Plain Dealer Fiasco/Headlines

by Jack Ohman, OregonLive.com

Headlines

**Cleveland Plain Dealer to Endorse Bush Even Though Majority of Editorial Board Voted For Kerry (5-2)**
The Cleveland Plain Dealer's publisher is overriding the editorial board. Lorain Journal editors were told that either they endorse George Bush or they endorse no one. So, they are endorsing no one.

NOTE: It is critical for us to start a MAJOR letter writing campaign to the Plain Dealer and to spread the word about the publisher overruling the editorial board's vote. If this is going on here, you can imagine it's being duplicated all over the country.

Letters can be mailed to the Editor, The Plain Dealer, 1801 Superior Ave, Cleveland 44114. Email can be sent to letters@plaind.com. Faxes can be sent to 216-999-6209.

SEE UPDATE ON MAIN PAGE/DAILY KOS.
Apparently, this has something to do with a conflict between Richard Holbrooke and the publisher of the Plain Dealer, Alex Machaskee. To me, a publisher going over the heads of the editorial board for revenge seems to be a non-democratic and unAmerican way to conduct the business of editorializing in an American newspaper. The Plain Dealer's journalistic integrity will be lost on many because of this.

From Editor and Publisher:

"E&P has learned from several sources at the Cleveland Plain Dealer that the paper's nine-person editorial board decided earlier this week that it wanted to endorse Kerry but Publisher Alex Machaskee, who has final say, has decided on Bush. The paper backed Bush in 2000. This has caused consternation in some quarters at the Plain Dealer, with sources telling E&P that the endorsement editorial, which was expected to run Sunday, was put off."

Jesse "The Body" Ventura Slams Bush
Ventura breaks his own rule against endorsing major-party candidates because he is so unhappy with President Bush's leadership on the war in Iraq, the deployment of National Guard and reservists overseas and the treatment of veterans. Jesse endorses John Kerry.

Stocks sent sliding on rash of bad news

A repeat of the 2000 recount would almost certainly send stocks tumbling

Crude Oil Tops $55 per Barrel

"It hurts to see my wife cry"- Margaret Hassan's husband appeals for her release

Further abuse at Abu Ghraib detailed

Army captain sues government, saying Iraq assignment came after he had retired

Vote for a man, not a puppet by Charlie Reese

"This election really is important, not only for domestic reasons, but because Bush's foreign policy has been a dangerous disaster..I will swallow a lot of petty policy differences with Kerry to get a man in the White House with brains enough not to blow up the world and us with it."

UPDATE: What's Happening in Lucas County?

"It’s an area of opportunity. It’s that little extra percentage we’re trying to make up in Lucas County that could pull Ohio through for the president in a close race."

--Bernadette Noe, chairwoman of the Lucas County Republican Party

UPDATE: What's Happening in Lucas County?
PART ONE HERE

The Columbus Dispatch has an interesting article about Dick Cheney's appearance in Sylvania, Ohio on Thursday.

While in Sylvania speaking to a crowd of 500 supporters, Cheney said:

"What Senator Kerry is trying hardest of all to hide is his record on national security."

Very interesting, considering that the Bush administration lied (boldfaced) to us consistently, handing us almost thirty different rationales for attacking Iraq while they kept their real intentions in tight secrecy and, to this day, waver, swerve, and dodge the obvious realities of failure on the ground in Iraq.

Frankly, all I've seen John Kerry doing is pointing out those realities.

Who's trying to bury their national security record and lies to America in a near-fantasy world of wild optimism, fables of grand coalitions, and (knowing Iraq will be a hardline fundamentalist democracy at best), a child's tale of freedom and liberty to rival "My Pet Goat"?

You know who: Dick and George.

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There are disturbing things happening in Lucas County That Are Happening Across America

At the Sylvania rally, a Bush/Cheney supporter named Rita Fournier cited the Iraq war in Iraq as the top issue for this election, saying:

"We were right to go there because we needed to do something to protect our country. John Kerry is two-faced about the war; he says what people want to hear."

If anyone watched the three presidential debates, they should clearly understand that John Kerry has, indeed, been consistent with his plan for national security. All they needed to do was to listen with a discerning and open, independent mind.

Rita is just one out of many Bush/Cheney supporters who have been systematically trained to misunderstand the reality which has unfolded before them in Iraq. A recent study shows similar cognitive dissonance with many Bush/Cheney supporters.

There have been studies tracking the public's misperceptions of major news events and polling people to find out just where they go to get things flat out wrong. It is interesting, but not surprising, to find that, statistically, those who consistently get the actual facts wrong about what our country has done and is doing - and about much of what is happening in the world - use Fox News as their usual source of information.

PIPA- The Program on International Policy Attitudes - has released a recent study titled Public Perceptions of the Foreign Policy Positions of the Presidential Candidates- Bush Supporters Misread Many of His Foreign Policy Positions- pdf file. There are two subheadings which speak volumes. "Kerry Supporters Largely Accurate" and "Swing Voters Also Misread Bush, But Not Kerry."

Related article at 'Just Above Sunset'

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DAILY KOS: The GOP is hiring recruits and paying them $100 on election day to "challenge" the validity of voters' registrations!


Toledo Blade- Ohio GOP to deploy 3,600 for challenges
Republican Party officials in Ohio took formal steps yesterday to place thousands of recruits inside polling places Nov. 2 to challenge the qualifications of voters who they suspect may not be eligible to cast ballots. In Lucas County (and other Ohio counties), Republicans are trying to blame Democrat '527' fund groups for "undermining the Ohio election". David Sullivan, voter protection coordinator for the Ohio Democratic Party, called the latest challenges an "unprecedented effort to throw tens of thousands of voters off of Ohio's voting rolls." (Question: If the 527 ads sparked voter interest and participation, how is the election process undermined? Sour grapes, GOP!


Bad News for all would-be voters: Judge Carr issued a decision favorable to Mr. Blackwell when he ruled late Thursday against the Lucas County and Ohio Democratic Parties.
As I described to you on Thursday, the case involved a space, Box 10, on Ohio Voter registration forms asking applicants to provide their driver's license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number. Blackwell's office told county boards of elections that the registration applications couldn't be accepted if Box 10 wasn't filled and the form was submitted in person at a county elections board, a public library, or vehicle department. Democracy loses this one.

Let's Work Together to Elect Kerry/Edwards

Let's Work Together to Elect Kerry/Edwards
They're Going to Win - Believe It!

There are less than two weeks left before the presidential election. I'm optimistic that John Kerry will be elected by a clear and undeniable margin on November 2nd, no matter how the mainstream media beats the "close race" drum.

America knows too much of the truth to allow Bush to take our country further down the drain for another four years.

Democracy and strength at home, and respect in the world for America must be restored.

Let's work hard these next 10 days to make it happen.



credit- AP photo, Oct 22 in Reno, Nevada


Never lose hope. The Johns have got it goin' on!

KERRY-EDWARDS ONLINE FORUM
ACTION PLAN: POST ON BLOGS, FORUMS AND MESSAGE BOARDS
Pro-Kerry Blogs, Forums and Message Boards are listed here.
Visit as many as you can. Please participate. Volunteer.
Do all you can.



credit: Reuters photo, John Kerry and Dana Reeve, Oct 21st
Christopher Reeve spent his final evening cheering on presidential hopeful John Kerry.

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From Political Strategy:
"Top 35 Trends that say Kerry will Take the White House in November

"Recently, a couple nationwide polls have shown Bush with a substantial lead, including some nonsensical outlier from Fox News and an equally unrealistic poll from Gallup which showed likely voters favoring Bush by 8 points. What's going on?

Fear not. It is all a grand load of garbage!

