10 Questions for liberals and Kerry Supporters:

1) Why are Michael Moore and Alec Baldwin considered experts in American politics when they have neither training nor experience in the field? Would you consider placing you life in the hands of a heart- or brain surgeon with no training or hands-on experience in their field?

2) If you had been President in 2002 (having just been informed that there was a scintilla of evidence-that perhaps, if put together in the right order might have prevented the September 11th attacks) and you were approached by MI6 (The British Intelligence agency), the Mukhabarat al-Aama (The Egyptian Intelligence Agency), Dairat al Mukhabarat (the Jordanian Intelligence Agency), the Russian Federal Security Service (The Russian Intelligence agency), and ha-Mossad le-Modiin ule-Tafkidim Meyuhadim (Mossad- the Israeli Intelligence Agency) ALL of whom stated that not only did Saddam Hussein currently possess WMD’s but was furthering their development AND was willing to assist various anti-American groups in delivering them to US soil… would you honestly NOT act on that information that far outweighed the “scintilla” of 9-11 information? What would you have said had the intelligence been correct, and the President NOT have acted?


3) At The al Taqqadum air field west of Baghdad in Iraq, US forces found in July 2003 a reported 30 to 40 planes, including several MiG-25 and Su-25 ground attack jets, buried more than 10 feet beneath tons of soil and covered with camouflage netting. American forces had been in and around the site for 10 or 12 weeks, never knowing what was hidden under the sand until a fortuitous wind bared the very tip of one of the aircraft’s tails. These “Foxbat” jets (pictures of which can be found at www.snopes.com and at http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_247.shtml ) weigh 20 and 36 tons each and are nearly 80 feet long, 20 feet high. Are you honestly going to tell me that these aircraft (some equipped with post-1992 French and German technology I might add) could be effectively buried in the sand, but stockpiles of mustard gas, sarin, tabun, VX, anthrax, botulinum toxin, ricin, and aflatoxin could NOT be? The list above (from Anthrax onwards) includes agents Saddam was KNOWN to have before the invasion, and were unaccounted for by UN inspectors. Saddam was also known to be researching brucellosis, hemorrhagic conjunctivitis virus (Enterovirus 70), rotavirus, camel pox, plague and gas gangrene toxins. These chemical and biological agents can be stored in containers FAR smaller than 1, 2, or 40 MIG 25 aircraft. Can you honestly say, without a doubt, that there are NO WMD’s in the Iraqi sand?

4) If you have qualms about removing a dictator that posed no immediate threat to the United States, and who’s removal was not sanctioned by the full UN Security Council, do you also condemn the similar removal by the US and NATO of Slobodan Milosevic?

5) Do you realize that the majority of the economic hardship we have been through since 2000 has been the result of the internet bubble burst, the over inflated stock market of the 1990’s righting itself, the overvalued dollar of the 1990’s adjusting to its rightful levels, the blow to consumer confidence caused by the Enron and Delphia-style abuses of the 1990’s and the horrific economic blow the September 11th attacks dealt – NONE of which were caused or preventable by then-Governor Bush of Texas?

6) Did you know that after The Stock Market Crash of 1929 Wall Street was closed for only 3 days, yet after the September 11th attacks it was shut down for nearly a week? Did you realize that the airline industry, and therefore all travel, convention, and tourism industries were completely shut down for 3 days (totaling nearly one-fifth of our entire economy - completely shut down)? The travel and tourism industry is only now regaining pre-9-11 levels. These shut-downs lost America over 1 million jobs in the month following the attacks and their long-term effect should have thrown the United States (and thereby the world’s economy) into a financial depression of unprecedented and unimaginable proportions. Only through the actions of President Bush have we avoided such a dire result of the attacks.

7) Did you know that in the early 1930’s, as a response to the Great Depression, Presidents Hoover and Roosevelt raised taxes exclusively on “the rich”? The wealthy saw their tax burden increase from 26% to 74%. Rather than elevating the misery of the common man, it created a depression-within-a-depression and resulted in a deepening and lengthening of the Great Depression.

8) Did you know that the “Jim Crow” laws, the placing of the “stars and bars” confederate symbol on state flags, and the greatest resistance to civil rights legislation was/is consistently the product of DEMOCRAT legislators and congress people… or that the Democrats have never appointed as many women, African-American, Hispanic-Americans, or others of minority descent in HIGH, EFFECTIVE positions of government as the Republican Party?

