John Moltz

Hot debate action!

Llllllllllllllllllet's get ready to rrrrrrrrrrrrummmmmmbbbbbbblllllllle!!!!!!!

LEHRER: 90 seconds! Places people! Let's put on the best damn drag version of 1776 we can!

Wait, wait, wait. You lost me, Jim. Yellow means what now?

Bush. Heh-heh. He's a teenie guy. Heh-heh.

Hmm. Not thirty seconds into it and he's already smirking up a storm.

Ooh. Kerry should not stick his tongue out when he's taking a drink of water. That's the debate! He lost! He stuck his tongue out! Turn off the mikes! Send everyone home!

Bush will now have 90 seconds to see how many times he can say "free." GO!

John's hitting hard on the Iraq mistake. Good to see. And, hey, there's a name we haven't heard a lot about - Osama bin Laden. Whatever happened to that guy?

"Of course we're after Saddam Hussein... uh... bin Laden..."

Paging Dr. Freud. Dr. Freud to the white courtesy phone.

BUSH: "Steadfast. Resolved. Light. Refreshing. Flavorful. And that's what I believe. That's my plan."

KERRY: "The president has not spent money on X, Y and Z."

BUSH: "I spend money. I spend money on lots of things."

BUSH: "I wake up every day thinking about how to protect America. I work with FBI Director Mueller. He comes to my office. Some times we build a little fort using the cushions from the couch. Some times we have PB&Js with the crust cut off. So... justice. Freedom. Uh..."

Hey, hey, hey, Senator. Now, Bush has also been out there when he hasn't known what's around the corner. Sure, he was driving drunk, but...

Good line from Kerry about how it's a little more important that someone mislead than misspoke.

BUSH: "That's totally absurd. When he says we don't have a full and complete alliance, he denigrates our tiny and flimsy alliance. And may I just add that I'm optimistic in the face of all contrary evidence. That's the kind of guy I am. I don't think it helps when people make suggestions about how to do something better."

FINISH HIM! FIN-ISH HIIIIIIIMMMMMM!!!

Man, Bush is just super smirky tonight. Did someone put lemonade in his glass instead of water?

KERRY: "My position then was X and it is now X. All those statements are consistent with X."

BUSH: "He changes positions!"

BUSH: "I told her after we prayed and teared up and laughed some... that there's plenty more nitrous oxide in the canister."

KERRY: "Here's how I'd fix Iraq...."

BUSH: "He changes positions!" (One message, all the time.) "How can the troops follow him when he has all these suggestions about how to do things better?!"

Ladies and gentlemen, Jim Lehrer and the Iraq Experience!

So... Bush's primary message here is either that he shouldn't have to face an election opponent while Iraq is all fucked up or he should only have to face an opponent who thinks exactly what he thinks.

And THIS is the guy who is going to bring DEMOCRACY somewhere?

Hey, someone finally told Bush that Saddam Hussein did not attack us on 9/11! Wow, how do you think he'll handle the news?

Hey, he knew that! Huh. It sure didn't look like he knew that...

BUSH: Uh... errrr... uh... let me... um... just throw up in my shoe for a second... OK. Security. Liberty. Freedom. Terrorists on the run. Making progress. Oh! And he changes positions!

YES! WE HAVE "NUKULAR!"

"Iranian moolahs?" Is that the new Iranian currency? I don't know. Maybe it's really pronounced that way.

LEHRER: Let's talk about Darfur...

BUSH & KERRY: No, let's talk about Iran.

LEHRER: President Bush, what do you think about Senator Kerry's character?

BUSH: Oh, blah, blah, blah, platitude, blah, blah, both have hot daughters, blah, blah, Yale, blah, blah.... but he changes his positions!

BUSH: We busted a Pakistani proliferator who could have given North Korea nukular weapons. Sure, we totally fucked up everything else and they got them anyway, but, you know, I'm a glass is half full kind of guy.

Um, is Lehrer trying to start a fight with that "truth" thing?

LEHRER: President Bush, would you like a free punch?

So, in summing up:

KERRY: "These are the differences between President Bush and myself. This is what I would do differently. I believe my positions are more aligned with the beliefs that made this nation great."

