By A Country Mile

Whew! I've predicted for months that Kerry is gonna win by 15%. I know that's a meaningless number, but I use it to describe the mandate that I think he will get, you know the real kind, from the American people. Not the kind Bush thinks he got, from hired judges.

At last, someone with access to a printing press agrees with me and has the guts to say so, albeit not as stridently as I have, but no one listens to me anyway. Byron Williams in Working For Change:

At the risk of looking like a fool, I am prepared to respectfully disagree with conventional wisdom to offer the following contrarian perspective: The election will not be close.

When we want to keep a president, we keep him; Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Johnson, Nixon, Reagan and Clinton are prime examples. Likewise, when we want him out, he's out: Hoover, Carter and Bush 41.

I don't believe we will be in court discussing hanging, dimpled or pregnant chads on Nov. 3.

Thank you, Byron

A cheap and tawdry political trick

From a real live lesbian; Genia at Sisters Talk:

[. . .]

Cheney needs to get off his high horse. It took Dick Cheney and his wife months and months to finally stand up and speak out against the proposed constitutional ban against gays and lesbians -- well after it was defeated in the Senate (a lot of help that did us!). And now, Dick and his wife are angry that Kerry made a reference to their lesbian daughter, who I might add was paid $150,000 a year to help the very duo that fought for the passing of that legislation.

Cry me a river for Mary Cheney. Mary will be fine. All she needs is a little massage at the country club and a quick vacation in Tahiti. She'll be her old self in no time.

'Nuff said.

Update: 18:45:

Skippy.

Bait Casting And Buttplugs

It's another slow news day. Fixer got to the good shit first, so I'm just screwing around reading different stuff. I'm almost to Field and Stream.

This one's big fun: Go read Wolcott. Scroll down and keep reading. How can you lose with shit like this:

So stay tuned, and take a tip from Bill O'Reilly: always remember to rinse buttplug before re-using--it's the considerate thing to do.

We haven't sunk to reporting on O'Reilly yet. If you want that kind of fun dirt, go here.

Check Out The FNG

Got onto a new blog through DemVet. Check it out and report back. The proper response is:"Aye, aye, sir."

Support our troops. Yeah, right.

A 17-member Army Reserve platoon with troops from Jackson and around the Southeast deployed to Iraq is under arrest for refusing a "suicide mission" to deliver fuel, the troops' relatives said Thursday.

The soldiers refused an order on Wednesday to go to Taji, Iraq — north of Baghdad — because their vehicles were considered "deadlined" or extremely unsafe, said Patricia McCook of Jackson, wife of Sgt. Larry O. McCook.

Sgt. McCook, a deputy at the Hinds County Detention Center, and the 16 other members of the 343rd Quartermaster Company from Rock Hill, S.C., were read their rights and moved from the military barracks into tents, Patricia McCook said her husband told her during a panicked phone call about 5 a.m. Thursday.

[. . .]

"I would not want any member of the military to be put in a dangerous situation ill-equipped," said [Rep. Bennie]Thompson, who was contacted by families. "I have had similar complaints from military families about vehicles that weren't armor-plated, or bullet-proof vests that are outdated. It concerns me because we made over $150 billion in funds available to equip our forces in Iraq. [my emphasis]

[. . .]

Aviation regiments have complained of being forced to fly dangerous missions over Iraq with outdated night-vision goggles and old missile-avoidance systems. Stories of troops' families purchasing body armor because the military didn't provide them with adequate equipment have been included in recent presidential debates.

Patricia McCook said her husband, a staff sergeant, understands well the severity of disobeying orders. But he did not feel comfortable taking his soldiers on another trip.

[. . .]

From the Mississippi Clarion Ledger via Corrente.

Guys like me who are adrenaline junkies go for the 'suicide mission' stuff. Guys who signed up for the quartermaster corps ain't about that and rightly so. While the Jarheads say 'every Marine a rifleman', the Army ain't like that. You can't expect these guys to go out in machines that are unsafe. This all goes back to the top, the civilians in the Pentagon and the morons in the White House who learned all they know about making war from Hollywood movies. Our kids' lives are being squandered and they don't even have decent equipment. Bush and Co should not only be voted out of office, but tried for war crimes committed against both sides.

And by the way. When a sergeant has to put his foot down and say 'enough', what does that say about the officers?

And while we're on the Iraq clusterfuck:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Friday ordered a freeze on assets of the militant group led by Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, which has claimed responsibility for a series of bombings, kidnappings and beheadings in Iraq

He's been bedeviling our people since we went into Iraq and they're just moving to sieze his assets today? And people say Bush is the best one to fight the 'War on Terra' (© DemVet)? Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha.

Haben Sie deine Fuehrerschein?

Or, do you haff ze papers? From Xan at Corrente:

[. . .]

Well, whew! I feel so much better now. If you haven't done anything wrong you have nothing to worry about, do you?

For details on how such documents have been used in the past, google "Soviet Union" and "internal passports."

