Watch You Tongue

During the debate, the candidates had this brief exchange about the effort to raise their daughters.

"I'm trying to put a leash on them," Mr. Bush said with a smile.
"Well, I don't know," Mr. Kerry replied. "I've learned not to do that, Mr. President."

Conservative blogger Andrew Sullivan comments: "No president who has presided over Abu Ghraib should ever say he wants to put anyone on a leash."

The War Of Words

Some memorable quotes from the debate:

Bush: “September 11 changed how America must look at the world. And since that day our nation has been on a multipronged strategy to keep our country safer."

Kerry: "I can make America safer than President Bush has made us. I believe America is safest and strongest when we are leading the world and when we are leading strong alliances. This president has left them in shatters across the globe, and we're now 90 percent of the casualties in Iraq and 90 percent of the costs. I think that's wrong, and I think we can do better."

Bush: “The enemy attacked us, and I have a solemn duty to protect the American people, to do everything I can to protect us."

Kerry: “This president has made, I regret to say, a colossal error of judgment, and judgment is what we look for in the president of the United States.”

Bush: “I've made a lot of tough decisions, and you know where I stand. People out there listening know what I believe, and that's how best it is to keep the peace."

Kerry: "It's one thing to be certain. But you can be certain and wrong."

Bush: "The only thing consistent about my opponent's position is that he's been inconsistent. He changes positions. And you cannot change positions in this war on terror if you expect to win.

Kerry: "I've had one position, one consistent position on Iraq: That Saddam Hussein was a threat, there was a right way to disarm him and the wrong way, and the president chose the wrong way."

Bush: "Of course we're doing everything we can to protect America. I wake up every day thinking about how best to protect America. That's my job."

Kerry: "Unfortunately, (Osama bin Laden) escaped in the mountains of Tora Bora. We had him surrounded. But we didn't use American forces, the best-trained in the world, to go kill him. The president relied on Afghan warlords, and he outsourced that job too. That's wrong."

Bush: "My opponent says help is on the way, but what kind of message does it say to our troops in harm's way: 'Wrong war, wrong place, wrong time'? Not a message a commander in chief gives."

Kerry: “I believe in being strong and resolute and determined. And I will hunt down and kill the terrorists, wherever they are. But we also have to be smart. And smart means not diverting your attention from the real war on terror in Afghanistan against Osama bin Laden and taking if off to Iraq.

Bush: “If America shows uncertainly or weakness in this decade, the world will drift toward tragedy. By being steadfast and resolute and strong, by keeping our word, by supporting our troops, we can achieve the peace we all want.”

Kerry: “We need a fresh start, a new credibility, a president who can bring allies to our side.”

Transcript of the full debate.

The Debate: Afterthoughts

Phew. The face-off between Bush and Kerry just ended. Despite all the debates rules and the repetitive stumping speeches it still was interesting and insightful. No matter what the spin will be - I think it is safe to say that Kerry is the clear winner of tonight. He was cool, calm, clear, determined, scored with sharp and critical arguments against Bush - and he looked very presidential. Bush on the other hand was defensive from the beginning on an issue (war on terror) that is supposed to be his strength. And his body language was a turn-off: He looked uncomfortable, tense, he lip-smacked, smirked, rolled his eyes and looked angry and sour throughout the debate. It wasn't a clear knockout, but this first encounter between the two opponents definitely helped Kerry, not Bush. I'm anxious to see how much points the challenger gained in the polls.

U.S. Plans Torture Outsourcing

According to the Washington Post the Bush administration is supporting a provision in the House leadership's intelligence reform bill that would allow U.S. authorities to deport certain foreigners to countries where they are likely to be tortured or abused, an action prohibited by the international laws against torture the United States signed 20 years ago. - A topic for the presidential debates (I bet the Abu Ghraib scandal won't be mentioned with one word)....

Bush Team Prepares Net Assault

The oresidential debate in Miami might look scripted and cordial. But the real face-off between the opponents will be on the internet. There the Bushies started to take their gloves of, Wired writes:

Earlier this week, it launched a massive rapid-response effort called Debate Facts to rebut challenger John Kerry's assertions during the debates. The campaign will provide a live feed to about 5,000 conservative blogs that subscribe to its news alerts. Debate Facts is similar to the "war room" the Bush campaign and the Republican National Committee set up in Boston during the Democratic convention -- only much larger and more sophisticated.
The new war room is equipped with 15 computers and two TVs, which will be monitored by about 25 policy wonks, communications managers and technology professionals. Using a 150-page book called The John Kerry Attack Matrix, Bush supporters will shape responses to Kerry's statements. The Bush campaign has been compiling the so-called matrix on Kerry's statements and public record since the primaries.
The document is alphabetized by topic. For instance, if Kerry makes a remark about the jobless, the Bush campaign has a ready response. If he makes a statement that he hasn't made in the past, and there isn't a response in the matrix, the policy experts on hand will create one to send out to campaign officials and through the Debate Facts live feed.
The rapid-response effort by the Kerry campaign apparently won't be as comprehensive. When asked about Kerry's response operations early Wednesday afternoon, a representative said the campaign was still working on it. Amanda Michel, a member of Kerry's internet team, e-mailed members of its Media Corps -- supporters who contact newspapers, radio stations and TV shows -- telling them that the campaign would provide a response after the debate.

