Thursday, September 30, 2004

Don't Forget Poland!

During tonight's debate, the President took pains to remind us that Poland was an early supporter of the war against Iraq. But as Julian Sanchez points out, the President might want to check in with Polish President Kwasniewski, who reportedly said this earlier in the year:
ALEKSANDER KWASNIEWSKI (translated): They deceived us about the weapons of mass destruction, that's true. We were taken for a ride.
That's one of President Bush's supporters! And it's not the only time President Kwasniewski has been less than forthright with his support for President Bush's war. I'm glad we're reminded of Poland.

Questions We'd Like to Have Asked

I say let Scott Bateman ask the questions at tonight's debate.

Iraq: What it's really like?

Wall Street Journal correspondent Farnaz Fassihi wrote a letter to friends telling them what it's really like. And it's not a pretty picture.
"I am house bound.... There has been one too many close calls, including a car bomb so near our house that it blew out all the windows. So now my most pressing concern every day is not to write a kick-ass story but to stay alive and make sure our Iraqi employees stay alive. In Baghdad I am a security personnel first, a reporter second."
Of course, the war's supporters are pointing to this as some sort of media bias. I guess they'd rather point to the danger as a reason to stay.

Bush's Top Ten Flip Flops

Thanks to Mark at Boing Boing for pointing out CBS's Top Ten Bush's Flip-Flops. Indeed, I'll take a considered opinion over stubbornness every time. But since the President's minions love to repeat the flip-flop line, it's notable that Mr. Bush isn't as stable as he'd have you believe.

Saturday, September 25, 2004

Send in the Kids!

It seems Prince Harry is going to join the Army. I don't have a good feeling about this. It has great tragedy written all over it. I truly hope he comes out the other end well and unharmed.

There are some who are saying it's time for the girls to answer the call of their country. Good luck.

Friday, September 24, 2004

The French Thing

Danzinger has a great cartoon today. The only thing is we need to substitute the elephants with the mainstream press. I assert the problem isn't the message, but the messenger. There have always been the guys spreading the lies. But how is it that this stuff even gets traction in the first place?

The 75% Solution

Famously, Donald Rumsfeld yesterday said it is possible that only "three-quarters or four-fifths" of Iraq will be able to vote in January's scheduled elections.
"Well, so be it. Nothing's perfect in life, so you have an election that's not quite perfect. Is it better than not having an election? You bet,"
Of course, the problem with Mr. Rumsfeld passive-aggressive response is that nobody credible is proposing not having an election. A better question may be "Is it better to have elections available to 75% of the population in January, or 90% in March, or 95% in July?"

When does Mr. Rumsfeld expect Iraq to be safe enough for 90 or 95 percent of Iraqis to be able to vote without fear of being killed, regardless of whether they actually exercise that choice? I'm not sure if it's feasible to delay the election. But it's a bit disingenuous to suggest that it's either 75-80% or nothing at all.

Wednesday, September 22, 2004

Swaggart: Killing is a Joke

Religious nutcase and sex maniac Jimmy Swaggart semi-apologized for Sept. 12 remarks where he said he's willing to kill gay men:
"I've never seen a man in my life I wanted to marry. And I'm going to be blunt and plain: If one ever looks at me like that, I'm going to kill him and tell God he died," Swaggart said to laughter and applause from the congregation.

He later said it was a humorous statement he's used thousands of times about all sorts of people. The "apology", such as it was, seemed conditional on whether what he said was insulting and offensive: "If it's an insult, I certainly didn't think it was, but if they are offended, then I certainly offer an apology."

Friday, September 17, 2004

Phil Parlock, Serial GOP Victim

For the third straight election, Phil Parlock has received national coverage for being assaulted at a Democratic rally. The latest incident received much coverage on Drudge and other places because of this picture of a crying little girl (awwww, isn't that sad?).

The problem is Mr. Parlock claims similar things happened in in 2000 at a Gore rally, and in 1996 at a pro-Clinton rally!! Additionally, Truthout has a mention about how Mr. Parlock was a local GOP headquarters, watching the RNC in New York, when someone reportedly fired a gun at the building. The coincidence of having Mister Parlock present (with reporters at the ready) at all these events has many people scratching their heads today.

Additionally, there's now speculation that this photograph of Mr. Parlock and his family actually shows that the "union member" who made the little girl cry is actually Parlock's son! I'm not sure if I'm ready to jump onto that particular bandwagon, but there's definitely a similarity. I hope this story in general (and photo in particular) gets the same scrutiny as the documents used by CBS recently.

