I'MMA LET YOU FINISH
If John Kerry's raised $10m online in 10 days, how much do you think he received in mailed/phoned donations?
I'd guess at least another $10m on top of that...
If John Kerry's raised $10m online in 10 days, how much do you think he received in mailed/phoned donations?
I'd guess at least another $10m on top of that...
Plus moveon.org and media fund (at least in the form of media buys..)
On Talking Points Memo tonight, Josh Marshall said "The president has all the look of a prize-fighter who's in a daze after taking a few hits to the head and is struggling to get to the end of the round to steady himself."
On Talking Points Memo tonight, Josh Marshall said "The president has all the look of a prize-fighter who's in a daze after taking a few hits to the head and is struggling to get to the end of the round to steady himself."
Verso
and this is a different look how?
"I ask clients to come along, instead of bringing some sweet young thing," he said. "As a young associate, I want to make partner."
Bwa Ha ha ha. I looked at the guy's picture- I bet he has to fight them off with a stick. Not.
Seriously, what a bunch of assholes. I'm raising money for the preznit, look at me clients, look at my proximity to the looters and thieves!!
I really hate these guys.
Regarding timing, is it better to give to Kerry now or towards the end of the campaign when he'll probably need the $ more? Speaking as someone who can only afford to give once.
and this is a different look how?
preznit giv me turkee
Good point. He always looks dazed and stupid to me.
P - give now, and with any luck, you may be able to give again later.
P, timing? probably better to give now when Kerry needs the ammunition while shrubbie's hacks and henchmen are trying to 'define' him. Just a thought.
four legs good - I've always thought that his "serious" expression looks most like that look of intense concentration and extreme effort that graces a diaper baby's face when he's dumping.
Jennifer- ewwwww. that was disgusting.
four legs good - yes, disgusting - and with the same end result. A steaming heap of crap.
This document, Bush's Special Interests , details exactly who finances the Bush campaign. It is a 56 page PDF on Bush's Rangers and Pioneers for 2004 and from 2000, along with specifics on industry donations. Brought to you through whitehouseforsale.org and Public Citizen.
There is NO excuse for any journalist not to know that, for example the Bush Administration held 112 fundraiser in 44 states in the past year. Not only does this document name names and specific corporations, it has a lovely little section following each industry entitile "Paybacks & Future Payoffs."
There is too much delicious stuff to detail in this post, but George H Walker IV is a new pioneer from Goldman Sachs. Hmmm that names rings a bell. Apparently, according to the document, Kenneth Lay, who bundled $1,258,965 for Bush as a Pioneer in 2000 is, um, apparently unavailable for fundraising this time around.(p.12) Media conglomerates so far this year have 1 Ranger and 5 Pioneers. (p.31)
A veritable Bible for those interested.
Love the new spelling.
Jennifer - to me, his "serious" expression looks more like a chimp trying to get a bunch of bananas off the ceiling with a long stick.
Sorry to any primates offended by the comparison.
Kerry should use Dean's meme, $20 from ten million people equals $200m, same as Bush.
What a sycophant that guy is.
He gives associates a bad name.
Today in the mail I received a rather expensive mailing -- from of all things -- the Bush-Cheney '04 campaign.
It included an 8' by 11' photo of George and Laura asking me to become a "Charter Member" of the Bush-Cheney '04 campaign.
I nearly shit when I opened it up.
Has anyone else received one of these? If not, I'm thinking possibly some 'friend' is playing a little joke on me.
It was good for a laugh and the picture is on my refrigerator...
I got my picture too. Wifey promptly ripped it up.
Not meaning to jinx things by looking too far ahead, but here's a Q for Atrios:
Which title do you prefer--Ambassador to Blogistan or Special Assistant to the President for Electronic Democracy?
I got the Bush 81/2 x 11 mailing a week ago...very creepy picture...must have bought ther ACLU and NPR mailing lists...
Phredd:
that document you linked to is pretty amazing. i think i will have to print it out and share with friends. it pretty much sums up the bush administraion's tenure.
when atrios becomes a "pioneer" for kerry, what will his special interest be?
maybe all of atrios' readers can have a vote and see what the special interest will be?
my vote is for a "national pudding dispenser" to be located in my backyard.
This isn't my America:
Yeah, we got one of them back in January- I found a newspaper photo of all the Dem candidates, and mailed it back to them inscribed "all these men (and Carole too) would make a better President than your guy" and I asked them where the WsMD were. Mailed it back and didn't put a stamp on.
Haven't heard from the Bush campaign since...kinda wish I would, more childish fun on the Bush dime- yeah!
Mr. Bush as of this week has raised...an average of more than $590,000 a day
Mind you, I'm no good at math, but doesn't $10 million/10 days = $1 million a day? And isn't that more than $590k a day? So it would seem to me that Kerry's KICKING BUSH'S ASS.
And if you add the $47956.62 Atrios has raised for Kerry to the whopping $250.00 I've raised via my site, that would mean that on average he and I have bundled $24103.31. That's got to count for something...
I got my picture too. Wifey promptly ripped it up.
Atrios
sounds like those $.01 credit card donations are really working well
So Bush is responsible for the irrational exuberance that lead to the down market in 2000? Or if Kerry is elected in 2004 will he be responsible for the up swing in the market and jobs? As we al know the bureaucrats rule inside the beltway not the elected officials so what does it matter who is elected.
