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July 31, 2004
Lies and the Lying Liars ...
On the federal deficit. From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Point 1:
The Administration has hailed the 2004 projected deficit as evidence that its policies are working. The Administration notes that the $445 billion deficit it now forecasts for 2004 represents a significant improvement compared with the larger, $521 billion deficit it projected last February. As the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reported at that time, however, the Administration’s February forecast artificially inflated the projected deficit for 2004, apparently so that subsequent downward adjustments in the deficit estimate could be presented as progress rather than as being, in significant part, the substitution of more realistic estimates for overstated ones.[1] Furthermore, as noted above, the $445 billion deficit now forecast for 2004 represents a deterioration from the level of the deficit in 2003, when the deficit stood at $375 billion.Point 2:
The Administration also is portraying the drop in the projected 2004 deficit as a sign of stronger-than-expected economic growth. Such a portrayal is not accurate. Overall economic growth has been no faster than the Administration forecast earlier this year. The economy grew at a 3.9 percent annual real rate in the first three quarters of the fiscal year, in line with what the Administration projected when it released its earlier deficit projection in February. Indeed, economic growth has been below the growth rate the Congressional Budget Office projected at the start of the year.Point 3:
The Administration is again contending that under its proposed budget policies, the deficit would be cut in half by 2009. But, the Administration uses a further set of unrealistic budget estimates for years after 2004 to make this case; the Administration omits major costs from its projections for those years, such as the costs of continuing relief from the Alternative Minimum Tax, something that the Administration has made clear it favors. Moreover, the Administration’s budget figures are provided for five years rather than ten, leaving out the years from 2010-2014 when the baby-boom generation will begin to retire in large numbers and the deficit is expected to rise.Read the full analysis here.
Posted by Eric at 08:55 PM | Comments (13)
Lies and the Lying Liars ...
On the federal deficit. From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Point 1:
The Administration has hailed the 2004 projected deficit as evidence that its policies are working. The Administration notes that the $445 billion deficit it now forecasts for 2004 represents a significant improvement compared with the larger, $521 billion deficit it projected last February. As the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reported at that time, however, the Administration’s February forecast artificially inflated the projected deficit for 2004, apparently so that subsequent downward adjustments in the deficit estimate could be presented as progress rather than as being, in significant part, the substitution of more realistic estimates for overstated ones.[1] Furthermore, as noted above, the $445 billion deficit now forecast for 2004 represents a deterioration from the level of the deficit in 2003, when the deficit stood at $375 billion.Point 2:
The Administration also is portraying the drop in the projected 2004 deficit as a sign of stronger-than-expected economic growth. Such a portrayal is not accurate. Overall economic growth has been no faster than the Administration forecast earlier this year. The economy grew at a 3.9 percent annual real rate in the first three quarters of the fiscal year, in line with what the Administration projected when it released its earlier deficit projection in February. Indeed, economic growth has been below the growth rate the Congressional Budget Office projected at the start of the year.Point 3:
The Administration is again contending that under its proposed budget policies, the deficit would be cut in half by 2009. But, the Administration uses a further set of unrealistic budget estimates for years after 2004 to make this case; the Administration omits major costs from its projections for those years, such as the costs of continuing relief from the Alternative Minimum Tax, something that the Administration has made clear it favors. Moreover, the Administration’s budget figures are provided for five years rather than ten, leaving out the years from 2010-2014 when the baby-boom generation will begin to retire in large numbers and the deficit is expected to rise.Read the full analysis here.
Posted by Eric at 08:55 PM | Comments (0)
More Inaction from the Ironic Name Agency
EPA "will no longer have to consult with wildlife agencies before deciding whether pesticides are likely to harm threatened or endangered species." WP:
Under current regulations, the EPA must get written approval from the Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service before ruling that a new pesticide would not "adversely affect" imperiled plants and animals. Bush officials said the new rules would streamline the process by entrusting EPA scientists with the job of deciding how pest controls affect endangered species.Environmentalists, of course, criticized the decision:... The change will allow agency officials to "focus on those ingredients that are of most concern" rather than scrutinizing how hundreds of compounds could affect about 1,200 threatened and endangered species across the nation, said Adam Sharp, the associate assistant administrator for the EPA's Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances.
Grant Cope, an associate attorney for the environmental group Earthjustice, said the new rule "is a drastic weakening of protections for all endangered species across the country.""If you take the experts out of the room because you don't like what they're saying, that's one way to streamline the registration of dangerous pesticides," he said.
Posted by Eric at 07:36 AM | Comments (36)
More Inaction from the Ironic Name Agency
EPA "will no longer have to consult with wildlife agencies before deciding whether pesticides are likely to harm threatened or endangered species." WP:
Under current regulations, the EPA must get written approval from the Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service before ruling that a new pesticide would not "adversely affect" imperiled plants and animals. Bush officials said the new rules would streamline the process by entrusting EPA scientists with the job of deciding how pest controls affect endangered species.Environmentalists, of course, criticized the decision:... The change will allow agency officials to "focus on those ingredients that are of most concern" rather than scrutinizing how hundreds of compounds could affect about 1,200 threatened and endangered species across the nation, said Adam Sharp, the associate assistant administrator for the EPA's Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances.
Grant Cope, an associate attorney for the environmental group Earthjustice, said the new rule "is a drastic weakening of protections for all endangered species across the country.""If you take the experts out of the room because you don't like what they're saying, that's one way to streamline the registration of dangerous pesticides," he said.
Posted by Eric at 07:36 AM | Comments (3)
July 30, 2004
That Liberal ABC News
Airing unopposed attack segments by John Stossel against John Edwards.
Posted by Eric at 10:58 PM | Comments (33)
That Liberal ABC News
Airing unopposed attack segments by John Stossel against John Edwards.
Posted by Eric at 10:58 PM | Comments (7)
Highest Ever!
Federal! Deficit! $445 billion!
Posted by Eric at 10:35 PM | Comments (32)
Highest Ever!
Federal! Deficit! $445 billion!
Posted by Eric at 10:35 PM | Comments (4)
Conservatives Reach Out
Former NBC commentator Michael Savage on why not to vote for the Democrats:
SAVAGE: You know something; I'm voting for Bush, I just made up my mind. There's nothing in this for me. I'm a white male, I'm a white, male, married heterosexual -- I don't want the Democrats. Everywhere I turn, there's another hot coal in my eye. For example, today's DNC calendar of public events included lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender meeting, the disability meeting, the ethnic meeting, the American Indian meeting, the Asian/Pacific Islander meeting, the Hispanic meeting, and the African American meeting -- God bless 'em, they're entitled to their meeting, I'm entitled to my vote, they're not my party, end of story. And that's it. I'm not voting for a party of ethnic minorities and women and immigrants. I will not do it. And if I thought for a moment that they had changed their direction, if I thought for a moment there was a new Democrat Party that was more centrist and more focused on the real issues of today, I would have considered, well, maybe sitting the election out, or voting for Kerry -- no, I'm not.
Posted by Eric at 10:20 PM | Comments (23)
Conservatives Reach Out
Former NBC commentator Michael Savage on why not to vote for the Democrats:
SAVAGE: You know something; I'm voting for Bush, I just made up my mind. There's nothing in this for me. I'm a white male, I'm a white, male, married heterosexual -- I don't want the Democrats. Everywhere I turn, there's another hot coal in my eye. For example, today's DNC calendar of public events included lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender meeting, the disability meeting, the ethnic meeting, the American Indian meeting, the Asian/Pacific Islander meeting, the Hispanic meeting, and the African American meeting -- God bless 'em, they're entitled to their meeting, I'm entitled to my vote, they're not my party, end of story. And that's it. I'm not voting for a party of ethnic minorities and women and immigrants. I will not do it. And if I thought for a moment that they had changed their direction, if I thought for a moment there was a new Democrat Party that was more centrist and more focused on the real issues of today, I would have considered, well, maybe sitting the election out, or voting for Kerry -- no, I'm not.
Posted by Eric at 10:20 PM | Comments (11)
O'Reilly Declares Victory
From the NYDN:
Bill O'Reilly has declared himself the victor of his Fox joust with Michael Moore this week. The "No-Spin"-meister tells us he gives the "Fahrenheit 9/11" director credit for coming on his show because "he knew he wasn't going to win." Keep telling yourself that, Bill.Transcript, fyi, here.
Regardless, O'Reilly is certainly winning the overheated rhetoric war.
Posted by Eric at 10:15 PM | Comments (36)
O'Reilly Declares Victory
From the NYDN:
Bill O'Reilly has declared himself the victor of his Fox joust with Michael Moore this week. The "No-Spin"-meister tells us he gives the "Fahrenheit 9/11" director credit for coming on his show because "he knew he wasn't going to win." Keep telling yourself that, Bill.Transcript, fyi, here.
Regardless, O'Reilly is certainly winning the overheated rhetoric war.
Posted by Eric at 10:15 PM | Comments (6)
Liberals Want TV Net
To counter Fox influence. From Wired:
Stinson said he wants the best progressive journalists and online publishers to join the New Media, the name he uses for the planned network. Editorial standards at the network will be high, he said."This is about the issues. This is for real," said Stinson.
Stinson is meeting next week in New York with other New Media planners, including Greg Palast, a reporter for BBC TV and The Guardian newspaper in London. There, the group will begin reaching out to investors.
