Nice site with the world-vote.
Bush manages to get a fabulous 10% in Europe, dropping even further to 4% in Germany (even though the numberof participants really isn't big enough to give meaningful results).
IDIC
by kukalaka » Fri Sep 03, 2004 7:21 pm
by justin » Sat Sep 04, 2004 12:09 am
Quote:
Kerry now trails Bush in number of electoral votes projected. The mud slung at Kerry by republicans is making up more minds than actual facts.
Electoral Vote Predictor 2004: Kerry 242 Bush 280
When I last posted the electoral breakdown from this site on Aug 10th it was: Kerry 307 Bush 231
"VOOM"?!? Mate, this bird wouldn't "voom" if you put four million volts through it! 'E's bleedin' demised! - The Parrot Sketch
by sam7777 » Tue Sep 07, 2004 11:27 am
And another Bushism: A New Problem, or The WrongQuote:
70 percent of women who think Mr. Bush is more likeable than their husbands prefer John Kerry.
•
52 percent of people with wall-to-wall carpeting dislike Mr. Bush's plan for redecorating Iraq.
•
98 percent of people who are hearing-impaired like 50 percent of what they hear from Mr. Bush.
Bush is not the candidate for people who care about gay rights nor is he the candidate for people who care about spelling and grammar.Quote:
The God-fearing folk of this rural hamlet must have been mighty scandalized Monday evening when President Bush dropped by to tell them about a previously unappreciated problem.
"We've got an issue in America," the president said in discussing the need to limit malpractice awards. "Too many good docs are getting out of business. Too many OB/GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country."
For Bush, it was the second time in three days that he announced an unintended policy position. In Erie, Pa., on Saturday, he said: "I went to the Congress last September and proposed fundamental -- supplemental funding, which is money for armor and body parts and ammunition and fuel."
Presumably he meant "money for body armor and parts."
_____________________
I still see dead lesbian cliches
by urnofosiris » Tue Sep 07, 2004 11:36 am
by Gatito Grande » Tue Sep 07, 2004 5:00 pm
] by sam7777 » Tue Sep 07, 2004 5:08 pm
Of course, they still won't endorse Kerry since they still want to pretend that they are part of a party that despises them. More fool they.Quote:
The Republican Party's largest gay and lesbian organization, which endorsed President Bush in 2000, is withholding its endorsement of the president for re-election because of his support for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.
The national board of Log Cabin Republicans voted 22-2 Tuesday night to hold back the endorsement and called Bush "disloyal" to the 1 million gay men and lesbian women who it said supported his candidacy four years ago.
Though I don't like Kerry's stand on gay marriage, there is no denying that he has an excellent record on GLBT issues:Quote:
“Four years ago, President Bush promised us that he would be a “Uniter, Not a Divider.” A President who would work to protect the rights of all Americans. Now, four years later, after countless attacks on gay and lesbian Americans, it is crystal clear that Bush has misled the American people. Instead of working to unite all Americans, the President has divided our country.
“In contrast to President Bush’s politics of division, John Kerry will be a president for all Americans, Republican and Democrat, gay and straight. He will continue to fight for the rights of gays and lesbians just as he will fight for the rights of all Americans.
“The GLBT community is focused on defeating a president who believes gays and lesbians can be fired from their jobs simply because of their sexual orientation. We welcome all GLBT Americans—regardless of party affiliation—to be a part of our effort to defeat Bush and elect the most pro-gay, pro-family ticket in the history of presidential politics—John Kerry and John Edwards.”
While I wish the Democrats and Kerry took a better stand on gay marriage, they are far and away the only choice for people who care about gay rights IMHO. When folks say you should not select a candidate on one issue, I'd say I could when that one issue means my civil rights and avoiding a hostile government. Though really I could easily add the Iraq war, bad diplomacy and fiscal mismanamgement to the mix. And this editorial from the Muslim American Society is quite apt on Bush's fundamentalism:Quote:
On domestic issues, Kerry has consistently voted against the death penalty and just as consistently voted for abortion to be legally protected. His votes also show him to be a strong supporter of federal protection of gay and lesbian rights.
Check out the link for the rest of it.Quote:
This is the great thing about rabid fundamentalism. You really just don't have to give a damn.
Take the environment. I mean, isn't it just a little pointless to care so damn deeply about the air and the soil and the water and the stupid little disposable animals on this silly spinning ball of expendable rock when the Second Coming is imminent and a blood-soaked fire-breathin' Jesus who looks remarkably like Mel Gibson will return very soon to smite the heathens and the gays and the vegetarians and the Francophiles, and who will rescue all those who worship patriarchy and country music and blue-chip oil portfolios? You're goddamn right it is.
Look. This much has become clear. Bush is, more than anything else, an extreme fundamentalist Christian. He is widely regarded as the most openly pious and sanctimonious president in modern American history. He actually preaches the GOP screed in evangelical churches across America. He panders so slavishly to the anti-choicers and the Bible-thumpers and the homophobes it makes Jerry Falwell swoon and giggle.
_____________________
I still see dead lesbian cliches
at: 9/8/04 4:24 pmby Warduke » Wed Sep 08, 2004 10:31 pm
Quote:
Democrats Say Bush Lied on Guard Service
By MATT KELLEY, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - Democrats pounced on the latest revelations about President Bush's Air National Guard service Wednesday, saying newly released records show Bush shirked his duty and lied about it.
Bush's spokesmen said the records back up the president's assertion that he fulfilled all of his Vietnam-era military obligations and served honorably.
Meanwhile, the Texas Air National Guard released 128 pages of records on Bush's service from 1968 to 1973, all of which had been previously released by the White House. Two Texas officials said in sworn affidavits that the records were all the Texas Guard had on Bush's service.
CBS reported Wednesday night that it had obtained personal files from one of Bush's Texas commanders saying Bush discussed with him how to avoid drills during 1972. The report on "60 Minutes" said the files were from the personal records of Col. Jerry Killian, who died in 1984.
In the memos, Killian complained of pressure from higher-ups to give Bush positive evaluations and said Bush talked about how to avoid taking a physical exam in 1972, when Bush eventually skipped six months of training and lost his pilot's wings for missing the exam.
After the broadcast, the White House, without comment, released to the news media two of the memos, one ordering Bush to report for his physical exam and the other suspending him from flight status.
With national security and the war on terrorism looming large on voters' minds, supporters of Bush and Democratic nominee John Kerry are attacking each candidate's Vietnam War records. Republicans have accused Kerry, a decorated Vietnam combat veteran, of fabricating the events which led to his five medals. Democrats point to gaps in Bush's stateside Air National Guard service in 1972 and 1973 to say Bush shirked his duty.
The Defense Department on Tuesday released more than two dozen pages of records about Bush and his former Texas unit. They showed Bush flew for 336 hours in military jets after his flight training and ranked in the middle of his class.
