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And yes, it's for real.

From Bob Harris via Atrios. Read More......

Boston Wins The World Series!! The Planets Are Aligning!!

For the first time in 86 years, the Boston Red Sox have won the World Series, ending the most famous slump in baseball and the most famous "curse" in all of sports. People have been born and suffered and died without seeing Boston win the World Series and it happens in the year when John Kerry is running for President? That's as good a portent as you could hope for. And since John Kerry moved from nailing Bush's incompetence to a message of hope this week, we should too. Everyone is thoroughly freaked out by the polls and won't take anything for granted. So I don't think it's damgerous to express my hope that JOHN KERRY IS GOING TO WIN!!

Two good baseball signs: I was in Yankee Stadium when the flag-waving, military-cheering blue collar Yankee fans BOOED Dick Cheney's scowling face when it appeared on the video screens during a regular season game. Sweet.

Finally, I'm a die-hard Yankee fan with season tickets in the bleachers who happily chants 1918 (the last time Boston won it all) at the drop of a hat. But when my Bush-voting friend asked me during game one of the Yankees v Boston playoffs if having John Kerry be President would mean having Boston beat the Yankees and win the World Series, what would I choose? I said without hesitating that I would choose the future of my country over the Yankees. And he taunted and teased me for not being a real fan.

But I know what's truly important. Thank God Boston won the World Series and thank God John Kerry will win the election if we all go out and vote and drag our friends with us. (But next season it's back to booing Boston. Go Yankees!)
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More eclipse blogging

Kind of cool that people posted their comments from all over looking at the same eclipse. I'm posting some of the comments below, along with my pics of the eclipse here in DC (before the clouds rolled in). Note how in some it made the clouds red (at long expsoure).



Damn... clouds rolled in at around 10:15
Andrew | Email | Homepage | 10.27.04 - 10:34 pm | #

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It's this time an hour later than you think):

Total Eclipse begins at 11:23 PM
Total Eclipse ends at 11:45 PM
john | Email | Homepage | 10.27.04 - 10:40 pm | #

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Just about complete now. Cool!
David in NY | Email | Homepage | 10.27.04 - 10:45 pm | #

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Looks very cool in Waltham, MA. Hard to look away from the TV screen though...
Rob | Email | Homepage | 10.27.04 - 10:47 pm | #

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According to the LA Weekly Astrologer, Rockie Gardiner:

Weather permitting, the total lunar eclipse can be seen in LA from 7:23 p.m. until 8:45 PDT. And, befitting a Scorpio-Taurus opposition so close to Halloween, the moon should be blood-red.

Chandler in Hollywood
Chandler | Email | Homepage | 10.27.04 - 10:47 pm | #



Too cloudy here to see anything!
Holly in Cincinnati | Email | Homepage | 10.27.04 - 10:49 pm | #

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looks cool in colorado.
stegowhite | Email | Homepage | 10.27.04 - 10:54 pm | #

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Beautiful full eclipse here in our desert paradise of Palm Springs California aka God's waiting room (;>)
David | Email | Homepage | 10.27.04 - 10:54 pm | #

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Too cloudy in Philadelphia to see more than occasional glimpses.
Liz | Email | Homepage | 10.27.04 - 10:54 pm | #

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Too cloudy in the San Fernando Valley area of LA, boo hoo.
Anonymous | Email | Homepage | 10.27.04 - 10:58 pm | #

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Clear night here in the Calif. Wine Country and the moon is stunning.
hawkseye | Email | Homepage | 10.27.04 - 11:05 pm | #

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The moon is lovely and full, nicely occluded and riding high in the east. Astrologers say that the eclipse in an earth sign will have especially powerful effects on those who were born during an earth sign (Virgo, Capricorn, Taurus). Whatever serves no purpose can be left, physically or intentionally, to dissolve in the eclipse and, when the occlusion clears, issues and disturbances that have no value will have melted away with the eclipse. Be sure to set a photo of Dubya out in the dark to be occluded and mystically dissolved.

Indigo | Email | Homepage | 10.27.04 - 11:05 pm | #



Lo! see above: the moon is dark!
Comes nigh to us, a sight so stark.
Forboding orb, foretelling woe.
Our hopes may die: rides forth our foe.

Shine, once again, I beg thee, dear.
Warm thee this night; banish my fear.
Take back thy blood; anon, glow white,
that I should live, in Freedom's light.

The Dark Wraith has written.
Dark Wraith | Email | Homepage | 10.27.04 - 11:08 pm | #

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I wish it were that simple!
Holly in Cincinnati | Email | Homepage | 10.27.04 - 11:08 pm | #

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Very pretty!

Here's a link to a picture I snapped on my digital camera. Not the best shot, but not too shabby without a telescope.


(This is Mr. T's photo)

I'm not sure if I can make a direct link, so you might have to copy and paste the above into your browser.

~ Mr.T
Mr.T | Email | Homepage | 10.27.04 - 11:19 pm | # Read More......

Ooh ooh, full lunar eclipse in N. America, right now, go look

It peaks at 10:23PM Eastern time. Very cool. I'm taking pictures. It's all red. Read More......

