Bush Hates the 1st Amendment?

Well seems that way. if you heard the chickenhawk-in-chief lately you've heard him lament the '527s'. they're all so BAAAD! well what are they anyway?

527 refers to the section of the code that HE passed into law. it lets citizens or independent groups of citizens spend what they like to say what they want. (you may have heard this called 'free speech' as early as the 6th grade).

Well, Bush doesn't like them. they've been attacking him pretty hard this year and he doesn't like it. the GOP has a few but not many.

Why you ask? well see they held back in creating them because they were fighting a legal battle to disallow them completely. somehow the courts thought this 'free speech' thing hadn't passed its prime and the GOP lost.

now they've been playing catch up, and not doing to well...except for the SWIFTBOAT business that's been all over the news.

Well, as you can read here, the President has JUST FILED A LAWSUIT to forbid private citizens from using their own money to express their opinion about American politics! From the guy that SUED his way into the White House (um...think about it. he sued to FORCE florida to STOP doing the recount that was required by law. the same recount that put Gore in the lead using ANY criteria when redone by independent groups).

Now we get a lawsuit to stop the 1st Amendment!

What a patriot.

Swiftboat Sandbag

you know, my problem with the whole swiftboat deal is the media coverage. Though less true in the major newspapers, many network news channels are spending more time with "how does this effect Kerry!?!" news stories than "is this stuff even TRUE?" stories.

it is as if the truth gets a backseat to 'the effect'. The result? a complete disregard of the Press' solemn charge...to find the truth...in exchange for 'effect analysis'.

Ladies and gentlemen, when i get more background on the facts of these allegations from the DAILY SHOW than i do from Wolf Blitzer and CNN, something's wrong.

UPDATE!

Ben Barnes to break silence on "60 Minutes"...The Republican campaign gets ready for shock waves, as the former Texas official who says he pulled strings to get George W. Bush into the Air National Guard finally goes public.

A Nice cap to convention week. see the post down below for more details. ask and ye shall receive.

GO BUSH!

We've ALMOST hit the 20% mark for children living in poverty in America! We've never lost so many jobs in one President's term since the Great Depression (nor w/ any president BEFORE the Great Depression).

that being said...just WHAT are we supposed to be afraid kerry will do WORSE than that? come on Republicans! just HOW can we do worse...seriously.

NO HELP AT ALL

Remember how Bush didn't get any help skipping Vietnam...he just signed up for the National Guard and somehow skipped over the year plus waiting list?

yeah...well the former Texas Speaker of the House that actually pulled the strings for our 'brave leader' has something to say about that:

DALLAS - In a video posted on the Internet, former Texas House Speaker Ben Barnes said he is "more ashamed at myself than I've ever been" because he helped
President Bush and the sons of other wealthy families get into the Texas National Guard so they could avoid serving in Vietnam. "I got a young man named George W. Bush into the National Guard ... and I'm not necessarily proud of that, but I did it,"

SEE THAT STORY?

the one down there below...where the GOP Congressman quits in the middle of their national convention because he's outed for paying for gay sex...why is that getting so little press!?! good gravy! he even co-sponsored the anti-gay constitutional amendment!

think about the coverage of the NJ governor that was outed...now compare this! yeah...'liberal media'...

Schwarzenegger's at the RNC

"To those critics who are so pessimistic about our economy, I say: 'Don't be
economic girlie men!'

um...so did i just hear a multi-millionaire call the millions of people who are now unemployed 'woosies'?
Yeah!!...keep up the good worik GOP! gimme more of that!

The Anti- Gay Marriage Amendment's Co-Author is Gay

Well how about that? Ed Schrock, is a 2 term congressman from Virginia running for re-election until today. He'd been touted as the '2nd most conservative' member of the US Congress and he's actually Pat Robertson's Congressman! Most recently he was in the news for pushing the Amendment to ban gay marriage.

Somehow, despite being so busy with that, he managed to find time for a hobby--getting escort services to hook him up with men for sex!!

It seems some gay rights activists posted on a blog that they had some tapes of the congressman then suddenly the blog entry with that info disappeared. Well you'd think that he'd fight these 'dirty lies'...oops! nope. he's resigned effective IMMEDIATELY!

the GOP have a week to find a candidate that will both hate gay people and not want to have sex with them.

Tonight i was watching the GOP convention coverage where some Party members were saying they didn't actually hate gay people...they just didn't want them getting married.

ahem... I see.

Polls Polls Polls

USA Today Reports that Kerry is losing support in some of the battleground states and that Bush has pulled ahead in a few (though only by a point or 2). The Swiftboat garbage has been damaging and 2 things have made it worse: Kerry's handling of it (his campaign's handling of it, actually) and the media echo-chamber that won't let it die. We'll see if the RNC convention pushes it aside.

It is important to note that the polls reviewed consider "Likely Voters". this is a subset of "Registered Voters" which also have a history of voting in recent elections.

When the same Polls consider "Registered Voters" Kerry leads in every state. this means voter turnout (or supression...yeah, i'm lookin' at you GOP) may decide it all if trends continue this way.

WELL...which is it??

from Josh Marshall:

"We have a clear vision on how to win the war on terror and bring peace to the world."

-- George W. Bush
July 30th 2004.

"I don’t think you can win [the war on terror]. But I think you can create conditions so that the — those who use terror as a tool are — less acceptable in parts of the world.”

-- George W. Bush
Aug. 29th, 2004.

Nader and the GOP

Nader refuses to believe that his candidacy helps Bush. If you aren't sure yourself, consider the swing states where Republicans, by the tens of thousand, are signing the petitions to get Nader on the ballot.

Just how far is the GOP going to help Nader? well, Kerry is 1 point ahead in the GOP stronghold of Virginia. There is a good chance that he could carry the state by a slim margin.

