Nuance vital in a complex terror war
by Jay Bookman
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
August 19, 2004

"If it's possible to find some common ground between those two viewpoints, it might be this: The type of leadership required depends on the type of challenge to be confronted. Sometimes an appreciation of nuance is useful in solving problems; sometimes it can paralyze you and prevent you from taking necessary action."

Law steals overtime pay from Americans
by ROSS EISENBREY
Detroit Free Press
August 19, 2004

"On Monday, the Bush administration will take away the right to receive overtime pay from millions of employees in a broad range of occupations, from office workers in financial services to embalmers, nursery school teachers and restaurant chefs and assistant managers. Despite four disapproving votes in Congress, the Bush administration is using its power and authority to accomplish the biggest rollback in employee rights in more than half a century."

Thoughts on the President and the Presidential Election, 2004
by Paul E.
August 18, 2004

"This paper was born out of my observing recent events, national and world, watching Americans facing off along partisan lines, and digging in; leaving me wondering, "is anyone really paying attention to the drift of the ship of state?"

Why I am a Conservative (and proud of it too)
by Jane Stillwater
August 18, 2004

"In my world, if people aren't doing their job, they get fired. Bush failed to protect America on 9/11. He lied about the war on Iraq. Why is he still in the White House? If Congress were conservative, they would fire his ass -- if not put him in jail."

Bereuter: War in Iraq not justified
by DON WALTON
Lincoln Star Journal
August 18, 2004

"In a dramatic departure from the Bush administration, Republican Rep. Doug Bereuter says he now believes the U.S. military assault on Iraq was unjustified."

Bush has managed to alienate the Canadians too
by Molly Ivins
Creator's Syndicate
August 18, 2004

"Just FYI, of the many allies the Bush White House managed to gratuitously insult on the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, we miffed the Canadians by blowing off their last-minute attempt to work out a deal for continued inspections under a strict timeframe -- we not only blew it off, we went to the trouble of being rude and arrogant about it."

"America's Ownership Society" Putsch's Golden Rule: He who has the gold, makes the rules
by Bryan Zepp Jamieson
Zepp's Commentaries
August 17, 2004

"'America's Ownership Society' is a phrase you'll be hearing a lot over the next few weeks, as Putsch makes it a centerpiece of his campaign in the run up to the final, post Labor Day sprint. Like most such phrases uttered by Putsch, it may mean nothing at all, just as such other Karl Rove snippets of happy talk like 'compassionate conservatism,' 'a uniter, not a divider,' and 'leave no child behind' turned out to do."

Speak for yourself, John Kerry
by Joan Vennochi
Boston Globe
August 17, 2004

"THROUGH SURROGATES, George W. Bush is trying to discredit the story of John Kerry, war hero. John Kerry should not leave his defense to surrogates."

FIVE THINGS THAT WILL DEFEAT BUSH ON NOVEMBER 2ND
by R. J. Crane, Editor topplebush.com
August 17, 2004

"As the campaign heats up rounding the far turn and heading into the final stretch, there are five things that groups working to beat Bush can and must do to guarantee his defeat in November."

Let's worry more about election shenanigans in Florida
by Molly Ivins
Creator's Syndicate
August 17, 2004

"Florida, the Fun State, is off to a fast start on election shenanigans this year. Undeterred by the state's electoral disgrace in 2000, elections officials there have all but publicly announced, 'We're going to cheat again this year.' In July, voting rights groups asked for the audits of the 2002 gubernatorial election, supposedly collected by new electronic voting machines. Ooops. Records gone."

DICK CHENEY, HUGO CHAVEZ AND BILL CLINTON'S BAND Why Venezuela has Voted Again for Their 'Negro e Indio'
by Greg Palast
August 15, 2004

"There's so much BS and baloney thrown around about Venezuela that I may be violating some rule of US journalism by providing some facts. Let's begin with this: 77% of Venezuela's farmland is owned by 3% of the population, the 'hacendados.'"

