North Georgia Dogma

2002-12-05T20:31:00.000-05:00

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2002-11-21T19:20:00.000-05:00

Making the move

New digs! NGD is now housed at http://www.rjwest.com/mt/

2002-11-20T18:33:00.000-05:00

Un-freaking-believable

No doubt, you've also heard the news or read it across the crawl on the screen: the latest study praising the Atkins diet and its positive health benefits.

I guess everything's fine except for one teensy weensy problem.

The study was paid for by the Robert C. Atkins foundation in New York City

That anyone treated this as news is yet another smear on the profession of journalism. Remember that the next time some news site/source reports something that seems strange.

2002-11-20T18:00:00.000-05:00

Finish what ya started

He's at it again. Josh Marshall begins by doing something I've done here on occasion, ridiculing Tucker Carlson:

Marshall: Not that I want to bash Tucker Carlson. But can you read the following exchange from Tuesday night's Crossfire and not think Tucker's antics are silly and grade-schoolish? Even for Crossfire?

CARLSON: Now I noticed that Al Gore, people say he's changed a little bit. I've noticed a change. I didn't understand it until I read Time Magazine this week, a long interview with Mr. Gore in there with Karen Tumeltee (ph).

Here's the explanation. I'm quoting now. "Both Tipper and I have meditated for quite a while."

Tell me more about that.

KIKI MCLEAN: It means he actually stops to think about what happened...

CARLSON: No, no, truly.

MCLEAN: ... and think about what he says.

BEGALA: Oh...

CARLSON: Is it -- I know, but you worked for him.

MCLEAN: It is, Tucker?

CARLSON: But no, no, hold on. This is a fair question. Is it Lotus position, incense...

MCLEAN: Tucker, Tucker...

CARLSON: What does he mean by that?

MCLEAN: Do you ever say a prayer? Do you ever give a thought to something you did during the day?

CARLSON: I do. I'm talking about meditation, and that's distinct from prayer. He said, "We meditate, we pray."

MCLEAN: I am willing to bet...

CARLSON: What's the meditation?

MCLEAN: I'm willing to bet, if you asked your pastor, if you asked a rabbi, if you asked a priest...

CARLSON: We're not talking about a pastor. We're talking about Al Gore.

MCLEAN: They'll tell you that prayer and contemplation is meditation.

CARLSON: It is Lotus position?

Marshall: Okay, maybe Junior High ...

Good point, Carlson's a dweeb. Too bad Marshall left off the very next sentence, put forth by his fellow lefty* Paul Begala:

Nobody has ever accused George W. Bush of thoughtful meditation...

If that's not below junior high, at best it's the lowest grade therein (taking into account that girls are more mature at that age).

*(suck on it, Tapped, you're a bunch of leftists & I refuse to bastardize the word 'liberal' to fit your emotional needs, you pissed away your lock on that word long ago)

2002-11-20T17:58:00.000-05:00

Gee, where have I heard this?

Stephen Braden, professor of public speaking at Georgia State University, restates the overall theme of this site, Zell Miller for the last year, and countless people around the country.

If Democrats repair their image, then they need to focus on some policy issues. The strategy of hurling ad hominem attacks and left-wing invectives does not seem to be working. The policy agenda seems to be race-baiting, obstructionism and fear-mongering. As an example, everyone in this country knows that Social Security needs to be reformed, and no one believes that the GOP wants to starve older Americans. Have Democrats nothing new?
If the party cannot construct a cogent, consistent platform that is more than class-warfare, asset-redistribution and fear, then it may truly be lost.

Of course, the crowd that was aghast at the advice given after Walter Mondale's Dance Party (otherwise known as Paul Wellstone's memorial service) - advice being that it was a huge mistake to politicize such a tragedy & that immediate condemnation of the overall premise of the attitude therein and an immediate apology - will treat this as more sacrilege and demand that the party simply didn't go far enough in the stated actions, so as to differentiate themselves from the GOP.

2002-11-19T06:17:00.000-05:00

"Free day"

I'm a health nut & my diet (the classical definition, not 'starving yourself') is one that includes 6 meals per day - all healthy. However, today I encourage everyone to eat the crappy food at McDonald's, as they'll donate money to a good cause from each purchase.

On November 20, 2002, a visit to McDonald's will bring extra value to the lives of millions of children in need around the world. That's the day participating McDonald's restaurants in more than 100 countries will unite together for a history-making fundraising initiative called World Children's Day™, benefiting Ronald McDonald House Charities® (RMHC®) and important local children's causes.

While specific fundraising programs vary by country, McDonald's® restaurants share a single goal: to join with customers in a global effort that will make a difference for children in their communities and around the world.

"The value of World Children's Day goes far beyond the millions of dollars that will be raised to help children," said McDonald's Chairman and CEO Jack Greenberg. "It brings the world's attention to the ever increasing needs of children, and the role we must all play in a ffecting positive change."

McDonald's has a rich heritage and tradition of being a good community partner and neighbor, and World Children's Day exemplifies the philanthropic spirit of McDonald's founder, Ray Kroc, who believed in giving back to the communities McDonald's serves. This year would be Ray Kroc's 100th birthday.

If you want the gov't to stop being the primary venue for mandating that you have your property confiscated under the name of helping the poor & instead want local charities & churches to be the first option - with the safety net being there when nothing else is - here's your chance to put your money where your mouth is.

2002-11-19T05:55:00.000-05:00

JFK

Safire comments on the latest news surrounding his level of sickness. I must admit, while other folks were checking out Encyclopedia Brown books in the library in the 4th grade, I was reading up on JFK & his assassination. I have no idea why a 10 year old would be interested in a President who died 4 years before he was born, but if anyone's that warped - you guessed it, it's surely me. Why I know the names "Mark Lane" and "Cyril Wecht" from memory scares ME, too (besides my wife).

Like a lot of people, I saw Oliver Stone's movie on the subject & like most, I thought Stone was a conspiratorial crank. However, based on the numerous books I've read on the subject (not a few are completely 'out there' & are simply folks trying to make a buck off his death by making outlandish claims), I simply cannot fathom how anyone would accept the official governmental version of the assassination. Perhaps that's when I first came to distrust the government (which is a good thing, btw), but the single bullet theory is about as ridiculous as it gets, IMO.

The famous "back and to the left, back and to the left" scene from the JFK movie is easily the most damning evidence against the single bullet theory (which was first manufactured by Arlen Specter, btw), and the government's best explanation is muscle reflection in the opposite direction? Sorry, I don't buy it. Even though much of the rest of the movie is forgettable, the Zapruder film finally being shown to a large number of people illustrated how the government's 'investigation' was for the most part a sham.

Make no mistake, Oswald was more than just a 'patsy' and definitely shot JFK. The much discussed photo of him holding the gun, which theorists say was a doctored photo, was authentic & confirmed by Oswald's wife. If nothing else, Oswald shooting officer Tippet (why do I remember these names? Curses!) would be a red-flag that he was more than an innocent bystander. However, I've read too many accounts of witnesses who stated that the Warren Commission changed their testimonies and/or coerced them to say something different, and way too many people who immediately heard shots from the grassy knoll to ignore that as a point of where another shooter killed the president.

Why was he killed? I haven't a clue, but there's not a single cell in my brain that thinks Lee Harvey Oswald took three, and only three, shots on 11/22/63. The last piece of tangible evidence was buried with John Connelly (another name I shouldn't recall) after his widow refused to have an autopsy compare the bullet fragments in his body with those from Oswald's gun.

Thus, we're left with jokes from Seinfeld to illustrate the absurdity at our 'official' governmental investigations into the assassination of our elected leader.

2002-11-19T05:54:00.000-05:00

Give 'em hell, Zell

Zell Miller hits yet another homer. Dunno where this guy was when he was governor, but I'm very glad he's my senator!

Why did the Democratic Party lose so badly?
It's simple. We didn't give people any real reason to vote for us and we gave them far too many reasons to vote against us. We set ourselves up to be taken down by a popular president who figured out a way to exploit both of those weaknesses.
Look at what the campaign became in its last week, played out live on the evening news. First, we saw President Bush, flying from state to state urging Congress to make his tax cut permanent and to create his homeland security department, and accusing Democrats of foot-dragging or outright opposition to both. Then we saw Bill Clinton and Al Gore, flying from state to state, urging the old Democratic base to get out and vote against Mr. Bush . . . or in the case of Florida, against two Bushes.
At a time when people are hurting, we Democrats some how managed to turn an election that should have been about making people's lives better into a grudge match between our aimless opposition and Mr. Bush's vision.
We lost the Senate, big. Why? To start with, we didn't get anything done. After all the noise in the 2000 presidential election, we still don't have a prescription-drug plan. More than a year after the terror of Sept. 11, we still don't have a Department of Homeland Security. Nearly two years into an economic downturn, we still don't have a clear economic agenda, and even when we're not opposing tax cuts outright, our party still doesn't have a clear position on tax relief.
It's hard to run on your record when you don't have a record. And it's hard to run on your vision when you don't have a vision.
All we got in the end was the blame.

----------------

America is the most tax-averse country on earth. Our own revolution started with people tossing tea off boats in Boston Harbor because of high taxes! Being a party that opposes tax cuts is not good politics, anywhere, any time. Like it or not, that's what we've become.
Instead of arguing that Mr. Bush's tax cut goes too far, we Democrats should be arguing that it doesn't go far enough. Middle-class families need more tax relief now as America faces an economic threat we haven't seen since the 1930s--the threat of deflation.
The Federal Reserve has already cut interest rates to the lowest levels in 40 years, and there's not much more it can do. This country needs a massive economic stimulus now, before we head down the road of falling prices, falling wages and falling home values. There is a way out and it works. Let's cut taxes for individuals and business even more, right now.

Right on, Zell.
However, right now, advice like that to your current party is akin to pissin' in the wind.

2002-11-19T05:53:00.000-05:00

Political Alzheimer's?

TAPPED sez:

Conservatives who defend Augusta should really tell us whether they think it's right -- forget legal -- for a large country club that hosts a major national sporting event to exclude women.

So, the law is secondary now, eh?

It just seems like yesterday that we were treated to Janet Reno telling us that no investigations were necessary into Bill Clinton & Al Gore's illegal fundraising schemes without 'specific and credible evidence' (interpreted as such by her, of course) and various lefties admonishing us that Clinton really didn't meet the necessary legal criteria for perjury in a court of law, but suddenly we 'conservatives who defend Augusta' according to the law should now follow our conscience & forego the law.

Funny, I don't recall too many leftists who attack Augusta asking Clinton to voluntarily resign.

However, I'll openly say that whatever Augusta wants to do is okay by me. It's called freedom of choice & freedom of association. I'm not supposed to care what adults consent to do, as long as it's legal, right? That's what YOU guys said throughout 1998, and suddenly you want to change course when it's - surprise! - politically advantageous.

On the other hand, maybe you folks have been drinking from the same champagne that Shannon Faulkner had the night before enrolling in the Citadel - only to drop out less than a week later. Thanks for another reminder of how much you want big brother into our lives, guys.

For a complete and total smack down on this subject, visit Steve Verdon's site right now.

2002-11-18T17:48:00.000-05:00

The pen is mightier

Since the election is now history, I'll slowly stop doing this so much, but I couldn't resist another edition of more letters to the AJC:

Sonny Perdue has been elected, so let the racism begin! It never ceases to amaze me how Georgians put so much value in a flag that portrays hate, oppression and one of the most horrific times in our country, but can ignore the fact that Georgia has the worst education system in the country, a major unemployment problem, a massive homeless population and a very high crime rate.

Southerners are quick to ridicule the media, Hollywood, etc., for portraying them as backwoods, illiterate, country bumpkins, yet they leave themselves open to just that kind of treatment when they elect officials who condone racism and ridicule of an entire race of people.

KATHY LAND, Mableton

Kathy Land is amazed that folks would vote out leaders of a state that has, in her own words - mind you, 'the worst education system in the country, a major unemployment problem, a massive homeless population and a very high crime rate.' Hey, they only had 130 years to straighten things out, but the racists weren't patient, eh? Personally, I'm amazed that Kathy Land decided to illustrate her ignorance and stupidity by sending a letter to the editor. Looks like knee-jerk bed-wetters aren't the sole propriety of the north.

Does anyone else see the double standard of many in the Republican Party? If the shoe were on the other foot, Republicans and their supporters would be crying foul if so many legislators decided to switch to the Democratic Party.

Now we have a new governor openly handing out gifts to those willing to tip the balance of power in his party's favor. Some are even calling his tactics "politics at its best." Why, then, were the past maneuverings of the Democrats so often labeled "politics at its worst?"

ADAM CAUSEY, Athens

Two words for Mr. Causey - Jim Jeffords

I don't see why anyone should have a problem with someone switching to a different political party after an election. If you aren't voting for the person, you are missing the whole point of the voting process.

In the recent election, I ended up voting for candidates who held my beliefs more than for a party affiliation. My votes went to all three of the parties, depending on the race and the person running. Whether that person changes parties after the election shouldn't change that person's positions on why he or she was elected.

TERRY MIXSON, Woodstock

Sorry, but folks must also take the party in to account. In a perfect world, party affiliation wouldn't matter, but when you have President Bush campaigning for various pols, with the main intention of having voters send his preferred candidates to D.C. in order for them to work with HIM should the GOP have the majority, it means more than just a vote for 'the person'.

Seeing President Bush's photo-ops at Arlington National Cemetery for Veterans Day reminded me of how Bill Clinton was vilified by conservative Republicans as a draft-dodger unfit to lay a wreath on a veteran's grave.

Hmmm. We all know that Bush weaseled out of Vietnam through the Texas Air National Guard and that Dick Cheney had other priorities. The latest chicken hawk to roost with this heroic group is Saxby Chambliss, who claimed a bad knee.

They wouldn't fight for the United States then, but they will send others to die for Exxon/Mobil, BP/Amoco, Texaco and Chevron now? The agenda, and the hypocrisy, are transparent.

JUDY JASCOMB, Acworth

Memo to Judy: Bill Clinton was vilified by conservative Republicans as a draft-dodger because he was a draft dodger. This is for all those mindless people out there: Clinton received a draft notice and lied in order to stay away from service. He was drafted. Learn to love it. That Judy Jascomb is the latest moron to castigate folks like Chambliss as 'chicken hawks' when a deferment means the military DID NOT WANT THEM at that time, whereas their hero Clinton was drafted. Chambliss didn't 'claim' a bad knee, the army gave him a physical and found him to be physically unfit to serve at that time. Tell us about hypocrisy, Judy Jascomb, as we laugh at your lack of lucidity.

I've long said that the GOP is the stoopid party, but lately I'm starting to wonder about the idiots on the left taking the mantle away as they make asses of themselves over the 'chicken hawk' thing. Should someone remind them they lost rather badly on 11/5?

Funniest letter of the week:

Here is a solution to the flag problem, and for that matter all political problems in the state. Because Georgia is practically two states -- metro Atlanta and the remainder of the state -- why not just let the liberal cesspool known as Atlanta keep flying King Roy's flag and secede while reinstating Milledgeville as the state capital for Georgia and fly either the pre-1956 or post-1956 flag?

"The Big Guy" (Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor) can be governor of the state of Atlanta, and Gov.-elect Sonny Perdue can be governor of the state of Georgia. That way, you socialites and you transplanted Yankees can have your politically correct state, free from anything that offends you.

ALEX BRETCH Statesboro

LOL! Of course, the outcome would be the 'outer' Georgia moving up the list of SAT scores, while the 'inner Georgia' would fall below Washington, D.C., into 52nd place.

2002-11-18T17:43:00.000-05:00

Minori-(D) Urban Legend Update

Keeping up with the distortions and excuses that have come from bloody-Tuesday.

In the Senate, the gnashing of teeth is the sound most heard. Democrats are gathered around the wheelchair of Max Cleland of Georgia, a triple amputee from Vietnam service who was turned out of office by a Republican draft-dodger -- C. Saxby Chambliss had four deferments for a trick knee -- who accused him of a want of patriotism. - Mary McGrory

2002-11-18T06:27:00.000-05:00

Michael Kinsley gets the 'climb down from the cross, we need the wood' award

Check out these quotes & see if you can get the point Kinsley is trying to make:

"Bush no doubt would find such logic-chopping tedious."
"A lack of intellectual vanity is one of his more appealing characteristics, though it sometimes smacks of aristocratic complacence. "
"(Thinking is for losers!) "
"He is not disconcerted, or probably even amused, at the thought of his administration defending an impossibly stupid policy premise on the basis of its own stupid impossibility."
"Huge reputations have been built around the comic premise that if you're of two minds about everything, you must be pretty brainy. Bush, it's true, cannot easily exploit this convention."
"Widely regarded as having at most one mind, he may find two a hard sell."

I remember Ma Richards and Al Gore underestimating Bush, as well. More recently, Terry McAuliffe.

Keep it up...

2002-11-17T12:36:00.000-05:00

Stick a fork in him

Single payer health care?

Let's go back in time...it's 1993, and the Democratic party has control/majority of:

The Presidency
The Senate
The House of Representatives
The sitting governors across the nation
The state legislative bodies across the nation

Now, fast forward to November, 2002. In between the period referenced above and today, the Democratic party has now lost control/majority of:

The Presidency
The Senate
The House of Representatives
The sitting governors across the nation (it's now a tie)
The state legislative bodies across the nation

What do you do with this information? Well, if you're Al Gore, you decide to go to the far LEFT as fast as you can!

Goodbye, Al.

2002-11-17T12:35:00.000-05:00

Spin

Today's entry of how the minori-D's are trying to spin the blood bath of 2002:

"...the reality is that after these elections there was no water shed event. The country is closely divided. The Congress is closely divided. Fifty-two percent of all Americans now live in a state where there is a Democratic governor."
- Rep. Bob Menendez (D-NJ)

And it was only two years ago that we were told that the red/blue map references to the square miles won by Bush were irrelevant!
Ya reckon California has something to do with that figure?

2002-11-15T07:13:00.000-05:00

Yet another great moment in public education (otherwise known as government schools)

It's November....my daughter began kindergarten at our nearby public school in August. Last year, she went to a private pre-k, but that was when I had my great paying job, before 9/11 took it from me, forcing me to take a huge pay cut, just one more reason for me to hate those motherf...er, sorry, back to the story....in less than two months our beloved educators have taken it upon themselves to have a second fundraiser for 'needed items' for the school. They waive the proverbial carrot in front of the kids by offering $300 in prizes for the top seller.

Now, I'm not going to complain about government schools right now on a personal level, as my kid is doing fantastic & the teacher is top-notch. However, I remember back in the 70's when I was in elementary school (lord, I'm old....) they used to do the same thing - mo' money, mo' money, mo' money. It was a perpetual fundraising machine and in my neighborhood it never stops - kids stopping by every two weeks selling me a $2 candy bar that I can get at the grocery store for 75 cents or a bucket of popcorn for $15 (which is almost cheaper than what I can get it at the movies, instead of sticking a bag in the microwave for a quarter).

Thus, I decided to give my wife a speech that was similar to the one I heard my father give my mother back in 1977:

"Tell Miss ______ that I said our job as parents are to have a well behaved child that learns what is presented to her - well, we're doing more by paying above-average property taxes and having a child that is extremely well behaved and easily the most intelligent one in the class, according to every test score thus far. Their job as a school is to educate. Julia's job as a student is to stay out of trouble and learn. Nowhere in that equation is there to be a section where you're supposed to drive Julia around town so she can be an inside salesperson, performing cold-calls & knocking on doors. Thus, Julia is to never bring another sales pamphlet home as there won't be a third fundraiser in this household."

If the schools need more money (and they always do, even when the computer lab has > 30 brand new PCs), perhaps a revisit to the $80K-$120K human resource managers in the administration of county school system could take a peek at where the taxpayer dollars are allocated, instead of looking to hire more $28K teachers, eh?

