Waiting for the Rupture

Read this story to the end and give it your rating:

IMAGINE WATERGATE 2005

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ucrr/20050219/cm_ucrr/imaginewatergate2005

This coming from a conservative columnist:
In the Midst of Budget Decadence, a Leader Will Arise

We will be watching a government that sometimes seems to have lost all perspective - like a lunatic who tries to dry himself with a hand towel while standing in a torrential downpour.

SNIP

Have we entered another world, where up is down and rationality is irrational?

SNIP

He's going to crusade against the interest groups who are so ferocious on behalf of their members that they sacrifice the future.

It won't be a green-eyeshade economic crusade this leader will be launching. It will be a moral crusade, and it'll be quite a show.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/19/opinion/19brooks.html?th

Polly,

Here is an example of how well cared for our returning injured soldiers are being treated:

Hurt Troops Often Denied Pay, Benefits

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/latimests/20050218/ts_latimes/hurttroopsoftendeniedpaybenefits

Rapture
by Blondie

Toe to toe
Dancing very slow
Barely breathing
Almost comatose
Wall to wall
People hypnotised
And they're stepping lightly
Hang each night in Rapture

Back to back
Sacrailiac
Spineless movement
And a wild attack

Face to face
Sadly solitude
And it's finger popping
Twenty-four hour shopping in Rapture

Fab Five Freddie told me everybody's high
DJ's spinnin' are savin' my mind
Flash is fast, Flash is cool
Francois sez fas, Flashe' no do
And you don't stop, sure shot
Go out to the parking lot
And you get in your car and you drive real far
And you drive all night and then you see a light
And it comes right down and lands on the ground
And out comes a man from Mars
And you try to run but he's got a gun
And he shoots you dead and he eats your head
And then you're in the man from Mars
You go out at night, eatin' cars
You eat Cadillacs, Lincolns too
Mercurys and Subarus
And you don't stop, you keep on eatin' cars
Then, when there's no more cars
You go out at night and eat up bars where the people meet
Face to face, dance cheek to cheek
One to one, man to man
Dance toe to toe
Don't move to slow, 'cause the man from Mars
Is through with cars, he's eatin' bars
Yeah, wall to wall, door to door, hall to hall
He's gonna eat 'em all
Rapture, be pure
Take a tour, through the sewer
Don't strain your brain, paint a train
You'll be singin' in the rain
I said don't stop, do punk rock

Well now you see what you wanna be
Just have your party on TV
'Cause the man from Mars won't eat up bars when the TV's on
And now he's gone back up to space
Where he won't have a hassle with the human race
And you hip-hop, and you don't stop
Just blast off, sure shot
'Cause the man from Mars stopped eatin' cars and eatin' bars
And now he only eats guitars, get up!

~dear polly~
this was posted a few days ago, I thought it belongs here. This might help our young friend with that rapture, uh, rupture thing.

Rapture Awaits in the Florida Panhandle
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/021305I.shtml

Democrats: Bush plans loaded with debt

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (AP) -- President Bush's budget for 2006 fails to include the costs of the Iraq war and his plan to partially privatize Social Security leads the country deeper into debt, the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee said Saturday.

"Tax cuts, terrorism and recession have all taken their toll," and surpluses built during the Clinton administration "are now gone, vanished, replaced by deficits totaling almost $4 trillion," Rep. John Spratt of South Carolina said in the Democrats' weekly radio address.

"Although this reversal was evident three years ago, the administration's budgets have yet to change course," he said.

Spratt said the Republican-run Congress has raised the debt ceiling three times in four years, by a total of $2.2 trillion, to make room for Bush's budgets.

Every 18 months, the United States adds almost a trillion dollars to the national debt, he said.

"The budget excludes, for example, the cost of our deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2006 and beyond, though we'll spend $100 billion during this year alone," Spratt said.

The startup cost for the administration's plan to overhaul Social Security will be $750 billion for the next 10 years, but Spratt said "not a dime of that is in its budget."

Bush wants to allow workers born after 1949 to convert up to 4 percentage points of their Social Security taxes to personal stock and bond investments.

Spratt said Bush's plan would add nearly $5 trillion to the national debt during its first 20 years, and set the stage for cutting benefits by half over time.

"If this plan becomes law, we will not see the budget balanced again in our lifetimes," he said.

Democrats also are concerned about Bush's spending cuts, Spratt said.

Bush wants to wipe out 48 programs in education, reduce veterans' health care money, cut rural and urban development, lower environmental protection and law enforcement and reduce Medicaid by $60 billion, he contended.