9) Are you truly proud of supporting a “war veteran” in this election when in ’92 you chose an admitted draft dodger over a man who after being chosen as the youngest pilot ever to fly in the US NAVY had been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and three Air Medals…. And AGAIN you chose an admitted draft dodger over a man who received two purple hearts, a bronze star and left a good portion of his right arm on the battlefield? Do you truly expect others to believe that you value combat/war experience?

10) Can you name ONE subject on which John Kerry has taken a stand and unwaveringly stuck with it… or at least name ONE instance (sponsoring a successful bill, for example) where he has shown true leadership abilities and swayed others to his point of view and been a leader to them?

Possible 527 violations ?!?!

I just got off the phone with the FOX 31 assignment desk... hopefully they will run with this.
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While browsing the internic whois site (this is the site where you can learn exactly who owns what websites, maintains them...etc...) I checked up on the website coloradofamiliesfirst.com Now, for those of you who aren't in Colorado, this is the group responsible for the outrageous, crass, and disgusting ads against Marilyn Musgrave. One has a Musgrave lookalike stealing the watch from a corpse in a casket, another has her picking the pocket of a soldier in Iraq.
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Well, on the information page at internic, I found that the Administrative and Technical contact for their website is one "Tim Knaus"
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Now, I had no idea who this guy was, so I googled him.... turns out he is the former chariman of the State Democratic Party and headed the 2000 delegation at the national Democrat Convention. Hmmmmmmm
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similarly you can ask about the Texans For Truth
http://journals.aol.com/excaldeshops/conservative-voice/entries/227

The Black and Blue sky

First off, I gotta' say, "WHOOO HOOOO!! I Got a comment!!" I wasn't sure if anyone was wandering into this rest area of the info super highway, so it's invigorating to see some feedback. After all, I'm not a James Carville or Rush Limbaugh who dictates his "pearls of wisdom" to the world, and expects total compliance with any listeners.... I PREFER and DESIRE opposing views, it's the only possible way to learn the values and views of others and see things from a different angle.
To paraphrase Thomas Jefferson ...'if you find yourself in the company of friends who always agree with you, get some new friends'

Okay, on to the post ..
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mymod/hdln/rp/sty/*http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=584&e=1&u=/nm/20040923/pl_nm/campaign_kerry_dc

Is anyone else getting the idea that if President Bush said the sky was blue today, Kerry would immediately call a press conference to say it was in fact black? To see Senator Kerry ripping into Iraq's Prime Minister Allawi made me realize that this guy has REALLY been guzzling the Bush-haters' Kool aid and is developing his own recipie to boot. (BTW -speaking of Kool Aid- did you know that more people died at the hands of Jim Jones in one day than American soldiers have died in 2 years in Iraq?) Kerry has become one of those Cliff Clavin malcontents who will disagree with anything and everything "Bush"...... ta' Hell with facts or experience. If the Pope praised any action of President Bush, I have no doubt that "good Catholic" Kerry would immediately call the Holy Father a "papist" just to be disagreeable. Prime Minister Allawi has spent day after day after day IN Iraq... he KNOWS what's going on FIRST HAND.... unlike Kerry who hasn't been to Iraq and is obviously getting his information from CBS. He hasn't even spent time in the Intelligence Committee meetings of the Senate... so where is he getting his intel? As I said ...CBS.
To me, it's the equivilent of watching First Officer Murdoch ordering the covers removed from the lifeboats... the campaign is going down and going down fast... and Captain Carville on the DEM-Carpathia can't get there in time. So let's rearrange the deck chairs, polish the brass, and pretend there's nothing wrong... but all the while, shoot your revolver, scream, shout, and be discontent. After all, it shows that you are still in control. "Nearerrrrrr My Goooooooodd toooo theeeeeeeee"

A Tale of two coalitions

Okay this redundant and hollow argument of the US "going it alone" regarding Iraq is getting WAYYYYYYY out of hand. At first it seemed to be just a cute, albeit innacurate, sound bite intended to be a cheap broadside from the liberals to President Bush. Unfortunately, it's gone beyond sound bite and is venturing towards its undeserved 15 minutes of Worholian fame. So, lets look at the list.....

