GOP flier: Don't trust Florida voting machines

They should have tacked on: Don't trust Florida voting officials. Read More......

TV Networks are Anti-Kerry

Fascinating piece from Paul Krugman in the NYT. It's hard to know what to cite, because so much of the article is amazing.

To wit:

On the other hand, everyone knows that Teresa Heinz Kerry told someone to "shove it," though even there, the context was missing. Except for a brief reference on MSNBC, none of the transcripts I've read mention that the target of her ire works for Richard Mellon Scaife, a billionaire who financed smear campaigns against the Clintons - including accusations of murder. (CNN did mention Mr. Scaife on its Web site, but described him only as a donor to "conservative causes.") And viewers learned nothing about Mr. Scaife's long vendetta against Mrs. Heinz Kerry herself.

I had NO IDEA that's who was involved in this. That man is a pig - she should have told his minion to go fuck himself, and then some.

And this:

A Columbia Journalism Review Web site called campaigndesk.org, says its analysis "reveals a press prone to needlessly introduce Senators Kerry and Edwards and Kerry's wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, as millionaires or billionaires, without similar labels for President Bush or Vice President Cheney."

As the site points out, the Bush campaign has been "hammering away with talking points casting Kerry as out of the mainstream because of his wealth, hoping to influence press coverage." The campaign isn't claiming that Mr. Kerry's policies favor the rich - they manifestly don't, while Mr. Bush's manifestly do. Instead, we're supposed to dislike Mr. Kerry simply because he's wealthy (and not notice that his opponent is, too). Republicans, of all people, are practicing the politics of envy, and the media obediently go along.

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Bush-Cheney require signed "loyalty oath" to attend public events

I veel support zee prezident....

Some Democrats who signed up to hear Vice President Dick Cheney speak here Saturday were refused tickets unless they signed a pledge to endorse President Bush.

The measure was a security step designed to avoid a disruption, which Bush campaign spokesman Dan Foley alleged Democrats were planning. Democratic Party officials denied it.

Several Democrats, at least, encountered the screening measures Thursday after calling from a line that self-identified as ACT, America Coming Together, an activist group that supports Kerry, Foley said. Others attempted to give false names and were denied tickets, he said.

Two men who had sought tickets reported they were required to give name, address, phone number, e-mail address and driver's license number, then were presented the pledge of endorsement when they arrived to pick up the tickets Thursday.

One of them, John Wade of Albuquerque, said he signed the pledge because he wanted the tickets but then changed his mind.

"I got to thinking this is not right," Wade said. "They're excluding people -- that's what has me so upset."

He returned the tickets and campaign workers returned his pledge.

Vietnam veteran Michael Ortiz y Pino said he refused to sign the pledge and was refused tickets.

Ortiz y Pino said he was asked if he associated with veterans, pro-life, gun rights or teacher groups.

Neither man wanted to give driver's license numbers but did so.

"I said why do you need that?" Ortiz y Pino said.

A campaign worker, he said, replied: "Secret Service stuff."

Kerry campaign spokesman Ruben Pulido Jr. said there had been no plan by the campaign to disrupt Cheney's event.

"I think that every American should have the right to see their vice president and hear from him firsthand what he plans to do for our country," Pulido said.

He also said the Kerry campaign had not attempted to screen Bush supporters out of Kerry's appearance at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque on July 9.

On that occasion, about a dozen Bush supporters wearing flip-flop beach sandals began chanting "Viva Bush" and waved their flip-flops over their heads. They contend Kerry has flip-flopped on the war.

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More polls, looking good

Newsweek, July 29-30, 2004:
3-way race
Bush 42%
Kerry 49%
Nader 3%

2-way race
Bush 44%
Kerry 52%
Other 4%

Would you like to see GW Bush re-elected?
Yes 43%
No 53%
Unsure 4% Read More......

Good fences

I'm not taking sides, simply sharing an interesting Web banner ad that, according to a friend of Michael in NY, is making its way around Israel of late.

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Is the Washington Post publishing GOP talking points?

Astute reader Kenlac noted how yesterday's Washington Post op ed blasting Kerry has a paragraph that sounds an awful lot like a paragraph in a Boston Globe op ed published the same day. Are the Post and the Globe publishing GOP talking points? Did one plagiarize from the other? Or is this simply a very odd coincidence?

I report, you decide.