BUSH: "He changes his opinions!"

Of course the one part that Bush nailed was the scripted ending. Go figure. Other than that, Kerry by a mile.

I don't have the stomach to watch the post-game analysis or, worse, the CSPAN callers. But I don't think there's any conclusion other than that Kerry won hands down. Kerry stayed on the attack but didn't come off as angry or mean. Bush avoided specifics in most cases and the only thing he could come up with was "He changes his positions!"

'Cept he didn't change his position about what you're talking about and, if he had, it wouldn't have been as bad as what you did. His complaint about mixed messages will only sell with his base because it just doesn't make any sense. It's whiny and petulant to say "Stop criticizing meeeee!"

Let the spin begin, though. It'll be interesting to see how they try to claim victory after that.

Selective Lip Service

To summarize Kevin Drum here, Bush either flip flops, or he institutes a draft.

Now, we all know what a straight shooter Bush is, a guy who sticks to his guns, says what he means and means what he says.

So...

Draft it is then.

Golly, I don't think people are going to like that.

The Debate

I will most likely be live blogging at least the first hour. Although, we all know what the outcome will be: Bush will lie through his teeth about the war and the economy, provide several verbal gaffes and generally look like a petulant child being given detention. But Kerry will take too long to answer one question and the gathered media will carry Bush off on their shoulders as the victor.

Anyway, the Mariners game starts at 7 PM PST and Ichiro! is only two away from tying George Sisler's record for most hits in a season.

Between the two, I'll choose the unscripted event.

UPDATE: Ah, CRAP! I forgot the game started at noon today!

Would Dean have been better?

Both Matthew Yglesias and Atrios have commented now on Peter Beinart's contention that if Dean were the Democratic presidential candidate we'd be talking about Iraq, not perceived flip flops. Both come to the correct conclusion - that the Republicans would try to tar Jesus as a flip flopper and a dozen other things if he were to come down and run against them.

But Atrios gets it wrong when he says "My concern during the primary was that every candidate's supporters seemed to believe their chosen one would somehow be immune to 'line of attack X.'"

Dean supporter were decidedly not making that contention. In fact, Dean supporters were categorically arguing against that contention by Clark and Kerry supporters.

And possibly Lieberman supporters if there were, in fact, ever any Lieberman supporters. I don't know.

Dean supporters knew the reality of what Gore had gone through and it was precisely the fact that Dean was willing to actually stand up and say shit that was true but flew in the face of Republican marketing blitzes that we though made him a better candidate. We knew there is no immunity - there is only carrying out active defense and offense.

Kerry's turned out to be a better candidate than I thought he'd be, but one of my key concerns with him from the get-go was that he and his supporters thought that his military background would make him the teflon candidate. Dean supporters had no such illusions - we just wanted someone who'd defend himself.

More Documents

Bush's Reserve Resignation Cited "Inadequate Time"

And here I thought the White House had released all the documents. They said they had. Like three times.

I guess this is a new twist on the old legal trick of burying the opposition in documents.

It's only cool when Dave does it

David Winer is releasing Frontier as open source (link via Hack the Planet).

The same David Winer who threw a hissy fit when the Howard Dean and Wes Clark campaigns went open-source, saying, and I quote:

I find myself hoping they get their asses kicked, hard. I don't expect much of Bush, but I doubt seriously that he would undermine the mostly American software industry by competing with it with free software.

...

How sad to see two leading Democrats fall for, even feed the lie that they can create user-oriented software for free. Shame on both Dean and Clark. They went after the little guy. Who wants a president who does that. Not me. Still looking for someone worth supporting. (Emphasis mine.)

Whatever, Dave.

Flypaper

Pie makes a good point over at Eschaton that's occurred to me before.

Prove to me that invading Iraq saved more than a thousand American lives, let alone the innocent Iraqis and people of other nationalities that have been killed because Bush decided "Fuck Saddam."

Obviously no one could. Saddam had no WMD. He had no nuclear capabilities. He had no real ties to al Qaeda. He was no threat to us and, because he was effectively contained, barely a threat to his neighbors.

Flypaper was a popular rationale in hindsight for the war and even that couldn't justify it. Nothing could.

