Friday, September 03, 2004

Feeling down

I watched Bush's speech last night (some of it anyway) and today I was sick. A coincidence? Perhaps.
Actually my wife and son got sick earlier in the week so I was just the last one on the merry-go-round. Even my cat got sick this time.
My computer also got nailed by a bunch of spyware junk that made pop-up ads blossom out of control to the point where you couldn't do anything.
My friend Robert helped me find some free shareware program - AdAware SE - that fixed the problem.

Thursday, September 02, 2004

The Scowl


Zell Miller
Originally uploaded by mwthomas87.
Wow! That had to be the angriest, most hatefull vindictive speech ever given in prime time. The scowl never left Miller's face.

What a contrast when compared to the keynote speech at the Democratic convention given by Barak Obama.

Here is Howard Kurtz talking about the speech in the Washington Post:

â??The former keynoter at the '92 Democratic convention totally overshadowed the vice president of the United States. He looked really hostile -- even if you turned the sound off -- as he eviscerated Kerry. No flicker of a smile ever crossed his lips.â??

He then goes on to list the reaction from some other folks:

"I've never heard such an angry speech," said Bill Schneider of CNN, even angrier, he said, than Pat Buchanan's "culture war" address in '92.â??

"I don't think I've ever seen anything as angry and ugly as Miller's speech," said Joe Klein.

The Wall Street Journal's John Harwood said Miller "looked like a spouse at a divorce proceeding who says, 'Oh yeah, she's a child molester too.' "


And here is conservative blogger Andrew Sullivanâ??s take:

"Miller's address will, I think, go down as a critical moment in this campaign, and maybe in the history of the Republican party. I kept thinking of the contrast with the Democrats' keynote speaker, Barack Obama, a post-racial, smiling, expansive young American, speaking about national unity and uplift.
"Then you see Zell Miller, his face rigid with anger, his eyes blazing with years of frustration as his Dixiecrat vision became slowly eclipsed among the Democrats.
"Remember who this man is: once a proud supporter of racial segregation, a man who lambasted LBJ for selling his soul to the negroes. His speech tonight was in this vein, a classic Dixiecrat speech, jammed with bald lies, straw men, and hateful rhetoric. As an immigrant to this country and as someone who has been to many Southern states and enjoyed astonishing hospitality and warmth and sophistication, I long dismissed some of the Northern stereotypes about the South. But Miller did his best to revive them. The man's speech was not merely crude; it added whole universes to the word crude. . . .
"Last night was therefore a revealing night for me. I watched a Democrat convince me that I could never be a Republican. If they wheel out lying, angry bigots like this as their keynote, I'll take Obama. Any day."


William Saletan at Slate dissects both Zell Millerâ??s screed and Cheneyâ??s more subdued but equally negative speech.

Oh, and here is what Zell had to say about John Kerry three years ago still posted on his web site.

Yes, Zell Miller lied and lied and lied. He accused Kerry of trying to disarm our military and leave them with nothing but "spitballs." But the weapons systems that Kerry opposed were also opposed in the House by then Congressman Dick Cheney. And other no votes that he referenced were not against funding the military but against bloated Republican bills that went further than what military commanders were requesting to provide pork for bigtime defense contractors.

I have to agree with Atrios. It was a big mistake to put this angry, bitter, hypocrite up there as the GOP's keynoter. They obviously have nothing positive to say. Fear and Loathing are the themes of this convention.

Wednesday, September 01, 2004

Booing Michael Moore

I had to laugh when I read this graph in the middle of a Washington Post story about the disruption that Michael Moore’s presence at the GOP convention caused.

“A delegate from Missouri called Moore a 'disgrace,' a few seconds after asking for his autograph.”

Yep, that autograph might be worth something someday. Those Republican delegates have their priorities straight.

I’m not sure that having the entire convention ‘boo’ Michael Moore for several minutes in the middle of John McCain’s speech was the kind of moderate, positive image that the Party was hoping to portray. Oh well, the truth comes out in the end. And of course all Moore could do was sit there and smile imagining the extra $$$ this kind of attention would generate for his film that is still in the theaters.

