The Myth of the Liberal Media: R.I.P - Joe Conason's Eulogy


The legend of the liberal media is finally dead. When the mightiest
voices of the
mainstream gang up on Tom Daschle with Rush
Limbaugh, who can believe in that old myth any
more?

The historic rumble started after the Senate
Democratic
leader compared the shrill radio host to
foreign fanatics,
and complained that he and his family receive
threats
when Mr. Limbaugh airs a diatribe against him.
snip
It isn’t so far-fetched, however, that a loony or two or a dozen among
the millions who listen to Mr.
Limbaugh every day might threaten Mr. Daschle. Why? Because of what Mr.
Limbaugh has actually said
about Mr. Daschle—and because a serious physical threat has already
occurred at least once as a direct result
of irresponsible broadcasts by Mr. Limbaugh and others.

On May 11, 1999, Hardball host Chris Matthews coaxed Kathleen Willey
into naming Cody Shearer, a
longtime Clinton friend, as the man who had allegedly used threats to
silence her. That this was a wholly false
(and easily disproved) assertion didn’t matter to Mr. Limbaugh, who
repeated the inflammatory slander the
following day and even spelled out Mr. Shearer’s surname on the air.
Several days later, Mr. Shearer started
to receive death threats.

Then on a Sunday afternoon, Hank Buchanan, a brother of Pat and Bay,
decided to visit Mr. Shearer’s
Washington home. He broke into the garage, slashed the tires of two cars
and threatened three other people
with a handgun before fleeing. Hank Buchanan was apprehended and sent to
a mental institution. Mr.
Matthews made an on-air apology to Mr. Shearer and to his viewers. And
while that was the end of the
matter, the assault by the deranged Buchanan showed that ugly broadcasts
may have tragic consequences.

What Gore Said (to get Kurtz & al balistic):


"The media is kind of weird these days on politics, and
there are some major institutional voices that are,
truthfully speaking, part and parcel of the Republican
Party," said Mr. Gore in an interview with The
Observer. "Fox News Network, The Washington
Times, Rush Limbaugh—there’s a bunch of them, and
some of them are financed by wealthy ultra-conservative billionaires who make
political deals with Republican administrations and the rest of the media …. Most
of the media [has] been slow to recognize the pervasive impact of this fifth
column in their ranks—that is, day after day, injecting the daily Republican talking
points into the definition of what’s objective as stated by the news media as a
whole."

It's relevant to note that this (and another quote) is all that made it in the NY Observer acrid article out of a phone interview with Al Gore, complete with unflatering drawing. The bulk of the article contained peeved reactions from RNC and "lifelong Democrats" which in it of itself makes Gore's point.

> Sunday, December 1, 2002
> To jobless, White House is Scrooge
> By MARIANNE MEANS
> SYNDICATED COLUMNIST
> WASHINGTON -- President Bush displayed no interest in having Congress,
> before it adjourned, extend unemployment benefits for more than
> 800,000 jobless workers whose essential federal lifeline will expire
> right after Christmas.
> And a Happy New Year to you, too, Master of the Universe.
> The White House and the incoming Republican-controlled Congress are
> gleefully making plans for many more tax giveaways to benefit rich
> individuals, and lavish loopholes to benefit corporations. But the
> victims of a wave of corporate collapses and employee downsizing in
> the shaky economy were stiffed by the GOP-controlled House of
> Representatives and the White House. The president ignored Democratic
> pleas to lean on his party's House leaders.

The Gloves are off: Wash Post gives up Pretenses of Objectivity Howard Kurtz:



What, after all, does the ex-veep gain by denouncing the likes of Fox News and the
Washington Times?

Maybe he's just frustrated that his book isn't selling better, despite a zillion media
appearances with Tipper.

Let's say Gore is right, that conservative news outlets are trying to blacken the
reputations of people like him. Doesn't complaining about it just sound like whining? Or
is he playing to his base, the way conservatives have done all these years by moaning
about the liberal media?

After all, if you're going to take on Saddam and Osama, you'd better be able to deal
with the likes of the Washington Times. The conservative media aren't going anywhere.
Deal with it.

Grim Bartizen Prediction on the Kissinger 9.11 Commission role

The
"investigation" is going to lead
inexorably to the conclusion that Bill Clinton and Al
Gore committed treason.

In today's New York Times it was heavily emphasized
that the commission is
charged with looking into previous administrations
actions. I think we can expect
that there will be slow but constant leaks giving an
impression that the Clinton
administration pretty much planned 9/11 because of
their great hatred of
freedom and morality.

The report will be released just before the election
and it will portray a resolute
and commanding George W. Bush singlehandedly fighting
a corrupt bureaucracy
staffed by hold-over cells of Democratic al Quada
sympathizers while Dick and
Condy and Rummy bravely and without thought for their
own personal safety
worked feverishly to cut through the layers of
ingrained ineptitude of the national
security apparatus made fat and stupid after 8 years
of Democratic cronyism.