The latest records do not shed any light on key questions about Bush's service: whether or where he trained in late 1972 and early 1973, why he skipped a required medical exam and whether he was investigated or punished for skipping the exam and six months' worth of training in 1972.
Pentagon officials said they discovered the documents released Tuesday while performing a more comprehensive search "out of an abundance of caution" in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by The Associated Press.
The newly released records also showed that while Bush says he was in Alabama training with another Guard unit in 1972, his home unit in Texas was participating in the air defense of the southern United States by keeping two jet fighters constantly ready for launch within five minutes' notice.
Democrats said that meant Bush passed on a chance to defend his country. Bush flew the F-102A jets his unit kept on alert but was grounded in August 1972 because of the missed medical check.
"When his unit was placed on a 24-hour alert mission to protect our country from surprise attack, why did George Bush not report for duty?" Democratic National Committee head Terry McAuliffe said in a conference call with reporters Wednesday.
McAuliffe also suggested Bush lied when he said he had released all available records and had fulfilled his Guard obligations.
"Either George Bush was deliberately lying to the American public or he had some type of very severe memory loss," McAuliffe said.
Bush spokesmen scoffed. They said the Pentagon had not done the extensive search Bush ordered and noted that Bush had approval to train in late 1972 with an Alabama unit.
"If the president had not fulfilled his commitment he would not have been honorably discharged," Bush spokesman Scott McClellan said Wednesday.
Adding to the criticism of Bush, a group called Texans for Truth announced an advertising campaign questioning whether Bush ever trained with the Alabama Air National Guard. The advertisement, set to run in several swing states, quotes a retired lieutenant colonel in the Alabama unit who says he searched for Bush but never met him in 1972 or 1973.
Bob Mintz is another of more than a dozen former members of the 187th Tactical Reconnaissance Group who say they never saw Bush train with the unit. Medical records released by the White House show Bush received a dental exam at the 187th base in January 1973.
"I never met the man and I'm sorry I didn't because he's somebody important," Mintz, 63, said in a conference call with reporters Wednesday. Mintz acknowledged Bush could have performed office duties for the 187th without crossing paths with Mintz.
The 128 pages of documents the Texas Air National Guard released to the AP on Wednesday duplicate records Bush released in February. The release also included sworn statements from Texas National Guard officials Travis Evans and Michael Blalock saying the records are the only ones related to Bush in the Texas Guard's files.
by Hemiola » Thu Sep 09, 2004 8:15 am
by The Partisan » Thu Sep 09, 2004 7:24 pm
by maudmac » Thu Sep 09, 2004 10:40 pm
today i just want someone to entertain me
by sam7777 » Thu Sep 09, 2004 11:05 pm
In any case, Bush as president will certainly affect everyone whether you live in the US or not. Like GG says giving up and resigning yourself will only ensure a Bush victory. So what if Kerry isn't an ideal candidate and is running a lousy campaign? He is still both a better man and a better leader than Bush and I fully support him for that and will continue to try to get others to vote for him. Bush will not be defeated if you vote for Nader or anyone else. What is important is that Bush should not get a second term and Kerry is the only person who can potentially get enough votes to defeat him. The Republicans love to trumpet these number to encourage people to stay home defeated will their base goes out and vote for Bush. This is too important to just give up.Quote:
It's a subject that stirs the emotional pot, and something people obviously want to talk about but seem afraid to do so:
Has the right wing of the Republican Party not only hijacked the American flag and patriotism but Jesus Christ as well?
If so, how did it happen? And why aren't mainstream Christians screaming bloody murder?
Judging by the large, thoughtful response to my Aug. 1 column that questioned where Christianity is going, I'm hardly alone in my distress. We mainstream Christians went into a Rip Van Winkle slumber, while our conservative neighbors busily turned God and the flag into a righteous partnership.
How easy it was after Sept. 11 for the religious right to grow in numbers and influence as it redefined the true meaning of Christianity, made hate, fear and revenge sound virtuous and promised that, with God, we (good) will triumph over them (evil).
A lot of you apparently grew up as I did. As a Christian, you believed that more could be accomplished with love than with hate. What mattered was helping the downtrodden and loving your fellow man. Now, with a blurred definition of Christianity, you can't be a true believer without being devoted to a war that is worth nearly 1,000 American lives (so far) because my God is better than your God.
I lamented in my last column about how the changing nature of religion was affecting the image of ordinary churchgoers - most of us. There is a tendency today to throw all churchgoers into the same pot with the religious right. Therefore, we're George Bush voters, we support the Iraqi war and we hate gays and lesbians. (Several Bible-pounding e-mailers scolded me, "We don't hate homosexuals; we join God in hating their sin." )
A number of readers wrote that "you insincere Christians" can help the poor and do all the good deeds you want. But that won't get you into Heaven. Only following Scripture - "the final word on everything" - and accepting Jesus Christ as your savior will ensure a heavenly afterlife, they lectured.
The churchgoers I respect don't help the less fortunate and engage in acts of kindness to earn their "ticket" (as one letter-writer put it) to Heaven. They do it because it's the decent thing to do. There shouldn't be any other motive.
In my view, we mainstream Christians have sunk to a new low by allowing, in our silence, the religious right and our government to use Jesus and the church as political pawns to validate an unnecessary war.
When the number were bad for the Republicans, they said only the number on Nov 2 matter. I say the same for Kerry. Conventional wisdom goes out of the door for this election. Anything can happen between now and Nov 2 to tip the balance.Quote:
Democratic lawmakers and state party leaders say Sen. John Kerry's presidential candidacy is now at a turning point similar to the one he faced last fall when his primary campaign was faltering and all but given up for dead.
His sagging poll numbers, lukewarm appeal to independent voters and a stance on Iraq that many Democrats find baffling are raising questions as to when Kerry will display his reputation as a top notch closer.
Most believe that with seven weeks before Election Day there is still plenty of time, but they say Kerry should stand for something more than simply not being Bush.
"There's an awful lot of people who don't like President Bush but don't like John Kerry enough to vote for him for president," said Sen. John Breaux, a Louisiana Democrat who has advised the Kerry team. "He has to establish a confidence factor and ability to relate to people ... That's the challenge.
"What's the future going to be under a Kerry presidency?"
With party figures dispensing helpful hints with the frequency of a Dear Abby column, one test of Kerry's candidacy will be how well he picks his way through often conflicting advice and a changing cast of advisers. Various Democrats want him to sharpen his attack on Bush, to stress Iraq, to emphasize the economy, to stop talking about Vietnam or to talk more about Vietnam.
Like last fall, Kerry has revamped his high command. Then he fired his campaign manager. This time he has brought in veteran Massachusetts operative John Sasso to be his traveling strategist. He also has beefed up his senior staff with former Clinton advisers, such as Joe Lockhart, who served as White House spokesman.
