tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69000252011-06-07T23:15:16.558-07:00Preemptive Karma: Sacred Cows slaughtered daily...Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00657789933243192556noreply@blogger.comBlogger5001100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1104967335139067322005-01-05T15:21:00.000-08:002005-01-05T15:22:15.140-08:00

kkkk

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1096934015799523932004-10-04T16:46:00.000-07:002004-10-04T17:02:05.383-07:00

"Darth Vader versus Robin." -- New York Daily News' Helen Kennedy in her VP debate description, 10/4 "I heard Senator Kerry say that there was some kind of 'global test' that you ought to be able to pass to support preemption, and I don't understand what that means," Rice told CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer." "I don't understand 'proving to the world that you did it for legitimate

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1096930709139879672004-10-04T15:51:00.000-07:002004-10-04T15:58:29.140-07:00

THE WRONG PRIORITY Bush signed another tax cut today. This is a President and a Party whose priorities are completely screwed up. We're at war. We're not funding homeland security enough to get our shipping containers checked and our air marshall program working on even a moderate fraction of flights. The Coast Guard can't get what it needs to get itself fully up to par. We've got loose

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1096913791341897372004-10-04T11:11:00.000-07:002004-10-04T15:13:31.980-07:00

Today on Al Franken's show, a woman asked Franken who would be in the cabinet under Kerry's Administration? This is an interesting thing to kick around, IMO. Personally, I think Elliot Spitzer would be THE choice for US Attorney General. I think Al Gore would be excellent to head the EPA. I'd love to see Rubin back as Treasury head...but so far he's said he won't return to government service.

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1096852122675582152004-10-03T18:01:00.000-07:002004-10-03T18:08:42.676-07:00

I realize that the "liar" theme is running heavy on this blog over the last couple of days...but holy crap...these guys are reaching levels of ridiculous I had no idea existed. At the September 23 joint press conference with Bush, Iraqi interim leader Allawi informed the American people, "So, really, if you care to look at Iraq properly, and go from Basra to Nasiriyah to Kut to Diyala to Najaf

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1096781909311833052004-10-02T22:20:00.000-07:002004-10-02T22:39:09.693-07:00

Reuters is basically doing it anyway. During Allawyi's visit last week, Bush boasted about Iraqi elections to be held in January. Bush said that the Iraqi electoral commission is up and that the UN electoral advisors are on the ground in Iraq. Bush also said that nearly 100,000 "fully trained and equipped" Iraqi soldiers, police officers and other security personnel are already at work, and

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1096750541345285552004-10-02T13:48:00.000-07:002004-10-02T13:56:27.176-07:00

Josh Marshall has become like a dog with a bone on the Carl Cameron/Fox News posting of a fabricated story on John Kerry. Josh isn't just going after the Cameron story, tho. It looks to me like he's just going to take the Fox News Network on full steam. Between Marshall and Media Matters for America, Fox (and CNN) are having a tough time getting their slant toward Bush to stick.

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1096749845835803682004-10-02T13:38:00.000-07:002004-10-02T13:45:25.786-07:00

Cheney and Rice KNEW. They knew the aluminum tube story they were telling was not the truth, and they told it anyway: In a speech to veterans that August, Vice President Dick Cheney said Mr. Hussein could have an atomic bomb "fairly soon." The next month, Mr. Cheney told a group of Wyoming Republicans the United States had "irrefutable evidence"- thousands of tubes made of high-strength

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1096703046769430342004-10-02T01:17:00.000-07:002004-10-02T00:44:06.770-07:00

Carla had asked me to write this last night, but we didn't have our results compiled. For those who don't know, I am part of one of the largest studies in the country on Presidential Debates. I will give you some of the highlights from the Press Release we wrote Friday, and then some of my own research on their debate strategies and how they played out in the debates. We had focus groups in

Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305897666100595219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1096686068265213372004-10-01T19:59:00.000-07:002004-10-01T20:15:46.513-07:00

Seattle Mariners slugger Ichiro Suzuki just broke the hits in a season record! 258. A ray of light in a pretty dismal season.

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1096683863413070202004-10-01T19:13:00.000-07:002004-10-01T19:24:23.413-07:00

Wow. This one seems to be under everyone's radar: The government's cybersecurity chief has abruptly resigned from the Homeland Security Department amid a concerted campaign by the technology industry and some lawmakers to persuade the Bush administration to give him more authority and money for protection programs. Amit Yoran, a former software executive from Symantec Corp., made his

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1096673209352995252004-10-01T16:17:00.000-07:002004-10-01T16:26:49.353-07:00

Media Matters gives us the scoop on how CNN's predebate spin (the debates are "make or break) and the post debate spin (Kerry won but it's doesn't matter because this debate wasn't significant. And Fox is just making stuff up. But enough people are apparently on the ball to catch it and force a retraction. Despite those two cable news channels best efforts however, the punditry is pretty much

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1096653606297619962004-10-01T10:48:00.000-07:002004-10-01T11:00:06.296-07:00

Yesterday in the comments section of this post, Don asks the burning question: "what dollar amount is needed to FULLY fund Homeland Security?" This question seems especially relevant in light of the Kerry/Bush exchange of last evening regarding Bush's failure to fund the necessities of Homeland Security. At one point, Kerry declared that 90% of the shipping containers that come into Florida go

