Kerry files FEC complaint about Bush Swift Boat surrogates

Kerry filed an FEC complaint today alleging that the Swift Boat Veterans are coordinating their attacks on Kerry with the Bush campaign, which would be illegal. The Bush campaign responded, bizzarely, by trying to slur Kerry as "wild eyed" and "losing it." The Reuters piece makes clear that this is the same kind of attack the Bushies launched on John McCain 4 years ago, claiming that he was "unstable."

Good for Kerry, standing up against the Bush slime machine. If Bush wants to talk about the past, let's talk about the past. Let's talk about Bush's alcoholism, the video in which Bush appears drunk years after he claims he stopped drinking, let's talk about Bush's alleged cocaine use, his missing duty during Vietnam, his drunk driving arrest, and his telling Salon.com during the 1988 convention that he and his dad talk about "pussy" a lot. Let's talk about the 7 minutes that our commander in chief just sat there, reading a children's book, while our nation was under attack. Let's talk about the 3 hours our president went missing on September 11 while the rest of us wondered if our country even had a leader anymore.

If Bush wants to talk about who is and isn't presidential material, I say bring it on. Read the rest of this post...

Religious right jumps on internment bandwagon

The religious right news service, AgapePress, has jumped on the bandwagon trying to whitewash the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII. It's clear from this clip from AgapePress, which presents NO OPPOSING VIEW, that the religious right is passing this info along in an effort to side with the thesis of the author, that internment wasn't really that bad.

Oh, but please don't compare this administration's actions to any of the evils during WWI, that would simply be beyond the pale and ridiculous, really, I mean it.

A best-selling author and syndicated columnist hopes her new book will debunk a 60-year-old myth about the internment of people of Japanese lineage during World War II. That myth, according to Michelle Malkin, is being used to paralyze America's efforts to win the war against Islamic terrorism. Malkin's book is entitled In Defense of Internment: The Case for Racial Profiling in World War II and the War on Terror. She says it is "simply untrue" that the internment policy was driven by solely by hysteria and racism. The columnist explains that historical records show Japan, in fact, had established an extensive espionage network within the United States. But she says the American Civil Liberties Union and other liberal groups have used the internment myth to impede the current U.S. security efforts. "We've been guilt-tripped into avoiding any use of race, ethnicity, religion, or nationality to protect the homeland now," Malkin says. "I think that is very perilous thinking, and I think it's a mindset that we really need to correct if we are going to win the current war on terror." Malkin says profiling is and always has been a legitimate national security policy.

Read the rest of this post...

GOP convention showdown over gay rights

Well, the GOP convention is starting to get interesting as it's quickly becoming a showdown over gay rights. The gay Republican group Log Cabin Republicans is calling on the GOP to include a number of pro-gay planks in the party platform (see letter below). According to an LA Times story a week ago, the gay Republicans have threatened a floor fight if the party doesn't agree to their new language. It still remains to be seen if the gay Republicans truly have the courage of their convictions, but nonetheless, the gay battle is the only interesting and controversial news leading up to this convention. And that isn't good news for Bush, as a "gay" convention is the LAST thing he wants.

Log Cabin Republicans News Release
For Immediate Release
August 19, 2004
Contact: Christopher Barron
Log Cabin Republicans Public Affairs
(202) 347-5306 or (202) 297-9807 (cell)

2004 Republican Platform Committee
c/o Senator William Frist
c/o Governor William Owens
c/o Congresswoman Melissa Hart

Dear Platform Committee Co-Chairs:

I am writing on behalf of Log Cabin Republicans, the nation's largest organization of Republicans who support fairness, freedom, and equality for gay and lesbian Americans; including the 1,000,000 gay and lesbians who voted for President George W. Bush in 2000. I am writing specifically regarding the Republican Party's platform. We support the vast majority of the language from the Party's 2000 platform, which emphasizes Republican values of limited government, lower taxes, individual responsibility and a strong national defense. At the same time, we believe that there are ways to make the Party's 2004 platform more inclusive.

