Capitol Banter

Fun With Dick

Best. Sticker. Ever. 

posted by Capitola @ 4:11:00 PM 7 comments

Ugly Bitches for Bush

Nice moustache 

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Delegates to the Republican National Convention found a new way to take a jab at Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry's Vietnam service record: by sporting adhesive bandages with small purple hearts on them.

Morton Blackwell, a prominent Virginia delegate, has been handing out the heart-covered bandages to delegates, who've worn them on their chins, cheeks, the backs of their hands and other places.

Blackwell is president of the Leadership Institute, a nonpartisan educational foundation he founded in 1979. According to its Web site, the institute prepares conservatives for success in politics, government and the news media.

posted by Capitola @ 11:36:00 AM 4 comments

Don't Even Look At The Light

Aug. 31, 2004 | NEW YORK (AP) -- Police braced for a day of civil disobedience Tuesday after an ugly turn in relations between convention protesters and the thousands of officers assigned to police them.

A march from the United Nations to Madison Square Garden ended in violence Monday after a protester attacked a plainclothes detective on a scooter, knocking him unconscious. Hundreds of police in riot gear swarmed the area, pushing protesters away from the Garden and into nearby side streets.

[snip]

Outside of the hotel where Texas Republicans stayed, about two dozen protesters calling themselves employees of "Hallibacon" grunted through plastic pig snouts on their faces and bathed themselves in stacks of fake $100 bills featuring a sneering portrait of Vice President Dick Cheney.

The protesters, who accused Cheney and the company he once led with profiting from the war in Iraq, chanted: "We love money. We love war. We love Cheney even more."

In the months leading up to the convention, activists designated Tuesday an official day of civil disobedience, planning sit-ins, street theater and even vandalism aimed at the offices of corporations with links to the Bush family or the Republican Party.

posted by Capitola @ 10:46:00 AM 0 comments

*hiccup*

And they all screamed and stomped and huffed and puffed and said no way should there be any oversight of this year's election, even though there is indeed a gross pile of mounting evidence that there's nothing stopping BushCo from simply stealing the election all over again. Isn't that funny?

It's enough to make you laugh 'til you gag. And choke. And move to Canada.

And isn't it hilarious how the absolute worst thing the Right has been able to dredge up about John Kerry is that he might sort of maybe have exaggerated some facts about his various Vietnam medals and acts of and valor and deeds of astounding heroism, which is sort of like saying well sure you saved 10 babies from that burning building, but jeez, you were wearing special shoes at the time and by the way couldn't you have saved 11? Traitor!

And how hard should we guffaw while we note that, as Kerry was volunteering in Vietnam and earning his medals and risking his life in the most volatile and ugly and pointless and lethal and hideous war in American history unless you count Iraq, which you really really should, Dubya was "serving" in the Air National Guard, which we all know translates to mean "hangin' down in Tijuana slamming tequila shooters and annoying the waitresses, all while praising Jesus that he had a daddy who could keep him away from scary complicated violent stuff."

[snip]

What, too bitter? Resentful? Too much like I advocate stringing Karl Rove up by his large intestine and slapping him with a rainbow flag until he cries? All apologies.

Hey, it happens. Sometimes you just gotta purge. Vent. Let it all out. Because, really, it all makes you ask: Is everyone on drugs? Mass delusional? Are we just blind? Or is the vicious GOP spin machine really that powerful? Why, yes, yes, it is. And isn't it just the funniest thing?

[snip]

And, finally, isn't it funny -- in a nauseating, soul-mauling sort of way -- that 52 American soldiers have died in BushCo's completely useless little Iraq war just this month alone. How very touching, their noble sacrifice. Too bad Bush doesn't care.

Let us just laugh and laugh at how the media barely covers these pedestrian, boring deaths anymore, instead allowing the GOP to turn the debate into one about a miserable, lost war that happened nearly 30 years ago, all while U.S. soldiers continue to die every day, right now, for no justifiable reason whatsoever.

Yes, let us laugh until we cry. Let us note how the Bush-induced death toll is now up to 964 U.S. soldiers -- a staggering 855 above the total since the infamous, insulting "Mission accomplished" quip -- which is, if the GOP plays it just so, right on track to reach 1,000 U.S. dead by the time the Republican convention kicks into high gear. What fun!

And that 1,000th soldier will fall in abject pain, his or her life utterly wasted for a cause that never really existed, that no one actually believes in, that was all built on a lie to begin with. And he or she will die just as all the war hawks and all the right-wing homophobes and all the cigar-chompin' corporate CEOs gather in New York and pop their champagne and cheer the true triumvirate o' GOP happiness: God, guns and money.

posted by Capitola @ 10:10:00 AM 6 comments

Republican National Concoction

posted by Capitola @ 7:53:00 AM 6 comments

Oh. My.

RICHMOND, Va. -- U.S. Rep. Edward L. Schrock abruptly announced Monday that he will not seek a third term in Congress, citing unspecified allegations "that have called into question my ability" to serve.

In a five-paragraph news release issued by his office, Schrock said he has "come to the realization that these allegations will not allow my campaign to focus on the real issues facing our nation."

ACTION: Write Congressman Ed Schrock and ask how he can cruise for gay men and then co-sponsor the Federal Marriage Amendment.

[snip]

Congressman Ed Schrock has made a habit of rendezvousing with gay men via the MegaMates/ MegaPhone Line, an interactive telephone service on which men place ads and respond to those ads to meet each other. What makes this story more amazing? Congressman Schrock not only voted for the homophobic Marriage Protection Act, but he also signed on as a CO-SPONSOR of the Federal Marriage Amendment!

posted by Capitola @ 3:50:00 PM 0 comments

Today's Intimidation

Aug. 30, 2004 | WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Secret Service is investigating the posting on the Internet of names and personal information about thousands of delegates to the Republication National Convention in New York, officials said Monday.

The probe focuses on anonymous postings on a Web site operated by the Independent Media Center, which describes itself as "a network of collectively run media outlets for the creation of radical, accurate and passionate tellings of the truth."

The American Civil Liberties Union, whose lawyers are representing the Web site's administrators, gave the Secret Service the e-mail addresses of the administrators in a letter Monday. But the ACLU pointed out that they are not responsible for postings of lists of GOP delegates because the site guarantees anonymity to anyone who wants it.

"This type of investigation is really a form of intimidation and a message to activists that they will pay a price for speaking out," said Ann Beeson, the ACLU's associate legal counsel. "The posting of publicly available information about people who are in the news should not trigger an investigation."

posted by Capitola @ 2:05:00 PM 0 comments

The WTF? Files

In an interview with Time magazine, President Bush declared the war in Iraq a "catastrophic success."

