Paul Galanti, hero; John Kerry-Heinz, traitor

Kerry's Legacy:
No One Who Has Aided the Enemy Deserves to Become President

(All emphasis ours)

Being a prisoner of war in Vietnam had some high points but many more low ones. The worst days physically were behind us in 1970, 1971, and 1972. After Ho Chi Minh died in 1969, the routine torturing of POWs for propaganda purposes pretty much stopped. Our captors panicked in November, 1970, following the daring raid on a closed POW camp at Son Tai 20 miles west of Hanoi - and moved all of us into the huge Hoa Lo prison in central Hanoi. We finally were permitted a semblance of societal life after years in solitary and/or stuffed into tiny windowless cells with two or three other POWs.

Our morale - at least in the cells in which I lived during this time - while not so idyllic as those portrayed in the farcical "Hogan's Heroes," was tolerable compared with the dark ages of 1965-1969.

The peace talks in Paris had been plodding along since March, 1968, following the Communists' total drubbing in the 1968 Tet Offensive. Most of us expected a break in the talks after the election of Richard Nixon; it appeared there might be movement.

The Gulf of Tonkin incident, the springboard for President Johnson's launching of attacks against Communist North Vietnam, lay four years in the past. The Communists, however, were buying time. They were helped by a misinformed public in the U.S. - pressured on one side by a war that had dragged on seemingly forever and on the other by Americans whose primary interest was not the success of their government.

The Communists were without leverage over the United States during this time - except for those POWs who basically were being held hostage to pressure Uncle Sam. The Tet Offensive had been a terrible defeat for freedom's enemies. But increasingly we prisoners of war sensed, from our captors' demeanor and reading between the lines of propaganda broadcasts, a sinister force surfacing. Americans whom the Communists - the enemy - were calling "comrades" were rallying to their side. From the point of view of our captors, in America anarchy was reigning supreme.

After being shown photos of radical demonstrations, most of us were told the Communists never could defeat us on the battlefield but their allies - allies - in our country would win the battle for them in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles. And it appeared to be going in their direction. The interrogators would show photos of demonstrators looking like gypsies and carrying outrageous signs that were unheard of in the mid-'60s before most of us had been captured.

And then in 1971 we started hearing about "Vietnam Veterans Against the War," whose leader was a former Naval officer. From various sources I've since learned that the most senior leader of VVAW was LTJG John Kerry, a U.S. Naval Reserve officer. Kerry claimed Vietnam was "ravaged equally by American bombs and search-and-destroy missions as well as by Viet Cong terrorism . . . ." Hunh? Hadn't I been shot down because we were required to fly close to the targets to minimize civilian casualties?

Asked for a recommendation as to possible courses of action for Congress to pursue, Kerry said he had spoken to representatives from Hanoi and from the PRG (Viet Cong) at the Paris peace talks, and mentioned his support for "Madame Binh's points." At that time Madam Nguyen Thi Binh was the Viet Cong foreign minister. These meetings took place in the spring of 1970, apparently before Kerry joined the VVAW. Hunh? It's illegal for U.S. citizens to do this, much less commissioned officers.

Kerry was the most prominent leader in the VVAW, but many of the others in it were phonies who fabricated atrocities and war stories to convince the American public the average GI Joe was a psychopath.

That's the reason Kerry's band of brothers has deserted him. I do not know a single Vietnam combat veteran who agrees with what John Kerry did in 1970 through 1972 in his self-aggrandizing crawl to a political career.

But the worst was when Kerry, clad in store-bought camouflage and festooned with his decorations, told the world he and his comrades routinely had committed war crimes while ravaging the countryside like Genghis Khan.

It was a terrible lie, but it reinforced what the leaders of the peacenik movement had been saying for several years. It was the antithesis of what our government had been reporting. And it was simultaneously the worst betrayal of the United States to those of us who had been spectating for so many years in enemy territory.

It was very simple to us. Kerry sold out his shipmates from the Swift Boats. He sold out every one of us in Hanoi - and likely extended our stay there (for which we all offer him ever so many thanks) - by concocting the lies he now calls "a little over the top." And he continues to fabricate stories to cover up a lackluster career in the Senate. When I heard a tape of Kerry's Boston accent complaining about our forces "ravaging the countryside like Genghis Khan," I had my only flashback to the large cell in Hoa Lo where I first had heard it when Hanoi Hannah - North Vietnam's woman propagandist - was bragging about Kerry's "Winter Soldiers" and the testimony of this Naval officer before a committee of the U.S. Senate.

Kerry's legacy isn't that he has the same initials as John Fitzgerald Kennedy or that he motored around the rivers of South Vietnam in a small boat for four months before asking to leave the war early. His legacy is more along the lines of Benedict Arnold's. The only difference is that Benedict Arnold was a successful soldier before he committed treason. I doubt Benedict Arnold would have much success running for President today. Are we to believe that someone who aided the enemy in time of war is worthy of becoming President?

I don't think so, and neither do many people I know. We have a war to fight. It's going to take a long time. Kerry is not the one to take us through it.
-more-

Vile, loathsome, ugly, empty "man", that John Kerry-Heinz. Gigolo, faux intellectual, pompous perfumed ponce. Foppish dandy. "Not a good man". Useful idiot. Traitor. Fool. Craven opportunist. Botoxed, spray-on tanned, tooth-bleached nancy boy poofter. Supporter of infanticide except when he doesn't.

And those are his better points.

Un-f-cking fit for command.

Watching the Red Sox "Rolling Rally" on ESPN News.

If you get this channel -- it is so much better than SportsCenter on standard ESPN ... no one trying to be funny, phat or angling for a cable show of his own ... just highlights and commentary ...

Anyhow, seeing the players -- grown men and millionaires all -- acting as giddy as we did when we won a game when we were nine -- reminds us of why we love sports so much.

There was an interview at Copley (Square?) with a bunch of young fans, obviously university students ... reminded me of that bit in "Spinal Tap" where Ian is consoling the band about being cancelled in Boston: "I wouldn't worry about it. Not a big college town."

Aren't you folks on the Angry Left just a teensy bit embarassed ...

... that Usama parroted your talking points? Does the term "useful idiots" mean anything to you?

bin Laden takes break from boinking sheep to endorse (sort of) Kerry

Teacher

Pupil

Excerpts of Bin Laden's Video Statement

To the American people, my talk to you is about the best way to avoid another Manhattan,[The Ponderosa: Good. We hate Vermouth.] about the war, its reasons and its consequences .. I tell you: security is an important element of human life,[The Ponderosa: Thank you, Ben Franklin] and free people do not give up their security. Unlike what Bush says that we hate freedom, let him tell us why didn't we attack Sweden, for example.[The Ponderosa: He certainly knows how to appeal to Leftist illogic. To her credit, Sweden produces a ton of great heavy metal, particularly melodic death metal. Otherwise, she is effete and lazy.]

It is known that those who hate freedom do not have dignified souls, like those of the 19 blessed ones.[The Ponderosa: Dignified, perhaps, but currently roasting in the Fires of Gehenna] We fought you because we are free[The Ponderosa: No Arab Muslim is free] ... and want to regain freedom for our nation. As you undermine our security we undermine yours.

---

Even as you enter the fourth year after the Sept. 11 attacks, Bush is still misleading and deluding you and hiding the real reason from you.[The Ponderosa: Here comes the Moore/Chomsky pap ... wait for it Infidels ... wait for it!] Consequently, there are still reasons to repeat what happened. I will tell you about the reasons behind these attacks and will tell you the truth about the moments during which the decision was made, for you to contemplate.[The Ponderosa: Contemplate the Men of The Ponderosa pooping on the Quran]

God knows that it had not occurred to our mind to attack the towers, but after our patience ran out and we saw the injustice and inflexibility of the American-Israeli alliance toward our people in Palestine and Lebanon[The Ponderosa: Suicide bombers ... Model Mohammedans all!], this came to my mind. The incidents that affected me directly go back to 1982 and afterward, when America allowed Israelis to invade Lebanon, with the help of the American 6th Fleet. [The Ponderosa: Are you listening, Jewish Democrats? By the way, this doesn't explain why the Jihadists are waging war all across the planet]

In these tough moments, many things raged inside me that are hard to describe[The Ponderosa: It's called SATAN, Baal, Beelzebub, Lucifer ... ], but they resulted in a strong feeling against injustice and a strong determination to punish the unjust.[The Ponderosa: Touching ... ]

While I was looking at those destroyed towers in Lebanon, it sparked in my mind that the tyrant should be punished with the same and that we should destroy towers in America, so that it tastes what we taste and would be deterred from killing our children and women.[The Ponderosa: Looks like that backfired ... ]


---

We did not find it difficult to deal with Bush and his administration, because it is similar to regimes in our countries, half of which are ruled by the military and the other half are ruled by the sons of kings and presidents. We have a long experience with them. Both types include many who are full of arrogance and greed.[The Ponderosa: Michael Moore definitely wrote this part]

This resemblance became clear in the Bush the father's visits to the region. ... He wound up being impressed by the royal and military regimes and envied them for staying decades in their positions and embezzling the nation's money with no supervision.[The Ponderosa: More Moore]

He passed on tyranny and oppression to his son, and they called it the PATRIOT act[The Ponderosa: He's reading the MoveOn.org Manifesto!], under the pretext of fighting terror. Bush the father did well in placing his sons as governors and did not forget to pass on the expertise in fraud from the leaders of the (Mideast) region to Florida [The Ponderosa: Throws a bone to The Lunatic Algore] to use it in critical moments.

---

We had agreed with the general emir Mohammed Atta, God bless his soul[The Ponderosa: More likely He damned it], to carry out all operations within 20 minutes before Bush and his administration noticed. It never occurred to us that the commander in chief of the American armed forces will leave 50,000 of his citizens in the two towers to face these horrors alone.[The Ponderosa: Don't know what this means]

It appeared to him (Bush) that a little girl's talk about her goat and its butting was more important than the planes and their butting of the skyscrapers. That gave us three times the required time to carry out the operations, thank God.[The Ponderosa: Michael Moore should be embarassed by this, but we know better]

---

Your security is not in the hands of Kerry, Bush or al-Qaida. Your security is in your own hands. Any state that does not mess with our security has naturally guaranteed its own security..[The Ponderosa: In other words, give us Israel. Sorry, no go, Goat Boy. By the way, when Arafat dies, bin Laden will be the ugliest man on Earth! ]

Awright, so he doesn't explicitly endorse Kerry, but read between the lines ... he wants America to change course ... it's four days before a presidential election ... we know Bush is not going to soften up ... not too tough to discern the underlying threat: Defeat Bush or else.

Guess we'll see on Tuesday whether we're the U.S.A. or Spain.

No word yet whether Moore gets royalties for crafting parts of bin Laden's tirade.

Some ask if we question Kerry-Heinz's patriotism

Flashback ...

When President Bill Clinton referred to the United States as "the indispensable nation" during his second inaugural address in 1997, and then as other U.S. officials picked up the term, Sen. John F. Kerry recoiled. He turned to his longtime foreign policy aide Nancy Stetson to ask, "Why are we adopting such an arrogant, obnoxious tone?"

...

Yes, we question his patriotism. T'ain't easy making Boy Clinton look like Patrick Henry!

So, Kerry-Heinz wants to talk about military incompetence?

Let's flash back to the last time Commander McBragg was in charge ...

'Sampan incident' belies heroic image

John Kerry invented a "war hero" persona in his private journals and in the home movies he filmed and staged in Vietnam. Playing the lead role, he developed a past intended to advance his future political ambitions.

In reality, Kerry was regarded by his Navy peers as reckless with human life. Although Douglas Brinkley's biography "Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War" recalls that Kerry used the call sign "Square Jaw" for a short time, it doesn't mention the sign he actually used for most of his four months in Vietnam: "Boston Strangler."

Kerry portrays himself as a Swift Boat officer constantly protesting to his superiors about criminal war policies and inappropriate tactics. In reality, while Kerry constantly complained about the location of assignments to his peers, he hardly ever said a word of protest or spoke out in objection to any superior officer.

Kerry, who skippered two Swift Boats in the Mekong Delta from Dec. 6, 1968, to March 17, 1969, often sported a home-movie camera to record his exploits for later viewing. Fellow "Swiftees" report that Kerry would revisit ambush locations for re-enacting combat scenes where he would portray the hero.

Kerry would take movies of himself in combat gear, sometimes dressed as an infantryman walking resolutely through the terrain. He even filmed mock interviews of himself narrating his exploits.

A joke circulated among Swiftees was that Kerry left Vietnam early not because he received three Purple Hearts, but because he had recorded enough film of himself to take home for his planned political campaigns.

Only after returning home did Kerry argue publicly that war crimes were committed on a daily basis at the direction of all levels of command. He compared his superior officers to Lt. William Calley of My Lai infamy. Kerry's accusations typically relied on impostors who concocted incidents that, when investigated, proved to be exaggerations or fabrications.

On the other hand, the propriety of Kerry's own conduct in Vietnam was and is the subject of serious question.

"Kerry seemed to believe that there were no rules in a free-fire zone, and you were supposed to kill everyone," Swift Boat veteran William E. Franke of Coastal Division 11 told us. "I didn't see it that way. I will tell you in all candor that the only baby killer I knew in Vietnam was John F. Kerry."[Emphasis ours]

The evidence shows John Kerry was a ruthless operator in the field, with little regard for life. One example is the sampan incident in An Thoi in January 1969.

Kerry's account
Kerry recounts that the Swift Boat under his command, PCF 44, and another, PCF 21, were patrolling a shallow channel on a pitch-black night and continually running aground.

For "Tour of Duty" (William Morrow, 2004), Brinkley drew his account from Kerry's journals and subsequent explanations, noting that "neither Swift's search or boarding lights were working properly."

" 'Many minutes of silent patrolling had gone by when one of the men yelled, "Sampan off the port bow," Kerry wrote [in his journal]. 'Everybody froze, and we slowed the engines quickly. But the sampan was already by us and wasn't stopping. It was past curfew, and nothing was allowed in the river. I told the gunner to fire a few warning shots, and in the confusion, all guns opened up. We moved in on the sampan and taking one of the battle lanterns off the bulkhead, shone it on the silhouette of the craft that was now dead in the water.' "

Critical in this account is Kerry's statement that he ordered the gunner to fire "a few warning shots." Brinkley records Kerry's self-justification of the action, one of many versions Kerry would subsequently offer to make the actions he took seem part of standard operating procedure:

"Technically, the two PCFs had done nothing wrong," Brinkley wrote. "The sampan, operating past curfew, was undeniably in a free-fire zone; what's more, there had been more than a few instances of sampans trying to get close enough to U.S. Navy vessels to toss bombs into their pilothouses."

In other words, Kerry is trying to establish that opening fire on the sampan (a flat-bottomed Chinese skiff propelled by oars) was justified — a pre-emptive attack in self-defense. For Kerry, it was critical to maintain that his actions were taken according to Navy policy; otherwise, he had no defense. A Nuremberg defense — "just following orders" — was and is Kerry's chosen line.

Kerry then admitted the civilian casualties he caused, according to the Brinkley biography:

"But knowing that they were following official Navy policy didn't make it any easier to deal with what the crews saw next. 'The light revealed a woman standing in the stern of the sampan with a child of perhaps two years or less in her arms,' Kerry wrote. 'Neither [was] harmed. We asked her where the men from the stern were, as one of the gunners was sure that he had seen someone moving back there. She gesticulated wildly, and I could see traces of blood on the engine mounting. It was obvious that they had been blown overboard.

"'Then somebody said there was a body up front, and we moved in closer to see the limbs of a small child limp on the stacks of rice. She had already covered it, and when one of the men asked me if I wanted it uncovered I said no, realizing that the face would stay with me for the rest of my life and that it was better not to know whether there was a smile or a grimace or whether it was a girl or boy.' "

Boston Globe's find
Coastal Division 11 personnel recall at least two different explanations given for the action by Kerry, in addition to his excuses that it was the crew's fault and that it was a free-fire zone.

Kerry has suggested that, under the rice on the sampan, there might have been a bomb that could have been thrown into the Swift Boat had Kerry allowed the sampan to move close enough.

Additionally, Kerry has suggested that the Viet Cong used women and children to cover their actions and that there could have been Viet Cong in the boat ready to fire on them when they got closer. Another of Kerry's suggestions was that the woman might have been hiding weapons in the sunken boat.

These are strange explanations, since Kerry also says in the Brinkley biography that during his "entire stint in Vietnam, he never found a single piece of contraband" on the hundreds of vessels he searched.

Critically important is the fact that Kerry filed a phony after-action operational report concealing the fact that a child had been killed during the attack on the sampan and inventing a fleeing squad of Viet Cong. The operational report is one of the important missing documents that Kerry neglects to make public on his campaign Web site.

The book written by three Boston Globe reporters, "John F. Kerry: The Complete Biography" (PublicAffairs Reports, 2004), cites a Navy report of "a similar-sounding incident."

"In any case, while Kerry said in a 2003 interview that he wasn't sure when the boy in the sampan was killed, a Navy report says a similar-sounding incident took place on Jan. 20, 1969. The crew of No. 44 'took sampan under fire, returned to capture 1 woman and a small child, one enemy KIA [Killed in Action] ... believe four occupants fled to beach or possible KIA.' "

Kerry was the skipper of PCF 44 at the time. The Kerry campaign was sent a copy of the report, but did not respond when the Boston Globe asked if it matched Kerry's memory of the night the child was killed.

The Globe reporters, who unknowingly uncovered a critical piece of evidence, were skeptical there could have been two such incidents.

Eyewitness account
Gunner Steve Gardner sat above Kerry on the double .50-caliber mount that night in January 1969.

PCF 44, engines shut off, lay in ambush near the western mouth of the Cua Lon River. The boat's own generator was operating and its radar was on, with Kerry supposedly in the pilothouse monitoring the radar.

Although the radar was easily capable of picking up the sampan early, Kerry gave no warning to the crew and did not come out of the pilothouse. Instead, first an engine noise and then a sampan suddenly appeared in front of the boat — still no Kerry.

The PCF lights were thrown on — still no Kerry. The sampan was ordered to stop by the young gunner, Gardner — still no Kerry.

According to Gardner, there was no order to fire warning shots, as Kerry claimed. Indeed, there was no Kerry until it was over.[Emphasis ours] When an occupant of the sampan appeared to Gardner to reach for or hold a weapon, he opened up (as did others), killing the father and, unintentionally, a child.

Then Kerry finally appeared; he ordered the crew to cease-fire and then threatened them with courts-martial.

'Bone of contention'
Steve Gardner is the sole crewman not swayed by Kerry during his many post-Vietnam years of solicitation aimed at gaining the support of his own crew.

Today, Gardner asks: "How can Kerry possibly be commander in chief when he couldn't competently command a six-man crew?"[Emphasis ours]

Gardner, a two-tour Swift Boat sailor who sat five feet behind Kerry in Vietnam and who saw many officers during his two years, judges Kerry to be by far the worst.

"Kerry was erratic," Gardner said in an interview June 19. "He hardly ever did what he was supposed to do. His command decisions put us in more peril then he should have. But mostly he just ran. When John Kerry looked out the bow of the boat and he saw tracer fire coming after him, he'd turn and run."[Emphasis ours]

Gardner added: "When he should have been fighting, calling in air support, he was hightailing it. That's always been my bone of contention with Kerry — his decision-making capabilities. That's what takes him out of contention as far as I'm concerned."

[The Ponderosa: We're tired of putting stuff in bold ... it should all be bold, upper case ... and COMMON KNOWLEDGE ... more proof of MSM incompetence]

Kerry's failure to pick up the sampan on radar is hard to understand. Harder still to understand is his absence as the officer in charge during the critical part of the episode.

The fog of war can obscure anyone's vision, but there would certainly have been an inquiry at An Thoi to determine what happened and how a small child could have been inadvertently killed. The inquiry would have focused on why the sampan was not detected early and why normal measures like a flare or small-caliber warning shot were not used.

Gardner irks Kerry
To be fair, it is likely the purpose of such an inquiry would not be to fix blame on anyone, but to avoid future miscalculation.
And the major questions would have been: Where was Kerry? Why was there no warning? Why was a gunner's mate making the critical life-and-death decision instead of the officer in charge? Why the different accounts by Kerry?
Kerry avoided any problem by filing an after-action report in which the dead child simply disappeared from the record and was replaced by a fleeing squad of Viet Cong, some likely killed.

According to Gardner, Kerry threatened to court-martial those involved, even though the crew believed they had seen weapons on the sampan. Gardner strongly believes that the sight of potential weapons justified the firing.
In their biography, the Globe reporters note that Kerry supporters have tried to discredit Gardner and dismiss his criticism of Kerry. In March, Gardner was quoted publicly for the first time about his views on Kerry, in the Globe and on Time magazine's Web site.

