The President yesterday and today's Republican chorus highlighed a new phrase in W's otherwise hilarious or sickening personification in 30 seconds of a weasel (shifty eyes anyone), a rabbit (hyper-ventilating, twitchiness) and lying felon (leakings good when I say so). The phrase I have in mind is "Innocent Americans". According to W, Innocent Americans have nothing to fear from whatever surveillance (and presumed actions based on it) he and his Republican "patriots" decide is needed. For the Innocent American Criteria List, see below the fold.

Following up on the recent discovery of a Juraissic Beaver dating back 160 million years, a scientist noticed that Ann Coulter has webs between her claw-like toes as she slipped off her pumps. Once researchers confirmed Coulter's web-foot condition, other similarities emerged: swamp-like habitat, scaly tail, sharp teeth, inability to tell right from wrong. When asked about this amazing find, Coulter snapped at the research team and dove out of sight down a New York City Sewer. Please report any sitings to the Ministry of Truth, Washington, DC.

I looked here today to see if I had understood correctly a brief note in yesterday's WAPO, namely (I think) that Iraq has invited Iran to train its Iraqi Armed Forces. Huh? If this is true, isn't this one of the absolutely worst possible outcomes for Bush's war?

Let's see, before the Republicans led us to war in Iraq, Iran was contained on the West by Iraq; free of charge. After 1,750 American lives, $250 billion, 100,000 Iraquis dead, Bush's Fly Paper Strategy has attracted suicide terrorists (and their training) from everywhere, its Freedom Spreading Machine created a Shiite Theocracy that suppresses democracy, and now, while we are on site, Iran will train the Iraqi (Pan-Shiite?)Army of the futue. I can't imagine why this isn't a shit storm of Biblical proportions.

Have I missed something, or are we creating another monster in the Middle East that makes the old ones look like putty cats?  Where's the Press?

 

Authenticity, accomplishment and empathy are intertwined in an enduring kind of political leadership. I submit that leadership of this sort should be front and center in Democratic Party Reform--from us at the grass roots to the White House. I believe Howard Dean has it, Andy Stern of the Service Employees International Union has it, and Martin O'Malley, soon to be governor of MD, has it. Good character as the foundation for public trust and as a proud part of a winning Democratic strategy on values. Imagine.

W doen't have it as EL Doctorow says way better than I could below, nor does Dick, DeLay, Hastert,Condi--the rethug firmament.

is one of your options at Paula Zahn's cnn poll on Bush-Wire www.cnn.com/cnn/programs/paula.zahn.now.

I scribbled down the following MSNBC final tally of who "won" the second presidential debate. There were 1,281,529 votes!! Kerry 64%; Bush 36%. I went to the MSNBC site and couldn't find it. Is there a dkos blogger confirmation?  I am most interested in the accuracy of the number of votes tallied as that is a huge population. It is good news that might further energize folks in the uphill races in WV and VA.

Bush's arrogant, condescending, self-promoting and hate-inducing 'campaign talking points' before the UN reminded me of another thing at stake November 2nd. A world that detests and fears Bush (except maybe Putin, his "soul buddy")often distinguishes between him and his Administration and the American people (Pew Survey). After November 2nd the world will no longer make that distinction: if we reelect this monster, all of us will be tarred with the Bushite brush; if we elect Kerry, the world will be ready to listen and help. I've found that people hear this message.    

As the President and his band of happy war makers implement plans to "garrison up", it has begun the betrayal of the Iraqi Kurds. I and many others saw this coming last year, but as usual the Kurds didn't make the headlines as the only democratic and safe entity in Iraq. With the election campaign the only focus of the bush-repugs, what matters now is slowing American body bags. It is chillingly fitting that the military and humanitarian frauds of this administration now bow before a theocratic shiite cleric who is dedicated to every value they've said we oppose, and will throw our only Iraqi ally to the tender mercies of those Arabs who will kill them. The last shred of American decency in Iraq is about to be torn. God help the United States of America.    

I've frantically searched for real, meaningful options to present to those remaining thirty or so "core" supporters of Howard Dean at our next Meetup. Some who already have left simply will go to Kerry or ABB. Others are so devestated that they may retreat (as I did many years ago) to Anything But Politics. One stop I made was to the pretty slick blog site sponsored by the DNC, DSCC, called "Grassroots" (WTF?). Appended to this recruitment site is the name of Paul Wellstone. When was the last time any of you heard the DNC-DLC or Senate Leadership summon the name of Paul Wellstone against the scrub team, the war, the patriot act, no billionaire left behind, etc.? It seems to me that Dean has earned some of Wellstone's mantle and that a DEAN'S LIST building on DFA and the history of Emily's List just might be the armature around which we might wrap some of our considerable passion, money, time, action--AND allow Dean to recover, recoup and still stay deeply and honorably involved. What do you guys think?