Bush-Cheney '04 and RNC sued for racial discrimination

I'm not convinced of the merits of this suit, but hey, anything that gets these boys in hot water with the black community is ok with me. I particularly love this quote from one of the plaintiff's lawyers:

"Instead of true conservatism, she found herself faced with discrimination and intolerance. And instead of compassion, she found retaliation."

(Sounds like the back cover blurb to Mrs. Cheney's lesbian love novel.) Gee, you're black and you work for Bush's reelection and now you're shocked, simply shocked, that these guys don't respect you as a person. Wake up, lady. Read the rest of this post...

Reuters says Bush has called for Swift Boat ads to stop - I don't think that's what he actually said

Reuters is trying to spin this as though Bush has demanded the Swift Boat ads be pulled of the air. What in fact Bush said is what his staff has been saying for a while - they want ALL third-party ads stopped. Why? Because the Dems have a hell of a lot more third party - i.e., 527 - money than the Republicans. Today's comment by Bush is a far cry from Reuters' spin, which is making it sound as though Bush is now the champion of fairness by calling for the nasty lie of an ad against Kerry to stop. He didn't really say that. He said he wanted all the ads off the air, regardless of content. Thus Bush's problem isn't with the content of the anti-Kerry ad, it's with who's funding it. That's a campaign finance reason for objecting to the ad and NOT an ethical or moral reason. So what Bush said today wasn't new, and it wasn't really a demand for the bad guys to pull the bad ad.

Just to wrap up - Kerry said the other day that he was unequivocally opposed to the MoveOn ads attacking Bush's military record (or lack thereof). Bush has not categorically opposed the Swift Boat ads - his opposition is conditional, i.e., only if ALL the ads are pulled by each side. Yes it's nuanced, but life is nuanced. Our media is smarter than this.

UPDATE: Well that didn't take long. This from tomorrow's NYT: "the White House quickly moved to insist that Mr. Bush had not meant in any way to single out the advertisement run by veterans opposed to Mr. Kerry." Yes, God forbid Mr. Bush's words actually get that ad off the air. Read the rest of this post...

Anti-Gay Amendment Off Ballot in Michigan - for now...

Thanks to two Democrats for keeping this off the ballot, for now. From the AP article:

"A state board voted along party lines Monday to keep a proposed constitutional ban on gay marriage off the ballot - even though supporters apparently collected many more signatures than required.

The Board of State Canvassers deadlocked 2-2 on whether to certify more than 464,000 signatures in favor of the amendment. Supporters needed only 317,757 valid signatures.

Two Democrats on the board voted against certification, while two Republicans voted for it."

I'm not sure of the legality of their actions, the courts will have to decide that. I also dislike the fact that bureaucratic maneuverings are needed to try and stop these kinds of amendments. It would be nice if some of the larger gay groups might actually get their act together and run a decent ad campaign so people don't sign petitions like this in the first place.

Lest you get too depressed with 464,000 citizens signing up to write discrimination into a state Constitution, here's an interesting article on how anti-gay politicians didn't do so well in Michigan, in the Republican primaries. Read the rest of this post...

Negative campaigning works

An interesting piece from the AP about how negative ads very often do work. Read the rest of this post...

Ellen Degeneres to star in "Oh, God!" remake - and guess who she's playing...

I can't wait for the fundies to go nuts over the fact that an avowed lesbian woman is playing God (I know it's redundant to say 'lesbian woman,' but they're going to freak over the fact that a gay person AND a woman is portraying God, so I felt it necessary to mention both). Ellen is perfect for the role - her dry humor will be hysterical in the part.

As for America's Taliban's reaction to all of this, they're in a bit of a pickle. There's really no reason to oppose Ellen in the part other than to say she's gay, or a woman. And either of those arguments is bigoted on its face, in addition to being religiously bigoted in my view (who says God can't be a woman, or gay for that matter?) So it will be interesting to see what the bigots-for-Babylon come up with to justify the pretty-obvious impending boycott of this movie. If they say it's not about Ellen being gay, then great - we'll force them to admit that it's okay to have a gay person playing God, just not THIS gay person, and that is something they'll never admit. So they're kind of in a bind. Love it. Love it. Love it. Read the rest of this post...

Nepal frees GLBT detainees

You may recall that I asked you to weigh in the other day with the Nepalese government regarding their recent arrest of 39 members of a gay rights groups. Well, Gay.com is reporting that the detainees have now been released, after enduring some grueling treatment in prison.

