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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.
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Thursday, September 02, 2004
The Scowl
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.
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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.
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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!!
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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.
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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-EdwardsAaron 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
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