"so what does it matter who is elected."
is this a cry for help?
BRW: bureaucrats aren't naming Supreme Court justices or going to war and they can't screw with educational or environmental standards the way a President can.
It matters who is elected- a lot. Grow up.
No just the reality of it all. They spend more time and money trying to find dirt on the other guy then they do guiding the country.
Here is a hot button lets fire teachers. Guess who keeps their job? the bure. . .. If gov is doing such a bad job on Education why is the DOD school system rank # 7 ( give or take 2) in the nation? Has nothing to do with who was elected. It has to do with the envolvment of the parents. Judges???
BRW - Fortunately, Kerry will need to spend neither time nor money trying to find dirt on Bush. His dirt is out in the open for the whole world to see. Which frees Kerry up to do a lot of guiding.
That's got to count for something...
Oh Lord, I knew it would happen sooner or later. NTodd is angling for a sleep over in the Lincoln bedroom.
Those dirty stinking L . . . ers. who said that again? If you realy want change vote green.
BRW:
I don't vote green.
Sometimes, though, when I'm sick, I do shit green. Which may amount to the same thing.
NTodd is angling for a sleep over in the Lincoln bedroom.
Nah, I just want to be the ambassador to Kerblekistan...
"Regarding timing, is it better to give to Kerry now or towards the end of the campaign when he'll probably need the $ more? Speaking as someone who can only afford to give once."
Now is the time,like someone said upwards might have more later.That being said I did something I have NEVER EVER considered doing and actually gave money to a polotician!I cant believe I've become a part of the "establishment".I feel this election is SO important to me personally.
I am an eviromentalist and a science buff,tho just a layman and fell if we dont kick this bunc of lying crooks out the earth is dead.PERIOD.We might as well dig our graves Nov 3 and crawl in them Nov 4 cause it only gets worse if W is selected.
/rant off
. . . the Houston area, a breadbasket for the Bush campaign and the home of Mr. Bush's parents.
What's Houston like? I've never been there. I know Bush really has all these high-pocketed supporters there, his dad represented the city back in the day, but everything else I read about it--the joblessness, Enron, worst pollution in the country, Rod Paige's cooked-books school system--nakes me wonder why the 'Pubs contimue to carry it.
" . . . makes me wonder why the 'Pubs continue carry it."
God, this 'blog needs a "preview" feature.
Getting back to the NYWT article -- why was there no mention of the obvious fact that these quadrennial fundraising binges are grossly corrupt? The only reason to give huge contributions to the Preznit Turkee is to buy favors later.
The donors are an ATM for Chimpy -- he's put in tens, maybe hundreds of billions in favors and contracts to corporations (out of the US Treasury, of course), so now he can "withdraw" a couple hundred mil to keep the racket going. And then have NYWT reporters write about how groovy it all is. Sickening.
BWR - go piss up a rope, pal.
BRW--You're kidding, right? If we want change, we just vote for the person who will rake in less than 1% of the vote?
In the meantime, Bush gets another term, unfettered with campaign fundraisers/re-election worries so this time he can put all of his focus on destroying the planet.
Oh. My. God.
goflogyourself
So the status quo is all u are reaching for
Smalfish,
There are a lot of us. We only have one vote, and can talk to only so many people in person, but we have more than one dollar to talk to a lot of people through our candidate. Make it count.
Nah, I just want to be the ambassador to Kerblekistan...
No! Go for the sleep over, and invite me. I'll bring my dvd player, the Evil Dead trilogy, and some popcorn.
mena
Afraid of chan or just towing the line?
Molly, re: Houston, it's a very mixed place. I don't live there but travel there for work regularly. It is not a hard-core Republican town by any means, despite being a town built on oil money. They've had 2 Demo mayors in a row (maybe more). GHW Bush was featured in ads for the R candidate last time around but the Dem won. I take that as a good sign. Also, they are building a light rail system, and they have some actual culture there, like a theater district, some good art galleries, museums, etc. Not a bad place, except for the climate (horrible about 6 months of the year) and the sprawl (you have to drive everywhere).
Houston has large African-American and Latino populations, and my guess would be that those are the more progressive communities. I also suspect that even the R's there are more moderate than in most other parts of Texas. That tends to happen in big cities, where wingnut "rugged individual" ideas are so obviously unworkable and outdated that only the profoundly disturbed cling to them.
Nah, I just want to be the ambassador to Kerblekistan...
NTodd
Is there an ambassadorship in the Bahamas? Cause that would be sweet.
Or Norway. Norway's crown prince is pretty hot and my little sister needs a boyfriend. If I was ambassador to Norway, I bet I could hook them up.
A.
Dean on MTP sunday.
I'll bring...the Evil Dead trilogy
I'm sold! Oh man, how 'bout a Bruce Campbell/Sam Raimi marathon? I'm sure JFK2 would love that...
"Afraid of chan"
Shit yeah I'm afraid of Chan, have you seen any of his movies? That man could kick my ass seven was to Sunday and make it look like an homage to Harold Lloyd.
Actually, BRW, me and Jackie go way back. So do Ralph and I, actually. So contribute or fuck off.
BRW wrote: So the status quo is all u are reaching for.
BRW: Huh? In case you hadn't noticed, the status quo is Bush. John Kerry, or any Democrat for that matter, represents huge and positive change.
It doesn't get much simpler than that. Take your masturbatory, holier-than-thou Green Party fantasies elsewhere, o.k.?
