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Saturday, September 11, 2004 If Bush was running against Jesus From those wacky folks over at Mad Magazine. (via Atrios). posted by chris at 6:52 PM   ------------------ Friday, September 10, 2004 Running on the platform of fear and terror The Nation looks at the campaign of fear that the Republicans have been running since 9/11 and ends with this conclusion: The double talk and political opportunism by the Administration on these issues go beyond poor taste. By sending conflicting messages to the public, Administration officials create confusion about what actually poses a threat. Beyond that, each unnecessary warning produces "threat fatigue"--the tendency to ignore warnings when they are repeated--in the American public. That means Americans will become less receptive to truly urgent terrorism warnings when they arise. And if recent polling is any indication, this erosion in public confidence is already occurring. A new survey by Columbia University found that 59 percent of those polled would not evacuate their town immediately if directed to do so by the government. This is not to imply that the threat of terrorism isn't real. There is no reason to doubt the staff statement of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission that Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations are "actively striving to attack the United States and inflict mass casualties." That means the government has a solemn obligation to do whatever is required to protect the American people from this threat. But there are now justifiable doubts about what is actually dictating our government's actions. Today critical decisions appear to be guided by political operatives instead of terrorism experts. And in the long run, that has weakened national security--the very issue Republicans want so desperately to call their own. posted by chris at 1:49 PM   The AP lays it out Addressing questions that have lingered for years, newly unearthed memos state that George W. Bush failed to meet standards of the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam war, that he refused a direct order and that his superiors were in a state of turmoil over how to evaluate his performance after he was suspended from flying. Story, via Atrios. posted by chris at 11:18 AM   ------------------ Thursday, September 09, 2004 Bush's National Guard duty, or lack thereof The US president, George Bush, was today under growing scrutiny over his Vietnam-era service record after several different sources questioned his time in the Texas and Alabama air national guards. In one of the most damaging attacks, Ben Barnes, the former lieutenant governor of Texas, said he had helped Mr Bush dodge the Vietnam draft by securing him a sought-after place in the Texas air national guard. -clip- The claims came as CBS reporters unearthed personal memos kept by Mr Bush's squadron commander in Texas, who said he had failed to meet national guard standards and had flouted an order to take his annual flight physical. Lt Col Jerry Killian, who died in 1984, ordered Mr Bush to be suspended from flight status for those infractions. The memo goes on to note that Mr Bush was trying to transfer to non-flying status with a unit in Alabama, and recommends that the Texas unit fill his flying slot "with a more seasoned pilot from the list of qualified Vietnam pilots that have rotated". Story. UPDATE: Kos breaks down the lies Bush has told about his service and the facts revealed in these new documents. Good stuff. posted by chris at 8:47 AM   ------------------ Wednesday, September 08, 2004 What is Bush afraid of? President Bush may skip one of the three debates that have been proposed by the Commission on Presidential Debates and accepted by Sen. John F. Kerry, Republican officials said yesterday. The officials said Bush's negotiating team plans to resist the middle debate, which was to be Oct. 8 in a town meeting format in the crucial state of Missouri. Is he afraid of hard questions from the American people? From people that didn't have to sign loyalty oaths to get in? posted by chris at 9:38 PM   Supply side Jesus The Man with the magnificient robe and perfect cuticles. Thanks, Jason. posted by chris at 2:23 PM   Oh wise and all-knowing Cheney, guide us to freedom Cheney bludgeons us over the head with FEAR: Vice President Cheney warned on Tuesday that if John F. Kerry is elected, "the danger is that we'll get hit again" by terrorists, as the Bush campaign escalated a furious assault on the Democratic presidential nominee that has kept Kerry from gaining control of the election debate. In Des Moines, Cheney went beyond previous restraints to suggest that the country would be more