Jihad!

Susan Estrich issued the fatwah and look at all the shuhadaa who've shown up!

Yet another goofy sports photo-op

I guess Lurch's handlers think stuff like this appeals to gun owners, but mostly it's just cause for laughter. And if they are going to tell him it won't look manly to use eye or ear protection, maybe they should warn him about flying shells. Of course, he can't get around the problem with a semi-auto:

Kerry currently is a co-sponsor of S. 1431, which would ban all semi-automatic shotguns, all detachable-magazine semi-automatic rifles and many other guns, calling the whole lot "assault weapons."

Oh well, they did let him have a beer afterwards:

Just a regular guy

Shrill and skanky is a heck of a way to go through life

Greyhawk at Mudville Gazette - RIDICLUELESS:

Don't read further in this story without first listening to this brief excerpt from John Kerry's comments on the Republican convention (play audio) [visit Mudville for the link].

Ooops, sorry - that was Doug Neidermeyer from Animal House. I'll find the Kerry audio later.

While I'm searching, read Susan Estrich again: ...

More by visiting Mudville, but as far as ole Suzy goes - no thanks - been there, done that. Basically, like so many Donks, Suzy has become unhinged by the Republican convention and her response is volunteering to be a martyr in a suicide smear bomb attack. A lot of that seems to be going around - Families of POWs Frightened By Kerry:

The plan was to release the first TV ad with Kerry’s own band of brothers from the Swift Boats accusing him of lying about what happened in Vietnam and his own record.

The second wave was to have POWs on camera accusing Kerry of betrayal for his anti-war activities after he left Vietnam.

Those two waves hit like political atom bombs.

The third wave of attack was to have the families of the POWs go on air to reveal how Kerry’s activities hurt them and their imprisoned loved ones.

Apparently, there are also claims that anti-war protesters like Jane Fonda and John Kerry actually contacted the families of POWS, encouraging them to come forward and criticize the U.S. government. Some families were told that by criticizing the U.S. government their loved ones in Hanoi would get better treatment.

But getting POW family members to speak out has become difficult. After seeing how the Swift Boat Vets and the POWs have been treated, many are fearful of going public.

Ya think? But not everyone is intimidated by the Democrat slime squad.

One who went through the ringer for speaking out was former POW Ken Cordier, a former Air Force Colonel. When a friend recently commiserated with the media drubbing, Cordier said, “The communists tortured me for seven years, this is nothing.”

Who'd think a whole political party backed by tons of money would be driven rabid by a few POWs and their families speaking their minds?

How about it, Nuance Boy?

Drove into town early this morning. The machine outside the lumberyard has the "big city" paper with a front page photo of a naked and bloody Russian child like these. Talked with the locals while waiting for my order. No interest in helping the terrorists get in touch with their "inner feelings" other than with the rifles they keep on hand for feral, rabid dogs. Me too.

Which presents a problem for Nuance Boy - Still whining Kerry running out of time:

It's time John Kerry chooses between being a whiner and being a leader. His midnight performance Thursday and remarks at events Friday showed he's yet to get the difference in this campaign.

Americans do not want to hear Kerry's whining about being ``attacked'' and ``insulted'' at the Republican National Convention. Americans do not want to hear his childish claims that he was attacked first and therefore he now must attack back.

Americans do not want to hear the Democratic nominee call the commander in chief during a war where American lives are on the line ``unfit for office and unfit for duty.''

They want to hear that he is as committed as President Bush to stopping fanatics from taking over American schools and slaughtering children. And if he has better ideas about how to go about doing it than Bush does, Americans want to hear those, too.

C'mon Lurch, we're waiting. And sensitivity just isn't going to cut it.

President Bush could and should be a whole lot tougher in order to prevent terrorist attacks inside the USA and disable foreign terrorist regimes. But he's got to contend with the corps of perpetual whiners in the press and the Democrat portion of Congress. And as disgusting as Kerry's waffling on combatting terrorism is, don't forget he's the Democrat's "pro war" candidate:

A New York Times/CBS News poll in July found that three-quarters of Democratic voters and 86 percent of Boston delegates opposed the war in Iraq. Yet both John Kerry and John Edwards voted for the resolution authorizing force in Iraq in 2002.
...
That's the central difference between the GOP and the Democrats: The Democrats were willing to -- no, they chose to, by nominating Kerry -- sell out their core issue in order to beat George W. Bush.

That's how fanatical their hatred is.
...
Let me be clear: I am not arguing that Bush is not political -- he is political. He's president. I am arguing that the Democratic Party has become so political that it stands for absolutely nothing. Dems know it, so they nominate men who also stand for nothing -- but raw ambition.

Kerry won the nomination because many Democrats believed they had to pick a pro-war candidate in order to beat Bush. They were able to look at Kerry's vote against the Persian Gulf War and determine that he did not believe his 2002 Iraq vote and does not mean the pro-war statements he has made during the campaign.

Some of the very folks who bellow, "Bush lied," are crossing their fingers in the hope that Kerry lied.

"I don't think the Democrats have confidence in the American people," Republican National Committee Chairman Marc Racicot noted. That's why the Democrats are "angry."

