Ah, to be young, Republican and rich off of old people

Seems the college republicans misled a bunch of elderly Bush supporters in a series of donor appeals to the tune of several million bucks in donations.

I'm sorry, but after reading this article, these donors are morons. Taking out bank loans so you can give to the Bush campaign? Are you nuts?

And now of course, the college repugs are defending what they did. But hey, the way I figure it, isn't this what Bush Republicans are all about anyway? Survival of the fittest, and all that? And in the grand scheme of things, losing your life savings for a lie isn't anything compared to losing your life for one... in Iraq. Read More......

More on 60 Minutes and Bush's betrayal of our troops

Ok, they didn't say he "betrayed" them, but that's only cuz they're still smarting over that memo.

Anywho, here's the transcript of the 60 Minutes broacast tonight. It's incredible. One of those things you mail to every servicemember you know. Though the ones abroad have already voted, still, they need to see this. We're talking people using cardboard and sandbags on their Humvees because Bush sent them without body armor. Read More......

New Zogby battleground poll is out

Kerry Ahead in 6 States (FL, IA, MI, MN, PA, WI);
Bush Continues to Lead in 3 States (CO, NV, OH);
New Mexico in Play, Tied at 49%,
New Reuters/Zogby Ten States Battleground Poll Reveals

"Democratic hopeful John Kerry continues to lead in six battleground states, and has surged to a tie in New Mexico, according to the latest Reuters/Zogby ten-state battleground poll. The poll also found President Bush continuing to lead in Ohio, Nevada and Colorado. The telephone polls of approximately 600 likely voters per state were conducted from Thursday through Sunday (October 28-31, 2004). The margin of error is +/- 4.1 percentage points." Read More......

Hysterical

Read more here. Read More......

Andrew eviscerates George

From AndrewSullivan.com:

THE SAME OLD ARGUMENTS I: Well, I guess they don't have any new ones. Glenn Reynolds says no one should have expected a a mistake-free war. But whence this straw man? Who has ever said that? But let's review: a humiliatingly bollixed war rationale, a completely bollixed post-war campaign, a bare chance of getting through the next few months in Iraq without calamity, a clear increase in terrorism within Iraq, the slow loss of most of our allies, and, with Abu Ghraib, the end of our moral high ground. These are "amazing accomplishments"? Yes, I guess they are. When you run the most powerful military in the history of the world, and had plenty of time to prepare, fucking things up this badly is somewhat amazing.

Read More......

Armoring Humvees and trucks with plywood and sand bags

60 Minutes is reporting right now that our troops have had to put plywood and sand bags on the side of their Humvees and trucks because Bush didn't provide them with the armor they needed. They just interviewed a National Guard big guy who couldn't even answer the question why the troops weren't equipped, he was obviously furious about the situation, and finally said that neither he nor the troops could control why they weren't getting what they needed. Yikes.

Read More......

Bush extends backdoor draft

As Chris in Paris predicted, 6,500 soldiers in Iraq got their tours extended late yesterday. This is the second extension announced this month. In January, some of them will be replaced (maybe) with the 42nd Infantry of the New York National Guard:

The 42nd Infantry will be the first division-level National Guard deployment
into combat since World War II, reflecting the extraordinarily heavy reliance
the Army is placing on part-time soldiers to provide troops for the Iraq
mission. More than 40 percent of the U.S. force in Iraq is Guard or Reserve.

In three days, this will be beyond politics. But Iraq will still be fubar, and we'll still be short of soldiers. Until, well, you know....
Read More......

Halloween

One of our readers got inspired by the Halloween costume post the other day. Apparently while bopping around NYC he ran into a guy dressed as a Marine, and took this photo:



And no, he's not Harry Potter - he's an Abu Ghraib survivor :-) Read More......

Powell says we're losing in Iraq

Holy shit. From the upcoming issue of Newsweek:

But the truth is, neither party is fully reckoning with the reality of Iraq—which is that the insurgents, by most accounts, are winning. Even Secretary of State Colin Powell, a former general who stays in touch with the Joint Chiefs, has acknowledged this privately to friends in recent weeks, NEWSWEEK has learned.