See the transcript of John Kerry's powerful speech in Iowa:
A Fresh Start: Succeeding In Iraq And Winning Against Terrorism

POLLGATE: Pollsters Are Stealing Democracy

POLLGATE: Pollsters Are Stealing Democracy

Not one cell phone has been called during the presidential campaign. This is because there is no method for polling cell phones. Yet, there are 170,475,160 cell phones in America.

While polls may sound convincing, the foundation for their statistical predictions is shaky, at best. This is no longer a nation of landlines, and this is becoming a real credibility problem for pollsters. Polls are rapidly becoming an antiquated predicting tool.

If the election were to be stolen on November 2, the nation would be more apt to swallow it due to their heads being stuffed, 24/7, with inaccurate statistical poll data in the weeks leading up to the election.

On the positive side of possible poll inaccuracy, if Jimmy Breslin's right about this poll fiasco and Kerry wins by a landslide on election night, soon we could well be singing 'Buh-Bye, Dubya'!

Excerpt from Jimmy Breslin's latest column:

"Yesterday, the polls showed a Bush surge. It never happened because they were basing it on thin air. There also were figures showing Kerry winning states like Ohio in the Midwest. They came up with the percentages without calling one cell phone of the millions and millions of them in the area. I believe nothing.

Everybody maintains that the two candidates are in a statistical dead heat. Nobody knows that. With a huge number of new registered voters, overwhelmingly of color, and young, and with 40 million using cell phones, the only thing going on in this election is how many times George Bush goes under before he drowns on Election Day. As he should. He is the worst president we have had, maybe ever...

..They [the polls] are lies by numbers. The reporters basing their coverage on these polls are lazy, unimaginative and irresponsible. That everything is based on an untruth could be the reason for the dreadful election coverage. What they write or say so often has nothing to do with the times in which they are supposed to live and report."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Paul Krugman writes in today's NYT:

"A lot can change in 11 days, and Mr. Bush may yet win convincingly. But we must not repeat the mistake of 2000 by refusing to acknowledge the possibility that a narrow Bush win, especially if it depends on Florida, rests on the systematic disenfranchisement of minority voters. And the media must not treat such a suspect win as a validation of skewed reporting that has consistently overstated Mr. Bush's popular support."

Doing 'Whatever It Takes' To Cling To Power by Sen. Patrick Leahy

Doing 'Whatever It Takes' To Cling To Power by Sen. Patrick Leahy

This week, U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) offered a guest column to Howard Dean's 'Democracy for America' readers.

Excerpt:

"To hold on to power, to preserve their own political self interest, President Bush and his political allies have tried to smother debate about his policies on terrorism and on Iraq. They have implied that a coronation instead of a real election would be the patriotic thing to do....This is not politics as usual. This is something new and ugly and dangerous...they routinely use fear of terrorism to divide the American people to preserve their political self interest...this Administration has squandered the unity of the American people and our international allies....What they are saying is that the half of all Americans who disagree with this President's policies are less patriotic or are somehow not as American as they are. Have they no self respect? No sense of decency?....This is the American people's election, not al Qaeda's. And it's not Karl Rove's, Dick Cheney's or George Bush's either. As Election Day nears, they can't be allowed to undermine the right that the American people have to an open and informed debate about some of the most important issues of our lifetimes.."

Bravo, Senator Leahy!

Salam Pax in the U.S.A.

Salam Pax in the U.S.A

"There is no way the Bush administration can get away with the mess it created in Iraq by saying it did not know and could not predict this, because for two hours I sat with a man who was so knowledgeable on things I thought no one in the west knew or cared about."

-Salam Pax/The Baghdad Blogger

I hope you've been reading Salam Pax this week at the Guardian. His diary is filled with unique bits of observational wisdom. These paragraphs caught my eye in today's installment:

"The state department had, through its Future of Iraq project, detailed plans on how to proceed. There were plans for all the ministries. Months were spent preparing reports that once they reached the Pentagon ended up in the waste basket. Chalabi was in; everybody else was out. It really is strange how often his name comes up when people start talking about Why Things Went Wrong."

"..When we talk about possible Iraqi elections in January, he doesn't sound very optimistic. He doesn't see it happening because, to start with, there are no internal parties; only the exiles are ready. Actually, the religious parties are ready as well, and this is something not many people have considered. What would the US government do if we had elections and we in Iraq choose someone like Sadr - or even Ayatollah Sistani?"

Virginian-Pilot Endorses Kerry

Virginian-Pilot Endorses Kerry

"Resolve is no substitute for results."

A course change: The Virginian-Pilot endorses John Kerry

Terrorists for Bush, no matter what GOP tries to feed us

Terrorists for Bush, no matter what GOP tries to feed us

A new Bush ad is hinting that terrorists want Kerry to win this election. I found that to be preposterously hilarious, knowing that Iran (one member of Bush's "axis of evil") strongly endorsed him this week. (Democrats press human rights issues, you see).

The Abu Ghraib torture probably won Tehran over for Bush.

An endorsement from the government Bush considers to be 'evil' should give us all a startling pause. Breathtaking pause.


Why Iran Wants Four More Years by David Jagernauth

Massing Taking on the Press; Bradlee Calls Bush "a liar"

Michael Massing: Taking the press to task for buying into the war

The Seattle Times discusses a compendium of pieces written for The New York Review of Books by Michael Massing, a contributing editor of Columbia Journalism Review titled "Now They Tell Us: The American Press and Iraq".

Excerpt:

"So here's the Washington, D.C., bureau of the Knight Ridder newspaper chain working the bowels of the bureaucracy — low-level intelligence, defense and diplomatic analysts — and publishing on Oct. 8, 2002, a forceful story reporting the doubts analysts had about the Iraqi threat, and more significantly, making a case that the civilian leadership was deliberately exaggerating the threat.. but because Knight Ridder has no newspapers in New York or Washington, it was all to no effect..

Is American-style journalism — weighted with the misnomers "objective" and "impartial" — so reliant on government sources, and blind sources in particular, that it is prone to being duped by those willing to deceive to advance their agenda?"

Pierre Salinger and days of solid investigative reporting memorialized

Which leads me to a quote from the NY Times article about yesterday's funeral of former White House press secretary and bon vivant Pierre Salinger:

"....when the mourners prayed for "those who serve in government or the press," they prayed for themselves, marking the passing not only of Mr. Salinger but also of an era when journalists considered themselves reporters and thought of "media" as a Greek sorceress, "usually played by Dame Judith Anderson," as the veteran NBC and ABC correspondent Sander Vanocur recalled in a written remembrance read aloud..."

Ben Bradlee says, flat out, that Bush is a liar.

I read an alleged 'exclusive' piece on the internet about Ben Bradlee calling Bush a liar.

From Spiegel Online:

"He [Bradlee] says US President George W. Bush is a liar. Journalists should stop dancing around the issue and name Bush for what he is, the ever surly Bradlee says in a SPIEGEL ONLINE interview. Bradlee also bemoans a worsening Washington climate in which politicians regularly hide behind lies - his favorite being that they can't discuss an issue "on the grounds of national security." Nixon used that line, too, Brandlee says. Bradlee admonishes reporters at both the Washington Post and the New York Times to get a backbone and to do more homework. Journalists today should not only question what politicians say but also their motivation, he says. He faults both news biggies for not asking enough questions before the Iraq war broke out and for not investing enough time or money into researching tough-to-get stories. Calling Clinton a liar was easy, Bradlee says. With Bush, the trail is less transparent."

Minneapolis loves John Kerry

Minneapolis loves John Kerry!

Tonight’s John Kerry rally in Minneapolis at the Metrodome.
Look, Ma!
No Loyalty-Oaths!

Star Tribune: Kerry leading in Northeastern Minnesota

Kerry addresses estimated 30,000 at Metrodome rally -SEE VIDEO
It was one of the largest political rallies in Minnesota history.

