Democracy in Action

Now, this seems like a great way to show Iraqis how a democracy works?

U.S. Won't Back Iraq Election Candidates

"The White House says it considered secretly backing pro-U.S. candidates in the upcoming Iraqi election, but decided against it even though the Bush administration suspects other nations are working to influence the voting. "

"And in the final analysis, we have adopted a policy that we will not try to influence the outcome of the upcoming Iraqi election by covertly helping individual candidates for office."

A senior administration official said that deciding whether to covertly support certain candidates in the election scheduled for January was a "hard call."

That guy, standing next to the President in a press conference in the Rose Garden on Thursday, pay no attention to him. WE ARE NOT BACKING HIM...wink wink....;) ;)

If nothing else, this Administration's communications department is certainly audacious.

What if America were Iraq?

I think Juan Cole asks a reasonable question

"If America were Iraq, What would it be Like?"

President Bush said Tuesday that the Iraqis are refuting the pessimists and implied that things are improving in that country.

What would America look like if it were in Iraq's current situation? The population of the US is over 11 times that of Iraq, so a lot of statistics would have to be multiplied by that number.

Thus, violence killed 300 Iraqis last week, the equivalent proportionately of 3,300 Americans. What if 3,300 Americans had died in car bombings, grenade and rocket attacks, machine gun spray, and aerial bombardment in the last week? That is a number greater than the deaths on September 11, and if America were Iraq, it would be an ongoing, weekly or monthly toll.

more...

Who are you going to believe?

The State Department, or The President

But, then again maybe they were just guessing"

Fugees update

The reunion I talked about a few days ago occurred a little sooner than expected

"Chappelle graced the stage to introduce the Fugees to a crowd that was expecting just a Lauryn Hill solo performance (see 'Chappelle Throwing A Block Party With Kanye, Lauryn, Others'). 'We were going to have Lauryn Hill perform tonight but Columbia [Records] wouldn't clear her songs,' Chappelle said, referring to Hill's record label. 'So she came up with a better idea. Ladies and gentleman' the Fugees!'"

Check out the link to read about the entire event, which sounds like it was incredible. Nice to hear the DVD will be out soon for those of us who couldn't make it to NYC.

Intelligence Jeopardy

Fine men and women, wake up each morning and go to work in Langley, VA with the goal of protecting this country through analysis of intelligence data that is gathered daily

Apparently, their work is not worth the paper it is written on according to the President, at least based on a statement he made today. They are wasting their time...

President Bush, determined to put an optimistic face on deadly turmoil in Iraq, said on Tuesday that the CIA was just guessing when it said the country was in danger of slipping into civil war.

The CIA laid out several scenarios. It said that life could be lousy, life could be OK, life could be better. And they were just guessing as to what the conditions might be like,' Bush told reporters during a picture-taking session with Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.

The classified document, known as a National Intelligence Estimate, predicted three possible scenarios ranging from a tenuous stability to political fragmentation and civil war.

In October 2002, a National Intelligence Estimate argued that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction and helped the administration justify its decision to go to war. No large stockpiles of such weapons have been found.

That should boost the morale of the fine employees at Langley...

Fine leadership if I do say so myself.....

A Really Bad Beat....

So, you are thinking about playing poker online. Is that really a good idea?

"Pull up a chair at a friendly poker game in a buddy's den and you probably know the other players and have some idea of their card-playing weaknesses, like Big Al's habit of fingering his chips when he's itching to raise. But take a seat at a table in one of the rapidly multiplying online card rooms and there's no telling who's sitting to your right, or if the player is even human.

Concern is growing in online chat rooms and news groups devoted to poker that sophisticated card-playing robots, known as bots in the nomenclature of the Web are being used on commercial gambling sites to fleece newcomers, the strategy-impaired and maybe even above-average players. "

Free advice...

FREE ADVISE FOR THE KERRY CAMPAIGN!!!