_____________________
I still see dead lesbian cliches
at: 9/9/04 10:25 pmby Triscuit7 » Fri Sep 10, 2004 5:16 am
******************
Do something totally irrational and let the enemy think himself to death. (Pyanfar Chanur)
by The Partisan » Fri Sep 10, 2004 3:00 pm
by sam7777 » Fri Sep 10, 2004 5:55 pm
ETA: What happned in Canada is just one example of how the Bushies pissed away the support we got after 9/11 and alienated allied to make it harder to deal with terrorism and thus hurt security in the US:Quote:
IN A 1999 interview, then-Gov. George W. Bush responded to a question about tolerance toward discriminated-against groups, including homosexuals, by saying, “I think that each person ought to be judged by their heart and by their soul and by their contribution to society. Group-thought will ‘Balkanize’ our society, and I have rejected the politics of pitting one group of personas against another.”
It is hard to imagine that so much can change so quickly. That change was reflected in a Republican National Convention grounded in “group-thought” and a political calculation to pit Americans against each other.
The contrast between the two party conventions could not have been starker. It is a contrast that showed itself long before the conventions were formally convened.
Leading up to the convention, the Democratic platform committee set forth a statement of principles endorsing inclusion and condemning discrimination.
Those principles were reflected at the convention by the participation of Americans from all walks of life, including gay and lesbian delegates. I was honored when the Democratic National Committee named me the first out gay vice chair of any national political party convention.
JOHN KERRY, RECOGNIZING that gay and lesbian Americans care about the same issues that all Americans are concerned with — health care, jobs, quality education and a clean environment —asked me to deliver opening night remarks on the issue of health care.
The symbolism of the moment was not lost on me. That night, standing on the shoulders of gay men and lesbians throughout America, I spoke to all Americans of our common concern.
Anyone watching the convention could see a true picture of the “face of America.” Delegates included small business owners and workers, young and old, and people of all social, financial, religious and ethnic backgrounds, as well as many from the LGBT community.
A sign of the home our community has found in the Democratic Party could be seen in the extraordinary turnout for the LGBT caucus. More than 300 conventioneers gathered to celebrate our active role in the party.
Americans watching the convention received a clear message that all are welcome in the Democratic Party, and that John Kerry values each and every American.
THE SPIRIT AT the GOP convention was quite different.
In an atmosphere of “group-thought” and a climate hostile to LGBT Americans, the Republican platform committee — filled with representatives from extremist organizations — rejected the efforts of the Log Cabin Republicans and their supporters to include a unity plank in their platform.
The simple statement of inclusion was rejected in favor of platform language that conservative columnist Robert Novak wrote was “dictated by Bush.”
For four nights, the GOP that used to say it had a “big tent” decried dissent on the war and challenged the patriotism of every American who has spoken out against the actions of the Bush administration.
Repeated references to Sept. 11 never mentioned the extraordinary sacrifices of gay and lesbian Americans during that national crisis, from New York Fire Department chaplain Father Mychal Judge, to Carol Flyzik and Mark Bingham, and so many more.
Many of these victims left behind longtime partners and families who sacrificed as well. But instead of recognizing the value of those relationships, the president chose to use his convention speech to equate respect for LGBT families with a threat to the institution of marriage.
ONE AMERICAN WHO felt quite at home at the convention was conservative columnist Alan Keyes, the GOP candidate for the U.S. Senate in Illinois, who was quick to label the vice president’s daughter a “selfish hedonist,” rhetoric that President Bush declined to condemn.
Is it any wonder that Mary Cheney decided not to join her family on stage?
As her father and George W. Bush launched their campaign, they made it clear to all Americans that theirs was a party of division and hostility.
John Kerry and John Edwards welcomed all to join them. They are proud to stand with all of us.
The choice for LGBT voters has often been clear, but never before have the stakes been so high.
Quote:
Three years ago, Canada mourned with the United States following the 9/11 attacks but now sympathy has permuted to a sense of scorn, suspicion and anger towards their powerful neighbour.
According to a poll carried out by the National Post here on the third anniversary of 9/11, an overwhelming number of respondents, 91.4 per cent, felt that the US reaction to Canada’s decision not to send troops to Iraq had led to the situation where there is suspicion and open scorn of the US in Canada, feelings that would have seemed unimaginable three years ago when Canadians shed tears for their neighbour in the wake of the twin tower attacks.
The inability of the US to learn any lessons from 9/11, US President George W. Bush’s use of it to justify the attack on Iraq and US accusations that Canada is a haven for terrorism were also cited as the reasons for the change in Canadian hearts.
"The Americans have so insulated themselves from the rest of the world that it is impossible for them to understand that others may not necessarily feel the same way as them," says Diane McMurphy, a senior educator, who strongly recommends the controversial movie, Fahrenheit 911, to anyone who wishes to understand Bush’s persona and his motives for attacking Iraq.
"What is he talking about?" exclaims Ahlam Ara, an Arab-Canadian as she watches Bush on television on the eve of 9/11, asserting that had Kerry been in his chair, Saddam would still be in power. "What did Bush prove by capturing Saddam? There were no WMDs hidden in Iraq. Instead it is the US which has killed over 30,000 Iraqis ever since it invaded that country," she said. Ahlam Ara too has seen Fahrenheit 9/11, a documentary which appears to have vocalized the widespread resentment against Bush.
The raw, unrestrained anti-Americanism is so strong that cars carrying US flags- a trend here following 9/11 to show solidarity and sympathy with that country-now come under ridicule. Last year, a team of 12-year-old hockey players from Massachusetts, in Montreal for a hockey event, were hounded out of town by anti-Iraq war demonstrators who pounced on their bus, emblazoned with American colours, as it arrived in the city.
The anti-US sentiments are riding high among parliamentarians as well. Recently, Toronto MP Carolyn Parrish, publicly expressed her disdain for the "coalition of the idiots" who back the US missile defence plan. Several other MPs arrived in Ottawa for a recent caucus meeting to say the Government should wait out the November presidential vote before making decisions on controversial issues like the missile shield.
Consider this-one month after 9/11, a poll of 1,400 Canadians commissioned by the Association of Canadian Studies found that 78 per cent of those surveyed had a "favourable" opinion of the US, compared to only 14 per cent with an "unfavourable" opinion. By 2003, those numbers had changed: Favourable feelings were down to 62 per cent while more than a third of everyone surveyed -- 36 per cent -- expressed negative views of Canada's closest neighbour and ally.
_____________________
I still see dead lesbian cliches
at: 9/13/04 2:02 pmby BBOvenGuy » Mon Sep 13, 2004 11:14 pm
Such are the times we live in... "The stories we tell - that's us explaining how we think the world works. Once we speak it, once we say it aloud, that makes it real for us - and real for everyone else who hears it too. When we tell a story, we invite people to visit our reality. We invite them to move in. Our stories are the reality we live in." - David Gerrold, The Martian Child
Edited by: BBOvenGuy
at: 9/13/04 10:15 pmby Gatito Grande » Mon Sep 13, 2004 11:44 pm
Quote:
Outgoing commander questions U.S. strategy on Falluja
A man in Falluja inspects damage to his house after U.S. airstrikes bombed the insurgent stronghold Monday.