And many Democrats think that they're going to lose. A famous wartime poster had Winston Churchill's face looming over the words, "Deserve victory." You deserve victory when you believe in a cause so much that you are willing to take risks for it.

This year, the Democrats abandoned their principles, implying either that they don't trust the America people to appreciate their message, or that they don't trust their message. Democrats aren't willing to take risks, but they are willing to choose someone whom they want to mislead the public. For that alone, they deserve to lose, and I think they know it.

Can you imagine Lurch backed by a Greek chorus of left wing howlers doing anything to combat terrorism other than wringing his hands, tut-tutting, and having cheese tastings with Chirac? Heck, what did Bubba ever do?

Meanwhile in the Peanut Gallery

EU wants explanation from Moscow on hostage storming. Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot, whose country currently holds the European Union presidency, opens his pie hole:

"All countries in the world need to work together to prevent tragedies like this. But we also would like to know from the Russian authorities how this tragedy could have happened."

Someone point Bernie to the clue phone.

Hey, no liberal media bias around here!

Version 1: http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040903/ap_on_el_pr/bush_clinton_1:

WEST ALLIS, Wis. - President Bush (news - web sites) on Friday wished Bill Clinton (news - web sites) "best wishes for a swift and speedy recovery."

"He's is in our thoughts and prayers," Bush said at a campaign rally.

Bush's audience of thousands in West Allis, Wis., booed. Bush did nothing to stop them.

Bush offered his wishes while campaigning one day after accepting the presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention in New York. Clinton was hospitalized in New York after complaining of mild chest pain and shortness of breath.

Bush recently praised Clinton when the former president went to the White House for the unveiling of his official portrait. He lauded Clinton for his knowledge, compassion and "the forward-looking spirit that Americans like in a president."

Version 2: http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040903/ap_on_el_pr/bush_clinton_2:

WEST ALLIS, Wis. - President Bush (news - web sites) on Friday offered former President Bill Clinton (news - web sites), who faces heart bypass surgery, "best wishes for a swift and speedy recovery."

"He's is in our thoughts and prayers," Bush said at a campaign rally.

Bush offered his wishes while campaigning one day after accepting the presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention in New York. Clinton was hospitalized in New York after complaining of mild chest pain and shortness of breath.

Bush recently praised Clinton when the former president went to the White House for the unveiling of his official portrait. He lauded Clinton for his knowledge, compassion and "the forward-looking spirit that Americans like in a president."

I wonder what happened between versions 1 and 2? Maybe the fact that it was on TV? Here are some eyewitness accounts - No boos at Bush rally in Wisconsin (I was there):

I wouldn't have posted this as a separate topic until I heard on the radio on the way home from the rally that the AP had reported the crowd booed when it was annnounced that the former president had been hospitalized. That is a bold faced lie. I understand it was later retracted, but that's like unringing a bell. I do not think it was in error, either, since the writer further stated that 'Bush did nothing to stop them.' Shameful.
...
Good reporting. I saw it on TV and no one booed. The audience respectfully clapped in support of Bush's concerned remarks on Clinton's health.

The media are spitballs.

And it is like unringing a bell.

UPDATE: Swimming through the Spin has more:

Of course, someone with access to the raw wire posted this as well to archive this monumental, and perhaps intentional screw up.

BC-Bush-Clinton, 1st Ld-Writethru,150 Bush offers best wishes for Clinton's recovery
Eds: SUBS lead to include reference to surgery. DELETES 3rd graf previous, Bush's audience, because of uncertainty about crowd reaction.

Uncertainty? Like the reporter was on some other planet or something?

UPDATE 2: (Via a commenter at Swimming through the Spin) Here's a sound clip.

For the Todo list

John Derbyshire at The Corner - FALLUJAH -- A MODEST PROPOSAL:

It is now common coin among Bush-doubting conservatives that the cease-fire and withdrawal from Fallujah back in April was a horrible blunder. My understanding is that the administration felt that the political price -- i.e. the body count, both allies and Iraqi collaterals -- was too high to pay just six months before a presidential election.

If that was in fact the administration's calculation, there is nothing particularly contemptible about it. Politics is the art of the possible, and a President has to make political judgment calls like that even when dealing with military matters.

If, however, following the inauguration for a second GWB term in January -- which I now look forward to with confidence -- the bad guys are still ensconced in Fallujah, could we please level the place? Please? And sow salt in the ruins?

It would make a nice parking lot.

I should be Photoshopping Vampire Lurch...

But unfortunately gainful employment beckons. How creepy is it that Lurch and his staff decided that his big response to the Republican Convention should be a midnight rally in Springfield, Ohio? Things were bad on the scene:

I was at Kerry's Midnight Rally in Springfield Ohio. ZZZZZZZZZZZZ. And I was able to stay awake!!!! Barely.

Poor showing for Kerry supporters. Lots of empty space in main area. And they advertised free tickets in all sorts of places including a local Beauty Parlor.

Good show for Bush supporters. They had to bring up a big sign to hide the Bush supporters from the TV cameras. They did that right after the Bush supporters all started chanting "Flip Flop" and waving their arms.
...
Really poor turn out. That parking lot was only 2/3 full - and that included some curious Bush supporters. I suspected that they were getting a poor showing when they advertised ticket locations up to the last minute. We got there after Kerry started talking. Found an easy parking spot within sight of the podium. Stood on a railroad track and could see Kerry and Edwards. Traffic jam afterwards was quickly dispersed. In fact I've been to movies with slower traffic dispersal.

