And Yet ANOTHER Bush Speech... ZZZZzzzz

Once again, blah, blah, blah...

The only thing notable about today's speech at Bolling Air Force Base was his failure to note that 2,000 U.S. troops have now been killed in the Iraq War.

"We will not rest or tire until the war on terror is won ..." Bush said.

Bush's speech came as two more U.S. troops were killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq, bringing to 2,000 the number of U.S. troops killed in the country. Bush made no mention of the deaths, an oversight that drew immediate criticism from Democrats.

"Sadly, in delivering yet another speech about the war in Iraq that lacked a clear plan for victory, President Bush failed to mention the tragic milestone we mark today," Democratic Chairman Howard Dean said in a statement.

UPI article...

Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks
(1913-2005)

* * * * *

Democracy Now! has posted a rare 1956 interview with Rosa Parks during the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Perusing the Blogosphere

This made me laugh. A comment on a comment at The Talent Show blog:

dweb,

ONE of the worst presidents ever?

I guess the Pacific Ocean must be ONE of the biggest oceans around; Jupiter must be ONE of the biggest planets; Hydrogen must be ONE of the lightest elements, etc etc

Just gettin' on your case a little bit (smiley)...

Now, once again, didn't you mean bushie is absolutely, positively, the WORST president ever, as in ALL TIME WORST??
posted by: nikto at October 20, 2005 04:24 P

For the curious among us, myself included, here's an article on presidential ranking surveys from the last 50+ years conducted chiefly among historians and political scientists. In the most recent survey (Siena Research Institute, 2002) W was ranked 23rd out of the 43 presidents. And this was before most of the shit hit the fan. (Clinton was ranked 18th, Daddy Bush 22nd, Reagan 16th. FDR 1st, Lincoln 2nd.) More personal thoughts on this later.

Arnold's Campaign Pulls TV Ad

Arnold's special election campaign is withdrawing a TV ad featuring the governor that has been running for the last month. From AP:

The move Saturday to drop Schwarzenegger from the airwaves came at a critical time - just 17 days before the Nov. 8 election.

His campaign dismissed the notion that the ad - the only one featuring the governor - was pulled because of Schwarzenegger's falling approval ratings. Instead, they said TV ads are being rotated as part of a plan to educate voters about specific ballot measures. (emphasis added)

Still, some observers said Schwarzenegger's ability to sell his ballot agenda might be limited because polls show he has the approval of only about 35 percent of voters.

Complete story...

Maybe because he's an arrogant liar too...

Every Breath He Takes, Every Move He Makes

Let's hear it for Ventura and San Fernando Valley grassroots activists who greeted W at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley.


The following email is from California Democratic Party staffer Todd Warden, who bedevils the governor as True Liar Arnold:

That is RD 13 Director John Heaner... in the Cheney mask and jail bird outfit (which he brought on his own, without my request)

Preminger and Rivera might have to practice their acting skills after they see the interview John did on KTLA (Nixon style)

Outstanding work and lots of free media today....KTLA, AP, KNBC, KBS, Ventura Star....and the bus holding the national press corps stopped at our light for a few minutes (they happened to have cameras in their laps)

Ventura/SF Valley Dems deserve our thanks and praise

Pictured: Michael Jay as W, John Heaner as Big Time Dick and Jim Kennedy as Scooter Libby with his Libby Scooter. Thanks guys, and to all the other protesters!

Fitzgerald Gives Birth To a Website

Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald put up a new website today... Something big is going down in the next few days. Speculation is getting hotter and heavier. And W's Chief of Staff Andrew Card canceled his appearance at a GOP fundraiser to be with his president this weekend at Camp David.... Staffing changes in the offing?

I See a Similarity....

Tom Delay and... Hockey hall-of-famer Denis Potvin

Hope For Our Future

Yesterday AfterDowningStreet.org reported on high school newspaper ad stirring up controversy:

"If creating a buzz is rule No. 1 in advertising, then an anonymous Warwick Valley High School sophomore has a bright future.

Set on a backdrop of neat rows of tombstones, a full-page ad in October's The Survey, Warwick Valley High School's monthly student-run newspaper, reads:

'You can't be all that you can be if you're dead. There are other ways to serve your country. There are other ways to get money for college. There are other ways to be all you can be. THINK ABOUT IT. Before you sign your life away.'