In the Time article, written by Kerry biographer Brinkley, Kerry was quoted as reacting strongly to Gardner's criticism, saying that Gardner had "made up" stories. Brinkley dismissed Gardner, a supporter of President Bush, as being motivated by "one word: politics." Kerry said he couldn't remember the court-martial threat.
Gardner denied that politics had anything to do with his comments. "Absolutely not," he said, saying he kept his feelings about Kerry to himself for 35 years and responded only when a Globe reporter tracked him down.

Kerry's report
Cmdr. George M. Elliott of Coastal Division 11 never knew of the small child's death because all he received from Kerry was the false report, which found its way up the chain of command.

The Commander Coastal Surveillance Force Vietnam (CTF 115) Quarterly Evaluation Report of March 29, 1969, states: " ... 20 January PCFs 21 and 44 operating in An Xuyen Province ... engaged the enemy with a resultant GDA of one VC KIA (BC) [body count], four VC KIA (EST) and two VC CIA."

This is Kerry's victory: killing in action (KIA) five imaginary Viet Cong, capturing in action (CIA) two Viet Cong (an exaggeration of the mother and baby who were actually rescued from the sampan) and simply omitting the dead child from the body count (BC) and the estimate (EST).

Roy F. Hoffmann, then commander of Coastal Surveillance Force Vietnam, CTF 115, received Kerry's false report of probably killing five Viet Cong and capturing two others. Hoffman sent Kerry a congratulatory message.

Upon learning of what Kerry actually had done, Hoffmann, who retired as a rear admiral, recently expressed his contempt for Kerry as a liar, false warrior and fraud.

"I do not believe John Kerry is fit to be commander in chief of the armed forces of the United States," Hoffman said in May. "This is not a political issue. It is a matter of his judgment, truthfulness, reliability, loyalty and trust — all absolute tenets of command."

Despite Kerry's written report, rumors of the sampan incident on the Cua Lon River circulated for years.

The vivid memory of the small, bloody sampan haunts Franke, a Silver Star recipient and veteran of many battles.

"Absent clear indications of danger, Swift Boat crews simply did not open fire upon such boats," Franke wrote us in March. "Rather, the vessel would be boarded, searched and let go with a warning."

Yet in "Tour of Duty," Kerry, according to one of his own accounts, appears to have lost control of his boat after crazily ordering that "warning shots" be fired at a small sampan with heavy .50-caliber weapons, instead of the numerous small-caliber weapons on board.

And according to the biography written by the Globe reporters, Kerry simply butchers a small sampan in a free-fire zone because it would have been dangerous to approach.

'Fire discipline'
Thomas W. Wright, another Swift Boat commander in Coastal Division 11, said Kerry "was not a good combat commander."

Wright said he had such "serious problems" working with Kerry that he finally objected to going on patrol with Kerry. Elliott granted Wright's request that Kerry no longer be assigned to operations under his command.

Wright remembers that Kerry would disappear without warning on multiboat operations. He recalls that Kerry's boat had poor fire discipline and would open fire without prior clearance or apparent reason.

"John Kerry's leadership and operational style were different from mine," Wright said in a written statement in April. "I can see how his crew thought he was a hero, but it seemed like he was a hero fighting out of situations he shouldn't have been in to begin with. I had a lot of trouble getting him to follow orders.

"You had to be right, and you had to have fire discipline. You couldn't blame something on the rules of engagement."

George Bates, another officer in Coastal Division 11, participated in numerous operations with Kerry from January 1969 to March 1969.

In Bates' view, Kerry was a coward who overreacted with deadly force when he felt threatened. Bates, a retired Navy captain, believed that Kerry treated the South Vietnamese in an almost criminal manner.

Bates is haunted by a particular patrol with Kerry on the Song Bo De River in early 1969. With Kerry in the lead, their Swift Boats approached a small hamlet with three to four grass huts. Pigs and chickens were milling around.

As the boats drew closer, the villagers fled. There were no political symbols or flags in evidence. It was obvious to Bates that existing policies, decency and good sense required the boats simply to move on.

Instead, Kerry beached his boat. Upon his command, numerous small animals were slaughtered by heavy-caliber machine guns. Acting more like a pirate than a naval officer, Kerry disembarked and ran around with a Zippo lighter, burning up the entire hamlet.

Bates was appalled by the hypocrisy of Kerry's quick shift to the role of a peace activist condemning war crimes upon his return home. Even today, Bates describes Kerry as a man without a conscience.

A fraud
Whether one believes Kerry's or Gardner's version of the sampan debacle, Kerry's boat was ultimately responsible. The fishing vessel could not possibly have escaped given the vast disparity in speed between sampans and Swift Boats.
No discussion of the incident can be found on Kerry's campaign Web site, nor is there any official document of it among those Navy service records that Kerry has made public.

Gardner's testimony and the quarterly report quoted above both indicate Kerry's PCF 44 picked up the surviving woman and her baby, whom Kerry's after-action report described as captured Viet Cong. Yet no record indicates what became of the woman or the child when Kerry's boat returned to shore.

The squad of four fleeing Viet Cong existed only in Kerry's imagination and in his written report. It does not exist in Brinkley's "Tour of Duty," or in Kerry's statements to Boston Globe reporter Michael Kranish, or in Kerry's secret journal, or in any recollection of anyone.

Kerry's victory exists only in Kerry's mind. Nonetheless, he succeeded in pulling off this fraud until the recent comparison of records.

-more-

Despite hurricanes, energy prices, GDP grew 3.7% in Q3

GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT: THIRD QUARTER 2004 (ADVANCE)


Now, we realize we didn't attend poncey Swiss prep schools, but by our calculations, that's nearly 4% year-over-year GDP growth. Won't someone PLEASE raise taxes on the rich?!?

Why is this election even close?

Coalition of the bribed

Oil for Food bribery means sanctions against Iraq were doomed to fail

Out on the campaign trail, John Kerry continues to diminish our allies in Iraq and decry President Bush for "rushing" to war without U.N. Security Council approval. But we hope his would-be Secretaries of State, Biden and Holbrooke, are paying attention in private to revelations about the crumbling sanctions regime they would have had us continue and the related corruption in the U.N.'s Oil for Food program.

These folks are in for a rude awakening if they really think Old Europe will be rushing to help a President Kerry in Iraq, or that the United Nations is competent and trustworthy enough to manage their foreign policy projects.

...

This meant the Iraq dictator could reward his friends and political allies with oil at below market prices and goods contracts at inflated ones. In the middle of the program, he also started demanding kickbacks on the contracts to add to the stream of unmonitored revenue he was already getting from oil smuggling.

...

High-level officials of Saddam's regime have told investigators that oil and goods contracts were always awarded with an eye to helping Saddam politically, particularly to promote the lifting of the sanctions. The Volcker data bears this out. Iraq's top customer was Russia, whose firms bought $19.2 billion worth of Iraq oil and exported $3.3 billion in humanitarian goods. Fellow Security Council member France was a distant but significant second, at $4.4 billion and $2.9 billion respectively. China is also high on the list.

...

Against this backdrop, it is impossible to take Secretary-General Annan seriously when he calls it "inconceivable" that this could have affected the Security Council's handling of Iraq. "I don't think the Russian or the French or the Chinese government would allow [themselves] to be bought," he said recently. But even in the unlikely event that they weren't too worried about the possible financial losses, they surely never wanted this information to see the light of day.


...

Now, let's step back and put this all in context--the context offered by Mr. Duelfer's report. The news there isn't that there appear to have been no large stockpiles of WMD in Iraq at the time of the March 2003 invasion. That's been clear for more than a year. Rather, the news is that we now know straight from Saddam himself, his scientists, and his fellow high-level detainees that Saddam intended to restart his weapons program the second U.N. sanctions were lifted. And we now know that he would never have unambiguously come clean on his WMD programs because he wanted his enemies (especially the U.S. and Iran) to believe he had them.

In other words, had the weapons inspections been allowed to continue, as Mr. Kerry says he wanted, a U.S. President would have eventually faced the same uncertainties and the same agonizing choice that Mr. Bush did when he decided to commit the U.S. to war.[Emphasis ours] Remember, too, that the final round of inspections was won only with a build-up of U.S. troops in the Gulf, and that a decision to accept as satisfactory the desultory cooperation that Saddam gave these inspectors would have meant overwhelming international pressure for immediate lifting of all sanctions.

There were reasonable arguments against having gone into Iraq. But in light of this latest evidence, the arguments Mr. Kerry and his team have been making--that more inspections might have yielded something, and that the real coalition of the bribed at the Security Council might ever have supported force--don't pass the laugh test, never mind the global one. [Emphasis ours]

-more-

In a non-Bizarro world, this story would be leading the news every night ... we don't at all wonder why it doesn't: it would put the kibosh on Kerry-Heinz's stated foreign policy paradigm, the much and rightfully maligned "global test".

Perhaps after the election the MSM will find an interest in this.

This is what we mean by "aid and comfort to the enemy"

Iraq - An armed group claimed in a video Thursday to have obtained a large amount of explosives missing from a munitions depot facility in Iraq (news - web sites) and threatened to use them against foreign troops.

A group calling itself Al-Islam's Army Brigades, Al-Karar Brigade, said it had coordinated with officers and soldiers of "the American intelligence" to obtain a "huge amount of the explosives that were in the al-Qaqaa facility."

The claim couldn't be independently verified. The speaker was surrounded by masked, armed men standing in front of a black banner with the group's name on it in the tape obtained by Associated Press Television News.

"We promise God and the Iraqi people that we will use it against the occupation forces and those who cooperate with them in the event of these forces threatening any Iraqi city," the man added.
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The melon-headed fop pulls these unfounded charges out of his perfumed ass and the Jihadists, wise to the ways of our media, jump on it. Guy's a total prick.


Jihadist for Kerry

Congrats Red Sox and fans

Enjoy it -- you all deserve it ... fantastic run from 0-3 to 4-0 ... this is a special team.

If this is true, Botox Boy is finished

Russia tied to Iraq's missing arms

Russian special forces troops moved many of Saddam Hussein's weapons and related goods out of Iraq and into Syria in the weeks before the March 2003 U.S. military operation, The Washington Times has learned.

John A. Shaw, the deputy undersecretary of defense for international technology security, said in an interview that he believes the Russian troops, working with Iraqi intelligence, "almost certainly" removed the high-explosive material that went missing from the Al-Qaqaa facility, south of Baghdad.

"The Russians brought in, just before the war got started, a whole series of military units," Mr. Shaw said. "Their main job was to shred all evidence of any of the contractual arrangements they had with the Iraqis. The others were transportation units."

Mr. Shaw, who was in charge of cataloging the tons of conventional arms provided to Iraq by foreign suppliers, said he recently obtained reliable information on the arms-dispersal program from two European intelligence services that have detailed knowledge of the Russian-Iraqi weapons collaboration.

Most of Saddam's most powerful arms were systematically separated from other arms like mortars, bombs and rockets, and sent to Syria and Lebanon, and possibly to Iran, he said.

The Russian involvement in helping disperse Saddam's weapons, including some 380 tons of RDX and HMX, is still being investigated, Mr. Shaw said.

The RDX and HMX, which are used to manufacture high-explosive and nuclear weapons, are probably of Russian origin, he said.

...

Defense officials said the Russians can provide information on what happened to the Iraqi weapons and explosives that were transported out of the country. Officials believe the Russians also can explain what happened to Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programs.


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IF this is accurate ... the al Qaqaa(sp.?) demagoguery, the "global test" ... The World's Ugliest Gigolo is done ... actually, maybe not. Enough people want free stuff that they are willing to overlook something like this ...

Rumsfeld refutes Kerry-Heinz lies on Al Qaqaa, Tora Bora, Shinseki and "no plan to win the peace"

Secretary Rumsfeld Interview with Bill Cunningham, 700 WLW-AM Cincinnati, Ohio

Q: Donald Rumsfeld, welcome to “The Bill Cunningham Show.”

SEC. RUMSFELD: Thank you, Bill. I’m delighted to be on “The Bill Cunningham Show.”

Q: Well, you know, I have the good fortune, I guess, of living in a so-called battleground state. And every day on television, on radio, I hear all about the failures in Iraq. It’s a terrible mission. American beheadings almost every week and that it’s a total disaster. Dick Cheney says it was a success. You’re the man, you’re Rumsfeld, you’re a great American. Up to this point, has Iraq been a success or a failure or somewhere in between?

SEC. RUMSFELD: Well, it isn’t over, but 25 million people have been liberated. The schools are open, the hospitals are open, the clinics are open, they have an economy that’s growing at a good clip. They did not have their oil wells set afire. Their infrastructure is basically intact. Their electricity is up higher than it was pre-war. The security forces among the Iraqis have gone from zero to something like 112,000 Iraqis. And they are out there helping to provide security for their country.

And with all that, the fact is that there are still terrorists – foreign terrorists –there are still foreign regime elements and former Baathists who want to take back the country. And it is a struggle that’s taking place between extremists who want to chop off people’s heads and tell everyone how they must live their lives and moderates who want to allow the people in that country to prosper and grow and have opportunities and have elections next January.

Q: Right. Yesterday, Donald, your good friends at The New York Times reported that 380 tons of high-degree munitions have been stolen or otherwise ripped off from Al Qaqaa weapons facility and it was big news. John Kerry screaming and hollering about you and Georgie Bush and Dick Cheney being a bunch of bumbling incompetents. And then NBC News came out last night with Miklaszewski and said they embedded with the 82nd Airborne and the explosives were already missing when the American troops arrived on or about April 10, 2003. Which is it: Are you a bumbling incompetent or…

SEC. RUMSFELD: [Laughs]

Q: …is Jim Miklaszewski telling the truth?

SEC. RUMSFELD: Well, here’s the situation. By our count, we have destroyed over 240,000 tons of weapons. And we have captured another 160,000 for a total of over 400,000… (the 160,000) are in line to be destroyed. There are hundreds of weapons sites that exist in that country that we’ve either emptied or guarded. And what’s going on now is a detailed investigation of precisely this situation. Although clearly, the Iraqi Survey Group investigated hundreds of sites in Iraq looking for weapons and clearly there were people there who believe that in many instances Saddam Hussein took weapons out of weapons sites and put them in – we found them in hospitals, we found them in schools, we found them all across that country, buried in some instances. Their goal – if you think about it, go back to the museum. Do you remember when the museum – everyone said the museum was looted?

Q: Fifty thousand pieces are missing.

SEC. RUMSFELD: Yeah.

Q: From the valley of Umm (sp).

SEC. RUMSFELD: It turns out that I talked to a person who’d been to the museum two weeks before the war started and he said it was almost empty at that moment. Clearly, the curators had gone in and taken much of that and put it into a safe place. There was talk about $1 billion being stolen from the…

Q: From the bank.

SEC. RUMSFELD: … Central Bank. In fact, we found I think it was $600 million of it in various locations. And the idea that it was looted was just wrong. It was moved by Saddam Hussein’s people.

Q: Well, do you think The New York Times and the U.N. ’s going to keep dropping a dime on you guys until next Tuesday, whether it’s Sanchez’s memo last week and now it’s the 380 tons which, by the way, mathematically is less than 1/10th of 1 percent of what you’re talking about 400,000 is as to 380 is less than 1/10th of 1 percent. Is The New York Times and the U.N. going to keep dropping the dime on you guys until Election Day?

SEC. RUMSFELD: Well, the president has asked Colin Powell and Don Rumsfeld to not get into politics, but every once in awhile, I drive by the National Archives and on the front of it it says, ‘The past is prologue.’

Q: [Laughs] A couple of other issues here in the battleground states. One is I keep hearing in John Kerry’s coming to Ohio repeatedly. He’s been all over Missouri and Michigan about Gen. Shinseki, who I’m sure is a great guy, that you retired him early because you, Donald Rumsfeld was hearing things from Shinseki about 400,000 troops that you didn’t want hear, that you kicked him out and you fired him. Is that true? Does that have substance?

SEC. RUMSFELD: Anyone who says that has had literally dozens of opportunities to learn that that is a flat lie. Gen. Shinseki served his entire full four-year term. He never said 400,000. He was pressed in a congressional hearing and he said he guessed it would take about as many to secure the country post combat, as it would to take the country in the first instance and he estimated something possibly as many as several hundred thousand. It is just mythology that is going on here. I don’t know – it’s obvious whose interest it serves. But Gen. Franks decided how many forces were needed and he is the one who made that decision and I supported him in it and I believe he made the right decision.

Q: Senator John Kerry said that you, Rumsfeld, basically outsourced the ability to capture UBL to the Afghan warlords and to the Pakistanis, that we had him trapped in Tora Bora and but for the outsourcing by Rumsfeld, Bush and Cheney, we would have captured UBL, would you give wings to those lies or not?

SEC. RUMSFELD: Well, first of all, the intelligence community did not then know where Osama bin Laden was and does not today know where UBL is. I think that one way to look at – put it in context is this – the Soviet Union took 2[00,000 or 300,000 troops, I believe, and attempted to subdue Afghanistan and they lost the war. We had less than 20,000 and we won. The Taliban are gone, the al Qaeda are out of there. They’ve had an election. They have a constitution. Women voted. The people voted for the first time in the history of that country. It was a breathtaking accomplishment. And for anyone to be running around flyspecking what took place in Afghanistan, when we just had this brilliant, unbelievable historic election…and that country is on a path of 23 million people liberated, on a path towards being respectful to its various diverse elements, is beyond comprehension.

Q: Now, lastly, another issue is percolating like a pot of hot coffee and that is that you, Rumsfeld, did not plan for the peace, it was a great military effort, a great war, but you spent all your time taking down the fourth-largest standing army in the world, the Republican Guard – the elite Republican Guard – and didn’t plan properly for the peace, allowed the looting to take place, things of that character. Would you respond to those charges of the radical leftists?

SEC. RUMSFELD: [Laughs] This is quite a program you’ve got here. I’m just getting them all served up. And let me see, what would I have to say about that? The war plan and the postwar plan were both good ones. The postwar plan that you raised the question about was designed to see that they were not able to destroy their oil wells, that they were not able to blow up their bridges, that they did not have massive humanitarian crisis with internally displaced people and refugees and food crisis and that the war was conducted in a speedy way, so that it would not run the risk of destabilizing neighboring countries. All of those were accomplished. And the reality is that any plan then is dealing with an enemy with a brain. And so they adapt and then we adapt to that and it is a truth that it requires continuously adapting what we’re doing – our tactics and our strategies – to meet the problems on the ground, the security problem on the ground. And that’s what our military leaders are doing out there and they’re doing an absolutely superb job and if the parents and loved ones of men and women in uniform are listening, I hope they’re proud of those people because everyone’s a volunteer. Every one of them is over there because they raised their hand and asked to be sent and they’re doing a world-class job for this country and the Iraqi people have a good crack at making it and having a free system in the months and years ahead.

This is great stuff, but, aside from the Al Qaqaa crap, why couldn't these have been answered in the debates, when 70 million people were paying attention?

Worst economy since Big Bang continues ...

Fed Reports Economic Growth Is Continuing

New Home Sales Surge, Durable Goods Up


Won't someone PLEASE raise my taxes?!

Coming to a Battleground State near you: The Kerry-Heinz 2004 Aid and Comfort Tour

Kerry Blames Bush for Attacks on 'Our Kids'

Sen. John F. Kerry on Tuesday told American voters that "our kids [U.S. troops] are being shot at from weapons stolen from the ammo dumps that this president didn't think were important enough to guard."

There is no proof that weapons taken from Iraq's al-Qaqaa compound have been used against U.S. troops, although that's the suggestion raised by the New York Times and CBS -- and seized on by the Kerry campaign.

The New York Times reported Monday that 380 tons of high explosives vanished from an Iraq military compound, but other reports say no one has been able to pin down when the HMX and RDX disappeared -- or who took them -- or whether those explosives have in fact been used against U.S. troops.

...

Kerry-Heinz is shamelessly using an unproven (though thoroughly and widely debunked, particularly by military blogger Belmont Club) story floated by a disgruntled UN hack and offered as a gift-in-kind from the NY Slimes to the Kerry campaign to save his moribund candidacy. In so doing, he is not only smearing GWB, but the men and women who are serving us in Iraq and their commanders.

But what's even more execrable, is the invitation it sends to the enemy to ratchet up the violence against our troops prior to the election:

Leaders and supporters of the anti-U.S. insurgency say their attacks in recent weeks have a clear objective: The greater the violence, the greater the chances that President Bush will be defeated on Tuesday and the Americans will go home.

"If the U.S. Army suffered numerous humiliating losses, [Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John] Kerry would emerge as the superman of the American people," said Mohammad Amin Bashar, a leader of the Muslim Scholars Association, a hard-line clerical group that vocally supports the resistance.

...