Posted by Eric at 08:09 PM | Comments (29)
Liberals Want TV Net
To counter Fox influence. From Wired:
Stinson said he wants the best progressive journalists and online publishers to join the New Media, the name he uses for the planned network. Editorial standards at the network will be high, he said."This is about the issues. This is for real," said Stinson.
Stinson is meeting next week in New York with other New Media planners, including Greg Palast, a reporter for BBC TV and The Guardian newspaper in London. There, the group will begin reaching out to investors.
Posted by Eric at 08:09 PM | Comments (0)
Ron Reagan Blasts Bush in Esquire
His convention speech may not have been political, but this article is Esquire certainly is:
Does anyone really favor an administration that so shamelessly lies? One that so tenaciously clings to secrecy, not to protect the American people, but to protect itself? That so willfully misrepresents its true aims and so knowingly misleads the people from whom it derives its power? I simply cannot think so. And to come to the same conclusion does not make you guilty of swallowing some liberal critique of the Bush presidency, because that's not what this is. This is the critique of a person who thinks that lying at the top levels of his government is abhorrent. Call it the honest guy's critique of George W. Bush. ...GEORGE W. BUSH PROMISED to "change the tone in Washington" and ran for office as a moderate, a "compassionate conservative," in the focus-group-tested sloganeering of his campaign. Yet he has governed from the right wing of his already conservative party, assiduously tending a "base" that includes, along with the expected Fortune 500 fat cats, fiscal evangelicals who talk openly of doing away with Social Security and Medicare, of shrinking government to the size where they can, in tax radical Grover Norquist's phrase, "drown it in the bathtub." That base also encompasses a healthy share of anti-choice zealots, homophobic bigots, and assorted purveyors of junk science. Bush has tossed bones to all of them—"partial birth" abortion legislation, the promise of a constitutional amendment banning marriage between homosexuals, federal roadblocks to embryonic-stem-cell research, even comments suggesting presidential doubts about Darwinian evolution. It's not that Mr. Bush necessarily shares their worldview; indeed, it's unclear whether he embraces any coherent philosophy. But this president, who vowed to eschew politics in favor of sound policy, panders nonetheless in the interest of political gain. As John DiIulio, Bush's former head of the Office of Community and Faith-Based Initiatives, once told this magazine, "What you've got is everything—and I mean everything—being run by the political arm."
Posted by Eric at 08:00 PM | Comments (33)
Ron Reagan Blasts Bush in Esquire
His convention speech may not have been political, but this article is Esquire certainly is:
Does anyone really favor an administration that so shamelessly lies? One that so tenaciously clings to secrecy, not to protect the American people, but to protect itself? That so willfully misrepresents its true aims and so knowingly misleads the people from whom it derives its power? I simply cannot think so. And to come to the same conclusion does not make you guilty of swallowing some liberal critique of the Bush presidency, because that's not what this is. This is the critique of a person who thinks that lying at the top levels of his government is abhorrent. Call it the honest guy's critique of George W. Bush. ...GEORGE W. BUSH PROMISED to "change the tone in Washington" and ran for office as a moderate, a "compassionate conservative," in the focus-group-tested sloganeering of his campaign. Yet he has governed from the right wing of his already conservative party, assiduously tending a "base" that includes, along with the expected Fortune 500 fat cats, fiscal evangelicals who talk openly of doing away with Social Security and Medicare, of shrinking government to the size where they can, in tax radical Grover Norquist's phrase, "drown it in the bathtub." That base also encompasses a healthy share of anti-choice zealots, homophobic bigots, and assorted purveyors of junk science. Bush has tossed bones to all of them—"partial birth" abortion legislation, the promise of a constitutional amendment banning marriage between homosexuals, federal roadblocks to embryonic-stem-cell research, even comments suggesting presidential doubts about Darwinian evolution. It's not that Mr. Bush necessarily shares their worldview; indeed, it's unclear whether he embraces any coherent philosophy. But this president, who vowed to eschew politics in favor of sound policy, panders nonetheless in the interest of political gain. As John DiIulio, Bush's former head of the Office of Community and Faith-Based Initiatives, once told this magazine, "What you've got is everything—and I mean everything—being run by the political arm."
Posted by Eric at 08:00 PM | Comments (4)
The Word Liberal
The demonization of the word "liberal" has been an ongoing project of the well-funded right and draws its fire from intellectuals who should really know better. Shelby Steele, for instance, has provided useful and interesting challenges to conventional wisdom on race and affirmative action but look what he wrote on the Wall Street Journal editorial page about John Walker Lindh and liberals. Speaking of the allegedly liberal values of Marin County, California, where Lindh was raised, and taking a page from the playbook of former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Steele charged, sans evidence that "This liberalism thrives as a subversive, winking, countercultural hipness...Cultural liberalism serves up American self-hate to the young as idealism. It's too much to say that treason is a rite of passage in this context. But that is exactly how it turned out for Walker. In radical Islam he found both the victim's authority and the hatred of America that had been held out to him as marks of authenticity...And when he turned on his country to be secure in his new faith, he followed a logic that was a part of his country's culture." This begs the question, why does Shelby Steele hate America? An interesting line of reasoning, this, considering that conservatives normally reject victimization in favor of personal responsibility. Apparently, liberalism trumps free will in Steele's sociological methodology ... Given the rhetorical dominance of conservatives over the past several decades, one might be surprised to learn from a June Wall Street Journal analysis that "[The] proportion of Americans calling themselves "liberal" edged up to 21 percent in [ pollster Stan] Greenberg's May poll from 16 percent a month earlier. Self-identified "conservatives" dropped to 37 percent from 41 percent. And why not? One of the most honored guests here in Boston this week turns out to be none other than George McGovern. As he told a reporter from National Journal when queried about his apparently alien ideological affiliation "Every program that ever helped working people -- from rural electrification to Medicare -- was enacted by liberals over the opposition of conservatives. When people tell me they don't like liberals, I ask, 'Do you like Social Security? If so, then shut up!' "
Posted by Eric at 12:16 PM | Comments (106)
The Word Liberal
The demonization of the word "liberal" has been an ongoing project of the well-funded right and draws its fire from intellectuals who should really know better. Shelby Steele, for instance, has provided useful and interesting challenges to conventional wisdom on race and affirmative action but look what he wrote on the Wall Street Journal editorial page about John Walker Lindh and liberals. Speaking of the allegedly liberal values of Marin County, California, where Lindh was raised, and taking a page from the playbook of former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Steele charged, sans evidence that "This liberalism thrives as a subversive, winking, countercultural hipness...Cultural liberalism serves up American self-hate to the young as idealism. It's too much to say that treason is a rite of passage in this context. But that is exactly how it turned out for Walker. In radical Islam he found both the victim's authority and the hatred of America that had been held out to him as marks of authenticity...And when he turned on his country to be secure in his new faith, he followed a logic that was a part of his country's culture." This begs the question, why does Shelby Steele hate America? An interesting line of reasoning, this, considering that conservatives normally reject victimization in favor of personal responsibility. Apparently, liberalism trumps free will in Steele's sociological methodology ... Given the rhetorical dominance of conservatives over the past several decades, one might be surprised to learn from a June Wall Street Journal analysis that "[The] proportion of Americans calling themselves "liberal" edged up to 21 percent in [ pollster Stan] Greenberg's May poll from 16 percent a month earlier. Self-identified "conservatives" dropped to 37 percent from 41 percent. And why not? One of the most honored guests here in Boston this week turns out to be none other than George McGovern. As he told a reporter from National Journal when queried about his apparently alien ideological affiliation "Every program that ever helped working people -- from rural electrification to Medicare -- was enacted by liberals over the opposition of conservatives. When people tell me they don't like liberals, I ask, 'Do you like Social Security? If so, then shut up!' "
Posted by Eric at 12:16 PM | Comments (4)
Pataki Says NO to Min-Wage Hike
Posted by Eric at 12:12 PM | Comments (14)
Pataki Says NO to Min-Wage Hike
Posted by Eric at 12:12 PM | Comments (7)
Movie Plug
The Manchurian Candidate (a Hamster advertiser) opens this weekend. Cast: Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep, Liev Schreiber and Al Franken (I think he has one line).
Anyway, in an interview with NPR, director Jonathan Demme "says the film is partly a surreal thriller, and partly an effort to make viewers question the modern political process."
Current event stuff: "Today's “Manchurian” takes place in an equally scary but more complex world of terror, pre-emptive wars, fright-fest 24-hours news, unaccountable multi-national corporations and the ruthless, stateless players who run them."
Ebert gives it three stars.
Also there's Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle.
Posted by Eric at 12:11 PM | Comments (49)
Movie Plug
The Manchurian Candidate (a Hamster advertiser) opens this weekend. Cast: Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep, Liev Schreiber and Al Franken (I think he has one line).
Anyway, in an interview with NPR, director Jonathan Demme "says the film is partly a surreal thriller, and partly an effort to make viewers question the modern political process."
Current event stuff: "Today's “Manchurian” takes place in an equally scary but more complex world of terror, pre-emptive wars, fright-fest 24-hours news, unaccountable multi-national corporations and the ruthless, stateless players who run them."
Ebert gives it three stars.
Also there's Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle.