Levin blasts Feith in report

Levin blasts Feith in report

Democratic Senator Carl Levin has accused a Douglas Feith, undersecretary of defense for policy, of distorting intelligence information to back claims of links between Iraq and al Qaeda in the run-up to last year's U.S.-led invasion.

A report issued by Sen. Carl Levin, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, also questioned assertions of pre-war links between Baghdad and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who since the invasion has emerged as a leader in the anti-U.S. insurgency.

Chicago Tribune Answers Furious Readers re: Bush Endorsement

Raw Story: Chicago Tribune Answers Furious Readers re: Bush Endorsement

Read about it here at Raw Story.

New: Project on Quality in Election Discourse

New: Project on Quality in Election Discourse

A new website is at www.projectqed.org. The Project on Quality in Election Discourse rates election candidates on the substance and logic of their speech. ProjectQED, as it's called, aims to encourage meaningful public debate in elections for high public office.

Most recently, they have subjected the debate performances of the two presidential candidates, George Bush and John Kerry, to a test. It's a test which the group of judges, who are trained in philosophy, law, the humanities and the sciences, have developed. The results are available at the website. I guarantee that you'll find them extremely interesting.

One Year Ago Today at IDDYBUD

One Year Ago Today at IDDYBUD-
"Shame on you, Bush!"



One year ago today, a hot topic of blog conversation was the censoring of the photography of flag-draped soldier's coffins arriving at Dover AFB.

Please read and reflect on my thoughts then...in light of what we've learned over the course of this past year.

CENSORED-October 21, 2003

Colin Powell loses confidence

Not so confident about January...

Colin Powell loses confidence

Who in their right mind
could blame him?

"[Colin Powell] was less firm in expectations for elections by the end of January than he had been in the past, while in New York, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said elections were only ''technically possible'' by that target date.

Annan said the United Nations may not have enough staff in Iraq to help prepare for voting. In Baghdad, Iraqi authorities expressed concern that the lengthening unrest would discourage international monitors from going to Iraq.

But Powell was confident Iraqis would vote for democracy."

Powell has lost confidence that meaningful elections can take place in January, but he is confident that Iraqis will "vote for democracy". What the hell does that mean?
I'll tell you what it means. NOTHING, when it comes to the part of Iraq's population against which we're fighting today. We are simply front-loading corruption onto Iraq's democracy before it is ever naturally formed.

By its most basic definition, a democracy is 'government by the people governed'. We are fighting 'the people' of Iraq. 'The people' of Iraq live in Fallujah as well as in other cities, and they will soon die in Fallujah at our hands, in the name of an interim Iraqi government who are seen as our puppets.
(GO HERE to see the video "Digging for Bodies in Falluja"--definitely not a good campaign ad for Bush)

Is it our plan to kill off that portion of 'the people' of Iraq who would vote for representatives who would support the continued killing of our troops? What if we cannot kill enough of them before the election?

Will we be surprised when a majority of Shi'ites, who are the majority in Iraq, elect hard-line fundamentalists to represent them?

How will we expect them to treat the Kurds, who will be a minority in their democracy?

I sense, if we rush a January election, we will pull our troops out of Iraq and there will be more mass graves to contend with in another year or two.

Bush has lied to us about the reasons for going into Iraq, and now he has made a horrendous political mess of the entire situation.

As an American, I hang my head in shame for what Bush has done to our trusting soldiers, the American citizens, and the people of Iraq.

I believe there is great strength that can be shown in humility, and my fervent hope is that John Kerry is elected and empowered to turn the tide and bring a light of hope to those who understand that democracy is more than just a word or a term for a political whore to wield.



UPDATE:
Reuters- U.S. - Backed Iraq Government Losing Support - Survey

George Tenet Calls Iraq War "wrong"

George Tenet Calls Iraq War "wrong"

Reporter Anna Clark of the Herald Palladium reports:

"George Tenet called the war on Iraq "wrong" in a speech Wednesday night to 2,000 members of The Economic Club of Southwestern Michigan at Lake Michigan College's Mendel Center. He did not elaborate."

Also reported at:
Daily Kos
Editor & Publisher
__________________________________________________

Who needs to elaborate, already? Saying the Iraq war was wrong is a "slam-dunk" comment, isn't it?

And, (omigawd!) Tenet came up with (choke) REASONS for the existence of terrorism and moral ways to ebb terror's wicked tide:

"Tenet said a developing nation's low per capita income, high unemployment among young men and high infant mortality rate strongly increase its likelihood of becoming a "terrorist safe haven."

"In 2010, 100 million people outside of Africa will be infected with HIV," Tenet said. "The secondary implications of this are staggering."

He said the work of public health officers, missionaries and literacy teachers in third world nations are crucial to the war on terrorism, because terrorists build supporters by spinning poverty as a form of humiliation caused by wealthy nations like the United States."

I'll bet this "Iraq war was wrong" comment will soon be all over the INTERNETS !

David Corn: Triumph the Insult Comic Dog Visits the Spin Room

David Corn: Triumph the Insult Comic Dog Visits the Spin Room



In case you missed it on Conan O'Brien's show last night, be sure to read about it.

-- TRIUMPH: A lot of people think [Bush] should appeal more to women because he's a douche. [laughter] I finally stopped you. You know what Bush won me over with? When he indicated that Kerry changed his mind. I think the 83rd time was finally a charm for me.

REPUBLICAN WOMAN: I think the most important time he changed his mind was when he refused to fund the troops in iraq, a critical situation for our country to be successful there. it's good to see you tonight.

TRIUMPH: Thank you for your time. Have a safe trip back to Stepford. [laughter]--

Rice Wastes Precious Time/A Republican Endorses Kerry

Rice Wastes Precious Time/A Republican Endorses Kerry

"There’s a problem when our troops are in harm’s way, fighting for a secure Iraq, and our national security adviser is out on the stump campaigning instead of working."

-Senator John Edwards

...while Dick Cheney gloomily warns of a pending nuclear attack against the nation.

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A FORMER REPUBLICAN SENATOR FOR KERRY
'Frightened to death' of Bush
Marlow W. Cook

"I have been, and will continue to be, a Republican. But when we as a party send the wrong person to the White House, then it is our responsibility to send him home if our nation suffers as a result of his actions....I hope you all have noticed the Bush administration's style in the campaign so far. All negative, trashing Sen. John Kerry, Sen. John Edwards and Democrats in general. Not once have they said what they have done right, what they have done wrong or what they have not done at all...If we are indeed the party of Lincoln (I paraphrase his words), a president who deems to have the right to declare war at will without the consent of the Congress is a president who far exceeds his power under our Constitution.
I will take John Kerry for four years to put our country on the right path."

What's Happening in Lucas County, Ohio?

"In the battle of Fallen Timbers, it took but 40 minutes for "Mad Anthony" Wayne’s disciplined troops to bring to an end 20 years of border warfare. My hope is that Democrats will bring, in but one day, an end to four years of miserable failure in American leadership and partisan warfare."--Iddybud

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What's Happening in Lucas County, Ohio?

There are things happening in Lucas County, Ohio, which are making me extremely nervous. Lucas County is situated at the western tip of Lake Erie and borders the state of Michigan. The county is home to Toledo, which rests upon on the historic Maumee River. It is the location of Fallen Timbers, which was one of the shortest and most significant battles in American history fought in 1794 between tribes of the Northwest Territory and the U.S. army, commanded by "Mad Anthony" Wayne. In that battle, it took but 40 minutes for Wayne’s disciplined troops to bring to an end 20 years of border warfare.

