"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we," he said. "They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."

George Bush, Washington, D.C. 08.05.04

D'art; Let me ask you, why should I vote for Kerry? How is he going to make my life better? I have asked all of you Kerry supporters this question 3 times now and all I hear is "I hate Bush."

I can think of some reasons to vote against Bush

(1) His stand on Cuba, I want to go and fuck some of the daughter's of the revolution without having to look over my shoulder when I come home.

(2) I am not too hot on having the Republicans try to shove their version of religion on me, even though we are in a religious war.

(3) Giving our tax dollars to faith based groups, and NGO's that try to shut our hobby down.

I just have not found any reason to vote for Kerry.

One can say that Kerry's Speech at the convention was not specific enough, but it was an acceptance speech and not a policy speech. I believe that even though it was admittedly largely theater it achieved an important end. It countered much of the negative impressions of Kerry that the republican noise machine was shoveling in the battleground states. Even if the bump was small polls show people feel better about him and that might be all that is necessary until the debates

There are quite a few specifics on Kerry's website concerning jobs, health insurance, and security. Is Kerry being specific enough or should we expect him to leave some room to maneuver once he's in office? There is no one who can tell us exactly what the world will look like in six months or even three. My vote will go to the man who I believe can deal with tough and unexpected circumstances and make good decisions. I try to be fair and appreciate opposing viewpoints but I honestly cannot understand how anyone can look at Bush's record and believe he's up to that. I cannot think of one aspect of the overall condition of the country that is better or even as well off as it was before 2000. A great many of those thing you can't blame one person for, even the president, but many of them can be directly traced to the bad decisions of this administrations.

Anyway, Three debates are coming up and we'll see more then. I suspect that Kerry's team are deliberately selling him to the American people slowly at the same time letting Bush put a couple of more bullets in his foot. Obviously there are more critical issues faces this country than any other time in long while. I believe the real question is not who can explain there policies, as important as that is, but who can best lead us into an unknown future. With all due respect, how can anyone expect that of Bush?

Just a few reasons to vote for Kerry.

Health Care:

Allow Americans to buy into the Federal Employees Health Plan (in a separate pool) and provide reinsurance to assure coverage is affordable. By focusing on cost containment and helping to cover catastrophic costs.

Tax Credits to Make Coverage More Affordable. Refundable tax credits for up to 50 percent of the cost of coverage will be offered to small businesses and their employees to make health care more affordable.

Limits on medical malpractice punitive damage amounts to lower insurance costs, thus reducing medical costs. Incentives to medical organizations to modernize record keeping also reducing long term costs.

Energy:

Manage US reserves better by not purchasing oil when prices are at their highest. Give automakers incentives to update equipment and build more fuel-efficient vehicles, suggests $10 billion for this plan.. Set goals for utilizing renewable energy (GW basically ignores the idea of renewable energy because it would mean less money for the oil industry).

Education:

Service for college. Pay for four years tuition at a students state university for two years of community service, working in school or health care. One of the types of service would be to implement a program called Gear Up for College in which students will work with at risk high school students to help prepare them for college. Simplify the processes for applying for financial aid. $4000 tax credit for low-income families or students paying their way through school.

Environment:

Kerry is one of (if not the) supporter of the environment. He has been endorsed by just about every environmental organization. He definitely will not be selling wilderness off to be used for drilling. GW figures that any land is good land to drill, need to help those oil-producing buddies of his.

As a final point, they guy has a brain. He understands policy and can look at things in more than just black and white. He doesn’t sound like an idiot every time he has to step away from a totally prepared statement.

Now you tell me what has Bush done in four years. Oh ya, he’s the great wartime President.

I've heard Kerry talk in Detail about these and other issues on Internet radio, but you won't find it on mainstream TV or in newspapers. One thing the corporate
scuzballs didn't predict apparently was just how much easier information is to get in the information age. I'm amazed at how well informed people of average intelligence are. The internet seems to be the silver bullet to the the right wings monster. Oh and be sure to visit johnkerry.com for specifics on his policies

Perhaps someone can help me on a technical question. During the primary, I gave money to both Kerry and Clark. However, now that we are in the publicly funded presidential race, I am wondering whether there is any point in further contributing directly to Kerry's campaign (indeed, I don't even know whether you can), or whether I should instead give money to some "soft money" group, such as move-on.org. Any ideas on this from those of you with similar inclinations?

(Message edited by LAguy on August 07, 2004)

Reyti-

Our failure to complete the mission in Vietnam was due to our goverment playing a war by rules that allowed the enmemy to attack us and then retreat to a santuary (Cambodia) where we were not allowed to pursure them. I think maybe the United Nations created this santuary.

And if you don't think for a minute that if we had not been in Vietnam .....Southeast Asia would be total political landscape right now.

Read the book "An American Soldier" by general Tommy Franks. Did you see him on Letterman last night.....even a liberal like Leterman had to agree with Franks assement of Iraq!

By the way.....Tommy Franks is an independent!

Laguy,

Any money that is donated to the Kerry campaign at this time is really going to the DNC. So you need to decide if you think the DNC or one of the soft money groups will do a better job with any money you care to donate.

tjuncle...so are you saying that I am of average intelligence. Geez, a BS in Physics from one of the nations top engineering schools, and MS in civil engineering and a self taught software developer. What’s a guy have to do to impress on this board. Well, you are voting Democratic so I won’t take offence.

I didn't intend to short change you beachbum2, your post along with many others here has been especailly articulate. I was refering to folks who ten years ago wouldn't be informed well on most issues.

Beachman writes "Our failure to complete the mission in Vietnam was due to our goverment playing a war by rules that allowed the enmemy to attack us and then retreat to a santuary (Cambodia) where we were not allowed to pursure them."

How do you reconcile the above statement with Nixon's 1970 invasion of Cambodia?

"I think maybe the United Nations created this santuary."

I know people of your political persuasion enjoy vilifying the UN but Cambodia's status was spelled out in the Declaration of the Geneva Conference of 1954 of which the US was a signatory.

The Geneva Conference was not hosted by the UN. The parties were France, the USSR, England, Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of Viet-nam,the State of Viet-Nam, Laos, China and the US.

Reytj

BTW are Franks' memoirs the source of your misinformation?

I don't know how anyone could argue that Kerry lost the war for us, when Kerry didn't get prominent until April, 1971, when the war was already a lost cause (Nixon was already bringing the troops home).

All that yelling and screaming about the war at home was about much of the public thinking the war was impossible to win; even Nixon in 1969 began the scaled troop withdrawals knowing that there was no "win" strategy.

Beachman says:

"Our failure to complete the mission in Vietnam was due to our goverment playing a war by rules that allowed the enmemy to attack us and then retreat to a santuary (Cambodia) where we were not allowed to pursure them. I think maybe the United Nations created this santuary.

And if you don't think for a minute that if we had not been in Vietnam .....Southeast Asia would be total political landscape right now. "

Boy, the first paragraph has no relation to reality, the problem in Vietnam was that the locals were not for the US at all, so one minute some kid would be hanging around the troops, the next he would be throwing a grenade at them, so the question became: who is the enemy, who can you fire at? Once the answer boiled down to free fire zones, we ended up shooting at a lot of people who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, which then created a lot more enemies within the local populace. Shampoo, rinse, repeat.

That's why they talk of Iraq becoming another Vietnam - not because the enemy can go hide in another country, but because we can't always tell who the enemy is. One minute, the locals are hanging around the troops, the next they are firing RPGs.

Vietnam was unwinnable unless we were prepared to kill more than the million or so civilians, since there was no line between civilian and enemy in that war. And, Vietnam was unwinnable from the getgo, not in 1973 or 1972 or 1971 or even before anyone had ever heard of John Kerry.

(Message edited by orgngrndr on August 07, 2004)

Kerry brought home the fact that there were LOTS of those in the armed service who questioned the war in Vietnam. Most were very scared and hesitant to protest this, as it meant trouble for them, not only in the armed services but by the "silent majority"

Kerry was put on the Nixon "Enemies List". He holds that to be an honor. That alone would qualify him a hero in my book.

It took an incredible amount of courage to speak out against the war at that time. People like Ron Kovic and John Kerry had thier lives threatened for doing something they thought was important.

Kerry went had a wealthy upbringing and joined the service as a patriotic gesture early in the 60's when the war was still in it's infancy.

But John Kerry went to war, John Kerry fought and bled, and came back and did something far more courageous. He bucked the establishment, he spoke out against an injustice and the clusterfuck of a war, and, at the time there was no political ambition.

Contrast that with Bush. From a family of money and influence, he used them to stay out of the war, through his family he got accepted to a prestigious school but not by his achievements, but only by his "legacy". A political animal from day one.

While Kerry was in Vietnam, Bush was in Alabama (on sabbatical from the National Guard, with THEIR "approval", wink-wink) working on the campaign of a Alabama senator who was a segrgationist as well as a class-one bigot.

John Kerry risked his life in Vietnam, rescued a fellow sailor under fire from the enemy and recieved commendations from his superiors and from his fellow sailors. George W. Bush spent his time in Alabama dreaming up new ways to keep the blacks from voting.

Now we have a bunch of Bush supporters, funded by the same persons and people who started the rumor campaign against Sen. John McCain, that his time in captivity in Vietnam, made him unstable. Unfit for president. They are telling the press that Kerry did not desrve his commendations. None of those responsible for the ads, or former swiftboat sailors endorsing this smear were on Kerry's boat, and none saw what happened.