Abu Jalal, answering questions submitted to him through the Iraqi journalist, devised a simple formula for how his group's attacks on American soldiers draw votes from Mr. Bush. "They say there are 1,100 dead soldiers. That means 1,100 families hold grudges against Bush and hate him. There are 6,000 families whose sons were injured who hate Bush and will not re-elect him."

...

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Why not just paint a big targets on the backs of our people? The message he's sending to the terrorists is "Want us outta there? Aim here!"

Of course, this is not the first time in his career that the Botoxed Bolshevik has, from the safety of our shores, incited violence against U.S. troops as the men of "Stolen Honor" will attest.

Pathetic that this poncey fop values his electoral success over the safety of our soldiers and the success of their mission. Cue Lynne Cheney: "This is not a good man".

Once a traitor, always a traitor!

Honor Thief

"Stolen Honor" available for FREE

We watched this over the weekend. Granted, we already despised Kerry for his traitorous post-Nam activities whereby he built a political career at the expense of his "band of brothers" and millions who were slaughtered or imprisoned when we abandoned the South Vietnamese. Seeing the men who were tortured by the Viet Cong tell of hearing Kerry's words played to them in an effort to get them to confess to "war crimes", observing the pain and betrayal they still feel, knowing Kerry stands by his actions and has never apologized only validated what we already knew: to quote Lynne Cheney, "This is not a good man."

Fortunately for Kerry, he has been given a free pass by the MSM during the campaign -- nary a question has been asked about his carefree days of treason, to say nothing of his 20 counterproductive years in the Senate.

We believe, however, that enough people understand as we do, that this man is unfit for command.

NY Times explosive "story" as phony as Kerry's face!

UPDATED 1235

Original Item

Report: Explosives already gone when U.S. troops arrived:
NBC News says its crew was embedded with soldiers at time

The mystery surrounding the disappearance of 380 tons of powerful explosives from a storage depot in Iraq has taken a new twist, after a network embedded with the U.S. military during the invasion of Iraq reported that the material had already vanished by the time American troops arrived.

NBC News reported that on April 10, 2003, its crew was embedded with the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division when troops arrived at the Al Qaqaa storage facility south of Baghdad.

While the troops found large stockpiles of conventional explosives, they did not find HMX or RDX, the types of powerful explosives that reportedly went missing, according to NBC.

The International Atomic Energy Agency revealed Monday that it had been told two weeks ago by the Iraqi government that 380 tons of HMX and RDX disappeared from Al Qaqaa after Saddam Hussein's government fell.

In a letter to the IAEA dated October 10, Iraq's director of planning, Mohammed Abbas, said the material disappeared sometime after Saddam's regime fell in April 2003, which he attributed to "the theft and looting of the governmental installations due to lack of security."

Baghdad fell on April 9, 2003. According to NBC, troops from the 101st Airborne arrived the next day to find that the material was already gone.

...

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From NRO's Cliff May :

BOMB-GATE [Cliff May]
Sent to me by a source in the government: “The Iraqi explosives story is a fraud. These weapons were not there when US troops went to this site in 2003. The IAEA and its head, the anti-American Mohammed El Baradei, leaked a false letter on this issue to the media to embarrass the Bush administration. The US is trying to deny El Baradei a second term and we have been on his case for missing the Libyan nuclear weapons program and for weakness on the Iranian nuclear weapons program.”

(For the record, I don’t reveal my sources so if that means I end up sharing a cell at Sing-sing with Judy Miller, so be it.)

Well, well. Just as we posited yesterday, what we have here is a non-story with a scary headline, peddled by an international hack with an axe to grind, presented as a "gift-in-kind" from the NY Slimes to the Kerry campaign.

Just as he'd previously done with the Bob Woodward/secret oil deal "report" a few months ago, Kerry shot his mouth off without bothering to get all the facts (perhaps erroneously assuming the Slimes would have already done a Nexis search!). Is this the sort of cool-headed reaction we could expect from a President Kerry-Heinz?

It will be interesting to see if the media coverage of this debunking of the Slimes' story is anywhere near as sonorous as was the reporting of the original "story".

We have been observing politics for over three decades, since, as five yeard olds, we witnessed filthy hippies, drugged-addled freaks and anti-American Ho Chi Mihn lovers (friends of John Kerry) burning the flag and working for the defeat of the US in Vietnam.

Never before have we seen the deck stacked so high for an incumbent president seeking re-election: Not Nixon in 1972, Reagan in 1984 nor Clinton in 1996 (being a Democrat means the MSM will discredit the claims of the kooks and conspiracy mongers, not promulgate them).

Let's enumerate the various enemies (domestic only) that have unloaded everything in their arsenal against GWB: The Hollywood, recording industry, entertainment triumverate -- Kerry's "heart and soul" of America --, academia (elementary, secondary and higher ed), major news outlets outside of the Wall Street Journal Editorial page and Fox News, the porn industry, billionaire crackpot currency manipulators, book publishers -- we know we're leaving someone out. Top that off with massive voter fraud and what you will have when this president wins a week from today is a miracle rivaling the Botox -- er, Bosox rally from 3 games down to beat the Yankees.

If that miracle occurs, it will because Bush has a secret weapon -- the great mass of the electorate that does not live in NYC and LA -- the sensible and wise denizens of "flyover" country, where men don't get manicures and women want a leader whose first duty is to protect their children, not assuage the dented egos of Old Europe.

Related:
Pentagon responds to missing-explosives report

Report: Explosives already gone when U.S. troops arrived
NBC News says its crew was embedded with soldiers at time

UPDATE 1235

Looks like there's a CBS/"60 Minutes [of Bush bashing]" element to this "story" ... CBS wanted to hold sham report till it was too late to debunk!
60 MINS PLANNED BUSH MISSING EXPLOSIVES STORY FOR ELECTION EVE

News of missing explosives in Iraq -- first reported in April 2003 -- was being resurrected for a 60 MINUTES election eve broadcast designed to knock the Bush administration into a crises mode.

Jeff Fager, executive producer of the Sunday edition of 60 MINUTES, said in a statement that "our plan was to run the story on October 31, but it became clear that it wouldn't hold..."

Elizabeth Jensen at the LOS ANGELES TIMES details on Tuesday how CBS NEWS and 60 MINUTES lost the story [which repackaged previously reported information on a large cache of explosives missing in Iraq, first published and broadcast in 2003].[Emphasis ours]

The story instead debuted in the NYT. The paper slugged the story about missing explosives from April 2003 as "exclusive."
...
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"NY Slimes" repackages old story in attempt to resuscitate failing Kerry campaign

UPDATED

Original Item
NY Slimes

...

But apparently, little was done. A senior Bush administration official said that during the initial race to Baghdad, American forces "went through the bunkers, but saw no materials bearing the I.A.E.A. seal."(emphasis ours) It is unclear whether troops ever returned.

...

... um, shouldn't this be the end of the story?

A wonderful "contribution-in-kind" from the Times to the DNC. Bury the crux of the story under a 2,000 word stockpile of speculation and surmise but give the Kerry campaign a juicy headline to turn into a talking point for it's flagging campaign.

UPDATE


Pentagon says its unclear if explosives disappeared after Iraq site fell under US control

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A Pentagon spokesman said it was unclear whether 380 tons of high explosives reported missing from a weapons facility in Iraq disappeared before or after it fell under control of US forces.

The Iraqi government this month reported the disappearance of 380 tons of HMX and RDX explosives to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which had monitored the explosives before the war because they could be used as a trigger for nuclear devices.

"This is a first report. We do not know when -- if those weapons did exist at that facility -- they were last seen, and under whose control they were last in," Pentagon spokesman Larry DiRita said.

"It's very possible -- certainly it's plausible -- that it was the Saddam Hussein regime that last had control of these things," he told AFP.

DiRita said US forces visited the Al-Qaqaa site several times after the US invasion of Iraq as part of a US-led search for Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and related material.

But he said it is unclear whether the missing explosives were at the site during those visits.

"The forces searched 32 bunkers and 87 other buildings at the facility. Some explosive material was discovered, none of it carried IAEA seals. They did find stuff there. They probably secured it or destroyed it," he said.

DiRita said Iraq was swimming in weapons and ammunition after the war. More than 500 weapons sites were identified after the war, and some 200,000 tons of ammunition have been destroyed by US forces.

"I'm told they (US forces) made several visits to that facility looking for WMD related (material), and obviously we need to learn more about exactly what it is they saw there," he said.

"There have been these reports that there is evidence this place has been looted. But I think that's something to be very careful about. That place was not in anybody's control but Saddam Hussein's from the beginning of the war until sometime in April," he said.

"It's just really difficult to say with any kind of certainty what happened to those weapons, and who were the last people who had control of them. But I think it's at least arguable that the last person who had control of them was the Saddam Hussein regime," he said.

So, as we had earlier conjectured, the Times essentially tossed Kerry a softball, giving him an opportunity to drone on about "competence" (and exactly when has he exhibited any?), lack of a "plan" and other supercillious nonsense.

He needs to learn that you can't believe everything you read in the Slimes.

Kerry-Heinz lied about meeting with "all" members of UNSC

Security Council members deny meeting Kerry

U.N. ambassadors from several nations are disputing assertions by Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry that he met for hours with all members of the U.N. Security Council just a week before voting in October 2002 to authorize the use of force in Iraq.

An investigation by The Washington Times reveals that while the candidate did talk for an unspecified period to at least a few members of the panel, no such meeting, as described by Mr. Kerry on a number of occasions over the past year, ever occurred.

At the second presidential debate earlier this month, Mr. Kerry said he was more attuned to international concerns on Iraq than President Bush, citing his meeting with the entire Security Council.

"This president hasn't listened. I went to meet with the members of the Security Council in the week before we voted. I went to New York. I talked to all of them, to find out how serious they were about really holding Saddam Hussein accountable," Mr. Kerry said of the Iraqi dictator.

Speaking before the Council on Foreign Relations in New York in December 2003, Mr. Kerry explained that he understood the "real readiness" of the United Nations to "take this seriously" because he met "with the entire Security Council, and we spent a couple of hours talking about what they saw as the path to a united front in order to be able to deal with Saddam Hussein."

But of the five ambassadors on the Security Council in 2002 who were reached directly for comment, four said they had never met Mr. Kerry. The four also said that no one who worked for their countries' U.N. missions had met with Mr. Kerry either.

...

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Every time Kerry and Edwards open their mouths ....

Atlas shrugs ...

"Disenfranchisement" myth lives on

The Florida Lie
A paranoid urban legend returns

It's already starting. Democrats are pumping up the volume on behalf of an insidious lie: Evil forces deliberately disenfranchised black voters in 2000, especially in Florida, and are already doing it again this year.

John Kerry has said, "Never again will a million African-Americans be denied the right to exercise their vote." Jimmy Carter — who never hesitates to smear the country whose highest office he once occupied — has made similar noises. Hyperbolic Democratic honcho Terry McAuliffe will travel next week with Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, who never miss an opportunity to tell black audiences that the age of Jim Crow is still here when it comes to disenfranchisement.

The Kerry salvo about a million black voters is a wild extrapolation based on the falsehood that in 2000 blacks were disenfranchised in Florida and then assuming proportional numbers were disenfranchised in every other state. The million number is highly convenient since it is the threshold for a sound bite really to bite. Kerry, for instance, will never say on the stump that the economy has lost a net 600,000 total jobs during the past four years, sticking instead with a statistic that keeps the figure over a million.

What happened in Florida in 2000 is some voters spoiled their ballots, voting for two candidates or not making a discernible mark on their ballot. This happens in every election, but these mistakes were magnified in Florida because of the scrutiny that came with Bush's 500-vote margin. Peter Kirsanow, a Republican member of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission and a one-man truth squad about the Florida controversy, estimates the rate of spoilage in Florida at roughly 3 percent.

That is similar to the 2.6 percent rate in 1996, when Democrats failed to scream about disenfranchisement. The spoilage rate in heavily Democratic Chicago in 2000 was almost 6 percent, double that of Florida. The sad fact is, according to Kirsanow, ballots tend to be spoiled more in low-income areas (white or black), areas where many people haven't graduated high school, and areas where there are a large number of first-time voters.

Democrats took this sociological datum, which applies everywhere around the country, and spun from it a conspiracy theory in Florida — blacks were kept from voting, "disenfranchised." The first problem with this feverish notion is that the county supervisors who conduct the elections and would have had to do all the disenfranchising in the black areas with high rates of spoilage were almost all Democrats.

The more specific allegations of attempts to disenfranchise blacks are paranoid urban legend. No one has produced any evidence of the dogs and hoses some activists have said were used to keep blacks from the polls — and if Bull Connor had really been loose in Florida, people would have noticed. Another allegation involves the so-called "felon purge list," which was meant to keep felons from voting. It had significant errors and hindered some legitimate voters at the polls, but the list wasn't a deliberate racist act. According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 42 percent of the people on the list were black. But 48 percent of convicted felons in Florida are black. It turned out that roughly 6,000 felons correctly on the list were allowed to vote illegally anyway.

Kerry et al. want to play on the primal fears of black voters, convincing them that the American electoral system is fundamentally corrupt. The 2004 election has, therefore, achieved the status of being pre-stolen — if Bush wins, he ipso facto stole it. A Democratic National Committee manual instructs activists, in the true spirit of Florida 2000, to allege voter intimidation even in the absence of evidence. Right on cue, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference has floated wispy tales of the harassment of black voters in Florida.(emphasis ours)

All of this is so tawdry. But nothing is beneath hucksters who know that the positive merits of Kerry are so uninspiring that they have to resort to gutter tactics to try to get him elected, lying to black voters in the process.

Ah, the legacy of Al Gore ... never again will an election be settled on Election Day thanks to the DNC's 2000 gambit: send in the lawyers, the race baiters and Richard Daley, very nearly steal an election, then, with the complicity of the MSM, promulgate the notion that the election was stolen from you.

Disseminating the disenfranchisement (which has been defined down to so little as asking a voter to prove he is who he claims to be) lie serves three ends for the Left: mobilize the black vote, render a Bush victory "illegitimate" and divert attention from the voter fraud scams they have thrived on for decades.

As pathetic as this is, we understand their desperation. Socialism has lost its allure and their candidate is not trusted to wage the war against Jihadistan.



Related:
The Myth of the Disenfranchised: It's not the government's fault if you can't properly fill out a ballot.

Florida Forever: The political urban legend that facts won't kill.(A Ponderosa favorite)

This is precious: Kerry-Heinz is too smart for us!

Brainy Candidates Need Not Apply

Is John Kerry too intelligent to be president of the United States?

It was what I felt instinctively the first and only time I met him, at a lunch at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in 1998. He was subtle, full of cultural and historical references, elaborating each fine argument at length, with perception and nuance. [The Ponderosa: Is this a spoof?] I commented to one of his aides afterward that I regrettably thought his brains could turn out to be the biggest impediment to a man like him ever occupying the White House.

All these years later, with most polls still showing George W. Bush ahead of his opponent after three debates in which Kerry proved himself more articulate and thoughtful and flexible and able to understand an increasingly dangerous world, I am afraid I may have been right. Yet it still seems inconceivable to me that someone as incompetent, incoherent and obtuse as Bush could possibly command almost half the votes of his fellow countrymen.

Is it that Americans actually like Bush's know-nothing effect? Or is it that Kerry strikes Americans as too highbrow? As pretentious? Do they see his complexity as excessive effeminate suppleness?[The Ponderosa: Yes.]

...

One can only hope that his fellow Americans, so many years later, will not be afraid of choosing as their leader a man who believes that the best way to defeat the multiple terrors of today and tomorrow is with an intelligence of which no human should ever be ashamed.
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We had to read this a few times to determine whether or not is was a parody.

What the pointyheads always miss is that most of us dunces respect people who have actually CREATED something -- built a bridge, started a software company, written a kick arse metal opera ... Kerry-Heinz is quite good at memorizing statistics and policy points, but his accomplishments, what he's actually DONE, are lacking, if any exist at all.

We'll take the "dumb" mechanic, who can fix a transmission but who's never heard of Paul Krugman, over the "brainy" politician who espouses many of Krugman's blatherings, thank you.

And speaking as men, we here at The Ponderosa have no respect for a man who leeches off women.

Spain: The fruits of appeasement

Spain says terrorist plotted 'biggest blow'

MADRID, Spain - The suspected leader of a militant Muslim cell plotted to deal Spain the "biggest blow of its history" - a suicide truck bomb laden with half a ton of explosives aimed at killing the country’s top judges investigating Islamic terror and destroying their case files, officials said Wednesday.

Police said they had intercepted hundreds of letters from suspected cell members in which they said they were willing to stage suicide attacks.

The plot to blow up the National Court, Spain's nerve center for investigating Islamic terror, was detailed in a report from the National Police intelligence unit obtained by the Associated Press. The report quotes a protected witness who had been in contact with the suspected ringleader Mohamed Achraf, an Algerian born in the United Arab Emirates.

Spain said Achraf was recently arrested in Switzerland. Switzerland confirmed Wednesday he is in custody there for entering the country illegally and said deportation proceedings were pending when his alleged link to the plot surfaced.

Anti-terror judge to seek extradition
Spain's leading anti-terrorism magistrate, Judge Baltasar Garzon, is preparing to send the Swiss authorities a warrant spelling out specific charges against Achraf, setting the stage for Spain's government to request his extradition, sources at Spain's National Court said.

Achraf is the suspected leader of a Muslim terrorist cell that plotted to detonate a truck packed with 1,100 pounds of compressed dynamite outside the National Court, located on a bustling avenue in downtown Madrid, according to the report.

...

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Now hold on a sec ... wasn't Spain supposed to be removed from Jihadistan's hit list as reward for cutting and running from Iraq?

Are you Lefties beginning to get just the tiniest clue as to the true nature of the enemy?

New documentary rebuts lies/slander of Michael "The Human Pinata" Moore

Turning Up the Heat on Moore
FahrenHYPE 9/11 takes on Fahrenheit 9/11's dishonesty

Army Specialist Peter Damon sits under a shade tree and relates his war story from Iraq. As he and his best friend, Paul Bush, worked on a tire on their vehicle, an explosion went off. Bush was killed.

The camera pulls back, and you see for the first time that Damon didn't escape the incident unharmed. The explosion that killed his friend also took his arms from the elbows down. He is a young man with a young family, all with most of their lives ahead of them. His left sleeve is empty; his right arm has been replaced by a prosthesis with a sharp metal hook on the end. Damon is angry, and his voice takes on the tones of a man who knows he has been exploited.

He is not angry at President Bush for sending him to Iraq. Specialist Damon volunteered for the Army like all of our soldiers, and he is proud of his service in Iraq. He is not even particularly angry about the explosion that killed his friend and cost him his arms. He is angry with filmmaker Michael Moore.(emphasis ours)

While lying in a hospital bed at Walter Reed Army Hospital recovering weeks after the attack, NBC's Brian Williams interviewed the wounded soldier. Though Damon's arms are gone, he experiences "phantom pain" as if they were still attached. Though Moore never visited the military hospital and never even met Damon, he somehow obtained that NBC footage and used it in his film Fahrenheit 9/11, taking Damon's words out of context to make it appear that he is angry about the war and that his "phantom pain" is the pain of a soldier abandoned by his country and betrayed by his president. Nothing could be further from the truth.

At this point, Damon looks into the camera as though he is speaking directly to Michael Moore, and says, "You know you've lied in making this movie. You know you lied in my case, you know you lied in a whole lot of other cases."(emphasis ours)

Indeed, Michael Moore lied throughout Fahrenheit 9/11 — and not just about Specialist Damon. It's time to set the record straight.

Damon's story comes a little more than halfway through FahrenHYPE 9/11, the newly released documentary that means to be the antidote to Michael Moore's more famous film. Damon's story of exploitation at the hands of Moore is not unique: In fact, it is the norm. In Fahrenheit 9/11 Moore smears military recruiters and portrays American soldiers in Iraq as mindless monsters, then uses footage from the funerals of the fallen without even bothering to consult their families. He exploits the wounded and the dead without remorse, and smears the living with a devilish glee. He portrays President Bush as a cold-blooded, golf-club-wielding maniac, and portrays Saddam Hussein's Iraq as an idyllic land where children flew kites instead of being tossed into pre-teen prisons. Moore's film is an unconscionable exercise in deceit from start to finish. He obtained interviews under false pretenses, then used those interviews to insinuate things that the interview subjects neither believe nor support.

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This corpulent commie is the face of the Democratic Party in 2004 ... choose wisely.



FahrenHYPE 9/11

Fifty-nine Deceits in Fahrenheit 9/11

Washington Post digs up devastating Kerry quote! Tis honorable to die in the service of the UN!

