JuliusBlog

What the $1 trillion dollar federal bailout means to YOU

2008-09-20T16:01:00.003-04:00

As you should know by now, the Bush administration came to the rescue of the financial industry with a $1 TRILLION (no typo, with a "T") federal bailout:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/19/politics/politico/thecrypt/main4459802.shtml

Before you can even get your head around that astronomical number, here´s what the federal bailout means to you:

The $1 trillion federal bailout does nothing but reward greed and bad behavior. After countless CEOs driven by blind greed ran the American financial system to the ground, the Bush administration rewards their performance with your tax dollars. Socialism is alive and well in America, but only for those with a membership in a yatch club. They won't lose their villas.
The $1 trillion bailout will only keep the market from imploding... for now. It will not punish those CEOs and companies that brought about this mess, but rather encourage the same behavior. Financial corporations will not change the way they worked. In consequence:
The next market implosion will be even bigger, and there will not be a bailout to save us.
Together with the cost of the disastrous war in Iraq, Americans will be saddled with a gargantuan national debt from generations to come. Your great-grand kids are thanking you from the future.
Of course, your money will be worth less than before, and the chances of rising inflation out of control are greater than ever. Stretching your paycheck to the end of the month will be tougher and tougher.
The Bush administration didn't just pull a trillion dollars out of a hat. This massive amount of money given away to ailing CEOs will come at the expense of the poorest amongst us. Expect social services, infrastructure maintenance budgets, public services, and such to be cut down even more.

For example, expect worse roads, crumbling schools, less police and firemen coverage, etc.
Note to those residents of the Red States: since your states tend to be more dependent on federal aid, expect the above to be even worse for you. Hey, at least you didn't vote for those "socialists" Gore or Kerry!
Following up on that topic, that money will have to come from somewhere. Expect more borrowing from such democracy-loving nations like China, Saudi Arabia, or the United Arab Emirates. This, in consequence, will make us less independent, and more indebted to their interests.
The $1 trillion dollar bailout also reminds us that the Bush administration started by giving away your money to the richest among us (massive tax cuts), and continued by provided billions of dollars in no-bid contracts to cronies to supply the Iraq war. Now, the Bush administration ends its 8-year run by giving away $1 trillion of the treasury (aka: your tax dollars) to greedy and inefficient CEOs that ran our economy to the ground.

In 8 long years, the only consistent thing the Bush administration has done is let the richest and most privileged amongst us to raid the treasury at their will.
Once again, your great-grand kids are thinking you from the future, from the comfort of their cardboard shanty towns.

So beware, while the economy won't implode right now, things will get tighter and tougher in the years to come, and the downward spiral will continue, only at a slower pace. Things will be particularly bad for middle class working families, as they'll carry the burden of this debt.

PS (on edit): REMEMBER ALL THIS THE NEXT TIME THEY TELL YOU WHY AMERICA CAN'T HAVE A NATIONAL HEALTH PLAN.

Apparently, providing heath care for all Americans is a waste of money, that rewards bad behavior for people that don´t earn it or contribute to society. Next time a Republican tells you their half-assed reasons why it´s ok for a (dwindling) superpower not to have national health care, or better schools, or proper scholarships, etc... well, remind them we just gave away $1 TRILLION bucks of our hard earned dollars to lazy, incompetent and greedy honchos that ran our financial system to the ground.

There is no money to rebuild NOLA after Katrina, or properly equip FEMA, or rebuilt the WTC site in New York, or provide proper shielding for our soldiers in Iraq, or assist 30 million uninsured Americans, etc. But there's always money to make sure Wall Street executives can keep paying their country club fees.
Remember that.

PS 2: Also, remember this mess the next time a Republican utters the word DEREGULATION.
This mess is a direct consequence of the deregulation efforts started during the Reagan years. Since then, Republicans have waved the flag of deregulation and tax-cutting, making it the center of their political philosophy. Apparently everyone thought it was a great idea to let entire industries "police themselves". Yeah right! Now we are seeing the consequences of boundless greed mixed with deregulation. That word should, from now on, become a slur.

The Latest BushismSlip of the Tongue: We Don't Care About Your Security

2006-02-23T11:18:00.000-05:00

This is not just the latest Bushism, but the most revealing of them all. I remember reading a study on Bush-speak written by Mark Crispin Miller a few years back that explained this phenomenon. Apparently, those verbal gaffes and misstatements that Bush makes on a daily basis are actually very revealing, telling you about his state of mind and what he really, really means.

Today, Bush said this on TV about the UAE port deal:

"This deal wouldn't go forward if we were concerned about the security for the United States of America."

G. W. Bush, source here: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/007735.php

I'm sure he knew what he was trying to say. But the literal meaning of that sentence is: "If we really cared about the security for the United States of America, this deal wouldn't go forward."

His minders must be really, really proud of him.

PS: Video here

Every Conservative loud-mouth should APOLOGIZE TO MICHAEL MOORE !!!

2006-02-21T18:34:00.000-05:00

Yes. Every single one of them.
And they should do it repeatedly and profusely. To him and his family.

I still remember when Fahrenheit 9/11 came out, and they howled, screamed and cried "treason." They branded any efforts from Moore to unmask the Bush family as completely SOLD OUT to SAUDI PETRODOLLARS as an act of treason itself.

Oh, I remember it well: How could Michael Moore even "dare" to suggest that Poppy Bush and Junior Bush could be so tied to big middle-eastern oil money? How could he?

Well, never mind Michael Moore offered the same evidence that many other authors have used to scream out loud about this outrage. Evidence, I may add, that is out there in the open, for all to see.

Still, they called him a "traitor," a "communist," "in league with the terrorists," and much, much worst.

Now, it turns out, that when Bush has to choose between the interests of his wealthy Arab partners, and the security of the United States of America, country he actually is supposed to represent because the American people voted him to do so, Bush once again decides to protect the interest of his big-moneyed friends. In case you are not aware, here's the big news: BUSH SAYS HE WOULD VETO LEGISLATION TO STOP DUBAI PORT DEAL

Not only he will defend the giveaway to Dubai, he would do it FEROCIOUSLY, even using the right to VETO, which he has never used before for any other issue.

As Michael Moore said in Fahrenheit 9/11:

Okay, let's say one group of people, like the American people pay you $400,000 a year to be president of the United States.

But then another group of people (Poppy's Saudi friends) invest in you, your friends and their related businesses, $ 1.4 billion over a number of years.

Who are you gonna like? Who's your daddy?

Indeed.

Michael Moore was right. He was prophetically right, and this means bad news for the nation as Bush sells away the keys of our ports to a company OWNED by the government of UAE. The UAE is a nation suspected of involvement in 9/11, supporter of the Taliban, a nation that still recognizes the Taliban as the "legitimate" government of Afghanistan... and a nation suspected of financing terrorism worldwide. Now the government of that nation will own the keys to 6 of our major ports, and Bush will fight tooth and nail to defend that deal.

We are waiting for your apologies, wingnuts and conservatarians of all shades and stripes, as you painfully awake to the same reality that we, on this side of the polical divide, have known for 6 years now. Michael Moore, an author and filmmaker, was just exposing what was out there, and anyone familiar with the Bush family knew already. He deserves more credit, especially after the horrible attacks and insults he received when he released his movie.

Nothing short of an apology will do.

We are waiting.

Rep. Tom Delay turns himself in in Harris County, Texas

2005-10-20T14:59:00.000-04:00

After the judge issued an arrest order for Delay, he turned himself in today.
Here's his mugshot, all laughing:

An old saying goes "He who laughs last..." Tom should think of that.

DeLay turns himself in
01:07 PM CDT on Thursday, October 20, 2005

Associated Press

HOUSTON - U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay on Thursday turned himself in at the Harris County sheriff's bonding office, where he was photographed, fingerprinted and released on bond on state conspiracy and money laundering charges.

“He posted $10,000 bond and they have left the bonding office,” Lt. John Martin with the sheriff's department said.

DeLay, accompanied by his attorney, Dick DeGuerin, showed up about 12:15 p.m., appeared before a judge and was gone in less than 30 minutes, Martin said.

More...

About Keith Olbermann, bloggers, and sources

2005-10-13T23:29:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Keith Olbermann took on the false terror alerts on his show "Countdown," on MSNBC. You can see the video of the broadcast at the Crooks & Liars website, and read the transcript at Keith Olbermann's blog.

While Keith Olbermann was great yesterday, I would like to point that Olbermann didn't exactly do all this research all by himself, and didn't credit his sources.

His article looks, almost verbatim, like a study we published in this very blog last year. TableTalker Biltud and I did this study of false terror alerts in the summer of 2004:

Timeline of Terror Alerts

Chart of terror alerts vs. Bush ratings

While I think it's great this story is finally getting some air time, and I certainly do enjoy and support his show, I think it's NOT FAIR that mainstream journalists take the work of bloggers without even a minimal credit or a miserable link to the source. It's becoming quite common for mainstream journalists to take the hard work of bloggers without crediting. After all, they have a name and a mainstream vehicle for their work; we bloggers have nothing but our dinky blogs. I think it's dishonest not to credit where you get a story, specially if said story is available for everyone with an Internet connection to see. If I did the opposite, it would be called plagiarism. It's been a non-written rule of blogging etiquette to at least mention the sources you use for a post or article. If only, for the huge amount of crap we endured for publishing that study.

Our own study of false terror alerts has been posted online since the Summer of 2004 for everyone to see. How easy it is to just appropriate that study, ripe for the picking. Maybe one of Keith Olbermann's interns thought he found a goldmine that could grant him/her a promotion; I don't know. I only know that it would have taken him only one sentence to mention where these studies of terror alerts first appeared... particularly when some of his 13 false terror alerts are taken almost word for word from our study.

Maybe if you email Olbermann to thank him for taking on this story, you may want to remind him that crediting his sources is the honorable thing to do: KOlbermann@msnbc.com

PS: Nevertheless, we do enjoy "Countdown" and Keith Olbermann's reporting. His show is definitely a breath of fresh air in the current panorama of cable broadcast news.

Tom Delay: Indicted on Money Laundering Charges

2005-10-03T20:00:00.000-04:00

Money laundering charges brought on against Delay.
Troubles keep piling up for the bugman:

DeLay indicted on two new charges

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - A Texas grand jury on Monday indicted U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay on two new charges including money laundering, following a conspiracy indictment last week which forced him to step aside as the second-ranking Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The new indictment, for money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering, was issued shortly after DeLay's lawyers sought to dismiss the original charge on a legal technicality. (...)

Tom Delay: Indicted On Criminal Conspiracy Charges

2005-09-28T13:00:00.000-04:00

The bugman gets his due:

DeLay indicted, steps down
He could get up to two years if convicted.

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

A Travis County grand jury today indicted U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay on one count of criminal conspiracy, prompting the Sugar Land Republican to give up his leadership post in Congress.

"I have notified (House Speaker Dennis Hastert) that I will temporarily step aside from my position as majority leader pursuant to rules of the House Republican Conference and the actions of the Travis County District Attorney today," DeLay said in a statement.

The charge, a state jail felony punishable by up to two years incarceration, stems from his role with his political committee, Texans for a Republican Majority, a now-defunct organization that already had been indicted on charges of illegally using corporate money during the 2002 legislative elections. (...)

Heartbreaking

2005-09-04T15:02:00.000-04:00

NOLA's Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard, this morning in "Meet the Press."

Time to Rant

2005-09-03T20:02:00.000-04:00

I'm too angry and too tired to properly express my frustration at what's unfolding in NOLA, still six days after the hurricane hit. Words truly fail me.

For that reason, I'll let Steve Gilliard say it for me. Check out his priceless rant at his blog:

Steve Gilliard: We Told You So

Blaming the Victims

2005-09-02T12:00:00.000-04:00

Unreal. Simply unreal:

FEMA chief: Victims bear some responsibility

Brown pleased with effort: 'Things are going relatively well'

Even arch-conservative Jack Cafferty is raving mad about the situation in NOLA

2005-09-01T17:09:00.000-04:00

Must-see video posted at Crooks & Liars, here:

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2005/09/01.html#a4734

In the meantime, you can donate here:

Katrina Red Cross Relief

And also here:

Liberal Blogs for Hurricane Relief

Bush: "I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees"

2005-09-01T12:14:00.000-04:00

He had the gall to say that this morning on Good Morning America. Video available here:

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA

You gotta be f*cking kidding me!