Posted by Eric at 12:11 PM | Comments (0)
July 29, 2004
Thursday Comms
Commentary
Rob Zaleski. Bush's environmental outrages spur group to battle
Ruth Conniff. Reversing the Slide
Robert Kuttner. Three Nightmares: John Kerry could win by 2 million votes and still lose the election. Here are three ways to fix the system
Harold Meyerson. Tearing Down the Walls; The crowd stood and roared for Barack Obama -- and for his ability to unite the party. Ron Reagan didn't do so badly, either
Sheryl McCarthy . Luck and skill combine in Obama's stellar climb
Marie Cocco. Can a man's man woo women voters?
Richard Cohen. The Wrong Way to Be Right
Jeremy Dauber. Obama: A star is born
Chic ST. Illinois basks in glow of Obama's shining moment
Gary Hart. New Grand Strategy: The U.S. must see that in today's world, its principles carry more heft than economic, political and military might
Maureen Dowd. Banned in Boston
Barbara Ehrenreich. The New Macho: Feminism
NYT. In Conclusion: speechwriters from the last five Democratic administrations propose a conclusion to Mr. Kerry’s address
Regis T. Sabol. Ralph Nader Threatens American Democracy
Max Blumenthal. The Scaife Strategy: Smother Teresa
Michael Moore. Michael Moore's Speech in Cambridge, Mass.
Arianna Huffington. Anger Management
Joshua Holland. Blackwashing: Scratch the surface of a black conservative group and you find a Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy
Thomas F. Schaller. Obama v. Sharpton
John Nichols. Networks Missed a Historic Speech
Matthew Rothschild. Kennedy, Obama Dust Off Declaration of Independence
Tom Engelhardt. The Story of No-Story:For the media the story of the convention is the media -- the bubble inside the bubble. The delegates see things differently
Mother Jones. Obama: Believe the Hype
Posted by Eric at 11:38 PM | Comments (33)
Thursday Comms
Commentary
Rob Zaleski. Bush's environmental outrages spur group to battle
Ruth Conniff. Reversing the Slide
Robert Kuttner. Three Nightmares: John Kerry could win by 2 million votes and still lose the election. Here are three ways to fix the system
Harold Meyerson. Tearing Down the Walls; The crowd stood and roared for Barack Obama -- and for his ability to unite the party. Ron Reagan didn't do so badly, either
Sheryl McCarthy . Luck and skill combine in Obama's stellar climb
Marie Cocco. Can a man's man woo women voters?
Richard Cohen. The Wrong Way to Be Right
Jeremy Dauber. Obama: A star is born
Chic ST. Illinois basks in glow of Obama's shining moment
Gary Hart. New Grand Strategy: The U.S. must see that in today's world, its principles carry more heft than economic, political and military might
Maureen Dowd. Banned in Boston
Barbara Ehrenreich. The New Macho: Feminism
NYT. In Conclusion: speechwriters from the last five Democratic administrations propose a conclusion to Mr. Kerry’s address
Regis T. Sabol. Ralph Nader Threatens American Democracy
Max Blumenthal. The Scaife Strategy: Smother Teresa
Michael Moore. Michael Moore's Speech in Cambridge, Mass.
Arianna Huffington. Anger Management
Joshua Holland. Blackwashing: Scratch the surface of a black conservative group and you find a Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy
Thomas F. Schaller. Obama v. Sharpton
John Nichols. Networks Missed a Historic Speech
Matthew Rothschild. Kennedy, Obama Dust Off Declaration of Independence
Tom Engelhardt. The Story of No-Story:For the media the story of the convention is the media -- the bubble inside the bubble. The delegates see things differently
Mother Jones. Obama: Believe the Hype
Posted by Eric at 11:38 PM | Comments (2)
Kerry Outlines Presidential Vision
Posted by Eric at 10:34 PM | Comments (37)
Kerry Outlines Presidential Vision
Posted by Eric at 10:34 PM | Comments (6)
Clark: Kerry "leader and fighter"
From speech tonight:
War. I've been there. Heard the thump of enemy mortars. Seen the tracers fly. Bled on the battlefield. Recovered in hospitals. Received and obeyed orders. Sent men and women into battle. Awarded medals, comforted families, attended funerals. And this soldier has news for you: Anyone who tells you that one political party has a monopoly on the defense of our nation is committing a fraud on the American people. Franklin Roosevelt said it best: "Repetition does not transform a lie into the truth."This hall and this party are filled with veterans who have served under this flag -- our flag. We rose and stood reveille to this flag. We fought for this flag. And we've seen brave men and women buried under this flag. This flag is ours! And nobody will take it away from us.
The safety of our country demands urgent and innovative measures to strengthen our armed forces. The safety of our country demands credible intelligence. The safety of our country demands cooperation with our allies. The safety of our country demands making more friends and fewer enemies. The safety of our country demands an end to the doctrinaire, ineffective policies that currently grip Washington.
Enough is enough! A safe America -- a just America -- that's what we want, and that's what we need. And with John Kerry and John Edwards, that's what we will achieve.
Posted by Eric at 09:59 PM | Comments (5)
Clark: Kerry "leader and fighter"
From speech tonight:
War. I've been there. Heard the thump of enemy mortars. Seen the tracers fly. Bled on the battlefield. Recovered in hospitals. Received and obeyed orders. Sent men and women into battle. Awarded medals, comforted families, attended funerals. And this soldier has news for you: Anyone who tells you that one political party has a monopoly on the defense of our nation is committing a fraud on the American people. Franklin Roosevelt said it best: "Repetition does not transform a lie into the truth."This hall and this party are filled with veterans who have served under this flag -- our flag. We rose and stood reveille to this flag. We fought for this flag. And we've seen brave men and women buried under this flag. This flag is ours! And nobody will take it away from us.
The safety of our country demands urgent and innovative measures to strengthen our armed forces. The safety of our country demands credible intelligence. The safety of our country demands cooperation with our allies. The safety of our country demands making more friends and fewer enemies. The safety of our country demands an end to the doctrinaire, ineffective policies that currently grip Washington.
Enough is enough! A safe America -- a just America -- that's what we want, and that's what we need. And with John Kerry and John Edwards, that's what we will achieve.
Posted by Eric at 09:59 PM | Comments (0)
Zogby: Kerry Leads Electoral
From a July 27, 2004 survey:
The collection of state polls, conducted July 19-23, shows Mr. Kerry leading, 275 to 220, with three of the 16 states in the collection - Florida, Missouri, and Nevada - excluded from the count.Florida is an absolute dead heat; while Missouri and Nevada are razor-thin advantages leaning toward Mr. Kerry. All three states were won by Mr. Bush four years ago. Even without considering the votes from those states, Mr. Kerry still has enough support in the Zogby model to win the Presidency.
But it cannot be emphasized enough that the polling shows this race is too close to call right now.
Posted by Eric at 08:53 PM | Comments (5)
Zogby: Kerry Leads Electoral
From a July 27, 2004 survey:
The collection of state polls, conducted July 19-23, shows Mr. Kerry leading, 275 to 220, with three of the 16 states in the collection - Florida, Missouri, and Nevada - excluded from the count.Florida is an absolute dead heat; while Missouri and Nevada are razor-thin advantages leaning toward Mr. Kerry. All three states were won by Mr. Bush four years ago. Even without considering the votes from those states, Mr. Kerry still has enough support in the Zogby model to win the Presidency.
But it cannot be emphasized enough that the polling shows this race is too close to call right now.
Posted by Eric at 08:53 PM | Comments (1)
Obama Delievered, But Did America See It?
John Nichols on the problem with the media's coverage of the convention:
ABC, NBC and CBS chose not to air any of Tuesday night's convention proceedings. For the first time since the development of broadcast television, Americans could not tune into one of their local commercial television stations and watch the nation's oldest political party reinventing itself for the newest campaign ...It is true that much of what is said from the convention podium these days adds up to little more than a partisan infomercial. But there are still meaningful moments, and Obama's address was one of them. In fact, the Illinois state senator's speech was an exceptionally significant expression of the ever-evolving story of American citizenship and political engagement. Obama's often poetic message - with its "E pluribus unum: out of many one" theme - was the talk of the convention.
It was not, however, the talk of the nation because, of course, the networks chose not to give it the same time and attention they devoted to that program about the eating habits of "pageant girls."
Posted by Eric at 08:44 PM | Comments (36)
Obama Delievered, But Did America See It?
John Nichols on the problem with the media's coverage of the convention:
ABC, NBC and CBS chose not to air any of Tuesday night's convention proceedings. For the first time since the development of broadcast television, Americans could not tune into one of their local commercial television stations and watch the nation's oldest political party reinventing itself for the newest campaign ...It is true that much of what is said from the convention podium these days adds up to little more than a partisan infomercial. But there are still meaningful moments, and Obama's address was one of them. In fact, the Illinois state senator's speech was an exceptionally significant expression of the ever-evolving story of American citizenship and political engagement. Obama's often poetic message - with its "E pluribus unum: out of many one" theme - was the talk of the convention.
It was not, however, the talk of the nation because, of course, the networks chose not to give it the same time and attention they devoted to that program about the eating habits of "pageant girls."
Posted by Eric at 08:44 PM | Comments (1)
Cable Ratings
From TV Newser:
CNN and FNC are both touting the three-day ratings averages, but for different reasons. CNN is #1 when it comes to primetime convention coverage, but FNC is on top in the total day.In 2000, Fox did exceedingly well during the GOP convention.From Monday to Wednesday, FNC has averaged 952,000 in the total day, compared to 709,000 for CNN and 420,000 for MSNBC.