By that time, of course, months of leaks and non-stop
shrill, shrieking,
Wagnerian hyperbole by thoughtful, mainstream analysts
like Rush Limbaugh
and Hannity will have dominated the discourse so
thoroughly that the Democrats
will gather around the microphones en masse like a
quivering mound of aspic
and feebly point to the fact that the report contains
no proof while pronouncing in
dolorous tones that Clinton is, nonetheless,
deplorable and reprehensible and Al
Gore freakishly lied about his wife's shoe size to
investigators.

How Bill Clinton’s ghost still haunts the Bush White House

Newsweek

Nov. 27 — The numbers just didn’t add up. For days leading up
to George W. Bush’s trip to Lithuania and Romania late last
week, White House staffers were projecting that huge crowds
would turn out for the president’s visit. “The initial estimates are
between 50,000 and 100,000,” Press Secretary Ari Fleischer told
us on Air Force One. “In each place?” asked an incredulous
reporter. “Yes.”

WELL, ACTUALLY, no. Another top staffer, trying to tamp down
the hyperbole, nudged Fleischer to revise his estimates. “I stand
corrected:
25,000 to 50,000 in Lithuania and 50,000 to 100,000 in Romania,”
Fleischer said. He was still off by nearly 100,000: about 10,000 turned out
in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius and about 50,000 in cold and rainy
Bucharest.
At first, I didn’t understand why White House staffers—always loath
to engage in “hypotheticals” of any sort—were talking up the hypothetical
turnout in the first place. The only answer I could come up with: Bill
Clinton. When the former president visited Bucharest five years ago, about
100,000 people packed the downtown square of the Romanian capital. Of
course, the people of Eastern Europe would turn out for any American
president, such is their love of the freedom we espouse. But whenever
Bush has had to follow Clinton anywhere—notably to the D-Day
ceremonies at Normandy last Memorial Day—his administration has been
keenly aware of Clinton’s shadow.

My Letter to Leno

Dear Jay

You were right on your show last night. And Gore and Daschle were wrong.
It is not the likes of Limbaugh or Moonie Times they should have taken issue with (and
what's a
little anthrax between friends, right?). At least these mouthpieces are quite transparent
in their
RNC connections. They don't seriously contend that they are anything else.
It's the "liberal media" - The New York Times, CNN and the NBC they should take issue
with.
The New York Times which publishes a poll analysis and gushes about Bush's
popularity,
neglecting to mention the newsworthy finding that only 32% would vote for him in 2004.
It's CNN
which beats the drums of war without bothering to tell us why that war is so necessary.
It's people like you who called my senator "trailer trash" in an interview once. You are
not
mainstream, you are not benign, you are vicious propaganda outlets of the thugs in
power.
And, for your information: Paul Wellstone's memorial was one of the few moments this
year
when I felt proud and hopeful for the cause of the many. No amount of vicious venom
from you
and your cohorts is going to take this away - not from the numerous young people
calling
themselves Wellstone Democrats these days. And, NO. Our mourning and celebrating
our best,
does not entitle you to fill the airwaves with hatred and violence. Nothing does.
I had not watched you - never having considered you funny - even before you came out
of the
right wing closet. But I did have friends and family who did. I called in a few favors and
they
promised to turn you off for good . With most, it was very easy. One word did it:
Wellstone.

-------------------------------------
Bush Refuses To Pardon White House Turkey
Calls Ceremonial Bird 'Evil' By Andy Borowitz

In a break with a White House tradition going back several decades,
President Bush
refused to pardon the ceremonial White House turkey today until it
agreed
to disarm
itself unconditionally.

Onlookers appeared stunned as the President used the typically
light-hearted photo
op to deliver a dire warning to the turkey, whom Mr. Bush called "evil."

Fixing the turkey with his icy stare, Mr. Bush warned, "Give up your

arms, or face
the consequences."

Mr. Bush later told reporters that he was "a patient man," but that
his
ultimatum
to the White House turkey was a crucial part of his ongoing war against
what he
called "The Axis of Poultry."

But at the United Nations, Security Council members were openly
critical of the
President's call for the White House turkey to disarm.

"To our knowledge, the turkey has no arms," said Jean-David Levitte,

the French
ambassador to the U.N.

The crisis involving the White House turkey was occurring just as
Washington was
rocked with revelations that Attorney General John Ashcroft had detained
as
many as
20,000 turkeys this Thanksgiving in various coops and pens around the
country.

"We believe these birds have information, and we have ways to make
them
talk," Mr.
Ashcroft said in a brief statement.

The Liberal Media in the 2000 Campaign (Paul Begala-Crossfire)

There were exactly 704 stories in the campaign about this flap of Gore inventing
the Internet. There were only 13 stories about Bush failing to show up for his
National Guard duty for a year. There were well over 1,000 stories -- Nexus stopped
at 1,000 -- about Gore and the Buddhist temple. Only 12 about Bush being
accused of insider trading at Harken Energy. There were 347 about Al Gore wearing
earth tones, but only 10 about the fact that Dick Cheney did business with Iran and
Iraq and Libya.