If you want uniforms for the cheerleaders, sell me some doughnuts. If a trip to football camp in South Carolina is planned, count me in for some candy. A field trip to the capitol? I'm in.

However, it's rather pathetic that they pimp kids in order to get even more cash for shinola that I'm already paying for via property taxes & a local sales tax.

Let's hope Governor-elect Perdue can address the situation of education & have the schools TEACHING children, instead of non-stop fundraisers & pathetic test scores.

2002-11-15T07:12:00.000-05:00

And now, a word from the winners

Referencing an earlier edition of letters to the AJC from the adolescent losers (read: whining donkeys), here's a couple of responses from the victors. Note the difference in tone from the childish 'chicken little' crowd, who felt shame towards anyone who didn't agree with them:

Enough whining and calling the electorate of Georgia ungrateful for not returning Max Cleland (D-Ga.) to the U.S. Senate.

For his sacrifice in the service of his country, he is entitled to our gratitude. He has mine. This does not, however, entitle him to a seat in the U.S. Senate. To continue to serve in the Senate, he must satisfy his constituents, which he obviously did not.

JAMES H. ADAMS, Alpharetta

Many recent letters have expressed the shame of losing Max Cleland as our senator simply because he is an honorable war hero, disabled veteran, etc. These writers are obviously missing the point of our election.

Few Georgians are not thankful for the devoted military service of Sen. Cleland. This was not, however, an election for greatest patriot. It was instead a vote to elect a senator who will go to Washington and speak the will of the average Georgian.

The success of Saxby Chambliss expresses simply the dissatisfaction that the majority of Georgians have felt with Cleland's voting record. As the voters demonstrated, Chambliss is the senator who best recognizes the sound goals of our fine state.

NANCYBETH HALEY CAPINEGRO, Woodstock

Conversely, here's a word from a current constituent of Cynthia McKinney, soon to be represented by Denise Majette

With the latest party switch by three Democrats, the Georgia Republican Party is surely now the party of the white man -- and the women who stand by them. In a way, it is hard to blame a conservative, white, male Democrat for changing to a party of his peers. After all, can anyone name a Georgia politician who is Republican and black? No one seems bothered by that.

RICHARD FUNDERBURKE, Decatur

For those of you who wondered how in the world someone could've ever vote for McKinney (or the AJC editorial staff, who endorsed her five times), the above give you just a short illustration into the mindset of the average McKinney voter and the attitude towards...well, the W-H-I-T-E-S.

At what point am I supposed to begin to listen to the Democrats & their ideas of how to make my state or the country better, in contrast with the Republicans (let's face it, the LP, GP & RP are powerless), instead of acting like a bunch of spoiled brats who didn't get their way?

2002-11-15T07:08:00.000-05:00

DOGMA FROM THE GUT

No data, no links, just yelling...

This is part of the reason "politics" (the entity) is so screwed up.
I know why the donkeys won't address the issue - unions
I know why the GOPers won't address the issue - embarrassment to the administration

What is it going to take for heads to f_____g roll at the INS?

Need I remind Bush/Ashcroft (that's where this goes, the INS reports to the AG, who reports to the Prez) that our wonderful employees at the INS allowed several hijackers into the country illegally? Need I remind anyone that the sniper (the teen & his mom) were illegal aliens?

Why hasn't anyone been fired? Not given a verbal warning, or 'written up' or transferred or demoted or whatever, but F-I-R-E-D?

I'm glad we're about to get the homeland security department & that the Prez won the battle over the union vs. the right thing (so long, Sen. Cleland). I'm glad Tom Ridge will finally be able to do something for the salary we're paying him. What I'd like to know is, besides why we havent @#%&ing addressed illegals getting across our borders, but why haven't we done anything about the obvious @#$& ups that have already taken place?

What is it going to take?

Another round of deaths? Will that do it? I thought 9/11 would begin the process, especially since O'Reilly has been on the topic for years - but, no. Nothing. I thought the discovery of the sniper's identity would at least get some suit in Seattle bounced for overruling the law and allowing those pissants to stay - but, no. Nothing.

Like most of the country, I support the president and his active role in maintaining the defense and protection of our country. But, I won't be satisfied until I read about the removal of at least some peon field agent, some clerk, some pencil pusher, some administrator, some supervisor, some attorney general....someone! Sitting on our asses, wondering who'll win 'the bachelor' & enjoying the poll numbers while not upsetting the various 'communities' instead of clamping down on illegals entering our nation is part of the reason the 9/11 hijackers were able to spend the late 90's and early '00s devising their plans to hit the 'infidels'.

Instead of giving bonuses and glowing reviews to the people who approved their entry, how about we @#%&ing fire them, okay?

I hate to break up the celebratory party from the election but I don't think that's not too much for me, just another taxpayer that gave your party votes in the historic turnaround in Georgia, to ask.

2002-11-14T21:13:00.000-05:00

Moronous Epitomous

The babies are still crying and our local embarrassment, Jay Bookman, is at it again. No, he's not opining about the administration trying to create a world empire, with Bush serving as grand-poobah a-la Lex Luthor...he's decided that he's figured out why Republicans ousted the donkeys after 130 years of rule.

You guessed it: redneck racism

Let's have a look-see, shall we?

It's the political version of "Who shot J.R?" Who gets credit for bringing down Roy Barnes? Was it teachers, whom Barnes angered by suggesting they were to blame for Georgia's abysmal schools? Was it white rural voters outraged when Barnes stripped the Confederate battle emblem from the state flag? Was it opponents of the controversial Northern Arc? Or did Barnes just fall prey to a general Republican surge in Georgia?
Sadly, the answer is the flag wavers. The numbers are incontrovertible.

Yup, all those Democrats who were ousted state-wide...it was the rednecks. The numbers are incontrovertible.

In his 1998 race for governor, Barnes carried the 10 counties in the Atlanta Regional Commission by 6.8 percentage points and the rest of the state by almost 10 points. In 2002, his margin in metro Atlanta increased to 7.7 points. His margin in other metro areas -- Savannah, Macon, Columbus and Augusta -- was also around 8 points. But in the rest of Georgia, Barnes lost this year by 15 points, an astounding 25-point decline from his performance just four years earlier.

Now, a statistician would note that the previous opponent, Guy Milner, had run three state-wide races in his career and was a three-time loser, thus causing Mr. Bookman's analysis to be what is called in the trade an "invalid sample" - much like saying that Bush 41 losing all those votes in '92 having nothing to do with the fact that Bill Clinton was a much better candidate against him than Dukakis - but this is Jay Bookman we're talking about. Apples are now equal to oranges. Remember, the numbers are incontrovertible.

It is hard, almost impossible, to attribute that decline to anything but anger at the flag change. A look at Zell Miller's two campaigns for governor confirms that analysis. In 1990, Miller carried the Atlanta metro area by just two-tenths of a percentage point, but won the rest of Georgia by 14 points. In 1994, after trying but failing to change the flag, Zell's margin here in the metro area increased to 4 points. But his 14-point margin in the rest of the state all but evaporated, making his victory very narrow.

Again, a competent statistician would note the differing samples, where Miller won his first election campaigning on not only keeping the flag but promising not to raise taxes, then raising every fee for any liscense/certification (sometimes by as much as 600%) & claiming to keep the promise since a fee isn't a tax. But, this is Jay Bookman we're talking about. Apples are now equal to railroad cars. Remember, the numbers are incontrovertible. De rednecks hated Zell (even though he's the most popular politician in state history).

Those numbers also illustrate the growing political disconnect between metro Atlanta and the rest of Georgia. As the rest of the state swings Republican, the 10-county metro Atlanta region is actually trending the other way. If the governor's race is a guide, Democratic candidates carried the metro area by 0.2 points in '90, 4 points in '94, 6.8 points in '98 and 7.7 points in 2002. Even Sen. Max Cleland carried the metro area in 2002.

Duh. The red/blue county map and endless commentary discussing them have detailed the growing chasm of rural vs. urban America. Is Mr. Bookman aware that just as many voters in John Linder's district will vote for anyone with an (R) next to their name, many metro-Atlanta voters will push the screen for only Democrats (even Cynthia McKinney)? The question should be how those on the losing end should garner the support of those who voted against them, but we're still in 'blame the voter' mode, it appears.

The main beneficiary of rural anger against Barnes was of course Gov.-elect Sonny Perdue. He and many other Republicans wooed those angry flag-supporters with a promise to hold a statewide referendum, and Confederate groups responded.

Notice how the voters of Georgia outside the city of Atlanta are now labeled 'confederate groups'.

Now, however, Perdue is backing away from his pledge as quietly as possible. The governor-elect has publicly thanked the teachers for their support and promised to reverse many of Barnes' education policies; his campaign chairman has also promised to set up a meeting with opponents of the Northern Arc, to celebrate their mutual victory over Barnes. But the flag? Well, let's just say that Perdue has yet to schedule an event with the Sons of Confederate Veterans. The truth is -- and Perdue knows it -- putting the racially inflammatory flag question to a vote would inflict enormous damage on Georgia, both at home and beyond its borders.

I'm sure it'll be a divisive time in the state, but I wonder if it even dawns on Jay Bookman that Perdue hasn't been all over the flag issue after winning because it was never a top item of his campaign and was never the major issue of most of his supporters? Here you have a writer saying how the flag was soooooo important to getting Perdue elected suddenly scratching his head about the sudden unimportance of the flag ----- within the same article!!!!

Taking such a step would be irresponsible. But Perdue also knows that breaking his promise would be political suicide, ensuring defeat in 2006. He knows the numbers, and he knows those people won't forget. If they haven't gotten over it in 137 years, they won't forget in another four.

Voters usually don't support people that campaign on one thing and do the opposite. Barnes not wanting to change the flag in his first campaign is a very good example. "Read my lips" comes to mind & Bush losing his base. Clinton's 'middle class tax cut' also....oh, wait, many core Democrats nationwide don't really care to vote for outright liars anymore, do they? (Gee, ya think that has anything to do with the Republican surge?)

In Perdue's dream world, a resolution calling for a statewide vote passes the Republican Senate this year but is buried in committee in the House, which is still controlled by Democrats. That way, he can claim he tried but was foiled by those dastardly Democrats. But House Democrats may not be willing to rescue Perdue. State Rep. Tom Bordeaux, a Savannah Democrat, expressed that sentiment perfectly when he said he would make sure the new governor got the referendum he claimed to want. "I'd stick it down their throat," Bordeaux said. ". . . He ran on giving people a right to vote. If Perdue doesn't file it, I will."

Give the candidate what he promised to address during his campaign? Mr. Bookman has surely uncovered the political coup of the decade. Jay Bookman-E-Coyote, genius.

Under different circumstances, it might be possible to sympathize with Perdue's plight, but not this time. He made a deal with the devil to get elected, and the devil wants his due.

Ah, so the GA voters (outside the city of Atlanta, of course) have advanced from 'confederate groups' to 'the devil'. Are there still folks out there who wonder how in the world middle-America is coming to despise the elitism and smarminess displayed by many on the left (and thus smearing the left) more and more?

To them, I say "folks, grow up. It's officially become pathetic".

2002-11-14T06:59:00.000-05:00

And now, a word from the losers, pt II

The wailing and gnashing of teeth continue within letters of sorrow to the AJC:

Congratulations to the good people of Georgia on your successful campaign to keep away all those nasty folks living in the other 49. Georgia must be the only state that could elect such an embarrassing person over an effective and honorable Senate incumbent, a war hero, an inspiration to the rest of the country.

Your actions add the final exclamation point to the tale of why anyone outside of Georgia would choose water torture above moving (or even visiting) there. What's next? All your women in burqas?

BARRY BEDRICK, Philadelphia

We, the Georgia voters, should be thoroughly ashamed of ourselves. We threw aside a genuine patriot and war hero, Sen. Max Cleland, in favor of Rep. Saxby Chambliss, a draft-dodging chicken hawk who apparently had better things to do than fight in Vietnam.

It has been said that people get the government they deserve. Well, Georgia doesn't deserve Cleland. We deserve the facade of courage rather than the real thing. Will this be any consolation when our young men and women come home in body bags from President Bush's oil war?

JAN FERRARA, Decatur

I am really ashamed of the people of Georgia. No matter what party, voting Max Cleland out of office was a sacrilege. We, the voters, gave the Republican Party complete charge of this state. Are they going to find you a job?

My husband and I lost our jobs because the health insurance industry has basically left the state. The transferable skills have still left us unemployed after five months. Even if we do find a job, it is going to be between $8-$10 an hour.

We both have to find two jobs each to survive, as opposed to $295 a week unemployment. Neither one of us has ever collected unemployment. We would both prefer a job. We are both over 50.

There are no jobs to be had and no one wants to give us a chance to do something else. What are the options? Sell our home that we worked so hard for?

At 50-plus, it is really hard to work two jobs, plus I go to college. We are caught between a rock and a hard place.

ELIZABETH CLARKE, Marietta

As a side note, the maximum benefit for unemployment in GA is $285 per week, so Elizabeth Clarke either wasn't making much more than the $8-$10 per hour rate she was complaining about, or she's lying her ass off about she & her husband 'losing' their jobs. That she's such a loon that she thinks it's the responsibility of the Democratic or Republican parties to find her and others jobs, is too stupid for me to discuss.

The GOP takeover of Georgia should not come as a shock to the Democrats. They did not have an alternative plan to the conservative agenda and thus deserved to lose.

Now is the time for a grass-roots effort to fight the following conservative policies that will be passed in some form over the next few years: prayer in school, the overturn of Roe v. Wade, tax cuts for the rich, an "investment" in defense, war, deficit spending, an erosion of civil liberties and civil rights, bigger polluting SUVs, the death of public transport and alternative energy, the return of the Confederate battle flag and further unemployment. That list only scratches the surface.

The Democrats didn't fight. It is a sad day.

ROBERT NEBEL, Norcross

Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses. They can all come up to our place. We'll hang out on the deck and fire up the tiki torches and have a group hug and sing "Michael Row the Boat Ashore" or some such lame thing, and then we'll all jump in the lake and drown ourselves.

We might as well. Tuesday was not a good day for huddled masses.

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is obviously a bright and articulate man. It is unfortunate that his brother, the president, seems to be such an idiot. It surpasses human understanding that we could all come to love him so much for the two weeks of solid work he turned in after the Arabs flew the airplanes into the buildings.

I've had it with us Americans. You break my heart.

MIKE GRIFFIN, Gainesville

Are there any folks on the left who aren't crying the 'the sky is falling' blues?

For all those who complained about Sen. Paul Wellstone's memorial service becoming a "political rally," I offer these words: Wait until Ronald Reagan dies.

KEVIN DAWSON, Sunland, Calif.

Just wanted to let the people of Georgia know they have put a true Vietnam War hero and patriotic American out of office. Oklahomans are notorious for ignorance, but you folks win the prize this time.

Those who have fought and faced death for their country should be in charge of deciding when we go to war. Very few in Congress or the White House have held that distinction. The poor and the children of minorities will fight the wars!

God bless Sen. Max Cleland and all those who save peace for those of us who often don't deserve it.

MAX EDGAR, Oklahoma City, Okla.

Based on his criteria for decision making, Max is obviously not a Clinton voter.

So the Republicans have control of all three branches of government. Now let's see what they can do with it.

When the debt keeps getting higher, the unemployment rate keeps going up, the economy keeps going down, the rich keep getting richer, the poor keep getting poorer, the tax break goes to the top 1 percent and things get so bad that Republicans will try to borrow and spend their way out of it --- as did Reagan and Daddy Bush --- it won't work.

Then we will see cars covered with bumper stickers saying, "Don't blame me; I voted Democratic."

TOY ROPER, Atlanta

Feeling fear, shame for the first time

Wednesday has got to be one of the worst days in American history. I only hope the damage caused over the next two years can be contained and not have extreme, long-lasting effects. While I hope it is not true, I suspect that history will judge this election as infamous.

The recipe for destruction of civil liberties and the way of life as we know it has been brought to the stove; the dish of greed, arrogance, repression and hate is being prepared.

At 41, for the first time in my life, I am actually scared and ashamed of my government.

T. DENNIS BICKHAM, III, Atlanta

2002-11-14T06:58:00.000-05:00

Updating the checklist

Amending an earlier post

There must be a public debate -- Check
The President must secure the support of the People & Congress for using military force as a last resort -- Check
The President must agree to new inspections -- Check
The President must have the support of the UN Security Council for using military force as a last resort -- Check
The President must have an acceptance of the UN resolution from the country of Iraq -- Check
The President must halt everything and ensure that Osama bin Laden is declared dead, then repeat earlier steps --

2002-11-13T13:16:00.000-05:00

Inside the Hollywood mind

Kelli Williams, who plays attorney Lindsay Dole on the television drama “The Practice" (which I watch) paid a visit to our good friend Mr. Donahue (who, on his November 6 show never mentioned the word "Bush"). A few comments were notable:

"And it’s about safety. It’s about keeping the guns out of the hands of children, criminals, mentally ill. It’s about having a data base to know who is safe and who is not. And it’s respecting people’s rights because we know that there is the far right. We know that they want their rights. And I think that they deserve their rights."

I'm sure I speak for everyone on the 'far right' when I say: "gee, thanks".

DONAHUE: Let me understand your position, then. You-we can never ban guns. You can’t search every basement, every closet in the United States of America.
K. WILLIAMS: Sadly, no.

And a week without a Donahue smackdown just isn't right

You know, we registered cars and we register drivers...because we know that irresponsible use of that object can kill people.... same thing applies to guns. It shouldn’t quite be this difficult.

He's right, it shouldn't be difficult for Donahue to learn that unless we drive a car on a public highway, no registration is necessary. Alas, it's much to difficult for Donahue and his ilk to understand private ownership and the bill of rights.

2002-11-13T07:04:00.000-05:00

Didn't you just say that?

I wonder if Paul "Into the Wilderness" Krugman and Ellen "Into the Wilderness" Ratner have the same agent?

2002-11-13T06:11:00.000-05:00

Will the wonders never cease?

Unbelievably, the AJC editorial staff actually encouraged the new governor & legislative body to redraw the gerrymandered districts that the state donkeys implemented in their effort to put a DNC majority within a conservative state.

Snip: In a rush to build partisan advantage, a Georgia Legislature controlled by Democrats drew bizarrely shaped new legislative boundaries without regard to communities of interest or voter convenience. Voters got their revenge at the voting booth; well-known Democratic incumbents were booted, at least in part, because voters were alienated by a redistricting process that failed to consider them.

"They approved their rules for redistricting, then they had their public hearings before they even had maps," said Sally Fitzgerald of the Georgia League of Women Voters, a champion of reapportionment reform.

"It's difficult to respond when you didn't have the maps they were considering. They never went back to the public after the maps were drawn. Some of the uncomfortableness with the process," she added, "was expressed to some degree at the polls."

Republicans have the opportunity to avoid the overreaching of their Democratic predecessors and create a legacy of districts drawn solely in the public interest.

GA vs IA congressional districts.

Bravo, Cynthia!

2002-11-12T13:01:00.000-05:00

And now, a word from the losers

Following the lead of Hogberg, here's how some of the fine folks in Georgia are handling things when they don't go their way. I urge everyone to note the high-mindedness and the maturity put forth in their words:

Tuesday was a very sad day.

You sheep keep singing President Bush's praises. He is spending billions of our money to have one man murdered. He is spending millions more to settle a vendetta his papa started years ago. There is something wrong with this picture, and you Republicans just don't get it.

America hasn't seen terror like it is going to see terror because the world hates America because of the "Bushies." Our country is being terrorized because of the leader, and you Republicans just don't get it.