Allies in BOTH the Gulf War and Operation Iraqi Freedom

Afghanistan
Australia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Honduras
Hungary
Italy
Japan
Kuwait
Netherlands
Philippines
Poland
Romania
Singapore
South Korea
Spain
United Kingdom
United States

####### Gained allies - New allies not existing or not participating at the time of the Gulf War ##########

Albania
Angola
Azerbaijan
Bulgaria
Columbia
Costa Rica
Dominican Republic
El Salvador
Eritrea
Estonia
Ethiopia
Georgia
Iceland
Latvia
Lithuania
Macedonia
Marshall Islands
Micronesia
Mongolia
Nicaragua
Palau
Panama
Portugal
Rwanda
Slovakia
Solomon Islands
Turkey
Uganda
Ukraine
Uzbekistan


###### Lost Allies - Allies in Gulf War, not participating in Operation Iraqi Freedom ######

Argentina
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Belgium
Canada
Egypt
France
Greece
Morocco
New Zealand
Niger
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Sierra Leona
Sweden
Syria
United Arab Emirates

Totals: Truly Loyal Friends-18 New Friends-30 Lost friends-21

Also, keep in mind that a number of the lost "friends" had serious and selfish financial reasons to maintain the Saddam Regiem -namely profits that they (Russia & France & Gremany) were making from the "Oil for food" bribes and kickbacks.

The New CBS Logos

CBS... In need for a complete revamp is currently considering 2 new logos
Janet Jackson CBS and CBS Black Eye

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A Rather innacurate History...

http://www.fair.org/extra/0111/rather.html


As If Reality Wasn't Bad Enough
Dan Rather spread alarmist rumors on September 11


By Jim Naureckas
In a national emergency like the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the first thing required from the news media is accurate information. Unfortunately, TV journalists too often delivered misinformation instead. One who did so repeatedly was CBS News' Dan Rather.
"Let me pause and say that a car bomb has exploded outside the State Department in Washington," Rather told his audience on September 11. He repeated: "Now a car bomb has exploded outside the State Department in Washington. No further details available on that." He reported this car bomb explosion as fact at least three further times before finally adding a qualifier, referring to "a car bomb, which was reported to have exploded outside the State Department."
After these repeated claims of a State Department car-bombing, Rather backtracked: "From Washington, Federal Protective Services now says there was no car bomb at the State Department. We've been reporting, which was reported earlier, that there had been an apparent car bomb at the State Department. And I will repeat for emphasis, the Federal Protective Services says there was no—I repeat, no car bomb at the State Department."
He added this self-justification: "We've been saying straight through this morning that there's going to be those occasions when there are reports, rumors, speculation. We do the best we can to separate fact from reports. But it's inevitable that some first reports will be wrong."
The final word from Rather on the car-bombing in the Nexis database is ambiguous: "Then senior law enforcement officials said car bomb—and a car bomb had exploded outside the State Department in Washington, DC. That was senior law enforcement officials. But then later, Federal Protective Services denied any car bomb attack had occurred outside the State Department. So that remains unclear at the moment. Although the latest information is there was no car bomb."
In fact, there was no car bomb at the State Department—a fact Rather seems never to have flatly told his audience.
Buying the bridge
This gaffe did not prevent Rather from reporting a new "scoop" later that evening: "Now this just in from New York City. Marcia Kramer, former newspaper woman, now working at WCBS-TV, in New York, says that sources have told her that two people have been arrested with explosives under the George Washington Bridge. The George Washington Bridge, for those of you unfamiliar with the city, connects a part of New Jersey with Manhattan. So two people arrested on the GW Bridge in a truck with explosives. As this report—now, whether it was connected with the events of the day, we do not know. But an interesting report."
Rather repeatedly reported this as well: "Now WCBS-TV news in New York is reporting two people arrested by the FBI in a truck with explosives under the George Washington Bridge…. Whether this arrest by the FBI is connected with other events in the day, one can only question."
Later, he prefaced the story with "It may not be over yet," and added that "Authorities say there were enough explosives in the truck to bring down the bridge." Yet another repetition of the story stated as fact that "the FBI has two suspects in hand," and that "enough explosives were in the truck to do great damage to the George Washington Bridge."
As with the State Department car-bombing, Rather had to backtrack on this story as well: "Marcia Kramer of WCBS-TV, our CBS-owned and -operated station in New York, reported some time ago that the FBI had in custody two suspects caught with a pickup truck of explosives around the George Washington Bridge; now further checking on that story [reveals] that other law enforcement officials in New York said they knew nothing about it, and now Jim Stewart is saying that FBI headquarters in Washington knows nothing about it. We'll have to put that in a long line of things that's under the 'Well, we're skeptical now.' Maybe it's true and maybe it isn't." There is no record in the Nexis database of Rather telling his audience that it actually wasn't true.
Rather accompanied the backtracking with another self-justification: "I repeat for emphasis, we'd rather be last than be wrong, but in reporting of this kind, we're bound to make some mistakes." But is it really inevitable that anchors will pass on uncorroborated stories to the public—and portray them as fact, not rumor? For days, New Yorkers expressed surprise that the George Washington Bridge story was not true—victims of a needless panic that Dan Rather had helped to spread.

