three different explanations for missing his physical and whether he deserved his honorable discharge.

McAuliffe also highlighted a New York Post article that suggested that GOP operative Roger Stone might be involved with the CBS documents.

Quote THIS

"We're answering all the questions, and if the White House doesn't like our answers, then we're just going to have to live there."

- Joe Lockhart just now on MSNBC

Kicking Ass is Contagious!

Susan Rice, Kerry's foreign policy adviser (still have trouble with that last name), is on MSNBC, and she's right on message. The war was a diversion from our real enemy which he's ignoring. She's asked how Kerry can do what Bush has tried - U.N. support. Rice shot back that Bush has only alientated the world every step of the way - he hasn't made a single overture to broker deals and win over our allies to help out. She's also hammering home the fact that Bush is happy-talking his way through this crisis while Kerry is telling the truth about how much of a nightmare it's become. The message was that Bush has handled foreign policy with utter and complete incompetence.

She was forceful. She was coherent. She was right on target with every question they threw at her. No wavering. No "I don't know"s. Completely and 100% on target.

Finally - FINALLY, we have a unified voice, and baby, it's loud.

The Happiest Bush White House Picture Ever

Wouldn't Rumsfeld make a great pro wrestling manager? This is an actual AP photo:



LINK - Looks like they all got P'Shopped in the bigger pic...

Overseas Voter Update

Just the other day, we were talking about if you're going to be traveling or living out of the country on election day, you should get the wheels in motion to get the right applications. Well, in some parts of the world, the Pentagon's not going to make that easy.

LINK - In a decision that could affect Americans abroad who are not yet registered to vote in the Nov. 2 presidential election, the Pentagon has begun restricting international access to the official Web site intended to help overseas absentee voters cast ballots.

According to overseas-voter advocates who have been monitoring the situation, Internet service providers in at least 25 countries - including Yahoo Broadband in Japan, Wanadoo in France, BT Yahoo Broadband in Britain and Telefonica in Spain - have been denied access to the site of the Federal Voting Assistance Program, apparently to protect it from hackers.

In an e-mail addressed to a person in France who had tried to access the Web site, the Federal Voting Assistance Program's Web manager, Susan Leader, wrote: "We are sorry you cannot access www.fvap.gov. Unfortunately, Wanadoo France has had its access blocked to U.S. government Web sites due to Wanadoo users constantly attempting to hack these sites. We do not expect the block to be lifted."

The Democrats won't let that dog sleep.

Bush is Talking to the U.N. Right Now

This has got to be worse than a comedian facing a hostile crowd on Spotlight Night. My thoughts later. Yours?
_______

I can't wait until he's done. He's careening all over the road. We went from terrorism and democracy, to cloning to the Sudan and back to terrorism and democracy. And he's still - STILL insisting that the people of Afghanistan and Iraq are basking in their newfound democracy. And he said the Iraqi security force is "growing." What, from zero Iraqis trained to...a half an Iraqi trained?

It's amazing that his "resolute" brain can't grasp the fact that there's a thing called "geopolitics" - Bush's warped vision of "democracy" and "freedom" simply doesn't work and is not always accepted in all parts of the world. The planet is not a toy to be comprehended by the average nine-year-old. It's complex. Bush isn't. He should not be the leader of the free world. He simply doesn't understand.

The simple folk in the red states eat this drivel up by the bucketload. But the rest of the world is looking at him like he just fell off - well, a turnip truck wouldn't get past U.N. security. Man, he's an embarrassment.
_______

He's done. In short: "I ignored all of you and created a crapstorm in two countries. Help me. Please. Pleeease."

Kerry on Letterman

The audience sure loved him.



How do you think he did?

Historic Lows for Bush

The Iraq Factor is setting in.

President Bush's Ratings Slip to Lowest Level of His Presidency, According to Latest Harris Poll

President Bush's ratings have slipped to 45 percent positive and 54 percent negative, the lowest ratings of his presidency, according to a new Harris Poll. These numbers compare to 50 percent positive, 49 percent negative in June and 48 percent positive, 51 percent negative in August. This downward trend no doubt helps to explain why the lead which the president enjoyed over Senator Kerry immediately after the Republican convention in New York - the so-called "convention bounce" - has now disappeared.