Sen. John Edwards responds in the Washington Post: "I, like most Americans, have no idea what that means."

posted by Capitola @ 10:29:00 AM 4 comments

Patriot Acts

posted by Capitola @ 10:06:00 AM 1 comments

Hey Hey Ho Ho

Nearly 40 protesters gathered Saturday at the home of the chief financial backer of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, whose ads criticize Democrat John Kerry's military record.

Secretary of State Colin Powell canceled his trip to Greece at the last minute partly because of concern his presence -- expected to be met with anti-war protests -- might have disrupted the closing ceremony at the Olympics, State Department officials said Saturday.

posted by Capitola @ 10:25:00 PM 0 comments

Miscalculation?!

Mr. Bush also acknowledged for the first time that he made a "miscalculation" of what the conditions would be'' in postwar Iraq.

posted by Capitola @ 2:41:00 PM 1 comments

Psalm 2004

Bush is my shepherd, I shall be in want.
He maketh me to lie down on park benches, He leadeth me beside the still factories.
He restoreth my doubts about the Republican Party.
He leadeth me onto the paths of unemployment for His cronies' sake.
Yea, though no weapons of mass destruction have been found,

He makest me continue to fear Evil.
His tax cuts for the rich and His deficit spending discomfort me.
He anointest me with never-ending debt:
Verily my days of savings and assets are kaput.
Surely poverty and hard living shall follow me all the days of His administration,

And my jobless child shall dwell in my basement forever.

-Ruth C. Hayes

posted by Capitola @ 9:04:00 AM 0 comments

Just One Question

*$219.28 Bounty to the first person to ask George W. Bush this question in a public forum.

posted by Capitola @ 8:44:00 AM 0 comments

Unaked States of Amerika

Naked People Unite 

Naked protesters block 8th Avenue in midtown Manhattan outside Madison Square Garden, site of the Republican National Convention, August 26, 2004.

posted by Capitola @ 10:55:00 AM 0 comments

Up Close and Personal

03/18/03- SOME MESSAGES AREN'T WELL-HIDDEN as I discovered on this morning's ride. Kevin & Ueyn showed up, with Kevin insisting that we abandon the normal dogleg of Old LaHonda in favor of checking out someone's statement carved into the hillside down Bear Gulch Road. If you're having trouble finding it in the photo, it's the slashed circle with "WAR" in the middle, found on the hillside in the upper-right corner.

But that's not all that made this ride interesting. How often do you get the chance to be up close and personal with Neil Young? We did... if we'd been heading down Bear Gulch any faster, we would have been his hood ornament! At the gate at the end of Bear Gulch we saw a truck drive through, with the license plate "MIX MSTR." Dummy me, I thought it was a construction guy. About 3pm I was telling Dick in our RC store about the ride, and it suddenly came to me that "MIX MSTR" is probably a well-known studio audio mixer. Duh!

posted by Capitola @ 10:06:00 AM 0 comments

Red State Of Mind

It's called shooting fish in a barrel. Asked to express their opinions about the war in Iraq, the mostly unidentified subjects of this documentary polemic, "This Ain't No Heartland," are only too happy to make fools of themselves. Their fundamental ignorance of the facts, compounded by their disinterest in knowing more, doesn't prevent them from expressing strong opinions and conveying misinformation in bad grammar.

To make the movie, which opened yesterday in New York at the Two Boots Pioneer Theater, the Austrian filmmaker and photographer Andreas Horvath visited a half-dozen Midwestern states to select the fish for his barrel. The subjects he chose are ill-informed rural and small-town Americans who have not followed the war beyond absorbing a few sound bites from television.

As one unidentified woman claims in a fiery speech that is heard but not seen, "We fought the most moral war that has ever been fought by any people." She goes on to assert that no country waging a war has done so much to protect innocent civilians. Most believe that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction despite all the evidence to the contrary, and some are certain that his goal was to conquer the United States. The events of 9/11 have also left their mark. One person after another imagines that the Midwest is as vulnerable to attack as New York or Washington. That belief bolsters their vehement opposition to gun control.

[snip]

Beneath their jocularity, you sense the underlying anxieties of people who are so intimidated by the outside world that they would rather not contemplate it. Their capacity for denial is encouraged by the ravings of a fire-and-brimstone radio preacher who advises that the remedy for "that sinking feeling" is "to stop thinking twice about the truth." The most pernicious threat to well-being, the preacher says, is the notion of dialogue, a word he sneers as though it meant Satan.

posted by Capitola @ 9:25:00 AM 2 comments

Win Win, Indeed

Yahoo are these:

Bush Campaign Lawyer Quits Over Ties to Ads Group
Kerry Backer Tries in Vain to Get Protest to Bush
General Says U.S. Forces Tortured Iraqis in Jail
Sistani to Lead Peace Mission to Embattled Iraq City
NY Court Says Anti-Bush Protesters Can't Use Park
Discrimination at U.S. Polls Now 'Subtler, More Creative'

Politics News from AP Aug 25 6:10pm PT

Kerry Faults Top Leaders for Prison Abuse
Judge Denies Central Park Protest Request
Ridge: Convention Security Measures Solid
Lawyer Advising Vets Quits Bush Campaign
Republicans Endorse Ban on Gay Marriages
Edwards Reaches Out to Black Ohio Voters

Politics News from Reuters Aug 25 5:39pm PT

Republican Platform Backs Gay Marriage Ban
Kerry Backer Tries in Vain to Get Protest to Bush
Bush Campaign Lawyer Quits Over Ties to Ads Group
Schwarzenegger Makes Wife Head of Volunteer Agency
NY Court Says Anti-Bush Protesters Can't Use Park
Clock in New York's Times Square Counts War Cost

CNN has these:

General: Some Abu Ghraib abuse was torture
Explosions around Najaf mosque continue
Cleland blasts Bush over anti-Kerry ads

Fox has these:

'Put Up or Shut Up' Former Ga. Sen. Max Cleland urges Bush to condemn swift boat ads critical of Kerry
Lawyer Quits Bush Campaign

posted by Capitola @ 7:15:00 PM 0 comments

Uh-Oh

NAJAF, Iraq (AFP) - Iraqi policemen rounded up dozens of journalists at gunpoint in a Najaf hotel and took them to police headquarters before later releasing them, an AFP correspondent said.

[snip]


Firing their guns in the air, the dozen odd policemen, some masked, stormed into the rooms of journalists in the Najaf Sea hotel and forced them into vans and a truck.