Read More......

"Religious" Right Halloween Special: The Hell House

This is an old NPR story, but I saw it come up again this year. In case you were wondering what the "Religious" Right is up to on Halloween, here you go:

Each Halloween, members of the Trinity Church in Cedar Hill, Texas, put on a haunted house. But instead of ghostly howls and skeletons in coffins, "Hell House" depicts what the Pentecostal church considers to be sins: a girl having an abortion... another taking drugs at a rave, getting raped, then killing herself... a boy committing suicide in a classroom. In each elaborately staged scene, Satan taunts the sinner, and then drags him or her off to hell. The aim is to save souls through fear.

About 40 people at a time are shepherded through a dozen such scenes. At the end, the sinners are shown suffering their eternal damnation. Then visitors are asked if they want to accept Jesus and join the church. About one in five do.

This was reported this year as a growing phenomenon with Christian churches sponsoring more of these. What wonderful "Christian" people they are, huh? Read More......

FINAL NBC NEWS POLL: 48% BUSH - 47% KERRY - BUSH STILL UNDER 50%

This is it guys, NBC/Wall Street Journal's LAST poll before the election:

Bush 48%, Kerry 47%, with Nader at 1%.

By way of comparison, in 2000, they had the following results in their last poll:

Bush 47%, Gore 44%, Nader 3% and Buchanan 2%

Again folks, Bush is still below 50%, and well within the margin of error. It's all a ground game and Get-Out-The-Vote. KEEP WORKING! Read More......

Draft rumors caused by Bush's own actions

Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

"This may come as a shock to the Pentagon chief, but most of the [draft] rumors have arisen from actions within the Bush administration, which has studied how to expand draft registration to include women, target some civilian work specialties for special attention by the draft and extend the required draft registration age from 25 years old to 34 years....

"Separately, the agency also has in place a special registration system to draft health care personnel in more than 60 specialties into the military if necessary in a crisis.... Rumors about the draft also have been fueled by the update of contingency plans for a draft of medical personnel in a crisis.

"The New York Times reported this month that the Selective Service System had hired a public relations agency, Widmeyer Communications, to assess how to plan for such a medical draft. The agency advised that 'overtures from Selective Service to the medical community will be seen as precursors to a draft' that could alarm the public, the newspaper reported."

Read More......

Rob in Baltimore: MY ELECTORAL COLLEGE MAP

Okay folks, I'm ready to make my call.

WARNING:

For those of you in states that I've given to Bush, please do NOT take this as a discouragement to getting out and voting. There are too many scenarios out there with a 269-269 tie. John Kerry needs to win the popular vote by as large a margin as possible. Please, GO VOTE regardless of what some armchair pundit like myself thinks.

Please also note that individual state polls show many different things. THIS IS JUST MY CALL AS HOW I THINK THINGS WILL TURN OUT ON ELECTION DAY.

On to predictions...

First off, I'm taking this VERY conservatively. I have given Bush states that I think that Kerry can carry with heavy turnout. Those states which I've given him could be marginal for Kerry in the end. What I've focused on is the states with the biggest ground game and looked at current polls and trends like early voting. Given all that, here's my call with help of the LA Times electoral college map (not reliant on their polls, however):

That's a final call of 296 Kerry to 242 Bush.

There are a number of states which could be debated either way, and I'm sure that the ensuing comments will go through all of those details. I have assumed both Ohio and Florida for Kerry. There are scenarios where Kerry can lose one or the other and still win. For example, my current scenario gives Ohio to Kerry, which by my calculations he doesn't actually need to win. Losing Ohio he would still win 276 to 262. I don't believe he will lose Ohio.

Were Kerry to lose Florida and maintain Ohio, it's a 269 to 269 TIE. But remember, I've given Bush WI, NM, and NV. It's quite possible he will carry one or two of those states.