Update: Oliver Willis' Rapid Reblogger will be using a team of bloggers to live fact-check tonight's debate.

Debate Expectations: Media's Spin Favors Bush - Again

The great website Media Matters for America shows how some in the U.S. media playing the 'expectations game' in favor of President George W. Bush against his Democratic opponent, just as it did four years ago.

Presidential Debate: What Bush Will Say

The Center for American Progress predicts with what arguments President Bush will defend his record - and debunks the spin with facts. An exemple:
"Because of the war in Iraq, Americans and the world are safer."
- Fact: America is less safe because of the war in Iraq: for a fraction of the $150 billion America has spent in Iraq, we could have secured vulnerable ports, railways and airports from terrorist attack.
- Fact: U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan publicly disagreed with Bush in July, saying, "No, I cannot say the world is safer today than it was two, three years ago."
- Fact: The world is less safe because of the war in Iraq: The occupation of Iraq has helped al Qaeda recruit more members, and turned Iraq into a "dynamic new battle ground" for al Qaeda.

Presidential Debate: The "Sham" Commission

The "Jackson Sun" newspaper thinks the commission responsible for the presidential debates is a "sham":

While it did not create the restrictions, it agreed to enforce them. It bills itself as non-partisan. But its co-directors are Frank Fahrenkopf, a pharmaceutical industry lobbyist and former chairman of the Republican National Committee, and Paul Kirk, a high flying gambling lobbyist. Most of the CPD's money comes from Fortune 100 companies including Phillip Morris and Anheuser-Busch.

Presidential Debate: The Rules

Today President Bush and Senator Kerry have their first of three "debates". But unfortunately the televised encounter has nothing to do with a debate - it is rather a "dual press conference". Representatives of both campaigns negotiated for weeks over the rules designed to limit the potential for disasters that have befallen candidates in previous debates. A 32-pages memorandum lays out the guidlines. Some exemples:
- An interviewer asks questions, and each candidate will be given two minutes to answer and allowed 90 seconds for a rebuttal. Visible warning lights to indicate when the candidates had gone over their allotted speaking time.
- The candidates can not ask each other direct questions (except rhetorical questions) and are also not allowed to address each other with proposed pledges.
- Follow-up questions and rebuttals will be restricted.
- References or citing any specific individual sitting in a debate audience is not allowed.
- The candidates can not approach other and have to stay at the designated spot behind the lecterns.
- At the insistence of the Bush team, the lecterns will be 10ft (3m) apart and just 4ft (1.25m) high so that Mr Kerry (who is 13cm taller) would not appear to tower over the president.
- No props, notes, charts, diagrams or other writings or other "tangible things" can be used.
- Taking notes during the debate is allowed, but the pens and paper used by the candidate have to be 'inspected' by the debate commission.
- The TV networks are not allowed to air opponent's reaction during a candidate's response and are limited to the candidate speaking.
- The debate room has to have an "appropriate temperature according to industry standards". Kerry's request to have the air conditioning on was refused ("He's a sweater", a GOP official said' "and women don't like sweaters.").
- The good news: Each candidate can choose his own makeup artist.

Polling Data for 2004 Elections

The website 2.004k.com offers a fantastic and complete overwiev about the current polls of the presidential elections - state by state. Bush has 276 electoral votesright now, Kerry 248 (needed to win: 270).

Bush's Top Ten Flip-Flops

He's the real king of flip-flops.

Ashcroft Wants More Death Penalties

Despite waning jury support, attorney general John Ashcroft wants more federal death penalties, according to the Los Angeles Times. Plus: the statistics & the public's opinion.

Cheney Flip-Flops

Interesting! There was a time when Dick Cheney was against an invasion in Iraq. According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer Cheney said in a speech in 1992:

"And the question in my mind is how many additional American casualties is Saddam (Hussein) worth? And the answer is not that damned many. So, I think we got it right, both when we decided to expel him from Kuwait, but also when the president made the decision that we'd achieved our objectives and we were not going to go get bogged down in the problems of trying to take over and govern Iraq."