An AFP correspondent, who was also forced into a van, said the police pushed and pulled many reporters at gunpoint.

After a two-minute drive from the hotel, where journalists from across the world are based while covering the battle between Shiite militiamen and US-led Iraqi forces in the holy city, the reporters were taken to the office of the police chief.

"You people are not under arrest," Najaf police chief Ghaleb al-Jezari told them.

"You are brought here because I want to tell you that you never publish the truth. I speak the truth, but you never broadcast what we are."

The reporters, packed into the office, with some sitting on the floor in front of the police chief, protested at their detention.

"You have kidnapped us at gunpoint," said one reporter.

[snip]

After the unexpected press conference at gunpoint, the police chief kissed some of the journalists' Iraqi translators and had the reporters dropped back to their hotel.

posted by Capitola @ 6:42:00 PM 0 comments

The Activist's Down Low

• Don’t Give Unnecessary Information
• Be Careful What You Sign in Custody
• Never Consent to Searches
• Stay Safe

Most importantly:

• Report Police Misconduct

Money Quote: If you are arrested or you witness an arrest, call (212) 679-6018.

posted by Capitola @ 7:58:00 PM 1 comments

FOIARFT

CREW’s executive director Melanie Sloan stated “Despite evidence to the contrary, the Bush Administration has repeatedly claimed that it has nothing to do with SBVT or its ads. If this is true, then the White House should have no qualms about releasing information regarding any contacts between White House officials and those connected with SBVT.”

Sloan decided to send the FOIA after reading that, upon being asked whether she had worked with White House officials, SBVT public relations coordinator Merrie Spaeth said “The answer is ‘no’ unless you refresh my memory.” (NYT 8/20/04). Sloan said that she was also skeptical of Bush political advisor Karl Rove’s claim that he has not spoken with his friend and large Republican donor Bob Perry in over a year. The FOIA was sent, said Sloan, “to gather the information Ms. Spaeth, Karl Rove and others may need to have their memories refreshed as to whether or not SBVT illegally coordinated with the White House.”

posted by Capitola @ 7:18:00 PM 0 comments

$134,480,645,161 And Counting

When Republicans arrive in Manhattan for their convention next week, they'll be greeted by a giant billboard reminding them how much the Iraq war is costing the country. Modeled after the Times Square national debt ticker, the Cost of War billboard debuts Wednesday on the corner of 47th and Broadway. It's opening LED display puts the price America is paying for Iraq's occupation at $134,480,645,161, a figure that will increase by $122,820 a minute.

[snip]

"The point is this is a conflict with a real cost, in terms of sacrifice by our troops but also in terms of a significant amount of money that could have been spent in ways more directly related to al-Qaida and the homeland security programs that would have a more tangible effect on the threat we actually face," says P.J. Crowley, a senior fellow at the Center.

[snip]

Even if Project Billboard didn't have the RNC in mind when it decided to takes its message to Times Square, there's a special savor in knowing that the people responsible for the war will be confronted with its escalating cost as they tour the city. "New York is such a heavily Democratic city," says Rappaport. "I'm really happy so many Republicans will be there to see it."

posted by Capitola @ 3:16:00 PM 9 comments

WTF Is Going On?

"We're going to focus exclusively on events of 30 years or more ago . . . and not on anything relevant to anything beyond 1964," Karlin said.

He's referring, of course, to the previously mentioned attack ad campaign, which has been funded in part by a top GOP donor in Texas, featuring Vietnam veterans who question Kerry's war record and criticize his congressional antiwar testimony (though that actually took place in the 1970s).

"All of us [on 'The Daily Show'] are just blown away by the turn the campaign has taken," Karlin said. "We cannot believe that this is what is being talked about at this juncture. It's so astounding to us. We are trying to work through our amazement and to conduct a meaningful conversation absent of incredulity, because [the interview] is not going to go anywhere if you just say, 'What the [expletive] is going on?' "

Karlin said he will nonetheless suggest that that be the first question Stewart puts to Kerry tonight.

"If you just want to pinpoint the success of the Republican Party and Bush, this is a perfect case study," Karlin continued, "because George W. Bush has put a moratorium on talk about his behavior under the age of 40 and everyone [in the press] is abiding by it. 'Were you or were you not an alcoholic or did you just have a drinking problem?,' 'Were you or were you not a drug abuser?' Meanwhile they're debating whether [Kerry's war] wounds drew blood or were they superficial, or occurred in the same day, or whether he shot a guy wearing a toga. . . . How is that possible?"

posted by Capitola @ 11:44:00 AM 0 comments

Punditiddy Backlash

His Diddiness scrubbed last night's scheduled performance at the new Ohio slavery museum over what the rap mogul feels was a snub by the First Lady's office.
Combs reportedly was on his way to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati to play at the museum's dedication concert when somebody told him Laura Bush would not feel comfortable sharing the stage with him.

"He was planning on doing it," a Combs aide told us. "But we don't understand why she wouldn't want to stand with him. He hasn't been partisan at all."

posted by Capitola @ 10:17:00 AM 0 comments

Bring. It. On.

Before entering the Senate in 1999, Mr. Edwards made millions in North Carolina as a plaintiff's lawyer, and the legal community provided more than a quarter of the money for his own presidential campaign. He has long succeeded in deflecting criticism of his career, arguing that he represented ordinary people who had been mistreated by big companies and insurance interests.

Now that he is Senator John Kerry's running mate, though, he has become a target for business leaders who want to see trial lawyers constrained.

"Once again, the Bush-Cheney campaign is turning to front groups to do its dirty work," said Kim Rubey, a spokeswoman for Mr. Edwards at the Kerry-Edwards camp. "But once again, the American people will see through their baseless, negative attacks. Senator Edwards is very proud of his record of standing up for children and families who didn't have a voice, and he will continue to fight for children and families all over the country."

Stand Up Guy 

Edwards is uniquely situated to refute Bush's attacks on trial lawyers and tort reform because he's the living embodiment of how a trial lawyer can serve a regulatory function in the face of misbehaving corporations, cities, and professionals. Indeed, attacking him is one of the surest ways for Bush to inadvertently highlight his own greatest vulnerability: the perception among voters that he's a shill for corporate America. As Carlton Carl, the trial lawyers association spokesman, is quick to point out, "People hate insurance companies more than they hate lawyers." By reprising the '98 Senate race at the national level, Republicans play to Edwards' greatest strength.

posted by Capitola @ 9:49:00 AM 0 comments

His teeth were there. Was he?

• Why did Bush, described by some of his fellow officers as a talented and enthusiastic pilot, stop flying fighter jets in the spring of 1972 and fail to take an annual physical exam required of all pilots?