He is giving the same answer to his inept response to the Katrina disaster that Condi Rice gave to her inept response to 9/11:

"I don't think anyone could have predicted that these people would take an airplane and slam it into the World Trade Center"

Ari Fleishcher also echoed the same official line:

"Never did we imagine what would take place on September 11 where people use those airplanes as missiles and weapons."

Bush himself said the same freaking thing on April 18, 2004:

"Nobody in our government, at least, and I don't think the prior government, could envision flying airplanes into buildings on such a massive scale."

Same tired old line. Apparently they know nothing, and they couldn't have foreseen anything at all. This line worked for them back then, and they are recycling it now that it's clear their mismanagement has made Katrina an even worse disaster.

Well, according to Atrios and Echidne blog, there have been countless predictions of the NOLA levee breaking and flooding the city, yet the Bush administration irresponsibly CUT THE BUDGET for the levee maintenance.

http://www.tpmcafe.com/story/2005/8/30/212451/290

http://www.prospect.org/web/printfriendly-view.ww?id=10...

Bush even FIRED the guy who predicted this outcome:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

And then Bush himself cut the funding for the levee maintenance:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0508...

Even Popular Mechanics wrote about this possibility a few years back (note the ominous date the article was published):

NEW ORLEANS IS SINKING

Salon.com also covered this massive failure of leadership in an excellent overview of the situation:

Anatomy of an unnatural disaster

The amount of chutzpah used by these people is just too much. They lie with the upmost impunity in face of overwhelming evidence against their bullcrap. I hope the media, for once, hold their feet to the fire... but we shouldn't expect much, as usual.

Katrina disaster:a BREAKDOWN of LEADERSHIP on a massive scale

2005-08-31T12:00:00.000-04:00

As America is waking up to the truly apocalyptic devastation left by hurricane Katrina in Louisiana and Mississippi, lots of people are starting to question if things could have been handled better. It's starting to look that way.

It's not often that we see a major American city being almost completely obliterated. Almost 80% of New Orleans is flooded. Biloxi has been devastated. Still, thousands of people were left behind, not enough preparations were made, and now we have evidence that budget cuts to FEMA and infrastructure maintenance may have precipitated the catastrophe in New Orleans' flooding.

I just saw images of New Orleans on TV, a high-school completely devastated, and dozens of school buses scattered, submerged in the water. Why couldn't FEMA use these buses as resources to fleet people out of the city? Instead they hoarded those who were left to fend by themselves in the Superdome stadium. In addition to saving people ,all those buses would be now save and functioning. In the meantime, these poor people were left there without food or water, on their own. The richest country of the world couldn't even mobilize its own public resources (school buses, city buses, trains) to get its own citizens out of harm way. It's very sad and embarrassing.

Louisiana authorities are talking about how the budget cuts in infrastructure (thanks to Bush) allowed the levees to breakdown, flooding the entire city. This lack of preparedness and resources is what's expected in a third-world country, but not here.

The former major of New Orleans was just on CNN, very angrily calling on Bush to dispatch the army into the city. He complained that Bush only sent 3000 national guard operatives to the city, while rescue operations require 10 times that amount, and the city is being looted. The former major of New Orleans placed the responsibility of this mess directly at the feet of George W. Bush.

Which remind us, what has Bush done so far in this massive disaster? Well, he did cut some brush in his ranch while the hurricane was leveling a major US city. Then he said he would cut his vacation short, and dispatched a minor national guard operation that's insufficient for the massive task at hand.

Then he had cake with John McCain. Cake tastes good!

Then he played guitar with some country music dude!

Then he said he would finally have a meeting to review the Katrina disaster, but it won't take place until later today, at 4pm, probably after his nap time. That is a whole three days after the disaster.

Let it be said: despite the devastation that nature has inflicted in the area, this disaster has revealed a MASSIVE FAILURE OF LEADERSHIP, an embarrassing level of unpreparedness and lack of resources that SHOULDN'T HAVE HAD TO HAPPEN. It's sad and depressing to think that in the richest country in the world there's not a very well coordinated effort to face a massive disaster... and leadership is yet to be seen.

Hurricane Katrina - Aerial Pictures

2005-08-30T09:00:00.000-04:00

Truly horrific pictures of the devastation of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

http://www.wwltv.com/sharedcontent/breakingnews/slideshow/083005_dmnkatrina/1.html

Breaking News: Terrorist Attacks in London's Transit System

2005-07-07T09:31:00.000-04:00

Deja vu from the Madrid bombings. Another horrible attack, this time in London.

From Reuters:

U.S. official 43 believed dead in London blasts

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 40 people were believed to have been killed in the bomb blasts that rocked London, a U.S. official said on Thursday (...)

Reason #284746 of Why MTV Sucks!

2005-07-02T20:30:00.000-04:00

So it's the day of the so much talked about Live 8 concert. You are pumped up about the prospect of seeing all that rock royalty reunited for a unique occasion, and a good cause.

You've been hearing for weeks about this event, and MTV/ VH1, Viacom have spent lots of cash making sure you were aware of the concert and its significance, in case you were going to miss it.

So I tune in for some of the main acts, Sting, U2, Linkin Park, awesome live shows.

Then the very much expected reunion of Pink Floyd. I mean, this is huge (and I'm not a the greatest Pink Floyd fan, but I appreciate their music and their significance in rock history). So here they are... Roger Waters, and David Gilmour on the same stage! And they are not trying to kill each other! Wow!

They are starting to play what some consider one of the best rock songs in ever made.... "Comfortably Numb." At that point you get two idiotic MTV anchors on screen talking over the song (which should be considered a sin and a crime), telling us about the cool Pink Floyd T-shits they've seen people wearing around Hyde Park in London. Yak, yak, yak, yakkity yak! After I screamed at the TV screen and threw soft objects at it in the illusory attempt to make them shut the hell up, the producers of the MTV live broadcast of "Live 8" decided to take us back to the rendition of "Comfortably Numb."

Just a few extra notes... and they go to commercial... in the middle of the song!

Unforgivable. Simply unforgivable.

Rove behind the outing of Plame?

2005-07-02T09:06:00.000-04:00

Sources say yes.

Apparently several witnesses (counting Chris Matthews) are claiming Karl Rove himself was behind the outing, after the release of the confidential information by Time journalist Cooper. Here are some articles on the case:

Rove Blew CIA Agent's Cover
Lawrence O'Donnell

MSNBC Analyst Says Cooper Documents Reveal Karl Rove as Source in Plame Case
By Greg Mitchell

Karl Rove frog marched?

Pass the popcorn!

(On edit) PS: while this is all great and fun, the Rude Pundit reminds us to keep cool and not get all excited about the prospect, as this bunch has been masterful at covering their own asses and twisting the law to avoid that their pasty asses end up in jail.

Republican Rhetoric

2005-06-27T19:02:00.000-04:00

So... not only did Rove not apologize, but every Republican that has spoken on this matter has basically endorsed the hateful comments by the Machiavellian dough-boy. See, that's how they play the game. It would be a great thing if Democrats (and anyone in the left of the political spectrum) learned that this is how these people play the game, and there's no reasoning valid. This is hateful rhetoric for the sake of it, thrown out there to hurt, to divide and, overall, to keep demonizing Democrats and Liberalism for every ill that plagues this society.

Given the climate of hate, scapegoating and viciousness that Republicans like Rove have created, maybe it is not surprising to see bumper stickers like this one:

Yes, that is a real bumper sticker, attached to someone's truck.

This photo comes from blogger Left in SF (via Orcinus), who saw it in cars over the weekend, taunting attendees of the SF Gay Pride parade.

It's Rove's America now, people. That bumper-sticker represents the words, stylings and rhetoric of fascism. Democrats need to learn to fight back the increasingly hateful talk of the right-wing... and follow the example of Dean, who knows how to play the game. And enough with the apologies! No Democrat should apologize ever again for anything! Not after this episode with Rove and the Republicans circling the wagons in his defense.

Karl Rove Should Apologize for his Remarks

2005-06-23T01:41:00.000-04:00

During a recent conference in Manhattan, Karl Rove spouted the following:

Rove: Dems Didn't Get 9/11 Consequences

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/1-06222005-506146.html

By: SAM DOLNICK (Wed, Jun/22/2005)
NEW YORK

"Liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers," Rove said. "Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war." (snip)

Rove said the Democratic Party made the mistake of calling for "moderation and restraint" after the terrorist attacks.

"Conservatives saw what happened to us on 9/11 and said we will defeat our enemies. Liberals saw what happened to us and said we must understand our enemies." (snip)

"No more needs to be said about the motives of liberals," Rove said.

Really?

Well, just in case Karl Rove wasn't aware, many Democrats were killed on 9/11. Many of those who lost relatives on 9/11 are Democrats. His remarks are hurtful, insensitive and divisive. He basically insinuated that HALF this nation are traitors and appeasers of terrorists. It takes a certain level of scumbaggery to come to Manhattan, site of the 9/11 attacks, to spout these hateful comments.

KARL ROVE SHOULD APOLOGIZE FOR HIS OFFENSIVE REMARKS.

DEMOCRATS SHOULD DEMAND THIS ASAP!!!

PS: I would also like to see Lieberman, Obama and Biden asking for Rove's apology, just like they asked for Dean and Durbin to apologize for their less offensive remarks. Of course, I'm sure they are too busy trashing his fellow Democrats to find time to do this.

PS2: I am sure this may be a desperate attempt from Rove to divert attention from the highly incriminating Downing Street Memo.

Botero Immortalizes the Legacy of the Bush Administration

2005-06-16T20:23:00.000-04:00

No words necessary:

http://www.revistadiners.com.co/noticia.php3?nt=24663

http://www.spiegel.de/ fotostreck...9MQ_3_3,00.html

Colombian painter Fernando Botero gestures front of his new paintings depicting the horrors of U.S. guards' abuse of captives at Iraq's Abu Graib prison.

His Master's Voice

2005-06-16T17:26:00.000-04:00

For anyone that had any doubt of the SERVILE and OBEDIENT attitude of the media (and particularly ABC/Disney) to the wishes of the GOP:

ABC Bosses Tell ABC News Kill The Interviews With Robert Kennedy Jr.

ABC corporate executives at the network's highest levels ordered
three interviews with Robert Kennedy Jr. pulled from ABC News
programming.

The interviews all centered around Mr. Kennedy's investigation of
thimerosal, a mercury based preservative, used in vaccines given to
children and believed to be responsible for increasing cases of
neurological diseases including autism.

Mr. Kennedy's interviews were slated for prime shows ABC World News
Tonight, 20/20, and Good Morning America. Salon.com and Rolling Stone Magazine have exclusive rights to Mr. Kennedy’s article and they embargoed his story on other networks because of his arrangement with ABC.

Mr. Kennedy’s article was published today only in Rolling Stone and on Salon.com. The article links the CDC, FDA and Bill Frist to major drug companies, including GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Wyeth, and Aventis Pasteur that continued to include thimerosal in their vaccines despite studies showing the damage – and death – it caused in humans. In the 1990s the CDC and FDA recommended three additional children's vaccines laced with thimerosal, totaling twenty two federally recommended immunizations. (...)

Brought to you from the same corporation that tried to block "Fahrenheit 9-11" from American distribution.

Irony Impaired

2005-06-16T13:00:00.000-04:00

Today, Bush criticized the Iranian electoral system. In his release, Bush spouted the following, referring to the system in Iran:

"Power is in the hands of an unelected few who have retained power through an electoral process that ignores the basic requirements of democracy,"

Indeed, George. Indeed.

The Downward Spiral

2005-06-13T09:10:00.000-04:00

Only a few years back this would have been impossible in the American forum of public opinion. Today, it is the proposal of a religious leader:

Christian Coalition: Gays Should Wear Warning Labels

The leader of a conservative Christian lobby group says that gays should be required to wear warning labels.

"We put warning labels on cigarette packs because we know that smoking takes one to two years off the average life span, yet we 'celebrate' a lifestyle that we know spreads every kind of sexually transmitted disease and takes at least 20 years off the average life span according to the 2005 issue of the revered scientific journal Psychological Reports," said Rev. Bill Banuchi, executive director of the New York Christian Coalition.

