The Washington Post is reporting that the TV ad attacking John Kerry's service in Vietnam was paid for "in part by a major Republican Party donor in Texas." Gosh. It had the whiff of Karl Rove all over it already, and now it's a full-out stench.
The same group of Vietnam vets featured in the ad above have also collaborated on a book, "Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry," to be published next week. Yesterday it reached number one on the bestseller list on Amazon.com, based on advance orders, in part because of publicity about it on the Drudge Report. But this morning, in the Boston Globe, one of the chief Kerry accusers of this bunch recants: "...a key figure in the anti-Kerry campaign, Kerry's former commanding officer, backed off one of the key contentions. Lieutenant Commander George Elliott said in an interview that he had made a 'terrible mistake' in signing an affidavit that suggests Kerry did not deserve the Silver Star -- one of the main allegations in the book .... Yesterday, reached at his home, Elliott said ... he still thinks Kerry deserved the Silver Star."
Bloomberg is reporting that European stock markets slumped noticeably today after the U.S. government reported an almost flat job creation rate in July. After forecasting an expected gain of some 241,000 jobs in July, only 21,000 were added (according to MSNBC): "The labor force participation rate, which generally rises in good economic times, fell to 65.9 percent of the nation's adult population, the lowest since 1988." Oops. Makes a certain recently minted slogan look particularly ill-chosen: "We've turned the corner, and we're NOT going back!"
Yesterday, as he signed the $417 billion defense spending bill into law, El Presidente spoke the unintended and unvarnished truth: "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we," Bush said. "They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."
Alan Keyes (who once ripped Hillary Clinton as a carpetbagger) has decided to run for Senate in Hillary's real home state of Illinois, even though he lives in Maryland. Obama now faces oh brother.
Friday, August 06, 2004
Thursday, August 05, 2004
John McCain Condemns Anti-Kerry Ad
A group calling itself the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" -- none of whom, incidentally, served on John Kerry's swift boat in 'Nam -- have produced a TV ad that is set to run in Ohio, West Virginia, and Wisconsin that accuses Kerry of lying about his decorated Vietnam War record and betraying his fellow veterans by later opposing the conflict.
This tactic has brought Sen. John McCain roaring out of his seat, denouncing the ad as scurrilous and calling on El Presidente to denounce it too. This kind of campaigning, you see, is something John McCain knows about, since it's very similar to the lies the Bush campaign told about McCain during the South Carolina primary four years ago.
"It was the same kind of deal that was pulled on me," McCain said in an interview with The Associated Press, referring to his bitter Republican primary fight with President Bush. "Dishonest and deplorable," McCain added.
Asked if the White House knew about the ad or helped find financing for it, McCain said, "I hope not, but I don't know. But I think the Bush campaign should specifically condemn the ad."
For the record, all the veterans who actually served with Kerry on that swift boat have endorsed his election, with the one exception of the crewman who is now deceased.
This tactic has brought Sen. John McCain roaring out of his seat, denouncing the ad as scurrilous and calling on El Presidente to denounce it too. This kind of campaigning, you see, is something John McCain knows about, since it's very similar to the lies the Bush campaign told about McCain during the South Carolina primary four years ago.
"It was the same kind of deal that was pulled on me," McCain said in an interview with The Associated Press, referring to his bitter Republican primary fight with President Bush. "Dishonest and deplorable," McCain added.
Asked if the White House knew about the ad or helped find financing for it, McCain said, "I hope not, but I don't know. But I think the Bush campaign should specifically condemn the ad."
For the record, all the veterans who actually served with Kerry on that swift boat have endorsed his election, with the one exception of the crewman who is now deceased.
"We Pledge Allegiance to the United States of Dick"
This story was featured on "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart last night, so I went looking for the Albuquerque Journal source, and here 'tis:
Citizens seeking tickets to an appearance of Dick Cheney at Rio Rancho Mid-High School in Albuquerque July 29th were told they would have to sign a loyalty pledge to vote for Bush/Cheney first. It only became news when a reporter for the newspaper was informed he couldn't attend without signing the pledge.
Call this the USA Patriot Act as applied to campaign events, since the Republicans' excuse for demanding signed loyalty oaths was based on the fear of "terrorism": "State Rep. Dan Foley, R-Roswell, speaking on behalf of the Republican Party, said Thursday that a 'known Democrat operative group' was intending to try to crash Saturday's campaign rally."