Give Kerry A Helping Hand

I just found this post on Craigslist: "Registered young Republican male willing to barter his Bush vote in exchange for a topless handjob from a cute, young Democrat girl. This is a serious post. Only replies with pics will be considered. My voter registration card will be presented before the fun beginns."

Bush's Hometown Newspaper Endorses Kerry

The newspaper in President Bush's hometown of Crawford. Lone Star, threw its supporton behind Bush's Democratic rival, Senator John Kerry. The newspaper endorsed Bush four year ago.

Bush Misleads On Violence In Iraq

Misleader: President Bush and his allies have insisted that violence in Iraq is limited to a few isolated pockets of resistance. President Bush said last Wednesday that there are a "handful of people who are willing to kill in order to stop the process." The next day, Interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi told reporters at a press conference in the Rose Garden "there is nothing, no problem, except on a small pocket in Fallujah."[2] Information in a secret report compiled for the administration suggests that Bush and Allawi are misleading the public about the scope of violence in Iraq.
According to data collected by Kroll Security International for the administration, there are about 70 attacks a day on U.S. and coalition forces, compared to 40-50 attacks a day before the transfer of authority to the interim Iraqi government. Moreover, the data indicate attacks in "nearly every major city in central, western and northern Iraq." Allawi, in a speech to Congress last Tuesday, described Baghdad as "very good and safe." But the Kroll data reveal that, in recent weeks, there have been an average of 22 attacks per day on troops in Baghdad.

The Bush Memos, PR And The Right

According to PR Week the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth's PR firm, Creative Response Concepts, "used right-wing blogs and news sites to turn a CBS report casting doubt on President George W. Bush's National Guard service into a potential black eye for both the network and the Democrats." CRC client Cybercast News Service "called typographical experts, got them on the record that these papers were fishy, and posted a story"; "immediately" contacted Matt Drudge; and worked with the Media Research Center "to push the story into the mainstream press." The Los Angeles Times reports that the first forgery charge "did not come from an expert in typography," but from "an Atlanta lawyer with strong ties to conservative Republican causes."

Campaign Fundraising: Kerry Ahead

According to Opensecrets Senator John Kerry raised more money that President Bush (the Sept. 20 reports included). The numbers:
Money raised
- Bush: $243 million
- Kerry: $304 million
Money spent
- Bush: $208 million
- Kerry: $183 million
Cash on hand:
- Bush: $111 million
- Kerry: $121 million

Jon Stewart for Kerry?

"The Daily" is not only the funniest ('fake' news) show on American television, it's also the most successful among viewers aged 18 to 29 (it's even their primary news source, according to studies). Now a group of "young americans' launched an online petition where they urge show host Jon Stewart to endorse presidential candidate John Kerry. "For better or worse, you are a primary source of news for people of our generation. As one of the few people who will call politicians and public figures on their actions, you have earned the respect of a demographic fed up with being treated as consumers, rather than participants with a stake in their future," they write. 560 people have signed the petition so far. Apparenty for all kind of reasons. A guy posted this comment: "Dear Jon...my son, who's 5 years old, named our cat Jon Stewart. In the name of our cat, please endorse John Kerry for president!"

Dean: A National Draft in the Future?

Howard Dean thinks that there are a lot of signs the military draft will be reinstated if Bush is re-elected.

Log-in - The Easy Way

Did you ever wanted to access the full text of an interesting news article but couldn't because the website of that newspaper required the creation of an online account (personal information such as e-mail address, gender and salary mandatory)? Well, there is a solution how to bypass it: Got to BugMeNot.com. This site generates login names and passwords for registration sites and helps you to keep your online anonymity or stamp out spam.

U.S. Killing More Civilians Than Insurgents Are

- Coalition fatalities in Iraq: 1183
- U.S. military fatalities in Iraq: 1048
- Iraqi military fatalities: Several thousand
- Iraqi civilian fatalities: At least 12,927
- Number of Weapons of Mass Destruction discovered: Zero
(Via DailyKos)

The Latest On The Polls

The latest George Washington University Battleground Poll shows President Bush leading Sen. John Kerry 50% to 45%.
Here are the latest state polls:
- New Hampshire: Kerry 46, Bush 46 (Research 2000)
- Minnesota: Kerry 46, Bush 46 (Rasmussen)
- Pennsylvania: Kerry 49, Bush 47 (Philadelphia Inquirer)
- Iowa: Bush 48, Kerry 45 (Rasmussen)
- Nevada: Bush 47, Kerry 45 (Rasmussen)
(Via Political Wire)

Bush - Master Of Distortion

This presidential campain is full of smears and lies, but according an interesting piece in the Boston Globe President Bush "is the worse offender this year, in terms of the number of misleading claims and the consistency of their appearance in his stump speech. A review of Bush's public statements in recent days reveals a number of areas where he is repeatedly using exaggerated claims and incomplete statistics, in an apparent attempt to fit his campaign themes."