The journal regularly publishes articles described by many mainstream psychologists as misleading and faulty. The homosexuality morbidity study was conducted by the conservative anti-gay Family Research Institute.
(...)

Some fellows in Germany had he same idea in the 1930s. They came up with these pink triangles for gays. They had different symbols for different minorities to wear. And they sure made them wear these pink triangles:

But of course, I'm sure calling Bill Banuchi and his coalition a bunch of FREAKIN' NAZIS would be in poor taste. Right, you can't say that these days.

The fact that leaders of religious organizations feel empowered enough in this political climate to openly say those things to the media should tell you a lot about the times we are living. What's more, it feeds my pessimistic view that things are quickly spiraling downward, out of control.

I hope I'm wrong.

The Newsweek scandal and the decay of American media

2005-05-18T08:30:00.000-04:00

I wonder if it would dawn on Isikoff and the rest of the MSM tools that, while they hated Clinton to no end, they were FREE to publish whichever hate-filled rant they could come up with. They were so free they were able to get away with publishing any bullshit story as long as it damaged the Clintons, no matter how flimsy or silly the evidence (Whitewater, Monicagate, Vince Foster, etc)

Their disgusting behavior during the 2000 election brought us Bush and his cronies, which they seemed to revere and idolize. Since the early days, they gave Bush and his cronies more reverence and respect than they ever gave Clinton.... even though the WH used a strong policy of "carrot and stick" on them and fed them lies on a daily basis.

Well, guess who got punked? These tools at the MSM keep getting what they deserve. They are reaping what they sow. Their submissive attitude to power has brought them this far.

If this had taken place in the 1970s, Newsweek would have fought back and presented alternative evidence to support the story, as well as the alternative reports that told similar stories from Guantanamo. Furthermore, Newsweek's should have exposed their unreliable source (which after all, fed them incorrect info about the Pentagon), and point the finger back at their accusers.

Unfortunately they are a bunch of wimps cowering in fear at the though that Dear Leader may call them (gasp) "unpatriotic."

The real damage in this story is the way (and speed) in which Newsweek genuflected and apologized for a story that was, deep down, factually correct (and already reported by many other newspapers). And what's even worse than that is the way the rest of the MSM have ganged up on Newsweek, instead of supporting their colleagues. That alone is very revealing of the current state of affairs.

Vindicated Once Again:Tom Ridge Admits Color Coded Alerts Were Manipulated

2005-05-11T12:00:00.000-04:00

Well, well, well. What do you know! It seems like our study of terror alerts and chart were indeed on the money.

The Bush administration periodically put the USA on high alert for terrorist attacks even though then-Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge argued there was only flimsy evidence to justify raising the threat level, Ridge now says.
Ridge, who resigned Feb. 1, said Tuesday that he often disagreed with administration officials who wanted to elevate the threat level to orange, or "high" risk of terrorist attack, but was overruled. (...)

The level is raised if a majority on the President's Homeland Security Advisory Council favors it and President Bush concurs. Among those on the council with Ridge were Attorney General John Ashcroft, FBI chief Robert Mueller, CIA director George Tenet, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Colin Powell. (...)

USA TODAY

Great. Not only he is telling us the alerts were worthless and enforced at the whim of the WH. Ridge is also telling us his duties in the department of Homeland Security were one step above worthless.

I'm sure you'll be able to get a few bucks having a yard sale with all that duct tape and plastic sheeting they encouraged you to buy.

PS: Welcome, Atriots! Enjoy and come often!

On Vacation

2005-03-11T16:59:00.000-05:00

Just taking a quick break after weeks of heavy work.
We'll be back at the end on the month.

Happy B-Day To Us!!!

2005-03-07T17:24:00.000-05:00

Yup, JuliusBlog has turned one year old!

It seems like it was just yesterday when I was trying to figure out how this blogger interface worked...

So as it's customary in the blogging community, I'll pass the hat around. Please send your contributions through PayPal:Here's a quick review of some of our greatest hits in the past year 2004:

Dubya's Baldie Fetish

Chart: Terror Alerts Vs. Bush Ratings

Terror Alert Timeline

Flash: Corporate Scandals

Hope you liked them. Hope the coming year we can offer you more information and bloggy goodness. :-)

A College Progrom

2005-03-02T22:17:00.000-05:00

Tonight I read a report so disturbing that I think it opens a new page in our run up toward a theocratic fascist-like regime. Check it out:

SRJC uproar over Republican protest

Several instructors targeted by student's posting of red stars, state code on teaching of communism

Santa Rosa Junior College's oak-studded campus is aflame with controversy triggered by the anonymous posting of red stars and a reference to communist indoctrination on 10 faculty office doors.

Instructors quickly saw the action as a threat to academic freedom, but the student who claimed credit for the protest said it was about left-leaning bias in the lecture hall.

The stars, which unnerved some instructors, were accompanied by a copy of a state Education Code section prohibiting the teaching of communism with the "intent to indoctrinate" students.

"It makes me a little anxious," philosophy instructor Michael Aparicio said.

Ed Buckley, the college's vice president of academic affairs, weighed in with a defense of academic freedom, saying in an e-mail to SRJC faculty that it includes teaching "difficult and controversial material."

But political science major Molly McPherson of Rohnert Park said she had only intended to start a discussion about the personal politics of SRJC humanities instructors by posting the stars. (...)

As David Neiwert has carefully explained, America is slowly, but steadily creeping towards theocratic fascism.

On Kristallnacht (and before that awful event), Nazi Germans used to post Stars of David on the doors of Jews and Jewish-owned businesses.

Or like in the picture below, they used to single out Jews in schools and humiliate them publicly:

Why am I not surprised those college Republican are using the very same intimidation techniques of the Nazis? Second nature?

The Double Standards of American Media

2005-02-25T16:37:00.000-05:00

I think we are starting to see a pattern here. Let me just compare three recent examples in American current events to illustrate my point:

- A Democratic President (Clinton) gets frisky with an intern... media creates the biggest scandal ever. Outrage. Impeachment proceedings. Media frenzy. What are we going to tell the children?

- A Republican administration gets caught paying columnists to spread propaganda, and illegally sneaking a male prostitute into the WH press corps to play fake journalist:

Silence from the mainstream media.
- A Democratic politician (Gary Condit) gets frisky with an intern (Chandra Levy)... but later that intern is killed by a serial killer:

The media turns it into the second largest scandal ever. Outrage. Investigations. Media frenzy.

- The assistant of a Republican congressman (Scarborough) appears dead by what seems to be a blow to head in her office, in mysterious circumstances. The congressman soon steps down:

Silence from the media. Furthermore, former congressman Scarborough is given a TV show on MSNBC!
- A powerful businesswoman with ties to the Democratic Party (Martha Stewart) is caught in a potential case of insider trading involving $60,000:

Media pandemonium. Huge scandal. Frenzy and outrage. Stewart ends up being sentenced to prison for her involvement in this affair.

- A Texas company with rock solid ties to the Bush administration and the GOP (Enron) collapses in one of the largest cases of corporate fraud in the history of the nation. We are talking billions of dollars here. There's info on alleged massive favors to Enron by Cheney and Bush:

Silence from the media until it got too big... Then the case disappeared from the headlines. Ken Lay is yet to be charged or indicted.

I rest my case. Nobody should be surprised at the way the Gannon scandal is turning.

On why the mainstream media are becoming more irrelevant every day...

2005-02-25T09:09:00.000-05:00

John Aravosis points today to an article by Johanna Neuman in the L.A. Times that completely misses the basic point of the developing Gannon scandal. This is the first time in three weeks that the L.A. Times covers the story, and they decide to completely confuse the underlying factors that make this a scandal of serious proportions.

I have an important question for Johanna Neuman, Howard Kurtz, and the rest of the so-called "real" journalists that have gone out of their way to derail and obfuscate the Gannon scandal:

Repeatedly you have implied journalists and the profession of journalism feel threatened by blogging. It's the talk of the town in your trade, as bloggers are snatching real investigative reporting away from the big media, while the MSM slips further into irrelevancy.

My question is the following, and I think it goes to the root of it: how come you don't feel threatened by Gannon and other fake reporters planted by the Bush administration? Do you feel your job has become one step above stenography? Are you not bothered by the unprecedented efforts by this administration to replace real reporters with paid shills? Why do you look the other way?

I mean, given a chance to investigate a case of governmental fraud, and a saucy scandal with roots that may lead to higher-ups in the White House, first you completely ignore it. Then you go out of your way to turn it into a story about big mean bloggers playing reporter and invading Gannon's so-called privacy ?(that is, a series of public websites in the world wide web where he advertised his services as a prostitute).

This is the question they need to answer. It's not just about this scandal. The MSM have purposefully stepped down from their duties to investigate and keep an eye on those in power for the rest of us. Now they are content to just copy and paste the official releases from the White House, and this has been explicitly going on for four years. That's the matter.

Gannon's Theme Song

2005-02-22T19:54:00.000-05:00

Yup. Someone spent some time and work on this one:

http://www.12thharmonic.com/wordpress/?p=728

It's pretty funny actually.

The "Real" GOP/MEDIA Agenda

2005-02-22T08:01:00.000-05:00

Last night John Aravosis of AmericaBlog started a contest to mock the nasty GOP ad attacking the AARP.

Here's my contribution:

And I think it could be applied to the MEDIA as well:

Take your pick!

More Gannon/Guckert Revelations

2005-02-18T11:16:00.000-05:00

It seems like the news on this guy keep coming out by the hour. Difficult to keep up. Let me list the latest:

- AmericaBlog: Gannon reportedly knew about "Shock and Awe" four hours before it happened. Notice one important thing about this new revelation: this confirms the previous discovery that Gannon/Guckert was regularly in the WH press room BEFORE he was hired by Talon. This is in direct contradiction with the official version of the story by both Gannon and the WH. They claimed that Gannon started working as a White House reporter when Talon News hired him for this task. Talon didn't even exist as a web-based bogus news service until March 29, 2003. So this puts witnesses claiming Gannon/Guckert was in the WH before that date.

The guys at Daily Kos have analyzed some broadcasts from CSPAN that reveal Jim/Jeff was there before the "official" date of hire.

- The website PRWatch reveals, after parsing other WH broadcasts, that a figure resembling Jim/Jeff could be seen in the WH in November 2002.

It's starting to look like Jim/Jeff was as much a fixture in the White House as Barney the dog. He he was given exclusive access to incredibly sensitive and classified information.

The question is, who is Gannon's trickdaddy in the White House?

on edit:

Atrios just posted the following in his blog:

One of Gannon's "scoops" was that CBS producer Mary Mapes was the person who had originally received the documents.

One wonders how JimmyJeff knew that.

Fascinating...

Indeed, my friend. Indeed.

Vindicated!!!

2005-02-17T14:06:00.000-05:00

Again, you heard it here first last summer: Timeline of Terror Alerts

Today, AP news brings us this revelation, which should surprise NOBODY!

Ridge Met With Bush's Pollsters During 2004 Campaign

Former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge met privately with Republican pollsters twice in a 10-day span last spring as he embarked on more than a dozen trips to presidential battleground states.

Ridge's get-togethers with Republican strategists Frank Luntz and Bill McInturff during a period the secretary was saying his agency was playing no role in Bush's re-election campaign were revealed in daily appointment calendars obtained by The Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act. (...)

Notice that among the Bush campaign pollsters that Tom Ridge met includes the mendacious Machiavellian strategist Frank Luntz. I'm sure they just met to discuss the latest dirt on J-Lo, I'm sure. Right....

Check out our chart of terror alerts. According to the AP article, Lunz and Ridge met first in May 17 04. Notice the flurry of terror alerts issued right after. Obvious to the naked eye.

(Link via Phoenix Woman)

Scandal brewing in the WH?... Well, it's time for another Terror Alert!

2005-02-16T18:06:00.000-05:00

Remember our now famous Timeline of Terror Alerts? Remember that very revealing chart? I think it's time to bring it out again.

As soon as the Jeff Gannon/Jim Guckert scandal reached the mainstream media, we had another terror alert today:

Officials Warn of Future Terror Attacks

WASHINGTON - Speaking with one voice, President Bush's top intelligence and military officials said Wednesday that terrorists are regrouping for possible new strikes against the United States.