The cable networks cut away when it was clear it was a snoozer and aside from the question of whether his new slogan

"“I have five words for Americans: This is your wake up call!”

is really six words or five, he also thrilled the fans with:

In the opening statement of his response to President Bush's GOP convention acceptance speech, Sen. John Kerry claimed the Boston Red Sox moved to within 2.5 games of the division-leading New York Yankees.

He was wrong. The Red Sox began the night 3.5 games behind the New York Yankees and ended the evening in the same place as both teams won.

It's the gang that couldn't shoot straight.

Anyhow, besides his usual stump speech, the Lurchster decided to trot out the Donk's favorite bromide when someone questions their abilities:

At the midnight rally with his vice presidential running mate, Sen. John Edwards, Kerry cited "the anger and distortion" at the GOP gathering in New York where a long line of speakers, including Cheney, said the Massachusetts senator was unfit to serve as commander-in-chief because of his Senate record and recent statements.

"They attacked my patriotism and fitness to serve" as president.

Zzzzz. He went on to attack Bush and Cheney personally for not serving in Vietnam. They didn't call American soldiers "war criminals" either, Lurch. Don't forget to mention that.

Get your party hats on, folks, the fun is just getting started.

Well Yeehaw!

The Zell factor:

Note to Dr. Howard Dean: About that Bubba vote? Two words. Zell Miller.

Wonder no more what gets the good ol' boys' juices flowing, and don't pay no never mind to them talking heads on this particular question. The answer is simply this: real men taking charge, talking straight, telling truth, and leaving the girlie men to fuss about the nuances of terrorist sensitivity.

Miller's fiery, brimstone-studded speech on the penultimate night of the Republican convention was a quintessential testosterone moment that got professional harrumphers flustered and swing voters inspired. While pundits wondered whether Zell was over the top, too hot or too tough, Heartland Americans (and not a few journalists who shall remain unnamed in the interest of job security) were high-fiving and arm-pumping yessssssssss.

You can tell it was good by the amount of squealing from the usual suspects.

Sundry Amusements

Drudge has been running this photo most of the day over the title of a WaPo article:

Kerry Planning More Aggressive Campaign Style In Final Months Of Campaign...

Well, maybe not exactly this photo. Which reminds me - Kerry-Edwards Spend $50M to Prove They're 'Regular Folks.'

Then Jacob Laksin covers a "mass panty flash at Manhattan's Battery Park." It's the usual wingnuttery, but:

The park was swarming with media types, though it was hard not to notice that they, like most of the onlookers, were overwhelmingly male. Photographers ran around snapping furiously, taking pictures at a rate surprising even for professional shutterbugs. Meanwhile, the Eves persisted with their partisan gyrations, chanting, "Which side are you on? Our panty lines our drawn."

Now I can't speak for everyone, but most spectators seemed to be on the side that provided the best view of the action. That included two members of the NYPD. Asked if he thought this a choice assignment, one officer did not hesitate. "Absolutely," he said, "I wouldn't miss it for the world."
...
Still, I would be remiss if I failed to mention that I spotted one young man who took something away from the experience. Displaying a noticeably tight tank top with the words "Weapons of Mass Seduction" across the chest, he was radiant: "For my girlfriend," he explained. "I got it extra small."

Indeed!

And then there's sad news for wannabe celebrity politicos - Negative Votes for P. Diddy:

CITIZEN Change — the not-for-profit organization Sean ("P. Diddy") Combs created to get out the vote — needs some changes itself.

The group had to cancel this weekend's fund-raiser at Combs' house in the Hamptons, following a disastrous event in Miami last weekend coinciding with the MTV Video Music Awards. The Miami turnout was so sparse that the Mansion club opened its doors to paying customers midway through the night.

"There have been a series of fund-raisers, none of which have been raising money," said a source. "Nobody's writing big checks. Celebrities are not signing on. Puffy thought it would be like 'We Are the World.' It isn't.

"Even Ben Affleck and Russell Simmons stayed away [from Combs] during the DNC in Boston," the source added.
...
The group has failed to raise the kind of money necessary to staff it, so almost everyone who holds a Citizen Change title has an outside job as well.

Don't quit your day job!

He's got a problem all right!

The NY Post weighs in on Lurch's visit to the American Legion (mentioned yesterday) - Kerry Before the Legion:

John Kerry has a problem with veterans, to put it mildly, and as the Democratic candidate for president stepped before the American Legion's annual convention in Nashville yesterday the looming question was whether he would acknowledge it — or duck.

He ducked.

Would Kerry raise the subject of his Vietnam medals?

There was not a word.

What about his congressional testimony from 1971? Would he apologize?

He did not.

But he did rub salt into the wound that his candidacy has reopened.
...
Kerry was coolly received by the vets.

He deserved worse.

But there's a downside, of course:

Prediction
Not mine unfortunately, someone else's.

Ace, 8/26/04:

The only downside is that we're going to have to hear twenty fucking years of whining over this, just like with Willie Horton.

