Free speech

From Pandagon:

So far as I know, this is wholly without precedent. For Sinclair Broadcast Group, whose stations penetrate almost 25% of the nation's homes, to demand that its stations preempt their programming in order to run a Moonie-made, SwiftVet inspired attack piece on John Kerry right before the election is a stunning foray into partisanship, particularly for such a powerful member of the "liberal media" (and a big fuck you to the conservatives who aren't vocally shitting their pants over such obvious media bias). After all, it was Sinclair who recently made news for refusing to air the Nightline special that recited the names of solders killed in Iraq. And it's Sinclair executives who, during the 2004 political cycle, have made $68,000 in political contributions, 97% of them to Republicans. And in that figure lies the Kerry campaign's great opportunity:

[. . .]

So, we all agree this is outrageous, right? But Xan at Corrente looks at it a little differently:

[. . .]

First off, given the topic, I don't think viewership is going to be all that great. People did the great Vietnam Rehashing back during the Swiftie Liars thing and those who could be persuaded to that view already were.

Second, look at the qualifications of the filmmaker here. I will defer to John Gorenfeld, expert in all things Moonie, if I'm wrong, but my bet is that this film will be so godawful as to be laughable. So over-the-top that it will boost Kerry votes in the areas where it's seen rather than the reverse Sinclair is counting on.

Thirdly--hey, remember the rules. We are lefties, we are in favor of free speech. The solution to bad speech is more speech. We don't cut off that with which we disagree, we outshout it.

Now is the time to deploy some of that Soros money. Find a competing station in every market Sinclair operates in and buy the time to run Going Upriver* in prime time as close to Oct. 30 as can be arranged.

[. . .]

What we should do with the Soros money (sorry for spending your shit, George) is put out ads highlighting the Sinclair move and tie it to the Bush administration better than we did with the Swift Boat Liars.

Short Takes

Just a "quicky" about the debate before the Mrs. and I go shopping. From AlterNet:

Bush still cannot admit a single mistake. His most outrageous spin (aka "lie") was attempting to argue that the new Duelfer Report, showing that Iraq was disarmed, that the Iraqis were not a grave and gathering threat, and that they had nothing to do with Osama bin Laden or 9/11, proved he did right going to war. No shame.

There's more where that came from.

And one more thing

[. . .]

KERRY: The goal of the sanctions was not to remove Saddam Hussein, it was to remove the weapons of mass destruction. And, Mr. President, just yesterday the Duelfer report told you and the whole world they worked. He didn't have weapons of mass destruction, Mr. President. That was the objective. [my emphasis]

[. . .]

I was just rereading the transcript and this struck me. Kerry should hammer this more. The sanctions aginast Saddam (begun by Bush I, BTW) did work. There was no need for the war, as most of us here on the left know. But I think Kerry should use more quotes from Bush 41 against Dubya. The Dem spinmeisters should make the point that Dubya is suffering from feelings of inadequacy toward his dad. Like a child, he refused to consider his father's position on Iraq and does just the opposite to prove his independence. Both Freud and Jung would have a ball with this and the DNC and Kerry campaign should as well.

Bush went to war in Iraq to get even with his dad. Do you want a President who acts like a petulant teenager?

From now until 2 Nov., the Dems should do their best to make Bush look unstable. Shouldn't be hard, Dubya has given us enough examples.

Dubya = Little Man, Little Dick, Napoleon Complex

Debate impressions

I watched parts of it, flipping back and forth to the Yankee game (Does that make me a flip-flopper?) before I fell asleep. Gordon summed it up best in his post-debate wrap-up.

For an in depth, quote-by-quote review, check out World O'Crap's take.

And here's the transcript if you want it.

Our example

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan's first direct presidential election was thrust into turmoil hours after it began Saturday, when the 15 candidates challenging interim leader Hamid Karzai said they would boycott the results, alleging fraud over the ink meant to ensure people voted only once.