From yesterday's Wash Post op ed:

"He talked movingly of how his combat experience would temper his decision making: 'I know what kids go through when they are carrying an M-16 in a dangerous place and they can't tell friend from foe.' The responsibility of sending troops into danger should weigh on a commander in chief. But so must the responsibility of protecting the nation against a shadowy foe not easily deterred by traditional means. Mr. Kerry last night elided the charged question of whether, as president, he would have gone to war in Iraq. He offered not a word to celebrate the freeing of Afghans from the Taliban, or Iraqis from Saddam Hussein, and not a word about helping either nation toward democracy."

What op ed writer Jeff Jacoby said in the Boston Globe on the same day:

"He spoke of his empathy for the young grunts 'carrying an M-16 in a dangerous place' and about his respect for 'all who serve in our armed forces today.' Couldn't he have spared a few words to salute those troops for their two great achievements of recent years -- the toppling of vicious tyrannies in Afghanistan and Iraq?"

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Where Are The Polls?

Usually, two seconds after an event the major media outlets start releasing instant polls about its impact and chat with focus groups about how they feel. I've always thought they moved too quickly and were silly in a way. But here it is two days after John Kerry's acceptance speech and still no poll results about his bounce? I'm sure they'll pop up on Monday, but what gives?
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Study: Fear shapes voters'views

Erin writes in that CNN.com has a great article about how fear is quite a useful vote-getter. She notes, correctly, that Michael Moore pointed this out in F-9.11, the fact that Bush uses fear to keep himself in power.

Of course, I fear Bush, so does that make me want to vote for him more? Read More......

Vatican wants women barefoot and pregnant

No big surprise here, but I still get a kick out of how cro magnon these guys are.

"Faced with the abuse of power, the answer for women is to seek power. This process leads to opposition between men and women ... which has its most immediate and lethal effects in the structure of the family."

Bitches.

"Although motherhood is a key element of women's identity, this does not mean that women should be considered from the sole perspective of physical procreation."

Exactly, because we all know that the Vatican reserves the sex thing for small children. Read More......

Polls show more trouble for George

From Atrios:

The results from the latest Zogby Poll are in, and Dubya is in a heap o' trouble:

The most recent Zogby poll shows deeper trouble for President George W. Bush beyond just the horserace. Mr. Bush has fallen in key areas while Senator John Kerry has shored up numerous constituencies in his base. The Bush team's attempted outreach to base Democratic and swing constituency has shown to be a failure thus far, limiting his potential growth in the electorate.

Check out Atrios' post for the detailed poll breakdown, it's quite good. Read More......

Unhappy Workers Should Take Prozac --Bush Campaigner

The Bush campaign? Arrogant? Say it ain't so!

A campaign worker for President Bush said on Thursday American workers unhappy with low-quality jobs should find new ones -- or pop a Prozac to make themselves feel better.

'Why don't they get new jobs if they're unhappy -- or go on Prozac?' said Susan Sheybani, an assistant to Bush campaign spokesman Terry Holt.

The comment was apparently directed to a colleague who was transferring a phone call from a reporter asking about job quality, and who overheard the remark.

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Saudis Criticize Kerry for 'Bashing' Kingdom

Gee, the Saudis don't like candidate Kerry. This story should get him even more votes. Thanks Saudi Arabia! Read More......

The Washington Post editorial board drops acid

At least, that's the only explanation I can figure for today's lead editorial criticizing Kerry's speech. Yes, they either were higher than a kite while watching it, or they simply didn't watch it at all. Or, I guess there's one more plausible explanation, the Post must have thought that this was BUSH'S ACCEPTANCE SPEECH - judging by the things they wished Kerry had done, they must have thought he was running as the Republican candidate.

Case in point. The Post criticizes Kerry for offering "not a word to celebrate the freeing of Afghans from the Taliban, or Iraqis from Saddam Hussein."

Huh? Since when is Kerry supposed to praise President Bush in his acceptance speech? This smacks of the same PC bull that requires every politician who criticizes the war to over-emphasize that THEY DON'T HATE THE TROOPS, REALLY THEY DON'T. Everyone knows that none of us "hate" the troops, it's a red herring, and it's meant to chill criticism. In this case, Kerry is supposed to praise Bush's policies, or else he isn't a friend of democracy? This criticism is simply bizarre.

Second case in point: "Mr. Kerry could have spoken the difficult truth that U.S. troops will be needed in Iraq for a long time."