Who knew Democrats had such a hold on Republican imaginations!
"...some who left ... without tickets on Thursday said they're not affiliated with an operative group and should have a right to see their vice president without pledging their allegiance to Bush. 'I'm outraged at this. I'm being closed off by my own government. It's crazy,' said East Mountains resident Pamela Random, who added that she is an unaffiliated voter. John Wade of Albuquerque said he initially signed the endorsement but was having second thoughts before he even left the office. Wade, a Democrat, said he returned his tickets and demanded to get his endorsement form back. 'It's not right for me to have to sign an endorsement to hear [Cheney] speak,' Wade said. 'I'm still pissed. This just ain't right.' "
Citizens seeking tickets to an appearance of Dick Cheney at Rio Rancho Mid-High School in Albuquerque July 29th were told they would have to sign a loyalty pledge to vote for Bush/Cheney first. It only became news when a reporter for the newspaper was informed he couldn't attend without signing the pledge.
Call this the USA Patriot Act as applied to campaign events, since the Republicans' excuse for demanding signed loyalty oaths was based on the fear of "terrorism": "State Rep. Dan Foley, R-Roswell, speaking on behalf of the Republican Party, said Thursday that a 'known Democrat operative group' was intending to try to crash Saturday's campaign rally."
Who knew Democrats had such a hold on Republican imaginations!
"...some who left ... without tickets on Thursday said they're not affiliated with an operative group and should have a right to see their vice president without pledging their allegiance to Bush. 'I'm outraged at this. I'm being closed off by my own government. It's crazy,' said East Mountains resident Pamela Random, who added that she is an unaffiliated voter. John Wade of Albuquerque said he initially signed the endorsement but was having second thoughts before he even left the office. Wade, a Democrat, said he returned his tickets and demanded to get his endorsement form back. 'It's not right for me to have to sign an endorsement to hear [Cheney] speak,' Wade said. 'I'm still pissed. This just ain't right.' "
Republican In-Fighting in the 10th District
In the run-up to the August 17th run-off in the 10th Congressional District between former Catawba County Sheriff David Huffman and state Rep. Patrick McHenry, all three Republican candidates who ran against Huffman in the July 20th primary have signed a complaint to the Federal Elections Commission alleging that Huffman failed to properly disclose the source of more than $266,000 collected during the primary campaign.
The race is to succeed Rep. Cass Ballenger.
"These funds received by Huffman in the form of uncollateralized, undocumented, no interest, no due date and still-secret loans constitute unlawful and excessive political contributions," said the complaint filed by The Williams Law Firm in Hickory and signed by the other candidates including McHenry.
This causes us to recall that Virginia Foxx was the subject of a complaint to the FEC (wasn't it?) about her commingling of funds from her state senate campaign committee and her U.S. House race. Whatever happened with that?
The race is to succeed Rep. Cass Ballenger.
"These funds received by Huffman in the form of uncollateralized, undocumented, no interest, no due date and still-secret loans constitute unlawful and excessive political contributions," said the complaint filed by The Williams Law Firm in Hickory and signed by the other candidates including McHenry.
This causes us to recall that Virginia Foxx was the subject of a complaint to the FEC (wasn't it?) about her commingling of funds from her state senate campaign committee and her U.S. House race. Whatever happened with that?
Wednesday, August 04, 2004
Alabama Sen. Shelby Leaked Classified Info
When is it NOT a crime to leak classified intelligence information? According to the Bush/Ashcroft Justice Department, it's not a crime if you happen to be a Republican senator from Alabama.
The Washington Post is reporting this evening that Sen. Richard Shelby first divulged classified intercepted messages to FOX News reporter Carl Cameron, who didn't use the info, and then to CNN reporter Dana Bash, who put it on the air some 30 minutes after she heard it from Shelby.
"Last month it was revealed that the Justice Department had decided to forgo a criminal prosecution, at least for now, and turned the matter over to the Senate Ethics Committee." Can't imagine why.
What did Shelby tell? The disclosure involved two messages that were intercepted by the National Security Agency on the eve of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks but were not translated until Sept. 12. The Arabic-language messages said 'The match is about to begin' and 'Tomorrow is zero hour.' "
When Shelby spilled these particular beans to the FOX & CNN reporters, he had just stepped out of a classified briefing by the CIA, where he had learned these nuggets. Shelby's motive? He wanted to underscore his belief that the intelligence services were incompetent. Fair enough. But he also underscored just what the CIA is (or was) able to gather on a daily basis, even if they can't seem to get the stuff translated fast enough.
