Dog saves barking woman's life

Well, that's what the article says:

"Faith, a 4-year-old Rottweiler, phoned 911 when [Leana] Beasley fell out of her wheelchair and barked urgently into the receiver until a dispatcher sent help."

We hope the dispatcher was fast...Ms. Beasley had enough troubles without having to bark urgently until help arrived.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/10/29/canine.caller.ap/index.html

Quote of the day

From Maureen Dowd's editorial in today's NY Times:

"The Bushies' campaign pitch follows their usual backward logic: Because we have failed to make you safe, you should re-elect us to make you safer. Because we haven't caught Osama in three years, you need us to catch Osama in the next four years. Because we didn't bother to secure explosives in Iraq, you can count on us to make sure those explosives aren't used against you."

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/31/opinion/31dowd.html?th

Bush to reality: F*** off

Some frat boys never grow up
Originally uploaded by Editor at Large.

You might think this is an altered photo, but it isn't. It's a frame from actual video footage of Bush being himself just before going live on TV when he was governor of Texas. You can watch the video clip at http://static.vidvote.com/
movies/bushuncensored.mov.

(Thanks to Bob Harris, www.bobharris.com.)

Missing letter, added letter

A headline in today's Corvallis Gazette-Times advises: "Still without a ballot? Better act quicly."

And a headline in the current OSU This Week announces: "OSU celebrates Weatherford Hall gtrand opening."

Alas, it's probably because we don't know how to act quicly that we missed the gtrand opening...

Gazette-Times: http://www.gazettetimes.com/articles/2004/10/29/
news/community/friloc03.txt)

OSU This Week: http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ncs/otw/

Go ahead, misspell "receiving"--see if we care

Yesterday we sent an e-mail to August J. Pollak alerting him to a typo ("recieving") in one of the cartoons on his otherwise awesome Web site (xoverboard.com). He replied:

"Hmm... that's from a cartoon from over a year ago, so I think I'm at the point where it's not worth fixing anymore. You're the first person to have noticed that, actually."

Yeah, it's a curse--we notice silly, inconsequential things like that. Why couldn't we have been endowed with a real gift, like the ability to predict winning lottery numbers?

Surprise! Bush campaign edits reality

Now you see him...now you don't
Originally uploaded by Editor at Large.

A new Bush campaign commercial features video footage of dozens of soldiers listening raptly to an off-screen Bush as he tries to explain to them why they must die in Iraq.

Okay, maybe we took some liberties with the script...but only because Bush's ad agency took liberties with the footage. As you can see by the "Before" and "After" images above, Bush is--once again--missing in action.

Why was Bush removed from the shot? Supposedly, the video editor was told to revise the scene to emphasize the boy waving the flag in the foreground. Oh, okay, we get it...

(Thanks to Colleen Spedale for the scoop.)

(Click on the image to see a larger version.)

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/10/28/bush.ad.ap/index.html

President Edwards?

In today's NY Times, guest columnist Stephen Marmon outlines a bizarre but plausible scenario:

In the event of a 269-269 Electoral College tie, along with the passage of Colorado's ballot initiative to divide its electoral votes by popular ballot, in combination with the possible outcomes of several House and Senate races, John Edwards could be elected as Bush's vice president--and then, in the event of a House delegation deadlock between Minnesota and Wisconsin, become acting president.

Don't believe us? Read it for yourself: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/29/opinion/29marmon.html?th

O'Reilly pulls a Michael Jackson

Nobody is talking about the terms of the settlement, but Bill O'Reilly probably had to pay Andrea Mackris millions to persuade her to back down from her sexual harassment suit. Too bad...we were looking forward to the media circus to distract us further from the real issues.

O'Reilly neither apologized nor admitted wrongdoing, but instead admonished viewers of his show, "Please do not believe everything you hear and read"...including everything you hear and read from Bill O'Reilly, of course.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7578-2004Oct28.html?

Well, it's about time...

...and it's probably too late. In response to a complaint from an Army Corps of Engineers civilian, the FBI has "expanded" an investigation into allegations of contract "irregularities" by Halliburton Co. subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root Inc. in Iraq and Kuwait. Who was the whistle-blower? A woman, of course--Bunnatine H. Greenhouse. (Why is it never men who blow the whistles?) Greenhouse said Army officials did not justify the award or show that KBR had "unique attributes," as required by procurement law.

Obviously, Greenhouse doesn't understand the meaning of "unique attributes." In this case, it means "direct and profitable connections to Dick Cheney."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7606-2004Oct28.html?

This election is getting to be a drag...

Trick...or...treat?
Originally uploaded by Editor at Large.

But we don't mind straight people, as long as they act gay in public.

P.S. Will the person or persons responsible for this tomfoolery please raise your hands, so we can give you proper credit?

(Thanks to Janice Johnson for forwarding this to us.)

(Click on the image to see a larger version--if you dare.)

58,000 absentee ballots missing in Florida

It's happening again. As many as 58,000 absentee ballots that were supposedly mailed more than two weeks ago haven't yet reached voters in Broward County, Florida--a county that gave Al Gore 67 percent of the vote in 2000.

Think foul play might be involved?

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?floc=NW_1-T&oldflok=ne-us-12-l8&flok=FF-APO-1110&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20041027%2F1627090298.htm&sc=
1110&photoid=20041026MEX06D

Bush (inadvertently) endorses Kerry

At a campaign event today in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Bush said, "...a political candidate who jumps to conclusions without knowing the facts is not a person you want as your commander in chief."

Truer words were never spoken.

http://www.newshounds.us/2004/10/27/bush_endorses_kerry.php
#more

Will this be the "October Surprise"?

The name Abu Musab Zarqawi has been in the news a lot lately, most recently as the leader of an ambush that left 49 U.S.-trained Iraqi soldiers dead. In fact, the U.S. blames Zarqawi for many of the deadliest attacks in Iraq and has offered a $25 million reward for his capture or death. He's the new Osama bin Laden.

It gets even more interesting. Today's Washington Post says our military has been striking Fallujah, where they think Zarqawi and his operatives are based, almost every night for the past several weeks. The Post says a major offensive is expected in Fallujah, "possibly after the U.S. presidential election," and that most of Fallujah's residents have fled in anticipation.

We predict the "major offensive" will happen not after but before the election, and the Bush administration will announce that Zarqawi has been "captured" or "killed." And voila! Bush gets another four years.

Maybe we should all flee in anticipation...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A63772-2004Oct26.html?

We need a landslide

According to today's Washington Post, the presidential election will probably be decided in 11 states where polls currently show the race too tight to predict a winner. But there's something even scarier: a computer analysis showed that there are 33 combinations in which those 11 states could divide to produce a 269 to 269 electoral tie.

And ties are resolved by the House of Representatives. Which currently has a Republican majority.

We need John Kerry to win by a large enough margin that there will be no doubt whom we want as president. Otherwise, Bush and the Supremes will find a way to steal the election again, and Bush will have a chance to finish the job he's only just begun.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A439-2004Oct26.html?

Bush doesn't lie; he tells "false facts"

From Nicholas Kristoff's column in today's NY Times:

"Like President Ronald Reagan, reality to [Bush] is not about facts, but about higher meta-truths: Mom and Dad are loving grandparents, Saddam Hussein is an evil man, and so on. To clarify those overarching realities, Mr. Bush harnesses 'facts,' both true and false."

Thank you for finally explaining this phenomenon so clearly, Mr. Kristoff. We feel a LOT better now, knowing that 1,100 U.S. soldiers have given their lives on the basis of false facts, not lies.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/27/opinion/27kristof.html?th

Allawi throws more roses on U.S.