My hope is that Democrats will bring, in but one day, an end to four years of miserable failure in American leadership and partisan warfare. The prospects of the election being settled in one day are questionable right now, if we choose to believe the polls. A clear and decisive win by Kerry on election day would prevent corruption and chaos from seeping into the American election, as it did in 2000.

VP Dick Cheney appeared in Ohio yesterday at a rally and spoke of doom and gloom. He will make an appearance in Lucas County today. The news from this Ohio county is getting little play in the mainstream media, so I thought I would tell you a bit about what's been going on lately. Bear in mind, as you read, that this is just one county in America.

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BOARD OF ELECTIONS

Election day is less than two weeks away. According to a report from ABC/Toledo, the Lucas County board of elections is playing "beat the clock." They still have to process thousands of new registrations and thousands of people are waiting to learn where they need to go to vote. Election workers estimate there are 10,000 new registrations that must still be processed. And there are less than two weeks left to get that done and then notify those people where they need to go to vote. On top of that, board of elections members are trying to understand election law in case someone's voting eligibility is challenged.


The Lucas County Board of Elections is bracing for a wave of challenges against thousands of registered voters that could keep them from casting ballots in the November presidential election. As many as 4,000 voters may be targeted for removal from the list of qualified voters because the board has found residential addresses on their registrations incorrect. [See Toledo Blade article]

The 4,000 registered voters may be the subject of what election officials are calling a "prechallenge" that could disqualify them from voting before Election Day. Once the County files the challenges, which could come by the end of this week or early next week, a public hearing is scheduled and a letter will be sent to the registered voters notifying them their right to vote is at risk and they must appear to defend themselves.

On Election Day, poll workers running the election can challenge any voter's legitimacy to cast a ballot.
The poll workers at the precinct ask voters they have decided to challenge questions to determine whether they should vote. The poll workers - two Democrats and two Republicans - then vote on whether the persons should get a ballot. If they tie 2-2, the challenge fails and the voter is allowed to vote. If the majority of poll workers vote to approve the challenge, the voters areoffered a provisional ballot.

The provisional ballot, however, will not be counted until after an investigation is completed following Election Day to determine if the voter was properly registered and eligible to vote.


BLACKWELL SUIT

Last Friday, the Lucas County and Ohio Democratic parties sued Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, accusing him of failing to enforce uniform standards for people who register to vote in the Nov. 2 election. It is believed that Mr. Blackwell is trying to make it more difficult for people to vote rather than making it easier. The lawsuit surrounds a problem with the Ohio voter registration form. It includes a space, "Box 10", for applicants to provide their driver's license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number. In a Dec. 31, 2003 memo to county boards of elections, Mr. Blackwell's office said, based on the federal Help America Vote Act (HAPA), voter registration applications can't be accepted if "Box 10" isn't filled out and the form is submitted in person at a county elections board, a public library, or a motor vehicle department. But, in that same memo, the secretary of state's office said if a person completes the same form by mail, he or she wouldn't have to check "Box 10". [Toledo Blade article]



THEFT

Even more worrisome was a theft which took place sometime during the early hours of October 13. Thieves shattered a side window overnight at the Lucas County Democratic headquarters in Toledo, stealing computers with sensitive campaign information and triggering concern of the local party's ability to deliver crucial votes on Nov. 2. Among the data on the stolen computer of the party's office manager were: e-mails discussing campaign strategy, candidates' schedules, financial information, and phone numbers of party members, candidates, donors, and volunteers. Also taken were computers belonging to Lucas County Commissioner Tina Skeldon Wozniak and to a Texas attorney working with the Kerry/Edwards presidential campaign to ensure election security.

The thefts have prompted the Kerry/Edwards campaign and Democrats in Washington to offer help and have left local officials fretting about the crime's impact on the upcoming election, in which Ohio plays a high-profile role.

Very little has been reported in the mainstream media about this theft.


Peter Jennings of ABC recently said he was nervous about the upcoming election. His concern is not that it might be delayed all night long on November 2nd. That would be okay with him. Jenning's concern is about a long, drawn-out presidential election battle and the effect it will have on our national institutions. Jennings says, "If we don't trust the voting system, then I think there's some danger we'll begin to question a lot of other institutions." Jennings said the media is included among the institutions that may get heightened scrutiny, and I think that's already happening.

Watching Lucas County, Ohio, I share Peter Jennings' concerns.

Remember, Lucas County is just one of many swing-state counties which may determine the winner in this race, if it's a close one.

I'm hoping it won't be a close race and that Kerry will win by an undeniable margin in the swing states.

Are you feeling nervous yet?

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UPDATE- More Ohio election trouble in the Columbus area, Voters report fake calls

Articles You Shouldn't Miss

Articles You Shouldn't Miss

• The art of stealing elections
by Robert Kuttner
"THE REPUBLICANS are out to steal the 2004 election -- before, during, and after Election Day. Before Election Day, they are employing such dirty tricks as improper purges of voter rolls, use of dummy registration groups that tear up Democratic registrations, and the suppression of Democratic efforts to sign up voters, especially blacks and students.


• GOPers Assail Nation Institute
by David Corn
"This past summer, the Senate intelligence committee released a report on the prewar intelligence on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. The report was an indictment of the intelligence community, noting that the community's critical findings on Iraq's WMDs were "either overstated, or were not supported by, the underlying intelligence reporting." That was the big news: the war had been based on bad and overinflated intelligence. (And, by the way, Bush had even overstated the exaggerated intelligence.) But conservatives jumped on a portion of the report devoted to the Niger affair to mount an attack against Wilson. At the time, I debunked much of this assault in two columns (Click here and here). I didn't realize then that Representative J.D. Hayworth, a Republican from Arizona, and ten of his GOP House colleagues had written a letter to The Nation Institute to demand that the institute withdraw the award it had bestowed upon Wilson..."

• Desperate Measures
by William Rivers Pitt
"In the last Presidential election, it was Florida that made the mess. This time, it could very well be Ohio, Oregon, West Virginia and Nevada, and that's just for starters..."


• The End of Democracy
Losing America's birthright, the George Bush way
by Rick Perlstein
"..Many among our Republican rank and file would have a hard time noticing anything amiss. These are the people who can say, as Richard Viguerie told the Voice, "If there's vote suppressing, nine times out of 10 it's going to be Democrats."A coup? Deep Faith is convinced some might even welcome it. "It makes me wonder, if something really bad happened, and the Bush administration was able to have a coup and be in permanent charge," he tells me, sinking into his living-room couch, scaring the hell out of me, "who among my folk would seriously protest, if they could get a slice of the pie? 'We could go in there and reverse all this judicial precedent we don't like!' " That Kingdom of God they keep talking about, he reminds us, the hunger for which is now the fuel of the Republican engine, "is not a democracy."

Elections: Big Ruling, Little Notice

Elections: Big Ruling, Little Notice

From the Village Voice:

It's easy to vote absentee in Illinois if you meet certain qualifications, like being out of your home county on Election Day. It's also easy if you don't meet those qualifications: You just lie. In fact, greasy machine pols have been known to exploit the present system to cast "votes" for their entire block. Juliet Alejandre is one person who didn't qualify, and who wasn't prepared to lie. Going to school full-time and working nights, the single mother says that the last time she tried to vote she left much of the ballot incomplete because she was terrified her unminded toddler would fall off the stage upon which the booths sat. So with three other working moms, Alejandre sued in federal court to order the state legislature to revisit its horse-and-buggy absentee statute to make reasonable provisions—whether by extending voting hours, changing absentee requirements, or instituting a universal vote-by-mail system like the one that's worked well in Oregon.

This past Friday, Judge Richard Posner of the Seventh Circuit, a prominent conservative intellectual and vocal Bush supporter, handed down a capricious, flippant dismissal of the complaint, ignoring key portions of its argument and simply inventing others. (The plaintiffs wanted the court to "decree weekend voting," he fantasized, wondering whether a federal court would soon "have to buy everyone a laptop, or a Palm Pilot or Blackberry?")