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1096652863883566452004-10-01T10:46:00.000-07:002004-10-01T10:47:43.883-07:00

I've been nagging Matty to write up a piece for the blog for quite some time now....and last night he finally relented. Here are his thoughts on last night's Presidential debate: If tonight's debate had been a championship fight, Jim Lehrer would have stopped it at around 9:25 p.m. John Kerry's rhetorical shock and awe of blunt one-liners stunned the President and, at times, caused him to lose

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1096644102037703492004-10-01T08:00:00.000-07:002004-10-01T16:58:19.673-07:00

Wow..where to begin? I went to bed last night feeling very good about Kerry's performance last evening. He was strong, decisive, intelligent, articulate, tough. In a word: PRESIDENTIAL. This is the highlight of the Presidential race to date for JFK. Bush seemed fixated on just a few talking points last night, for the most part. The "it's hard work" phrase came out of his mouth constantly.

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1096597887390633462004-09-30T19:31:00.000-07:002004-09-30T19:31:27.390-07:00

Take a few minutes to let us know what you thought of tonight's debate.

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1096585679394785722004-09-30T16:03:00.000-07:002004-09-30T16:07:59.393-07:00

I like Saturday Night Live. The really old ones from the 70s are especially funny. The sketch with John Belushi and the "drool bucket"...and the "cheezbugah!" sketches are all time classics. When the Landshark ate Larraine Newman I was laughing until I cried. This guy thinks he's got the top 30 SNL performers. He puts Eddie Murphy at the top...which I personally think is blasphemous.

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1096581774180219092004-09-30T14:52:00.000-07:002004-09-30T15:02:54.180-07:00

via Kos The Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) has released polling data proving that Bush's supporters have many incorrect assumptions about Bush's policies: Majorities of Bush supporters incorrectly assumed that Bush favors including labor and environmental standards in trade agreements (84%), and the US being part of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (69%), the International

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1096580624100491882004-09-30T14:34:00.000-07:002004-09-30T14:43:44.100-07:00

Billy I was listening to Ed Schultz for awhile in the car this afternoon. At the top of his show, Ed laid out the one word that people watching and listening to the debate need to think about: trust. Do you trust Bush to tell you the truth about what's happening in Iraq? Do you trust Bush to handle US foreign affairs in an intelligent and careful manner? Do you trust Bush to fully fund

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1096568203487370852004-09-30T10:54:00.000-07:002004-09-30T11:16:43.486-07:00

Unless you live under a rock, you're likely aware that tonight at 9PM Eastern (6PM in God's country) the two major candidates for the office of President of the United States will hold their first of three televised debates. These "debates" are heavily scripted affairs...appearing to me to be based more on theatre now than substance. And the Republican noise machine is working very, very hard

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1096508503716645092004-09-29T18:37:00.000-07:002004-09-29T18:41:43.716-07:00

via Manny Ike's kid is going with the man from Massachusetts. And has a few choice words for the current state of the Grand Old Party: The Republican Party I used to know placed heavy emphasis on fiscal responsibility, which included balancing the budget whenever the state of the economy allowed it to do so. The Eisenhower administration accomplished that difficult task three times during its

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1096502638650804622004-09-29T16:56:00.000-07:002004-09-29T17:03:58.650-07:00

Richard Morrison's people are looking for feedback on their new sixty second commercial. They're planning to cut it down to thirty seconds and would like to hear from folks what they think the highlights should be. Check it out You can send feedback to info@morrisonfor22.com

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1096500926261450112004-09-29T16:02:00.000-07:002004-09-29T16:35:26.260-07:00

Conventional wisdom has been saying over this election season that the vast majority of Veterans and military folks are behind Bush. But there does appear to evidence piling up to the contrary: *A group of military familes are speaking out against Bush, targetting him in some new ads set to air in New Mexico, Nevada and Florida. *An organization entitled Military Moms With a Mission is also

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1096476062611960792004-09-29T09:31:00.000-07:002004-09-29T09:41:02.610-07:00

Schools in Iraq are turning away from secular teachings and are now under the influence of private schools who, instead of teaching the alphabet and mathematics, are teaching the Koran and various aspects of fundamentalist Islam. The same thing is happening at the various universities in Iraq. The self appointed "morality police" recently turned away a young woman for wearing pants. Hard line

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1096474557913241882004-09-29T09:01:00.000-07:002004-09-29T09:15:57.913-07:00

The Great Beyond Salon Magazine has the scoop on why CBS is letting the Elephant (GOP) intimidate them into not running their story on Bush's deceptive case for invading Iraq: By relying on documents that could not be absolutely authenticated from a blind source to make the otherwise irrefutable case that George W. Bush shirked his National Guard duties in the early 1970s, CBS anchor Dan Rather

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1096424405715608872004-09-28T18:45:00.000-07:002004-09-28T19:20:05.716-07:00