"Dean on MTP sunday."
Why does Dean get so much media attention?Does the media feel guilty about screwing his campaign by overplayinig the "scream"?I dont know but I hope he's talking Kerry insted of what the temp is in Vermont.I do admire Dean for what he did but my gawd lets let the man have his rest shall we.
LOL
ok u got me "change" or transform or
revolutionize
"Norway's crown prince is pretty hot and my little sister needs a boyfriend."
Sorry, he's off the market. He married a nice Norwegian gal not too long ago. (The 2nd cousin of a friend of mine, no foolin'. She said the wedding invitations were the most amazing she'd ever seen)
"Go Kerry" is that what u want? Just some one to tow the line thats me
Yes, BRW, Go Kerry. Now you're getting it. Who said you were slow?
Seriously Off Topic:
U.S. Unloading WMD in Iraq
By News Report
Mar 13, 2004, 16:31
Over the past few days, in the wake of the bombings in Karbala and the ideological disputes that delayed the signing of Iraq’s interim constitution, there have been reports that U.S. forces have unloaded a large cargo of parts for constructing long-range missiles and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in the southern ports of Iraq.
A reliable source from the Iraqi Governing Council, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Mehr News Agency that U.S. forces, with the help of British forces stationed in southern Iraq, had made extensive efforts to conceal their actions.
http://tinyurl.com/29v5r
"ok u got me"
This post brought to you by the leters Y and O and the number 2.7 million.
Zeke--Thanks.
Zeke
I was told once that calling me stupid was an insult to stupid people. If u get a chance check out a book called "The Republic of Fear"
BRW:
It's "toe the line."
Nobody expects Nader supporters to actually make any real contribution to the country, nevermind towing anything. Nader lovers and actual, practical political labor? Puh-lease.
Fuck Nader.
End of story...
What's Houston like? I've never been there. I know Bush really has all these high-pocketed supporters there, his dad represented the city back in the day, but everything else I read about it--the joblessness, Enron, worst pollution in the country, Rod Paige's cooked-books school system--nakes me wonder why the 'Pubs contimue to carry it.
Don't listen to Zeke- it's a horrendous place. And I know, because I did use to live there. Besides the climate, which is similar to Calcutta's, there's the pollution, and the traffic, and the kazillion SUVs on the roads (many of which are maroon and sport A&M stickers). There's no zoning, so you can, and frequently do, have industrial sites mixed in next to residential areas. There's an enormous baptist contingent there, with several congregations totally 20K or more. One has taken over the lease of the Summit, where the Rockets used to play. Don't believe that the rethugs aren't conservative, they are, and they have lots of money. Overall it's an ugly, huge, humid, boring place.
That light rail? only covers the smallest part of downtown. There is no culture to speak of, but it is a mecca for strip clubs. And strip malls. And did I mention the flying roaches? huge, gross, nasty flying roaches. I had a bird feeder on my patio but I had to take it down because the roaches would swarm on it at night.
I guess you can figure out that I hate it. I recently was offered a job there at double my salary and I turned it down.
No I meant "TOW" Like tow the broken down car or point of view.
"U.S. Unloading WMD in Iraq
By News Report
Mar 13, 2004, 16:31
Over the past few days, in the wake of the bombings in Karbala and the ideological disputes that delayed the signing of Iraq’s interim constitution, there have been reports that U.S. forces have unloaded a large cargo of parts for constructing long-range missiles and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in the southern ports of Iraq.
A reliable source from the Iraqi Governing Council, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Mehr News Agency that U.S. forces, with the help of British forces stationed in southern Iraq, had made extensive efforts to conceal their actions.
http://tinyurl.com/29v5r
Has No Name | Email | Homepage | 03.14.04 - 12:00 am | # "
Is this to be believed?I wouldnt put it past the cabal but damn!!!
You have to wonder tho,considering the source.Iran's Tehran Times.I dont know.I do believe tho that he U.S. media would'nt have the nerve to post this kind of story...Too tinfoilish.
Why does Dean get so much media attention?
Dean is going to be huge in working to reorganize the democratic party. I'm on his email list and got one this week telling me that Dr. Dean is working to elect Kerry. I don't think he wants to rest, I think he wants to throw the boy chimp out on his ass.
"And did I mention the flying roaches? huge, gross, nasty flying roaches."
Are you talkiing about the Whitehouse or Houston...Cause I've been there too and I never saw not one polotician.
Houston. Big, nasty roaches so large you can hear there feet clicking on the pavement. DC has it's own disgusting creatures, but they mostly wear suits and sit on the rethug side of the aisle.
Hey, four legs, it isn't THAT bad. I don't actually dispute anything you say -- it's true about the weather, the sprawl, the strip malls, the strip clubs, and the Baptists. Indeed, I've often wondered, given how pious they seem to be, how there can be enough customers to keep all those strip joints and massage parlors going.
But, anyway, I was looking for the positives, and there are some, if you look hard enough. It's not all bad, and let's just say it beats the hell out of Dallas. O.k., that's a low bar, I admit...
dave, agreed.
If anyone really cares about the environment, they'll vote for Kerry. End of fucking story.
BRW:
'Toe' or 'tow,' you refuse to do either. Good on ya. But don't think you have anything to contribute when you admit you refuse to contribute in any form.
I think I'll buy a Corvair tomorrow just as a 'fuck you' to Ralph. Makes as much sense as voting for him in November.