FALLUJA, Iraq (CNN) -- A former U.S. Marine commander of forces in western Iraq says he was opposed to the method and timing of the U.S. response to attacks on Americans last spring in the Sunni Muslim stronghold of Falluja.
Marine Lt. Gen. James T. Conway said Sunday that he was ordered to attack parts of the city west of Baghdad after insurgents ambushed and killed four U.S. contractors March 31.
After the media showed images of the contractors' dismembered bodies suspended from a bridge over the Euphrates River, the U.S.-led coalition began planning a way to end anti-American insurgent activity in Falluja.
"We felt like we had a method that we wanted to apply to Falluja and thought we ought to let the situation settle before we appeared to be attacking out of revenge," Conway said.
Conway made his comments shortly after relinquishing his command at a ceremony at Marine headquarters outside Falluja.
"Would our system have been better, would we have been able to bring over the people of Falluja with our methods? You'll never know that for sure," Conway said.
The Marines took control of western Iraq in March from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division. The Army had generally left Falluja alone, and Conway and his Marines planned to use reconstruction and civil affairs projects to win support among Iraqis in that volatile part of the country.
A three-day pounding of the city in April by the Marines was ordered to stop by Conway's superior, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, who was then commander of all U.S. forces in Iraq, paving the way for the creation of the Falluja Brigade, made up of former Iraqi soldiers from the city.
Conway questioned the decision Sunday. "When you order elements of a Marine division to attack a city, you really need to understand what the consequences of that will be and not vacillate in the middle of something like that," he said. "Once you commit, you have to stay committed."
The creation of the Falluja Brigade also fell on Conway through Sanchez's orders. While the brigade had high hopes from Iraqis, it got little accomplished, and reports of soldiers mixing with insurgents eventually led to the end of the brigade.
The Falluja Brigade, labeled by Conway as an experiment, was dissolved last week, and former members were offered a chance to join the Iraqi army.
"You had to have a force that came from Falluja in order for it to be accepted by the people," Conway said. "Because they were from the local area, they were emasculated as far as their ability to do something very aggressive."
The United States gave the Falluja Brigade thousands of uniforms, hundreds of weapons and dozens of radios and trucks. The Marines have asked for them to be returned, and the brigade's former commander has agreed, but there are reports that much of the material is now in the hands of insurgents.
The U.S. Marines remain out of the city, and fighting continues.
Conway said the U.S. military could "crush the city in four days," though he contends that that will not be the way things are done.
Iraqi forces will be the next soldiers to set foot in the city with U.S. support, Conway said, adding that he doesn't know what the immediate future holds.
"I don't know if the Iraqi security forces are capable of making it better," he said. "There is a police force in Falluja, but I think it's very much compromised and is subject to anti-Iraqi forces in the city. But I think in the end there will be a fight in or around Falluja."
Out (Hey, speaking of which: has anybody heard from Aaron? 
)by sam7777 » Wed Sep 15, 2004 12:59 pm
Personally I don't think that either cadidate will win by a margin larger than a couple of points. Kerry has another chance during the debates to make an impact.Quote:
WASHINGTON – More than a week after the Republican National Convention - and in the wake of new questions about President Bush's National Guard service - the race for the White House is once again tightening, just as pollsters and strategists for both campaigns had predicted it would.
A new Monitor/TIPP poll finds Mr. Bush and Sen. John Kerry currently tied among likely voters nationwide, with each receiving 47 percent of the vote in a two-man race, and each receiving 46 percent when independent candidate Ralph Nader is added to the ballot. The poll of 674 likely voters was conducted Sept. 7-12, and has a margin of error of 4 percent.
Immediately following the GOP convention, polls showed Bush with a lead of anywhere from 7 to 11 points. But that bounce seems to be fading, as more recent polls cut Bush's lead down to 4 or 5 points (though an AP poll this week still showed Bush up by 8). Analysts attribute the shift in large part to a natural tightening as the convention glow wears off. It may also reflect a more recent series of challenges for the president - from the renewed controversy over whether he fulfilled his National Guard commitments during Vietnam to the escalating violence in Iraq as US fatalities passed the 1,000 mark. Senator Kerry has ramped up his attacks, too, focusing this week on issues such as the expiration of the assault weapons ban, and healthcare.
ETA2: I really hate this election. I hate to think that Bush who refuses to reach beyond his base can be elected. A president should reach out to as many people as he can. That is what Kerry is trying to do and yet people call that a mistake while Bush's unverified attacks on Kerry's war service (by his swift boat buds, two of which worked for his campiagn) is considered sharp campaign strategy? That sucks and that is wrong. The Republicans want us to think that Bush got a big bounce from the convention but as the two articles I posted above show that's not true. And those aren't the only two polls that say the same. Zogby and Anneberg agree that there was minimal to no bounce. So why is the press trumpetting Bush's big "lead" and all of Kerry's "mistakes'. Good question. The big media corporations like Fox and Viacom certainly have the Bush administration to thank for raising the ownership cap so they didn't have to lose parts of their media empires. The republican strategy has been clear from the start: turn out the base and discourtage the rest. Run a dirty campaign to turn off progressives and use Nader to siphon away votes for Kerry. The Republican strategy came out in clear view In Michigan:Quote:
President George W. Bush's approval rating declined to 44 percent from 56 percent among undecided voters since the Republican National Convention, a poll by the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center found.
Bush, 58, leads Democratic presidential challenger John Kerry in polls after the Aug. 30-Sept. 2 convention. His favorable ratings on key issues in the Annenberg poll fell among voters who haven't decided whom to support or who aren't committed to a candidate.
``On a number of points, Bush lost ground on persuadable voters'' as the convention faded into memory, said Adam Clymer, the Philadelphia-based center's political director.
Bush's strength remains the war on terror: 54 percent of registered voters polled Sept. 3-12 said the president would do a better job than Kerry fighting terrorism; 36 percent picked Kerry, 60, a four-term Massachusetts senator. Among uncommitted voters, 47 percent said Bush would do a better job fighting terrorism and 23 percent picked Kerry.
The poll found 32 percent of uncommitted, or ``persuadable,'' voters approved of Bush's handling of the economy and 63 percent disapproved. In August, 39 percent approved and 54 percent disapproved. Bush's approval rating among these voters dipped from 56 percent in August to 44 percent in September.
The September survey of 2,385 registered voters had a margin of error of 2 percentage points. There were 448 persuadable voters in the sample; the margin of error for them was 5 percentage points.