If you're having trouble voting, getting a ballot etc, contact MoveOn

This from a reader:

My son's girlfriend has never received her absentee ballot from Miami Dade County. After getting nowhere all day today with FL elections officials, she contacted the toll free numbers on MoveOn.org's Voter Protection card and she got legal assistance immediately.

You can download the card here.

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Zogby's latest battleground numbers

Zogby's numbers and a bit of his analysis:

Summary
Kerry in Front in 5 States (CO, MN, OH, PA, WI);
Bush Drops to Lead in Only 3 States (FL, NM, NV);
Tied in Michigan (47%-47%), Iowa (45%-45%)

President Bush now trails Senator Kerry in Ohio, a state critical to Republican ambitions, according to the latest Reuters/Zogby ten-state battleground poll. Reliably-Democratic Michigan is also now in play, with the candidates tied at 47% apiece. The telephone polls of approximately 600 likely voters per state were conducted from Sunday through Wednesday (October 24-27, 2004). The margin of error is +/- 4.1 percentage points.

CO
Bush 46
Kerry 50
Zogby International is watching the battle for Colorado's nine electoral votes very closely. A state with a Republican registration edge, a large military presence, a technology-heavy economy, two Republican senators, and that gave President Bush a solid victory four years ago, it continues to be a tight contest—and Zogby's polls coontinue to show the President behind.

FL
Bush 48
Kerry 46

IA
Bush 45
Kerry 45

MI
Bush 47
Kerry 47
Union-heavy Rust-Belt heavyweight Michigan, a state that Democrats are supposed to be able to count on in presidential elections, is now a dead heat—and a fact that the Democrats have to deal with lesss than a week from the election. Zogby International will be paying particular attention to this state for the next six days.

MN
Bush 44
Kerry 47

NM
Bush 47
Kerry 44
Mr. Bush's lead in New Mexico has eroded for a second straight day, to three points—less than the 5% of undecided vvoters, and a sign of some difficulties for the President in a state where Al Gore very narrowly bested him in 2000.

NV
Bush 51
Kerry 44

OH
Bush 45
Kerry 46
In a disturbing sign for the Republicans, Ohio—a state that no Republican has ever won the White House without winning first—is now leaning to Senator Kerry..... On the question of the country's direction, 50% of Ohioans say the country is on the wrong track, while 44% say the country is heading in the right direction.

PA
Bush 46
Kerry 49
Mr. Kerry is leading in Pennsylvania, a state Al Gore carried in 2000, when the governor was Bush loyalist Tom Ridge. Today, Democratic Governor Ed Rendell is poised to help Mr. Kerry win the state's 21 electoral votes—if he can hold his three-point eddge until election day.... On the question of the country's direction, 49% in Pennsylvania believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, while 48% say the country is going in the right direction.

WI
Bush 46
Kerry 50
Mr. Kerry has expanded his lead in Wisconsin, doubling his edge to four points overnight.

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Even MORE voting problems in Florida

One of our readers just received this email written by his friend. I have a friend who's a Florida resident and never got his absentee ballot. This all rings true:

I never got my voter registration card through the mail, decided to go and vote early yesterday just in case there was a problem so I could fix it if need be. There was. I'm not on The List. I can't vote. This morning I went to the Supervisor of Elections office and they confirmed that. Then I called 1-866-OUR-VOTE and spoke to a lawer to register my complaint. He told me that Broward county has been registering an "absurdly high" volume of complaints, that pretty much everything that can go awry has, and that so far 15,000 people have called from Broward and Dade counties because they didn't recieve their registration cards. Apparently nobody has been able to get through to the Election Supervisors office by phone for more than a week now, so some of them called OUR VOTE. *sigh* When they spoke to the Election Board about it , the problem was blamed on the postal service. Yeah, right. 15,000 pieces of randomly 'lost' mail. I believe that one!

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Religious right irked-ness grows with Bush

Apparently, they finally got wind that Bush considers them the electoral equivalent of the crazy aunt in the attic. This from the religious right propaganda organ AgapePress:

Pro-life Republicans are not at all happy that President Bush is surrounding himself with pro-abortion celebrities in this final week of the election campaign. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is an advocate of embryonic stem-cell research, and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who is an abortion advocate, have joined the president in his final campaign swings -- and pro-lifers are uneasy about that. Pat Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition realizes it is part of the political game, but it still bothers him. "It's troubling why the White House backed Arlen Specter over Pat Toomey [in the Pennsylvania primary], but in politics, unfortunately, there are all these troubling alliances," Mahoney laments. "[But] for us, we'll just go forward and speak our agenda, which is to see that Senator Kerry does not get elected."

Mahoney notes that both Schwarzenegger and Giuliani spoke at the Republican National Convention. "Where were the Rick Santorums and other strong pro-family, pro-life leaders?" he wonders. The Coalition spokesman says pro-lifers need to keep the faith and support President Bush. But after the election, he says, they will need to work hard to make sure people like Schwarzenegger and Giuliani do not become the voice of the GOP.