"Democrats believe that deficits matter," Spratt said. "That's why over eight years of the Clinton administration, we worked hard to balance the budget. And we succeeded. We moved the budget from record deficits to surpluses no one thought possible."

~to our young friends (and their parents) concerned about ever-lasting Bu$h wars and the possibility, uh probability that they will be drafted to participate...let's re-visit this short video clip from Representative Tim Ryan, D-Ohio who tried to wake up his country, back in October '04
[I hope the short video clip still works, it should be re-played everyday. THNX, Rep. Ryan!]

No possibility of a draft, you say?

http://www.mydd.com/story/2004/10/7/12420/1686

Bush Denies Plans to Attack Iran
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/19/politics/19iran.html?ex=1266555600&en=dc62230d04a797f6&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt
First paragraph: President Bush said Friday that the United States did not intend to attack Iran to crush a nuclear weapons program that it is suspected of having, but "you never want a president to say 'never.' "

Intelligence Nominee Comes Under Renewed Scrutiny on Human Rights
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/19/politics/19intel.html?ex=1266555600&en=e28ae5ed90aba1fb&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt

Time for an Accounting
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/19/opinion/19sat1.html?ex=1266555600&en=aeeb0bf6181838cb&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt

I got the second poll to fill out from Zogby and sent it in this morning (is this a monthly thing?). Most questions were serious, but a couple of them were just plain silly, like the one that asked what my zodiac sign is. There was also an email address to use to send in comments, and since a couple of questions bothered me, I wrote a response in addition to filling out the survey/poll.... so I'll share them with you, although you already know my opinions on these matters....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your question: If the Democratic primary for president were held today, which of the following candidates would you vote to be the Democratic nominee for President?

The person I would vote for would be Barbara Boxer, a name not found on your list, so I checked other/not sure. The two politicians I admire most after the 2004 election are Barbara Boxer and Christine Gregoire.

Your question: If a pro-choice Democratic presidential nominee selected a pro-life Democrat as his or her running mate, would you vote for the Democratic ticket, vote for the Republican ticket, vote for a third-party candidate, or not vote?

I object to the term "pro-life." The so-called "pro-life" people are really only pro-conception. After a child is born, they couldn't care less about the quality of life of that child. The better wording would have been "If a pro-choice Democratic presidential nominee selected an anti-choice Democrat as his or her running mate, would you vote for the Democratic ticket, vote for the Republican ticket, vote for a third-party candidate, or not vote?"

I honestly don't know how I'd vote. It would depend on what else the Democratic candidates stood for or against. I might have to consider voting for an independent third-party president and vice president for a change, if they are pro-choice. I have written an essay on what I think of pro-choice and why, and it involves why and how my grandmother died in 1938 after carrying a dead and decaying fetus inside of her for three months. I could send it along if you like. My feelings on the topic of pro-choice are very, very strong. The Republican party with the neo-con stance and connection to PNAC is not an option to vote for. Period.
~~~~~~~

They asked a question about which movie stars/celebrities one would vote for if they ran for office. I answered none... and wrote this response in the email:

Movie stars run for office? We've had enough of movie stars and celebrities in office who have brought disaster with them, haven't we?!?!? Ronald Reagan was senile while in office, and I knew it at the time and journaled about it (I've always suspected Bush 41 ran the nation from behind the scenes and masterminded Iran-Contra). My grandfather was going senile (and died) at the time Reagan was in office, and I knew Reagan's blank stare and look of confusion when someone asked him questions was the same look as on my grandfather's face when he couldn't remember an answer to a question, or who people were that he should have known. Reagan was not the "communications president" for the simple reason he answered questions with jokes or totally off topic for questions. How could anyone take him seriously? Wrestler Jesse Ventura's time as governor of MN (where I live) resulted in a financial disaster from which this state is still trying to recover. Schwarzenegger is a joke, and elected solely on name/face recognition - apparently from his movies (I don't watch action flicks, ever, but prefer more cerebral plot structures and a few comedies....). I seriously doubt if I'd ever vote for a celebrity of any kind who was running for president. If that idiotic Hatch Amendment comes up for a vote, I hope the states have enough sense to vote against it. I would not want to see Schwarzenegger as president for any reason whatsoever. Ditto anyone else foreign-born. There's too much danger of them inviting their cohorts from their birth country in to govern this nation as political appointees. Leave the Constitution alone, abide by what the Founding Fathers wrote, and only native-born people can run for president.
~~~~~~~~~~