[. . .]

The opposition candidates, meeting at the house of Uzbek candidate Abdul Satar Sirat, signed a petition saying they would not recognize the results of the vote, saying mix-ups with the ink used to mark voters' thumbs opened the way for widespread fraud.

"Today's election is not a legitimate election. It should be stopped and we don't recognize the results," said Sirat, who is an ex-aide to Afghanistan's last king.

[. . .]

Full story.

Yup, Bush says he's spreading democracy. Yes he is, and using Florida 2000 as an example. Did anyone really think these Afghan elections would come off without a hitch? And you know we'll have more of the same when they try it in Iraq. Not to mention our own elections in November. Think Diebold.

Thanks to Kevin Hayden at The American Street for the link.

Got Wood?

The debate tonight was a lot closer than the first one. Bush looked better than in that one, but that surely couldn't have been very hard to pull off.

Kerry "won". He didn't do the gran baile del sombrero that I requested, though. Maybe a Lambada.

I hate to admit this, but I thought Dubya got off the best line of the event.

Kerry was explaining what constitutes a "small business" under this administration. Just about anybody with non-wage income. The example he used was, "President Bush got eighty-four dollars from a lumber company he owns and that makes him a small business."

Bush got up and, with his smirk more good-natured than usual, said,"I've got a lumber company? Somebody should tell me these things."

He then looked at the audience and said, "Anybody need some wood?"

We're still gonna do the giant Busby Berkeley production number on him, though.

Tonight, Tonight......

Please, Big John, please, do a Mexican hat dance on Dubya's grille tonight in St. Looey.

If you do, the rest of us can do a Busby Berkeley number on him on November 2.

One More Reason Not To Say "I Do".....

Yesterday South Knox Bubba had a post with a link to an audio/visual clip of an air strike in Iraq. I wonder if this is the same deal?

You're gonna start now?

From AP via Josh Marshall:

U.S. Said to Develop Strategy for Iraq

It's been rumored for some time, but now we can confirm we're gonna develop one.

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration has developed a formal written strategy for Iraq that envisions using a mix of diplomacy and military force to try to wrest control of dozens of key cities from insurgents before planned January elections, a senior administration official said Friday. [my emphasis]

[. . .]

Shouldn't you have written something down in . . . say . . . Fall of 2002? This should read,' we're actually gonna do what everyone else in the world wanted us to do from the beginning, but we're too arrogant to care, and now we got to win reelection, so we can do what we want all over again'.

Fucking rat bastids.

Kipling on Afghanistan

Afghanistan is going to have elections any minute. This is a good thing, and the US and NATO actually helped in this effort. To honor this occasion I would like to do something completely Politically Incorrect and inappropriate, and thus the following verses from "The Young British Soldier" by Rudyard Kipling:

If your officer's dead and the sergeants look white,
Remember it's ruin to run from a fight:
So take open order, lie down, and sit tight,
And wait for supports like a soldier.
Wait, wait, wait like a soldier...

When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
An' go to your Gawd like a soldier.
Go, go, go like a soldier,
Go, go, go like a soldier,
Go, go, go like a soldier,
So-oldier of the Queen!

I typed that 'cuz it's a long poem, but worth reading. You can read the rest of it at your local library or maybe online somewhere. It's probably not on Ashcroft's list 'cuz the Feds ain't that poetically literate.

Hope your election goes well, Afghanistan. Shit, I hope OURS does.

Get Some, LT

From Bushwars:

Marine back from Iraq says No More Bush

Marine intelligence collection officer Andrew Borene talks about Bush's many failures in Iraq

There was a window of opportunity where the Iraqi people genuinely wanted assistance, and we could have exploited that opportunity and used it to the advantage of the Iraqi people and of the U.S. forces in Iraq.

They spent more time on the information campaign, on deceiving the American people about what was happening in Iraq, than they did on actually trying to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people.