Keep them doggies movin' Rawhide! Time for a PreemptiveKarma news roundup: *Crawford, Texas newspaper endorses Kerry *Newly ordained terrorist Cat Stevens met with top Bush administration officials in May 2004, including U.S. foreign-aid chief Andrew Natsios; Jim Towey, chief of the White House office for "faith based" programs, and a Treasury official hunting terrorist financiers. *North

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1096412833262001312004-09-28T15:52:00.000-07:002004-09-28T16:15:27.940-07:00

Flashback Vice President Dick Cheney is trying to convince the American electorate by lying that Kerry isn't ready for the Presidency because he says Kerry didn't support all of the mainstream defense bills that Ronald Reagan wanted. It's a lie that he continually repeats. I wonder what Cheney considers "ready"? Could it be sitting in a classroom on 9/11, apparently unable to take action

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1096345511956239082004-09-27T21:01:00.000-07:002004-09-27T21:25:11.956-07:00

God bless the Eagles Are career CIA people working to undermine Bush? Perennial front page mouthpiece Robert Novak seems to think so. Novak has become a part of at least one of the stories he covered: the Plame case. Now Novak may know something about the outing of this agent as well. And the CIA does seem to be unhappy with Bush. Recently they leaked the gloomy intelligence report given to

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1096328621854210062004-09-27T16:27:00.000-07:002004-09-27T16:44:58.420-07:00

Kevin Drum is asserting that a second Bush term would be scandal ridden: First, power corrupts. It's a truism that as leaders become used to the idea that no one can really hold them to account, they increasingly push the envelope of acceptable behavior and eventually push too far. Not just in America, but in practically every democracy, this inevitably leads to abuses of power that eventually

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1096321424340123172004-09-27T14:22:00.000-07:002004-09-27T14:43:44.340-07:00

Weekly Standard Editor and Project For a New American Century guru William Kristol is spouting the latest GOP talking point: Kerry is disgraceful for criticizing Bush and thus is unfit to be the President. Did we become a fascist state when I wasn't looking? Not only does Kristol opine about Kerry's criticsms, he outright lies about Kerry as well: We really don't know what a President John

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1096319539035377802004-09-27T14:08:00.000-07:002004-09-27T14:12:19.036-07:00

...and Pedro Martinez is in need of a Xanax refill: "I just tip my hat and call the Yankees my daddy. I can't find a way to beat them at this point. You just have to give them credit and say, 'Hey, you guys beat me, not my team.' I wish they would [expletive] disappear and never come back. "-- Pedro Martinez

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1096305656678916492004-09-27T10:08:00.000-07:002004-09-27T10:20:56.676-07:00

In the Open Thread just below this we proposed our favorite theories as to why Florida has had so many hurricanes this summer. I must say that I'm partial to the "David Lee Roth leaving Van Halen" theory. Tom Englehardt has a more scientifically plausible explanation and openly asks why the media isn't connecting the dots: Xtreme weather meets Xtreme media bubble. For the first time in history,

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00657789933243192556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1096142624596580182004-09-25T13:49:00.000-07:002004-09-26T20:49:13.866-07:00

We are tentatively planning on switching over from this Blogger platform to the new Movable Type 3.0 platform sometime this weekend. There will be an updated look to the new blog, as well as some new goodies on the sidebar. I've added a list of polling sites and a fun list of political quizzes that show where you supposedly are on whatever ideological line the individual quiz was designed to test

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00657789933243192556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1096128324751679152004-09-25T08:56:00.000-07:002004-09-25T09:05:49.673-07:00

"The closer" is into his windup. Kerry gave a GREAT speech last Monday at New York University. But yesterday's speech at Temple University was FANTASTIC: First, I will build a stronger, smarter military and intelligence capability to capture or kill our enemies. As president, I will expand our Army by 40,000 troops so that we have more soldiers to find and fight the enemy. I will double

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1096069876563683922004-09-24T16:35:00.000-07:002004-09-26T20:30:41.736-07:00

Just how much of Iraq is out of US control? According to Allawi at yesterday's press conference, 14 to 15 provinces in Iraq are "completely safe". And Bush tell us: The fifth and most important step in our plan is to help Iraq conduct free, national elections no later than next January. An Iraqi electoral commission is now up and running and has already hired personnel and is making key

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1096068630909646202004-09-24T16:20:00.000-07:002004-09-24T16:30:50.296-07:00

road to hell Greg at The Talent Show explains why the latest GOP tax package proves the road to hell is paved with Republicans.

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1096038607043425832004-09-24T07:58:00.000-07:002004-09-24T12:30:03.050-07:00

Jim Croce Kevin Drum has a very good reminder of the timeline for what's gone on in Iraq and why. Kevin attempts to lay out all of the reasons for Bush's actions in regard to Iraq and comes up with only one: politics. Nowhere was this more evident than yesterday's very scary press conference. Bush can't remember that the Afghan Army isn't actually in Iraq and thinks that Iraq can have elections

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095985343105724722004-09-23T17:20:00.000-07:002004-09-23T17:22:23.106-07:00

My Congressman, Democrat David Wu, has a fantastic new ad that just started running this week. It's one of the best Congressional ads I've ever seen. Check it out.

