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MoveOn's newest ad, directed by Richard Linklater, is up for viewing. It is, I think, very effective in its quiet and subtle fashion.
Give it a look -- and throw 'em a few bucks, so this ad, and others still to come in the series, gets ample air time. It's crunch time, folks.
Krugman nails the Republicans today in the New York Times. Nails 'em.
Here's my favorite passage:
...At some level the people at that convention know that their designated hero is a man who never in his life took a risk or made a sacrifice for his country, and that they are impugning the patriotism of men who have.That's why Band-Aids with Purple Hearts on them, mocking Mr. Kerry's war wounds and medals, have been such a hit with conventioneers, and why senior politicians are attracted to wild conspiracy theories about Mr. Soros.
It's also why Mr. Hastert, who knows how little the Bush administration has done to protect New York and help it rebuild, has accused the city of an "unseemly scramble" for cash after 9/11. Nothing makes you hate people as much as knowing in your heart that you are in the wrong and they are in the right.
But the vitriol also reflects the fact that many of the people at that convention, for all their flag-waving, hate America. They want a controlled, monolithic society; they fear and loathe our nation's freedom, diversity and complexity....
You should read it in its entirety, though.
We've been waiting for John Kerry to take off the gloves, and it looks like the day has come. Check out these passages from a statement he released today:
We all saw the anger and distortion of the Republican Convention. For the past week, they attacked my patriotism and my fitness to serve as Commander-in-chief. Well, heres my answer. Im not going to have my commitment to defend this country questioned by those who refused to serve when they could have and by those who have misled the nation into Iraq.The Vice President even called me unfit for office last night. I guess I'll leave it up to the voters whether five deferments makes someone more qualified to defend this nation than two tours of duty.
Let me tell you what I think makes someone unfit for duty. Misleading our nation into war in Iraq makes you unfit to lead this nation. Doing nothing while this nation loses millions of jobs makes you unfit to lead this nation. Letting 45 million Americans go without healthcare makes you unfit to lead this nation. Letting the Saudi Royal Family control our energy costs makes you unfit to lead this nation. Handing out billions of government contracts to Halliburton while you're still on their payroll makes you unfit. That's the record of George Bush and Dick Cheney. And it's not going to change. I believe it's time to move America in a new direction; I believe it's time to set a new course for America.
There's more here, including John Edwards' contribution to the fray.
And you can check out a pair of new ads the Kerry campaign is starting to air here.
This film from last night's episode of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart is a must-see.
I'm serious. Drop whatever you're doing right now and watch it. It's the one entitled "George W. Bush's Words."
The New York Times has an interesting graphic today. It compares and contrasts the recurrent usage of certain words by the two parties at their respective conventions.
For instance, on the first three days of the Democratic convention in Boston, speakers said the word "jobs" 127 times. During the first three days of their convention, the Republicans uttered the word only 28 times.
Seems about right. Why would they focus on an area in which they've failed so dismally? We've seen 1.8 million net jobs lost since Bush took office -- that's the worst performance in this key area since the Great Depression. I can understand why they'd avoid the topic.
It's also telling that the Republican convention is focusing not so much on their candidate and his (if you'll excuse the expression) "accomplishments" -- rather, they're devoting their energy and efforts to the denigration of his opponent.
In the first three days they spent at Madison Square Garden, the Republican invoked John Kerry's name 86 times.
By contrast, the Dems mentioned George Dubya Bush only 19 times.
That's rather interesting, no? After all, it's the Republicans who have the incumbent in place -- that's the traditional position of strength. John Kerry is the challenger. Why are they so focused on him? Why aren't they reminding us of the glories of these past four years? Why aren't they spending their precious air time praising their guy rather than denigrating his opponent?
They've got nothing, is why. Nada. Zilch. What are they going to talk about? Jobs? Nope. Health care? Not much, and when they have spoken about that, they've lied. The economy? No. The quagmire in Iraq? That's a tricky one.