Administration Distorts Facts About Tax Cut

Misleader: The Bush administration and most of the mainstream press are billing the tax package passed by Congress yesterday as a "middle class tax-cut." The reality is that the new law is more of the same: tax cuts that benefit the rich and, in many cases, exclude the neediest families. An analysis from the Urban Institute-Brookings Tax Policy Center shows that the middle 20 percent of earners "will receive an average tax cut of $162 in 2005 from this legislation." The top fifth of earners, however, "will get an average tax cut of $1,317." As a result, the top fifth will receive two-thirds of all benefits. The bill excluded a provision that would have extended the child tax credit to four million low-income families who currently don't qualify. Extending eligibility to these families would have cost $4 billion. Meanwhile, conservatives included $12 billion in tax cuts for corporations.

Democrats Lead in Attracting New Voters

The New York Times notes that a "sweeping voter registration campaign in heavily Democratic areas has added tens of thousands of new voters to the rolls in the swing states of Ohio and Florida, a surge that has far exceeded the efforts of Republicans in both states."
"While comparable data could not be obtained for other swing states, similar registration drives have been mounted in them as well, and party officials on both sides say record numbers of new voters are being registered nationwide. This largely hidden but deadly earnest battle is widely believed by campaign professionals and political scientists to be potentially decisive in the presidential election."

Washington Post Hits Bush On Iraq

In a surprise that could influence editorial pages of other newspapers, not to mention the current presidential contest, Washington Post, which has been hawkish on Iraq since before the war, has accused President Bush of being "bland to the point of dishonesty" in his recent comments on the deteriorating situation in Iraq.

Arundhati Roy: Bush's cabinet "thugs"

Never late than never. Transcript of a fantastic speech by novelist-activist-public intellectual Arundhati Roy about "Public Power in the Age of Empire" given in San Francisco in August. In this speech the author of the wonderful best-seller "The God Of Small Thing" generated some of her biggest responses when she urged the United States to immediately pull its troops from Iraq and "pay reparations" to Iraqis, criticized John Kerry and other Democrats ("How dare the Democrats not be anti-war!") and described President Bush's Cabinet as "thugs." A must-read!

America's Disenfranchised: Excluded From Voting

Moving Ideas has a new and very informative article in their voter protection series, Disenfranchised in America, highlighting segments of our society that regularly are denied the right to vote: students, DC citizens, felons, and non-citizens.

There are 4.7 million adults in the U.S. who are denied the right to vote because of a felony conviction. Forty-eight states and the District of Columbia deny felons the right to vote at some point, while 7 states permanently disenfranchise felons and 7 more permanently disenfranchise certain felons. Only Maine and Vermont allow felons to vote even while they are in prison. (...) Even in those states where rights are restored to felons who have paid their debt to society, election officials and parole officers often misinform felons about their rights. There are a total of 9 million ex-felons, many whom do not know they have the right to vote.

(Via TalkLeft)

More Young People Registering to Vote

According to Associated Pres young people also are voting for Kerry 2:1.

Bush "The Best Recruiter For Al-Qaida"

"If anyone is ready to celebrate the eventual re-election of Bush, it’s al-Qaida.”

Ivor Roberts, Britain's ambassador to Italy

Corriere della Sera newspaper said Roberts also told the meeting of British and Italian policy-makers, “Bush is al-Qaida’s best recruiting sergeant.”

Mask Revelers Prefer Bush

President Bush masks have been outselling John Kerry masks by a 57% to 43% margin at BuyCostumes, according to CNN/Money. "It's as unscientific as it gets, but the theory, according to some people in the costume business, is that the winner in every election since 1980 has been the candidate whose masks were most popular on Halloween."

U.S. Probing Alleged Abuse of Afghans

After questions were raised by the Los Angeles Times, Army investigators have opened a new probe into allegations of murder, torture and possible cover-up by U.S. Special Forces in Afghanistan.

Bush's confusion of terrorists

AP reports on a slip of the tongue it says Bush has now made more than 10 times: confusing the names of two terrorists.

Name The October Surprise

The Democracy Project is launching the Name The October Surprise Contest and invites readers to answer the question: I invite readers to submit entries to the "Name the October Surprise" contest by answering this question: "What do you think is a possible October Surprise that Bush will announce in order to try to win a close election?". Entries can be submitted here.
The winners - based on the submission(s) which predicted what actually happened - will be announced on radio Air America on Sunday, October 30.