ROENA BRADFORD, Ellenwood

To all the "flaggers" who plastered the state with "Boot Barnes" signs: Yes, Gov.-elect Sonny Perdue said he supported a statewide referendum on the flag, but that doesn't mean it's going to happen.

Beating Barnes will seem like child's play when Perdue tries to go up against Coca-Cola, United Parcel Service, Delta, Georgia-Pacific and all the other major corporations who shudder at the thought of the economic damage bringing back the old flag would do to this state.

I believe all of you "flaggers" are about to find out what politics is really all about.

GREG KAISER, Atlanta

2002-11-12T12:57:00.000-05:00

No use

I was gonna post (yet again) on the state of the DNC, but McGehee did it better than I could.

Snippet: "In Alabama, the Democrats want a numerically impossible election result to be certified just so the incumbent governor, a Democrat, can be declared re-elected. In the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, letters deploring the outcome in Georgia give profound evidence of contempt for the notion that "democrat" means one who favors rule by the people.

On the question of race, the party which claims to be all for racial justice continues to regard black voters as their exclusive property even though no Democrat president ever appointed a black to be either Secretary of State or National Security Advisor. Even many Democrats are now conceding that the first black vice-president or president will probably be a Republican. Yet when even white liberals engage in racist attacks on black Republicans, the price they pay is chicken feed compared to what happens to a hapless D.C. bureaucrat or Carolina schoolteacher who dares even utter the word "niggardly.""

More...

"My wife saw a David Letterman monologue in which he referred to some Democrat having said that the President and the GOP simply did better at articulating a message to voters. Letterman observed that it's a bad sign when George W. Bush is more articulate than you are. Well, he's said all along that being misunderestimated is part of his strategery."

2002-11-12T07:01:00.000-05:00

Dewey defeats Truman

"No matter who controls the Senate, the House and the statehouses, America still has Harvey Pitt to kick around."

- Joe Conason

Okay, it's obvious that this was penned prior to the blood bath on November 5th and donk water-carrier Conason was (as usual) wrong about his prediction that Pitt would still be around after the elections, but since the end of the article states:

This column ran on page 5 in the 11/11/2002 edition of The New York Observer

you gotta wonder if the folks at the NYO even have an editor, since Pitt turned in his resignation 6 days prior to the edition. If the printed version were already printed (an iffy presumption, at best) you'd think that the on-line version would be updated.

That the article is titled "Bush Crowd Needs Pitt to Stay Put" only makes Conason look like a bigger assclown than normal. I feel so bad for him.

2002-11-12T07:00:00.000-05:00

Memo to Thomas Oliphant

Both parties played the redistricting game and trying to say the Republicans were more coy about it nationwide is more than disingenuous. In Georgia, the Democrats only controlled both houses and the governor's seat for 130 consecutive years, so you'll forgive the GOP if their part in squeezing out the Democrats was somewhat small. As a matter of fact, the person you can point to is primarily Roy Barnes, the soon-to-be ex-Governor.

He oversaw, and basically designed, the new "gerrymandered" districts, going from a 8/3 Republican advantage that the VOTERS decreed in '00 to a map where the population of Democrats to Republicans were higher in 7 of the 13 districts - in a state where Bush won 60% of the vote.

In the process, he drew Rep. Saxby Chambliss out of his own district, forcing him to choose between moving to a less Republican-hostile district or stay put and face a lopsided electorate from the freshly drawn map. Instead, he chose to run for the U.S. Senate and the rest is history. Likewise, the voters went against the plan that Barnes and the legislative bodies envisioned and instead sent a majority of Republicans to the U.S. house, despite the historical voting records that would've predicted otherwise.

So, one could say that without Roy Barnes' meddling with the districts, Saxby Chambliss would've run for re-election as a representative and the irate electorate might have decided against Sonny Perdue. However, we'll never know, since Barnes decided to wield his power (is that what you considered to be an 'opportunity' that was 'blown'?) and attempt to force a Democratic majority down the Georgia voters' throats and ended up paying a painful price in the process.

2002-11-11T21:29:00.000-05:00

Smart move, donkeys

*"What we are talking about here is needle exchange, not needle giveaway," said Pelosi speaking against the restrictive Hastert Amendment during floor debate. "Needle exchange doesn't increase the number of needles on the street. It decreases the number of contaminated needles in circulation."

*Reps. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) and Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) introduced H.R. 2212 on July 22 to require Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala to lift the ban on federal funding of needle exchange programs.

*On July 31, the House of Representatives passed welfare reform legislation by a vote of 328 to 101. Earlier that day, President Clinton announced that he planned to sign this harmful legislation into law. I opposed this welfare bill.

*Pelosi is a wealthy member of the California House Caucus, her net worth having been pegged between $13.0 and $58.0 million.

*In the 1999-2000 election cycle, Pelosi raised approximately four hundred and ten thousand dollars, 68.5 per cent of which came from PACS. The ‘industry giant' that supports Pelosi is big labor. Her largest PAC contributor was the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, followed by the Machinists/Aerospace Workers Union, the Teamsters Union and the United Auto Workers. Breaking down her contributors by industry, the top four were, in order, Transportation Unions, Industrial Unions, Building Trade Unions, and Public Sector Unions.

*During that same election cycle, only 2.7 per cent of the money she raised came from those who gave less than two hundred dollars.

And recalling what happened to Bobby Knight, I'm sure everyone on the left would be quite comfortable with a picture of Newt Gingrich holding a bullwhip.

She's sure reach out to middle America, donkeys.

2002-11-11T13:19:00.000-05:00

Why are we funding this shiznik?

Bill Moyers, former and current donk hack, is getting tax dollars for having a show that hardly anyone watches (like most left-wing shows) and his latest put forth this tripe:

"Way back in the 1950s, when I first tasted politics and journalism, Republicans briefly controlled the White House and Congress. With the exception of Joseph McCarthy and his vicious ilk, they were a reasonable lot, presided over by that giant war hero, Dwight Eisenhower, who was conservative by temperament and moderate in the use of power.

Yeah, that 90% tax on the upper income folks was a great example of 'moderate' governmental power, eh?

That brand of Republican is gone, and for the first time in the memory of anyone alive, the entire federal government -- the Congress, the executive, the courts -- is united behind a right-wing agenda...

Maybe someone should inform this drunk that there were folks alive in 2001, when the congress, the executive & the courts were controlled by the Republicans & Republican appointees. After Jeffords jumped ship (smart move in retrospect, eh?) we went back to divided legislative branches.

...for which George W. Bush believes he now has a mandate.

Must be nice to read minds, since Bush didn't say anything about a mandate. Is Moyers one of those folks running left-wing blogs? If so, does Bush really want to run the world, via an American empire?

That agenda includes the power of the state to force pregnant women to surrender control over their own lives.

Control over their own lives? Does he mean control in the sense of surrendering their earnings, property, their children surrendered to government schools, 15% of their earnings being mandated by a government run Ponzi scheme? Oh, he means a pregnant woman having the brains sucked out of their 8 month old 'cell tissue', and he decided to dress up the language so that it wouldn't sound so bad. If anyone else knows about the 'right wing agenda' that folks ran on being an outright ban on abortion, I'd love to have the links, as the candidates were across the board. Abortion is an issue open to debate, but hyperbolic statements like Moyers uses only points out that he'd rather cloud the issue instead of discussing.

It includes using the taxing power to transfer wealth from working people to the rich.

Utter bullshit. Left-wing lunacy at its finest, since every statistical piece of data shows that the government currently taxes disproportionately from the higher earnings brackets and distributes disproportionately to the lower earnings brackets. That line is your typical Nader/Marxist 'worker' line, since Moyers tries to portray folks who are 'rich' as folks who aren't working. Right out of Hillary's playbook, I might add.

It includes giving corporations a free hand to eviscerate the environment and control the regulatory agencies meant to hold them accountable.

If anyone out there knows of any legitimate documentation that any politician ran on or plans to submit for a vote, anything that includes the claim Moyers just put forth - that the EPA will be transferred over to private corporate control - please speak now. No? More simple minded hyperbole from Moyers?

And it includes secrecy on a scale you cannot imagine.

You mean worse than the JFK assassination cover-up, where the President of the United States was killed and the governor of Texas was shot with a 'magic bullet', all controlled by a government run by Democrats? Worse than the Gulf of Tonkin 'incident', created by LBJ? Worse than Watergate?

Tin-foil hats, anyone?

Above all, it means judges with a political agenda appointed for life.

Hello, Ruth Bader-Ginsburg and Byron White! Reckon the 9th circuit court played any role?

If you like the Supreme Court that put George W. Bush in the White House, you will swoon over what's coming.

The voters put Bush in the WH, and the Supreme Court followed the law to the letter, bitch-slapping Moyers' fellow left-wing butt-buddies on the FLA Supreme Court. In case Moyers didn't hear, the voters of Florida reaffirmed their approval by giving Jeb a landslide & giving Katherine Harris the official title of "congresswoman" and giving Bush the power to pass his USSC judges more easily.

And if you like God in government, get ready for the rapture.

Did someone tell God that he's permitted to be everywhere BUT Washington, D.C.? As long as there is no state-sponsored religion, there's something called the first amendment, which allows folks to actually believe in a higher being, without having to apologize to little shits like Moyers who can't get a job in the private sector.

These folks don't even mind you referring to the GOP as the Party of God.

Shall I quote from Joe ("glory be to God") Lieberman's speech after Gore announced his choice for veep? Or maybe some of Gore's speeches from the pulpit? Or maybe ask if the IRS investigated Jesse Jackson's presidential campaign that actually passed the collection plate around during a church service in Atlanta?

Why else would the new House Majority Leader say that the almighty is using him to promote a Biblical world view in American politics?

Why would Moyers announce who the new House Majority Leader is when there *is* no new house majority leader, yet? Dick Armey is retiring & they haven't had a vote, yet.

So it's a heady time in Washington, a heady time for piety, profits and military power. All joined at the hip by ideology and money. Don't forget the money. It came pouring into this election, to both parties, from corporate America and others who now expect the payback.

And 2002 is different than any other year, because.....?

Republicans out-raised Democrats by $184 million...

Obviously, the preference is noted & was done by donations from citizens & biz, not by forced payments to fund things they don't want - like shitty PBS programs and goonion fees.

...and they came up with the big prize: monopoly control of the American government and the power of the state to turn their radical ideology into the law of the land.

Radical? Folks can agree or disagree, but what issue is Jim Talent "radical" on? What issue is Norm Coleman "radical" on? What issue is Elizabeth Dole "radical" on?

Quite a bargain at any price.

Since the federal government is budgeted to spend over 2 trillion dollars next year, saying government is a bargain is quite a stretch, especially for a drunken hack.

Okay, who did Bill Moyers blow to get his funding?

Info via mrc.

2002-11-11T06:08:00.000-05:00

Face it....

...some people are just stupid.

Not only are they so stupid that they feel the need to send an e-mail to mediawhoresonline in order to let everyone else see how dim-witted they are should it be published, but I noticed that some loons were actually complaining about AOL having a caption of Bush on the main screen. Gosh, I'm shocked that a President would be considered important. Not surprisingly, the usual suspects thought it was yet another brick in the corporate media's conspiracy to inflict the right-wing on the country (yup, the latest reason the donks lost is that the media is - guffaw - right wing).

Which is a dandy conspiracy....

...except when you consider that AOL gave 76% of the $1,169,894 that they contributed to the donks.

Good lord, people, at least try make it difficult.

2002-11-10T18:35:00.000-05:00

Man, am I glad this stupid bitch lost

From Kathleen Kennedy-Townsend-Moron (D - Racewhore, USA)

''If there had been a law against Saturday night specials, my father would be alive today ... and we would have had a much better world.''

I sometimes joke around, but this person actually thinks Sirhan-Sirhan would've adhered to the local firearms ordinance when he had no problems committing that lil' homicide infraction. Y'know, when you can make the editors of mediawhoresonline look less ignorant, it's quite an accomplishment.

Kudos to the voters of Maryland, as well as Ehrlich, who nominated a top-notch black on his ticket, which outplayed the donks in MD as well as being one of the few people (it seems) willing to expand the base of the stoopid party.

2002-11-10T18:32:00.000-05:00

Don't know what you've got 'til it's gone?

Thought I'd check out some money results & the McCain Feingold measure may not turn out to be all that great an issue for the donks in the long run. Although they were able to run on it as an issue for quite a while, clubbing the GOPers over the head, Bush signed it into law (I think it's unconstitutional, but I'll let the legal scholars figure it out).

Did the donks think about what was going to happen? Check out the latest info:

DEMOCRATIC PARTY
2001-2002 Election Cycle

	Total	Hard money	Soft money
Raised:	$327,080,806	$127,447,392 (39%)	$199,633,414 (61%)
Spent:	$307,565,178	$128,834,388 (42%)	$178,730,790 (58%)
Cash On Hand:	$29,932,979	$8,099,344 (27%)	$21,833,635 (73%)
Debts:	$6,657,412

REPUBLICAN PARTY
2001-2002 Election Cycle

	Total	Hard money	Soft money
Raised:	$510,756,508	$289,041,340 (57%)	$221,715,168 (43%)
Spent:	$494,351,122	$281,117,554 (57%)	$213,233,568 (43%)
Cash On Hand:	$52,783,773	$27,852,912 (53%)	$24,930,861 (47%)
Debts:	$1,160,800

Look at the soft money figures for both parties (which is now illegal, according to the source). The donks raised about $200 million & the GOPers raised about $223 million, a difference of about a third of what Gray Davis spent getting re-elected. Okay, let's pretend (I know, it's folly) that the law will be obeyed...the "hard" money difference is about ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-TWO MILLION DOLLARS, with the edge going to the GOPers.

Contrary to the conventional wisdom, the donks were just as adept at getting soft money, while the GOP brought in the 'legitimate' donations from average Americans. So, while it'll be illegal for Microsoft to donate $5,000 to the DNC or run a commercial near a vote, citizens & biz can still send $50 to support their preferred candidate - and according to the latest data, the choice is overwhelmingly the GOP.

As the people who were against CFR said all along, the incumbents and the media preferences will be the ones who will get their message to the public. Well, now the GOPers are the incumbents and even though the press is slanted to the left (don't bother arguing this - yes, FNC is to the right, but the mainstream media is obviously left-of-center) their power is diminishing daily.

Other than abridging free speech, backing CFR could end up being one of the biggest tactical mistakes that the donks ever made.

Source: Opensecrets.org

2002-11-08T18:26:00.000-05:00

Reason # 4,875 the lefty donks are out of step with mainstream America

Syria is on board with the US resolution pertaining to 'serious consequences' (read: war) if Iraq doesn't comply.

They aren't.

2002-11-08T18:19:00.000-05:00

More hate from the left

Our man Alterman does it again:

"No question Karl Rove is a tactical genius. He drafted moderates into every contested race and threatened and cajoled the extra-chromosome set to stay away."

Nice, huh?

I can only assume that no one in his family has a child that is born with Downs syndrome.

After many displays where some on the left were unashamed to have anti-gay ads, anti-gay charges during debates, mocking Sullivan's HIV status, race-baiting during the final days of the campaigns and blue humor, we can now add trivializing birth defects in order to demean someone via political labeling to the ever growing list.

Eric Alterman = Jackass

UPDATE: Wow, we had rough weather in north GA last night, so that at least prepared me for the INSTALANCHE. Thx, Glenn.

UPDATE II: Welcome MSNBC readers. Nope, the "not the obvious, but the over-aggressive & possible mass murdering" extra chromosome excuse doesn't wash - actually, it's even worse - but I hope everyone is entertained, if not in agreement (that's what makes this country great).

2002-11-08T18:18:00.000-05:00

Quote

"Something is very wrong when a so-called national party cannot send its national chairman or its titular head or its Senate leader into a third of this country because they would do more harm than good by being there."

- Zell Miller (D-GA)

And we're being told from the blogging world that all would be better if they only went to the left.

2002-11-08T18:17:00.000-05:00

Going down the checklist

There must be a public debate -- Check
The President must secure the support of the People & Congress for using military force as a last resort -- Check
The President must agree to new inspections -- Check
The President must have the support of the UN Security Council for using military force as a last resort -- Check

What other requirement will now be created in order for the 'cowboy' to be accused of starting an illegal war?

2002-11-08T07:28:00.000-05:00

Allright!

Harold Ford, Jr., just announced on Imus that he was a candidate for Gebhardt's (Babs' spelling) job. Ford is a favorite of NGD & he officially gains the endorsement of this site. He's smart, bold, articulate and one of the best donks out there.

If they're smart, they'll choose him instead of a far-lefty from California (Pelosi). donks, you'd be wise to go the way of Ford.

I can only wish that the GOP would do something like that, instead of saddling the party with that assclown Trent Lott (does ANY conservative like that guy?)

2002-11-08T07:01:00.000-05:00

An open letter

Dear Fellow Democrats:

I had the election predicted correctly long ago.
I didn't need to do a seat by seat guess, as I knew we were headed for minority status.
Why didn't you start listening to me about 18 months ago?
I told you that our leaders were the problem and were going to bring our party down!
I told you that the voters would make us pay!
I told you McAuliffe was the poster boy for what is wrong with our party.
I'm staying, but I suggest that you pay heed...it's not them, it's us (well, mainly it was you).

Sincerely,

Senator Zell Miller (D - the no longer Democrat controlled state of GA)

2002-11-07T22:40:00.000-05:00

Sad

Bob Somerby is almost at laughingstock level, on par with Bob Herbert. He used to be witty and cute with a phrase - now he's relegated to heading the Al Gore rehabilitation project and blaming the press for everything that goes wrong for his donks. Then again, he's always secure as long as Molly Ivins and Jay Bookman are around.

For anyone else out there who is trying to say that Tuesday wasn't a 'rout' - put down the drugs.

2002-11-07T17:44:00.000-05:00

Things better left unsaid

Things said before Tuesday's blood bath:

Mark Shields, who gave us the predictions of Jean Carnahan winning Missouri, Bill McBride winning Florida, and Kathleen Kennedy-Skakel-Townsend winning Maryland, also gave us these gems:

"Quite frankly, the president has not made a perceptible difference in states where he's gone in. And in House race after House race, that has been the case. The candidate gets a little catnip on the day of the visit because the president gets covered live."

"And New Hampshire, Bob, I think I read your report on it. You paid the ultimate compliment to Jeanne Shaheen, calling her Betty Crocker with a blackjack, which I thought was probably a little rhetorical overkill. But she's just run a lot better campaign than John Sununu."

From Mikey Moore:

"I think that's where the disconnect is between Bush and his administration. He doesn't understand where the American people are."

From Vic Kamber:

We've got a month before elections. I think people still in the end vote their pocketbooks, vote the economy. And I think the Republicans are going to have a surprise on November 3, 4, or whatever the date is. Maybe the third and fourth too.

[In his defense, I think the Republicans WERE somewhat surprised]

You'll love this exchange from several weeks ago:

From Paul Begala:

"But on the Republican side, one candidate, and that candidate is Elizabeth Dole. And Mrs. Dole has run for office before; we all remember her campaign for the presidency two years ago, where she got fewer votes than Gary Bauer. How is she going to beat somebody from our own solar system if she couldn't beat Gary Bauer?"

To which, Charlie Black replied:

Well, she is going to be a friend of viewers. Erskine Bowles, who is likely to win the Democratic primary today, he spent a ton more money than the other Democrats in the primary. She is very popular.

Donk consultant Peter Fenn then chimed in:

I bet you a cold beer and a hot steak on that one.

Paul Begala:

Wait until most Democratic women learn that in 1999, in truth today, as I trust, she has embraced privatization of Social Security. They're going run from her like the devil runs from holy water, aren't they, Charlie?

2002-11-07T17:42:00.000-05:00

No way, no how

Very few nailed their predictions, and let's face it - they were all guessing games based on polling data that for the most part ended up being flawed. In addition, let me say that I think that Dick Morris is a political go-to guy when trying to figure out strategery. There can be no doubt that the guy, despite being a sleaze ball, knows his shiznick.