The Washington Post is reporting this evening that Sen. Richard Shelby first divulged classified intercepted messages to FOX News reporter Carl Cameron, who didn't use the info, and then to CNN reporter Dana Bash, who put it on the air some 30 minutes after she heard it from Shelby.
"Last month it was revealed that the Justice Department had decided to forgo a criminal prosecution, at least for now, and turned the matter over to the Senate Ethics Committee." Can't imagine why.
What did Shelby tell? The disclosure involved two messages that were intercepted by the National Security Agency on the eve of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks but were not translated until Sept. 12. The Arabic-language messages said 'The match is about to begin' and 'Tomorrow is zero hour.' "
When Shelby spilled these particular beans to the FOX & CNN reporters, he had just stepped out of a classified briefing by the CIA, where he had learned these nuggets. Shelby's motive? He wanted to underscore his belief that the intelligence services were incompetent. Fair enough. But he also underscored just what the CIA is (or was) able to gather on a daily basis, even if they can't seem to get the stuff translated fast enough.
Mitre-Heads Get Nasty
Three Southern Catholic bishops, led by the Bishop of Atlanta John F. Donoghue (and including the Bishop of Charlotte Peter Jugis and the Bishop of Charleston Robert J. Baker), have issued a draconian declaration that any Catholic politician not toeing the line on the church's doctrine on abortion cannot receive communion until "they publicly recant their views" (the application of thumb-screws was not mentioned, though this comes close enough to auto-da-fe), PLUS "get permission from a bishop before again receiving Communion."
The only politicians singled out, natch! were those in favor of abortion rights. For those of you slow on the uptake, that would mean Democrats. None of those Southern Catholic Republicans who hate abortion but love a good capital murder execution from time to time were even mentioned, yet the bishops' statement implicitly condemned capital punishment too: "We declare that Catholics serving in public life espousing positions contrary to the teaching of the Church on the sanctity and inviolability of human life, especially those running for or elected to public office, are not to be admitted to Holy Communion in any Catholic church within our jurisdiction," the bishops wrote.
"But we're only singling out abortion rights and not capital punishment, because, after all, we're in the friggin SOUTH, and we KNOW how to play politics in the friggin South," the bishops could have (but didn't, so far as we know) add.
The only politicians singled out, natch! were those in favor of abortion rights. For those of you slow on the uptake, that would mean Democrats. None of those Southern Catholic Republicans who hate abortion but love a good capital murder execution from time to time were even mentioned, yet the bishops' statement implicitly condemned capital punishment too: "We declare that Catholics serving in public life espousing positions contrary to the teaching of the Church on the sanctity and inviolability of human life, especially those running for or elected to public office, are not to be admitted to Holy Communion in any Catholic church within our jurisdiction," the bishops wrote.
"But we're only singling out abortion rights and not capital punishment, because, after all, we're in the friggin SOUTH, and we KNOW how to play politics in the friggin South," the bishops could have (but didn't, so far as we know) add.
Robinson Has Got National Conservatives Arguing
According to the Raleigh N&O, 5th District congressional candidate Vernon Robinson has sparked a debate among national conservative leaders, with Jack Kemp on the thumbs-down side and Pat Buchanan on the thumbs-up side. Robinson "lost the support of Jack Kemp, who endorsed Robinson but changed his mind after deciding that Robinson is among the 'protectionist xenophobes' who are dividing the Republican Party." "Xenophobe" = "A person unduly fearful or contemptuous of strangers or foreigners, especially as reflected in his political or cultural views." That's ole Vern to a T!
But "that's OK with Pat Buchanan, who weighed in on Robinson's behalf in a column this week in The American Conservative."
In the meantime, we hear Virginia Foxx has gotten the Cruella de Ville endorsement, just to keep things balanced.
But "that's OK with Pat Buchanan, who weighed in on Robinson's behalf in a column this week in The American Conservative."
In the meantime, we hear Virginia Foxx has gotten the Cruella de Ville endorsement, just to keep things balanced.