"just say it beats the hell out of Dallas"
Hey now!I just have to take issue here.I cant say Dallas is utiopia but it is my home.True it's W's stronghold but it does have ignorant people and cant get out of its own way politically.Taht being said its not THat full of baptists or SUV's or ....Well lets just say we dont have flying cockroaches.
Hey, four legs, it isn't THAT bad.
Sorry, but yes it is. Dallas sucks too, but in a different way. Dallas actually does have some culture.
Nope, I've lived all over the country, and Houston, bar none, is the worst. city. ever.
But if you're looking for positives, and you go there on business, there's a chocolate shop inside the loop called The Chocolate Bar (like martini bar) on Alabama, that has to die for truffles and fresh ice cream. They make all their chocolate on site.
And the climate's not bad six months of the year, it's more like 11 1/2 months of the year. Between the pollution and the humidity you can't go outside.
Hey Atrios, you should have kept that photo for dart practice. Always makes me feel better.
Nader is an Independent not a Green.
Check for your self.
http://www.votenader.org/
http://www.gp.org/
No offense, smalfish, but on my one visit to Dallas, I could not get over the unrelieved awfulness of the place. Maybe the worst thing was Dealey Plaza, which should be sacred ground, and instead is filled with hucksters offering $20 "tours." I shudder at the memory.
BRW, we know who fucking Nader is.
Anybody seen this article yet?Knight Ridder is doing it again, The White hose is sticking to its stories aboutt Saddam and AQ.THey even responded to KR's article on the even shakier evidence they came up with.
I just cannot believe this administration is so brash as to keep trying to peddle this story.
Crooks and liars indeed.
oh man. it would fucking ROCK if my cat pansy got a picture of Bush. i could put it in the litter box an take a pic of it with shit on top.
that or throw darts at it.
four legs good
It appears NOT read the posts. But who cares about the facts?
The hilarious thing is that Nader was an independent even when he was a 'Green.'
I've only been in Texas maybe half a dozen times, but I can't believe that anyone who was born in Texas would accept W as an authentic Texan.
To my unpracticed ear, his "Texas accent" just doesn't ring true. Are Texans so bereft of real leaders that they have to embrace a New Englander who only came to Texas to rape and pillage that frontier state? Aren't real Texans sort of embarrassed when they have to describe W's little brush nursery as a "ranch"?
Thanks for the Knight-Ridder link, smalfish. Lies on top of lies. The reason they cannot back down is that these are individuals who are incapable of reflection and therefore incapable of admitting error. And since their deepest gratification comes from bullying others, it makes perfect sense to keep pounding on people, trying to get them to believe that your lies are the truth.
TownDrunk, Chimpy actually is a Texan - he grew up in Midland. It was his daddy who was more of a faux Texan, and I'm not sure he was ever embraced there the way W is. They really do love W, it's nauseating.
Speaking of Tejas, can anyone explain to me how Cheney got away with pretending to not be from Texas? I have never understood why they were allowed to blatantly violate the Constitution like that...
"Norway's crown prince is pretty hot and my little sister needs a boyfriend."
Sorry, he's off the market. He married a nice Norwegian gal not too long ago.
Dammit. I'd better start scouting eligible royals in other countries for her now. Any suggestions?
I mean, non-royal boyfriends work, too, but I think she'd make a kickass princess or queen of something.
A.
"Dammit. I'd better start scouting eligible royals in other countries for her now. Any suggestions?"
Well, so far as I know the guy in Monaco is still unattached. But she'd be less a spouse than a beard.
There's always those unemployed Balkan royals too.
"And did I mention the flying roaches? huge, gross, nasty flying roaches."
Heh. If they dropped an H-bomb on Houston the only thing left would be those roaches. Tom DeLay knew that before he went into the exterminating business.
Who is John Keree?
I live in Dallas,have for the last almost 20 years.I hsve seen some crazy politics around here.One of the funny things is the Dallas city council is almost always democrat,meantime our congressional reps are almost always rethug especially lately.At leat thats the way I remember it.I have to take some blame for that in that I have been blinded by the conservative media that "liberal" is bad.
So my point is;I run a sevice company and get out to many many homes with real everyday people,not your run of the mill poll people mind you.I have heard so much in the way of discontent that it bears looking at.Even when I get into the rich neighborhoods I dont see the smiles the conservatives are famous for around here.I have seen very few B/C 04 bumper sickers,tho I do see alot of conservative stickers supporting the war and whatnot.I'm taking this as a sign that bush may not have as strong a base here as he think he does.
Dallas is somewhat cultural,it ought to be eith all the money running around here.We have been sold on light rail and it does make the town somewhat more accesible.Alto it doesnt mean we dont need our SUV's now.There are so many churches here it makes me sick and everytime I drive somewhere I see another one being built(oops there goes another one).If the religious right would spend half the money they spend on churches around here I think we could solve world hunger.
ANyway I think Dallas is a nice town... but I wouldnt want to live there either.Too bad my ball and chai has her family here and my daughter needs stability.So there you are my life in a nutshell.Hope you liked it.
/off
Zeke,
Why doesn't Jeb talk that y'all shit?
He was dragged to Texas at the same time W was. W's accent still sounds phony to me, but I could be wrong.