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095984845266792262004-09-23T17:10:00.000-07:002004-09-23T19:27:02.766-07:00

Republican candidate in Tennessee's 5th Congressional District has issued a statement saying that he will not be voting for Bush for President: Much to the distress of many of my fellow Republicans, I must make the following observation - George W. Bush does not deserve reelection. Being that I am the Republican candidate for the 5th congressional district this statement carries an extremely

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095977964469979202004-09-23T14:58:00.000-07:002004-09-23T15:19:24.470-07:00

Wish I could take credit for that one. Sadly, no. I've got $50 here that says Bush won't being doing any more press conferences before the election. After today's fiasco there's no way Rove let's it happen: The first part of the question was how come we haven't found Zarqawi? We're looking for him. He hides. I saw a poll that said the right track/wrong track in Iraq was better than here in

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095970133451637802004-09-23T13:44:00.000-07:002004-09-23T13:08:53.450-07:00

So interim Iraqi Prime Minister was in town today to help Bush politically. Addressing a joint meeting of Congress, Allawi talked about how his friends and relatives had suffered at the hands of Saddam... citing murder, torture and rape. But, Mr. Allawi stands accused of committing some of those very same attrocities against his own people. Back in early August we reported on torture of Iraqi

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00657789933243192556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095905891942165072004-09-22T19:11:00.000-07:002004-09-22T19:18:11.943-07:00

It would seem our vaunted Attorney General is having trouble getting convictions against alla those "terrorists" he's locked up. Talk Left has the details.

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095898419367445612004-09-22T17:04:00.000-07:002004-09-22T17:19:42.096-07:00

Yesterday I blogged about how the lust for Dan Rather's head is, in it's silliness, overshadowing the fact that dozens of "journalists" gave the Swift Boaters hours of play without bothering to check the facts of that story, or vet it's veracity. I mentioned that noone is asking for the heads of people like Judy Woodruff or Brit Hume, despite the fact that they've aired hours of material that

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095897815220105212004-09-22T16:48:00.000-07:002004-09-22T17:03:35.220-07:00

American enemy, Cat Stevens Former pop star Cat Stevens has been denied entry into the US. Stevens changed his name years ago to Yusuf Islam. His name appeared on a watch list designed to keep terrorists or their supporters out of the US. According to officials Islam was on the watch list because of alleged associations and financial support for Muslim charities (reportedly Hamas,

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095895462809823932004-09-22T16:15:00.000-07:002004-09-22T16:24:22.810-07:00

The currently GOP held seat in New York's 27th Congressional District is shading blue. Polling conducted September 15-16 shows Democratic candidate Brian Higgins leads GOPer Nancy Naples by 5 points, outside the margin of error. This is one of the few seriously contested House seats this election cycle. Democrats have a very slim chance to take back the House from Republicans...but could make

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095894244585554042004-09-22T15:48:00.000-07:002004-09-22T16:33:04.586-07:00

The Austin American Statesman newspaper (registration required) is reporting that a Texas grand jury has indicted three consultants with Texans for a Republican Majority (Tom DeLay's PAC) and at least seven corporate donors. Indicted were John Colyandro, executive director of the political action committee; Warren Robold, a Washington, D.C., fund-raiser; and Jim Ellis a key aide to DeLay,

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095809994454601042004-09-21T16:16:00.000-07:002004-09-21T16:39:54.453-07:00

Roberta The rightwing blogosphere and websites area all agog over National Guardgate starring Dan Rather. Teeming with righteous indignation, they're calling for his head, insisting upon his resignation from CBS over the Killian Memos. This after Rather mea culpa'd on the memos, saying he could no longer vouch for their veracity (No, he hasn't said they're forged, despite what the rest of the

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095789414233508472004-09-21T10:44:00.000-07:002004-09-21T10:56:54.233-07:00

Republican senators Chuck Hagel (Nebraska) and Richard Lugar (Indiana) are expressing frustration at the Bush Administration's unwillingness to come clean with the American people about Iraq: Hagel, a decorated U.S. Army veteran who served in Vietnam, said he is deeply skeptical about the claims of progress that President Bush and his advisers have made about Iraq. The Nebraskan compared "this

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095782292708046892004-09-21T08:02:00.000-07:002004-09-21T08:59:53.836-07:00

From Media Matters: CNN senior political analyst and American Enterprise Institute resident fellow Bill Schneider claimed that Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda terrorist network "would very much like to defeat President [George W.] Bush" in November's presidential election. He then revived the much-repeated myth that terrorists determined the outcome of Spain's March election, saying: "But the

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00657789933243192556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095725252736309022004-09-20T17:04:00.000-07:002004-09-20T17:07:32.736-07:00

9/17/04 Press Conference with Scott McClellan: 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

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095709648657065142004-09-20T13:33:00.000-07:002004-09-20T15:11:42.563-07:00

Conservative columnist Robert Novak indicates in his column today that a reelected Bush Administration will cut and run in Iraq: Well-placed sources in the administration are confident Bush's decision will be to get out. They believe that is the recommendation of his national security team and would be the recommendation of second-term officials. An informed guess might have Condoleezza Rice as

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095698456009216882004-09-20T09:35:00.000-07:002004-09-20T09:40:56.010-07:00