That being said, his mea culpa article is nothing but complete blather. Among other things, he sez:

The closing week of the election featured old Walter Mondale as the poster boy for the Democrats. Having led them to defeat in 1984, he came back for an encore in 2002 with the same result. Not only did the has-been liberal go down to defeat in his home state of Minnesota, but he dragged the party's Senate candidates down with him.

With all due respect to Mr. Morris, that's utter bull$@%!, IMO. My contention is that Walter Mondale didn't bring anyone else down, but that debacle that I labeled as the "Walter Mondale Dance Party" did a tremendous amount of damage to the donks nationwide. I don't think it's an anomaly that the polls for the GOPers started to rise during the last week, since that sorry display was a national story that no-doubt many people knew about (remember, the talking heads tell us that the voters don't pay attention until the last two weeks). Since I've posted about that thing on numerous occasions, I'll stop there, but let's not forget the New Jersey law usurpation only weeks earlier...no doubt, the image of the donks being willing to do anything sleazy to win wasn't of my own imagination.

Sorry, I just can't believe that the voters would say "Mondale (add in Lautenberg, while you're at it) is too old & a face from the past, so I'll vote for the Republican, so he/she can work with the administration that has so many remnants of the Ford administration". That Morris basically parroted John Zogby's last poll was pathetic enough for a so-called political genius (and one that I *do* consider a great political mind), but that he also screwed up his excuses so badly is quite unbecoming (another shot for O'Brien & Hillary, just because they deserve it).

2002-11-07T06:51:00.000-05:00

Proof that there is a God

Worth watching the bi-weekly country award shows, alone.

Mutt, you da man.

2002-11-06T18:52:00.000-05:00

Just to reminisce

I didn't do predictions, because I have no idea how Joe Shmoe in North Dakota feels, but here's what yours truly said on July 17th, (before blogger screwed up my html in the archives section), while giving out some advice to the donks - with updated comments in [red bold].

Gotcha! No? Well, look here - Gotcha! No? Well, look here - Gotcha! No? Well... With apologies to Martin Short's nervous & chain-smoking lawyer character during the dark SNL days of the '80s..."it's not me, it's him, right?" In this case, it's 'them' -- them being the leaders of the Democratic party. C'mon, folks, this isn't rocket science (or a ballot).

Scenario A: You have overly aggressive ideologues who pursue their agenda of destroying the credibility of a President by accusing him of anything that comes down the pike. Some are valid and it damages him, but the scores of baseless allegations only serve to boost his popularity, partly because he's really not as 'bad' as has been advertised. Yes, I'm talking about Bill Clinton. Do you remember that, Terry McAuliffe? Didn't you learn? [apparently not. They tried to 'embarrass' Bush by targeting Jeb as their #1 priority - smart move, guys]

Scenario B: You talk down the intelligence of the opponent in the upcoming debates and predict that your guy will wipe the floor with the doofus. He turns out to be not only up to the challenge, but actually wins 2 of the 3 debates hands-down (except to that modicum of journalistic non-bias, George Stephanopoulus). Turns out you lowered the expectations with your over-the-top rhetoric so much, he came out smelling like the proverbial rose. Do you remember that, Terry McAuliffe? Didn't you learn? [apparently not, since they still portrayed the President as 'illegitimate' in many circles]

Scenario C: You spend 8 years crediting Clinton/Gore for the economy. Surely Mr. McAuliffe remembers THAT.

Scenario D: You suddenly say all the abuses that occurred during the Clinton/Gore economy were Bush's/Gramm's/Newt's fault. You're hoping that no one else remembers scenario C.

Scenario E: You label the economic downturn the "Bush economy".

Okay, present day: -The stock market is way down, but all other economic indicators provide for a pretty favorable economy. What in the world are you going to do when the "Bush economy" recovers from the abuses of certain sections and the market is no longer there to point to as 'bad news' from the policies that you said were bad for the economy? Don't you know that your OWN RHETORIC dictates that a rise in the stock market would be attributable to Bush (lessee, how has the stock market done over the last 60 years and what are the odds that it'll be higher?) [the economy isn't exactly in high gear, but the DOW rose 10% during October and the GDP rose 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. That the recession ended and the economy slowly started to turn upward, left all that rhetoric from earlier in the year outdated and implausible. For all the donks out there saying that the party wasn't aggressive enough about Bush, they hammered him with everything they had on the economy...and it didn't faze his poll numbers throughout the summer.]

-We're preparing for war with Iraq. What in the world are you going to do when Americans rally around the CIC after your party began attacking his foreign policy? [They actually sided - for the most part - with the Prez on this issue, which many lefties are now saying was a mistake (ask Cleland how important homeland defense was)]

-Arafat's days are numbered. What in the world are you going to do when you're reminded about the Bush doctorine and your claims that the admin was 'hands off' comes to fruition in the middle east, as looks very likely? Do you realize that the ONLY way you can save face is for Arafat to stay in power? [Arafat is still in power, but Israel has overpowered the homicide bombing attacks, lately - this was a non issue, IMO]

-Condi Rice is becoming a mega-star to match Powell and the NAACP was just shown to be irrelevant last weekend. What in the world are you going to do when your race-hustling rhetoric alone doesn't get you 90% of the black vote? [The answer: LOSE, big time. Ask Kathleen Kennedy-Townsend, ask Max Cleland, ask Bill McBride's supporters if race-baiting is the way to go. Think Harry Belafonte helped? There was high turnout in many areas, but the black vote wasn't the monolithic power that the donks needed (90-10), despite race-hustling.]

-Nothing illegal has yet come from Harken. Did you learn NOTHING from the "what did Bush know about 9/11" fiasco? [So much for the corporate shenanigans hurting Bush - a businessman beat an irish female in Mass & Bush's pix in GA, NH, MN and possibly SD are embarrassing the donk leaders]

Is there anyone minding the store? The DOW will NOT be at 9,000 in '04. By constantly aligning the NYSE with the plausibility of the President's policies, you've left yourself open to dispair should the economy be anything short of a recession. [It's almost 9,000 now...'nuff said]

By labeling the President a baffoon, you've left yourself open to despair should he do anything short of sounding like Forrest Gump. Look, you're going into the '02 elections with little more than this coming from your talking points: "it's corporate accounting, stupid" "Bush is a rich oilman" "more teachers (union members)" "they want to take away your social security" "they want to take away your medicare" "they want to ruin the environment" "they're against minorities" "they're against women" You've only been using those tactics since LBJ. [I believe the new set of talking points from the donks includes that they had NOTHING TO OFFER. You read it here first, folks]

You'd think that the polls after the 'pledge' decision or the 'vouchers' decision would tell you that we're in a whole new world, now. But, no...you're doing the same things you've always done and you're left with only scenario F - a recession - giving you wind behind your sails. So, you're under the assumption that the economy won't be at LEAST 2.5%, the DOW won't be up, there'll be no indictments of Bush and we won't be kicking some Iraqi booty? [The recession ended, the GDP grew around 2.5% this year, there were no indictments of any Bush admin members - or anything outside of Paul Krugman articles, and Bush received approval to go to war with Iraq.

What are you freakin' thinking?!?!??!?!!??!?!?! [Indeed]

2002-11-06T07:02:00.000-05:00

??????
What do you do after an historic show of Presidential muscle? If you're the Atlanta Journal-Constitution editorial staff, you attack his tax cut and praise welfare.

Looks like the lefty blogs aren't the only places where 'going to the left' approach is now going to be gospel, in hopes that the donks will go the way of Nader instead of Clinton.

And I thought last night was good....

UPDATE: So much for the vaunted floppy disk & powerpoint presentation, eh?

2002-11-06T06:57:00.000-05:00

Via MRC

how various pundits predicted the races

Arkansas
Hutchinson (R):	None
Pryor (D):	Novak, Page, Carlson, Hunt, Shields, Barone, Kondracke, Barnes, Myers, Brownstein

Colorado
Allard (R):	Barone, Kondracke, Barnes
Strickland (D):	Alter, Clift, Blankley, McLaughlin, Broder, Brownstein, Myers

Georgia
Chambliss (R):	Myers
Cleland (D):	Broder, Brownstein
Minnesota
Coleman (R):	Novak, Barone
Mondale (D):	Alter, Page, Carlson, Hunt, Shields, Kondracke, Barnes, Broder, Brownstein, Myers, Williams, Matthews
Missouri
Talent (R):	Alter, Barone, Clift, Blankley, McLaughlin, Hunt, Novak, Page, Carlson, Kondracke, Barnes, Broder, Brownstein, Talent, Myers
Carnahan (D):	Shields
New Hampshire
Sununu (R):	Blankley, Novak, Kondracke, Barnes
Shaheen (D):	Alter, Barone, Clift, McLaughlin, Page, Carlson, Hunt, Shields
North Carolina
Dole (R):	Alter, Brownstein, Myers, Matthews
Bowles (D):	Williams
South Dakota
Thune (R):	Barone, Blankley, McLaughlin, Novak, Barnes, Brownstein
Johnson (D):	Clift, Carlson, Hunt, Shields, Page, Kondracke, Broder, Myers, Williams
Texas
Cornyn (R):	Alter, Broder, Myers
Kirk (D):	toast

GOVERNORS:

Florida
Bush (R):	Carlson, Hunt, Novak, Page, Barone, Clift, Blankley, McLaughlin, Barnes, Kondracke, Myers, Matthews
McBride (D):	Shields
Maryland
Ehrlich (R):	Novak, Carlson, Kondracke, Barnes, Brownstein, Matthews
Townsend (D):	Shields, Hunt
Massachusetts
Romney (R):	Shields, Novak
O'Brien (D):	Hunt, Page, Carlson
Minnesota
Pawlenty (R):	Carlson, Hunt, Novak
Moe (D):	Page, Shields

Mark Shields/Margaret Carlson, time to eat some crow.

2002-11-06T06:46:00.000-05:00

Wanna see a baby cry?

Check out Derrick Jackson, practically screaming for his pacifier as he is forced to concede that the O'Brien was handed her proverbial arse.

2002-11-06T06:37:00.000-05:00

You don't look Mahervelous

I was once a big Politically Incorrect fan. Back when it was on the Comedy Channel, I'd often get too little sleep during the week because I'd stay up to watch the show. Subtle humor, quirkiness, guests not often seen on the pundit shows (back when CNN was the monolith of the market), all of it was entertaining. Just like almost everything else, I didn't have to agree with the host or guests to find the show compelling.

However, once the show delved into a nightly crusade for Bill Maher to defend Bill Clinton became monotonous. During the late 90's, after it moved to ABC, the show basically became "Clinton good, everyone else bad". Which is fine, don't get me wrong, as I said before, you don't have to cater to my ideology for me to watch or listen, but night after friggin' night....what was supposed to be entertaining? Add in 3 guests that are lap-dog lefties and one token conservative (usually the over-the-top kind) and you have an irreverent version of your basic talk show. Why was I supposed to watch, again?

Finally, you have 9/11 and the show basically went further into the abyss. On any given night, you were bound to have one of these topics:

oil is bad
don't buy diamonds
Bush is stupid
campaign finance reform is the answer
we should pay more in taxes so as to sacrifice for the war.

That was basically it. That was the show. Night after night, we were treated to any given topic delving into Maher taking over the discussion & blaming anyone who drove an SUV as helping Bin Laden or women who wore diamonds as helping the terrorists.

Which takes me to the reason I started this particular thread - Maher's appearance on Larry King Live. This is not supposed to be a 'Fisk', I'm simply addressing the reason I'm supposed to take this guy seriously (yes, he's a comedian, but he tries to come across as enlightened) by illustrating some of his thoughts:

Stupid comment of the evening from Larry King:

You were always kind of -- we couldn't read you. I mean, some people thought you were liberal, some conservative, some a little libertarian.

Ah, yes, Bill Maher - Ralph Nader voter and performer at a DNC fundraiser in 2000 - is a libertarian. That, I'll grant you, was the funniest joke in the show's history. Hey, Larry, wanting to kick ass in Afghanistan doesn't make one a conservative.

Back to Maher:

And it smells awfully funny that just after an election issue is needed -- you know, the Bushes, excuse me, are very good at creating an issue when an election comes around. You remember the American flag issue, the pledge, that nonsense that George Bush won on in 1988? OK, so three months ago the issue was going to be the fact in the last two and a half years the American economy has lost $8 trillion of wealth, which is going to run into real money, Larry. [ED: That would mean around a 28% GDP in order for that to be truthful, but I digress].

MAHER: The money that we put into the pockets of Saudi Arabia and Iraq, the people we're about to go to war with, where do you think they get the money to pay suicide bombers? Or to support madrassas? Yeah? I mean, there is a direct connection. But of course, the administration doesn't want to point this out, because they also get money from oil companies. They get it to fund their campaigns. It's perverse the way the people sort of pay for their own bamboozlement.

I'm at the front of the line in saying that I wish we'd tell Saudi Arabia to take a flying leap...same with Pakistan and our other 'moderate friends' in the mid-east, but for someone to openly state that the administration is willing to accept the funding of terrorists because the oil companies like to get profits via the companies that send them crude is something I'd expect from Cynthia Mckinney.

MAHER: I never understand middle-class people cheering when George Bush talks about tax cuts and how it's your money. But they're not going to really see much of their money. [ED: I saw $600]

MAHER: When George Bush says we're going to hold business to the highest ethical standards, well, it's politicians like him who fought campaign finance reform. [Fact: CFR is now the law of the land, legislation signed by Bush]

MAHER: Yes, I think so. Iraqis, I think, feel if we drove smaller cars, maybe we wouldn't have to kill them for their oil because certainly the first Gulf War was about cheap gas. There's no doubt about that in my mind. It was about keeping gas under $2 a gallon. So I understand why that would make people feel like this is a country that doesn't care. [Read: Maher has a hybrid, and since you don't you're part of the reason those Iraqis hate us]

Hey, Bill, loved you in D.C. Cab.

And he looked like he was about to commit hari-kari when his beloved donks (lower case now, since they're a minority) kept losing races.

Finis - after I completed this entry, I noticed that MRC had a section highlighting many of the same things that struck me as being peculiar. Does this mean I need to dye my hair red & grow a beard?

2002-11-06T06:35:00.000-05:00

The rally is on its way

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The battle for control of Congress raged into the morning hours on Wednesday, but Republicans scored huge victories that could add more fuel to a four-week rally on Wall Street.

2002-11-06T06:21:00.000-05:00

Dead pol walking

Or crying...

2002-11-06T06:09:00.000-05:00

Election Rewind

Reckon the folks at TAPPED regret pushing that book, The Emerging Democratic Majority?

2002-11-06T00:27:00.000-05:00

Condolences

To John Zogby.

There went the crown.

2002-11-05T23:35:00.000-05:00

Saxby!

2002-11-05T18:41:00.000-05:00

Wow

Something happened on the Capital Gang that was stunning - only in the sense of a supposedly color-blind society.

Sarah Koenig, reporter for the Baltimore Sun, stated among the reasons that Kathleen Kennedy-Townsend (D-Moronville) is running so poorly is "...she got off to a bit of a rocky start in her campaign. Her choice of running mate got her a lot of criticism, especially among African-Americans. And she had...yes, Admiral Larsen, yes....former Republican, exactly, a white guy. I think a lot of African-Americans were hoping, This is our chance, we can get a black candidate. So she had to spend a lot of time firming up that base and sort of making amends there."

Call me naive, but the good folks in Baltimore were just accused of having a skin colored litmus test. Perhaps that's why she had that embarrassing performance praising the inclusion of skin pigment as a reason for hiring (AA) to the whoops of the crowd.

That bad thing is, that sentiment is all too common around the country. So much for the 'content of one's character'.

Also on Capital Gang was Al C. Hunt (the "H" is silent) blatantly lying: "this has been a pervasively petty, at times mean campaign, but nothing was sleazier than Georgia senatorial candidate Saxby Chambliss suggesting that Senator Max Cleland was soft on national security, even linking him to Osama bin Laden."

He didn't link jack squat. This is so ridiculous a charge by the namby-pambys so scared that Cleland will lose that they're going beserk. I've seen this elsewhere, that Chambliss is 'questioning Cleland's courage'. Well, I live here & I've seen the commercials (including the Cleland commercials where he says Chambliss is 'bad for families') and he's questioning Cleland's courage to LEAD in Washington, because he tows the DNC line - which is why he's currently tied in the polls. It's an arguable position to take (which is why it's called politics) but the victimization is becoming ridiculous.

2002-11-05T18:39:00.000-05:00

Making it even harder for legitimate strong women

The ridiculous Massachusetts fiasco concerning Mitt Romney saying 'unbecoming' is absolutely astounding. That this isn't being laughed off as desperation by a bunch of women trying to play the victim is the big story, but we needn't be surprised - it's the M.O.

I'm sure it's over the heads of the pundits and reporters that we have Hillary Clinton jumping on the 'unbecoming' bandwagon. Here we have the 'smartest woman in the world' helping out a fellow 'sister' in her hour of need, while that mean old Mormon says she's acting all 'unbecoming'.

Come 2008, when Hillary is running for Prez, reckon any reporter will ask if Hillary will get all flummoxed should a tyrant government insult her femininity, should she become commander in chief, by saying her actions are 'unbecoming'? I mean, if this is something that gets under the skin of the average Donk female candidate, what are we going to do if a foreign dignitary wears the same dress?

Before I get my comments box full, the point is the folks like Hillary are making things more difficult for people to vote for women, because they waive the 'female card' (does it have wings?) when they need to play the role of the victim.

You can't have it both ways - you can't be a 'strong woman' when you're saying all those white men are only against you because you've got boobs, then cower in the corner when you want to portray your opponent as being a meanie. Well, you can when you have idiot Donks pulling the lever (often for Buchanan, that is).

2002-11-05T18:33:00.000-05:00

Voting in Georgia

It was a breeze. However, I can see some potential problems on the horizon. The setup was to get a voting card, stick the card into a computer, vote & then place the card in a container.

Problem 1: The cards contained an eeprom, presumably where info was stored. Simply placing the cards together in a bin can damage the eeprom.

Problem 2: Eeproms can be hacked. Check the image below:

The eeprom is the 'gold' rectangle above the black stripe on the card on the left. Eeproms are often called 'smart cards' & are the choice of satellite companies for uploading/downloading information to their subscribers.

Various software/hardware is available that makes it possible to open the eeprom & view/change the data on an eeprom, thus changing the data on the card. The question is if the voting software is what's on the card or if the voting CHOICES are being written to the eeprom by the voter.

I've got experience with eeproms & it's not all that difficult to open the 'hole' and view/change the info involved, so let's hope that there aren't problems on the horizon.

This has to be the most expensive computerized setup anyone could put together.

2002-11-04T21:42:00.000-05:00

2002-11-04T20:38:00.000-05:00

Oh, man

I'm watching Donahue & Chris Mathews go at it!
You can easily tell that they don't like each other.

2002-11-04T19:39:00.000-05:00

Not-so-great-moments involving baseball

You know, when John Kruk has a better physique than you do.....

2002-11-04T19:13:00.000-05:00

Misc.

There may (or may not, taking a cue from the prognosticators of the election outcomes, since they all end their guesses with 'it depends on turnout' - duh) be a somewhat lower number of posts over the next few weeks. There is one reason and one reason alone for this: I am a fanatic over Christmas. My house is usually decorated in such a way that it would make Clark Griswald jealous (no, not the redneck decorations). Thus, I'll be spending several evenings getting West manor ready for the Thanksgiving evening kickoff of the Christmas season.

Last year was my best ever, as I won the 'yard of the month' for my efforts (I was laid off due to 9/11, so I had nothin' but time on my hands after sending out hundreds of résumé's) so my daughter and neighbors already have high expectations.