They had two questions about Alberto Gonzales and his plan to pursue a pornography case against a company. I thought both quesions particularly noxious, especially the second one that said (to paraphrase) if you knew the company produced pornography that included cruelty to women, women dressed as children, and the like, would I be more likely to support Gonzales..., so wrote this in the email:

Alberto Gonzales and pornography.... Now that's a cruel joke in the making. He supports torture and abuse of prisoners, thinks the Geneva Convention is "quaint" and outdated, and Gonzales' opinion and approval of torture was approved of by Bush with an Executive Order. Why hasn't the media just lambasted Bush over that scandal and why haven't people called for Bush's impeachement because of that and the many other idiotic things he's done in office which constitute crimes, or at the very least, immoral, unethical, and indecent behavior? Why would anyone support Gonzales' version of prosecuting pornographers, or accept his version of any definition of morality regarding pornography? All the big cable companies make more profit from pornography than they do anything else, and they all contribute to the Republican party. Prosecution of pornographers would not be successful because the people behind pornography contribute big bucks to the Republican party. The hypocrisy involved is beyond describing (in my humble opinion). Very ironic when one knows all the mainstream media networks are nothing more than propaganda filters for this administration. I would dearly love to hear any kind of media outrage regarding the prisoner abuse and torture at Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, Afghanistan (and wherever else in the world that little private jet takes prisoners for torture) repeated many, many times per day in TV news, at least as often as they mentioned Clinton's sexual indiscretion, over and over and over and over.... (He had sex in the White House, as have other presidents, and he's been out of office for four years; get over it already!!!) Where is the outrage by the "moral" people in this nation who voted for Bush and his administration who are committing illegal, unjust, immoral, unethical, and indecent acts daily?!?!? IF mainstream media TV coverage started to include a bit of outrage against what the BushCo administration is doing to America, how we've devolved down into a fascist nation, I might be persuaded to start watching national TV news again. Otherwise, TV news can only be depended upon to cover a pro-Republican neocon position on anything, and I refuse to buy into their propaganda.

And I ended my email with this for my last paragraph:

Thanks to Bush and his evil minions, I am ashamed to call myself an American. I would voluntarily give up my US citizenship and move to another country if that were a feasible option right now.

Bush administration blurs media boundary
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0217/p01s01-uspo.html

and this~

Feds Warned About Fake News Videos

Sat Feb 19,Top Stories - AP

WASHINGTON - Congressional investigators warned federal agencies this week that the promotion of government policies through video news releases meant to look like TV news stories may violate federal rules against propaganda.
http://tinyurl.com/5r37p

I'm going to switch gears a bit to spotlight rural access to Internet. Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oregon and Texas all have state bills up this session to determine who will control this access. Learn more:

Municipal Broadband: Corporate or Local Control?

All citizens and businesses will need broadband Internet service to communicate and compete in the 21st century. But many cities and towns have been ignored or underserved by the dominant telephone and cable companies. http://www.freepress.net/communityinternet/=munibroad

Thanks to Bush and his evil minions, I am ashamed to call myself an American. I would voluntarily give up my US citizenship and move to another country if that were a feasible option right now.

Posted by: NonnyO at February 19, 2005 03:11 PM

Hi Nonny,

Very disturbing yet true points you have made. I am sick of the whole Gonzales fiasco, I am sick of these TERRORISTS controlling the United States government, and I am sick of HALF of this damn country actually supporting this terrorist regime.

I am with you on the "ashamed to be an American" part. Fortunately when I travel abroad, very few people think of me as an American (most Britons think I'm Chinese, and most Europeans think I'm Korean). I used to correct them and identify myself as an American. Not anymore.

NonnyO
I got the Zogby poll but was too impatient for it to open so will do it later. I think sign of the Zodiac is one of the most important questions, particularly if you are a Leo. LOL

Anyway, I'm up here in Canada - just couldn't take it any more down in the states. (I wish it was more than a weekender)
Have had a couple of Long Island Iced teas, a Tea Latte with Madagasgar Vanilla and Rose Petals & pasta with fennel, lobster sauce, carmelized onions & rock shrimp oh and crab cakes.

The dollar is down alot so being an American in Canada is kind of like being a Mexican in America now.

So far we have been able to blend in. No one knew we were Americans. One store clerk said he never thinks of Bush but was forced to the other day when he saw a show on 9/11.

People are friendly here - bus drivers, the guy next to us who is saying "this is brutal" (he thinks it's cold out). Vancouver esp. Robson Street is very fashionable & cosmopolitan. We are also probably the oldest people on the street.