There won't be end end to George's money basket any time soon. His contributors might not be that many in numbers compared to the starving masses (=us), but they are not exactly starving. Didn't Stigler state that the corporations are more successful in overtaking the government because they are a)few (so easy to identify your friends), b) identical in what they want and c) willing to pay huge amounts because the benefits are correspondingly huge?
Whereas ordinary folks are many, differ a lot, and might not end up with large per head benefits from changes in laws or whatever.
W's accent still sounds phony to me
It is.
TD, interesting point about Jeb, I'd never thought about the discrepancy in their accents. Dunno what it means, maybe just that Jebbie's education took better? Jeb is certainly a helluva lot smarter, and even more dangerous. I fear his inevitable run in '08...
We need an amendment to the Constitution banning same-family Presidencies.
Yes, Bush everlasting. How much more can the the country withstand?
"Those dirty stinking L . . . ers. who said that again? If you realy want change vote green.
BRW"
I been waiting all day for a Nadir supporter. Kid, if all the money that has been and will be fucking thrown away to get Ralphie elected were spent on alternative energy, how many windfarms could have been built?
Instead of tilting at windmills, you folks should be building them.
Okay, back to the Atrium™
Aren't real Texans sort of embarrassed when they have to describe W's little brush nursery as a "ranch"?
It's not a ranch. It's just some acreage. As for his accent, there's different accents in different parts of the state. He actually does sound like he's from midland to me. You guys know that he bought that "ranch" right before the 2000 elections so he could pretend to be the marlborough man?
Speaking of Tejas, can anyone explain to me how Cheney got away with pretending to not be from Texas? I have never understood why they were allowed to blatantly violate the Constitution like that...
Cheney's not originally from Texas. He is from Wyoming, and has kept a house there. However, he had changed his registration to Dallas and had lived there for years. So he changed it back to get around the law. Technically they did observe the letter,if not the spirit of the requirement.
Are Texans so bereft of real leaders that they have to embrace a New Englander who only came to Texas to rape and pillage that frontier state?
I forgot to add, they love money here. And influence. Anyway, texas isn't a frontier state at all anymore. Crony politics has a long and storied history here. Therefore, dubya fit right in. They love a well connected tool.
We need an amendment to the Constitution banning same-family Presidencies.
Nick, we need an amendment banning anyone from that fucking gene-pool. That's the only way we'll ever be safe from them.
As far as Cheney's state of residence goes, we have more serious things to worry about than little shit that wouldn't bother us if a Democrat did it.
"We need an amendment to the Constitution banning same-family Presidencies.
Nick, we need an amendment banning anyone from that fucking gene-pool"
I'd be in favor of an IQ test for candidates. W would have been SOL.
Goober, me too. maybe we could make it retroactive.
We need an amendment to the Constitution banning same-family Presidencies.
We don't need an amendment. The people already decided they don't want a Bush dynasty.
Too bad Fat Tony Scalia and his cohorts didn't feel like letting people vote.
Five people voting is plenty for this democracy, thank you very much!
If GWB owned a tea company, and had a ship sitting in Bahston Hahbah it wouldn't be too safe right about now, gnome sane?
What is striking is how the journalists used to at least throw in a paragraph which explained the headline. Now they don't even bother.
Who is John Keree?
The man deprived of preznential turkee.
Forgettable fact: although "x" in Castillian (and Mexican) Spanish is pronounced like "j" (which in Spanish is pronounced roughly like "h" in English - quite roughly, in practice), in Northern Spain it's pronounced "sh", so that "Tx" is what we anglophones call "CH".
Txaikovski, anyone?
Actually I really like Tchaichovsky. I have to go to sleep now, but sometime I'd love to debate who Shakespeare was with you.
Tschaikowsky was on the radio when I punched "ok".
As far as I'm concerned, Shakespeare was Shakespeare, Schubert was Schubert. Warbling his native woodnotes wild. IOW, nothing to see here, move along. Just your normal miraculous genius.
Hey now, I live in Dallas. It isn't nearly as bad as it is made out to be. Yes it sucks ass, but not nearly as much as the other places I've lived. Hell any sunbelt city that has viable mass transit has to count for something. Now most of the 'burbs are a different story.
You wanna talk sucky cities try Tampa...or SLC.
Gestapo spank:
CLEVELAND, Ohio (AP) -- A maintenance worker was suspended for displaying a sign with the word "traitor" on his state snowplow while helping provide security for President Bush's motorcade, officials said.
Michael Gerstenslager was asked to park a snowplow on an entrance ramp to block access to a highway the president's motorcade used to travel from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport into downtown Cleveland on Wednesday.
A state trooper in the president's motorcade saw the sign and reported it to the Ohio Department of Transportation, the agency's spokeswoman, Lora Hummer, said.
Broke my resoloution and didn't read the above but this can't wait. I'm sure lots of our young trolls will be interested in the story at:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/
ar...MNG905K1BC1.DTL
It's also at the top left hand corner of Buzzflash, by the way.
Looks like those predicting a draft if Bush wins in 2004. Don't get too upset Ricky, they're just admitting that a "special talents" draft is being looked at so you're safe for now. But if they do this one they'll get to you eventually. Cannon fodder is always needed.
I'm sure Georgie was surprised, it all looked so easy on his rug with those little plastic soldiers.
Broke my resoloution and didn't read the above but this can't wait. I'm sure lots of our young trolls will be interested in the story at:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/
ar...MNG905K1BC1.DTL
It's also at the top left hand corner of Buzzflash, by the way.