First, we ask that the Party strengthen the platform language it adopted in 2000 recognizing that "diversity is a source of strength, not a sign of weakness, and we welcome into our ranks all who may hold differing positions." Given the current divisive debate over many issues relating to basic fairness for gay and lesbian Americans, particularly in light of the debate over the Federal Marriage Amendment, this language is not sufficient. We ask that the platform's language related to inclusion be strengthened by adopting a Party Unity Plank. The Party Unity Plank reads:

"We recognize and respect that Republicans of good faith may not agree with all the planks in the party's platform. This is particularly the case with regard to those planks dealing with abortion, family planning, and gay and lesbian issues. The Republican Party welcomes all people on all sides of these complex issues and encourages their active participation as we work together on those issues upon which we agree."

Second, we ask that the party not take any position on the question of whether a Constitutional remedy is necessary or appropriate in relation to same-sex marriage. The Senate debate on the Federal Marriage Amendment illustrated the deep divisions that exist among Republicans on this issue. Many Republicans of good faith have expressed deep reservations about a Constitutional amendment. Putting language in the platform about this issue will only further highlight this division during a time the Party should be united.

Third, opinion polls show that close to 80% of Americans support protecting gay and lesbian employees from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. President Bush himself has restated his commitment to protecting federal employees from such discrimination. Additionally, 18 Republican Senators voted to add sexual orientation to current federal hate crimes protections. Accordingly, we ask that the platform remove the language from the 2000 platform that reads, "For the same reason, we do not believe sexual preference should be given special legal protections or standing in law." Laws prohibiting employment discrimination and laws strengthening criminal penalties for hate crimes cannot be fairly described as "special protections."

Fourth, we ask that the platform fulfill its promise of "Upholding the Rights of All." The platform in 2000 stated that "Equality of individuals before the law has always been a cornerstone of our party." The platform then went on to state "we therefore oppose discrimination based on sex, race, age, religion, creed, disability, or national origin..." We ask that the platform add "sexual orientation" to this list.

Finally, with our nation at war, now more than ever, we need to make sure that our military preparedness and effectiveness is not jeopardized by a policy that denies gays and lesbians from serving openly and honestly in our military. Today, we know that there are thousands of gays and lesbians serving with distinction in our armed forces helping to win the war on terror. Over 70% of Americans believe that gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly and honestly in our military. Accordingly, we ask that the following language from the 2000 platform be removed, "We affirm that homosexuality is incompatible with military service."

This letter serves as our formal written request that our Party show its commitment to the 1,000,000 gay and lesbian voters, their families, and millions of other inclusive Republicans who helped elect President Bush in 2000 by making these changes to the platform.

Sincerely,
Patrick Guerriero
Executive Director

cc: Governor Haley Barbour, Chairman of the Subcommittee on "Protecting Our Families"

Read the rest of this post...

NYT: Swift Boat Veterans have extensive ties to Bush/Rove, and their story has a lot of holes in it (surprise)

Massive article in today's NYT linking the anti-Kerry veterans group to Bush & Rove:

A series of interviews and a review of documents show a web of connections to the Bush family, high-profile Texas political figures and President Bush's chief political aide, Karl Rove.

Records show that the group received the bulk of its initial financing from two men with ties to the president and his family - one a longtime political associate of Mr. Rove's, the other a trustee of the foundation for Mr. Bush's father's presidential library. A Texas publicist who once helped prepare Mr. Bush's father for his debate when he was running for vice president provided them with strategic advice. And the group's television commercial was produced by the same team that made the devastating ad mocking Michael S. Dukakis in an oversized tank helmet when he and Mr. Bush's father faced off in the 1988 presidential election.

My favorite part of the article:

What drives the veterans, they acknowledge, is less what Mr. Kerry did during his time in Vietnam than what he said after. Their affidavits and their television commercial focus mostly on those antiwar statements. Most members of the group object to his using the word "atrocities" to describe what happened in Vietnam when he returned and became an antiwar activist.