The Republicans are sounding the alarm in West Virginia. The Republican National Committee sent out mailers last week to warn West Virginians that if Democrats are elected, the Bible will be banned and men will marry men. This week? Republicans will be informing the citizens of West Virginia that if Kerry is elected, the US will be attacked by terrorists and will go to war based on trumped up

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095696490309422612004-09-20T08:49:00.000-07:002004-09-20T09:13:46.536-07:00

There's a lot of buzz in the lefty blogosphere about the new book by linguist George Lakoff. I've been a big fan of Lakoff for about a year. I first heard Lakoff on Oregon Public Broadcasting radio while in my car. He was giving a commentary on the effective uses of political language by the Republicans. While listening to him I felt that someone had turned on a light switch in me. What he

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095657516058832542004-09-19T21:29:00.000-07:002004-09-19T22:25:55.386-07:00

... But, better late than never. Finally (!!) some Republicans are starting to talk about the proverbial Pink Elephant in the living room that nobody wants to talk about. Namely, the worsening situation in Iraq. Kerry has been saying that Bush is hiding a plan to call up large numbers of more Guards and Reserves after the election. Ed Gillespie (Chair of the RNC) and other Bush partisans have

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00657789933243192556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095627116363003082004-09-19T13:44:00.000-07:002004-09-19T13:51:56.363-07:00

From Susan over at Random Thoughts: Unfair and Unbalanced This article has to be read to be believed. And after you read it, you still won't believe it. The election in the heartland will be based on something like this: It doesn't matter if you are unemployed and facing homelessness, it doesn't matter if you are facing foreclosure on your home, it doesn't matter that if you get another job it

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00657789933243192556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095623960629313022004-09-19T11:51:00.000-07:002004-09-19T12:59:20.630-07:00

Doug Bandow, Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute, wrote a fantastic piece over at ReasonOnline called Whose Fault? Accountability According to the GOP. Here he confronts head-on the intellectually vapid GOP mantra that the problems in Iraq are all the fault of "the media." The failure to understand why the American people have turned against the war demonstrates that the administration and its

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00657789933243192556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095521733151855052004-09-18T08:29:00.000-07:002004-09-18T08:35:33.153-07:00

....until Sunday night or Monday morning. If you're looking for some excellent reads this morning, I suggest heading over to read Kevin Drum this morning. The top 4 posts are excellent...especially the one having to do with efforts to keep CBS' Bob Shieffer from participating hosting in the Presidential debates. Check it out. Another good series of reads today are over at Yglesias. Very

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095458169767760672004-09-17T14:07:00.000-07:002004-09-17T21:01:14.020-07:00

A while back Kevin and I posted this picture below of Kendra Lloyd Knox, a woman who protested at a Beaverton Oregon event attended by George W. Bush. A woman later identified as Rosemary Kriegel of Tigard, Oregon had clapped her hand over Kendra's mouth. The picture was snapped by The Portland Tribune Newspaper: You can read Kendra's story in her own words here. Kevin and I emailed Kendra

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095437190817731372004-09-17T09:00:00.000-07:002004-09-17T09:06:30.816-07:00

A Bennett, Petts & Blumenthal poll; conducted 9/7-9 for Rep. Max Sandlin (D); surveyed 400 likely voters; margin of error +/- 4.7% (release, 9/16). Tested: Sandlin and state Rep. Louie Tyler (R). General Election Matchup Now 5'04 Sandlin 47% 41% Tyler 43 44 Undec/Oth 10 15 And the Houston Chronicle is a bit miffed at Tom DeLay: Sept. 16, 2004, 10:13PM

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095436415608507862004-09-17T08:42:00.000-07:002004-09-17T08:53:35.613-07:00

I open my email this morning to see this piece sent to me by a conservative. The story breathlessly details how poor little Sophia Parlock had a Bush/Cheney sign ripped up out of her hands at an airport in W. Virginia where John Edwards made a brief stop, while a union thug looks on. Wow....how awful! Who would do such a thing to a poor little girl? Apparently her father. It seems Mr. Phil

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095379587011162212004-09-16T17:03:00.000-07:002004-09-16T17:06:27.010-07:00

as seen on MyDD

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095372348954047672004-09-16T14:57:00.000-07:002004-09-16T15:05:48.953-07:00

1027 dead and counting. Sidney Blumenthal wrote a piece today that underscores why some senior US military officers now believe "the war on Iraq has turned into a disaster on an unprecedented scale." An excerpt: 'Bring them on!" President Bush challenged the early Iraqi insurgency in July of last year. Since then, 812 American soldiers have been killed and 6,290 wounded, according to the

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00657789933243192556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095370337891804302004-09-16T14:26:00.000-07:002004-09-16T14:32:17.893-07:00

With the media apparently focused on the authenticity of the Killian memos...it appears the content has been lost in the shuffle...or has it?. Former Texas Air National Guardsman Robert Strong is calling for an investigation of the gaps in Bush's Guard Service. "I think the public ought to be concerned about his preferential treatment getting in and whether he satisfied his commitment to the

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095367041696761752004-09-16T13:35:00.000-07:002004-09-16T16:51:50.383-07:00

Digby cuts to the chase, again. I thought the White House released all those Guard documents? update: A federal judge has ordered the Pentagon to find and make public any unreleased files about George W. Bush's National Guard record.

