The Unofficial Paul Krugman Web Page: "For a long time, anyone suggesting analogies with Vietnam was ridiculed. But Iraq optimists have, by my count, already declared victory three times. First there was 'Mission Accomplished' - followed by an escalating insurgency. Then there was the capture of Saddam - followed by April's bloody uprising. Finally there was the furtive transfer of formal sovereignty to Ayad Allawi, with implausible claims that this showed progress - a fantasy exploded by the guns of August."

Boston.com / News / Nation / 2d probe at the Pentagon examines actions on Iraq Besides Iraq, Feith & co. wanted war with Iran & Syria. Who would have guessed?

Politics News Article | Reuters.com: "Former Aide to N.J. Governor Will Not File Lawsuit" Anyone surprised?

Still We Rise

Light Up The Sky

Republicans successfully isolate delegates from protests: "After touring the city, we returned to our hotel, and I flipped on the TV. With surprise, I watched protesters and marches that had taken place. It seemed as if I were in a different city."

"Iran-Contra II?" by Joshua Micah Marshall, Laura Rozen, and Paul Glastris

KR Washington Bureau | 08/28/2004 | FBI espionage probe goes beyond Israeli allegations, sources say The Feith-based initiative comes under FBI scrutiny.

The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Editorials: "'I think I understand,' I said. 'The founding fathers were liberal in that they changed the form of government under which they were living.'

'A common misperception,' said my caller. 'The Fathers were actually very, very conservative. They were a land-owning, educated minority. Most of the population were illiterate and owned little.'

Confused, I asked if President Bush is a liberal since he had changed an established tax policy to help the more wealthy and spent billions on a war, or was he a conservative because he owned lots of land and is educated.

'Not exactly,' said my caller."

The Lie Factory: "the Bush administration set up a secret Pentagon unit to create the case for invading Iraq"

DC Indymedia: feature/104306 Israel's Mole Inside the Pentagon

Map & Graph: Countries by Military: Expenditures: dollar figure (per capita)

Guardian Unlimited Politics | Special Reports | A cliche gone mad: "Since the concept of PC is mainly rightwing doublespeak anyway, you can make some reliable predictions about those instances where it is held to have gone mad."

Sum of a Glitch: Evidence shows that machines might be the real swing voters this November -- In These Times

Hoodwinked - Why is Florida's voting system so corrupt? By Ann Louise-Bardach

The Village Voice: Features: The 10 Ways Bush Screwed New York by Wayne Barrett, special reporting by Daniel Magliocco

Yahoo! News - Poverty rate climbs in US President Bush along with Treasury Secretary John Snow announced their new campaign: "Poverty Is Good For America!"

"With 35% of Americans living in poverty and 45 million without health insurance, we're turning the corner!" Bush said on a campaign stop attended by wealthy Republicans enjoying their tax cuts by paying $10,000 each to wipe their asses with the US Constitution.

The Great American Shout Out | An Al Franken, Air America Radio Project

WorkingForChange-This Modern World: The undecided voter

Winslow T. Wheeler: Don't Mind If I Do: "Porkbarrel and the War on Terror"

Gary Leupp: "We Want Them to Go Away"

Seriously: Kerry on Comedy Central (washingtonpost.com)

GOP Delegates Met With Anti-Bush Signs

SI.com - Writers - Wahl: Iraqi soccer players upset about Bush campaign ads - Thursday August 19, 2004 5:03PM: "'Iraq as a team does not want Mr. Bush to use us for the presidential campaign,' Sadir told SI.com through a translator, speaking calmly and directly. 'He can find another way to advertise himself.'
Ahmed Manajid, who played as a midfielder on Wednesday, had an even stronger response when asked about Bush's TV advertisement. 'How will he meet his god having slaughtered so many men and women?' Manajid told me. 'He has committed so many crimes.'"

Vietnam Issue Cuts Both Ways (washingtonpost.com) said one GOP strategist, who declined to be identified because of concerns about retribution from Bush's advisers.

