Create your own Bush campaign ad for the Hispanglish community

Bush is apparently unveiling a new campaign ad targeted at Latino voters. I think it's time to open the floor to you guys. Come up with your best Bush campaign slogan to woo Hispanic voters, and I'll post the top ones as a separate blog entry. Go! Read the rest of this post...

Bush again uses the latest terror alert to help his campaign

As if there were any doubt:

President Bush said on the campaign trail on Thursday his tough stance against terrorism was paying off with the arrests of al Qaeda operatives that triggered a security alert in New York and Washington.

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Bush's Next Career?

Here's a good idea for Bush's next job if the November election doesn't go quite the way he plans. (Just scroll to the bottom of the World Briefings for the item under Great Britain.) Am I right or am I right?

JOHN'S ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS: I think Bush's next career should be spent in a Japanese-style internment camp. I hear they're quite lovely this time of year. Read the rest of this post...

Springsteen Linked to Hate Group?

Lots of articles about the swing-state tour featuring Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, the Dixie Chicks, R.E.M., Dave Matthews and others -- and they all had a bizarre quote from Bush's media director Mark McKinnon saying it was a shame these artists had decided to affiliate with a hate-filled fringe group. Huh? Not till I read the NYT piece did I realize he was referring to MoveOn.org. His justification? That long-ago competition they sponsored in which one entrant made mocking comparisons between Bush and Hitler that was on their website briefly among many other finalists before it was taken down. For that they're a hate-filled fringe group? Way to demonize those who disagree with you and add to the divisiveness in America, Bush.

JOHN'S ADDITION TO MICHAEL'S POST: It's a shame that Bush media director Mark McKinnon has decided to affiliate himself with a hate-filled candidate. Read the rest of this post...

Now the conservatives are defending the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII - Are Muslim-Americans next?

The really sad part is that it's some Asian-American woman writing this new book in defense of internment (you need to scroll down a bit to read what this guy has to say about the book). As you know, the Republicans love to find a token anti-gay gay person, or a token Uncle Tom African-American (Illlinois Senate race anyone?), and trot them out to "prove" that the civil rights struggles of those communities are all a lie, since, after all, EVEN SOMEONE WHO LOOKS LIKE THEM AGREES THEY SHOULD BE THROWN IN PRISON CAMPS OR JAIL, OR THAT THEY DON'T DESERVE MARRIAGE, ETC.

Anyway, it's no big surprise that this woman's articles are published on WorldNetDaily, The National Review, and that she's a regular contributor to FOX. And I guess it shouldn't be a surprise that even Asians, gays, blacks, and women have their own sell-outs in their own communities (after all, we're all human, why should our communities be any less suceptible to the occasoinal freak). But it still amazes how low the Republicans will go in trying to force their agenda on the nation. Ann Coulter even tried to rehabilitate Sen. Joe McCarthy in one of her recent books. And now this Michelle Malkin woman is saying the internment camps were really nice places, and apparently a good idea to boot. And she has the nerve to criticize people like Norm Mineta who actually spent time in one of the God-forsaken camps as a child.

What Malkin unfortunately doesn't realize is that the kind of America she's promoting is the very kind of America in which she'd be one of the first to be locked up (but I guess that would be ok to her, since the accomodations in prison camps are so swell, and in any case, whatever her alleged crime she'd obviously be guilty since she's not white like the rest of us - you never can be too safe).

Not to mention, is this a subtle sign that conservatives think Arab-Americans might need to be sent to camps some day? The same logic clearly applies. If it was okay in the 40s, then it's okay today. Assuming we get the "right" intelligence backing up the threat (and hell, that should be easy - these guys pull new intelligence out of their ass by the hour). And while we're at it, how about Hilter? I mean, once he started going after some Jews, this argument would suggest that all the other German Jews might become fifth columnists. Was it okay to imprison them?

But hey, don't worry. It's "ridiculous" to compare the way Republicans are treating gay-Americans and Muslim-Americans to the way Hitler treated the Jews or the way America treated our own Japenese citizens during WWII. Yep, absolutely ridiculous and offensive comparison, don't go there, it simply could not happen again. That's what the Republicans tell us, while their most popular intellectual leaders try to relegitimize those very practices. Read the rest of this post...