Apparently, Republicans have the following three talking points for Kerry's Speech. (Based on an Ed Gillespie interview on CNBC.)

1) He said anyone who thinks the world is not safer lacks judgement.

That's a tough one. The Kerry Campaign better have a good response.

But here are the kickers.

2) Kerry now has proposed the same plan that President Bush is implementing.
3) Kerry has proposed a policy of retreat and defeat.

Everytime anyone says this, the immediate response should be,

So George Bush has a policy of retreat???

This is a hole that any competent campaign should be able to run a truck through.

Am I wrong?

Ready or Not?

Well, this would be interesting to say the least

Clef says:
"All the Fugees are talking. We're all definitely talking. The energy is definitely good energy", he said, 'I spoke to Lauryn. I spoke to Pras. And [its] just real good energy, good vibes.' "

And the sky is about to fall as well

Well, that does it. Who could bring themselves to vote for a Democrat ever again

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Campaign mail with a return address of the Republican National Committee warns West Virginia voters that the Bible will be prohibited ...if liberals win in November.

The literature shows a Bible with the word 'BANNED' across it...

The mailing tells West Virginians to 'vote Republican to protect our families' and defeat the 'liberal agenda.'

And let me add, aliens will come and abduct you immediately after the election. Don't make the wrong choice.

Banning the bible??? No, I think they must have mixed up their countries. That is what may happen in the country we are occupying after their elections in January. Oops...

Campaign 2004

Apparently, the entire world revolves around the Bush Administration 2004 campaign.

"Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage alleged Friday that insurgents have stepped up their deadly assaults in Iraq because they want to 'influence the election against President Bush,' a statement that drew a sharp condemnation from the campaign of Democratic challenger Sen. John Kerry.

It is apparently the first time that a Bush administration official has linked the escalating violence in Iraq to an effort by insurgents to help defeat Bush in November."

...Asked whether he meant that insurgents or terrorists were working for Kerry, Armitage replied, "I didn't say that. What I said was that they were trying to influence the election against President Bush."

David Wade, a spokesman for Kerry's campaign, fired back Friday.

"These comments are an outrage and an offense to all Americans," Wade said. "It's even more offensive that the Bush administration thinks they can cover up the indefensible words of the deputy secretary of state."

Of course,how could I have missed the obvious. Suicide bombers have decided that they are willing to give their lives to make sure the President is not reelected. [/sarcasm]

Now that is truly narcissim. What an ego!!!

I guess if the Europeans win the Ryder Cup this weekend, it will be to influence our election.

Hurricane Ivan? Obviously a Democratic attempt to influence election results in Florida.

Vladimar Putin inching Russia closer to a dictatorship? US election based tactic...

I can safely say at this point the current Administration has absolutely no shame. The real question is how many Americans can see through their ridiculous facade.

Sorry 2004

Apparently, Ruben Stuuddard isn't the only one saying he's sorry these days. No need to worry though, it was all done in the interest of making sure the Kerry bounce was not too large. The world is safer now....

US apologises for terror news leaks

President Bush's chief domestic security official yesterday apologised for the disruption of a big MI5 and police surveillance operation in Britain.
Tom Ridge, the homeland security secretary, said the leaking of intelligence in the US about alleged terrorist suspects here was "regrettable".

Mr Ridge was speaking to journalists in London before meeting David Blunkett and Sir David Omand, the prime minister's security and intelligence coordinator.

Whitehall was furious early last month when individuals were named and allegations about terrorist attacks were made public in the US.

Who are you calling Flip Flopper?

Indecisiveness at it's worse.

Responding to the killing and subsequent mutilation of four U.S. contractors in Fallujah on March 31, Conway had led a 5,000-man Marine force that laid siege to the restive town for over three weeks. Bad press and reports of civilian casualties by Al-Jazeera later caused the Marines to halt their advance into the heart of the city and, on the eve of a renewed offensive, the Marines unexpectedly turned over the town to a local militia force that later became known as the Fallujah Brigade.