Then google or otherwise access the works of T. Jefferson, B. Franklin, P. Henry and other such radicals on the topic of of liberty, security, and people getting what they deserve. Or get used to hearing the words from anybody in a uniform, "Let me see your papers."

And you know the Right will spin this to mean the Democrats are so far left that they want a Communist state. After all, it was the Dems who wanted the 9/11 Commission, right?

The Worst Presidente Mexico Ever Had

Not exactly high praise for Dubya, El Fisgon (The Peeper) says he's the worst Mexican President in history. From Mother Jones.

Mexican political culture has very defined features and the President of the United States has absorbed them all: The classical Mexican political boss usually inherits his power from his father. The typical Mexican cacique has a love for guns as well as an inclination toward violence and cruelty; he despises legality and intellectual activity, has a personal history of alcoholism and dissipation, lies systematically, and declares himself a faithful servant of God. (Did we miss anything?)

According to Mexican tradition, politicians always reach their positions thanks to a fraudulent electoral process and then surround themselves with a clique which uses its power to conduct "business" on a staggering scale while in office. The Florida electoral thievery and Halliburton's Iraq contract are classic examples of Mexican corruption.

The difference is, if Dubya was president of Mexico, someone would have stood him up against a wall and shot him by now.

Dude, ya got any change?

How's that job going? Pissed at the boss, want to get away from that secretary you used to boink, looking for a place to make more money? Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha. If you got a job, suck it up, if you don't, well, maybe you might want to think about community college.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of people filing an initial claim for U.S. jobless aid rose more than expected to 352,000 last week, a government report showed on Thursday.

Initial jobless claims rose 15,000 from an upwardly revised 337,000 in the prior week, the Labor Department said. Economists forecast a climb to 340,000 from the originally reported 335,000 in the week ended Oct. 2.

[. . .]

The moving average was at its highest since 355,500 in the week ended Feb. 28. [my emphasis]

[. . .]

Great numbers, President Livin' Large. And these folks who have lost their jobs and their unemployment benefits have run out, they'll get a job if they get a degree? Hmmm. How they gonna pay for it, Helmet Head?

That's just as brainy as having people start 'healthcare savings accounts' for catastrophic illness. Where are they gonna get that money, bitch? Yeah, President Resolute, gonna give 'em a $300 tax rebate and they can save for school and healthcare. Where will they get that money when they have to pay for shit like gold-plated prescription drugs, diamond-infused gasoline, and those annoying food/rent/heat/light/transportation things.

It's like the cast of fucking Hee Haw is running the fucking country. Howdeeee!

Will Canadian Aspirin Give You A Hard-On?

Ha! That got your attention, huh?

In light of Bush's comment, on the way to his third debate loss, that he has been thinking about getting flu vaccine from Canuckistan, this editorial in the LATimes is timely.

The Food and Drug Administration has been sending bullying letters to governors whose states try to establish safe ways of importing drugs from established pharmacies. The most recent such letter, sent to Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, called his state's newly launched I-SaveRx program "illegal." If Bush actually believes that, let's see him put Blagojevich in handcuffs and have the governor do the perp walk into federal court.

They ain't got the balls, cuz that would blow the whole "Medicare Reform" up in their greedy little faces and expose the scam for the taxpayer and senior citizen rip-off it really is.

See, Fixer, we got plenty of windmills left to tilt at.

Op Truth A/V

Go to Operation Truth to hear Specialist Acosta on the Iraq War. Then scroll down and hear a former SEAL sound off on the media.

What do we do?

After John Kerry's success in the debates and the growing momentum, I allowed myself, for the first time, to speculate what could be should he actually win the elections. Naturally, my thoughts came around (I always come around eventually) to the blogs, this one and The Fixer & Gordon. I mean, I got into this whole blogging thing to convince folks that this country is fucked up and we needed a big change in leadership.

I figure TF&G will stay regardless. Gordon and my lives have been too interesting over the years and we have some good stories and wisdom to share on the automotive and motorcycle worlds.

What do we do here if our team wins is another question. Do we turn into a cheering section for the White House? Do we continue our humble attempts to spread the word of a progressive agenda to the five of you? I mean, this is a political blog whose purpose was to highlight the lies of the Bush administration and better explain the facts to anyone who might stumble across it. With a Democratic administration, would we be irrelavant?

I don't have any answers yet, and what comes next will be a decision arrived at with Gordon, but I'd welcome input from anyone who has any. I figure I'd just throw the questions out there and get Gordon's deranged little mind ticking.

I'm down wit it, my dog

The President knows black people.

Fiscal discipline . . . not!

President Financial Genius is at it again. Can you say clusterfuck? From Bloomberg:

U.S. Government Reaches $7.38 Trillion Debt Limit (Update2)

Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. government reached the $7.384 trillion legal limit on how much it can borrow, forcing the Bush administration to shuffle funds among accounts and prompting fresh Democratic criticism of the president's economic policies.