What can I say, I'm a kid at heart & hope to pass that sort of 'magic' along to my own children.

Note to Oliver Willis: Folks with the Sunday Ticket are football fans - they're not going to watch the 1:00 game & ignore the 4:00 kickoffs when 'their' game is over or vice-versa. Besides, anyone with a fantasy team will flip channels to see how their offensive players are doing during the game. I've had all the channels for years and always catch several games. BTW, the baseball games are best, as you can see the great matchups - unless you'd like to get some sleep instead of watching Randy Johnson facing Shawn Green at 12:40 pm eastern time & your alarm is set for 5:25 am.

Kevin McGehee & Frank Martin are having an interesting discussion about party politics

It's basically a recitation of Neal Boortz, but here's a good citizen column in the AJC.

Snippet: Public service announcements on everything from MTV to The Golf Channel exhort one and all to exercise their right to vote. There will also be cries from forward-thinkers about devising easier ways to vote. Web-vote! Touch-tone phones! Let's make it as easy as possible to vote!

No, let's not.

If you have to beg, plead and cajole someone into voting, then maybe, just maybe, this is not a person you really want to have choosing our representatives.

In another unsurprising entry, the AJC endorses Thurbert Baker for Attorney General. Unsurprising because the AJC is in the tank for the Donks (no big deal, except when they put it in the news sections), but what's interesting is the money line : "although he could certainly be more aggressive and independent on issues ranging from political integrity to open records."

????? And I'm supposed to vote for him?

Sorta reminds me of the NYT saying that Hillary wasn't trustworthy, but the citizens of NY should still vote for her.

Josh Marshall gets the Tawana Brawley award (voter suppression, voter suppression) for putting forth accusations without anything remotely close to plausible evidence (God, could that picture be more lame?). Boy, he sure dumped the South Dakota voter fraud story & conspiracy theories about it being a Republican setup quickly after all those burned absentee ballots showed up. Hey, Josh, come on down to Georgia if you want to see some disgusting flyers.

You know the internal polls are bad when...

2002-11-04T18:16:00.000-05:00

A challenge

For anyone out there that can find something that will show this statement from Paul Begala to be anything other than a lie:

They have been too timid about attacking President Bush's economic policies -- the centerpiece of which has been a $1.8 TRILLION tax cut that primarily benefits the very rich...

The tax cut was around $1.3 trillion over 10 years, so Begala haphazardly adding just half a trillion should tell you about the DNC made-up figures that fail to resonate outside of the usual suspects. It looks like the tax cut will be like the Whitewater investigation, with the amount going up weekly, according to the kneepadders.

2002-11-04T17:45:00.000-05:00

Let the jackass bray

*Note: Let me begin by stating that this is all personal opinion, so any 'corrections' or 'fisking' isn't necessary. This is something that's, as we say here in Georgia, 'eating at my craw'.

My grandparents were FDR Donks. My dad was a Jimmy Carter supporter in '76. As I've stated here, I was a Donk when I first began voting. As the old saying goes, a southern Democrat is sometimes more conservative than a northeastern Republican, and that's sometimes a true statement instead of an urban legend. The current popular 'conservative' Democrat is Zell Miller (he's probably a moderate, definitely not a conservative). There's a fine tradition, one that has a rich history.

Even though I've never hidden what my political leanings are (mixture of conservative & libertarian) and I often spout things here with a good dose of hyperbole, such as "so and so is an idiot", it's usually done with some amount of tongue-in-cheek rhetoric or laced with humor. The whole idea is to have a web log that is (a) interesting; (b) somewhat informative, at times; (c) portray my personal identity. Part of (c) is my open admission that I'm a Christian (your typical southern Baptist, although not a member of the southern Baptist convention) but my blog hasn't been used for religious dogma, because I feel that's personal & I want to preach via typing about as much as you want to read a sermon from an athletic computer-geek who doesn't even know you. However, a good part of my makeup is based upon my spiritual reflections & how I look at my fellow man.

I often rib the 'Donks' all over my blog. Every once in a while I skewer a GOPer or a LPer, but the Donks are my usual target - for good reason, since I disagree with the DNC policy around 80% of the time. However, the person who is a Donk is treated differently. Maybe it's my reading Jesus' teachings, but I honestly don't think Roy Barnes is evil incarnate, even if I'm going go vote against him. I don't think Max Cleland is subject for public ridicule, even if I'm pulling the lever for Saxby Chambliss. I think Jimmy Carter is a good human being, even if he says some of the most idiotic things that are 180 degrees from what I'd consider rational.

One of the people I consider to be a walking/talking 'role model' (definition open to debate, of course) is far-left-wing Paul Newman. The guy forks over tens of millions of dollars from his food product line to charities - not a portion of his profits, all of it. The guy has been (for all I know) faithful to his wife for decades and is one of the last people you'd expect to hear confessing their addiction after they leave the Betty Ford clinic and blame their parents. Bill Bradley is a relatively humble person who also loves his family, helps the poor and actually tries to make a difference in this world, as we all should do, IMO.

In the grand scheme of things, does it really matter to me what those people (not politicians or spokespeople) think about abortion or social security? Why would their preferences on corporate tax rates even register on the radar screen? Heck, if Max Cleland is voting for a tax increase, I can work against him with all my muster, but when he casts his vote, he's still someone who gave three limbs in the name of his country...he's still Max Cleland. I've had no problem pulling the lever for local Donks, because I sometimes would play basketball with them or their sons, or knew them in the community, and knew that they were good people who just happened to feel more comfortable in the party of Roosevelt or Kennedy.

Growing up in north Georgia, I was privy to the Chattanooga television stations & watched the political career of Al Gore from his first campaign commercials. He was a decent fellow, loved his beautiful wife & family and had a firm grasp of what the folks in Tennessee stood for and what their 'value's entailed (again, definition being a relative term). That Gore later became one of those moderate Donks in the senate was merely something that I disagreed with him politically on from time to time. That he later became a frequent purveyor of mistruths (Somerby can try all he wants, Gore lies) is more reflective that Gore will say anything to win. I've posted here that Harold Ford, Jr., and Rahm Emmanuel are attractive politicians with bright futures, and seem like pleasant fellows, even if what they're saying is nowhere near what I consider reality. I want there to be admirable people in politics, because 'my guy' may not always win. I can deal with a left-wing Bill Bradley as my 'leader' much better than someone like Richard Nixon, because I know Nixon would look me in the eye and lie right to my face. Nixon will say one thing and do another (can you say Clinton?) I want good people - otherwise we could end up with Larry Flynt being a political player or someone like Warren Beatty thinking he could actually be a presidential candidate (wait a minute, have we been there?)

That being said, that friggin' pep rally in Minnesota turned something in my heart. And I'm not crazy about it.

Yes, I know that after the polls showed a huge backlash, the campaign manager apologized. I know that McAuliffe said it was wrong on MTP. I know that the CYA strategy is in full force. I know all that.

I also know that I began this entry 4 days ago & stopped because my emotions were overriding my logic, something that I attribute to many folks out there that follow a knee-jerk response to the left/right rhetoric. However, the feelings haven't changed. I no longer see 'pleasant fellows' out there, or 'ladies with whom I disagree with' ---- I see Donks who'll do damn near anything and everything to get power....no matter how low, how disgusting, how despicable.

It was on display last Tuesday. No, it wasn't done from the dais, that was Wellstone's friends and family. And the folks acting like low-brow citizens who were booing people during a 'memorial service' (so much for calling them mourners) also numbered no more than 20,000. I'm talking about the next 24 hours, where you had people taking the 'wow, I'm shocked that someone would laugh at a celebration of someone's life' approach. The folks who attacked people who said "y'know, that wasn't a service, it was a pep rally", as if they were the one's politicizing someone's death. The folks who said 'it wasn't political', then changed that sentiment to 'only a small percentage was political', then changed the excuse to 'the family planned the event', to....well, you get the idea.

Message to the Donks: Someone's death shouldn't involve talking points.

No, I didn't expect Terry McAuliffe to go on television the next day and criticize the event - but for all those Donks out there to DEFEND the actions prior to the polls saying that they'd better stop doing that, tells me that the Donk party is more concerned with winning the Senate for the next two years than the dignity of a memorial service for one of their own.

One of their own? Did I just type that? I would think that it would be the minimum criteria for folks to act in a seemly manner for ANYONE'S memorial service.

Should we really expect it, however. Even folks like Ellen Ratner, who is unabashedly left of center, admits to being booed by Democrats for the offense of appearing on Fox News. We're often told about the hatred involved for a gay Republican to have folks turn their back on him while he speaks at the RNC convention, for good reason. However, even though things like the anti-gay rhetoric espoused from Alex Sanders during a debate in South Carolina, supporters of Kathleen Kennedy Townsend passing out oreo cookies to mock black GOP hopeful Michael Steele, tell me that the hate is growing like a virus.

Hate. Why? Because they don't want to stay on the plantation of left-wing logic. This repellent style of politics has caused me to look at things in a different manner - and folks, I don't like doing it.

I like to look at the person instead of the party. I like to think of Max Cleland as a war hero who votes like Ted Kennedy, instead of a tool of the left wing who'll try to capitalize on his war wounds in order to garner sympathy votes, so Daschle can remain leader. I like to think of Frank Lautenberg and Walter Mondale as pleasant old Donks who'll do what they can for the good of the party, instead of puppets put out there in order for the ENEMY to be held at bay, since the enemy is so evil.

But that's all gone, now.

Because, according to the Donks out there trying to do anything to win, the enemy is me, and if you think that I'm so evil - because I want a tax cut, because I think spending is too high, because I think the current social security scheme is busted - that it is necessary for you to defend a pep rally disguised as a memorial service, in addition to the defense of perjury and obstruction of justice, defending the act of courts legislating from the bench, various forms of voter fraud, then the petty things like policy differences aren't as insignificant as I'd always thought they should be.

I thought about it over the weekend. I asked myself "is it me? I'm very conservative/libertarian, so it wasn't like I looked at things from the perspective of your average Cynthia McKinney supporter, but is there any excuse for that sort of deplorable and inexcusable behavior. Heck, even when the Pistons had thugs like Bill Laimbeer and Dennis Rodman, there was still Joe Dumars to look at as a beacon of class."

The answer is a resounding no. Right now, the Dumars' of the DNC are being overshadowed by the likes of McAuliffe, the NJ Supreme Court, the FL Supreme Court and the sight of Bill Clinton heading down to the 'hood to campaign (which is the only place he's welcome in the south).

Thus, I simply cannot vote for a single Donk tomorrow. And a huge part of me doesn't like it. Looking at myself in the mirror after voting for folks who not only would politicize a memorial service, but DEFEND IT (until the polls said not to), is something that I simply cannot stomach, however.

Americans will vote on the 5th for the people of their choice. I'll do the same & we will live with the results. Let us all hope and pray that the people sworn into office in January are more admirable than the folks we saw last week trying to prop up a public display that is unbecoming (that one's for you, Hillary) any political party....and let us all hope that the Donk party returns to its previous glory as that of a party that isn't completely engulfed with corruption.

2002-11-04T17:42:00.000-05:00

Georgia Debate chatter

I'm so lonesome I could cry

After the Max Cleland/Saxby Chambliss debate, the quote of the election cycle was made pertaining to selected attendees/supporters of the candidates:

"I'll take the current mayor of Atlanta over the ex-New York City mayor any time." - Max Cleland spokesman Jamal Simmons, who actually attempted to not only COMPARE Shirley Franklin to Rudy Giuliani, but laughingly showed a preference for the challenged mayor of Atlanta, over America's mayor.

Comeback of the night

"I'm glad Senator [Zell] Miller has endorsed me in this campaign." - Max Cleland

"I'm glad President Bush has endorsed me." - Saxby Chambliss, in response.

Line of the night

"A drunken orangutan could draw a better redistricting map than the one the Democrats drew" - Libertarian Gubernatorial candidate Garrett M. Hayes during debate

2002-11-03T23:31:00.000-05:00

How embarrassing

Saw the GA gubernatorial debate on public television & the members of the press pretty much ignored the libertarian candidate completely. There the three candidates all stood at their lecterns, while two of them were asked questions.

And we wonder why we have a two party system...

2002-11-03T13:26:00.000-05:00

Egg meets face

The polling must really be bad.

Now, even Terry McAuliffe says that Walter Mondale's Dance Party was a mistake. The latest word from the many lefties out there who defended the event so much that some even attacked folks who found it appalling, is that they're quite pleased to be completely embarrassed by their leaders yet again & look forward to when they can make bigger fools of themselves.

2002-11-01T23:13:00.000-05:00

Where's Belushi when you need him?

The Donks sure know how to throw a bash.

Summer '02 - Janet Reno's Dance Party	Fall '02 - Walter Mondale's Get-Out-The-Vote Party

All we need is a real donkey, Tom Hanks, Adrian Zmed and Tawney Kitaen.

"That's the old Rick".

2002-11-01T17:52:00.000-05:00

Quick quiz

An interesting item in my local paper is @ Wit's end, by Thomas Oliver. Here's a quick hit:

Question on Economics 101 final:
Deficits are created:

1) When you spend more than you have.
2) When expenses exceed income.
3) When you spend more than you have.

Question on Advanced Advertising Theory final:
One way to get your candidate elected is to:

1) Tell seniors that his opponent will destroy Social Security, but not before forcing them to eat cat food.
2) Hint that his opponent is racist; if subtlety doesn't work, shout "racist" from rooftops.
3) Declare his opponent wants to put arsenic in poor folks' drinking water, clear-cut forests as a weekend hobby and repeal women's right to vote, work, drive or wear shoes.

2002-11-01T17:51:00.000-05:00

The Great Carnac is gonna guess that the answer may be "Jesus"

The Boston Globe editorial staff illustrates that in America, you can be a functioning illiterate and still be successful:

In his race for the presidency, George Bush named the Bible as the book that most influenced him. But Bush has never explained why, so what might have been an insightful answer was only a sound bite in a debate against Al Gore.

I certainly wish I personally knew these folks.....I could really wow 'em with my creative ability to conjure up catch phrases like '20 pieces of silver', 'cast the first stone', and 'love thy neighbor' and other things that they've obviously never heard before.

2002-10-31T17:28:00.000-05:00

Stoopid quotes

James Carville: You know what, your party hates everybody. You hate elderly people...

James Carville: The Republicans and the anti-political crowd are attacking his children at the moment of their father's death.

James Carville: And they're attacking Senator Wellstone's children, they're attacking Senator Mondale's age. I guess that's two things the Republicans hate most -- children and old people.

JIM FARRELL, FMR. WELLSTONE SPOKESMAN - But, you know, the fact is, Paul Wellstone has endured a year of vicious, false, negative attacks from Norm Coleman and the Republican party here and some of those speakers for them caught up in the last days of a campaign, a very tough one that we were going to win.

[Ed: It was Norm Coleman's fault that the memorial service turned into a pep rally?]

Joe Lockhart: I think if anything, that will backfire on the Republicans. You know, they need to move on. It's a difficult situation. I think there's been a series of missteps as far as, you know, the Republicans are concerned about, you know, not waiting the time that you should wait and what the family do this and I think they'll probably pay a price for that.

For the suck up award:

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: He's still the one, the life of the party, en fuego, lending his flame to charisma-challenged candidates, which, when standing next to Bill Clinton, is pretty much everybody...

....His days as the comeback kid are over. But he's still the natural.

Nice job of broadcast journalism, Miss ~~Lewinsky~~ Crowley. I think we have a new substitute co-host for Crossfire should Begala go on vacation. And who says CNN is biased, anyway?

2002-10-31T17:27:00.000-05:00

Micro$oft shortcuts

Because I'm a geek with too much unnecessary info floating around my gray matter, here are some random tips for the casual user.

Windows Explorer (the file manager, not the browser)

Instead of setting up an icon or clicking incessantly in order to find MSFT's default, you can take your cursor to the 'Start' button and right-click. The second option is Explore. You're done.

Internet Explorer

Chances are, the default title is at the top of your page - Microsoft Internet Explorer. Here's how you can change it to whatever you wish. Now, this is very easy but I must caution you to be very careful. You don't want to screw around in this app.

Click on 'Start', then 'Run'

Type 'regedit' (this is your registry editor - I re-emphasize that you must be very careful, here, this is the 'brains' of your software)

Within the left frame, branch out HKEY_CURRENT-USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main

Look in the right frame (you may need to scroll down) until you see 'Window Title'. Double-click

Type in whatever you wish.

Choose 'OK'.

Close the registry app.

You're done.
The next window you open will have your message as the title in the browser, along with the document title to the left, such as:
[North Georgia Dogma - yournamehere is a great person]

Boss alert

If you have a keyboard made in the last 3 years, chances are you have one that is MS friendly, with the MS emblem on the bottom/left (between Ctrl and Alt - keys you no doubt consistently use due to MSFT products). If you need a quick minimization, holding the MSFT key and 'M' will minimize everything (it's the desktop function).
If you're wanting to maneuver from one app to another, holding the Alt key & choosing Tab will bring up a mini-menu of your running apps...Tab maneuvers between the apps & releasing the Alt key to go to your selected app. This is good for the fellow speed-typers out there, as it's faster than going to the mouse to choose your app (if you're busy & using multiple executables, that is).

2002-10-31T17:26:00.000-05:00

Turn that frown upside down

Since I'm so disgusted right now, I thought I'd put in something on the lighter side, surprisingly enough from Tucker Carlson:

There was a shakeup today at the Democratic brain trust when the party's chief foreign policy adviser, Barbra Streisand, announced that she'll retire and return to her first love, musical comedy. Several weeks ago Dr. Streisand issued a position paper identifying Saddam Hussein as the "president of Iran," a gaff that let some to question her grasp on international affairs. The party has announced her replacement: noted intellectual and hard-core pornographer Larry Flynt.

Flynt made his inaugural remarks in Paris, where he was opening a new strip club. He began by congratulating the governments of France and Germany for their virulent anti-Americanism. Then he attacked President George W. Bush as "the least qualified and least prepared president we've ever had."

As evidence, Flynt noted that unlike himself and Dr. Streisand, President Bush has never appeared in a B movie and does not even live in Beverly Hills.

2002-10-31T07:36:00.000-05:00

Condolences

Jam Master Jay, of Run DMC - the group that resurrected the career of Aerosmith, that later became my favorite all-time band, resulting in many hours of entertainment via Pump, Permanent Vacation, Get a Grip, 9 Lives, Big Ones, etc., passed away.

Also passing away was the positive memory and good vibes left from Paul Wellstone's soul, thanks to the national Donk party. Thanks a lot, guys. I don't have the words to express my disgust with your pathetic party right now.

2002-10-30T18:32:00.000-05:00

As a service

For anyone who reads the rantings of blithering idiots (and damn you for linking me to those sites, as I try to ignore imbecility), the actual exchange on Crossfire was:

BOB NOVAK: Vic Fazio, tonight in Boston there is a debate for governor of Massachusetts between Mitt Romney, who saved the Salt Lake City Olympics and Shannon...
PAUL BEGALA: For what?
BOB NOVAK: ... for governor...
(LAUGHTER)
PAUL BEGALA: I said saved from what?

Note: Novak & Begala, for those who can't attribute a source correctly (or two - good lord, there are only 4 people to choose from, one would think that getting ONE right would be the minimum requirement).

For folks out there who may have missed it (blithering idiots included) there was a lil' thing called a scandal involving the committee involved in bringing the Olympics to Salt Lake City, and there was a huge stain (pun intended) on the ~~dres~~ authenticity of the city gaining the bid. Romney was brought in to fix things.

While I'm at it, the Doobie Brothers and Van Halen broke up and John Lennon was shot.