Apparently, things aren't so rosy anymore between the U.S. and Bush's puppet in Iraq, interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi (the guy the Iraqis don't want to lead their country). In a speech yesterday before Iraq's interim National Assembly, Allawi blamed the American-led military forces for the weekend massacre of 49 freshly trained Iraqi soldiers, saying the military had shown "major negligence" in failing to provide adequate protection for the soldiers.

An anonymous U.S. military official responded, "There's a lot of people stunned by this. There's a lot of people scratching their heads. It's a strange one."

A lot of people stunned, a lot of people scratching their heads, and a lot of people dead. What's next, G.W.?

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/27/international/middleeast/27iraq.html?

Bush flip-flops on gay unions, mangles English

There he goes again...saying he's against something and then saying he's for it. And mangling the English language in the process.

Last we heard, Bush was pushing for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage; now he says he's in favor of states having the right to choose whether to allow civil unions. "I don't think we should deny people rights to a civil union, a legal arrangement, if that's what a state chooses to do so [sic],'' Bush said in an interview today on ABC.

Acknowledging that his position puts him at odds with the Republican platform, which opposes civil unions, Bush explained: "I view the definition of marriage different from legal arrangements that enable people to have rights. States ought to be able to have the right to pass laws that enable people to be able to have rights like others."

We agree. States also ought to be able to have the right to pass laws that enable us to be able to have a president who is able to speak English.

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?flok=FF-APO-1131&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20041026%2F1558008728.htm&sc=1131

The American Conservative endorses Kerry

You know you're in trouble when even your staunchest supporters stop supporting you. That's exactly what's happening to George W. Bush. The American Conservative is just one in a flurry of right-wing publications that have come out against Bush. Others include the Orlando Sentinel newspaper and Financial Times magazine.

Here's an excerpt from The American Conservative's editorial, "Kerry's the One":

"Bush has behaved like a caricature of what a right-wing president is supposed to be, and his continuation in office will discredit any sort of conservatism for generations. The launching of an invasion against a country that posed no threat to the U.S., the doling out of war profits and concessions to politically favored corporations, the financing of the war by ballooning the deficit to be passed on to the nation’s children, the ceaseless drive to cut taxes for those outside the middle class and working poor: it is as if Bush sought to resurrect every false 1960s-era left-wing cliché about predatory imperialism and turn it into administration policy. Add to this his nation-breaking immigration proposal—Bush has laid out a mad scheme to import immigrants to fill any job where the wage is so low that an American can’t be found to do it—and you have a presidency that combines imperialist Right and open-borders Left in a uniquely noxious cocktail."

http://www.amconmag.com/2004_11_08/cover1.html

Is it the day after tomorrow yet?

According to today's NY Times, Dr. James E. Hansen, a top NASA climate expert who twice briefed Vice President Dick Cheney on global warming, plans to criticize the administration's approach to the issue in a lecture tonight at the University of Iowa. He also plans to reveal that a senior administration official told him last year not to discuss dangerous consequences of rising temperatures.

The response from the White House? Denial. "President Bush has long recognized the serious implications of climate change, the role of human activity, and our responsibility to reduce emissions. He has put forward a series of policy initiatives including a commitment to reduce the greenhouse gas intensity of our economy.''--Dr. John H. Marburger III (science adviser to the president)

Note Marburger's use of the term "climate change" instead of global warming--as if we're talking about a simple change in the weather.

Think Dr. Hansen will still have a job with NASA tomorrow?

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/26/science/26climate.html?

Admit it: You've wanted to do this

A couple of guys in Arizona threw pies at right-winger Ann Coulter while she was speaking at the University of Arizona last Thursday night. Unfortunately, their aim wasn't great and Ms. Coulter didn't get to eat much pie. Nevertheless, because it was Ann Coulter, blond-thin-white mouthpiece for the Republicans, the assailants were arrested and charged with assault, disorderly conduct (misdemeanors), and criminal damage (a class five felony).

Criminal damage? To Ann Coulter's face? No, silly--to a stage backdrop. Estimated damage: $3,000. Because it got a little cream pie on it.

The moral of the story: If you're going to throw a pie at a right-wing political figure, be prepared to be treated as a terrorist.

Quote of the day

From today's Borowitz Report (www.borowitzreport.com):

"Elsewhere, President Bush said today that he had made America safer because, thanks to his policies, more terrorists in the U.S. will die of the flu."

Mary who?

Liz Cheney, the heterosexual daughter
Originally uploaded by Editor at Large.

Did you know the Cheneys also have a heterosexual daughter, named Liz? Well, if you had visited www.georgewbush.com recently, you'd know. And if you'd seen a "W Stands for Women" event recently, you'd know. In fact, the only thing you wouldn't know is that the Cheneys have a homosexual daughter named Mary. Where did she go?

(A tip of the hat to BAGnewsNotes, www.bagnewsnotes.com)

Turn off your car radio

A company called MobilTrak has invented a device that can pick up the electronic signal from your car's antenna and record which radio station you're listening to. "It's all about precision marketing," says MobilTrak managing partner C. David Boice. "It's about giving marketers real-time data about what's happening in certain areas at certain times so they don't waste their advertising dollars."

Currently, MobilTrak picks up only FM signals, but the company says it plans to introduce technology that picks up AM and satellite station signals next spring.

And after that, technology that picks up brain waves...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60013-2004Oct24.html

Why "military intelligence" is an oxymoron

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, someone has misplaced, moved, or stolen about 380 tons of explosives--enough to demolish buildings or detonate nuclear warheads--from a former Iraqi military facility that was supposed to be under American control. Besides the explosives, the facility also housed "large caches of artillery."

Think some good guys have gotten hold of all that stuff?

White House spokesman Scott McClellan tried to play down the significance of the revelation--and the extent of the Bush administration's responsibility for it--by saying that the missing explosives are not nuclear materials and the storage site is the responsibility of the interim Iraqi government, not the United States.

So: the explosives are not dangerous because they're not nuclear? And because the U.S. ceded control of Iraq back to the Iraqis on June 28, we're not responsible for anything that happens there after that date?

A more intelligent and accurate response came from John Kerry, who said that the "incredible incompetence of this president and this administration has put our troops at risk and put this country at greater risk than we ought to be."

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/10/25/iraq.explosives/
index.html

Bush or treat

Cartoon by Cam Cardow, Ottawa Citizen
Originally uploaded by Editor at Large.

(Click on cartoon to see a larger version.)

Ten reasons America needs a change

In case you're still undecided how to vote, Ted Rall presents these 10 reasons why Bush must go. (To see the arguments supporting each assertion, visit http://www.uexpress.com/tedrall/)

1. He stole the 2000 election.
2. He politicized 9/11.
3. He let the terrorists get away while giving them a pay raise.
4. He has murdered nearly 100,000 people.
5. He has bankrupted the treasury.
6. He threw thousands of innocent people into concentration camps.
7. We are more feared than Al Qaeda.
8. Bush has done nothing to improve the economy.
9. If re-appointed, Bush will appoint the next Supreme Court justice.
10. We deserve a president who can speak English.

The Redskin rule

In response to our blog entry, "Red Sox win = Kerry win?" reader Eric Dickey wrote:

"I think it all hinges on the Redskin's football game on 10/31...It's called the Redskin Rule. If the Redskins win their last home game before the election, the incumbent party is re-elected. If they lose, the other party is brought into power. It's worked since it started back in 1940. They are 16 for 16 in deciding who the president will be. This year the deciding game is Packers v. Redskins."

All together now: GO PACKERS!