They said the best defense was for Congress to approve the president's military and anti-terror budget. But some in Congress, including prominent Republicans, were questioning some of that spending.

Offering few specifics on terror threats, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told a House hearing that the government could reasonably predict attacks would come from terrorism, weapons of mass destruction and other means.

Meanwhile, new CIA Director Porter Goss told the Senate Intelligence Committee the Iraq war was giving terrorists experience and contacts for future attacks, and FBI Director Robert Mueller expressed worry that a sleeper operative in the U.S. may have been in place for years, awaiting orders for an attack.

"I remain very concerned about what we are not seeing," Mueller said in remarks he submitted to the senators. (...)

Independently of the potential veracity of these statements, they have overplayed their hand in the past with many terror alerts of no substance. As we pointed before, it's been clear that they used many of the most mendacious terror alerts to bump bad news off the headlines, to divert from incriminating information that could damage the administration. Should we believe them now?

Or maybe it's the Gannon scandal getting too close?

Just wondering...

Gannon Scandal Reaches Critical Mass!

2005-02-14T15:10:00.000-05:00

AmericaBLOG finally spills the beans on the true personality of Jeff Gannon:

(WARNING: Mature content discussed in this link)
> A Man Called Jeff

The Raw Story reveals even more:

> Questions surface on relationship with WH staff

Pass the popcorn.

Bush and Bald Men

2005-02-14T13:16:00.000-05:00

Now the Gannon story seems to be unfolding, it may be good to bring this one back. For the record, Bush does seem to have a fondness for bald men:

Bush and his bald men fetish

The blog Rigorous Intuition draws a closer conclusion:

The smoking scalp?

CNN Nuke Plant Photos: Sloppy Work or Propaganda?

2005-02-14T09:32:00.000-05:00

The guys at Brad Blog caught CNN in an embarrassing blunder. Last week CNN posted two different stories on their website, on of them about the nuclear capabilities of North Korea, and another about the nuclear capabilities of Iran. Both articles included aerial photos of the alleged nuclear facilities of each country. Problem each, they used photos of the same location. They actually look like the same photo, one of them just cropped. But one is supposed to be in Iran and the other is supposed to be in North Korea!

The question we should be asking CNN is who's the source for these photos? Is this just sloppy work or a purposeful attempt to deceive? You be the judge.

"Howie the Whore" shows his colors (once again)

2005-02-13T12:54:00.000-05:00

I just had to mention my utter disgust at Howard Kurtz' impossibly revolting performance on today's "Reliable Sources" on CNN.

The guy oozed contempt for bloggers and went out of his way to defend Jeff Gannon/Glucker. He mentioned the horrible bloggers attacking poor, poor Gannon and getting into his private life (a freaking lie). He mentioned bloggers harassing this poor soul and his family (infuriatingly false).

He even shamelessly tried to defuse the serious matter of Gannon/Glucker changing his name and getting WH press credentials on a false name. Howie said that "it's not a big deal to change your name. Famous people like Woodie Allen did it." Nice try!

He brought some guests to chastise bloggers and trot again the fact they are not "real journalists" but they sure abide by the same rules imposed on big media (of course, Howie only uses this defense when it's convenient for him).

His whole performance was blatantly aimed to defend Gannon and flog bloggers. Kurtz changed the issue from "former male prostitute and/or hustler gets WH credentials under false name to loft softballs in press conferences while representing a false news organization with ties to the Texas GOP," to "lefty bloggers harass a conservative WH reporter and trespass into his private life." It seems very clear to me that Howie only feels outrage in one direction: the left. If the subject of a scandal is a Democrat, Howie sure joins the feeding frenzy. When the subject of a scandal is a conservative, Howie goes out of his way to attack those reporting on the scandal. It's already TOO OBVIOUS.

Overall, it was a disgusting performance, typical of this media whore. Why in the world is this guy the "gatekeeper" for journalists ethics? Why is he the lighthouse for media criticism? This is atrocious!

Talon News Scandal:What does ARI FLEISCHER know?

2005-02-11T15:18:00.000-05:00

Susie Dow sent me a message suggesting to take a look at the timeline of Talon NeWS/ Plame affair events that they have compiled. They've done a pretty impressive job so far, so I decided to take some of their items and contrast them with our timeline of terror alerts.

I decided to check some additional items from the time Talon News/ Gannon were set up, and realized something the guys at Daily Kos missed:

Ari Fleischer resigned soon after Talon News/ Gannon was created and right after Kristof revealed in the NYT the lies about the yellowcake uranium lies.

Here's my speculation (and again, it's just speculation): could Ari Fleischer have known about Rove setting up Talon News, and got scared after Kristof started revealing some of the most outlandish lies of the Bush/Cheney team?

Or could it be that Ari, trying to protect whatever was left of his integrity, got out quick when he saw the type of games they were starting to play?

I think the Ari Fleischer angle needs to be looked into.

Koufax AwardsWE MADE IT TO THE FINALS!!!

2005-02-11T15:12:00.000-05:00

Wow! We made it to the finals of the 2004 Koufax Awards for the title of best post of the year!!!!

You can help us get closer to achieving the final honor by voting at the Wampum site. Please use the following link to VOTE for our nomination in this category (one vote per person, etc, etc.):

http://wampum.wabanaki.net/archives/001715.html

Simply go to the bottom of the page and post there your votes for the Best Post category for "Timeline of Terror Alerts by Julius Civitatus (with help from Biltud) at JuliusBlog"

Thank you for your support in advance!!!

The latest on "Gannon-gate"

2005-02-11T09:59:00.000-05:00

As you probably know by now, Gannon suddenly resigned as more dirt was unveiled about his shady past:

http://jeffgannon.com/

Then the bogus media organization he represented scrapped all of his articles from their website, in true Orwellian fashion.

Then two Democrats in Congress, Conyers & Slaughter, demanded investigation of Gannon in Plame "leak":

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/11/politics/11gannon.html

Unfortunately, as the guys from AmericaBlog and Atrios pointed (and as yours truly predicted), the mainstream media is not covering this scandal properly. Republican apologist Howard Kurtz did what he does best, covering up for the Republicans. CNN's Wolf Blitzer, being the asshole extraordinaire that he is, seems to be siding with the bogus journalist. Blitzer made it look as if it was all about "mean liberal bloggers" attacking a "decent conservative reporter." Infuriating, to say the least. There's no depth to Wolfie's whoredom, apparently.

To top it all off, there's a hint that Karl Rove himself may bee behind the whole thing (surprise surprise). From AmericaBlog:

So just how close is Karl Rove to this story? Well, here's a little tidbit. In an article titled "Freewheeling 'bloggers' are rewriting rules of journalism" (USA Today, December 30, 2003), Kathy Kiely writes:
In the past year:

* GOPUSA.com, a Web site run by Bobby Eberle, a Houston engineer with no previous journalism experience, scored an interview with President Bush's top political adviser, Karl Rove.
Mr. Eberle is the CEO of GOPUSA.com and Talon News, Jeff Gannon's employer. He regularly writes on GOPUSA.com under the byline:
By Bobby Eberle
Talon News
So GOPUSA.com gets access to Rove. Interesting. Gannon/Talon also get access to CIA documents that expose undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame. Very Interesting. Is there a link? Only the Justice Department investigation knows. Wonder what's holding up that prosecution?

Why am I not surprised that behind a rotten dirty trick involving setting up shady characters as fake reporters in the WH press may be the chubby hand of Karl "Mayberry Machiavelli" Rove?

This story keeps getting more and more convoluted.
To be continued...

Jeff Gannon Scandal Gets Worse

2005-02-09T00:20:00.000-05:00

As you may be aware by now, last week it was revealed that Jeff Gannon, an alleged journalist was given access as a Washington press corp for the bogus Talon News in order to loft softballs during press conferences.

Well, if having the White House setting up fake journalists wasn't bad enough, this matter just got a lot nastier. Readers from Daily Kos, Atrios, and AmericaBlog have been digging more info on this shady Jeff Gannon and have discovered the following:

Jeff Gannon is not even a journalist, and Talon News is not a real news organization.
Jeff Gannon is not even his real name. The guy is called Jim D. Guckert, which makes his White House press corp credentials illegal (no aliases are allowed for members of the WH press corps). This may hint an involvement of the WH in setting this guy up.
Jim D. Guckert owns several web domains under the moniker "Bedrock Corporation." Some of these domains include the following:

Hotmilitarystud.com
Militaryescorts.com
Militaryescortsm4m.com

Yes, those seem to be the domain names for male prostitution websites. The mind boggles!

Just imagine for a second what the so-called "liberal media" would have done if the Clinton administration had been caught setting up a former gay male prostitute and/or hustler as a bogus Washington press reporter to pitch them softballs.

I can see the headlines, the outrage, the calls for impeachment. Oh, the humanity! "What will we tell the children?"

But you know, these are the doings of the Bush administration, the values-oriented, holier-than-thou, gay-hatin', teflon-coated Bush administration.

These explosive revelations will go down the drain, and the so-called "liberal media" won't even dare touch this outrageus scandal. Nobody dares touch the Bush administration in this climate.

Becoming a Republican???

2005-02-07T22:35:00.000-05:00

No, not me! I'm just referring to one of the best Flash cartoons I've seen in a while. Check it out:

http://www.thefrown.com/things/becomerepublican/

Priceless.

Cellphone Blues

2005-02-07T18:28:00.000-05:00

I just don't understand T-Mobile. I don't.

I had this great service with T-Mobile for a couple of years. My plan is fine and I'm happy with it. No need to change it. My phone, though, has stopped working properly and it's a nightmare to have a decent conversation with anyone.

I called T-Mobile several times about this problem, and this is the solution they offer me: the model for my cell-phone is out of the guarantee period, therefore they can't cover any repairs, so they suggest I get a new phone. I'm cool with that, and I could use some of the neat new features in the latest phones. Now, in order to get a new phone from T-Mobile, I need to change to a different plan and sign a yearly contract. And still, I would have to pay a huge chunk for a new cell-phone.

So, to get this straight: in order to get the same cell-phone that T-Mobile gives away almost for free to new customers, I would have to change my plan, sign a contract, and still pay over $130. Nice customer care, fellows! What T-Mobile is telling you is that they welcome your new business as a new customer. But once you are a customer, you are on your own... and no soup for you! So I feel like I'm stuck with a barely working phone, yet forced to upgrade the plan if I need a new phone. They are kicking me out as a customer!!!

Any alternatives? Any suggestions? Any way around this? I'm all ears...

Oh, The "Liberal Media"....

2005-02-05T10:07:00.000-05:00

Disturbing news from the media watchdog FAIR (via Democratic Underground). Apparently it has been revealed that the New York Times decided not to print a very damaging report that proved Bush cheated in the debates, just three days before the election.

No seriously, like Eric Alterman says: What Liberal Media? One of the most respected newspapers in the country decides to pro-actively CENSOR a very good report because it was negative of Bush. I wonder if they would have done the same thing if the report had been about Kerry, or Gore. The NY Times had no qualms publishing the most disturbingly false innuendo regarding the "Whitewater" fiasco during the entire Clinton administration. No lie or fake scandal was low enough for the NY Times to print. Under the reign of Raines, the Times became a crusader against anything with the name Clinton in it. But when it comes to the Bushes, they suddenly become concerned with ethics issues and move toward self-censorship before publishing a very damaging article.

Once again, the mainstream media shows they know which side their toast is buttered. When push comes to shove, they rather self-censor and look the other way than doing their jobs as journalists, if the subject is Bush. They were not so squeamish with Clinton as we all know.