Had Some Time to Kill: Oh, Those Clever Headline Writers

"Oops! She did it again!"

Here. Here. Here. Here. Here. Here. Here. Here. Here. Here. Here (WorldNetDaily - what'd you expect?). Here. Here (Saudi Arabia - double points). Here. Here. Here. Here. Here. Okay, I'm sick of this already.

New Zealand - Come On Down!

You're the next country to leave the Coalition!

This got past the radar - note the date on the story.

Kiwi troops coming home
16 September 2004
By HANK SCHOUTEN

New Zealand's troops are pulling out of Iraq under a cloak of secrecy as security deteriorates in the battle to control the war-torn country.

Nearly 100 people have been killed in attacks in Baghdad and Baquba this week, while Australia has sent a "logistics team" to Iraq to determine whether two of its nationals are being held hostage.

The New Zealand Defence Force is refusing to give any details of the withdrawal of the 60-strong Kiwi military engineering contingent, which has been hunkered down in Basra for the past five weeks as violence escalates throughout Iraq.

"We do not discuss troop movements in circumstances like this where security is a factor," Defence spokeswoman Sandy McKie said. However, it is understood they are pulling out this week.

12:1 Odds Bush Responded Without Knowing What Kerry Said

The Boy Blunder responds to Kerry:

"Incredibly, he now believes our national security would be stronger with Saddam Hussein in power and not in prison," Bush said. "He's saying he prefers the stability of a dictatorship to the hope and security of democracy.

"I couldn't disagree more, and not so long ago, so did my opponent," Bush told an audience of supporters. Bush quoted Kerry as saying recently, "Those who believe we are not safer with his capture don't have the judgment to be president or the credibility to be elected president."

Bush also charged that Kerry had appropriated his administration's plan for postwar Iraq.

"Forty-three days before the election, my opponent has now settled on a proposal for what to do next, and it's exactly what we're currently doing," the president said.

Listen carefully, you wuss wingnut faux tough-guy - how can Kerry appropriate your plan for post-war Iraq when you never HAD a friggin' plan for post-war Iraq? And let's not kid ourselves - Kerry has a much better shot at assembling a coalition of allies than you ever, EVER will.

Now shut your pie hole and crawl back to Crawford like a good little jackass.

Okay. I Need a Cigarette...

Kerry's speech this morning was as close to ecstacy - and perfection - as I've seen this entire political season. The whole damned speech was brilliant. I'm giving you one small highlight, but everything he said was exactly what we've all been waiting to hear. You must read it. You must see it.

Here, Kerry finally kicks the "He voted for the war" meme right back down the White House crackheads' throats.

Let me put it plainly: The President's policy in Iraq has not strengthened our national security. It has weakened it.

Two years ago, Congress was right to give the President the authority to use force to hold Saddam Hussein accountable. This President...any President...would have needed the threat of force to act effectively. This President misused that authority.

The power entrusted to the President gave him a strong hand to play in the international community. The idea was simple. We would get the weapons inspectors back in to verify whether or not Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. And we would convince the world to speak with one voice to Saddam: disarm or be disarmed.

A month before the war, President Bush told the nation: "If we have to act, we will take every precaution that is possible. We will plan carefully. We will act with the full power of the United States military. We will act with allies at our side and we will prevail." He said that military action wasn't "unavoidable."

Instead, the President rushed to war without letting the weapons inspectors finish their work. He went without a broad and deep coalition of allies. He acted without making sure our troops had enough body armor. And he plunged ahead without understanding or preparing for the consequences of the post-war. None of which I would have done.

Yet today, President Bush tells us that he would do everything all over again, the same way. How can he possibly be serious? Is he really saying that if we knew there were no imminent threat, no weapons of mass destruction, no ties to Al Qaeda, the United States should have invaded Iraq? My answer is no - because a Commander-in-Chief's first responsibility is to make a wise and responsible decision to keep America safe.

Now the president, in looking for a new reason, tries to hang his hat on the "capability" to acquire weapons. But that was not the reason given to the nation; it was not the reason Congress voted on; it's not a reason, it's an excuse. Thirty-five to forty countries have greater capability to build a nuclear bomb than Iraq did in 2003. Is President Bush saying we should invade them?