Enter the State's Attorney General Jerry Kilgore. Seems ole Jerry is a Bush Cheney campaign chair in Virginia and just last week he overrode the State Board of Elections to allow Nader on the ballot. Despite the conventional wisdom saying that Nader pulls from Democrats, Zogby reports his presence is a wash for both candidates. I don't buy it.

Oh...I've Got Some Polls for Ya... (NOTE this post held over from 8/18 for obvious reasons)

Kerry leads among all age groups except 30-49 year olds, where the two candidates are pretty much tied. Catholics give Kerry a 50%-37% edge – numbers
more similar to Clinton’s leads in 1992 and 1996 than Al Gore’s 51% to 46% margin in 2000. Protestants are for Bush (57% to 33%), especially on the
strength of the President’s 68% to 20% margin among Born Again Protestants.

While this can be interesting to see...don't be fooled. Presidential elections aren't national elections. they are 50 state elections that happen on the same day. to see where this is really going you have to see the poll numbers in the 'toss up' states.

how's it loo there? good and getting better!

Back to Business...

I don't like conventions. the ones i like aren't that exciting to me and the ones i don't like make me worry my candidate won't do well. i always feel this way.

sooooo.... that means i'm tried of sitting on my hands and i appreciate all the kind words from all the readers of this site. i'm coming back to work and this place will be rolling as of now.

thanks.

--Polly & Mr. Mooch.

BUSH REFUSES TO PRAY!! (NOTE this post held over from 8/18 for obvious reasons)

This is an utter shock. seems bush declined a lady's invite to pray publicly for Oregon's 'unchurched' citizens! what happened?!?!

about a week ago i saw a great interview of Maureen Dowd by Tim Russert. Dowd just wrote a book called 'Bushworld' that i wouldn't mind reading (as a book on tape). during the interview he asked her if Bush was pandering to the religious right.

she said no. He IS the Religious Right. he openly discusses the fact that policy, particularly international policy is shaped by both biblical AND literal 'hand of god' guidance. He uses the language of evangelicals in his speechs not just as a nod to those that are listening but rather just an open display of 'what he is'.

I never thought of it this way and you know...i think she is absolutely right. he's not pandering. he IS the religious right.

It's Over.

Thanks to all of my friends and family who have helped me through a difficult time. my father was buried today and i'll miss him.

Eddie Pollan
Marks, MS
Eddie Glen Pollan, 61, died Wednesday, August 18, 2004, from injuries sustained in an automobile accident in Sebastopol, MS. Memorial services are 2 p.m. Saturday at St. Paul's Methodist Church in Clarksdale. Kimbro Funeral Home of Marks is handling arrangements.

It was 2 days and 27 years after Elvis died

My Dad died today. He was driving with my step-mother down the highway near Sebastopol, MS when he reached for something and went off onto the shoulder of the road. Evidently the shoulder had an extremely steep drop and he had to cruise along to find a spot to get back onto the road. At this point, they came upon a fence post that stood along the road. They could not properly avoid it. They knew it was going to be a bad impact. My Step-mother was not wearing a seatbelt so at the point of impact my father threw his body in front of her to absorb the impact. I believe he really loved her and I believe he saved her life. She has a badly hurt shoulder but should be ok. we are waiting to see if surgery will be required.

My father told the people that came to his aid that he didn’t need an ambulance. He then he took a deep breath and was gone. My father was a difficult man for a lot of people. He never showed me the rough side of his temperament the way he would with others. I sometimes thought it was unfair as I saw it happen. A couple of years ago a movie came out called The Royal Tenenbaums. It always choked me up because the father in that movie was like my dad. There is an exchange in the movie that always reminded me of him:

Royal: I've always been considered an asshole for about as long as I can remember. That's just my style. But I'd really feel blue if I didn't think you were going to forgive me.
Henry Sherman: I don't think you're an asshole, Royal. I just think you're kind of a son of a bitch
Royal: Well, I really appreciate that.

Like Royal, I believe he knew his faults and I believe he wanted to amend them for the most part. He was always just himself at the same time. He was difficult (in some way) for most of his loved ones, except for me. Despite this, he was the one that taught me to be a social person. Any ounce of charm or charisma I ever had came from him. You know, despite his faults...most people that knew him just loved the hell out of him.

I did too.

You know, after going to my grandmother’s funeral last year I decided not to ever let a preacher do a eulogy for an immediate family member of mine ever again. I didn’t expect to be coming up with a speech so soon.

SiGNS O THE TiMES

You know...one of the few things that really give me hope kerry might win this thing is the make-up of these recent Bush Rallies. Loyalty oaths...pre screened crowds...etc.

that doesn't sound like a guy heading up a winning movement.

Sadly...

Beloved Charlie Watts of the stones has cancer. My best wishes for a fast recovery!!!

Finding the Spirit

I got this from Big Gray. his site is linked on the side. this is one of the funniest thing's i've ever seen in my life. check out the kid that 'found the spirit'.

R.I.P.

Elvis died 27 years ago today. In Memphis, this is what is called Elvis Week. i went 4 years ago. See, i go to memphis a lot but had never been in graceland. i found it all profoundly moving. i felt completely blindsided by how it effected me. i'm a fan but i'm not a crazy fan.

As I walked around the grounds, it really hit me very hard about the 'meaning of elvis' to so many people...the music, fans, parents, people...some who actually have no idea of the influence.

When i came outside to the last leg of the tour, i came across the graves. you see, his family is buried there. i walked along and by the time i got to his mom i was just sobbing. i didn't fully understand it. i was just overwhelmed.

i never actually saw his grave. i was sobbing too hard to look at it. i just felt like the breath had been knocked out of me.

God bless the King. God save Rock N Roll!