Now they are trying the same shit with Kerry as with McCain. When confronted some are retracting their statements. But it's already out there. Which was thier plan.

What is abhorent about this is that the Bush campaign refuses to disavoy this smear campaign. This is in spite of the request by Sen. McCain, a Bush backer and Bush target of a smear campaign but a genuine war hero.

If nothin else, this shows what kind of people are running the Bush campaign. If your opponant has a better war record than you, the "war" president (who doesn't), then discredit him through a false smear campaign.

This does not surprise me. But if you want ample proof that Dubya has exercised poor judgement in the past and will continue to do so, look no further.

Even if you could somehow convince yourself that Dubya is a genuine good person, is kind to small animals, loves children and goes to church on sunday, You would have to admit that he has picked really bad people, or people not up to the job, to be his advisors.

From Douglas Fieth, to Woolfowitz, Rumsfeld to Rove, From Ashcroft to Condelizza Rice. The Bush advisors are truly some of the most ignorant and self-serving bunch of beaurocrats that have ever "graced" the west wing.

They alone should give anyone who has reservation about voting for Kerry, ample reason NOT to vote for Bush.


OG

Even the Republicans on the Sunday morning talk shows were trashing the anti-Kerry Vietnam ad today. Among the comments:

"He *was* in Vietnam, no one can claim otherwise".

"This guy Rasmussen is a lifelong Republican. He came out of nowhere, without any prompting from Kerry, and says that Kerry saved his life in Vietnam. The guys in the ad weren't there."

"The Washington Post and other newspapers have investigated Kerry's Vietnam records for years and haven't found any holes"

"Any* mention of Kerry's Vietnam record is a good thing, its like when Terrorism is discussed, any mention of Terrorism is good for Bush - these ads are *good* for Kerry".

I am paraphrasing the quotes since I don't have a photographic memory, but the bottom line is that these Swift boat guys will probably go away soon, since not even Bush wants these ads to run anymore.

My bottom line:

Kerry was in Vietnam. Bush was somewhere drinking.

Well we all know about Bush's famous public speaking ability. Indeed the man makes Dan Quale look like an absolute genius.

But for those who might not be aware or have not the time to look up all the Bush bon mots, I've assembled a few.

I may remind you that this person is the leader of the free world, and the voice of democracy. His speeches are translated into almost all languages and published all over the world, although I'm sure many of the malapropisms would not translate well.

But in plain english it, at the same time, humours and scares the hell out of me.

As we have been debating on this board, Bush's politics, we can gleam from these declarations, his true capacity for leadership.

So I bring you the wit and wisdon of George W. Bush, the 43rd President of the United States.



Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.
-- speaking to top Pentagon brass, Washington, DC, August 5, 2004; reported by Reuters.

And I am an optimistic person. I guess if you want to try to find something to be pessimistic about, you can find it, no matter how hard you look, you know?
-- Washington, DC, June 15, 2004

To paraphrase President Kennedy, there's America, and then there's Texas. We have great relations with France. We work closely with the French government on a lot of issues.
-- in response to a reporter who repeated Kennedy's observation that "Everyone has two countries, their own, and France," Paris, France, June 5, 2004

I want to thank my friend, Senator Bill Frist, for joining us today. He married a Texas girl, I want you to know.... A West Texas girl, just like me.
--Nashville, TN, May 27, 2004

I don't think our troops should be used for what's called nation-building.
-- spoken during a nationally televised debate, October 11, 2000.

I kind of like ducking questions
-- at the Associated Press luncheon, Washington, DC, April 21, 2004

I'm sure something will pop into my head here in the midst of this press conference, with all the pressure of trying to come up with an answer, but it hadn't yet.
-- responding to the question of what lessons had been learned from 9/11, press conference, Washington, DC, April 13, 2004

In my judgment, when the United States says there will be serious consequences, and if there isn't serious consequences, it creates adverse consequences.
-- appearing on NBC's Meet the Press, February 8, 2004.

... [S]ometimes when you don't measure, you just shuffle kids through. Then you wake up at the high school level and find out that the illiteracy level of our children are appalling.
-- speaking to the US Conference of Mayors, Washington, DC, January 23, 2004

We shall call him moon man from now on.
-- Kill Devil Hills, NC, December 17, 2003. On the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers' flight, reporters anticipated an announcment concerning moon exploration, but had to settle for this comment after actor John Travolta told Bush he'd volunteer to go.

I want to remind you all that in order to fight and win the war, it requires an expenditure of money that is commiserate with keeping a promise to our troops....
-- press conference, Washington, DC, December 15, 2003
As you notice, when there's a hole in the ground and a person is able to crawl into it in a country the size of California, it means we're on a scavenger hunt for terror, and find these terrorists who hide in holes is to get people coming forth to describe the location of the hole, is to give clues and data. And we're on it.
-- press conference, Washington, DC, December 15, 2003

I'm going out to our friends and supporters and saying, would you mind contributing to the campaign for the year '04? To me, that's -- and that's a part of politics, no question about it. And as you know, these are open forums, you're able to come and listen to what I have to say.
-- press conference, Washington, DC, October 28, 2003

The more successful we are on the ground, the more these killers will react.
-- after meeting with his "war council" to discuss escalating violence in Iraq, Washington, DC, October 27, 2003.

I appreciate people's opinions, but I'm more interested in news. And the best way to get the news is from objective sources. And the most objective sources I have are people on my staff who tell me what's happening in the world.
-- Fox News interview with Brit Hume, September 22, 2003.

We don't need to be breaching no dams that are producing electricity.
-- Burbank, WA, August 22, 2003, as reported by KOMO-TV (subsequently amended to "any dams"). The remark came as Bush tried to take credit for increased salmon runs in the region. Sen. Joseph Lieberman remarked, "George Bush taking credit for increased salmon populations is like a sailor taking credit for the tides."

It's a different kind of combat mission, but, nevertheless, it's combat, just ask the kids that are over there killing and being shot at.
-- interview with Armed Forces Radio and Television Service, August 14, 2003.

We want those objections heard, of course -- every citizen needs to hear a voice.
-- Summerhaven, AZ, August 11, 2003.

Security is the essential roadblock to achieving the road map to peace.
-- Washington, D.C., July 25, 2003.

The problem with the French is that they don't have a word for entrepreneur.
-- repeated to an audience in Brighton, UK, by politician Shirley Williams, according to London Times arts writer, Jack Malvern. Reported in the Washington Post, July 10, 2003.

We're laying the groundwork for a national campaign -- a national campaign that I believe will result in a great victory in November 2002.
-- Tampa, Florida, June 30, 2003.

Wait for us to succeed peace. Wait for us to have two states, side by side -- is for everybody coming together to deny the killers the opportunity to destroy.
-- Kennebunkport, Maine, June 15, 2003.

I'm also not very analytical. You know I don't spend a lot of time thinking about myself, about why I do things.
-- aboard AirForce One, June 4 2003.

I recently met with the finance minister of the Palestinian Authority, was very impressed by his grasp of finances.
-- Washington, DC, May 29, 2003.

First, let me make it very clear, poor people aren't necessarily killers. Just because you happen to be not rich doesn't mean you're willing to kill.
-- Washington, DC, May 19, 2003.

So one of my visits -- one of the reasons I'm visiting here is to ask the question to people. Because if there's -- moving too slow, or people are saying one thing and the other thing is not happening, now is the time to find out.
-- Pierce City, MO, May 13, 2003.

I think war is a dangerous place.
-- Washington, DC, May 7, 2003.

I don't bring God into my life to -- to, you know, kind of be a political person.
-- interview with Tom Brokaw aboard Air Force One, April 24, 2003.

You're free. And freedom is beautiful. And, you know, it'll take time to restore chaos and order....
-- responding to a reporter who asked what Bush's message to the Iraqi people was, Washington, DC, April 13, 2003

The Syrian government needs to cooperate with the United States and our coalition partners and not harbor any Baathists....
-- probably a difficult requirement in Syria where the Baath party has been the leading political party since 1973. The national committee of the Baath party is effectively the decision making body in Syria, and party membersship exceeds one million. Washington, DC, April 13, 2003

We're fighting an enemy ... that will wear civilian uniforms....
-- Washington, DC, March 25, 2003.

...If we use military force, in the post-Saddam Iraq the UN will definitely need to have a role. And that way it can begin to get its legs, legs of responsibility back.
-- Lajes, Azores, March 16, 2003.

We appreciate our own support for ensuring that the just demands of the world are enforced.
-- Washington, DC, March 13, 2003.

I know there's some concern about overstating of numbers, you know, invest in my company because the sky's the limit. We may not be cash flowing much, but the sky's the limit. Well, when you pay dividends, that sky's the limit business doesn't hunt.
-- Kennesaw, GA, February 20, 2003.

...[A]s we insist that Congress be wise with your money, we're going to make sure we spend enough to win this war. And by spending enough to win a war, we may not have a war at all.
-- Kennesaw, Georgia, February 20, 2003.

So today I ask you to challenge your listeners ... to start a ministry, which will find the children of those who are incarcinated and love them.
-- Addressing the National Religious Broadcasters' Convention, Opryland Hotel, Nashville, TN, February 10, 2003. The quote was cleaned up before the speech was posted on the White House web site.