Idiots,
imbeciles feeling left out - letter to the editor, Toronto Star



Bush fails to meet moron criteria


Opinion, Nov. 26.

Thomas Walkom does not tell the whole story. Idiots and i
mbeciles all across the U.S. are outraged at being excluded
from the remarks of Françoise Ducros. One idiot complained,
"Bush is always called a moron, but he is also an idiot and
that's never mentioned." One imbecile, demonstrating in a
combined rally of a reported 5,000 idiots and imbeciles
outside the federal building in Los Angeles Sunday said that,
"Imbeciles are among Bush's strongest supporters and we are
beginning to feel left out."


Ronald Rubin, Topanga, Calif.

Moronic Statement of the Day (no, it's NOT from Bush*):


"Lieberman, who pushed for the commission over Bush's initial objections, called the appointment a good beginning and said
he suspected that Kissinger did not want to end his career on a partisan note."

. Psst! She really said 'Mormon'

By MARGARET WENTE
Globe and Mail
Tuesday, November 26, 2002

… … No one actually cares what Francie Ducros thinks of George Bush. What matters
is what the gang she hangs around with think. And the truth is, most of them
(including her boss, no doubt) agree with her. She's simply reflecting a view that's
widespread among the nation's political elite. As for the CBC Radio reporter, who
knows what he thinks? But it is safe to say that, within the CBC, the range of
opinions on Mr. Bush pretty much runs the gamut from "drooling imbecile" to
"warmongering idiot."

… … Ms. Ducros, meanwhile, has not gone unsung in Baghdad, where her "moron"
comment has been quoted with approval by the Ba'ath party's official newspaper. It
says she has supplied yet more proof that "Bush has become the most hated
person in the world."

Well, that's one thing we all can probably agree on….

Toronto Star:

BUSH FAILS TO MEET MORON CRITERIA
by Thomas Walkom

The debate over whether George W. Bush is a moron continues to sputter.
Morons are outraged at being lumped in with the U.S. president. Americans,
meanwhile, are mildly amused that it has taken Canadians so long to discover
the obvious.

The controversy exploded last week when Francoise Ducros, an adviser to
Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, was overheard at a NATO meeting in Prague
saying, "What a moron," apparently in relation to Bush.

Morons say this is an outlandish slur. "We're nice people," explained one.
"We don't threaten other countries or use the courts to steal elections.
George W. Bush may be a dangerous lunatic. But he's no moron."

Chrétien seems to agree. "He's not a moron at all," the Prime Minister told
reporters on Thursday, referring to Bush.

Still, the opposition parties are not content. The Canadian Alliance argues
that if Bush discovers he is a moron, this could affect Canada-U.S.
relations.

Chrétien, however, says there is nothing to worry about. Bush, he said,
doesn't read Canadian newspapers

According to the International Dictionary of Medicine and Biology, most
morons are "educable and do not require institutionalization but need some
supervision in working at some simple job by which they can become
self-sustaining members of society."

Some have argued that this definition fits Bush to a tee. In most matters,
they note, he is carefully supervised by Vice-President Dick Cheney, Defence
Secretary Donald Rumsfield and Attorney-General John Ashcroft.

Cheney and Rumsfield run Bush's wars while Ashworth stifles domestic
opposition. At home in the White House, first lady Laura Bush is charged
with watching over the president.

"Since the president's inauguration, he's only been left unsupervised once -
to watch a football game on television," recalled one expert. "And look what
happened. He fell off the couch, choked on a pretzel and hurt his head."

While the Canadian media have gone gaga over the Bush-is-moron story,
Americans seem to have taken it in their stride. "Once again, Canadians have
discovered the obvious," editorialized the Wall Street Journal dismissively.
"Duh, Canada" riposted the New York Post.

In a lengthy analysis, the New York Times pointed out that Americans have
long made a practice of electing dead people to the Senate and morons to the
presidency.

"This kind of flexibility is what makes U.S. democracy so vital," the Times
went on. "Why should the Senate be denied the wisdom of those who have
passed on? Why should the presidency be the preserve of the mentally
capable?"

Recent polls suggest that most Americans agree. A stunning 67 per cent of
respondents think that Bush is a moron compared with the next largest
category, 28 per cent, who believe him to be a space alien.

Yet neither has affected his 82 per cent approval rating.

Moron Definition - for Better Understanding of Moron Affair

Moron comes from Greek moros `foolish, stupid.' It was coined as a scientific term by
Dr. Henry H. Goddard and proposed to the American Association for the Study of the
Feebleminded by him in 1910. It was accepted by the Association and described a
person suffering from mental deficiency who was between eight and twelve years in
mental age and who possessed an I.Q. (Intelligence Quotient) below 75. It was the
highest rating of a mentally deficient person, the two lower ratings being imbecile and
idiot. Moron was quickly adopted in common English to mean `fool' and it is no longer
in scientific use.*

Another Photo Caption:




File photo of U.S. President George W. Bush (news - web sites) who was
described as a moron by a top aide to the Canadian Prime Minister Jean
Chretien. REUTERS/William Philpott"


Sorry, I cannot post photos here, but you'll have to trust me, it fits.

