[About BTJ]
Name: BLT - E-mail me
Age: 28
Why BTJ:"I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little ways; I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by the experience of sight; I can divine it by conscience. And from what I see I am sure it bends towards justice. Things refuse to be mismanaged long."
-- Theodore Parker
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
-- Martin Luther King Jr.
"No people is wholly civilized where a distinction is drawn between stealing an office and stealing a purse."
-- Theodore Roosevelt
"No longer do we take the sword against any nation, nor do we learn war any more, since we have become sons of peace."
--Origen
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Conscientious Objection
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- Blogger
Well, what do YOU think I should write about?
Of the trillions of words out there about tonight's debates, let me just say this:
Kerry won.
Bush lost.
That's not a surprise. What is a surprise is how surprised everyone is. Especially the right-wing blogs, as a Kos diarist points out:
Winds of Change:
"Kerry did well in terms of his persona; I went in expecting a pompous windbag and he wasn't one. Bush did less well in persona; fragmented, repetitive..."
The only thing that is unexpected about that is finding out that the freepers have been believing their own spin.
Kerry won.
Bush lost.
That's not a surprise. What is a surprise is how surprised everyone is. Especially the right-wing blogs, as a Kos diarist points out:
Winds of Change:
"Kerry did well in terms of his persona; I went in expecting a pompous windbag and he wasn't one. Bush did less well in persona; fragmented, repetitive..."
The only thing that is unexpected about that is finding out that the freepers have been believing their own spin.
Thursday, September 23, 2004
Subliminable messages?
Okay, now I'm starting to get really, really paranoid. I was driving today when a church sign caught my eye. Something was very odd. See for yourself:
No? It might be kind of subtle - I've pretty much lost all perspective on this whole election. Just to see if this might be just a matter of coincidence, I checked the other side.
So is it just me? Or are they just plain not getting into the spirit of the "not-endorsing-a-particular-candidate" thing?
No? It might be kind of subtle - I've pretty much lost all perspective on this whole election. Just to see if this might be just a matter of coincidence, I checked the other side.
So is it just me? Or are they just plain not getting into the spirit of the "not-endorsing-a-particular-candidate" thing?
Sounds like an endorsement to me
Every once in awhile I admit I listen to Howard Stern. This morning Donald Trump is on, and, well, I'll let this exchange speak for itself. Howard and Robin have been asking the Donald about his kids' inheritance (all paraphrased from memory):
TRUMP: You know, under the Bush estate tax plan, you pay nothing for ten years - nothing in years eight, nine, and ten, but then in year eleven you pay sixty percent. You pay everything if you die in the eleventh and twelfth years, so there's going to be a lot of billionaires killed by their children at midnight -
HOWARD: The bigger problem is, if Bush is president, in twelve years there won't be a country.
TRUMP: Well, yeah, that's true.
You heard it here first: Trump Endorses Kerry.
TRUMP: You know, under the Bush estate tax plan, you pay nothing for ten years - nothing in years eight, nine, and ten, but then in year eleven you pay sixty percent. You pay everything if you die in the eleventh and twelfth years, so there's going to be a lot of billionaires killed by their children at midnight -
HOWARD: The bigger problem is, if Bush is president, in twelve years there won't be a country.
TRUMP: Well, yeah, that's true.
You heard it here first: Trump Endorses Kerry.
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Yawn
Drudge is reporting (no link, you can find it) that "CBSNEWS PLANS STATEMENT TO 'CLARIFY' BUSH GUARD DOCUMENTS STORY... NEW TIME: 5:00PM EDT..."
It's been delayed from Noon EDT to 3:30 EDT to 5:00 EDT (43 minutes ago at the time of writing).
There's rumors a-flyin', everything from "we still stand by our story" to Dan Rather's resignation. I'm guessing it's somwhere in the middle.
The Republicans are masters of the red herring, aren't they?
UPDATE: Ho-hum. Andrew Heyward basically says "we believed them at the time; we're doing more investigation now. Quite an exclusive, Drudge.
My booss, who by the way is an old and dear friend and constantly enjoyable to debate with, claims that the liberal media is pretty much ignoring "memogate." Interesting, then, to read this article on cbsnews.com:
Congressional Republicans turned the high heat on CBS News, charging that last week's revelations about Lt. George Bush, which aired on 60 Minutes, were based on fake documents and demanding that 60 Minutes and Dan Rather retract the story.
"It's very clear the documents were forged. They were laid on him and this time he bit," said Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah.
Forty members of the House signed a letter accusing the network of deception. The letter asked CBS if the documents are authentic, and why the network won't say how it got them, reports CBS News Correspondent Wyatt Andrews.
"I think at the very least CBS should characterize the source," said Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Missouri. "I think it's amazing that they haven't already done that."