Bush approval rating at ALL-TIME LOW in FOX News poll

When even FOX's polls show you're sinking, you're in SERIOUS trouble. This new poll shows Bush at an all-time low.

"Do you approve or disapprove of the job George W. Bush is doing as president?"

Approve 44
Disapprove 48
Don't Know 8

General Election:

"If the election for president of the United States were held today, for whom would you vote if the candidates were Republican George W. Bush, Democrat John Kerry, and independent candidate Ralph Nader?"

Bush 43%
Kerry 47%
Nader 2%
Other/Not sure 8%

From my read of the rest of the numbers on this page, it looks like Kerry may be winning over undecideds by 2-1 (i.e., for every 1 Bush gets, Kerry gets 2). Of course, we'll have to wait till after the Rep. Convention to see how the numbers really shake out.

(Thanks to LeftWingGrumbles for spotting this.) Read the rest of this post...

Teacher's Lover at 12 Still Loves Her at 21

I guess this is what Rick Santorum is defending. Read the rest of this post...

Bush caught telling the truth

Remarks by President Bush at the Signing of H.R. 4613, The Defense Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2005, Aug.5, 2004. This is from the White House Web site, no less:

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."

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Oh, this just in: Bush finds NEW info to back up terror alert

I guess the missing evidence was hiding with the WMDs...

And another thing, you know that this "latest evidence" is something they just got, haven't scrubbed nearly enough to see if it's even credible, are only releasing because they're desperate for credibility, and in about a week, or 3 months, they're going to say "well, that new evidence wasn't REALLY that good or on point or even correct." Read the rest of this post...

McCain Condemns Anti-Kerry Ad

"It was the same kind of deal that was pulled on me," McCain said. Read the rest of this post...

Do NOT support this Democrat

In a rather troubling Washington Post story about how these local gay marriage bans votes may actually be getting out the vote for the radical right, I found this little gem:

In heavily Republican northern Kentucky, for example, Democrat Nick Clooney, a retired TV anchorman and the father of actor George Clooney, is running for Congress on a platform that includes support for a constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

I know we need to win back the Congress, but at some point we have to draw the line. It's not worth winning if we're going to be electing more Stepford Republican clones like Zell Miller to the Congress. And it's not worth winning if we have to compromise our core beliefs and values in order to achieve victory.

It's high time the Democratic party sent a message to its candidates that you embrace sexual segregation at your own risk. Support bigory against ANY CLASS OF AMERICANS - blacks, gays, women, Jews, Muslims, Latinos, you name it - and you are NOT welcome in our party. Read the rest of this post...

NYT OBLITERATES Bush over schizophrenic terror alerts

This is the editorial the Washington Post would have written before it was taken over by the pod people:

After 17 months in which alerts blinked from yellow to orange and back a half-dozen times, the White House should be past its learning curve....

Finally, there is the matter of politics. The Bush administration expressed outrage at the suggestion that there could be any politics behind any of its warnings, but the president has some history to overcome on this issue. There is nothing more important for Mr. Bush to do every day until Nov. 2 than to make it clear that he would never hype a terror alert to help his re-election chances. It is a challenge complicated by the fact that he is running on his record against terrorism and is using images of 9/11 and the threat of more attacks to promote his candidacy. The president's credibility on national security issues was gravely wounded by the way he misled Americans, intentionally or not, about the reasons for invading Iraq - including the suggestion that the war was part of the campaign against Al Qaeda.

....On Sunday, when the administration had grim and specific information to convey, Mr. Ridge did a real disservice to himself, his president and the public by giving what amounted to a campaign pitch for "the president's leadership in the war against terror.'

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Dick Cheney raising money for man who hates Dick's lesbian daughter

Oh, I'm sorry, he doesn't HATE Mary Cheney the homosexual, he HATES Mary Cheney's homosexual acts, and the fact that she's out to destroy all of civilization like an Al Qaeda terrorist. Ah, these Republican family values, brings a tear to my eye. Read the rest of this post...

Same-sex marriage could be outlawed in Australia this week

Isn't it nice to know that our president's assholic crass political moves have repercussions around the globe, and that now millions of others around the world can face the same legislative gay-bashing that we enjoy as a fact of everyday life in America. Ah, that shining beacon on the hill. Read the rest of this post...