Were he to lose BOTH Ohio and Florida, picking up NM, NV, and WI it's back to a tie. With Colorado's proportional electoral college vote on the ballot, Kerry could win with these states if that initiative passes. Picking up AR in that scenario puts Kerry back on top even losing both Ohio and Florida.

Just for fun, I've also done a WILDLY OPTIMISTIC MAP. This assumes a MASSIVE voter turnout unlike anything seen in decades. Here you go:

That's a wildly optimistic call of 333 Kerry to 205 Bush.

UPDATE: Based on some of the comments, I thought I'd post a RIDICULOUSLY OPTIMISTIC MAP as well. This assumes everything conceivable goes Kerry's way. Here you go:

That's a ridiculously optimistic call of 383 Kerry to 153 Bush.

So now - let the commenting begin! Read More......

10/31 WASHINGTON POST TRACKING: TIED 48%-48%

From the Washington Post. The current count is 48% to 48%. President Bush is DOWN one point from yesterday.

This remains a Get-Out-The-Vote game.
If we show up more than they do, we win. The good news is that the trends in nearly ALL the polls show Bush under 50% and not moving anywhere but down. For an incumbent, not a good sign two days before an election. Read More......

GO VOTE: MSNBC Poll

VOTE HERE. Who do you think will do better among still-undecided voters? President Bush or Sen. John Kerry? Read More......

Electoral-Vote.com predicts Kerry win

I know, more polls, but isn't it nice to see them predicting a Kerry win, after so many weeks of not-so-much?

Kerry 283 to Bush 246 electoral votes, they're saying. Read More......

Probably not a lot of Bush-Cheney supporters in this hotel, or what's left of it.

From AP. Read More......

Is Bush planning to invade Fallujah tomorrow as an election stunt?

I think so. Read More......

And more GOP tactics to trick African-Americans not to vote

Lovely. And they wonder why they never break 20% in the black community. Read More......

GOP tries to strike another 37,000 voters

Because they can't win honestly. I swear, these guys really do want a civil war on their hands. Read More......

Dem volunteer reports in from Pennsylvania

I'd asked one of our blog readers to check in while he was away volunteering for the week to help get the vote out in PA. Here are some excerpts from his report:

Hi John -

As promised, I'm writing to you from a week of volunteering for the Kerry campaign in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

I live in New York State (about 2 hours north of NYC), but grew up in Pa. I still have relatives here so it was fairly easy coordinating this time. I'm staying with a sibling in the area. I can't tell you how happy I am I did this.

First, let me say that the Pa Democrats are so organized, it's been
impressive every day I've come in to volunteer. This is the website of the group I'm volunteering with http://www.pavictory04.com/. They are organized and extremely focused on specific ways to make sure Kerry wins Pennsylvania big on Tuesday.


The buzz in the office is so high. People are really energized and
hopeful. That alone would've been worth this trip, but having had an opportunity to help out has made this week's outcome beyond what I had ever imagined. I really feel a part of the Pennsylvania campaign.

The locals papers are split. One endorsed Kerry (Allentown) and one
endorsed Bush (Easton/Bethlehem). I'm only reading the Allentown paper (because it's delivered to my host's address each morning). That paper, The Morning Call has been doing a great job covering the visits by the politicians, the local and national races and had an excellent endorsement of Kerry in their Sunday section last weekend. In 2000, they endorsed Bush, so their endorsement of Kerry this time was BIG.

Before arriving I wondered just how important my coming here might prove. Well, since I've been here, this is a list of the people who've campaigned in and around Allentown (this week):

John Kerry
Bill Clinton
John Edwards
Teresa Heinz Kerry
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Howard Dean
George W. Bush
Valerie Harper/Rob Reiner/Carole King and Ed Rendell (governor of Pa.)
Michael Moore
Rudy Giuliani
and Dick Cheney tomorrow.

The fact that both parties are focusing so much attention on eastern
Pennsylvania and specifically the area north of Philadelphia reinforces my belief that everything from the heavy hitters down to people like me volunteering their time the week before the election is important.

I know I went on and on here, John, so you may not want to share everything I said in your column, but please make sure your readers understand that the vibe here in Allentown is positive and hopeful... we are going to win.