You know a party has a weak case when they've got a sitting president, and all they can tout is the weaknesses of his opponent.
Thanks to the Center for American Progress for this:
"In his 16 years in the Senate…John [Kerry] has worked to strengthen our military, reform public education, boost the economy and protect the environment." -- Zell Miller, 3/1/01
VERSUS
"For more than 20 years, on every one of the great issues of freedom and security, John Kerry has been more wrong…than any other national figure." -- Zell Miller, 9/1/04
I was musing last night about the millions of decent Republicans across this land and how it is that they haven't disassociated themselves from the group of thugs and dissemblers currently heading their party.
For example, surely the average Republican is appalled to see the Purple Heart and those who have earned it mercilessly mocked and derided. I can't imagine that reasonable, decent members of the (coughcough) Grand Old Party would ever stoop to wearing a Band-Aid with a purple heart on it. Nor would they brook slanderous lies being told about a genuine war hero, a man who could easily have avoided serving altogether, but instead not only volunteered to serve, but asked to be sent to Vietnam and there requested duty that was among of the most hazardous that existed.
Think about it -- who would not be ashamed of the smearing of such a man, regardless of whether they agreed with him on particular political issues?
These thoughts took me back to my junior high years. Junior high (or middle school, as it's mostly known now, I guess) is a time when most of us are just insecure enough, just uncertain enough of ourselves, to associate with people we otherwise would never abide. Who doesn't look back and cringe a little when we recall the people we hung around with then (even if we were relegated to the fringes of a larger group), hoping that just a little of their cachet would rub off on us? For guys, it is often the bullies -- we don't wish to get brutalized by them and we envy their bravado and charisma, so we latch on to them, hoping we'll somehow -- by association, if nothing else -- come off a bit more formidable, a little tougher.
I can't speak firsthand, but I'm guessing young women go through something similar -- hanging out with girls who are snobby, judgemental, and exclusionary, who make fun of the girls who don't wear their hair just so, who wear clothes that don't carry the coveted labels -- who simply don't fit in with a certain elite crowd.
It's likely most of us, at one point or another in our adolescence, made some attempt to fit in with people we'd never associate with today.
And yet, deep down, we knew better even then. We understood on some level that the behavior of those whose approval and acceptance we sought was indefensible, that they weren't (at that point in their lives, anyway) nice people, that we could and should stand up for what we knew was right and not look the other way when they indulged in mean, judgemental, or even threatening words and actions.
But somehow, at that time and in that place, we lacked the necessary confidence, the spine it would take to place ourselves in the line of fire by disassociating ourselves from these bullies and snobs.
Well, junior high's over, Republicans. Grow some spine. Face the facts. Stand up for what you know is right. No one's asking you to abandon your core values -- in fact, I'm asking you to embrace them. These bullies aren't true conservatives, and deep down you know it.
Boot them out of office, and work to restore a Republican Party that stands for the things you believe in, that behaves in a way that doesn't shame you and further endanger this teetering democracy.
From The Daily Mis-Lead:
Bush to alter economic stats againLast week, the Census Bureau released statistics showing that for the first time in years, poverty had increased for three straight years, while the number of Americans without health care increased to a record level. But instead of changing its economic and health care policies, the Bush administration today is announcing plans to change the way the statistics are compiled. The move is just the latest in a series of actions by the White House to doctor or eliminate longstanding and nonpartisan economic data collection methods.
In a Bush administration press release yesterday, the Census Bureau said next week it "will announce a new economic indicator" as "an additional tool to better understand" the economy. The change in statistics is being directed by Bush political appointees and comes just 60 days from the election. It will be the first modification of Census data in 40 years....
Better stock up on Dramamine for the next few weeks, folks -- the spin's going to be dizzying.
The Seattle Times, which I'm led to understand is a fairly conservative publication (they endorsed Dubya last time around), has officially endorsed John Kerry for president.