My analysis is flawed

I told you my 4-point Bush lead was not going to be accurate because I assumed Gallup's party affiliation stayed the same, and I was right - that was a bad assumption.

Because this time they gave Bush a 12-point lead instead of a 7-point lead!

So, if we assume all the Republicans went with Bush and all the Democrats went with Kerry (yes, yes - YOU CAN'T DO THAT! - I know, I know), Bush got 35% of the Independents and Kerry got 52%.

Since you CANNOT take Gallup's utterly biased poll seriously, my whopping 17-point Kerry lead - based on, you know, actual voter turnout in the last umpteen elections - is just as statistically valid!

ADDENDUM: Reuters weighs in on the topic with a particularly lame "he said, he said" piece which might lead you to think giving Republicans a 12-point head start will provide perfectly valid results. Shorter Reuters: Polls are confusing!

Just get a frickin' Mac, already

What?! A non-political post?! Yeah, yeah, just keep your pants on.

John Gruber posted yesterday about an article I can relate to.

My wife knows my usual deal. Mac-using friends get whatever free technical support I can provide. Windows users...

Well, as I like to say, I use Macs at home even though I use Windows at work because you can only pay me to use Windows.

Anyway, she asked me to do her a favor last week and provide some advice to someone she works with who's got a spyware problem on how to edit registry settings. Gruber talks about the proliferation of malware on Windows, a proliferation that is unheard of on Linux and the Mac.

I gave my wife's coworker a quick primer on editing registry settings and only suggested using a browser other than IE as he didn't seem to be able to consider buying a nice new Mac right now.

So, let's see... Macs are cheaper (link also via Daring Fireball) and they have none of the loathsome problems that plague Windows.

I'm just sayin' is all.

Momentum

A-member that heavily Republican-slanted Gallup poll? Well, now Bush is slipping in even that one.

Hold on tighter now, kids.

I just did a back-of-the-envelope, entirely unscienfic un-biasing of this, assuming the number of people polled and party affiliation was exactly the same as the last poll, and came out with a 4-point Bush lead (note: this has no real statistical validity - it's just fun).

And guess what the margin of error of the poll is.

4 points.

Like I said, completely unscientific but, then, so's Gallup's methodology.

We've got a horse race.

CBS Full Of Pussies

CBS will not air a story questioning the reasons for the Iraq war (link via Atrios) until after the election.

You can email them from the feedback link at the bottom of their homepage and ask them why they're pretending they're in the news business if they won't, you know, actually report the news.

Fucking pussies.

Vermin

Cheney: Kerry Doesn't Have Terror Resolve

The Democratic presidential nominee "has given every indication of a lack of resolve and conviction to prevail" in Iraq, Cheney said.

Cheney should know something about resolve. It takes a lot of it to get five draft deferments.

When you criticize the president...

... God kills a kitten.

Bush Says Kerry Criticisms on Iraq Threaten Effort

 "Mixed signals are the wrong signals," Bush said...

Hmm. Well, by that logic, your incessant Pollyanna-ism is also threatening the Iraq effort. So why don't you shut the fuck up?

As the Daily Show says "How dare the Democrats field an opposition candidate?! And in an election year!"

Also, I think any junior high-level wit would be able to describe that with one sarcastic phrase: "Uh... nice comeback."

Seriously, is the administration's response to criticism about it's crappy handling of the situation in Iraq really to whine "Stop criticizing uuuuuuuuussssss!"?

Then, to drive home his loose grasp of reality, Bush applied it equally to domestic policy as to foreign policy.

Bush touted Maine's unemployment rate, even though it rose last month to 4.5 percent from 4.2 percent.

"We've been through some tough times when it comes to this economy. Yet we're overcoming those obstacles. Our economy is strong and it is getting stronger," Bush said.

If by stronger you mean weaker.

George Bush: Saying Strong, Meaning Weak.

Emperor, clothes, etc.

One of the most aggrevating things about this election is that a great deal of it will depend on who the undecided (read "not paying attention until the last minute and then voting based on the candidates' perceive personality") voters decide they'd rather have a beer with. The Republicans have managed to do a good job marketing Bush as "the average Joe" and the Democrats have done little to really dent that image, arguing almost explicitely on issues and hoping that pictures of John Kerry windsurfing will make him look "cool."