I really believe people will go into the polls on Tuesday and vote their gut. I think they are angry and sick of the lies and the misuse of their money in regards to Iraq and the general US economy. I believe Kerry will win big enough that this will not have to be handed over to the courts.

Take care,
Philip

Read More......

The British Museum's hypocrisy

So the British Museum is demanding that eBay clamp down on the sale of antiquities, as the Brits are apparently worried that their heritage will be plundered and sold to the world. Now, would this not be the same British Museum that plundered the world to get ITS extensive holdings - including the Elgin Marbles, i.e., a big momma hunk of the Parthenon from Athens? And the same British Museum that balks at giving the Greeks back one of the most important, if the not THE most important, piece of their antiquity? Why, yes it is!

I can understand the legit concern of the Brits to stop plundering of their heritage, but they can go Cheney themselves for trying to stop others for doing what they continue to do to this day. Read More......

Meanwhile, in Iran...

Irainian parliament members are shouting "Death to America!" as they vote to continue their uranium-enrichment program. ABC News (via AP) reports that the "Iranian top nuclear negotiator" says there's a 50 percent chance a compromise can be struck with EUROPEAN, not American, countries to limit their proliferation.

We have screwed up the middle-east and undermined our credibility so much that our diplomatic participation makes it MORE likely the Iranians will build nukes. Now we're relying on the Brits, Germans and French -- THE FRENCH! -- to bail us out of more than just a flu vaccine crisis.

So, dubya, when are we invading?
Read More......

"bin Laden looked rested, like he'd been on a Caribbean vacation"

The NY Times report says that both sides are seeing what they want to see in the new bin Laden video but some still waiting to see how it is spun. Personally I can not even imagine how anyone could see it and not be angry that the bastard is still walking around looking healthy but then again I have yet to figure out why anyone would support the Bush camp on most of their policy decisions.
Read More......

Why the fuck have you done this to my country?

(Source: NYT)

Your captions? Read More......

Latest polls

Zogby: It's tied, 48-48

And my friend Joe just told me:

- Des Moines Register Iowa Poll: Kerry 48 - Bush 45 (Headline is "Kerry edges ahead in Iowa with boost from early voters")

- Star Tribune Minnesota Poll: Kerry 49 - Bush 41

- Concord (NH) Monitor: Kerry 49 - Bush 46

More from Zogby:

The President leads among: investors (Bush 54%-Kerry 42%); men (Bush 51%-Kerry 45%); and Catholics (Bush 50%-Kerry 45%).

Senator Kerry leads among: non-investors (Kerry 52%-Bush 43%); 18-29 year olds (Kerry 61%-Bush 37%); and women (Kerry 50%-Bush 45%).

The favorable and unfavorable ratings for Mr. Bush have remained steady at 54% and 45% respectively. Senator Kerry's favorable and unfavorable also have not moved, they are still at 52% favorable and 46% unfavorable.

The President's overall job performance is holding steady at 46% approve and 53% disapprove.

The right direction percentage gains one point and is now 46% while wrong direction holds steady at 47%.

Mr. Bush's re-elect numbers climb a point to 47% with time for someone new remaining at 50%.

Pollster John Zogby: The race is enjoined fully. Each man has consolidated his own base. Bush has good leads in the Red States, among investors, and among Republicans, Born Again Christians, men, and married voters. He is right where he needs to be.

- Kerry has a solid lead in the Blue States, and trumps Bush among young voters, African Americans, Hispanics, Democrats, women, union voters, and singles.

-Each man's lead among each sub-group is precisely where it needs to be.

- Kerry leads among Independents by 8 points. Bush holds a 5-point lead among Catholics.

- But the President's job performance is 46% positive, 53% negative. Virtually the same percentage feels he deserves to be re-elected (47%), while 50% say it is time for someone new. And 46% think the nation is headed in the right direction, while 47% feel it is on the wrong track.