vulnerable to attack under Kerry. "It's absolutely essential that eight weeks from today, on November 2nd, we make the right choice, because if we make the wrong choice then the danger is that we'll get hit again," the vice president said, "that we'll be hit in a way that will be devastating from the standpoint of the United States, and that we'll fall back into the pre-9/11 mind-set, if you will, that in fact these terrorist attacks are just criminal acts and that we are not really at war." Does the Vice President know something we don't know? Is he saying that if Bush is re-elected, the terrorists absolutely won't attack, that they'll only attack if Kerry's elected? Can this man possibly try and scare the American people more? "If John Kerry is elected, terrorists will eat your babies and paint your houses chartruese!" It blows my mind how he can say this kinda stuff, especially since, as the State Department has noted, the world is actually less safe since George Bush took office. After stirring up that hornet's nest in Iraq, a country that had NOTHING TO DO WITH AL QUEDA, after refusing to implement the 9/11 commission's suggestions, after cutting the pay of our first responders, now they're claiming that Kerry's going to make America less safe. How can he do any worse? Bush has set the bar pretty damn low. UPDATE: More fear-mongering. And mixed messages? posted by chris at 8:43 AM   ------------------ Tuesday, September 07, 2004 Spreading the Sugar Conspiracy far and wide I've just enabled a revolutionary new feature on this website that is guaranteed to change the world. See the little envelope at the bottom of each post? Click on it and you can now email that particular post to a friend, family member, arch-enemy, former Scout leader, random acquaintance or member of your local Kiwanis club. Have at it - it don't cost a thing! posted by chris at 8:41 PM   How can Bush spin this? Four U.S. troops died in Iraq on Tuesday, bringing the total of Americans killed in the 18-month-old war to 1,002. More than three-quarters of those killed, 756 of them, have died in combat, and 647 of those have been killed since President Bush declared an end to major combat operations in Iraq on May 1, 2003. UPDATE: The NY Times has an interactive graphic documenting those US soldiers killed in Iraq. posted by chris at 7:54 PM   Promises, promises Almost regardless of what happens in Iraq and Afghanistan, President Bush is very unlikely to fulfill his promise of reducing the federal budget deficit by half within five years, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said today. In the last independent assessment of Mr. Bush's fiscal legacy before the elections, the Congressional agency said that if there were no change to existing law, the federal deficit would decline only modestly from a record of $422 billion in 2004 to about $312 billion in 2009. If Mr. Bush persuades Congress to make his tax cuts permanent, he will fall even farther short of his promise. The federal deficit could reach nearly $500 billion in 2009 and the federal debt could swell by $4.8 trillion over the next decade. The new estimate is the first time that the Congressional agency has projected that President Bush will not be able to fulfill his promise, made last February, to cut the deficit by half. Even without this report, it's absurd that the guy who created this astronomical deficit in the first place is now claiming he can cut it in half just like that. The man has no grounding in reality - he thinks he can bully the deficit down with sheer willpower. Just like everything else he's screwed up. posted by chris at 4:18 PM   Are you registered? Register to vote here. Why? Cause bitching about it doesn't change anything. Cause in order for this democracy thing to work, we have to actually participate. Cause we're actually less safe than when the Republicans took office. Cause we have a net job loss since the Republicans took office. Cause the Republicans want to gamble with your social security money. Cause are we really better off with a cowboy President? posted by chris at 2:11 PM   Saudi ties Two of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers had a support network in the United States that included agents of the Saudi government, and the Bush administration and FBI blocked a congressional investigation into that relationship, Sen. Bob Graham wrote in a book to be released Tuesday. The discovery of the financial backing of the two hijackers ''would draw a direct line between the terrorists and the government of Saudi Arabia, and trigger an attempted coverup by the Bush administration,'' the Florida Democrat wrote. And in Graham's book, Intelligence Matters, obtained by The Herald Saturday, he makes clear