Politics-free agency? Must be kidding
by Leonard Pitts, Jr.
appearing in the Detroit Free Press
August 11, 2004

"You will recall that the nation's terror alert level was recently raised, largely due to information that was revealed to be several years old. This led some critics to suggest Ridge acted less from the need to respond to a terrorist threat than from the need to snatch the spotlight from John Kerry."

Time To Get Out The Bush
How do you know it's time for a major change in American leadership? Let us count the signs
by Mark Morford
SF Gate
August 11, 2004

"You know it's time for a serious change when the president of the United States actually mutters the infantile, instantly infamous line, 'Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we,' just after finishing phonetically spelling out his name, in his favoritest red crayon, on yet another budget-reaming $417 billion defense-spending bill."

OPEN LETTER TO SENATORS KERRY AND EDWARDS CHALLENGING THE 9-11 COMMISSION RE: PRESIDENTIAL RESPONSIBILITY
by Burt Hall
August 10, 2004

"The right question: Put yourself in the shoes of the President at the time and ask what would a reasonable and prudent person do in the same situation, irrespective of the result? In other words: What would any president do when confronted with an al-Qaeda declaration of war, a history of earlier attacks, exceptional advice on how serious the threat was and troublesome warnings of new attacks?"

Do Liberals Really Hate the United States?
by David Pakman, editor
HearTheIssues.com
August 10, 2004

"The flavor of the week, so to speak, is that those who consider themselves liberals/Democrats, are planning on voting for John Kerry, do not approve of President Bush, are against the war on Iraq, or thought that Fahrenheit 9/11 was a good documentary are un-American, unpatriotic, and 'hate' the United States."

VENEZUELA FLORIDATED
by Greg Palast
gregpalast.com
August 10, 2004

"Or maybe it's the oil: Venezuela sits atop a reserve rivaling Iraq's. And Hugo thinks the US and British oil companies that pump the crude ought to pay more than a 16% royalty to his nation for the stuff. Hey, sixteen percent isn't even acceptable as a tip at a New York diner."

SOVEREIGNTY A NEW MEANING - A DECEPTION
by E. Ted Gladue
August 10, 2004

"Does anyone take the time to just look at the dictionary ... to discover that the Bush administration has distorted one of the most sacred terms of the political history of the world."

Administration Exposes Secret Source
from Daily Mislead
August 9, 2004

"Last week, the administration was desperate to justify their decision to raise the threat level to orange in three states based on activity that occurred over three years ago. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice admitted yesterday that the administration - during a background briefing to reporters - identified Mohammed Naeem Noor Khan as the source of the information that prompted the terror alert."

Sunk! Swift Boats weren't meant to ride on sewage
by Bryan Zepp Jamieson
Zepp's Commentaries
August 9, 2004

"Readers who are already familiar with the smear job pulled by the 'Swift Boat Vets Against Kerry' will probably want to skip this piece; you've already spent the last couple of days alternating between grinning in disbelief and shaking your head in disgust. The rest of you, gather Śround, because Uncle Zepp is gonna tell you a story."

Go ahead, make my day - call me a liberal
by Linda Valdez
Arizona Republic
August 8, 2004

"That dog is an American liberal. L-word became an epithet because liberals gave up without a fight years ago. They ceded the moral high ground to guys with the big radio voices who insist conservative means God and country. Liberal, on the other hand, was equated with all things godless and unpatriotic.

Confronting the mind-set of the new terrorists
by Jane Eisner
Philadelphia Inquirer
August 8, 2004

"Which is why, as a civilian, my best response is to continue to be who I am, even if that means a mother who sends her kids to Manhattan during a heightened sense of threat."

Bush economic growth vs Clinton/Kerry prosperity
by Nick Anagnos
silencingamerica.com
August 8, 2004

"CNN question, which is more important? Republicans argue, GNP and good economic indicators as the Republicans are boasting, make job creation and job outsourcing inconsequential. The test in determining any truth to this argument is how each translates in new income and wealth, a real benefit to prosperity or a real downturn to prosperity."