Kerry Hits Bush On Iraq In Powerful Speech

In a speech at the New York University Senator John Kerry critisized President Bush as sharply as never before - especially on the war in Iraq. Excerpts:

His two main rationales – weapons of mass destruction and the Al Qaeda/September 11 connection – have been proved false… by the President’s own weapons inspectors… and by the 9/11 Commission. Just last week, Secretary of State Powell acknowledged the facts. Only Vice President Cheney still insists that the earth is flat.

And:

Before the war, before he chose to go to war, bi-partisan Congressional hearings… major outside studies… and even some in the administration itself… predicted virtually every problem we now face in Iraq.
This President was in denial. He hitched his wagon to the ideologues who surround him, filtering out those who disagreed, including leaders of his own party and the uniformed military. The result is a long litany of misjudgments with terrible consequences.

Kerry launched his own charge of inconsistency: Bush, he said, had issued some 23 different rationales for the war. And continued to go into the heart of the matter:

In Iraq, this administration has consistently over-promised and under-performed. This policy has been plagued by a lack of planning, an absence of candor, arrogance and outright incompetence. And the President has held no one accountable, including himself. In fact, the only officials who lost their jobs over Iraq were the ones who told the truth.

Bam! And then Kerry goes into the officials who told the truth and got the boot.
And it's clear from the speech that not only has Bush done a terrible job - Kerry will do a better one. Why? Simple.

George Bush has no strategy for Iraq. I do.

Is that direct, or what?

The specifics of Kerry's plan:
- Hold an emergency summit of major allies and Iraq's neighbors to rebuild the coalition.
- Greatly expand the project to train Iraq's troops, and make sure they're trained better - he'd double classroom training time.
- Fire the officials responsible for screwing up Iraq's reconstruction and hire more Iraqi firms instead of Halliburton. Actually spend the reconstruction money.
- Pull together a U.N. protection force to make sure the elections go forward.

Good ideas. (If people tell you that Bush's plan is the same as Kerry's, ask them to list the Pentagon officials who've been fired for mismanaging the reconstruction. And as them which countries are invited to Bush's emergency summit.)
The key thing, though, is that if people recognize that Kerry has a plan and Bush doesn't, Kerry will win. Spread the word: if you still think Kerry isn't fighting back, you aren't paying attention (via the Al Franken Show). Plus: Read Kerry's entire speech.

Quote Of The Day

"If you want to go backwards, you put it in 'R,' and if you want to go forward, you put it in 'D'" .

Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), quoted by the Des Moines Register.

Three Presidential Debates

President Bush and Sen. John Kerry agreed
yesterday to meet in three debates that will include separate forums on foreign and domestic issues:
- September 30 at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla.
- October 8 at Washington University in St. Louis.
- October 13 at Arizona State University in Tempe.
The campaigns also agreed to one debate between Vice President Cheney and Kerry's running mate, Sen. John Edwards, on October 5 at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

Let's play the Osama lottery

There's a website called OsamaBinLotto on which, for $3 a guess, you can wager which of five scenarios President Bush will use next month to stampede impressed or frightened voters to his cause. You just have to provide the closest time and date. Under a visual depiction of Bush in a magician's tuxedo pulling the head of Osama bin Laden from a top hat, the choices are: 1) Producing Osama, 2) Attacking Iran, 3) Attacking North Korea, 4) Postponing the election due to terrorism, 5) Dumping Richard Cheney as vice president. Hillarious!

GOP Senators Criticise Bush

Reuters reports that on the Sunday talk shows GOP senators Chuck Hagel, Richard Lugar and John McCain, respectively, said the U.S. is in 'deep trouble' in Iraq, charged the administration with 'incompetence' and said that President Bush has been 'perhaps not as straight as maybe we'd like to see.'"

Britains Withdraw from Iraq

Blair upsets Bush: The British start to withdraw from the mess in Iraq and reduce their troops. Is the loss of the most important ally gonna cost votes for Dubya?

Let's Kerry-oke

Shana and Charlie are organizing another Silverbake event. This time more singing than cookie baking skills are required. Next Saturday at the Malo restaurant in Silver Lake there will be a Kerry-oke party (aka karaoke) from 1-5 PM. Money is being raised to for the re-election of great democratic senators like Barbara Boxer - and others. Plus: the pictures from the last bakesale.