Salon mag, 9/1/04:

The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth became the latest multimedia incarnation. Launching the most bitter, and perhaps most deliberately misleading Republican-backed campaign attack since the racist Willie Horton ad of 1988...

I can deal with it.

And not to worry, the above link doesn't go to Salon directly so you won't have to fend off the panhandlers at the door and be deloused afterwards.

That'll get their knickers in a twist!

Fox News Overtakes Broadcast Rivals:

Speeches by Laura Bush and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger at the Republican convention helped propel Fox News Channel to a first-ever ratings victory over the broadcast networks Tuesday night, another example of viewers' ongoing migration to cable TV for their political news.

From 7 to 8 p.m. Pacific time, when the first lady and Schwarzenegger addressed the crowd in New York, Fox drew an average of 5.2 million viewers, compared with 5.1 million for NBC, 4.4 million for CBS and 4.3 million for ABC, according to figures from Nielsen Media Research. It marked the first time that a cable news network had beaten all three broadcasters in head-to-head, prime-time coverage of a political convention.
...
Although broadcast networks have been criticized for cutting back on convention coverage, Fox didn't steal its audience from them.
...
Fox, whose ratings were far higher than they were for the Democratic convention in Boston, stole viewers this time from CNN and MSNBC. CNN lost the most Tuesday, falling to third among the cable networks, with an average of 1.5 million viewers from 7 to 8 p.m. MSNBC was second with 1.6 million.

The results appear to back up a June survey from the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, which found that cable news viewing was breaking along party lines, with Fox's audience increasingly described as politically conservative and CNN's more Democratic-leaning.

Paging Medea Benjamin!

Today's Hoot!

I don't watch the network morning shows and the Today Show does not seem to regularly provide transcripts, so all I have seen is this eyewitness account - Katie Couric Trashes Michael Moore! Would Rather Arrange Socks than go out with him!:

In perhaps the most stunning morning news show interview I've ever seen, Katie Couric just got through thoroughly trashing Michael Moore.

She began by criticizing the scenes in Fahrenheit 911 depicting a pre-war Iraq of children peacefully playing and weddings taking place. "Wasn't that misleading?" Moore claimed he only used the footage to show the kinds of people killed by US bombing, not to suggest Saddam's Iraq was a "utopia."

Next, Katie said that "many people say the Dems don't want you to be the face of the party."

"Who said that?" demanded Moore. "Well, Tim Russert for one," answered Katie.

She added: "let's face it, many people think you're a jerk."

An obviously hurt Moore responded: "but you don't think I'm a jerk, do you Katie?"

Katie refused to come to his aid: "well, my views aren't important, it's the views of the Dem party."

"But come on, Katie, you know me."

"I really don't know you very well."

"But, come one, from talking after the shows, etc. You don't think I'm a jerk, do you?"

"I really don't know you well enough to say that."

Finally, in a scene so amazing I could hardly believe my eyes and ears, Moore virtually asked Katie out on a date, and was shot down with a classic co-ed line.

Katie asked Moore if he'd be going back to the convention and Moore said he would, probably tonight and tomorrow. Then Moore added: "will you come with me, Katie?"

A shocked Katie replied: "No," then, incredibly, added: "I HAVE TO RE-ARRANGE MY SOCK DRAWER."

Heck with the transcript - I want some video!

While we're spanking idiots...

There are a lot of reasons that Salon's stock price looks like this. Mark Follman is one of them:

Salon’s Mark Follman wrote a snarky little hit piece on the accredited bloggers attending the GOP convention. (It’s Salon, which means you either have to register or get one of their day passes by suffering through an ad.)

Just one problem; Follman was so busy looking down his nose at the upstarts that he failed to notice one of the bloggers he quotes, Jeff Goldstein, is not at the convention. Follman replies at Protein Wisdom and only succeeds in making himself look even more humor-impaired and foolish.

Salon - where the clue phone never rings.

Don we now our tin foil beanies

The Respectable Media Catches Up With Ace of Spades on Paul Krugman:

Finally, someone with Wall Street-cred notices what I've been saying for months-- Princeton Paranoiac Paul Krugman has gone over-the-moon batshit crazy:

New York, N.Y. — New York Times columnist Paul Krugman says he believes the United States needs a "mega-Watergate" scandal to uncover a far-reaching right-wing conspiracy, going back forty years, to gain control of the U.S. government and roll back civil rights.

...Krugman said there is a "complete continuity" between today's politics and the "campaign of slander and innuendo" against Clinton. "There's complete continuity going back, really, I think — but this is my next book — you really need to go back to Goldwater. A lot of this has to do with civil rights, and the people who don't like them."

Krugman described the conspiracy as "the coalition between the malefactors of great wealth and the religious right." He offered no further details about who, precisely, is in the conspiracy but said that "substantial chunks of the media are part of this same movement."

...

Now, Krugman said, getting rid of George W. Bush is "necessary but not sufficient" to repair the damage done by the right. "The answer, I think, my great hope now, is that we need an enormous unearthing of the scandals that we know have taken place," Krugman said. "We need a mega-Watergate that rocks them back."

Wow. There can be only one possible reaction to such lunatic charges: the immediate recycling and re-posting of old comedy material.