To avoid exceeding the cap, the Treasury said it would temporarily suspend contributions to a government pension program. The department's plan to announce new debt sales in early November won't be affected. Congress isn't expected to increase the amount of debt the Treasury can sell to fund approved government spending until sometime next month.

[. . .]

So now they're robbing Peter to pay Paul. Let's just mortgage our great-grandchildren. Fucking asshole.

Link via Atrios.

Old Wobbly Will Vote For The First Time

Utah Phillips is an old folk singer, activist, hobo, and anarchist who just happens to live in the county seat of my home county. He has no use for Kerry or Bush, but feels that things are so bad right now that he will break his long-standing oath against participating in the system and vote for the first time in his (pretty long) life. I ran across this article by Carolyn Crane in The Nation.

This is not easy for me. I'm an anarchist and I've been an anarchist many, many years.

But, we are in a desperate situation here. And it's not just us in the United States. There are people all over the world who are affected by these people who have staged a coup on our government.

No, I won't give up the street. But in this instance, at this time, at this place, I think the situation is so dire that yes, I have registered to vote and I am prepared to stand in for one of the victims of the kind of brutality that the people in Washington bring to the world.

I feel lousy about it. I don't feel good about it all. I'm simply going to do it. And if there are consequences of my act, than I harvest those consequences. That too, is anarchy.

If Utah is going to vote, things are as bad as we think they are. Read the article.

I've been a fan of this guy forever. Once known as "The Golden Voice Of The Great Southwest", which was a put-on to begin with, these days he sounds like a train wreck in a gravel pit, but his message is as clear as ever.

Please check out some of his CD's here. Buy some.

My personal favorite CD is "The Moscow Hold" which is stories rather than songs. I pretty much roll around on the floor holding my sides and spewing milk out my nose every time I listen to it.

Update: Later

Go read the words to "The NPR Talking Blues". Or play and sing. It's folk music, only takes three chords.

Just a taste....

This is radio station H O B O
Broadcasting on a vagrancy of 60 to 90 days
Signing off
For now.

The morning after

Around the Liberal Blogosphere this morning, the consensus is about the same as Gordon's below. All the snap polls show Kerry taking the debate handily, 'cept for ABC who called it almost a tie, but their polls have repeatedly been closer than the others. I like this line from Kos:

Kerry was the Zen Master.

Gallup

CNN, CBS, ABC

And just one more tidbit from Kos:

Anyone notice how Bush's answer to everything was "education"? So if you are unemployed, it's because you're uneducated. If you've been discriminated against, you're uneducated. You have no healthy insurance? You're uneducated.

Interesting how A LOT OF PEOPLE GOT STUPID during Bush's presidency, huh?

We got a couple weeks. Time for Kerry to administer the coup de grace.

More poll links.

Trifecta

Kerry - 3, Bush - 0. Zip-point-shit, zilch, nada, bupkis.

Dubya did a lot better. He's been practicing and it showed. One thimg he should have practiced and obviously didn't was to answer the questions instead of just spewing his crap on whatever he felt like. If there were half a dozen more debates, he might come close to winning one. It was closer than the last two. Kerry had substance and style as usual. Bush threw numbers around and lied as usual.

We're coming into the final straightaway. They're tradin' paint and gassin' it. Kerry's gonna win. Bush is gonna blow. Hell, he blows now.

The cheerleader

Did you play football in college, daddy? No, I was a cheerleader. Look at the technique Bush has with the bullhorn at Yale.

Ve know vere du bist, mein liebchen

This may just be my tinfoil hat acting up again, but I got this from MSNBC.

FDA approves computer chip for humans
Devices could help doctors with stored medical information

Oh, I'm just ever so sure medical information would be the first step, and no doubt helpful. To be followed by the Location Finder, the Pain Generator, the Dopamine Reward-For-Being-A-Good-Citizen Injector, the Come-To-Papa-You-Naughty-Boy Summons Buzzer, and an A/V Feed to Ashcroft's office.

Is it just a coincidence that VeriChip's main office is in Florida? I think not.

Debate Prep

In preparation for tonight's debate, I cleaned the TV screen. Then I erected a chicken-wire screen in front of it like in a live-music shitkicker bar, as the ol' lady has taken to chucking her empty beer bottles at Dubya. Her aim's been improving lately, at least with the first ten or twelve.

The smart money (mine) is on Big John for the trifecta. I think he'll kick the chimp's ass again. I love to see him whine. I love the smell of toasted chimp in the morning.

More on vote fraud

Following up on Gordon's post this morning:

Fraudulent voter-registration forms. Duplicate absentee-ballot applications. Felons registered to vote. Uncertainty about election rules. A lawsuit and a ballot initiative that could change the way votes are counted.

[. . .]

Full story.

This election, just think 'Florida on steroids'. It's gonna be a fucking mess.

Update: 15:40:

WTF Is It Now?? has more.

Update: 19:35:

Kevin at Lean Left talks about a GOP-sponsored vote suppression scheme.