I believe we can achieve peace at home....
-- Washington, DC, January 30, 2003.

Should any Iraqi officer or soldier receive an order from Saddam Hussein or his sons or any of the killers who occupy the high levels of their government, my advice is don't follow that order. If you choose to do so, when Iraq is liberated, you will be treated, tried and persecuted as a war criminal.
-- St. Louis, MO, January 22, 2003.

I'm the person who gets to decide, not you.
-- reacting to a reporter's statement in the lead-in to his question that "we're headed to war in Iraq," Crawford, TX, December 31, 2002.

I had a cordial meeting at that meeting last night. We greeted each other, cordially.
-- Prague, Czech Republic, November 21, 2002.

One of the problems we have is that enough people can't find work in America.
-- Bentonville, AR, November 4, 2002.

The solid truth of the matter is, when you find -- if you want to help heal the hurt -- if you want to hurt people and help people in pain, the best way to do so is to call upon the great strength of the country, which is the compassion of our fellow Americans.
-- Bentonville, AR, November 4, 2002.

Who is this chicken shit?
-- "Poppy" Bush at a White House reception in 1991, after Senator Paul Wellstone had urged Bush Sr. to focus more on education issues and less on the Gulf War.

It's been raining, so she needs to sweep the porch, because the President of China is coming tomorrow.
-- explaining Laura Bush's absence to an audience in Charlotte, NC, October 24, 2002. Asked the next day if she appreciated the remark, Mrs. Bush shook her head and mouthed, "No."

All of us here in America should believe, and I think we do, that we should be, as I mentioned, a nation of owners. Owning something is freedom, as far as I'm concerned. It's part of a free society... It's a part of -- it's of being a -- it's a part of -- an important part of America.
-- Washington, D.C., October 15, 2002.

You need to listen carefully to the debates that goes on in our nation's capital. You see, some of them are -- goes on with people trying to get to the nation's capital. Some of them, they talk about the government's money.
-- Manchester, NH, October 5, 2002.

The definition of a patriot in the face of the evil done to America is to serve something greater than yourself in life, is to help somebody in need, is to love a person one at a time, as we remember that -- which I know we will.
-- Manchester, NH, October 5, 2002.

We need an energy bill that encourages consumption.
-- Trenton, NJ, September 23, 2002.

There's an old saying in Tennessee -- I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee -- that says, fool me once, shame on -- shame on you. Fool me -- you can't get fooled again.
-- East Literature Magnet School, Nashville, Tennessee, September 17, 2002. Couldn't quite get out "... fool me twice, shame on me."

...[T]here is a value system that cannot be compromised, and that is the values that we praise. And if the values are good enough for our people, they ought to be good enough for others, not in a way to impose because these are God-given values. These aren't United States-created values. These are values of freedom and the human condition and mothers loving their children.
-- interviewed by Bob Woodward, Crawford, TX, August 20, 2002.

I'm the commander -- see, I don't need to explain -- I do not need to explain why I say things. That's the interesting thing about being the president. Maybe somebody needs to explain to me why they say something, but I don't feel like I owe anybody an explanation.
-- interviewed by Bob Woodward, Crawford, TX, August 20, 2002.

I'm thrilled to be here in the breadbasket of America.
-- Stockton, CA, August 23, 2002. Stockton is 60 miles east of the Bay Area, and 25 miles west of the Sierra Nevada, known for watersports on the Sacramento Delta, perhaps, but not much grain production....

I believe the enemy has wakened a spirit in this country that understands in order to fight evil, in order to fight evil -- that in order to fight evil, you can do so by loving your neighbor just like you'd like to be loved yourself.
-- Stockton, CA, August 23, 2002.

There was certainly a very strong sentiment that we're on the right track when it comes to holding people to account who lie, steat or cheal....
-- responding the question of what was the most important thing he learned from the recent so-called economic forum. Crawford, Texas, August 16, 2002.

Let's see. There I was sitting around the table with foreign leaders looking at Colin Powell and Condi Rice....
-- responding the the question of why he was not addressing the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peoples convention, Washington, DC, July 10, 2002.

There was no malfeance, no attempt to hide anything.
-- explaining the difference between Harken Energy's sale of subsidiary Aloha Petroleum, and similar transactions involving Enron shell companies "Jedi" and "Chewco," Washington, DC, July 8, 2002.

Everything I do is fully disclosed, it's been fully vetted.
-- responding to (and not denying) the suggestion in Paul Krugman's op-ed column that Bush's past included the corporate misbehavior he was now criticizing. Milwaukee, WI, July 4, 2002.

As the United States works to bring peace around the world our diplomats and/or soldiers can be drug into the court. That's very troubling.
-- Milwaukee, WI, July 2, 2002.

I read the report put out by the bureaucracy.
--referring to his own Environmental Protection Agency report to the United Nations on global warming, June 4, 2002.

Very good, the guy memorizes four words, and he plays like he's intercontinental.
-- at a news conference in Rome, Italy, after NBC News correspondent David Gregory followed a question to Bush in English with one in French to President Jacques Chirac. Gregory's question to Bush was, "I wonder why it is you think there are such strong sentiments in Europe against you and against this administration?" May 26, 2002.

We hold dear what our Declaration of Independence says, that all have got uninalienable rights....
-- addressing community and religious leaders in Moscow, May 24, 2002.

There is a sniff of politics in the air.
-- in a closed door session with congressional Republicans, Washington, DC, May 16, 2002.

I'm not familiar with the anacronyms.
-- Ari Fleischer, White House press conference, Washington, DC, May 16, 2002.

My foreign policy is -- Fidel Castro is a dictator.
-- Washington, DC, May 14, 2002.

You see, the President is -- can still learn.
-- First African Methodist Episcopal Renaissance Center, Los Angeles, California, April 29, 2002.

Some of the biggest sources of air pollution are the power plants, which send tons of admissions into our air.
-- Wilmington, NY, April 22, 2002 (Earth Day).

And so, in my State of the -- my State of the Union -- or state -- my speech to the nation, whatever you want to call it, speech to the nation -- I asked Americans to give 4,000 years -- 4,000 hours over the next -- the rest of your life.
-- Bridgeport, CT, April 9, 2002.

I appreciate Lieutenant Governor Judi Kell for being here. Great to see you again, Judi.
-- referring to Connecticut Lieutenant Governor Jodi Rell, Bridgeport, CT, April 9, 2002.

Sometimes when I sleep at night I think of "Hop on Pop."
-- Penn. State University, April 2, 2002.

But there needs to be a focused, coalition effort in the region against peace.
-- discussing the Middle East, Crawford, TX, March 30, 2002.

I talked about making the death tax permanent, so that Rolf can pass his assets to a family member, if he so chooses.
-- O'Fallon, MO, March 18, 2002. The White House official transcript added a footnote indicating Bush meant "repeal" of the tax.

My trip to Asia begins here in Japan for an important reason. It begins here because for a century and a half now, America and Japan have formed one of the great and enduring alliances of modern times.
-- from the transcript of Bush's remarks to the Diet of Japan. Reported by U.S. Newswire, February 19, 2002. The White House transcript amended the statement to "half a century."

We've not got no better friend than South Korea.
-- greeting the South Korean press, February 17, 2002.

It isn't really a sissy pretzel.
-- Laura Bush, appearing on The Tonight Show, February 11, 2002.

He was a supporter of Ann Richards in my run in 1994. And she did name him the head of the Governor's Business Council, and I decided to leave him in place just for the sake of continuity. And that's when I first got to know Ken and worked with Ken, and he supported my candidacy.
-- responding to a question about ties to former Enron chairman Kenneth Lay, reported in the Houston Chronicle, January 10, 2002.

I don't intend to read it all.
-- referring to the education bill he had just signed, Hamilton, OH, January 8, 2002.

We are working hard to convince both the Indians and the Pakis there's a way to deal with their problems without going to war.
-- Washington, DC, January 7, 2002. The term 'Paki' is considered an ethnic slur in Britain. "The President has great respect for Pakistan and for the Pakistani people," White House spokesman Scott McClellan later clarified.

Not over my dead body will they raise your taxes.
-- Ontario, CA, January 5, 2002.

I know the governor likes to hunt rabbits down in Louisiana. Sometimes those rabbits think they can hide from the governor. But, eventually, he smokes them out and gets them. And that's exactly what is happening to Mr. bin Laden, and all the murderers that he's trying to hide in Afghanistan.
-- with Governor Mike Foster, Washington, DC, December 19, 2001. Foster later admitted "... I don't know anybody who hunts [rabbits] that way."

And we have a role in the government -- in the state government, in the federal government -- to provide immediate help as part of an economic security package, is to provide immediate help.
-- Orlando, FL, December 4, 2001

I want to go back to Washington. There is strong advice that I not, primarily from the vice president.
-- reported in Newsweek (International edition) December 3, 2001

I can assure you, when I was a senior in high school, I never sat in an audience saying, gosh, if I work hard I'll be President of the United States.
-- Crawford, TX, November 15, 2001

We don't have a beef with Muslims.
-- Washington, DC, October 25, 2001

You know, if you find a person that you've never seen before getting in a cropduster that doesn't belong to you, report it.
-- answering a reporter who asked what Americans should be on the lookout for in response to the announcement of a general terrorist threat, news conference, Washington, DC, October 11, 2001

And we'll be tough and resolute as we unite, to make sure freedom stands, to rout out evil, to say to our children and grandchildren, we were bold enough to act, without tiring, so that you can live in a great land and in a peaceful world.... And there's no doubt in my mind, not one doubt in my mind, that we will fail.
-- speaking to employees of the Department of Labor, Washington, DC, October 4, 2001

I am here to make an announcement that this Thursday, ticket counters and airplanes will fly out of Ronald Reagan Airport.
-- Washington, DC, October 2, 2001

...[W]hen nations are under attack, now is not the time for politics.
-- with Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, Washington, DC, September 25, 2001

This crusade ... is going to take a while.
-- Washington, DC, September 16, 2001

There's one terrible pilot.
-- Sarasota, FL, September 11, 2001. During a town hall forum in Orlando, FL, December 4, 2001, Bush described his first reaction to the report that a plane hit the World Trade Center tower.