UPDATE: According to Media Matters coverage of this story, in an interview with radio host Glenn Beck, when asked about his history of using children to hold anti-Democrat signs at pro-Democrat rallys, Mr Parlock had this to say:

PARLOCK: Glenn, look, I work on -- I, I, I said this before, I shouldn't tell my secrets, but -- I work on a subliminal level; I don't go after the press. The press is easy. Working on people to change their minds is harder.

So jacking the press is easy. Mr. Parlock and his clan want to work the people at a subliminal level. So far, so good. I'm feeling sleepy already.

Editors to Reporters: Stay away from the Boss!

Joe Strupp at Editor and Publisher has a piece today about the fairly large number of news editors who don't want their reporters attending Bruce Springsteen or other "political" concerts. So lemme get it straight, it's okay for Brit Hume to parachute with Bush Sr., but reporters better not be listening to "Born to Run"?

GI's: Re-enlist or Go Back to Iraq!

The Rocky Mountain News is reporting that "Soldiers from a Fort Carson combat unit say they have been issued an ultimatum - re-enlist for three more years or be transferred to other units expected to deploy to Iraq." While some may call this extortion, the Army says it's part of an "re-enlistment drive" and deny that the soliders were threatened.

Everyone Bad Wants Kerry to Win

Morton Kondracke is the latest to suggest that America's enemies want John Kerry to win. Pathetic strategy, more pathetic because it's probably effective.


Thursday, September 16, 2004

It's Official: Iraq Had No WMD

The AP is reporting that Charles Duelfer, the head of the Iraq Survey Group, is saying there was almost no sign that a significant nuclear weapons project was under way in pre-war Iraq. The 1500 page report may be released this month and is expected to say that Saddam had dormant programs he could have revived at a later time. The group did find violations involving banned materials and technologies, but they could not locate the Weapons of Mass Destruction which Donald Rumsfeld knew existed.

Cheney's Dealings With Terrorist Nations

David J. Sirota and Jonathan Baskin have a piece in The American Prospect about Vice President Dick Cheney's continuing flip-flopping over dealings with "terrorist" nations. In The Greed Factor they briefly review some of Halliburton's interest in doing business with Iraq and Iran following the first Gulf War, and how CEO Cheney argued that sanctions were ineffective compared to oil deals. These earlier positions are important to consider given the V.P's recent comments about how a Kerry victory would mean "we'll get hit again".

Wednesday, September 15, 2004

Three Americans Guilty of Running "Private Jail"

Three Americans accused of imprisioning Afghans in a private jail were found guilty Wednesday in a Kabul court. At least one defendant claims to have had high-level Pentagon support, and the U.S. military in Afghanistan has admitted receiving a prisoner from him, but says the Americans were freelancers operating outside the law.

WB kills antiwar doc for being anti war

When Warner Brothers distributes the re-issue of the 1999 film "Three Kings", it will not include David O. Russell's new antiwar documentary. Why? "This came out to be a documentary that condemns, basically, war" said the WB spoksperson. Hmmm, an antiwar documentary that's against war? Shocking! Mr. Russell is apparently looking into the possibility of an alternate distribution method.

Moore Denied Permission to Reprint NYT Apology

Michael Moore has been denied permission to reprint the NY Times "apology" regarding their botched reporting leading up to the current Iraq war. Saying that their mea culpa "was not intended to become part of a political battle", the Times is reportedly the only publication to deny reprint permission to Mr. Moore for his new book "The Official 'Fahrenheit 9/11' Reader".

Friday, September 10, 2004

Cheney Flip-Flops Over Kerry Threat

Vice President Cheney has, ummmm, clarified his position from earlier this week when he said:

"It’s absolutely essential that eight weeks from today, on November 2, we make the right choice, because if we make the wrong choice, then the danger is that we'll get hit again and we'll be hit in a way that will be devastating from the standpoint of the United States,"

Mr. Cheney is now saying "Whoever is elected president has to anticipate more attacks." Hmmm, seems like a flip-flopping change in position to me. Either that or he has believed that "Whoever is elected president" will be the "wrong choice" for the United States.

Wednesday, September 01, 2004

Disaster Action is Fun!!

Being a Disaster Action Kid is Fun! Thus is the assertion on the FEMA for Kids site. I know they want to engage the children, but do we need to be giving them the notion that disaters are fun!

I discovered this truly offensive statement while reading up on the Feds plans for National Preparedness Month, which begins in a couple of days. Of course the fact the Feds are raising the fear preparedness level just a few weeks before the election has nothing to do with the current administration trying to get re-elected. No, they're doing it because it's fun!