But people love Homer Simpson more than they do James Bond. So here's an ad I'd like to see to pull apart Bush's fake persona:

Republicans want you to believe George Bush is a straight shooter, a regular guy you'd want to have a beer with.

But Bush passed a Medicare bill that he said would reduce costs for seniors, but their costs went up.
Bush claimed to support our men and women in uniform, but cut their benefits and combat pay.
Bush invaded Iraq because he said the country would attack us with weapons of mass destruction, but none were found.

Is someone as two-faced as George Bush really the kind of guy you want to have a beer with?

Extra points if Joey from Friends or the guy who played Norm in Cheers (I have no idea if they're Democrats) does the voice-over.

If you read one speech today...

Everyone else is linking to it so I might as well too. Because it's worth it.

We must have a great honest national debate on Iraq. The President claims it is the centerpiece of his war on terror. In fact, Iraq was a profound diversion from that war and the battle against our greatest enemy, Osama bin Laden and the terrorists. Invading Iraq has created a crisis of historic proportions and, if we do not change course, there is the prospect of a war with no end in sight.

When the conversation turns to Iraq, it will become patently obvious who has at least a chance of restoring a sane approach and who has his head us his ass.

It is never easy to discuss what has gone wrong while our troops are in constant danger. But it’s essential if we want to correct our course and do what’s right for our troops instead of repeating the same mistakes over and over again.

Paging James Butler...

Someone has created the group for you... (link via Daily Kos)

A little sunshine into your day

Know that Gallup poll that shows Bush vastly ahead?

Well, that's what happens when you poll more Republicans than Democrats (link via Atrios).

So fret not.

Also, without outing anyone, I learned the other day that someone very near and dear to me is voting for Kerry after voting Republican in every presidential election since 1960 and giving $2,000 to Bush in 2000.

Anecdotal? Sure. But when you hear the same anecdote over and over and never hear the opposite, you might be on to something.

Hang on tight.

Blogging for the blogless

James, who apparently can't afford a blog of his own (here's a hint, Slim Jim - they're free!), alerts me to this bit of sweetness:

Judge Orders U.S. to Find Bush Records

A federal judge has ordered the Pentagon to find and make public by next week any unreleased files about President Bush's Vietnam-era Air National Guard service to resolve a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by The Associated Press.

James likes the picture which shows our "regular guy" preznit buying a soda. Or, rather, some lackey buying him a soda - you can see someone else's hands with the money.

How many "regular guys" do you know who have a personal assistant who handles their cash? And when will the New York Times do a detailed story on the man behind the hands, like they did for Kerry?

The article does a nice job of detailing the troubling details of Bush's guard service - or, rather, Bush's lack of service.

Now, let's all remember, kids, this is the AP raising these questions and demanding these documents. This is not equivalent to a group of conservatives closely associated with the Bush campaign and funded by major Bush contributors launching baseless attacks on Kerry's service record.

To quote Mr. Burns, "Release the hounds."

ALL YOUR POLLS ARE BELONG TO US

Polls Show Nov. 2 Race Even as Bush Bounce Fades

To make the merry-go-round go faster
So that everyone needs to hang on tighter
- They Might Be Giants

I got yer catch phrase right here

Democrat Kerry Slams Bush's "Excuse Presidency"

Democratic candidate John Kerry unleashed a stinging indictment of President Bush's economic stewardship on Wednesday and urged his Republican rival to take responsibility instead of playing the victim.

...

"His is the excuse presidency -- never wrong, never responsible, never to blame ... no, it's not our fault; no, there's nothing wrong; no, we can't do better; no, we haven't made a single mistake," Kerry said.

...

"You can even say that George Bush is proud of the fact that not even failure can cause him to change his mind."

That's a message that will resonate.

Nice

A good Tom Tomorrow this week.

Bush bought silence on Guard duty

Ezra Klein at Pandagon points to a piece by Greg Palast that shows that Bush bought off Ben Barnes with a no-bid contract (sound familiar?) to stay quiet about getting him into the TANG.

The letter said, "Governor Bush ... made a deal with Ben Barnes not to rebid [the GTech lottery contract] because Barnes could confirm that Bush had lied during the '94 campaign."