Yahoo! News - Ted Rall

Forbes.com: "The VA patients received appropriate care more often than managed-care patients and did better on two of the three outcomes. 'A nationally funded health-care system can provide excellent quality of care.'"

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Suppress the Vote?: "The long and ugly tradition of suppressing the black vote is alive and thriving in the Sunshine State."

U.S. Newswire - Statement from Ten Senior Military Officials in Response to Vice President Cheney's Latest Round of Personal Attacks

Bikers asked to get close to Bush: "Pishney said he doesn't know what specific role the dozen or so motorcycle riders will play in Monday's event, although they've been instructed to show up in 'biker-oriented' apparel."

ulteriorvotive

Army Turns to Private Guards : "Two five-year contracts worth as much as $1 billion went to two small Alaska Native firms with little previous security experience. The firms, which operate under special contracting laws enabling them to avoid competitive bidding, subcontracted part of the work to two of the country's largest security firms: Wackenhut Services Inc. and Vance Federal Security Services."

clevescene.com | Crime Family Values | 2004-08-11

White House Has Some Terror Experts Worried

TheStar.com - Kerry fails Iraq test: "Practical politics undoubtedly prompted Kerry's reply. He is loath to admit he cast a foolish vote in 2002. He does not want to alienate voters who were similarly duped, and who are not keen to be reminded of it. And he must not be seen as 'soft' on Saddam. "

The Unofficial Paul Krugman Web Page: "When Friday's dismal job report was released, traders in the Chicago pit began chanting, 'Kerry, Kerry.' "

Salt Lake Tribune - Opinion: "For Fox News, MSNBC and, most disappointing of all, CNN - the Network of Record - to be spending so much time hashing, rehashing and, most of all, speculating on the gory details of this single case is an excellent example of what's wrong with the mass media today."

Yahoo! News - U.S. Barred From Weakening Dolphin Rules
: "'The record is replete with evidence that the secretary was influenced by policy concerns unrelated to the best available scientific evidence,' Henderson wrote in a strongly worded 51-page opinion. 'This court has never, in its 24 years, reviewed a record of agency action that contained such a compelling portrait of political meddling.' "

Diplomacy Sidelined as US Targets Iran: "The US charge sheet against Iran is lengthening almost by the day, presaging destabilizing confrontations this autumn and maybe a pre-election October surprise. "

Capitol Police Chief Sees No Specific Threat to Hill (washingtonpost.com)

Yahoo! News - Pat Oliphant

Telegraph | News | Iraqi judge orders arrest of American aide to Chalabi Regarding the current charges against Salen Chalabi, Francis Brooke says, "He wouldn't hurt a fly." And many US news services carry that quote. They don't tell us Brooke is on the lam just like his boss.

Yahoo! News - Unmasking of Qaeda Mole a U.S. Security Blunder-Experts: "The revelation that a mole within al Qaeda was exposed after Washington launched its 'orange alert' this month has shocked security experts, who say the outing of the source may have set back the war on terror. "

Chalabi Nephew Under Investigation in Killing LA Times breaks the Chalabi story on 8/3.

Yahoo! News - Iraq invasion a "tremendous gift" to bin Laden: CIA analyst: "It validated so many of the arguments he's made over the past decade,' 'Anonymous' said, particularly the claim by the Saudi-born al-Qaeda leader that the West seeks to occupy the Islamic holy places.
'We have the first one, the most important in the Arabian peninsula, we occupy that in their eyes,' he said in a reference to Saudi Arabia. 'We now occupy Iraq, the second holiest place, and the Israelis have Jerusalem, the third.
'The idea that we would smash any government that posed a threat to Israel -- that's validated by our actions,' he continued. 'And his claim that we lust after control of Arab oil; Iraq has the second greatest reserves in the Arab world.
'So it's been an astounding victory for Osama bin Laden"

CNN.com Chalabi and his friends

CJR July/August 2004: The List by Douglas McCollam Ahmad Chalabi’s defectors told stories to a lot of
reporters who now wish they’d kept their distance
How Chalabi Played the Press

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Stay calm everyone, there's Prozac in the drinking water: "It should make us happy, but environmentalists are deeply alarmed: Prozac, the anti-depression drug, is being taken in such large quantities that it can now be found in Britain's drinking water. "