In an earlier survey of 5,146 registered voters Aug. 9-29, before the Republican convention, the margin of error was 1 percentage point. That sample included 926 persuadable voters, which had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
The president's ratings among registered voters changed little after the convention, the poll found. Fifty-two percent approved of Bush's performance in office in September, compared with 53 percent in August. Forty-five percent approved of his handling of the economy this month, compared with 46 percent a month earlier.
Yeah right.Quote:
Before passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, "voter intimidation was the handiwork of the Democratic Party" in the what was then the "Solid South," Bond recalled. But that has changed in recent decades as white Republicans gained power in the region's state legislatures and county commissions.
"Although voter intimidation has not historically been confined to a single political party, we are increasingly concerned about recent incidents indicating that Republican officials may be planning to challenge voters this year based on race," said Neas.
But the report made clear that the concerns are not confined to the South. For instance, it cites John Pappageorge, a Republican state representative from Troy, Mich., as telling the Detroit Free Press, "If we do not suppress the Detroit vote, we're going to have a tough time in this election." African Americans comprise 83 percent of Detroit's population. He later explained that he meant "you get it [the Detroit vote] down with a good message" and was not implying by racial suppression.
_____________________
I still see dead lesbian cliches
at: 9/15/04 1:56 pmby Gatito Grande » Wed Sep 15, 2004 7:49 pm
Quote:
"If we do not suppress the Detroit vote, we're going to have a tough time in this election." African Americans comprise 83 percent of Detroit's population. He later explained that he meant "you get it [the Detroit vote] down with a good message" and was not implying by racial suppression.
Out by sam7777 » Thu Sep 16, 2004 3:38 pm
Poll Shows Bush, Kerry in Virtual Tie (subscription)Quote:
Thu Sep 16, 2004 04:45 PM ET
Two national polls on Thursday showed the race between President Bush and Democrat John Kerry deadlocked again as Bush's convention bounce faded, although the president has made headway in key swing states.
In polls certain to buoy the spirits of anxious Democrats, the Pew Research Center and Harris Interactive found equal levels of support for the two White House contenders as Kerry's support rebounded from the withering attacks he faced at the Republican convention that ended on Sept. 2.
The new surveys followed two other polls in recent days, by Investor's Business Daily and a Democratic group, Democracy Corps, that found the race essentially even again, just as it was for months before the two parties held their nominating conventions.
Neither candidate will beat the other my more than a few % points in the election. It will be close. The best proof of the imaginary Bush lead is the actions of the Bush campaign which never acted like they were ahead because they really weren't.Quote:
Posted on Thu, Sep. 16, 2004
The GOP convention gave President Bush a double-digit lead, but the race has settled into a virtual tie with voters still worried about the economy and Iraq, according to polling by the Pew Research Center.
The first of two national polls by Pew, done Sept. 8-10, reflected the president's post-convention bounce. Bush was ahead of Democrat John Kerry 52-40 among registered voters and by an even wider margin, 54-39, among likely voters, a narrower group.
By the second poll, done Sept. 11-14, the Bush lead had evaporated. In that poll, Bush and Kerry were knotted at 46 percent among registered voters. Among likely voters, Bush was at 47 percent and Kerry at 46 percent.
_____________________
I still see dead lesbian cliches
by Kieli » Fri Sep 17, 2004 5:35 pm
Quote:
Fla. Supreme Court Puts Nader on Ballot
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Ralph Nader (news - web sites) is back on Florida's ballot — probably for good this time.
The Florida Supreme Court (news - web sites) ruled 6-1 Friday that he can run as the Reform Party presidential candidate in the November election.
The decision met a Saturday deadline for mailing 25,000 ballots to overseas voters, most of them military personnel, and ended a dizzying two weeks during which Nader was on and off the ballot.
"This is a case that should have been thrown out of the courts sooner," said Kevin Zeese, a spokesman for the Nader campaign.
As the Green Party candidate in 2000, Nader attracted 97,000 Florida votes — and most Democrats and many Republicans agree that those votes cost Democrat Al Gore (news - web sites) the presidency.
President Bush (news - web sites) won the state by 537 votes after three weeks of recounts and legal fighting — much of it before Florida's high court.
This year, the Reform Party of Florida submitted Nader to the state as its candidate. The Florida Democratic Party and several individual voters challenged his certification.
Democratic National Committee (news - web sites) Chairman Terry McAuliffe issued a statement Friday saying: "The fact that Ralph Nader secured a place on the Florida ballot by means of the Pat Buchanan (news - web sites) Reform Party speaks for itself. In state after state, Nader has become an extension of the Republican Party and their corporate backers."
The key legal challenge against Nader was the contention that the Reform Party was no longer a bona fide national party and didn't nominate Nader in a national convention — as required by Florida law — but did it in a conference call three months earlier.
Officials with the party and Nader argued that the Reform Party convention may have been small but that it had legitimately confirmed him as their presidential nominee.
The Reform Party formed in 1995 out of Ross Perot (news - web sites)'s 1992 and 1996 presidential bids; Buchanan ran as its candidate in 2000. But the party has seen its membership decline amid infighting in recent years. Its national treasurer last month said the party had $18.18 in the bank.
A state judge last week ordered Secretary of State Glenda Hood, Florida's top elections official, to strike Nader from the ballot. Hood, who was appointed by Gov. Jeb Bush, complied.
But when Hood appealed that order, an automatic suspension was triggered. So Nader was back on the ballot.
On Wednesday, Circuit Judge Kevin Davey again ordered Hood to take Nader off as the case was appealed to the state's high court.
Now, he is back on after the Supreme Court's decision.
Mark Herron, an attorney for the Democrats, said appealing the decision was unlikely.
The Reform Party of Florida greeted the decision with relief, said spokesman Patrick Slevin.
Alia Faraj, a spokeswoman for Hood, said elections supervisors would be able to meet Saturday's deadline.
"All along the secretary's goal ... was finality," Faraj said.
In Friday's majority opinion, Florida's high court wrote that it couldn't tell whether state lawmakers wanted the terms "national party" and "national convention" interpreted strictly or broadly.
"In the absence of more specific statutory criteria or guidance from the Legislature, we are unable to conclude that a statutory violation occurred," the court wrote.
Nader is now planning a nine-city tour of Florida at the end of the month, starting in Jacksonville and working his way south to Miami.
Read on:Quote:
GOP Mailing Warns Liberals Will Ban Bibles
53 minutes ago
By WILL LESTER, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - Campaign mail with a return address of the Republican National Committee (news - web sites) warns West Virginia voters that the Bible will be prohibited and men will marry men if liberals win in November. The literature shows a Bible with the word "BANNED" across it and a photo of a man, on his knees, placing a ring on the hand of another man with the word "ALLOWED." The mailing tells West Virginians to "vote Republican to protect our families" and defeat the "liberal agenda."
Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie said Friday that he wasn't aware of the mailing, but said it could be the work of the RNC. "It wouldn't surprise me if we were mailing voters on the issue of same-sex marriage," Gillespie said.
The flier says Republicans have passed laws protecting life, support defining marriage as between a man and a woman and will nominate conservative judges who will "interpret the law and not legislate from the bench."
"The liberal agenda includes removing `under God' from the Pledge of Allegiance," it says.
It does not mention the names of the presidential candidates.
Jim Jordan, a spokesman for American Coming Together, described the mailing as "standard-issue Republican hate-mongering."
Gillespie said same-sex marriage is a legitimate issue in the election. President Bush (news - web sites) has proposed amending the Constitution to ban gay marriage. Democratic Sen. John Kerry (news - web sites) also opposes gay marriage but said a constitutional amendment is going too far.
The RNC also is running radio ads in several states urging people to register to vote.
"There is a line drawn in America today," one ad says. "On one side are the radicals trying to uproot our traditional values and our culture. They're fighting to hijack the institution of marriage, plotting to legalize partial birth abortion, and working to take God out of the pledge of allegiance and force the worst of Hollywood on the rest of America."
"Are you on their side of the line?" the ad asks before making the plea to "support conservative Republican candidates."
There may be just a handful of presidential candidates on the ballot come Election Day, but until then, thousands of people will be running against President Bush — literally.
The "Run Against Bush" effort marks its national event on Saturday with an estimated 10,000 people running, walking and cycling to protest Bush administration policies.
From Missoula, Mont., to Nantucket, R.I., the volunteers will cover more than 100,000 miles. Overseas gatherings are planned in Paris and Tokyo as well.
The biggest event will be in Washington, with a morning gathering outside the White House for runs anywhere from two to 15 miles.
The event will raise $100,000 for the Democratic National Committee (news - web sites) and state parties in 10 swing states, organizers say.
Eight teachers formed the PAC last year in Washington. It has raised more than $330,000 so far.
If a desire to have a say in politics or sheer peer pressure doesn't convince them, now college students have one more reason to vote: They could get a call from their favorite writer.
A group of authors has launched "Operation Ohio" to encourage voting among students in that battleground state, along with Wisconsin and Florida.
Dave Eggers, author of "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" and Ann Packer, writer of "The Dive From Clausen's Pier," and other writers will call students on Nov. 2, reminding them to hit the polls. They and about 10 other authors will visit Ohio campuses at the end of the month to hold nonpartisan voter registration readings. Students, or any first-time voters under 25, can either sign up in person or send an e-mail from their university accounts. They'll know who will be calling one week before, so they'll have time to read up.
The effort is nonpartisan, so writers can say anything they like, said Stephen Elliott, the author organizing the effort. Other writers who plan to make calls on Election Day include: Tobias Wolff, best known for his memoir "This Boy's Life," and Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Chabon.
Associated Press writer Emily Fredrix contributed to this report.
Time flies by when the Devil drives.
It's not the pace of life that concerns me, it's the sudden stop at the end.
by Warduke » Sat Sep 18, 2004 10:49 pm
Quote:
Florida Supreme Court puts Nader on state ballot
TALLAHASSEE, Florida (AFP) - The Florida Supreme Court has ruled that third-party presidential hopeful Ralph Nader can appear on ballots in the decisive state, increasing the chance the maverick contender will again influence the outcome of the presidential election.
The 6-1 ruling ended a legal tussle that saw state election officials printing out two sets of ballots, one containing Nader's name and one without.
The Democratic Party, which is suing to remove Nader from the ballot in several key states, said it would not appeal the decision.
Nader will also appear on Colorado ballots after a judge ruled in his favor in the western state Friday.
"We are relieved with the Supreme Court ruling to enable our candidate to be on the November ballot," said Patrick Slevin, spokesman for the Reform Party of Florida.
"But we are also angry and disappointed we had to go through this process to begin with. This is a black eye for Florida, and it should have never have happened."
A lower court judge last week struck Nader from the Florida ballot, ruling that his association with the Reform Party was not sincere and that the party did not hold a bona fide national convention, as parties are required to do to field a candidate under Florida state law.
But the Supreme Court said state ballot access law was so vague it was impossible to tell whetehr Nader and the Reform Party abused it.
The ruling was rushed through to enable state election officials to meet a Saturday deadline to send 25,000 absentee ballots to Florida voters overseas.
Meanwhile a Denver judge ruled against the Colorado Democratic Party, which had also argued that the Reform Party did not follow state law in nominating Nader as their standard-bearer.
Nader, who is clawing his way onto ballots nationwide ahead of the November 2 election he is certain to lose, welcomed the decisions.
"The anti-Democratic Party should stop trying to limit voter choices through harassment and legal technicalities and start debating the issues," he said in a statement Friday.
Democrats fear that Nader could win votes that would otherwise have gone to the Democratic candidate, as he did in 2000, when Nader received 97,421 votes in Florida.
George W. Bush beat Democrat Al Gore by a mere 527 votes in Florida after the US Supreme Court put an end to recounts of votes in the state, handing the disputed election to Bush after a weeks-long stand-off.
Bush won Colorado then and is expected to do so again this year. It wields far less weight in the US electoral system than the populous southeastern state of Florida.
Nader and running mate Peter Camejo are currently on the ballot in 36 states and in litigation in eight of those, his campaign said Friday.
He is affiliated with the tiny Reform Party in only six states, and is otherwise running as an independent candidate.
The two are also fighting court battles to get on the ballot in seven other states.
Nader is keeping up his quixotic campaign against what he sees as the corruption and lies of the American political system.
"It is broken, it is corrupted and it is indentured to giant business," Nader said at a press conference in early September.
Nader, 70, made his name in the 1960s as a consumer activist who took on big corporations over safety hazards.
But even some longtime supporters say he is tarnishing his reputation as an honest intellectual and civic do-gooder with his political campaigns.
Many Democrats are bitter over his 2000 presidential run, blaming the votes he siphoned off in Florida for scuppering Gore's hopes and putting Bush into the White House.
A new poll out Saturday showed Bush's lead over Kerry widening to nine points (50 to 41 percent) from seven points last week, and Nader gaining support (three percent, up from one last week).
Nader's support is strongest among groups that favor Kerry, such as liberals and union members, according to the CBS/New York Times poll.
by sam7777 » Sun Sep 19, 2004 4:06 am
Bush Seen Vulnerable to Kerry Among Independent VotersQuote:
Two new opinion surveys in the United States paint very different pictures of the presidential race.
A USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll of more than 1,000 people gives President Bush an eight-point lead over challenger John Kerry among all registered voters.
But another new opinion poll by the Pew Research Center indicates Mr. Bush's post-convention advantage in the polls is eroding, with the two men now at a 46 percent to 46 percent dead heat among registered voters. The Pew poll finds six in 10 voters say they plan to watch the upcoming televised presidential debates - substantially higher than the interest in debates during the last two elections.