Credibility Watch; Or, The Little Shrub That Cried Wolf
This lead paragraph from a story in this morning's WashPost pretty much sums up my incredulity from yesterday (see the previous post):
"The White House's failure to make it clear that the dramatic terrorism alert Sunday was based largely on information that predated the Sept. 11 attacks is a case study in the difficulty of managing such warnings for an administration whose credibility is a central issue in a difficult presidential campaign."
Bottomline: who believes these guys, particularly with this track-record on WMDs, Niger yellowcake, and the cost of the drug prescription benefit added to Medicare? Everybody I know whose opinion I trust say Karl Rove would do ANYTHING to win this election for El Presidente. ANYTHING.
Only Howard Dean had the cojones on Sunday to call this latest ramping up of the terrorist threat what it transparently is: "...former Vermont governor and presidential candidate Howard Dean strongly suggest[ed] political motives behind the announcement. 'I am concerned that every time something happens that's not good for President Bush, he plays this trump card, which is terrorism,' Dean said Sunday."
Howard Dean and Jon Stewart ... virtually the only guys we know who'll give it to us straight.
"The White House's failure to make it clear that the dramatic terrorism alert Sunday was based largely on information that predated the Sept. 11 attacks is a case study in the difficulty of managing such warnings for an administration whose credibility is a central issue in a difficult presidential campaign."
Bottomline: who believes these guys, particularly with this track-record on WMDs, Niger yellowcake, and the cost of the drug prescription benefit added to Medicare? Everybody I know whose opinion I trust say Karl Rove would do ANYTHING to win this election for El Presidente. ANYTHING.
Only Howard Dean had the cojones on Sunday to call this latest ramping up of the terrorist threat what it transparently is: "...former Vermont governor and presidential candidate Howard Dean strongly suggest[ed] political motives behind the announcement. 'I am concerned that every time something happens that's not good for President Bush, he plays this trump card, which is terrorism,' Dean said Sunday."
Howard Dean and Jon Stewart ... virtually the only guys we know who'll give it to us straight.
Tuesday, August 03, 2004
Puppets on a String?
Mighty suspicious, this current ramping up of the terrorist threat on certain financial institutions in New York, Washington, and Newark (NEWARK?) ... based on, according to the New York Times, intel that's fully THREE YEARS OLD!
"Much of the information that led the authorities to raise the terror alert at several large financial institutions in the New York City and Washington areas was three or four years old, intelligence and law enforcement officials said on Monday. They reported that they had not yet found concrete evidence that a terrorist plot or preparatory surveillance operations were still under way....
"Federal authorities said on Monday that they had uncovered no evidence that any of the surveillance activities described in the documents was currently under way. They said officials in New Jersey had been mistaken in saying on Sunday that some suspects had been found with blueprints and may have recently practiced 'test runs'' aimed at the Prudential building in Newark."
Not that the Rovians would EVER use the terrorist threat as political manipulation, right? It would be practically treasonous to even suggest that, right? Assinine, at the very least!
Proof of how trumped up and phony all this high alert at certain banking institutions in New York City is El Presidente's dispatching of Laura and The Twins to cheer on the brave bankers who showed up for work. Safe photo-ops for the Age of Terrorism (or terrorism as it's practiced during a reelection campaign) -- send the wife and kids out to the building you think is about to be blown up! Ri-i-i-ight!
"Much of the information that led the authorities to raise the terror alert at several large financial institutions in the New York City and Washington areas was three or four years old, intelligence and law enforcement officials said on Monday. They reported that they had not yet found concrete evidence that a terrorist plot or preparatory surveillance operations were still under way....
"Federal authorities said on Monday that they had uncovered no evidence that any of the surveillance activities described in the documents was currently under way. They said officials in New Jersey had been mistaken in saying on Sunday that some suspects had been found with blueprints and may have recently practiced 'test runs'' aimed at the Prudential building in Newark."
Not that the Rovians would EVER use the terrorist threat as political manipulation, right? It would be practically treasonous to even suggest that, right? Assinine, at the very least!
Proof of how trumped up and phony all this high alert at certain banking institutions in New York City is El Presidente's dispatching of Laura and The Twins to cheer on the brave bankers who showed up for work. Safe photo-ops for the Age of Terrorism (or terrorism as it's practiced during a reelection campaign) -- send the wife and kids out to the building you think is about to be blown up! Ri-i-i-ight!
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