Even Bush's own relatives are voting for Kerry

Check out the Web site "Bush Relatives for Kerry" at http://www.bushrelativesforkerry.com/pages/1/index.htm

(Thanks to Eric Dickey for the tip.)

Election day: Dia de los Muertos

Alert reader Colleen Spedale points out that election day, November 2, is also Mexico's Dia de los Muertos--"Day of the Dead."

"The question is," says Spedale, "whose funeral will it be?"

Not all of ours, we hope...

Rebuttal: Mothers with jobs work harder

Sandy Ridlington had this to say in response to our blog of October 21, "Heinz Kerry blows it":

"Surely Heinz Kerry was making the point that because Laura Bush doesn't have a 'real job' (and about this, Heinz Kerry admits she was wrong), she is somewhat isolated from the 'real' world--the things faced by people who have to leave the house every day for work. No matter how hard a mother works at being a mother, she's generally protected in a way that a working woman isn't.

"Surely, in these conversations, it's understood that parenting is hard work. But for millions of people in this country, they have to be parents and face the demands of a work force. It could be that some feminists try to marginalize women who stay at home. But at the same time, women who have to do everything don't get much credit, either."

Our response to Ms. Ridlington:

"Thanks for your feedback. We knew we were treading on thin ice with that topic--especially since we agreed with a Republican (a half-assed attempt at being 'fair and balanced'). Of course you're right that women who have kids AND work outside the home are more stressed. Our point was directed toward those who believe that stay-home moms 'don't work.' But we didn't mean to imply that stay-home moms work harder than moms who have outside jobs, and we apologize if we came off sounding that way."

Red Sox victory = Kerry victory?

In the current Newsweek Web exclusive, Jonathan Alter writes, "The Red Sox victory makes the Bush-is-inevitable line harder to pursue. A last-minute come-from-behind win by Kerry suddenly seems more plausible, which in turn will rally Democrats to work harder on Election Day. If Kerry goes in to the final weekend down by five points, well, the Red Sox won, for the first time ever, when they were down by three games."

Let's hope he's right.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6301121/site/newsweek

Iraqis want a religious leader--not Allawi

Looks like Bush's puppet, Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, is poised to lose the election in Iraq. According to a U.S.-financed poll by the International Republican Institute (now that's a scary-sounding group), if an election were held today in Iraq, leaders of its religious parties would win.

This is a real bummer for the Bush administration, which views a victory by Iraq's religious parties as the worst-case scenario. They think a secular government led by moderates is critical, because the new government will oversee writing a new Iraqi constitution.

We think a secular government led by moderates is critical, too. We hope we can get one of those here soon...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52674-2004Oct21.html?

Quote of the day

From today's Borowitz Report (www.borowitzreport.com):

"Teresa Heinz Kerry apologized today for saying that Laura Bush never held a real job, noting that for the past twenty-seven years Mrs. Bush has worked with the mentally impaired."

Heinz Kerry blew it

Teresa Heinz Kerry blew it yesterday in an interview with USA Today when she said, "...I don't know Laura Bush. But she seems to be calm, and she has a sparkle in her eye, which is good. But I don't know that she's ever had a real job--I mean, since she's been grown up.''

Heinz Kerry later apologized, saying that she had forgotten Mrs. Bush had once worked as a teacher and librarian. "There couldn't be a more important job than teaching our children," she said in a statement. "As someone who has been both a full-time mom and full-time in work force, I know we all have valuable experiences that shape who we are. I appreciate and honor Mrs. Bush's service to the country as first lady and am sincerely sorry I had not remembered her important work in the past.''

But as Bush adviser Karen Hughes pointed out, the apology actually made things worse "because she left out the very important real job of a mother.''

Memo to Ms. Heinz Kerry: Being a feminist doesn't mean acting like an insensitive man. Much as we disapprove of Mrs. Bush (mainly because of whom she sleeps with), we disapprove more of ideologies that fail to acknowledge the real work women do.

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?flok=FF-APO-1131&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20041021%2F1200517215.htm&sc=1131

Let's hear from you, Mary Cheney

Over the past week, since John Kerry "outed" Mary Cheney as a lesbian during the third debate, everyone has written about and talked about Mary Cheney except Mary Cheney.

Ms. Cheney, let's hear it from you: How did you feel about Kerry's comment? Was it, as your mother said, a "cheap and tawdry political trick"? And while you're at it, please explain to us why you continue to support Republicans--who obviously don't support you.

C'mon, Ms. Cheney: Either write...or be written about.

Quote of the day

From Bill O'Reilly's new book, "The O'Reilly Factor for Kids":

"And guys, if you exploit a girl, it will come back to get you. That's called 'karma.'"

As The Onion says, "Sometimes life is just so...fair." And balanced.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/24/arts/24rich.html?th

It's hard to be politically and grammatically correct

We hate it when people whose politics we like make a boo boo. But it's because we like them that we feel compelled to point out their errors. This latest one appeared in an e-mail today from the folks at TrueMajority, whose typo is painfully obvious because the sentence is all alone between paragraphs--and it's in bold:

"But there simple aren't enough current volunteers to visit every voter."

TrueMajority, we love you, but you simple must proofread your e-mails before sending them.

www.truemajority.org

HERE'S ANOTHER ONE

From today's EDUPAGE (even their name is in all caps):

CU RECEIVES GRANT TO SUPPORT WOMEN IN IT

Well, one would hope CU would support the women in it--whatever "it" is...

We repeat the message from our blog posted earlier today: DON'T USE ALL CAPS. They're confusing.

http://www.educause.edu/Edupage/639

Conspiracy theorists: you're not alone

Stanley G. Hilton, a San Francisco attorney and former senior adviser to former Senator Bob Dole (R), has filed a class action lawsuit in Federal court in northern California against the federal government in general and Bush, Cheney, Rice, Mueller, Tenet, Rumsfeld, and Ashcroft in particular, for complicity in aiding and abetting and facilitating the Sep. 11, 2001 attacks.

His suit contends that the defendants sanctioned the attacks in order to justify launching unconstitutional aggressive war against the sovereign states of Afghanistan and Iraq, declare political opponents "enemy combatants," suspend the Constitution indefinitely, etc., all for sordid political ends that subvert the very system of laws and Constitution the defendants have sworn to uphold in their offices.

Hilton purportedly has received sworn statements from top military officials who assert that the government was complicit in the attacks. He also has received death threats for filing this suit.

This story will be as fun to follow as the Bill O'Reilly sexual harassment case...

http://suetheterrorists.net

(Thanks to Eric Dickey for the scoop.)

A really Bohemian rhapsody

Want to laugh about the upcoming election and its near-certain voting-fraud scandals, to the tune of the Queen classic "Bohemian Rhapsody"? Check out the new Webtoon from FlowGo.com. It's not JibJab (famous for their Webtoon, "This Land"), but it's pretty funny.

http://i.euniverse.com/funpages/cms_content/6019/
bohemianrhapsody.swf

(Thanks to Colleen and Dan Spedale for the tip.)

Sinclair backs down...sort of

Sinclair Broadcast Group has found its bottom line. Under mounting political, legal, and financial pressure (Sinclair's stock has dropped more than 15 percent since they announced they were going to air the anti-Kerry crockumentary "Stolen Honor"), the company has backed away from its plan, saying it would air only portions of the movie in an hour-long special scheduled for Friday.

The title of the hour-long special? "A POW Story: Politics, Pressure and the Media." Sinclair says it will feature footage from "Stolen Honor" and other political documentaries while examining allegations of media bias.

Sounds to us like Sinclair has seen the error of their offensive ways...and is going on the defensive.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46338-2004Oct19.html?