Good luck. The man just endorsed gay civil unions. Ash heap of history, much? Read More......

Arafat Collapses, Loses Consciousness

I think we've now had every major issue domestically and internationally pop up in the news this final week of the election. Amazing. Read More......

Video of Bush giving the finger (not kidding)

Not what Jesus would do. And funny, but this was reportedly taped while Bush was governor of Texas, meaning sometime between 1994 and 2000. WELL AFTER his born-again experience in the mid-80s. Is this what evangelical Christians do? Or is Bush just born-again in name only?



From Video Vote Vigil Read More......

Enough said

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Widows Accomplished

New from ENJOYtheDRAFT.com



President Bush today called on America to address a growing crisis - the dwindling supply of our nation's widows. Since the end of the Vietnam War, America has ranked at the rock bottom of nations in terms of widows per capita. The president is asking college students to reverse this devastating trend before it's too late. "If we do not radically increase the number of widows," Bush said, "the nation's supply of unimaginable grief and senseless rage could drop to dangerous levels."

The president is doing his part by promoting marriage, provoking long and bloody wars, and providing our troops in Iraq with no clear mission or exit strategy, ensuring the return of a draft in his second term. If re-elected on November 2, Bush says he will immediately introduce the "No Widow Left Behind Act" to ensure that America again reclaims its place among the widowmakers of the world. Read More......

I'm BACK!

Geez, blogger had a meltdown and I couldn't post, nor could many of you (me) even get to the site. I still think the AMERICAblog.org address is having problems. In the future, to be safe, try http://americablog.blogspot.com/

Anyway, I'm back now, so will peruse the news to see what's tasty. Read More......

Oh, he did NOT just say that

Of all the stupid stuff that has come out of his mouth, this one is just amazing. What timing! What sheer audacity! It's as if the last three years never happened!

In the middle of the daily duck and weave, trying to avoid responsibility for the 377 tons of missing explosives, Bush harps on a quote -- again, taken out of context -- by Richard Holbrooke to imply that Kerry is a bit over-eager on the lastest colossal screw-up of this administration:

"For a political candidate to jump to conclusions without knowing the facts is not a person you want as your commander in chief," Bush said.

Say it with me: WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION. Read More......

Who Would Jesus Vote For?

Abraham Lincoln said he didn't claim that God was on his side in the Civil War -- he humbly prayed that he was on God's side. Bush has no such modesty of course. But a new LA Times article shows trouble in evangelical land.

"An estimated 80% of the evangelical vote went to Bush in 2000," says the LA Times. "But Bush's senior political strategist, Karl Rove, said after the 2000 election that the president might have won the race against Democrat Al Gore by a comfortable margin had 4 million more evangelicals gone to the polls rather than sitting out the election...."

"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."

In other words, the support for Bush among evangelical groups is lower than 2000 -- when he lost the popular vote -- and in serious freefall. They got 80% last time and hoped to get 90%. Now they're looking at 70%. That is a major, major problem for Bush. And his recent pandering -- I don't hate gay people, that General was naughty to say we're fighting a holy war against Satan -- ain't gonna help.

By the way, as John has pointed out before, evangelicals are not some monolithic group. A significant minority support a woman's right to choice. 1 out of 5 that voted in 2000 did NOT vote for Bush.

All in all, it's the Good News for Kerry.


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Feeling Disconnected?

If you've had problems getting onto Americablog.org, you haven't been alone. Unclear if it's related to the DC area, to a certain Internet provider or what, but others have reported problems as well.
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The Election Will Not Be Televised

A rising tide of opinion -- both in articles and editorial columns -- says that the Presidential election will not be decided on election day. Too many provisional ballots, too many absentee ballots, too many electronic voting machines that could break down, and too many lawyers.

"But because those [provisional] ballots will have to be considered one by one, there is a real possibility that the outcome of the presidential election will not be known on the morning of Nov. 3 and that it will again turn on court decisions, say election law specialists tracking more than a half-dozen thorny legal issues in the swing states," says the New York Times.

Of course, we've been telling you this for weeks now. But when everyone agrees with us, it's time to reconsider. With Kerry gaining momentum every day and with YOU promising to go to the polls and take ten friends with you, Kerry is going to outperform the polls and win handily by the popular vote and electoral vote and all these problems -- which must be resolved by 2008 -- will be minor hassles instead of president-deciding factors.


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NBC/White House story about al-Qaqaa crumbles

And to think it all looked so simple in the eyes of the White House just a day ago. Well the real story is now out and even the NBC journalist that was on site has clarified the story. Isn't it fitting that the BBC new chief is blasting the US media for dishing out star-spangled news stories that "did not perform the role the public expects of them." (OK, now even NBC who started the story and CNN who ran with it are backing down but why was the initial report so unbalanced?) The reality now appears to be that al Qaqaa is a massive location with around a hundred buildings and the troops passed through quickly without a search for weapons. They were charging towards Baghdad and had no orders to perform a detailed weapons search nor were they ordered to secure the location.
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