Top Ten Signs that Paul Krugman Has Lost His Friggin' Mind

Follow the link.

Pronged again

(click to supersize)

Here's a report on this morning's Good Morning America:

Perhaps the most telling moment of the morning was the coffee klatch between Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopolous at GMA.

George admitted that Kerry is "angry with his staff." Apparently the poll numbers that worry them the most are W's approval ratings which are now solidly over 50%, and the fact that Kery went from a sizeable post-DNC advantage to a sizeable deficit on who would make the better commander-in-chief.

Steph said the Dems have a three-pronged strategy: 1. Kerry's speech at the American Legion, where he'll give a tough critique on Iraq and try to exploit W's recent statement on the winnability of the war. 2. A major advertising buy on domestic issues; and 3. A rapid response team. Many new people are being brought in but no one is being fired.

Number 3 sounds like the Democrat strategy for everything.

As for Number 1, I saw part of it and the good news for Lurch was that no one fell asleep. The bad news was that it was quiet enough that you could have heard them snore if they did. The Legionnaires were "polite." You can head over to Nedra Pickler at the AP for the official talking points, but even media spin isn't going to convince them.

Oh yeah!

Medea Benjamin, co-founder of the activist group Code Pink, is arrested as she begins to stage a protest outside Fox News headquarters in New York, Tuesday Aug. 31, 2004. The (sic) protested Fox News and its personalities, shouting 'Fox news lies' and 'Murdock shutup.'

You have to click through so you'll know I haven't been Photoshopping. Medea is an extremely odd individual. As well as pond scum.

UPDATE: On scene report from counter protesters.

Medea Benjamin, Code Pink's most famous actor, arrived late and donned a ridiculous pink tiara. She came around and faced us so she could read our signs. I told her she was failing. That despite her efforts Saddam was overthrown and our troops' morale was still high. I added an encouraging thought for her, reminding her that at least Fidel is still in power.

Jodie Evans, founder of Code Pink, approached ELS and grasped her sign with one hand demanding to know why we were using the name of her group on our signs. I told her to take her hand off the sign, which she immediately did.

She complained about the messages on our signs about Code Pink. We argued they were truthful and presented our case to her. She finally said, "We have nothing against communism."

I thanked her for her honesty.

Angst in the Kerry Bunker #2

As mentioned yesterday, the rumors of a big shakeup in the Kerry Bunker are apparently true. They've decided to bring everyone's favorite porcine spinner, Joltin' Joe Lockhart, on board. Woohoo! That'll do it!

Some comments from Mickey Kaus:

"Sources say major changes could come at the campaign's highest level." That's the juiciest sentence in CNN's Kerry Shake-Up story. Not much else there, though. Except this:

Several campaign officials and advisers say they recognize the need to have an "adult" traveling with the candidate -- as one put it, "someone who can tell him to shut up ..."

The staff's fault, again!

You just can't get good help anymore! And from Kenneth Bazinet in the NY Daily News:

Sen. John Kerry is angry at the way his campaign has botched the attacks from the Swift boat veterans and has ordered a staff shakeup that will put former Clinton aides in top positions.

"The candidate is furious," a longtime senior Kerry adviser told the Daily News. "He knows the campaign was wrong. He wanted to go after the Swift boat attacks, but his top aides said no."

Bwahaha! Lurch doesn't fall down - those SOB's tripped him. I guess it's time for Lurch to start ordering attacks by nonexistent armies on both the Western and Eastern fronts. And wait a sec - it might all be due to the VRWC! Maybe it's time for a purge of traitors in the bunker!

And speaking of punks

FIRE-DRAGON PROTESTER BURNED BY 200G BAIL:

A judge yesterday threw the book at a protester arrested for setting fire to a papier-maché dragon near the Garden during the protest march on Sunday.

Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Patricia Nuñez ordered Yusuke Banno, 21, held in lieu of $200,000 bond or $100,000 cash on charges of inciting a riot, resisting arrest and assaulting Police Officer John Park, 26, whose hand was burned making the arrest, authorities said.

Prosecutors said the officer's hand got lodged inside the dragon and he suffered possible nerve damage.

When the stiff bail was set, protesters in the courtroom began shouting obscenities.

There's a surprise.

Nuñez refused — for now — to arraign three other protesters who had been arrested with Banno and gave their names as John Doe.

"I will not arraign anybody by the name John Doe," Nuñez said. "Send them back downstairs."

He told the John Does: "I'll see you later this week."

Have fun in jail, kiddies.

Someone get Terry a Band-Aid!

The poor baby! Or to quote his mentor, Bubba, "Put some ice on it."

Angst in the Kerry Bunker

The Washington Prowler waxes lyrical on Listless Kerry:

In mid-August, with the exception of the Gallup poll, there was not a national poll that did not have John Kerry leading George W. Bush. But about as fast as you can say Swift Boat Veterans for Transforming a Presidential Election, Kerry and his crew find themselves in disarray.