A vampire is a -- a -- cell deal you can plug in the wall to charge your cell phone.
-- Denver, CO, August 14, 2001

My administration has been calling upon all the leaders in the -- in the Middle East to do everything they can to stop the violence, to tell the different parties involved that peace will never happen.
-- Crawford, TX, August 13, 2001

A dictatorship would be a heck of a lot easier, there's no question about it.
-- Washington, DC, July 26, 2001, commenting on negotiating with Congress

First, let me say how honored I was to be able to be in the presence of the Holy Father... He's an extraordinary man who is, by virtue of his leadership and his conscience and his presence has not only affected political systems, but affected the hearts and souls of thousands of people all around the world.
-- Rome, July 23, 2001

I haven't thought about the nuance of it.
-- Washington DC, June 24, 2001, when asked by Peggy Noonan about the prospect of Russia joining NATO

They're not talking about firm price controls. They are talking about mechanism to -- as I understand it, a mechanism to mitigate any severe price spikes that may occur, which is completely different from price controls.
-- reported in Molly Ivins's syndicated column, June 26, 2001

Africa is a nation that suffers from incredible disease.
-- Gotheburg, Sweden, June 14, 2001

Can't living with the bill means it won't become law.
-- Brussels, Belgium, June 13, 2001

So on behalf of a well-oiled unit of people who came together to serve something greater than themselves, congratulations.
-- greeting the University of Nebraska women's volleyball team, Washington, DC, May 31, 2001

If you're like me you won't remember everything you did here.
-- Yale University, New Haven, CT, May 21, 2001

There's no question that the minute I got elected, the storm clouds on the horizon were getting nearly directly overhead.
-- Washington, DC, May 11, 2001

But I also made it clear to [Russian President Vladimir Putin] that it's important to think beyond the old days of when we had the concept that if we blew each other up, the world would be safe.
-- Washington, DC, May 1, 2001

Neither in French nor in English nor in Mexican.
-- Declining to answer reporters' questions at the Summit of the Americas, Quebec City, Canada, April 21, 2001. When asked about the remark later, his staff said he was joking.

This administration is doing everything we can to end the stalemate in an efficient way. We're making the right decisions to bring the solution to an end.
-- Washington, DC, April 10, 2001

You can fool some of the people all of the time and those are the ones you want to concentrate on.
-- Washington, DC March 31, 2001

As you know, we're studying safe levels for arsenic in drinking water. The scientists told us we need to test the water glasses on 3,000 people. Thank you for participating.
-- Washington, DC, March 31, 2001

Do you have blacks, too?
-- Washington, DC, March 2001, during Bush's first meeting with Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso. Reported April 28, 2002 by columnist Fernando Pedreira of the Estado Sao Paulo in an article titled "An Overwhelming Ignorance."

You teach a child to read and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test.
-- Townsend, TN, February 18, 2001.

Natural gas is hemispheric. I like to call it hemispheric in nature because it is a product that we can find in our neighborhoods.
-- Austin, TX, December20, 2000

The great thing about America is everybody should vote.
-- Austin, TX, December 8, 2000

They misunderestimated me.
-- Bentonville, AR, November 6, 2000

They want the federal government controlling Social Security like it's some kind of federal program.
-- St. Charles, Missouri, November 2, 2000

This is an impressive crowd, the haves and the have-mores. Some people call you the elite. I call you my base.
-- Al Smith Memorial Dinner, New York, NY, October 19, 2000

It's important for us to explain to our nation that life is important. It's not only life of babies, but it's life of children living in, you know, the dark dungeons of the Internet.
-- Arlington Heights, IL, October 24, 2000

...a hemispheric energy policy where Canada and Mexico and the United States come together. I brought this up recently with Vicente Fox, who's the newly elected president. He's a man I know from Mexico. And I talked about how best to be able to expedite the exploration of natural gas in Mexico and transport it up to the United States, so we become less dependent on foreign sources of crude oil.
-- during the first Presidential debate, Boston, MA October 3, 2000

I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully.
-- Saginaw, MI, September 29, 2000

More and more of our imports are coming from overseas.
-- reported in Slate, September 25, 2000

Bush: There's Adam Clymer, major league asshole from the New York Times.
Cheney: Oh yeah, he is, big time.
-- Labor Day Rally, September 4, 2000

After all, religion has been around a lot longer than Darwinism.
-- reported in George Magazine, September, 2000

It's clearly a budget. It's got a lot of numbers in it.
-- Reuters, May 5, 2000

I'm a uniter not a divider. That means when it comes time to sew up your chest cavity, we use stitches as opposed to opening it up.
-- on David Letterman, March 2, 2000. (the audience booed)

I understand small business growth. I was one.
-- New York Daily News, February 19, 2000

The most important job is not to be governor, or first lady in my case.
-- Pella, IA, as quoted by the San Antonio Express-News, January 30, 2000

Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?
-- Florence, SC, January 11, 2000

I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family.
-- Nashua, NH, January 28, 2000

No.
-- responding to Dallas Morning News reporter Wayne Slater's 1998 question asking "Were you ever arrested after 1968?", reported in The New Republic, November, 1999. Bush's 1976 DUI arrest received wide publicity in October 2000.

Kosovians can move back in.
-- quoted on CNN's Inside Politics, April 9, 1999

I was a pit bull on the pantleg of opportunity
-- quoted in Shrub by Molly Ivins.

It's not the governor's role to decide who goes to heaven. I believe that God decides who goes to heaven, not George W. Bush.
-- Houston Chronicle.

I didn't -- I swear I didn't -- get into politics to feather my nest or feather my friends' nests.
-- Houston Chronicle

When I have been asked who caused the riots and the killing in LA, my answer has been direct and simple: Who is to blame for the riots? The rioters are to blame. Who is to blame for the killings? The killers are to blame....



OG

Good for you Organgrinder; Now did you make this list up yourself, or did you plagiarize someone else's work?

At least RioRules would state where he got his info from.

Orgngrndr ; Great list dude, I got the first two editions of Bushisms but there are some here I've never seen, thanks. Isn't it typical that when faced with facts all the Bush schills can do is attack your character? You might want to run this list again whenever anyone argues Bush is anything but a blooming idiot, but be sure to name your sources, they'll have to accuse you of being a terrorist then I guess

I used three sources. As none of them had the most recent Bush Bon mots, so I had to consult several sources. They are not hard to find.

You can't plagiarize public comments.
I may have not said quite clearly that I collected these (and didn't make these up) from other web sites, for that I apologize.

I can quote source until I'm blue in the face. Unfortunatly there are those who, for whatever reason, will refuse to acknowledge even the most obvious; that Bush is an idiot.

There is no doubt that the republican right has an amazing spin machine. For three and a half years they have made great efforts to make Bush look and act presidential. Unfortunatley, that all comes apart when he opens his mouth.

No wonder this administration has the lowest number of White House press conferences in it's history

OG

-According to President Bush, President Bush has never made a mistake. Also, should a mistake be made, President Bush will be unable to recall the mistake or any events that happened before and after said mistake. President Bush also would like you to know that any fact brought forth must meet with President Bush's approval. Failure of the fact to be approved makes the fact false. Only President Bush approved facts will be considered truthful.

Note that being an idiot is not a disqualification to be President. Calling someone an idiot, however, is a personal attack.

Can't Democrats do anything but launch personal attacks?

"... being an idiot is not a disqualification to be President

Man, truer words were never spoken. But, maybe, just maybe, we should get rid of a president who is an idiot?

"Can't Democrats do anything but launch personal attacks?.

Pot -- Kettle, Kettle -- Pot.

Just to show how slow I am, even now, it seems to me after all those quotes the game's over, no one in there right mind is going defend let alone support him. We all know though that not only will they back him but they will imply any one who doesn't is an idiot or misled. Anyone want to bet against it?

I know you guys are going to be too busy chasing tail but this does fit with the theme "Lick Bush in 2004" so here's something from moveon.org

Dear MoveOn member,

We've done bake sales. We've done house parties. We've bought ads. Now it's time for the home stretch - getting out each and every vote where it counts. MoveOn PAC is planning an incredibly ambitious, groundbreaking, precinct-level neighbor-to-neighbor campaign we're calling Leave No Voter Behind. We want to hire 500 organizers in the last weeks before the election to work in 10,000 key neighborhoods in battleground states to get 440,000 new votes for John Kerry to the polls.
If anyone can do this, together we can. The best proven model for getting out votes like this requires paid organizers helping thousands of volunteers ensure that their neighbors get to the polls. It will cost $5 million to make this happen. So we can't do this without you.
If we can raise the first $1 million in the next 48 hours, we'll go for it. You can sponsor a precinct in a battleground state for only $500 and make a huge difference in this election. But whether you can give $25 or $2,500, we're asking you to help launch this program today. Just go to:

https://www.moveonpac.org/donate/leavenovoterbehind.html
John Kerry has now accepted public funding and stopped raising money for his campaign. That means that the most effective thing you can do to retire President Bush is to support MoveOn PAC or the Democratic National Committee.