The Emperor's New Hump
The New York Times killed a story that could have changed the election—because it could have changed the election
By Dave Lindorff
One week before Election Day, the Times (10/25/04) ran a hard-hitting and controversial exposé of the Al-Qaqaa ammunition dump—identified by U.N. inspectors before the war as containing 400 tons of special high-density explosives useful for aircraft bombings and as triggers for nuclear devices, but left unguarded and available to insurgents by U.S. forces after the invasion.
On Thursday, just three days after that first exposé, the paper was set to run a second, perhaps more explosive piece, exposing how George W. Bush had worn an electronic cueing device in his ear and probably cheated during the presidential debates.
It's clear even from unenhanced photos that George W. Bush has been wearing some kind of object under his clothing, both during the debates and at other public appearances. The enhancements done by NASA scientist Robert Nelson show a rectangular object with a long "tail"; in some shots a wire leading over Bush's shoulder is visible. This configuration closely resembles a PTT (Push To Talk) receiver with an induction earpiece, a device used by some actors, newscasters and politicians to allow for inaudible voice communication in a public setting. The particular model pictured here (which does not appear to be the exact type Bush wore) was manufactured by Resistance Technology, Inc. of Arden Hills, Minn.
That the story hadn’t gotten more serious treatment in the mainstream press was largely thanks to a well-organized media effort by the Bush White House and the Bush/Cheney campaign to label those who attempted to investigate the bulge as "conspiracy buffs" (Washington Post, 10/9/04). In an era of pinched budgets and an equally pinched notion of the role of the Fourth Estate, the fact that the Kerry camp was offering no comment on the matter—perhaps for fear of earning a "conspiracy buff" label for the candidate himself—may also have made reporters skittish. Jeffrey Klein, a founding editor of Mother Jones magazine, told Mother Jones (online edition, 10/30/04) he had called a number of contacts at leading news organizations across the country, and was told that unless the Kerry campaign raised the issue, they couldn’t pursue it.
More...
http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2012

Your so-called "liberal" media at work...

Pro-Torture Senatorial Decision

2005-02-03T20:59:00.000-05:00

It's final. The senate confirms the nomination of Alberto Gonzalez for Attorney General. The Republicans get their way thanks to the votes of six "so-called" Democrats: Landrieu, La.; Lieberman, Conn. (as usual); Nelson, Fla.; Nelson, Neb.; Pryor, Ark.; Salazar, Colo.

What a disappointment these shameless six!

But even more disappointing than the votes of these six Democrats is tea fact that Senator John McCain also voted for Torture Boy Gonzalez. McCain knows first-hand what torture is, and why we should support the Geneva Convention. Yet McCain voted to confirm Alberto "Little Noriega" Gonzalez and to ratify his stance on the treatment of prisoners. The Rude Pundit, as usual, puts it even more bluntly:

- Alas, John McCain

- Confirmation of Gonzales

With every decision, McCain is becoming more and more of a disappointment.

Koufax Awards: We got TWO nominations!!

2005-01-30T22:20:00.000-05:00

Wow! Our blog got two nominations for the 2004 Koufax Awards in the category of "Best Post" of 2004. The two nominations are for the posts:

- Timeline of Terror Alerts

- Chart: Terror Alerts Vs. Bush Ratings

These two posts got lost of media attention and were spread far and wide. Many people have pointed that realizing that Ashcroft gave up on the bogus terror alerts after this chart became widely available. I'd like to think this blog had a positive effect in turning around (a bit) the politics of fear of this administration, and making people aware of the kind of games they play with our minds. I wold also like to point out that because we posted the Timeline and the chart, we were the subject of a nasty denial of service email attack, vicious hate mail, and numerous virus email attacks. As a consequence of it, we lost a hard drive last summer. Fortunately we were able to recover a great deal of data from the wreckage of that attack.

Please use the following link if you want to VOTE for our two nominations in this category (one vote per person, etc, etc.):

http://wampum.wabanaki.net/archives/001670.html

Simply go to the bottom of the page and post there your votes for the Best Post category. Thank you!

It's Official: the PNAC requests Congress to institute the DRAFT

2005-01-30T21:29:00.000-05:00

We knew they were going to do it, but we are surprised it took them this long. That club of chicken-hawk, low life utopians known as the Project for the New American Century, the same guys who brought you the Iraqi invasion, are calling for the draft:

"So we write to ask you and your colleagues in the legislative branch to take the steps necessary to increase substantially the size of the active duty Army and Marine Corps. While estimates vary about just how large an increase is required, and Congress will make its own determination as to size and structure, it is our judgment that we should aim for an increase in the active duty Army and Marine Corps, together, of at least 25,000 troops each year over the next several years.

There is abundant evidence that the demands of the ongoing missions in the greater Middle East, along with our continuing defense and alliance commitments elsewhere in the world, are close to exhausting current U.S. ground forces. For example, just late last month, Lieutenant General James Helmly, chief of the Army Reserve, reported that "overuse" in Iraq and Afghanistan could be leading to a "broken force." Yet after almost two years in Iraq and almost three years in Afghanistan, it should be evident that our engagement in the greater Middle East is truly, in
Condoleezza Rice's term, a "generational commitment." The only way to fulfill the military aspect of this commitment is by increasing the size of the force available to our civilian leadership.

The administration has been reluctant to adapt to this new reality. We understand the dangers of continued federal deficits, and the fiscal difficulty of increasing the number of troops. But the defense of the United States is the first priority of the government. This nation can afford a robust defense posture along with a strong fiscal posture. And we can afford both the necessary number of ground troops and what is needed for transformation of the military."

http://www.newamericancentury.org/defense-20050128.htm

I wonder when these cowardly bastards will sign up. We are waiting for Kristol, Perle, and the rest of the chicken-hawks to do their duty and volunteer to the glorious Iraqi imperial adventure of their creation.

Rummy to Deploy Robocop in Iraq

2005-01-24T22:29:00.000-05:00

These days I read the headlines and I feel like I'm trapped in a weird dream. Having endured the MOAB, the new napalm, the tons of depleted uranium, the Iraqi people now will have to endure the latest neocon fantasy.

Gun-slinging robot headed for Iraq combat

The Army is preparing to send 18 of these remote-controlled robotic warriors to fight in Iraq beginning in March or April.

Made by a small Massachusetts company, the SWORDS, short for Special Weapons Observation Reconnaissance Detection Systems, will be the first armed robotic vehicles to see combat. (...)

Interesting way to get around the draft... Too bad these thingies will evolve into intelligent evil machines and take over the planet, then the few human survivors will have to travel back in time to stop this aberration from being built. Have they not seen the movie?

Now seriously, the use of these little robots will make war even less humane, more like a video-game for its operators. It even removes the guilt and remorse from shooting civilians! See where this is leading?

Natural Disasters Are Fun!!!

2005-01-21T09:30:00.000-05:00

... or so says the FEMA. Who in their right mind thought of this one? In an attempt to educate children about a natural disaster like a Tsunami, the FEMA decided to make it "fun."

Your tax dollars at work:

http://www.fema.gov/kids/games/tsunami/

PS: on edit, the FEMA has removed the Tsunami game for children from their website.

The Latest from "Neocon Tom"

2005-01-21T08:09:00.000-05:00

Check out BusyBusyBusy's take on the latest screed from Tom Friedman.

How can anybody take this clown seriously anymore?
He is the champion of sweeping generalizations based on "anecdotal evidence." I like to call his technique "a Muslim walks into a bar..." (he, he,he) as it always involves Neocon Tom talking to some anonymous guy in a bar. Then Tom extrapolates the conversation to represent all people of the specific ethnic group of the guy he was chatting with. If he talks to an Iraqi exile, then the opinions of this guy represent the views of the entire Middle East. Tom talks to a Chinese guy in a bar, then his words are the exact representation of the thinking of 1.6 billion Chinese.

He does it all the time, and it's embarrassing. What's worse, he's using that technique to sell us the same neocon fantasy that when we carpet-bomb the shit out of a country, they'll open their arms and welcome us with flowers and candy. Sounds familiar?

Tom Friedman: putting the "con" in "neocon."

Brave Vanity Fair Editor Tells Truth on Fox News

2005-01-20T18:47:00.000-05:00

Some Democrats in the Senate should take note. Vanity Fair editor Judy Bachrach stood her ground and was able to tell several TRUTHS about the obscenities of the inauguration, live right on Fox News, of all places.

Check out the video, courtesy of Oliver Willis:

A TV moment for the ages!!!

Inauguration

2005-01-20T13:38:00.000-05:00

Cartoon roundup. At least we have the humor:

Let the $40 Million Country Club Party Begin!

2005-01-20T08:08:00.000-05:00

Today the Repubs are spending $40 million to party with their rich donors.

D.C. told to pay the bill.

Wining Hearts and Minds...

2005-01-19T17:17:00.000-05:00

Today the New York Times brought the war home. Modern warfare has detached the average American from the realities of armed conflict, the horror and tragedy of it all. That infamous picture of the girl running after being doused with napalm will forever be the image of Vietnam in the minds of millions around the world. The Iraqi war may as well be forever remembered by this heart-wrenching photo:

New York Times. An Iraqi girl screamed Tuesday after her parents were killed when American soldiers fired on their car when it failed to stop, despite warning shots, in Tal Afar, Iraq. The military is investigating the incident.

Chris Hondros/Getty Images

Newsday has the full series of photos of this unfortunate event.

This image alone is horrific beyond description. I don't think I can possibly say anything else today.

------------------------
PS: (on edit, 1-21-05) I think blogger Letterman does a great job in his post expressing much of what needs to be said about these haunting photos.

Andy Tricked by Flip-Flopper

2005-01-19T08:48:00.000-05:00

Bush last Saturday, regarding a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage:

THE PRESIDENT: The point is, is that senators have made it clear that so long as DOMA is deemed constitutional, nothing will happen. I'd take their admonition seriously.

The Post: But until that changes, you want it?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, until that changes, nothing will happen in the Senate. Do you see what I'm saying?

An overjoyed Andy Sullivan tripped all over himself to post:

The FMA has gone unmentioned by Bush since the election - and it appears more and more like a pre-election ploy rather than a principled stand. (Of course, that's a relief but it's also an indication of how bald-faced a political maneuver this was in the first place). But this piece of sanity from the President deserves praise and reciprocation from those of us who support equality in marriage.(...)

Very soon, it will be clear that Massachusetts' judicial decision will be endorsed by its own legislature, making this case a matter not simply of judicial activity but democratic legitimacy. And then we should bide our time and let the example of Massachusetts set in. I'm convinced that once the reality of this reform sinks in, fears will recede. The president has given us this opportunity. It would be crazy not to reciprocate. But for the record: thanks, Mr president.

Ooops! Too fast, Randy Andy! Here's Bush the next day:

The White House sought on Sunday to reassure conservatives that President Bush would work hard on behalf of a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, backtracking from remarks Mr. Bush made in an interview suggesting that he would not press the Senate to vote on the amendment this year.

Me: HA HA!

The delusion and denial of Andy is reaching comedic levels.

People Voting Against Their Own Interests

2005-01-13T09:40:00.000-05:00

There's a blogger I don't link enough. The Rude Pundit is definitely not for everyone, but he's quite funny, and he's usually quite right. Yesterday I read his post about Social Security reform and people who vote against their own interests:

Taking the Fight To Where They Live, Part 3a

I found his comments to hit the spot. I've seen many people live in complete denial, so alienated within their own bubble that they are unable to grasp reality. These individuals, usually poor or right on minimum living standards, live under the pretense that any day, just any day, they may strike gold and become instant millionaires, therefore they side with conservative politics. They are well aware that most of the policies they support favor millionaires at the expense of working classes. Still, they feel they can become rich out of the blue so they need to favor tax-cuts for the rich, social security reform and dismantle the social safety net.

Reality seems an alien concept for many people living under that pretense.

Muffin Mary

2005-01-13T08:36:00.000-05:00

Say hello to the Muffin Mary:

http://www.muffinmary.com

Bush and the Jeebus People

2005-01-12T08:34:00.000-05:00

Very interesting Bush quote in the usually execrable Washington Times:

"I think people attack me because they are fearful that I will then say that you're not equally as patriotic if you're not a religious person," Mr. Bush said. "I've never said that. I've never acted like that. I think that's just the way it is.

Pretty revealing Bush-speak right there. Notice he says the following:

Some people accuse me of saying you can't be as patriotic if you are not a religious person.
I've never said anything like that...
But that's the way it is, anyway.

Nice. So basically, some people accuse of him of saying stuff that, although he didn't say it, he still believes it's right. Just like his daddy. His father once said atheists are not as American as Jeebus people:

"I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God."
George H.W. Bush, August 27, 1987

Williams' Pundit Payola: Who's Surprised, really?