Looks like those predicting a draft if Bush wins in 2004 were right on the button. I didn't think they'd be this stupid.
Don't get too upset Ricky, they're just admitting that a "special talents" draft is being looked at so you're safe for now. But if they do this one they'll get to you eventually. Cannon fodder is always needed.
I'm sure Georgie was surprised, it all looked so easy on his rug with those little plastic soldiers.
If ya get homesick for Texas, go to Barstow and look east. Its all the same from Barstow to Mississippi
And Shakespear was a theatrical producer who never actually wrote any of the plays attributed to him
He never wrote them down, but he may have created the dialogs in the plays that are named as his
Couldn't tell about the sonnets
damn it, system errs won't accept donations from moi (past 3 days). whad up wid dat?
Dumbasses at work yanked all the phone lines out Friday switching offices again which kept me off-line all night. I swear, in the past year at work in this terrible economy, they've moved offices around at least 6 times. Like moving the deck-chairs around on the Titanic. It's sort of pathetic. They keep moving offices around for everyone just to be doing something, I guess. Now they're all on top of me for all the good that'll do. But some good came from it. Since I was bored inside, I went outside in the parking lot and was listening to some stereo music in my truck, and I looked across Interstate 20, which is a major east-west corridor, and saw flame coming out of a building at a business on the other side of I-20. So I quickly called the police department and within about 3 minutes, fire trucks arrived to put the fire out.
Hey "has no Name" Your article linking to the reports of "WMD's being shipped TO Iraq by the US was originally from a the Tehran Times. While I would not go on record as either reading or even believing that paper and it's "sources" you have to wonder why bushCo have refused to acknowledge WMD's, say they are beat, accept that NONE will be found or even mention it anymore...THAT tells me that they are INDEED planning some october surprise of a) the OBL "capture" and b) the SUDDEN "discovery" of a huge underground salt-mine cache of thousands of arms, gazillions of gallons of Chems and of course those infamous gliders. All right under the brits noses who have occupied Basra since day one.
Expect it. It WILL happen.
And Amurkins will go "ahhhhhhhh haaaaaaaaaa!"
NOT. Bush is STILL toast.
Today in the mail I received a rather expensive mailing -- from of all things -- the Bush-Cheney '04 campaign.
It included an 8' by 11' photo of George and Laura asking me to become a "Charter Member" of the Bush-Cheney '04 campaign.
Bush has been sending photos in mass mailings for MONTHS now. This particular mailing (Chimpy and Pickles) has been going on since, oh, at least October.
If you're on a GOP mailing list, it's because you're on the mailing list of something that hit a nexus to the GOP mailing list. Maybe you belong to an organization that would have a fairly equal number of Dem and GOP members (if there's such a thing).
I'm a postal worker who gets to see a lot of this stuff, day in day out. Usually when I see it, it's mail we have to throw out because it's a) Standard Mail (aka junk mail) and b) the occupant no longer has that address. We rarely forward junk mail. (Before anyone gets upset, we do put this mail in a special dumpster for RECYCLING!)
Want the heartening news?
With most of this mail, well, the people are moving from a nice area to a less-nice area, or from a house to an apartment.
A substantial portion of the remainder have moved and left no forwarding address. This is the mark of people trying to avoid creditors, and the mail they've gotten before we stopped delivering (for whatever reason) is from collection agencies and the like. After a while, you know what the mail looks like.
So it looks like a lot of the people on these lists are having serious financial problems, and I'm seeing a LOT more of this for the GOP mail than I am for Dem mail. Of course, we have a lot more GOP people here in Texas, but still... If the wingers are facing hard times, it doesn't look good for Bush.
what does money buy candidates? bumper stickers? TV ads?
How much money did Lincoln spend in his 1860 campaign?
it is not the mousetrap that is broken - it is the mice! (mousetrap being political process and mice being people!)
Back in the day, newspapers and saloon talk was where politics was played. it seems to me that most persons although uneducated, had common sense.
In this 21st century, brain-dead TV ads sell anything to most mush-brained non-sensical amurcans.
>
I know people who believe that if you can't trace your family back to at least the Republic of Texas, you ain't a real Texan. I'm serious.
I used to joke, when Simpson-Mazzoli was under debate back in the 80s, that it wasn't the foreigners from Mexico that Texans wanted rid of, but the ones from Boston and New York. This is how Texans used to think. Nowadays...eh, we've had so many transplants that the xenophobia is now watered down. If you're willin' to become Texan, then Texas will accept you. And it's amazing how many people are willin'. They buy into the worst of the myths, with enthusiasm.
The accent isn't that far off--for a Yankee who's lived in West Texas for a long time. I grew up in Texas, but I lived away from here, so my accent comes and goes at times. No big deal there, really.
As for the "ranch." Hmph. More like a goat-roper's ranch. Goat-roper was the Texas term we used before the movie, Urban Cowboy, came out. It's the fake cowboy who wears all the clothes but who's never ridden a horse, and wouldn't know the front end of a steer from the back end. He would get all woozy and shrieky if he stepped in a pasture pie, rather than just scraping it off on a rock or some barbed wire. And his 3 months old pickup truck would look like it just came off the showroom floor, rather than all scratched up and dented and the suspension creaky from bouncing around the back 40 every one of those 90 days of ownership.
Sound familiar?