2002-10-30T18:28:00.000-05:00

Christmas in October, part II

Mikey Moore stops by Donahue (again - this is getting as bad as Imus on Larry King)

MOORE: The guy who’s sitting in the Oval Office tonight. He wants to bomb.

Don't forget the guys in the house & the senate.
MOORE: We don’t need any more inspections, let’s just bomb them and we’ll find out later if they have the weapons.
Hey, Mikey, they won't let us in. Did you know that?
MOORE: That’s the American way. I don’t like that. I’m an American. I paid for those bombs. And I want it stopped. I want that stopped.
Well, duh, we're Americans & we paid for those $75 hammers & we want it stopped. Next.
DONAHUE: And that’s the point you’re making in this movie, as you talk to-you went to talk to people at Lockheed Martin, which has a large post in Littleton. MOORE: They’re the largest private employer in Littleton, and also the world’s largest weapons maker. And it was just one of those weird ironies, that the company that is set up to make weapons of mass destruction is based in part in this town that had this horrible mass destruction at their high school. And I thought that was worth looking at, to think about how all these little threads of violence just weave into our society, sort of this fabric is created. And it doesn’t mean because Lockheed’s there, that’s why those kids did that. I’m asking the people of this country, especially people who see this movie, to think, you know, maybe we should be behaving a little differently. Maybe we shouldn’t be spending so much of our tax dollars on Lockheed Martin, for instance.
FYI, the people of this country want us to be defended. It's in the constitution (near the top), if you didn't know.
MOORE: They’re human beings. Somewhere deep down in there, you know, at one time they were good. And I’ve always, I’ve had this weird kind of optimistic belief that, if you appeal to their conscience, if I take the kids there-one of them’s paralyzed in a wheelchair-show this to the corporate executives. I’m hoping against hope that they will not go away and say, well, what did we have to do with this? We just put the bullets on the shelves. You know, the good German. I just drove the train. I had nothing to do with this.
Yup, the K-Mart hourly worker is now a Nazi. Gosh, with this intellectual insight, I'm shocked that his television shows keep getting canceled.
MOORE: Well, we all have something to do with it. And if you put the bullets on the shelves and you’re selling them to teenagers, you do have a responsibility for it. And I want you to understand that and I want you to stop selling this ammunition.
Didn't the government build the school where the kids perpetrated the crime? Does that apply?
MOORE: Yes, I’m talking about stopping the selling of ammunition for weapons that are specifically designed to kill human beings. DONAHUE: And you see that as pistols, handguns. MOORE: Handguns or weapons where you can fire multiple rounds at a time. You don’t need to essentially spray the woods to get your deer. If you do, you should be, you know, doing needle point or some other sport.
As covered here before, if someone can show me a manufacturing spec sheet that mandates that the product is defective if it does not kill a human being, I'll move this argument from the 'idiotic' file over to the 'plausible' folder. Until then, get a clue.
DONAHUE: OK, so let’s understand. You’d like a ban on the sale of handguns. MOORE: Yes. I believe that we don’t need handguns.
Y'know, Mikey, we don't 'need' the government subsidizing art, we don't 'need' the department of education, and we don't 'need' TV Nation (oops, forgot, that one's already gone).
MOORE: That’s right. When I moved to New York City a decade ago, there were 2,100 murders that year. New York then enacted very strong gun laws. You cannot really-you can’t buy a gun in New York City. Last year there were 600 and some murders, down from 2,100. This will reduce a lot of it. But it’s not the full solution.
Actually, the gun ban was already in effect & he's lying out of his extremely large ass. Something else happened, that he isn't talking about, and that was the election of George Pataki and his signing of the death penalty legislation that sent murderers the message that a needle was in store for them, instead of Mario Cuomo's air-condidtioned prisons. Add in the tough-on-crime Giuliani ousting that clown Dinkins and almost immediately the violent crime rates dropped. Nice try, Mikey, but if you actually think that people who were using gun A to kill people suddenly said "hey, this gun is illegal....I guess I better not KILL someone, then", you're dumber than I thought (and I really think you're dumb).
MOORE: If you were poor in Canada, or in these other countries, the majority of the country wants to embrace you. They want to help you. What we want to do is, we want to beat up on the poor. We want to say, you’re poor? We’re going to make you suffer even more. And I think that that leads to a lot of violence, especially in our inner cities, because you’ve got these state acts of what I call state-sponsored terrorism and violence against our own people: Welfare to Work, et cetera, et cetera. It’s all...
LOL, this idiot just stated that if you don't increase welfare giveaways the way he likes, the folks will start shooting. No justice, no peace, indeed!
MOORE: Well, I think-this occurred in the Beecher school district. It sits on the border of the city limits of Flint. And this is a district where 87 percent of the kids live below the federal poverty level — 87 percent. That right there should just shame all of us. It’s a crime that that is allowed to exist, in the wealthiest country on this planet, that we would let this get to this point. And it’s black and white in Beecher. It’s where sort of-it’s the garbage dump of our county, where poor whites and poor blacks are forced to live, because they can’t afford the housing elsewhere, because they can’t get jobs, real jobs, anywhere in this area. And unless that stops, we’re going to continue to have this kind of violence. I don’t think any of us, as saddened as we were by the Buell shooting, were truly shocked by it, were we? We weren’t completely shocked. We knew that eventually it would get this bad. And we fear that it will get even worse.
All that diatribe about a movie based upon the crime spree of two rich white kids. Man, it's a good thing that in the early 30's the economy was great, everyone had a job and blacks were treated as well as whites, or there'd have been shootings all over the place.
MOORE: Do you know that the day that Columbine happened, the United States dropped more bombs on Kosovo than any other time during that war?

Yeah, but we had UN approval. Right? No?

MOORE: Right. Because the American media wants to pump you full of fear. All summer long, what was it? Child abductions, right? Every other day it was the child abductions. The truth is, child abductions are fewer from this year than last year. And there were fewer last year than the year before. It’s constantly pumping you with this fear that, You could be next! Lock your doors! Buy another gun!
Y'know, they obviously overdid the child abduction thing, but if anyone out there knows of even ONE instance where the mainstream media championed that the solution was buying a gun, the drinks are on me.
MOORE: Right. Race is used to manipulate the fears of white people to vote for conservative politicians, to vote for conservative policies. And then white people — 90 percent of the guns in this country are bought out in the white suburbs where you don’t need them because there’s virtually no crime.

I'm sure that the fact that he just admitted that where there are more guns - there is little crime, goes straight over that idiot's head. Lord knows Donahue & the morons in the audience didn't have the foggiest idea that he just put forth the entire argument for MORE guns in homes.

MOORE: And as the prosecutor says in the film, these guns then are stolen from the white communities and end up back in the inner city, creating all this violence. And it’s-it’s-until we deal with race, we’re not going to really get to the core of a lot of our problems.

If the guns are creating all this violence (Moore's words), how did it suddenly become a race issue? Are gloks bigots?

QUESTION: Hi. We’re from Canada, and we’re very pleased you made this movie because we’ve been wondering for many, many years why America just doesn’t get it. My husband here is the local coordinator in Sarnia (ph) for the Coalition for Gun Control. Why don’t Americans get that we have to change?
Nothing against the country, but I just love it when folks who LEFT Canada tell us Americans how much better Canada is. "Sure, Mr. Bonds, the Pirates are so much better."
MOORE: The great thing about you Canadians is that you’ve decided a long time ago that you’re going to be responsible for each other. Do you know what the-the country I live in, we won’t even put it in writing that a child has a right to a doctor. A child! We won’t even-that’s what we do for our own children! We won’t even do that slight little bit, universal health care for kids. If we would treat our own children that way, and you must think this about us...
Wonder how many neighbors' medical bills Michael Moore pays for? I mean, he's for taking care of everyone and he's certainly rich. You'd think someone would ask him that, eh?
MOORE: Because Canadians don’t think first, Hey, let’s go in and just obliterate people. Their thinking is, you know what? We’re human beings. We can sit down. We can negotiate. We can work this out.
Maybe we could be as successful with your theory as we were with North Korea, eh?

MOORE: ... because of our arrogance and our sense of entitlement. And it, I guarantee you, like the Romans, will be our undoing. We will unravel as a result of that because we didn’t take care of the real threat, 40 million people living in poverty, 50 million people with no health care, 40 million adults who can’t read and write on an adult level. That is what will make our society collapse, not Saddam Hussein, folks! Not Saddam Hussein. No!
Wow, I feel so insecure when Michael Moore calls me arrogant.
And I just love it when a quasi-Marxist decries the sense of entitlement among Americans, don't you?

Okay, first of all the poverty percentages are the same as they were when we started the great society programs (money well spent, eh?), the unemployment and wealth figures are envied worldwide, everyone has health care - he means INSURANCE but the idiots that follow him will gladly swallow the 'health care' line, and we have public schools (which we cannot change, btw, but can only increase the funding of) that supposedly teach reading and writing. So, we have trillions spent and it's still (let's all say it together) not enough money.

2002-10-30T18:07:00.000-05:00

Vote Democratic.

Do the other guys let you vote, be taxed, and have your memorial services politicized, all after you die?

2002-10-30T07:25:00.000-05:00

Top ten list

I'm trying to come up with a Letterman-esque top 10 list - this entry is the top 10 things more disgusting than turning a memorial service into a campaign rally.

Thus far, I've come up with 'actually passing the plate soliciting campaign donations during prayer'.

Any suggestions?

2002-10-30T06:13:00.000-05:00

Paging Susan Sarandon

I haven't seen anyone else do it, so I figure I'll step to the plate. Also, I've only seen her in 6 films and guess what....I only liked one of them.

I am here to ask questions that have not been answered. How will the bombing of Baghdad, a city of five million, accomplish a regime change?

Has anyone said that bombing Baghdad would accomplish a regime change? Heck, if you're gonna make things up, why not ask Nuke Laloosh if he can breathe through his eyelids, Annie? Maybe you didn't hear, but the President's spokesperson said it could be accomplished with one bullet. However, should our military commanders determine that it's best to openly discuss tactical strategy with aging actresses, you'll be third on the list.

How much will that bombing cost in lives, and in money?

Well, now, there's a question just oozing with intelligence. If someone says 34,256 and it's not, Sarandon can say "they lied"...if someone says 10 and it ends up being 11, Sarandon can say "they lied". If I say "what a stupid question", those who are operating on emotions say "Isn't Susan Sarandon great?" How's this, Ms. Sarandon, how much has Hussein remaining in power cost in lives and in money?

And change to what? To who?

That would be up to the citizens of Iraq via an open election, wouldn't it? Oh, I'm sorry, you're quite willing to continue with Hussein starving his citizens while you bitch about the U.S. not sending more money over there.

How much will it cost us to maintain stability in that region, and for how long?

How much will your next movie make, how many minutes will it be in length, what will the final rating be, and for how long will it be in the top 20 grossing films? Tell me, now.

And what about our relationship with our allies, our allies who are not with us?

"Our allies who are not with us"? Well, that would make them NOT our allies in a war against Iraq. However, to answer your question, since Germany and France have a financial interest in purchasing oil from Hussein, the words 'fuck' and 'them' would be my response. If you don't like that answer, I can change the last word to 'you'. In case you didn't hear, the votes have been cast and the writing's on the wall.

What about our relationship with the UN?

What about it? Do you mean the UN that still has members on the committee on human rights who currently practice slavery? Where Momar Khadafi is chair? That entity, which you give reverence?

"I am here because I am tired of being frightened to speak out.

Yes, Ms. Sarandon, we all believe you have been too frightened to speak out. That's exactly what I thought that when I saw you speaking out on on O'Reilly, on Larry King, when I saw you speaking out in rallies across the nation, when I saw you speaking out via advertisements in various newspapers around the world....you're scared to death, right? What, did you think we'd forget? Did that bullshit go over with anyone other than the bed-wetting Marxists at your pink panty-rally?

We have been told that 'you are either with us or against us,' that to ask a question is anti-American, divisive.

Well, gee, no one told Helen Thomas, John Cochran, Tim Russert, Sam Donaldson, et. al., seems as though people have been asking questions non-stop. Oh, you're playing the "on top of everything else I've complained about over the decades, I'm a victim of this, too" card. Look, Ms. Sarandon, I can respect your opinion and your steadfastness in your beliefs, but if you can't protest without claiming victim-hood about being the inability to speak out before granting an interview with a major paper/magazine, getting into your limo and signing your next multi-million dollar movie deal where you can put forth your political viewpoints via propaganda, kindly <click here>.

Mr. Bush you have hijacked our pain, our loss, our fear, and you have convinced many that to fight preemptively is the only way to protect our democracy.

FYI, the title's 'President' Bush, bitch. Your aging boyfriend's a "mister", Bush is the leader of the free world. Learn to love it.

I say to you Mr. Bush, this is what democracy looks like.

Democracy is a bunch of pu$$ies with their hands out?

*Please forgive the extra level of smartass in this entry, but the thought of a group of people politicizing a memorial service has me disgusted beyond my usual tolerances.

2002-10-30T06:10:00.000-05:00

Good lord, make him stop

Paul Wellstone dies.

What is the best thing one should do? Eulogize? Pray? Offer condolences?

Nope....Alterman decides that the 1/8 ounce of class that he found in his left shoe was simply too much, and thus decide it's more important to scour the historical records to see if anyone has criticized a politician, so he can then attempt to smear that person's character by assimilating anything now being said out of deference to his memory as somehow put forth under false pretences.

He's not even in a closed casket & Alterman's trying to see how bad the Republicans are in this tragedy.

You're a helluva guy, Eric. I'm sure like-minded folks will follow suit, if in a somewhat less disgusting manner.

2002-10-29T23:46:00.000-05:00

I need a shower just reading about it

Stumping at a memorial service.

A get out the vote rally during a memorial service.

Classy, huh?

Link via Hanks

2002-10-29T21:44:00.000-05:00

My local paper has gone ape-shit (part VI in a series)

Today, they shocked absolutely no one by endorsing Max Cleland. What's noteworthy in a typically ridiculously worded illustration of pure fallacy is the final stanza:

Chambliss is running for the right to serve as a "yes" man. Cleland is running as what he has always been -- his own man. Georgians know the difference.

Good lord, 'his own man' can't run a commercial without trying to show that he's buddy-buddy with George W. Bush or Zell Miller.

'His own man' couldn't make it through the debate without lying incessantly about how he's really on board with the President vis-à-vis the homeland security department (which the AJC staff predictably furthers) and mentioning Zell Miller every chance he gets (the words 'Mutt' and 'Jeff' spring to mind).

'His own man' is too busy having the DNC flacks out there attempting (feebly) to portray him as a 'moderate', when anyone with a scintilla of honesty can look at his voting record over the last 6 years and see that it's closer to Ted Kennedy's than Zell Miller's.

2002-10-29T17:30:00.000-05:00

Time for a good ol' fashioned fisk

This time, it's Martha Ezzard, member of the Atlanta Constitution editorial board (the loony side of the AJC staff). Today we'll focus in on how to use deceptive rhetoric:

We have more than our share of bumper sticker candidates this year -- the wind-em-up, walking, talking party liners. Republicans good, Democrats bad -- or vice versa. But just when I'm ready to tune out, a few candidates in every election exhibit some of those rare qualities I look for: independence, moderation, consistency or just sheer guts.

Sorry, I'm aware of your work. Who ya teasin', Martha?

My favorite gutsy candidate, state Judge Patrick Ward, has already been defeated. Why? At least partly because he stood up for the constitutional rights of poor people. (Georgia, illogically, holds its "nonpartisan" judicial elections at the time of the party primaries.) Asking for money, as Ward did, to pay lawyers for poor people accused of minor crimes is hardly popular in tiny Grady County, in the southwest corner of the state. But the U.S. Supreme Court ruled recently that not providing a lawyer to someone who stands a chance of losing his freedom violates the Sixth Amendment. Not a popular but a right cause.

Emphasis mine. Judge Patrick Ward didn't 'ask for money', he ran on the government taking money from working taxpayers to fund the salaries of trial lawyers (gee, guess which party that'd help?) on top of what is already called for in the existing law. Stephanopoulos is asking for royalties, since you tried to take a version of his 'contribution' line.

Even though I don't agree with Republican gubernatorial candidate Sonny Perdue's strict anti-abortion stand, there's an admirable consistency on this point between what he says and what he does. Without making a lot of noise about it, he and his wife Mary have been foster parents for five years for countless infants awaiting adoption. It's something the couple would like to continue even in the Governor's Mansion. Few anti-abortion politicians act, as Perdue has, on the implicit obligation to care for unwanted children.

Emphasis mine. No matter which side of this issue someone stands, the term is 'pro-life', Ms. Ezzard. Unless you'd like for the opposing view to be labeled pro-abortion, try to be less transparent. The opposing camps are pro-life and pro-choice. Try not to be a hack. As to the substance, one presumes that Ms. Ezzard (and the rest of the folks out there who attempt to use this lame demand of pro-lifers) maintains unwanted artwork in her home, since she espouses public funding for 'art' that isn't viable in the marketplace. So much for consistency, eh?

Or take Roy Barnes' practice of never giving an inch on the flag issue when he speaks before conservative rural audiences. The incumbent governor's ability to step around political land mines can make your head spin, but when it comes to changing the Confederate battle emblem on the state flag, he faces it head on. "It was the right thing to do," he told farmers in Perry recently, including the band of "flaggers" who harass him at every stop. The buck on the flag stops with him, and he tells all audiences, friendly and unfriendly, that he'd do the same thing again.

'The flag issue' wasn't changing the flag, it was Barnes running on not changing the flag & then backdooring it when no one was looking (you know, kind of like the Clinton tax increase that Ms. Ezzard supported after the campaign where the AJC staff touted the middle income tax cut). Many folks are angry not because they want Dixie flying in the flag, but because the people had no say in the matter and the politicians played fast and loose with their intentions. And this is something that Ms. Ezzard is actually trying to pass off as being courageous. Thus, she is neither a talented reporter or columnist.

It's also refreshing to find candidates who refuse to buy the party line on litmus-test issues. Fulton County newcomer Maria Theresa Bips, a Republican running in newly created four-member House District 42, is a believer in reproductive choice and in strong environmental protections. She readily admits being "an old hippie," hardly the GOP stereotype. She's Republican because she believes in a smaller and less costly government. Period.

"Reproductive choice" being "pro-choice" on the abortion issue. And as we all know, since Roe v. Wade made abortion legal throughout the land, a state representative declaring their views on abortion is akin to the local school board candidate espousing on Bush's choice for running the CIA. Read: Bips is pro-choice, therefore she's bucking the party line....perhaps Ms. Ezzard could name the litmus-test buster for the Democrats, eh?

Candidates interested in the unglamorous work of improving the democratic process are hard to find, but two stand out this election season. Lois Cohen, running for insurance commissioner, thinks it's wrong for the chief regulator to accept money from the industry being regulated. Refusing all insurance-related contributions, she's raised less than $200,000, compared with incumbent Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine's $1.1 million, over the last year, mostly from his insurance contacts.

Emphasis mine. So, if you're in the widget making business, it's best if you don't donate to the candidate that best represents your views...according to Ms. Ezzard. Somehow, that would be detrimental to the democratic process. Wonder what dictionary she derives 'democratic' from, or if it's always with a capital 'D'? BTW, Ms. Ezzard's paper endorses candidates, thus giving free positive press to certain candidates.

Democrat Mike Berlon opposes the special-interest largess, too. He's running a David vs. Goliath race in the Seventh Congressional District against incumbent U.S. Rep. John Linder, a top GOP fund-raiser. Berlon believes young mainstream voters in his sprawling suburban district feel disenfranchised by a man who votes the party line 98 percent of the time.