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095358341082957642004-09-16T11:05:00.000-07:002004-09-16T11:12:21.083-07:00

A classified national intelligence report presented to Bush in late July outlines a very bad future for Iraq: "There's a significant amount of pessimism," said one government official who has read the document, which runs about 50 pages. The officials declined to discuss the key judgments -- concise statements of intelligence analysts' conclusions -- included in the document. The intelligence

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095357734951727672004-09-16T10:41:00.000-07:002004-09-16T11:02:14.950-07:00

The Rocky Mountain News is reporting that soldiers from a unit at Fort Carson are complaining that they have been issued an ultimatum: re-enlist or face deployment to Iraq.

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095355872999776002004-09-16T10:28:00.000-07:002004-09-16T10:34:09.473-07:00

This is what an awesome TV ad looks like. Via Yglesias

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095355193132728532004-09-16T10:11:00.000-07:002004-09-16T10:19:53.133-07:00

Despite it's Republican leaning voting pattern, the NRCC appears nervous about the race in the 5th Congressional District of Washington State. George W Bush won the District in 2000 by 16 points. But Democrats have run competitively there, and the GOP seem to believe this one could be a nail biter. They've already begun running ads against Democratic candidate Don Barbieri, who countered with

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095305654014492562004-09-15T20:31:00.000-07:002004-09-15T20:34:14.016-07:00

I can't understand why Bush keeps lying about stupid stuff. Or rather, why his people keep writing stuff for him to say on the stump that's an out and out lie? They have to know this stuff isn't true. Why do they lie about things like this when they could just as easily tell the truth? Or not refer to it at all? It baffles me.

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095302362660090672004-09-15T19:28:00.000-07:002004-09-15T21:17:04.960-07:00

For all you fiscal conservatives out there planning to vote for Bush...welcome to your wake up call. By the Bush Administration's own figures, the price tag for Bush's agenda as laid out at the Republican National Convention is in excess of $3 trillion. Bush has complained on the campaign stump that Kerry's plan runs in excess of $2 trillion. The Kerry Campaign disputes this figure. The cost

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095301322910769742004-09-15T18:44:00.000-07:002004-09-15T21:16:10.946-07:00

What kind of media do we have when Pat Buchanan has to set Wolf Blitzer straight on the mess in Iraq? BUCHANAN: Well, I'm not angry at the president, but I do believe the president, certainly in the course he took in Iraq, I believe that is not conservative at all. We invaded a country that had not attacked us, did not threaten us, did not want war with us. We now know it didn't have weapons

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095208696526937942004-09-14T17:04:00.000-07:002004-09-14T17:38:16.530-07:00

First they came for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up, because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me. - by Rev. Martin Niemöller, 1945 Columnist Bob Herbert has a

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095205135675747372004-09-14T16:25:00.000-07:002004-09-14T16:38:55.676-07:00

Reuters reports: He criticized Kerry for voting against funding for operations in Iraq, when last year "he had a completely different view" and advocated an increase in funding. "What's critical is that the president of the United States speak clearly and consistently at this time of great threat in our world, and not change positions because of expediency or pressure," Bush said. "We cannot

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00657789933243192556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095192065160830592004-09-14T13:47:00.000-07:002004-09-14T13:01:05.160-07:00

1014 US military deaths in Iraq, including two Oregon National Guard members Main Entry: cra·ven Pronunciation: 'krA-v&n Function: adjective Etymology: Middle English cravant 1 archaic : DEFEATED, VANQUISHED 2 : lacking the least bit of courage : contemptibly fainthearted synonym see COWARDLY Example: Bush to Iraqi insurgents, "Bring 'em on" while hiding half a world away behind thousands of

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00657789933243192556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095188970513307632004-09-14T11:57:00.000-07:002004-09-14T13:07:16.696-07:00

The issue of the CBS memos seems to have fallen off the radar of those who aren't complete rightwing nutties...but the echo chamber is still chewing on them like a dog with a bone. Thus David Brock of Media Matters for America is now on the case. Brock cites today's Washington Times lead editorial claiming the CBS memos are forgeries. Brock writes: In making their charge, the Times alleged

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095187921895674792004-09-14T11:45:00.000-07:002004-09-14T11:52:01.896-07:00

LOL "Hopefully you and your entire family have enjoyed your summer here in our great state and are ready for fall as Kitty and I are" -- Mel Martinez, in an e-mail to supporters, in Florida. Yeah Mel, it's been just peachy.