Bruce Springsteen Endorses Kerry

You'd have to be a fool not to realize Bruce Springsteen has been a liberal. But while he's never hesitated to speak his mind, Springsteen has avoided partisan politics or political endorsements. Until now. In the NYT today, he has a thoughtful essay that explains why he endorses John Kerry. Admired by millions, he might very well speak to the heartland and some of those undecideds. Given his principled career, links to causes like veterans and local food banks, and that searing tribute to 9/11 "My City in Ruins," this means a lot more than the usual celebrity endorsement. And if Kerry wins, it'll mean one hell of an inaugural ball.
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Ripping The President To Shreds

"The danger here is that once a president loses credibility with the Congress, as this president has through months of lies and deceit and manipulations and deceptions, stonewalling, it raises into doubt everything he does and everything he says, and maybe everything he doesn't do and doesn't say." He added: "I just hope and pray the decision that was made was made on the basis of sound judgment, and made for the right reasons, and not made because it was necessary to save the president's job."

Is this a Democrat daring to question Bush's honesty in the war on terror? Nope, it's Daniel R. Coats, then Republican senator from Indiana and now the ambassador to Germany. He was attacking Clinton and suggesting missile attacks against Al Quaeda were simply motivated by a desire to make us all forget about Clinton's personal indiscretions.

Just in case you thought it was unprecedented for someone to question the motives of the President :)

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Do The Math YOURSELF!

An article in USA Today about Bush courting the Catholic vote ended with this bit of statistical foolishness:

"The latest USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll shows Kerry leading Bush among Catholics, 50%-46%. The margin of error is +/-4 percentage points, and when that is factored in, they are in a virtual tie."

Uh, no. When the margin of error is factored in, that means the actual vote could be a virtual tie OR Kerry could have a commanding 8 point lead. If the poll was 50%-50%, would they say that if the margin of error is factored in it means Bush is ahead by 4 points? Duh, people.

By the way, Bush was speaking at a Knights of Columbus rally, and as a practicing Catholic I'm embarrassed by that far right group and as a gay man I'm embarrassed by the very silly costumes they are wearing. Check out the photo.

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Sour Grapes

You know that famous passage from the Koran that promises martyrs 72 black-eyed virgins? Columnist Nicholas D. Kristof talks about the latest scholarship that suggests what they are actually promised is 72 white grapes! Talk about bait and switch.
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Less than a week after Boston, Bush campaign launches personal attack on Kerry

So much for Kerry's request that Bush make this campaign about the issues and not about personal attacks. I just got the following email from the Bush campaign. Then again, I do kind of feel sorry for the Bushies. When your candidate's only accomplishments are war, death, lies, bigotry, and economic malaise, it's hard to expect you to run on your own record.

PS You'll note that Bush's attack video is being hosted at www.KerryOnIraq.com - well, the bozos didn't buy KerryOnIraq.org. I now own it. And within 24 hours it will be directing traffic to JohnKerry.com :-)

Last week in Boston, we introduced a documentary video detailing John Kerry's continually changing position on Iraq.

Rudy Giuliani said he thinks "every American should see this" because "it's going to say a lot more than any speech John Kerry gives." We couldn't agree more.

Watch Rudy Giuliani speak on Kerry's record and introduce the video at www.GeorgeWBush.com/VideoandAudio.

To view the full length video, visit www.KerryOnIraq.com.

>From the stage in Boston, Kerry talked about the need to fight terror, but his flip-flopping on this important issue paints a different picture.

>From talking tough about the need to remove Saddam Hussein and his weapons of mass destruction in 2001 to declaring himself the anti-war candidate in 2004, Kerry's stance on Iraq has shifted with the political wind.

Seeing for yourself the political metamorphosis and verbal gymnastics of John Kerry's Iraq policy over the last three years tells the story better than any speech, ad, or press release ever could.

Once you watch the introduction at www.GeorgeWBush.com/VideoandAudio, we encourage you to view the full length video at www.KerryOnIraq.com, request a copy for yourself, and share it with your friends.

Sincerely,

Ken Mehlman
Campaign Manager

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