Emphasis mine. Okay, he's a hard-core Democrat who doesn't like Linder's voting record. That's the open exchange of ideas - great. Notice that Ms. Ezzard denotes Linder being an accomplished fund-raiser and voting along the party's platform (imagine that?) is denoted as special-interest largess. And if a rep who votes against your views is now 'disenfranchisement', Max Cleland is nearing felonious levels, Ms. Ezzard.

People who'd like what he has to say about squeezing the money out of politics and about really reforming corporate abuse may not hear him because his $80,000 won't go very far against Linder's $1.3 million.

Note that Ezzard is pretty much endorsing the concept of 'squeezing the money out of politics' (thereby leaving the free advertising by her paper to be unchallenged).

Berlon and the few other idealists restore my faith in the democratic process. It's not the big money and the snazzy TV ads that count, but the people who believe in you. An elderly man who has lived in Gwinnett County all of his life desperately wants Berlon to take his fresh approach to Washington. He sends him $25 every month from his pension check. That's it. That's what politics was once about in this country and should be again.

She couldn't even make it through her own column without contradicting herself. Now, it's commendable if money is in politics...but only if done by donating to the nearby Democratic candidate that happens to be running against a conservative Republican.

I would ask if they have proof-readers for the editorial board columns, but I recall that Cynthia Tucker is the editor.

2002-10-28T17:42:00.000-05:00

Let's hear it for the 'big dog'?

I've seen more of Bush on the commercials for Max Cleland and Roy Barnes than I have for Sonny Perdue and Saxby Chambliss. All this coattail grabbin' had me to wondering if I've missed some news stories (seriously)....

Erskine Bowles is in a tight race with Liz Dole and his tenure as chief of staff for the President of the United States would surely be the biggest notch on his resume'. Have we seen the 'big dog' make campaign appearances?

Bill McBride is in a tight race with Jeb Bush, and with the polls showing that things are slipping away, best buddy Terry McAuliffe could easily get some help with one phone call. When will we see the 'big dog' head down to Florida to help McAuliffe's number one priority come to fruition?

How about South Dakota? Tim Johnson is neck-and-neck with Thune, and Tom Daschle's leadership position hangs on the outcome from his home state. Has 'big dog' stopped by to boost the polls?

Back to my home state of Georgia. Max Cleland, war hero, has seen his lead shrink weekly, and despite most accounts showing him as the slim favorite to defeat Saxby Chambliss, a stop by from someone never referred to as a 'chicken hawk' (despite sending troops into battle without serving), but rather the 'big dog' would surely boost the campaign coffers, right?

Maybe 'big dog' has stopped by Missouri and helped out Jean Carnahan? After all, she's trailing in most polls and any help was surely appreciated. Right?

If not, surely the 'big dog' isn't busy right now. Lord knows he's not helping Andrew Cuomo, Janet Reno or Robert Reich, all former cabinet members who didn't make it out of the primaries, despite having served in the 'big dog's' administration. And, well, his endorsement of Mark Green didn't go over all that well, even with a 30 point lead.

Okay, okay, maybe I'm being too tough.

After all, the guy is semi-retired and doesn't have to do the political thingy right now. Since he no longer has the weight of the world on his shoulders, he can sit back and relax with some old friends and enjoy his adulthood. So, 'big dog', have you stopped by your old stomping grounds in Arkansas and stumped for Pryor? After all, you were officially named a black person there recently, and you could surely pose for a few photo shoots with the guy. He's got a lead over Hutchinson in most polls, so it could be just a social visit and the cameras could capture Pryor hob-knobbing with the 'big dog' just in time for the voters to remember his powerful connections before they close the curtains.

How much has 'big dog' used his dominant influence to help anyone win?

Other than McCall, of course.

2002-10-28T01:06:00.000-05:00

He's all ours

Since the day the Hawks screwed 'Nique (yes, Stan Kasten is on the axis of evil list for that one no matter what he does from here on out), I've been the anti-Hawk fan (anyone can win but the Hawks), but being a Georgian I'm obligated to be a Braves & Falcons fan. It was tough during the 70's & 80's, but things have been much brighter over the last decade or so. Yeah, there's only one championship, but the Anaheim fans will attest that sometimes it's worth the wait.

With that in mind, I'm very glad to know that every other team's fans are jealous that they don't have the most exciting player in the NFL on their team, like we do (barring injury), Mr. Michael Vick. I remember William Andrews' injury, so anything can happen...until then.

Catch him if you can (and no, you can't).

2002-10-27T19:40:00.000-05:00

Please explain this

Senator Cleland, I see from Open Secrets that you've taken money from certain individuals this campaign this cycle and you've been the recipient of a fundraiser from the same person in the past.

If you're going to use your Vietnam record as a campaign issue (which you should), will you please address why Vietnam vets (or anyone else) should vote for you when you take money from this woman?

"Lieutenant Commander POW (and later Presidential Candidate and US Senator) John McCain: "These people, Ramsey Clark, Tom Hayden, and Jane Fonda, were on the side of the North Vietnamese. I think she only saw eight selected prisoners. I was beaten unmercifully for refusing to meet with the visitors."

2002-10-26T10:48:00.000-04:00

LOL!

Rodger Schultz over at Curmudgeonly & Skeptical is a daily visit for yours truly, if no other reason than to see the latest hilarious pic.

Great job, Rodger!

2002-10-25T21:53:00.000-04:00

Attention, ladies...

Always remember that you should wear your bra.

2002-10-24T19:29:00.000-04:00

Contradictions, Schmontradictions

It seems our good friends at TAPPED are under the impression that they and plenty of other folks are quite secure in their belief that if only Gore had put Bill Clinton out there on the campaign trail, he'd have won. Their reasoning isn't much different than most other Clinton supporters have put forth:

Tapped thinks that Gore could have trotted out Clinton every day of the campaign without it hurting his approval ratings. In fact, we think it would have helped Gore win. The Clinton-haters weren't voting for Gore anyway, the Clinton-lovers were voting for Gore no matter what -- and the love-the-presidency, hate-the-president group were precisely the people who would have grasped that Gore represented Clintonism without Clinton, if Gore had been brave enough to make the argument. Instead he hid Clinton, downplayed the administration's record and lost the presidency.

The only thing is, there's quite a few things that cause those to only be (very) wishful thinking.

First and foremost are the internal polls of the Democratic party, which showed that Clinton would hurt Gore immensely. Not slightly, but immensely, and enough so that Gore made the decision to send Clinton into the 'safe' areas (read: da 'hood). Now, one may argue that Gore shouldn't listen to the polls, even the ones that the party paid for, and that's an admirable argument to make --- but that wouldn't be part of Tapped's arsenal, since they're now suddenly cheering over certain polls that get them giddy over the prospect of Jeb Bush trailing. Either the polls are good or they're bad.

Second, with the aforementioned obvious fervor that the seem to have (along with McAuliffe) at the possibility of Jeb losing, it points out one other aspect that they (and many others on the left) are overlooking: if losing Florida would be a huge embarrassment for President Bush and a huge plus for the overall status of the DNC, taking into account that President Bush won that state by just over 500 votes in '00, he's never lived in that state, his brother lost on his first bid for Governor and that it's still considered a 'toss-up' state (whereas the likes of Mass and Ga are considered 'secure'), what does it say about the support for Clinton that he couldn't even deliver his home state for Gore for goodness sakes? If Jeb losing Florida is a sign that W's support isn't all that great, wouldn't Clinton's home state going for Bush in '00 further illustrate that Gore was correct in his premise that Clinton was indeed a drag on his own credibility?

Third, the West Wing-esque cheerleading exhibition - "Please, Mr. Vice-President, if you'd only ignore what those pollsters and your advisors are telling you, roll up your shirt sleeves, put your arm around our guy Bill and fight-fight-fight, the people will love you...they really will!" - is nothing new and really only mirrors the projections of folks anticipating that if the masses would only get the message, they'd fall in love with Clinton, as well.

Y'know, it IS possible to admit that Clinton was an overall negative for Gore and still love the guy.

Maybe we should ask Mark Green, Janet Reno, Andrew Cuomo and Robert Reich how strong the Clinton coattails are. I would add Erskin Bowles to the list, but he doesn't want to bring up the name publicly all that often.

Update: Just wanted to 'bring home' that the home state I'm referring to is Arkansas, Clinton's home state. The way I typed it could be interpreted as hinting that Clinton couldn't deliver Gore's home state (which he couldn't do either, btw), but my original aim was to emphasize that Clinton campaigned in Arkansas & it helped Gore as much as Clinton's campaigning in NYC helped Mark Green...buttressing my contention that Gore's decision was a sound one.

2002-10-23T18:36:00.000-04:00

James DiBenedetto over at the 11 day empire does a major-league fisking of Richard Cohen.

2002-10-23T18:17:00.000-04:00

Another rendition of stoopid quotes

Also ahead, Maryland Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend on the sniper spree. And the high price she and her family have paid for gun violence. - Judy Woodruff, CNN

I generally like Mrs. Hunt, but the high price her family paid was due to Lee Harvey Oswald and Sirhan-Sirhan (plus some others, depending upon your grassy knoll theory), not because some gun woke up pissed off and decided to go mid-evil and commit violence against some Kennedys. Good grief.

It is very tough to grow up without a father, and it's been very tough on members of my family. So I am very clear that we have got to make sure that we have common sense gun laws. - Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (D - Idiotville)

Which gun law would've stopped the murderers in question, Ms. Townsend? Good lord, gun-grabbers, if I'm gonna kill you I certainly don't give a rat's ass about the gun ordinances! When will you get that through your thick craniums?

Well, I think the issue is bad people with bad guns and if you have certain types of guns, it's more -- it's easier to commit even worse crimes. So let's make sure that we can get rid of assault weapons, let's make sure that we can get rid of Saturday night specials. - Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (D - Beam Me UP)

Got a problem with bad people with bad guns (that don't apply to the current situation)? Outlaw the guns, of course!

It's not just a question of punishing bad people. I want to prevent the crimes from occurring in the first place.- Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (D - I'm getting dumber by the second)

See, if you take away the saturday night special, that sniper won't shoot you with his .223, according to Ms. Townsend. Surely to GOD you people in Maryland can do better.

I've seen enormous pain that when you lose somebody, in my own family. I see neighborhoods torn apart by guns. - Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (D - Somebody please stop me)

You see neighborhoods torn apart by criminals using guns, you Dem-wit. Which begs the question: Why is it that these problems are more prevalent in districts/areas that are controlled by Democrats?

However, I would remind all of our viewers that there is no Second Amendment right to own a gun. It's just something conjured up in the minds of the NRA. - James Carville (Resident Idiot)

That one's so easy I'm not even going to type a response, but allow you to guffaw...

No, because this administration is frankly not fighting the war on al Qaeda. They're bored with it. - James Carville (Clinton Kneepadder)

All you folks with family serving in the military over in the middle east, fighting the war on Al Qaeda? It's a fantasy.

This president has lied more in less than two years in office than Bill Clinton and Al Gore lied their lifetime. - James Carville (Clinton Rehabilitation Project co-founder).

Make sure you wag your finger when you say that, Carville.

2002-10-23T17:55:00.000-04:00

What you probably haven't heard recited from the talking points

Your patience is required, as this is quite detailed, but also quite informative.

So, you've heard the talking point put forth from the Torricelli withdrawal and the Lautenberg replacement, along with the New Jersey supreme court ruling that surely stunned the state and national Democratic party officials ('They said it was okay to pull out of the race 35 days away when the law says 51? I'm shocked, I tell ya, shocked! We had no idea those contributors to the Torricelli campaign would rule that way before we he made ~~our~~ his decision'). You heard that the Republicans didn't want the voters to have a choice after the Torch pulled out ('What other 5 candidates on the ballot?'). You heard that Forrester wanted to go into the general without a candidate from the other major party on the ballot, thus having the election 'given' to him. The voters deserved a choice...or at least that's what the NJ justices said. And the Democratic party surely made sure that the voters weren't denied, especially since the incumbent was a Democrat. After all, the party of the working man wants to make sure that the people have a voice against the powerful.

Right?

Please allow me to take you to the year 2000 and the state of Georgia. Yeah, sure, you also know that Bush garnered 60% in '00, that 9 of the 12 existing congress critters are Republican, that one of the US senators is the 'moderate' Zell Miller and that Georgia is one of our more conservative states. The state where Kennesaw exists, the town that has an ordinance that mandates that every home must own a firearm. The state where former speaker of the house Newt Gingrich cut his teeth and rose to power. That Republican juggernaut, Georgia.

Quick quiz, hotshot, when was the last time the state of Georgia had a Republican governor? A Republican legislature? If your answer was RECONSTRUCTION, you guessed right. Yup, good ol' conservative Georgia was last controlled by Republicans back when the year of our lord (we can still use that word down here) began with the numbers one and eight

You want to talk about party machinery? We can talk about the Democratic party in Georgia. The place where the legislature gerrymanders the congressional districts after the 1990 census so egregiously along racial boundaries that the United States Supreme Court actually ruled it unconstitutional (for any Broward county readers, that means "bad"). The place where the speaker of the house (Tom Murphy) is so powerful that he exempts vehicles with truck chassis from the highway seatbelt law (guess who drives a pickup truck: Tom Murphy). The place where said speaker's home-town football team kept losing to private schools in the state playoffs, so he decided to institute a new class system for the schools that graded the population at private high schools in a different manner than the government schools (the 'one man, one vote' concept may apply, but in Georgia one private school student equals a little more than one public school student). Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the state of Georgia, where the Democratic party rule is so entrenched it possibly makes the city of Chicago jealous.

Back to the year 2000, where state congressman Randy Sauder (R) is running for re-election in house district 29 (Smyrna). Sauder was a lawyer and one-time theology student, and a Republican. Surprisingly enough, the same Democratic party that though it so important to have a candidate running on their ticket in New Jersey didn't have a single person running for election in the Democratic primary for house seat 29. "What," you may ask, "would a state party that has so much power be doing not even putting up a candidate?"

Patience, young Skywalker, for here is the story that you probably haven't been told, and what certainly wasn't highlighted in the local paper (the Atlanta Journal-Constitution):

Monday, April 24, 2000, fifteen minutes before the qualifying period ended - fifteen minutes - Sauder changed his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat. However, the Democrats had shockingly decided that in the year 2000 they didn't need to run a challenger against him (gee, I wonder why not?) while the Republicans surely didn't plan on having a challenger running against the incumbent of the same party. The end result, 15 minutes after he switches? The Democrats have the only candidate on the ballot.

April 25, 2000 this letter is sent from Jimmy Skipper, Democrat Majority Whip, to Attorney General Thurbert Baker, proposing Randy Sauder's switch during qualifying week. The money part:

"On Monday, April 24, 2000, an individual submitted his Notice of Candidacy in person to representatives of a State political party at the State Capitol in Atlanta after qualifying for elective office began on that date. The individual paid his qualifying fee of Four Hundred Dollars $400.00) in cash. The individual has now decided that he would like to withdraw or void his Notice of Candidacy initially filed, and then re-file a Notice of Candidacy with the other political party and pay the appropriate qualifying fee to that political party...No person shall qualify with any political party as a candidate for nomination to any public office when such person has qualified for the same primary with another political party as a candidate for nomination by that party for any public office..." O.C.G.A. Section 21-2-137.

May 26, 2000, Sauer, the only witness, testifies that he didn't contemplate a switch when he originally qualified with the Republicans. ''I had every intention of running as a Republican when I qualified on Monday,...I started to second guess my decision on Monday.'' Sauder's attorney said until the qualifying period ends, candidates can amend -- even withdraw -- their applications at any time before the deadline. ''The Republicans did not certify him over to the Secretary of State'' as one of their official candidates, Walbert said. ''That shows that they accepted his withdrawal. ... That confirms, very strongly, the position of Mr. Sauder.''

June 5, 2000, Administrative Law Judge Michael Malihi disqualified Randy Sauder from running as a candidate for the Democratic Party nomination for the House of Representatives. Malihi found that the state laws clearly prohibit a candidate who has qualified with one party from qualifying with another party for the same primary and that Marston H. Tuck, a voter in the 29th House District, had satisfied the burden of persuasion by a preponderance of the evidence that Sauder had violated O.C.G.A. Section 21-2-137 (the act that Democratic Majority Whip Jimmy Skipper pointed to in is letter the day after Sauder switched). The matter then moved to Secretary of State Cathy Cox, who had the power to make the final decision.

June 7, 2000, Cox (a Democrat - suprise, suprise) reversed Malihi's decision and ordered Sauder back on the November ballot. Cox found that the opinion of Georgia election law was flawed and adopted the position of Attorney General Thurbert Baker (a Democrat - surprise, surprise).

June 9, 2000, Republicans sue in Superior Court to remove Sauder from ballot.

June 30, 2000, A Fulton County Superior Court Senior Judge sided with Georgia Secretary of State Cathy Cox in holding that there is no prohibition in the Georgia Code against qualifying for the same office with two different parties in the same primary.

During this time, a Republican, Ginger Collins, has been amassing signatures in order to qualify as an independent (since Sauder's actions left the Republicans with no candidates on the ballot. A Democrat, Doug Stoner, has also been amassing signatures.

October 5, 2000 (get this) Secretary of State Cathy Cox, through her Campaign Committee, contributed to Randy Sauder's campaign. I kid you NOT. Gee, the ruling authority contributing to the campaign of a candidate whose legitimacy is in question? Where have we seen this before?

November 28, 2000, For the first time in Georgia history, an independent who qualified by petition defeated an incumbent as Ginger Collins (73%) decisively defeated Randy Sauder in the State House race for House District 29.

Since the Donks controlled the machinery, it was all legal. The voters of district 29 saw through the shinola and righted things.
How were the shenanigans of Cathy Cox handled by our esteemed local press? Why, they were so outraged at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that today they endorsed Cathy Cox for secretary of state.

Again.
Just as they endorsed Cynthia McKinney for congress five times.

Now, think about all the quotes, comments and talking points you read/heard during the New Jersey replacement scheme, and how the REPUBLICANS were against the voters having a choice and then ask yourself why you think these folks continue to get away with these high jinks.

2002-10-22T23:43:00.000-04:00

Ya gotta love kids

I've seen the pic making its rounds via email of the baby holding the playboy & the remote. Well, here's a legit pic of my son, where we didn't touch him or manufacture a pose.

Look closely...seems as though the little tyke zonked out watching a movie and decided to assume the Al Bundy position.

I think I'll save this one for his teenage years. :)

2002-10-22T17:43:00.000-04:00

Notable Stoopid quotes

If I were a Republican, I wouldn't want to talk about the worst economy and stewardship in the past half-century either. - Mark Shields, Capital Gang

Gee, didn't we hear that in '92? Perhaps Mr. Shields didn't hear that what he's referring to was the smallest recession in the history of our nation. Last half century? Did he sleep through Carter? Oops, I forgot....it doesn't matter.

And John Thune and John Sununu say, 'we're not for privatizing Social Security. We're not for that Bush plan..'. - Al Hunt, Capital Gang

FYI, the Bush plan doesn't (and has never) called for privatizing social security. Mr. Hunt is still getting his daily DNC fax, which was first outed when he took off on the 'gravitas' parade and got nailed for it. Try some originality, Al, and maybe you'll be known for something other than DNC water carrier and being Mr. Judy Woodruff.

[Aaron] McGruder, 28, is a "race man" at a time when many up-and-coming African-Americans are being pressured to join the mainstream — a euphemism for thinking and acting like white folks. - Dwayne Wickham, USA Today

Thinking and acting like white folks? Harry Belafonte impersonator alert!

As much as it might pain some to hear this, the barbs offered up by Freeman — McGruder's black everyman — closely track the thinking of a broad cross section of African-Americans. That's a truth many of the strip's critics avoid as assiduously as a stroll through an inner-city neighborhood. - Dwayne Wickham, USA Today

Mr. Wickham thinks paralleling the inner-city and Boondocks is a good thing! Yo, dog, he's a playah, not a hatah!