...

The happy client paid Barnes, the keeper of Governor Bush’s secret, a fee of over $23 million.

Ezra suggests linking to this and/or emailing it to everyone you know. Time for some offense.

Catch Phrase

Josh Marshall asks readers to come up with a concise question that gets voters thinking about how badly the administration has blown the situation with Iraq.

His suggestions to get the ball rolling:

• Do you think Iraq has made us safer or less safe?
• If you had to do it over again, would you trust George W. Bush to get this right?

He's not completely happy with those and, uh, he doesn't have comments, so I'll put my suggestions here:

• How many do-overs should George Bush get?
• After three years, billions of dollars and 1,000 more American lives... shouldn't we have caught Osama Bin Laden?
• Didn't anyone tell George Bush that Osama Bin Laden was not in Iraq?
• If George Bush thinks the situation in Iraq is success, can we afford one of his failures?

I'll add more if I think of any. If you've got 'em, add 'em in the comments section.

Flip flop

Bush to Shift Iraq Funds to Boost Security

Faced with mounting violence in Iraq, the Bush administration plans on Tuesday to propose shifting $3.46 billion from Iraqi water, power and other reconstruction projects to improve security, boost oil output and prepare for elections scheduled for January.

So the grand plan to try to beat the press into submission by whining for more stories about school openings instead of U.S. casualties has failed. Hey, if this saves some lives, I'm all for it. But face it: master plan? Fucked.

Oh, and... "oil output"?

Hmm.

Priorities.

"This is adjusting a plan in response to changing circumstances," said a U.S. official who asked not to be named.

Wrong, anonymous adminstration booster. This is adjusting a plan to finally recognize reality and your lousy grasp of it.

"One of the changing circumstances is the need to focus more urgently and more quickly on developing Iraqi security capability."

Hmm, and what could be driving that need? Something coming up soon? Something in... November?

And I swear to god, I have never seen more pro-administration comments come out of an administration anonymously before this one.

"I'd just like to say that President Bush is doing a splendid job and we're lucky to have such steady leadership in these trying times since 9/11," said an administration source who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Is it simply that they don't want their names associated with such obvious bullshit?

Oh, great

Blast, Mushroom Cloud Reported in N. Korea

A large explosion occurred in the northern part of North Korea, sending a huge column of smoke into the air on an important anniversary of the communist regime, a South Korean news agency reported Sunday.

But I'm glad our military is all tied up in Iraq and that we've ignored North Korea for so long. Because.... uh... er...

Well. Ahem.

Urg.

ADDENDUM: Probably not nuclear.

Whaaaaaa???

Is that a hint of fairness I smell?

Both Candidates Often Shift Positions

While working relentlessly to portray Democratic Sen. John Kerry as a "flip-flopper," President Bush has his own history of changing his position, from reversals on steel tariffs and "nation-building" to reasons for invading Iraq.

Well, I'll be damned.

Don't expect Al Michaels to change his tune, though.

I know I shouldn't, but...

Lane?

James?

Was this one of you?

If not... uh... touché, DjSwanyMT36@yahoo.com.

Oh, and I think it's spelled "fuck", not "f**k".

Ditto

What Ezra said.

Nice bounce, dude

Zero.

GAAAAH!!!

Cheney Again Links Saddam to Al Qaeda

At a town-hall style forum [operative word being "style"] in the swing state of Ohio, Cheney described Saddam as a "man who provided safe harbor and sanctuary to terrorists for years" and a man who "provided safe harbor and sanctuary as well for al Qaeda."

Vermin.

Right

To continue the game we were playing the other day, follow along with this:

W. House Accuses Kerry, Surrogates of Guard Attacks

The White House said Kerry's lagging poll numbers were behind the new questions about Bush's military service

Uh, yeah, but it was the AP that FOIA-ed the memos that were finally released. Is the administration suggesting the Kerry campaign runs the AP? Because that's just bat-shit crazy talk.

When Democrats talk about Bush surrogates, they're talking about people who actually worked on the Bush campaign and helped start up Swift Boat Veterans Against Veterans. When Republicans talk about surrogates they're... talking about the independent media organizations.