Be not afraid of William Safire

In his column in today's NY Times, Mr. Safire calls John Kerry and John Edwards "fearmongers," claiming that they have been scaring the elderly about Social Security, the young about the draft, the healthy about the lack of flu vaccine, and the sick about Bush's ban on stem cell research.

What does he say about Bush and Cheney scaring Americans for the past three years with their lies about terrorists, WMDs, mushroom clouds, biological warfare, possible additional attacks (especially if we elect Kerry), and other "imminent threats"?

Nothing.

In his closing words, Safire invokes the Bible (surprise!) and makes an odd but hopeful prediction: "My advice to voters in this political Year of Fear...is from Joshua 1:9: 'Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed.' Courage and freedom will win, and the purveyors of panic will lose."

We hope he's right, because we're both afraid of and dismayed by the biggest fearmonger of them all: George W. Bush.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/20/opinion/20safi.html?th

THE PROBLEM WITH ALL-CAP HEADLINES

(Besides the fact that they look like they're SHOUTING at you...)

When we first read this headline in today's NewsScan Daily e-newsletter, we thought it was a misprint:

ACS PUSHES OWN IT 'LICENSE'

At first glance, the headline looks like it was intended to read, "ACS PUSHES ITS OWN 'LICENSE'" or "ACS PUSHES ITS OWN-IT 'LICENSE'" (the meaning of which we had yet to discern). However, on third reading, our fuzzy morning brain gradually realized that--NewsScan being a publication about technology news--the "IT" in the headline was referring to "Information Technology."

So we finally got it, but it took a bit of work to get there. And no headline is worth that amount of work. Please, fellow editors, take it easy on your poor, tired readers. Don't assume they know what IT means, even if they should, and DON'T PUT HEADLINES IN ALL CAPS.

http://www.newsscan.com/

Michael Moore lurking in the area? Call Pfizer!

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, maker of Viagra and a bunch of other drugs, recently sent a top-secret memo to its employees telling them to avoid Michael Moore. The company even set up a Michael Moore HOTLINE (1-212-573-1226) for employees to call if they spotted Moore trying to conduct interviews, and Moore has been giving the number out to audiences on his current "Slacker Uprising" tour, encouraging them to call.

Want to have some fun? Call that hotline and tell them Michael Moore has been trying to interview you about your experience with Viagra.

(Thanks to Colleen Spedale for the tip.)

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/mikeinthenews/
index.php?id=210

How Sinclair rewards integrity

They fire you.

According to today's Washington Post, Jon Lieberman, the Washington bureau chief and lead political reporter of Sinclair Broadcast Group, was fired yesterday after accusing the company of "indefensible" conduct for planning to air a movie attacking John Kerry's Vietnam record.

Leiberman told CNN last night that he was terminated for his criticism, which was quoted in yesterday's Baltimore Sun. He said he had spoken out because "I feel so strongly that our credibility is at issue here.... I feel our company is trying to sway this election."

Leiberman acknowledged that he was violating Sinclair policy by giving an unauthorized interview, but "I knew I had nothing to gain by doing it and everything to lose," he said. "I need to be able to sleep at night."

How do Sinclair's owners sleep at night?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43681-2004Oct18.html?

We want one of these

From today's NewsScan Daily e-newsletter (http://www.newsscan.com/):

TV-B-GONE ZAPS INTRUSIVE BROADCASTS
Inventor Mitch Altman has the answer for people in airports, doctors' offices, restaurants and bars that feature blaring television sets as part of the ambiance. The TV-B-Gone is a universal remote disguised as a tiny keychain fob that works on most televisions and comes in two models geared toward European TV sets or Asian-American ones. When activated by pressing a button, the device runs through about 200 different codes that turn off various TV models, starting with the most popular brands and then moving to the more obscure. One TV-B-Gone enthusiast notes, "You've heard about the battle for eyeballs. They're your eyeballs. You should not have your consciousness constantly invaded. Television people are getting better and better at finding ways of roping us into TV where we can't get away." Altman says friends who've heard about the device have approached him about other uses, such as one that could jam cell phones or shut down vehicle subwoofers and car alarms. (Wired.com 19 Oct 2004, http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,65392,00.html)

No draft, huh? Want to buy a bridge?

According to today's NY Times, the Selective Service has been working on contingency plans for drafting doctors, nurses, and other health care workers in case of a "national emergency."

In a confidential report this summer, the Times says, a contractor hired by the Selective Service described how such a draft might work, how to get people to go along with it, and how to shape public opinion and communicate with health care professionals, "whose lives could be disrupted."

Of course, such contacts must be limited, low key, and discreet, the report said, because "overtures from Selective Service to the medical community will be seen as precursors to a draft," and that could alarm the public.

Read all about it: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/19/politics/19draft.html?

Politically incorrect

Vote!...for...uh...
Originally uploaded by Editor at Large.

If you're going to campaign for someone, at least have the courtesy to spell the candidate's name right--especially in a half-page newspaper ad. In this ad for city council candidate Rob Gandara in today's "The Daily Barometer," the spelling on the sign the woman is holding is "GANDERA."

(Click on the image to see a larger version--with "Gandara" spelled correctly, twice, in smaller print.)

http://barometer.orst.edu

Ohmigosh, the irony...

"President Bush on Monday accused Democratic rival Sen. John Kerry of 'shameless scare tactics' by suggesting that the president would jeopardize Social Security for older Americans and bring back the military draft for young people.

"Bush, in an Associated Press interview, said of Kerry, 'He's trying to scare our seniors. It is wrong to try to scare people going into the polls.'"

Bush has never used scare tactics to win votes, has he?

http://www.gazettetimes.com/articles/2004/10/18/ap/headlines/d85pvpng0.txt

Quote of the day

"This is why George W. Bush is so clear-eyed about Al Qaeda and the Islamic fundamentalist enemy. He believes you have to kill them all. They can't be persuaded...they're extremists, driven by a dark vision. He understands them, because he's just like them." --Bruce Bartlett, a domestic policy adviser to Ronald Reagan and a Treasury official for the first President Bush

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/17/opinion/17dowd.html?th

Sinclair has got to be kidding

Have you heard what Sinclair Broadcasting says is the premise of "Stolen Honor," the anti-Kerry crockumentary they're planning to air before the election? Here it is:

"Stolen Honor" features 17 former prisoners of war who say that John Kerry's 1971 Senate testimony about atrocities in Vietnam had the effect of extending their captivity.

Did you get that? Seventeen former POWs THEORIZE that Kerry's TRUTHFUL testimony about actual ATROCITIES committed by U.S. soldiers in Vietnam (that other illegal, unnecessary war) inspired their captors to hold them longer than they would have if Kerry had just kept his big mouth shut. Even if this preposterous theory were provable--which it isn't--how can anyone possibly take seriously the inference that what John Kerry did was wrong?

Oh, and then there's Sinclair's disingenuous offer to Kerry of "equal time"--an opportunity to be interviewd by Sinclair's attack dogs in a "balanced and honest program" (hmmm...sounds vaguely familiar), according to Sinclair V.P. Mark Hyman. We're with Kerry spokesman Chad Clanton on that one: "Why would you take an offer like that seriously from a group with such a fierce partisan political agenda? Walk into some big setup job? 'Hello, I'd love to come on your program and get sandbagged.'"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36668-2004Oct15.html?

Speaking of obscene...

Is Virgin Atlantic screwing itself?
Originally uploaded by Editor at Large.