2005-01-10T09:05:00.000-05:00

This week it has been revealed that conservative African American radio host and pundit Armstrong Williams received $240K directly from the Bush administration (through the Education Department) in order to push in his radio program propaganda about the ill-named "No Child Left Behind" program.

A few things come to mind after learning about Williams' practices:

1. Who's surprised, really? The right-wing punditry and media-machine have lowered the bar so much that the government can engage in this type of practices and devote public money (your tax dollars) to disseminate partisan propaganda on private media. These are the same people that have turned opinion and innuendo into mainstream journalism. Payola doesn't seem too strange to this bunch.

2. How many other right-wing pundits/journalists/blabber-mouths are getting paid to spread propaganda as legitimate news or opinion? Given the current sorry state of our media environment, I would guess quite a few. In a recent interview, Williams revealed that "there are others" engaged in this corrupt practice, without naming specific names. I wonder if anybody would file a FOIA requests to find out, and I'm sure it would reveal quite a few big names in conservative punditry.

3. Last but not least, this example proves once again that when Republicans want to pretend they have support from African Americans, they actually have to pay for it. The same Republican party that put on a minstrel show in the 2000 Convention is bringing pundit payola to fake African American support. It's very sad, actually, as sad as it is infuriating.

Mind-boggling

2004-12-30T22:24:00.000-05:00

Some of the satellite pictures of the devastation of the south Asian tsunami defy any description.

This one is particularly telling. This photo distributed by both AP and Reuters shows you Banda Aceh in Indonesia before and after the wave:

Please use the links below to donate to any organization involved in the relief efforts.

PS: as of today, the body count in the aftermath of the tragedy is estimated over 120,000.

Asian Tsunami: Humanitarian Relief

2004-12-28T17:34:00.000-05:00

The number of victims of the horrendous tsunami that devastated the coast of southern Asia keep increasing (55,000 as of today). Relief efforts are necessary and many humanitarian organizations are calling for help.

Here's a list of links where you can send your contribution:

American Red Cross (through Amazon.com)

Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres
PO Box 2247
New York, NY 10116-2247
888-392-0392
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
PO Box 372
CH-1211 Geneva 19
Switzerland
41-22-730-4222
http://www.ifrc.org

Save the Children
Asia Earthquake/Tidal Wave Relief Fund
54 Wilton Road
Westport, CT 06880
800-728-3843
www.savethechildren.org

Julius in the Spotlight!

2004-12-28T08:49:00.000-05:00

Some good news for a change: Remember the Timeline of Terror Alerts that Biltud and I put together this past summer? Well, The Nation has chosen that very study of terror alerts vs. Bush ratings as #8 of their Top 10 Outrages of 2004.

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/outrage?bid=13&pid=2087

In addition, according to Blogpulse, which measures online activity in the blogosphere, our Timeline of Terror Alerts was #20 of the TOP 50 Top Blog Posts Cited in 2004:

http://www.blogpulse.com/2004_review/

;-)

The Attack of the Lizard People

2004-12-27T17:05:00.000-05:00

Back from my hiatus. After the election results I made a sappy, highly emotional Flash slideshow as a tribute to many of my friends, hard working volunteers in the Kerry campaign. After I posted that Flash movie in my blog, I took some time to think about things and study ways to redesign my blog.

Well... a couple of weeks ago two utterly fascistic websites, the execrable pro-genocide nuts at Little Green Footballs and the mean-spirited Aussie Tim Blair and his merry gang of onanistic punks got a hold of my Flash video.

Within 24 hours not only they trash it, trashed my site, threatened some of the mirror site owners hosting the video, and threatened me personally. They crashed the sites of two of those mirror hosts and ran the bandwidth of all of those mirror sites beyond their limits, thus disallowing the viewing of the video. All these cowardly punks typing their vitriol from their moms' basements seemed quite encouraged on their nastiness. I guess that's what they do in between their sessions of internet porn.

I received some of the nastiest, most ignorant, most vicious emails I have ever read to date. Mind you, this was a sappy video of mournful Democrats with an emotionally charged song playing in the background, nothing more. It didn't mention Republicans, Bush, or right-wing bloggers, and it was made exclusively for our own consumption. Their reaction to my video was vile and incomprehensible beyond the workings of a lizard-like mind. While I sent the threatening emails (IPs and all) to the proper authorities, I would like to share with you some of the most idiotic crap these keyword warriors sent me. They are mostly one-liners apparently typed with one fist while furiously masturbating with the other:

From: pslamon@------.net
I'm so sad, I'm so sad, I'm so sad. Not. Rot in hell idiot.

Here's another compassionate one referring to the pictures of mourning Democrats:

From: Adam B-----
Get a life, or better yet don't get a life, keep this crap up and you guys will never win another election.

Speaking of onanistic compassionate ones:

From: T----P------@aol.com
Re:I am heating the baby oil up now you poor poor Democrat
Please more....It's like porn to me.

God the pain of you dumbasses is pure ecstasy to me.

The shots of a bunch of vile disgusting idiots all crying is just to nice a gift.

AHHHHHH, Good times.....................

Tim
P------ "One of those mean ole Red States" Arizona

Enjoy the next 4 years with Dubya!

Well, that was a very revealing email about Tim's personal "hobbies," baby oil and all. Ugh!!!

Here's an erudite movie critic on the merits of my Flash movie:

From: A---M---@aol.com

hi faggot. you're movie is the gayest thing I've ever seen and it made me laugh. all those dumbocrats crying was too much fun to handle. man it made my day.

Mike
4MOREYEARS

I'm glad to know that my so-called "gay movie" made your day. Are you hiding something from us maybe, Mike?

Here's another Mike sharing his sadistic tendencies:

from: m-----@hotmail.com

Dear Sir,

I’d like to thank you for your heart wrenching tribute to the
Kerry/Edwards
campaign. It was the funniest damn thing I’ve seen in a long time.

Watching poor lefties/liberals cry . . . absolutely priceless.

Warm Regards,

Mike T----

I expect someone with Mike's tendencies to volunteer as guard in places like Abu Grahib. His kind of job.

Gail, on the other hand, delight us with some poorly cooked tinfoil theory straight from the underbelly of Art Bell's nightmares:

From: --@--.rr.com

Dear Sir or Madam:

You are probably too young to remember but Kerry is the single person most responsible for the mistreatment of Viet Nam veterans in the 1970's. He concocted war crimes storeis out of whole cloth. This defamation of his country and his fellow soldiers was committed for the sake of his political career.

He went to Paris and met with the Communist North Vietnamese and brought their talking points back to the United States. If you want to see what John Kerry wrought look at Viet Nam. Look at the lack of political freedom and the prison camps. That is what John Kerry helped create.

Gail L------

Was that before or after Kerry shot JFK from the grassy knoll as commanded by the aliens that abducted him? Not sure if I follow...

Brian, on the other hand, seems a little bit lost in his own mind:

From: brian g-------" b--------@yahoo.com

Hail the great socialist state. Hail the grand sheocracy. Lets centralize all power to the federal government and pass laws so the girly-men can rule with an iron fist. He has a dream.

The Moops, I'm sure it was the Moops!!!

Jake, of course, had to bring race to the mixture. He couldn't help himself:

From: jake----@ny---.rr.com

Funny, Democrats love flaunting their IQ & SAT scores when
comparing themselves to Republicans: but when it comes to the lower
scores
for black and hispanics(reliably Democratic voters) you say that is
racist
amnd scores don't mean anything.

Nice Jake, nice. We now know where you stand on some things. Yup.
Rick, on the other hand, tries his best to express his feelings by banging the keyboard:

From: Rick@---------------.com
I WAS HOPING TO SEE MORE OF THE NAKED FREAKAZOIDS WHO WERE SUCH A LARGE PART OF THE "CAMPAIGN".
THAT MIGHT HAVE LIFTED THIS PIECE ABOVE THE LEVEL OF A FUNNY WALLOW IN SELF-PITY TO A TRUE KNEE SLAPPER.
GOD KNOWS I WAS LAUGHING MY ASS OFF THROUGH THE ENTIRE CAMPAIGN.
YOU GUYS KEEP IT UP WHILE THE GROWNUPS HANDLE THE GROWNUP PROBLEMS.
HOPE TO SEE MORE IN 2008.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, AND GOD BLESS.

RICHARD A. D---------
ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI

Naked "freakazoids"? What campaign were you watching?

Tim, on the other hand, seemed to start the booze too early in the morning:

From: Timothy F-------", ts---------@mindspring.com

John Kerry would have defeated the Islamic fascists, but Bush is going
to hand the country over to those that would enslave our women and
force us all to worship Allah or die.

TS F-------
Los Angeles

What? Hello? I don't think I follow.

Well, the rest of the barrage of emails are no better, only less interesting and usually shorter. With the exception of threating emails we received, most of the rest were one-lines, containing one or two expletives.

The following is some of the "best" in the comments section. Here the ignorance and vitriol reached another different level:

Hooray! The Democrat party is almost destroyed! It's quivering with a wooden stake through its black heart. The Hate-America Left is snivelling over at DU, go read the meltdown!

MK,Minnesota
Get the fuck out of MY country you losers!
Sniffles the Democrat
Sorry y'all are taking it so hard, I know you had a lot of emotion wrapped up in defeating the evil Haliburton/Suadi oligarchy. Still, life goes on, your taxes will stay low, and there are still no plans for a draft.
gaw
liberals are such useless women. What happened to feminism, you pussies? cry cry cry eat me.
Liberalsareassholes
No wonder you lost. You are all a buncha faggoty girly men from taxachusetss.
Blue-State Guy
You guys are a constant source of entertainment each and every day. That's why WE let you stay around in OUR country you filthy traitors.
God I love the internet!
Miss Trixie
Well, I must say that this erm tribute (?) just confirms what I have thought about you radical, fringe commies-oh scuse me-lefties all along.....ya'll are in dire need of help.
But thanks for the laugh! Rot in hell, communists
The Pulchritudinous Patriot
Man that's a lot of ugly, dour liberals. Why are liberals so ugly, and unkempt? Sure you have the occasional cutie; and Hollywood helps elevate your inferior gene pool a little bit. But, for the most part, liberals are hideous looking sub-human creatures, never mind their despicable politics.
Thank goodness we don't have to look at the likes of Kerry and Momma-T for the next four years, two of the ugliest people on the face of the planet.
kuleshov
ROTFLMAO, that is the funniest footage since Rachel Corrie lost that wrestling match with a Bulldozer. Thanks.
Crusader

There are more like these. Quite an amazing insight into the darkness of the demented ultra-right-winger soul.

Historical Perspective:It Was About "Values" After All

2004-11-12T17:12:00.000-05:00

This is a very revealing graphic that we first saw at the blog what is this nonsense???. It gives you some food for thought and demonstrates that, the more things change, the more they stay the same:

Video: "We Had a Dream" - A Tribute

2004-11-08T18:48:00.000-05:00

I produced a video over the weekend as a tribute to the many thousands of volunteers who gave so much during this campaign. Their efforts and dedication really moved me, and although I did my part as a volunteer and fundraiser, it always felt like I could have done more.

Being a visual person, I find it easier to express my feelings in this fashion. I don't think I could write enough to express how I felt after Kerry's concession. I hope this video really conveys the message, I hope you enjoy it, and please wait for the dedicatory at the end of the video.

Use any of these mirror sites to view the video (your'll need Macromedia Flash player)

Video:
We Had A Dream:

Mirror 1
Mirror 2
Mirror 3
Mirror 4
Mirror 5
Mirror 6
Mirror 7
Mirror 8

NOTE: we need additional mirror sites to spread this tribute. If you have a website, web space, or know of someone who could host this animation, please let me know.
I'll send you the files so you could host it too. The more the merrier!

Thank you.
------------

PS: Mirror links had to be disabled after hosts were the subject of attacks and personal threats received from a bunch of cowardly extremists.

PSS: Just for the record, this video was produced under Fair Law protection (U.S. Copyright Law Title 17 U.S.C.) Fair use covers usage of copyrighted material for most non-profit, creative, free speech and political statements. It also covers the use of copyrighted material as long as it is non-profit, educational, or even meant as a parody.