Yeah, how dare John Kerry question our commitment to the Vietnam war. It was, apparently, a VERY GOOD WAR, and, apparently, WE DID VERY GOOD THINGS WHILE WE WERE THERE, like My Lai, napalm, and other such good deeds. Yes, the Bush defenders would like us to believe that our role in Vietnam is something to be defended and admired. And we wonder how these same people got us into Iraq. Read the rest of this post...

ACTION ALERT: Nepal arrests 39 men for being gay, help them please

This is truly outrageous. Nepal has arrested 39 men simply for being gay and trying to work towards their own civil rights. Nepal bans "homosexual acts" and was worried that a gay rights group the men belonged to, the Blue Diamond Society, might try to "make homosexual acts legal" (oh the horror). You can read more about this from Human Rights Watch here, and here.

It's time to step in and defend our brothers who are less fortunate than us. After all, it was only one year ago that homosexual acts were illegal in the US. But at least John Aschroft has yet to be able to throw US in jail for it.

Please contact as many of the following as possible to let them know you are outraged over the arest of the 39 gay men on August 9, and that Nepal should release the men and legalize the Blue Diamond Society immediately.

Feel free to post any feedback you get as comments to this post. Thanks, JOHN

This link may work for you to email everyone at once - if it doesn't, you can use the individual email links I post below.

Nepalese Embassy in - Wash DC
webmaster@nepalembassyusa.org
Tel: 202 667 4550, Fax: 202 667 5534
info@nepalembassyusa.org

Nepalese consulate in NYC
Tel. (212) 370 3988/89
Fax (212) 953 2038

-----------------

Honorary Consuls in Canada
TORONTO
Tel: (416) 865 0200, Fax: (416) 865 0904
E-mail: kusharma@toronto.bdo.ca

VICTORIA, BC
Tel: (250) 381 7788, Fax (250) 381 1042
E-mail: cconsidine@tnet.net

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UN MISSIONS
Nepalese Mission to the UN
Tel: 212 370 3988/3989, Fax: 212 953 2038
Email: nepal@un.int

Nepalese Mission to UN - Switzerland
Tel: 22 733 2600/2621, Fax: 22 733 2722
Email: mission.nepal@itu.ch

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Nepalese government officials

Ministry of Industry
moc@mos.com.np

Trade Promotion Center
tpcnep@mos.com.np

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
fmo@mofa.gov.np
eroam@mofa.gov.np

Ministry of Law and Justice
molaw@wlink.com.np

Chamber of Commerce
fncci@mos.com.np

Another Chamber of Commerce
chamber@wlink.com.np

US-Focused Chamber of Commerce
nusacci@vishnu.ccsl.com.np

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NEPALESE EMBASSIES IN OTHER COUNTRIES

Nepalese Embassy - Belgium
Tel: 32 2 346 2658/346 5604/346 6638
Fax: 344 1361, Email: rne.bru@skynet.be

Nepalese Embassy - France
Tel: 33 1 4622 4867, Fax: 4227 0865
Email: nepal@worldnet.fr

Nepalese Embassy - Germany
Tel: (030) 3435 9920-22
Fax: (030) 3435 9906
Email: rneberlin@t-online.de

Nepalese Embassy - Japan
Tel: 81 3 3705 5558/9 Fax: 3705 8264
Email: nepembjp@big.or.jp

Nepalese Embassy - UK
Tel: 44 171 229 1594/6231 5352
Fax: 792 9861, Email: rnelondon@compuserve.com

Nepalese Embassy - Hong Kong
Tel: 852 2369 7813, Fax: 852 2824 2970
Email: honorary_royal_nepalese_consuls_generalshk@ismart.net

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WRITE A LETTER TO:

NEPAL NEWS
gtrn@mos.com.np

GORKHA DAILY
gopa@mos.com.np

KATHMANDU POST
kanti@kpost.mos.com.np

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Lots more Nepal govt email addresses on this page, if you're really feeling angry. Read the rest of this post...

54% believe Iraq had WMDs prior to war

This is what happens when Fox News ratings goes up. Just how clueless are these people? I believe that this study was done by the same group that previously did show just how uninformed Fox viewers are.