Just because sex sells, does that mean advertisers have to use it in bizarre ways to sell bizarre products? This one, masquerading as instructions on how to change into "your complimentary Sleep Suit" (you know, for those long flights from New York to London), is one of the weirdest we've seen yet. But the day isn't over yet...

(Click on the ad to see a larger version.)

Speaking of T-shirts...

Three Medford, Oregon, school teachers were threatened with arrest and thrown out of a Bush rally at the Jackson County Fairgrounds Thursday night, after they showed up wearing T-shirts with the slogan "Protect Our Civil Liberties."

One of the teachers, Janet Voorhies, said she simply wanted to bring a message to President Bush and did not intend to protest. "I wanted to...make a statement that I feel is important, but not offensive," said Voorhies, 48.

Special ed teacher Tania Tong, 34, said, "We chose this phrase specifically because we didn't think it would be offensive or degrading or obscene."

The women got past the first and second checkpoints and were allowed into the Jackson County Fairgrounds, but were asked to leave and then escorted out of the event by campaign officials who allegedly told them their T-shirts were "obscene."

"Protect Our Civil Liberties" is obscene? Maybe the T-shirts were wet? (Boo...hiss...)

(Thanks to Colleen Spedale for the news alert.)

http://www.kgw.com/election2002/stories/kgw_101504_news_bush_
teacher_peaceful_protest.33035f77.html

An apology to the creator of the Apology Shirt

Joel Aufrecht, whose "American Apology Shirt" we featured in one of our blog entries of October 14, wrote to inform us that we have our "coattails" backwards: his Apology Shirt went on sale in June 2003; the label with the apology in French (on a Tom Bihn bag) appeared in "early or mid 2004."

See...even editors need editors! And we need a slice of humble pie. Mr. Aufrecht, please accept our sincere apology--along with our fervent hope that readers of this blog will buy your shirts (at http://americanapologyshirt.com).

Does this stir your senses?

What the hell?
Originally uploaded by Editor at Large.

We know cigarette ads are supposed to be goofy (just consider the product), but this one is over the top. What is that radioactive David Copperfield doing? And what is a yin-yang symbol doing on the box? And what marketing genius came up with the slogan "stir the senses"--for a product that deadens the senses? (Click on the ad to see a larger version.)

If only the rest of the world could vote for our president...

According to a series of coordinated polls published today from 10 countries, including many of the United States' closest allies, America's reputation is in the toilet.

On average, 57 percent of those questioned in the polls, conducted in Canada, France, Britain, Spain, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Mexico, Israel, and Russia, said their opinions of America had worsened over the past two to three years, while only 20 percent said their view had improved.

People in all 10 countries were also asked whom they hoped to see win the White House, and Kerry was favored by overwhelming majorities in eight. In France, for example, it was 72 percent Kerry, 16 percent Bush; in South Korea, 68 percent Kerry to 18 percent Bush; Canada, 60 percent to 20 percent; Spain, 58 percent to 13 percent; Australia, 54 percent to 28 percent; and Britain, 50 percent to 22 percent.

The two countries where Bush came out on top: Israel (50 percent to 24 percent) and Russia (52 percent to 48 percent).

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?flok=FF-APO-1103&idq

Awww, poor little Billy O'Reilly...

Don't you feel sorry for O'Reilly that he's been accused of sexual harassment? Yesterday he said in a phone interview with the Washington Post, "I knew I was going to get vilified and vile stuff was going to be put out there. It's very embarrassing to have this stuff out there. Any human being would be depressed to see this....This is the worst day of my life."

Hmmm...maybe he should have thought of the embarrassment he might suffer BEFORE he harassed, humiliated, and degraded Andrea Mackis...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34312-2004Oct15.html?

The frogs are croaking....

...along with a lot of other amphibians. From today's Washington Post:

"Amphibians are experiencing a precipitous decline across the globe, according to the first comprehensive world survey of the creatures, which include frogs, toads and salamanders. As many as 122 species have disappeared since 1980, and 1,900 are in danger of becoming extinct."

What's killing amphibians? George Bush. Okay, we're being disingenuous, but not by much. Researchers say the rapid drop--the equivalent of tens of thousands of years' worth of extinctions in just a century--is being caused by a range of factors that include deforestation, pollution, habitat loss, and climate change.

We need to change the way we do things on this planet, folks--starting with a regime change in this country. As Paul Ehrlich, a Stanford University ecologist, says, the amphibian study shows that Bush administration officials are "destroying the working supports of our life system" by exploiting rather than conserving habitat. "They're sawing off the limb that humanity is sitting on. Without biodiversity, we'd be dead."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33569-2004Oct14.html?

Are the Cheneys ashamed of their daughter?

Here's the comment John Kerry made about Mary Cheney during the final debate Wednesday night:

"I think if you were to talk to Dick Cheney's daughter, who is a lesbian, she would tell you that she's being who she was, she's being who she was born as."

Lynne Cheney's reaction: "[Kerry's comment was] a cheap and tawdry political trick" that makes him "not a good man."

Dick Cheney's reaction: "You saw a man who will say and do anything in order to get elected."

Elizabeth Edwards' response to Lynne Cheney's reaction: "I think that it indicates a certain degree of shame with respect to her daughter's sexual preferences."

John Edwards' response: "Dick Cheney and his wife, Lynne, had themselves brought it up" in the campaign four years ago.

John Kerry's explanation of his comment: "I love my daughters. They love their daughter. I was trying to say something positive about the way strong families deal with this issue."

Whether or not "saying something positive" was Kerry's real intent, it is the Cheneys who have turned it into something negative. As Cheryl Jacques, president of the Human Rights Campaign, pointed out, "Bush missed one more chance to denounce discrimination last night, so it is bewildering that Lynne Cheney instead attacked Senator Kerry."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33588-2004Oct14.html?

Love that juxtaposition

Stacked atop one another in the "Breaking News" section of the on-line "Corvallis Gazette-Times" are the following headlines:

"Bush Says Debates Highlight His Record"
"Blast Kills 10 in Baghdad's Green Zone"
"Fallujah Delegation Suspends Peace Talks"

'Nuf said.

http://www.gazettetimes.com/

Republicans suspected of tearing up Democratic voter registrations

Republican consulting firm Sproul & Associates is suspected of hiring people to register voters and tear up the forms of those who register as Democrats. The firm, run by Nathan Sproul, former head of the Arizona Republican party and the Arizona Christian Coalition, has set up registration drives in Oregon, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Florida, and Nevada.  

According to several sources, contractors hired by Sproul were also paid to get as many signatures as possible for Nader.

Who's funding these efforts? KLAS-TV in Las Vegas says it's the Republican National Committee. We'll keep you posted...

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/10/13/15534/960

Quote of the day

"I want a president who can one day restore Sept. 11th to its rightful place on the calendar: as the day after Sept. 10th and before Sept. 12th. I do not want it to become a day that defines us. Because ultimately Sept. 11th is about them - the bad guys - not about us." --Thomas Friedman (NY Times, Oct. 14, 2004)

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/14/opinion/14friedman.html?th

Please, Mr. Nader, just give it up

Ever since Republicans started funding efforts to put Ralph Nader on the ballot, his signature gathering has been a mess. Pennsylvania is the latest in a long procession of states that have refused to put Nader on the ballot due to signature fraud. In fact, James G. Colins, the presiding judge in the Pennsylvania Commonweath Court, wrote, "I am compelled to emphasize that this signature-gathering process was the most deceitful and fraudulent exercise ever perpetrated upon this court"--and Colins has served longer and reviewed more nominating papers than any judge in the court's history.

Mr. Nader, you made your point back in 2000. If you have a point now, it would be better served by your withdrawing from the race.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/14/politics/campaign/14nader.html?th

But...haven't we made the world safer?