Bush Administration Misleads On Prospects In Iraq

In late July, a report prepared for the President by his National Intelligence Counsel spelled out "a dark assessment of prospects for Iraq." According to the New York Times, "the estimate outlines three possibilities for Iraq through the end of 2005, with the worst case being developments that could lead to civil war, the officials said. The most favorable outcome described is an Iraq whose stability would remain tenuous in political, economic and security terms."[2] But that didn't stop Bush and other members of the administration from telling the American people that Iraq was headed in the right direction. On August 5, President Bush said, "[Iraq is] on the path to lasting democracy and liberty." On August 24, Vice President Cheney told voters in Iowa that "We're moving in the right direction [in Iraq]." And this Tuesday, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said Iraqis were "working at making a success out of that country...And I think they've got a darned good crack at making it."

Cheney Went abroad To Attack America

American Prospect: Vice President Cheney has regularly attacked the national security credentials of Senator John Kerry (D-MA), calling him weak on terrorism. But according to a new report, it was Cheney who actually did business with terrorist countries and traveled abroad to attack America's counter-terrorism efforts in the 1990s.
As The American Prospect documents, Cheney oversaw Halliburton's effort to do business with Iraq and Iran in the 1990s, despite American sanctions against those countries. During his time as CEO, he oversaw Halliburton's $73 million worth of business with Saddam Hussein. This, despite his claim that he had imposed a "firm policy" of not doing business with Iraq. Similarly, details of Halliburton's Iran business during Cheney's tenure was so egregious, it is being investigated by authorities today. Halliburton today admits one of its subsidiaries still "performs between $30 [million] and $40 million annually in oilfield service work in Iran."
On top of evading U.S. sanctions laws against terrorist countries, Cheney actually attacked the U.S. government in a series of trips abroad, demanding sanctions be lifted on terrorist countries so he could do business with them. In trips to Malaysia and Canada, for instance, he insisted the Clinton administration lift sanctions on Iran, despite that country being listed by the U.S. State Department as a state-sponsor of terrorism.

Jon Stewart: Advice for Democracy Inaction

Jon Stewart, the host of America's funniest political news show, wrote a silly and absurd book
book called "America: A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction". Definitely a must-have.

Annan: Invasion In Iaq Illegal

United Nations secretary Kofi Annan said the U.S.' invasion in Iraq was 'illegal'.

Why it's so essential for women to vote

Women should absolutely vote, because:
- Woman are 51 percent of the population in the U.S., and with this majority voice they CAN influence the direction of critical policies important to us - like childcare, choice, personal safety and economic security, and a healthy environment.
- Women are not effectively exercising our hard-earned constitutional right. 22 million registered unmarried women did not vote in the last election. And more than 50 million eligible women - married and unmarried - are not even registered to vote.
- A poll last year of some 3,000 women of diverse backgrounds conducted by the women’s voting project Women's Voices - Women Vote found that 65 percent of the women polled believe this country is going in the wrong direction.
- Based on the findings of a recent survey by Business and Professional Women USA, retirement security, job opportunity, good schools and housing costs are all of HIGHER importance to women than homeland security.
- Voting statistics among all women can be improved. According to the U.S. Census bureau, in 2000, some 30 percent of eligible women were not registered to vote(!!).
- Registering is only half the battle. Almost half of registered unmarried women don't vote. If they turned out in numbers, unmarried women would be the largest voting bloc and would be the deciding "X" factor in close elections.

Medical Cost Eat Social Security

From a great USA today article:

With a new Medicare drug benefit set to begin in 2006, Americans 65 and older can expect to spend a large and growing share of their Social Security checks on Medicare premiums and expenses, previously undisclosed federal data show.
Information the Bush administration excluded from its 2004 report on the Medicare program shows that a typical 65-year-old can expect to spend 37% of his or her Social Security income on Medicare premiums, co-payments and out-of-pocket expenses in 2006. That share is projected to grow to almost 40% in 2011 and nearly 50% by 2021.
Unless Congress does something to hold down costs confronting seniors, the official projections suggest that health spending will consume virtually the entire amount of Social Security benefits when children born today reach retirement age.

Film celebs create political ads

Another great idea from MoveOn.org. Every week from now until the election, Its website will announce a new grassroots initiative in the campaign to elect John Kerry, paired with one of the 10 Weeks ads. The ads that make up the 10 Weeks campaign include the work of notable American film directors and actors including Matt Damon, Rob Reiner, Richard Linklater, Scarlett Johanssen, Kevin Bacon, Al Franken, Rebecca Romijn, Martin Sheen and Moby. Currently shown online are the commercials by the directors John Sayles (Silver City) and Allison Anders.

Bush Increases Government Secrecy

Misleader: President Bush has said that he wants to "create a culture of transparency" in government, but according to a new report to be released today by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), his administration is going to extraordinary lengths to increase government secrecy. The Waxman report is consistent with earlier signs that the Bush administration is doing everything it can to limit the amount of information the public can get from its government. Last month, a coalition of 30 organizations issued a report saying "Secrecy has increased dramatically in recent years under the policies of the current administration." The report found that "the number of documents being classified has jumped 40 percent from 2001" and that the number of documents declassified in 2003 was about one fifth the amount declasssified in 1997. The result "is an increasing backlog of requests filed under the Freedom of Information Act."
To find Waxman's full report see both his personal office website, and the House Government Reform Committee's Minority website today.