You’ll recall that virtually every prediction out of Washington before the 1998 by-elections was that “the people” were going to punish the Democrats because Clinton had infuriated them by slipping out of the grasp of the morals police. - Michael Tomasky from Alterman's blog

I recall that virtually every prediction out of Washington was that the RNC had blown the opportunity handed to them on a blue dress and that Clinton's high approval ratings going into the elections meant that that GOP wasn't going to get the gains that off-year elections usually meant. What friggin' planet are you from, or do you conclude that 'virtually every prediction out of Washington' means those from the right-leaning pundits? Perhaps you've forgotten the term 'the wisdom of the American people', since Clinton's polls were the #1 reason that we were told he was supposed to stay? That was an extra-stoopid quote.

Why don't you want registration? We're not banning guns, we're not confiscating guns. Americans love guns. American virile males like to kill little animals 150 yards with a high-powered weapon. That's fine. That's OK. - Ron Silver, Crossfire

Ah, yes, the Freudian approach, where someone who recognizes the second amendment is compensating for their penis. Look, Mr. Silver, you were far superior to the regular co-hosts of that show, but would you and the other gun-grabbers please get your minds off our cocks, once and for all?

Let's talk about these weapons just for one second. I served in the U.S. Marine Corps, I have fired assault weapons. I was an expert with an M-16. There is no -- an M-16 is not illegal. - Michael Barnes, Gun Control Advocate, Crossfire

Yes it is.

You can go to gun shows anywhere around here and buy them. - Michael Barnes, Gun Control Advocate, Crossfire

No, you can't. Moron.

2002-10-22T12:20:00.001-04:00

Pundit wrap-up

I urge everyone to check out the columnist on 'the left', Diane Glass, who writes a good column pertaining to which party is more suited to serve women (take that, folks who think I'm a knee-jerk right-winger).

Gregory Willis notes a very real problem with some black colleges, however he makes no suggestions towards a solution (which is an all too-common theme among pundits, nowadays).

Jay Bookman, he of 'Bush wants to become world emperor' fame, tells us that he's 'beating' his 'brain' because there are many things that he just doesn't get. Gee, Jay, tell us something we didn't already know, you blithering idiot. It's obvious you've been punch drunk for quite some time.

Molly Ivins, showing unprecedented levels of desperation, implies that Republicans wants all of us to get food poisoning. Sorry, Rush, she's a much bigger hack than MoDo.

Tom Oliphant tells us that Bush is now screwing the military vets because of, you guessed it - the tax cut.

Ellen Goodman pens her bi-weekly abortion column, this time telling us that the Bush administration is profiling based on religion, not the administration detractors. And she has the gall to tell us that she has an 'admiration for the spinmeisters of the right'?

Note the blatant dishonest from the AJC editors in the last line of their "the Bush administration is against clean air" editorial: "Instead of blocking California's ZEV rule, the White House should urge automakers to raise fuel efficiency standards on passenger cars and trucks." Only to those Dem-wits is a law mandating compliance via the threat of federal prosecution equivalent to 'urging'.

2002-10-22T12:20:00.000-04:00

Is there such a thing as a positive fisk?

Jim Wooten writes a column about a local race that was so good that I wanted to expound on several points.

Dutifully on the Friday before presidential elections in 2000, U.S. Sen. Max Cleland (D-Ga.) assembled reporters for a conference call with the Democrats' military heroes in the U.S. Senate. Their purpose was to use the status accorded them to defeat George W. Bush -- just as Cleland had used his military service to absolve candidate Bill Clinton of culpability in evading military service.

Note to several leftist bloggers: This is a reminder that you defended a so-called 'Chickenhawk' on just about every subject. Not that it, or anything else resembling rationale, matters.

The Democrats spoke by phone to a veterans rally in Nashville, attempting to generate last-minute stories that would question Bush's National Guard service during the Vietnam War. It partially worked, prompting Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer to declare the attacks "the final throes of a campaign that has now lost any semblance of decency. The governor of course was honorably discharged and these are inventions and fabrications."

What? Democrats attempt a last-minute smear campaign? Say it ain't so! Next thing you know, you'll tell me that a DNC delegate releases a story about something that happened 20+ years earlier and the same folks who said that someone's personal life from decades earlier didn't matter will be outraged.....outraged!

It was a cheap campaign tactic that might have been less transparent had Cleland not eight years earlier found no fault with Clinton's evasion of wartime military service -- after Clinton won the party's nomination. Before, as Georgia's secretary of state, he embraced the presidential campaign of U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey, a Medal of Honor winner in Vietnam -- and sat silently at Kerrey's side as he predicted while campaigning for the Democratic nomination that Clinton could be opened like a "soft peanut" for evading military service.

He was wrong. Other than the normal screams from the right (reflecting the screams from the left pertaining to Dan Quayle in '88), Clinton got a pass.

On this issue, though, whenever the party has called, Cleland has responded obediently, providing cover or condemnation as it served the party's interest. In the U.S. Senate, he has been voting reliably with party elders. Throw a dart, hit the voting record of most any national Senate Democrat, and the odds are overwhelming that Cleland voted accordingly.

Cleland is closer to Ted Kennedy's voting record than Zell Miller's.

On homeland security, Cleland again takes the party line, which is essentially the position of organized labor, one of its key constituencies. The Washington Times reported last week that government employee unions have given $230,000 to Cleland and two other Senate Democrats in close races, all of whom have opposed the president's desire to waive collective bargaining rules to hire, fire and assign workers in the proposed new Department of Homeland Security.

In Cleland's defense, I doubt that the contributions influenced his vote...he'd have voted the party line, anyway.

The problem with tit-for-tat campaign commercials is that most everything said can be literally true and massively misleading. Cleland did vote the party line on 11 amendments on homeland security in committee, but in campaign commercials he is "working with President Bush" on security and supported him on Iraq.

I haven't seen a Cleland commercial yet that hasn't included either Zell Miller or George W. Bush and his attempt to ride their coattails. However, in this case it is more akin to Mary McGrory trying to piggy-back George Will's success since they're both carried by the Washington Post.

Whenever opponent Saxby Chambliss challenged those votes in a television commercial, Cleland brought out fellow veteran John Kerry, the U.S. senator from Massachusetts, to react indignantly. "Garbage," declared Kerry. "Character assassination," declared Cleland. It's fantasyland. Cleland chose to present himself as having the "courage to lead" in the U.S. Senate, but when his voting record is legitimately challenged, the response is to return voters to Vietnam. When the president came to town last week to take issue with Cleland's voting record on homeland security, the reporter wrote: "A spokesman for Cleland's campaign said the senator, who lost three limbs in a grenade accident in Vietnam, has long pushed for a homeland security bill." The connection Cleland strategists insist on making between Vietnam and his voting record in the U.S. Senate, and their attempt to frame every question as an assault on his patriotism, is disingenuous.

Yeah, but Bob Dole did the same thing in '96 towards Clinton, and the press acted the same way. Right?

This ain't about Vietnam and whether the country should be grateful or whether the Veterans of Foreign Wars should feel kinship. This is about how he votes today.

Shh. Don't tell the lefty bloggers that...

We don't want them trying to correlate Cleland's voting record to the views of the Georgia citizens', when they can say out of one side of their mouths that the 'warbloggers' are condemning everyone who is critical of the President as being unpatriotic while impugning Saxby Chambliss as dishonorable to a patriot from the other side.

At the same time.

Quite a feat, eh?

2002-10-22T06:26:00.000-04:00

New addition:

The NWO, or 'new word order' pertains to the word redefinition instance of the day. These will be added to a continuing list that will be maintained for reference. Although I could fill up megabytes with historical examples, the list will begin with these gems:

is - Bill Clinton
Redefined to mean whatever he needed it to mean when facing impeachment.
youthful - Henry Hyde
Yes, you too can have a 'youthful indiscretion' at age 41.
contribution - George Stephanoupolus
Okay, it's taken from you forcefully at the point of a gun (the government's) but why quibble?
cut - DNC
It can increase substantially, but if it's not as much as we want, it now means you want kids to starve
invest - All
This is the process where the gov't takes from you to spend as it pleases.

2002-10-22T06:25:00.000-04:00

Why I'm no longer a Democrat

Hanks links to one reason why he's not a Republican. Asswipes like Dave Wilson are a damn good reason, which reminded me of my conversion away from the Democratic party, and how one person caused that process to begin.

Circa 1986
That was the first year I could legally vote. Reagan was President, the Iran-Contra hearings hadn't yet begun, I was still a virgin (madly in love with someone who would one day become my wife) more interested in whether or not my jump-shot was falling than foreign policy. I knew that things had improved since Reagan replaced fellow Georgia-boy Jimmy Carter, but I really didn't know very much about Republican versus Democrat. All the folks that I personally knew that were politicians locally were Democrats. I repeat, ALL of them.
That year also fell during an off-year election cycle, so there were no Presidential election commercials and the races in my area were strictly 'localized'. The big race was for the Senate, where incumbent Mack Mattingly was facing Wyche Fowler. Being the typical 19 year old ignoramus more interested in the contour of my girlfriend's ass and how many double-doubles I could accumulate, I relied on television commercials and the newspaper for my information. Thus, here's what I was led to believe:

Mack Mattingly belonged to the party that was racist, even if the nice old coot in charge wasn't a racist.
My uncle was the sitting District Attorney for the circuit and was a Democrat.
Wyche Fowler was for the poor (which we were) and for increasing the minimum wage (which is what I generally made in my summer jobs).
Mack Mattingly missed an unusual amount of votes in the senate (this was true).
The most obnoxious guy in my dorm was a Mattingly volunteer. Re-emphasis on obnoxious.
My local paper (the AJC) endorsed Fowler.

That last one solidified it. At the time, I told myself "hey, they've chosen me for several basketball awards & they've got a large circulation, so besides liking me, they must have the inside information as to what's going on in government."
Thus, yours truly registered as a Democrat, voted for Fowler in the 'big' race and voted for mainly Democrats, since that's who I personally knew. If I'd never heard of any candidates in state-wide offices (I was 19, I didn't have a clue as to the candidates for public service commissioner) I left it blank.
Thus, I was now a U.S. citizen having the honor to do what so many had died to give me that privilege.
Circa 1987
Morning class, economics 101. The prof is a quasi-Marxist, basically using the entire class time to bash Reagan (and when I say that, I don't mean say things against policies put forth by Reagan, I mean he'd go on 10 minute tirades against Reagan the man). I find out that Fowler is working against Reagan, and that Reagan's tax cuts are the reason my dad switched from (D) to (R). Two demerits for the Democrats, so I consider myself an independent, since the GOP - according to the local paper - is racist.
Circa 1988
Jesse Jackson is running for President. I'm probably going to vote for Bush, because Reagan had done pretty well (especially kicking Khadafi's ass) but I was busy working or playing ball, so all I knew about Iran/Contra were the Ollie North/Fawn Hall jokes from Carson. I hear a Jesse Jackson speech is on & decide to listen, since my local paper had endorsed him. At the time, I was a semi-Jackson fan, not really following him but noting his accomplishment in my local paper (see a pattern?) so I knew he was for non-violence and equality (who could disagree with those?) Thus, I tuned in.
That did it.
His hateful rhetoric and mind-numbingly race-conscious banter from that night (coupled with Fowler's voting record) caused me to go from Independent to Republican, on the spot. In that one evening I went from someone who'd believed what I'd read in my local paper (I'm talking news sections, not just editorials) or what I'd watched on television (usually CBS or ABC) and assumed that the Republicans were a bunch of rich guys out to help Lee Iacoca and hold down the black guys that I was playing ball with, to someone willing to listen to the political conservative viewpoints that I'd been told were that of your typical nazi. After Jackson's speech I'd tuned into a local AM radio station to pick up the latest local basketball scores & heard a talk show dedicated to Jackson's speech. The host was on the left. The audience was about 80-20 left. Their hate-filled comments only solidified my resolve that I was making the right decision. Here I was 21 years old and I could tell then that so many were simply fueled by their emotions (mainly hate or loathing) instead of rational thought.
Thus, my transformation from young liberal to conservative/libertarian began, starting with a strikingly vile speech by Jesse Jackson, backed up by the call-in voices of his followers and their hatred.
Over the years, I've usually voted 75% Republican, 15% libertarian (there are precious few on the ballot) and 10% Democrat. In the 2000 election, I voted for two local Democrats (one I knew personally, the other was a family friend). After FL/NJ, that's two more than I'll vote in '02.

2002-10-21T18:03:00.000-04:00

Adding to the list of great stories from our governmental education system

Filling in for Alterman, Eric Rauchway, a teacher of U.S. history at University of California, Davis, threw out a beaut:

He states that "it looks like the automakers negotiated with California to produce [the] standards" within California’s Zero Emission Vehicle law and "now they’re suing to have them overturned, which sounds a lot like bad faith to [him]".

Yeah, that's the ticket. An automaker wants to produce a car that is only viable in one state, thus creating a new production line for a target audience even more miniscule than that of the Edsel. Maybe they were holding out until Idaho joined the mix, eh?

Apparently he's under the assumption that corporations are out there to make things more difficult for themselves by hoping to manufacture items that are more costly which sells in lower volume, causing a lower profit.

Typical statist approach, completely devoid of any and all capitalist rationale.

2002-10-21T18:01:00.000-04:00

Woody

Please allow me to be the latest to link to the Norwegian blogger, who dissects Woody Harrelson. I have only one point to ponder from the post:

When TV satirist Bill Maher made some dissenting remarks about the bombing of Afghanistan, Disney pulled the plug on him. In a country that lauds its freedom of speech, a word of dissent can cost you your job.

Maher made those comments long before we started bombing the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Maher's comments weren't dissenting any war/strike rationale, but rather critiquing the means (dropping bombs from airplanes).
Maher was pulled from several affiliates (not owned by Disney) because he idiotically insinuated that committing suicide and taking 3,000 innocent civilians with you was more courageous than a military strike on specified non-civilian targets.
Disney pulled the plug on his show because of low ratings - low ratings brought about because the show was lame and hosted by someone who ceased to be comical and whose funniest line was that he was a libertarian (he voted for Nader, for goodness sakes).

I also can't overlook the section where Harrelson talks about playing basketball with an 80 year old Iraqi. After punishing myself by watching that dreadful movie White Men Can't Jump (you don't go from not being able to dunk to dunking with two hands, ever), I'd have to lay odds on the 80 year old. Woody, and you got no game. And now it looks like you got no rap, either.

2002-10-21T05:53:00.000-04:00

If I could have a conversation with the President

(with all humbleness and respect that is allotted)

"It's NUCLEAR, as in new-klee-er, not new-kya-ler."

"I work hard to care for my family and am barely treading water in the process. So it kinda gets on my nerves when I see millions of taxpayer dollars paying for you to campaign around the country. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with you doing that - I know you've got a 24 hour per day job, but I'll say to you what I wished I could've said to Clinton - your party should reimburse the government for the costs. You flying to campaign for Joe Smith in Podunk, CA., isn't a function of government outlined in the constitution, therefore I shouldn't be forced to pay for it."

"Vice-President Condi Rice sure sounds good, doesn't it?"

"My 'anti-lock brake' light is blinking on my car, but I can't afford to fix it. How much was that farm bill, again?"

"So, what does Tom Ridge do?"

"Your first re-election commercial for 2004....simply run the tape of you with the bullhorn at ground zero, ending with the chants of USA, USA, USA. Commercial #2 is you throwing out the first pitch at Yankee stadium in the '01 World Series."

"Tell the truth....how many cans of lysol did you use in the oval office before you sat at the desk (I assume you fumigated the master bedroom)?"

"You're right, he is a major league asshole."

"Do you ever have the urge to ask John McCain 'who's your daddy?'"

"Why are we cozying up with our 'moderate friends', the Saudis, again?"

"Which of these would you least like to do: body dip in sulfuric acid, drinking a gallon of Mexican water, approve the release of a nuclear bomb or watch Phil Donahue interview Ralph Nader?"

"How would this look on a business card: FBI Director, Rudolph Giuliani?"

"Any way we can change the national anthem to Sweet Emotion?"

"What's up with the Sopranos this year?"

and finally

"You've talked to her...is Helen Thomas really Keith Richards with a bad dye-job and makeup?"

2002-10-19T15:47:00.000-04:00

Cleanup on aisle 2001

Here's a short list of items that Clinton handed off to the current administration:

EOs - Dramatically changing the arsenic standards in water, via executive order in the last days of the Clinton presidency, so that the Bush administration would be forced to handle the implementation while the Clinton administration would tout that it happened under their watch. The result: The Bush administration, after studying the situation, accepted the newfound levels. Democrats originally blamed the Bush administration of wanting to put arsenic in the water supply via television ads.
Corporate shenanigans - blatant and massive examples of large companies that mismanaged their data and/or made up earnings reports in order to prop up false stock prices. The result: we're still paying the 'price', so to speak, for those misdeeds via DOW levels, while the Democratic party blames Bush, despite the fact that he was a Governor at the time.
Recession - the GDP was beginning a state of negative growth, while the stock market, despite the above notation of false prices, was dropping like a stone. The first 3 quarters of 2001 resulted in negative growth, compounded by 9/11. The result: The recession is officially over and the economy is expanding - jobs and the stock market are improving at a slower pace (until lately). The Democrats blamed the Bush economic policies, which actually went into effect as the recession was ending.
Bin Laden - Despite the USS Cole, despite the embassy bombings, the leader of Al Qaida was running free and save for a few missiles at tents and an aspirin factory, unimpeded in his quest to kill the American 'infidels'. The result: Nine-eleven, 3,000 dead, US strikes Afghanistan, no sign of Bin Laden. The Democrats joined the President.
False government figures - as reported by Bob Novak, the commerce department during the Clinton administration had cooked the books on corporate earnings to the tune of billions of dollars, that were adjusted long after the Clinton administration had left town reaping the benefits of (another set of) falsified financial figures. The result: Part of the recession numbers. The Democrats do not blame anyone, as this is not discussed.
Iraq - For a decade after the gulf war, Hussein flaunted the U.N. resolutions and for more than two years was without a single inspector monitoring their actions. Our response was to selectively bomb facilities, then retreat to our earlier positions. The result: In progress. Bush obtained approval from congress to act militarily if necessary. The Democrats joined the President.
North Korea - Negotiations resulted in the Clinton administration taking NK at its word that it would not continue its quest towards nuclear capabilities. The result: As evidenced this week, that proved to be an unwise choice.
Social Security - After putting together the obligatory "blue ribbon commission" to look at possible avenues to take to alleviate the problems of insolvency when the baby boomers retired, the Clinton administration ignored their recommendations and did absolutely nothing to address the situation. The result: The Democrats have put forth no plans and criticize the Republicans of wanting to do away with social security via privatization.
White House - Reports of WH trashing were adamantly denied by the likes of (the aptly named ) Rep. Anthony Weiner. The result: Around $20,000 in damage was done, according to a report by the GAO. The Democrats blamed the Bush administration for making up false assertions and Wiener has not been held accountable for his ridiculous claims.
The Democratic party - In 2001 the issues of education, taxes, social security, free health care, leadership, campaign finance reform and abortion topped their list. The result: Other than repeating the decades old line about abortion and social security, Bush has removed the other items from the Democratic agenda by signing bills that took away their wedge issues (spending billions in the process) leaving the Democrats left to discuss free medical care and hope for the economy to stagnate while the nation talks about a possible confrontation with Iraq and the sudden upturn in the DOW.

And here we are...

2002-10-19T10:54:00.000-04:00

Whatchu talkin' 'bout, Willis?

Here's a history of the DOW since '87. Pretty good trend throughout. Notice that the big upturn begins in 1995 and starts to dwindle in '00.

Gee, what happened in 1995?