Help of Allies Among Three Key Themes

...
Kerry's belief in working with allies runs so deep that he has maintained that the loss of American life can be better justified if it occurs in the course of a mission with international support. In 1994, discussing the possibility of U.S. troops being killed in Bosnia, he said, "If you mean dying in the course of the United Nations effort, yes, it is worth that.(emphasis ours) If you mean dying American troops unilaterally going in with some false presumption that we can affect the outcome, the answer is unequivocally no."
...
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Well, there ya go.

Related: Dying for the United Nations

View clips of the video the Loony Left doesn't want you to see

Stolen Honor:Wounds that Never Heal


Requires Windows Media Player

Clips:
Winter soldier's investigation
POW's believe the anti-war activists kept them in prision
Kerry paints a lasting portrait of Vietnam veterans

Benedict Botox.

Listen with Bryce, 19 Oct 2004

For in depth analysis of the Boston-NY series, click on the pic of the paunchy bass player from the lame ass party band No Boundaries.

If the beer is hot and flat and the women aren't, you must be rockin' with No Boundaries!

Franks refutes Benedict Kerry on Tora Bora

UPDATED

Original item

War of Words

President Bush and Senator John Kerry have very different views of the war on terrorism, and those differences ought to be debated in this presidential campaign. But the debate should focus on facts, not distortions of history.

On more than one occasion, Senator Kerry has referred to the fight at Tora Bora in Afghanistan during late 2001 as a missed opportunity for America. He claims that our forces had Osama bin Laden cornered and allowed him to escape. How did it happen? According to Mr. Kerry, we "outsourced" the job to Afghan warlords. As commander of the allied forces in the Middle East, I was responsible for the operation at Tora Bora, and I can tell you that the senator's understanding of events doesn't square with reality.

First, take Mr. Kerry's contention that we "had an opportunity to capture or kill Osama bin Laden" and that "we had him surrounded." We don't know to this day whether Mr. bin Laden was at Tora Bora in December 2001. Some intelligence sources said he was; others indicated he was in Pakistan at the time; still others suggested he was in Kashmir. Tora Bora was teeming with Taliban and Qaeda operatives, many of whom were killed or captured, but Mr. bin Laden was never within our grasp.

Second, we did not "outsource" military action. We did rely heavily on Afghans because they knew Tora Bora, a mountainous, geographically difficult region on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is where Afghan mujahedeen holed up for years, keeping alive their resistance to the Soviet Union. Killing and capturing Taliban and Qaeda fighters was best done by the Afghan fighters who already knew the caves and tunnels.

Third, the Afghans weren't left to do the job alone. Special forces from the United States and several other countries were there, providing tactical leadership and calling in air strikes. Pakistani troops also provided significant help - as many as 100,000 sealed the border and rounded up hundreds of Qaeda and Taliban fighters.

Contrary to Senator Kerry, President Bush never "took his eye off the ball" when it came to Osama bin Laden. The war on terrorism has a global focus. It cannot be divided into separate and unrelated wars, one in Afghanistan and another in Iraq. Both are part of the same effort to capture and kill terrorists before they are able to strike America again, potentially with weapons of mass destruction. Terrorist cells are operating in some 60 countries, and the United States, in coordination with dozens of allies, is waging this war on many fronts.

As we planned for potential military action in Iraq and conducted counterterrorist operations in several other countries in the region, Afghanistan remained a center of focus. Neither attention nor manpower was diverted from Afghanistan to Iraq. When we started Operation Iraqi Freedom we had about 9,500 troops in Afghanistan, and by the time we finished major combat operations in Iraq last May we had more than 10,000 troops in Afghanistan.

We are committed to winning this war on all fronts, and we are making impressive gains. Afghanistan has held the first free elections in its history. Iraq is led by a free government made up of its own citizens. By the end of this year, NATO and American forces will have trained 125,000 Iraqis to enforce the law, fight insurgents and secure the borders. This is in addition to the great humanitarian progress already achieved in Iraq.

Many hurdles remain, of course. But the gravest danger would result from the withdrawal of American troops before we finish our work. Today we are asking our servicemen and women to do more, in more places, than we have in decades. They deserve honest, consistent, no-spin leadership that respects them, their families and their sacrifices. The war against terrorism is the right war at the right time for the right reasons. And Iraq is one of the places that war must be fought and won. George W. Bush has his eye on that ball and Senator John Kerry does not.


Tommy Franks, a retired general and former commander in chief of the Central Command, is the author of "American Soldier." He is a member of Veterans for Bush.





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The Tora Bora Myth -- or more accurately the ticket's refusal to debunk it --has had us scratching our metal heads since it was first croaked by Kerry-Heinz in Debate One.

We don't believe that the NY Times, read primarily by Blue State liberals, is the best place for this rebuttal. (Paul Bremer responded similarly in the Times a week or so ago to liberties Kerry was taking with his comments).

TV seems a better medium for this info, though we're not sure if there is any precedent for a retired general appearing in a partisan campaign ad, though the MSM regularly trots out Wesley Clark to echo Kerry's second-guessing of General Franks.

UPDATE
Kerry Campaign responds by by slandering the General:

"Franks is a patriot. But in his attempt to campaign for President (George W.) Bush, he's letting political spin get in the way of the facts," said campaign spokeswoman Brooke Anderson.

Lessee ... so far they've offended the new Prime Minister of Iraq, several of our true allies, and now the general who won Afghanistan and Iraq.

Oooh, these people are beautiful. They are very attractive!

A tale of two speeches

UPDATED

Original Item

We just listened to portions of the president's speech in, of all places, New Jersey. GWB was crisp, optimistic and brutal in his denunciation of Kerry's 30 year record of weakness on security and intelligence issues and Kerry's childlike inability to grasp the scope and seriousness of the War with Jihadistan.

Now we are listening to Kerry speak in Florida ... moribund, droning, reciting the same talking points from the first debate, apparently unaware of the findings of the ISG regarding Saddam's bribes of France and Russia ... he's smart, Bush is dumb ... etc. ... Still telling the Bremer and Shinseki lies ... gratuitous reference to Vietnam ... proud of his postwar treason ... we are tempted to continue listening for the requisite shot at Halliburton, but Kerry's supercillious drone churns up the left over whiskey in our guts and we tend to get overly gaseous.

Man, how is it that the alleged idiot can tailor his stump speech to every occasion and crowd but the "genius" is limited to the same talking points speech after speech, debate after debate? Hell, it's to the point we can even recite parts along with him ...

As we've written elsewhere, the SS Kerry-Heinz is sinking ... the demagoguery vis-a-vis the draft, Social Security and "voter disenfranchisement" (read: asking people to produce i.d. at polling places) is in full force. The black church burning ads should be starting soon ...


UPDATE
After a fantastic evening of baseball we got to watch a replay of Bush's NJ speech on CSPAN.

At points, he was positively Reaganesque, not in his delivery, of course, but in his hope that the region that serves as the breeding ground for Islamo-fascism can be transformed by representative government and economic freedom. Much as Reagan believed that liberal democracy could take hold in the Soviet Bloc and Central America, Bush believes this is possible in the Middle East.

Which reminds us why we so prefer Bush's worldview to that of his opponent: Bush believes in American Exceptionalism, the notion, so poo-pooed by the smart folk, that America is special. His opponent clearly believes the opposite, indeed that we should strive to be more like the failed welfare states of Old Europe. We found it astonishing that, to our recollection, not once was Kerry asked over the course of three debates, to defend or recant statements like this, from a 1970 profile in the Harvard Crimson:

Kerry said that the United Nations should have control over most of our foreign military operations. "I'm an internationalist. I'd like to see our troops dispersed through the world only at the directive of the United Nations."

Were these just the intemperate blatherings of a young man seeking to build a political career or do they reflect what Kerry truly believed and still does? We believe the latter to be the case.

One of the president's fave lines to use on the stump, is that John Kerry's is a 9/10 worldview. We concur -- 9/10/1969. Wrong then, wrong in 1984 and woefully out of date and dangerous today.

Lunatic Algore escapes asylum, addresses whiny Internet kids

Gore Says Bush Governs from 'Love of Power'

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush governs from a "love of power" [The Ponderosa: Certainly the fellow whose tantrums led to the electoral crisis of 2000, assuring that henceforth all elections will be decided by armies of lawyers, could NEVER be accused of "love of power". ]and right-wing ideology [The Ponderosa: Bleated the man engorged with every scrap of left-wing hoo ha ever penned or uttered]rather than religious beliefs, and he has yet to hold anyone in his administration accountable for mistakes [The Ponderosa: Again with the "mistake" canard. How stupid is it to talk about mistakes with the war still ongoing? It's pretty stupid. Oh, and thanks for leaving us with the inept DCI, George Tenet. ], former Vice President Al Gore said on Monday.

As the campaign by Bush and Democrat John Kerry for president headed into the last stretch before the Nov. 2 election, Gore criticized his rival for the White House four years ago on Iraq and other issues.

"I'm convinced that most of the president's frequent departures from fact-based analysis have much more to do with right-wing political and economic ideology [The Ponderosa: We hope. ] than with the Bible,"[The Ponderosa: Er, the Bible? Why would a member of the Loony Left concern himself with the Bible? Buggery, infanticide, envy and the pagan worship of Gaia are hardly biblical concepts.] Gore said in a speech at Georgetown University.

"It is love of power for its own sake that is the original sin of this presidency," he said. [The Ponderosa: Spare us, Reverend Nut Job. ]

He painted the Bush administration and its "right-wing" supporters as pursuing policies for the wealthy and powerful at the expense of the rest of the country. [The Ponderosa: Because preventing terrorist attacks protects only the wealthy. ]

"The essential cruelty of Bush's game is that he takes an astonishingly selfish and greedy collection of economic and political proposals [The Ponderosa: Stealing less of my money is cruel? ] and then cloaks them with a phony moral authority, thus misleading many Americans [The Ponderosa: Socialism -- ie, legalized theft, is immoral. ] ... who have a deep and genuine desire to do good in the world," Gore said. [The Ponderosa: Let us see if we have this straight: People who would otherwise be doing "good in the world" have been somehow restrained by their tax cuts? ]

"And in the process, he convinces them to lend unquestioning support for proposals that actually hurt their families and their communities," he said.[The Ponderosa: Because we are all soooooo stupid. The condescension of "liberals" never ceases to gall us. ]

"Truly, President Bush has stolen the symbolism and body language of religion and used it to disguise the most radical effort in American history to take what rightfully belongs to the American people and give as much of it as possible to the already wealthy and privileged," [The Ponderosa: We have no idea what this means. Perhaps the Thorazine is wearing off. ]he said.

Gore also criticized Bush for not holding anyone in his administration accountable for problems.

He said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had not been held accountable for "the most shameful and humiliating violation of American principles in recent memory" in the interrogations of prisoners in Iraq[The Ponderosa: We should, in the middle of a war, cashier an effective and successful SecDef coz some Jihadists were forced to wear panties on their heads? Now we KNOW the Thorazine has worn off. ].

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To think, but for the inability of a few hundred dolts in Florida to navigate a ballot later mastered by 8-years old, this guy would have been Prez on 911 ... we would have been subjected to a mind-numbing recap of the last 2000 years of history and bludgeoned with Chomskyite nonsense regarding how it's our fault they hate us ... all in that annoying lisp ... sanctions would have been lifted on Iraq and their WMD production lines back in business ... and we'd probably be sending our kids to Koran School ...

By the way, is it necessary for us to dig up the Lunatic Algore's various pronouncements on Iraq, WMD's and the threat posed by Saddam offered up by Mad Al when he and Wh-ck Off into the Oval Office Sink Boy were in charge?

And as far as "greed" and "love of power" are concerned, who was it that allowed technology transfers to the ChiComs in return for campaign cash? Who was veep when corporations were engaging in larcenous accounting practices? Who met with Buddhist monks and employed Charlie Trie and Johnny Chung? Whose "Citizenship USA" initiative hastened the naturalization of thousands of criminals prior to the 1996 election? Spare us the sanctimony, Algore. You and your boss were as power hungry and avaricious as any pair to ever stain the Oral Office.

We recall a time when ex-presidents ("Bohdi!") and former veeps conducted themselves in a dignified manner, acting as statesmen rather than bitter, raving loons ... Jimmy Carter put and end to that, and is today an angry, hateful old man.

While Clinton is giving Carter a run for his money, Gore has them both whipped. Say hello to Mr. Martini, Chief and Nurse Ratched, Algore!

Putin: Bush defeat "could lead to the spread of terrorism"

Putin urges voters to back Bush

MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin says terrorist attacks in Iraq are aimed at preventing the re-election of U.S. President George W. Bush and that a Bush defeat "could lead to the spread of terrorism to other parts of the world."

Putin, speaking Central Asian Cooperation Organization summit in Tajikistan Monday, made his most overt comments of support so far for the re-election of Bush for a second term.

"Any unbiased observer understands that attacks of international terrorist organizations in Iraq, especially nowadays, are targeted not only and not so much against the international coalition as against President Bush," Putin said.

"International terrorists have set as their goal inflicting the maximum damage to Bush, to prevent his election to a second term.

"If they succeed in doing that, they will celebrate a victory over America and over the entire anti-terror coalition," Putin said.

"In that case, this would give an additional impulse to international terrorists and to their activities, and could lead to the spread of terrorism to other parts of the world."

Putin noted that American voters will not decide the election just on Iraq.

"Because of this we must take a realistic approach and be prepared for any development of events," he said. "We respect any choice the American people will make."

President Putin made it clear Russia remained opposed to the war in Iraq.

"Today, our views on that differ from the views of President Bush," he said.

Love that last line. Yeah, Vlad, we read the ISG report.

Twins?

Lovey's tax bite: 12.4%

Teresa's Fair Share

The Kerry campaign finally released Teresa Heinz Kerry's 2003 tax return, or rather two pages of it, late last Friday, and the story got buried next to the hardware-store ads. We think she ought to release the rest of her return, since her wealth was crucial to salvaging her husband's struggling campaign during the Democratic primaries in 2003.

But even this minimal disclosure deserves more attention in light of John Kerry's pledge to raise tax rates. In 2003, Mrs. Kerry -- or Teresa Heinz, as she declared herself on her IRS 1040 form -- earned $5.07 million, hardly a surprising income for someone estimated to be worth nearly $1 billion.

The news is that $2.78 million of that income came in the form of tax-exempt interest from what the Kerry campaign's press release attributed to investments in "state, municipal and public entity bonds." What the campaign didn't say is that these are the kind of investments that rich people can afford to hire lawyers and accountants to steer their money into. On her remaining "taxable" income of $2.29 million, Mrs. Kerry paid $627,150 in taxes, for an overall average federal tax rate of only 12.4% on her $5.07 million in total income.

...

Mega-millionaires such as Mrs. Kerry who can invest in tax-shelters will be able to dodge the new higher two top marginal tax rates on dividends and other income that Senator Kerry is proposing for anyone making more than $200,000.

...

The people who won't be able to escape these higher rates are two-earner couples on mid-career salaries, or small-business owners who pay taxes as subchapter S companies at individual rates, or pensioners who've saved all their lives to build a nest egg and are now living off dividends. Mr. Kerry calls these people "the rich," but we know a lot of them who are decidedly middle-class and who certainly can't afford the five homes that the Kerrys own.
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Related: SCOURING TERESA'S TAXES


Don't get us wrong -- we don't begrudge Lovey from sheltering as much income (even though she didn't do a damn thing to earn it) as legally possible from the Tax Man's greedy grasp. We even believe that a little tax evasion can be a good thing (another reason we can never run for office!) The problem we have is that the Tax Man is her consort, John Kerry-Heinz, who has vowed to rob from "the rich" to give to ... well, everyone else.

One of the reasons we are so "hard right" is our visceral loathing of class warfare. Kerry and Edwards are merely carrying on the Dems' time honored tradition of vilifying "the rich" and beatifying so-called "working families" (Get it? "The rich" don't work!). Perhaps because the only "rich" people they know (Kennedys, Rockefellers) inherited their wealth, perhaps because they both came upon their personal fortunes in rather skeevy manners -- one married wealthy women, one sued his way to prosperity -- the boys have no compunction about calumnying the most innovative, creative and industrious among us as poolside layabouts, winners at "life's lottery".

We fail to see how raising taxes on this group -- a politically cowardly act as it takes no great skill to turn 98% against 2% -- will spur innovation, creativity and industry.

Police group to Kerry: Stop lying!

Police Call on Kerry to Stop Misrepresenting Their Support

WASHINGTON, Oct. 14 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Today Chuck Canterbury, the President of the nation's largest police labor organization, called on John Kerry to stop making misleading statements regarding his support from the law enforcement community. Both on the campaign trail and in Wednesday night's debate in Tempe, AZ, Senator Kerry has alluded that he has the support of the majority of these brave men and women.

"As the elected leader of the largest organization representing America's Federal, State and local law enforcement officers, I believe it's important to point out yet again that we do not support his candidacy for President," Canterbury said. "And to be perfectly frank, the groups which do support him actually share the same membership rolls and, taken together, probably comprise less than one-quarter of our nation's police officers."

Canterbury further noted that unlike the organizations which Senator Kerry touts, F.O.P. members as a whole decided that the Fraternal Order of Police would endorse the reelection of President George W. Bush. They based their decision, he said, on the record of the Bush Administration in supporting America's first responders-including helping to secure passage earlier this year of H.R. 218, the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act, the organization's top legislative priority. Bush also successfully fought to greatly enhance the benefits for the families of officers killed in the line of duty.

"While Kerry was flying around the country campaigning and leaving the actual work of the nation to his colleagues in the Senate, the President was out there working on our behalf," Canterbury said. "Senators Kerry and Edwards have missed so many crucial votes this Congress that I was beginning to believe there were only 98 members of the U.S. Senate."

Canterbury also said it was the height of irony that Kerry would use his position on the reauthorization of the assault weapons ban as a reflection of his support from police.

"First, if a police officer is killed by an AK-47, Kerry would oppose the death penalty for the killer," Canterbury said. "In addition, where was he when this issue was being discussed in the 108th Congress? Where was he when we were working to pass H.R. 218? When it came time to help push for final passage of legislation important to law enforcement, Senator Kerry was regrettably A.W.O.L."

"Given the facts, I would greatly appreciate it if Senator Kerry would refrain from making similar whimsical assertions regarding his support from the law enforcement community," Canterbury said. "The real majority of my fellow officers are standing behind President Bush, because he has been there for us."

The Fraternal Order of Police is the nation's largest law enforcement labor organization, with more than 318,000 members.
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Desperate husband of rich broad peddles draft lie

Kerry Warns Draft Possible if Bush Wins

WASHINGTON - John Kerry (news - web sites) said Friday there is a "great potential" for a new military draft to replace overextended U.S. troops in Iraq (news - web sites) if President Bush (news - web sites) wins a second term, despite Bush's repeated pledges to maintain the all-volunteer service. Republicans rejected the suggestion as "fear mongering."
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Apparently, the latest Zogby poll internals, which show young people shifting to Bush, have rattled the French-looking Senator enough to preempt his typical "scare the hell outta blacks and old people" rhetoric in favor of spooking young men into believing that, somehow, a majority of the House of Reps and 60 Senators will vote to reinstate the draft.

Military families trust idiot cowboy over nuanced nuisance hunter

Poll: GIs, Families Trust Bush Over Kerry

WASHINGTON - When asked whom they would trust as commander in chief, people in military service and their families chose President Bush (news - web sites) over Sen. John Kerry, a decorated Vietnam veteran, by almost a 3-to-1 margin.

Bush, who served in the Texas Air National Guard, was more trusted by 69 percent while 24 percent said they trusted Kerry more, according to the National Annenberg Election Survey released Friday.

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Good enough for us.

ABC joins CBS in flacking for Botox Boy

Koppel believes Vietcong over Swiftees!

Ted Koppel has apparently taken ABCNEWS Political Director Mark Halperin's instructions to heart. Endeavouring to learn the "truth" about John "Commander McBragg" Kerry-Heinz's MacArthurian four months in Vietnam, Koppel consulted ... THE ENEMY!!!!!

Nightline, 14 OCT 2004, 2nd segment, interview with John O'Neill

Ted Koppel (:00): John O'Neill served in the US Navy, from 1967 to 1971. He took over command of John Kerry's Swift boat in 1969 when Kerry left Vietnam. He is a leader of the group, Swift Vets and POWs for Truth, and the author of, Unfit for Command; a book that calls John Kerry's record in Vietnam into question.

As I mentioned to you, before the broadcast . . uh . . Mr. O'Neill, we're just going to have time to focus on the one issue that we have . . uh . . looked at, tonight, that is the Silver Star issue. And if . . if I can just . .

John O'Neill: That's . . that's . .

Koppel: Yeah, go ahead.

O'Neill (:37): May I-may I say Ted, that's-that's a read shame. It's a shame that you focused only on the one minor accomplishment of John Kerry and refuse to ever cover the sampan incident, where the small family was killed, the two times he fled that are described in the book, and the like . .

