Bush's Speech

There's really not a lot to say about. He kept talking about his plans for the future, since he has zero accomplishments to point to in the last three years.

They're biggest selling point is that he happened to be President on 9.11.01. That's it.

He also claimed again to be a "compassionate conservative".

The number of Americans living in poverty increased by 1.3 million last year, while the ranks of the uninsured swelled by 1.4 million, the Census Bureau reported Thursday.

Approximately 35.8 million people lived below the poverty line in 2003, or about 12.5 percent of the population, according to the bureau.

With compassion like that, who needs enemies?

There's another great article here about how Bush spent more time talking about what Kerry may or may not have done had he maybe perhaps been President, than what Bush himself has accomplished.

Conan the Politician

I really should just give in and combine the "Politics" category with the "Corporate Whoredom" category. They're virtually indistinguishable now.

*thick Austrian accent* "When I was a boy, I wondered aloud which party is dedicated to taking money from huge oil companies and re-writing legislature to benefit said oil companies. Someone told me Republicans did that. I said, then I am a Republican."

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's ambitious plan to reorganize almost every aspect of state government was influenced significantly by oil and gas giant ChevronTexaco Corp., which managed to shape such key recommendations as the removal of restrictions on oil refineries.

Many corporations and interest groups participated in the governor's reform plan — known as the California Performance Review — but state records and interviews with the participants show Chevron enjoyed immense success in influencing the report through its array of lobbyists, attorneys and trade organizations.

I think that pretty much the rest of the country is just shaking it's head at California saying, "what the hell did you expect?"

Hurricane Frances

Apparently God is doing everything in his power to destroy Florida before they can botch another election.

First Hurricane Charley, now this.

Yikes.

9/11 and the RNC

The Republicans went all out last night to try and hammer home the point about how if you were against what happened on 9/11 then of course you had to support George Bush and the Iraqi invasion.

They also kept hammering in the point of how in the days following 9/11 there were no republicans or democrats, there were just Americans.

That's true. So why is that there's only one party trying to use 9/11 to garner party support? It's hard to stay non-partisan when one party insists on trying to use the tragedy of 9/11 for political gains.

Pot Says Kettle is Flip-Flopping

I think it's great that Bushco is trying so hard to paint Kerry has a flip-flopper. That means when they flip-flop, they're just flip-floppers they're hyporcrites too.

George W Bush flip-flopper extrordinaire:

April 13: At a prime-time news conference in the East Room of the White House on April 13, Mr. Bush said: "One of the interesting things people ask me, now that we are asking questions, is, 'Can you ever win the war on terror?' Of course you can."

July 14: Mr. Bush had drawn a far sunnier picture. "I have a clear vision and a strategy to win the war on terror," he said.

But those were all months ago. At least one month ago. What did Bush have to say about the war on terrorism today?

August 30: Mr. Bush was asked if the United States could win the war against terrorism, which he has made the focus of his administration and the central thrust of his re-election campaign.

"I don't think you can win it," Mr. Bush replied.

What?! You hear that Bush supporters? We can't win the war on terror! Straight from the emperor's mouth.

How should we explain this to the soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq?

Jenna Bush Looking Skank-o-licious

Did someone forget to tell Jenna that this wasn't a frat party she was going to? Is a tube top proper attire for the RNC? I mean I could see if they were having it in Texas, but...

And Barbara looks like she's trying to seduce someone three rows up.

Those Bush twins sure do like the drinky drinky.

9/11 Redux: Republican National Convention

Just watched McCain's and Guiliani's speeches. It completely blows my mind that after what happened to McCain in 2000 that he still can stand up and say the things he says.

It's kind of sad that McCain's biggest reaction of his entire speech was when he mentioned Michael Moore. It's nice that with all that's going on in the world the Republicans see how important it is to take pot shots at filmmakers.

Of course, most of the speeches of both McCain and Guiliani were the same old crap rebundled in a shiny new package for the convention. Their war cry is, "unless you want to get killed by a terrorist, re-elect Bush". They're trying to disguise fear and hatred as hope and love. Only at the RNC baby, only at the RNC.

After watching the convention tonight, you'd think that only Republicans lost their lives on 9/11. I thought two messages came across loud and clear tonight.

1. Unless you want to disrespect everyone who lost their lives on 9/11 you'll vote for Bush.

2. Unless you want Kerry to immediately start allowing terrorists attacks you'll vote for Bush.

Oh yeah, and of course, it was a "terribly tough" decision for Bush to decide to "liberate" the people of Iraq. That's why we are at war with them, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

Bo Derek on MSNBC

Bo Derek is being interviewed right now outside the convention. It's becoming clear to me that the movie that made her famous, "Perfect 10" was apparently about her I.Q.