MSNBC Covers Election Fraud

2004-11-08T17:45:00.000-05:00

Amazingly enough, there are still some journalists with guts asking the right questions. Keith Olbermann just reported in MSNBC some serious incidents in the voting recount in both Ohio and Florida. In some precincts with an overwhelming number of registered Democrats (80 or 88%), Bush won by a landslide. This incidence only occurred in those precincts where they used Diebold voting machines.

With the exception of these counties, exit polls reflected the will of the voters within the margin or error.

You can see the report here (Windows Media format):
http://home.comcast.net/~hugh.moore/countdown_on_voting_irregs.wmv
(Link courtesy of Democratic Underground)

This needs to be investigated further. It is outrageous.

A Few Thoughts on the Electoral Campaign

2004-11-05T16:01:00.000-05:00

Only three points I want to make:

Yes, we must recognize that with all of Kerry's values and the fact that he was an excellent candidate, it all went to hell when they decided to do EXACTLY WHAT THE AL GORE CAMPAIGN DID: they took the high road and refused to fight back the lies and smears of the rightwingers. They allowed the Swift Boat fuckers to run amok almost the entire Summer spreading their Nixonian filth, and the Dems didn't start fighting until it was WAY too late.

We will never win if we keep "taking the high road" and pretending that "dirty politics are beneath us." They beat us by playing dirty all the time. We better learn to play dirty or we are doomed.
When the Democrats had an opportunity to fight back, they pulled lots of punches to appear "moderate." They were scared shitless to be tarnished as "radical," or "angry," or to be associated to Michael Moore, etc. This was, once again, a gross mistake. The Clinton team had a few bulldogs that they promptly sicced on the opposition and the media whenever it was time to counterattack. Carville was notorious for this. The Clinton team had a motto: "if they hit you, you hit back twice as hard." They won two elections by wide margins. They knew the game.

As posted above, Bush is the worst president in US history. There was plenty of material to use to smash his image and his team of Rovian elves. The Kerry team didn't even scratch the surface, for heaven's sake!
Not just the left in general, but the Democratic Party in particular need to start BEATING THE MEDIA HORSE, and to do it mercilessly. Democrats have been too nice to the media whores for too long, and they have adopted a pusillanimous attitude toward them even in the face of their most outrageous transgressions of ethics and fairness. Someone told me the Democratic campaign people were very afraid to put the media against us. Bullcrap, I say!

The Republicans didn't turn the media into this cowed right-wing machine by being "nice." For two decades the Republicans have been crying foul, sending letters, attacking the media with accusations of "liberal bias," RELENTLESSLY, until the media got cowed and cornered. They rigged the refs, as Eric Alterman says, and now the media are afraid of looking even slightly liberal.

Republicans didn't get to this point by playing nice, by playing clean, or by being "reasonable." The right-wing attacked, attacked, attacked relentlessly for two decades until the media went their way. They used letters to the editors, calls to programs, emails to media outlets. They never let down.

We better take a page from the wingnut book, or we will always be the opposition party.

IQ and Voting Patterns

2004-11-05T08:26:00.000-05:00

This study says it all:

Comparison of average IQ and voting patterns

What I have learned this election... so far

2004-11-03T02:09:00.000-05:00

Just a few things:

You can look and behave like a trained monkey in the three presidential debates, and half the country would still vote for you.
Treat your electorate like idiots, scare them, and lie to them, and you still get voted.
Tell people you personally speak with god, and instead of interning you in a psychiatric institution, they'll vote for you.
Tell the most outlandish and bizarre lies about your opponent, and people would believe it. The media will give it full coverage. Tell that your purple heart veteran opponent is a traitor, while dismissing your own AWOL record, and people will vote for you. Over and over again. It worked with Cleland before!
Bring your record of four disastrous years of economic decay, a failed war, lies, corruption, and violations of constitutional rights, and you still get voted.
Bring the GAGG rule (guns, abortion, god, gays), and you get voted in rural states overwhelmingly.

But apparently, getting consensual oral sex is the subject for impeachment and outrage for years and years to come.

Just a quick reminder about the Supreme Court

2004-11-03T01:55:00.000-05:00

There are at least 3 supreme court justices retiring, and depending on Chief Justice Rehnquist's health, it could be 4.

The justices that have spoken of retirement are Stevens, O'Connor, and Ginsburg.

If Bush wins, he will appoint all four and the chief justice. And this will lead to a majority of conservatives in the bench, 7/2.

Chief Justice Scalia, anyone?

And meet your new SC justices: Ted Olson, Miguel Estrada and Priscilla Owen. How do you like the new guys deciding the next 20 years of American law?

Say goodbye to Affirmative Action, Roe v. Wade, minimum wage, Social Security, Miranda Rights, separation of church & state, funding for science, and condoms. Say hello to Patriot Act II, mandatory prayer in schools, social services provided by Evangelical churches, "creation science" in the curriculum, and the Ten Commandments in the courts.

Have pleasant dreams...

Update: Bush 246 - Kerry 216

2004-11-03T01:42:00.000-05:00

Colorado for Bush. Maine, Oregon, Minnesota for Kerry.

Update: Bush 238 - Kerry 188

2004-11-02T23:57:00.000-05:00

Montana, Idaho and the Dakotas called for Bush.

Florida looks positively re-stolen. When you have Diebold machines, you don't have to worry much about which way Florida would go...

Update: Bush 200 - Kerry 188

2004-11-02T23:05:00.000-05:00

They just called California for Kerry, which adds 55 seats to the Democratic candidate.

Florida looks re-stolen. I wonder if they will conduct a study of electronic voting machines there; I'm sure they'll find funny coincidences.

Well, it seems like Zogby's projections were off, like all projections since the 2000 elections (we knew that already).

Still counting Ohio and many other states. This may be along night.

Final Zogby Prediction: Kerry in a Landslide

2004-11-02T18:15:00.000-05:00

Boy oh boy!!!!

Zogby International's 2004 Predictions

(as of Nov. 2, 2004 5:00pm)

**2004 Presidential Election**
	Electoral Votes:
Bush	213
Kerry	311
Too Close To Call	Nevada (5)
Too Close To Call	Colorado (9)

Again, FOR THE RECORD: this is just an exit poll prediction, and as we remember from the last time around, this may mean nothing after all is said and done. Take it with a grain a salt, but hope it is accurate.Still, as the previous election taught us, we should NOT trust these projections until a week from now... at least!

First Exit Polls

2004-11-02T15:00:00.000-05:00

Exit polls from MyDD.com (via Atrios) are in!
Here's what we have so far:



	 AZ  CO  LA  PA  OH  FL  MI  NM  MN  WI  IA  NH

Kerry	 45  48  42  60  52  51  51  50  58  52  49  57

Bush	 55  51  57  40  48  48  47  48  40  43  49  41

Again, just some preliminary exit polls. If this trend continues, it's KERRY BY A LANDSLIDE!

TODAY IS OUR INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!

2004-11-02T08:10:00.000-05:00

GO VOTE!!!!

Good luck!

Latest: Zogby calling it for Kerry!!!

2004-11-01T23:04:00.000-05:00

Zogby's prediction:

Bush: 247

Kerry: 264

Tie: Florida (27)

http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=923

PS: Earlier, CNN gave Kerry 47 to 43 in Florida early votes.

Visualize victory! We are almost there!

PSS: Zogby has changed his prediction this morning, Nov. 2, and has both candidates tied!

Election Advise

2004-11-01T09:37:00.000-05:00

As the dirty tricks and Republican shenanigans to disenfranchise voters increase, here are a few recommendations to keep in mind tomorrow when you head for the voting booth:

Have this phone number handy to report problems: 1-866-MYVOTE1
Use this phone number for immediate legal assistance
1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683). Call that number if poll workers refuse you to vote for any reason
Do NOT wear Kerry gear (tshirts, hats, etc) when you go to vote. it is against voting regulations and poll workers have been instructed to enforce this rule! This rule applies in MOST if not ALL states. Electioneering is not allowed within 100 feet of the polling room.
Refuse the offer of anyone coming to your residence to "pick up your vote for you." It has been reported that shady operatives have been scamming elderly citizens using this trick. This is actually voting supression. Report it to your local authorities and to the phone numbers listed above.
If you receive a phone call between today and tomorrow telling you that you are "not properly registered to vote," call 1-866-687-8683 and your local authorities to report it. It's another dirty trick by Republican operatives to keep people away from the polls.
Election day is November 2, 2004. Not any other day of this week. Do not believe anyone telling you otherwise.
If you experience any problems with your voting machine, make sure you report it to any of the election officials in the room, and call for help whenever you feel you may need it.

Good luck!!!

TV Alert: Sundance Channel

2004-11-01T09:01:00.000-05:00

For those of you with cable:

The Sundance Channel is broadcasting tonight several movies that you (or any of you undecided friends) may want to check out.

Some of them are just extraordinary. This is the list:

7:00pm Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election

8:00pm Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the Iraq War

9:00pm Unconstitutional: The War on Our Civil Liberties

10:10pm Bush's Brain

Check local listings for channel and times in your area.

Knee-deep in Al-QaQaa

2004-10-29T08:55:00.000-04:00

Remember how Bush said recently that there was "no way to know" if those 380 tons of high grade explosive were removed from the Al Qa-Qaa facility before the invasion?

Nice try. The crew of a television station embedded with US troops during the 2003 invasion released video of the troops discovering the facility. They show images of piles upon piles of canisters and boxes clearly marked "explosiv" and "al QaQaa."

Those 380 tons of explosive were definitely there after the fall of Baghdad.

Excerpts from the article:

Using GPS technology and talking with members of the 101st Airborne 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS determined our crew embedded with them may have been on the southern edge of the Al Qaqaa installation, where that ammunition disappeared. Our crew was based just south of Al Qaqaa. On April 18, 2003 they drove two or three miles north into what is believed to be that area.

During that trip, members of the 101st Airborne Division showed the 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS crew bunker after bunker of material labelled explosives. Usually it took just the snap of a bolt cutter to get in and see the material identified by the 101st as detonation cords (...)

Link to the story:

http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/S3723.html?cat=1

You can also view the video here.

Visualize Victory!!!

2004-10-28T17:29:00.000-04:00

The folks at NeedleNose bring us an awesome Flash animation to lift our spirits as the election approaches:

http://www.needlenose.com/win04/vote2.htm

GO RED SOX!!!!

2004-10-27T23:48:00.000-04:00

Bye Bye Bambino!!!!

(And bye bye Bushino next Tuesday)

Election ShenanigansFlorida: 60,000 ballots already missing!

2004-10-27T13:28:00.001-04:00

That's right! The election doesn't take place until November 2, and there are already disturbing reports coming out of battleground states, in particular Ohio and Florida.

Today we read that about 60,000 absentee ballots in Florida are missing:

Postal Experts Hunt for Missing Ballots in Florida

MIAMI (Reuters) - U.S. Postal Service investigators on Wednesday were trying to find thousands of absentee ballots that should have been delivered to voters in one of Florida's most populous counties, officials said.

The issue evoked memories of the polling problems that bedeviled the Florida election in 2000 and which the state has been trying to address before next Tuesday's presidential election, which is again expected to be a very tight race.

Broward deputy supervisor of elections Gisela Salas said 60,000 absentee ballots, accounting for just over 5 percent of the electorate in the county north of Miami, were sent out between Oct. 7 and Oct. 8 to voters who would not be in town on election day.

While some had begun to be delivered, her office had been inundated with calls from anxious voters who still had not received their ballots.

"It's really inexplicable at this point in time and the matter is under investigation by law enforcement," Salas told Reuters.

"It was basically our first major drop of the absentee ballots," Salas said. She said postal service officials had assured Broward elections supervisor Brenda Snipes that the ballots had moved out of the post office to which they had been taken by the elections office. (...)

Fasten your seatbelts, because it's going to be a bumpy ride!

Bizarro President

2004-10-27T13:15:00.000-04:00

Remember that bizarre collection of photos of Bush rubbing other people's heads?

We just added another one to the lot:

US President George W. Bush reaches out and touches a young girl after his campaign speech inside the Onalaska Omni Center in Onalaska, Wisconsin. Bush touted the tax cuts at the heart of his economic plan and efforts to promote trade as he sought a firmer grip on this up-for-grabs state(AFP/Paul J. Richards)

You can access the whole collection here: The Teenager in Chief

Smoking gun: Dirty Tricks from the GOP

2004-10-25T23:10:00.000-04:00

This is quite new, and as they say, it's developing hard. I'm not sure if it's verifiable yet, so use your caution. This is the deal: apparently, someone not too bright at the GOP campaign has been sending a lot of their internal emails to georgewbush.org instead of sending them to georgewbush.com. Of course they were unaware that georgewbush.org is a parody website that criticizes Bush and Cheney.