This is going to be an incredibly tight election. Most analysts believe that with so few undecided voters, this election is going to come down to three things: turnout, turnout, and turnout. The MoveOn network is in a great position to make the difference here: a personal contact from a friend or neighbor is the most effective way to get people out to vote. It's a tried and true technique but its impact would be unprecedented: together we can produce 440,000 new votes for Kerry in the most important swing areas - more than enough to win.
Of course, Leave No Voter Behind won't just happen in swing states. Whether your state is red, blue, or a tossup, we'll offer powerful ways that you can make this program effective, from making phone calls and to getting on buses and going to nearby states to help with the final push.

Using the Internet to make our work more efficient, we can cover each neighborhood for only $500. If you can support one or even 10 neighborhoods yourself, that's a huge boost to our efforts.
If that's too steep for you,

* with $225 we can knock on the doors of each of our target voters in one neighborhood,
* with $110 we can run the crucial final 2 weeks of our campaign in one area, or
* with $55 we can contact every voter in one area one last time on Election Day itself.


Help build our Leave No Voter Behind campaign. Just click here:

https://www.moveonpac.org/donate/leavenovoterbehind.html

If we hit our goal now, we'll get back in touch with you next week to start the on-the-ground effort and tell you what you can do. This is the biggest challenge we've ever taken on. But with your help we can do it, and make history together.

Sincerely,
--Adam, Carrie, Eli, Hannah, James, Justin, Laura, Mat, and Sam
  The MoveOn PAC Team
  August 3, 2004

I don't want to be a drag, but these guys don't need help in California, where most of us are from.

BTW, "Get out the vote" absolutely requires a voter registration drive ahead of time, and I have yet to see any signs of this actually happening.

Explorer8939 I don't have any specific data for you but I've heard a few interviews on airamericaradio.com and radiopower.org with folks who have been trying to get out the vote. The focus was battleground states and the demographics has been women, minorites and the under 30 kids. I can't tell you how succesful any of it has been but I know moveon.org has been there with money for some of it and other orginazations have plug into there infrastructure.

Tjuncle; I am still waiting for you to answer the question of why should a person vote for Kerry. Your good at name calling, but can you tell anyone why after all these years in federal government Kerry has not accomplished more? Or just tell us what he has accomplished.

I apologize Roadglide if I am a name caller, I feel at the moment I speak I'm justified but, hey, who am I to call
the kettle black. I'll be honest with you, I wish Kerry was a better choice, he certainly is not Roosevelt class. My
justification is this, anyone can do a better job than this adminstration. I feel that if given another four years
Bush and his pals will totally destroy our economy and run the deficit up even higher, completely alienate us from the rest of the world and bring America to a pre-fascist state. The situation is so desperate in my eyes that "anyone but Bush" is reason enough to vote for Kerry. Just look at the bushism posted in the thread
War and peace to see my point. Interestingly,the point has been made to me that very few Senators and Congressman have retired with a distinguished record. The point in the house being to cooperate and follow the party leadership. I'm told many represenitives who are fine administrators remain totally anonymous because they agree to serve the greater good before their ego, or at least the party line. I'm not saying Kerry is among them but I like the directions some of his ideas are going on his website and like I say "He's not Bush". Once again my apologizes to anyone I insulted, I'm following this election really close and feel more is riding on it than any election in my lifetime and I am a little wound up over it, maybe I should go get laid

This ones for you roadglide

Letter From A Concerned Senior Citizen


To Whom It May Concern, I am a senior citizen. During the Clinton
Administration I had an extremely good and well paying job. I took
numerous
vacations and had several vacations homes.
Since President Bush took office, I have watched my entire life
change for
the worse: I lost my job. I lost my two sons in that terrible Iraqi
War.
I lost my home.
I lost my health insurance.
As a matter of fact, I lost virtually everything and became homeless.
Adding insult to injury, when the authorities found me living like an
animal, instead of helping me, they arrested me.
I will do anything to insure President Bush's defeat in the next
election.
I will do anything that Senator Kerry wants to insure that a Democrat
is
back in the White House come next year. Bush has to go.
I just thought you and your listeners would like to know how one
senior
citizen views the Bush Administration.
Thank you for taking the time to read my letter.

Sincerely,

.

.






.

wait for it...

.










.

.

.

Saddam Hussein

The Bush administration's policy on Al Qaida has been to send our troops where Al Qaida did not previously have a presence. Kerry's policy is to relieve our troops in Iraq with foreign armies, so that our troops will be free to go after Bin Ladin.

Here are some of Kerrys promises from his website johnkerry.com and I'm not going to pretend to say he can
do all, some or none of it. I do believe between him and Bush he's at least competent
enough not to sell us to Mexico for a bottle of mescal and a couple of hookers

Launch And Lead A New Era Of Alliances
The threat ofterrorism demands alliances on a global scale - to utilize everyavailable resource to get the terrorists before they can strike at us.As president, John Kerry will lead a coalition of the able - because noforce on earth is more able than the United States and its allies.

Modernize The World's Most Powerful Military To Meet New Threats
JohnKerry and John Edwards have a plan to transform the world's mostpowerful military to better address the modern threats of terrorism andproliferation, while ensuring that we have enough properly trained andequipped troops to meet our enduring strategic and regional missions.

Deploy All That Is In America's Arsenal
The war onterror cannot be won by military might alone. As president, John Kerrywill deploy all the forces in America's arsenal - our diplomacy, ourintelligence system, our economic power, and the appeal of our valuesand ideas - to make America more secure and prevent a new generation ofterrorists from emerging.

Free America From Its Dangerous Dependence On Mideast Oil
Tosecure our full independence and freedom, we must free America from itsdangerous dependence on Mideast oil. By tapping American ingenuity, wecan achieve that goal while growing our economy and protecting ourenvironment.

Create Good-Paying Jobs
As president, John Kerry will cut taxes for businesses that create jobs here in America instead of movingthem overseas. John Kerry and John Edwards will also stand up forworkers by enforcing our trade agreements.

Cut Middle-Class Taxes To Raise Middle-Class Incomes
When John Kerry is president, middle-class taxes will go down.Ninety-eight percent of all Americans and 99 percent of Americanbusinesses will get a tax cut under the Kerry-Edwards plan.

Make Washington Live Within A Budget
John Kerrywill cut the deficit in half during his first four years in office. Hewill end corporate welfare as we know it, roll back the Bush tax cutsfor the wealthiest Americans, and impose a real cap to keep spending incheck. And when John Kerry puts forward a new idea, he'll tell you howhe's going to pay for it.

Invest In The Jobs Of Tomorrow
Today, businesses are harnessing new technology to manufactureenergy-efficient cars, high-grade steel, advanced plastics and othernew products. And this requires a bigger, skilled labor force to makethem. John Kerry and John Edwards believe we should invest in thesejobs and invest in the people who will fill the

Cut Your Premiums
John Kerry and John Edwards will cut family premiums by up to $1,000.That's $1,000 in real savings people can use to buy groceries, pay thebills, and save for their children's future. And that will mean morejobs and more competitive American businesses.

Cover All Americans With Quality Care
TheKerry-Edwards plan will give every American access to the range ofhigh-quality, affordable plans available to members of Congress andextend coverage to 95 percent of Americans, including every Americanchild. Their plan will also fight to erase the health disparities thatpersist along racial and economic lines, ensure that people with HIVand AIDS have the care they need, end discrimination against Americanswith disabilities and mental illnesses, and ensure equal treatment formental illness in our health system.

Provide Affordable Prescriptions
The Kerry-Edwardsplan will reduce prescription drug prices by allowing there-importation of safe prescription drugs from Canada, overhauling theMedicare drug plan, ensuring low-cost drugs, and ending artificialbarriers to generic drug competition.

Cut Waste And Inefficiency
Today, approximately 25percent of health care costs are wasted on paperwork and administrativeprocessing. The Kerry-Edwards plan harnesses American ingenuity to cutwaste, save billions, and take new steps to ensure patient privacy.


Explore And Develop New Energy Sources
Tomorrow's energy economy will be fueled by new energy sources. TheKerry-Edwards plan will invest in the research and exploration neededto turn ideas into fuel and develop renewable energy sources.Develop Tomorrow's Technology Today
Under the Kerry-Edwardsplan, America will take the lead in developing the new technology andproduction methods needed to ensure that resources such as coal andnatural gas are used more efficiently and cleanly, and fully integratedinto the New Energy Economy.Make America Energy Independent Of Middle East Oil
Oursecurity in the war on terror demands an end to our dependence onMiddle East oil. Under the Kerry-Edwards plan, we will strengthen ournational security while growing our economy and protecting ourenvironment.