See? Isn't that fun?

Wow

No one has complained about the new design.

I mean... sure, I knew Tom and Dori were going to like it, but... c'mon! Let's hear a little chatter out there folks!

Also, if anyone has experience upgrade from MT 2.5 to 2.6 and doesn't mind a really stupid question, please email me.

Ah, Maureen!

All is forgiven! (Link via TBogg.)

Every time Mr. Cheney opens his mouth, vermin leap out.

Almost makes me want to renew my subscription to the Times.

The Bush Doctrine in action

Matthew Yglesias suspects the Bush administration's new strategy for fighting terrorism is basically to let terrorists run around for a while, kill a bunch of Americans, and then, finally, implement the old strategy.

See, the key difference is letting them run around for a while and kill more Americans than they would have...

Aaaahhhh...

Truly strong leadership for our time.

A tale of two scandals

One phoney and fabricated after the fact, the other real and covered up for years.

This story is a perfect demonstration of the difference between the Swift Boat controversy and the National Guard controversy. Both are tales from long ago and both are related to Vietnam, but the documentary evidence in the two cases is like night and day. In the Swift Boat case, practically every new piece of documentary evidence indicates that Kerry's accusers are lying. Conversely, in the National Guard case, practically every new piece of documentary evidence provides additional confirmation that the charges against Bush are true.

And what are the charges?

In fact, these four memos are pretty close to a smoking gun, since it's now clear that (a) Bush was directly ordered to take a physical in 1972 and refused, and (b) he plainly failed to perform up to National Guard standards, but that (c) he was nonetheless saved from a failing evaluation thanks to high-level pressure.

And (d) the Bush campaign in 2000, the Bush administration and the Bush campaign in 2004 systematically sought to cover up (a), (b) and (c).

Tsk-tsk-tsk.

You know... [sniff]... it's not the lying that bothers me...

Oh, wait, yes it is. It's all the incessant lying.

ADDENDUM: Whoops - more charges!

(e) Bush had strings pulled not only to get him into the Guard, but also to get him out of the guard!

Compare this documented evidence to the fantastical scenarios created about how Kerry shot himself with an RPG or simply manufactured three Purple Hearts using a lathe in his basement, all of which was in direct opposition to the documented evidence. They have no shame (not that we didn't know that). They slime a decorated war veteran who fucking volunteered to go to Vietnam to protect a son of privilege who had strings pulled to get someone to go in his place. Then he partied his way through half of his guard duty before he decided even that responsibility was too much for him and took off early.

It's disgusting.

Chickenshit

So, Bush is chickening out of the second debate, the one that features questions asked by real people (who scare him) instead of easily scripted dickheads like Peter Jennings.

The thinking is supposedly that incumbents who are ahead in the polls don't have anything to gain by debating much.

As the Post points out, Clinton was ahead in 1996 and declined the same debate.

Except... as this graphic Kevin Drum posted shows, Clinton was ahead by 19 points. Bush, by realistic accounts?

1.7.

Yeah, maybe the incumbent doesn't have much to gain by debates.

Particularly an incumbent who doesn't do so good in unscripted settings.

Boston Globe: Bush AWOL

Bush Fell Short On Duty At Guard (link via Atrios).

Since this is now in a major metro daily, will Peter Jennings call Wesley Clark or Michael Moore and apologize to them?

Whew!

Well, I for one am relieved that the White House won't reiterate Dick Cheney's threat to unleash violence upon the American public if they don't vote for Bush.

Maybe they're much more reasonable than I've made them out to be.

Gimmee a double scoop o' that double standard

See, the fact that Bush was honorably discharged proves he fulfilled his obligation to the TANG.

But the fact that Kerry was awarded three Purple Hearts doesn't mean he was actually wounded.

According to Bob Dole, there's no evidence Kerry even bled!

Show me the bloody rags!

See how that works?

OK, let me go though it again...

See, Bush...

Only good at the worst

This is why even the ridiculous film that was shown right before Bush took the stage at the Republican National Convention culminated with their nominee - the tough guy, the guy the terrorists supposedly fear - committing the highly difficult and manly skill of lobbing a baseball 60 feet.