Bad enough if it only affected Illinoisans. Here's the scary part: Posner worded his ruling in such a way to make it difficult for anyone to challenge any voting statute passed by any state legislature anywhere.

The decision is diabolical—a perfect counterpart to this season's Republican strategy of drowning voting-rights complaints in a sea of moral relativism. One example: A goal of the plaintiff's case was to stop existing fraud by making Illinois's vague and antiquated absentee regulations more uniform and fair. Instead, Posner argued that the plaintiff's commonsense request for a second look at the statutes opened the door to fraud.

The bottom line: Posner's precedent gives much more discretion to states like Ohio and Florida to take action to restrict voting opportunities, especially for working people. And it was handed down, conveniently, two weeks before Election Day.

—R.P/Village Voice

Rolling Stone: John Kerry Interview

"I love 'Hey Jude'."

Rolling Stone: John Kerry Interview


Click photo for link

Excerpts:

What are the parallels between Iraq and Vietnam?

Right now there is one parallel that's very disturbing, and that is the leadership in Washington has not told the truth to the American people.....

...A failed Iraq is not in the interests of Arab states, and it's not in the interests of the European states -- but they're absent from the kind of effort necessary to prevent that from happening. That's where leadership is going to be necessary. That's the difference that I intend to make, and that I must make -- for the sake of our country. To make ourselves safe in the long term, we're going to have to rebuild relationships and re-establish American credibility. Bush's mistakes don't have to become America's misfortune for the long term, and it's my job to undo his mistakes and turn this into a success.

If you send troops into Iraq, how will you be able to tell them they're not risking their lives for a mistake?

Because I'm going to make it a success, 'cause we're going to win. We're going to do what we need to do to get this job done. And I'm committed to doing that -- and I know how to do it. I'll put a foreign-policy team together that talks the truth to the American people.

Will you communicate to the American people the size of the crisis we face?

I'm doing it in the course of this campaign. I'm already talking about it -- and I will as president. Look: I'm a person who has always believed that you tell people the truth and they'll make reasonable decisions. Truth is powerful.

This administration disrespects the truth, because they have a different credo. The truth unfortunately works against their interests, because their interests are in keeping power and in making money. And so they feed the drug industry, and they feed the oil industry, and they feed the big power companies.

And that's the difference between us. I'm fighting for the middle class -- he's fighting for a tax cut for people who earn more than $200,000 a year.


How did you feel when you first saw those Swift-boat ads?

Disappointed -- a sense of bitter disappointment. That people will stoop to those depths of lying -- for their personal reasons.

Did you get angry at Bush personally?

I do worry, and I am angry, about what they do to the American people. That's what this race is about. It's not about me. I can take it -- I don't care. I've been in worse things. I was on those boats -- I got shot at. I can handle it. What I worry about is that they lie to America..


You don't get angry when Bush outright lies about you?

No, I don't get angry at it. I think it's sort of pathetic.


Were you surprised by how the Swift-boat thing blew up?

I was surprised that the media, even when they knew it was lies, continued to cover it and treat it as entertainment.


You were criticized for wearing a windsurfing outfit.

It shows how pathetic and diversionary they are. They can't talk about having created jobs for America; they can't talk about giving people health care; they can't talk about having protected America and made it safer.


Did anyone say, "Senator, you shouldn't be wearing windsurfing clothes"?

Yeah, a few people said . . .


And you said, Fuck it?

You're damn right. I said, "I'm going to be who I am" -- I think people care about authenticity. There are much bigger issues.


What do you think of Karl Rove? Is he an evil genius?

I don't know him. I've met him once. I'll tell you November 3rd.


What do you think of the Vote for Change concerts that Bruce Springsteen organized?

I haven't been able to go. I'm jealous of everybody who is. It's separate from us -- they've done it by themselves. But I'm obviously elated. His music has been the theme song of our campaign from Day One. To have him out there is both a privilege and exciting. I hope it has an impact on the outcome.

Who are your favorite rock & roll artists?

Oh, gosh. I'm, you know, a huge Rolling Stones fan; Beatles fan. One of the most cherished photographs in my life is a picture of me with John Lennon -- who I met back in 1971 at an anti-war rally. But I love a lot of different performers.


Do you have a favorite Beatles song -- or Stones song?

I love "Satisfaction" and "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and "Brown Sugar." I love "Imagine" and "Yesterday."


You're a greatest-hits kind of guy.

My favorite album is Abbey Road. I love "Hey Jude." I also like folk music. I like some classical. I love guitar. Oh, God. I mean, you know -- Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Buffett . . .

Let's Work Together to Elect Kerry/Edwards

Let's Work Together to Elect Kerry/Edwards
They're Going to Win - Believe It!

There are less than two weeks left before the presidential election. I'm optimistic that John Kerry will be elected by a clear and undeniable margin on November 2nd, no matter how the mainstream media beats the "close race" drum.

America knows too much of the truth to allow Bush to take our country further down the drain for another four years.

Democracy and strength at home, and respect in the world for America must be restored.

Let's work hard these next 13 days to make it happen.

Never lose hope. The Johns have got it goin' on!

KERRY-EDWARDS ONLINE FORUM
ACTION PLAN: POST ON BLOGS, FORUMS AND MESSAGE BOARDS
Pro-Kerry Blogs, Forums and Message Boards are listed here.
Visit as many as you can. Please participate. Volunteer.
Do all you can.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


From Political Strategy:
"Top 35 Trends that say Kerry will Take the White House in November

"Recently, a couple nationwide polls have shown Bush with a substantial lead, including some nonsensical outlier from Fox News and an equally unrealistic poll from Gallup which showed likely voters favoring Bush by 8 points. What's going on?

Fear not. It is all a grand load of garbage!

See the transcript of John Kerry's powerful speech in Iowa:
A Fresh Start: Succeeding In Iraq And Winning Against Terrorism

Robertson's Absent Reason

Robertson's Absent Reason
or: Nutty Like a Fruitcake

"OOOOOOO, ouch, ouch, ouch----Bush told me there weren't
going to be any casualties in Iraq. See, I knew different. God told me there was gonna be a messy, messy disaster.
I knew it-heck, I knew it all along. Look, I know
George has had his share of goofs and gaffes --
but I just think God's blessing is on him.

Are you following me?
Good, because no one else who
is sane has been able to follow my reasoning on this yet....."




"...You just may be the first!"

CIA 9/11 info withheld-Ignorance has been bliss for Bush

CIA 9/11 info withheld-
Ignorance has been bliss for Bush


Robert Scheer/LA Times

It is shocking: The Bush administration is suppressing a CIA report on 9/11 until after the election, and this one names names..."What all the other reports on 9/11 did not do is point the finger at individuals, and give the how and what of their responsibility. This report does that," said [an anonymous] intelligence official. "The report found very senior-level officials responsible."....the only legitimate reason the CIA director has for holding back such a report is national security. Yet neither Goss nor McLaughlin has invoked national security as an explanation for not delivering the report to Congress.."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Bush administration is withholding information for no other reason than the fact that doing so would be politically damaging to them. Politics over truth and country is damnable. John Kerry needs to speak out on the matter. The public needs to know.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

UPDATE: OCTOBER 20/LA TIMES- Lawmakers Prod CIA for Pre-9/11 Accountability Report
The agency says the document isn't finished, but some think they're stalling to benefit Bush.

"The scuffle over the CIA report could pose a problem for the CIA's new director, Porter J. Goss, who now is head of the agency he helped investigate when he was chairman of the House Intelligence Committee."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Are you sick of the lies? Go HERE to see what Robert Acosta, an Iraq War veteran, thinks about Bush's lies.