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095187347104932952004-09-14T11:35:00.000-07:002004-09-14T11:42:27.103-07:00

Democratic congressional candidate Don Barbieri gets an awesome write-up in one of the local papers: Cathy McMorris, Shaun Cross and Larry Sheahan are trying to outdo each other in hitting the hot-button issues that appeal to the right wing of their party. A McMorris radio ad, for example, promises that she "will take a back seat to no one" in fighting gay marriage. Meanwhile, Barbieri talks

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095134284018344862004-09-13T20:57:00.000-07:002004-09-13T20:58:04.016-07:00

Main Entry: quag·mire Pronunciation: 'kwag-"mIr, 'kwäg- Function: noun Date: circa 1580 1 : soft miry land that shakes or yields under the foot 2 : a difficult, precarious, or entrapping position : PREDICAMENT (Merriam Webster) It's Worse Than You Think

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095121050107106852004-09-13T17:01:00.000-07:002004-09-13T17:17:30.106-07:00

Martin Frost and Pete Sessions squared off today in a televised debate. The debate is set to be rebroadcast tonight at 7PM on CSPAN. Inital reports from the debate say that Sessions and Frost agreed on Iraq but disagree on national defense, air security and outsourcing of jobs. Sessions also referred to the War in Iraq as a "game". A game? Sessions has also been accused by Frost of

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095104395322281862004-09-13T13:30:00.000-07:002004-09-13T12:39:55.323-07:00

The terrorists have declared war on every free nation and all our citizens. Their goals are clear. They want more governments to resemble the oppressive Taliban that once ruled Afghanistan. Terrorists commit atrocities because they want the civilized world to flinch and retreat so they can impose their totalitarian vision. There will be no flinching in this war on terror, and there will be no

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095098222091829182004-09-13T10:44:00.000-07:002004-09-13T10:57:02.090-07:00

The DCCC is launching the Red to Blue program. The goal is to highlight the "best and brightest challengers across the country". The DCCC is hopeful that they can raise money for these challengers and oust the most vulnerable GOPers in the House. Today's front page highlights 13 races, including Patty Wetterling in Minnesota and John Salazar in Colorado. With the Presidential race

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1095094726011879112004-09-13T09:27:00.000-07:002004-09-13T09:58:46.013-07:00

...and your smile is a thin disguise I thought by now you'd realize there ain't no way to hide those lying eyes... My email box was stuffed this weekend with Bush supporter mail: "The memos are forged!" "You've bought Rather's lies and the leftwing media is just trying to bring him down!" "Listen you f-ing c*** Bush served honorably and it says so on the god**mn discharge!" (That last one is

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1094939073796112882004-09-11T14:40:00.000-07:002004-09-11T14:44:33.796-07:00

Go read JuanCole's fascinating piece about Osama Bin Laden and the goal of Al Qaida in regard to 9/11. A snippet: Bin Laden hoped the US would timidly withdraw from the Middle East. But he appears to have been aware that an aggressive US response to 9/11 was entirely possible. In that case, he had a Plan B: al-Qaeda hoped to draw the US into a debilitating guerrilla war in Afghanistan and do to

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1094934363739585962004-09-11T13:46:00.000-07:002004-09-11T13:26:03.740-07:00

Yesterday the AP reported that the military has "lost" key evidence in it's investigation into the death of an Iraqi, Nagem Hatab, who was beaten by Marine prison guards in a makeshift camp run by the Marines in Iraq. Hatab, 52, died last year at a makeshift camp in Iraq that was run by Marines. He had been rumored to be an official of Saddam Hussein's Baath party and part of the ambush of a

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00657789933243192556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1094926271369689622004-09-11T10:55:00.000-07:002004-09-11T11:11:11.370-07:00

The longest serving Republican in the House of Representatives is finding himself outhustled by an upstart Democratic challenger. Representative Phil Crane, a hardcore conservative Republican is facing an unexpectedly spirited challenge from a young, bright Democrat by the name of Melissa Bean. Apparently local Republicans have been concerned about Crane's race and have been pushing him to

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1094860369453723302004-09-10T16:29:00.000-07:002004-09-10T16:53:43.236-07:00

Our friends at Centerfield are having a discussion today about how the Presidential election seems to have gone "off topic". One of the speculations was that perhaps bloggers had contributed to the campaign moving in that direction. I have maintained that blogging is the modern day equivalent to the political pamphlets that were popular during the Colonial/Revolutionary era. Back then,

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1094855420880367352004-09-10T15:20:00.000-07:002004-09-10T15:30:20.880-07:00

Sarah Tomorrow is the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. My emotions range from sadness..to anger...to frustration. I hope it never happens again, but I believe something like it probably will. I wish I had some eloquent or wise or supremely articulate thing to say on this. I just felt it needed to be marked by us here at PK in some way.

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1094836922518277922004-09-10T10:08:00.000-07:002004-09-10T10:22:02.516-07:00

Big Eddie's third rule on "Righties": They think you're stupid! That's not a figure of speech. It's literal. They literally think you and I are stupid. Today Vice President Cheney sought to "clean up" his remarks from Tuesday. In the process he grossly insults the intelligence of all Americans. In remarks to a group of supporters on Tuesday, Cheney said, "It's absolutely essential that eight

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00657789933243192556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1094790322844485112004-09-09T21:11:00.000-07:002004-09-10T21:01:23.470-07:00

I have been watching closely this evening the story on the Bush National Guard records and whether or not they're legitimate. It's been pretty darned entertaining, I must say. Free Republic is in full and total meltdown. They're posting like crazy over there about the fact that the fonts dont' match up and the spacing is wrong and these documents just couldn't be legitimate. ABC News and