Bush Agenda Costs $ 3 billion

The expansive agenda President Bush laid out at the Republican National Convention was missing a price tag, but administration figures show the total is likely to be well in excess of $3 trillion over a decade, the Washington Post writes.

Save the Supreme Court!

Speaking of the right-wing movement in the courthouses of the USA. The highest court in America, the Supreme Court, is on the ballot this year! If Dubya gets re-elected, he will likely appoint 3 Supreme Court justices during his next term. The democrats created an extra site, "Save the Court", in order to raise awareness. "During Bush's first term," they wrote, "all of the fundamental freedoms (civil right, women's rights, voring rights, environmental protections, among others) have been subject to an aggressive and deliberate attack. An already conservative Court has damaged these rights. Four more years of George W. Bush could wipe out 50 years of social progress on basic rights we now take for granted."

Bush Judges Most Conservative On Rights

Scary! A study of thousands of federal court cases has found that judges appointed by President Bush are the most conservative on record in the areas of civil rights and civil liberties. The study's authors say the re-election of Bush would give U.S. courts a strong rightward tilt that could last for years.

Cheney Misleads on Iraq/Al-Qaeda Connection

Misleader: Displaying a brazen disregard for the facts, Vice President Cheney told an audience in Cincinnati Thursday that Iraq had "provided safe harbor and sanctuary...for Al Qaeda." There is no evidence to support Cheney's claim. The 9/11 Commission - which spent months exhaustively studying the issue - concluded there was no "collaborative relationship" between Iraq and al-Qaeda. After the release of the report, Cheney claimed there was "overwhelming" evidence of a relationship between al-Qaeda and Iraq and that he had "probably" seen evidence that was not shared with the commission. After investigating the matter, the 9/11 Commission found "it had access to the same information the vice president has seen regarding contacts between Al Qaeda and Iraq prior to the 9/11 attacks." The commission also reaffirmed its position that it had not discovered a "collaboration-cooperation between al-Qaeda and Iraq."

Polls: Bush bounce persists

Here are the latest national polls:
Time: Bush 50%, Kerry 39%
Newsweek: Bush 49%, Kerry 43%

Here are the latest Electoral Vote tallies (270 needed to win):
Electoral Vote Predictor: Kerry 273, Bush 233
Intrade State Futures: Bush 274, Kerry 254

Here are the latest state polls:
Pennsylvania: Kerry 49%, Bush 47% (Survey USA)
Missouri: Bush 48%, Kerry 46% (Survey USA)
Kansas: Bush 60%, Kerry 35% (Survey USA)
Indiana: Bush 60%, Kerry 36% (Survey USA)
Kentucky: Bush 56%, Kerry 39% (Survey USA)
North Carolina: Bush 55%, Kerry 42% (Rasmussen)

Bush, by the numbers

Vanity Fair's Editor Graydon Carter compiled a great list of facts and figures about President Bush's "achievements. Some excerpts (taken from his new book "What We've Lost"):

1 Number of Bush administration public statements on National security issued between 20 January 2001 and 10 September 2001 that mentioned al-Qa'ida.

104 Number of Bush administration public statements on National security and defense in the same period that mentioned Iraq or Saddam Hussein.

0 Number of times Bush mentioned Osama bin Laden in his three State of the Union addresses.

79 Percentage of the 11 September hijackers who came from Saudi Arabia.

0 Number of minutes that President Bush, Vice-President Dick Cheney, the Defense Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, the assistant Defense Secretary, Paul Wolfowitz, the former chairman of the Defense Policy Board, Richard Perle, and the White House Chief of Staff, Karl Rove ­ the main proponents of the war in Iraq ­served in combat (combined).

$5.5bn Estimated cost to secure fully US ports over the next decade.

$0 Amount Bush allocated for port security in 2003.

2.3 million Number of Americans who lost their jobs during first three years of the Bush administration.

22 million Number of jobs gained during Clinton's eight years in office.

0 Number of times Bush mentioned global warming, clean air, clean water, pollution or environment in his 2004 State of the Union speech. His father was the last president to go through an entire State of the Union address without mentioning the environment.

4 Rank of the United States among countries considered to be the greatest threats to world peace according to a 2003 Pew Global Attitudes study (Israel, Iran, and North Korea were considered more dangerous; Iraq was considered less dangerous).