Track And Stop Terrorists
Many of the intelligenceproblems that allowed terrorists to slip into our country before 9/11have not been addressed. John Kerry and John Edwards will improve ourability to gather, analyze, and share information so we can track downand stop terrorists before they cause harm.Protect Our Borders And Shores
Today, our borders,our ports, and our airports are not as secure as they must be. JohnKerry and John Edwards will make our airports, seaports, and bordersmore secure without intruding upon personal liberties. Harden Vulnerable Targets
Chemical industrylobbying has kept the Bush administration from strengthening securityat chemical plants, where an attack could endanger 1 million Americans.John Kerry and John Edwards will always put Americans' safety ahead ofbig business interests and take strong measures to harden likelytargets-including nuclear plants, trains, and subways-against possibleattack. Improve Domestic Readiness
Our first defenders willrespond to any attack with courage and heroism-but they also need theequipment and manpower to do the job. John Kerry and John Edwards willback up their words with resources and ensure that America's firstresponders have everything they need to protect their communities. Guard Liberty.
We must always remember that terrorists donot just target our lives - they target our way of life. John Kerry andJohn Edwards believe in an America that is safe and free, and they willprotect our personal liberties as well as our personal security.

Meet Our Responsibilities To Our Schools
John Kerry andJohn Edwards will establish a National Education Trust Fund to ensurethat schools always get the funding they need. They will also ensurethat No Child Left Behind works for schools, states, and teachers byrewarding those who meet higher standards and rewarding schools thatturn around and improve. Continue Reform And Put A Great Teacher In Every Classroom
Great teachers are the foundation of a great school. As president, JohnKerry will enact a new bargain that offers teachers more, includingbetter training and better pay in troubled schools, and asks for morein return, including fast, fair ways to make sure that teachers whodon't belong in the classroom don't stay there.Offer 3.5 Million After-School Opportunities Through "School's Open 'Til Six"
John Kerry and John Edwards are strong supporters of after-schoolprograms. They give students extra help, keep them out of trouble, andoffer peace of mind to working parents. The Kerry-Edwards "School'sOpen 'Til 'Six" initiative will offer after-school opportunities to 3.5million children, through programs that are open until 6 p.m. and offersafe transportation for children.Make College Affordable For All And Expand Lifelong Learning
As president, John Kerry will offer a fully refundable CollegeOpportunity Tax credit on up to $4,000 of tuition for every year ofcollege and offer aid to states that keep tuitions down. And he willlaunch a new effort to ensure that all of our workers can get thetechnical skills and advanced training they need.

Create Cleaner, Greener Communities
Together, we canimprove the environment in backyards and communities across America.John Kerry and John Edwards will revitalize contaminated industrialsites, get toxins out of communities, guarantee our children access toclean, safe parks and baseball fields, and take on traffic congestionand sprawl. Enact A Conservation Covenant With America
JohnKerry and John Edwards believe that Americans are united in our respectfor the land. They will enact a Conservation Covenant with America toensure balanced protection for our public lands and adequate resourcesto enhance our national parks. Protect Our Health By Reducing Dangerous Air Emissions
As president, John Kerry will reverse the Bush-Cheney rollbacks to ourClean Air Act, plug loopholes in the law, take aggressive action tostop acid rain, and use innovative, job-creating programs to reducemercury emissions and other emissions that contribute to globalwarming. Restore America's Waters
Today, approximately 45percent of our nation's waterways do not meet the "drinkable, swimableand fishable" standard set out by the Clean Water Act 30 years ago. Aspresident, John Kerry will implement a "Restore America's Waters"campaign, an integrated approach to protecting our precious, limitedwater resources. He will work with states on the toughest water qualitychallenges, restore damaged watersheds, protect wetlands, invest in ourwaterfronts and coastal communities, and protect our oceans.

Improve Veterans' Health Care
Today, nearly one-fifth of American veterans lack full health carecoverage, and thousands of disabled veterans are being unfairly taxedon their disabilities. As president, John Kerry will provide mandatoryfunding of veterans' health care and ensure concurrent receipt to endthe Disabled Veterans' Tax. Improve Veterans' Quality Of Life
Today, America'sveterans suffer from high rates of homelessness and a Veterans'Administration (VA) that in too many cases remains unresponsive and toocomplicated. As president, John Kerry will ensure that veterans havethe resources they need to find homes and jobs, while streamlining theVA to make it more responsive to veterans' needs. Keep Faith With Those Who Serve Today
By enacting aMilitary Family Bill of Rights, John Kerry and John Edwards will ensurethat today's men and women in uniform receive adequate pay and fullhealth care coverage (including access to TRICARE), while ensuring thatour military is never overstretched and that our troops are alwaysfully equipped for the missions they face.




12 Generals and Admirals Endorse John Kerry
Kerry Pledges Strong Leadership to Keep Commitment to Those Who Serve during Norfolk Stop
Veterans Set to Play Historic Role at Convention
Veterans Set to Play Historic Role at Boston Convention
more press releases


Military Family Bill of Rights
Keeping the Promise to Those Who Served


Join the veterans for Kerry-Edwards community.Join the community


Edwards Calls for an End to Stem Cell Ban and a Return to Scientific Excellence in America
Kerry and Edwards Hold Conversation on Building a Stronger America as Train Rolls through CO and NM
Kerry and Edwards Highlight Health Care Plan on Journey to Boston
George W. Bush: 1,298 Days Later
more press releases

Well, I finally found the little pamphlet that Bush had given to all the soldiers in the field. You know the one. It's the one where the soldier pledges to pray for the president, his family and his advisers. There's a different prayer for every day of the week. Monday's prayer:

"PRAY that the President and his advisors will seek God and His wisdom daily and not rely on their own understanding."

I guess if you call upon a deity for help, whatever decision you make cannot be wrong.

I should try this whenever I have to pick a chica at AB.

Actually, I call upon God only after the act is complete, "Oh, oh, oh, oh God, ohmygod, oh yeah, oh, yeah!"

Well after scanning over what you got off of Kerry's web site, I have to say he has some lofty goals, and that's a good thing.

However I can tell you that some items in there are false.

"and thousands of disabled veterans are being unfairly taxedon their disabilities."

"As president, John Kerry will provide mandatoryfunding of veterans' health care and ensure concurrent receipt to endthe Disabled Veterans' Tax."

There is NO tax on disability payments from the VA! I know as I get one. I think what he is trying to say is that, if you are retired you have to give up a portion of your retirment pay in order to recive a payment from the VA that is not taxed. If that were to be changed it would cost BILLIONS each year.

"As President John Kerry will ensure that veterans havethe resources they need to find homes and jobs, while streamlining theVA to make it more responsive to veterans' needs. Keep Faith With Those Who Serve Today
By enacting aMilitary Family Bill of Rights,"

Why did he wait untill now to try to help the vet's out there that need help? He could have tried to sponser legislation that would take care of these issue's years ago.

"John Kerry and John Edwards will ensurethat today's men and women in uniform receive adequate pay and fullhealth care coverage (including access to TRICARE),"

All active duty and reserve personell while on active duty along with their dependents already have access to TRICARE.

"while ensuring thatour military is never overstretched and that our troops are alwaysfully equipped for the missions they face."

Does this mean that the Europe will have to deal with their own issues? We still have troops in Kosovo, and other parts of what was Yugoslavia.

"John Kerry and John Edwards will ensurethat today's men and women in uniform receive adequate pay and fullhealth care coverage (including access to TRICARE),"

All active duty and reserve personell while on active duty along with their dependents already have access to TRICARE.


I think Kerry is saying that he will guarantee this, not that health care now is an issue.

BTW, Kerry's gunner was on FOX tonight. He sure didn't like Kerry, but he also inadvertantly disputed some of the other claims against Kerry, talking about firefights against the enemy and the like.

I am really curious about the spurious claim that Kerry shot a young Vietnamese in the back, coming from the right wing and all. Although the claim is probably not true, these people normally would be saying "US hero shoots Commie terrorist trying to escape capture" or some such.

First time the Right wing's heart bleeds for a VC. It makes you think these people will say anything to beat Kerry.

This is more rationale to vote for Kerry I believe

Beyond Loopy


By Jim Hightower
Bush and Co. have made the bizarre commonplace. So common that whenever there’s another White House announcement of some action they’ve either taken or proposed, people instinctively cringe: “Oh no, here it comes again.”


Having spent the past four years crisscrossing America to uncover the real state of the union under King George the W and his rabid band of Bushites, I have come to a disturbing conclusion:

THESE PEOPLE ARE NUTS!

We’re talking bullgoose-loopy, ideological freaks whose snorting rampages pose a threat to us all and to all we hold dear. It’s not that they’re a little to the right. No. They’re insane—zealots dedicated to implementing their plutocratic, autocratic, antidemocratic, militaristic, and imperialistic vision of America (and the world)—and it’s time we stopped beating around the bush about it.

Admin: Article removed. Please only include an opening paragraph and then link to the rest of the article.

I got this on Air America Radio:
http://209.208.176.243/bin/blogExcerpts.cfm?blogId=1&prg=3, you can link to the whole transcript there. I think this seriously brings doubt to the myth of a liberal media

NEWS ANCHORS ON RIGHT-WING PRESSURE


I just found the transcript of a panel discussion with the major news anchors that was held just before the Democratic Convention. Progressives talk a lot about the influence of the right-wing anti-journalism machine--the way it pushes mainstream reporters to the right, or scares them away from discussing things that are damaging to conservatives or special interests. But it's rare to hear about it from the people that deliver the news to, by far, the largest audiences. Here are some quotes from America's main news anchors themselves (unsequential--again, read the transcript for context)...