Why the fuck should Kerry hang that albatross around his neck? It's Bush's fault that our troops are in Iraq, not Kerry. And Kerry is supposed to be the one promising they'll be staying a long time? Who said they have to? Since when it is a fact that we MUST keep our troops there a long time? I don't think there's necessarily a national consensus AT ALL on that point. Yet the Post says Kerry MUST say this?

Third case in point: "a President Kerry, too, would face momentous decisions based on inevitably imperfect information, whether about Iran or North Korea or dangers yet to emerge. How would he respond? Will it always be safe to wait?"

Ok, so now Kerry is supposed to go into every detail of how he'd handle a HYPOTHETICAL crisis in Iran or North Korea that doesn't even exist yet? WTF?

Fourth case in point: "His promises to stop the outsourcing of jobs and end dependence on Middle East oil are not grounded in reality."

Why? Why is it not grounded in reality that we need to stop outsourcing jobs and/or being reliant on Middle East oil? Especially on the oil front, it's not grounded in reality that we need to increase our energy independence? Who wrote this Post editorial anyway, Halliburton?

The Post's conclusion: "Mr. Kerry will be judged not in a vacuum but against the record compiled by Mr. Bush. But he will be judged in part on how he chose to present himself last night, and on that score, while he may have been politically effective, he fell short of demonstrating the kind of leadership the nation needs."

I watched that speech last night and it was amazing. Feel free to write a letter to the editor telling the Post to go Cheney itself. The days of our kow-towing to the ineptitudes of this supposedly-liberal media are over. Read More......

US Airways' voyage of the damned

I just got back from the airport 3 hours after I arrived because US Airways didn't just lose my bags AGAIN (they lost them on the way to Boston as well) - no, THIS TIME they lost 100s and 100s of bags from people on flight after flight after flight coming in from Boston. Among the celebs who joined us in our baggage pain was CNN's Judy Woodruff's entire crew and CNN's Paul Begala (perhaps Rupert had a hand in it).

The thing that's really annoying is the utter chaos of the scene on the ground. Literally over a hundred passengers milling about with no clue what was going on, and US Air giving all sorts of bizarre and conflicting answers. Including, my favorite, that the problem was in Boston. Really? Then why did it take them almost an hour to take even a single back off of my plane once we disembarked in DC? Surely Boston wasn't responsible for them letting the bags sit on the plane in DC.

An utter utter utter disaster. At least I got even. I took out my laptop, looked up my press list, and got at least 2 crews from two TV networks there to do coverage. Message to US Air: Don't piss off hundreds of journalists who haven't slept in a week. Read More......

Some Republicans Defect to Kerry's Camp

Mayday, mayday - ship sinking, rats fleeing... Read More......

Are you better off now than 4 years ago?

White House Forecasts Record Budget Deficit

Uzbek blast hits US embassy

Economy cools

Oil hits record high. Read More......

The very publich lynching of Teresa Heinz

Mike Signorile talked on his show yesterday about how the media is out to get Teresa Heinz, and I think he's right. There has been report after report panning the woman, and I admit, when she appears on TV, she's not all "Laura Bush warm milk and cookies." But you know, not all women sit there silently with pretty smiles on their faces all day long standing by their man. Some women actually have brains and fortitude. Not that Laura doesn't have brains, she seems like a nice lady and seems smart enough. But Teresa is a corporate CEO type whereas Laura is a very nice librarian. When did it become the rule that only librarians could be first ladies?

I mean, you read crap like this and you'd think the lady is a monster. Then you actually go and attend a meeting with the lady and she's something totally different. She's warm, funny, beautiful, and appears to have an incredibly loving, empathetic soul. Is she all milk and cookies? No she's not. She's the kind of mom who would probably slap you upside the head (well, at least metaphorically) if you mouthed off, came home drunk, etc. But so what?

If any of these journalists actually sat down with Mrs. Kerry in a more private setting, when she's not in front of the entire country under a microscope, they'd see that she's a hell of a lot more than what they're making her out to be.

And to those journalists who are too blind, too partisan, too jaded, or too lazy to see Mrs. Kerry for the class act she really is: Shove it. Read More......