I would have concentrated our power and resources on defeating global terrorism and capturing or killing Osama bin Laden. I would have tightened the noose and continued to pressure and isolate Saddam Hussein - who was weak and getting weaker - so that he would pose no threat to the region or America.

The President's insistence that he would do the same thing all over again in Iraq is a clear warning for the future. And it makes the choice in this election clear: more of the same with President Bush or a new direction that makes our troops and America safer.

Define "Scumbag"

From the same lowlife worm who's been trying to spread the rumor that George Soros made his fortune by being a drug dealer. Desperate. Shameless. Deceitful. Relentless. A scumbag's scumbag.

Hastert's al Qaeda comment draws fire

Top Democrats slapped back Sunday at a remark by House Speaker Dennis Hastert that al Qaeda leaders want Sen. John Kerry to beat President Bush in November.

At a campaign rally Saturday in his Illinois district with Vice President Dick Cheney, Hastert said al Qaeda "would like to influence this election" with an attack similar to the train bombings in Madrid days before the Spanish national election in March.

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."

Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe called Hastert's comments "disgraceful," saying there was "no room for this in our political discourse."

"And I remind you that, you know, we could have done a lot better," McAuliffe said on CNN's "Late Edition."

"The president of the United States, on August 6th of 2001, was told in his briefing that America was going to be attacked by al Qaeda and they may use airplanes," McAuliffe said, referring to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

"He didn't call the FAA. He didn't leave his monthlong vacation. He sat down there."

Kerry's running mate, Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, said Hastert "has joined the fear-mongering choir."

"Let me just say this in the simplest possible terms," Edwards said at a rally in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. "When John Kerry is president of the United States, we will find al Qaeda where they are and crush them before they can do damage to the American people."

Hastert, who as speaker heads the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, showed no sign of backing off his comments.

We're Hoffmania, and We Also Approve This Message

Kerry's new TV commercial.

Baghdad Bob and Bulls*** Bush

Bill Maher called Bush "Baghdad Bob" on his show Friday night, comparing our crackhead-in-chief to the former propaganda minister of Saddam's Iraq in his cheerful assessment of the current Iraq nightmare. All this got Greg Mitchell at Editor and Publisher thinking...

Here are a few Baghdad Bob classics from the spring of 2003 (courtesy of one of his many Web shrines). See if you can imagine them coming out of the mouth of our president speaking to the press today.

*****

"I will only answer reasonable questions."

"No, I am not scared, and neither should you be."

"Be assured: Baghdad is safe, protected."

"We are in control, they are not in control of anything, they don't even control themselves!"

"The battle is very fierce and God made us victorious."

"They mock me for how I speak. I speak better English than they do."

"I have detailed information about the situation...which completely proves that what they allege are illusions . . . They lie every day."

"I blame Al-Jazeera."

"I can assure you that those villains will recognize in the future how they are pretending things which have never taken place."

"I would like to clarify a simple fact here: How can you lay siege to a whole country? Who is really under siege now?"

"We're giving them a real lesson today. Heavy doesn't accurately describe the level of casualties we have inflicted."

"Those are not Iraqis at all. Where did they bring them from?"

"The American press is all about lies! All they tell is lies, lies and more lies!"

"They are becoming hysterical. This is the result of frustration."

"Just look carefully, I only want you to look carefully. Do not repeat the lies of liars. Do not become like them."

"Search for the truth. I tell you things and I always ask you to verify what I say."

"The United Nations...it is all their fault."

"Even those who live on another planet, if there are such people, would condemn them."

"This is unbiased: They are retreating on all fronts. Their effort is a subject of laughter throughout the world."

"The force that was near the airport, this force was destroyed."

"They are achieving nothing; they are suffering from casualties. Those casualties are increasing, not decreasing."

"They think that by killing civilians and trying to distort the feelings of the people they will win."

"Our estimates are that none of them will come out alive unless they surrender to us quickly."

"They hold no place in Iraq. This is an illusion."

"Once again, I blame al-Jazeera. Please, make sure of what you say and do not play such a role."

"These cowards have no morals. They have no shame about lying."

"You can go and visit those places. Everything is okay. They are not in Najaf. They are nowhere. They are on the moon."