And, btw, that's no ranch in Crawford. That's just a rich man's country home, by Texas standards.
As far as I'm concerned, Shakespeare was Shakespeare, Schubert was Schubert. Warbling his native woodnotes wild. IOW, nothing to see here, move along. Just your normal miraculous genius.
bad Jim
Wow, someone knows Schubert. That's amazing but maybe not here. He's sort of an obscure composer from the classical period. He was my favorite to play as a kid because his compositions were simple but beautiful haunting ballads. Bach was wonderful but too regimented and mathematical, and Mozart was the greatest composer of all, even greater than Beethoven. As a trained pianist, I know Baroque and Classical musical composers.
More piss poor reporting by the New York Times. It is remarkable that when they want to, they sure can be kind to a subject. Not only is there absolutely no context to the story--how many others are doing this sort of thing?--there is absolutely no questioning of his motives. Sounds to me like the guy works for horrible Republican lawyer and is doing everything his can to grease his way up the pole (that comment about making partner).
I guarantee that a similar story about a liberal fundraiser would have been filled with snarkiness, opposing points of view and, who knows, maybe questions about botox...
Oh--it's not heartening that people are facing economic disasters. Just that the old bloom might be off the Bush rose with supporters who got the shaft from him with the economy. I hope all of them get on their feet again, soon.
Speaking of...
Does anyone know how the economy is affecting the religious right? Are they taking some hard hits? Surely some data about this is out there...
Does anyone know how the economy is affecting the religious right? Are they taking some hard hits? Surely some data about this is out there...
LJ
They don't care about the economy. They're totally obsessed with the 'End-times.' I've written about one on this site who's really vocal in our newspaper and a lawyer for the AllianceDefenseFund.org that I responded to earlier last week about a column he wrote. We've been emailing back and forth for a couple of years now going back and forth. So I told him last week that an un-restrained Bush for another 4 years, and we're all doomed. He emailed me back with this:
"The return of Christ, and the end times events leading up to it, is not a theory. It is a reality. The Bible promises that "every knee shall bow" to Him, either now... or when its too late, with the resulting devastating consequences. It's your decision, man."
It was like, yeah, we're all doomed, and I'm still voting for Bush. For the last couple of years, he believes he can convert me from my 'heathen gay ways.' I feel like I'm staring into the face of madness these days. Is it just me or is everything Christian fundamentalist now?
With all the complaints coming from the right about 527s subverting the intent of McCain-Feingold, clearly Bush's fundraising pyramid scheme does this much more effectively.
Essentially it is still skewing access to politics towards large contributors. Don't tell me the young Republican buck profiled in the Times piece isn't hoping for some direct payback for his efforts. Maybe he dreams of an ambassadorship or a place on the ever growing (Republican) goverment payroll.
George Soros is in for a donkey wad of cash, don't forget. There are a lot of big money people like Soros who actually want the economy to be healthy, as opposed to the big money republican pork buddies who just want their cut of the current take.
The people who really care about local and global economic health are going to work to take Bush down.
I'm not as worried about competing financially as I am about cheating, lying, and scary scenarios like a well-timed disaster and a little martial law. Money we got.
OT, but...
If anyone wants to read another article by some Ivory Tower gasbag with no idea of what is going on in the real world, check out an op-ed piece in the Sunday Chicago Tribune. John F. Gaski, listed as an associate professor of marketing at the University of Notre Dame, contends that the only reason Bush is behind in the polls is because of a Democratic smear campaign. He even refers to the Big Lie technique of the 1930s German Nazis. His solution is a massive marketing campaign to inform the public of the truth.
Apparently, Notre Dame has been recruiting the wrong personnel in more than just basketball. Gaski is in effect blaming the Democrats for doing what the Republicans have been doing for years, telling big lies to not just defeat but ruin their opposition. And now the GOP's chickens are coming home to roost, and what an ugly lot they are. If Gaski knew anything about marketing, he'd know you cannot con people into buying a product they know to be defective and a waste of money. If marketing could do what Gaski proposes for Bush, we'd all be driving Edsels and have toilet seats that play Lara's Theme from Dr. Zhivago each time we sat down.
I'm not as worried about competing financially as I am about cheating, lying, and scary scenarios like a well-timed disaster and a little martial law. Money we got.
kate mckinnon
Don't know about you, but I want to go back to not being paranoid anymore.
Right now, I'm wondering how and when the right-wing will try to blame the left for the killings in Fresno, California.
My son and I both got the glossy 8.5x11 photo of the Bushes in the mail. Straight into the recycle bin. My son is eighteen and voted for the first time in the primary in Feb. (He was really hoping Clark would win-- it's tough to lose your very first vote.) I can't imagine why he's getting mail from the Bush/Cheney campaign. They must be sending stuff out to every registered voter. That's gotta be expensive.
There are only so many people who are willing to fork over $2000 to the man who has presided over the worst jobs record since Herbert Hoover.
But surely it is worth letting your boss force you to undergo the privilege of forking over $2000 to eat rubber chicken and hear Dick Cheney lie to you in person?
Mars Spirit Rover, I relate to your worries about the fundy right's obsession with End Times. They really think that W is just the guy to lead us into it, and they can interpret current events to fit their reading of Revelations. It's all nonsense, of course, but you do have to wonder - If enough people in positions of real power believe in this shit, can they make it happen? However, I think Chimpy & pals don't really believe in it. Chimpy's fundamentalism is as phony as his "ranch," designed (like most everything else about him) to appeal to the wingnut base.