On Monday in Washington meetings were being held behind closed doors at the Kerry campaign, looking for ways to get its candidate and operation back on message. There were rumors circulating mid-day Monday of "major shakeups" in the campaign, according to a Kerry adviser.
...
"He had people telling him the Swift Boat ads weren't going to take because the media was going to ignore them. There are senior people around Kerry who were buying into all the press clippings that this was our campaign to lose. Well those people aren't going to be around after Labor Day. Heads have to roll over what has happened. Kerry has not been well served. And Kerry has not served the Democratic Party well, either. This has to be hugely disappointing."

I'll skip the hilarity of Lurch's Washington State tour where he apparently cured insomnia and cut to the chase:

On Wednesday, Sen. John Kerry intends to present a completely revamped speech to the American Legion. The speech, written largely by Kerry communications guru Bob Shrum, is intended to get the candidate some attention at a time when much of the media focus will be on New York and the GOP convention.

"It's going to get him within the top two or three stories on the nightly news that night," says a Kerry adviser.

Woohoo! I'm all excited! But, the American Legion? Now that's a surprise. Wasn't it Lurch who said:

We will not quickly join those who march on Veterans' Day waving small flags, calling to memory those thousands who died for the "greater glory of the United States." We will not accept the rhetoric. We will not readily join the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars...

To help jog Lurch's memory the Swift Vets have started running ad #4 - Medals.

Today's Thug Day

So far it's been it's just been "little" things like setting the float on fire on Sunday, beating up a cop, and harassing delegates; but today's the day the thugs really come out.

I'm sure the mainstream media will try to make a whineathon out of the cops trying to maintain order, but there's a problem with that. Most normal folks aren't exactly partial to raving, violent crazies. Marni Soupcoff has the same thought in The More Bush Protestors the Merrier

... the anti-Bush protestors capturing headlines in the Big Apple are not having their desired effect of pushing the current president out of the White House. They’re reminding Americans of the fringier, wackier side of the left that Democrats like John Kerry normally try to keep under wraps during an election year. And this is better anti-Democrat publicity than the Republicans could ever buy. What quicker way to cause second thoughts amongst Republican voters considering straying to Kerry than by wearing a “Keep your laws off my vagina” t-shirt or defacing public property with a spray paint propelling computer as Bush protestors have?

So if over the top demonstrations won’t help kick Bush out of office and might actually work in his favor, why are the protestors nonetheless going ahead with their chanting and marching and vandalism? There are two possible answers: 1) because they don’t buy my nut-jobs-turn-off-voters analysis and honestly believe they’re changing voters’ minds; or 2) because this really isn’t about Bush at all, but rather is a handy excuse for some heavy-duty self-promotion. Of course, the fact that Michael Moore and Jesse Jackson have been among those leading the New York protest charge makes reason number two look that much more likely.

Ah yes, the hustlers. But don't forget the nuts:

Well, that and the fact that so many of the “anti-Bush” protestors are protesting things other than Bush. Take the group protesting Starbucks hiring processes as a good example. As president of the United States, Bush may have a lot of important powers, but deciding who will have the honor of becoming a frappuccino-blending barista does not happen to be one of them. Clearly the anti-Stabucks crowd is using the Republican convention as a convenient way to get publicity for itself, rather than as a way to impact the election. Same goes for the pro-Hugo Chavez crew who are not only marching about a different vote in a different country (Venezuela), but are marching about a vote that’s already been decided, to boot. That's why it’s hard to ascribe a genuine motive of wanting a change in guard to the New York protestors’ antics. I mean, sure these people would like to see Bush lose in November. What self-respecting leftist wouldn’t? But at the moment, they’re far more concerned with getting their faces on television and basking in the glow of the paper dragons they’ve set on fire.

And hopefully a nightstick upside their heads.

Call in the dumpster divers

Andy Newman at the NY Times, reporting for duty - Such Clean-Living, Early-to-Rise Delegates. Don't They Know There's a Minibar?

Behold the Republican delegations. They make such a nice impression as they parade around town, neatly coiffed and tailored. But what are they really like?

In search of the answer to this question, a highly unscientific survey was conducted yesterday at the service entrances of four of the delegates' hotels. The respondents - heavily weighted toward smokers, as they were more likely to venture into the muggy air on their breaks - were pretty much unanimous: so far, in their hotel rooms anyway, the ladies and gentlemen in red are leading very clean lives indeed in New York, in every sense of the word.

"They're drinking only water," said Daniel Kelly, the minibar attendant at the W on Lexington Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets, temporary home to the delegations from Arkansas and Maine. "I sold one beer so far" - an Amstel Lite at that, to a delegate from Arkansas. "It's not what I expected."

What did Mr. Kelly, who has been catering to the alcoholic tastes of conventioneers of all sorts for 13 years, expect? "Partying. It's a free ride, you're in New York. But everybody's out of their rooms already." It was a few minutes after noon. "No 'Do Not Disturb' signs."

A woman who works in the laundry at the W, who gave her name only as Mrs. Kelly, no relation, reported that the delegates' linens were "very, very clean." At the Park Central on West 56th Street, Martin Benjamin, a building engineer, said the delegates from Idaho, Kansas and Maryland were not putting any undue strain on the plumbing system.

Comes from plowing the lower forty twice before noon out in flyover country, I guess. Sheesh, what did they expect? Mountains of empty bottles, crack vials, and condom wrappers? Speaking of which, I wonder who got the duty for the Donk convention and what they found?