"Rumsfeld, he needs to be hit on the head."

We Could Close This Pop Stand and Retire If We Got A Dime Everytime...

...some newscaster said or some newspaper printed or some web site stated upon Britney Spears' marriage last night:

"Oops. She did it again."

And another hot news week begins.

We Always Thought This Was a "Given"

But I guess it's a surprise. Karl Rove was a draft-dodger. Huh. Imagine that.

Did Karl Rove dodge the draft?

Except for a lapse of several months, Selective Service records show presidential adviser Karl Rove escaped the draft for nearly three years at the height of the Vietnam War using student deferments.

Rove's avoidance of military service during the Vietnam War has become an issue in an ongoing presidential campaign debate retreading the military records of President Bush and challenger Sen. John Kerry. Bush's supporters have attacked Kerry's war decorations and statements he made opposing the war. And Kerry backers insist Bush was quietly ushered into the protective ranks of the National Guard to avoid combat, then failed to fullfil the last months of his service obligation.

Mission Rejuvenated

Guess what, Mr. Bush? We're still at war. Major combat operations, guns, things blowing up - the whole thing. Yup. It's a war.

We're back at war in Iraq, says general

Gen Sir Mike Jackson, the head of the Army, has admitted that British troops in Iraq are "back at war". He is the first authoritative figure to concede that war is still being waged in Iraq, 16 months after President George W Bush declared that combat operations were over.

In an interview with The Telegraph, the Chief of the General Staff said that August had been a difficult month for soldiers serving in southern Iraq.

"Soldiers are now fighting a counter-insurgency war," said Sir Mike. "August was a very busy month and British soldiers were involved in war fighting."

"Buckhead"

Okay - we now know the Freeper who goes by the name of Buckhead who went after the fonts on the CBS Bush docs minutes after it aired is really Harry W. MacDougald, an Atlanta attorney who drafted the Clinton disbarment papers. Got all that?

Good. Jer sends along this letter he sent to the RNC in 2002. Apparently, Trent Lott wasn't pinning the wingnut meter enough for Buckhead MacDougald. Buckhead's got issues. And if you look at him...



...yup. Wussy wingnut faux tough guy. A real sweetheart. Here's his tough guy letter.

Trent Lott must resign as majority leader. I have been voting Republican and giving money and been active in the Party for many years. I have always been appalled by Trent Lott, and have always thought of him has as an unctuous, gutless, spineless, craven helmet-haired weasel of the first order. He surrenders to the enemy more than the French. He is a doormat for Daschle, and was a knee-pad wearing accessory after the fact for his secret crush, Bill Clinton.

He is a vacuous, vapid ignoramus. He is the author of Lott's Doctrine of Preemptive Capitulation. Except, of course, when he is sticking it to his own party. Then he is willing to burn down the Senate in order to preserve his sinecure and the perquisites of his office. He is a disgusting rodent of a man but is really much more of a Nancy Boy than a man.

Rather than letting him gratify his ego lust by hanging on to the Senate Majority Leadership, may I suggest just paying someone to walk around behind him calling him "Leader" every few minutes in a room full of mirrors, and throwing in a life-time supply of Aqua Net hairspray? He would be equally happy, and we would all be a lot better off.

The latest imbroglio is just more more good reason this pathetic loser, this pale pint-size knock-off of a genuine leader, has to be removed from the leadership. He has got us so far off message we need a trip planner and a telescope to find it again. He has gladly capitulated to a constellation of race-hustling poverty pimps in an repellent effort to hang on at all costs.

Get rid of this weasel or go down in flames with him.

Harry W. MacDougald
Atlanta, GA

Charming. This is what the GOP refers to as a one of those "good" attorneys. As Jer said - if the Nixon plumbers had the internet...

Funny How the People who Fought Aren't Crazy about Bush's War

Only armchair generals, uninformed (Fox News) lunatics and idiot faux tough-guys seem to be really rooting on the Iraq nightmare. You begin to see how freakish the Freeper mentality truly is when you read the continuing saga of Ron Kovic.