"Not a Moron" afraid of Turkey (AP photo caption)


President Bush (news - web sites) is cautious in petting a female turkey named Katie by
first using the hand of Ron Prestage to touch the bird as he participates in the annual
pardoning of the Thanksgiving turkey in the Rose Garden of the White House, Tuesday,
Nov. 26, 2002.

Klein adviser calls Bush 'idiot'

A media adviser to the Alberta government has apologized for referring to George W. Bush as "that idiot" in an internal memo commenting on the controversy over a senior federal aide who called the U.S. dictator "a moron." Here's the apology:

"MediaWorks West sincerely regrets our editing
error in today's 1
p.m. SCRUM. It was completely unintentional and
the result reflects
exactly the opposite sentiments of our staff,"
Ms. Chase wrote in
her apology. "George Bush holds a BS from Yale
and an MBA from
Harvard ... and cannot be fairly characterized
as uneducated or
unintelligent."

Only 32% Would Vote Bush in 2004 (not that NYT would comment on that)

The article analysing their poll talks about our love for the GOP and how we don't like Gore - even found the proverbial "lifetime Democrat":

"In another follow-up interview, Wayne Denson, 75, a
Democrat and retired optician from Kansas City, Mo., said:
"I voted for him to start with but now that Bush got
elected, I'd rather vote for Bush than Gore. Bush has got
more intelligence."

From the Specious News:

Tape Shows Ari Fleischer Called Jean Chretien a Bitch


OTTAWA, Canada -- A tape recording obtained from an Ottawa newspaper
reporter gives startling evidence that more than a few people were
exchanging insults at last week's historic NATO summit in Prague.

Although it is still unclear who started the name-calling, a recorder was
activated just
as Prime Minister Jean Chretien's communications director Francoise Ducros
muttered
the words "What a moron", apparently in reference to U.S. President George W.
Bush.

Over laughter and light applause, Bush's press
secretary Ari Fleischer is clearly heard to reply, "Oh
yeah? Well Chretien is a bitch". Snip...

However, Prime Minister Chretien
has declined Ducros' offer of resignation, amid general consensus that her only
offense was stating the obvious.

In an effort to smooth international relations, Chretien later said of Bush "He
isn't a
moron, he's my friend".

Likewise, President Bush made it clear no action would be taken against
Fleischer,
saying of Chretien "He may be a bitch, but he's MY bitch".

Poetic Irony (still waiting for Justice)

The communists took power in Romania by hijacking the anti-fascist movement (and with outside help). Now, the new fascists from outside, try to further their goals (permanent war) by hijacking the anti-communist feeling still lingering after all these years. And, as a friend said, if a majority here refuse to see the new fascist reality, how can I expect people at the other end of the world to renounce the old bastion of freedom image that America once was?

Also Having a Birthday: the J&B Twins

OK, kids: now you can get drunk in public all you want - you've came of age, so no more fake IDs needed, no more police busting you, no more judges slapping you on your imperial wrists. Let your hair down girls all the way, cause even if it's notorious, the pundits will only gush: "I mean who amongst us hasn't been young, got drunk, fallen on the street, had some crack, faked some prescriptions, stolen drugs from a rehab center...We're all human, right?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CATI!

Changing the Tone in International Debate - Welcome to Kindergarden


Chirac shields Chretien from 'moron' fallout

By BILL RODGERS, SUN OTTAWA BUREAU

OTTAWA -- A furious French President Jacques Chirac shielded
Prime
Minister Jean Chretien from questions about a "moron" scandal
surrounding his communications director yesterday, saying the
subject had
no place at an international meeting on aid to Lebanon.

"We are in France," Chirac said sharply to a reporter during a
news
conference at L'Elysee, his palatial home. "We are not here to
discuss
Canadian domestic issues."

Chirac glared at the Canadian reporter, covered Chretien's
microphone
with his hand and quickly moved to another question from the
floor.

The scandal had already inflamed passions in the United States,
with
conservative pundits fuming after Chretien said he'd decided
not to fire
his aide, Francoise Ducros, for calling U.S. President George W.
Bush "a
moron."

Commentator and failed presidential candidate Pat Buchanan
called
Canadians "spoiled brats of the new world order" on Friday, and
Sean
Hannity, best-selling author and rabid defender of Bush on his
daily radio
and Fox TV programs, said Chretien was "obviously a leftist."

On Friday, Chretien threatened to end a pre-taped CBC News:
Sunday
interview if his questioner didn't stop asking about the issue.
Interviewer
Carole MacNeil started by asking: "Prime Minister Chretien,
regarding the
moron comment, what happened?"

Chretien curtly replied, "I discussed that earlier so ask me
about NATO,
OK?"

Four times the PM tried to steer the interview back to
questions about
NATO before snapping: "All right, if you don't want an interview
..."

MacNeil relented for a few minutes but went back to the subject
that
dominated Canadian news for most of a three-day international
gathering
last week in the Czech Republic.