Photo

Iddy at Wellfleet, Massachusetts,
thinking "I hope John Kerry wins in two weeks."

John Zogby predicts John Kerry will be #44.
He's staking his 20 years' experience on a Kerry win in November.

Madrid Terror Video

Madrid Terror Video


How interesting that the video of Spain's terror attack should be released just before the American presidential election.

SEE VIDEO HERE
courtesy NBC30.com

Listen To These People Before Going to the Polls

ErrolMorris.com/Election 2004

Topics At the Kerry Blog Today

Topics At the Kerry Blog Today

Former GOP Gov Endorses Kerry
[Elmer L. Andersen was Minnesota's Republican governor from 1961 to 1963.

Why this Republican Ex-Governor will be Voting for Kerry
Elmer L. Andersen
Minneapolis Star Tribune

Throughout my tenure and beyond as the 30th governor of this state, I have been steadfastly aligned -- and until recently, proudly so -- with the Minnesota Republican Party.
Continue reading this entry...

New Ad: "We See It for Ourselves"

Washington, DC - Responding to the latest misleading Bush-Cheney ad, the Kerry-Edwards campaign Tuesday took to the airwaves with the new ad “Looking.” The ad recounts the mess in Iraq Americans are seeing every day and notes Kerry’s strong record on and commitment to keeping our country safe.

Kerry: A Fresh Start to Restore Fiscal Responsibility

Wilkes-Barre, PA – Providing America a fresh start after four years of wrong choices by George W. Bush, John Kerry pledged in a speech in Wilkes-Barre, PA that as president he will restore fiscal discipline in Washington and strengthen Social Security.
“What George Bush still doesn’t understand is that his four-year spending spree on tax giveaways for millionaires has undermined the hopes of middle-class families and put Social Security on a dangerous road,” Kerry said. “Now he’s asking for another four years to privatize the program, and undo the sacred compact we’ve made with our seniors. Well I’m here to tell you that even though this is George Bush’s plan, it doesn’t have to be our future. And now is our moment to choose...”

Cheney’s Talk of Nuclear Terrorism Highlights Bush’s Failed Record

Responding to Dick Cheney's remarks earlier today about nuclear terrorism in American cities, Mark Kitchens, Kerry campaign national security spokesman, issued the following statement:

"Mr. Cheney's attacks are in line with what we've come to expect from the Bush administration – reckless and irresponsible leadership. Cheney's attacks are filled with irony. He has the audacity to question whether a decorated combat veteran who has bled on the battlefield is tough and aggressive enough to keep America safe. He wants to scare Americans about a possible nuclear 9/11 while the Bush administration has been on the sidelines while the nuclear threats from North Korea and Iran – the world's leading sponsor of terrorism – have increased. John Kerry will take strong effective action to prevent nuclear terrorism – dramatically accelerating efforts to secure nuclear weapons and materials around the world and leading international efforts to end nuclear threats from Iran and North Korea.”...

Conscience of a Conservative

The New Republic's October 25 issue contains the latest anguished letter from another Republican who has decided to vote for John Kerry. In a truly impassioned plea, New York Post editorial writer Robert A. George lays out a damning case against George Bush for violating the fundamental tenets of conservatism, including fiscal responsibility, smaller government, and accountability for all of the activities of the executive branch, even in a time of "war." (Keep in mind that the New York Post is owned by Rupert Murdoch, the arch conservative media mogul.)
*********

"Conscience of a Conservative":
Robert A. George
The New Republic


Sixteen years ago, just out of college, I volunteered at the Republican National Convention as a man named George Bush prepared to begin a fall campaign that would see him defeat a Democrat from Massachusetts. The sparkling words of an acceptance speech crafted by Peggy Noonan—and delivered almost flawlessly--helped him inspire his party and a country that saw him as an extension of Ronald Reagan. It fell to that George Bush to "close out" the cold war and launch a different one in the Persian Gulf.....(cont'd)

Kristen and her daughter

New Ad: 9/11 Widow Shares Her Story

Washington, DC - 9/11 widow Kristen Breitweiser is featured in the latest Kerry-Edwards television ad. Titled “Ever Since,” the ad shows Breitweiser talking about the reasons she is supporting John Kerry for president over her 2000 choice, George W. Bush.

Click here to watch the ad and for documentation.

Bush’s Significant Failures In The War On Terror

Monday in New Jersey, George Bush gave what his aides said was a “significant” speech on the war on terror. The only thing significant about Bush’s policy on the war on terror has been his significant failure to focus on terrorism before September 11, his significant failures to protect America through homeland security, his significant failure to stay focused on the war on terror by shifting attention and resources to Iraq, and his significant failure to build a real coalition and provide American troops with proper equipment for battle. (cont'd)

Bush Distorts and Misleads in New Jersey

In his speech in New Jersey Monday, George Bush continued his smearing of John Kerry by distoring Kerry's record and statements. (cont'd)

Hope

Hope



credit: Guardian Unlimited

"We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope."
"Everything that is done in the world is done by hope."

--words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Every area of trouble gives out a ray of hope; and the one unchangeable certanity is that nothing is certain or unchangeable."
"We should not let our fears hold us back from pursuing our hopes."

--words of John Fitzgerald Kennedy




"There is no hope of joy except in human relations."

--words of Antoine de Saint-Exupery

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"When your son or daughter, who is serving this country heroically in Iraq calls, you tell them: 'Hope is on the way.' "

--words of Sen. John Edwards

On Enemy Ground: CS Lewis on God's pleasures

On Enemy Ground: CS Lewis on God's pleasures

The following reminded me of all those annoying pharmaceutical commercials. The promise of a better life, a better time, a better erection, a more purple flowery existence. At the drop of a pill down one's throat. Gulp. Instant pleasure. What about God's pleasures? How did we get to the point where we feel no blessed reverence from living out a cloudy day?

"Never forget that when we are dealing with any pleasure in its healthy and normal and satisifying form, we are, in a sense, on the Enemy's ground.


I know we have won many a soul through pleasure. All the same, it is His invention, not ours. He made the pleasures: all our research so far has not enabled us to produce one.


All we can do is to encourage the humans to take the pleasures which our Enemy has produced, at times, or in ways, or in degrees, which He has forbidden. Hence we always try to work away from the natural condition of any pleasure to that in which it is least natural, least redolent of its Maker, and least pleasurable. An ever increasing craving for an ever diminishing pleasure is the formula.


It is more certain; and it's better style.



To get the man's soul and give him nothing in return--that is what really gladdens Our Father's heart. And the troughs are the time for beginning the process."

~C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters, Chapter 9) 1942

*thanks to The Window in the Garden Wall

The Joke: Bush accusing Kerry of scare tactics

The Joke: Bush accusing Kerry of scare tactics-
Bush should know, he's the expert


Real reason for fear.
The fundamentalist hijacking of America
will tear it apart.
Bush facilitates the hijacking.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


In his important speech at Georgetown University yesterday, Al Gore pointed to Bush's use of "the symbolism and body language of religion" to mask policies intended to satisfy right-wing ideology and financial needs of wealthy, greedy donors.

"The essential cruelty of Bush's game is that he takes an astonishingly selfish and greedy collection of economic and political proposals, then cloaks them with a phony moral authority," said Mr Gore. "President Bush has stolen the symbolism and body language of religion and used it to disguise the most radical effort in American history to take what rightfully belongs to the American people and give as much as possible to the already wealthy and privileged."

Here we have a legitimate and realistic reason to be afraid. Fundamentalism is the cause of anti-modernity and the spread of terrorism in other war-torn parts of the world. We're supposed to be raging against fundamentalism in Iraq today. So, what does our leader do? Not only does he fail in Iraq, but he uses politics to cause a heavy rise in negative emotion at the fundamentalist core of the right wing in order to promote an agenda of greed and discrimination at home.