Headline in today's NY Times:

"Saudis Blame U.S. and Its Role in Iraq for Rise of Terror"

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/14/international/middleeast/14saudi.html?

Planning a trip overseas? Wear this shirt

Apology Shirt front
Originally uploaded by Editor at Large.

Riding on the coattails of the "apology clothing label" (see our blog of October 13), Joel Aufrecht has produced an "American Traveler International Apology Shirt." On the front and back of the shirt are the sentences, "I'm sorry my president's an idiot. I didn't vote for him" in all of the official U.N. languages--Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Spanish, and Russian.

You can order the shirt (and several other products) at http://americanapologyshirt.com/

(Thanks to Eric Dickey for the tip.)

Is Bill O'Reilly going down?

A 33-year-old journalist named Andrea Mackris, whom O'Reilly supervises at Fox, allegedly filed suit against O'Reilly today for two years of sexual harassment. We're talking really bizarre, creepy, stomach-turning stuff (reminiscent of "The O'Reilly Factor"). Read the entire 22-page complaint in all its lurid detail:

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/1013043mackris1.html

Here it comes...

Do you understand why, exactly, 200 people working in Mexico's attorney general's office already have these implants? Are they just guinea pigs for the rest of us?

FDA APPROVES MEDICAL MICROCHIPS
The Food and Drug Administration has okayed an implantable radio frequency microchip that can transmit information on a patient's medical history to doctors in the event of an emergency. VeriChips, made by Applied Digital Solutions, are already in use as a way to track wayward pets and livestock, and nearly 200 people working in Mexico's attorney general's office have had the chips implanted in order to access secure areas. The tiny chips, which are embedded under the skin with a syringe, are programmed with a code similar to the UPC codes on retail goods, which releases patient-specific information on such issues as allergies and prior treatments when scanned. (AP 13 Oct 2004)

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20041013/D85MJ8I83.html

Want some "freedom fries" with that?

Truth in labeling...
Originally uploaded by Editor at Large.

Thanks to Eric Dickey and Evelyn Paret for forwarding.

Anyone know whether this photo is authentic?

The Daily Barometer responds

Dan Traylor, news editor of "The Daily Barometer," wrote in response to our blog, "Presidential candidates' hometown newspapers endorse each other," wanting to know: "Are you a student, or a member of the community?"

Yes to both. We are students of life and members of the world community.

Traylor added: "I'll keep my eye on your blog, thanks for keeping your eye on our paper."

Thanks, Mr. Traylor--and you're welcome.

Does anyone need any more evidence than this?

From today's NY Times:

"It is now a certainty that Mr. Bush will be the first president since Herbert Hoover in 1932 to go into an election with a net decline in jobs over a single term. And there's more: during the Bush years, take-home pay, as a share of the economy, has fallen to its lowest level since 1929, when the government started keeping records. Corporate profits have grown faster - and wages and salaries far less - than in all other eight recoveries since World War II."

Wake up, America, he's not protecting you--he's screwing you.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/13/opinion/13wed1.html?th

"Presidential candidates' hometown newspapers endorse each other"

That's the headline accompanying an article in today's "The Daily Barometer" revealing that Bush's hometown newspaper ("The Lone Star Iconoclast") endorses Kerry, and Kerry's hometown newspaper ("The Lowell Sun") endorses Bush (which answers a question posed earlier in this blog).

A clearer headline: "Presidential candidates' hometown newspapers endorse the other guy."

http://barometer.orst.edu

So Kerry toured the world?

From today's "Borowitz Report":

"In other campaign news, President Bush toured areas devastated by Hurricane Ivan, and Sen. Kerry toured areas devastated by President Bush."

The rest of the Report is even funnier, because it takes William Safire's "boxing match" metaphor with regard to the Bush-Kerry debates a step further. Go read it: www.borowitzreport.com

Another emboldened ignoramus

Is it just our imagination, or has there been an insurgence, so to speak, of ignoramuses in positions of power speaking their confused minds since Bush took (sic) office? The most recent example: Maryland Comptroller William Donald Schaefer, who said yesterday, "As far as I'm concerned, people who have AIDS are a danger. They bring it on themselves. A person who gives AIDS, who spreads AIDS, they're bad people. Everybody wants to be on the good side of everything. Well, I'm taking a stand."

Good for you, Mr. Schaefer...but could you please stand somewhere else? And whatever you do, don't exchange bodily fluids with ANYONE.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27957-2004Oct12.html?

It must be contagious

"Newsweek World Update" made the same mistake made by today's "The Daily Barometer" with the word "affect" (intending "effect")--and in a headline, no less:

"Sleep: Affects of a 24-Hour Society"

We suggest that Newsweek's proofreaders get a little sleep, before they effect any more typos...

Preparing for tomorrow's debate

To prepare for tomorrow's final debate (or boxing match, as William Safire likes to see it) between Kerry and Bush, read Paul Krugman's op-ed piece, "Checking the Facts, in Advance," in today's NY Times. Krugman reveals eight lies or distortions you'll hear from Bush, and the truth about each.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/12/opinion/12krugman.html

So THIS is how StuffIt works?

From an e-mail solicitation for the file compression program StuffiIt Deluxe:

"NEW One-Click compess and mail"

So maybe StuffIt compresses files by removing letters from words?

www.stuffit.com

Sinclair's incredible rationale

Mark Hyman, vice president of Sinclair Broadcast Group, which has ordered its 62 TV stations to air an anti-Kerry documentary next week called "Stolen Honor: Wounds that Never Heal," says the program is a "newsworthy event" designed to air the stories of Vietnam veterans who believe Kerry maligned them after he returned from Vietnam. "Our goal here is to get John Kerry to sit down and talk with these guys. Get a chance to tell them why he branded them as war criminals, why he accused them of committing war-time atrocities."

Yeah, right. That's also the goal behind Sinclair's contributing nearly $59,000 to the 2004 Bush campaign...

http://money.cnn.com/2004/10/12/news/newsmakers/sinclair_kerry/
index.htm?cnn=yes

Perhaps they're referring to the affective domain?

Headline in today's "The Daily Barometer":

"Gay marriage issue will have affect on Ohio State University"

http://barometer.orst.edu

Safire thinks the presidential race is a boxing match

In his op-ed column titled "How Bush Won Round 2" in today's NY Times, William Safire says, "The president won because he went in there with a theme spoken by the heavyweight champion Joe Louis, just before his 1946 rematch victory over the lighter, faster Billy Conn: 'He can run, but he can't hide.' (The Brown Bomber caught up with Conn in the eighth round of that first TV spectacular.)"

Safire's perception of who won the debate is as bizarre as his reason why. If George Bush is the Brown Bomber and John Kerry is the lighter, faster Billy Conn (who "can't hide" from Bush's clumsily thrown punches), then Safire must be the referee--and those of us who thought we were watching a civilized exchange of opinions and ideas were actually watching a boxing match (which might explain why the rest of the world views America as pugilistic).

The adage that every man has his price must be true. Mr. Safire, we hope they're paying you well.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/11/opinion/11safire.html?oref=login&th

Look what we're paying for now

A national museum of the U.S. Army. We kid you not. The cost: $200 million. Read about it: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/10/arts/design/10iovi.html?th

David Brooks' nightmare

Is it just us, or do all right-wingers sound like delusional paranoics? Despite the findings of the Duelfer Report, which concluded that Saddam Hussein merely dreamed of having weapons of mass destruction, NY Times columnist David Brooks still believes Hussein was "THE menace" (emphasis ours) whose dreams would have come true if we hadn't killed 10,000 Iraqis and let them kill more than 1,070 Americans (not to mention the thousands who have been injured and maimed by this unnecessary and futile war).