Kovic Asks if Vietnam Taught Us Anything
by Steve Lopez

Ron Kovic comes toward me in his wheelchair before the doors of the elevator close. He reaches for my hand and squeezes hard. "Come on," he says, and we slip into the third-floor Redondo Beach apartment where he's been painting, writing, suffering through another war.

Kovic's home is strikingly neat, as if this is his way of bringing order to the world. His canvas paintings hang from the walls like Polaroids of disturbed dreams. They hang next to photos of him with Oliver Stone and Tom Cruise, who played Kovic in the movie based on his searing, angry and sorrowful book, "Born on the Fourth of July."
_______

"The president says the terrorists hate us because we're free," Kovic says, bristling at the simplification.

Let's go get the terrorists, he says. But let's admit there's a backlash against decades of hypocritical U.S. foreign policy based on economic self-interest, and let's admit this country has bedded a long line of despots.

"People forget that we supported Saddam Hussein to begin with," Kovic says. "What's been missing after Sept. 11 is a national dialogue about all of this."

It's missing in the presidential campaign too.

"Democracy is loud, it's angry, it's spirited, it's passionate," Kovic says. "I love this country and care about the safety of every American, and for our future security, we have to talk about what happened, and why, and go on from there."
_______

"People say, 'Yeah, I support the war, I support the president, I think we should be in Iraq.' Do they really know what it's like to be there? To be hit by a bullet? To live with your wounds for the rest of your life? Do they have any idea what parents go through?"

Kovic leans forward, eyes burning.

"Will these people who support the war be there when these soldiers come home? Will they be there on lonely nights five years later, 10 years, 20 years later? Will they be there when they're homeless because their lives have been ruined, or they're in prison because they were never able to adjust?

"I'm glad President Bush didn't have to suffer the way some of us did. I'm glad he didn't get shot and end up in a wheelchair and suffer all the awful consequences. I know what it means. I've been on the battlefield fighting for my life when another Marine came up to save my life and was killed.

"I know what it means to come home to a government that isn't prepared for all the wounded. I saw paraplegics and quadriplegics. I remember it, I can smell it and I will never forget it.

"This is a war we should never have fought to begin with, and it's becoming a catastrophe and a mirror image of Vietnam. Another guerrilla war, another senseless quagmire…. It can only make us greater targets of terror, and it can only harm the soul of America."

Kovic takes off frequently on these flights of rage, then almost seems to pull himself back. Don't get him wrong, he tells me. He's not a cynic, because he can't afford to be.

"I feel a lot of energy," he says. "This is a great challenge."

He looks down toward frail bent legs, smiles and says:

"How can I turn this into something wonderful? Victorious? It's important for me not to be a victim. Dignity over despair is what I tell myself.

"Dignity over despair."

Absentee Voting - The Time to Start is NOW

We bumped this back up to the top with new information...

Los Angeles - go to the LA Vote Site for the form (PDF format). You can fill it out onscreen, then print it out for submission - all the instructions are there.

The rest of California should go here.

Other states - simple. Do a Google seach for "absentee voting (your state)".

Our overseas correspondent, Kevin, points our nose in the direction of the Overseas Absentee Voting site if you live out of the country.

If you have a friend or family member serving with the military overseas, see the Federal Voting Assistance Program.

Do this now. Don't let this slide.

Hey, California - Here's Your Gov Looking Out for the Little Guy

I'm sorry. "Economic girlie men." Note to Mr. Schwarzenegger: The minimum wage is not the reason business is moving out of California. It's the reason PEOPLE are moving out of California - or just ending up collecting unemployment.

Oh yeah. He scored a victory for Wal*Mart, too.

Your big honkin' movie hero at work for the gullible schnooks who voted for him.

Gov. Vetoes Minimum Wage Hike
Schwarzenegger also axes a bill that would have made retailers such as Wal-Mart pay for studies of proposed stores' economic impact.

Aligning himself with business leaders in perhaps his most unambiguous way yet, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Saturday vetoed a measure to boost California's minimum wage to the nation's highest, instead leaving it at the lowest level on the West Coast.

Schwarzenegger also rejected legislation that would have required giant retailers such as Wal-Mart that wanted to open colossal stores to first finance studies showing whether they would hurt the neighborhood economy and affect traffic.

Together, the two vetoes and accompanying explanations were some of Schwarzenegger's clearest articulations of where his views lie in disputes between business and labor.