Tom Brokaw:

What the conservatives in this country have learned in the last ten years especially, is they feel they have to go to war against the networks every day. I think it's what Rush Limbaugh does every day, it's what does Brent Bozell does every day. As I say, there are these organized constituencies that are out there that can be mobilized and that is part of the political give and take of the time in which we live.

Dan Rather, on why news people rarely nail politicians for lying:

I think it's important for viewers and listeners and readers to understand that fear has increased in every newsroom in America, for a lot of reasons, and it may be one of the things we want to talk about.

But there is some fear that if you take that extra step, this is not an excuse, it's to explain what sometimes happens. There is an undertow that says, okay, candidate X has said this, Y has said this, here are the facts we need to point out, you know what, maybe today we want to point only a few of them or not point them out at all, because when you do that you are going to catch hell. Now, we get paid to catch hell. But what I'm suggesting is that those, and I include myself in this criticism again, who are prepared to pay the price for that, have gotten fewer, and those who are willing to do it do it less often than they once did.

Peter Jennings:

I think there is this anxiety in the newsroom and I think it comes in part from the corporate suite. I think that the rise, not merely of the presence of conservative opinion in the country, but the related noise being made in the media by conservative voices these days has had an effect in the corporate suites. And I think it worries people. And I might be dead wrong about you, but I hear more about conservative concern than I did in the past.

On the plane yesterday on the way coming up here a guy walked by me, and I said, as I would under normal circumstances, good morning, and he looked at me, and I went by. And he was waiting for me when I got off the plane and he said: "America hater, leave the country immediately." And I was aghast. But it reminded me that not only is the differences in the country so strong at the moment, and we are perceived to be, I think infinitely more liberal by the way than the news media establishment is, that the general news, the word tsunami, this wave of resentment rushes at our advertisers, rushes at the corporate suites, and gets under the newsroom skin, if not completely into the decision making process to a greater degree than it has before.

I think they are both right to raise that it was the other way around during the war, and certainly during the late `60s during the Vietnam war, but it is there, and I really think it's there. This is not a very articulate description of it but I think it's there.

More Dan Rather:

There is certainly more caution in the newsroom now because the politicians have gotten better at applying the pressure, they've always been good at it, Lyndon Johnson was terrific at it and for all I know Woodrow Wilson was good at it; even I was not alive during Woodrow Wilson's time.

(Laughter)

They have always been good at it but they've gotten better at it. Now, if you touch one of the most explosive issues that led to this polarization, they have instant response teams that will be all over your telephones, all over your e-mail, all over your mail. Mind you, this is not an indictable offense, this is America and they are entitled to do it. But part of what you have to do in a newsroom now that you didn't have to do before, you might have had to deal with a hundred telephone calls before, now if the orchestrated campaign by either one of the parties or some politician's campaign gets on you, you may have several thousand e-mails and telephone calls to which you have to respond.

I'm suggesting this creates an undertow in which you say to yourself, you know, I think we're right on this story, I think we've got it in the right context, I think we've got it in the right perspective, but we better pick another day, just to let it marinate before we come back with the story. Now that can be a positive, but it also can be a negative because sometimes your boss or somebody on your staff will say, you know what, if we run this story we're asking for trouble with a capital T. Why do it, why not just pass on by? That happens, I'm sorry to report that happens. Now you can say that is the result of fear, it's the result of not wanting to deal with the trouble of all those e-mails and telephone calls, but the pressure sometimes tells.

Knowing about this is crucial to understanding why the media covers things the way it does. There are lots of reasons why political coverage isn't what it should be, but one big reason is that journalists are under constant pressure from well-funded right-wing groups. David Brock, who wrote the whole story of the rise of the right-wing machine in his most recent book, is leading the charge against these guys. So is Air America Radio. But your help is needed. Volunteer for Media Matters for America, become a media activist, and join Free Press, which is at the forefront of the media reform movement. And, more generally, don't let right-wing campaigns to push reporters to the right go unanswered.

Another nugget. Asked about liberal bias, Dan Rather responded:

Bill Kristol, whom I don't think anybody would accuse of being liberal says, and I'm quoting here, I brought this so I could quote him directly, far be it if I missed one word. "I admit it, the liberal media were never that powerful and the whole thing was often used as an excuse by conservatives for conservative failures." Pat Buchanan, not exactly a bomb-throwing bolshevik, Pat Buchanan says; "The truth is I have gotten fairer, more comprehensive coverage of my ideas than I ever imagined I would receive." Another quote: "I've gotten balanced coverage and broad coverage, all we could have asked. We kid about the liberal media but every Republican on Earth does that.”

More Fun

Bush Criticism of Frivolous Lawsuits Hypocritical


President Bush has repeatedly criticized what he calls a plague of frivolous lawsuits. In 2001, he said, "It's really important that we not have our system ladened down by unnecessary lawsuits."1 More recently he complained that "there's too many lawsuits, a lot of them frivolous and junk lawsuits."2 Yet, as the historical record shows, it was George W. Bush who in 1998 actually hired a trial lawyer and filed a lawsuit against a rental car company that legal experts called "unnecessary."

On November 2, 2000, the New York Daily News reported that Bush sued Enterprise Rent-a-Car in Austin over a fender bender involving his daughter, even though no one was hurt, and insurance would have covered the collision.3 Bush "also tried to sue the woman who was driving the rental car but was unable to serve her with papers." Lawyers familiar with Texas insurance law "said such a suit would normally be unnecessary." One lawyer involved in the case said Bush sued because he "had paid for the repairs out of his own pocket" and that Bush pursued legal action even though the parties "exhaustively tried to resolve it short of a lawsuit."

Sources:
1. "President Calls for Modernization of Medicare," Whitehouse.gov, 07/13/01.
2. "Over 1.5 Million Jobs Created and 10 Straight Months of Job Gains," Whitehouse.gov, 7/02/04.
3. New York Daily News, 11/02/00, pg. 31.

Here's the link;
http://www.democrats.org/specialreports/2005budget/deficit.html

What Does the Deficit Mean? Bush's Deficit Has Huge Impact

"The fear is... Interest rates will shoot up...Heavily indebted Americans will not be able to keep up with rising interest payments. Inflation, bankruptcies and economic malaise will follow." [Washington Post, 1/26/04]

Cheney Says That Deficits Don't Matter:

"Reagan proved deficits don't matter...We won the midterms. This [more tax cuts] is our due." [Vice President Dick Cheney, Suskind, The Price of Loyalty]

FACT: Budget Deficit Is Growing:
• Bush Turned $5.6 Surplus Into $5.2 Trillion Deficit: Bush inherited a projected $5.6 trillion ten-year surplus. That $5.6 trillion surplus is now a $5.2 trillion ten-year deficit -- a fiscal decline of $10.8 trillion in just three years. [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 1/28/04; www.govexec.com, 1/29/04]
• $477 Billion Record Deficit Projected For 2004: The CBO projects that the budget deficit will be a record $477 billion in 2004. [CBO, January 2001]
• If Social Security Trust Fund Is Not Included, Deficits Will Total $7.6 Trillion: The $5.2 trillion in deficits over the next ten years is partially offset by $2.4 trillion in surpluses from the Social Security trust fund. If these Social Security revenues are not counted -- as Bush promised -- the projected ten-year deficits increase to $7.6 trillion. These are surpluses that otherwise could be used for the impending retirement of the baby boom generations. [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 1/28/04]

FACT: Interest Payments On Debt Will Total $3.4 Trillion:
• $3.4 Trillion In Debt Interest Will Exacerbate Deficit Problems: In January 2001, ten-year interest payments were projected to be $715 billion. Now, ten-year interest payments will total $3.4 trillion -- nearly a five-fold increase. By 2014, interest payments will consume $486 billion a year and eat up 13 percent of the federal budget. [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 1/28/04]
• Debt Will Reach $9.7 Trillion in 2014: In 2001, net interest payments on the debt were projected to disappear before the end of the decade as the debt shrank to zero. Now the debt will reach $9.7 trillion in 2014. This represents an increase from 33 percent of GDP in 2001 to 54 percent of GDP in 2014. [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 1/28/04, 2/1/04]

FACT: Deficit Is Endangering Key Priorities:
• Deficits Slow Economic Growth: Large deficits will reduce national saving, crowd out private investment, and slow economic growth. According to former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin and Wall Street economist Allen Sinai, long-term deficits have become so large that they ultimately could lead to serious "financial and fiscal disarray" and cause a "fundamental shift in market expectations and a related loss of confidence at home and abroad." [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 1/28/04; Brookings Institution, 1/04]
• IMF Says The Deficit Is Endangering The Global Economy: An IMF report concluded "large U.S. fiscal deficits also pose significant risks for the rest of the world. A 15 percentage point increase in ratio of U.S. public debt to gross domestic product over the next decade would raise real interest rates by an average of one-half to one percentage point. The adverse effects of U.S. deficits would spill over into global investment and output." [Associated Press, 1/7/04; Dow Jones, 1/7/04]
• Exploding Debt Coincides With Baby Boomers Retirement: In 2011, the first of the baby-boomers will have reached retirement age, coinciding with an explosion of the deficit and massive debt interest payments. By running large deficits in the years before the baby boomers retire, the country is squandering the opportunity to prepare for this major demographic change. [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 1/28/04]

FACT: Public Is Increasingly Concerned About Deficit:

A January 2004 poll by the Pew Research Center found that 51 percent of respondents called the deficit a top priority for Mr. Bush and Congress -- up from 40 percent a year earlier and 35 percent two years ago. [New York Times, 1/22/04]

Shame on the Swift Boat Veterans for Bush

Jim Rassmann served with John Kerry in Vietnam. In an op-ed in today's Wall Street Journal he takes to task the veterans behind the campaign to discredit Kerry's war record.