Moore was there at the behest of USA Today to write a guest column. They had previously asked Ann Coulter to do the same during the Democratic convention but ended up canning her and hiring someone else because her column was so bad.

Bad News Republicans

The Republicans come to town and the Yankees suffer their worst loss in the history of the franchise. 22-0 against Cleveland. Ouch!!

Tuesday, August 31, 2004

Compare and Contrast

Via Atrios

During the 1988 presidential campaign, there was a brief controversy concerning George Bush Sr.’s service during World War II.

Bush Sr., who was a Navy pilot, had said his airplane was in flames when it plunged to the ocean on Sept. 2, 1944, according to the New York Times. In his autobiography, Mr. Bush wrote that his Grumman Avenger torpedo bomber began burning after it was hit in an attack on a Japanese radio installation and that he ejected after radioing his gunner and radioman to jump.
But Chester Mierzejewski of Cheshire, Conn., a turret gunner on another plane in Mr. Bush's squadron, said that the plane was not engulfed in flames, as the Vice President has recounted, and that Mr. Bush might have saved the lives of two other men on the plane had he tried a water landing.


But the Democrats did not give Mierzejewski hundreds of thousands of dollars to produce television ads and books to spread his story across the media. There was no WWII Tailgunners for Truth set up by big Democratic donors to smear Bush. Instead, here was Gov. Dukakis’ reaction in the same NYTimes story:

"Gov. Michael S. Dukakis, questioned about a World War II gunner's challenge to Vice President Bush's account of being shot down over the Pacific, said, ''I don't think that kind of thing has any place in the campaign.''
The Democratic Presidential nominee said the challenge to Mr. Bush's war record was ''unfair'' and ''unfortunate.''
Mr. Bush ''served this country,'' Mr. Dukakis said. ''He served it well and with tremendous courage, and you don't fly 58 missions without enormous courage and tremendous patriotism.''


Yep, Dukakis was a class act.

Now, fast forward to today and listen to Bush Sr. commenting on the Swift Boat Veterans smear against John Kerry:

Pressed about advertisements by a group called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, Mr. Bush called "rather compelling" the claims of some veterans who have attacked Mr. Kerry's service, and he noted that others had accused these veterans of lying. "I have great confidence in Bob Dole," he added. "I don't think he'd be out there just smearing."

So what is the lesson here? Are Democrats doomed to electoral failure because they are too decent to embrace the dirty games that Republicans like Lee Atwater and Karl Rove specialize in? This is really sad.

Monday, August 30, 2004

Another celebrity endorsement update

Just in time for the opening night of the Republican National Convention, here is my updated list of celebrity endorsements for the 2004 presidential campaign. It seems I haven’t been giving Bush full credit for all of his celebrity fans as I have found quite a few that have cropped up just recently. Some, however, are rather obscure singers as noted in this Slate piece.
I can’t vouch for the fact that all of these folks are definitely supporting said candidate, but their names have popped up lately in election coverage attached to one side or the other and some are scheduled to perform at this week’s convention.

For Bush-Cheney:

Angie Harmon
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Ben Crenshaw
Bo Derek
Britney Spears
Brooks & Dunn
Bruce Willis
Charlie Daniels Band
Charlton Heston
Chuck Norris
Daize Shayne
Dana Glover
Daniel Rodriguez
Daryl Worley
Dennis Hopper
Dennis Miller
Donnie McClurkin
Freddie Prinze Jr.
Fuzzy Zoeller
Jason Priestly
Jessica Simpson
John Rhys-Davies
Johnny Ramone
Jonny Lang
Kelsey Grammer
Kid Rock
Lance Armstrong
Lara Flynn Boyle
Larry Gatlin
Leeann Womack
Lynyrd Skynryd
Michael W. Smith
Randy Travis
Ricky Martin
Ricky Schroeder
Ricky Skaggs
Rip Torn
Robert Davi
Robert Duvall
Ron Silver
Sara Evans
Shannen Doherty
Stephen Baldwin
Steven Tyler
Ted Nugent
Third Day
Toby Keith
Tom Selleck
Tony Sirico
Travis Tritt
Vincent Gallo
Wayne Newton