The ad was created and paid for by a Warwick student who is a member of the Bruderhof community, a Christian-based communal order in Sugar Loaf that preaches pacifism. And since appearing last week, the ad has sparked controversy in the school district and the community and provoked lively First Amendment debates among students and teachers in the classroom."

Whenever I start questioning the direction of today's youth (which I find myself doing more often as I tentatively shake hands with my upcoming forties - must be a requirement of getting older), I'll just reread that article over and over.

Nicely done, Warwick student. Very nicely done.

ACTION ALERT: Protest Bush at Raygun Presidential Library on October 21

An action alert, for all Southern Californians interested:

Ventura County Grassroots and the Ventura County Democrats are preparing a warm welcome for Dubya at Ronald Reagan Presidential Library!!!

We don't want to hog all the hospitality, so we're inviting ALL our friends to join us.

How often do you get a chance to yell at W and make the Right Wing Nuts of Simi Valley uncomfortable at the same time?

We know they usually bring INdignataries in about 1/2 an hour early, so we're going to be set up at 10:30 AM on the corner of Madera and at Wood Ranch Parkway in Simi Valley, CA.

Please help us get the word out and come and join the fun!

Anti Bush Rally Directions and Parking - Please NOTE: The Secret Service and Police are known to change signals and block other streets and venues to “protect the president” or squelch our first amendment rights, your choice. WE MUST ALL be flexible and adapt to changing circumstances.

THIS IS INTENDED AS A PEACEFUL, LAWFUL ASSEMBLY.

Because it is expected the Secret Service and Simi PD will close Olsen/Madera at the 23, continue North to Tierra Rejada, head East, turn right (South) on Madera. Continue to Country Club or Wood Ranch Road and turn into the residential area located there. There should be no limitations on street parking, so park anywhere you want, and walk right down to the rally corner.

MORE: To help Freewayblog W's Arrival Please Email Brian at: brian.mack@venturacountygrassroots.org Join the fun!!!

Let's give W a California welcome!!!

For More Information, Contact:
Chris Robson
chris.robson@verizon.net

Unfortunately I will not be able to make it, as I'll be in San Diego attending JournalCon 2005, but I hope y'all can do so - let's keep sending messages to Bush and his cronies until he finally gets one!

Fitzgerald Asks Cheney's Office to the Investigation Dance

The Washington Post and MSNBC report that Vice President Cheney’s office is focus in leak case:

As the investigation into the leak of a CIA agent's name hurtles to an apparent conclusion, special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald has zeroed in on the role of Vice President Cheney's office, according to lawyers familiar with the case and government officials. The prosecutor has assembled evidence that shows Cheney's long-running feud with the CIA contributed to the unmasking of operative Valerie Plame.

With the current investigation focusing on Scooter Libby, the chances are good that, should this end up in Cheney's lap, he'll just say he personally had nothing to do with it. But I sincerely doubt that anything happens amongst the staff of Dead-Eyes Dick that he is not fully behind, or at the very least, privy to.

There's been talk of impeaching Bush, which is something I heartily support. But if we take Bush out of office, Cheney will step up to the plate, which is something I most definitely don't support. We've got to get him - and Rove - out at the same time. Let's hope their obvious complicity in the Valerie Plame case is the thing to do it.

Go Grannies, Go Grannies, GO GRANNIES, GO!!!

From AP:

NEW YORK - Eighteen antiwar grandmothers were arrested and face disorderly conduct charges after they showed up at a military recruiting center in Times Square and said they wanted to enlist, a protest group said.

Police arrested the women, ranging in age from 49 to 90, after they sat down Monday in front of the recruiting station to protest the war in Iraq, police said.

When the women, including Marie Runyon, who is 90 and blind, tried to enter the station, they found it locked, said Joan Wile, 74, director of Grandmothers against the War.

"We tried to ring the bell at the booth, but no one answered," Wile said. "I saw a head poke up from behind the counter every once in a while and then duck back down. I don't know what they were afraid of. Maybe they don't know how to deal with a bunch of grannies."

Grandmothers against the War joined the New York City Raging Grannies and the Gray Panthers to form a coalition called the Anti-War Grandmothers, which organized the protest. The group said about 100 people attended.