There's a revealing bit in Franken's book where he wanted to discuss a particular passage with Don Evans, one of the inner circle and member of Chimpy's Bible study group. Turns out Evans didn't know shit about the Bible. Probably W doesn't either. These guys just worship money and power, the rest is an act.
Composer Clementi is Atrios!
One of the stupider articles I have read in the last 24 hours. Being young myself, I was interested to know how many young people are big fundraisers for the fraudulent chimp-in-chief.
Would it be too much to expect an article about that exact topic to provide this information?
Silly me...
Just one positive thing to remember is that Bush in the 2000 election raised more money than ever before and he still lost by half a million votes.
Let's just hope that theory holds true this time around too. Having said that, I still say, if you are able to, go contribute to Jon Keree, he will need all the help he can financially to deal with this ruthless, Reverse Robinood, son-of-a-Bush, and his gang or Crooked Liars.
Meh. I am entirely too disillusioned with politics. I'm not going to vote for Bush. However, I'm not sure I want to vote for Kerry either. Special interests are not the pet of just the Republicans. Hence, my basic opposition to both parties, although I will likely vote Democrat. Or something.
Elizabeth, as disgusting as the money & special interests are, you should still vote, and vote Democratic. Not only are the Repubs more in bed with corporate interests, they're undeniably pushing hard-right agendas in both foreign and domestic policy. Flawed as they are, the Dems are the only way to stop the extreme right...
rover, yes, I would love to stop being paranoid. Is it in the cards? The current spooks destroying the economy, the environment and life as we know it are mostly the same old spooks who puppeted Reagan and Bush Sr. and engineered god knows how many crooked deals and disasters. I guess I've come to believe that no matter who is in the White House, they will remain like an evil layer of oil under the surface, just waiting for the Next Chance to screw us, start a war, steal our money, or cheat our kids.
It kind of makes me wish I was about 8 years old again, and politically unaware.
"What's Houston like? I've never been there."
Been there once on a business trip. Hot and muggy. Flat as a pancake, too. A lot of sprawl and strip malls. The Heights is a cute area with older homes all painted vibrant colors and there are some good restaurants, including a great tapas bar downtown. Damn near projectile vomited when I learned I'd be flying into "George Bush International Airport".
Not the favorite city I've been too, but I met a lot of really nice people, including lots of people who are incredibly progressive which is probably not unusual given Houston is a big city.
We said it before, and probably a couple said it upthread, but Kerry cannot compete with Mammon himself in a wealth contest. We all must volunteer and put up signs and do things that sidestep the solid golden punch while directing it into the floor. What we'd like to do is, we have these images (you've all seen them before-Rummy greeting Saddam, GI Joke, etc) that without a word read could put doubt into some State Reddeners, and we're womdering if anyone knows how to go into Direct Mailing (Karl Rove's old business) without instantly being guilty of harassment or Do-Not-Call or whatever. Is it legal to just find the addresses of probable Republicans in Kansas and directly mail nonobscene nonsolicitory stuff?
Back to the NY Times article...the logic of it sounds very similar to the "Arab Americans Raise Money for Bush" article which got hooted down in the blogosphere.
All of us Arab-Americans read it, looking to see who was contributing to Bush, only to find that the people most quoted are Iranian, followed by Pakistanis and then one Lebanese Christian. (The Lebanese does count as an Arab although right wing Christian Lebanese insist they're really French)
You may not know this (the Times didn't) but Iranians and Pakistanis are not Arabs. OK, the Times article included the clause "and other Muslims" here and there, but it was confusing, since the Lebanese Christian was thrown in.
The whole article was pointless. AS this one seems to be. Why is the Times running a series on fundraising that seems so muddled?
That all depends, will the Democrats put up somebody who is electable?
Hopefully Howard Dean will have a say or two about that, Den. I don't want to be Kerry Bashing -- but I question if anyone else in the "pack" from which he emerged was electable. WE NEED TO GET RID OF JOE LIEBERMAN NOW!!!!!!!!!!
I'm confused. Or stupid. Maybe both. What do columns from March of last year have to do with anything?
George W Bush is a scumbag and a whore.
here's a nice succinct little film entitled
Bush is an asshole
http://filmstripinternational.com/
If that's fuel. Here's fodder.
Here is something I found on fark.com yesterday and saved then posted after it was taken down (I presume). It is the verbal and pictoral account of complete disgust of a self-proclaimed republican, who supported the Iraq war, because of what seemed to him like military recruitment inside of a church. The pictures are truly shocking. And the fact that it is a republican that is saying it makes it all the more powerful. I have it, again, here on my blog...and in the same post I have 14 screen shots (yes, I was so appalled by it that after I noticed it went down on fark.com I took screen shots just in case people didn't believe me when I posted it).
His verbal account does a great job of making the pictures come to life. By his own account, they are something straight out of the third reich...and "fascist".
Please check it out and let me know what you think.
peace,
liminal
OT: I am soooooooo disappointed in the Wolf Blitzer interview with Mr. Gannon just now. No mention of Plame, and the guy was allowed to gloss over everything unchallenged. Unsubstantiated claims of threats, maintained that Talons business model didn't fit the norm, and that was the only reason he couldn't get a hard pass...etc.
I suppose I shouldn't be surprised.
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