Between 8 and 11pm, though, CNN has averaged 2,178,000 viewers, while FNC has averaged 1,917,000 and MSNBC has had 1,205,000. During the keynote hour of 10pm, CNN has averaged 2,796,000, compared to MSNBC's 1,643,000.
...No one will be surprised if FNC retakes the #1 position after the Democrats leave Boston, though...
Posted by Eric at 07:51 PM | Comments (31)
Cable Ratings
From TV Newser:
CNN and FNC are both touting the three-day ratings averages, but for different reasons. CNN is #1 when it comes to primetime convention coverage, but FNC is on top in the total day.In 2000, Fox did exceedingly well during the GOP convention.From Monday to Wednesday, FNC has averaged 952,000 in the total day, compared to 709,000 for CNN and 420,000 for MSNBC.
Between 8 and 11pm, though, CNN has averaged 2,178,000 viewers, while FNC has averaged 1,917,000 and MSNBC has had 1,205,000. During the keynote hour of 10pm, CNN has averaged 2,796,000, compared to MSNBC's 1,643,000.
...No one will be surprised if FNC retakes the #1 position after the Democrats leave Boston, though...
Posted by Eric at 07:51 PM | Comments (0)
Sharpton
Pretty good line: "It, to me, is a glaring contradiction that we would fight, and rightfully so, to get the right to vote for the people in the capital of Iraq in Baghdad, but still don't give the federal right to vote for the people in the capital of the United States, in Washington, D.C."
This one too:
You said the Republican Party was the party of Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. It is true that Mr. Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, after which there was a commitment to give 40 acres and a mule.That's where the argument, to this day, of reparations starts. We never got the 40 acres. We went all the way to Herbert Hoover, and we never got the 40 acres.
We didn't get the mule. So we decided we'd ride this donkey as far as it would take us.
Posted by Eric at 08:42 AM | Comments (27)
Sharpton
Pretty good line: "It, to me, is a glaring contradiction that we would fight, and rightfully so, to get the right to vote for the people in the capital of Iraq in Baghdad, but still don't give the federal right to vote for the people in the capital of the United States, in Washington, D.C."
This one too:
You said the Republican Party was the party of Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. It is true that Mr. Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, after which there was a commitment to give 40 acres and a mule.That's where the argument, to this day, of reparations starts. We never got the 40 acres. We went all the way to Herbert Hoover, and we never got the 40 acres.
We didn't get the mule. So we decided we'd ride this donkey as far as it would take us.
Posted by Eric at 08:42 AM | Comments (3)
Thursday Finale
Thursday:
Stronger at Home, Respected in the World
Madeline Albright, Former Secretary of State
Joe Biden, U.S. Senator from Delaware
Wesley Clark, Four Star General, 2004 Presidential Candidate
Max Cleland, Former U.S. Senator from Georgia
James Clyburn, U.S. Representative from South Carolina
Alexandra Kerry, Daughter of John Kerry
John Kerry, 2004 Democratic Presidential Nominee
Vanessa Kerry, Daughter of John Kerry
Joe Lieberman, U.S. Senator from Connecticut, 2004 Presidential Candidate
Ed Markey, U.S. Representative from Massachusetts
Juanita Millender-McDonald, U.S. Representative from California
Eleanor Holmes Norton, U.S. Representative from the District of Columbia
Nancy Pelosi, U.S. Representative from California, Democratic Leader
Jim Rassman, Green Beret rescued by John Kerry in Vietnam
Louise Slaughter, U.S. Representative from New York
(joined by Congressional Women)
John Sweeney, President of AFL-CIO
Mark Warner, Governor of Virginia
Posted by Eric at 08:38 AM | Comments (25)
Thursday Finale
Thursday:
Stronger at Home, Respected in the World
Madeline Albright, Former Secretary of State
Joe Biden, U.S. Senator from Delaware
Wesley Clark, Four Star General, 2004 Presidential Candidate
Max Cleland, Former U.S. Senator from Georgia
James Clyburn, U.S. Representative from South Carolina
Alexandra Kerry, Daughter of John Kerry
John Kerry, 2004 Democratic Presidential Nominee
Vanessa Kerry, Daughter of John Kerry
Joe Lieberman, U.S. Senator from Connecticut, 2004 Presidential Candidate
Ed Markey, U.S. Representative from Massachusetts
Juanita Millender-McDonald, U.S. Representative from California
Eleanor Holmes Norton, U.S. Representative from the District of Columbia
Nancy Pelosi, U.S. Representative from California, Democratic Leader
Jim Rassman, Green Beret rescued by John Kerry in Vietnam
Louise Slaughter, U.S. Representative from New York
(joined by Congressional Women)
John Sweeney, President of AFL-CIO
Mark Warner, Governor of Virginia
Posted by Eric at 08:38 AM | Comments (1)
Impending Disaster?
From PFAW:
A computer crash erased detailed records from Miami-Dade County's first widespread use of touchscreen voting machines, raising again the specter of elections troubles in Florida, where the new technology was supposed to put an end to such problems.Learn more with People for the American Way.The crashes occurred in May and November of 2003, erasing information from the September 2002 gubernatorial primaries and other elections, elections officials said Tuesday.
The malfunction was made public after the Miami-Dade Election Reform Coalition, a citizen's group, requested all data from the 2002 gubernatorial primary between Democratic candidates Janet Reno and Bill McBride.
The loss of data underscores problems with the touchscreen voting machines, the citizen's group said. "This is a disaster waiting to happen," said Lida Rodriguez-Taseff, chairwoman of the Miami-Dade Election Reform Coalition. "Of course it's worrisome."
Posted by Eric at 08:23 AM | Comments (28)
Impending Disaster?
From PFAW:
A computer crash erased detailed records from Miami-Dade County's first widespread use of touchscreen voting machines, raising again the specter of elections troubles in Florida, where the new technology was supposed to put an end to such problems.Learn more with People for the American Way.The crashes occurred in May and November of 2003, erasing information from the September 2002 gubernatorial primaries and other elections, elections officials said Tuesday.
The malfunction was made public after the Miami-Dade Election Reform Coalition, a citizen's group, requested all data from the 2002 gubernatorial primary between Democratic candidates Janet Reno and Bill McBride.
The loss of data underscores problems with the touchscreen voting machines, the citizen's group said. "This is a disaster waiting to happen," said Lida Rodriguez-Taseff, chairwoman of the Miami-Dade Election Reform Coalition. "Of course it's worrisome."
Posted by Eric at 08:23 AM | Comments (9)
OOoouh That Halliburton
Halliburton Co., the biggest U.S. contractor in Iraq, has lost $18.6 million of government property that country, about a third of the items it was given to manage, including trucks, computers and office furniture.Government auditors couldn't account for 6,975 of 20,531 items on the ledgers of Halliburton's Kellogg Brown & Root unit, according to a report by Stuart Bowen, auditor for the coalition provisional authority inspector general, which oversees contractors. Halliburton is providing services to U.S. troops under a contract that has generated $3.2 billion in revenue so far.
Posted by Eric at 12:28 AM | Comments (17)
OOoouh That Halliburton
Halliburton Co., the biggest U.S. contractor in Iraq, has lost $18.6 million of government property that country, about a third of the items it was given to manage, including trucks, computers and office furniture.Government auditors couldn't account for 6,975 of 20,531 items on the ledgers of Halliburton's Kellogg Brown & Root unit, according to a report by Stuart Bowen, auditor for the coalition provisional authority inspector general, which oversees contractors. Halliburton is providing services to U.S. troops under a contract that has generated $3.2 billion in revenue so far.
Posted by Eric at 12:28 AM | Comments (1)
Bomb Attack Kills Dozens
As many as 70 people were killed Wednesday after a suicide bomber detonated an explosive-packed sedan on a busy street here.
.
The attack was apparently aimed at new police recruits but killed scores of ordinary Iraqis shopping or waiting in morning traffic.
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About 55 people were wounded, the Iraqi Ministry of Health reported.
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It was one of the deadliest single attacks in the country and by far the worst since Iraqis took over sovereignty from the American occupation on June 28.
Posted by Eric at 12:00 AM | Comments (5)
Bomb Attack Kills Dozens
As many as 70 people were killed Wednesday after a suicide bomber detonated an explosive-packed sedan on a busy street here.
.
The attack was apparently aimed at new police recruits but killed scores of ordinary Iraqis shopping or waiting in morning traffic.
.
About 55 people were wounded, the Iraqi Ministry of Health reported.
.
It was one of the deadliest single attacks in the country and by far the worst since Iraqis took over sovereignty from the American occupation on June 28.
Posted by Eric at 12:00 AM | Comments (1)
July 28, 2004
Edwards: "Hope is on the way"
Speech here.
Posted by Eric at 11:53 PM | Comments (28)
Edwards: "Hope is on the way"
Speech here.
Posted by Eric at 11:53 PM | Comments (0)
O'Reilly Lost
Sad or amusing, you take your pick:
After an interview with actor Ben Affleck on the July 27 O'Reilly Factor, FOX News Channel host Bill O'Reilly, who was presenting his show live from the Democratic National Convention, teased the upcoming segment of his show by saying of convention speaker Senator Edward Kennedy: "When we come back, we'll let you listen to Ted Kennedy for a while, if he shows up."In fact, Kennedy had already shown up and had been speaking for several minutes, as O'Reilly need only have turned around to see. FOX News even showed live footage of Kennedy's speech in one part of the screen during O'Reilly's interview with Affleck.