What the other bloggers are saying about Kerry's speech

Atrios:

"To the extent that there was some trepidation by convention-goers about whether Kerry had the stuff, it was pretty much melted away by the speech. To me, the whole thing was the ultimate judo move. What Kerry did was take everything the Republicans had been throwing at him and Democrats over the past few years, grab it and flip it over, including throwing their 2000 election campaign refrains back in their faces ("help is on the way", "restore honor and dignity").... It was a strong speech. It was a proudly liberal speech.... Good job."

DailyKos:

"From my position in front of the TV and computer, this was a successful and satisfying convention (great speech from Obama, unexpectedly powerful speech from Kerry)."

Talking Points Memo:

"Not a stem-winder -- and Kerry would have been foolish to try. But a solid speech. And I thought he hit all the right points -- with the right emotional tenor. In a way, sitting in the hall and watching the back of Kerry's head most of the time is no way to judge how it appeared on TV. But that's my snap judgment."

Pandagon.net:

"I believe, truly, that this is the perfect speech for John Kerry. It addresses every slander against him and absorbs the vulnerable edges into positive portions of a great man. This is phenomenal.

Stunning. He did it. I didn't think he could, not after Obama and Clinton and Edwards and Cleland. But he did it. He gave the perfect speech for this moment, for this race, for this crowd. He couldn't rely on his charisma and so he instead told the country where it needed to go. He couldn't do flash so he did substance...and he did it. There's nothing I can say beyond that...I'm sorry...I just don't have the words for it. I'm inspired. I'd forgot what this felt like."

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2d source confirms: Falwell says he's speaking at GOP Convention

I interviewed a second source yesterday who confirmed that during the 11AM services at Jerry Falwell's Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, VA on Sunday, July 11, 2004, the crowd was told that Jerry Falwell will be delivering the opening invocation (prayer) at the upcoming Republican Convention in NYC. The source also confirmed that the crowd was told this would be a historic first, that there has never been a prayer opening the convention (hard to believe this fact is true).

You'll recall that earlier this week, gay religious leader, the Rev. Mel White, reported that he too heard the same information delivered from the pulpit during the July 11 service.

Two sources now confirm that the assembled thousands of churchgoers were told that Falwell is speaking. The only fact that remains in doubt is whether Falwell is in fact speaking, or whether he and his people misled his flock.

I think it's time to call the Republican National Committee and the Bush campaign and ask them if America's top homophobe-for-God is in fact going to be up on stage during the GOP Convention. And if so, ask them why they're promoting someone who believes September 11 was caused by gays, pro-choicers and members of the ACLU?

RNC phone number: (202) 863-8500
Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign HQ: 703.647.2700

If you need a little ammo to throw the way of the Republicans, some of our favorite Falwell moments have been aggregated by PatriotBoy. Read More......

She's baaaaaaaack

I almost lost it today when who goes walking by but none other than our favorite bitch, Omarosa! I HAD to run up and ask for a photo - she graciously posed for a good ten seconds while I fumbled with my camera - this lady likes her photo ops. She started doing an interview with some guy, so I went over to her people (yes, Omarosa has "people"), and asked "So, why exactly is she here?" I was told that Omarosa is fundraising for John Kerry, and she's been here all week. And lo' and behold, if you look closely at her jacket, it says Kerry 2004 on it.

Now, I have no idea if she's officially or unofficially helping the Kerry campaign, but geez, will this lady ever realize that her 15 minutes are OVER. (Now she'll probably sue me.) Read More......

Corey Johnson confronts homophobe Senator

This was a real treat. We're taking a two minute commercial break while taping the radio show this afternoon, and radio show host Corey Johnson (all of about 23 years old) jumps up in front of a white-haired man walking by and says "Senator Cornyn, I'm from Texas!" (which Corey most certainly is not). The Senator responds politely and shakes Corey's hand. Corey then says to him in a real loud voice: "I just want you to know that I am appalled and ashamed that you would support the homophobic and bigoted Federal Marriage Amendment." (Cornyn was one of the two chief sponsors of the amendment in the Senate.) Cornyn's jaw dropped and he just stood there blank-faced and confused, he didn't say a word, his staffers didn't say a word. He finally said "well, then I guess you won't be voting for me." Cornyn then said "thank you" and turned to walk away, while Corey shouted back "NO THANKS to you!"

It was absolutely amazing. To watch one of the biggest Senate homophobes stopped in his tracks by a 23 year old with incredible chutzpah. Truly one of my FAVORITE moments from the week. Below is Cornyn moments after Corey's surprise attack.

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A few more celebs...

Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA)


Congressman John Lewis


David Corn of The Nation interviewing with Signorile.


Senator Ron Wyden


David Brock of MediaMatters.org


Openly gay Massachusetts state Senator Jarrett Barrios (sorry, no pic of his wicked cute press secretary).


Some jerk Signorile decided to interview during the last few minutes of his show tonight. Read More......

Home Run

I think Kerry's speech was a home run. The one thought that kept running through my mind was "I could see this man as president." That, in my view, was the number one thing Kerry needed to accomplish tonight - convincing America that he is presidential - and he did that, well. He also showed us that he's a human being, not just a machine still in search of a heart (insert Cheney joke here). I was gladdened to see him take several jabs at Bush and Cheney - the restoring truth to the White House thing was fabulous, and I'm sure intentionally reminiscent of Bush's campaign promise in 2000 to return integrity, or whatever it was, to the White House. Loved the line about John Aschroft as well.

My big worry: Will Kerry stand by all his big words tomorrow? Meaning, when asked directly "are you saying the president intentionally misled the country?", Kerry needs to answer "yes." And not give one of those half-weasley answers that Republicans are trying to make his trademark. He gave a strong speech, he needs to stand behind it in the days to come.

My only other concern is that the speech intentionally didn't get into the issues the base is concerned about - gay rights, black issues, abortion, etc. I think that's a smart move politically as it has great appeal to the middle, and doesn't give the Republicans anything to complain about. BUT, I hope this doesn't mean we're seeing the making of a big liberal closet in which all the base issues of concern to the party are thrown into and locked behind an impenetrable door where we'll never see or hear from them again, that would be bad.

More tomorrow as I think about this more. But overall, he did everything he needed to do. Prepare for the Republican attack dogs to let loose. Read More......

Your Thoughts on Kerry's Speech -- Open Thread

My first impression: a number of little stumbles over words, especially when evoking his mother and father early on. Fascinating to see his biggest applause lines: a dig at the Saudi Royal family, promising not to politicize the Constitution, and quoting Abraham Lincoln on God (we shouldn't claim God is on our side but rather humbly pray that we are on His). Most important, he was very passionate and human and convincing in calling our nation to its better angels. He was strong on specifics and almost Reaganesque in evoking the optimism and promise of what can be accomplished when Americans come together. Not great rhetoric, perhaps, but a great image booster for him.


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Today's round-up, so far, of celeb sightings...

Wesley Clark. Well, ok, I didn't SEE Wesley Clark, a friend did, but the interesting part of the story is that apparently he had only one person talking to him - no gaggle of oglers like the other big boys around here. The same source told me that he also saw Jesse "I'm all for civil rights until the gays want them, then I become a bigoted cracker" Jackson, who had a large gaggle of people following him (hopefully someone kicked him).

Senator Joe Lieberman. I did see the Senator, and have NO IDEA why he had such a big following. There was an ENORMOUS crowd surrounding the guy as he walked down the hall, cameras, microphones, you name it. Personally, I was never too comfortable with Lieberman as he can be a bit socially conservative some time. Yes, the man ran for vice president, but come on guys, he's not exactly someone worth ogling.

Congress John Lewis. Civil rights icon. Very cool seeing him. Former State Dept spokesman Jamie Rubin, married to Christiane Amanpour. The Wall Street Journal's Al Hunt. CNN's Bill Schneider. Bill Crystal, not Billy Crystal. DNC chair Terry McAuliffe, who squared off against Sean Hannity on Hannity's ABC Radio show.

I had a chance to speak briefly with Robert Reich today. I told him how much I loved his April article about the horrors that await us during a second Bush term, and I told him that the article was making something of a comeback online, being forwarded to friends by email, etc. He joked that the should have mentioned his new book at the end of the article to help sales!

I also got a chance to talk to Massachusetts State Senator Jared Barrios, who you may recall gave a wonderfully impassioned speech about his two newly adopted children on the floor of the Massachusetts legislature during the gay marriage debate in that state. Jared was doing an interview on Sirius radio, and he and I knew each other from when he used to live in DC. He was there with his drop-dead adorable press secretary Colin Durrant. No word on whether Durrant is family, but AMERICAblog sure hopes so!