Zogby International conducted interviews of 1207 likely voters chosen at random nationwide. All calls were made from Zogby International headquarters in Utica, N.Y., from October 28 through October 30, 2004. The margin of error is +/- 2.9 percentage points. Slight weights were added to region, party, age, race, religion, gender, to more accurately reflect the voting population. Margins of error are higher in sub-groups.

Read More......

GOP gay bashing alert - Where are the Super Cheneys?!

Uh oh, the GOP is using gaybashing in the KY Senate race. Where oh where are the Super Cheneys to the rescue? You know, those great defenders of the great gay way - the family that stands up for a gay sexual orientation when it's brought into politics inappropriately. Nope, haven't heard a word from the Super Cheneys. Nada. You don't think they're actually anti-gay hypocrites who were feigning outrage in order to use their OWN daughter's sexual orientation to score points against Kerry? No, I'm sure the Super Cheneys are plotting as we speak to express their outrage as an angry mom, dad, sister, and d-y-k-e. Read More......

Tony Blair is scum

After being the Bush lapdog for the past four years and most recently for jumping through hoops to please his master by redeploying Black Watch troops to give a political boost to Bush. Blair has just sent a secret team over to meet with the Kerry camp to try and patch things up just in case his good pal George loses. Blair is the most revolting, opportunistic little boot licker I have ever witnessed. I hope Kerry tells him to go Cheney himself and chooses to help Gordon Brown is anyone who can push Blair out of party leadership next year. Talk about a guy willing to say or do anything to maintain power...
Read More......

Now it's 9 more Marines dead

Initially they thought it was 8 dead - it's actually 9. I guess that's what we mean by catastrophic success. So damn successful they're dropping like flies. Only problem is it's OUR guys who are dropping. But Bush never was one for details. I'm sure his instinct tells him those guys are still alive, and in Bush's world, that makes them alive, since, you know, this White House doesn't buy that "reality-based" stuff. Read More......

Minister of Fear

Another funny video from Mark Fiore. Read More......

How can anyone vote for this moron?

Just watch it. It's quick, but hardly painless. (From EbaumsWorld.) Read More......

Zogby stands by prediction of Kerry victory

From the NY Daily News. Read More......

"Our soldiers shouldn't be sent out looking like the Beverly Hillbillies"

...said the mother of a soldier on Iraq. Halliburton swims in its billion-dollar slush fund of taxpayer handouts and US soldiers are still relying on mom and dad to send over GPS, body armor, Humvee armor, secure radios, etc. Hell, I even recall Rummy wearing some special fancy boots on his last visit over to Iraq but guys in the field from the National Guard in particular, get whatever is left over from years gone by.

This president has the nerve to attack John Kerry when our troops - HIS TROOPS - still don't have the equipment they need, and apparently aren't getting it for a while. WTF? How can any service member or their family in good conscience vote to re-elect the man who sent our troops to battle with insufficient equipment, and who to this day is still failing them? Republicans are better friends of the military, my ass. Let's not forget that it was Dick Cheney and George Bush 41 who reduced the military from 2.2 million servicemembers to to 1.6 million (per DOD's own Web site) over their four years in office. Why do the Bushes and the Cheneys hate our military?

Here's the rest of the Beverly Hillbillies horror story from the NYT:

...many of the company's trucks still have no armor, soldiers and relatives said, despite running some of the most dangerous missions in Iraq and incurring the highest rate of injuries and deaths among the Illinois units deployed there....

Though soldiers of all types have complained about equipment in Iraq, part-timers in the National Guard and Reserve say that they have a particular disadvantage because they start off with outdated or insufficient gear. They have been deployed with faulty radios, unreliable trucks and, most alarmingly for many, a shortage of soundly armored vehicles in a land regularly convulsed by roadside attacks, according to soldiers, relatives and outside military experts....

Before the 103rd Armor Regiment of the Pennsylvania National Guard left in late February, some relatives bought those soldiers new body armor to supplant the Vietnam-era flak jackets that had been issued. The mother of Sgt. Sherwood Baker, a member of the regiment who was killed in April, bought a global positioning device after being told that the Army said his truck should have one but would not supply it.