Name the Hypocrite

"This president failed so miserably in diplomacy that we are now forced to war." -- ______________ 2003 when President Bush, struck Iraq
"We have exhausted all of our diplomatic effort to get the Iraqis to comply with their own agreements and with international law. Given that . . . we have got to force them to comply, and we are doing so militarily." -- __________ in 1998, when President Clinton, struck Iraq

ANSWER : Tom Daschle

Absolutely Priceless .. Absolutely Rather

Okay, you just have to click on the link to see this ... it's GREAT!
http://home.comcast.net/~b.ensminger/absolutrather.jpg

What exactly is compassion?

In my "ripe old age" of 36 years, I have found one immutable consistant. One can tell the life experiences of an individual almost instantaniously by measuring their propensity for judgmentalism and intollerance. You see, when you've stood in that man's shoes (an allusion to an Elvis Presley song (a cover - originally written by Hank Williams) "Men with Broken Hearts" http://www.anelvisfan2001.com/walkamileinmyshoes.html , you tend to take a moment before jumping to conclusions, and those conclusions tend to be far less vindictive and hatefilled than those from individuals who are unexperienced.

The fact is, if you have been in diverse and not-so-favorable situations, you have a level of empathy for those experiencing the same thing. Individuals who have never been accused of a crime are the first to show a lack of sympathy towards those who have been arrested, and they are the first to express that the Scott Petersons of the world are guilty until proven innocent. Many who have been falsly accused and arrested, on the other hand, understand that arrest does not mean conviction... and conviction does not necessarily mean guilt. Therefore, those individuals are more sympathetic and empathetic to persons going through the criminal system.

This is the very essence of compassion.... KNOWING that "there but for the grace of God" go you, and acting in accordance with that understanding.

People who knee jerk to opinions, however, (even when events may have taken place before their birth, or were far from their location) can be immediately tagged - and rightfully so- as individuals who have led blessed and unchallenged lives. In short, they are people who haven't proven their mettle on life's battleground and their resulting ignorance is painfully obvious. Personally, I dismiss their opinions as uninformed and intollerant. I choose to surround myself with individuals who have also seen the worst and the best of life, and who hold the same quiet consideration of facts before judgment that I do. Those who think answers are obvious and plain at first blush are merely judging the peak of a situational iceberg and are ignorant for not checking below the surface.

So choose your friends wisely, and favor those who have age, knowlege, and experience... chances are, they know their stuff. And you can tell who these individuals are because they tend to be quiet, considered, and even tempered. And above all, never judge someone before knowing all the facts... to not do so only shows your ignorance and lack of life experiences .... and lack of life in general.

"You've never walked in that man's shoes or saw things through his eyes Or stood
and watched with helpless hands while the heart inside you dies Some were
paupers, some were kings and some were masters of the arts But in their shame
they're all the same these men with broken hearts"

Charles

Hatred in degrees

Letter written to the editors of the Denver Post and Rocky MOuntain News Sept. 9, 2004

Editors,
At what point is hatred acceptable?

I am Uncle Sam. Actually, I am a stilt walker with a 10-foot-tall version of the American icon. Recently, with the political season fully engaged, I have been seen at parades and events quite regularly. You may, in fact, have seen me in the local television reports this week, having been a part of the Louisville Labor Day Parade. One of the greatest pleasure of my job is to see the wonder and excitement in children’s eyes and the thrill they get as I hand them candy, stickers, or other “treasures.” In a parade, a child who gets anything from a parade participant feels special and happy at the fact that- out of the hundreds of kids on the parade route -they got something. On Monday, however, at the Louisville parade, I witnessed a heartbreaking experience. I approached four children (ages probably 3-8 years) and they absolutely glowed with excitement when I gave them stickers. Then an adult male reached around and violently snatched the stickers from their grasp. “You don’t want those!” he said viciously. The stickers, you see, had the “Bush Cheney 04” logo. The children were immediately brought to the point of tears, wondering what exactly THEY had done wrong. Now, these children were too young to be political and the stickers would obviously not have changed one mind in the household on whom to vote for on November 2nd. The stickers were completely harmless in and of themselves. At first glance, the only thing accomplished was an expression of the man’s hatred of the current administration. But what I saw was a group of children hurt and teary-eyed over losing a sticker that they felt special for having received. At their young ages, they don’t concern themselves with Presidential qualifications or ideological differences between candidates… and they shouldn’t! But what those children did learn that Labor Day morning was a taste of hatred and hurt. Hurt inflicted by someone they loved and trusted because of a logo on a sticker. There is little doubt that the anti-Bush crowd is not just opposed to this administration, but viciously hates it. It is sad that we are teaching our children this hatred at such a young age, and spoiling a child’s magical moments (such as a parade) in the process. It is a matter of degrees, but this hurting of children in the name of self-righteous opinion is no different than what we saw in Chechnya this last week. Hatred is hatred.