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1094778176257610592004-09-09T17:53:00.000-07:002004-09-09T18:05:59.960-07:00

... that registered Iraqi prisoners were being abused in Abu Ghraib. Now we learn that apparently the CIA was keeping "ghost prisoners" in Abu Ghraib. Army Generals said that at least two dozen unregistered ghost prisoners were held there, and that there may have been up to 100 held there by the CIA. They're not sure because the CIA refuses to cooperate with the Army's investigation, according to

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00657789933243192556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1094776854762326412004-09-09T17:36:00.000-07:002004-09-09T17:41:47.833-07:00

An interesting nugget from today's misleader.org piece: Bush Attacked Nat'l Guard Service of Others The White House is currently attacking those who raise questions about President Bush's National Guard record. They say the questions about Bush's failure to fulfill his commitment are "dirty politics."1 Yet a look at the record shows that it was President George H.W. Bush - and his top campaign

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00657789933243192556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1094770374388211472004-09-09T15:20:00.000-07:002004-09-09T15:56:48.690-07:00

With Freepers going into apoplexy over the Killian Memos released last evening by CBS' 60 Minutes, there's now an effort to discount the memos as a forgery. The rightie blogosphere is practically in a meltdown: INDC Journal insists they're fake based on typeface and other forensic type stuff.(thanks Mathew) Powerline(via Kevin Drum) appears to be the place for one stop shopping on the forgery

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1094743124689878322004-09-09T08:14:00.000-07:002004-09-09T08:18:44.690-07:00

From last Sunday's New York Times, Frank Rich writes what I consider the the best analysis of the Presidential campaign so far: But with the high stakes of an election at hand, it's not enough to stuff socks in the president's flight suit. Mr. Kerry must be turned into a girl. Such castration warfare has been a Republican staple ever since Michael Dukakis provided the opening by dressing up like

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1094711254368884122004-09-08T23:21:00.000-07:002004-09-09T11:41:25.786-07:00

Kos and Kevin Drum have all the scoop that's fit to print on the Bush Guard Duty scandal. The bottom line...BC04 has been lying about having released all known paperwork on Bush's service. They lied about him not having to report to his physical. They've been lying about Bush completing his service. They've been lying about noone pressuring folks to sweeten up Bush's Guard record to make him

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1094680263839802422004-09-08T14:48:00.000-07:002004-09-08T14:53:50.886-07:00

"F#ck yourself." —Vice President Dick Cheney, June 22, 2004; to Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., in the Senate chamber during an argument about Cheney's ties to Halliburton. "Governor Bush and I are also absolutely determined that [we] will restore a tone of civility and decency to the debate in Washington." —Candidate Dick Cheney, Aug. 4, 2000; during a campaign speech Why should we trust him on

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00657789933243192556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1094674460350386012004-09-08T13:00:00.000-07:002004-09-08T13:18:27.776-07:00

.....unless you count Iraq and Afghanistan. In Iraq,"insurgents" control Ramadi, Falluja, Baquba and Samarra, in the so-called Sunni triangle, west and north of Baghdad, where Saddam Hussein remains popular and many forces loyal to him have gathered strength. American generals are saying they'll have these areas under their control by the time Iraqi elections are held in January. Other American

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1094669350693537842004-09-08T11:41:00.000-07:002004-09-08T11:50:42.263-07:00

Now this looks like a job for me so everybody just follow me cuz we need a little controversy, cuz it feels so empty without me Even Howard Kurtz couldn't believe he'd heard what he just heard: "Vice President Dick Cheney suggested Tuesday that electing the Democratic presidential ticket would make the United States more vulnerable to a terrorist attack," says the Los Angeles Times. "Cheney's

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1094665306064961172004-09-08T10:16:00.000-07:002004-09-08T10:41:46.063-07:00

Ruy Tiexiera has the latest on Gallup and Zogby showing Kerry's lead in battleground states widening, despite the media trying to swoon over Bush's alledged Convention "bounce". The information Ruy provides on the indepth Gallup results is fascinating and well worth the quick read. Rasmussen gives Bush a 48.2% lead over Kerry's 46.5%. This gives Bush roughly a 2 point Convention "bounce".

carlanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1094610760737063112004-09-07T18:59:00.000-07:002004-09-07T19:32:40.736-07:00

1002 US military deaths in Iraq. Bush to Iraqi insurgents: "Bring 'em on." Everyone understands that being a member of the military is inherently dangerous. But, the first priority of EVERY commander is to never, EVER needlessly risk the lives of the troops under his or her command. Yet that is precisely what President Bush did when he taunted the Iraqi insurgents to "bring 'em on." Our

Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00657789933243192556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900025.post-1094607883886301422004-09-07T18:31:00.000-07:002004-09-07T18:44:43.886-07:00

...but if this gets any play at all relative to the "Don't vote for Kerry or you'll burn in Purgatory" headlines, I'll be stunned. Good news for all you Catholics out there who want to vote for Kerry but are concerned your priest will force you to wear the scarlet "K", Cardinal Ratzinger says you can vote for Kerry. And if you're not sure which candidate stacks up best with your Catholic

carlanoreply@blogger.com