And before Karma Kumlin's husband left with his Minnesota National Guard unit in February, the soldiers spent about $200 each on radios that they say have turned out to be more reliable - although less secure - than the Army's. Only recently, Ms. Kumlin said, has her husband gotten a metal shield for the gunner's turret he regularly mans, after months of asking.

"This just points to an extreme lack of planning ," said Ms. Kumlin, who is 31 and a student. "My husband is part of the second wave that went to Iraq."....

According to figures compiled by the House Armed Services Committee and previously reported in The Seattle Times, there are plans to produce armor kits for at least 2,806 medium-weight trucks, but as of Sept. 17, only 385 of the kits had been produced and sent to Iraq. Armor kits were also planned for at least 1,600 heavyweight trucks, but as of mid-September just 446 of these kits were in Iraq.

Then there's this little gem:

The Army says it is on schedule to armor all its Humvees in Iraq by April 2005, despite the fact that only one factory in the United States puts armor on the vehicles.

April 2005? We've had Humvees in Iraq that haven't had sufficient armor for 18 months now, and they'll finally get the armor 2 years after the invasion? And that's a good thing? Read More......

Jon Stewart on those 380 tons of explosives

As always, absoulutely hyserical. Read More......

Read More......

Osama is a "good" "gift," GOP & Bush campaign say

The Bush campaign has called it a "good" thing that Osama bin Laden is still alive and kicking and threatening to make American blood fill the streets our our country, according to a story in today's NY Daily News. And a senior GOP strategist has called Osama's reappearance and threats to kill thousands more Americans "a little gift."

This election is over, folks.

George Bush's campaign thinks Osama being alive and threatening to kill even more Americans is "good." A top GOP strategist thinks Osama planning to launch an even-bigger-September-11 is "a little gift." I'm glad the 3,000 who died on September 11 were able to give this good gift to the Bush campaign, after all, without their deaths Bush wouldn't have this good gift to enjoy only 3 days before the election.

How serious a matter is this? Imagine if John Kerry's people had called Osama plotting to kill thousands of Americans "good"? Imagine if a top Democratic strategist had called Osama bin Laden "a little gift"?

This needs to be the talk of the Internet. Make George Bush explain to the American people why Osama's threats to make blook run in American streets are "good" "gifts". Read More......

REWIND: April 2002 - U.S. Concludes Bin Laden Escaped at Tora Bora Fight

I'm so tired of seeing Bush lie every time he opens his mouth. He's now criticizing Kerry for talking about Tora Bora. Thanks to Atrios for getting me thinking about this. He pointed out this front page article from the Washington Post from April 17, 2002:

The Bush administration has concluded that Osama bin Laden was present during the battle for Tora Bora late last year and that failure to commit U.S. ground troops to hunt him was its gravest error in the war against al Qaeda, according to civilian and military officials with first-hand knowledge.

Intelligence officials have assembled what they believe to be decisive evidence, from contemporary and subsequent interrogations and intercepted communications, that bin Laden began the battle of Tora Bora inside the cave complex along Afghanistan's mountainous eastern border. Though there remains a remote chance that he died there, the intelligence community is persuaded that bin Laden slipped away in the first 10 days of December.

After-action reviews, conducted privately inside and outside the military chain of command, describe the episode as a significant defeat for the United States. A common view among those interviewed outside the U.S. Central Command is that Army Gen. Tommy R. Franks, the war's operational commander, misjudged the interests of putative Afghan allies and let pass the best chance to capture or kill al Qaeda's leader.

Why is Kerry talking about Tora Bora George? Well, if you bothered to read a newspaper you might have learned that YOUR OWN ADMINISTRATION concluded that we missed Bin Laden at Tora Bora. Are you so out of touch Mr. President that you don't even know what your own administration knows to be true? I know it's "hard work" George, but try and keep up. (Why do I think that he heard that an awful lot in school growing up?)

I'm ready for a fresh start, how about you? Read More......

Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida -- The Big Three Leaning Towards...