Posted by Eric at 11:12 PM | Comments (19)
O'Reilly Lost
Sad or amusing, you take your pick:
After an interview with actor Ben Affleck on the July 27 O'Reilly Factor, FOX News Channel host Bill O'Reilly, who was presenting his show live from the Democratic National Convention, teased the upcoming segment of his show by saying of convention speaker Senator Edward Kennedy: "When we come back, we'll let you listen to Ted Kennedy for a while, if he shows up."In fact, Kennedy had already shown up and had been speaking for several minutes, as O'Reilly need only have turned around to see. FOX News even showed live footage of Kennedy's speech in one part of the screen during O'Reilly's interview with Affleck.
Posted by Eric at 11:12 PM | Comments (5)
Lincoln Chafee on Iraq
From the AP:
Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee criticized the Bush administration on Tuesday for a "host of mistakes" in its postwar reconstruction of Iraq, saying the country is less secure than before and that basic infrastructure is still not working.The senator, who was the only Republican to vote against the White House war resolution in October 2002 leading up to the invasion of Iraq, said the U.S. effort will fail if the White House does not work more closely with other countries in the region and re-engage itself in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"I don't think we can be successful if we're not working regionally," he told The Associated Press.
Chafee said he favored recruiting more allies, and feared that demagogues in the Middle East and terrorists would exploit a U.S. invasion. He did vote to authorize reconstruction money.
Posted by Eric at 09:28 PM | Comments (6)
Lincoln Chafee on Iraq
From the AP:
Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee criticized the Bush administration on Tuesday for a "host of mistakes" in its postwar reconstruction of Iraq, saying the country is less secure than before and that basic infrastructure is still not working.The senator, who was the only Republican to vote against the White House war resolution in October 2002 leading up to the invasion of Iraq, said the U.S. effort will fail if the White House does not work more closely with other countries in the region and re-engage itself in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"I don't think we can be successful if we're not working regionally," he told The Associated Press.
Chafee said he favored recruiting more allies, and feared that demagogues in the Middle East and terrorists would exploit a U.S. invasion. He did vote to authorize reconstruction money.
Posted by Eric at 09:28 PM | Comments (0)
Right-Wing on Obama: Really One of Us!
As Kos notes: Funny.
Posted by Eric at 09:20 PM | Comments (20)
Right-Wing on Obama: Really One of Us!
As Kos notes: Funny.
Posted by Eric at 09:20 PM | Comments (2)
Someone Wake-Up Dan Rather
Falling asleep during the convention.
Now it’s official: This convention really is duller than those the parties held four years ago. Inside the hall, it’s scripted down to the nanosecond. Outside the hall, security is battened down tighter than the lug nuts on a ’55 Ford. Remember DNC 2000’s anti-globalism protestors and the Rage Against the Machine concert in the Staples Center parking lot? Nothing of that sort this time around — perhaps if they put an exercise wheel and a water bottle inside the so-called “protestor’s cage” (a.k.a. “Free-Speech Zone”)….
Posted by Eric at 08:58 AM | Comments (10)
Someone Wake-Up Dan Rather
Falling asleep during the convention.
Now it’s official: This convention really is duller than those the parties held four years ago. Inside the hall, it’s scripted down to the nanosecond. Outside the hall, security is battened down tighter than the lug nuts on a ’55 Ford. Remember DNC 2000’s anti-globalism protestors and the Rage Against the Machine concert in the Staples Center parking lot? Nothing of that sort this time around — perhaps if they put an exercise wheel and a water bottle inside the so-called “protestor’s cage” (a.k.a. “Free-Speech Zone”)….
Posted by Eric at 08:58 AM | Comments (1)
MSNBC's Olbermann Scolds Dems for Fox Appearances
From Hardblogger, Keith Olbermann opines:
Maybe Bill O'Reilly feels the obsessive need to talk over the first fifteen minutes of the convention every night because he's trying to pave over his disastrous years as a local Boston news anchor. Regardless, we know what we're getting from him.My beef tonight is with his first two guests: Ben Affleck and Jerry Brown.
I know that if neither of them agreed to be the sparring partner for O'Reilly as he drowned Kennedy out, somebody else would. And that they think they're somehow bringing the argument on to foreign territory, and perhaps win a few converts.But therein lies the crux of the conundrum that is the Democrats' contention that FNC is not just biased, but also an extra little devil head growing off the body of the Republican Party. Every Democrat who agrees to appear on that network helps support it, helps it argue (falsely or accurately) that it is not partisan.
And, tonight, every Democrat who went on live with O'Reilly instead of saying "I'm not helping you blow off Kennedy" showed he'd rather hear himself talk.
Posted by Eric at 08:51 AM | Comments (32)
MSNBC's Olbermann Scolds Dems for Fox Appearances
From Hardblogger, Keith Olbermann opines:
Maybe Bill O'Reilly feels the obsessive need to talk over the first fifteen minutes of the convention every night because he's trying to pave over his disastrous years as a local Boston news anchor. Regardless, we know what we're getting from him.My beef tonight is with his first two guests: Ben Affleck and Jerry Brown.
I know that if neither of them agreed to be the sparring partner for O'Reilly as he drowned Kennedy out, somebody else would. And that they think they're somehow bringing the argument on to foreign territory, and perhaps win a few converts.But therein lies the crux of the conundrum that is the Democrats' contention that FNC is not just biased, but also an extra little devil head growing off the body of the Republican Party. Every Democrat who agrees to appear on that network helps support it, helps it argue (falsely or accurately) that it is not partisan.
And, tonight, every Democrat who went on live with O'Reilly instead of saying "I'm not helping you blow off Kennedy" showed he'd rather hear himself talk.
Posted by Eric at 08:51 AM | Comments (3)
Obama-Rama!
Chicago Sun Times. Candidate, wife all smiles after speech.
CNN. Obama looks to own past in convention speech.
Kos. Meditating on Obama.
Mathew Gross. Reviewing Obama.
Honolulu Advertiser. Sister, other viewers here proud of keynote speaker .
Pandagon. This Man Makes Me Want To Freestyle.
KRT. Obama's crossover appeal defies labels, will energize party.
WTVO. Local Supporters Cheer for Obama.
AP. Obama Draws Roars of Approval at DNC.
Ill Leader. Obama's speech called most memorable convention speech in 25 years.
WTVO. Republicans Still Searching for U.S. Senate Candidate.
KRT. Obama finds himself to be convention's hottest political celebrity.
WP. The Other Man of the Hour.
Houston Chron. Keynote speaker Obama a rising star.
Reuters. Rising Black Star Tells Democrats of Life Story.
Posted by Eric at 05:51 AM | Comments (48)
Obama-Rama!
Chicago Sun Times. Candidate, wife all smiles after speech.
CNN. Obama looks to own past in convention speech.
Kos. Meditating on Obama.
Mathew Gross. Reviewing Obama.
Honolulu Advertiser. Sister, other viewers here proud of keynote speaker .
Pandagon. This Man Makes Me Want To Freestyle.
KRT. Obama's crossover appeal defies labels, will energize party.
WTVO. Local Supporters Cheer for Obama.
AP. Obama Draws Roars of Approval at DNC.
Ill Leader. Obama's speech called most memorable convention speech in 25 years.
WTVO. Republicans Still Searching for U.S. Senate Candidate.
KRT. Obama finds himself to be convention's hottest political celebrity.
WP. The Other Man of the Hour.
Houston Chron. Keynote speaker Obama a rising star.
Reuters. Rising Black Star Tells Democrats of Life Story.
Posted by Eric at 05:51 AM | Comments (3)
Affleck Continues to Stump
Will politics - gasp - grab Ben from acting (Good Will Hunting is one of my favorites, though). From NYDN:
"I really appreciate that President Bush saw fit to give me, who already has a ton of money, a bunch more," said Affleck archly. "He didn't want to waste that money making sure that everyday Americans could afford health care. Or properly equipping our men and women in Iraq - who have to buy their own body armor." ...Even if he doesn't want to act or run for office, Ben still has poker.After his pep talk, he headed to a meeting with Bill Clinton. Then to an event where Affleck introduced Gen. Wesley Clark. Later, he interviewed Sen. Ted Kennedy for "Good Morning America." When the convention ends, he's due to join Kerry and Sen. John Edwards on their bus tour through Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio.
"I'll try to do whatever is helpful and not get in the way," Affleck told us ...
But Affleck admits he gets a bigger charge from politics than acting: "It feels like I'm using my brain a little bit more. In some ways, I'm better at this than I am as an actor."
Posted by Eric at 04:59 AM | Comments (3)
Affleck Continues to Stump
Will politics - gasp - grab Ben from acting (Good Will Hunting is one of my favorites, though). From NYDN:
"I really appreciate that President Bush saw fit to give me, who already has a ton of money, a bunch more," said Affleck archly. "He didn't want to waste that money making sure that everyday Americans could afford health care. Or properly equipping our men and women in Iraq - who have to buy their own body armor." ...Even if he doesn't want to act or run for office, Ben still has poker.After his pep talk, he headed to a meeting with Bill Clinton. Then to an event where Affleck introduced Gen. Wesley Clark. Later, he interviewed Sen. Ted Kennedy for "Good Morning America." When the convention ends, he's due to join Kerry and Sen. John Edwards on their bus tour through Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio.
"I'll try to do whatever is helpful and not get in the way," Affleck told us ...
