Of coffins, boondoggles, prying eyes and nameless children

There is a lot going on today.

The flap generated by the picture in the Seattle Times about flag draped coffins being photographed looks like it has some legs. Especially since The Memory Hole secured the release of a few hundred more photos of the same. One genuinely wonders why these photos are different than the photo of the flag draped coffin Bush used in his first campaign ad. Maybe one of you can tell me?

Here is one more way the Republicans are breaking new ground in their effort to divide the country. When Bill Frist visits South Dakota to campaign against Tom Daschle, it will be the first time a senate leader has campaigned against his rival. Ever.

The President wants to make the patriot act permanent. Unfortuanately, he is stepping on the truth to do it.

I do not believe we should pull out of Iraq. We certainly need to take responsiblity for the actions of the US. I support John Kerry's approach. I see no contradiction in supporting the troops (They are doing the nation's business. They must do everything they can to fulfill their mission and come home safe.) While taking their civilian masters to task in the worst way for their ineptitude, arrogance and bungling.

In the meantime: This is so troubling. Do you think it makes a difference to an Iraqi parent whether or not it was Saddam or a freedom-loving bomb that killed their child? It's why we had better realize, and soon, that the freedom Iraqi's are fighting for is freedom from us.

Tickety, tick, tick

Just in case you weren't stressful enough today...

U.S. NATIONAL DEBT CLOCK
The Outstanding Public Debt as of 22 Apr 2004 at 05:07:55 PM GMT is:

$7,165,911,267,545.25

The estimated population of the United States is 293,863,195
so each citizen's share of this debt is $24,385.19.

whoopsy daisy

In today's Salon, Joe Conason writes about Bush's worst week:

"As more Americans die in Iraq and evidence piles up that the president rushed into war, even his right-wing allies are turning on him. Has the White House reached the tipping point?"

Let's hope that Kerry has the savvy to wage a smart campaign. He is only scoring a weak 'C' so far. For some good commentary on the ads he is running,try Bushout.tv. It's by a good Minneapolis boy, Luke Francl.

On to Glory...

Here's a story in the Guardian about how Fundamentalist Christians are actively driving us towards what they view as the rapture. Before you dismiss it, read it.

By the way, yes, I am a Christian. I return to this theme, and probably will do so again, because the separation of church and state is so central to America the idea. I do not believe that leaders in the evangelical christian movement, such as Pat Robertson and Jerry Fallwell or leaders such as John Ashcroft, Tom Delay and yes, George Bush, believe that the separation of church and state is a good idea. I do not believe that their first loyalty is to the Constitution. When they read the Declaration of Independence, they see Jesus all over it.

In her amazing piece, The Despoiling of America:
How George W. Bush became the head of the new American Dominionist Church/State, Katherine Yurica writes about the rise of the Christian Right to political power. It is a long, challenging read. But it is worth the effort.

This is one of the reasons I am attempting to become a candidate on American Candidate. The constitution isn't self-correcting. America lives in you and me. Action is incumbent upon each one of us.

I just love the way they do that...

Here's Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie asking, nay! demanding that Kerry release his military records:

"When President Bush committed to release all his military records on the same program, he kept his word. John Kerry should do the same. Voters aren't stupid, and he shouldn't treat us as if we are," Gillespie said in remarks prepared for the Lucas County Lincoln Day dinner in Lucas County, Ohio. link

Pass the Dramamine please, I have motion sickeness from riding in the Republican whirly-go-round. Does Mr. Gillespie truly believe that voters will forget how hard Mr. Bush fought to keep his military service a secret? Does he really imagine that we would forget that there still is no proof that he was anywhere near Alabama during, 1972, his final year in the Gaurd.

One wonders what Gillespie hopes to achieve? Maybe all the President's service buddies could tell us. You know, the band of brothers spontaneously running to his side to validate his service?

1+1=350

I was watching Ken Melman, Bush Campaign Manager, on C-Span last night. There he was, moving down the talking points - Steady Hand, Stong Leader, Growing Economy - and suddenly, the cliche d'jour popped out of his mouth: John Kerry has voted to raise taxes over 350 times. I thought, "That's a lot of votes. I wonder if it's true?"

Of course it isn't. It is the Republicans doing what they usually do, which is take a half-truth, bake it into an official sounding sound-bite and press release and feed it into the media as fact, where the more it is repeated, the "truer" it becomes. It happened to Al Gore over and over again in 2000. It is happening to John Kerry now.

According to this Slate article, "The only actual tax increase on Bush's list (counted twice, but hey … ) is Kerry's support for Clinton's 1993 deficit-reduction plan." The other 349 "votes?" Well, that's just creative accounting.

One wonders why the democrats don't challenge something as basic as math. It's obvious The President is using the same math skills to determine how many times Kerry really voted to raise taxes as he is using to balance the budget.