Secular America has a reasonable right to be scared of a leader who would manipulate the emotions of fundamentalists. We've seen enough bombings of abortion clinics and shootings of doctors. We've seen enough hate crime against gay Americans. We've seen the angry burning of synagogues. It doesn't only happen in the Middle East. Fundamentalist-tinged hate isn't confined to the streets of Fallujah or Jenin.

We know we have a leader who, if re-elected, will tamper illegitimately with our secular-sacred American Constitution for the sating of the rabid Falwell-following fundamentalist.

We know we have a leader who, if re-elected, will appoint right wing activist justices to the Supreme and lower courts to appease the fundamentalist.

Cloaked in the name of religion, Bush is no better than the Islamic fundamentalist right. Make no mistake, his style of leadership will not only further divide America, but will promote fundamentalist violence in America.

The Scare

Failure in Iraq. Beheadings of Americans. Killings of contractors. No plan for the peace. Not enough troops. Not enough armor. Not enough security. Halliburton's theft from American taxpayers. Price of a barrel of oil the highest in history.

Kerry pulls reality out of Bush's fantasy-ass.
Bush calls it "scare tactics".

Have I been dreaming or has Bush not been scaring America at every turn since 9/11 happened on his extremely non-curious watch? 9/11, Orange alerts, 9/11, duct tape, 9/11, anthrax, 9/11, you're a traitor if you disagree, 9/11, smoke 'em out, 9/11, Bush doing poorly in polls/new terror alert, 9/11, WMD, 9/11, alumininum tubes, 9/11, mushroom clouds, 9/11, greeting us with roses, 9/11?

Bush dares to call John Kerry a coward? The little yellow-rose belly-of-Texas who snuck out of Vietnam duty? The coward who had to sneak into Iraq under cloak of secrecy and night to face the troops he misled to war? Even Tony Blair was brave enough to have walked out onto the streets to face the people he brought war upon.

Jerry Falwell says we should vote our conscience.



Knock yourself out.

"I'm convinced that most of the President's frequent departures from fact-based analysis have much more to do with right-wing political and economic ideology than with the Bible. It is ideology, and not his religious faith, that is the source of this troubling inflexibility. Most of the problems he has caused for this country stem not from his belief in God, but from his belief in the infallibility of the right-wing Republican ideology that exalts the interests of the wealthy and of large corporations over and above the interests of the American people."

--Al Gore, about GW Bush

A Tribute to Autumn

A Tribute to Autumn

"October is the month of painted leaves. Their rich glow now flashes round the world. As fruits and leaves and the day itself acquire a bright tint just before they fall, so the year near its setting. October is its sunset sky; November the later twilight."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson


Anonymoses on the trail
photo by Iddybud


"You like it under the trees in autumn,
Because everything is half dead.
The wind moves like a cripple among the leaves
And repeats words without meaning."

- Wallace Stevens, The Motive for Metaphor

~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~


Iddybud.....Anonymoses

Come said the wind to
the leaves one day,
Come o'er the meadows
and we will play.
Put on your dresses
scarlet and gold,
For summer is gone
and the days grow cold.