• What explains the apparent gap in the president's Guard service in 1972-73, a period when commanders in Texas and Alabama say they never saw him report for duty and records show no pay to Bush when he was supposed to be on duty in Alabama?

• Did Bush receive preferential treatment in getting into the Guard and securing a coveted pilot slot despite poor qualifying scores and arrests, but no convictions, for stealing a Christmas wreath and rowdiness at a football game during his college years?

If you personally witnessed George W. Bush reporting for drills at Dannelly Air National Guard Base between the months of May and November of 1972 we want to hear about it. Help Mr. Bush put this partisan assault on his character behind him, so he can focus on more serious issues like jobs, the deficit and the coming civil war in Iraq. Just contact us below with the salient details. If we think you're a possible winner, we'll get back to you pronto. Good luck to all contestants!

posted by Capitola @ 9:12:00 AM 0 comments

Hearts and Minds....And a Boot

Asked how the battle was going, Commander Abu Mohammad Hilu showed off his latest trophy - a blood-drenched American boot. There was a large bullet hole in the middle. 'We found it after last night's battle,' the commander explained. His colleague, Abu Ali, added: 'Originally there was an American foot inside it and a bit of the leg. But we took it out and threw it to the dogs.'

[snip]

'The Americans went as far as the mosque then got out,' the commander said, having escorted me back to the scene of what, he suggested, was a heroic victory.

'It was an ambush. All of a sudden we started shooting them. They were surprised. We destroyed two of their tanks.'

Hilu showed off the newly incinerated Kufa court building just across the road. Here, he said, US troops had taken refuge under fire. Crunching over the melted remains of ceiling fans, he pointed to a small annexe room soaked in blood.

'They treated their wounded in here. They were firing in the air at the same time. That's a piece of American brain,' he added helpfully. 'We found the boot nearby.'

Over the past 17 days the standoff between Sadr's Shia militia and Iraq's US-backed interim government has been portrayed as a conflict that the renegade cleric will eventually lose. In fact, he is winning.

[snip]

US warplanes control the skies above Kufa, dropping two bombs at 7am yesterday on a deserted mosque. But they don't control its streets - or the densely packed alleys around Najaf's shrine, where the Mahdi army appears to have shrugged off nights of bombardment. 'It was a big battle. They came at us from four directions,' Hilu said.

'None of the soldiers in my unit were injured.' He added: 'You will write about the boot, won't you?'

posted by Capitola @ 2:08:00 PM 1 comments

USS Juan Cole

The true absurdity of the entire situation is easily appreciated when we consider that George W. Bush never showed any bravery at all at any point in his life. He has never lived in a war zone. If some of John Kerry's wounds were superficial, Bush received no wounds.

[snip]

What was Bush doing with his youth? He was drinking. He was drinking like a fish, every night, into the wee hours. For decades. He gave no service to anyone, risked nothing, and did not even slack off efficiently.

Party on, dude! 

The history of alcoholism and possibly other drug use is a key issue because it not only speaks to Bush's character as an addictive personality, but may tell us something about his erratic and alarming actions as president. His explosive temper probably provoked the disastrous siege of Fallujah last spring, killing 600 Iraqis, most of them women and children, in revenge for the deaths of 4 civilian mercenaries, one of them a South African. (Newsweek reported that Bush commanded his cabinet, "Let heads roll!") That temper is only one problem. Bush has a sadistic streak. He clearly enjoyed, as governor, watching executions. His delight in killing people became a campaign issue in 2000 when he seemed, in one debate, to enjoy the prospect of executing wrong-doers a little too much. He has clearly gone on enjoying killing people on a large scale in Iraq. Drug abuse can affect the ability of the person to feel deep emotions like empathy. Two decades of pickling his nervous system in various highly toxic substances have left Bush damaged goods.

posted by Capitola @ 11:30:00 AM 1 comments

Governor Freeze

What’s worse than summer swelter in Sacramento? Why, August in New Mexico, of course! That’s where Arnold Schwarzenegger apparently devised an interesting new way to beat the heat during his trip to the Western Governors’ Association meeting.

Da Freezinator 

But first, some background: As reported in this column last month (“Mr. Freeze,” SN&R Bites, July 15), our Batman & Robin villain turned governor seems to be taking his Mr. Freeze character to heart of late, chilling state workers by cranking up the air conditioning to semi-arctic proportions whenever he visits a state building.

Now comes word that Governor Freeze may be adding an eccentric new wrinkle to his ritual. After he used the New Mexico event to introduce his new energy-conservation plan, he invited reporters back to his non-smoking presidential suite, where, according to his arch nemesis, Bob Mulholland, Arnold lit up not just a cigar, but also the fireplace--while simultaneously cranking the air conditioning up to high. “Isn’t this what doctors describe as schizophrenic behavior?” wondered Mulholland, as if that were somehow incompatible with politics.

“I’m thinking, ‘What the hell are we doing here, man?’” the Democratic spokesman told Bites. “You know, it’s one thing to have bad habits; it’s another to invite the press in to watch it.”

posted by Capitola @ 10:31:00 AM 0 comments

Bob Dolt

Shit Slinging Veterans For Bush

"He's got himself into this wicket now where he can't extricate himself because not every one of these people can be Republican liars,'' said Mr. Dole, whose right arm was left limp by a war injury. "There's got to be some truth to the charges," he said.

posted by Capitola @ 9:10:00 AM 2 comments

Flying The Unfriendly Skies

Iraq’s new air force took to the skies this week for the first time since the coalition invaded last year and disbanded the country’s armed forces, the US military said.

Iraqi pilots flew two Seabird Seeker SB7L-360 reconnaissance aircraft on what the US military described as “limited operations missions intended to protect infrastructure facilities and Iraq’s borders”.

The two light reconnaissance planes are fitted with surveillance systems that can transmit live video images to ground forces. They are the first of a fleet that will eventually number 10 aircraft, the statement said.

Coalition forces and neighbouring Jordan have been training Iraq’s 162-member air force, which is expected to grow to around 500 by December 2004.

posted by Capitola @ 2:35:00 PM 0 comments

Inquiring Minds United

Commercial says: "Our community doesn't need another dumb, rich, white politician. And boy, does Bush come across as dumb." Another says: "His wife says she's innocent of murder. While technically true, I don' t believe a white woman, raised in Texas, surrounded by white cops qualifies." Referring to Laura Bush, newspaper ads ask: "First Lady? Or murderer?"