But Affleck admits he gets a bigger charge from politics than acting: "It feels like I'm using my brain a little bit more. In some ways, I'm better at this than I am as an actor."
Posted by Eric at 04:59 AM | Comments (0)
Bush Cribs from Dartmouth Undergrad
If you want to attack Fidel, there are easier ways than copying from papers on the internet, NBC News:
Speaking to Florida law enforcement officials on July 16, Bush claimed the Cuban leader shamelessly promotes sex tourism.“The dictator welcomes sex tourism. Here’s how he bragged about the industry,” said Bush. “This is his quote — ‘Cuba has the cleanest and most educated prostitutes in the world’ and ‘sex tourism is a vital source of hard currency.’”
The president made his accusations amid the release of the State Department yearly report on global human trafficking, which lists Cuba among the top ten violators.
Three days after Bush’s remarks, the Los Angeles Times reported that the White House found the comments in a Dartmouth undergraduate paper posted on the Internet and lifted them out of context. “It shows they didn’t read much of the article,” commented Charlie Trumbull, the author.
Speaking in 1992 to the Cuban parliament, Castro actually said, “There are prostitutes, but prostitution is not allowed in our country. There are no women forced to sell themselves to a man, to a foreigner, to a tourist.”
Posted by Eric at 04:40 AM | Comments (58)
Bush Cribs from Dartmouth Undergrad
If you want to attack Fidel, there are easier ways than copying from papers on the internet, NBC News:
Speaking to Florida law enforcement officials on July 16, Bush claimed the Cuban leader shamelessly promotes sex tourism.“The dictator welcomes sex tourism. Here’s how he bragged about the industry,” said Bush. “This is his quote — ‘Cuba has the cleanest and most educated prostitutes in the world’ and ‘sex tourism is a vital source of hard currency.’”
The president made his accusations amid the release of the State Department yearly report on global human trafficking, which lists Cuba among the top ten violators.
Three days after Bush’s remarks, the Los Angeles Times reported that the White House found the comments in a Dartmouth undergraduate paper posted on the Internet and lifted them out of context. “It shows they didn’t read much of the article,” commented Charlie Trumbull, the author.
Speaking in 1992 to the Cuban parliament, Castro actually said, “There are prostitutes, but prostitution is not allowed in our country. There are no women forced to sell themselves to a man, to a foreigner, to a tourist.”
Posted by Eric at 04:40 AM | Comments (1)
Wed's Schedule
Theme: A Stronger More Secure America
Speakers:
Steve Brozak, Ret. Lt. Col., USMC, Candidate for U.S. Representative from New Jersey
Elijah Cummings, U.S. Representative from Maryland
Cate Edwards, Daughter of John Edwards
Elizabeth Edwards, Wife of John Edwards
John Edwards, Democratic Vice-Presidential Nominee
Bob Graham, U.S. Senator from Florida, 2004 Presidential Candidate
Jennifer Granholm, Governor of Michigan
Dennis Kucinich, U.S. Representative from Ohio, 2004 Presidential Candidate
Greg Meeks, U.S. Representative from New York
Martin O’Malley, Mayor of Baltimore, Maryland
Harry Reid, U.S. Senator from Nevada
Ed Rendell, Governor of Pennsylvania
Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico
Al Sharpton, 2004 Presidential Candidate
Posted by Eric at 02:02 AM | Comments (14)
Wed's Schedule
Theme: A Stronger More Secure America
Speakers:
Steve Brozak, Ret. Lt. Col., USMC, Candidate for U.S. Representative from New Jersey
Elijah Cummings, U.S. Representative from Maryland
Cate Edwards, Daughter of John Edwards
Elizabeth Edwards, Wife of John Edwards
John Edwards, Democratic Vice-Presidential Nominee
Bob Graham, U.S. Senator from Florida, 2004 Presidential Candidate
Jennifer Granholm, Governor of Michigan
Dennis Kucinich, U.S. Representative from Ohio, 2004 Presidential Candidate
Greg Meeks, U.S. Representative from New York
Martin O’Malley, Mayor of Baltimore, Maryland
Harry Reid, U.S. Senator from Nevada
Ed Rendell, Governor of Pennsylvania
Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico
Al Sharpton, 2004 Presidential Candidate
Posted by Eric at 02:02 AM | Comments (0)
Simpsons Character to Come Out of Closet
If you watch the show regularly, you probably know which character ... E! Online:
Speaking during a weekend panel at San Diego's Comic-Con convention, show producers dropped a bomb: An upcoming Simpsons story line will focus on what happens when Springfield legalizes gay marriage.Burns: I should've known you were the only one stupid enough to kidnap you! Now get down here so I can spank you in front of this gawking rabble. Smithers, take off my belt."We have a show where, to raise money, Springfield legalizes gay marriage," producer Al Jean told comic book fans. "Homer becomes a minister by going on the Internet and filling out a form. A longtime character comes out of the closet, but I'm not saying who."
And with that, Simpsons aficionados got their gaydar on and began winnowing down the list of potential suspects.
The early favorite appears to be billionaire Monty Burns' ever-devoted sidekick, Waylon Smithers, who--aside from being a yes-man--has been known to collect Malibu Stacy dolls, lives in the gay part of town (where Homer once shacked up with two gay guys), has a Mr. Burns screensaver and dreams of a naked Mr. Burns jumping out of a birthday cake.
But that might be too easy. According to online fan scuttlebutt, there are other characters who might be secretly having a gay old time in Springfield, including Homer's regular-guy cohorts at the nuclear plant, Carl and Lenny, as well as Moe the bartender, the Reverend Lovejoy, Principal Skinner and Comic Book Guy. Of course, the producers didn't rule out a lesbian wedding, either.
Smithers: With pleasure, sir!
Posted by Eric at 01:57 AM | Comments (4)
Simpsons Character to Come Out of Closet
If you watch the show regularly, you probably know which character ... E! Online:
Speaking during a weekend panel at San Diego's Comic-Con convention, show producers dropped a bomb: An upcoming Simpsons story line will focus on what happens when Springfield legalizes gay marriage.Burns: I should've known you were the only one stupid enough to kidnap you! Now get down here so I can spank you in front of this gawking rabble. Smithers, take off my belt."We have a show where, to raise money, Springfield legalizes gay marriage," producer Al Jean told comic book fans. "Homer becomes a minister by going on the Internet and filling out a form. A longtime character comes out of the closet, but I'm not saying who."
And with that, Simpsons aficionados got their gaydar on and began winnowing down the list of potential suspects.
The early favorite appears to be billionaire Monty Burns' ever-devoted sidekick, Waylon Smithers, who--aside from being a yes-man--has been known to collect Malibu Stacy dolls, lives in the gay part of town (where Homer once shacked up with two gay guys), has a Mr. Burns screensaver and dreams of a naked Mr. Burns jumping out of a birthday cake.
But that might be too easy. According to online fan scuttlebutt, there are other characters who might be secretly having a gay old time in Springfield, including Homer's regular-guy cohorts at the nuclear plant, Carl and Lenny, as well as Moe the bartender, the Reverend Lovejoy, Principal Skinner and Comic Book Guy. Of course, the producers didn't rule out a lesbian wedding, either.
Smithers: With pleasure, sir!
Posted by Eric at 01:57 AM | Comments (1)
Michael Moore on Bill O'Reilly's Show
Transcript here.
Posted by Eric at 12:04 AM | Comments (42)
Michael Moore on Bill O'Reilly's Show
Transcript here.
Posted by Eric at 12:04 AM | Comments (6)
July 27, 2004
Obama
Rising star. After tonight's incredible speech, easy to see why. Visit his website.
Posted by Eric at 09:58 PM | Comments (11)
Obama
Rising star. After tonight's incredible speech, easy to see why. Visit his website.
Posted by Eric at 09:58 PM | Comments (2)
Kennedy's Speech
In these challenging times for our country, in these fateful times for the world, America needs a genuine uniter – not a divider who only claims to be a uniter.
We have seen how they rulethey divide and try to conquer. They know the power of the people is weakened when our house is divided. They believe they can’t win, unless the rest of us lose. We reject that shameful view.
The Democratic Party has a different idea. We believe that all of us can win. We believe we are one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. And when we say all, we mean all.
Today in this global age, our goal of the common good extends far beyond America’s borders.
Posted by Eric at 09:33 PM | Comments (12)
Kennedy's Speech
In these challenging times for our country, in these fateful times for the world, America needs a genuine uniter – not a divider who only claims to be a uniter.
We have seen how they rulethey divide and try to conquer. They know the power of the people is weakened when our house is divided. They believe they can’t win, unless the rest of us lose. We reject that shameful view.
The Democratic Party has a different idea. We believe that all of us can win. We believe we are one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. And when we say all, we mean all.
Today in this global age, our goal of the common good extends far beyond America’s borders.