I figured that's what it meant

Hat Tip: Flashbunny

Fun with the lying crapsack

Michael Moore Draws McCain Barb, Taunts from Crowd:

The biggest commotion at the Republican National Convention Monday night occurred just before 10 pm with the entrance of anti-Bush filmmaker Michael Moore, who was repeatedly halted by security attempting to reach his reserved press seat in section #340 near the side of the stage. Moore is writing a daily column this week for USA Today.

Then, after taking his seat, he watched as Senator John McCain referred to a certain "disingenuous film-maker who would have us believe that Saddam's Iraq was an oasis of peace," and seemed to glance at Moore above him. Much of the audience erupted in boos and then, turning to Moore, many delegates shouted "Four more years!"

Moore waved, good-naturedly.

Yeah, the fat boy looked real good natured.

A short while later Moore exited, accompanied by heavy security. He told E & P on the way out that he was not fleeing: He had to speak to a Planned Parenthood gathering at a theater uptown.

He should be the poster boy for Planned Parenthood.

Moore, dressed in his trademark red baseball cap and jeans, told E & P, "I don't why they are checking my credentials so much. I have the right credentials."

Indeed

(Hat tip to the Freepers for the enhanced graphics. The middle one, however, is real.)

Today's Hoot!

The September 13 cover of National Review magazine.

It's sure hard to keep up

With Lurch's Vietnam war stories that is. Retired Rear Adm. William L. Schachte Jr. confirms that Lurch's first Purple Heart was the result of the newbie officer blowing up the landscape and wounding himself. "There was no enemy fire." I guess we have to chalk that one up with the rice grenade that Lurch wounded his butt with for his 3rd Purple Heart. It's no surprise that a clumsy new guy (FNG) makes mistakes with weapons and injures himself. What is amazing is that he was so handy with the typewriter in applying for medals.

And speaking of handy with typewriters, what's the deal with all his "redos" of his medal citations:

Why are there three -- THREE! -- separate and differently worded citations for Kerry's Silver Star award. On Saturday, former Navy Secretary John Lehman denied that he ever signed that third, generously worded citation, which Kerry has posted on his website.

Why has Kerry claimed that he was awarded a "Combat V" for his Silver Star, when such an award has never been awarded?

Why are there two separate, differently worded citations for Kerry's Bronze Star? Again, with the second officially reworded by Lehman?

Why did Kerry seek a revision in 2001 to the number of campaign stars on his Vietnam service medal? Kerry's website claims Kerry had four, when the Navy says that he deserves only two. These stars are critical, because they indicate the number of military campaigns a soldier served in.

All these are issues are unrelated to the ongoing Swift Boat Veterans for Truth controversy, and raise similar questions about Kerry's apparent manipulation of his service record in recent years as he was seemingly positioning himself for a run at the presidency. Many of the changes appear to have occurred after 1986, when Kerry would have begun to mull his political future.

But while it's fun holding the poseur's feet to the fire, we're getting to the really serious stuff:

Kerry served -- briefly -- as a Swift boat skipper in Vietnam. He neither won nor lost a single skirmish or battle. His service in Vietnam had no significance to the war. But when he came back and became a leader of the radical Vietnam Veterans Against the War, his service in America against the war was very significant.
...
Kerry's problems with the vets are growing, not shrinking. The Swiftees, having made their points on Kerry's war record, are now shifting to the post-war Kerry, the radical protester. Other groups are ahead of them. One, Vietnam Veterans for Truth, is rallying in Washington on 12 September under the banner, "Kerry Lied While Brave Men Died" (kerrylied.com). Organizers say there will be 5,000 or more at the rally. It will be the seminal event for the non-Swift boat vets, those who will never forgive or forget that it was they whom Kerry labeled "war criminal" thirty-three Aprils ago.

James Taranto in today's WSJ:

One veteran quoted in "Unfit for Command" puts the matter pungently: "In 1971-72, for almost 18 months, he stood before the television audiences and claimed that the 500,000 men and women in Vietnam, and in combat, were all villains--there were no heroes. In 2004, one hero from the Vietnam War has appeared, running for president of the United States and commander in chief. It just galls one to think about it."

It does indeed.

The peasants are getting restless

(Snap hat tip: Martin Fierro)

Drudge:

MTV, ROLLING STONE and the rock and roll establishment -- past and present -- have cast their vote, and their man is John Kerry.

So on Sunday night when John Kerry's daughters were announced to speak at the annual MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS, the MTV youth were expected to welcome his daughter's as pop culture princesses.

Instead, in an era of the unexpected, the daughters of the Democratic candidate were met with cheers -- AND JEERS -- during the live broadcast in Miami.

From the moment Alexandra and Vanessa started speaking, the boos outweighed anything close to cheers, and the reaction turned worse when the daughters asked the VIACOM youth to vote for their father. So shocked by the reaction, the taller of the two daughters tried to 'shhhhhh' her peers to no avail.

Maybe it was because she was dressed like Hiawatha instead of wearing the see through dress? Anyhow, the Daily Recycler has the video. Catch it now before they edit out the boos like they did for Hillary.

And more to the point, what was politics doing at a music awards ceremony?

UPDATE: Rodger helps out.