Charles King Byrne
Charleskingep@yahoo.com
http://www.elvislive.com/stiltwalking.htm

Those 6 minutes

This is a question I've been asking for some time... the infamous "6 minutes" shown in Falacies 9-11 (Michael MOORe's psudo-mockumentary) Thanks Mr. Rogers and the Vail Daily for printing it....

This matter of minutes

Don Rogers
August 31, 2004


In the battle of the idle minutes that morning of Sept. 11, President Bush sat around, "doing nothing," for a far shorter time than Democractic rival John Kerry did, as it turns out.

Columnist Diana West, in a piece last week in the Rocky Mountain News, explored possibly the most inane insult ever of a sitting president, counted of course in minute detail by filmmaker Michael Moore in his mockumentary "Fahrenheit 911."

OK, Bush kept reading a book to young children in a Florida classroom for seven minutes after learning of airliners striking the World Trade Center. What was he supposed to do - wring his hands, get in the way of the professionals, hit his head against the nearest wall - we're not quite sure.

But as West pointed out, Kerry by his own admission on "Larry King Live," the senator "sat stunned, unable to think for more than 30 minutes in the Capitol until he and others were whisked out of the building to safety."

How did Michael miss that one? Or this: West notes that historian William Manchester chronicled Franklin D. Roosevelt's reaction to Peal Harbor this way: "the president did nothing for 18 minutes."

Eighteen minutes. Thirty minutes. Seven minutes. Puts a little different perspective on this particular indictment, doesn't it?

Besides more Kerry talk that goes completely against his action, the point is this: The presidency is a deliberative office. There is no shortage of skilled people to take the immediate action called for in time of such crisis. That's not the president's job.

This fact shouldn't require pointing out. But we Americans understood this better back in 1941. FDR's "inaction" didn't even merit a mention in his re-election campaign. It was irrelevant. Still is.



Vail Colorado

http://www.vaildaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040831/EDITS/108310001

Watching President Bush's speech BOTH of them

2000
2004
Last night I had the pleasure of watching both of President Bush's acceptance speeches. Right after the 2004 Convention coverage, I found the 2000 acceptance speech from Philadelphia on CSPAN2

Wow! Talk about different times. I was waxing nostalgic.... not for the misuses, abuses, and immorality of the previous administration.... not for Al Gore's this-risky-scheme, and that-risky-scheme.... but for a world Pre 9-11

GW's 2000 oration was almost exclusively dedicated to domestic policies... one can certainly see why he was/is a moderate republican. He has never been a rabid fiscal conservative... and that's not a bad thing. His proposals then, and still today, are designed as programs to wean the American public off of the government rather than a permanent lifeline. It was the same then as it is today.

What REALLY struck me was the sheer number of proposals and programs itterated in the acceptance speach that are no0w accomplishments.... welfare refore, perscription drug med reform, tax relief, school accountability, no child left behind... on and on.

He was such a young, vibrant, optimistic, glowing man in 2000..... not the serious, considered, and cautious man we see now. Not that the growth is a bad thing... he's been through a great deal and has matured through the experience. The United States aged by years on one September morning, and the aging of the nation reflects on the face of a concerned and empathetic leader.

What I saw in the contrast between the 2000 and 2004 convention speaches was the nievete' , the innocence, the unbridled optimism dimmed, but certinly not lost... dented but not destroyed.... yellowed but not abandoned. GW is a strong man... much stronger than the smirks and grins and sparkling eyes 4 years ago would indicate. But the strength that comes from hardship also tends to come with silent resolve and a guarded soul. One can not face adversity, hardship, or pain, and not be unaffected..... I thank God that GW has changed... it shows maturity and growth. But his soul is still the optimistic, caring, compassionate, spiritual soul I grew to love 4 very, very long years ago.