"And this particular coalition of the willing now has 47 nations; 47 nations are openly members of the coalition, and have asked to be identified with this effort. And there are many other nations that for a variety of reasons don’t want to be publicly identified, but are also a part of the coalition of the willing". – Colin Powell. … Read More
Law Enforcement & Intelligence vs. Terrorism
Kerry’s still singing that same tune about how law enforcement activities and intelligence activities are going to win the war on terrorism. He said it again yesterday, even though it makes him look "soft" (to some): This is the time to redouble our efforts in every way – law enforcement activities, intelligence activities — and deal with this threat to … Read More
Good Gramma!
I’m an English snob. I admit it. When someone says they want to "axe" me a question, I want to plant my foot in their behind. So let’s take a moment out of our busy days to make sure we’re not butchering the English language, shall we? This is a good place for us to brush up: The 100 Most … Read More
Yes, Foreign Leaders Want Kerry To Win
Why? Because those allying with Bush lose in their elections. Germany in ’02, South Korea in ’03, and Spain in ’04. Bush is the kiss of death. And now, the President of Poland (part of the ever-dwindling "coalition of the willing disenchanted") is distancing himself from Bush in a big way, saying that Poland too was "misled with the information … Read More
Who’s the Dupe?
Please read this story . It is a story saying that an al Qaeda-linked terrorist group issued a statement saying that it wants Bush to be elected. I assumed it to be a joke, like the recent fake "NY Times" article that got the NYT all worked up. Part of the tip-off for me was the reporter’s name, "Opheera McDoom". … Read More
Bush Embarrassment Watch CLXIII
With all the "One Year Later" retrospectives going around, a reader at Atrios’ site posted Bush’s speech of March 13, 2003 — the start of the war. Many of us thought it was a crock then — and now — with benefit of 20/20 hindsight, it clearly was one. This passage particularly struck me: The terrorist threat to America and … Read More
Gotta Love This Ad
Even if you disagree with the message, I hope you can agree that Moveon.org’s new ad is unique and captivating. It’s powerful in its simplicity. It doesn’t manipulate with music. It doesn’t have commentary and voice-overs. It doesn’t pay actors to pretend to be something they’re not, with scripted words. It doesn’t twist words, or selectively edit. Just 30 seconds … Read More
Pew Research – A Year After Iraq War
Even though the headline is "Mistrust of America in Europe Ever Higher, Muslim Anger Persists", there’s tons of other interesting "meat" in this survey — some good and some not-so-good. Personally, I am particularly pleased that Europeans draw a distinction between the American people (who they generally like) and American policies (which they generally dislike and distrust). But in any … Read More
Why They Voted Socialist
Afraid of al Qaeda? It doesn’t look that way . . . But interviews with scores of Spaniards of both parties indicated that a number of things happened after the attacks that shifted the balance to the Socialists. Voters flooded the polls on Sunday in record numbers, especially young people who had not planned to vote. In interviews, they said … Read More
The “Iraq On The Record” Database
The Bush Administration’s deceptions regarding the War on Iraq are so numerous that Rep. Henry Waxman has put them on a searchable database. This Iraq on the Record database contains statements made by the five officials that were misleading at the time they were made. The database does not include statements that appear in hindsight to be erroneous but were … Read More
House Republican Embarrassment Watch
I try to have toleration for people with different viewpoints than me. There’s nothing I respect more than loyal opposition. But it’s hard for me to respect conservative House Republicans. I truly feel that many of them have no concept of how our government works. Here’s their latest foray into stupidity: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited … Read More
The War on Terror So Far . . .
Pluses: Saddam Hussein out of power Many dead/captured terrorists or Iraqi resistence Minuses: 550 dead American soldiers 200 dead Spanish citizens Lord knows how many dead innocent Iraqis Lord knows how many wounded No new democracies (just two police states, and a new socialist leader in Spain) Bin Laden still alive al Qaeda still active (obviously) Taliban controls 1/3rd of … Read More
I Demand A Recount!
Nothing against Chris Rock — he’s alright — but is he really the funniest man in America? What really hurts is that my boy, Jon Stewart, came in second.
“What Can 30 Million Evangelicals Do For America? Anything We Want.”
That was the slogan on the back of the program at yesterday’s National Association of Evangelicals convention, according to the NY Times. (President Bush spoke at the convention via teleconference). They’re wrong, in my view, but it’s scary that they think that. Robert Schuller, who many of you probably know, sounded like the only voice of reason in the bunch. … Read More
That’s A Fisk?
At the Bush-Cheney blog, they’re trying to make some inroads by pointing out Kerry flip-flops. Here‘s an example (NOTE: I’ve put Kerry quotes in italics, but otherwise, this is a cut-and-paste from the Bush-Cheney site): Let’s go back to the Time piece for some historical reference: TIME: What would you have done about Iraq had you been the President? KERRY: … Read More