It's hard to know what finally pushed the Nepalese government to act, but your calls and emails surely played a part. Thanks to everyone who acted on the alert. JOHN Read the rest of this post...

By popular demand, I've redone "The Scream"

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Bush's Middle East policy is based on winning votes, not peace

Well, at least Bush is finally admitting that his Middle East policy is all about getting votes, and not about securing the peace. But has Bush considered that his Middle East policy could affect our war on terror? Or doesn't any of that matter when you're desperately sucking up for votes? From Reuters:

President Bush is seen as inclined to accept some building in settlements now to avoid offending Jewish-American voters who favor settlements, and conservative Christian supporters of Israel as he fights for re-election in November.

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Newsmax BLASTS Bush - suggests he may lose

This is just downright odd. Newsmax, a virtual appendage of the Bush Administration in terms of its never-ending pro-Bush spin, has just written a commentary excoriating the president and suggesting that he's going to lose, and that when he does, it will be his own fault.

At first I thought Newsmax was writing this story, entitled "Is the Bush campaign running out of money?", simply as a tool to fundraise. But there's no fundraising appeal attached to the article. It's simply a frank explanation of how some major Republican donors, and Democratic friends of Bush, are now refusing to help the campaign because they feel perenially spurned by the Bushies AND ALSO they believe their help won't now make any difference anyway (read: Bush is already toast).

This is a very dispiriting article from Newsmax, and a very bad sign for the Bushies. Well, dispiriting if you're pro-Bush. :-)

Is the Bush Campaign Running Out of Money?

When John Kerry's campaign came from near insolvency to raising more money than the incumbent, President George Bush, we thought the President would be in a wee bit of money trouble.

And when we saw the 527s raising tens of millions backed by the likes of George Soros -- without the Republicans doing likewise -- we knew that Republicans would be in for a big store of trouble.

NewsMax's Insider Report was the first to reveal that the FEC would not rule against the 527s. In fact, we reported that Republican commission members had warned the Bush White House to get into the game ASAP because the 527s would not be declared illegal.

But the Bush campaign, not interested in having independent groups they could not control, would not give its blessing to pro-Bush 527s.

Now the money math is simple. The Kerry forces - through his campaign, the unions and the 527s - will outspend Bush by some $300 million or more by election day.

With just two months left we thought the Republicans would be desperate for money. And so it is.

One wealthy Republican - one of the few who can write Soros-style checks of $10 million or more - tells us that he has, all of a sudden, gotten calls from desperate Republicans seeking help, including one call from RNC chief Ed Gillespie. All calls have gone unreturned.

Like most Republicans, he is strongly rooting for Bush. But no money will be sent. This donor doesn't believe it will make much of a difference at this point.

And then there's politics. President Bush never invited the donor - a frequent guest in the Oval Office of previous Republican presidents - to the White House even once during the past four years.

It's a story we have heard time and again. Conservatives who write to the president get no response, and no one from the Bush White House calls to thank their friends and supporters on behalf of the President. These are the normal things previous administrations have done.

The stories about lack of follow up from the Bush White House and RNC are legion with the constituencies of the "Reagan base" of the party.

For example, there's the NRA - perhaps the most critical group that backed Bush in 2000 - still furious over the McCain-Feingold bill that has perhaps permanently emasculated them in the political process.

But there are other stories told. There is a prominent Democrat who endorsed Bush and never heard from the Republicans for months after going public. Now when they call he says he is still supporting Bush, but "please, let me do my own thing" (read: please keep your distance).

If Bush loses in November it may be due to his lack of cash - and more likely due to the poor job his political operatives have done.

Tip O'Neill once said all politics is local. He was wrong: all politics is politics.

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Neoconservatives Snipe At Each Other

The Neocons are squabbling again. Francis Fukuyama -- who once memorably made history by predicting the end of history -- is stirring up the movement by attacking the invasion of Iraq as stupid on almost every level. Meanwhile, racist demagogue Pat Buchanan is roiling the ignorant masses by calling the invasion of Iraq "the greatest strategic blunder in 40 years." Mind you, that's when he's not applauding Ralph Nader or bemoaning the fact that the US, that "child of Europe" (ie. white people) is being overrun by a bunch of immigrants.

All good signs of more division on the right.
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Seeing as "The Scream" is in the news...

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Bush & Rummy refuse to take a stand against religious bigotry

The Washington Post has a great editorial today about the General Boykin affair - you remember him, the guy who thinks "our God" is better than "their God," and says it while in uniform. Anyway, the Post rightly notes that Bush and Rummy totally passed the buck on this one, and that DOD's inspector general's office did the same.