Miracles from God, Special Effects, the Deal of the Century

The fuhrer was received like the second coming of Ceausescu in Piata Palatului - now "Revolution Square". And why not? He promised them to defend them against Communism (Hear that Albania and Cuba? Attack Romania and you have Bush to recon with!) and all they have to do is die for his oil in Iraq. Hollywood effects were mentioned - huge screens, music and such...A rainbow appearing was conveninetly noted on a board: "Only Freedom Makes Such Miracles" Reportedly, Bush* ad-libed the "sign from God" thingy so the crowd did not get it, BUT APPLAUDED ANYWAY" Ah, the good old times..."Cu mustar.."

How do we stop them? What do we have to do to stop them?

These were little Maya's anguished words after the little talk we had on the bus. After telling her that she'll drink water at Bubbie's house and her saying: "Everyone has water" I let out a sigh: "Well, at least until the Republicans fix it so only rich people do" "Why would they do that?" "Out of Greed" After she asked me how do we stop them, I had to promise that we'll find a way - in spite of my not promising stuff I cannot deliver. The question remains: why was it so easy for a 4 years old to get it and so difficult for most "Murikans?

THE REPUBLICAN Non-Scandal Scandals by Bridget Gibson

"If we understand the mechanism and motives of the group mind, it is now
possible to control and regiment the masses according to our will without their
knowing it." - Edward Bernays, a nephew of Sigmund Freud, America's No. 1
Publicist in the 1920's
When is a scandal not a scandal? When a scandal appears to be connected with a
member of the Republican Party, it is not reported as a "scandal." Only when a
member of the Democratic Party has involvement in anything that broaches the
questionable grey area is something "determined" to be a "scandal." After an eight
year-long investigation of William Jefferson and Hillary Clinton was concluded with
"no evidence," it is still reported as a "scandal."
That $70 million in taxpayer dollars and untold hours were devoted to finding
something, anything, to throw at the Clintons has shown that there was nothing to
throw. The media (and I mean the major corporate media) still consider it to be a
"scandal." One that just won't go away. One that has to be lied about and
drummed constantly into the psyche of the American public until something
resonates. What is resonating are the words that have been repeated endlessly
until almost everyone can recite them verbatim.
But let me tell you what was not a "scandal."
There was no "scandal" when Republican President George Herbert Walker Bush
pardoned Caspar Weinberger with an indictment filed against him, thus avoiding
any questions regarding the involvement of that same Republican President in the
Iran-Contra Affair.
There was no "scandal" when a partisan court appointed the highest elected official
in this country.
There was no "scandal" when an intern was found dead of mysterious causes in
Florida Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough's office. There was no "scandal"
when Republican Mayor Philip Giordano of Waterbury, Connecticut was caught and
charged as a sexual predator of young girls.
There was no "scandal" when the Republican President George Walker Bush
nominated Theodore Olson (investigated for obstruction of justice and lying to
Congress during the Superfund investigation) to the office of Solicitor General.
There was no "scandal" when Florida Governor Jeb Bush's daughter, Noelle Bush,
was charged with felony fraud in obtaining a controlled substance. There was no
"scandal" when Republican President George Walker Bush's daughters, Jenna and
Barbara Bush, then 18, were convicted with using illegally obtained and false
identification to obtain alcohol.

snip
They do not want you to remember Republican "scandals." It makes it easier to
demonize Democrats. They do not want you to look around. They do not want you
to question their version of the news. There are only Democratic "scandals". You can
recite them as easily as you can recite the Pledge of Allegiance: Whitewater. The
Blue Dress. Chandra Levy. Chappaquiddick. You know the drill.

The Ceausescu Moment

Recently, a bartizen was waxing nostalgic about that delicious moment when an absolut dictator got booed by the crowd and subsequently chased away. (It took Romanians 25 years of misery to get to that, but I did not have the heart to tell them).Anyway, Chimpy will be today in the very place - will the Universe release his karma today?

Putin Reminds Bush of Terrorism


PUSHKIN, Russia (AP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin told President Bush on Friday the United
States should not wage war alone against Iraq, and he put Bush on the spot by questioning whether
White House allies like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are doing enough to fight terrorism.

"Where has Osama bin Laden taken refuge?" the Russian said in a joint news conference with Bush
at an 18th century czarist castle.
According to the New York Times, Bush* avoided answering Putin through the clever maneuver of...saying that he has a plane to catch (guess Air Force One was otherwise engaged).

Bush is NOT a Moron - Declares Cretien in a Press Conference - Bob Boudelag Vindicated:


Well, all those who said that Our Great President was a disaster when
dealing with other countries have to be pretty embarrassed this morning!
The Canadian Premeer, whoever he is, has held a press conference just
to point out that George W. Bush is not a moron!

You will notice that nobody ever held a press conference to point out that
Slick Willy Klintoon was not a moron. Arrest my case!

In fact, as far as I know, no U.S. president has ever had to have the
head of another foreign country make a special announcement to tell
the world he is not a moron.