KERRY!! For the first time in the entire election, the LA Times electoral college map shows Kerry leading Bush in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida. For months, we've been told that whichever candidate wins two out of three of them will be tough to beat. I check the map almost every day -- it's really addictive fun to play around with the possibilities, since you can give any state to either candidate and thus toy with all sorts of possibilities -- and while it's been trending towards Kerry for a while, this is the FIRST TIME the latest polls that the LA Times use all give Kerry the edge. In Ohio, it's a six point lead, in Pennsylvania it's a five point lead, and in Florida it's only a one point lead (well within the margin of error, of course), but still -- Kerry is leading in all three.
Read More......

Bush Fails 9-11...Again

It's official: Bush has failed on 9-11 every step of the way. Bush failed to prevent the biggest attack on US soil since World War II. Bush failed to hold ANYONE in his administration responsible for the single greatest intelligence failure in decades if not our entire history. Bush failed to hunt down and kill Osama Bin Laden. Bush failed to support a serious inquiry into the failures of our government by the 9-11 commisson. Bush failed to cooperate with that commission every step of the way. Bush lied by claiming he supported the commission's recommendations but has now failed again in getting those reforms put into action. Yep, everyone now agrees that the desperately needed reform of our intelligence agencies (and of Congress's oversight of those agencies) is NOT going to happen before the election.
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Why My Pet Goat Matters

So I've taken a little time to review Bin Laden's speech in full. Three years after 9/11 this guy is mocking the American President in front of the entire world. This guy is still alive and making the United States look the fool. Why must I hear this about my nation's leader? Who is at fault? From the transcript:

All that we have mentioned has made it easy for us to provoke and bait this administration.

And for the record, we had agreed with the Commander-General Muhammad Ataa, Allah have mercy on him, that all the operations should be carried out within 20 minutes before Bush and his administration notice.

It never occurred to us that the Commander in Chief of the armed forces would abandon 50,000 of his citizens in the twin towers to face those great horrors alone at a time when they most needed him.

But because it seemed to him that occupying himself by talking to the little girl about the goat and its butting was more important than occupying himself with the planes and their butting of the skyscrapers we were given three times the period required to execute the operations. All praise is due to Allah.

So, Al Qaeda knew that once the sleeping giant was wakened, the United States would stop them. What message did Bush send to the world? Hey, we're a sleeping giant slow to wake. Talk about weakness! This all leaves me with just one question:

Whose fault is it that Bin Laden is on my TV today?

Read More......

US increasing troop presence in Iraq

Now they're extending tours of duty (again) because the Iraqi army is lagging behind in preparations and training. Blair has also been sneaking in additional troops and playing the same game but don't worry, we have plenty of troops over there and saying otherwise is flat out wrong and un-patriotic. Whether it is for maintaining control of Iraq or for guarding weapons depots Rummy planned this so perfectly that saying otherwise is just a lie. Don't even think for a minute that just because the DoD is making plans to enable the rapid deployment of an additional 15,000 troops, it will even happen.

All Bush voters can get ahead of the rush and send either themselves of their children to Iraq right away. Don't get caught lagging because we know how much you support the war and now you can prove it.
Read More......

Bush is in trouble with evangelicals - explains why he went squishy on gay civil unions this week

I'd been arguing that Bush more-or-less endorsed gay civil unions this past week - and his campaign brought up the Mary Cheney thing two weeks ago - because they've decided the evangelicals aren't going to win it for them. They now need the middle instead. This new poll suggests I may be right:

A poll published last week by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found that 70% of self-described evangelicals or born-again Christians planned to vote for the president, down from 74% in the same survey three weeks earlier. That was not only a slight decline, but lower than the 80% to 90% support that Bush campaign officials had been forecasting.

More important than the drop in the past few weeks (which could simply be margin of error stuff) is the fact that they're polling at 74% in the religious right communities rather than the 80% or 90% they expected. That's bad. And the irony is that to win more evangelicals they need to tick off the moderates, and to win more moderates they need to tick off the evangelicals.

Oh what a tangled web we weave... Read More......