Posted by Eric at 09:33 PM | Comments (0)
Nancy Reagan Likely to Skip GOP Convention
From The New Republic blog:
GOP officials don't seem too bothered by the fact that presidential son Ron Reagan will address the Democratic convention tonight. They're clearly more troubled, however, by the fact that Reagan's mother, Nancy, apparently won't be speaking at theirs. It's no secret that Mrs. Reagan is dismayed by George W. Bush's restrictions on embryonic stem cell research, which holds enormous promise for future disease cures. Researchers admit the near-term potential of stem cells for Alzheimer's patients like Ronald Reagan is quite limited, but Mrs. Reagan doesn't seem to care: "I do not expect her at our convention," Republican chairman Ed Gillespie admitted in a press briefing here this morning.But Gillespie wasn't content to leave reporters with the impression that Mrs. Reagan was boycotting the convention over stem cells. Instead, he cast her as a traumatized old widow. "Let's be a little thoughtful here," the GOP chairman lectured inquisitive reporters. "Mrs. Reagan's been through a lot this year. And whether she determines she wants to come to our convention this year is Mrs. Reagan's decision, and no one else's. ... Just keep in mind for a moment the year Mrs. Reagan has had, and be understanding."
Nancy Reagan is undoubtedly drained and in mourning. But that wasn't enough to keep her from speaking last month at the public christening of an aircraft carrier named after her husband. Sure, a national convention is a much bigger ordeal than a ceremony naming an aircraft carrier. But I have a feeling that's not what's going on here--and that Gillespie knows it.
Posted by Eric at 11:51 AM | Comments (46)
Nancy Reagan Likely to Skip GOP Convention
From The New Republic blog:
GOP officials don't seem too bothered by the fact that presidential son Ron Reagan will address the Democratic convention tonight. They're clearly more troubled, however, by the fact that Reagan's mother, Nancy, apparently won't be speaking at theirs. It's no secret that Mrs. Reagan is dismayed by George W. Bush's restrictions on embryonic stem cell research, which holds enormous promise for future disease cures. Researchers admit the near-term potential of stem cells for Alzheimer's patients like Ronald Reagan is quite limited, but Mrs. Reagan doesn't seem to care: "I do not expect her at our convention," Republican chairman Ed Gillespie admitted in a press briefing here this morning.But Gillespie wasn't content to leave reporters with the impression that Mrs. Reagan was boycotting the convention over stem cells. Instead, he cast her as a traumatized old widow. "Let's be a little thoughtful here," the GOP chairman lectured inquisitive reporters. "Mrs. Reagan's been through a lot this year. And whether she determines she wants to come to our convention this year is Mrs. Reagan's decision, and no one else's. ... Just keep in mind for a moment the year Mrs. Reagan has had, and be understanding."
Nancy Reagan is undoubtedly drained and in mourning. But that wasn't enough to keep her from speaking last month at the public christening of an aircraft carrier named after her husband. Sure, a national convention is a much bigger ordeal than a ceremony naming an aircraft carrier. But I have a feeling that's not what's going on here--and that Gillespie knows it.
Posted by Eric at 11:51 AM | Comments (6)
Gillette: The Best The Dems Can't Get
Yeah ... I sorta do feel sorry for the corporation, or at least the person who's going to lose his/her job. From Wash Monthly:
NOW THAT WAS BRIGHT....With all of the headlines and commotion about strict security at this year's political conventions you would think that someone would have thought twice about the decision to place boxes of Gillette razors in each of the welcome bags handed out with credentials to delegates and press types in Boston. Boston-based Gillette reportedly spent over a million dollars on the product placement, only to have: a) their products unused as all of the razors were confiscated when convention-goers attempted to pass through security; and b) their name taken in vain repeatedly because the already-long security lines became even more backed-up due to the razor snafu. Might we suggest substituting a nice moisturizer instead next time?
Posted by Eric at 11:48 AM | Comments (15)
Gillette: The Best The Dems Can't Get
Yeah ... I sorta do feel sorry for the corporation, or at least the person who's going to lose his/her job. From Wash Monthly:
NOW THAT WAS BRIGHT....With all of the headlines and commotion about strict security at this year's political conventions you would think that someone would have thought twice about the decision to place boxes of Gillette razors in each of the welcome bags handed out with credentials to delegates and press types in Boston. Boston-based Gillette reportedly spent over a million dollars on the product placement, only to have: a) their products unused as all of the razors were confiscated when convention-goers attempted to pass through security; and b) their name taken in vain repeatedly because the already-long security lines became even more backed-up due to the razor snafu. Might we suggest substituting a nice moisturizer instead next time?
Posted by Eric at 11:48 AM | Comments (1)
Inside the RNC's War Room
The main point of it all:
Mr. Feehery is only one soldier in the Republican field operation. Ed Gillespie, chairman of the Republican National Committee, is overseeing about three dozen people, including a rotation of "spinners" like Ralph Reed and Mary Matalin, and top Republican strategists. There is a regional desk focused on battleground states and a nerve center with computers monitoring and cataloging all things Kerry. The effort here is coordinated with scores of surrogate speakers in the battleground states so all are talking from the same page.And hence, if you have a media that is willing to put those bits of info in their stories ..."The goal is to get into the stories," Mr. Gillespie said in an interview in his bare-bones bunker office. "We know we're swimming upstream and that our quotes are going to be on the jump page. But we don't want to let charges go unanswered and we don't want to allow them to ditch the senator's record, because we believe it's important in the debate."
It is the Republican view that Mr. Kerry's voting record in the Senate shows him to be a liberal, partial to tax raises and weak on defense and that the convention is trying to conceal that information, hence the new Republican Web site DemsExtremeMakeover.com.
Posted by Eric at 11:18 AM | Comments (17)
Inside the RNC's War Room
The main point of it all:
Mr. Feehery is only one soldier in the Republican field operation. Ed Gillespie, chairman of the Republican National Committee, is overseeing about three dozen people, including a rotation of "spinners" like Ralph Reed and Mary Matalin, and top Republican strategists. There is a regional desk focused on battleground states and a nerve center with computers monitoring and cataloging all things Kerry. The effort here is coordinated with scores of surrogate speakers in the battleground states so all are talking from the same page.And hence, if you have a media that is willing to put those bits of info in their stories ..."The goal is to get into the stories," Mr. Gillespie said in an interview in his bare-bones bunker office. "We know we're swimming upstream and that our quotes are going to be on the jump page. But we don't want to let charges go unanswered and we don't want to allow them to ditch the senator's record, because we believe it's important in the debate."
It is the Republican view that Mr. Kerry's voting record in the Senate shows him to be a liberal, partial to tax raises and weak on defense and that the convention is trying to conceal that information, hence the new Republican Web site DemsExtremeMakeover.com.
Posted by Eric at 11:18 AM | Comments (1)
More Musicians to Rock Against Bush
Among the possible players: Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, R.E.M., Pearl Jam, Tom Morello, Earle, the Dave Matthews Band, the Dixie Chicks, Bright Eyes, Ani DiFranco, Death Cab for Cutie, Bob Dylan and James Taylor and International Noise Conspiracy.
Meanwhile, MoveOn.org is sponsoring "Future Soundtrack for America."
Posted by Eric at 09:50 AM | Comments (13)
More Musicians to Rock Against Bush
Among the possible players: Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, R.E.M., Pearl Jam, Tom Morello, Earle, the Dave Matthews Band, the Dixie Chicks, Bright Eyes, Ani DiFranco, Death Cab for Cutie, Bob Dylan and James Taylor and International Noise Conspiracy.
Meanwhile, MoveOn.org is sponsoring "Future Soundtrack for America."
Posted by Eric at 09:50 AM | Comments (2)
Rolling Stone: Doonesbury Goes to War
Posted by Eric at 09:46 AM | Comments (15)
Rolling Stone: Doonesbury Goes to War
Posted by Eric at 09:46 AM | Comments (1)
Wildlands at Risk
A new report from The Sierra Club, available online, contends that "America's wildlands are facing an unprecedented threat from Bush administration policies that are threatening to destroy these special places and reverse decades of progress on public lands protection."
An example of a wildland place at risk: Sierra Nevada
In January 2001, the Forest Service released a new comprehensive plan for managing all 11 national forests in California’s Sierra Nevada. Known as the Sierra Framework, the plan would affect 11 million acres.
It was the culmination of 14 years of extensive planning, research and public input, and virtually all stakeholders except logging companies lauded the Framework for its ancient forest reserves, habitat protections for the spotted owl and Southern Fisher, and fuels-reduction program that removed small trees and brush near communities. In fact, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has made protection of Sierra Nevada forests and support for the Framework one of his environmental priorities.
Under the Bush administration, however, the Forest Service disregarded years of scientific research and drastically altered the Sierra Framework, replacing ecologically sound recommendations with plans to eliminate old growth forest protection and intensify logging of larger, fire-resistant trees.
In January 2004, the administration announced a plan to triple logging in the Sierra Nevada. The new plan would not only allow large numbers of trees to be cut but also allows timber companies to log trees up to 30-inches in diameter across the entire range.
Also see Stewart L. Udall's Bush's Dark Pages in Conservation History in the LA Times.
Sign a petition here.
Posted by Eric at 06:00 AM | Comments (19)
Wildlands at Risk
A new report from The Sierra Club, available online, contends that "America's wildlands are facing an unprecedented threat from Bush administration policies that are threatening to destroy these special places and reverse decades of progress on public lands protection."
An example of a wildland place at risk: Sierra Nevada
In January 2001, the Forest Service released a new comprehensive plan for managing all 11 national forests in California’s Sierra Nevada. Known as the Sierra Framework, the plan would affect 11 million acres.
It was the culmination of 14 years of extensive planning, research and public input, and virtually all stakeholders except logging companies lauded the Framework for its ancient forest reserves, habitat protections for the spotted owl and Southern Fisher, and fuels-reduction program that removed small trees and brush near communities. In fact, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has made protection of Sierra Nevada forests and support for the Framework one of his environmental priorities.