There is a little too much American corporate influence, such as Red Robin, McDonalds, Starbucks (we are in Blenz, which is Canadian) & even Hooters.

I guess it's "minus 1" out (that's in Centigrade - this guy does NOT know we are not Canadian - I think he's from India). Says it's sunny tomorrow - 9 degrees.

Not enough snow up here - the mountains don't have much snow on them. Whistler Resort is ready for global warming - they own some high alpine & can move up higher & they are also investing in some snow-making machines, as they think global warming (Bush tried to call it "climate change") is NO JOKE.

I want this shirt that has a maple leaf on it and says "fuckineh"

Saw some little brownshirts from Western Washington University coming up here to drink & their truck had a sign that said "Gregoire Cheated" but we also had lunch at the Skagit Valley Co Op (hippies) in Mt Vernon & lots & lots of Kerry/Edwards signs on cards.

The Indian-American guy is asking us what "precise" means because someone told him his graphics arts business was "precise" - he is working on his own magazine about nightlife right here in the coffee shop.

This street is great - fashion, culture, good food. I would compare it to what you see in London Paris Milan. The magazine producer is asking us about ways to publicise his magazine in Seattle & we're giving him websites & he's looking for ideas to promote his product without having his idea stolen.

"It's nice to know people in the same trade but not to give them your idea. If you give out your idea of course you lost it. A little bit idea leak out you're gone. In graphics, in art that's the only one ticket. So I don't talk much. I want to keep it low. I don't want somebody to grab my idea and make some money."

This place rocks. I wonder what the job market is like?

Raw Story says MSM has finally decided to investigate Gannongate. They are also warning bloggers that they believe the Repubs may start planting false information on bligs to thwart attention from the real story like they did with CBS' TANG piece about Shrub. http://rawstory.com/news/2005/index.php?p=103
2/19/2005
Mainstream press picks up pace on Gannon; New Yorker gets into the game
Heat from press rises on White House over Gannon
By John Byrne | RAW STORY Editor
A broad array of mainstream publications and television networks are aggressively pursuing various angles of the burgeoning scandal surrounding discredited White House reporter Jeff Gannon, RAW STORY has learned.
____

Gee, what took them so long? Not so long ago they spent all kinds of money and newsroom resources digging in a dry well called Whitewater, but this, an actual event that affects our democracy, is something the MSM has been dragged in kicking and screaming to cover. Gannongate is either a major security breach by the folks who are suppose to be the strongest on defense or a slimey press room propoganda plant ala Rove. I think there is no doubt in the blogosphere that Sweet Cheeks was obviously a plant. We all know he didn't just sneak in by pulling a swift one on Secret Service.

I'm not sure how much will be uncovered about this by MSM. My bar is set pretty low on their investigative ability right now. Some say there are potential ties to Plame-gate and maybe the TANG story too. Who knows. Regardless, what I do think Dems should definitely do for the time being is use it constantly to frame talking points that attack this administration's legitimacy. When Dems are interviewed by print or broadcast media, they should continuously place Gannongate in the larger context of ShrubCo's continued manipulation of the media that:
- First and foremost, usurped democracy by planting a fake journalist in the press corp that lobbed softball or clearly partisan questions to make Bush look good. While Pulitzer prize winning press corp veterans can't even get a day pass.

-Misused taxpayer money to pay journalists such as Armonstrong Williams to promote administration policies.

- Further misused taxpayer money by flying Tom Ridge around to meet with the B/C campaign to coordinate the raising of the terror alert level to scare voters into voting for Shrub.

I would also throw in, if the opening exists, that Dems matter of factly, should mention that Shrub didn't complete his service. Everyone knows this, even the MSM. Heck, most Repubs admit it they just don't like talking about it.

It's not like none of these stories have been reported, they have. Dems need to utilize what's out there and begin to methodically chip away at this image the RNC and ShrubCo has created. In propoganda, repetition is everything. The Repubs know this. It's time we learned it too. Dem talking points should be all about the above, as well as driving home the fact that SS is not in trouble.

from NYTimes: reading this article reminds me once again, this man would never even had a remote chance in hell to even become a contender, if his pop had not been president.
W=the accidental president...who became W=Worse.president.Ever:

In Secretly Taped Conversations, Glimpses of the Future President

By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK

WASHINGTON, Feb. 19 - As George W. Bush was first moving onto the national political stage, he often turned for advice to an old friend who secretly taped some of their private conversations, creating a rare record of the future president as a politician and a personality.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/20/politics/20talk.html?ei=5065&en=3d3a7b4f99465096&ex=1109480400&partner=MYWAY&pagewanted=print&position=
or
http://tinyurl.com/44oel

~Bu$h flunked the "global test" with his go-it-alone foreign policy...now he's back in Europe for a do-over...once again, Bu$h needs Europe's help

Bush due in Brussels to kiss and make up with Europe
http://tinyurl.com/48sqy

Dear Polly,

Seems that Bush is escalating into the crisis mode. Once again, he's the boy who cried wolf. When or if the wolves are really at the door, does anybody believe Europe or anybody here will trust him?