Truth Irrelevant In Republicans' Dirty Campaigning
by Simon Jeffery
The Guardian - UK
August 6, 2004

"Therefore, neither of the parties behind the advert are part of the Republican party or the Bush campaign. Swift Boat Veterans for Truth is a 527, and Regnery Press is a commercial (although politically committed) publishing company. However, a look at the people who connect the enterprises reveals them to be part of a rich partisan tapestry."

President's politics hurts women worldwide
by BECCA ROTHSCHILD
Detroit Free Press
August 4, 2004

"I was hard-pressed to answer the inquiry about President George W. Bush, except to note that people who consider themselves pro-choice on abortion tend to be more willing to vote for people who don't agree with them than do people who consider themselves pro-life."

Hurricane Warning Real Science for Real Americans
by Bryan Zepp Jamieson
Zepp's Commentaries
August 4, 2004

"As our president told us this afternoon, it is important that vital agencies like ours reflect those very values and integrity that are the bedrock of the American people, and if we never stray from them, we will present the American people with the information and news that they deserve."

JOHNNIE BEEN GOOD?
by Greg Palast
July 30, 2004

"I've got an easier job than Michael: as a journalist I don't have to defend any candidate. Nevertheless, I know that my Democratic Party friends will want to ship me to Guantanamo for asking, 'You believe in Kerry, but does he believe in you?'"

KERRY STATEMENT DISTORTED TO PUSH FLIP-FLOP CLAIM
from Daily Mislead
July 30, 2004

"In their desperate efforts to paint Senator John Kerry (D-MA) as a serial flip-flopper, President Bush's reelection campaign has resorted to gross distortions of his public statements."

"Hope is on the way" Democratic convention a thunderous success
by Bryan Zepp Jamieson
Zepp's Commentaries
July 30, 2004

"Kerry and Edwards had to go into the convention and address three salient points. Edwards had to show that he was more than the pretty-boy piece of fluff the Republicans were painting him as. Kerry had to demonstrate that he wasn't the cold and austere New England aristocrat the Republicans were painting him as. And they both had to show that they could counter the right wing propaganda and fight back."

NEW STATS SHOW BUSH'S DEFICIT DISHONESTY
from Daily Mislead
July 28, 2004

"But according to congressional sources, the government is soon expected to project a record federal budget deficit, even as President Bush demands more money for war in Iraq, and a $1 trillion proposal for more tax cuts."

Bush Using Drugs to Control Depression, Erratic Behavior
by TERESA HAMPTON
Capitol Hill Blue
July 28, 2004

"President George W. Bush is taking powerful anti-depressant drugs to control his erratic behavior, depression and paranoia, Capitol Hill Blue has learned."

MICHAEL MOORE, GREG PALAST, REPS. BROWN AND DEUTSCH: "DON'T LET THEM STEAL FLORIDA AGAIN!"
from Greg Palast
July 28, 2004

"At a press conference Wednesday morning before the Florida delegation to the Democratic Convention in Boston, Moore endorsed a bill introduced by Brown to make it easier for Congress to challenge an election tainted by apparent fraud."

A President, Not A Date
by Charley Reese
King Features Syndicate
July 26, 2004

"Here are some things Americans should consider before deciding whom they will vote for in November. You are not going to sleep with the president, become his best buddy or be his favorite pen pal. Therefore, you do not have to vote for someone you think is likable or handsome or charming."

Freedom in Amerika Razor wire and blasted urban landscapes
by Bryan Zepp Jamieson
Zepp's Commentaries
July 25, 2004

"'First Amendment Zones' began the day Putsch seized office. When the motorcade traveled to the Congress for the swearing in ceremony, protesters - by the thousands - were identified and relegated to the zones a few streets away."

Honorable Commission, Toothless Report
by RICHARD A. CLARKE
The New York Times
July 25, 2004

"Americans owe the 9/11 commission a deep debt for its extensive exposition of the facts surrounding the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks. Yet, because the commission had a goal of creating a unanimous report from a bipartisan group, it softened the edges and left it to the public to draw many conclusions."