And finally, this enormous gaggle of people go walking by, and in the middle of them is a black guy wearing a bizarre almost 1920s style suit (not really a zoot suit, but close to it), and I think a hat or something. I figured he had to be a rapper, as I hate rap, and know NOTHING about it. I was told by someone that he's Andre 3000 of the group Outkast. I've heard of Outkast, though barely. Whatever.

Later this evening I'll tell you about Corey Johnson's run-in with anti-gay bigot Senator John Cornyn, my brief chat with my friend David Brock, and my surprise visit with.... OMAROSA! Read More......

Afghanistan: The Forgotten War

Depressing news: Doctors Without Borders is leaving Afghanistan because of concerns for safety and to protest the government's refusal to arrest the killers of five of its staff. Doctors Without Borders almost never leaves any country, no matter how dangerous, and it's a serious blow to the government. DWB also criticized the American-led coalition forces for blurring the line between military and humanitarian needs. Buried in the article was an item I hadn't remembered: in May, the American military apologized for distributing leaflets that threatened villagers, saying if they didn't supply info on militants they wouldn't get any aid.


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"Fahrenheit" Soldier Investigated by Marines

The soldier who appeared in "Fahrenheit 9/11" and said he would refuse to return to Iraq is under preliminary investigation by the Marines to see if this potential refusal of an order violates any regulations and needs to be punished, according to USA Today. Marine Lance Cpl. Abdul Henderson says he hasn't changed his mind and now his unit faces a possible return to Iraq. Henderson says he would go to Afghanistan because he believes that war was justified. It's a difficult situation, but I certainly admire Henderson and, for example, Muhammad Ali, for taking a principled stand and paying the price here in the States rather than running to Canada as draft dodgers did in the Seventies. Mostly, I'm just glad it's an issue my generation never had to face.


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Your thoughts on Edwards' speech - Open Thread

Of course, I missed it. Wondering what you guys thought. Please comment away. Read More......

Kerry's daughter is NO Mary Cheney

You gotta love it, and it will piss you off at the same time. John Kerry's daughter is happy to admit that she disagrees with dad about gay marriage. She's all for it. Mary Cheney, on the other hand, is more than happy to sit back and give her tacit approval to dad's gay-bashing support of a federal constitutional amendment. It's wonderful, but sad, and very telling, that a straight woman is a better profile in gay courage than one of our own. It's time we replace Mary Cheney with a daughter who actually sticks up for our community.

365Gay.com:

John Kerry's younger daughter is emerging as a woman as outspoken as her stepmother telling reporters she disagrees with her father on same-sex marriage.

Sitting with her sister Alexandra in a question and answer session with reporters to the Democratic National Convention from across the country, Vanessa Kerry was asked if there were any issues on which she was at odds with her father.

'Gay marriage,' she declared, as some party aides winced.

'To be fair - I've been on the record about it - I personally believe in gay marriage,' the 27 year old Harvard med student added.

'He believes in civil unions, which is still equal rights under the law ... I respect his opinion enormously ... but if you want to get into the semantics of it, that's it.'

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Fish fry Bush

Excellent news for the salmon!  Let's hope the decision sticks.

U.S. District Judge James Redden issued a preliminary injunction to stop a Bush administration plan that would have reduced the amount of water spilled over four federal dams, beginning Sunday.

"This is the first time in all the years of litigating on the Snake and Columbia that a judge has actually stepped in and prevented the agencies from taking a step that was seriously harmful for endangered salmon," he said.

Bush-Cheney set new record, US incomes drop 2 years in a row

This does not sound good for a team that will try running on the economy.  I don't give a damn what official unemployment numbers are, the economy is still soft and the IRS numbers are very telling.  I know too many people who are struggling right now so the relatively low unemployment number means nothing.  It's no wonder people are saying that Bush is taking the US in the wrong direction.

The overall income Americans reported to the government shrank for two consecutive years after the Internet stock market bubble burst in 2000, the first time that has effectively happened since the modern tax system was introduced during World War II, newly disclosed information from the Internal Revenue Service shows.

Adjusted for inflation, the income of all Americans fell 9.2 percent from 2000 to 2002, according to the new I.R.S. data.

The unprecedented back-to-back declines in reported incomes was caused primarily by the combination of the big fall in the stock market and the erosion of jobs and wages in well-paying industries in the early years of the decade.

Falling incomes, rather than tax cuts, appear to count for the greatest share of the decline in income taxes paid. That is because the higher one stood on the income ladder the greater the impact was likely to be from the stock market crunch.