The truth of the matter is, when they're not actively pushing an agenda of cronyism, tax cuts for the rich and right wing religious totalitarianism...

... they're incompetent.

It was only a matter of time

And they complain that we're negative...

"Vote for Kerry and the terrorist will attack... again!" says Dick.

Uh... just who was president when the last attack happened... Dick?

Let the incessant hand-wringing begin!

I can't wait to see this played over and over again on the talk shows!

What?

What do you mean it won't be?!

Bush is not the Lathe of Heaven

He can't dream up a good economy.

Kerry Assails Deficit As Bush's Fault

As Jon Stewart might ask, when your party controls the White House, both houses of Congress and the Supreme Court... who else's fault could it possibly be?

But, of course, they like to think the economy's doing just great!

"Only George W. Bush could celebrate over a record budget deficit of $422 billion, a loss of 1.6 million jobs and Medicare premiums that are up by a record 17 percent," Kerry said.

Yes, what exactly are they crowing about?

"John Kerry's plan for $2 trillion in new spending means higher taxes on all Americans or a budget deficit that is completely out of control," Adams said.

Liar. Kerry would raise taxes on the richest Americans - the ones who got the biggest benefit from the Bush tax cuts. And the denial is nowhere more evident than the second half of that sentence. You are no one to be talking to anyone about out of control budget deficits.

Bitch.

Well, babies, don't you panic*

Looks like my comment about the nation not being impressed was certainly incorrect, at least in some circles, as Bush is enjoying a bounce in the polls.

What's a horror-stricken Democrat to do? Remember that Kerry was down in the polls going into Iowa and contribute to the dKos 8 (box a little down on the left), any of the links at the top of Atrios, Democracy For America or the Democratic candidate of your choice.

The game's not over. It's never over.

*(Rocky Horror Picture Show)

Hey, I kinda like this

While I reserve the right to continue to tweak, I think I like this. I was able to make use of a picture I took in the Canadian Rockies of a raven along the Ice Fields Parkway. Those birds grow big up there. I don't know what the hell they eat (anything they damn want to!), but they're big, beefy birds.

Lookie, lookie

I'm playing around with the style sheet. After lots of complaints (admittedly, almost exclusively from the fine folks at Backup Brain), I finally saw what they were talking about because, in my new house, my desk faces out a window and I found the site hard to read with light behind the screen.

I'm not done - I'm just playing around right now. I'm notoriously bad at this, which is odd because I'm very good at picking colors for painting in our house.

Anyway, just wanted to let you know you're at the right site.

Revisionist historians

Remember in the early nineties when the Soviet Union was being dismantled and voters across America said "Don't give me some so-called 'peace dividend'! Take that money and use it to fight terrorism!"

Yeah, neither do I.

I'm getting very suspicious that Wesley Crusher's warp bubble might be moving backward in time as well as forward. It certainly seems to have fully engulfed Zell Miller and Rudy Giuliani.

The reviews are in

Watching the Republican National Convention the nation learned:

• The Republican party has some guys who aren't half bad. However, none of them are currently running for anything, their views are not part of the party's mainstream and, consequently, several were not covered by the networks.
• There are, in fact, people of color who are Republicans, proving there are those who hate abortion and homosexuals enough to sell out on everything else.
• The Bush twins are a not fit for prime time consumption as they give a little too much insight into what their father was like at their age.
• It is possible to infiltrate the Republican National Convention and blow yourself up, causing irreperable damage to the party. You just have to be a Democratic Senator from Georgia. And it doesn't hurt if you're insane.
• George Bush has not been president for the last three and a half years - it's all been some parallel universe created by a warp bubble accidentally set off by Wesley Crusher. This is why Bush is not to blame for the currently crappy state of the economy and the situation in Iraq. Or anything else. This is also why he delivered his acceptance speech from 2000.
• Above all else, the party would like the nation to take these two things away from the convention:

  1 - John Kerry is the anti-Christ.
  2 - ...and they really mean this... 9/11.

Understandably, the nation was not that impressed.

Pimpin' the Daily Show

Now, really, I don't know why I should have to relay the Daily Show to you... daily...

By all rights you should be watching it yourself and if you're not... well... I just don't know what to do with you.

