A date that will live in infamitude




What if W was President during World War II?
11.6.04 00:13


Swing states




According to this guy, Kerry has a substantial lead in enough states to assure him of 235 electoral votes. That puts him 35 electoral votes away from winning in November. Granted, it's early, and the GOP attack machine is still in low gear, but a number some reasonable conclusions can still be drawn. First of all, national polls showing Kerry with an eight-point lead among likely voters are basically worthless. The real contest will come in six key swing states that total 105 electoral votes. Florida is the brass ring for either candidate, with 27 votes. If Kerry can carry the sunshine state and, say, Wisconsin, that will give him another 37 electoral votes, enough for victory. Other major swing states and their electoral vote totals are Ohio (20), N. Carolina (15), Virginia (13), and Arizona (10).
11.6.04 02:06


The Gipper

It was a moving graveside service, with a true Hollywood ending. I was watching live as Nancy Reagan stood beside the casket and wept. Moments later, her children came to her side, for a private, tightly scripted moment of grief shared with billions. And then, as the California sun dipped behind the hills, Ronald Reagan, America's 20th century Cincinnatus, rode into the sunset. All that was missing was for the credits to roll, which surely would have listed the National Republican Party as executive producer.


More than a just peanut farmer
And speaking of ex-Presidents, Juan Cole calls Jimmy Carter:
"a far better president than W. can ever hope to be. Carter made peace between Israel and Egypt. He resolved the Panama Canal issue to everyone's satisfaction, and we've never heard any more about it because there haven't been subsequent problems. He avoided a potentially disastrous US attempt to prevent or roll back the Islamic Revolution in Iran. He used the foreign aid carrot to begin the process of pushing the Latin American military regimes to democratize (a process that has been wildly successful). He raised human rights as a foreign policy issue. Carter is a quick study and a bright engineer. He was president at a time of post-Vietnam and post-Watergate doldrums, at a time when Iran and Afghanistan spun out of control, at a time of high petroleum prices, continued stagflation, and high inflation. I am not entirely sure what he could have done about any of these problems, most of which were beyond his control (and most of which remained beyond the control of his successors).

"Reagan did not overturn Khomeini, rather he sold him arms. Although Reagan got the Soviets out of Afghanistan, he did it at the cost of creating a radical Islamist international and destabilizing Pakistan and Afghanistan--i.e. Afghanistan continued to spin out of control, with fateful consequences. The price of petroleum declined from $40 a barrel in 1980 to less than $10 a barrel in 1986, helping Reagan quite a lot, but it had nothing to do with any policy pursued by Reagan. (Europe cut its energy consumption by a third after the 1970s oil shock, and OPEC has a tendency to overproduce over time). After Carter retired, he spent his time building houses for disadvantaged people. He also was key to the elimination of a painful and debilitating parasite in Africa, improving the lives of millions. The vilification of Carter and the hero worship of W. is a sign of how morally warped the American Right really is. Carter's political and economic environment made it impossible for him to be a great president, but he was a damn sight better than W. any day of the week."
12.6.04 04:56


Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow, 02-1624




The US Supreme Court dodged a sticky church-state separation issue this morning, by dismissing a lawsuit that could have stricken the phrase "under God" from the pledge of allegiance. Instead of tackling the issue of church state separation head on, the court said that the plaintiff, Dr. Michael Newdow, lacked the standing to sue on behalf of his daughter. Newdow is involved in a custody dispute with the girl's mother.

The issue of church state separation, and the Elk Grove case, have too many moving parts for me to fully address in a blog entry. When viewed in a rational, and historical context, the case was probably properly decided by the California court two years ago, when those justices ruled that inclusion of "Under God" is unconstitutional. The pledge of allegiance was first used in 1942, to rally Americans behind the war effort, and the original version did no include the God reference. That was included in 1954, when congress decided that Americans needed to be reminded what separates them from the Godless communists.

The Bush administration, under pressure from snake handlers and creationists, argued today that the words "under God" as incuded in the Pledge have more to do with ceremony and history than religion. If that was true, then school children need to know there words are directed at Hitler and the Soviet Union, neither of which exist. What's next, scrap drives and victory gardens?

Arguing for the Bushies, Solicitor General Theodore Olson said the reference to God is an "official acknowledgment of our nation's religious heritage," similar to the "In God We Trust" stamped on coins and bills. He claimed it is far-fetched to say such references pose a real danger of imposing state-sponsored religion.

Olson has a point. Imposing state-sponsored religion is best left up to the experts, such as the former governor of Texas. Last week, President Bush actively sought the support of the Vatican in implementing the Christian right's jihad against homosexual marriage, abortion, stem-cell research and whatever else is kicking around in Jerry Falwell's day planner.
14.6.04 17:32


He is risen!

14.6.04 21:59


Where there's a Will there's a way too pompous buffoon

Speaking on a Sunday talk show, the verbose quote-hound and Newsweek columnist George Will said that the Democratic party's main concern was that "there aren't enough abortions." And on what does his base this claim? Why, a quote from Senator Kerry, of course!

Well, not quite. It was actually former U.S. senator Bob Kerrey (D-NE) who speculated in the New York Times that if John McCain wanted the veep job (he doesn't), he'd have to promise not to appoint any judges that would overturn Roe v Wade. But Will, apparently unaware of the fact that there are two Kerry's in public life, and speaking about news reports regarding John Kerry's alleged interest in selecting Senator McCain as his running mate, said:
It also made you realize what the Democrats really care about at the end of the day. Kerry said, "Well, I would make sure that if he [McCain] became the president he wouldn't appoint any judges who would overturn Roe v. Wade." So the Democratic Party has one great conviction and that is there aren't enough abortions."

Will then went on to praise Bob Dole for saving Hawaii's pineapple crop, and openly doubted that host George Stephanopoulos would have Athens ready for the summer Olympic games.
15.6.04 04:07


Saudi terrorist speaks

Here's a chilling description of a recent al Qaeda attack on a foreign worker compound in Saudi Arabia. The account is remarkable not only for the matter-of-fact way the story is told, but for revealing the utter ineptness of the Saudi security forces. How could four armed men spend five hours murdering foreigners, even at one point stopping their murderous rampage to take on a relaxed breakfast, lead prayer groups, then escape?
"The plan was to enter through the way out, and when we entered and I went forward with the intention of exploding the car while the brothers kept up the attack. Next to some of the gates God brought our way one of the security guards (we saw him in the street) and we ordered him to open the gate. So we had no need to explode the car, and we drove through the main street inside the compound - the compound is so big, many kilometers big, and there are many smaller compounds inside! - and then we went to one
of the buildings. Brother Nemer, mercy on his soul, pushed the door until it is opened, and we entered and encountered many people.

"We asked them about their religion and looked at their IDs, and took the chance to promote Islam and tell them about our target. We talked with a lot of them, and during this time we spotted a Swedish infidel, and brother Nemer cut off his head and place it on the gate so everyone could see it. We continued looking for the infidels and when we found one of them we would kill him."

For more on Saudi terror, and the buffoons in charge of protecting foreign workers, see The Religious Policeman here.
15.6.04 05:48


[first page] [previous page]  [next page]