Under the Bush administration, however, the Forest Service disregarded years of scientific research and drastically altered the Sierra Framework, replacing ecologically sound recommendations with plans to eliminate old growth forest protection and intensify logging of larger, fire-resistant trees.
In January 2004, the administration announced a plan to triple logging in the Sierra Nevada. The new plan would not only allow large numbers of trees to be cut but also allows timber companies to log trees up to 30-inches in diameter across the entire range.
Also see Stewart L. Udall's Bush's Dark Pages in Conservation History in the LA Times.
Sign a petition here.
Posted by Eric at 06:00 AM | Comments (0)
Send John Kerry
Here is what I know about John Kerry. During the Vietnam War, many young men—including the current president, the vice president and me—could have gone to Vietnam but didn’t. John Kerry came from a privileged background and could have avoided it too. Instead he said, send me.When they sent those swift-boats up the river in Vietnam, and told them their job was to draw hostile fire—to show the American flag and bait the enemy to come out and fight—John Kerry said, send me. When it was time to heal the wounds of war and normalize relations with Vietnam—and to demand an accounting of the POWs and MIAs we lost there—John Kerry said, send me.
When we needed someone to push the cause of inner-city kids struggling to avoid a life of crime, or to bring the benefits of high technology to ordinary Americans, or to clean the environment in a way that creates jobs, or to give small businesses a better chance to make it, John Kerry said send me.
Tonight my friends, I ask you to join me for the next 100 days in telling John Kerry’s story and promoting his plans. Let every person in this hall and all across America say to him what he has always said to America: Send Me.
Posted by Eric at 05:10 AM | Comments (45)
Send John Kerry
Here is what I know about John Kerry. During the Vietnam War, many young men—including the current president, the vice president and me—could have gone to Vietnam but didn’t. John Kerry came from a privileged background and could have avoided it too. Instead he said, send me.When they sent those swift-boats up the river in Vietnam, and told them their job was to draw hostile fire—to show the American flag and bait the enemy to come out and fight—John Kerry said, send me. When it was time to heal the wounds of war and normalize relations with Vietnam—and to demand an accounting of the POWs and MIAs we lost there—John Kerry said, send me.
When we needed someone to push the cause of inner-city kids struggling to avoid a life of crime, or to bring the benefits of high technology to ordinary Americans, or to clean the environment in a way that creates jobs, or to give small businesses a better chance to make it, John Kerry said send me.
Tonight my friends, I ask you to join me for the next 100 days in telling John Kerry’s story and promoting his plans. Let every person in this hall and all across America say to him what he has always said to America: Send Me.
Posted by Eric at 05:10 AM | Comments (1)
Obama: The Natural
Today's "big" speaker is a rather unknown state politician from Illinois. Ryan Lizza in The Atlantic Monthly asks, Why is Barack Obama generating more excitement among Democrats than John Kerry?
Over the past couple of years Obama has used his chairmanship of the health committee to broaden his appeal, promoting issues aimed at the Lisa Lipins of the world. He led a fight to ban the dietary supplement ephedra, and after the collapse of a Chicago porch killed thirteen people, he voiced support for stricter building codes. Some of these efforts echo the micro-initiatives that Bill Clinton used so effectively to mobilize the middle class. But Obama hasn't forsaken minority voters: he has promoted legislation to broaden children's access to health insurance and to make the state's earned-income tax credit refundable. He has earned a reputation as a show horse and a workhorse—apt to take a visible role in high-profile issues causing anxiety in suburbia, but equally willing to work doggedly to forge compromises on serious legislation. And he hasn't shied away from potentially polarizing racial issues; he helped to pass an important law to address racial profiling in Illinois. Obama has transcended the strictly racial identity often forced on—or embraced by—black officials.Like any political star, Obama has a knack for effortlessly fitting into disparate racial, ideological, and social worlds. As we walked past Abraham Lincoln's old law offices, a disheveled black man standing on a street corner called out, "Hey, Obama, how you doing?" They bantered like old friends. Later, at an Illinois State Dental Society cocktail party, an entire roomful of mostly white Republican-leaning dentists reoriented themselves in Obama's direction. The accolades flowed: "You are fantastic." "If you were my husband, I wouldn't let you go around alone." "You're going to do a wonderful job in Washington!" "You impress the hell out of me." Obama has perfected a becoming modesty; he often reacts to praise by looking at his shoes and saying, "Oh, you are making me blush."
His skill with constituents extends even to a group that politicians frequently mishandle: the press. Obama has mastered the art of appearing to take reporters into his confidence by dispensing the sort of forthright political chatter that causes them to swoon. I received a signed copy of his autobiography and with it a trenchant analysis of his party's presidential nominee. ("Sometimes Kerry just doesn't have that oomph," he said, punctuating the thought with a tight-lipped shake of the head and a clenched fist.)
Posted by Eric at 02:04 AM | Comments (30)
Obama: The Natural
Today's "big" speaker is a rather unknown state politician from Illinois. Ryan Lizza in The Atlantic Monthly asks, Why is Barack Obama generating more excitement among Democrats than John Kerry?
Over the past couple of years Obama has used his chairmanship of the health committee to broaden his appeal, promoting issues aimed at the Lisa Lipins of the world. He led a fight to ban the dietary supplement ephedra, and after the collapse of a Chicago porch killed thirteen people, he voiced support for stricter building codes. Some of these efforts echo the micro-initiatives that Bill Clinton used so effectively to mobilize the middle class. But Obama hasn't forsaken minority voters: he has promoted legislation to broaden children's access to health insurance and to make the state's earned-income tax credit refundable. He has earned a reputation as a show horse and a workhorse—apt to take a visible role in high-profile issues causing anxiety in suburbia, but equally willing to work doggedly to forge compromises on serious legislation. And he hasn't shied away from potentially polarizing racial issues; he helped to pass an important law to address racial profiling in Illinois. Obama has transcended the strictly racial identity often forced on—or embraced by—black officials.Like any political star, Obama has a knack for effortlessly fitting into disparate racial, ideological, and social worlds. As we walked past Abraham Lincoln's old law offices, a disheveled black man standing on a street corner called out, "Hey, Obama, how you doing?" They bantered like old friends. Later, at an Illinois State Dental Society cocktail party, an entire roomful of mostly white Republican-leaning dentists reoriented themselves in Obama's direction. The accolades flowed: "You are fantastic." "If you were my husband, I wouldn't let you go around alone." "You're going to do a wonderful job in Washington!" "You impress the hell out of me." Obama has perfected a becoming modesty; he often reacts to praise by looking at his shoes and saying, "Oh, you are making me blush."
His skill with constituents extends even to a group that politicians frequently mishandle: the press. Obama has mastered the art of appearing to take reporters into his confidence by dispensing the sort of forthright political chatter that causes them to swoon. I received a signed copy of his autobiography and with it a trenchant analysis of his party's presidential nominee. ("Sometimes Kerry just doesn't have that oomph," he said, punctuating the thought with a tight-lipped shake of the head and a clenched fist.)
Posted by Eric at 02:04 AM | Comments (0)
Patriotic Fox
O'Reilly blather trumps all. From TV Newser:
"Is FNC really covering the convention?," an e-mailer asks. CNN and MSNBC paused for the National Anthem, while O'Reilly kept on talking. CNN and MSNBC aired Al Gore's speech, while O'Reilly bloviated. CNN and MSNBC aired Jimmy Carter's whole speech, while FNC aired four minutes, then broke away to interview Bill Bennett. Half a dozen e-mailers quickly predicted that FNC wouldn't ignore the Republican convention.
Posted by Eric at 01:05 AM | Comments (47)
Patriotic Fox
O'Reilly blather trumps all. From TV Newser:
"Is FNC really covering the convention?," an e-mailer asks. CNN and MSNBC paused for the National Anthem, while O'Reilly kept on talking. CNN and MSNBC aired Al Gore's speech, while O'Reilly bloviated. CNN and MSNBC aired Jimmy Carter's whole speech, while FNC aired four minutes, then broke away to interview Bill Bennett. Half a dozen e-mailers quickly predicted that FNC wouldn't ignore the Republican convention.
Posted by Eric at 01:05 AM | Comments (4)
Tuesday's Schedule
Theme: A Lifetime of Strength & Service
Speakers:
Tom Daschle, U.S. Senator from South Dakota, Democratic Leader
Howard Dean, Former Governor of Vermont, 2004 Presidential Candidate
Richard Durbin, U.S. Senator from Illinois
James Forbes, Senior Minister at Riverside Church, New York City
Richard Gephardt, U.S. Representative from Missouri, 2004 Presidential Candidate
Chris Heinz, Stepson of John Kerry
Teresa Heinz Kerry, Wife of John Kerry
Mike Honda, U.S. Representative from California
Ted Kennedy, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts
Jim Langevin, U.S. Representative from Rhode Island
Carol Moseley-Braun, Former U.S. Senator from Illinois, 2004 Presidential Candidate
Janet Napolitano, Governor of Arizona
Barack Obama, State Senator from Illinois, U.S. Senate Candidate
Ron Reagan, Son of former President Ronald Reagan
Christie Vilsack, First Lady of Iowa
Ilana Wexler, 13-Year-Old Founder of Kids for Kerry
Posted by Eric at 12:37 AM | Comments (30)
Tuesday's Schedule
Theme: A Lifetime of Strength & Service