One commercial says: "Our community doesn't need another wishy-washy, rich, white politician. And boy, does Kerry come across as rich, white and wishy-washy." Another says: "His wife says she's an African American. While technically true, I don' t believe a white woman, raised in Africa, surrounded by servants qualifies." Referring to Heinz Kerry, newspaper ads ask: "African-American? Or elitist, rich and white?"

posted by Capitola @ 1:56:00 PM 0 comments

Kim Jong Il (the illmatic)'s Journal

posted by Capitola @ 12:38:00 PM 0 comments

For Them The Bell Tolls

Kerry press release (Excerpt):

Bush Campaign Busted Passing Out “Swift Boat Veterans for Bush” Flyer

Washington, DC - Despite constant denials, the Bush-Cheney campaign today was busted coordinating with the “Swift Boat Veterans for Bush” in their smear campaign against John Kerry. The following press release was issued this afternoon by the Florida Democratic Party. The evidence is attached.

“Bush Campaign Caught Promoting "Swift Boat Vets for Truth"

While National Campaign Denies Coordination, Campaign in Florida Promotes Rally

Tallahassee -- On the same day that the Bush-Cheney campaign repeatedly denied coordinating attacks with the anti-Kerry group "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth," the Bush-Cheney campaign in Florida was caught promoting a rally in Gainesville for the group.

A flyer being distributed at the Alachua County Republican party headquarters, which doubles as the Bush-Cheney campaign headquarters for the county, promotes a weekend rally sponsored by "Swift Boat Vets for Truth, Veterans for Bush, Alachua Bush/Cheney Committee," and others.

1.Spend a couple of weeks staying above the fray, not appearing weak by arguing.

2. Finally, call Bush out in a strong statement. Call Bush a liar and a cowar[d], like he is.

3. Make sure to time #2 with the outbreak of information proving all the lies and all the ties. (and perhaps help the SCLM to get this information)

``Mr. McClellan needs to understand that John Kerry is not the type of leader who will sit and read `My Pet Goat' to a group of second-graders while America is under attack. John Kerry is a fighter, and he doesn't tolerate lies from others.''

posted by Capitola @ 5:48:00 PM 0 comments

Team Bush, Put Down That Crack Pipe

The United States Olympic Committee, which has exclusive rights to the words "Olympic" and "Olympiad," as well as Olympic symbols such as the five interlocking rings, has asked the Bush campaign for a copy of the ad so the U.S.O.C. can evaluate whether its copyright has been infringed. A U.S.O.C. spokesman, Darryl Seibel, told Salon by phone from Athens Friday that the committee had not made a judgment yet because the Bush campaign has not yet given it a copy of the ad. Asked if he'd ever heard of the World Wide Web, where the ad can be accessed in seconds off the Bush-Cheney campaign site, Seibel demurred, saying that official channels had to be followed.

Contacted for a response, Bush-Cheney spokesman Scott Stanzel -- while professing little knowledge of the matter -- suggested that perhaps it is not illegal to use "Olympics" in the plural. Sure enough: the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act of 1999, which grants the U.S.O.C. its rights, says the committee has exclusive use of the words "Olympic and "Olympiad," but not "Olympics" in the plural.

Technically legal or not, the ad certainly violates the spirit of the law, which is to prevent the Olympic brand from being diluted and sullied by political or commercial uses. Even worse, perhaps, is the ad's gossamer treatment of the "freedom" that it says Bush has brought to Iraq and Afghanistan, countries on the brink of failure and chaos.

"Freedom is spreading throughout the world like a sunrise," the narrator says as an American-looking female swimmer dives into a pool. An underwater camera shows her gliding, missile-like, through the water, sunlight shimmering through the water.

The narrator continues: "And this Olympics, there will be two more free nations (the flags of Iraq and Afghanistan flash on the screen) and two fewer terrorist regimes. With strength, resolve and courage, democracy will triumph over terror (shot of the American-looking swimmer emerging from the pool, her fist clenched in victory). And hope will defeat hatred."

Okay, for starters: Iraq and Afghanistan barely have any women at all competing in Athens, much less swimmers. With armed Taliban still roaming Afghanistan, and Islamic fundamentalism on the rise in Iraq, it's a safe bet that any Iraqi or Afghan woman who dared to appear in public in the kind of bathing suit featured in the Bush ad would find herself either raped or flogged. Of the two Afghan women competing in Athens, one is a runner who has to train in long sweat pants and a head scarf. Meanwhile, Iraqi Olympian Alaa Jassim, a runner from Baghdad, frequently cannot train at all because of "street fights and bombings," according to her official Olympic biography.

posted by Capitola @ 2:00:00 PM 2 comments

Here a Nuke There a Nuke Everywhere a Nuke Nuke

"If a day comes when the world of Islam is duly equipped with the arms Israel has in possession, the strategy of colonialism would face a stalemate because application of an atomic bomb would not leave any thing in Israel but the same thing would just produce damages in the Muslim world."

In a quick rebuttal to an Israeli official’s remark that they might strike an Iranian nuclear plant should there be evidence that Iran was developing a weapon, Iranian Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani warned that Iran might launch a preemptive strike against U.S. forces in the region to prevent an attack on its nuclear facilities.

“We will not sit (with arms folded) to wait for what others will do to us. Some military commanders in Iran are convinced that preventive operations which the Americans talk about are not their monopoly,” Shamkhani told Al-Jazeera TV when asked if Iran would respond to an American attack on its nuclear facilities.

“America is not the only one present in the region. We are also present, from Khost to Kandahar in Afghanistan; we are present in the Gulf and we can be present in Iraq,” he continued.

posted by Capitola @ 12:41:00 PM 0 comments

Not in Their Names

Not in Their Names 

PATRAS, Greece -- Iraqi midfielder Salih Sadir scored a goal here on Wednesday night, setting off a rousing celebration among the 1,500 Iraqi soccer supporters at Pampeloponnisiako Stadium. Though Iraq -- the surprise team of the Olympics -- would lose to Morocco 2-1, it hardly mattered as the Iraqis won Group D with a 2-1 record and now face Australia in the quarterfinals on Sunday.

Afterward, Sadir had a message for U.S. president George W. Bush, who is using the Iraqi Olympic team in his latest re-election campaign advertisements.

In those spots, the flags of Iraq and Afghanistan appear as a narrator says, "At this Olympics there will be two more free nations -- and two fewer terrorist regimes."

"Iraq as a team does not want Mr. Bush to use us for the presidential campaign," Sadir told SI.com through a translator, speaking calmly and directly. "He can find another way to advertise himself."