28 Number of vacation days Bush took in August 2003, the second-longest vacation of any president in US history. (Record holder Richard Nixon.)

13 Number of vacation days the average American receives each Year.

28 Number of vacation days Bush took in August 2001, the month he received a 6 August Presidential Daily Briefing headed "Osama bin Laden Determined to Strike US Targets."

3 Number of companies that control the US voting technology market.

69 Percentage of Americans who believed the White House's claims in September 2003 that Saddam Hussein was personally involved in the 11 September attacks.

34 Percentage of Americans who believed in June 2003 that Saddam's "weapons of mass destruction" had been found.

22 Percentage of Americans who believed in May 2003 that Saddam had used his WMDs on US forces.

85 Percentage of American young adults who cannot find Afghanistan, Iraq, or Israel on a map.

The entire list here.

Bush Hampered Fight Against Al Queda

Misleader: President Bush yesterday said that because of his leadership, "America and the world are safer." But almost three years after 9/11, Osama bin Laden remains at large, while the U.S. government admits top al Qaeda leaders are planning attacks on America from the Afghan-Pakistan border region. And now a new book confirms the President actually shifted key resources away from the fight against al Qaeda in Afghanistan.
Knight-Ridder reports that in his upcoming book, U.S. Sen. Bob Graham (D-FL) disclosed that General Tommy Franks told him on February 19, 2002, four months after the invasion of Afghanistan, that many important resources were being shifted to prepare for a war against Iraq. Graham, who was chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee at the time, said the administration moved things like the Predator drone aircraft out of Afghanistan even though it is "crucial to the search for Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda leaders." Graham's account is consistent with reports from earlier this year. In March 2004, USA Today reported that the White House in 2002 shifted special forces off of the hunt for bin Laden in Afghanistan and into preparations for an Iraq invasion. The administration also took intelligence "specialists away from the Afghanistan effort to ensure Iraq was covered."

President Bush: Flip-Flopper-In-Chief

30 exemples showing that the real flip-flopper is Mr. Bush. Plus: poster to download.

Bush Tried To Install Crony At Florida Election Board

Misleader: President Bush has said "Every registered voter deserves to have confidence that the system is fair and elections are honest." But according to a new report, the President is doing all he can to once again rig the election in Florida. According to the Miami Daily Business Review, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) appointee at the Broward County Board of Elections hired a law firm headed by two close cronies of President Bush to fight any charges against it during the 2004 election. Specifically, the Broward Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes hired the law firm Blosser & Sayfie. Justin Sayfie "is a former spokesman for Gov. Bush and currently is co-chair of the Bush/Cheney re-election campaign in Broward County." He is also a Bush Ranger (aka. someone who has raised more than $100,000 for the President's campaign). James Blosser is also "a top fund-raiser for President Bush's re-election campaign." Many observers expect the election will be extremely close in Florida and predict it will touch off litigation. County election supervisors and their legal teams could play a key role in deciding the election.
While Snipes has since been forced to fire the law firm, it shows just how far the Bushes are willing to go to throw the Florida election again. Earlier this summer, Jeb Bush attempted to purge thousands of voters from the Florida voting rolls, but was stopped after public pressure overwhelmed the effort. Additionally, Florida GOP operatives are going to naturalization offices to give new immigrants voter registration forms which are already pre-marked to register the voter as a Republican

World Would Vote For Kerry

If the world could cast a vote in the United States presidential election, John Kerry would beat George W. Bush by a landslide, the International Herald Tribune reports.

Bush To Alter Economic Stats again

Misleader: Last week, the Census Bureau released statistics showing that for the first time in years, poverty had increased for three straight years, while the number of Americans without health care increased to a record level. But instead of changing its economic and health care policies, the Bush administration today is announcing plans to change the way the statistics are compiled. The move is just the latest in a series of actions by the White House to doctor or eliminate longstanding and nonpartisan economic data collection methods. In a Bush administration press release yesterday, the Census Bureau said next week it "will announce a new economic indicator" as "an additional tool to better understand" the economy. The change in statistics is being directed by Bush political appointees and comes just 60 days from the election. It will be the first modification of Census data in 40 years.
This is not the first time the White House has tried to doctor or manipulate economic data that exposed President Bush's failed policies. In the face of serious job losses last year, the Associated Press reported "the Bush administration has dropped the government's monthly report on mass layoffs, which also had been eliminated when President Bush's father was in office." Similarly, Business Week reported that the White House this year "unilaterally changed the start date of the last recession to benefit Bush's reelection bid." For almost 75 years, the start and end dates of recessions have been set by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), a private nonpartisan research group. But the Bush administration decided to toss aside the NBER, and simply declare that the recession started under President Clinton.