Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) "plans to endorse John Kerry for president today, ending his long-shot bid for the nation’s highest office only days before the start of the Democratic National Convention," the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. (Source)
The Impact of Fahrenheit 9/11
I was among the many who thought that, once you get past all the controversy and noise, "Fahrenheit 9/11" would simply be a movie that preached to the choir. It wasn’t going to sway many on the right (who wouldn’t see it because they were on the right). Nor was it going to sway many in the center (on the … Read More
That’s It? We’re Done? We Won? Cool!
The president on May 2, 2003: "The Battle of Iraq is one victory in the broader war on terror that began on September 11th, 2001, and still goes on." On May 3, 2003: "The battle of Iraq is one victory in a war on terror that still goes on." On July 21, 2004: "I want to be the peace president. … Read More
Wait For It . . .
TODAY: Bush: U.S. probes possible Iran links to 9/11 WASHINGTON (CNN) — Iran is harboring members of al Qaeda, and the United States is investigating whether the Iranian government had a role in the September 11, 2001, attacks, President Bush said Monday. YESTERDAY: Halliburton Subpoenaed Over Unit’s Iran Work HOUSTON (Reuters) – A U.S. grand jury issued a subpoena to … Read More
Bush Presidency is “the Least Democratic in the Modern History of the Presidency”
That sounds like typical partisan screed, but Jonathan Chait does an amazing — almost bulletproof — job backing it up with concrete examples and logical argument. He takes various definitions of "democracy" — including one supplied by GWB himself — and shows that the Bush Administration is more undemocratic than any other administration in recent memory. The reason the article … Read More
On Pre-War Intelligence and Post-War Lies
A hat tip to Eric Alterman who realizes that he is going to be branded as an anti-Semite for merely pointing to this article from the nation’s leading Jewish newspaper. The article describes the recent Senate Intelligence Committee Report dealing with pre-war intelligence. It also refers to the Knesset report — the Israeli equivalent of the Senate report. The money … Read More
Energetic Response
We all remember the hubbub several months ago regarding the Bush White House’s "ho-hum" response to the August 6, 2001 PDB ("Presidential Daily Briefing") — the one with the headline saying: "Bin Laden Determined To Strike In U.S.". As you may recall, Condaleeza Rice dismissed the August 6 PDB as an "historical document" that said "nothing new". She and the … Read More
Flip . . .
. . . flop. Actually, it works just as well if I only give the New York Times headlines: JULY 11, 2004: "Urged By Right, Bush Takes On Gay Marriages" JULY 14, 2004: "Senators Block Initiative To Ban Same-Sex Union" JULY 15, 2004: "Bush Refines His Position On A Measure Banning Gay Marriage" Heh. And on a mostly-unrelated note, this … Read More
What Is Rove Doing?
That’s the question that has been plaguing me for a while. I see Bush going out to states where he is already doing well, and talking about issues that merely mobilize his base, rather than trying to attract the crucial swing voters. How can he hope to win an election THAT way, I constantly ask? Well, according to this analysis, … Read More
No Respect For One’s Elders
"Trying to eliminate Saddam…would have incurred incalculable human and political costs. Apprehending him was probably impossible…We would have been forced to occupy Baghdad and, in effect, rule Iraq…there was no viable ‘exit strategy’ we could see, violating another of our principles. Furthermore, we had been self-consciously trying to set a pattern of handling aggression in the post-Cold War world. Going … Read More
I Love Stats Like These
They’re rich and chock full of meaning. This I lifted from Eric Alterman’s site. This is, in fact, part of the new afterward to the paperback edition of his book "What Liberal Media?", and it is sssoo-wwweeet: An in-depth study undertaken for the University of Maryland’s Program on International Policy Attitudes and published around the time of the second anniversary … Read More
Decision 2016
For those of you who want a sneak-peak of the man who will be elected President in 2016, you can read about him here, or just watch the Democratic convention keynote speech on July 27. I’m not kidding. I already got $100 bucks riding on this guy in a bet with my Mom. (In 1974, she bet me $20 that … Read More
Reasons’ Reasons
Libertarian magazine Reason gives its list of ten reasons why Bush has got to go. The article endorses Kerry. Sort of. I mean, it clearly states that Kerry sucks, too, but it places him as the far lesser of two evils.
Not That There’s Anything Right With It . . .
Regarding the recent conservative push to resurrect the same-sex marriage issue, Paul Waldman has the best tagline: I can’t say for sure, but it does seem that some Republican senators spend more time thinking about homosexuality than any gay person I know. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I don’t know how often Republican senators think about homosexuality and … Read More
Voting While Under Attack
I’m only half-following the story about the balloon being floated regarding the suspension of elections (if there is an AQ attack or something). And my thoughts on it are in the formative stages. Still, my initial reaction is that the Constitution does not permit the President to suspend presidential elections. Why not? Quite simple. Article II, Section 4 says that … Read More