For Kerry-Edwards

Aaron Sorkin
Al Franken
Alan Cumming
Alec Baldwin
Alfre Woodard
Angela Bassett
Angelica Huston
Ani DiFranco
Annette Bening
Avril Lavigne
Barbara Streisand
Barry Manilow
Beastie Boys
Ben Affleck
Ben Stiller
Bette Midler
Billy Crystal
Blink 182
Bob Dylan
Bob Odenkirk
Bonnie Raitt
Bono
Brad Pitt
Bruce Springsteen
Cameron Diaz
Carole King
Charlize Theron
Cher
Chevy Chase
Chloe Sevigny
Chris Cooper
Chris Rock
Chris Tucker
Christian Slater
Christina Applegate
Christopher Reeve
Coldplay
Courtney Cox
Cuba Gooding Jr.
Danny DeVito
Danny Glover
Dave Grohl
Dave Mathews Band
David Alan Grier
David Spade
Dixie Chicks
Drew Barrymore
Dustin Hoffman
Ed Asner
Ed Begley Jr.
Ed Harris
Edward Norton
Elton John
Elvis Costello
Eminem
Emmylou Harris
Eric Idle
Esai Morales
George Carlin
George Clooney
Glenn Close
Goldie Hawn
Gwyneth Paltrow
Halle Berry
Harrison Ford
Harvey Weinstein
Ian Holm
Jack Black
Jack Nicholson
Jackson Browne
James Brolin
James Gandolfini
James Garner
James Taylor
Jamie Foxx
Jamie Lee Curtis
Janeane Garafalo
Janet Jackson
Jann Wenner
Jason Alexander
Jeff Goldblum
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Garner
Jennifer Lopez
Jerry Seinfeld
Jessica Lange
Jewel
Jimmy Buffett
Joan Allen
Joan Osborne
John Cleese
John Cusack
John Fogerty
John Leguizamo
John Mellencamp
John Sayles
John Travolta
John Williams
Johnny Depp
Jon Bon Jovi
Josh Hartnett
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Roberts
Jurassic Five
Kate Hudson
Kathleen Turner
Keb Mo
Kenau Reeves
Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds
Kevin Bacon
Kevin Costner
Kevin Spacey
Kirsten Dunst
Lance Bass
Larry David
Laura Dern
Lenny Kravitz
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leslie Ann Warren
Linda Ronstadt
Lisa Loeb
Liz Phair
Lou Reed
Madonna
Margaret Cho
Mark Wahlberg
Martin Sheen
Mary J. Blige
Mary Steenburgen
Matt Damon
Matthew Broderick
Maya Angelou
Meg Ryan
Melanie Griffith
Melissa Etheridge
Mia Farrow
Michael Douglas
Michael Eisner
Michael J. Fox
Michael Jackson
Michael Keaton
Mike Farrell
Moby
Morgan Fairchild
Natalie Portman
Neil Diamond
Neil Young
Nicolas Cage
Nicole Kidman
Oliver Stone
Ozzie Osborne
P. Diddy
Paul Newman
Paul Simon
Pearl Jam
Penny Marshall
Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul & Mary)
Public Enemy
Quincy Jones
REM
Renee Zellwegger
Rhea Perlman
Richard Belzer
Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Gere
Richard Pryor
Rob Lowe
Rob Reiner
Robert Altman
Robert DeNiro
Robert Redford
Robin Williams
Russell Crowe
Sally Field
Salma Hayek
Sarah Jessica Parker
Scarlett Johansson
Sean Penn
Sharon Stone
Sheryl Crowe
Spike Lee
Stephen Stills
Steve Buscemi
Steve Earle
Steve Harvey
Steve Martin
Steven Spielberg
Stevie Wonder
Sting
Susan Sarandon
Ted Danson
Terry Gilliam
The Eagles
Tim Robbins
Tobey Maguire
Tom Cruise
Tom Hanks
Tom Petty
Tommy Lee Jones
Tony Bennett
Uma Thurman
Viggo Mortensen
Warren Beatty
Weird Al Yankovic
Wesley Snipes
Whoopi Goldberg
Will Ferrell
William Baldwin
William H. Macy
Willie Nelson
Woody Allen
Woody Harrelson
Wyclef Jean