I think it would be good if independents decided the election in favor of Kerry. It would put a lie to the republican strategy of only going after their base and force presidential candidates to try to engage more than just their faithful. A bush victory would only accelerate the move to marginalize people outside of the parties' core groups. The US needs a president for all the people not just those that agree with them as the Bush/Cheney campaign would have it.Quote:
President Bush, who holds a sizable lead in some polls, still appears to be vulnerable to Democrat John Kerry among independent voters whose shifting loyalties could determine the winner of the November election, pollsters say.
Polling results from the Pew Research Center, the Christian Science Monitor and the Gallup Organization suggest independent voters are favoring Kerry as concerns about the economy and Iraq re-emerge as top campaign issues, despite a surge of support for Bush following the Republican convention.
"At this point, it seems that Kerry's doing slightly better than Bush among independents," said Jeff Jones, managing editor of the Gallup Poll.
A new Gallup survey released on Friday showed the Democratic presidential nominee leading Bush 50-43 percent among independents, even though the Republican incumbent held a 13-percentage-point lead among voters overall.
A Monitor/TIPP survey, one of several that showed the national presidential race returning to a dead heat, suggested a 10-point Kerry lead among independents.
The Gallup and Monitor polls both had 4 percent margins of error.
A New York Times/CBS poll released on Saturday found that among likely voters, Bush led Kerry 51 percent to 42 percent. The poll, however, did not break out the views of independents.
Independents could prove vital in the Nov. 2 election, which many expect to be as close as the 2000 race that ended in a legal battle before the U.S. Supreme Court.
"They're split, and whoever can attract most of them will win," said American Research Group President Dick Bennett, who has watched independent loyalties shift several times this year.
Independents, who make up about 29 percent of the national electorate according to some polls, appear more interested than usual in the current campaign, leading some analysts to expect a high turnout that could favor Kerry.
"Every measure we take of engagement is up from four years ago, and up from eight years ago," noted Pew Research Center Editor Carroll Doherty.
With registered Republican and Democratic voters largely holed up in their respective partisan camps, the Bush and Kerry campaigns have launched vigorous get-out-the-vote initiatives.
Among the targets are independents, party crossovers, and an estimated 92 million voters who sat out the 2000 election, including 4 million evangelical Christians who could be expected to back Bush.
Curtis Gans, director of nonpartisan Committee for the Study of the American Electorate, said 2004 election turnout is likely to be the largest in 12 years and could be the biggest since the 1960s.
"One thing that's concrete is that voter interest is substantially higher this year than at any time in 2000," said Gans, who believes higher turnout would favor Kerry.
They know that like gay americans, they can only expect bigotry and intolerance from the republicans.Quote:
Sept. 23, 2004 – John Kerry is the top presidential candidate for Muslim Americans, according to a poll by Zogby International released by the Muslims in the American Public Square Project at Georgetown University. 68 per cent of respondents would vote for the Democratic nominee in the 2004 United States presidential election.
Independent candidate Ralph Nader—who is of Lebanese descent—garners the support of 11 per cent of respondents, while seven per cent would vote for Republican incumbent George W. Bush. The election is scheduled for Nov. 2.
According to the Arab American Institute, 58.5 per cent of Arab American voters supported Bush in the 2000 presidential election, while 22.5 per cent backed Democrat Al Gore.
Polling Data
Which ticket would you support in the 2004 U.S. presidential election?
John Kerry / John Edwards (D) 68%
Ralph Nader / Peter Camejo (I) 11%
George W. Bush / Dick Cheney (R) 7%
at: 9/23/04 3:55 pmby Gatito Grande » Thu Sep 23, 2004 5:32 pm
Quote:
House bill would block Supreme Court on Pledge
Measure stirs up religion, separation of powers
Thursday, September 23, 2004 Posted: 5:27 PM EDT (2127 GMT)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House passed legislation Thursday that would prevent the Supreme Court from ruling on whether the words "under God" should be stricken from the Pledge of Allegiance.
In a politically and emotionally charged debate six weeks before Election Day, Democrats said majority Republicans were debasing the Constitution to force a vote that could hurt Democrats at the ballot box.
Supporters insisted Congress has always had authority to limit federal court jurisdiction, and the legislation is needed to protect an affirmation of religion that is part of the national heritage.
The bill, which the House approved, 247-173, would prohibit federal courts, including the Supreme Court, from hearing cases involving the pledge and its recitation and would prevent federal courts from striking the words "under God" from the pledge.
The legislation has little chance of advancing in the Senate this year, but it laid down another marker for politicians seeking to differentiate themselves from their election opponents on volatile social issues of the day. Other "wedge" issues that have come up or may arise before the election include gay marriage and flag-burning.
In June, the Supreme Court dismissed, on a technicality, a 2002 federal court decision that the religious reference made the pledge unconstitutional.
Rep. Todd Akin, R-Missouri., who wrote the amendment on legislation before the House on Thursday, said the outcome could be different if the high court rules on the substance, or "if we allow activist judges to start creating law and say that it is wrong to somehow allow schoolchildren to say 'under God' in the pledge."
In such a scenario, Akin said, Congress will have "emasculated the very heart of what America has always been about."
But Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-New York, said, "We're playing with fire here, we are playing with the national unity of this country" by undoing 200 years of federal judicial review and letting each state make its own interpretation of constitutional law.
The vote paralleled another in July, when the House prevented federal courts from ordering states to recognize same-sex unions sanctioned in other states.
"Far from violating the 'separation of powers,' legislation that leaves state courts with jurisdiction to decide certain classes of cases would be an exercise of one of the very 'checks and balances' provided for in the Constitution," said Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wisconsin, chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
But many Democrats said the real objective of Thursday's debate was to force them into an unpopular vote just weeks before the election. Aside from the constitutional issue, a large percentage of Americans, and almost all members of Congress, think "under God" should stay in the pledge.
"This bill has been brought to the floor to embarrass some members, so I respect whatever decisions they have to make in light of the motivations behind it," said Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-California In the end, 34 Democrats voted for the bill and six Republicans opposed it.
A closer vote was on an amendment by Rep. Mel Watt, D-North Carolina., that would have returned the legislation to its original form, under which lower federal courts were barred from ruling on the pledge but the Supreme Court retained its authority.
There is no direct precedent for making exceptions to the Supreme Court's appellate jurisdiction, said Rep. Judy Biggert, R-Illinois, who backed the original bill but opposed the changes.
"The issue today may be the pledge, but what if the issue tomorrow is Second Amendment (gun) rights, civil rights, environmental protection, or a host of other issue that members may hold dear?" she asked.
"Under God" has been part of the pledge since 1954, when Congress passed and President Eisenhower signed a law amending the pledge to include the phrase.