Reflecting on the course of the White House-ordered campaign on Sunday, Conway indicated that he had had serious misgivings about the Fallujah operation from the get-go, "We felt that we probably ought to let the situation settle before we appeared to be attacking out of revenge," he told reporters gathered on the sprawling Marine base just east of the embattled town. "I think we certainly increased the level of animosity that existed."

The mainstream press has largely overlooked the fact that in the case of Fallujah, the White House unnecessarily injected itself into the military's tactical decision-making process in Iraq, ignored the informed opinions of ground commanders, and in effect micromanaged the battle. According to many observers, the seemingly contradictory U.S. military actions over the course of the siege were largely the result of the wishy-washy directives being issued by the Bush administration and its failure to appreciate the implications of sending in a large Marine force to seize a notoriously hostile town.

To both outside observers and former high-placed officials, including former U.S. Central Command chief Anthony Zinni and historian Robert Kaplan, it appeared as if the Bush administration had ordered the punitive campaign out of anger and then lost nerve when Arab outrage over civilian casualties rose to a fever pitch. Says Kaplan, who was embedded with the Marines during the opening stages of the battle and who later wrote about it for the Atlantic Monthly, "It's fine to send in the Marines. It's fine to have a cease-fire, but you can't do both. What this amounts to is ... foreign policy incoherence."


Pot, meet kettle...

History Lesson

If this story is even remotely close to reality, and I suspect it is, we all need to force our leaders, on bot sides if the political spectrum, to give us the truth, the whole truth, and nothing, but the truth immediately.

Far graver than Vietnam?

An offer you can't refuse

I have tried to refrain from blogging too often, as there is currently too much white noise currently in the media. There is so much important news being shown everyday, but yet the media has focused vvigorously on issues that will have no effect on our future.

Here is a story that does affect the future's of many of America's finest citizens.
I simply ask, does this Nation's Commander-in-Chief approve of this?

"Soldiers from a Fort Carson combat unit say they have been issued an ultimatum - re-enlist for three more years or be transferred to other units expected to deploy to Iraq.
Hundreds of soldiers from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team were presented with that message and a re-enlistment form in a series of assemblies last Thursday, said two soldiers who spoke on condition of anonymity.

'They said if you refuse to re-enlist with the 3rd Brigade, we'll send you down to the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, which is going to Iraq for a year, and you can stay with them, or we'll send you to Korea, or to Fort Riley (in Kansas) where they're going to Iraq,' said one of the soldiers, a sergeant.

Food for thought...

An unbelievable discussion

I feel like I am in some sort of crazy nightmare.

We are about to hit 3 days of talking about this. This is crazy. Is this election really going to turn on typesettings during the 1970s.

This reminds me of that time during the summer of 2001, specifically August and September where the media sent there cracked reporters out to investigate Chandra Levy and shark bites.

Food for thought...

In any event, here is a link to some compelling information. Take it any way you like.

PC magazine: Opinion - Bush's Exam Doc -- Real or Fake?

"A great deal has been made of the fact that some documents that are claimed to have been typed in the early 1970s look very much like documents prepared in Microsoft Word in 2004. This fact proves nothing, because (1) a document may well have been typed on a typewriter in the 1970s and (2) virtually the same document can be prepared on a computer in 2004. (Some other comments on this issue, from a notably better-informed perspective, may be found here.) "

Jumping Ship?

This is certainly an interesting turn of events.

John Kerry supporters in America have been told by Peter Hain that Downing Street is hoping the Democratic candidate wins the US presidential election in November."

Those who met him had the strong impression that he was acting with No 10's support, and that a Democratic victory was clearly sought. Such a supposition ought to be natural, but historic ties have been jolted by the strategic and sometimes personal alliance between George Bush and Tony Blair over Iraq. Mr Hain's visit may be seen by some as diplomatic ground-covering in the event of a Kerry victory.

You know those silly "Old Europe" British. Will Republican attempt to make political hay out of this?