Koppel: Mr. . . Mr. O'Neill

O'Neill: . . or the time where he visited the North Vietnamese.

Koppel (:55): Mr. O'Neill . . uh . . maybe we're going to be able to do something more. This was the place that we were brought to.

O'Neill: I-I invite you to, sir.

Koppel: This is the place we found. Let me go, just for this evening, and ask you . .

O'Neill: It's the third time you've covered it.

Koppel (1:08): Let me ask you to focus on the issue at hand. And . . and the first question I have is this sort of intriguing question about who that Swift boat veteran was, who talked to that one Vietnamese . . uh . . former Viet Cong that we heard from, this evening . . uh . . who said he raised some questions about John Kerry . . said this guy was running for President . . uh . . said he had . . he had won awards that he did not deserve. Do you know who that was?

O'Neill (1:33): It was no one from our group, Ted. And if anybody implies that is was, it isn't the truth. [holds up Unfit for Command, open to plate] Ted, John Kerry is in the North Vietnamese war museum as a hero. He's honored by them as one of the heroes who caused them to win the war in Vietnam.

Koppel: Mr. O'Neill, I understand . .

O'Neill: You can find it right inside . .

Koppel (1:50): Forgive me for interrupting you. I understand . .

O'Neill: Sir, excuse me, I don't believe . .

Koppel: If you'll be good enough just to . . If we can just address . .

O'Neill: I did answer your question.

Koppel: . . the questions first. You say you don't know is it.

O'Neill (2:00): Your report is unreliable.

Koppel: Well! it . . a . .

O'Neill: You went to a country where all the elections are 100% elections. And you relied on . . uh . . people that were enemies of the United States, in a closed society, instead of getting the information that was easily available from us and from the record. And as a result, you've produced a report that is truly pathetic.

Koppel: Mr. O'Neill!

O'Neill: That's the truth, Ted, and not worthy of you.

Koppel (2:19): Mr. O'Neill . . uh . . I don't think you can complain about not having received enough coverage, over these past few months. You've received a ton of it.

O'Neill: Not on Nightline, Ted.

Koppel: My . . my . . my question has to do with what eyewitnesses to the event . . I mean, you can-you can impugn them anyway you want to. And I have-I have no way of vouching for their motives or their interest in either supporting John Kerry or doing damage to . . uh . . a group that, like your own, that I'm sure they've never heard of.

O'Neill (2:47): That's the problem, Ted.

Koppel: Uh . . but why . . why . . is it that you are so reluctant to at least address the substance of what they say? In other words, you make it clear in your . .

O'Neill: I'm thrilled to address the substance, Ted.

Koppel: Then . . then . .

O'Neill: Let's go right to the substance.

Koppel: Let's get to it.

O'Niell (3:01): This is the book, Ted, [holds up cover of Kranish, et al, book] published by the Boston Globe. This is their autobiography of John Kerry, with his assistance. [opens to page and shows it to camera] Ted, in their autobiography, they describe on page 101 a single teenager in a loincloth, Ted. They weren't trying to make it up. This is-this is . . uh . . [briefly shows cover] John Kerry's own approved biography, Tour of Duty. On page 290 . . uh . . six of that book [holds page open to camera] John Kerry says, boy, he's glad there was only a single person there and not more.

What you've done is go into a closed society instead of interviewing, direct witnesses . .

Koppel (3:38): Mr. O'Neill!

O'Neill: . . and produced a story that isn't even the story in his biography . .

Koppel: Mr. O'Neill.

O'Neill: . . or that of the Boston Globe.

Koppel: We-we have other pieces of evidence, including the after-action report and, of course, the citation for the Silver Star, itself, which talks precisely! about a superior enemy force. You're the one who raised questions about the superior enemy force. It appears, from the recollections of the Vietnamese, who were on-hand at the time, they recall a [O'Neill holds open same page from Kranish, et al] superior enemy [sic] force. Twelve soldiers from . . eh . . forgive me, if you'll put the book down . .

O'Neill: Ted, they'll recover [?] . .

Koppel: We can't read it, anyway! So . .

O'Neill (4:11): Ted, this is the Boston Globe . .

Koppel: All you're doing is reflecting white light back . . [spoken over O'Neill]

O'Neill: . . biography.

Koppel: Yes. So?

O'Neill: Ted, this is the biography by the hometown newspaper of John Kerry. It says there was a single Viet Cong teenager in a loincloth.

Koppel: I . . I heard you . .

O'Neill: I asked the author of it, Michael Kranish.

Koppel: I heard you the first . . I heard . . I heard you the first time. [spoken over O'Neill]

O'Neill: I said, how did you get that information?

Koppel: Yes:

O'Neill (4:28): And he said, I got it because that's what everyone told me. It's the same information I got. [holding up Tour of Duty] In John Kerry's autobiography, the same information appears . .

Koppel: Mr. O'Neill.

O'Neill: . . except that they don't give the age.

Koppel: You're being-you're being . .

O'Neill: Now, really.

Koppel: . . repetitive. I am referring to what you wrote . .

O'Neill: Oh, c'mon.

Koppel: . . in your book and asking you . .

O'Neill: Yeah.

Koppel: . . to respond to what you have just heard from a bunch of [O'Neill holds up Unfit for Command] people who do not seem to have . . yo, no. We got the title - Unfit for Command. Uh . . you know, just do me a favor. Stop picking up books and let's see if you and I can, more or less, look at one another and just get a few questions and answers back and forth. You wrote . .

O'Neill: Sure.

Koppel (5:04): You wrote . .

O'Neill: Ted . .

Koppel: . . that there was only . .

O'Neill: All right.

Koppel: . . one man. And, in fact, you didn't describe him as a man. You described him as a kid. You described him as a . .

O'Neill: I described him as . .

Koppel: . . kid in a loincloth.

O'Neill: That's not true, Ted.

Koppel: It turns out he was 26 or 27 years old, was sent by provincial headquarters, was a leader of a twelve man Viet Cong unit that was sent to that place, and I am simply giving to you what the folks on the scene described, in order to ambush American Swift boats. Why do you have trouble accepting it?

O'Neill (5:34): Ted . . I have a lot of trouble, Ted. Because you went to a country that is a closed society. You ignored every single report. [holds up Kranish book] You've ignored the written biography of John Kerry by the Boston Globe that concludes exactly what we did; Michael Kranish, who interviewed American after American, including Kerry's crewmen. You ignored [briefly holds up Tour of Duty] Kerry's own autobiography, Tour of Duty, in which he says there was-there was . . he was glad there was only single . . uh . . gunman. Ker . . uh . . let me suggest that when we have a choice between Kerry's creman and our crewmen, all saying there was a single person - the people you never interviewed; our guys, of course - but his people and ours saying there was a single guy popping up, and a group of Vietnamese who were opponents in the war, living in a closed society, you've made a very change . . strange choice to go all the way there and pick them. You've particularly made a strange choice because it's the same as . .

Koppel (6:23): Do me a favor. Just . . just explain to me [spoken over O'Neill] . .

Just explain-just explain to me, if you can, why do you think it is that a bunch of peasants in a truly remote part of southern Vietnam would have an interest in making up stories that would somehow benefit John Kerry and raise questions about your version of that particular incident. What motive could they possibly have? (emphasis ours)

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John O'Neill's statement

While I have a tremendous amount of respect for Ted Koppel and ABC News I was appalled to learn that ABC News would go to the lengths of traveling to Vietnam to interview three Viet Cong communists in yet a third attempt by ABC to corroborate John Kerry’s version of the events that took place on February 28th, 1969.

I would only ask the American people: "Who do you trust more, three members of a communist regime that tortured and killed our American troops or a group of more than 280 highly decorated American veterans, who proudly served their country and are now responsible members of their respective communities?"

The number of veterans who support John Kerry’s accounts of his military service would not fill one Swift Boat. But instead of sitting down to interview some of the 280 plus members of our Swift Boat organization, ABC News chose to travel to Vietnam taking extraordinary and highly suspect steps to find someone to corroborate John Kerry's story.

ABC News Nightline has now dedicated three separate programs to this one incident while ignoring John Kerry's now discredited Senate testimony that he spent Christmas in Cambodia, his receiving a purple heart after all three of the officers required to approve such an issuance rejected his application, or his constantly changing account of the circumstances surrounding his remaining medal, a bronze star.

Further, one has to wonder why ABC News will not address the serious questions as to why John Kerry only received an honorable discharge through the act of then President Carter, seven years after his discharge, and had to have all of his military citations reissued, on the same day, when he became a United States Senator in 1985. And, finally, why has Nightline found it of no interest to permit any POWs to come on their program to explain why they believe John Kerry betrayed their nation, caused them to be incarcerated for an additional two years and caused them tremendous additional hardship and suffering.

-- John O'Neill

Odd that, over three debates, there were a bunch of questions that were designed to put the president back on his heels. That's fine, he's a big boy and can take care of himself.

But is it asking too much to question Kerry on his treasonous past and his statements in 1971? Whomever on the Bush Team agreed to those moderators (Jim Baker?) owes the president a gift certificate to The Ponderosa Metal Shoppe!

Those who would administer "global test" slowing hunt for mass graves in Iraq

Lack of EU support 'is hindering pace of inquiry'

Lack of European experts has held up the excavation of mass graves in Iraq, according to an American human rights lawyer working on the investigation.

Greg Kehoe said the experts were not joining in because evidence might be used to sentence Saddam Hussein to death.

He accused European agencies of depriving the investigation of experienced staff who would speed up the process.

"I don't have enough budget or staff to do more than one mass grave at a time," said Mr Kehoe. "That's why we need help from other countries. Europeans don't want to help out because of the ramifications of the death penalty."

Capital punishment is not permitted within the European Union which discourages its use elsewhere. EU countries also routinely refuse to extradite people to the United States and other countries unless they receive guarantees that detainees will not be executed.

...

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"Old Europe" is dead. Only one candidate for president seems to grasp that -- the alleged "moron".

Getting Tora Bora right

Tora Bora Baloney

As John Kerry tells it, Tora Bora is the place where President Bush let Osama bin Laden get away. In the candidate's oft-repeated formulation, the al Qaeda leader was "surrounded" and escaped only because the president "outsourced" the job of capturing him to Afghan warlords.

Well, that's not the way the battle's commanders remember it. The Afghanistan war was led by Gen. Tommy Franks, commander of U.S. Central Command, and his deputy, Lt. Gen. Michael "Rifle" DeLong. As it happens, both men, now retired, have books out that tell a different story. Nor are the ex-soldier and ex-Marine bashful about speaking out to correct the former Navy lieutenant. To them, Mr. Kerry's version of the battle of Tora Bora is revisionist history.

Start with OBL. Gen. Franks, on the campaign trail in Florida for George W. Bush, this week, said it's wrong to assume that bin Laden was hiding out in Tora Bora. Some intelligence reports put him there, he says, but others placed him in Pakistan, Kashmir or Iran--or at a lake 90 miles northwest of the Afghan city of Kandahar. Gen. DeLong concurs. "Was Osama bin Laden there?" he said in an interview. "I don't know."

...

The U.S. commanders made the decision to embed a team of U.S. special forces and CIA agents into every Afghan unit. Like the Afghans, the Americans rode horses or, in the higher altitudes, walked. The special forces carried communications equipment that allowed them to talk to their commanders and to call in air power. Which they did with stunning effect--demolishing cave-openings and skipping bombs with delayed fuses deep inside. Hundreds of al Qaeda fighters died. No American life was lost.

No one disputes that some al Qaeda men got away, and it's possible that bin Laden was among them. In his book, Gen. Franks says that Pakistan rounded up "hundreds" of al Qaeda fighters as they straggled over the border. But Pakistan's frontier forces were susceptible both to bribes and al Qaeda's ideology and some of the fighters got through.

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One thing that has frustrated us through the four debates is the reticence of Bush and Cheney to answer Kedwards' assertion that Bush "let" bin Laden get away at Tora Bora.

We have recently been reminded that running for president is quite different from being president. For the same reason he cannot excoriate the French or the UN for doing Saddam's bidding in return for bribes and sweetheart deals -- at least not in the vivid terms we'd prefer -- there is much about the Terror War Bush cannot talk about. A lot of it is chronicled in Shadow War: The Untold Story of How Bush Is Winning the War on Terror by Richard Miniter. (We recommend following the link if only to read the hilarious "reviews" from the Disciples of Michael Moore!)

Perhaps there is some intelligence secret that setting the Tora Bora record straight would reveal, though General Franks, who merely RAN the operation has repeatedly and publicly repudiated Kerry's version of the story -- to say nothing of the "resources diverted to Iraq" canard.

Dunno ... maybe Bush, as loyal as he is to his team, doesn't wanna make his generals look bad ...

Flashback: Hillary's dumbass vaccine program caused current shortage

Hillary's Vaccine Shortage

Everyone knows America's vaccine industry is in serious trouble, with an ever dwindling number of producers and recent severe vaccine shortages. What everyone also should know is that the National Academy of Science's Institute of Medicine has now pinned much of the blame on the government vaccine-buying program promoted by former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The panel of doctors and economists issuing a report on vaccines last week identified as a fundamental cause of the problem the fact that the government purchases 55 percent of the childhood vaccine market at forced discount prices. The result has been "declining financial incentives to develop and produce vaccines."

The root of this government role goes back to August 1993, when Congress passed Clinton's Vaccines for Children program. The plan, promoted by the Children's Defense Fund, was to use federal power to ensure universal immunization. So the government agreed to purchase a third of the national vaccine supply (the President and Mrs. Clinton had pushed for 100 percent) at a forced discount of half price, then distribute it to doctors to deliver to the poor and the un- and under-insured. As a result:

Where 30 years ago, 25 companies produced vaccines for the U.S. market., today only five remain, and there is only one producer for a number of critical shots.

Recent years have brought shortages of numerous vaccines, including those for whooping cough, diphtheria and chicken pox.
The Institute panel in effect said that one of Senator Clinton's pet projects is a bust. As Congress considers Medicare legislation that could do similar harm to prescription drug makers, the vaccine tale is a timely alarm, says the Journal.

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What is it about the free market that is so difficult for Lefties to grasp? Prolly coz so few of them have ever held a REAL job!

"Smartest woman in America" my ass!

Lesbogate Update: Pleasurely ploumb (that's a Bryce-ism) wife of hack lawyer chimes in

ELIZABETH EDWARDS ACCUSES LYNNE CHENEY OF "SHAME" OF HER DAUGHTER, QUESTIONS HER CRITICISM OF KERRY'S MARY CHENEY REFERENCE

ELIZABETH EDWARDS ON ABC RADIO: "She's overreacted to this and treated it as if it's shameful to have this discussion. I think that's a very sad state of affairs… I think that it indicates a certain degree of shame with respect to her daughter's sexual preferences… It makes me really sad that that's Lynne's response."

This incident is clearly resonating today ... this will not play well with the Security Moms ... or anyone else who values decorum and tact.

Veep's wife blasts Kerry for "cheap and tawdry political trick"

Lynn [sic] Cheney upset over Kerry's remarks about her daughter

CORAOPOLIS, Pa. Lynn [sic] Cheney says John Kerry's reference to her daughter in last night's debate was a "cheap and tawdry political trick."

Kerry was asked by the moderator if homosexuality is a choice. He noted that Vice President Dick Cheney's daughter Mary is a lesbian. Kerry said Mary Cheney would probably say that she was born that way. Lynn [sic]Cheney says Kerry invaded her family's privacy.

She says it gave her another chance to "assess" John Kerry, and she says it only reinforced her opinion that "This is not a good man." Cheney says she's "speaking as a mom, and a pretty indignant mom."
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Not a good man! What tipped you off, Lynne? His betrayal of his "band of brothers" in 1971? His attempt to annul a marriage that produced two daughters? His undermining of the current war effort?

Just when we think this pair can't get any lower, they surprise us.

Our quick 'n dirty "gotta get to bed so we can someday be the evil rich that 'dudes' like Kerry vilify" debate analysis ...

If you're a bedwetting socialist you think Kerry-Heinz won. Otherwise, Bush won.

If you're a Catholic you're wondering why Kerry keeps pretending. Nobody got a gun to your head, Botox Boy.

We were going to play a debate drinking game tonight ...

... and take a shot of Maker's Mark, The Official Whiskey of The Ponderosa, every time Kerry-Heinz uses the word "plan" ... but we have to work tomorrow. Hmmm, how about every time he acts like someone who's actually accomplished something? ... eek, that might be worse!

Only in the Bizarro World could people think this guy is bright ...

New Swiftees/POWs ads bring tears to our eyes

They Served

Why?

This poignant new Swift Boat ad (see above) begins airing tomorrow as part of a $3.1 million ad buy that will run in Colorado, New Mexico, and Ohio, as well as on nationwide cable outlets.

Nice to see our contributions being well-spent.

Ambulance chaser turns faith healer

Veep candidate Edwards visits Newton

"We will do stem cell research," he vowed. "We will stop juvenile diabetes, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and other debilitating diseases. America just lost a great champion for this cause in Christopher Reeve. People like Chris Reeve will get out of their wheelchairs and walk again with stem cell research."



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We knew that with all their "plans", painlessly financed by raising taxes on the evil wealthy, Kerry and Edwards were going to build a Heaven on Earth.

Now they are making claims not heard since moustachioed hucksters travelled from town to town in horse drawn wagons peddling bottled "miracle cures" (typically 160 proof) that they maintained would heal the lame and help the blind to see -- and Florida Democrats to vote properly.

As seasoned observers, we know that liberals typically resort to demagoguery while campaigning -- Republicans want to starve old people, burn black churches and end public education (actually, that last one sounds pretty good). But this incident goes beyond the pale, even for an oleaginous reptile like Edwards.

Perhaps John Edwards has mistaken himself for John Edward -- the dude who toys with people's emotions by pretending to ring up their departed loved ones in the Afterlife (I intend to let any attempts to contact me in the Great Beyond go right to voice mail). After all, Edwards did once channel an unborn child in one of his famous pocket-lining malpractice trial performances (funny he can't channel any unborns about to be aborted).

Journalist Charles Krauthammer (who is a paraplegic), who's observed "the scene" many years longer than we have, reacted on FNC's "Special Report":

"I've heard a lot of hype over the last 30 years about the keys to the kingdom here in this issue. And all of them have proved false. For Edwards to make the claims he did is the worst demagoguery I've heard in Washington in a quarter century. To imply that Christopher Reeve was kept in the wheelchair because of the policies of the Bush administration on stem cells is ridiculous and insulting" ("Special Report," FNC, 10/11).

Edwards has again proven he has the class and ethics befitting his occupation: back cover of the phone book hack lawyer

Related:
Frist knocks Edwards over stem cell comment

The Big Lie:
An inhumane platform

Outsourcing explained

Outsourcing Myths - Debunked!

The outsourcing of U.S. jobs to foreign countries has been a major theme of the Kerry-Edwards campaign. During his debate with Vice President Cheney, John Edwards repeated the standard Democratic line: "The administration says over and over that the outsourcing of millions of American jobs is good. We’re against it." A search of John Kerry's campaign website turned up 176 separate statements on the evils of outsourcing.


What you won’t find on the Kerry website are any references to serious studies of outsourcing. The reason is that they all find the issue to be seriously overblown: Outsourcing is responsible for a trivial amount of job loss at most, and is generally a positive for the U.S. economy. Serious studies of outsourcing include ones by former Democratic administration officials.

In July, economist Martin N. Baily, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Clinton, looked at who benefits from outsourcing. He found that for every $1 spent by a U.S. corporation on outsourcing to India, only 33 cents stayed in India. The other 67 cents came back to the U.S. in the form of cost savings, new exports, and repatriated profits. However, productivity gains add another 45 to 47 cents of value to the U.S. economy. Thus, on balance, the U.S. economy gains $1.12 to $1.14 for every $1 invested in outsourcing.

In August, economist Charles Schultze, chairman of the CEA under President Carter, looked at the number of jobs lost to outsourcing. He found that between the end of 2000 and the end of 2003, at most 215,000 service-sector jobs were lost. This is a minuscule amount in a working population of close to 150 million. Moreover, Schultze says, the productivity gains produced by outsourcing raised real incomes and living standards in the U.S. He concluded that outsourcing cannot be blamed for the "jobless recovery."

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Outsourcing, like many economic topics, is easier to demagogue than to explain in thirty seconds, which is why the men of The Ponderosa will never be elected to anything: "What?! You believe there should be no minimum wage?! You callous beast!"

We recommend the classic essay What Is Seen and What Is Not Seen, by the wonderful economic journalist Frederic Bastiat.

What we "see" is a job or dollar apparently going overseas. That's easy to "see" because it happens before our eyes -- a position is cut here and added there. What we typically don't see -- or don't recognize when it appears -- is the benefit that accrues here ... the increased productivity that creates more wealth and the extra value added to our economy.