JohnKerryIsADoucheBagButImVotingForHimAnyway.com

Yahoo! News - Halliburton Accused of Accounting Fraud: "Halliburton Co. and several top executives intentionally engaged in 'serial accounting fraud' from 1998 to 2001, including when it was led by Vice President Dick Cheney"

Mike Whitney: The Arbitrary Imprisonment of Jose Padilla: "Their message is quite clear; THEY WILL NOT DEFEND EVEN THE MOST BASIC TENANTS OF THE CONSTITUTION, but will defer to the executive as the sole arbiter of justice."

Confusion Mounts Over Threat (washingtonpost.com): "Americans should prepare for more confusion, uncertainty and cynicism"

heraldtribune.com: Southwest Florida's Information Leader: "He said that making such statements without providing specific details to back them up 'only serves to erode public confidence' in the credibility of government."

Bush, Family and Top Aides Received $127,600 Gifts Last Year from Saudi Crown Prince

They Knew...: Despite the whitewash, we now know that the Bush administration was warned before the war that its Iraq claims were weak -- In These Times

Yahoo! News - Boondocks

Ashcroft Tells Libraries to Destroy Citizen-Friendly Publications - BuzzFlash News Alert: "[T]he Department of Justice asked the Government Printing Office Superintendent of Documents to instruct depository libraries to destroy five publications the Department has deemed not 'appropriate for external use.' The Department of Justice has called for these five these public documents, two of which are texts of federal statutes, to be removed from depository libraries and destroyed, making their content available only to those with access to a law office or law library.



The topics addressed in the named documents include information on how citizens can retrieve items that may have been confiscated by the government during an investigation. The documents to be removed and destroyed include: Civil and Criminal Forfeiture Procedure; Select Criminal Forfeiture Forms; Select Federal Asset Forfeiture Statutes; Asset forfeiture and money laundering resource directory; and Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act of 2000 (CAFRA)."

Will Ferrell - A message from White House West Will Ferrell for President!

Yahoo! News - Pre-9/11 Acts Led To Alerts: "Most of the al Qaeda surveillance of five financial institutions that led to a new terrorism alert Sunday was conducted before the Sept. 11, 2001,"

Daily Yomiuri On-Line: "As the Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan) presidential election nears, what was considered the likeliest scenario--the uncontested reelection of incumbent Katsuya Okada--is being questioned by some Minshuto legislators.

...What triggered skepticism about giving Okada an uncontested ride were the remarks he made last week in the United States regarding his desire to revise Japan's war-renouncing Constitution. "

Housing Costs, Layoffs Boost Need for Food Banks : "According to the Agriculture Department, 11% of U.S. families - 34.9 million people - are 'food insecure,' meaning they lack the means to ensure themselves of healthy meals and are vulnerable to at least a mild form of chronic malnutrition. A U.S. Conference of Mayors survey of 25 cities found that demand at food banks rose 17% in 2003....While very few Americans, even the poorest, risk starvation, Hofer said many wind up with long-term health problems as they cut financial corners."

BUSH NOTEBOOK - zanesvilletimesrecorder.com: "The public was not allowed to bring umbrellas, which were collected by security personnel outside of the park. [While both campaigns announced before the rallies that umbrellas would not be permitted, attendees who brought umbrellas to Kerry's rally were allowed to bring them in.] ... Area media, including the Times Recorder, WHIZ, Daily Jeffersonian in Cambridge and the Columbus news stations, had to sit outside in the rain with their equipment. However, a tent was set up for the national media to stay dry."

Iraq Funds Are Focus of 27 Criminal Inquiries

Faithful, undecided preparing for area Kerry, Bush rallies - zanesvilletimesrecorder.com: "[T]his swing voter could be swung one way or the other Saturday, depending on what she hears at Bush's rally in Cambridge and Kerry's rally in Zanesville.

'I want to hear what they both have to say,' she said, noting that she will be particularly interested in each candidate's plan for peace in Iraq."