Walter Cronkite - Idea for Democrats: Midterm Convention

In New York Times' Letters to the Editor (Friday, October 14, 2005), the inestimable Walter Cronkite has an idea for the Dems, if they want to achieve a 2006 Congressional victory:

Idea for Democrats: Midterm Convention

To the Editor:
Re "Democrats See Dream of '06 Victory Taking Form" (front page, Oct. 13):

The key to a Democratic success in next year's Congressional election is clearly in the party leadership's coming up with a campaign that does not concentrate on the Bush administration's failures but offers alternative programs to fix what it believes is wrong with the Republican agenda.

A suggestion by which the Democratic Party could command the greatest public attention for its positive agenda: It could within weeks call an extraordinary midterm convention to draw up its platform.

The convention would not need to be expensive. The delegates could be those who attended the 2004 convention. Their meeting would be open to the public and of course the press.

In sharp contrast to the secrecy of the Bush administration, it would let the public, if only remotely, share in the construction of the Democratic platform.

Although local issues might cause some candidates in next year's Congressional election to veer from the platform on comparatively minor issues, the basic principles of the party would be clearly apparent.

The voting population would for the first time in many years have an unobstructed view of those principles that differentiate the Democratic Party from those of the Republican Party.

Walter Cronkite
New York, Oct. 13, 2005

I like the cut of your jib, Walter. And that's the way it is.

(Tip o' the hat to Michael Jay for this bit o' news.)

Grand Jury Loves Rove, Brings Him Back for Fourth Appearance

Federal grand jury investigation into the Valerie Plame leak case continued apace yesterday as Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald asked Bush's Best Brain Karl Rove back for a fourth appearance. Question, though. If Rove's lawyer Luskin is right and Rove is not a target of the investigation, then why'd they ask him back for Friday's encore? Turns out Rove was a bad boy and kinda forgot to tell the grand jury a little sumpin':

"Newsweek reports investigators have found an e-mail confirming a meeting between Cooper and Rove, President Bush's top political adviser.

Rove failed to disclose the meeting both during a 2003 FBI interview and during his first appearance before a federal grand jury investigating the leak to the press of the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame."

Careful there, Turd Blossom. That sort of "accidental omission" treads awfully close to contempt. Something you and your big Washington friends are all too familiar with, I wager.

Must be contagious, because I'm feeling a little contempt myself. Whadya know...

We Have More Work Ahead Of Us Than We Thought

In tonight's "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire" this question was deemed to be worth $16,000:

The 2004 presidential election came down to who would win what swing state's 20 electoral votes?
(A) Iowa
(B) Ohio
(C) Florida
(D) Pennsylvania

At least the contestant picked the correct answer quickly.

Dem Victory in Aught-Six?

Today's New York Times reports that there may be dreams of '06 Congressional victories dancing in Dems' heads:

"A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, released Wednesday night, showed that 13 months before the midterm election, 48 percent said they wanted a Democratic-led Congress, compared to 39 percent who preferred Republican control.

But for Democrats to step into the void, many strategists and elected officials say, they must offer more than a blistering critique of the Republicans in power, the regular attacks on what Democrats now describe as a 'culture of cronyism and corruption.' "

And therein lies the challenge. Democratic politicians cannot rely on the current American displeasure with Bush and Co. to carry seats in next year's Congressional elections. Now is the time to craft a message that will show real change from 'business as usual" - Daily Kos reported on Tuesday an article that appeared in the subscription-only Roll Call regarding the Democrat version of "Contract with America";

"Seeing an opening to reach voters while Republicans are beset by turmoil, House Democrats are privately planning to accelerate the timing of the release of their platform and the major policies they will promote on the campaign trail next year.

Key Democratic sources say Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other House leaders are putting the finishing touches on what arguably will be Democrats most detailed "positive" election-year agenda since the party lost power more than a decade ago. Pelosi has been coordinating with Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), key Democratic strategists, advisers and outside interest groups on the policy platform as well as the party's broader 2006 message."

It's gotta happen, my friends. Let's do what we can to make it so. And make sure our representatives do the same.

"Separated at Birth?" The Geography Edition

Where are we effectively at war?
(a) Haiti
(b) Kyrgyzstan (Check out this scary story at Crooks & Liars)

(OK, I know I misspelled Kyrgyzstan on the graphic.)