NO DRAFT--NO WAY--NO HOW!

It's only an internets rumor, right?

Is No American Icon Sacred?!?!

First, they trash the Constitution and the Bill of Rights...but now the Corporatist Money worshipping Fascists are attampting to disturbingly change the look of one of America's and the World's most beloved characters...Bugs Bunny!

The Old Grey Hare...

Bugs Bunny has long been a favorite among cartoon viewers. In fact, to some Bugs is THE cartoon character, beloved around the world, and semi-mascot of Warner Bros., the studio that released his first cartoon over sixty years ago. Bugs Bunny, in theaters and on television since his creation in 1940.

There have been over 150 Bugs Bunny cartoons, and all but about twelve are still shown rather frequently on television today. Bugs has had a more diverse and accomplished career than many Hollywood actors ever have, and some of the zaniest and funniest performances ever in film history. This did not happen overnight, by any means. Bugs Bunny's cartoons were directed over the years by such creative geniuses as Tex Avery, Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, Bob Clampett, Robert McKimson, Frank Tashlin, and others, all of whom left their mark in film history with these animated films, and Bugs was only one of the dozens of classic creations these men worked with and created. Also not to be forgotten are the creators of the Warner cartoon soundtrack, Mel Blanc (the voice of Bugs) and musicians Carl Stalling, Milt Franklyn and William Lava.

---------------------------------SNIP----------------------

http://toolooney.goldenagecartoons.com/bugs.htm

Bugs Bunny gets an extreme makeover
Kids’ WB network updating Looney Tunes characters

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6989380/

I guess the Age of Innocence is truly over...now the Evil Empire begins its reign of terror...

The howwa...the howwa...the howwa...

What's Up Doc?

Hypocrisy At Its Finest...

Bush to Nudge Putin on Democracy, But Not Publicly
Sun Feb 20, 2005 7:33 AM ET

By Arshad Mohammed
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Despite calls for a harder U.S. line on Russia, President Bush will likely question growing Kremlin authoritarianism in private, rather than in public, when he meets Russian President Vladimir Putin this week.

The calculation reflects a fear that public criticism of the Russian president could backfire, said U.S. officials, as well as the fact U.S. influence over Russia has waned in recent years, foreign policy analysts said.

The two presidents meet in the Slovak capital, Bratislava, on Thursday for talks expected to cover everything from the war on terrorism and efforts to dissuade Iran and North Korea from seeking nuclear weapons to growing Western concerns about Russian backsliding on democracy and the rule of law.

"Oftentimes the impulse among the commentariat is to scold publicly as the first resort, as the default, but that isn't necessarily, in the real world, the most effective way to achieve your objectives," said a senior U.S official.

"If you talk to Russian experts, they will tell you Putin recoils from public criticism -- that's not the most effective way to deal with him," said another senior official. "Bush has been criticized by some for not being more vocal publicly. On the other hand, the point is (that) you want to be effective."

Rights groups and Russia scholars say Putin has dismantled many checks and balances to his rule. Their concerns include:

-- the accretion of power within the Kremlin, with a law scrapping elections for provincial governors and allowing the president to nominate them and provincial assemblies to vote on them the latest example;

-- increasing state control of television networks, depriving Russians of an independent mass media to hold politicians to account;

-- use of the judiciary to intimidate political opponents, with what is widely seen as a politically motivated prosecution of Yukos oil company founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky and the dismemberment of his firm being the most dramatic example.

'GET TOUGH WITH RUSSIA?'
-------------------------------------SNIP-----------------------------------

http://today.reuters.com/News/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-02-20T123352Z_01_N18380946_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-BUSH-RUSSIA-DC.XML

So...

Is the "Tough Guy" President going to Europe with his hat in his hand?!?!

All Hat...No Cattle...W the Coward in Chief...

Got Humility?

What happened to "You're either FUR us or AGIN us..."?!?!?!?!

Thought so tough guy...