- A Children's Song of the 1880's

~~~~~~~


May you have a beautiful autumn!

Iddybud bloggers

Gore Says Bush Governs from 'Love of Power'

Gore Says Bush Governs from 'Love of Power'

"Bush and Cheney-simultaneously dishonest and incompetent.."
TRANSCRIPT OF SPEECH

Al Gore gave a speech at Georgetown University today that will go down in history as one of the most important set of words ever offered to the American people. It ranks up there with the Declaration of Independence.

The choice has never been made clearer.


Video here-CSPAN(see it again at 11:59 pm tonight on CSPAN 1hr 30min.)

Bush intentionally deceived public on Iraq

Gore warns of election grab by Bush

WP- Gore Charges Bush With Prewar Deceit/President Called Reckless, Dishonest

Palm Beach Post- Gore says Bush 'arrogantly out of touch with reality'

CNSNews- Bush Administration 'Dishonest and Incompetent,' Gore Says

Georgetown Hoya, Vidhya Murugesan- Gore Attacks Bush's Love of Power

SC Clerks give Bush v. Gore details in Vanity Fair

SC Clerks give Bush v. Gore details in Vanity Fair

In the October issue of Vanity Fair magazine, former Supreme Court law clerks from the court's 2000-01 term speak out, under cover of anonymity, about what they saw behind the scenes during the fateful case of Bush v. Gore

In an article titled The Path to Florida, writers David Margolick, Evgenia Peretz and Michael Shnayerson recount the views of former clerks to liberal justices who opposed the ruling. Those clerks contend that the decision was an exercise in partisanship by conservative Republican justices.

The buzz surrounding this piece centers less on the article’s content than the fact that those who worked for the justices have broken their vow of silence. Some have called this a 'whistle-blowing'.

According to an article in Sunday's Washington Post, most of the criticism in the Vanity Fair piece is aimed at Justices Antonin Scalia, Sandra Day O’Connor and Anthony Kennedy, all of whom voted in favor of Bush. Scalia is depicted bullying Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg into watering down her dissenting opinion. O’Connor is described as emotionally fixated on stopping a recount and Kennedy as overly influenced by his right-wing clerks.

From Online Journal: What's Wrong with America?

Shouldn't we be thinking of impeaching George W. Bush and Dick Cheney instead of running them for political office?

"This election—if the schemers' supporters don't manage to steal it—may be the people's only chance to bring a modicum of justice and sanity to the current bizarre state of affairs. Vote for Kerry as if your life and the world's safety depended on it, because, as never before, they do...

..what the foggin' heck is wrong with America? The malevolent nature of Bush and Cheney's actions, namely cooking up false intelligence and lying Americans into a war, should sicken and outrage any person with a conscience. Yet, in today's upside-down America, Bush and Cheney aren't criminals; they're legitimate candidates, smiling, strutting and backslapping their way across the country, snake-charming voters and continuing to defend their transparent lies. The corporate media eat it up. Half of the public may actually vote for them. There aren't enough world-gone-crazy metaphors to describe this situation. It's Alice in Wonderland and Orwell's 1984 rolled into one. Have a cup of tea with the Mad Hatter. War is peace. God bless America the Delusional."

LINK-Online Journal, Carla Binion

A Grand Hypocrisy--Putin Campaigning For Bush

A Grand Hypocrisy--Putin Campaigning For Bush

Putin and Bush-
Failure Supports Failure---
Co-dependents in Wrong Thinking

They want you to think that each terror attack in Iraq is because of who Bush IS instead of remembering all the dead-wrong things he's done.

_________________________________



It's nothing less than bizarre. The Oil-For-Food Scandal King campaigns for the American president who was on watch as Russia slid back toward authoritarian rule...

"Last week, President Bush said that the war on terror isn't actully one that's ever going to be clearly won.
What happens if Putin, under political pressure, decides to fall in line with the virtually unwinnable war against a tactic?
What happens to the many good and decent people who have only desired liberty in Chechnya? (Make no mistake, there are many decent people in Chechnya even though we only hear about the worst). The civil citizens of Chechnya are calling upon the international community to step in and help bring peace to both Chechnya and to Russia. To date, international ears and eyes remain closed..."

--Iddybud, September 9, 2004

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bush's dogmatic insistence and race to unilaterally take out Saddam Hussein caused him to proceed with blinders, neglecting a diplomacy that was sorely needed and inviting distrust of America and inviting right-wing radicals-East and West- to follow America's pre-emptive lead. Putin recognized the Iraq war (and rightly so) as a war evocative of the Cold War-era rather than a new and necessary type of warfare where we don't rub out regimes, but instead rub out terrorist networks.
That breakdown in international trust has led to Russia's falling away from democracy and contributes to European instability which endangers our nation's interests in Central Asia. It has led many in the world to believe that the Bush administration's National Security strategy did not take into serious consideration the fact that the Berlin Wall had ever fallen in the first place. It's no wonder all nations of the world (except for three) hope there is a change in American leadership this November...As overwhelmingly troubled as the old U.S.S.R. was, Ronald Reagan understood that, unless you employed diplomacy with hope and good faith, you will never forward America's best interests...While I truly believe Ronald Reagan acted in his nation's best interests, I believe Bush has acted with contempt for America's best interests, or at best, Bush has simply been an incapable leader.

--Iddybud, September 14, 2004 Russia Going Back to Authoritarian Rule--Another Casualty of Bush's War

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Just Like Bush"-
A Child's Tale

Part Three:

So, children...
After the terror in Beslan, the Kremlin reached for harsh levers, refusing to negotiate its way out of the Chechen war for fear it would look weak and embolden other separatist movements in Russia.

George W. Bush would never have negotiated with terror. Why should Vladimir?

So 100,000 more Chechens were slaughtered and 100,000 more terrorists were born.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The moral of the story:
No one wins when you rage, with hatred and bloodthirst, against a tactic.

--posted on Iddybud, September 13, 2004

Guardian's Operation Clark County: Americans Respond

Guardian's Operation Clark County: Americans Respond

An Interesting Exercise....

Since US policy now affects every citizen on the planet, Guardian writers felt all should all have a say in who gets to the White House next. In the democratic contest that matters most to the world, the world has been feeling disenfranchised. So the Guardian (G2) came up with the idea for Operation Clark County. It was a chance for the world to get involved with Americans who will decide on November 2nd. (See introduction to the project here). Three prominent Britons (John Le Carré, Antonia Fraser, and Richard Dawkins) have sample letters here.

Today we see a sampling of reaction from Americans. The title of the general sampling, Dear Limey assholes, may give you fair warning of the type of language to expect to run into. Have fun!

Media Lies to Public Just Before Election

Media Lies to Public Just Before Election

Zarqawi was not connected to pre-war Iraq government, regardless of what Andrea Mitchell or Dick Cheney try to hand you.

They can't find Osama in time for the election, and they can't tie Osama to Saddam Hussein, so they've been using al Zarqawi as the "big, bad new bogeyman". I said it last June, I'm saying it now. Zarqawi is a murderous creature, but he is not the significant tie to Saddam Hussein's regime as Dick Cheney has lied, boldfaced, to Americans about so many times. Bush and Cheney created the monster that is now Zarqawi with their totally wrong-minded approach to fighting terror.

I heard Andrea Mitchell was whining on and on about the latest 'Bushit' regarding a pre-war Zarqawi terror connection with the government of Iraq again today on NBC. Don't be fooled by fools in the media. I've heard enough shit in the past year to drown in it.

The same Andrea Mitchell spewed this crap after the VP debate, covering for outright lies of VP Cheney:

ANDREA MITCHELL (NBC News chief foreign affairs correspondent): "I think Dick Cheney did awfully well, first of all. Putting John Edwards in his place. Saying, "I have been presiding over the Senate, and I didn't meet you until tonight." Talking about his not having been on the job was pretty devastating."

Watch her, people. She's not being square with the American people. She's not on the people's side".

It's time we call these idiots on their disinformation when we see them trying to get away with it.

See my post from February, 2004 about the Bush administration's bad attempts to tie al Zarqawi with pre-war Iraq. Scroll down to There wasn't one back then...but there is now.

It's disgusting to see media whores running wildly with what can be nothing else but an intent to disinform as the election draws near.


See additional blog from last June about Cheney's deliberate lies and childish behavior upon getting caught.

Endorsement for Kerry-NYT/Boston Globe/Star Tribune/Dayton Daily News

Endorsement for Kerry-NYT/Boston Globe/Star Tribune/Dayton Daily News

The New York Times endorsed Kerry on Oct. 17.

"We have been impressed with Mr. Kerry's wide knowledge and clear thinking -- something that became more apparent once he was reined in by that two-minute debate light. He is blessedly willing to re-evaluate decisions when conditions change...He strikes us, above all, as a man with a strong moral core."

The Boston Globe endorsed Kerry on Oct. 17.

"These are challenging times for any leader. On the signal issues of this campaign --the Iraq war and terrorism -- Kerry is up to the challenge. ... He is best suited to heal our painful rifts now -- not just with the community of nations but within this nation, rent by social, ideological, economic and religious diversions. These sap the strength of America. We are confident a Kerry presidency will restore both unity and strength."

The Star Tribune, Minneapolis, endorsed Kerry on Oct. 17.

"Kerry knows how to effectively join with U.S. allies to leverage the vast power of international will. ... Kerry's approach demonstrates maturity, nuance and thoughtfulness. Those qualities don't always play well in campaign sound bites. But they will serve America exceedingly well in the Oval Office."

Dayton Daily News, Dayton, Ohio, endorsed Kerry on Oct. 17.

"John Kerry is a credible, prepared, likely choice for a nation that should expect more sophistication, more skill, less failure and more focus on the problems of the American mainstream than George W. Bush has offered."

________________

Bush's hometown newspaper in Crawford has already endorsed Kerry

Philadelpia Inquirer has endorsed Kerry

McCain aide quits, Endorses Kerry, Blasts Bush administration

Gold-medal Olympians, Julie Foudy and Abby Wambach, announced their endorsement of John Kerry and John Edwards for President and Vice President of the United States this week.

Question for Bush/Cheney: Why has Jim Tobin Been Kept On?

Question for Bush/Cheney: Why has Jim Tobin Been Kept On?

According to Talking Points memo, Jim Tobin has resigned from his post as President Bush’s New England campaign chairman. Tobin was Northeast political director in 2002 for the Republican Senatorial Committee, the party operation working to elect Republicans to the Senate. He resigned last Friday over questions surrounding an election-tampering scandal which took place in 2002.

According to the Portsmouth Herald:

"Democrats and Republicans fought in court this week over whether Democrats could question GOP officials, including Tobin, as part of a lawsuit about the illegal jamming [ of Democrats' phone lines during the 2002 election]. Democrats won a ruling Wednesday that cleared the way for the questioning, but depositions scheduled for Thursday and Friday were called off after the Justice Department said it would seek to delay them.
The 2002 jamming consisted of computer-generated calls to get-out-the-vote phones run by Democrats and the nonpartisan Manchester firefighters’ union. More than 800 hang-up calls tied up phones for about 1½ hours."

You may be disturbed to learn that, according to witnesses in the case, it may not have been just a local affair, but possibly arranged by the Committee itself ( at least at a minimum, through its regional political director, Tobin).

Kudos to Josh Marshall for tenaciously keeping up with this story. In so many ways, he's doing the mainstream media's job for them.

This is a question of ethics and character as well as legality. We need to ask the Bush campaign why they had kept Tobin on in a senior position all this time, knowing he'd been implicated and knowing he'd be forced to resign once the alleged illegal activities were discovered and/or questioned.


Related stories:

Nashua Telegraph, Kevin Landrigan- Phone scandal may have Bush connection

New York Times-

"..Last summer, Chuck McGee, former executive director of the state Republican Party, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and admitted paying $15,600 to a Virginia company that hired another business to make computer-generated calls that jammed Democrats' phone lines for about 90 minutes. Mr. McGee acknowledged speaking to an unidentified official with a national political organization about the jamming. Democrats have said they believe that Mr. Tobin was the official."

Guardian- Bush's New England Campaign Chief Resigns