Another issue I had is, in the last 12 months, $34 billion worth of heroin has been exported from Afghanistan.

And that $34 billion worth of heroin, how does it get exported? It gets exported through clandestine shipping networks, the same kind of clandestine shipping networks that one would need to smuggle weapons of mass destruction. So the bottom line for me is, America is less safe because of the way this administration has prosecuted the war on terror.

I guess I used to be what they call “Republican in name only.” Kind of a Ramstad Republican, you know--socially liberal and fiscally conservative. Unfortunately the issues in this election are just too big for that.

This guy ain't sittin' on no shitter with a magic marker. The Marine Corps is the President's Hell's Angels. When he loses them, he loses.

Turning the corner

------------------------------------------------------
MSNBC Breaking News
------------------------------------------------------

U.S. economy created only 96,000 new jobs in September - In a blow to President Bush, the U.S. economy created only 96,000 new jobs in September, fewer than economists had predicted.

So tell me again how good the economy is, Mr. Bush, you rat bastid.

Doubleplusungood Dick

This from Slate:

And now for your fun headline, only online and only briefly last night from the NYT: "CHENEY SAYS REPORT FINDING NO ILLICIT ARMS IN IRAQ JUSTIFIES WAR."

What more could I possibly add to that? Yeesh.

Scare update

Re: my post from last night.

(ABC News- October 7, 2004) — The Department of Education has sent a letter to educators across the country which will likely cause some concern about how they keep their children safe.

[. . .]

The discovery of the school plans was made in July by the military, but did not take on real urgency until after the September attack on the school children in Beslan . . . [my emphasis]

So, they found this in July. The atrocities in Beslan happened over a month ago. Yet, they wait until now to issue this alert? Jesus H. Christ, did it take you this long to make the 'obvious' connection? And what, were our kids safer in their schools over the month of September than they are now? No, folks, this has the aroma of partisan political dirty tricks.

In the spirit of Lexington & Concord

WHATCOM COUNTY - The FBI wants to know who checked out a book from a small library about Osama Bin Laden. But the library isn't giving out names, saying the government has no business knowing what their patrons read.

The library in Deming isn't much larger than a family home. Located in rural Whatcom County, it hardly seems the site for a showdown with the feds.

[. . .]

Full story.

Yes, indeed. The new Minutemen are the librarians. As the Bush administration prepares to spin book burning in a way the True Believers will swallow whole without question, the Brownshirts are already beginning a preemptive strike against free speech. Thank God the librarians are willing to fight.

Thanks to Kevin at The American Street for the link.

God

This is from one of my dear friends, The King of the Jews, who lives in L.A., and who is a Republican by the way.

Once upon a time, God was missing for six days. Eventually, Michael,
the archangel, found him, resting on the seventh day.

He inquired of God. "Where have you been?"

God sighed a deep sigh of satisfaction, and proudly pointed downwards
through the clouds, "Look, Michael. Look what I've made."

Archangel Michael looked puzzled, and said, "What is it?"

"It's a planet," replied God, "and I've put Life on it. I'm going to
call it Earth and it's going to be a great place of balance."

"Balance?" inquired Michael, still confused.

God explained, pointing to different parts of earth. "For example,
northern Europe will be a place of great opportunity and wealth, while southern
Europe is going to be poor. Over there I've placed a continent of
white people, and over there is a continent of black people."

"Balance in all things," God continued pointing to different
countries.

"This one will be extremely hot, while this one will be very cold and
covered in ice."

The Archangel, impressed by God's work, then pointed to a land mass
and said, "What's that one?"

"Ah," said God "That's Washington State, the most glorious place on
earth. There are beautiful streams, hills, and forests. The people from
Washington State are going to be handsome, modest, intelligent and humorous, and
they are going to be found traveling the world. They will be extremely
sociable, hardworking, high achieving, and they will be known throughout the
world as diplomats, and carriers of peace."