Kerry for President
Four years ago, this page endorsed George W. Bush for president. We cannot do so again -- because of an ill-conceived war and its aftermath, undisciplined spending, a shrinkage of constitutional rights and an intrusive social agenda.
The Bush presidency is not what we had in mind. Our endorsement of John Kerry is not without reservations, but he is head and shoulders above the incumbent....
Hear, hear -- may many more such endorsements follow.
Think we're not headed in the wrong direction? Check out this story from AP.
Outsourcing CEOs' wages increase 46%WASHINGTON -- Chief executives of U.S. companies that outsourced the greatest number of jobs reaped bigger pay and benefits last year, according to a new study of executive compensation released Tuesday.
Average CEO compensation at the 50 companies outsourcing the most service jobs rose by 46 percent in 2003 from a year earlier, compared with a 9 percent increase for CEOs at 365 big companies overall....
...[A]verage CEO pay at the "top 50" outsourcing companies was $10.4 million last year, compared with $8.1 million for the 365 companies.
The report noted that the pay gap between CEOs and employees rose again in 2003, to 301 to 1 from 282 to 1, after two years of narrowing.
It's sick-making. And these are the people to whom Bush, Inc., wants to give additional tax cuts.
Surely by now you require no further proof of the Swift Boat Liars' various and sundry connections to the Bush administration, but just in case you do, check Dana Milbank's story in today's Washington Post.
Here are a few snippets:
A Swift Shift in Stories
By Dana MilbankFour days ago, retired naval Rear Adm. William L. Schachte Jr. seconded accusations made by the group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth seeking to discredit Democratic presidential nominee John F. Kerry's record in Vietnam. But since then, Democrats have discovered that Schachte is also a long-standing supporter of President Bush and a lobbyist whose client FastShip Inc. recently won a $40 million grant from the federal government....
According to a March 18 legal filing by Schachte's firm, Blank Rome, Schachte was one of the lobbyists working for FastShip on issues such as the effort to win funding for a new marine cargo terminal. On Feb. 2, Philadelphia-based FastShip announced that it would receive $40 million in federal funding for the project.
In addition, David Norcross, Schachte's colleague in the Washington office of Blank Rome, is chairman of this week's Republican convention in New York. Records also show that Schachte gave $1,000 to Bush's 2000 and 2004 campaigns....
"It's amazing what a $40 million government contract can do for your memory," Kerry spokesman Chad Clanton said, noting that Schachte did not challenge Kerry's Purple Heart while describing the incident in an interview last year....
It gets uglier and uglier.
The Republican denigration of our service men and women continues apace: They're wearing band-aids with purple hearts printed on them to their LIE-lapalooza at Madison Square Garden.
And don't for a moment let them tell you they're mocking only John Kerry. When they insult John Kerry's sacrifice, they deride every person who's ever served this country with honor. They're smearing even those brave men and women who are fighting and dying right now in Iraq and Afghanistan.
It's clear these creeps consider a chump anyone who bravely volunteers to fight this country's wars. Do not think for a moment that, in twenty or thirty years, they won't be resorting to the same tactics they've used against John McCain, against Max Cleland, against Al Gore, and against John Kerry to smear veterans of our current campaigns when they are in a position of leadership.
Just imagine how they'd react if the Democrats EVER dared question a veteran's record.
These people sadden and anger me. There's no low to which they won't stoop.
We're in dire need of a Joseph Welch for the 21st century, someone of stature who will stand up to these pitiable thugs and bullies and ask, "Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?"
The Center for American Progress and Project Billboard have teamed up to erect a billboard in Times Square (it went live this morning) that features a constantly updating clock detailing the cost of the Iraq war.
If you're not in NYC, you can check out the online version.
Warning: It won't cheer you up.
Have you wondered at the resentment many (I would go so far as to say most) New Yorkers feel toward the RNC for holding their LIE-lapalooza here in Manhattan?