More than half of Americans, 54 percent, continue to believe Iraq had weapons of mass destruction or a program to develop them before the United States invaded last year, according to a poll released Friday.

Half believe Iraq was either closely linked with al-Qaida before the war (35 percent) or was directly involved in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on this country (15 percent).

Read the rest of this post...

Kerry Fights Back Against War Critics

It's all well and good that this group of Vietnam Vets is being taken to task. Unfortunately, John Kerry is not the one who should have to do it. Attacking those guys credibility isn't hard, given their retraction of sworn statements, military records that contradict their claims of there being no enemy fire, none of them serving on a boat with Kerry, commanding officers claiming today he was terrible but giving him glowing reviews at the time and on and on.

This sort of dirty work should be done by surrogates, not by Kerry. But Kerry was losing ground with veterans (he and Bush were neck and neck after the DNC and now Bush has an 18 point lead in this group) and he's decided he has to directly address the campaign. Some say he waited too long. It's the old Clinton rule: immediately attack back on any negative ads. You're just "responding," not being negative; so no one can accuse you of slinging mud. And letting negative charges linger is always bad.
Read the rest of this post...

Voter Intimidation Scandal in Florida Grows

Yep, that fishy case of state law enforcement officials questioning elderly black residents of Orlando who help organize get-out-the-vote drives (all chosen at random, mind you) is officially a scandal. State officials tried to claim they were investigating a case of voter fraud. But the Florida Department of Law found the allegations had no basis back in May, according to Bob Herbert of the NYT. This scandal and the overall scandal of voting conditions in Florida needs to get on the front page immediately. Voters in the state should be deluging their elected officials/staging protests/you name it unless they are willing to see yet another Florida election end in disarray and accusations of fraud.
Read the rest of this post...

8 year old violates Catholic code by eating rice

Absolutely un-fucking believable, but then again... It reminds me of my own encounter with Catholic stupidity when the Mother Superior informed my parents that I missed a critical practice for my first communion so I would be unable to take part in the process. I was a kid who missed a valuable practice because I attended my Catholic grandfathers funeral. It's hard to believe that the Catholic church is able to maintain such ignorance year after year after year. Here's a family who actually wants their kid to take part in the church yet they refuse to accept a child. Meanwhile they prop up pedophiles and offer excuses for them.

An 8-year-old girl who suffers from a rare digestive disorder and cannot eat wheat has had her first Holy Communion declared invalid because the wafer contained no wheat, violating Roman Catholic doctrine.

"How does it corrupt the tradition of the Last Supper? It's just rice versus wheat," said [mother] Elizabeth Pelly-Waldman.

"This is not an issue to be determined at the diocesan or parish level, but has already been decided for the Roman Catholic Church throughout the world by Vatican authority," Trenton Bishop John M. Smith said in a statement last week.

Read the rest of this post...

Another priest abuse story, another smear by the church

Not that there's a common theme or anything going on here (allegation, denial, smear, blame the victim, use statute of limitations as a crutch, hide the problem, etc.) but when the hell is the Catholic church going to quit being so damned reactionary on this problem? This priest appears to be yet another guy who they've managed to shuffle around and ignore for years.

A Roman Catholic priest who has been charged with sexually abusing an 11-year-old altar boy committed the crimes while decades-old allegations against him were making headlines, prosecutors allege.

Queens prosecutors in 2002 had found two adult brothers' abuse claims against the Rev. Joseph Byrns credible, but the statute of limitations had expired. On Thursday, prosecutors in Brooklyn announced that Byrns had been charged with abusing the altar boy for two years, beginning in the spring of 2000.

In March 2002, Byrns defended himself at a Sunday Mass, calling Timothy Lambert a "troubled and disturbed person."

Byrns molested the boy repeatedly and eventually engaged in oral and anal sex, according to an indictment made public Thursday. He gave the boy money and toys and instructed him not to tell anyone about the abuse, prosecutors said.

Read the rest of this post...