My Plea to John Kerry: Stand Up for the Progressive Agenda that the Majority of America Already Agrees With: "A few weeks ago I was flipping around on the dial and I came across a NASCAR Race on FOX and there was NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt Jr. FOX asked him, what did you do the night before while you were getting prepared for the big race? He said, 'Well, I took my crew to go see Fahrenheit 9/11.' And then he said, and 'I think all of America should see this movie.' "

Democracy Now! | Medea Benjamin Dragged Off DNC Floor in Handcuffs For Unfurling "End the Occupation of Iraq" Banner

Ray McGovern: How the 9/11 Report Soft-Pedaled Root Causes: "It's the policy, stupid!"

Touchscreen Vote Records Lost in Florida

CJAD 800 : News: "The group said the U.S. military was using humanitarian aid 'for political and military motives"

bmj.com Lenzer 329 (7459): 189: "Daniel Troy, chief counsel to the US Food and Drug Administration, is under fire for inviting drug companies to inform him of lawsuits against them so the FDA could help in their defence. 'We can't afford to get involved in every case - we have to pick our shots,' he said, advising them therefore to 'make it sound like a Hollywood pitch.' "

Rock Royalty to Join Voices Against Bush With Fall Concerts There is a range of feeling about Kerry," the source said, "but a uniform belief that Bush must go.

The real election: Voting for the next Supreme Court justices: Holding one's nose is not nearly enough for a vote for Kerry. But I may have to get a hazmat suit and vote for him anyhow, and this is why. The issue is framed all the more clearly by the House's vote last week purporting to exempt DOMA from federal Constitutional review. A Bush-majority Court could well uphold such a provision, effectively abrogating the Constitution altogether.

Yahoo! News - U.S. Public Found to Reject Detainee Torture and Coercion University of Maryland survey finds Americans far more compassionate than this spring's media-sponsored survey.

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Contributor: Honorable Commission, Toothless Report: "Among the obvious truths that were documented but unarticulated were the facts that the Bush administration did little on terrorism before 9/11, and that by invading Iraq the administration has left us less safe as a nation."

Election Law Website at The Ohio State University

Public Less Fearful Of Terrorist Attack (washingtonpost.com) If your neighbors and friends pooh-pooh Tom Ridge, they're a danger to you.

Coshocton reflects on native soldier who died in Iraq - zanesvilletimesrecorder.com: Always remember: a cycle can be broken at any point on its path.

This family has established a memorial scholarship fund, "to help students who find themselves in the same position as Paul was in 1998 [when he joined the Army] -- wanting to go to college but without the means to do so."

Omaha.com: "Lumping minor crimes under the terrorism label could wrongly heighten public anxiety and provide a questionable rationale for more anti-terror resources"

Victory Slipping Away for Black Farmers (washingtonpost.com): "The Department of Agriculture has denied payments to almost 90 percent of black farmers who sought compensation for discrimination under a landmark court settlement the agency reached with African American growers five years ago...The Justice Department spent 56,000 hours of attorney and paralegal time challenging 129 claims, and billed USDA $12 million."

WorkingForChange-This Modern World: The Sensible Liberal

The Memory Hole > Classified Letters Regarding FBI Whistleblower Sibel Edmonds

Interior Dept. Inquiry Faults Procurement (TechNews.com) Army's Abu Ghraib interrogators and Navy's Guantanamo interrogators were hired via IT contracts with the Department of the Interior.

Former CIA Director Used Pentagon Ties to Introduce Iraqi Defector

Ron Jacobs: Kucinich Surrenders: "the fact that the Kerry people fought even the inclusion of a statement that called the Iraq war wrong from its inception proves once again how little difference there really is in the campaigns of the two men running for president of the United States "

KRT Wire | 07/15/2004 | Civil rights panel says disenfranchisement of voters was deliberate

baltimoresun.com - DiBiagio voices frustration over pace of top cases: "Maryland U.S. Attorney Thomas M. DiBiagio has told his staff he wants three 'front page' indictments for public corruption or white-collar crimes by November and is frustrated with the pace of cases against elected officials, according to...two July e-mails and a staff meeting agenda, all written by DiBiagio."