The same occurs in matters of trade. When the president unwisely slapped tariffs on foreign steel, we could see the benefit to domestic steel producers. What could not be as easily noted was the harm done to domestic industries that consume steel. The tariffs ended up doing more damage than it was worth to protect one industry.

It is kinda amusing to see a trial lawyer and an "if it moves tax it if it keeps moving regulate it" socialist railing about companies moving jobs elsewhere.

Zell Miller: Iwo Jima 2004

Iwo Jima, if covered by media today

By Zell Miller

What if today's reporters had covered the Marines landing on Iwo Jima, a small island in the far away Pacific Ocean, in the same way they're covering the war in Iraq? Here's how it might have looked:

DAY 1
With the aid of satellite technology, Cutie Cudley interviews Marine Pfc. John Doe, who earlier came ashore with 30,000 other Marines.
Cutie: "John, we have been told by the administration that this island has great strategic importance because if you're successful, it could become a fueling stop for our bombers on the way to Japan. But, as you know, we can't be sure this is the truth. What do you think?"

Pfc. Doe: "Well, I've been pinned down by enemy fire almost ever since I got here and have had a couple of buddies killed right beside me. I'm a Marine and I go where they send me. One thing's for sure, they are putting up a fight not to give up this island."

Cutie: "Our military analysts tell us that the Japanese are holed up in caves and miles of connecting tunnels they've built over the years. How will you ever get them out?"

Pfc. Doe: "With flame throwers, ma'am."
Cutie (incredulously): "Flame throwers? You'll burn them alive?"
Pfc. Doe: "Yes ma'am, we'll fry their asses. Excuse me, I shouldn't have said that on TV."

Cutie (audible gasp): "How horrible!"
Pfc. Doe (obviously wanting to move on): "We're at war ma'am."

(A Marine sergeant watching nearby yells, "Ask her what does she want us to do — sing to them, 'Come out, come out, wherever you are. Pretty please.' "

Cutie: "Pfc. Doe, what's that mountain in the background? Is that the one they say is impregnable?"

Pfc. Doe: "I don't know what that word means, ma'am, but that's Mt. Suribachi, and we're going to put a flag right up on top of it just as soon as we can. I gotta go."

Cutie to camera: "No one has yet really confirmed why this particular battle in this particular place is even being waged. Already, on the first day, at least 500 Marines have been killed and a thousand wounded. For this? (Camera pans to a map with a speck of an island in the Pacific. Then a close up of nothing but black volcanic ash). For this? For this?" (Cutie's sweet voice becomes more strident as it fades out.)

DAY 2
At 7 a.m., Cutie's morning show opens with a shot of hundreds of dead bodies bobbing in the water's edge. Others are piled on top of each other on shore. After a few seconds, one can see Marines digging graves to bury the dead.

Cutie: "There is no way the Marines could have expected this. Someone got it all wrong. No one predicted this. This has been a horrible 24 hours for our country. This is a slaughterhouse. After all this fighting, Marines control only about a mile and a half of beach and the casualties are now over 3,500 and rising rapidly. We'd like to know what you think. Call the number on the bottom of the screen. Give us your opinions on these three questions:

1. Were the Marines properly trained?
2. Is this nothing of an island worth all these lives?
3. Has the president once again misled the American people?

"After the break, we'll ask our own Democratic and Republican analysts, both shouting at the same time, of course, what they have to yell about all this. It should make for a very shrill, provocative morning.

"But before we leave this horrible — some will say needless — scene, let us give you one more look at this Godforsaken place where these young Americans are dying. Volcanic ash, cold, wet miserable Marines just thankful to be alive. And still no flag that we had been promised on that mountain. Things have gone from bad to worse in this obviously misguided military operation. One thing is certain, there should be and there will be a high-partisan — make that bi-partisan — congressional inquiry into this."

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Delicious little bit of satire from the "angry" Senator from Georgia.

One bit we might add: Cutie's interview with canoe-skulled Senator Jean-Francois Heinz, who berates FDR for not having "a plan" to "win the peace" on Iwo Jima, who admits that Hitler is a threat but that in "rushing to war" with the Nazis in Europe FDR has "taken his eye off the ball", diverting resources from the fight in the Pacific theatre, where those who attacked us are known to be, and by the way Hitler is not a threat.

Folks, we are "winning the peace" (what an idiotic phrase) in Iraq. As usual, a little historical perspective is in order. As the president noted (though about 10 times too many) in the first debate, this is tough work. But every day brings encouraging news from Iraq ... if you know where to look. Allawi appears to be a strong -- and obviously incredibly courageous -- leader, today demanding that residents of Fallujah hand over al-Zarqawi and his minions or face military action.

This crap about "no plan" is just that -- crap. Obviously there was a plan, but most war plans last about as long as it takes for the enemy to adjust and formulate a counter-plan. The enemy doesn't sit back in awe of your brilliance and let you execute your wonderful plan without responding in kind. We would have thought the hero of the Sampan Incident would understand this much about war.

Then there's the infuriating insistence that the president admit to "mistakes". Who the hell admits to mistakes DURING a conflict? It's insane. This is a war, not the "Oprah Winfrey Show". There were dozens, nay, hundreds of missteps made in WWII, resulting in massive casualties for the allies, but no one demanded FDR and his generals catalog them, and with good reason. Back then, the loyal political opposition was just that -- loyal. Kerry has already employed demagogic claims and the spread of dissension to lose one war and kick start his political career. He furthered his ambitions in the 1980's by opposing nearly every step taken to win the Cold War. His demeanor in this campaign has surely heartened the insurgents in Iraq who will doubtless increase their attacks in the days prior to November 2 hoping to influence the vote. For John "Aid and Comfort" Kerry-Heinz, it is 1971 all over again.

Listen with Bryce

If you've been following our "Gratuitous Mockery" series you've undoubtedly enjoyed many guffaws at the expense of this fellow and his cheesy bandmates in the lame ass party band No Boundaries. He is the paunchy bass player with the John Kerry-sized melon. We can't recall a regular character on "Bonanza" to whom we could compare Bryce -- maybe that mentally slow dude Hoss befriended in one episode. A better comparison is Dodge City's Festus, though that character was a little sharper and better looking.

Anyhow, one of his other annoying pursuits includes calling local radio talk shows to vex and bore the host and listeners with his vapid analyses of everything from politics to sports.

As part of our continuing endeavour to provide you quality entertainment we will post excerpts of his calls beginning with this atrocity from last night wherein he averred that the left side of the Red Sox infield is better than Jeter and Rodriguez of the Yankees ... enjoy.

BTW, "The Slammer" is the insipid nickname he's given himself, though no one has any recollection of him ever having slammed anything save perhaps his head against a brick wall.

Kerry v. Kerry Part ... who knows!?

Text of Prepared Remarks by Sen. John Kerry, Regarding Energy Independence

...
Four years ago, when he was running for president, George Bush said, "What I think the president ought to do is get on the phone with the OPEC cartel and say, we expect you to open your spigots!" Today, four years later, with gas prices at record levels, we're still waiting for George Bush to make that phone call! The spigot is nearly shut his energy policy has failed -- and middle class families pay the price every time they fill up the gas tank.
...

Flashback to April 19: Kerry rips report of election-related deal

...
"If, as Bob Woodward reports, it is true that gas supplies and prices in America are tied to the American election, then tied to a secret White House deal, that is outrageous and unacceptable to the American people," he told voters in Lake Worth, Florida.

"It is fundamentally wrong," he added. "It's my prayer that Americans are not being held hostage to a secret deal."
...

So, the president should deal with the Arabs -- or he shouldn't? This Nancy Boy wouldn't know which end to wipe after crapping without a rich wife to hold his manicured hand ... Kerry is painfully ignorant about the markets for fungible commodities and the law of supply and demand -- how do high oil prices help Bush's "friends" in the oil business? -- he musta skipped the lesson on Supply, Demand and Price at his poncey Swiss boarding school ... and Bush is the moron ...

Like we always say, it's the people who make it a point to tell you how smart they are who are usually the dopiest ...

Lack of "plan to win the peace" continues ...

Iraqi Forces Raid Ramadi Mosques




We are mindful, however, that Senator Aid and Comfort could have done it smarter and better.

We are left speechless ...

Kerry's Undeclared War

When I asked Kerry what it would take for Americans to feel safe again, he displayed a much less apocalyptic worldview. ''We have to get back to the place we were, where terrorists are not the focus of our lives, but they're a nuisance,'' Kerry said. ''As a former law-enforcement person, I know we're never going to end prostitution. We're never going to end illegal gambling. But we're going to reduce it, organized crime, to a level where it isn't on the rise. It isn't threatening people's lives every day, and fundamentally, it's something that you continue to fight, but it's not threatening the fabric of your life.''


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Without speech.

Better get Ms. Buzzcut started digging that bomb shelter.

Benedict Kerry!

An off-shore tax shelter

Documents obtained by the Globe detail John Kerry's 1983 investment of between $25,000 and $30,000 in offshore companies registered in the Cayman Islands. The document below, signed by Kerry, shows his pledge to purchase 2,470 shares of Peabody Commodities Trading Corp. through Sytel Traders, registered in the Caymans.

View the documents

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This is precious ... we can sympathize though ... at the time Kerry had to pinch pennies -- he was separated from his first wife (the one who is merely rich) and had not yet met his second (the one that is filthy rich).

Swiftees ready final assault

Injured, angry, determined, Swiftees unite to fight Kerry

Midnight in South Vietnam, and the river is black. Past the rice paddies and shacks, small fires are burning by the shoreline as Lt. John H. Davis' 50-foot aluminum swift boat — PCF 19 — makes its routine patrol through the reeds.

In a split second, rocket fire shatters the silence, and through a plume of oily smoke, the boat sinks to the river's bottom.

"My whole crew lost their lives that night. I was the only one who survived," Lt. Davis says.

Lt. Davis, now 62, lost his left eye. The bones in both legs were shattered. But the scars of war are nothing compared to the demons that wake him from his sleep, leaving him drenched in sweat and trembling with fear.

"My latest nightmare was that I was pulling my crew out of the water. When it came to the last body, it was me."

Lt. Davis has come to Washington at his own expense, along with 89 other Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, to tape the eighth 60-second TV spot questioning Sen. John Kerry's fitness to be commander in chief.

They come from Oshkosh, Wis., and Orlando, Fla., San Francisco and Virginia Beach. One is on crutches. Others, former prisoners of war, walk stiffly, a result of being bound and tortured. Some wear their medals. Two are in cowboy boots.

Snow-haired Bud Day, a 79-year-old former POW, stands at attention. He is wearing a brown leather flight jacket befitting an Air Force major, complemented by the Medal of Honor around his neck. Others have donned "Swift Boat" baseball caps.

The silver-haired men — in natty ties, navy blazers and spit-shined shoes, their faces bronzed with Ben Nye matte foundation ("tan suede") — line up under the hot lights in the cavernous soundstage at Atlantic Video on Massachusetts Avenue.

One by one, they share their stories with the cameras and defend their honor.

These Swiftees, at times jocular (breaking into "Row, row, row your boat") and at other times on the verge of tears, are angry and frustrated. Not only because they say Mr. Kerry has lied about his service and refuses to sign the form that releases his military records to the public, but because 30 years ago, the candidate threw away his medals and called his fellow servicemen murderers, rapists, baby killers and cowards. (emphasis ours)

The weekend began with a dinner at the Key Bridge Marriott on Friday night, attended by a wealthy backer from Texas, T. Boone Pickens.

So far, they have raised more than $13 million — more than $4 million of which was contributed through their Internet site — and plan to step up their assault on the Democratic presidential candidate in the final weeks of the campaign. They raised an additional $2.5 million over the weekend and plan to spend $5 million more by Election Day.

The weekend shoot produced enough footage for two or three more ads, which the Swiftees plan to run starting Thursday in Pennsylvania and Ohio and in a few heavily military areas of Florida. Campaign analysts say the Swiftees have been highly effective in planting doubts about Mr. Kerry's fitness for office.

Vernon Smith, a 74-year-old Swiftee from Virginia Beach, didn't see any reason to come forward before, but when he read "Tour of Duty," Mr. Kerry's account of his Vietnam service as written by historian Douglas Brinkley, he got angry.

"I don't like the fabrications. Why does a man have to lie like that? He is totally unfit for command," he said. (emphasis ours)

Their beef with Mr. Kerry has driven them to action, the Swiftees say, as they search their collective memories for the truth. Many say they felt shame before, but now they are a band of brothers. "Unfit for Command," which was co-authored by a leader of the group, is a best seller. And on Saturday, they received a wire for $500,000.

"In more than one firefight, Kerry actually pulled our boat out of it and ran out of the canal. I don't think John Kerry was a coward," says 57-year-old Steve Gardner, from Clover, S.C., who spent more than two months with Mr. Kerry on PCF 44 as a gunner's mate 3rd class.

"I think John Kerry was an opportunist. And he was very ineffectual. He did everything in his own best interest. He was always carrying a little notebook with him. I assume it was his diaries. He was very aloof and disdainful of people under him," he said. (emphasis ours)

Sgt. Chris LaCivita stands behind the monitor, as the men rehearse their lines. He is producing the spot, with help from Republican media consultant Rick Reed.

Sgt. LaCivita, a tall energetic former Marine who received a Purple Heart after he was shot in the face in the first Persian Gulf war, defends the TV spots against critics who say what happened 30 years ago shouldn't matter.

"Character has always been and will always be a major focus on every candidate running," he said. "So many of the men who were there have legitimate questions about whether he deserved his citations. These men have earned the right to be heard." (emphasis ours)

But the group has become a lightning rod in recent weeks. In late August, Benjamin Ginsberg resigned his post as legal counsel for the Bush campaign when it became known that he was advising the Swiftees as well. Under scrutiny, several statements made by former "crewmates" of Mr. Kerry have been recanted.

One serious misstatement on Mr. Kerry's part, they say, was his claim that he was ordered to go to Cambodia in December 1968, an illegal act. Not true, says Mr. Gardner, who was on the boat with Mr. Kerry at the time.

"We were never in Cambodia," he says. "Not even close."

Some question Mr. Kerry's discharge from the Navy, information about which is still under wraps.

"If he's a war hero, why not release the missing information?" their thinking goes.

"Good question," Navy Lt. Paul Galanti says. "Everybody in this group wants to find out the truth about his service record. I think there's a lot more there."

Shot down over North Vietnam in 1967, Maj. Day suffered numerous injuries, managed to escape from his prison, walked for two weeks through the jungle eating live frogs before he was recaptured.

He then spent the next six years as a prison cellmate of John McCain, who would become a Republican senator, at the prison the Americans called, with bitter irony, the "Hanoi Hilton." Maj. Day's presence in the room is palpable. Even in a group of decorated war veterans, he stands out as a living legend.

The others sheepishly introduce themselves and are honored just to shake his still-firm hand.

"Kerry betrayed us by telling the people we were committing atrocities," Maj. Day says. "A man who does that is not fit to lead. It's impossible to let this man masquerade as a war hero and someone who has leadership. To imagine this guy who betrayed us becoming president and him being the leader of our armed forces is just unthinkable." (emphasis ours)

Standing next to the major, 57-year-old Jim Hoffman from Oshkosh, Wis., said Mr. Kerry was never a leader.

"He was an arrogant snob," said Mr. Hoffman, an engineman 2nd class on the swift boats, adding that he felt afraid and alone for many years, but now feels buoyed by his Swiftee peers and their mission.

Mr. Gardner says Mr. Kerry used to boast to his fellow servicemen that he would be the next JFK.
Says Sgt. LaCivita: "JFK must be rolling in his grave." (emphasis ours)


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Go get 'em boys! Our check is in the mail! As one angry Vietnam vet put it, Kerry losing on November 2 would be the parade these heroes never had!

Yet more evidence we have "no plan"

Shiite Fighters Turning in Weapons in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Followers of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr trickled in to police stations in Baghdad's Sadr City district to hand in weapons Monday under a deal seen as a key step toward ending weeks of fighting with U.S. and Iraqi forces in the Shiite militant stronghold.

The arms transfer came after U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, making an unannounced visit to Iraq (news - web sites), said that Iraqis must take "the seeds of security" that the U.S. military has planted and grow their political and economic system.

"We can help, but we can't do it. You have to do it," Rumsfeld told senior Iraqi commanders on Sunday.

In preparation for the turnover of weapons, checkpoints were set up along the roads to three Sadr City police stations, and Iraqi National Guard members took up position on the surrounding rooftops.

At al-Nasr station, Police Maj. Kadhim Salman said fighters had turned in machine guns, TNT paste, land mines and other explosives.
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Oh, please save us Botoxed Warrior!

Unfit for command ... and so much more ...

Debate Transcript

Well, let me tell you straight up, I've never changed my mind about Iraq. I do believe Saddam Hussein was a threat. I always believed he was a threat -- believed it in 1998 when Clinton was President.

...

[later that same day]

...

I don't think you can just rely on U.N. sanctions, Randy, but you're absolutely correct, it is a threat -- it's a huge threat. And what's interesting is it's a threat that has grown while the President has been preoccupied with Iraq where there wasn't a threat.

This is your brain on Botox.

People -- do you trust the safety of your kids (or pets) with this cavilling coxcomb?

Damn -- even BRYCE is wiser than Theresa's male escort!

Message from Iraq

LISTEN AMERICA

Hi,

I have been listening to the report about the WMD's by Mr. David Kay. Now, all of you in the West must know that as far as we, the Iraqis, are concerned, we care very little that stocks of WMD's existed or not at the time of liberation. For us Saddam and his regime were in themselves, the most lethal WMD that cost our people hundreds of thousands of victims not to mention the destruction of the economy and the very fabric of society in our afflicted country. That regime was a dead end for our people and with its continuation there was no hope whatsoever for the future. Mr. David Kay did mention something about this, and he should know, since he spent so much time in Iraq and has intimate knowledge of the situation. Saddamism is a cancer that we have yet to recover from. Western intervention lead by the U.S.A. was a God send to us, despite all the pain and misery that accompanied the operation and the repercussions that continue to rock the process of recuperation and rebirth of the nation. The U.S. soldiers are bravely standing in the thick of the turmoil and contributing with their blood and sweat not to mention the treasure of their land, towards curing us from the remaining ulcers of the disease after having performed the main surgery which no one else even dared even to think of.

Perhaps, the interests of our people were not the main consideration that led to that action; nevertheless, that does not change anything about the importance and implications for the people of Iraq of this tremendous historical act. Yes there is pain, chaos and loss; yet on the other hand, there is possibility of hope, and a clearly discernible "light at the end of tunnel", to use this worn out phrase.

Were we better off during Saddam's time? - A question to which many outsiders are very keen to know our answer. Well, in many respects the streets are much more insecure, yet the security that existed in Saddam's days was like someone quietly waiting for certain death; like a cancer stricken individual carrying the disease in his guts with no hope or attempt at cure. Yes, the pain and torture may be much more terrible when the surgeon has operated and the disease is tackled; but at least there is hope of recovery and healing, and the prospect of life saving. And this is not allegory, nor a parable; this is coming from someone whose house has been standing in the midst of bombs and explosions for so long now, protected by none but the mercy and grace of the Lord; from someone who has suffered robbery, kidnapping and constant daily danger.

And here we are, trying to organize elections, trying to control the security situation, trying to restart the reconstruction, able to talk, able to think, able to watch satellite T.V., use the internet, the mobile etc. - in short everything that we have been forbidden to do before. And without the slightest hesitation, we hail with Love and Gratitude our giant U.S. friend and his allies, standing with us shoulder to shoulder, braving the elements, braving death, calumny and hatred, shedding blood; to help us heal, to help us reach the shores of safety. And make no mistake, the campaign is winning and will achieve its objectives. Make no mistake; you have already created an allied nation in the very heart of the M.E. despite all appearances, which will produce all the long term benefits and consequences so many times reiterated by President Bush, to the ridicule and insults of the profoundly mistaken, of the profoundly hating.

America, stay the course - God, Decency, Honor, Hope and everything that is virtuous and right is on your side, beside the majority of the Iraqi people. America do not waiver, for you have never waged a more noble and just campaign in your entire history. America, we are winning, God's willing, and Victory is coming sooner than many might think.(emphasis ours)

Salaam

No comment needed.

What media bias?, Part 5441

ABCNEWS POLITICAL DIRECTOR MEMO SPARKS CONTROVERSY: BOTH SIDES NOT 'EQUALLY ACCOUNTABLE'

An internal memo written by ABCNEWS Political Director Mark Halperin admonishes ABC staff: During coverage of Democrat Kerry and Republican Bush not to "reflexively and artificially hold both sides 'equally' accountable."

The controversial internal memo obtained by DRUDGE, captures Halperin stating how "Kerry distorts, takes out of context, and mistakes all the time, but these are not central to his efforts to win."