Maybe Patty goosed him

Look what came out from under the rock together: Lurch, Patty Osama Momma Murray, and Baghdad Jim McDermott.



For more hilarity, check out Lurch and Weasley pointing out the path to the glorious future.

She does kind of look like Arafat!

And the anti-Israel contingent was there:


From the link: "Is that a bomb under your t-shirt or are you just happy to see me?"

As expected

Hey, hey, we're the monkeys
You never know where we'll be found
So you better get ready
We may be coming to your town

Oh yeah, that'll work!

Kevin Patrick:

I think, however, that I have uncovered one of the Kerry campaign’s bedrock strategies that is apparently driving the comments, actions and policies of its principal and surrogates: The truth is irrelevant, when there is an expedient political point to score.

Check out John Kerry in Florida on his voting record (can you freaking believe he actually brought that up! Lol) regarding relations with Cuba...

Kevin has much more, but this is so much fun, I have to get some. From the Miami Herald article:

John Kerry had just pumped up a huge crowd in downtown West Palm Beach, promising to make the state a battleground for his quest to oust President Bush, when a local television journalist posed the question that any candidate with Florida ambitions should expect:

What will you do about Cuba?

As the presumptive Democratic nominee, Kerry was ready with the bravado appropriate for a challenger who knows that every answer carries magnified importance in the state that put President Bush into office by just 537 votes.

''I'm pretty tough on Castro, because I think he's running one of the last vestiges of a Stalinist secret police government in the world,'' Kerry told WPLG-ABC 10 reporter Michael Putney in an interview to be aired at 11:30 this morning.

Then, reaching back eight years to one of the more significant efforts to toughen sanctions on the communist island, Kerry volunteered: ``And I voted for the Helms-Burton legislation to be tough on companies that deal with him.''

It seemed the correct answer in a year in which Democratic strategists think they can make a play for at least a portion of the important Cuban-American vote -- as they did in 1996 when more than three in 10 backed President Clinton's reelection after he signed the sanctions measure written by Sen. Jesse Helms and Rep. Dan Burton.

There is only one problem: Kerry voted against it.

Ruh Oh! So what's the story, Lurch?

Asked Friday to explain the discrepancy, Kerry aides said the senator cast one of the 22 nays that day in 1996 because he disagreed with some of the final technical aspects. But, said spokesman David Wade, Kerry supported the legislation in its purer form -- and voted for it months earlier.

That'll bring the crowd to its feet. But wait. there's more:

But there are also constant reminders that Kerry struggles with the complexities of Cuba. Asked in the Herald interview last year about sending Elián back to Cuba, Kerry was blunt: ``I didn't agree with that.''

But when he was asked to elaborate, Kerry acknowledged that he agreed the boy should have been with his father.

So what didn't he agree with?

''I didn't like the way they did it. I thought the process was butchered,'' he said.

Sheesh, it's Nuance Boy.

''I haven't resolved what to do,'' he said, seeming to reflect on the full scope of Cuba concerns. ``I'm going to talk to a lot of people in Florida.''

Bzzzzt. Game over.

Ole Zack Exley sure gets around

Lowell Ponte's Ruckus at the Republican Convention provides background on the Ruckus Society which is a prime mover for rioting leftist thugs across America, including those expected to show up in NYC this week. And guess who's one of the fun lovers?

Ruckus has become the military academy where dozens of leftwing groups send their elite shock troop protestors to learn the skills of waging guerrilla street warfare against capitalism.

One such leftwing activist is Zack Exley, who was trained by and has worked as a “workshop facilitator” for The Ruckus Society.

Since April 2004 Exley has been the Director of Online Communications and Online Organizing for the John Kerry-John Edwards 2004 presidential campaign organization. Are Senator Kerry (and the Secret Service agents who protect him) aware of Exley’s training with and for this law-breaking violent anarchist group, and of its links to members of domestic terrorist organizations?

Now that FrontPage Magazine has made the public aware of this, when will Senator Kerry (or the Secret Service) demand Mr. Exley’s resignation from the Kerry-Edwards campaign staff?

Can Senator Kerry be trusted to fight terrorism if he knowingly employs as one of his highest campaign staffers an extremist who has been involved with the Ruckus Society, whose leader was arrested for alleged activities involved with trying to disrupt the 2000 Republican National Convention, and that has trained radicals planning to disrupt the 2004 Republican National Convention?

Lurch won't mind. For him, it's a trip down memory lane!

Wait, there's more!

Catch this Reuters snap of

Protesters march through the streets in New York looking for Starbucks coffee restaurants on August 28, 2004, the site of the Republican National Convention.

I thought I was grumpy when I don't get my coffee! And where do they get the outfits? Guys, that's so 60's!

Today's Hoot!

I know it's early yet, but I'm already declaring Today's Hoot. Ryan Sager of the NY Post editorial board is photoblogging the marching wingnuts in New York City and there's lots of low humor. These are from the "March for Women's Lives". Frankly, it was rather hard to choose since there were also sentimental favorites like "Sex Workers for Choice" and "Liberate Women: Smash Marriage." I'm sure there will be lots more hilarity during the course of the week.


These women seem a little confused...


This guy gave his first name as "Vermin." And, well, he had documentation.