"We can argue about what would have been the best way to depose Saddam, but this report makes it crystal clear that this insatiable tyrant needed to be deposed. He was the menace, and, as the world dithered, he was winning his struggle. He was on the verge of greatness. We would all now be living in his nightmare."

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/09/opinion/9brooks.html?th

Quote of the day

In an editorial in today's NY Times, recapping last night's debate between Bush and Kerry:

"One of the uncommitted voters in the audience sensibly asked President Bush to name three mistakes he'd made in office, and what he had done to remedy the damage. Mr. Bush declined to list even one, and instead launched into an impassioned defense of the invasion of Iraq as a good idea."

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/09/opinion/9sat1.html?th

Quote of the day

"A leader who has the political power to pretend that he's infallible, and uses that power to avoid ever admitting mistakes, eventually makes mistakes so large that they can't be covered up." --Paul Krugman (NY Times, Friday, Oct. 8, 2004)

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/08/opinion/08krugman.html?th

"Bubbleboy" Bush

From today's Washington Post:

"Bush has held 15 solo news conferences since taking office. At the same point in their presidencies, according to research by Martha Joynt Kumar of Towson University in Maryland, Bill Clinton had held 42; George H.W. Bush, 83; Ronald Reagan, 26; Jimmy Carter, 59; Gerald R. Ford, 39; Richard M. Nixon, 29; Lyndon B. Johnson, 88; John F. Kennedy, 65; and Dwight D. Eisenhower, 94."

We're looking forward to seeing how Bubbleboy does in tonight's second debate with John Kerry--this time, in a "Town Hall" format with real voters asking real questions...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16131-2004Oct7.html?

See John Edwards in bikini briefs...

...in JibJab's "Good to Be in DC!" (parodying "I wish I was in Dixie"), their Webmation sequel to the hysterical "This Land."

http://www.jibjab.com/

Cheney, Halliburton, and the Lord

Perhaps this is one of the facts Dick Cheney wanted you to discover on "FactCheck.com" (see "Cheney puts foot in mouth..."):

"At an energy industry conference in 1996, Cheney said sanctions were the greatest threat to Halliburton and other American oil-related companies trying to expand overseas.

"'We seem to be sanction-happy as a government,' Cheney said. 'The problem is that the good Lord didn't see fit to always put oil and gas resources where there are democratic governments.'''

The Lord also apparently doesn't see fit to put rational or honest politicians where there are democratic governments.

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?flok=FF-APO-1131&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20041008%2F0854321693.htm&sc=1131

Temperature in hell drops to 32 degrees...

...and Bush and Cheney concede that Saddam had no WMDs. But the invasion of Iraq was still justified, you know, because Saddam was abusing a U.N. oil-for-food program. (So says Dr. Evil...er, we mean Dick Cheney.)

And John Edwards is just being a girlie man when he says, "You don't make up or find reasons to go to war after the fact."

http://www.comcast.net/News/DOMESTIC//XML/1107_AP_Online_
Regional___Middle_East/5270b9b5-82a3-4b3e-882d-44f8105310cb.html

Newsweek fails to catch Borowitz typos

Even though we informed Andy Borowitz that he had been blogged for his three typos in the Oct. 4 "Borowitz Report," he went ahead and let Newsweek reprint it, almost verbatim (it still contains two of the typos).

As of 2:33 p.m. (PDT) Thursday, October 7, it's still on-line, at
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6185094/site/newsweek/

Bush calls Kerry a "liberal"

In a speech yesterday in Wilkes-Barre, PA, George Bush called John Kerry "the single most liberal member of the Senate."

If Bush ever bothered to look up the word "liberal," he might realize the folly of using it as a pejorative. Meanwhile, Kerry should thank Bush for the compliment.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/07/politics/campaign/07bush.html?oref=login&th

Cheney puts foot in mouth, shoots self in foot

When Cheney gets a fact wrong, he really does it right. During the debate Tuesday night with John Edwards, Cheney responded to Edwards' comments about his ties with Halliburton by telling viewers, "If you go, for example, to FactCheck.com...you can get the specific details with respect to Halliburton."

Oops. FactCheck.com is sponsored by billionaire Bush-detractor George Soros. Among the facts Cheney's slip-up directed you to: "President Bush is endangering our safety, hurting our vital interests, and undermining American values."

Memo to Cheney: Maybe you meant FactCheck.ORG, a site run by the Annenberg Public Policy Center. But then again, maybe you didn't. Telling the truth--even inadvertently--may tip your karma balance enough to keep you out of hell.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12901-2004Oct6.html

Michigan Republicans want to arrest Michael Moore

Unbelievable.

"The Michigan Republican Party is asking four county prosecutors to file charges against filmmaker Michael Moore, charging that he illegally offered underwear, noodles and snacks to college students in exchange for their promise to vote."

Those Republicans sure are savvy when it comes to PR...think this will backfire on them, like their attempts to censor "Fahrenheit 9/11"?

http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=2393829&nav=0RceRgjo

This just in...for Bush, anyway

"The final report of the chief U.S. arms inspector concludes that Saddam Hussein did not vigorously pursue a program to develop weapons of mass destruction after international inspectors left Baghdad in 1998, according to lawmakers and others briefed on the report."

Think Bush will admit Iraq was a mistake now? Oh, that's right--Bush is just God's henchman.

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news/story.jsp?flok=FF-APO-1107&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20041006%2F1242189060.htm
&sc=1107&photoid=20041006WHCD101

Want some carbon monoxide with that mercury?

As if it's not enough that most tuna is tainted with mercury, now they're spraying fresh tuna sold in delis and sushi restaurants with--yum--carbon monoxide. Why? Because CO apparently keeps tuna looking fresh--even when it isn't. But don't worry; carbon monoxide is also found in wood smoke. So if you eat smoked fish, you're already eating carbon monoxide.

According to the NY Times, The Food and Drug Administration says the process is harmless. But Japan, Canada, and the countries of the European Union have banned the practice because of fears that it could be used to mask spoiled fish. In fact, says one CO distributor, "you could put it [CO-treated tuna] in the trunk of your car for a year, and it wouldn't turn brown."

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/06/dining/06TUNA.html?th

Republicans pull another fast one

House Republicans, led by--who else?--Tom DeLay, placed HR 163, the long-neglected "draft" bill co-sponsored by Democrat Charles Rangel, on last night's "suspension calendar" for an official vote. The suspension calendar is a little-used device that traditionally contains uncontroversial issues such as renaming post offices or recognizing volunteers. The goal, Republicans admitted, was to show voters that it's Democrats, not Republicans, who want to renew the draft. Readers of this blog know this is a lie: Rangel and cosponsors introduced the bill 18 months ago to raise awareness of who makes up most of the volunteer army and to stimulate debate about the Bush administration's military and economic policies.

Democrats refused to take the bait and the bill was defeated, 402 to 2.

We agree with Rangel: "It is so darn hypocritical for the Congress to come forward and put a [controversial] bill on the suspension calendar. "It's a shame that...this legislative body is being used as a political tool on the eve of elections."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9479-2004Oct5.html

Quote of the day

From today's Borowitz Report:

"Elsewhere, the networks broadcasting this Friday's second debate between Sen. John Kerry and President George W. Bush requested that they be allowed to air commercials during the pauses in Mr. Bush's answers."

Should be able to fit in a couple of infomercials, even...

www.borowitzreport.com

David Brooks speaks the truth--for a change

In his column in today's NY Times, right-wingnut David Brooks said, "...officials in this administration don't have a thought in their heads..."