Ahmed Manajid, who played as a midfielder on Wednesday, had an even stronger response when asked about Bush's TV advertisement. "How will he meet his god having slaughtered so many men and women?" Manajid told me. "He has committed so many crimes."

The Bush campaign was contacted about the Iraqi soccer player's statements, but has yet to respond.

posted by Capitola @ 11:52:00 AM 0 comments

Girls Gotta Do

Expose and Depose 

The Axis of Eve is a coalition of brazen women on a mission to EXPOSE and DEPOSE President Select George W. Bush and his deceitful administration. Convinced that effective political action can be irreverent and exciting, we have launched a titillating campaign of TRUTH-FLASHING coordinated around our provocative line of protest panties.

This campaign will culminate at the Republican National Convention in NYC in September, where over 100 Eves and Adams will perform a MASS FLASH (of our protest panties) to create a media spectacle that lays bare the shameful tactics of the Bush administration and boldly demands an end to political cover-up.

posted by Capitola @ 2:02:00 PM 0 comments

Sorry, Our Bad -- My Ass

The problem with these newsprint confessions is not that they are craven, insufficient and self-serving, which of course they are. The problem is that, on the whole, they do not correct the pre-war mistakes, but actually further them. The Post would have you believe that its "failure" before the war was its inability/reluctance to punch holes in Bush's WMD claims.

Right. I marched in Washington against the war in February 2003 with about 400,000 people, and I can pretty much guarantee that not more than a handful of those people gave a shit about whether or not Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. That's because we knew what the Post and all of these other papers still refuse to admit—this whole thing was never about weapons of mass destruction. Even a five- year-old, much less the literate executive editor of the Washington Post, could have seen, from watching Bush and his cronies make his war case, that they were going in anyway.

For God's sake, Bush was up there in the fall of 2002, warning us that unmanned Iraqi drones were going to spray poison gas on the continental United States. The whole thing—the "threat" of Iraqi attack, the link to terrorism, the dire warnings about Saddam's intentions—it was all bullshit on its face, as stupid, irrelevant and transparent as a cheating husband's excuse. And I don't know a single educated person who didn't think so at the time.

The story shouldn't have been, "Are there WMDs?" The story should have been, "Why are they pulling this stunt? And why now?" That was the real mystery. It still is.

We didn't need a named source in the Pentagon to tell us that. And neither did the Washington Post.

posted by Capitola @ 10:53:00 AM 0 comments

QOTD

"I've reached the conclusion, retrospectively, now that the inadequate intelligence and faulty conclusions are being revealed, that all things being considered, it was a mistake to launch that military action."

-- Rep. Doug Bereuter (R-NE), commenting on the Iraq war "in a letter to constituents in the final days of his congressional career," quoted by the Lincoln Journal Star.

posted by Capitola @ 10:47:00 AM 0 comments

GI Joe Doe Sez Hell No!

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A decorated U.S. combat veteran filed a lawsuit on Tuesday asserting that the government can not prevent reservists from leaving the military when their enlistment periods end.

The suit against Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other military officials, names the plaintiff only as John Doe. It says he served in the Marine Corps and Army for nine years on active duty and three years as a reservist.

"This lawsuit seeks to stop the forced retention of men and women who have fulfilled their service obligations," said attorney Michael Sorgen. "When their period of enlistment ends, they should be entitled to return to their families."

posted by Capitola @ 2:35:00 PM 0 comments

Hacktacular H-Men 

"We want to bombard (the Republican sites) with so much traffic that nobody can get in."

[snip]

Veteran online activists have called these tactics the "kind of stupidity that gives hacking a bad name."

posted by Capitola @ 11:14:00 AM 0 comments

Kerry By An Ass-kicking*

posted by Capitola @ 2:58:00 PM 0 comments

Human Shields

Freedom Fighters 

About 2,000 impassioned Iraqi civilian 'volunteers' cheering Sadr in the marble-floored courtyard of the mosque who made the biggest show of force Monday. Traveling to Najaf from across Iraq, they are swelling the ranks of Sadr's supporters and could be another reason why U.S. troops may think twice before storming the shrine … 'I will lie on the ground in front of the tanks, or I will kill the Americans to defend Sadr and Najaf,' said Fadil Hamed, 30, standing among a group of men who said they walked to Najaf from the southern city of Basra."

posted by Capitola @ 11:02:00 AM 0 comments

Second Chances

That was then... 

(Aug 13, 2004) SAN ANTONIO About three-thousand Texas Army National Guard troops ticketed for duty in Iraq will report for duty by Monday. The San Antonio Express-News reports the deployment is the biggest by the Texas Army National Guard since World War Two.

Officials say the troops were notified of their mobilization weeks ago. Representatives of the 22 units called up will attend a Sunday mobilization ceremony in Fort Worth.

Then, they'll undergo months of training at Fort Hood in Central Texas before moving out to Iraq in January.

posted by Capitola @ 2:41:00 PM 0 comments

BC '04

posted by Capitola @ 1:50:00 PM 2 comments

If It Feels Good Files

Jesus Christ on a pogo stick, this pisses me off. I can't even begin to tell you how many morons wrote me before the war and said, how can you possibly oppose this war? We KNOW Saddam has WMD's! Let alone all the gloating triumphalism on Pulling-Down-the-Statue Day. They say the US is polarized like never before--well, I swear, sometimes it seems to me that the only real polarization is between smart people and stupid people. And by "stupid," I don't mean unintelligent--there are plenty of stupid people with advanced degrees and high paying jobs in this world. No, by "stupid," I mean people who are apparently incapable of comprehending one of the basic truisms of human history: politicians do not always tell the truth. The smart people understood from the start that this war was predicated upon a pile of bullshit so deep, you'd need one of those special pressurized deep sea diving bells to find your way to the bottom. And as for the Post, and others who have subsequently figured out the difference between their own anus and a hole in the ground--well, don't expect any accolades from me. I'd suggest they try to do better next time but I know they won't. If, god forbid, Bush manages to secure a second term, and whips up another jingoistic pro-war frenzy to invade Iran or Syria or France or Canada, you can just damn well bet all these self-flagellating media types will be right there at the forefront, waving their little flags and dutilfully fulfilling their function as stenographers to power, desperately afraid of being labeled "unpatriotic" by a handful of fringe lunatics who not only don't deserve the attention they get, but in a sane world, would not deserve to be pissed upon if they were on fire.

posted by Capitola @ 11:10:00 AM 0 comments

NotBinGotten

YOsama 

Houston? We have a problem. 

posted by Capitola @ 3:51:00 PM 0 comments

Combs is Tasty*

Tragedies are funny! Did I want to invade Iraq right away? Sure, I'm a kidder, like that Joe Corsi guy. I kill me.
 

posted by Capitola @ 2:41:00 PM 0 comments

I Love You, Madame Librarian

I want to congratulate librarians, not famous for their physical strength or their powerful political connections or their great wealth, who, all over this country, have staunchly resisted anti-democratic bullies who have tried to remove certain books from their shelves, and have refused to reveal to thought police the names of persons who have checked out those titles.