>President Bush may be "moron": stupidity experts

> TORONTO, Nov. 22 /CNW/ - A high-ranking federal official may be correct
in an assessment of US president George Bush as "a moron" say a group of
Canadian stupidity experts. "Technically, a moron is someone who is stupid but
looks normal," said Albert Nerenberg, a Toronto-based film director who is
completing a television documentary titled Stupidity. A controversy has
erupted over newspaper reports that a top Canadian federal aide called Bush a
"moron" for his hard-line stance on Iraq at the current NATO meeting in
Prague.

Truth is Unpatriotic!

So went the self-confessed "non-partisan" letters to Chicago Tribune complaining about a page one UNRETOUCHED photo of the fearless leader acting like an asshole in the company of Kofi Anan. Embracing his few dozen "patriots", the columnist still made a shocking admission:
"it amounted to a Page 1
editorial in which George W. Bush was being labeled an idiot and a clown,
unsuited to the presidency.

There may be a place for that in the newspaper, but it's not Page 1.

Threats? What threats? No One Threatened Me!" - Irony is Alive and Well

Daschle told reporters that the "very shrill edge" taken on by many radio and television talks show hosts has turned
politics into entertainment and can spark an emotional response in people.

"What happens when (radio talk show host) Rush Limbaugh attacks those of us in public life is that people aren't
satisfied just to listen," the South Dakota Democrat explained. "They want to act because they get emotionally
invested. And so, you know, the threats to those of us in public life go up dramatically, on our families and on us, in
a way that's very disconcerting."

Daschle, whose office was a target in last year's anthrax mail attacks, declined to go into detail about the nature of
the threats. But he said that when he was accused by Republicans of being an obstructionists the number of threats
against him and his family rose.



Senate Republican Leader Trent Lott when asked about Daschle's remarks said he did not agree that political
discussion had taken on a shrill edge for entertainment purposes and was not aware of any increase in the number
of threats.

The Illusion of Democracy is Getting really Thin

Democratic Gov. Don Siegelman of
> Alabama conceded the contested
> Alabama race to his GOP opponent, giving up on
> what would have been a
> protracted legal battle. Why? We'll never
> really know. What we DO know is
> that Siegelman won on election night, some 4000
> of his votes vanished by next
> morning (just enough to put the Republican in
> the lead), and a recount was
> not allowed. Familiar?
>
. Never
> forget Alabama. Never get over Florida.

Oh, No! Not Faux News! Who says that Irony is Dead?


In an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Bob
Steele, director of the journalism ethics program at the Poynter
Institute in St. Petersburg, FL, said: "Journalists should not
be in the business of advising presidents. ... If Roger Ailes is
sending messages to the president, it raises legitimate
questions about his journalistic leadership. ... How can he
guide the Fox News coverage in a professional and fair way when
he has brought his personal voice and view into the story in a
significant way?"

Dear DNC


They had "an enormously popular pResident" campaigning for them?!?!!!! I

am very unconvinced of this fact. However, if that were the truth, IT
WAS YOUR JOB TO MAKE THE NAZI MORON ENORMOUSLY UNPOPULAR. Way to fire
up your bases! How about the "computer glitches in the vote counts? How

about DNC's inability to connect with the grassroots - the pick of a
candidate in Florida, the failure to use the Question Mark campaign?
Keep this loser mentality up - it was the wrong thing to do after we won

in 2000 and it's the wrong thing to do now. I donated, I worked for you
spreading some messages (although I spread mostly my own - less watered
down), I defended you against the grassroots who are fed up with you,
but your pandering to the fascist junta is wearing me down too. Are you
ever going to become the opposition?

"They had the Advantage of an Enormously Popular President Campaigning for Them"

Is this an RNC tract? No. Is this a mediawhores regurgitation of GOP talking points? Wrong again. This is actually an election analysis that DNC - right - DNC sends to theis faithful. I suppose that this "We're not worthy" loser scream us ultimately paud by me (well, the campaigning of the "Enormously..." was also paid by me, but not willingly). So, this is how the DNC fires their bases. Gee, I don't remember EVER Clinton being called that. And he was actually elected. Twice.

Dear Garrison Keilor (Salon Article: Minnesota Shame)

Dear Garrison Keilor

started writing you to thank you for the moving tribute to Paul Wellstone.
My first thought was: how befitting it is that such a man like him has
someone of your caliber and eloquence to do him justice.
Unfortunately, I arrived to this paragraph buried in your otherwise
wonderful article:
"

> Paul Wellstone identified passionately with people at the bottom, people in trouble, people in the
> rough. He was an old-fashioned Democrat who felt more at home with the rank and file than with
> the rich and famous. (Bill Clinton, examine your conscience.)
>

Now, I am one of those people at the bottom, in trouble, in the rough who
hobnobbed with Bill Clinton. So was Paul Welstone's cancer riddled friend
who got Bill Clinton's undivided attention at the end of a long day (at
Paul's request). Some Harlem residents would beg to differ with you.
For you to say that Bill Clinton doesn't care about people is to pander to
your attackers. For you to ask Bill Clinton to examine his conscience is to
say to your detractors: "Please, allow me to eulogize the dead guy, I'll
deliver you the live one instead"
So, Maybe after all, Paul Wellstone deserves better. He deserves to be
eulogized by nobodies like me or the ones at his memorial who will not sell
out Wellstone's party for the rights to a soap box.
Sincerely,

The Daily News published my Trifecta Letter of 11/8/02 on 11/14/02!