But, last night's edition was quite good. And it keeps me from having to come up with something original. Obviously.

STEWART: Last night the Republican faithful were angry! After four years of being in charge of the House, Senate, Supreme Court and Executive Branch, they were not gonna take it anymore!

And then, using clips of Lynn Cheney's speech to form pure comedy gold.

CHENEY: But while most of the boys I knew saw the charm of driving back and forth time and again between the two A&W Root Beer stands in our small town, Dick did not. And when practically everybody in Casper, Wyoming, started doing the Twist, I can tell you, Dick did not.

STEWART: And when all those young men were forced to go to Vietnam...

CHENEY: ... Dick did not.

STEWART: And, later, when the government told business like Halliburton to stop doing business with Iran...

CHENEY: ... I can tell you, Dick did not.

There was a lot more, but I'm not going to spoon-feed it too you. If I'm too lazy to come up with original content, I'm also too lazy to transcribe a half-hour show.

Why Do I Gotta Own Everything All Of A Sudden???

Get Your War On hits the convention!

I'm gonna issue a stamp with my face on it!

ADDENDUM: No, no, wait! The previous one is even better!

I just want to see him be held responsible for one thing. I'd settle for a candy wrapper dropped on the White House lawn at this point. Just to let me know it's still possible.

Sorry, I must have been in Alaska or some shit.

Ha!

Bush just chided Kerry for wanting to spend too much.

How does he say that and not burst into flames?

I'm confused

Wasn't the film Fred Thompson introduced supposed to be a biography of George Bush?

If so, why did it start at 9/11?

Priorities

As George Bush is walking out to deliver his acceptance speech, this is the top story on the GOP's home page:

First priority - attack Kerry.

Bush Acceptance Speech Preview

Hey, wadda ya know, the 6:30 episode of The Simpsons had a preview of Bush's acceptance speech:

We don't need a thinker! We need someone who'll act without considering the consequences!

So don't bother tuning in. I mean, really, what else could he say? Some lame rehash of his 2000 acceptance?

The Republican Platform Redux

Lane reveals the Republican platform in a comment to the previous post:

9/11.

I think I'd also heard talk about tax cuts and no more ass-fucking and John Kerry sux, but yeah, I've got to agree, their platform is pretty much 9/11. And in this post-9/11 world, what better platform could there be than 9/11?

So, summing up, I'd just like to say, when you vote in November, please vote for the day that thousands of Americans were killed on American soil while the president read a children's book and then paid an impromptu visit to random military bases across the nation.

Thank you, and god bless.

Oh, and... 9/11.

Just sayin' is all

Dunkin' Donuts, BusinessWeek, IBM, Ford, KMart, McDonald's, Holiday Inn, and Bud Light.

Or...

Starbucks, People, Apple, BMW, Target, Subway, Hilton, and Heineken.

Well, despite my hatred of People magazine, I'd have to go with the second list. And that, apparently, is appropriate.

Like putting a prom dress on a pig

After Jenna and Not Jenna's (this phrase copyright TBogg) meltdown last night, I'm hoping Dick's the next to fuck up "big time" in prime time.

Here's a tip to Dick's speechwriter: "confusion of conviction" may sound hi-larious when you're all juiced up on caffeine and writing at 2 AM, but as far as making sense in the English language - not so much.

But Dick won't be alone in not making any sense. Apparently Schwartzenegger told us that:

Bush "doesn't flinch, doesn't waver, does not back down,"...

Which is something Moqtada al Sadr would probably find amusing. That, however, paled in comparison to the comment from the little woman:

Added Mrs. Bush: "You can count on him, especially in a crisis."

Count on him to sit there reading My Pet Goat and then hop on a plane and run screaming around the country like Ned Flanders being chased by a guy in a big-headed Mardi Gras devil costume.

George Bush: All Batson. No Shazam.

ADDENDUM: And the Daily Show's Steven Colbert says:

Jon, I found it crasstastic. The message was delivered by the Republican's most popular figures - John McCain and Rudolph Giuliani - two men of bravery and leadership, qualities the president would very much like associated with him.

Also good was his comment that Bush's compassion, like the Olympics, triumphantly springs forth every four years.