The point isn't that Boykin didn't get his comments cleared. The point is, as the Post notes, that Boykin's comments were religious bigotry at odds with the president's own statement of policy vis-a-vis the Muslim world. They're wrong, they're bigoted, and the president should have taken a vocal stand against them. But apparently this is what happens when you get a born-again zealot in the White House. Some religions are more equal than others. Read the rest of this post...

Co-chair of "Wisconsin Veterans for Bush" blasts W over anti-Kerry ads

Wisconsin Journal Sentinel:

...this band of bothers turns up in books and television ads saying they served somewhere near Kerry in 'Nam and they think he's a no-good liar and an unworthy soldier. And, oh yeah, vote George W. Bush for president.

"I just think it's wrong."

That's not one of Kerry's fellow Democrats talking. It's Terry Musser, a Republican state rep, longtime chairman of the Assembly Committee on Veterans and Military Affairs, and the co-chairman of Wisconsin Veterans for Bush.

Musser served two tours as a paratrooper in Vietnam, and he's disgusted by these attacks on Kerry. And he doesn't particularly like the Democratic presidential nominee.

"He was there. He did it. My opinion is that anybody who served anywhere is a hero. And we should not as a nation be trying to tear down people who served and are serving," Musser said when I reached him by phone Friday. He represents the Black River Falls area in the Legislature.

Bush ought to condemn the ads from the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, even though he can't stop them, Musser said.

These self-proclaimed truth-seekers have questioned whether Kerry was under fire when he turned the boat around and went back to rescue Green Beret Jim Rassmann, and whether Kerry's boat ever was in Cambodia.

They're out of bounds, Musser believes.

"Kerry was saying he was in Cambodia, and you have some of the other ones saying he wasn't in Cambodia. It's like, who do you want to believe. I was in the Central Highlands. They could have sent us into Laos. I wouldn't have had a clue. There are no signs saying, 'Welcome to Thailand,' 'Welcome to Vietnam.'

"Just imagine going up and down any river how easy of a target you are. He was there."

Did Kerry really deserve his three Purple Hearts? Be careful in making that judgment.

"Even if you happen to be running into a bunker and hit your head on it during a mortar attack. I knew a guy who got a Purple Heart that way. Is it related to an enemy action? Yeah, you're trying to get the heck out of the road."

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Slam!

"Senator Kerry carries shrapnel in his thigh as distinct from President Bush who carries two fillings in his teeth from his service in the Alabama National Guard, which seems to be his only time that he showed up," Podesta said. - John Podesta on THIS WEEK

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By The Way, Iran Will Soon Have The Bomb

It didn't gain much notice, but a Bush official claims Iran has boasted to Western countries like Great Britain and Germany that it will be producing nuclear material within one year and be able to have an atomic bomb of its very own in three.

That makes two out of three members of the Axis of Evil gaining or threatening action with their nuclear weapons on Bush's watch. But don't think Bush's foreign policy is a total failure. The totalitarian theocracy of Iran HAS embraced Bush's policy of attacking countries you think might someday be thinking of attacking you.

More specifically, Iran has threatened the only democracy in the Middle East -- Israel -- with a preemptive strike because it fears Israel might bomb those nuclear factories that it insists aren't nuclear factories at all. So Bush's philosophy is resonating -- with the Axis of Evil.
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Kerry campaign running new ads with Bush smear tactics from 2000 against McCain

Oh the similarities from just four years ago. Is there anyone left who can not clearly see that the two smear campaigns are connected? Check out the new ad that shows McCain taking on Bush in 2000 about the smear campaign.

Note to Bob Dole: I hear Viagra is again looking for a has been, sore loser politician who spent his life writing tax loopholes and who now wants to whore himself to the pharmaceutical industry instead of discussing a serious and deadly medical situation, all for profit. So, how are you profiting from this new campaign Bob? What a whore.
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GOP Gov calls US Supreme Court "very liberal" & urges voters to help

The right wing wackos are beating the drums and trying to get their base out for November. I don't think that any sane person would agree with the Alabama governor that the Supreme Court "very liberal" or even "liberal" but these people aren't sane. What's true though is that the election is critical for the Supreme Court. If Bush wins, the end result is going to be scary. This is not a man who gives a damn about anyone outside of his core religious nutballs so he will surely pack the court with "his kind" of people, heaven forbid. Bush winning would be bad enough, but Bush packing the court would be a complete disastor for years to come.
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