But Halperin claims that Bush is hoping to "win the election by destroying Senator Kerry at least partly through distortions."

"The current Bush attacks on Kerry involve distortions and taking things out of context in a way that goes beyond what Kerry has done," Halperin writes.

Halperin's claim that ABCNEWS will not "reflexively and artificially hold both sides 'equally' accountable" set off sparks in St. Louis where media players gathered to cover the second presidential debate.
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OK, so CBS and ABC have been outed ... how long can NBC maintain its "veil of neutrality"?

Coalition of bribed/coerced member re-elects PM!

Australia Re-Elects Howard Prime Minister


We hope this is part of a trend.

A tax cut for Enron?

Well, inasmuch as there were tax cuts and many corporations have benefited from them and Enron is a corporation then I suppose Bush cut taxes on Enron -- just as he cut taxes on millions of individuals some of whom will commit traffic infractions, failure to yield the right of way to Bryce or ... egads ... MURDER! BUSH CUT TAXES ON MURDERERS!!!!!

What does this have to do with the price of tea in China? Logic 101 should be a mandatory high school course, though we realize that might bump Intro to Maya Angelou or Economics According to Paul Krugman into the crapper ... where they belong.

Why are the people who think they are the smartest always the dullest? Good thing Hanoi John gets an allowance ... what a dope!

Rain Men

1988: "Five minutes till Wapner"

2004: "I have a plan ... "

Polls Open in Historic Afghan Election


Proud to be an American.

We thank God that, of the entire globe, He saw fit to place us here.

Kerry's Potter Stewart quote ...

We can't find that anywhere on the Web ... which isn't to say it doesn't exist ... but ... We're not really "investigators" like some of the more ambitious blogs, so I guess we'll pass it up the line to a couple of our Columbo-esque contemporaries.

Nice finish by the prez ...

... we are still shaking our heads over that last question ... exactly HOW could that question ever turn out well for Bush?

As you can see from this post, we are not blind partisans, but the Statesman buried the Gigolo tonight.

Desperation time ...

Kerry throwing out Halliburton ... tax cuts for the wealthy ... Mommy Theresa where are you?!

"Not a nation, not a country(...)" Err ... they are the same thing ... again with The Plans ... allies ... training ... I feel my manhood being sucked out of me ... another Plan (health care) ... another Plan (schools) .. another Plan! (environment) ... he's an ... wait for it ...OPTIMIST!!!!!! BWAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA BRING ME MY MAKER'S MARK!

THIS IS ANOTHER IDIOTIC QUESTION

CITE THREE WRONG DECISIONS? WTF?!?!?

WHEN DID YOU STOP BEATING YOUR WIFE, MR. PRESIDENT?!?! THIS WOMAN IS THE PONY TAIL GUY OF 2004!

Kerry whining ...

... very unattractive in a man ... OH HE JUST BROUGHT UP THE RAPE EXCEPTION! Always cite the worst possible case! He forgot to mention incest! For the record, we're willing to negotiate these 1% of the cases ...

Abortion question ...

... so, basically, tax me to eviscerate babies ...

Sometimes I feel like a bad Catholic ... thank you Senator for showing me there are worse ...

Silly Supreme Court question ...

... obviously he can't say even if he has someone in mind ... ridiculous ...

Good on the original intent v. making up law ...

Oooh ... hit on Dred Scott ... strict constructionists ... "legislators make law, judges interpret the Constitution" ... as a conservative, I'm satisfied.

Kerry bashing Scalia and Thomas, teh best Justices on the Court ... blather ... blather ... oh, thank you for informing us who Potter Stewart was a Supreme Court Justice!

A stem cell question ...

... time for a bathroom break ... ooops! Nancy Reagan? Does this guy know any Democrats?

Good answer from the president ... no, a great answer. He might not be as articulate as Kerry, but he is ten times wiser.

Perhaps stem cells could help us find a cure to male who sponge off females ... (that's from us).

Howz come the only answers Kerry has to most questions ...

... are quotes from Republicans? If he's going to accept the answers he likes from members of the GOP then he should be willing to accept those he doesn't ... logic is not his strong suit.

He just quoted the Wall Street Journal!

"96%" won't be affected by tax hikes ... that was from an Al Hunt column ... when we get the WSJ Thursday mornings we tear Hunt's column out and toss it into the can ...

Ohhh .. another question from the Left re: The Patriot Act ... can't people think outside of cliches?!

We wish the debate was over ...

... coz W's killing the Gigolo ... just don't f-ck up int the last 20 minutes!

What is the infatuation with manufacturing jobs?

Did people in the '50's yearn for the days of the agricultural economy? People ... get yourselves a computer-based job ... it's 2004 ... let the 3rd worlders stoop over the assembly line ...

Why can't Kerry admit ...

... he's a "liberal"?

At The Ponderosa, we proudly accept the label "conservative". Apparently Kerry is ashamed of being called a liberal.

Oh ... he was in Kyoto like he was in the CCCP and the restoration or whatever the hell he said ...

Does Kerry understand the difference between wartime and peacetime?

We'd recommend he look at the historical deficits v. gdp numbers during wartime ... ack ... an environmental question ... puhLEEZE ...

WAHAHAHAHAHAA

He's running off a list of middle class goodies and tax cuts that he will pay for with tax increases on the top 2% ... high school economics students everywhere are laughing ... just lied that the deficit is growing (it's not) ...

Oh, funny ... raising taxes on three people ... dickweed!

Class warfare is the last refuge ...

... of a small-minded scoundrel. Let's turn 98% against 2% ... screw you Senator!

Now he's lying about the tax cuts ... oooh, there's Enron ... desperation must be setting in!

KERRY JUST SAID WE HAVE A 2.6 TRILLION DOLLAR DEFICIT

LET'S SEE THE MEDIA POUNCE ON THAT INACCURACY!

JUST INVOKED FDR! FDR DIDN'T CUT TAXES ... AND WE HAD A DEPRESSION!

Kerry has "a plan"

In case you weren't aware of that.

He's gotten under Botox Boy's skin!

Kerry clearly peeved!

Somebody woke Bush up ...

Kerry is sounding small ...

So, rolling back the tax cut on the top 2% ...

... will realize enough revenue to pay for Utopia? Nope ...

"I'm a lawyer too"

He was also in Vietnam.

Another reference to the web site which should be an instant disqualifier in a debate.

Lie about health insurance ...

So, Kerry is for outsourcing prescription drug sales?

Interesting.

Oh, there's the required bashing of the power, oil and drug companies -- the people who actually PRODUCE stuff.

Bush is killing him on his unimpressive Senate record ... wow ...

Now Kerry recalling 1997 ... which led to the increase in Medicare premiums ... lie about the deficit and debt (there is such a thing as REAL dollars not NOMINAL dollars).

Keep in mind, we felt Bush lost the first debate ...

... but he just destroyed Kerry on the foreign policy portion of the debate. He spoke like a man who wakes up every day with the fate of the Free World in his hands.

Kerry-Heinz repeated talking points like an ugly Rain Man. "Tax cuts on the wealthy, General Shalikashvili (sp.?), containers".

TAX CUT FOR THE WEALTHY 35 MINUTES IN!!!

This is the guy you Lefties think is bright?!?! Rainman!

The 90% lie again!

PEOPLE KERRY IS REPLAYING THE FIRST DEBATE!

Suddenly, I'm thinking Kerry is an idiot-savant ...

Repeating the same stuff ... "General Shalikashvili (sp.?)" ... HE JUST INVOKED REAGAN AGAIN WTF?!?!?!

BUSH IS CREAMING HIM ON "GOING ALONE" ... he put down that p-ssy Charles Gibson!

A FRICKING DRAFT QUESTION!

THE AMERICAN EXPERIMENT IS OFFICIALLY OVER!

RIP WASHINGTON, ADAMS, MADISON, JEFFERSON!

UNFRICKINGBELIEVABLE!

Kerry is in reruns ...

... same lies as the first debate ... apparently that massive skull is at full capacity.

Is it possible to get a question from "the right" in these debates?

You'd hardly know that self-identified conservatives outnumber self-identified libs 2 to 1 in America.

What is it with the Kerry campaign and "images on TV"?

Red staters don't trust the MSM ... and neither do our friends in Iraq.

If the people are paying attention ...

... the president will have won the election with the answer to the second question tonight.

You know you should live in TVLand when ...

... you're in the liquor store and you hear "Hot Blooded" by '70's lame rockers Foreigner (the band, not the folks Kerry-Heinz trusts with the security of your family!) and you instantly think of Les Nessman getting ready for his big date with Jennifer ...


Les Nessman

This is only funny if you live near The Ponderosa

Jillian's failure blamed on site


We agree. Rochester -- nay, all of New York State -- is an atrocious site to start a business.

Wanna see the Welfare Experiment left to run unchecked, a land ruled by public employee unions? Come to New York ... but we suggest you duct tape your wallet to your ribcage.

Bremer sets the record straight

What I Really Said About Iraq

In recent days, attention has been focused on some remarks I've made about Iraq. The coverage of these remarks has elicited far more heat than light, so I believe it's important to put my remarks in the correct context.

In my speeches, I have said that the United States paid a price for not stopping the looting in Iraq in the immediate aftermath of major combat operations and that we did not have enough troops on the ground to accomplish that task. The press and critics of the war have seized on these remarks in an effort to undermine President Bush's Iraq policy.

This effort won't succeed. Let me explain why.

...

But during the 14 months I was in Iraq, the administration, the military and I all agreed that the coalition's top priority was a broad, sustained effort to train Iraqis to take more responsibility for their own security. This effort, financed in large measure by the emergency supplemental budget approved by Congress last year, continues today. In the end, Iraq's security must depend on Iraqis.

...

Our troops continue to work closely with Iraqis to isolate and destroy terrorist strongholds. And the United States is supporting Prime Minister Ayad Allawi in his determined effort to bring security and democracy to Iraq. Elections will be held in January and, though there will be challenges and hardships, progress is being made. For the task before us now, I believe we have enough troops in Iraq.

...

The president was right when he concluded that Saddam Hussein was a menace who needed to be removed from power. He understands that our enemies are not confined to Al Qaeda, and certainly not just to Osama bin Laden, who is probably trapped in his hide-out in Afghanistan. As the bipartisan 9/11 commission reported, there were contacts between Al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein's regime going back a decade. We will win the war against global terror only by staying on the offensive and confronting terrorists and state sponsors of terror - wherever they are. Right now, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Qaeda ally, is a dangerous threat. He is in Iraq.

President Bush has said that Iraq is the central front in the war on terror. He is right. Mr. Zarqawi's stated goal is to kill Americans, set off a sectarian war in Iraq and defeat democracy there. He is our enemy.

...

Mr. Kerry is free to quote my comments about Iraq. But for the sake of honesty he should also point out that I have repeatedly said, including in all my speeches in recent weeks, that President Bush made a correct and courageous decision to liberate Iraq from Saddam Hussein's brutality, and that the president is correct to see the war in Iraq as a central front in the war on terrorism.


L. Paul Bremer III, former chairman of the National Commission on Terrorism, was the administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq from May 2003 to June 2004.
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Got that, Botox Boy?

Finally out from under the cat: On Duelfer's report

Charles Duelfer, head of the Iraqi Survey Group (ISG) delivered his much-anticipated report to Senate Armed Services Commitee yesterday. As suspected, no "stockpiles" of WMDs have been unearthed, and this is the angle the Kerry-friendly media is running with. We would encourage everyone to read the report for himself, or at least the Key Findings to get at the real story: Saddam was gaming the UN's Oil-for-Food Scam with the help of our "allies" (China, Russia, FRANCE, et al) , the sanctions regime was in tatters and Saddam intended to resume production of WMDs as soon as the heat was off and maintained the intellectual and physical infrastructure to do so.

According to the Washington Times:

Saddam Hussein's goal through the 1990s and until the 2003 U.S. invasion was to end U.N. sanctions on Iraq, while working covertly to restore the country's ability to produce weapons of mass destruction, a report by the chief U.S. weapons inspector says.

"Saddam wanted to re-create Iraq's WMD capability - which was essentially destroyed in 1991 - after sanctions were removed and Iraq's economy stabilized, but probably with a different mix of capabilities," the report said.

Charles A. Duelfer told the Senate Armed Services Committee in testimony yesterday that "Saddam sought to sustain the requisite knowledge base to restart the program eventually."

In the interim, Mr. Duelfer said, Saddam hoped to keep "the inherent capability to produce such weapons as circumstances permitted in the future."
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Though we've known since Inspector Kay's testimony to Congress earlier this year that no "stockpiles" had been or were likely to be found in Iraq, the report's release gives new vigor to the Bush Lied crowd. There's no use going through the litany of others who necessarily must be accused of lying including the previous Administration, the intelligence agencies of many foreign nations and the current Democratic ticket -- Edwards even went so far as to call Saddam an imminent threat, exceeding even the Administration's rhetoric.

Jonah Goldberg in today's NRO sagely points out :

... Bush "lied" because he believed the same intelligence John Kerry believed. Bush "lied" even though John Edwards called the threat from Iraq "imminent" - something Bush never did. No one bothers to ask how it could be possible that Bush lied. How could he have known there were no WMDs? No one bothers to wonder why Tony Blair isn't a liar. Indeed, no one bothers to ask whether the Great Diplomat and Alliance Builder believes our oldest and truest allies Great Britain and Australia are lead by equally contemptible liars. Of course, they can't be liars - they are merely part of the coalition of the bribed. In John Kerry's world, it's a defense to say your oldest friends aren't dishonest, they're merely whores.

Oh, one more thing no one asks. How could Bush think he could pull this thing off? I mean, knowing as he did that there were no WMDs in Iraq, how could he invade the country and think no one would notice? And if he's capable of lying to send Americans to their deaths for some nebulous petro-oedipal conspiracy no intelligent person has bothered to make even credible, why on earth didn't he just plant some WMDs on the victim after the fact? If you're willing to kill Americans for a lie, surely you'd be willing to plant some anthrax to keep your job.

If anything, this report puts the kibosh on the Kerry Doctrine -- the "global test". Further diplomacy was not going to work with our "allies" who were pushing to pull the plug on the moribund sanctions regime they had helped Saddam undermine. According to the report, a missive was uncovered from a French agent to Iraq assuring them France would NEVER VOTE TO AUTHORIZE FORCE. The UN has been publicly outed as INCOMPETENT and CORRUPT! The notion that Kerry would have done things differently, using more senstitive, nuanced diplomacy has been obliterated. It's gone. The true coalition of the bribed has been revealed and they are Kerry's friends!

Suppose you're the president. 9/11 occurs. You're accused of "not connecting the dots" and "allowing" that to happen. Your intelligence people tell you it's a "slam dunk" that Saddam has WMD. This is backed up by foreign intelligence agencies. Waddya do? Dial up Miss Cleo for her opinion? No, you act because your most solemn duty is to protect and defend this nation based on the information provided by those whose mission it is to gather and analyze it, not to worry that some corpulent, mendacious filmmaker is going to traduce you or that you might offend Jackass Chirac.

We know what Bush did. We know what Kerry (claims) he would have done: punted the ball to our "allies" who have been revealed to be on the take. As much as Bush needs to explain his position, Kerry must be forced to justify his reliance on corrupt foreign governments.

It's not enough for us to publish this for the few hundred people a day who read this space. The president must make these points emphatically and passionately tonight.


Additional reading:
David Kay's October 2003 presentation to Congress

UE Rate Holds at 5.4%

UPDATE: With seasonal adjustments, 332,000 new jobs

Employment Situation Summary


So, we go into the election with the unemployment rate right about where it was when Boy Clinton was re-elected. Though Clinton inherited a recovery and Bush inherited an economy on the brink of recession (not to mention a burst bubble, 9/11 and the corporate scandals originating in the true "Decade of Greed"), those who practice post hoc ergo propter hoc reasoning will be unimpressed.

His opponent will surely point to the mediocre job creation last month -- 96K -- as proof that Bush's economic policies have failed. Rather than being put on the defensive, as he was in the first debate, Bush should ask the Senator -- who has never had a private sector job thanks to his ability to pitch woo at rich broads -- how protectionism, hyper-regulation and increased taxes on the producers, creators and investors -- Edwards' poolside layabouts (and us!) -- will improve an economy that grew 5% from Q2 2003 through Q2 2004.



Additional reading: NRO's David Malpass explains why The Labor Department's household survey is more representative of the economy than the establishment (or payroll) survey.

Trying to publish our thoughts on the Duelfer report ...

... but my kitty keeps sitting on the keyboard ... might have to wait till tomorrow ... here he 9efduh

So much for coalition building

Kerry says Franco-German troops unlikely

Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry conceded yesterday that he probably will not be able to convince France and Germany to contribute troops to Iraq if he is elected president.

The Massachusetts senator has made broadening the coalition trying to stabilize Iraq a centerpiece of his campaign, but at a town hall meeting yesterday, he said he knows other countries won't trade their soldiers' lives for those of U.S. troops.

"Does that mean allies are going to trade their young for our young in body bags? I know they are not. I know that," he said.

Asked about that statement later, Mr. Kerry said, "When I was referring to that, I was really talking about Germany and France [The Ponderosa: You can include Russia in there. They have Jihadist problems of their own]and some of the countries that had been most restrained."

"Other countries are obviously more willing to accept responsibilities," he added, as he took questions from reporters in a school yard in Tipton, Iowa.
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Remind us again why we're supposed to vote for this guy!?

Unbiased MSM does it again!

Matthews Scolds Cheneyon 9/11 but Tape Backs VP

Fact check item, number two: On Wednesday morning's Today, NBC's Brian Williams repeated his crumbling claim from Tuesday night on both NBC and MSNBC that Cheney misspoke in denying he'd said that those "responsible for 9/11" were based in Iraq. Williams repeated his claim during last night's prime time coverage on NBC and MSNBC that a tape of Cheney on Meet the Press contradicts this claim, even though it does no such thing.

For details of what Williams claimed last night, go to: www.mrc.org

Appearing during the 9am EDT hour of Wednesday's Today, MSNBC host Chris Matthews angrily seized on Williams' story to condemn Cheney as untruthful: "We have the record from Meet the Press, thank God, to base the truth on. To find the truth. Last night was an argument, the evidence suggests, states in fact, that the Vice President wasn't telling the truth."

But the Republicans blasted an e-mail to reporters Wednesday afternoon noting that the actual Meet the Press transcript shows Cheney explicitly denied to host Tim Russert that Iraq had a hand in 9/11: "I was careful not to say that."
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Guess NBC couldn't be bothered to let the tape run another minute to get the context of the remarks.

What Edwards believed ... before he didn't

Unasked and Unanswered

John Edwards didn't always believe the things he said during the vice presidential debate.

by Stephen F. Hayes

"MR. VICE PRESIDENT, we were attacked but we weren't attacked by Saddam Hussein."

John Edwards used those words--and others like them--several times throughout his debate with Dick Cheney. "They diverted resources from the people who attacked us," Edwards said. The Bush Administration took its "eye off the ball."

Edwards didn't always feel this way. On October 10, 2002, John Edwards explained his vote to authorize the war in Iraq this way: "Others argue that if even our allies support us, we should not support this resolution because confronting Iraq now would undermine the long-term fight against terrorist groups like al Qaeda. Yet, I believe that this is not an either-or choice. Our national security requires us to do both, and we can."

Was John Edwards wrong? He didn't say. And he wasn't asked.

Senator Edwards spent much of the evening expressing his belief that there was no connection between Iraq and al Qaeda. He downplayed Iraq's role in terrorism generally and the threat posed by the potential that Saddam Hussein could pass his deadly weapons to terrorists. He didn't always feel this way.

On September 12, 2002, Edwards said this: "The terrorist threat against America is all too clear. Thousands of terrorist operatives around the world would pay anything to get their hands on Saddam's arsenal, and there is every reason to believe that Saddam would turn his weapons over to these terrorists. No one can doubt that if the terrorists of September 11 had had weapons of mass destruction, they would have used them.

On September 12, 2002, we can hardly ignore the terrorist threat and the serious danger that Saddam would allow his arsenal to be used in aid of terror."

Was John Edwards wrong? He didn't say. And he wasn't asked.

Most important, Senator Edwards is a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Although he missed many Intelligence Committee meetings to campaign for president, he signed the report that the Intelligence Committee issued on July 7, 2004. That report confirmed numerous high-level contacts between Iraq and al Qaeda. And it included this passage:

From 1996 to 2003, the IIS [Iraqi Intelligence Service] focused its terrorist activities on western interest, particularly against the U.S. and Israel. The CIA summarized nearly 50 intelligence reports as examples, using language directly from the intelligence reports. Ten intelligence reports [redacted] from multiple sources indicate IIS "casing" operations against Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty in Prague began in 1998 and continued into early 2003. The CIA assessed, based on the Prague casings and a variety of other reporting that throughout 2002, the IIS was becoming increasingly aggressive in planning terrorist attacks against U.S. interests.