No one called or anything, someone who read it just told me. Here's the letter again:

Now that Mr. Bush got his trifecta - all branches of government in his hands - I
trust that
everything will be right with the world.
Without the Democratic gridlock the economy will pick up and the budget will be
balanced
again.
Now that Clinton is no longer corrupting the business world with his personal
example, I trust
that ethics will reign, the corporate malfeance (sic) will be history and Ken Lay
and his friends
will be brought to justice.
Now that the unpatriotic Democrats can no longer sabotage Homeland Security I
trust Osama
Bin Ladin and the anthrax mailer will be finally caught.
Now that the 90's binges are over the market will go up and all the candidates
who promised
they won't privatize Social Security will keep their word.
And you, the liberal media will report each and every one of these miracles.

Again with Osama?


WASHINGTON--Now that Osama bin Laden is thought to be alive and threatening
more attacks, the Senate's top Democrat said Thursday the administration's
inability to catch the al-Qaida leader raises questions about ''whether or not we
are winning the war on terror.''

''We can't find bin Laden. We haven't made real progress'' in finding key
elements of al-Qaida, said Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.). ''They
continue to be as great a threat today as they were 1-1/2 years ago. So by what
measure can we claim to be successful so far?''

Asked about it at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld ducked the
question of whether the United States was winning the war. He also refused to
speculate on whether bin Laden was dead or alive in light of the release this
week of a threatening audiotape thought to have come from the al-Qaida
leader.

''The answer is yes, he is alive or dead,'' Rumsfeld said.

The questions irked White House aides, too, as spokesman Scott McClellan
refused to say whether President Bush and his team were frustrated by the
failure to find bin Laden.

Gay Translators Promptly Fired


To which Paul Begala said on Crossfire, "If we spread the word that Osama bin Laden is gay,
they would have him in a minute!"

Censored from Gore's inrerview with Barbara Walters


WALTERS: I'm not sure that people realize that while
you were in the
residence of the Vice President there were crowds of
people outside
screaming at you. What was that all about?

AL GORE: Well, this was the Republican response to
what was happening
during that 36-day period, and they organized
busloads of people that
came and stood outside the house all day and all
night screaming at the
top of their lungs.

WALTERS: What, "Get out!"?

TIPPER GORE: Things like that, yes, and, and
sometimes … things that
we don't want to say on your program, and, some
people saw that they
were buses from "churches," but it was organized

A Democratic Hero was Defeated by a Chickenhawk


''(Bush) supported a man, for example, in Georgia who was,
well, the best way to put it,
was a draft dodger who attacked Senator (Max) Cleland on his
patriotism,'' Leahy said.
''And the president joined in that.''

Osama Bin Laden Status Today: Alive

Just in time for the Homeland Security union busting police state thingy. Aren't you glad that our fearless leader after saying: "I will not rest until I'll bring him to justice" took a month off to Crawford, than 2 more campaigning and replaced Bun Laden with Saddam? Wasn't it a clever ruse to make Bin Laden pop up again? I am so proud!

18.181 This is the Magic Number in Comal County. Tx

3 Different GOP candidates had this very number of votes. More oddities: 2000+ Democrats voted for a Dem candidate for Lt Governor but NOT for Governor or Senate.

Thug Humor

"Will we get oil drilling in Alaska? Would Vermont's Mount Snow be a good spot for the
national depository of nuclear waste? Could that controversial bombing range in Puerto
Rico be moved to Lake Champlain? Will Mr. Jeffords still have an office when he returns
to Washington?"
Trent Lott on a radio show

Dems lost 5 seats (House+Senate), 2 plane-wreck related:"


This past Tuesday, the Dems lost five seats in Congress, House and
Senate combined. And two of those losses were plane wreck-related; Mondale lost a
five-day campaign, and Jean Carnahan—her late husband’s replacement—almost
won despite the fact that she was running her first campaign. Has such an election
ever been described as a “rout” or “debacle?”
A little needed perspective from the Daily Howler

Democrats outdrew Republicans in the Senate vote

Out of the 41.5 million votes cast, 52.6% were Democratic and 47.4 were Republican. So, about that Bush* mandate...nevermind.

My trifecta letter (to Daily News):

Now that Mr. Bush got his trifecta - all branches of government in his hands - I trust that
everything will be right with the world.
Without the Democratic gridlock the economy will pick up and the budget will be balanced
again.
Now that Clinton is no longer corrupting the business world with his personal example, I trust
that ethics will reign, the corporate malfeance (sic) will be history and Ken Lay and his friends
will be brought to justice.
Now that the unpatriotic Democrats can no longer sabotage Homeland Security I trust Osama
Bin Ladin and the anthrax mailer will be finally caught.
Now that the 90's binges are over the market will go up and all the candidates who promised
they won't privatize Social Security will keep their word.
And you, the liberal media will report each and every one of these miracles.