Just an interesting side note, is all.
It's been delayed from Noon EDT to 3:30 EDT to 5:00 EDT (43 minutes ago at the time of writing).
There's rumors a-flyin', everything from "we still stand by our story" to Dan Rather's resignation. I'm guessing it's somwhere in the middle.
The Republicans are masters of the red herring, aren't they?
UPDATE: Ho-hum. Andrew Heyward basically says "we believed them at the time; we're doing more investigation now. Quite an exclusive, Drudge.
My booss, who by the way is an old and dear friend and constantly enjoyable to debate with, claims that the liberal media is pretty much ignoring "memogate." Interesting, then, to read this article on cbsnews.com:
Congressional Republicans turned the high heat on CBS News, charging that last week's revelations about Lt. George Bush, which aired on 60 Minutes, were based on fake documents and demanding that 60 Minutes and Dan Rather retract the story.
"It's very clear the documents were forged. They were laid on him and this time he bit," said Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah.
Forty members of the House signed a letter accusing the network of deception. The letter asked CBS if the documents are authentic, and why the network won't say how it got them, reports CBS News Correspondent Wyatt Andrews.
"I think at the very least CBS should characterize the source," said Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Missouri. "I think it's amazing that they haven't already done that."
Just an interesting side note, is all.
I haven't been posting much lately, but Bob Harris makes me want to retire altogether.
In the past year, I have personally visited three of the six biggest Muslim countries on Earth, and I have spoken at some length with ordinary Sunnis and Shia on four continents. This week I have just returned from Egypt, where I listened to lots of perfectly average people on the street, in trains, shops, and cafes.
This is true, I swear: we have hundreds of millions more potential friends than America realizes right now. And we are losing them for a generation or more. I promise you that on my soul.
Read the whole article. If it doesn't move you, you ain't movable.
In the past year, I have personally visited three of the six biggest Muslim countries on Earth, and I have spoken at some length with ordinary Sunnis and Shia on four continents. This week I have just returned from Egypt, where I listened to lots of perfectly average people on the street, in trains, shops, and cafes.
This is true, I swear: we have hundreds of millions more potential friends than America realizes right now. And we are losing them for a generation or more. I promise you that on my soul.
Read the whole article. If it doesn't move you, you ain't movable.
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
We report - you decide
Like Pandagon, I have no verification that this is true, but in a world where every little claim and question about John Kerry is dissected and rehashed ad nauseum, it needs to be discussed:
The letter said, "Governor Bush ... made a deal with Ben Barnes not to rebid [the GTech lottery contract] because Barnes could confirm that Bush had lied during the '94 campaign."
In that close race, Bush denied the fix was in to keep him out of 'Nam, and the US media stopped asking questions. What did the victorious Governor Bush's office do for Barnes? According to the tipster, "Barnes agreed never to confirm the story [of the draft dodging] and the governor talked to the chair of the lottery two days later and she then agreed to support letting GTech keep the contract without a bid."
The letter said, "Governor Bush ... made a deal with Ben Barnes not to rebid [the GTech lottery contract] because Barnes could confirm that Bush had lied during the '94 campaign."
In that close race, Bush denied the fix was in to keep him out of 'Nam, and the US media stopped asking questions. What did the victorious Governor Bush's office do for Barnes? According to the tipster, "Barnes agreed never to confirm the story [of the draft dodging] and the governor talked to the chair of the lottery two days later and she then agreed to support letting GTech keep the contract without a bid."
Monday, September 13, 2004
Most effective talking point yet?
Kos diarist Zackpunk suggests Kerry's response to Bush's 'ownership society' should be:
"Mr. President, if you want to talk about an ownership society, let's talk about what you own."
There's more, of course.
"Mr. President, if you want to talk about an ownership society, let's talk about what you own."
There's more, of course.
Saturday, September 11, 2004
In Memoriam
"When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?"
-- Eleanor Roosevelt
-- Eleanor Roosevelt
Thursday, September 02, 2004
Shorter George Bush
I've been saving the really good policies for the sequel. C'mon, guys, you can trust me.
William Saletan gets it:
In some countries, the commander in chief builds a propaganda apparatus that equates him with the military and the nation. If you object that he's making bad decisions and disserving the national interest, you're accused of weakening the nation, undermining its security, sabotaging the commander in chief, and serving a foreign power—the very charges Miller leveled tonight against Bush's critics.
Are you prepared to become one of those countries?
In some countries, the commander in chief builds a propaganda apparatus that equates him with the military and the nation. If you object that he's making bad decisions and disserving the national interest, you're accused of weakening the nation, undermining its security, sabotaging the commander in chief, and serving a foreign power—the very charges Miller leveled tonight against Bush's critics.
Are you prepared to become one of those countries?