Outby darkmagicwillow » Thu Sep 23, 2004 5:36 pm
--
"Omnia mutantur, nihil interit." -- "Everything changes, but nothing is truly lost."
by sam7777 » Tue Sep 28, 2004 6:09 pm
Quote:
U.S. consumer confidence edged lower again in September after falling in August, as persistent worries about the job market weighed on sentiment, a report on Tuesday said.
The Conference Board, a private forecasting group, said its index of the mood of U.S. consumers fell to 96.8 from a revised 98.7 in August. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a rise to 99.0.
Consumer worries about the labor market have clouded the outlook for consumer spending, which powers two-thirds of the U.S. economy. Soaring oil prices, which crimped spending in the second quarter, pose another threat to economic growth.
"Confidence in the state of the economy is diminished and within that, confidence on job prospects is the biggest factor," said Richard DeKaser, chief economist at National City Corp. "I would guess that the impact of higher oil prices is feeding through as well. The problem with energy prices is that when they rise, there's nowhere to run."
The percentage of consumers surveyed who said jobs were hard to get rose to 28.3 percent from 26.0 percent, while those seeing jobs as plentiful fell to 16.8 percent from 18.4 percent.
"The recent declines in the index were caused primarily by a deterioration in consumers' assessment of employment conditions," Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board's Consumer Research Center, said. "Soft labor market conditions have clearly taken a toll on consumer confidence."
_____________________
I still see dead lesbian cliches
by maudmac » Wed Sep 29, 2004 8:46 am
Quote:
VOCAL ANTI-GAY KEYES IS PARENT OF A "SELFISH HEDONIST." A month ago, bombastic US Senate nominee Alan Keyes (R-IL) responded to a question from a radio talk show host by saying that gays were all living in sin and "selfish hedonists" -- and answered that he included the lesbian daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney in that description. In fact, Keyes frequently denounces gays on the campaign trail. However, it turns out that Keyes' own 19-year-old daughter Maya is an out lesbian. Now -- before everyone gets worked up about violations of privacy or that a candidate's family is "off-limits" -- you should note that Maya Keyes chose to out herself online. Also, I didn't report on this story until a day after many of the other sites covered it -- so I'm not doing the outing. Maya is featured in a family photo on the Keyes campaign site (left), and frequently campaigns with her father (although Maya bragged on her own blog site that she usually wears a bunch of "gay pride" rainbow bracelets while doing so). The Chicago political blog Modern Vertebrate first discovered Maya's own blog site, and connected the dots to postings by her on the campaign site that used the same email address. Maya's site has been online for three years, although it appears that she unsuccessfully attempted to hide certain sections of the site in recent days, causing them to be read before she finally deleting several of them on Monday. Maya wrote how she had a political parent, had moved recently to Calumet City (IL), frequently commutes between Illinois and their family home in Maryland, that she accompanies her family on campaign stops, etc. She also posted various pictures of herself and her girlfriend (above) -- along with one of Maya wearing an anti-Bush sticker while making-out with her girlfriend. Like her father, Maya is vocally pro-life (she equates abortion to lynching on her homepage) -- but she otherwise appears to be very liberal and seemingly supports Nader for President. Maya also wrote rather revealingly and sadly about her parents: "My parents and I were seriously not getting along and so we needed some time off from each other; the idea was that after a year of being a wonderful good helping-the-poor type person they would once again like me and therefore be willing to pay for my college [at Brown] I'm not so sure that part of it will work; despite the fact that I'm all about working for global justice THEY don't care about that, THEY only care that I am an evil dyke. And even if I am a charitable dyke I am still a dyke who KISSES GIRLS and especially with the gay marriage thing going on now that's at the front of their minds. So I think I might get back to find out they still don't like me and I won't have a college to go to." And here is what Maya wrote about her parents back on March 3rd: "I remembered pieces of some of my (numerous) conversation/arguments with my parents on the subject of homosexuality. My father, in the middle of explaining why queers are all intrinsically awful people, no matter how lovely they may seem … in the end his argument came down to basically, It’s inherently selfish to be queer because no matter if we say we’re in love it’s only for selfish reasons (read: we just want to hump like bunnies and don’t really care about anything else but physical pleasure) because we don’t have CHILDREN like the beautiful selfless heterosexuals. Ergo, queers live only for self-gratification and no matter what else goes on in their lives, ultimately (consciously or subconsciously) our entire existence is directed towards the purpose of self-seeking pleasure; queers are not capable of anything but selfish actions whether we know it or not. Along the same vein, my mother, after meeting on one of my friends (one of the sweetest, smartest, politest boys I know; someone who would be great to bring home to parents. Any parents but mine.) who she couldn’t help but like, took a while to think of something disparaging to say about him because it is against her principles to actually like any of my friends and finally decided that she didn’t, after all, like him because he had a weak mouth as a result of being one of those homosexuals. She says that homosexuals are all inherently weak people, just as they are all inherently selfish people, because they don’t know how to deny themselves anything." Consider this a behind-the-scenes look at the sad reality behind Alan Keyes' "family values" rhetoric.
when i hear music it makes me dance
by BFR from Paris » Wed Sep 29, 2004 11:33 am
by justin » Wed Sep 29, 2004 12:54 pm
A good story should provoke discussion, debate, argument...and the occasional bar fight. -JMS
by robotguru » Wed Sep 29, 2004 1:28 pm
------------------
There can be no rainbow without rain, you cannot know true happiness until you know sadness first.
by skittles » Wed Sep 29, 2004 4:50 pm
Quote:
US draft dodger statue sparks row
A row has broken out in a small Canadian town over controversial plans for a memorial to US draft dodgers who avoided taking part in the Vietnam War.
A group of activists from Nelson, British Columbia, had planned to erect a monument to "honour the courageous legacy of Vietnam war resisters".
US veterans groups have criticised the proposal and asked US President George Bush to intervene to stop the project.
Some 125,000 Americans went to Canada during the war to avoid the draft.
Thousands returned to the US in the late 1970s when President Richard Nixon announced an amnesty, but many stayed in Canada.
'Slap in the face'
The project organisers have said they are reconsidering the monument's setting.
The bronze statue of two Canadians reaching out to a US draft dodger was due to be unveiled in Nelson in 2006 as part of the Our Way Home festival celebrating US conscientious objectors.
To honour draft dodgers... is an abomination
John Furgess
Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States
The head of the largest organisation of combat veterans in the US said he respected freedom of expression, but that the memorial was a "slap in the face to every man and woman who ever served in uniform".
"To honour draft dodgers, deserters, people who brought grief to the families they left behind and anguish to those American men who took their place is an abomination," John Furgess of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States said in a statement.
Nelson mayor Dave Elliot said he had been deluged with e-mails and telephone calls since plans for the monument were unveiled earlier this month.
Nelson, about 45 miles (72km) north of the US border, is known for its ski slopes and artists community and relies heavily on income from the tourist trade.
skittles
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