Not in Her name

Our daily sources of news, papers and TV, are now so craven, so unvigilant on behalf of the American people, so uninformative, that only in books can we find out what is really going on. I will cite an example: House of Bush, House of Saud by Craig Unger, published near the start of this humiliating, shameful blood-soaked year.

In case you haven’t noticed, and as a result of a shamelessly rigged election in Florida, in which thousands of African Americans were arbitrarily disenfranchised, we now present ourselves to the rest of the world as proud, grinning, jut-jawed, pitiless war lovers, with appallingly powerful weaponry and unopposed.

In case you haven’t noticed, we are now almost as feared and hated all over the world as the Nazis were.

With good reason.

[snip]

posted by Capitola @ 10:10:00 AM 1 comments

The WTF? Files

WackoFashion 

posted by Capitola @ 9:51:00 AM 0 comments

MSGOP

Heil to the Chief 

Does MSNBC think it's OK for its hosts to be campaigning for presidential candidates? If so, where is the pro-Kerry host on MSNBC's schedule that would balance out Scarborough's partisanship?

A leaked internal memo claimed that Donahue would present “a difficult public face for NBC in a time of war. He seems to delight in presenting guests who are anti-war, anti-Bush and skeptical of the administration’s motives.”

posted by Capitola @ 1:54:00 PM 0 comments

Gone But Not Forgotten

REUTERS/John Gress 

Portraits of U.S. soldiers who have died in Iraq are displayed in the windows of the Chicago Printmakers Collective, in Chicago, Illinois August 9, 2004. Although over 920 U.S. servicemen have died in Iraq since March 2003, the windows of the building only have room for 648 photographs.

posted by Capitola @ 11:01:00 AM 0 comments

Comb-over...wall-eyed...big smile

posted by Capitola @ 9:00:00 AM 0 comments

The Ugly American

Unlike his oft-derided counterpart of a few decades ago, The Ugly American, the new American abroad is trying to keep the head down, blend in and, above all, not bellow.

Americans interviewed in Athens on the eve of the Games say they are being peppered with lists of things not to do, like ‘‘Don’t wear baseball caps’’, ‘‘Don’t wear Hawaiian shirts’’, ‘‘Don’t be loud and obnoxious’’, ‘‘Don’t talk politics’’ and, if you do, ‘‘Don’t disagree’’.

‘‘Don’t be an ugly American — that is the message we are getting’’, said college graduate Maggie Haskins, who is in Athens to work as an intern with NBC.

[snip]

One joke making the rounds here has President Bush going to the Olympics and being shown the Acropolis. Looking at one of the world’s most famous ruins, the President grits his teeth and says, ‘‘Don’t worry we’ll get the bastards who did this.’’

That, says Haskins, 22, is the problem. ‘‘It is sad how one man can dictate how you are viewed. I feel like I have to apologise and say all Americans are not like that.’’

posted by Capitola @ 3:35:00 PM 0 comments

Shutter Bugs Unite!

With the Republicans about to invade NYC (they're the puffy-looking white people with the bad haircuts...yeah, those guys) I was thinking that, with your help, we can help publicize all the good things that the delegates will be doing when they come to the Big Apple. More specifically, I guess, we're really looking for who they're doing.

If you're a New Yorker with a digital camera or a phone camera and better than average run-away speed, we'd love to see any pictures you might have of Republican delegates as they visit the big city...or massage parlors...or hotel lobbies with women who may not be their wives (Handy Tip: If she's attractive and isn't wearing a red white and blue elephant pin, she's probably not Mrs. Delegate from Possum Holler). Details (who and where) would be appreciated. If you've got pictures...we want 'em. If you want credit...you got it. Extra credit for shots in front of strip clubs. Extra extra credit if you catch a pundit. Extra extra extra credit if you catch Rick Santorum going into a pet store. Extra extra extra extra credit if you catch him coming out with Ann Coulter.

All we ask is that you be careful. We don't have a lot of readers and we want to keep the ones we have. And you should ask yourself:

Is this wrong? Is it unethical? Am I playing God with someone's life?

Then take a look around at what has happened in this country in the last four years.

posted by Capitola @ 11:27:00 AM 0 comments

Loose Lips

"I respectfully request an explanation to me and any other member of Congress who might wish one of who leaked this Mr. Khan's name, for what reason it was leaked, and whether ... reports that this leak compromised future intelligence activity are accurate."

Sinks Ships 

It is not clear who was the first to disclose Khan's name, but his unmasking has received criticism on both sides of the political spectrum.

Blitzer then revealed that he had discussed the Khan case with US National Security Adviser Condaleeza Rice on background. He reported that she had admitted that the Bush administration had in fact revealed Khan's name to the press.

posted by Capitola @ 10:17:00 AM 2 comments

Fade to Blue

Crowd Pleasers 

This was one of the largest rallies of this campaign and pictures simply will not do it justice.

Kerry arrived at the Flagstaff event about 10:40 p.m., stopping to give high-fives to people crowded against the barricades.

Kerry was riding the 16-car train that he boarded in St. Louis. The train includes a car used by former President Harry Truman during his 1948 whistle-stop campaign for the presidency. Kerry was originally supposed to slow down to wave at supporters in Winslow, but with a huge crowd at the train station, he decided to make a brief stop. Kerry said he saw a sign that read, “Give us eight minutes and we'll give you eight years.”

“Just for an insurance policy, I gave them 15 or 20,” he said.

posted by Capitola @ 9:14:00 AM 0 comments

Whatchu smilin' at, bub?

Barb and Jen...the early years? 

sunglasses and hair slanting across the eyes -- because they may confuse security cameras used to scan faces and verify the passport is authentic.

posted by Capitola @ 2:28:00 PM 1 comments

Honesty Best Policy

posted by Capitola @ 10:55:00 AM 0 comments

Class vs. Crass

"Four more years," chanted dozens of backers of President Bush as the Democratic ticket emerged from their train late on Thursday and waved to hundreds of supporters.

"Flush the Johns," one man shouted.

"I just want to say to those folks who don't want to hear from us: My children are on this train. Show them some good Missouri manners."