ASHCROFT PUBLICLY MISLEADS 9/11 COMMISSION
from Daily Mislead
July 23, 2004

"During his public testimony before the 9/11 commission, Attorney General John Ashcroft attempted to deflect criticism from his own lackluster counterterrorism efforts by pinning the blame on a 1995 memo written by former deputy Attorney General (and current 9/11 commissioner) Jamie Gorelick."

Accounting and Accountability
by Paul Krugman
The New York Times
July 23, 2004

"Last month we learned that the United States, while it has spent vast sums on the war in Iraq, has so far provided almost no aid. Of $18.4 billion in reconstruction funds approved by Congress, only $400 million has been disbursed."

Airport Insecurity Frying in the unfriendly skies
by Bryan Zepp Jamieson
Zepp's Commentaries
July 22, 2004

"Complete with the report came a separate news story, of video stills released by the prosecuting attorneys in a civil suit filed against American Airlines which showed four of the hijackers being checked out and passed through airport security that fateful morning."

October Surprise - With A Twist
by Kerry Tomasi
July 22, 2004

"Yes, Bush/Cheney and the GOP are floundering a bit, and the Kerry/Edwards ticket looks promising, but none of this is going to matter unless the average American citizen develops more nerve and a better sense of discernment prior to the highly anticipated '2004 October Surprise Terror Attack'."

America's Not Safer
by Charley Reese
King online
July 21, 2004

"President George Bush says that America is safer because of our war against Iraq. I respectfully disagree."

Bring Me the Head of Silvino Herrera
"Us vs. Them" and other "modern" myths of war and civilization
by Daniel Patrick Welch
danielpatrickwelch.com
July 18, 2004

"They behead--we do it with smart bombs. There is, of course, an ugly truth to this recently minted axiom: the horror of state terrorism is that the overwhelming machinery of death in the hands of all-powerful governments far outweighs individual atrocities by madmen, groupuscles and non-state entities."

Frist flops on two big GOP leadership tests
by Tom Oliphant
Boston Globe
July 18, 2004

"WASHINGTON CONSERVATIVE "government" sputtered and then flopped last week as it attempted to grapple with the absurd contradictions inherent in subsidizing big business and regulating people's lives."

Dirtbags Moral leaders in America
by Bryan Zepp Jamieson
Zepp's Commentaries
July 16, 2004

"So what did Whoopi say that upset the right wingers so badly? 'Let's get Bush out of the White House and back where it belongs!' -- and then [gasp] she pointed to her crotch."

NEW EVIDENCE : BUSH MISLEADS ON PRISON ABUSE SCANDAL
from Daily Mislead
July 15, 2004

"President Bush has claimed that the prison abuse scandal in Iraq was just 'conduct by a few American troops.' But with Congress investigating the scandal, a series of explosive new reports provides evidence that the tactics may have been approved at the highest levels of government."

TRUTH EMERGES ABOUT BUSH MISLEADING ON MEDICARE
from Daily Mislead
July 14, 2004

"According to government documents obtained by the New York Times, the Bush Administration now estimates 'that employers will reduce or eliminate prescription drug benefits for 3.8 million retirees when Medicare offers such coverage in 2006' That represents one-third of all the retirees with employer-sponsored drug coverage."

Can two Johns re-create a Jack?
by Joan Vennochi
The Boston Globe
July 13, 2004

"John Kerry has the right resume but lacks the Kennedy charisma. John Edwards has charisma but lacks the Kennedy portfolio. Like pieces of a puzzle, the two Johns might just make one Jack. That is the party bet."

Senate WMD Report Whacks CIA, Not Bush
by David Corn
The Nation
July 9, 2004

"The United States went to war on the basis of false claims. More than 800 Americans and countless Iraqis have lost their lives because of these false claims. The American taxpayer has to pay up to $200 billion--and maybe more--because of these false claims. The United States' standing in the world has fallen precipitously because of these false claims."

Perps Ken Lay models the image of the GOP for 2004
by Bryan Zepp Jamieson
Zepp's Commentaries
July 9, 2004

"But in the case of Ken Lay, it took THREE YEARS to bring an indictment, and it came at a time when Americans were trying to pretend the Putsch junta wasn't the most corrupt and secretive administration in history, one contemptuous of justice and of answering to the people."