From p. 331 of the Senate report that Edwards approved: "Twelve reports received [redacted] from sources that the CIA described as having varying reliability, cited Iraq or Iraqi national involvement in al Qaeda's CBW [chemical and biological weapons] efforts."

What's more the Senate Intelligence report concluded that the CIA's assessments on Iraq-al Qaeda contacts were "reasonable."

Was John Edwards wrong? He didn't say. And he wasn't asked.

Contrary to popular mythology, no one in the Administration ever portrayed Iraq as an "imminent threat". Guess who did -- From a CNN interview February 24, 2002

But I do think that the more serious question going forward is, what are we going to do? I mean, we have three different countries that, while they all present serious problems for the United States -- they're dictatorships, they're involved in the development and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction -- you know, the most imminent, clear and present threat to our country is not the same from those three countries. I think Iraq is the most serious and imminent threat to our country. (emphasis ours)

...

And they do, in my judgment, present different threats. And I think Iraq and Saddam Hussein present the most serious and most imminent threat.(emphasis ours)

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Knowing that the MSM will keep this buried, it was incumbent on Cheney to bring this up. Why didn't he? Exasperating.

Our "flash" analysis

A win on points for the Veep, but coulda been a TKO with killer answers to the Halliburton, combat pay cut, no body armor, Tora Bora crap -- trust us, killer answers exist. And couldn't Rove find a couple North Carolina doctors driven out of practice by John "Follow That Ambulance" Edwards whose stories Cheney could have wielded? What do we pay this guy for?

And it woulda been nice had Cheney mentioned that t'was young Senator Edwards who labeled Saddam an "imminent threat" and noted that he hadn't been "misled" by the Administration.

Bringing up the fact that our "estranged allies" were having their palms greased by Saddam may have been unseemly, but woulda put that silly line of argument to rest. But as Gran'pa Buzzcut used to say: "Waddya gonna do?"

Anyhow, there are some factual "clarifications" here ...

We doubt this will move the polls but it should stop any (mostly media driven) momentum enjoyed by Theresa's Boy Toy. Cheney is clearly believable as a potential president ... Edwards is best suited for the role of ... blood-sucking-back-of-the-phonebook-ad hack lawyer.

It's now up to Bush to actually SHOW UP Friday night.

People, please ...

... nothing is as meaningless as an ONLINE poll ... get a grip!

In REALLY important news ...

... Twins beat Yankees, 2-0.

Etc ...

Does Edwards realize that without the nasty drug companies ... THERE'D BE NO PRESCRIPTION DRUGS?! The guy truly has the worldview of a parasite.

30 minutes in

Edwards is all talking points. Requisite Halliburton shot. We are still waiting for Cheney bring up Edward's "imminent threat" claims from 2002 ...

Flashback: The Edwards loophole

The Edwards loophole

Robert Novak

WASHINGTON -- Sen. John Edwards got through last Thursday night's debate in Los Angeles, as he has his entire presidential campaign, without being asked an embarrassing question. How can he explain setting up a dummy corporation to avoid paying an estimated $290,000 in Medicare taxes in the two years before he ran for the Senate? It would be an embarrassing question for a self-described populist inveighing against privileges for the rich and powerful.

There were plenty of opportunities for Sen. John Kerry to bring this up during the debate's extended discussion of health care. Some of Kerry's key advisers worked on the 1998 North Carolina Senate campaign won by Edwards, when this issue was raised. But with Kerry on the brink of collecting a majority of delegates to guarantee the Democratic presidential nomination, he does not want to risk trouble with negative campaigning against his sole remaining serious opponent.

However, it is inconceivable that President Bush's crack researchers are not aware of the massive tax loophole utilized by Edwards, who is the clear consensus choice to be Kerry's vice-presidential running mate. Democrats, relishing thoughts of the attractive and charismatic Edwards face to face against Dick Cheney in debate, must ponder a better answer to the Medicare tax question than the senator gave six years ago.
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Something to keep in mind tonight while the unctuous parasite blathers on about "Two Americas", "tax cuts for the wealthy" and Medicare being underfunded.

Meet the dictators, kooks, crooks and barbarians who will be grading our "global test"

The world of John Kerry's global test

By Anne Bayefsky

President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry referred to the United Nations 17 times during their debate last Thursday on American foreign policy. Kerry's references outnumbered the president's more than 2 to 1. The senator's attitude? The U.N. is the centerpiece of any definition of America's strategic interests.

Kerry put U.N. centrality this way: "You don't help yourself with other nations...when you refuse to deal at length with the United Nations." Speaking of Iraq, "at length" meant "We needed to go to the U.N. The president needed the authority to use force...." Any use by a president of the option of a "preemptive strike" must be done "in a way...that passes the global test where...you can prove to the world that you did it for legitimate reasons."

So what world is Kerry talking about? The presidential debate took place just as the General Assembly wound up its two-week opening session on September 30. At the session, dozens of world leaders told the U.N. what would pass a global test in their minds. Let's listen in.

On terrorism:
President of Algeria, Abdelaziz Bouteflika: "[T]errorism...excludes the legitimate struggle of peoples against foreign occupation."
Deputy Prime Minister of Lebanon, Issam Fares: " National liberation is legitimate, terrorism is reprehensible."
Ditto numerous other Arab ministers.

On nuclear non-proliferation:

Prime Minister of Malaysia, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (Chairman of the 100+ members of the Non-Aligned Movement): "We also note with great concern the increasing tendencies to link the fight against terrorism with the campaign against proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Developing countries suffer as a result of restrictions imposed on access to peaceful uses of technology...."

Foreign Minister of Iran, Kamal Kharrazi: "[P]revent[ing] the proliferation of nuclear weapons...must be done...in a comprehensive and non-discriminatory manner.... We insist on our right to technology for peaceful purposes...."

Ambassador of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Choe Su Hon: "[O]ur army and people...are...pushing ahead with their struggle to build a...powerful state with...devotion to the socialist cause....The nuclear deterrent of the DPRK constitutes a legitimate self-defensive measure...."

On the genocide in Sudan:

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Syria, Farouk Al-Shara: "We view with satisfaction the positions and measures adopted by the government of the Sudan to address the humanitarian crisis in Darfur."

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Yemen, Abubakr Al-Qirbi: "[T]here was no hard evidence of massacres [in Sudan].... [A]ll external parties must...refrain from interference in the domestic affairs of the Sudan."
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We know we risk beating this to death, but Kerry-Heinz's worldview subjugates our national interest to the perverted will of this cabal of anti-Americans and anti-Semites.

The Kerry Spot: EDWARDS CALLS BUSH VOTERS INSANE

EDWARDS CALLS BUSH VOTERS INSANE

John Edwards: "I'd say If you live in the United States of America and you vote for George Bush, you've lost your mind." (ABC's "Nightline," 10/4/04)

Funny, we think the same of anyone considering voting for a traitorous, perfumed consort and his unctuous ambulance chasing boy running mate.

Oh -- and could you imagine the caterwauling in the MSM were Cheney to make a similar statement about Kerry-Heinz voters?

Edwards may be slick when it comes to bilking North Carolina's doctors out of millions of dollars in blood money, but he is clearly unfit for second in command.

More on our friends the French, Russians, etc.

Saddam misused oil-food program

By Bill Gertz
THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Congressional investigators have uncovered new information showing how Saddam Hussein's government systematically purchased military-related goods for the seven years of the U.N. oil-for-food program.

According to officials involved in ongoing probes, motorcycles bought by Saddam under the United Nations' food program were used by the Fedayeen to attack U.S. forces in Iraq.

"Trucks, pickups, motorcycles and other equipment purchased by Iraqi ministries were pooled and then sent to the Defense Ministry," one official said. "They ordered motorcycles that were used by Fedayeen against us."

The black-hooded guerrillas under Saddam waged commando-type attacks on advancing U.S. troops in spring 2003.

Investigators from the staff of the House International Relations Committee disclosed details of their probe, one of several being carried out by Congress, including new details on Saddam's bribes to U.N. officials and officials of foreign governments.

A second investigation, led by Rep. Christopher Shays, Connecticut Republican and chairman of the Government Reform subcommittee on national security, emerging threats and international relations, has found that Saddam ran the Iraqi side of the food program as a "cash cow" that let him buy weapons with some of the $10 billion he siphoned off, according to a report by the investigators.

Mr. Shays' panel is scheduled to hold a hearing on the report today.

The governments of Russia, France and China also blocked U.S. efforts within the United Nations to stop abuse of the program, which was designed to get food and medicine to Iraqis through limited sales of oil.

"As the program developed, it became increasingly apparent the French, Russians, and Chinese had much to gain from maintaining the status quo," a staff subcommittee memorandum states.

The Shays investigation also concluded that the U.N. officials, including executive director Benon Sevan, also abused the oil-for-food program.

Mr. Sevan was identified in Iraqi Oil Ministry documents as having participated in a scheme by Saddam to issue vouchers to people that let them profit from illicit sales of Iraqi oil. Mr. Sevan has denied accusations that he profited from the program.

The report makes another charge of corruption, about nepotism involving Kojo Annan, the son of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and a former employee of the Swiss-based company Cotecna. (emphasis ours)

The report stated that Cotecna, which the United Nations hired to monitor goods entering Iraq under the oil-for-food program, "was guilty of a wide variety of abuses," including overcharging the United Nations and failing to inspect goods entering Iraq.

A U.N. audit revealed that up to $111 million was missing as a result of Cotecna's work in northern Iraq, the report said.

Investigators for Rep. Henry J. Hyde, Illinois Republican and chairman of the International Relations Committee, said their panel's probe has uncovered lists of companies favored by Saddam that profited from the illicit oil and humanitarian goods trade.

The panel also uncovered blacklists of firms that were denied lucrative contracts because of suspected links to Israel or because they refused to go along with corruption.

The Hyde investigators said there are signs that Saddam's government used money obtained under the U.N. program to buy arms from Russia and Belarus or on the international black market through middlemen in Jordan and Syria. (emphasis ours)

The Iraqis obtained cash for Saddam or his agents by adding surcharges of between 5 percent and 15 percent to sales of Iraqi oil permitted by the U.N. program.

"This program was flawed from the start," one official said. "It granted Saddam so much autonomy in picking winners and losers — who got oil contracts, who got humanitarian contracts."

The investigators think that Saddam made about $4 billion through smuggling oil and about $6 billion in corruption related to contracts. The $10 billion estimate is considered a conservative one, the officials said.

The United Nations is conducting its own oil-for-food corruption probe, led by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker.

Gertz, appearing on "O'Reilly" last night, also claims that a Pentagon analysis discovered that most of the conventional arms found in Iraq after the war were produced in ... Russia, France and China, some clearly procured after sanctions against such sales had been put in place.

Regardless of John "The Best Defense is No Offense" Heinz-Kerry's unreasonable and unnatural affinity for governments that routinely oppose the best interests of the United States, it is the nations fighting side-by-side with us in Iraq -- the ones he has repeatedly insulted and belittled -- who are our real friends.

Couple two, t'ree tidbits from the Botoxed Dandy at the debate

If the president had shown the patience to go through another round of resolution, to sit down with those leaders, say, "What do you need, what do you need now, how much more will it take to get you to join us?" we'd be in a stronger place today.

Now hold on there Gigolo John -- are you saying we should have bribed the holdouts? Actually, given the news regarding the Oil-for-Kickbacks scandal (see below) it appears the real "coalition of the bribed" includes France and Russia.

I'd have made a better choice.

Quite the pompous ass, inn't he? What does he base this on? His thirty year record of being on the wrong side of every major foreign policy and defense issue? Someone needs to remind the Senator his team LOST The Cold War.

We continue to be amazed at the self-confidence he has in light of his unremarkable career and inability to provide for himself.

Right now the president is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to research bunker-busting nuclear weapons. The United States is pursuing a new set of nuclear weapons. It doesn't make sense.

You talk about mixed messages. We're telling other people, "You can't have nuclear weapons," but we're pursuing a new nuclear weapon that we might even contemplate using.

Not this president. I'm going to shut that program down, and we're going to make it clear to the world we're serious about containing nuclear proliferation.

Don't know how we missed this. Same old moral equivalence pap peddled by Kerry-Heinz and his fellow travellers in the Nuclear Freeze Movement 20 years ago. Is Kerry putting the U.S. on the same moral plane with Iran, Libya and North Korea?

From what we understand about bunker busters, they woulda turned Tora Bora into a pile of smoldering rock and Jihadists.

Levin on the debate: Slighting Substance

I hate to swim against the current, but shouldn't we pay more attention to what John Kerry actually said during Thursday night's debate? Apparently the mainstream media doesn't think so.

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Levin's right. As we perused the transcript this weekend, we realized Kerry had left a few big matzah balls hangin' out there -- "global test", seeking to repeat the Clinton Administration's North Korean nuke blunder in Iran, mistake/not a mistake, Saddam was/wasn't a threat ... certainly a lot of fodder for tv ads.

All Bush really gave the DNC was a montage of facial gestures. We can't say we blame him for this: we imagine we'd get a bit dyspeptic being lectured by a supercillious, manicured fop whose resume sports a 34-year gap.

RIP "Global Test": Saddam bought off "estranged" US "allies"

Saddam 'bought UN allies' with oil


UPDATE -- RELATED STORIES:

3 nations blocked UN oil-for-food probe, report says

Saddam Paid Russian Officials for Support - Paper

A LEAKED report has exposed the extent of alleged corruption in the United Nations' oil-for-food scheme in Iraq, identifying up to 200 individuals and companies that made profits running into hundreds of millions of pounds from it.

The report largely implicates France and Russia, whom Saddam Hussein targeted as he sought support on the UN Security Council before the Iraq war. Both countries were influential voices against UN-backed action.[emphasis ours]

A senior UN official responsible for the scheme is identified as a major beneficiary. The report, marked "highly confidential", also finds that the private office of Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, profited from the cheap oil. Saddam's regime awarded this oil during the run-up to the war when military action was being discussed at the UN.

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Not news to us, but perhaps this will finally hit the MSM which, aside from the Wall Street Journal, has given the story about as much time as it has the spent examining the charges of the SwiftVets.

Corrupt "allies". Corrupt UN. What was that about a "global test"?

This explains a lot

Walking U.N.

Perhaps Sen. John Kerry does have an advantage after all over President Bush in understanding the complex political issues of the Middle East.

New research by Burke's Peerage reveals that Mr. Kerry is the only presidential candidate in U.S. history who has genealogical descent from Muslims, Jews and Christians.

"Senator Kerry ... is a virtual walking United Nations," says Harold Brooks-Baker, publishing director of Burke's.

Mr. Kerry is kinsman of the Shi'ite shahs of Persia (the most famous was Shah Abbas I, who reigned from 1587 to 1629), as well as the Muslim kings of Tunisia, all of whom - Democratic presidential nominee included - descend from the prophet Muhammad.[emphasis ours]

That last tidbit certainly explains his tolerance for savages (Viet Cong, Sandinistas) and perverts (Ted Kennedy). What's more the the [The Ponderosa: we have left that mistake in for the amusement of The Official Heckler of The Ponderosa as well as any MST3K buffs amongst us] false prophet's first wife, Khadija, was -- get this -- a WEALTHY WIDOW!

Well, we thought it was funny.

4 am and the men of the Ponderosa are awake and rocking ...

... to The Duskfall ... brutal melodeath metal that'll either make ya stand up, jump around and bang your head or ... hide under the covers (and cat) like the long-suffering Ms. Buzzcut ...

Ichiro gets 258

Ichiro singles to pass Sisler

SEATTLE -- Ichiro Suzuki tied the 84-year-old major league record for hits in a season with No. 257 when he chopped a leadoff single to left field Friday night then broke the record with a single in the third.

The Seattle star passed the mark set by George Sisler of the St. Louis Browns over a 154-game schedule in 1920.

For the first hit, the crowd at Safeco Field was on its feet and players in both dugouts were standing at the top rail when Suzuki went the other way against Texas' Ryan Drese, bouncing a single over the head of third baseman Hank Blalock.

Fans chanted "I-chi-ro! I-chi-ro!" and he acknowledged the ovation, briefly taking off his batting helmet. Among those cheering for him were members of Sisler's family.

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Dude's hitting like .470 since the break ...with a decent April, this guy would be flirting with .400 ...

Big baseball weekend

American League West up for grabs ... A's and Angels going head-to-head (game starts in a few minutes) ... National West and Wild Card undecided ... and it looks like my pathetic Orioles are going to break from their recent tradition (4th place 5 years in a row) and finish ... THIRD!!! Champagne all around! If I win the lottery I'm gonna buy that team from Peter Angelos and earn the eternal love of baseball fans in Maryland and Virginia ...

Speaking of ProgPower ...

... Mr. Buzzcut (right) with Urban Breed of Sweden's Tad Morose (I LOVE that jacket) ... Brothers in Metal!

The Ponderosa is now rocking to ...

... the new Silent Force CD ... "World's Apart" ... DC Cooper and Alex Beyroldt back at it after a 3 year wait ... we saw them at ProgPower 3 and have been hooked since ... at first listen, the new one is excellent melodic power metal featuring DC's powerful vocals and Alex's swirling rapid fire leads ... "Happy" metal, perhaps, but top notch stuff ... check it our or we'll force you to sit through these wankers (hi Bryce!)

Enough with the Halliburton bashing

We understand that the never-had-a-private-sector-job Kerry-Heinz is trying to appeal to the MoveOn.org kids and those who suckle at Michael Moore's hirsute man-boobs, but the Halliburton-bashing is getting old.

Halliburton is an AMERICAN company that provides specialized goods and services that are of use in the reconstruction of Iraq. They do it better than anyone else can. The employees there, from the research scientists and engineers to the dudes in the hard hats and steel-toed boots , contribute FAR more to the national wealth than ANY politician.

Further, Halliburton did similar work in Bosnia and Kosovo at the behest of the Clinton Administration under the same bidding circumstances without rousing Mr. Moore from his Krispy Creme induced stupor.

We understand Vice President Cheney committed the ultimate crime in the eyes of the Left by taking a position in the private sector ... you know, where Kerry has never had a job. Where Clinton has never held a position ... the "real world" where people exchange money for goods and services and vote with their wallets. We also understand that it was sinful for him to make a profit (which he donated to charity) when, under pressure from the same silly ninnies, he cashed out before taking the oath of office.

But for a sitting Senator to single out an AMERICAN company in an attempt to make his spray painted never-had-a-real-job-or-produced-a-good-or-service-anyone-would-pay-a-penny-for-most-likely-shaved-and-waxed ass look good is loathsome, even for the World's Homliest Gigolo.

Klugman v. Krugman

Where we compare the characters (truthfully, mostly Oscar Madison with the occasional Quincy) portrayed by one of America's most beloved TV actors, Jack Klugman, with the man Donald Luskin has lovingly branded "America's Most Dangerous Pundit", Paul Krugman! Please send us your Klugman v. Krugmans!

Klugman	VS.	Krugman
His brilliant clue on TV's Password led his partner to correctly guess the password "ridiculous"		His columns and many of his economic theories are "ridiculous"

Previously on Klugman v. Krugman:
http://www.vandelay.com/2004/08/klugman-v-krugman_30.html
http://www.vandelay.com/2004/08/klugman-v-krugman_23.html
http://www.vandelay.com/2004/08/klugman-v-krugman.html
http://www.vandelay.com/2004/08/new-feature-klugman-v-krugman.html
http://www.vandelay.com/2004/08/klugman-v-krugman_19.html

General Smash vs. Commander McBragg (Kerry-Heinz)

General Kerry

THERE WAS A MOMENT in last night's Presidential Debate that got me angry - and it probably wasn't the same moment you're thinking about right now.

KERRY: It is vital for us not to confuse the war, ever, with the warriors. That happened before. [The Ponderosa: Yes, and every Vietnam vet ever spat on owes you a smack in that massive, Bottoxed head, Mr. Winter Soldier] And that's one of the reasons why I believe I can get this job done, because I am determined for those soldiers and for those families, for those kids who put their lives on the line. That is noble. That's the most noble thing that anybody can do. And I want to make sure the outcome honors that nobility.

Kerry is promoting a fallacy here. You can’t completely separate the war from the warriors, because we’re the ones that plan and execute the war. Kerry would have you believe that the President has a sand table in the White House War Room, where he gathers his generals around him and commands them on how to fight the war. He’s telling us that he could do a better job directing those generals than Bush has.

Bullshit.


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Reader help needed

"The terrorism czar, who has worked for every president since Ronald Reagan, said, Invading Iraq in response to 9/11 would be like Franklin Roosevelt invading Mexico in response to Pearl Harbor. "

We'd obliterate this brutal analogy ourselves, but we invite our readers to do so instead.