The folks at that site have decided to publish all those emails in their website:

http://www.georgewbush.org/deadletteroffice/

It's truly unbelievable. If they are legit, some of these exchanges are very revealing of the mood within the Bush campaign. Let me resume some of them for you:

They are very, very nervous after the latest polls.
There are lots of internal fighting and some of them are freaking out.
They openly exchange lists of registered voters with very delicate info (including the social security numbers).
Lots of interesting info on their GOTV efforts in Miami in regards of the Cuban community.
They exchange info on how they identify and block unfriendly journalists from asking questions in press conferences.
Lots, and lots of memos, including Newt Gingrich's entire campaign plan!

Here are some juicy quotes from some of those exchanges:

"... many counties are violating the campaign law as I understood it
from you. God help us if the Democrats find out."

Or this one:

"Call me and let me know what your thoughts are. I have some good ideas but I really need to know what Rove is thinking. Call me and let me know what you think. Let's not get over confident. Let's go for the jugular right away."

For the record, this confussion between .org and .com domains is nothing new to the Republicans. Remember that in the vice-presidential debates, Dick Cheney himself messed up by referring to factcheck.com instead of factcheck.org, thus sending curious viewers to George Soros' website.

Too many "internets," I guess.

Eminem gets political

2004-10-25T22:49:00.000-04:00

The new and very controversial video by Eminem "Mosh" has just been released.

You can view it here:

"Mosh" Lo-res - "Mosh" Hi-res

It truly is an excellent video. Kudos to the producers!

Chaos and Incompetence in Iraq

2004-10-25T18:35:00.000-04:00

Today's headlines carry a news report that is truly disturbing in its implications.

Hundreds of Tons of Explosives Missing in Iraq -UN

Hundreds of tons of explosives are missing from a site near Baghdad that was part of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s dismantled nuclear arms program but never secured by the U.S. military, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Monday.

The missing 377 tons of high explosives, monitored by inspectors from the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency until the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq (news - web sites) in March 2003, could potentially be used to make a detonator for a nuclear bomb, blow up an airplane or a building or in numerous other military and civilian applications, arms experts said. (...)

Just another example of the tremendous incompetence of the Bush administration in the handling of the Iraqi invasion. This, however, is old news. I remember reading about this and similar cases of negligence back in 2003, when Rumsfeld thought it was more important that our troops guarded the oil fields and the oil ministry than anything else in the ravaged country, which as a consequence descended into chaos and everything of value was looted.
It's starting to look as if the only goal was to produce utter chaos in Iraq. I believe several people have mentioned this may have been the case. Randi Rhodes commented that by creating this mess in Iraq it was easier to just steal. Chaos is a good smokescreen. Speaking of Randi Rhodes and Iraq, about a month ago, a guy called Randi Rhodes on Air America Radio with his theory about Iraq and the price of oil.

According to his theory, and contrary to what most people assume, the invasion of Iraq was not meant to tap into the massive oil reserves underneath Iraqi soil. Instead, it was meant to close the spigot. Notice that since the US illegally invaded Iraq, not a gallon of Iraqi oil has been produced, and the "oil-for-food" program has been effectively shut down. There's no Iraqi oil flowing into the market at all. The OPEC (mainly the Saudis) hated the "oil-for-food" program, as it dumped lots of cheap oil in the market and lowered prices, thus decreasing the obscenely huge profits they used to make.

I think that this "close the tap" strategy accomplishes two goals, short and long term:

Short term: the price of oil coming from other producing countries (OPEC, US) has skyrocketed, making some nice profits for these countries and corporations at the expense of a consumer base with no alternatives, and progressively more addicted and dependent on oil. (Cheney, Baker, and the Saudi royals are going "ka-ching" and laughing all the way to the bank on this one).
Long term: The US will control the spigot of the massive oil reserves of Iraq. Simple.

Lately, this theory is making more and more sense to me. In retrospective, knowing that Enron operated in a very similar fashion in California, I feel this was the intended result. The creation of this organized chaos is letting them get away with anything.

Sane Family Members Shun Black Sheep

2004-10-25T09:00:00.000-04:00

Relatives of George W. Bush have launched a website to announce their displeasure with the policies of their cousin, and making it very clear that they are endorsing Kerry. It comes to show you that even in that family common sense can prevail:

Check it out:

Bush Relatives For Kerry

New Bush Ad

2004-10-22T16:20:00.000-04:00

They sure are getting desperate:

On vacation

2004-10-08T18:33:00.000-04:00

Taking a break after three months of very intense work on several projects I was developing at once.

Will be back in two weeks.

Is Bush wired?

2004-10-08T09:03:00.000-04:00

That's what everyone seems to be asking at the moment. Nevertheless, I have to say that many of my friends and I, as well as people at various Internet boards I frequent have been wondering about this since at least 1999. There have been plenty of occasions in which his behavior in public, his awkward pauses, his bizarre "questions to himself" would make you wonder if he was actually listening to anyone else. I have suspected since that he may be pulling a "Millie Vanilli" on us.

The latest avalanche of theories on this matter comes after some of his more bizarre gimmicks during the last debate (like blurting out "let me finish" when nobody was interrupting him and he had plenty of time for his rebuttal). Also, several people have noticed a mysterious shape under the back his jacket during the debate. Here's a photo illustrating it:

Even the mainstream media are starting to notice. Salon.com published an article by Dave Lindorff on this matter: Bush's mystery bulge.

Many other websites are sprouting everywhere focusing on this mystery. Here's a list of some of the best:

http://www.isbushwired.com -- for all things about this mystery
A documentary maker explains why he thinks Bush is wired for sound
Did he wear an earpiece in his February 2004 interview with Tim Russert.
More discussions on audio "shadowing"
Promptergate

In addition to these opinions, many people have reported that French TV broadcasters were able to intercept this frequency during the last D-Day celebration, and that it was easy to hear someone reading ahead of time everything that Bush was about to say a few seconds later, including his addresses to specific journalists. It would be interesting if someone is able to post excerpts of this broadcast online.

While all this is still in the realm of speculation, it would be interesting if someone with the right equipment and expertise could locate the signal and record it too. I wonder if any journalist decides to further look into this matter. If confirmed, it could be the news story of the century!

There's a Pulitzer somewhere, waiting for someone with guts!

New Terror Alert for "Security Moms"

2004-10-07T16:38:00.000-04:00

Shameless. Simply shameless:

U.S. Alerts Schools About Terror Threat

WASHINGTON - The Education Department has advised school leaders nationwide to watch for people spying on their buildings or buses to help detect any possibility of terrorism like the deadly school siege in Russia.

The warning follows an analysis by the FBI and the Homeland Security Department of the siege that killed nearly 340 people, many of them students, in the city of Beslan last month.

"The horror of this attack may have created significant anxiety in our own country among parents, students, faculty staff and other community members," Deputy Education Secretary Eugene Hickok said in a letter to schools and education groups.

The safety advice is based on lessons learned from the Russia incident. But there is "no specific information indicating that there is a terrorist threat to any schools or universities in the United States," Hickok said. (...)

Same old, same old. How interesting that this non-specific terror alert comes sandwiched between Bush's unannounced speech, and tomorrow's debate. This alert also follows the pattern of behavior that the Bush people have us accustomed. In our Timeline of terror alerts we argued that many of the terror alerts and announcements released over the last few years seemed to follow really bad news for the Bush administration. Notice that today's terrifying announcement comes a day after the revelation that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction.

Check out what the Washington Post said about yesterday's address:

The strongly worded speech, which indicted Kerry as a "tax-and-spend liberal," was timed to deflect criticism of Bush's Iraq policy from such key sources as former Iraq administrator L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. weapons inspector and the State Department. A Bush adviser said the president hopes to change the dynamics of the race with more biting attacks on Kerry's record and trustworthiness and on what Bush charges is Kerry's reluctance to use U.S. military force to defeat terrorism.

The strategy is aimed at stoking public fears about terrorism, raising new concerns about Kerry's ability to protect Americans and reinforcing Bush's image as the steady anti-terrorism candidate, aides said.

More Rovian pre-debate treachery, if you ask me.

I think it's a good time to check our study on terror alerts that made the rounds in the Internet last summer. Here's our Timetable of Terror Alerts, and here's the famous chart:

Post-debate analysis: Cheney versus reality

2004-10-06T09:44:00.000-04:00

Check it out at the DNC website:

Why did Cheney have to lie so blatantly, even about petty things?

Presidential Debates: Kerry Outsmarts Bush

2004-10-01T08:34:00.000-04:00

CNN / GALLUP POLL ON WHO WON DEBATE

Kerry: 53
Bush: 37

CBS POLL ON WHO WON DEBATE:

Kerry: 44
Bush: 26
Tie: 30

ABC POLL ON WHO WON DEBATE:

Kerry: 45
Bush 36:
Tie: 17

Fahrenheit 9/11 on DVD - Preview

2004-09-28T21:38:00.000-04:00

Earlier this week I scored a preview copy of the upcoming Fahrenheit 9/11 DVD (yeah baby!!!) I've been watching it for the last few days.

It's a very good film to mpg transfer (it actually looks better on video than it did on film. This is because most of the footage in the movie was originally from TV broadcasts.

Michael Moore has added more scenes, including expanded footage of Iraq days before the invasion, the deposition of Condoleeza Rice to the 9/11 Commission, footage of Abu Grahib testimony, and a mindbogglingly dumb and unedited scene of Bush talking to the press right after his deposition to the 9/11.

What I found great is the video clip Moore used to loop for the DVD menu: Bush reading the pet goat book, and making the dumb face when they tell him America is under attack.

In my opinion, the best two scenes added to the DVD (in the extra features section) are following:

- a series of random interviews to regular folks in the streets of Baghdad before the bombing and invasion of March 2003. Gut wrenching.

- A mini-documentary shot outside of Abu Ghraib, where thousands of people await everyday the release of their relatives. It's unbelievable. The reporters interview family members and tell the stories of how and why their relatives were arrested. Every now and then they release 100 prisoners, and the awaiting relatives run to greet them, but the soldiers push them back to guarantee a safe operation. This is standard procedure, and in their shoes, I would certainly do teh very same thing if I were on the ground in Iraq, but still it looks like they are moving cattle. It's a nightmare.

Families calling out loud for their missing relatives, chaos. Some relatives are reunited in emotional moments. Some of the newly released prisoners tell their horror stories to the camera, sometimes illustrating their stories by pointing at their scars and bruises. It's a truly haunting scene.

Also, watching Condi Rice's deposition will infuriate you. No matter how many times you see that, you shake your head in disbelief at the lies, deflections, and stonewalling. Her behavior alone in that interview is suspect and incriminating.

Overall, a great DVD release that does justice and improves upon the original movie release.

Bobo Unhinged

2004-09-24T13:58:00.000-04:00

NY Times' neo-conservative columnist David Brooks said on CNN last night that there two types of Iraqis, our Iraqis and the Iraqis we need to kill. He also explained how to go by it: "So, what you do is you win over the people you can, town by town and then you kill the people you can't."

Unbelievable. I wonder when is Bobo volunteering to go to Iraq and help the troops sort the "friendly Iraqis" from the "disposable ones."

Rising Hegemon has a brilliant parody of your average David Books' column. It's a must-read.

Bush Caught Lying... Again!

2004-09-22T17:07:00.000-04:00

Oliver Willis has an extraordinary video of Peter Jennings catching Bush in a nasty lie about John Kerry.

You can view the view here (Quicktime mp4 file)

Interesting...

2004-09-21T13:28:00.000-04:00

From today's NY Post:

The hot rumor in New York political circles has Roger Stone, the longtime GOP activist, as the source for Dan Rather's dubious Texas Air National Guard "memos."

The irony would be delicious, since Rather became famous confronting President Nixon, in whose service a very young Stone became associated with political "dirty tricks."

Reached at his Florida home, Stone had no comment.