"I came to know Lt. John Kerry during the spring of 1969. He and his swift boat crew assisted in inserting our Special Forces team and our Chinese Nung soldiers into operational sites in the Cau Mau Peninsula of South Vietnam. I worked with him on many operations and saw firsthand his leadership, courage and decision-making ability under fire. . . . Does this strategy of attacking combat Vietnam veterans sound familiar? In 2000, a similar Republican smear campaign was launched against Sen. McCain. In fact, the very same communications group, Spaeth Communications, that placed ads against John McCain in 2000 is involved in these vicious attacks against John Kerry. Texas Republican donors with close ties to George W. Bush and Karl Rove crafted this 'dishonest and dishonorable' ad. Their new charges are false; their stories are fabricated, made up by people who did not serve with Kerry in Vietnam. They insult and defame all of us who served in Vietnam."

If Dubya Had Read What Poppy Wrote . . .

In his memoir, "A World Transformed," written five years ago, George Bush Sr. wrote the following to explain why he didn't go after Saddam Hussein at the end of the Gulf War.

"Trying to eliminate Saddam...would have incurred incalculable human and political costs. Apprehending him was probably impossible.... We would have been forced to occupy Baghdad and, in effect, rule Iraq.... There was no viable "exit strategy" we could see, violating another of our principles. Furthermore, we had been consciously trying to set a pattern for handling aggression in the post-Cold War world. Going in and occupying Iraq, thus unilaterally exceeding the United Nations' mandate, would have destroyed the precedent of international response to aggression that we hoped to establish. Had we gone the invasion route, the United States could conceivably still be an occupying power in a bitterly hostile land."

Losing Interest in U.S. War Casualties

More U.S. service members died in Iraq during July, the month following the so-called handover of power to the Iraqis, than in June, the month before the handover. While the handover was aimed at putting an Iraqi face on the U.S. occupation, it certainly hasn’t reduced the death toll among U.S. soldiers. Bill Berkowitz of WorkingforChange has noticed that the deaths of U.S. soldiers in Iraq doesn't seem to be such a big deal anymore. While the deaths of Iraqis have not been of particular interest to the U.S. media since the war began, it was surprising that the 900th death of a U.S. service member in Iraq didn’t rate either front-page coverage or more than a passing mention on the news networks or 24/7 cable news channels. Read the article here.

Paul Krugman, in Friday's New York Times writes on this disturbing trend after the handover:
Iraq stories moved to the inside pages of newspapers, and largely off TV screens. Many people got the impression that things had improved. Even journalists were taken in: a number of newspaper stories asserted that the rate of U.S. losses there fell after the handoff.

Read Krugman's Op-ed here.

What About Iraq?
By PAUL KRUGMAN


funny thing happened after the United States transferred sovereignty over Iraq. On the ground, things didn't change, except for the worse.

But as Matthew Yglesias of The American Prospect puts it, the cosmetic change in regime had the effect of "Afghanizing" the media coverage of Iraq.

He's referring to the way news coverage of Afghanistan dropped off sharply after the initial military defeat of the Taliban. A nation we had gone to war to liberate and had promised to secure and rebuild - a promise largely broken - once again became a small, faraway country of which we knew nothing.

Incredibly, the same thing happened to Iraq after June 28. Iraq stories moved to the inside pages of newspapers, and largely off TV screens. Many people got the impression that things had improved. Even journalists were taken in: a number of newspaper stories asserted that the rate of U.S. losses there fell after the handoff. (Actual figures: 42 American soldiers died in June, and 54 in July.)

Admin: Article removed. Please only include an opening paragraph and then link to the rest of the article.

A class action law suit gainst Halliburton alleges that during Dick Cheney’s tenure as the company’s CEO there was systemic and high level accounting fraud. The lawsuit has been filed on behalf of investors who bought the company’s shares. According to the New York Times one former employee said that manipulation of monthly profit and loss statements at K.B.R. "was systemic and indeed a matter of policy."

The filing accuses the company of accounting improprieties that go far beyond those outlined by the Securities and Exchange Commission in its civil suit against Halliburton, which the company settled on Tuesday, paying $7.5 million. The charges in the complaint and in the S.E.C.'s action cover the two years when Vice President Dick Cheney was Halliburton's chief executive. But he was not named as a defendant in the new filing nor in the regulatory proceeding.

Meanwhile the SEC has expanded a probe into an alleged $180 million bribery scandal involving a contract in Nigeria when Cheney was the chief executive of Halliburton. The SEC subpoenaed documents related to the $5 billion contract and the payments were under investigation by Nigerian legislative and executive agencies, as well as by the French authorities.

Halliburton to pay $7.5 million fine
Energy company failed to report accounting changes


Floyd Norris, New York Times
Wednesday, August 4, 2004

This is a second article here's the link:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/08/04/BUG0H8294C1.DTL


Halliburton Co. secretly changed its accounting practices when Vice President Dick Cheney was its chief executive officer, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Tuesday as it fined the company $7.5 million and brought actions against two former financial officials.

The commission said the accounting change enabled Halliburton, one of the nation's largest energy services companies, to report annual earnings in 1998 that were 46 percent higher than they would have been had the change not been made. It also allowed the company to report a substantially higher profit in 1999, the commission said.

The commission did not say that Cheney acted improperly, and the papers released by the commission did not detail the extent to which he was aware of the change or of the requirement to disclose it to investors. The SEC said that Cheney had testified under oath and had "cooperated willingly and fully in the investigation conducted by the commission's career staff."

Admin: Article removed. Please only include an opening paragraph and then link to the rest of the article.

Here's something from Business report;

http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=&fArticleId=2175470

Halliburton dips as SEC expands probe into Nigeria contract

August 5, 2004

New York - Shares in Halliburton, the world's largest oilfield services company, fell in Europe yesterday after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) expanded a probe into an alleged $180 million (R1.13 billion) bribery scandal involving a contract in Nigeria when US vice-president Dick Cheney was the chief executive of Halliburton.

Cheney was Halliburton's chief executive from 1995 to 2000. He resigned to be US president George W Bush's running mate.

The SEC subpoenaed documents related to the $5 billion contract and the payments were under investigation by Nigerian legislative and executive agencies, as well as by the French authorities, Halliburton said.

"Our representatives have ... expressed our willingness to co-operate with those investigations," Halliburton said in its quarterly filing with the SEC.

Admin: Article removed. Please only include an opening paragraph and then link to the rest of the article.

??K??0needs to be said but I believe all these posts make a case that we should try some new leadership. I'm sure that many things here can be reasonable debated but the overall message is: "YOU"VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME, TELL ME YOU'RE KIDDING ME."

Wow, that's more than I can read. I did notice, however, the lack of reporting of US combat deaths in Iraq; I don't think that FOX News even talks about this anymore.

I watched Comedy Central last night and Jon Stewart eviscerated the Swift Boat vets, even to the point of doing a great John McCain impersonation. Bottom line: except for one guy, the vets on Kerry's boat support him, the complainers are people who weren't there.

And, the doctor who treated Kerry's wound was complaining that the shrapnel that hit him wasn't enough to warrant a Purple Heart. Except that his name doesn't appear in the medical records.

The $64,000 question is: how come so many people remember John Kerry in Vietnam, but no one remembers Bush in the National Guard?

I guess I am overloading everyone, but i'm having fun

The Fog Machine

With the new jobs report in hand, the Bush campaign is blowing smoke -- and "fact-checkers" are backing it up. It's time somebody cleared the air.

By Jared Bernstein
Web Exclusive: 08.09.04


After the worst jobs report in months came out last Friday, the President, in an almost Stepford-like fashion, asserted that his tax cuts are working and the economy is “strong and getting stronger.”

In fact, fewer than 100 days before the presidential election, unemployment is stuck where it was when the recovery began two-and-a-half years ago. Real wages are down over the past few months. And many who have found new employers after losing their jobs during the recession or its jobless recovery are earning less than they used to.

The fact that some in the Bush camp are in denial about the data is to be expected at this point in the game, but it seems like a good time to set out the relevant facts, both positive and negative.

Admin: Article removed. Please only include an opening paragraph and then link to the rest of the article.

Here's the link;
http://www.alternet.org/envirohealth/19461/
The Forest For the Trees

By Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.. Posted August 5, 2004.



There are several ways to measure the effectiveness of a democracy. One is to look at how much the public is included in community decision-making. Another is to evaluate access to justice.

The most telling aspect of a government, however, is how it distributes the goods of the land. Does it safeguard the commonwealth – the public trust assets – on behalf of the public? Or does it allow the shared wealth of our communities to be stolen from the public by corporate power?

The environmental laws passed after Earth Day 1970 were designed to protect the commons – those shared resources that cannot be reduced to private property, including the air, flowing water, public lands, wandering animals, fisheries, wetlands and aquifers.

Admin: Article removed. Please only include an opening paragraph and then link to the rest of the article.