GOP donors funding Nader: Bush supporters give independent's bid a financial lift
by Carla Marinucci, Chronicle Political Writer
San Francisco Chronicle
July 9, 2004

"Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader -- still not on the ballot in a single state -- has received a recent windfall of contributions from deep-pocketed Republicans with a history of big contributions to the party, an analysis of federal records show."

BUSH COORDINATING WAR ON TERROR WITH ELECTION
from Daily Mislead
July 8, 2004

"In the months after the tragic attacks of 9/11, President Bush told the American people that he had 'no ambition whatsoever to use [the War on Terror] as a political issue.'[1] But according to a new report, the Bush Administration is now demanding that international allies coordinate the arrest of al Qaeda terrorists to coincide with key U.S. political events, so as to maximize political benefits for the President."

GIVE IT BACK, GEORGE: THE LAY LOOT THAT BOUGHT WHITE HOUSE Bush and Republicans Should Give Up Ill-Gotten Gains
by Greg Palast
July 8, 2004

"Ken Lay and his Enron team are the Number One political career donors to George W. Bush. Mr. Lay and his Mrs., with no money to pay back bilked creditors, still managed to personally put up $100,000 for George's inaugural Ball plus $793,110 for personal donations to Republicans. Lay's Enron team dropped $4.2 million into the party that let Enron party."

Bush Campaign's Political Fiction
by John Nichols
The Nation
July 7, 2004

"So, now, despite the fact that McCain 'categorically states that he has not been offered the vice presidency by any one,' the Republican National Committee is mounting an aggressive campaign to portray Kerry's choice, North Carolina Senator John Edwards, as the presidential candidate's 'second choice.'"

The Best Choice
by E. J. Dionne Jr.
Washington Post
July 7, 2004

"Republicans were in a foul mood because Kerry's choice of Edwards as his running mate muddied up all the story lines they were itching to trot out."

Making Saddam Look Good Only this administration could manage that
by Bryan Zepp Jamieson
Zepp's Commentaries
July 7, 2004

"Saddam was looking pretty sharp, beard neatly trimmed, nice casual threads, dropped a stone or so, clear-eyed and exuding confidence. Even worse, he basically took control of the television cameras, throwing the court on the defensive."

The money game shifts Kerry's way
by Tom Oliphant
The Boston Globe
July 6, 2004

"Partly because of events in the real world, partly because of poor judgment about America's willingness to pay attention, partly because the commercials were mediocre, the Bush campaign does not have much to show for its massive investment. In the latest CBS-New York Times poll, negative opinions of Kerry seem to have peaked at about 35 percent, less than the core Republican vote that can be counted on this November."

BUSH & CHENEY MISLEAD ON TORT REFORM
from Daily Mislead
July 6, 2004

"President Bush and Vice President Cheney continue to dishonestly claim that trial lawyers are to blame for skyrocketing health care costs."

The pursuit of happiness On the good ship Lollipop, things suck
by Bryan Zepp Jamieson
Zepp's Commentaries
July 5, 2004

"If the notion of the dour, cynical little class warrior being our little ray of sunshine strikes you as faintly absurd, consider the fact that this administration (which has bogged us down in a quagmire in Iraq, pissed away trillions of dollars in the national treasury in a giveaway to major corporations, and aroused rage and concern throughout America and the world) is describing itself as being happy, optimistic, and looking forward."

Why the Economy Won't Boost Bush
by Robert Kuttner
Business Week
July 5, 2004

"For starters, the job growth isn't translating into broad-based wage growth. Even after three months of good job creation, there is little pressure to raise wages. That's why the May core inflation rate -- without volatile indicators like energy and food -- is just 0.2%. There's no wage pressure."

If Why this Fourth might be better than last year's
by Bryan Zepp Jamieson
Zepp's Commentaries
July 4, 2004

"Turns out that they have, in large numbers. Putsch's approval ratings have plummeted to 42% and figure to drop further as more and more people see 'Fahrenheit 9/11' (the gross is presently $50 million and will easily break $100 million)."