U.S. Won't Turn Over Data for Iraq Audits (washingtonpost.com): "The Bush administration is withholding information from U.N.-sanctioned auditors examining more than $1 billion in contracts awarded to Halliburton Co. and other companies in Iraq without competitive bidding, the head of the international auditing board said Thursday. "

State Reports - Prisoners of the CensusMaps of 10 states by county and/or Congressional district, showing how the prisoner census shifts voting power from diverse urban precincts towards rural areas with a strong stake in the prison-industrial complex.

Yahoo! News - Fair Use Bill Gains Ground

Blackwell, Householder at odds over firings - zanesvilletimesrecorder.com Contracts released this week by Householder show the House Republican Campaign Committee -- funded largely by donations from GOP House member campaigns -- owes fired consultants Brett Buerck and Sisk $100,000 and $50,000, respectively, in severance pay.

Buerck and Sisk were fired by the caucus in early June, after they became centerpieces for federal and state investigations into alleged heavy-handed fundraising and campaign irregularities.

Paying the Price: The Mounting Costs of the Iraq War

The Washington Dispatch: "In the midst of our bloodiest war, the fratricide of the Civil War, Mr. Lincoln managed to get reelected. The "Greatest Generation" made it through WWII without having to alter the traditional, scheduled, legal election process. Throughout the Cold War we teetered on the brink of a nuclear war with the Soviet Union - yet we somehow maintained the regular, constitutionally mandated requirements of our republic. Nineteen hijackers, however, have turned the entire federal government inside-out (i.e. the creation of the Department of Homeland Security - the largest reorganization of the government since the Defense Department was created in 1948); suspended some of our civil liberties (i.e. the USA PATRIOT Act); and opened the door to the Trotskyite "creative destruction" embraced by the neocon chickenhawks who started whispering into President Bush's ear by midday on Sept. 11th."

Use this link: web.mit.edu/simsong/www/iraqreport2-textunder.pdf
to access a searchable version of the Senate's report on intelligence. It's a 14 megabyte file. Then search for "Feith" and read through the first item found to get this:
"The August 20th meeting is clear evidence of the Administration politicizing an
analytical process that should be protected from the meddlesome reach of policy officials."
And here I thought it was the CIA's fault. It's that durned liberal media!

Is Fabulous President George W. Bush a Fabulous Homosexual? Baptists Are Saving Homosexuals asks what conservative Christians demand to know

Telegraph | News | Fury over Pentagon cell that briefed White House on Iraq's 'imaginary' al-Qaeda links: "Mr Feith's cell undermined the credibility of CIA judgments on Iraq's alleged al-Qa'eda links within the highest levels of the Bush administration.
The cell appears to have been set up by Mr Feith as an adjunct to the Office of Special Plans, a Pentagon intelligence-gathering operation established in the wake of 9/11 with the authority of Paul Wolfowitz. Its focus quickly became the al-Qa'eda-Saddam link.
On occasion, without informing the then head of the CIA, George Tenet, the group gave counter-briefings in the White House."

Bay Area group in flap over anti-war billboard / Clear Channel kills nonprofit's ad for N.Y.'s Times Square: "I'm constantly shocked by how there is such an effort to really prevent people from contemplating the difficult issues of our time,'' Waters said. 'The message of the sign was trying to get people to think about this. And clearly, it's not what the powers-that-be want people to do."

HoustonChronicle.com - Reviewers of DeLay's ethics got his money: "Four of the five Republicans investigating an ethics complaint against House Majority Leader Tom DeLay have received campaign contributions from DeLay's political action committee"

MSNBC - Exclusive: Election Day Worries: "Ridge's department last week asked the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel to analyze what legal steps would be needed to permit the postponement of the election"

Kerry to Reach Out to 'People on the Right': "Kerry seemed unconcerned about antagonizing his liberal supporters"

Yahoo! News - Question of Pressure Splits Panel Democrats on the committee, while acknowledging that they had unanimously approved the report, said they disagreed with the conclusion that there had been no political pressure.