"In recent years, the high cost of doing business in California has driven away jobs, businesses, and opportunity," Schwarzenegger wrote in his veto of the minimum-wage bill, AB 2832. "Now is not the time to create barriers to our economic recovery or reverse the momentum we have generated. I want to create more jobs and make every California job more secure."

California's minimum wage has been $6.75 an hour since 2002. The bill passed by the Democratic-controlled Legislature would have raised it by 50 cents on July 1, 2005 and then to $7.75 a year later. The federal minimum wage is $5.15 an hour.

Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, the author of the minimum-wage bill, said Schwarzenegger's veto was disappointing. "The state minimum wage is under the federal poverty line," said Lieber (D-Mountain View). "This veto is evidence that you can't serve two masters. You either side with the corporate interests or the people. Schwarzenegger sided with the corporate interests."

The Incredible Shrinking Bush Economic Plan

Simply stated - it won't work. Period. This stinging front page story in this morning's L.A. Times should leave a mark. Maybe. Perhaps. I genuinely don't know anymore.

Bush's Cut-and-Spend Plan Is Math-Challenged

To hear President Bush talk about his plans for a second term, voters might think that the era of big government spending is back.

From his proposal to overhaul Social Security to his commitment to fighting terrorism and his initiatives on health, education and job training, the agenda Bush is spelling out in speeches and campaign documents calls for the robust use of government money.

All this comes from the same candidate who promises to cut the federal budget deficit in half by 2009 and whose Cabinet agencies are preparing for some serious belt-tightening of domestic programs if he is reelected.

That mixed message — a smaller deficit, but costly new initiatives — may have more appeal to swing voters than the simpler message of old-fashioned conservatism, which calls for smaller government and less spending.

But many analysts say Bush's second-term promises may be a poor predictor of what he could actually accomplish. Even some administration allies say it would be nearly impossible for Bush to achieve all his ambitious objectives and still halve the deficit by 2009.

"Can it be done?" said G. William Hoagland, top budget aide to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.). "Sure. On paper. But politically it's very difficult."

To do it all, Hoagland said, "lots of other things would have to be eliminated, terminated."

Scratch the economy off that short list of stuff Bush knows.

Pittsburgh will Never See This in the Tribune-Review

But the Post-Gazette has this stinging indictment of the White House crackheads by a mother who lost her son to an attack in Free Iraq. Our sympathies go out to her and her family.

For whom did my son die in Iraq?
By Diane Davis Santoriello

For the last year and a half, the pain in my gut screamed at my head write about this war, speak out against the war! But my aching heart said, "You can't undermine your son's confidence in what he is doing." Memories of people scorning and smearing Vietnam vets ran rampant through my mind. You see, my son, 1st Lt. Neil Anthony Santoriello Jr., was living his dream. He had fulfilled his dream of becoming a military officer. I thought he was fulfilling his destiny of being a man of purpose, compassion and justice working to make the world a better place.

Now my son is dead. How did he die? According to the Army, he was killed on Aug. 13 in western Iraq when an IED -- an "improvised explosive device" -- detonated near his vehicle. According to me, he was killed by the arrogance and ineptitude of George W. Bush aided by Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
_______

My son voted for Bush. If he were alive, would he be voting for him again? I am not sure. His wife and I avoided political discussions with him before and during his deployment. He would have never talked badly about the president, because you do not criticize your commander in chief.

But I sensed frustration in his letters. When he came home, I would have talked to him about it. I can't ask him now. Now I speak for him.

He worried about his men, his stateside friends set to deploy next month. I did not speak out against the war earlier and for this I am angry with myself. My son, a man of incredible honor, died from the actions of dishonorable men. I cannot bring him back. But I speak out now to protect the people still serving, to try to restore honor to our country.

John Kerry was not my first choice for president, but I believe he has demonstrated a willingness to be open-minded. He knows that changing your position is not a character flaw, but a character plus. I believe he is the only person capable of getting the rest of the world to help us clean up the mess created by Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and the administration's other Iraq hawks.

Diane Davis Santoriello lives in Penn Hills

They also included her e-mail address in the column. I'm shuddering to see how many Freepers are mail-bombing this woman...