AF Wallpaper

Click here to see the wallpaper. Then right click and choose "set as background".

It's Like a Super Sized Hangover

Who knew. Apparently hosting the Olympics is a lot like getting drunk and getting a high classed call girl.

WAPO Blog Nominations

So Jen, and it seems a few other people, have been kind enough to nominate AngryFinger for best political blog over at the Washington Post for some contest they're having.

Right now is not the actual voting, but to get to the voting you have to be in the top ten of the nominations.

So if you have the time and energy you can go nominate AngryFinger. It's a nice, free way to really help the site out.

Two Quick Things about the Coverage of Today's Protest

And then I'm done for the tonight, protesting is tiring.

This AP article really ticks me off.

First of all, you look at the title and it says, "Tens of Thousands Protest Bush in New York". That's all fine and good but it wasn't "Tens of Thousands, it was "Hundreds of Thousands", there's a bit of a difference. The first line of the article says, "More than 100,000 demonstrators marched...". So why would you say "tens of thousands"?

Then later in the article it says:

Several protesters carried flag-draped, coffin-shaped boxes through the streets, meant to draw attention to the U.S. death toll in Iraq.

Several? If you look at the pictures I took in the previous post, you'll see that several is not just an understatement it's a fabrication. There were caskets as far as you can see! How does that quantify into "several"?

I normally like AP's coverage of the news, but this is just silly.

Pictures from the RNC Protest March in NYC

I just got back from what was the biggest demonstration against Bushco while the RNC is in town. I've heard estimates that anywhere from 250,000 to 400,000 people were there. It was by far the most people I had ever seen in one place, all marching under the banner of United for Peace and Justice.

The easiest stop for me to get there on the subway is Union Square, that was supposed to be the end of the parade route. So the pictures start in Union Sqare Park and go up Broadway until I cut over to the Garden and started from the beginning of the route back down towards Union Square.

Click the read more link to check out the pictures. There's over 50 so if you have dial-up, beware. Otherwise, the pictures are half-sized so you can click on the image for the full size. I captioned a few of them so you sort of get an idea of what's going on.

Welcome to Your Brave New World

Secret societies meeting to discuss how best to control the country and steer it in an even more conservative direction. Sound like an Orwell or Huxley novel? Welcome to your future.

Three times a year for 23 years, a little-known club of a few hundred of the most powerful conservatives in the country have met behind closed doors at undisclosed locations for a confidential conference, the Council for National Policy, to strategize about how to turn the country to the right.

Details are closely guarded.

"The media should not know when or where we meet or who takes part in our programs, before of after a meeting," a list of rules obtained by The New York Times advises the attendees.

The membership list is "strictly confidential." Guests may attend "only with the unanimous approval of the executive committee." In e-mail messages to one another, members are instructed not to refer to the organization by name, to protect against leaks.

This week, before the Republican convention, the members quietly convened in New York, holding their latest meeting almost in plain sight, at the Plaza Hotel, for what a participant called "a pep rally" to re-elect President Bush.

Mr. Bush addressed the group in fall 1999 to solicit support for his campaign, stirring a dispute when news of his speech leaked and Democrats demanded he release a tape recording. He did not.

Not long after the Iraq invasion, Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld attended a council meeting.

This week, as the Bush campaign seeks to rally Christian conservative leaders to send Republican voters to the polls, several Bush administration and campaign officials were on hand, according to an agenda obtained by The New York Times.

"The destiny of our nation is on the shoulders of the conservative movement," the Senate majority leader, Bill Frist, Republican of Tennessee, told the gathering as he accepted its Thomas Jefferson award on Thursday, according to an attendee's notes.

The secrecy that surrounds the meeting and attendees like the Rev. Jerry Falwell, Phyllis Schlafly and the head of the National Rifle Association, among others, makes it a subject of suspicion, at least in the minds of the few liberals aware of it.

"The real crux of this is that these are the genuine leaders of the Republican Party, but they certainly aren't going to be visible on television next week," Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said.

Sounds like the GOP is being ran by a secret government that they don't want you to know about.

RNC in NYC

I'm planning on going to the huge protest march tomorrow where over 200,000 protestors are expected to show up and march past Madison Square Garden. I personally suspect that number may be lowballed and would really not be surprised if it turned out to be closer to 500,000.

One of the first major rallies against Bush was held last night by a group called Critical Mass, a group of bicyclists who take over the streets to protest. There were over 250 arrests last night alone and that rally of bikes only had about 5,000 to 7,000 people in it.

Anyway, stay tuned Sunday or Monday to see how AngryFinger faired in the biggest march against Bush in NYC.