Real Family Values 

posted by Capitola @ 8:38:00 AM 0 comments

Feeling Snarky

Why is there hair on my banana?* 

posted by Capitola @ 10:28:00 AM 0 comments

We don' need no stinkin' permits!

"We're going to be taking back what belongs to us," said Eric Laursen, one of the organizers involved with A31, a coalition of activists who've spent months planning protests without permits.

Police may call them illegal, but the protests are acts of civil disobedience, organizers say.

The constitution "doesn't say you have freedom of assembly if the police want you [there]," said activist David Graeber. "In Nazi Germany, you had freedom of assembly if the police wanted you to."

posted by Capitola @ 9:34:00 AM 0 comments

Shit

Photo: Reuters 

NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - Followers of rebel cleric Moqtada al-Sadr shot down a U.S. helicopter on Thursday in the Iraqi city of Najaf and two were killed by British troops in Basra in clashes that threatened to reignite a Shi'ite uprising.

posted by Capitola @ 8:40:00 AM 0 comments

The WTF? Files

Blue skies, nothing but blue skies... 

posted by Capitola @ 3:53:00 PM 0 comments

Democracy in Chains

EveryTown, USA 

The phrase "this is what democracy looks like" changed meaning as the protest of President Bush's appearance in Springfield unfolded. Initially, the phrase described the thousands of people lined up with tickets, waiting to enter the field house, being reminded not all people in southwest Missouri thought this president deserved four more years of leadership that had launched wars resulting in thousands dead and tens of thousands wounded, a national debt increasing at $1.69 billion a day, and an atmosphere of secrecy in America.

The Secret Service told protesters where to gather; the location was excellent. Democracy was working: People were exercising their right to assemble while others exercised their right to protest.

But when police told protesters they had to move about 200 feet away, while the people supporting Bush remained in place, the atmosphere grew tense. When protesters complained to local police, they replied, "We're just following orders." Then the protesters called the media: It was time for citizens to know how democracy was working in Springfield, as protesters had been herded into a "free speech zone."

When gatekeepers announced final seating for those with tickets, protesters with tickets tried to get in, but their tickets were grabbed and torn up, and police threatened them with arrest if they argued back. One woman screamed, "You're tearing up my ticket," and hit back at the man when he started shoving her with his chest, trying to shut her up. The police arrested the woman. Two other people were "taken down": a young girl who could not back up fast enough because there were so many people behind her and a man who is charged with trespassing because he was standing on property his own tax dollars partially funded.

All this, while the Bush supporters passed by, granted access to the president of us all because they would shout his praises at the appropriate moments.

When "this is what democracy looks like" arose from the protesters this time, it had an ominous tone. People were being taken down, and the picture was not pretty.

posted by Capitola @ 3:14:00 PM 0 comments

Hall of Shame

At no worse time in America’s history could we have been cursed with such failure, ineptitude and incompetence at leadership as we presently find ourselves infected with. The failure where the buck is supposed to stop has been monumental, deserving of an old worn down and rusted placard gracing a Hall of Shame adorned by the worst men ever to carry the purple robe of power. To this undistinguished group we therefore include the name George W. Bush, forty-third President of the United States of America, anointed by the Almighty, appointed by fraud, chosen by brand name, purveyor of cronyism and corruption, enemy of the common man and best friend to corporate interests and the elite that own them.

This Hall is reserved for those so-called leaders that throughout history preempt humanity, sending us spiraling backwards in time and into realms of most ominous circumstances. Endowed with faculties devoid of intelligence, analytical investigation, wisdom, morals, compassion, virtue, honor, integrity and possessing an indelible ability to turn eras of gold into periods of feces, these men have historically almost single-handedly done their best to ruin human progress and civilization. In spite of these miscreants, we have managed to survive, yet not thanks to those who by whatever wave of the magic wand find themselves perched at the top of society’s hierarchical pyramid.

The latest candidate to the Hall of Shame is our very own buffoon-in-chief, a man who through the careless alignment of the stars and planets collided with the horror of 9/11. It does not take a rocket scientist to realize, through ordinary observation, the limited capacity and painful psychiatric dilemmas of the person residing in the White House. Those of us who do discern the reality of this troubled, incoherent and mentally-weak individual cringe at the realization that the world has been living the last three and a half years under the shadow of this less than able person. At no time in America’s history has a man been so unqualified for the job of “most powerful person in the world” as has good old 43

posted by Capitola @ 1:39:00 PM 0 comments

Word!

In particular, Dean seized on reports that the new terror alerts were partly based on old information gleaned from an Al Qaeda operative captured last month and on computer files that indicated the terrorist group was casing US financial sector buildings before the Sept. 11 attacks.

"If this information was three years old, and if this Al Qaeda operative, the most recent capture, was on July 13, that means that this administration knew about this at least three weeks ago, that the information was three years old, that they could have chosen any date they wanted to reveal this to the public," Dean said on MSNBC. "Isn't it unusual they might choose two days after the Democratic National Convention, when John Kerry was in the middle of his bounce?"

posted by Capitola @ 11:49:00 AM 0 comments

Got Your Peace On?

It's up to US, New York, New Yorrrrrrk!

They expect to make their debut by swarming Times Square as thousands of Republicans arrive for a glamorous night of Broadway shows on the eve of the convention. A loose council of protesters will call for mass civil disobedience on Aug. 31, the second day of the convention, and activists expect to target GOP events with sit-ins and street theater.

[snip]

These activists, many of whom are veteran protesters championing an array of causes, want to seize the rare chance to communicate their anti-Bush message through the world media in town for the convention.

Organizers advise protesters not to wear masks, which are illegal at New York City protests, and to find alternatives to all-black clothing. Khaki is less intimidating, one group suggests. It will also let them blend in.

"They won't know who to arrest or pepper-spray just by looking," a Web site says. "Plus, the crowd will look much more like the average American instead of a marginalized gang of malcontents -- not that there's anything wrong with that."

posted by Capitola @ 2:11:00 PM 1 comments

When Lying Liars Lie

If desperation is ugly, then Washington, D.C. today is downright hideous.

Bushferatu

There was “no credible evidence” of a collaborative relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda.

They knew Iraq posed no nuclear threat.

They knew the aluminum tubes were not for nuclear weapons.

They knew the Iraq-uranium claims were not supported.

They knew there was no hard evidence of chemical or biological weapons.

They knew there was no Prague meeting.

Conclusion: They knew they were misleading America.

posted by Capitola @ 9:30:00 AM 2 comments

Coming Soon? Probably.

Surprise, surprise

posted by Capitola @ 1:38:00 PM 0 comments