(c) West Virginia
(d) Afghanistan
(e) All of the above
(f) Don't get me started...

Aquecer-se Global

That's Portuguese for global warming.

A friend, who's a bigwig in the Sierra Club, just turned me on to this obscured story:

Do you remember hearing about Hurricane Catarina? No, not Hurricane Katrina, which slammed into the Gulf Coast this past September. Hurricane Catarina (also known as Aldonca), which formed in the South Atlantic and hit land south of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in March, 2004.

"So what?" you say, despite your unexpressed, but obvious concern for the people affected.

Turns out that this relatively mild -- by "our" recent standards, that is -- Category 1 storm (with winds estimated at 85 mph and which damaged 30,000 homes, killed at least 3 and injured at least 38) was the first South Atlantic cyclone ever recorded to reach hurricane-strength winds and hit land. Further, it was one of only three South Atlantic cyclones to have ever been recorded by weather satellites. (Two were in 2004.)

There once was a time that meteorologists thought that South Atlantic cyclones were an impossibility. Guess they were wrong.

Can you say "aquecer-se global?"

Wikipedia, for more on Catarina and South Atlantic cyclones.


Satellite image and storm track off Brazilian coast

Polling Americans: Impeach Bush If He Lied

According to a poll commissioned by AfterDowningStreet.org and conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs - the highly-regarded non-partisan polling company - approximately 50% of Americans want Congress to consider impeaching President Bush if he lied about the war in Iraq:

"The results of this poll are truly astonishing," said AfterDowningStreet.org co-founder Bob Fertik. "Bush's record-low approval ratings tell just half of the story, which is how much Americans oppose Bush's policies on Iraq and other issues. But this poll tells the other half of the story - that a solid plurality of Americans want Congress to consider removing Bush from the White House."

It warms the cockles of a poor Progressive girl's heart, I tell ya what.

Note to Election: You're Special!!

Daily Kos posted yesterday on John McCain's California vist to shill for Schwarzenegger at a hand-selected "town hall meeting." And then McCain dissed Arnold:

Sen. John McCain joined Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday to promote the California governor's November ballot initiatives, but afterward chided his carefully staged campaign events. (emphasis added)

The Arizona Republican senator appeared with the governor before a crowd of about 150 invited women, who cheered wildly when Schwarzenegger arrived and frequently applauded as he touted the benefits of California initiatives on budget reform, teachers, and redistricting.

As at many of Schwarzenegger's campaign events, outsiders were not allowed to attend what the governor's office called a "town hall meeting" (emphasis added)
.
.
At a subsequent news conference, McCain... said he had always favored town hall meetings open to the public...

"The benefit of an open town hall meeting is one that you get to hear a lot of different views, and two it has credibility," said McCain.

Full post...

Also, check the post for links to "NIX THE SIX" web banners at LAVoice.org (Sample:)

Yet Another Bush Speech...... ZZZzzzzzzzzz

Blah, blah, blah...... the president's speech this morning at the National Endowment For Democracy had the same old "applause lines", with few exceptions:

In this new century, freedom is once again assaulted by enemies determined to roll back generations of democratic progress. Once again, we're responding to a global campaign of fear with a global campaign of freedom. (emphasis added)
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Al Qaeda's leader, Osama bin Laden, has called on Muslims to dedicate, quote, their "resources, sons and money to driving the infidels out of their lands." (emphasis added)
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Second, the militant network wants to use the vacuum created by an American retreat to gain control of a country, a base from which to launch attacks and conduct their war against non-radical Muslim governments. (emphasis added)
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Some call this evil Islamic radicalism; others, militant Jihadism; still others, Islamo-fascism. Whatever it's called, this ideology is very different from the religion of Islam.
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Defeating the militant network is difficult, because it thrives, like a parasite, on the suffering and frustration of others. The radicals exploit local conflicts to build a culture of victimization, in which someone else is always to blame and violence is always the solution. They exploit resentful and disillusioned young men and women, recruiting them through radical mosques as the pawns of terror. (emphasis added)
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Like the ideology of communism, our new enemy teaches that innocent individuals can be sacrificed to serve a political vision. And this explains their cold-blooded contempt for human life. (emphasis added)

I can go on and on.....

But doesn't it sound like he's talking more about himself, his administration, and the Christian and Republican extremists in this country, rather than about bin Laden and terrorism?