that some details of that financial support from Saudi Arabia were in the 27 pages of the congressional inquiry's final report that were blocked from release by the administration, despite the pleas of leaders of both parties on the House and Senate intelligence committees. Thankfully, we disposed of that terror-supporting Saudi regime...oh wait...nevermind. posted by chris at 1:50 PM   By the numbers The Independent has been playing with Bush's numbers and they've made some interesting comparisons: Public statements 1 Number of Bush administration public statements on National security issued between 20 January 2001 and 10 September 2001 that mentioned al-Qa'ida. 104 Number of Bush administration public statements on National security and defence in the same period that mentioned Iraq or Saddam Hussein. 101 Number of Bush administration public statements on National security and defence in the same period that mentioned missile defence. 65 Number of Bush administration public statements on National security and defence in the same period that mentioned weapons of mass destruction. 0 Number of times Bush mentioned Osama bin Laden in his three State of the Union addresses. 73 Number of times that Bush mentioned terrorism or terrorists in his three State of the Union addresses. 83 Number of times Bush mentioned Saddam, Iraq, or regime (as in change) in his three State of the Union addresses. Investigations $3m Amount the White House was willing to grant the 9/11 Commission to investigate the 11 September attacks. $50m Amount granted to the commission that looked into the Columbia space shuttle crash. $5m Amount a 1996 federal commission was given to study legalised gambling. Rebuilding Iraq $15m Amount of a contract awarded to an American firm to build a cement factory in Iraq. $80,000 Amount an Iraqi firm spent (using Saddam's confiscated funds) to build the same factory, after delays prevented the American firm from starting it. $4.7bn Total value of contracts awarded to Halliburton in Iraq and Afghanistan. $680m Estimated value of Iraq reconstruction contracts awarded to Bechtel. $2.8bnValue of Bechtel Corp contracts in Iraq. $120bn Amount the war and its aftermath are projected to cost for the 2004 fiscal year. 92 Percentage of Iraq's urban areas with access to potable water in late 2002. 60 Percentage of Iraq's urban areas with access to potable water in late 2003. 55 Percentage of the Iraqi workforce who were unemployed before the war. 80 Percentage of the Iraqi workforce who are unemployed a Year after the war. Tax cuts 87 Percentage of American families in April 2004 who say they have felt no benefit from Bush's tax cuts. 39 Percentage of tax cuts that will go to the top 1 per cent of American families when fully phased in. 49 Percentage of Americans in April 2004 who found that their taxes had actually gone up since Bush took office. 88 Percentage of American families who will save less than $100 on their 2006 federal taxes as a result of 2003 cut in capital gains and dividends taxes. $30,858 Amount Bush himself saved in taxes in 2003. Much, much more. In fact, print this and hand it out to your friends who are considering voting for Bush. (Thanks to August.) posted by chris at 1:38 PM   Goodbye styrofoam, hello wheat Scientists at the USDA's Agricultural Research Service are developing carry-out containers made of wheat starch. ARS plant physiologist Gregory M. Glenn is working with EarthShell Corp., the California-based innovators of potato-starch-based foam products such as burger boxes, to create environmentally friendly disposables made with starch from wheat, the world's most widely planted grain. His wheat-starch-based prototypes are sturdy, attractive, convenient to use, and just as leakproof as their polystyrene counterparts. -clip- "The machines are presses or molds that work something like giant waffle irons," explains Glenn. "First, a wheat-starch batter is poured onto the heated mold, which is then closed and locked. Moisture in the batter generates steam that, in turn, causes the batter to foam, expand, and fill the mold. The steam is vented and, when the baking is finished, the mold is opened, the product is removed, and the cycle starts again. This whole process takes less than a minute." A water-resistant coating, added later, helps the container keep its strength and shape... But once the container hits the backyard compost pile or municipal landfill, it biodegrades in only a few weeks. More. posted by chris at 10:52 AM   The power of words to overcome insurmountable facts The Daily Show pits George W. Bush's words against reality. Guess who wins? posted by chris at 8:49 AM   ------------------

    

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