Okay, it's out of context, but it's still true.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/05/opinion/05brooks.html?th

This video is outrageous

...in every sense of the word. It's provocative, hilarious, and...well, outrageous. It's a highly condensed summation of the Republican National Convention, edited into a stream of rapid-fire cuts of Bush, Cheney, Giuliani, Schwarzenneger, et al uttering the words "terror," "terrorism," "global terrorism," "September 11," "weapons of mass destruction," and "Saddam Hussein" over and over and over...and over.

Check it out at http://home.earthlink.net/~houval/gopconstrm.mov

New "intelligence" chief makes first stupid blunder

Porter J. Goss apparently forgot that he is head of the Central INTELLIGENCE Agency when he named a convicted shoplifter as CIA executive director. Michael V. Kostiw withdrew from consideration yesterday after the Washington Post revealed that he had been caught stealing a $2.13 package of bacon in 1981--while he was a CIA case officer.

Well, Goss tried to warn us (see our blog of Thursday, Sept. 16, 2004)...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6122-2004Oct4.html

Get the lead out!

In today's Washington Post:

"Cities across the country are manipulating the results of tests used to detect lead in water, violating federal law and putting millions of Americans at risk of drinking more of the contaminant than their suppliers are reporting."

So when you receive that annual report from your city's water bureau telling you everything is hunky dory, be skeptical. And get a water filter on your faucet.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7094-2004Oct4.html

A big price, indeed

Ambassador L. Paul Bremer, former administrator for the U.S. occupation of Iraq, said the U.S. made two major mistakes with Iraq: not deploying enough troops and then not containing the violence and looting immediately after taking Baghdad.

"We paid a big price for not stopping it because it established an atmosphere of lawlessness," he said yesterday in a speech at an insurance conference in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. "We never had enough troops on the ground."

We also never had enough brains in the White House...to realize we never should have been in Iraq in the first place.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7053-2004Oct4.html

Bush's hometown newspaper endorses Kerry

Four years ago, the Crawford, Texas, newspaper "The Lone Star Iconoclast" endorsed Bush. How things have changed. Here are excerpts from an editorial that appeared recently in the newspaper:

"Four items trouble us the most about the Bush administration: his initiatives to disable the Social Security system, the deteriorating state of the American economy, a dangerous shift away from the basic freedoms established by our founding fathers, and his continuous mistakes regarding terrorism and Iraq."

"When examined based on all the facts, Kerry’s voting record is enviable and echoes that of many Bush allies who are aghast at how the Bush administration has destroyed the American economy. Compared to Bush on economic issues, Kerry would be an arch-conservative, providing for Americans first. He has what it takes to right our wronged economy."

Anyone out there know whom Kerry's hometown newspaper endorses?

http://news.iconoclast-texas.com/web/Columns/Editorial/
editorial39.htm"

We wondered what that noise was...

From TechNewsWorld (www.TechNewsWorld.com):

"Scientists think they have found the source of a mysterious hum that reverberates through the Earth, too low for human ears to hear.

"They used to think it came from earthquakes; a big quake will set the whole planet ringing like a bell. But even when there are no big quakes, the hum continues, a slow, steady slosh of waves around the planet.

"Now, with instruments in California and Japan, scientists have pinpointed the source. The hum, they say, starts in the oceans, when winter storms whip the waves into a frenzy."

And here we thought those inaudible sounds were coming from something invisible...

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/37013.html

Et tu, Mother Jones?

From today's MoJournal (an e-newsletter from Mother Jones Magazine), further proof that even liberal editors need editors:

"This year, Bush is spending only $100 million on train security. Know how it would take to burn through that in Iraq?" (Julian Brookes, Editor, MotherJones.com)

Borowitz ups the ante

Is Andy Borowitz testing us, mocking us, or just being human? In today's Borowitz Report we found not one, not two, but three typos. See if you can spot them:

1. "Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry kept President Bush on the defensive today, telling a Pittsburgh audience that Mr. Bush had allowed the long-dormant volcano Mount St. Helens to erupt on his watch, adiing that he would 'fix Mount St. Helens once and for all' if elected in November."

2. and 3. "After accusing Mr. Bush of being 'in denial' about 'the molten magama stewing inside that scary sucker,' Mr. Bush fired back, saying that it would be 'sending the wrong message' to say that Mr. St. Helens was erupting."

http://www.borowitzreport.com/

Quote of the day

In today's NY Times: "Over strenuous objections from the Bush administration, Congress is moving to increase protections for federal employees who expose fraud, waste and wrongdoing inside the government."

Now let's see...why would the Bushies not want to increase protection for whistleblowers...hmmm...

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/03/politics/03whistle.html?th

So, why isn't Dick Cheney going to prison?

From today's NY Times: "A former top Air Force official [Darleen A. Druyun] was sentenced to nine months in prison on Friday after acknowledging that she had favored the Boeing Company in multibillion-dollar Pentagon contracts while seeking jobs at the company for herself and family."

We guess Dick Cheney isn't joining Ms. Druyun because he already worked for Halliburton...

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/02/business/02boeing.html?th

Tom DeLay: Two strikes, no balls

With House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) involved in several ethics cases and investigations, another setback could substantially weaken the lawmaker's ability to champion Republican causes and candidates...and, we hope, send him back to Texas along with GW.

According to the Washington Post, "A lot of members on Capitol Hill believe in the concept of 'three strikes, you're out,' " said Fred Wertheimer, a longtime advocate of public ethics and president of Democracy 21. "And Mr. DeLay has two strikes and a third case pending."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1572-2004Oct1.html

Nice try, Microsoft

Is Microsoft as lame as this makes them sound? And can they be serious about filing an appeal?

MICROSOFT LOSES PATENT BATTLE
In a victory for "open source" advocates, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has rejected a Microsoft application for a patent on a system called File Allocation Table (FAT), which lets people create and find files on a computer using easy-to-remember names. The reason for the rejection is that the technology in question is already widely used throughout the industry. Independent patent expert Greg Aharonian comments: "It's like getting a patent on cheesecake." Microsoft plans to file an appeal. (AP/USA Today 1 Oct 2004)

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2004-10-01-fat-patent-rejected

Will we lose our allies?

In his column in today's NY Times, Paul Krugman predicted that if Bush gets "a second term" (not "re-elected," because one must be elected in order to be re-elected), we will soon have no democracies left among our allies--including Britain. Indeed, an article in today's Washington Post quotes Emma Burnell of the Fabian Society, a venerable Labor Party research group, as saying that Britons are longing for a "Love Actually" moment, referring to the scene in last year's romantic comedy in which the British prime minister (played by Hugh Grant) dresses down an arrogant American president (Billy Bob Thornton) at a news conference. And Pauline Neville-Jones, a former chairman of the British government's top-secret Joint Intelligence Committee, is worried that the alliance between Britain and the U.S. won't survive, because "There is a wide perception this is an America we don't particularly like."

Same here, Ms. Jones, same here.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A63510-2004Sep30.html?

Slow down there, Ms. Cahill

From an e-mail this morning from Mary Beth Cahill, campaign manager of the Kerry-Edwards campaign:

"Right now we need you contact the media and speak your mind."

Articulately, we assume...

Hey! That's discrimination!

Apparently the employer who wrote this job announcement is looking for an editor who is married. They shouldn't be so picky--a single editor probably could have caught this error just as well.

"Director of New Media & Wed Editor" (Colorado College, CO)

http://chronicle.com/jobs/id.php?id=303105&pg=e