Michael gasped in wonder and admiration, but then proclaimed, "What
about balance, God? You said there would be balance."

God smiled, "There is another Washington...wait til you see the idiots
I put there."

Bush Getting Desperate

This from Howard Fineman of MSNBCand Newsweek

As things now stand, Bush is left with only one argument and justification for having launched a war that has cost 1,000 lives, $150 billion and whatever goodwill America had won in the aftermath of 9/11. His last-resort reason: Saddam Hussein might have developed weapons that he might have given to terrorists that might attack the United States. And even that reasoning is undermined by the new report of the Iraq Survey Group, which says that Saddam's capacities, whatever they might have been, were withering, not "gathering," under the weight of inspections.

We now know to a relative certainty that there were no WMD, no relationship with al-Qaida to speak of, no close ties to other major terrorists, and that, in the view of Paul Bremer — Bush's own man in Baghdad and a fellow Yalie — the Bush administration pretty much botched the occupation.

One new poll out shows that half the American people now think the war in Iraq was a mistake; as that number rises, and it will, Bush's fortunes will decline, as they are now doing. History shows that only one challenger in modern times has been behind in the AP poll on Labor Day and come back to win. That challenger was Ronald Reagan. Now Kerry is no Reagan, not by a long shot. But if people conclude that Bush was profoundly wrong to have gone to Iraq, Kerry doesn't have to be Reagan.

Thank the powers that be.

Cheney won the veep debate on style points — he was suitably grave and grown up — but as the event fades into obscurity it's clear that John Edwards did what he had to do: Remind voters again and again that Iraq is a flat-out mess.

That was my favorite paragraph and I only put it in because it uses the words Cheney and grave in the same sentence! Thanks, Howie.

This Fineman guy ain't exactly no berserk Lefty, but I've noticed that even the mainstream media is starting to notice the obvious. Trained journalists, every one of 'em. Blinder'n bats, a lot of 'em, when it comes to the Cabal, but the scales are falling off their eyes just in time. I hope they can keep it up for a few more weeks. They still have a lot to make up for.

It's worth going to the article just to see the look on Dubya's face.

Time for your weekly scare

They will come with more regularity the closer we get to Election Day. From AP:

WASHINGTON - The Education Department has advised school leaders nationwide to watch for people spying on their buildings or buses to help detect any possibility of terrorism like the deadly school siege in Russia.

The warning follows an analysis by the FBI and the Homeland Security Department of the siege that killed nearly 340 people, many of them students, in the city of Beslan last month.

[. . .]

The safety advice is based on lessons learned from the Russia incident. But there is "no specific information indicating that there is a terrorist threat to any schools or universities in the United States," Hickok said. [my emphasis]

[. . .]

I wonder what excuse Bush will use to kick up the terror alert around Halloween? We'll probably be at Code Red by Election Day, Bush hoping that people will be too scared to leave their houses and vote. Look for a 'terrorist incident' around then too.

Besides The World Going To Hell In A Bucket, It's A Slow News Day....

Steve Harvey's column in the LATimes has this jewel:

Wherefore art thou Plungeo? I won't keep you in suspense any longer. The winner of the Fluidmaster Flush-Off in San Juan Capistrano Wednesday was Corey Rouse of Toluca Lake.

Fluidmaster, a maker of toilet-repair kits, gave Rouse $1,000 for his vocal imitation of a flushing toilet.

In a salute to Shakespeare, Rouse titled his performance: "Plungeo and Swirliet." The drama began with Swirliet, as Rouse made the sounds of what he called a "troubled flush." To the rescue came the kachunk-kachunk-kachunk sounds of "Plungeo." Problem cleared up. Well, it brought a tear to my eye.

Thanks, Steve, I needed that. Only in L.A.

Last reminder

New Yorkers!!!! Tomorrow is your last day to register to vote in the upcoming election. If you haven't, do it.

If you want to know how YOU can help get out the vote, click here.