Sure, NYC skews heavily Democratic, but it goes deeper than that. Sure, we're still hurting from 9/11 (and we're downright pissed that the Repubs are further politicizing our collective suffering by holding their convention here and scheduling it as close as possible to September 11th). But it's more than that.
New York, year in and year out, gets shafted when it comes to federal funding.
As is well-detailed in a New York magazine article from a few weeks back, the state of New York chips in millions more to the federal till than it gets back.
From the article:
In 2002, the last year for which data are available, New Yorkers sent $65.9 billion in federal taxes to Washington, and yet the federal government sent only $54.5 billion back, according to the mayor’s office. In one year, more than $11 billion was sucked out of New York and redistributed across America by the Republicans in Washington who control the federal budget.
What's worse, Congress has turned federal anti-terrorism funding into a pork barrel grab fest and royally screwed the city on that front.
Again, from the article:
In the Bush years, some of the largest new streams of federal money are for protecting the homeland and combating bioterrorism. For homeland security, there are two large pots of money that once seemed promising for the city but that have recently been turned into slush funds to satiate congressmen’s appetites for pork. One pot, known as the State Homeland Security Grant Program, was designed by Bush and Congress using a formula that awards money to every state without regard to the actual level of terrorist threat. Billions of dollars in funds for first responders have been doled out this way. New York has been an Al Qaeda target numerous times in the past eleven years, and yet the state ranks 49th in per capita funding in this grant program. In fact, Wyoming, not known as a top bin Laden target, will get $38.31 per capita this year, while New York will get $5.47.
That bears repeating: Wyoming, certainly among the five states least likely to be the target of Al Quaeda's attacks, receives more than seven times as much per resident than New York does for the funding of first responders.
So how, exactly, does that play out? Here's one way: New York City has 6,000 fewer police officers today than it did before 9/11.
Think about that for a moment.
There's loads more, if you can stomach it.
And there was an equally eye-opening (and sick-making) story on the subject in The Nation a few weeks back.
Trust me, we come by our disgust with this bunch of thieving skunks honestly.
I'm a bit of a sucker for the under-the-radar offerings of The Blue Nile -- The impassioned, soulful vocals of Paul Buchanon, the moody, atmospheric, multilayered intrumentation.
And if I might somewhat abashedly admit it here, I've always found they worked very well as what we once called "make-out records."
Their new record, High, their first in eight years, is the followup to Peace at Last, which was their first in seven years.
You get the idea -- prolific they ain't. They've released only three records since their debut, A Walk Across the Rooftops, in 1984. But consistent they are. The new record's terrific, probably their best since their record I consider their best to date, Hats (1989). And, who knows, it might eventually unseat that album as my favorite.
No noticably new ground is struck. The Scottish trio sticks to its signature sound, with a few tweaks and additions here and there.
High is what they do, done well. And that suits me fine.
God bless MoveOn.org.
I mean it. They're true heroes. They've been getting the truth out since the days of the Clinton witch hunts. No lies, no slander. Just plain-spoken truth.
Have you seen their "switch" ads, spots in which real-life Republicans detail the ways in which Bush, Inc., has betrayed Republican -- American, really -- ideals and state honestly and openly that they intend to vote for John Kerry in November?
The ads were filmed by the Academy Award-winning director Errol Morris, and are very persuasive in their noninflammatory way.
You can view them (and donate money toward their continued airing) here.
Take a look. Give a buck or ten. Every dime helps.
MoveOn has also placed a print ad in today's New York Times. You can view it here.
These are the good guys, folks. They're fighting the good fight. Please lend them your support.
Dubya adopted a new tack this week, mocking John Kerry's various policy proposals and asking, "How does he expect to pay for those?"
That's especially rich coming from this "president," given his penchant for running up record deficits and the Republican-controlled Congress's fondness for profligate spending.
These people are the very antithesis of conservative. They've been fiscally reckless throughout Dubya's regime, spending money we don't have and handing out cash to the citizens and corporations who least need it.
And now, he's accusing John Kerry of being fiscally reckless?
Like I said, that's rich.