Pentagon was warned on Halliburton

Why do I get the feeling that we're going to be flooded (even more) over the next few months with ugly stories about corruption and abuse of power from the Bushies? The Pentagon good ol' boys seemed to have delivered a delightful impression of crying babies who hold their hands over there ears while yelling "I can't hear you" to contracting officer Bunnatine Greenhouse.

The Pentagon extended a Halliburton Co. contract for 11 months beyond its expiration despite warnings that the company was "out of control" in its work providing troop support in the Balkans, government memos showed.

"There is little or no incentive for the contractor to reduce or keep cost down," senior Army contracting officer Bunnatine Greenhouse wrote her bosses in January 2002 after a review of Halliburton's performance.

Nearly three years later, Greenhouse wrote her superior this month that it was inappropriate for the government to extend the $2 billion contract for Vice President Dick Cheney's former company.

...when Greenhouse challenged the justification and sought an explanation of the emergency, Corps officials changed their reasoning. The new explanation was that Halliburton subsidiary KBR was the "one and only" company that could do the job.

Greenhouse, who has said she was frozen out of decisions on Halliburton, went public last weekend with allegations that Army officials showed favoritism to the company.

Read More......

More bad news from Iraq - 8 Marines Dead

From AP:

In a bloody day in Iraq, eight American Marines were killed in fighting west of Baghdad on Saturday, and a car bomb killed at least seven people in attack on an Arab television bureau in the capital. Iraqi troops fired wildly on civilian vehicles, killing at least 14 people, witnesses and hospital officials said.

The U.S. military said nine Marines were also wounded in the fighting in Anbar province west of the capital which includes the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah. The statement gave no further on how or where they were killed.

More signs of the "catastrophic" success Bush is creating in Iraq. I'm ready for a fresh start. Read More......

UK Serious Fraud Office now investigating Halliburton as well

So now Halliburton is under investigation in the US, UK, France and Nigeria but of course, there's nothing to see so keep moving.

The Nigerian investigation centres on $180m in payments allegedly made by a consortium led by Halliburton to secure the contract to build a natural gas plant in Nigeria.

The cash was allegedly channelled through a US-owned oil engineering firm in London called MW Kellogg and was handled by a company executive based in Berkshire. The funds were said to have been paid into a Swiss bank by a British lawyer.

Read More......

GO VOTE: CNN poll

Vote here -- bottom right of page.: How will the bin Laden videotape affect the U.S. election? No influence, Boost for Bush, Boost for Kerry. Read More......

GO VOTE - MSNBC Poll

VOTE AT MSNBC HERE - President Bush or Senator Kerry? Who will hunt for bin Laden more aggressively? Read More......

Zogby: KERRY AHEAD BY 1

That's right folks. Like any reelection an incumbent faces, you have to be over 50% pretty regularly to win. If you're not, it's not likely that after four years in office you'll be able to bring people back to you in the last few days of a campaign. Why? They've seen you for four years and don't want you back. What can you possibly do in the closing days of a campaign to change their mind?

As a result, in the last few days of an election undecideds generaly break to the challenger. That's what's happening right now. From Reuters:

Democratic Sen. John Kerry moved into a one-point lead over President Bush three days before the presidential election, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Saturday.

Kerry led Bush 47-46 percent, well within the margin of error, in the latest three-day national tracking poll. Bush and Kerry were tied at 47 percent on Friday.

If anything, this shows that former Bush supporters are actually moving AWAY from him while Kerry's support is firm. Read More......

Early Morning (in Paris) Open Thread

For Chris in Paris - we don't honor him enough, and he has great croissants.

Talk amongst yourselves. Read More......

GOP Senate candidate in Oklahoma says blacks are genetically inferior

That's why they don't live as long as us white folk. Yes, GOP pride at its finest.

A Republican Senate candidate from Oklahoma who has run into trouble over verbal gaffes was drawing fire again on Friday for saying black men have a "genetic predisposition" for a lower life expectancy than whites.

Of course, I understand the candidate, Tom Coburn, has a genetic predisposition for asshole. Read More......