Bush to Europe to Mend Fences, Confront Problems
Sun Feb 20, 2005 7:35 AM ET

By Steve Holland
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush went to Europe on Sunday on a five-day trip aimed at fostering a friendly atmosphere early in his second term and addressing questions on how to deal with Iran, Syria and the future of NATO.

Bush left for Brussels to meet with European Union and NATO leaders. He will give a speech on Monday setting the tone for his visit, underscoring his bedrock belief that spreading freedom will make the world more peaceful.

He will offer a sweetener to governments upset by his abrupt withdrawal from the Kyoto treaty in 2001 by saying climate change is a problem and offering to work together on new technologies.

He will seek a fresh start in relations with French President Jacques Chirac by meeting him at a working dinner, and will go to Mainz, Germany, on Wednesday for talks with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

Chirac and Schroeder led European opposition to the Iraq war but officials on both sides of the Atlantic see an intense period of rapprochement under way so they can work together on Iraq's reconstruction and other urgent priorities.

"America and Europe are the pillars of the free world. We share the same belief in freedom and the rights of every individual, and we are working together across the globe to advance our common interest and common values," Bush said in his weekly radio address on Saturday.

Bush will end his trip in Bratislava, Slovakia, where he will praise the country's democracy and will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and raise U.S. concerns Putin is backsliding on Russian democracy and centralizing power.

"He's done some things that has concerned people," Bush told Slovak state television.

------------------------------------------SNIP----------------------------

http://today.reuters.com/News/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-02-20T123551Z_01_N20396581_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-BUSH-EUROPE-DC.XML

REALLY W?!?!

"He's done some things that has concerned people..."

I guess Putin could say the same about you W you bloated sack of rotting cow dung!

Is the Littlest Dic-tator finally feeling the heat and trying to get out from under his momma's apron in the kitchen he set on fire?

Squirm W...squirm...you wear it well...

How Un-freakin-Dubya-dly...

Speaking of Ruptures...

I guess it is safe to say the Bush Administration has not only kicked itself in the balls but the side effects have given the American people a double-hernia...

Need relief?

Try www.hernia.org

I don't think the State of the Union or the world can be fixed by any surgical technique we here possess...

unless...

We go for the Frontal Lobotomy of the entire Administration!

http://www.lobotomy.info/

Ahhhhhhhhhh...............

The March 2005 Harper's has a colorful article on the Florida campaign: "Bird-dogging the Bush Vote: undercover with Florida's Republican Shock Troops", by Wells Tower. Brings it all back.You can find it on pp 45-57. I'd post the url, but the March issue doesn't seem to be posted on the web yet. (Also, Harper's doesn't provide easy web access to its magazine features in any case).

Anyway, it seems like a good one: definitely worth a trip to the library or newstand.

Here're some sample quotes, from a conversation between the author (in his role as fakeBush supporter) and a GREAT union man (Int. Union of Painters and Allied Trades). Commesnts in [] are my asides.

"As I walk to my truck, one of the union men steps into my path. 'Are you rich?' he asks me. I say no. Then how, he wants to know, could I possibly support a president who 'doesn't give a f____ about poor people'?

[Indeed--the question many of us have asked, over and over again! ]

The author, again, attempting to defend Bush by talking about NYC on 9/11: "'I was there. . I saw people dying.'"
"The union man clenches his fist, and I see the cords in his forearm swell and flatten. 'Well, it was your man who brought that s____ to the table,' he ways in a voice full of fury and disgust."

[This union man is a Real Man in my book: that is, someone who knows what end is up, and won't put up with,s_____, as he says so eloquently. Good for the IUPAT!].

Anyway, it's a very evocative article, full of righteous, xenophobic or slimy Bushies, and energized and/or angry Dems, bringing back the good pre-election vibes in the Kerry campaign . The only down side to this article is that it got me thinking about voter fraud again . . .

Chuck in Baku for Florida_Dem:

Relative to the Gannon thing and others (my favorite is the recent FAA thing) you wrote:

"Dems need to utilize what's out there and begin to methodically chip away at this image the RNC and ShrubCo has created. In propoganda, repetition is everything. The Repubs know this. It's time we learned it too."

I agree with that completely. I hope the folks get around this talking points concept and hammer away with precision and discipline!

Chuck in Baku

About B's trip tp Europe: notice how the only place where he dares show his face & give a public speech is in Bratislava? That's at least what I remember hearing acouple of days ago. The Slovaks will likely and unfortunately be reasonably friendly, which would not have been the case in "old" Europe.