Bush*'s Reign Day One: Bubonic Plague

Really. The Dark Ages are here, symbolism and all.

America stood at the crossroads


Joined hands with the devil, and walked down the road to oblivion.
Bartizen wisdom

It Is Always the Darkest...Before It gets Completely Black

Whatever determined these elections results, the Middle Ages are upon us. War, fanaticism, fleecing of the peasants. let's just hope we'll make it to Renaissance.

White House Lowers Expectations

Says Moonie Times and makes an extraordinary acknowledgement (best kept secret):
"Should Democrats defy predictions and pick up seats in the House,
that would be the
first time in history that any party has gained seats four elections in
a row.

Of Course, if They Lose, This will Not Be Mentioned Again


"The unifying theme in tomorrow's elections is the omnipresent president. Hopping
about the country in his government jet, George W. Bush has turned disparate local
races into a me-me referendum. His eagerness is amazing, or at least it should be
... on domestic policy he started off rocky and remains so."

Sebastian Mallaby
Washington Post

Mondale vs Coleman

This is the debate I wanted to hear between Gore vs Bush. Coleman said ALL THE W lines - a little better than W - but Mondale refuted them mercilessly. "You are not listening, Norman"

Minnesota, The Straight Story
By Marc Ash
t r u t h o u t | Perspective

Friday, 1 November, 2002

"We Will Win"
- Sheila Wellstone in a hand written message to her husband days before their
death.

On Tuesday night one week before election day, at University of Minnesota's
Williams Arena, the memorial service held for Senator Paul Wellstone and those
who died with him became a political rally -- and what a beauty it was.

There has been a lot of talk about whether it was "appropriate" to turn the service
into a political rally; many said they were angry about that. Don't buy it. It wasn't
anger - it was fear.

The C-SPAN cameras showed frequent images of prominent political figures in the
crowd, faces we all know. But it's not those faces that the industry lobbyists and
their political cronies have to worry about. It's the faces you didn't recognize.
Those are the ones that sent a jolt of fear through all who now raise their voices in
protest.

Faces of young Minnesotans with tears streaming down their faces over the loss of
one man -- Paul Wellstone -- who they knew in their hearts fought for them. Faces
of the backbone of the heartland clearly etched in anguish over the loss of one
man -- Paul Wellstone -- who gave his life to change things for the better. Faces
filled with rage and resolve over the loss of one man -- Paul Wellstone -- who said
'No, This Senate Seat is Not For Sale!'

When Paul's sons David and Mark, and his friend Rick Kahn, exhorted that crowd
to carry on his work, it was not a premeditated act by shrewd politicians. This was
three young men, their eyes filled with tears over the loss of a Father, a role
model, a mentor who said, 'No we will not let what Paul Wellstone fought for die
with him.'

Yes, it became a political rally. But it was much, much more than that. It became
what a political rally is supposed to be: A grassroots groundswell for fundamental
political change in this country. It became an agenda for reclaiming government
for the people. It became a rallying cry for American unity.

When these young men spoke with voices raw and unpolished, 20 thousand
citizens leapt to their feet and said; 'Unite -- join hands across the nation -- take
back our government!'

These are the words of Rick Kahn, Mark Wellstone and Tom Harkin that shook the
state of Minnesota:

We're gonna' organize, We're gonna' organize, We're gonna' organize!

We will win, We will win, We will win!

For Paul, For Paul, For Paul!
http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/11.02A.ma.minn.htm

The World is His Oyster


"I need to be able to move the right people to the right place at the right time to
protect you, and I'm not going to accept a lousy bill out of the United Nations Senate."
—South Bend, Ind., Oct. 31, 2002

Byrd on What's At Stake


“The people should elect a Democratic Senate and House of
Representatives in order
to keep the brakes on a jingoistic, saber-rattling,
power-hungry administration headed
by multimillionaires from corporate boardrooms,”

Pataki - No Show at the Debate; Golisano to make Important Announcement

It seemed today that Golisano will indeed drop from the race and endorse McCall. If I read them well during today's debate that is.

The Ghouls from the Right are Joined by the Ghouls from the Left

Even though Halloween is gone, the full scale attack in the media on Wellstone's funeral continues (we'll laugh about it some day, I'm sure). Peggy Noonan goes so far as to channel Wellstone himself in order to admonish his family and friends that they have "no class". The etiquette arbiters have decided that only Hillary Clinton can be booed with impunity at a memorial (9.11) while doing same to Trent Lott amounts to a "debacle" Jesse Ventura felt so "used" that he wants to appoint a garbage man to Wellstone's seat as an act revenge against the mourners ("we Navy Seals don't get mad, we get even"). And the Green candidate for senate - the guy who pulled buggers from his nose during the debate? He's also appalled about the political tone of the memorial.